Evening star., 1902-02-26
L|GHTN|NG'S FRANKS
The Iron Top Of the Capitol a
Shining Mark.
LINDEN TREE MARRIED
HAIR-RAISINa INCIDENTS MAR
RATED BY THE GUIDES.
Man Commits Suicide by Leaping From
Dome RaiHng-Schemes
Of Advertisers.

Lightning has played some queer pranks
with the great iron dome Of the Capitol
without doing any serious damage to per-
sons or property. This subject was called
to attention several days ago, when Frank
P. Church Of Chicago, who is collecting
data on the subject Of atmospheric cleo
| tricity. visited the Capitol in the pursuit
| OF his Investigations. He was much i'm
pressed by a stately old linden tree in the
East Capitol Park, in front Of the en-
trance to the House Of Representatives,
which has on five occasions during thunder
| storms been struck by lightning which
| first hit the Capitol dome and then glanced
| toward the earth. striking the tree in it's
descent. In each instance the thunderbolt
left its mark on the trunk Of the old tree
by cutting well-def1ned groove in its
| thick bark. but never seriously injuring Its
growth.
Mr.. Church gave 1t as his opinion that
there is something connected with the tree
| which makes 1t a f1rst-class conductor Of
atmospheric electricity, and he suggested,
in view Of this attractiveness, that the
vicinity Of the old linden is good place to
keep away from during thunder storm.
When the dome is struck by lightning 1t
is attended by phenomena OF very inter
esting character. The report made by the
explosion begins with a crashing noise,
then q continuation Of the report, which
sounds at times very much like a shower
upon q roof. and again as q fusillade Of
| bricks. accompanied by a great volume Of
flying echoes. This Is caused by the con-
ductivity Of the metallic roofing material
| scattering the discharge. Following the re-
port. IL at night, the interior of the dome
Is weirdly Illuminated for a second or two
by blush flame, often accompanied by
strong odor Of birthstone.
Startling Incidents Recalled.
Mr.. George A. Rahm, clerk of the Capt.
tol police force, recalled a startling Incl
dent which occurred several years ago. A
thunderbolt struck the dome and ucocheted
to the plaza below where it struck cab.
The horse was knocked down. and the
driver picked himself up about forty feet
away. Neither man nor animal was in
jured beyond receiving a severe shock.
On another occasion young man who
was descending from the dome during a
thunder shower was shocked by discharge
Of electricity which came in contact with
the bronze goddess and. was dihused
through the ironwork below. He said he
felt as If he had been stricken with paraly
Sis and losing all physical power, he tum-
bled down several stairs, badly bruising
himself.
There was a sound like a shower of
brtckbats from above" he said, land my
first impression was that the entire dome
structure had collapsed and 1 was going
down with the debris.
During heavy rain storm in 1898 seri-
Gus damage was caused to the fresco work
around the rotunda Of the Capitol, partic-
ularly from the scene OF the discovery by
Columbus to the burial Of De Soto In the
Mississippi river. The storm was at its
height about 4:3O o'clock in the afternoon,
closing time at the Capitol. The heavy
northwest wind drove the rain under the
portico surrounding the first landing Of the
dome. The main water pipe became clogged
hy 1ady'a which had been blown
away from her by puff Of wind while she
was on top of the dome. This completely
damned the water, which flowed into the ro-
tunda In great volumes The damage to
the pictures has never been repaired
other Queer Happenings.
Referring to other queer happenings un-
der the great white dome. an old employe
OF the Capitol told Of an insane man who
several years ago performed a hair-raising
feat in full view of a number Of persons in
the rotunda While ascending the stairway
to- the dome he spied painters ladder lead
ing from landing to narrow ledge imme-
diately below the frescoes, and extending
entirely around the rotunda. at a height
Of about eighty feet from the floor. After
descending to the ledge, which Is about two
feet wide, the demented individual beoan
to make the circuit. stopping now and then
to inspect the pictures. Each OF the spec
tators below held his breath, expecting
every moment to see the man dashed to
death on the stone flooring OF the rotunda-
Several Capitol policemen ran to the ball
cony just above the dizzy ledge and tried
t. persuade the man to ascend the ladder
to safety. He was obdurate at first but
finally consented and returned to the bal
cony above. When asked why he went
upon the narrow ledge, the man replied
that he was inspecting the frescoes with
the view Of having them completed at an
early day. He was turned over to the city
police. and later was sent to the Govern
ment Asylum for the Insane
The only instance in the memory OF the
oldest Capitol enploye Of any person COM
mtting suicide by leaping from the dome
Is that OF a young man who was studying
for the priesthood. and who took the fatal
leap about thirty years ago. His mind had
been weakened by overstudy and his friends
had kept close watch over his move
ments On the day in question he eluded
the Capitol dome When first seen he had
mounted the railing and was walking
around. Upon reaching that portion imme-
diately above the east front Of the Capitol
he halted, remained as II lost in contempla-
tlon for few moments, and then sprang
into the air. In its rapid descent his body
struck the side of the dome, rebounded, and
was whirled over and over until 1t struck
the copper roofing near the foot of the flag
staff over the main east entrance, where
its further descent was stopped.
The knees Of the unfortunate man struck
first with such force that they made deep
indentations in the thick copper sheathing.
These indentations remain today. and are
pointed out to visitors by the Capitol guides
as they relate the details of the tragedy in
midair The body Of the jumper was SO
badly crushed-every bone being broken
that 1t was necessary to strap the remains
on q wide board in order to remove them
from the building.
Heavy Walls Deaden Sound.
During the great storm in October. 1893.
when It was blowing big guns outside.
uprooting giant trees, unroofng houses and
doing other damage, not sound of the
roaring gale could be heard inside the main
part of the Capitol, so thick is the sur
rounding masonry.
Several years ago the inventor Of So
called "life-saving parachute" announced
his intention OF dropping the $50 feet from
the panoramic canopy over the rotunda to
the floor below, as test Of his invention.
He had made all arrangements for the test
when he was informed that his program
could not be carried out. The same man
was later refused permission to make a
parachute descent from the top OF the
Washington monument.
The great white dome which towers
above the city has long been standing
temptation to the owners OF advertising
novelties to display their schemes to the