Biographical Memoir of William C. Redfield. 437 



usually issuing from the equatorial regions eastward of the West 

 India islands, pursuing, at first, a course towards the northwest as 

 far as the latitude of SC, and then gradually wheeling to the 

 northeast and following a path nearly parallel to the American 

 coast, to the east of Newfoundland, until they are lost in mid- 

 ocean, the entire path when delineated resembling a parabolic 

 curve whose apex is near the latitude of 30°. 



That their dimensions are sometimes very great, being not less 

 than 1000 miles in diameter, while their path over the ocean can 

 sometimes be traced for 3000 miles. 



That the barometer^ at any given place, falls with increasing 

 rapidity as the centre of the whirlwind approaches, but rises at 

 a corresponding rate after the center has passed by ; and finally, 



That the phenomena are more uniform in large than in small 

 storms, and more uniform on the ocean than on the land. 



These laws Mr. Redfield claims as so many facts independently 

 of all hypothesis ; as facts deduced from the most rigorous in- 

 duction, which will ever hold true, whatever views may be enter- 

 tained respecting the origin or causes' of storms. 



The method adopted by the author of this theory, in all his 

 inquiries, — the method which first led him to the discovery of 

 the whirlwind character of storms, and afterwards fully confirmed 

 the doctrine, — was first to collect and then to collate as many 

 records as possible of vessels that had been caught in the storfn, 

 in various parts of the ocean. The most laborious and profound 

 investigation of this nature of which he has left us an example, is 

 in the case of the Cuba hurricane of October, 1844. First, he 

 examined all accessible marine reports of vessels that had arrived in 

 port after encountering the storm ; secondly, he inspected the 

 log-books of all such vessels, as far as was practicable, and carefully 

 transcribed their records ; and, thirdly, by an extended correspon- 

 dence, he obtained a great number of written statements from 

 shipmasters, who of all men would be the most accurate and vigi 

 lant observers. The difii"erent independent accounts obtained from 

 these various sources amounted to no less than one hundred and 

 sixty-four, all of which were reduced to the form of tables, con- 

 taining the latitude and longitude of each vessel or place at the 

 time of observation ; the exact date and duration of the gale ; 

 the successive directions of the stormwind : the state of the baro- 

 meter ; and, finally, every additional particular that was deemed 

 of the least importance in determining the peculiar characteristics 



