Rutland, England Watering intruder — 15 September 1749
An object created a sprout that roared, took water from a river, shot light beams to the
ground, and broke rocks. Although this case sounds similar to that of Hartfield in Yorkshire, the two locations are separated by a fair distance. The weather was calm, warm and cloudy with some showers. The witnesses described “great smoke with the likeness of fire” either as a single flash or as multiple arrows darting down to the ground, whose “whirling, breaks, roar and smoke frightened both Man and Beast.” The phenomenon went down the hill, took up water from the river Welland, and ran over fields and trees, tearing branches. The Royal Society correspondent reports: “I saw it pass from Pilton over Lyndon lordship, like a black smoky Cloud with bright Breaks; an odd whitling Motion, and a roaring Noise, like a distant Wind, or a great Flock of Sheep galloping along on hard Ground…”
Source: “An Account of an extraordinary Meteor, which resembled a Water-Spout, communicated to the President, by Tho. Barker, esq.” Read on Dec. 14, 1749. Philosophical Transactions (Nov-Dec. 1749), no. 493. Case: W516