92 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



hour, is said "to be the same as if a bucket of water were thrown sud- 

 denly into the face, and immediately frozen thereon." 



November 14, 15, and 16, 1871, are reported by Sergeant Heame as very 

 "stirring times," his instrument recording the most rapid movements of 

 air ever described. At 9 a. m., Nov. 14, the wind blew at the rate of 40 

 miles to the hour. At 4 p. m., it reached 60 ; at midnight, 78, and still 

 increasing, with snow and sleet, — the barometer sinking four tenths of 

 an inch during the night. At 6 a. m., the iSth, the wind tore off five or 

 six planks from a comer of the building. At 7, the rate of velocity was 

 102; at 9, 120; at 3 p. M., 136 miles. The building cracked, shook, and 

 groaned to its very foundation. At 4 p. m., it blew at a steady rate of 140 

 miles, and three more planks gave way. At 5 p.m., two trials gave 150 

 and 151 miles per hour. This was the culmination of the storm, and the 

 wind gradually died away during the i6th inst. Meteorology does not yet 

 furnish the record of a more fearful storm than this experienced by 

 civilized beings. 



Sergeant A. R. Homett succeeded Heame, and has already spent two 

 winters on the summit, assisted by Sergeant Wm. Line, Fred. DeRoshers, 

 and others. The party now consists of three persons. In 1 873, a build- 

 ing was erected for the occupation of the government party. It is 

 situated a few rods south of the hotel, in a very exposed situation. It is 

 thirty-six feet long, and twenty-four wide, containing an office, dining-, 

 store-, and two bedrooms, besides an attic. It is built of wood, and is 

 situated so that the grandest views can be seen without leaving a com- 

 fortably warmed apartment. 



The Occupation of Moosilauke — Winter of 1869-70. 



With the commencement of work on the geological survey of the state 

 in 1869, this subject of an elevated winter observatory was early dis- 

 cussed, Mr. Huntington being prepared to occupy the position of 

 observer. But it was found that the lessee of the houses on the summit 

 of Mt. Washington was unwilling that they should be occupied for this 

 purpose during the winter. While this unexpected refusal deferred the 

 occupation of Mt. Washington, it led to a successful attempt in a dif- 

 ferent direction. Had the observatory been established in 1869, it might 

 have been a failure, from the want of an experience of the peculiarities 



