392 THE GULF STREAM — A SOUTHEAST GALE. 



them wherever they may go, and in whatever they 

 may do ! — that they may avoid the snares spread for 

 them by the designing at every step of the paths 

 they must follow. 



On the evening of March 17th we entered and 

 crossed the Galf Stream, Our near approach to it 

 had been indicated days before by the appearance of 

 the Gulf weed. This weed is inhabited by multi- 

 farious marine animals. On being scooped up and 

 placed in a bucket of water, its tiny residents were 

 to bo seen swimming and plying about with the 

 intensest activity: crabs, lobsters, various kinds of 

 fish, and the meduca, together with many others that 

 are nondescripts. 



On arriving at the Stream we dipped up a bucket- 

 ful of its water from alongside, and found it quite 

 warm. A short time afterwards we repeated the 

 experiment, and found a variation in the tempera- 

 ture. Thus, at intervals of fifteen minutes through- 

 out our passage across it, we tested the water to the 

 best of our ability ; and although our thermometer 

 could not be fully depended upon, yet the result was 

 still decided enough to make me a convert to Pro- 

 fessor Bache's theory: that, the Gulf Stream is a 

 series of belts of water, varying in temperature, in- 

 stead of a body of water of uninterrupted equivalent 

 warmth. 



On the following day we experienced one of those 

 southeast gales, attended by fog, which are so com- 

 mon to the American coast in the month of March. 

 As lono; as we felt satisfied that we had an offins", 

 things went pretty well, and we rejoiced at the w\ay 

 the ship was making before the gale; although, in 



