El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-26
COMING ECLIPSE
The Event Exciting a Great
Deal Of Interest
ASTRONOMERS IN LINE

And Railroads To Run Excursion:
To Suitable View Points All
Along the Path OF TotaIity.
A Washington correspondent says
In one respect the suns total eclipse
of May % next will be without prece.
dent. It's path, instead of extending
over the spsrsely settled regions that
| intervene between Iowa and the west
ern coast as 10 1878, or stretching over
the watery expsnses of the Pacific as
10 1888, when the United States had to
send an expedition to the Caroline Is
lands, 1900 miles west OF South Amer
| lea, or let the eclipse go unobserved d,
! Will cross the five states Of Louisiana,
| Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South
Carolina and North Carolina. touch
| Virginia, and traverse very fairly
settled portion of the republic, which
is covered with perfect network OF
rail. The track of totality begins on
at sunrise, trends Que eastward over
Mexico, enters the U nited States very
| Ut ar New Orleans, Ls., and extends
northeastwsrd over Mobile and Mont
| gomery. Ala, passes close TO Atlanta,
| Ca, and Columbia, 5. Cove Raleigh,
n. c., and leaves this country in the
region of Norfolk, Va, and Cape
| Henry. Besides the cities named, it
| includes thirty other towns that are
large enough to find place on the
smaller maps. After leaving the Unit
ed States the path of the eclipse cross
es the Atlantic Ocean and touches
Europe at Coimbra, Portugal, takes in
| Algiers and Northern Africa, and term
mates near the northern end of the
Red Sea 1T sunset. The eclipse will
last about l minute and II seconds
near New Orleans, and l minute and
40 seconds near Norfolk.
| Hitherto only the favored few, who
could afford TO spend days and perhaps
weeks in travel, have been able to view
! the great spectacle: this time a million
| of people at least can witness the phe-
| nOmenou from their own doOrste ps.
Other millions dwell within an easy
day s journey of the path of totsiiJy,
and far more than half the entire pop
ulation OF the country will be able to
wit1ess portion OF the show at home,
| for u partial eclipse will be visible in
every state east of the Mississippi.
Nature has srranged no similar dis
play with such consideration for the
masses within generation. Total
eltpses were visible in the United
States in 1867. 1878, aud 1889. but their
paths did not traverse closely-settled
regions.
'.ALL ABOARD FOR THE ECLIPSE
Already the railroads have begun
preparing to take advantage of the
situation. None of the great cities OF
New York, Philadelphis. Baltimore,
Wa hio gton, Richmond, Pittsbu-g,
Cincinnati and Louisville is more than
twelve or fourteen hours removed
from the path of totality, while some
are much nearer. And, according to
Prof. S. }. Brown, astronomical direc-
tor of the Naval Observatory arrange
ments ere being made by several of the
lines which connect those cities with
convenient localities where the
eclipse will be total to run especial
eclipse excursions, some Oh the day OF
the event and some 90 the day just
preceding it This will undoubtedly
result in temporary boom for many
of the eclipse cities. Besides the
great towns mentioned, every one of
the Atlantic Coast cities south of Nor
folk is within easy reach of the great
show, and every one OF them will I'M
questionebly send Its quota of sight
seers.
The accessi bility of the path OF the
eclipse will render the coming event
of incslcnlable value to science. Prep
sratiOns are being made by nearly
every scientific institution in the coun-
Try 10 place LO6lr OSoG Instruments ana
most skilled observers ia the field. The
United States government will spend
thousands OF dollars establishing OBJ
servation stations along the path of the
eclipse. AS Uocle Sans chief star
gazer, Prof. Brown will have charge
of the governments principal observa-
tions. He is making preparations for
the work with a knowledge born of
long experience and a natural genius
in all matters appertaining to his
science. He is graduate of the naval
academy at Annapolis. and holds the
rank of commander in the navy.
Greater results are probable from
the observations this year, says Prof.
Brown, than from any taken hereto-
fore. During the half decade since the
last total eclipse there have been great
strides in improvements in the appar-
atus employed in the work. thot-
ography has been wono erfully deve-
loped and the improvements in phot-'
ography alone may effect remarkable
discoveries during this years eclipse.
Moreover, the ease with which the
eclipsed region may be visited will in
crease the humble of scientific OBJ
servers enormously.
ECLIPSE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS
1.-The government is already pre-
pairing to occupy several stations along
the path of totality. The necessary
apparatus is being gathered and ar
ranged, and men specially adapted for
the work are being engaged and their
special parts in the observations are
being outlined. Congress has allowed
$4,000 to the Naval Observatory for ex-
penses and $4,000 to the Smithsonian
Institution. The Naval Observatory
will send out two expeditions. The
mo int fe6, h iah hn oaE