178 West African Hurricanes. 
a terrific hurricane, which capsized the vessel at 5 a. m.; eut 
away both masts, when she righted, and all hands got safely on 
' board again ; water eighteen inches above the cabin floor; suc- 
ceeded in clearing the wreck, and getting under jurymasts.  — 
4, Ship Damascus, from Philadelphia for San Francisco, on 
the 18th of October, 1850, in lat. 25° 58’ N., lon. 41° 1% W,, 
encountered a severe hurricane, split foresail, main spenser and 
jib; also blew away main-topsail: after the stormsails were blown 
away the ship became unmanageable. On the night of the 18th 
the hurricane moderated.—See the. positions on the - Chart; 
marked xxv and xxvi. 
The next case, in Sept. 1853, I find in Maury’s Sailing Diree- 
tions, 6th edition; received from the author. 
5. The ship John Wade, for San Francisco, Sept. 27, lat. 
17° 44’ N., lon. 35° 10’ W.; barometer 29:90; wind E., fresh 
breezes and clear. Sept. 28, lat. 15°, lon. 34° 50’, barometer 
29:40 ; winds E. and B.S. E. First part, fresh breezes; middle 
part, strong gale. At 8 a. m. hove to under close reefed main- 
topsail. At 8, barometer 29:60; at 10, 29:7; at 12 m., 29:3. 
. Sept. 29, lat. 14° 32’, lon. 34° 31’, barometer 29-60; winds Wa 
S.S. W. Heavy gale, with violent squalls of wind and rain; 
middle part, sharp lightning; latter part, moderate ; made sail. 
Capt. Little adds, “I think I was near the track of a hut- 
ricane.” 
The position of this gale appears to coincide nearly with the 
route of our hurricane of Track xx1v, which was four weeks eat- 
lier. The reported directions of wind indicate that Capt. Little 
crossed the center-path while within the limits of the gale. See 
xxx1 of Chart. jad 
6. To this series may be added a gale or hurricane encountered 
by Capt. Lavender, in the ship Roman, from Canton, Aug. 24 
1832, in lat. 12° 51’ N., lon. 39° 26’ W.: in which, according 10 
Capt. L.’s memorandum,—split the fore-topsail, and scudded five 
hours under bare poles: ending with cross seas from N. £. an 
southward. ‘The center-path of this gale was probably a little 
south of track xxiv on the Chart. 
Other notices of gales in this region have met my eye, in for 
mer years; and one shipmaster stated to me that he had encous" 
tered, off the Cape Verde Islands, a severe gale of three days 
duration. This seems to indicate a remarkably slow rate of 
progression in that gale. 
7. Capt. Fitzroy informs us, that on leaving Rio Janeiro for 
the Cape Verde Islands, early in August 1830, he first steer 
eastward and crossed the equator far east, which carried him int? 
that tract of ocean between the trades which “in August 
September is subject to westerly winds,—sometimes extremelY 
