Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 May 1875 — The Dark Day. [ARTICLE]

The Dark Day.

May 19, 1780, is known in the history of New England as the Dark Day. Between the hours of ten and eleven in the morning the sky became obscured with dense clouds of a smoky htie that drifted from the southwest. In most parts of New England the gloom that ensued was so great that it was impossible to read common print, to determine the time of day by watches and clocks, or to pursue any sort of work indoors without the aid of artificial light. In some places common print could not be read out of .doors for several hours in succession. The fowls went to roost, .the birds sang their evening songs and settled themselves to sleep in their hidden retreats, candles were lighted in all the housfes, while a silence and dimness as of night rested upon the face of all nature. For several days preceding this the atmospuere had been unusually thick and hazy, and the sun and moon looked dull and red as they rode through the heavens. On the morning of the 18th there were slight show r ers in certain localities, accompanied with thunder, while at different intervals through the day there was rain in various places. The water that fell was thick, dark and sooty, and a scum as of ashes appeared on the surface of rivers and reservoirs, while, when the tide went out, it left a line of the smut along the shore at the width of four or five inches. On examination this surface matter seemed to be nothing more than the ashes of burnt leaves. This extraordinary darkness lasted for a period of about fourteen hours.

In the transactions of the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, printed prior to 1785, there is a comment on a similar darkness that was experienced Oct. 21, 1716, 0. S. On this occasion, “ The day was so dark that people were forced to light candles to eat their dinners by. Which could not be from any eclipse, the solar eclipse being the 4th of that month.” Nothing is said in this account of the cause of the darkness, nor are any particulars given. On Oct. 19, 1762, a remarkable dark day was observed at Detroit, and described in the Philadelphia-Transac-tions for 1763. The writer says: “Tuesday last, being the 19th inst. (i. e. of October), we had almost total darkness for the most of the day. I got up at daybreak. About ten minutes after lobserved it got ho lighter than before. The same darkness continued until nine o’clock, when it cleared up a little. We then, for the space of about a quarter of an hour, saw the body of the sun, which appeared as red as blood, and more than three times as large as usual. The air, all this time, which was very dense, was of a dirty yellowish color. I was obliged to light candles to see to dine at one o’clock, notwithstanding the table was placed close by two large window's. About three the darkness became more horrible, which augmented until halfpast three, when the wind breezed up from the southwest and brought on some drops of rain, or rather sulphur and dirt; for it appeared more like the latter than the former, both in smell and qual•ity. 1 took a leaf of clean paper and held it out in the rain, which rendered it black wherever the drops fell upon it; but when held near the lire it turned to a yellow color, and whan burned it fizzed on the paper like wet powder. During this showrer the air was almost suffocating with a strong sulphurous smell. It cleared up a little after the rain.” An officer stationed at Detroit described the same day in a letter to a friend. In his words: "The 19th of this month (October, 1762) was the moat extraordinary dark day, perhaps, ever seen in the world.” The particulars following in this account are identical with those already quoted from the Philosophical Transactions. The cause of the unnatural darkness prevailing on three several days was probably the extensive burning of Western prairies and woodlands.