The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1882-04-22
Remarkable Display Of Northern Lights

The heavens were brilliantly illuminated
last night by the aurora borealis, or Northern
| lights. The phenomenon was FIRST seen about
an hour and half after shutdown, and then
the heavy masses of clouds piled against the
northern horizon were suddenly swept away,
giving place to countless avenues of varied
cOlored light of most dazzling brilliancy. The
display lasted until an early hour this morning,
the lights meanwhile having shifted from theiI
original position to point in the center of the
heavens. The phenomenon was admired
by all who witnessed its manifestations,
and these, in the general opinion, exceeded
in duration and briliancy the well-remem
bered aurora borealis of 1873.
While thousands were lost in their admira.
ton of this fascinating scene the atmospheric
conditions were the occasion of considerable
trouble and no little danger. The electric
storm last night was the most severe ever
known in the history of the country. 1t prac.
tically rendered useless all telegraph wires
from New York to Ogden. The air was sur
charged with electricity to terrible extent,
which was shown in the brilliancy of the dis
play of the aurora borealis previously men,
toned. From ten o'clock very little of the
ordinarily large amount of matter either news
or messages, could be sent over the lines, and
such as it was deemed absolutely necessary to
SShu was uOuC Win luc ST6dlcSl uduSbrt U
operators in charge of the transmtters. A wire
was worked between Chicago and st. Paul
without any battery, the wire being grounded
at both ends.
The oldest telegraph operator failed to re-
call any similar instance of the wonderful
power of the electricity in the air. Attempts
were made to carry on some experiments in
the offices of the Western Union Telegraph
Company during this condition of affairs, on
wires used without batteries, and the opera
tors repeatedly suffered from burnt fingers.
Such was the force of the element that sew
eral wires were burned off entirely and the
"switch board" upon which connections are
made caught fire on several occasions.
The night manager of the Western Union
Telegraph Office was seen and questioned
on the subject. He said such storms
are experienced five or six times
year, and there is little dissimilarity
between them except in point of intensity.
The storm last night, which was unusually
severe, was first noticed as affecting the tele-
graph service in this city about ten o clock
BY two O'clock this morning it had lost much
of its intensity. AS is always the case in
electrical storms, the chief and steady currents
are in the direction of north and SOUTH on
account OF this fact the north and south wires
can be used during storm without batteries,
the earth serving instead. The east and west
wires are often rendered well-nigh useless.
Fitful gusts in the electrical current at times
will overpower the battery currents, and melt
the wires. The observations of the storm last
night were carefully made, and the data will
be submitted to skilled electricians, whose
conclusions therefrOm may be of great scien-
uhc value.-Chtcdgo Herald, april H.