The Globe-republican., 1891-10-22
Rain Falls in Torrents.
THE GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENTS
NTEXAS PROVE SUCCESSFUL.

ePlnE q Period Of . Few HOuFa
The People or the Drenchcd
SectiOm Well Pleasess.
SAN DIEGO, Texas. Oct. l9.-The gov
ernment rainmakers are the heroes of the
hour here. The experiment which was
begun Saturday evening and continued
during the night was entirely successful
at o'clock Sunday morning morning.
Rain fell in torrents in the camp and
soaked the men to the skin. Never be-
fore were men so glad to get a wetting.
They yelled and hurrahed and danced
fxndangOes in the mud.
The people Of San Diego and surround
ing country are sstOnished at the result.
When they went to bed at midnight the
moon was. shining 10 cloudless sky and
there was no sign Of rain anywhere. Al
1 o'clock they were awakened BY the pat
tering Of rain on the ROOT and In few
minutes the water cane down In tor
rents. The rain lasted nearly ~ hour.
Halt n inch fell.
kilograms from ststions along the
| 1sxleaa National railroad sgate that the
rain s1ssoded shout forty miles to the
northeast s10S miles ~ the west and
thirty miles to the southwest. 1t did ael
rain either to the east or south at . great.
OF distance than ten or fifteen miles.
The water yesterday morning stood IN
pools all over the ranches, and the cat
tie men were delighted. They estimate
that the rain Is worth to them In round
figures at least one-han million dollars.
II is also worth much to the cotton grow
ers. As the entire cost of the experiment
was about 81 800, they regard 1t as one
||bf the best investments they could pos
Esibly have made.
The scientific value of the success can
not be estimated. of course, but it will
undoubtedly lead to many more tests of
conclusion theory. Already offers are
being made to the rainmakers to go to
Mexico and experiment there.
HOW 1T WAS DONE.
The bombardment begun early Satur.
day evening and until near midnight
there was a continuous roar from the dy-
Mantle and rack-a-rOck batteries. The
full moon was sailing across cloudless
sky and the hundreds of people who had
come to the camp were satisfied that the
experiment would be fiat failure. They
said that it was Il beautiful imitation of a
battle, but that rain would follow from
such sky was absurd and impossible
Many offered to bet baskets of cham
paign that no rain would follow and
some of the rainmakers took up the bet.
as quickly as they Were offered. The
heavy smoke from the batteries drifted to
the northwest and the balloons also sailed
off in the same direction before they eX-
plOded. The instruments showed 63 pei
cent. Of humidity just before the firing
began, and at II o'clock they showed 81
per cent. The barometer was high and
rising during the early part of the even
ing.-but fell rapidly about , o'clock.
At midnight the continuous firing
ceasei; and tive-minute guns took its
place. John Ellis, who was in charge,
and George CASTER, the aerOnaut, sent
up the ballOns AT intervals of about forty
minutes. They ran to height of about
half mile before exploding. The ex-
plosions were heard Il. points fifty miles
and more away. Lieutenant Allen Dyer
| was in command of the batteries and they
were worked by the soldiers of the
Twenty third infantry. The men die
splendid work and added to the high es.
teen which they have won here by thei
conduct throughout.
BALLOONS STRANGE CONDUCT.
At 80 =. m. balloon was sent up
The air at the time was very still. tn
balloon went straight into the air an,
then drifted to the northwest. then cam
directly south, then went Of east and z
the time it exploded was travelling wet
1T rapid rate. Mr.. CASTER, who ha
been making ascensioDs for many year,
Gays that he had never before seen bal
loon acf in that way and thse ths distur
bGnce In the upperair currents must hav
heen tremendous.
It WAS O'Clock when the storm nrz
showed above the horizon, to- the north
west, the direction to which the wind ha,
bess blowing during the hsav!
airing. The clouds came up rapidly an
ore could go them gather siss and den
sity as they approached the zenith ant
driited across the moon. A small cloui
would appear suddenly In clear par
Of the sky and In five minutes Il would
spread ont enormously. The sky abov'
was full Of heavy clouds, but not . droI
Of rain had fallen. Then . BALBOA VA
sent up and exploded right In the cloud
- shn u,Or<sr hoffovv he~an ahoOt1nS