The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1874-08-13

An astronomer who CLAIMS 70 Know Wuefe-
of he speaks, contributed paper to the
Washington Chronicle, about ten days ago,
in which the present extraordinary spell OF
wea her" is accounted for by attribating it to
the disturbing influences Of the new comet
upon the earth's atmosphere. The article
was written about the lst of August, and the
writer stated that the greatest disturbance
would occur about the 10th, and the TACT
that the 10th of August seems to have been
the centre Of some sort Of an unusual at
mospherical arrangement, gives color Of
plausibility to the writer's story. He says:
The rocky nucleus of this fan-tail comet,
travelling with its amazing velocity, pro-
duces its own bright tail, the result of fric-
tion, and leaves its marx and shining par
ticles behind it, las the phosphoric match
exhibits its own glittering particles on
WALL. That fan-tail is composed of angular
bits of the magnetic ores Of the nucleus,
sparkling by friction in the crystal Light Of
their own fires, and some Of them will be
scattered upon this earth in shower, and
they will be attracted most BY the magnetic
ores of the Allegheny and Blue Mountains,
and the inhabitants OF Pitnburg, Harpers
Ferry, Harrisburg, Lebanon and Reading
will be able to prove the materiality Of this
comets tail-the particles of which will
reach the earth at high-noon, on Monday 10,
and will continue to fall for forty-eight
hour. This storm or shower Of phosphor-
escent minerals will be seen in the daytime,
the sun and sky will be red with the smoke
Of mineral particles, and Sill be clearly WIS.,
ible in the interior Of the angle bounded BY
Piusburg, New York and Washington. 1t
will not be merely an electric storm, but
more magnetic-an electromagnetic storm
that will make the needle of the compass
culver, and twist the telegraph instruments
into mass of confusion-and hope hail
storm will not eclipse the grandeur of the
scene; and as the swoop Of the comets tail
hurled the lightning Of our atmosphere upon
Pittsburg, Erie and Wehawken, the result OF
that swOOping and expanding power will
greatly increase the explosions and combus-
tions OF the meteoric shower, and those sal
| very metallic phosphorescent angular bits Of
the comets tail will spread their friction
fires or the mountain heights.
There are good many "silvery metallic
phospherescent angular bits Of hiialutin in
this mans manner Of telling his story, never
theless he seems to have had correct idea
of the condition Of things and though his
prophecy has not been fulfilled literally,
the phenomena of the last few days have re-
sembled that described near enough to war
rant us in concluding tina. the mans pre-
dictions partook more of science than Of
guess work. The statements contained in
the following paragraph, from the same let
ter, also tend strongly to confirm our faith in
the writer's pretentions:
On the 10th of July 1 gave information,
by communication in the Washington
Herald of July IL, that the beautiful comet
then exhibiting its brilliant fan-tail had
been seen before, and at each appearance the
earth had been visited by storms, foods, etc.
with other violent electric phenomena, and
ii would be followed shortly by another
comet that would aid in disturbing the at.
mosphere of the earth. That information
has already been fulfilled by the terrible
storms of Eureka, Nevada, Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania, and other places, and the
new comet made its appearance on Sunday
last. Those statements, as published q
month ago. have therefore been already
verified, and they were not based upon an
alogy, the argumentative weapon Of specula'
tive and superficial investigations, or reason.
ing, the common, fallaciOus procedure Of
protesting astr. nOmers to establish import.
ant positions: but these statements were
founded upon the indubitable testimonies Of
observation.
| The writer does not base his statements
upon the deductions Of Theoretical science
but upon the result of careful observation
during the last forty years, which shows, he
says, that the appearance Of every comet
during that time has been Immediately fol-
lowed by disturbance of the earth's atmos-
phere, maniiestsng itself in demonstrations
similar to those he has described.
We do not pretend to he far enough sup
in astronomy to he able to describe the
cause, character or effect Of comets, nor
have We lived long enough to demonstrate
| any OF these things by experience, but that
extraordinary parturition Of nature which
gives us, all at one litter, chinch bugs, grass
hoppers, drouth, simoOms and hundred and
ten in the shade, makes it very clear to the
unscientific and inexperienced mind that
there's a screw loose somewhere