The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1880-06-04
THE DARK DAY.
May 10, 1850.
49,. Norl. ua,,al

May 10, 1850.
New York Herald.
One hundred years ago to-day. May 10,
lsS0, Was one ofIhe most famous of dates
in the legendary tales of our grandfath-
ers. Ii was The Dark Day." when ac
cording Ia the chronicles, candles had TO
be lighted at midday, the birds were sill
ent or disappeared, and the domestic
fowls retired To roost Tbs darkness
prevailed over the whole OF New Eng
land and Middle States, aIId its memory is
even now preserved by the Indian of the
Six Nations, who use II as a time mark |
for estimating the ages of children born
about that period. Many were the bits
of doygerel verse which were current |
few years ago about this phenomenon,
and wonderfully varied were The exper-
fences Which the spectators transmitted /
to their pOsterity- Blrber, Webster, |
circumstance in their historical |
compilations: but the most interesting |
anecdote is that referring to the attitude |
of the Connecticut council, then in ses- |
sion ut Hartford, and discussing an IN |
teresting bill Obout the shad fishery. As |
the darkness became more intense, Sug-
costing to many the arrival of the Day |
of Judgment, the legislature, on Motion, |
adjourned; but Col. Abraham Daven-
port, of Stamford. opposed II similar mo-
ton in the council, saying, L am against
an adjournment. The Day of Judgment
is approaching, or it Is not. If is not,
there is no cause for adjournment; if II
is, wish to be found doing my duty.
| wish, therefore, that candles may be
brought" The lovers of poetry may find
a beautiful version of this in Whittier's
Tent on the Beach" Other cases OF
dark days are cited in more recent an
mas, especially October 81, 1916, but
none ever attained such celebrity as that
of which the centenary occurs to-day,
and of whose cause no satisfactory ex-
| PLANTATION has ever been offered.
| From the Boston Advertiser
| To New Englanders the 18th of May
is chiefly TO he remembered for the
strangest natural phenomenon that ever
came into their experience. 1t was the
Dark Day" In the morning there was
| some distant thunder in the southwest,
said Mr. Jeremy Belknap, writing to his
| friend, EbeneZer Hazard; the forenoon
was cloudy, but the sun appeared now
and then The clouds soon presented
an unusual spectacle, being of yellow
ish hue and rejecting such light on
all the objects below them.
| within an hour it grew dark, and
the darkness kept increasing till one
kept them burning all the afternoon.
| 1t was not the darkness of thunder
cloud, but Il Yapor like the smoke of Il
malt house or u coal kiln, and there
WAS ctrOng smell of smoke The
whole day, us there had been for
some days before. You must noLe
that for about ten days before the
weather had been very dry, and this be-
ing the season for burning the woods to
/ al. 81
burnt TO considerable degree, and the
rain which fell on that morning was not
sufficient TO extinguish them. For four
or five days the air had appeared very
full of smoke, and it seemed to be low,
SO that the sun totally disappeared about
halt an hour before setting, and the low
grounds were most filled with smoke.
TSeveral instances are given to prove
that smoke was the principle Ingredient
in the yapor of the day, the sootiness of
the water once clear and the clOseness
OF the air being the chief phenomena. !
A number of small birds, such as spar
rows and yellow birds, were found dead
in divers places; and some flew into the
into the houses, very probably to avoid
the suffocating vapor. But, that the
smoke was not all, have this
, evidence VIZ: that l observed a
: fog to rise from the top of a neighbOr-
ing hill, as in what we call sea-
, turn. -. AS to the extent of this dark
ness, have no information that can be
, relied upon. 1t has been said that there
was none of 1t upon the upper-part of
the Connecticut river, and l observed a
light gleam IN that way, as also in the
northeast. 1t is not surprising
, that the vulgar should turn it all inIO
, prodigy and miracle; but what would
you think of men of sense, and of a
liberal education, if / should tell that
\ heard one of my very good brethren in
; this neighborhOOd gravely assert in com
! pany land have been told he did the
! same in his pulpit that it was the full
filling of JOel's prophecy of a"pIllar Ol
. smoke" and that another wondered al
! me for not placing this phenomenon in
: the same rank with Josephus' signs OF
!, the destruction of Jerusalem =. In
/, some places the sun appeared in the af
: ternoon, but here the whole afternoon
!, was uniformaly dark; and the evening
Y was as total darkness as can be con
= ceived, with strong smell of smoke
and between 0 and 10 it grew lighter
:, and afterward continued until the moon
!. appeared through the clouds"
= at was never darker since the Chill
: dren of Israel left the house of bondage,
: wrote u stranger to the Boston Gazette
9 several days after, from the Town o
q Ipswich, where, in company with "sev
eral gentlemen of liberal education" h
= had observed the phenomenon at tn
- house of Rev. Mr.. Cutler. THE hem
n isphere for several days." he said, "ha'
= been greatly obScured with smoke ant
n vapor, so that the sun and moon appear
= ed unusually red. Friday morning
:, early the sun appeared red, as it hal
: done for several days before, the wint
+ about southwest . About IL o'clock tn
= darkness was such as to demand our al
tf tention, and put us upon making obsel
- vations At half past H.. large prin
could not be read by persons of goo
No eyes. At about 12 O'Clock, the window
20 being still open, candle cast a shad
IL so well defined on the wall, a
70 that pIOfiles were taken wit
az as much ease as they could have been i
No the night. About l O'Clock glin {
light, which had continued to this tim
in the east, shut in, and the darkness wa
n greater than it had been for any time b.
u fore Between l and o'clock the win
nd from the west freshened a little, and
y. glin appeared in that quarter. We dine
an about 2 O'Clock, the windows all opel
,ct and two candles burning on the tabl
~ In the time of the greatest darkness SON
ed of the dunghill fowls went to their roos
1t cocks crowed in answer to one anOthe
as they commonly do in the night WOO
cock, which are night birds, whistled
they only do in the night; frogs pipe
lin short, there was the appearance
OF midnight at MONDAY"
as The newspapers of that day were Ii
IL very enterprising in announcing Occu
ng rences of this kind, but the Boston G
n, Zette, three days after, spoke of it apol
OF geticaliy as follows:
Or THE printers acknowledge their
Us, capacity of describing the phenomena
ed which appeared in the town on Frid;
lie last, and shall, therefore leave it
ng astronomers, whose more particul
EN- business it is. They, however, wou
Is inform those who were not in the co
ere tents of ii that on Friday last about u
1d, O'Clock, there came over this town
SIS dark cloud, which continued increasiI
eat darker and darker till near one o'cloc
Oh when it became so dark that the inha
led itants were obliged to quit their bu
ng ness. The darkness continued till ne
III three O'Clock, when il gradually gre
ew lighter and lighter. till the light becar
la as usual. The inhabitants were oblig
or to dine by the light of the candle
po- night it had the same effect upon
er; moon. Such phenomenon was neN
I'LL before seen by the oldest person living
ng-
t ~ ENGLISH PRICES FOR AMERICAN COOL
10 From the Philadelphia Press