Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-01-03
THE SUN DARKENED.
For Nearly TIVE Minutes a
Glorious Sight is Vouchsafed
Miles City People,
The Occasion Being the Total
Eclipse-One by One the
Stars Peep Out.
Then Wonderful Corona and a
Dazzling Burst of Sun.
shine.
THE TOTAL ECLIPSE.

ihB hoIaL E0LlBsE.
How II tLooked to Miles City People.
However excessive the mot florid
Inauguration may have pictured the
eclipse In anticipa ion it WAS at best
but brggarly estima'e Of the realiza.
tion. Words fail aud com parirons are
utterly inadequate to even family pic
ture the supsrnsl magnificepce Of this
spectacle, which is but rarely vouch
safed to individual humanity NOR.
than once In a lifetime. IL is oaly by
contemplating the fact that in many
Of the most populous portions Of the
earth's surface, centuries have passed
without An opportunity OF witnessing
this most imposing Of the celestial
phenomena, that We Of the sparsely
settled Yellowstone vslIey can proper
ly appreciate the great good fortune
that befsll ns on Tuesday last. Even
science, backed by adequate means
that enables It's votaries TO travel ~
the uttermost portions Of the globe to
observe and study the varied phases Of
the event. can witness but an average
Of seventy total eolipsss Of the sun In
. century, and the aggregate Of dura.
ttsn VI totality, during which period
only can the moss vi sl and I'm oortanl
research be made, amounts 10 but one
day In one hundred Year,. II L.
through Q knowledgs Of thess facts
that the average mind can r.sliss she
vast imposlaoce Of an occasion of this
kind. and family comprehend the na
turs Of the work that devolves upon
the scientists during the few brief
minutes. OF somstimes. even seconds
that total obseurAsiou lasts. The pris-
oipal observing stations for this eslipss
were located In northern California
and Nevada, for the reaeon that In
that locality total obscuration Of the
suns disc Wa maintained for some
thing over two minute, while further
north and east the period Was lessensd.
In some respects astronomy must be
one Of the most exact Of sciences, and
particularly is this nsticeatle In the
forstelling Of the exact time TO min
utes and seconds, at whica eclipses
are 10 occur. In reference 10 the
eclipse Of Tuesday We were unable to
get definite data for this precise local
ity, but No nearly ~ we could crudsly
figure II. the fret contact was due be
tween five miuu es before two and two
O'Clock. ana according to several OBJ
servers II was noted ut l:56 standard
timt for this division. Never In this
land Of sunshine aud clear atmosphere
was there day 90 fitted TO the oc.
casion 90 was New Years day. Not q
cloud was visible In the sky and the
rarifiec atmosphere that 10 at oil time.
SO deceptive TO the unpracticed eye q,
TO distance. seemed lighter and cleareI
than usual, under the stimulation o.
the brisk winter atmosphere. In th,
opening just south Of the MaequeeI
house, Mr.. l.. A. Huffman had focused
i've cameras, one OF them In the man
ner designated by Prof. Todd, Of th,
Amherss observatory. and the oths
four on general landscape principles
Mr.. Huffman was assisted In the man
agement OF the instruments by Messrs
S'revell, Porter aud Morrison, al
more or less posted 10 the details o
photography. IL was not the inten.
ton, however, to use any OF the In.
struments on any Of the phases Of th,
eclipse except that Of totaiity, 90 tn,
hour or more that iDlervened bet weei
the first contact and total observation
was taken up In no'ing the progress q
the moons passage across tLs sun
with smoked gIasse.. quite . numbe
Of excellent glas-es having been pre-
pared for general Use. Around thi
spot quite crowd were gathered sut
the progress OF the eclipse was potss
with incressi,s interest by all. slI
minutes pust three was the time ss
for totalitr In this vicinity and a. ths
sncfoacning moon crspt slowly owe
the brigh, face OF the sun, gradually
reducing bis disc 10 narrow crescent
anxious eyes consulted watches, and
ne II became apparent that scheduls
time was 70 be accurately observed BY
the celestial traveller, the Interest
deepened la Intensity aud silence wa'
only broken by low tened Instructions
10 those who were commissioned Il
note The fin, second of No usi t9tslify
: aud those whwe mission a was ts