170 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



almost regularly cyclical, as follows: North-east 

 winds brought cloudy weather and rain until, com- 

 monly, the wind changed of a sudden to north-west, 

 and there was clear, dry weather ; if the wind held in 

 this quarter or blew strong, there was more or less 

 cold.* The north-wester is generally followed by 

 milder winds from the West, which gradually work 

 more around to the South, until finally the winds are 

 hardly perceptible from the South, or there is calm, 

 during which time the weather is fine and warm as a 

 rule, until the wind rises again from the east or the 

 north-east, the weather changing in a similar way. 

 This same succession of winds and weather holds 

 pretty well throughout eastern North America, if 

 there is no disturbance from extraordinary causes. 

 The north-east winds always rise first in those parts 

 most to the south, and show their effects later and 

 later in the more northern provinces. One may con- 

 vince himself of this by following every account given 

 in the publick prints of violent storms from that quar- 

 ter and the damage done shipping along the entire 

 coast; it will be found that a north-east storm is re- 

 marked earliest in Carolina or Virginia, then in Pen- 

 sylvania, next in New York, and often a day later, or 

 even more, in New England. + Towards the end of 

 January and in February we had this year mostly very 

 cold weather. The thermometer often fell to 24, 26, 



* " For Carolina and Florida higher mountains would be of 

 " advantage and a protection against the cold north-west 

 " winds." Molina, Storia naturale del Chili. For more re- 

 garding the state of the air, winds, and climate of South Caro- 

 lina, Vid. Chalmers, Account of the zveather & diseases of 

 S. Carolina; Preface. 



