The following appeared in the _Irish Times_ (Dublin, 1884): “It is not
generally known that the country people along the line of the electric
railway make strange uses of the insulated rails, which are the medium of
electricity on this tramway, in connection with one of which an
extraordinary and very remarkable occurrence is reported. People have no
objection to touch the rail and receive a smart shock, which is, however,
harmless, at least so far. On Thursday evening a ploughman, returning
from work, stood upon this rail in order to mount his horse. The rail is
elevated on insulators 18 inches above the level of the tramway. As soon
as the man placed his hands upon the back of the animal it received a
shock, which at once brought it down, and falling against the rail it
died instantly. The remarkable part is, that the current of electricity
which proved fatal to the brute must have passed through the body of the
man and proved harmless to him.”