626 A Sixth Memoir on the Law of Storms in India. [No. 127. 



we have no right to lay down tracks for storms, however well 

 we may be satisfied that they are not far from the truth, without 

 also shewing, for the use of others, how we arrive at our conclusions. 

 Both storms tending as they evidently did to the Southern entrance 

 of the Gulf of Tonkin, formed there on their South-western qua- 

 drants one of the " heavy N. W. storms blowing out of the Gulf of 

 Tonkin," of which Horsburgh speaks. There were no Barometers 

 apparently with any of these ships. 



TRACK No. V— 1809. 



The True Briton's Storm. 



Documents from the India House. 



On the 28th and 29th September, 1809, the Hon'ble Company's 

 ships True Briton, Scaleby Castle, Cumberland and Neptune, experi- 

 enced a tremendous tyfoon, between latitudes 20° and 21° North, and 

 longitudes 113° and 114° East, or about 100 miles from the Coast of 

 China, in which the True Briton foundered, and the other ships 

 experienced severe damage. I abridge here, first, the logs of the ships, 

 and then, placing them in the tabular form, shall make a few obser- 

 vations to explain tlie deductions from which I have laid down the 

 Track of the storm. 



Abridged Log H. C. S. Cumberland, Capt. Wedderburn, reduced 



to civil time. 



27th September. — At noon in latitude 19° 47' N., mean longitude 

 of the fleet 114° 43' E. Light airs from N. N. E. to West till mid- 

 night ; the fleet in company. Much lightning to the Westward. 

 Standing to the Northward ; wind West at midnight. 



28^ September. — At 9 a. m. wind from N. N. W., fleet standing to 

 the North Eastward, four and five knots. At noon, latitude by ac- 

 count of the fleet 20° 51', longitude of the fleet 114° 54' E. Barometer 

 29.13. Thermometer 81°, freshening, cloudy and squally, p.m. a very 

 hard gale from N. N. W. ; veering at 9 p. m. to N. N. E. blowing 

 during the night, " with inconceivable fury ;" the boats, the fore-sail 

 and other sails blowing away piecemeal at midnight. 



