320 Mr Redfield's Observations on the 



Track No. V. represents the route of the hurricane which 

 ravaged the islands of Antigua, Nevis, and St Kitt's, on the 

 afternoon and night of August 12. 1835; St Thomas, St 

 Croix, and Porto Rico on the 13th ; Hayti and Turks' Island 

 on the 14th; the vicinity of Matanzas and Havanna on the 

 15th ; was encountered off the Tortugas in the Gulf of Mexico 

 on the 16th ; in lat. 27° 21' long. 94°, and other points on the 

 17th and 18th ; and also at Metamora on the coast of Mexico 

 (lat. 26° 04') on the 18th, where it was most violent during the 

 succeeding night.* This storm is remarkable, as moving more 

 directly, and farther to the west, than is usual for storms which 

 pass near the West India Islands, it having reached the shores 

 of Mexico before commencing its sweep to the northward. Its 

 course, so far as known, is N. 73° W. Its progress more than 

 2200 miles in 6 days, which is nearly equal to 15^ miles per 

 hour. 



Track No. VI. is that of the memorable gale of August 1830, 

 which, passing close by the Windward Islands, visited St 

 Thomas's on the 12th ; was near Turks' Island on the 13th ; 

 at the Bahamas on the 14th ; on the gulf and coast of Florida 

 on the 15th ; along the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas on 

 the 1 6th ; off Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York 

 on the 17th ; off George's Bank and Cape Sable on the 18th ; 

 and over the Porpoise and Newfoundland Banks on the 19th 

 of the same month, having occupied about seven days in its 

 ascertained course from near the Windward Islands, a distance 

 of more than 8000 miles — the rate of its progress being equal 

 to 18 miles an hour.t If we suppose the actual velocity of the 



" Since the above was written, it is ascertained that this storm also passed 

 over Galveston Bay, on the coast of Texas, where the hurricane blew with 

 violence from the north-east, while at the mouth of the ^Mississippi and along 

 the northern shores of the gulf, the gale was not felt. Such facts appear 

 quite sutRcienl to overthrow the hypothesis of Franklin relating to north- 

 east storms, and are equally fatal to the more common theories. At Galves- 

 ton this storm, in passing over, veered by east to the south-east ; the rationale 

 of which may be made evident by drawing a line through the northern side 

 of the figure on the chart, parallel to the tract of the storm. A little further 

 attention to the figure will also illustrate the general character of the northers 

 which are so common on the coast of Mexico, during a considerable portion 

 of the year. 



t For a more extended notice of this storm, see American Journal of Sci- 

 ence, vol. XX. pp. 34-38. 



