Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1880-05-22
THE DARK DAY.
One Hundred Years Ago Last
Wednesday.
New York Herald Of May 10Th.

One Hundred Years Ago Last
Wednesday.
New York Herald Of May 10Th.
To-day is the one hundredth anniyer-
sary Of the celebrated ozark Day which
on May 10, 1880, overcame great tract
| of North America, though its darkness
was most intense in New England, and
especially in Massachusetts,, where II
Was commonly thought 10 be the Day OF
Judgment, though il much more close
| ly resembled the day described by the
Prophet Joel as the herald ofthe Lords
ayenging army OF lOcusts:
A day OF darkness aud Of gloom;
day oil clouds at morning spread
In luTld CLEANS, presaXing doom
| Around the mountains stormy head
The early morning was cloudy, with
| indications of coming thunder-stoTms,
| and even when the sun rose towards
the zenith aud there were but few dis
tinctly marked clouds, it was SO dark
that il was hardly possible to read ex-
cept by candle-light. What clouds there
we're we're strange and lurid, and, 1t Is
said, shadows were cast in all directions,
irrespeCtiyely Of the position OF the sun,
unusual reiraCtiOns and reflections play
! ing their part in the phenomenon oil the
upper air. Where rain fell the water
was presently covered with u peculiar
scum, which on the Merrimac river Was
several inches thick, as Il also Was
along the shores oil several
other New England rivers. Peculiar
yapors decended from the clouds, while
others assembled from the earth To ineet
and ningle with them. As is said gen
orally 10 be the case IN unusual disturb
ances of nature, birds aud domestic ami
mails showed great distress, budding
| together and uttering cries OF alarm.
According to observers in New England,
where, as has been said, the phenomena
were most marked, the intensity OF the
darkness was greatest between 10 aud III
o'clock in the morning. IL continued
throughout the day, hut the degree OF
obscurity varied at different places; at
some the sun was seen at the darkest
hour, while at others IL was wholly IN
visible. People left their employments
and tlronged To the churches, IN terror
AS great as the beasts Oi the field, and
the ministers held up their sins before
them and retOld the history OF men and
nations swept from the face OF the Earth
by the Lord in his anger at their iniqui-
ties. A story has come down TO us
which is reierrible, a name commonly
given in New England to those pOrten'
Ious hours-that OF "DavenpOTts Dark
Day" The Connecticut Legislature
was in session, and IA the gloom !, tiled
down more aud more irightlully, the
members cried that Il Was the Day OF
judgement. and motion was male 10
adjourn. Then arose Col. Abraham
Davenport aud said:
mir. Speaker, II In either the lay Ol
Judgement or it's not, IL II Is not,
there is no need of adjournment. Ii 1t
is. desire to be- found dong my duty.
move that candles he brought and that
We proceed to business "a mJtlOn
which brought the legislators To their
senses.
As the day wore on the eEcit, ment
and dread fOrebuding oi what Was COM
ing increased. The moon was to Use at
O'Clock, and it was hoped that her
beams would dispel the gloom; but at
o'clock the darkness was such that the
earth could not be distinguished from
the sky, aud when the hour arrived at
which, according to tie almanac, the
moon should rise, nothing VAS Ia lie
seen Of her, and till towards morning
her course could not Ice traced ia the
heavens. There VAS little sleep through
out New England that night, but the
morning Of the 10Th dawued bright gnd
beautiful, dispelhng the terror as II dis
pelled the gloom. No satisfactory cN'
PLANTATION of these strange pheno mena
has ever been offered by science, and
Herchcl said Of the day that 1T WAS one
of those phenomena Of nature which will
always he read Of with interest, hut
which philosophy Is at loss To- eX'
plain" jules NerHe-whO, OF course
is no uthOrity-attrIbuted II L. tie pas
sage OF the earth through IA c"met's
tail, which must then have just brushed |
a part at North America, and others
have referred II to the prevalence oi
forest fires such as are now burning
in New Jersey and Long Island, but
thus will not explain many ot the
appearances. late number Of En-
gli.h scientific journal, Nature, men
tons several similar days ~ known
Ia history. la the years b3G, jH 1
and go there we're long periods uf di- |
minished sunlight. According To !
Schurrer, in 733 1.-THE sun daTkeued in |
anI alarming manner on August ~; |
there appeared to be- no eclipse 10y the |
moon, but rather an interruption from /
some meteOTic substance" In OS4 the |
sun Lost its ordinary light Tor several /
months, and there was an Opening in |
the heaven" perhaps, like /
Secretary Boutwelrs ''hole in the sky"
In 1901, on September -, there Was
a three hours darkening OF the sun,
followed by peculiar and ter /
riiying odor. Other historical dark \
DAYS are February II, ll06; /
February u, 1900, when there I
Vas complete darkness Tor six hours; /
aud an unidentified day l2il, five /
months after the Mongol battle OF Leig-
nitI," when the "sun Was 50 ObscuTed /
and the darkness became so great that \
the stars we're seen at the ninth hour I
about Michaelmas," and lsstly-not To /
include "Davenport's Day"-we hear
through kepler, on the authority Of 1
Gemma. that from the I'D to the 18th OF .
April, lO4T, 1.-THE sun appeared as u |
sutiused with blood, aud many stars
we're visible at nOonday. Some OF /
these phenomena were undoubtedly /
due To solar eclipses, but upon Others
no light whatever has been throsn by 4
sCiantihc research,