The Rain Cloud Part 7

If smoke rise perpendicularly upwards from chimneys in calm weather, fair weather may be expected to continue; but if it fall toward and roll along the ground, not being easily dispersed, rain will ensue.

Many of the above prognostics, as well as some of those relating to animals, are thus noticed by Sir Humphrey Davy, in his "Salmonia, or Days of Fly-fishing." The conversation is between Halieus, a fly-fisher; Poietes, a poet; Physicus, a man of science; and Ornither, a sportsman.

"_Poiet_. I hope we shall have another good day to-morrow, for the clouds are red in the west.

_Phys_. I have no doubt of it; for the red has a tint of purple.

_Hal_. Do you know why this tint portends fine weather?

_Phys_. The air, when dry, I believe, refracts more red or heating rays; and as dry air is not perfectly transparent, they are again reflected in the horizon. I have generally observed a coppery or yellow sun-set to foretell rain; but, as an indication of wet weather approaching, nothing is more certain than a halo round the moon, which is produced by the precipitated water; and the larger the circle, the nearer the clouds, and consequently the more ready to fall.

_Hal_. I have often observed that the old proverb is correct-

'A rainbow in the morning is the shepherd's warning; A rainbow at night is the shepherd's delight'

Can you explain this omen?

_Phys_. A rainbow can only occur when the clouds containing or depositing the rain are opposite the sun,-and in the evening the rainbow is in the east, and in the morning in the west. As, therefore, our heavy rains in this climate are usually brought by the westerly wind, a rainbow in the west indicates that the bad weather is on the road, by the wind, to us; whereas, the rainbow in the east proves that the rain in these clouds is pa.s.sing from us.

_Poiet_. I have often observed that when the swallows fly high, fine weather is to be expected or continued; but when they fly low, and close to the ground, rain is almost surely approaching. Can you account for this?

_Hal_. Swallows follow the flies and gnats, and flies and gnats usually delight in warm strata of air; and as warm air is lighter, and usually moister than cold air, when the warm strata of air are high, there is less chance of moisture being thrown down from them by the mixture with cold air; but when the warm and moist air is close to the surface, it is almost certain that, as the cold air flows down into it, a deposition of water will take place.

_Poiet_. I have often seen sea-gulls a.s.semble on the land, and have almost always observed that very stormy and rainy weather was approaching. I conclude that these animals, sensible of a current of air approaching from the ocean, retire to the land to shelter themselves from the storm.

_Orn_. No such thing. The storm is their element, and the little petrel enjoys the heaviest gale; because, living on the smaller sea-insects, he is sure to find his food in the spray of a heavy wave; and you may see him flitting above the edge of the highest surge. I believe that the reason of this migration of sea-gulls, and other sea-birds, to the land, is their security of finding food; and they may be observed, at this time, feeding greedily on the earth-worms and larvae driven out of the ground by severe floods; and the fish on which they prey in fine weather in the sea, leave the surface, and go deeper in storms. The search after food, as we have agreed on a former occasion, is the princ.i.p.al cause why animals change their places. The different tribes of the wading birds always migrate when rain is about to take place; and I remember once, in Italy, having been long waiting, in the end of March, for the arrival of the double snipe in the Campagna of Rome, a great flight appeared on the 3rd of April, and the day after heavy rain set in, which greatly interfered with my sport. The vulture, upon the same principle, follows armies; and I have no doubt that the augury of the ancients was a good deal founded upon the observation of the instincts of birds. There are many superst.i.tions of the vulgar owing to the same source. For anglers, in spring, it is always unlucky to see single magpies,-but _two_ may always be regarded as a favourable omen; and the reason is, that in cold and stormy weather one magpie alone leaves the nest in search of food, the other remaining sitting upon the eggs or the young ones; but when two go out together, it is only when the weather is warm and mild, and favourable for fishing.

_Poiet_. The singular connexions of causes and effects to which you have just referred, makes superst.i.tion less to be wondered at, particularly amongst the vulgar; and when two facts, naturally unconnected, have been accidentally coincident, it is not singular that this coincidence should have been observed and registered, and that omens of the most absurd kind should be trusted in. In the west of England, half a century ago, a particular hollow noise on the sea-coast was referred to a spirit or goblin, called Bucca, and was supposed to foretell a shipwreck. The philosopher knows that sound travels much faster than currents in the air; and the sound always foretold the approach of a very heavy storm, which seldom takes place on that wild and rocky coast without a shipwreck on some part of its extensive sh.o.r.es, surrounded by the Atlantic."

Dr. Jenner has collected in the following amusing lines a large number of the natural prognostics of rain. They are said to have been addressed to a lady, who asked the Doctor if he thought it would rain to-morrow.

"The hollow winds begin to blow, The clouds look black, the gla.s.s is low; The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep, And spiders from their cobwebs peep: Last night the sun went pale to bed, The moon in halos hid her head: The boding shepherd heaves a sigh, For, see! a rainbow spans the sky: The walls are damp, the ditches smell, Closed is the pink-eyed pimpernel; Hark! how the chairs and tables crack; Old Betty's joints are on the rack; Loud quack the ducks, the peac.o.c.ks cry, The distant hills are seeming nigh.

How restless are the snorting swine,- The busy flies disturb the kine.

Low o'er the gra.s.s the swallow wings; The cricket, too, how loud it sings: Puss on the hearth with velvet paws, Sits smoothing o'er her whisker'd jaws.

Through the clear stream the fishes rise, And nimbly catch the incautious flies: The sheep were seen at early light Cropping the meads with eager bite.

Though June, the air is cold and chill; The mellow blackbird's voice is still.

The glow-worms, numerous and bright, Illum'd the dewy dell last night.

At dusk the squalid toad was seen, Hopping, and crawling o'er the green.

The frog has lost his yellow vest, And in a dingy suit is dressed.

The leech, disturb'd, is newly risen, Quite to the summit of his prison.

The whirling winds the dust obeys, And in the rapid eddy plays; My dog, so alter'd in his taste, Quits mutton-bones on gra.s.s to feast; And see yon rooks, how odd their flight!

They imitate the gliding kite, Or seem precipitate to fall, As if they felt the piercing ball:- 'Twill surely rain,-I see with sorrow, Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow."

Uncivilized nations often entertain the absurd notion that certain individuals can command the rain whenever they please. Much honour is shown to persons supposed to possess this power, for they are considered as having some mysterious intercourse with heaven. Catlin gives a striking instance of this superst.i.tion as it exists among the Mandans of North America. These people raise a great deal of corn; but their harvests are sometimes destroyed by long-continued drought. When threatened with this calamity, the women (who have the care of the patches of corn) implore their lords to intercede for rain; and accordingly the chiefs and doctors a.s.semble to deliberate on the case.

When they have decided that it is necessary to produce rain, they wisely delay the matter for as many days as possible; and it is not until further urged by the complaints and entreaties of the women, that they begin to take the usual steps for accomplishing their purpose. At length they a.s.semble in the council-house with all their apparatus about them-with abundance of wild sage and aromatic herbs, to burn before the "Great Spirit." On these occasions the lodge is closed to all except the doctors and some ten or fifteen young men, the latter being the persons to whom the honour of making it rain, or the disgrace of having failed in the attempt, is to belong.

After having witnessed the conjurations of the doctors inside the lodge, these young men are called up by lot, one at a time, to spend a day on the top of the lodge, and to see how far their efforts will avail in producing rain; at the same time the smoke of the burning herbs ascends through a hole in the roof. On one of these occasions, when all the charms were in operation, and when three young men had spent each his day on the lodge in ineffectual efforts to bring rain, and the fourth was engaged alternately addressing the crowd of villagers and the spirits of the air, but in vain, it so happened that the steam-boat "Yellow Stone,"

made her first trip up the Missouri river, and about noon approached the village of the Mandans. Catlin was a pa.s.senger on this boat; and helped to fire a salute of twenty guns of twelve pounds calibre, when they first came in sight of the village, which was at some three or four miles distance. These guns introduced a new sound into the country, which the Mandans naturally enough supposed to be thunder. "The young man upon the lodge, who turned it to good account, was gathering fame in rounds of applause, which were repeated and echoed through the whole village; all eyes were centred upon him-chiefs envied him-mothers' hearts were beating high, whilst they were decorating and leading up their fair daughters to offer him in marriage on his signal success. The medicine-men had left the lodge, and came out to bestow upon him the envied t.i.tle of 'medicine-man,' or 'doctor,' which he had so deservedly won-wreaths were prepared to decorate his brows, and eagle's plumes and calumets were in readiness for him-his enemies wore on their faces a silent gloom and hatred; and his old sweethearts who had cast him off, gazed intensely upon him, as they glowed with the burning fever of repentance. During all this excitement, Wak-a-dah-ha-hee (or the white buffalo's hair) kept his position, a.s.suming the most commanding and threatening att.i.tudes; brandishing his shield in the direction of the thunder, although there was not a cloud to be seen, until he (poor fellow) being elevated above the rest of the village, espied, to his inexpressible amazement, the steamboat ploughing its way up the windings of the river below, puffing her steam from her pipes, and sending forth the thunder from a twelve-pounder on her deck. 'The white Buffalo's hair' stood motionless, and turned pale; he looked awhile, and turned to the chief and to the mult.i.tude, and addressed them with a trembling lip-'My friends, we will get no rain!-there are, you see, no clouds; but my medicine is great-I have brought a _thunder-boat_! look and see it! the thunder you hear is out of her mouth, and the lightning which you see is on the waters!'

"At this intelligence, the whole village flew to the tops of their wigwams, or to the bank of the river, from whence the steamer was in full view, and ploughing along to their utter dismay and confusion. In this promiscuous throng, chiefs, doctors, women, children, and dogs, were mingled, Wak-a-dah-ha-hee having descended from his high place to mingle with the frightened throng. Dismayed at the approach of so strange and unaccountable an object, the Mandans stood their ground but a few moments; when, by an order of the chiefs, all hands were ensconced within the piquets of their village, and all the warriors armed for desperate self-defence. A few moments brought the boat in front of the village, and all was still and quiet as death; not a Mandan was to be seen upon the banks. The steamer was moored, and three or four of the chiefs soon after walked boldly down the bank, and on to her deck, with a spear in one hand, and a calumet, or pipe of peace in the other. The moment they stepped on board, they met (to their great surprise and joy) their old friend Major Sanford, their agent, which circ.u.mstance put an instant end to all their fears."

It was long, however, before the rain-maker could be persuaded to come forward, or to listen to the a.s.surance that his medicine had nothing whatever to do with the arrival of the ship. Unwilling to lose the fame of having produced such a phenomenon, he continued to a.s.sert that he knew of its coming, and by his magic had caused it to approach. But he was little regarded in the universal bustle and gossip which was going on respecting the mysteries of the "thunder-boat."

Meanwhile the day pa.s.sed on, and towards evening a cloud began to rise above the horizon. Wak-a-dah-ha-hee no sooner observed this, than, with shield on his arm and bow in hand, he was again upon the lodge.

"Stiffened and braced to the last sinew, he stood with his face and his shield presented to the cloud, and his bow drawn. He drew the eyes of the whole village upon him, as he vaunted forth his superhuman powers; and at the same time commanded the cloud to come nearer, that he might draw down its contents upon their heads and the corn-fields of the Mandans. In this wise he stood, waving his shield over his head, stamping his foot, and frowning as he drew his bow and threatened the heavens, commanding it to rain-his bow was bent, and the arrow drawn to its head, was sent to the cloud, {210} and he exclaimed, 'My friends, it is done! Wak-a-dah-ha-hee's arrow has entered that black cloud, and the Mandans will be wet with the water of the skies!' His predictions were true-in a few moments the cloud was over the village, and the rain fell in torrents. He stood for some time wielding his weapons, and boasting of the efficacy of his _medicine_ to those who had been about him, but were now driven to the shelter of their wigwams; and descended from his high place (in which he had been perfectly drenched) prepared to receive the honours and homage that were due to one so potent in his mysteries; and to receive the style and t.i.tle of _medicine-man_." Catlin further informs us, that when the Mandans undertake to make it rain, they always succeed, for their ceremonies never stop until rain begins to fall: and also, that he who has once made it rain never attempts it again; his medicine is undoubted-and on future occasions of the kind he stands aloof, giving an opportunity to other young men who are ambitious to signalize themselves in the same way.

A superst.i.tion similar to that of the Mandans prevails also among the Caffers of Southern Africa, and among the natives of Ceylon. The Caffer chiefs, attended by their warriors, proceed with much ceremony, and laden with presents, to the dwelling of the rain-doctor, where a grand feast is held while certain charms are in process. The impostor at length dismisses his guests with a variety of instructions, on the due observance of which the success of their application is to depend. These instructions are generally of the most trifling kind: they are to travel home in perfect silence; or they are not to look back; or they are to compel every one they meet to turn back and go home with them. Should rain happen to fall, the credit is given to the rain-doctor; but should the drought continue, the fault is laid upon the failure of the applicants to fulfil these instructions with sufficient exactness.

Major Forbes gives an account of an old rain-doctor in Ceylon, who had plied a lucrative trade for many years, and at length wished to retire from business. But the people were highly incensed at the idea of losing his services, especially as a most distressing drought was at that time the scourge of the land. So persuaded were they of his powers, that they all agreed, that when required to do so by a whole village, he should be compelled to furnish rain in sufficient quant.i.ties; and that if he was insensible to rewards, he should be tormented with thorns or beaten into compliance. In vain did the poor old impostor at length declare the truth, and a.s.sure the people that he had no power whatever to make it rain. They treated his words with disdain, and dragged their victim from village to village, inflicting stripes at every halt. Even the chief of the district had determined on having rain by force, if fair means should fail, and ordered the rain-doctor to be taken to the village where rain was most required. On his way thither he was so fortunate as to meet with Major Forbes, who took him under his protection, and probably saved his life, though not without some difficulty, for it so happened that a few slight showers fell near his own village, while all the rest of the neighbourhood was suffering the extremity of drought.

Melancholy indeed is the condition of these poor people; in utter ignorance of the source of all the providential mercies bestowed upon them, and, therefore, made the dupes and credulous followers of knaves and impostors of every kind!

In some cases, however, the missionaries have happily succeeded in opening the eyes of the deluded people to the cheat which is practised on them. One of the most intelligent of the Caffers of Southern Africa, having been led to suspect the integrity of the rain-maker, visited Mr.

Shaw, and told him of his determination to have the question set at rest, whether or no the rain-maker could produce rain. He had summoned the rain-maker to meet Mr. Shaw in an open plain, when all the Caffers of the surrounding kraals were to be present to decide the affair. Accordingly, at the appointed time and place, thousands of Caffers from the neighbouring country a.s.sembled in their war-dresses. Mr. Shaw, being confronted with a celebrated rain-maker, declared publicly that G.o.d alone gave rain; and then offered to present the rain-maker with a team of oxen if he should succeed in making it rain within a certain specified time.

This was agreed to; the rain-maker began his ceremonies, which are said to have been well calculated to impose upon an ignorant and superst.i.tious people. The time having expired without any signs of rain, the chief who had called together the meeting asked the rain-maker why he had so long imposed upon them? The rain-maker complained that he had not been paid well enough for his rain; and appealed to all present, whether rain had not always been produced when he had been properly paid. Mr. Shaw then pointed out some half-famished cattle belonging to the rain-maker, which were seen on a neighbouring hill starving for want of pasturage, and remarked, that if he really possessed his boasted skill, he would not have neglected his own interests. To this the rain-maker cleverly replied, "I never found a difficulty in making rain until _he_ (pointing to Mr. Shaw) came among us; but now, no sooner do I collect the clouds, and the rain is about to fall, than immediately there begins a sound of _ting_, _ting_, _ting_, (alluding to the chapel-bell,) which puts the clouds to flight, and prevents the rain from descending on your land."

Mr. Shaw was not able to tell what effect this ingenious excuse had upon the majority of the Caffers, but he had the satisfaction of knowing that the intelligent chief, who consulted him on the subject, never _bought_ any more rain.

Already Published in this Series.

I.-THE SNOW STORM.

II.-THE FROZEN STREAM.

III.-THE RAIN CLOUD.

Shortly will be Published.

IV.-THE DEW DROP.

V.-THE THUNDER STORM.

VI.-THE TEMPEST.

Footnotes:

{18} Physico-Theology by the Rev. Wm. Derham.

{55} See Frontispiece to this Chapter, p. 36.

{85} See Frontispiece to this Chapter, p. 74.