The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-03-02
MYSTERY NOISES.
OF Unknown Origin, They Sound
Like MuffIed Thunder.
COMMON IN THE OLD WORLD.
These Curious 5oonings, That Puzzle
Science, Heard at Times From Aus
traIia to ireland, Are Akin to the
"Moodus Noises" of Connecticut.

tTaiia TO ireland, Are AKIN TO khe
"Moodus Noises" of Connecticut.
1t is hot and tranquil summer art
ernoon on the Belgian coast in time OF
peace. Strolling along the shore you
are startled by a muffled detonatlon
that seems to come from somewhere
FAR out at sea. Can it be thunder!
There is not a cloud in the sky, ana
you remember that thunder Is rarely
audible at a greater distance than
fifteen miles. A man-of-war at target
practice, perhaps-far in the otfing- AT
this point your Belgian friend e2-
plains. 1t was the 'mistpoefer. he
says, and sign that the weather Will
continue fair
But what is the mistpoeffer? If you
can answer that question you can also
explain the mysterious Barisal guns OF
India (Barisal is the name of town
in the Ganges delta1, which have puz-
zled scientific men for half century.
You can explain also the strange rum
blings that in certain parts of Italy !
seem to come from nowhere in par |
ticular and are known to the peasantry |
under forty or more local names, the
desert sound Of the Australian wilder |
ness. the water guns of Tough Neagh |
in Ireland and the aerial detonations
that occasionally startle Californians
during the warm season.
For example. in September, 1896, to
| quote the Santa Rosa Republican. "a
tremendous explosion, presumably III
| the air. occurred near Cazadero. 1t
was heard by the jewellers of the
mountain region over an area OF 800
| square miles"
All noises of this kind resembling
| thunder. but not traceable to that or
any other known agency, are now gen
orally called in scientific literature
brontidi. name first used by Profes-
sor Tito Aippi. who has made spe-
cial study of these phenomena in
Italy.
The "Moodus noises" familiar to old
residents of Moodus and East Had
dam. Conn. are probably kindred pine
nomena. although they seem TO be
somewhat more definitely associated
with subterranean earth shocks than
are typical brontidi and the same may
be said of the goutfre Of Haiti. which
at least in some cases-is easily recog-
nized as CT subterranean origin.
Although systematic investigations
of brontidi are of recent date, occur
rences of the phenomena have been re
corded from early tinles5'g Lord Bacon
mentions IAN extraordinary noise in
the sky when there is no thunder
and similar sounds were known to
Humboldt and BoussingauIt Captain
Sturt. pioneer explorer of Australia
wrote in 1929:
About p. M of Feb. during the
/ Australian summer) Mr.. Hume and
were occupied tracing the chart upor
the ground. The day had been re
markably fine. There was not ciOut
Y in the heavens nor n breath OF mir {,
be felt On a sudden we heard VIVA
seemed to be the report of Il gun tiret
= at the distance of between five and 81,
miles. 1t was not the hollow sound o
: an earthly explosion or the sharp craC
. king noise of falling timber. but il
r. every way resembied the discharge o
t a heavy piece of ordnance.
mo one was certain whence tn
r sound proceeded. Both Mr.. Hume an
{ myself thought it came from the north
west. | sent one of the men up u tree
but he could observe nothing unuSua
: The country round him appeared equa
IF " fat on all sides and thickly wooded
1t Whatever occasioned the report,
Is made a strong impression on all of u:
1T and to this day such a sound in such
re situation is matter of mystery t
p me-"
Science has not fully solved the my
terry of brontidi but it can hardly
doubted that the origin of these SOUND
is really subterranean. From a focr
far underground the jar OF settliu
II rocks sends vibrations to the surface
not at one spot. but over wide are
~, Then if the everything air is calm an
r homogeneous it also is set in vibratio
in and if the vibrations are of the rigl
RS period to be audible the result is
s booming sound of altogether indefini
er location. 1t is simply lin the air"
IS Youths Companion.