The False Broad River Meteorite
That one can not always believe what is found in the newspapers is very frequently demonstrated. It isn't often, however, that one finds stories that are based on absolutely nothing. Taking advantage of the more or less alarmist talk concerning Halley's comet, a reporter to the New York Evening Journal writes a very vivid and realistic description of the fall of a tremendous meteorite in the Connecticut village of Broad River, after the fall of which, it is reported, a great religious revival began. He tells us with circumstantial details just what the village meteorologist said about the terrifying visitor; that the effect of the heat generated by the meteorite's striking the earth was felt a mile away from where it landed; and that the scientist of the village concluded that it was Drake's comet. We wrote to one of our subscribers who lives a mile distant from Broad River, an intelligent lady, who writes us that she never heard a word regarding any such incident, nor has she found any one else who knows anything about it, and that the local papers which give the Broad River news make no mention of any such occurrence. A moderate conclusion of our correspondent is that "it must be false." And yet that is characteristic of a great many of the alarmist stories.