Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-09-09
TIE DARK DAY OF 1881.
REMARKABLE ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON To-
oALLY AND THROUGHOUT NEW ENGLAND.

oALLv AND THROUGHOUT NEW ENGLAND.
Tuesday of this week was day which will
doubtless become as traditional in the annals
OF New England as has the famous "blaok
Friday" Of May, 1880. There seems, in fact
to be little doubt that Tuesday was as dark"
day as was this historic day of more than a
century ago, the principal difference being
that ON Friday, May 49, 1880, the darkness
began about the middle Of the forenoon and
continued into the succeeding night, while on
Tuesday the morning opened with a brassy
gloom and darkness which, in this vicinity
gradually increased until about one o'clock
P. NJ, and then slowly gave place TO sun
shine. The peculiar appearance Of the sky
was as strongly marked at about the hour of
sunrise as at any time during the day. the
color at that time being that OF old gold and
early risers speak of certain variegated hues
roseate tint in some parts shading of to
green in others. As the morning advanced
the sun was invisible and the sky was Of a dull,
glowing, greonish-yellow tinge The atmos-
Phere, without being misty or foggy, seemed
thick and murky and every thing in nature
took on weird unreal appearance which il
is impossible to describe in words. Nothing
stood out distinct and strongly marked, and
church spires and other usually prominent
and well-defned objects seemed as though
just fading into the strange, unearthly ele-
ment surrounding them Distances were
very deceptive, distant objects seeming much
nearer than they really were. The sense of
unrealness extended to ones own personality,
there being an Understandable feeling that one
somehow was not an actual, living part of the
scene presented, but rather mechanical or
automatic figure moving on a canvass or in
some unreal world. The prevailing tint of
the sky extended through all nature, the at
mosphere and all objects seeming to be
bathed in olive green. Where one got an ex-
tended view, as down the river valley, for in
stance, there was the same dull, greenish vel
low of the sky as far as the eye could reach
shading to a more pronounced green in the
distance, while over the whole landscape was
an unvarying murky olive green cast, lacking
only the dull glow to match the sky in color.
The whole period of darkness was marked
by a strange change and deceptiveness in
colors. White houses took on straw -colored
tint the freshest compilations had sallow
tinge, blues changed to green, green lawns
and fields were wonderfully intensified in
color, taking on hue which seemed almost
luminous, and flowers changed in color in
the most curious way. Purple flowers took
on reddish tint, yellows changed TO gray,
blues to magenta, pink shades took on fam
ing red or dark crimson, and 80 on. Women
engaged in washing clothes scrubbed and
scrubbed again in vain effort to remove
the dingy hue, and finally hung their wash on
the line only to find II look as though dip
ped in a mud puddle. Ironers could not tell
bleached garments from unbleached and re-
peatedly changed their irons because they
thought the pieces scorching. The birds
kept very quiet, fowls went to roost and
cocks crOwsd at noon as il for morning. The
village schools were closed in the morning,
soon after opening, by order of the commit
| tee, it being utterly impossible to read ordin.
airy type away from the windows. All the
morning gas was burned in the stores, and at
noon housewives were compelled to light
lamps to get dinner by, and in many families,
not only in the village but outside dinner
was eaten by gas or lamp light, the hour from
~ TO being the darkest Of the day. 1t was
a curious fact that the murky atmosphere alb.
sorbed all colored rays and caused all lamps
and the light of fires to shine with that pc.
culiar Wilderness which is popularity of the
electric light. To ignorant and superstitious
people there was in this strange appearance
| of nature an ominous foreboding OF some ter
rible but unimaginable thing to come. A
| gentleman familiar with London says the APP.
| pearance of the sky was precisely that which
Is seen in the famous London fogs." A
similar appearance is said to prevail on tn,
Pacific coast before On earthquake or hurri
| cane.
In this vicinity light breeze sprang W
and the air began to tighten about one o'clocl
p. NJ, the sun first appearing like pink bal
amid yellow cushions, and later in the day
shining with nearly his usual brightness
| The day was an uncomfortable one physical
| ly, and in the afternoon the heat became in
tense. Many persons, especially ladies, wert
| made ill, nausea and n dull headache being thu
prevailing symptoms.
The only reasonable theory advanced local
ly or elsewhere 10 account for this phenome
non is that it was caused by the smoke from
distant forest fires with an underlying o.
everything canopy of fog, which together pro
duced the strange effect. Just at night, OF
Monday, II was noticed that hereabOuts
dense smoke or haze had settled down, obscur
ing the outline of even the nearby hills.
Reports from all parts of New England SHOW
the exitence of the same phenomenon tina
was observable in this vicinity. In Fall Riv
err, Mass, the stores and many residence
were lighted In all the mills lights wer
burned, and the public schools were closed
| In Nashua, N. H., artificial light was neces
sary for all kinds of indoor business Tn
mills and stores in North Adams were lighte'
during the early forenoon. In some place
female mill operatives were 80 frightened tina
they stopped work and went home in alright
| Az DhuOfcEt w H. ehO say "oo
light olive, shading of all around to livi'
green at the horizon. The light was of quit
pronounced yellowish green color. @. F
Emerson, professor Of natural philosophy AM
astronomy, at Dartmouth College, says tn
cause must be something in the atmospher
which absorbs the shorter and longer wav
lengths, leaving only those which give the col
or of yellow and green. He thinks it may b
owing to the pollen from fir and pine trees
together with smoke from the forest fires i
Canada. In Norwich, Conn, the gas in man,
places of business was lighted at midday. Il
many places cattle ceased feeding, and hen
went to roost. In Providence, r. l., tn
supply of gas gave out, through some mistak
at the works. early in the afternoon, and 70
time tho city was left in uncomfortabl
darkness. In Contoocook, N. H., lamps wer
lighted at midday, and insects sounded thei
evening notes. There was the same peculia
atmosphere at Block Island, at Hartford
Conn, and all the way TO Portland, Me-, ant
st. Adams, this state. Lamps were lighted l
railroad trains, schools were dismissed an
business generally suspended, except whe
gas or lamps were used.
The Dark Day Of 19SO.