The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1893-07-22
DARK DAYS.

: .
21upsrous Times ii the Worlds history
s. When the Sun Was parkened. ):
The earliest mention of the phe.
nonlen a. referred to in the headline OF
thas mote" appears to be that which
occurred in the year A, B. c., about
ghe time OF the, death of Julius Caesar,
where we read in Plutarch and Die
&assius, that the sun was paler than
usual for a whole year. The great
darkness which lasted two whole days
Gil oyer Europe appears to have pre-.
Reded the great earthquake of Nj
eomedia, which occurred August q
A. d. 358. Two years later in all the
eastern provinces of the Roman en-
plre there was a clark day., :" which
was so dark as to make stars visible
at MONDAY From further descrip-
lions one might consider this the re-
suit of a total eclipse, but astrono.
mers say that neither the eclipse of
March 4, $50. nor that of August %,
OF the same year, was visible in the
countries mentioned. During Alric's
eiege of Rome 400 and 40,
"A. D., there were several
days ''as dark as the nights
which preceded and followed them.1"
In $50, 567 and 626 we find mention
OF long periods of diminished SUM-
light. According to Schnurrer, 'the
sun darkened in an alarming manner
On August 10, 1888, without there be.
Ing the least possibility of an eclipse
being the cause" The Portuguese
historians record several months OF
diminished sunlight in the year 934,
says the St. Louis Republic, (which
Terminated by an apparent opening in
the sky from which loud sounds
Issued, the noise sounding not unlike
two giants quarrelling." In 1901, on
September 20 not 21, as given in
some trauslations OF Humboldt's
ss'Cosmos'), the sun turned suddenly
black and remained SO for three hours:
For days after the blackness had dis
appeared the sun gave out peculiar
greenish light which occasioned great
alarm. Schnurrer next mentions d
dark day in june 1871, but astrono:
tners attribute it to the total eclipse
which was visible in the greater part
OF Europe in June 81 of the year men-
toned. Several dark days are record
ed as having occurred in February.
@106, the darkest being the 4th, 9th
ana 18th. On the 5th a bright star
was seen shining '0nly a foot and q
half from the <blackened remains Of
the SUM- -
!. @'On the last day of February,
1906" says Cortevza, a Spanish
writer, 'the sun appeared to suddenly
60 out causing a darkness all over
the country for about six hours.'' The
superstitious writer's of the time at
tributed the great darkness of 1241 to
Gods d1spleasure ovar the results Of
the battle of Leignitz, the sun being
90 ebscured as to mako it necessary to
keep lamps burning until after the
ninth hour. Prot. Schiapareli, who
has been years collecting data concern
ing that uncanny event, is now in
flined to refer the cause to the total
eclipse of October 6, 1241. Kepler
fells u.s. his authority being Comma.
that there Was a sun-darkening in
;547 which lasted for three days,
April 22-25. which finally ended by
fhe sun appearing to be suffused with
blood to that degree that stars were
Visible at MONDAY" America has ex-
perienced several dark days during
her short historical life, the most
memorable being that of May 10,
1850, when the darkness was so great
that all the people Of New England
with the exception of sturdy few,
Fere terrified almost to the verge OF
! distraction.