DEATH BY LIGHTNING.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1871, 2 January 1875, Page 3

DEATH BY LIGHTNING.

-■ Our -Ballarat correspondent, writing on Wednesday, says :-^" An awfully sudden death .occurred to a- fine young lad. this morning, under most painful, circumstances'.'" About a month *go, Mr Robert Wright, farmer, near tho Dowling Forest Hace-course, died rather suddenly from inflammation, caused, it was thought, from taking a heavy drink of cold water when heated. Mrs, Wright administered his estate, and had a/br6ther, Mr Fiiher, and a brother^a-law, Mr Walls, whqacted.-as trustees.- She, received.in* formation;yesterday afterapon that"the Sresence of the trustees was required in allarat to-day, and sent her eldest son, Iltobert-r-a fine lad of 15, in whom she had centred" all her hopes, of being, able? to 'struggle through the world'a widow—lait night to notify the trustees to attend in town to»day. "He-stayed with; «ne of them all night, and'returned home this anorningi arid after breakfasting he went-up to:the field where a few men were at ,work mowing a road round fche crop for the mowing machine to get in. It was light-- • nirig^d'thundering heavily at'the time, ' and young Wright took up a rake to help the men,to get the swathe together quickly beforethe rain*fell heavily. He had hardly lifted the rake to use it, when \ a yiyid flash of lightning,, which was followed by a terrific crash of thunder, felled him to the ground ,a lifeless corpse. Mr Fisher, his uncle, had come over to the farm, and was about going <up to where Wright was when he heard the \ men cry. to him to come quickly; -he, leeing that some' one was down, ran up, but on' lifting Wright he found he was quite dead, and directed the men to „ carry the, body to the house. ' The crown o: the Mi hat tho poor lad had worn was 4x«*oked cufrj aud-"a fourth of iho front park of the rim rss oufe^dF-i* - vA'h -a smio ana axj xn. sni-eds on iho ground. The hair on the youth's kead was all singed or burnt, and" both ears were blackened. These \rero the only traces . of cite filijctric -Buid that Mr Fisher could distinguish. Wright's mother was almost ' frantic on hearing of this, second \ sufcEden bereavement. The police were communicated with at once,, and an inquest will probably 'be 1 Eeld to-taorrow morning. It was>alsp? stated that two fine horses/i^ere killed on another farm not far from Mrs Wright's by another- discharge ot electricity."—Australasian, Dee. 32. A