Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-11-20
IL aboardi "

-
~ The brakeman at the rear raised his hand
the conductor swung himself on the brakeman
followed, and had glimpse of row OF Gu
rious faces the platform OF the station looking into
the open door of the IN which I seated as I
drew past them. But too much interested in my
surroundings pay much attention to outside matters
had been attached TO the United States Signal Ser
vice in OF TIE Western States, and obtaining leave
Of absence for weeks had Also by dint of careful
and influential correspondence with the division super
ntendent OF X. R R, obtained permission to make
trip the road with the professional ran-raker
pIoyed by the company
The car in which I was seated divided into two
compartments One Of them fitted up with sleeping
and dining arrangements; the other contained the
chanical and electrical appliances used by the rain
maker. It in the professional end of the that
seated, watching the rain-rnaker he busted him
self with certain pieces Of apparatus that looked ys
necrouancer.
Presently he finished his task and and sat down
beside me. The arranged with narrow doors
in the sides. We sat looking the prairie
sped dustiy along, and the ran-uaker answered my
questions with good-natured amusement at some of
them.
How does the railroad company regard this depart
nent?-as advertisement a necessity"
Why, it is regular part of the service this
There three fitted up like this one, and they
cost the company four hundred dollars week when
everything is going"
And do you regard it a regular profession, Or"
l
changed my question. OF course mean, do you
gard as really settled that rain be compelled by
artificial means, is the whole thing still in stage of
experiment."
You will have to judge of that by the results of this
trip There is doubt in my mind of certain
scientific wellestabished natural phenomena"
1 looked curiousy around the again.
"Wil1 you explain the meaning of some of these
rangements?"
Certainly. You will understand them better when
A..
eth of the car overhead contains eight hundred gal
Ions of water. These pipes, here, running down the
sides of the connect with rubber hose which in
turn with hole that will be dug under the
car the ground where are sidetracked at des-
s:natio1.
Und>r this broad shelf you these boxes. I can
not tell you Them that is part of my secret
However, by chemical combinations certain gases are
forced frc these boxes through the water and from
these pipes, hcre"-he put his hand on them as he
spoke-"tle gases escape freely into the air.
"You have large 24-cell battery there, too. Of
what is that?"
rThat also is part of my secret. Rain-rnaking is
largely an electrical as we'll as chemical matter"
The whole affair mysterious to me, and the pro-
tessor'5" explanations only added to the mystery.
Foweyer, he continued
when the entire apparatus is in operation ff-
lndred feet of gas escape into the air every hour
When released is warm, and being much lighter than
the air ascent5 rapidly. Ihave way of measuring the
altitude and know that in the gas has risen
nearly eight thousand feet.
good Sal depends the velocity of the wind,
the gnera condition of humidity etc. I do not say
that always produce rain at the point of opera
ton, because the wind has much to do with it. and
my experiments may result in rain at a distance"
But still you believe that by your arrangements
hec with the gases, and on you in dry time
prod@cc rain that would not otherwise have fallen in
the course of nairre?"
The rGn-laker looked at quizzically but did not
answer, exr:pt to refer the coming experiments
&c which began to look forward with curiosity had
not f-it for years