Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-05-27
The Dark Day.

Nav 10. 1880. is known in the history
of New England as the Dark Day. Be-
tween the hours of ten and eleven in the
morning the sky became obscured with
dense clouds of smoky hue that drifted
from the southwest. In most parts OF
New England the gloom that ensued was
so great that it 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 ald
of artificial light. In some places COM
mon print could not be read out OF doors
for several hours in succession. Inc
fowls went TO roost, the birds sang their
evening songs and settled themselves TO
sleep in their hidden retreats, candies
were lighted in all the houses, While
silence and dimness as of night rested
upon the face of all nature.
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 hedv-
ems. On the morning OF the 18th there
were slight showers in certain localities,
accompanied with thunder, while at
different intervals through the day there
was rain in various places. The water
that fell was thick, dark and sooty, and
scum as of ashes appeared on the sur
face of rivers and reservoirs, while, when
the tide went out, it left a line of the
smut along the shore at the width Of four
or five inches. On examination this sur
face matter seemed to be nothing more
than the ashes of burnt leaves. This ex-
traordinary darkness lasted for a period
of ebout fourteen hours.
In the transactions Of the Philosophical
Society of Philadelphia printed prior to
1885, there is comment on a similar
darkness that was experienced Oct. 81,
1116, O. S. On this occasion, The day
was so dark that people were forced to
light candles to eat their dinners by.
Which could not be from any eclipse, the
solar eclipse being the 4th of that month"
Nothngis said in this account of the cause
of the darkness, nor are any particulars
given. On Oct. 49, 1862, remarkable
dark day was observed at Detroit, and
described in the Philadelphia Transac
tons for 1868. The writer says: "Tues.
day last, being the 10Th inst. q. e. of Oc-
tober), we had almost total darkness for
the most of the day. got at day
break. About ten minutes after l OBJ
served it got no lighter than before. The
same darkness continued until nine
o'clock, when it cleared up little. We
then, for the space of about a quarter of
an hour, saw the body of the sun,
which appeared as red as blood and
more than three times as large as
usual. The air, all this time, which
was very dense, was of a dirty
yellowish color. l was obliged to
o'clock, notwithstanding the table
nj ole hy fIun 1arr xxri,,l
About three the darkness became more
horrible, 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 more like the latter
than the former, both in smell and quail
ity. | took leaf of clean paper and
held il out in the rain, which rendered it
black wherever the drops fell upon it;
but when held near the fire it turned to
a yellow color, and when burned it
fixed on the paper like wet powder.
During this shower the air was almost
sutocating with a strong sulphurous
smell. 1t cleared up little after the
rain"
An officer stationed at Detroit de-
scribed the same day in letter to a
friend. In his words: "The 10Th of
this month October, 1862 was the most
extraordinary dark day, perhaps, ever
seen in the world" The particulars fol-
lowing in this account are identical with
those already quoted from the Philo-
sephical Transactions. The cause of the
unnatural darkness prevailing on three
several days was probably the extensive
burningof Western prairies and wood
lands.