Breaking the Prairie 



Nor is the lightning the only cause of anxiety. 

 Heavy rain usually accompanies these storms, 

 and is often very welcome, as in our case ; but 

 instead of this, there sometimes comes the dreaded 

 hail, ruining hundreds of acres of promising crops. 

 The stones which fall are positively dangerous, 

 and I have seen a building with the paint partly 

 chipped off by them ; at such times horses are 

 apt to become uncontrollable, and if harnessed, 

 the best course is to unhitch them if possible, 

 and seek shelter for oneself under the wagon. 



There may be parts of the earth where such 

 storms are worse (Darwin, in " The Voyage of the 

 Beagle,'^ tells of good-sized animals being killed 

 in South America), but a heavy prairie hailstorm 

 seems bad enough. 



Lightning-conductors are of course often fitted, 

 but the average homesteader is so busy, and has 

 so many demands on his pocket, that the practice 

 is not very common. 



But even the lightning has its humorous side 

 ^K>r the hardy, hopeful prairie-folk, one pro- 

 fessedly serious account telling how the lightning 

 ^Kruck a shack, rendering the baby unconscious 

 ^H>r a time, and then made its way out through 

 ^Tne keyhole, ruining the lock, and adding that 

 when the door was opened the dog was so terrified 

 ^^he bolted out and was never seen again, 



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