Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1879-03-21
luminosity or cLoUDs, ET

the Snowy Range, some eight mics
west Of Georgetown, Colorado. It
hung there all the afternoon, Int. soon
after sunset the clouds became heavy |
and vely dark At nine O'Clock they
came rolling over the tops Of the
mountains that form the narrow cam
son that walls hi Georgetown. Ny
record reads: "The clouds. as they
rolled over the mountains, whose tops
they touched, were luminous, as
though they reflected the lurid light of
distant fire, while the cauguTI
seemed filed with aH atmosphere Of
pitch darkness. Tbs pEletanneiiAi
WAS succeeded by a heavy rain and
lhail-stnrns.v Mr. Harris, who is en-
gagged III mining, told NE that one
might, about the middle IT July, he
was Suddenly envelope.i l'y a dense
cloud, which, for few moments,
caused Egyptian darkness Sudden
Ily the whole mountain, tie Republic
an, whore he was, btc ane illuminated
as bright as with a full moon, and he
4 had no trouble to find the trail that
He'd to town. Bot when he stood on
the verge Of the canyon, on Democrat
mountain, which overoeks George
town, he saw the tops If Griffith
4 mountain, OH the east Of the canyon,
and Leayenworth, OH the south, like
wise Illuminated, VIII le the canyon
seemed filled with ink. Nj. 0Leary,
i the FIRST Sigma! Office observer upoa
Pixies Peak, informs rae that no heavy
clouds pass over the Peak at night
: without the summit becoming lumi
: mons, oltca affording sufficient high
to read the instruments by; Nd tia
e at al times, when a heavy cIodd over
/ hangs the Peak, blue Electricity play
c up and down The stuyepipe, as thongl
1 burning alcohol was intermittent.
poured eG ihc pipe above. He COZ
firms ti,c observations Of nyself an
Others, chat the vapar in the center {
the hail cloud is always luminous
and huns ike an electric battery j
Operation. The hail and sn,w faliin
from it rattle like metal, aud spark
" fy from it. Like the hail-storms {
Egypt, fire runs along the surface
= the earth. 'rhere was hail, and FL
' mingled with the hail, and it broa
" every tree in the fieldY "LambeI
" flames" under electric clouds, are see
= to play upon the crowns of the Ande
the Alps, the Himalayas; in fact,
- high mountains everywhere. and a
~ a well established phenomenon. !
~ ter night, sometimes, there is seen
= volume, apparently, of fame burstil
y I. from tue mountain and throwing
- self into the overhaneing cloud, VIII
the cloud Suddenly coliapses and ia
- :. ii q cataract Of water upon the mot
tain. This causes the phenomen
!, called cloud-bursts in the Roc
mountains. | was so fortunate as
see this phenomena take place on
La Plata, near Leadville, Colorado,
the night of September Sd, 1878. Y
id lightning commenced in the clG
as soon as it had broken loose tr
vas the mountain and had drifted over
iu' Twin Lakes; masses of clouds Il
'en- came from Grizzly Peak. Mt Elh
u'u and Mt. Massive. They united "
isS- the storm-cloud in the rear. aud
aho tended it westward back over
lou. mountain again, Instantly Mt.
oon Plata burss out into flame, wi
was struck the cloud. The latter sudt
The ly vanished, having collapsed,
j fell in cascade upon the mount
This is the phenomenon appropria