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Show Negroes of . the South Devote a!I Night to Prayers and Today Refuse to Go Back to Work Astronomers Look for No Unusual Disturbances appearance of the upper deck of a battleship discharging its guns at an aerial fleet. More than fifty lenses will be directed at the sky. Photographic plates are stacked up ike ammunition for a naval engagement. engage-ment. Cots and hl.nkcts are placed by the largest instruments for the f observers to snatch a few moment'; I sleep when jwsslblc. j Professor Edwin B Frosl. of the erkes observatory, who has been . keeping watch on the comet up to the lust minute, said last night, in an address ad-dress before the Press club, that only the foolish held any apprehension over i the coming event. Berlin, May IS. German scientists are displaying yreat Intc-iest In tue passage of JlaUey's comet between ttie can n and the sun. According lo the latest calculations of the nsirunoiners tue passage will be made bet ton 4:22 o cIock and 5:22 o'clock tomorrow tomor-row morning, Berlin time tin New York this will be between lit: 23 and 11:22 o'clock tonlghti The leading' students of astronomy have not the slightest exportation of an abnormal metocrolocical phenomena. phenom-ena. It is also doubted that the comet will be visible when crossing the sun's fiice. Aeronauts will tender their sen lees to the astronomers during dur-ing the observations. At Leipslc the balloon l.elpsle, with a crew consisting consist-ing of Prof Pfaff, two physicians and j an astionomor w ill make an ascent. Ttie balloon Anyhull will be sent up at Dessau. i j TAIL OF COMET SEEN. ) Chicago. May IS A splendid view ; of the tall of the comet was enjoyed I here from 1 to 3 3) o'clock this morn j ins l The coun t s head was not above the horizon until just before the sun rose but the tall presented an exceedingly bright picture, declared Prof. E. Barn- ' ard of the Yerkes observatory. i "The width of the tail, ' he conilu- I nod. "was from five to six dogreo-i, while Its length was lu7 degrees. It was brighter than any portion of the Milky Way. It was slightly convex con-vex at the north and slightly niorc-brilllant niorc-brilllant at the middle. The edge were- well defined and throughout there were no condensations or other , ' irregularities. i j "Although the tall looked longer i I ow ing to the fact that it is nearer. ' ; ir is much shorter than it was last i Sunday less than 20.0ini.000 miles, .probably more than l..('M0,0O0. It ujll ' be about 1 .ooo.ftOO miles wide where '. we break through it. 1 j "There is now a curve that I be- I lleve has not been seen before. It ia 1 out of our plane of vision and therefore, there-fore, we cannot tell much about it. I' lo not great e-nough to swing the tail rtwav from ur, ' ; New York. May IS. Two New Yoik aeronauts, Clifford B Harnmn and Leo Stevens, have volunteered to lend a helping hHiid to scientists In making a . closer study of Halley's comet. Mr. ' Harmon will make ascensions from Plltslleld, Mass., next week In his bal-i bal-i loon, the New Yort, and he has ask-! ask-! ed the astronomical departments of Yak-, Harvard, Princeton. Pennsylvania, Pennsyl-vania, Cornell, Columbia, Virginia and i Michigan universities to send representatives repre-sentatives to accompany him and tako l e.bservatlons from lofty altitudes. The i ascensions will be made at night and rn effort will be made tee uttain an al-I al-I tltude of nearly three miles. I Leo Stevens, another veteran air traveler, has bi j balloon. City of Cleve- land, at North Adams, Mass., and will make ascensions with Professor David i Todd of Amherst as a passenger. The j two wiU ascend to the highest poa-j poa-j slide altitude, taking a full equipment i of astronomical instnimcDls and pho- tographic apparatus..-- - Comet Brlqhtest Friday. New York. May IS. Professor Harold Har-old Jncoby of Columbia university ; will neit remain near his telescope during the period of contact between the earth and the comet's tail tonight. 1 He Is convinced that absolutely ne ' phenomeua worth observing will bo noted "These fomet parties that are be-I be-I ing' organized to set out the comet's j passage will have a lonesome iob," he i said in nn Interview given out today I "I feel that the comet is capable of producing only one definite result of Itnpeirtnnce through its close proximity proxim-ity to New York city It may possi-.bly possi-.bly stir up enough Interest In astron-i astron-i omy to cause the erection near New 1 tork of a really sizeable telescope a thing which the city's eduentional Institutions have long been in need of. "Th" next we shall see of the comet will be su:h a sight as will set the people on edge. Tonight we shall not be able to se the comet because I', will set with the sun. The same will be true on Thursday. There will be h great Mglit on Friday night. That j is the real night for comet parlies. When the comet appears Just after j sinise-l. It will be much more brilliant than It was last we e k In the morning !:!(. Ie-ok for 1". right over the upot i j-' where the sun goes down, and, after j the Hist night or two, look for a I nliaft of light teaching up Into-the i heavens until it seeins like a rainbow i ol in tw o." Bible Offers Consolation. ! Montgomery City, Mei., May IS liiele Remus, Montgomery's faithful u!d colored man, Is quieting the fears ef his people regarding the appearance appear-ance of the comet today with script-nrnl script-nrnl assurances. He is com blent the end of the world I i not coming today, berauso he says ' 'he bible says that no man. not even, : the angels In heaven, shall know of ' his final event: that It bhall come as V": thief In the night and the people ' .'hall not be forewarned as they aro jitKariling the coming of Halley's j 'comet. I j Uncle Remus Is an old Baptist and jie is not fearing anything unusual j today, not even the falling of th j li'ars as in 1833. Chicago People Frightened. Chicago, May 18. In districts of ! Chicago populated by foreigners, j ichool children by the hundreds -;. ( (relay asked permission of their i itf-achers to remain at home today for l"ar of some untoward happening for j fhlch Halley's comet may be respott-'Ible. respott-'Ible. Ph slelans were appealed lo l" thr-lr parents for specifics to ward jcf the dangerous gases w hich tin y ''oppose Mil envelope the earth when It passes through the con. el's tall. I Priests and ministers were be-'fought be-'fought by their parishioners for wordu comfort to help them through the jfrdcal through which they believe jlhcy ore about to pars. J Among ibo coloied people of Chl-.fo Chl-.fo the coming of the comet Is re-'flvej re-'flvej lth much superstiilous dread. UMlo faith is had In the prophecy of 'ronomern, and whede households rye Riven over to'piayer for proLce-"en. proLce-"en. In many neighborhood -e woik fa practically cased. while men, 'omen and children await the passing "i tonight with fear. Unusual pi. parailons for the taking '1 eibKcrvatlons were made al tho rkes ohrervatorv at Williams Bav, 1 Us. I To,lai. j.;- (irVl,Jnrv -.-- 1 ih-, I Prof. I). .1. McHugh described the tall as shaped like a megaphone with a void in the center. "We will pass through one wall," said he, "then through -the void an l ; through the other wall. While this ; is happening. 1 look for u fainl light i in the sky.'' He Saw Stars. Ann Arbor, Mleh., May IS Carl Mnrna. a ten-year-old sch olboy. leaned far uor the edge of the roof of a two-story building yesterday to see the comet lie saw several meteorites me-teorites instead when lie hit the ground. He was picked up for dead, but later went to school suffering with only slight bruises. Up in a Balloon. St. Louis, May IS. "The most I expect in thr wav of positive results from my. balloon trip tonight," said Prof. O G. James of Washington nnl- ' verslty, "Is a faint auroral display In the- sky or a hnzy illumination spread over the heaens." Prof. James will be the guest of the Aero club of St. Louis on the ascension, and John Berry will pilot the areost.it, which is scheduled to, leave the Aero club grounds at dusk. ! The equipment of the balloon will consist of an aneroid barometer and thermometer and telescope. Enough ballast for remaining up all night, if necessary, will be 'arrbd. but it Is planned to make a landing about midnight. Negroes . Refuse to Work. Atlanta, May 18 Dealers in "conjure" "con-jure" bags in the negro section of the city carried on a thriving business today, to-day, as the result of the scheduled trip of the earth through Halley's comet ton'ght. Meetings were also held in the churches to, lay, thousands ol n'groes refusing In return to work until the passing ol the "comic." Tho (act that cloudy weather throughout the south today and tonight will obscure ob-scure the hen ens Is expected to allay the fears of the superstitious. Negroes in Prayer. Stanford, Ky., May 18. Scores of negroes profeised salvation at all-night all-night services held In their churches here last night to prepare themselves for whatever may happen when the earlh passes through the comet's tall K'day. Fields are practically denude 1 ot farm hands, for Ihe negroes have refused to work and arc fleeing to ' town. I People Leave a Town. Uuluth, May 18 A temporary general gen-eral exeidus will take place today from Minnesota Point, a long and narrow strip of land containing the home of several thousand people Residents of the district have read with misgivings ef ihe approach of the comet, and the more timid declared de-clared lhat. the Point, situated nt the apex of lake Superior aud not more than a dozen feet above sea level, would easily be submerged should the comet drug a ti.lal wave up the lake aud sweep on St. Ixmis bay. |