PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION E. 571 
cutter that was also being borne out to sea ; the next minute the 
wave returned and swept the cutter ashore, and stranded it on 
the ruins of the store of its owner. An infant was found 
entangled in its bed clothes in the branches of a tree, about 
twelve feet above the ground. A cutter was sailing by at the 
time of the ocean’s irruption, and the mate was alarmed by finding 
the vessel close to the reef when he thought they were three 
miles off. He gave orders to put the vessel about, but before 
this could be done he saw they were fast drifting away from the 
threatening danger. In addition to the twenty-six who lost their 
lives, many others were injured by blows from the falling houses, 
and by being dashed against the trees, &c. Large coral rocks that 
formerly stood in the lagoon were swept up on to the beach, and 
big trees also, not belonging to the group, were afterwards found 
stranded on the rocks and shore. These had probably been 
carried from the New Hebrides or other northern islands. 
(5).—HuRRICANES AND CYCLONES. 
During seven months of the year, from April to October 
inclusive, the ordinary trade wind prevails. Near the equator* 
this wind is east-south-east, but higher up, near the temperate 
zone, they are a little more southerly. Mariners aver that of late 
trade winds have proved very irregular. This may be a mere 
supposition. They commence about 9 o'clock a.m., and continue 
till 5 p.m., generally with greater force about 2 p.m. They are 
strongest in the vicinity of large islands and groups, on account 
of the greater rarefaction of the atmosphere in those regions and 
the more abundant evaporation occasioned by mountainous lands. 
This variation I have remarked during my experience in Samoa, 
the New Hebrides, and the Loyalty Islands. After sundown a 
gentle land breeze is felt near the coast of the larger islands, and 
this in Samoa is surcharged with moisture, causing an appreciable 
fall in the barometer, and thermometer likewise, especially in the 
middle of the year. 
As the sun reaches the summer solstice the monsoon season 
begins, and the winds become very variable, often accompanied 
with heavy rain and thunderstorms, gales, hurricanes, and calms. 
The wind now blows frequently from the north and north-west, 
strongest from January to March. Hurricanes and cyclones, of 
more or less magnitude, occur during these months, particularly 
the last, to which the islands situated between 10 deg. and 24 deg. 
are mostly exposed, especially those lying between 15 deg. and 
24 deg., as frequently experienced in the New Hebrides and 
Hervey Groups. The Georgian and Society Islands, in the east, 
and New Caledonia, in the west, though within the belt, escape 
the destructive influence of the cyclones; probably the vicinity 
of the American continent on the one hand, and Australia on the 
* For three or four degrees on each side of the equator the trade winds are rarely met with. 
