METEORIC RIVERS OR WATERFALLS. 409 



of the Tygayga Mountains, about a league from the coast, 

 and, no doubt, there were others, in other directions on the 

 heights which overlooked the valley. These meteors dis- 

 appeared at four o'clock in the morning ; at six, the rain 

 fell in torrents, and the wind, which had changed succes- 

 sively its direction, blew violently. I went out, desirous 

 of learning if the meteors had been seen by others, and in 

 fact, I learned that several persons had remarked the same 

 fire. Some persons, who were so unfortunate as to be car- 

 ried off by the torrents, but who had been saved, declared 

 that they had seen great lights on the waves on which they 

 were borne, and that every effort which they had made 

 to reach the edge of the ravine, was accompanied by a 

 burst of light, which appeared to rise from the water. To 

 these interesting observations, I will add a note sent me by 

 Dr. Savinon; I give it here literally. On the morning of 

 the 6th of November, the sky was perfectly clear; towards 

 mid-day, the wind blew from the south west, and though 

 the squalls of wind were not yet accompanied by rain, the 

 horizon was covered with heavy clouds. The wind con- 

 tinued all day and all the next night, although about ten 

 o'clock in the evening, its impetuosity had diminished con- 

 siderably. 



The barometer stood at 28.532 inches, (English meas- 

 ure) ; however, at half past ten, the wind passed round to 

 the north, then to the north west, with increasing violence, 

 and at midnight, it became a furious storm, and the rain 

 which accompanied this meteor, was so abundant as to 

 change the ravines into dangerous torrents. On the 7th of 

 November, at one in the morning, the barometer had fallen 

 to 27.87 inches, and the strength of the wind had rapidly 

 increased. It no longer came in squalls, it was one contin- 

 ued current, and such was its fury, that it tore up the larg- 

 est trees, and sometimes even threw down entire forests. 

 The tempest continued with the same violence till daybreak. 

 52 



