The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-10-15
DARK DAYS.
The Memorable One in I5SO---The story
of the Phenomenon Which Frightened
our Ancestors and which Has Never
Been satisfactorily Explained.

The Men1OFaOlc ONO HI dSUs-s AHc SbUry
of the Phenomenon Which Frightened
Our Ancestors and Which Has Never
Been satisfactorily Explained.
The peculiar gloom which shrouded
the heavens Tuesday naturally recalls
the famous dark day of 1880, the story
of which will doubtless be read with in
terest at this time.
On the 18th of May, 1880, there oc-
Cured a most unaccountable darkening
of the whole visible heavens and atmos-
phere in New England, of which the
celebrated naturalist, Herschel, said it
was zone of those wonderful phepom-
ena of nature which will always be read
of with interest, but which philosophy
is at loss to explain" The unusual
darkness and the strange atmospheric
appearances brought intense alarm and
distress to multitudes of minds, as well
rs dismay to the brute creation, the
fowls fleeing, bewildered, to their nests,
and the cattle returning to their stalls.
Indeed, thousands of the good people
of that day became fully convinced that
the end of all things terrestrial had
come; many gave up, for the time,
their secular pursuits and betook them
selves to religious devotions, while
many others regarded the darkness as
not only a token of Gods Indignation
against the various iniquities and abom-
nations of the age, but also as an omen
of some future destruction that might
overwhelm the land unless speedy re-
pentance and reformation took place.
The time of the commencement of
this extraordinary darkness was between
the hours of ten and eleven in the fore
noon OF Friday, of the date named, and
it continued until the middle of the fol-
lowing night, but with different appear
ances at different places. The degree
of darkness varied in different localities.
In most parts it became so dense that
people were unable to read common
print distinctly, or accurately determine
the time of day by their clocks or
watches, or dine or manage their do
mestic affairs conveniently without the
light of candles. In some places the
darkness was just about equal to pre-
venting persons seeing to read ordinary
print in the open air for several hours
together. The exact extent of the
darkness was never positively known,
but it was observed at the most east.
erly regions of New England; westward
to the farthest part of Connecticut, and
at Albany; to the southwark it was OBJ.
served all along the sea coast, and to
the north as far as the American settle.
ments extended, and it probably far
exceeded these boundaries. With re.
gard to its duration it continued in the
neighborhood of Boston for at least
fourteen or fifteen hours; but it wa,
doubtless longer or shorter in some 9th
er places.
Professor Williams, of Harvard Col
lege, collected with much painstakine
inquiry soon after the occurrence some
of the more particular observations
made IN different parts of the country
From these data it appears that for sew
eral days before in many sections it was
noticed that the air seemed to be of ,
smoky and vaporous character. The
sun and the moon exhibited an unusua
redness in their color, and were divest
ed OF much of their usual brightness
and this observation increased as the,
approached nearer the horizon. Thi!
was ascertained to be the case for fou
or five days preceding the 10Th of Ma,
in almost all parts of New England
The windshad beer variable, but chief,
from the southwest and northeast. The
thermometer indicated from forty t.
fifty-tive degrees. The baromete
showed a somewhat higher range thar
usual. The weather had been fair anc
cool Tor the season. According to OBJ
servations made at Cambridge the gray
ity of the atmosphere from the time tn
darkness began was gradually decreas
ing the greater part of the day. Tn
barometer at noon stood at 29.70; il
half an hour after the mercury ha,
fallen one-hundredth of an inch, and a
eight minutes past eight it was at 20. Ga
Almost every one who made any rec
ord of the days appearance mention
that the complexion of the clouds wa
compounded of faint red, yellow an
brown, and that during the darkness
objects which commonly appear gree
were OF the deepest green, verging t
blue, and that those which usually al
pear white were lightly tinged with We
low. But Professor Williams state
that to him almost every object az
peared tinged with yellow, rather tina
any other color; and this whether til
thing was near or remote from the ey,
Early in the morning the weathC
was cloudy; the sun was but just Wis
BILE through the clouds and appeared
a deep red, as it had for several day
before. In most places thunder WI
! heard number of times in the morl
| ing. The clouds soon began to ri,
from the southwest, with a gent
( breeze, and there were several sma
showers at other hours throughout I'll
day. The water that fell was found
have an unusual character. being THO
dark and sooty. One observer in Il
eastern part of Massachusetts, stat
that the strange appearance and SINE