Evening star., 1898-10-28
SAW MOCK SUNS.
Marvellous Phenomena Observed O,
Board Ship I'm South Atlantic

| Board Ship in South Atlantic.
| From the Philadelphia Times
The British steamer Venus. from Bata-
via. Java, via st. Mtchaers with a large
| cargo of sugar Consigned to, parties in this
| city, arrived Sunday morning after d te-
deus voyage of seventy-one days. Cart
McGregor of the Venus brings to this couu-
| try an account of an unusual spectacle Wit
messed on the South Atlantic, and ore
which is very seldom vouchsafed except to
those who have navigated the seas all their
| lives.
| The incident of the voyage of the Venus
was an exhibition of the wonderful and
weird phenomena known as the sun dog
This remarkable marine spectacle very
seldom presented even to those who brave
the periis of the sea. is almost Invariably
confined to tropical ATTITUDES, and the case
of the Venus was notable exception TO
the established premise. At IL o'clock noon
| on August is, when Capt McGregor took
his observation, the sky was without a
cloud and the sun 'shone with brillancy
almost 1ntolerable upon the white deck and
BIT rnished brass work of the stanch tramp
steamer. The latitude. determined by the
stxtant and chronometer was found to be
10 degrees south and longitude - degrees
west from Greenwich, or, to be exact, ahout
nlnety-one niles1 frdm the Sequestries ISL
ands, the nearest land.
During the afternoon nothing manifested
| itself out Of the ge1eral order, and there
was no suggestion of the approaching iIiu
| sion which was to throw the crew into a
state of terror. Shortly after 5 O'clock
when the declining sun had yet about two
Morsona hGars In which e. reach the horizon, Can't
1antly In the cast. Thinking that the YES
| sci had turned about on her course he hur-
| red to the wheek toiascertafn the cause of
| the orders being changed which he had
no CT
Venus lay, however. directly to her course
Capt. MeGregors doubted the evidence OF
! ms senses and. hurryng aft along the port
side5she was astoundei to behold anotnsr
sun Of equal hriuiansy ,beaming serencly In
the west. In e4esfAkahtime the curions
sisht had attractsdt the attention of the
crew. who previously had been basking un-
Ger the shade of the few awnings on board
and fndolently speeulafins On the n-oSahIe
duration of the voyage. Filled with alarm.
they gathered around the officers fearing
they knew not what
Capt M"Gresor. after few moments, re-
Election. recalled the mock SUM- of which
he had often read. but never seen in his ex-
tefsiVe voyages on the oceans, ana stco!
ccntemplat ting the phenomena with much
interest. All was confusion among the
crew. and. to add to their terror a
third sun. fiercely blazing and crimson red.
shone ominors1y IN the north, while a mo-
ment or so later one of like intensity ap-
peared astern. tingetng with weird light
the wake of foam left by the recedng
steamer The marvellous spectacle will I've
forever In the memory Of the favored few
VINO witnessed 1t. AS soon as possible the
captain restored order among the frighten
Ell seamen. who, when they finally realized
that the phenomena could be explained
lost their horror Of what appeared SUPER
natural and gazed with bated breath upun
what none in all probability will ever aEair.
behold. -.
During the continuance Of the refraction
the captain n ede several memoranda Of its
cnriousiy changing phases. All the suns
appeared to glow with the same brightness
which characterized the bona ide body hut
1t was with an unholy light, a counterpart
or the real, which made it a matter Of no
d'ff1culty to pick out the genuine. Another
feature of the mock suns was their lily
defined rim circumference, which, al
! Though plainly to be traced against tie
evening sky. seemed to blend into the
strange luminosity which rermeated :ae
atmosphere. Following the real sun they
Slowly sank and exhibited all his varying
coiors until gloom settled over the sea aad
all was over.