That, toward the close of November, 1883, a thick shower of ashy matter
fell at Queenstown, South Africa. The matter was in marble-sized balls,
which were soft and pulpy, but which, upon drying, crumbled at touch.
The shower was confined to one narrow streak of land. It would be only
ordinarily preposterous to attribute this substance to Krakatoa--
But, with the fall, loud noises were heard--
But I'll omit many notes upon ashes: if ashes should sift down upon
deep-sea fishes, that is not to say that they came from steamships.
Data of falls of cinders have been especially damned by Mr. Symons, the
meteorologist, some of whose investigations we'll investigate
later--nevertheless--
Notice of a fall, in Victoria, Australia, April 14, 1875 (_Rept. Brit.
Assoc._, 1875-242)--at least we are told, in the reluctant way, that
someone "thought" he saw matter fall near him at night, and the next day
found something that looked like cinders.
In the _Proc. of the London Roy. Soc._, 19-122, there is an account of
cinders that fell on the deck of a lightship, Jan. 9, 1873. In the
_Amer. Jour. Sci._, 2-24-449, there is a notice that the Editor had
received a specimen of cinders said to have fallen--in showery
weather--upon a farm, near Ottowa, Ill., Jan. 17, 1857.
But after all, ambiguous things they are, cinders or ashes or slag or
clinkers, the high priest of the accursed that must speak aloud for us
is--coal that has fallen from the sky.
Or coke:
The person who thought he saw something like cinders, also thought he
saw something like coke, we are told.
_Nature_, 36-119:
Something that "looked exactly like coke" that fell--during a
thunderstorm--in the Orne, France, April 24, 1887.
Or charcoal:
Dr. Angus Smith, in the _Lit. and Phil. Soc. of Manchester Memoirs_,
2-9-146, says that, about 1827--like a great deal in Lyell's
_Principles_ and Darwin's _Origin_, this account is from
hearsay--something fell from the sky, near Allport, England. It fell
luminously, with a loud report, and scattered in a field. A fragment
that was seen by Dr. Smith, is described by him as having "the
appearance of a piece of common wood charcoal." Nevertheless, the
reassured feeling of the faithful, upon reading this, is burdened with
data of differences: the substance was so uncommonly heavy that it
seemed as if it had iron in it; also there was "a sprinkling of
sulphur." This material is said, by Prof. Baden-Powell, to be "totally
unlike that of any other meteorite." Greg, in his catalogue (_Rept.
Brit. Assoc._, 1860-73), calls it "a more than doubtful substance"--but
again, against reassurance, that is not doubt of authenticity. Greg says
that it is like compact charcoal, with particles of sulphur and iron
pyrites embedded.
Reassurance rises again:
Prof. Baden-Powell says: "It contains also charcoal, which might perhaps
be acquired from matter among which it fell."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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