The Black Rain of 1762 Fell Upon Grosse Pointes, Detroit

There have been many "dark days" recorded in history, many of which took place in North America and what is now the United States of America. These dark days have had many explanations. Massive forest fires and volcanoes are usually the culprit. Prior to our modern technology, there was no sure way to tell what was happening--especially if the event that caused a dark day was happening thousands of miles away.

On Oct. 19, 1762, a dark day came to the Detroit region. It occured in the morning, and as day break was upon the inhabitants of what is now modern Detroit, Windsor and Grosse Pointe, the sunny day came to a halt.

Detroit's dark day has a few other names. It was also called "The Black Day of Canada" because this phenomenon also affected much of what is today Ontario.   The black rain that followed was called "Pluie de suie" by the French inhabitants.

"Clouds of inky blackness hung over Detroit. Water, land, everything was enveloped this sombre drapery of darkness. The howling wolves and the despairing moans of animals combining all that is savage in beast and fearful in man prophesying and deploring the approaching misfortune, lent terror to this weird carnival of Tenebrae," wrote Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin in Legends of Le Detroit.

Hamlin continues to say that when the rain fell it smelled of sulfur and was so deeply covered that it could be used as ink. 

There have been several accounts of the day. First, darkness enveloped the city about 9 a.m. with the sun appearing larger and red in color. It was three times larger than normal and blood red in color. Candles were required by mid-day and by late afternoon the darkness had reached its peak and the black rain fell.

Local history expert John Horrigan, a New England folklore expert and member of the New England Minutemen gave a lecture on the Dark Day phenomenon on March 20, 2008. 

“New England’s Dark Day” took place in 1780, but he also mentions Detroit.

In his lecture, Horrigan said: “I’ve done extensive research on this…. The village and encampment at Detroit suffered a dark day. The settlers there used it to their advantage to cheat Native Americans out of their trinkets and out of their wampum because they said they it on themselves and that it would clear the next day.”

Chief Pontiac saw the dark day and black rain as a sign. Hamlin writes, "Pontiac, the wily diplomat of the forest, whose eloquencesubtelty, and consumate ambition commanded the admiration of his civilized foes and gained for him the title of Mithridates of the West, viewed these signs as prophetic warnings."

The story follows that he went to Peche Island, just across from modern day to seek council from The Prophet who was said to be buried there. He spent a week on the island fasting, and at the end of seven days, according to Hamlin, he made the decision to begin preperations for a war on Detroit so that the Native American lands would be taken back from the European settlers.

Hamlin concludes, "the plan gave satisfaction to the grave and silent warriors, who, drawing their blankets over their heads, retired to their villages to await the signal which was to return them to the hunting grounds of their forefathers."

The siege of Detroit was carried out in the spring of 1763.