Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-07

size of ships, which were moving about and
humping together like fleet in the widest
disorder. Passing beyond the belt, they dis
appeared one by one as if they had been sunk
in the conflict
The mirage oftentimes is so real as to deceive
any but trained observers. Only the eyes of
explorers and Arctic sailors can, at times, de-
tect the illusion, and such detection is highly
important, the visions of course totally
misleading. The unknown islands of mirage
that appeared in the ocean caused long search
for them by Swedish sailors before their Elusive
character was finally understood.
The Aurora's Wonders
PUT all other Arctic pictures, as we'll as all
other sights the earth can offer, pale before
the Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as
the Northern Lights. This unique phenom-
enon, with all its infinite diversity is still one of
the magnetic mysteries of science. The first
one | encountered was shaped like cyclone,
tapering downward nearly to the surface of the
sea, and expanding upward nearly to the
zenith. 1t was like flmy cloud or veil of pale
greenish blue. 1t was undulating something
like the heated air from a IA diator lambert
some great hand was moving it gently. Its
whole movement a slow one from east to
west Flashes of deeper light of the same color
would illuminate parts of it, and bands of the
same light would now and then dart upward to
the zenith. Alternately eongating and con-
tracing, it would occasionally burst out over
all the northern and northwestern sky in spin
dies of light. Bunches of these spindles would
change in moment into ribbons waving one
above another and suddenly changing into
filmy lacelike patterns.
Touches of color would appear-and such
wonderful harmonyi Tones would change to
tints, prismatic hues to delicate shad DIES, making
the most charming combinations, all seeming
as soft changeable silk, waving this way and
that. Great greenish yellow shafts darted up
ward The whole mass suddenly would lean
to the northwest flare brightly, and disappear.
As refer to my notes find that the light was
intense enough at times to cast the shadows of
the rigging upon the snow covered deck. But
the phenomenon was SO essentially thing in
itself, seemed alive, that its effect, like that
OF the sun dogs, was uncanny. Silent, still,
mysterious, slowly undulating. and gently
moving, it told of great, mysterious powers
that filled ones mind with awe.
Every shape that the mind can conceive, in
all the colors that can be imagined, may be
taken by these luminous clouds. They are not
clouds; but this word alone can convey the
visual effect. They may fill the entire heavens
great scroll, like band of paper of infinite
width unwound from measureless reel. This
unreasonable ribbon effect may change sud-
denly into continuous line of golden laths or
lances, a dropping rain of colored fire. From
below the horizon the phenomenon may appear
as five broad radiatng bands of rainbow color
rising to the zenith, moving backward and for
ward with a quivering motion, slowly fading
aWaV INTO DARKNESS, 10 reappear with swift up
ward flashing darts of pale green. Then the
whole horizon bushes with most delicate shades
and tnts, which sweep swiftly from west to
east, like waves of phosphorescent light rolling
in from the limitless ocean of space Another
form would appear famelike, but so thin in
density that the stars could be seen through
the gauze vapor. Its movement, as if guided
by an invisible hand, described scro-like bands
waving in the heavens, leaving luminous trails
which slowly died out; again, burst of glow
1iuht ipte in nd IN n
slowly, lasting only long enough to create
feeling unlike any other | ever experienced.
What Is the Aurora
W/HAT is an aurora' A riddle that MANY
philosophers have guessed at but that no
one has solved satisfactorily. We have seen
how several phenomena, magnetic disturbances,
terrestrial galvanic currents, auroral, and pos
sbly atmospheric, commissions, are linked to-
gethcr. 1t remains to be proved whether any