Year: 1868

We clip the following almost incredulous
story from one Of our Nashville exchanges
OF the I4th inst


Yesterday a strange and terrible natural
phenomenon occurred in Cheathman county,
about nineteen miles from the city, on the
line Of the Nashville and Northwestern
Railroad About ! o'clock, while the men
employed on the plantation of Joshua
Fulgham were going into a field to pluck
fodder, the sun being hidden behind clouds
at the time, and a general gloom pervading
the sky, they zEere much frightened and con-
fused by the apparent opening of the clouds
judging from the description OF the phe-
nOmenOn, not more than five or six degrees
north of the zenith They judge the cloud
TO be about three quarters of mile high.
The strange sight attracted their notice.
brilliant whitish red glare overspread an i'm
mense mass of black clouds, on the center
of which appeared Il funnellike aperture
about four or FIVE feet in diameter, the sides
of which presented the appearance Of ragged
flames darting like fiery tongues, and licking
and tapping at u large white hot object pass
ing with inoonceivable rapidity down through
the aperture. When it left the mass of cloud
1t did not appear 60 fall in a perpendicular
direction, but slOped at an inclination of
some ten or fifteen degrees from q plumb
line, and grew more intensely bright as it
approached the earth. 1t swept down like
a bright angel Of death and destruction it
struck the earth with sound like a sudden,
terrific clap of thunder, and seemed to make
the surrounding hills quiver to their fOun-
dations; great numbers of trees on their
rocky sides fell, and continued falling for
several minutes afterwards, making noises
like the prolonged reverberations Of the
thunder among rocky cliffs.


II,
from the place where the fiery missive from
the sky struck, and were afraid to 90 and
axamine the place for several hours after
wards They took courage, however, and,
being Joined by numbers Of the people liy-
ing in the surrounding neighborhOOd, they
proceeded to the place, and found that it had
struck upon a fat ledge Of rocks in wagon
way leading from a farm house to the public
road. The fragments of stone were thrown
around for several rods In all directions;
the ledge, which is said to be three feet thick,
without any seams, was disturbed for a dis
tance Of about fifty feet, split and torn up in
fragments; the soil, which was spread IN
thin layers all over it, looked as if passed
through a sieve. At the point where the
strange body came in contact with the rock
there appeared to be no storm at all, but a
very fine, white, fOury sort of paste, which
was quite hot and a steam ascended out OF
the hole IN which it had buried itself which
was too hot to approach.


Several gentlemen of philosophical turn
of mind were strongly of the opinion that it
was an aerolite brought into state Of fusion
by coming down through the atmosphere,
but had not been completely burned before
touching the earth.


There was a strong odor about the place,
such as may be found in blasting furnaces,
and the passage Of the aerOhte was marked
by a light, yelowish sort of smoke. Very
fine PARTICLES Of some sort of oxide continued
to fall all over the country for several hours.


1t is the intention Of the people to organ
ize a working party to quarry out what re-
mains of the body which Is undoubtedly
metal as soon as Che temperature of the
rocks viii admit


Al yet it seems to be premature to enter
on any speculation relative to the nature of
the strange phenomenon. Moreover, the
scientifi; men Of the city are already IN
terested IN the matter, and no doubt there
Will be a thorough diagonis Of the strange
!