New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-01-08
A State ana Wonderful Appear.
:1SSC.

AbOut'oae o'clock yesterday no:ninI some
Of the residents in the western part OF this
city were startled by observing what seemed
Il column Of flame fifty or sixty feet in height
shooting up out Of shaft near the Old Ophir
works. 1t was st Grst-thought that the old
tinbers Il the mine were on fire. and three
or four ran to smothering the flames. On
reaching the shaft. however, they found that
there was no smell OF smoke, and also that
the supposed fire was 4 light unlike anything
they had ever before seen, in it's weird white
ness, and III the strange corrusca,ions Of its
component particles. In the light shed about
the faces o. The ren wore corpse Ike pa!lor.
Two or three Of those present were miners
returning from work with their dnnot pals
in their hands, and it was observed that the
pals (iu) appeared of q brilliant steel blue
col,r. Their clothing and hair also par;ook
Ia some degree %! the same CHASTITY and III
natural color. The light came up the III!
size "f the large square shaft. and seen it a
distance us it rose up through the failing
snow, closely rescmbled one Of the shooting
spires seen III the aurora borealis, and il
seemed TO have something Of the same wav-
ing and incODstant motion.
Although the man felt creeping over them
sort OF superst:tious awe, they still had
sufficient courage to approach tho shaft and
gaze intoit. A strange sight was there seen.
The whole interior of the shaft seemed TO be
at white heat, and glowed like furnace
The tinbers on the sides were particularly
brilliant, and each splinter, eEerescensc, or
bit OF fungus seemed darling dazzling rays
that streamed steadily out in all directions.
a warm, steatuy current of air assembled
lroiA the sweltering regions below, aud there
was observed sickeding, musty smell.
All those who looked into the shaft after
ward felt severe pain in the temples, and
two or three were made sick at the stomach.
This singular appearance lasted for nearly
half al hour after it was first observed. and
before IL was all over eight or ten men.
mostly miners returning from their work al
various mines tit being about the time of
changing shiits), had collected about the
shaft. The light died out from the top down.
ward, and protubcrances from the Sides Of
the shaft continued to glow for some minutes
after the light was no longer visible above
the top of the shaft. The light would seem
to have been caused by the bclch:na forth of
some kind OF highly phosphorated gas from
some OF the deep underground chambers in
the old abandoned works. The rush of gas
!or gas OF some kind it must have bccn-was
rf"pably caused by an extensive cave in some
place where tie old timbcrs had rot.cd aW:av.
One Ct the men who had the fortune to
witness the strange phenomenon is Of the
opinion tia; the mixing or n.ing!inc of Tie
gas iron The mine with the atrlosp heric mir
had something to do with intensifying the
light, as he observed in the ascending cur
reat OF pseudo flame nlyriads of small par;i-
Giles OF some substance, globues of yapor or
something Of the kind, which appeared to
flash and sc!ntilate rs they darled upward,
ana winch presented in the general column
OF light much the same appearance as notes
moving about in sunbeam.- tUGinia City
Enterprise, Dec. :.