Quote: Sergeant L. M. Dey, signal officer at the summit of Pike’s Peak, wrote the editor of Scientific American in 1882 about the fascinating effects of electric discharge at high altitudes. The weather station equipment was covered with “brushes” of light. “In placing my hands over the revolving cups of the anemometer— where the electrical excitement was abundant— not the slightest sensation of heat was discovered, but my hands instantly became aflame. On raising them and spreading my fingers, each of them became tipped with one or more beautiful cones of light, nearly three inches in length. The flames issued from my fingers with a rushing noise . . . accompanied by a crackling sound. There was a feeling as of a current of vapor escaping, with a slight tingling sensation. The wristband of my woolen shirt, as soon as it became dampened, formed a fiery ring around my arm, while my mustache was lighted up so as to make a veritable lantern of my face”