And now respecting the sudden gusts[1], which arising from
the exhalations of the earth, as has been said above, and
falling down again, being in the mean time covered by a
thin film of clouds, exist in a variety of forms. By their
wandering about, and rushing down like torrents, in the
opinion of some persons, they produce thunder and lightning[2]. But if
they be urged on with greater force and
violence, so as to cause the rupture of a dry cloud, they produce a
squall[3], which is named by the Greeks Ecnephias[4].
But, if these are compressed, and rolled up more closely together,
and then break without any discharge of fire, i. e.
without thunder, they produce a squall, which is named
Typhon[5], or an Ecnephias in a state of agitation. It carries
along a portion of the cloud which it has broken off, rolling
it and turning it round, aggravating its own destruction by
the weight of it, and whirling it from place to place. This
is very much dreaded by sailors, as it not only breaks their
sail-yards, but the vessels themselves, bending them about
in various ways. This may be in a slight degree counteracted by
sprinkling it with vinegar, when it comes near us,
this substance being of a very cold nature[6]. This wind,
when it rebounds after the stroke, absorbs and carries up
whatever it may have seized on.
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