, 1873-12-27
ANOTHER NEVADA PHEn0 MENON.
Il Column Of Pia0Hpiiorcsccnt EInnsc @
sixty Feet III GNHiEht.

Il Column Of PiaOSpiiorcsccnt EInmc
Sixty Feet iii 1uei.Ilt.
Tho Virginia Oity. (Nov.) Enterprise, Of Dec.
7, contains the following: About 4 o'clock
western part Of this city woro startlod by
observing what acclned u column of ilame
fifty or sixty foot in height shooting up
out OF shaft near tho old Ophir works: 1t
WAS Mt first thought tint tho old ti1nhers i'll tho
n'ine were on tire. and three or four men ya,,
snlothesng tho flames. On roaohillg tho sLaft,
however, they found TINT there was no smell Of
emoke, aud aso that the supposed fire was II
light uulike anything they had over hofore aoou,
cationR Of ita component particles. In tho light
shod about, tho facea Of tile meu wore n corpse
like palior. Two Or three Of those proHeut wore
milters returning from work with their dnnor
pulls IN their hands, md it was observed that
the pals (ti) appcarod Of a brilliuut steol-hluo
color. Their clothing and hnir also partuol it,
aomo lo2ree Of the Bano ghastly and unnatural
color. Tho light cnnlo up tho full Hlzo OF tho
largo square allnft, and. aeon ut II distance Oh it
1850 mp through tho falling Hnow, closely reAon-
blc OF tho shooting spires seen III tho aurora
boreals, and it seemed to llavo something Of tho
saitlo waving and ineonH.unt mutton. Although
tho Mon folt creeping over then, sort Of super
stlcous awe, they still hnu sufficient courage to
approach the shaft aud gazo into it. 4 Btra!,go
sght was thoro see1,. The wllole interior Of
tho shaft seemed to be at white heat,
aud glowed like furnace. Tho ti1nburs On tho
atos were particularly brillinnt, a,al encll spliu-
ter, oxcrosonue. or bit of fungus seemed dartng
la2zling rays that Btreamod steadily out i'll ali
directions. warm, steamy crrront Of air
aHGoMted from tho swelteriug regions below, and
thore was observed sickcl.ing ,a11Bty smell. All
tlosa who looked uto tho shaft nfterward folt u
soyoro pain in the temples. and two OF tllrco wero
ntado sick ut the stomach. Thia singular aN-
pearango lasted for nearly hnlf Oil hour
after it wns tirBt observed, AMI before it
wns all over eight or ton men, mostly
miners returning from tl1oir work at various
lninoeG Gtbeing about tho time Of changing Bllifs),
lad collected about the shaft T4o light tlio;l
out iron. the top downwards, and protuhor-
glow for houe minutes after tim light was no
lougor visible aboyo tho top OF the shalt. The
light would Beeln to have been caused by the
hoIclling forth Of some kind Of highly ph0sphor-
nte1 gus from 8onle OF the deop underground
chambers in tho old abandoned works.
Tho rush Of gas-for gas Of Homo kind it must
have bool-waa probably caused by IN offensive
cave-in Bomo p]ace whore tho old timbois had
rotted away. Ono Of tho n1en who Ind the good
fortune to witness the strange phenomenon iG OF
the opinion that tile mixing or mingling Of the
gas from the nino with tho atmospheric air Ind
something to do with lntensifylng the light, rs
ho observed in tho ascending current OF pslledo
haule nlyriads Of Hnlull particles Of SOME sub
stance, globules Of yapor or something Of tho
kind, Which appeared To tnsh mud scintilnto as
they dartod upward. and which presented i'll tho
general column Of light much tho sumo appear
anco as notes moving about in sunbeam. The
but was supposed BY thom to be o stream OF
light thrown up into tho mir, and reflected from
tho falling SNOW, by some largo rollecting lam
tQru."