The Ely miner., 1911-10-13

that day. An extraordinary feature
of the Johnson killing was that the
bolt came without warning. The
heavens were clouded, but there was
no storm, and, like most golfers. tie
unfortunate player was not daunted
by the gloom of a muggy day.
Most wonderful, however, Of all
lightning pranks hereabouts was the
recent attack on miners working 1888
feet underground in the passageways
of the Hudson river aqueduct tunnel
If the miner isn't immune. what hui
man creature is? The reader will be
surprised to learn that lightning casu-
alties in mines, though not frequent,
are not uncommon. The intake of air
from the surface above sometimes acts
as a ready conductor, or the current
descends the metal cable by means
of which the elevator cage is operated.
The horror of the possible stroke is
increased tenfold by the danger OF
it's touching off the explosives that
are used in blasting.
Down shaft No. 6 of the great
aqueduct, near wall-on-Hudson, on
July 1, plunged the bolt, first follow
ing the elevator cable, then ripping
it's way through steel car at the bot
tom and dividing into two currents.
each of which came rolling and hiss
ing down the railway tracks of the
east and west tunnels. respectively.
David Emery and Thomas Brown
stood at the head of the west tunnel
engaged in blasting. Brown had his
back to the shaft and was in the act
of dropping stick Of dynamite into
a hole The bolt passed him with a
slight shoc<, made a connection
through his feet with fuse wire in
his hand and exploded the stick OF
dynamite. A vast mass of rock was
turned up by the impromptu blast and
bots men were hurled great distances,
sustaining terrible injuries. The Eaar'
vel of it all was that they weren't in.
sgantly killed by this extraordinary
coming together of unclaimed light
ming and high power explosive.
Franks and Tragedies.
OF pranks and tragedies along cleo
trio wires and to power houses. troll
ley cars and linemen a volume could
be written.
Lightning pays attentions to man
kind in a more delicate fashion than
this. 1t has playfully snatched whip
from g. riders hands, made off with
the knitting needles of two gossipine
women who were sitting knitting, and
seizing the pitchfork from the shoul
der of a farm laborer, carried it of
fifty yards or thereabouts and twisted
the tines into a corkscrew. It has
torn the music from the hands of d
singing youth and destroyed 1t. and
has lighted q candle and a gas jet
1t has caught up the sctssors from the
hand of girl seated at q sewing ma
chine and whisked them off, while
it lifted her bodily upon the machine
where she found herself when she re
covered fsSnm her experience. 1t has
melting earrings without killing the
wearer.
Lightning performs queer pranks In
its journeying toward the earth. The
gliding Of picture frames is often care
fully removed by the lightning to q
distance and applied to objects never
intended to receive this style of dec
grafton. 1t is reported that the gild
ing Of an altnr ornament in French
church was removed and placed on
silver vasn. On another occasion
lightning came down the chimney oi
a house in which dance was being
held. 1t entered the room where the
dancers were blotting out fear Of the
storm outside and deposited upon them
all a coat of the SCOT it had brough,
down the chimney. 1t did no other
harm.
Heavy Weights Transported.
Lightning transports more weighty
things than films of gold and masses
of SCOT. At Swinton, near Manchester
England. many years ago, during Q
deluge of rain, lightning suddenly
filled brick building in which coal
was stored, full of pestilential, sui
INJURIOUS vapor. Suddenly the build
ing. the walls of which measured near
ly foot in thickness. was torn out
of the ground, the foundation being
nearly two feet deep, and transported
in an upright position to distanc<
of nearly thirty-three feet.
The English cottage pictured above
affords good example Of the ex
plosion which follows when lightning
peretrates closed rooms. The down
ward fash entered through the chin
ney and roof and then the explosion
blew out the glass of the windows
and the center woodwork of the door
The sturdy oak was blown asunder by
the explosion caused by the fast
igniting the gases which its own in
tense heat engendered when passing
through the tree. The tree was G
strong British oak, three feet In di
ameter. yet was rent completel,
asunder.