32 THE OCEAN WORLD. 



having unceasingly deposited the de'bris carried in its bosom, the 

 bank has been thus formed bit by bit in the concourse of ages. 



The difference of temperature between the Gulf Stream and the 

 waters it traverses gives birth inevitably to tempests and cyclones. In 

 1780 a terrible storm ravaged the Antilles, in which twenty thousand 

 persons perished. The ocean quitted its bed and inundated whole 

 cities ; the trunks of trees, mingled with other debris, were tossed 

 into the air. Numerous catastrophes of this kind have earned for the 

 Gulf Stream the title of the King of the Tempests. In consequence 

 of the numerous nautical documents which have been placed at the 

 command of the National Observatory of Washington, and the admir- 

 able use made of them by the late Naval Secretary and his assistants, 

 the directions and range of these cyclones engendered by the Gulf 

 Stream may be foreseen, and their most dangerous ravages turned 

 aside. As an example of the utility of Dr. Maury's labours in settling 

 the direction of storms in the traject of the Gulf Stream, we quote a 

 well-known instance : In the month of December, 1859, the American 

 packet San Francisco was employed as a transport to convey a regi- 

 ment to California. It was overtaken by one of these sudden storms, 

 which placed the ship and its freight in a most dangerous position. 

 A single wave, which swept the deck, tore out the masts, stopped the 

 engines, and washed overboard a hundred and twenty-nine persons, 

 officers and soldiers. From that moment the unfortunate steamer 

 floated upon the waters, a waif abandoned to the fury of the wind. 

 The day after the disaster the San Francisco was seen in this desperate 

 situation by a ship which reached New York, although unable to assist 

 her. Another ship met her some days after, but, like the other, could 

 render no assistance. When the report reached New York, two 

 steamers were despatched to her assistance ; but in what direction 

 were they to go ? what part of the ocean were they to explore ? The 

 luminaries of Washington Observatory were appealed to ! Having 

 consulted his charts as to the direction and limits of the Gulf Stream 

 at that period of the year, Dr. Maury traced on a chart the spot to 

 which the disabled steamer was likely to be driven by the current, and 

 the course to be taken by the vessels sent to her assistance. The crew 

 and passengers of the San Francisco were saved before their arrival. 

 Three ships, which had seen their distressing situation, had been able 

 .to reach them, and the steamers sent to their assistance only arrived 



