Chal 
216 
a flat, and rather marshy; in others it 
rises mto hills: in some it rans into open 
plains of considerable extent, while in 
ethers it is mchly coyered with wood: 
‘Tue climate is-esteemed to be compara- 
tively healthy: it certainly is more tem- 
Ferate thai that of many other places. 
on the same line of coast. The height 
of the thermometer is usually from 75°. 
to 85%. In the rainy season it has been 
observed as low as 73°. The seasons 
may be divided into the tornado, the 
rainy, and the dry. The tornado* sea- 
son commences in March, and continues 
about two months. The rainy season 
Begins about the end of May, and ends 
* 6¢ Tornadoes are violent gusts of wind 
which come from the eastward, attended by 
heavy 
thunder, lightning, and, in general, 
rain. The violence of the wind seldom con- 
tinues longer than half an hour; but the 
scene during the time it continues may be 
considered as one of the most awfully sublime 
in nature. Its approach is foretold hy 
certain appearances, which enable peuple to 
be on their guard... A dark cloud, not larger 
than ‘ a man’s hand,’ is just observed on the 
verge of the eastern horizon. Faint flashes 
of lightning, attended sometimes by very 
distant thunder, are then seen to vibrate in 
guick succession. 
ter become gradually more dense and black ; 
they also increase in bulk, and appear as if 
heaped on each other. The thunder, which 
at first was-scarcely noticed, or heard only 
at long intervals, draws nearer by degrees, 
and becomes more frequent and tremendous, 
“The blackness of the clouds increases, until a 
great part of the heavens seems wrapped in 
the darkness of midnight; and it is rendered 
still more awful, by being contrasted with a 
gleam of light which generally appears in the 
western. horizon. Immediately before the 
attack of the tornado, there is either a light 
breeze, scarcely perceptible, from the west- 
ward, or, as is more common, the air is per- 
fectly caim and unusually still. Men and 
animals fly for shelter; and, ‘while expec- 
tation stands in horror,’ the thundering 
storm in an instant bursts from the clouds. 
It is impossible for language to convey a just 
idea of the uproar ‘of, the elements which 
then takes place. The temperature, of 
‘the air is greatly affected by a. tornado. 
It becomes ccol and clear; and if is not 
unusual for the thermometer to suitera de- 
pression cf eight or ten degrees within two or 
three minutes after the storm has come on. 
After atornado, the body feels invigorated and 
more active, and the mind recovers much of 
that elasticity which long-continued heat 
tends toimpair.”—The above is taken, with 
two or three slight verbal changes, from Dr. 
Winterbottem’s able and accurate Account of 
“Sierra Leone, p. 24, &Ge 
Description of the Agoona Country, | 
The'clouds in that quar- 
recedes, till, 
‘[Oct. Is 
in August. The dry season follows, and 
continues, with trifling variations, 
throughout the remainder of the year; - 
that is to say, from August till March: 
About the end of December or beginning 
of January in every year, and sometimes 
in February, a land wind of a very pecu- 
liar nature, called the Harmallan, conti~ 
nves to blow for four, six, or eight days, 
and’ sometimes for a fort-might. It is 
chiefly remarkable for its cold and chile 
ling effects on the human frame, and for 
the very extraordinary degree of dryness 
which it produces; the process of evapo- 
ration, while it lasts, proceeding with 
astonishing rapidity.* 
Near the sea the soil is in many places 
light and sandy, and therefore unfavour- 
able to the cultivation of most articles of 
tropical produce.t And where it is of a 
diferent description, many plants are 
found not to thrive, in consequence, as 
ig supposed, partly of the coldness and 
humidity of the sea-breezes, or south- 
west winds, which méet with nothing on 
the shore to mitigate their severity; and 
partly because the air is there impreg- 
nated with saline particles thrown up by 
a constant and generally violent surf. 
About two or three’miles from the sea, 
the soil is found to be much more pro- 
ductive; and it gradually improves as it 
‘at the distance of six or. 
eight miles froin the shore, it is so fertile 
as to be well adapted for the growth of 
almost every article of tropical culture. 
The climate at this distance is also im- — 
proved, and so temperate as to favour 
the cultivation of European plants and 
seeds. The articles which succeed best 
near the sea, are rice, sugar-cane, and 
cotton. T 
The only mineral shoeegten which 
has hitherto been discovered in this. comn= 
try; is gold; their method of procuring 
which the natives endeavour to conceal 
from Europeans. They “are obviously 
very ignorant of the proper means of 
- searching for mineral bodies, or of work- 
ing them when discovered. 
The domestic animals are sheep, goets, 
‘hogs, dogs, cats, common fowls, &c. 
Those ina wild state are, tigers,’ leo- 
pards, hyenas, buffaloes, hogs, deer, 
* For a full account of this singular phe- ~ 
nomenon, see the work of Dr. Winterbottom, 4 
alregey cefened tO; Ps i95 er maey iG 
Such a soil and situation, it is appre 
hended, would’ be peculiarly suited to the 
cultivation of the sea-island cotton of — 
Georgia. d 
“hares, ' 
