The Meteor That Set a Lagoon Boiling
A blazing object fell from the sky over Chimacum, terrified Jefferson County farmers who thought the world was ending, and left a lagoon bubbling hot enough to cook eggs hours later.
Tacoma, June 16.—A Port Townsend special to the Ledger says: Last night at a late hour Chimacum, a small farming center four miles from here, experienced a terrific explosion and jar, the result of the falling of a heavy meteor, which burst with a loud noise at the height of several yards and, after causing a small cyclone of several minutes' duration, buried itself deep in the muddy bottom of a lagoon. The meteor struck the bottom with force enough to break crockery in farmhouses three miles away, causing terror among the residents, who believed the end of the world had come. Ten hours after the occurrence the waters of the lagoon were still bubbling and were found to be hot enough to readily cook eggs. A systematic search of the lagoon failed to discover traces of the celestial messenger, which is believed to be buried deep in the earth.
“Ten hours after the occurrence the waters of the lagoon were still bubbling and were found to be hot enough to readily cook eggs.”
A century before smartphone alerts and doorbell cameras, a fiery object dropping out of the sky and boiling a lagoon could raise both genuine terror and genuine wonder. Pacific Northwest skies still draw meteor hunters and skywatchers—though the loudest thing overhead today is rarely a fireball.
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