Omaha daily bee., 1905-06-10
LIGHTNING GOES ON A TEAR
Omaha Gets the Benefit of Lot of Vsgrant
Electricity,
CONSERVATION COMES WITH JUNE STORM
sudden and violent Display of wind
and Lightning Does Much Minor
Damage All over the
City.


struck Omaha just about o'clock yester-
day afternoon, and did considerable minor
damage. The storm was accompanied by
stiff wind and little rain fell. The
demonstration lasted but a few moments,
but created quite little CONSERVATION
while it did last. The rainfall was the
heaviest in the south part of town, very
little water falling north of Cunning street.
Freaks of lightning were reported from all
over the CITY, no serious damage resulting
anywhere. The heaviest loss will be to the
Aultman-Taylor building at Ninth and
Jackson streets, where the tin roof was
torn off the long awning.
The Glencoe mill and elevator on lizard
street, between Twenty-second and Twenty
third streets, was struck by lightning. No
damage resulted aside from tearing a hole
through the corrugated iron sheeting
where the electric wires run into the mill
The wires were burned off, and there was
considerable commotion created by balls
Of electricity dancing around the wires in
side the mill for a second or So The build
ing was Charred for a few feet around
where the sheeting was torn off. The rear
| door of the elevator building was also
struck by apparently the same bolt of
! lightning and some of the iron sheeting Of
! the door torn off and the woodwork
charred. A popularity about the lightning
! freak is that the two buildings were sep
arated by another shed, but this interven-
ing structure was not hit. The damage
! will not exceed 50.
KnutsOns Home struck.
The home of August knutson, 27 Popple-
! ton avenue, was struck by a severe bolt
of lightning that wrought some little dam
age to the building, both from the force of
the shock and the resulting fire. None of
the occupants was injured, although Mrs.
Knutson was badly frightened for awhile,
as was also Mrs. Celgren, an aged woman
who makes her home with the Knutsons.
Nels Knutson, the 12-ye. r-old son. who
was in the yard at tOe time the lightning
struck the place, had a slight shock from
| the electricity in the nearby atmosphere
Mr.. Knutson was in his barn at the time
| and says the lightning struck the house
| with a report like d small cannon. Luckily
for the other members of the household
! they were all in the west end of the house
| and away from that part struck. The
lightning hit the house on the east end of
| the roof and went down both on the inside
and outside of the room to the cellar, scat
tering plaster and boards around. The fire
loss was but trivial
An apple tree near the residence of AL
bert Alexander, Sixth and Hickory streets
was rent in twain by lightning about the
same time the Knutson house was struck
Hotel Chimney struck.
| Slight CONSERVATION was caused at the
Prague hotel, where a large chimney came
rafting down after having been struck
by lightning. No personal injuries were
sustained. The electric bolt expended Itself
without ignting any portion of the wood
work.
The pleasure of the last days program OF
the Iowa Firemen's tournament at Councl
Bluffs was almost totally spoiled by q
heavy wind and rainstorm of short dura
ton. which blew over the city at O'Clock
At the Driving park the races had only
fairly begun and only two finished wher
the gale bore down from the south. The
ZOO persons present were thrown into {
sudden panic, induced chiefly by th'
ferocious looking clouds and the thunder
and lightning although the velocity of th'
wind was considerable. A number of trees
were blown down and the grandstand wher'
the people huddled trembled, but no on'
was injured except a young man named
DALEY from Shenandoah. Daley received
shock from lightning and was uncon
scious five minutes, but recovered.
Trolley Line Blocked.
A number of poles supporting the stree
| railway company's wire between Twenty
sixth and Twenty-eighth avenues blew
over, putting the Omaha-Council Bluffs ant
all the Council Bluffs service out of com
mission for more than an hour and a half
Quick work on the part of the company ant
, the fact that the powerhouse, men ant
5 materials were at hand, resulted in tn
broken poles being braced up quickly ant
2 the wires restrung.
Indian creek overnowed its banks betweel
t and o'clock and the Northwestern rail
way yards and Broadway for a block ol
[ either side were deluged with three inche
- of mud and two feet of water. The stree
$ cars, however, were able to plow throug
e it.
I In the business district of Council Bluff
Z two or three tents of street shows wer
S tipped over, but serious damage done
i The storm was fercest west OF the Illinoi
g Central tracks, but the blowing down O
g several large trees and the swapping O
e many branches were the only traces left 1
t it's wake.
s About o'clock last night 1t commence
r to rain in a more dignified and orderl
e fashion and kept at it steadily all nigh
S long There was considerable lightning bu
no wind. So far as reported, however, n
damage was done by the lightning durin