Weather at Senegambia, See. 481 
darker, fo as to make the horizon look quite black, ac- 
companied with lightning and thunder at a diftance. 
The breeze dies away by degrees as the tornado ad- 
vances, and an entire calm fucceeds ; the air grows yet 
darker; animals and birds retire and fhelter themfelves ; 
every thing is filent, and the afpedt of the fky, from 
whence the tornado approaches, is molt dreadful. A vio- 
lent ftorm comes on all at once, which is fo cold as to 
1 
occafion the thermometer to fall feven or eight degrees 
in a few minutes, and ftrong enough to overfet negro 
huts and veiTels, or drive the latter from their anchors, 
and throw them on iliore. The ftorm abates, and heavy 
rain follows accompanied with much lightning and . 
ftrong claps of thunder. Sometimes tornados happen 
without rain, or at leaft with very little, but then the 
florm is more violent and lafts longer. It has been ima- 
gined by fome, that this kind of ftorm brings fome pefti- 
ferous quality with it, becaufe they had obferved, that 
out of a number of people feveral fell fick in one night 
after a tornado. 
f '"V w ' * N " 1 ’ ' ’ J v 
This I have in fome degree experienced myfelf; for 
in the month of September 1776, feeling myfelf very 
well, and having dined as ufual, the ftorm of a tornado 
fuddenly tore down the window-fhutters, and blew into 
the room where I was: about an hour after I had rigors, 
3 and* 
