The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-08-24

here and there, but in an even,
straight line, not more than cubic in
breadth" OF all remarkable events of
this character, however, the most SEN
sational was the famous kentucky
meat shower" which mystified so many
people some twenty years ago. This
was at first regarded by many as a
hoax, but was found TO be veritable
occurrence, although hardly suscepti-
BILE of thoroughly satisfactory expla-
nation. This ''hesh-fall'' took place
on the farm of Mr.. Crouch, which
was in spot surrounded by high hills
and mountains, in Bath County, Ky.
The account given by Mrs. Crouch
was substantially as follows:
Between eleven and twelve o'clock
was in my yard, not more than forty
steps from the house. There was
light wind coming from the West, but
the sky was clear and the sun was
shining brightly. Without any prelude
or warning of any kind. and exactly
under these circumstances, the shower
commenced. The fall was of not less
than one nor more than two minutes
duration. When the flesh began to fall
l saw a large piece strike the ground
close by me, with snapping-like noise
when it struck. l was impressed with
the conviction that it was a miracle or
a warning. The largest piece that l
saw was as long as my hand and about
half an inch wide. 1t looked gristly,
as if it had been torn from the throat
of some animal. Another piece that l
saw was half round in shape and about
the size of half dollar"
An old hunter, residing in the neigh
borhood, on being shown piece of the
flesh. declared it to be bear meat, and
stated that it had that uncommonly
greasy feel' peculiar to the flesh of
that animal. A butcher who was per-
suaded to taste the meat changed his
mind about swallowing any of it, and
declared that it tasted neither like
flesh, fish or fowl. 1t looked to him
like mutton, but the smell was a new
one. Some OF the meat was quite dry,
and there seemed to be fine, wool-like
fiber running through it. A great deal
of the flesh was sent to chemists and
others in various parts of the country,
and analyses were made by several
well-known scientists. Prof j. L.
Smith was at first inclined to pronounce
it the dried spawn of frops, but as it
was found under the microscope to
possess undoubted characteristics pc
culiar to the flesh of animals, this
theory was abandoned. Perhaps the
most reasonable explanation is that of
Prof. Peter, of Lexington, KY, who
believed the fall of flesh to be simply
the result of a kind of post prandial
disgorging by flock of buzzards, who
had been feasting themselves more
abundantly than wisely on the carcass
of a sheep. This is the simplest and
perhaps. after all, the most satisfactory
explanation that can be given of the
supposed miracle.
OF showers of insects there are few
instances on record, and it is undoubt-
edlY true that the so-called colored
rain and snowstorms are in many cases
caused by minute insects and shells of
infusoria carried into the atmosphere |
by the winds. 1t is related in Rus
ian newspaper of the year 1927 that a
heavy snowstorm occurred on the 18th |
of October in that year at Pakroff, in |
the Government of Tver. This snow
was accompanied by prodigious num-
Der of black insects about an inch long, |
with fiat shining heads, antenna3. a vel
vety kind of skin, marked with rings |
or bands, and feet which enabled them
to crawl rapidly over the snow. Such
of them as were carried into warm
place died in short time, but the rest
alive for a considerable Pc
riod.
Colored snoYstorms were recorded
as long ago rs the sixth century, and
a shower of red hail is said by Hum
boldt to have once occurred in Paler-
mo. In Tuscany, on March IA, 1918,
there fell hail of an orange color. In
1903 red snow fell to a depth of over
five feet in Carniola, Germany. The
storm of colored snow was followed by
one of the regulation color. and the
effect produced by the separate layers
of red and white, which were perfectly
distinct, was very peculiar. A portion
of the scarlet snow was melted in
vessel and the water evaporated. when
a fine. rose colored, earthly sediment
was found at the bottom, Snow of a
brick-red hue fell in Italy in 1916 and
in the Tyrol in 1847. In the first vol
ume of Kane's "Arctic Exploration"
it is stated that when the ship passed
the crimson Cliffs OF Sir John Ross"
the patches of red snow from which
they derive their name could be seen
at a distance of fully ten miles.
There is a record of black snow in
Walpole, N. H., but snow OF this color
appears to be somewhat rare. There
is little mystery about these peculiar
however, since micro
scopic Investigations have from time to
time proved them to be caused by
either nOrtiOns Of various minerals