On the Cyclones of the North Pacific Ocean, 29 



storms are well illustrated by tliat of tlie Raleigli's typhoon, and 

 I omit, therefore, the close grouping which a delineation of tKem 

 would require on the chart. 



. The ship Harknru left Hong Kong for London, May 16th, 

 1854, and returned to port under jury-naasts on the 11th of June. 

 At noon of May 20th the ship was in lat 16° 22' K, Ion 113° 

 E. ; wind E. N.E. ; barometer falling in the evening, with light- 

 ning at south. The master close-reefed his sails, but still stood 

 on: bar. still falling, and fit 2 a.m. 20th sea getting cross and 

 high. At 10 A. M. the gale increased to a hurricane, with a fear- 

 ful cross sea: ship hove to under bare poles, in lat. 15^ N., Ion. 

 112° 20' E. P.M. bar. down to 28'50, and still falling; at 2 

 p. M., the ship lying with her yard-arms in the water, her top- 

 masts were cut away. Soon after it fell flat calm ; the barometer 

 down to 27-70. At 3 P, M. the wind flew to N. W., veering to 

 W., and S.W., blowing with tenfold violence. At 6 P.M. the 

 fury of the typhoon moderated, the barometer rising; the gale 

 veering to S. W. and S. At 8 p. m. of the 21st the weather had 

 moderated ; wind S. to S. E. 



The master of the Harkuru should have been wiser than to 

 have pitched into the heart of this typhoon, ahead of its vortex. 

 For fuller accounts I am indebted to Commander John Rodgers, 

 lately in charge of the U, S. Siu:veying Expedition in the N. 

 Pacific, who was then running up tlie China Sea in the steamer 

 Hancock, and falling into the rear of this cyclone, made a fine 

 run under its westerly and southerly winds, keeping at a safe 

 distance from its vortex.* 



In vol. XXXV of this Journal, p. 220, I have shown that at 

 Canton, on the southern coast of China, the semi-annual changes 

 of the monsoons are found to occur in April, and about the last 

 days of September; varying somewhat in different years. Ty* 

 phoons frequently cross the China Sea from May to October, 

 and sometimes in other months, on routes corresponding, in di- 

 rection, to those of the West Indies and the lower latitudes of 

 the Atlantic, and with like characteristics. That inquiring old 

 voyager, Dampier, states that on the coast of Tonquin the ty- 

 phoons are expected in the months of July, August, and Sep- 

 tember. We know that these arc deemed to be hurricane months 

 in the lower latitudes of the Atlantic, east of Yucatan, but no 

 special connection with the above periods of change in the mon- 

 soons is here indicated. Dampier says, that in these typhoons 



'' the wind comes on fierce and blows very violent at N.I^. twelve 

 hours, more or less: and when the wind begins to abate it dies 

 away suddenly, and falling flat calm, it continues so an hour, 

 more or less, when the wind comes about to the S.W* and it 



* For full accounts see this Jouraal, roL xsiil, 186Y, p. 205. 





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