Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1896-05-21

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uncommon, but 1t is seldom observed
on SO startling scale. The concussion
| from the explosion was SO violent that
every building in Madrid was shaken.
many windows were broken. and few
light structures were levelled with the
| ground. The terror inspired by the
occurrence, particularly among the ig-
norant and superstitious, was all the
| greater because the event was, Of
course, unexpected, and it came on a
day of beauty when all nature was
bright and gladstone
The sky was cloudless, the morning
| sur was radiant the shops had put on
their freshest Monday morning air, and
the streets We're just beginning to he
thronged with shoppers. pedestrians.
and traffic when the deafening sound of
the explosion was heard. Those who
happened to be looking at the sky say
that at the instant of the explosion
there was vivid glare of binding light
that for the moment outshone the sun,
and then there instantly appeared at
the place where the disturbance orig
mated what looked like a cloud of
white and blush tint, bordered with
red, which moved east at tremendous
rate. leaving behind a thin train that
may have been dust particles from the
meteor illumined by the sun.
The largest shell shot from modern
gun and bursting in midair could not
have produced a sound approaching the
stunning defamation of this explosion
Many people did not recognize its orig
In in the air, and thought some terrible
calamity had occurred at the surface
The enormous energy of the disturb
ance probably eQualled at least that
o! large powder magazine which had
blown up, for the whole city seemed to
be shaken as by an earthquake. and
the agitation of the atmosphere was
shown by the rapid fall and rise of the
barometers.
We may imagine with what brill
Hancy this aerolito must have shone
in the sunlit sky when we know that
1t was visible over at least three fourths
OF Spain as 1t shot through the air
above the peninsula with a speed sew
eral times as great as that of the swift
est war projectile. The mountaineers
among the Pyrenees saw it and won
dered. Even at frances famous water
ing place, Biarritz. on the edge Of Spain,
the streak of light athwart the sky
was observed. So it was observed from
the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, for
the people on the east coast at Valen-
ella saw 1t, and in the south It was
noticed as far as the southern tier of
provinces. Nearly all Spain was treat
ed to a pyrotechnic display on that
morning
Some damage was done also at places
other than Madrid. for the big red-hot
stone partly disintegrated on ITS way
and incandescent fragments that show
cred down upon the town of Logrono,
l35 miles northeast of the capital, set
two buildings on fire, and at Borgos,
12O miles north of Madrid, three frag-
ments from the main body started of
as meteOrs on their own account and
fell among the houses. Other pieces
OF the grayish stone that were flung
on near Madrid were picked up while
still hot.
So we see that this celestial visitor,
after striking out atmosphere. scat
tered fragments along its way. 1t is
quite probable that the main body
passed completely over Spain and fell
into the Mediterranean. 1t seems likely
that 1t crossed the Spanish peninsula
in less than half minute, for these
little objects travel with tremendous
velocity. Probably many of the frag-
ments that broke off from the stone
Travelled along with it in parallel
courses but few of them dropped to
the ground.
The story OF It's flight ia very much
like that Of the famous metco-,te
whose passage over about half OF our
continent from west to east was OBJ |
served In December, 1876. II first be-
came visible In the western part of
the Indian Territory. and II passed
over all the intervening states until it
was last observed in the state of
New York. and Il traversed this vast
distance In about two minutes. The !
ACA6ht opo'S lAS Ca1 III IL WHICH IL WAS
first observed Is believed to have been
over sixty miles. and when over cen
trail New York 1t is thought to have
been over thirty miles high. Many
explosions were heard along Its path.
and many fragments that were broken
of travelled along in It's train az a flock
OF smaller meteors, and few OF them
Tell to the ground. An Indiana farmer
heard the dull thud" with which one
Of them struck the ground near his
house. and he found the stone in the
and it was declared to be I'M
part OF the meteorite In
the same way explosions were heard in
various cities as the Spanish visitor
Fitted along. and. as In the case OF our
aerolite, these explosions were followed
by detonations each a little less potent
than its predecessor. and each a genu-
me echo.