Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-12-08
PHENOMENA OF THE WESTERN HoR1zo.

For nearly two months the gorgeou
 and phenomenal sunsets have Httracte,
 the attention of the people of Arizona
 These phenomena, were noticed durin,
 the month ofOctober,a and when the brigh
 vermllllon glare reflected over the Tue
 son mountains the first time from tn,
 west, most of those who observed it. al once came to the conclusion that the
 high grass on the plains west of the
 mountains was on fire. But prospectors
 and miners who came in from Comobabj
 and QnDOtoa mountains reported hay. Ing observed these same phenomena
 one hundred miles miles west of The
 son. They also stated that the plaias
 had not been fired. These peculiar phe.
 nomena have continued ever since.
 though not always of the same fiery red
 hue. Some imes all of the colors of the
 rainbow could be seen soon after sun-
 set; then the western horizon would
 change to a solid brilliant red light, and
 then to dark rel light-no of solid
 eolors-but resembling a great conlia-
 grafton with dark streaks of black
 mixed with alternate red streaks Of
 fiery hght which very much resemble the colors that some of our energetic Insurance companies get up, in showing
 Mount Vesuvius or Mount Etna in a state of eruption. Last evening, the western horizon was beautifully lighted up with brilliant vermillion which con tinued long after sunset. These phe- nomena have been noticed as far east as western Texas and New Mexico, and lately have been observed in California and Nevada. The Alta of the first says: "In relation to the sunset phenomena 1T this city explanation is baffled, aud We have only a choice of hypothesis. The one that attributes the whole thIng to a "dry fog" IS manifestly inadequate, because the heavenly spectacle has been visible, at one place or another o1 the coast, for months past, and fog would not have lasted that length Of time. Neither do the explanations, which attribute it to the zodiacal light or the aurora borealis, seem to meet the facts, and the preferable hypoti esIs re- mains that winch assumes an intertu- sion of the atmosphere with some unusual substance-perhsps volcanic dust. h Australia, where the same phenomena have been observed, cor respondent of one of the newspapers suggests a practical solution of the pug gle, hy examining the snow in the noun taius, to see if there has been any unusual dust deposit, and if so. of what 
 The Virginia City papers speak of an apparent double sunset; tn sane illus ion was observed he- over a month ago, but if was different 10 that descr bed Virginia City. Here there were two bright spots, observed iu the horizon, l one in the northwest and tue oIhe iu l the southwest. They made ther sr- pesrauce immediately after sun e., and l very muci resembled the ''sun dogs" observed in the eastern states ia cold wintry mornings. But the double sun set at Y'rgi ia City occurs after sunset and IS described as a sudden Hash of l brilliant light from above, and all the LIlis again appeared bathed in golden 1 sunshine" We shall have to refer the suoieci to our scientific authorities for solution. II is, however, more than lIkely that it is caused by the fine dust that the great volcanic erup;ious m Java threw up during the past season, which has been driven east by the trade winds of the Pacific, and Sonora and Arizona being the first lands reached, and the first places the phenomena was observed gives some strength to the theory.