The Hawaiian gazette., 1896-10-13

seven and a quarter by Amherst, SIX
! inch objective made by Schroeder of
Hamburg. and a great variety of pho
! Geographic doublets. In addition were
| BoIariscopes arranged and lent by DR..
/ Wright of the Sloane Laboratory of
! Yale University, two spectroscopes
| from Harvard Observatory and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
and a wheel photometer for measuring
the variation of the intensity of the
total light of the corona.
All this apparatus was individually
! connected with the electric commu
tator invented by Prof. Todd and
made for this eclipse, a slowly revolv-
/ ing copper cylinder full of pins, each
of which represented a certain move
ment of one particular instrument at
a given fraction of a second. The whole
! thing. most complicated TO have in
vented and thought out in all its prac-
teal workings, but absolutely simple
in manipulation, was set up and ad
! justed in time, and its working was
/ perfect: at touch of the electric key
/ plates came into place, were exposed,
covered and passed out, and new ones
brought up for exposure, all with the
precision of a machine. Thus was dem
onstrated the practicability of apply
ing an unlimited amount of apparatus,
automatically, to the various and fer
tile problems of eclipse research. 1t is
possible with the arrangement now
perfected to take between three and
four hundred pictures of the corona in
two minutes and a half, and that with
out having to depend upon the fluctu-
ations in the nervous systems of a
crowd of observers, many of whom lit
is to be hoped in justice to their sense
of the sublime in nature) might fire.
quently be so affected by the spectacu-
lar part Of an eclipse that their routine
work would be injured
The chances for clear sky in Esashi
at this season were little more than
half, at Akkshi slightly less, and the
heavens were closely Intercepted dur
ing all the weeks while the expedition
prepared for the eclipse AS the day
drew near, sunshine and rain alternat-
ed in ways to try the soul of any but
the most calmly scientific human be-
ing. If one retired to rest remember
ing just past gorgeous sunset, he
would probably be awakened in the
morning by heavy shower on the
shingled roof of the old school-house.
That roof, however, is the usual pro-
menade of the multitudinous crows of
the region, who rise at unknown hours,
and begin the days exercise vigorous
ly before dawn, so that always showers
or crows were at hand to rouse the I'M
wary. If the forenoon was thickly
clouded, a radiant afternoon often fol-
lowed; and sparkling early morning
often merged themselves into a thick
ening sky by the eclipse-hour, about
two o'clock. Thus hope and despair
alternately possessed the present on
locker, although the chief astronomer
kept calmly at work, showing no sign
that natures moods were undermine
ing his nerves. He had no time to
study the state of the western horizon,
and the VagarieS of the wind. and the
prevailing drift of cirrus or cumulus
And so the hours grew fewer before the
9Th, and Friday and Saturday, the 18th
and Sth, brought heavy rains; but the
suset of Saturday night was a superb
rose and gold and salmon glory, and a
! group of the leading officers and citi-
zens came in TO congratulate us upon
the fine prospect for the morrow The
! fishermen of the town sent their com
pliments by these gentlemen, and their
opinion that the eclipse would show in
a clear sky. These interested and sim
ple-hearted friends said they had re-
Trained from calling during the two
days rain, as they so feared it might
continue that they could not bear to
see us and all the fine instruments, but
now they gladly came under the pres
ent happy cicum stances. One of them
reported his visit to a shrine that day,
TO learn from the oracle the probable
state of the coming day, and the reply
was, BE careful" This he interpret
ed to mean that the morning might be
cloudy, and we, thinking observation
| hopeless, would not get all things
ready. Then at the critical moment
clear sky would appear, and we should
be unprepared. Hence the warning to
be on guard.
Sunday morning saw an early shower
and later clearing; another shower,
and clear blue western sky; a drift
! ing gray scud from the south, and brief
sunshine-altogethe an unpromising
1 sort of day, with possibilities of breaks
! through cloud all the time. The first
contact could not be accurately Observ-
4 ed, but, shortly after, the clouds be-
/ came very thin, and with smoked glass
/ the sun showed its bitten side distinct
! ly, but ill-defned through cloud. Most
! of the population of the town seemed
to be congregated along the fence
around our enclosure, looking with far
more interest at US and the instruments
than at the sun and the darkening
/ landscape. Just before totality, which
occurred about two minutes after three,
local time, I went TO my appointed sta
ton for drawing the corona, at the top
of small lighthouse standing in the
grounds of a little temple just above
the rocks OF the shore-a most pictur-
esuue underground for a spectacle
beyond anything that it has ever been
my fortune to witness. The sea grew
leaden in color. the sky desolately SOM
bre. The crows pretended indifference
but soon succumbed and flew off to the
thick pine forests on the mountain
sides with heavy haste The Alger
grew DINNER and grayer, the sampans
and junks became almost one mass OF
equal colorlessness, and the grass and
verdure suddenly grew strangely, vi
wildly yellow green. 1t was a moment