Adventures in independent publishing
During a storm, a brownish substance fell at Luchon on July 28, 1885. It was “very friable, carbonaceous matter” than when burned, “gave out a resinous odor.” From Comptes Rendus, 103-837.
–Charles Fort, The Book of the Damned, p. 74 (The Complete Books of Charles Fort, Dover, c1974).
A report in L’Astronomie, 1886-310, tells of a resident of Pondicherry, Madras, India, who, on June 13, 1885, was sitting in a closed room when a mist appeared near him. At the same time there was a violent explosion. The reporter explained it as “at the time the weather was semi-stormy, and…an hour later rain fell heavily.”
–Charles Fort, Wild Talents, p. 945-946 (The Complete Books of Charles Fort, Dover, c1974).
Science, 5-242, reports that on Feb. 24, 1885, the Innerwich was somewhere between Yokohama and Victoria. The captain was roused at midnight by his mate, who had seen “something unusual in the sky.” He went on deck and saw “the sky turning fiery red. ‘All at once, a large mass of fire appeared over the vessel, completely blinding the spectators.’” Then it fell into the sea, casting up enough water to cause a “deafening” noise. “The bark was struck flat aback, and a ‘roaring, white sea passed ahead.’”
The object was also described in Nature, 37-187, and L’Astronomie, 1887-76, as ‘a large ball of fire’ that rose out of the sea about fifty feet, came near the ship, then moved away, visible for about five minutes. While Nature concluded it was ball lightning, Flammarion, on p. 68 of Thunder and Lightning, says ‘that it was enormous.’
In writing of this datum, Fort says, “it’s from the puritanic publication, Science, which has yielded us little material, or which, like most puritans, does not go upon a spree very often.”
–Charles Fort, The Book of the Damned, p.273 (The Complete Books of Charles Fort, Dover, c1974).
September falls of meteorites/stones in storms:
St. Leonards-on-sea, England, Sept. 17, 1885 (Annual Register, 1885)
Sweden, Sept. 24, 1883 (Nature, 29-15)
Cardiff, Sept. 26, 1916, accompanied by lightning flash (London Times, Sept. 28, 1916)
Writes Fort: “It is said [in Science Gossip, n.s., 6-65] that, though meteorites have fall in storms, no connection is supposed to exist between the two phenomena, except by the ignorant peasantry.”
He further says:
“Peasants believed in meteorites.
"Scientists excluded meteorites.
"Peasants believe in ‘thunderstones.’
"Scientists exclude ‘thunderstones.’
"It is useless to argue that peasants are out in the fields, and that scientists are shut up in laboratories and lecture rooms. We cannot take for a real base that, as to phenomena with which they are more familiar, peasants are more likely to be right than are scientists: a host of biologic and meteorologic fallacies of peasants rises against us.”
–Charles Fort, The Book of the Damned, pp101, 107 (The Complete Books of Charles Fort, Dover, c1974).
On Aug. 27, 1885, about 8:30 a.m., Mrs. Adelina D. Bassett and Mrs. L. Lowell in Bermuda witnessed “a strange object in the clouds, coming from the north.” They were somewhat alarmed, but watched it steadily for some time. “It was of triangular shape, and seemed to be about the size of a pilot-boat mainsail, with chains attached to the bottom of it. While crossing the land it appeared to descend, but, as it went out to sea, it ascended, and continued to ascend, until it was lost to sight high in the clouds.”
–The Book of the Damned, p.264 (The Complete Books of Charles Fort, Dover, c1974)
