New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-06-03

wounded after such engagements-for these
rains are balm to the fever and anguish of the
poor body that is promoted to the ranks OF
Casualties | am sure you will find my tes-
timony confirmed by the recollections OF every
soldier
But the Weather Man, when you show him
such sort of unimpeachable testimony as that
Just given, smiles-good naturedly enough,
perhaps, but after you have fixed" 1t ali up
for him, it does seem rather aggravating to
see how cooly he takes it-and he says
We'll it probably would have rained
whether there was battle or not. It's just
like those old yarns we used to hear about 1t
always raining without fail on the Fourth OF
July before they invented those safe-and sane
affairs. Now, when you were youngster you
always remembered when it rained on the
Fourth Of July, but I'll bet you local meteoro-
logical report to last years Sunday Supple
nrent that you can't remember a single 9TH of
July during your entire existence that it
rained It's the same with the 'Call-me-early
mother-for Pm to-be- Queen -of-the-May propo-
sition. The Queen of the May always remem-
bers when it rains on May /, but when the
other girl is queen that's different. So with
Decoration Day; and as for Easter-thats IN
the rainy season, anyway. / am inclined to
think that it is the event in which you are in
terested that recalls the rain. 1t isn't the
battle that makes the rain, but it is the battle
that makes one remember the rain
"But YOU must admit that there is a war in
Europe now going on, and that while the big
British and French ofensives arc proceeding
and quantities of explosives exceeding any
thing heretofore known in history are being
used we are having rain, rain, rain, and more
rain-you admit that, don't you?'
He wasn't bit put out, for he smiled again
and remarked:
81 admit the war, but the rain hasn't been
so bad It's considerably less than the average
since the first of the year.
And little rivers are flowing from the visi-
tors umbrella all the time the Weather Man
is talking. and the visitor would take his oath
that it has rained twenty-eight out of the
twenty-eight days of May already passed.
"l'll show YOU" he said, and he went to the
records. "Since January to the present time
the average precipitation" chats the Weather
Mans name for what most of Us gall 'rainJ
has been 1916 inches, and it is 4.74 inches
short of the general average, which is 1870
inches. So you see it hasn't been so wet as it
might have BEEN
Then you don't admit that the war makes
RAIN"
He was very firm in his answer.
81 don't admit that it does" he said, land |
don't deny that it doesn't"
Somehow one felt that one had been mental
" himfammed," but one couldn't make out just
how. All one could do was to turn to the battle
records and take solace in the hot facts of bat
tie and the cold facts of rain. For instance,
there were:
The battle of Buena Vista, Mexico, fought
February, 1847-ong before there
Weather Bureau and Weather Man. This
the dry season; there had been no rain for
several months, but three showers followed the
first engagement, two of them severe.
The battles of Pao Alto, Monterey, Con
treras and other battles in Mexico and battle
after battle in the Civil War were followed by
rains.
The logs on the gunboats record rains after