Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1909-06-08
A CLOSE CALL.
Lexington Citizen Struck by Lightning
and will Recover From his Injuries.

LGAlIStuh. uitlLtu StluGk Wy LlSNiIlliS
and will Recover From his Injuries.
While by no means as rare as
might be supposed, 1t is neverthe-
less unusual for a man to live af-
ter being struck by lightning; yet
that is the experience of
Henry Beck, of Lexington citizen
living OH Center street Thurs.
day afternoon about 5 O'Clock in
the beginning of what proved to
be one of the ~severest of storms,
lightning struck a chimney stand
ing at one end of the two-story
dwelling occupied by Mr.. Beck,
owned by R. L. Leonard, just be-
low the railroad bridge.
Mr.. Beck was standing on the
front porch at the other end of
the house, and there received g.
nough of the current in his body
to knock him senseless to the floor
and to rob him of full control of
his mental faculties until Sunday
morning, when he for the first
time was able to resume mental
operations where the terrible
stroke had stopped them.
Drs. Vestal and Hill we're hur-
riedly summoned and came at
once. Powerful heart stimulants
Wore used, which is the treatment
II such cases. for if circulation
and respiration can be continued
for a short time, the victim of
electricity has a chance for life
fact may be considered safe.
lightning paralyzes heart action,
is said. Mr.. Beck appeared
semi-conscious Friday morning
and talked, was nervous and want.
ed to get out of bed, and finally,
after several bad forcibly kept
him in bed, he was allowed to get
up.
Saturday he improved aud it
was seen that his recovery was ex'
tremely probable. By Sunday he
was entirely conscious, he says
himself, for the first time. and
could remember standing on the
porch, He did not hear the thun-
der at all. He is now able to be
about and Monday walked to the
Elk factory, where he is a valued
employee, working as machinlst.
His chief trouble is on account
of the burns on his breast and
limbs. He is very sore and suf'
fers as if he had been burned with
fire.
The lightning cut up capers IL
the house. It leaped clear across
from the chimney up stairs to an
adjoining room, smashed a bed
there and knocked to smithereens
a little dry battery arrangement
the young Becks had been ''proje.
ckin" with. The current scatter
ed, going in all directions, down
the post on the front porch.
The house is covered with tin and
the roof is cut in various places.
A panel over the keyboard of the
piano down stairs in the parlor
was knocked out. In the sitting
room, where most of the family
were, and where the chimney was
which was hit, no one was injured
or even slitely shocked. A baby
asleep in a oracle near the chin
hey was not even awakened. A
Watch in Mr.. Beck's left vest
pocket looks as if one had shot it
with a 44-calibre gun, being
smashed. Mr.. Beck will recover.
At the time MI. Beck was 30
nearly killed, his sister-in-law,
Mrs. William Beck, in the next
house, was lying a corpse,
The storm was a hard one.
The wind blew, the floods came
and pretty good size hail descended
with sufficient force to crack win
dow glass. Many people were
bailey frightened.
Bill has won her-pretty maid,