The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-12-20
PELTING THE EARTH.
A CONSTANT SHOWER OF METEORS
INTO OUR ATMOSPHERIC.

Some of the Larger Ones Which
Reached tho Earth Unconsumed
Fragment OF Comets TaiI-Thc
Intense Cold Of Space Felt by Man.
The atmosphere forms an arnor
which is almost imprnctrable to the
metcurs that are constantly peltinc
the earth. About 1000 OF these wan
derers III space lit our atmosphere cv-
cry n hours. Most of the metcors are
small They come rushing through
space. strike tie atmosphere. and the
friction against the molecules of air
heats them 10 Il white heat and sets
Them ablaZc. Sometimes part of one
may reach Tie earth: but. rs Il rule.
they are construed. and the dust alone.
coSlnic dust. drops upon the surface
one OF the earliest known mctcors
fell in 204 Il. G. i'll phrygia. where for
long time ii was wOrshiprL. 1t was
carried to Ronnc and WAS supposed 20
be Il messenger from the gods Livy
describes shower of inetcoric stones
The people were greatly alarmed. and
the senators We're drmoralizcd and de-
clarcd nine days festival to prop,i-
ate the gods. There is ut Mecca Il
EeteOrite which fell In COO 4. ID. and
Is still wOrshirrd by the faithful.
In Chinese literature there Is mon
tion OF metcors which fell in Ga T..
{. The oldest known lnctroritr which
WAS seen to fall is now on exhibition
ut Ensishcm .Alsncc. Germany. In
1892 it came crashing down through
a. 1t wifi,
pcaSantry will fright II buried IT,
self deeply in the earth. 1t weighed
2G0 pounds and hangs today in tile
parish church.
The Chupadcros metcoritc. which
weighed % tons. fell IN chihuahua.
Mexico. The largest mntcoritc known.
Is the Pcary stone, which weighs np-
DrOXimatcly 100 tons Tl.n stone OF
Canon Diabic weighs III least ten tons
ara exploded high in air, the pieces be-
ing found all over the srrroundin.
country. III Italy several instances are
known Of the loss OF life from meteor
ties. y peasant was sitting in his
cabin and was killed by an iron mass
that crashed through the roof The act
was regarded as Il visitation Of divine
anger.
The city Of Milan is perhaps the on
ly one that has been struck by Il
mctcorite. y mctcortr of several
pounds weight fell il the heart or
that city in the year 1860. OH the au-
thority Of paolo Maria TcZZayo. and
struck q Franciscan monk
More remarkable are the falls ut sea.
That ship should hc struck would
seem an extraordinary chance. vet n
Swedish ship was so struck the stOue
killing two Of the crew. On Dec l..
1S9G. the ship Walkammng was sail
ing from New York TO Bremen when
her officers noticed brilliant mctccr
that appeared to he bearing down on
the vessel from southeast to northwest
1t passed with Il loud roar and Kissing
sound and plunged into the sea ahead
Of the ship. That it was meteor OF
large size WAS evident, for IL few min
utcs later the ship was struck by &
tidal wave.
Even more remarkable was the ex-
pcricnce Of the British ship Cawdor,
which reached San Francisco Nov. 90.
1897. During n severe storm Il large
and brilliant meteor was observed
rushing down upon the ship. and with
a roar and filling the air with fumes Of
sulphur ii passed between the masts Of
the ship and fell into the sea not so
feet from the rail-
One of the greatest curiosities pos
sesscd by man today is Il supposed
fragment Of comet in Mnzapil. Mex
leo. The fragment is believed to he n
part Of the tail of I>icla's comet. In
1S4G something happened in space. A
wreck occurred. Bicla's comet may
any case, the comet divided. and many
living observers remember seeing the
two parts gradually separating.
Some fatality pursued one part Of
the comet, and 1t met It's fate in in
finite space. literally went to pieces
and became Il wreck upon the shore
less sea Of space. Astronomers predict
ed that il the comet itself did not ap-
pear In 1872 its wreckage would be-
come visible as shooting stars, and
this prediction was realized apparent
ly, as on Nov. 81, 1872, there burst
from the heavens q cloud Of shooting
dropped upon the earth and was Sc
cured at Mazapil, Mexico, and was de-
clared to be part of the great comet.
The average mcteOrite Immediately
after its fall is intensely hot, but at
least one, which was handled immcdi-
atcly after falling. still held the in
tense cold of space. a few men can
say that they have experienced this
A mcteorite exploded above Dhurmsa-
In, Kangra and Punjab, India. In 1860,
and section was picked up immcGi-
atcly by some natives, who dropped it
with expressions of pain. The cxplo-
sion had exposed the interior Of the
meteor. which had been chilled by the
intense cold of space and was so cold
that its effect was like n burn. This
fragment Is now to be seen in the Field
museum. or it DR.. harrington, the
curator, said, This is perhaps the on
ly instance known where the cold Of
space has become pcrceptible to human
enSes."-New York Sun.