32 On the Cyclones of the North Pacific Ocean. 



wliicli it arrived very rapidly ; and wlien it commenced rising it 

 did so in tlie same manner." — This cyclone had evidently com- 

 pleted its recurvation when passing over the Bonin Islands. 



On the 28th of Octoberj 1854, another severe tj^phoon passed 

 over Port Lloyd, where the U. S. ship Vincennes, of the Survey- 

 ing Expedition, was then lying at anchor ; in which the barome- 

 ter fell to 2843 inches. I have a communication in which this 

 storm is ably described, by Commodore John Eodgers, who had 

 chai^ge of the expedition, and Anton Schonborn, Assistant As- 

 tronomer, and the series of barometric phenomena and their rela- 

 tions to the cyclonic winds are very fully presented. In its re- 

 curvation, the center of this gale went round to the westward of 

 Port Lloyd ; as indicated by the successive phases of the winds 

 and barometer. 



Cyclone of the TJ. S. Steamship Mississippi.— Tn returning from 

 Japan, the IT. S. ships Mississippi and Southampton left Simoda 

 on the 1st of October, 1854; steering for the Sandwich Islands. 

 On the 2d they encountered a swell from S. E. ; and' on the 

 6th and 7th, when near lat. 36^ N., they were overtaken by 

 a cyclone, which increased, with the Mississippi, to the force 

 of a hurricane. On the 6th the Southampton had the cyclonic 

 wind strong from the eastward, in Ion. 146"^ 43' R, veering in 

 the night to S. S. E. On the morning of the 7th it had veered 

 to S. S. W. ; and at 9 A. itf. it was moderate and became variable 

 in direction. At noon in lat. 37^^ 08', Ion. 147"^ b^' E., the ba- 

 rometer was lowest, and the wind had settled to a gale at N. W. 



The Mississippi at noon of 5th, was in lat. 34° N., Ion. 149 

 E. ; and the barometer had fallen from 30'11 to 30 '04 ; the wind 

 veering from N. E. to E. S. E., increasing to 6 in its force. At 

 noon of 6th was in lat, 35° 21', Ion. 151° 33' E. ; the wind grad- 

 ually veering to S. S. E. The barometer fell gradually from 

 S0'02 to 29*71 ; and at 9 p. at. the force of the gale had increased 

 to 9: topsails close reefed. — Oct. 7th, during first twelve hours, 

 galeS.S. E., veering towards south. "The square sails were 

 taken in, and the ship hauled up to the S. E., to avoid the cen- 

 ter of the typhoon, which was evidently approaching from the 

 S. W." At noon, gale increasing, lat, 35° 59', Ion. 153' 47' E. ; 

 and barometer had fallen to 29*39. At 1 p. m. gale S. by W., 

 10 ; bar. 29-29 :~2 P. M., S. S. W,, 11 ; bar. 2917, being its low- 

 est. At 3 P. M., hurricane S. W., 12 ; bar. 29'21. From noon 

 " until 4 P. M., the wind was blowing with the force of a hurri- 

 cane; — flattening the sea and filling the air with spoon drift ; 

 subsiding then to a heavy gale." At 6 P. M., gale W. S. W., 10; 

 barometer 29'45: — 10 p.m. West; barometer 29*60.— On the 

 morning of the 8th the gale stood at W. S. W., abating in force. 

 It is apparent that the right-hand quadrants of this cyclone 

 passed over both ships ; and that the Southampton in her more 



