6? on the
western coast, 15? in the interior, and 10? on the eastern seaboard.
[Footnote: Berghaus, following Humboldt, places the probable equator of
temperature (80? 16') in N. lat. 4?, or south of Axim, rising to N. lat.
13? in Central and in Eastern Africa] Add that the average daily
temperature is 75?-80? (F.), rising to 96? in the afternoon and falling
after midnight to 70?, and that the wet season on the seaboard is perhaps
the least sickly. We were there in January-March, during an unusually hot
and dry season, following the Harmatan and the Smokes and preceding the
tornadoes and the rains; yet I never felt an oppressive day,--nothing
worse than Alexandria or Trieste in early August. The mornings and
evenings were mostly misty; the moons were clear and the nights were
tolerable. An excessive damp, which mildews and decays
everything--clothes, books, metals, man--was the main discomfort. But we
were living, as it were, in the open, and we neglected morning and evening
fires. This will not be the case when solid and comfortable houses shall
be built. The improvement of lodging and diet accounts for the better
health of Anglo-Africans, as of Anglo-Indians, in the present day.
Pages:
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111