Page:A Physical and Topographical Sketch of the Mississippi Territory, Lower Louisiana, and a Part of West Florida.djvu/31

 the farther you recede from the Mississippi the lower the country becomes.

I am indebted to William Dumbar, Esq. of the Mississippi Territory, for the following observations.

The winds of this country, in the winter season, are extremely variable, seldom blowing three days successively from the same point. The north-west winds bring us the severest cold. It may be considered as a general rule, that all winds during winter, blowing from the east of the meridian, bring rain, and those from the west, dry weather. The east and south-east winds are not abundantly charged with moisture, as the opposite points are always the driest. The north-east, during this season, are most disagreeable, but seldom prevail for any length of time. The north wind brings (though rarely) sleet or snow. After three or four days damp, cloudy, and rainy weather, it suddenly clears up with a cold north-west wind, which blows frequently with great force during the first, and sometimes the second day of the change; the night being generally calm. After a like period of clear weather, of which the two first days are clear and freezing, and the other two fine, mild, and agreeable, with a morning's hoar frost, it revolves into the same circle of damp and rainy weather. This, with some exceptions, may be considered the general character of our winter season.

As the spring and summer advance, the winds blow chiefly from between south-east and south-west,