Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1883-06-18
STRANGE PHENOMENsN.
The People of White Clay Creek
Hundred Excited over u shower
of StOuex

The Cecil Democrat contains a re
marketable story Of a strange phenome
non that occurred on June lst the sub
stance of which is about as follows
Mansel Tweed Ownsa flint mill stu.
ated on White Clay Creek, about three
miles north of Newark, Del, which
has heen operated for about two years.
The flint rock, however, in the imlne-
diate vicinity, has been exhausted and
the proprietor las been compelled to oh.
tain them elsewhere.
Accordingly Mr.. Tweed waited upon
James Crow, who owns farm situated
on the Big Christiana creek, not far from
its junction with the Little ChristiaDa,
and about three-fourths of mile north
of the road leading from Fair Hill to
Newark, and tried to purchase a lot of
flint stones, and rock fro him, but
was unsuccessful in making bargain.
He subsequently sent one of his quarry
men to Mr.. Grow, who was then in i'll
health, for the same purpose. This
gentleman, whose name is Robert Fer
Euson, in the course Of his ronversa-
tioE with Mr.. Grow, intimatsd to him
that he might rs well let Tweed have
the stone, for he (Crow) would not live
long anyhow, and Tweed would get
them after Grow was dead.
A few months ago Mr. Crow died and
the stone was purchased from his execu-
tors by Mr.. TwerG~ On Friday,
june lst, he sent lot of men TO the
woo'ls, where the stone was to he found,
for the purpose of raising the same and
prepare them for shipment to the mill
All went well unit! about o'clock,
when the wurkmen we're startled and
badly frightened by the fall Of quite a
number of stones Of various sizes, which
apparent y fell from the sky, and seemed
TO be propelled by some supernatural
ag"ncy. Or, to state the matter differ
eEtly, seemed to have been raised to a
great height by some supernatural
power, and to have reached the earth by
the torce Of gravitatior.
The quarrymen seemed to have been
too badly frightened to investigate thu
matter very thoroughly, and it seems
strange that, though the stones fell
close by them, none of the workmen
were struck. The stones continued to
fall every afternoon during the first
week in June, and on Thursday of last
week quite a severe shower of them fell
all around the 4uarrymen. The shower
was repeated on the Friday following,
but fortunately no one was killed or
maimed, though one large stone weigh
ing several pounds struck the hat brim
of one of the workmen.
Sometime last week Robert Crow, the |
son and executor of James Grow, who
had been quite skeptical in regard to the
strange phenomenon, visited the woods
to make an investigation, and while
there one fthe falling missiles fell at
his feet with such force as to bury itself
in the ground.
Levy Courtman James Mackey, of
New Castle County, in company with |
two neighbors, also visited the place, for
the purpose of frightening the quarry
men by throwing a few small stones in
a horizontal direction, through the un-
dergrowth in the woods, as they arpro-
ached them; but failed to do so, and
were told by the quarrymen that the
stones did not come from that direction,
but fell perpendiCularly.
One stone weighing about six pounds
is said to have been seen falling through
the top of II tree that is siXty-ive
feet high.
This strange occurrence has caused
great excitement in the neighborhood,
and, though much talked about, seems
as yet to be entirely unexplained, if in
Iced it is susceptible of any satisfactory
explanation or SOLUTION.
In connection with this mysterious
of the occult forces of ma
ture, if such it is, it is stated that the
farm on which the quarry is found was
the scene Of a bloody murder forty
-ight years ago, committed by one
Elizabeth Waggoner uron her aged
father, whom she stealthily approached
n the dark Of evening as he was cut
ing feed for his borSes in his barn, and
nearly severed his head from his body
with II broadaXa. She was tried at the
'nring term of the Circuit Court for
'rcil County in 1896 and acquitted on
he ground OF insanity.
The most singular part of this strange
lttair i, that 10 one has been hurt by
he falling missiles.