Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-01-08
WAS 1T a MIRAGE.
New Theory OF the Cause of the Vile du
Hasre Disaster.

A New Theory OF the Cause of the Vile du
Hasre Disaster.
The New York Daily Bulletin
publishes the following interview,
which is curious if nothing else:
The captain of the steamship Java
which arrived at this port on the 18th
OF this month, gives the following as
his oppInion as to the cause of the
late disaster to the steamer Vile du
Havre, viz; That fata nlorgana de.
celved the crew, and consequently
the passengers met their most depIo-
rable fate DO an optical illusion called
mirage or, in other Northern lam
guages, hmmung. Mirage, as most
of our readers are doubtless aware,
is kind Of optical illusion arising
from an unequal refraction in the
lower strata Of the atmosphere, and
causing remote objects to be seen
double, as if reflected in mirror, or
to appear as if suspended in the air.
The lndistinct and magnified appear
ance of objects seen in particular
states of the atmosphere is species
Of mirage. The mirage is frequently
seen in the deserts Of Persia, Tar
tary, in lower Egypt, and also on
the plains of Mexico and in other
places, whereof the French physicist
Blot, in his '.Astronomie Physicale."
vol. l., gives very interesting details
The mirage, for instance, presents to
the caravan Of weary, exhausted,
and thirsty wanderers the appear
ance Of water, which induces them
and, more so, their fatigued camels
and parched horses, to hasten in the
direction of the vision in order to get
the means of quenching their thirst
They find, alasl too late, that only an
optical delusion had led them astray,
and are doubly disappointed at last.
In those deserts generally the OBJ
jects themselves are seen, besides
reversed image of them in the air.
On the high seas, however, often
three images can be observed, one of
the object itself, in direct way, and
in an upright position; next, one IN
the water reversed and caused by its
mirror like surface; and thirdly,
reflection of the former but in an
upright position. "Fata Morgana"
is pretended fairy, which, by the
superstitious Si3ilian fisherman, is
held in great dread for the fatal con-
sequences she throws upon them by
leading them astray through her fc-
titious objects. She brings forth her
mirage rising from the sea by the
water evaporatiDg heat OF the sun,
aud they are the more deceptive, as
they originate during serene, warm,
and quiet weather. They gradually
transform to strange Ikenesses of
ships, towers, castles, and so forth,
and deceive even the scientist. BY
the motion of the water and that OF
the air those insubstantial pictures
receive motion themselves, and thus
get that magical appearance which
is usually the case with those appar-
itions of the Fata Morgana peculiar
to the Sieilian coast, near the Strait
Of Messina.
A distinguished passenger of the
Java Mr.. Moses L. Beach CHE for
mer proprietor of the Sun, asserts
that be witnessed some such appar-
ation-that is to say, in looking from
one part of the ship he at one and
the same time observed heavy rain
pouring down: while looking imme-
diately afterwards, at the phenomen-
on, from another part of the same
vessel, he did not perceive the least
particle of the said occurrence, and
could not observe even drop OF
rain. The idea is, then, that the
supposed apparitional place of the
sailing vessel Loeb Earn, resulting
from observation made from differ
ent part of the Vile du Havre from
that which would have sh own the
true position of the former led to the
fatal belief that the distance between
the two was greater than It really
was, and 50 produced the collision:
The conclusion, therefore, is arrived
at that, for the avoidance of similar
collisions in future, observations-es-
pecially when the atmosphere is un-
usually loaded with the watery va
por which brings forth those reflect
ed images-ought to be made from
two different points, and these as
wide apart as possible. 1t may be
fancy that the awful disaster alluded
to was the product of an optical al
fusion, but in seeking to arrive at
the real cause of the catastrophe fan.
cies as we'll as facts. as aids to inves-
tigation, may not unreasonably be
taken into account.