The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-08-07

the top of Mount Davidson from
every direction and were there con-
densed. The water poured in tor
rents down the steep sides of the
mountain, and had it continued an
hour, as it did for fifteen minutes, it
would have swept the canyon bare
of houses, mills and other prop
erty and done incalculable
damage. A similar storm
which continued longer, occurred in
Ell Dorado canyon, opposite Dayton,
on the east side of Carson River.
The water came down like a wall
six or eight feet high, and swept the
canyon of everything that was be-
fore it. Wagons loaded with wood
or silver ore were carried miles be-
fore it, to the Carson River. Life
was only saved by the transfers
leading their teams up the bank
above the coming waters. Ross
Browne describes one of these local
storms in Esmeralda County, where
several lives were lost:
= 1t seems to me the theory above
is more philosophical than that
which would be inferred from the
phrase clouG-bursting. These local
storms are more frequent in coun-
trles where they do not have general
rains through the year, and where
the soil becomes nearly dry. These
storms generally OCCUR in the hot
test and driest part Of the year,
when the atmosphere is void of
moisture or VapOrS, and cOnse-
quently of electrical non-conductOrs.
When clouds are formed and con-
Quoting bridge is opened from
the clouds to the earth, the cleo
tricity is drawn to that point, and
with it the VapOrs, then a so-called
cloud burst occurs. For several
weeks l have watched the clouds
forming and coming up from the
southwest; they hover over the
mountains and generally distill
some of their moisture on the noun
tains to the southwest. They will
then gradually and grandly swing
across the valley to the highest
points Of the Wasatch range, as
though they were drawn by attrac-
ton, which is really the case. There
again they were sufficiently near the
earth and cool, damp atmosphere to
form an electrical connection and
heavy rains were the result. On
the mountains to the east, every
motion of the clouds l have OBJ
served confirms the theory of an
electrical cause for storms. To show
that cold alone will not cause con-
densation of cloud Yapor, it is only
necessary to observe a cloudy day
when the thermometer is below
freezing point. If cold would
cOndense vapor there ought
not to be cold, cloudy
days; but by the electrical
theory Of condensation it is per-
fectly consistent. Electricity will
cause vapOrizatiOn in any tempera-
ture, however low, and the reverse
action will cause condensation in
any degree of cold. WomdA, in cold
climates, frequently hang their
Washings ina cold upper chamber
to freeze dry.
Electricity under certain circum-
stances will dissolve gold and silver;
under other circumstances it will
VaporiZe ice or freeze linen dry; I'M
der still other circumstances it will
cause local floods, called by the ridi-
culously unphilOsOphical phrase of
cloudburst, not alone by the ignor-
ant, but by the newspapers IN Cali
fornia, Nevada and Utah, the writers
in which are presumably cOnversant
with the subjects they speak upon.
As great local disturbances of the
atmosphere are called cyclones, l
would suggest that those terrible
local electrical rain storms should
be called 'electrOneS."
". r. FRINK.