Page 72 - James Rodger Fleming - Fixing the sky

them that science was on his side. He even ventured a prediction of how the
experiments might turn out in favorable conditions and felt there was no dis-
grace in desiring to see a great experiment made. He anticipated that his labors
would be crowned with success.
In 1838 Espy petitioned the U.S. Senate to reward him in proportion to his
ability to make rain by burning woodlands. James Buchanan (D-Pennsylvania)
apologized to his colleagues for the “strange petition” he was about to present,
but assured them that it came from “a very respectable and scientific man” with
excellent references and credentials:

The petitioner . . . says that he has discovered a means of making it rain in a tract
of country at a period of time when there would be no rain without the use of his
process. Mr. Espy proposed to make the experiment at his own expense; and he
proposed that Congress should pass an act engaging to reward him with a certain
sum if he succeeded in making it rain in a tract of country ten miles square; a still
higher sum if he produced rain in a tract of country one thousand square miles; a
still higher sum if he produced rain in a tract of five thousand square miles; and,
lastly, to give him a still greater compensation if he should cause the ohio river to
be navigable all summer from Pittsburgh to the Mississippi. 11

Buchanan supported the petition based on Espy’s scientific reputation, but
“scarcely knew himself what to say about it.” Senator John J. Crittenden
(W-Kentucky) “doubted very much, whether, even if this thing was possible, it
would be a good policy to encourage the measure.” He thought that no mortal
should have the power that Espy professed to have and no one could take the
ohio River under his special protection:

Why, sir, he might enshroud us in continual clouds, and, indeed, falsify the prom-
ise that the earth should be no more submerged. And if he possesses the power of
causing rain, he may also possess the power of withholding it, and, in his pleasure,
instead of giving us a navigable river, may present us with rock and shoals and
sandbars. He thought that this would be too dangerous a power to entrust to any
individual . . . unless . . . we had some very summary process of manufacturing sun-
shine. (39)

The senators, obviously enjoying the discussion, pointed out that no citizen
should be empowered to hoard up the clouds and vapors or to dispense them
at will. Buchanan’s motion failed, and Espy’s petition lay on the table. That
year, and for several years following, Espy looked closer to home, seeking, but

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