The Sun-Eating Dragon Continued

In the past 200 years, a recurring theme in European eclipse stories involves western "scientific" man taking advantage of the "superstitious" fear inspired by eclipses to manipulate indigenous peoples. In one of the earliest examples of this recurring story, Christopher Columbus, on his voyage attempting to discover a western passage to the Indies, is stranded in Jamaica, where he and his crew have stopped to gather supplies. The local people are unwilling to provide the food and supplies Columbus demands, and his crew is growing hungry and restless.

Stuck in this awkward position, Columbus (it is said) hits on an ingenious solution: from his astrological charts, he knows that a total lunar eclipse will happen in a few days. When the day arrives, he gathers the local people, tells them that he is very angry with them for withholding supplies, and that he will show his wrath by causing the moon to disappear. As if on cue, the moon begins to fade away behind the shadow of the earth. The local people are struck with terror, and they offer Columbus whatever he wishes, if only he will return the moon to its place in the sky. Columbus relents, the moon reappears in a few minutes, and Columbus and his crew are lavishly resupplied and sent on their way by the grateful Jamaicans.

Though this story may well be apocryphal, it provided the model for literary eclipses for years to come. Mark Twain, in his book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court , has his main character, Hank Morgan, use a similar gambit. Morgan is about to be burned at the stake, so he "predicts" a solar eclipse he knows will occur, claiming power over the sun, and offering to return the sun to the sky in return for his freedom. "The rim of black spread slowly into the sun's disk. . . . The multitude groaned with horror to feel the cold uncanny night breezes . . . and see the stars come out. . . ." Morgan is set free, and held in extreme awe for his "wizardry."