CURRENTS AND STREAMS 27 



rollers and the palm trees thrash and bend to 

 the stiff trade wind. Between the islands, in 

 the narrow channels, the water is rough and 

 choppy and runs like a mill-race towards the 

 west as it is forced past the islands by the 

 strong northeast wind. On the Atlantic or 

 windward side the tide rises and falls regu- 

 larly for five or six feet, but on the leeward or 

 gulf side of the same islands there is scarcely 

 any difference between high and low water, — 

 only a few inches or a foot or two at the most. 

 This seems very odd and remarkable at first 

 and if we stop to think about it we must real- 

 ise that when the tide is low on the windward 

 side of the islands it must be several feet be- 

 low that on the leeward side where it does not 

 fall, and this proves that the water in the Car- 

 ibbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico is actually 

 higher than that in the Atlantic Ocean outside. 

 Although at first it may appear as if the 

 water on one side of the islands must be five 

 or six feet higher than on the other side, yet 

 this is not actually the case, for a portion of 

 the water does run out against the trade wind, 

 but before much of it can escape through the 



