The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-01-07
GEO. KENNAN'S AURORA.
A Brilliant Fragment From His
Lecture at the J. T. A. c.

Mr.. George KEENAN,. who has gained
Russia's cruel government. lectured last
night in the Jersey City Athletic Clubs
theatre. Every seat was occupied. Mr..
KEENAN, Is not an orator. He is a writer
Words flow from his mouth, however, as
they do from his facile and magnetic
pen, and an audience is charmed and held
spellbound while he Is talking.
Mr.. kennan's subject last night was
"Camp Life in k~amtchatka." When
nineteen years Of age he embarked upon
an exhibition to construct the American
Russian Telegraph Line. which dis
banded after three years OF toll on the
Siberia, steppes, owing TO the success OF
the secoud Atlantic cable, news Of which
was received by Mr.. KEENAN, from a
whaler landing near the Siberian coast,
and hailing from San Francisco.
Chairman Samuel Finney. of the Rev
enue Committee OF the club. introduced
Mr.. KEENAN, as a foremost representative
of the enterprise, courage n sagacity
displayed by American newspaper men.
IL would but mutilate o story well told
to attempt to put. in a few words, the adj
ventures of Mr.. KEENAN, as told mis- hear
ers last evening. The various social
phases of life among the inhabitants OF
Northern Siberia were listened to atten-
lively by all present, and many drew
their wraps more closely about them as
the lecturer portrayed the delights ~ OF
camping upon the Arctic coast of North
ern Siberia, with the temperature 63 de-
grees below zero. Here is a sample Of
Mr.. Remnants power to entertain. IL IS a
description Of the aurora borealis as he
saw IL In Kantchatks. By ats side Bayard
Taylor's description of the same, pub
lished on the hy-leaf OF many American
gclOO programmes. is tQma.-
THE sky In the earlier part OF the even
ing showed no signs of the magnificent
illumination, which was already being
prepared. A few streamers wavered now
and then in the north, and a faint radi-
ance like that of the rising moon shone
above the dark belt of shrubbery which
lined the river; but these were not unus-
ual occurrences, and they excited no
notice or remark. Late in the evening
we happened to &c for a momen out of
doors, and as we stepped into the open
air there burst upon our startled eyes the
grandest exhibition of dazzling light and
color of which h mind can conceive.
whole universe seemed to be on fire.
A broad arch of brilliant, prismatic colors
spanned the heavens from east TO west
like a gigantic rainbow, with a long
fringe of crimson and yellow streamers,
stretching up from it's convex edge to its
very zenith.
AT intervals of one or two seconds,
broad luminous bands, paralleled with
this arch, rose out from the northern hor-
lion and swept with q swift. steady mo-
ton across the whole heavens like long
breakers of phosphorescent light rolling
in from some liniitless ocean of space.
Every portion of the vast arch was mo-
mentarily wavering, trembling and
changing color, and the brilliant stream
ers that fringed its edge swept back and
forth In great curves ike the fiery sword
Of the angel at the gate Of Eden. in a
moment this great auroral rainbow, with
all Its trailing streamers, began to move
slowly up to the zenith. n a second arch
of equal brilliancy formed directly under
ii, shooting up q long-seried row of slen-
der colored glances like a battalion of the
celestial host, presenting arms to its
commanding angel
"At length the two arches broke up and
separated into bars. At SIS height, the
whole sky. from zenith to horizon. was O
sea of waving color, crimson and scarlet,
and green, and Tue for which there are
no words in language and no ideas In the
mind: things that can only be conceived
while they are visible. The signs and
portents in the heavens were grand
enough to herald obstruction of a world.
and the dead silence of an arctic midnight
only deepened the impression of their I'M
earthly character.
'The aurora broke up in ftfui flashes,
and in less han HI hour nothing re-
maIned in the dark starry heavens to re-
mind one what had taken place except
a few faint Magellan clouds that swept
across the sky and disappeared below the
horiz0n -