A violent thunderstorm may have saved a Cleveland man’s life in July 1905.
In the early morning hours, burglars broke into the home of Melville Morton, chloroformed him, and searched the house for valuables. Morton lay unconscious as the intruders made off with a small amount of stolen property.
Then thunder crashed overhead.
The sound woke Morton’s daughter, Leola, who hurried toward her father’s room and noticed the strong odor of chloroform. Realizing something was terribly wrong, she called for help.
Neighbors worked over Morton for nearly an hour before he was revived, turning what could have been a fatal robbery into a strange case where the storm itself became the warning.
Thunder Saves Life
CLEVELAND, Ohio. — The crash of thunder awoke Leola Morton, daughter of Melville Morton, early this morning in time to save her father from death from chloroform administered by burglars.
The burglars had broken in and chloroformed Morton and ransacked the house, getting a small amount of booty, when a terrible thunderstorm broke, awaking the daughter. She was hurrying to her father’s room when she perceived the odor of the drug, and called for help.
Morton was revived after neighbors had worked over him for an hour.
Source: New York Tribune. New York, N.Y. July 31, 1905.
