When the auroral rain-cloud reached the mountains, on the area where the rain fell the mountains were covered by an exceedingly brilliant white fog blanket, conforming to all the irregular forms of the slopes and passing when the cloud passed. During the same evening a little later heavy showers occurred, the clouds going in the same direction, and in the inter-cloud spaces auroral streamers were abundant, but the openings were not large enough to determine their physical connection with the clouds, but taken in connection with the preceding cloud there can hardly be a doubt but that the same relation existed between the rain, cloud and streamers.
On two different occasions a gleam of lightning appeared in the middle of the dark segment north, half way between the horizon and the crown of the segment, and in both cases, instantly, there rose from that identical spot a single fine auroral streamer. The apparent physical connection in these two cases is supported by the fact that the streamers usually have their origin in the arch of light surmounting the dark segment; that they do not ordinarily appear singly even there, and that in a long experience our observer does not remember ever having seen a single lonely streamer originate in the dark-segment. Quite frequently sheet lightning is seen in the south with an aurora in the north, and sometimes both are seen together in the north, but they never seemed physically connected, except in these two instances. The fact that both of these gleams had the same position in the dark-segment, and were both instantly followed by the rare eruption of a single streamer would seem to remove the phenomenon from the possibility of having been a coincidence.
On one occasion during a great aurora which lasted the whole night and out into the full twilight of the morning, another observation was made tending to show kinship of the aurora with meteorology.
First, let us mention that the crowning glory of the aurora and its highest point is regarded as the corona, a point just south of the zenith toward which all of the streamers converge when the aurora has passed further to the south. Several times the corona formed under the clouds during the night of this great exhibition, a singular feature of the phenomenon being the invisibility of the clouds except when illuminated by the light of the corona. The clouds were cirro-stratus going rapidly southeast. They were specially looked for at other times, but could not be seen. Does not this prove that the whole of a first-class aurora was within the cloud-bearing regions of the atmosphere? Its highest part was below the clouds, and therefore it was below the clouds in its entirety. It was a great aurora, as shown by the repeated formation of the corona. It was a great aurora also because it continued through the entire night into the morning twilight and it suggests a meteorological origin.
Another appearance occurring occasionally during an aurora is the "Luminous White Cloud Band" crossing the sky from east to west, cutting the horizon about east and some north of west, and when fully formed crossing the meridian near the coronal point. Our observer has seen this arch a number of times and regards it as one of the most instructive features of the aurora. Some observers have doubted its connection with the Aurora Borealis, but Mr. Weed does not share in this doubt, he having, on April 13, 1871, witnessed its entire formation, and having seen the most convincing evidence of its connection with the aurora. This is what he saw: At 10 P. M. a dark segment north by east crowned with the ordinary auroral arc of light and with streamers above this; in other words, an Aurora Borealis. Then another segment of seventy degrees altitude of the most fascinating, bright, attractive luminosity, bounded by a perfectly sharp outline. The sky was cloudless throughout, and south of this line, of normal hue. The perfection of the line of demarcation between the normal and auroral sky was a most extraordinary thing, and it teaches this, that the aurora had a clearly defined and definite border on its advancing side. Then, in this cloudless sky, streamers-like cloudlets began to form on the upper side of this line in the normal sky at both the east and west horizon, rapidly succeeded by others until they met on or near the meridian completing a white cloud band. The base of these cloud-streamers blended together on the curved line and were pointed above and directed toward the coronal point of the aurora. After the band was completed it was noticed that it was moving south and this motion continued until it came to rest at the star Delta Leonis in the region of the coronal point of the ordinary auroral exhibitions. As the cloud arch moved south from its initial point it brightened into an intense luminosity, was much agitated internally, and showed a motion to the west, as it always does, and, in dissolving, showed a wavelet structure and cloud-like aspect.
Half of the journey of the band was made before the line separating the base of the cloud-arch and the auroral sky was in the least disturbed.
That this cloud arch formed on and moved with the luminous auroral segment on its journey and rested at the coronal point proves it to be auroral, and the formation of this luminous cloud in contact with the aurora, in an otherwise cloudless sky, also proves the close relationship of the aurora and clouds and here bring in actual contact with cloud, that the aurora was in the cloud bearing region of the atmosphere, and again suggests a meteorological paternity for the Aurora Borealis.
BENJAMIN WELCH, of Little York, Orange County, was born October 11, 1832. His parents were Gabriel and Eliza Welch, and they had nine children, three of whom are living—Benjamin; Susan, wife of Martin V. B. Horton, of Warwick; and Mary, wife of Edsal Stage. Benjamin learned the carpenter's trade when he was twenty years of age, and followed that occupation several years. He was connected with the Brown & Bailey Creameries of Amity and Edenville five years. On March 1, 1871, he removed to Pleasant Valley and managed his father's farm until the death of the latter, when he became its owner. To this he added by purchase the Rynear Stage farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres, which increases his lands to two hundred and sixty acres. He has a large dairy, and is one of the extensive peach growers in Orange County.
July 9, 1863, he married Miss Mary E. Davenport, of Warwick. Their three children, all living, are George, born March 26, 1864; Olive, born October 8, 1865, and Daniel, born January 22, 1867. George was married to Mary F. Feagles, of Pine Island, December 31, 1904. The father was an Odd Fellow many years. His homestead farm has belonged to the family since 1844.
ALANSON Y. WELLER, president of the Newburgh Planing Mill Co., was born in the town of Crawford, Orange County, N. Y., in 1837. He was educated at Montgomery Academy, and in 1857 became a clerk in the store of the late A. K. Chandler, Newburgh, where he remained until 1863, when the dry goods firm of Schoonmaker, Mills & Weller was formed. In 1886 Mr. Mills retired from the firm and the two remaining members continued the business until January 1, 1898, when the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Weller retiring from a mercantile career which had proved very successful. In 1899 Mr. Weller succeeded to the planing mill business of Thomas Shaw's Sons, which was established in 1837, and which is among the important industries of the city. Mr. Weller is a director of the National Bank of Newburgh, trustee of the Newburgh Savings Bank, and interested in many local enterprises. Much of his time has been occupied in managing the estate of his deceased brother, Joseph H. Weller.