New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-28
THERE WAS GREAT DARKNESS
4 BAD QUARTER OF AN HOUR FOR NEW
YORK CITY.

THUNDER AND LIGHTNING ACCOMPANIED THE
ATMOSPHERIC PAIL~rorR NEGROES STUNNED
AND ONE MULE KILLED AT AMBR)sb PARK.
nRooKIYN-TIIE DARK DAYS oFHIsToRY.
The gas was lighted yesterday in the middle Of the
day all over New-York. There was no uhusuai ios
or smoke on the contrary, rain was iainhs heaVlE
and that Is usually supposed TO clear the ar ie'
the wide spaces in the city where the sunlight iai'7
unobstructed when 1t falls ut all were as aim "s
they usually are in the middle of the evening"
places where there Is usually a peasant shade p'
spots OF gloom. and the specs pe'"ee' "'e"
buildings were almost absolutely iarH~ no o'n'""''
work could be done inside buildings without "'u-
nc,a, ,gbt Some ~ the court, adjourned nearly
an hour O. Ter than usual Lamps were hsn'e" :"
the eleva; ailway cars. These few peop'e VINO
vet continue the watch FOR The end OF the "or"
found in the ry darkness a CLEAN oil nope Nv
more general view was that cyclone WAS ''s
There was n general closing o WINDOWS a" a." Il"
vitaton for the cyclone to stay OUTSIDE 'he "'
and those who had offices in new buildings from .'
nrtoenth 70 the twentieth floors began 10 WISH '''
they had stayed nearer the eirth
Business was almost entr,y suspeh'e" vi '
Stock Exchange. The Exchange was ns""'' '
the members crowded about the door' anu "''''D
and seemed to be more intsresten III ''e '"'
and weird darkness than in the fluctuations ol 'n'
market At the Produce E,chanSe ouS'n'S"
hrorgb, ~ n stands.il while the darkness iAs"''
The lighting facilities poor. and the 'e''s'"P''
orders could not he read. While IL laS'''- ,'''
fifteen mnutes-busnsss was prac''c''' s"'P
wag on the Stock Exchange showed copy VI
,..r ,h,cb xvas reported to have been sent from
hropor.s office in which the writer sad; Ana
n deep dense darkness descended on WAL
.Ao, 1, hecame known that Byrnes had ashe' !"
he retired and the gloom rested on ''' ''
con,re and was not dspelied until the new" ~
that his request had been granted Anu ]" wa
WELL
THE CITY ~ DEEP Gi"oM'
rs. ,ro,,,s really began at noon. or few minutes
later Pefore that It had been rather R'oo''s' -
co. ro,rv dav but then 1t began to get pn'"'."-
enarv dark 1t lasted for only ht'e ""''''
100 :. ,, ,a,,,, N grow n little lighter again Inc
49,. ,ro,, the windows Of The Tribune once Wa
woe, curious CITY Hal Park looked much ''' N''''
as on a starlight night no means ~ - -
on q moonlight night. The high pul'''"N'
tho souare doomed up n n dim ghos'N way,
" visible The elevated railway s'"'o' 80 49,
D,oo could not be at all In 'ac'' II "'
., ,ose,hIe 10 SEQ any object smaller Una"
,,s tavond the corner OF the Posioihce al
Broadway. =, 80 ra,.o- eesn
such darkness al midday. Some young. 80,
however who had better memories 'e'"'' -,
a,, 1, tho autumn Of ISL But that was cauS'' ''
so., cros ,rhen the air became yellow ana SMOKY
rh,o,s ,re-e dismissed and all indoor work "h'''
ARTIFICIAL light could no. be provided han - " -
nended Mother Shiptn had set 'hh' Se"' 900
end OF the world. and those who we'e "iS'"'
oras,, her predictions fat sure that II han CONF
7, was generally supposed that those WHO '"'
- oo,sc,a,ces ver. the least alarmed hy '"'
1arL,ass hut Il was impossible to hnd any S'''
r.rsons in order verify the supposi''o" N''..N
the ignorant people in the poorer quartz, - -.
CITY feelings Of apprehension OF an "iP'""'
were really frequent and intense -
Next 10 the persons with clenr consc'e'oes ~
-. otarca eeened inclined to regard the wnoie SUI
ia,. most lightly. Professor John k hees' "' ~
lumbia College in answer to inquiries py i'""'.
renorter said that beyond the fact tha' II wa
.a,, dense there was nothing phenomenal IN
tho darkness There were no unusual coh''"'''
he said attaching the gloom. which was '"uS'''
so,e,v hv the condemnation Of the excessive moisture
in the a-."
During the thunderstorm bolt OF lightning
struck one OF the cabins in the groundS al Al"
brose Park. South Brooklyn. used by the h'sro''
in BLACK America" quarters. There were 'o"'
darkevs two mes and two women. In the cahih
=, Tho ,ime plavng "craps" None Of them WAS
Injured but ali wrre stunned. mule used IN & the
erni,ns vas insanity killed There consd-
erabe consternaton among the sun me greatcs,
effort that they finally guieted by me nan. t
ayers After the storm had subsided, about mr.
bnndred OF the negroes gathered together ana.
kneelinR down. clanted hymns OF ihankiuIh'Ss i"'
their escape
OTHER rARK DAYS RECALLED.
Although there are. as has been said. many viWh
recollections OF the dark day OF 1881. yet in this
part OF the country and in New-Ensland when
the term the dark day is used It means May ls
,7so The darkness then intense and II "N-
tended from Nev-Jersey TO Maine. i was most
dense in Massachusetts and New-liampshre IL
was less in Nev-York. and In New-Jersey vas
hardly noticeable II began between 70 and II a. IN.
al ID Gg1
clouds that up from the southeast. II IS
said that in the open air ii impossible To r"ai
ordinary print or TO tell the time by watch me
birds all disappeared and fowls went to roost'
People who were overtaken by the darkness on
country roads were able TO find their way only by
going toward distant lights. II they were 50 for'u-
nate as to any 1t is scarcely necessary 10 say
that everybody then believed that the end OF the
in session a: Hartford. and the members felt just
as sure everybody else that the whole worli
der a conviction OF sin. from its first settlement III
the prcsen, day "hen trains are h hot aoT, TO
with the common feeling that wherever one IS
some some where tlse moved to adjourn NO. said
other memrr. 'if this Is the Day OF JudRment'
lature went on enact,ng blue laws.
Previous to this, two dark days bad been noted
1862 To 90 further back. there was an extremely
dark day in the year 2, B. c. of which i need
America, 90 far as recorded and there were others
In the years 4. - 2j2. 7i6 and 10 In England
there were dark days In January. 1901. and Octo-
ber. 1876; and in Canada October lS 1893 was ex-
ceptionally dark. Many theories have been ad-
vanccd to account for such phenomena. smoke
seems usually 10 have good deal 10 do with II.
and volcanic ashes and dust also called upon
to bear their parts in the accounting Exceptionally
heavy clouds are Of course regarded as prime
causes with the added assumption that they are
arranged in double strata Whatever the causes
are the condition is unpleasant. at time when
summer brightness is expected.
THE GILDED EAGLE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
In the thunderstorm yesterday. lightning struck
the gilded eagle on the TOP Of the flagstaff which
surmounts the tower of III. Eagle Hotel, at Reid
ave. and HancOck-st. Brooklyn. Of which Charles
Seibe Is proprietor. The eagle was blackened some