Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-02-04

Narrow Escape Of Painter In Oregon.
The remarkable experience OF wit
Messing a meteor flashing across the
firmamect, watching 1t In its course
and seeing the stone drop TO earth
within a few yards OF where one IL
standing comes to but few people, YET
such happening occurred recently TO
Ben Hall, a painter Of Albina, Oregon.
1t was shortly after 1890 m. that
Hall started from the store OF Joseph
Turner to go to his lodgings. Reach
ing the corner of Rodney ave., Hall
was startled by a sudden illumination
of the sky toward the east. Gazing
aloft Hall saw what at first he took to
he . ball from a Roman candle fired
from some pyrotechnic display Incl
dent to the many professions. AS the
flaming globe approached. however, ls
assumed such size that the Roman can
die superstition was precluded. Near
ing the earth, the oncoming ball Of iire
could be seen to be bringing with 1t
trail Of blush sparks, which left :he
main body with a peculiar cracking
sound resembling the swapping OF
charcoal.
Barely missing the roof of the honse
Mt the corner OF Sellwood and Rodney
ave., the visfant from the heavens
took long, swooping flight, as though
repealed by the earths surface, finally
alighting in bed of hardpan on the
corner of Rodney and Russell aves.,
burylng itself to a depth of some i've
inches. The distance from where Mr..
Hall was standing to where the meteor
allghted was so slight that he had
fair view OF that portion OF the meteor
exposed. From this came a shower oil
sparks, much the same as though the
component parts Of the meteoric Wis
itor contained a percentage or salt
peter.
Going over to the spot where the
fragment of some heavenly body,
broken loose In space had aiighted.
Hall found the meteor still at a white
heat. Having no means OF handling
1t, he returned to the cigar store OF
Turner and informed the people There
of the phenomenon he had witnessed.
Hall and two other men then returned
to the lot corner of Russell and RodneS
ayes. On the way an empty lard ket-
tie was picked up, and reaching the
spot an attempt was made to scoop the
fragment Of a disintegrated planet into
this plebeian receptacle. The piece or
busted" star, however, evidently did
not appreciate such lowly treatment,
for upon being moved 1t emitted fumes
so pungent and nauseous as 10 drive
the meteor hunters away. After walt
ing some minutes for the stone TO ,ool,
the party again tried to get 1t into the
kettle, but were again driven back 10y
the odor Of the gasses. A third at
tempt was, however, successful, ana
the meteor was borne back to Turner's.
The piece is Of an irregular shape,
much resembling a lump of hard clay
that had broken loose from a cut ana
rolled to the roadbed below. 1t Is
some nine inches long by four inches
deep and four inches wide at its max
imum points, tapering to about two
and three-quarter inches at the point.
1t weighs three pounds six ounces. One
side and end appear deep black. as
though burned in lighted tar The
other parts present a gray clayish
color. Contrary to the usual idea or
extreme hardness attached to meteorc
stones, this visitor is quite soft, 1t be-
ing possible to pick off pieces with
ones finger nail.-Portland Orr Tele'
graph.