The Indianapolis journal., 1899-11-15
METEORIC SHOWER In 1888.
Copy OF the Indiana Journal of that
Year Describes 1t.

neaf DescrfDcs
On the 18th day of November 1893. there
occurred the first meteoric display that the
people of the United States had ever seen.
The only remarkable shower Of meteors of
which they had any knowledge up to that
time was the published accounts of Messrs.
Humbolt and Bonland Of wonderful dis
play of shooting stars that had been seen
by them at Omaha in South Africa 1t is
said by some of the old citizens that the
people generally believed it to be the be-
ginning of the end of the world
The following account of the phenomena
of 1898 is copied from an Indiana Journal.
of the date of Dec. :, 1888. now in the pos
session of the Rev. A. b. Philputt, Of the
Central Christian Church:
THE METEORIC PHENOMENA
From the New York Commercial Adver-
tiser, Nov. l3
Shooting stars. Yesterdays change of
weather Penciied, ;ai near sunset. n upon ,1e 1ne
mers eve. AS the curtains OF darkness
were spread around the broad belt OF the
heavens, visible In our hemisphere, became
studded with the gems Of night. A strong,
piercing wind cleared the atmosphere OF
every offensive vapor and braced the nerves
at the same time that ii gave effulgence TO
the bright surrounding scene. Somewhat be-
fCre IL o'clock the meteors, so often seen
on summer evenings and commonly called
unusual frequency and splendor. They con-
tInued from that hour to flash athwart the
skies and more and more until they were
this morning From 4 to O'Clock they
were most numerous and refulgent. Withln
the scope that the eye could contain more
than twenty could be seen at a time shoot
ing (save upward) in every direction. Not a
cloud obscured the broad eXpanse and mil
liens OF meteors % sped their way across Gross it t
possible TO enumerate them in the swiftneSs
of their arroWy haste We might venture 10
say that for the two hours intervening be-
tween 4 and 6 more than a thousand
a minute might have been counted. Their
cOrruscationS were bright, gleamy and In
in the early SHOWS Of December. In one
II stance we distinctly heard the explosion or
a meteor that shot across the northwest.
leaving a broad and luminous track; and
witnessed another which left path of light
that was clearly discernibe for more than
ten ten MINUTES odsd after the 9a suen radnay pH
shortened. widening in the center and APP
parently consisted of separate and distinct
globules OF light, drawing around a common
center. glimmering less and less vividly, un-
til they finally faded in the distance. Com
pared with the spendors OF this celestial
exhibition the most brilliant rockets and
fire works of art bore less relation than
the twinkling of the most tiny star to the
broad glare of the sun. The whole heavens
seemed in motion and little need have been
/ borrowed from morbid sensibility to i'm
agine that the opening of the sixth seal
was indeed at hand. when the stars OF heav-
en- fell unto the earth even as hg tree
casteth her untimely figs when she Is shak-
en- of a mighty wind. Never before had IL
fallen to our lot to observe a phenomenon
SO magnificent and sublime.
1T bore no resemblance whatever TO the
/ Aurora Boreais. sometimes stationary anC
/ at others mingling its rich streams of vary.
ing light in splendid confusion. but rather
seemed to illustrate the poets idea of The
stars shooting madly from their spheres
in the mighty rush of ruin showers of stars
falling amid the wreck of matter and the
crush of worlds"
The Indiana Journal. the predecessor a
the Indianapolis Journal, was weekly Issue
at that time and was then in the twelfth
year of it's existence. 1t seems very evident
that the people of Indianapolis did not Sc
the meteoric showers. as the paper bear;
date of Dec. z and the showers occurred
on the 18th of November. Had the paper
spoken of ii locally ii is not likely that 4
would copy three weeks later from al
| Eastern paper.