THE AGASSTZ ASSOCIATION 



95 



Unusual Aurora. 



i!\' c. 1). uo.Mic, .\n)i:.\ui;ii), i'i;.\xsvi,- 



\'AMA. 



At io:oo P.M. on A])ril jSih of this 

 year ni_\' attention was called to a bright 

 light in the sky, that I presumed to come 

 from a powerful searchlight, but was in 

 reality an unusual aurora borealis. An 

 arch of light apparently three feet wide 

 started on the western horizon and 

 reached to the eastern, passing a little 

 south of the zenith, and lasted tor about 

 an hour. Occasionally I noticed short 

 bars of light that cut through it at nearly 

 right angles. At times the arch became 

 slightl}- ragged, showing parallel separa- 

 tions running east and west. A few- 

 bright spots or crossbars moved rapidly 

 from east to west for some distance, 

 showing strong air currents. I observed 

 a similar aurora in Alay, 1907. A strong- 

 column of light extended from the east- 

 ern horizon, increasing westward but 

 reaching- only about two-thirds of the dis- 

 tance across, and curving slightly like 

 the letter S. In an hour or so the light 

 faded, except at a point south of the 

 zenith, where it lasted for some time 

 longer. 



I have been told that this kind oi 

 aurora occurs in April or ^lay when con- 

 ditions are right, and that on the follow- 

 ing morning- w'e may look for frost. This 

 followed the display of this year. 



I recall one other in 1895, when the 

 whole sky was a mass of waves showing 

 rainbow colors and resembling the mirage 

 of a lake or an ocean. A wonderful 

 effect was produced by bending the head 

 back to look straight up. One then 

 seemed to be looking into a great dome of 

 commingling kaleidoscopic colors. 



In another of the usual type there ap- 

 peared on the western edge a blotch as 

 red as fire, bigger than a barn, and so 

 intensely red that its light was reflected 

 on the eastern horizon. In noting these 

 displays I had the advantage of high 

 ground and remoteness from city lights, 

 buildings and trees. 



Among the great and n-iemorable events 

 described in a book entitled, "Our First 

 Century," is an account of the aurora on 

 the night of November 14th. 1837, which 

 is said to have been the most magnificent 

 that had occurred in several centuries, 

 and a reference also to grand displays in 

 August and September. 1859. 



The Lecturer Is a Challenger. 



ddie value of a lecture lies largel}- in 

 its challenge to fixed customs and estab- 

 lished mode-- of lliought. The lecturer 

 does not wa>te the time of his audience 

 in labored argument to ])rove that the 

 desert of Sahara has sand in it. or that 

 the Pacific (Jcean is wet. He is a ])ath- 

 finder. and seeks to blaze a trail through 

 regions not yet fully explored. He is 

 the aggressor, and calls all n-ien to give 

 valid reasons for the convictions they 

 hold, or abando'.i them for better. — Cliaii- 

 faitqiia Pro(/raiJi. 



Nature is so close and near, 

 \\niy not make her just as dear? 



— Emma Peirce. 



"THE MAN WITH A HOE" MAY BE EXCUSED 



FOR LOOKING SOUR THIS YEAR. 

 The ArcAdiA garden has been covered with water 

 much of the time. 



