REID'S APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF STORMS.* IT is nearly
twenty years since Colonel Reid first gave his attention to the subject of Tropical hurricanes, and eleven since he published his book on the Law of Storms.t In that work he reduced to system, and sup- ported by.a considerable accumulation of.facts, the idea promulgated in 1801 by Colonel Capper, and afterwards by Mr. Redfield of New York, that monsoons and storms are gigantic whirlwinds, moving with a rota- tory advancing motion over a wide surface of the globe. It was Colonel Reid who first pointed out the contrary motion of these storms in the two hemispheres : that is, North of the Equator the whirlwind moves from East to North, and then to West ; South of the Equator, the move- ment is reversed, beginning from the West and blowing round to the East by the South. It was also Colonel Reid who first inferred the use of a knowledge of this law to navigation ; it being obvious that if a mariner could learn his own particular position in the whirlwind, he could by lying-to allow it to pass him, or by sailing towards its outskirts avoid its fury, if not escape it altogether, or possibly make the milder part of the tornado speed him on his voyage. The probable explanation of the ex- treme changes in the barometer about the time of these violent storms is due to Mr. Redfield; and the changes, read in conjunction with the law or hypothesis assumed, is a further guide to the seaman. The attention excited by Colonel Reid's work, though on so abstruse and technical a subject, not only carried it to a second edition, but stimu- lated other labourers, and produced a practical effect. Mr. Redfield con- tinued his studies. Mr. Thorn collected and analyzed a number of facts relating to the nature and course of hurricanes in the Indian Ocean South of the Equator, and published a book on the subject. In this he described some remarkable storms, especially that which he named the Rodriguez hurricane of 1843; all very much tending to establish the truth of the "law of storms." Under the auspices of the East India Company, at the suggestion of Colonel Reid, officers were invited to send in their observations on storms, and Mr. Piddington of Calcutta un- dertook their examination and arrangement. He also obtained the logs of various ships of the Company relating to past times, and published the results of his inquiries at first in a fugitive shape, but finally in his Sailor's Hornbook of the law of Storms. Many practical men addressed the results of their individual experience to periodical publications, or to persons known to be engaged in investigating these pluenomena. What is perhaps of more importance, some nautical men who have studied the "law of storms," and feel convinced of its truth, attribute their escapes from risk and damage to their attention to the indications of nature and the advice of Colonel Reid. The following account is interesting for its continuous story as well as for its conclusions and is not too technical for extract. The author is Captain John Vine hall, of the barque Black
Nymph.
"When three or four days' sail from Macao, about noon, I observed a most wild and uncommon-looking halo round the sun. Next day set in with light squalls, smooth water, but strong ripples. The afternoon was remarkably fine; but, cast; log my eye on the barometer, I saw it had fallen considerably since man; thought at first some one had meddled with it; though, looking again bah El hour afterwards I was convincedit was falling rapidly. Still the weather seemed very fine, and I 'thought it strange; but I was inclined to trust to my old friend, which, by its timely warnings had saved me many a sail and spar before, ...tat other times had often enabled me to carry on through an uncomfortable-looking night. On this occasion it proved itself worthy of trust; and I should have haa 1, The Progress of the Development or the Law of Storms and of the Variable Winds, with the Practical Application of the Subject to Navigation. Illustrated byCharts and, Wood.cuts. By Lieutenant-CclonelWilliam Reid, C.B., F.11.8., of the Corps Of BOYS' Engineers. Published by Weale. 1 Spectator 1838, page 973. nse of regret had I neglected its warning and trusted to appearances only. About S p. st, the barometer still falling, though the weather continued fine, I ordered the crew, employed in cleansing the ship and preparing for harbour. to wine iorgallantmasts and yards, mizen:top-ganantmast and jib-boom; the Mils ood rigging of which I put below, and, indeed, divested the rigging aloft of all top- hamper, and everything that could be spared. Secured sails and hatches, dose-reefed the topsails, and boats hoisted on board, and well secured. Item beforehand, all was done quicklyand well. I dare say Jack thought it fanny work making all this preparation on a fine afternoon; and some of them looked about, weatherwise, to divine the reason: but in a few hours the most in- credulous were minified with the prudence of the operations. Quiet succeeded to bustle; and the barometer still falling, I said to myself, 'Now in reality is coming one of these typhoons'; and, having previously been led to pay some at- tention to the subject, I looked to its approach with a mingled feeling of appre- hension and curiosity. "Towards evening I observed a bank in the SE. Night closed in, and the water continued smooth; but the sky looked wildish, the scud coming from the N.E., the wind from North. I was much interested in watching for the com- mencement of the gale which I now felt sure was coming; and, considering the theory to be correct, it would point out my position with respect to its centre. that bank in the SE. must have been the meteor approsehing as, the N.E. stud the outer North-west portion of it; and when at night a strong gale came on about N. or N.N.W., I felt certain we were on its Western and Southern verge. It rapidly increased in violence ; but I-was pleased to see the wind veering to the as it convinced me that I had put the ship on the right tack, ruimely, on the storboardlack, standing of course to the S.W. "From 10 a. m. to 3 p. tn. it blew with great violence ; but the ship, being well prepared, rode comparatively-easy. The barometer VMS now very low, the wind about W.N.W., the centre of the storm passing doubtless to the Northward of ns; and to which we might have been very near, had we in the first part put the obi OD the larboard tack and stood to the North-east and towards the centre, instead of on the starboard tack and to the South-west, the opposite direction. "About 5 p.m. wind at W.S.W., sensibly decreasing, the barometer rising. At 6, fresh gale; re:Metall to keep ship steady; a very great sea on, and towards midnight it became a moderate gale. The wind having now become S.W. to S.S.W., the ship broke off to S.E. Thinking it a pity to be lying so far out of our coarse, I wore to N.W. and made sail; but in less than two hours heavy gusts came on and the barometer began again to fall. I now thought, of coarse, we were approaching the storm again; and, doubtless, the theory is not mere specu- lation. wore again to the S.E.; and, to show more clearly how great a difference a very short distance nearer to or further from these storms makes, the weather rapidly improved. The next morning it was fine and moderate, and the wind be- came SE., with a heavy-running Westerly swell. Until the afternoon there was a dark wild appearance in the Westward ; which seemed to me another proof that it was the meteor which had the day before appeared in the S E , and whose coarse had been from SE. to NW., passing a little Northward of our position.
"When we arrived at Hong-kong two or three days afterwards, we found they had had a gale, but not very violent ; for the storm was evidently of small extent, and its centre lay between the ship and Hong-kong; through which centre! might have had the pleasure of passing, if, regardless of the indications of the barometer and the results of the scientific comparison of the data of other storms, I had been eager merely to keep on the tack, the larboard; nearest my course, heading to the North-east, instead of standing to the South-west. I may also add, that though the storm-wave might have been carrying me to the Westward, the storm-current certainly swept me to the Southward, out of the course of the storm."
One object of Colonel Kehl: in his present publication is, to show -by new facts and more extended observations the truth of the principles he , advocated in the Lam e. Storms. Another is, to systematize and carry them further;. to show, for example the truth of his early inference, that rotatory storms move in opposite directions according to the hemisphere in which they occur, and that they tend towards the Poles, not - the Equator. Ue also guards his reader against the idea that the rotation is invariably in a true mathematical circle, such as, for the sake of clear- ness, is exhibited in the diagrams ; and he endeavours to trace the exact eurvilinsar motion of these whirlwinds, where there are data sufficient for the purpose. The nature of storms in particular regions is considered. Those of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian and Chinese Seas, and Ihe Tro- pical storms in the Southern hemisphere, are examined according to.the data accumulated. The gales of the Mediterranean Sea, and of high Northern and Southern latitudes, are not forgotteii ; but accurately ob- served facts do not seem to be so numerous respecting these regions— perhaps because their phienomena are net BO striking, and rarely so ap- palling as those of the Tropicaltorpedo. Another great end of the hook is to furnish hints for the- guidance a the mariner's conduct. On this object the innumerable facts drawn from the logs of different vessels, with -the retnarksand. opinions of Piddington, Thom, and others, are made to bear, either in the form of particular examples or general rules. A chapter is devoted to the application of the principle that should direct voyagers between Europe and the Northern portion of the United States or Canada; another to the more important because more universal points of "heaving-to" in a storm and sailing frorna gale's centre. The literary character of a work like this is a very subordinate matter, but this hos a literary character. The style is clear to lucidity ; though that clearness is attained by a brevity which rather resembles an order than an argument. Everything is clear as a proposition, but the proof of the proposition is sometimes a "forgone conclusion" of the author's mind. The thing may be true, but logically speaking the reader is not able to ar- rive at the truth in a regular way. It should, however, be observed, that the book is rather designed as a collection .of facts anehints to incite &Iran to study the subject for themselves, than a regular exposition. These facts mostly consist of extracts from logs, or accounts of storms by responsible officers, who have actually faced the perils they describe ; and many -of them, as we observed on the former volume, convey a more vivid idea of the terrors of the deep in their literal and even technical narration, than the moat artistical description by the greatest poets.
The following is from the logs of "the ship Runnymede, Captain Doughty, from England to Calcutta, with troops on board."
"At 8.30, the larboard quarter boat was torn from the davits and blown across tillte Poop, carrying awa7 the binnacle, and crushing the hencoops in its passage. t 9p.m., wind if possible increasing, the foremast broke into three pieces carry- ing away with it the main and miaen topmasts, starboard catheld, and mainyard, the main and nsizen masts alone standing. At 10 p. Ds., the wind and rain es severe that the men-could not hold on the poop; baling the water from between decks, which is forced down the hatches, but the ship is quite tight and Proving herself to be a fine sea-boat. The pumps attended to, drawing Oa the water forced down Witches, mast coats and top-sides forwards. "111h NovemberHurricane equally severe, wind S.E. (bar- 2B.Q); thezusta so terrific, mixed with drift and rain, that no one weld stand on dedk aavantage was therefore taken of the hills to drain the ship out and 'clear the wee*. The starboard bower anchor, hanging only by the shank painterand the:stook (ken), working into the ship's side, the -chain was unshackled and the msohor cut away. Noon, Lat. Acct. 11°.6' N., Lcwg...,95°.2.0' E.; no observations since the 7th. Barometer apparently rose a little. Hurricane eqaally severe in the,gasts; the ship perfectly unmanageable from her crippled state, but riding like a sessbird over a confused sea, running apparently from every point of the .compiss. A large barque with lees of topmasts and mainyard, drifted ahead oftne andmitrig was seen to barque, totally dismasted. At 4 p.m. barometer fell to 27'76, and Cummins's mineral syinpiesometer left the index-tthe. Horeimme blowing -ter- rifically; the front of the poop to leeward, cabin-door and skylights torn away, and expecting every moment the poop to be torn off her. The severity of the wind is beyond description' there is nothing to compare to it; for unless present, so one could conceive the destructive power and weight of wind crushing everything be- fore it, as if it were a metallic body. At 1 p.m. no abatement; every one, sailor and soldier, doing all in their power to keep the ship free of water; could not stand at the pumps; the water being princillyin the between-decks, it was baled out by the soldiers as much as possible. "12th November,—Midnight, hurricane equally severe"; the gusts most awful, and rudder gone. At 130 a. us. felt the ship strike, and considered the destruc- tion of our lives as well as ship sealed: but it pleased Almighty God to decree otherwise; for although the ship filled up to the lower beams with water, she was thrown so high on the reef that the water became smooth, and the bilge pieces keeping her upright, she lay comparatively quiet. Not knowing our position, the ship being bilged, and fearful of her beating over the reef into deep water' let go the larboard bower anchor, and found the water leaving her All hands fell asleep. "Daybreak, hurricane breaking; much rain, wind E.S.E. (barometer rising rapidly until it stood at 29.45); -we-then, thank God, 554 the loom of the shore to leeward, the ship being nearly dry abaft. On its clearing away, we saw inside of us, up among the trees, a large barque with troops on board ; one officer and twelve men were sent over the stern to communicate with her. At 7 a. tn., the tide now rising, orders were given for the men to land at next low-water, and if possible to get something cooked, as no fires could be kept in during the hurri- cane; the crew and troops merely having biscuit and a glass of spirits during the time it lasted. At 3.30 p.m. the tide having fallen sufficiently to wade on shore, Ensign Dabernt returned on board, and stated the vessel in-shore of us to be the Briton from Sidney, with 311 men, 84 women, and 51 children, of H. II. Eightieth Regiment, under dnecommand of Major Baubury, with a crew of 36 men, bound for Calcutta, and Short of everything.'
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