full and change, and to end in April. The heavy downfalls are
mostly at night, possibly an effect of the Sierra del Crystal. I
found March 28th (1862) very like damp weather at the end of an
English May; April 6th was equally exceptional, raining from dawn
to evening. During my trip to Sanga-Tanga and back (March 25th to
29th) we had frequent fogs, locally called "smokes," and almost
daily tornadoes, sometimes from the south-east, whilst the
lightning was dangerous as upon the Western prairies. After an
interval of fiery sun, with occasional rain torrents and
discharges of electricity, begin the Enomo (Enun?), the "middle"
or long dries, which last four months to September. The "Enomo"
is the Angolan Cacimbo, meaning cool and cloudy weather, when no
umbrella is required, and when the invariably grey sky rarely
rains. Travellers are told that June and July are the cream of
the year, the healthiest time for seasoned Europeans, and this
phantom of a winter renders the climate more supportable to the
northern constitution.

During the "middle dries," when the sun, retiring to the summer
solstice, is most distant, land winds and sea breezes are strong
and regular, and the people suffer severely from cold. In the
Gaboon heavy showers sometimes fall, July being the least subject
to them, and the fiery sun, when it can disperse the clouds,
turns the soil to dust. At the end of September appear the
"latter rains," which are the more copious, as they seldom last
more than six hours at a time. It is erroneous to assert that
"the tract nearest the equator on both sides has the longest
rainy season;" the measure chiefly depends upon altitude and
other local conditions.