154 FROM MADEIRA TO THE BARRIER 



Fortunately for our animals, the weather in the 

 westerly belt was subject to very frequent changes. 

 No doubt they had many a sleepless night, with rain, 

 sleet, and hail ; but on the other hand they never had to 

 wait very long for a cheerful glimpse of the sun. The 

 wind is for the most part of cyclonic character, shifting 

 suddenly from one quarter to another, and these shifts 

 always involve a change of weather. When the 

 barometer begins to fall, it is a sure warning of an ap- 

 proaching north-westerly wind, which is always accom- 

 panied by precipitation, and increases in force until the fall 

 of the barometer ceases. When this occurs, there follows 

 either a short pause, or else the wind suddenly shifts 

 to the south-west, and blows from that quarter with 

 increasing violence, while the barometer rises rapidly. 

 The change of wind is almost always followed by a 

 clearing of the weather. 



A circumstance which contributes an element of risk 

 to navigation in the latitudes where w r e found ourselves 

 is the possibility of colliding with an iceberg in dark- 

 ness or thick weather; for it sometimes happens that 

 these sinister monsters in the course of their wanderings 

 find their way well up into the " forties." The prob- 

 ability of a collision is of course in itself not very great, 

 and it can be reduced to a minimum by taking proper 

 precautions. At night an attentive and practised look- 

 out man will always be able to see the blink of the ice 

 at a fairly long distance. From the time when we had 



