[excerpt]
A Martin's Ferry correspondent of the Pittsburgh [Pennsylvania] Dispatch, under date of August 15th, says, "Your correspondent awoke this morning at 5 o'clock with a heavy feeling in his head and a kind of numbness in his limbs. When he got his eyes open he saw the room flooded with a peculiar orange tinted light. At first it could not be understood, but a glance at an open, unblinded window showed that all out of doors was in the same condition. It seemed so unnatural that he called other members of the household and found that two of them had already awakened under similar circumstances. In a few minutes windows were thrown open in many houses in the neighborhood, and half dressed people pushed their heads out to look at the curious phenomenon. The entire space from earth to the sky seemed to be floating full with light clouds of this strange, bright orange color, while a steady pouring rain was descending. All objects appeared as they would look through a piece of orange colored glass, except that outlines of forms were shaded in blue, which faded away to green and a bright orange color in the heavier parts. The sun had not yet risen, but one could see a distance of 300 or 400 yards distinctly, and all space seemed to be filled with peculiar yellow light.
"The phenomenon lasted about a half hour, and at 5:30 it was again rather dark and only the natural gray dawn forcing its way through the heavy rain could be noticed. The scene presented throughout the time the phenomenon lasted was wierd [sic] and beautiful. Buildings were outlined in green and blue, while the walls and heavy parts assumed the yellow's golden tint. During the forenoon it was learned that many people were awakened at about the same time, and all felt a peculiar, startled feeling as it suddenly called from the midst of an unpleasant dream, or awakened by a cry of fire. No solution of the mystery is offered by our local meteorologists, and the sun not being up yet makes it all the more strange. Some superstitious people are very much scared, and several very fervent prayers were offered while the strange sight lasted."