The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-26
Mirage AND FATA MoRGANA.
WHICH RECENTLY
STARTLED CHICAGO PEOPLE.

IA the Desert and In the Arctic Re
Z -tons-AtmOspherfe Conditions
which Produce Mirage-CastIes In
= the Air.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer
l. orir few days ago a paragraph in the
3 ,.ry journals gave report OF mirage
lake Michigan. which surprised the
,,rra Of Chicago. A few months pre-
,rs The captain of a vessel which came
,-,hward along the coast gave an ac-
,r,t Of a wonderful appearance OF city
!, -oisctei in the sky to seward; and, at
.sryals during each summer we have
offices Of such phenomena having been
. ., bv frcquenters OF various seaside
sorts.
Tn these days we calmly look at such
er.scles wonder for few moments at
bair strangeness, and say that they are
to some law of nature, and pass on.
Z formerlv they were referred to some su-
4 ernatural cause, and their mystery pro-
Z need superstition. if not exaggeration.
v bon an effect may be seen in an account
mirage given by the Greek historian,
oiorus Siculus, who lived in the days
! N the early Caesars of Rome. He says:
u 90 IN extraordinary phenomenon occurs
H Africa at certain periods, especially in
!. I'm weather The air becomes filled with
II H,ages OF all sorts Of animals. some mo-
. i Fonless. other floating in the air; now
z R,ey seem running away, now pursuing;
fbev are all of enormous proportions. and
= ~ spectacle fills with terror and awe
u To- who are not accustomed to it, When
&eso figures overtake the traveller, whom
4 nev seem to be pursuing, they surround
- with cold and shivering feeling.
Is xtraneers not used to this extraordinary
4henomenon are filled with fear; but the
hhabitants, who are in the habit of see
Ap H. take no particular notice of it,"
As a psrallel to this, the following ac-
uni Of a mirage given by NJ. Bonnefont,
no accompanied a French expedition to
q Algeria in 1897, may be given:
"A flock Of flamingoes, birds of prey
4hicb are very common in this province,
Il ere seen upon the southeast bank. about
n 4bree miles and a half off. These birds, as
: 4 hev left the ground to fly to the surface
a the lake assumed such enormous pro-
PORTIONS as to give the idea of Arab horse
hen dehling one after another. The flu
ION was for a moment so complete that
Ben Bugeaud sent a Spahi forward as a
{ scout The latter crossed the lake in a
B ttralght line but when he had reached a
tont where the undulations commenced,
fhe horses legs became so elongated that
Both steed and rider. seemed to be borne
Several yards high, and dlsporting itself
D. the midst Of the water that appeared to
kubmergc it. All eyes were fixed on this
SPURIOUS phenomenon, until thick cloud
N htercepting the suns rays caused these
optical illusions TO disappear and re-estab-
tsh objects in their natural shape.
The writer goes on to say Sometimes
Smother effect, which became a source
pf amusement to the soldiers. was pro-
Huced If. while the sun was in the east,
bnd the wind blowing from an opposite d.
Eectlon, small and buoyant object, sus-
1eptible Of being foated along by the wind
sTas cast in the lake, it was curious to OBJ
terve how il became larger as it got far
4her off, and as soon as the wind had
nade it undulate, it suddenly took the
Ehape Of a small boat, the movement Of
(Which above the waves was in proportion
Z the shaking it experienced from the
AT about $50 o'clock on the morning
pf June Is, with temporal ure of 26 de-
- frees Centigrade (about 70 degrees Fab
enheiO, while a somewhat strong breeze
pas blowing from the east and nebulous
tratum was beginning to dissipate the
peat certain number of these thistle
beads were launched upon the water, and
DO sooner had the wind driven them to the
4 ONT where undulation commenced than
hey presented the curious Spectacle of a
beet in disorder. The vessels seemed to
lash on against the other, and then driven
the wind to a greater distance, they
fsappeared as completely as if they had
gone down"
ID n NH~i4 - pAt hitlu u AnOtner Is
fyen in the narrative of the celebrated
raveer Dr. Clarke: I'VE procured asses
II OF our party, and setting out for Rosetta
cyan 10 recross the desert, which appear
Ike an ocean of sand, but fatter and
rmer as TO its surface than before The
rabs, uttering their harsh, gutteral lam
lage, ran chattering by the side of our
sses' until some of them called out "Ras-
ru' We perceived its domes and tur-
- apparently upon the opposite side
az lob
tne intervening space between us and
city Not having in my own mind, at
ie 'lhe any doubt as to the certainty of
oeins water and seeing the tall miner
ana buildings of Rosetta, with all its
foVes OF dates and sycamores as per-
soUy renected by it as by, a mirror, inso-
Biush mat even the minutest detail of the
oIl'ecture and of the trees, might have
pen thence deliheated, I applied to the
idos 10 be Informed in what manner we
we're to pass the water.
Our Interpreter. although a Greek and
, II - lore likely to have been informed of
H phenomenon. was as fully con-
q iHeeu as any of US that we were drawing
IN 70 the waters edge, and became in
Isnaht when the Arabs maintained that
I'm an hour we should reach Rosetta
Ciosslhg the sands. in the direct line
men pursued and that there was no
80; what, said he, giving way to his
npdliehce' do you suppose me an idiot to
persuaded contrary to the evidence of
senses The Arabs, smiling, soon
bolneu MIN and completely astonishing
t. "hole party by desiring US to look back
ne uesert we had already passed where
oeheld a precisely similar appearance
IL 10. II was the mirage"
#beo.He very early ages men began to
ne about these natural phenomena.
a. can excite but little surprise that
i Is srs.. me laws of nature were as little I'M
oo some of the theories showed a
amount of which we now call zig
. n bo. Diodorus Siculus, mentioned
%iyed gives some of the conclusions ar
. Su al IN his day
eva(idil.n physical philosophers attempt
s 4 oro oApIaln the true causes of this phe-
f9 shp.iln' which seems extraordinary and
ina US They say that there is 10
4fria. or scarcely any, in this country
Rro5,,Sl The masses of condensed air
ma IN Sibya what the clouds some
.n, produce with us on RAINY DAYS.
1neyi images of all shapes rising on