Claire Arthur, age 13, of Jackson, Tenn., for her question:
WHAT EXACTLY IS INDIAN SUMMER?
Indian summer is a~short period of time that usually comes at the end of October or early in November. The weather is usually gloriously fair and the days are mild.
There are no definite dat.gs for Indian summer. Some years, as a matter of fact, it lasts only for a few days. Although it is not a
separate season, it is part of autumn.'
In many parts of the country the leaves on trees and bushes are turning to shades of yellow, orange and red during Indian summer.
Indian summer's pleasant weather usually follows autumn's first period of cold, wintry days. And then all of a sudden the days become noticeably warmer, even though the nights continue to be crisp. Indian summer can last as long as two weeks.
During the days of Indian summer the sun shines softly. The sky usually turns a rich blue and appears gentle and hazy near the horizon. The air might be slightly smoky and there is no wind to move the tree branches.
Often the Indian summer moon has a soft yellow or orange hue.
Indian summer is actually caused by a large mass of warm tropical air. South winds carry these warm air masses northward over the country. During Indian summer, the air mass remains stagnant or still. This causes the weather to remain clear and mild.
American Indians looked forward to Indian summer and enjoyed the season very much. They called the time a special gift from a favorite god, Cautantowwit, the god of the Southwest.
The name probably came from early American settlers. They had been told by the Indians that such a period as this would come. Another theory for the name is that the settlers believed that the smokiness of Indian summer came from fires that the Indians built on the prairies.
Some early settlers believed the good weather gave warlike Indians an extra chance to attack.
Other parts of the world have short periods of nice weather that are very similar to North America's Indian summer. In some European countries the time is referred to as "Second Summer" or "Old Wives' Summer."
In England, the Indian summer like period of time each fall is called "All Hallow Summer" or "St. Martin's Summer."
Poland has an interesting name for the three or four weeks of mild, autumn weather. The time is called "God's Gift to Poland."