The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1881-09-28
DAYS or uysyEHrous Dsgx.
NESS.

/ NESS.
The strange darkness at midday
caused by yellow haze filling the ak '
shich awakened surprise aud alarm n
Boston, Providence, Portland. and 81 h.,
Eastern cities on Tuesday, is not with
out parallel in meteorological history
Everybody has heard Of The Dark Ds,
OF liSD, which Is som metimes spoken ot
as Black Friday. The year / 7Ss rs-etr,.
Died 1881 10 it's wonderful oh, s;cal
phenomena. II was q year to drive
weather prophets mad, end IL inp,essad
its memory indeIibly upon the minds Of
The people. Its freaks eliminated nr
May ~. when the light # the sun
see med suddenly 10 fail. and all Of New
England, and portions of New York
Pennsylvania. aud Canada we're plupe-
ed In mysterious gloom Birds and
fowls retired To their roosts; dinner
was eaten By candle light. The air
seemed OF brszy color, and there was
sulphurous or soo.y smell prevailing
IT. Very many we're in the greatest
alarm, thinking that the day of iudg-
rnent bad come. The Connecticut Leg
isisture was in session when the myste.
rious darkness fell upon the face OF ps-
ture and the Senate Chamber was
shrouded In gloom. 90 that busine es cou d
not be transacted. The general alarm
spread to the lawmakers. and one of
them solemnly moved that the senate
adjourn. Col. Abraham Davenport i'm.
medistely arose sod opposed the ad
journment. His speech, though brief.
Was remarkable one, and ii had the
effect Of restoring composure Of mind
in the assemblsge,
81 am sgsinst the adjournment.
Either the day Of judgment is at hand,
or il 10 not. Ii 1t is, / want to be found
in the line OF my duty. ask that
candles be brought"
Nobody who saw that day ever for
got it. The New England coast was
shrouded in darkness, which turned
away incoming ships. Evidently the
phenomenon observed on Tuesday was
OF the same nature 90 that Of 1880.
Such darkeniDgs Of the suns light have
been witnessed in various parts OF the
WOiiHs III tbt ltut O-V ~ WuOIt IL y
man empire WAS covered with a T, ,ddish
shadow. caused by a strange haze in
the air. In 1888 ell Of Europe. most
of North America, and the western por>
tion OF Asia were covered with great
dry fog OF pale blue color, which dim.
med the light OF the sun and ut times
almost extinguished il. Ii lasted for
oavnrat "a nd ,s~l -.
violent electrical storms. Il spread
alarm everywhere. ut was says one
writer, "a time of terror, Of tumult,
Of universal excitement In 1881
there was another great fog that made
the sun look green or blue. and tinted
all the objects Of the landscape with
similar bues.
Sometimes these phenomena are con
fined TO comparatively smell areas of
country. The fogs Of London are ex.
amples. La December, 1873. London
WAS darkened for week so that traffic
had TO be suspended on the Thames,
street travel became almost impossible,
aud many persons lost their lives
through accidents. A year ago last
spring my sterious darkness overspread
portion of Minnesota. The inhsLi-
tants, rs in 1880, ate their dinner by
candle light, and all ordinary occupa.
tious were suspended.
The causes assigned for these phe-
nomena are various. Sometimes they
are due to the smoke arising from the
burning Of great forests or vast peat
bogs. Occasionally these fogs have
been sscribed to the passage OF the
earth through the tail OF . comet, In
1861. when the earth 10 supposed to
have passed through portion Of the
tail of the great comst:.of that year.
slight haze was dissernible by day.
and at night the cir seemed sglow with
o strange phosphoresence, which in
some places rendered Il possible 20 read
print at midnight. The same phospho-
resence ct night was witnessed during
the great foes of 1888 and 1881. The
country within few hundred miles OF
large volcanoes IL sometimes darkeoed
by matter thrown into the atmosphere
from the crsters. At times there seems
no way to account for such darkening
Of the heavens. exosit upon the sup
position that the e.rth. in Its sweep
through space. suddsoly encounters
mass of sttenusted meteoric matter.
which spreads through she atmosphere.
This docs not appear improbable when
ID recollected that the earth in revolv-
Ing about the SUI does NOS continue to
travel in the same path. but, in conse-
qaence of the suns own motion. is ev-
cry year passing through new fields of
space. The san IL carrying his squad
ron of worlds ON . stapendous voyage
through the vast ocean Of ether. or
whatever fills the in.erstaller spaces.
II some OF these phenomena are really
due to matter that the earth plows
through in her marvellous cruise, we
may conclude that therein lies another
peril TO the mad and merry crew Of
cur rock ribbed ship. for some Of the
great dry fogs OF history brought epi.
denies with them. In i7S3. especially.
men and beasts were seriously affected
with disease resembling catarrh, that
prevailed as long - the fog lasted.
Actors who play character business
become prematurely bald. Sowe Of
them claim that they have lost ths:-