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LIGHTNING'S EFFECTS
A MAJORITY OF DEATHS OCCUR IN
THE LEVEL, OPEN COUNTRY.
Report of a Case Illustrating tho Physical
Effects of Lightning Stroke-How tho
Patient’s Consciousness Was Restored,
A Technical Explanation.
The majority of deaths from lightning
occurs m the level, open country, trees,
villages cities, by and their thickly projections built up into towns the and air.
serving as contractors, and thereby pro
tectmg tho inhabitants from direct stroke,
The loss of life annually throughout the
worldJs from .3 k, very j) great. Do no In less European than
sons were killed by this cause. In Aus
tria during the same time 1,700 persona
were likewise killed. In Prussia it is re
ported that seventy persons are annually
killed. Ten thousand persons are re
ported as having been struck during
period of liine-and-twenty years with
2,2.72 deaths in France; while in the
United States during 1870 alone 202
deaths from lightning were recorded.
The effects of lightning stroke are most
interesting, curious and appalling. The
cvi s\ iDptomb uiG usiidlly of slioclv.
Th■ 16 ^ is otten unconsciousness, some
times coma, lasting from a few horns to
even days, partial or complete loss of
sight or hearing, associated with impair
inent of the other senses. The tissues
may bo burned superficially or deep] v, the
bones fractured, and portions of the limbs
are torn off entirely. The tracksof light
ning on the surface of the body may have
it fancied teseinblanco to the branches of
a tree, tho main stem from which the
blanches load off arising at any portion
of the body, i lie skin in t liese t tacks
mac bo simply scarlet in color, slightly
swelled or blistered, the branches taper
mg off until no larger than the scratch of
a pin They may pass m all direct tons
irom the place first struck or skip about
from one part to another. This is due to
the conduction of the current by the
clothing which if wet acts as an excel
lent conductor.
AN rNTERESTINO CASE.
For the purpose of illustrating these
effects tho following report of a case is
taken from The Philadelphia Medical
News, reported by a physician who was on
the spot the time the accident occurred,
Dr. J. B. Paige:
“The current struck the chimney of the
house and passed down the studding near
the window to an iron hook: on which was
suspended a chain and bird cage, passed
from this to the head of the lady, sitting
just insido'the window, and beneath tho
cage, above tho left eye, midway between
the eyebrow and hair, which was a PP ar
ently the part nearest the corner of the
bird cage; passed along w front the ear,
then to the central line of the chest,
descending by tno stocking supporter,
which was attached to tho corsets, thence
to the top of the stockings, leaving marks
upon both limbs, but more especially’upon
the , on the back of which, just
above the knee joint, was a burn about
the sine of one s hand It had the ap
pearance of an ordinary burn, and was
only superficial. No trace of the current
could be detected again until the foot was
reached, from which it passed off by the
joint of the great too. tearing a place
about two inches in diameter in the stock
and slipper, but not leaving the
slightest mark upon the skin With the
exception of the burned spot on the
tenor part of Uie.lolt teg. an;, otie or two
burns on tno boay and tno right
congest ci nnes alone mar xml the
ot t he electricity m its passage
the bodv.
•hior condition was fou no to t oo ns fol
Completely unconscious; motion- caused,
muscles relaxed, le.t eye
open; .ace purple, pu.seat wrisi. tm
neither heart sounds nor res
sounds to bo heard.* At once
breathing was resorteuTo and in
two to three minifies the firfct sign of
e appeared in a movement of the left
i ae blue color faadl from the face,
the pulse was felt at jthe wrist. Soon
I was dibicuit respiration. The mucus and
'saliva, which were very abundant, had
gravitated back, and could not be swal
because of complete paralysis of
uppermost parts of the body, including
arms. 1 he symptoms wuro those ex
hibited by an animal when being asphvxi
violent muscular contraction, diffi
cult and forced respiration, etc. Under
continued efforts consciousness returned
ir \ three quarters of arf hour A period
of four weeks elapsed before all the senses
and her general health was restored and
all paralysis had disappeared.”
a technical explanation.
In this do we see the effects of light
ning in a pronounced degree, and there
can be no doubt but that this person
would have died from the effects if the
had not been present to at once
resort to artificial or forced respiration
and wrap the body to maintain tho heat
necessary for life.* Respiration had
stopped and tho heart w*as acting feebly ill
and very slowly, and every evidence,
the complete unconsciousness and mnseu
relaxation, was present that death
was at hand. But by forced respiration
and preserved heat the oxygen supplied
and sent through the body by tho slow
and feebly acting heart revivified tho
stunned ner\o centers, and life was
saved.
f I lie unconsciousness _ Wtis duo to tlio
shock impressed on the protoplasm of tho
nerve centers throug'h the sensitive
nerves, and not by the direct entrance of
the electric current or vibrations into the
protoplasm of tho brain cells; t he effect
was physiological principally, not physi
cal. The physical effects were molecular,
as they must needs bo. and are seen ia
tho blistered, disorganized skin and the
charred and rent clothing and shoes
Terrific as must have been the force at
play, those evidences of the skipping ot
tho current irom the body to the better
conductors, the clothing and shoes, only
show that the physical effect * as on the
surface. The profound molecular changes
resulting in the unconsciousness, puraly
B ia of scales, expiration uml muscles.
was due to a transformation of t he elec
trical force or impulse, not only at the
places where its direct impact occurred.
but by tho induced effects on all the sur
faco if the bo.lv, into aonsa-ion. which
was conducted through the proper >idm cliati
nels. tho iiorvos. therein' to tho jm.to ,ho
nerve centers, In;.;, ,i» /r reut
e “ bj S IUJLt '°“ _< j lol,J 1 ,
Democ r ' at • ’
A . est India, 1 island.
A gloomy road winds high around one
cliff overlooking the hollow of the bay.
PVlnwino- following it it, you vnn pass nrulnr under extraordi pvinnrHi
narily dark shadows of foliage, and over
a blackish soil strewn with pretty bright
green fruit that has fallen from above.
Do not touch them even with tho tip of
your finger! Those are manehineel apples;
with their milky juice the old Caribs were
wont to poison the barbs of their parrot
feathered arrows. Over the mold,
swarming among crabt the venomous fruit, in
numerable make a sound almost
like the murmuring of water Some arc
very large, with prodigious stalked eyes.
claws white as ivory, and a red cm
rass; others, very small and very swift in
their movements, are raspberry colored;
again, are apple green, with queer
of black and white. There is
unpleasant odor of decay in the air—
vegetable decay. shadow of the
Emerging from the
manehineel trees, you may follow
the road up, up, up, under beetling
of plmonian rock that pathway seem about The
to topp.t, down npon the
is nakcu it is and veiled Inack by a near heavy tue green r^ad.
of lianas, curling creepers, tin
familiar vines All around you are sounos
crawling dull echoes of dropping; the
growths far up waverin the breath
air as if so met lung w-ere moving sin •;
through An, ‘ always Fur tue
ouor of humid decomposition.
on the road looks wider, sloping up
black rocks, through strange
vaultings of foliage and mgnt black shad
its lonesomeness oppresses; one re
without regret, by rusttnggateways
tottering walls, back to the old V\est
CITY OF THE DEAD.
The Voted Russian Art ift’s description-
An Extraordinary Scene.
i.r.tt ofX'SlA
Mohannunian robtdllun against the Chinese
government in tin* reign of Telmgutehak:
- As voll upprua eh the town, it is hard
! believe it is tauntv von cannot lielo lion
ing to meet somo'human Udug. if it be
I only a nbber. But not a soul is to be seen
anywhere. The houses nro for tho most
pert uninjured and likewise the
on the w-Ulsnndthewooden hit tice work
of [ the windows Potsherds ‘ and fm<
n en(s of articles of every conceivable
kind were lying all about-vessels of iron
!U „I clav of'all sizes; „ quantify of copper
coins *irv\\v of' on a string dro’xses cans
plaits ‘h.msy lmir rite's i>nugl.ans of all si-*es—the Glmm-ks
shoes of and
side bv side with the miniature
of r him . se women 1 nut a pair of oxtvi
ordinarily small slippers in mv pocket, as
a memento
‘But above all skulls are to beseem
like lyinir about everywhere The town is
a vast tomb and tho whole i mores
s i-wi it produces is terrible. 1 wandered
about a whole day in B.’s company and
for several days alone seif without
i>om<r aide to accustom my to this
stillness as of the grave ami to the sight
of all thesb streets, chapels, theatres and
squares standing* forever oinpty. f rhe
gate of tho fortress, which the
had blown in, is still tolerably strong
Near t he gate is to bo seen the entrance
into the subterranean gallery by which
t he besiegers, after a long and tedious
siege, made their way into tho fortress
Then came a merciless butchery, in which
no one was spared. Skulls and bones lie
literally in heaps against tho ‘walls here
and all around the fortress; at manv
points, by several of the gates, tho
were piled up to a great hei'riit. In
fields around the town, too, lie skulls;
far as tho eye can reach, skulls,
skulls, and again skulls The wolves
jackals have already done their work;
ravens are still engaged in picking
bones clean for the sun and rain
bleach
“One of the farms in particular, which
lies nearest tho town/ abounds in bones,
A body X of Calm Lip ticks the’ b^i«U 15 000 strong came
,hia to b«t
of only a few hundred Dunghans K fell S upon
them .drove them Wbnt^ rra.derf.”
to tl>e very •> tot man " “ ‘
energy on the part of the , . insurgent Mo
lmmmedans! What cowardice on the
P“ rt of tho C, ‘ ,name ' l! 1 ll!ld < ' , ! ou « 1 to
occupy me. hrom the governor s palace
t0 the simple little houses of tho common
people pwjputtii all the ilia dwellings uwu ms were were habitable luuiwoic,
all were painted, all decorated with paint
i n ,r H( sculptures, bas reliefs, flowers.
dragons, etc. Theaters of an original con
Glossal struction, Buddhist temples in which some
idols were
Mohammedans evidentshowed great
zea l in overthrowing the*so and breaking
them in pieces), seemed almost to bo wait
iu g for the people to throng in to their
prayers Klewceks and their amusements w“e For three
I lived
one Tartar in a wretched cabin
the walls of tho fortress, and every day
from morning till evening I roamed about,
looking at everything, drawing and paiiu
j n ^. Occasionally a wild goat would
j nt o the courtyard where I was painting,
sta nd transfixed with astonishment, and
then rush off at full speed across
brown and desolate
Literature.
The Glory of Moscow.
TLo glory of Moacow i3 the Kremlin,
, v hicli is really tlic citadel, and within it
b tout walls aro scores of churches and
palaces. Here are tho Cathedral of th ti ‘
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, e
Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, an 1
dozens of other churches, the arsenal stu
rouuded by 850 cannon taken from tfc
I> clJ ch during the disastrous retreat <i
jgi2. The magnificence The of the churehi ;
ftnd pa laces in Kremlin surpasses b>
lie f. The Church of the Annunciath i
has it3 Uoor inlaid with agate. Cornelia;
jasper> chaIce dony and other precio
stoueSt thousands and thousands of do
lars wortil of being thus laid dow.i
Pjr a \ n the Cathedral of Ht Tznnl.
czars down to tho tir.io of Peter the f 're ‘
who chose to be buried in Si ,
a:i example which has b? :i (.
\ V.i
.^V 4< lKl * '°T ! * ° 1( 11 Kl \\- 1 " ! 1 ,, 1 * ! ' %\
^ \‘*j f W U ‘, mpU , ° V cv ™" l ''V' ' A ' * . ' KISH; V.
gloaming - with gems o, ...-o'* , .
As a me.iueval traveler sail of‘t i * l< KU
ol 1 ‘‘onuis u tseeuei that ,y dd was
!!L® / h °, *V V'.' *‘
P r °I>P-fty and truth might hr •-■sot • i
t0,1 \ b 1 of the czar l’ for • som -* lo;: : <,f :
woalth °. f over 111
8 [° n ° S ' vl,ich ftdon * t *‘ ch f’ arl vJ t:
*hnne ahoye the tomb,
1 ' tho Uron,1 "‘ ore u "
nal . crowns u!ul regalia ot Uussu;
tNveut y ‘Towns ,1®"^ are hero, comprising m t
? h,wc to Rns "\ T" 1 ," '•
‘. U " " f .". 7i "
kus Man armios ’ ‘ ri,m U ' e rru ’ VIi Ul ■ -
{? the 'I , Crimea, 1 ? vrosvl \°[ Astrakhan, iyulami tho that ( ol I'-.lan
aurasu s i
ot l T m; ' amon ~ t-ho nur.il* r. toget
", ltb . , or)s ,' ^N'pters, sworn a and r ; -
<,|mius ft,ul ™ J ow f too imr'orotm ;
c ° l * aiul hcsidos alJ U,ebt * u v' i:u ’ m '*
, . gurnets, sapphires, tnrquoie
: •
a ds a,IU l^rls by tho busm l are burm i i
th ? . imperial treasuries. toonm wr yt>»b*
set .°. r '‘. voa to bo rountc<] ' : u 1 '
pmshe<1 foreigner who many yo va a* r o.
i*v special favor, obtained acccs . to to *
[)urL of tho Kremlin in which
these important treasuvej, s..i it .at
lie in piles, in golden Lowi - . ui.c. ;
cups, in stick ubiinduncc as tit:, t ¥
meration or valuation.—Cor. t. . .
crat.
Alpoi.stut tjs f.l.Mt > •; I i
sil vcj |, la; v» til. i nt- lop ; u
owner, arernihei er.tru’
assistance to : t
Sights Underneath I! • I
A * ‘ ,
» 1 f u : in ' '
1 nhvskllnul fi^rri ( I „ f ,lolr , VV. 1 will, 1 ' i
i
\ the ® P ,'r' £ 1U 1 l'. ' • iv *
utt sia uoitura on out to.. * WJ.
^Tlm'rWh^of iff 1!I lift ih^onnu',t ,1,1 * ' \ l,, Vi
si ia f 11 ,SUI i V
, ^ ^ , fce t ^
' 1 tl f, shb nt . « .. . ■!
l-icc° - of wood may bo up om-r
shell ^rfi’r'l fish and 'fJ’TT^ falls to pieces ^ at. tlm ton
,,f the lmml. This shows what dost.-;..
tioll is constantly going on in I hose depth*
If a ship sinks at sea with all on board, it
1 ' ‘ t,v } . s... r , v ,. ; .
, t) u tal, and d tlmt , ]li t \oukl uftodt, u.i„
disappear. v4 Not a bone of ix human but!V
wnI1 U .l d r l ., mo!n un tt i .. A f . 4W ( i.. Vsl {f .
'J 1 !^ + mm/VLt ,- , >f v!It
V : t lU0Iltl sc ‘, T I M n * s m J. ,u 1
•
, , month^n the" , ,
.'l 'f J, si.ov,.rl lv
h n “ r i 1T1 ‘
a ^ ® r,<rlu n 1,1 t t di‘ ♦
tnm th 'has '
. . . . , , . . . ow seven
^ 1 • f “ ‘®“and 8 e , ‘ . , w V,
v rwo’truditm tL,t A
•
' tui,,* i« if t e, V»fl
£“1 tnpp 5 Inwcr ’dfrths ‘ l we
* V ’ it is of orange or rod. or tvdoi »
0 Hea anemones, corals, shrimp
nm! red*or lhu hpil , if . nt Vue ^
times “^1 it “ is nurc* "<-arlet ami in “*“• •
f Not
a a green h or blue fish \ is found .' The oi-au' * ? ;o
P,* V* ., , 6 V‘ ..., s ,* ? ° t ec i 0I .V’ , ut ,!
ocemi'mukchlm . r hanke 1 t , , K™ .
or red a -,,uvir
of a neutral tint, and hides it from it.
enemies. Many animals are black, oth cm
neutral in color. Home fish arc provided
with boring tlflls, bo that they can bnrrow
in the mud. Finally, the surface of
submarine mountain is covered
shells, like a sea beach shown,-that schoolsW it is
the eating house of vast carmv
or0 us animals A codfish takes a wh oio
digests into its mouth cracks the shells rest'
the meat and spits out the
Crabs crack tho shells and suck out the
rneat . In that way come whole mounds
shells that are‘dredged b up,"-Golden F
Argosv * '