Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-04-21

history OF REMARKABLE BLOOD RED RAINS
The KENTUCKY STORY ROBBED OF ITS NOVELTY.
From tho Me-

HISTORY OF REMARKABLE BLOOD RED RAINS
The KENTUCKY STORY ROBBED OF ITS NOVELTY.
From the New York Herald
taxing the exchanges as an index of the
/ puDlic mind, there seems to be a decided
ulnerence OF opinion regarding the recent
extraordinary rain in Kentucky. Many. not
4tlsnec with accepting the story as true,
make haste to invest its natural wonder
with a touch of the supernatural, and ac-
cord to the phenomenon celestial origin and
signlheance. Others, while viewing the
matter more nationally, are still at fault
Shen they denounce the whole story as the
FABRICATION OF the Kentucky mind and re-
l1se TO entertain the possibility of such a
thing as shower of flesh The general ac-
ceptatlon of the word flesh, the difficulty
many people experience in getting it, and
the absence of scientific confederation of
the recent story, combine to make it unac-
ceptable to the general public. Il is not
the object OF this article to prove the valid
lty ot the Kentucky story, but to demon
strate its possibility in the light of history
and scientific authority. In the following
data events of far greater mystery than the
kentucky rain will be found, and in the In
gelow story is the account OF a rain which
IN many respects Is similar to the late phe-
| nomenon.
Christian Godfrey Ehrenberg, the great
herman naturalist and microscopic, men
tons elghty-one dust storms which took
place before the Christian era, and about
three times as many subsequently,. The
iormer OF these are rather speculative, and
a number OF the latter will be found IN his
" Micro geologic The cases which FOL
low are many Of them historical. and many
others will be found in the works of Won
/ m hn a
PHENOMENAL RAINS
On the 5th and 9th of November. AZ
there was great fall of black dast in the
neighborhood of Constantinople aud the at
mosphere seemed to be on FIRE. Procopius
and Marcellus sscribed it to Vesuyius.
In 652 red dust rained at Constantine
pie.
In SG9 red rain fell for three hours in
the vicinity of Brixen. in the Austrian ~
rol.
In 929, at Bagdad. there was great red
ness in the atmosphere and red sand fell.
In l056 there was fall Of red snow in
| Armenia.
In lll0, in the province of yaspouragan,
in Armenia, on dark night in winter. q
flaming body fell into Lake Van. Inc wa
ter became of the color of blood and the
earth cracked open in several directions.
ln 1919 or l222 red rain fell In Bohe-
mia. About this time there was fall of
stone and mass like coagulated blood,
with fiery meteor.
In Thuringis, ON the OH of November,
1913, ball OF fire fell with great noise ami
a reddish substance, like coagulated blood.
was etterward found on the ground
In Pomerania, 1857, there lell large fakes
| Of a substance resembling coagulated
blood
On the cath of December, 1860. at Lille-
| bOnne, in Lower Seine. France, there fell
meteor. followed shortly after by red
| rain.
At the close CT a terrible tempes. on the
5th Of July, 1852, there fell in Rockhausen.
in Prussia, a quantity of tbrous matter
resembling human hair.
At Nerden. in Hanover, on the 81 of De
eember, 1856, there fell large quantities 0t
matter, partly red aud partly black, accom-
| panied by lightnings and thunder and
fiery meteor, which burst with loud noise.
In August, l6ls, a meteor fell IN Styria,
accompanied by shower Of stones ard
ram of blood.
At Tournsy, in Belgium. 1898, a red rain
fell
In January, 1913. bloody rain fell at
Nachlgen, and at Weinsberg, IN the King
dom OF Wurtemburg.
During the month of May, 1862. immo-
diately following brilliant meteor, VS.
| cid mass fell.
On the 2sth Of March, 1868, there fell.
near Laucha. Prussia, a shower Of hbrous
substance like blue silk.
On the 3lst Of January. l6e6. there fell
simultaneously In Norway and in parts OF
| Pomersnia, great quantity OF membrau-
Gus substance, friable and blackish. some
what like half-burued paper. The Baron
| Theodore Gotthus anaiyzed a portion OF the
substance, which has been preserved in
cabinet OF natural history. and found in 1t
silex, iron, lime, carbon, magnesia, a trace
Of chrome and of sulphur. but not partl-
Gle of nickel, always present In aerolltes.
On the 24th of March, l7lS, on the Is
| land of Lethy, in India, there fell ball of
fire containing gelatinous matter.
On the l4th Of October. 1853, a blood
rain descended at LOcarnO, Switzerland.
during which nine inches OF rain fell, and
the red matter that was deposited during
the shower was found to be, by actual
measurement, an inch deep.
The same storm reached Swabia, on the
Alps, and on those high mountains 1t chang
ed into a reddish snow. which fell to
depth of nine feet.
On the Sth Of March, 1896, yiscid and
resinous substance tell near Bautzsn, IN
Upper Lusatia, composed of carbon, hydro
gen and oxygen. Chlsdin GuytOn de Nor
yesu and Blumenbach had specimens Of It.
Ii resembled in smell and color the dried
gum of juniper.
In july, ISL, there fell near Heidelberg,
in the Grand Duchy of Baden. a gelatinouS
substance following the explosion Of a me
teor.
On August 10, 1919, a mass of gelatin
Gus and very fetid matter fell a; Amherst,
in Massachusetts,.
On September 3, in 1919, at SUDDEN,
Mora7is, between eleven a. III. and noon,
the atmosphere being serene and tranquil,
there was fall of little pieces of earth
from a small cloud, isolated and very
bright.
In lS4l accounts were published OF two
showers of flesh and blood-One in Massa-
chusetts, the other IN Tennessee.
During the month of August, lo67, masses
of gelatinous matter containing minute
granules were found in the streets OF the
city of Albany.
OTHER HISTORICAL RAINS.
storm of red hail is stated by Hum
boldt to have occurred at Palermo. In Tus-
cany. March IA, 1913, there fell hail OF an
orange color.
In March, 1905. fall OF over five feet of
red snow occurred in Carniola, Germany.
The ground had been previously covered
with white, and the storm Of cOlOred snow
was succeeded by another, the flakes OF
which were, as usual. OF a pure and bril-
liant white. the two kinds being perfectly
distinct A portion of the red snow melted
in vessel and the water evaporated lett
fine rose-colored, earthly sediment at the
bottom.
Snow, colored brick red. fell n Italy in
1916 and in the Tyrol in 1917.
A black snow tell at Walpole, n. II. 50
intense in its color that correspondent OF
the Boston JouI nal remarks concerning 1t
- send you some writing written with
the snow as it fell. and with a clean pen.
The different colors of many OF these
snow DEPOSITS may depend upon the same
coloripg matter under different conditions.
Microscopic Investigations in different parts
of the world have revealed the cause OF
these dust storms and blood rains TO be
either portions Of various minerals OF shells
or inius )ria or parts Of plants and insects
carried into the atmosphere by the winds.
Infusorial shells and aquatic plants oil es-
pecial localities have been ldentlhed alter
having eros ssd the ocean and been deposited
in dust storms, thus tracing the aerial cur
rents. Ehrenberg found 800 different
species of organisms in the dust of various
showers of these five were of marine orr
gin. Humboldt treats very fully OF the
Subject in his 80 Ansicht der Natur" and in
his - Kosmos." Msury's" " Physical Geo
grapby of the Sea- has also some interest
ing facts on the same topic.
THE CRIMSON CLIFFS OF BEVERLEY.
In the first volume of Kane's - Arctic
Explorations,' page Al. the following.
which proves the universal character OF
these phenomenal rains. will be found; MY
| diary continues: We pass the Crimson
/ Cliff OF Sir John Ross in the forenoon OF
August 5. The patches of red snow from
which they derive their name could be seen
clearly at a distance OF ten miles from the
coast. 1t had fine sdeep rose hue, not at
| all like the brown stain which L noticed
uhan I was here before. All the gOrgeS ana