George Buster Singleton |
(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator
George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere
in Time.” The column below, which was titled “It is time for the return of
Sirius, the Dog Star” was originally published in the July 27, 2000 edition of
The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)
According to the 2000 Grier’s Almanac, as one looks across
the heavens on Fri., July 28, the reign of Sirius, the Dog Star, will begin for
a total of 40 days.
Many events may happen that society is giving little or no
thought to. In our world of fairyland and make believe, we have forgotten
almost all of the old folk tales that were handed down through the past
generations while they sat wide-eyed around the evening fires, listening to the
tales and legends passed down to them by the older members of the families.
On this certain day in July, the Dog Star will take its
place between our earth and the sun for a period of 40 days. Many events that
we take for granted will change or disappear from the skies above us. Many
happenings in our every day lives will change or make a turn around during this
period of time.
With our lives and entertainment centered around the boob
tube, we might travel through this period and not be aware anything has changed
or taken place. The Dog Star does not appear on the same day in July each year.
It can appear as early as the 20th of July and as late as
the 28th of the month. The few who think they know something of this event
think that Sirius appears always on the 28th of July. This is not true. The
position of the planets above relate the date of Sirius’ appearance in the
heavens.
For example, should it rain on the first day of Dog Days,
the legends state that it will rain for the remaining 40 days. If it should be
dry on that first day, then the countryside will suffer a 40-day drought.
Another legend is that all snakes go blind during this
period. Being unable to see and search for food, this causes them to become
short-tempered and hungry. They will strike blindly at the slightest sound or
movement, causing the risk of getting snakebit much greater to those who wander
in the thick underbrush or tall weeds.
Another story is that milk cows give less milk during this
time period. Hogs and cattle, dogs and various other animals born during Dogs
Days are less likely to survive than those born at other times during the year.
It is said that dogs are more likely to go mad or grow
vicious during the reign of Sirius. Among humans, our tempers tend to grow
shorter and less patience is shown to those who cross us. Cuts and bruises are
slower to heal. Our bodies seem to lose much of the resistance, and we become
weaker during the passing of this evil star across the heavens.
Infection and fever blisters are said to be more common
during this time as the devil star makes its journey across its path in the
sky. An early Indian legend has it that the cool fresh drinking water found in
the fresh water springs along the hillsides is less pure during the time when
Sirius is on the prowl.
The early Indians paid a lot of attention to the coming of
the Dog Star. If at all possible, most of the crops were harvested and brought
out of the fields before the arrival of Sirius.
If during this 40 days, the weather was wet and rainy,
legend has it that the thunder was more severe and the lightning that flashed
across the darkened skies was more likely to strike the earth and cause damage
to the villages along the rivers and streams.
The medicine men or the wind walkers of the tribes watched
the heavens closely during this time so they could warn their people of the
dangers to come. They also believed that the spirits of the departed were more
apt to wander on the winds of the evening during the reign of the devil star.
As the members of the tribes gathered around the evening
fires, prayers were raised to the Great Spirit to ward off the curse of the
devil star. This 40-day period was truly a time of mystery for the early
Indians who roamed the hills and flatland of our area.
Much of their lives were based around this period of the
year and the signs that they looked for as the Dog Star made its way across the
heavens and into the unknown.
Much of their religion was focused around this star that
roamed at will between the earth and the sun. They watched the heavens and they
watched the rivers, knowing that the mystery star would have great effect on
their search for food in the deep waters of the great rivers.
Living off the land as they did, all signs of the heavens were
very important to their everyday living.
Today, in our modern lifestyles, we hear very little about
the mystery signs and goings on within our universe. We pay little or not
attention if it rains for 40 days or if it stays dry for this same period of
time that starts in July and ends in September.
We pay little or not attention to the heavens on a clear
night during the month of August when the full moon hangs high in the heavens.
If it does not appear on our television sets, most times we
know nothing of the happenings above us. Once in a great while one might find a
calendar that shows the start of the period of Dog Days.
There was a time when much of the life of the local country
folks was based on the signs of the heavens and what the almanac had to say
about the planting and growing of crops.
Much was also done in regard to the signs of the moon. No
farmer in his right mind would begin to plant his crops if the signs were not
right. From planting corn to killing hogs bordered on the signs of the moon.
Even though the coming of the Dog Star was much surrounded by mystery, many of
the older citizens of the farm communities kept an eye toward the heavens,
hoping to know in advance what was about to happen next.
I don’t profess to be smart, but as I wander around the
countryside and talk to the younger generation of our society about certain
happenings and signs in the skies above to look for, I see total disinterest.
Very few care whether it rains for 40 days unless it
interferes with a trip to the beach or some local event of entertainment. None
of our youth know how to search for food that they can eat in the deep forests
of our area or along the banks of our rivers.
I am not a fatalist by any means, but it frightens me to
know that our youth know totally nothing about how to survive if worst comes to
worst.
In writing this article, I do not intend to preach my
readers a sermon. I do believe that we, as creatures of this universe, should
strive to learn all we can about this world that we live in and the heavens
above it.
If we disregard the signs that have been placed here for us
to see and abide by, we are doomed to roam forever in a world that has no
meaning.
If we try to understand that which is around us, our lives
will be richer, and many facts will come to life and even be helpful in our
journey through time and distance.
As the 28th of July approaches, take time to look and learn
all you can about that devil star and the effect its journey across the heavens
has on man and his surroundings.
Don’t be afraid to seek out a high hill on a night of the
full moon and watch the heavens. It will surprise you what you might witness.
Let us not journey through this life without learning all we can about this
universe we call home.
(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and
Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime
resident of Monroeville, he was born on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County and
served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from 1964 to
1987. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and
all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the
microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville.
Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship
purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)
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