Omaha daily bee., 1914-11-06

It's characterized hy warm spell,
or q succession OF warm SPELLS, setting
in after the preliminary chill which
comes when the. sun has sunk below the
equator on Its annual visit to the south
ern hemisphere, and It is caused by the
accumulated summer heat suffiring to
counterhalance the decrease of the daily
supply from the sun for a long time
aftet the nights have begun to exceed
the days In length.
7, It's irregularities are due to variations
;ef atmospheric conditions that are TOO
complicated to be accurately traced In
advance, but In the long run it is a regu-
lar phenomenon that can be counted
upon to occur. on the average, every
autumn
= Nowhere has the Indian summer season
more poetic character than in eastern
America. II seems to lend itself particu-
larly to the features of our landscapes,
Eiving them a wonderful softness and
charm. Always during this curious spell
OF weather the quiet atmosphere is filled
with delicate, smoky film, which pro-
duces marvellously beautiful effects of
Perspective among the hills and valleys.
Many imaginary explanations of the
oigin Of the name, Indian summer" and
or the cause of the singular and often
prolonged spell Of weather to which It
ts applied, have been suggested. The
early settlers seem to have thought that
the peculiar condition Of the atmosphere
was brought about by forest fires set by
ths Indians, This was a natural con-
ifsusion. because the seEson is-aifnost al
ways characterized by The presence of
much smoke In the air, and this smoke
does often proceed from forest and brush
fires.
L But to assume that the fires are the
cause OF the warm autumn weather is
to put tho care before the horse. First
break out because the weather is dry,
and the heat that, they inpart to the air
is merely local. It In possible. however,
that the PRESENCE Of the smoke has some
thing to do with the heat trapping prop
critics OF the air. True clouds being alb
sent for many days during Indian sum
nfer, the suns rays are poured unob-
struetedly down upon the earth, and tho
layer OF haze. in the atmosphere a~.~ like
the gardeners, glass, panes over Ills hot
he'd. retaining the heat that has passed
through IN, the form Of visible radiation
Usually. before the Indian summer sets
in, there is q spell of cold weather, often
accompanied by flurFiss of snow, a first
effect OF the suns declension toward the
south and this. was called '.squaSV wia-
ter" 1t is more commonly known in
Cauada. The tradition Is that the In
dams, who were good observers of ma
ture, had long studied these vagaries of
the autumn weather and were able to
predict them each year, for which rea-
son the whites gave them designations
suggesting their Indian origin.
There are similar weather variations n
spring. due to similar causes. Both
sprlpg and autumn are only intermediary
seasons. coming between the two really
Characteristic seasons, winter and sum-
rher, ana necessarily partaking OF the ma
tHre OF both. Sometimes one element
and sometimes the other prevails, In
spring wintry conditions. brought about
by unpredictable atmospheric changes,
but sueh as are sure to occur with more
or less regularity every year. often ar
rest for time the general increase OF
temperature; and in autumn a similar
recurrence of summer conditions inter-
rupts the forward march Of the coming
winter.