The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1864-04-01
The Late Eoviaoctaaa ster,n..

/ The Late Equinoctial stsrms.
The terrific series Of gales Of The past
fortnight, with which the vernai equinox
has been ushered In. have doubtless ex-
tended their influence and ravages very
nearly over the entire continent and its ad-
jscent islands, We have already had seve-
| raj reports of shipwrecks aud disasters at sea
at points very dstantly separated from one
another, showing how far the cycle Of the diff
| ferent storms must have extended. The first
of these heavy gales preceding the regular
| equinoctial storms began out at sea about the
18th ult.. and was doubtless the one in which
| the Italian frigate Re Galantuomo was caught
and so roughly used Another furious gale
began on the 18th and continued with scarcely
| any intermission until the 18th; but the culmi-
mating force Of the storms was concentred in
the triple gales Of the true equinoctial period
that ia. from the 2lst OF March, when the sun
enters the first point Of Aries, to the last days
of the month"; when they must naturally greatly
abate or cease altogether. The report Of the
| steamer North Star, which sailed from this port
on the 18th ut in search Of the Italian ship-of-
war. shows how violent and extensive were the
gales Of the three days from the 25th to the
2stb inclusive These gales began here on the
night Of the 25th. blowing hard from east
southeast and then veering round to east
northeast This closely corresponds with the
report Of Captain Lefevre; for. on the 25th
ult while in latitude 40 II. longitude Sc 81,
to the south Of Sable Island, and off the Banks
Of Newfoundland, he encountered very Sc
we're hurricane from the southwest, which after
wards changed to northeast. These gales were
of more than usual severity.
The news from Port Royal by the steamer
Fulton gives us additional details of the fury
Of these storms. On Tuesday night, the 10th
ult, the Fulton, in heavy gale from east-south
cast, which vecred to northeast, fell ia with
large two-masted propeller, firing guns OF dis
tress The Fulton answered by sending up
rockets and bluelights; but. as her own ma
chinery was considerably deranged, she could
not Immediately steam up to the unknown yes
sell which had her engines broken down. The
wind was so violent that no farther explanation
could be had and, as the Fulton was taking in
water very rapidly, the captain had to set all
the pumps to work TO keep the ship afoat. At
seven o'clock next morning there was nothing
OF the strange steamer to be seen. The
steamer Continental also put into Port
Royal on the Goth ult She was from Port
land. Maine, for New Orleans. with the
ship Frank Boult in tow loaded with men
and borses The Continental encountered q
strong gale from the northeast on the 22d ult.
which caused the steamer to collide with the
ship, and she had to cut loose from her 10 avoid
more fatal collision. The gale lasted thirty
hours, during which period they lost some City
horses. On the 23d they passed dead body
floating by means of life-preseryer The
ocean was also. strewed with parts Of wreck,
showing that the devastation Of the storms had
been very widespread. Accounts have also
been received from the fishing feet off Georges
Bank. There were one hundred and sixty YES
the coast OF Newfoundland. The full force Of
the storms had fallen upon Them and several Of
the feet were more or less injured, one vessel
having been completely lost The French
steam corvette Phligiton-one Of the vessels
that went out in search Of the Re Galantuomo-
was also absent from this port for fifteen days,
and now, on her return. reports encountering
furious gales, in which she lost her quarter
boats and sustained considerable damage. We
will only add the report Of the schooner Union,
which arrived at this port on the 30th ultimo.
While off Montauk, on the Goth, she was struck
by heavy gale from the east, which veered to
northeast and lasted until the 18th, by which
she was driven all the way to the south Of Cape
Hcnlopen, experiencing severe losses and
damages.
THUS we see, by the concurrent reports Of
vessels from various points, that the course Of
these successive and almost continuous storms
has been as extended as il has been certainly
disastrous. II is evident that no portion of our
coast has been exempt from its violence. The
floating particles OF wreck which strew the
ocean from Cape Hatteras and az far east as
the Banks Of Newfoundland are very possibly
the precursors Of intelligence of serious dis
asters at sea. For an extent of fourteen hun
dred miles Of the American coast there have
been casualties Of more or less severity A
large number OF vessels have been driven
ashore, many of which have proved total
wrecks, and we fear that good many lives
have been lost. The career Of the equnoctal
storms has thus been very extensive, and we
may expect from day to day to hear new re-
ports of its effects upon our merchant feet on
the high seas as we'll as on the coast.
Tue SPRING ELECrroSs.-The Connecticut
State election comes off on Monday next,
and Rhode Island follows on Wednesday.
Very little interest is manifested in regard to