78 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA 



itself, and terminated in a semi-elliptical figure, apparently very near the earth, in rapid motion, 

 and tinged with red, purple, and green. The half ellipse seemed to desceud and ascend, accom- 

 panied by an audible sound, resembling the rustling of silk. This lasted for about ten minutes, 

 when the whole phenomenon suddenly rose upwards and its splendor was gone. 



Ritch is an intelligent and credible person, and, on questioning him closely, he assured me that he 

 had perfectly distinguished the sound of the Aurora from that produced by the congelation of 

 his breath — for the temperature at the time was 44° below zero. 



I can, therefore, no longer entertain any doubt of a fact uniformly asserted by the natives, and 

 insisted on by Hearne, by my friend Mr. Dease, and by many of the oldest residents in the fur 

 countries ; though I have not had the good fortune to hear it myself." — Ibid., p. 330. 



Fort Macpherson, on Peel's River.— Lat. 67° N. Long. 135° W. Sept. 1849. Hooper. 



" 6th. At 0.20 a. m., witnessed an appearance of the Aurora, a broad blaze of light passing from 

 east, through the zenith, to west; rays uucolored ; slight horizontal coruscations and tremors 

 in rapid movement, with occasional light airs from S. E. 



1th. At midnight of yesterday, we observed an appearance of the Aurora different in its style to 

 any I have ever before seen. It formed an arc from 5° in elevation at N. E. to about 10° at 

 E. N. E., aud presented much the same form and appearance as a lunar rainbow, but did not 

 possess prismatic colors; its hue being grass-green, with vertical light purple rays or stripes, 

 which were not constant. It fringed a heavy 'nimbus,' imparting to it a shade of ultramarine, 

 in which the rolling folds or waves of the cloud were finely marked. It being tolerably close to 

 the moon (rather below and to the eastward of her), I at first imagined it to be a lunar rainbow; 

 she was, however, much obscured, and I am nearly of a decided opinion that it was not such, 

 but an Aurora. 



12th. A very mild day; the evening clear and calm. At 11.30 p. m., saw a faint Aurora extend- 

 ing in an arch from S. "W. to S. S. W. ; centre about 10° altitude; main color pale green, with 

 a few vertical purple rays. 



16th. Ten p. m., observed Aurora extending in an arch from S. S. W. to "W. by N. ; central 

 altitude about 20°. 



17th. One a. m., a very beautiful Aurora extending right round the visible horizon in regular 

 vertical rays, extending to, and converging in, the zenith. The weather calm, very fine, and 

 clear. At midnight, a faint Aurora, not having any precise tending, being dispersed in 

 irregular lines all over the heavens. 



19th. From about 8 p. m. until midnight, there was a fine display of the Aurora, which appeared 

 in a succession of fretted waves or folds, constantly swaying and shifting about with the light 

 variable airs occasionally springing up." — Hooper's Journal, pp. 148, 151, 152. 



Cape Krusenstern.— Lat, 67° 8' N. Long. 163° 46' W. August 25, 1827. Beechey. 



"For the first time since we entered Behring's Straits, the night was clear, and the Aurora Borealis 

 sweeping across the heavens, reminded us that it was exactly on that night twelvemonth that we 

 saw this beautiful phenomenon for the first time in these seas. A short time before it began, a 

 brilliant meteor fell in the western cpiarter. The Aurora is at all times an object of interest, and 

 seldom appears without some display worthy of admiration, though the expectation is seldom 

 completely gratified. The uncertainty of its movements, and of the moment it may break out 

 into splendor, has, however, the effect of keeping the attention continually on the alert; many 

 of us, in consequence, stayed up to a late hour, but nothing was exhibited on this occasion more 

 than we had already repeatedly witnessed. 

 We were more fortunate the following night, when the Aurora approached nearer the southern 

 horizon than it had done on any former occasion that we had observed in this part of the globe. 



