Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-03-30
showers OF Flesh ana Showers of
/ Blood.

d The so.called "showers of flesh" in
Kentucky last week have been authenti-
lated and the substances analysed. What
= ELL, il not flesh, were tleshy substances,
. Ind history gives us numerous instances
: II illustrate the truth Of what is stated. 1t
! i'll be seen that there have been showers
blood and showers of earth, as we'll as
: flesh. We copy the following, as very
: feresting, from the works of Flammari-
= Joe, published by the Harpers:
= In the early part of July, 1893, one OF
i thsc pretended showers of blood fell in
Y th outskirts Of AK Tin Provencc) and
4 thi shower extended to the distance of
hal league from the town. Some priests,
whittier being themselves deceived, or
wishing to work on the credulity Of the
people, at once attributed ii TO diabolic in
| tiucnec
| fortunately, a person of education,
Nj. dt Pciresc, examined very minutely
into dis apparent prodigy, studying in
particular some drops that fell upon the
wall Of the cemetery attached 10 the prin-
cipal church in AK. He soon discovered
that they were in reality the eXcrements OF
some butterflies which had been noticed
in large numbers during the early part Of
July. There were no spots OF :he kind In
the center of the town, where the butter
flies had not made their appearance, and
none were noticed upon the higher
parts of the houses, above the lev
oil 10 which they flew. Besides,
the presence of these drops in places
protected from the air rendered 1t impos-
sble that they could have their origin in
the atmosphere. lie at once pointed this
. out to those who regarded the occurrence
lts miraculous; but, in despite of the
ldroofs which he adduced, the inhabitants
e. ersisted in attributing these drops TO II
he \pernatural cause.
r.. 4 Severally speaking, showers Of blood
al mot only red spots produced by Ger
As insects, but regular showers, colOrcd
cv Ne dust which the wind carries into
re utr This general origin was not as
NO snned until the present century. On
n. Ma Ia, 1913, one OF these strange show
Tn uin in the Kingdom OF Naples and
II. ufe Calabrias. There fell large drops
1t CO.. - > th rain, which many persons took
I'd III W A similar shower of reddish
st I .ha,, orrcd at the opposite extremity Of
ne , hoiuI4 This dust was of yellowish
er nue, HNcinnamon, and had a slight
W eai,iy "a; il was unctu0us 10 the touch,
~ anu Seehyough glass, contained small
e; anu anu mar bodies resembling pyroxene.
le i tieas at n,embrOwned ii, then made IL
/. oiach, anu ally gave il reddish tint.
le AFTER me acg of the heat, this dust dis
" Piayeu, even the naked eye, an immense
r. huilocI Vi VII and brilliant points,
v hhlch were oNellow mica. Its specific
). gravity iseprived Of hard sub
- Stances, was q it was composed Of
n siIlcla, oo'Vi ai0nium, 155; lime, ll,5 {;
acid, 80.
z Whence came,is dust II was Couud
4 IihpoSsioie 10 a7cenp at that time. 1t
. was hot unlll loi1at general exam.
n ihat!oh u tlcse iaiiyas made and their
WiBih louhu ny ioIiopg them up into
o sPace. IN INC autuA Of this year u
shower OF feduish SIN and earthly rain,
which was popularlyeonyerted into a
shower Of blood, occurg in the Sc,l,h
of France, at the same mo that a cv.
clone swept over the Atptic. Fournet
gives calculation whicIahows thai in
the Department Of the Drde tho clouds
must have taken up from, nd AGAIN dis
charged upon the ground . enormous
weight Of TO tons. EhrenBp who an.
alyZed samples Of this ear found in
them seventy. three organic Srmations.
some Of which were peculiar tSouthern
America This earth must theforr have
come from the New World. r. inter.
val Of time between their leavinIAmeri.
ca, October 10, and their arrival inNrance.
October II, was about four daysgbicb
gives a speed of about 1874 yarn per
sedbnd."
This recital Of the showers Of hood
shows us, first, that they are really:
secondly, that they are mostly duGto
| dust taken up by the winds into very d.
! tant regions; thirdly, that they are not In
| frequent, AS they have occurred on nd
less than 2lO occasions during the present
century In Europe and Algeria. These
remarkable showers mostly take place In
the spring and the autumn, at the epoch
OF equinoctial gales.
There are many instances cited In which
nutritious substances have descended in a
shower. Thus, in 1924 and 1928, there
was shower so abundant Of this kind,
in one Of the districts of Persia, that II
covered the ground Ia the depth OF five or
six inches IL was kind Of lichen Of a
sort already known Cattle and sheep de-
youred 1t eagerly, and some bread was
even made Of it, The descent of a soft
Substance Mnschenbroeck states TO have
occurred in Ireland in 1919. This was
glutinous and fatty, and s0itened 8wben
held in the hand, and emitted an unpleas.
ant smell when exposed 10 the action Of
the fire. ". J. ErpTeSs.