The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-04-09
Colored Rain.

The Reason Why-By A 8. Duane.]
\ There have been traditions for centuries
a of miraculous rains of blood, stones
& animals and fishes, but even in this nine
N feeDth century we are constantly hearing
OF red and black rain. only nowadays
4 science has held up the glass and the
analysis, and told US the reason why.
The first memorable example OF red rain
fell in tho Hague in 1910.
People awoke in the morning to find
that the streams had seemingly all turned
to blood and the miraculous fluid was
still falling from the skies. High and
low dropped upon their knees praying
thinking that a plague had come upon
them.
But there happened to be scientific
man with q small microscope, even
then. He took some OF the red water and
examined it, and found that instead of its
being warning sent by providence to
foreten war and bloodshed, it was col
ored by minute red insects.
The man with the microscope told his
discovery all over Holland, but when
the war came by which Louis XIV &C.
vastated the country, there were many
who believed that the ttred rain' had
been sent as warning The red IN
sect was a sort OF a water flea, known to
science as Pulices arborescents.
THE cALABRIAN STORM.
On the 18th of March, 1913, the inhab-
itants of Gerace, Calabria, perceived a
terrific cloud advancing from the sea
with violent wind.
At2 o'clock in the afternoon this cloud
changed to firerV red, and totally inter-
cepted The light of the sun. The town
was enveloped in darkness and people
rushed to the cathedral, thinking the end
OF the world had come.
The firery red cloud increased in in
tensity, thunder pealed, and with vivid
Hashes Of lightning sheets Of red rain
fell. which the inhabithnts took TO be
fire or blood. The rain finally grew
lighter and ceased, having done no harm
to anything.
Colored rain OF a similar character to
the Calabrian downpour, which has since
fallen, has been proven to contain q red
dust, which. when heated, changed to
brown, and then to black. In it could be
discovered small partscles of mica. An
analysis proved that the dust consisted of
silica, alumia, lime, carbonic acid and
oxide of iron.
It is probable that in all these cases it
had been blown from some active volcano,
carried distance through the upper air,
and finally descended with the fall Of the
rain.
THE PIEDMONT RAIN.
A eimilar rain, or rather deposit of
dust, as It was not even wet, took place in
the valley OF Oneglia, Piedmont, during
the night of the 9th of October, 1914. 1t
covered the leaves and grass, and where
1t mingled with the dew, made what
seemed to be blood stains, phenomenon
which caused great excitement among the
peasantry.
The blue rain has been found by anal
aysis TO be caused by deposit of cobalt.
Sometimes the coiored rains are tinted
by the seeds of p'anrs, which have been
caught floating in the atmosphere.
BLACK RAINS.
On the 9th of November, 1919, black
rain fell at Montreal, Canada.
some of the liquid was collected and
sent to New York for analysis. 1t was
found that the water was colored by SCOT.
Owing to the dryness of the season an
immense coniagration of some large for
ests, situated south of the Ohio river,
had taken place. The wind, blowing
steadily north for some time, had con-
veyed these sooty particles into lower
Canada. At Birmingham, England. in
May, 1866, at II in the morning, the
town was enveloped IN darkness. Gas
was lighted everywhere, and black rain
fell, which blackened all the linen put
out to bleach.