Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1894-12-08
THE INDIAN SUMMER.
WHEN 1T COMES ANo WHAT is RE-
SPoNsl5Ls FOR IT.

the Season was Given It's Name--is the
Haze Caused by Smoke3
7 There Is a great difference Of opinion
among those who are wise In weather
lore as TO the exact tim5 when lnGian
summer makes it's appearance some
weather propG2ts declaring that it in.
clndes every warm day between Mi.
chaelmas day. the 20th Of September
and Christmas, while others locate il
in the month Of October. THdeed, the
opinions Of scientists do not agree any
better than those Of ordinary intlividu.
ais, but seem to be rs hazy as the season
itself.
After looking mp much scientific dnta
ON tho subject, and making a consensus
of popular opinion, the fact scoms
established that this phenomenon Of
SEASONS really belongs to the month of
November, although the signal service
notes say that ii Indian summer does
not come in October or November it
will come III winter rs if it were Il sort
os movable season Neither do scientists
agree as to the cause of that haZy at.
mosphere which accompanies the season,
a condition peculiar to North America.
II was attributed by early settlers in
this country to the smoke from prairie
fires kindlcd by the IndianS-henCe the
name, "Indian summer But it il
now said by scientific investigators that
the appearance of smoke is all optical
Illusion produced by peculiar condi.
tion of the air, which might be oompar.
Ito dry fog. Sentimentalists declare
that it is this dreamy haze which gives
its great charm to this short. delightful.
season, when the whole world of ma.
ture appears like beautiful dream. 1t
is the fifth season, the mellow ripcposs
Of autumn, when creation stands still,
In lazy, languorous mood and the pic.
ture is vanishing and indistinct like
one of Corot's landscapes, It's the gold
en- sunset of the year. brief and evanes
cent.
Like mirage, the Indian Summer
does not wait to be investigated. 1t is
hare-it is gone-Oefore the would he
Investigator was aware of its presence.
1t is such roStful, happy period that
people are content to enjoy it without
asking questions, yet there is much in
it's phenomenal that is worth the most
CAREFUL scientific investigation. 1t has
been suggested that the dreamy haze
which accompanies the season is COM
posed of animal life of such minute
form as TO be incapable of microscopic
= examination, but of such innumcrable
quantities that they obscure the atmos-
nhere and rcdden the sun. 1t is also
charged to vegetable matter, but these
are Nero ti.corics which have not yet
been proved.
Another token by which this genial
Indian summer makes itself known is
the absolute silence of nature herself,
rs if she were taking vacation from
winds that blow and clouds that shade.
There is such stiffness i'll the air from
sunrise to sunset that sound itself seems
to have gone asleep. But there is no
loneliness in the silence. 1t is only as if
everything We're resting, bathed in the
happy sunshine. The flowers arc gone;
the singing birds have flown to their
southern climes; the leaves havo drop
ped from the trees when the Indian
summer comes trailing her white veil tC
cover the desolation and filling all hearts
with the tranquility of her graciou:
presence. There is tonic i'll the air shs
brings which chemists cannot bottle nOI
charge commercial rates for-whiffs OF
summers that have been contracted into
o few days and gone before we can an
alyZe them TO say, This is balSam, ol
that is balm. 1t is draft for tho gods
Tho subject of Indian summer wa;
investigated ~ long ago as 1870, when
Dr. Lyman Foot % the United State:
army III his report says that the indians
gave the season its name By calling j
their fail summer ?" which occurred
in November The doctor w:ia stationed
ut Fort Winnobago, Missouri tciritury
at the time and wrote from observation
lie says:
"Wc arrived Mt this post the Sd day
of last Euruabcr. we had three wcel;
of Indian sUiamur, with all the peculiar
radness OF tla sky in great perfection
He adds that lio had long observed Tn
season with curious attention aud call
for an expression Of opinion on tie sub
iect from other observers.
Professor Willet advanced the theor,
in report made to the government il
1867 that the dry fog is real smoke no
produccd by prairie fires, but the prod
net of chimneys. The late Frotcsso
Henry of the Smithsonian institution
reported that q portioa of the haze, I'll
tered, was found TO contain the lava q
volcanoes and fragments Of burned veg
etables Neither Of these distinguishc
scientists added anything to tho iitora
ture OF our Indian summer, 50 wEe
doctors disagree it i3 not expected tha
ordinary Observers Will bo able TO fuI
Elulate amy tcnable theory of its causi
The next best thing is to enjoy its ~
portmities, leaving its origin TO tho III
known source whence it is derived
New England is especially favored b
this after summer guest. In that Ian
OF rocks and rills the stiffness of tho OF
casion is moro delicious, tho haze MOI
poetic and the winds more languoror