p.1

Chicago Dec 31 1870

Sir
On this last day of the year I send
my weekly letter, to say that the meteorological
enterprise of the War Department continues to
work with reasonable ^much satisfaction, and, I hope,
with beneficial results.
In my daily telegrams I ^have endeavored
to select such items for transmission as
would be most most suggestive of
coming changes of weather.
On a former occasion I directed attention
to the enormous magnitude of the atmospheric
disturbances, with which we have to deal;
so extended that our whole country
is not sufficient to contain them.
Often nearly all the instruments, located
at twenty four places, between the
Atlantic Coast and the Rocky Mountains