El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-29
Strange Things From Sky
Showers of @BiOOd,g Worms. Sulphur
and Of Insects; Fish shower
Once in FL PasO.
- go p. g.


Once In Fl Puao.
10y Garrett p. SeFviss-
A CORRESPONDENT in Massachu-
n sets writes that after a heavy
= \ storm recently he saw the pave
ments Of a town sprinkled with MANY
small earthWOrms, apparently lffeIess
and looking as if they had been
drowned, and since it was seemingly
impossible that they could have
craWled there in such numbers aa
wishes to know if science can throw
any light on their probable ORIGIN
This incident is similar to one that
occurred in FL PaSO about five Yeas
ago, when, following clOudburst. brn
dreds of small fish were found SCAT
tered over that section Of East FI Pas,
near the brewery. A severe wind fba+
unrOO1ed number Of houses and tore
down many street signs had also -
cOmpanied the rain For a large area.
the whole surface Of the earth-in the
streets, yards and vacant IOts-vas
covered with these fish, many of them
half as large as an adults hand.
Sucn phenomena have long been
known, in various forms, and has soroa-
times been the cause of panic fears
among ignorant and sUperstftfous .neo-
pie The sOcalIed blood rains" belong
TO the same category.
Most Of these occurrences are be-
Heved to be due to the carrying no
into the atmosphere, by whirling winds.
OF quantities OF dust, the cOlOred pollen
or flowers. and even small animals
which are transported to a cOnsidera bic .
distance. and then brought down 10
the ground during a rainstOrm-
Inc power Of an atmospheric Whirl
70 II1t ugnt objects to a great eleva-
ton is often astonishing Such a
Whirlwind passing over a swamp OF
pond may suck up considerable quan-
titles Of water, and win il small fish
frogs and worms These are retained
in the air by the rapidity OF their
q naH Hzerr orr.
or even many miles, before they de-
scend again to the ground If they are
caught In shower Of rain they are
assembled together in muldtudes as
A Curious Instance.
some very curious instances OF
strange rains Of this kind are on rec
ord Many years ago a shower OF
small green stones fell during a violent
storm in the streets of Birmingham,
England, causing much CONSERVATION
among the Inhabitants. Investigation
by a geOlOgist showed that they had
been torn by the wind from a ragged
range Of greensboro rock near the viz
lage OF ROWley. in StaffOrdshile. sew
eral miles north OF Birmingham
such phenomena are more common
IN southern Europe than elsewhere. AMI
II has been proved that the Desert Of
sahara IS usually their source Col
Ored sand and dust are raised to a
great height in the atmosphere by the
across the Mediterranean Sea until in
passing over Europe. they are caught
IN descending rains. to which they i'm
part the color of blood or Of sulphur
often staining any substance with
which they come in contact
On March IA, 1913, a bloody cloud
which probably originated in the Sa-
hara- passed over CaIabria and ev-
tended nOrthWard into the Kingdom OF
Naples, spreading terror everywhere,
and cOIOrlnE the whole sky as red as
ire Thunder storms broke out. and
the rain that fell from the cloud had
exactly the appearance OF blood.
In 1S4l a blOOd-cOlOred rain fell at
Chambery, at the foot Of the Alps.
while the summit Of the mountains,
around the st. Bernard pass there feII
several inches of bloody snow"
In the old days of superstition these
occurrences were ascribed to diabOlie
influences. and there was no one wise
enough in the dOings Of nature TO offer
q reasonable explanation of them
Insects Transported
OAten II happens That insects. and
sometimes heavier animals as well as
the seeds OF plants. are Transported
long distances by the wind and de-
posted alive upon the ground Dr. 7.
L. Ph1pSOn, who devoted many years
TO Investigation OF atmOSpheric va
gar1es, believed that the sudden an
pearance Of strange plants and insects
IN localities where they are usually
unknown is due to this cause
he himself observed several in
stances Of the kind. On one occasion
a rare plant called bloody FINGER
grass" suddenly began to grow in his
garden, but il disappeared after a
single season His explanation was
that its seeds had been BROUGHT
through the atmosphere. and that the
plants, after Furnishing q single sum
mer, persisted for lack of proper nOur-
lsnment in the soil
On another occasion his garden, near
London, was suddenly animated with
the presence of a species Of wasp.
which is never found in England. but
abOunds in the south of France.
single season
The fact is that the atmosphere is
a wonderful Transporting agent. filled
with unseen currents, and yet contain
ing many mysteries, such as the barO-
metric holes" into which aerOplanes
sometimes plunge, that remain to be
satisfactorily explained