Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1893-09-05

NO Exptsnstou Aiss Evsr nese oese'
Famoss Sounds In Various Parts Of the
Earth Have scared Many.
OF strange sounds which probably dc.
pend on meteorological or other natural
causes, ono Of the most remarkable hai
long been known Us "the guns Of Bur-
risaul," but though Its causes have long
been debated no accurate explanation
has been given, so far as we are aware,
that Is thoroughly satisfactory. The
Sunderbunds-as the delta Of the Ganges
In native dialect IL called-is covered
with a vast and luxuriant jungle oi
marshy vegetation. One Of the stations
Is named Burrisaul. From here. In the
rainy season. have long been heard nys.
terious sounds resembling the discharge
Of artillery. and therefore popularly
named "the guns Of Burrisaul."
Only heard In the rainy season and
from the southwark, they have been
heard 100 miles of. yet on the coast It
self they appear still farther south. The
sounds resemble the booming OF cannon.
Mussulman and Hindoo superstitions
have each associated the sounds with
their religious traditions. Others have
thought the sounds were produced by the
breaking of the sea on an island In the
bay Of Bengal. But wherei That some
atmospheric or meteorological cause Il
the explanation Is all that can be said
after hearing all arguments.
A much humber yet ancient instance
Of great local interest used to exist, we
believe. at Daddeley. In the New forest.
In the shape Of u groaning tree. Whether
Il still lives and groans we are uncer-
tain, but 1. Is said to have uttered mys-
terious and lugubrious sounds at certain
times, probably dependent on wind or
weather. but full Of omen and import to
past generations. Indeed In the various
mysteries which, despite fin dc steele
acuteness, still surround us, eerie noises
have always played o most conspicuous
part, whether out Of doors or within
ancient houses. Instances OF the latter,
indeed, abound. Some Of the most thrill.
ing Of inexplicable ghost stories turn
not OH anything which has appalled, the
eyes, but has distilled horror" through
the ears. 1t is, we believe, In East An
glia that the shrieks heard from time to
time round certain pits have long beeL
o tradition In which female phantom
has part.
The drummer Of Tedworth's" phan.
tom sounds are SO well known FROM
Aubrey and more modern DISORDERS rs
only to need allusion, but we may here
say that, according to Q communication
in popular periodical some few years
back, similar sounds had recently, com
paratively speaking. been heard In the
locality. and by people Of most practical
disposition. These may be called phan
tom sounds. Returning again to those
which hover ON the border line between
the natural and ineIplicable, there Is til"
wild strain as Of weird music which has
been heard aboard ships when getting
within tho circle Of Q Mozambique cy.
clone.
One Of the Same kind, formerly mys
terious and thrilling enough, has been
resolved into u natural one. Early trav'
elers through the primeval forests Of
Brazil-still among the few unexplore,l
places of tho globe-were astonished and
swed to hear the distant resonant sound
Of bell pealing from the depths Of the
woods, which certainly had no building
and for ages had known no human foot.
step. Many q legend was woven rouhd
the strange sound. Ultimately II was
discovered to be the note Of the bell bird.
There are, however, few mysterious
sounds which have been a. satisfactorily
explained as this. For instance, there is
the legend Of the sounds heard ut times
ON the plains Of Marathon, the clash OF
weapons, the snorting Of horses, the
"shouting Of the slsyers and screeching
Of the slain," which recall to memory
the famous battle that lives 30 much
more vividly than many modern ones In
the history Of the world. OF course
there are many instances OF sounds
which, ut first mysterious, become % 10.
ally from the distance over which they
Travelled, but these must be distinguished
from those which are our theme.
One Of the most interesting examples
rests ON the authority Of the late Sir Ed
mund Head, who remembered when q
boy going to church on the famous
"Waterloo Sunday" June Is, 1915, at
Hythe, in Kent. His father and he. on
arriving at the church at II q. m. found
TO their surprise the congregation out.
side listening intently to the faint sound
a OF distant cannon coming from the
east. Afterward Il was ascertained that
Napoleon having. on the flor him) un-
fortunate advice Of his artillery ofdcers,
who pleaded the state OF the ground,
waited till II to commence his 6re, the
first French gun was fred as tho Niyelles
church clock struck II. Nor was Hythe
the only place where the French cannon
were heard In England.
Here. however, IL fact dependent On
the by no means remarkable axiom that
sound under certain conditions travels
enormous distances. But the sounds Of
which we speak for the most part have
puzzled all who have attempted to ex'
plain them and lie indeed In that va,sue
region which Ii inexplicsble. Suchis the
sound Of the "Airlie drum" such are the
wailing Of the banshes In some parts Of
| Ireland. York Post.