The last time a total solar eclipse occurred in Arkansas -- in 1918 -- people ran out of their houses and into the streets "calling on the Lord for mercy" while chickens went to roost and lightning bugs "roused from the grass."
And, by all accounts, that eclipse was a bit of a dud.
Clouds had moved in, blocking the view for many Arkansans.
That's according to a new entry on the June 8, 1918, eclipse written by Mark K. Christ for the Encyclopedia of Arkansas and posted online Thursday.
The quoted passages above are from century-old newspaper accounts cited by Christ.
With the next total solar eclipse coming to Arkansas on April 8, it was a good time to document the previous ones, said Guy Lancaster, editor of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
"We figured that, with the growing interest in the forthcoming eclipse, there would be some interest in previous total eclipses," said Lancaster. "During the Civil War Sesquicentennial many years ago, we developed entries on a range of smaller Civil War military events in the state, and this was born of much the same desire to be helpful to the historically minded public, if on a much smaller scale."
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, totally blocking the face of the sun.
"People located in the center of the moon's shadow when it hits Earth will experience a total eclipse," according to NASA. "The sky will darken, as if it were dawn or dusk. Weather permitting, people in the path of a total solar eclipse can see the sun's corona, the outer atmosphere, which is otherwise usually obscured by the bright face of the sun."
While the entire process can take a couple of hours, and a wider swath gets a partial eclipse, the sun will be totally eclipsed for only a few minutes in a narrower band.
For the forthcoming April 8 event, the longest duration of total eclipse will be slightly more than four minutes for the parts of Arkansas in the path of totality.
The eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean and pass through Mexico and Texas before reaching Arkansas.
It will be visible first in southwest Arkansas around 1:46 p.m. on April 8. The moon's 117-mile-wide shadow will speed across the state at about 1,700 miles per hour before exiting northeast Arkansas around 2 p.m.
(While affordable and safe eye-wear is now available for eclipse viewing, Arkansans in 1834 and 1918 were encouraged to use smoke to blacken a piece of glass to view the eclipse.)
About half of Arkansas will experience some duration of total eclipse on April 8, with the longest duration along a diagonal line from about De Queen to Atkins to Mountain View to Cherokee Village.
If the folks in the cities of Northwest Arkansas feel left out, they can drive to Jasper, where they'll get about two minutes of total eclipse. And people in southeast Arkansas can make the trek to Little Rock, Hot Springs, Texarkana, Jonesboro or Arkadelphia to get at least a couple of minutes of total eclipse.
In all of Arkansas' recorded history, there have only been two total solar eclipses. The first one occurred in 1834, while Arkansas was still a territory.
On Sunday, Nov. 30, 1834, the totality path crossed the Arkansas Territory from west to east, according to the Arkansas Natural Sky Association.
That eclipse entered around present-day Fayetteville and exited Arkansas around Helena, which had been incorporated the previous year. The people who had settled near Little Rock experienced one minute and 36 seconds of totality.
Viewing conditions were perfect that day, according to the Arkansas Gazette, which reported that the eclipse "was witnessed here in its fullest grandeur," Christ wrote in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry on that eclipse, which was posted online in December.
The 1834 eclipse started around 11:30 a.m. and lasted until around 2:20 p.m., according to the Gazette article. "The obscuration of the sun was fully total for the space of 2 ½ or 3 minutes, commencing about 3 minutes before 1 o'clock."
Arkansans weren't so lucky in 1918. World war, influenza epidemic ... and rainy weather on June 8.
"The celestial event was expected to begin at 5:31 p.m. and end at 7:34 p.m., with the totality running from 6:35 to 6:36 p.m.," Christ wrote of the 1918 eclipse.
While the 1834 eclipse "was clearly observed as a 'magnificent phenomenon of nature in all its sublimity,' the 1918 event was reported as 'somewhat of a disappointment,'" according to Christ, who cited 11 different Gazette articles concerning the 1918 eclipse.
Rain and a "heavy bank of clouds" obscured a partial eclipse for people in Little Rock, wrote Christ.
But the 1918 eclipse had a profound impact on the Bradley County town of Hermitage.
"Those not aware of the phenomena were considerably frightened, some running out of their houses into the streets calling on the Lord for mercy," while "the chickens went to roost and when the sun popped out again they seem to be very much confused," according to Christ, citing the Gazette.
A Gazette correspondent from Arkadelphia wrote that the eclipse was very interesting despite the "intermittent cloudiness."
"Just at the moment of the total obscurity the clouds interfered and the view of the sun was cut off," he wrote. "However, the effects were startling. Darkness came on very suddenly and lights flashed on over the city. Automobilists switched on their headlights. Lightning bugs quickly roused from the grass and scattered abroad. An old hen, with her little chickens, beat a quick retreat for the coop and she was all fussed up about being caught away from home by the darkness. Calf bleatings were answered by the low of the cow. To all appearances it was night.
"The shadow came swiftly so that one could detect its growing darkness. To have not known the cause of the phenomena would have been very disconcerting."
An article in Arkadelphia's Southern Standard observed that "a heavy cloud ... obscured the sun just before the time for the totality," and "at the time for the total eclipse it became as dark as night here for a little over one minute."
The newspaper concluded, though, that the eclipse was "somewhat of a disappointment."
The Arkansas Natural Sky Association offered some insight on the 1918 eclipse, which entered Arkansas near Mena and existed near Eudora.
"Since the moon was 3.6 days past perigee, the shadow was only fifty-five miles wide," according to the Natural Sky Association. "With the late afternoon sun being only 17 degrees in altitude, the shadow stretched seventy-seven miles front to back. Its narrow path left Hot Springs and Little Rock outside of totality."
While the weather can't be predicted two months in advance, cloud cover in Arkansas on April 8 has historically averaged 50 to 60%, according to the National Weather Service.
"The weather pattern in place in early April will dictate the true cloud cover to expect," according to The Weather Channel. "Given that we are still weeks away from the April 8 eclipse, it's impossible to forecast what the skies will be like in any location.
"But, April can be a stormy time of year, with low-pressure systems tracking through the central and eastern states. Those storm systems can produce a variety of weather conditions from severe thunderstorms and heavy rain to even snow, which all of course come with plenty of cloud cover.
"If this April features such a storm system around that time, then cloud cover could be an issue. However, if high pressure is abundant instead, then many in the path of totality could have at least some view of the sky."
If you miss the April 8 eclipse, you can catch the next one that will pass through Arkansas in 2045.