The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1894-06-28
TEE FAMOUS DARK DAT o. l1s..
!: Was . Pheno.e.o, Easily FL
plained ETo1 Na:rra!
Causes.


Most singularly mi-cnnccived and Al /
most universally misunderstood was /
the character OF that memorable DARK
day over New England. May ~. lIsi
More has been said and written abou;
that phenomenon than abou, all The
comets. auroras. and meteoric shower
that have presented ,hemselrcs IN five
centuries The hearts Of stout men
have quailed the faces Of women have
| blanched childhood has shrunk IL
terror. as the "Milcrite Scare pre-
ticted thereon swept the country with
one OF those peculiar mental epiden
les in the early 4O's. There had beer
a few days OF a vaporous-tainted air,
when sun and moon had reddish,
coppery light, and could not be seen
when near the horizon Ii WAS FRI
day. at 10 O'Clock a. NJ, that "A most
noticeable elimination OF light began
and in an hour the gloom was IL IL
tense as the dusk that just precede,
the night. Fowls went TO their roo-ts
domestic animals showed uneasiness
) dogs whined, and candles were lighted
to attend to household duties. A near
" full moon arose at o'clock. but the
blackness was so intense that not u
particle of shading could he distin-
guished between earth and sky. a
little past midday the darkness com
menced to disperse. the reddish disk
of the moon could be located, and
when Saturday evening came the SUI
, set with his usual lustre, and the star
twinkled as with unwonted brightness
i
data gathered by Professor Williams
of Harvard College, that the true anc
, simple causes that underlay this dark
ness were not deduced therefrom, bu
even the eminent astronomer Hers
chell consigned 1t to the domain OF th'
. unexplainable.
Clearly, undoubtedly, and demon
. strably as the simplest thing in com
h mon arithmetic, this notable darkness
& was due to smoke-laden air current
that temporarily stopped, by reason G
4 a not uncommon condition in meteor
ologv, that might be termed an atmo'
- pheric dam. The character OF tn
darkness. the prccipitations that a'
co,npaned it, tic somewhat punger
odor, the dlscoloration OF ky on da,
preceding, the aspect oi sun and moor
the scum on the rivers, the dead cali
of the afternoon and the foepart I
, the night. the indications OF the b
rometer, the similar occurrences q
/, smaller scales since-all these thlni
-. attest Enthusiastically that this phenor
email darkness was owing only TO
rather unusual combination OF natur
90 conditions.
rs True. the forest or pralrle-flres we
,s- not in the immediate vicinity OF tt
o, large, dark district, and but for the
od opportune becalming OF the air wh
To- thus loaded with this vapor, allows
cd it to gorge, dam up, spread out, a
thicken until the sustaining stra
If we're close to the earth, no particu
no attention would have been gwen TO
,at perfectly natural occurrence that te
ac- of thousands of people thought y
~ the dawn of doom, as prefigured
,er the Apocalyptic vision.
he There has not been an end-oi-tl
III world scare within the century Il
has not used this wild-fire smoke a.
- basis from which 10 excite ill-equlpI
,en minds into an unseemly exhibition
slavlsh and denoralizing fear. II
the eminent Herschell regarded II
he did il readily explained on the
pothesis that he dwelt where tn
!,