The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-10
GREAT SHOWERS OF DUST.
ONE PECULIARITY OF WEATHER ~
HOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
Times when the Surface Of the Desert Seems
to Rise Up Into the Air-Great spouts
of Dust That Resemble Water Spouts-
I,,.t showers Far Out On the Ocean.

IIuat showers Far Out On the Ocean.
SAN GoRooNiA CAL Sept 4-"Were a
long way from the sea-" said resident Of little
town on the foothills of the Sierra Madre, but
look yonder"
His companion cast his eyes In the direction
indicated and saw something that looked like
waterspout moving slowly and maiestically UP
the valley over the sage brush Of what in summer
IL A desert but in winter is garden The re.
semblsnce was almost perfect there was only
one thing lacking TO make IL perfect watcrspouL
no far as appearances went, and this was the dark
horizontal cloud from which the top OF the real
waterspout seems 10 drop.
"Irs dust" the rancher explained "and I'd as
soon meet a real waterspout for I'd rather be
drowned than chokcd TO death. The spouts are
common enough in summer. You see, the coun-
try Is dry and the dust Is thick and II only requires
a little whirwind to send it into the air half milo
or So l believe have seen one nearly milo
high They generally come down from the west
that being the prevailing direction Of the wind and
some days they come in regular battalions below
us No, never knew one to get close to the noun
tain they are generally down in the hollow follow
ing the direction Of the air current"
The one in view had me into sight five miles
away and was slowly moving TO the east the
long column bent like bow and Of coppery
hue, the air above 1t being filled with flying dust
II was moving, apparently, at the rate OF fve or
six miles an hour, and was rather an attractive
sight standing out against the distant coass
range
"They re mic. 10 look at" said the rancher.
cooking his feet up against the big walnut tree.
but don't like them any nearer Last year
/ started for the scashorc down by Laguna and as
a matter OF course had 10 cross the valley. II was
hot red hot and as j got down into II could SEQ
the white hot air rising and swirling about and
when the wind struck my check II seemed like
the blast from furnace. When reached the CEN
tire of the valley, the worst place. where II was so
hot that sand would almost melt two
three Of these sand columns or spouts coming
They were like big senInels coming up the valley,
and saw that the chances were that would run
into one, and didn't miss IL met one coming
directly up the road and you would have thought
the whole earth had been lifted. faced II until 10
got within two or three hundred feet, and then
took TO the bush and ran for my life in side d-
rection reckon ran Ave hundred feet in a cloud
80 thick that every time took breath expected
il would be my last. had a narrow escape I
tell you and II hadn't taken of my coat and
covered my head think would have suffocated.
There was a good breeze blowing hot az n
flame. though. and that drove the spout on so
that was soon out OF it. When got back to my
team l found them trembling and covered with
mud. They had started to run into the brush,
but had got stuck and the dust. fine powder,
had settled their reckng bodies. and you d havD
thought they had been rolling in mud
IF you want to see dust, though you want to
60 to the Caion Pass when it's blowing norther.
Gee whiz! but that's a corker Of place You SEQ
it's the gateway Of southern California to tho
desert. and this north wind blows of the desdrt
and the dust comes in through the pass with such
force that IL wears away the rock, grnds tho
glass in stations and cuts away a telegraph pole.
When, first went through and got out on the
desert noticed house with rocks on IT, and
poles all cut though something had been bitinu
at them. I found out the next day what IL was
l was sitting in front Of the shanty of a friend.
where was stopping. and watching a curious
cloud coming on low down from the north II
filled the sky from dome TO the ground with Q
brilliant copper colored light that seemed ominous
even to me- In few moments the wind began
to blow in puffs, picking up the dust and rolling
It along until finally the whole desert in front Of
me seemed to be smoking, and then with rush
the surface OF the ground seemed to ride into the
air and move along l stood II about a minute
long enough to see stones almost big as mar.
bles moving in straight lines and the air so filled
with dust and gravel that no longer wondered
that telegraph poles would not last two years,
and then got into the house, and chokcd for two
days OF course il was not a tornado and there
Wds no udHBcr VI INC nOuSe ROlnR. Inc wind
came rolling down hundreds of miles Of
desert, carrying the dust and pebbles before IL
and tossing them high in the air; and when ID
was all over we found the floor two or three inches
deep with dust while the window pane which
had been recently set was like ground glass. You
can see about the same thing in the summer on
San Nicholas Island. about one hundred miles
from San Pedro Here the wind blows a gallo.
half the time, and the top of the island is smooth
as a floor and covered with winrows of pebbles
that have been lifted and blown along from timo
immemorial"
In these California winds and others that arc
met with in Africa and various countries arc
found the cause OF the mysterious dust showers
which appear in various parts Of the world to
mysfy and alarm people. In California a heavy
norther may provide material for dust shower
a thousand miles 10 the west The prevailing
wind is from the sea, that is the perceptibe wind
but there is a constant upper current in directly
the opposite direction. II the dust Of wind storm
Is carried above the inshore wind II is caught BY
this great upper current and carried away TO a
great distance. to drop in a mysterious shower
far out at sea Such showers are productive Of
much comment when they drop upon vessels
Nearly thirteen hundred miles of the coast Of
Africa they have been experienced. The air
becomes hazy. the wind drops and the sailors no
tce that the decks yards and sails become covered
with fine impalpabe powder The ship is many
miles from land, and TO the mind of the supersti-
tious sailor the fall is plicabe One Of the first
reported by scientific man was by careful esti-
mate noticed over vast area many thousand
square miles Samples Of the dust were sub
mtted TO an eminent microscopic who found that
1t was made up to a certain extent Of minute or
gansms, fossil diatoms and the minute fossil
shells OF various protozoans. He discovered many
familiar species, and by this means was enabled
to locate the dust which came from certain parA
OF Africa famous for diatoms and protozoans Of
this species vessel of the South American
coast, far out at sea- was covered with dust which
settling In the moisture covered the ship with
mud. Samples Of this being shown to micro
scopist he traced the minute shells to the pampas
region in Buenos Ayres The dust had been raised
by the wind to enormous heights, then caught by
the great seaward current and carried far out oysS
II 70 gradually drop upon ships and men