ii6 Musings by Camp- Fire and Wayside 



the surface, then the whole content of the tall pillar 

 of water-laden air is precipitated upon a small area 

 of the earth, and it is called a "cloud-burst" or a 

 "water-spout." The rain, which was intended for 

 hundreds of square miles, may come down upon a 

 few acres, and in a very short time. From what is 

 known of the storm which preceded the Conemaugh 

 disaster, it is probable that such a cataract fell in 

 the valley above the fateful lake. If the sky cloud 

 over evenly and gradually, then we may know that 

 the cold air of the higher altitudes is slowly perco- 

 lating the humid air below. If a long sheet of 

 shower drift over the landscape, then we may know 

 that the two currents have met on a level and one 

 is pushing the other before it. I saw a very inter- 

 esting theory, not long since, to account for the 

 generation of electricity in a rain-storm — to the 

 effect that it came of the dissolution and reunion 

 of the component elements of water. I do not 

 remember how the writer accounted for the process. 

 But the simpler theory is sufficient. The heat of the 

 warm air is converted into electricity by the friction 

 of the contending currents, just as the heat of the 

 furnace is converted into electricity by friction in 

 the "dynamo." The thunder-crashes in a cyclone 

 are terrific — as they must be where the dynamo is a 

 half mile in diameter and two or three miles high, 

 and whirling with a velocity sufficient to pick bowl- 

 ders off the ground and toss them about like tennis- 

 balls. 



