The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1872-07-11
81.
A BONE STORM.

A remarkable phenomenon-no less than the
falling Of millions of fish bones at Bunch's
Bend; Carroll Parish, Louisiana, on April 9Th,
during severe rain st0rm-is related by Mr..
Van Fossen in letter to the New York Jour
nal of Commerce. The correspondent, whose
truthfllness is vouched for, says that for a dis
tance of ten miles, to his knowledge, there fell
an unusual number of fish bones apparently,
most of them diamond-shaped. with serrated
edges. The samples enclosed in the letter are
bone, varying from one inch to two inches and
One-sixteenth In length, from seven-slxteenths
OF an inch to twelve Observation-Disclosures OF an
inch in breadth, from one inch to one inch and
nine-sixteenths in length, and from Oneand a.
half to three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness.
They are of an irregular diamond shape, the
characteristic feature being that at half of the
length from one point of the diamond they
suddenly narrew to onequarter OF an inch In
width. and form projection somewhat resem-
bling tooth. One side of the bone is nearly
fiat, having on the under side, which is worn
smooth, three small apertures, as if nerves or
tendrons had passed through them. The outer
edge on one side is serrated showing grooves,
as if worn by four tendons. The upper sur
face of the bone on the broad part, and farth-
est from the "tOoth," is wrinkled, and under
the microscope shows minute portions of sand
in the interstices. What they are is puzzle.
A theory which finds some favor is that the
bones which fell from the storm-clOud in Lou
isiana are the substantial parts of the scales OF
a fish of the sturgeon family, which frequents
the gulf Of Mexico and the vicinity of the West
India Islands At the time of the strange fall
of bone the wind was blowing from the south
west, from which it is surmised by some that
these bones came from the Pacific coast. But
this would not follow as matter OF course, as
currents of wind often change their course.
A theory is favored by the Journal Of Com
merce that these bones probably lay heaped
upon the shore of one of the West India Is
lands, where the fish had been driven up to die
by one of the fierce tropical storms so common
IN that region Piled there by thousands on
the sand, and under high temperature, the
animal matter would soon have left the bones,
when raised by some cyclone or whirlwind, 1T
is possible that water, sand, bones and ether
material were hurled through the atmosphere
with great rapidity and for many miles. The
question is then started, why were these pecu-
liar bones deposited in one place, and not mix
ed with other portions of the structure, to
which they once belonged? In answer, it is
supposed that when the force of the whirlwind
began to diminish. the specific gravity of the
fragments that had been grinding against each
other came into play, and each portion of the
load carried ON the wings of the wind sifted
itself from the general mass. The larger bones
and heaviest matter fell first, and when the
cloud reached Bunch's Bend, Carroll Parish,
the phenomenon occurred, which has been mar
rated Still lighter portions, sand, ETC., may
have been carried much further on and fallen
unmarked.