A rare aerial phenomenon was recently observed by captain Moore of the English steamer "Siberian" when he was in the vicinity of New-Foundland, about 10 sea miles off Cape Race. He saw then at midnight - it was November 12 - with a strong wind a big fireball rising up out of the sea to a height of approximately 15 feet, and against the direction of the wind, coursing straight towards the ship. The fireball then changed course and moved parallel to the ship for about 1,5 sea mile, when about 2 minutes later it again took on another course and disappeared. Captain Moore says, that he had observed such a phenomenon before at Cape Race what he considered as a sign of storm from the East and South-East.
The Hydrograhic Bureau in Washington, having submitted the above, adds to that: the phenomenon described here is one of the rarest and hard to explain forms of lightning. A fireball floats slowly through the air without fixed course to sometimes explode with tremendous force, at other times bursting in apart without blow in the air. People have observed that these fireballs on land strike a hole in the ground of more than 30 feet diameter and reappear a short distance away. Although the phenomenon itself is not in doubt there still has not been found a sufficient explanation.