The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 43, July 1939 - April, 1940 Page: 432
576 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
morning, the sky was clear, and a slight haziness was apparent
on the horizon. Clouds slowly gathered. In the afternoon a storm
rose from the southeast, with heavy thunder and vivid lightning.
But only a sprinkle of rain fell upon the Post estate. Instead
of the smoke-rings rising directly upward, as desired, a high
wind leaned them away at an oblique angle. Marhoff was con-
vinced that this condition explained the scantiness of rainfall
on the scene of the explosions.24
Word came in from a settler living thirty-five miles southwest
of the Post Colony that an inch and a half of rain had fallen at
that point on the night of May 23, after the last battle.25 This
report led the managers to conclude that the battle had been
staged in too strong a wind and that the effects of the explosions
had consequently been felt at a considerable distance from the
Post estate.
The ninth rain-making experiment was carried out on June 11.
No rain fell on the Post lands, but a tremendous downpour
occurred at Lubbock a few hours after the explosions ceased.2"
Despite the somewhat discouraging results, Post was not ready
to abandon his experiments. He wrote:
Past experience has led me to believe that we can depend
upon rain if the humidity is anywhere from seventy to ninety
degrees, and if the humidity is less than seventy we should
shoot two battles-preferably the first one in the afternoon
and the next the following morning.27
Accordingly, battles were staged on the afternoon of July 2 and
on the following morning. The afternoon battle began at half
past one, and raged for two and a half hours. Fifteen hundred
shots of three pounds each reverberated from the walls of the
Cap Rock. At seven in the evening a heavy cloud, with lightning,
appeared in the northwest. But "it went around" and left Post
City "high and dry." Next morning another bombardment rattled
cups and dishes in farmhouses ten miles away, but only light
24P. R., Correspondence XXV, 18b. Marhoff to Board of Managers,
May 23, 1912.
25Ps. R., Correspondence XXV, 20a. C. H. Doak (O'Donnell, Texas) to
Double U Company, May 28, 1912.
26P. R., Correspondence XXV, 22a. J. R. Hartford to Double U Com-
pany, June 11, 1912.
27p. R., Minutes II, 7b. Post to Double U Company, June 17, 1912.432
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 43, July 1939 - April, 1940, periodical, 1940; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101111/m1/468/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.