Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-03-15
Distant Cannon.


Hard by the track Of the late eclipse in
America, north Georgit, is a lofty, rocky
mountain of the Blue Ridge, and here for
half century at least at many different
points and in all kinds Of weather have
been heard sounds which, though always
mysterious and eluding detection. are in
variably described as resembling distant
cannon. Years ago it had been ingeniously
suggested that the phenomena had been
due to the bears fnfesting the country,
who, In search of food, would move stones
of some magnitude, and send them rolling
down the mountain side, causing the noises
spoken Of Be it noted, however that
though the bears have nearly or entirely
disappeared, the noises continue as of old
Trustworthy witnesses who have visited
the mountain in still night hours express
ly for the sake Of making careful obserya-
lions have come to the significant concIu-
sion that the sounds appear to issue from
the earth itself. Very similar accounts
come from North Carolina, and further
north in Pennsylvania. while a hundred
miles further yet, at Franklnville, n. Y;
DR.. Kales has written detailed descrip-
tloH OF an occasion when exactly similar
reports seemed to come from the center
of East Hill as though the solid rock were
being blasted.
But we can come much nearer home
Lookout men at Ostend have heard dull
and distant reports, apparently subter-
ranean. and many times repeated usually
toward evening after a hot day; while on
Dartmoor, In England, and in not a few
parts of Scotland, circumstantial evidence
OF precisely similar character has been
Forthcoming, and was made public a few
years ago In some Of our leading scientific
journals
AS to the actual travel of the undoubt
ed hring OF cannon We can gather abundant
and independent testimony from recent
correspondents. Writing to Mature" a lit
tie while since, Mr.. W. F. Sinclair of CheI-
sea stated that he and friend had heard
q q Int nf h.
SO distinctly that the reports were actually
felt in the chest" while on February i
last the great funeral guns of Portsmouth
were heard for certain at Oxford and
other places upward Of seventy miles in
land. Undoubtedly with modern ordnance
and the high explosives now in use, given
favorable conditions of wind and weather
some extraordinary longsound ranges of
the great stirring salute may have been
faithfully noted.
The Grinding Law Of GRAVITY.
But where time or distance places the
firing Of cannon out Of the question. then
we seem driven to one of the theories al
ready adduced, f.e., involving either a ter
restrial or an aerial origin As regards
the latter, the bursting of meteors may
surely be put out of count. but a better
suggestion remains-that of electrical dis
turbance. The commissioner of Dacca
writing quarter Of a century ago, of the
phenomena, which were as well known in
his day and district as they are today says
that after listening to the gunlike reports
through whole night he is led to conclude
that they are caused by the meeting of
thunder clouds at high elevation above
the earth's surface. This, of course NAV
be so, but Dacca is not England, and when
We hear-as We shall again and again-of
sounds thought to be mysterious and pro-
ceeding from no assignable origin then we
may be content with an old familiar story
that may be heard any day at the pits
mouth in mining district-namely, that
there are goblin miners who are often to
be heard in old workings. If followed up
these tales, which are substantially true
enough, may be satisfactorily traced to the
fracture OF some rock stratum where
under the stress of superintendent mass,
some tension has suddenly given way.
Well. no one can object to the disposing
of even cherished mystery by a physical
explanation which in itself is full of inter-
est. We need but to regard the soil we
walk on as hiding an ancient solid crust
which has known many vicissitudes, which
is crushed together at one point, strained
and unstable at another, tunneled into hol-
lows by hidden watercourses. and at ali
times and everywhere subjected to those
tremors, greater smaller, about which
we are learning more and more.
Maybe in the weeks lately passed the very
soil of England has been shaken. and the
minds OF very many have been keenly
reused to catch the sound.