34 VALUE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. 



called the Gulf Stream, he gives the following ac- 

 count of the manner in which upon one occasion he 

 made use of his theoretical knowledge : 



In the month of December 1853, the fine 

 steam-ship San Francisco sailed from New York 

 with a regiment of United States troops on board, 

 bound for California by way of Cape Horn. She 

 was overtaken, while crossing the Gulf Stream, by 

 a gale of wind, in which she was dreadfully crippled. 

 Her decks were swept, and, by one single blow of 

 those terrible seas that the storms raise in the Gulf 

 Stream, more than in any other part of the Atlantic, 

 one hundred and seventy-nine souls, officers and 

 soldiers, were washed overboard and drowned. 



The day after this disaster she was seen by one 

 vessel, and again, the next day, December 26th, by 

 another ; but neither of them could render her any 

 assistance. 



When these two vessels arrived in the United 

 States and reported what they had seen, the most 

 painful apprehensions were entertained by friends 

 for the safety of those on board the steamer. Ves- 

 sels were sent out to search for and relieve her. 

 But where should these vessels go ? Where should 

 they look ? 



An appeal was made to know what light the 

 system of researches carried on at the National 

 Observatory concerning winds and currents could 

 throw upon the subject. 



The materials they had been discussing were 



