On Tuefeay, Auguft -between one andtwqu'of the
dock, as James Tillie, Efq; of Pentillie caftle, in Cornwall, »with
his neighbours and fervants, were lying aground in a boat on k- fend-
hawk in the river Tamar, not half a mile from -his own houfe,
waiting the tide to throw a net fdr felmon, a fudden. dap of Thunder
broke over their heads. In a field adjoining the grafs feemed.on
fire and the whole field in a flame, and a fire-ball was obferved juft
to pals over the hedge at :the top of. a vei^f fteep wood which hangs
over the T amar. The fire-ball fdl on 'the boat; and paflmg.from
the South-Weft in a direCfc line from the. larboard bow tq;the fteyn,
James Widear, Mr. TillieVfervant, in the bow,. had a viqfen.t- blow,
on his right fhoulder and head; Mr. S^inble, who fat next to him,
was ftruck deaf for fopae time ; Mr. Tillie flit next in the middle of
the boat, and plainly perceived the fire-ball, about five inches diameter,
fbmewhat lharp, and pointed in the forer-part, to pafs by him at;
about three feet diftance *: he was .yiblently ftruck on the .baek part
of his head by the current o f the air attending the ball.; hikoyes
were fhut, and he leaped from his feat'about two. or three feet.fiigh ;
and on the return of his fenfcs, opening .his eyes, was fur prized to
find himfelf Handing; for before the fhock hqj was fitting on theS
oar. The right fide of hisi face continued vefry■ warrji feri two lhours
and the comer o f his hat was carried away, as j f half of a final!
bullet had been Ihot through it. _ Robert: Atk^|^f k & ^ n | wfe&fejl
Tillie, was near the ftem, with his 'face to!.the Souths Weft, but
not in the diretft line off the fire-ball: he was $ ftruck Ipeechlefs,
thrown on his back upon the filbing-net, remained infenfible for
two or three hours afterwards, his free was black, as if - the: priming
of a gun had been blown by accident over it; his left.eye .weak,
and contracted for a fortnight after; with a great numbnefs in all his
limbs., until a briik circulation of the blood enfued^ and then he had
violent pains, which wore off flowly, leaving him weak and few»
with complaints o f frequent head-ach, but no vifible mark of hurt.
Mr. Pethen, a tenant of Mr. Tillie, was ftanding three feet from
Atkins, upon the feat of the ftem, with his face to the South
Weft, and had fcarce done fpeaking when the fire-ball fell on his
left temple, and ftruck him dead into the river. He w a s im mediately
taken up by feme of Mr. Tillie’s fervants on the ftiore.
His peruke on fire, and fmoaking in the ftern of the boat, Mr. Tillie
took up and extinguifhed : it had a hole burnt in it as large as
a crown piece, and finelt ftrongly of fulphur. His hat was blown
into the water, rent three or four inches long, the lining only ript.
His cloaths were but little rent: on his hip there was a black fear
about three or four inches long, and difcoloured as if filled with
* Letter from James Tillie, Bfqj to the author.
colour ;
gunpowder : his neck and left breaft were food after his death changed
to a claret colour.;; bût where the fire-ball fell, it left no wound more
vifible than the punCture of a pin, neither didit difcolour his temple ;
but the third day the lower part of his face altered a little, and the
other parts of, his bódy became difcoloured more and more, till his
burial. All his cloaths fmelt . dike gunpowder newly difeharged.
There were three perfons ftanding on the adjoining fand ; one was
violently ftruck on thefhead, the-fécond had his eye finged, and
the fire-bal’f fell\between' the legs-ef the third into the land, from
whence fief only perceived a fudden warmth. The day had been
fliowry, neither hot nor . cold ; and the fun flione, though faintly,
ihbout ten rffinute^beforo the explofion. , N°,one had. his face turn’d"
towards tH^South-Welt but Mr. Pethen and R. Atkins. .
’fc-'Haviiig mentioned the (excefles to which the air of-this County i|
fiibjecft, I cannot hut obferve, that, notwithftanding this, the air is'
very healthy hough we .have frequent rains,- -the air is by no
means rendered thereby lefs fit for refpiration: it is; not. charged
‘with the fluggiftr, exhalations of Bogs, marihes, or ftagnating pools
among; thick woods; nor do there many flat calms happen; and
when they-do, they feldom continue for the Ipace o£ a day; for
eitllfr; the fea broBliSI interpofe, or the numerous^promontories ”,
by.oppofing an<| collecting every current of air, promote a conftant
flow ■ of vwind * one way,.or other.round their, extremities, fo as that
mills feldom reft long. Neither .can the faltnefs of the air, nor the
mineral exhalations, be laid to make the air fickly, as many inftances
of long life; (as will appear in the following: fheets) being to be found
here as in any part of England, fo happily do tfrefe feeming extremes
correCt and qualify one another, and by a mixture, of which we
know not the limits. and proportion,1 reCtify and keep the air in a
wholfome temperature. 1
The hufbandmen and filhermen here have many figns of the
enfuing alterations^ of the weather, as .thofe,. whole daily employments
are in the open (air, have, by experience, learned in all places ;
but one appeared new and Angular to me. Saturday, Auguft 15,
1752,, the wind at Weft North Weft, the Iky cloudy, the Mercury
moving upwards in the Barometer, about fix in the evening, there
appeared in the North-Eaft the. fruftum o f a large rainbow ; all the
colours were very lively and diftinCt, and it was .three times as wide
as the arch of an ordinary complete Rainbow, but no higher than it
was wide. They call it here its Cornwall a weather dog; but in
b So miny, that they are thought to give,the
Britifliname ofKernou,(fignifyingnorns,orhead-
' lands) to this County, whence the more modem
names of Cornwall, Cornubia, Comugallia, &c.
p * the
SECT. VII.
Air healthy.
SECT. VIII.
Weather
%is.