St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-04
DAYS OF STRANGE CoLoRs.
Men in Terror of Skies Yellow, Red
Green and Black.

New York Sun.
On Jan. 81, 1906, from sunrise until
midnight, the churches of Europe were
crowded with kneeling supplicants,
while solemn chants and the smoke
of the censers arose uninterruptedly.
Thousands of terrified people lay prone
upon their faces in the streets and
squares. Women clutching their in
fants to their breasts ran, half naked,
shrieking along the highways. Credit
ors forgave debts; usurers pressed
upon their ruined clients their ill-got-
ten gains; rich men distributed their
wealth in the name of charity to all
who would consent to accept Grim
inals voluntarily confessed their mis-
deeds and besought the extremity of
human justice. Kings and princes
threw off their ermine, donned the
rags of beggary, and avowed new cru
sades for the recovery of the Holy
Sepulcher from the Turk. Men went
mad. Anchorites and hermits issued
from their cells, wild eyed, clad In
goat skins or sackcloth, and, stalking
through the streets, cried aloud:
"Woe! woe! The hour Of judgment
is at handw
1t was the Day Of the Red Terror,
described by the ancient chroniclers
The dawn broke clear and mild as in
midsummer, we are told, and mot a
cloud Of a hand-breadth's bigness was
to be seen In all the sky" But just
before the sun rose a strange red haze
or mist overspread the heavens, deep
ening In hue and density, until at 9
o'clock the armament was a crimson
pail which obscured the sun and cast
a dull, ominous glare upon the earth,
like the reflection from a tremendous
confagration at a distance. Despite
the unnatural illumination, the gloom
was so profound, even at midday,
that one man knew not another,
though he were his own brother. To-
ward Of the afternoon there came a
great splendor Of crimson, like blood,
and some cried that now, indeed, the
heavens were departing as scroll
when 1t is rolled together others that
they beheld the angels battling against
the hosts of the Apollyon in the up-
per air. and yet others that blood
rained upon the earth" At about
midnight the fiery pail disappeared,
seeming to be dissipated as a light
mist driven before strong wind: the
stars came forth in their tranquil
beauty, and the panic-stricken world
grew calm again.
In April Of the year in which Column
bus set out upon his memorable voy-
age to the Indies, incidentally discov-
er1ng America, occurred the wonderful
Green day. During the forenoon there
mad been a succession of light show
ers, but at IL o'clock the sky cleared.
and the sun shone brightly At an
hour past noon the sun grew pale, and
lost its brilliancy, as If obscured by
a winter fog, though there was no
trace Of vapor in the atmosphere At
the same time the azure hue Of the
sky changed to a livid green, deepen
ing gradually to rich emerald tint.
The sun became wholly invisible, and
there was sort of preternatural twi-
light upon the earth. The green hue
was so intense that "all objects took
the color Of oak leaves, and men stared
in alright at each others faces" for
they, too, were Of the prevailing livid
green. The populace poured into the
streets to gaze in terror at the emer-
aid sky, and to ask each other what
had become OF the sun, and if the end
of the world was at hand. Bells were
tolled; services were held in all the
churches. In one French town sew
eral persons expired from fright. At
about o'clock in the evening the sky
resumed it's normal aspect.
There are several Yellow days on
record, the most remarkable being that
which occurred in the reign Of Charles
TX. Of France, and was regarded by
the Huguenots as manifestation Of
the divine wrath against the authors
of the massacre of st. Bartholomew
All the previous night such a tempest
of wind blew as not the Oldest man
had seen. Steeples fell with a horri-
BILE crash. Strong houses and palaces
fell down fiat upon the earth Whole
forests were leveled, and thousands of
deer destroyed, so that there was no
hunting in all the realm for the space
Of six years. Some heard loud and ter
rible voices crying in the air, denounc-
ing punishment upon the blood-guilty
Some heard the shattering blasts of
vast trumpets, so that the soul tainted
at the sound"
At sunrise the storm died down to a breath
less calm. 1t became so intensely hot that
cattle died in the fields, men fell down in the
streets, steam rose from standing pools and
hayracks took fire. Yet there was no visible
sun. The sky was brilliant yellow like that
sometimes seen in the west at early twilight.
deepening toward noon to splendid orange,
and latter to an ugly muddy brown So fright
full was the omen that men, notsdaring to go
forth for the dreadful heat confessed them
selves to each other, forgave debts and old
feuds. Those that ventured out of doors
drenched their clothing with water which
turned to vapor in a hundred PAGES Many
died in their houses, whether Of heat or fear,
and half the world was overcome"
Our own Yellow Day appars to have been
very similar to the one described above,
though it was not accompanied by the prefer
natural rise of temperature. 1t appears, also,
to have been much more circumscribed in
area, at least the accounts we have, strangely
meager for so startling a phenomenon, en-
brace but three colonies.
The Dark Day of the Revolution has been
frequently described, to many yet living, by
ancient people who were eye witnesses. This
account was given by Rhode Island lady, q
cousin Of Gen. Nathaniel Greene:
1.-The sky was clear until near noon when
the sun began to fade, if its light were
withdrawn, until 1t needed very keen eyes to
mark It's position in the heavens. At first
there was sort of greenish twilight then
everything became dark as midnight The
stars came out The fowls went to roost
People looked at their clocks sure that they
must somehow have mistaken the time. The
churches and meeting houses were open. The
bells tolled mournfully. Some men stood upon
the corners preaching that this was the last
day foretold by the evangelist. People wrap
ped themselves in white sheets and sat at
open windows or on roofs, singing hymns
But just before sunset the sky cleared. l re-
member that my father and mother embraced
each other then kissed me, and seemed over
joyed. and the street was full of people run
ming to and fro shouting that the world was
SAFE
The black day Of the thirteenth century
must have been yet more dire and terrifying.
according to two fragmentary accounts which
the sun was a disc of ebony in a funeral
armament, and the whole earth was full of
weeping: The beasts crept into mems houses
for comfort"