A gale at this time is a most unusual occurrence; but for more
than a week a succession of storms was experienced of the most violent
description, while for fully three weeks the weather continued dark,
rough, and gloomy, with strong shifting winds and heavy rain, the thick
clouds rarely separating sufficiently to afford the chance of an
observation.
Occasionally a break in the murky canopy would give promise of a change
for the better; but a very few hours served to dissipate the rising
hope. The sky would be again overcast, the wind breeze up from a fresh
quarter, and another night of discomfort set in. In addition to this
adverse weather, a still further difficulty was experienced in the
strong current that appeared to set continuously from the westward,
drifting the vessel bodily out of her course at the rate of sixty or
seventy miles a day. During this period, the barometer ranged from
28.64 to 29.70. It was remarkable that the winds appeared to succeed
each other with perfect regularity, rotating, as nearly as possible,
once in every two days, or at the utmost, in two days and a half. The
course taken by these rotatory storms was always the same, and it was a
rare occurrence for the wind to remain stationary in one quarter during
eight or ten successive hours.
On the 23rd October the gale at last finally broke, and with the return
of better weather the Alabama's luck seemed also about to revive.
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