The true northerner., 1876-03-31

The special correspondent of the Lou
isville Courier. Journal sent to the scene
OF the late meat shower in Kentucky
writes as follows from Mt. Sterling i
have Just returned from jaunt through
a part of Eastern Kentucky. was
through portion of Bath county, and
in the vicinity of Frenchburg. few
miles from which place the most re-
markable shower since the deluge is
said to have fallen on the third day of the
present month. / refer, OF course, to
the shower of flesh which is said to have
fallen upon the farm of a Mr.. Allen
Crouch, as above indicated. Mr..
Crouch's farm is located a few miles
from the place of a summer resort known
as Olympian Springs, on the western
slope of the Cumberland mountains.
/ have seen some specimens of the
substance, and it does not look to me
like batrachian spawn, but it does pre-
sent a decidedly "meaty" appearance.
i have yet to see single person, who
examined the article that fell, and also
read Prof Smiths published analysis,
who has not said, in effect, that his
Judgment of it did not sustain the dis
tinguished scientist in his estimate of
its character. There is only small
quantity of this material now to be had,
but quite enough for another test of its
qualities in the laboratory, and, inasmuch
as the public seems to demand another
scientific examination, hope another
will be made and the matter settled in
disputably.
Capt. j. M. Bent, of Mt Sterling, is
said to have one or two small pieces pre-
served in alcohol. Mr.. Vanarsdale, who
lives near Frenchburg, is reported to
have in his possession fifteen or twenty
good specimens of it, and Harrison
Gill, ESQ.,, proprietor of Olympian
springs, has several pieces of it in alco-
hol. There is very little of it in exist
ence outside of the hands of the parties
mentioned.
Harrison Gill, of Olympian Springs,
sent some of the flesh to Capt. j. M.
Bent, and the following letter accom-
panied the package:
OLyMPIAN SPRINGS KY, March 13, 1876
J. NJ. BENT-Dedr Sir: / send you some of
the flesh. 1t fell two miles south of the
springs on Friday, the Sd of March, on the
farm of Allen Crouch. Mrs. Crouch and some
of her children saw it falling similar to snow.
Mr.. Crouch picked up these specimens in the
evening after it fell ana gave them to me.
There was none to be seen on the ground
when was there ON Sunday morning. / only
saw particles on the fence rails These state
ments / get from Mr.. A. Crouch as he got
them from his wife and family. The meat was
fresh as far as 1 could tell and see that it was
30, from the manner it stuck to the fence rails
and stained them. If l am able to get any
other information I will give it to you. am
yours, ii. GILL.
Allen Crouch, the owner of the farm
upon which the substance descended,
was asked what the flesh looked like
when he first saw it. He stated that it
looked more like thin slices of Missis-
sippi catfish than anything else he could
compare it to.
There are. OF course, number of in
credible rumors circulating about the
occurrence. Those which l enumerate
below all lack confirmation, and are
generally attributed to superstitious
origin.
1t is stated that Mrs. Crouch saw toe
and finger nails attached to some of the
pieces which fell. 1t is said that a man
named Eli Wills got some of the flesh
a few hours after it fell, took it home,
and wanted to eat it, merely to see what
it tasted like. His family objected to
his doing anything of the kind, but he
said he was fully determined to eat it
regardless of consequences. This re-
suited in hasty consultation among the
other members of the family, and Mr..
Wills was overpowered and locked up
solitary prisoner in his own ."castle
until the next day, and the meat was
secretly buried in the woods. 1t is said
that Mr.. Armitage, who lives at French
burg, saw the flesh quite early after it
came down, and while it was yet culver
ing. He attempted to pick some of it
up as soon as he touched it pain shot
through his arm, like q charge from an
electric battery, and the limb remained
partially paralyzed for half an hour
afterward. There is a family living in
the mountains, a few miles from
Crouch's farm, who have moral aver
sion to sheep meat. Some of the frag-
ments of the carnival shower was given
to them. They smelt it, and were en-
phatic in the declaration that the meat
was mutton. The "old man is said to
have issued immediate orders to his
household to get ready to emigrate, say
ing, "Had it rained mule meat, pole
cats, or me ct anything else, he could
nave SuOOu IL, DuU bQOWeT Ol muIUOu
boded nothing to him but distress and
starvation.
The people of Eastern Kentucky, as
many will remember, suffered great
deal last year from general failure of
crops. Gsunt famine stalked over their
counties, and but for the substantial aid
of provisions and money sent by their
kind fellow-citiZens from other and more
fortunate parts of the State, many of
these worthy people must have perished
from hunger.
The mails to Mt. Sterling, and the
adjacent postofices, have been consid-
erably increased during the past week
on account of the arrival of letters from
all parts of the United States asking for
specimens of the flesh, and particularly
about its fall. At first the recipients
answered them, but the number was
suddenly so much increased that no
man could attend his regular duties and
read them all promptly, to say nothing
of the impossibility of answering them.
There is enough in this event TO con-
vince me that the great want of the age
is a good first-class miracle it would be
a greater success than the concentrated
prosperity of forty centennials.