PECULIAR EFFECTS DUE TO A LIGHTNING DIS- 

 CHARGE ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN IN AUGUST 1900. 



After a period of long continued drought, when the ground 

 was very dry, a thunder shower arose in the Adirondacks, which 

 passed east, crossing Lake Champlain over VVestport and along 

 south of the crest of Split Rock Mountain. No rain fell north 

 of the top'of the mountain, but a very severe storm passed to 

 the south. When the storm had nearly disappeared, a sudden 

 discharge of lightning passed down from the clouds, striking 

 about half way down the northern slope of the mountain, entirely 

 outside of the rain area and into the dry trees and rocks. 

 In about a half a minute a cloud of what appeared to be dust 

 could be seen rising from among the pines and juniper bushes. 

 This, however, in a couple of minutes proved to be smoke, and 

 in less than five minutes a very well developed forest fire was 

 under way. Fortunately, a number of persons saw the discharge 

 and saw the fire start, and immediately hastening to the spot 

 were able to extinofuish the fire before it had burned over more 

 than a small fraction of an acre. 



The peculiarity of the discharge was immediately observed 

 upon coming upon the locality. An old pine tree seemed to have 

 received the most severe part of the discharge and was badly 

 split in the familiar manner. In addition to this, however, a num- 

 ber of places were immediately noticed where the lightning had 

 struck either into the rocks or into the dirt overlying the rock. 

 In two cases the discharge into the rock was of such force as to 

 split the rock, tearing up fragments weighing as much as fifty to 

 one hundred pounds and scattering them about. In other places 

 the discharge upon the rock was comparatively slight, producing 

 simply small fractures in the rock, and in some cases the effect 

 was so slight as to simply remove the dry moss, leaving a 

 small white spot not as large as the finger-nail. These partial 



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