^ MITCHILL ON THE TERRIBLE SNOW STORM IN 1811. 335 



beam ends, and deluged her with water. She, by good management, 

 righted, and attempted to scud, but the distress of weather was such 

 that it was impossible to get her guns overboard before the evening of 

 the 24th. The wind was so strong, that she was driven between twelve 

 and thirteen knots under a close-reefed maintopsail. At length, fearing 

 to encounter the shoals of Bermuda, she attempted to lay to, and suc- 

 ceeded. By the 26th, the gale had so far moderated, as to enable them 

 to repair sufficiently to steer for the capes of Virginia. After a series 

 of storms and tempests almost without a parallel, (five in number,) from 

 various quarters, and after buffeting waves and billows for twenty-seven 

 days, she arrived at her place of destination almost a wreck, and with a 

 crew nearly exhausted with cold, fatigue, hunger, wet, and almost every 

 maritime misery. 



The hour of its commencement at New- York has been stated to be 

 midnight of the 23d, or morning of the 24th. It did considerable 

 damage in the harbour. Among other accidents, the northerly wind 

 drove the ship General Gates, bound for Bordeaux, from her anchor- 

 age, upon the shore of Governor's Island, near the castle. Several 

 vessels were sunk beside the wharves. The occurrences of those kinds 

 were too numerous to render a detail necessary. 



At Lyme, in Connecticut, six miles and a half west of the city of 

 New-London, the phenomena of the weather were remarked very 

 minutely by Mr. Vine Utley. It will be observed, that New-London 

 is about one hundred and forty-two miles northeastwardly of New-York. 

 On the morning of the 23d of December, the sun rose clear, and the 

 air was pleasant, with a breeze from west southwest. The quicksilver 

 in Fahrenheit's thermometer, at sunrise, was at twenty-four degrees. 

 About noon it began to be cloudy. The mercury rose to forty de- 

 grees. It rained a little, and continued warm and rainy until twelve 

 o'clock at night. At that hour the wind shifted suddenly to the north- 



