The Devil’s Footprints

The Devil’s Footprints – Mysterious Footprints in Snow

An old legend regarding a visit to Devon by Satan has been rekindled after a great grandmother revealed a set of mysterious footprints in her snow laden back yard. The Devil’s Footprints had been the name given to a phenomenon which had taken place in February 1855 around the Exe Estuary in East Devon and South Devon, England. Trails of hoof like marks had appeared after a heavy snowfall covering a distance of around 40 to 100 miles.

The footprints had been so called since some of the people were of the belief that they had been the tracks of Satan as they were apparently made by a cloven hoof. The incident had taken place on the night of 8-9 February 1855 and probably one or two nights later after heavy snowfall where a series of hoof-life marks seemed to appear in the snow.

The footprints are said to measure around four inches long, three inches diagonally between eight and sixteen inches apart and in a single file. They were reported from more than thirty locations all over Devon and a couple in Dorset.The space where the prints seemed to appear extended from Exmouth to Topsham and through Exe Estuary to Dawlish and Teignmouth.

Investigators Cynical About the Tracks

In 1890, an article published in Notes and Queries by R.H. Busk stated that the footprints had appeared further afield towards the south to Totnes and Torquay. Besides this, there were two more reports stating that the prints were seen as far away as Weymouth- Dorset as well as Lincolnshire. They seemed to be made by something which seemed bipedal and have cloven hooves.

According to legend, the hooves tend to cut right through the snow and almost to the ground below as though they had been burned there. The people were frightened especially by the prints which had appeared to stop right at the threshold of their homes and several of them were afraid of leaving their home with the belief that the devil himself had been wandering all over Devon looking out for sinners.

Several explanations had come up regarding the incident where some investigators seemed to be cynical that the tracks extended over a hundred miles debating that no one would be capable of following their entire course in one day.

Descriptions of the Footprints Differ

Another reason for scepticism according to Joe Nickell was that the description of the eye witnesswith regards to the footprints seemed to differ from person to person. On the night of March 12, 2009, additional strange marks matching to those left in 1855 were located in Devon. Reasonable investigation portrayed similar markings.

Rumours of identical strange, obstacle-unheeded footprints occurred in other areas of the world though none seemed to be of such a scale like those of the Devil’s Footprints. On the high mountains of that elevated district where the Glenorchy, Glenlyon and Glenochay tend to be adjoining, there have been instances on several occasions during winter, tracks of animals on the snow which have been unknown presently in Scotland.

The print is said to be a precise resemblance of a foal of substantial size though with a small difference. But since no one had the opportunity of a glimpse of the creature, not much can be said of its shape or dimension. The footprints seemed to remain unexplained till date though some have provided some reasonable explanations.

The Mystery of Space Roar

ARCADE – Scientific Instrument Package Sent in Space – Helium Balloon

Early in July 2006, ARCADE – Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology, Astrophysics and Diffuse Emission, a scientific instrument package had been sent in the air through a Helium Balloon. Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility of NASA in Palestine Texas had been the point of launch and had reached an altitude of 120,123 feet at the point one would call `Space. A research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, Dr Alan Kogurt who was also the head of the ARCADE team had been looking for unusual Radio Emission which are rather challenging to monitor on ground level due to the increased Radio noise found on the ground.

 The radio emissions stemming from space has been known since the discovery by Nikola Tesla and probably Karl Jansky. It is said that there is a fragment and uniform radio emission which is believed to have been the result of the Big Bang, Cosmic Background Radiation. Dr Kogurt had been hoping to find confirmation of the Cosmic Background as well as a few new radio emission points and what he found was one of those historic `Wow Moments’ in his scientific research. What he has learned is noted in his own words `The universe really threw us a curve’. Instead of the faint signal we hoped to find, here was this booming noise six times louder than anyone had predicted’

NASA Discovered `Space Roar’

NASA found something known as `Space Roar’ which is a sound that is six times louder than anything one could have ever expected. It is a signal that has been discovered by NASA’s ARCADE instrument that is presently without any explanation.

In space no one could hear you scream since there is no medium through which sound can move. Space roar is not actually a sound but it is radio waves. Space roar had first been discovered by ARCADE and has a very fancy name for some very fancy equipment which NASA had attached to a big balloon which was sent into space. ARCADE had intended to look for radio signals from distant galaxies.

Since radio is so commonly used and also utilised in creating auditory signals, it seems easy to overlook that it is just another form of light. It is much less energetic than the visible light where our eyes are not accustomed for it though it tends to behave in the same manner.

Intended to Pick Faint Radio Signals of Distant Stars

A star releasing radio waves is not much different from the sun releasing visible light. Actually to someone far away or far in the future, the sun possibly is emanating primarily radio waves.ARCADE, when sent out in space was intended to pick up the faint radio signals of distant stars. Instead it received strong blare of radio and the input has been described as `boom’ by those who have been researching on it.

After some research done, the idea had been ruled out that it had been just very loud early stars. They also ruled out that it was coming from the dust of our own galaxy and was just a blast of radio, - `space roar’ which seemed to be part of the background noise with no explained reason. Though space roar has vexed the interest of several, there is yet no explanation for the same.

History of the Fort of St. George

Madras – Creation of East India Company as Trading Centre

The city of Madras, for its importance and size is unusually missing in buildings of any antique; largely due to the unique settlement which was a creation of the East India Company was only a trading centre. During the early days of the 17th century, it was necessary to strengthen any overseas trading centre against the possibility of an attack.

 A grant had been obtained in 1639 from Damarla Venkatappa Nayaka, the local chief of Chandragiri on behalf of the Company, between the Cooum and the Bay of Bengal, a strip of land, as a site for a factory together with permission of building a fortification in order to safeguard it. The unusual settlement had been the nucleus of the prevailing Fort St. George.

Fort St. George in 1820 by William Daniell

Group of buildings had been constructed within the Fort at various stages for different purposes with the growing needs of the East India Company. The building which presently houses the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu is said to be the centre of Fort St. George and the Fort is the fulcrum wherein the metropolitan city of Madras is now known as Chennai that has developed to a great extent within the past three and a half centuries.

Fort St. George Completed by St. George Day – 23rd April 1640

The foundation of the city was laid back by Francis Day and Andrew Cogan, two traders of East India Company in July/August 1639. The most important section of it was possibly completed by the St. George Day which was on the 23rd April 1640 and so was named as Fort St. George. The other significant construction was the St. Mary’s Church in 1680 which was the first Anglican Church in the country.

A view from the King's barracks, Fort St. George in 1807

Towards the beginning, the Fort is said to be a simple plan and at the centre there was the Governor’s house or the Castle. There had been an outer fortification. The English families had settled in the area between the castle and the outer fortification and the settlement flourished with native weavers, painters together with other workers of cloth the grew up to the north of the external ramparts.

The settlement eventually was named `Chennapatnam’ according to the wishes of the Nayaka who preferred to name the settlement after his father Chennappa Nayaka.

Fort Square, from the south side of the Fort St. George in 1807

Fort St. George Developed as Trade Flourished

The first Fort House of the British was a large grey construction having various block columns placed in the centre of the enclosure on the east which functioned as a trading warehouse in the early part of the 17th century. Against the wishes of the East India Company, it is said that Fort St. George developed as the trade flourished.

 In 1693 the Fort House was finally pulled down when it indicated signs of collapse and was rebuilt further east which took around two years. Sections of the structure still tend to exist as the core of the current Secretariat building. With this structure, St. Mary’s Church established the title of the oldest building in Madras and the fort remained to be the commercial outpost with a restricted defense for more than a century till it was attacked in 1746 and seized by the French.

St. Mary's Church in 1841

Towards 1710, the Fort had been occupied with proper houses most of which organised in neat streets to the north and south of the main building. In a siege in 1746, the French had destroyed a section of the Black Town and in 1758, during the unsuccessful siege of the French for a second time; several of the buildings had been extensively damaged with most of them losing their higher floors.

Fort Turned from Square to Pentagon Shape

St. Mary’s Church was the only structure which had survived. Frantic renovation and new construction had been carried out for two decades. The Barracks of the King had been the largest of all, spreading beyond 10,000 sq. metres. The Fort seems to be what it is presently in 1783 and the three storeyed structures accommodated the residence of the Governor in the uppermost floor having rooms for the Council in the lower area.

A detached gallery of rooms was constructed in 1714 which enclosed the central building into what was called the Fort Square. The Exchange building now known as the Fort Museum was constructed in 1790 and the Fort was now independent. The walls during this phase were also strengthened and the western area was totally changed.

 In order to expand the western area, the course of the Flambore River had been averted by filling the riverbed and the fort had been turned from square into a pentagon shape. Thereafter a wet ditch or moat had been dug surrounding the main curtain wall and around each of the ravelins and lunettes.

No more additions were made till 1825, when wings seemed to appear on each side of the western area of the building overlooking the Parade Square at the back. A second floor over the wings and the magnificent Assembly Hall to the east with various black columns had been added in 1910 which enhanced its frontage. The lavishly decorated Assembly still continues to be operative effectively till date.

What is Geocaching

Geocaching – Outdoor Entertaining Action

Geocaching is said to be an outdoor entertaining action wherein the participants tend to utilise a Global Positioning System – GPS, receiver or a mobile device together with other navigational systems for hiding and seeking containers known as `geocaches’ or `caches’ at definite places which have been marked by co-ordinates all across the world. Geocaching could be a great stimulus in getting outside and doing some exploring, to get some kind of exercise and get to know about location which one may have never visited.

Geocaching could be considered as a high-tech treasure hunt where the task is to find a geocache, subtly hidden by other player utilising a GPS in guiding the player to the location of geocache utilising coordinates obtained from a geocaching website. When one had obtained the geocache’s location, you then have to depend on your senses in searching for and locating the geocache that is constantly concealed and at time well imperceptible.A distinctive cache is said to be a small waterproof container comprising of a logbook where the geocacher tends to enter the date they found it and signs it with their well-known code name.

Combine Technology with Adventure & Nature

On signing the log, the cache should be placed back precisely where the person had found it. Bigger containers such as plastic storage containers, or ammunition boxes could also have items for trading like toys or trinkets, usually of emotional value than financial. Geocaching tends to share several aspects with trig pointing, benchmarking, orienteering, letterboxing, treasure-hunting and way-marking.

Geocaching can be a real-world; outdoor treasure hunting game with the use of GPS enabled devices where the participants tend to navigate a specific set of GPS coordinates attempting to locate the geocache container concealed in a location. It is said to be a popular, fun filled, inclusive and healthy pastime for people of all age group and is also great for groups like classes, families, friends and youth groups which tend to work as a team. The sports tend to combine technology with adventure and nature, which is a combination that some of the individual had thought would be impossible.

Fundamental Guidelines

The fundamental of the sports comprise of utilising a hand held GPS receiver unit in guiding the individual toa location where the hidden container or a cache is stored. Once located, one could log the visit in an included logbook and optionally trade one of the several contained `treats’ for one of your own. Though always evolving, geocaching tends to follow a few fundamental guidelines which are:

• Refrain from placing caches on private land without consent or in national parks or wilderness areas 
• Do not encroach on reserved property without consent to reach a geocache 
• Do not include offensive or inflammatory substance in a cache 
• Observe a philosophy of `tread softly’ and Leave No Trace

Geocaching and GPS tend to go hand in hand and even the most simple of unit is adequate in tracking down the location of a geocache. However to get a visual knowledge with the area one intends to navigate, a map is essential. Your GPS could show you the straight line between two points, though unless the way points of the route has been preloaded in your unit, the map could only show you the path between you and your location.

Herodotus and the Gold Digging Ants

Herodotus Homo Fabulator

Herodotus who is considered as the father of history has mentioned that gold digging ants were in the northern stretches of ancient India. We need to be aware that Ancient India had covered most part of present day Pakistan, before the separation of 1947. Presently Pakistan tends to cover the original India, the region of the Indus Valley, the Sindhu Desh, Sindh country or the land of the Sindhus.

Due to his story of ants together with other strange tales which are not verified during that time, several researchers as well as writers since ancient times, have accused Herodotus of stupidity and lying. Voltaire like Cicero recognized him as the father of history during the Age of Enlightenment. He thought that history was a block containing fables and legends and that it is ok if the writer seems to be a liar.

He has been assessed by Aulus Gellius in Attic Nights III, 10, as `Herodotus homo fabulator’ and has been found guilty for reciting that plea to the fantastical, ethnographical elements which tends to induce superhuman races as well as for geographical description which at that time were inexplicable.

Species of Fox-Sized Furry Ants

Herodotus has reported that a species of fox sized furry ants seemed to be living in one of the far eastern Indian provinces of the Persian Empire which according to him was a sandy desert where the sand there comprised of a wealth of fine gold dust. Michel Peissel, a French ethnologist asserts thatthe Himalayan marmot on the Deosai Plateu in Gilgit-Balistan province of Pakistan could have been the giant `ants’ according to Herodotus.

Herodotus’s description of the province was that the ground of the Deosai Plateau was rich in gold dust. The Minaro tribal people living in the Doesai Plateau had been interviewed by Peissel who had confirmed that they had for generations collected the gold dust which the marmots had brought to the surface while digging burrows. The story had been well-known in the ancient world and later on authors such as Pliny the Elder had revealed it in his gold mining segment of the Naturalis Historia.

Discovery of the Greek El Dorado in Himalayas

Peissel speculates in his book, The Ants’ Gold – The Discovery of the Greek El Dorado in the Himalayas that Herodotus could have tangled the old Persian word for `marmot’ with `mountain ants’ since he possibly was unaware of any Persian and relied on local translator while travelling in the Persian Empire. Herodotus has not claimed of having seen the gold-digging `ant’ creatures but had stated that he was just reporting what the other travellers had informed him.

Whether Herodotus had made the mistake or it could have been one of his sources, will never be known states Alex Hollman, a scholar of Herodotus at Harvard University. He further adds that if the discovery seems to be true, it tends to show that though Herodotus could have misunderstood the story and was not certainly making it up. Herodotus known as the father of history would collect stories from sources around the world which is believed to be first recited and then published, around 425 BC and the gold-digging ants’ legend is said to be one of the most famous one due to its outrageousness.