The Muskogee cimeter. [volume] (Muskogee, Indian Territory, Okla.) 1901-19??, 1905-12-21
MEN WHO KNOW REPORT QUEER
FRANKS OF ELECTRIC FLUID.
Will Get Its Man at Many Miles Dis.
tance II Good Connection Is Made
It Pays to Keep Away from Barbed
Wire Fence During Storm.


among a number of the members of
"the bunch" says the Anaconda
Standard. One of the boys asserted
that he had worked in a placer mine
on Wisconsin creek, near Sheridan,
few years ago. In company with
another man he was winding a rope
around rubber neck which made
connection between the steel pipe and
the canvas hose which fed the hy-
draulic nozzle. All around him the
sky was serene and the sun was shin
ing. Suddenly he felt q shock which
paralyzed both legs, which were
astride the big steel pipe, and it was
fully an hour before he could restore
the circulation and again be able tC
move about. Investigation showed af
terward that there had been a thun
derstorm further up the creek at the
head of the big ditch and big bolt
of lightning had dropped into the res
ervoir. Seeking an outlet, the electric
fluid travelled down the ditch unit
| 1t found a good conductor in the stee
| pipe, which 1t followed until the
miners legs made good connection
Then it gave passing shock.
| Speaking of electricity and its
strange freaks" spoke up another
member of the bunch, reminds me O
time when | was working on rancl
which sported many piles of barbet
wire fencing. The boss and I wen
out one day to fix considerable
amount of fencing which had beer
broken by band of wild cattle th'
day before. We had worked prett.
industrially for a few hours and th'
repairs were nearly all finished, th'
top wire alone remaining to be strung
to complete the job. In the mean
time storm came up few mile
away and the lightning was dropping
along the river bank, four miles ava.
by the way the crow flies, but thre
times that distance by the way tn
fence ran.
81 suggested to the boss that
would be good idea for us to go int
the ranch and get bite to eat; tha
it was dangerous to monkey with
barbed wire fence when the lightnin
king was out. But he was obdurat
and laughed at all Of my suggestions
Finally he told me that If was sue
an old woman as to be scared Of
little thunderstorm | could go hom
and go to sleep in the hay-he woul
finish the job alone. With that h
walked across to the last wire JUS
as a terrific clap Of thunder came
The next thing knew he wa
wrapped in a sheet Of blue flame an
was thrown half hundred feet int
ditch the other side of the fenc,
where he lay unconscious. With tn
greatest difficulty he was loaded int
wagon and taken to the rancl
where medical assistance was securet
After twenty-four hours he came I
and wondered what 1t all meant. II
said that he had heard fusillad
which sounded like a Chinese Ne
Year at close quarters and then h
soul went floating through the a
with a vision of blue flames pursuin
| IL. flnally ne came Dach W ear
again, but from that day to this,
he is working along a wire fenc
when even the slightest cloud appear
he will forsake everything else an
get as far as possible away from IL
fence before the cloud has time
do any damage. At the time he W;
hurt lightning had struck the extren
end of the fence fully ten miles ava
but the distance did not lessen II
effect of the shock in the least"