Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-09-02
A CALIFORNIA WATER-SPOUT.
Il Singular Phenomenon att Langley Mill
POnd-Six Hundred Acres of Water
Lifted Up to the Clouds. .--erses-sa-.

Il Singular Phenomenon att Langley Mill
POnd-Six Hundred Acres of Water
Lifted Up to the Clouds. -erze--sa-a. .-n
From the Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, Aug -
A dense cloud was first seen ap
preaching the pond, being apparently
a considerable distance up. Nothing
particular was thought of it, the citi-
zens Of Langley being at the time
occupied in trying to keep cool, hard
thing to do, with the thermometer at
100 degrees in the shade. But present.
ly startling circumstance occurred.
The clouds had haulted over the pond
and established connection with the
latter. A genuine water-spout had, in
fact, been evolved, and an immense
quantity of water was rushing sky
ward through the liquid conductor
When first seen, the water-spout was
near the dam, and travelled slowly
across the pond until it reached the
railroad trestle work, distance CT
mile and quarter from it's starting
point, when it disappeared, and the
cloud moved mejestically off, carrying
with it thousands OF gallons of water
which had been drawn from the pond
The latter covering an area of 600 acres
was, in actiowered fully two inches. The
hughe column which joined the upper
region to the expanse Of water below
horizontally with exceeding rapidity.
The marvellous speed with which the
colun turned impressed the beholder
Immediately that it was associated with
a whirlwind. This was most probably
the case, as tremendous wind passed
over Augusta from the direction of
Langley some hours afterwards. The
heavens were brilliant with incessant
flashes of lightning after the spout
described above had disappeared.
There was no rushing noise connected
with it, as is the case insome instances.
The water underneath the clouds Just
before the spout formed was in state
of great agitation. Waves rolled an
grily and a preceptable bulge was
seen. AS the cloud halted sort of
funnel / rotruded from it and dropped
slowly down, becoming larger as it
heightened, the larger portion or base
being at the surface of the cloud.
When it reached a point about one
fourth the distance between the cloud
and the pond the bulge on the surface
of the latter rose to meet it, and the
two at length joined, when the water
from the pond commenced ascending
into the cloud, which moved slowly
towards the trestle work. The waves
in the waterfall leaping and tending
toward the spout-and the spout itself
continued the verticle motions referred
to above. The outside of the watery
funnel was dark and not well defined,
while the centre was much lighter,
being rather of a blush cast. This
would seem to indicate that the column
was partly hollow, the dark portions
representing the sides. There can be
no doubt but that the immense quantity
of water which was transferred from the
pond to the cloud was Literally sucked
up. The spout finally disappeared, as
if it had been drawn bodily up into
the cloud, while the latter quietly
( moved off to parts unknown. Not a
drop of rain fell during the occurrence
or afterward. The formation and sub
sequent motions of the spout are de-
scribed as having made up spectacle
grand in the extreme. Nothing of the
kind was ever before seen in that
SSCulOu. Lie StIauSeSG DdIt Ol UIo
phenomenon was the fact that the
cloud, SO burdened with water, moved
off without dispensing any of it in the
form of rain in the neighborhood.
The following interesting statement
was furnished by gentleman who re-
quested Mr.. VIM. Phillips, civil en-.
gineer, to make the calculation.
Area of mill pond, 900 acres; depth
of water diminished, two inches by
water spout, which prevailed for about
ten minutes. The superficial area OF
one acre is 1850 square feet; the
decimal for the depth Of two inches is
0,1666 Of foot: hence 43, 56Ox. DIG
$4,000 cube feet is the quantity
taken from one acre-and then g.
966. 6Ox600 gives us 4,1S1, 76O cubic
feet as the whole quantity taken
from the mill pond. The cubic root
Of this last is about ISL feet, so cube
of that size would nearly measure the
quantity of water taken off. This
quantity would make column ten feet
in diameter, So, 243 feet high-rather
more than ten miles. At 62a pounds
to a cubic foot, the above 3,lS1, $50
cubic feet would weigh PSI, 100000
pounds.