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| George Buster Singleton |
Today, July 28, Sirius, the Dog Star, makes its debut once again into the heavens. With its appearance between the earth and the sun, many strange and unusual happenings begin to take form.
There are those who do not believe that this little-known star has any effect within out solar system and our earth or on the lives of those who live here. But history records many unusual events during the months of July, August and early September.
The 40 days of Sirius’s reign had much to do in the lives of the early Indian. This was a time of change in their living habits, as the hot summer months began to give way for the coming season of fall and winter. The time was now at hand when their carefree lives had to be abandoned and plans formulated for movement into winter quarters.
Their nomadic wanderings would cease along the rivers and streams and work would begin on the brush and mud huts that would protect them from the cold, icy winds that howled down from the north. And once again the ancient tales of the mystery devil star would once again be heard around the evening camp fires.
According to legends that have been told and retold for many hundreds of years, the fish in the rivers and streams are slow about biting during this time of year. The ears of the yellow corn, or maize, are becoming too hard to boil in the pots for eating. And, the deadly rattlesnakes are said to become blind during this period of the reign of the Dog Star. A think skin is said to form over their eyes for about 40 or so days. This blindness makes them to grow thin from hunger and causes them to strike out at any movement or sound.
These legends go on to tell that dogs, wolves and foxes tend to go mad during this period when the star Sirius appears in the heavens. Truly, it is a time of uncertainty and a time of change. Great care has to be taken to keep from getting hurt. Wounds are slow about healing during this time, and infection is most likely to appear in a wound during the months of the reign of Sirius.
The lightning that dance across the heavens seems more severe and does more damage during this time. While the thunder, as it rolls across the heavens, seems louder and more heavier in the hours of the afternoon. The belief of the early Indian was that the gods had not obeyed. This was a time, too, when sickness among the tribes was at its worst. Fever and disease took its toll among the elderly and the very young.
Much care had to be taken in the selection of water that was used by the tribes. All drinking water had to be taken from only the purest of the springs. Water from the mineral springs at this time of the year was highly sought after. Water carriers were known to travel many miles to gather drinking water for the sick and feverish members of the tribes.
Many time, those who were able would travel great distances and camp around the few mineral springs that were to be found in the area. These people would continue to camp and drink the healing waters until the mysterious devil star disappeared from the heavens. Then they would return to their villages to be part of the celebration, when the gathering of crops and hunting and fishing would begin once again. The foods would be stored and dried for the coming chills of winter, approaching on the distant horizons.
Sirius, the Dog Star, has done much to influence the lives or early man. From the time of the Egyptians and the Romans, and even before that, much heed was paid to those days when this star of mystery made its way across the heavens and took its position between our earth and the sun.
Many thought that this was the ideal time for war, if a war was inevitable. Many of the war lords of long ago believed that man became more like a savage animal and would fight harder and endure more pain during the passage of Sirius, the devil star. And, there were those who believed that the spirits of those who had been slain during the time of battle would follow the trail of the dog star into the land of no return. And, their spirits would never return from this land beyond the stars to stalk their camp fires and haunt their nights of sleep and rest.
Today, in our world of make-believe and fantasy, we give little or no thought to the legends of yesterday and those from beyond the past. Many of us will go through these dog days, when Sirius roams at will across the heavens, and never realize the importance this 40 days has had on history.
We may never know how much man has been influenced by the passing of this star across our universe. And, there are many among us who will never give the passing of Sirius a second thought, even though their lives are affected by it.
I will be the first to realize that we live in a space-age society. We profess to be smart. But there are certain things that we should tell our children and pass on to their children’s children. We must become more enlightened about our surroundings and the happenings of our universe. If we are not careful, we, too, will go the ways of the Egyptians and the Romans. And, sometimes in the future years, when Sirius, the Dog Star, returns, our beloved land as we know it will have faded into oblivion.
40-day journey
So, today with the break of dawn, the mockingbirds will sing until that time around Sept. 5 when the devil star gives up its place between our earth and the sun.
And the tempers we humans tend to be a mite short during the 40-day journey of Sirius across the heavens. Our patience grows thin with our neighbors and our friends as this strange and unknown force affects our lives. Our hospitals will become more crowded with the sick and injured.
Let’s not forget, man occupies only a very small part in this place we call the universe. However smart we think we are, our knowledge ceases to exist just a short distance above this planet we call Earth. This is not a scratch in the sand when compared to the nine light years that it takes for the light of Sirius just to reach our earth.
We should always remember that a good knowledge of the past will much better enable us to solve the problems that will ride the winds of the future yet to come.
(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 to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, was bitten at least twice by venomous snakes, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He also helped organize the Monroe County Museum and Historical Society and was also a past president of that organization. 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.)
