Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-06-28
LIGHTNING WAS
CAUSE OF DEATH
STORM BROUGHT ADMEss TO
CHARLES SMITHS HOME NEAR
kIRkvlLLE FRIDAY.
STRUCK TWO PERSONS
Killed Carrie Smith and In lred Her
Uncle; Father Shocked by Fluid
When Daughter 10
Striken.

A young life snuffed out by a bolt
Of lightning Friday afternoon IS
the penalty fate demanded for the
granting Of the much wanscd rain
Miss Carrie Smith, the eighteen year
old daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. Charles
Smith paid the penalty by her life,
and the community is shocked over
the blow that has befallen the family
The young woman with her father
and uncle, jerks Jones, were sitting
In the lawn wing when the storm
arose. The father and daughter sat
on one side. while the uncle sat OPP
posito. When the sky began to as
sumo stormy appearance and 1t was
thought the rain would soon fall, Mr..
Smith arose from the swing leaving
the daughter and her uncle sitting
there, and started toward the house.
He had proceeded but some six feet
when a b,lt of lightnil--. struck the
shade tree beneath which the swing
was located, and glancing from the
tree the electric fluid killed the girl.
One of the great toes of Mr.. Jones
was mashed by the stroke and Mr..
Smith reeled rom the shock and COM
plains since of his head. A gasp from
the striker young woman rapidly
aroused the men, but their effort to
aid her were unavailing. The end
was almost instantaneous. The bolt
struck just before the rain began
about o'clock
Father Tells Of Accident.
The father related the sad story Of
the accident to Undertaken G. T. Sui
Ivan. There were two or three severe
bolts of lightning and the athe- got
out of .he swing and started for the
house. He was about s feet away when
something seemed to explode over
their heads knocking Mr. Smith down
and severely stunning him. The girl
threw up her hands AMI with an
agonized look in her face fell back
into the swing. The lightning stuck
near the base of the brain. shatteting
the back COMP in her hair. The hair
was disarranged but it was MT singed
by the electric fluid. DIR. Kepler of
KirAville was called and worked with
| tie cir! until 10 o'clock expecting to
restore life. The family thought at
first that she had only tainted. A
peculiar thing was that there was moi
a mark on the body until Undertaken
Sullivan had embalmed re body
which brought out small red streal.
on the head, down across the cheek
and the right side encircling the
waist and down the right leg to the
end oSthe foot.
! Was June Graduate.
The striker young woman was a
June graduate, having just completed
her course in Iowa College at Grinnell
this month. finishing her work in
school with high honors. Before go.
ing to college she had omplete,. q
| course In the Kirkville schools. ne
time of the funeral has not been set
awaiting the arrival of her brothers
Sidney from Shoshone, Idaho and
Lewis who is a Chicago travelling
salesman with territory in Wisconsin
Community Shocked.
Miss Smith was we'll beloved and
immensely popular in the community
and her sudden death has caused a
pail of gloom to settle over the neigh
borhood. The sympathy of the en-
tire community was readily manifest,
ed as soon as the sad news was made
known. She is survived besides her
parents by two brother, Sidney and
Lewis. Her uncle, jerks Jones. was
visiting at the Smith home at the
time Of the accident.