Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-05-04

WHETHER called Ignis Fatuus, Jack o
Lantern, or Will O the Wisp, there can be
no doubt that nocturnal lights are real
phenomena, susceptible Of a scientific ex
PLANTATION, 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.
Adult twenty years ago, the household
of q country residence, within sight of a
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 traversed the district in
every direction, up and down, backward
and forward. All 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, holder than the rest,
having examined the ground by daylight,
and discovered neither sinking bog nor
any other pitfall that would be hazardous
n,
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. When,
10! 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
<xcx hx, tot
1t isby this time pretty well ascertained
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 dark cupboard. But when the
phosphorus enters into new combination
with hydrogen and other gases, or when
these gases form infiammable mixtures
without phosphorus, spontaneous combus-
ton is likely to arise, and small flames to
be produced.
II decaying animal substance yields
more phosphorus than decaying vegeta-
bles, the latter are more abundant
source of inflammable gases and hence
the fact that boys, marshes, morasses,
swamps, moors, damp meadows, ditch
sides, ETC., are the places in which the
Pickering noctural lights are mostly TO be
seen produced by the combustion Of the
gases liberated from halfdecompOsed
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
cat backward in the dark, a luminous ef-
feet is well known To be produced; and
similar instances are numerous. There Is
a phenomenon known as St. Helens fire,
gradually corrupted into st. Helme's fire,
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 reck-
oned among electrical phenomena, de-
pending on the same principal as the light
which streams off from points connected
with an electric machine.-AR tie Year
Round