In 1891, the first rainmaking experiments in the U.S. were conducted near Midland, Texas, paid for by a grant from the U.S. government. Patent attorney Gen. Robert Dyrenforth set off explosive balloons and artillery to try to make rainclouds develop. At a time of extreme drought, any effort with a hope of success may have been thought worthwhile to try, but there were no results. The method chosen was to test a theory that rainstorms seemed often to occur where major battles had taken place during the Civil War, and they may have been because of the effect of smoke, dust and disturbances in the air from artillery.«