Illness of Prof. T. A. Edison.
MENLO PARK, N.J. Nov. 6.—Prof. Thomas A. Edison has been prostrated since Tuesday with a severe attack of neuralgia, which has confined him to his bed at Menlo Park, New Jersey, his physician allowing him to see no one but his immediate family. He has been subject to these attacks for some years, but never before in such serious form. His condition yesterday was greatly improved, and, although he has been suffering much, no serious apprehension is felt for his recovery.
(The New York Times, November 7, 1878)
Destructive Prairie Fire—Much Property Destroyed. SIOUX CITY, Iowa, Nov. 6.—A fire which originated in a field near Eden, in Southern Dakota, on Saturday, from the explosion of a kerosene lantern, spread with terrible rapidity over the surrounding country. The grass was exceedingly dry, and the flames, driven by the wind, soon extended over a wide area. From the elevated position occupied by the town, 13 farm-houses could be seen in flames at one time. More than 40 farmers in the vicinity are said to have lost everything—houses, barns, hay, grain, seed and other property. The fire traveled with such rapidity that in many instances the occupants were unable to save anything. A large Norwegian church and a school-house were among the buildings destroyed. It is also reported that a child was fatally burned, and that its mother was terribly burned while endeavoring to rescue it. The poles of the telegraph line were burned, interrupting communication and preventing the receipt of full particulars. The people who have suffered by the fire are left in a condition of great distress, many having lost their homes and the means of subsistence. The grass had grown rank during the preceding season, and the long-continued dry weather had left it exceedingly inflammable. The origin of so destructive a conflagration in the accidental explosion of a kerosene lantern is a striking warning of the danger attending the use of such lights in the dry prairie country.
