Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1869-08-28
THE DARK DAY OF I1so.
Candles Mt Noon-Day-The PheDome.
non Described by an Eyewitness
Nature flushed In Terr0r-A Night
of Total BIackness.

Candles Mt NOOn.Day-The PhenOme-
Nature flushed In Terror-A Night
of Total Blackness.
From the Cape Ann Advertiser.l
The 10Th of May, 1850, was re-
markable one in the annals of New
England, on account of the thick
darkness that overspread the land,
like funeral pail. TWAS a day long
to be remembered and talked of by
those who witnessed the strange,
and at that time fearful phenomenon.
There was much writing upon and
discussion of the subject at that time
and afterward, but 1 believe no salts
factory conclusion was ever arrived at
as to its cause. There were some who
thought that 1t must have proceeded
from total eclipse of the sun, that
had from some cause escaped
the calculations of mathematician
and astronomers, but that was easily
shown to be impossible by facts and
figures. 49,
1t was then the darkest and most
hopeless period of the war ofthe Rev.
Iolution, and it was thought by many
Of the responding and discouraged to
be significant of the end of that
which then appeared to them to be q
hopeless struggle. Some ofthe more
sanguine insisted that as the hour be-
fore the dawn was always the dark
est, SO this strange and portentous
gloom was but the prelude to the
bright dawn Of liberty and indepen-
dence that was soon to follow.
The father of the writer was then
a boy Of thirteen years, and was then
at work with his father and brother,
planting and preparing the ground.
1t was dull, hazy morning, and as
the time passed it gradually thick
ened, and by ten O'clock the darkness
began to be quite apparent. They
kept on with their work, and as the
gloom increased they observed that
he would pause once in a while and
look intentIy, all around the horizon
and overhead, but made no remark
until he directed the Oldest boy to go
to the barn and turn the horses and all
| the cattle that were inside out into an
open lot, an to close and secure every
door and window. 1t appeared that
he was apprehensive that some sud-
den and furious gust or squall would
soon manifest itself, and that the an
imals would be in less danger out in
the field than inside building.
Still the darkness grew thicker and
deeper, till presently he said they
might as we'll quit work for the pres
ent. On reaching the house the mo-
ther and sister were about their usual
duties, pale. and silent, Little, was
said except an occasional remark OF
direction in a low tone. No one
seemed inclined to conversation OF
demonstration of any kind. Soon
dinner was ready, with candles light
ed the same as at night, but not q
morsel was eaten. A dead silence
seemed to pervade oil nature, broken
only by the occasional bleating Of q
lamb, or the distant lowing of the
. kline, which wandered about restless
land uneasy. The domestic fowls
seemed TO be inclined to come to the
.. conclusion that it was night. They
could pout no other construction upon
it, so, after clucking over the matter
for while, they went to roost. AnG
thus the long and weary hours passed
away. Along in the afternoon the
veil was lifted in some degree, and
! at the time of sunset it was about the
same as in an ordinary cloudy day.
The night which followed was, 1t II
said as dark proportionately as was thu
day. 1t was the perfect "blackness. =
; of darkness" Not the faintest out
, line of any object could be discernet
against the sky. A light would pen
citrate 1t but little way, and seen
to disclose but solid wall of black
/ ness around. rInF