The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-09-23
The Broken Phenomena.
Seen on Clouds az Mount Desert.
CFrOm a letter in the New York Trlbune.)

(Fr0m letter In the New York Tribune)
Beech mountain, or as it Is more commonly
called Beech hill, which Is about three miles
from this village, has on its eastern side
precipics some 900 feet in height, nearly vsrti-
cal. Eastward from this cliff, known as Echo
cliff, lie Mount Robinson and Dog mountain,
of about equal height with the cliff, and dis
tant perhaps an eighth of mile in an air line.
Echo lake lies in the bottom OF the valley thus
formed, which opens southerly towards the
ocean and northerly in the direction OF Som
ersville. At about o'clock, August goth, the
sun was shining clearly aud brightly on the
summit of Beech mountain, with a clear blue
ultramarine sky overhead. The southerly
breeze drove before it at this hour great
white cloud which entered and completely
filed the valley, its top being about on a level
with the top of Echo Cliff, and completely
hiding the opposite mountains. The cloud
was in constant motion in its various parts,
kept so by the wind, which blew at the rate Of
about ten miles an hour, and was more or less
illuminated and coored by the light Of the
sun. The shadow Of the cliff was pro-
iected upon the lower third o: the
white cloud in light blue the outline OF
the top with its trees and its characteristic
rocky lodges being distinctly discerni-
BILE. All at once, a fog bow, as distinct ,as an
ordinary rainbow, and perfect circle about
as large as the apparent size Of the sun, made
its appearance, its lower arc resting upon the
upper edge of the blue lower third of the cloud
the bow itself being pictured upon the upper
part, which remained white. The disc inside
Of the bow was Of brilliant yellowish-white
color, corresponding to the character OF the
SUMS light at the time. Inside the bow and
on the disc described, the writer, who was
alone at the moment, suddenly saw his own
shadow in blue, and about the size Of life. He
called to his companions who were ON another
point Of the mountain, and they came running
to see the wonder. Their figures also appeared
on the disc in blue. The phenomenon was but
momentary, for the driving and whirling of
the parts OF the cloud caused the spectacle to
fade IN few seconds. In a moment it ap-
peared again, as vivid and distinct as ever, on
ly to fade and reappear again and again at
least fifty times in half an hour.
The sudden and rapid appearance and dis
appearances of the bow and its inelosed figures
reminded us of the play of the aurora borealis;
almost flashing into sight and fading away as
the parts OF the clouds darkened or lightened
BY its rolling and heaving movements. During
nearly the entire half-hour that the spectacle
was visible there was but one bow, butsthree
times second circular bow appeared outside
of the one containing our figures. The cloud
space between the two bows was of the same
yellowish illuminated white as the disc of the
inner and smaller oLe, the second bow being,
as is usual with rainDows, fainter than the
primary one, and with its colers reversed in
the customary way. Around each of our blue
figures on the disc there was "halo" of light,
not ring, but mass Of dffused light or
brightness. This halo, socalled, did not
observe; bat my companions assert that it ex-
listed, and was a very marked and notable
characteristic. I take their word for it, and
believe it was there.
Any artist can readily account for it. while
none would be likely to doubt OF its appear
ance. The bow and figures were visible from
various parts Of the cliff, and as we moved
from place TO place, came again and again in
front of us. The sun, the bow and its figures,
and ourselves were always in right line, the
sun, Of course, being behind us, as we looked
ont upon the scene. Occasionally as the great
white cloud thinned in spots, we caught hasty
and indistinct gimpses of trees and rocks on
Robinson and Dog mountains. The witnesses
OF this remarkable scene were A. II. Byington,
editor Of the Norwalk Gazette @. j. Vsrian Of
New York; Miss Amy L. Hopper Of Chelsea,
Mass, and the writer of this note.