Notable Display of Northern Lights: 75 



visible within some distance of the horizon, with one 

 exception, almost due north, which showed under the 

 fifth arch, for a short time ruddy and green, and was 

 covered over again by cloud, or mist. 



All night, the surface wind set cold from the 1ST. W. It 

 was the ordinary slow and steady wind, only more west- 

 erly than is usual. Several of these minor points such as 

 wind, moisture, and an indefinite " look of the weather," 

 that I am accustomed to associate with northern nights, 

 were exceptional this time. 



Sky at Daivn. 



In the morning twilight, clouds became visible. There 

 lay a low bank of wind-swept clouds (cirro-stratus) far 

 along the northern and eastern horizon. There were 

 larger banks in the south, showing wind flares on the 

 northern edge. Both those east and south for a long- 

 time did not seem to move much, but at sunrise they 

 began to shift rapidly. There were occasional cloudlets 

 in the north, that had been noted under the aurora 

 arches, these had a very slow motion to the east, — they 

 afterwards, in the strengthening light, turned out to be 

 high cumulus of the " cotton wool " variety, pretty far 

 north. As the light increased, high cirrus clouds were 

 seen, exhibiting double wind bars cross hatched E. and 

 W. and jST. W. to S., or thereabouts. Long wisps or 

 "mare's tales" also lay toward the east. Just before 

 sunrise, two columns of heavy vapor blew up on the 

 surface wind at a smart pace, — one ~N. W. and one 

 S. E. of my position. The northern column, although it 

 showed great speed at first in the rolling mass of its body, 

 yet did not make much progress. The masses looked to 

 rise and evaporate, and showed a tendency to change 

 direction and move E. by N. in the higher parts. The 

 southern column soon became a heavy stratus-nimbus 

 bank, changing direction and moving slowly E. by S. E., 

 and had got far down by 5 o'clock. The sun rose copper 



