Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-05-23
FIRE FROM THE ROCKS.
THE FAIEoUs LUMINOUS STONE OF
SALT LAKE
Yankees Trick in Tndia-PhOs-
phOrcs; ent Diamonds and H ain -
Heat Developing Light.

sdlu hllHeIdlOSlsJ u L Iullduelpula
Times writer, handing out a piece of
stone that was of light gray color and
seemed to possess no particular interest.
Just step in this dark room, and now
rub the stone on the wall"
The writer did so, and streak of red
light was the result.
PhoSphoresceEceW queried the some
what startled observer.
"No. 1t is nothi ig but simple lime
stone from the region about Salt Lake.
Some time ago some laborers were dig
ging out the foundation of house when
they came upon ledge of this rock that
was so soft that it was found not neces-
sary to blost. The contract for building
called for the completion at a certain
time, and so gang of men worked all
night by an electric light, but the first
man that struck his pick into the rock
dropped it and rushed out of the cXcava-
tion in such a manner that the others,
demoralized also, left and when the
boss demanded the reason the man said
that he had seen a spirit, or had struck
the evil regions, for as soon as he touched
the rock Il stream of red fire came out.
The overseer of course doubted the story,
but jumping in he struck blow with
bar that went far toward coroborating
the others story, >as no sooner did
the iron touch the rock than a flash
of red light ensued that lasted sew
eral minutes, finally, slowly dying
away. Itwas found that the slightest
touch or scratch produced the same re-
suit; in fact, the rock was phosphores-
cent. A simple scratch on this, you see.
makes light that will last two or three
seconds. 1t is limestone, indeed almost
pure carbonate of lime with a few i'm
purities. Examining it under the glass
it is found to be loose grained, so that it
really appears like sandstone.
"You know" he continued, 'there
are some objects that only show their
luminous properties on exposure to heat.
Subject this to heat and it will glow for
three or four minutes with q rich, red
light, and then die away entirely A
piece was recently exhibited before the
Philadelphia academy of sciences and
the members made the interesting dis
covery that in their collection was an
other specimen of similar limestone.
but from Kangberry, India. A gentleman
who had visited the locality told me a
curious story in this connection. 1t
seems that several years ago a genu-
inc Yankee from Vermont found himself
in Calcutta with less than enough money
to buy him a dinner and his sole property
an electric battery. He had been little
of everything in his time, but had de-
voted most Of his energies to collecting
minerals and curiosities of all kinds, and
when he found himself in the lurch, as it
were, he determined upon starting through
the country and trusting to luck. He
was very successful at sleight of hand
and easily made his expenses. In several
months he found himself at the locality
before named, and in prowling around
discovered the luminous limestone by
accident. With mother wit he deter
mined to take advantage of it, and in
a day or 50 the little village in which he
was staying was full of rumors to the
effect that a wonderful wizard was among
them who was enabled to work marvel
GUS cures by drawing fire from the rocks
and imparting it to the patient.
''In the meantime the American had
erected hut near the ledge of rock and
was visited by hundreds, and rugged up
with a curious costume he carried on a
business for some time that made the
native cure-alls wild with envy. His
method was to take a number of persons
into the hut, and with his fnger-nails,
that were sharpened for the purpose,
scrape down the side of the limestone
that left marks of lurid flame, of course
astonishing to behold; then joining
hands with several and having the bat
terry concealed he gave them a shock that
they thought came from the rock. No
doubt it did them some good, and for u
long time he did thriving business,
until finally a rival appeared in the field,
and he was obliged to leave the place.
"The subject of the phosphorescence
of inorganic matter is of great interest,
and experiments are being made in many
laboratories. Curiously enough" said
the mineralogist, "many of the discov-
cries that have been made regarding Or
ganic phosphorescence have been the re-
suits of efforts to manufacture gold. You
see that is worth the labor of the chem
ist 1t has hardly been done, though l
know man who claims to have discov-
cred the process and expects to flood the
market-so the first success-perpetual
motion machine will probably be made
of this manufactured metal.
Gone of the first experimentalists in
the gold-making line was Vincenzo Cas-
tinola, a shoemaker, of Bologna in the
sixteenth century. He was famous
chemist of the time, working alternately
at his shoes and his drugs and bottles.
The real reason. however for his investi-
cations was to find out the secret of gold
making, and one night, in walking in
the country, he stumbled over stone
that was so extremely heavy in compari-
son to others that he took it home and.
beginning his experiments, discovered
phosphorescence, which he considered
the element of gold. Not being able, how
ever, to get the gold out he took it to
another noted chemist and for many
years it was the subject of innumerab!e
experiments and attempts to obtain the
gold as the stone had the then remark
able faculty Of shining in the dark with
a golden CLEAN after it had been exposed
to the rays of the sun. The stone is now
we'll known as barytine, that is phos-
phorescent after insolation. The curious
mineral is still sold in Bologna as the
Bologna stone and explained as solar
light.
"The discovery that diamonds are
phosphorescent was made in 1863 by
Robert Boyle and created great sensa-
ton. A diamond was shown that looked
like burning coal in perfectly dark
room. An old chemist of Hamburg
while trying to manufacture a gold
H11id rnndn ncilnnfnllu n cIh