VOYAGE OF THE SHIP PRESIDENT. 147 
close-reefed courses and fore-topsail, at the rate of eleven 
knots the hour. The heavens now became obscured with 
douds of a pitchy blackness, surcharged with wind and rain ; 
between ten and eleven o'clock we had two or three squalls, 
which, in their temporary violence, the captain assured us 
were not surpassed by the worst hurricane he had ever en- 
countered. A judicious and well-timed luffing to and shak- 
ing the sails in the wind alone saved them from total destruc- 
tion. So furious was the gale while it lasted, that the spray 
blown from the waves far and near resembled a snow drift, 
and when the rain fell it was in torrents. The air during all 
this time was pleasantly warm, but there was a dampness 
about it rather oppressive, which caused the barometer to 
sink menacingly low. With the severest of these squalls 
the wind hauled to about due west ; but both this and the sea 
gradually subsided, and until late in the afternoon there were 
prospects of a calm. Our latitude at noon to-day was 41 
deg. 36 min. and longitude 66 deg. At sunset heavy banks 
were visible to windward — ^the wind soon freshened, and the 
sea rose, and there were decided indications of a stormy 
night. About twelve o'clock the wind howled and moaned 
fearfully amidst the rigging, and the increasing sea gave a 
peculiar jerking motion to the ship. At two in the morn- 
ing of 
Wednesday, November 23, the gale became very severe, 
and the sea of mountainous height. Sleep was pretty gene- 
rally excluded, for the ship rocked and pitched to such an un- 
usual degree from the irregularity of the waves, that those in 
the upper berths were obliged to hold on to escape being 
thrown violently out upon the floor. A little after four o'clock 
we were suddenly awakened by the fearful crash of a very 
heavy sea breaking over the ship and pouring in upon the 
deck an immense flood of water. A studding sail boom was 
broken, and another swept overboard — the sky-lights of the 
ladies' and gentlemen's cabins were shattered, and floods of 
the briny element rushed in, setting the state-rooms on the 
leeward side quite afloat. In an instant all was bustle through- 
out the ship — some starting up to put ofl" their drenched gar- 
ments, others to fly from the reach of the threatening Avaters, 
and all eager to ascertain the full extent of the danger. Al- 
though, fortunately, not much had been done, there was 
something very appalling in such an hour. The wind at the 
same time blowing furiously and the sea running tremendous- 
