The Weston Democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1875-current, 1875-06-07
THE DARK DAYS.
Memorable Days IN the. History Of the
Country..-Whnt Caused Them.

Memorable Days Ia the. History or the
Country.--what Caused Them.
May 10, 1880, is known in the history
OF New England as the dark day. Be-
tween tho hours Of ten and eleven in
the morning the sky became obscured
with dense clouds Of o smoky hue that
drifted from the southwest In most
parts Of New England the gloom that en-
sued was SO great that 1t was impossible
to read common print, TO determine the
time OF day by watches and clocks, or TO
pursue any sort Of work indoors without
the aid Of artificial light. In some
places common print could not be read
out Of doors for several hours in success
sion. Tho fowls went TO roost, the birds
sang their evening songs and settled
themselves to sleep in their hidden re-
treats, candles were lighted in oil the
houses, while. a silence and dimness as
Of night rested upon the face Of all
nature. ..f.r "
For several days preceding this the
atmosphere had been unusually thick
and hazy, and the sun and moon looked
dull and red as they rode through the
heavens. On the morning Of tho 18th
there were slight showers In certain To-
calities, accompanied with thunder,
while AZ different intervals through the
day there was rain in various places.
The water that fell was thick, dark, and
sooty, and q scum Ms Of aslles appeared
on the surface Of rivers and reservoirs,
while, when the tide went out, it left a
limo Of the smut along tho shore at the
width Of four or five inches. On ex-
animation this surface matter seemed to
be nothing more than the ashes Of burnt
leaves. This extraordinary darkness
lasted for period Of about fourteen
hours. N7i ~
In the transactions Of the Philosophi-
cal Society Of Philadelphia, printed
prior to 1885, there Is o comment on o
similar darkness that was experienced
October 81, 1716, o.S. "The day was
so dark that people were forced TO Light
candles TO eat their dinners by. Which
could not be from my eclipse, the solar
eclipse being the fourth Of Tint month" !"
Nothing Is said in this account OF the
cause OF the darkness, nor are any par
ticulars given. On October 10, 1762, o
remarkable dark day was observed at
Detroit, and described in. the Philadel-
phia Transactions for17G3. The writer
says: "Tuesday last, being the 10Th
inst. q. O., of 0ctober), We had almost
total darkness for the most Of tho day.
got up OF daybreak. About ten min
utes after I observed IL got no lighter
than before. The same darkness con.
tinued until nine o'clock, when it cleared
up q little. We then, for the space Of
about quarter Of On hour, saw the body
Of the sun, which appeared as red as
blood, and more than three times as
large as usual. The dir, all this time,
which was very dense, wns Of n dirty
yellowish color i was obliged to light
candles to SEQ 10 dine, at ono o'clock,
Notwithstanding the table was placed
close by two large windows. About
three the darkness became more horri.
bic; which augmented until half.past
three, when the wind breezed up from
the southwest and brought on some
drops Of rain, or rather sulphur and dirt
for It appeared like the hitter than the
former, both in smell and quality. ]
took leaf OF clean paper and held II out
in the rain, which rendered. It black
wherever the drops fell upon II !; but,
when held near the fire, IL turned to q
yellowish color, and, when burned, 1t
fixed on the paper like wet powder.
During this shower the air was almost
sutIocating, with q strong sulphurous
smell. Il cleared up little after the
rain" tf'i
An officer stationed at Detroit describ-
cd tho same day in letter TO a friend.
In his words: aThe 10th Of this month
October, 1762) was the most extraordi-
nary dark day, perhaps, ever seen in the
world" The cause Of the unnatural
darkness prevailing on three several days
was probably the extensive burning Of
Western prairies mud woodlands.