42 THE CLIMATOLOGY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



driven before a strong wind, whereas there was very little 

 appearance of that kind. 



The yellow light seemed to be equally diffused over the 

 heavens and at rest, though there occurred now and then 

 whitish spots or what appeared to be breaks or openings in 

 the yellow expanse, but no definite outlines were visible 

 and the difference in the tints was so slight as to amount 

 to no more than the variations in the sunset glow or the 

 breaks in the white expanse of the northern lights. 



A number of persons claimed to have noticed the odor 

 of smoke in the air, but I think they may have remem- 

 bered such a fact after being informed of the smoke the- 

 ory, and one might quite readily imagine smoke in the air 

 when it was so close and oppressive as on that day. In 

 the northern part of New England I doubt not, there may 

 have been more or less smoke in the air, not only on that 

 day but for some time, not, however, in sufficient quanti- 

 ties to cause such a sudden and extensive combination of 

 atmospheric conditions. Such facts we may consider as 

 negative proofs. Let us now see if there are any cases in 

 which such appearances occur without the presence of 

 smoke. We have only to seek such information from a sea 

 captain or some one who has been in tropical regions, and 

 we shall find that a calm, sultry air and a^brassy appearance 

 of the heavens often occur before elemental disturbances of 

 great violence, and even here in New England we have oc- 

 casionally noticed such appearances before the breaking of 

 a heavy thunder shower ; and when we find that in some 

 regions a calm, sultry air with a yellow light in the heav- 

 ens continues for some time without the presence of 

 smoke and is generally followed by atmospheric disturb- 

 ances, we are led to believe that such conditions are 

 produced by the same agencies, and that as these are va- 

 riable, it is possible lor the above appearances to exist 



