Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-04-09
THE EVENING NEWS.
SUPPLEMENT
The Poison Wind of California-The

NOf'WeSter.
The northwest winds which annually
sweep over the plains of California and
the central land between the Rocky Noun
tains and the Sierra Nevada, are among
the peculiar features of the Pacific. They
commonly set in towards the middle Of
April and continue through the spring
and summer until the turn of the equinox
in the first week of October. They gen.
orally come in with fogs which grow ex-
ceedingly heavy in the middle of the sum-
mer, when they sometimes blow for days,
the sun in full blaze, and not mist OF
observation to dull the sky. And even
when attended with heavy fogs, these fogs
often do not for days precipitate parti-
Gle of moisture, and the sun in the clear
est sky in midsummer seems to lose its
heat before its rays can reach the earth.
These winds generally rise in the morn
ing, at least in such extra dry seasons as
1856 and 1864, before 10 o'clock, and 60
out before nightfall. After an interval of
two or three hours Of pleasant calm they
rise again and continue all night till about
sunrise, when there is another tranquiliza-
ton for several hours. Then they lift
their voices again little later than in the
preceding morning, and blow out half an
hour earlier in the afternoon, and SO per-
form a similar diminution at night again.
But each day they blow stronger, until
the third, fourth or sixth day, when there
is a elimination of their violence, and
they will after that gradually disappear,
less and less daily, until they entirely
blow all their strength away. Some of
them are of five days duration, while
others last ten and even twenty days.
Ii obliged to travel by stage, sea or
horseback, and exposed to this ruffian
wind, particularly in clear sky, with its
usual temperature of 46 deg, great de-
preston of spirits ensues-the skin be-
comes cold and dry, the hair and whis-
kers seem to crisp and curl, the head
throbs and aches, the nose and ears tingle
with nervous tremblings, the eyes redden
and run, and the wiper is constantly rub
bling and sopping the beak and peppers,
the lips and face crack or chap, and about
as blue-deviish feeling comes over one
as could possibly be envied by anybody
"who likes to be miserable" These winds
have a terribly parching effect on growing
vegetation, particularly the green pastures.
In the Tulare Lake country they are said
by old hunters and herdsmen to almost
visibly lick up and evaporate the waters
Of that dead level exposure. All who
are caught riding in that vicinity in such
gales find difficulty in alighting from
their horses after few hours exposure.
An experiment was once tried while one
of these desperadoes of Boreas was on a
midsummer "bust" of so miles an hour
for they blow at times at that violent rate
and it was found that gallon of water,
in six hours exposure in shallow ves-
sci, was dried up to fve-eights Of its nor
NAL quantity, and the temperature of the
air had fallen at the pivot of the gale Is
degrees from that of its commencement,
three hours before. The desiccating, aridi-
fed. pulverizing effect on our California
soils Of the northwesters with their clouds
of dust, is one of the most disagreeable
features of the climate Of. 1.-THE Pacific do
main, and exceeds that of the scorching
suns. These winds were exceedingly Sc
we're in 1856 and 1856. Those of 1864,
from March goth to Esd, appear to have
extended from the Columbia river to San
Diego, and were felt as far east as Great
Salt Lake. The native Californians call
them Poison Winds, from their not only
drying the face, but sometimes swelling it
as if by the venom of fish sickness.-S. F..
Bulletin. .. s......