ill the West Indies in Sept. 1604. 23 



forest trees in great numbers^ so as to render the roads im- 

 passable for carriages. 



From a consideration of all these details it appears that 

 the gale extended from beyond the latitude of Tobago, in 

 12° north, to the latitude of Wilmington (North Carolina), 

 northward of lat. 34", sweeping a tract of ocean at least 

 twenty-two degrees in extent. It probably exceeded by far 

 these limits, as capt. Tilford felt it as far iiorth as 39°. It 

 appears also that it reached from the longitude of the wind- 

 ward islands, in 60° west of Greenwich, to the mountains 

 and back settlements, travelling over a surface of as many 

 degrees in that direction. And its prevalence was, in all 

 likelihood, much more wide and diffusive than has come 

 to my knowledge. 



The gale in the islands blew from north-north-west, and 

 even from the south-west, but, as it approached the coast, 

 got round to the eastward, and varied Ijctwecn north-cast, 

 east, and south-east. It arose to windward in both the 

 north-eastern and south-eastern quarters. In this respect 

 it widely differed from the great north-east snow storm de- 

 scribed in Med. Rep. Hex. i. vol. 5. p. 465, which began 

 to leeward *. It seems to have taken about four days for 



the 



• So did the one which is described in tlie following account : — But these 

 snow storms from the nortl-.-east do not sce;n always to blow the whole length 

 of the co:i5t between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Bay of Mexico. The 

 winter of 1804-5 was the most rigorous that had happened since that of 

 1779-80. One of the snow storms which occurred during the latter winter, 

 illustrates at once the fact of their beginning to loeward, and of their limited 

 extent in certain cases. It also shows that they prevail at different places 

 with verv different degrees of violence. The weather had been intensely cold 

 during January ; the quicksilver had sometimes been as low as 5° above 0, 

 and frequently down to 11 and 14°. After this uncommonly severe weather, 

 tlic atmosphere rapidiv becajne warmer, the mercury lose to 4()" in the 

 course of a few days, and immediately a thick and heavy fog ovei-spread the 

 ice on the rivers, and the snow on the earth. Tiiis continued until t!ie '^(Jtli, 

 when the cold increased ag-ain. About four in the afternoon cf that day, 

 snow fell at Washington, and there was a mingled fall of snow and rain at 

 (JeorgeTown (Maryland). This storm was felt at New York city in the 

 fore part of ihc evening, and not until eight P. M. by the ship Favouriie, 

 then ofl' Boston harbour. At Newbury port th.e newspapers state it to have 

 begun on .Sunday morning, the i!7th. By a comparison of the facts it will be 

 found that this storm bigan at least four hours sooner on the Potowmac than 

 in Boston harbour. The difference of time was no less remarkable on its 

 cessation; for it had ceased so entirely at Washington on .Sunday night, that 

 the weather had cleared up on Monday morning the liSth. In New York 

 it continued until Tuesday morning, ar.d lasted at Boston until I'uesd.iy 

 evening. 'I'hough the storm was not of long duratitm r.t Washington, and 

 the fall of snow was moderate there, yet it was far otherwise iu New York 

 and Massachusetts. 'I'he quantity of snow which fell in both thll^(• places 

 was uncommonly great. Many vessels were wrecked and lost oii the coa't 

 B 1 of 



