The auditory sense was strangely affected by these lulls. The contrast was so severe when the racking gusts of an abating wind suddenly gave way to intense, eerie silence, that the habitual droning of many weeks would still reverberate in the ears. At night one would involuntarily wake up if the wind died away, and be loth to sleep "for the hunger of a sound." In the open air the stillness conveyed to the brain an impression of audibility, interpreted as a vibratory murmur. During one hour on March 22 it blew eighty-six miles. On the morning of that day there was not much snow in the air and the raging sea was a fearful sight. Even the nearest of the islands, only half a mile off the land, was partially hidden in the clouds of spray. What an impossible coast this would be for the wintering of a ship! Everybody knows that the pressure exerted by a wind against an object in its path mounts up in much greater proportion than the velocity of the wind. Thus may be realized the stupendous force of the winds of Adelie Land in comparison with those of half the velocity which fall within one's ordinary experience. As this subject was ever before us, the following figures quoted from a work of reference will be instructive. The classification of winds, here stated, is that known as the "Beaufort scale." The corresponding velocities in each case are those measured by the "Robinson patent" anemometer; our instrument being of a similar pattern ___________________________________________________________________ Beaufort scale |Velocities|Pressures | Apparent effect | | in miles | in lbs. | | | per hour | square | | | foot | | | | area | | __________________|__________| _________|_________________________| 0|Calm | 2 | 0.02 |May cause smoke to | | | | | move form vertical | 1|Light air | 4 | 0.06 |Moves the leaves of trees| 2|Light breeze | 7 | 0.19 |Moves small branches of | 3|Gentle breeze | 10 | 0.37 | trees and blows up dust | 4|Moderate breeze| 14 | 0.67 | | 5|Fresh breeze | 19 | 1.16 |Good sailing breeze and | 6|Strong breeze | 25 | 1.90 | makes white caps | 7|Moderate gale | 31 | 2.81 |Sways trees and breaks | 8|Fresh gale | 37 | 3.87 | small branches | 9|Strong gale | 44 | 5.27 |Dangerous for sailing | 10|Whole gale | 53 | 7.40 | vessels | 11|Storm | 64 | 10.40 |Prostrates exposed trees | 12|Hurricane | 77 | 14.40 | and frail houses | ___________________________________________________________________