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00958 3 severe weather for the past two months, unusually so in the large proportion of rainy days and gales of wind from
South east. On the 26th of October this whole section was visited by a frightful cyclone followed by successive shocks of
earthquake some of them being severe enough to stop clocks, ring the church bell in Sitka, overturn pictures other objects
hanging and standing in rooms causing terror both among whites and Indians nothing like it was known before, that is so severe.
We gathered reports from Takoo? to illegible Cross? Sound, everywhere it was severe, doing considerable damage in the Indian
settlements destroying large number of trees. We had nine hours warning by the actions of our barometer so 00958 4 took
refuge in what we supposed to be a perfect harbor, Fresh Water Bay about ten miles below Point Augusta? (Cross Sound) in Chatham
Straits we laid there with both anchors down steam up, when it came it struck us suddenly with terrific force and we were
compelled to to steam at full speed to keep from being torn form our anchors dashed on the rocks our barometer went down to
28.44 as Sitka the bar went to 28.18 At Chileat many of the Indian houses were unroofed, graves monuments blown or knocked
down while the Indians were temped by the rumblings that sounded like the discharge of heavy illegible . Large tracts of trees
were blown down, we received no damage at any of our posts. At Ho illegible a large number of canoes were destroyed, houses
blown down and one