Arizona weekly citizen. [volume] (Tucson, Ariz) 1880-1901, 1891-07-04
a RAIN MACHINE.

The fact was noted a few days ago
that one of the agents of the department
OF agriculture had gene to Dakota to
shoot for rain, and that he fired SO many
dynamite shots into the air that he per-
forated the upper reservoir till it leaked
like sieve, but after turning the water
on be didn't know how TO shut it of, and
the people were becoming very much
alarmed, thinking they should all be
drowned out. But there is a fellow
from Australia, living at present IN Ohio,
who can discount all that sort OF work.
He has invented a machine by which he
can cause ram to fall whenever he wants
it-not q mere sprinkle, on a few acres
at time, but regular deluge covering
whole states. He says he can bring rain
In from three to six hours. He has had
circular letter printed and will send it
throughout the country calling the at
tention Of the public to his invention,
which is patented. He announces that
he can cause rain to fall in an area of
$50 square miles.
A recent great storm in Ohio, which
washed out railroads, swept away bridges
and drowned anumber of people was his
work, and he apologies for the severity
Of the storm and says it was due to the
fact that he forgot having starting the
machine and allowed it to run a day too
long. This is dangerous man 70 be at
large, and something ought to be done
to regulate him.
We think we could stand it in New
Mexico about as long as his machine
could, but think what might happen in
some of the low and humid districts Of
the country IL the water should be
turned on and kept on for about forty
days. a Chicago agricultural paper sug-
gests that Mr.. Ignatlus Donpelly confer
with this gentleman and get con .rol of
his rain machince for the use OF the new
alliance party. 1t would probably be
more useful and less dangerous than the
sub treasury scheme. In Kansas par
ticularly drough has been the bane. No
more drough means no more crop fail
ures; and invariably good crops means
good times for Kansas farmers and no
need to borrow money by sub-treasury
or any other scheme. But by all means
let us get the rain machine out of the
hands Of the Australin, who ia liable to
inundate the whole country.-Albuquer-
que Citizen.
The foregoing reads very fine but it
goes glimmering in face of a discovery
once made by a Tucson man at the
time he was a resident of Santa Fe, New
Mexico. He says that while fishing in
the limpid waters OF the he
succeeded in catching not fish, but
large water snake probably Eutoenio
macrostemne megalope.) He was adj
vised by an Indian present, to hang it
up by the tail "and maze the rain come
This he did and to his surprise, although
the dry season was well on, it rained
hard all the night following. In his
opinion the snake process knocks high
explosives colder than Slater can knock
constitutional law. BY his method the
expense OF ditch digging and reservoir
building would be avoided and the
windows OF the heavens be made to
open at the wriggle Of the snakes tail.
But have We the snakes or has New
Mexico a monopoly of those terrible
water witches? We fear so as the dis
coverer has resided in this town for fully
twenty-five years and has in the mean
time, seen many snakes but they were
never of the New Mexico kind Be.
tween high explosive, and Australian
machine, Ignatius Donnslley, the Farm
ers' Alliance and the Tucson mans
snake tail movement the process of
boring upwards for an artesian deluge
ought to be as smoothly done as water
rolling from ducks back.