174 CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. 



by the brightest and sauciest of the five — a very 

 grandfather among vests, which, descending to the 

 urchin's thighs, left but a scanty drapery of shirt vis- 

 ible beneath. 



We sailed away from Antigua one evening, the doc- 

 tor's store increased by nearly eight hundred dollars ; 

 mine, by one new bird. This was in September, the 

 very worst month of the year for travel. Nearly every 

 craft that sailed these seas was drawn up on shore to 

 await the close of the " hurricane season ; " and this 

 one in which we had taken passage was on her way 

 to Barbados, hoping to escape a blow until she could 

 make shelter there. 



The " hurricane season " extends from the middle 

 of July to the middle of October, and is at its height 

 in the autumnal equinox. It is a season of calms ; 

 the sea is deceitfully quiet, and the wind variable. 

 During the greater part of the year the wind blows 

 from the east or north-east in the well-known "trades ;" 

 but at this season it dies away, coming in puffs from 

 different quarters. The winds that precede the hurri- 

 canes usually commence blowing from the west or 

 north-west, and increase in strength until they acquire 

 that terrific force that devastates islands and destroys 

 in a few hours the work of years. They shoot through 

 the air in different directions, sometimes from above, 

 perpendicular to the earth ; and woe to the vessel 

 caught abroad at such a time. 



In this connection I may speak of the seasons of 

 the year, which are not so distinctly marked as is 

 commonly supposed. The first three months of the 

 year are generally fine ; they constitute the best por- 

 tion of the hunting season, when the woods are driest 



