Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West, 283 



be attributed to general, rather than to local causes, and it may 

 be said that the winters all over the world have been colder 

 of late ..years than formerly. But on the very day, when it 

 was thus cold, (if newspapers can be believed) a great num- 

 ber of vessels put to sea from Reedy Island in the Delaware 

 below Philadelphia, and about thirty sail of vessels went to 

 sea from New- York harbour. 



All our streams were at the same time bridged with ice of 

 great firmness as well as thickness, and continued to be so for 

 a considerable time afterward, until the warmer current of air 

 from the south prevailed over the current from the lakes. It 

 will be proper, and may be necessary, here to state, that the 

 latitudes of several places in this country are very different 

 from what you would be led tb believe from examining any 

 map or chart now or ever in existence. For instance, Lake 

 Michigan extends farther south than Fort Wayne, which place 

 by actual survey is in this state ; St. Louis is not 38°, and the 

 most southern point or bend of the Ohio river, is not more than 

 latitude 38° north. I state merely what I am informed of by 

 those who have ascertained these facts by actual observation 

 and survey. The place opposite the mouth of the Big Sandy, 

 is nearly as far south as Lexington in Kentucky. The south 

 end of Michigan lake ought to be laid down on the map 41° 

 north. Prevailing currents of air (not every breath of air 

 which moves over the surface) I have attempted to describe. 

 It may be well enough, however, to mention some other cur- 

 rents which sometimes prevail for a few days. And here I 

 will mention what our oldest settlers along the Ohio have ob- 

 served, that is, that whenever in a dry time, there is a current 

 of air proceeding down the river for three or four days in suc- 

 cession, the current from the Gulf of Mexico is sure to drive it 

 back with redoubled force, and after blowing a day or two, it 

 is equally sure to bring rain with it. It is easy to assign a 

 cause for it; for meeting the trade winds in the Gulf, it is driven 

 back with redoubled violence to the sources of the larger 

 streams which empty themselves into the Gulf, 



When a thunder storm, proceeding in either a western or 

 <»astern direction, as the case may be, happens to strike a large 



