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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1145 



sources of brilliant illumination, but in addi- 

 tion the whole sky, almost to the southern 

 horizon, was swept with darting and shimmer- 

 ing beams and shafts and curtains of light. 



I shall not attempt to rival the vivid descrip- 

 tion of Professor Nutting, for words fail to 

 express the wonderful beauty and complexity 

 of the display. One of the most striking fea- 

 tures was the weaving of curtains of light, ap- 

 pearing as if composed of parallel shafts or 

 filaments, which brightened and paled in waves 

 passing sometimes in one direction and some- 

 times in the other. These waving curtains 

 interweaved in the most marvellous fashion, 

 sometimes two or even three distinct and over- 

 lapping motions being visible in the same area, 

 the shafts of light appearing to glide to and 

 fro like the figures in a complicated but tre- 

 mendously silent dance. 



A little later the display took on the most 

 varied colors, though this phase of the phe- 

 nomenon was comparatively brief. 



The display ceased suddenly at about 9 :45 

 p.m., just as I reached camp. Some of the 

 bands were so brilliant and stable that I deter- 

 mined to try to photograph them. I went into 

 the tent to get my camera and tripod and 

 when I emerged not five minutes later the sky 

 was nearly dark. Feed K. Vreeland 



New York City, 

 November 15, 1916 



It has seemed odd to me, a layman, that no 

 scientist has yet reported to you the far west- 

 ern occurrence of the remarkable auroral dis- 

 play of August 26 last. 



One year spent at Rampart on the Yukon 

 about thirty-five miles south of the Arctic 

 Circle had made me familiar with the varied 

 manifestations of the aurora, its marvelously 

 brilliant colors and the crepitation which occa- 

 sionally accompanied them. 



On August 26 I was hunting brown bear 

 near Spass Kaia Bay on Chichagoff Island W. 

 of 136° Long, and 1ST. of 58° Lat. About 7:30 

 p.m. as nearly as I could guess, my attention 

 was attracted by auroral streamers near the 

 horizon. Looking up to the zenith the whole 

 sky in every quarter was flooded and suffused 

 with one of the most vivid and brilliant dis- 



plays I have ever seen. The play of the glow 

 and of the streamers was as rapid as that of 

 heat lightning. The colors seemed to be of 

 every shade of the spectrum. The play of the 

 colors was the most remarkable manifestation 

 to my mind, for they would alternately appear 

 and disappear, the same streamer being full 

 colored at one instant, gray and colorless the 

 next, and colored full again. It is unusual to 

 have so general and so vivid a display so far 

 south even in Alaska, and the natives com- 

 mented on the fact, saying it was a very rare 

 occurrence and a sure sign of early sharp frost 

 and winter. Erastus Brainerd 



Seattle, Wash., 

 November 21, 1916 



I wish to add one more report to the long 

 list already published, relating to the aurora 

 of August 26. I was in Glacier Bay, Alaska, 

 at the time, and saw a marvelous display on 

 that evening. It began shortly after sunset, 

 between eight and nine, Alaska time, when 

 there was still considerable daylight in the 

 sky. In its first appearance it was a sinuous 

 band composed of pale green lances of light, 

 seen first in the east, and winding over toward 

 the west, fading into the still bright sunset 

 light. This was shortly duplicated farther to 

 the north; then four such bands were seen at 

 once. Later, various colors appeared in rapidly 

 changing sheets, working toward the zenith. 

 The climax came with a great burst of color 

 directly above us, almost like an explosion, 

 but remaining in full brilliancy for at least 

 some minutes, constantly changing with mar- 

 velous rapidity. The colors included purples, 

 heliotrope, pink, light and dark green. This 

 burst faded away, then repeated itself, and 

 faded again. During the remainder of the 

 evening the lights were pale and diffuse. 



I have tried to deduce some general con- 

 clusions from the numerous reports that have 

 appeared, with the following results. The 

 aurora was visible over the whole of the north- 

 ern two thirds of North America, the farthest 

 stations reporting being Nova Scotia, "Wash- 

 ington, D. O, Nebraska, Portland, Oregon and 

 Glacier Bay. Plotting these stations on the 



