Show A CURIOUS SHOWER THE HEAVENS OBSCURED BY PAL FALLING LING APPLES old mariners marinero ma recall an apple shower near the wells street bridge that took place almost thirty years ago and which they say obscured the suns r rays ays for an mur hour or more the stated duration of this solar phenomenon Is conjectural as no record was kept of 0 the matter and an infirm memory only reverts to it for the reason that it suggests an exciting occurrence in the early history of the chicago harbor A great many Chicagoans old will remember the explosion of the propeller globe and will dispute over the date of Us its happening over the circumstance that it accounted for the most hobt astonishing appearance the river ever presented up to that time there will be no dispute whatever the globe a sound seagoing sea going vessel in the michigan fruit trade was being unloaded near hates hales dock close to wells street bridge it was in the forenoon of a pleasant day in the autum of 1860 A crowd ot of curious people were looking on at convenient distances tor for the propeller had bad the biggest cargo of apples that had been brought to chicago for reany many a ion long day she was all alt apples hold bold sill and deck laden piled in tier upon tier of barrels suddenly there was a rush of smoke the sizzle of escaping steam then a thundering detonation as if all the noise and tumult and dia of a dozen fourths of july were concentrated into one mighty and ear split ting confusion of soun sound the globes boilers had bad exploded and all that thal remained of tae craft was her hull even this seen at first all over everywhere the air was filled with apples they shot up bushels of them together and scattered right and left thousands thousand a of busi bushels making a denser cloud than the smoke from the wreck the gir air was black with apples and what with the fruit ascending asce and descending sc Ic by the carti cartload oad partial darkness reigned then the smoke cleared away and it is sate safe to 10 say that never since that time has there been seen so many apples floating in the chicago river the stream was literally choked up the fruit was up in thick layers and for minutes afterwards down came a steady rainfall of more apples the majority of them it would appear were hurled burled upward in a straight direction the force of the explosion being so great that li IE was a long time before they commenced the downward trip they were dropped bushels at a time and one of the biggest apple showers on record was witnessed for weeks after the small boy had a picnic apple fishing in the river considering everything the sion wrought but little damage A little girl named nolan w wa lil killed lied a son ot of dick owen liale hale was rendered insane through terror and a lew few sustained minor injuries and sore heads from the tailing falling apple were plentiful en enough 0 g h among 11 the e first on we tue scene were e ie ca captains bains john and redmond le curiously enough captain john was on board the first vessel that ever exploded in chicago harbor the tug union and he happened to be only a phort distance away when the globe eap exp exploded boded on both occasions he be escaped injury chicago news netos |