SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XI. No. 265 



where there are differences of pronunciation among the Indians. 

 In such cases we have sought for the pure Seneca in contradistinc- 

 tion from the idioms of Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, etc., and for 

 Seneca as spol<en by the old men." 



With these facts in view, I cannot accept Dr. Beauchamp's use 

 of the r-sound in his orthography ka-wher-tak for ka-whe"-la. 



J. N. B. Hewitt. 



Wsshington, D.C., Feb. i8. 



Queries. 



29. The Jackson Medals. — In 1874 or 1875 a farmer brought 

 to this city and sold to Mr. W. H. Daum a silver medal which his 

 boys found in a stone tumulus, supposed to be the grave of Little 

 Bear, an Osage chief. The medal is three inches in diameter, has 

 on its face the profile of Jackson, with the words, " Andrew Jack- 

 son, President of the United States, A.D. 1829," and on the reverse 

 a pipe and a tomahawk crossed, two hands clasped, — one that of 

 an Indian, and the other of the President, — and the words "peace 

 and friendship." Can you or any of the readers of Science tell me 

 why these medals were given to the Indians, and whether the prac- 

 tice is a common one? L. C. WOOSTER. 



Eureka, Kan., Feb. 23. 



Answers. 



26. The Earth's Rotation as Affecting Railway- 

 Trains. — Mr. Goodridge will find a partial answer to his query, in 

 'The Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer for 1885,' Part II., 

 which forms W. Ferrel's ' Recent Advances in Meteorology,' p. 191. 

 After having shown that a body moving in any direction on the 

 earth's surface is deflected, and giving the formulas for computing 

 the deflecting force, the example is treated, " If a railroad-train on 

 the parallel of 45° runs at the rate of forty miles per hour, what 

 would be the lateral pressure per ton of the weight of the train on 

 the side of the rails if both were on the same level } " and the an- 

 swer is given that it would be 0.38 of a pound per ton of two thou- 

 sand pounds. In reply to this query, a writer in Engitieering News 

 quotes the famous ' Bar's law ' regarding deflection of rivers. Fer- 

 rel's formula shows that the action of the earth's rotation is not at 

 all confined to a body moving in the direction of the meridian, as 

 this writer also assumes. Ferrel gives an e.xample of this kind, and 

 finds that a river one mile in width, flowing in latitude 45° at the 

 rate of four miles per hour, will be 1.3 inches higher at the right- 

 hand bank than at the left-hand bank. F. B. 



New York, Feb. 25. 



21. Globular Lightning. — Apropos of this subject, let me 

 mention three cases which have come to my knowledge in such a 

 way as to inspire confidence in them. The first in order of time 

 occurred about 1859 or i860, and was witnessed by a lady, the wife 

 of a prominent physician. She was lying down for an after-dinner 

 nap one summer day. From her letter I quote what seems perti- 

 nent : " The experience was this, and at The Forest Grove House, 

 Schooley's Mountains. . . . We were aroused by a sudden and 

 quite heavy hail-storm. ... I immediately went to the open win- 

 dow, putting it down, leaving just space enough to put out my 

 hands, in which I enjoyed the fun of catching the stones to eat. 

 , . . This was only for a few minutes, when we were terribly 

 startled by a flash of lightning and a peal of thunder, and I saw 

 what appeared to be a ball of fire the size of my head come down 

 the body of a tree about three yards from my hands. . . . The flash, 

 the thunder, and the ball seemed simultaneous. . . . The tree did 

 not afterward show the usual appearance of being struck, except 

 just at the roots, where the ground was torn up for quite a little 

 distance. . . . The house was struck at the same time and set on 

 fire at the roof, but at its farthest point from us. ... I was the only 

 one who saw the ball of fire, but I have never doubted that I really 

 did see it. . . . It was too plainly before my very eyes." The sec- 

 ond case occurred a few miles north of Lambertville, N.J., in July, 

 1879. A barn was burned, and the company which had insured it 

 instituted an investigation to determine the cause of the fire. From 

 the testimony, I quote that of two men who swore that they saw "a 

 cylindrical form of fire, apparently about three feet in diameter, and 

 from six to eight feet in length, fall with a -whizzing sound. . . . 



No thunder was heard, nor did any rain fall at that time. . . . 

 Others also saw the strange occurrence." These men were in Penn- 

 sylvania, across the Delaware River, about a mile from the spot 

 where the barn was burned. The third case was at Connersville, 

 Ind., in August of 1881. Mr. L. L. Broaddus wrote me that it was 

 about twenty minutes before four in the morning when the family 

 and several neighbors were roused by a terrific crash. One of the 

 neighbors, living nearly half a mile away, slept in a room from 

 which she could see the Broaddus mansion. She saw a bolt strike 

 a tree and burst like a bomb, scattering fire-balls over the yard, and 

 brilliantly illuminating the premises. Mr. W. H. Broaddus and his 

 wife slept on the side of the house where the tree was, and saw the 

 ' second act ; ' that is, the fire-balls rolling about. They say the 

 phenomenon lasted long enough for them to collect themselves 

 and call occupants of other rooms, who, however, did not arrive in 

 time to witness the display. The duration of the phenomenon was 

 estimated by those who saw it at about a minute. 



F. C. Van Dyck. 



New Brunswick, N.J., Feb. 20. 



21. Globular Lightning. — It may throw further light upon 

 this interesting phenomenon to quote several additional reports 

 received by the United States Hydrographic Office from masters of 

 vessels ; and, by permission of the hydrographer, I have selected 

 the following as likely to be of interest in this connection. The 

 phenomenon seems to be by no means unusual at sea, and perhaps 

 some readers of Science who have devoted special attention to the 

 study of electricity will contribute new facts or suggestions which 

 may lead to a satisfactory explanation. The instances already cited 

 (^Science, x. p. 324, xi. pp. 38, 62), with those given below, would 

 seem to furnish a very good basis upon which to build a theory. 

 A further discussion will also be valuable as indicating, possibly, 

 certain important details of observation which have hitherto been 

 neglected, but which it might be practicable to attend to, even on 

 shipboard. Captain Moore, British steamship ' Siberian,' in addi- 

 tion to the report already given, states that he encountered a severe 

 electric storm Jan. 17, 1887, latitude 42° 50' north, longitude 59° 

 14' west ; dark, gloomy weather, with rain and sleet. Between 8 

 and 9 P.M., during shift of wind from south-west to south-east, a 

 brilliant display of St. Elmo's fire was observed, taking the shape 

 of balls of fire shooting up from the horizon all around the vessel, 

 and bursting at an altitude of about 5°. One ball, showing a green 

 light, was mistaken for a vessel's side-light ; brilliant lightning to the 

 south-west. Captain Bowers, American bark ' Hannah McLoon,' 

 encountered a severe electric storm Feb. 27, 1887, latitude 37* 17' 

 north, longitude 73° 56' west, during a stormy gale from the south- 

 west ; all points and all wire rigging brilliantly illumined ; fire-balls 

 flying in the air. Captain Mitchell, British steamship ' Mentmore,' 

 experienced a succession of terrific hurricanes from west-north-west 

 during a voyage from Liverpool to Baltimore. Jan. 28, 1885, at 

 2.30 A.M., a ball of St. Elmo's fire fell between the bridge and fore- 

 mast, and afterwards played upon the foremast and gaff. This 

 ball of fire was so bright that for a time it blinded the officer on 

 watch. Captain McKinnon, British brig ' Nellie Crosby,' encoun- 

 tered a remarkably severe electric storm Nov. 30, 18S6, off Minot's 

 Ledge light, Massachusetts, with terrific thunder and blinding 

 lightning. A ball burst between the masts, completely blinding all 

 on board ; heavy rain ; sea full of phosphorescence. Captain 

 Sparks, American bark ' John H. Pierson,' reports witnessing an 

 unusual phenomenon during a hurricane, Aug. 25, 1S86, between 

 the hours of 9 and 1 1 P.M. The sky was completely overcast, the 

 weather dark and gloomy, and rain falling heavily. In the northern 

 horizon, balls of fire were seen to shoot upwards, reaching an eleva- 

 tion of at least 30°, and covering a horizontal angle of at least 20°. 

 The display continued at frequent intervals during the time men- 

 tioned. Captain Bodden, British schooner 'Clara L. Dyer,' reports 

 that on Sept. 20, 1887, when in the Gulf of Mexico, about two 

 hundred miles south by east from South Pass, had very heavy rain- 

 squalls with thunder and lightning. The effect of the lightning was 

 very peculiar, as it seemed to issue from the waves instead of from 

 the heavens; thought at first it was due to the phosphorescence of 

 the water, but the flashes seemed too plainly marked for that. 



Everett H.ayden. 



us. Hydrographic Office, Feb. 20. 



