The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-31

in the West indies. was observed at Lake
Placid. in the Adirondacks, a few even
ings ago. In that region, surrounded as
II is by lofty peaks, and with atmospheric
conditions which are particularly favOra-
BILE 10 beautiful effects at dawn and
nightfall, splendid sunsets are common,
but people who have lived at Lake Placid
all their lives say they never saw any
thing more wonderfully lovely than on
the evening in question.
II had been a cloudy day, but late IN
the afternoon the sun broke through the
clouds. leaving a somewhat heavy mist
In the ravines and on the lower slopes
Of the mountains. AS the sun grew lower
In the horizon this mist rose until II
bathed the mountain tops. and before
long each peak was surrounded at its
summit by q rose-colored aureole. Mount
Marcy, Whiteface mountain. and all the
other peaks were crowned in this man
ner, and so brilliant was the effect
everywhere that a person ignorant of the
bearings could not possibly have told on
which side the sun was setting.
Standing on the high land between Lake
Placid and Mirror lake one sees mountains
all round, and the top of each was sur
rounded by a ring of wonderful rosy light,
while above were clouds Of the same eN-
quisite tint and beyond them a sky of gold
and green sapphire. As the sky grew darker
the radiant mountain tops were silhouetted
more and more sharply against 1t, and the
lovely and wonderful spectacle continued
almost until nightfall.
Though New York has so far not wit
messed any very striking sunsets this year,
the deep red color which the scientists eX-
pected has been noticeable on several even
ings recently. 1t should be remembereo,
however, that it is not the sunset itself,
but a strange phenomenon after the sun
has disappeared below the horizon, that Is
regarded as most surely indicating the
presence of volcanic dust in the atmOS-
phere. 1t was this phenomenon. as well as
the series of extraordinarily brilliant sun
sets, which so exercised scientists in 1855,
after the tremendous eruption OF krakatOa.
1t was in November and December, 1883,
that an extraordinary lurid glow in the
western sky after sunset was seen all over
the world. The KrakatOa eruption had oc-
CURED on Aug. 70, and for a time scientist
were greatly puzzled 10 account for the
sunset phenomenon. once the VolcanlG
support, and some objections 10 the theory
were satisfac torily disposed of. One prob
lem was the difficulty Of explaining now
the matter elected from the volcano could
height at which the source of the glow was
certainly situated. Another difficulty was
how to explain why the dust remained sus-
pended in the air for so long a time.
With reference TO the first question 1t
was pointed out that w. j. Stillman tes-
titled to witnessing explosions of the sub
marine volcano of SantOrin that threw
masses of rock weighing many tons 10 a
distance of from half a mile TO a mile
and clouds of dust to an elevation of from
5000 to TO- 600 feet. 1t was argued that
such effects, magnihed to correspond with
the grander scale of the krakatoa eruption,
might furnish the conditions required.
AS to the second difficulty, w. h Preece
and Professor CrOOkes showed that finely
divided particles of dust might be kept sus-
pended in the air for an indefinite time
by electrical repulsion. Positive evidence
was adduced of the presence during the
prevalence of the 'red sunsets" of dust of
this character in the atmosphere OF Eu-
rope.