Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1892-01-27
DARK DAYS HISTORY.
On These Occasions People Thought the
World Was Coming to an End.

On These Occasions People Thought the
World Was Coming to an End.
The earliest mention of the phenom-
ena known as dark days appears to be
in the year Al B. c., about the time of
the death of julius Caesar, when we
read in Plutarch and Dio Cassius that
the sun was paler than usual for a
whole wear. The great darkness which
lasted two whole days over all Europe
appears to have preceded the great
earthquake Of Nicomedia, which oc-
Cured August %, A. d. 35S. Two years
later in all Eastern provinces of the
Roman empire there was clark day, !"
which was so dark as to make stars visi-
BILE at MONDAY.
From further descriptions one might
consider this the result of total
eclipse, but astronomers say that Meth
| the eclipse of March 4, $50, nor that Of
August rs of the same year was visible
| in the countries mentioned. During
Alric's siege of Rome, 400 and 40 A.
D., there were several days ''as dark as
| the nights which preceded and fol-
| lowed them" In $50, 567 and 626 we
/! find mention of long periods of di-
minished sunlight. According to
| Schnurrer, 1.-The sun darkened in an
an alarming manner on August 10, 133,
without there being the least possibility
of an eclipse being the cause"
| The Portuguese historians record sew
! eral months Of diminished sunlight III
the year 934, which terminated by an
apparent opening in the sky from
sounding not unlike two giants quarrel
| ing" In 1901, on September % mot II,
as given in some TRANSACTIONS of Hum
| boldt's "Cosmos'0 the sun turned sud
denly black and remained SO for three
| hours. For days after the blackness
| had disappeared the sun gave out a
peculiar greenish light, which occa-
| stoned great alarm.
Schnurrer next mentions a dark day
in June, 1871, but astronomers attribute
it to the total eclipse which was visible
| in the greater part of Europe on June
u of the year mentioned. Several dark
days are recorded as having occurred IN
! February, HOG, the darkest being the
4th, 9Th and 18th On the 9th bright
star was seen shining "only a foot and
q half from the biackened remains of
! the sun"
con the last day of February, 1906, y
saws Cortevza, Spanish writer, the
sun appeared to suddenly 60 out, caus-
ing great darkness all over the coun-
| try for about six hours" The super
stitious writer's of the time attributed
the great darkness of 124l to Gods dis
pleasure over the result Of the battle Of
Leignitz, the sun being SO obscured as
to make it necessary to keep lamps
burning until after the ninth hour.
Prof. Schiaparelli, who has been years
collecting data concerning that uncan-
ny event, is now inclined to refer the
cause to the total eclipse of October 6,
124l. Kepler tells US, his authority
being Comma, that there was sun
darkening in l547 which lasted for three
days, April 22-25, which finally ended
by the sun appearing to be suffused
with blood to that degree that stars
were visible at monday" America
has experienced several dark days dur
ing her short historical life, the most
memorable being that of May Is, 1870,
when the darkness was so great that all
the people of New England, with the
exception of a sturdy few, were terri
fed almost to the verge of distraction.
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