THE GEEAT HUEEICANE, 1780. 279 



so that he had, so to speak, " been shipwrecked in the air.'' Broken 

 furniture, and a quantity of ruins from the houses of Guadeloupe, 

 were transported to Montserrat over an arm of the sea 50 miles wide. 

 From the mountains of St. Thomas the immense black whirlwind was 

 seen from afar to pass across the sea and over the islands of Porto- 

 Eico and Santa- Cruz. 



The most terrible cyclone of modern times Is probably that of 

 the 10th of October, 1780, which has been specially named 'Hhe 

 great hurricane." Starting from Barbadoes, where neither trees nor 

 dwellings were left standing, it caused an English fleet anchored off 

 St. Lucia to disappear, and completely ravaged this island, where 

 6000 persons were crushed under the ruins. After this, the whirl- 

 wind, tending towards Martinique^ enveloped a convoy of French 

 transports, and sunk more than 40 ships carrying 4000 soldiers ; on 

 land the towns of St. Pierre and other places were completely razed 

 by the wind, and 9000 persons perished there. More to the north, 

 Dominique, St. Eustatius, St. Vincent, and Porto-EIco were like- 

 wise devastated, and most of the vessels which were on the path of 

 the cyclone foundered with all their crews. Beyond Porto-Eico 

 the tempest bent to the north-east towards the Bermudas, and though 

 its violence had gradually diminished, it sunk several English war- 

 ships returning to Europe. At Barbadoes, where the cyclone had 

 commenced its terrible spiral, the wind was unchained with such 

 fury, that the inhabitants hidden in the cellars did not hear their 

 houses falling above their heads ; they did not even feel the shocks of 

 earthquake which, according to Eodney, accompanied the storm. 

 The rage of man was arrested before that of nature. The French 

 and English were then at war, and all the ships which the sea 

 swallowed up were laden with soldiers seeking to destroy one another. 

 At the sight of such ruin the hatred of the survivors was calmed. 

 The governor of Martinique caused the English sailors, who had be- 

 come his prisoners in consequence of the great shipwreck, to be set at 

 liberty, declaring that in the common danger all men should feel as 

 brothers. 



