Posted
on May 19, 2014
May
19, 1780.
Some
were sure that the day of judgment was at hand.
After
all, it's weird for complete darkness to fall at 10:30 in the
morning. The chickens went to roost, frogs began to croak and birds
began to sing their evening songs, cows walked back to the barn.
This
darkness was in Eastern Canada and New England, in the U.S. It lasted
from mid-morning until the middle of the next night.
And
nobody knew what had caused the darkness.
Many
were sore afraid, and they gathered together in unplanned religious
services.
Those
who were more science-minded pointed out that there were some signs
that fires raged somewhere. After all, for several days before the
May 19, the sun and moon had appeared reddish, and the sky yellowish,
as if there were lots of particles in the air. Also, some had
observed soot collecting in rivers and rain water.
But
those who were sure that the apocalypse was occurring pointed out
that the Bible verses foretold a red moon as well as a great
darkness.
Discussions
broke out between people who wished to stop their daily activities
and wait for the end of the world and those who wished to Keep Calm
and Carry On.
Some Connecticut legislators called for adjournment on
account of it clearly being The End. But legislator Abraham Davenport
said:
“I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.”
Good man! I wish some of our legislators today were as committed as Davenport about doing their jobs!
You'd
think that New Englanders would be used to dark, gloomy days; in some
areas of New England, rain was falling on the morning of May 19...so
there were clearly clouds in the sky. However, I guess this darkness
was much more complete than daytime storm clouds, even. Modern
scientists are pretty sure that the famous Dark Day of 1780 was
caused by a combination of those heavy clouds and thick smoke from
wildfires. They have discovered fire scars from the right time period
in what is today the forests of Algonquin Provincial Park, in Canada.
Next
time you face some extraordinary event such as a solar eclipse,
tornado, wildfire, or earthquake, be sure to notice how thankful you
are that we have so many ways of getting information and
communicating with others near and far. It must've been a far more
fearful world, back in the day!
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