Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-12-13

iato hours, WHO tho gaze oil tho young
husband and vito strove vainly to pierce
into the blackncss of the giant ravino.
Won d they never send guides and men
from bclow2
As the husbands eyes strovo to pierce
tie thick darkness Oh his left hand, n
light suddenly seemed to shine out. lie
rubbed his eyes in amazemcnt-Was he
drcaminga What light could there be
down in the hollow OF that great ravinc,
where in the brighto't sunlight tho foot
OF man could scarcely daro to trcadl
Larger and moro vivid grow tho light {;
it had strange, uncarth,y crimson
glow; it seemed 10 talo the shape of n
square window. thinly curtaincd, that
appeared to move towards him in long
level lines airily fl ,atng over the tops of
what seemed to b, troos 1000 feet be-
low. Should he wakcn his orn-out
wife whose curly head was pillowcd
upon his broad shoulder and ask her if
she too saw that wonderful lighti
Could it DO an Illusion OF his mind
born only of intense longin, and de-
sirei
lIo touched her gently. "NelIic,
dear, do you sec anythin,9'
Sho opened her eye, and looked
about her in dazci way. "Wha: is it,
joint / see nothing, dclr."
He turned again-thc mys FERROUS light
had disappcarcd-again all was black
ness. ''It is as feared, only an opti-
cll Illusion" and he turned his face
away with bitterness, in his heart.
Suddenly, his vito impotuously
seized his arm. "Jolln, do you see that
and thal' Look, qu;c,> Thank God,
they arc coming out after us with Ian
ternsp'
John turncl quicky-ovcr The prcci.
picc below, where human foots,cp could
never tread, that mysterious light hal
rcappcared; in straight lines it was
floating towards them as + upborno by
some invisible power, a great, square
mass of briillancy, yet with n certain
vaguoncis, like the burning ghost of
the window of fire. lighted room.
"My dear" sail Jim, so!cmnly,
"that is no human lightr'
~. must be-lct us CALL" So
the lost husband and wife called
and callcd-no rcsponse-!ho mysterious
light would IL a. up toward, them until
it seemed within Il stones throw though
beneath, then caught i'll the tops Of the.
invisible frs it w.uli 10 blottol sud-
denly out; thick darkness, for few sec
onds and then this same light, OF was
1t another! would mystcriously rcappcar
at the bottom of Kings Ravinc and be-
gin its uncarthly march towards them.
For an hour the two lost climbers cried
themselves hoarse; no human cry met
their cars in respousc; for hours that
brilliantly lighted appar.t:on foatcd
past them, hooking them with its elu-
sivo beauty and brillaincy-then the
young wife sank back into her hus.
bands arms with bitter cry Of despair:
John. We are fa,cd to spend this night
on the bleak mountain sidc-that light
is nothing human!'
But two hours later the lirht of n
lantern swung by sturdy ountainecr
and the wcicom; sound Of human
voices greeted them, aad before mid
night, drcnchc and exhausted. they
we're on their way down the mountain
side.
What that mysterious light was ha,
never been discovered to this day. 1t
was no optical illusion, as the os.
tramper' feared, for the rcscuing party,
on the opposite mSuntain peak also saw
the light lowering over the untrodden
depth Of the great ravinc-,traneer still,
another party miles distant, sent out to
find the lost climbers. saw this appari-
ton, whi'c two gcntlem IN on the hotel
PIAZZA watched its course for over an
hour III the heart of the ravine. think
ing at first it must be the lanterns of
the rcscu.vi. S, it was seen bv
eight persons on tia. single night; it
has never been seen before or since,
though in his Autobiography Goethe
mentions once seeing similar apart.
ton while travelling over the mountains
at night.
Profc scr D of Tufts College.
who has mad, a lifelong st;.dy ,f
optical phenomena, WAS given n full
description OF the occurrence, and
could only answer that such a
Fight. with its description sub;
s'antially agreeing from eiyh. inlcpen
dent thinkers in varying positions and
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