CHAP. xvi. THE DARK DAYS OF CANADA. 253 



July 2, made on the same day in another ship, which 

 also lay off Cape Chat. And the *last relates to the 

 phenomena which were observed by the Chief Justice 

 himself upon the banks of Newfoundland. 



' On July 3rd, twenty miles from the Bay of Seven 

 Islands, the clouds appeared to be coming rapidly from the 

 northward ; the atmosphere was thick and hazy, and at 

 night the darkness excessive. About 9 P.M. a sort of dust 

 or ashes commenced falling, and continued during the 

 night ; towards the morning the whole atmosphere 

 appeared red and fiery to a wonderful degree, and the 

 moon, then at the full, not visible ; the appearance through 

 the cabin windows and crystal lights singular in the ex- 

 treme, as if surrounded by a mass of fire ; the sea 

 sparkling much, and in a manner not usual in these lati- 

 tudes.' On the following day the sea was found to be 

 covered with ashes, the wind having died away to a dead 

 calm early in the morning. 



A bucket of water taken up looked as black as writing 

 ink ; the ashes ' appeared as if those of burnt wood' 



On July 4th, the ashes were still observed to be falling 

 in small quantity. ' The ashes collected on deck appeared 

 to be those of burnt wood, but darker and more heavy 

 than the ashes of a tobacco pipe.' 



The narrative of the officers who were on board the 

 transport Sir William Heathcott states that on July 2nd, 

 1814, there was a heavy fall of ashes and sand. The 

 wind blew gently from the north shore of the St. Lawrence. 

 The third account states that on July 2nd, when off Cape 

 Chat, for three days previously some ashes and smoke 

 had been observed, but on the second no appearance of 



