Shooting At The Clouds
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Title |
Shooting At The Clouds |
Subject |
Rainmaking Experiment |
Transcript |
Shooting At The Clouds During a devastating drought, South Texans in 1891 began to look seriously at rain-making experiments based on a book, "War and the Weather." The author of this book held that during the Civil War, heavy artillery action often brought rain. He argued that if you bombarded the clouds with enough ordnance, they'd be forced to drop some moisture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to pay for experiments in South Texas on the concussion theory of making it rain. In September, 1891, a 15-member crew came to Corpus Christi to bombard the clouds. For the first few days after they arrived, no test was possible because of stormy weather. On Sept. 26, the experimenters took two howitzers to a spot west of town. They used the mortars to fire 21-pound shells, which exploded at a height of 500 feet. Soon after the first shot, drops began to fall. By the time of the last shot, experimenters and onlookers were soaking wet. The results were suspect, however, because there had been a downpour befre the experiment was begun. A more ambitious test was conducted at San Diego. The plan called for 1,000 synchronized explosions between balloons carrying bombs and artillery on the ground. After a full day's firing, rain came down in torrents. In another rainmaking experiment in San Antonio, an explosion splintered a mesquite tree and shattered every window in a nearby hotel. Again there was a downpour, but this time it was in Laredo. People in Laredo sent the man in charge a telegram, thanking him for the rain. The Agriculture Department gave up the bombardment of clouds, even though the tests did happen to coincide with the end of a long drought in South Texas. Murphy Givens: KEDT Radio Scripts |
Author |
Murphy Givens |
Publisher |
KEDT Radio |
Date |
4/12/2002 |
Type |
Sound Recording |
Format |
MP3; Length 2 min. 12 sec. |
Language |
English |
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