Windham County Observer

8 Cows Killed By
Lightning Bolt In
Woodstock Pasture

Part of Holstein Herd, Owned By Leland Butts, Wiped Out As
Bolt Strikes Barbed Wire Fence
-Animals Valued at $1,000.

Eight Holstein milch cows, owned by Leland Butts of East Woodstock and valued at approximately $1,000, were instantly killed Saturday when a lightning bolt struck a barbed wire fence near which they were standing in a pasture on the John M. Paine farm near the Thompson town line in East Woodstock.

The bolt is believed to have first struck a wooden fence post near a large tree under which the animals had sought shelter from the rain. The electrical charge was conducted along the barbed wire fencing for nearly 1000 feet. The wire passes along the top of a wall at the spot where the cows were found dead. As none of the animals' carcasses was found resting on the barbed wire, it is thought that a shock from the charge killed them. There were no marks on the carcasses to indicate a direct hit. Little other damage was caused in the field with the exception of shattered fence posts.

Members of the Butts family recalled having heard an exceptionally loud clap of thunder at the time the cows are thought to have been killed. Mr. Butts mentioned at the time that the lightning must have struck nearby. They were unaware at the time of the proximity of the spot where the bolt had grounded. It is about one-fourth of
a mile from the house.

About three-quarters of an hour after the storm subsided, Archie Summers, a hired man at the Butts farm, went to the pasture to drive the cows home for the night. He discovered them lying dead with their bodies resting against the stone wall. Four other cows, pastured in the same lot, were not injured. They apparently had not been near the spot where the other cows were killed when the bolt struck.