Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-09-27
IT'S TO BE A SEVERE WINTER.
Such is the Conclusion of Weathe

Sharps in Convention Assembled.
The weather prophets of Berks coun.
ty, Pennsylvania, who have forecast
the weather for many years held theil
annual convention at Lobachsville, this
county, when by a two-thirds vote II
be an unusually severe one. Weather
prognosticators from all sections o1
the county were represented and ex-
changed their views on the subject
Many are close followers of the veter-
an goose bone weather prophet, Elias
Hartz, who died several years ago and
who was considered one Of the best
weather prophets of his day.
Loyal supporters of the goose bone
theory all declare for a severe winter
They have noticed the covering OF
feathers on geese born last spring and
say that they have the appearance OF
being ruffled considerably. This leads
them to believe that after many of the
geese are killed for the Thanksgiving
Day, the breast bone will show many
discolorations.
Mr.. Hartz, the aged prophet, never
made his prediction until the day after
Thanksgiving and farmers and others
were usually guided by what he said
If he sounded the warning, Fill your
coal bins" everybody got busy and the
coal merchants had all they could do
to fill the cellars of their customers.
The annual convention of the wealth
er prognosticators was interesting In
every particular. Those in attendance
express their views freely. Some are
guided by the actions of the small ami
mails and reptiles, while others pay
close attention to the trees and shrub
berry.
Gideon Keller of Brecknock, aged
50 years, said:
when 1 was a boy learned the
signs of the weather man from my
father, who always foyetold the
weather with success. We will have a
cold winter and 1t will not start late
either. 1 believe the seasons are
changing, that the summers are be-
coming shorter and cooler and the win
tiers longer and more severe. When did
We experience such a cold winter as
last year? When was a summer cooler
than this season? The leaves on the
trees began to color some weeks ago
and have already started to fall. This
is an indication that the winter will be
cold.
"The apple crop this year is earlier
than usual. You can depend on nature
at all times. The apples are ripening
earlier and will be harvested earlier
thon in previous seasons. Another sign
of a cold winter is the fact that the
weeds to grow tall to make provision
for the birds and animals that use this
food"
Cyrus E. Schmeck of Garfield said:
I'm my opinion the ground hog Is the
most reliable weather prophet / know
of. At the present time the animal Is
busy digging his hole deeper. He an
ticipates a hard winter and Is provid-
ing a warm home. Even the chickens
and the ducks show signs of a severe
winter. Not for many years have
chickens moulted their feathers. Dur
ing the past summer there was an ex-
ceptionally large rainfall, which Is an
other indication that the winter will be
cold, with little rain, much wind and
considerable rough weather"
John Drake of Muhlenberg township,
whose weather predictions of last fall
won for him a widespread reputation
as weather prognosticator, has re-
ceived fifty-seven letters since Septem-
ber 1, asking him to foretell the condi-
tions for the approaching winter. On
December 21, 1911, he predicted a
green Christmas and a cold spell on
January which would last until jan
uary IS. His forecasts were so exact
that the people regard him as an au-
thority in this line. He said:
"A Luzerne county man writes to
me that he would like to know wheth-
er there will be much snow before
Christmas, as he Is training pack or
hounds and wants to make an eXten-
sive hunting trip. A Wilkesbare wo-
man giving her name as Miss Blanch
S. Waldmere enclosed a special deliv-
cry stamp in letter sent to me and
wants to know If wednesday, Novem-
ber 6, will be a pleasant day. She is
engaged to he married on that day and
wants pleasant weather"
When asked how he made his pre-
dictions Drake said:
That is my secret. I will tell you,
however, that my predictions, which
are based upon the study of the hcaN =
ems have never failed. On July IL at
2.3O a. m, got my information about
the blizzard due in February. or
course had to do some figuring and
anybody makes mistakes in calcula-
tions sometimes. During the night OF
August 18th while watching certain
planets l reached the conclusion that
January would be a very cold month.
am so wrapped up in astronomy that
never found time to get married. That
is why l am bachelor"
Quite a number of other weather
prophets, made their predictions. 1t
was reported in substance that musk
rats have begun building early; that
corn husks are thick, with the stalks
leaning to the west; that geese, ducks
,i,cr a down
under their feathers and bony sub
stance on their feet; that squirrels are
prepared to lay up unusual supplies OF
proyender; that toadstools on old logs
have many wrinkles ,and that Owls
have retired to the woods much earlier
than usual.
The many varieties of weather ex-
perienced by residents OF this section
during the past six months have caus-
ed much annoyance to many OF the
weather prophets and some are unable
to tell where they are at. Some fear
that they are not sizing up conditions
properly and all seem much at sea as
to causes responsible for the many
changes. Consequently few are more
cautions than usual in advancing new
theories. The goosebone authorities,
agree, however, that the winter Will be
severe. but will not be able to make a
full prediction until after ThanksglV-
ing Day.
Berks county has produced such a
vast number Of self-styled weather
prophets that reference to it in news
paper accounts has become a common
occurrence They are more numerous
than the wide famed "hexerai, OF
witch doctors. Some of the prophets
hit the nail on the head, while others
miss it in their predictions by mile
philadelphia Records.