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gether. They soon became very black, and were hurried 

 round: hence proceeded -a v ; iiiig noise like that of 'a 

 milL Sooii after there : ' :i a long tube from the cen- 

 tre of the congregated clouds, having a screw-like mo- 

 tion, by which met. ihe water wherever it came was 

 raised up. In August following, the wind blowing at the 

 same time out of several quarters, created a graat whirl- 

 ing among the clouds, the centre of which every now and 

 then sank down, like a long, black pipe, wherein was 

 distinctly seen a motion like that of a screw, continually 

 drawing and screwing up, as it were, whatever it touched,, 

 Groves and trees bent under -it circularly, like wands., 

 Some of the branches it tore otf. It is commonly sup- 

 posed, that the water at sea rises in a column, before the 

 tube touches it. But this is a mistake. The tube often 

 touches the surface of the sea, before the water rises 

 at all. 



But water spouts happen several ways. Sometimes 

 the water is seen to boil, and raise itselt for a consider- 

 able space about a foot from the sea, before the tube 

 touches it. Above this there appears as it were a thick 

 and black smoke, in the -midst of which is a sort o^ 

 pipe, resembling a tunnel, reaching up to the clouds. 

 At other times these tunnels come from the clouds, and 

 suck up the water with great violence. Sometimes 

 these discharge themselves into the sea, to the unavoid- 

 able destruction of such ships as are in their way : some- 

 times on the shore, beating down all they meet with, and ' 

 raising the sand and stones to a prodigious height; 



A very distinct account of this kind was given some 

 time since by an eye witness. 



" We were on the coast of Barbary, when three water - 

 spouts came down : ohe of them bigger tiiatr three masts, 

 the other two scarce half as big : all of them werebladv, 

 as the cloud from which they fell ; all smooth, anc| 

 smaller at the lower end. Sometimes one became 

 smaller, and then larger again ; sometimes it disappeared;, 

 and quickly fell down again. 



4< There was always a great boiling and flying up of 

 KS 



