OF A METEORIC FIRE-BALL. 
13 
gent young man,” reports having seen a very bright meteor appear in N. W. at an 
altitude of about 35°; pass north of him, and disappear in the N. E., or perhaps a 
little further east, at about the same altitude as when it first appeared. The time 
was in July, but Mr. D. is not certain as to the day; thinks it was earlier than the 
20th. But his description corresponds so well with the phenomena that the meteor 
of J uly 20th must have exhibited; and there being proof from independent testi 
mony that the latter was seen at Flint, it seems probable that the two were iden 
tical. 
Mrs. Rankin, wife of the publisher of a newspaper in Flint, also reports having 
seen a very bright meteor appear in the N. W. on the evening of July 20th; but 
is unable to locate its exact position or course. 
Dr. Clark himself saw the light of it, which he says was so brilliant as to illumi 
nate the whole street that he was crossing, but the body of the meteor w T as con 
cealed by the dense foliage of intervening trees. The time was about 9 o’clock, 
and the light so strongly resembled that of a lantern near by, that he at the instant 
turned his eyes in the direction of the supposed bearer of it; and it was not till his 
little son, who saw the meteor from the other side of the street, had twice uttered 
an exclamation of surprise, that he comprehended the true cause of the phenomenon, 
and it was then too late to get a sight of it. 1 
Fordham , New York, Lat. 40° 54', Long. 74° 3'. Reported in the newspapers as 
visible 1| minutes. 
Fort Erie , Canada West, Lat. 42° 52', Long. 78° 57'. “Visible for a minute;” 
“ moved from W. N. W. to E. S. E.;” “ appeared, from the intensity of its action, 
as if about to burst, but emitted no sparks.” 2 
Freedom, Ohio, No. 120. Communicated by S. M. Luther from observations 
made by others; mode of observation not specified. 
Fulton , New York, No. 142. The meteor is reported to have occulted the planet 
Mars. Observer’s name not ascertained. 
Germantown , Pennsylvania, Nos. 14, 18, 21, 40, 43, 45, 49, 56, and 173. No. 173 
was observed by Charles J. Wister, Jr. All the others were communicated by 
Benjamin V. Marsh in a letter from which the following extracts are taken:— 
“ 1st. As to the point of appearance. Robert Aertsen, at Germantown, 6 miles 
N. N. W. from the State house, was sitting on his piazza fronting N. W., and saw 
it emerge from behind W. Gummere’s house opposite, or else originating near it— 
he cannot say which—but he was very positive as to the part of the building near 
which he first saw it. I got him to direct the telescope of a theodolite to the point, 
and the result was— 
“Azimuth N. 45° W. (true). Altitude 12°. 
“ When I caught sight of it, several seconds after its first appearance, I thought 
it was about 5° west of north, at an elevation of near 20°, but I do not feel any 
thing like the confidence in this, that I do in my idea of the later part of its course. 
1 According to calculation, the meteor passed the meridian of Flint at 9h. 8m. 14 sec. 
3 Communicated by Milo R. Eames, of Buffalo, from a newspaper report. According to the cal 
culated path, it “burst” about 12 or 13 seconds after it passed the meridian of this place.