The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1900-06-01
PELTING THE EARTH.
a CONSTANT SHOWER OF METEORS
INTO OUR ATMOSPHERE.

Intense Cold OF Space Felt by Man.
The atmosphere forms an armor
which ia almost impenetrable to the
neteors that are constantly pelting
the earth. About 1000 Of these wan
derers In space hit our atmosphere ev
cry "A hours. Most Of the meteors are
small. They come rushing through
space, strike the atmosphere, and the
friction against the molecules of air
heats them to a white heat and sets
them ablaZe. Sometimes part of one
may reach the earth; but, as a rule.
they are consumed, and the dust alone,
cOsmic dust, drops upon the surface.
One of the earliest known meteors
fell in 204 B. G. in Phrygia, where for
q long time 1t was wOrshiped. 1t was
carried to Rome and was supposed to
be q messenger from the gods. Livy
describes a shower of meteOric stones.
The people were greatly alarmed, and
the senators were demOraliZed and de-
clared a nine days festival to propiti-
ate the gods. There Is at Mecca a
meteorite which fell in 600 A. D. and
is still wOrshiped by the faithful.
ton of meteors which fell in ga B.
G. The oldest known meteOrite which
was seen to fall is now on exhibition
at Ensisheim, Alsace, Germany. In
1902 it came crashing down through
the air with roar that prostrated the
peasantry with fright. 1t buried it.
self deeply In the earth. 1t weighed
200 pounds and hangs today in the
parish church.
The ChupaderOs meteOrite, which
weighed % tons, fell In Chihuahua.
| Mexico. The largest meteorite known
| IL the Peary stone, which weighs ap-
proximately 100 tons. The stone Of
Canon Diable weighs at least ten tons
and exploded high in air, the pieces be-
ing found all over the surrounding
country. In Italy several instances are
known of the loss of life from meteor
ties. A peasant was sitting in his
cabin and was killed by an iron mass
that crashed through the roof. The act
was regarded as a visitation Of divine
anger.
The city of Milan Is perhaps the on
ly one that has been struck by q
meteorite. A meteorite Of several
pounds weight fell in the heart OF
that city in the year 1860. on the au.
thority of Paolo Maria Tezzayo. and
struck a Franciscan monk.
More remarkable are the falls at sea
That a ship should be struck would
seem an extraordinary chance. yet q
Swedish ship was SO struck, the stone
killing two Of the crew. On Dec. l
1896, the ship Walkamming was sail
ing from New York to Bremen wher
her officers noticed q brilliant meteor
that appeared to be bearing down OF
the vessel from southeast to northwest
It passed with loud roar and kissing
sound and plunged into the sea aheat
of the ship. That II was a meteor O
large size was evident. for a few min
utes later the ship was struck by ,
tidal wave.
Even more remarkable was the OK
perience Of the British ship Cawdor
which reached San Francisco Nov. &c
1897. During q severe storm a larg
and brilliant meteor was observe,
rushing down upon the ship, and witt
Il
sulphur it passed between the masts o
the ship and fell into the sea not s.
feet from the rail.
One of the greatest curioslties pos
sessed by man today is a suppose,
fragment Of a comet in MaZapil, Mex
leo. The fragment is believed to be
part of the tail of Biela's comet. Il
1846 something happened in space.
wreck occurred. Biela's comet ma
have collided with another comet. L
any case, the comet divided, and man
living observers remember seeing th
r | two parts gradually separating.
pl Some fatality pursued one part G
I the comet. and it met its fate in fr
i finite space, literally went to piece
= and became a wreck upon the shore
+ less sea of space. Astronomers predic
S ed that if the comet itself did not al
pear in 1872 its wreckage would b,
come visible as shooting stars, an
this prediction was realized apparen
ly, as on Nov. p, 1872. there burs
from the heavens a cloud of shOOtin
stars. During the display one piee
dropped upon the earth and was 81
. cured at MaZapil, Mexico, and was d.
clared to be part of the great comet
The average metetG3te immediatel
= after its fall is intensely hot, but {
least one. which was handled immed
ately after falling, still held the IL
tense cold Of space. A few men ca
say that they have experienced thi
A meteorite exploded above Dhurms
la, Kangra and Punjab. India. in 1856
and a section was picked up immed
ately by some natives. who dropped
with expressions Of pain. The expl
sion had exposed the interior of Il
intense cold Of space and was so CO
that its effect was like burn. Th
fragment is now to be seen in the Fie
museum. OF it DIR. harrington, Il
curator. said. ''This Is perhaps the o
iy instance known where the cold
space has become perceptible to huma
4 | senses"-New York Sun.
The Most Ungrammatical.
&I A literary man who has just returnt
4 from the anthracite coal region
4 Pennsylvania says that he found
great quantity of "local color" ther
He also says he heard the most u
grammatical sentence while there tn
ever came under his notice. He WI
strolling through a mining village
+, Schuylkill county when he heard a "
man calling. and at some distance {
saw several children who were playil
In the road. When he reached thel
he said kindly:
"Your mother Is calling you. ch
dren."
Il The largest child. a girl Of about