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Thomas Barker - An Account of an extraordinary Meteor, which resembled a Water-Spout, communicated to the President [of the Royal Society]
Identifier
028977
Type of Spiritual Experience
None
Background
A description of the experience
"An Account of an extraordinary Meteor, which resembled a Water-Spout, communicated to the President [of the Royal Society], by Tho. Barker, esq." Read on Dec. 14, 1749. Philosophical Transactions (Nov-Dec. 1749), no. 493.
15 September 1749, Rutland, England Watering intruder
An object created a sprout that roared, took water from a river, shot light beams to the ground, and broke rocks. The weather was calm, warm and cloudy with some showers. The witnesses described "great smoke with the likeness of fire" either as a single flash or as multiple arrows darting down to the ground, whose "whirling, breaks, roar and smoke frightened both Man and Beast."
The phenomenon went down the hill, took up water from the river Welland, and ran over fields and trees, tearing branches. The Royal Society correspondent reports: "I saw it pass from Pilton over Lyndon lordship, like a black smoky Cloud with bright Breaks; an odd whitling Motion, and a roaring Noise, like a distant Wind, or a great Flock of Sheep galloping along on hard Ground..."