The Dickinson press., 1889-06-01
GREAT MOON STONES.
SOME ROCKY SHOWERS THAT HAVE
FALLEN OUT OF The SKY.

corded OH the Subject-Somc of the Re-
markabie Acrolitic Demomstrations-On One
That Required Three Days to Cool.
1.-THE heavens declare the glory of God and
the armament shewcth his handiwork."
What more striking evidences of oinnipotent
power, of the immensely of space. or of the
utter weakness of humanity and their inabil-
ity to cope with the clements, could be pre-
sented than in an article giving in chronology
ical form NJ account of all the immense
masses Of stone which have entered our at
mosphere from tie boundlcss regions known
to astronomers as space
The word 'aerolitc" is from the Greek
aer, dir, and lithos, stone, literally air
stone" Some writers classify these sky
stones under three heads: :Aerolites. those
composed wholly of stone: lero-sidcrites and
siderolitcs. OF the last two the former are
composed of masses of mctcoric iron and the
latter of n conglomcrate of stone, iron,
nickel. sulphur and other mineral substances.
The older writers, Pliny, L.ivy and others,
seem to have used the word %acrolitc and
meteor Unfortunately. The meteor, us We
understand it now, presents itself TO the gaze
i'll the form of a shooting star and leaves
no visible trace of its visit. On the other
hand, the aerolitcs and the other ''itcs" noted
above fall with n loud, kissing sound and jar
the earth for miles around when they come
in contact with it, often burying themselves
many feet in the ground.
Every country and every age has its semi
historical traditions concerning the fall of
immense stones. Livy tells us. not of the fall
of n single %aerolite, but of n shower of stones
which fell about the year 654 B. c.. Oh Il
mountain near Rome. The Arundal Marbles,
or Parian Chronicles, which are marble tab
lets giving in chronological order events in
Grccian history from about l5S2 b. G. down
to 2G B. G., give an an account of Il great
stone which fell at lEogostami about tho
year 461 B. e. Pliny, who died in 20 a. d.,
says that in his time the great air stone WAS
still to he seen on the llclicspont and adds
that it was then about the size OF II wagon,
but as to the size of the wagon he leaves tho
reader in the dark.
The evidence adluccd from the writings of
Livy and Pliny were received by scientific
men as exaggerated fancics, a failing to
which all the early writers, with few cxcep-
tions, We're given.
A SHOWER IN NORMANDY.
In 1903 q perfect shower of litllo-missilcs
rained around L':Aiglr, in Normandy, on
Al'l W. Az. pioti III ~ = ilOlltlIlGl
and philosopher, was dispatched by the Royal
society to make n full investigation of the
reported stone shower. Well did he perform
the task, for since that time n man who
would make pretensions to scientific attain
ments and yet doubt the reality of the fall of
air stones would be as pityingly regarded as
the psor fellow who insists that the world
is as fiat as n pancake" Up to the end of
the ycar ISIS there had been bet W $50 and
800 authentic recorded instances of the fall
OF stones from the outer regions of space;
the supposed falls and those unrccordcd are,
OF course, still more numerous.
The stones usually fall singly, sometimes in
pairs, and less frequently in showers. The
showers were those at Isnsislleim in l49aa, at
Mort in 1850, at Aire in 1868, at Juliac in
1880, at Sienna in 1894, at Benarcs, India, in
1898, at L'Aigle, as about mentioned, in 1903,
ut st. Germaine in 1908 and at New Con-
cordia, o., in lSG0.
All of those which occurred prior to the
L'Aigle shower were given the scientific cold
shoulder until after the Investigations of Pro-
lessor Blot ut the last named place, since
which time more credence has been given the
testimony of eye witnesses to the other oc-
currences.
DR.. Andrews, of the Society for tho Adj
NullSclllcIll VI Nclcllcu, LONDON, REGARDS the
New Concordia incident us bein. the most re
markable authenticated instance of n shower
of stones ever recorded, partly from the fact
that there were SO many eye witnesses to the
phenomenon, it having occurred in broad
daylight. The day was beautifully clear, not
a cloud marred the azure of the armament.
Suddenly a loud noise resembling thunder
was heard. The inhabitants cast about for a
cause of the uncanny disturbance, some of
whom were fortunate enough to sec the great
masses of stone IN their downward flight,
falling like Llcifer, never to rise again. Ono
of the stones, about tho size of a patent
bucket" fell near where n rustic Concordian
was working in n field. AS soon as tho farmer
recovered from the shock caused by the awe
inspiring sight he set about digging up the
wonder with his hoe. When found it was
about two feet below the surface, wcdged
tight against n ''nigger head, still warm and
of u dull c~crulean hue.
> The number of stones which. fell at New
Concordia during the shower tho writer
has never seen statcd-perhaps 100, or may
be ten times that number. Nearly 5000 fell
during the L'Aigle shower on an e~lliptica,
eight miles by four, none of which weighed |
over seventeen pounds. The most remark
able circumstance in connection with the &C.
currence is the fact that as many rs 500
weighed within half n pound of the largest
one. These stones were nearly all three sided,
the entire surface of each being coated with
n thin varnish like substance, almost black.
Several of the New Concordia stones weighed
between twenty-five and seventy-five pounds.
A BIG ONE.
Jan. Z, 1877, according to Tho Eureka
(Nev.J Sentinel, the most remarkable single
y,,occ an ,nopvl faIl ~ a. e.-i = =.
mond mountain, near that place. The spot
where the aerolite came in contact with terra
firma was composed of solid stone, quite as
. hard as the composite material of the air
stone itself, consequently it lay on tho surface
glowing at q white heat several hours before
it could be approached.
An hour after the fall the distance of 100
feet from the white hot mass was quite un.
comfortable, and strikingly reminded tho
single awe struck visitor, u Mr. Wheeler, of
the place Bob lngersoll denies so veEemcntly
This Eureka wonder fell about 4 O'Clock in
the morning on the date given above OH q
ranch teDantcd by tho gentleman above
named. Wheeler heard the racket, and, be.
sides, says he felt tho jar quite %forcibly. He
arose from his bed, dressed himself and start
ed on a tour of discovery, soon finding the
cause of the disturbance. He states that he
tried to approach it, but did not succeed in
getting nearer than 100 yards, except OH one
side. where a large bowlder shielded him from
tho heat, until tho next day noon. After
three days had elapsed it had cooled suth-
GENTLY to admit of his chipping off a piece
which he took to Professor Whacke, the as
sayer at Eureka, who declared that traces Of
gold and other precious minerals were quite
apparent. This aerolite measured 81 feet in
length, IS feet in width and 6 feet in height,
and would, of course, weigh several TONS
John w. Wright in st. Louis Republic.
A marked man.-The tattooed individual at
the dim museum.