St. Elmo on Pike's Peak

Blue flares appeared upon the frozen summit of Pike's Peak one evening last week. Residents of Colorado Springs, Col., at the mountain's base, wondered if some foolhardy tourist had climbed up through the snow and was helpless. Soon the lights died away and the people of Colorado Springs went to bed. Next night there were more blue flares, and the next. A plane went up and soared around the peak but spied no man. Scientists finally explained that what had been seen was St. Elmo's fire, the luminous effect of static electricity discharged from Pike's Peak's rough summit.*

*St. Elmo's fire is not to be confused with jack-o'-lantern (friar's lantern, will-o'-the-wisp, ignis fatuus), which, often seen in swamps, is the phosphorescence of decaying vegetable matter.