The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-10-29
DARK DAYS.

our Ancestors and which Has Never
Bcen 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 most unaccountable darkening
OF the whole visible heavens and atmos-
phere in New England. of which the
celebrated naturalist. Herschels said it
was zone of those wonderful phenom-
ena of nature which will always be read
of with interest, but which philosophy
is at q loss to explain" The unusual
darkness and the strange atmospheric
appearances brought intense alarm and
distress to multitudes of minds, rs well
rs dismay to the brute creation, the
fowls fleeing. bewildcred, 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 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
overwhclm the land unless speedy re-
pentance and reformation took place.
The time of the commencement of
this extraordinary darkness was between
f<<v><.
noon Of Friday, Of the date named, and
it continued until the middle of the fol-
lowing night, but with different appear
anccs 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
nestle 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
crly 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 il continued in the
neighborhood of Boston for at least
fourteen or fifteen hours: but it was
doubtless longer or shorter in some 9TH
er places.
Professor Williams. of Harvard Col
leoe. collected with much painstakino
in9uirv soon after the Occurrences some
a. the more narticular observat;ons
made n different marie Of the country
From these data il appears that for sey.
eral DAYS before in MANY sections II was
noticed that the air seemed to be of 4
smoky and vnporous character. The
sun and the moon exhibited mn unusual
redness IN their color. and were divest.
ed Of much of their usual 'br;ohtness
and this, obscuration increased as they
annroacbed nearer the horizon This
was ascertained to be the case for fouI
or five DAYS precedinv the 10Th Of NAV
in almost ali parts of New Enrland'
The winds had beer variable. Int cb;et3x
from the Southwest and nortbeast The
thormometar indicated from, fortv -
fiftv-five degrees The baronsete,
showed a somowha. higher RANGE than
usual. The weather had been 9air and
cool for the season. According to Oh.
scryations made at Cambridge the orav
ity of the atmosphere from the time ii,