The great
mountain barrier seems to divide the continent into different climates,
even in the same degrees of latitude. The rigorous winters and sultry
summers, and all the capricious inequalities of temperature prevalent on
the Atlantic side of the mountains, are but little felt on their western
declivities. The countries between them and the Pacific are blessed with
milder and steadier temperature, resembling the climates of parallel
latitudes in Europe. In the plains and valleys but little snow falls
throughout the winter, and usually melts while falling. It rarely lies
on the ground more than two days at a time, except on the summits of the
mountains. The winters are rainy rather than cold. The rains for five
months, from the middle of October to the middle of March, are almost
incessant, and often accompanied by tremendous thunder and lightning.
The winds prevalent at this season are from the south and southeast,
which usually bring rain. Those from the north to the southwest are the
harbingers of fair weather and a clear sky. The residue of the year,
from the middle of March to the middle of October, an interval of seven
months, is serene and delightful. There is scarcely any rain throughout
this time, yet the face of the country is kept fresh and verdant by
nightly dews, and occasionally by humid fogs in the mornings.
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