344 THE WEST INDIAN HURRICANE 



the west of Puerto Rico is the island of Santo Domingo. North 

 and distant about one hundred miles from the Santo Domingo 

 coast are the easternmost islands of the Bahama group, which ex- 

 tend from the Turks islands on the east about six hundred and 

 fifty miles in a northwesterly direction to the west end of Great 

 Bahama island, which is seventy-five miles from the Florida 

 coast. These islands border a line drawn northwest by west from 

 Guadeloupe, one of the southernmost islands of the Leeward 

 group, over the Bahamas, a distance of 1,400 to 1,500 miles, .and 

 this line represents the approximate path of the hurricane from 

 August 7 to 12. 



Puerto Rico records show that the usual path of hurricanes is 

 somewhat to the south of that island, and that during the last 

 four hundred years the island has been visited by eight hurri- 

 canes which were attended by a marked loss of life or property. 

 The first of these occurred in July, 1515; the second in 1527, 

 when the executive building in San Juan was destroyed, and 

 the third on August 21, 1615, when the cathedral was demol- 

 ished. The San Juan News of August 8, 1899, which contains 

 this record, states that the most violent hurricane in the history 

 of Puerto Rico occurred on the night of August 22, 1772. It 

 continued from eleven at night until three in the morning, in 

 alternating violent gusts and squalls. Trees were torn up by the 

 roots, fields were inundated, plantations disappeared, and a large 

 number of people were killed and buried under the ruins of their 

 houses. On September 4, 1806, a hurricane caused great damage 

 at Ponce. On September 21, 1819, crops were damaged to such 

 an extent that a famine followed. A violent hurricane, which 

 is remembered by many present residents of the island, occurred 

 October 29, 1867. On August 14, 1886, a hurricane passed to 

 the south of Puerto Rico, doing considerable damage along the 

 south coast and destroying crops in the interior. 



Incubated in the warm and exceedingly moist region of equa- 

 torial rains, the hurricane of August 7-14, 1899, advanced toward 

 the outlying islands of the Leeward group during the night of 

 August 6, its approach being first indicated by the 8 a. m. re- 

 ports of August 7 from the Weather Bureau stations at Roseau, 

 Dominica, and Basse Terre, St Christopher. Moving northwest- 

 ward during the afternoon and night of the 7th, the hurricane 

 center apparently passed almost directly over Guadeloupe and 

 Montserrat and to the south of the Virgin islands, which are the 

 extreme western islands of the Leeward group. The island of 



