314 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



tions and our conjectures, we found, to our surprise, that all these 

 floating bodies had one direction, nanieh% Irom the north-west 

 downward toward the south-cast ; and it seemed, thereibre, impos- 

 sible to explain them on any of the hypotheses which had been 

 started. 



The idea that they were meteoric is, perhaps, more plausible ; 

 and it is strengthened b}- the fact that the time nearly corrospouded 

 to the August period of meteoric showers. 



No one who has not seen the phenomena of a total eclipse can 

 appreciate fully the grandeur of the occasion. As the light, ray 

 by ray, is cut off, a strange and ghastly darkness comes down 

 Uj)on us; not like the darkness of night, but a violet-colored dark- 

 ness, which makes the faces of our neighbors turn ashy pale, and 

 gives to the landscape the hues which it takes in a stereoscopic 

 picture. I cannot better describe the appearances which strike 

 an intelligent eye-observer than in the words of President Hill, 

 who, declining the use of all instrumt'Uts, devoted Jiimself to not- 

 ing the exteinal phenomena. He reports the results of his olj«er- 

 vations as follows: — 



*' During the total eclipse this afternoon, I was in the open field, 

 near a small barn, about 1,0U0 feet west, and 550 leet south, of 

 your station. According to your request, I herewith give you a 

 memorandum of what I noticed. This memorandum has been 

 twice read to a party of five gentlemen who were with me ; and they 

 agree, after full discussion, in every statement. 



"A cow grazing in the field became uneasy at five o'clock, and 

 started for home at oh. and Cm. Soon after a lien gathered her 

 brood under her wino^s. Swallows were skinimin<r the jrround. 

 About two minutes before the total obscuration a!)out 70 cocks 

 and hens went to roost in the barn. A Hock of birds Hew south- 

 ward in a hurried and confused manner after the darkness be- 

 came total. Soon after the reapijcarance of the sun the chickens 

 came from under the lien, then the iowls came down fioin their 

 roost>:, and the cocks, which had crowe<l occasionally all the alter- 

 noon, took it up by general consent and crowed vigorously. 



"No other animals were near us. No plants seiisitiveto light 

 were iu the field, and it was not nntil after the eclipse was over 

 that I discovered Cassia in an adioinini:: field. Some of us thoujrht 

 there was a slight deposit of dew upon the grass, but others failed 

 to j^erceive it. 



" Venus appeared a minute or two before the total obscuration, 

 and remained visiljle I'ov several minutes after the reappearance 

 of the sun. At the instant of total obscuration, Mercury, Arctu- 

 rus and Vega appeared. Even Arcturus was of a silvery white- 

 ness. Arcturus remained visible some seconds after the total 

 phase had j^assed. We looked sharply for Capella, Procyon, Cas- 

 tor and Pollux, llegulus, and Altair, anil also looked less carefully 

 for Saturn, Antares, Spica, and Mars, but we had nothing but our 

 general recollection of the stars to guide us as to the direction in 

 which to look, and we saw nothing either with the naked eye or 

 our o])era-glasses, beyond the two planets and two stars already 

 mentioned. At the instant of total obscuration one or two of us 



