Connecticut western news., 1881-05-18
HAS NEVER BEEN EXPLAINED.
The Dark Day in Canada in 1919

~NA@@N
 The Dark Day in Canada in 1919.
 In some interesting and graphic remi- niscences of Montreal sixty years ago, MT. s. H. Dorwin writes to the Montreal tStor as follows
 "What was the strangest occurrence of that time, or rather the strangest thing that ever happened in the history of this country, was what has always been known as the Phenomenon of 1819.' On the morning of Sunday, Mo- vember 8, 1919, the sun rose upon 8 cloudy sky, which assumed, as the light grew upon it, strange greenish tint. varying in places to an inky blackness. After short time the whole sky became terribly dark, dense black clouds filling the atmosphere, and there followed 8 heavy shower of rain, which appeared to be something in the nature of soap studs, and was found to have deposited after settling substance in all its qual- ities resembling soot. Late in the after noon the sky cleared to its natural as- pect. Next day was fine and frosty. On the morning of Tuesday, the 10th, heavy clouds again covered the sky, and changed rapidly from a deep green to a pitchy black, and the sun, when occa- sionally seen through them, was some- times of a dark brown or an unearthly yellow color, and again bright orange, and even blood red. The clouds con- stantly deepened in color and density, and later on heavy vapor seemed to descend to the earth, and the day be- came almost as dark as night, the gloom increasing and diminishing most ftfully. At noon lights had to be burned in the court house, the banks and public off, ces of the city. Everybody was more or less alarmed, and many were the conject- ures as to the cause of the7 remarkable occurrence. The more sensible thought that immense woods or prairies were on fire somewhere to the west; others said that great volcano must have broken out in the Province; still others asserted that our mountain was an extinct crater about to resume operations and to make of the city second Pompeii; the su- perstitious quoted an old Indian prophecy that one day the Island of Montreal was to be destroyed by an earthquake, and some even cried that the world was come to an end.
 "About the middle of the afternoon a great body of clouds seemed to rush suddenly over the city, and the dark ness became that of night. A pause and hush for @ moment or two suc- ceeded, and then one of the most glar- ing flashes of lightning ever beheld famed over the country, accompanied by clap of thunder which seemed to shake the city to it's foundations. An other pause followed and then came a light shower of rain of the same soapy | and sooty nature as that of two days before. After that it appeared to grow brighter, but an hour later it was as dark as ever. Another rush of clouds came, and another vivid flash of light ming, which was seen to strike the spire of the old French parish church and to play curiously about the large iron cross at it's summit before descending to the ground. A moment later came the eli max of the day. Every bell in the city suddenly rang out the alarm of fire, and the affrighted citizens rushed out from their houses into the streets and made their way in the gloom toward the church, until Place d'Armes was crowd ed with people, their nerves all unstrung by the awful events of the day, gazing al, but scarcely daring to approach the strange sight before them. The sky above and around was black as ink, but right in one spot in mid-air above them was the summit of the spire, with the lightning playing about it, shining like 8 sun. Directly the great iron cross together with the ball at its foot, fell te the ground with crash, and was shiv cred to pieces. But the darkest houl comes just before the dawn. The glov above gradually subsided and died out the people grew less fearful and re turned to their homes, the real nigh came on, and when next morning dawned everything was bright and clear and the world was as natural as before The phenomenon was noticed in great CT or less degree from Quebec to Kings
 ton, and far into the States, but Mon
 treal seemed it's centre. It has neve :, yet been explained"