The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1898-06-23
FALLING OF THE STARS.
MURAT HALSTEAD RECALLS A
GREAT EVENT OF HIS
B0YHo0D.
He Tells in Picturesque Language
cf What he Saw on a Night in
1888, When he Was Only
Four Years Old.


Murat Halstead. in Cincinnati Commercial Tri
/ am OF the few who can speak as
eyewitnesses of "the night of the fall.
Ing of the stars" Nov. 12-13, 1888
Those who beheld the wonders of that
time were dazed by the awful splendors
and long spoke of them as OF some ma
jestic. supernatural vision. My age
was four years and two months, my
point of observation valley in south
western Ohio. One of the treasures oi
our house was an, astronomical atlas.
with mysterious maps OF the constella-
tions, over which my parents pondered,
and the strange animals drawn among
the stars were figures the more incom-
prehensihle the mere they were eX-
planned. My parents were much given
to studying the clouds by day and the
stars by night, and one Of my earliest
recollections is that they would call
each others attention to celestial
phenomena, so that was something
of "star gazer" myself and knew at f.
years-old about Jobs coffin and Orion s
belt, the seven stars, the dipper, the
north star andathe star of the morning
and evening.
My father the day before the mem
orable night had "killed mess of
young squirrels" and, out of the def
erence to me, had not shot them as a
marksman should-through the head
for my favorite diet was squirrels
brains. Ny passion for this dainty
dish was INDUCED at supper. and dur
ing the night disturbed the house
shouting for alienation of sharp pains,
resulting from too much brains-in my
inexperienced stomach. My mother,
aroused, saw a strange light glaring at
the windows and, 10, 1t was evident
enought the universe was afire My
father seldom allowed anything to as
tonish him, but that did. If he had
not seen it, he would not have believed
it, and yet did not think the last hours
of the globe we inhabit had come and
"the judgment" was at hand.
The hour was after midnight, and
how long the stars had been falling
could not be ascertained. 1t was very
good of my parents to think it worth
while to have me take part as watch
man of the tremendous illumination
| lust to see whether I could rememb Der
it as long as I lived. I have SO far,
clearly, as if it had happened a few
DAYS ago, and it is 81 years Ny face
was washed to clear my eyes from tears,
perhaps and, wrapped in blanket, l
was carried into the yard on the north
side of the house. The view of the
north side was somewhat obstructed by
a wild cherry tree. Eastward was a
low hill covered with hickory, maple,
walnut and sassafras trees, and that
was where the morning star peeped
through the lofty fringe of naked
boughs and trunks of the trees in the
winter.
Special attention was given to point.
ing things out for me to fix in my
memory, and the amazing scene is be.
fore me now, though that was long be-
fore photography. 1 do not recollect
that looked westward at all. Observ.
alton of the east fascinated me, and / dc
not think I turned my face in any
other direction. There we're lnnumera
bic lines of light drawn as if by invisi
BILE pencils with points of fire strange.
ly straight lines sweeping from near the
zenith to the horizon. My clear i'm
preston is there were no cross lines
that there seemed to be monstrous
stream of fiery hair, vivid blending o.
sun and moonlight, pouring from stu
pendous, exhaustless urn, some OF the
bright lines fading as they swept down
falnting into the serene depths of the
lsky. There was a certain majestic
serenity about the exalted confagra
ton. Ny parents were not alarmed o.
greatly agitated, but enjoying ever,
moment. / recall their low tones ane
some of their exclamations and admira
ton. All the boys and girls OF ths
house were called, and they wanted t.
know whether it was really the star
that were falling and my father reassur
ed them by the rather unsatisfactor.
statement "No. It's nothing bu
meteors" How it happened there wa
a such a flood of them was matte
not deeply gone into. The idea that 6
!, M. L. Yocum, Cameron, Pa, says
f.T 5000 - ~, Horar for fo,, voqrC irwin.