Sharp County record., 1881-06-23
The Dark Day in Canada.

In some interesting and graphic rem
iniscences of Montreal sixty years ago,
Mr.. j. H. Dorwin writes to the Mon
treal Star 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
1872 On the morning of Sunday, No
vember s, 1919, the sun rose upon a
cloudy sky, which assumed, as the light
grew upon it, a strange greenish tint,
varying in places to an inky blackneSs.
After a short time the whole sky be-
came terribly dark, dense black clouds
filling the atmosphere, and there fol-
lowed heavy shower of rain, which ap-
peared to be something of the nature of
soapsuds, and was found to have de-
posted after settling substance in all
its qualities resembling SCOT. Late in
the afternoon the sky cleared to its nat
ural aspect, and the next day was fine
and frosty. On the morning of Tues
day, the 10th, heavy clouds again COW
cred the sky, and changed rapidly from
dark green to a pitchy black, and the
sun, when occasionally seen through
them, was sometimes of dark-brown
or an unearthly yellow color, and again
bright-orange, and even blood-red. The
clouds constantly deepened in color and
density, and later on heavy vapor
seemed to descend to the earth, and the
day became almost as dark as night,
the gloom increasing and diminishing
most fitfully. At noon lights had to be
burned in the court house, the banks
and public offices of the city. Every
body was more or less alarmed, and
many were the conjectures as to the
cause of the remarkable occurrence.
The more sensible thought that inn
mense 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 super
stitious 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
about to come to an end.
about the middle of the afternoon
great body of clouds seemed to rush
suddenly over the city and the darkness
became that of night. A pause and
hush for moment or two succeeded,
and then one of the most glaring flashes
of lightning ever beheld famed over
the country, accompanied by clap OF
thunder which seemed to shake the
city to its foundations. Another pause
followed, and then came 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 an
other vivid flash oflightning, which was
seen to strike the spire of the old French
parish church and to play curiously
about the large iron cross at its summit
before descending to the ground. A
moment later came the climax of the
day. Every bell in the city suddenly
rang out the alarm of fire, and the af-
frighted citizens rushed out from their
houses into the streets and made their
way in the gloom toward the church,
until Place d Armes was crowded with
people, their nerves all unStrung by the
awful events of the day, gazing at, but
scarcely daring to approach, the strange
sight before them. The sky above and
around was as black as ink, but right
in one spot in mid-air above them was
the summit of the spire, with the light
ming playing about it shining like a
sun. Directly the great iron cross, to-
gether with the ball at its foot, fell to
the ground with crash, and was shiv-
cred to pieces. But the darkest hour
comes Just before the dawn. The glow
above gradually subsidized and died out,
the people grew less fearless and re.
turned to their homes, the real night
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 a
greater or less degree from Quebec to
Kingston, and far into the States, but
Montreal seemed its center. 1t has
never yet been explained"