196] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



mented to the violence of a tem- 

 pest, and at half past two had at- 

 tained its utmost degree. In this 

 state it continued till five, when 

 it was almost suddenly succeeded 

 by a perfect calm. The people of 

 Nassau had now leisure to contem- 

 plate the ravages occasioned by it. 

 The government-house, most of 

 the other public buildings, a great 

 number of private houses, wharfs 

 and gardens, were either totally or 

 partly destroyed, and all the ves- 

 sels in the hai'bour, two excepted, 

 were driven on shore or sunk. The 

 inhabitants, too well apprized of 

 the nature of hurricanes, made the 

 best preparations in their power 

 for a second tempest from the op- 

 posite quarter, which took place 

 at six in the evening, and raged 

 till midnight, when it began to 

 subside, and soon after entirely 

 ceased. Its effect was, nearly to 

 complete the work of the former. 

 One third of the houses of the 

 town, which, in proportion to its 

 size, was one of the richest and 

 most flourishing of the new world, 

 were levelled to the ground, and 

 none escaped uninjured. Much 

 property of all kinds was destroyed, 

 and hundreds of families were re- 

 duced to beggary. In the midst, 

 however, of this general loss and 

 distress, charity exerted itself to 

 relieve the most necessitous suf- 

 ferers. A sum of money was voted 

 by the assembly as a public aid, 

 and a voluntary subscription was 

 set on foot among individuals. 



At Kingston, in Jamaica, on 

 July 31st, a violent storm occur- 

 red, attended with a smart shock 

 of an earthquake, and much da- 

 mage was done to the vessels in 

 the harbour, and to the buildings 



on shore. In Port-Royal harbour, 

 also, several small vessels were 

 lost ; and considerable injury was 

 sustained by the houses and plan- 

 tations in different parts of the 

 island. 



Roseau, in Dominica, was the 

 unfortunate scene of another de- 

 structive conflict of the elements. 

 On August 25th, a hurricane came 

 on at nine in the evening, accom- 

 panied by such deluges of rain, 

 that the river burst its banks, and 

 inundated the town in three large 

 columns of water, which tore up 

 every thing in their passage, exca- 

 vating the streets to the depth of 

 ten or fifteen feet. Many houses, 

 which had resisted the former 

 hurricane, were undermined and 

 thrown down, but happily no lives 

 were lost. 



At Basseterre, in Guadaloupe, 

 on August 31st, an extraordinary 

 incident occurred. During the finest 

 possible weather, the river which 

 traverses the town rose suddenly 

 with such an impetuous torrent, 

 that a number of people then in it 

 were surprised and carried away, 

 and about thirty are said to have 

 lost their lives. During this inun- 

 dation a strong smell of sulphur 

 and hydrogen gas was perceptible, 

 whence some persons concluded 

 that the cause of the disaster was 

 the bursting of a subterraneous 

 reservoir in the neighbouring 

 Souffrier mountain. 



No political events of import- 

 ance in the history of the year 

 have been reported from this 

 quarter, except the dissolution of 

 the council in the island of Trini- 

 dad be regarded as such. This cir- 

 cumstance was communicated to 

 the members by the governor, sir 



