State

The Night the Stars Fell Even inonlhs later, many people were convinced Judgement Hay was at hand. On a still winter night in November 1833 the inhabitants of the little town of Wilmington. N. C. were, for the most part, tucked in their beds, never dreaming that in a very short time an awe-inspiring phenomenon would oc¬ cur in their midst which would prove to he the most dazzling and unexpected event in their uneventful lives. It was a clear and frosty night and the heavens were studded with thous¬ ands of brilliant, twinkling stars, when all at once, the records show, every star in the firmament seemed to abandon its station in space to arc earthward in a fiery, suicidal plunge toward the horizon. The peacefully sleeping town awak¬ ened with a start as screams of fright rent the air followed by a general hub¬ bub of sounds. Lights appeared in the residential sections and the populace, some in their night clothes, rushed into the streets to witness an astronomical panorama that left them frightened and breathless in its magnificent grandeur. Stars of flaming yellow and brilliant greens, by the hundreds, were shooting across the heavens from every point on the compass. Judgement Day Many of the people "were sure that the Day of Judgment was at hand and dropped to their knees in the sandy streets, while those who considered themselves prepared for Ute dreadful event of the world’s end shouted praises to God and sang hymns of rejoicing." At the end of the second hour with no apparent cessation in the aerial bombardment of stars, even the skepti¬ cal ones were convinced that the world was indeed destined to be destroyed by the falling meteors, “and the final day of Judgement was believed to be only waiting for sunrise." Old newspapers of that date tell how various people all over the state and the eastern seaboard reacted to the impending doom by lowering them¬ selves down wells; how impromptu meetings for prayer were held; how By LEWIS PHILIP HALL men sought to have old debts settled, in order to carry a clear pecuniary balance into the expected eternity, and many other scenes of humor and terror. During the three hours of its pen¬ dency and long after the shower had ceased many were of the sound convic¬ tion that the final arraignment was at least only a week ahead. Return Expected Thirty-three years after the magnifi¬ cent Leonid meteor shower of 1833 the astronomers all over America began, in November 1866. preparations for the prophesied re-occurrence of the dis¬ play. which is said to have begun in the year 866. At this time a great Roman savant named Lauticus. in the most minute manner, described in a treatise called De Munde Colapsu. the various meteoric displays that were to take place in the future from his time. For each display described he gave a calcu¬ lated date, which prophesies through 1833. came to pass. It is the theory of astronomers that the meteor showers of mid-November, and which by calculations were due to occur every thirty-three years, radiate from the constellation Leo. and there¬ fore arc known as Leonids. Nov. 13. 1866 the Daily Dispatch . Wilmington. N. C. advised its readers, "According to astronomical calcula¬ tions. the time has arrived when the inhabitants of the lower sphere may begin to watch for the long talked of re-occurrcnec of the wonderful and awe-inspiring phenomenon, termed meteoric showers, similar to that which occurred in 1833." The shower, the newspaper stated, would probably oc¬ cur late Tuesday night between mid¬ night of the 13th and three o’clock Wednesday the morning of the 14th. As many people have planned to sit- up and watch for the heavenly visitors, the authorities here have decided to have the fire-alarm bell sounded "to awake our citizens, so they may witness the wonderful sight.” Conflicting Reports Various present-day astronomical publications state that the Leonid shower occurred in 1866. and this was confirmed by the U. S. Naval Observa¬ tory. Washington. D. C. in a personal letter to your author Jan. 26. 1967, which letter stated, in part, "the Leonid shower of 1866 was seen from the United States and Europe on the night of November 1 3th of that year. . . .” On the contrary, the Daily Dispatch. Wilmington. N. C. Nov. 15, 1866, re¬ ceived this message by telegraph. "Washington. Nov. 14 — No Meteoric Shower. So far as heard from, no meteoric phenomena were seen in this region last night." This same newspaper also informed its readers Nov. 16, 1866. “*Nary Star*. The crowds who ‘sot up' to watch the shower of meteors that was expected on the night of the 13th and 14th instant, were a ’sold’ set. We were informed by a very clever old lady, one who is constantly on the watchout for these things — Madame Rumor by name — that ‘nary star’ fell. "It is keeping within bounds to set it down that there must be at this mo¬ ment. within these United States, at least 500,000 human beings with cricks in their necks, caught by star¬ gazing after stars that never came. The theory of a periodic star-shower once in 33 years has got a black eye." As a matter of fact, no shower of falling stars, however splendid, can speak more eloquently to the mind and heart than the steadfast glory of the stars that never fall. REAL ESTATE LOANS • Home» * Fo'ms • Commcrciol "Drptutlable anti piompt tmict" LOANS, INC. Telephone 639-41 10 ANGIER. N. C. 27501 14 THE STATE. SEPTEMBER 15, 1969