The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1900-09-28
ELECTRICAL STORMS.
THEY ARE THE MOST PECULIAR OF
| THE MOUNTAIN PHENOMENA.

Where II No Lightning, Thunder or
Rain, but They Make Ones Hair
Really Stand ON End and the Stones
0raokls Under the Feet.
Perhaps the most peculiar Of the noun
tain phenomena are the so called electric
81 storms. There is no precipitation, no
lightning, no thunder and usually no
wind, nothing to be heard and nothing
to be seen except the gathering clouds.
But much may be felt. Everything is
charged with the electric fluid. The
earth, the air, the very stones and trees
and even human beings are full of It.
A mining engineer visiting tunnel To-
Gated on q mountain side at an elevation
Of 1920 feet describes his sensations
during one of these storms. All alone he
was climbing up the trail to the tunnel,
where he wished to examine q vein Of
ore. Great black clouds began to gather
on the horizon and were soon rolling
about the mountain side below him. A
calm prevailed; then an unnatural still
ness seemed to be In the air. Steadily
the clouds rolled up the mountain side
like flood Of black water. The stones
as he stepped on them began to crackle
and snap like dry wood in fire. Realiz-
ing these unusual conditions, he hurried
to the sheltering tunnel above him. His
hair felt as if a swarm of flies had settled
In it. When he tried to brush them away
with his hand, he found each hair stand
ing almost straight. The stroking of his
hair increased the peculiar sensations he
experienced, and, tingling from head to
foot, the now thoroughly frightened man
ran into the tunnel.
No sooner had he passed the entrance
than the peculiar sensations ceased. Aft
er resting awhile he went to the opening
and discovered himself entirely surround
ed by clouds so black and dense that he
could scarcely see five feet away, al
though the hour was not far from noon.
Stepping outside to Investigate, he re-
.ceived a shock that sent him Keeling back
into the tunnel, where he remained for
over an hour before the storm passed.
Such electrical storms seem to be form
ed in strata. If a human being should
make such connection as to draw the
charge from one of the layers, he would
Instantly be Moderated. This accident,
however, has never been known to occur.
Electrical storms prevail throughout the
mountain region, but the severest storms
of this nature are met only at the great
attitudes.
: With all the severity of electrical
storms and thunder showers, 1t is a fact
that human beings are seldom struck by
lightning in the mountains. Death from
that cause is much more frequent on the
plains bordering the ranges than in the
mountains themselves.
}. T. most destructive form of mountain
storm is the so called cloudburst, when
the ripping brook suddenly becomes a
roaring river, carrying death and destruc-
ton in its path. The noise made by a
cloudburst has no parallel. Above the
rumble and roar Of a mass Of rushing
water is heard grinding, grooming sound
of falling trees, of slipping earth and roll
ing powders, while the banks Of the
stream far above the danger line tremble
as if in an earthquake. The senses are
numbed by the awful cataclysm, and it
seems to the spectator, although he is on
the high banks and out of actual danger,
as if the very foundations of the earth
had burst and judgment day was come.
The food losses about mighty trees and
rocks as if they were straws, the banks
Of the stream seem to dissolve before his
eyes, and a feeling Of awe at the ire
sistible power of nature steals over the
observer. Once witnessed, cloudburst
Is never forgotten.
= In point of fact, however, there is no
such thing as the bursting of cloud.
The term 'cloudburst" is convenient
expression by which the result of a very
heavy rain is designated. Nearly all the
surface Of the earth in the mountain re-
gion is made up either Of rocks or adobe
soil. The latter in most cases has never
been broken to cultivation and is almost
mpervious to a sudden heavy downpour
of rain. The consequence is that the
mountains are cut up with arroyos, guliies
and water courses and in the course Of
unnumbered ages into mighty canyons
which astound the tourist.
} In an unusually heavy rainfall the
great mass of water spread over a large
area, instead of sinking into the ground,
Is quickly accumulated in the beds of the
streams, which rise many feet in short
time. When this accumulation is rapid
enough and the clay of the land'' is just
right, the water rushes down the bed Of
the stream in solid wall and is called a
cloudburst. The same precipitation in
an open country or in one in which the
soil has been broken up by cultivation
would be called heavy rainfall and
would do no damage unless continued
long enough for the streams to rise out Of
their banks and food the country.
! One of the most destructive storms Of
this nature, so far as its manifold con-
sequences are concerned, took place in
the spring Of 1864, when a cloudburst oc-
CURED at the headwaters of Cherry
creek. This is a small stream, dry most
Of the year, but notorious for its eccen-
tricities. 1t flows through Denver and
empties into the Platte river within the
confines of the city. Just at nightfall the
water swept down this dry creek in a
wall said to have been ten feet in height,
carrying everything before it. Many peo-
pie were drowned, and many buildings
were washe away. All night long the
creek fowe' bankful Of water that was
thick with wreckage. People were res
cued during the night on RATS and Inn
provised boats.
The most serious loss was the city hall,
which was swept away by the water, to-
gether with all the records on file there.
These records included not only those of
the state and city, but also the United
States land filings. The flood was fol-
lowed by an era of land jumpings, and
good many of the present fortunes in
Denver dat from that event. The safe
Of the city hall was never found, although
some relics IF the flood, including por-
ton Of the press of The Rocky Mountain
News, are now in the rooms of the State
Historical society,". C. Knowles in
Ainslee's Magazine.