On the prevailing Storms of the Atlantic Coast. 37 
From St. Johns to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, sixteen and a 
half miles per hour. 
From Cape Hatteras to Nantucket, -on the south-eastern coast of 
Massachusetts, eighteen miles per hour. 
From Nantucket to Sable Island, off the south-eastern coast of 
Nova Scotia, twenty miles an hour. 
The general rout of this storm is delineated on the annexed map, 
so far as could be done by a careful collation of accounts from more 
than seventy different localities. ‘The four dotted lines are supposed 
to include that portion of the rout on which the storm exhibited its 
greatest violence, but its entire imfluence was spread over a much 
wider range. ‘The two central lines are believed to be an approxima- 
tion to the rout pursued by the vortex, or moving axis, of the storm. 
The storm appeared on this part of the coast simultaneously with 
the prevalence of a north-westerly wind, which maintained itself at a 
few miles distance, for some hours after the setting in of the north- 
east wind at New York; the latter gradually extending itself up the 
Hudson. During the whole period of the gale the extreme margin 
of the stratum of clouds pertaining to the storm, was visible from the 
city and elevated not less than ten or fifteen degrees in the north- 
western horizon. The sun set during the height of the gale, and by 
illumining the lower surface of the dense canopy at his departure, 
gave a most striking degree of splendor to the scene ; an effect which 
was much noticed at New Haven, and other places. 
On the western part of the Atlantic ocean, between the parallel of 
New York and the northern limit of the trades, the prevailing winds, 
for a considerable period both previously and subsequently to the oc- 
currence of this storm, were south-westerly, or from the southern 
quarter; and over the whole breadth of the Adantic on the rout fre- 
quented by ships in the European trade, fresh south-western or west- 
erly winds also prevailed at the same period, for many weeks. These 
facts are well established by numerous marine journals which have 
been consulted in relation to this subject. 
Striking evidence of the vorticular or rotative character of the 
storm, is afforded by the journals of two of our outward bound Euro- 
pean ships, the Britannia and the Illinois. ‘The former had sailed 
from New York on the 16th, with the wind in a southern quarter, 
and encountered the storm on the night of the 17th, between Block 
Island and the latitude of 39°. "The storm was first felt from N. E. 
and EK. N. E., and on the course steered by the ship veered by mid- 
