1860.] Notes upon some remar/cable Waterspoats. 369 



mass of veiy grandly shaped and massively grouped strata of cumuli, 

 at various elevations, the lowest from actual measurement was 2000 

 feet above the earth ; the highest, probably reaching to 25,000 ; the 

 whole mass being about 5 miles in vertical thickness. 



The aspect of the heavens during the past few days had been 

 most remarkable : presenting a scene of great atmospherical disturb- 

 ance, the clouds evidently being impelled from the south by the south - 

 west monsoon ; but violen tly checked by the north-east monsoon, 

 giving to the whole mass of clouds extending for as many miles as 

 the eye could reach from north to south, and from east to west, a 

 rotary and at the same time an undulatory motion ; in fact causing 

 huge tracts of clouds to revolve rapidly round a centre that appeared 

 from my position to be about 5 miles to the south-east. This rotary 

 motion performed in a very large circle gave the clouds the appear- 

 ance of moving in two distinct directions, for the clouds nearest to 

 my position appeared to be going to the north, and those furthest 

 removed appeared to be going to the south. 



There had been but little rain during the day ; in the early portion 

 of the day the wind had been from the south bringing with it a 

 large body of clouds from the sea ; at noon it changed to the South- 

 west ; and at 2 p. m. to the west and at 4 p. m. to the north. 



It was between the hours of 3 and 4 p. m. that the great est distur- 

 bance in the clouds took place ; the whole mass revolving and heaving 

 violently ; extensive masses of clouds being crushed and driven into 

 others but unattended by any electrical discharges. It now rained 

 heavily to the north and east. It was during this time that more 

 than one waterspout endeavoured to form, but unsuccessfully. It was 

 whilst observing the highly agitated masses of clouds that were revol- 

 ving and oscillating in a most peculiar manner, that I witnessed the 

 commencement and termination of the remarkable waterspout now 

 under consideration. At 3 p. m. it became suddenly quite calm and 

 during the calm a palé watery-looking but very lofty cumulus,^the base 

 of which was a right line, and parallel to the horizon, was seen to bulge 

 out downwards or towards the earth in a long well-defined and light- 

 blue coloured outline ; from the centre of this hanging curve a broad 

 column of a palé watery vapour rapidly sank towards the earth, close- 

 ly resembling a very attenuated cone, dark at the edges and palé blue 



