The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-05-20

now but little thought OF, even by the most
timid tourist, they are as real as ever, and
occasionally they reassert their terror in the
most terrific and protracted storms.
Despite all the theories to the contrary the
cyclone, born in the fiery zone, will overleap
the conventional line which man draws on the
map and calls the tropic, and moving with uu-
slackened pace 1t crosses the Atlantic right in
the path of our passenger steamships. Tho
Gulf Stream, long known to the sailor as the
weather breeder" overhung by aqueous
vapor its waters lighted from beneath by the
phosphorescent glow and from above by the
electric fash, is the natural channel for the
storm and the ordained track of the hurricane.
And the track of the hurricane is that which
navigation selects for the great caravan Of
trade and intercourse ever moving between
the Old and New Worlds.
Doubtless the accurate meteorological oh.
servations of the Signal Service under Gene
raj Myer, will go far towards demonstrating
the laws of the phenomena Of storms on land.
and enable us to anticipate by many hours the
approach and force of all perilous atmospheric
changes.
Fortunately, however, for the seaman of tho
present day he may have on board his ship
the means of foreknowing and completely
evading every dangerous cyclone that hie
vessel may encounter. More than forty years
ago Mr.. William G. Redfeld, Of New York,
demonstrated in substance the law of storms;
and, had his great discovery at that time been
fvvIix Tod lNv Dlo -
noble ships, overtaken in cyclones, would have
been saved from destruction. From an induc-
ton of thousands of distinct and accurate OBJ
servations this great meteorologst had forced
upon his mind the c0nviction-now entertained
by all NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. these storms ro-
tate around centre Of low barometric pres
sure, and that they rotate In the northern
hemisphere in direction against the hands of
watch, in the southern hemisphere with
those hands. Long since Mr.. Redfeld's labors
this law has been established and re-estab-
lished; all authorities on navigation endorse
it; its application is enjoined by our naval
officers and instances are numberless in which
masters Of sea-going vessels have verified its
claim to accuracy and its value in
Had it been applied by the commander of the
San Francisco in 1853 that richly freighted
steamer might have escaped the sudden
destruction that overlook her. By the use Of
the well known sstorm card" of Piddiugton.
specially invented for the practical application
of the law of storms, by simply observing the
wind and adjusting the card on his chart the
seaman instantly discovers the dreaded centre
Of the hurricane and sees how to direct his
course to evade it. During the cruise of the
Japan expedition Captain Slas Bent, then
master Of the Mississippi and one of the first
American naval officers to test the law, by a
| timely signal to Commodore Perry warned the
| whole Japan squadron of an approaching
| typhoon and delivered it from impending
destruction. The new and splendid United
| States ship Idaho, in the fall OF 1869, was
nearly overwhelmed and forever rendered
unseaworthy on her first voyage, either from
| ignorance of the law Of storms or from having
rashy dared to push through the centre Of .
Pacific cyclone. Only late in the fall of last
year the powerful steam sloop-of-war Shenan-
doah, Of our navy, on her passage from Boston
to Lisbon, very nearly shared the fate of the
Idaho.
But. Notwithstanding all these facts, and
in defiance of the counsels Of science and good
seamanship, the commanders of some Of the
large passenger steamships crossing the At
lantic not only unnecessarily get into these
cyclones, but, whether from sheer ignorance
or recklessness, when once In the danger arc.
powerless TO cxtricate themselves. Two
striking instances of this incapacity, of quites
recent occurrence, are before us. In one OF
these the steamer belonging to a favorito
English line, and on this occasion bound from
gale near latitude AZ degrees longitude IS de-
grees west, and in twenty-four hours, during
which she madly attempted to push through
the storm-centrc, where the ''vortcose' mo-
ton of the gale is most furious, she only mado
ninety six miles. Still insanely keeping on
her fatal course, according to the account
taken from her own logbook, ''the engines
were obliged to be stopped, owing to
the fearful sea running at the time,"
and she was forced to lay to for
some hours, finally reaching this port with
the loss of passenger washed overheard
only after eighteen days of wretched founder
ing And yet the officers Of this vessel had
the boldncss to state to the reporter Of the
press
II appears from the logs OF the different Atlantic
steamships that cyclone must have lately prevailed
IN the Atlantic, as most Of them have experienced
heavy weather. some more and some less, but all In
such directions that show the gale must have been
blowing in circle. IL IL the Delief or the 0ncer3
| OF the - That their vessel must have been right
| in the midst Of II.
| Had the vessels machinery been little
| stronger doubtless her commander would
| have forced her into the storm-vortex, where,