Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-10-08
A Most Important Question to all HUI
mainly Intelligently Discussed
By Experts.
Remarkable Fact That Storms Rave
Followed Nearly Every Great
Battle of History.
The Recent Experiments Prove En-.
tirely sful--PrOf. Newcomb
Scouts the Idea.

1t rained after every experiment mad
with explosives by Gen. Dyrenforth il
Texas recently, but this circumstance does
net deter TIE scientist, Prof Newcomb
from maintaining that forced precipita
ton Of moisture by defamation is an i'm
possible acc omplishment. The practica
man and the learned theorist present tn,
opposite sides of the question in the cur
rent number of the North Ameri
can Review and the reader is given
ample opportunity to form his owr
conclusions from the facts and postulates
offered. If he is not at loss after perus
ing the arguments as to which side to fa
vor, the chances are that he will pin hi,
faith to the practical side of the question
But it will be generally admitted that
General Dyrenforth rather detraots from
the force OF his argument when he says:
AS long ago as the time of Plutarch i:
was "a matter of current observation thai
unusually heavy rains fall after great bat.
ties, and it is not impossible, according
to the theory of the commingling Of air
currents, that such rains might have been
produced by the great battles of ancient
times. Let ten thousand Greeks march
into battle chanting their 'paans" and
shouting their ''allallas," beating time
meanwhile on their shields, while a hun
dred thousand Persians are advancing
against them, continually shouting their
terrible battle-Iries; then let the great
armies rush together with the tumult of
clashlng swords and shields, the fierce
shouting of the multitudes, the hoarse
death cries and shouts of victory, and
surely the sound waves rising from such a
din will literally shake the heavens, and
ale capable OF producing so insignificant
effect among the volatile currents Of the
upper air. Moreover. the heat generated
from the struggling 4sses and the mois
ture evaporated from their perspiration
would exercise decided influence in dis
turbing the equilibrium of the atmos-
pheric conditions.
That mere armies of struggling men,
scarcely more consequential in the extent
of space than so many fighting ants,
should be able to exert an influence on the
clouds above so great as to produce rain
verges closely on the ridiculous. When,
however, Gen. Dyrenforth commences to
enumerate the. many instances where rain
has at once followed heavy cannonading
in war times he begins tos hake ones con-
victior about the impossibility of one cir
cumstonce depending on the other.
| He cites many instances oc-
curing during the -Prussian war
to prove the reasonableness of his theory
and then alludes at some length to the
publication many years ago by Mr.. Ed
ward Powers, of Delevan, Wisconsin, of a
work entitled War and the Weather,
which contained many statistics concern
ing the sequence of transforms after bat
ties. From the statistics published in Mr..
Powers book, it is found that heavy rains
followed almost every engagement of i'm
portance during the civil war, and so far
as can be ascertained, the same phenome.
non was common during the Mexican war
upon the arid cactus plains of that coun-
try. A notable in:tance of its occurrence
during the Mexican ar was at the battle
of Buena Vista fought on the 22d and
23d days of February, 1647, in the midst Of
the dry season in that region. The facts
as they occurred on the second day of the
battle, as related by Brevet Major Genera!
II. W. Benham, of the United States en-,
gineers, are as follows:
Between and 10 a. N. the artillery
was engaged in heavy firing, and between
II and 100 clock most violent rain" fell
In the afternoon the cannonading was re-
sumed, and in about two hours after i5
ceased another violent shower of rain
fell. ""And what consider the sdtisfac.
tory proof" says Gen. Benham, THAT this
was caused by the shocks to the atmosphere
produced by the cannon firing, is that no
rain had fallen in that vicinity for many
months previously-I was told six or eight
E1onths--and none fell, as I kno,0 was the
case, for three or four months after the
battle, as continued at that position
The battles OF Palo Alto, the siege OF
Monterey, Contreras, Churubusco, Moline
del Rey and Chapultt pee were all fought
during the dry season, which in Mexico is
very severe, and each of these battles was
followed by heavy rains. Mr.. Powers
mentions 1873 battles of the civil war, in
Guiding every battle of Importance, which
were Immediately followed by rain, as he
has definitely ascertained. These storms
were generally heavy, but varied some
what in proportion to the magnitude OF
the engagements. Aruiy officers give
their testimony that rain fell Immediately
after the battle of Antietam, Fredericks.
burg, Charlottesville. Shiloh, the Wilder
ness, Stone River, Spollsylvania, Shelby
vile, Cold Harbor, Chicamauga, Peters
burg, Five Forks and Vieksburg.
Gen. j. McNul.a contributes this i'm.
portant straw to tho controversy:
Soon after we crossed the Boston noun.
tains (Arkansas) we found light breeze
blowing against the mountains from the
| opposite side We had some ARTILLERY
fring-say thirty OF forty rounds-neaI
Lees creek, early in the morning, with q
clear sky. Here | remember that it WIS
urged by some of our officers that artil
lery should not be used On the small
number of the enenly.s cavalry that were
in front Of US. for the reason that it acOutd
bring on rain, and whereby retard us in
pursuit of the enemy. We got the rain
in less than two hours. After the firing
after the capture of Van Buen alse we goi
rain In few hours.
The results of Gen. Dyrenforth' recent
experiments in Texas are almost too re-
markabIe to be regarded as simple coin
. cidences He TINS tells of item.