Freak Bolt that Hit the Keen Stables Near Libertyville.
Skin of 1,500 Horse Had Many Perforations.
And the Strangest Thing is That Dwight Major, One of the Finest Horses in the Stable, is Now Recovered.
Many stories are told of the curious and strange pranks that have been wrought by that mysterious something-electricity, Lightning in particular comes in a flash and usually leaves death and destruction in its wake as though to demonstrate the mighty power that it possesses.
One of the strangest accidents heard of in some time occurred at the Keen Brothers’ stable in Libertyville a few weeks ago and for some time it had the proprietors as well as many others guessing as to what had really happened. The night before there had been a big electrical storm and on opening the barn the next morning Dwight Major, a beautiful black gelding valued at $1,500, was found to be acting very peculiarly and on investigation blood was found oozing out of his legs from hundreds of little perforations. Directly behind him on the floor lay the shoes from his hind feet, which in some unaccountable manner had been removed slick and clean, but with the nails still clinched and bent over as they were left by the blacksmith when last he was shod. The hoofs were not injured and holes were left where the nails had been pulled through. The horse also had an other deep gash on the jaw bone and the eye ball of one eye turned milky white and remained that way for several days until it gradually came back to its normal condition. The animal was stiff for several days but it is now believed he has recovered without any serious effects. Dwight Major is one of the finest appearing and best mannered horses in the stable. A jet black and with a shade of white about the eyes, which gives him an odd appearance. They consider him a most perfect horse and the owners are congratulating themselves over his recovery.
Two other horses in the barn also suffered, one of them a running horse, is still stiff and will never again be valuable in that line of work again. These horses were at the extreme end of the row of stalls, while Dwight Major stood about in the center, but what or how the damage had been done was not discovered for some time. An investigation of the barn revealed the fact that a bolt of lightning had struck the barn near the north gable and left a large hole and a heavy timber that was its patch had been torn to splinters and the only trace that would indicate where it had been was the nails sticking through the siding. The path of the bolt was traced down through the hay but what became of it afterward has not yet been discovered. The horses injured were in an addition to the barn and along the manger ran a strip of metal which is supposed to have carried the current. The horses standing back escaped the shock and the three that were struck were probably eating out of the manger at the time. That is the solution of the mystery or at least the most plausible theory that can be advanced.
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