Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1880-12-23
THE DARK DAY.
Recolleetions of the Celebrated 1914
.nz of May, 1880.

.u ef Nay, 1880.
Of all the wonderful ptories that
~ grandmother used to tell my
notiier when she was a little girl,
he most wonderful was about the
ark day in New England, Friday,
fay 10Th, 1880. This was during
'nr kevoln,icu, you will remember;
nd the year in which tho traitor,
Benedict Arn"ld, attempted to be-
Fay his country to its en- e1aies.
For several days before the nino-
'eenth. the air was tull of varors,
as we often sec it when fircs a<e
in the woods near US, and |
the sna and Haeoa appeared red,
ana their usual clear light did not
reach Us. especially when rising and
setting. The winds blew chiefly
from the southwest and northwest,
and the weather was cold and clear.
lhe morning of the nine-teenth
was cloudy, and in many places
showers tell, sometimes acco,npa-
med by thunder and lightning !; but
as the snn rose it did not Increase
the light, and the darkness deer
eped, until the children standing
before the tall clocks could not ace
to tell the time, and older peonle
peer;ug over the almanac We're not
able to distinguish the letters. The
birds sang their evening songs and
flew TO their nests in the woods
the poultry hurried TO their r.osts.
while the cattle in the fields uttered
strange cries and leaped tho stone
fences to gain their stalls, aud the
sheep all hudGled together blating
piteously.
Color, which you know depends
upon the the light Of the sun, flied
many with establishment by its un-
u~nal appearance, for the clouds
we're in some places Of a light red
yellow and brown; the leaves or
the trees and the graes in the mead
ows were Of the deepest green
versing on indigo, the brightes,
silver seemed furnished, and every.
thing tn t is whito i'll the sun.igh,
bore deep yellow hue.
The shadows, which before moor
fall to the westward and afternoon
to the eastward, were observed
during the darkness to fall in every
direction.
The rain, also, WAS unlike any
other rain, and it set all the people
to wondering as they dippc,! il
from the tubs and barrels for .
scnm formed on it resembling burn,
leaves, emitting sooty smell, anc
this same substance was eeen or
streams and rivers, especially the
Mcrrimac, where it lay four or fiv.
inches thick, for many miles along
its shore.
Another peculiarity was tn,
vapor; in many localities it de-
scended to the earth trohi high il
the atmosphere; but at one point ,
gentleman saw the vapars, at nine
O'Clock, rising from the springs ane
low lands one column he particu-
larly noticed rapidly ascending ia
above the highest hills, then i
spread into a large white cloud anc
sailed off to the westward j,
second cloud formed in the sam,
way from the same springs, but die
not rise as high as the first, and th'
third formed fifteen minutes after
ward. At a quarter of the upper
most cloud was of reddish hue
the second was green, indigo aue
blue, and the third was almos
white.
So unwhoIesome was this vapo
that small birds were sntfocated il
u, and many OF them were 81
frightened and stupetied that the,
flew into houses, and to the fears 0
ignorant people, who considered j
bad sign for a bird to enter
dwelling.
The commencement OF the dark
ness was between ten and clever
in the forenoon (when the mel
were busy in the fields and Office
and workshops, the women spin
ming, weaving and preparing din
ner, and the children at school, q
helping their fathers and ,notilerl
ut honey, and it continued unit
the m,ddle Of the following night
but the degree of darkness varied
in some places the disk OF tho su.
was seen when the darkness wa
the most dense.
Lights were seen burning in al
the houses. and the people passing
out Of doors carried torches ant
lanterns, which were curiously re-
dec:e6 on the overh.nging clouds
Thousands Of people were sur,
that the end Ut the world had come
many dropped their work and tel
OH their kneds to pray, others con-
fessed to their fellows tho wrong'