West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1886-07-09

oi starting CNplNslOu~ btnw OCCASION
ally heard i'm tho parayuaNo which
they believe 10 hc made b., the mount
aims m their efforts tu cast forth The
precious S'Oucs hid,icn IN their bowels.
This notion Is much the same ms that
entertained by the Rocky mountain
Indians seen by Lewis and Clarke In
the Black hills the Indian, hauy offer
ing> on the trees, Cr place them on
rocks, I'm places where the mysterious
thundcringS arC heard. To opropitiatc. as
they say, the "lurdS of the mountains, 10
II appears probable that the real cause
of these singular explosions I'm mount
ain regions is the bursting of tho,c
rounded. hollow concrction- on mdu-
rated nodu'cS called goodies. What wa,
observed by Father NaSconccllc, i'm
Brazil IS good evidence oi this. The
Indians of the Sierra Piratiniga. had.
Doubtless. satisfied themselves i'm re-
gard To the matter ages before As
the Indians of the Rocky mountains
believe the sounds TO bo produced by
the mountains when I'm labur to bring
| forth the precious metals, It is not nm
! hkely that they may have occasionally
| seen the glittcring crystals Strcwn
about 10y the bursting of geodc II is
| probable that the air within the gcodc
Is 50 expanded 10y heat as to cause an
explosion; and where the gcode con
tains both air and the water of crystal
! lization, the growth of tho shooting
| cry Stal may so compress the confined
air as to induce or AT least contributc
| toward the sudden bursting.
About Aurora. and i'm various places
| i'm the mountains OF the southeastern
/ part Of Nevada. gcodcs are abundant.
| Some of those found about Aurora con
tain beautiful cly stalls of various colors.
! I'm Nye County, in places in the range
of mountains which lies across the
south end of Smoky valley, the ground
Is covered with goodies OF all sizes.
many of which are lined with CRYSTALS
/ of various hucs ON some of the mount
/ aims the ground is filled with nodular
masses, and they are dug out hv spCci.
men hunters like so many potatoes; In.
deed, in some countries they are called
\ potato stones NodulcS of iron are
| often found i'm sandstone that are Il foot
! or more in diameter. These are some
/ times hollow, while others are found ia
/ be lilled with an ocborous earth. The
/ shells arc oi iron ore. I'm that part OF
/ the Black hills where Hunt and MKm-
/ ne heard the mysterious explosions.
! there are tremendous ellis composed
| chiefly of sandstone, and this stone i,
/ probably of "a ferruginpus nature, Liable
to be prolific of gcodcs
Those who do not believe that goodies
are capable Of producing the strange
! discharges of .mountain artillery
have only % place one I'M the fire of n
/ blacksmith S forge and blow the bel
lows for shout time. Tho man who
shall make this experiment. willj be
convinced gcodcs will explode. suppos-
ing him TO survive 10. Whether ii is
the heat of the sun or the pressure of
internal growth that causes these nat
ural bombshells 10 explode, it is hard
TO say. I'm some instances it is. per
caps. owing TO the one, anI i'm Others
TO the other cause. Both i'm the Rocky
mountains and in the Black hills at the
time the sounds were heard. il was i'm
August, when hot weather doubtless
prevailed In South America and Bra
I'll the days are, of course, very hot.
except during the rainy season But
the explorers i'm the Black hills assert
that they heard the booming of the
mysterious guns of the mountains by
night as well as by day, therefore we
must conclude that these curious for
nations frequently explode themselves
through internal straining, as did the
frog that was trying to swell himself
TO the size Of the or SaH Fj0uc&cO
BOsi.