Animals:
Frogs And Toads / Fish And Other Water Denizens / Reptiles

Frogs and Toads

    In August, 1804 near Toulouse, France, a "tremendous number of little toads, one to two months old...were seen to fall from a great thick cloud that appeared suddenly in a sky that had been cloudless". On July 12, 1873, as reported in Scientific American, "A shower of frogs which darkened the air and covered the ground for a long distance is the reported result of a recent rainstorm at Kansas City, Mo." Rain seems to regularly accompany little frogs when they plummet from the sky as the following reports demonstrate; "Little frogs found in London, after a heavy storm, July 30, 1838.". "Little toads found in a desert, after a rainfall" (no date given). The Appenines saw a fall of tiny toads along with twigs and leaves during a storm on July 4, 1883. (pages 81-82) London newspapers reported that on August 17,1921 innumerable little frogs appeared during a thunderstorm in the northern part of London.(page 545) Elsewhere, one small green frog was found frozen in a piece of hail by "a respectable farmer, of undoubted veracity" (place and date not given). Another such instance occurred when the foreman of the Novelty Iron Works in Dubuque, Iowa, stated that "... in two large hailstones melted by him were found small living frogs." Similar accounts occurred in which "many small frogs and 'pieces of half-melted ice'" fell along with fish (pages 183-184). On July 31, 1921 a shower of little frogs fell on Anton Wagner's farm near Stirling, Connecticutt. It was reported in Symons' Meteorological Magazine that on June 30, 1892, there was a fall of frogs near Birmingham, England. An additional bit of weirdness in this instance is that the little frogs were described as "almost white"(emphasis mine)(page 83). On March 21, 1925, in the Transvaal a Mr.C.J.Grewar saw "...springboks leaping and shaking themselves unaccountably. At a distance, Mr.Grewar could concieve of no explanation of such eccentricities. He investigated, and saw that a rain of little frogs and fishes had pelted the springboks. Mr.Grewar heard that some time before, at that same place, there had been a similar shower."(pages 544-545) In Strasbourg on August 2, 1889, there was a fall of little toads. In the London Daily News of September 5,1922, there is an account of "little toads, which for two days had been dropping from the sky, at Chalon-sur-Saône, France" (page 546)

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Fish and Other Water Denizens

      Fish and other water denizens have fallen from the sky. This flies in the face of logic (pun intended) but has indeed occurred if the reports are to be believed.

"The best known fall of fishes from the sky is that which occurred at Mountain Ash, in the Valley of Abedere, Glamorganshire, Feb.11, 1859." As reported in the Zoologist "In the issue of 1859-6493, (appears) a letter from the Rev.John Griffith, vicar of Abedare, asserting that a fall had occurred, chiefly upon the property of Mr.Nixon, of Mountain Ash. Upon page 6540, Dr.Gray, of the British Museum, bristling with exclusionism, writes that some of these fishes, which had been sent to him alive, were 'very young minnows.' He says :'On reading the evidence, it seems to me most probably only a practical joke: that one of Mr.Nixon's employees had thrown a pailful of water upon another, who had thought fish in it had fallen from the sky' .
      Those fishes---still alive---were exhibited at the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park. The Editor (of the Zoologist) says that one was a minnow and the rest were sticklebacks. He says that Dr.Gray's explanation was no doubt right. But upon page 6564, he publishes a letter from another correspondent, who apologizes for opposing 'so high an authority as Dr.Gray,' but says that he had obtained some of these fishes from persons who lived at a considerable distance apart, or considerably out of range of the playful pail of water. According to the Annual Register, 1859-14, the fishes themselves had fallen by pailfuls.
      ...Ten minutes later another fall of fishes occurred upon this same narrow strip of land (80 yards long and 12 yards wide). ....In the London Times, March 2,1859, is a letter from Mr.Aaron Roberts, curate of St.Peter's, Carmathon. In this letter the fishes are said to have been about four inches long, but there is some question of species. I think, myself, that they were minnows and sticklebacks. Some persons, thinking them to be sea fishes, placed them in salt water, according to Mr.Roberts. 'The effect is stated to have been almost instantaneous death. Some were placed in fresh water. These seemed to thrive well. As to narrow distribution, we are told that the fishes fell 'in and about the premises of Mr.Nixon. It was not observed at the time that any fish fell in any other part of the neighborhood, save in the particular spot mentioned. In the London Times, March 10,1859, Vicar Griffith writes an account: 'The roofs of some houses were covered with them.' In this letter it is said that the largest fishes were five inches long, and that these did not survive the fall.'
      Report of the British Association,1859--158: 'The evidence of the fall of fish on this occasion was very conclusive. A specimen of the fish was exibited and was found to be the Gasterosteus leirus.' The Gasterosteus is the stickleback.
      Altogether I think we have not a sense of total perdition, when we're damned with the explanation that someone soused someone else with a pailful of water in which were thousands of fishes four or five inches long, some of which covered roofs of houses, and some of which remained ten minutes in the air." (pages 83-85)

      An interesting observation of Fort's was a pattern in the geography and dates of some falls of fish. This is as follows: " Meerut, India, July, 1824 (Living Age 52-186); Fifeshire, Scotland, summer of 1824 (Wernerian Nat.Hist.Soc.Trans. 5-575); Moradabad, India, July,1826 (Living Age, 52---186); Ross-shire, Scotland, 1828 (Living Age 52-186); Moradabad, India, July 20, 1829 (Lin.Soc.Trans., 16-764) ; Perthshire, Scotland (Living Age, 52-186); Argyleshire, Scotland, March 9, 1830 (Recreative Science, 3-339);Feridpoor, Indi, Feb.19, 1830 (Jour.Asiatic Soc.of Bengal, 2-650)."
     The fish falls of India often accompanied torrential rains and it was suggested that the fish littering the ground were the result of flooding rather than falling...however, while this may be true in some cases, in others there are further mitigating facts that undermine this theory.; " After a 'tremendous deluge of rain, one of the heaviest falls on record' (All the Year Round, 8-255) at Rajkote, India, July 25, 1850, 'the ground was found literally covered with fishes.' The word 'found' is agreeable to the repulsions of conventionalists and their concept of an overflowing stream---but, according to Dr.Buist, some of these fishes were 'found' on the tops of haystacks. Ferrel (A Popular Treatise, p.414) tells of a fall of living fishes---some of them having been placed in a tank, where they survived---that occurred in India, about 20 miles south of Calcutta, Sept.20, 1839. A witness of this fall says: 'The most strange thing which ever struck me was that the fish did not fall helter-skelter, or here and there, but they fell in a straight line, not more than a cubit in breadth.'" In the American Journal of Science it was reported that "...according to testimony taken before a magistrate, a fall occurred, Feb.19, 1830, near Feridpoor, India, of many fishes, of various sizes---some whole and fresh and others 'mutilated and putrefying.' Our reflex to those who would say that, in the climate of India, it would not take long for fishes to putrefy, is ---that high in the air, the climate of India is not torrid. Another peculiarity of this fall is that some of the fishes were much larger than others....In the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 2-650, depositions of witnesses are given: 'Some of the fish were fresh, but others were rotten and without heads.' 'Among the number which I got, five were fresh and the rest stinking and headless.' According to Dr.Buist, some of these fishes weighed one and a half pounds each and others three pounds. ...A fall of fishes at Futtepoor, India, May 16, 1833: 'They were all dead and dry.'"
      "A correspondent writes, from the Dove Marine Laboratory, Cuttercoats, England, that , at Hindon, a suburb of Sunderland, Aug.24,1918, hundreds of small fishes, identified as sand eels, had fallen---Again the small area: about 60 by 30 yards. The fall occurred during a heavy rain that was accompanied by thunder ---or indications of disturbance aloft ---but by no visible lightning. ...According to witnesses, the fall upon this small area occupied ten minutes. 'The fish were all dead, and indeed stiff and hard, when picked up, immediately after the occurrence.'" (pages 83--88)
      In Holland on June 13, 1889, there was a fall of fishes. A Virginia newspaper reported that in 1853 , in Norfolk, Virginia (my hometown!), there was a fall of fish. These were said to be catfish measuring about a foot long. They were accompanied by hail in their plunge to earth. On June 30, 1841, fish (one measuring ten inches) fell on Boston and, eight days later, fish and ice fell on Derby. "In Timb's Year Book, 1842-275, it is said that, at Derby, the fishes had fallen in enormous numbers; from half an inch to two inches long, and some considerably larger. In the Athenaeum, 1841-542, copied from the Sheffield Patriot, it is said that one of the fishes weighed three ounces. In several accounts, it is said that, with the fishes fell many small frogs and 'pieces of half-melted ice.'...In the London Times, July 15, 1841, it is said that the fishes were sticklebacks; that they had fallen with ice and small frogs, many of which had survived the fall. We note that, at Dumfermline, three months later (Oct.7, 1841) fell many fishes, several inches in length, in a thunderstorm.(London Times, Oct.12, 1841)" (pages 183-185). In the Philadelphia Public Ledger of August 8, 1891, there is a report of " ---a great shower of fishes, at Seymour, Ind. They were unknown fishes. " Also, in the Public Ledger is the following : "Feb.6, 1890 ---a shower of fishes in Montgomery County, California. 'The fishes belong to a species altogether unknown here.'"
      As reported in La Science Pour Tous: on February 16, 1861 there was an earthquake in Singapore. "Then came an extraordinary downpour of rain ---or as much water as any good-sized lake would consist of. For three days this rain or this fall of water came down in torrents. In pools on the ground, formed by this deluge, great numbers of fishes were found. The writer says that he had, himself, seen nothing but water fall from the sky. Whether I'm emphasizing what a deluge it was or not, he says that so terrific had been the downpour that he had not been able to see three steps away from him. The natives said that the fishes had fallen from the sky (emphasis mine). Three days later the pools dried up and many dead fishes were found, but, in the first place...the fishes had been active and uninjured. ...The writer of the account says that some of the fishes had been found in his courtyard, which was surrounded by high walls ---paying no attention to this, a correspondent (La Science Pour Tous, 6-317) explains that in a heavy rain a body of water had probably overflowed, carrying fishes with it. We are told by the first writer that these fishes of Singapore were of a species that was very abundant near Singapore....An account of the occurrence at Singapore was read by M.de Castelnau, before the French Academy. M.de Castelnau recalled that, upon a former occasion, he had submitted to the Academy the circumstance that fishes of a new species had appeared at the Cape of Good Hope, after an earthquake." (pages 244-245) "The most notable apperance of fishes during an earthquake is that of Riobamba. Humboldt sketched one of them, and it's an uncanny-looking thing. Thousands of them appeared upon the ground during this tremendous earthquake. Humboldt says that they were cast up from subterranean sources. I think not myself..."
      An incident occurred at Peru "...on the bank of a river, in Peru, Feb.4, 1871, a meteorite fell. 'On the spot, it is reported, several dead fishes were found, of different species.' The attempt to correlate is ---that the fishes 'are supposed to have been lifted out of the river and dashed against the stones'. Whether this is imaginable of not depends upon each one's own hypnoses." In Nature, it was suggested "That the fishes had fallen among the fragments of the meteorite." (page 303) In the small town of Chico in California, rocks were falling regularly from cloudy skies. The New York Times reported that in August, 1878, a large number of small fish fell from a cloudless sky. These fish covered a store's roof and streets over an area of several acres. (page 545)
      In the London Daily Mail of October 6, 1921, there is a report by Major Harding Cox which "...tells of an appearance of fishes that is ...mysterious. A pond near his house had been drained, and the mud had been scraped out. It was dry from July to November, when it was re-filled. In the Following May, this pond teemed with tench. One day, 37 of them were caught. Almost anybody, interested, will try to explain in terms of spawn carried by winds, or in mud on the feet of water birds, but ...Major Cox, who is a well-known writer, probably reviewed all conventional explanations, but still he was mystified. There would not be so much of the interesting in this story, were it not for his statement that never before had tench been caught in this pond." (emphasis mine). A similar incident was reported in the American Journal of Science. In this case "a correspondent tells of a ditch that had been dug on his farm, near Cambridge, Maryland. It was in ground that was a mile from any body of water. The work was interrupted by rain, which fell for more than a week. Then, in the rain water that filled the ditch, were found hundreds of perch, of two species. The fishes could not have developed from spawn, in so short a time: they were from four to seven inches long. But there was, here, marksmanship that strikes my attention. Nothing is said of dead fishes lying upon the ground, at the sides of the ditch: hundreds of perch arrived from somewhere, exactly in this narrow streak of water. There could have been nothing so scattering as a 'shower.' Accept this story, and it looks as if to a new body of water, vibrating perhaps with the needs of vacancy, there was response somewhere else, and that, with accuracy, hundreds of fishes were teleported. " (page 595).
     The London Times reported on April 19, 1836 that on May 16 or 17 in 1834, a "fall of fish ...occurred in the neighborhood of Allahabad, India. It is said that the fish were of the chalwa species, about a span in length and a seer in weight...they were dead and dry. ...I incline, myself, to the acceptance that they were not fish, but slender, fish-shaped objects ...it is said that, whatever they were, they could not be eaten: 'in the pan, they turned to blood.'" (pages 42--43)
      As a truly bizarre afternote to all these falling fish, is the report that follows: "In the Annual Record of Science,1873-350, it is said that, in 1873, after a heavy thunderstorm in Louisiana, a tremendous number of fish scales were found, for a distnace of forty miles, along the banks of the Mississippi River: bushels of them were picked up in a single place: large scales that were said to be of the gar fish, a fish that weighs from five to fifty pounds."(page 301).
     Fish are not the only water-breathing creatures to plummet from the sky as the following incidents illustrate.
      "I have received letters upon strange appearances of living things in tanks of rain water that seemed inaccessible except to falls from the sky. Mr.Edward Foster, of Montego Bay, Jamaica, B.W.I., has told me of crayfishes that were found in a cistern of rain water at Port Antonio, Jamaica.
     The New York Sun on May 29, 1892, reported that "---a shower, at Coalburg, Alabama, of an enormous number of eels that were unknown in Alabama. Somebody said that he knew of such eels, in the Pacific Ocean. Piles of them in the streets ---people alarmed---farmers coming with carts, and taking them away for fertilizing material."(page 546) " In the New York Times, Nov.30, 1930, a correspondent tells of mysterious appearances of eels in old moats and in mountain tarns, which had no connection with rivers. Eels can travel over land, but just how they rate as mountain climbers, I don't know."(page 595).
      "According to Das Wetter, December, 1892, upon Aug.9, 1892, a yellow cloud appeared over Paderborn, Germany. From this cloud, fell a torrential rain, in which were hundreds of mussels."(page 93).
     "In May 28, 1881, something truly odd occurred near Worchester. "In Land and Water, June 4, 1881, a correspondent writes that, in a violent thunderstorm, near Worcester, tons of periwinkles had come down from the sky, covering fields and a road, for about a mile. ...In the Worcester Daily Times, May 30, it is said that, upon the 28th, news had reached Worcester of a wonderful fall from the sky of periwinkles on Cromer Gardens Road, and spread far around in fields and gardens. Mostly, people of Worcester were incredulous, but some had gone to the place. Those who had faith returned with periwinkles. ...Mr.J.Lloyd Bozward, a writer whose notes on meteorological subjects are familiar to readers of scientific periodicals of this time, was investigating, and his findings were published in the Worcester Evening Post, June 9th. ...He says that a wide area on both sides of the road was strewn with periwinkles, hermit crabs, and small rabs of an unascertained species. Worcester is about 30 miles from the mouth of the River Severn, or,say, about 50 miles from the sea....Mr.Bozward says :'Neither upon Saturday, the 28th, nor Friday, the 27th, was there such a thing procurable in Worcester as a live perwinkle.' Gardens as well as fields were strewn. There were high walls around these gardens. Mr.Bozward tells of about 10 sacks of periwinkles, of a value of about 20 pounds, in the markets of Worcester, that , to his knowledge, had been picked up. Crowds had filled pots and pans and bags and trunks before he got to the place. 'In Mr.Maud's garden, two sacks were filled with them.' It is his conclusion that the things fell from the sky during the thunderstorm."(pages 548--550)

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Reptiles

    "Reptiles of various sorts have also been known to fall to earth from a sky they shouldn't have been in in the first place.
      In Montreal, Canada on December 28, 1857, a shower of some unspecified type of lizards fell on the sidewalks of the city.(page 93). On May 11, 1894, a gopher turtle fell on Bovina, Miss.(eight miles from Vicksburg).(page 89) Fort states that "I have four records of snakes that were said to have fallen from the sky in thunderstorms. Miss Margaret McDonald, of Hawthorne, Mass., has sent me an account of many speckled snakes that appeared in the streets of Hawthorne, one time, after a thunderstorm."(page 593) "In the Scientific American, 3-112, a correspondent writes, from South Granville, N.Y., that during a heavy shower, July 3, 1860, he heard a peculiar sound at his feet, and looking down, saw a snake lying as if stunned by a fall. It then came to life. Gray snake, about a foot long." In Memphis, Tennessee, on January 15, 1877, there was a violent storm with torrential rain. A two-block area of the city was found to be alive with snakes after the storm had stopped. "They were crawling on sidewalks, in yards, and in streets, and in masses but ---'none were found on roofs or any other elevation above ground' and 'none were seen to fall'. ...It is not said whether the snakes were of a known species or not, but that 'when first seen, they were of a dark brown, almost black.' Blacksnakes, I suppose." (pages 93--94)

Rains:
Yellow Rains / Black Rain / Red Rains

Yellow Rains

    "As to yellow substances that have fallen upon this earth, the endeavor to exclude extra-mundane origins is the dogma that all yellow rains and yellow snows are colored with pollen from this earth's pine trees. Symons' Meteorological Magazine is especially prudish in this respect and regards as highly improper all advances made by other explainers. Nevertheless, the Monthly Weather Review, May, 1877, reports a golden-yellow fall, of Feb.27,1877, at Peckloh, Germany, in which four kinds of organisms, not pollen, were the coloring matter. There were minute things shaped like arrows, coffee beans, horns, and disks." ...In the Annales de Chimie, 85-288, there is a list of rains said to have contained sulphur. ...In the American Journal of Science, 1-42-196, we are told of a yellow substance that fell by the bucketful upon a vessel, one 'windless night' in June, Pictou Harbor, Nova Scotia. The writer analyzed the substance, and it was found to 'give off nitrogen and ammonia and an animal odor.'" On February 14, 1870, "there fell, at Genoa, Italy, according to Director Boccardo, of the Technical Institute of Genoa, and Prof.Castellani, a yellow substance. But the microscope revealed numerous globules of cobalt blue, also corpuscles of a pearly color that resembled starch." In Comptes Rendus was a report of a substance that was "reddish varying to yellowish" that fell "enormously and successively" upon France and Spain from April 30 to May 2 (year not given). This substance was not pollen and it "carbonized and spread the odor of charred animal matter" and "...in alcohol it left a residue of resinous matter. Hundreds of thousands of tons of this matter must have fallen." In Blackwood's Magazine there was a report of "a yellow powder that fell at Gerace, Calabria, March 14, 1813. Some of this substance was collected by Sig.Simenini, Professor of Chemistry, at Naples. It had an earthy, insipid taste, and is described as 'unctuous'. When heated, this matter turned brown, then black, then red. According to the Annals of Philosophy,11-466, one of the components was found to be resinous." However, interesting to note is that at the same time and place "loud noises were heard in the sky." and "stones fell from the sky" (pages 24--27)

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Black Rains

    "Black rains and black snows---rains as black as a deluge of ink---jet black snowflakes. Such a rain as that fell in Ireland, May 14, 1849, described in the Annals of Scientific Discovery, 1850, and the Annual Register, 1849. It fell upon a district of 400 square miles, and was the color of ink, and of a fetid odor and very disagreeable taste." Ireland was again deluged with a black rain on April 30, 1887 at Castlecommon. It was "thick, black rain". On October 8 and 9, 1907, another black rain fell in Ireland. This rain was reported to have "...left a most peculiar and disagreeable smell in the air." (pages 27-29)
      Switzerland received a black rain on January 20, 1911. The Cape of Good Hope experienced on August 14, 1888 "a rain so black as to be described as 'a shower of ink'. ... A correspondent to Knowledge, 5-190, writes of a black rain that fell in the Clyde Valley, March 1, 1884: of another black rain that fell two days later. According to the correspondent, a black rain had fallen in the Clyde Valley, March 20, 1828: then again March 22, 1828. According to Nature, 9--43, a black rain fell at Marlsford, England, Sept.4, 1873; more than twenty-four hours later another black rain fell in the same small town."
      The Rev.James Rust states in Scottish Showers that a black rain fell at Slains, Jan.14, 1862 and another at Carluke (140 miles from Slains ) on May 1, 1862. Slains received another black rain on May 20, 1862 and still another on October 28, 1863. Following two of these black rain showers, "...vast quantities of a substance described sometimes as 'pumice stone,' but sometimes as 'slag' were washed upon the sea coast near Slains. A chemist's opinion is given that this substance was slag: that it was not a volcanic product: slag from smelting works. We now have, for black rain, a concomitant that is irreconcilable with origin from factory chimneys" (Fort means this as a refutation of the popular theory that black rains are the sole result of air pollution from the industries of the time---editor's note). " The first and second rains corresponded, in time, with ordinary ebullitions from Vesuvius. The third and fourth, according to Mr.Rust, corresponded with no known volcanic activities upon this earth." According to La Science Pour Tous "between October, 1863, and January, 1866, four more black rains fell at Slains, Scotland. The writer of this supplementary account tells us, with a better, or more unscrupulous, orthodoxy than Mr.Rust's, that of the eight black rains, five coincided with eruptions of Vesuvius and three with eruptions of Etna." However, this association of the volcanic activity with the black rains of Slain seems a little ludicrous when one considers the situation as "...four discharges from one far-distant volcano, passing over a great part of Europe, precipitating nowhere else, discharging precisely over one small northern parish---(and)...three other discharges from another far-distant volcano, showing the same precise preference, if not marksmanship, for one small parish in Scotland."
      "The indications ...are that perhaps an explosion occurred in the sky, near Colchester, upon Feb.18, 1884; that a great explasion did occur over Colchester, upon the 22nd of April, and that a great volume of debris spread over England, in a northwesterly direction, passing over Worcestershire and Shropshire, and continuing on toward Liverpool, nucleating moisture and falling in blackest of rain. From Stonyhurst Observatory, near Liverpool, was reported, occurring at 11 am., April 26, 'the most extraordinary darkness remembered'; forty minutes later fell rain 'as black as ink,' and then black snow and black hail (Nature,30-6). Black hail fell at Chaigley, several miles from Liverpool (Stonyhurst Magazine, 1-267). Five hours later, black substance fell at Crowle, near Worcester (Nature,303-32). Upon the 28th, at Church Stretton and Much Wenlock, Shropshire, fell torrents of liquid like ink and water in equal proportions (The Field,May 3, 1884)." (page 440) This rain was "...so intense that the following day brooks were still dyed with it."(page 31) "In Jour. Roy .Met. Soc., 11-7, it is said that, upon the 28th, half a mile from Lilleshall, Shropshire, an unknown pink substance was brought down by a storm. Upon the 3rd of May, black substance fell again at Crowle (Nature, 30-32). In Nature, 30-216, a correspondent writes that, upon June 22, 1884, at Fletching, Sussex, southwest of Colchester, there was intence darkness and that rain then brought down flakes of soot in such abundance that it seemed to be 'snowing black.' This was several months after the shock at Colchester, but my datum for thinking that another explosionm or disturbance of some kind, had occurred in the same local sky, is that, as reported by the inmates of one house, a slight shock was felt, upon the 24th of June, at Colchester, showing that the phenomena were continuing. ...Was not the loud report heard upon February 18 probably an explosion in the sky, inasmuch as the sound was great and the quake was little? Were not succeeding phenomena sounds and concussions and the fall of debris from explosions in the sky, acceptably upon April 22, and perhaps continuing until the 24th of June?" (pages 440-441)
      Canada experienced a black rain on November 9, 1819. This may have been as a result of forest fires from south of the Ohio River. In Meteors, there was a report of a black rain that was accompanied by "shocks like those of an earthquake" (time and place not given). "In Timb'sYear Book, 1851-270, there is an account of 'a sort of rumbling, as of wagons, heard for upward of an hour without ceasing,' July 16, 1850, Bulwick Rectory, Northampton, England. On the 19th, a black rain fell. (pages 27-31). On March 11, 1912, an earthquakes shook many places in the United States and a black rain fell near Colmer, England about 30 miles from London. (pages 816-817) Finally, the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal reported that an earthquake occurred (time and place not given) "at the climax of intense darkness and the fall of black rain." (pages 27-31)

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Red Rains

      "Red rains in Europe were largely explained away as being simply the result of sand from the Sahara being blown into the air by whirlwinds only to come down again in southern Europe mixed with rain and appearing red. It is interesting to note here that the sand of the Sahara is most commonly described as"dazzling white", but some areas do actually have red sand. "The Sahara explanation applies mostly to falls that occur in southern Europe. Farther away, the conventionalists are a little uneasy: for instance, the editor of the Monthly Weather Review, 29-121, says of a red rain that fell near the coast of Newfoundland, early in 1890: 'It would be very remarkable if this was Sahara dust.' On November 12 and 13, 1902, "occurred the greatest fall of matter in the history of Australia. Upon the 14th of November, it 'rained mud,' in Tasmania. ...according to the Monthly Weather Review, 32-365, there was a haze all the way to the Philippines, also as far as Hong Kong." (pages 31-34) "Nature, July 5, 1877, quotes a Roman correspondent to the London Times who sent a translation from an Italian newspaper; that a red rain had fallen in Italy, June 23, 1877, containing 'microscopically small particles of sand.' ...But the English correspondent ...writes: 'I am by no means satisfied that the rain was of sand and water.' His observations are that drops of this rain left stains 'such as sandy water could not leave.' He notes that when the water evaporated, no sand was left behind." An odd serial red rain occurred in northwestern Siena on December 28, 1860. At about 7:00 am, "...a reddish rain fell copiously for two hours. A second red shower fell at 11 o'clock. Three days later, the red rain fell again. The next day another red rain fell. Still more extraordinarily: each fall occurred in 'exactly the same quarter of town.'"(pages 40--41)
      The year 1903 saw a world-wide pattern of red stuff falling from the sky and, most often, it fell in the form of red rain. There was "...a tremendous fall of matter that occurred in Europe, February, 1903. For several days, the south of England was a dumping ground---from somewhere. ...In Nature, 68-65, we are told that it had occurred in Ireland, too. "According to the Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, this fall continued in Europe until February 27 and encompassed the countries of Holland, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. The fall extended out into the Atlantic Ocean to the distance midway between Southampton and Barbados. The amount of matter dumped by this extended fall was prodigious. "The calculation is given that, in England alone, 10,000,000 tons of matter had fallen." Australia also saw in June 1903, another fall that was on a par with the fall it had experienced in November 1902 (see above paragraph). The Victorian Naturalist from June 1903, reported that fifty tons of red mud per square mile fell in Australia (exact location of the fall is not stated). Samples from this rash of red rain falls were described and listed in the Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society as follows :"Similar to brick dust,", "buff or light brown." ,chocolate-colored and silky to the touch and slightly iridescent,", "gray", "red-rust color", "reddish raindrops and gray sand", "dirty gray", "quite red", "yellow-brown with a tinge of pink","deep yellow-clay color". It was also described in Nature alternately as "...of a peculiar yellowish cast...,reddish..., (and) salmon-colored...". (pages 31-38).
      "There have been red rains that, in the middle ages, were called 'rains of blood'. Such rains terrified many persons..." Some red rains very strongly suggest blood or finely divided animal matter. There was a red rain in the Mediterranean region, March 6, 1888. Twelve days later, it fell again. Whatever this substance may have been, when burned, the odor of animal matter from it was very strong and persistent.(L Astronomie, 1888-205.) (pages 38-39) In L'Année Scientifique it was reported "that, Dec.13, 1887, there fell, in Cochin, China, a substance like blood, somewhat coagulated."(page 40) " In the Literary Digest, Sept.2, 1921, is published a letter from Carl G.Gowman, of Detroit, Michigan, upon the fall from the sky in southwest China, Nov.17 (1920?) of a substance that resembled blood. It fell upon three villages close together, and was said to have fallen somewhere else forty miles away. The quantity was great: in one of the villages, the substance 'covered the ground completely.' Mr.Gowman accepts that this substance did fall from the sky because it was found upon roofs as well as upon the ground. He rejects the conventional red-dust explanation, because the spots did not dissolve in several subsequent rains. He says that anything like pollen is out of the question, because at the time nothing was in bloom." (page 524) "In the Annales de Chimie it was reported that in 1812 in Ulm, "...a thick, viscous, red matter fell..".(page 40) "It is in the records of the French Academy that, upon March 17, 1669, in the town of Châtillon-sur-Seine, fell a reddish substance that was 'thick, viscous, and putrid.'"(page 41) " We are told of one red rain that it was of corpuscular composition---red snow, rather. It fell, March 12, 1876, near Crystal Palace, London (Year Book of Facts, 1876-89; Nature, 13-414) (page 300)
      There have been cases where a red substance has fallen from the sky and been confirmed as being actual blood. A report of such an occurrence appeared in Popular Science News in 1890; "...according to Prof.Luigi Palazzo, head of the Italian Meteorlogical Bureau, upon May 15, 1890, at Messignadi, Calabria, something the color of fresh blood fell from the sky. This substance was examined in the public-health laboratories in Rome. It was found to be blood. 'The most probable explanation of this terrifying phenomena is that migratory birds (quails or swallows) were caught and torn in a violent wind.' So the substance was identified as birds' blood. ...we point out that there is no assertion that there was a violent wind at the time ---and that such a substance would be almost infinitely dispersed in a violent wind---that no bird was said to have fallen from the sky ---or said to have been seen in the sky---not a feather of a bird is said to have been seen---...later, in the same place, blood again fell from the sky."(pages 304-305)
      " But...there have been red rains that have been colored by neither sand nor animal matter." In the Annals of Philosophy appeared the following: On November 2, 1819, a red rain fell at Blankenberge, Holland. Two chemists in Bruges concentrated 144 ounces of the stuff down to only four ounces but no precipitate fell. "The chemists concluded that the rain-water contained muriate of cobalt. ... Whatever it may have been, in the Annales de Chimie, 2-12-432, its color is said to have been red-violet."(page 39) "At Giessen, Germany, in 1821, according to the Report of the British Association, 5-2, fell a rain of a peach-red color. In this rain were flakes of a hyacinthine tint. It is said that this substance was organic: we are told that it was pyrrhine.(page 300)
      "Tremendous red rain in France, Oct.16 and 17, 1846; great storm at the time, and red rain supposed to have been colored by matter swept up from this earth's surface, and then precipitated (Comptes Rendus, 23-832). But in Comptes Rendus, 24-625, the description of this red rain differs from one's impression of red, sandy, or muddy water. It is said that this rain was so vividly red and so blood-like that many persons in France were terrified. Two analyses are given (Comptes Rendus, 24-812). One chemist notes a great quantity of corpuscles---whether blood-like corpuscles or not---in the matter. The other chemist sets down organic matter at per cent. ...with this substance, larks, quail, ducks, and water hens, some of the m alive, fell at Lyons and Grenoble and other places. (pages 251-252)
      There are a few other interesting cases that are similar to those of red rain. One such case (reported in the Chemical News) occurred on March 9, 10, and 11 of 1872, when a "peculiar substance" consisting of red iron ocher, lime carbonate and unspecified organic matter fell along with what was reported to be meteoric dust. In Tuscany on March 14, 1873, there was a fall of orange-red hailstones. In Russia on June 14, 1880, red, blue and gray hailstones fell. "A correspondent writes that he had been told by a resident of a small town in Venezuela, that there, April 17, 1886, had fallen hailstones, some red, some blue, some whitish: informant said to have been unlikely ever to have heard of the Russian phenomenon; described as an 'honest, plain countryman.'"' In Oudon France on December 19, 1903, there was a rain of a substance that was lavender-colored. (pages 39-40) "...Something like red-brick dust, or a red substance in a dried state, fell at Piedmont, Italy, Oct.27, 1814 (Electric Magazine, 68-437). A red Powder fell, in Switzerland, winter of 1867 (Pop.Sci.Rev., 10-112). ... all that could be published in 1867 was that in this substance there was a high proportion of 'variously shaped organic matter'".
      There is a report in the Annual Register about something that fell from the sky in Amherst, Massachusetts on August 13, 1819. It is included here because of the blood-like appearance it took on after exposure to air. "It had been examined and described by Prof.Graves, formerly lecturer at Dartmouth College. It was an object that had upon it a nap, similar to that of milled cloth. Upon removing this nap, a buff-colored, pulpy surface was found. It had an offensive odor, and, upon exposure to the air, turned to a vivid red. This thing was said to have fallen with a brilliant light. ...In the American Journal of Science, 1-2-335, is Professor Graves' account, communicated by Professor Dewey: That, upon the evening of August 13, 1819, a light was seen in Amherst ---a falling object---sound as if of an explosion. In the home of Prof.Dewey, this light was reflected upon a wall of a room in which were several members of Prof.Dewey's family. The next morning, in Prof.Dewey's front yard, in what is said to have been the only position from which the light that had been seen in the room, the night before, could have been reflected, was found a substance 'unlike anything before observed by anyone who saw it.' It was a bowl-shaped object, about 8 inches in diameter, and one inch thick. Bright buff-colored, and having upon it a 'fine nap.' Upon removing this covering, a buff-colored, pulpy substance of the consistency of soft-soap, was found ---'of an offensive, suffocating smell. A few minutes of exposure to the air changed the buff color to 'a livid color resembling venous red.' It absorbed moisture quickly from the air and liquified. ...In the American Journal of Science , 1-25-362, occurs the inevitable damnation of the Amherst object: " Prof.Edward Hitchcock went to live in Amherst. He says that years later, another object, like the one said to have fallen in 1819, had been found at 'nearly the same place.' Prof.Hitchcock was invited by Prof.Graves to examine it. Exactly like the first one. Corresponded in size and color and consistency. The chemic reactions were the same. Prof.Hitchcock recognized it in a moment. It was a gelatinous fungus. He did not satisfy himself as to just the exact species it belonged to, but he predicted that similar fungi might spring up within twenty-four hours---But, by evening, two others sprang up." (pages 24--43) (pages 299-300)

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