South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-04-28
VIII o, the Wisp and His Relations.

WHETHER called Ignis Fatuus, Jack o.
Lantern, or VIII O. the Wisp, there can be
no doubt that nocturnal lights are real
phenomena, susceptible of a scientific ex-
planation, when all the facts are collected
and compared. OF course, illusions, more
or less ludicrous, are now and then mixed
up in the matter. On some occasions,
real lanterns of humble make have been
mistaken for these nocturnal sprites under
odd circumstances. -1r- .t .-t---. .-..--.
Abut twenty years ago, the household
of country residence, within sight OF
low swampy tract of meadow, were start
led one September evening, and the super
stitious among them frightened, by the
appearance of strange, waving, wandering
lights, which continued for several hours.
The motion of these lights was very eccen-
trio, and they trsyersed the district IN
every direction, up and down, Backward
and forward Ali night this continued.
As the day approached, the lights vanish
ed, leaving the observers to account as
well as they could for the phenomena At
length some of them, bOlder than the rest,
having examined the ground by daylight,
and discovered neither sinking bog nor
any other pitfall that would be hazardous
after dark, resolved to ascertain the real
nature and origin of the lights. They
went on the following night, noiselessly
and secretly, and followed up the dancing
lights till they came close to them q When,
lof the mysterious visitors proved to be.
lanterns tied by collars to the -necks- OF
small well trained settlers, in the service OF
poachers who, with nets, were thus pur-
suing their notwithstanding almost
every head of game on tine estate.
1t is by this time pretty well ascertalned
that most of these appearances, which
consist of glow without fame, are due
to phosphOresence. The strange sub
stance phosphorus exists in all animal or
ganisms; and. when, the organism IS de-
Composed after death, the PHOSPHORUS
makes its presence visible in the way so
familiar to those, who have ever seen stale
fish in a dark cupboard, But when the
phosphorus enters into new combination
with hydrogen and other gases, or when
these gases form infanmable mixtures
without phosphorus, spontaneous combus-
ton is likely to arise, and small flames to
If decaying animal substance yields
more phosphorus than decaying vegeta-
bles, the latter are a more abundant
source of inflammable gases; and hence
the fact that bogs, marshes, morasses,
swamps, moors, damp meadows, ditch
sides, etc, are the places in which the
ffickering noctural lights are mostly to be
seen produced by the combustion OF the
gases liberated from haifdecomposed
roots, stems, branches and leaves. Par
ticular states Of the atmosphere hasten
decomposition, and the lights are more
abundant at such times
There is also another agency which has
to be noticed, electricity, a power that
flies about all terrestrial things in way
not vet so well explained as chemical
combustion and ignition Electricity
does, undoubtedly, produce luminosity,
more or less vivid, and under varying con-
ditions. When we rub the furry coat OF
a cat backward in the dark, luminous Ell
feet is well known to be produced; and
similar instances are numerous. There IS
a phenomenon known as st. Helen's hre,
gradually corrupted into st. Helme's tlre,
and st. Elmo's fire, consisting OF lights
seen on the tips of soldiers lances, the
top-masts of ships, the spires of churches,
and other pointed objects. Whenever
they appear the air is in peculiarly cleo
trical condition; and they are now reek-
oned among electrical phenomena, de-
pending on the same principal as the light
which streams off from points connected
with an electric machine.-AH the Year
Round.