368 Notes upon some remarkable Waterspouts. [No. 4, 



but he has also learnt how to make use of for his own purposes one of 

 the most fearful and hitherto ungovernable and tremendous natural 

 phenomena, the cyclone : meeting at sea with this violent and 

 formerly much dreaded wind, the intelligent sailor boldly sets his sails 

 to meet it, and by his intelligence and foresight makes what might, 

 in his ignorance, have been his destruction, a fair and a favorable 

 wind to help him on his way to his desired haven ; or else, laying to, 

 he bows to the storm and patiently allows it to pass on its way, 

 resuming his journey when it has passed. And so it should be with 

 waterspouts, to thoroughly search out, and to understand the laws 

 that govern these impetuous columns would not only be satisfactory 

 to science, but might be the means of affording some protection to 

 those who are liable to be harmed by them ; mankind possessing this 

 knowledge might be able to disarm these columns of their power of 

 uprooting trees, overturning houses, sinking small vessels, disabling 

 others, of demolishing valuable plantations and cultivation, and car- 

 rying destruction in their path ; but our knowledge concerning water- 

 spouts, as it at present stands, allows these phenomena full power to 

 do as they please. 



The formation, action and dispersion of the waterspouts observed, 

 being very similar, I proceed to detail the above appearances in a very 

 grand waterspout that occurred within 1\ miles of my house, merely 

 observing, that there appear to be only two methods for then* disper- 

 sion, namely either by precipitation of vapour to the earth as heavy 

 rain ; or absorption upwards as vapour into the clouds. 



On the 7th October, 1859, a waterspout of colossal dimensions was 

 seen to form and burst at Dum Dum 8 miles north-east of Calcutta. 

 (See plate I. and plate II. fig 3.) 



The observations made upon this phenomena at the time are as 

 follows : — 



The south-west monsoon had, during the week, received its first 

 check by the north-east monsoon endeavouring to cross the Himalyah 

 Mountains and to drive back the heavy masses of clouds and mois- 

 ture that had been banked up along their flanks during the whole 

 of the rainy season, or during the prevalence of the south-west 

 monsoon. 



At Dum Dum, the whole visible heavens were occupied by a dense 



