r I* £■ t 8&P««J- A GENERAL VIEW OF THE WORLD, COMPRISING A PHYSICAL, POLITICAL, AND STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF ITS GRAND DIVISIONS, AMERICA, EUROPE, ASIA, AFRICA AND OCEANICA, WITH THEIR EMPIRES, KINGDOMS, REPUBLICS, PRINCIPALITIES, &c: Exhibiting the History of Geographical Science and the Progress of Discovery to the present time, A DESCRIPTION OF THE CHIEF MOUNTAINS, RIVERS. LAKES, PLAINS. &c, OF EVERY SECTION; The principal Beasts, Birds, Fishos and Reptiles ; Agricultural and Mineral Productions ; Commerce. Manufactures, Education, Government, Arts, Science, and Literature ; An account of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the Inhabitants of each Country ; together with a description of the Chief Cities and Towns. ILLUSTRATED BY UPWARDS OF NINE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS Of the Principal Vegetable Productions, Animals, Noted Edifices, Curiosities, and Races of Men, in every region of the Globe. The whole concluded by a general Statistical Survey of the various Nations in the World : embracing the Population of the United States, according to the Census of 1840. BY S. AUGUSTUS MITCHELL. PUBLISHED BY DAVID M. JEWETT. 1842. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by S. AUGUSTUS MITCHELL, In the clerk's office of the district court of the eastern district of Pennsylvania. PRINTED BY JAMES KAY, JUN. AND BROTHER. (3) PREFACE. The primary design of the present work being the extension of useful knowledge, no labour has been spared to compress within its limits every authentic and interesting fact that has a bearing upon the subject. The most modern sources of inform- ation have been resorted to, and the work has been prepared with special reference to the actual condition of the various divisions of the world at the present time. It is perhaps hardly necessary to make any remarks on the value and interest of a work like the present. The importance and utility of becoming acquainted with the geography of the various parts of the earth, but especially of our own country, must be sufficiently obvious to the understanding of every indi- vidual. It is a species of knowledge connected with nearly all branches of science, and becomes an object of practical necessity to almost every profession in a civilized community. The want of it is ignorance, and even a partial acquaintance with it can hardly fail to be of service in any sphere of life. Works upon this subject have, from a very early period, at- tracted much attention, and the ancient geographical descrip- tions rank among the most valuable productions of the classic ages. In modern times, and especially at the present day, geo- graphy has assumed a much more important place, among the various departments of knowledge, than at any former period. The science of Geography embraces, in its description, the wide-spread surface of the earth, in all its diversities of form and appearance. It ascertains the bounds and extent of oceans, the dimensions of continents, the positions of islands, the course of rivers, the elevations of mountains, and the characteristic features of valleys, plains and deserts. It includes a knowledge of the peculiarities of the soil and climate, together with the mineral, animal and vegetable productions of every known re- gion. It treats, also, of the manners and customs, the moral habits and qualities, the social combinations, and the institutions of the various communities and races of men. (3) iv PREFACE. The work commences with an introduction, containing a con- densed historical sketch of the progress of geographical science, and of maritime and terrestrial discovery, to the present time, together with an account of the form, magnitude, motions and structure of the earth. To these succeed a description of the various grand divisions of the globe, in the order named in the title. Besides such detailed notice of our own vast republic, and the various European states, as the limits of the work per- mit, the political condition and recent changes in different coun- tries, have been particularly noted — those of Texas, Mexico, Guatimala, the various South American territories, with Greece, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, India, and the adjacent regions, are all described with reference to their actual condition. The chief divisions of the British Oriental Empire are exhi- bited somewhat in detail, and, it is hoped, more clearly and dis- tinctly than in any former treatise of the same extent, so that they may be readily understood, even by juvenile readers. This portion of Asia has been generally described so much in mass, and for the most part so obscurely, that the usual delineations of its territories have formed, like those of the German States, almost a geographical labyrinth. The new Anglo-Saxon domain, whose foundations are so widely spread over the Pacific Ocean, comprising the various divisions of Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, &c, have re- ceived a proportional share of attention. These remote regions, the scenes of some of the most striking moral events of the pre- sent age, have become of superior interest to all civilized nations, and especially to those whose language, habits, and feelings are kindred and congenial. The engravings, about eight hundred in number, attached to this work, represent the most remarkable plants, vegetable productions, and animals, the chief cities and towns, noted pub- lic buildings, natural curiosities, and picturesque scenery, with the characteristic figures and costumes of the inhabitants of many of the countries described. These embellishments, at the same time that they illustrate and ornament the work, will, with the explanations appended to most of them, be found interest- ing and useful — conveying an infinitely better idea of the ob- jects represented, than could be obtained from any description, however minute and detailed. CONTENTS. Page Introduction " The World 21 AMERICA 23 North America 25 Russian America 34 Greenland 35 British America 36 New Britain 40 Upper Canada 43 Lower Canada 45 New Brunswick 46 Nova Scotia, &c 47 Prince Edward's Island 49 Newfoundland 50 United States 51 New England 65 Maine 66 New Hampshire 68 Vermont 71 Massachusetts 74 Rhode Island 79 Connecticut 82 Middle States 85 New York 86 New Jersey 95 Pennsylvania 98 Delaware 106 Southern States 108 Maryland 109 District of Columbia 113 Virginia 115 North Carolina 120 South Carolina 123 Georgia 126 Florida 129 Alabama 131 Mississippi 134 Louisiana 136 Western States and Territories 140 Ohio 142 Kentucky 147 Tennessee 150 Michigan 152 Indiana 156 Illinois 158 Missouri 161 Arkansas 163 Wisconsin Territory 165 Iowa Territory 167 1* Page Indian Territory 168 Missouri Territory 171 Oregon Territory 172 Texas 175 Mexico 177 Balize Settlement 188 Guatimala 189 West Indies 192 Spanish Islands 194 British Islands 196 French Islands • • • • 200 Dutch, Swedish, and Danish ) 2 qq Islands S Hayti 201 South America 203 Colombia 211 New Grenada 214 Venezuela 217 Ecuador 219 Guiana 221 Essequibo, Demerara, and Ber- ) ^22 bice S Surinam 222 Cayenne 22~ Peru 223 Peru-Bolivian Confederation . . 226 North Peru 227 South Peru 229 Bolivia 23 Chili 233 Brazil 237 Buenos Ayres 243 Paraguay 247 Uruguay 24.* Patagonia 250 South American Islands 250 EUROPE 252 Sweden and Norway 259 Norway 261 Sweden 263 Lapland 265 Russian Empire • • • • 267 Russia in Europe 271 Poland 274 The Republic of Cracow 279 Denmark 270 Iceland 281 The Netherlands 283 Holland 283 (5) VI CONTENTS. Belgium Great Britain and Ireland England Wales Scotland Ireland France Spain Republic of Andorra Portugal Germany Austria Prussia Bavaria Saxony Hanover Wirtemberg Baden Hessian States Hesse Cassel Hesse Darmstadt Hesse Homburg Saxon States Saxe Weimar Saxe Coburg Gotha Saxe Meiningen Hildburghausen Saxe Altenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Schwerin Mecklenburg Strelitz Brunswick Oldenburg Nassau Anhalt The German Principalities .... Schwartzburg Reuss Lippe Hohenzollern Waldeck Lichtenstein Kniphausen The Free Cities of Germany . . Hamburg Lubec Bremen Frankfort. The German Territories of Denmark, Belgium, Prussia and Austria Switzerland Italy Sardinia , Monaca ii Page 286 289 292 300 302 307 311 318 323 324 327 332 337 340 342 343 344 345 346 346 346 347 347 347 348 348 348 348 348 349 349 349 349 349 350 350 350 350 350 350 350 350 351 351 351 351 352 352 353 356 360 363 Page Austrian Italy 363 Tuscany 365 Parma 367 Modena 367 Lucca 368 States of the Church 368 San Marino 371 Naples 371 Ionian Republic 373 Malta 374 Greece 375 Turkish Empire 380 Turkey in Europe 383 ASIA 387 Asiatic Russia 396 Siberia 596 Caspian and Caucasian Russia . 400 Caspian Russia 400 Caucasian Russia 402 Circassia 403 Daghestan 404 Georgia 404 Imeritia 405 Turkey in Asia 405 Syria 411 Palestine 415 Arabia 420 Mecca 425 Yemen or Sana 425 Muscat 426 Territory of the Wahabees . . . 427 Hadramaut 427 Lahsa 427 Idumea 428 Persia 429 Afghanistan 434 Cabul 436 Herat 438 Beloochistan 439 Kaffcristan 440 Tartary 441 Independent Tartary 445 Great Bucharia 445 Khokan 446 Khiva 447 Koondooz 448 Kirguis Country 448 Turcomania 449 Chinese Tartary 449 Little Bucharia 450 Soongaria 451 Mongolia 451 Mantchooria 452 CONTENTS. Vll India 453 Hindoostan 454 British India 463 Bengal 465 Madras 467 Bombay 468 Tributary or Vassal States 470 Hydrabad 470 Oude 470 Nagpore 470 Mysore 471 Satara 471 Indore 471 Travancore and Cochin 471 Allied or Protected States 472 Baroda 472 Rajpootana 472 Cutch 473 Independent States 473 Lahore 473 Nepaul 474 Bootan 474 Dominions of Scindiah 475 Sinde 475 European Colonies 476 The Portuguese 476 The French 476 The Danish '. 476 Ceylon 476 Coralline Islands 477 The Laccadives 477 The Maldives 477 Chin India 477 Birmah 480 Anam 482 Siam 485 British Territories 486 British Birmah 486 British Malacca 487 Pulo Pinang 488 Malacca 488 Nicobar and Andaman Isles . . 489 Chinese Empire 489 China 490 Corea 499 Thibet 500 Little Thibet 502 Japan 503 AFRICA 507 Barbary 515 Morocco 518 Algiers or Algeria 521 Tunis 522 Page Tripoli 524 Barca 525 Beled el Jerid 526 Great Desert 527 Fezzan 528 Tibesty 528 Tibboos and Tuaricks 529 Region of the Nile 530 Egypt 531 Nubia 538 Darfur 540 Bergoo or Waday 540 Kordofan 540 Fertit Donga, &c 540 Abyssinia 541 Western Africa 544 Senegambia 546 The Foulahs 546 Foota Jallon 547 Foota Toro 547 The Jaloffs 547 The Mandingoes 547 Bambouk 548 Soolimana 548 Senegal 548 Gambia 548 Sierra Leone 549 Guinea 549 Upper Guinea 550 Liberia 550 The Grain Coast 551 The Ivory, Gold and Slave Coasts 552 Ashantee 552 Dahomey 553 Benin 553 Waree 553 Lower Guinea 554 Loango 554 Portuguese Guinea 554 Congo 555 Angola and Benguela 555 Matemba, &c 555 Moolooa 555 Cimbebas Country 556 Southern Africa 556 Cape Colony 558 Caffraria 559 Hottentots 560 Boshuanas 561 Eastern Africa 562 The Country of the Somaulies . 563 Adel 563 Berbora 563 Gingiro 563 Vlll CONTENTS. Page Ajan 564 Zanguebar 564 Magadoxa • 564 Melinda 564 Mombas 565 Quiloa • 565 Portuguese Possessions 565 Sofala, Sabia, &c 566 M onomotapa 566 Cazembe 566 Central Africa 566 Kaarta, Manding, &c 569 Bambarra 570 Timbuctoo 570 Houssa 571 Yaoorie 572 Boussa 572 Bergoo 572 Yarriba 572 Nyffe, &c 572 Bornou, &c 573 Begharmi 574 Mandara, &c 574 African Islands 575 Azores or Western Islands .... 575 Madeira 575 The Canary Islands 575 The Cape Verde Islands 576 Fernando Po, &c 576 Ascension 577 St. Helena 577 The Ethiopian Archipelago . . . 577 Madagascar 577 Imerina 578 The Mascarenha Islands 578 Bourbon 578 Mauritius, or the Isle of France 579 The Seychelles, &c 579 The Comora Islands 579 Pemba, Zanzibar, and Monfia . 579 Socotra 580 Page OCEANICA 580 Malaysia 582 Sumatra 584 Java 585 Bally, Lombock, Sumbawa, &c. 586 Borneo 586 The Sooloo Archipelago 586 Celebes or Maccassar 587 The Moluccas or Spice Islands 587 The Philippines 587 Australasia 568 Australia 588 Botany Bay Colony 590 The Colony of West Australia 591 The Colony of South Australia 591 Van Diemen's Land or Tasmania 592 New Zealand 592 Papua or New Guinea 593 Louisiade, &c 593 Norfolk Island 593 Polynesia 593 The Ladrone or Marianne Islands 596 The Caroline Islands 596 Central Archipelago 597 The Sandwich Islands 597 The Mendana Archipelago The Society and Georgian lsl- ) amis S King George's Islands, &c. . . The Pearl or Paumotu Islands, &,c The Pulliser, Hervey,and Aus- tral Islands, &c The Friendly Islands '. 599 The Navigator's Islands 599 The Feejee Islands 599 The Tonga Islands, &.c 600 Pitcairn's Island 600 Easter Island 600 The Archipelagoes of Anson ) nnn and Magellan $ 598 598 598 599 599 STATISTICAL TABLES. Extent and Population of the different Countries in the World 601 Date of the Settlement of each of the United Stales 603 Principal Religious Denominations in the United States 604 Imports and Exports of the United States G(J4 Principal Canals and Rail-Roads in the United States 605 Population of the United Slates, and comparative Tables thereof 607 Population of the principal Cities and Towns 608 Colleges in the United States 609 Theological, Law, and Medical Schools 611, 612 Seats of the State Governments, with times of Elections, &c 612 7\» * * *> Of THi UNIVERSITY ^ or VIEW OF THE WORLD. INTRODUCTION. Geography is the science which treats of the form and phy- sical features of the globe. It is a study of the greatest impor- tance as affording a knowledge of the surface of the earth, and of the manners and customs of its inhabitants. At an early period of the world, the necessity of cultivating this science must have attracted the attention of mankind. Their curiosity to know something of the country they inhabited, and the necessity of marking the divisions of their property, would unite in forming the outline, and calling their attention to it. The origin of the science of geography is involved in darkness and obscurity. It was doubtless first cultivated by the early eastern or first civilized nations, the Chinese, the people of India, the Babylonians, and next by the Egyptians. At length the Greek philosophers obtained a knowledge of the science, and from them it passed to the Romans and the rest of the Europear nations. The Greeks were an acute and learned people. They stu- died geography, and made many valuable improvements in the science, yet their knowledge of the earth was extremely limited, and some of their opinions erroneous and fanciful. They be- lieved that the tropical or hot regions of the earth, from whence we obtain many of the most valuable articles of commerce— spices, gold, ivory, coffee, sugar, &c., were so burned up by the heat of the sun, that no one could live there. They also con- ceived the Arctic regions to be so frozen with cold, that human beings could not exist at all. They were ignorant of the West- ern Continent, and their positive knowledge of the world was confined to comparatively a small part of the eastern hemisphere. It is only within the last three or four hundred years, that the erroneous opinions of the ancient geographers with respect to climate, have been renounced. In the progress of the discove- ries made by the Portuguese along the west coasts of Africa, between the years 1400 and 1500, the idea of advancing boldly into the Torrid Zone was viewed with terror ; and it was only by a slow and gradual progress that it was accomplished, and the (9) 10 INTRODUCTION. fears entertained respecting the heat of those regions, found to be groundless. So early as 600 years before the Christian era, Thales, a Greek philosopher, by the observation of eclipses and various other circumstances, together with the knowledge he acquired in his travels into different parts of Asia and Egypt, became persuaded of the spherical form of the earth. He is supposed to have been the first who described the circles or zones of the spheres, and the annual progress of the sun from tropic to tropic. He first suggested the location of places by latitude and longitude, and is thought to have been the author of the division of the year into spring, summer, autumn, and winter. His principal disciples, Pythagoras, Anaximenes, and Anaxi- mander, were all distinguished men, and taught his doctrines. The latter made some improvements upon the theory of his instructor, and first demonstrated the earth's motion round its axis, and is said to have been the first Greek who made a map to illustrate the principles of his doctrines. He likewise at- tempted to measure the circumference of the globe, set up the first sun-dial, and discovered the obliquity of the ecliptic. Nearly a century afterwards, Herodotus collected and ar- ranged the discoveries of his predecessors, and has given to mankind a summary of all that he could learn respecting the human race, and the regions which they inhabited. This eminent writer found it necessary to study geography to illustrate his histories, and such was his enthusiasm in the prose- cution of this science, that he visited Egypt, Persia, Assyria, Scythia, and Thrace, and ascertained from personal observation many important facts. In his time it would appear that the separation of the Eastern Continent into three great divisions was completely established, and their boundaries were very nearly the same as those admit- ted at the present day. The extent given to these vast regions was of course owing to a want of information on the part of Herodotus infinitely less than at present. Afterwards, Hippocrates and Aristotle, following the footsteps of Herodotus, collected much valuable information calculated to improve the science of geography, and render it more definite and exact. Aristotle, chosen to be the preceptor of Alexander, demon- strated the spherical figure of the earth ; and, together with other stores of learning, enriched the mind of his royal pupil with the treasures of geographical knowledge. When this great monarch succeeded to his kingdom, he was INTRODUCTION. H in the vigour of youth, and possessed within his own dominions all the science then existing in Europe. Ambitious of being known as a legislator, conqueror, and patron of learning, to en- title himself to these appellations, he invited those individuals most eminent for their knowledge in arts and sciences in his kingdom, to attend him in his expeditions, surveyors to describe his marches, artificers to construct machines, and erect monu- ments of his exploits, and historians to record his achievements. His memorable expedition to India constitutes an era in the history of geography, and first opened the knowledge of that interesting country to the people of Europe ; and from the actual surveys, journals, and memoirs of his principal officers, we are made acquainted with a variety of particulars connected with that remarkable expedition, which paved the way to more exten- sive discoveries. Alexandria, the chosen city of this renowned conqueror, in addition to being the commercial emporium of the world, became the fountain of knowledge and science, and the residence for a considerable period of the most eminent literary and scientific men of those ages. From this school arose a succession of individuals, whose labours and discoveries have been of great service to mankind. Here Euclid, by his observations on the heavenly bodies, and his luminous explanations of the principles of geometry, contri- buted much to the improvement of geography, and by Eratos- thenes, the principles of the science were placed on so true and correct a basis, that their accuracy is recognized even at the present day. Hipparchus, who flourished about one hundred and fifty years before Christ, brought geography and astronomy into close con- nexion, by determining latitudes and longitudes from celestial observations. He also divided the heavens into forty-nine constellations, and gave names to the stars. He is likewise supposed to have in- vented the globe as a representation of the earth, and inscribed it with meridians, parallels, and other celestial circles, for the purpose of arranging places thereon correctly. This great man was denominated by Pliny, one of those persons of sublime genius, who have contributed to the benefit and illumination of the human race. The Romans, when they became the conquerors, became also the surveyors of the world. For the purpose of determining the extent of their dominions, delineating the line of their marches, and notmg the sites of their encampments, surveys of all the conquered countries were completed. Every war 12 INTRODUCTION. produced a new survey and itinerary of the regions, where the scenes of action passed, so that the materials of geography were accumulated by every additional conquest. So much was their attention directed to this branch of science, that when Hannibal was preparing to advance from Spain into Italy, at the beginning of the second Punic war, the ground over which he had to pass had been measured with the utmost care by the Romans. About 50 years before the Christian era, Julius Ccesar obtained a decree of the senate to have the whole Roman empire sur- veyed. This vast work was accomplished in about 25 years, and is probably the greatest of the kind ever undertaken : though not performed with the exactness and skill of modern survey- ing, yet it gave a precision to geographical delineations till then unknown. Strabo, contemporary with our Saviour, was perhaps the most exact and critical of all the ancient geographers. He col- lected and combined into a regular system the whole of the information then extant, respecting the different parts of the earth, which he performed with much skill and ability ; and pos- terity is indebted to him for a description of the world as known about the commencement of the Christian era. When the Roman Empire had been enlarged to its greatest extent, and all its provinces well known and accurately surveyed, Ptolemy, about one hundred and fifty years after Christ, com- posed his system of Geography. This, like Strabo's, embraced the extent of the known world. His description of the Roman Empire, being founded on actual survey, is tolerably correct ; but beyond this he has fallen into many mistakes, as his information was vague and imperfect when it related to regions beyond the extremities of the Roman power. In the system by which Ptolemy explained the motions of the heavenly bodies, he supposed the earth to remain stationary in the centre of the universe; and the sun, moon, stars, and planets to move round it in solid orbs, whose motions were originated and directed by one, denominated the Primum Mobile. He represented the earth as a spherical figure, and but as a point in comparison with the rest of the heavenly bodies ; and treated at length of the several circles of the globe, and of their distances from the equator. With all its imperfections, the system of Ptolemy continued in vogue for more than thirteen hundred years, nor was it finally exploded until the researches of modern science exposed its fal- lacy. When the vast fabric of the Roman Empire had yielded to INTRODUCTION. 13 decay, learning, science, and civilization were buried beneath its mighty ruins, and a chaos of ignorance and lethargy ensued ; during which, the inhabitants of Europe, sunk in mental darkness, far from knowing or studying the geography of the remote parts of the earth, were probably even unacquainted with the regions immediately adjoining to them. About the beginning of the seventh century, the Arabs or Saracens, the most civilized people of those times, became the cultivators of the almost forgotten sciences, and have left some valuable disquisitions on various subjects. Even the propagation of the Mahomedan religion, did not supplant the cultivation of learning and the useful arts, but by the conquests that accompanied their conversion, afforded new materials, and eventually contributed to the advancement of geographical knowledge. During the height of their power, there arose amongst them a race of humane and polished princes who studiously sought to encourage and advance almost all branches of science. The caliph, Almamon, who lived in the ninth century, may rank among the most distinguished patrons of learning who have ever filled a throne. In his reign, geography and astronomy were among the most favourite pursuits of the court of Bagdad : the works of the Greek philosophers were translated into the Arabic language, and care- fully studied ; numerous observations were recorded respecting the various countries subjected to the Saracen arms, many of which are not unworthy of attention at the present day ; and their descriptions of some of the interior regions of Asia and Africa often coincide in a striking manner with many of the most recent discoveries. Possessing a great extent of sea coast, the Arabs were in the habit of carrying on an extensive trade along the shores of the Red sea, the coasts of Africa, Madagascar, Hindoostan, Ceylon Sumatra, &c. They also spread their empire along the northern shores of Africa, as far as the Atlantic Ocean, and even estab- lished one of its chief seats in that part of the continent. This remarkable people, accustomed in their native region to the various modes of carrying on trade over land and through desert regions, were well calculated to overcome the obstacles which nature presented in Africa on a still greater scale. Their caravans soon formed routes across the wide expanse of the great desert. The banks of the Niger were not only explored, but colonized, and the greater part of Central Africa became subject to Mahomedan masters. The geographers therefore who arose during the flourishing 2 b 14 INTRODUCTION. era of Arabian science, had very ample opportunities of becom- ing acquainted with this part of the world, and have accordingly left more complete descriptions of it than any of the more ancient writers. Europe continued ignorant and inactive until the end of the eleventh century, when that remarkable series of events, known as the Crusades, took place. The object of the adventurers who engaged in those romantic expeditions, was to free the land that had given birth to the Saviour of mankind, from the hands of the Saracens ; who, displaying the banners of Mahomed on the walls of the sacred city, created an enthusiasm that impelled Europe to pour itself as it were, in one mighty mass, upon the eastern world. The Crusades exerted a powerful influence in dispelling the mental darkness in which the nations of the west were involved, and in preparing that light of science and knowledge which was soon to dawn upon them. The Holy Land and the other interesting regions of that quarter, became objects of inquiry. Commerce was extended, new arts were introduced, and a spirit of enterprise was excited that produced consequences highly beneficial to civilization. The spirit of curiosity and inquiry excited by the Crusades, induced various individuals, actuated by other motives than war and conquest, to devote their lives to pursuits that enlarged the boundaries of knowledge, and made the people of Europe acquainted with regions, hitherto only heard of through the medium of the most vague and uncertain reports. These consisted partly of ecclesiastics and partly of merchants; the former, animated with a zeal for the propagation of the faith they professed, undertook long and painful journeys, endeavour- ing, by the more captivating methods of persuasion, to propagate opinions which the sword had, in vain, attempted to impose. The latter were stimulated by a desire to visit the regions whence the most valuable commodities then known were derived. Amongst the first of these mercantile explorers, may be ranked Marco Polo, a noble Venetian of the thirteenth century, whose family, like many others of the same rank, was engaged in ex- tensive commerce. This celebrated traveller, then only nineteen years of age, set out with his father, Nicolo Polo, along with some Dominican monks, in 1271. After twenty-four years spent in traversing the greatest part of Asia, and visiting the islands in the Pacific Ocean, all of which were then unknown to Europeans, he returned to Italy, where he was made a prisoner by the Genoese, then at war with Venice. During his captivity at Genoa, he wrote the account INTRODUCTION. 15 of his travels ; which continued long the guide to the knowledge of these countries. In the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Portuguese began to attract the attention of other European states by the fame of their military adventures and their naval discoveries. After freeing their own country from the vassalage of the Moors, they carried their arms into Africa, and with the most fearless bravery, retaliated upon their inveterate enemies the many injuries they had received. The fame of their military exploits excited the youth of Europe to range themselves under the standard of Portugal, and every victory gained paved the way for another expedition. At this period, the coast of Africa, as far as Cape Nun, had been ex- plored, but beyond that all was involved in obscurity and dark- ness. The invention of the compass, which took place shortly before so greatly facilitated the progress of discovery, that the daring spirit of adventure could no longer be confined within its former limits. Tn a short time the Portuguese successively discovered Madeira, the Azores or Western Islands, and passed Cape Nun. They continued to extend their expeditions along the coast of Africa. In 1445 they reached the Senegal, and successively discovered the Cape Verde Islands, Guinea, Congo, and other regions ; and, to crown their exertions, the Cape of Good Hope was doubled in 1486. In 1497, Vasco de Gama was despatched for the purpose of exploring a passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope. This adventurous navigator first burst the great barrier of discovery to the East. After sailing round the Cape of Good Hope, and touching at Mozambique and Melinda, where he obtained pilots ; and traversing the Arabian Sea, landed at Calicut, on the Mala- bar coast, in 1498. Succeeding navigators soon pushed their discoveries along the eastern coast of Africa, the Arabian shores, and, finally, these bold adventurers in a short time discovered the islands in the Indian Archipelago. While the progress of discovery was so rapid in the East, the West became, at the same time, the scene of a most important event, from the adventurous and successful project of Columbus. This intrepid navigator had conceived the idea of discovering a passage to India by boldly holding a westerly course, trusting to the guidance of the compass. He sailed from Spain in 1492, and, after a voyage of seventy days, he reached the shores of America on the 12th of October of the same year, opening the great western hemisphere to the 16 INTRODUCTION. knowledge of the Old World, and immortalizing his name by an enterprise of the greatest importance to mankind. Spain did not relax in her endeavours to find out a new road to India, and fitted out, for the accomplishment of that object, another expedition under the command of Magellan, who suc- ceeded in passing the extremity of South America through the strait that bears his name, and, continuing his voyage westward, reached the islands on the east coast of Asia. After his death, which happened at one of the Philippine islands, his companions continued their course, and, touching at the Moluccas, returned by the Cape of Good Hope to Europe. The discovery of the passage to India, of the continent of Ame- rica by Columbus, and the circumnavigation of the globe, were the three great events by which Providence laid open to man- kind the extent and form of the earth. The English, though not fortunate in accomplishing any of the early maritime adventures, yet soon began to feel an anxiety to have some share of the honours and profits to be acquired in these exploits. Sir Francis Drake undertook an expedition in 1578, discovered the southern extremity of Terra del Fuego, with some other parts of the western coast of America, and completed the circumnavigation of the globe in 1051 days. After this, the French, Dutch, Spaniards, and other European nations, fitted out expeditions of discovery, until nearly the whole of the new continent was explored. Nova Zembla, Spitz- bergen, New Holland, or Australia, became successively known ; and at length Captain Cook, by his great skill and persevering industry, withdrew the veil that long hung over the southern hemisphere, and has added to our knowledge of those regions many new islands, together with various products, animals, and tribes previously unknown. Those intrepid travellers, Park, Clapperton, the Landers, and others, by their discoveries in the interior of Africa, have given a new insight into that continent, and have not only gained im- mortal honour for themselves, but enlarged the boundaries of knowledge, and conferred a benefit on mankind. The zeal with which civilized nations follow up the discovery of the unknown parts of the earth, appears to be in no degree abated. The continuous efforts to penetrate the inland regions of Africa and Australia, the exertions made to effect a nearer approach to both the northern and southern poles, and the dis- coveries in the northern parts of America, all indicate the inte- rest taken by nations in geographical discoveries. These, with the numerous exploring and surveying expeditions sent out from time to time by different European powers, and INTRODUCTION. 17 that which sailed recently from our own shores, all hold out a prospect that a complete knowledge of the surface of the globe we inhabit may be accomplished at no very remote period of time. For many ages, the ignorant and uninformed part of mankind were of opinion that the surface of the earth was a vast extended plain of unknown thickness, bounded on all sides by the sea and sky, beneath which were the abodes of the spirits of the dead, and the regions of Elysium and Tartarus, or the Heaven and Hell of the ancients. The firmament in which the sun, moon, and stars, appeared to move daily from west to east, was supposed to be a solid con- cave sphere, elevated at no great distance from the earth, and designed merely for its ornament and use. More attentive observers were, however, long since persuaded that the earth is a vast ball, globe, or sphere, maintaining its apparent place amongst the innumerable bodies composing the universe, and far removed from the contact of any other body of either the same or a different kind. Although some of the ancient Greek geographers and astro- nomers taught the theory of the spherical form of the earth, yet this knowledge was confined to a very few ; and, to avoid the effects of popular prejudice, was often taught in secret. It is related of Pythagoras, that in public he inculcated the vulgar doctrine, that the earth is the centre of the universe; but to his scholars he communicated privately his real opinions, which were similar to those afterwards adopted by Copernicus — that the earth and all the planets move round about the sun as their common centre. Owing to the unenlightened state of Europe for many centu- ries after the downfall of the Roman, empire, the true doctrine of the system of the universe was lost sight of and forgotten, and the absurd notion of the earth being a circular or square plane prevailed, and was almost universally adopted. It is only within the last two or three hundred years that the doctrine of the true figure and motions of the earth has been generally received ; and to have asserted the opinions now held respecting it, would at one time have been considered as heresy in religion, and would have subjected its advocates to the cen- sure of the church, and even endangered their lives. Historians inform us that the learned Spegelius, Bishop of Upsal, in Sweden, suffered martyrdom at the stake, in defence of the doctrine of the spherical form of the earth ; and we know that for asserting its motions, the celebrated Galileo of Florence 2* B* 18 INTRODUCTION. was much persecuted, deprived of his freedom, and forced to renounce publicly the important truths he had promulgated. The doctrine he maintained, and which is now universally received by all well-educated and intelligent persons, was declared by his ignorant judges to be a proposition absurd in its very na- ture, false in philosophy, heretical in religion, and contrary to the Holy Scriptures. Such are some of the pernicious consequences which flow from ignorance of the phenomena of nature, and of those laws by which the Almighty governs the universe he has formed ; and which proves it to be a Christian duty for every rational being to study the order and economy of the visible world. The author of the theory of the true system of the universe, now received by all civilized and enlightened nations, was Nicho- las Copernicus, born at Thorn, in Poland, in the year 1472, although it is supposed to be merely a revival of the system taught privately by several ancient philosophers more than 500 years before the time of our Saviour. When the earth was understood to be a spherical body, attempts were naturally made to ascertain its dimensions. Era- tosthenes, a celebrated geographer of Alexandria, who lived about two hundred and fifty years before our era, by means of observations of the sun's meridian altitude at Alexandria and Syene, a town of Upper Egypt, nearly due south from the former place, made calculations for that purpose. He estimated the circumference of the earth, supposing it to be a perfect sphere, to be about 25,646 English miles, which somewhat exceeds the truth, but is, nevertheless, a wonderful approach to it, considering the very imperfect state of the science of geography in his time, as well as the defectiveness of the instruments he must have employed in his operations. Posidonius, another ancient geographer and astronomer, made observations for the same purpose ; the result of which appears to have been considerably less than that calculated by Eratos- thenes, and rather less than what has been obtained by modern operations. About the year 800 of the Christian era, Almamon, Caliph of Bagdad, directed his astronomers to ascertain the length of a degree of the meridian, on the plains of Mesopotamia. The extent of two degrees was measured by them, and an estimate of the earth's circumference deduced from it ; but our ignorance of the exact length of the unit of distance used in this operation, renders the result obtained by it entirely useless to us. When measurements for the purpose of determining the dimen- sions of the earth were made in later times, on various parts of INTRODUCTION. 19 its surface, the results were so far from agreeing, one with another, that philosophers began to suspect the earth not to be a perfect sphere, all whose diameters were equal ; and the difficulty was to ascertain in what direction the longest and shortest diameters were situated. From considerations, arising from the nature of the earth itself, and the motions to which it is subjected, Sir Isaac Newton proved, that the shortest diameter must be that which passes through the centre, from north to south, and the longest, that which passes from east to west. Cassini, and other learned men on the continent, combated this opinion ; but the repeated measurements of degrees on various and distant parts of the earth's surface, performed with the greatest care, and by means of the highly improved instru- ments of modern times, have fully established the truth of Sir Isaac's theory. It has even been estimated that the diameter of the centre of the earth, from west to east, is about 34 English miles longer than that from north to south. Upon taking a medium of all the different dimensions of the earth, it has been found that if it were a perfect sphere, the axis would be about 7,930 English miles, and consequently the cir- cumference about 24,913 miles. Hence, the superficial area of the globe would be about 197,560,000 square English miles, and the length of a degree on a great circle of such a sphere, would be equal to 69.2 English miles. How the ancients came to be convinced of the spherical form of the earth, we have now no means of discovering ; but the con- sideration of a few facts will render its demonstration simple and easy. When we recede from elevated objects, they seem to sink below the horizon, and their disappearance commences with their base ; when we approach them, they seem to rise above the horizon : first their summits are seen, then their middle parts, and ultimately the lower portions. When a ship, for instance, leaves the shore and goes out to sea, first the hull disappears, and then the masts, gradually, from the bottom to the top. When, on the contrary, a ship approaches the land, the top of the masts is first seen, and then the lower parts of the vessel gradually appear. Now, if the earth were a plain, or a flat surface, this would not be the case, but the whole of an object would disappear or become visible at the same time. And since the same appearances have been observed in every ^art of the world which has been visited by man, it follows, that 20 INTRODUCTION. the whole surface of the earth, is, on all sides, nearly regularly curved ; that is to say, the figure of the earth bears a close affinity to a sphere. Numerous voyages have been made round the world. Navi- gators, such as Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, Anson, and Captain Cook, have sailed to the west, and come home from the east ; or sailed to the east, and come home from the west ; which could never have been done, if the form of the earth were not sphe- rical. The changes which take place in the appearances of the heavenly bodies in travelling or sailing to different parts of the world, also prove that the earth is spherical. In approaching the North Pole, for example, the polar star takes a more elevated position in the heavens ; while, in proceed- ing to the south, the same star appears to sink, and others suc- cessively rise, which were before invisible. These changes can evidently only occur, upon the principleofthe globular form of the earth. In eclipses of the moon, which are produced by the interven- tion of the earth between that body and the sun, the boundary of the shadow of the earth upon the body of the moon is always of a circular form ; and nothing but a spherical body can, in all situations, produce a circular shadow. That the earth is a round body, is thus completely proved by experience and observation : yet, when this doctrine is presented to the mind for the first time, there is some difficulty in believing that the globe is balanced, as it were, on its centre, without any visible support, while all things at rest on its surface require to be supported. We must, however, consider that the bodies which we see fall towards the centre of the earth are mere atoms in comparison to the earth itself; and that, although their tendency to its centre is another fact proved by experience, yet it does not thence follow that the earth itself should move towards one point of space rather than towards another. A little reflection will show that there is no inconsistency in supposing the earth, an immense mass, to be at rest, and all things to be retained on its surface by some force analogous to that by which a piece of iron is drawn towards a magnet. This is really the fact ; and a consequence of it is, that on opposite sides of the earth, its inhabitants stand in opposite directions, with their feet towards each other, for which reason they are called antipodes; and every country has its own antipodes. THE WORLD. The World comprises five great divisions, viz : America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceanica : the second, third, and fourth of them, comprised all that was known to the ancients : hence, this part of the earth is frequently called the Old World, and also the Eastern Continent ; and America, by way of distinction, is often called the New World, and likewise the Western Con- tinent. America is a vast continent, entirely separated from the other parts of the earth. It comprises two great divisions, and was discovered by Christopher Columbus, in the year 1492. Though America is inferior either to Europe, Asia, or Africa in population, and particularly to the former in knowledge, refinement, and importance ; yet its vast extent, great natural capacities, and the freedom of its political institutions, will, in time, enable the nations of the Western Continent, not only to equal, but probably much to surpass, the greatest monarchies of the Old World. Europe, though the smallest of the three great divisions of the Eastern Continent, is the first in importance, the most thickly peopled, and the best cultivated. In modern times it has been the point from which civilization and knowledge have been extended to other nations, and its emigrants have peopled all the civilized countries of the other parts of the world. Though Europe was the latest portion of the Eastern Continent that received the light of civilization, yet it must now be con- sidered as the centre of refinement and learning. The most useful inventions in the arts, the finest productions of genius, and the improvement of all the sciences, belong to the people of this region. Asia is the largest and most populous of the great divisions of the globe. It has been the seat of some of the most powerful empires of ancient times, and the theatre of many of the most interesting events recorded in history. (21) 22 THE WORLD. It was here our first parents were created, and from this quarter the descendants of Noah peopled the world after the flood. It was also the birth-place of our Saviour, the scene of his miracles and death, and the field on which the Apostles first published salvation to man. In Asia all has continued fixed as if by enchantment. We see empires whose origin is lost in the unknown beginnings of time ; laws, institutions, and ideas, which have remained unaltered during thousands of years, exhibiting a picture of the domestic life of man, as it existed in the earliest ages. Africa is a vast peninsula, joined to Asia by the isthmus of Suez. It comprises nearly one-fourth part of the land surface of the globe, being about one-third less than Asia, and three times larger than Europe. This quarter of the world is almost wholly in a state of bar- barism, yet in ancient times its northern countries were among the most enlightened in the world, and still have written languages. They are now, however, among the lowest of the half-civilized nations. Africa is the hottest region of the globe, and lies mostly within the tropics. The influence of a tropical climate extends even to those portions which are in the temperate zones. Oceanica is the last established and least important of the great divisions of the earth. It comprises a vast assemblage of islands, situated partly to the south of Asia, and partly in the wide Pacific between Asia and America. The discovery of this quarter of the globe commenced after America and the Pacific Ocean were known to Europeans. The interior of some of its larger islands are among the least known portions of the earth, and many of the inhabitants are still in a state of the most savage and degrading rudeness. The earth's surface contains near 200,000,000 square miles, of which about a fourth part only is dry land ; the remaining three-fourths are water. Of the entire surface of the earth, America comprises about a 15th part, Europe a 57th, Asia a 13th, Africa an 18th, and the Oceanic islands a 44th. The interior of the earth is entirely unknown to us, as the depth to which we have been able to penetrate is nothing in com- parison with its diameter. Many modern philosophers are of opinion that the interior is composed of a metallic mass of matter. Its solid contents are estimated at more than 250,000 millions of cubic miles, while its mean density is only 4i times that of pure water. AMERICA. America is a vast continent comprising one of the grand divisions of the globe ; it contains about three-tenths of the dry- land on the surface of the earth, and is washed on both sides by vast oceans, on the east by the Atlantic, and on the west by the Pacific. It ranges from north to south through 125 degrees of latitude, and in its widest part 113 degrees of longitude, being in length 9000 miles, and in average breadth about 2000 ; the extent of surface is estimated at 15,000,000 square miles. America comprehends the tropical and temperate climates on both sides of the equator, with part of the arctic. The whole of the continent north of latitude 55° may be considered as a frozen region. In Greenland, and around Hudson's Bay, mer- cury freezes in winter, and ice and snow accumulate on the land and water, and cover a great part of the country throughout the year. The winter begins in August, and continues for nine months. In summer the heat is as great as in New England ; it continues, however, for too short a period to bring grain to maturity, and cultivation is very little practised. Vegetation is too scanty to supply the inhabitants with any considerable part of their food : they therefore live chiefly on seals and other productions of the sea, and on the animals killed in the chase. Between 55° and 46° north, the climate of North America is still severe. In winter the cold is intense, and the snow, which begins to fall in November, remains till May. The summer advances with such rapidity, that the season of spring is hardly known. In June the fields and forests are covered with luxu- riant verdure ; grain is abundant, and in some portions is culti- vated with success. The temperate parts of North America may be considered as extending from 46° to 37° north latitude. These regions are prolific in grass, the various descriptions of grain, and a variety of fruits are produced in great abundance. . From 37° north to the latitude of 40 degrees south, the climate is hot, and the pro- ducts constitute some of the most valuable articles of commerce, being chiefly tobacco, cotton, rice, indigo, coffee, sugar, and the various tropical fruits. Beyond latitude 40° south, the climate again becomes cold, and at Terra del Fuego it is severe. At the South Shetland Islands, in latitude 63° and 64° south, the climate is that of Greenland and Spitzbergen. Nature in this continent assumes an aspect of peculiar mag- nificence ; for whether we consider its mountains, its rivers, its (23) 24 AMERICA. lakes, its forests, or its plains, America appears to be distin- guished in all those leading features by a grandeur not to be found in the other parts of the globe. It contains a great variety of wild animals ; and, since its discovery, the species usually domesticated in Europe have been introduced, and are now found in great abundance. The birds are exceedingly numerous, and are said to be more beautiful in their plumage than those of the old continent, but in their notes less melodious. The vegetable kingdom is in the highest degree rich and varied, many of the trees are amongst the most ornamental and useful, the fruits are rich and in great profusion, the plants and flowering shrubs exceedingly diversified and beautiful, and almost all the various species of grain necessary to sustain life are cul- tivated, and atFord abundant crops. In mineral treasures, Ame- rica surpasses all the other quarters of the globe. South America and Mexico abound particularly in the pre- cious metals, and such ample supplies have been carried to European markets that their value has been greatly diminished since the discovery of the American mines ; all the more com- mon metals, minerals, and precious stones, are found in great profusion, and many of them furnish the materials for extensive and important manufactures. The inhabitants of this continent have been estimated at 45 millions ; of this number about 19 millions are supposed to be whites, 10 millions of the aboriginal race, 8 millions of negroes, and 8 millions of the mixed race, as mulattoes, zamboes, &c. The whites are chiefly English in the north, and Spaniards in the south, with some French, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Danes, Swedes, &c. The negroes are Africans, whom the cupidity of the European races has dragged into slavery, or descendants of the earlier victims of this barbarous traffic. The aboriginal population consists of two distinct races, the Esquimaux, inhabiting the maritime districts of the Arctic regions, and the copper-coloured Indians, who are spread over all the rest of the continent ; their origin has been a subject of much investigation, but the total absence of historical records among the Indians themselves, renders it difficult to arrive at any satisfactory result. It has been discovered that there are remarkable resemblances between some of the languages of Asia and those of the Indians, and hence it becomes nearly certain that they came from the Asiatic continent, but at what period they emigrated it is impos- sible to determine. It is evident that they are a distinct people, being essentially different in several respects from any of the existing races on the eastern continent. NORTH AMERICA. 25 The political state of America presents some striking features and contrasts. The native tribes who still survive, are partly held in subjection by European Americans ; but the greater number wander over their extensive wilds, either in rude inde- pendence, or ruled despotically by their chiefs and caciques. The European colonists, who form now by far the most numer- ous and important part of the population, were long held in sub- jection to the mother countries, the chief of which were Spain and Great Britain ; but the greater part of them have now established their independence, and have generally adopted the republican form of government. Another political element is formed by the negroes, who are mostly in a state of slavery ; a numerous body of them, how- ever, in one of the finest West Indian Islands, have emancipated themselves and become a free people ; while Great Britain has recently bestowed unrestricted liberty on the large numbers by whom her islands are cultivated. There yet remain about five millions of black slaves in Brazil and the United States, besides a considerable number in the other European colonies. Many of the indigenous tribes have become, at least in name and outward forms, converted to Christianity ; but a great num- ber still cherish the crude notions and rude ceremonials of their native faith. The European Americans have commonly retained the religious creed of their mother country, so that, while in the French, Spanish, and Portuguese colonies, the Roman Catholic is the prevailing system, those countries that have been settled by English colonists, are chiefly of the Protestant persuasions. The negroes have generally been instructed in the elements of Christianity. The whole number of Roman Catholics may be estimated at about 25£ millions, of Protestants 16 millions, and of uncon- verted Indians 3£ millions. In this estimate, however, the negroes are considered as belonging to the denomination em- braced by their masters. NORTH AMERICA. North America comprises that portion of the New World extending northward from the Isthmus of Darien. The area of this vast region is about 7,500,000 square miles. Its winding outline presents a great extent of sea-coast, which is estimated to amount to about 9500 miles on the eastern, and 3 c 26 NORTH AMERICA. somewhat less on the western side, exclusive of those on the frozen shores of the northern border. Mountain ranges, peculiarly distinguished by their magnitude and continuity, pervade this quarter of the world. Those of North America consist of two great chains, the eastern and western ; the latter, or Rocky Mountain range, known also as the Chipewayan. Passing through Guatimala from the Isthmus of Darien, it spreads out, in Mexico, into extensive table-lands, crowned by lofty volcanic peaks : running thence through the western regions of the United States, and the British possessions, it finally sinks to a level on the shores of the Polar Sea, west- ward of the Mackenzie River. In its general course it is nearly parallel to the Pacific Ocean, forming the great dividing ridge, or line of separation, between the eastern and western waters, the principal of which have their origin in its rugged declivities. The only other extensive range is the Alleghany, which, run- ning parallel to the eastern coast of the United States, throws off some irregular and rather slightly connected branches diverging into Canada. This consists principally of two paral- lel chains, the Alleghany and the Blue Ridge. These, however, are not so extensive in their range, nor do they attain the ele- vation of the great western chain. The rivers of North America constitute perhaps her grandest natural features, or at least those in which she may claim the most decided pre-eminence over the other quarters of the globe. They are unequalled both in their length of course and in the vast masses which they pour into the ocean. The Mackenzie, the Saskatchawan, the St. Lawrence, the Missouri, the Missis sippi, the Rio del Norte, the Colorado, and the Columbia, are the principal streams. They all rise in the central part of the con- tinent, and, flowing in different directions, pour their waters intc the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. The Mississippi ha& the longest course, but the St. Lawrence discharges the greatest volume of water. The lakes of North America are numerous and important : those named Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior, form the largest bodies of fresh water in the world. Com- municating with the sea by the broad channel of the St. Law- rence, and in a country whose population is rapidly increasing, they are becoming of the greatest importance to commerce. Similar lakes extend to the northward as far as the Arctic Sea ; the Winnipeg, the Athabasca, the Great Slave, and the Great Bear Lake ; but these, only distantly connected with the ocean, and frozen for the greater part of the year, cannot serve any commercial purpose. NORTH AMERICA. J^n^ Tripe de Roche. The Tripe de Roche (Rock Tripe) grows in the northern regions of America, and in times of scarcity is often eaten by the Canadian hunters and boatmen. Those enter- prising travellers, Captain Franklin and Dr. Richardson, and some of their companions, when destitute of other food, were supported by it for many days. Dogwood. Tulip Tree. Magnolia. NORTH AMERICA. White Bear. American Black Bear. Panther, or Cougar. Beaver. Canada Lynx. NORTH AMERICA. 27 The Plains of the New World form almost as great and re- markable an object as its mountains. In North America, of those more especially worthy of attention, the first is the plain along the Atlantic, between that ocean and the eastern range of mountains. To that belongs the original territory of the United States. It is a region of natural forests ; of mixed, but rather poor soil, and of but moderate fertility. The second is that on the opposite side of the continent, between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean ; a country with a mild and humid atmo- sphere, as far north as 55°, but inhospitable beyond that latitude. The most extensive is the great central valley of the Missis- sippi, rich and well wooded on the east side ; bare, but not un- fertile in the middle ; dry, sandy, and almost a desert on the west. This vast plateau is prolonged without interruption, from the Gulf of Mexico to the shores of the Polar Sea, so that, as has been observed, one of its borders is covered with the palms and the splendid foliage of the tropics, while, in the other, the last buds of arctic vegetation expire. The area of this great plain is estimated at 3,240,000 square miles. Very little information is possessed of the most northern regions of America. Although Hearne, Mackenzie, Franklin, and Back, have penetrated to the shores of the Polar Sea, although the voyages of Captains Parry and Beechy have extend- ed along the greatest part of the coast between the eastern and western seas, although the European missionaries have long resided among the inhabitants of Greenland, yet no satisfactory conclusions can yet be formed of the extent of the American continent to the north, or of the natural peculiarities by which it is distinguished. It was formerly believed, on the authority of Buffon, that the animals of America were inferior in size to those of the Eastern Continent. The researches of modern naturalists have not only refuted this error, but have established the fact, that where any difference of size exists in animals of the same class, the superi- ority in most cases is on the American side. The animal kingdom of North America embraces a considerable variety of species, some of which are not found in other parts of the world. Of the Bear species, those peculiar to North America, are the Grizzly, Barren, Ground, and Black Bears. The great Polar, or White Bear, is found also in the Arctic regions of Europe and Asia. In North America, it inhabits the continent as far south as Labrador and Hudson's Bay; its principal residence is on fields of ice, with which it frequently floats a great distance from land. The Grizzly Bear, the most powerful and dangerous animal of North America, inhabiting both sides of the Rocky C* 29 6^* 28 NORTH AMERICA. Mountains, is, when full grown, reported to exceed 800 pounds in weight, and its strength so great, that it has been known to drag to a considerable distance a buffalo weighing 1000 pounds. The Barren Ground Bear receives its name from the circum- stance of its inhabiting only that section of the continent called the Barren Lands, or grounds situated north of 60° ; this is a formidable animal, and is much dreaded by the Indians. It frequents the sea coast in autumn in considerable numbers, for the purpose of feeding on fish. In size it is between the Grizzly and the Black Bear. The Black Bear of North America is different from the European animal of the same name. It has a milder disposition, and lives more on vegetables : its favourite food is the different kinds of berries, and it will not, except from necessity, subsist on animal substances. Of the Deer kind, there are several species not found in the old continent. The Moose Deer resembles the Elk of Europe, but is of a different species ; it is the largest of the Deer kind found in America, and perhaps in the world, being in height to the shoulder full six feet, and weighs, when full grown, from 1000 to 1200 pounds. The Wapiti or American Elk, is second in size only to the Moose, and formerly ranged over all the middle parts of the continent : it is now found only in the remote western districts of the United States and Canada, and also west of the Rocky Mountains. The Indians make bows of the perfect horn, which are highly serviceable from their elasticity ; and from their skins they prepare various articles of dress, and apply them also to other purposes. The Caribou, or American Reindeer, is a different species from the Reindeer of the old continent ; it is found in all the high northern latitutes of North America, and has never been domesticated or used as a beast of draught by the natives, being considered only as game. There are two species, the Woodland and the Barren Ground Caribou. The Virginia Deer is one of the most elegant of the animals of its class ; it lives in large herds, and is found over a considerable portion of North America ; it is said to display great enmity to the rattlesnake, which it contrives to crush by leaping with its fore feet conjoined and dropping perpendicularly on the serpent, bounding away with great lightness, and repeating this attack until his enemy is destroyed. One species of Antelope, the prong-horned, is peculiar to America ; it is a graceful and fleet animal, so swift that it seems rather to fly than leap from rock to rock in the rugged regions which it inhabits ; they live in small families, and are found in the vast plain of the Missouri and Saskatchawan, in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains. NORTH AMERICA. 29 The American Bison, or Buffalo, once common in the United States, has gradually disappeared before the white population ; it now only exists to the west of the Mississippi, and roams over the vast grassy plains in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains ; here it is found in immense herds, amounting, it is said, often- times to from 5000 to 10,000 head ; the flesh is tender and juicy, and the tongue and hump, or wig, are, in particular, esteemed great delicacies. The Musk Ox derives its name from its flesh ; when in a lean state, smelling strongly of that substance. It is truly an Arctic animal, being found only in the barren lands beyond the Great Slave Lake, and as far north as Melville Island, in 75°. In size the Musk Ox is small ; the carcase, when cleaned, not weighing more than three hundred weight ; it assembles in herds, and flees at the sight of man ; it is much hunted, both by the Indians and Esquimaux. Herds of wild Horses roam over the great plains on both sides of the Rocky mountains, and are the offspring of the European animal, imported soon after the first settlement of the country. They are found from Texas to the plains of the Saskatchawan, and are of great importance to the Nomadic Tribes, who train them not only for transporting their tents and families from place to place, but also for the purposes of war, the chase, and of food ; the flesh of the horse being thus mostly used by the Spokains and several other tribes, and likewise at times by the residents of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts on the Columbia River and its branches. Of the Cat kind, this continent contains several species, all equally remarkable, like their congeners of the old world, for the beauty and diversity of their colour, and the treachery of their disposition. The cougar, or puma, called also the panther, is the largest and most formidable of its class found in North America; it is about one-third less than the lion, and of sufficient strength to carry a man up a tree ; though now rare in the more settled parts of the continent, it is occasionally met with in the remote districts of the United States. It preys upon calves, sheep, &c, but has also been known to attack man. The jaguar, an animal resembling the panther, is found, though rarely, in Mexico ; also the ocelet and tiger-cat. The Rocky Mountain sheep and goat inhabit the same range of mountains from which they derive their name ; the latter is about the size of the domestic sheep, its fleece hanging down on both sides like that of the merino breed : the hair is long and straight, coarser than that of the sheep, but finer than that of the domestic goat ; the Rocky Mountain sheep is larger than any 3* 31 30 NORTH AMERICA. domestic sheep ; the horns of the ram are immense, in some of the old ones, so much so as to prevent the animal's feeding on level ground. They collect in flocks of from three to thirty, the young rams and females herding together, while the old rams form separate flocks. The principal fur-bearing animals of North America are the beaver, muskrat, pine-marten, pekan, the Canada lynx, raccoon and ermine. These animals are diligently hunted, both by Indians and the inhabitants of those settled parts of the continent in which any of them are yet found ; their skins make an important item of export to Europe, particularly from Canada ; some of these animals are evidently decreasing with great rapidity. The well-known beaver is now almost exclusively confined to Canada and the north-west districts of America ; even here, how- ever, their numbers are daily diminishing. The sea-otter also furnishes a large amount of valuable furs, principally to the Russians on the north-west coast. The dog kind exhibits several varieties not found in other parts of the world ; of these, the Newfoundland dog is remark- able for its sagacity, great bulk and strength. The Esquimaux dog, also a large variety, is very useful to the Esquimaux and the traders in drawing their furs and baggage. The North American dog is used in the Hudson's Bay countries, both as a beast of draught and in the chase, and also for food, its flesh being esteemed by the Canadian voyagers or canoe-men superior to all other. Foxes and wolves abound in most parts of the central and northern regions of the continent ; of the former, there are the arctic, sooty, cross, black, grey, and red fox ; of the latter, the Mexican, the grey, red, black, dusky, and barking, or prairie- wolf. Of the opossum, found from Pennsylvania to Brazil, there are several species, of which the Virginia, or common opossum, is well known in the United States; also, the skunk, marmots of different species, squirrels, hares, and a great variety of other smaller animals. The whale species are numerous on the northern coasts ; the most useful and remarkable are the common and spermaceti whale, and the narvvhale or sea-unicorn. The common seal frequents the sea coasts perhaps throughout the world, but is in North America most numerous in high northern latitudes, and is of the greatest use to the Esquimaux and other inhabitants of those frozen regions, furnishing them with all the necessaries of life; they are of various kinds, as the hooded, harp, fetid, ursine, and great seal. Most of the Birds of North America, and especially those of NORTH AMERICA. Bald Eagle. Pinnated Grouse. American Widgeon. *«€Z\s American Flamingo. Canvass-back Duck. Canada Goose NORTH AMERICA. Tufted Duck. Ruddy Duck. Pied Duck. American Woodcock. Cock of the Plaina Canadian Grouse. NORTH AMERICA. 31 the United States, are now rendered as familiar to the European naturalist as those of his own country ; for they have been more ably and more fully illustrated than those of any other part of the world. Rapacious birds are here as numerous as in other parts of the earth, and of a great many different species, including eagles, vultures, hawks, falcons, owls, &c. The white-headed or bald-headed eagle is well known as being the chosen emblem of our own republic. It is common to both continents ; but, while it seems almost entirely confined to the arctic regions of the old world, it abounds in the milder regions of the United States, in the new. The vultures are the great Californian vulture, black vulture, and turkey-buzzard. The first seems to be confined to California and the adjoining regions west of the Rocky Mountains : they build their nests in the most secret parts of the pine forests : they measure from four to four and a half feet in length. Their food is carrion or dead fish, and they will in no instance attack any living animal, unless it be wounded and unable to walk. The black vulture and turkey-buzzard are both well known and numerous in the southern States of our Union, where, not- withstanding their filthy habits, they are protected by law and common usage, being of great utility in devouring putrid animal matter which would otherwise be highly offensive and injurious. The wild turkey is peculiar to America : it is a fine large bird, of brilliant blackish plumage. It breeds with the domestic one ; and when the latter is reared near the range of the former, it is sure to be enticed into the woods by it. Of the duck kind, of which there are many species, the best known is the canvas-back. It is peculiar to America, and is more celebrated than any other for the excellent flavour of its flesh : they are found mostly in Chesapeake Bay and the neigh- bouring rivers. Perhaps the most characteristic of American birds is the hum- ming-bird, remarkable alike for its diminutive size and the bril- liant metallic lustre of its plumage : they are most numerous in South America, but are found in the northern continent as far north as 45°. ^ Vast flights of pigeons migrate periodically to different parts of the continent, frequently extending for many miles on each side, darkening the entire atmosphere, and often requiring four or five days to pass over a particular place. Of the birds of game, the principal are the grouse, pheasant, partridge, &c. The species of grouse are more numerous, and entirely distinct from those of Europe. The largest and most valuable is the Cock of the Plains. Some other of the peculiar 32 NORTH AMERICA. American birds are the mocking-bird, blue-jay, and whip-poor- will. Parrots and Parroquets abound in Mexico ; and in the United States there is one species of Parrot. The seas, lakes, and rivers of North America, swarm with a great variety of delicious fish. The cod, so well known in com- merce, is found only in the northern seas. The mackerel and alewife fisheries, along the coasts of the United States, also give employment and food to great numbers of persons. The shad is taken in large quantities in all the rivers of the Atlantic States, and in the proper season is highly esteemed. The salmon is also found in Canada and the northern rivers of the United States, on both sides of the continent, and is espe- cially plentiful in Columbia River. The white-fish, or titameg of the traders, is caught in all the great lakes from Canada to the Arctic Ocean. It is a delicious article of food ; and as many as 900 barrels have been taken at a single fishery on Lake Su- perior. The Reptiles of America are numerous, and, like the gene- rality of this class in other parts of the world, the majority are apparently useless, and some dangerous. In North America, the alligator does not occur north of the Carolinas and the Red River of Louisiana. In severe winters, he buries himself in the mud, and lies in a torpid state. The rattlesnake is peculiar to the New World, and is particularly formidable on account of the deadly venom of its bite. The Indians, who form the great mass of the aboriginal inhab- itants of America, all constitute, by their natural peculiarities as well as by their languages, a distinct and original people ; and preserve, throughout this vast extent of country and variety of climates, the same essential characteristics. They have a copper colour, resembling that of rusty iron or cinnamon, coarse, straight, black hair, high cheek-bones, and sunken eyes : it has been af- firmed that they are without beards ; but it is well ascertained that this is not the case naturally, but that most of them take great pains to pluck them out. Almost all the Indians near Mexico, and those on the north-west coast, wear mustachios. The American Indians are generally erect, and of fine forms, with few instances of decrepitude or deformity ; they have cleaner limbs, not so muscular, and with less tendency to corpulence than the whites. As a race, they have countenances that are cheer- less, stern and ruminating. Their courage is moral and passive rather than active. They think it cowardice to be affected by calamity, or to give way to passion or feeling. To be always ready and willing to die, and suffer whatever may befall them with constancy, is their idea of the perfection of courage. In their NORTH AMERICA Codfish. Shad. White Fish of the Lakes. Alligator. Rattlesnake. NORTH AMERICA. Sioux Chief and his Son. Indian Skin Lodge. — Indian Dog. The Sioux, Pawnees, &c, who roam over the great western prairies, subsist chiefly on the flesh of the buffalo. They make their tents or lodges of a frame-work of poles, which they cover with prepared buffalo skins; and nearly all their clothing is made of the same material. Some tribes train their dogs to carry burdens, and regard the flesh of that animal a great delicacy. Indian Woman and Child. — Wigwam, or Hut, constructed of Birch Bark. The Chippeways, Jllennomonies, and other Indians, who inhabit regions abounding in birch forests, make their wigwams and canoes of birch bark — in the construction of the latter thes often display considerable skill. Indian Birch Bark Canoe. NORTH AMERICA. 33 resentments, they are implacable, and never forgive an injury ; at the same time, they are often faithful in their friendships, and hospitable and generous. Since the introduction of the horse by Europeans, many of the Indian tribes have acquired an astonishing degree of skill in the management of that noble animal ; among these are the Pawnees, the Comanches, the Sioux, the Apaches, Shoshonees, Enneshoors, and other tribes : some of these have also borrowed the use of fire-arms from their European neighbours, but in general they have rejected the arts of peace and civilization. Perhaps there is no tribe among the American Indians so degraded that it has not some notion of a higher power than man, and in general they seem to have entertained the idea of a Great Spirit as a master of life, in short, a Creator, and of an Evil Spirit, holding divided empire with him over nature ; many of them have priests, prophets, and sorcerers, in whose superna- tural powers they trust; and most, if not all, appear to believe in a future state. Many attempts have been made, at different times, by benevolent persons to convert the aboriginal tribes to the Christian religion, to teach them the arts of peace and civilized life, and to train them to habits of industry ; but so little has been the effect of those efforts, that many do not hesitate to pronounce it impos- sible to engraft the European civilization on the Indian charac- ter. Some exceptions, however, to this general failure of the attempts to effect the civilization of the Indians occur in the United States, where the Cherokees and other tribes hold pro- perty, cultivate the ground, and practise the useful arts. North America is politically divided into the Republics of the United States, Texas, Mexico, and Guatimala, which occupy the central and southern parts of the continent. The northern, the eastern, and central parts, contain the possessions of Great Bri- tain ; and the extreme north-western section, those claimed by Russia. The following estimates of the areas in square miles, and population of the respective divisions at the present time, is probably as near an approximation to the truth as circumstances will permit : Russian America. Greenland British America. . United States Texas Mexico Guatimala West Indies Total. Square miles. Population. 500,000 50,000 840,000 20,000 2,310,000 1,360,000 2,300,000 17,000,000 200,000 250,000 1,500,000 8,000,000 200,000 2,000,000 100,000 2,970,000 7,950,000 31,650,000 34 NORTH AMERICA. Of the population, the white inhabitants are supposed to amount to 16 millions 900 thousand; the aborigines, or Indians, to 4^ millions ; and 10 millions 400 thousand are of the negro and mixed races. Total, thirty-one millions six hundred and fifty thousand. RUSSIAN AMERICA. That part of North America claimed by Russia, is a territory of considerable extent, and comprises the north-western portion of the continent, being that part of it adjacent to Asia ; it is bounded north by the Arctic Ocean, east by the British pos- sessions, from which it is separated by the 141° of longitude west from Greenwich ; south by the Pacific Ocean and the Oregon Territory ; west by Bhering's Strait and the Pacific Ocean. The coast seems to be chiefly alpine, in some parts rising into snow-capped summits ; the most remarkable mountain is St. Elias, which is said to be visible 50 leagues from the coast. In this region there are computed to be 1000 white inhabitants, who are mostly traders ; the savages are estimated at near 50,000 ; they barter the furs obtained in hunting, with the Russians, for fire-arms, beads, tobacco, and other articles. The Russians have a number of factories, or trading establishments, on various parts of the coast : the principal of these are Sitcha, or New Archangel, Kodiak, and Oonalaska. The Aleutian Islands may be considered as belonging to this region ; they form a long and numerous group, extending west- ward from the Peninsula of Alaska to Kamtschatka. These islands are inhabited by a race of savages, who are mild in their manners and deportment, and display a considerable degree of industry and ingenuity : they dwell in large subterranean man- sions, or rather villages, partitioned into numerous apartments, and containing from 50 to 100, or even 150 inhabitants. These abodes, covered with turf, are almost on a level with the sur- rounding country, from which they are scarcely to be dis- tinguished. Sitcha, or New Archangel, on one of the islands belonging to the Archipelago of George III., may be considered the capital of the territories of Russia on this continent ; it is a village of about 1000 inhabitants, the houses of which, including the fortifications and public buildings, are built of wood, and are neat and well kept. RUSSIAN AMERICA. Subterranean House of the Aleutian Islanders. American Indians of the North-West coast. Man of Prince William's Sound. Woman of Prince William's Sound. NORTH AMERICA. Greenlander in his canoe killing a Seal. Esquimaux and Sledge. Greenland Seal. 42 NORTH AMERICA. 35 GREENLAND. Greenland, long supposed to be a part of the Continent of North America, until Captain Parry ascertained its complete disjunction, is one of the most desolate and barren regions on the face of the earth. An almost perpetual winter prevails, inter- rupted only by a short summer of a few weeks' duration. From Cape Farewell, in latitude 60°, it stretches northward for 1300 miles, with an indefinite extent beyond: at latitude 78°, it has a breadth of not less than 900 miles, which, narrowing to the southward, is, on reaching the arctic circle, reduced to about 400. Greenland is claimed by Denmark, and is often called Danish America : its coasts are resorted to in summer by whalers and seal-catchers. The inhabitants, called Karalits, are an Esquimaux tribe ; they are very ignorant and degraded, and seem to be reduced to the lowest degree of barbarism, living on fish and blubber, and clad in seal-skins, having no domestic animals, and displaying no art or skill except in the construction and manage- ment of their frail canoes. Some small settlements have been formed along the western coast, several of which are also Missionary stations, where a few of the inhabitants have been in some measure converted from their ignorance and superstition, and partially instructed in the doctrines of Christianity. In the northern part of this region, Captain Ross discovered a district which he named the Arctic Highlands. The inhabitants, who had never before seen an European, were seized with the utmost astonishment, especially at the ships, which they at first imagined to be huge birds with wings. They were found to differ from the other Esquimaux in being destitute of boats ; for though much of their food is drawn from the sea, they obtain it by merely walking over the frozen surface. They have the advantage, however, of possessing iron, from which they frame instruments much more powerful than those made of bone by others of their race. They differ greatly from them also in having a king, who is beloved, and to whom they pay a tribute of seals, train-oil, and fish. The cliffs on their coast present the remarkable phenomenon of red snow, the nature and origin of which have excited much controversy among the learned in Europe. 36 NORTH AMERICA BRITISH AMERICA. The possessions of Great Britain in North America are an assemblage of vast ill-defined and straggling territories, the rem- nant of that mighty empire of Which the great revolution deprived her. Even in their present dismembered state, however, their extent and capabilities might, and probably will, enable them, one day, to equal some of the greatest of the now existing European monarchies. This country, taken in its full extent, is bounded north by the Arctic Sea, east by the Atlantic Ocean and Baffin's Bay, south by the United States and the Atlantic Ocean, and west by the American possessions of Russia. Its area is equal to about that of the United States. About one-tenth part only of this vast territory is as yet settled by a civilized population. The company which enjoys the exclusive trade of Hudson's Bay, maintains several forts on its western shore ; they have also small forts on the leading lakes and rivers of the interior, called houses, where they are secure against the attack of the Indians scattered over the expanse of these desolate wilds, and can form a store of the articles necessary for the fur trade. Beyond this occupancy they have not attempted to exercise any jurisdiction. The climate is very severe, much exceeding what is felt under the same latitude in the old continent. Lower Canada for six, and Upper Canada for five months in the year, have a mean temperature below the freezing point, and are buried in perpetual snow ; yet, after that period, the heat of the sun becomes so powerful, that large crops of the most valuable grain can be raised on the great extent of fertile land of which the territory consists. Upper Canada is finely watered, clad with immense forests of valuable timber, and contains about ten millions of acres capable of culture. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are well wooded countries, but less fertile ; and though the winters are less severe, the heavy fogs that prevail for a great part of the year, are still more disagreeable than the frosts and snows of Canada. The river St. Lawrence is the principal feature of this region, and one of the noblest river channels in the world. It is difficult to say where it begins. It has been held to issue from Lake Superior, a vast body of water, fed by about fifty streams, of which the St. Louis and Grand Portage Rivers are the principal ; but, in fact, the lakes are merely connected by short canals, through which the surplus waters of one are poured into the other. These canals bear the local names of St. Mary, St. Clair, De- troit, Niagara, &c. NORTH AMERICA. 37 The last is distinguished by its falls, the most magnificent in the world. From Lake Ontario to Montreal, the river is broken by a succession of rocks, cataracts, and rapids, which render navigation very dangerous. It is after passing Montreal that it rolls in full grandeur in a deep continuous channel, conveying large ships and rafts down to Quebec. The navigation is blocked up for half the year by the ice, which even in spring encumbers it for some weeks with floating fragments. The other rivers of Lower Canada are its tributaries. On the north are the Utawas and the Saguenay, large navigable rivers, flowing through a region little known : the former is supposed to have a course of about 600 miles, but its navigation is much interrupted by rapids ; the latter is remarkable for its great depth and width, and is navigable for 90 miles to its falls ; for the dis- tance of about 50 miles it has the appearance of a long mountain lake. The St. Maurice is also a considerable stream from the north, and the Montmorency, which falls into the St. Lawrence, is celebrated for its beautiful cataract, which pours a large volume of water over a precipitous ledge. On the south are the St. Francis ; the Chaudiere, with a fine cascade rushing down a precipice 100 feet in height; and the Sorelle or Richelieu, the outlet of Lake Champlain. The Thames, flowing into Lake St. Clair, and the Grand, are the principal rivers of Upper Canada. The St. John, which rises in Maine, is navigable 80 miles by sea vessels, but its course is much broken by falls and rapids. The Miramichi is the other principal river of New Brunswick. Lakes, in Canada, are on a greater scale than in any other part of the world ; and the united chain forms a vast inland sea of fresh water. The largest of these, and the largest fresh-water lake in the world, is Lake Superior, which is 480 miles in length by 120 in breadth; having a circuit of 1500 miles, and covering an area of 35,000 square miles. It discharges its waters through the river or strait of St. Mary, 50 miles long, into Lake Huron, which likewise receives those of Lake Michigan. Lake Huron is 280 miles in length, and 90 in breadth, exclu- sive of the large bay on the north-eastern shore, called Georgian Bay, or Lake Manitouline, which is about 80 miles by 50. An outlet, called the river St. Clair, expands, after a course of 40 miles, into a lake of the same name, 28 miles in length, and 24 in breadth, which again contracts, and enters Lake Erie under the name of the river Detroit, 25 miles in length. Lake Erie, the next link in this great chain, is 270 miles in length, by from 25 to 50 in breadth. The river Niagara, 36 miles long, carries its surplus water over a perpendicular precipice 165 feet high, 4 45 38 NORTH AMERICA. into Lake Ontario, which is about 190 miles in length, by 40 in breadth. The waters of these lakes are clear and potable, and they abound with fish, among which are trout, weighing from 75 to 100 pounds, sturgeon, white fish, pike, bass, &c. They are navigable by large vessels, and a great number of steamboats navigate their waters. Far in the interior, there are a great number of lakes, of which the Lake of the Woods, Lake Winni- peg, Lake Athabasca, and the Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes, are the principal. Less than one-tenth part of British America is as yet settled by a civilized population. The inland districts are very thinly peopled by a number of small Indian tribes, who rather roam from place to place, than occupy any stationary tract. They live by hunting and fishing, and present a degraded picture of humanity. The eastern and northern coasts, from Labrador to Behring's straits, are inhabited by va- rious tribes of Esquimaux, who carry on constant warfare with the Indians in their vicinity. The principal divisions of British America are New Britain, with the provinces of Canada, (lately Upper and Lower Canada,) New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, and Newfoundland. The constitution of government for the provinces has been modelled on that of the mother country. Each province has a governor and a legislative council appointed by the crown, and a house of commons or representatives chosen by the inhabitants, upon moderate qualifications. In 1840 an act was passed by the British Parliament, which received the royal sanction July 3d, by which the two provinces of Upper and Lower Canada are united under one government. The governor of Canada is also governor-general, vice-admiral, and captain-general of all the British possessions in North America. Kingston, on Lake Ontario, has been chosen as the capital of the United Provinces. In Lower Canada, trial by jury is universal in criminal cases, but a very small proportion of the civil cases are tried in this manner. Law proceedings are in French and English, and it is not unusual to have half the jury English and the other half French. In Upper Canada, the laws are wholly English, as is also the case in the other provinces. Canada has a very fertile soil, especially in its upper colony ; and though it be free from snow only during the five months of the year, the heat of that period is sufficient to ripen the most valuable kinds of grain. The vast uncleared tracts are covered with excellent timber. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are ■ less fertile, yet they contain much good land, and are well timbered. Newfoundland NORTH AMERICA. 39 has on its shores the most valuable cod-fishery in the world. Even the immense northern wastes are covered with a variety of animals, noted for their rich and beautiful furs, which form the foundation of an extensive and valuable trade. The commerce of British America is of vast importance : the fur trade, the original object for opening an intercourse with this part of the world, was carried on in the first place, chiefly from the shores of Hudson's Bay ; but it was there injudiciously placed in the hands of an exclusive company, which greatly diminished its activity. Upwards of forty years ago some enterprising merchants of Montreal established the North-west Company, who, employing numerous and active agents, carried on their business with spirit and enterprise. The eager rivalry of the two companies, gave birth to many deeds of fraud and violence : within these few years, however, an union has healed the deadly enmity between them, and, by acting in concert, they have determined to diminish the issue of ardent spirits, and even to adopt every practical means for the moral and religious improvement of the Indians. The furs exported from Quebec amount annually to about 81,000,000. in value. The timber trade, the value of which, thirty years ago, did not exceed $150,000, has now surpassed all others in magnitude. The Canada merchants lately estimated the capital invested in this business, at $6,000,000. It is also carried on to a great extent from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and even Cape Breton. The number of vessels employed between England and her American colonies, averages about 1600 inwards, and the same number outwards : tonnage, 430,000 tons. The value of the imports is about $11,000,000, and the exports about half that amount. To the West Indies the colonies export, of their timber and agricultural staples, to a considerable amount, and receive in return the well-known produce of these Islands ; and with the United States Canada holds a great intercourse across Lake Champlain, sending mostly salt and peltries ; and in return taking chiefly tea, tobacco, and other luxuries, clandestinely, which the strict colonial rules would require her to receive from the mother country. The fishery is pursued upon these shores, to an extent not surpassed anywhere else upon the globe. The rich supply of cod on the Newfoundland banks is wholly unparalleled : although all the nations of Europe have been lading cargoes of fish for centuries, no sensible diminution of them has been felt. The 40 NORTH AMERICA. English employ about 40,000 tons of shipping, and 3000 men in this fishery : in 1831, they exported in fish, oil, and seal-skins, to the amount of $4,000,000 ; and the Americans and French, in the same year, exported, the latter to upwards of $1,200,000 in value, and the former to the amount of $2,000,000. The interior communications of Canada, are almost solely by the river St. Lawrence and the lakes, which open a very exten- sive navigation into the country. It is seriously obstructed, how- ever, between Montreal and Lake Ontario, where a series of rapids occur, over which only canoes can shoot, and all heavy goods must be landed and shipped. Great exertions have been made to improve, by canals, the interior communications of Canada. The principal work is the Rideau canal, reaching from the Utawas river to Kingston. It is 135 miles long, connecting together a chain of lakes, which admit of steam navigation; and the dimensions are such as to allow vessels of from 100 to 125 tons to pass. The enterprise of private individuals has con- structed the Welland canal ; which unites the lakes_ Ontario and Erie. It is 42 miles long, and is more capacious than the New York canal: it will allow vessels of 125 tons to pass through. The Chambly canal opens a navigation by the Sorelle river, from Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence. Area in square miles. Population. New Britain 1,900,000 40,000 Upper Canada 140,000 360,000 Lower Canada 237,000 555,000 New Brunswick 27,000 100,000 Nova Scotia, with Cape Breton. . 18,900 190,000 Prince Edward's Island 2,100 35,000 Newfoundland 35,000 80,000 Total...., 2,360,000 1,360,000 NEW BRITAIN. New Britain is that large portion of British America situated north of the Canadas and the United States, and stretching northward to the dreary and desolate shores of the Arctic Sea. It comprises Labrador, New North and New South Wales, Prince William's Land, Boothia Felix, lately discovered by Cap- tain Ross, and the North Georgian Islands. Hudson's Bay divides the country into two great divisions : on the east is La- brador and East Main, and on the west New North and New South Wales. NORTH AMERICA. 41 The face of the country is generally a vast plain, intersected with numerous lakes and rivers, some of which flow into the unexplored seas of the north, and others into Hudson's Bay : among the former are the Mackenzie, the Copper Mine, and Great Fish River, lately explored by Captain Back ; and into the latter the principal are Churchill, Nelson, Severn, and Alba- ny Rivers. The interior streams are the Saskatchawan, Winnipeg, and Red River, flowing into Lake Winnipeg ; and the Athabasca and Peace rivers, emptying into Lake Athabasca : these may properly be considei'ed head branches of the Mackenzie, as their waters finally reach the ocean through its channel. The lakes are exceedingly numerous ; some are extensive, and second only to the great Canadian lakes. Of these, Winnipeg Lake, Athabasca Lake, Great Slave, and Great Bear Lakes, are the principal. They are situated at considerable distances apart, but in a range, lying almost north-west from each other ; and, their waters being nearly connected by various navigable streams, they afford, during the brief period of summer, an extensive and almost continuous canoe navigation, from Lake Superior to the Arctic Ocean, and are traversed by the fur traders, in their long and perilous voyages. In winter, such is the severity of the climate in this region, that even in 57° the lakes freeze eight feet thick ; brandy and mercury congeal ; the rocks sometimes split with a noise like that of the heaviest artillery, scattering the fragments to a great distance. The temperature is capricious, and the changes sud- den. The Aurora Borealis sheds a light sometimes equal to that of the full moon. The vegetation in the northern parts is very scanty, but adjoining the northern boundary of the United States there are some fertile spots along the Red River of Lake Winnipeg. The only trade in these regions is that of furs ; to facilitate which, the Hudson's Bay Company have established forts and trading-houses in various quarters, extending from Hudson's Bay west into the territories claimed by the United States. On the shores of the Pacific Ocean, and to the north, almost to the Arctic Sea, from these forts, &c, agents are sent amongst the Indians to collect furs, in exchange for such European commo- dities as are prized by them. The furs exported in 1832 from Hudson's Bay, amounted to the value of $500,000. The coasts of Labrador, and indeed the whole of the northern parts of this region, from Greenland to Bhering's Strait, is inha- bited by the Esquimaux, a race of savages who sustain exist- ence chiefly by feeding on whales and seals, except in the more southern parts of Labrador : of the skins of the latter they 4 * E 49 42 NORTH AMERICA. make their boats and clothes, and of his sinews they make thread. They travel over the snow in sledges drawn by dogs, of which they have a very hardy and sagacious breed, which will draw a considerable load 60 miles in a day. The complexion of these polar men has little of the copper colour of the other American aborigines, and is rather of a dirty, reddish yellow. Their summer huts are circular, covered with deer-skins, and entered by creeping on the hands and knees. They make their winter habitations of frozen snow, in a few hours, exceedingly comfortable, and which remain durable till melted by the heat of the ensuing summer. Some of the tribes have canoes, made of the skin of the sea-calf, with which they sail with amazing swiftness. They also work a grey and porous stone into neat pitchers and kettles, and those in the vicinity of Bhering's Strait display great ingenuity in the manufacture of trinkets and utensils of the fossil ivory, with which some parts of those regions abound. They are, far more than the Indians, a social and domestic people. This is apparent in their good treatment to females, and their care and affection for their children. Among these people, on the coast of Labrador, the Moravian missionaries have established several settlements; Nain, Okkak, Hopedale, &c, and have, besides teaching them many useful things, built a magazine, in which each of the natives might deposit his use- less stores, prevailing on them to set apart a tenth for widows and orphans. This is the true way to convert a savage people, by showing them the palpable fruits of the gospel. " The Indians occupying this region are principally the Assini- boines, Knisteneaux, or Crees, Chippewayans, Beaver, Hare, Dog-rib, Copper Indians, &c. The Assiniboines are a tribe of Sioux ; they are divided into several smaller tribes, as the Black- foot, Fall, and Blood Indians, &c. They rear many horses, and subsist chiefly on the buffalo. Westward from Baffin's Bay are an extensive range of islands, the discoveries chiefly of Captain Parry. These appear to be entirely detached from the great mass of the American Conti- nent, and are considered by some geographers as forming a separate and distinct region. The chief divisions are Prince William's Land, Boothia Felix, and the North Georgian Islands. Melville Island, the most westerly of the latter, upwards of 100 miles both in length and breadth, and in latitude 75° N., is memorable as containing the spot where Captain Parry spent two years, and braved with success the extremest rigour of an arctic winter. NORTH AMERICA. 43 No inhabitants were found here, or on any of this range of islands. The only animals which appeared during the winter were a pack of hungry wolves, which hovered round the British vessels in hope of plunder ; and it was not till the middle of May that the hunters met with some ptarmigans, and saw the footsteps of deer. Vegetable productions were few and short- lived. A succession of islands extend eastward from the one just described ; only the southern shores of which were seen by Captain Parry as he sailed along, and their aspect appears closely to resemble Melville Island. They are separated by Barrow's Strait, the continuation of Sir James Lancaster's Sound, from the regions called Boothia Felix. The former, situ- ated to the west of the Gulf of Boothia, was discovered by Cap- tain Ross in his late adventurous voyage, 1829, '30, '31, and '32, and is supposed, from the observations of Captain Back, to be an island, and not a part of the continent, as at first conjectured ; it is much broken by deep inlets and rocky islands, encumbered with ice and of dangerous navigation. The country as far as 72° north is inhabited, and Captain Ross had communication with a very interesting tribe of natives, who had never before seen any European. UPPER CANADA. Upper Canada, commencing at Lake St. Francis, above Montreal, extends along the whole chain of the great lakes, almost to the western boundary of Lake Superior. Compara- tively but a small part of this province is settled, and many por- tions of it are yet unexplored. The settlements are chiefly along the rivers St. Lawrence and Utawas, and lakes Erie and Ontario. The soil is in general excellent, and yields abundant crops of grain, wheat, Indian-corn, hops, flax, &c. The climate of Upper Canada is salubrious, and epidemic diseases almost unknown. The winters are shorter and less rigorous than in the lower province : the spring opens, and agri- cultural labours commence from six weeks to two months earlier than in the neighbourhood of Quebec. The summer heats are also more moderate, and the autumn pleasant and favourable for securing the produce of all the late crops. Population is advan- cing with great rapidity : it has hitherto been confined to the St. Lawrence and the shores of the lakes, but is now becoming more diffused over the interior. 44 NORTH AMERICA. Kingston, now the capital of Canada, is situated on the north- ern shore of Lake Ontario, and near its eastern extremity. It is a neat little town, with about 5000 inhabitants. The harbour is commodious, and the commerce with the opposite shores of the lake is very considerable. Toronto, formerly called York, is on Lake Ontario, about 180 miles nearly west of Kingston; it has 10,000 inhabitants; and was, until 1840, the capital of Upper Canada. Some of the other towns on Lake Ontario are Coburg, Port Hope, and Hamilton. On the Niagara River are the vil- lages of Niagara, Queenstown, and Chippewa. Sandwich, in the western part of the province, and opposite to Detroit, is a thriving little town ; as is also London, on the Thames, with a population of 2000 inhabitants. On the east shore of Lake Huron, is the neat and flourishing town of Goderich, with a good harbour at' the mouth of the Maitland river ; and at the bottom of Lake Manitouline, or Georgian Bay, is Penetanguishene, a British naval station, from which a steamboat runs occasionally to St. Joseph's Island, at the west end of the lake, on which is kept a small detachment of British troops. In this province is exhibited one of the most sublime and mag- nificent of nature's works. By the Niagara river, the accumu- lated waters flowing from four great lakes and all their tributaries, are precipitated over the Falls of Niagara, the mightiest cataract in the world. The whole mass is poured into one tremendous plunge of 165 feet in height. The noise, tumult, and rapidity of this falling sea ; the rolling clouds of foam, the vast volumes of vapour which rise into the air, the brilliancy and variety of the tints, and the beautiful rainbows which span the abyss ; the lofty banks and immense woods which surround this wonderful scene, have been consi- dered by experienced travellers as eclipsing every similar pheno- menon. The noise is heard, and the cloud of vapours seen, at the distance of several miles. The fall on the Canadian side is 630 feet wide, of a semi-circular form ; that on the American side, only 310 feet, and 165 feet in height, being six or seven feet higher than the former. The one, called the Crescent or Horse- shoe Fall, descends in a mighty sea-green wave ; the other, broken by rocks into foam, resembles a sheet of molten silver. Travellers descend with the certainty of being drenched to the skin, but without danger, to the foot of the fall, and even beneath it. There are now excellent inns on both sides of the falls, which are crowded with visitants during the summer months. CANADA. Man of Nootka Sound. Woman of Nootka Sound. Canadian Indian and his Squaw. Habitans, or French Canadians. Canadian Cariole. Rapids of the St. Lawrence. These rapids commence about ten miles above Montreal, and extend nine miles fur- ther. The river is confined in rocky broken channels, amongst which the water dashes with extreme violence. Timber rafts and boats are, however, guided through this dan- gerous navigation by skilful pilots. E* » NORTH AMERICA. View of the City of Quebec. Falls of Monlmorenci. The Falls of Montmorenci are seven miles below Quebec. They are formed by a small river which runs into the St. Lawrence ; the stream is about 100 feet wide, and descends246 feet. This cataract is much visited ; and, though less imposing than some others, is still a beautiful and interesting object. Codfishing on the Banks of Newfoundland. Along the shores of Newfoundland, codfishing is carried on in open boats, contain- ing three or four men each. On the banks, at a distance from the land, vessels manned by twelve or fourteen men are usually employed. 54 NORTH AMERICA. 45 LOWER CANADA. Lower Canada extends along the river St. Lawrence, on both sides, from its mouth to Lake St. Francis, a short distance above Montreal. At the mouth of the St. Lawrence the country is rugged and mountainous, and the climate very severe ; but the upper and more southerly portions of the province are well watered, fertile, and with a milder climate than the lower part. All sections, however, have the winters of Sweden, though in the latitude of France. The summers are warm and short, and the transition from winter to summer is very rapid, leaving scarcely more than a month for the season of spring. More than three-fourths of the inhabitants of the country are of French descent, and speak the French language ; they are all Catholics, and much attached to their priests : the remainder are mostly natives of Great Britain and their descendants. Educa- tion is much neglected, and the mass of the people is very igno- rant and illiterate. The native French Canadians are called habitans. They are gay, satisfied with a little, and strongly attached to their religion and native country. The countenance of the Canadian is long and thin ; his complexion sun-burnt and swarthy, inclining towards that of the Indian ; his eyes black and lively, with lank and meagre cheeks, a sharp and prominent chin, and such easy and polite manners, as though he had always lived in the great world, rather than amid thick forests. Their intercourse with each other is to the last degree affec- tionate, and a French Canadian village constitutes one family. Their cheerfulness, whether in prosperity or adversity, is inex- haustible, and more valuable to them than all the boasted attain- ments of philosophy. There is a marked difference between this province and the United States in the habits of the people, their buildings, and their modes of living. An individual from the latter country, who happens to be in Canada, will be reminded by every thing about him that he is not at home. Quebec, which, until 1840, was the capital of Canada, is sin- gularly situated, half on a plain along the northern bank of the St. Lawrence, and the other half on the top of a steep perpen- dicular rock, 350 feet high. These are called the Upper and Lower towns. This city, as a military station, is very strong; its fortifications render it almost a second Gibraltar. It was one of the most brilliant scenes of British glory. Near it, on the plains of Abraham, Wolfe, at the cost of his 46 NORTH AMERICA. life, gained the splendid victory which annexed Canada to the British empire. The population of Quebec is about 30,000 : its commerce is considerable, as all the vessels, from Britain and other foreign quarters, stop there and unload their cargoes. The town of Three Rivers, containing about 3000 inhabitants, is situated on the river St. Lawrence, 90 miles above Quebec. The commercial capital of Canada is Montreal. Most of the business, even of Quebec, is carried on by branches from the Montreal houses. It derives a great impulse from the transactions of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company ; and it is the centre of the commerce with the United States, carried on by lake Champlain and the Hudson. The island of Montreal is about thirty miles in length, and seven in breadth ; it is of alluvial soil, the most fertile in Lower Canada, and also the most highly cultivated. The view over it of fruitful fields, gay country-houses, and the streams by which it is encircled, is one of the most pleasing that can be imagined. The interior of the town is not so attractive. The streets, though tolerably regular, were inconveniently narrow ; but of late several have been formed, extending the whole length of the town, that are commodious and airy. The new cathedral, opened in 1829, is considered one of the hand- somest structures in America. It is 255 feet long, 134 broad, 220 feet high in its principal front ; and it is capable of containing 10,000 persons. Two Catholic seminaries, the English church, and the general hospital, are also handsome structures. The population amounts to 40,000. La Chine, above the rapids which interrupt the navigation above Montreal, is an important depot for the interior trade. NEW BRUNSWICK, New Brunswick is situated to the east of the State of Maine, and to the north-west of Nova Scotia, from which it is separated by the Bay of Fundy ; on the north it has part of Lower Canada, the boundary between the two being the River Restigouche. It has, on the east, a winding coast along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, indented by navigable bays and inlets. The country, towards the sea-coast, and along the St. John's River, is level, but the western and northern parts, are somewhat mountainous. This colony is still almost one unbroken forest, and under the encouragement afforded by the mother country, almost all the energies of the inhabitants are directed to the lumber trade. The NORTH AMERICA. 47 borders of the rivers, where cultivated, are fertile in grass and grain, though agriculture is not yet greatly advanced. The sea- coast abounds in cod and other fish ; the river St. Johns is thronged with herring, shad and salmon. The fisheries are a source of considerable wealth and employment to the inhabitants ; the produce of which being, with timber, the great staples of export. The town of St. John's, on a fine harbour at the mouth of the river St. John's, is the most considerable place in New Brunswick. The population is about 12,000 : in 1834 the exports from it were $1,000,000; being nearly two-thirds the amount from all the other ports. St. Andrew's, at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay, besides its timber trade, has a considerable fishery, and contains about 5000 inhabitants. Frederickton, the seat of government, is about 85 miles up the St. John's river, which being navigable for vessels of 50 tons, is the seat of a considerable inland trade ; the population is 1800; it is rather regularly built of wood, with government offices, several churches, and a college. The river Miramichi is distinguished by the extensive forests on its banks, whence large shipments of timber are made, at the port of that name, as well as those of Chatham, Douglas, and Newcastle. This tract of country was, in October, 1825, the scene of one of the most dreadful conflagrations on record. The flames, kindled by accident at several points at once, were impelled by a violent wind, and fed always with new fuel, till they spread over about 100 miles of territory, involving it in smoke and flame, and reducing to ashes the towns of Douglas and Newcastle ; nearly 200 persons are said to have perished, and more than 2000 to have been reduced to entire destitution. The natural advantages of the country, however, have enabled it to recover with surprising rapidity. New Brunswick was originally settled by German troops in the service of Great Britain, and hence its name. It was in- cluded in Nova Scotia until 1784. Dalhousie and Bathurst, on Chaleur Bay, and Liverpool, on the coast of Miramichi Bay, are small villages. NOVA SCOTIA. Nova Scotia was first settled by the French, and named by them Acadia. It was granted by James I. to Sir William Alex- ander, a Scottish nobleman, by whom it was called Nova Scotia ; 48 NORTH AMERICA. but was not confirmed to England until 1713. It included New Brunswick until 1784, when it was divided into two provinces. This colony is a large peninsula, bounded on the north by the narrow strait separating it from Cape Breton and Prince Edward's Island, on the south-east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the north-west by the Bay of Fundy, which penetrates so deep as to leave only an isthmus about nine miles broad, connecting it with New Brunswick. Nova Scotia is about 280 miles long, and from 50 to 100 broad, comprising about 16,000 square miles. The surface of the country is moderately uneven, and in some places hilly. The climate is cold, but healthy, and, with the progress of cultivation, is gradually ameliorating. Spring is late and irregular in its approach ; but when vegetation commences, it is very rapid, and in a few days changes the whole face of nature. On the coast the soil is generally poor, but in the interior and northern parts it is well adapted to cultivation. Wheat and other grains are raised to some extent, and large quantities of the finest potatoes. The population in 1832 was, including Cape Breton, about 190,000. The principal exports to Europe are timber and fish, and to the West Indies and the neighbour- ing states, timber, provisions, coal of fine quality, gypsum, and freestone. The administration of the colony is vested in a governor, council, and house of assembly. There are colleges at Halifax, Windsor, and Pictou ; also numerous schools, partly supported by government, for the instruction of the lower classes. The religious denominations are Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Metho- dists, Baptists, and Catholics. Halifax is the capital, situated on one of the noblest harbours in the world, capable of containing any amount of shipping of any burthen. It was founded in 1749, by General Cornwallis, and has since carried on almost all the trade of the colony. The most extensive dock-yard in British America has been formed here, where a number of ships of the line and armed vessels are always lying, either stationed here or for repairs. A considera- ble number of troops are always in garrison, who, with the naval officers, give it the air of a military place. Population, 15,000. Lunenburg, the chief of the German settlements, contains a population of about 2000 inhabitants, and has a brisk trade. Liverpool also carries on a considerable trade ; but Shelburn, which, at the end of the American revolutionary war, was the largest place in Nova Scotia, has sunk to a mere village. The north-eastern coast has Pictou, from which, and the neighbour- NORTH AMERICA. 49 ing bays on this coast, is shipped the largest quantity of timber and coal. On a river falling into the Bay of Fundy, is Annapolis, the original French capital ; but since the transference of the government to Halifax, it has sunk into a mere secondary place. The trade of this great bay is now carried on from Yarmouth, at its mouth, the population of which, since 1791, has risen from 1300 to 4500. Gypsum is the principal export. Cape Breton is a large island, separated from Nova Scotia by St. George's Gulf and the Gut of Canseau. The island is about 100 miles in length, and from 30 to 80 in breadth. It is pene- trated by an arm of the sea, called the Bras d'Or, which divides it nearly into two equal portions. Only the coasts, including those- of the Bras d'Or, have yet been cultivated ; and the popu- lation in general is in a less improved state than in the other colonies. The agriculture is still in its infancy, the valuable cod-fishery attracting the chief industry of the people. Cape Breton, therefore, imports wheat flour, though it affords a small surplus of oats and potatoes. There are coal-mines of great value. Cape Breton has excellent harbours, and commands, in a great measure, the navigation of the St. Lawrence. Of the population, exceeding 25,000, the most numerous portion con- sists of Scottish highlanders, and next to them of Acadians. The island was, in 1820, politically united to Nova Scotia, and sends two members to the house of assembly. Louisburg, which the French carefully fortified, and made one of the principal stations in their " New France," is now entirely deserted ; and Sydney, a village of 800 inhabitants, is all the capital of which Cape Breton can boast. St. Peter's, on the south coast, and Arechat, a small fishing-town on Isle Madame, are the other principal settlements. To the south-east of Nova Scotia lies Sable Island, a danger- ous sand-bank in the track of vessels sailing between Europe and America. PRINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND. Prince Edward's, formerly St. John's, is a fine fertile island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, lying nearly parallel to the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is 135 miles long, and 34 broad. It is deeply indented by bays and inlets. The sur- face of the island is level, and varied only by gentle undulations. It has shorter winters than the neighbouring colonies, and is ex- 5 59 50 NORTH AMERICA. empt from those extremes of heat and cold and heavy fogs, which render them often so gloomy. The soil is good, and well adapted to agriculture, especially wheat and oats, of which it affords a surplus. In 1768, the island contained only 150 families. The population is now 35,000, chiefly Scotch highlanders, and some Acadians, and English from Yorkshire. Charlottetown is the capital, with a population of 3500. NEWFOUNDLAND. This large island is 420 miles long, and 300 broad, situated at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and is the most east- ern part of British America. It presents a bold and rocky shore, abounding in harbours. The soil is mostly barren, and the tim- ber scanty and stunted. Some tracts, however, are supposed to be well fitted for pasturage. The climate is severe, and the country is frequently visited by dreary fogs and storms of sleet and snow. This island owes its importance to its cod-fisheries, which are the most valuable in the world. The fish are taken singly, with baited hooks, upon the banks, which are shallow places, proba- bly formed by the deposits of sand brought down from the tro- pics by the gulf stream, which also bears down on its bosom countless millions of the animal on which the fish feed. The Grand Bank of Newfoundland, situated to the eastward of the island, is the greatest submarine elevation known. It is from 500 to 600 miles in length, and in some places near 200 in breadth. Some distance farther from the Grand Bank, is the Outer Bank, or Flemish Cap, about 90 miles in length by 50 wide ; and to the westward are the Green and Whale Banks. These are the great rendezvous of the cod fish, and form the fishing-ground for some 2500 to 3000 vessels, and from 35,000 to 40,000 Americans, English, and French, chiefly however the first and last. The banks are frequently enveloped in dense fogs, from April to December. So early was the value of the Newfoundland fisheries disco- vered, that in 1517, only twenty years after the first voyage, upwards of fifty vessels of different nations were found employed in it. The British soon took the most active part, and formed colonies on the island. Their sovereignty was acknowledged by the treaty of Utrecht, which reserved, however, to the French, the right of fishing on the banks. This was confirmed in 1763 UNITED STATES. 51 when the small islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon were allowed to them to dry their fish. The Americans have a right to take fish at any three miles from the shore, and to dry them on any of the neighbouring coasts unoccupied by the British settlers. The fishing season begins in April, and ends in October ; the business is lucrative, but dangerous ; and is an admirable nursery for our hardy and adventurous seamen, and furnishes a considerable element of our trade. Many English and French vessels are here in company. The English and French dry their fish on the islands. We bring great portions of ours, pickled, to our own ports, and dry them there, particularly at Marblehead, Gloucester, and Beverly. A great number of acres round those towns, are covered with the flakes or scaffolds on which those fish are dried. Newfoundland contains 80,000 inhabitants, almost entirely fishermen. St. John's^ the principal place on the island, is little more than a large fishing station, the whole shore being lined with wharves and stages for landing and drying fish. It is defended by several forts, one of which, Fort Townsend, is the residence of the governor. The houses are built mostly of wood. This construction exposed the town to a series of dreadful con- flagrations, in 1816, 1817, and 1818. In one of these, (Novem- ber 7, 1818,) property to the amount of half a million sterling was destroyed. The stationary population of St. John's is esti- mated at 11,000, but varies according to the season of the year. The uninhabited island of Anticosti, in the Gulf of St. Law- rence, and the coast of Labrador, are dependencies on Newfound- land. Near its southern coast are the little islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, belonging to France, and inhabited by fishermen. UNITED STATES. The United States are the most interesting and important division of the western continent. They are distinguished for the excellence of their government, the rapid increase of the population, and for the intelligence, industry, and enterprise of the inhabitants. They occupy the most valuable and productive portion of North America, and rank amongst the most powerful, commercial, and wealthy nations of the globe. The United States extend through 29 degrees of latitude, and 58 degrees of longitude, and comprise a superficial area of upwards of 2,300,000 square miles. The frontier line has a F 61 52 NORTH AMERICA. length of 10,000 miles, of which about 3600 are sea-coast, and 1200 lake-coast. A line drawn across from the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the centre, is about 2500 miles in length. So vast a region of course includes a great variety of surface, soil, and climate. It abounds in navigable rivers, and a large proportion of it is susceptible of cultivation, and is of a quality calculated to repay the labour bestowed upon it, more than almost any other region of the same extent in the world : but a small portion of its surface is occupied by mountains, which, from their height or ruggedness, forbid all attempts to render them produc- tive in the means of subsistence to man. There are no great deserts, and few barrens ; nothing like the vast sterile plains which exist in other parts of the world. The basins of the rivers are exceedingly productive : that of the Mis- sissippi, including the Missouri, is the finest valley on the globe. Though lying in the temperate zone, the United States embrace a great variety of climate. In the northern parts the winters are long and severe ; snow often falls to the depth of two or three feet, and the cold is so piercing as to oblige the inhabitants to make very diligent provision against it. Spring returns here in April, and in summer the heat is great. In the southern parts of the country, snow is seldom seen, ice is rarely formed in the rivers, and those fruits which shrink from a northern climate, and flourish only in warm regions, are scattered over the soil. In Georgia, the inhabitants may collect the figs which grow before the windows, and may load their tables with oranges, lemons, and other exquisite fruits that grow in their gardens and groves ; while in parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, even peaches will not flourish. Between these extremities, as in Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois, there is a region adapted to the wine-grape, which thrives best removed from both the torrid and frigid zones. The United States are intersected by two principal and two subordinate ranges of mountains, the Rocky and Alleghany, the Ozark and Green Mountains. The Rocky Mountain range forms the great division ridge of North America, separating the waters which flow in opposite directions, towards the great oceans which bound the opposite sides of the continent. They are situated at a medium distance of about 600 miles from the Pacific ; the highest rise above the line of perpetual snow, being estimated at 16,000 feet in height. The Alleghany range runs in a north-easterly direction from the northern part of Alabama to New-York, stretching along in uniform ridges, at the distance of 250 to 80 miles from the sea- UNITED STATES. 53 coa«t, and following its general direction. It occupies in breadth a space of from 60 to 120 miles, and separates the waters which run into the Atlantic Ocean, from those which flow into the Mis- sissippi and its tributaries. The highest elevation in this range, and the most prominent in the Atlantic states is Black Mountain, in the western part of North Carolina : it is 6476 feet in height. The Green Mountains extend from Connecticut, through Mas- sachusetts and Vermont, to Canada, dividing the Atlantic rivers from those of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence. Some of the peaks of this range attain considerable elevation. In New Hampshire and Maine are found many considerable peaks, which are not connected with any systematic range, but are scattered in detached groups. The White Mountains, in New Hampshire, are the most elevated in New England. The Ozark Mountains extend from Texas through the western part of Arkansas, into the lead-mine region of Missouri. Their general direction is nearly similar to that of the Alleghany range, and their altitude is supposed to be about 2000 feet above the sea. The territory of the United States is washed by three seas, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The principal bays and sounds on the Atlantic border, are Passamaquoddy Bay, Massachusetts Bay, Long Island Sour.:!, Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. In the Gulf of Mexico, the principal bays are Chatham Bay, Appalachie Bay, and Mobile Bay. In the Pacific, the Gulf of Georgia is the most important inlet on the western coast of the United States. The great lakes Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, not being altogether in the United States, have been described elsewhere. The boundary between the British and American territoires passes through their centre, allotting about an equal share of their vast waters to each nation. Lake Michigan is wholly within the territory of the United States. It is connected with Huron by the Strait of Michillimackinac, and is about 320 miles in length, and from 55 to 60 miles wide, with an area of 16,200 square miles. The country on both sides of this lake is settling rapidly ; and the mildness of the climate, the excellence of the soil, and the probable speedy junction of its waters with those of the Mississippi, will shortly fill this portion of the west with population and wealth. The other lakes of any magnitude in the United States, are Champlain in New-York, Winnipiseogee in New-Hampshire, and Moose Head in Maine. The rivers which water the territory of the United States are numerous, and some of them among the most important in the 5* 63 54 NORTH AMERICA. world. No portion of the globe possesses greater facilities for inland navigation and trade, or is more generally intersected with large and navigable streams. They may be divided into four great classes. 1st. The streams which rise on the east side of the Alleghany mountains, and flow into the Atlantic Ocean. 2d. Those south of the Alleghany range, which discharge themselves into the Gulf of Mexico. 3d. The Mississippi and its wide tributaries, which drain the waters of the vast valley included between the Rocky and Alle- ghany ranges ; and, 4th. The rivers which, rising on the western declivity of the Rocky Mountains, direct their course to the Pacific Ocean. The Penobscot, Kennebec, Connecticut, Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, James, Savannah, Alatamaha, and St. John's rivers, are the principal that flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The Suwanee, Apalachicola, Mobile, Pearl, Mississippi, and Sa- bine rivers, are the chief that empty into the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi is the largest river of North America, and one of the noblest in the world, watering a more fertile region, and having a larger course of uninterrupted navigation, than any other known stream. Its course — taken in connexion with its mighty auxiliary, the Missouri, is estimated at 4100 miles in length. The space drained by its waters is supposed to ex- ceed 1,300,000 square miles, being upwards of two-thirds of the whole territory of the United States, or about one thirty-eighth part of the land surface of the globe. In no portion of the world has the triumph of art over the obstacles of nature been so complete. The introduction of steam-navigation has been productive of immense advantages, and has been carried to a greater extent than on any other river. The Mississippi proper rises west of Lake Superior, in a dreary and desolate region, amidst lakes and swamps, and, after pursuing a south-east course of about 600 miles, reaches the falls of St. Anthony, where it descends perpendicularly 16 feet, and where are 58 feet of rapids. Thence it flows in a south-easterly, and then southerly direction ; and, after forming the boundary between the states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana, on the west, and Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi, on the east, discharges its waters through several mouths, into the Gulf of Mexico. It is about 2800 miles long, and is navigable for steam-boats to the falls of St. Anthony, 2200 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The Missouri enters the Mississippi river about 18 miles above St. Louis, after a course of 2900 miles. Although it loses UNITED STATES. 55 its name at its confluence with the latter, it is much the longer stream of the two ; but the Mississippi, having been first disco- vered and explored, has retained its name to the Gulf of Mexico. This error being now past remedy, the Missouri must be consi- dered as a tributary of the Mississippi. It is formed of numer- ous branches, which rise among the Rocky Mountains, between the parallels of 42° and 48° north latitude. The most remote are the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers. The only obstruction that occurs to the navigation of the Missouri is at the Great Falls, a distance of 2500 miles from the Mississippi. Here the river descends 362 feet in 18 miles: the descent is by four great pitches or cataracts, of 98, 19, 49, and 26 feet, respectively. The width of the river is about 350 yards, and the cataracts are considered to be, next to those of Niagara, the grandest in the world. About 100 miles above, is the place called the Gates of the Rocky Mountains. This river was lately ascended by a steam-vessel to the mouth of, and 300 miles up the Yellow-Stone, a distance from the Gulf of Mexico of 3300 miles. The largest tributaries of the Missouri are, the Yellow Stone, the Platte, or Shallow river, and the Kanzas. They all rise in the Rocky Mountains, and flow through a flat prairie country, inhabited by a widely scattered Indian population. The Arkansas is, after the Missouri, the most considerable tributary of the Mississippi from the west. It rises in the Rocky Mountains, and its course is computed to be about 2000 miles. It enters the Mississippi river about 540 miles below the Missou- ri. Steam-boats can generally ascend this river to the mouth of the Canadian, its largest tributary, and occasionally to Can- tonment Gibson, 640 miles from the Mississippi river. The Red river is the first tributary stream of any note which enters the Mississippi, in ascending from its mouth. It has a course of about 1500 miles, and flows through immense prairies of a red soil. The Wisconsin river joins the Mississippi from the east 4 or 5 miles below the town of Prairie du Chien. In part of its course it approaches so near the Fox river of Green Bay, as to leave a portage of only l£ miles. It is one of the great natural chan- nels of communication between the lakes and the Mississippi. The Illinois river enters the Mississippi 18 miles above the Missouri, after a course of more than 500 miles. It is near a quarter of a mile wide at its mouth, and has a remarkably smooth, gentle current. The Ohio river is the largest eastern tributary of the Missis- sippi. At its junction, and for 100 miles above, it is as large F* 65 56 NORTH AMERICA. as the parent stream. The Ohio is formed by the union of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers at Pittsburg. It flows in a south-westerly direction for 945 miles, separating the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, from Virginia and Kentucky, and falls into the Mississippi 193 miles below the Missouri. Its cur- rent is gentle, and is nowhere broken by any considerable falls, except at Louisville, in Kentucky, where the water descends 22^ feet in two miles. This obstruction is now obviated by the Louis- ville and Portland canal, which affords a passage to steam-boats of small draft, at all seasons, to the upper parts of the river at Pittsburg. The most considerable river on the Pacific side of the Rocky Mountains is the Columbia, or Oregon. Its head-waters inter- lock with the Arkansas, Rio del Norte, &c. : it. is about 1500 miles in length ; its principal branches are Lewis's or Saptin river, 1200 miles in extent ; Clark's or Flat Head river, 600 miles long, M'Gillivray's, Okinagan, &c. Vessels of 300 tons may ascend the Columbia 125 miles ; and large sloops may go up to the head of tide, 183 miles from the ocean. Minerals abound in the United States in great variety and pro- fusion. Iron is very generally diffused, and is very abundant. Lead, limestone, and coal, both of the anthracite and bituminous kind, abound in quantities supposed to be inexhaustible, especially of the former description. Gold has recently been found to a considerable amount in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. The most valuable mines are in North Carolina and Georgia. The lead-mines of Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin, are said to be the richest in quality in the world ; and the quantity of that metal extracted from the ore, within the last few years, has been so great as to exclude almost entirely the foreign article from our markets. The annual produce of the Missouri mines is estimated at 7 million, and of the Illinois and Wisconsin 10 million pounds. Salt springs abound in many parts of the Union, and large quantities of Salt are made in New York, Western Pennsylvania, Western Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois : it is also made from sea- water in some parts of New England. The whole amount made is stated to be about 7 million bushels. The United States form a federal republic. Each of the states is independent, and has the exclusive control of all concerns merely local ; but the defence of the country, the regulation of commerce, and all the general concerns of the confederacy, are committed, by the constitution, to the general government. The legislative power is vested in a Congress, consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate is composed 66 UNITED STATES. 57 of two members from each State, chosen every two years, for a period of six years, so that one-third of the Senate is renewed biennially. The number of senators is at present 52. The members of the House of Representatives are chosen every two years, each state being entitled to a number proportionate to its population, in a ratio, in the states that do not admit of slavery, of one to every 47,700 inhabitants ; and in the states where there are slaves, of one for every 47,700 of the free white population, and one for every 79,500 of the slaves. The number of repre- sentatives is now 240. The judiciary is composed of a Supreme Court, of one chief and 8 associate judges ; of 34 District Courts, of one judge each, except that 7 of the states are divided into two districts each ; and of 9 Circuit Courts, composed of the judge of the district, and one of the judges of the Supreme Court. The executive power is vested in a President, who, together with the Vice-President, is chosen for four years, by electors from all the states. The President must be a native-born citizen, or have been a citizen at the adoption of the constitution, of 35 years of age, and have resided in the United States 14 years. The principal subordinate officers of the executive department, are the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, and of the Navy, the Postmaster General, and the Attorney General. They are removable at the will of the President, and, with the Vice- President, form the cabinet. The seat of government is at the City of Washington. The government of the United States is conducted according to the provisions of a written document, called the Constitution, which was formed and adopted in 1789, and has since been amended. It secures to the people the grand principles of free- dom, liberty of conscience in matters of religion, liberty of the press, trial by jury, and the right of choosing and being chosen to office. The revenue of the United States is chiefly derived from duties on imports, the sales of public lands, post-offices, lead-mines, &c. The revenue on imports is the most important. The second great source of revenue is the national domain, or public lands, which consists of tracts of territory ceded to the general government by several states ; of the lands in the terri- tory of Louisiana, purchased from France ; and those in Florida, acquired by treaty from Spain. A vast portion of this land is occupied by the Indians, who are considered as proprietors of the soil, till the government extinguish their title by purchase. A General Land Office at Washington, directs the sale of these territories. All the lands are surveyed before sale ; they are divided into townships of six miles square, which are subdivided 58 NORTH AMERICA. into sections of one mile square, containing each 640 acres, and sold in sections, half, quarter, and half-quarter sections. The minimum price is fixed hy law at a dollar and a quarter. All sales are made for cash. Salt-springs and lead-mines are reserved, but may be sold by- special orders from the President. One section of 640 acres is reserved in each township, as a fund for the perpetual support of schools. Five per cent, on all sales of land are reserved, three- fifths of which are expended by Congress in making roads lead- ing to the states in which the lands are situated, and two-fifths are expended by the states for the promotion of learning. In the year 1820, the sales of the public lands produced 1,167,225 dollars, which had increased in 1836 to the astonishing sum of 24,000,000 dollars, but the sales were materially less in the two succeeding years. Since the commencement of the government, there have been sold 75 million acres, for which upwards of 106 million dollars has been paid. There yet remain unsold more than 313 million acres of land. The Army of the United States consists of two regiments of dragoons, 4 of artillery, and 8 of infantry, containing, at the end of 1839, an aggregate amount of 12,539 men, including a corps of Engineers, Topographical Engineers, and Ordnance depart- ment ; the whole being under the command of a Major General and two Brigadier Generals. The Navy of the United States, though on a small scale, acquired great reputation during the three years' war, when the American ships successfully encountered the formidable force of England. Much has since been done, both in enlarging the number of vessels, and extending and constructing suitable dock-yards ; but the naval force is not considered adequate to the exigencies of the country. It consists of 65 vessels, of which there are 11 ships of the line, 14 frigates, 4 steamers, 21 sloops of war, and 15 smaller vessels. There are seven navy-yards belonging to the United States, viz. : at Portsmouth ; at Charlestown, in Boston Harbour ; at Brooklyn, on Wallabout Bay, opposite New York ; at Philadel- phia ; at Washington ; at Gosport, opposite Norfolk, Virginia ; and at Pensacola, Florida. There are graving or dry docks at Charlestown and Gosport, and a third is constructing at Brooklyn. The post routes cover an extent of 133,999 miles, on which the mails are carried 34,496,878 miles a year. The number of post-offices is 13,376. The office of the Mint of the United States was established at Philadelphia in 1792, and in 1835 an act was passed for estab- lishing a branch in New Orleans, for the coinage of gold and UNITED STATES. 59 silver, and branches at Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dahlone- ga, Georgia, for the coinage of gold ; the general direction being under the control of the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia. The coinage is executed by machines propelled by steam-power ; The value of the coinage during the year 1839 was 3,576,467 dollars, comprising 1,371,278 dollars in gold coins, 2,053,668 in silver, and 31,286 dollars 61 cents, in copper. The chief agricultural occupations in the eastern states are grazing and the dairy. The middle states are principally devoted to the cultivation of wheat and Indian-corn ; the southern to that of tobacco, cotton, sugar, and rice ; and the western to Indian- corn and wheat. Slave labour is chiefly employed in the south- ern and in some of the middle and western states. The cotton crop in 1836 was estimated at 480 million pounds, of the value of 80 million dollars. Tobacco, 80,000 hogsheads, of the value of six million dollars ; of rice to the amount of 2\ million dol- lars ; and of sugar and molasses, of the former 100,000 hogs- heads, and of the latter 63,000 hogsheads. The amount of wheat, rye, Indian-corn, &c. raised in the country, it is impos- sible to estimate with any degree of certainty, but it no doubt amounts to many million barrels. The manufactures of the United States are considerable, and gradually increasing. The eastern and middle states, which are most abundantly supplied with water-power, are most exten- sively engaged in manufactures, especially of cotton, woollen, iron, glass, paper, wood, &c. The present annual value is computed at 8350,000,000 ; and the capital invested in all the manufactories of the Union is estimated at more than 1000 mil- lions. Most of the American manufactures are designed for home consumption ; yet domestic manufactures are exported to the amount of from 6 to 8| million dollars annually. The manufactures of cotton goods amount to about 50 mil- lions of dollars ; woollen 70 millions ; leather and its manufac- tures 45 millions ; hats, caps, bonnets, &c, 15 millions ; cabi- net-ware 10 millions; cables and cordage, paper and glass-ware, each six millions; soap and candles nearly 12, and of manufac- tured tobacco and refined sugar, each about 2 millions of dol- lars. The commerce of the United States is, next to that of Great Britain, the largest in the world. It consists principally in the exchange of agricultural produce for the manufactures of other countries, and the productions of tropical climates. At the commencement of the year 1838, there was of registered tonnage 810,447, including 127,241 tons employed in the whale- fishery ; the enrolled and licensed tonnage amounted to 956,980, 60 NORTH AMERICA. and fishing-vessels 129,257; total 1,896,685 ; and, during the year 1838, there was built in the United States, registered ton- nage 42,343, and of enrolled tonnage 80,643; total 122,987. Cotton is the principal article of export, its annual value ex- ceeding 60 million dollars ; tobacco, bread-stuffs, the produce of the fisheries, timber, bark, cotton goods, and flaxseed, rank next in importance. Most of the fisheries are carried on from the New England states, and in New England ships. The whale-fishery is prose- cuted in the Atlantic Ocean, chiefly south of the line, for the right or black whale, and in the Southern, Indian, and Pacific oceans, for the spermaceti whale. In the year 1836, 144,680 tons of shipping were employed in this business ; and in the course of the year 1836, spermaceti and whale oil was brought home, of the value of about 5,700,000 dollars. Seal oil and furs are also obtained in the Antarctic seas by these adventurous seamen. The fishery is carried on chiefly from the ports of Nantucket and New Bedford, and also, but on a less scale, from New Lon- don, Sag Harbour, Warren, Bristol, Hudson, &c. About 10,000 men are engaged in it, and the seamen are paid, not by fixed wages, but by a certain share in the profits of the voyage. Those in the Pacific and Southern oceans are generally absent from two to three years at a time. The cod-fishery is pursued on the banks and coasts of New- foundland, and on the Labrador coasts. It employs upwards of 60,000 tons of small craft, some of which make several trips a year ; those on the coast-fisheries generally remain longer. The produce of this fishery may be estimated at from 1,200,000 to 1,500,000 dollars a year. The mackerel fishery employs about 50,000 tons of shipping, and produces about 2,000,000 dollars annually. No part of the world presents such an extensive river com- merce. Steam-vessels, a grand improvement, first introduced in America, ply on all the principal rivers, bays, lakes, &c. The Mississippi river and its tributaries alone are traversed by 300 steam-boats, all of which make several voyages every year. The great land-locked bays of the coast have been coivnected by a chain of canals, affording a safe internal water-route from Narragansett Bay to Albemarle Sound. The eastern and west- ern waters have been united by several channels, which cither turn the Alleghanies or surmount their summits. The waters of the lakes and the Mississippi have been connected at various points, and the obstacles in the navigation of the most important rivers have been overcome by removing the bars or ledges which UNITED STATES. 61 obstructed their channels, or by side-cuts, locks, and dams. The whole length of this artificial navigation is not less than 3500 miles ; all of which, with one or two trifling exceptions, has been executed in the short space of 20 years. The Americans have equally surpassed all other people in the number and extent of their rail-roads, having, in less than ten years, constructed nearly 2500 miles of these artificial levels, over which carriages are propelled by locomotive steam-engines at the rate of from 15 to 20 miles an hour. Although this con- trivance is less adapted than canals to the conveyance of bulky articles, yet it possesses some advantages over that mode of transportation, such as that of not being interrupted by ice, and of being suited to certain localities in which artificial water com- munication would be impracticable. The employment of steam-power is probably greater in this country than in any other part of the world, and forms one of the principal elements of American prosperity. 1300 steam-boats have been built since the year 1807, of which 800 now exist; and the number of steam engines in the United States, employed in steam-boats, locomotive rail-road cars, and for various manu- facturing purposes, is not less than 3000. To the state governments is committed that branch of legisla- tion which relates to the regulation of local concerns. These bodies make and alter the laws which regard property and private rights, appoint judges and civil officers, impose taxes for state purposes, and exercise all other rights and powers not vested in the federal government by positive enactment. They are, in their composition, very similar to the federal government. The legislature consists always of two branches, both of which are returned by the same electors ; and these electors may be said to comprise the whole adult white population, the usual qualifi- cations being citizenship, with one or two years' residence, and payment of taxes. In North Carolina, representatives are chosen by the whole resident free citizens who pay taxes, but senators only by free- holders ; in New Jersey and Virginia, the right of suffrage for both houses is limited to persons holding a small amount of landed property ; in Maryland the senators are chosen by dele- gates named for the purpose by the people. In all the states, the period for which the representatives serve is either one or two years. The elections are biennial in Dela- ware, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas, and annual in the other states. The shortest period for which the senators serve, in any state, is one year, and the longest five. In Maine, New Hampshire, 6 n 62 NORTH AMERICA. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Georgia, the senators hold their office for one year only ; in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan, for two years ; in Mis- sissippi, Alabama, and Indiana, for three years ; in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas, for four years; and in Maryland, for five years. Except in Maryland, when the senate of any state serves for more than one year, it is renewed by parts or divisions, one-third of the members going out annu- ally when they serve for three years, and one-fourth when they serve for four. In some cases, however, when the senators serve for four years, the renewal is by halves every two years. The United States are more distinguished for the general diffu- sion of knowledge, than for eminence in literature or science. The means of common education are widely extended, and there are numerous seminaries of learning throughout the country, though there are no literary establishments on so large a scale as many in Europe. As a general government, the United States have done but little for the interests of public instruction, except that they reserve for the purpose one section in every township of their new lands, besides other reservations, for colleges. This highly important subject has, perhaps, been better attended to, by being left to the individual states and to private citizens. The number of universities and colleges in the United States is 93; of medical schools, 28 ; of law schools, eight; of theological seminaries, 37. The country does not yet, however, furnish the scholar with those facilities for a finished learned education which are afforded by the scientific and literary establishments of Europe; and the want of good libraries is sensibly felt by every one who has attempted much learned research. Most of the states of the Union have made some legislative provision for common school instruction, and in some states large funds are set apart for this purpose. Private schools and academies of the higher order, are quite numerous, especially in New England ; so that few grow up without enjoying the means of elementary instruction, or, if they desire it, of a more extended liberal education. There is no established church in the United States, religion being left to the voluntary choice of the people. No sect is favoured by the laws beyond another ; it being an essential prin- ciple in the national and state governments, that legislation may of right interfere in the concerns of public worship only so far as to protect every individual in the unmolested exercise of his choice. UNITED STATES. 63 Nor is any legislative provision made for the support of reli- gion, except that, in Massachusetts, the legislature is enjoined to require, and in New Hampshire is empowered to authorise, the several towns and parishes to make adequate provision, at their own expense, for the support of Protestant ministers. The same was the case in Connecticut until 1818, when it was abolished by the new constitution. But in all the other states, the support of religion is left entirely to the voluntary zeal of its professors. The numbers of established churches or congregations are estimated at over 17,000, and the ministers at about 15,000. The Baptists are the most numerous denomination. The Pres- byterians, including Congregationalists, are estimated as second in numerical amount ; and the Methodists, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Universalists, Lutherans, Christians, German Re- formed, and Friends or Quakers, probably rank in point of numbers in the order in which they are mentioned ; besides, there are many other sects respectable in point of numbers. There are no early enumerations of the population on which much reliance can be placed ; but, in 1740, the number was esti- mated at 1,000,000. A regular decennial census, taken since 1790, gave, at that period, 3,929,827; in 1800, 5,305,925; in 1810, 7,239,814; in 1820, 9,638,131; in 1830, 12,866,020; and in 1840 (including 6100 men in the United States' naval ser- vice), 17,068,112. It is most interesting to consider, as the immensity of unoccupied land leaves full scope for this power of multiplication, how vast the future numbers may be with which this region will be peopled, and which will render it much the greatest state that ever existed in ancient or modern times. It is calculated, upon good grounds, that in a century it will contain 160,000,000 ; and still, being only half as populous as Britain or France, leave ample scope for future increase. The Americans, should they continue united, would then become the greatest nation in the world ; and the most powerful states of Europe would rank as secondary to them. The population, exclusive of the aboriginal races within the United States' limits, whose numbers are not comprised in the above statements, consists of three classes ; whites, free coloured persons, and slaves, whose relative proportions at six different periods are here given : Whites. Slaves. Free coloured. 1790 3,172,464 697,897 59,465 1800 4,304,489 893,041 108,395 1810 5,862,004 1,191,364 186,446 1820 7,861,710 1,538,038 232,524 1830 10,537,378 2,009,043 319,599 1840 14,195,575 2,486,368 386,069 G 73 64 NORTH AMERICA. The whole number of aborigines existing at present within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, is estimated at 332,498, of whom about 80,000 reside west of the Rocky- Mountains, and the residue east of that region. Of the Indians residing east of the Rocky Mountains, 49,365 are east of the Mississippi river, of whom 36,950 are under treaty stipulations to remove westward of that stream, 51,327 have removed from the east to the west side of the Mississippi, and are settled in the Western or Indian territory, assigned to them by the govern- ment of the United States ; and the remainder are indigenous Indians, nowise under the control of our government : of these, the principal are the Sioux, Pawnees, Comanches, Minatarees, Blackfeet, and Assiniboines. The most humane exertions have constantly been in operation on the part of the general government, to preserve the race from extinction, by severe provisions to prevent their obtaining ardent spirits, and by unwearied efforts to train them to the arts and agriculture, and to impart to them the blessings of education and Christianity. Under the system adopted by the government, agents and sub- agents, interpreters and mechanics, are employed among the dif- ferent Indian tribes, to carry these purposes into effect ; and the President is authorized to cause the stores of the licensed traders to be searched, and if ardent spirits are found among the articles for sale, the whole goods are forfeited to the government. The territory of the confederacy is at present divided into twenty-six states, two territories, and one Federal district, which contains the seat of government. This does not include the ex- tensive tract assigned to the Indians, called the Indian Terri- tory, the region west of the Missouri and north of the Platte, and that west of the Rocky Mountains, in which there is no white population, and which has received no political organiza- tion or official name. The states are divided for municipal purposes into small sec- tions, styled counties, except in South Carolina, where they are called districts, and in Louisiana, where they are called parishes. In the states of New England, in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, the counties are sub- divided into townships, often called towns, and in Delaware into hundreds. EASTERN STATES. 65 THE EASTERN, OR NEW ENGLAND STATES. New England comprises the six states situated east of the Hudson, viz., Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The inhabitants are almost ex- clusively of unmixed English origin, and though never united as a political whole, they have at different periods been connected for their common interests. From the earliest settlement of their country, they have en- joyed peculiar advantages for literary and religious instruction, and, trained to habits of industry, economy, and enterprise, by the circumstances of their peculiar situation, as well as by the dangers of prolonged wars, they present traits of character which are considered as remarkable abroad as they are common at home. The surface of the country is infinitely varied. In the interior it is mountainous, with fertile valleys between. The land along the sea-shore presents in general an irregular surface, consisting of hills and ridges, with flats of moderate extent. The inland portions towards the mountains present an almost constant suc- cession of short hills and narrow valleys. There are no exten- sive plains throughout the whole of New England. Much of the soil is good, yet in general it requires diligent cultivation, and compels the farmer to use great industry to procure tolerable crops ; and although it well repays the labour of the husband- man, it is on the whole less fruitful than many other parts of the United States. Most of the New England states are largely engaged in manu- factures. The cotton factories, in particular, employ a vast number of hands and a great amount of capital. A proof of the result of these great establishments may be found in the fact, that 30 years ago the chief cottons of the United States were imported from India. New England now sends her manufac- tured cottons there, and finds the trade profitable. Since the manufacturing system has prevailed, this part of the Union has rapidly increased in population and business. The New Englanders are extensively engaged in the bank and whale fisheries. They carry on, also, an active commerce with all parts of the world ; their ships spread their sails in every sea, and their lumber manufactures and the produce of their fisheries are extensively exported. Almost every village carries on some handicraft, and the farmer often employs the long winter even- ings in some gainful task. Thus are produced many little ob- jects which although in appearance of small value, yet in the 6 * 75 66 NORTH AMERICA aggregate constitute a source of considerable wealth to the com- munity, and are produced to such an extent as almost to rival in value the products of the large manufacturing establishments. From the first settlement of the country, the inhabitants of New England have been a religious people. The entire free- dom of opinion enjoyed by them has led to a diversity of reli- gious denominations. In almost every town and village are several places of public worship belonging to the different sects common in the country, among which are Congregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists, Unitarians, &c. Education is more universal here than in any part of the world. It is exceedingly hard to find persons of mature age who have not been instructed in the common branches of school learning. Institutions of learning and education were establish- ed at an early period by the first settlers of New England, some of which at the present day are the most respectable and effi- cient in the Union. The population of New England has been gradually increas- ing. In 1700 it was about 120,000, and in 1755 was estimated at 345,000, not including the troops at that time in the provinces. The amount in 1820 was 1,659,854 ; in 1830, 1,955,207 ; and in 1840, 2,234,822 souls; of whom 2,212,165 were whites, 22,633 free coloured, and 24 slaves. STATE OF MAINE. Maine is the most northern and eastern of the United States. Previous to the year 1820, it formed a part of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, at which period it was received into the Union as an independent state. Maine is in length from north to south about 216 miles, and from east to west 162 ; the area is differently estimated at from 32,000 to 35,000 square miles. On the sea-coast, the country is generally level ; at some dis- tance in the interior, hilly ; and in the central parts of the state are many mountains of considerable elevation. The principal rivers are the St. John's,with its branches, the Allagash, Walloostook, and Aroostook ; and the Penobscot, Kennebeck, Androscoggin, Saco, Pleasant, Damariscotta, and Union rivers. The sea-coast of Maine is remarkably indented with bays and inlets, which afford great facilities for navigation and commerce. The principal are Casco, Penobscot, Frenchman's, Englishman's Machias, and Passamaquoddy bays. MAINE. 67 The lakes are so numerous, that it is estimated one-sixth of the surface of the state consists of water, and indeed they form one of the characteristic features of the country. The most noted are Moosehead, Umbagog, Sebago, the Schoodic lakes, and Lake Chesuncook. The soil on the coast is various, and of but moderate fertility : in the interior, most of the land is more productive ,* and some of it, especially on the Kennebeck and Penobscot rivers, is fer- tile, and well adapted to agriculture and grazing. One of the most important productions of this state is white-pine timber, which is found chiefly on the Upper Kennebeck and Penobscot rivez's, and also on the Allagash. The value of the lumber cut and sawed annually is estimated at $10,000,000; the yearly amount of the wool grown, $2,000,000 ; and of lime manufactured in the state, $1,000,000. The total shipping belonging to the state amounts to 282,285 tons, and about 50,000 tons are annually built. The value of imports in the year 1839 was $982,724 ; of exports, $895,485, of which all but $17,051 was of domestic produce. The constitution makes it the duty of the legislature to require the several towns to make suitable provision, at their own ex- pense, for the support of public schools, and to encourage and suitably endow academies, colleges, and seminaries of learning. In pursuance of this provision, each town is required by law to raise annually a sum equal to forty cents for each inhabitant, which is distributed among the town schools in the ratio of the number of scholars in each. Further grants are also made by the state in aid of their support. There are in the state 30 academies, a Baptist college at Waterville, a Congregationalist theological seminary in Bangor, a Wesleyan theological seminary at Readfield, and Bowdoin Col- lege, with a medical school, at Brunswick. The principal reli- gious denominations are Baptists, Congregationalists, and Metho- dists ; there are also Universalists, Roman Catholics, Episcopa- lians, &c. All of the towns are in the southern part of the state, in which, indeed, nearly the whole of the population is concentrated. There are some settlements on the St. John's, in the northern part, which is, however, at present under British jurisdiction, and through which there is a road leading from Frederickton, in New Brunswick, to the river St. Lawrence. The central part is almost wholly uninhabited, and covered with primitive forests, which are visited only by hunters and lumberers. g* n 68 NORTH AMERICA. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1765 20,788 increase. 1790 96,540 From 1765 to 1790 75,752 1800 151,719 1790 to 1800 55,179 1810 228,705 1800 to 1810 76,986 1820 298,335 1810 to 1820 69,630 1830 399,455 1820 to 1830 101,120 1840 501,793 1830 to 1840 102,338 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 252,989 ; white females, 247,449 ;deaf and dumb, 235 ; blind, 190. Total whites, 500,438. — Free coloured persons 1355. The city of Portland is the largest and most important place in the state. It is beautifully situated on Casco Bay, is well laid out, and handsomely built, and has a safe and capacious harbour, which is defended by two forts. Upwards of 57,000 tons of shipping belong to the port. Here are six banks, sixteen churches, a court-house, theatre, an athena3um, with a public library ; and the population, which in 1830 was 12,601, amounted in the year 1840 to 15,218. The city of Bangor, the most important place on the Penobscot, has trebled its population since 1830 : it is at present about 10,000. From 300,000,000 to 400,000,000 feet of lumber are supposed to be annually exported from this place. Augusta, the capital of the state, occupies both sides of the Kennebec river, 50 miles from its mouth : it contains a handsome state-house of granite, and an United States Arsenal. Below Augusta are Hallovvell and Gardiner, both flourishing towns; and at the head of ship navigation, and about 15 miles from the sea, is Bath, noted for its ship-building. From Thomastown are ex- ported large quantities of lime, marble, and granite. Some of the other principal towns in Maine, are Eastport, Machias, Calais, Orono, Belfast, Brunswick, Saco, and York. STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. This state is bounded on the north by Lower Canada ; on the east by Maine and the Atlantic Ocean ; south by Massachusetts ; and west by Vermont. It is in length, from north to south, about 160 miles; and from east to west, 70 is about the average breadth. It is in area 9,491 square miles. The sea-coast of this state, is but 18 miles in extent. NEW HAMPSHIRE. 69 The country on the coast is level : in the interior, the surface is greatly diversified by hills and valleys, and contains several mountains of considerable height, among which are the White Mountains, the most elevated of any in the New England states. The other considerable elevations are, Moose hillock, Monadnock, Kearsarge, Sunapee, Ossipee, &c. The different elevations of the White Mountains are distin- guished by the names of Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jeffer- son, Madison, Monroe, and Pleasant. Mount Washington is 6428 feet in height. They are covered with snow ten months in the year, and are often seen from a great distance at sea. The wild and sublime character of their scenery, causes them to be annually visited by numerous travellers. The view is rendered unusually grand and interesting, by the magnitude of the elevation, and the extent and variety of the surrounding scenery. In the western pass of these mountains, there is a remarkable gap called the Notch, which is esteemed one of the grandest natural curiosities in the United States. To an admirer of the wonders of nature, the passage through the Notch, and the views from the summit, afford a rich repast. The principal rivers of New England have their origin, either wholly or in part, in this state. These are, the Connecticut, Merrimack, Androscoggin, Saco, and Piscataqua. The other most considerable streams are, the Upper and Lower Amonoosuck, Sugar river, Ashuelot, Contoocook, Magallavvay, and Nashua. The principal lakes are the Winnipiseogee, Umbagog, Ossipee, Sunapee, Squam, and Newfound lake. The inhabitants of New Hampshire are principally engaged in agriculture: the chief products are Indian corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, flax, &c. ; and horses and cattle, beef, pork, butter, cheese, &c. are largely exported. There are some large manufacturing establishments, chiefly in the southern part of the state. In 1833, there were in New Hampshire, 60 cotton, 32 woollen, 609 grist, 952 saw, 20 oil, 15 paper, 234 fulling, and 236 carding-mills. Manufactures are also carried on in families to a considerable extent, and some vessels are employed in the bank and shore fisheries ; but many inhabitants leave the state every year in search of employment. The mineral resources of New Hampshire are not great. Cop- per is found at Franconia, and iron is abundant at Lisbon and Franconia ; black-lead also occurs at several places, particularly at Bristol. A fine-grained granite, which is quarried in many places, affords an excellent building material. About eight miles from the coast are the Isles of Shoals, be- longing partly to New Hampshire and partly to Maine. They 70 NORTH AMERICA. lie between Portsmouth and Newburyport, and are hardly more than a cluster of rocks rising above the water. The inhabit- ants, about 100 in number, live by fishing; and in connexion with those of the shore in their immediate neighbourhood, who follow the same mode of life, are the most rude and uncivilized beings in New England, except the Indians. Efforts have re- cently been made to improve their condition, and they have now a meeting-house, school, &c. Common schools are established by law throughout the state, and are supported in part by town taxes, in part by school lands or funds arising from the sale of them, and belonging to the towns, and in part also by the proceeds of certain state taxes ; the number of free school-houses in the state somewhat exceeds 1600 ; and there are 41 academies, attended by 1600 pupils. Dartmouth college, in Hanover, is a well-endowed institution, and affords instruction in the common branches taught in the New England colleges. The principal religious denominations are Congregationalists, Baptists, and Methodists, with some Friends, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Roman Catholics. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1730 . . . 12,000 1749 ... 30,000 1767 . . . 52,700 1775 .. . 80,038 In 1800 . . . 183,858 1810 ... 214,460 1820 . . . 244,161 1830 . . . 269,328 1840 . . . 284,574 INCREASE. From 1790 to 1800 . . . 41,973 1800 to 1810 . . . 30,602 1810 to 1820 . . . 39,701 1820 to 1830 . . . 25,167 1830 to 1840 . . . 15,246 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 136,004; white females, 148,032 ; deaf and dumb, 200; blind, 156. Total whites, 284,036. — Free coloured, 537 ; slaves, 1. Portsmouth, the only sea-port, and the largest town in the state, is situated on the Piscataqua river, three miles from the sea. It has one of the finest harbours in the world, affording 40 feet water in the channel at low tide, and being easily accessible to vessels of the largest size, and completely landlocked. It is protected by several forts. The town stands on a peninsular elevation, sloping towards the harbour, and is well built. It contains eight churches, seven banking-houses, the county buildings, &c, and is well supplied with good water brought from the neighbourhood. Two wooden bridges have been built across the Piscataqua, one of which is 1750 feet long. There is here a navy-yard belonging to the United States, situated on Navy Island, on the east side of the river, and within the limits of Maine. The population of Ports- mouth in 1840 amounted to 7884. Concord, the capital of the state, on the west side of the Mer- VERMONT. 71 vimack river, is handsomely built on two principal streets. Here are the state-house and state prison, besides several banks, churches, hotels, &c. ; population 5063. In the south-east part of the state, are several towns largely engaged in manufactures : these are, Dover, Somersworth, Newmarket, and Exeter, which, besides its mills and manufactures, contains Phillips's Academy, a well-known and respectable seminary. These are all on navi- gable rivers, furnishing fine mill-seats and constant communica- tion with the sea. Nashua, near the south line of the state, contains several large cotton-mills; its population in 1836 was 5065, having rather more than doubled it since 1830 : Hanover, the seat of Dartmouth college, Haverhill, and Lancaster, are towns of between 2000 and 3000 inhabitants ; and Amherst and Keene are neat thriving towns, between the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers. STATE OF VERMONT. Vermont is bounded north by Lower Canada ; east by New Hampshire ; south by Massachusetts ; west by New York, from which it is separated, in part, by Lake Champlain. It is 157 miles in length, from north to south ; 90 miles in breadth on the northern, and 40 on the southern boundary ; and contains an area of 8000 square miles. The Green Mountains, from which the state derives its name, on account of the evergreens with which they are covered, occupy a large part of the state ; and most of its surface is uneven. The range passes through its whole length, about half-way between Lake Champlain and the Connecticut river. From these mountains many streams take their rise : the most important are, Otter creek, Onion river, La Moille, and Misisque, which empty into Lake Champlain, on the west; the White, Pasumpsic, and West rivers, which flow into the Connecticut, on the east. , The soil is fertile ; and all sorts of grain, suited to the climate, are produced in great abundance. Wool is becoming an impor- tant product here. Cattle of various kinds are raised, with great facility ; and nowhere is finer beef to be seen, than is fed on the rich white clover pastures of Vermont. The butter and cheese are well known for their excellence. Vermont is entirely in the interior; yet, by the system of internal improvement, the Champlain canal, and the lake, vessels 72 NORTH AMERICA. and steam-boats have brought her territory in contiguity with the sea. Part of the trade goes by canal to Albany, and part down the lake to Montreal. Iron occurs in great abundance, and is extensively wrought. Sulphuret of iron, or pyrites, is found at Stafford and Shrews- bury, from which 3,000,000 pounds of copperas are annually manufactured, worth from 70,000 to 75,000 dollars. About 20 cotton-mills produce annually three and a half million yards of cloth, and 112,000 pounds of yarn. Domestic fabrics of linen and woollen are made in almost every family. In 1836, the constitution was amended by the establishment of two houses, styled the Senate and House of Representatives. The Legislative houses, the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Executive Council, are chosen annually by the people. Each town has a right to send one representative to the General Assembly. The judges are chosen annually by that body. The Council of Censors is chosen once every seven years, for the term of one year, by popular vote. It is their duty to examine whether there have been any violations of the constitu- tion, and whether the Legislative and Executive branches have done their duty, and also to propose any alterations in the con- stitution. The towns are divided into school districts, each of which is required by law to support a school at least three months during the year. An annual tax is levied for their support, and the rent of the reserves of school land in each township, called here the school rights, is also distributed among the districts in proportion to the number of children in each, to aid in the same purpose. The number of school districts is 2800. There are 30 academies and county grammar-schools, for the support of which similar reservations were made : and the Uni- versity of Vermont, at Burlington, is endowed in the same way. Middlebury college has been founded by private funds. These institutions are attended by nearly 300 students, and there is a medical school connected with the former. The most numerous religious denominations are, the Congregationalists, Baptists, and Methodists ; and there are some Episcopalians, Christians, Uni- versalists, and Roman Catholics. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1790 85,539 increase. 1800 154,465 From 1790 to 1800 68,S26 1810 217,895 1800 to 1810 63,430 1820 235,764 1810 to 1820 17,869 1830 280,657 1820 to 1830 24,888 1840 291,948 1830 to 1840 11,291 VERMONT. 73 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 146,378 ; white females, 144,840 ; deaf and dumb, 127; blind, 103. Total whites, 291,218.— Free coloured, 730. The capital of the state is the little town of Montpelier, at the junction of the north and south branches of the Onion river. Here is a handsome state-house of granite, recently erected, together with the public buildings of the county. West of the mountains are several flourishing towns, which enjoy the advan- tage of an easy communication with Lake Champlain, and through it with the Hudson and St. Lawrence. St. Albans is a neatly built town on a small bay, with an active and increasing trade. Further, south is Burlington, the largest town in the state, and the principal commercial place on the lake. It is pleasantly situated on a gently rising slope, overlooking the lake, and it has an excellent harbour. Here are the county buildings and the University of Vermont, and at the falls of the Onion river there are some manufactories. Middlebury, on Otter creek, contains some mills and a college. Marble of a good quality is quarried here. Higher up the stream is Rutland, containing quarries of marble, several manu- facturing establishments, and the public buildings of the county. On the same side of the mountains, in the southern part of the state, is Bennington, in the neighbourhood of which are found limestone, marble, and iron. Here are some mills and iron- works. Crossing the mountains and entering the rich valley of the Connecticut, we find a number of thriving towns and neat villages, lining its fertile meadows. Brattleboro' is a busy place, contain- ing some manufactories. The Vermont asylum for the insane has been built here. Windsor is a neat town in a picturesque situation, with the lofty peaks of Ascutney Mountain towering above it ; it contains a state prison built of granite. At the little village of Bellows' Falls, the Connecticut river is suddenly contracted from 300 to 16 or 20 feet wide, and rushes with great impetuosity through a narrow chasm cut in the solid rock, having a fall of nearly 50 feet in a half a mile. A canal with nine locks enables boats to pass round this obstruction to the higher parts of the river. Woodstock lies a little off from the river ; and higher up, but on the Connecticut, is Norwich ; civil engineering and other practical sciences receive particular attention in the institution here, styled the Norwich University. 7 S3 74 NORTH AMERICA. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. This state is bounded north by Vermont and New Hampshire, east by the Atlantic Ocean, south by Rhode Island and Connec- ticut, and west by New York. The average extent, from north to south, io 70 miles; and from east to west, 140: area, 7800 square miles. The Green Mountains range through the central parts of the state, from north to south. The highest peaks are Saddle Mt., Taghkonic, &c. Massachusetts has no large rivers wholly within her bounds. The Merrimack passes out of New Hampshire into the northern division of the state, emptying into the sea at Newburyport. The Connecticut, in traversing it from north to south, nearly bisects the state. The Housatonic, Charles, and Ipswich, Ne- ponset, and Taunton, though they have short courses, are plea- sant streams. The deep bay, between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, which has given name to the state, has caused it to be known in the other states by the name of the Bay State. Cape Ann bounds it on the north, and Cape Cod on the south. Agriculture receives here great attention, and is conducted with a superior degree of skill and intelligence. Massachusetts is no doubt the best cultivated state in the Union. Both the legislature and agricultural societies have made great efforts to encourage a skilful and thrifty husbandry, and to introduce the best foreign breeds of sheep and cattle. Commerce, manufac- tures, and the fisheries, are, however, the great objects of pursuit. The shipping belonging to this state amounts to about 526,000 tons ; being greater than that of any other state, and nearly one- fourth of the whole tonnage of the country. The value of the imports for the year 1839 was 19,385,000 dollars; of exports, 9,276,000. There is also an active and extensive coasting trade carried on with all parts of the Union : the imports being chiefly raw produce and provisions, and the exports manufactured articles. In 1837, the value of manufactures of all descriptions amount- ed to upwards of 86 million dollars, of which boots and shoes reached the sum of near 15 million dollars. Cotton and woollen goods were next in amount ; the fisheries, cotton-printing, lea- ther and morocco, nails, brads, &c. ; oil, clothing, &c, bonnets, and books and stationary, were among the next most prominent. The persons employed in manufacturing were upwards of 117,000, and the capital employed near 55 million dollars. The whole annual product of the agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing industry of the state, is probably not less than 120 million dollars. MASSACHUSETTS. 75 Ship-building is extensively carried on. The shipping built annually amounts to 35,000 tons. And salt is also manufactured from sea-water, chiefly by solar evaporation, to the amount of about 500,000 bushels a year. Various important works of internal improvement have been executed, which afford great convenience and facility to travel- lino- and transportation : they are the Middlesex canal, which extends from Boston to Lowell, 26 miles ; the Blackstone canal, from Worcester to Providence, 45 miles, and the Hampshire and Hampden canal, 20 miles in length, is a continuation of the Farmington canal, from Southwick, on the Connecticut line, to Northampton. Rail-roads have been constructed from Boston to Lowell, 25^ miles, and a branch to Haverhill of 18 miles; likewise a con- tinuation from Lowell to Nashua, 15 miles long. The Boston and Providence rail-road is 42 miles long, with a branch of 10 miles to Taunton, which has been extended to New Bedford, 24 miles farther. The Boston and Worcester rail-road is 43 miles in length. The Western rail-road, a continuation of the latter, extends from Worcester to Springfield, through Springfield and A Vest Stockbridge to the New York line, 117 miles, where it will be connected with Albany, Hudson, and Troy, by roads already in progress. The Eastern rail-road runs from Boston, through Salem and Newburyport, to the New Hampshire line, 40 miles, where it joins the Portsmouth and Portland rail-road. Her literary, religious, and charitable institutions, are the pride of Massachusetts. Within a few years, Boston alone has expended nearly two millions of dollars for objects of that cha- racter, exclusive of an annual expenditure of about $270,000, for the support of public and private schools. There are also 73 academies in the state, which, with the private schools, are attended by 30,000 scholars. Harvard University, at Cambridge, is the oldest and best en- dowed institution in the country; it has a library of 51,000 volumes, and instruction is given by 30 teachers, in the various branches of a liberal education : law, theological, and medical books, are connected with it. Williams' College, at Williams- town, and Amherst College, at Amherst, are also respectable institutions: the latter has a library of 12,500, and the other one of 7500 volumes. The prevailing religious sect is the Congregationalist ; the Unitarians and Baptists are also numerous ; after these come the Methodists, Universalists, Episcopalians, Christians, Roman Ca- tholics, and Friends, with some Presbyterians, Swedenborgians, or New Jerusalem Church, and Shakers. H S5 76 NORTH AMERICA. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1701, 70,000; in 1742, 164,000; in 1763, 241,024; in 1765, 227,926; in 1776, 384,094; in 1784, 357,510. In 1790 348,787 increase. 1800 422,845 From 1790 to 1800 44,058 1810 472,040 1800 to 1810 49,195 1820 523,287 1810 to 1820 51,247 1830 610,408 1820 to 1830 87.121 1840 737,699 1830 to 1840 127,291 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 360,679 ; white females. 368,351 ; deaf and dumb, 290 ; blind, 230. Total whites, 729,030. Free coloured persons, 8668. Slaves 1. Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, and the principal city of New England, is pleasantly situated on Boston Bay, with a safe and commodious harbour, deep enough to admit the largest ves- sels, and which is so completely landlocked as to be perfectly secure. Several forts, erected on the islands in the harbour, command the approaches to the city. Besides the main peninsula on which the city is built, it comprises another peninsula, called South Boston, connected with the former by two free bridges ; and the island of East Boston, with which communication is kept up by steam ferry-boats. Four wooden bridges also connect the city with Charlestown and Cambridge ; a solid causeway of earth unites it to Brookline, and a narrow neck of land which has been raised and widened by artificial constructions, joins it to Rox- bury. The population, which in 1800 was 24,937 ; in 1820, 43,298, and in 1830, 64,392, amounted in 1840 to 84,401 ; but if the adjacent towns are included, which in fact form so many suburbs of the city, the population exceeds 100,000. The state-house, fronting a fine park of 75 acres, called the Common, and stand- ing on the most elevated part of the city ; the market-house, a handsome granite edifice, two stories high, 536 feet in length, by 50 in breadth ; the court-house, also of granite, 176 feet long, 57 high ; the city-hall, or old state-house, and Faneuil-hall, more interesting from historical associations than from their architect- ural merits ; and the Massachusetts General Hospital, a hand- some granite building, 168 feet in length; the Institution for the Blind, in which are about 70 pupils ; the Boston Athenseum, which has a library of 30,000 volumes, and a picture-gallery ; the Medical School of Harvard University ; the Eye and Ear Infirmary ; the Houses of Industry, Reformation, and Correc- tion, also deserve mention. The bridges and wharves are remarkable for their great length. NEW ENGLAND. Whut: Mountains — New Hampshire. Whale Fishery. — Cutting up a Whale. Plymo'jil!— the first settled town in New England. NORTH AMERICA. Bunker Hill Monument. MASSACHUSETTS. 77 The canal bridge is 2800 feet long ; the West Boston Bridge, 2760 feet, and some of the others exceed 1500 feet. The wharves have been constructed in a somewhat similar manner. Central wharf, 1380 feet long, by 150 wide, contains 54 large ware- houses, four stories high. Long wharf, 1800 feet long, by 200 in width, has 76 warehouses equally spacious. Commercial wharf is 1100 feet, by 380, with a range of 34 granite ware- houses. As a commercial city, Boston is the second in the United States, in the amount of its business. In the beginning of 1836, the shipping belonging to the port, was 226,042 tons ; annual value of imports, 16,000,000; of exports, 10,000,000 dollars. The number of banking institutions is 28, with an aggregate capital of 24,980,000 dollars ; of insurance companies, 30, with a capital of about $9,000,000. This city has ever been distinguished for its attention to education.' The free schools are, the Latin school, the High school, 10 grammar and writing schools, 74 primary schools, and one African school for blacks. There are also numerous private schools for children of both sexes. The Ame- rican Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Historical Society, and the Natural History Society, are among the learned societies. There are 50 churches, two theatres, an Odeon, &c. Charlestown, which is connected with Boston by three bridges, stands on a lofty peninsula, the centre of which is occupied by Bunker Hill. Though irregularly built, it commands many fine views of the harbour and the surrounding country. The Bunker Hill Monument, of granite, is yet unfinished. It will form an obelisk, rising to the height of 220 feet from its base, which is 50 feet square. The United States' Dock-yard, comprising a num- ber of store-houses, arsenals, barracks, and slips, with a graving or dry-dock, built of hewn granite, was constructed in 1837. The population of the town is 10,782. Adjoining Charlestown, is Cambridge, the seat of Harvard University, with 8,127 inha- bitants. At Watertown, adjoining Cambridge, there is an United States' Arsenal. To the south-west, is the little town of Brighton, noted for its cattle market, in which in the year 1835, the sales of cattle, calves, .sheep, and swine, amounted to 1,878,032 dollars. Lynn, a neat and thriving town, whose inhabitants, beside making 2, 000, 000 pair of shoes annually, carry on the cod and whale fisheries, increased its population from 1638, in 1830, to 9075 in 1840. Marblehead, long the principal seat of the cod fishery, has of late turned its attention partly to mechanical industry, particularly to shoemaking, which occupies the winter leisure of many of its hardy fishermen. About 60 sail of small fishing- 78 NORTH AMERICA. vessels, manned by about 500 men and boys, are owned here. Population 5539. The city of Salem, with 15,162 inhabitants, is noted for the commercial enterprise and industrious spirit of its citizens. It was long largely engaged in the East India and China trade, and its coasting and foreign trade is still considerable ; but it labours under the disadvantage of not having a sufficient depth of water for the largest vessels. The inhabitants have lately engaged in the whale fishery, in which they employ 3000 tons ; the whole shipping of the port amounts to 33,035 tons. The city is neatly built, and it contains an Athenaeum, a Marine Museum, a valuable collection of natural and artificial curiosities, belonging to the East India Marine Society, which is composed wholly of nautical men ; nine banking institutions, with a capital of about 2,000,000 of dollars ; six insurance companies, with a capital of 950,000 dollars ; 17 churches, and several charitable institutions. The manufactures are also considerable. Beverly, connected with Salem by a bridge 1500 feet in length, has 4686 inhabitants, chiefly occupied in commerce and the fisheries. Cape Ann, the north point of Massachusetts Bay, is occupied by the fishing town of Gloucester ; tonnage owned here, 16,287, population, 6394. A few miles north of the Cape, is the hand- some town of Newburyport, situated at the mouth of the Merri- mack. Its foreign commerce was formerly more extensive than it is at present, but its trade is still important, and the whale, mackerel, and cod fisheries, are also carried on from this place : tonnage, 22,264; population, 7124. The south point of the great bay from which the state takes its name, is Cape Cod, a long irregular peninsula, of 75 miles in length, by from 5 to 20 in breadth. It consists chiefly of hills of white sand, mostly destitute of vegetation. The cape is well inhabited, and supports a population of 28,000, the majority of which subsists by the fisheries and the coasting-trade. South of Cape Cod is the island of Nantucket, containing the town of the same name, with 9512 inhabitants. The island is merely a sand-bank, 15 miles in length, by about five or six in breadth, slightly elevated above the ocean. There are, however, some productive spots. The inhabitants are distinguished for their enterprise. They have 74 ships engaged in the whale fishery, and a considerable number of small vessels in the coast- ing trade : 29,960 tons of shipping are owned here, and 2000 men and boys belonging to the island are employed in naviga- tion. Martha's Vineyard is inhabited mostly by pilots and fishermen RHODE ISLAND. 79 but some salt, and woollen cloths are made. Holmes' Hole, a safe and capacious harbour on the northern coast, is an important station for ships waiting for favourable weather to pass Cape Cod. Population of the island. 3860. New Bedford is the great seat of the whale-fishery. It is a handsomely built town, and has a safe and capacious harbour. The population, which in 1830 amounted to 7592, in the year 1840 was 12,585. The shipping of the district, which includes several other towns on the bay, is 81,252 tons: nearly the whole of this is employed in the whale-fishery. There are here 10 large establishments in which spermaceti candles are made and oil is prepared ; four banks, with a capital of 1,300,000 dollars; three insurance offices, 14 churches and chapels, an academy, &c. Lowell is the greatest manufacturing town in the United States : it has been very rapid in its growth, and may be considered the Manchester of America. It was commenced in 1813, but its principal increase dates from 1822 : it now contains 20,981 inhabitants. Its various cotton and woollen factories give employment to 9000 operatives, the greater part of whom are females. About 15| million pounds of cotton, and near 150,000 pounds of wool, are expended annually in the production of 50 million yards of cotton and woollen goods and carpeting. The supply of water- power, from the Merrimack, is convenient and unfailing. Lowell also contains powder-mills, flannel-works, grist and saw-mills, glass-works, &c. Among other places noted for manufactures, are Fall River village, near the mouth of Taunton river; Taunton, on the river of the same name, and 32 miles south-west from Boston ; Worces- ter, west from Boston ; Springfield and Northampton, both on Connecticut river; Pittsfield, in the western, and Adams, in the north-western part of the state. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND. Rhode Island is bounded north and east by Massachusetts, south by the Atlantic Ocean, and west by Connecticut. Its ex- tent from north to south is about 48 miles, and from east to west, 42 ; area, 1225 square miles. A large proportion of the north-western and western part of the state has a thin and lean soil, but the islands and country bordering on Narragansett Bay arc of great fertility, and are celebrated for their fine cattle, and 91 80 NORTH AMERICA. the abundance and excellence of their butter and cheese. The products are corn, rye, barley, oats, and some wheat. The island of Rhode Island is celebrated for its beautiful, cul- tivated appearance, abounding in smooth swells, and being- divided with great uniformity into well-tilled fields. The climate much resembles that of Massachusetts and Connecticut in its salubrity : the parts of the state adjacent to the sea are favoured with refreshing breezes in summer, and its winter is the most mild of any of the New England states. The rivers are small, with courses of not more than 50 or 60 miles, and discharging an inconsiderable quantity of water ; but as they descend from 200 to 450 feet, and are steady in their supply of water, they furnish a great number of valuable mill- seats ; and they have been extensively applied to manufacturing purposes. The Pawtucket, Pawtuxet, and Pawcatuck, are the principal streams. The inhabitants have occupied themselves with commerce, the fisheries, and manufactures, rather than with agriculture. There are in the state many cotton-mills, woollen-mills, bleacheries, calico-print works, iron-foundries, machine-shops, tanneries, &c. There is a silk manufactory in Providence, and lace is made in Newport. The people of Rhode Island not having made a constitution for themselves, the government is still conducted according to the provisions of the royal charter of 1663. The official style is the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor are chosen annually by popular vote. The legislature, styled the General Assembly, consists of two houses, a Senate, chosen annually, and a House of Representatives, chosen semi-annually, which meet four times a year. The judges and other civil officers are appointed annu- ally by the General Assembly. The state appropriates 10,000 dollars a year for the support of common schools, and a somewhat larger sum is raised by the towns for the same purpose, in addition to which, considerable sums are raised by individual subscription, in order to keep the free schools open some time longer than the public funds would admit. Brown University, at Providence, is a respectable insti- tution on the plan of the other New England colleges. The Baptists and Congregationalists are the most numerous sects, the Episcopalians and Methodists are also numerous, and there are some Friends, Roman Catholics, and Universalists. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1701, 10,000; in 1730, 17,935; in 1748,34,128; in 1755,46,636; in 1774, 59,678; in 1783, 51,809. RHODE ISLAND. 81 INCREASE. SLAVES. In 1790 63,825 948 1800 69,122 From 1790 to 1800 297 .... 380 1810 76,931 1800 to 1810 7,809 .... 108 1820 83,059 1810 to 1820 6,128.... 48 1830 97,199 1820 to 1830 14,140.... 14 1840 108,830 1830tol840 11,631.... 5 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 51,362 ; white females, 54,225 ; deaf and dumb, 77 ; blind, 64. Total, whites, 105,587. Free coloured persons, 3238. Slaves, 5. The principal city of Rhode Island is Providence, the second in New England in point of population, wealth, and commerce. It is situated at the head of Narragansett Bay, and is accessible to the largest merchant-vessels : it carries on an active coasting and foreign trade. The population of the city is 22,042. Here are 17 banks with a capital of about 5,000,000 dollars ; also a number of cotton-mills, bleacheries, dye-houses, machine-shops, iron-founderies, &c. Among the public buildings are the state- house, the halls of Brown University, the arcade, a handsome granite edifice, 14 churches, a state prison, &c. Steam-boats, of the largest and finest class, keep up a daily communication with New York, during the greater part of the year ; the Black- stone canal, and Boston and Providence rail-road, terminate here ; and the latter is continued to Stonington in Connecticut. Pawtucket river, above Providence, is the seat of extensive manufactures. North Providence, on the Massachusetts border, contains the manufacturing village of Pawtucket, opposite which is the town of Pawtucket in that state. The whole manufacturing district is also commonly called Pawtucket, and it contains 20 cotton-mills, beside machine-shops, calico-printing works, iron- works, &c. There is a population of about 6000 souls on both sides of the river. Above this, the Pawtucket takes the name of Blackstone, and furnishes mill-seats which have created the village of Woonsocket Falls, also situated on both sides of the river, in the townships of Smithfield and Cumberland. There are also manufacturing establishments in other parts of Smithfield. The population at the Falls is about 3000. Warwick, on the Pawtuxet river and Narragansett bay, is a manufacturing and fishing town, with 5529 inhabitants. Bristol is a busy town, actively engaged in the foreign and coasting trade and whale fishery. Nearly at the south end of the Island of Rhode Island is Newport, once one of the principal towns in the colonies, and still a favourite summer resort, on 82 NORTH AMERICA. account of its pleasant situation, the refreshing coolness of the sea-breezes, and its advantages for sea-bathing. The harbour is one of the finest in the world, being safe, capacious, and easy of access, and is defended by an important work called Fort Adams. Population, 8321. Prudence and Connecticut Islands in the bay, and Block Island, at the entrance of Long Island Sound, belong to this state. The latter, although destitute of a harbour, has nearly 2000 inhabitants, engaged in the fisheries. STATE OF CONNECTICUT. Tins state is bounded on the north by Massachusetts, south by Long Island Sound, east by Rhode Island, and west by New York. It is 90 miles in length, 70 miles in breadth, and contains 4764 square miles. The principal rivers are, the Connecticut, Housatonic, Thames, Farmington, and Naugatuck. The soil is good, and the industrious inhabitants have not neglected its cultivation. The valley of Connecticut river, from Middletown to the northern boundary of the state, is a luxuriant meadow, chequered by patches of wheat, corn, and other grain. Some other parts of the state are well cultivated and fruitful, and some portions are beautiful, as well from the gifts of nature as the improvements of art. The chief productions are Indian-corn, rye, wheat in many parts, oats, barley, buckwheat, flax in large quantities, &c. Orchards are numerous, and cider is made for exportation. The state is, however, generally better adapted to grazing than tillage, and its fine meadows and pastures enable the farmer to feed great numbers of neat cattle, horses, and sheep. The quantity of butter and cheese, annually made, is great, and of well-known excellence. The whale and seal fisheries are carried on from several of the ports, and there are several shad fisheries on the rivers. The coasting trade is considerable, but most of the foreign trade is carried on through New York. The manufactures of Connecticut are considerable, and the ingenuity and industry of the people in this respect have a repu- tation coextensive with the Union. The principal articles are cotton and woollen goods, clocks, combs, and buttons, tin and wooden ware. Implements, and utensils of various descriptions are among the products of manufacturing industry. In 1832, there were in the state 104 cotton-mills and 80 woollen factories. The annual value of cotton and woollen goods, iron manufactures, axes, boots, and shoes, buttons and combs, paper, coaches and CONNECTICUT. 83 wagons, with other articles, amounted to an aggregate of 8,000,000 dollars. Common schools are supported by the proceeds of the school fund belonging to the state, which are distributed among the school districts in proportion to the number of children in each, between the ages of four and sixteen years. The money thus distributed is applied solely to paying the expense of instruction, the other charges being paid by the districts. The number of children of the above description, is about 84,000. The school fund amounts to about 2,027,402 dollars, and the income is nearly 95,000 dollars. There are three colleges in the state, viz., Yale College, at New Haven, Washington College at Hartford, and the Wesleyan University at Middletown. Yale College is one of the oldest and most respectable, and the most frequented of the collegiate insti- tutions in the country. Attached to it are a theological depart- ment, a medical institute, and a law school. The duties of instruction are performed by 27 teachers. The Congregationalists are the most numerous religious sect ; after them rank the Baptists, Methodists, and Episcopalians ; and there are some Universalists, Roman Catholics, and Shakers. The Farmington canal extends from New Haven to the Mas- sachusetts line, 56 miles ; whence it is continued to Northampton, by the Hampshire and Hampden canal. Enfield canal, 5£ miles in length, serves to overcome a fall in the Connecticut, and sup- plies valuable mill-seats. A rail-road also extends from Providence to Stonington, in this state, 45 miles in length; it is intended to be connected by a steam ferry-boat with the termination of the Long Island rail-road. Another rail-road was lately finished from New Haven to Hartford, a distance of 40 miles. Norwich and Worces- ter rail-road, 60 miles in length, has been recently completed. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. 237,946 increase. 25 1 ,002 From 1 79 to 1 800 ... 1 3,056 261,942 1800 to 1810. . . 10,940 275,248 1810 to 1820. . . 13,306 297,665 1820 to 1830. . . 22,417 309,978 1830 to 1840. . . 12,313 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 148,300; white females, 153,556; of which are, deaf and dumb, 317 ; blind, 156. Total, whites, 301,856. Free coloured per- sons, 8105 ; slaves, 17. New Haven, the principal city of the state, is beautifully situated on a bay of the same name. The harbour is safe and spacious, but it is shallow, and gradually filling up. The city is In 1701.. . 30,000 In 1790. 1749.. . 100,000 1800. 1756.. . 130,611 1810. 1774.. . 197,856 1820. 1782.. . 209,150 1830. 1840. 84 NORTH AMERICA. regularly laid out and neatly built : many of the houses have fine gardens ; some of the chief streets are bordered by rows of shade trees, and the principal square is finely ornamented in the same manner. Among the public buildings are the state-house, the state-hospital, the halls of Yale College, 12 churches, &c. One of the wharves here is 3943 feet in length. The coasting and foreign trade of New Haven is considerable : steam-boats and packets keep up a regular and easy communica- tion with New York ; and there are some extensive manufactories in fire-arms, carriages, &c. Population, 14,390. Bridgeport, south-west of New Haven, is a busy, thriving town, with a good harbour on the Sound. In the interior are Danbury and Litch- field, with some manufactures. North-east from New Haven, on the banks of the Connecticut, river, is the city of Hartford ; a neat and pleasant town, with considerable coasting trade. The population amounted, in the year 1840, to 12,793. Steam-boats run daily between Hartford and New York, and several small steam-packets and tow-boats are employed on the river above. The annual amount of the manufactures of Hartford is about 1,000,000 dollars ; the princi- pal branches are printing and publishing, shoe-making, &c. Among the public buildings are a state-house, city hall, 12 churches, the asylum for the deaf and dumb, retreat for the insane, &c. The city of Middletown, a few miles below Hartford, is acces- sible to vessels drawing ten feet of water, and its coasting and foreign trade is considerable. The situation of the town is pleasant, and the houses and public buildings neat. Its manufac- tures are also pretty extensive, comprising cotton and woollen goods, fire-arms, paper, machinery, &c. Population of the city, 7210. Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut river, was the first spot occupied by the English in Connecticut, and the ground was regularly laid out for a large city ; but the antici- pations of its founders have not been realised. At the mouth of the Thames stands the city of New London : it is the principal commercial place in Connecticut, with one of the best harbours in the country. Its trade is considerable ; upwards of 40 ships sail from this place to the whale-fishery ; and the shore-fishery is also actively carried on. Population, 5528. Norwich, 13 miles above New London, is a flourishing manu- facturing city, situated in a beautiful and fertile tract. The water-power is here ample, and is already extensively employed for useful purposes. There are in the township 17 manufactu- MIDDLE STATES. 85 ring establishments, eight churches, four banks, &c. Stonington, in the south-east corner of the state, has 12 vessels in the seal- fishery, and carries on the shore-fishery successfully. MIDDLE STATES. The Middle States are bounded on the north by Canada, the river St. Lawrence, and Lakes Ontario and Erie ; south by Virginia ; east by the Atlantic Ocean and New England ; west by the states of Ohio and Virginia. As a region, the Middle States comprise New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware ; it extends from north to south about 460 miles, and from east to west, 360 miles, with an area of about 103,000 square miles, and occupies one of the finest parts of the Union. The surface presents every variety of mountain, hill, plain and valley. The Alleghany range extends through this region from south-west to north-east, in several parallel ridges, and attains in Pennsylvania its widest limits ; none of these, however, reach the elevation of the highest summits of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina, or the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The most prominent rivers of the Atlantic sections of the United States are in this region. The Hudson and Delaware rank amongst the most important and useful of our navigable streams ; but the Susquehanna is, notwithstanding its length, but little available without the aid of artificial navigation. The mineral productions are various and valuable. Bitumi- nous and anthracite coal, several kinds of iron ore, salt, lime, excellent building materials, and clays useful in the arts, are among the treasures in which it abounds. Mining industry has acquired importance from the activity and success with which it has lately been pushed ; and the public works of this section are particularly remarkable for their number and magnitude. In general the soil is fertile, and particularly favourable to the production of every species of grain : wheat is the principal object of culture; tobacco is extensively raised; also Indian-corn, rye, barley, &c. The planting of mulberry trees, and the rearing of silk-worms, with a view to the extensive introduction of the manufacture of silk, has recently been prosecuted with great activity, in this division of our country, as well as elsewhere throughout the United States. The fruits common to the tem- perate regions are abundant, and of excellent quality. The com- merce of the Middle States is extensive, and chiefly carried on through the cities of New York and Philadelphia, to which it 86 NORTH AMERICA. centres ; the trade, however, of a considerable part of Pennsyl- vania and Delaware flows to Baltimore. Manufacturing industry is carried to a greater extent, in pro- portion to the population, than in any part of the United States, excepting New England ; it employs a vast amount of capital and labour, and affords generally a competent remuneration to thousands of both sexes. The Middle States were originally settled by people of various countries, having different habits, feelings, and opinions : society, therefore, does not possess that uniform character which admits of a general description. The great body is of British descent, but in New York and Maryland there are many Germans ; and in Pennsylvania they are so numerous as to constitute, in some respects, a separate community, retaining their own language, and being often ignorant of the English. In New York and New Jersey there are many descendants of the original Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam ; and in some sections the Dutch language is partially spoken. After the close of the revolutionary war, an extensive emigra- tion from the New England states into New York continued for many years, and a majority of the present population of that state are natives of New England, or their descendants. There is also a considerable body of New England emigrants in Pennsylvania. The whole population of the four Middle States was, in 1840, 4,604,335 ; in which number are 3347 slaves, and 135,844 free people of colour. STATE OF NEW YORK. This great state, the most flourishing, wealthy, and populous in the Union, exhibits one of those amazing examples of growth and prosperity that are seen nowhere on the globe beyond our own borders. New York is the most northern of the middle states, and is bounded north by Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence river and Lower Canada ; east by Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecti- cut ; south by the Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey, and Pennsylva- nia ; and west by Lake Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Niagara river. Length, 316 miles; breadth, 304: containing about 47,000 square miles. The principal rivers are the Hudson, St. Lawrence, Delaware, Susquehanna, Alleghany, Genessee, Niagara, Oswego, and the Mohawk. A part of the lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain, are MIDDLE STATES. Wheat \ i ) m Indian Corn. Buckwheat. NORTH AMERICA. Hemp. Flax Saxifrage. Locust Tree. Sweet Gum. 100 NEW YORK. 87 in this state. The other principal lakes are, Lake George, Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida, Oswegatchie, Canandaigua, &c. The soil in the maritime part of the state is sandy, in the middle beautifully undulating, and in the western and southern division remarkably level, rich, and inclining to alluvial forma- tion. Iron ore is found in inexhaustible quantities and of a goad quality, in the north-eastern part of the state ; it occurs also in some of the central, eastern, and south-western counties. Lead is found in some parts of the state ; also gypsum, in the central counties, where it is extensively used for agricultural purposes. Limestone likewise occurs. Salt is procured in abundance from the Onondaga salt-springs, in the township of Salina ; the brine is conducted to Salina, Syracuse, and other neighbouring villages, where the salt is obtained by boiling, by solar evaporation, and by artificial evaporation, 55 gallons of water yielding a bushel of salt. The quantity of salt made in 1826, was 827,508 bushels ; in 1830, 1,435,446 ; in 1838 > 2,575,000 bushels. The well-known springs of Ballston and Saratoga are partly saline, partly chalybeate, and the water is exported in considerable quantities not only to other states, but to foreign countries. In the western part of the state, there are burning springs, yielding carburetted hydrogen, which is applied to economical uses in the neighbouring villages. Wheat is the great agricultural staple of the state, and flour and provisions are largely exported. The manufactures of New York are also extensive and flourish- ing ; the aggregate value of manufactured articles, in the year 1835, was stated to be 60,669,067 dollars; that of the raw materials used, amounted to the sum of 43,400,922 dollars. In addition to these, there were made in families, cloth, flannels, and other woollens, and cotton, linen, &c, of the aggregate value of 2,092,984 dollars. The cotton and woollen mills produced 24,175,357 yards of cotton cloth> 6,626,058 of woollen, and 686,203 of mixed cotton and woollen. The commerce of New York is also on a great scale, as, beside supplying her own wants and exporting her surplus productions, she imports a large share of the foreign articles consumed in the neighbouring Atlantic states, as well as in many of the western states, to which her natural and artificial channels of communi- cation give her access ; and her great commercial emporium is the outlet for the produce of the same regions. Thus, the value of the importations is about 90,000,000 dollars, or nearly three-fifths of the whole imports of the country; while that of the exports is 33,000,000 dollars, or more than one-fourth I* 101 88 NORTH AMERICA. of the whole exports of the United States. The shipping belong- ing to the state is nearly 468,593 tons. Forty-five ships, of 13,000 tons, were engaged in the whale-fishery at the same time, chiefly from Sag Harbour, Hudson, Newburg, and Pough- keepsie. This state is distinguished for its magnificent public works, constructed for the purpose of connecting the great central basin of the lakes and the St. Lawrence with the Atlantic ; 663 miles of canal navigation have been obtained, at the cost of 13,497,568 dollars. The great trunk is the Erie canal, extending from Buffalo on Lake Erie to the Hudson, 364 miles. The total value of the articles transported annually on these canals, is estimated to exceed 40,000,000 doiiars. Provision has recently been made for enlarging this great work, the longest of the kind in the world, by increasing the width to 60, and the depth to six feet. The Champlain canal extends from Lake Champlain, at Whitehall, to the junction of the Erie canal with the Hudson, 64 miles, with a navigable feeder of 12 miles. Other branches of this work, pervading different parts of the state, are the Oswego canal, 38 miles, connecting the Erie canal, at Salina, with Lake Ontario ; Cayuga and Seneca canal, 23 miles, extending from Geneva to Montezuma on the Erie canal, and thus continuing the navigation through those two lakes ; Crooked Lake, eight miles, connecting that Lake with Seneca Lake ; Chemung canal, from the head of the latter to the river Chemung, or Tioga, at Elmira, 23 miles, with a navigable feeder from Painted Post to Elmira, of 16 miles; Chenango canal, 97 miles in length from Binghamton, on the Chenango, to Utica. Appropriations have been made by the Legislature for the con- struction of the Black River canal, 75 miles in length, from Rome on the Erie canal, to Carthage on Black River; and the Genesee Valley canal, from Rochester to Olean, on the Alleghany river, 107 miles, has been lately finished. Beside the works constructed by the state, the principal canal made by a private company is the Delaware and Hudson. Total length, 109 miles, of which 26 are in Pennsylvania. A rail-road runs to the coal-mines at Carbondale, a distance of 16 miles, passing over Moosic Mountain, which is 1580 feet above tide- water, and 850 above the coal-mines. The following are the principal rail-roads already completed : the Mohawk and Hudson, from Albany to Schenectady, 15 miles, continued northwardly by the Schenectady and Saratoga rail-road, 22 miles, and westwardly by the Schenectady and Utica rail-road, 77 miles ; the Auburn and Syracuse rail-road, 26 miles ; the Tonawanda rail-road, from Rochester to Attica, NEW YORK. 89 34 miles , the Ithaca and Oswego, 29 miles, from the Susque- hanna to Cayuga lake ; the Rensselaer and Saratoga rail-road, from Troy to Ballston, 25 miles ; the Brooklyn and Jamaica rail- road, 12 miles. It is also intended to connect the detached links between Albany and Buffalo, so as to form an unbroken line of road between those two places ; and rail-roads are now in progress from Hudson and Greenbush to West Stockbridge, in Massa- chusetts, which will serve to connect Boston, by the Massachu- setts western rail-road, with Lake Erie. The Long Island rail-road, from Jamaica to Greenport ; the New York and Erie rail-road, from Tappan on the Hudson, to Lake Erie, 480 miles ; and the New York and Albany rail-road, between those two cities, a distance of 160 miles, are in progress. The latter passes up the eastern side of the river, partly through Connecticut and Massachusetts ; and a tunnel under the Hudson at Albany, has been projected. The legislature consists of two houses, the Senate, chosen for the term of four years, and the Assembly, elected annually ; the former are chosen by senatorial districts, and the latter by counties. A Governor and Lieutenant-Governor are chosen by popular election for the term of two years. The chancellor and superior judges are appointed by the Governor and Senate, and hold their office during good behaviour, or until the age of 60 years ; the inferior judges are appointed by the same authorities, for the term of five years. Every white male citizen, of the age of 21 years, who has re- sided in the state for one year next preceding the election, is entitled to vote ; but coloured persons must be possessed of a clear freehold of the value of 250 dollars, in order to be qualified electors. Ample provision is made for common education. In 1840, the school-fund amounted to 1,978,069 dollars. The number of school districts was 10,706. In 1838, returns had been received from 9830 districts, in which 557,229 scholars had been taught. Provision has also been made at the public expense, for the education of teachers, by the establishment of a department in an academy of each of the eight senatorial districts, with the suitable books and apparatus for that purpose. There are also 200 academies and high schools, among which are distributed 12,000 dollars from the literature fund, and a great number of other high schools and seminaries of instruction. The higher seminaries are the University of the City of New York, and Columbia College, in New York city ; Union College, at Schenectady ; Hamilton College, at Clinton j and Geneva Col- 8* 105 90 NORTH AMERICA. lege, with a medical department, at Geneva. The Episcopalians have a Theological Seminary, in New York ; the Presbyterians, at Auburn ; the Baptists, at Hamilton ; and the Lutherans, at Hartwick. There are likewise medical schools in New York and at Fairfield. The principal religious sects are, the Presbyterians, including Congregationalists, the Methodists, and the Baptists ; the Episco- palians and Dutch Reformed are also numerous, with some Lu- therans, Roman Catholics, Friends, &c. The increase of the population of this state has been very rapid ; in the 20 years from 1790 to 1810, it nearly trebled itself; from 1810 to 1830, it doubled itself; and in the five years from 1830 to 1835, the increase was 13^ per cent. ; by the census of 1835 the population was 2,174,517. It consists, in part, of the de- scendants of the original Dutch settlers, with some emigrants from Great Britain, Germany, and other European countries. But the mass of the people are of New England origin or descent, and they are favourably distinguished for enterprise, intelligence, and virtue. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. INCREASE. SLAVES. 586,050 21,324 In 1701. . 30,000 1800. 1731. . 50,395 1810. 1749. . 100,000 1820. 1771. . 163,338 1825. 1790. . 340,120 1830. 1835. 1840. 959,049 From 1790 to 1800.. 245,930 1,372,812 1800 to 1810.. 372,999 1,616,458 1810 to 1820. . 413,763 1,918,608 1820 to 1830, . 545,796 2,174,517 1830 to 1835. . 255,909 2,428,921 1835 to 1840.. 254,404 20,613 15,017 10,088 76 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 1,207,357; white females, 1,171,533; deaf and dumb, 1007; blind, 966. Total, whites, 2,378,890. Free coloured persons, 50,027 ; slaves, 4. The city of New York is the largest, most wealthy, and most flourishing of all the American cities ; the greatest commercial emporium of the western continent, and, after London, the great- est in the world. No city in the world possesses equal advantages for foreign commerce and inland trade. Two long lines of canals, stretching back in every direction, have increased its natural advantages, and rendered it the great mart of an almost indefinite extent of country, while its facilities of communication with all parts of the world, have made it the thoroughfare of the same vast region. The progress of its population has never been parallelled ; in 1790, it was 33,131; in 1810, 96,373; in 1830, 203,007; in 1835, 270,089 ; and in 1840, 312,234. 104 NEW YORK. 91 It is chiefly as a great mart of foreign and inland commerce that New York is most advantageously known. The shipping belonging to the port in 1838, amounted to 410,879 tons ; entered during the year, 465,665 tons ; cleared, 366,389 tons ; the annual number of arrivals from foreign ports exceeds 2000. There are regular packets plying between this place and Liverpool, packets to London and Havre, lines of steam-ships to Bristol, &c, and packets to Vera Cruz, Carthagena, &c. The inland and coasting trade is also immense. There are here 22 banking institutions, with a capital of 20,161,200 dollars, besides the free banking companies which have recently been formed under a law of the state ; and 43 insurance companies, with a capital of 14,800,000 dollars. Among the public buildings are the City Hall, a handsome edifice of white marble, with a front of 216 feet ; the Hall of the Univer- sity, a splendid building, 180 by 100 feet; the Hall of Columbia College ; the Hospital ; the City Lyceum ; 150 churches ; the As- tor House, a hotel, of Quincy granite, 200 feet by 150, and 77 feet high, containing 390 rooms ; the Almshouse at Bellevue, on East river ; the Penitentiary, on BlackwelPs Island, in the same river, several miles from the city ; the Custom-House, an elegant building, 177 feet long, by 89 feet wide, on the model of the Par- thenon ; the new Exchange, erected in the place of the one de- stroyed by fire in 1835 ; the Hall of Justice, &c. New York is to be supplied with fresh water by means of an aqueduct, 42 miles in length, extending to the Croton river. The cost of this work will be about 12,000,000 dollars. It is advancing rapidly to completion. The benevolent societies are numerous and well supported. They comprise an Hospital, with which is connected a Lunatic Asylum, at Bloomingdale ; a hospital at Bellevue, for the sick and insane poor, connected with the city Almshouse ; three Dispen- saries ; an Institution for the Blind ; one for the Deaf and Dumb ; and a great number of orphan asylums, relief associations, edu- cation, Bible, and tract societies, &c. Neither is New York behind her sister cities in her literary and scientific establish- ments. Beside the educational institutions already mentioned, the His- torical Society; the New York Society Library, with 25,000 volumes ; the Lyceum of Natural History, and the American Lyceum, have published some valuable papers ; while the Mer- cantile Library Association, and the Apprentices' Library, show that the merchants and mechanics are not indifferent to the intel- lectual improvement of their apprentices and clerks. There are also here an Academy of Fine Arts and an Aca- demy of Design. The American Institute, for the promotion of 92 NORTH AMERICA. domestic industry by the distribution of premiums and other re- wards, holds annual fairs for the exhibition of the products of American industry. The city of Brooklyn, on Long Island, opposite to New York, is pleasantly situated on a rising ground which commands an agreeable view, and it partakes in the commercial activity and prosperity of its neighbour. Here is a navy-yard of the United States, on Wallabout Bay. There are in Brooklyn a handsome city hall, 17 churches, three banks, two insurance companies, &c. Steam ferry-boats are constantly running between this place and New York, and a rail-road extends to Jamaica, 12 miles of which, the continuation to Greenport, is already in pro- gress. Its population has increased from 15,394 in 1830, to 24,529 in 1835, and 36,283 in 1840. About 50 miles above the city of New York, and on the west side of the Hudson, is West Point, a celebrated military post during the war of independence, and now the seat of the United States' Military Academy for the education of officers of the army. Newburg, 10 miles above West Point, and on the right bank, with 5000 inhabitants, and Poughkeepsie, 14 miles higher, on the left, with 6281, are neat, thriving villages, with considerable trade, and several ships engaged in the whale-fishery. Near the head of ship navigation, 117 miles from the sea, stands the city of Hudson, on a commanding eminence on the left bank of the river. Its trade and manufactures are extensive and increasing, and it has 11 ships, of about 4000 tons, engaged in the whale-fishery. The city is well laid out and prettily built, and the neighbourhood presents many charming prospects. The population in 1830 amounted to 5392, and in 1835 to 5531, and is now about 6000. On the western bank of the Hudson river, 145 miles above New York, is the city of Albany, the capital, and in point of size the second city of the state. Its wealth and trade have been greatly increased by the opening of the Erie and Champlain canals, which terminate in a large basin in the city ; and its situ- ation renders it a great thoroughfare, not only for traders, but also for travellers on the northern route. It contains several handsome public buildings, among which are the old state hall ; the new state hall, and the city hall, both of white marble ; the academy, of red freestone; 14 churches, &c. The Albany institute, with a library, and cabinet of mine- rals, coins, and casts ; the Athenaeum has a library of above 8000 volumes ; and there is also an Academy of Fine Arts here. Regular steam-packets leave twice a day for New York; 106 NEW YORK. 93 numerous canal packets and rail-road cars are constantly depart- ing for the northern and western routes ; and several lines of stage-coaches keep up a communication with the east. The number of persons who annually pass through the city has been estimated at upwards of 600,000. The population in 1820 was 12,630 ; in 1830, 24,209, and now at least 30,000. The city of Troy, six miles above Albany, is situated on the opposite side of the river. The trade and manufactures of this place are both considerable. The city is regularly laid out and prettily built. The population in 1830 was 11,405, and at pre- sent 19,372. Nearly north from Albany, at a distance of 29 and 36 miles respectively, are the most frequented of American watering-places, Ballston Spa and Saratoga. At the eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the head of a deep bay, is Sackett's Harbour, an important naval station during the three years' war ; and on the Black river, seven miles from its mouth, is the flourishing village of Watertown, prettily situated and neatly built, with a population of 3500 inhabitants. Up the valley of the Mohawk, and along the line of the Grand canal and its branches, are a number of cities and towns, which have sprung up, as if by enchantment, in the bosom of a wider- ness. Schenectady, Utica, Syracuse, Oswego, Auburn, Ithaca, Seneca, Canandaigua, Rochester, Lockport, and Buffalo, are the principal. The city of Schenectady, situated in the midst of a fertile tract, affording numerous mill-seats, traversed by the canal, and con- nected by rail-roads with Albany, Saratoga, and Utica, has an extensive and increasing trade, and some manufactures. It is the seat of Union College, one of the principal collegiate institu- tions in the state. Population, 7000. Upwards of 90 miles north-west from Albany, on the Grand canal, is the city of Utica. In 1794, the spot contained only four or five log houses, in the midst of a wilderness. Population, 12,000. Here are 13 churches, an academy, a state and county lyceum, a city library, a mechanics' association, with an exten- sive trade, and numerous manufactories and mills. Still farther west, on the canal, are the villages of Salina, Syracuse, Geddes, and Liverpool, the seat of the Onondaga salt- springs, which are the property of the state : the manufacturers pay a duty of six cents a bushel. The works are capable of producing 3,000,000 bushels a year. Population of Syracuse in 1838, 5000; of Salina, 8000. From Syracuse, a branch canal extends to Oswego, on Lake Ontario, one of the most flourishing villages in the state : the river of the same name furnishes an inexhaustible water-power, 94 NORTH AMERICA. which is very extensively employed for useful purposes ; and an excellent harbour, protected by piers, constructed by the general government. Since the opening of the Welland canal, a considerable por- tion of the trade of the upper lakes, as well as that of Lake On- tario, enters at Oswego, and large quantities of wheat are brought in to be ground here. The population is about 5000, having more than doubled since 1830. The city of Rochester, situated on the Genesee, seven miles from its mouth, and traversed by the Great canal, is a busy and flourishing town. The river has here a fall of upwards of 90 feet, and a few miles below, it descends by a fall of 75 feet to the level of Lake Ontario : the whole descent from Rochester is 255 feet. The motive power thus produced, is constant and immense, and there are now in the city 21 large flour-mills, several cotton- and woollen manufactories, and a great number of other manufactu- ring establishments. The aqueduct over the river is a solid piece of work, consisting of 10 arches of hewn stone. The population of the city increased from 1502 in 1820, to 9269 in 1830, and 17,160 in 1837. The city of Buffalo, at the western termination of the canal, has a harbour on Lake Erie, protected by a long pier. The city is well built, and finely situated, overlooking the lake ; and it contains a great number of large warehouses and manufactories. The population in 1820 was 2095 ; in 1830, 6321 ; and is now 18,356. The lake-trade is very extensive. It 1817 there were but 25 vessels, and no steam-boat, on Lake Erie; and in 1838 they amounted to 500 sloops, schooners, and brigs, and a number of steam-boats, most of which exceed 200 tons burthen ; beside several ships, &c. Buffalo contains, in addition to its numerous churches, a handsome exchange, a large and splendid theatre, &c. The village of Ithaca, at the head of the Cayuga Lake, is a busy thriving place. By the Owego rail-road it is connected with the Susquehanna, and by the lake with the Erie canal and tide-water. Its situation is highly picturesque. There are nu- merous manufacturing establishments here. Dunkirk, a small village on Lake Erie, has a commodious artificial harbour, formed by the erection of a pier projecting 2000 feet into the lake, and a breakwater 1340 feet in length, in front of the bay. The New York and Erie rail-road will terminate at this port. At Portland harbour there is a light-house supplied by natural gas, which rises in abundant quantity near that place. MIDDLE STATES. Falls of Niagara. City of New York. City Hall, New York. K NORTH AMERICA. View of Philadelphia. Water Works, at Fairmount, Philadelphia. Girard College, neat Philadelphia. 110 NEW JERSEY. 95 STATE OF NEW JERSEY. The state of New Jersey is bounded north by New York, east by the Atlantic Ocean and New York, south by Delaware Bay, and west by Pennsylvania. It is 138 miles in length, and 50 miles in breadth ; the area is about 8320 square miles. The soil of this state is not naturally well adapted to agricultural pursuits, much of the land being either sandy or marshy ; yet its proximity to two of the largest markets in the United States, and the in- dustry of the inhabitants, have rendered it exceedingly productive of all sorts of grain, fruits, and vegetables common to the climate. New Jersey is intersected by many navigable rivers, and has numerous streams for mills, iron works, and every species of manufactures requiring water-power. The principal of these streams are the Raritan, Hackensack, Passaic, Salem, Tom, Cohanzey, and Maurice rivers. The state contains valuable iron ores ; rich veins of zinc ore occur in the northern part of the state; copper also abounds, and has been extensively worked. The greater part of the sandy tract is covered with extensive pine forests, which have afforded supplies of fuel for the numerous furnaces of the state, and the steam-boats of the neighbouring waters ; the middle section is the most highly im- proved and wealthy part of the state, being divided into small farms and kitchen-gardens, which are carefully cultivated, and which find a ready market in the numerous manufacturing towns of the district, and in the great cities of the adjacent states. The northern counties contain much good pasture land, with numerous fine farms. The apples and cider of the north are as noted for their superior quality as the peaches of the south. The industry of the inhabitants is chiefly devoted to agriculture, com- merce being mostly carried on through the ports of New York and Pennsylvania ; the north-eastern corner is, however, the seat of flourishing manufactures. The shad and oyster fisheries in the rivers and great estuaries that border on the state, afford a profitable employment to many of the inhabitants. The value of the iron manufactures was esti- mated, in 1830, at about 1,000,000 dollars annually; of glass, 500,000; of cottons, 2,000,000 ; of woollens, 250,000 : but all these branches have very much increased since that time. Hats, boots and shoes, carriages, harness, &c. are also largely manu- factured. The system of common school instruction has hitherto been defective ; but, in consequence of the recent efforts of the friends of education, measures have been commenced which 96 NORTH AMERICA. promise cheering results. The state possesses a school-fund, which commenced in 1816, and amounted in 1839 to 287,287 dollars. The income from it, which is about 30,000 dollars, is annually distributed in small sums, to such towns as raise an equal amount for the support of schools. There are two Colleges in New Jersey ; the College of New Jersey, or Nassau Hall, at Princeton, is a highly respectable in stitution ; it has thirteen instructors, upwards of 200 students, a library of 8000 volumes, &c. Rutgers College, at New Bruns- wick, was founded by the Dutch Reformed Church, and has a theological seminary connected with it. The Presbyterians have also a distinguished theological school at Princeton. There are several academies and high schools in the state. The Presby- terians are the prevalent sect; but the Baptists, Methodists, Dutch Reformed, Episcopalians, and Friends, are numerous, and there are some Roman Catholics, Universalists, &c. Several important canal and rail-road routes connect the eastern and western waters, or unite different sections of the state. The Morris canal extends from Jersey City to the Delaware, opposite Easton, 102 miles; inclined planes have been in part used instead of locks, and the boats raised and let down in a frame or cradle, moved by water-power. The Delaware and Raritan canal, uniting the navigable waters of the rivers from which it takes its name, extends from Borden- town, through Trenton to New Brunswick, 45 miles, admitting vessels of 100 tons ; a navigable feeder, 23 miles in length, ex- tends from Bull's Island in the Delaware, to Trenton. The Dela- ware and Raritan Canal is a channel of much trade between the cities of New York and Philadelphia ; the sea voyage of many coasters being in this way rendered unnecessary. The Camden and Amboy rail-road is an important work on the great line of travel between the north and south, 61 miles in length. The Paterson and Hudson rail-road, from Paterson to Jersey City, opposite New York, is 15 miles long; the New Jersey rail-road extends from Jersey City, through Newark, New Brunswick, &c, to Trenton : length 58 miles. Here it connects with a similar work, of 26 miles, leading to Philadelphia. The city of Trenton, on the east bank of the Delaware, at the head of sloop navigation, is the capital of the state. It is regu- larly laid out, and contains the state-house, state-prison, and eight churches. A wooden bridge, 1000 feet in length, here crosses the river, just below the falls, and the Delaware and Raritan canal passes through the city. The falls afford extensive water-power for manufacturing pur- poses, and there are 10 mills and manufactories in the vicinity. NEW JERSEY. 97 Population, 4000. Ten miles from Trenton is the village of Princeton, the seat of New Jersey college, and celebrated in the revolutionary history for the action of January 3d, 1777. The city of New Brunswick, at the head of sloop navigation on the Raritan, and at the termination of the Delaware andRari- tan canal, and the New Jersey rail-road, is the depot of the pro- duce of a fertile district, and a place of considerable trade. The upper streets are spacious and handsome, and command a fine prospect. Here are Rutgers College, and a theological seminary of the Dutch Reformed. The population of the city is about 6000. At the mouth of the Raritan stands the city of Amboy, or Perth Amboy, with a good harbour, which is, however, little used. Elizabethtown is a pretty and thriving town near Newark bay, with 4000 inhabitants : it contains several mills. The city of Newark, the largest and most important town in New Jersey, stands on the Passaic, three miles from Newark bay, and has an easy communication with New York by means of steam-boats and the New Jersey rail-road ; the Morris canal also passes through the city. Newark is prettily situated and well built, with spacious streets and handsome houses, many of which are ornamented with fine shade trees. The manufactures are extensive, and its surplus produce sent off is estimated to amount to 8,000,000 dollars yearly. Carriages, shoes and boots, saddlery, jewelery, hats, furniture, &c. are among the articles produced. The population in 1830, was 10,953, and is now about 20,000. Paterson, at the falls of the Passaic, which afford an immense water-power, and are extensively applied to economical purposes, is one of the principal manufacturing towns in the country. Here are cotton-mills, with numerous other works, such as paper- mills, machine-shops, button factories, iron and brass founderies, nail factories, woollen-mills, &c. The town contains 10 churches, and the population increased from 7731, in 1830, to about 12,000, in 1838. Below Trenton, on the Delaware, is Bordentown, pleasantly situated on elevated ground overlooking the river, and standing at the termination of the Delaware and Raritan canal. The city of Burlington, below Bordentown, is also a neat little town prettily situated on the banks of the river, with 2670 inhabitants. Steam- boats from Philadelphia touch at these places several times a day. The city of Camden, opposite Philadelphia, carries on some branches of manufacturing industry ; 10 steam ferry-boats are constantly plying between the two cities. Population, 3000. 9 K* 113 98 NORTH AMERICA. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. East and West Jersey, in 1701, 15,000; in 1749, 60,000. INCREASE. SLAVES. In 1790 184,139 11,423 1800 211,149 From 1790 to 1800 27,010 .... 12,422 1810 245,562 1800 to 1810 34,413 .... 10,851 1820 277,575 1810 to 1820 32,013.... 7,557 1830 320,823 1820 to 1830 43,248.... 2,254 1840 373,306 1830 to 1840 52,483.... 674 Of the foregoing population of 1840, there were, white males, 177,055 ; white females, 174,533 ; deaf and dumb, 179 ; blind, 152. Total whites, 351,588. Free coloured persons, 21,044 ; slaves, 674. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA. This state, which, from her central position, her dimensions, her natural resources, and her population, may rank as one of the most important in the Union, is bounded on the north by New York and Lake Erie, east by New Jersey, south-east by Delaware, south by Maryland and Virginia, and west by part of Virginia and Ohio. Its greatest length, from east to west, is 307 miles, and its breadth 157 ; area, 46,000 square miles. The principal rivers are, the Delaware, Schuylkill, Lehigh, Susquehanna, Juniata, Alleghany, Monongahela, and Ohio. The various iidges of the Alleghany range intersect the central parts of this state, whose general direction is from south-west to north-east. The valleys between many of these ridges are often of a rich black soil, suited well to the various kinds of grass and grain. Some of the mountains admit of cultivation almost to their summits. The state produces all the fruits and productions of the northern and middle states, and is particularly famous for the great size, strength, and excellence of the breed of draught horses. The mineral wealth of Pennsylvania is very great, and, although but recently begun to be developed, already gives an earnest of future importance. Coal, iron, and salt occur in vast quantities. The coal of Pennsylvania is of two kinds, the an- thracite and bituminous, which are quite distinct in their qualities and localities. The first is found in the eastern part of the state, between the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers, and is estimated to cover an extent of about 624,000 acres. In 1838, the quan- PENNSYLVANIA. 99 tity sent from the coal region, exclusive of that shipped by the Susquehanna, was 723,813 tons, valued at more than 4,000,000 dollars. The bituminous coal is found in the western parts of the state : it is supposed that about 460,000 tons are annually consumed in Pittsburg, and at the different salt-works on the Kiskiminetas, &c, besides what is sent down the river Ohio to Cincinnati, New Orleans, and other towns. About 1,000,000 bushels of salt are manufactured yearly at the works on the Kiskiminetas, Alleghany, and Beaver. Iron ore of an excellent quality is abundant and extensively wrought. In 1832, upwards of 60 furnaces, and 100 forges, produced near 90,000 tons of pig iron, blooms, bar iron, and castings ; and no doubt the amount has much increased since that time. The manufactures of Pennsylvania constitute an important branch of its industry ; they include cotton and woollen goods, iron ware of all kinds, manufactures of leather, hats, paper, furniture, porcelain, &c. In the year 1832, there were 67 cot- ton factories in the state, with an aggregate capital of 3,758,500 dollars, and making annually 21,332,667 yards of cloth. The total value of manufactures, including about 250 different arti- cles, is estimated at upwards of 70,000,000 dollars. Pennsyl- vania has about 2,000,000 sheep. The foreign commerce of Pennsylvania is in part carried on through New York, Baltimore, and New Orleans ; and its actual amount cannot therefore be fully ascertained. The value of the direct imports is about 15,000,000 dollars; of exports, over 5,000,000 dollars. An active inland trade is prosecuted on her canals, on Lake Erie, and on the Ohio ; and her coasting-trade is extensive and valuable. Pennsylvania has at length aroused herself to the necessity of providing the means of education to the children within her borders. By an act passed in 1834, and modified in 1836, the townships are authorised to raise money for the support of com- mon schools, and to draw additional sums for that purpose from the state treasury. According to a recent report to the legisla- ture, the number of scholars taught under this system already amounts to 254,908, besides 4867 in academies, colleges, and the university. In Philadelphia, moreover, a central high school has recently been established, by which a higher grade of edu- cation is bestowed on those who merit it by superior conduct and capacity. There are in the state fifly-five academies, two universities, eight colleges, five theological seminaries, and two medical schools. The University of Pennsylvania is in Philadelphia, 100 NORTH AMERICA. and the medical school connected with it is the most distinguish- ed and most fully attended in the United States. The Western University is at Pittsburg. Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, which has a medical department in Philadelphia ; Dickinson College, at Carlisle ; Alleghany College, at Meadville ; Wash- ington College, at Washington ; Pennsylvania College, at Get- tysburg ; Lafayette College, at Easton ; and Marshall College, at Mercersburg, are now in operation. Girard College, endowed with a fund of 2,000,000 dollars by Mr. Girard, and intended for the support and education of destitute orphans, will soon be organized. The edifices for this institution are nearly completed, and in architectural magnificence probably exceed any other in the United States. The Methodists and Presbyterians are the most numerous re- ligious sects. The Lutherans, Baptists, German Reformed, and Friends, rank next in point of numbers ; after them, come Epis- copalians and Roman Catholics, with some Moravians or United Brethren, Dutch Reformed, Universalists, &c. The works for the improvement of internal intercommunica- tion, have been executed partly by the state, and partly by indi- viduals, on a grand scale. Those of the state consist of several divisions composed of rail-roads and canals, extending across the country from tide-water to the Ohio, and branching off in differ- ent directions to almost every section of the state. The grand trunk extends from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, and is one of the most important works of the kind in the United States. The first division of the work, from Philadelphia to Columbia on the Susquehanna, is a rail-road, 81 miles in length. At Co- lumbia the canal begins, and is continued up the Susquehanna and Juniata, to Holidaysburg, 172 miles. The Alleghany ridge is then surmounted by the Alleghany Portage rail-road, 37 miles in length, with a rise and fall of 2570 feet : the summit-level is 2490 feet above the sea. At Johnstown, the route is again con- tinued by a canal, down the Kiskiminetas and Alleghany, to Pittsburg, 104 miles. Total by canal and rail-road, 394 miles. A branch of this great undertaking is the Susquehanna canal, extending from the mouth of the Juniata, up the Susque- hanna and the North Branch, to the mouth of the Lackawanna, 115 miles : a second lateral division runs up the West Branch, to Dunnstown, 66 miles. The Delaware branch extends from Bristol to Easton, 60 miles : the Beaver Branch, from the town of the same name, up the Big Beaver and Shenango rivers, to Newcastle, affords a navigable channel of 30 miles, by means of eight miles of excavation, and seven dams in the river. The French Creek branch extends up that river, from Franklin, at PENNSYLVANIA. 101 its mouth, to Meadville and Conneaut Lake : total length, 46 miles, or, with the lake, 50 miles, of which 27 miles is by- excavation. Appropriations have been made for continuing the Susquehan- nah branch towards the state line ; for extending the West Branch division ; for continuing the canal in the western part of the state toward Erie ; and for ascertaining, by surveys, the practicability of connecting the West Branch with the Alleghany by a canal. The principal works constructed by companies are as follows : the Lackawaxen canal, extending from the mouth of that river, on the Delaware, to Honesdale, 25 miles, whence it is continued by a rail-road to Carbondale coal-mines, 16^ miles: the cost of these works was 2,000,000 dollars. The Lehigh canal starts from the termination of the Morris and Delaware canals, and goes to White Haven, 66 miles : the Mauch Chunk, Room Run, and Beaver Meadow rail-roads, connect this canal with the first and second coal basins. The Schuylkill canal connects Port Carbon with Philadelphia by a succession of pools and canals ; the whole length of the navigation is 108 miles: the cost of this work was 2,500,000 dollars. About 50 miles of rail-road branch from this canal to various collieries. The Union canal connects the Schuylkill at Reading with the Susquehanna at Middletown, 82 miles. A lateral branch to Pine Grove, 23 miles up the Swatara, is con- nected by a rail-road with the coal-mines. The Susquehanna canal, from Columbia to Port Deposit, 45 miles, connects the main trunk of the Pennsylvania canal with tide-water. The Nescopeck canal, in progress, will connect the Lehigh with the North Branch of the Susquehanna. The Mahoning, or Pennsylvania and Ohio canal, connecting the Bea- ver division of the Pennsylvania works with the Ohio canal at Akron, and the Sandy and Beaver canal, connecting the same works through the valleys of the Little Beaver and Sandy rivers, are chiefly in Ohio. The principal rail-roads, exclusive of those in the coal region, are the Philadelphia and Trenton rail-road, connecting those two cities, 26 miles ; the Philadelphia and Norristown, 17 miles ; the Philadelphia and Reading, 56 miles ; the Central rail-road from Pottsville to Sunbury, 44£ miles, with a branch to Danville ; the Philadelphia and Baltimore rail-road, 92^ miles ; the Lancaster and Harrisburg rail-road, 37 miles; the Cumberland Valley rail-road, from the Susquehanna opposite Harrisburg, to Cham- bersburg, 49 miles; the Wrightsville and Gettysburg rail-road, from Columbia, through York, to Gettysburg, 42 miles ; the Sus- 9 * 1.7 102 NORTH AMERICA. quehanna and Little Schuylkill rail-road, from Catawissa to Tamaqua ; the Williamsport and Elmira rail-road, from the West Branch to the Tioga, 74 miles ; and the continuation of the Baltimore and Susquehanna, from the Maryland line, through York to the Susquehanna. In prosecuting her various plans of internal improvement, Pennsylvania has contracted a debt of 40,000,000 dollars ; but the revenue from the public canals and rail-roads, which in 1839 amounted to 1,142,633 dollars, promises, at no distant period, abundantly to repay the expenditure ; whilst the state has secured an ample share of the western trade, which would otherwise have been lost. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1701 20,000 1763 280,000 1790 434,373 1800 602,545 1810 810,091 1820 1,049,313 1830 1,348,233 1840 1,724,033 INCREASE. SLAVES. From 1701 to 1763 . 260,000 . 1763 to 1790 . 154,373 . . . . 3,737 1790 to 1800 . 168,172 . . . . 1,706 1800 to 1810 . 207,545 . . . . 795 1810 to 1820 . 239,222 . , ... 211 1820 to 1830 . 298,920 . . , . . 403 1830 to 1840 . 375,800 . ... 64 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 844,770 ; white females, 831,345 ; deaf and dumb, 832 ; blind, 637. Total, whites, 1,676,115. Free coloured persons, 47,854 ; slaves, 64. The city of Philadelphia, the principal city of the state, and one of the most regularly laid out and handsomely built in the world, stands between the Delaware and the Schuylkill rivers, about five miles above their junction, and one hundred miles from the sea by the course of the former. It yields to none in the Union in the wealth, industry, and intelligence of its citizens. Philadelphia has the advantage of a double port, connected with very remote sections ; that on the Schuylkill is accessible to vessels of 300 tons, and is the great depot for the coal of the interior ; the other, on the Delaware, admits the largest mer- chant-vessels to the doors of the ware-houses, and is spacious and secure. The streets are broad and straight, crossing each other at right angles, and dividing the city into numerous squares, some of which have been reserved for public walks, and are orna- mented with fine shade and flowering trees. The dwelling-houses are neat and commodious, and the public buildings, generally constructed of white marble, are the most elegant in the country. Two bridges cross the Schuylkill. Steam-boats and rail-roads afford constant and easy communication with Baltimore and New PENNSYLVANIA. 103 York, and, with the rail-roads into the interior, render this city the great thoroughfare between the north and south, and the east and west. Philadelphia includes the city proper, with Southwark, Moya- mensing, and Passyunk, on the south ; and Kensington, North- ern Liberties, Spring Garden, and Penn Township, on the north ; having a population in 1790, of 42,520 ; in 1810, of 96,664 ; in 1830, of 167,811 ; and in 1840, 258,832. The manufactures of Philadelphia are various and extensive : her foreign commerce is considerable : the arrivals from foreign ports in 1838 having been 464; and the value of her imports being between 10,000,000 and 12,000,000 dollars a year. Her coasting trade is increasing with extraordinary rapidity, having risen from 1247 arrivals in 1828, to 10,860 in 1838: this is chiefly owing to the anthracite coal trade, of which this city is the great mart. Her inland commerce is also very extensive, and rapidly increasing, in consequence of the facilities afforded by the numerous canals and rail-roads that centre here, affording an easy communication with all sections of the state, and with the great western valley. There are about 500,000 barrels of flour and 5000 hogsheads of tobacco inspected, and upwards of 800,000 bushels of grain measured here annually. The shipping belonging to the port in 1838 was 81,748 tons. There are in the city 16 banks, with a capital of 51,900,000 dollars. Philadelphia is noted for the number and excellence of its benevolent institutions. Among these are the Pennsylvania hospital, the dispensary, Wills' hospital for the lame and blind ; the institutions for the deaf and dumb, and for the blind ; the Preston Retreat, the alms-house, magdalen asylum, orphan asy- lums, Girard college for orphans, &c. The learned institutions of Philadelphia are equally distinguished : they are the American philosophical society, the academy of natural sciences, the Penn- sylvania historical society, and the Franklin institute ; all of which have published some valuable volumes. The medical schools are also much frequented and highly celebrated. The city library, including the Loganian collection, consists of 45,000 volumes. There is also an academy of fine arts here. Free schools are supported at the public charge, and educate about 9500 scholars annually, at an expense of about 56,000 dollars. The principal public buildings are the United States Bank and the Pennsylvania Bank, both elegant specimens of classical architecture ; the mint, a handsome building, with Ionic porticoes 62 feet long on each front ; the exchange, 95 feet by 114, containing a spacious hall, news-room, the post-office, &c. ; the Girard Bank; the Girard College, a splendid structure, 111 104 NORTH AMERICA. feet by 169, with a colonnade of Grecian Corinthian columns, entirely surrounding it : all of these buildings are of white marble. The United States' Marine Asylum, capable of accommodating 400 men, with a front of 385 feet ; the alms-house, on the west bank of the Schuylkill, consisting of four distinct buildings, with nearly 400 rooms ; the state-house, interesting from its having been the place where the declaration of independence was adopted and promulgated ; the United States' Arsenal, the Philadelphia Museum with the largest hall in the United States, &c, also de- serve mention. There are here 110 churches and places of public worship, including two synagogues. The state peniten- tiary and the county prison are not less remarkable for their architecture, than for their discipline. The latter, which is built of Quincy granite, has a front of 310 feet by 525 in depth. There is a navy-yard here, but ships of war of the largest class cannot ascend to the city with their armament. The inhabitants are liberally supplied with water by the Fairmount works, con- structed at an expense of 432,500 dollars ; 93 miles of iron pipe convey it to all parts of the city. The daily consumption in summer is about 4,000,000 gallons. The annual water-rents amount to 115,000 dollars, and the annual charge to 14,000. Lancaster City, Harrisburg, Reading, Easton, and Pottsville, in the eastern section of the state ; Pittsburg and Beaver in the western, are among the most important towns in Pennsylvania. The city of Lancaster, 62 miles west of Philadelphia, plea- santly situated in the fertile and highly cultivated Conestoga valley, is one of the handsomest in the state : its trade is exten- sive, and the manufactures various and considerable : it is noted for the superior quality of its rifles, coaches, rail-road cars, stock- ings, saddlery, &c. The population amounts to about 10,000. Lancaster is connected with Philadelphia and Harrisburg by rail-roads, and with the Susquehannah, below Columbia, by a canal. Harrisburg, the capital of the state, stands on the left bank of the Susquehanna. The state-house is a neat and commodious building, from the cupola of which is one of the finest panoramic views in the United States. Here are also a court-house and a number of churches. Population 5000. Beyond the Susque- hanna are the thriving towns of Carlisle and Chambersburg ; the former containing 4000, and the latter 3000 inhabitants. Carlisle is the seat of Dickinson College. Reading, about 50 miles north-west from Philadelphia, is a prosperous town on the left bank of the Schuylkill, and at the termination of the Union canal. The town is regularly built, and was originally settled by Germans : several newspapers arc PENNSYLVANIA. 105 still printed in that language, though English is generally under- stood. Population, 5856. Easton, at the confluence of the Lehigh and the Delaware, and the termination of the Morris canal, is one of the most flourishing inland towns in the state. In its immediate neighbourhood are numerous flour-mills, oil-mills, saw-mills, &c. The situation is highly picturesque, and it contains five churches, a manual labour collegiate institution, a library with a mineralogical cabinet, &c. The population is about 5000. Pottsville is situated in a wild district on the Schuylkill, in the midst of the coal region. It contains many handsome dwellings, and its population, which in 1825 did not exceed 300, amounts at present to 4000. Mauch Chunk, first settled in 1821, is also built on very broken ground; but, in addition to the coal trade, it enjoys the advantage of an extensive water-power, which is used for manufacturing pur- poses : and its population at present exceeds 2000. Wilkesbarre stands in the delightful valley of Wyoming, whose rural beauty, and peaceful shades, once stained with blood and desolated with fire, have been consecrated by the deathless muse. Population, 3000. Pittsburg, the principal city of Western Pennsylvania, is built at the junction of the Monongahela and the Alleghany. The city proper includes only the tract between the rivers ; but, as the towns of Birmingham, Alleghanytown, &c, really form a part of Pittsburg, they must properly be included in its descrip- tion. Perhaps its site is unrivalled in the world, commanding a navigation of about 50,000 miles, which gives it access to one of the most fertile regions on the face of the globe, surrounded by inexhaustible beds of the most useful minerals. Connected by artificial works with the three principal cities of the Atlantic border on one side, and by others not less extensive with those great inland seas that already bear on their bosoms the trade of industrious millions, Pittsburg is doubtless destined to become one of the most important centres of population, in- dustry, and wealth, in the United States. The population of the place in 1800 was about 1600; in 1820, 10,000; in 1830, 12,568 ; and in 1840, 21,296 ; but including the adjacent towns usually reckoned as a part of Pittsburg, it is about 60,000. There are here 20 large founderies and engine factories, with numerous small works : rolling-mills, cotton establishments, white lead factories, breweries, saw and grist-mills, glass works, with brass founderies, steel manufactories, tanneries, salt works, paper- mills, manufactories of cutlery and agricultural implements, &c, are among the 374 manufacturing establishments of Pittsburg. The annual business of this place is estimated at 32 million L 121 106 NORTH AMERICA. dollars. The city is regularly built, but the clouds of smoke in which it is constantly enveloped, give it rather a dingy appear- ance. Among the public establishments here, are the Alleghany arsenal, belonging to the United States, the western penitentiary of the state, the western university, a Presbyterian and a Re- formed theological seminary, 30 churches and places of worship, 60 common and 12 select schools, &c. A steam-engine supplies the city with 1,500,000 gallons of water daily. In the district to the south of Pittsburg, Washington, Browns- ville, and Union, are thriving towns. Canonsburg is the seat of Jefferson college. Below Pittsburg, Beaver, at the mouth of the river of the same name, is a thriving town, which is indebted for its prosperity to the great water-power afforded by the falls of that stream. Numerous mills and manufacturing establishments have re- cently been erected on both sides of the river above the village, and the whole population of the neighbourhood is about 5000. The completion of the connecting links between the Ohio and Pennsylvania canals, will give a great impulse to the trade of this place. Erie, on the lake of the same name, is important on account of its harbour, which is protected by several piers. This place is increasing rapidly, and bids fair to become of considerable commercial importance. STATE OF DELAWARE. The boundaries of this state are, — on the north Pennsylvania, on the south Maryland, on the east Delaware Bay and the At- lantic Ocean, and on the west Pennsylvania and Maryland. The extent from north to south is 90 miles ; from east to west 25 miles ; area in square miles 2100. The principal streams, besides the Delaware, which forms a part of its boundary, are Brandywine creek, Christiana creek,- Duck creek, Mispillion creek ; and Indian, Choptank, and Nanticoke rivers. The gene- ral aspect of Delaware is that of an extended plain, mostly fa- vourable for cultivation. The upper part of the state is generally a fine tract of country, and well adapted to the growing of wheat and other grains. The staple commodity, however, is wheat, which is produced of a su- perior quality. Brandywine creek, in the upper part of the state, furnishes water-power for great and growing manufacturing es- tablishments. The chief articles are flour, cottons, woollens, paper, and gunpowder. DELAWARE. 107 This state has a school-fund of 8173,000. There are acade- mies at Wilmington, New Castle, Newark, Smyrna, Dover, Mil- ford, Lewistown, and Georgetown. Schools are established in every district of four miles square. No district is entitled to any share of the fund that will not raise by taxation a sum equal to its share of the income of the fund. The foreign commerce of Delaware is inconsiderable, but an active coasting-trade is carried on. The Delaware and Chesapeake canal is a highly important work, from its connecting those two great estuaries by a channel navigable by sea-vessels ; it is nearly 14 miles in length, and was constructed at an expense of 2,200,000 dollars. Here is also a rail-road extending across the state, from New Castle, on the Delaware, to Frenchtown on Elk river, 16^ miles long ; and the Philadelphia and Baltimore rail-road, 92| miles long, is one of the most important works of that kind in the Union. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. INCREASE. SLAVES. In 1790 59,094 8887 1800 64,273 From 1790 to 1800 5179 6153 1810 72,674 1800 to 1810 8401 4177 1820 72,749 1810 to 1820 75 4509 1830 76,748 1820 to 1830 3999 3292 1840 78,085 1830 to 1840 1337 2605 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 29,259 ; white females, 29,302 ; deaf and dumb, 55 ; blind, 33 ; Total, whites, 58,561. Free coloured persons, 16,919; slaves, 2605. The city of Wilmington, pleasantly situated near the junction of the Brandywine and Christiana, is a well-built, growing town, and the most important in the state. It contains an arsenal, hospital, 13 churches, &c, and is well supplied with water by works on the Brandywine. Its trade is extensive, and it sends several ships to the whale-fishery. In the immediate vicinity there are about 100 mills and manufactories, producing flour, paper, iron-ware, powder, and cotton and woollen goods ; the Brandywine flour-mills are among the most extensive in the United States. The population in 1830 was 6628 ; and in 1840 amounted to 8367. New Castle is a small but early settled town, and was once the capital of the state. Dover, the seat of government, contains the state-house, and about 1500 inhabitants. Lewistown is a village near Cape Henlopen, in front of which has been erected the Delaware Breakwater. The work consists of two piers, an ice-breaker 1500 feet in length, and a breakwater 3600 feet long, not yet fully completed ; estimated cost, 2,216,950 dollars. 108 NORTH AMERICA. SOUTHERN STATES. The States of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida Territory, Alabama, Mississippi, and Lousiana, are those usually termed the Southern States : the whole region extends from the Susquehanna to the Sabine river: its coasts are washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico : area 430,000 square miles, with a population estimated to amount at present to 5,000,000. The tract of country in the Southern States bordering on the Atlantic, is a low sandy plain, from 50 to 100 miles broad, and, in general, covered with pine forests. Beyond this, towards the Alleghanies, it becomes elevated and hilly, and then mountainous. Those portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, which border on the Gulf of Mexico, are low and level. In the interior they are diversified, and in some parts mountainous. The low countries in all the Southern States are mostly barren, except on the borders of rivers, where the soil is very fertile. The inhabitants of the Southern States are nearly all occupied with agriculture. The commerce, which is extensive, is princi- pally in the hands of foreigners, or of their northern countrymen, and carried on in northern vessels. The great staples of this region are cotton, rice, sugar, and tobacco : nearly the whole of the cotton crop of the United States is raised here, which, with rice and sugar, is confined to its southern section : in the north- ern, the principal productions are tobacco, wheat, and corn ; in the low regions of the Carolinas, pitch-pine grows in great per- fection ; and tar, pitch, turpentine, and lumber, are the staples of these districts. Gold is almost exclusively confined to the upper and middle portions of this region, and is now so exten- sively found as to have become an object of national importance. The population is chiefly of English descent, but is in some places somewhat mixed. There are many descendants of the French and Spanish, particularly in Louisiana and Florida. In Louisiana the French language is extensively spoken, and the laws and some of the newspapers are printed both in that tongue and in English. The negroes, who form about two-fifths of the population, con- stitute a separate class, and are, with the exception of the free blacks, all held in slavery. The Indians, once numerous, have nearly all removed to the territory assigned for their residence by Congress, west of the Mississippi river. A few Seminole In- dians, however, still remain in the southern parts of Florida. The inhabitants of the Southern States are seldom collected SOUTHERN STATES. View of Baltimore. View of Washington City. Capitol, Washington City. L* NORTH AMERICA Cotton Plant. Coreopsis Tinctoria. American Fly-trap plant. Side-saddle plant. The Fly-trap plant has at the end of each of its leaves a curious apparatus, on which if a fly alights it shuts up like a trap, inclosing and killing the insect. One of these plants was, for experiment, fed with small portions of raw beef, and found to thrive. The leaves of the Side-saddle plant are pitcher-shaped, and always half full of a fluid, which appears to attract insects, numbers being found dead at the bottom. The inside of the lobe or pitcher is covered with hairs pointing downwards, which effectually prevents the return of any insect which enters its mouth. Turkey Buzzard. Virginian Nightingale. 126 MARYLAND. 109 together in villages and towns, like their northern countrymen, but live in a scattered manner over the country. This is in a measure owing to the predominance of agriculture over commer- cial and mechanical occupations, but principally to the circum- stance that the bulk of the labour is performed by slaves. Instead of small proprietors, tilling their little farms with their own hands, we here find extensive plantations cultivated under the direction of the owner or his agent, who merely attends to the pecuniary affairs, directs the operations and oversees the labourers. This state of things has a decided influence upon the manners and character of the people, yet there are individual differences so great that no general description will apply equally to the Virginian, the Carolinian, and the Louisianian. Generosity, great hospitality, a high sense of honour, and a manly independence of thought and conduct, are among the favourable traits of the southern character. The poorer class of whites are in general less frugal and industrious, and enjoy fewer advantages in respect to education and religious instruction, than the same class in the Northern States. Although a few of the southern cities have attained a respecta- ble magnitude, they have not as yet secured that commercial preponderance which distinguishes the great marts of the North- ern and Middle States. The rivers of the Southern States, south of Chesapeake Bay, are generally distinguished by sluggish currents, and sand-bars at their mouths. Although there is no stream, exclusively be- longing to this section of the Union, that can be ranked in point of extent with the great rivers of the country, there are several which, from the length of their course and the volume of water which they afford, would in other countries be considered as large streams ; and there are not a few which furnish useful navigable channels. The population of the Southern States in 1840 was 5,161,219;* of whom 2,936,842 were whites; 179,850 free coloured; and 2,036,695 slaves. STATE OF MARYLAND. Maryland is bounded north by Pennsylvania and Delaware ; east by Delaware and the Atlantic ; south-west and west by Vir- ginia. Length 196 miles, and 120 miles in breadth; area in square miles 10,950, in acres 7,008,000. The principal rivers are the Potomac, which divides it from Virginia ; the Susque- hanna, Patapsco, Pawtuxcnt, Elk, Sassafras, Chester, Choptank, Nanticoke, and Pocomoke. 7Q L Inc i udi ".^, the P°P ulati °n of Lu Fayette parish, Louisiana, estimated at to-54, oi which the different classes are unknown. 10 127 110 NORTH AMERICA. The maritime part of this state is penetrated far into the inte- rior by Chesapeake Bay, dividing it into two distinct portions, called the eastern and western shores. Above the tide-waters, the land becomes agreeably undulating. Beyond this commences the Alleghany mountains, with their numerous ridges : the val- leys between them are of a loamy and rich soil, yielding fine wheat and all the productions of the middle, together with some of those of the southern states. The national road passes through the wide and fertile valleys in which Frederick and Hagerstown are situated. In manufactures and commerce, Maryland sustains a very respectable rank ; numerous woollen and cotton mills, copper and iron rolling-mills, are established in and near Baltimore, and in other parts of the state. Flour and tobacco are the staple pro- ductions : the exports of the former are very great, and of the latter the product is considerable and of excellent quality. The herring and shad fisheries are actively carried on, and yield valuable returns, constituting an important article of trade, as well as of home consumption. The commerce of Maryland is extensive, and her ports serve as the outlets of large tracts of productive country in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the Western States, whose consumption is also in part supplied through the same channels. Her imports from foreign countries amounted in 1838 to 5,701,869 dollars ; her exports to 4,524,581 dollars; and her coasting trade is also valuable. There is a free school fund of 50,000 dollars, belonging to different counties, and appropriated to the education of indigent children ; and the proceeds of a small school fund belonging to the state, are also applied to the same object. The state also grants annually a sum of 5000 dollars to the University of Ma- ryland, and a further sum, amounting in 1835 to 18,600 dollars, to other colleges, academies, and schools. The colleges are St. John's college, at Annapolis ; St. Mary's at Baltimore, Mount St. Mary's at Emmetsburg, and Mount Hope, near Baltimore. The academical and medical depart- ments of the University of Maryland, at Baltimore, are in opera- tion, and there is also another medical school, styled the Wash- ington Medical College, in the same city. The Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, and Methodists, are the prevailing sects ; and the Presbyterians, Baptists, German Reform- ed, and Friends, are pretty numerous. There are also some Uni- versalists, Lutherans, Swedenborgians, Tunkers, and Menonists. The canals and rail-roads of Maryland are on a large scale ; the Chesapeake and Ohio canal is to extend from Georgetown to Pittsburgh, 340 miles ; it is completed to a point above Williams- MARYLAND. Ill port, 107 miles, and is in progress to Cumberland, 185 miles, an appropriation of 3,000,000 dollars having recently been made by the state to enable the company to finish this section of the work. The cost of this work, thus far, is estimated to have been about 4,400,000 dollars. The legislature of the state has also appro- priated 1,000,000 dollars for the construction of branches to Bal- timore and Annapolis. The Susquehanna canal, extending from Columbia to Port Deposit, now completed, is 45 miles in length. The Baltimore and Ohio rail-road is completed to Harper's Ferry, 80 miles, where it is connected with the Winchester rail-road ; the work is now going on towards Cumberland, and an appropriation of 3,000,000 dollars has been made by the state ; a like sum has been subscribed by the city of Baltimore : the state of Virginia, and the city of Wheeling, have subscribed a million dollars each, to aid in its completion. A branch has been constructed to Washington, a distance of 32 miles, from a point about 8 miles from Baltimore. It has been ascertained by surveys, to be prac- ticable to carry this rail-road over the Alleghany mountains, at an elevation of 2278 feet, without the use of inclined planes. The Baltimore and Philadelphia rail-road is partly in this state : the whole extent of this work is 92i miles. The Baltimore and Susquehanna rail-road extends from Baltimore, by York, to the Susquehanna, 73 miles. A rail-road from the northern part of the Eastern shore to Pocomoke Bay is contemplated. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1660, 12,000; in 1677, 16,000; in 1701, 25,000; in 1733, 36,000; in 1749, 85,000; in 1755, 108,000; in 1763, 70,000 whites. INCREASE. SLAVES. In 1790 317,728 103,036 1800 345,824 From 1790 to 1800 26,096 108,554 1810 380,546 1800 to 1810 35,722 111,502 1820 407,350 1810 to 1820 16,804 .... 107,398 1830 446,913 1820 to 1830 39,563 102,878 1840 469,273 1830 to 1840 22,360 89,536 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 158,636; white females, 159,081 ; deaf and dumb, 244; blind, 256. Total whites, 317,717. Free coloured persons, 62,020. Slaves, 89,536. Baltimore, the principal city of the state, and, in point of popu- lation, the third in the Union, stands on an arm of Patapsco Bay, about 14 miles from the Chesapeake, and 200 from the sea. The harbour is capacious and safe, and consists of an inner basin, into which vessels of 200 tons can enter, and an outer harbour, at Fell's Point, accessible to the largest merchant-ships. The entrance is commanded and defended by Fort M'Henry. 112 NORTH AMERICA. Baltimore possesses nearly the whole trade of Maryland, that of part of western Virginia and Pennsylvania, and the Western States ; and its inland communication has been extended and facilitated, by the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road. Manufactures of cotton, woollen, paper, powder, alum, pottery &c., are likewise numerous in the city and neighbourhood. Ship- building also is carried on to a considerable extent in Baltimore. Her builders are famous for the construction of fast-sailing craft, which are in demand in foreign ports : 46 vessels were built here in 1837. The commerce of Baltimore is large and in- creasing. The number of arrivals from foreign countries in the year 1838, amounted to 408. The annual inspections of flour em- brace about 500,000 barrels, and of tobacco, 35,000 hogsheads. The number of banks is ten, with a capital of about 7,000,000 dollars. The public buildings are 56 churches, two hospitals, a penitentiary, exchange, the college and university halls, &c. The battle monument, erected in memory of the successful defence of the city, when attacked by the British, in 1814, is an elegant marble obelisk, 35 feet high, on which are inscribed the names of those who fell in that gallant affair. The Washington monument is the most splendid structure of the kind in the coun- try : it is a Doric column of white marble, with a circular stair- case inside, by which you ascend to the top ; the column is 140 feet in height, and 20 feet in diameter at bottom ; it stands upon a base 23 feet high, and is surmounted by a colossal statue of the Father of his Country. The Exchange is a large and hand- some edifice, 366 feet by 140 ; the Roman Catholic Cathedral is, perhaps, the finest church in the country, and it contains some good paintings. The citizens of Baltimore are not more distinguished for their bold and persevering enterprise, than for hospitality and agreea- ble manners. In 1765, there were not more than 50 houses on the site of the city; in 1800, the population had increased to 23,971 ; in 1820, to 62,738 ; in 1830, to 80,625 ; and in 1840, it amounted to 101,378. The city of Annapolis, agreeably situated on the Severn, three miles from Chesapeake Bay, is the capital of the state. It is regularly laid out, with the streets diverging 1'rom the state-house ' and the Episcopal church. The state-house is a handsome build- ing, in which the old Congress held some of their sessions ; here is likewise the state library of 10,000 volumes. Population, 3000. Frederick city, 47 miles west of Baltimore, is, in point of wealth, elegance, and population, the second city in Maryland. A branch of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road terminates here. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 113 The population of this flourishing place is 8000. North-west from Frederick city and near the north line of the state, is Ha- gerstown, a well-built and flourishing town, containing the usual county buildings, several churches and academies, and a popula- tion of 4000 souls. Williamsport, at the mouth of the Cono- cocheague, is a flourishing village, on the route of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road and the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. This is a territory of ten miles square, under the immediate government of Congress. It is divided into two counties and three cities, the counties and cities being separate. The cities are Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown ; the counties, Washington and Alexandria. This district lies on both sides of the Potomac, 120 miles from its mouth, between Maryland and Virginia, and was ceded to the general government by those states in 1790. The population of the District amounted, in 1840, to 43,712, of which 4694 were slaves, and 8361 free coloured persons. The city of Washington was laid out, under the superintend- ence of the great man whose name it bears, in 1791, and became the seat of government in 1800. It stands in the centre of the District, upon the north bank of the Potomac. The plan of the city combines regularity with variety, and is adapted to the varia- tions of the surface, so that the spaces allotted to public buildings occupy commanding positions, and the monotonous sameness of a rectangular design is avoided, while all its advantages are secured. Washington is the residence of the President of the United States, and of the other chief executive officers of the Federal Government, and of foreign ministers to the United States. The Congress meets here annually on the first Monday of December ; and the Supreme Federal Court also holds its annual sessions here. The population of the city in 1830 was 18,827, including 3129 free blacks, and 2319 slaves; but in 1840 it amounted to 22,777. During the session of Congress the city is thronged with visiters from all parts of the world. The buildings which it contains are in three distinct parts : one portion being in the neighbourhood of the navy-yard, another in that of the capitol, and another in the Pennsylvania Avenue, which extends from the capitol to the President's house. The city presents the ap- !0* i3i 114 NORTH AMERICA. pearance of a group of villages ; the spaces between the inhabited parts not being occupied or marked out. The Capitol is a large and magnificent building of white free- stone, 352 feet long, in the shape of a cross, with the Represent- atives' Hall and the Senate Chamber in the two wings, and a spacious rotundo in the centre. The Representatives' Hall is semicircular, 95 feet in length, and 60 in height, lighted from the top, and adorned with a colonnade of pillars, beautifully polished ; it is one of the most elegant halls in the world. The Senate Chamber is of the same shape, and 74 feet long. The rotundo is 96 feet in diameter, and is 96 feet high to the top of the dome within. It is all of marble, and the floor is beauti- fully paved ; the whole has a most grand and imposing effect. Several pieces of sculpture are placed in niches in the walls, representing events in American history. The national library is contained in the capitol, which embraces also a series of national paintings by Trumbull. The President's house, built of freestone, is two stories high, with a lofty basement, and it has a front of 180 feet, adorned with an Ionic portico ; it is surrounded by extensive grounds. On each side are the four offices of the executive departments ; the war office contains a gallery of Indian portraits, and the state office several interesting original papers, as the declaration of independence, Washington's commission, &c. There are also here an arsenal and a navy-yard, with a city hall, and hospital, penitentiary, 20 churches, the halls of Columbia college, &c. A branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal terminates in the city. Georgetown is about three miles west of the capitol. The houses are chiefly of brick, and there are many elegant villas in different parts. The Catholic college here is a respectable insti- tution. Georgetown is a thriving place, and has considerable commerce ; but the navigation of the river is obstructed by a bar just below the town ; here is also a cannon foundery. The Chesa- peake and Ohio canal reaches the Potomac at this place. Popu- lation, 4000. The city of Alexandria, six miles below Washington, on the opposite side of the Potomac, carries on an extensive trade in flour, tobacco, &c, and is actively engaged in the valuable shad and herring fisheries of the river. The city is regularly laid out, and prettily situated ; and it has a good harbour, with commo- dious wharves, accessible to the largest ships. Here are a high school, a girls' boarding-school under the charge of the Sisters of Charity, an orphan asylum, nine churches, several tanneries, engine manufactories, founderies, cotton-mills, &c. Population, 9000. VIRGINIA. 115 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. .Nature has bestowed on Virginia advantage of position, soil, climate, and navigable rivers. She is often distinguished by the title of the Ancient Dominion, probably from the circumstance of her having been the first settled of the colonies. This state is bounded on the north by Maryland, Pennsylva- nia, and Ohio ; south by North Carolina and Tennessee ; east by Maryland and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by Kentucky and Ohio. Extent from north to south, 220 miles ; from east to west, 370 miles. Area, about 70,000 square miles. Every portion of Virginia is penetrated by fine rivers and streams, useful either as channels of navigation, or for mechani- cal purposes. The principal rivers are the Potomac, Shenan- doah, James, Rappahannock, Mattapony, Pamunky, York, Ap- pomattox, Elizabeth, Nottoway, Meherrin, Ohio, Great Kanawha, and the Monongahela and its principal branches. The Alleghany range of mountains, with its numerous ridges, covers the whole middle section of this state, and gives it a rin- ged surface. The country east of the mountains descends gra- dually to the flat and sandy alluvion of the coast. The district west of the mountains is hilly. The soil varies greatly, being sandy and sterile on the coast, very fertile on the banks of rivers, and productive in the valleys of the Alleghanies. To the productions common to the northern and middle sec- tions of the Union, this state adds the sweet potato, the finest to- bacco, and in the southern parts cotton as a crop. The tempera- ture, soil, and circumstances, are supposed to be favourable in the highest degree to the cultivation of the grape and the silk mulberry. The mineral wealth of Virginia is boundless ; gold, copper, lead, iron, coal, salt, limestone; thermal, chalybeate, and sul- phuretted springs ; excellent marbles, granites, soap-stones and sand-stones, &c, are among the treasures as yet for the most part lying idle in the bowels of the earth. Mining industry has, however, recently taken a start, and will doubtless soon afford profitable employment to many of the inhabitants. Of the metallic products of Virginia, gold is at present the most important. It is found on both sides of the North and Rapid Ann rivers, of the North and South Anna near their heads, of the Rivanna in the lower part of its course, and of the James river above and below the mouth of the Rivanna. Several com- panies, in different parts of the gold region, are at present work- ing mines, some of which promise to yield a handsome remu- neration. 116 NORTH AMERICA. Vast fields of coal exist in Virginia, both of the bituminous and anthracite kinds ; of the former, great beds have been found spreading over an extent of many miles. The mineral has been mined and exported in considerable quantities from the vicinity of Richmond, for many years past. Iron ore exists also in vast quantities, in various parts ; in some places it is found between immense layers of coal. Salt springs occur at various places ; at some of which works for manufacturing the water into salt have been erected : the most important are on the Great Kanawha river, in the vicinity of Charleston. The quantity made here is about 3,000,000 bushels annually. Virginia contains a profusion of mineral springs, of great and various virtues, many of which have ac- quired much reputation for their medicinal properties, and some of them are much resorted to. The state has a fund for internal improvement amounting to nearly 7,737,748 dollars, the income of which, exceeding 306,000 dollars, is applied, under the direction of a board of public works, to aid in useful undertakings for facilitating the intercommuni- cation between different parts of the state. The Dismal Swamp canal unites Deep creek with Joyce's creek, and thus connects Chesapeake Bay with Albemarle Sound. But the greatest work undertaken in this state is the James and Kanawha communica- tion, which comprises canals and dams for the improvement of James river above Richmond, a canal connecting its head waters with the New river, and the improvement of the navigation of that river and the Kanawha to Charleston. The portion of the work between Richmond and Lynchburg is in an advanced state, and the continuation above that point is also in progress. Several important rail-roads have been constructed. The Pe- tersburg and Roanoke rail-road extends from Petersburg to Blakely on the Roanoke, 60 miles. A continuation of this work to Richmond, 22 miles, and the Richmond and Potomac rail-road, from Richmond through Fredericksburg to the Potomac, 75 miles, completes the connection between the Potomac and Roanoke. The Winchester rail-road extends from Winchester to Harper's Ferry, 30 miles, and is there connected with the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road. The Portsmouth and Roanoke rail-road extends from Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk, to Weldon, on the Roanoke, 80 miles. The literary fund belonging to the state amounts to 1,413,556 dollars, and the revenue from the same to 102,590 dollars. In 1817, a permanent appropriation was made of 45,000 dollars a year for the instruction of poor children, to be distributed among the several counties and towns in proportion to their white popu- VIRGINIA. 117 lation. There are numerous grammar-schools and academies in the state, and in many families the children are instructed by domestic tutors. The college of William and Mary, at Williamsburg, is the oldest in the United States after Harvard college; it was char- tered in 1691. The University of Virginia, established at Char- lottesville, is, however, the most important institution in the state ; the university went into operation in 1825, and it receives 15,000 dollars a year from the state; the library consists of 10,500 volumes. Washington college at Lexington, Hampden-Sidney college in Prince Edward county, and Randolph-Macon college in Mecklenburg, are respectable institutions. The theological schools are, an Episcopal Seminary in Fairfax county, the Union Seminary founded by the Presbyterians in Prince Edward county, and the Virginia Baptist Seminary near Richmond. The predominant religious sects are Baptists, Metho- dists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians. The Lutherans and Reformed Baptists are also numerous, and there are some Roman Catholics, Friends, and Tunkers. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1642, 20,000; in 1660, 30,000; in 1703, 60,606, m 1749, 85,000; in 1763, 170,000 ; viz. about 70,000 whites, and 100,000 negroes. INCREASE. SLAVES. INCREASE In 1790 . . . . 747 610 292,627 1800 . . . . 880,200 From 1790 to 1800.. . 132,590 346,968 54,341 1810 .. . . 974,622 1800 to 1810. . . 94,422 392,518 45,550 1820 . . . . 1,065,366 1810 to 1820.. . 90,744 425,153 32,635 1830 . . .. 1,211,405 1820 to 1830.. . 146,039 469,724 44,571 1840 . . . . 1,236,073 1830 to 1840.. . 24,668 448,987 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 361,223 ; white females, 379,745; deaf and dumb, 603 ; blind, 892. Total, whites, 740,968. Free coloured persons, 46,118 ; slaves, 448,987. Richmond, the capital of the state, stands on James river upon several eminences, which command fine views of the surround- ing country, and give to the city an air of singular beauty. The western division occupies a high plain, called Shockoe Hill, overlooking the lower town, and containing a beautiful square of about ten acres, which is adorned with fine shade trees, and laid out in gravelled walks ; here, in a commanding situation, stands the capitol, or state-house, one of the most elegant structures in the United States, containing a statue of Washington by Houdon ; and contiguous to it is the city hall, a neat edifice of the Doric order. The other public buildings are the armoury, penitentiary, J 6 churches, a theatre. &c. The city is supplied with pure 118 NORTH AMERICA. water from three reservoirs, each containing 1,000,000 gallons, and filled by two pumps, which raise at the rate of 800,000 gal- lons in the 24 hours. Richmond is 110 miles from the mouth of the river, which car- ries 14 feet of water till within a few miles of the city, and affords boat navigation for 220 miles above the falls. These advantages enable it to carry on an extensive trade, both inland and by sea ; the annual value of the exports being about 3,000,000 dollars, in addition to a valuable coasting trade. Large quantities of wheat, flour, tobacco, &c, are brought down by the James River canal. The falls of the river, immediately above the city, afford an unlimited water-power, which is largely applied to manufacturing purposes ; there are here, and in the village of Manchester, oppo- site to Richmond, four large flour-mills, grinding annually about 700,000 bushels of wheat ; four cotton-mills, tobacco manufac- tories, a cannon foundery, two rolling and slitting-mills, paper- mills, &c. The population in 1830 was 16,060; at present, including that of Manchester, which is connected with it by a bridge, it exceeds 20,000. A rail-road extends from Manchester to the coal-mines, on the same side of the river, 13 miles, which yield at present above 50,000 tons of coal annually. The principal sea-port of this state is Norfolk, which is situ- ated on the Elizabeth river, eight miles from Hampton Roads. Its harbour is deep and capacious, easy of access, and perfectly secure. The favourable situation of this place, in regard to the sea, and its connection with the interior by means of the Dismal Swamp canal and the Portsmouth and Roanoke rail-road, have made it the chief commercial depot of Virginia. The principal public buildings are eight churches, a marine hospital, a theatre, lyceum, &c. Population, 10,000. At Gosport, in Portsmouth, on the opposite side of the river, is one of the most important navy-yards of the United States, containing a magnificent dry- dock, of hewn granite. Population of Portsmouth, 2000. Petersburg, on the right bank of the Appomattox river, is a handsome and flourishing town, with 10,000 inhabitants, com- bining an active trade in cotton, flour, and tobacco, with manu- facturing industry. Vessels drawing seven feet of water come up to the town, but large ships unload at City Point, at the mouth of the river. The falls of the Appomattox furnish ample water- power, and there are here several cotton-mills, merchant flour- mills, a brass and iron foundery, tanneries, cotton-seed oil-mills, &c. North-west from Richmond, and on the Rivanna river, is Charlottesville, with about 1000 inhabitants. It is pleasantly situated in a charming valley, and derives its interest from its VIRGINIA. 119 being the seat of Virginia University. The halls of this highly respectable and valuable institution form a fine collection of build- ings. Three miles from Charlottesville is Monticello, the seat of the late President Jefferson. A simple granite obelisk over the grave of Jefferson bears this inscription, written by himself: Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of Independence, and Founder of the University of Virginia. Nearly west from Richmond, and 120 miles distant, is Lynch- burg, situated on the southern bank of James river, which is here bold and broken. It is a neat and flourishing town, carrying on an active trade, and containing some manufactories. Lynchburg is one of the largest tobacco markets in the United States, from 10,000 to 16,000 hogsheads having been inspected here annually during the last ten years. Population, 5000. At the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, stands the town of Harper's Ferry, celebrated for the majestic scenery in its vicinity : it has a population of about 2000 inhabitants, and contains three churches, two academies, several large flour and saw-mills, an arsenal of the United States, containing about 80,000 stands of arms, and an armoury for the manufacture of fire-arms. A rail-road extends from this place to Winchester, one of the most flourishing towns in the state, with about 4000 inhabitants. It stands on the site of old Fort Loudon, in the midst of a very rich and highly-cultivated tract, inhabited by an industrious and thriving population. Winchester is the depot of the surrounding country, and its trade and manufactures are extensive. Fredericksburg is a flourishing town at the head of navigation on the Rappahannock river, which admits vessels of 140 tons up to the town. Its situation makes it the depot of a well-cultivated ■tract, and its trade is considerable. Tobacco, wheat, flour, maize, gold, &c, are the principal articles of exportation. Popu- lation, 4000. In Westmoreland county on the Potomac, is shown the spot where Washington was born ; the house, which stood on Pope's creek, about half a mile from the river, on a plantation called Wakefield, is now in ruins. A simple stone, with the inscription, Here, on the Wth of February, 1732, George Washington was born, designates the consecrated spot. Further up the river, and eight miles below Alexandria, is Mount Vernon, the seat and the tomb of that great man. The mansion house is a simple wooden building, two stories high, with a plain portico, extending the whole length, and command- ing a view of the river ; here repose his mortal remains, which M* 137 120 NORTH AMERICA. have recently been deposited within a beautiful sarcophagus, the offering of private munificence. In the western part of the state is the city of Wheeling, sur- rounded by rich coal-beds and a highly fertile country ; and, standing at the head of steam-boat navigation on the Ohio during the season of low water, is one of the most flourishing trading towns in the country. The population increased from 1567 in 1820, to 5222 in 1830, and is at present about 11,000. Iron- founderies, steam-engine factories, cotton and woollen-mills, glass- houses and cut-glass works, an extensive rolling and slitting-mill and nail-factory, steam flour-mills, paper-mills ; copperas, white- lead, and sheet-lead manufactories ; tobacco-manufactories, tan- neries, smitheries, &c, are among the manufacturing establish- ments of this place. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. North Carolina is bounded on the north by Virginia, east by the Atlantic Ocean, south by South Carolina, and west by Tennessee. Length 362 miles, and breadth 121 miles ; area, 50,000 square miles. The country, for more than 60 miles from the coast, is a low plain, with many swamps and inlets from the sea. The greater portion of this district, except along the water- courses, is a vast forest, of evergreens. The rich lands near the swamps and rivers are insalubrious. Having passed this monotonous region, we emerge to the pleasant and mild parts of the state, at the base of the Alleghanies, from whose summits the eye traverses an immense extent of beautiful country to the west. In the western part of the state, the Blue Ridge, which forms the separating line between the waters of the Atlantic and the Mississippi, attains an elevation of about 5500 feet. The west- ern boundary of the state is formed by the prolongation of the same ridge ; its different parts are known by various local names, one of which, the Black Mountain, has been recently ascertained to be the most lofty in the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains; its height is 6476 feet, or 48 feet more elevated than Mount Washington, in New Hampshire. North Carolina abounds in considei'able rivers, but enjoys few facilities for navigation in proportion to the number and size of the streams, which are shallow or broken in their course, or lose themselves in lagoons difficult of access, or are obstructed by bars. The Chowan and Roanoke flow into Albemarle Sound, 138 SOUTHERN STATES. Great Falls of the Potomac. These Falls are about twelve miles above Washington City. The descent of the water is seventy-six feet. Capitol at Richmond. Natural Bridge in Virginia. This sublime work of nature is fifteen miles south of Lexington ; it extends across a chasm that is more than two hundred feet deep. The bridge is sixty feet wide in the middle, and affords a firm and safe passage. 139 NORTH AMERICA. Washington's Tomb, at Mount Vernon, eight miles from Alexandria. Gold Mining. NORTH CAROLINA. 121 and the Tar river and Neuse into Pamlico Sound. The Cape Fear river is the principal stream, which has its whole course within the state. The Waccamaw, the Lumber, and Yadkin, which take the names of the Little and Great Pedee, and the Catawba, which rises in the Blue Ridge, all flow into South Carolina; while the French -Broad, Little Tennessee, Hiwassee, and New river, descend in an opposite direction from the same mountain. The pine forests of North Carolina, which cover nearly the whole of the eastern part of the state, yield not only much lum- ber for exportation, but also nearly all the resinous matter used in ship-building in this country. The products are turpentine, spirits of turpentine, rosin, tar, and pitch. Among the mineral productions, the most important appear to be gold and iron. The gold region of North Carolina embraces the section on both sides of the Blue Ridge, and extends to the east of the Yadkin. In almost any part of this district gold may be found in greater or less abundance mixed with the soil. It exists in grains or masses from almost imperceptible particles, to pieces of one or two pounds weight; one -of the largest lumps ever found was dug up in Cabarrus county — it was worth be- tween 7000 and 8000 dollars. Lumps from the value of 100 or 200 to 1000 dollars, are not uncommon. — The great diversity of climate between the eastern lowlands and the western high country produces a corresponding diversity in the agricultural productions of the two sections ; while the former yields cotton, rice, and indigo, the more northern grains and fruits thrive in the latter, which yields wheat, Indian-corn, tobacco, and hemp. The cotton crop of North Carolina is about 30,000 bales. Manufactures can hardly be said to exist, except in the shape of household industry ; and the dangers of the coast, together with the want of good harbours, cause the trade of North Caro- lina to pass chiefly through Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. The works of internal improvement are yet few in number in North Carolina. The Dismal Swamp canal is partly, and its branch, the North-west canal, wholly, in this state. Of rail-roads, the Portsmouth and Roanoke, the Petersburg and Roanoke, and Greensville rail-roads, though partly in North Carolina, are in reality Virginia improvements. Two considerable works of that kind have been lately finished here : these are the Wilmington and Raleigh, and the Gaston and Raleigh rail-roads ; the first extends from Weldon, on the Roanoke, to Wilmington, 101 miles; and the other from Gaston, on the 11 »« 122 NORTH AMERICA. same river, to the capital, 85 miles. They were opened to the public in March, 1840. The University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, about 30 miles from Raleigh, is the principal educational institution in the state ; there is a pretty large number of academies, but no sys- tem of general education has been adopted. The Methodists and Baptists are the most numerous religious sects, and there are also a good many Presbyterians and Episcopalians, with some Luther- ans, Moravians, Friends, and Roman Catholics. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1701, 5,000; in 1749, 45,000; in 1763, 95,000. INCREASE. ] SLAVES. INCREASE. In 1790 393,951 100,571 1800 478,103 From 1790 to 1800 84,152 133,296 33,275 1810 555,500 1800tol810 77,397 168,824 35,528 1820 638,829 1810 to 1820 83,329 205,017 36,193 1S30 737,987 1820 to 1830 98,162 245,601 40,584 1840 753,419 1830 to 1840 15,4321245,817 216 Of the foregoing population of 1840, there were, white males, 240,047 ; white females, 244,823 ; deaf and dumb, 354 ; blind, 390. Total, whites, 484,870. Free coloured persons, 22,732 ; slaves, 245,817. Raleigh, the capital of the state, not far from the west bank of the Neuse, is a thriving town, with 2000 inhabitants. A fine state-house of granite is now erected here, in place of the one destroyed by fire in 1831, when Canova's statue of Washington was unfortunately ruined. Fayetteville is a busy and flourishing town, at the head of boat navigation on the Cape Fear river, with 3000 inhabitants. It contains an United States' armoury, and has recently engaged with activity in manufacturing cotton goods. Salem, Salisbury, and Charlotte, are small towns in this section. The last mentioned has of late rapidly increased in population and importance, on account of proximity to the gold mines, and has at present 2000 inhabitants. A mint for the coinage of gold has been erected here. Beaufort, the only port of North Carolina directly upon the sea, admits vessels drawing 12 feet of water, and the harbour is safe and commodious ; but the town is inconsiderable. Wilming- ton, 30 miles from the sea, on Cape Fear river, is the most im- portant commercial town of the state, and it carries on a con- siderable trade with the West Indies. The population in 1840, 4268. Newbern, on the south bank of the river Neuse, 50 miles from Pamlico Sound, is a place of some commerce, although large vessels cannot tome up to the town, and the navigation is SOUTH CAROLINA. 123 tedious and difficult for smaller craft. Newbern is pleasantly- situated and well built, and, with a population of 4000 souls, is the principal town in the state. Washington and Tarboro' on the Pamlico river, Plymouth and Halifax on the Roanoke, Eden- ton on the Chowan, and Elizabeth on the Pasquotank, are small trading towns. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. The State of South Carolina is bounded on the north and north-east by North Carolina, south-east by the Atlantic Ocean, and south-west by Georgia, from which it is separated by the Savannah river: it is in length 188 miles, by 160 in breadth, the area being about 33,000 square miles. The rivers of South Carolina afford some considerable navi- gable facilities for small river craft ; but in the lower part of their course they are shallow, and obstructed by bars. The principal are the Waccamaw, Pedee, Black river, Santee, Stono, Edisto, Combahee, Coosaw, Broad, and Savannah. The sea-coast is bordered with a fine chain of islands, between which and the shore there is a very convenient navigation. The main land is by nature divided into the lower and upper country. The low country extends 80 or 100 miles from the coast, and is covered with extensive forests of pitch-pine, called pine barrens, interspersed with swamps and marshes of a rich soil : beyond this is the sand-hill region, 60 miles in width, the sterile hills of which have been compared to the arrested waves of the sea in a storm. To this distance the broad extent of country is denominated the lower country ; beyond it we approach the ridge or upper country, the Atlantic ascent of which is precipitous. From the summit stretches a fine belt of table-land, fertile and well culti- vated, watered by rivers,' and irrigated by smaller streams, extending from the Savannah to Broad river. The country beyond the ridge resembles in its scenery the most interesting of the northern states. A number of mountains of striking forms, here swell with their peaks to a very considerable elevation. Table Mountain is the most conspicuous ; its summit is supposed to be 4000 feet above the level of the sea. The low country is infested with many of the diseases which spring from a warm, moist, and unelastic atmosphere. Of these, the most frequent are fevers, from which the inhabitants suffer more than from any, or perhaps from all other diseases together. 124 NORTH AMERICA. The districts of the upper country enjoy as salubrious a climate as any part of the United States. The staple commodities of this state are cotton and rice, of which great quantities are annually exported. The cotton crop of South Carolina is about 66 millions of pounds, of which a part is the much-prized long staple, or sea-island kind. Rice, first introduced in 1693, is raised only in the low country, where the immense swamps in which it is grown may be easily irrigated, by means of the rise of the tide in the rivers. The rice exported from the United States, chiefly the produce of South Carolina, varies from 120,000 to 175,000 tierces, of the value of from 2,000,000 to nearly 3,000,000 dollars. Indigo was for some time one of the staples of this state ; its cultivation was introduced in the middle of the last century, and at the breaking out of the revolutionary war, about 1,000,000 pounds were exported annually ; but toward the close of the cen- tury the price was so much lowered by large importations from the East Indies into England, that it gave way to cotton, which is raised on the same lands. There are no manufactures of any importance in South Caro- lina, but the commerce of the state is necessarily extensive ; it consists in the exports of her own raw produce, including rice, cotton, tar, pitch, turpentine, lumber, and of large quantities of the productions of Georgia and North Carolina ; and in the import of manufactured articles, wines, tropical fruits, &c, for home consumption. The region in which gold is found extends through this state. Although the mines are abundant, the diggings have been less numerous than in North Carolina. Various ochres, used in painting, are found near Yorkville. Marble, limestone, iron and lead ore, potters' clay, fullers' earth, nitrous earth, talc, and most of the useful fossils, are common. Free schools for poor children have been established through- out the state; and, in the beginning of 1835, 8475 children were instructed, at a charge of 37,000 dollars. There is a consider- able number of useful and respectable academies ; the Charleston college in Charleston, and the college of South Carolina at Co- lumbia, are valuable institutions ; the latter has a library of 10,000 volumes, and has been liberally endowed by the state. There are several medical schools in Charleston, a Presbyte- rian theological seminary at Columbia, a Lutheran theological seminary at Lexington, and a Baptist theological seminary at the High Hills. The prevailing religious sects are Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians ; there are also many Episcopa- lians and Lutherans, and some Roman Catholics. SOUTH CAROLINA. 125 Several useful canals have been constructed in this state, but none of them is of great extent ; the Santee canal extends from the head of sloop navigation on Cooper's river, 34 miles from Charleston, to the river Santee, a distance of 22 miles, and forms the channel to the sea for large quantities of the produce of the upper country. The Charleston and Augusta rail-road, extend- ing from the former city to Hamburg on the Savannah, opposite Augusta, 135 miles in length, is the longest work of the kind yet constructed. Another great work is now commenced and ad- vancing with great rapidity. This is the Charleston and Cincin- nati rail-road, which will pass through Columbia, thence into North Carolina, thence to Knoxville, Tennessee, whence it will be continued through Lexington to the Ohio river ; the estimated cost is 10,000,000 dollars; whole distance, 600 miles. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1701, 7000; in 1749, 30,000 ; in 1750, 64,000; in 1765, 40,000 whites, and 90,000 coloured. INCREASE. In 1790 249,073 1800 345,590 From 1790 to 1800. . . . 96,518 1810 415,115 1800 to 1810.... 69,524 1820 502,741 1810 to 1820. .. . 86,626 1830 581,185 1820 to 1830.... 78,344 1840 594,398 1830 to 1840. .. . 13,213 SLAVES. 107,094 146,151 196,365 258,475 315,365 327,038 39,057 50,214 62,110 56,890 11,673 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 130,496; white females, 128,588; deaf and dumb, 218; blind, 289. Total, whites, 259,084. Free coloured persons, 8,276 ; slaves, 327,038. It will be perceived by the above enumeration, that, taking into view the whole state of South Carolina, the black population is considerably more numerous than that of the whites ; and as they are unequally distributed, the numerical superiority of the former is still greater in the low country, where they are to the whites as three to one : in the hilly country, the whites are rather the most numerous, and in the western part of the state there are nearly three whites to one black. Charleston, the metropolis of South Carolina, and the only considerable city in the Atlantic states south of the Potomac, stands on a point of land between the Ashley and Cooper rivers, six miles from the ocean. It is in general well built. Among the public buildings are 19 churches, the city hall, exchange, two arsenals, theatre, college halls, alms-house, orphan asylum, &c. ; the city library contains about 15,000 volumes. The city is healthier than the surrounding country, and the 1 1 * N 145 126 NORTH AMERICA. planters from the low country, and many opulent West Indians, spend the summer here. Its commerce is extensive, com- prising nearly the whole of that of the state. The population increased from 18,711 in 1800, to 30,289 in 1830, of which number 12,928 were whites ; including the Neck, which is adorned with numerous plantations in a high state of cultivation, the population in 1840 amounted to 29,250. Charleston suffered severely from an extensive fire which took place April 27th, 1838, when 1158 buildings of various kinds and much property was destroyed ; — total amount, near 4,000,000 dollars. A number of persons also lost their lives. The approach to the city is defended by Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island, at the mouth of the harbour, and by Castle Pinckney opposite the extreme point of the city within. Columbia, the capital of the state, is pleasantly situated on the Congaree, below the junction of the Saluda and Broad rivers. It is regularly laid out with very wide streets, and is a neatly built town, with 4000 inhabitants. It contains a handsome state- house, a lunatic asylum, the halls of South Carolina college, and several churches. Camden is a place of some trade, situated on a rising ground on the Wateree : in its neighbourhood two im- portant battles were fought during the revolutionary war. Georgetown, to the north on Winyaw Bay, being the dep6t of an extensive and well-cultivated district, has considerable trade, but is not accessible to vessels drawing more than 11 feet of water. It is, however, unhealthy, and during the autumn many of the inhabitants resort to North Island at the mouth of the bay. Cheraw is a small trading town on the Pedee, near the North Carolina line. Orangeburg, Hamburg, Yorkville, and Greenville, are the chief towns in the interior of the state. Hamburg derives its importance from its being the inland terminus of the rail-road from Charleston to the Savannah river. STATE OF GEORGIA. Georgia is bounded north by Tennessee and North Carolina, north-east by South Carolina, and south-east by the Atlantic Ocean, south by Florida, and west by Alabama. Length, 300 miles ; breadth, 200 ; area, 62,000 square miles. The principal rivers of Georgia are the Savannah, (which forms the boundary between it and South Carolina,) Alatamaha, Ogeechee, Satilla, Ockmulgee, Oconee, St. Mary's, Flint, Chattahoochee, Talla- poosa, and Coosa. The coast of Georgia, for four or five miles GEORGIA. 127 inland, is a salt marsh, mostly uninhabited. In front of this, towards the sea, there is a chain of islands of a grey, rich soil, yielding on cultivation the finest quality of sea-island cotton. The principal are Wassaw, Ossabaw, St. Catherine, Sapelo, St. Simon's, Jekyl, and Cumberland. Beyond the swamps which line the coast, commences that extensive range of pine-barrens closely resembling those of South Carolina ; above this range the country begins to be pleasantly diversified by gentle undulations. This region is bounded on the west by the Blue Ridge, which here swells into elevations 1500 feet in height, which thence subside, and are lost in the sea. Beyond the mountains is an extensive and rich table-country, with a black soil of great fer- There are districts in this state that approach nearer to tropi- cal temperature than any part of South Carolina, and better adapted to the sugar-cane, olive, and sweet orange. The hilly and western parts are as healthy as any in America. As an average of the temperature, winter may be said to commence in the middle of December, and terminate in the middle of February. The climate of the low country compares very nearly with that of Louisiana. The mineral resources of Georgia are very imperfectly known ; copper and iron have been found, but the most valuable mineral production, hitherto, has been gold. Although first found here but a few years ago, a large quantity has already been procured, chiefly from deposits, and scarcely any attempts have been made to carry on systematic mining operations. The gold occurs in the northern part of the state, on both sides of Chattahoochee as far north as the Blue Ridge, and to a considerable, but not well- ascertained distance on the south. The great agricultural staples of Georgia are cotton and rice; the cotton crop of the year 1835 was estimated at 300,000 bales; the export of rice for the same year amounted to about 25,000 casks. The other exports are tar, pitch, turpentine, and lumber the products of the pine forests. Georgia has applied herself with great energy to improving her means of communication. The following works are now in progress: — 1. The Central rail-road, from Savannah to Macon, 200 miles in length; 2. The Monroe rail-road, from Macon to Forsyth, 25 miles ; 3. Western and Atlantic rail-road, from a point in De Kalb county, eight miles east of the Chattahoochee river, to Ross's Landing on the Tennessee river ; 4. The Georgia rail-road, from Augusta through Madison to Decatur, 160 miles. It is contemplated also to construct a rail-road from Macon to Columbus, and thence to West Point in Troup county, on the 128 NORTH AMERICA. Chattahoochee river ; and one to connect the Ockmulgee and Flint rivers. The Brunswick canal extends from tide-water on the Alatamaha, to the town of Brunswick, a distance of 12 miles. The state has an academic fund, the proceeds of which are distributed annually among the academies ; the sum thus divided in 1834 was 18,710 dollars, and there is a considerable number of respectable academies. There is also a poor school fund, the income of which is divided among the counties, according to their respective population, but no general system of common educa- tion has been established : 18,078 dollars were distributed for the instruction of the poor in 1834. There is a college at Athens, styled the University of Georgia. The Baptists and Methodists are numerous, and the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Chris- tians, number many adherents. There are also some Roman Catholics, Friends, Lutherans, &c. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. n 1749.. . 6,000 INCREASE. SLAVES. INCREASE 1790.. . 82,548 29.S64 59,699 1800.. . 162,686 From 1790 to 1800.... . 80,138 30,435 1810.. . . 252,433 1800 to 1810.... . 89,747 105,218 45,519 1820.. . . 348,989 1810 to 1820.... . 88,456 149,656 44,438 1830.. . . 516,823 1820 to 1830.... . 167,834 217,470 67,814 1840.. . . 691,392 1830 to 1840.... . 174,569 280,944 63,474 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 210,534; white females, 197,161 ; deaf and dumb, 257 ; blind, 287. Total whites, 407,695. Free coloured persons, 2753 ; slaves, 280,944. The city of Savannah is built on the southern side of the river of the same name, on a high bank, rising about 50 feet above the water, from which it makes a fine appearance. In 1820 it suf- fered so much from a terrible fire, that its prosperity received a temporary check ; but it has recovered from this shock, and is at present one of the most flourishing cities in the southern states, its population having increased to 12,000. Savannah is the chief commercial depot in the state, and most of the cotton and rice, with large quantities of the other articles of exportation, pass through this port. The exports amount to 14,000,000 dollars : 20 steam-boats of a large class, and 50 steam tow-boats are employed on the river. Among the public build- ings are 10 churches, an exchange, city-hall, hospital, theatre, &c. The city of Augusta, the great interior emporium of the state, stands on the Savannah river, at the head of steam-boat naviga- tion. It is handsomely built, and contains a city-hall, seven churches, an hospital, arsenal, theatre, &c. ; a bridge across the Savannah river, 1200 feet loner, connects it with Hamburg. The FLORIDA. 129 population amounted in 1830 to 6695, but has increased to 8000. Augusta is the depot of an extensive tract of productive and populous country, and is connected with the sea by the Charles- ton and Hamburg rail-road, and the Savannah river. Milledgeville, the capital of the state, is pleasantly situated on the Oconee river, at the head of steam-boat navigation, and is a place of some trade ; the population exceeds 2000. It contains a state-house, the penitentiary, on the Auburn plan, &c. Athens, a thriving little town above Milledgeville, is the seat of the Uni- versity of Georgia. Macon, on the Ocmulgee river, consisted in 1823 of a single cabin ; in 1830 it had a population of 2600 souls, and at present the number of inhabitants is 4000. Its trade is extensive and growing, and there is a great number of saw and grist-mills in the vicinity. Great quantities of cotton are shipped from this place, and several steam-boats, beside numerous tow-boats and pole-boats, are employed on the Ocmulgee. Columbus is situated on the Chattahoochee river, just below the falls, and 300 miles from the sea. The town was first laid out in 1828, when the site was yet covered with the native forest, and now contains 5000 inhabitants, with several churches, news- papers, &c. Many thousand bales of cotton are shipped every year from this place, and numerous steam-boats are employed on the Chattahoochee. Dahlonega, in the northern part of the state, between the Chestatee and Etowa, is the seat of one of the offices of the United States' Mint. Darien is a neat and thriving little town, with an active trade in cotton, and in the lumber which is brought down the river in large quantities. Brunswick, with a fine spacious harbour, is situated on Turtle river, a few miles from the sea. A rail-road from this place to St. Mark's, on Apalachee bay, is contemplated. St. Mary's, a small town on the river of the same name, just above its entrance into Cumberland sound, derives importance from its deep and commodious harbour. FLORIDA TERRITORY. Florida is bounded north by Alabama and Georgia, south and west by the Gulf of Mexico, and east by the Atlantic Ocean. Its mean length, from north to south, is 380 miles, and the mean breadth 150 ; the area being 55,000 square miles. The surface of Florida is in general level, and not much ele- vated above the sea. It is intersected by numerous ponds, lakes, 130 NORTH AMERICA. and rivers, of which the principal are, the St. John's, Apalachi- cola, Suwanee, Ocklockony, Choctawhatchie, Escambia, and Yellow-Water rivers. The southern part of the peninsula is a mere marsh, and terminates at Cape Sable in heaps of sharp rocks, interspersed with a scattered growth of shrubby pines. The gulf stream setting along the coast has here worn away the land, forming those islands, keys, and rocks, known by the general name of the Reefs, and by the Spaniards called cayos, between which and the main land is a navigable channel. These islands contain some settlements and many good harbours. One of the most important is Key West, or Thompson's Island, six miles long, and two in breadth, on which is the town of Key West, the most southern in the United States : it is a naval station, and the seat of an admiralty court : the harbour is good, well sheltered, and commodious, and of sufficient depth of water to admit the largest vessels. Live-oak timber, one of the most valuable products of Florida, is cut and exported to a considerable amount ; also cedar logs, boards, staves, hides, tallow, and bees-wax. The fig, pomegra- nate, orange, and date, are among the fruits ; cotton is the chief agricultural staple, the annual crop being about, 60,000 bales ; the sugar-cane is also pretty extensively cultivated ; rice is raised in large quantities ; and indigo formerly furnished a valuable article of exportation, but is now only raised for family use. But Florida is on the whole better suited for a grazing country; and its vast herds of cattle, horses, swine, &c, find a boundless ex- tent of range in its fine pastures. The climate, from October to June, is generally salubrious ; but the months of July, August, and September, are extremely hot and uncomfortable ; and during this season, fevers are prevalent. At St. Augustine, however, the climate is delightful, and this place is the resort of invalids. The population of Florida, in 1840, amounted to 54,477 ; the different classes of which are as follows : whites, 27,943 ; free coloured, 817 ; slaves, 25,717. Of the various Indian tribes that once inhabited Florida, the Seminoles alone remain. They were supposed a kw years ago to amount to about 3000 or 4000 in number. Some of them have removed to the Indian territory west of the Mississippi river ; the residue, after several years of tedious and, on their part, barbarous warfare with the United States, are now reduced to a small number, and will probably very soon be compelled to relinquish the contest, and join their brethren in the Indian terri- tory. They inhabit a marshy and almost unknown tract in the southern part of the peninsula, called the Everglades. ALABAMA. 131 St. Augustine is the oldest town in the United States. It is regularly built, but the streets are narrow ; the houses are gene- rally two stories high, surrounded with balconies and piazzas, and built of a shell-stone, or a concretion of shells and sand. Although the country in the vicinity is poor, yet there are fine gardens in and around the town ; the beautiful orange groves, which ornamented the neighbourhood, and were very profitable to their owners, were mostly destroyed by the severe cold of 1837. Jacksonville, on the St. John's, is a flourishing town, forming the depot of the trade of the surrounding country ; it is also a considerable thoroughfare, and the projected East Florida rail- road is to run from this point to St. Mark's. St. Mark's is the shipping port of a populous and productive district, and is a growing town, with a good harbour; the entrance affords 12 feet of water ; but up to the town, eight miles from the sea, the bay carries only nine feet. A rail-road connects St. Mark's with the capital, Tallahassee, 21 miles. A work of the same kind, 190 miles in length, is contemplated from hence to Bruns- wick, Georgia. Tallahassee stands on an eminence in a fertile district, and contains the capitol, several churches and banks, with about 2000 inhabitants. Apalachicola is a flourishing little town, at the mouth of the river of the same name. About 50,000 bales of cotton were exported from Apalachicola during the year 1835. St. Joseph's, on the bay of the same name, is also a place of growing trade. The bay affords 25 to 33 feet of water, and is well sheltered from all winds. A rail-road from St. Joseph's to the little lake Wimico, connects the town with the river Apala- chicola. Pensacola, on the bay of the same name, is important as a naval station of the United States ; it is accessible to small ves- sels through Santa Rosa Sound, a long, shallow lagoon, shel- tered by the island of Santa Rosa, which also fronts the bay of Pensacola, and through the main channel to ships of war, up to the navy-yard, about six miles below the town. The popula- tion of Pensacola is about 2000. STATE OF ALABAMA. The state of Alabama is bounded north by Tennessee, east by Georgia, south by Florida, and west by the state of Missis- sippi. Length 280 miles; breadth 160 miles; area 51,770 square miles. The principal rivers are the Alabama, Tombigby, Black 132 NORTH AMERICA. Warrior, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Tennessee, Chattahoochee, Perdido, and Cahawba. The southern part of the country, which borders on the Gulf of Mexico and West Florida, for the space of 50 miles wide, is low and level, covered with pine, cypress, &c. ; in the middle it is hilly, with some tracts of open land ; the northern part is somewhat broken and mountainous, and the country generally is more elevated above the sea than most other parts of the United States at equal distance from the ocean. The Alleghany moun- tains terminate in the north-east part of the state. Alabama possesses great diversity of soil, climate, natural, vegetable, and mineral productions. The sugar-cane has been found to succeed in the extreme southern, and some tobacco is cultivated in the northern counties. Indigo was formerly raised in considerable quantities ; rice also grows well on the alluvial bottom near the Gulf; but cotton, which thrives throughout the state, is the great agricultural staple. The cotton crop at present exceeds 350,000 bales. Indian-corn, the principal grain, is raised in all parts of Alabama. There are extensive beds of bituminous coal and iron ore in the central part of the state, both of which are of excellent quality, and several forges are in operation on the Cahawba. Gold is found in the northern section, and good marble has been obtained from the central tract ; but the mineral resources of Alabama have never been carefully explored. Several useful works of internal improvement have already been constructed, or are in active progress, in this youthful state. The Tuscumbia and Decatur rail-road extends round the Muscle Shoals of the Tennessee river, 45 miles. And there is also a canal, sixty feet wide, and six feet deep, surmounting the same obstruction. The Florida and Georgia rail-road, from Pensacola to Columbus, 210 miles ; the Montgomery and Chattahoochee rail-road, from Montgomery to West Point, Georgia, 85 miles, and the Wetumpka and Coosa rail-road, are in progress. The connexion of these works with the valley of the Tennessee is also contemplated. The growth of Alabama has been extremely rapid, there hav- ing been a constant tide of immigration, chiefly of planters with their slaves from the Atlantic states. The high price of cotton, and the extensive sales of Indian lands, have contributed to this result ; and from the same causes, the population will be found, no doubt, to have doubled since 1830. The constitution enjoins it upon the general assembly to encourage schools and the means of education within the state ; and by act of congress in 1819, one section of 640 acres of 'he In 1820 127,901 1827 244,041 ALABAMA. 133 public lands, in each township, was reserved for the support of common schools in the township ; two entire townships, or 46,080 acres, were also granted to the state for the support of a semi- nary of learning, the proceeds of which have been appropriated to the endowment of the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa. La Grange college, and Spring Hill college, near Mobile, are also useful institutions, and there are numerous academies in the state. The State University also is in a promising condition. The Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians, are the prevailing sects, and there are some Episcopalians and Roman Catholics. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1810, less than 10,000 ; in 1816, 29,683 ; in 1818, 70,542. SLAVES. ! INCREASE. 41,879 | 93,008 ] 51,129 1830 309,527 From 1820 to 1830. .. 181,626 117,549 24,541 1839 510,840 1 830 to 1839 . . . 201,313 214,989 97,440 1840 590,424 1839 to 1840. . . 79,584 253,532 38,543 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 176,360; white females, 158,493; deaf and dumb, 226 ; blind, 209. Total, whites, 334,853. Free coloured persons, 2039 ; slaves, 253,532. The city of Mobile is a flourishing commercial town, being the depdt for nearly the whole state of Alabama and part of Georgia and Mississippi ; it is built on a dry and elevated spot, with spa- cious and handsome streets, paved with shells. The inhabitants are supplied with good water brought into the city by pipes. In October, 1839, three destructive fires occurred, by which more than 500 houses were burned, and goods destroyed to the value of more than 1,500,000 dolllars. The annual export of cotton from the port is about 250,000 bales. The population in 1830 was 3194 ; but now exceeds 13,000. Montgomery, near the head of the Alabama, is a busy, grow- ing town, with about 2000 inhabitants. Wetumpka, on the Coosa, at the head of steam-boat navigation, was cut out of the forest in 1832, and is now a place of considerable business, with 3000 inhabitants. Gainesville, on the Tombigby river, is a thriving town, lately settled. Tuscaloosa, the capital, stands in a rich district, near the cen- tre of the state, on the Black Warrior river, and, being accessible to steam-boats, is a place of considerable trade : it contains the state-house, the halls of the university, the county buildings, &c. The population of the town is about 2000. Florence, below Muscle Shoals, at the head of steam-boat 12 153 134 NORTH AMERICA. navigation on the Tennessee, is a growing place of about 2000 inhabitants, with a prosperous and increasing trade. Tuscumbia is also a thriving town. Above the Shoals, and about ten miles north of the river, is Huntsville, situated in a very fertile and beautiful region, with about 2500 inhabitants. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI. The state of Mississippi is bounded on the north by Tennessee, east by Alabama, south by the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana, west by Louisiana and Arkansas. It is about 300 miles in ave- rage length, and 160 in breadth; area, about 48,000 square miles. The principal rivers are the Mississippi, Pearl, Pascagoula, Yazoo, Big Black, Tennessee, and the western branches of the Tombigby. The Mississippi forms the western boundary of the state for 700 miles by the course of the river. The southern part of the state, extending about 100 miles north from the Gulf of Mexico, is mostly a level country, with occa- sional hills of moderate elevation, and is covered with forests of the long-leaved pine, interspersed with cypress swamps, open prairies, and inundated marshes. A considerable portion of this part is susceptible of cultivation. The soil is generally sandy, sometimes gravelly and clayey. It is capable of producing cotton, corn, indigo, sugar, garden vegetables, plums, cherries, peaches, figs, sour oranges, and grapes. In proceeding north, the face of the country becomes more elevated and agreeably diversified ; and the soil is exceedingly productive, yielding abundant crops of cotton, corn, wheat, sweet potatoes, garden vegetables, and fruit. Nearly all the country watered by the Yazoo, is described as incomparably fertile and well watered. Its climate, and the value of its productions, will doubtless cause it to become an important part of the state. Tobacco and indigo were formerly the staples of Mississippi, but cotton, at present, is the chief production of the state, and it absorbs nearly all the industry of the inhabitants, to the exclusion even of corn and cattle. The crop is about 300,000 bales. Some sugar is produced in the southern strip, but the cane does not appear to thrive. Several works of magnitude have already been undertaken for facilitating the transportation of the bulky staple of the state. The Mississippi rail-road, which is to extend from Natchez, through Jackson, to Canton in Madison county, a distance of 150 miles, is in progress. The Woodville and St. Francisville MISSISSIPPI. 135 rail-road, from Woodville to the Mississippi in Louisiana, 28 miles, is completed. The Port Gibson and Grand Gulf rail-road, eight miles long, connects the former place with the Mississippi. The Vicksburg rail-road, from that town to Jackson, 54 miles, is also in progress. The Jackson and Brandon rail-road is eight miles in length. A large portion of Mississippi was, until recently, in the pos- session of the Choctaws and Chickasaws ; but the greater part of these have removed to the Indian territory. The same provision was made by Congress for the support of schools in this state, as was made in Alabama ; and the state has also a small literary fond, devoted to the same purpose. There are in the state seve- ral academies and four colleges. The population of Mississippi has increased with astonishing rapidity. In 1810, the population of the territory of Mississippi, which included the present state of that name and Alabama, was 40,352 ; in 1820, the state of Mississippi contained 75,448 inha- bitants, and in 1830, 136,621, of whom 65,659 were slaves. During the last three or four years the emigration has been active and uninterrupted, and it is estimated that the population of the state at present is not less than 400,000. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. INCREASE. In 1820. . . . 75,448 1830. . . . 136,621 From 1820 to 1830. . . . 61,273 1840. . . . 375,651 1830 to 1840 .... 239,030 SLAVES. 32,814 65,659 195,211 32,845 129,552 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 97,256 ; white females, 81,818 ; deaf and dumb, 92 ; blind, 112. Total, whites, 179,074. Free coloured persons, 1366 ; slaves, 195,211. Natchez, the largest and most important town in the state, is situated on the east bank of the Mississippi, 300 miles above New Orleans. It consists of two distinct parts : the lower town, called Natchez under the hill, or the landing, is built on a dead level on the margin of the river, about half a mile in length, and from 100 to 200 yards in breadth : the upper town stands on a lofty bank or bluff, rising abruptly to the height of 300 feet, and is the residence of the better class of citizens. The streets are wide, regularly disposed, and adorned with fine shade trees, while many of the houses are embosomed in groves of the orange, pal- metto, and other trees, and ornamental shrubs. Notwithstanding its distance from the sea, Natchez carries on a considerable direct trade with foreign countries, and large ships come up to the town. Its river and inland trade is very extensive. The popu- lation in 1830 was 2790, but at present it is 4826. 136 NORTH AMERICA. Vicksburg, 106 miles above Natchez, and about 12 miles beiow the mouth of the Yazoo river, stands in a picturesque situation, on the declivity of several considerable eminences, called the Walnut Hills, rising abruptly from the river. It is the depot of a large tract of newly-settled country, which a few years since was owned and occupied solely by Indians. It contains at present probably 4000 inhabitants. The merchants of Vicks- burg have commenced a direct intercourse by sea with the Atlantic ports. All the trade of the Yazoo country centres here. The town is upwards of 500 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, by the Mississippi river. On the west bank of Pearl river is Jackson, the capital of the state : it is finely situated in a plain about half a mile square, on which stand the state-house, the penitentiary, and some other public buildings. It contains about 1500 inhabitants. Woodville, in the south-western part of the state, 18 miles from the Mississippi, is a very pretty and growing village, with 1000 inhabitants. The little village of Fort Adams on the Mississippi, is considered as its port, but Woodville is now connected with the river at St. Francisville by a rail-road. Port Gibson is a flourishing little town, with 1500 inhabitants, prettily situated in a charming tract of country on the Bayou Pierre. The river is navigable for steam-boats to this place in time of high water, and a rail-road connects it with Grand Gulf, its port on the Mississippi. The latter takes its name from a re- markable eddy in the river, and is a thriving town with 1500 inhabitants. Grenada, on the Yalo Busha, and Manchester, or Yazoo city, on the Yazoo, are thriving places, as are also Aberdeen and Co- lumbus, on the Tombigby ; the latter place has a population of 3000, and an extensive commercial business is transacted here. STATE OF LOUISIANA. Louisiana is bounded on the north by the states of Arkansas and Mississippi ; on the east, by the latter state ; on the south, by the Gulf of Mexico ; and on the west by the republic of Texas. The 33d degree of north latitude is the northern boundary, west. of the Mississippi river; and the 31st degree on the east of that river : the Pearl river is its extreme eastern boundary, and the Sabine its western. It is in length 240 miles, by 210 in breadth, and contains 4£ 320 square miles. Three-fourths of the state are without an elevation that can be LOUISIANA. 137 properly called a hill. The pine woods generally have a surface of a very peculiar character, rising into fine swells, with table surfaces on the summit, and valleys intervening from 30 to 40 feet deep. The alluvial soil is level, and the swamps, which are the only inundated alluvions, are dead flats; The vast prairies which constitute a large portion of the surface of the state, have in a remarkable degree all the distinctive aspects of prairies. The Mississippi, after having formed the boundary of the state for about 450 miles, enters its limits, 350 miles from the sea by the course of the river channel. Throughout this distance of 800 miles, its western bank is low, and flooded in high stages of the river. Outlets, or bayous, receive its surplus waters during the period of the annual inundation, which are carried off" by them to the sea : the principal of these bayous are the Atchalafaya, Plaquemine, La Fourche, &c. The rivers in this state, in addition to the Mississippi, are, the Red River ; the Washita, flowing into the Red River ; the Teche, Vermillion, Mermentau, and Calcasiu, run into the Gulf of Mexico, together with the Pearl, on the east, and the Sabine, on the west. The Red River is the most important, and, indeed, with the ex- ception of two or three insignificant streams on the eastern side above Baton Rouge, the only tributary of the Mississippi within this state. Its bed was formerly choked up by an immense accumulation of fallen timber, called The Raft, which extended over a distance of 160 miles ; but this is now removed, and steam- boats can ascend the river several hundred miles higher than formerly. On the banks of the Mississippi, La Fourche, the Teche, and the Vermillion, below latitude 30° 12' north, wherever the soil is elevated above the annual inundations, sugar can be produced ; and the lands are generally devoted to this crop. In all other parts of the state, cotton is the staple. The best districts for cotton are the banks of Red River, Washita, Teche, and the Mississippi. The cultivation of rice is more particularly con- fined to the banks of the Mississippi, where irrigation can be easily performed. The amount of sugar produced has gradually increased in this state, from 1783 to the present time. The crop of sugar is now from 70,000 to 90,000 hhds. ; and of cotton, about 200^000 bales. Indian-corn and tobacco are also produced. The prairies of the western part of the state afford fine pastures, and here are found large herds of cattle and horses. There are valuable school lands in Louisiana, reserved, like those in the other new states, on the sale of the public lands ; and there are three colleges in the state, Louisiana college at 12* O 157 138 NORTH AMERICA. Jackson, Franklin college at Opelousas, and Jefferson college ; in 1835, the legislature voted an allowance of 15,000 dollars a year to each of these institutions, and some attempts have been made, although with not much success, to provide for the educa- tion of poor children. There is a medical school in New Or- leans. The Roman Catholics form the majority of the popula- tion ; but there are many Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians. Several rail-roads are constructing in the state. The New Orleans and Nashville rail-road is in progress from New Orleans to the Mississippi state line, 88 miles. This vast work, when finished, will no doubt bring a great increase of trade to New Orleans : it will be upwards of 500 miles in length. The Clin- ton and Port Hudson, 28 miles, has been lately finished. The Atchalafaya rail-road, from Opelousas to the Mississippi river, is in progress, and a rail-road has been made from Alexandria to a point on the Bayou Bceuf, a distance of 30 miles. The St. Francisville and Woodville rail-road, 28 miles, is principally within this state. The New Orleans and La Fourche canal, extending from the Mississippi to the river La Fourche, is in progress. Some useful works of less extent have also been executed. Among these are the Pontchartrain rail-road, four miles, from New Orleans to the lake of that name, and the Carrollton rail -road, from the same city, six miles up the river. There are also canals from New Orleans to Lake Pontchartrain. The population of Louisiana consists in part of the French and Spanish colonists by whom it was occupied at the time of the cession, but it comprises also a large and increasing number of immigrants from the other states. The French language is used exclusively by a considerable proportion of the population, but the English is also familiar to many inhabitants of French origin. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. INCREASE. In 1810. . . . 76,556 1820 ... . 153,407 From 1810 to 1820 ... . 76,851 1830.... 215,739 1820 to 1830. .. . 62,322 SLAVES. 34,660 69,064 109,588 1840 .... 352,402 * 1830 to 1840 ... . 136,663 I 165,219 34,404 40,524 55,631 Of the above population of 1840, there were white males and females, 153,988. Free coloured persons, 25,363; slaves, 165,219. New Orleans, the third commercial mart in the Union, stands on the left bank of the Mississippi, 100 miles from the sea by * Including the population of La Fayette parish, estimated at 7832, the different classes of which were not specified in the returns. 158 LOUISIANA. 139 the course of the river, and four miles from Lake Pontchartrain. Steam-boats and small vessels come up to the landing on the latter, where an artificial harbour has been formed, and whence a rail-road and two canals extend to the rear of the city. In the front of the city, on the river, the largest merchant-ships lie close up to the levee or bank, so that no wharves are necessary to enable them to load and discharge. The river is here from 100 to 160 feet deep, and a half-mile wide. New Orleans is the depot of the whole Mississippi Valley, and must increase in importance with the daily growing wealth and population of that vast region. Thousands of huge arks and flat-boats float down its mighty artery for thousands of miles, loaded with the produce of New York, Pennsylvania, and Vir- ginia, as well as with that of the more western states. The number of steam-boat arrivals in 1837 was 1549; and from 1500 to 2000 flat-boats, 50 to 60 steamers, and a forest of the masts of sea-vessels, may be seen lying at once along its levee. The produce that arrived at this place from the various states, die. watered by the Mississippi and its tributary streams, during the year 1838, is estimated to amount in value to 75,000,000 dollars ; among which were 750,000 bales of cotton, 300,000 barrels of flour, 50,000 hogsheads of sugar, and 40,000 hogs- heads of tobacco, besides large quantities of molasses, salted provisions, whiskey, lead, &c. The whole amount of the com- mercial transactions of this city during the year, probably exceeds 80,000,000 dollars. The city stands on a dead level, and is regularly laid out, with the streets intersecting each other at right angles ; as the surface of the water is from two to four feet above the level of the city at high water, and even in low stages of water, is above the swamps in the rear, a levee, or embankment, from four to eight feet high, has been made ail along the river to prevent inundations ; a breach or crevasse sometimes occurs in this dike, but it is rarely permitted to do much damage before it is closed. Among the public buildings are the Roman Catholic cathedral, a massive and imposing building with four towers, the state- house, city hall, custom-house, exchange, mint, Ursuline con- vent, several theatres, the college of Orleans, the charity hospi- tal, in which 9000 patients have been received in a single year, and three other hospitals, the orphan asylum, &c. The chari- table institutions are numerous and well conducted. Population in 1810, 17,242; in 1820, 27,176; in 1830, 46,310; and in 1840, 102,191, exclusive of from 40,000 to 50,000 strangers during the winter. Donaldsonville, for some time the capital of the state, is a vi'l- 140 NORTH AMERICA. lage with about 1000 inhabitants, at the mouth of the Lafourche outlet. Baton Rouge, 130 miles, by the river, above New Or- leans, is a pretty village, with houses in the French and Spanish style, and it contains a military post, and an arsenal of the United States. The population of Baton Rouge is about 1500. St. Francisville, at the mouth of the Bayou Sara, is a neat, busy, and thriving village, consisting chiefly of one street. Alexandria, on Red river, 100 miles from the Mississippi by the windings of the stream, is a pleasant little village in the cen- tre of a rich cotton region, and ships large quantities of that staple for New Orleans. Population, 1500. Natchitoches, 90 miles above Alexandria, was founded in 1717 ; the population, 2500 in number, is a mixture of French, Indians, Spanish, and Americans. It was formerly the centre of the trade with the Mexican interior provinces, receiving dollars, horses, and mules, and sending off manufactured goods, tobacco, and spirits. St. Martinsville, and New Iberia, on the Teche, and Opelousas or St. Landre, to the north, are small villages, containing from 300 to 500 inhabitants, but surrounded by a fer- tile and well-cultivated country. WESTERN STATES AND TERRITORIES. This section of the United States comprises the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Arkansas, the organized Territory of Wisconsin, together with the nominal Territories of Missouri and Oregon, and the West- ern or Indian Territory, assigned by the Federal government for the residence of the emigrant Indian tribes. It includes the whole of that vast space extending from the western base of the Alleghany Mountains to the Pacific ocean, and from the Red river of Louisiana and the 42d degree of lati- tude on the south to the parallels of 49° and 54° 40' on the north, extending from east to west 2300 miles, and from north to south 1100 miles, comprising an area of 1,683,000 square miles. The Rocky Mountains are the most important in this region. They are but imperfectly known to us, and present a very rug- ged and sterile appearance. The other elevations are the Ozark Mountains, extending from Missouri south-west to Mexico ; the Black Hills, between the Missouri and Yellow-Stone rivers ; and between the former river and the St. Peter's river a low ridge intervenes, known as the Coteau des Prairies. 160 WESTERN STATES. 141 The immense prairies of this region constitute the most re- markable feature of the country. These are level plains stretch- ing as far as the eye can reach, totally destitute of trees, and covered with tall grass or flowering shrubs. Some have an undulating surface, and are called rolling prairies ; these are the most extensive, and are the favourite resort of the buffalo. Here, without a tree or a stream of water, the traveller may wander for days, and discover nothing but a grassy ocean, bounded on all sides by the horizon. In the dry season, the Indians set fire to the grass ; and the wide conflagration which ensues, often surprises the buffalo, deer, and other wild animals, who are unable to escape from the flames, and are burned to death. Much of this great country, especially the northern and western parts, remains to be explored. Of the region west of the Missis- sippi, hardly any thing was known before the beginning of the present century, when the government of the United States dis- patched Captains Lewis and Clark on an expedition of discovery. These officers, at the head of a large party, well equipped, pro- ceeded up the Missouri in boats to its source, crossed the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and returned by the same course. The southern part was explored by an expedition under Lieutenant Pike; and at a later period, Major Long and other travellers have visited different parts of the country. The great physical features of this extensive region, are ks giant rivers, with their hundred arms, spreading for thousands of miles through every corner of the territory, and bringing its most remote recesses in the very heart of a vast continent, almost into contact with the sea. The main trunks of this great system of rivers, are the Mississippi and the Missouri. The Ohio, on the east, and the Arkansas, Red River, and Platte, on the west, are the largest of the subordinate streams. These vast water-courses give to the mode of travelling and transportation in general, a remarkable cast, and have created a peculiar class of men called boatmen. Craft of all description are found on these rivers. There are the rude, shapeless masses, that denote the infancy of navigation, and the powerful and richly-adorned steam-boat which makes its perfection ; together with all the intermediate forms between these extremes. Since the use of steam-boats, numbers of the other craft have disappeared, and the number of river boatmen has been dimin- ished by many thousands. There are at present not far from 300 steam-boats on the Mississippi and its tributaries, making an aggregate of about 60,000 tons. Lead, iron, coal, salt, and lime abound in the Western States O* 161 142 NORTH AMERICA. and probably no region in the world exhibits such a combination of mineral wealth and fertility of soil, united with such rare faci- lities of transportation. Tobacco, Indian-corn, hemp, cotton, salted provisions, flour, whiskey, hides and furs, coarse bagging, and lead, are the most important articles of export; and all sorts of manufactured goods and colonial produce are imported. The character of the Western States is mixed, but the predo- minant traits are those of Virginia, and of New England. Ken- tucky was settled from Virginia and North Carolina ; while Ohio is a scion of New England. These two states have in turn sent their population farther west. But there is much sectional cha- racter, much of the openness and boldness of the men and their descendants, who contested every inch of territory with savages, whose houses were garrisons, and who fought at the threshold foi their hearths and altars. The population of the western states and territories in 1840, was 5,043,374;* of whom2, 383,723 were white males, and 2,183,815 white females. Total, whites, 4,567,538. Free coloured, 32,066 ; slaves, 443,770. Total, coloured, 475,836. The negroes constitute a considerable part of the population. They are held as slaves in all the states but Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Nearly all the Indians in the United States are found within the limits of this quarter of the Union. Some of these are partially civilized, but a considerable number still remain unchanged ; and while the settlements, arts, and improvements of white men are narrowing their boundaries, they still retain their original savage character and condition. The Creeks, Choctaws, Cherokees, Chickasaws, and other tribes now resident in the Indian territory, and under the protection of the general government, increase steadily in population and pros- perity ; while the Sioux, Riccarees, Blackfeet, and other rude, roving bands of the Upper Missouri, are decreasing rapidly in numbers and importance. Within a few years the small-pox has swept them by thousands from the face of the earth ; and tribes but lately numerous and powerful, are now reduced to a few individuals. STATE OF OHIO. This enterprising and populous state is bounded on the north by Lake Erie and Michigan territory ; east by Pennsylvania and Virginia ; south by the Ohio river, which separates it from western Virginia and Kentucky ; and west by Indiana. Its length is 210 miles, and mean breadth 200, containing about 44,000 * Including the population of Carter County, Kentucky, estimated at 3000, of which the different classes are unknown. OHIO. 143 square miles. The Ohio river forms the boundary of this state, on the south-east and south, for near 500 miles. The rivers which flow into Lake Erie on the north, are Maumee, Sandusky, Huron, Vermillion, Black, Cuyahoga, Grand, and Ashtabula ; those on the south flowing into the Ohio, are the Muskingum, Hocking, Little and Great Miami. The interior and northern parts of the country, bordering on Lake Erie, are generally level, and in some places marshy. Nearly one-third of the eastern and south-eastern part is very hilly and broken. The hills are exceedingly numerous, but they seldom rise into considerable mountains. Immediately upon the banks of the Ohio, and several of its tributaries, are numerous tracts of interval or meadow-land, of great fertility. The state produces abundantly every thing that is raised in the middle states. Indian-corn grows luxuriantly ; wheat grows finely ; and flour is exported in vast quantities by the Ohio and Lake Erie to southern and eastern markets. Many steam-mills have been erected, especially in the vicinity of the Ohio river, for the manufacturing of flour. Mills for the same purpose, pro- pelled by water, are to be found in every part of the state. Rye, oats, buckwheat, &c. are produced abundantly ; and tobacco is raised to the amount of 25,000 hogsheads annually. Horses, cattle, and hogs are here raised in great numbers, and driven to an eastern market ; and thousands of barrels of beef and pork are sent from all the towns on the navigable streams, to the southern part of the valley, or to New York. Coal is found in great quantities in the eastern parts. Iron ore has been discovered, and wrought pretty extensively in several places. Salt springs are found on some of the eastern waters of Muskingum, and on Salt creek, 28 miles south-east of Chillicothe, where there are considerable salt-works. The manufactures of the state are yet in their infancy, but are rapidly increasing in importance. The local position of Ohio gives it great facilities for trade ; the Ohio river affords direct com- munication with all the country in the valley of the Mississippi, while by means of Lake Erie on the north it communicates with Canada and New York. The northern and eastern counties export great quantities of agricultural produce to Montreal and New York, and since the construction of the Ohio and Pennsylvania canals, a vast amount of the productions of the southern and western counties also find their way to New York and Philadelphia : an active export trade is likewise carried on down the river, by way of New Orleans. A system of general education has been organized, and is in efficient operation throughout the state. In addition to the funds 144 NORTH AMERICA. arising from the sale of school lands appropriated by Congress, a state tax is levied to aid in the support of common schools ; each township is divided into school districts, and those districts which support a school for three months in a year are entitled to receive their quota of the state's money. In 1838 there were about 500,000 pupils in the public schools of Ohio. There are about 30 respectable academies in the state, and 10 colleges. The predominant religious sects are the Presbyterians, Metho- dists, and Baptists. The Lutherans, Episcopalians, German Reformed, and Friends, are also numerous, and there are some Roman Catholics, Universalists, Shakers, and adherents of the New Jerusalem Church. The public works which have been already executed, or are in a state approaching to completion, are of a magnitude to strike us with surprise, when we consider the infant character of the state. Two great works, crossing the state from north to south, connect the waters of the Ohio with those of the great lakes, and through them with the Atlantic Ocean. The Ohio canal extends from Portsmouth at the mouth of the Scioto, to Lake Erie, a distance of 310 miles, with navigable feeders of 24 miles. The Miami canal, extending from Cincinnati to the Wabash and Erie canal at Defiance, 265 miles, is not yet completed. The Wabash and Erie canal extends from Manhattan on the Maumee, to the Indiana state line, whence it is continued to the Wabash in that state : the section within Ohio is 80 miles in length. These works are executed by the state. The amount of tolls received on the Ohio canals in 1838, was 415,000 dollars. The Mahoning, or Pennsylvania and Ohio canal, extending from Akron, on the Ohio canal, to the Beaver division of the Pennsylvania canal, 82 miles ; and the Sandy and Beaver canal, extending from Bolivar on the Ohio canal, to the mouth of the Beaver, 73 miles, are in progress. The Mad river rail-road, begun in 1835, will extend from Dayton, at the mouth of Mad river, to Sandusky Bay, 153 miles. A rail-road from Cleveland to Pittsburg has been projected and authorized by law. The state of Ohio, in the prosecution of her internal improvements, has incurred a debt of 10,000,000 dollars. The Cumberland or National road is continued from Wheeling, across this state, through Zanesville, Columbus, and Springfield, to the Indiana line. In competing for the trade of the great west, New York, Penn- sylvania, and Maryland, are making strenuous exertions to con- nect their lines of communication with the canals and navigation of Ohio ; this being a central point, in relation to the western trade. IM OHIO. 145 The rapid growth of the population of Ohio has never been paralleled ; in 42 years from the time when it received its first white settlers, the number of its inhabitants was 937,903. Its fertile and unoccupied lands attracted immigrants not only from the other states, chiefly the Eastern and Middle, but large bodies of Swiss and Germans, and great numbers of British emigrants, have settled themselves on its rich plains. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1 790 3,000 increase. 1800 45,365 From 1790 to 1800 42,365 1810 230,760 1800 to 1810 185,395 1820 581,434 1810 to 1820 350,674 1830 937,903 1820 to 1830 356,469 1840 1,519,467 1830 to 1840 581,564 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 775,360 ; white females, 726,762 ; deaf and dumb, 592 ; blind, 405. Total whites, 1,502,122. Free coloured persons, 17,342 ; slaves, 3. The city of Cincinnati, the principal town in the state, and the largest city in the west, is situated on the first and second banks of the Ohio river. The streets are drawn with great regularity in lines parallel and at right angles to the river. There are here 30 churches, an hospital, a lunatic asylum, a theatre, athenoeum, medical college, &c, and the free schools of the city are nume- rous, and on an excellent footing. The growth of Cincinnati has been astonishingly rapid; it was founded in 1789, and in 1800 it had a population of 750 souls ; which had increased in 1830 to 24,831, and in 1840 it amounted to 46,382. It has become the seat of extensive manufactures, and it carries on an active trade by the river and canal. Steam-boats and steam-engines are made here to a great extent. Brass and iron founderies, cotton factories, rolling and slitting-mills, saw and grist-mills, and chemical laboi-atories, are among the manufacturing establish- ments : the value of manufactured articles produced in 1836 was estimated at upwards of 12,000,000 dollars ; and the value of the exports was estimated at more than 8,000,000 dollars. Beef, pork, wheat and flour, whiskey, with various manufactured arti- cles, are among the exports. Columbus, the capital of the state, is pleasantly situated on the Scioto, at the intersection of the river by the National road, and a branch of the Ohio canal. It is built on a regular plan, with a pretty square in the centre of the town, round which stand some of the principal public buildings. Here are the state-house, an asylum for the deaf and dumb, a new penitentiarv, conducted on 13 165 146 NORTH AMERICA. the Auburn plan, court-houses, five churches, &c. Population, in 1830, 2437 ; and in 1836, 5000. Chillicothe stands between Paint creek and the Scioto, and the streets, extending across the neck from river to river, are inter- sected at right angles by others running parallel to the Scioto. Population, 4000. The manufactures of the place are pretty- extensive, and are rapidly increasing. Portsmouth, at the south- ern end of the Ohio canal, derives importance from its situation; its trade is considerable. Population, 3000. Zanesville stands at the head of steam-boat navigation on the Muskingum, by which and the Ohio canal it has a water com- munication with New Orleans and New York. The falls in the river have made Zanesville the seat of numerous mills and manu- facturing establishments, including flour-mills, saw-mills, iron founderies ; woollen, paper, cotton, and oil-mills; glass-works, &c. Population, 7000. Two bridges cross the river here, and the town contains 9 churches, an athenseum, two academies, &c Marietta, at the mouth of the Muskingum, is the oldest town in the state; it is pleasantly situated partly on a lower and partly on an upper plain, with wide streets, shaded with trees, green squares, and neat buildings. There are numerous mounds and embankments in and around the town. Some steam-boats are built here ; several saw-mills, an iron foundery, tanneries, &c, also furnish occupation to the inhabitants, whose number is 1500. Steubenville, on the Ohio, in the midst of a rich and populous district, contains a number of woollen and cotton manufactories, iron and brass founderies, steam-engine and machine factories, copperas works, several tanneries, and saw and flour-mills, a chemical laboratory, &c, with a population of 6000 souls. Cleveland, the most important lake-port of Ohio, stands on an elevated plain at the mouth of the Cuyahoga river and of the Ohio canal. The value of the articles brought here in 1838, through the Ohio canal, was upwards of 5,000,000 dollars. The lake commerce of Cleveland, by steam-boats and other vessels, is very extensive : its harbour has been secured by artificial piers, and is commodious and easy of access. The population in 1830 was 1076, and is now not less than 7000. Ohio city, on the opposite side of the river, contains 2000 inhabitants. Huron, a thriving little town further west, is the depot of a very rich and flourishing district, and Norwalk, in its rear, situ- ated in a highly fertile country, contains some manufacturing establishments. Sandusky city is situated on a fine bay, with a good harbour, and is a busy and growing place. Perrysburg, at the head of steam-boat navigation on the Maumee, is prettily situated upon a high bank below the falls of the river ; its situ- KENTUCKY 147 ation combines great advantages both for navigation and manu- factures, and the completion of the Wabash and Erie canal will give it new importance. Toledo, formerly Fort Lawrence, is a flourishing town further down the river, with upwards of 2000 inhabitants. Dayton, on the Miami, at the junction of the Mad river, which furnishes a great number of mill-seats, is a rapidly grow- ing town, in a highly productive region. It carries on an active trade by the Miami canal, and it contains numerous saw and grist-mills, several woollen and cotton factories, an oil-mill, and other manufactories. Population in 1830, 2954; at present about 4000. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY. Kentucky is bounded on the north by the Ohio river, east by Virginia, south by Tennessee, and west by the Mississippi. The greatest length is about 400 miles, breadth 170 ; area 40,000 square miles. The principal rivers of Kentucky are the Ohio, which flows along the state 637 miles, following its windings ; the Mississippi, Tennessee, Cumberland, Kentucky, Green, Licking, Big Sandy, Salt, and Rolling. Cumberland Mountains form the south-east boundary of this state. The eastern counties, bordering on Virginia, are moun- tainous and broken. A tract from five to twenty miles wide, along the banks of the Ohio, is hilly and broken land, interspersed with many fertile valleys. Between this strip, Green river, and the eastern counties, lies what has been called the garden of the state. This is the most populous part, and is about 150 miles long, and from 50 to 100 wide. The whole state, below the mountains, rests on an immense bed of limestone, usually about eight feet below the surface. There are everywhere apertures in this limestone, through which the waters of the rivers sink into the earth. The large rivers of Kentucky, for this reason, are more diminished during the dry season, than those of any other part of the United States, and the small streams entirely disappear. In the south- west part of the state, between Green river and the Cumberland, there are several wonderful caves, of which the Mammoth cave is the most remarkable, having been explored to a distance of several miles from its mouth. The principal productions of Kentucky are hemp, tobacco, 148 NORTH AMERICA. wheat, and Indian-corn. Salt springs are numerous, and supply not only this state, but a great part of Ohio and Tennessee, with this mineral. Valuable lead-mines have also been recently dis- covered. The principal manufactures are cloth, spirits, cordage, salt, and maple-sugar. Hemp, tobacco, and wheat, are the prin- cipal exports. These are carried down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans, and foreign goods received from the same place in return. In addition to the important commerce with New Orleans, by the channel of the Mississippi river, Kentucky has intimate commercial relations with the chief cities on the Atlan- tic seaboard. The Ohio and Mississippi rivers are the chief the- atres of Kentucky commerce, but the New York and Pennsyl- vania canals are also crowded with its materials. Some important works have been executed for the purpose of extending the facilities of transportation afforded by the natural channels. Of these the most important is the Louisville and Portland canal, passing round the falls of the Ohio : although only a mile and a half in length, it is 200 feet wide at the sur- face, and 50 feet at the bottom, and its locks admit steam-boats of the largest class. It is constructed in the most solid and durable manner, and cost 1 ,000,000 dollars. The Lexington and Ohio rail-road is finished from Lexington to Frankfort, 28 miles. No system of popular education has been adopted by this state, but in many of the counties common schools are supported. There are also several respectable academies, and seven colleges, in the state. The predominant religious sects are the Baptists and Methodists ; the Presbyterians are also numerous, and there is a considerable number of Roman Catholics and Episcopalians. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1790-. 1800.. 1810.. 1820.. 1830.. 1840.. INCREASE. SLAVES. 12,430 43,344 80,561 120,732 165,350 182,072 INCREASE . 220,959 From 1790 to 1800. . . . 406,511 1800 to 1810.. . . 564,317 1810 to 1820.. . . 687,917 1820 to 1830.. . . 779,923* 1830 to 1840.. . 147,282 . 185,552 . 147,806 . . 123,600 . 92,006 30,904 37,217 40,171 44,618 16,722 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 303,950 ; white females, 283,592 ; deaf and dumb, 477 ; blind, 374. Total, whites, 587,542. Free coloured persons, 7309 ; slaves, 182,072. Lexington, the oldest town in the state, and for many years the seat of government, is beautifully situated in the centre of a fine fertile tract of country. The streets are spacious, well paved, and regularly laid out, and the houses and public buildings are * This includes the population of Carter County, estimated at 3000, of which the different classes are unknown. KENTUCKY. 149 remarkable for neatness and elegance. The halls of Transyl- vania University, the state lunatic asylum, eleven churches, &c, are among the public buildings. There are here several large cotton and woollen manufactories, machine-shops, rope-works, cotton bagging factories, &c. Population about 7000. Frankfort, the capital, stands on the right bank of the Ken- tucky river, in a highly picturesque situation ; the site of the town is an alluvial bottom, above which the river hills rise abruptly to the height of upwards of 200 feet, giving a bold, wild character to the scenery, which contrasts finely with the quiet, rural beauty of the town itself. Steam-boats go up to Frankfort, 60 miles from the mouth of the river, and keel-boats much higher. The state-house is a handsome edifice, built of white marble taken from the banks of the river ; and there is here a penitentiary, conducted on the Auburn plan. The population is 2000. Louisville, the principal city of Kentucky, and, in point of wealth, trade, and population, one of the most important towns in the Western States, is finely situated immediately above the falls of the Ohio. The Louisville and Portland canal enables large steam-boats to reach Louisville at all stages of the water. This city carries on a very extensive trade, many thousands of flat-boats arriving here yearly from all parts of the upper Ohio, and steam-boats arriving and departing daily in every direction. The population of Louisville, which in 1800 amounted to 600 souls, is now 25,000. The manufactures are various and exten- sive, comprising cotton-yarn and stuffs, iron, cotton-bagging, cordage, hats, &c. The town is well built and regularly laid out, with spacious, straight, and well-paved streets, running parallel to the river, intersected by others meeting them at right angles, and the landing is convenient for boats. There is a nautical asylum for disabled boatmen at Louisville. Portland is a grow- ing little village at the lower end of the canal. Maysville is the first considerable town of Kentucky which is passed in descending the river Ohio. It is the depot of the upper part of the state, and its trade is pretty extensive ; it has also some manufactures. Population, 4000. ..Maysville occupies a narrow, but somewhat elevated bottom, at the mouth of Limestone creek, which affords a harbour for boats. Newport and Covington are thriving towns, situated on the opposite banks of the Licking river, and opposite to Cincinnati ; they are the seats of some manufacturing industry, as well as of an active trade, and contained together, in 1835, about 4000 inhabitants. At Newport there is an United States' Arsenal. About 20 miles south-west is the celebrated Big Bone Lick, which is much resorted to by invalids in the warm season. 13* P 169 150 NORTH AMERICA. STATE OF TENNESSEE. Tennessee is bounded on the north by Kentucky ; east by North Carolina ; south by Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi ; and west by Arkansas territory, from which it is separated by the Mississippi river. It is 430 miles long, and 104 broad, and contains 45,000 square miles. The principal rivers are the Mississippi, Tennessee, Cumber- land, Clinch, Duck, Holston, French-Broad, Nolichucky, Hiwas- see, Forked Deer, Wolf, and Elk rivers. Tennessee is washed by the river Mississippi on the west, and the Tennessee and Cumberland pass through it in very serpentine courses. West Tennessee, lying between the Mississippi and the Tennessee rivers, is a level or slightly undulating plain : east of this section is Middle Tennessee, of a moderately hilly surface. The eastern part of the state adjoining North Carolina, is known by the name of East Tennessee : it abounds in mountains, many of them lofty, and presenting scenery peculiarly grand and pic- turesque. The soil in a country so uneven must be very various. The western part of the state has a black, rich soil ; in the middle are great quantities of excellent land ; in the eastern, part of the moun- tains are barren, but there are many fertile valleys. The climate is generally healthful. In East Tennessee, the heat is so tempered by the mountain air on one side, and by refreshing breezes from the Gulf of Mexico on the other, that this part of the state has one of the most desirable climates in North America. The middle part resembles Kentucky in climate. The soil produces abundantly cotton and tobacco, which are the staple commodities. The inhabitants also raise a plentiful supply of grain, grass, and fruit. They export cotton, tobacco, and flour, in considerable quantities ; and many other articles. The principal commerce is carried on through the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and from them through the Ohio and Missis- sippi to New Orleans. This state likewise supplies Kentucky, Ohio, &c. with cotton for inland manufactures ,• and from East Tennessee considerable numbers of cattle are sent to the sea-ports on the Atlantic. The most valuable mineral products of Tennessee are iron, gold, coal, and salt. Gold is found in the south-eastern section, but it has not been systematically worked. Iron occurs through- out the state east of the Tennessee: there is a considerable num- ber of furnaces. Coal is found in the Cumberland mountains of excellent quality and in great quantities. Gold, marble, marl, TENNESSEE. 151 buhr-stone, nitrous earth, and other useful minerals are found, and there are some valuable mineral springs. A rail-road from Knoxville to Charleston, forming part of the great Ohio and Charleston rail-road, has been proposed : also, others from North Carolina towards Knoxville, and from Georgia towards the Tennessee river. Another great work from New Orleans to Nashville, 500 miles in length, is in actual progress. The only work of this kind yet finished in Tennessee, is the Memphis and Lagrange rail-road, 50 miles long, with a branch of 13 miles from Macon to Somerville. The Hiwassee rail-road from Calhoun to Knoxville, 70 miles, is in progress. The state has a school-fund of 835,000 dollars, the interest of which is distributed to such school districts as provide a school- house, but little has yet been done towards the establishment of a common school system throughout the state. There are a number of respectable academies, and five collegiate institutions. The Methodists and Baptists are the most numerous religious bodies in Tennessee ; the Presbyterians are also numerous, and there are some Episcopalians, Lutherans, Friends, &c. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1800 105,602 1810 261,727 1820 420,813 1830 681,903 1840 829,210 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 325,434 ; white females, 315,193; deaf and dumb, 358 ; blind, 354. Total, whites, 640,627. Free coloured persons, 5524 ; slaves, 183,059. Nashville, the capital, and the only considerable city of the state, is pleasantly situated on the southern bank of the Cumber- land, in a fertile and picturesque tract. The site is elevated and uneven, and the town is well built, containing, beside some ele- gant dwelling-houses, the court-house, a lunatic asylum, a peni- tentiary conducted on the Auburn system, the halls of Nashville University, six churches, &c. The trade is active and pretty extensive, and there are some manufactories, comprising several brass and iron founderies, rolling-mills, tanneries, &c. The population was increased from 5566 in 1830, to about 9000 at the present time. Clarksville, below Nashville, is a thriving little town. Franklin, to the south of Nashville, is a busy town, with 1500 inhabitants, who carry on some branches of mechanical and manufacturing industry pretty extensively. INCREASE. SLAVES. 13,584 44,535 INCREASE. From 1800 to 1810. . . 156,125 30,951 1810 to 1820.. . 159,086 80,107 35,572 1820 to 1830.. . 261,090 141,603 61,496 1830 to 1840.. . 147,307 183,059 41,456 152 NORTH AMERICA. Knoxville, having 2000 inhabitants, stands on the right bank of the Holston river, and was for some time the seat of govern- ment, and a place of considerable trade ; its commercial impor- tance, however, has of late much diminished. It contains the halls of East Tennessee college, a useful and flourishing institu- tion. The other towns of this section, Blountville, Jonesboro', Rogersville, and Maryville, are little villages of 500 or 600 inhabitants each. In the southern part of the state, Winchester, Fayetteville, at the head of navigation on the Elk river, and Pulaski, are thriving little towns. Columbia, on the Duck river, is one of the most flourishing towns in the state : it is the seat of Jackson college. Murfreesboro, for some time the capital of the state, is pleasantly- situated in a very rich and highly cultivated district ; Bolivar, at the head of navigation, on the Hatchee, a very growing and busy town ; Randolph, on the second Chickasaw Bluff, below the mouth of the Big Hatchee river, with a good harbour for steam-boats in all stages of the water, and conveniently placed for the outlet of a productive region ; and Memphis, with 2000 inhabitants, at the fourth Chickasaw Bluff, with one of the best sites for a commercial emporium on the Mississippi, are all small towns, but of growing business and importance. The Chickasaw Bluffs, or points where the river-hills reach the river, presenting sites above the reach of the floods, are four in number ; the first, being below the mouth of the Forked Deer river, is the site of Ashport ; the second, that of Randolph ; the third, 18 miles below, is not yet occupied ; the fourth is the site of Memphis. The latter is 30 feet above the highest floods, and its base is washed by the river for a distance of three miles, while a bed of sand-stone, the only known stratum of rocks be- low the Ohio, juts into the stream and forms a convenient land- ing. From the Ohio to Vicksburg, a distance of 650 miles, it is the only site for a great commercial mart on either bank of the Mississippi. STATE OF MICHIGAN. The country to which the name of Michigan has been usually applied, is a large peninsula, with its base resting upon the states of Ohio and Indiana, and bounded on the east and north-east by Lake Huron for a distance of 250 miles, and having Lake Michigan for its western boundary, an extent of 260 miles. It is in length about 288, and in breadth at the widest part 190 miles : its area being 38,000 square miles. MICHIGAN. 153 Michigan, however, comprises without her bounds another and entirely distinct peninsula, forming a part of the region nominally attached to her while under a territorial government, and added permanently to her territory on her admission as a member of the American confederacy. It is bounded on the north by Lake Superior ; on the east by St. Mary's river ; on the south by Lakes Huron and Michigan : and south-west by the Mennomonie and Montreal rivers ; the latter emptying into Lake Superior, and the former into Green Bay : it is in length from east to west, about 320 miles ; and in breadth it varies from 160 to 30 or 40 miles ; the area is proba- bly about 22,000 square miles; making the area of the whole state about 60,000 miles. The northern peninsula is but little known, having been ex- plored only by hunters and trappers : the surface is said to be more irregular than that of the southern section, and also much less suited for agricultural purposes, but it will nevertheless doubtless become of importance on account of the large bodies of pine timber contained in various parts ; and also from the valuable fisheries on the shores of Lake Superior, white fish being taken in great abundance. The rivers are numerous and flow mostly into Lake Superior ; they are in general short in their length of course, and much broken by falls and rapids. The shores of the lake are mostly low, and but little indented by bays and harbours ; and as the prevailing winds are from the north-west, and sweep with great fury over the wide unsheltered expanse of the lake, navigation is more stormy and dangerous than along the Canada shore. The native inhabitants of this region are some bands of the Chippeways, on the shores of Lake Superior, and Mennomonies, on Green Bay ; the whole numbering only about 1400 or 1500. The only settlement in this region is the village of St. Mary's, at Fort Brady on the St. Mary's river ; it contains a population of 800, principally half-breeds and French. St. Mary's river, the outlet of the waters of Lake Superior, is about 50 miles in length, with a fall of 22 feet in half a mile, which prevents large vessels from entering Lake Superior, although canoes and boats of small draught ascend and descend the rapids. An act authorising the construction of a ship canal around these rapids has lately passed the legislature of Michigan. The southern peninsula, or Michigan proper, is generally a level country, having no elevations that can properly be called hills ; the centre of the peninsula being a table-land, elevated, however, but a few feet above the level of the lakes. The peninsula abounds in rivers : none of these have much P* 173 154 NORTH AMERICA. extent of course, and but few of them are navigable to any con- siderable distance inland. Grand river is the largest : it empties into Lake Michigan : its whole course is about 150 miles, and it is navigable 50 miles from the lake to the rapids for sloops and steam-boats. The St. Joseph's river is a considerable stream, and empties into Lake Michigan at the south-west angle of the territory. It is, like Grand river, navigable for large sloops to the rapids. The other considerable streams which flow into Lake Michi- gan are the Kalamazoo, Grand, Maskegon, Pentwater, Manistic, and Aux Betsies. Those which flow into Lake Erie are the Raisin and Huron rivers. The Clinton is the only considerable river which falls into Lake St. Clair. The Belle, and Black, or Du- lude, fall into St. Clair river. The Saginaw, a considerable and important river, running northward, falls into Saginaw bay, which is a part of Lake Huron. The eastern parts of this territory, from various circumstances, became first settled. Within the few last years a great mass of emigrants have begun to spread themselves over this fine and fertile country. Situated, as it is, between the west, the south, and the east, with greater facilities for extensive inland water communication than any other country on the globe, with a fer- tile soil, of which millions of acres are fit for the plough, with a healthful climate, and with a concurrence of circumstances, inviting northern population, the inhabitants are increasing, and wealth accumulates with a rapidity that may vie with any of the neighbouring states. Wheat, Indian-corn, oats, barley, buckwheat, potatoes, apples, pears, plums, cherries, and peaches, are raised easily and in abundance. It is a country more favourable to cultivated grasses than most other regions of the western country. In short, it is peculiarly fitted for northern farmers. No inland country, according to its age, population, and circumstances, has a greater trade. A number of steam-boats and lake-vessels are con- stantly plying in this trade, which is with Detroit, Chicago, and Ohio. The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of repre- sentatives, styled the legislature ; the former are chosen for the term of two years, and the latter annually. The governor and lieutenant-governor are chosen by the people, and hold office for the term of two years. The judges are appointed by the gover- nor, with the consent of the senate, the term of office being seven years. Suffrage is universal. The constitution provides that ne«her slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever be introduced into the state, except for the punishment of crimes ; and that no MICHIGAN. 155 lottery shall be authorised by the state, nor shall the sale of lot- tery tickets be allowed. It is also a provision of the constitution, that the legislature shall encourage by all suitable means the promotion of intellec- tual, scientific, and agricultural improvement ; shall provide for a system of common schools, by which a school shall be kept up and supported in each school district at least three months in every year ; and, as soon as the circumstances of the state will permit, shall provide for the establishment of libraries, one at least in each township. In 1839 there were 34,000 children in the common schools of Michigan. The state of Michigan is proceeding with great activity in the prosecution of works of internal improvement. About 2000 miles of canals and rail -roads are projected, at an estimated expense of more than 14,000,000 dollars. In 1810, the population amounted to 4762; in 1820, it was 8896; in 1830, exclusive of the counties now belonging to Wisconsin, 28,004; and in 1840, 212,267 ; of whom were white males, 113,395; white females, 98,165 ; coloured persons, 707. The city of Detroit, the principal place in Michigan, is situated on the western shore of Detroit river, which unites Lake Erie and St. Clair. Few places can be more admirably situated for a commercial city, and few have a more solid promise of per- manent prosperity. The city is regularly laid out and neatly built ; and during the last five or six years its business and popu- lation have increased commensurately with the growth of the fertile countiy in its rear. In 1830, the number of the inhabit- ants was 2222 ; they are now supposed to amount to 10,000. There are here a number of churches, of which the largest and most striking is the Roman Catholic cathedral ; a state- house, academy, and county buildings. Detroit is the depot of all the country on the upper lakes, and there are 16 or 18 large steam-boats plying between this port and Chicago and Buffalo. Among the small towns springing up in Michigan are Palmer, Anne Arbour, St. Joseph, Grand Rapids, and Marshall ; also, Adrian and Monroe : the latter is about two miles from the mouth of the river Raisin, and is accessible to steam-boats. It contains several saw and grist-mills, a woollen manufactory, and an iron foundery. The rivers afford a number of mill-seats, with a plentiful supply of water. The population is about 3000. At the head of St. Clair river, at the outlet of Lake Huron, on a commanding position, stands Fort Gratiot, a United States 1 mili- tary post; Mackinaw is on Michillimackinac island, at the entrance of Lake Michigan. 175 156 NORTH AMERICA. STATE OF INDIANA. The state of Indiana is bounded on the north by Michigan and Lake Michigan ; east by Ohio ; south by the Ohio river, which separates it from Kentucky ; and west by Illinois, from which it is separated in part by the Wabash river. The mean length is about 260, and mean breadth 140 miles; area about 36,400 square miles. The Ohio river flows along the southern extremity of this state for upwards of 350 miles, estimated by the course of the stream. The principal river besides the Ohio, is the Wabash, with its numerous branches. The Tippecanoe, from the north, and the White and Patoka rivers, from the east, are its princi- pal tributaries. The White river is a valuable channel for trade, as it drains the central part of the state, and has several large confluents, of which its east and west forks are the principal. The Maumee on the east, the Kankakee on the west, and the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, are the other chief rivers. There are no mountains in Indiana ; the country, however, is more hilly than Illinois, particularly towards the Ohio river. A range of hills, called the Knobs, extends from the falls of the Ohio to the Wabash, in a south-west direction, which in many places produce a broken and uneven surface. North of these hills lie the Flat Woods, 70 miles wide. Bordering on all the principal streams, except the Ohio, there are strips of bottom and prairie land ; both together, from three to six miles in width. Between the Wabash and Lake Michigan, the country is mostly level, abounding alternately with wood-lands, prairies, lakes, and swamps. The agricultural exports are beef, pork, cattle, horses, swine Indian-corn, hemp, tobacco, &c. ; ginseng, bees'-wax, feathers and whiskey, are also exported, but we have no means of esti- mating the value of the trade. There are some grist and saw- mills, a few iron furnaces, and some salt-works, but the manu- facturing industry is inconsiderable. The mineral resources of Indiana have been little attended to, and our knowledge of some of them is but imperfect. Coal, iron, lime, salt, &c, are, however, known to abound. Indiana has expended nearly 4,000,000 dollars in internal improvements. The principal work is the Wabash canal, reach- ing from Manhattan, at the mouth of the Maumee river, to Terre Haute, on the Wabash, 310 miles; thence to Evansville, on the Ohio river. The whole length of this canal will be 444 miles. There are several other canals and rail-roads also in progress. INDIANA. 157 The National road passes from the Ohio line through Indianapo- lis, but is not yet completed. The same provision has been made by congress for the sup- port of common schools, that has been made in the other new states, but no efficient system of general education has yet been adopted : the constitution makes it " the duty of the general assembly, as soon as circumstances shall permit, to provide by law for a general system of education, ascending in a regular gradation, from township schools to a state university, wherein tuition shall be gratis, and equally open to all." There are four colleges in the state, and academies have been established in several of the counties. The Methodists and Baptists are the prevailing religious sects ; the Presbyterians and Friends are numerous, and there are Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, &c. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS In 1800 5,641 INCREASE. SLAVES. 133 1810 24,520 From 1800 to 1810... ..... 18,879 237 1820 147,178 1810 to 1820 122,658 190 1830 343,031 1820 to 1830 195,853 1840 685,866 1830 to 1840 342,835 3 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 351,655; white females, 327,043. Total whites, 678,698. Free coloured persons, 7165 ; slaves, 3. The current of immigration has flowed steadily into Indiana during the last 15 years, and its population has accordingly increased with great rapidity : it is estimated at present to be not less than 600,000. Most of the inhabitants are from Ohio, and the middle and northern states ; but there are many im- migrants from Kentucky and Virginia, as well as from foreign countries. Indianapolis, the capital of the state, stands on a fine plain near the White river, and is laid out with much taste and regu- larity ; the spacious streets are lined with neat houses, and the public buildings are handsome structures. There are five churches, a state-house, court-house, governor's house, &c. The inhabitants are about 3000. Lawrenceburg, on the Ohio, just below the mouth of the Whitewater, carries on an extensive trade, but its site is so low that it is subject to inundation during very high stages of the water. Madison is a flourishing town, pleasantly situated, 60 miles below Lawrenceburg, with 6000 inhabitants. Vevay is a little village, settled by a Swiss colony. Jeffersonville, opposite Louisville, is a thriving town ; it contains the state prison. New 14 "i 158 NORTH AMERICA. Albany, below the falls of the Ohio, is the largest town in the state, and contains about 5000 inhabitants. New Harmony, on the Wabash, was founded by the German sect called Harmonites, under the direction of Mr. Rapp ; in 1824, it was bought by Mr. Owen of Lanark, who attempted to put in operation here his new social system ; the scheme failed, and his followers were dispersed, but the village is now a flour- ishing place in other hands. Vincennes, higher up the river, is an old French settlement, formed in the beginning of the last century. Population about 2000. Terre Haute, Lafayette, and Logansport, are young but growing centres of trade. Population about 2000 each. Rich- mond, on the National road, near the Ohio state line, is also a prosperous little town. Michigan city, founded on the lake of that name in 1833, now contains upwards of 2000 inhabitants, and carries on a considerable trade. STATE OF ILLINOIS. This fertile and improving state is bounded north by Wiscon- sin Territory, east by Michigan and Indiana, south by Kentucky, and west by the state of Missouri and Iowa Territory. Its medium length is about 350 miles, and medium breadth about 170 ; the area being near 55,000 square miles. The Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash, form about two-thirds of the whole boundary of this state. The other most consider- able rivers are the Illinois, Kaskaskia, Muddy, Saline, Little Wabash, Spoon, Rock, Sangamon, Embarras, Fox, Des Plaines, &c. The southern and middle parts of the state are for the most part level. The north-western section is a hilly, broken country, though there are no high mountains. The climate resembles that of Indiana and Ohio. The soil is generally very fertile, and yields abundant harvests. Indian-corn is the staple production of the state. Wheat is also raised in large quantities ; and rye, hemp, tobacco, and some cotton, with the castor-oil bean, are also among the pro- ducts of Illinois. Large herds of cattle are kept with little trou- ble, and great numbers are driven out of the state, or sent down the river in flat-boats. Thousands of hogs are raised with little attention or expense, and pork is largely exported. Coal, salt, and lime, iron, lead, and copper, are among the known mineral productions of Illinois. Coal is very abundant in many quarters, and is considerably worked. Lead is found ILLINOIS. 159 in the north-western corner of the state in exhaustless quantities : the lead-diggings extend from the Wisconsin to Rock river. The Indians and French had been long accustomed to procure the ore, but it was not until 1822 that the process of separating the metal was begun to be carried on here. Since that time, lead to the amount of probably 85,000,000 pounds has been made. The business for several years was overdone, but is now reviving. In 1838, the quantity of lead smelted was above 10,000,000 pounds. This statement includes the produce of Wisconsin Territory as well as of Illinois. Some salt is made near Shaw- neetown ; near Danville, on the Little Vermillion ; and near Brownville, on Muddy creek. The springs are owned by the state, and leased to the manufacturers. The same provision has been made by congress for the sup- port of public schools in this as in the other new states, by the appropriation of certain proportions of the public land to this purpose. But the scattered state of the population has as yet prevented a general system of public education from being car- ried into operation. There are four colleges and several respect- able academies in the state. The Methodists and Baptists are the most numerous religious sects, and there are many Presby- terians, Roman Catholics, &c. An important public work has been commenced in this state, which will effect the junction of the Mississippi and Lake Michi- gan : the Illinois and Chicago canal, extending from Chicago on the lake to a point below the rapids of the Illinois, a distance of about 100 miles, is in progress. Five extensive rail-roads to cross the state in various directions, and amounting altogether to upwards of 1100 miles, have been undertaken: these are to be executed by the state ; and appropriations have been made to carry them on. Several smaller rail-roads, projected by indi- vidual enterprise, are in progress. The population of Illinois has increased with the same amaz- ing rapidity as that of the neighbouring states. The constitution provides that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall hereafter be introduced into the state, otherwise than for the pun- ishment of crimes ; and as negroes coming into the state are required to give bonds with security, that they will not become chargeable as paupers, there are few blacks. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. In 1810 12,282 increase. 1820 55,211 From 1810 to 1820 42,929 1830 157,455 1820 to 1830 102,244 1840 474,807 1830 to 1840 317,352 Of the above population of 1840, there were, white males, 160 NORTH AMERICA. 255,235; white females, 217,019; deaf and dumb, 179; blind, 96. Total, whites, 472,254. Free coloured persons, 2,553 ; slaves, 331. The most thriving town in Illinois, and the principal depot of the state, is Chicago, on Lake Michigan. The canal now in progress from this place to the Illinois river, when completed will bring a vast increase of trade to this city. An artificial harbour has been made by the construction of piers, which, extending some distance into the lake, prevent the accumulation of sand on the bar. Chicago has become within a kw years the centre of a large and growing trade : numerous steam-boats, ships, brigs, and other vessels, are constantly arriving with goods, emigrants, &c, and departing with the produce of the country. Population, from 6000 to 8000. Vandalia, the late capital of the state, is a small town, with a population of about 500 inhabitants, on the west bank of the Kas- kaskia river, about 80 miles north-east of St. Louis. The most commercial place in this state on the Mississippi river is Alton, situated two miles and a half above the mouth of the Missouri, and 18 below that of the Illinois. It is the western depot for the produce of Illinois. Possessing a fine, commodious harbour, with an excellent landing for steam-boats, Alton has become the centre of an active and daily growing trade. Popu- lation, from 3000 to 4000. Upper Alton, in the rear of Alton, and about three miles distant, is the seat of Shurtleff college and a theological seminary. Edwardsville is a neat and thriving village, to the north of Alton. Peoria is beautifully situated at the foot of the lake of that name, and on the Illinois river. It contains about 2000 inhabitants. Ottawa, above the rapids, and at the western termination of the Illinois and Michigan canal, is also a flourishing village, with deep water and a good landing. Cahokia and Kaskaskia are old French villages on the Ameri- can bottom, with not more than 500 to 600 inhabitants, most of whom are French. Springfield, near the centre of the state, on the border of a beautiful prairie, and surrounded by one of the most fertile tracts in the western country, has been chosen by the legislature to be the capital after the year 1839: a handsome state-house is here erected. Population, 3000. Jacksonville, further west, in the midst of a beautifully undu- lating and now cultivated prairie, is a busy, flourishing town, with about 3000 inhabitants. On the Mississippi, above the Illinois, Quincy and Stephenson, at the mouth of Rock river, are favourably situated : the former MISSOURI. 161 has greatly increased within the last two or three years. 1 Higher up, a few miles from the mouth of Fever river, is Galena, a pros- perous town in the lead district, with about 3000 inhabitants. Numerous steam-boats are constantly arriving at and departing from this place. STATE OF MISSOURI. This state is bounded north by Iowa Territory ; west by the Indian Territory ; east by the Mississippi river, which separates it from Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee ; and south by the state of Arkansas. Its length is about 280 miles, and medium breadth 230, the area being near 64,000 square miles. Besides the great rivers Mississippi and Missouri, which bound it on the east and west, this state is watered by various others of considerable magnitude. The largest are the Osage, Grand, Salt, Chariton, Gasconade, Maramec, Big Black, and St. Francis. Much of the surface lying south of the Missouri river, and eastward of the western frontier, is a high prairie, intersected by numerous rivers, and well adapted to support a large agricultural population. Between the Osage and Missouri, and north of the latter, the country is undulating and agreeably diversified ; while in the south-east, between the Big Black river and the Mississippi, the whole tract, with the exception of a narrow strip on the bor- der of the latter, is a low, inundated morass, forming a portion of the great swamp, of which the principal part is in the state of Arkansas. The lands bordering on the Missouri and some of the other rivers, are exceedingly rich. A portion of the state is, however, unfit for cultivation ; but this part of it is rich in mineral trea- sures. The land is either very fertile or very poor ; it is either bottom land or cliff, either prairie or barren : there is very little of an intermediate quality. The climate is remarkably serene and temperate, and very favourable to health. Missouri is admirably adapted for a grazing country, and vast herds of cattle, horses, and swine are raised: beef, pork, tallow, hides, and live stock, constitute important articles of export. In 1838 the value of horses and mules sent to the cotton-growing states, was 150,000 dollars. Cotton is raised in the southern part of the state, but not in considerable quantities ; tobacco is more extensively grown, and hemp, wheat, Indian-corn, and the other grains, are cultivated with success. Indian-corn, flour, lead, furs, buffalo-skins and tongues, and lumber, constitute, with the articles before mentioned, the exports of Missouri. 14* a isi 162 NORTH AMERICA. The most remarkable feature in Missouri is its lead-mines, which are estimated to cover an area of about 3000 square miles. The centre of the lead-mine district is about 70 miles south-west from St. Louis, and the principal diggings are included in an extent cf 30 miles in one direction by 15 in another. The lead- ore is found in detached masses, and not in veins. The business of mining is, consequently, very uncertain. About 7,000,000 pounds of lead are annually made. In this region are likewise found copper, zinc, manganese, antimony, calamine, cobalt, &c. These lead-mines were wrought by the French 100 years ago. Numerous shot-factories are established along the high, rocky bluffs of the Mississippi, which renders the erection of towers unnecessary. Iron is found in inexhaustible quantities. The Pilot Knob, 600 feet high, and the Iron Mountain, 350 feet high, are immense masses of almost pure iron, and surpass every thing of the kind found in any other part of the world. Coal also abounds, particularly along the Missouri, and aluminous and nitrous earth, marble, salt-springs, sulphuretted and thermal waters, &c, occur. There are six colleges in the state. In 1839 the legislature made liberal provision for the establishment of common schools. The Baptists and Methodists are the most numerous sects ; the Presbyterians and Roman Catholics are also pretty numerous, and there are some Episcopalians. POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. TOTAL. SLAVES. 1810 (including Arkansas) 20,845 3,011 1820 66,586 10,222 1830 140,455 25,091 1836 244,208 40,540 1840 383,702 58,240 Of the foregoing population of 1840, there were, white males, 173,470; white females, 150,418 ; deaf and dumb, 153; blind, 124. Total, whites, 323,888. Free coloured persons, 1574; slaves, 58,240. St. Louis is the commercial capital of Missouri, and the largest town west of the Mississippi. It is built on two banks : the first, not much raised above the level of the river, contains two narrow streets running parallel with its course ; and the second or higher bank, which spreads out into a wide plain in the rear, comprises the rest of the city. The upper part is well laid out with spacious and regular streets. St. Louis was founded in 1764, but it con- tinued "to be an inconsiderable village while the country remained in the hands of the Spanish and French. It is the emporium of the Upper Missouri and Mississippi, and is increasing rapidly in importance. The population is now chiefly composed of Ameri- cans, but there are many French, with some Germans and ARKANSAS. 163 Spaniards. There are eight Protestant churches and a Roman Catholic cathedral. In the vicinity are an United States' arsenal and Jefferson barracks, extensive stone buildings with accommo- dations for 600 or 700 men. In 1830 it contained 5852 inhabit- ants, and in 1840, 24,585. St. Charles, 20 miles above the mouth of the Missouri, and the same distance north-west from St. Louis, is a pleasant village, containing 2000 inhabitants, of whom about one-third are of French descent ; it consists of one long street, on which are many handsome buildings. St. Charles was for a number of years the capital of the state. Jefferson city, on the south side of the Missouri river, and near the centre of the state, is the capital of Missouri ; it contains the state-house and a penitentiary : its site is not a fortunate selection, and it has not in consequence prospered. Higher up the stream are the villages of Franklin, Boonville, Keytesville, Lexington, and Liberty. Herculaneum, 30 miles below St. Louis, is a small town, which contains numerous shot-works, and serves as one of the ports of the lead district. St. Genevieve is another old French village, built on a high alluvial bank which the river is now washing away. Cape Girardeau, situated on a high bluff in the midst of a rich district, is the depot of the southern part of the state. New Madrid is an inconsiderable village, on a high alluvial bank, which, like that of St. Genevieve, has been mostly carried away by the river. The village also suffered from the earthquake of 1811. STATE OF ARKANSAS. Arkansas is bounded on the north by Missouri ; east by the Mississippi river, which separates it from Tennessee and the state of Mississippi ; south by Louisiana, and west by the Indian terri- tory and the northern part of Texas. Its length, from north to south, is 245 miles, and mean breadth about 212 ; its area is 55,000 square miles. The principal river is the Arkansas, which flows down from the Rocky mountains. Its course is nearly through the centre of the state from west to east ; and it affords at all times steam- boat navigation to Little Rock, 300 miles from the Mississippi, and occasionally to Fort Gibson, nearly 350 miles higher up ; the other important streams are the Red river, (which flows through the south-west angle of the state,) St. Francis, White, and Washita rivers. 164 NORTH AMERICA. Arkansas has considerable advantages for commerce ; nearly every part of it has a direct and easy communication with New Orleans, the great emporium of trade for the whole Mississippi valley. The surface of the country exhibits much variety. In the eastern portion, along the Mississippi river, it is level, and often overflown by that noble river and its large confluents, which have their course through this territory. In the central part it is undu- lating and broken, and in the western section it is traversed by the Ozark mountains, which are estimated to attain an altitude of from 1500 to 2000 feet above the ocean. The soil is of all qualities, from the most productive to the most sterile: much of it is of the latter description. It has, how- ever, a sufficient amount of excellent land to enable it to become a rich and populous state. Of the products of Arkansas, cotton is the staple ; corn and sweet potatoes thrive well ; wheat, and other small grains, have not been cultivated to a great extent ; peaches are remarkably fine ; apples do not succeed, except on the elevated parts of the state, at a distance from the Mississippi. The wild fruits, grapes, plums, &c, are abundant. The hot or warm springs are among the most interesting curiosities of the country ; they exist in great numbers. One of them emits a vast quantity of water : they are remarkably limpid and pure, and are used by the people who resort there for health, for culinary purposes. During the spring floods of the Washita, a steam-boat can approach within 30 miles of them. Arkansas formed a part of Louisiana, and afterwards of Mis- souri Territory, until 1819, when it received a separate territorial government, and in 1836 it became an independent state. The legislature, styled the General Assembly, consists of a senate chosen for the term of four years, and a house of representatives elected biennially ; the general assembly meets every two years. The governor holds office for the term of four years. The superior judges are appointed by the general assembly, those of the supreme court holding office for eight, and those of the circuit courts for four years. Every white male citizen of the age of 21 years, who has resided within the state during the six months preceding the elec- tion, has the right of suffrage. Votes are given viva voce. In the prosecution of slaves for ci'imes, it is provided that they shall have an impartial jury, and slaves convicted of a capital offence shall suffer the same degree of punishment as free whites, and no other. WISCONSIN. 165 POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. TOTAL. SLAVES. In 1800 1,052 1820 14,273 1,617 1830 30,388 4,. r >76 1840 97,574 19,935 This state being as yet but thinly settled, the towns are few in number, and of limited population. The capital, Little Rock, is situated on the Arkansas river, about 300 miles from the Missis- sippi. The site is on a high rocky bluff on the right bank of the river ; some of the other settlements are, on the Arkansas, Lewisburg, Scotia, Ozark, and Van Buren ; Fayetteville, in the north-west corner of the state ; Batesville, on White river ; Greenock, Helena, and Columbia, on the Mississippi ; Washing- ton, in the south-west part of the state near to, and Fulton on, Red river : these are the most important, but they are all as yet mere villages. WISCONSIN TERRITORY. This territory was erected into a separate government in 1836, and for two years afterwards included Iowa within its limits. It stretches from the Mississippi river on the west to Lake Michigan on the east, and from the northern boundary of the Union to the states of Missouri and Illinois on the south ; it is in length near 600 miles, and from 100 to 200 miles in breadth; containing probably an area of 100,000 square miles. Population, 30,749. A large portion of this territory is but imperfectly known, and is for the most part still in the occupancy of the Indians. It is settled by a white population only along a part of its southern and eastern border : its great mineral resources, fertile soil, and fine climate, are, however, attracting such numerous emigrants, that it is probable a few years only will elapse before those portions of the territory most suitable for settlement will number many towns and villages, and be covered with a dense population. The principal rivers are the Mississippi and its tributaries, the St. Croix, Chippeway, Wisconsin, Rock river, &c. ; the St. Louis, Montreal, and other streams, flowing into Lake Superior ; the Mennomonie and Fox rivers of Green Bay, and others. In some parts of the territory the soil is very fertile, and produces large crops of the various grains common to this section of the Union. In the vicinity of Lake Michigan the water-courses, ponds, Q.* 185 166 NORTH AMERICA. and marshes, are covered with wild rice, which constitutes a considerable part of the food of the Indians. Wisconsin is rich in minerals : lead is found in great abun- dance, and also copper and iron. The lead region comprises a portion of the richest lead deposits in the world : it extends on the east side of the Mississippi from the Wisconsin to the Rock river, and on the west it connects with the lead region of Iowa. Lead mining is carried on extensively, and that of copper is about to be commenced. Fort Winnebago, a United States' garrison, stands at the port- age between the Wisconsin and Fox rivers ; the waters of the two streams here approach so close to each other, and are so nearly on a level, that boats, in wet seasons, have been floated from one to the other. A canal is in progress of construction for the purpose of connecting these rivers. Steam-boats have ascended the Wisconsin to the portage. The route in this direc- tion between the lakes and the Mississippi river, will no doubt attain great commercial importance. In the vicinity of Green Bay are the thriving villages of Green Bay, Navarino, and De Pierre. The former has a fine harbour, and is already a place of considerable business : it contains a bank, a land-office, a number of stores, and several hotels. The principal settlements on the Mississippi, are Prairie du Chien, Cassville, &c. ; the former is about five miles above the mouth of the Wisconsin river : it is situated on a beautiful prairie, and has been long inhabited, mostly by French traders and their descendants, half-breeds, &c. Cassville, some distance south of the Wisconsin river, is a small town, and but lately settled, as are also Belmont, Mineral Point, and Dodgeville : these are at various distances east of the Mississippi, and between it and Lake Michigan : they are situated in the midst of a rich mining district, and will gradually improve as the country around them fills up with population. Madison city, the capital of Wisconsin territory, was laid out a short time ago : it contains already some public buildings, two hotels, and 40 or 50 dwellings. Milwaukie, on the west side of Lake Michigan, is the most important town in the territory ; it contains 3000 inhabitants, several churches, hotels, a bank, and a number of stores : it is a place of considerable trade, and has the best harbour on the west side of the lake between Chicago and Green Bay. A rail-road is about to be constructed from this place, westward through the city of the Four Lakes, Dodgeville, Mineral Point,and Belmont, to the Mississippi river. A canal to Rock River has been lately commenced from this city. The aborigines in Wisconsin are the Chippeways, Mennomo- IOWA. 167 nies, and Stockbridge Indians : the latter, from New York, are settled in the vicinity of Green Bay. Among these tribes, the American Board of Foreign Missions has a number of missiona- ries in different parts of the territory. IOWA TERRITORY. Iowa is a recently formed territory : it comprises the country lying between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers on the one hand, and the state of Missouri and British America on the other ; its greatest length is not less than 800 miles, varying in breadth from 250 to 400, with an area of at least 200,000 square miles. Like the adjoining territory of Wisconsin, but a small part has been explored by white men, and much of it is still inhabited by the Indians. From the Des Moines to a short distance above the Wisconsin river, it has been laid off in counties, and is more or less settled. This region constitutes the south-eastern section of the territory, and is a beautiful, fertile, healthful country, interspersed with timber land and prairie, and abounding in springs and mill- streams. The principal rivers of Iowa ? besides the Mississippi and Mis- souri, which bound it on the east and west, are the St. Peter's, Upper Iowa, Turkey, Iowa, and Des Moines : these all flow into the Mississippi ; the James, Sioux, and Little Sioux, are the chief tributaries of the Missouri in this region. The Red river of the north, whose head branches interlock with the St. Peter's, flows into the British Territory, and empties into Lake Winni- peg : a short portage of a mile in length, between the waters of this stream and the St. Peter's, is the only impediment to a con- tinuous navigation from Hudson's Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. The products of the soil are the same as those of the neigh- bouring states : wheat, corn, rye, oats, and potatoes, all grow with great luxuriance, and are of excellent quality. The mine- ral region of Iowa appears to be connected with that of Wiscon- sin, and is equally rich in metal. The limits of the country containing the leadore are unknown, but it probably extends for hundreds of miles towards, and into the state of Missouri ; besides lead, copper, iron, and coal are known to abound. Few portions of the United States have excited so much atten- tion as Iowa ; it is settling more rapidly than any other part of the western country with enterprising and industrious inhabitants, and will in a very few years have a sufficient population to enti- tle it to rank as a state. A number of towns have been laid 168 NORTH AMERICA. out ; they are all yet small : a few of those, however, situated on the Mississippi, are increasing very fast. Burlington is the capital of the territory, but Dubuque is the largest town. The latter contains a land-office, three churches, a lyceum, a bank, four hotels, a printing-office, and a number of stores : the inhabitants are probably about 3000 in number. This place is in the centre of the mining district of Iowa, and the finest lead-mines in the Unnited States are those worked in its vicinity. Peru, Davenport, Bloomington, Fort Madison, and Montrose, are the other principal towns. The site of Iowa city, on the river of the same name, intended for the capital of the territory, has been lately surveyed. Iowa was erected into a separate territorial government by act of congress in June 1838; the commencement of the govern- ment dated from the 4th of the succeeding July. According to a census taken in 1838, the population was upwards of 22,000 ; in 1840, it amounted to 42,924. The principal Indian tribes in this territory are the Sioux, Winnebagoes, Sacs, Foxes, and Assi- niboins, with a few Chippeways, Ottawas, and Pottawatomies, numbering perhaps altogether from 30,000 to 35,000 individuals. Fort Snelling, a few miles below the falls of St. Anthony, and situated on the point of land between the Mississippi and St. Peter's rivers, is the most remote military post in this quarter, occupied by the troops of the United States. The village of Pembina, the southernmost settlement of lord Selkirk's colony, falls within the limits of Iowa ; it is situated on the banks of the Red river of Lake Winnipeg. The inhabitants are mostly Scotch highlanders and Swiss. INDIAN TERRITORY. The Indian territory is the country assigned by the govern- ment of the United States for the future residence of the Indians, many of whom have emigrated from the south-eastern parts of the Union, and numbers are preparing to take up their residence in it. It is about 600 miles in extent from north to south in the eastern, and in the western part about 300 ; and from east to west, immediately beyond Arkansas, it is about 320 ; but, west- ward of the central and northern parts of Missouri, it is full 600 miles in breadth. It contains an area of about 240,000 square miles. A belt of about 200 miles of the most eastern part of this region, and adjoining the states of Arkansas and Missouri, is INDIAN TERRITORY. 169 favourable for settlement : the soil is affirmed to be generally very- fertile, and it is watered by numerous rivers, creeks, and rivu- lets, none of which, however, are suitable for navigation. The chief streams are the Red, Arkansas, Kanzas, and Platte rivers, with their numerous tributaries : they flow in an eastern direction from the Rocky Mountains towards the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, of which they are all branches. The country, in its general character, is high and undulating, rather level than hilly ; though some portions, particularly in the south-eastern parts, are entitled to the latter appellation, where it is traversed by several low ranges of the Ozark Mountains, here termed the Kiameche hills. The atmosphere is salubrious, and the climate remarkably pleasant ; resembling in those respects the country inhabited by the chief part of the Indians who have emigrated from the east of the Mississippi. Here are coal, some lead and iron ore, and many saline springs, suitable for manufacturing salt. The most serious defect is a want of timber, but it is one which time will remedy, as has been demonstrated by the rapid growth of timber in prai- rie countries which have been settled ; where the grazing of stock, by diminishing the quantity of grass, renders the annual fires less destructive to the growth of wood : the prairies are covered with grass, much of which is of suitable length for the scythe. This country will produce, it is believed, all the varieties of grain, vegetables, and agricultural products, which are raised in the states of the same latitude east of the Mississippi. It is also admirably adapted for the raising of domestic animals of every description. At the beginning of the present year, (1840,) the population of the Indian territory amounted to 95,000 Indians, 75,000 of whom have emigrated from the states east of the Mississippi river. The remainder appertain to tribes long resident in this region. There are also 25,000 Indians, of various tribes, now east of the Mississippi river, under treaty stipulations to remove west of that stream : many of them are making preparations for this purpose; and the whole, no doubt v will, in a few years, be per- manently settled in the territory assigned them. The Choctaws, Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Shawnees, are the most advanced towards civilization of any of the Indian tribes in this quarter. They have generally good houses, well- fenced and well-tilled fields, and own horses and cattle to a con- siderable extent : they have also native mechanics and merchants among them, of whom some of the Cherokees have from 5000 to 15,000 dollars capital ; and one of them owns a steam-boat, which 15 189 170 NORTH AMERICA. runs between their country and New Orleans. They likewise carry on spinning and weaving, and have some saw and grist- mills and cotton-gins. They have also adopted an improved system of government : the Choctaws and Creeks, in particular, have a written constitution; and the former have introduced the trial by jury. There are several United States' military posts within the lim- its of the Indian Territory ; these are all garrisoned, and have been erected chiefly with a view to prevent mutual encroach- ments on each other by the whites and Indians, and to preserve peace among the tribes themselves. Fort Towson is in the Choctaw country, about six miles north of Red river, and 50 miles west of the western boundary of the state of Arkansas : it was erected in the year 1831. Fort Gib- son, established in 1823, is on the east bank of the Neosho river, directly above where it empties into the Arkansas : it is in the Cherokee country, and is the head of steam-boat navigation in this quarter. The emigrant Indians generally come up the Ar- kansas river to this place. Fort Coffee, on the south bank of the Arkansas river, about 12 miles from the west boundary of the state of Arkansas, was established in 1825. Fort Leavenworth is on the west bank of the Missouri, about 25 miles above the mouth of the Kanzas river. It was established in 1827, and is the head quarters of the United States' dragoons. This fort is within the limits of the territory assigned to the Kickapoos. Several of the missionary societies of the United States have exerted themselves in a most praiseworthy and laudable manner in teaching many of the Indian tribes the principles of the Chris- tian religion, with reading, writing, and the arts of civilized life ; and to their efforts chiefly may be ascribed the important changes that have taken place in the habits and condition of most of the emigrant Indians. The American board of foreign missions has stations and missionaries among the Choctaws, Creeks, and Cherokees ; and the Baptists and Methodists have stations, &c. among the Choc- taws, Cherokees, Ottawas, and Shawnees. The Creeks, Peorias, and Kanzas, have each a Methodist, and the Ottawas have a Baptist mission within their bounds. At the Shawnee station, under the care of the Baptists, there is a print- ing-press, from which have been issued school-books, and collec- tions of sacred poetry, in several Indian languages ; a monthly journal is also printed here in the Shawnee language, and the valuable Annual Register of Mr. M'Coy is likewise from this press. 190 WESTERN STATES. Grizzly Bear. Buffalo, or Bison. Rocky Mountain Sheep. Rocky Mountain Goat. American Elk. NORTH AMERICA. Great Californian Vulture. — Found in California and the Oregon Territory. Wild Turkey. Indians Hunting the Buffalo. White Traders bartering their goods with the Indians for Furs. MISSOURI. 171 The Pawnees, Osages, Omahas, Kanzas, and Otoes, are the principal indigenous tribes in this region : these retain their ori- ginal savage habits of life, with little or no change. They hunt the buffalo, and the squaws raise Indian-corn, beans, and pump- kins. In the desert regions farther west, are the roving bands of the Comanches, Kioways, and Pawnee Picts. They are skil- ful horsemen. Their arms are chiefly the bow and arrow, lance, war-club, and buckler ; and their habitations are moveable skin lodges, or tents. The great caravan road between Missouri and New Mexico crosses this region. MISSOURI TERRITORY. This territory is a vast wilderness, thinly inhabited only by different tribes of Indians, many of whom appear to have no fixed residence, but follow the migrations of the game from place to place. Missouri territory extends from north to south about 520 miles, and from east to west 600 miles ; and contains an area of probably 280,000 square miles : it is bounded on the north by the British possessions, south by the Indian territory, east by Iowa, and west by the territory of Oregon. The greater part of this region has been but partially explored, and is imperfectly known. It appears to consist of vast prairies, fringed along the lower courses of the rivers with patches of wood land. Countless droves of buffalo, elk, deer, and wild horses, range and graze upon these extensive prairies : the latter being caught and subdued by the Indians, afford them the means of transporting themselves and families from place to place ; while the buffalo and other animals furnish them with the chief part of their food and clothing. To the west of these plains, the Rocky Mountains rise up in an abrupt manner, presenting a steep front with numerous frown- ing rocky precipices, and having many summits covered with perpetual snow. The Missouri is the principal stream ; which, with its tributa- ries, drains the whole of this region. The Yellow-Stone is the largest of its upper tributaries, and is by some even considered the main stream : it rises among the Rocky Mountains, in the south-west part of this section, and flowing generally a north-east course, empties into the Missouri, 3000 miles from the ocean. The Great Falls of the Missouri present a spectacle of uncom- mon grandeur. They consist of a succession of cataracts, the whole descent of which is 350 {bet. The place where the Mis- it 193 172 NORTH AMERICA. souri passes from the mountains, called the Gates of the Rocky Mountains, displays a stupendous work of nature. The river is compressed to the width of only 450 feet, between perpendicular rocks 1200 feet in height. The principal aboriginal races are the Pawnees, the various tribes of Sioux, Riccarees, Blackfeet Indians, &c. : most of them appear to be nomadic in their habits, and, being in possession of an ample store of horses, roam from place to place in quest of buffalo and other game. For several years past, the small-pox has fearfully desolated this region: some of the most powerful of the native tribes have lost, by its ravages, thousands of their population, and have be- come almost extinct. The Mandan nation were in a short time reduced from 1600 to 31 individuals : these have incorporated themselves with the Riccarees, and their race has ceased to exist as a distinct tribe. OREGON TERRITORY. The country extending westward from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and lying between 42° and 54° 40' of north latitude, is generally known by the name of the Oregon Terri- tory, and is claimed both by the United States and Great Britain. On the north and the east, as far south as the 49°, it is bounded by the southern part of the British possessions, and southward of the 49° by the Missouri Territory ; south by the Republic of Mexico ; and west by the Pacific Ocean : it is in length about 880 miles, with an average breadth of 550 : area, about 450,000 square miles. The surface of the country, so far as it is known, is broken and mountainous : it is traversed on its eastern boundary by the vast ridges of the Rocky Mountains, many of the elevated peaks of which rise above the limits of perpetual snow. Westward of the mountains the country descends by regular slopes, in form of immense terraces or descending plains, disposed regularly one below the other. At the distance of from 120 to 160 miles from the Pacific, and nearly parallel with the coast, a range of moun- tains extends, which has as yet received no general designation : the highest peaks have been named Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helen's, Mount Regnier, &c. The only rivers explored in this territory are the Columbia or Oregon, and its branches. This noble stream has its head waters near those of the Missouri, and collects its tribute for a wide extent along the western ridges of the Rocky Mountains : 194 OREGON. 173 its principal tributaries are Lewis', Clark's or Flat Head, M'Gil- livray's, and Okinagan rivers. The Columbia and its branches abound in the finest salmon, which seem, with sturgeon, to con- stitute the chief articles of food of the natives west of the moun- tains. Seals and other aquatic animals are taken in great numbers, and the skins shipped to China ; thus constituting one of the chief articles of trade from this part of the world. The country bordering on the Columbia and its branches, is represented as having a good soil, and is covered with heavy timber, consisting chiefly of various species of fir ; many of the trees being of enormous height. To this region the United States have acquired a title by the Louisiana treaty, by the discovery of the principal river, and by interior exploration. It is, however, contested by Great Britain, who claims, not that the title is in her, but that the region is un- appropriated, and open to the first comer. By a convention con- cluded in 1828, it was agreed between the United States and Great Britain that neither government should take possession of it, or occupy it, to the exclusion of the other, during the period of the convention, which either party might renounce upon giving twelve months' notice. This territory has been so named in the congressional discus- sions that have taken place in reference to the country. It was first discovered by the Spaniards, who, however, did not pene- trate into the interior. In 1791, Captain Gray, of the ship Co- lumbia, of Boston, entered the great river of this region, and from him it received the name of his ship. In 1805, Messrs. Lewis and Clark were sent out by the United States' government, for the express purpose of exploring this country : they navigated the Missouri to its source, and crossing the Rocky Mountains, descended the Columbia River to the Pa- cific Ocean, and spent the winter on its shores : they returned by the same river to the mountains, and most of the exact in- formation that we have of the country is from them. The question of settling Oregon Territory permanently, has been more than once debated in Congress : were such settlement authorized, and rendered secure by the requisite military estab- lishments, there can be no doubt that it would receive large accessions of settlers. It may be considered as at present actu- ally in possession of Great Britain. The traders of the Hudson's Bay Company have established forts at various points, and exer- cise an almost unlimited control over the natives. Forts Van- couver, Wallah Wallah, and Colville are the chief trading sta- tions. Fort George is on the site of Astoria, a station settled 15* '95 174 NORTH AMERICA. many years ago by traders in the employ of John Jacob Astor, Esq., of New York. At Fort Vancouver there is a village containing 50 houses, with 800 inhabitants. These comprise the labourers and ser- vants attached to the forts, with their Indian wives and slaves. From this place a direct trade is carried on with the Sandwich Islands and Great Britain, which employs several vessels besides a steam-boat. There are two small white settlements on the Willamette, a branch of the Columbia river, where the Method- ists have a missionary station, and the American Board of Foreign Missions has recently established two stations, and employs nine missionaries and teachers on this side of the mountains. Many portions of this territory are well adapted for agricul- tural purposes. At some of the trading establishments belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, farming has been commenced on a small scale, and found to succeed well. At Forts Vancouver and Colville, wheat, barley and potatoes of excellent quality are raised, and apples, pears, peaches, and all the usual kinds of garden vegetables, grow in abundance ; and at the settlements on the Willamette, farming is carried on successfully. The inhabitants of this territory are reckoned to amount to about 80,000, and consist of a number of small Indian tribes, with the white traders and hunters attached to the Hudson's Bay Company, and the few missionaries and settlers on the Wil- lamette. The chief tribes are the Flat Heads, Flat Bows, Pointed Hearts, Pierced Noses, and also the Shoshonees or Snake Indians, who are the most numerous and powerful in this region, being estimated at about 15,000 in number. The first emigration from the Atlantic states for the purpose of occupying any part of Oregon territory, was made in 1832. Since that period, the number of American citizens residing be- yond the Rocky Mountains has considerably increased ; and measures are now in progress for conveying settlers and supplies thither, in ships to be dispatched at stated periods from our prin- cipal sea-ports. To render these regions easily accessible to emigrants, by an overland journey, will be, however, the most effectual mode of increasing the number of the white inhabitants ; and the establish- ment of a few military posts, along the best routes leading west- ward from the state of Missouri, would greatly facilitate this object, and enable the settlements on the Columbia river and its branches, to acquire, probably in a short time, that degree of extent and stability, which will render nugatory all claims, on the part of other nations, to the possession of these extensive territories. TEXAS. 175 REPUBLIC OF TEXAS. The Republic of Texas, which was, until lately, an integral portion of Mexico, formed, in conjunction with Coahuila, one of the States of that confederacy. To the people of the United States this infant republic is peculiarly interesting, from the cir- cumstances attending its struggle with the parent State, the gal- lantry displayed by its citizens in the field, its immediate conti- guity to the south-western parts of our territory, and also on account of Anglo-Americans forming the bulk of its rapidly increasing population. Previous to 1821, the only places occupied by whites were the Spanish posts of San Antonio de Bexar, Bahia, or Goliad, and Nacogdoches, comprising in all about 3000 inhabitants. In con- sequence of the encouragement held out to settlers by the Mexi- can government, there was a great influx of emigrants into the territory from the United States, many of whom carried with them their slaves. In 1832, the people of Texas formed for themselves a separate State constitution, and endeavoured to obtain from the Mexican Congress a sanction of their proceed- ings, and an admission into the confederacy as an independent State. Meanwhile, however, the mutual discontents and suspi- cions of the colonists and government were increased to such a degree, that resort was had to arms. Texas was invaded by a large Mexican force, headed by Santa Anna, the President, in person. At first the overwhelming nu- merical superiority of the invaders gave them some advantages, and induced them to exhibit a remarkable ferocity towards their prisoners, several hundreds of whom were massacred in cold blood. But this state of things was soon reversed ; and at the battle of San Jacinto the Mexican army was utterly and irrecoverably routed, leaving their President a prisoner in the hands of the Texans. In March, 1836, the people of Texas, by a Convention held at Washington on the Brazos, declared themselves free and inde- pendent, and have since that time formed a constitution and go- vernment, modelled on that of the United States, and elected a chief magistrate, together with all the requisite officials and appointments of a sovereign and independent power. A soil of great fertility, and a geographical position highly favourable to commercial intercourse with the United States and the rest of the world, are advantages which doubtless will, at no distant period, render Texas opulent and powerful. The face of the country is generally level, and a great portion of it consists R* 197 176 NORTH AMERICA. of vast prairies, the soil of which is a deep black mould, mixed with sand : the bottom lands on many of the rivers, are of a rich red texture, of great depth, and well timbered. Most of the productions of tropical climates grow here in great perfection, and the cotton is equal to the finest produced in the United States : the other products are sugar, tobacco, rice, indigo, wheat, use. This region is one of the finest stock coun- tries in the world : cattle are raised in great abundance, and with but little trouble. Texas is enclosed by the Nueces, the Sabine, the Red River, and the great eastern ridge of the Rocky Mountains. Within the limits above described, it has an area of about 160,000 square miles, consisting chiefly of a level or slightly undulating surface. The country along the coast is low, but free from swamps, and composed of good arable prairie, interspersed with well-wooded river bottoms and fine pasture lands. Until the late emigrations from the United States, this section was filled with immense droves of mustangs, or wild horses, and wild cattle ; but their numbers are now considerably lessened. In the south-west, the country is elevated, being traversed by a range of mountains, extending northward from the head waters of the Nueces, and westward of the sources of the Brazos, Colorado, &c. To the west and north are vast prairies, in which immense herds of buffalo supply the mounted Comanches with abundance of game. In the north-east, the country is undulating and better wooded. The rivers are numerous, but the majority of them are not, in their present state, of much importance for navigation, being in the dry season extremely low, and during the floods a good deal impeded with floating timber. The Sabine, Neches, and Trinidad rivers are all navigable to a certain extent during a part of the year. The river Brazos is considered the best navigable stream in Texas : vessels drawing six feet of water can navigate it to Brazoria ; and steam-boats of light draught, to San Felipe de Austin, 90 miles higher. At its mouth the river Brazos is 200 yards wide, and continues about the same to San Felipe. The Colorado river is not much inferior to the Brazos, but its naviga- tion is at present impeded by a raft of drift-wood about ten miles from its mouth. The climate of Texas is mild and agreeable, and, as the country is free from swamps, and the wooded tracts are quite open and destitute of underwood, is more healthful than the cor- responding sections of the United States. The seasons are two ; the dry, from April to September, and the wet, which prevails during the rest of the year : the cold is pretty severe for a short time in December and January. MEXICO. 177 The towns are mostly small ; the principal of them are San Augustine and Nacogdoches, in the eastern part of the republic, and both situated on streams flowing into the Neches ; San Fe- lipe de Austin, Columbia, Brazoria, and Velasco, on the Brazos river ; Matagorda, on and near the mouth of the Colorado ; together with San Antonio de Bexar, and Goliad, on the San Antonio. The city of Houston was recently the seat of govern- ment. Austin, situated a considerable distance up the Colorado, has been lately chosen as the future capital of Texas. The city of Galveston was not long since founded on the island of that name, with the expectation of its becoming an important commercial mart ; but the site is low, and liable to overflow by high tides when the sea is driven in by storms. The commerce of this youthful state is already sufficient to employ to advantage a number of regular trading-vessels be- tween her principal sea-ports and New Orleans, New York, and other important marts in the United States ; and an intercourse has been commenced with the chief commercial nations of Europe. The population of Texas is estimated at from 200,000 to 300,000, of whom at least two-thirds are Americans from the United States ; the remainder are negro slaves, Mexicans, and Indians of various tribes. The army is about 2500 in number ; ardent, filled with enthusiasm for the cause of Texas, and highly efficient as a military body. The main pecuniary dependence of this state is upon the great body of her rich and fertile lands, for the survey and sale of which, by a method similar to that of the United States, measures have been adopted. MEXICO. Mexico is an extensive territory, situated chiefly in the southern part of North America. It is washed on the east by the Gulf of Mexico, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Originally a native empire, afterwards the principal of the Span- ish viceroyalties, it is now a great independent republic. Its length may be stated at about 2500 miles ; the breadth varies from 130 to 1200 miles, and its whole surface contains an area of about 1,500,000 square miles. Much of the surface of Mexico is elevated, composing part of that vast ridge which runs along the whole continent of America, parallel to the Pacific Ocean, and which in the south is called the Andes, and in the north the Rocky Mountains. In 178 NORTH AMERICA. the middle part the chain presents a broad table-land, from 6000 to 8000 feet in height. On this elevated plain, detached moun- tains occur, of which the summits rise into the regions of per- petual snow, on a level almost with the mightiest of the Andes. Such are the volcanic peaks of Orizava, Popocatepetl, and Toluca. The rivers of Mexico are not very numerous, nor, in general, of considerable magnitude. The principal is the Rio del Norte, which, rising in the northern part of the country, flows, by a south-easterly course of about 1800 miles, into the Gulf of Mexico. The Sacramento and Buenaventura are rivers of Upper California, of which, however, our knowledge is extremely slight. The Colorado of the West is a large river, but its course is through countries thinly peopled and little known. It falls into the Gulf of California, after receiving the Gila, a considerable stream. The lakes of this country are numerous, but none of them appear to be of great extent. The valley of Mexico contains five small lakes, on which, floating gardens, made by a sort of raft covered with a layer of rich earth, were once numerous ; but they are now mostly fixed, though some are still moveable. The only well-known lake, on a considerable scale, is that of Chapala, which is estimated to contain an area of about 1300 square miles. The Tide lakes in Upper California, and some others, near the northern boundary of Mexico, are said to be considerable bodies of water, as yet they are but little known. As an agricultural country, Mexico has been celebrated for the vast variety of productions which can be raised in its soil, according to the different degrees of elevation at which cultiva- tion is carried on. It is divided into warm lands, temperate lands, and cold lands. The warm or low lands of the coast, though capable of yielding in profusion all the productions of the torrid zone, are subject to so deadly a pestilence, that even the natives prefer to inhabit a" poorer soil on the higher grounds ; and Europeans, except the few fixed by commercial pursuits, pass through it in trembling haste, as if death pursued them. The cold or high lands, again, are nearly devoid of vegetation, ex- hibiting on a few scattered spots the plants of the north. It is only on the " temperate lands" that the real and effective vege- tation exists ; and there the finest plants of the most genial tem- perate climates are produced in higher perfection than in most other parts of the known world. The wheat of Mexico excels that of most other countries, both in quality and abundance, provided that by nature or art it has been supplied during growth with sufficient moisture. Indian- MEXICO. Volcano of Popocatepetl. Popocatepetl, or the Mountain of Smoke, is 17,735 feet in height. It is the most elevated of the Mexican Cordilleras, and is covered on the summit with perpetual snow. This Volcano is situated sixty miles south-east of the city of Mexico. Volcano of Orizava. Orizava, or the Star Mountain, is elevated 17,388 feet above the level of the sea. It is situated about seventy miles west of Vera Cruz. Volcano of Jorullo. The Volcano of Jorullo, 1700 feet high, was raised suddenly on the night of the 28th Septem- ber, 1759, by internal force. It is surrounded by five other hills, and numerous small ones, al! of which constantly emit smoke. This volcano is situated 170 miles nearly west of the city of Mexico. 201 MEXICO. Cascade of Regla. Mahogany. The well-known Mahogany grows in Honduras, the eastern part of Mexico. This tree ac- quires a large size, being sometimes more than five feet in diameter; and a single tree has been known to produce timber to the value of 5000 dollars. Maguey Plant. Hand Plant. The American Aloe, or Agave, or Maguey plant, 13 extensively cultivated in Mexico. It yields a drink called pulque, that forms the principal beverage of the country. This is obtained by catting oflf the flower stalk at the moment of flowering : a cavity is then fo med in the lower part of the plant, into which the juice that would have gone to nourish the blossom is deposited, and continues to run for three or four months. The leave* of the maguey can be made into paper ; its fibres yield thread ; and its thorns are used as pins. The pulque yields, oa distillation, a spiritous liquor called Mexical. 202 MEXICO. 179 corn, the proper grain of America, is still more generally culti- vated, and forms the standing food of the people. Its harvests are equally profuse. Barley and rye grow on the colder grounds ; the first forming the chief food of horses. Farther down grows the banana, which, though the proper food of the torrid zone, grows so high, that Humboldt calculates 50,000 square miles may be fit for it. Of all vegetables it yields the greatest propor- tion of aliment with the least culture. The manioc root, under the same climate, can be made to produce abundance of palata- ble and wholesome food. The Mexicans set much value also on the maguey, or American aloe, which is extensively cultivated. Each plant yields annu- ally about 150 quarts of a sweet juice, easily convertible into pulque, the favourite fermented liquor of the people. Sugar, coffee, and cotton, are all produced of excellent quality, but only for internal use ; and cacao, though an universal beverage, is procured by importation. Cochineal is almost the only article collected extensively for export. The culture is laborious, and has diminished of late, but the price has not increased, substitutes being employed. There is also indigo, but it is inferior to that of Guatimala. Vanilla, the flavouring material of the chocolate, is obtained in the forests of Oaxaca and Vera Cruz ; and ex ported to the amount of 40,000 or 50,000 dollars, annually. Manufactures in Mexico are in a very rude state. There are, however, considerable fabrics of coarse red earthenware and glass ; also, manufactures of coarse woollens and cottons. Working in gold and silver has been a favourite occupation. Services of plate, worth 30,000 or 40,000 dollars, have been manufactured at Mexico, which, for elegance and fine workman- ship, may rival the best of the kind in Europe. The coaches of Mexico have long been celebrated both for good construction and beauty ; it being the particular ambition of all, who possibly can, to have their coach. The commerce of Mexico does not correspond with its great fame for wealth. The exports of the precious metals form the principal article ; next to this is cochineal, to which may be added, sugar, indigo, vanilla, sarsaparilla, jalap, logwood, and pimento. The exports at Vera Cruz, in 1824, amounted to 12 million dollars. The imports, consisting chiefly of manufactured goods, wine, brandy, and metals, were at the same time nearly 5 million dollars. Under the Spanish government, Vera Cruz and Acapulco had a monopoly of the trade of Mexico ; but since the revolution a considerable amount has centred in other ports, of which the chief are, in the northern part of the gulf, Tampico and Matamoras ; Campeachy and Tabasco in the 180 NORTH AMERICA. south ; San Bias and Mazatlan, on the western coast , and Guayamas in the Gulf of California. The mines of gold and silver, however, are the grand objects which have connected the idea of unbounded wealth and roman- tic splendour with the name of Mexico. Peru furnishes gold in greater abundance ; but Mexico, since the first discovery, has produced more silver than all the rest of the world united. There are 3000 mines in Mexico ; some of them, however, are now unproductive, and even ruinous ; but adventurers have been encouraged to begin, and to persevere while a particle of their capital remained, by the enormous profits which have, in a few instances, been realized. The produce of the mines continued increasing till the com- mencement of the late revolution, at which time the sum total was about 25 million dollars, annually. During the convulsions of that period, the amount was greatly reduced, the water having, in many instances, being allowed to rush in, the machinery de- stroyed, and the workmen dispersed. The annual average pro- duce at present is not more than 12 million dollars. Attempts have been made to bring the aid of British capital and science to the mining operations in Mexico ; but owing to the peculiar habits of the people, and the prevailing disorders in the country, such endeavours have hitherto proved futile. The mint of Mexico is a prodigious establishment, in which all the processes are carried on with the greatest activity. It is capable of stamping 100,000 dollars within the hour. So rapid an operation is seldom required ; yet there have passed through it probably upwards of three thousand million dollars. Owing to the unsettled state of the country, nothing certain can be given as to the military force of the republic. The army is not large, and recent events have proved that it is not very efficient. The want of harbours must ever prevent Mexico from being a great maritime power. Little confidence can be placed in any statements relative to the finances. The annual revenue is stated to be about 15,000,000 dollars. The territory of the republic, consisting of the old vice-royal- ty of New Spain, of the captaincy-general of Yucatan, and of the commandancy-general of the Internal Provinces, was divided by the constitution of 1824 into nineteen states, four territories, and the Federal District : this arrangement was subverted by the decree of 1835, which provided for a new division of the country into departments, of which no special account has ever been published. The population of the Mexican states has been estimated, by different authors, at from 5 to 10 millions, but appears to bo generally reckoned at near 8 millions. MEXICO. Cactus, or Nopal plant. The Cactus, or Nopal, is cultivated in Mexico and Guatimala, for the purpose of raisins the Cochineal insect. When with young, the females are placed on different plants, on which the young insects feed. In about four months the latter are full grown, and are brushed from the leaves with a squirrel's or deer's tail ; they are then deprived of life by being thrown into boil- ing water, placed in heated ovens or in vapour baths. Cochineal, to the value of two and a half million dollars, was raised in one season in the State of Oaxaca. Lineated Bittern. Mexican Bittern. American Bittern. King Bird. NORTH AMERICA. Montezuma's Watch, or the Mexican Calendar. This curious basaltic stone, now in the cathedral of Mexico, is cut into figures that are sup- posed to denote the Mexican Calendar, or division of time. It weighs twenty-four tons ; and its age is conjectured to be a considerable period anterior to that of the discovery of America. Mexican Hieroglyphical Paintings. The Mexican manuscripts, or hieroglyphics, that still remain, are supposed to be historical records of the ancient Empire of Mexico. They are painted in a peculiar manner, some on skins, some on cloth, and some on the leaves of the Agave, or Maguey plant. 206 MEXICO. 181 Sfatre. Population Capital. States. Population. Capital. Tabasco* 75.000 . . V. Hermosa. i Chihuahua 190,000 . . Chihuahua. Vera Cruz 150,000 . . Xalapa. | San Luis Potosi 300,000 . . S. L. Potoei. Oaxaca 660,000 .. Oaxaca. Tamaulipas 150,000 .. Aguayo. La Puebla 900,000 . • La Puebla. New Leon 100,000 . . Monterey. Mexico 1,500,000 .. Tlalpan I Coahuila 60,000 .. Monclova. dueretaro 100,000 . . Queretaro. I Sonora and Sinaloa . 300,000 . . Sinaloa. Federal District 200,000 . . Mexico. Yucatan* 570,000 . . Merida. Michoacan 460,000 .. Valladolid. I Chi a pa 92,000 .. Chiapa. Jalisco 870,000 .. Guadalaxara. | Territoryof N.Mexico* 60,000 .- Santa Fe. Guanaxuato . . 500,000 . . Guanaxuato. I Territory of Californias 50,000 . . Monterey. Zacatecas 200,000 . . Zacatecas. I Territory of Colima . . 10,000 . Colima. Durango 150,000 .. Durango. I Territory of T'ascala aO.OOO . . Tlascala. There are three classes of inhabitants in Mexico : the Whites, or Creoles, the Indians, and the mixed races. These were all once as distinct from each other as if they had belonged to different na- tions ; but the revolution has placed all classes and complexions on an equal footing. The European Spaniards, called Chapetones, are now nearly expelled from Mexico. They formerly held all the offices, and acted with much pride and arrogance. The Creoles, or Whites, born in America, even when they were depressed beneath the preponderance of the Europeans, formed a privileged class, in comparison with other natives. They are fond of splendour, and delight to ride on horses richly caparisoned ; and many are in the possession of ampie fortunes. The entire number of those denominated whites, in Mexico, is about 1,500,000, of whom all, except the small number of Eu- ropeans yet in the country, are Creoles. Very few Of the latter, however, are free from a mixture of Indian blood. The Indians, descendants of the original possessors of Mexico, still survive, to the supposed amount of almost 4,000,000, and are, consequently, nearly three times as numerous as the white race. They bear the general features of those aborigines who have been found in all parts of North and South America. They have the same copper colour, the flat and smooth hair, small beard, squat, body, long eye, and prominent cheek-bones. They share, with the rest of their races, an exemption from almost every species of deformity. The mixed castes form a very numerous part of the popula- tion of this country, being estimated at about 2,500,000. They are either Mulattoes, descended from a mixture of the White with the Negro ; Zamboes, from the Negro and Indian ; or Mestizoes, from a mixture of the White with the Indian. The latter, in consequence of the small number of Negroes intro- duced into Mexico, compose seven-eighths of this class. To be white was formerly in Mexico a badge of rank, and almost a title of nobility. When a Mexican considered himself slighted by another, he would ask, " Am I not as white as yourself?" * The states of New Mexico, Tabasco, and Yucatan, have revolted from the Mexican confede- racy, and formed separate republics. Their stability, however, as independent governments, is rather doubtful. 16 207 182 NORTH AMERICA. The Catholic religion was introduced into Mexico at the time of the conquest, with a body of clergy, both secular and regular. The church establishment now consists of the Archbishop of Mexico, and the nine bishops under him. Those with the inferior clergy do not exceed 10,000 ; or, including every person con- nected with the church, 13,000 or 14,000. A number of the lower order of priests, especially in the Indian villages, are very poor, their income not exceeding 100 dollars a year. The in- fluence and l'evenue of the church, also, have considerably di- minished during the revolution. Though the sciences of mining, geometry, architecture, and astronomy, have received some attention in Mexico, yet the great body of the people are deplorably ignorant. This is owing to the illiberal policy of the Spanish government, which confided all civil, military, and ecclesiastical dignities only to Europeans, and discouraged the education of those classes which now compose the population of the republic. Since the revolu- tion, the country has been too much disturbed to allow the cure of this disorder, yet steps have already been taken in the differ- ent states towards providing means for general education. The amusements are chiefly those of old Spain : bull-fights, and religious processions. The theatre is still far inferior to that of the mother country. At the time of the discovery of America, Mexico formed the most powerful of the native empires. It was inhabited by a people called Aztecs, who had made some advances towards civilization, but were ignorant of the use of fire-arms. This empire was conquered by Fernando Cortez, a Spaniard, in 1519, and continued for near 300 years the most important colony be- longing to Spain. In the year 1810 the revolution began, and after various conflicts with the European Spaniards, the inde- pendence of Mexico was declared in 1821. The following year, Iturbide, a military chief, caused himself to be declared Em- peror, but he was soon afterwards dethroned and banished ; and in 1824 a constitution was adopted on the plan of that of the United States. In 1835, by a decree of the Congress, the state Legislatures were suppressed, and the government changed from a Federal to a Central Republic. Mexico was long considered the largest city in America ; but it is now surpassed by New York and Philadelphia. It is- un- doubtedly one of the finest cities built by Europeans in either hemisphere : with the exception of St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Philadelphia, and some quarters of Westminster, there does not exist a place of the same extent which can be compared to the capital of Mexico, for the uniform level of the ground on MEXICO. Mexican Gentlemen. Among the upper class of Mexican Creoles, an ostentatious mode of living, and an extrava- gant love of gaming, are predominant ; they often employ in their furniture, clothing, and the trappings of their hoises, rich ornaments of various kinds to a lavish extent. Mexican Indians. Mexican Indians. Mexico and Guatimala are the only parts of America in which the aborigines have survived the process of civilization to any extent. In those countries, including the pure and mixed classes of Indians, they form considerably more than one-half the population, and are believed to be on the increase. They are a hardy long-lived race, and individuals often attain to 100 years, yet seldom or never turn grey-haired. These people are chiefly employed in cultivating the soil, carrying heavy burdens, and other laborious occupations. Some of them evince con- siderable aptitude for painting, carving, and music ; and all are fond of flowers, an attachment remarked as early as the days of Cortez. An extravagant love of pulque, the principal inebri- ating liquor of the country, is their besetting sin. Pyramid of Cholula. The Pyramid of Cholula is the most celebrated of the ancient Mexican monuments. It is built in alternate layers of brick and clay : has three stories of equal height ; and appears to have been constructed exactly in the direction of the four cardinal points. On its summit a chapel has been erected, where mass is daily celebrated. S* 209 MEXICO. City of Mexico. Puebla de log Angelos. Vera Cruz. The Pyramids of Teotihuacan consist of a great pyramid, elevated 220 feet, surrounded by numerous smaller ones, each about thirty feet high, arranged in broad streets. 210 MEXICO. 183 which it stands, for the regularity and breadth of the streets, and the extent of the squares and public places. The architec- ture is often of a very pure style, and there are even edifices of a very beautiful structure. The palace of the late viceroys, the cathedral, several of the convents, and some private residences, are of great extent and magnificence ; yet, upon the whole, it is rather the arrangement, regularity, and general effect of the city, which render it so striking. This city lies in a large valley, 60 miles in length by 40 in breadth, which has the volcanic summits of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl on the south, and contains five small and beautiful lakes. - This great basin, called the Basin of Mexico, is in no part less than 6000 feet above the level of the sea. Most of the streets are handsomely paved, lighted, and cleansed. The markets are abundantly supplied with animal and vegetable productions, brought by crowds of canoes along the lake of Chalco, and the canal leading to it. It is a great disadvantage to Mexico, however, that it stands nearly on a level with the surrounding lake ; which, in seasons of heavy rains, overwhelms it with destructive inundations. The construction of a desague, or canal, to carry off the waters of the lake Zumpango, and of the principal river by which it is fed, has, since 1629, prevented any very desolating flood. The desague cost five million dollars, and is one of the most stupen- dous hydraulic works ever executed. Were it filled with water, the largest vessels of war might pass by it through the range of mountains which bound the plain of Mexico. Acapulco, on the west coast, is one of the most magnificent harbours in the world, seeming as if it were excavated by art out of a vast circuit of granite rocks, which shut out all view of the sea. Yet while Vera Cruz, with its wretched anchorage amid sand-banks, annually received from 400 to 500 vessels, that of Acapulco scarcely received 10, even in the time of the Manilla galleon, the discontinuance of which reduced it to a state of insignificance. It is said, however, of late, to have consider- ably revived ; and its customs, after falling so low as 10,000 dol- lars, had risen, in 1826, to 400,000 dollars. La Puebla, the capital of the state of La Puebla, is a hand- some and large city. It is entirely Spanish, having been founded since the conquest. The houses are large and lofty, the walls often covered with paintings, while the roof is ornamented with glazed tiles. The cathedral is a vast pile, with little external ornament : but the interior is rich beyond description. The high altar is composed of the most beautiful marble and precious stones ; its numerous and lofty columns, with plinths and capitals 184 NORTH AMERICA of burnished gold, its statues and other ornaments, have an un- equalled effect. In manufactures it takes the lead of other Mexican cities : those of woollen have declined ; but those of earthenware and glass are still flourishing. The population is estimated at about 80,000. Cholula, the ancient capital of a great independent republic, has declined into a town, containing 6000 souls. The pyramid of Cholula is the work of art which, next to the pyramids of Egypt, approaches nearest in magnitude and vastness to those of nature. It is not nearly so high as the greatest of the Egyptian pyramids, being only 172 feet ; but the length is nearly double; 1335 feet, instead of 728. Vera Cruz, in which centres almost all the trade of Mexico, is well and handsomely built, and its red and white cupolas, towers, and battlements, have a splendid effect when seen from the water. The streets also are kept extremely neat and clean ; yet it is considered the most disagreeable of all places of resi- dence. This arises not merely from the pestilence which taints the air ; the surrounding country is covered with sand blown into hillocks, which, reflecting the rays of the sun, render the heat more oppressive. This place appears to have sensibly declined since the dissolu- tion of the ties which connected Mexico with the mother country. The population is about 7000. The castle of San Juan de Ulloa, the last hold of Spain in the New World, and which commands the entrance of the port, has been long thought to be of immense strength, but was, notwithstanding, lately captured with com- parative ease by a small French squadron. The fine calzada, or paved road, from Vera Cruz into the in- terior, runs up to the handsome town of Jalapa. The Puente del Rey, or Royal Bridge, between the two cities, is a stupendous work of solid masonry, thrown over a wild and steep ravine. Jalapa is commodiously situated in a delightful district, about 4000 feet above the sea. It has 12,000 inhabitants, and was formerly the residence of the rich Spanish merchants of Vera Cruz during the sickly season. The neighbourhood is finely wooded, and is particularly remarkable for the medical article jalap, which takes its name from the city. On the coast, to the southward, are the ports of Alvarado and Huasacualco, the former of which became the principal entrepot on the gulf, during the occupation of San Juan de Ulloa by the Spanish forces ; and the latter derives some interest from its situation at the termination of a proposed canal from the Gulf of Mexico to that of Tehuantepec. Queretaro, the capital of a state of the same name, is one 7JEXIC0. 185 of the most beautiful and delightfully situated, as well as one of the most industrious and wealthy cities of Mexico. The streets all cross each other at right angles, and terminate in its three principal squares. Its aqueduct, about ten miles in length, with its bold and lofty arches, and its splendid churches and convents, give the city an air of magnificence. The convent of Santa Clara is more than two miles in circuit. Population, 40,000. Valladolid, the capital of the state of Michoacan, contains 25,000 inhabitants : it is delightfully situated, 6300 feet above the sea, where snow sometimes falls. There are several mines in the vicinity, but none of first-rate magnitude. It has wide, clean streets, a magnificent cathedral, and a handsome plaza. Guanaxuato, the capital of the state of the same name, is situated in the midst of a rich mining district, is built on very uneven ground, and the streets are often very steep ; but the buildings are in general handsome, and some of the churches are very fine ; the alhondiga, or public granary, an immense quadrangular edifice, is a remarkable object. The population of the city and neighbourhood has been reduced from 90,000 to about two-thirds of that number. Guadalaxara, the capital of Jalisco, which in 1798 was esti- mated to contain 19,500 inhabitants, has at present 60,000. It is regularly laid out, with wide, straight streets, and contains many handsome churches and convents. The mountain of Colima in this state, 9000 feet high, throws out smoke and ashes, and forms the western extremity of the volcanic chain which traverses Mexico from east to west. San Bias is situated near the mouth of the Rio Grande, and during a certain season of the year, it is extremely unhealthy, and at that time the rain falls in such torrents that no roof can exclude it, and it is impossible without danger to go out into the streets. At the commencement of this season, therefore, a gen- eral migration takes place ; and the population is reduced in a few days from 3000 to 150, at which it remains stationary until the return of the dry season. Tepic, eighteen leagues from San Bias, is a beautiful town, in the midst of a cultivated plain, and its streets, regularly laid out, are enlivened by rows of trees, gardens, and terraces. Thither the people of San Bias remove during the sickly season, at which time the population of Tepic amounts to 8000 or 10,000. Zacatecas, the capital of the state of Zacatecas, contains 38,000 inhabitants. The mint, which is the second in point of importance in Mexico, employs 300 persons, and 60,000 dollars have been coined here in twenty-four hours. The total coinage in five years, from 1821 to 1826, was upwards of 17,500,000 1 6 * 213 186 NORTH AMERICA. dollars. Aguas Calientes, in the vicinity of Zacatecas, derives its name from its warm springs, is a pretty town, in a fertile district, and with a delightful climate. The inhabitants, about 20,000 in number, carry on some manufactures. Fresnillo, Sombrerete, and Pinos, are mining towns with from 12,000 to 16,000 inhabitants. Oaxaca, the capital of the state of the same name, called Antequera at the time of the conquest, is a flourishing place ; in 1792, it had 24,000 inhabitants, and although it suffered severely during the revolution, its present population is about 40,000. Tehuantepec, its only port, is not a good one ; but it is of con- siderable value as a channel by which the indigo of Guatimala is conveyed to Europe. The peninsula of Yucatan, forms the eastern extremity of Mexico. It is a vast plain, only intersected by a chain of moun- tains, wh'ch do not rise above 4000 feet. This was the first part of Mexico in which the Spaniards landed, and, though it be less improved than the interior, they found, to their surprise, indications that civilization was in a more advanced state here than in the islands ; stone houses, pyramidal temples, enclosed fields, and a clothed and civilized people. Merida, the capital, is a small town. Campeachy, also a small town, is, however, a fortified place, and is important on account of its harbour, from which is shipped the logwood cut in the vicinity. Popula- tion, 6000. Chiapa formed the most northerly district of Guatimala ; but the greater part of it, on a late occasion, separated itself from Guatimala, and united with Mexico. The soil is fertile, and capable of yielding, in profusion, tropical fruits and grain. Though low, yet it is free from damp, and not unhealthful. Chiapa of the Spaniards, called also Ciudad Real, though ranking as the capital, is now only a small place of 4000 inhab- itants. Chiapa of the Indians is larger, and carries on a con- siderable trade. Near Palenque are seen the remains of the great ancient city of Calhuacan. Fourteen large buildings, called by the natives the Stone Houses, remain nearly entire ; and for three or four leagues either way, the fragments of the other fallen buildings are seen extending along the mountain. They are of a rude and massive construction, well calculated for durability ; and the principal apartments are adorned with numerous figures in relief, representing human beings of strange form, and variously hab- ited and adorned. Tampico, near the mouth of the river of the same name, was founded in 1824, and has rapidly increased on account of its MEXICO. 187 commercial advantages, which havedrawn thither theinhabitants of Altamira, once a place of some importance. Tampico has now about 5000 inhabitants, but it sutlers under a want of good water. Further north, on the Santander, is the port of Soto la Marina, with some trade ; and on the Del Norte is Matamoras. The latter carries on a considerable commerce, chiefly with the United States. Population, 5000. San Luis Potosi, the capital of the state of the same name, is one of the most important inland towns in Mexico, being the depot of the trade of Tampico with the northern and western parts of the republic. It is well built, and contains several convents remarkable for their extent, a mint, a college, and numerous churches. Population, 40,000. Monterey, the capital of New Leon, and Leona Vicario, the chief town of Coahuila, are both places of some note. The first has about 12,000 inhabitants. Durango, the capital of the state of Durango, is a well-built town, with a mint, in which the silver of the vicinity is coined. It contains 25,000 inhabitants. Chihuahua, the capital of Chihuahua, is well-built, and con- tains some costly churches, monasteries, and other public edi- fices ; but the population has been reduced from 50,000 to one- third of that number. The rich mines of Santa Julalia, in its vicinity, once yielded 5,000,000 dollars a year. In the western part of the state are the Casas Grandes, or ruins of large square buildings, whose sides are accurately ranged north and south : a space of several leagues is covered with these remains, con- sisting of aqueducts and various other structures. Sonora and Sinaloa embrace a vast tract lying along the Gulf of California. The southern part only contains some white inhab- itants, the centre and north being occupied by various Indian tribes ; many of whom are civilized and industrious. This region contains rich silver-mines ; gold is obtained from wash- ings, and auriferous copper ore abounds. There are also valua- ble pearl fisheries. Wheat, hides, furs, gold, silver, and copper, are exported. Guaymas, on the Gulf of California, is said to be the best harbour of Mexico, but the town is unhealthful, and the water brackish. Population, 8000. Petic, in the interior, is the residence of the wealthy merchants, and a place of considera- ble trade, being the depot of articles imported into Guaymas for Upper Sonora and New Mexico. It contains about 5,000 inhabitants. Alamos is a place of about 6000 inhabitants, having in its vicinity some of the richest silver-mines in Mexico. Mazatlan has a good harbour, though exposed to the south-west winds. 188 NORTH AMERICA. The territory of New Mexico is only an infant settlement, formed on the upper part of the Rio del Norte, in a fertile tract of land, but having a climate remarkably cold, considering the latitude. A great number of sheep are reared, of which about 30,000 are sent every year to the southward ; and there are some mines of valuable copper. Santa Fe, the capital, contains about 5000 inhabitants. The caravan route from the state of Missouri terminates here. Lower California is a long peninsula in the Pacific, parallel to the continent, from which it is separated by its deep gulf. The soil is sandy and arid, and only a few favoured spots present a trace of vegetation. There are about 7000 or 8000 white inhab- itants and converted Indians, and 4000 savages ; and it is not supposed that the population can ever be much greater. The missions have been pretty much broken up since the revo- lution. Loretto, once a place of some note, now contains about 250 inhabitants. New or Upper California is a vast tract extending north from Lower California to the latitude of 42°. A lofty ridge of moun- tains runs along its western side, not far from the sea, forming the prolongation of the mountains of the peninsula, and extend- ing north beyond the Columbia river. Along the coast some missions have been founded, and some settlements of whites effected. The former are now rapidly declining. There are 21 establishments, containing about 7000 converts. These are In- dians, who have, from time to time, been forced to join the mis- sions. They are kindly treated, but are not allowed to leave the settlements ; and the surplus of their labour belongs to the mis- sionaries : the missions have about 300,000 head of cattle. The coast has some excellent harbours, among which is that of St. Francisco, which affords perfect security to ships of any burthen, with plentiful supplies of fresh beef, vegetables, wood, and fresh water. Monterey, the principal town of Upper Cali- fornia, has 3000 inhabitants. On the eastward of the coast above mentioned, and extending to the Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, is a vast sandy plain, about 200 miles in width by 500 in length, consisting of a bare, arid surface, with some isolated mountains interspersed here and there over its dreary bosom. Balize Settlement. — On the west side of the peninsula of Yucatan is the Balize Settlement, which, though within the lim- its of Mexico, belongs to Great Britain. It extends along the bay of Honduras about 150 miles. The population consists of about 4000 persons, of whom nearly 300 are whites, and the rest 216 GUATIMALA. 189 Indians, negroes, and mixed breeds. Balize, the capital of the settlement, is a well-built town, on both sides of the river of the same name. The colony was founded for the purpose of cutting logwood and mahogany, and its exports in 1830 were of the value of 1,500,000 dollars. GUATIMALA, OR UNITED STATES OF CENTRAL AMERICA. The republic of Guatimala, occupying the narrow tract between the two great masses of the continent, has, in virtue of its position, assumed the title of the United States of Central America. Guatimala is bounded on the south-east by the republic of New Grenada ; on the north and north-east by the Mexican states, and the Caribbean sea ; and on the south and south-west by the Pacific Ocean. It is about 1000 miles in length, and from 100 to 350 in breadth. The surface has been estimated at 200,000 square miles. A lofty chain of mountains, forming a part of the great Mexi- can and Rocky Mountain range, traverses the country from south-east to north-west. It extends along the Pacific coast, and presents a series of 21 volcanic peaks in constant activity. This part of the country is subject to the most tremendous convul- sions of nature, which have buried cities in ruins, and destroyed whole tribes of people. The volcano of Agua, or Water, and that of Fuego, or Fire, both near Guatimala, rise to the height of from 14,000 to 15,000 feet. The volcano of Cosiguina, in Nicaragua, was in the year 1834 the subject of one of the most terrific eruptions on record. The noise was heard as far as Bo- gota, in New Grenada, 1000 miles distant; and the ashes thrown out by the volcano were carried to Jamaica, 800 miles. The eastern part of Guatimala, swelling somewhat into the form of a peninsula, and known by the name of Mosquitia, or the Mosquito shore, consists of a vast unbroken forest, beat by the burning rays of the sun, and occupied by unsubdued Indians. The waters which descend from the mountains of Guatimala fall into one or other of the opposite oceans, and do not swell into rivers of any importance. The Lake of Nicaragua is navigable for the largest ships. It is 120 miles in length, and 50 in breadth, and possesses almost throughout a depth of 10 fathoms. Numerous streams, flowing from different quarters, T 217 190 GUATIMALA form this great body of water, which has only one outlet in the river St. Juan, which flows from it into the Caribbean sea. The surface of the lake is diversified and adorned with small islands, in one of which is a volcanic mountain. It communi- cates by a short navigable channel with a smaller lake, called the Lake of Leon, which may almost be considered as a branch of it. This lake is but five miles from the Tosta, a small stream which flows into the Pacific Ocean. A union of the Caribbean sea and the Pacific Ocean, by a canal through these channels, is contemplated, which, if executed, will be the most use- ful and important work of the kind in the world. Like Mexico, this country yields, in different regions and at small distances from each other, all the varieties of fruit and grain peculiar to the tropical and temperate zones. Of fruits, several of the most valuable are produced in the highest perfec- tion. The indigo, which forms so large a part of the commerce of Mexico, is almost entirely the produce of Guatimala. The cacao of Soconusco is said to be the finest in the world. Vanilla, the other ingredient of chocolate, is procured to a great extent from this quarter. Sugar, cotton, cochineal, mahogany, and dye-woods, are also exported. There are manufactures of cotton and porcelain, some of .hem fine, but only for internal consumption ; and the fabrics in wrought gold and silver are said to possess great merit. As to commerce, Guatimala labours under the disadvantage of not having, on either ocean, any extensive commercial depot, or a port capable of receiving large ships : and its commodities have to bear a heavy land-carriage, and a coasting voyage, before they arrive at Vera Cruz. Guatimala contains numerous mines, particularly of silver ; some of which have been undertaken by an English company, in the expectation of their proving productive ; but the result is yet uncertain. The population is estimated at nearly 2,000,000. About one-half of the whole number are Indians, one-fifth whites, and three-tenths mixed races. The government of Guatimala is federal republican in its form, being modelled on that of the United States. A federal congress, composed of a senate and house of representatives, chosen, the latter by the people, the former by the states, and a president, also chosen by the popular vote, manage the general concerns of the confederacy. Each state has its respective legislature and executive chief for the administration of its domestic affairs. The territory of the republic, together with the present Mexi- can state Chiapas, formed the Spanish captaincy-general of Guatimala until 1821, when it was incorporated with Mexico. GUATIMALA. 191 On the fall of Iturbide, in 1824, it separated itself from the lat- ter, and constituted itself an independent republic, under the title of the Federal Republic of Central America. The confederacy consists of five states, and a federal district, as follows : States. Population. Capital. Guatemala 800,000 Old Guatimala, San Salvador 350,000 San Salvador. Honduras 250,000 Comayagua. Costa Rica 150,000 Cartago. Nicaragua 250,000 Leon. Federal District, New Guatimala. This country has of late been the seat of anarchy and civil war; and on the 24th of February, 1838, the city of Guatimala was attacked and captured by the insurgents, under General Carrero ; and Senor Salazar, who had been vice-president of the republic since the 1st of May, 1835, was killed. St. Salvador, the capital of the republic of Guatimala, is situ- ated in a fine valley, in the midst of fertile indigo and tobacco plantations, and has an active commerce, as well as extensive manufactures. Population, 15,000. New Guatimala was built in 1774, in consequence of the al- most entire destruction of Old Guatimala by an earthquake. The streets are broad, clean, and straight. The houses are generally low on account of the frequency of earthquakes, and provided with gardens and fountains. The cathedral, the go- vernment house, the archbishop's palace, the mint, and several of the churches, are handsome buildings. The commerce and manufactures of the city are extensive. Population, 35,000. Old Guatimala has been several times destroyed by earth- quakes, and lies between the volcanoes of Agua and Fuego. It suffered much from an earthquake in 1830. It formerly con- tained fifty or sixty churches, and several large convents, which are now in ruins. Its cathedral is one of the largest in America. Population, 18,000. Leon, the capital of Nicaragua, is regularly laid out, and handsomely built ; and contains a university and a cathedral. It has 20,000 inhabitants. Fourteen leagues distant is the fine harbour of Realejo, on the Pacific, separated only by a level country, over which there is a good road. Nicaragua, on the lake of the same name, is a town of about 8000 inhabitants. Its port is St. Juan, at the mouth of the navigable outlet of the lake. Cartago, with 20,000 inhabitants, and St. Jose, are the principal towns of Costa Rica. Comayagua, the capital of Honduras, contains a college. Omoa and Truxillo, on the bay of Honduras, have tolerable harbours, but are sickly. 192 THE WEST INDIES. WEST INDIES. The West Indies consist of a large collection of islands, sit- uated in the wide interval of sea between North and South America. Their rich products, high state of cultivation, and the singular form of society existing in them, have rendered them peculiarly interesting and important. These islands comprise four great divisions. The Bahama islands, the Great Antilles, the Little Antilles, and the Caribbee islands. The latter are divided into two groups : the Windward and Leeward islands. Cuba, Hayti, Jamaica, and Porto Rico, are the Great Antilles ; the other islands are all much smaller, but many of them are very important from their fertility and rich productions. Guada- loupe, Dominica, Antigua, St. Christopher, Nevis, Santa Cruz, and St. Eustatia, are the chief of the Leeward, and Trinidad, Barbadoes, Martinico, St. Vincent, Grenada, and St. Lucia, the principal of the Windward islands. The Little Antilles lie along the coast of Venezuela : of these the largest are Margarita and Curacoa. The land area of all these islands amounts to from 90,000 to 100,000 square miles. Mountains of considerable height diversify each of the islands. The most elevated peaks of Cuba, Hayti, and Jamaica, ascend from 7000 to 9000 feet ; while the highest summits of the Ca- ribbee islands range from 3000 to 6000 feet. Most of these eminences have evidently been the seat of volcanic action ; but this appears to have ceased in all of them, except the Soufriere of Guadaloupe, which still exhibits some indications of it. The climate of the West Indies is, for a great part of the year, mild and pleasant, the heat being in some measure mode- rated by the uniform length of the nights, and by refreshing sea- breezes. The seasons are divided between the wet and the dry : the former, occurring in May and October, are of short contin- uance, and during the rest of the year the sky is clear, and the nights are remarkable for their brilliancy. In the interval between the months of August and October, the West India islands are sometimes visited by terrible storms, Called hurricanes. They are, in general, preceded by a pro- found calm ; this is soon followed by lightning and thunder, rain, hail, and impetuous blasts of wind, which move with in- credible swiftness. Plantations, forests, and houses, are often swept away before their violence, which, however, is but of short duration. The West Indies abound in nearly all the productions of warm WEST INDIES. Banana. Plantain. The Banana and Plantain are nearly similar productions ; they are important articles of food to the natives of the West Indies, Mexico, and South America, and are cooked in various modes. These plants grow fifteen or twenty feet high, and have leaves near six feet long, and eighteen or twenty inches broad ; they are exceedingly prolific, and yield a vast amount of nutriment. Cocoa-Nut Tree. The Cocoa-Nut tree grows from forty to sixty feet high ; its leaves are twelve or fourteen feet long, three feet broad, and look like immense feathers. When six or seven years old, the tree produces from fifty to one hundred nuts annually. Every part of this tree is highly useful. T* 221 WEST INDIES. Pawpaw Tree Pine Apple. The Pawpaw tree grows in the West Indies, Hindoostan, and Malaysia. The fruit is eaten boiled or baked like apples. The juice of the pulp is used to remove freckles ; and the leaves are employed like soap to wash linen. Water impregnated with the juice renders the toughest meat washed in it so tender as to be cooked with difficulty. The Pine Apple is supposed to have been introduced into the West Indies from Peru, and carried from thence to the East Indies, and the south of Europe. In the latter it is raised in sheltered situations in the open air, and in green-houses near London, and other parts of Britain. There are many varieties of this fruit, from some of which a species of wine can be made ; and some afford a fibre that is manufactured into cordage, and also a kind of coarse cloth or matting. Pine Apples are imported into the sea-ports of the United States, sometimes in con- siderable quantities, chiefly from the Bahama Islands. Passion Flower. Four different kinds of the Passion Flower grow in the West Indies, and produce the fruii called the grenadillo. This flower received its name because it was supposed to represent the instruments of Our Saviour's passion. The leaves were imagined to indicate the soldier's spear ; the tendrils, the scourge ; the five Btamen, the fivo wounds ; the three styles, the three nails ; and the filamentous crown of the flower, the crown of thornB or of glory. '222 WEST INDIES. 19S climates ; the principal fruits are oranges, lemons, pine-apples, papaws, bananas, plantains, &c. Manioc, yams, Indian-corn, &c. are cultivated for food ; and sugar, coffee, cocoa, cotton, indigo, tobacco, allspice, &c. furnish important articles of com- merce. The forests contain mahogany, lignumvitse, iron-wood, and other woods useful in the arts. The native races of these islands are now nearly extinct. When first discovered by the Spaniards, they were inhabited by two distinct nations : the ArrOvvauks, a mild and peaceful people, who had made some advances in civilization, occupied the Baha- mas and the Great Antilles ; and the Caribs, a fierce and war- like race, inhabited the more southerly isles. Of the latter, a few individuals are still to be found in St. Vincent and Trin- idad. The present population is composed of several distinct classes, between whom scarcely any sympathy exists ; they comprise whites, negro slaves, emancipated negroes, and mulattoes. The whites consist of Europeans and Creoles, or whites born in the West Indies ; in all the islands, with one exception, they are the masters, and possess all the power and property. The slaves form the chief bulk of the population, except in Hayti and the British islands, and are the descendants of slaves originally brought from Africa. The emancipated negroes have obtained their freedom, either by legislative enactment, as in the British colonies ; by the exercise of numerical force, as in Hayti ; by manumission, through the favour of masters who had conceived an attachment to them, or earned by the industrious employment of their leisure hours. The mulattoes, &c. have been produced by intercourse between the white and black races, and are never enslaved. By an act of the British parliament, passed in 1833, the slaves were, on the 1st of August, 1834, made apprenticed labourers, to continue such, a part of them, till the first of August, 1838, and a part till the first of August, 1840, when they are all to become completely free. To indemnify the owners of the slaves, parliament voted them the sum of 20 mil- lion pounds sterling, or nearly 100 million of dollars, as a com- pensation, payable in certain fixed proportions, according as each colony should be ascertained to have complied with the terms of the act. Soon after the passing of this act, the slaves in the islands of Antigua and the Bermudas were made free by the colonial go- vernments ; and acts have been recently passed by the legisla- tures of Barbadoes, Jamaica, Nevis, Montserrat, St. Christopher's, St. Vincent, Tortola, and the other islands, by which all the 17 223 194 THE WEST INDIES. slaves, or apprenticed labourers, were liberated in those islands, on the 1st of August, 1838. The population of the different islands may be apportioned as follows : Danish Dutch &c. islands . . 119,000 Hayti 800,000 Total 2^0,000 Spanish islands 1,050,000 British do 745,000 French da 256,000 Of the above population, 500,000 are whites, 600,000 slaves, and 1,870,000 are free negroes and mulattoes. Commerce is carried on to a much greater extent in the West Indies than in any other country of the same wealth and popu- lation in the world. The value of the exports is probably not less than 70 million dollars, and the imports rather more than half that amount. The greatest trade is with Great Britain and the United States, and the British North American colonies. The chief articles of export are, coffee, sugar, rum, cotton, cocoa, pimento, mahogany, logwood, &c. The imports are, manufactured goods of all kinds from Europe, with flour, lum- ber, fish, and salted provisions from the United States and British America. The islands of the West Indies, with the exception of Hayti and Margarita, belong to different European nations, and are under the control of governors appointed by the powers to which they respectively belong. The government of the British West Indies is modelled on the constitution of the mother coun- try. The several islands have a governor or lieutenant-gover- nor, and a legislative council, appointed by the crown ; and the most of them have also a house of representatives chosen by the people. Spanish Islands. The western colonies of Spain, which for some centuries com- prised the greater part of the American continent, with all its richest and most splendid regions, are now limited to the two islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. Yet these are so considerable and so fruitful, that, since a more liberal policy has been adopt- ed towards them, they have in no small degree compensated for her immense losses. Cuba, the finest and largest of the West India Islands, is about 760 miles in length, by 52 in mean breadth, and has a superficial area of 43,500 square miles, being nearly equal in extent to all the other islands taken together. It is traversed throughout its whole extent by chains of mountains, whose highest peaks, Potrillo and Cobre, attain an elevation of 9000 THE WEST INDIES. 195 feet ; and the plains beneath are copiously watered, and render- ed fit for producing, in the highest perfection, the objects of tropical culture. Within the last thirty years, various circumstances have con- curred in improving the condition of this island, and it has from being one of the poorest, become, in proportion to its extent, per- haps the richest European colony in the world. The expulsion of the Spaniards from the continental colonies, and from St. Domingo, with the cession of Florida to the United States, have brought a vast increase of inhabitants, and the adoption of a more liberal and protecting system towards strangers has added greatly to its trade and commerce. Forty years ago the revenue of Cuba did not amount to a million of dollars, but at the pre- sent time it cannot be less than ten times that sum. The principal articles of export from this island are sugar, coffee, molasses, tobacco, cigars, honey, &c. : these amount annually to about 15 million dollars. The imports are chiefly lumber, provisions, cotton goods, hardware, wines, &c, rising altogether to the sum total of 20 million dollars. The principal part of the trade is carried on with the United States, Spain, and Great Britain. Total population of Cuba, 725,000. Whites 315,000. Mulattoes and free negroes, 110,000. Slaves, 300,000. Havannah, the capital of Cuba, is one of the largest cities of the New World. It presents a magnificent appearance from the sea, its numerous spires being intermingled with lofty and luxu- riant trees. The churches are handsome and richly ornamented , and several private mansions are reckoned to be worth above 300,000 dollars each. The interior of the city, however, for the most part consists of narrow, ill-paved, and dirty streets, crowded with merchandise and wagons, and presenting entirely the appearance of busy trade. Yet the alameda, or public walk, and the opera, on the appearance of a favourite performer, ex- hibit a gay and even splendid aspect. The recently constructed suburbs are also built in a superior style. Havannah has patri- otic and literary societies, which are improving. Several jour- nals are published, one of them in English. The population is estimated at 120,000. Matanzas, about sixty miles east of the capital, is now the second commercial town in the island. The population of the place amounts to about 15,000. Upwards of 50 million pounds of sugar, and nearly 8 million pounds of coffee have been exported from this place in one year. As the vicinity is rapidly becoming settled and brought under cultivation, its importance is daily increasing. Trinidad is one of the most populous and thriving places on the island, since the removal of the restrictions 196 THE WEST INDIES. on its trade. Its harbour is capacious, but exposed, and its commerce considerable. Population, 12,500. To the west lies Fernandina, a small town, but having one of the best harbours in the world, formed by the magnificent bay of Xagua. Puerto Principe, situated in the interior, is a poor, dirty, and ill-built town, in a wet spot, which in many places is only pass- able on raised footpaths. Its inland trade is considerable. Popu- lation, 50,000. In the eastern part of the island is St. Jago de Cuba, once the capital of Cuba. It is one of the oldest and best-built towns of the colony, and contains 26,000 inhabitants. Porto Rico, the smallest of the Great Antilles, is about 100 miles in length by 36 in mean breadth, and has a superficies of 4000 square miles. Although inferior to none of the islands in fertility and general importance, it was long neglected by Spain, and until the beginning of the present century its wealth was derived entirely from its woods and pastures. The population is about 325,000 ; of this number only 35,000 are slaves. The law makes no distinction between the white and the coloured classes, and the whites are in the habit of intermixing freely with the people of colour. The exports are sugar and coffee, with cattle, tobacco, rum, cotton, &c. ; the imports are the same as those of Cuba. The annual value of the imports is about 3,000,000 dollars, of ex- ports 4,000,000 dollars, two-thirds of which are in American bottoms. The capital, St. John's, or San Juan, is a large, neat, and well- built town on the northern coast, with a deep, safe, and capacious harbour. It is very strongly fortified, and contains about 30,000 inhabitants. The other towns are small. Mayaguez and Aguadilla on the west coast, Ponce and Guay- ama on the southern, and Foxardo, are the principal ports. British Islands. The British islands, though not the most extensive or natu- rally fruitful, are, since those of France have sunk into secondary importance, undoubtedly the best cultivated, most wealthy, and productive. Perhaps no part of the globe, in proportion to its extent, yields such an amount of valuable commodities for ex- portation. Jamaica, the largest and most valuable island in the British West Indies, is 150 miles long and 50 wide ; area, 5500 square miles. The lofty range of the Blue Mountains in the interior, covered with ancient and majestic forests, gives to its landscapes a grand and varied aspect. From these heights descend about 226 THE WEST INDIES. 197 a hundred rivers, or rather rills, which dash down the steeps in numerous cascades, and, after a short course, reach the sea. The soil of this island is considered to be by no means uni- versally good, and its actual fertility is ascribed in a great measure to diligent manuring and cultivation. The sugar of Jamaica is of excellent quality, the rum is considered superior to that of any of the other colonies ; but its coffee ranks second to that of Ber- bice. Pimento or allspice, the plantations of which are extremely ornamental, is peculiar to this island, and has been often termed Jamaica pepper. With her natural and acquired advantages, however, Jamaica has not been preserved from the pestilential influence of the climate, which renders it extremely dangerous to European constitutions. The towns of Jamaica, as of the other islands, are all sea- ports, and supported by commerce. Spanish Town, or Santiago de la Vega, the most ancient, and still the seat of the legislature and courts, is of comparatively little importance, and has not more than 4000 or 5000 inhabitants. Port Royal, possessed of a secure and spacious harbour, was, in the end of the seventeenth century, with the exception of Mexico and Lima, the most splen- did and opulent city in the New World. Suddenly an earth- quake swallowed up the greater part of the city and its inhab- itants. It was afterwards rebuilt, but being successively ravaged by a destructive fire and a hurricane, came to be viewed as a fatal spot, was abandoned for Kingston, and is now reduced to 200 or 300 houses. The fortifications, however, which are very strong, are still kept up, and a navy-yard is maintained there. Kingston is now the principal town of Jamaica. Its commerce, though not equal to what that of Port Royal once was, is great, and is favoured by a spacious and commodious roadstead. Its population is 30,000. Montego Bay, a place with about 4000 inhabitants, carries on a considerable commerce. The Grand and Little Cayman, which are inhabited only by a few hundred fishermen and pilots, may be considered as appendages to Jamaica. Barbadoes was the earliest settled and improved of all the English possessions. Its soil, though deficient in depth, is well fitted for the culture of sugar ; and its rich plantations, diversi- fied by the gentle hills which rise in the interior, present a delightful landscape. Bridgetown, the capital, is one of the gayest and handsomest towns and one of the strongest military posts, in the West Indies, containing above 20,000 inhabitants. Antigua, St. Christopher's, and the others which comprise the Leeward Islands, have one governor, who resides at Antigua. Hence John's Town, its capital, admired for its agreeable situa- 17* 227 198 THE WEST INDIES. tion, and the regularity of its buildings, derives a considerable degree of importance, and is a favourite resort. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. St. Christopher's, known often by the familiar appellation of St. Kitt's, was first occupied by the English in 1623 ; and, though repeatedly disputed by the Spaniards and French, has, with the exception of some short intervals, remained in the possession of Britain. Basseterre, the capital, on the south-west coast, con- tains 6000 or 7000 inhabitants. The other Leeward Islands consist of Montserrat, Nevis, Bar- buda, Anguilla, and the Virgin Islands : they are all small islands, and are among the least important in the British West Indies. Dominica is a large island, but not productive altogether in proportion to its extent, much of the surface being mountainous and rugged. Several of its volcanic summits throw out. from time to time, burning sulphur ; but they do not act to any de- structive extent. It is interspersed, however, with fertile valleys : a large quantity of coffee is raised on the sides of the hills. Roseau, or Charlottetown, the capital, is by no means so flour- ishing as before the fire of 1781 ; it is well built, but many of the houses are unoccupied. Its population may amount to 5000. St. Vincent's is one of the most elevated and rugged of the Caribbees. It contains the only very active volcano in these islands, which, after being dormant for a century, burst forth in 1812 with tremendous violence, exhibiting the most awful phe- nomena. It contains small remnants of the native Carib race, mingled with some free negroes, who were early introduced, and have adopted many of the Indian usages. Kingston, the capital, has been supposed to contain 8000 inhabitants. Grenada exhibits a considerable variety of surface, which, on the whole, however, is extremely productive, and renders it an important acquisition. St. George, the capital, named formerly Fort Royal, possesses one of the most commodious harbours in the West Indies, and has been strongly fortified. The Grena- dines, or Grenadillos, comprising a number of small islands, lying between Grenada and St. Vincent, produce some sugar and coffee. Tobago, is a small but fertile and beautiful island. It yields the fruits and other products common to the West India islands with those of the bordering Spanish main. Scarborough, a town of about 3000 inhabitants, is its capital. St. Lucia was ceded to Great Britain in 1815. Its high peaks, called sugar-loaves, are visible at some distance at sea. The soil is productive, but the cU.nate is unhealthful. On the westerr 228 THE WEST INDIES. 199 side is Carenage, one of the best harbours in these islands. The town has a population of about 5000 souls. Trinidad, separated only by a strait from the coast of South America, where that cou'itry is traversed by the branches of the Orinoco, shares in a great measure its character. It is covered with magnificent forests, and presents scenery peculiarly grand and picturesque. The island is unhealthful, but fruitful. One remarkable object in this island is a lake of asphaltum, three miles in circumference. This substance, being rendered ductile by heat, and mingled with grease or pitch, is employed with advantage in covering the bottoms of ships. Trinidad contains still about 900 native Indians. Port Spain is a con- siderable town, well fortified, and with an excellent harbour. It is built regularly and handsomely, with a fine shaded walk and spacious market ; and the churches, both Protestant and Catho- lic, are very richly ornamented. The Bahama islands comprise about 650 islets and islands, of which only 14 are of considerable size. The soil of these islands is not fertile; and cotton is the only article cultivated to any extent. Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, is a flourish- ing town on the island of New Providence, with 5000 inhabitants. Between these islands and the coast of Florida is the Bahama channel, through which that celebrated current called the Gulf Stream, from the Gulf of Mexico, rushes with such impetuosity that it is perceptible upon the northern coasts of Europe. Its force renders the passage extremely dangerous, and has given occasion to frequent wrecks. The principal islands are the Great Bahama and Abaco, on the Little Bahama Bank ; Eleu- thera, New Providence, Guanahani, or St. Salvador, or Cat island, remarkable as the point first discovered by Columbus ; Yuma, and Exuma, on the Great Bahama Bank ; and Mayagu- ana, Inagua, the Caycos and Turks' islands, further south. The salt ponds of the last named islands supply great quantities of salt, which is obtained by evaporation. The Bermudas lie 900 miles eastward of South Carolina, and are a collection of rocks and small islands, of which only eight possess any importance. They enjoy an almost perpetual spring, and are clothed in constant verdure. But though they afford thus an agreeable and healthful residence, they have not proved productive in any of those commodities which can become the staple of an important traffic. The rocky nature of the coasts renders them easily defensible, but unfavourable to navigation. St. George, the seat of government, on an island of the same name, is only a large village. Population, 3000. u 229 200 THE WEST INDIES. French Islands. The possessions of France in the West Indies, previous to her revolutionary war, were more valuable than those of any other nation. The exports from St. Domingo or Hayti alone amounted to 25,000,000 dollars. That valuable island is now entirely lost to her. During the late war all her islands were captured, and she ceased to exist as a colonial power. At the peace, Martinico, Guadaloupe, &c, were restored. Martinico is one of the largest of the Caribbee islands : in the centre rise three lofty mountains, the streams descending from which copiously water the island. It has been often visited by earthquakes and by hurricanes. Fort Royal, the capital and the seat of the courts of justice, is a well-built town, with 7000 inhabitants ; but the chief trade centres in St. Pierre, the largest place in Martinico. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. Guadaloupe consists of two islands ; the western, called Basse- terre, contains a chain of lofty and rugged mountains, one of which emits volumes of smoke, with occasional sparks of fire. Its plains, however, are copiously watered and fruitful. The eastern division, called Grande Terre, is more flat, and labours under a deficiency of water. Basseterre, on the part of the island bearing that name, ranks as the capital ; but having a bad harbour, is supported merely by the residence of government, and has not more than 9000 inhabitants. Pointe-a-Pitre, on the eastern side, carries on almost all the trade, and has a population of about 15,000. The islands of Mariegalante, the Saintes, and Deseada, are appen- dages to Guadaloupe, of little importance. France possesses a portion of the island of St. Martin. Dutch, Swedish, and Danish Islands. Curacoa and St. Eustatia are the principal Dutch islands. The last, though the smallest, is the most fertile, being cultivated with great care. The capital is well fortified, and is the seat of a considerable commerce. Curacoa produces some sugar and to- bacco, but is not very productive. It was once important as the centre of an extensive contraband trade with the Spanish South American colonies. The small island of Saba, and part of St. Martin's, also belong to Holland. St. Bartholomew is the only colony possessed by Sweden. It is highly cultivated, and carries on a considerable commerce. Its capital, Gustavia, formerly possessed some importance in consequence of having been, for many years, during the late Enropean wars, the only neutral port in these seas. THE WEST INDIES. 201 Santa Cruz, St. Thomas, and St. Johns, belong to Denmark. The first is a fine, fertile island, and is highly prolific in all the usual West Indian products. Its capital carries on a considera- ble commerce. St. Thomas is an important depot for the con- traband trade with the neighbouring islands. Hayti. Hayti, formerly called Hispaniola and St. Domingo, once belonged jointly to France and Spain. It is a very fine, fertile island 400 miles in length, and 110 in breadth, having an area of 30,000 square miles, being about equal in extent to Ireland, but with a population of only one-tenth of that of the British island. In the centre rises the lofty range of the mountains of Cibao, of which the peak of La Serrania attains the height of 9000 feet. The principal productions of this island are coffee, sugar- cane, cotton, tobacco, mahogany, Campeachy wood, and lignum- vitae ; honey, wax, and various fruits. The exports and imports are each about 4,000,000 dollars annually, or about one-sixth of the amount of the trade of the French part of St. Domingo only, previous to the revolution of 1791. That event produced an extraordinary change in the con- dition of this island. The proclamation of the French assembly, that all men are free and equal, gave rise to a contest between the white and free coloured population, during the progress of which the slaves conceived that it applied to them also. They in consequence rose in a body, massacred or drove out the other two classes, and became entire masters of French St. Domingo. After the commission of numerous excesses, and various changes in government, Boyer, the present ruler, by a series of vigorous operations, not only extended his sway over all the French part of the island, but annexed to it also that belonging to Spain (1822 ;) so that the whole is now comprehended in the republic of Hayti. France in 1803 made strong efforts to regain this valuable island, but without success. At length, in 1825, a treaty was concluded, by which she acknowledged the indepen- dence of Hayti, on condition of receiving the large sum of 30,000,000 dollars, to be paid in five annual instalments. But according to a new treaty concluded in 1838, the balance belong- ing to France was fixed at 12,000,000 dollars, to be paid by the year 1863. The government of Hayti is professedly republican ; but it has been well described as practically a military democracy. The chief executive officer is the president, who holds the place for life, and has a salary of 50,000 dollars per annum. There 231 202 THE WEST INDIES. is a senate, the members of which hold their office for life ; and a house of representatives, chosen by the parishes for six years The revenue of the state is about 1,500,000 dollars ; the expenditure is considerably more. The army amounts to 45,000 men, besides which there is a large militia force. The religion of the Haytians is Roman Catholic, but there is little attention paid to the subject, and the state of morals is described as exceedingly bad : other religions are tolerated. Whites are not allowed to hold landed property, or to carry arms. Port au Prince is the capital, and the chief seat of trade. It has a secure and excellent roadstead, but the country around is marshy, and, during the summer, very unhealthful. The city is built mostly of wood, its streets unpaved, and containing no remarkable edifices. The population is 15,000. Petit Goave and Jaquemel are small towns in the same department, with good harbours and some trade. Cape Haytien, formerly Cape Francais Henry, is better built than Port au Prince, with well- paved streets, and some handsome squares, and has a population of about 10,000. Jeremie is a place of considerable trade. St. Domingo, the capital of what was the Spanish part of the island, presents the remains of a very handsome city ; a solid and spa- cious cathedral, a large arsenal, houses in general commodious and well-built ; but it has been long in a state of decay, and is not supposed to contain now above 10,000 inhabitants. EXTENT AND POPULATION OF THE WEST INDIA ISLANDS. SPANISH ISLANDS. Square miles. Population. Capital. Cuba 43,500 725,000 Havannah. Porto Rico 4000 325,000 St. John's. BRITISH ISLANDS. Jamaica 5520 375,000 Kingston. Barbadoes 164 102,000 Bridgetown. Trinidad 1970 45,000 Port Spain. Antigua 108 36,000 St. John's. Grenada and the ( m 29 000 gt G Grenadines \ St. Vincent 121 26,000 Kingston. St. Kitts 68 24,000 Basse Terre. Dominica 275 20,000 Roseau. St. Lucia 275 18,000 Carenage. Tobago 120 14,000 Scarborough. Nevis 20 12,000 Charlestown. Montserrat 47 8000 Plymouth. Tortola 20 7000 Road Harbour. Barbuda 72 Anguilla 90 3000 Bahamas 4440 18,000 Nassau. Bermudas 20 10,000 Georgetown WEST INDIES. Green Turtle. Agouti. The Agouti is now less common in the West Indies than formerly. It is about the size of the European hare ; runs with great celerity up rising ground, and, like the hare, will frequently roll over in descending a hill. It feeds on vegetables. The Green Turtle is that species so highly prized as food. They are taken in great numbers in nearly all parts of the West Indies, and the adjacent regions. Many are seat every year to Europe and the United States. Guana. The Guana is a lizard four or five feet long. Its flesh is highly prized, being tender, while, and delicate to the taste. This animal is very nimble, and is hunted by dogs. Numbers of them are salted ap.d barrelled for use. Snake Neck, or Darter I « MartiiiicoGiillinulp. 233 SOUTH AMERICA. Ceroxylon Andicola. These trees grow on the Andes at an elevation of from 5,000 to J2.000 feet above the level of the sea. The Ceroxylon Andicola flourishes at a greater altitude than any other known species of palm. Its trunk is coated with a waxy substance ; and attains the height of 160 feet. Brazil Nut. Jatropha Manihot. The Brazil or Cream Nut, grows fifteen or twenty together, in a round hard shell, as large as a child's head. When ripe, it falls from the tree, and is sufficiently heavy to inflict serious in- jury on any one it may happen to strike. The juice of the Jatropha Manihot is a most powerful poison ; yet its root furnishes the nu- tricious Tapioca. Cassava, or Mandioca bread, so largely used in South America, is also made from it. The poisonous quality of the juice appears to be dissipated by heat. 234 SOUTH AMERICA. 203 Besides the foregoing, the small islands of Anegada, Bieque, Culebra, theCaymans,and Virgin Gorda, belong to Great Britain ; but nothing positive as to the area or population can be given. FRENCH ISLANDS. Square miles. Population. Capital. Guadaloupe 675 124,000 Basse Terre. Martinico 290 119,000 St. Pierre. St. Martin, N. part . 15 6000 Mariegaiante 90 11,500 Basse Terre. Deseada 25 1,500 DANISH ISLANDS. Santa Cruz 80 34,000 Christianstadt St. Thomas 50 15,000 St. Thomas. St John's 70 3000 SWEDISH. St. Bartholomew ... 25 8000 Gustavia. DUTCH. St. Eustatia .10 20,000 The Bay. Cura9oa 375 12,000 Williamstadt St. Martin, S. part . 10 5000 Saba 20 900 VENEZUELA. Margarita 16,000 Pampatar. Hayti (independent) 800,000 Port au Prince. The small islands of Oruba, Buen Ayre, Orchilla and Tortuga, are part of the Little Antilles, and lie along the coast of Vene- zuela, : they are all small : some of them are uninhabited and but little is known of the area or population. SOUTH AMERICA. South America, the southern division of the New World, is inferior in dimensions to the northern portion of the continent by almost 1,000,000 square miles : its coast is also less indented by large bays, but it presents the same tapering form to the south It is in length 4500, and in breadth 3200 miles, in the widest part, with an area of 7,050,000 square miles. Like North America, it is noted for the grandeur and diversity of its natural features. Here immense rivers roll through an extent of almost 4000 miles, and are so broad that the eye can- not reach from shore to shore. In one point are seen mountain summits reaching above the clouds, white with snows that never 204 SOUTH AMERICA. melt, while their bases rear the cocoa-nut, the banana, and thy pine-apple. In some places volcanoes too numerous to be class- ed throw out smoke and flames, while in others are vast and deep forests abounding in all the gi'and and gigantic vegetation of tropical climates ; and again are seen almost boundless plains, extending for thousands of miles, destitute of trees, and animated by millions of wild horses and cattle which graze on them. The most extensive in range, and, with one exception, the lof- tiest mountains on the globe, extend through this continent from its northern to its southern extremity, and impart to it a charac- ter of unequalled grandeur and magnificence. The principal chain of the Andes runs from north to south, at a distance from the shore of the Pacific Ocean, varying from 100 to 200 miles, and appears to extend through the isthmus of Darien, and to be connected with the great western chain of North America. The elevation of the Andes is by no means uniform. In some places it rises to more than 25,000 feet, while in others it sinks to less than one-half that height. The whole range seems to rest upon volcanic fires, and numerous peaks are constantly burning. The main ridge of the Andes commences at the Isthmus of Darien, and, in its progress southward, shoots up, under the Equator, into the lofty summits of Chimborazo and Antisana. On reaching the elevated regions of Bolivia, it forms a vast mass, amidst whose lofty peaks tower Mount Sorata, of 25,400, and Mount Illimani, of 24,350 feet elevation, surpassing in height all the other peaks of this great chain. Passing onward between Buenos Ayres and Chili, the Andes preserve this elevation very little diminished ; but toward the most southern extreme, they fall gradually to less than one-fourth of their greatest height, and assume an aspect dreary and desolate, in correspondence with the wintry severity of the climate. The mountains which traverse the eastern section of Brazil, rise south of the Amazon river, and extend, by several nearly parallel ranges, to the Rio de la Plata. They generally reach from 2000 to 3000 feet, and in a few cases are elevated to near 6000 feet, and are not, it is believed, in any instance, the seat of volcanic action. The rivers of South America have undisputed claims to rank amongst the greatest on the globe, whether considered in their vast length of course, depth and breadth of stream, or in their capacity for an extensive and continuous inland navigation. Of these, the Amazon is the most important and prominent. This great stream, with its mighty branches, the Madeira, Caqueta. Rio Negro, &c, drain an extent of country estimated to equal nearly the whole of Europe. SOUTH AMERICA Vanilla Aromatica. Cephaelis Ipecacuanha. The bean of the Vanilla is noted for its sweet bilsamic odour, and its warm and agreeable taste. The root of the Cephaelis Ipecacuanha furnishes the well-known emetic, Ipecacuanha. Theobroma, or Chocolate Tree. Yellow Potato of Peru, &c. The Theobroma yields the Cacao or Chocolate nut, from which Chocolate is manufactured The Yellow Potatoe of Peru and Bolivia is supposed to be the original of that invaluable vegetable. Tillandsia. 237 SOUTH AMERICA. Mangrove. Fuchsias, Chili. The Mangrove grows along the sea-shore, in situations where its roots are washed by the tide ; at low water, crabs and oysters in abundance may be gathered from them. This tree is found in nearly all maritime tropical countries. Paraguay Tea, or Mate. Chili Pine. The Chili Pine grows in the southern part of Chili. The natives subsist on its seed, which they bury in pits for winter use. Usnea Fasciata. Winter's Bark. The small lichen, Usnea Fasciata, is the only vegetable production known to exist in the South Shetland Islands. Winter's Bark was found growing in Terra del Fuego by Sir F. Drake, and named after his companion. Captain Winter. It was long considered in medicine as a valuable tonic, but is now disregarded. SOUTH AMERICA. 205 The immense size of the Amazon would admit of a ship na- vigation for 2400 miles, did not the rapidity of the current pre- vent it ; but it will, no doubt, at some future period, yield to the power of steam. The boat navigation extends about 3000 miles, to the Pongo, or rapids, at Jaen, where the river passes a subor- dinate chain of the Andes. The Rio de la Plata, or Parana, opens to the ocean with an estuary of 150 miles in breadth. Its ship navigation extends to Buenos Ayres, and that for boats 1800 miles further. The Orinoco, though not equalling either the Amazon or Rio de la Plata, is nevertheless an important stream. By its means, and that of its tributary, the Meta, vessels of suitable burthen may ascend from the ocean almost to the foot of the Andes. Its entire course is not less than 1500 miles. In the abundance of the precious metals, South America sur- passes all other parts of the earth. Gold is found in many places in mines, and in the sands of the rivers. The silver mines of Peru are among the most productive in the world. Gold, platina, and mercury, exist in various places ; and tin, copper, and other useful metals, are abundant. In Brazil, dia- monds are met with to a greater extent than in any other part of the earth ; but, though generally larger and as brilliant, they are inferior in hardness to those of India. The vegetation of South America is remarkable for its variety and its luxuriance. Cocoa, vanilla, Indian-corn, cassava, from which tapioca, or sago, is prepared, and the capsicum, whose pods yield the pungent pepper, called Cayenne, are all natives of this part of the continent. The sugar-cane, indigo, cotton, coffee, and the useful grains, wheat, rye, barley, &c, which have been introduced by Europeans, all thrive. A great variety of species of palms, equally distinguished for their beauty and size, and for their various uses, are found here. In the Brazilian forests, there are upwards of 250 kinds of wood fit for useful purposes in carpentry and dyeing. The gum-elastic, or Indian-rubber, is the milky juice of seve- ral plants found in Guiana, Brazil, and Buenos Ayres. It is obtained by making incisions through the bark, and is then spread, while in its viscous state, over a mould, and dried in a thick smoke. It is now so extensively used for making shoes and cloth, as to form an important article of commerce. The cow-tree is found in Venezuela, and derives its name from the singular fact of its juice resembling milk. When an incision is made into the trunk, the juice issues out in great abundance, and is drunk by the inhabitants. This vegetable milk does not co- agulate nor curdle like animal milk ; but in other respects has an astonishing resemblance. Peruvian bark, and a great variety of 18 »9 206 SOUTH AMERICA. useful medicinal, dyeing, and other productions, are found in this quarter. South America contains a great variety of animals, many of them differing essentially from those to be met with elsewhere. Of the carnivorous, or animals of prey, the jaguar, the cougar or puma, the ocelot, and mougar, are the chief of the cat family. The lama, a useful animal, of the camel kind ; the vicuna, the tapir, the peccary, resembling the domestic hog, the capibarra, the chinchilla, a kind of rat that furnishes the chinchilla fur, the coypou, resembling the beaver of the northern continent, the sloth, the agouti, the ant-eaters, the armadillo and Brazilian porcupine, and monkeys of various kinds. The jaguar, or American tiger, is a formidable animal, and is in size between the tiger and leopard of the old continent. It is found from Guiana to Paraguay, and is a solitary animal, in- habiting thick virgin forests. They attack cows, and even bulls of four years old, but are especially enemies to horses. It will seldom attack man, except when strongly pressed by hunger ; instances, however, are known of persons having been seized and carried off by them. The cougar is found in different parts of South America, and is believed to be the same animal as the North American panther. The tapir, or anta, is of the size of a small cow, but without horns, and with a short naked tail ; the legs are short and thick, and the feet have small black hoofs. His skin is so thick and hard, as to be almost impenetrable to a bullet ; for which reason the Indians make shields of it. The tapir seldom stirs out but in the night, and delights in the water, where he oftener lives than on land. He is chiefly to be found in marshes, and seldom goes far from the borders of rivers or lakes. This animal is commonly found in Brazil, Paraguay, Guiana, and Colombia. The lama resembles a very small camel, is gentle and con- fiding in its manners ; its carriage is graceful, and even beautiful. They abound in great numbers from Potosi to Caraccas, and form the chief riches of the Indians and Spaniards, who rear them. Their flesh is esteemed excellent food. They are trained to carry burdens, and the strongest of them will travel with from 100 to 150 pounds weight on their backs: their pace is slow, but they are sure-footed, ascending and descending preci- pices and craggy rocks, where even man can scarcely accom- pany them. They are mostly employed in carrying the riches of the mines to the large towns and cities. The vicuna is smaller than the lama, and is celebrated for the superior fineness of its wool. It inhabits the highest points SOUTH AMERICA. 207 of the southern Andes, and exhibits great liveliness. The chin- chilla is a species of field rat, about the size of a guinea-pig, and is held in great estimation for the extreme fineness of its fur or wool, which is sufficiently long for spinning. This little animal is about six inches in length, and lives in burrows under ground, in the open parts of Chili, and the adjoining regions of South America. The sloth is peculiar to South America. This animal, in its wild state, spends all its life in the trees, and never quits them but through force or accident, and lives not upon the branches but suspended under them : leaves and wild fruits constitute its food. The horse, the ass, the ox, the sheep, the goat, and the pig, were all strangers to the new world, and were brought from Europe, at an early period, by the first settlers. Some of them have increased prodigiously in every part of America ; in many places they have even regained their pristine state of savage freedom. Innumerable herds of wild oxen cover the rich savan- nahs of Brazil, Buenos Ayres, and Colombia ; and troops of horses, equally wild, are found in every part of the pampas. The horned cattle are principally valuable for their hides and tallow, which are, for the most part, shipped to European ports, and constitute two of the principal commodities of South Amer- ican exportation. The ass, the sheep, the goat, and the hog, likewise introduced into America, both north and south, by the early European colonists, have not, with the exception of the hog in the United States, increased in the same proportion as the horse and ox. The ass is principally employed in the old Spanish and Portu- guese settlements, for the purpose of breeding mules, which are universally employed in transporting the precious metals, and possess all the wonderful sagacity in discovering and avoiding danger, and all the security of foot, which have, in all ages of the world, rendered this animal so valuable in mountainous countries. The principal birds of South America are, the rhea, or Amer- ican ostrich, the condor, the king of the vultures, the black vulture, and the turkey-buzzard ; and of the eagle family, are the Brazilian caracara eagle, the harpy eagle, the most ferocious of its species, the Chilian sea-eagle, and the vulturine caracara eagle, bearing a strong affinity to both the vulture and the eagle ; the toucans, various in form, and of superb colouring ; parrots, of great variety of size and splendour of plumage ; the burrow- ing owl, blacksmith, or bell-bird, uttering a note like the blow of a hammer upon an anvil, orioles, or hanging-birds, chatterers, manikins, humming-birds, of 100 different species, from the size 208 SOUTH AMERICA. of a wren to that of an humble-bee ; they are more numerous in the tropical regions of Brazil and Guiana than in any other section of the continent ; a few species are also found in North America. The rhea, or American ostrich, is smaller than the African species, and is further distinguished from it by having three toes completely developed on each foot. It is found chiefly on the pampas, or plains, of Buenos Ayres and Patagonia, from the Amazon to the straits of Magellan. This bird imparts a lively interest to a ride on the pampas. They are seen sometimes in coveys of twenty or thirty, gliding elegantly along the gentle undulations of the plain, at half pistol-shot distance from each other, like skirmishers. The young are easily domesticated, and soon become attached to those who caress them ; but they are troublesome inmates, for, stalking about the house, they, will, when full-grown, swallow coin, nails, buttons, and every small article of metal within their reach. The condor is of the vulture species, and the largest of ter- restrial birds ; its wings extend from 9 to 14 feet ; it is peculiar to the Andes, and seems to prefer the highest points, bordering on the limits of perpetual snow. Although they never attack man, yet they exhibit no fear at his approach. Their food and habits are very similar to those of the bearded vulture of Europe. The skin of the condor is so thickly clothed with down and feathers, that it is capable of withstanding musket-balls, when not closely fired, and the bird is killed with great difficulty. The king of the vulture is a smaller species than the condor ; its wings, from tip to tip, are about six feet. It is remarkable for the variety of its colours, and the bright tints of blue and vermilion which mark its naked head and neck. It is occasion- ally seen as far north as Florida. The toucans are omniverous in their habits, feeding both upon animal and vegetable matter. Their enormous bills are light, and being vascular within, admit of a great development being given to the organs of smell ; by this power they discover the nests and eggs of other birds, which they are constantly plun- dering. One of the most remarkable fish of South America is the gym- notus, or electric eel : it possesses the singular property of stun- ning its prey by an electrical shock. This eel abounds in the rivers and lakes of the low-lands of Colombia, and is about six feet in length. The electrical shock is conveyed, either through the hand or any metallic conductor which touches the fish ; even the angler sometimes receives a shock from them, conveyed along the wetted rod and fishing-line. SOUTH AMERICA. Great Ant-eater, or Ant Bear. The Great Ant-eater is seven or eight feet lone, including the tail. It feeds on ants, which it collects by thrusting its long narrow tongue, covered with a glutinous substance, into an ant heap, whence he withdraws it covered with the insects ; this operation the animal repeats with such celerity as soon to satisfy his hunger. Lama. Tapir. 243 SOUTH AMERICA. Red-billed Toucan. Oriole, or Hanging Bird's Nests. Umbrella Chatterer. Blacksmith, or Bell Bird. Humming Bird. Spur-winged Water Hen. 244 SOUTH AMERICA. 209 The most formidable reptiles of South America are the alliga- tors and serpents : three or four species of the former inhabit the rivers and lakes : of the latter are the boa constrictor, the ana- conda, and the aboma ; they are found chiefly in the swamps and fens of the tropical parts of South America : the latter is said to grow from 20 to 30 feet in length, and to be as thick as a stout man : it is indifferent as to its prey, and destroys, when hungry, any animal that comes within its reach. The negroes consider it excellent food. Among the useful reptiles are the turtle, so highly prized by epicures, and the guana lizard, by many considered quite as great a delicacy as the turtle; its flesh is white, tender, and of delicate flavour : they are very nimble, and are hunted by dogs, and, when not wanted for immediate use, are salted and barrelled : they are found both on the continent and among the West Indian Islands. On the discovery of the New World, it was found by the Spa- niards in possession of various tribes of Indians, generally of a more gentle and less warlike character than those which inhab- ited North America. They were doubtless the same race, but the influence cf a softer climate had probably subdued their vigour and courage. Disregarding all the claims of justice and humanity, the ruthless invaders took possession of the land. Peru, a populous empire and comparatively civilized, was conquered by Pizarro, after a series of treacherous and intrepid acts, scarcely paralleled in the history of mankind. The whole of South America fell into the hands of Europeans : Spain took possession of the west- ern, and Portugal of the eastern portion. Thus it was arranged into two great political divisions. Soon after the invasion of Spain by the French in 1808, a revolutionary spirit began to manifest itself in the Spanish colo- nies ; and, after a short time, they all, one after another, declared themselves independent and formed republican constitutions, most of which were modelled, in a great measure, upon the constitution of the United States. The people, however, were little accustomed to free institutions, and were ill prepared by character, education, and habits, to sus- tain a republican government ; and their condition since the decla- ration of independence has been, for the most part, a state of revolution, disorder, and misrule. The whole of South America is now, with the exception of Guiana, entirely independent of European control. The Spanish part is divided into a number of distinct republics, while Brazil, the part settled by the Portuguese, is a limited monarchy. 18* 245 210 SOUTH AMERICA. Considerable attention has been lately paid in some of the South American States to education. Schools and universities have been established in several places, and knowledge is begin- ning to dispel part of the ignorance which prevailed : but "the majority of the people are superstitious, bigoted, and indolent, and often vicious in their habits. The Roman Catholic is the established religion in all the South American States, and no other system is tolerated, except in Venezuela; but persons of other persuasions are allowed to reside without molestation. Many of the churches before the revolu- tion were decorated with prodigious quantities of gold, silver, and precious stones, and were perhaps the most sumptuous and costly in the world ; and though numbers of them were plundered during the irregularities of that contest, yet they have still generally a splendid appearance. The inhabitants of South America amount to about 14,000,000, and consist of nearly the same classes as those of the northern division of the continent, whites, Indians, negroes, and the mixed races ; the latter comprise mulattoes, mestizos, and zamboes. The whites are chiefly Spaniards and Portuguese, and their de- scendants ; besides some English, Dutch, and French y in Guiana. The negroes are not numerous, except in Brazil and the Euro- pean colonies of Guiana, in both of which slaves abound. In the majority of the Spanish- American States, slavery has been abol- ished. The Indians are, in part, entirely independent of the govern- ments within whose limits they are nominally included, but in many places they form a considerable proportion of the inhabit- ants, and much of the common labour of the country is perform- ed by them. Like the Indians of North America, whom they resemble in their general physical characteristics, those of South America are composed of a great number of tribes speaking dif- ferent languages and varying dialects of the same language. EXTENT AND POPULATION OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN STATES. States. Area in sq. m. Population. States. Area m sq. m. Population. New Grenada. .450,000. . .1,687,000 Venezuela 420,000. . . . 900,000 Ecuador 280,000. . . . 600,000 Guiana 160,000 . . .-. 182,000 Brazil 3,390,000. . .5,000,000 North Peru . . . 300,000 .... 700,000 South Peru. . . . 130,000. . . . 800,000 216 Bolivia 450,000. . .1,716,000 Buenos Ayres. .750,000. . . . 700,000 Paraguay 88,000 150,000 Uruguay 92,000 75,000 Chili 170,000. . . 1,500,000 Patagonia . . . . ■ 370,000 . . . . ■ 3 0,000 Total 7,050,000 14^040,000 SOUTH AMERICA. The Peacock Trogon is one of the most superbly coloured of the feathered race, and is much Bought after for the sake of its plumage. Cock-Tail Waterchat. Blue- Winged Parrot. Brazilian Frog. This reptile is as large as a child's head. Cupid Butterfly. Diamond Beetle. Great Fire-Fly. SOUTH AMERICA. Chimborazo was formerly supposed to be the highest mountain in America ; but in the year 1332, Mount Sorato, in Bolivia, was discovered to be nearly 4000 feet higher. Cotopaxi. Cotopaxi is the highest volcano on the globe. It is seldom silent, nearly always emitting fire and smoke. Some of its eruptions have been tremendous. Mount Pichincha. Mount Pichincha. on which the city of Quito is built, is a volcano 10,000 feet high ; its crater is three milua in circuit. When viewed from the elevated plain on which it stands, this moun- tain is much less imposing than others of less elevation in its vicinity. 248 COLOMBIA. 211 COLOMBIA. Colombia is the name given to the extensive territory of an independent state, which took the lead among the newly-created republics of what was formerly Spanish South America, and which, under the government of the mother country, comprised the provinces or states styled the viceroyalty of New Grenada, the audiencia of Quito, and the captain-generalship of Venezuela. After renouncing the authority of Spain, a declaration of in- dependence was made, in the year 1811, and eight years after- wards a union of these states was effected, under the title of the Republic of Colombia : general Bolivar was chosen presi- dent. This confederation endured until the year 1831, when a separation into the distinct republics of New Grenada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, took place. The territories of these states correspond respectively with the old Spanish colonial divisions above mentioned. Though exhibiting in some respects distinctive characters, yet it is thought advisable to describe the physical features of the whole region under the general appellation of Colombia. This territory is bounded on the north by the Caribbean sea, south by Peru and Brazil, and west by the Pacific ocean. Its outline is probably not less than 6500 miles in extent. It ranges from north to south 1400, and from east to west 1650 miles, with an area of about 1,150,000 square miles. The surface of Colombia, its mountains and plains, are of the most varied character and on the most majestic scale, present- ing forms and phenomena among the most grand and striking that are to be found on the globe. The summits of the Andes, though less in elevation than those of the Himmaleh range in Asia, present a continuity of unbroken and gigantic steeps, per- haps not inferior in grandeur to those celebrated mountains. Chimborazo, elevated 21,730 feet above the ocean, is the highest mountain in Colombia, and is yet unsealed by mortal foot. Humboldt and his companions made extraordinary exer- tions to reach its summit, and arrived at about 2000 feet from that point, then believed to be the greatest elevation ever attain- ed by man. They were enveloped in thick fogs, and in an at- mosphere of the most piercing cold ; they breathed with difficulty, and blood burst from the eyes and lips. Antisana, 19,400 feet high, is remarkable for having a village on its side at the height of 13,500 feet, once believed to be the highest inhabited spot on the globe. The most tremendous volcanoes in the world are those which 212 SOUTH AMERICA. burst from this mountain range. Cotopaxi is the most formida- ble in the Andes, and, indeed, on the globe. This mountain is 19,000 feet high, consequently more elevated than Vesuvius would be if placed upon the top of Teneriffe. In the course of the last century, it had five great eruptions, and one in 1803. In some of these it has been averred that Cotopaxi was heard at the distance of 600 miles, and that on the coast of the Pacific, at 140 miles distance, it sounded like thunder, or like the discharge of a continuous battery of cannon. From this and the other South American craters are ejected not only the usual volcanic sub- stances, but torrents of boiling water and mud, often containing great quantities of dead fishes. Sometimes, after successive eruptions, the undermined walls of the mountain fall in, and become a mass of tremendous ruin. Such was the fate of El Altai, which once reared its head above Chimborazo, and of another very lofty volcano, which, in 1698, fell with a similar crash. To the east, the Andes throw out a chain, called the chain of Venezuela, which runs parallel to the sea along the coast of Caraccas, as far as Cumana, leaving along the shore a plain rich in the most valuable tropical productions. The Llanos form another extensive portion of the Colombian territory, commencing where the mountain ranges terminate, and reaching east and south to the Orinoco. They consist of im- mense flats, covered with magnificent forests and vast savannahs, in which the grass often grows above the human height, cover- ing from view both man and horse. A great extent is inundated by the Orinoco and its large tributaries. The soil is fertile in the extreme ; but the unhealthiness of the climate deters settlers who are not urged by extreme necessity. Colombia contains some of the most important rivers of the western continent. The Orinoco and its various branches drain its central and eastern sections. The south is watered by the mighty Amazon, and some of its great tributaries ; while in the west, the Magdalena, now navigated by steam-boats, and the Cauca, convey some of the products of the finest and best set- tled districts of this region to the ocean. There are scarcely any lakes of importance, except, however, that of Maracaybo, which, though it communicates with the sea, yet, unless in strong winds blowing from thence, preserves its waters fresh and unmixed. There are also dispersed through- out the territory various little collections of water on the de- clivities of hills, and others formed by the expansions of rivers. This territory is capable of supplying in the utmost variety and abundance the richest productions of the vegetable kingdom ; 250 COLOMBIA. 213 and were its inhabitants active and industrious, like those of the United States and Great Britain, it would no doubt become one of the richest and most important countries in the world. The cacao of Caraccas, reckoned the best in America, is pro- duced to the amount of five million dollars. Tobacco, cotton, coffee, sugar, Peruvian bark, and indigo, all find most favour- able soils. The latter has somewhat declined, and is not pro- duced to the same amount as formerly. Wheat and other European grains are raised to some extent on the table-land of Bogota, and elsewhere in the interior, but the difficulty of com- munication between the inland districts and the coast, has ren- dered a large import of American flour into the sea-port towns necessary. The mineral treasures of Colombia are varied and extensive. The silver-mines of New Grenada yield upwards of two million dollars, yearly. Gold, platina, quicksilver, copper, and lead, with various kinds of precious stones, are also found in New Grenada ; and the republic of Ecuador yields almost the same kind of precious metals and gems. Venezuela is the least pro- ductive in minerals of any part of Colombia, yet it furnishes copper, tin, rock crystal, and lapis lazuli, which produces the superb colour called ultramarine. Salt-mines also abound. Manufactures can scarcely be said to exist in Colombia, in consequence of which commerce has a considerable activity. From the total want of domestic manufactures, almost the whole population must be clothed in foreign fabrics. The chief trade is with the United States and Great Britain. The princi- pal articles shipped from Colombia are, coffee, sugar, cacao, hides, sarsaparilla, Peruvian bark, and indigo. The internal traffic will probably one day be immense upon the Orinoco, the Apure, Rio Meta, and by the Cassiquiare with the Rio Negro and the Amazon : but all the regions watered by these mighty rivers are as yet little better than deserts. The Colombians retain much of the gravity, temperance, and sobriety of the Spaniards, with a share of their pride, suspicious temper, and neglect of cleanliness. A courtesy somewhat stately and studied prevails in their demeanour. It is not easy to gain their confidence ; but when that is once obtained, they are ex- tremely friendly and cordial. They are hospitable to foreigners, whom, from national pride, however, they regard with secret jealousy. The great mass of the people were kept in profound ignorance during the three centuries of Spanish government. Four-fifths of the inhabitants did not even learn to read or write ; and the children of the more opulent classes were only taught the most 214 SOUTH AMERICA. common branches of education ; but of late years, great pro- gress has been made in all the departments of knowledge ; free ingress of books from all quarters, the establishment of news- papers and journals, and the liberty of the press which now exists, have greatly tended to enlighten the community. The amusements of Colombia are chiefly borrowed from the mother country. Dancing is passionately practised, in the seve- ral forms of the fandango, the bolero, and the Spanish country- dance. Bull and cock-fighting are equally favourite sports, and tend to keep alive that ferocity which is the main blemish in the moral character of the Spaniards. The races are as numerous and as variously crossed as in Mexico. The negro maintains his place in the scale of human- ity ; and the mulattoes, Paez and Padilla, have ranked among the foremost of the heroes who achieved the national indepen- dence. Of the native Indian tribes within this territory, the Caribs are the ruling people. They inhabit the plains of the Orinoco, and were once found in the West Indies. The islanders, now nearly extinct, are represented to have been cannibals ; and the tribes of the continent are distinguished for their fierceness and warlike propensities. The Ottomacs, another tribe living upon the Orinoco, present the singular spectacle of mud-eaters, the mud of that river forming, during the inundation, their prin- cipal food. The Guarones are a social hospitable tribe, who inhabit the numerous islands in the Delta of the Orinoco, and act as pilots. During floods they lodge in dwellings suspended from the trees. NEW GRENADA. New Grenada, comprising the Spanish viceroyalty of that name, is the most populous and powerful of the Colombian Re- publics. It is not wholly a South American state, a small por tion of its territory extending westward from the Isthmus of Darien into North America. This state is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, south by the Republic of Ecuador, east by Venezuela, and west by the Pacific Ocean. It includes an area of 450,000 square miles, and contains a population estimated at 1,687,000 souls. New Grenada is divided into five departments, which are subdi- vided into eighteen provinces. NEW GRENADA. 215 Departments. Capitals. Population. Isthmus Panama 10,000 Magdalena Carthagena 18,000 Boyaca Tunja 400 Cundinamarca Bogota 30,000 Cauca Popayan 20,000 Bogota, the capital of New Grenada, is situated on a high ta- ble-land, 8000 feet above the level of the sea. This plain, though under the equator, has the climate of Britain, without its change of seasons, the perpetual temperature being that of spring or au- tumn, and the thermometer seldom falling below 47° or rising above 70°. The surrounding country is distinguished for its fertility, yield- ing two crops in the year of the principal European grains. It is hemmed in by lofty mountains, rugged precipices, roaring torrents, and frightful abysses. The city was founded in 1538, by Quesada, and for a time rapidly increased : it is now supposed to contain 30,000 inhabitants. Many of its churches are not only splendid, but built with some taste ; and their numerous spires, amid the grandeur of the surrounding scenery, give it a fine appearance. It contains an university and archiepiscopal see, and carries on a considerable trade in cotton goods, hides, and grain. The scenery of the plain of Bogota is marked by many strik- ing and picturesque features. Among these are particularly con- spicuous the Fall of Tequendama and the natural bridges of Ico- nonzo. The first is formed by the river Bogota. Its mass of waters, previously spread to a considerable breadth, are contract- ed to forty feet, and dashed down a precipice 650 feet high, into an almost fathomless abyss. The bridge of Icononzo is a natu- ral arch across a chasm 360 feet deep, at the bottom of which flows a rapid torrent, which would have been otherwise impas- sable. Honda, the port of Bogota, is situated on the Magdalena river, about 55 miles north-west from the capital : it carries on a considerable trade, with a population of about 10,000 inhabit- ants. The town has some good buildings ; the climate is hot but not unhealthful, and the banks of the river are infested with mosquitoes. Popayan is a handsome city, built more regularly and elegantly than Santa Fe, and inhabited by many opulent merchants, who have suffered severely by the revolution. Its site is picturesque, and the climate delicious, notwithstanding the frequent rains and tempests. It enjoys a considerable trade in European merchan- dise, which it receives from Carthagena, and distributes to Quito W 253 216 SOUTH AMERICA. and other neighbouring districts, together with the products of its fertile soil. Pasto is a considerable town, and the inhabitants manufacture a peculiar species of cabinet-work with taste and elegance. It is surrounded by volcanoes, and is accessible only through rug- ged and narrow passes. Previous to 1834, when it was nearly destroyed by an earthquake, its population amounted to 10,000. Carthagena, long considered by the Spaniards as the bulwark of their possessions in America, has lost much of its former im- portance. The fortifications are considerably decayed, yet it is the chief arsenal of the republic. The packet-ships which main- tain the intercourse with Europe and the United States, sail to and from Carthagena ; and it absorbs most of the commerce of the Magdalena and its tributaries. Its population is supposed to amount to about 18,000. Turbaco, a little Indian village in the vicinity, to which the wealthy Carthagenians retire in the hot season, is distinguished by the curious phenomenon of the volcancitos (little volcanoes,) consisting of about 20 cones, from 20 to 25 feet high, whence issue constant eruptions of gas, sometimes accompanied with mud and water. Mompox, in the province of the same name, derives some im- portance from its population of 10,000 souls. Rio Hacha is a small town with a harbour, and once the seat of a pearl-fishery, which never proved very successful. Farther west is Santa Martha, situated in a country pervaded by a de- tached range of lofty mountains. It has a good harbour, is strongly fortified, and carries on considerable trade. Its popu- lation is about 6,000 souls. Panama and Porto Bello, on the opposite sides of the isthmus, bore a great name in America, when they were the exclusive channel by which the wealth of Peru was conveyed to the mo- ther country. Within the last fifty years, however, these places have both greatly declined. Panama is still a fortified place, and carries on some trade. It contains a beautiful cathedral, four monasteries, now deserted, and other large buildings, and maintains a population of 10,000. Porto Bello, so called from its fine harbour, is in a state of decay, and its pestilential climate has given it the name of the grave of Europeans. It is now in- habited only by a few negroes and mulattoes. Here was once held the richest fair in America, but its trade is now chiefly re- moved to Chagres, a miserable little town with 1000 inhabitants. There have been, from time to time, various projects for the construction of a canal, or a rail-road, so as to unite the Atlan tic and Pacific oceans at this narrow neck of land. But the po- SOUTH AMERICA. Fall of Tequendama, nine miles south of Bogota, New Grenada. The Fall of Tequendama is formed by the river Bogota. Its stream, contracted from a con- siderable breadth to about 40 feet, is dashed down a precipice of 650 feet in depth. Bridges of Icononzo, New Grenada. ^fS^ij^ Pass of the Andes. The Bridges of Icononzo are two natural arches thrown over a deep narrow chasm, at the bottom of which flows a rapid torrent. The upper arch is 360 feet above the water, and is 40 feet wide ; the other arch is 50 feet lower. This remarkable curiosity is about 40 miles south of Bogotu. Travellers are often carried over the most rugged passes of the Andes by Indians, who hire themselves for that purpose. These men are called Silleros ; and use a kind of chair, that is strapped to their back, in which the travoller sits. Two or three silleros proceed in company, and relieve each other at intervals. 255 SOUTH AMERICA. Mount Quindiu, near Popayan, New Grenada. Mount Quindiu, the most elevated of the northern Andes, is 17,190 feet high. It is rioted for the quantities of gold found on it, and in its vicinity. Cascade of Vinegar, New Grenada. The Cascade of Vinegar is formed by a small stream, near Popayan, that rises in the vol- canic mountain Purace, and flows into the Cauca river. The water is so impregnated with acid substances from the volcano, as to be perceptibly sour to the taste. From this circumstance the cascade derives its name. 25C VENEZUELA. 217 litical state of the country is as yet somewhat unsettled ; and hence capitalists are deterred from advancing the necessary funds. At some more propitious period, when affairs shall be permanently tranquillized, doubtless such a communication will be opened. VENEZUELA. The republic of Venezuela, consisting of the former cap- taincy-general of Caraccas, to which was attached the exten- sive tract known under the name of Spanish Guiana, extends from the Orinoco to the gulf of Venezuela. It stretches over an area of 420,000 square miles, and is divided into four de- partments, which are subdivided into 12 provinces, with a population estimated at about 900,000. Departments. Capitals. Population. Orinoco Varinas 3,000 Maturin Cumana 10,000 Venezuela Caraccas 23,000 Zulia Maracaybo 20,000 This republic comprises the most extensive part of Colombia , a range of mountains, the north-eastern chain of the Andes, ex- tends from New Grenada along the whole of the north coast. It is known by the name of the Cordillera of Caraccas or Ven- ezuela ; and some of its summits attain an elevation of 18,000 feet. The chief part of this region, however, forms a plain of immense extent, reaching to a great distance southward. It is divided into three parts, distinguished by the most marked con- trasts both natural and social. The first comprises the forest territory beyond the Orinoco. It exists in an entirely unsub- dued and savage state, peopled by the Caribs and other tribes, who roam from place to place, and wage almost continual war with each other. The second part consists of the Llanos, boundless plains, where the eye, in the compass of a wide horizon, often does not discover an eminence of six feet. Like the Pampas of La Plata, they are covered with the most luxuriant pastures, on which it is estimated 1,200,000 oxen, 180,000 horses, and 90,000 mules are fed. Some of the great proprietors possess from 10,000 to 20,000 head of cattle. The export of the hides of these animals forms one of the principal branches of the commerce of Venezuela. The third division, consisting of a coast about 600 miles long, 19 W* 257 218 SOUTH AMERICA. and the territory immediately between it and the mountains, includes all that exhibits any degree of culture or civilization. Here the West India products, and particularly cacao of superior quality, are cultivated to a considerable extent ; and a trade is carried on, which, though interrupted by the revolutionary war and other calamities, is likely, in periods of tranquillity, to be re- vived and extended. Caraccas, situated a few miles from the coast, has always been the capital of Venezuela, and previous to 1812 was a very large city, containing above 40,000 inhabitants. On the 26th of March, it was overthrown by one of the most dreadful earth- quakes recorded in either hemisphere. Several of the loftiest churches fell, burying 3000 or 4000 of the inhabitants, and they were so completely destroyed, that none of the fragments were more than five or six feet above the ground. Nearly 10,000 persons perished on the spot, besides many more who died af- terwards, in consequence of wounds and pi'ivations. The agi- tation of the revolutionary contest obstructed the revival of Caraccas, and in 1830 it did not contain above 23,000 inhabi- tants. La Guayra, about twelve miles from Caraccas, of which it is the port, notwithstanding its unhealthful climate and bad har- bour, is the seat of a very considerable trade. Similar disasters have reduced it from a population of 13,000 to scarcely 5000 ; but it is now reviving. Several large cities occur on the long line of coast which ex- tends westward from Caraccas.- Valencia flourishes in conse- quence of the fine interior territory, the trade of which is con- ducted through it ; and it is supposed to maintain a population of about 15,000. Its port, about ten leagues distant, called Puerto Cabello, has an admirable harbour, but is extremely un- healthful. Coro, once the capital of Venezuela, having lost that distinction, and a great part of its trade, is now much de- cayed ; yet it contains a population of 20,000. Maracaybo contains many descendants of the early conquerors, who live in proud indolence. The rest of the inhabitants gain wealth by traffic ; and the whole are supposed to be about 20,000. Cumana, situated on an extensive and fertile plain, to the east- ward of Caraccas, is bounded by a curtain of rude mountains covered by luxuriant forests. Numerous herds run wild on its savannahs ; and in the plain on the coast very fine tobacco is cultivated. It has a very spacious and noble harbour, and the gulf on which it is situated affords good anchorage. Mules, cattle, and provisions, are exported to the West Indies. The in- habitants amount to 10,000. Cumana has suffered dreadfully ECUADOR. 219 by earthquakes. New Barcelona, to the westward of Cumana, on an extensive plain overrun by wild cattle, carries on a simi- lar trade, which supports a population of about 5000. In the island of Margarita is the little town of Pampatar, which has been declared a free port. The great plains in the interior of Venezuela and on the Orinoco, possessing neither manufactures nor commerce, cannot contain cities of any magnitude; yet Varinaswas reckoned a neat and handsome place, and, notwithstanding severe losses during the revolutionary war, has still 3000 inhabitants. San Fernando derives some importance from the commerce of the Apure, on which it is situated. Angostura, the only city yet founded on the Orinoco, notwithstanding recent losses, is still about equal to Varinas, and is the seat of a bishop and a college. ECUADOR. The republic of Ecuador, comprising the old Spanish presi- dency of Quito, which was annexed to the vice-royalty of New Grenada, in 1718, lies on both sides of the equator. The civil- ized part of the population is confined to the western coast and the valleys of the Andes, while the eastern portion of the terri- tory is occupied by independent tribes of Indians. This state is bounded north by New Grenada, south by Peru, east by Brazil, and west by the Pacific ocean. The area is about 280,000 square miles. It is divided into three departments, which are subdivided into eight provinces, with a population of about 600,000. Departments. Capitals. Population. Ecuador Quito 70,000 Guayaquil Guayaquil 20,000 Assuay Cuen^a 20,000 The department of the Ecuador forms the finest table-plain in all America. It has an average breadth of about thirty miles, enclosed between two parallel ranges of the loftiest Andes. The climate is that of a perpetual spring, at once benign and equal, and even during the four months of rain, the mornings and evenings are clear and beautiful. Vegetation never ceases ; the country is called the evergreen Quito ; the trees and meadows are crowned with perpetual verdure. The European sees with astonishment the plough and the sickle at once in equal activity ; herbs of the same species here fading through age, there begin- ning to bud ; one flower drooping, and its sister unfolding its beauties to the sun. 220 SOUTH AMERICA. But the feature which renders the view from Quito the most enchanting, perhaps, that ever the eye beheld, is, that above its beautiful valley, and resting, as it were, on its verdant hills, there rise all the loftiest volcanic cones of the Andes. From one point of view eleven may be discovered, clad in perpetual snow. The productions of Quito are equally various as at Bogota, all gradations of climate occurring in a similar proximity ; but the most valuable are those of the temperate climates : grain, fruits, and rich pasturage. Quito, situated on the side of Pichincha, more than 9000 feet above the sea, is one of the finest and largest cities in the New World. It has four streets, broad, handsome, and well paved, and three spacious squares, in which the principal convents and dwelling-houses are situated ; but the rest, extending up the sides of the Pichincha, are crooked and irregular. The churches and convents are built with great magnificence, and even some taste. Quito has two universities, which are numerously attend- ed and carefully conducted ; and it is considered comparatively as a sort of South American Athens. The inhabitants are gay, volatile, hospitable, and courteous. Latacunga, 50 miles south from Quito, is a place of some importance, with 16,000 inhabitants. Riobambo, 90 miles south of Quito, is a large and handsome town. The streets are wide and straight ; the buildings of stone and mortar, but low on ac- count of earthquakes. It has several manufactories of cloth, baizes, &c. The town has been twice (in the years 1698 and 1746,) almost ruined by eruptions from mount Chimborazo. Population, 20,000. Cuenca, 150 miles south of Quito, is a town of 20,000 in- habitants. The streets are straight and broad, and the houses mostly built of adobes, or unburnt bricks. The environs are fer- tile and pleasant. Otavala has from 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, with some manufactures of cotton goods. The country in its vicinity is well adapted for pasturage, and abounds in cattle. Large quantities of cheese are also made in the neighbourhood. It is north-east of Quito. Guayaquil, on the bay of the same name, founded by Pizarro in 1533, contains 20,000 inhabitants, and is one of the most flourishing commercial cities in South America. The houses stand in fine picturesque confusion, along the sides and the top of a hill ; they are handsome and commodious; but none of the public edifices are very splendid. The animal food is not of very good quality ; but nowhere does there exist a finer fruit market. Guayaquil, like Egypt, has its plagues. The air GUIANA. 221 swarms with mosquitoes and other flies still more tormenting ; the ground teems with snakes, centipedes, and other reptiles, whose bite causes fever and inflammation ,• and the shores are crowded with alligators, whose number cannot, by the utmost exertion, be kept within any tolerable limits. The beauty of the ladies of Guayaquil is celebrated throughout all America : they have complexions as fair as any European, with blue eyes and light hair. They have also an agreeable gaiety, joined to a propriety of conduct, which renders the society of this place particularly engaging. About 170 leagues west of the coast is the fine group of the Galapagos (Tortoise) islands, deriving their name from the abundance of a gigantic species of land tortoise, called the elephant tortoise. The islands, which enjoy a delightful climate and a fertile soil, have recently been occupied by a colony from Guayaquil. GUIANA. Guiana was once more extensive than at present : it included the whole of that portion of South America lying between the Orinoco and the Amazon rivers, of which the northern part, called Spanish Guiana, now belongs to Venezuela, and the south- ern, known as Portuguese Guiana, is attached to the Brazilian province of Para. The region at present styled Guiana, extends along the coast from Cape Barrima, at the mouth of the Orinoco, to the Oyapock river, a distance of about 750 miles, and extending in the inte- rior, to the mountains at the source of the Essequibo, Surinam, and Maroni rivers, 350 miles ; comprising an area of about. 160,000 square miles. Along the sea-shore the country pre- sents the appearance of an extensive and uniform plain. The soil is surprisingly fertile, and a most luxuriant vegetation almost everywhere overspreads the country. This region is at present divided between the British, Dutch, and French. The colonies of Essequibo, Demerara and Ber- bice, belong to Great Britain; Surinam to Holland ; and Cayenne to France. British Guiana contains a population of 97,000 persons, of whom only 3529 are whites. Surinam has a population of about 60,000, of whom 55,000 are slaves. The inhabitants of Cay- enne number about 25,000, of whom 3786 are whites ; making a total for the population of Guiana, of 182,000 persons, exclusive of the revolted negroes and Indians in the interior. 19* 261 222 SOUTH AMERICA. Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice, belonged to the Dutch till the last war, when they were conquered by Great Britain and were confirmed to that power by the treaty of 1814. The territory is low, flat, alluvial, and in many parts swampy ; and the greater portion, when it came into the possession of its present owners, was covered with dense and almost impenetrable forests. Since that time a vast improvement has taken place ; British industry has cut down the woods, and, availing itself of the natural fertility of the soil, has rendered this one of the most productive regions in the New World. Demarara ranks, as to produce, second only to Jamaica : its rum is inferior only to hers ; and the coffee of Berbice ranks above that of any of the American islands. Georgetown, the capital of British Guiana, is built on the low bank of the river Demerara. It contains 10,000 inhabitants, mostly negroes, with a considerable proportion of people of co- lour. New Amsterdam, the chief town of Berbice, is agreeably situated, intersected by canals, and with a considerable spot of ground attached to each house. Agriculture is carried on in British Guiana on a great scale ; many of the plantations have from 500 to 1500 labourers ; and upwards of 200,000 dollars have often been laid out in the em- bankments and buildings of a new estate, before any returns whatever were received ; the profits, however, are always remu- nerating, and frequently great. Surinam constitutes the most important part of the Dutch western possessions. Its coast, like that of the rest of Guiana, is flat and alluvial, and is traversed by several broad rivers, coming from a considerable distance in the interior. That of Surinam has a channel about four miles wide, but shallow and rocky, navigable only for boats. Paramaribo, the capital of Surinam, at the mouth of the river, where it affords excellent anchorage for vessels, is a considera- ble town, well built of wood, and arranged in regular streets, adorned with fine trees. Its commerce, though now surpassed by that carried on in British Guiana, is considerable, and sup- ports a population of 18,000 or 20,000 persons. Cayenne is bounded west by Surinam, on the south and east by Brazil, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. It is an al- luvial, swampy region, covered with majestic forests. Fine aromatics, unknown to the other regions of the west, have been cultivated here with success. The Cayenne-pepper is the most pungent and delicate kind of that spice ; and the clove, long exclusively attached to the Moluccas, has succeeded so well, that a part of the consumption of Europe is supplied from Cay- PERU. 223 enne. The annual value of the exports to France is 500,000 dollars ; of imports, 350,000 dollars. Cayenne Proper consists of an alluvial island, about eighteen miles long and ten broad, formed by the branches of the river of that name, on which is Cayenne, the capital of the colony, a small town neatly built of wood, with a spacious and commodi- ous road, and a population of 3000. There are also some small settlements scattered along the coast. PERU. Peru comprises the states now called North Peru and South Peru. Of all the countries of South America, this is the most celebrated for its wealth and ancient civilization ; and its very name has been long proverbially used to denote abundance of the precious metals. This region is often called Lower Peru, to distinguish it from Bolivia, formerly known by the name of Upper Peru. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the coast of which is nearly 2000 miles in extent. On the north is the Republic of Ecuador, on the south Chili, and on the east Brazil and Bolivia. The breadth of Peru is extremely irregular, varying from 100 to 800 miles ; area, about 430,000 square miles. The Andes range through the whole extent of this country. The principal chain runs nearly parallel to the coast, and con- tains the loftiest summits, which are always covered with per- petual snow. Other ranges of less elevation extend in the inte- rior of the country between the chief branches of the Amazon. On the coast of Peru the climate is hot and nearly uniform in temperature ; rain seldom falls, but the dews are heavy and abundant, and thunder and lightning are almost unknown. On the high table-lands, between the ridges of the mountains, the climate is various, and the products are chiefly those of temper- ate regions. Eastward of the Andes the country declines into the vast grassy plains, or pampas, which cover all the interior parts of South America. The inland districts of this country are traversed by the great- est rivers in the world. The Amazon commences its unrivalled course among the Peruvian Andes, and with its numerous branches, collecting the waters of a thousand floods, rolls its mighty volume eastward to the ocean. The Ucayale, the head stream of the Amazon, has within a few years been examined with a view to the commencement of steam navigation from the 224 SOUTH AMERICA. sea to the interior settlements of Peru. The disordered condi- tion, however, of the governments of this and the adjacent states operates at present against the introduction of this powerful agent in the cause of civilization and improvement. The nature of the coast on the Pacific Ocean is by no means favourable to navigation ; it affords no good harbour except Cal- . lao, which admits the largest merchant-vessels. There is also on every part of the shore such a tremendous surf, caused by the uninterrupted swell from the sea, that no communication can be had with the land by boats of the common construction. The natives, however, have a contrivance, called a balsa, consisting of two seal-skins lashed together and covered with a sort of plat- form, on which sits the pilot of this strange craft. Being blown up by the breath of the navigator, these balsas are so buoyant as to pass the most terrific breakers in safety. The plain on the sea-coast is chiefly a dry sandy desert, inter- sected in various parts by the broad and rapid torrents which de- scend from the mountains. Here, where the soil can be watered, the vegetation is most abundant, and surprises the traveller by the pleasing change from the sterility of the desert to the bright and luxuriant verdure that prevails. The precious metals have long been the source of unrivalled wealth to Peru. The mines are seated in the inmost depth of the Andes, approached only by steep and perilous passes, and in mountains which reach the limit of perpetual snow. Gold, silver, and mercury have been the most extensively worked, but other metals are abundant. Owing to the disasters of the late revolution, and the exhaustion of the capital employed, the mines of this country, formerly so rich and productive, have fallen into decay and scarcely produce more than the one-fifth or sixth of their former wealth. Operations in many of the mines were entirely suspended for a number of years ; but the works of the most productive have been lately resumed. The richest silver-mines are those of Cerro Pasco, Chota, Puno, and Huantaya. Gold is obtained at many places by washing the sands of the rivers, and mercury or quick- silver, once obtained at Guancavelica in immense amounts, is now procured in comparatively but small quantities, in consequence of the most valuable parts of the works having fallen in. Agriculture, in consequence of the peculiar nature of the country, is carried on in Peru only to a limited extent, but under favourable circumstances the produce is most abundant. Indian- corn is the staple grain and chief food of the natives, and is also made into a fermented liquor called Chica. The sugar-cane, cotton, and coffee are cultivated, and the fruits of almost every PERU. 225 climate, from the successive slope of the Andes, are carried down to the markets of Lima and the other towns. Some valuable dye-woods and medicinal plants are also pro- duced, particularly the Peruvian bark or Cascarilla. Wine and brandy are made to some extent, but wheat and flour are import- ed from Chili. Manufactures are in a backward state. In the mountain dis- tricts are made considerable quantities of coarse woollens, blank- ets, flannels, baize, and particularly ponchos, a loose riding-cloak, generally worn throughout Spanish America, and sometimes made of great fineness. A few towns on the coast manufacture cottons. Goat-skins are made into good cordovan. The Indians execute very fine filigree-work in gold and silver, and their mats and other articles of furniture made from grass and rushes are very much admired. In general, however, the Peruvians look to Europe for a supply of all the finer manufactures. The commerce of Peru, though much depressed during the contest with Spain, is reviving, and is carried on to some extent. It consists for the most part of the export of gold, silver, copper, and tin, with some bark, cotton, sugar, vicuna wool, &c. The imports consist of a variety of articles of European manufacture. English goods are generally preferred, and almost all kinds find a ready sale. The religion, as in every country over which Spain ever reign- ed, is exclusively Catholic. Many of the churches in Peru are very splendid, and immense wealth has been accumulated by several of the convents, from pious donations. The archbishop of Lima is the head of the church in Peru, and also in Bolivia, Chili, and part of Colombia. There are many curates in the interior districts, and some missionaries are stationed amongst the independent Indian tribes. Literature is not in so utterly depressed a state at Lima as in the other cities to the south of the Isthmus of Darien. Besides several colleges, there is a highly-endowed university, founded in 1549, on the model of that of Salamanca. The professors do not deliver lectures ; but examinations and disputations are main- tained with considerable diligence. The amusements consist of the theatre, which, at Lima, is tol- erably conducted ; bull-fights, cock-fights, and religious proces- sions ; and the rage for public diversions is extreme. The population of Peru consists of the various races usually found in South America; — whites, Indians, negroes; and the mixed races, — mulattoes, mestizos, and zamboes. The creole or white population, is usually described in less flattering terms than the same class in almost any of the other South American X 265 226 SOUTH AMERICA. states. The males, especially of Lima, are said to be destitute of all energy, both mental and bodily, so that notwithstanding the extensive trade of the country, very little is carried on by native Peruvians. Those engaged in it are chiefly foreigners, many of whom are natives of Chili and Buenos Ayres. The ladies, from their earliest years, are led to consider them- selves as the objects of admiration and homage, and a system of coquetry and flirtation is established. Gaming prevails also among both sexes to a destructive extent, and families are ex- tremely ill-managed. Yet the Peruvians are courteous, humane, hospitable, and generous. In the country, these amiable quali- ties are combined with equal merit, but with a greater degree of simplicity. The ancestors of the present Indians of Peru were the Qui- chuas, the most civilized nation of South America at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. According to their traditions, arts, laws, and religion had been introduced among them by Manco Capac, the child of the sun, whose descendants still reigned over the country under the title of Incas. There are yet many remarkable monuments remaining of this interesting people, such as roads, canals, temples, palaces, for- tresses, &c. They were acquainted with the arts of mining, of working in gold and silver, of polishing precious stones, manu- facturing cloth, &c. Although ignorant of alphabetic writing, they preserved the memory of remarkable events, laws, treaties, &c, by means of symbolical paintings, and of quipos or knotted cords of various colours, which expressed different ideas. PERU-BOLIVIAN CONFEDERATION. The states of North Peru, South Peru, and Bolivia were uni- ted in the year 1836, for the purpose of general security and pro- tection, into a league or union, styled the Peru-Bolivian Confed- eration. Each state is independent in its local concerns ; is controlled by the acts of its own legislature, and governed by its own Pre- sident ; but for the regulation of affairs with foreign nations and other general purposes, the confederation is placed under the government of a chief, called the Supreme Protector, and a gen- eral congress of plenipotentiaries from the three states. General Santa Cruz, president of Bolivia, was chosen Supreme Protector of this new republic ; but his government was scarcely organized when it was embarrassed by a revolution, which broke NORTH PERU. 227 out in Lima in July, 1838, against the confederation. In the following month, a Chilian expedition landed at Callao and cap- tured Lima. General Santa Cruz, in the mean time, hastened with an army from Bolivia for the purpose of repelling the in- vaders ; but he was opposed, and completely defeated by them, at Yungay, in North Peru, January 20th, 1839. The Supreme Protector escaped from the field with an escort of only 20 men, arrived at Lima the following day, and has since left the country. The government of the Union, during its brief existence, had effected treaties of amity and commerce with the United States and Great Britain ; the former of which was ratified by the Pre- sident and Congress of the United States. Though no official announcement of the termination of the government of this con- federacy has been publicly made, yet it is supposed to be, if not actually dissolved, at least suspended. NORTH PERU. North Peru contains rather more than two-thirds of the territory which formed the republic of Peru previous to the year 1836 ; and in consequence of the formation of the four southern departments into a separate state, has assumed its present dis- tinctive title. It comprises almost 1000 miles of sea-coast, and extends into the interior from 500 to 800 miles : it has an area of about 300,000 square miles, with a population of 700,000. A large portion of the east part of this republic is unsettled and even unexplored by Europeans, being still in the possession of the aborigines, of whom many of the tribes are stated to be exceed- ingly savage, and some of them cannibals. The republic is divided into three departments, which are sub- divided into provinces. Departments. Capitals. Population. Truxillo, or Libertad Truxillo 12,000 Lima Lima 70,000 Junin Tarma 5,000 Lima, next to Mexico the most splendid city of Spanish America, is situated about six miles in the interior, from its port of Callao, and is surrounded by a wall of brick and clay, twelve feet high. The houses run in straight lines, dividing the city into a multi- tude of squares of various forms and dimensions. The plaza 228 SOUTH AMERICA. or principal square, is, as in most Spanish cities, surrounded by all the finest edifices. The cathedral is an elegant building, with a stone front, and two towers of considerable height ; and the interior, particularly the great altar, is, or at least was, exceedinlgy rich. There are twenty-five convents in Lima, with churches attached to them ; and fifteen nunneries. The convent of St. Francisco, with its appendages, is the most extensive, and, though not so rich, is more elegant than the cathedral. An immense treasure in the precious metals was contained in these establishments ; but during the disorders of the civil contests the gold and silver of the church were made to give place to less precious metals, though the base materials substituted have been carefully gilded over. The population of Lima is about 70,000. Callao, communicating with Lima by a very fine road, has an excellent harbour formed by two islands. The forts by which it is defended are handsome and strong ; and Callao itself is a considerable town, with 6000 inhabitants. On the coast to the north of Lima is Truxillo, a handsome little town, a miniature of Lima, and built in the same gay style. By its port of Guanchaco, which has a tolerable roadstead, Truxillo sends the produce of its territory to Lima, and receives foreign manufactured goods in return. It contains about 12,000 inhabitants. Sanna is the seat of a considerable trade ; and Lambayeque, to the north of Truxillo, is the most thriving place between Lima and Guayaquil. Piura, still farther north, is gen- erally accounted the most ancient city in South America, though it is not exactly on the site of the city founded by Pizarro. Payta is a commodious and well-frequented sea-port, which is often visited by American whale-ships. It being in a complete desert of sand, potable water is brought from a distance of twelve miles, and sold at a high price. Caxamarca is distinguished as having contained a palace of the ancient Incas, and being the spot where Atahualpa, the last of the dynasty, fell by the sword of Pizarro. In the neighbour- hood are also the remains of a vast mass of building, constructed of ponderous stones, in the Peruvian fashion, and capable of containing 5000 persons. Caxatambo and Huaura contain each about 7000 inhabitants. Tarma has about 5000 inhabitants; and here is a considerable manufacture of baize. The town of Cerro Pasco is situated among the Andes, at an elevation of 13,000 feet above the level of the sea. It is a cold, dirty, uncomfortable place ; but has lately increased in popula- tion, in consequence of a renewed activity in the working of the mines, which are the most important in Peru. SOUTH AMERICA. Rope Bridge. Permanent bridges are rare in South America ; in many cases a rope is stretched across a stream, on which a sling or shorter rope is made to traverse : in this the traveller places his feet, and is drawn over as shown in the cut ; sometimes a hammock or strongly-made basket is used instead of the sling. Mules and Lamas carrying Produce. View of Lima, from the banks of the Rimac. X* SOUTH AMERICA. C3. Palace of the Incas, at Callo. The Palace of the Incas, at Callo, is the most perfect of the ancient Peruvian structures that remain ; it is constructed of large stones, and forms a square of about 100 feet. The picture represents the door and part of the wall ; the figure above is the ground plan of the building. Appearance of the Andes in Chili. Lake Aculco, twenty miles from Santiago, in Chili. This lake, for the beauty of its scenery, compares favourably with any of the famed Italian lakes. 270 SOUTH PERU. 229 SOUTH PERU. The republic of South Peru is a recent state, having sepa- rated itself from North Peru, in the year 1836. Its indepen- dence was declared March 16th of the same year, at Sicuana, a small town in the interior. The continual revolutions and politi- cal contentions of which Peru has been for many years the victim, and the contradictory measures pursued by that state and Bolivia in their commercial relations with each other, are stated to have been the chief motives which led to a separation. This state comprises four of the seven departments which be- longed to Peru, and although less in extent than the northern division, is undoubtedly the most thickly peopled. It is bound- ed on the north by North Peru, south and east by Bolivia, and west by the Pacific ocean. Length 600 miles, breadth from 60 to 400 ; area 130,000 square miles. Population, 800,000. Departments. Capitals. Population. Departments. Capitals. Population. Arequipa Arequipa .... 24,000 I Cuzco Cuzco .... 32,000 Ayacucho • • • • Guamanga . . . 16,000 | Puno Puno 18,000 South Peru has a coast, on the Pacific ocean, of about 700 miles in extent ; along which are a number of small sea-ports, including those called the Intermedios. The country in the vicinity of the coast is in many places a desert and destitute of water, and can be traversed only with the same precautions as are necessary in crossing the deserts of Africa. Along the banks of streams, and where the soil can be watered, vegetation is very abundant ; the produce is mostly sugar, wine, brandy, and oil. Cuzco, the capital of South Peru, was the metropolis of the ancient empire of the Incas, and at the time of the conquest by the Spaniards was a magnificent city ; though much decayed, it is still handsome, and even splendid. The cathedral is de- scribed as a noble pile. The Dominican church has been built from the materials of the ancient temple, on the same site, and the altar has taken the place of the image of that deity. On an eminence are the walls of the fortress of the Incas, raised to a great height, and built of truly astonishing masses of stone. Cuzco contains 32,000 inhabitants, of whom three-fourths are pure Indians. Arequipa is a large city, considerably in the interior, in an agreeable and healthful climate. The population has been esti- mated at 24,000. Arequipa has stood, notwithstanding shocks of earthquakes repeated three or four times in each century. Near it is a great volcano, whence arise clouds of ashes, which 20 2 " 230 SOUTH AMERICA. reach even to the ocean. Islay, its sea-port, is only a village. Arica was originally a port of considerable importance ; but since the earthquake of 1605 it has been in a great measure de- serted, and the chief part of the population has emigrated to Tacna, which is a thriving town, about thirty miles in the inte- rior, employing extensive droves of mules to carry the merchan- dise landed at Arica into the provinces beyond the Andes. Moquehua, another interior place, is chiefly noted for the good wine produced in its district. Guamanga, situated about half-way between Lima and Cuzco, is built of stone, and adorned with handsome public places and squares. It has an university of royal foundation, richly endow- ed, and contains 16,000 inhabitants. Guancavelica is bleak and cold, only distinguished for the rich mines of mercury, which once rendered it a flourishing place ; but these have so much de- clined, that the population is reduced to 5000. The little village of Ayacucho, which gives name to one of the departments of South Peru, was the theatre of the victory which (1824) delivered South America from the Spanish yoke. Puno, situated on the west bank of lake Titicaca, is a town of some note, containing a college, and 18,000 inhabitants. BOLIVIA. The republic of Bolivia was established in 1825, and was named after general Bolivar, the liberator of South America. The territories included in this state, commonly called Upper Peru, were detached from the vice-royalty of Peru and annexed to that of the Rio de la Plata in 1778, and were finally wrested from the dominion of Spain by the victory of Ayacucho, De- cember 1824, in which the Colombians defeated the Spaniards. Bolivia is bounded on the north by Brazil and North Peru, south by Buenos Ayres, east by Brazil and Paraguay, and west by South Peru and the Pacific ocean. It extends from east to west 800 miles, and almost the same distance from north to south ; having an area of about 450,000 square miles. This region contains the loftiest mountain peaks in the New World, and which are inferior in elevation only to those of the Himmaleh range in Asia. Mount Sorato has been found to at- tain the height of 25,400 feet, and that of Illimani 24,350. The very elevated table-land from which these colossal summits rise, appears to have prevented their extraordinary elevation from be- coming sensible till it was determined by a recent measurement. BOLIVIA. 231 This lofty plain, which seems to comprise a large portion of the territory of Bolivia, though not the most elevated, appears to be among the most fruitful on the globe. It yields copious harvests of rye, Indian-corn, barley, potatoes, and even wheat. It has cities above the region of the clouds, villages which would over- look the summits of the Pyrenees, and cottages as high as the top of Mont Blanc. The chief rivers of Bolivia are the Branco and Mamore, head branches of the Madeira ; and the Pilcomayo, which flows into the Paraguay. The navigation on these streams is very trifling, and in no case it is believed has any communication by them with the ocean been attempted. Lake Titicaca forms part of the western boundary of Bolivia. It is 180 miles long, is very irregular in its outline, and is subject to violent storms and gusts of wind. It has no visible outlet, and is elevated 12,500 feet above the sea. The water of this lake is turbid and disagreeable to the taste, but abounds in fish, and the shores are populous, being well settled with numerous vil- lages. This lake is navigated by boats made of rushes closely plaited together : the mast and rudder alone are made of wood, which, owing to the scarcity of that article in this region, forms the most valuable part of the vessel. Bolivia is interesting from the variety, extent, and value of the minerals it affords. Gold is found in considerable quantities in the mountainous districts, but hitherto it has not been extensively mined, and the greater part of the gold procured here is obtained by washing the sands of the rivers. Silver is the principal me- tallic production, and has conferred on this country its greatest celebrity. The rich mountain of Potosi is famous for the wealth it has produced: it has had no equal for abundance of ore in the world. The mountain rises to the height of 16,000 feet; is 18 miles in circumference; and though it has been constantly worked since its discovery, yet it is only honey-combed as it were at the sur- face. Ore still lies at a somewhat greater depth, but it is in many places overflowed with water. This mine yielded, from the time it was first opened, until 1803, a period of 258 years, at the rate of six million dollars annually. During the revolution many of the workmen were withdrawn and nearly all the capital employed in the business exhausted, in consequence of which the operations of mining were so much retarded that for the ten years ending in 1829, the average yearly product of the whole mountain did not amount to 400,000 dollars : the business has, however, been since resumed with more activity. 232 SOUTH AMERICA. This mine was discovered in the year 1545 by an Indian, who in pursuing some goats grasped a bush in his ascent, the roots of which giving way disclosed to his view a rich vein of silver ore. There are also silver-mines at Portugalete, La Plata, Porco, Lipes, and Caranga. Bolivia is divided into seven departments which are subdivided into provinces. The population of the whole is 1,716,000, of which more than one million are Indians. Departments. Population. Potosi. 320,000 Chuquisaca 246,000 Cochabamba 510,000 La Paz 420,000 Santa Cruz 100,000 Moxos 70,000 Chiquitos 50,000 Total 1,716,000 i Capitals. Population. Potosi 9,000 Chuquisaca 12,000 Cochabamba 30,000 La Paz 40,000 Santa Cruz de la Sierra .... 9,000 The capital of Bolivia is Chuquisaca, or La Plata, so named from the silver-mines in its vicinity. It is a handsome city, con- taining about 12,000 inhabitants. Notwithstanding its astonish- ing elevation, the country around is fertile and luxuriant. Here is a university numerously attended, and a library, said to be the best in South America. La Paz, with a population of 40,000, is the chief city of Bo- livia, and is surrounded by the most interesting objects in that country. A few miles to the north are Illimani and Sorata, both already described as the highest mountains in the New World. At some distance north-west is the great lake of Titicaca, the largest in South America. Potosi enjoys the greatest fame of any city in this region, but retains few traces of the wealth which gained for it this cele- brity. It is probably the most elevated city in the world, being 13,000 feet above the sea, and consequently higher than the Peak of Teneriffe. It is not a well-built town ; the streets are narrow and irregular, and most of the houses indifferent. It has, however, a college and a mint. Reports vary greatly both as to its past and present population. The assertion that, in its most flourishing state, it ever contained 160,000 people, is probably much exaggerated. It now has 9000 inhabitants. There are some other considerable places in this region. Oruro has not more than 4000 or 5000 inhabitants ; but the mines in its vicinity were once important. Cochabamba, in the midst of a fertile, well-cultivated territory, carries on a great trade in grain, fruits, and vegetables. It is said to contain 30,000 inha- bitants. CHILI. 233 Santa Cruz de la Sierra, situated in the easternmost part of the Republic, is a meanly-built town, with a population of about 9000. Large tracts in this quarter are occupied by the Moxos and Chiquitos, Indian tribes nearly independent, unless so far as the missionaries have reclaimed them from their savage habits. Bolivia, in its small extent of coast, has only one port, that of Cobija or Puerto de la Mar, which labours under a deficiency of fresh water : the Bolivians are obliged at present to receive almost all foreign commodities across the mountains, by way of Arica. CHILI. Chili consists of a long narrow tract of country, situated between the Andes and the Pacific ocean. It is bounded on the north by Bolivia, south by Patagonia, east by Buenos Ayres, and west by the Pacific ocean. It is in length about 1200 miles, and from 100 to 200 miles wide; with an area of about 170,000 square miles, and a population of 1,500,000. The climate of this country is remarkably salubrious and healthful. In the northern provinces it seldom rains, but the deficiency is supplied by the dews, which are very heavy during spring, summer, and autumn. Snow falls abundantly on the Andes, but is never seen on the coast. The soil is in general highly productive, particularly in the valleys amongst the moun- tains. The northern provinces yield various tropical productions; and the southern the grains, fruits, and vegetables, of temperate regions. The great chain of the Andes traverses the country through its whole extent, and presents a number of elevations, whose height is probably not less than 20,000 feet, which are covered with perpetual snow for several thousand feet below their sum- mits. The sides of these mountains are generally fertile and beautiful ; rich foliage and verdure, with exuberant pastures, extend even to the borders of the frost and snow ; and many of the upper valleys present such romantic and enchanting scenes, that Chili has been called the Italy of South America. The rivers of Chili are numerous, but small, and have gene- rally a rapid current, and a short course, as they descend from elevated regions. The Maule and Biobio are navigable for a limited distance. The chief misfortune of this country is, that it is not secure beneath the feet of the inhabitants. Repeated earthquakes have 20* 2" 234 SOUTH AMERICA. laid the cities in ruin, and from time to time shocks are felt, which, even when slight, are rendered dreadful by recollection and anticipation. There are said to be fourteen active volcanoes in Chili, besides several that are occasionally, or constantly, discharging smoke. Agriculture is extensively, but rudely, carried on in this country, yet the produce is abundant. Wheat of fine quality, and other grains, with potatoes, garden vegetables, and fruits of various kinds, grow in perfection. A good deal of wine is made, though not of the first excellence ; and cattle are raised to a great extent ; the horses are small, but beautiful, and of fine temper and spirit, and the oxen and mules are equal to any in the world. Chili is rich in mineral productions. Gold, silver, copper, quicksilver, tin, and iron, abound. The principal mines occur in the interior from Coquimbo, in a barren tract in the northern part of the country. The mines of copper are the most nume- rous and productive, the annual amount of that metal being about 750,000 dollars, and of gold and silver 850,000 dollars. The manufactures, as over all South America, consist of coarse articles, made by the country people for domestic use, with the simplest instruments. They bring to market ponchos, hats, shoes, coarse earthenware, and sometimes jars of fine clay. This republic is the only American state, formerly subject to Spain, whose commerce is supposed to have increased since the separation from the mother country. The chief trade is with the United States and Great Britain. The principal articles of export are, gold, silver, copper, and hides ; besides which the Chilians send wheat and flour to Peru ; and, notwithstanding the formidable obstacles opposed by the Andes, they also carry on a considerable trade with Buenos Ayres. The Catholic religion has hitherto reigned in Chili with the same supremacy as in the other states, and continues to be the exclusive system. Protestants are allowed to reside in the coun- try without molestation ; but are not permitted the public exer- cise of their religion. Many of the religious shows and pro- cessions of the Catholic church have been suppressed, a change not altogether agreeable to the body of the people, who are thus deprived of one of their favourite amusements. Knowledge, in Chili, is beginning to disperse some of the ignorance which prevailed. The press, unknown before the revolution, has been introduced ; and schools, on the Lancas- terian plan, have been established in the principal towns. The only fine art cultivated with any ardour by the Chilians is music, their application to which is truly indefatigable ; the girls being set down to it almost from infancy, and having constant practice CHILI. 235 at their evening parties. The importation of piano-fortes is said to be immense. They do not play with consummate science, but with considerable feeling and taste. The social state of Chili differs scarcely a shade from that of the rest of South America. There is the same native courte- ousness, politeness, kindness of heart, ignorance, extravagant love of diversion, and abject superstition. The ladies often can neither write nor read ; but travellers join in praising their natural talents, and the unstudied grace of their manners ; and some conceive the general deportment of those in the higher ranks to be almost unexceptionable. " The country situated south of the Biobio river is inhabited by the Aricaunians, the most powerful and warlike of all the Indian nations in the southern part of the continent. They are more intelligent and cultivated than any existing tribe of natives, and possess some good qualities which are, however, sullied by their proneness to drunkenness and debauchery. They have ac- quired many of the arts necessary to subsistence ; and exhibit a degree of literary taste, which is scarcely found in any of the other natives. They have maintained their independence by a series of bloody wars with the Spaniards for three hundred years. The Aricaunians are divided into several tribes, governed by hereditary chiefs, who are all subject to a general, elected for that purpose in time of war. They have lately entered into a treaty with the republican government, and have agreed to a species of political union, though a long interval must elapse before this can be completely effected. The island of Chiloe is the southernmost province of Chili. It is in length, from north to south, 140 miles, and in the widest part about 60 miles broad. The inhabitants are, in appearance, like northern Europeans, manly, athletic, robust, and fresh coloured. The productions are, wheat, barley, potatoes, and most kinds of European vegetables and fruits. The island swarms with hogs : its hams are celebrated, and are exported in considerable quantities. The principal towns are St. Carlos, the capital, and Castro ; they have good harbours, in which vessels of any burthen may anchor with perfect safety. The islands of Juan Fernandez, claimed by Chili, consist of two small islands, called Mas-a-Tierra, and Mas-a-Fuero. The former is so diversified by lofty hills, streams, and varied vege- tation, that it has been described as one of the most enchanting spots on the globe. It was early noted as being the solitary residence of Alexander Selkirk, during several years ; an event upon which Defoe founded his celebrated narrative of Robinson Y 277 236 SOUTH AMERICA. Crusoe. This island has been used by the Chilians as a place for confining convicts ; but was recently granted to a North American merchant, who proposes to make it a depot for sup- plying trading and whaling vessels with provisions. Chili corresponds to the old Spanish captaincy-generalship of the same name, which continued to be governed as a Spanish province until the year 1810, when the people threw off the yoke of the mother country. In 1818 Chili was declared inde- pendent ; in 1824 it was divided into eight provinces, which are subdivided into districts. Provinces. Chief Towns. Population. Provinces. Chief Towns. Population. Santiago . . Aconcagua Coquimbo . Colchagua . Santiago . . . San Felipe . . Coquimbo . . . 50,000 .. 5,000 . . 10,000 .. 2,000 Concepcion Chiloe . Cauquenes . Concepcion . . . . 2,000 . . . 8,000 . . . . 3,000 Santiago, the capital, is situated in a richly wooded plain, about sixty miles from Valparaiso, at an elevation of 2600 feet above the sea, which renders the climate agreeable and salubri- ous. The houses having, in general, only one floor, and being surrounded by large gardens, the town appears entirely over- shadowed with foliage. Each house, in general, stands by itself, and being strongly barricaded towards the street, forms a little fortress. They are built of adobes or unburnt brick. The streets, however, are regularly laid out, paved, and furnished with footpaths. The cathedral, several of the churches, and the director's palace, may be reckoned handsome, though they do not exhibit any thing very splendid in architecture. Valparaiso, the main seat of Chilian commerce, is situated on a long narrow strip of land, over which impend on all sides steep cliffs nearly 2000 feet high, and sparingly covered with shrubs and stunted grass. One street, about three miles long, runs along the sea, and contains the houses of the most opulent citizens ; it is prolonged by the Almendral, or Almond Grove, a sort of detached village, which forms the most agreeable resi- dence. None of the buildings are handsome ; even the gover- nor's house is scarcely tolerable ; but the commercial progress of the town is marked by the many new and handsome ware- houses lately erected. Quillota is a small but agreeable town, north of Valparaiso, and a little in the interior, in the province of Aconcagua, with 8000 inhabitants ; and higher up are the towns of San Felipe and Santa Rosa, each having about 5000 inhabitants, and con- taining an industrious and thriving agricultural population. Coquimbo is surrounded by a barren and almost desert coun- SOUTH AMERICA, Salto de Agua, or Water JLeapr This beautiful cascade is in the vicinity of Santiago, the capital of Chili ; it is a highly pic- turesque object, and surrounded by interesting and romantic scenery. Valparaiso. Juan Fernandez. 279 SOUTH AMERICA, Travellers crossing the Andes. A journey across the Andes is at all times fatiguing and dangerous ; travellers and their mules sometimes miss their foothold in traversing the narrow paths among theBe mountains, fall to a stupendous depth, and are dashed in pieces. Brazilian Forest. Rio Janeiro, the Capital of Brazil. 280 BRAZIL. 237 try, destitute of trees. Its importance arises solely from its mines, which include gold, silver, and copper. The commerce connected with the mines gives some importance to this place ; though the inhabitants, unaccustomed to any varied traffic, retain much native simplicity, kindness, and hospitality. Copiapo is in the heart of the mining district, of which it may be considered the capital. This place is subject to the dreadful calamity of being once in about every twenty-three years completely destroyed by earthquake. That of 1819 shook it entirely to pieces ; the wrecks of its houses and church- es lying scattered in every direction : but in 1821 the inhabitants rebuilt their fallen city. The town of Concepcion suffered with peculiar severity from the late contest ; alternately occupied by the Spaniards and the patriots, it was rudely treated by both, but especially by the former. After having in some measure recovered from the calamities of war, the town was entirely destroyed by an earthquake, in 1835. Talcahuano, the port of Concepcion, is a small town, on a fine bay, with a good and secure anchorage. The town of Valdivia is situated about sixteen miles above its port, which is defended by strong batteries, and is the best and most capacious harbour in Chili ; it will be of great value when the surrounding country becomes more populous and civilized. EMPIRE OF BRAZIL. Brazil is a very extensive region which occupies nearly the whole of the eastern side of South America, and after having been long held as a Portuguese colony, has of late, by peculiar circumstances, been formed into a separate empire, which extends over almost half the southern part of the western continent. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, north by Vene- zuela and Guiana, west by Ecuador, North Peru, Bolivia, Para- guay, and Uruguay. This vast territory extends about 2500 miles in extreme length, and about the same in extreme breadth. The area of the whole is upwards of three million square miles. It is thus twenty-five times the extent of the British Islands, and more than twice that of Mexico. Of this immense space, not above a fourth can be considered as at present in an effective and productive state ; and that part is scarcely cultivated and peopled up to a fourth of its actual ca- pacity. But nearly the whole, from soil, climate, and communi- Y* 281 238 SOUTH AMERICA. cations, is capable of being brought, at some future and distant period, into full improvement. The Brazilian ranges of mountains are of great extent, but reach, by no means, to that stupendous height which distin- guishes the Andes of Colombia and Peru. The principal mass of these mountains lies north-west of Rio de Janeiro, towards the sources of the rivers San Francisco, Parana, and Tocantines, and are not generally higher than from 2000 to 3000 feet ; only a few detached peaks rising to about 6000 feet. The greatest rivers in America and in the world, flow around the borders or through the territories of Brazil. Its northern part is watered by the course of the Amazon, its western by the Madeira and the Paraguay. Within its territory flow, tributary to the Amazon, the Topayos, the Xingu, and the Negro, which, though here secondary, may rival the greatest waters of the other continents. The Tocantines and the Parnaiba flow into the sea on the northern coast, and the Rio Francisco on the western. There are two Rio Grandes, one falling into the sea north of Pernambuco, the other (Rio Grande do Sul) in the ex- treme south, watering the province that bears its name. There are but few lakes in Brazil : in the southern part of the empire there are the Patos and the Mirim, extensive and shal- low, communicating with the sea, yet chiefly fresh, and form- ing the receptacle of all the streams which come down from the interior. Farther inland, the Paraguay, by its superfluous wa- ters, forms lake Xarayes, which spreads, in the rainy season, over a vast extent of ground. Dense and impenetrable forests cover a great part of the inte- rior of Brazil, and exhibit a luxuriance of vegetation almost pe- culiar to the central regions of South America. These vast woods are rich in timber of every description, for use and orna- ment, suited either for carpentry, shipbuilding, dyeing, or furni- ture. That kind especially, called Brazil-wood, is particularly celebrated for the beautiful red dye which it produces. Agriculture is exercised in this country upon valuable pro- ducts and in fertile soils, but in a very slovenly manner. The farmers, till of late, were a most ignorant race, not believing that there were any countries in the world except Portugal and Brazil, nor any, except the last, in which the sugar-cane grew. They have begun, however, to hold intercourse with the world in general, and to introduce improved processes from the West India islands. The chief objects of cultivation are cotton, sugar, coffee, and tobacco: the latter is raised mostly for domestic consumption. For food chiefly to the negroes, manioc and kidney-beans are the BRAZIL. 239 articles principally raised : Indian-corn and bananas are not so much used as in most tropical countries. Rice is largely culti- vated only in Maranham. Cattle multiply to an immense extent in all parts of Brazil, but more especially in the south. The great farms contain 2000, 3000, 4000, 'and sometimes even 40,000 head. These supply vast quantities of hides, horns, and tallow for exporta- tion ; and the flesh, dried in a peculiar manner, called jerk-beef, is sent to the northern provinces of Brazil, and to the West Indies. Brazil is rich in gold and precious stones : the former occurs mostly like that of Africa, in the form of small particles brought down by streams which descend from the hills, and from which it is separated by agitation in water. Few mines are now worked, and less attention seems to be paid to the collection of gold than formerly. The diamonds of this country are found in situations similar to that of gold, among the earth at the bottom of the rivers. The principal diamond ground is a circuit of about 16 leagues around Tejuco. The trade has been monopolized by the government, and as usual in such cases has been conducted at a very great expense, and the strictest precautions are taken to prevent any of the diamonds being smuggled. Iron, copper, topazes, tourma- lines, and rock crystal, also abound. Manufactures have made less progress in Brazil than in any of the South American colonies. The only fabric of importance is that of gold and silver, which is carried on in the capital to a considerable extent. The articles wrought are of great beauty, and are an object even of export. The commerce of Brazil which is greater than that of any other country in America, except the United States, flourishes in consequence of the dependence of the people upon foreign manu- factures, as well as the valuable products of the soil. The chief trade is with Great Britain, the United States, France, and Por- tugal. Sugar, coffee, cotton, hides, horns, and tallow, with some gold and precious stones, are the principal exports : these in value exceed 25 million dollars annually. The mass of the imports are in British manufactured goods, which rise to the sum of 20 million dollars yearly. A considerable inland trade is carried on by means of trains of mules from the sea-port towns with the interior country. Religion in Brazil, as in the South American States, is the Catholic, but British subjects have been allowed to erect a church after the manner of a private dwelling, but without a bell. The established church having relinquished the payment of tithes, the 240 SOUTH AMERICA. priesthood is supported by government. There are one arch- bishop and six bishops : the inferior clergy are numerous, and many of them are negroes. Science, literature, and art have scarcely yet any existence in Brazil. Some of the higher classes, and of the officers of the government, are well informed, and the sea-port towns are be- ginning to imbibe the spirit and knowledge of Europe ; but these improvements have made little way into the interior. The plan of founding a university which has been proposed is not yet ex- ecuted ; and the Brazilians who seek a superior education must cross the sea to Portugal. The population of Brazil is estimated at 5 millions, of which about one-fifth are whites, three-fifths slaves, and the remainder free coloured persons. The great predominance of the negro population distinguishes Brazil unfavourably from the other South American states. It appears that not a fourth of the population is of unmixed white race, and that more than half the entire number are slaves. Though the importation of these was to have ceased in 1830, yet great numbers are still brought into the country. The Indians in Brazil are in a much more barbarous and unpro- mising state than in the Spanish settlements. They have never been incorporated in any shape with the European population ; but have always retired before the progress of civilization into the depths of their forests. They have borrowed, indeed, from the Portuguese some scanty portion of raiment. But they have never attempted the taming of animals, or the planting of grain; they subsist solely on the spontaneous fruits of the earth, the roots which they can dig up, and the game brought down by their arrow, which they shoot with marvellous dexterity, taking an almost unerring aim at the distance of forty or fifty yards. Brazil is the only portion of the New World, ever governed by an European sovereign in person ; — the King of Portugal having reigned here from the year 1808 until the year 1821. The country was afterwards declared independent of Portugal, and Pedro the First crowned emperor of Brazil. In 1831, he abdicated the throne in favour of his son. According to the constitution which was formed in 1823, and adopted in 1824, Brazil is an hereditary monarchy, with a legis- lative assembly, consisting of two houses, a senate appointed by the emperor, and a house of representatives elected by the people. Pedro the Second, who was born in 1825, is now emperor of Brazil, but the government is conducted by a regency. BRAZIL. 241 Brazil is divided into 18 provinces, which are subdivided into comarcas or counties- Provinces. Capitals. Population. Para Para 20,000 Maranham . . Maranham 20,000 Piauhy Oeiras 2,000 Ceara Aracati 20,000 Rio Grande. . Natal 11,000 Paraiba Paraiba 3,000 Pernambuco . Pernambuco . . . 65,000 Alagoas Alagoas 5,000 Sergippe .... Sergippe 30,000 Provinces. Capitals. Population. Bahia Bahia 120,000 Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo 11,000 Rio Janeiro . . Rio Janeiro . . 150,000 San Paulo ... San Paulo . . . .20,000 St. Catharina. St. Catharina. . 6,000 San Pedro . . . Portalegre . . . .12,000 Minas Geraes Villa Rica 8,000 Goyaz Villa Boa 6,000 Matto Grosso. Villa Bella. . . .20,000 Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, is the largest and most flour- ishing city of South America. It lies on the western side of a noble bay, seventy or eighty miles in circumference, forming one of the most spacious and secure receptacles for shipping in the world. It is studded with upwards of 100 islands ; the ships of all nations are seen passing through its channels, and innumera- ble little boats flitting about. Population, 150,000. The city is tolerably well built, much in the European style, the houses being three or four stories high, though the streets are rather narrow. Two of them extend the whole length, with new and broad streets striking off" from them ; and there are several very handsome squares. This place is well supplied with water, by excellent aqueducts. There is a greater stir and bustle than is usual in a South American city, though the crowd of half- naked blacks and mulattoes offends the eye of the newly-arrived European. The environs of Rio Janeiro are delightful in the extreme, the valleys and sides of the hills being covered with trees, shrubs, and creeping plants, of peculiar beauty. Bahia, or St. Salvador, is situated on the noble bay of All Saints, and is the next in importance to Rio Janeiro, in Brazil : it consists of two towns, the upper and lower ; in the latter the houses are high, the streets confined and narrow, wretchedly paved, never cleaned, and therefore disgustingly dirty. The upper town, how- ever, placed upon the side of a hill which rises abruptly behind, though not well built, has a number of handsome private houses and public buildings. The cathedral and several other churches are handsome and richly ornamented ; but the finest of them, the Ex-Jesuits' church, built entirely of marble imported from Eu- rope, has been converted into barracks. The police of this place is bad, the dagger being generally worn, and too often used ; the deaths by assassination, are estimated at 200 in the year ; yet Bahia is esteemed the gayest city in Brazil. Its population amounts to 120,000 souls. 21 233 242 SOUTH AMERICA. Cachoeira, a short distance in the interior from Bahia, is a handsome, well-built town, with 16,000 inhabitants. Sergippe del Rev, north of Bahia, is situated in the midst of a rich coun- try, abounding in grain, tobacco, and sugar, and carries on a considerable trade. Population, 30,000. Pernambuco is, after Rio Janeiro and Bahia, the most import- ant place in Brazil : it is properly a compound of four towns : Olinda, seated on a range of rocky hills, and the most ancient, but now much decayed, contains the cathedral, &c. ; Recife, built on a sand-bank level with the water, and deriving its name from the reef opposite to it, the seat of trade, highly flourish- ing, and rapidly increasing : St. Antonio, or the middle town, composed of large broad streets, and containing the governor's house, and two principal churches ; lastly, Boa Vista, an exten- sive agreeable suburb, where the principal merchants have com- modious gardens. Pernambuco has flourished extremely and increased rapidly, chiefly in consequence of the augmented cul- ture of cotton, and the ample market for it in Europe. The cot- ton of Pernambuco is said to be the best in the north of Brazil. Population, 65,000. Alagoas and Maceyo, small ports south of Pernambuco, are increasing in trade and population. Para, Maranham, and Aracati, are the most important towns on the north coast : the first, situated on the river Para, is a place of considerable trade : its water communications with the interior are so extensive, that it must continue to advance with the progressive settlement of the inland provinces. Maranham, on an island of the same name, has a population of 20,000, and exports large quantities of cotton, rice, and hides. Aracati, a few miles above the mouth of the Jaguaribe river, contains 20,000 inhabitants, and is a place of some trade. San Paulo is situated on one of the head branches of the Pa- rana river, which, though it rises but a few miles from the east coast, traverses more than 2000 miles of territory before its wa- ters mingle with those of the ocean. The town contains several churches, convents, &c, and has a neat and clean appearance. Population, 20,000. Portalegre, at the head of lake Patos, and Rio Grande, or San Pedro, at its mouth, are both places of con- siderable trade, in hides, horns, and tallow : the first is the chief town in the extreme southern part of Brazil. San Joao del Rey, some distance in the interior, and north from Rio Janeiro, is a neat little town of whitewashed, red-tiled houses, surrounded by a singular scene of round hills and broken rocks, with tracts entirely sterile, and others covered with the most luxuriant verdure. Its situation is so agreeable and cen- tral, that an intention was once formed of making it the capital SOUTH AMERICA. Palace of San Christovao, near Rio Janeiro, inhabited occasionally by the Emperor of Brazil. Crossing a River on a Raft. The streams in the interior of Brazil are often crossed on a raft formed of planks, propelled by the owner with a long pole ; while the horse of the traveller is made to swim alongside. Diamond River, Brazil. The water of the smaller streams that are found to contain diamonds, is frequently turned aside into an artificial channel, or drained off by a chain pump (as in the engraving), when the earth at the bottom is thrown out for examination. 287 BRAZIL, BUENOS AYRES. A Sertanejo. Slaves searching for Diamonds. The earth containing diamonds is thrown into a number of square compartments, into each of which a stream of water is admitted ; the earthy particles are thus washed away, and the remainder is closely examined. When a diamond is obtained, the finder claps his hands, and delivers it to the overseer. The Sertanejos are the inhabitants of the Sertam, a flat grassy district, situated westward of Pernambuco. They occupy extensive cattle farms ; and are very skilful in the use of the lasso. Mode of travelling on the Pampas. BUENOS AYRES. 243 of Brazil. Villa Rica was formerly rich and populous, but is now much declined on account of the diminution in the produc- tion of the gold-mines, to which it owed its prosperity. Popu- lation, 8000. Tejuco, the capital of the diamond district of Serro do Frio, is situated in a most dreary tract, where all the necessaries of life must be brought from a considerable distance. It is well built, on very rugged ground, and contains 6000 inhabitants, of which many are slaves employed in searching for diamonds. Villa do Principe, in a fine country, on the borders of the diamond dis- trict, enjoys a more solid prosperity, and contains about 5000 people. Cuyaba, 1000 miles from the coast, is the largest inland town in Brazil : it is in the midst of a rich gold region, and contains 30,000 inhabitants. Villa Bella, still farther in the interior, is on the Guapore, one of the head branches of the Madeira : it is the most remote inland town of any in Brazil. Its population amounts to 20,000. BUENOS AYRES. Buenos Ayres is the title given to an extensive region of South America, which, under Spanish dominion, formed a part of the viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. The states now occu- pying the territory in question, were the first in this quarter that threw off the yoke of Spain, and their independence was acknow- ledged by the United States in 1822. In the year 1817 these states were formed into a republic, called the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. In 1826 it assumed the title of the Argentine Republic, but it is now com- monly known as the Republic of Buenos Ayres. This union has not been permanent. Each state has at present an adminis- tration of its own, though repeated attempts have been made to re-establish a united government. This republic comprised 14 states, with a population of about 700,000. States. Capitals. Population. Buenos Ayres Buenos Ayres 70,000 Entre Rios . . . Parana 1,000 Corrientes .... Corrientes .... 5,000 Santa F6 Santa Fe 5,000 Cordova Cordova 10,000 Santiago Santiago 8,000 Tucuman Tucuman 5,000 States. Capitals. Population. Salta Salta 2,000 Jujuy Jujuy 1,000 Catamarca .... Catamarca .... 2,000 Rioja Rioja San Juan .... San Juan .... 10,000 San Luis San Luis 2,000 Mendoza Mendoza 8,000 244 SOUTH AMERICA. Buenos Ayres being the leading and only maritime division, its acts are often considered by the world as those of the whole country. The similarity in natural features and political cha- racter of these states, with the circumstance of their having once formed a recognised national body, seem to render a description of them, under one head, both proper and necessary. The republic of Buenos Ayres is bounded on the north by Bolivia, south by Patagonia, east by the territories of Paraguay and Uruguay and the Atlantic ocean; and west by Chili. It is in length 1200 miles, and in breadth 700, comprising an area of 750,000 square miles. The Andes form the western frontier of this region, and some of its inferior ridges traverse the north-western provinces : the only other known elevation is the mountains called the Sierra Vulcan, which rise up abruptly in the pampas about 250 miles south-west from Buenos Ayres. Nearly the whole surface of the country consists of vast plains, called pampas, which stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes, and from north to south through the entire extent of the territory. These plains resemble the prairies of North America and the Llanos of Colombia, being, like them, destitute of trees, covered with tall grass, and stretching out with an unbroken surface for hundreds of miles. Several rivers and lakes are found in them, but in general they are scantily watered. Numerous herds of horses, mules, and cattle, graze and roam over these vast plains. The rhea, or American ostrich, with the jaguar and several kinds of deer, also abound on them. The Rio de la Plata is the principal river of this quarter. It is 150 miles wide at its mouth, and is navigable as high as Buenos Ayres. This great stream is formed by the union of the Parana and the Uruguay ; the former rises in Brazil, and after flowing 1400 miles through wild and unsettled regions, receives the Paraguay, which also originates in the same country. The Pilcomayo, Ver- mejo, and Salado, are likewise important streams. The two first are tributary to the Paraguay, and the last to the Parana. The Colorado and Rio Negro are the principal rivers to the south of the Rio de la Plata : rising in the Andes, they flow, through desert and imperfectly known districts, into the Atlantic ocean. The chief lakes are the Ibera, Porongos, Bebedero, and those of Guanacache ; but none of them are of much importance. The agricultural produce of this country consists almost en- tirely in the vast herds of horses and horned cattle, which cover its boundless plains. The Gaucho, or inhabitant of the pampas, has no care in raising or feeding cattle ; he has only to throw over them the lasso, or long leather noose, to kill or drive them BUENOS AYRES. 245 to Buenos Ayres ; and in the case of horses, to break and put a mark on them by which they may be afterwards known. Beef can scarcely be said to bear any price in this country, since a cow may be had for three or four dollars ; and the hide is worth more than half that sum. Wheat and barley, for which the soil is perfectly well adapted, are cultivated in a slovenly way immediately round Buenos Ayres and the other towns, and the grain is threshed by making cattle gallop over it. In this naked and exposed region, there is a great want of tim- ber for fuel. The peach-tree has been found to grow, and an- swer the purpose of fuel better than any other, and the fruit is used chiefly for feeding swine. There is scarcely any manufac- ture carried on here, except that of ponchos, or riding-cloaks, which are universally worn. The indolence which the South Americans inherit from the Spaniards, will, probably, long pre- vent them from becoming a manufacturing people. The commerce of Buenos Ayres is considerable, compared with the population. The country is dependent on foreign sup- plies for almost every article, both of manufactured goods and colonial produce, and even for grain ; in return for which it gives the refuse of its cattle, hides, horns, and tallow. The chief commerce of Buenos Ayres is with the United States and Great Britain. A very considerable inland trade is also carried on by large wagons, which are driven across the pampas to Mendoza and other towns at the foot of the Andes. They carry some manufactures and colonial goods, and bring back wine, brandy, and mineral produce. Society, over all Spanish America, wears a very uniform as- pect. The Creoles, now everywhere the ruling class, are acute, polite, and indolent : they are, at the same time, passionately fond of diversion, especially in the forms of dancing and gaming. Every lady holds her tertulia, or evening party, to which even the passing stranger will sometimes be invited. They are less charged with intrigue, however, than in some other cities of South America. The conduct of the young ladies is very strictly watched, and they are married at thirteen or fourteen. Horses being easily procured at Buenos Ayres, it is an object of pride, with almost every individual, to keep a number, of fine quality, on the equipment of which they often bestow more care than on the due clothing of their own persons. Every one has a horse ; even the beggar begs on horse-back. The Gauchos, or white inhabitants of the pampas, live in rude independence, and are a very singular race. The gaucho is at once the most active and the most indolent of mortals. He will scour the country whole days at full gallop, breaking wild horses, 21 * 261 246 SOUTH AMERICA. or chasing the jaguar or the ostrich ; but once alighted and seat- ed on the skeleton of a horse's head, nothing can induce him to move. His dwelling is a mud cottage, with one apartment, and so swarming with insects, that in summer the whole family, wrapped in skins, sleep in the open air. All around is a wide desert, with the exception of the corral or circular spot, en- closed by stakes, into which the cattle are driven. Neither grain nor vegetables are cultivated on the pampas, nor is the cow made to yield milk. The Catholic religion prevails exclusively in these states, as over all South America ; but the splendour of the churches, and the endowments of the clergy, appear to be greater here, com- pared at least with the means of supporting them, than in any other province. Many ecclesiastics have been charged with lead- ing lives much at variance with their profession, and the influ- ence of the church has somewhat declined, but is still very con- siderable. Knowledge, as in the other new states, is encouraged by the government, without having yet made any very deep impression on the body of the people. Several large schools have been established on the plan of mutual instruction, and an university- has even been founded, but as yet it is little more than a classi- cal school. The city of Buenos Ayres is situated on the southern bank of the Rio de la Plata, about 200 miles above its mouth ; and, pre- senting the spires of numerous churches and convents, makes rather a fine appearance. The houses are built of brick, white- washed, and with flat roofs, over which may be taken a pleasant, and even extensive walk. The windows are protected by iron bars, causing each mansion to form a complete fortification. The town, on the whole, is rather handsome, especially the houses surrounding the great square. The environs on the land side have a very monotonous aspect, being animated neither by va- ried vegetation, nor by the chirping of birds. The population of this city is estimated at 70,000. Large vessels cannot ap- proach nearer than two or three leagues. Cordova is a neat small town, well paved, with a handsome cathedral and market-place. It possesses the only university in the interior provinces, which has recently produced some men of considerable eminence. It carries on a manufacture of cloth, and a trade in mules. Salta is a considerable place of 400 houses situated in the beautiful valley of Lerma, on the high road from Buenos Ayres to Potosi. It is the capital of a bishopric. About 60,000 mules are reared in the neighbourhood. An annual fair is held in February and March for mules and horses. PARAGUAY. 247 Tucuman and Santiago del Estero are old towns, situated in fertile plains, and deriving some importance from their position on the main route from Buenos Ayres to Peru. Corrientes, at the junction of the Paraguay and the Parana, must, from this happy situation, rise in time much above its present moderate importance. Lower down, on the opposite side of the river, is Santa Fe, distant 250 miles from Buenos Ayres, which has risen to considerable importance by becoming a depot for the goods on the river. Population, 5000. Mendoza, near the base of the Andes, is a neat town, well built of brick, the streets refreshed by streams from the river, and the interior of the houses well fitted up. The population is about 8000. They are described as a quiet, well-disposed peo- ple, though they give themselves up, without reserve, to the indo- lence generated by the climate, enjoying an unbroken siesta, or sleep, from twelve to five in the afternoon, when they rise to walk on the alameda, which commands a noble view of the plain and the Andes : but this is the usual train of life in these interior cities. San Luis, to the east of Mendoza, on a frequented though cir- cuitous route from Buenos Ayres, is a much smaller place, con- sisting of a number of mud huts, scattered over a large space of ground. San Juan, to the north of Mendoza, has another but much less frequented route through the Andes. The town is said to contain 10,000 inhabitants. PARAGUAY. Paraguay is situated between the Parana and Paraguay rivers. It is a fine fertile country, nearly 500 miles in length, and up- wards of 200 in breadth. The soil is extremely fruitful, and abounds in various vegetable productions ; and vast herds of cat- tle and horses feed on its rich pastures. The population is sup- posed to be about 150,000, of whom 7000 or 8000 are probably whites, and the remainder mestizoes and Indians. This state declared its independence in the year 1813, and established a government of several members. In about three years this government was dissolved, when it fell under the absolute dominion of Doctor Francia, a native Creole, who as- sumed the power of a dictator, and rules the people according to his own will. He has administered the government with great rigour and severity, and maintained the most rigid police in every part of his territories. He has strictly prohibited all intercourse with foreign countries, and foreigners who enter Paraguay are Z* 293 248 SOUTH AMERICA. seldom allowed to depart. This singular man, now about 80 years of age, lives without pomp or parade, and though he some- times acts with severity and even tyranny, appears to maintain his power unimpaired. The cabildo, or municipal government of the several towns, is chosen annually by the people. Indians, as well as Creoles and the mixed races, are eligible to these offices. All the inha- bitants are instructed in the first rudiments of education. Pub- lic schools are established in all parts of the country. Every person is required to.be employed at some business or other, and mendicity is unknown. Assumpcion, the metropolis, is a considerable place, with about 7000 inhabitants, but with little regularity and beauty. It is built on a bank above the river, which is daily washing away part of the ground beneath it. This place, with the smaller ones of Curuguatty and Villa Rica, were the staples for the herb of Paraguay. Neembuco, Concepcion, and Itapua, are also small towns, with a population of 2000 or 3000 each. The Paraguay tea, which derives its name from this region, is an evergreen plant or small tree, of the holly family. It grows wild in the woods fringing the rivers and streams which fall into the Uruguay, Parana and Paraguay. The use of this herb is general in Buenos Ayres, and also in Chili, Peru, and some parts of Colombia. The custom has been derived from the aborigines. To drink this infusion, it is customary to put a pinch of the leaves into a cup, or small calabash called mate (from which the name of the plant, yerva mate, is derived,) full of hot water, and to drink off the fluid immediately, by imbibing it through a little tube or sucker, pierced with holes in the lower part, which only allow the passage of the water, and keep back the leaves that float on the surface. Sugar and a little lemon-peel are added to improve the flavour. It is usually sipped the first thing in the morning, and several times in the course of the day. The Jesuits planted many of these trees round their towns and missions, for the con- venience of preparing and exporting the leaf; but their example has not been followed, and the plants are mostly found in wild and secluded spots. The South Americans ascribe many virtues to this plant, which is certainly aperient and diuretic. Like opium, it pro- duces some singular and contrary effects, giving sleep to the restless and spirit to the torpid. When the habit is formed of taking it, it is difficult to leave it off. When taken to excess, its effects resemble those produced by excessive indulgence in the use of strong liquors. URUGUAY. 249 URUGUAY. The tract of country which lies on the north of the Rio de la Plata and on the east of the Uruguay river, formerly made one of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, under the name of the Banda Oriental. It became the cause of an obstinate con- test between Buenos Ayres and Brazil, and was for a time incor- porated with the latter power under the title of the Provincia Cis- platina. The war, which lasted for some time, was ended by the con- tending parties agreeing to the establishment of this country as an independent state, which took the title of the Republic of Monte Video, from its chief town. It has since assumed the title of the Oriental Republic of the Uruguay, but is commonly called Uruguay. It is nearly 600 miles long and upwards of 200 miles wide; area about 92,000 square miles, and a popula- tion of 75,000. Monte Video, the capital of Uruguay, stands on the northern bank of the Rio de la Plata, and has the best harbour upon that river. It has suffered severely by the various contests of which its territory has been the theatre. It is well built, with wide and regular streets, and the country around is agreeably diversified. The gardens abound with the finest fruits and flowers, but there is otherwise little cultivation ; though extensive cattle farms are found in the interior. It exports large quantities of hides. The population of the city, much reduced by the events of the war, is now about 15,000. Below Monte Video is the small port of Maldonado, and above it the still smaller one of Colonia del Sacramento, with a good harbour. In this state, on the upper part of the Uruguay river, are the remains of some of the settlements and towns called the missions, where the Jesuits collected into a body 100,000 of the natives, from the ignorant, wandering and fierce tribes in the vicinity, who lived under their sway, and paid them homage bordering almost on adoration. They trained them to arts and manufac- tures, instructed them in letters, taught them to carry on agri- culture with great success, and armed and disciplined them in the European manner. The Jesuits appear to have been humane and enlightened in their intentions. They were, however, suspected by the court of Spain of aiming at the establishment of an independent empire in South America, subject to them alone ; and on the suppres- sion of the order in Europe, they were expelled from their set- tlements, which, being taken under the control of the crown until 250 SOUTH AMERICA. the suppression of Spanish authority in America, have fallen into decay, and do not at this time probably contain the one-tenth of the population of their days of prosperity. PATAGONIA. Patagonia, the southern extremity of the western continent, is a cold desolate region, the interior parts of which are but little known. It is about 1000 miles in length, and from 300 to 400 in breadth, having an area of probably 370,000 square miles. It is very thinly inhabited by an Indian race, who have long drawn the attention of navigators by their great size, and have usually been described by them as a nation of giants. They are divided into tribes, of which the Moluches and Puelches appear to be the principal. The Patagonians are said to be excellent horsemen, and hunt the rhea, or American ostrich, which is found in considerable numbers in the northern part of their country. Deer of various kinds, with guanucos and horses, abound in the interior, and seals are numerous in the bays and harbours. The Andes extend along the eastei'n coast of Patagonia, but after passing Chili they no longer display the vast height which distinguishes the more northern part of the range. They are supposed not to exceed 3000 feet in general, though some peaks rise to 5000 or 6000, which wear a most dreary aspect, being constantly covered with ice and snow. The principal rivers of Patagonia are all on the eastern side, and flow from the base of the Andes into the Atlantic Ocean. Terra del Fuego, separated from Patagonia by the Strait of Magellan, is inhabited by a few miserable savages in the low- est state of wretchedness, and subsisting solely on the shell-fish which they pick up on the shore. Hermit island, immediately south of Terra del Fuego, is re- markable as containing Cape Horn, the most southerly point of America, and facing directly the vast ocean which surrounds the southern pole. SOUTH AMERICAN ISLANDS. A considerable number of islands are scattered around South America, none of which, however, are of much import- ance. The Gallapagos are a numerous group, situated on the equator, about 650 miles west from the coast of New Grenada ; SOUTH AMERICAN ISLANDS. 251 nine of them only are of considerable size. They enjoy a fine climate and fertile soil, and are the seat of volcanic action. At the mouth of the Amazon river is the island of Joannes, belonging to Brazil. It is little more than a vast swamp, and is inhabited by Indians. Fernando de Noronha, about 200 miles north-east from Cape St. Roque, belongs also to Brazil, and is used as a place of confinement for transported convicts. Of several islands lying along the east coast of Brazil, the most im- portant is Santa Catharina. It is a fine fertile island, and is much visited by vessels in want of refreshments. The town of Desterro, the principal on the island, contains 5000 inhabitants. The islands of St. Felix, Juan Fernandez, and Chiloe, belong to Chili ; the latter forms the most southern province of that re- public. A number of islands extend along the west coast of Patagonia ; they are but little known, and are cold, barren, and desolate regions. Wellington island, about 150 miles in length, is the principal of these. Terra del Fuego, or Land of Fire, lies south of Patagonia, and is the most southern part of tne inhabited world. The name is derived from the volcanic fires seen on various parts of the coast. Staten Land is separated from Terra del Fuego by the strait of Le Maire. The English have esta- blished a settlement on this island. South-east from Patagonia are several groups of islands, scat- tered at various distances from the continent. They comprise the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Sandwich Land. The climate of these islands is cold and severe, and their shores are rugged and barren. They are all uninhabited ; and, except the Falkland group, are very seldom visited. The latter contains many good harbours, which afford shelter to the whale and seal ships which navigate the southern seas. They are claimed both by Great Britain and Buenos Ayres. Further to the south are the islands of South Shetland, South Orkney, Palmer's Land, and Graham's Land. These have all been discovered since the year 1819. They are desolate, sterile regions, covered even in mid-summer with ice and snow, and are untenanted by a single human being. Their shores abound with the fur-seal, sea elephant, and vast numbers of penguins. Ves- sels from Stonington, and other ports in New England, frequent these islands for the purpose of procuring seals, the furs of which are very fine and valuable. 252 EUROPE. EUROPE. Europe occupies the north-western section of the Eastern Con- tinent, and is the smallest of the great divisions of the globe, yet it is the first in importance, and the second in amount of popula- tion. It has become the chief seat of learning, civilization, and the arts, and its inhabitants are more intelligent, enterprising, and industrious than those of the other quarters of the earth. Europe is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, and on the west by the Atlantic ; on the south by the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmora, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov ; and on the east by Asiatic Russia. It is in extent from north to south about 2500 miles ; and from east to west in the widest part 2800 miles. Area, 3,500,000 square miles. Population, 230,000,000. This quarter of the world is deeply penetrated by large inland seas and numerous gulfs, which afford great natural advantages for commercial pursuits ; and this circumstance has in no small degree contributed to the high superiority of Europe over Asia and Africa, whose deficiency in this particular has been one great physical obstacle to their prosperity and civilization. Of this the Mediterranean may be regarded as an example. It was one of the principal means of promoting the civilization of ancient Europe ; and art, science, commerce, and literature, gradually advanced into the interior from its shores : while the vast inland plains of Russia and Poland, presenting a different aspect, remained, even after the civilization and improvement of all Western Europe, sunk in the deepest barbarism, from which they are but slowly and with difficulty emerging. The surface of Europe is greatly diversified. Its mountains do not reach that stupendous height, nor stretch in such unbroken chains, as those of Asia and America. The principal ranges of mountains are the Dofrafields, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Balkan, and the Ural mountains. The interior regions of Europe are well watered, though none of the rivers are of the first magnitude. The principal of them are the Volga, Danube, Don, Dnieper, Tagus, Loire, Rhine, Rhone, Elbe, and Vistula. But few of the lakes of Europe are of sufficient magnitude to rank as inland seas. Those alone entitled to this distinction are the Ladoga and the Onega, which form a sort of continuation of the Gulf of Finland. The others worthy of notice are the Wener and Wetter, in Sweden ; the Swiss lakes of Geneva, Lucerne, and Constance ; the Platten EUROPE. Calla Palustris. Arctic Kaspberry. Reindeer Moss. A kind of bread called Missenbrod, or bread of famine, is made by the Laplanders of the roots of the Calla Palustris. The plant is poisonous, but its deleterious properties are dissi- pated by the preparation it undergoes. Cranberry. Cudbear. Cudbear is a species of lichen used by the dyers ; it is found in Sweden and Norway. Lime Tree. Iccla^ Moss. The Lime Tree grows extensively in Russia. Of the inner bark vast quantities of matting are made, also ropes and coarse paper. The Iceland Moss is esteemed with us as an article of diet in consumptive cases. In Iceland and Northern Europe, the people use it often as food. 299 EUROPE, European Brown Bear. The Wolf. Reindeer. Scottish Greyhound. Pine Marten. Hedgehog. Porcupine. EUROPE. 253 Sea or Lake, in Austria ; and the lakes Garda, Como, and Mag- giore, in Italy. The European soil is distinguished for productions, perhaps surpassing in value those of any other quarter of the globe. Grain, of one description or another, is raised over its whole surface, excepting in the extreme north ; and wines are produced throughout all its southern kingdoms. In hemp, flax, and wool, those staple materials of clothing, Europe is equally pre-eminent. Silk, another valuable commodity, it produces copiously. Except the horse and the camel, for which Asia is renowned, Europe contains the most valuable as well as the most numerous breeds of domestic animals. Its northern forests produce the finest timber in the world, with the exception of the teak ; and its iron, the most useful of metals, surpasses that of the rest of the world ; but all the more valuable substances, gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones, exist in an extent so limited as scarcely to be deserving of mention. The cultivation of the soil is carried on with much greater diligence than in any coun- tries except in the south-east of Asia ; while in science, skill, and the extent of capital employed upon it, European agriculture is quite unrivalled. In manufacturing industry, this quarter of the world has, within these few last centuries, far surpassed all the others of the globe. The looms and workshops of Europe yield a variety of fine and beautiful fabrics, in such profusion, and at so cheap a rate, as to place them within the reach of almost every class of society. This continent thus clothes all the young nations which have issued from her own bosom, and which fill nearly two entire quarters of the habitable earth. Commerce, on so great a scale as to connect together the dis- tant quarters of the world, can hardly be said to exist out of Europe. European vessels are found in the utmost bounds of Asia and America, in the snowy regions of either pole, and in the ports of the most remote parts of the globe. There is hardly a place on earth, however distant, affording any scope for the employment of commercial capital, which is not imme- diately filled with the same promptitude as if it had been situated in the heart of Europe. The ships of that continent exceed those of all the others in number and dimensions, and are more skilfully navigated, with the exception of those belonging to the United States, which have formed a commercial and maritime system, modelled on that of Europe — a system which may one day surpass the original. The native animals of Europe are neither so varied nor so extensive as those of more genial climes. The most useful and 22 2A 301 254 EUROPE. important of the domestic kinds have been introduced from other regions. The horse, originally from Arabia, or, according to the opinion of some, from Tartary, has, by cultivation and edu- cation, been brought to a high state of perfection, and has be- come varied in kind to a great extent. The ass, the dog, and cat, are also believed to have an eastern origin. The ox, one of the most valuable of nature's gifts to man, appears to have existed in a wild state over the whole of Europe, but whether as a distinct species or a mere variety, is still uncertain. At what time this breed was exterminated from the open forests is not known ; but it was confined to parks, in Britain, long before the Reformation. The race is still preserved in the north of Eng- land ; they are wholly white, with a black muzzle. The domestic quadrupeds which administer so much to the necessities and happiness of the human race, have been (particu- larly in Britain) improved to a high degree of excellence. Of the ox, the sheep, and the hog, there is a vast variety, each of which possesses some valuable peculiarity which renders them so essential in supplying food and clothing to man ; while the horse, the ass, and the dog, assist him in his labours or protect his property. In the extreme northern parts of the continent, the great white bear, more truly perhaps than any other an arctic animal, inha- bits the shores of Nova Zembla, and is occasionally seen in other parts : it is the same as the American quadruped of the same name. The only two European species of this animal, the brown and black bear, are natives of the northern and temperate regions of the continent. The latter differs from that of America in many essential points. The wolf and the fox, under different varieties or species, appear generally distributed over Europe. To these may be added the lynx and wild cat, as the only rapa- cious or carnivorous animals of this region. The elk and the reindeer are well-known inhabitants of the northern countries ; the latter giving place to the fallow-deer, the stag, and the roe- buck, in the midland parts of Europe. In the lofty mountains and inaccessible precipices of the Alps and Pyrenees, the chamois, isard, and ibex, still live in partial security, notwithstanding the daring intrepidity of their hunters. The musmon is another European quadruped, deserving notice as being generally considered the origin of all our domestic breeds of sheep. It appears still to exist in a state of nature among the high mountains of Corsica and Sardinia, and although extirpated upon the continent, is well ascertained to have formerly been common in the mountains of Asturia in Spain, and other parts. The beaver is found in the vicinity of the Rhine, the EUROPE. Poland Marmot. Stoat. Wild Scottish Ox Muemon, or Wild Sheep. Long- Homed Ox. Hereford Sheep. Merino Sheep. Wallachiun Sheep. EUROPE. Golden Eagle. Fulvous Vulture. Great Cincrous Vulture. Iceland Falcon. Kestril. Wimbrel. Golden Oriole. '-^^^}^^k^=- Pelican. 304 EUROPE. 255 Rhone, the Danube, and other of the larger European rivers. It is, however, uncertain whether it is precisely the same as the American species. The domesticated birds of Europe, brought from other quar- ters, are the turkey from America, the peacock and common fowl from India, the Guinea-fowl from Africa, and the pheasant from Asia Minor. The rapacious birds, as in other regions, are the smallest in number, but the most formidable in strength. The golden, imperial, white-tailed, and sea-eagle, are found in various parts of the continent. On the highest summits of the Alps, and in the vast forests which clothe their sides, in Switzerland and the Tyrol, are found all the four species of the European vulture, of which the most formidable is the bearded vulture, or vulture of the Alps. It is the largest of European birds, being four feet and a half in length, and its strength is so great that it attacks sheep, lambs, and young stags, and even the chamois and ibex fall victims to its rapacity. It builds in such inaccessible precipices that its nest is very rarely seen. The vulture is seldom found north of the Alps, and is most numerous in the southern parts of the continent. The goshawk is found in Scotland, France, and Germany. Great use was formerly made of this bird in falconry. Many species of owls are known in Europe ; also, crows of various kinds, many species of woodpecker, snipe, grosbeaks, bullfinches, buntings, finches, linnets, larks, &c. The grouse, of various species, are highly prized as game : the largest, the cock of the rock, the size of a small turkey, is found in Russia : the cock of the wood is a fine bird, found in the high mountainous parts of the continent ; it lives mostly in pine forests and upon the leaves of fir trees. The partridge and quail are universally diffused. The bustard, among the largest of European birds, being four feet long, is common in Spain, Italy, and Turkey. These birds run with great rapidity, but fly with difficulty, and are oftentimes hunted by greyhounds. The beautiful wall-creeper, with its bright rosy wings, the golden oriole, the bee-eater, the hoopoo, and the roller, four of the most beautiful European birds, are common in Italy and Sicily ; also the pelican, the spoonbill, and the flamingo, although from their large size attracting the atten- tion of sportsmen, they are never seen in any considerable num- bers. The seas and coasts of Europe abound to a great extent with fish and marine animals of various kinds, some of which exist in vast numbers, and are of great importance in a national point of view, affording food and employment to thousands of fisher- men : this is especially the case with the codfish on the shores 256 EUROPE. of Norway, and the herring of the British coast. The countless myriads of these fish which visit annually the northern shores of Europe, migrate from the Arctic seas, and appear off the Shet- land Isles in April and May : they frequently move in columns of five or six miles in length, and three or four in breadth. The pilchards, on the southern coast of England, and the sar- dines, on that of France, are caught to a great extent. The herring is but little if at all known on the Mediterranean ; a sub- stitute, however, exists in the enormous shoals of anchovies found on the coasts of Spain, France, and Italy, which employ annu- ally in their capture and preparation a great number of persons, and the exportation of this highly-flavoured little fish to all parts of the world creates an important branch of permanent com- merce. The tunny fishery is peculiar to Sicily and Malta, but is not pursued to the same extent as formerly. The people of Europe are divided chiefly into three great races, which differ essentially in language, political situation, and habits of life. These are the Sclavonic, the Teutonic, and the Romish. The Sclavonic race consists of about 40,000,000 of Russians, from 18,000,000 to 20,000,000 of Poles, Lithuanians, and Letts, and about 10,000,000 of other races, known under the names of Wends, Tcheches, Slawakes, Croats, and Morlachians, which have found their way into eastern Germany, Hungary, and Illyria. The Sclavonians are, in general, less improved than other Europeans. They are chiefly subjected to absolute mon- archy, and the greater part of them are only beginning to emerge from the degrading condition of personal slavery. The majority profess that form of Christianity acknowledged by the Greek Church. The Teutonic race occupies generally the centre and north of Europe ; besides Germany, their original seat, they have filled the greater part of Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and Great Britain, and may be reckoned at 70,000,000. The Teutonic people generally are brave, hardy, intelligent, and industrious, though somewhat blunt and unpolished. All the sciences, and even the arts, both useful and ornamental, have been carried among them to the highest perfection. A great majority of the Teutonic nations are Protestants ; and that profession is in a great measure confined to them, and to the nations in the other parts of the world who have sprung from them. The Romish race comprehends the modern inhabitants of France, Italy, Spain, &c. They were the most early civilized of the modern nations, and have carried the polish of manners and the cultivation of the elegant arts to a higher pitch than any other known race. In solid energy and intelligence, they EUROPE. Sturnus Unicolor, or Starling. Quail. Ptarmigan. Red Grouse. Mocking Jay. European Kingfisher. EUROPE. Great Bustard. European Bee-Eater. Woodchat. British Herring Watery Eft. Scorpion. 308 EUROPE. 257 scarcely equal the Teutonic nations. The Roman Catholic is the ruling religion in all these countries, and has among them her chief seat. This race numbers about 70,000,000. Certain interesting and ancient races remain to be mentioned. They are the Gael, the Cymri, and the Basques, the descendants of the Celts, the most ancient possessors of western Europe. The first inhabit the chief part of Ireland, and the highlands of Scotland ; the Cymri, partly Wales, and the west and south of France, and in the north of Spain, where they are called Basques. They are probably about 7,000,000 in number, of which the Gael amount to 4,650,000; the Cymri 1,700,000; and the Basques 650,000. The Greeks, once the most illustrious of all the races, inhabit Greece and different parts of the Turkish empire. Depressed by two thousand years of slavery, they had ceased to display those high attributes which excited the admiration of mankind ; but the prospects of independence which they have now opened for themselves, afford some hope that they may regain their place in the scale of nations. Their number may be about 2,500,000. The Jews, that singularly interesting people, are spread through all Europe, but especially the eastern countries, Poland, Russia, and Turkey : they are supposed to amount to 2,500,000. The Gypsies, in an humbler sphere, are widely scattered over all Europe, to the supposed number of 500,000, a wild, roaming, demi-savage race, of unknown but probably Asiatic origin. Other races are, the Turks, the ruling people in the Ottoman empire ; and the Magyars, who prevail in Hun- gary and Transylvania, these are originally Asiatic. The former amount to 5,500,000 ; the latter to 3,000,000. In religion, the nations of Europe are almost entirely Chris- tian ; and the small population of Mahomedans who have found their way into it consist of Asiatic races, Turks, and Tartars. The Jews, however generally diffused, have nowhere a national church, nor are they, in any nation, fully identified with the body of the people. The Christians of Europe are divided into three great churches, the Greek, the Latin or Roman Catholic, and the Protestant. The Roman Catholic church comprises the greatest number of followers : they amount probably to 120,000,000, the Protestant church 52,000,000, and the Greek 50,000,000. The Mahomedans are about 5,500,000 in number, and the Jews 2,500,000. In learning, refinement, and all the various pursuits which develope and enlarge the mental faculties, Europe has far sur- passed all the other parts of the earth. The most useful inven- tions, the finest productions of genius, and the improvement of 22* *» 258 EUROPE. all the sciences, belong to the people of this region. Universi- ties and colleges are numerous in almost all European countries. Some of these are endowed with extensive funds, valuable libra- ries, and botanic gardens, and have numerous professors. They attract many students from various quarters, of whom some are from our own country, and other parts of the New World. These institutions provide for the higher classes of learning, and are generally on a larger scale than any in America. Their advantages, however, are seldom attainable by the poorer classes of society. In several parts of Europe the common branches of school education are much neglected, and the lower orders of the people are not so well instructed as in the United States. Numbers of them are unable to read or write ; and in some countries, as in Russia, Poland, &c, they are extremely ignorant, degraded, and bigoted. Schools for instructing the poorer classes are most numerous in Prussia, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, and Scotland. In the latter country, more of the people receive a learned education than elsewhere. England, Germany, and France, excel in lite- rature and science, and Italy is distinguished for proficiency in the fine arts. The prevailing governments of Europe are either absolute or limited monarchies. Russia, Austria, Naples, Denmark, Prussia, Sardinia, &c, are governed by absolute monarchs according to fixed laws ; while Great Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, &c, are presided over by sovereigns, whose power is limited by the existence of representative assemblies, having the right of enacting laws and regulating taxation. Hun- gary, though attached to an absolute monarchy, enjoys the advantages of a representative government, and national repre- sentatives are guarantied to the states composing the Germanic confederation. The only example of pure despotism in Europe is to be found in the Turkish empire ; and Switzerland is the only independent republic of any magnitude, the others comprising little more than individual cities. The European states which rank highest in the scale of national importance are Great Britain, France, Russia, Austria, and Prussia. These are called the five great powers, and have formed among themselves an alliance, or balance of power, which sets bounds to the encroachments of any particular state. These great monarchies direct and control the affairs of every European nation, and more or less influence the destinies of all civilized countries. Europe comprises 61 independent states : of these, three are styled empires, 16 kingdoms, seven grand duchies, one electorate, 310 SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 259 11 duchies, one landgraviate, 11 principalities, one lordship, one ecclesiastical state, and nine republics. The governments of the last mentioned are based mostly upon aristocratic principles, and their existence depends chiefly on the sufferance of the larger powers. There are also several countries styled kingdoms, which yet are dependent states ; as the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom ; the kingdoms of Hungary and Galicia, in Austria, and the king- dom of Norway, forming part of the Swedish monarchy. EXTENT AND POPULATION OF EUROPE. States. Area in squ. m. Fopulat'n. States. Area in squ. m. Populat'n. Sweden and Norway 297,000. . .4,000,000 Russia and Poland 1,755,000. .49,000,000 Denmark 22,000. ..2,100.000 Holland 11,000. . .2,800,000 Belgium 13,000. . .4,200,000 Great Britain and Ireland 121,000. .25.000,000 France 205,000. .32,500,000 Spain 183,000. . 12,000,000 Portugal 59,000. . .3,600,000 Prussia 107,000.-14,000,000 Austria 259,000. .33,000,000 German States 102,000. .15,000,000 Switzerland 15,000. .2,000,000 Italy 122,000. .21,000,000 Ionian Islands 1000 190,000 Greece 21,000 . . . .610,000 Turkey 207,000. . .9,000,000 Total 230,000,000 SWEDEN AND NORWAY. Sweden and Norway, now united into one kingdom, com- prise an extensive region, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Arctic Ocean. The whole country forms a vast peninsula up- wards of 1200 miles in length, and from 300 to 500 in breadth. Area, 297,000 square miles. The northern part of this region is exposed to all the rigours of an arctic winter : the sun continues above the horizon in sum- mer for two months and a half, and in winter remains below it for an equal space of time. The summer is short, and succeeds the winter so suddenly that spring hardly exists. The southern parts, however, of both Sweden and Norway, especially the for- mer, contain many fertile and well-cultivated districts. The climate, though subject to great and sudden changes, is nevertheless healthful ; and many of the inhabitants, especially of Norway, live to a great age. Extensive forests cover a large portion of the country, and but a small part of it is suited to farming. The commerce of this kingdom is greater than its unimproved agriculture and total want of manufactures might lead us to suppose. But nature has gifted these bleak territories with an almost inexhaustible store of timber and iron, two of the prime necessaries of human life. The exports of Norway are estimated at near 9,000,000 dol- lars annually. The commerce of Sweden is inferior in amount, 260 EUROPE. her surplus timber being not quite so ample, though her iron is superior. The manufactures of both countries are inconsidera- ble, and the products of their industry cannot sustain a competi- tion with those of other nations. Even in the common trades, the work is lazily and ill performed, and charged at a high rate, which renders this the most expensive country in Europe for those who live luxuriously. The mines of silver, copper, lead, and especially iron, consti- tute the chief wealth of this country. The principal silver and copper mines are in Sweden. The mines of Fahlun have been worked upwards of 1000 years, and produce 1,500,000 pounds of copper annually. Large quantities of excellent iron have been worked in Sweden, and it likewise produces porphyry, rock- crystal, cobalt, alum, and antimony. The mines of Norway are less productive than formerly. Agriculture is the employment of the chief part of the popu- lation. In Sweden the land, except in some of the northern dis- tricts, is principally in the hands of a few rich proprietors, and the peasants and labourers are little better than slaves. Much of the soil is sterile, and sometimes there is not sufficient grain raised for the support of the people, and occasionally the poor in both divisions of the kingdom grind the bark, or even wood of the fir-tree, and mix it with their flour. Barley, oats, and rye, are the principal grains ; and potatoes, hemp, and flax, and some tobacco, are cultivated in the southern districts. Sweden comprises three general divisions, Gothland, Sweden Proper, and Norrland, which are divided into 26 lans or govern- ments. Norway comprises four dioceses or governments, which are divided into 22 provinces. The population of Sweden is 2,880,000; of Norway, 1,120,000: total, 4,000,000. The religion of the kingdom is Lutheran, and the church Epis- copal. Tn Sweden, however, the system is burthened with much form and ceremony. The Catholics labour under a restricted toleration, and are excluded from the Diet and the higher offices of state. In Norway education is more general than in the ad- joining kingdom, where the lower classes seldom learn more than to read sufficiently to understand the catechism and to entitle them to church confirmation. In Sweden there is much refine- ment of taste and manners diffused among the better classes, while, in the inferior, intemperance and pauperism extensively prevail ; and in 1825 one-fifth of the population required public relief. There are universities at Upsal, Lund, and Christiania ; and a number of gymnasia or colleges in both countries. Sweden and Norway have different constitutions, though under NORWAY. 2G1 the government of one and the same king, who is, of all the con- stitutional monarchs of Europe, one of the most limited. The legislative body of Sweden, styled the Diet or States General, consists of four orders, the nobles, the clergy, the burgesses, and the peasantry. In Norway nobility is abolished ; and the legis- lative body, styled the Storthing, consists of two houses. The latter body is possessed of much higher privileges than the Swedish Diet. It assembles more frequently, and at its own time, without any control from the king ; and any bill sanctioned three times by the Storthing, becomes a law, without his approval. The executive power of Norway is administered by a viceroy or governor. The military force of this kingdom is at present 138,000 men; regular army, 45,000 ; landwehr or militia, 93,000. The troops are raised by conscription ; they only receive pay when in actual service, remaining at other times in the provinces, where they employ themselves in cultivating lands assigned to them for their support. The navy comprises ten ships of the line, eight frigates, two steam-ships, and upwards of 200 gun-boats. The Swedish and Norwegian dialects differ but little from each other, and are closely allied to the Danish. The habits, manner, and character of the two nations, have, to some extent, a general resemblance : they are both lively and cheerful in disposition ; hospitable;, brave, and warlike, and strongly attached to their respective countries. The principal difference consists in the su- perior moral and religious condition of the people of Norway. NORWAY. Norway was united to Denmark in the year 1380, and con- tinued to form a part of the Danish monarchy until 1814, when it was annexed to Sweden. It is, however, so far independent, that the finances, legislation, and administration, are distinct. The press is free, and a highly republican spirit prevails. This is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, and it abounds in sublime and romantic scenery. Numerous streams descend from the mountains, but none are navigable except to a very limited extent, and the only river considerable for length is the Glommen, which flows into the sea in the southern part of the country. Cataracts and shoals obstruct its course in every part, and the only use to which it is applied is that of floating down timber from the mountains. There are numerous lakes in this country, but none of them are of any magnitude. The inlets of the sea, which indent the 262 EUROPE. whole coast of Norway, are almost innumerable : they are called in the language of the country fiords ; but few of them, however, afford good harbours. The northern part of this region, called Norrland, is extremely cold and rugged. Grain, even of the coarsest descriptions, ripens only in a few favoured spots. The climate, however, is somewhat milder than that of regions under the same latitude on the Baltic ; so that, while the ports of Stockholm and Carlscrona are shut during several months of the year, those of Norrland remain continually open. This dreary district is chiefly remarkable for being the princi- pal seat of the Norwegian fishery, a branch which constitutes an important part of the industry of the country. During the whole year, the herring affords a regular occupation to the Norr- land boatmen ; but from February to April, the shoals, migrating from thence, and from all the surrounding coasts, crowd to the Loffbden Islands, the central seat of the northern fishery. These islands form a chain parallel to the land, and separated by narrow channels, through which the tides of the Northern Ocean rush with tremendous rapidity. Malstrom, the famous whirlpool, when the tide is high, produces the effect of a mighty cataract. Waves are seen struggling against waves, towering aloft, or wheeling about in whirlpools ; the dashing and roaring of which are heard many miles out at sea. Christiania, the capital of Norway, is situated at the head of a long interior bay. It is chiefly supported by the trade in deals or lumber ; and those cut in its saw-mills are considered, by the traders in this article, to be superior to all others. Some of the merchants of this city have acquired great wealth. The build- ings are regular, and mostly of stone ; so that, in the course of 200 years, while other Scandinavian towns have been repeatedly reduced to ashes, Christiania has suffered only slight injury from fire. Since the union with Sweden, it has received an university, with two professors, who have moderate incomes, chiefly derived from grain. Population, 21,000. There are other havens of some importance in this southern tract of Norway. On the western coast of Christiania fiord, the two, Bragenses and Stromsoe, unite in forming what is called Dram, or Drammen, at the mouth of the river of that name. Tongsberg, at the bottom of the same side, is a town of some ancient celebrity, but now a good deal decayed. On the eastern side of the same bay is Moss, watered by a stream turning 20 saw-mills, by which an immense quantity of boards is prepared for exportation. Frederickshall, an ancient and still important frontier town, is beautifully situated in an interior bay, winding NORWAY. Norwegian Peasants, in their Summer dress. In winter, the Norwegians, besides ample woollen clothing, use sheep-skin and bear-skin cloaks, and close fur caps. Over their stockings they wear stout leather boots ; and above these boots, made of reindeer-hide lined with sheepskin; woollen gloves, covered with others made of fur, or sheep-skin with the wool shorn close, are common. View of Christiania, the chief town in Norway. View of Bergen. EUROPE. View of Uiontii =§^ Pass of Swinsund, in the south-east part of Norway. This Pass, or Strait, is near the fortress of Frederickstadt, the scene of the death of Charles XII. It is formed by an arm of the sea, which flows between rugged rocks, and presents a highly lomantic and picturesque scene. Norwegian killing a Bear. Bears are found in the depths of the thick forests that pervade many parts of Norway, and are sometimes killed by the peasants in the daring manner shown in the engraving. 316 SWEDEN. 263 among mountains. Near it is the strong fortress of Frederick- stack, the scene of the death of Charles XII. The town of Bergen, at the head of a long interior bay, was foi'merly accounted the capital of Norway, and contains a popu- lation of 22,000. Its commerce, which is considerable, is found- ed on the exportation, less of the produce of the country behind it, than of the northern fishery at the Loffoden Isles, of which the produce is brought to Bergen by numerous barks. Its mer- chants had long the monopoly of this, and still retain much the greatest share. They are chiefly Dutch, and send a vessel weekly to Amsterdam for a supply of the garden stuffs which their own soil does not yield. Bergen consists of large masses of wooden houses, built amid rocks, and has suffered, at various times, severely by fire. Drontheim is situated on the shore of a winding fiord, but subsists less by foreign commerce than by the internal communi- cation between numerous valleys and districts, to which it forms a central point of union. The society is always held forth as representing under the happiest light the genuine Norwegian character ; its warmth of kindness, and generous hospitality. Drontheim is built wholly of wood, and has in consequence been seven times burnt to the ground ; yet the houses are handsome, and ornamented with taste. There is a spacious palace, built wholly of this material, and partaking its imperfection. It also contains the remains of a cathedral, the largest edifice in the country, and to which the whole population of the north came once in pilgrimage. The environs are very beautiful, with numerous country-seats, and lofty snow-crowned hills in the distance. The little town of Hammerfest, on the island of Qualoe, is the most northerly settlement in Europe, and perhaps in the world, inhabited solely by a civilized people. There are several mercantile houses here connected with the fisheries ; and some trade is carried on with Bergen, and also with the Russians from Archangel. SWEDEN. Sweden, though enclosed by high mountains on the north and west, is in general a flat country, much diversified by lakes and rivers. A great part of it is covered with thick forests, which are interspersed in the middle and southern districts with nume- rous small, but well-cultivated farms. The mountains consist chiefly of the dark and lofty chain of the Dofrafields, which were for ages a barrier between the two 2 b * 317 264 EUROPE. separate and formerly hostile states of Sweden and Norway, but ai-e now included within the united kingdom. Some of these mountains attain the height of 8000 feet. The rivers are numerous, Sweden being a country profusely watered ; but, as they rise in the Dofrafield mountains, and tra- verse the divided breadth of the peninsula, they seldom attain any material length of course. The largest is the Dahl, which falls into the sea at Gefle, after a course of 300 miles. The most im- portant as to navigation, are those which form the outlet to the lakes, particularly the Gotha, reaching from the lake Wener to the Baltic near Gottenburg. The Wener is the largest of the Swedish lakes ; it is a fine sheet of water, upwards of 80 miles long, and is, by means of its outlets, the Gotha river and the canal of Trolhatta, connected with the sea at Gottenburg. The Wetter, though nearly equal in length, covers not nearly so great an extent of ground. Lake Malar is properly a narrow bay, running 60 miles into the inte- rior from Stockholm. Small lakes, enclosed between hills, are of frequent occurrence, both in Norway and Sweden. The prin- cipal islands belonging to this kingdom are Gothland, Oland, and Bornholm, in the Baltic Sea, and St. Bartholomew in the West Indies. In this country the people are divided into four distinct classes, the nobility, the clergy, the citizens or burghers, and the peasants. The last mentioned class, though represented in the Diet, or na- tional legislature, do not occupy the position which such a privi- lege would seem to indicate. Although Sweden on various occasions, particularly in the reign of Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII., exercised great influence upon the affairs of Europe, its political importance, from the remoteness of its position, the scantiness of its population, and its general poverty, cannot be rated very high at the present day, and its military and naval power can hardly ever be very formidable to the great European states. In science the Swedes, considering their circumstances and situation, have made a very distinguished figure. They have cultivated, with peculiar ardour, botany and mineralogy ; and have also made large contributions to chemistry, which is still ably pursued by several distinguished individuals. From the limited sphere of the Swedish language, few works of science are written in it, or translated into it : hence the learned men of Sweden are particularly well versed in the languages of foreign nations. Stockholm, the capital, is situated at the junction of the lake Malar with an inlet of the Baltic. It stands upon seven small SWEDEN. Stockholm, the Capital of the Kingdom of Sweden and Norway. View of the Cathedral of Upsal, and part of the city. Copper Mine of Fahlun. The Mine of Fahlun, viewed from the top, looks like the crater of an immense volcano. It has been worked upwards of a thousand years, and yields a million and a half pounds of cop- per annually ; about one-fourth only of what was produced two hundred years ago. 319 EUROPE. Interior of one of the Iron Mines of Persberg The Persberg Mines are thirteen in number ; they are dug into a mountain that is entirely composed of veins and beds of iron ore. A great number of men and horses are employed here. The iron obtained from these mines is laige in amount, and excellent in quality. LAPLAND. 265 rocKy islands, besides two peninsulas, and is built upon piles. The central island is bordered by a stately row of buildings, the residences of the principal merchants. It contains the palace and other public buildings ; but the houses being high, and the streets narrow, its appearance is somewhat gloomy. At a short distance from the royal palace stands a fine statue of Gustavus III., in bronze, on a pedestal of polished porphyry. The city has likewise an arsenal, a mint, an exchange, and two theatres. The harbour is deep and capacious, though difficult of access: a thousand sail of shipping may lie here in safety, and the largest vessels can approach close to the quay. Population, 78,000. Upsal, formerly the great metropolis of Sweden, is situated on an extensive plain, upon the small river Fyrisa. In the centre of the town is a square, from which the streets extend in straight lines. This town is famous for its beautiful cathedral, and for its university, which has a library of 40,000 volumes. Popula- tion, 5000. Gottenburg, near the mouth of the river Gotha, has a circum- ference of three miles. It is regularly fortified, and in the upper part of the town the streets rise above each other like an amphi- theatre. Some of the modern buildings are of brick, but the greater number are of wood, and painted red. The harbour is spacious, and the commerce considerable. Population, 26,000. Carlscrona, on the bay of the Baltic, is the station of the Swedish navy, and has a harbour which is defended at its en- trance by two strong forts. It is celebrated for its docks, which are separated from the town by a high wall, and one of which is cut out of the solid rock. Population, 12,000. Malmoe, exactly opposite Copenhagen, contains about 5000 inhabitants, and possesses some commerce, though the harbour is bad. Fahlun, 150 miles north-west from Stockholm, is remarkable for its extensive copper-mines. The number of forges here give the town a very sombre appearance. Popula- tion, 5000. Gefle, on the Gulf of Bothnia, is a well-built town, with some foreign commerce. Population, 10,000. LAPLAND. Lapland is a cold and desolate region lying to the north of the Arctic Circle. It belongs nominally to Sweden and Russia, but such are the sterility of the soil and the poverty of the peo- ple, that they are left to themselves, and are not under the cog- nizance of any general government. This country is mostly rough and mountainous ; but in some districts there are extensive plains and morasses. Through 23 321 260 EUROPE. these roll the Lulea, Kalix, Tc-rnea, Urnea, and other rivers, which, though of considerable length of course, are not naviga- ble to any extent. The Laplanders are of short stature, being generally less than five feet in height, of brown complexion, with black hair, pointed chin, and eyes rendered weak by exposure to the smoke and snow. They are a simple, harmless people, greatly attached to their native country, and are never known to leave it. War 'is their aversion, and no instance has ever occurred of any of them becoming soldiers. In summer they live in tents ; and in winter in low rude huts, formed of stones and earth, and covered with turf. The floor is spread with rein-deer skins, having the hair upwards, and which thus serve for either lying or sitting ; their tents and huts being too low to stand in. A fire is made in the middle, and there is a hole at the top, to which the smoke must find its way ; but this it does not effect till it has thickly impregnated the whole space with its fumes ; which, however, are valued as affording a protection in winter against the cold, and in summer against the swarms of musquitoes, with which, during a period of short and extreme heat, the air is infested. The Laplanders travel from place to place, and seldom live in towns. They move their families, usually at the beginning of winter and summer, in sledges made in the form of a boat, and drawn by rein-deer. These swift-footed animals form their riches ; the flesh and milk comprise their food, and the skins their furni- ture and clothing. The herds of rein-deer vary from 300 to upwards of 1000 in number, according to the wealth of the pos- sessor. All day they wander over the hills, and in the evening are driven into an enclosed space, where they are milked. Each yields only about a tea-cupful of milk ; but rich, aromatic, and of exquisite taste. The dress of these people is carefully contrived for the pur- poses of warmth. The under part, or shirt, is composed of sheep's skin, with the wool inwards ; while the exterior coat is formed by the skin of the rein-deer, or some other animal, having the fur outwards. They add fur gloves, and a woollen pointed red cap. The few villages found in Lapland are very small, seldom containing more than 100 or 200 inhabitants; and the whole nation, though occupying a country nearly equal in extent to France, is supposed not to exceed 30,000 inhabitants. The Laplanders have been nearly all converted to Christianity, and are attentive to its duties, coming often from great distances to attend divine service, though the instructions are conveyed to RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 2G7 them only through the broken medium of an interpreter. They observe the sabbath very strictly, and never use profane language. Among them great crimes are unknown, a murder not having been committed in twenty years. The people of this country do not show that open hospitality and warmth of heart for which rude nations are so often cele- brated. They are cold, shy, mistrustful, and difficult to treat with, at least unless tobacco or brandy be brought in as a medi- ator. They were formerly very superstitious ; and the Lapland witches were famous for their empire over the winds, which they pretended to enclose in bags, and sold to the mariner. The magic drum and the enchanted chain are still in occasional use. RUSSIAN EMPIRE. The Russian Empire is the largest in the world. It com- prises extensive regions in both hemispheres, is twice the size of Europe, and is supposed to exceed greatly the most extensive empires of antiquity. It reaches more than half-way round the globe, and embraces upwards of one-seventh part of the land surface of the earth. Russia in Europe, Russia in Asia, and the Russian possessions in North America, are its grand divisions. Area in square miles, 7,555,000. Population about 60,000,000. From the immense extent of this empire, and its geographical position on the globe, a great part of it is condemned to almost constant frost and snow, and vast tracts are barren and sterile ; yet there are extensive territories that are fruitful and productive, and under the influence of free and liberal institutions, would become among the most favoured regions in the world. ■ • ■ n ' f But few nations, either of ancient or modern times, can furnish an instance of such rapid increase in area and population, as Russia : less than 400 years ago it contained only the one- twentieth part of its extent at this time ; and 100 years ago the inhabitants amounted to only one-fourth of their present number. The annexation of Finland, nearly the whole of Poland, and vari- ous districts of Turkey and Persia, with its possessions in North America, have, within less than a century, added greatly to the territories of this empire. The inhabitants consist of a greater variety of different nations than is to be found under any other government in the world. The chief races in European Russia are Russians, Poles, Finns, Tartars, Turks, Cossacks, &c. In Asia, besides the various barbarous and savage tribes that inhabit Siberia, there are the 323 268 EUROPE. Tartars, Circassians, Georgians, Persians, and Armenians, that people the provinces bordering on the Caspian Sea ; with the Esquimaux and Indian tribes of the American possessions. The government of this empire is an absolute monarchy. The emperor is the head of church and state, and is styled the auto- crat of all the Russias : all power emanates from him, and he is supposed to derive his authority from God alone. There is also a body styled the Council of the Empire, a ministry, and a senate, the last of which is a collection of individuals nominated by the monarch, and serves but little other purpose than that of promul- gating his decrees or ukases. The established religion is that of the Greek Church, but all others are tolerated ; and there are to be found in Russia, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Mahomedans, Jews and Pagans. The ecclesiastical ceremonies of the Russians are exceedingly pomp- ous and splendid, and the feast of Easter is celebrated with brilliant magnificence. They have a great veneration for the pictures with which their churches are furnished, and the Crea- tor is too generally lost sight of in the worship of the represent- ation of his creatures. The establishment of the Russian church is very cumbrous, there being between 30 and 40 bishops and archbishops, a very large body of clergy, and a great number of monasteries. The affairs of the church are regulated by a tribunal called the Holy Synod, but its decrees are issued in the name of the emperor. The military force of this empire is the largest in Europe, and is a source of anxiety to the neighbouring states. The regular army amounts to 700,000 men, said to be well trained and orga- nized. The real strength of the Russian army has always con- sisted, not in its numbers, but in the passive and iron valour of its infantry, and the rapid and skilful movements of its irregular cavalry — the Cossacks, the Baschkirs, and other Asiatic nomades. Its field artillery also has commanded the admiration of the best tacticians. The Russian navy on the Baltic and Black seas, consists of about 50 ships of the line, 25 frigates, 8 steam-ships, and a number of smaller vessels, manned by upwards of 40,000 men. The present emperor has shown a strong predeliction in favour of the navy, which has of late years rapidly improved in the effective number of ships and men, and in its general organiza- tion. The commerce is extensive and annually increasing, having doubled in amount in about 25 years. The exports are tallow, hemp, sail-cloth, iron, timber, and grain. The inland trade is very considerable, and is much facilitated by navigable rivers, 324 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 2G9 canals, and lakes ; and by the snow in winter, over which sleighs travel with great rapidity. Great fairs are held in different places, which attract vast crowds of merchants and traders from all parts. The seal and sturgeon fisheries of the river Volga, and of the Caspian and Black Seas, are extensive and very productive. Upwards of 10,000 fishing boats are employed on the Volga alone : the sturgeon is the principal fish caught, from which isin- glass, caviare and oil are made. Salted and smoked mackerel form an important article of the commerce of the Crimea. Large quantities of fish are conveyed from the fisheries in winter in a frozen state to the great cities. A steam navigation company has been formed for the purpose of introducing steam vessels upon the Caspian Sea, and the Volga and other rivers ; and the Russian company is to extend the navigation upon the Baltic and Black Seas. The manufactures of Russia have been until lately altogether rude and coarse, consisting of sail-cloth, duck sheeting, cordage, &c. ; but within the last fifteen or twenty years, the government has by high rewards allured foreign manufacturers, and has founded establishments wherein is substituted free and well-paid in place of slave labour. Woollen, cotton, and silk goods, of various kinds, are manufactured in considerable quantities ; also, glass, porcelain, paper, and jewelry. Coarse woollens for family use are made to a great extent. The agriculture of Russia is in a backward state, yet in con- sequence of the numbers employed in tilling the ground, the pro- duce is very abundant. Rye, oats, and barley, are raised in the northern districts, and excellent wheat in the south. Flax and hemp are staple productions : the sugar-beet is cultivated to some extent ; and the raising of cattle, horses, sheep, bees, and silk- worms, occupy numbers of the inhabitants. Poland rears many cattle, and raises much grain ; but the progress of agriculture in that country has been greatly retarded by Russian tyranny. Although the literature of Russia must be considered in its infancy, yet the works of some of her learned men have of late drawn attention even in foreign countries. A number of peri- odical publications issue from the press in St. Petersburg and Moscow. A reading public has been gradually formed, and new works are continually printed ; but the liberty of the press is grievously fettered by a corrupt and despotic censorship. Though ignorance is general in Russia, yet much has been done to spread the means of education, and steps have been taken to diffuse knowledge over the empire. Every parish, or two parishes united, is to have a school as fast as it is possible to 23* 2C 325 270 EUROPE. provide the requisite number of qualified teachers. There are besides upwards of 500 general establishments, and more than 50 gymnasia, where students are prepared for the universities, of which there are six, viz. one at St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev, Kazan, Dorpat, and Charkov. There are several schools for the education of instructers, and upwards of 150 schools attended by students in theology. The Jews have a celebrated national insti- tution, and there are besides, medical, mineral, mining, marine, and other schools. The great body of the Russian nation is divided into the dis- tinct classes of nobles and slaves. The former include in their numbers many well-informed, intelligent, and liberal individuals. Their cultivation, both as to manner and intellect, is principally derived from France, whose language is almost exclusively spoken at court, and whose writers alone are generally read. The fortunes of the nobility are in some cases truly enormous, especially when compared with the cheapness of provisions. The head of the Scheremetov family, reckoned the richest, is said to have 125,000 slaves, estimated at 150 rubles each. The nobles generally spend these estates in profuse and ostentatious hospi- tality, combining, though not very tastefully, the open house of the feudal baron, with the elegance and splendour of Parisian luxury. The slaves, the other extreme of Russian society, form still the great mass of the people. This ill-fated class is divested of every right, political and personal, scarcely excepting that of life. The master has the full power of the lash, which is liberally exercised, and of every other corporeal punishment which does not produce death in twenty-four hours. There is, indeed, a law by which the master may, in that case, be brought to justice ; and there are marshal's courts, to which, in certain cases, the slave may appeal ; but these means of redress are practically very precarious. The slaves frequently agree with their masters to pay them an annual rent, or obrok, on condition of their being allowed to migrate to the towns, and to carry on trades. Many of them have, in this way, acquired very considerable wealth, and have been enabled to purchase their freedom. Many of the amusements in Russia are those of the children in other countries. A large assembly will often entertain them- selves with forfeits and other similar games. In the cities, ice mountains form a favourite recreation. These are inclined planes, high and steep, covered with ice, down which the people descend in cars or on skates, and with the greatest velocity. There arc swings used of various sorts, some turning in a perpendicular, and others in a horizontal manner. On certain festivals, all RUSSIA IN EUROPE. 271 these are placed in the public squares, and the people mingle in the amusements with much animation, and without distinction of rank. RUSSIA IN EUROPE. Russia is the most extensive region in Europe. It comprises more than one-half of the area of that division of the continent, and stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Ural mountains. Its surface is generally level, its chief features being extensive plains and large rivers, with numerous lakes, in the north-western quarter. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, south by the Black Sea and the southern part of Asiatic Russia, east by Sibe- ria, and west by Sweden, the Gulf of Bothnia, Prussia, Austria, and Turkey ; making an extent of about 1800 miles from north to south, and 1300 from east to west. The area is estimated to amount to 1,755,000 square miles, with about 50,000,000 of inhabitants. European Russia comprises almost 30° of latitude, and pos- sesses great diversity of climate. The White Sea, and the ocean which washes the northern coasts, are covered with ice from September to June, and the rivers in this quarter are frozen for a still longer period. In the morasses and lakes the frost seldom disappears at all ; and the heat of the sun does not penetrate more than a few inches into the marshy soil. During the brief and cheerless summer, the atmosphere is loaded with fogs. At St. Petersburg the temperature is milder, but the Neva is frozen from November till May. In the south the climate is delightful, and vegetation is flourishing. The surface of European Russia is the most level of any in Europe. A great portion in the south, especially, consists of those immense levels called Steppes, over which the eye may range for hundreds of miles without seeing a hill. They termi nate at the long chain of the Urals, which, rising like a wall, separates them from the equally vast plains of Siberia. The Ural Mountains are the principal elevation of this region; they are scarcely known, but are said to be well wooded, and rich in minerals especially on the Asiatic side. The Olonetz Mountains, in the north-west, are a prolongation of the Dofrafield range ; there are also the Valdai hills, in the centre, and the mountains of the Crimea, in the south. The Volga is the largest river of this part of the Russian dominions, and also of Europe. Rising not far from the Baltic Sea, it traverses the central and south-east provinces of the em- 272 EUROPE. pire, and after forming part of the boundary between Europe and Asia, it flows by a number of mouths into the Caspian Sea, below Astrachan. This great stream is navigable through the whole of its course of 2000 miles, and is connected with the Gulf of Fin- land by a navigable canal. The Don, Dnieper, Dniester, &c. empty into the Black, and the Niemen and Duna into the Baltic Sea. The Dwina, Mesene, and Onega, flow northward into the White Sea. The chief lakes of Russia are those of Ladoga and Onega : they are each more than 100 miles in length, and form a sort of continuation of the Gulf of Finland. North and west of these are a multitude of lakes of various forms and dimensions, of which the Kalla and Purus appear to be the principal. South of the Gulf of Finland are the lakes of Piepus and Ilmen, of which the first is a considerable sheet of water. The cold and dreary islands of Nova Zembla and Spitsbergen belong to Russia : they lie to the northward of the Arctic Circle, and are not inhabited. The islands of Aland, Dago, and Oesel, in the Baltic Sea, also form a part of the empire. The canal navigation of Russia, so far as it has hitherto been carried, has been exclusively the work of government. The canal of Ladoga joins the lake of that name with the Neva. The canal of Vishnei Vosholk connects the Caspian Sea at Astra- chan, with the Baltic at St. Petersburg. There are eight or ten other canals completed, or in a state of forwardness. These works have all been executed within the last 100 years. European Russia is divided into 41 governments and two pro- vinces, exclusive of the territory of the Cossacks of the Don, which forms a sort of military republic, the grand duchy of Fin- land, which has a distinct administration, and the kingdom of Poland. St. Petersburg, the metropolis of the Russian empire, is situated at the head of the Gulf of Finland, and is built partly upon the mainland, and partly upon some small islands near the mouth of the river Neva. One of its entrances is adorned with a magnifi- cent triumphal arch. The foundation of the city is extremely marshy, and so low as to subject it to frequent inundations from the waters of the gulf. It was founded in 1703, by Peter the Great, the spot being then occupied only by a few fishermen's huts. The streets of the city are mostly intersected by spacious canals, embanked by parapets of hewn stone, and spanned at con- venient distances by arched bridges of magnificent construction. The quays along the Neva are remarkably magnificent. The houses are usually of brick, covered with stucco, and present a white and dazzling appearance at a distance. The views upon RUSSIA. Cathedral, St. Petersburg. The Cathedral church is one of the finest buildings in St. Petersburg. It was finished in 1815, fifteen years after its commencement, and at an expense of fifteen million rubles. The design was the work of a Russian slave. View of part of Moscow. Russian Village. The dwellings of the serfs in Russia are rudely built of the trunks of trees ; and resemble piles of timber rather than human habitations. 2 C * 329 EUROPE. The Kremlin, Moscow. The Kremlin was a kind of town within itself, and contained palaces, churches, chapels, government offices. &c. It was much injured at the time of the great fire in 1812, but has been since nearly all rebuilt. View of ruined Palaces in Moscow, after trie great fire of 1812. Church of St. Basil, Moscow. The Church of St. Basil is built in the Tartar style. Its gilded cupolas, and crosses orna- mentod according to the individual tnsle of those pious persons who bestow their wealth for that purpose, impart to the edifice a brilliant and fantastic variety. 330 RUSSIA IN EUROPE. 273 the borders of the Neva are of an extremely grand and lively de- scription. The river is deep, rapid, and as transparent as crys- tal ; and its banks are lined on each side with a continued range of noble buildings. During the winter, no part of the city is more crowded than the Neva. Enclosed places are allotted to the skaters ; and sledge-races and various other amusements are ge- nerally practised. Population of St. Petersburg, 450,000. Moscow, the former capital, stands on the river Moskva, 487 miles south-east of St. Petersburg. Before the year 1812, it was one of the largest cities in Europe, being nearly 20 miles in cir- cumference. The Kremlin is a superb structure, or rather a mot- ley mass of gaudy buildings, comprehending the imperial palace and chapel, the public offices, the cathedral and other churches, and the arsenal. At the French invasion the city was set on fire, and two-thirds of it destroyed. It is now mostly rebuilt. The streets are, in general, broad, and some of them are paved ; others, particularly those in the suburbs, are floored with trunks of trees, or boarded with planks. One of the curiosities of this place is the great bell, which is said to be the largest in the world. Population of Moscow, 250,000. Kazan is reckoned the third city in the empire, having 47,000 inhabitants, of whom 12,000, the most industrious, are Tartars. The city being built of wood, and its streets paved with the same material, was reduced to ashes in 1815 by a great conflagration, which consumed the cathedral and palace, leaving only the hand- some church of St. Peter and St. Paul. In the rebuilding of it, this exclusive use of wood has been discouraged. Cronstadt, on an island 22 miles west of St. Petersburg, is a well-fortified place, and the principal station of the Russian navy. Vessels bound for St. Petersburg generally discharge their cargoes here. Population, 40,000. Kiev, on the Dnieper, contains an university, and some celebrated catacombs. Population 26,000. Riga, near the mouth of the Duna, is a place of much com- merce. It chiefly exports corn, hemp, flax, iron, timber, leather, and tallow. It has a garrison, and a public library with 12,000 volumes. Here is a floating bridge over the Duna, 2600 feet in length. Population, 36,000. Odessa, the emporium of the Rus- sian commerce on the Black Sea, is situated between the mouths of the Dniester and Dnieper. It contains a fine cathedral, a theatre, and several churches. Wheat is the chief article of ex- portation. Population, 35,000. Wilna has an extensive com- merce, and is the principal winter residence of the nobility in that quarter of the empire. Population, 30,000. Simpheropol is the chief town of the Crimea, and has a motley population of* 20,000. 331 RUSSIA. Great Bell of Moscow. Patriarch, or Head of the Russian Church. The Great Bell of Moscow, one of the largest in the world, is &4 feet in circumference, 19 feet high, and weighs 220 tons. In consequence of the timber to which it was suspended being consumed by fire, it fell to the ground, and had a large piece broken out of the edge. The metal of which it is formed is estimated to be worth 350,000 dollars. ^ Mount Aden Dagh, in the Crimea, Southern Russia. Palace of the Tartar Khans, or former Sovereigns of the Crimea. 332 EUROPE. Odessa, on the Black Sea, Southern Russia. Odessa was founded in the year 1796, by the Empress Catherine, on the site of a small Tartar village, and soon rose to be the most important town in the Southern part of European Russia The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in commerce ; they are a very mixed race, and, besides Russians, comprise Germans, French, Italians, Poles, Greeks, Americans, &c. New Xcjierkask, near the mouth of the Don. New Tcherkask has been the capital of the Cossacks of the Don since 1814: in that year, the government offices, courts of justice, &c, were removed from Old Tcherkask. The st/eet3 of the new town are wide and straight ; the houses, as in most Russian towns, are built chiefly of wood. Palace of the Russian Viceroy, Warsaw. Palace of the Minuter of Finance, Warsaw. 333 274 EUROPE. Moghilev, on the Dnieper, has a very considerable commerce with Riga and Odessa. Population, 21,000. Cherson, on the Dnieper river, was once a flourishing place, but has greatly declined. Population, 14,000. Nishnei Novo- gorod was at first intended by Peter the Great for his capital. It has a celebrated fair, and is one of the most commercial towns in Russia. Population, 14,000. Novogorod, on Lake Ilmen, con- tained in the days of its prosperity 400,000 inhabitants. It has a fortress, a curious cathedral, and churches ornamented with gilt spires; but its present population does not exceed 10,000. Ta- ganrog, at the head of the sea of Azov, formerly contained 70,000 inhabitants. Its present population is only 10,000. Archangel, near the mouth of the Dwina, a river which flows into the White Sea, was formerly the only port by which Russia communicated with the rest of Europe. It has an extensive dock, but the harbour is accessible only from July to September. Population, 18,000. POLAND. Poland is an extensive country, which was for more than eight hundred years the seat of an independent and powerful monarchy. Though of late expunged from the list of nations, it still retains its claim to be considered as separate and distinct. The same physical aspect characterises it ; and the people, in their habits, their language, and all their national feelings, are still Poles. When independent and entire, Poland extended from the Baltic Sea to Moldavia, and from the Wartha river to the Dnieper, being about 700 miles from north to south, and 680 from east to west, with an area of 284,000 square miles and 22 million inhabitants. This wide-spread region was divided into Great and Little Poland on the west, Masovia and Podlachia in the centre, with Volhynia, Podolia and the Ukraine towards the south and east, and Lithua- nia in the north-east. The inferior divisions were 31 Palatinates and Starostys. This country, which forms a portion of the extensive plain that stretches over the central parts of Europe, is almost every- where level, and in many places marshy ; extensive sections in the south, watered by the Dnieper and Dniester rivers, resemble the prairies of the United States, over which numerous herds of wild horses and cattle roam and graze. The only great moun- tains are the Carpathians, which form the boundary between Po- land and Hungary. The chief rivers of Poland are the Vistula, the Bug, the Niemen, the Pregel, the Dwina, the Dnieper and the 334 POLAND. 275 Dniester. The two last mentioned flow into the Black, and the others into the Baltic Sea. Poland abounds in iron to some extent ; and lead, copper and silver are also found. The mines of Bochnia and Wieliczka, now in the possession of Austria, are noted for the vast supply of salt they furnish. The agriculture of this country is not conducted with skill, but such is the regularity of the climate and the ferti- lity of the soil, that the annual export of grain is computed to average 16 million bushels. The other exports consist of cattle, hemp, flax, timber, woollen cloth, wax and honey. Dantzick, at the mouth of the Vistula, is the chief emporium of the commerce of Poland ; besides which the trade of Riga, Memel and Elbing is very considerable. Society in Poland consists of the nobility, the inhabitants of the cities and towns, and the peasantry. The first class, composed of the posterity of the ancient defenders of the soil, to which were subsequently added those who completed their studies at the Uni- versity of Cracow, or who acquired distinction in literary pursuits, are more numerous than in any other country in Europe, and have always, in the eye of the public, formed the people of Po- land. They are frank, brave, hospitable and gay. They have been called the French of the north, and are, both from habit and inclination, attached to that people. Their resolution in entering on the late contest with the most formidable power in Europe, and the gallantry they displayed in the attempt to regain their national independence, are worthy of comparison with the most applauded deeds of ancient heroism. The Polish constitution does not acknowledge the usual titles of nobility. Among themselves the nobles form a species of demo- cracy, the poorest being equal in point of privileges with the most opulent. Some of the nobility own large estates and live in splen- dour, while others inhabit little villages and hamlets, and till the soil with their own hands. The peasantry of Poland are not serfs, as has been usually re- presented, but free labourers, who in many cases have acquired a permanent interest in the soil. Each individual of this class is a little farmer, cultivating a small spot with his own hands, and pay- ing* the rent to the proprietor in labour or in kind. Their chil- dren are instructed in the same schools with those of the nobles, but owing to the limited means existing in Poland for general edu- cation, the great mass of the people are ignorant and illiterate. In early times, prisoners of war and their descendants were con- demned to slavery in Poland, but in the year 1347, this class was emancipated, by the national assembly, held at the City of Wislica. The inhabitants of Poland belong chiefly to the Roman Catho- 276 EUROPE. lie church ; but all sects, Greeks, Protestants, Jews, Mahomed- ans, &c, enjoy perfect freedom of opinion, and every one may worship the Supreme Being in the manner they think proper ; the same privilege existed under the ancient government of Poland, at a time when religious toleration was but little understood in other European countries. The Jews are more numerous in Poland than in any other part of Europe ; they constitute the men of business, and the greater part of the internal commerce and current money of the country is in their hands. They retain their ancient national dress un- changed, and are at once recognized as a distinct people. Per- sonal and religious liberty was granted to the Jews so early as the year 1264, and at a time when they were oppressed and per- secuted in every other Christian State in Europe. Poland has produced some individuals eminent in science, among whom we distinguish Copernicus, the discoverer of the true sys- tem of the world, besides many authors who have excelled in va- rious departments of learning. Several of the living writers are regarded by their countrymen as vying with the classic names of the western nations of Europe ; and Polish literature is perhaps more flourishing at the present time than at any former period. Nowhere has national history been more diligently cultivated than in Poland ; a highly poetical spirit animates the people, and is dif- fused among all ranks. The peasant sings the beauties of na- ture, while the noble bards celebrate the varied fortune and glories of their country. Their favourite national song is, " As long as we exist, Poland can never be lost." Of the sovereigns of Poland, Casimir the Great was a renowned prince, and from the protection he granted to the peasantry, ac- quired the title of the peasant's king. John Sobieski was one of the most distinguished characters of the 17th century; he was the terror of the Turks and other enemies of his country ; with a greatly inferior army he obliged the former to raise the siege of Vienna, took from them the sacred banner of Mahomed, and also the celebrated iron chain, with which they boasted they would measure off" Christendom. Besides these, Kosciusko, the aid of Washington during the revolutionary war, and Pulaski, who fell so gallantly at Savannah, are dear to the remembrance of every American. In ancient times, Poland comprised a considerable portion of that vast region called Sarmatia by the Romans, and into which their arms seem never to have penetrated. The early inhabitants were principally shepherds, whose petty and loosely arranged states appear to have been united, about the middle of the sixth century, into a dukedom, under Lech or Lechus, who laid the POLAND. 277 foundation of Gnesna, the most ancient town of Poland. Cracus, who built Cracow in the year 700, and Piastus or Piast, a peasant elevated to the dukedom in 830, and who attained the extraordi- nary age of 120 years, are among the best known of the early successors of the first duke. During the last year of the 10th century, Boleslaus assumed the title of King of Poland, and in the year 1386, the grand duchy of Lithuania was incorporated with and became a part of the monarchy. Poland, thus enlarged and strengthened, formed one of the most powerful kingdoms of Europe : its martial character gave it a commanding influence ; and the exploits of many of its sovereigns hold a conspicuous place in military his- tory. For two centuries the Polish monarchy was the main bul- wark of Christendom against the alarming progress of Turkish invasion. Previous to 1347, the government of Poland was despotic; in that year the first national legislature or Diet assembled, and the state was declared to be a limited monarchy : from the time of the union of Lithuania, the sovereign was elected by the whole body of the nobility and clergy, and all the acts of government were promulgated in the name of the kingdom and republic of Poland. In their choice of a monarch the Poles did not always confine themselves to a native of the country, as in several in- stances foreigners were invested with the crown. The last elected king, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, as- cended the throne in 1764 : in his reign the partition of Poland, justly regarded as one of the most unwarrantable measures that disgrace modern times, took place. This deed was commenced in 1772, by the sovereigns of Russia, Prussia and Austria, and con- summated in 1795. By the first partition about one-third of Po- land was dismembered, and important changes made in her go- vernment. In 1791 the king and the nation established a new constitution. By this act, known as the constitution of the 3d of May, the throne was declared hereditary. The rights and privileges of all orders in the republic (the monarch, the nobles, the citizens, and the pea- sants) were alike equitably consulted, and it seemed to be formed agreeably to the universal wish of the people. The new constitution did not, however, accord with the views of the neighbouring despots ; its liberal spirit was considered dan- gerous to their repose ; and to effect its destruction, a new con- quest and partition of Poland were undertaken in 1793. Such multiplied aggressions at length roused the spirit of the Poles, and under the heroic Kosciusko they made the most gal- lant exertions to maintain their independence. They were suc- 24 2D 337 278 EUROPE. cessful for a time, but surrounded on every side by greatly supe- rior numbers, their gallantry was unavailing. At the last parti- tion, in 1795, the king was deposed, and all that was left of Po- land was divided amongst the imperial and royal despots. Exasperated by the determined resistance of the Poles, the par- titioning powers retaliated upon such of the patriots as fell into their hands, and thousands of these brave men were banished to the wilds of Siberia or immured in horrid dungeons ; of those who escaped, many entered into the French service, and, in 1797 and 1799, were formed into the Polish Legions so noted for the share they sustained in some of the most brilliant victories gained by the arms of France. The services rendered by these gallant bands, and the desire of improving the condition of a suffering people, induced the Em- peror Napoleon in 1807, after the victory of Jena, to form the Polish provinces of Prussia and part of those of Austria, into the Grand Duchy of Warsaw ; this new state, which numbered seven million inhabitants, was placed under the protection of France. At the commencement of the Russian expedition of 1812, the design of restoring Poland to an independent existence was openly promised by Napoleon, and hailed with rapture by the Poles, but the downfall of the French monarch disappointed their hopes. The spirit, however, displayed by the Polish people in the various transactions of the times, procured for them, at the settlement of the affairs of Europe, some amelioration of their condition. In 1815, about a sixth part of the ancient monarchy was formed into a separate state, which received the still cherished name of Poland. The Emperor of Russia was declared king, and a repre- sentative government established ; but such intolerable oppressions were practised during a period of 15 years, by the Russians, that the Poles could no longer refrain from attempting to regain their national independence. Accordingly, on the 29th November 1830, Warsaw rose inarms, and the whole kingdom was speedily in revolt. The Poles at first obtained some signal advantages, but no foreign power, as they expected, interfered in their behalf; and in a year from the commencement of the revolution, Poland was overpowered by numbers, and forced again to submit. The Russian despotism is now fully established, and the kingdom is in- corporated with the empire of the Autocrat, retaining its title only. As on a former occasion, many distinguished Poles were sent to Siberia and the interior of Russia, and numbers of all ranks emi- grated to France, the United States, and other countries, where, under the title of Polish exiles, they have been everywhere re- ceived with enthusiasm, and treated with the respect due to their sufferings and exertions in the cause of freedom. POLAND. 279 The exiled Poles now exceed in number those of any former period, and include many of the most popular senators and repre- sentatives of the people, with the chief part of the Generals and officers of the army. The last Diet enacted, that whenever 11 Senators and 33 Representatives are assembled together, no mat- ter in what country, they shall be considered as the National Le- gislature of Poland, and their acts held to be legal and binding. Warsaw, the capital of Poland, is finely situated on the Vistula river. During the war which terminated in the subjugation of Poland, Warsaw stood the heaviest brunt of the contest ; and its population in 1782 was reduced to 75,000 ; but since that time it has rapidly improved, and now contains 150,000. The old city consists of one large square with many streets branching from it, but these, as in all ancient. European cities, are narrow and dirty. The new city is built in a better style ; the government palace, the palace of the minister of finance, and the national bank are splendid buildings ; the streets of the New World, Napoleon, and Long Streets, with the suburb of Cracow and the public gardens, are the finest parts of Warsaw. The suburb of Praga, once a strong citadel, was almost destroyed in the dreadful assault by Suvvarrow, in 1795 ; it was subsequently rebuilt and again de- stroyed in the contest of 1831. Warsaw originally consisted for the most part of wooden houses ; but that material is now prohi- bited, and three-fourths of its buildings are constructed of stone and brick. The other towns in the present kingdom of Poland are only of secondary importance. Lublin, which ranks second, contains 18,000 inhabitants. It is pleasantly situated in one of the most fertile districts of the kingdom. It is distinguished by the castle of Casimir the Great, the palace of Sobieski, some fine churches, and the largest synagogue in Poland. Zamosc, in the same vi- cinity, and Modlin, near Warsaw, are important fortresses. Ka- lisz, on the Prosna river, is a well-built town with 12,000 inhabit- ants, a military school, and some manufactures. The Republic of Cracow is situated in the southern part of Poland. In 1815 the allied sovereigns, unable to decide to which of their number it should be assigned, formed it into a republic under the protection of Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The free- dom which it enjoys, though only by sufferance, has rendered this little territory more fertile and smiling than any other part of Po- land. It contains about 500 square miles, and 124,000 inhabit- ants, of which 20,000 reside in the city. The city of Cracow stands on the Vistula river, 128 miles from Warsaw. It is decidedly a Catholic city, and contains 87 monas- teries and 164 nunneries. The cathedral is noted for the tomb 280 EUROPE. of St. Stanislaus, the monument of Sobieski, and other venerated mausoleums. The University established in 1346, once the great school of the north, and frequented by crowds of students, was broken up during the civil commotions, and the attempts to restore it to its ancient splendour have been fruitless. It has at present 30 professors, and from 260 to 300 students. A remarkable monument has lately been raised here to the memory of Koscius- ko : it consists of a mound, Mogila Kosciuski (Kosciusko's Mount), 300 feet in height, and 275 feet in diameter at the base, and stand- ing upon a rising ground commanding the Vistula. DENMARK. Denmark is one of the most ancient kingdoms of Europe, and was formerly much more powerful than at present. It is now reduced in wealth and population, and ranks only as a third or fourth rate monarchy. Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, were formerly called Scandinavia. This kingdom includes Denmark Proper, which comprises the peninsula of Jutland, the islands of Zealand, Laaland, Falster, and a few others in the Baltic ; besides the duchies of Sleswick, Hol- stein, and Lauenburg, which lie between Jutland and the river Elbe. The colonies are Iceland, and the Faroe Isles ; some settle- ments in Greenland, the Danish possessions in the East and West Indies, and a few stations on the coast of Guinea. Area of the European part of the kingdom, 22,000 square miles. Population, 2,100,000. Population of the colonies, 140,000. In Denmark the climate is chilly and damp, and the land is but moderately fertile. Barley, rye and oats are the principal grains that are cultivated ; wheat is raised in some quarters. Cattle and horses are reared in considerable numbers, and large quantities of butter and cheese, are made and exported. The commerce consists for the most part in the exportation of the raw produce of the soil, and the transit trade between the northern and middle states of Europe, employs a considerable amount of Danish shipping. Ship-building, and also the whale and herring fishing are carried on to some extent. The manu- factures are chiefly of flax and hemp for domestic use. Some fabrics of cloths of different kinds, brandy, and sugar-refining, have been established in the larger towns, under the patronage of the king. Since the year 1660, the government has been absolute, but it has been of late so mildly and beneficially administered, that there is in reality much practical freedom in Denmark. The nobles are DENMARK. View of part of Copenhagen, the Capital of Denmark. Mount Hecla, in Iceland. Hecla, the most celebrated of the Icelandic volcanoes, rises to the height of 5000 feet above the level of the sea. Caldrons of Boiling Mud, on Mount Krabla, Iceland. Some of these caldrons have a diameter equal to that of the Great Geyser. Their eruptions take place at short intervals, in which the hot mud is ejected to the height of thirty feet. 2D* 341 EUROPE. The Great Geyser, or Fountain of Boiling Water, Iceland. The basin of the Great Geyser is of an oval form, with diameters of 64 and 58 feet. Every soot around this fountain is covered with variegated and beautiful petrifactions Leaves, grass, and rushes, are converted into white stone, preserving entire every fibre. Peasantry of the Northern parts of Holland. Scenery in Holland. 342 DENMARK. 281 few in number, and the king himself presides at the supreme na- tional tribunal ; he is also a member of the Germanic Confedera- tion, as sovereign of Holstein and Lauenburg. The army num- bers 40,000 regular troops, and 60,000 militia. The naval force consists of six ships of the line, six frigates, and four corvettes, besides a number of gun-boats. In general the Danes are quiet and industrious, and the inha- bitants of the towns have a great share of the patient, thrifty and industrious habits of the Dutch. The peasantry, but recently emancipated from feudal bondage, are beginning to exhibit some signs of improvement. Schools are numerous, and a laudable attention is bestowed on the education of the people. The univer- sities of Copenhagen and Kiel are respectable institutions, and the literary societies of the metropolis vie with those of any other Eu- ropean capital. Copenhagen, the metropolis of the Danish dominions, is one of the finest cities in the north of Europe ; it is situated on the east side of the island of Zealand. The circumference of the city is about five miles ; it is regularly fortified towards the land and sea. Many of the streets are intersected by canals, by which a con- siderable commerce is carried on. Copenhagen owes much of its present regularity and beauty to the disastrous fires, by which it has so often been partially destroyed. The buildings are mostly of brick covered with stucco, or of Norwegian marble. Popula- tion, 115,000. Sleswick, the capital of the duchy of that name, contains 15,000 inhabitants. Its cathedral, with numerous monuments of the an- cient dukes, is viewed with interest by strangers. Altona, on the Elbe, about two miles from Hamburg, is a place of considerable trade, and extensive manufactures. Population, 25,000. Elsinore, or Elsineur, situated at the narrowest part of the Sound, has an excellent roadstead, in which ships anchor almost close to the town. At this place the tolls of the Sound are col- lected. Population, 7000. Kiel, the capital of Holstein, is a fortified town on a bay of the Baltic, and is the seat of a celebrated university. Population, 7500. Gluckstadt, near the mouth of the Elbe, has some trade, and is engaged in the Greenland fishery. Population, 5200. Flensburg, in the duchy of Sleswick, has a good harbour, and is a place of some commerce. Population, 15,000. Iceland. — Iceland forms a portion of the foreign possessions of Denmark, and is situated in the Northern Ocean, at the farthest verge of the civilized world. It is a large island, 230 miles in 24* !M3 282 EUROPE. length and 220 in breadth ; containing about 40,000 square miles, with 51,000 inhabitants. Hecla, with its flaming volcano, is the most celebrated of its mountains ; but its eruptions, of which six have occurred in the course of a century, are at present suspended. There are several other volcanoes, which, in the course of the last hundred years, have emitted twenty eruptions. The Geysers consist of fountains which throw up boiling water, spray and vapour, to the height of 90 or 100 feet, at intervals of about six hours. These emissions are preceded by loud reports, or a low rumbling noise, resembling that of artillery. The cal- drons of boiling mud present another remarkable phenomenon. These consist of clay impregnated with sulphur, from almost every part of which gas and steam are perpetually escaping. Barley, cabbages, and a few other hardy vegetables, are the only articles that can be cultivated ; and the inhabitants depend chiefly upon the abundance of fish which the surrounding seas afford. Iceland was discovered about the year 840, and was settled by emigrants from Norway. It soon became an independent repub- lic; and the arts and literature, almost forgotten in the rest of Eu- rope, were cherished in this remote and frozen clime. Iceland had its divines, its historians, its poets, and was for some time the most enlightened country then perhaps existing. Subjected first to Norway, in 1261, and afterwards to Denmark, it lost the spirit and energy of its days of freedom. The inhabitants are Lutherans, and remarkable for their strict morals. All read and write, and some, even of the poorer classes, speak Latin with fluency and elegance. There are few or no schools. The education is almost entirely domestic. Reikiavig, the chief town of Iceland, has only 500 inhabitants, but contains a lyceum, a library of 5000 or 6000 volumes, several learned societies, and a printing establishment. Skalholt, Bessestadt, and the other villages, are very small. Faroe Islands. — These islands compose a group in the At- lantic Ocean, between Norway and Iceland. The principal are Stromoe, Osteroe, Suderoe, and Sandoe ; they belong to Den- mark, and have a population of 6800. Their only wealth is pro- duced by the rearing of sheep, fishing, and catching the numerous birds which cluster round the rocks. With the surplus of these articles they supply their deficiency of grain. Thorsharn, on Stromoe, is the only place that can be called a town. NETHERLANDS. — HOLLAND. 283 THE NETHERLANDS. The late kingdom of the Netherlands, comprising Holland and Belgium, was formed in 1814, and abolished in 1830 by a revolt of the people of the latter state, and the erection of their country into a separate kingdom. The territories of these states, situated almost in the centre be- tween Northern and Southern Europe, possess great natural ad- vantages for industry and commerce, and have, from a very early period of modern history, ranked as one of the most prosperous and flourishing regions of this quarter. HOLLAND. Holland is bounded on the north and west by the North Sea, south by Belgium, and east by Germany. It contains an area of 11,000 square miles, and a population of 2,800,000. It is the most level country in Europe, and much of its surface is below the level of the sea, which is prevented from overflowing the land by extensive dikes or embankments, which still require incessant labour to maintain them. The Rhine and the Maese are the principal rivers of Holland. The Zuyder Zee is a large inland bay, 60 miles in extent. The Sea of Haarlem is a lake, 14 miles in length, to the west of the Zuyder Zee, and communicating with it by the river Y, which passes by Amsterdam. Canals are almost as numerous in Holland as roads in other countries, and the ground is so level that they scarcely need a lock in their construction. Some of them are as old as the 10th cen- tury. The most noted is the Great Dutch Canal, 50 miles in length from Amsterdam to the Helder. It was completed in 1825, and is sufficiently wide to allow two frigates to pass each other. The Dutch, by unwearied industry, have conquered every dis- advantage of climate, soil and territory, and have converted their boggy and sterile territory into one of the richest spots in Europe. The grain raised is not sufficient for home consumption, but the products of the dairy are abundant, and cattle are fattened to a great size. Wheat, rye, barley, oats, and buckwheat, are raised for internal consumption : and madder, rape-seed, hops, tobacco, clover-seed, mustard-seed, flax, and hemp, for consumption and exportation. The gardens and orchards are kept in very neat order. Holland became, at an early period, a maritime power, and established settlements in various parts of the world. The manu- factures of the country were the great supports of its commerce, 345 284 EUROPE. and before the French revolution there was scarcely any branch of that department of industry in which the Dutch were not en- gaged. Though greatly checked by the rivalship of the English, the manufactures are still extensive : they consist of woollen, linen and silk goods ; tobacco, snuff, pipes, leather, refined sugar, &c. Holland gin is extensively distilled ; that of Schiedam is noted. The commerce of Holland, once the greatest in the world, was prostrated for a period by the political revolutions of modern times, but it has again become very considerable. The herring fishery has been carried on by the Dutch for more than 700 years. A century ago the business employed 100,000 fishermen, but at pre- sent it is not so extensive. The general method of travelling in Holland, is by the canal or drag-boat. The expense does not exceed three cents a mile, and the rate of travelling is three miles an hour, which is so inva- riably the result, that distances are reckoned by hours, and not by miles. When frozen, the canals are travelled over by sleighs and skates. All persons skate ; the peasant girl skates to market, with her merchandise on her head, the senator to his assembly, and the clergyman to his church. The Dutch are distinguished for frugality, neatness, and indus- try. They are grave, quiet, and domestic, and enjoy much hap- piness in their family circles. Generally they prefer gain to am- bition, but in their dealings they are strictly honest. The very soil they till is a monument of their perseverance and industry. They live in a country of meadows, reclaimed from the sea, and the acquisition is maintained only by continual vigilance, toil, and expense. The predominant religion of Holland is the Presbyterian, but all sects enjoy religious freedom. The government allows sala- ries, of a greater or less amount, to the clergy of every persua- sion, only making those of the prevailing creed rather higher than the others. The naval power of Holland, once the greatest in Europe, has not recovered from the low state to which it was reduced by the disasters of the revolutionary war. It consists of 8 ships of the line, 18 frigates, 4 steam-ships, and from 110 to 120 corvettes, brigs, and smaller vessels. The foreign possessions of Holland are, in the east, Java, and the Molucca Islands, with settlements in Sumatra, Celebes, and Borneo ; in Africa, El Mina and some other factories on the Gold Coast ; in America, Surinam, Curacoa, St. Eustatia, Saba, &c. The inhabitants of the whole of these territories are estimated to amount to 6,600,000, making the subjects of the Dutch monarchy number 9,400,000. Both the navy and the colonial HOLLAND. 285 possessions, in the separation of the two kingdoms, remain with Holland. The government is a constitutional hereditary monarchy. The legislative power is vested in the king and the states general, a body consisting of two chambers, which meet annually. The constitution provides for the security of persons and property, for trials within three days, and for the liberty of the press, under the responsibility of him who writes, prints, or distributes. Reli- gious toleration is secured, and judges cannot be removed by the executive. Holland is divided into ten provinces ; North Holland, South Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Guelderland, Overyssel, Drenthe, Groningen, Friesland, and North Brabant. Amsterdam, the capital, one of the largest cities in Europe, stands on an arm of the Zuyder Zee, called the river Y. The whole city is built upon piles driven into the ground. It is in the form of a crescent, and is intersected by the river Amstel, and a great number of canals, over which there are 280 bridges of stone and wood. Many of the canals are bordered with trees, and afford pleasant views, but the stagnant water they contain infects the air. The houses and streets are kept remarkably clean. The Stadthouse is the most splendid building in Holland. It rests upon a foundation of 13,659 oaken piles, and is built of freestone, with a front of 282 feet ; its interior is adorned with marble, jasper, statues, paintings, and other costly ornaments, and the whole edifice was completed at a cost of 9,000,000 dol- lars. There is an elegant bridge over the Amstel, 600 feet in length. The churches are not remarkable for architectural beauty. Amsterdam is a place of great commerce, although much declined from its former wealth and activity. The har- bour is spacious, but only light vessels can enter. It has many establishments for literature, the arts, and charitable purposes, with various manufactures. Population, 200,000. Haarlem, on the sea or lake of that name, has many fine build- ings, and the largest church in Holland : the organ of this church is the largest in the world, having 8000 pipes, some of them 38 feet in length. This city has many manufactures, and claims the invention of printing. The inhabitants show the house of Lawrence Koster, the inventor. Population, 18,000. Utrecht, on the Rhine, is a place of great antiquity, and has a famous university. It exhibits the ruins of a fine cathedral. Popula- tion, 34,000. Rotterdam is the second commercial city in the kingdom, and by its deep canals will admit the largest vessels to the doors of 286 EUROPE. its warehouses. The style of Dutch architecture is more par ticularly striking in this city. The houses are high, with pro- jecting stories ; they are built of very small bricks, and have large windows. This was the birth-place of Erasmus, and on the bank of one of the canals stands his statue in bronze. Popu- lation, 63,000. The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, although pos- sessing only the name of a village. The magnificence of its edifices and the general neatness of the city, strike the attention of every visiter. The streets are regular, and paved with light- coloured bricks. Population, 45,000. Leyden, four miles from the sea, stands on the ancient bed of the Rhine. It has the most magnificent church in Holland, and is famous for its university : population, 29,000. Groningen has an university and many learned institutions : population, 28,000. Nimeguen, on the Waal, has some manufactures and commerce: population, 14,000. Middleburg, on the island of Walcheren, has a large Gothic town- house ornamented with statues: population, 13,200. Breda, at the junction of the Aa and the Werck, is one of the strongest towns in Holland : it has a magnificent cathedral : population, 9000. Dort or Dordrecht, on an island formed by the Maese and the Biesbosch, has a great trade in wood brought down the Rhine : population, 17,387. Saardan, on the river Zaan, is a considerable town of wooden houses, almost all of which are painted green : it has considerable commerce and ship- building : almost every house is surrounded by water, and forms with its garden a small island. BELGIUM. Belgium, or Flanders, is a fine fertile country situated to the southward of Holland, and is in proportion to its extent the most thickly peopled kingdom in Europe. It is filled with populous cities, and covered with places remarkable in history as the scenes of great victories and defeats. Perhaps no country in the world has been the theatre of so many bloody battles and sieges as Bel- gium, and the whole art of war has been exhausted in its attack and defence. This kingdom is bounded north by Holland, east by Germany, south-west by France, and north-west by the North Sea ; com- prising an area of 13,000 square miles. The chief rivers are the Scheldt and Meuse. The Scheldt rises in France and flows north-easterly into this country, where HOLLAND. View of patt of Amsterdam. The Stadt House, now the Royal Palace, Amsterdam View of a Canal in the Hague, the Capital of Holland. View of part of Rotterdam. 2E 349 EUROPE. St. I'eter's Church, Leyden. Haarlem, famous for its trade in flowers, and the skill of the inhabitants in bleaching Brussels, the Capital of Belgium. View of part of Antwerp, in Belgium. 350 BELGIUM. 287 it turns to the north and north-west, and, dividing into several channels, falls into the North Sea. The former, though not remarkable for length, is a wide and deep river. Antwerp and Ghent are situated upon it. The Meuse flows through the eastern part of the country from France to Holland. The climate of Belgium much resembles that of the south of England. In the interior the air is salubrious ; but upon the coast and about the mouths of the Scheldt, the air is moist and un- healthful. The soil, in general, is moderately fertile. The whole country is level,- but somewhat less so than Holland. In the south are some hills of moderate height. The canals in Belgium are spa- cious and commodious, connecting all the great cities, though not nearly in equal number, nor uniting every village, as in Holland. The agriculture of this country has been celebrated for more than 600 years : all travellers bestow high praise upon the skill and industry of the Flemish farmers. Wheat, flax, barley, oats, madder, hops, and tobacco, are raised in great quantities. Pas- turage is abundant ; the clover and turnips support great numbers of cattle, principally cows. Three hundred years ago, the Flemings were one of the most commercial and manufacturing nations of Europe. Bruges, and afterwards Antwerp, were the centres of an extensive commerce, which finally passed mostly into the hands of the Dutch. The manufactures of Belgium are, however, still valuable and various ; the principal are fine linen fabrics, laces, lawns, and cambrics, in which the manufactures of Mechlin, Brussels, &c. continue unrivalled. The Flemish breweries are also very extensive. The manners and customs of the Belgians are somewhat simi- lar to those of France ; though in character they bear more resem- blance to the Dutch; and have a national antipathy to them, and a preference for the French. They are no less industrious and persevering than the Dutch, and nearly as phlegmatic. The religion of this country is the Catholic, though there are some Protestants, whose ministers are, as well as those of the established church, supported by the government. The provision for education in Belgium is extensive. There are four universities, those of Ghent, Liege, Louvain, and Brus- sels, with about 1200 students; and there are more than 5000 primary schools, with almost 400,000 scholars. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, stands on both sides of the little river Sennc, flowing into the Scheldt. The suburbs are extensive, and there are many neighbouring villages joined ro the city by long avenues. The lower part of the town consists of narrow streets and old houses. The upper part is modern and 351 288 EUROPE. regular, with fine buildings and a beautiful park laid out in large regular walks, shaded with trees and surrounded by palaces, public offices, and elegant private houses. Public fountains are interspersed throughout the city, and a large canal here leaves the river. The Hotel de Ville is remarkable for its exquisite gothic spire, which looks like the work of fairy hands. There are many fine squares and palaces, and in the Orange palace is a library of 100,000 volumes. Half a league from the city is the splendid palace of Schoonenburg. Brussels is distinguished for its manu- factures of laces, carpets, tapestry, woollen and cotton cloths, silk stockings, gold and silver lace, and earthen-ware. Popula- tion, 106,000. Ghent stands at the confluence of three rivers with the Scheldt, and is seven miles in compass, but contains within its walls many fields and unoccupied grounds. Many of its canals are bordered with quays planted with rows of trees. The houses are large, but heavy and inelegant : here is a fine Gothic cathedral, with marble floors and pillars. Ghent has manufactures of fine lace, cotton, linen, woollen, silk, paper, and leather : the trade of the city has lately increased. Population, 80,000. Antwerp, on the Scheldt, is a large and well-built city, sur- rounded by a wall with carriage roads on the top planted with rows of trees. The city is built in the form of a semicircle, and is intersected by canals. The cathedral is one of the finest gothic structures in the world, and its spire is unrivalled : it is 441 feet high. The stadthouse and exchange are noble edifices. The harbour is deep and capacious. In the height of its pros- perity, Antwerp was one of the most flourishing and wealthy commercial cities in the world, and contained 200,000 inhabit- ants. Its commerce has greatly declined, and the city has a decayed and solitary appearance. The inhabitants carry on a few manufactures. Population, 65,000. Liege, on the Maese, is divided into three parts by the river, and has extensive suburbs. The houses are high, and many of the streets are narrow, crooked, and gloomy. The manufac- tures consist of iron, fire-arms, clock-work, nails, &c. Popula- tion, 54,000. Bruges, eight miles from the sea, stands in a fertile plain. It communicates with the sea and the towns in the interior by canals. Here are a college, an academy for painting, sculpture, and architecture, several literary societies, a public library of 6000 volumes, and a botanical garden. The manufacture of lace employs 6000 people, and there are a number of schools in which children are taught this art. The town-house is a superb GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 289 gothic edifice ; its steeple is furnished with chimes of bells which play a different tune every quarter of an hour. Population, 36,000. Louvain is a large and ancient town with a famous university: population, 19,000. Namur, at the confluence of the Maese and Sambre, is a well-built town ; the houses are constructed of a blue stone with red and black veins : it has a citadel on the sum- mit of a precipitous rock : population, 15,000. Luxemburg is a strongly fortified city: population, 10,000. Spa is famous for its mineral springs, situated in a valley surrounded by steep woody hills : it has also some manufactures. Gemappes and Waterloo are celebrated for the battles fought in their neighbour- hood. Ostend, a few miles west of Bruges, is one of the most important sea-ports in the country : regular packets sail from this place to England several times a week, and it has a great trade in the exportation of grain and other products: population, 11,000. GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. The united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland comprises the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with the princi- pality of Wales. It consists of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly called the British Islands. Great Britain is 610 miles long, and from 300 to 100 miles wide. Ireland is 300 miles long, and 160 wide. Both islands contain, together, an area of 121,000 square miles. The possessions of this kingdom embrace territories in every quarter of the earth, which are so distributed over its surface, that on them the sun never sets, but in his daily progress con- stantly enlightens, in succession, some part of these wide-spread "domains. The inhabitants of the whole of the British Empire, are estimated to amount to more than 150,000,000; comprising, with the exception of China, the greatest number of subjects under the control of any one sovereign in the world. This vast popu- lation embraces nations and tribes of every form, colour, and condition ; from the most refined and intelligent, to the most savage, ignorant, and degraded of the human family. The constitution of Great Britain is an hereditary monarchy, in which the power of the sovereign is controlled by the influence of the aristocracy in the house of peers, and by that of the democracy in the house of commons. The House of Lords is composed of all the nobility of England who have attained the age of twenty-one years, and who labour under no disqualifica- tion ; of 16 representative peers from Scotland, of 28 representa- 25 2 E * 353 ^ 9 *s 290 EUROPE. tive peers from Ireland ; and likewise of 30 spiritual lords, viz. the two English archbishops and 24 bishops, and one archbishop and three bishops of Ireland. In 1838 the whole number was 443. The house of commons consists of 658 members, of which 471 are English, 29 Welsh, 53 Scotch, and 105 Irish. The ministry is composed of the first lords of the treasury, the chancellor of the exchequer, the three secretaries of foreign affairs, of the home department, and of war, the lord chancellor, the president of the council, the treasurer of the navy, the paymaster of the forces, the commissioners of the treasury, and other per- sons of high trust. The first lord of the treasury is mostly con- sidered the premier, or prime minister. The navy is the force on which Great Britain mainly relies for maintaining her own independence, and of securing her pos- sessions in the most distant quarters of the globe ; of protecting her commerce, and sustaining the exertions of her armies in time of war. During the most active period of the last maritime con- test, the number of seamen and marines in employment amounted to 170,000 ; and there were in commission 160 sail of the line, 150 frigates, and other vessels, to the amount altogether of more than 1000 sail. The naval force is at present near 600 sail, of which about one-third is in actual service, and manned by up- wards of 30,000 sailors and marines. The military force of the nation at the close of the French wars, amounted to 200,000 regular troops, exclusive of about 100,000 embodied militia, a large amount of local militia and volunteers, to which might also be added a number of regiments employed in the territories of the East India Company, and in its pay. After the peace of 1815, a rapid reduction of the mili- tary establishment was effected ; and it now amounts to about 100,000 men, a large portion of which are stationed in Ireland and the colonies. The national debt of Great Britain, contracted in about 150 years, amounts to 3,700,000,000 dollars. This vast debt has been incurred by borrowing money, from time to time, to pay the expenses chiefly of the various wars in which the nation has been engaged. The debt exists in the form of stock, on which interest is paid by the government every year; and for an indi- vidual to possess shares of this stock, is to be a creditor of the nation. There are about 300,000 holders of public stock in Great Britain. The annual interest paid on the national debt, is about 140,000,000 dollars. The annual income of the kingdom is about 250,000,000 dollars, and the expenditure nearly the same. The manufactures of Britain have raised her to a decided supe- riority over all other nations. This distinction she has attained. GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 291 not so much by their extreme fineness, as by the immensity of useful and valuable products calculated for the consumption of the great body of mankind ; and, above all, in the stupendous exertions made in contriving and constructing the machinery by which they are produced. About one-fourth of the whole indus- try of the country is absorbed by the cotton manufacture, the annual amount of which is estimated at 165,000,0000 dollars. Of this, 87,000,000 dollars is paid in wages to 800,000 persons employed in its various branches. The annual value of the woollen manufactures is near 100,000,000 dollars, and the peo- ple employed number about 500,000. The value of silk goods made is reckoned at about 50,000,000 dollars. Ot the differ- ent manufactures of metals, the entire produce is upwards of 80,000,000 dollars, employing 350,000 people. The commerce of Great Britain is superior to that of any other nation, and extends to all quarters of the world. The imports amount to the value of from 210,000,000 to 220,000,000, and the exports to from 270,000,000 to 350,000,000 dollars, annu- ally. The merchant vessels, including those of the colonies, number more than 27,000, and are navigated by 180,000 men. One-sixth of the shipping belongs to the port of London, and two- thirds of the commerce is carried on at that city. From 17,000 to 19,000 vessels enter the ports of Great Britain every year. The foreign trade of this country is equalled only by an internal commerce unparalleled in activity and importance. Coal, the most valuable of all the mineral substances from which Britain derives her prosperity, exists in vast quantities in various parts of the island : the amount annually raised and con- sumed is computed at between 15,000,000 and 16,000,000 tons; giving employment, in all its branches, to not less than 160,000 persons. Of salt, the annual produce of the various kinds is about 15,000,000 bushels, of which 10,000,000 are exported. The colonies of Great Britain are found in every quarter of the globe. The most important are the East India possessions, which comprise above 1,000,000 square miles of territory, and a population of upwards of 120,000,000. These are under the sway of a mercantile association in London, called the English East India Company, which has existed for above two centuries. The colonies belonging to the crown are — in Europe, Heligo- land, Gibraltar, Malta, Gozzo and Comino, and the Ionian Islands; — Asia, Hindoostan, Ceylon, Pulo Pinang Island, Singapore, and the provinces in Birmah ; — Africa, Sierra Leone, the factories on the Gold Coast, Cape of Good Hope, Isle of France, Sey- chelles, St. Helena, and Ascension; — Oceanica, Australia and Van Diemen's Land; — America, New Britain, Canada, New 292 EUROPE. Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, Newfoundland, Prince Edward's Island, the Bermudas, the Bahamas, Jamaica, and the other West India Islands ; Honduras, or the Balize Territory, and the colonies in Guiana. POPULATION AND AREA OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND COLONIES. Square Miles. Population. Great Britain and Ireland 121,000 25,000,000 North America 2,310,000 1,360,000 West Indies and South America 180,000 845,000 Africa 170,000 300,000 East India Company's territories 1,058,000 123,000,000 Ceylon, Provinces in Chin-India, &c 122,000 1,400,000 Oceamca 3,028,000 121,000 Total 6,989,000 152,026,000 ENGLAND. England is the largest and most populous division of Great Britain, and embraces the southernmost part of the island. It is bounded on the north by Scotland, south by the English Chan- nel, east by the North Sea, and west by St. George's Channel, Wales, and the Irish Sea. It is 360 miles in length, and from 210 to 100 miles in breadth. Area, 51,000 square miles. Popu- lation, 13,500,000. The general aspect of England is varied and delightful, being beautifully diversified with hills, valleys, and plains. Though for the most part a level country, yet mountain ranges, of mode- rate altitude, are to be met with in various quarters. The Cheviot and Cumberland hills in the north are the most elevated. Hel- vellyn and Skiddaw, in the latter ridge, are each about 3000 feet high. There are also some detached ranges in the central and western parts of the country. Derby High Peak, and Mam Tor, are the most noted elevations in the former division. The rivers of England, though deficient in magnitude, are numerous, commodious, and valuable. The largest is the Severn, which rises in Wales : in the lower part of its course it forms a wide bay, called the Bristol Channel. It is 200 miles long, and is navigable for large vessels to some extent. The Thames rises near the Severn in the lower part of its course, and flows east into the North Sea. It is 160 miles long, and is navigable for ships to London, 60 miles. This is the most important river of Great Britain for navigation. The Mersey is a small stream flowing into the Irish Sea at Liverpool j it is navi- gable 35 miles. The Dee rises in Wales, and flows into the Irish ENGLAND. Keswick Lake, or Derwent water, Cumberland. &3S?* Ullswater, Cumberland. Keswick, Ullswater, and other English Lakes, would be styled ponds in the United States. They are, however, highly celebrated for their natural beauty, and are much visited by those who delight in romantic and interesting scenery. Entrance to the Peak Cavern, Derbyshire. Teak Cavern is a deep cave thnt descends between lofty perpendicular rocks. It is about half ■ length, and its lowest part is GOO feet below the surface. EUROPE. Land's End, the most western point of England. Worcester Cathedral. Worcester Cathedral is one of the most ancient edifices in England, having been built in the geventh century, and partially rebuilt in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It is of great extent, simple and grand in its style of architecture. Salisbury Cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral, built in li!5H, is one of the finest Gothic structures in the world , it has the loftiest spire in Britain, being 410 feet high. 358 ENGLAND. 293 Sea near the mouth of the Mersey. The Trent and Ouse rise in the north, and by their junction form the Humber. The lakes are numerous, and occur principally in the north- west portions of the kingdom, of which Windermere, the largest, only twelve miles long and one broad, has been raised to distinc- tion by the taste of the age for picturesque beauty, rather than as a geographical feature of the country. England has an atmosphere of fogs, rain, and perpetual change ; yet the climate is mild. The rigours of winter and the heats of summer are less felt than on the continent under the same paral- lel. The perpetual moisture of the air is sometimes unfavourable to the crops, but its general effect is to cover the whole island with the deepest verdure. The meadows and fields are usually green throughout the winter : and the transient snows that occa- sionally fall upon them, are insufficient to deprive them of their brilliancy. Notwithstanding the general inferiority of the soil, England is under such excellent cultivation, that the country may be con- sidered as one great garden. Farming is, in many parts, con- ducted on a great scale, by men of intelligence, enterprise, and capital ; and the science as well as practice of agriculture is car- ried on to a high degree of perfection. Wheat, barley, potatoes, hops, rye, beans, peas, &c. are the chief products. •Mines form one of the most copious sources of the wealth of this country. The useful metals and minerals, those which afford the instruments of manufacture, and are subservient to the daily purposes of life, are now drawn from the earth more copiously there than in any other country. Her most valuable metals are iron, copper, and tin ; her principal minerals are coal and salt. The commerce of England is unrivalled by that of any other nation in the world. Every quarter of the globe seems tributary to the enterprise and perseverance of this great commercial peo- ple. The manufactures of this kingdom far surpass in amount and variety, those of any other nation that has ever existed ; and form the most astonishing display of the fruits of human industry and skill. The vast numbers of people employed in them, give no ade- quate idea of their immense extent, as the great perfection to which labour-saving machinery is carried in England, enables one man to do the work of 150. The cotton manufacture would have required, half a century ago, 50,000,000 men, and the power now employed in it alone in Great Britain exceeds the manufac- turing industry of all the rest of Europe collectively. The other most important branches are woollen, silk, linen, and hardware. The interior navigation of England is justly regarded as one 25 * * 359 294 £ U R O T E . of the prime sources of her prosperity. Till the middle of last century, the making of canals did not enter into the system of English economy. In 1755 was formed the Sankey canal, a line of 12 miles, to supply Liverpool with coal. Since that time, near 200,000,000 dollars have been expended in this object. The canals, in total length, amount to more than 2600 miles. The longest extends from Liverpool on the Mersey, to Leeds on the Humber, 130 miles, affording a navigation for vessels of 30 tons completely across the island. The Grand Junction Canal extends from the neighbourhood of London, to the Oxford Canal ; it is 93 miles long. The Grand Trunk is a part of the same communication ; it is 93 miles in length. The Ashby de la Zouch Canal is 40 miles long, extending from the Coventry Canal to an iron railway. The Bridgewater Canal is 40 miles in length, and extending from the Mersey, divides into two branches, one terminating at Manchester, and the other at Pennington. This, with the Trent and Mersey Canal, forms a communication of 70 miles; 16 miles of this canal are under ground among the mountains. The canals of England communicate with one another, and afford immense facilities for internal commerce. Rail-roads form another contrivance, by which the conveyance of goods is wonderfully facilitated. That between Manchester and Liverpool extends 31 miles, and is carried over 63 bridges. The entire cost was about 4,000,000 dollars ; but the intercourse has been so extensive as to afford an ample remuneration. The Cromford and High Peak railway is carried over the high moun- tainous district of Derbyshire, connecting the two canals which bear these names. Its length is 33 miles, carried over 50 bridges, and rising to a level of 992 feet above the Cromford Canal. The entire expense has not exceeded 900,000 dollars. A rail-road is now in progress from Liverpool and Birmingham to London, a distance of upwards of 200 miles. The English have long held a distinguished rank among the nations of the world, and are noted for their intelligence, activity, and integrity of character. It is but little more than a century since they began to be distinguished as a manufacturing and com- mercial people, yet they have already outstripped other European nations in mechanical ingenuity, in industry, and in mercantile enterprise. The enormous increase of capital, and the substitu- tion of machinery for human labour in most of their manufac- tures, seem likely at no distant period to produce a total change in the condition of British society. In no part of the world, perhaps, is wealth more unequally distributed than in England ; and seldom do the cottages of the ENGLAND. Lincoln Cathedral. Lincoln Cathedral is 524 feet long : the principal tower is 300 feet high. Its great bell, Tom of Lincoln, perhaps the largest in England, is 23 feet in circumference. Before the Reformation, this cathedral wag the most wealthy in the kingdom. York Cathedral, or Minster. York Cathedral is a splendid specimen of Gothic architecture. It is 526 feet long , and is distinguished for the richness and elegance of its ornamental work. This edifice was set on fire in 1829 by a maniac, and considerably injured, but the damage has been since fully repaired. Winchester Cathedral. Winchester Cathedral was founded under the Saxon kings ; subsequently enlarged, and finally finished in the sixteenth century. Some of its parts are constructed in a highly ornn- mented style of architecture, and are much esteemed. 2P 361 EUROPE. Wells Cathedral ranks with the finest religious edifices in England. Saxon and partly in the Gothic style ; and is about 600 years old. It is built partly in the Chapel of King's College, at Cambridge. The Chapei of King's College was built between the reigns of Henry VI. and Henry VIII. It is noted for the splendid effect produced by its twelve windows of painted glass, each of which is fifty feet high. Canterbury Cathedral. Canterbury Cathedral is of early origin and great extent. In Catholic times it was revered an the Bhrine of the murdered Becket; was visited by crowds of pilgrims, and enriched with valuable offerings— of the latter it was deprived by Henry VIII., at the time of the Reformation. 388 ENGLAND. 295 poor contrast so strongly with the mansions of the rich. Costly and splendid buildings are spread over various parts of the king- dom, and many of the parks and country-seats of the nobility and gentry display a princely magnificence. Though luxury and corruption exist to a considerable extent in certain portions of English society, yet the great mass of the people are distinguished by sound morals. Benevolence may be considered a striking feature in the national character, and in no country are there so many associations for charitable, benevolent, and religious purposes. Some of the most barbarous practices of civilized nations have been abolished by the efforts of British philanthropists. Great exertions are made by various religious associations, to spread the Christian religion and civilization among the heathen. Many million copies of the sacred scriptures have been distributed, and the circulation of religious tracts has been carried to a vast extent. Numerous missionaries have been sent to various parts of the earth, who have carried the glad tidings of redemption to many ignorant and benighted nations, who now are more or less rejoicing in the light of the gospel, and in the attendant blessings of civilization and peace. The literary institutions and learned men of this country, are highly distinguished ; and no language excels the English in all the treasures of poetry, eloquence, philosophy, and science. In the fine arts the English have been less successful than some other nations, and cannot compare with the ancient Greeks or the modern Italians. In the popular amusements there is much that is gross and barbarous: horse-racing, cock-fighting, bull- baiting, and boxing, are favourites ; hunting and other out-door sports, are generally pursued. The institutions for public education in England are extensive and splendidly endowed. The two universities of Oxford and Cambridge are not only the wealthiest, but among the most an- cient in Europe. The London University and King's College have been recently instituted. The schools of Eton, Westmin- ster, St. Paul's, Winchester, Harrow, and Rugby, are nearly on the same scale as our colleges. There are multitudes of other schools, public and private, and in them all a long-continued, systematic, and thorough course of instruction is given. Though no general system has been adopted for the instruc- tion of the great mass of the people, yet the children of the poorer classes, by means of Sunday schools and the efforts of their parents, are generally taught to read and write. Immense num- bers of volumes, consisting of the works of the best English authors, are circulated in every part of the kingdom, in the form 363 296 EUROPE. of weekly or monthly pamphlets, at a very cheap rate. Even !he poorest mechanics and labourers are in the habit of spending a considerable part of their leisure in the perusal of these publi- cations. The Episcopal Protestant religion is that established by law, and the king is the head of the church. There are two arch- bishops, and twenty-five bishops. The archbishop of Canterbury js called the Primate of all England, and his rank is next below the royal family. The Archbishop of York is called the Primate of England. The bishops have some temporal authority, and the ecclesiastical jurisdiction extends to all questions of births, mar- riages, deaths, probate of wills, and delinquencies of the inferior clergy. The clergy of the established church are a learned and pious body, though many individuals there are in it, who have neither learning nor religion. The dissenters are numerous, and have many ministers of great learning and purity of mind. The dis- senters are chiefly Methodists, Baptists, and Quakers. The Catholics are numerous, and have several colleges and convents. England is divided into 40 counties. The small islands attached to England are neither numerous nor important. Man, 30 miles in length by 12 in breadth, com- prises a considerable extent of level territory ; but rises in the interior into high mountains, among which Snowfell, nearly 2000 feet high, stands conspicuous. Population, 40,000. Castletown, the capital, is the neatest town in the island. Douglas, however, is of superior importance, and has attracted a great number of English settlers. The Isle of Wight lies on the southern coast, and is celebrated for its striking and peculiar scenery. It is a fertile and well in- habited island. Population, 40,000. Newport is the chief town. The Scilly Isles, situated at some distance from the western extremity of Cornwall, are tenanted by 2000 inhabitants, who raise some grain, but depend chiefly upon fishing, piloting, &c. Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney, with Sark, form a group sometimes called the Norman Isles. The climate is mild and agreeable, and the soil generally fertile. The inhabitants amount to 50,000. Jersey is so abundant in orchards, that cider forms the chief article of exportation. St. Helier, the capital of Jersey, is a handsome town. London, the metropolis of the British Empire, is, no doubt, the wealthiest and most populous city in the world. It is situated on both sides of the river Thames, about 60 miles westward from the North Sea. It is considered to include three divisions ; the City proper in the east, Westminster in the west, and Southwark on the ENGLAND. £■ -v^ Lancaster Caslle, Lancashire. Lancaster Castle was an important fortress in feudal times. It is of great extent : and lias been converted into a well-arranged prison. Alnwick Castle, the seat of the Duke of Northumberland. This celebrated castle, noted in the border wars between the English and Scots, covers five acres, and is defended by sixteen towers. A million of dollars has been expended in converting it from a feudal fortress to one of the most splendid of modern mansions. Warwick Castle, Warwickshire. Warwick Castle wns erected by the Earl of Warwick, who, in the lourteenth century, so highly distinguished himself in the battles of Poir.ticrs and Cressy. The interior has been fitted np in the modern manner, at a f-reat expense, and in a magnificent style. 2F« 365 EUROPE. Norwich Cathedral. Norwich Cathedral, founded in the eleventh century, is 411 feet long. Its architecture is in the broad and massive Saxon style. Blenheim House, anciently Woodstock, a royal residence. Blenheim House and Park were granted by Parliament, in Queen Anne's time, to the Duke of Marlborough, as a reward for the victory obtained by him over the French, in 1704, at Bleo- heim, in Germany. Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, now in ruins. Kenilworth, a royal caslle, was beBtowed by Queen Elizabeth on her favourite Leicester % whose residenco and tho splendid fetes he gave in honour of hU royal mistress, are so well de- scribed by Sir Walter Scott. 366 ENGLAND. ' 29? south side of the river. The buildings are generally of brick. The streets in some parts are wide, and few are so narrow as not to admit two carriages abreast. At the west end, they are mostly straight, and sufficiently broad for five or six carriages. Here are the residences of the nobility and the rich. In the city, or the central and oldest part, the streets are narrow and crooked, but here the great business of London is transacted. The east end is occupied by shops, victualling-houses, and people connected with commerce. Here are immense timber-yards, docks, and magazines. London contains a great number of squares : the handsomest is Grosvenor Square, an area of six acres, and containing an equestrian statue of George II. The buildings around it are the most superb in London. The largest square is that called Lin- coln's Inn Fields, which occupies a space just equal to that co- vered by the great pyramid of Egypt. The finest public walks are at the west end ; Green Park, Hyde Park, St. James's Park, and Regent's Park, are beautiful fields and gardens, ornamented with trees ; these are the resort of thousands who walk for exer- cise or pleasure. These parks are very extensive. Hyde Park contains 394 acres, and in the afternoon of Sunday is thronged oy crowds of fashionable people who pour along the promenades, like the ebbing and flowing tide. In Regent's Park is an immense edifice called the Coliseum, in which may be seen a panorama of London as viewed from the dome of St. Paul's. The gardens of the Zoological Society are also in this park. They are ele- gantly laid out, and contain an interesting collection of rare ani- mals from all parts of the world. The churches of London have the most prominent and impos- ing share in its architectural splendour. St. Paul's Cathedral is the most magnificent edifice in the city, but is pent up in a nar- row area, and surrounded by shops and buildings of a mean appearance. The interior of the cathedral does not equal its noble exterior. It would be little else than an immense vault with heavy columns, were it not relieved by monumental, statuary. Westminster Abbey is one of the noblest existing monuments ot Gothic architecture. It has a vast, airy, and lofty appearance, which inspires feelings of awe and veneration. The city of Westminster, a north-eastern suburb of London, contains many splendid modern churches, almost all in the classic style. London has few public edifices, compared to its great size and wealth. Westminster Hall was one a palace: here the kings of England are crowned, and here the parliament hold their sit- tings. It has the largest hall without pillars in Europe. St 90S EUROPE. James's Palace is an ill-looking brick building, but contains spa cious and splendid apartments. The Tower is a vast inclosure upon the river. It contains several streets, and is surrounded by a wall and ditch. The monument, at the foot of London bridge, is a fluted doric column, in a bad situation : it is 202 feet high, and commemorates the great fire of London. „ The Bank of England, in the heart of the city, is a vast and splendid pile, covering eight acres. Somerset House, in the Strand, is one of the largest and most splendid edifices in the city. There are six bridges over the Thames : of these, Waterloo bridge is built of granite, and Southwark and Vauxhall bridges of iron. A more remarkable object is the Tunnel, a passage under the river at a point where a bridge would be detrimental to the navigation. This work was performed by sinking a per- pendicular shaft near the river, and working horizontally under the bottom of the Thames. The city has 13 theatres, of which Drury Lane, Covent Gar- den, and the King's theatre or Italian opera, are among the first in Europe. It has 147 hospitals; 16 schools of medicine; as many of law ; 5 of theology ; 18 public libraries ; 300 elementary free schools; 14 prisons; 75 newspapers, 9 of which publish 51,000 papers daily, and 3 weekly papers publish 114,000 every week. 15,000 vessels are employed in the foreign and coast- ing trade; 1500 carriages a day leave the city at stated hours; 4000 wagons are employed in the country trade : the annual commerce of the city is estimated at 650,000,000 dollars. London is the principal literary emporium of the kingdom. Almost all books of importance are there printed and published, and thence distributed over the kingdom, forming a considerable branch of commerce. The annual value sold is estimated at from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 dollars. The population of the city is estimated at from 1,500,000 to 1,800,000. Liverpool, at the mouth of the Mersey, is an important com- mercial city, enjoying a vast trade by sea, and communicating with all parts of the interior by canals and rail-roads. The city stretches along the east bank of the river three miles, with a breadth of one mile. It is irregularly built, but the public build- ings are elegant. The Exchange is perhaps the most splendid structure which a mercantile community ever raised from its own resources: it cost 100,000 pounds, and is double the size of the Royal Exchange of London. The Town Hall is another noble edifice. In the west of the city are quays and docks of great extent. The largest dock will contain 100 ships afloat. The commerce of the place employs 10,000 vessels, and pays ENGLAND View of St. Paul'8 Cathedral, London. St. Paul's Cathedral is, next to St. Peter's at Rome, the most splendid ecclesiastical edifice in Christendom. It was finished in 1710, and was 35 years in building. It is 510 feet in length, 382 in breadth, and 340 high. .Somerset House, London. New London Bridge. New London Bridge was finished in 1831. It was seven years in building, and is 928 feet long. 369 EUROPE. Waterloo Bridge, London. Waterloo Bridge is built of granite, and cost live million dollars. It has nine arches, each 120 feet span. This bridge is considered une of the finest specimens of masonry in Europe. Westminster Abbey, London. Westminster Abbey was built about 800 years ago. Here the sovereigns of Great Britain are crowned ; and here also are the monuments of many celebrated characters. Greenwich Hospital, on the Thames, five miles below London. Greenwich Hospital was once a royal palace, but is now appropriated to the use of disabled and tii:ed seamen. Here 3000 are supported, and pensions are paid to 5400 more from tho funds of llie institution. Sixpence sterling a month is levied from every British sailor for its support. 370 . ENGLAND. Hampton Court. Hampton Court, thirteen miles from London, wa3 built by Cardinal Wolsey, in the reign of Henry VIII,, and presented by him to his sovereign. It is one of the largest of the English palace9. The picture-gallery is celebrated : besides many fine paintings, it contains Raphael'a cartoons. Windsor Castle, twenty-two miles west of London. Windsor Castle was built by William the conqueror, and has been the residence of the sovereigns of England for 700 years. It is a magnificent structure ; and has a large park, to- gether with a forest of fifty miles in circuit, attached to it. Dover Castle. Dover Castle is one of the mo9t ancient in Ergland. It is a spacious and strong fortification, 371 and is Bituated on a rock 320 feet high. EUROPE. View of the City of Bath. ENGLAND. 299 1 8,000,000 dollars to the revenue in duties. Population, 165,000. The most important branch of the trade of Liverpool is that with the United States, of which cotton is the grand staple. Manchester, thirty-three miles from Liverpool, is the centre of the cotton manufacture of Great Britain, and is the greatest manufacturing town, in that line, in the world. Two canals, and the rail-road to Liverpool, facilitate the trade of this city with the interior and the coast. Population, 182,000. Birmingham, situated in the centre of England, is noted for its immense manufactures of arms, sheet-iron, hardware, jewelry, &c. Articles in all the various metals are made to a vast extent, from steam-engines to buttons and pins. It is connected with London by a rail-road, and has 147,000 inhabitants. Leeds is the principal seat of the woollen manufactures and trade of the kingdom. Population, 123,000. In the vicinity of Leeds are Bradford, Halifax, Wakefield, and Huddersfield, towns with from 40,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, nearly all engaged in the woollen manufacture. Sheffield has been long known for the excellence of its cutlery and plated goods, which comprise an almost endless variety of articles in both branches. Population, 60,000. Bristol is an ancient city, and was, formerly, next to London in the extent of its commerce. The foreign trade is still con- siderable ; and its glass, sugar, soap-houses, distilleries, brass- works, pin factories, &c, are numerous. Population, 117,000. Hull, situated on the Humber river, has the greatest inland trade of any port in the kingdom, and has long been extensively engaged in the whale fishery business. Population, 36,000. Newcastle is renowned for its collieries and coal trade : the latter employs upwards of 40,000 men, and the exports amount to 2,500,000 tons. Population, 57,000. Norwich, an ancient city, is noted for its castle and cathedral ; the latter is one of the finest ecclesiastical edifices in the king- dom. Population, 61,000. Plymouth is one of the greatest naval arsenals of Britain, and is noted for its breakwater, which is a vast mole, a mile in length : it required, in its formation, 2,000,000 tons of stone, and cost more than 5,000,000 dollars. Population, 75,000. Portsmouth is the most important naval station in the king- dom. Its magazines and docks are the most perfect in the world, and its fortifications are considered impregnable. The spacious road of Spithead, at this place, is capable of sheltering 1000 ships of the line. Population, 50,000. Bath has long been famous for its medicinal waters, which at- tract hither crowds of invalids, and thousands of dissipated idlers. It occupies a fine situation upon a rising ground, and is 2G 373 300 EUROPE. esteemed the handsomest city in England. It has many beauti- ful promenades, and a magnificent cathedral. Being a place of mere amusement, a large part of its population is migratory. Population, 38,000. Oxford contains the most famous university in England, con- sisting of 24 colleges. These buildings, with 17 churches, and numerous other academical structures, are surrounded with groves, gardens, avenues of majestic trees, and a variety of winding streams. To these are added the incessant pealing of innume- rable bells, and the multitude and mystical variety of academic dresses ; all combining to produce the most striking effect upon a stranger. Population, 21,000. Cambridge, like Oxford, owes its celebrity to its university, which has 13 colleges. Population, 21,000. WALES. Wales is a territory situated to the westward of England, which, though united to that kingdom by early conquest, still retains the title of a separate principality, and possesses a distinct national character. The general aspect of this country is bold, romantic, and mountainous. It consists of ranges of lofty eminences and im. pending crags, intersected by numerous and deep ravines, with extensive valleys, and affording endless views of wild mountain scenery. The chief mountains of Wales are Snowdon, 3571 feet in height, and Cader Idris 3550 : the general elevation of the others is from 1000 to 3000 feet above the sea. The rivers are the Severn, Wye, Conway, Towy, Dee, &c. The soil of Wales is less fertile and cultivated than that of England, but the produc- tions are the same. Manufactures are nearly confined to the article of flannel, which has always been a fabric of the Welsh, and in which they excel. The mineral productions of Wales are very abundant, and consist principally of lead, copper, iron, and coal : the latter is found in almost every quarter of the country, and is employed either for domestic purposes, or in fusing or refining the metallic ores. Vast quantities of iron, chiefly for rail-roads, are imported into the United States from this region. This country, previous to the year 1283, was governed by its own kings ; but since that time it has been united to England, and the oldest son of the king of England is styled Prince of Wales. The Welsh are a Celtic race, the descendants of the WALES. Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. Caerphilly Castle. Caerphilly Castle, now in ruins, was of great extent. It is stated to have been a mile and a quarter in circuit ; and capable of containing a garrison of 20,000 men. Conway Castle, North Wales. Conwny Castle was one of the strongest in Britain. It was erected by Edward I., about the mne of the conquest of Wales, for the purpose of curbing the spirit of the natives of that country. The outside walls arc entire, but the interior U in ruins. 375 EUROPE. Caernarvon Castle. Caernarvon Castle was built by Edward I., near 600 years ago. His son, Edward II., Ibe first Prince of Wales, was born in it. Holyhead, a small rocky island wost of Anglesea, and a noted landmark. — \ — cs Summit of Cader Idris Mountain. Cader Idris, one of the highest mountains in Wales, has several small lakes on its i also near its summit. Menai Bridge, which connects North Wales and the island of Anglesea. In this bridge, a level roadway, 100 feet above the water, is suspended by rods of iron from immense iron chains that pass over stone piers. The whole of the iron employed weighs near SOU tons. Tho centre opening of the bridge is 560 foot in extent. 376 WALES. 301 ancient Britons, who in their mountain recesses sought refuge from the destroying sword of the Saxons, which completely dis- possessed them of the low country of England. Edward I. annexed Wales to the English crown, but was com- pelled to erect many strong castles to hold the Wesh in subjec- tion ; and notwithstanding these curbs, they frequently broke into insurrection. For the last 300 years, however, they have been as peaceful as their English neighbours. The people of Wales have retained their native language, which is widely different from the English, but similar to that of the Scotch Highlanders. They are extremely national, and though their country is not fertile, yet they are greatly attached to their native hills. They are proud of their early origin, and are fond of tracing back their pedigree to a remote period. In manners and customs they differ essentially from their immediate neigh- bours, whom they are apt to despise as a race of yesterday, and destitute of that antiquity which they value so highly. Strong ties of friendship subsist between the land-owners and their tenants ; manifested, on one side, by indulgence and pro- tecting kindness ; on the other, by a profound veneration for the representatives of the ancient chiefs of their race. The Welsh have many superstitions, mixed with much genuine religious feel- ing. They are hardy, active, hospitable, kind-hearted ; only a little hasty and quarrelsome. Population about 1 ,000,000. Coun- ties, 12. The isle of Anglesea, on the coast of Wales, is separated from that country by the Menai Strait, over which a bridge, formed of immense iron chains, is erected. The island is rich in minerals, especially copper and lead ; also, coal and marble. Population, 45,000. Beaumaris is the chief town. Merthyr-Tydvil, situated in the iron-mine region of Glamor- ganshire, has become, from a mere village, the most populous place in Wales : population, 22,000. Swansea has also risen to some importance, from the iron and copper works with which it is surrounded. Coal is likewise largely exported. Its pleasant situation has made it an extensive resort for sea-bathing, and led to the erection of many elegant buildings: population, 14,000. Caermarthen, situated on the Towy, which admits to it vessels of 300 tons, is one of the most flourishing and best-built towns in Wales: population, 10,000. Caernarvon is a handsome, well- built place : its chief ornament is the castle, a stately edifice built by Edward I.: population, 8000. Some other of the chief towns in Wales are, Holywell, with 9000; Mold, 8000; Pembroke, 7000 ; Cardiff, 7000 ; and Brecknock, 6000 inhabitants. 26 2G* an 302 EUROPE. SCOTLAND. Scotland occupies the northern part of the island of Great Britain, and is celebrated for the grandeur, wildness, and beauty of its scenery. It is everywhere surrounded by the ocean, except on the south-ea3t, where it is joined to England. It is 280 miles in length, and from 90 to 130 miles in breadth, and contains 30,000 square miles. This country comprises two great divisions, the Highlands and the Lowlands : the former comprehends nearly the whole of Scot- land lying north of the firths of Forth and Clyde. It contains within its recesses a primitive people, who in dress, manners, and language, differ essentially from the inhabitants of the other divi- sion. The Lowlands includes the most southern and smallest, but the most productive and best peopled part of Scotland. Among the Scottish mountains, the most considerable are the Grampians, a name which is given very generally to all those which cover the surface of the Highlands. Several of these exceed the altitude of 4000 feet. Ben Nevis rises to the height of 4379 feet, and is the most elevated mountain in Great Britain. The rivers of Scotland are not so much distinguished for their length or magnitude, as for the pastoral scenery through which they wind their early course, and for the large firths or bays which they form at their junction with the sea. The Forth is the largest river, and forms at its mouth the great firth on which the capital of Scotland is situated. The Tay is noted for its fine salmon ; the Clyde for its splendid falls ; and the Tweed, the Spey, the Dee, and others, for the celebrity they have acquired from the writings of the various poets who have described their beau- ties. Lochs form a characteristic feature of Scotland ; many of them are long arms of the sea, running up into the heart of the moun- tains. Among these, Loch Lomond is pre-eminent. The tra- veller admires its gay and numerous islands, its wooded promon- tories and bays, and the high mountain barrier at its head. Loch Katrine, in a smaller compass, presents a singular combination of romantic beauty. Loch Tay, enclosed by the loftiest of the Grampians, presents alpine scenery on the grandest scale ; while at Inverary, Loch Fyne unites the pomp of art with that of nature. The long chain of Lochs Linnhe, Lochy, and Ness, stretching diagonally across Scotland, comprises much fine scenery, and has afforded facilities for making a navigable com- munication between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. The products of the soil in this country are generally the same as in England. Oats are the principal crop, except in the most SCOTLAND Loch Lomond, Dumbartonshire. Loch Lomond ig the largest lake in Britain ; it is noted for the beauty of the surrounding scenery, which is considered to be unequalled in Scotland. Falls of Fyers, Inverness-shire. The Falls of Fyers are the most celebrated in Scotland. The lower fill is 'J12 feet high, and the upper one 70 feet. Falls of Bruar, Perthshire. 379 EUROPE. Noss Holm, in the Shetland Islands. Noss Holm is a high perpendicular rock, much frequented by wild fowl. The natives and repass to and from it by means of ropes, as represented in the engraving. Fingal's Cave, in the Island of Staffa, one of the Hebrides Ruins of the Cathedral, Chapel, and Nunnery of Iona. Iona, one of the smnllest islands in the Hebrides, became, as early as the sixth century, a famous seat of learnine, and afterwards the head of the Christian religion in Scotland. In Cathedral, Chapel, and Nunnery, the ruins of which still remain, were destroyed at the time of the Reformation. Sixty-one kings of Scotland, France, and Norway, are said to have been interred here. 380 SCOTLAND. 303 fertile districts, where wheat is grown of good quality. Potatoes are cultivated somewhat extensively, and in some places hemp. Both the commerce and manufactures of Scotland have grown into importance since the union with England. Commerce has flourished chiefly since the middle of the last century. Greenock and Aberdeen are the most important commercial places. The manufactures consist of cotton, woollen, linen, iron, hats, paper, sail-cloth, pottery, and small quantities of most of the arti- cles made in England. At Carron, in the southern part of the kingdom, are the most important iron-founderies in Great Britain. They employ 2000 workmen, and cast above 4000 cannon annu- ally. The total value of the yearly manufactures of Scotland is estimated at about 75,000,000 dollars. The whale and herring fisheries are considerable sources of wealth. The whale ships are principally employed in the north- ern seas. The number of herring taken on the coast is immense: the fishermen go in small vessels called busses. Salmon, taken in all the considerable rivers, and kept fresh by being packed in ice, chiefly supplies the London market. In the formation of canals, peculiar obstructions from the rug- gedness of the surface, have been experienced ; and hence they have never become very numerous. The Great Canal admits vessels of considerable size to pass from the Firth of Forth to that of Clyde, and thus unites the Northern and Atlantic Oceans. Branches to Glasgow and other places, have been advantageously opened. The Union Canal, completed at an expense of nearly 2,000,000 dollars, connects the Great Canal, near its eastern point, with Edinburgh, by a line of 30 miles through a country very rich in coal and lime. The Caledonian Canal, uniting the chain of lakes which crosses Scotland diagonally, allows even ships of war to pass from the east coast into the Atlantic. It was finished in 1822, at an expense of nearly 5,000,000 dollars, entirely de- frayed by government. The gates of the locks are of iron : the expense of each lock was about 45,000 dollars. The canal is 50 feet broad ; length 22 miles, with 40 miles of lake navigation. The inhabitants of Scotland amount to 2,500,000, and are composed of two distinct races, the Highlanders and Lowlanders: the former inhabit the Highlands or northern part of the king- dom, and the Lowlanders occupy the southern division. The people of the Highlands speak a peculiar language, called the Gaelic, though the English now is pretty generally understood amongst them. The Highlanders retain the remnants of a national costume peculiar to themselves ; the tartan, a mixture of woollen and linen 304 EUROPE. cloth, adorned with brilliant stripes variously crossing each other, and marking the distinctions of the clans ; the kilt, or short petti- coat, worn by the men, the stockings fastened below the knee, which is left bare ; and the bonnet, which in another shape is also still worn by the shepherds of the border. The divisions of Scotland are into shires or counties, of which there are 33 : of these, 17 are in the Lowlands, and the remain- ing 16 in the Highlands. The Scotch, as a nation, are grave, serious, and reflecting ; but at the same time enterprising and persevering. They are in general better educated and more moral and religious in their habits, than any other people in Europe. Learning, after its revival in modern times, was cultivated in this country with pecu- liar ardour ; but it is particularly since the middle of the last cen- tury, that the writers of Scotland have become celebrated : many have distinguished themselves in various branches of literature, and some of them have been amongst the most illustrious philoso- phers, historians, and poets of Great Britain. The most popular fictitious and periodical writers of t\xn present generation, have also been natives of Scotland. In religion the people of Scotland have always shown an ex- emplary attention, and they entered upon the reformation with a spirit and energy beyond most of the other Protestant nations. The established church or kirk, is Calvinistic in its doctrines and Presbyterian in its government, and is under the superintendence of the general assembly, a body consisting of representatives from the different presbyteries. About one-fourth of the inhabitants of Scotland are dissenters, as Episcopalians, Seceders, &c, and there are some Roman Catholics in the Highlands and large cities. Education amongst the great body of the people is more gene- ral in Scotland than in any other part of the British dominions : every parish has its respective school, in which knowledge can be obtained at a reasonable rate. Private schools are also nume- rous, and in all the principal towns there are academies and other high seminaries of learning. The universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, St. Andrews, and Aberdeen, are all celebrated, par- ticularly the two first. The public libraries are not rich. That belonging to the advo- cates or barristers of Edinburgh, contains upwards of 150,000 volumes, among which there are ample materials, both printed and in manuscript, for elucidating the national history. The university library is half as large ; and those of Glasgow, King's College Aberdeen, and St. Andrew's, are highly respectable. Each of these universities can claim a copy of every new work. Scotland has a native music, simple and pathetic, expressive SCOTLAND. 305 of rural feelings and emotions, to which she is fondly attached. The recreations of the higher ranks are nearly the same as in England. Dancing is practised with peculiar ardour, especially by the Highlanders, who have favourite national steps and move- ments. The islands appendant on Scotland, form one of its most con- spicuous features. They may be divided into the islands at the mouth of the Clyde ; the Hebrides, or Western Islands ; and those of Orkney and Shetland. The islands of the Clyde are chiefly Bute and Arran, with the smaller ones of the Cumbrays and Ailsa. The Hebrides or Western Islands lie on the western coast of Scotland. They are about 200 in number. The largest is Lewis, 87 miles long. The next in size are Skye, Mull, and Islay, South Uist, and Jura. Most of them are rocky and bar- ren, with hardly a single tree, or even a bush upon them. The most westerly of the Hebrides is St. Kilda : it is small and rocky, yet inhabited. Its shores are the resort of vast varieties of sea- fowl, which the islanders pursue at immense hazards, by swing- ing with ropes from the perpendicular cliffs. There are 87 of these islands inhabited, and several under good cultivation, producing tolerable crops of grain, pulse, and potatoes. The inhabitants are about 70,000 in number. Their only articles of trade are horned cattle, sheep, and fish. One of the smallest of these islands, named Staffa, is remark- able for a singular basaltic cavern, called Fingal's Cave, 227 feet in length, and 42 wide. The entrance resembles a gothic arch, and the floor of the cave is covered with water. The walls of the interior are formed of ranges of basaltic columns, irregularly grouped. This natural architecture is said to surpass, in gran- deur and magnificence, the most splendid artificial temples and palaces in the world. At the northern extremity of Scotland lie the Orkneys, about 70 in number, but less than half of them are inhabited. They are rocky, and have but little vegetation besides juniper, wild myrtle, and heath. The soil is boggy or gravelly ; some of the islands contain iron and lead. The sea in this neighbourhood is very tempestuous. In June and July, the twilight which con- tinues throughout the night is sufficiently strong to enable the inhabitants to read at midnight. The population is about 30,000. They have some manufactures of linen and woollen, and a trade in cattle, fish, oil, and feathers. Vast numbers of seafowl fre- quent 'he rocky cliffs of these islands, and one of the chief em- ployments of the inhabitants is bird-catching. The Shetland Islands lie about 60 miles north-east of the Ork- 26* 383 306 EUROPE. neys. They have a wild and desolate appearance ; but 17 of them are inhabited. Their vegetation is still more scanty than that of the Orkneys, and their soil, for the most part, is marshy. The shores are broken and precipitous, and excavated by the sea into natural arches and deep caverns. From October to April, perpetual rains fall, storms beat against the shores, and the in- habitants are cut off from all communication with the rest of the world ; but the aurora borealis exhibits, at this season, a bright- ness equal to that of the full moon. The population is about 28,000 ; the people live by fishing and the manufacture of coarse woollens. Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, stands upon the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, a mile and a half from the sea. Its situation is remarkably picturesque. It occupies three high ridges of land, and is surrounded on all sides, except the north, by naked, craggy rocks. The middle ridge is the highest, and on either side is a deep ravine. The more ancient part of the city occu- pies the two southern ridges. High street runs along the middle eminence, in nearly a straight direction, for about a mile, and exhibits a very grand prospect. With the exception of the prin- cipal avenues, the other streets of what is called the Old Town are only narrow, dirty lanes, among houses some of them ten and eleven stories high. The New Town presents quite a different aspect. It is built on the northern ridge, and its streets and squares are not sur- passed in regularity and elegance in any part of the world. It communicates with the old town by a bridge, and an immense mound of earth crossing the deep loch or ravine between them. The Castle of Edinburgh is an ancient fortress on a rugged rock, mounting abruptly to the height of 200 feet. Holyrood House, for many centuries the residence of the kings of Scotland, is a quadrangular edifice in the eastern part of the city. In the cen- tre of Edinburgh is a vast pile, comprising several edifices around Parliament Square, which contain a number of large libraries. The university is celebrated both as an institution for teaching, and a nursery for eminent men ; the number of students is up- wards of 2000. Edinburgh has its Royal Society for physical and literary researches, its antiquarian and horticultural socie- ties, an institution for the promotion of the fine arts, and an academy of painting. This city is chiefly supported by its courts of justice, whose jurisdiction extends over all Scotland. A great proportion of the inhabitants are lawyers, and the literary talent for which the city is renowned, has gained it the appellation of the Modern Athens. Population, in 1831, 136,000. Leith is the sea-port of Edinburgh ; it was formerly about two View of Edinburgh. Cathedral of Glasgow. The Cathedral of Glasgow, built 700 years ago, is the most entire specimen of Gothic archi- tecture in Scotland. It is 284 feet long, and 65 feet broad. The spire is 220 feet high Ruins of St. Andrew's Cathedral, Fifeshire. St. Andrew's Cathedral, destroyed at the time of the Reformation, was one of the finest ecclesiastical structures in Scotland, and the metropolitan church of the kingdom. The scanty ruins that remain attest the elegance of its architecture. 2H 385 EUROPE. Ruins of Loch-Leven Castle, Kinross-shire. Loch Leven Castle, situated on a small island in Loch-Leven, is famed in Scottish history for the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots, and her romantic and adventurous escape. Dunottar Castle, fifteen miles south of Aberdeen, Kincardineshire. Dunottar Castle was formerly considered to be impregnable. The regalia of Scotland were once deposited here for safe keeping. Ruins of Melrose Abbey, Roxburghshire. Melrose Abbey, built about 700 years ago, was the finest Gothic structure in Scotland. It is 258 feet long, and 138 wide. These ruins are much admired, and are often visited by travellers. 386 SCOTLAND. Stirling Castle, Stirlingshire. Stirling Castle was in the feudal ages oftentimes the residence of the kings of Scotland, and the scene of some of the most memorable events in Scottish history. Dumbarton Castle, Dumbartonshire. Bothwell Castle, Lanarkshire. Dumbarton Castle is one of the oldest in Scotland : it dates back to the days of the ancient Britons; and before the invention of fire-arms was held to be impregnable. Bothwell Castle, on the Clyde, was formerly one of the chief seats of the Earls of Douglas, and is noted in Scottish history. Dun Dornadilla, Sutherlandshire. Dun Dornadilla is the remains of one of those nncient circular lowers, called Duns, whose ruins are so frequently met with in the northern parts of Scotland. 387 EUROPE. Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgowshire, eighteen miles west of Edinburgh. Linlithgow Palace was often the residence of the kings of Scotland, and, when entire, was a magnificent edifice. Mary Queen of Scots was born here in the year 1542. Drumlanrig Castle, the residence of the Dukes of Buccleugh. Drumlanrig Castle, on the river Nith, in the south of Scotland, is a Bplendid edifice. It is surrounded by extensive parks and plantations. Glammis Castle, Angus-shire. % Inverary Castle, the residence of the Dukes of Argyle, Argyleshire. 383 IRELAND. 307 miles distant from that city, but is now connected with it by con- tinuous ranges of buildings. The harbour has been much im- proved by art, but is not accessible to large ships, except at cer- tain times. The commerce carried on here is considerable. Population, 26,000. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and owes its prosperity chiefly to its manufactures. It stands upon the Clyde, and con- tains a large number of handsome buildings, mostly of modern construction. The streets are generally spacious and well paved. The cathedral is a massy building, and the most entire specimen of Gothic architecture which the furious zeal of the reformers left standing in Scotland. In Glasgow and the neighbourhood are 32,000 cotton looms and 300 steam machines in manufacto- ries, founderies, &c. The general aspect of the town is rendered gloomy by the coal-smoke, which has blackened the buildings, and hangs in dingy clouds over the city. Population, 202,000. Paisley, seven miles from Glasgow, is the third town for size and commerce. It has extensive manufactures, and a population of 57,000. Greenock, at the mouth of the Clyde, is the out-port of Glasgow ; and its prosperity, as well as that of Glasgow, is of very recent date. Its harbour is commodious, and its trade extends to every part of the world. Population, 28,000. Aberdeen is a handsome city on the eastern coast, with a uni- versity, and considerable commerce and manufactures : popula- tion, 58,000. Perth, on the Tay, is the most regularly built of all the cities of Scotland, and is surrounded with beautiful scenery : population, 20,000. Inverness, the capital of the North High- lands, is well built, and enjoys nearly all the trade of the northern part of the kingdom: population, 15,000. IRELAND. Ireland is a fine fertile island, lying west of Great Britain, from which it is separated by St. George's Channel and the Irish Sea. The climate is mild and moist, which produces a beautiful' and continued verdure, and has led to its being called by the poetical appellations of the Emerald Isle and Green Erin. The surface of the country, though in general level, is diver- sified with numerous hills and mountains ; these do not, however, form ranges of any great extent, but lie chiefly in short detached ridges : those in the vicinity of the celebrated Lake of Killarney, are the best known, and the most elevated. Ghurane Tuel, the highest, rises to the height of 3400 feet above the sea. The Shannon is without a rival among rivers in the three king- 2H * 338 308 EUROPE. doms. It rises far in the north, from Lough Allen, in the pro- vince of Connaught, and has a course of 200 miles, throughout the whole of which it is more or less navigable. There are also the Barrow, Boyne, Foyle, Bann, Blackwater, &c. The other rivers are rather numerous than of long course; but they almost all terminate in wide estuaries and loughs, which diffuse through Ireland the means of water communication, and afford a multi- plicity of spacious and secure harbours. Lakes or loughs are a conspicuous feature in Ireland, where this last name, like the similar one used in Scotland, is in many instances applied to arms of the sea. Lough Neagh is the largest lake in the United Kingdom, covering nearly 100,000 acres. Lough Erne, Lough Corrib, &c. include a great variety of rich and ornamented scenery. Lough Foyle, Lough Swilly, and Belfast Lough, are properly bays. Connaught has several exten- sive lakes. That of Killarney, in the south, is famed, not for its extent, but for the singular grandeur and beauty of its shores. Ireland was once covered with forests, which are now replaced by immense bogs. These form a remarkable feature, character- istic of the country. They afford abundant supplies of peat, used by the inhabitants for fuel. From their depths are also taken quantities of wood in complete preservation, which indicate that these bogs are the remains of the ancient forests. The skins of animals and men that have been swallowed up in them, have been found converted into a sort of leather by the tanning mat- ter which the moisture contains. Coal is the most abundant mineral. It is found in Kilkenny, in the south. Marble and slate occur in the same quarter. Iron was formerly produced in many parts, but at present few or no mines are worked. Copper, silver, and gold, have also been found in small quantities. The greatest curiosity in Ireland is the Giants' Causeway. It is an astonishing work of nature, and is situated on the north- east coast of the island. It consists of millions of perpendicular columns of stone, rising from 200 to 400 feet above the water's edge. The columns are generally five and seven-sided, and are divided into lengths of about 18 inches, yet set upright, one upon another, and so nicely fitted together, that a knife-blade can scarcely be inserted at the joints. At Fairhead, on the same coast, there are ranges of basaltic columns, not articulated like those of the Giants' Causeway, but reaching the enormous height of 100 and 150 feet in single blocks. In the neighbourhood there are some remarkable caverns. Agriculture is very backward in this country. The farmers are generally not proprietors of the soil, and studiously avoid IRELAND. The Giants' Causeway, County Antrim. Lake of Killarney, County Kerry. The Lake of Killarney, so celebrated for the beauty of its scenery, consists properly of three lakes, the largest of which is about six miles long and three broad. This lake is annually visited by numerous travellers. Eagles' Nest, Lake of Killarney. The Eaclos' Nest is a high craggy rock, on the borders of Lake Killarney, remarkable for the extraordinary echoes it produces. Eagles build their nesls amid its rugged steeps. 391 EUROPE. Mucruss Abbey, County Kerry. Mucruss Abbey, on the east side of Lake Killarney, is an ancient and interesting ruin. It is about 100 feet in length ; and is regarded as a holy edifice by the neighbouring peasantry. Dunluce Castle, on the coast of the County Antrim. Dunluce is an ancient castle, now in ruins, which occupies the top of a high and almost insulated rock. It was once a place of great strength, and was considered impregnable. Glendalough, County Wicklow. Glendalough is a retired valley, surrounded by high hills. It contains the ruins of some re- markable monuments, attributed to St. Kevin, a great patron saint of the seventh century. This place was long celebrated as a seat of learning and religion. IRELAND. 309 any permanent improvement of the land, lest the rent should be raised. Wheat is not generally cultivated, and what is raised is often inferior. Barley is now common, but oats are raised in a tenfold proportion to that of any other grain. The Irish staff of life, however, is potatoes. This root furnishes to the poor the greatest part of their sustenance. The dairy is the best-managed part of Irish husbandry. Flax is extensively cultivated. The most important manufacture is that of linen, which has flourished for 300 years, but is now on the decline. The cotton manufacture has been recently introduced, and is increasing. The distilleries of Ireland are extensive, and a considerable quan- tity of whiskey is made and exported. The commerce of this country consists chiefly in the exports of the agricultural products to other parts of the British Empire. To England alone, they amounted, in 1831, to the value of 50,000,000 dollars, compris- ing grain of various kinds ; cattle, beef, pork, butter, &c, besides linen. The trade to foreign countries is, however, greatly infe- rior. Ireland is still denominated a distinct kingdom, but it is governed by a viceroy appointed by the sovereign, called the Lord Lieu- tenant of Ireland. There is also an Irish chancellor, a secretary of state, commander of the forces, and an attorney -general. The island was incorporated with the kingdom of Great Britain, in 1800. There is now no separate parliament, but Ireland is represented by 32 peers and 100 members of the House of Com- mons, in the parliament of Great Britain. The citizens of Ire- land are entitled to the same privileges with those of England, in all matters of commerce and provisions under treaties. There is one university in Ireland, styled Trinity College or Dublin University : it has about 400 students, and is an institu- tion of a very high character. At Maynooth and Carlow there are Roman Catholic Colleges, and a Jesuits' College at Clongows. The education of the people has been much neglected until re- cently : great efforts have been lately made by private benevo- lence to extend the means of instruction to the poor, though with but partial success. The arts are not in a flourishing state in Ireland, principally from the want of the encouragement that the residence of the rich proprietors would give. The useful arts are far lower than in England or Scotland, and the ornamental ones are little culti- vated. A taste for music is common, and no man is more wel- come in an Irish house than a piper or a harper. Many of the old national airs are sweet, but they are not so widely spread as those of Scotland. Ireland has contributed her full share to the literature and sci- 310 EUROPE. ences of the United Kingdom, and there are no names more cele- brated than those of Burke, Swift, Goldsmith, Sheridan, and Moore. The great national bent of genius seems to be towards wit and eloquence, and this appears not only in the distinguished men, but in the mass of the people ; for the very beggars pursue their vocation with a union of these two qualities that is often irresistible. The general religion is the Catholic, though the established church is that of England. Four-fifths of the inhabitants are Catholics, and the other fifth is composed principally of Episco- palians, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists. The established church has four archbishops, and 22 bishoprics. There are 33 Catholic archbishops and bishops, 1500 parish priests, 3000 curates, and 984 benefices, averaging mor was upwards of 18,000,000. Spain has naturally great commercial advantages, yet the foreign commerce is limited. Wine, oil, fruits, and wool, are the chief articles of export. The coasting trade is active and im- portant ; but the want of good roads, as well as of navigable rivers and canals, greatly retards the inland commerce. The anchovy, tunny, and coral fisheries, are actively prosecuted. The manufactures of this country were once very important, and are still considerable : they comprise some silk and woollen fabrics, with leather, paper, hats, and soap. Tobacco is manu- factured only at Seville. There is a royal manufactory of mir- rors at St. Ildefonso ; and some iron and steel ware, and brandy, are likewise made in various places. Barilla, from which soda is obtained, is manufactured to some extent along the coast of the Mediterranean : it is procured by burning a vegetable, which is sown for the purpose. The revenue of Spain, once the largest in Europe, is now greatly reduced ; it is supposed to be annually about 30,000,000 dollars, and the public debt amounts to 800,000,000 dollars. The army comprised some years ago about 90,000 men ; and the navy three ships of the line, four frigates, and 30 smaller 320 EUROPE. vessels : the present unsettled state of the kingdom, however, renders it difficult to ascertain the actual condition of the revenue or any other department of the national affairs. Spain is a limited hereditary monarchy. The constitution of 1837 is similar in many respects to that of France, and guaran- ties the liberty of the press, and other fundamental principles of freedom. The power of enacting laws resides with the Cortes, in conjunction with the sovereign. The Cortes are composed of two legislative bodies of equal powers ; the Senate, and Congress of Deputies. The religion of this country is strictly Roman Catholic. The number of archbishops is 8, and there are 51 bishops. The clergy of all classes, including monks and nuns, comprises 188,625 individuals. The sovereign nominates to all ecclesi- astical dignities, and even to the smaller benefices. The clergy are the most powerful body in Spain, but their influence is dimin- ishing : they retain, however, a strong hold upon the favour of the lower class, and distribute from monasteries alms or food daily to the poor. There are 11 universities in Spain, but their plans of instruc- tion are antiquated, and seem to be so directed as to spread error and encourage ignorance, rather than knowledge. The few ele- mentary schools are in no better condition. The lower classes seldom learn to read and write, and those above them are but imperfectly instructed, there being but little encouragement for education. The Spaniards of the higher class are haughty, reserved, fond of parade, and ambitious of dignities and titles ; but the common people are gay, good-humoured, and courteous, and are frugal and sober in their habits. Indolence is the common vice of the nation, and the great curse of the country ; but the people of Catalonia and Biscay form striking exceptions to the general rule, being more active and industrious than the inhabitants of the other provinces. The people of Spain have generally expressive countenances, dark hair and complexion, and brilliant eyes. The women are distinguished for beauty of person and dignity of manner ; and are noted for their fidelity and constancy. The strictness with which they were formerly treated, and the seclu- sion in which they were kept, are in a great measure done away. The favourite amusements of the people are music, dancing, and exhibitions of bull-fighting : the latter are generally attended by thousands of both sexes and of all ranks, and arc looked upon with enthusiastic delight. The national dance is the fan- dango, which is full of liveliness and grace ; the bolero is another form of the same dance. SPAIN. View of Seville, Spain. Seville, called by the Romans Hispalis, and by the Moors Ixbilla, is one of the most ancient cities in Spain. When taken from the latter by Ferdinand III., it contained COO.000 inhabitants, one-half of whom, immediately abandoned it. View of Cadiz, Spain. Cadiz, the Gadir of the Phoenicians, and the Gades of the Romans, has been, from very earTy times, a noted commercial mart. It was taken and plundered by the Earl of Essex, in 1596; and was unsuccessfully besieged by the French for two years and a half, in 1810, '11 and '12. &&E>£fi?M -. View of Cordova, Spain. Cordova was a town of some note under the Romans, and also under the Moors. When in possession of the latter, it contained a population of 300,000. The bridge over the Guadal- quivir was built by them. 417 EUROPE. Aqueduct of Segovia, Spain. The Aqueduct of Segovia is a Roman work of 159 arches, half a mile long, and 94 feet high. Palace of the Escurial, twenty-two miles from Madrid. The Escurial, built by Philip II., was commenced in 1563. It is 740 feet by 530, and cost fifty million dollars. It was dedicated to St. Lawrence, and has the form of a gridiron, the instrument on which the saint suffered death. This edifice is partly a palace and partly a mon- astery. The royal family formerly spent a portion of the summer here. It contains the bodies of all the Spanish sovereigns who have reigned since the time of Charles V. About 140 monks were a few years ago attached to the Escurial. Palace of the Alhambra, Granada. The Alhambra was built in 1280, and is the noblest specimen of Moorish architecture exist- ing. The exterior is rudely constructed — the splendour for which it is famed being found alto- gether in the interior. 418 STAIN. 321 The Spaniards are temperate both in eating and drinking : the noted national dish is the ollapodrida, a compound of various meats, vegetables and herbs, which even foreigners admit to be palatable. The pleasures of society are sought chiefly at tertu- lias or evening parties, where only slight refreshment is presented ; but refrescos or dinner parties, are given on a large scale upon special occasions. Spain is divided into 14 provinces, some of which have the title of kingdoms ; each of these has its separate administration, and most of them are subdivided into several smaller provinces. Of all the immense territories in America which formerly belonged to Spain, none remain under her dominion but the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. In Africa, she possesses Ceuta and some other towns on the Barbary coast, and the Canary Islands. In Oceanica, are the Philippines, and Ladrone Islands. The number of inhabitants in Spain is estimated at 12,000,000, and that of the colonies supposed to be about 4,088,000, making a total of 16,088,000 for the Spanish monarchy. The Balearic Islands are a group in the Mediterranean Sea : they consist of Majorca, Minorca, Ivica, and Fromentera ; all belonging to this kingdom. Majorca, the largest, is about 100 miles from the coast : it is 40 miles in extent each way, and is mountainous. Minorca possesses the valuable harbour of Port Mahon, which is often visited by the national vessels of the United States. These islands have generally a good soil, and produce oranges, olives, wine, &c. Population, 184,000. Madrid, the capital of Spain, is a handsome but somewhat gloomy city : the streets are well paved, and have broad foot- paths. The main street of Alcala, long, spacious, and bordered on each side by a row of princely houses, attracts particular admiration. The Prado, a wide public walk, bordered by trees, and connected with gardens all open to the public, is equally con- ducive to ornament and pleasure. There are many public foun- tains, supplied with pure, light, and salubrious water, filtered through beds of gravel and sand, from a distance of seven or eight leagues. The royal palace, built by Philip V., is a spacious and mag- nificent structure, though the taste displayed in it is a subject of controversy. It contains numerous fine paintings, which do not equal, however, those of the Escurial. The Retiro, with its fine gardens, was defaced by the French, who made it a military post; an extensive and costly menagerie is now forming within its pre- • cincts. The museum of statuary and painting, a new and elegant building, has recently been enriched with some of the finest pic- tures from the royal palaces. The cabinet of natural history, 322 EUROPE. supported by the government, is also a handsome structure, and its contents valuable. Population, 201,000. Barcelona is, after the capital, the largest city in Spain ; and was, until the disturbances broke out which now agitate the coun- try, distinguished for its commerce and manufactures : the latter comprised woollen, silk, and cotton goods. A thousand vessels entered its ports, and the annual exports were reckoned to amount to 8,000,000 dollars. The city contains four public libraries, eight colleges, several hospitals, numerous churches, and some other remarkable public edifices. Population, 150,000. Seville is beautifully situated on the Guadalquivir. It was formerly very rich and populous, being the chief mart for the American and India trade. The public buildings are very ele- gant. The general appearance of the city indicates the Moorish character of its former possessors. The streets are narrow, but clean ; the houses are whitewashed, and furnished with balco- nies; every third or fourth house has a garden and orangery. The cathedral is one of the largest in Spain, and contains the tomb of Columbus. The inhabitants manufacture silk, tobacco, snuff and cigars. Population, 91,000. Cadiz, on the Atlantic coast, has, by means of its excellent harbour, engrossed the trade once enjoyed by Seville. This city stands upon the isle of Leon, which is connected with the conti- nent by a bridge. From the height of the houses, the narrow- ness of the streets, and the smallness of the windows, many parts of the city have a gloomy appearance. Here are two cathedrals and a very large hospital. The city is strongly fortified, and is one of the most important sea-ports in Spain. Since the loss of the American colonies, however, its commerce has been much reduced. Its population has a more mixed and diversified aspect than that of any other city in the kingdom. Population, 53,000. Granada was founded by the Moors, and at the period of their greatest glory, contained 400,000 inhabitants. It is still cele- brated as the most beautiful city in Spain, although its population has dwindled to 80,000. The houses are nearly all in the Moor- ish style. It has many beautiful squares, fountains, and public buildings, with 7 colleges and 11 hospitals. In the immediate neighbourhood is the Alhambra, a magnificent Moorish palace, occupying the space of a small town. Every traveller has been struck with admiration at the sight of its splendid halls, golden saloons, courts, alcoves, fountains, colonnades, and mosaic pave- ments, which almost realize the description of fairy land. Valencia, on the Guadalaviar, at its entrance into the Medi- terranean, has many manufactories, and is a rich and elegant city. The surrounding country is highly cultivated, and forms SPAIN. Hall of the Abencerrages, Alhambra. Gate of the Sanctuary of the Koran, Alhambra. In the interior of the Alhambra, the visiter passes through a range of apartments : the Baths, the Court of the Lions, the Hall of the Abencerrages, the Golden .Saloon, or Hall of the Ambassadors, the Gate of the Sanctuary of the Koran, the Tower of the Two Sisters, and others, in which the lichness and beauty displayed, and the elegance and variety of the orna- ments, strike every beholder with admiration. Colonnades in the interior of the Cathedral of Cordova. The Mosque of Cordova, now the Cathedral, was erected by the Moors in the seventh cen- tury. It is 534 feet by 387, and is ornamented in the interior by rows of cupolas, which are supported by 850 pillars of jasper and marble, dividing the building into nineteen colonnades. 2L 431 EUROPE. The Castle of Almanza, fifty-four miles south-west of Valencia. The Castle of Almanza was a Moorish fortress, once of great importance, and reckoned the Key of Granada. Montserrat, in Catalonia, 3937 feet high, and 24 miles in circumference. This mountain is famous for the hermitages built on its craggy sides; and also for an image of the Virgin, which is visited by numerous pilgrims. Ronda, thirty-five miles west of Malaga. Ronda is situated on a steep rock, through which a small river runs in a deep chasm ; the opposite sides of this chasm are connected by a bridge 280 feet above the stream. Stairs of 350 steps, cut in the rock, lead from the town down to the water. View of Gibraltar. 422 SPAIN. 323 a delightful garden, the air of which is loaded with perfumes. The city has a large commerce in the exportation of silk. Popu- lation, 66,000. Cordova stands on the Guadalquivir, and makes a splendid appearance at a distance. It contains a magnificent cathedral, with 16 steeples and 4000 columns of jasper and mar- ble. This building was originally a mosque, and was erected by the Moors. It affords an imposing evidence of the magnificent spirit and refined taste of that people. Cordova is now famous for its trade in leather. Population, 57,000. Its environs pro- duce the finest breed of horses in Spain. Saragossa stands on the Ebro, and has considerable trade and manufactures. It is remarkable for the siege it sustained against the French, during the peninsular war. Population, 52,000. Its university has 2000 students, but not much literature. Malaga and Alicant, on the Mediterranean, and Corunna and Bilbao, on the Atlantic, are also considerable seaports. The first is reckoned the third commercial town in the kingdom. It ex- ports largely the well-known Malaga or mountain wine ; also, fine raisins and other fruits, anchovies, &c. Population, 52,000. Bilbao is noted for its large exports of merino wool. Population, 15,000. Toledo, once the proud capital of Spain, contained, in the days of its prosperity, a population of 200,000, which has been reduced to 25,000. Its manufactures of wool and silk, which are said to have employed nearly 40,000 men, have dis- appeared ; and government has in vain attempted to revive that of swords, of which those formerly manufactured at Toledo were valued above all others. Gibraltar is an important fortress, situated upon the strait which forms the entrance to the Mediterranean. The fortifications oc- cupy a craggy rock, rising to the height of 1439 feet. The town consists of one long street, passing along the foot of the rock. The whole forms a peninsula, washed on one side by the Medi- terranean, and on the other side by a bay five miles in width. The rock is steep in every part, and so strongly fortified as to be impregnable. It was captured by the English in 1704, and has been retained by them ever since. It was besieged in 1782 by a French and Spanish army of 30,000 men, and bombarded by powerful floating batteries, but without effect. The British regard it as one of their most important possessions. The town is a general mart for goods from every quarter, and has a popu- lation of 14,000, mostly English. Republic op Andorra. — This little republic, with a territory of hardly 200 square miles, and a population of about 15,000 souls, occupies a valley on the southern side of the Pyrenees. 324 EUROPE. Beside Andorra, the capital, a town of 2000 inhabitants, it con- tains five villages, which export iron and timber. It is governed by a syndic, who presides over the council of the valley, and by two viguiers, appointed, the one by the king of France, and the other by the bishop of Urgel, in Spain. PORTUGAL. This kingdom, like Spain, has declined from its former great- ness. Three centuries ago, it was celebrated for the valour of its soldiers and the skill of its sailors. It became distinguished for its exertions and success in modern discoveries, and was for a time the first commercial nation in the world. . Portugal is the most western country of continental Europe, and is very similar to Spain in climate, soil, and productions. It is bounded on the north and east by Spain, and on the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 360 miles in length, and from 100 to 140 miles wide: area, 39,000 square miles. The mountains of Portugal may be considered as prolongations of those of Spain, and seldom rise to the first magnitude : they cover a considerable part of the country, leaving between them many picturesque and fertile valleys. There are only two exten- sive plains, one on the south of the Tagus, and the other immedi- ately south of the Douro. The rivers consist chiefly of the spacious terminations of the greatest streams of Spain in their progress to the ocean. The Douro forms the great maritime emporium of Oporto, and the Tagus that of Lisbon. The Guadiana, also, in its lower course, flows along the eastern frontier of Portugal. The Minho, a much smaller stream, comes down from the north of Spain. The industry and commerce of Portugal, which presented so brilliant an aspect during her era of prosperity, have sunk lower than those of almost any other European nation. Agriculture did not, until very lately, experience any of the improvements which have become general in the rest of Europe. The chief object of attention is the vine, which, with the olive and other fruit trees, is cultivated in the valleys and on the sides of the hills, in the northern parts of the kingdom. Here is pro- duced the port wine, which forms the main basis of Portuguese trade, and finds so certain a market in Great Britain. The entire produce is estimated at 80,000 pipes. Of white wine Por- tugal produces about 60,000 pipes ; but this is of inferior quality, and chiefly consumed at home. Sheep are bred on the hills to PORTUGAL. 325 a pretty large extent ; but not so abundantly as in Spain, neither is their wool so fine. The manufactures of Portugal scarcely deserve to be named. Little is known beyond the working of their wool for domestic use by each family or neighbourhood ; all their finer fabrics are imported. Working in gold and silver plate, forms almost the only exception ; cambrics also are well made in some places ; and a few other local objects might be enumerated. Various metals and minerals abound in this country, but there are no mines wrought except a k\v of iron. Very little attention is paid to the proper working of mines. Fish of the finest kinds are caught in considerable quantity, for immediate consumption ; but the salt which the kingdom so abundantly produces, is not used for preserving them ; and a large import of salted fish is still necessary to meet the wants of a population so strictly Catholic. The commerce which formed the greatness of Portugal when her ports interchanged the products of the east and the west, is now comparatively a mere shadow. The exports are port wine, salt, wool, and some fruit. The imports are grain, salt fish, and a variety of manufactures, chiefly from Great Britain. The troubles, revolutions, and civil wars, which have distracted Por- tugal for the last twenty years, have depressed not only the com- merce of the country, but likewise every branch of national in- dustry. The established and exclusive religion is the Catholic. The church comprises one patriarch, two archbishops, and thirteen bishops. There were in Portugal 500 monasteries and convents, containing about 11,000 monks and nuns; but these establish- ments were suppressed in 1834. Education is in an unimproved state, and nothing has been done for the instruction of the lower class of the inhabitants. There are two universities, one at Coim- bra, attended by about 800 students, and a smaller one at Evora. The course of studies in these institutions is of an obsolete description, and not at all suited to the spirit and wants of the present times. The arts have hardly an existence in this country, and science and learning are much circumscribed. All the best foreign works are prohibited, and every thing published is subjected to a strict censorship. The literature of Portugal, during the period of its glory, was by no means contemptible. The genius and fate of Camoens spread his name throughout Europe, and entitled him to rank among the few modern epic poets. The Portuguese are of the same origin as the Spaniards, but they early formed an independent nation and a separate language. Although there exists a strong mutual dislike between the two 28 2L*. 425 326 EUROPE. nations, they differ little in character, manners, habits, amuse- ments, and social condition. The peasantry are held by the nobles in a state but little short of bondage: they have been usually represented as indolent, cowardly, and revengeful ; but on many occasions during the last war with France, they dis- played qualities not unworthy their gallant ancestors. The government of Portugal is a constitutional hereditary monarchy, but it has undergone various changes within a few years, and in the spring of 1838 a new constitution was accepted by the queen. The revolutions and civil wars that have suc- ceeded each other within the last 15 or 20 years, render it diffi- cult to give any certain account of the revenue, debt, and mili- tary forces of the kingdom. This country is divided into six provinces, several of which, like those of Spain in reference to events in their past history, are sometimes called kingdoms. Population, 3,600,000. The foreign possessions of Portugal are the Azore, Madeira, and Cape Verde Islands ; Congo, Angola, Benguela, and Mozambique, in Africa ; Goa and Macao, in Asia ; and part of Timor, in Malaysia. The population of these is estimated at 1,632,000. Total of the Portuguese monarchy, 5,232,000. Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, stands on the Tagus, ten miles from its mouth. The harbour, formed by the expansion of the river, is nine miles wide, and is one of the finest havens in the world. The interior of the city is ill-built, with dirty, narrow, and crooked streets, yet some parts of modern construction are not wanting in elegance. There are 13 large squares, the finest of which is the Praca do Commercio ; this is fronted by elegant buildings, and bordered toward the river by the handsomest quays in Europe. The cathedral is magnificent, and remarkable for the boldness of its dome. The royal hospital is an excellent institution, and there is a large foundling hospital. Lisbon has also three obser- vatories, many colleges and academies, 180 churches and chapels, 75 convents, and a royal library of 80,000 volumes. But the most remarkable edifice which it contains is the aqueduct of Bemfica : it is 10 miles in length ; some of its arches are 200 feet' high and 100 feet wide. Altogether this is one of the most mag- nificent structures that have been erected in modern times, and is not inferior to any ancient work of the same kind. There are three royal palaces in Lisbon and the neighbourhood, and around the city are between 6000 and 7000 quintas, or country-houses. Population, 260,000. Oporto, the second city of the kingdom, is situated near the mouth of the Douro river. Part of the town is well built, espe- PORTUGAL. View of Lisbon, the Capital of Portugal. Lisbon, anciently Olisipo, is remarkable for the injury it sustained by the great earthquake on the 1st November, 1755. By this catastrophe, the greatest that ever befell a modern European city, 100 palaces, churches and convents, and GOOO houses, were destroyed, 30,000 of the inhabitants killed, and a conflagration kindled which spread a still wider destruction. View of Oporto, Portugal. Mausoleum of King John I., in the Church of Batalha. John I., the Great, the Father of his country, was one of the best of the Portuguese mon- iirchs ; he was the natural son of Peter I. ; and was proclaimed regent on his brother's death, in 1385, and king in 1386; the same year he obtained a great victory over John 1., king of Castile, who claimed the crown of Portugal in right of his consort, Beatrix, daughter of Peter I. 427 EUROPE. Church at Batalha, Portugal, 52 miles from Lisbon. The Church at Batalha was founded by King John I., near 500 years ago. It is 541 feet by 416, and is one of the noblest existing specimens of the Norman Gothic style. The building is of marble, and the ornamental work is unrivalled. The mausoleum erected to King John is extremely beautiful. Coimbra, Portugal. Coimbra was built by the Romans, 300 years before Christ. It was once strongly fortified, and was for a time the residence of the kings of Portugal. Portuguese Female Peasants. In consequence of the unimproved state of the roads in Portugal, and the backwardness of the farmers and peasantry in the use of wheel-carriages, much of the produce of the soil, especially in the vicinity of the larger towns, is carried to market on the heads of the females. 428 GERMANY. 327 cially when compared with most others in this country. The chief dependence of Oporto is its commerce with England, which remains unimpaired amid the general diminution of that with America. There are about 30 English houses regularly settled here. Oporto has a great trade in the exportation of the wine, called port wine; besides oranges, lemons, &c. Population, 70,000. Coimbra is beautifully situated on the Mondego river, about 120 miles from Lisbon; but the streets, as in other old Portu- guese towns, are crowded, dirty, and very steep. It has been called the Athens of Portugal, from its university, which contains 18 colleges, with 40 professors, and a large number of students. Population, 15,000. St. Ubes, or Setubal, is a considerable sea-port, south of the Tagus: it exports wine, oil, oranges, and salt; of the last, 100,000 tons are made here annually : population, 15,000. Braga, near the northern boundary, has some fine Roman ruins : population, 14,000. Elvas, in the eastern part of the kingdom, is a strongly fortified town : population, 10,000. Evora, in the south, has many Roman remains, among which is a temple of Diana, now converted into public shambles : population, 10,000. GERMANY. Germany is an extensive country in the centre of Europe, which has long exercised a most important influence on the political affairs of that division of the earth. It comprehends the states forming the Germanic Confederation, and comprises a variety of territories strangely intermingled with each other. The whole region stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Gulf of Venice on the one hand, and on the other from the river Rhine to the Oder; being 600 miles in length, and 550 in breadth, including an area of 251,000 square miles. The number of German princes, temporal and ecclesiastical, was once upwards of 300, each independent in the administration of his own territory ; but subject to the emperor as head of the empire, and to certain laws enacted at different times, for the common advantage. Before the French revolution, Germany comprehended nine great divisions, called circles ; but by the treaty of Vienna in 1815, it was divided into 39 distinct states. The German territories now comprise about one-third part of the empire of Austria ; the greatest part of Prussia ; Holstein and Lauenburg, belonging to Denmark ; Luxemburg, belonging to 328 EUROPE. the Netherlands ; the kingdoms of Hanover, Bavaria, Wirtem- berg, and Saxony; with 27 smaller independent states, governed by native German princes ; and four free cities. These form the union styled the Germanic Confederation, the object of which is to provide for mutual safety and defence. Each state is independent within its own territory, but for general pur- poses the whole is governed by the Diet of Germany, a body composed of plenipotentiaries and deputies from the different states. The northern parts of Germany are low and level, while the central and southern districts are traversed by several consider- able ranges of mountains : the principal of these are the Hartz, Erzegeberg, Riesengeberg, Bohmer-Wald, and the Alps. This country is intersected by numerous rivers, which afford great advantages for internal commerce. Its principal streams, the Danube, Rhine, Elbe, Oder, and Weser, rank amongst the most important in Europe. The canals are comparatively few : the principal are the canal of Kiel, joining the Baltic to the North Sea ; the canal of Travemunde, extending from Lubeck to Ham- burg, and some others, chiefly in the Prussian states. The climate in the north of Germany is rather severe ; in the south mild, and generally healthful, except in the marshy districts on the coasts of the North Sea. The soil of this country is very various ; sandy plains and barren heaths abound in the north- east ; swamps and marshes in the north-west ; but large portions of the interior and south-western parts are uncommonly fertile. Mining is one of the sources of wealth in which Germany maybe said to surpass every other country in Europe. Nowhere has the science been more studied, or brought to greater perfection. The principal mining districts are Styria and Carinthia, in Austria ; Silesia, in Prussia ; the Erzegeberg, in Saxony ; and the Hartz, in Hanover. The products are gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, iron, mercury, and other metals : salt and coal also abound, and the aggregate amount of the mineral wealth of the country is immense. Germany contains upwards of 1000 mineral springs and baths, of which the most celebrated are Carlsbad, in Bohe- mia ; Toplitz, in Austria ; Seltzer, in Nassau ; Pyrmont, in West- phalia ; and Aix la Chapelle. The products of the industry of this country, an extensive region cultivated by a laborious people, are of large amount. They consist of plain, solid, somewhat rough articles ; in exchange for which, are procured the finer manufactures of England and France, and the delicate productions of southern Europe and the Indies. GERMANY. 329 Agriculture, throughout the whole of Germany, is carried on with great industry, though not with the same skill and intelli- gence as in Great Britain. The improved processes of this import- ant art, however, are making their way, though slowly. The cultivators are mostly little farmers or small proprietors, who till the ground with their own hands. Rye is the grain most extensively cultivated, and forms the food of the great body of the people. Wheat is also raised largely, especially in Bavaria and Austria, and buckwheat on the sandy tracts of northern Germany. Barley and oats are gene- ral, and Indian-corn abounds in Moravia and the extreme south- ern districts. Peas, beans, lentils, and other kinds of pulse, are produced in great abundance ; also, flax, hops, rape-seed, &c. Wine is a German production ; all the southern districts, as far as 51 degrees north, produce it, but only some of the Rhenish wines are in much request abroad. The commerce of Germany, though extensive, is not equal to that which formerly existed. She was, after Italy, the first Eu- ropean country in which commerce revived ; and the Hanseatic league once engrossed the whole trade of the north, but in recent times Germany has been outstripped by Holland, by Britain, and even by France. The shipping is chiefly confined to Hamburg, Lubec, and Bremen, the remnant of the Hanse towns, which still enjoy many of their old privileges in the ports of Europe, and whose flag is seen in every part of that division of the earth. A commercial league has lately been formed by the principal states of Northern and Central Germany, for the purpose of relieving internal commerce from the restrictions to which it has been subjected by the numerous customs-barriers of the different powers. The parties to this league agree to the suppression of all duties upon the internal commerce between their respective territories, and establish a common frontier, with a common rate of duties, in reference to their external commerce with other states. Prussia, Bavaria, Baden, Wirtemberg, Saxony, the Saxon duchies, the Hesses, Nassau, Frankfort, and several other small states, have already joined this league, which thus comprises a population of about 20,500,000. The exports of Germany include grain of various kinds ; salted provisions, especially hams ; live cattle and hogs ; timber, iron and steel ; lead, salt, linen, woollens, porcelain, glass, ashes, &c. In return for these essential articles, she receives nearly all the luxuries of life ; the manufactures of Britain, the wines of France, the sweets and aromatics of the east and west ; also dye-stuffs, and all the cotton and silk which are necessary for her own manufactures. The internal commerce of Germany, notwith- 28 * 431 330 EUROPE. standing all the obstructions under which it labours, is extensive. It owes this advantage chiefly to its noble rivers, on which ves- sels of large burden can pass nearly from one extremity to the other. Though the manufactures of Germany are now less extensive than those of Great Britain or France, yet they are still highly important. The chief fabric is linen, which is produced to some extent in Prussia, Hanover, Brunswick, &c. ; the others are wool- lens, printed cottons, manufactures of leather, porcelain, glass, refined sugar, musical and mathematical instruments, clocks, watches, toys, cutlery, &c. Germany has no great capital, like France and England, in which the wealth, power, and civilization of the state, are as it were concentrated. On the other hand, no country in Europe has so many cities and towns of from 3000 to 5000 inhabitants. The people of this region consist of two distinct races, the Ger- man and Sclavonian. The Germans are estimated at 30,000,000, and are divided into two families, High and Low German, dis- tinguished less by physical differences than by character, and particularly by the mode of pronouncing the language. The Sclavonic race is reckoned at 6,000,000. They are much in- ferior in civilization to the Germans, but are a laborious people, formerly almost all in a state of bondage, but now mostly eman- cipated, and many of them possessing considerable wealth. Be- sides these leading races, there are a number of Italians, some French, and from 250,000 to 300,000 Jews, comprising altoge- ther a population of 37,000,000. The Germans are distinguished for their attainments in litera- ture, science, and the arts. They are particularly eminent in biblical and critical learning, statistics, political economy, ma- thematics, astronomy, chemistry, and mechanics. No part of Europe probably can boast so many learned men and celebrated authors. This country is famous for its universities, which are much resorted to from other countries. The number before 1802 was 36 ; since that period several have been suppressed, and the pre- sent number is 20. Of those which stand in the first rank are Gottingen, Halle, Jena, Leipsic, and Heidelburg. Vienna is the most eminent as a medical school. In about 150 towns there are libraries open to the public, many of which are very large; besides the universities, there are nume- rous seminaries, styled gymnasia, many of which are celebrated schools of learning. The German language is spoken by a greater population than any other in Europe, except perhaps the French. It is derived from the Teutonic, and is divided into a GERMANY. 331 number of dialects. The Saxon dialect, called High German, is the language of books and genteel society. In regard to religion, Germany has been the scene of the greatest revolution in modern times. In its bosom the reforma- tion sprung up ; and within it were carried on the most formida- ble of the conflicts between the old and the new system. Else- where, one or the other finally prevailed ; but in Germany they have settled into nearly an equal division of the country. Speak- ing generally, the whole south may be called Catholic ; the whole north, Protestant. Of the greater states, the Catholic religion rules in Austria and Bavaria ; the Protestant, in Prussia, Saxony, Hesse, and Hanover. A complete toleration is now everywhere granted to every profession. The Catholics still hold the majority, being reckoned at 20,000,000 ; the Protestants, 16,000,000 ; Jews, Moravians, Mennonites, Hussites, and some smaller sects, make up the rest of the population. The Germans are generally a frugal, industrious, and perse- vering race. The habits of the mass of the people are simple and domestic, and honesty and fidelity usually distinguish their transactions. To their ingenuity the world is indebted for the important inventions of printing, watches, gunpowder, and litho- graphy, besides a number of less important matters. The lower classes are deficient in enterprise, and adhere closely to ancient habits and usages ; and in some quarters they are still very ignorant, and adverse to improvement. All ranks are much attached to music, and the German composers have produced works of the highest order in that delightful science. Dancing is the principal national amusement, and in the form of the waltz, is pursued with enthusiastic ardour. Society in Germany is very distinctly separated into the two great classes of the nobility and common people : the former are further divided into the higher and lower nobility ; and also into another distinction, that of the old nobility, who must count at least 16 noble ancestors, and of the young or short nobility. The character of the Germans is very military, a quality derived in part from their warlike ancestors, and partly from their country having been the theatre of nearly all the great contests which have been waged in Europe. The music of military bands, and the measured tread of stately soldiers, are common sounds in the cities of Germany. The ordinary concerns of the Germanic Confederation are entrusted to a federal diet of 17 members, and the making or altering of its fundamental laws, to a general assembly of 70 members, from the various states or members of the confedera- 2M 433 332 EUROPE. tion. The sessions are held at Frankfort on the Mayne. The members are equal in rights, but Austria presides. The following table gives a general view of the states of the Germanic Confederacy, with their extent and population. GERMAN STATES. States. Austria Prussia Bavaria Wirtemberg . Hanover Saxony Baden Hesse-Cassel Hesse-Darmstadt Hesse-Homburg Holstein, &c. (To Den mark) Luxemburg (To Belgium) Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Meiningen-Hilburg ha u si- ii Brunswick Mecklenburg-Schwerin Mecklenburg-Strelitz . . , Oldenburg , Sq. M. | Population. 78,451 11,840,000 70,549 10,160,000 31, 'Jit? 4,080,000 7,770 1,600.000 14,720 1,600,000 7,200 1,500,000 5,800 1,200,000 4,352 650,000 3,600 740,000 138 24,000 3,691 410,000 2,347 305,000 1,408 232,000 1,024 156,000 491 114,000 875 130,000 1,514 250,000 4,755 450.000 768 84,000 2,752 252,000 States. Nassau Anhalt Dessau Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Cothen Schwartzburg — Sonders hausen Schwartzburg-Rudolstadt Hohenzollern-Hechingen Hohenzollern-.Sigmarin- gen Lichtenstein Reuss-Greitz Reuss-Schleitz Lippe-Detmold Lippe-Schauenburg .... Waldeck Kniphausen Frankfort Lubec Bremen Hamburg Sq. M. ] Population. 2,164 356,000 363 60,000 340 331 384 448 117 426 53 153 153 m 213 459 17 113 122 72 134 40,000 36,000 52,000 60,000 16,000 39,000 6,000 25,000 59,000 78,000 26,000 56,000 3,000 55,000 47,000 59,000 150,000 251,000 37,000,000 AUSTRIA. The Empire of Austria is not only the first power in Germany, but has long ranked among the most important of the European States. Nearly one-third of its territories are in Germany ; the residue comprise Hungary, with its appendages, Galicia, formerly a part of Poland, and the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom in Italy, together with Dalmatia, once a part of the territory belonging to the Republic of Venice. The Austrian monarchy is bounded on the east by Turkey and Russia ; on the north by Prussia and Saxony; on the west chiefly by Bavaria, Switzerland, and Sar- dinia ; and on the south by Tuscany and the States of the Church. The whole territory amounts to 259,000 square miles. The face of the country is various : Styria, the Tyrol, and Illyria, are mountainous ; Bohemia and Moravia are encompassed by mountains, and the Carpathian range extends along the north- east of Hungary. A large portion of the soil is fertile, especially in Lombardy and Hungary. The Danube flows through the whole extent of the empire, first from west to east and then from north to south. The other principal rivers are the Dniester, Theiss, Save, Drave, Inn, Po, and Adige. The lakes are the 434 GERMANY. 333 Platten-see and Neusidler-see, in Hungary ; Traun-see and Atter- see, in Austria Proper ; Cirknitz, in Carinthia ; and Garda and Como, in Lombard}'. This country has but a small extent of sea-coast and a limited commerce. It has no foreign colonies ; but the duchies of Tus- cany, Parma, and Modena, in Italy, are dependent states. Trieste is the principal sea-port, and displays considerable commercial activity. Fiume is the inlet to the Hungarian provinces, and Ragusa to Dalmatia. The inland trade of the empire is active and flourishing. The Austrian territories abound in various articles both of necessity and luxury ; grain of various kinds, wine, cattle, horses, &c. The imports consist mostly of raw materials, as wool, cotton, raw silk, rice, oil, drugs, spices, &c. The manufactures are chiefly of thread, cotton, linen, lace, silk-stuffs, stockings, spirituous liquors, wrought-iron, steel and brass ; glass, porce- lain, earthenware, &c. The chief mineral productions are gold, copper, iron, quick- silver or mercury, and salt. The salt-mines of Wieliczca in Galicia have been worked for 600 years, but still appear inex- haustible. They are 1500 feet in depth, and have a great extent under ground, comprising numerous long galleries, halls, chapels, &c. The quicksilver mines of Idria are the richest of the kind in Europe, and yield near a million pounds of quicksilver and cinnabar annually. The established religion is the Roman Catholic, but general toleration is granted ; and members of the Protestant and Greek churches are numerous in Hungary, Transylvania, and Sclavo- nia, where they enjoy considerable privileges. The government is a monarchy, nearly absolute, except in some of the states, particularly Hungary and Transylvania, where it is limited by constitutional provisions. The principal univerities are those of Vienna, Prague, Pest, Lemberg, Padua, and Pavia. Academies and gymnasiums are numerous. Though Austria can boast of some distinguished names, yet in regard to literature she is greatly behind the north of Germany. The national educa- tion is extremely deficient, and there are many restraints upon the liberty of the press and freedom of speech. The Austrian army is large, amounting to upward of 270,000 men, and though respectable for its discipline, has not generally ranked high for efficiency. In time of war the empire can main- tain a military force of 615,000 men. Austria possesses no ad- vantages for a navy, yet an armament of about 30 vessels of war has been organized in the Gulf of Venice, and an armed flotilla is maintained on the Danube. 435 331 EUROPE. The inhabitants of the empire belong to several distinct nations, comprising Germans, Poles, Hungarians, Italians, Jews, Gypsies, &c. ; besides several less prominent races, as the Tcheches or Bohemians, the Slawakes in Moravia and Hungary, the Wends in Styria, Illyria, and the Tyrol, with the Croats, Dalmatians, and Morlachians, in the southern provinces. The following statement exhibits the areas in square miles and the population of the different divisions of the Austrian empire : j ( Austria •s | Styria « j Illyria 1 1 Tyrol | j Bohemia (.Moravia Hungary Total of Hereditary States Sq. M. Population. 14,992 2,031,136 8,531 839,128 13,130 1,138,506 11,704 776,390 20,872 3,748,361 1 1,804 1,994,850 78,774 9,659,686 159,823 20,188,057 Croatia Sclavonia Transylvania Dalmatia Galicia Military Frontier ... Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom Total of the Empire , Sq. M. Population. 3,756 614,000 3,678 348,000 22,376 2,000,000 6,498 329,727 32,000 4,297,901 12,335 923,315 18,534 4,300,000 259,000 33,000,000 The German territories belonging to the Austrian Emperor consist of the archduchy of Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Styria, Illyria, and Tyrol: these, with Hungary, are known under the appellation of the Hereditary States. Vienna is the capital of the Austrian empire, and the largest city in Germany. It stands on the south side of the Danube, and consists of two distinct parts, the city and the suburbs, which are strongly contrasted in their appearance. The city is meanly built, with narrow, irregular streets, and is surrounded with walls and bastions. The suburbs consist of wide streets, elegant buildings, and beautiful gardens. The Prater is a fine level park, on an island in the Danube, forming a delightful public walk, which is fre- quented by all ranks of people in the summer. The cathedral of St. Stephen is an immense Gothic edifice, with a spire 452 feet high : the painted glass of its windows renders the interior gloomy. The buildings are generally of freestone. There are many excellent libraries, of which the Imperial is the largest, and contains above 300,000 volumes. There are 50 churches, 17 monasteries and nunneries, 5 theatres, and a garrison of 10 or 12,000 men. The citizens are described as a good-natured, hospitable people, much devoted to pleasure and luxurious living. Population, 300,000. Salzburg, in Lower Austria, is situated on a branch of the Inn, in a mountainous country. The neighbourhood produces great quantities of salt. Population, 13,000. Lintz, the capital of Upper Austria, situated on the Danube, is AUSTRIA. View in Vienna, the Capital of the Austrian Empire. Square of the Imperial Palace, Vienna. Cathedral of St. Stephen. Cathedral of St. Lorenzo. The Cathedrals of St. Stephen and St. Lorenzo, in Vienna, arc fine large Gothic structures. The first datea from the year 1270; its tower is 45J feet high. Monuments o princes, generals, high dignitaries of the church, interesting pictures, and 38 altars, adorn its interior. 2 M * 437 EUROPE. View in Prague, Bohemia. View in Salsburg, Lower Austria. Buda and Pest, Hungary. Buda and Pest are situated, the first on the west, and the other on the east hank of the Danube. They are often considered as one town, being joined together by a bridge or boats. Buda consists of an extensive fortress built on a high rock, with a number of streets on the bank of the river. Pest is situated on a plain, and is the largest of the two towns 433 GERMANY. 335 a well-built city ; and its fine square, considerable castle, three monasteries, and bridge of 800 feet long over the Danube, give it a very handsome appearance. It has a considerable imperial manufactory of woollen. Population, 20,000. Gratz, the capital of Styria, is situated on the river Mur, and is a handsome, bustling and prosperous town. It contains many houses which may be called palaces, and ranks third in the here- ditary dominions. Population, 40,000. Its old walls and castle, situated on a high rock, no longer suffice to render it a fortified city. The church of St. Catherine and the monument of Fer- dinand II. are its chief ornaments. Its lyceum has twenty-six professors, and a library of 70,000 volumes. Laybach, the capital of lllyria, stands about 30 miles from the Gulf of Venice ; it is famous for a congress of European sove- reigns held here in 1820. Population, 12,000. Trieste, seated at the head of the Gulf of Venice, is the greatest sea-port of the Austrian empire : its trade is very active, and extends to the north of Europe and the United States. Its har- bour is large and safe. Most of the European nations have con- suls here. Population, 50,000. Innspruck, the capital of the Tyrol, is situated on the river Inn ; it is an ancient and important town, with 12,000 inhabitants. Hall, farther down on the same stream, flourishes by its large mines of salt. Trent, on the Adige, and near the borders of Italy, is a fine old city, celebrated for the ecclesiastical council held there in 1545-1562, which had so signal an influence on the political destinies of Europe. Roveredo and Botzen are both considerable towns. Prague, the capital of Bohemia, is a well-built ana flourishing city, situated on the Moldau, over which is an elegant bridge. Its university is the oldest in Germany. Here are 100 churches and chapels, and as many palaces, among which is that of Wal- lenstein, celebrated by the pen of Schiller : the stable of this palace is a magnificent edifice, with stalls for 36 horses, divided by marble pillars and furnished with racks of steel and marble mangers. The city has some manufactures, and the neighbour- hood is fertile and pleasant. Population, 121,000. Brunn and Olmutz, in Moravia, are both strong fortresses, and barriers of the empire. The former, containing 38,000 inhabit- ants, is the seat of government, and has extensive manufactures of fine woollens. Olmutz is a great market for Russian and Hungarian cattle. Iglau, an open town, has considerable manu- factures, and is the greatest thoroughfare in the country. The two last places have each 12,000 inhabitants. Buda, the capital of the kingdom of Hungary, lies on the right 336 EUROPE. bank of the Danube. It is the residence of the palatine, and seat of the supreme government. Population, 38,000. Pest, the finest town in the kingdom, stands on the left bank of the Danube, and is united with Buda by a bridge of boats. It has a university with four faculties, and a library of 50,000 volumes. Population, 60,000. Presburg, on the north bank of the Danube, contains a Catholic college and a Lutheran gymnasium. Popu- lation, 40,000. Debretzin, with 42,000 inhabitants, is, next to Pest, the most important commercial town of Hungary. Szege- din, at the junction of the Theiss with its tributary, the Maros, is a large and strong city, with 30,000 inhabitants, and a flourish- ing trade in wool and tobacco. Schemnitz, Kremnitz, and Neusohl, are the principal mining towns in Hungary. Schemnitz was founded in 745, and has a population of 22,000 inhabitants, one half of whom are em- ployed in the mines. Kremnitz and Neusohl have each about 10,0U0 inhabitants, the majority of whom are also employed in mining operations. Raab, or Gyoi, at the confluence of the Raab and the Danube, contains 16,000 inhabitants. Kaschau, in the north-east part of Hungary, near the Carpathian mountains, contains 6000 inhabitants. Temeswar is situated on a canal which connects it with the Danube, and is finely built and strongly fortified. Population, 12,000. Tokay, a small town of 5000 inhabitants, situated on the Theiss, is celebrated for its wine, being esteemed the best in Hungary. Mishkoltz has an active trade in grain, wine, and leather ; in its vicinity are numerous forges, glass-works, and paper-mills. Population, 30,000. Theresienstadt and Ketskemet, both situ- ated between the Danube and Theiss, are large towns with ex- tensive manufactures of various kinds : the former has 40,000, and the latter 34,000 inhabitants. Hermanstadt, the capital of Transylvania, is surrounded with a double wall, and contains 18,000 inhabitants, an extensive Lu- theran seminary, two public libraries comprising 20,000 volumes, a picture-gallery, and a national museum. Cronstadt, on the most eastern frontier, is a*still larger place, containing 27,000 inhabitants, with various manufactures, and enjoying an extensive intercourse with Turkey. Clausenburg, 80 miles north of Her manstadt, is a large open town, containing three seminaries Catholic, Lutheran, and Unitarian, attended by about 1200 stu dents. Population, 20,000. Carlsburg is a smaller town, de fended by a strong castle, on a hill above the Maros. Popula tion, 6,000. Lemberg, the capital of Galicia, is an important city, and car- ries on an extensive commerce. Its interior streets are narrow GERMANY. Krcmnitz, Hungary. Kremnitz, the oldest mining town in Hungary, is noted for its gold and silver mines. The com called Kremnitz ducat has long been well known for its purity. Much gold and silver from these mines is coined in Vienna. ill- - Roman Amphitheatre, at Pola, in Illyria, Southern Austria. Pola, the ancient Pietas Julia, forty-four miles south of Trieste, contains several interesting antiquities, the principal of which is a large Roman amphitheatre in good preservation. It is 366 feet by 2i)2, and is estimated to have been sufficiently spacious to contain 18,000 persons. View of Spalatro, Dalmatia. Spalatro, on the Gulf of Venice, is an ancient town, with lofty houses and narrow irregulaj streets. Here are the remains of a superb palace of the Roman Emperor Dioctestau. 441 EUROPE Hungarian Farm- Yard. View in Augsburg, Bavaria. Cathedral at Ulm, in Wirtember Cathedral at Ralisbon. in Bavaria. Tbe Cathedral at Ulm and that at Ratisbon are boih ancient and well-known Gothic struc- tures. Of the first, the interior is in a noble and imposing style of architecture ; it is adorned with many pictures of the old German masters. 442 GERMANY. 337 and old-fashioned, yet it has four handsome suburbs. It contains 52,000 inhabitants, 20,000 of whom are Jews. The frontier town of Brody contains 22,000 inhabitants, of whom more than a third are Jews. The other towns- of Galicia contain only about 5000 or 6000 inhabitants each. Sambor and Drohobits, on the Dniester, have some manufactures and trade, chiefly car- ried on by Jews. Tarnopol, farther to the north, is tolerably flourishing. Bochnia and Wieliczca, entirely supported by the salt-mines, contain each about 6000 inhabitants. Zara, the capital of Dalmatia, has a good harbour, and is strongly fortified. Population, 7000. Ragusa, situated in the most southern extremity of the Austrian dominions, contains 10,000 inhabitants. It was once the capital of a small republic; and has suffered greatly from earthquakes PRUSSIA. Prussia was first erected into a kingdom in 1701, and has at different times acquired large accessions of territory, and, from a small and feeble state, has become one of the most powerful mo- narchies of Europe. The kingdom of Prussia comprises two great political divisions, 1st, Prussia Proper, the original territory of the monarchy, and the grand duchy of Posen, formerly be- longing to Poland ; 2d, the German provinces of Brandenburg. Pomerania, Silesia, Saxony, Westphalia, and the Rhine : the two last form a detached western portion, separated from the rest by the dominions of Hanover, Hesse, and Saxony. Prussia has also in Switzerland the small principality of Neufchatel. The eastern division of the kingdom contains 88,000, and the western 19,000 square miles ; total, 107,000. The population amounted in 1740 to 3,000,000 ; in 1790, to 6,000,000, and at present is estimated at 14,000,000. A level surface predominates throughout the Prussian States ; the country abounds in marshes, lakes, and rivers of slow cur- rent. The great mountain tracts, the Hartz, in Saxony, and the Riesengeberg, a branch of the Sudetic chain, in Silesia, are near the outskirts of the kingdom. Prussia is a favoured country with regard to water communi- cation in its interior. The Baltic forms a number of bays, or rather lakes, along its coast ; as the Frische, Curische, Putzig, and Stettin Hafs ; and there is a number of navigable rivers, of which the principal are the Niemen, Pregel, Vistula, Oder, Elbe, Weser, and the Rhine. There are several useful canals, and 29 *» 338 EUROPE. many small lakes. The principal islands are Rugen and Use- dom, in the Baltic Sea. The soil in some parts is good, but in general it is by no means fertile, being often sandy and covered with heath. The produc- tions are wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, flax, hemp, hops, cattle, sheep, horses, &c. The mineral productions are iron, copper, lead, vitriol, alum, salt, coal, and especially amber, of which 200 tons are annually collected. The commerce of Prussia, though conducted with some advan- tages, both maritime and inland, is in an early stage. The ex- ports consist of the manufactures of the country, grain, wool, timber, pitch, tar, potash, linseed, cattle, horses, &c. The amount is stated at 22 million, and the imports at about 18 million dol- lars. Prussia, though more an agricultural than a trading country, has districts of great activity in manufactures. Silesia and West- phalia have long been noted for their linens. Other fabrics are woollens, hardware, leather, earthenware, glass, paper, tobacco, &c. Cotton-printing works have lately been introduced, and orewing is a branch of great importance. The annual value of the manufactures is about 35 million dollars. The government of Prussia is a military monarchy, nearly absolute. There are now assemblies for each province in the kingdom; but their powers are extremely limited, and their de- bates secret. The religion of the royal family is the Calvinistic ; but there is no restriction in that respect ; all sects being tolerated, and on an equal footing. In 1817, the Lutherans and Calvinists of Prussia formed a union under the name of Evangelical Christians, and they constitute more than one-half the population ; the remainder comprises Catholics, Jews, Moravians, Baptists, Unitarians, &c. The universities are those of Berlin, Halle, Breslaw, Konigs- berg, Bonn, and Griefswalde. Gymnasiums and other institutions are numerous, and there are upwards of 22,000 common or primary schools, to which all subjects are required by law to send their children after they reach a certain age. There is hardly any country in the world, where the system of public education is so extensive and regularly organized. Prussia is famous for the military discipline of its army. The total number of troops under arms in 1815, exceeded 200,000. They have been since somewhat reduced, and at present amount to about 140,000 men. They are recruited, by conscription, from the class of young men between twenty and twenty-five years of age, who are all liable to be called upon for three years' service. The Landwehr consists of all the able-bodied men un- GERMANY. 339 der forty years, if not in the army, and may be called into ser- vice in the event of a war. The Landsturm are those above forty, able to carry arms. The Landvvehr and Landsturm amount to 407,000 ; making the whole war establishment 547,000 men. Berlin, the capital of Prussia, stands on the river Spree ; with its suburbs it is 12 miles in circumference, and is the finest city in Germany. Its streets are generally broad and straight, adorned with spacious and regular squares and handsome houses built mostly of white freestone. The Linden-strasse or street, one of the handsomest in Europe, is planted with lime-trees, and its edi- fices comprise palaces, theatres, churches, &c, principally of an elegant and classical style of building. The royal palace is a superb structure containing many splendid apartments and the richest service of plate probably belonging to any sovereign in the world. Berlin comprises five separate towns or districts, one of which occupies an island formed by two branches of the Spree. The city is indebted for its chief embellishments to Frederick II., sur- named the Great, who is supposed to have expended annually for a number of years not less than 400,000 dollars in improve- ments. This city has a university, 5 colleges, 7 gymnasia, and 250 other seminaries of learning, with various charitable insti- tutions. The royal library contains 160,000 volumes. It is the centre of learning for the north of Germany, and has manufac- tures of silk, cotton, woollen, porcelain, jewelry, &c. Popula- tion, 258,000. Potsdam, on the Havel, is one of the most elegant cities in the Prussian dominions. It contains a splendid royal palace, and many fine architectural embellishments. It has also a cannon foundery, and manufactures of silk and velvets. Population, 34,000. On a hill in the neighbourhood, stands the palace of Sans Souci, erected by Frederick the Great. Stettin, the capital of Pomerania, near the mouth of the Oder, has a great trade. Population, 25,000. Breslaw, the capital of Silesia, and the second city in Prussia, stands on the Oder. It is well built, strongly fortified, and con- tains a flourishing university. It has manufactures of linen, and an extensive internal trade. Population, 88,000. Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony, on the Elbe, is a handsome city, with a noble palace, an arsenal, and a magnificent gothic cathedral. It has manufactures of silk, woollen, cotton, linen, &c. Population, 52,000. Munster, the capital of Westphalia, is situated not far from the Ems, and was once the seat of a sovereign bishop. The peace of Munster, concluded here in 1648, forms one of the great eras 340 EUROPE. of European history. Population, 20,000. Cologne, on the Rhine, is one of the oldest cities in Europe. It has a great number of ancient churches. The cathedral is an immense gothic pile, founded in the 13th century, but yet unfinished. The city has a decayed look. It has manufactures of silk, linen, woollen, lace, and thread, and is celebrated for its Cologne water, of which it exports annually 80,000 or 90,000 flasks. Population, 71,000. Coblentz, at the junction of the Rhine and Moselle, is a well- built city, with considerable trade, and some manufactures. It has a bridge of boats over the Rhine, and one of stone over the Moselle. Population, 25,000. Posen, on a branch of the Oder, is a compactly built and strongly fortified town. Population, 25,000. Konigsberg, on the Pregel, is seven miles in circumference, and contains many elegant buildings, and an university of high repu- tation. Part of the town stands on an island in the river. It is a place of considerable trade. Population, 70,000. Dantzic, on the Vistula, near the southern shore of the Baltic, has a good harbour, and was once the chief town of the Hanseatic league. The houses are high and the streets crooked. It has much commerce and internal trade, exporting hemp, flax, linen, timber, potash, &c. It has a great annual fair in July and Au- gust, which lasts six weeks. Population, including the military, 65,000. Aix-la-Chapelle, once the capital of the German empire, is fa- mous for its warm baths. Many parts of it are elegant, and it has manufactures of cloth and needles. Population, 37,000. Dusseldorf, on the Rhine, is a handsome modern city, with con- siderable trade and manufactures. Population, 27,000. Halle is a flourishing city on the Saale. It is celebrated for its univer- sity and literary institutions. It has also many manufactures. Population, 20,000. Frankfort, on the Oder, is a rich and hand- some town. Its three great annual fairs, and manufactures of woollen, silk, and leather, make it a place of considerable trade. Population, 18,000. BAVARIA. This kingdom is bounded north by Hesse Cassel, the Saxon duchies, and the kingdom of Saxony; east and south by Austria, and west by Wirtemberg and Hesse Darmstadt. It lies in two distinct territories, of which the smallest, separated about forty miles from the other, is situated on the west side of the Rhine. It contains 31,997 square miles, and 4,080,000 inhabitants. PRUSSIA, Cologne, on the Rhine, in the western part of Prussia. Cologne is one or the most iincient towns in Germany. It was the Colonia Agrippina of the Romans ; and was built by Agrippina, the wife of tlio Emperor Claudius. EUROPE. .__ «£r site^S 1 Ehrenbreitstein, on the Rhine, on a rock 800 feet above the level of the river. This fortress is one of the strongest in the world. It is a modern work, erected on the site of that destroyed by the French at the close of the last century. At the bottom of the rock is the town of Thai Ehrenbreitstein, opposite to which stands Coblentz. lUllllllft Dusseldorf, on the Rhine, in the western part of Prussia. View in Dresden, the Capital of Saxony. il„ci a i . i_ ft View of Mentz, in Hesse Darmstadt. GERMANY. 341 Bavaria is watered chiefly by the Danube and its numerous head streams : the northern part is traversed by the Mayne, and the western by the Rhine. The Lake of Constance lies partly within this territory, and there are some smaller lakes. Much of the soil is unproductive from its ruggedness and marshy quality, and a considerable part of the country is covered with lbrests. The mountains contain quarries of marble, and mines of quicksilver, of iron, and copper. Wine, brandy, and beer are made to some extent. Fruit is raised in great quantities. Hops and flax are likewise cultivated. There are some manufactures of woollen cloth, but this branch of industry is much less active than formerly. Bavaria is a constitutional monarchy with a national assembly, which consists of two chambers. Every citizen enjoys perfect equality in the eyes of the law. The army amounts to 53,898 men. Education has been of late years very generally diffused, and the institutions of learning are in a flourishing condition. The Catholic is the established religion of the country. Munich, the capital, is seated in a plain on the river Iser. It is a well-built city, and many of its edifices are very splendid. It has an university, a library of 400,000 volumes, and a gallery of paintings ranked among the finest in Europe. Population, 80,000. Ratisbon, on the Danube, is built in the form of a cres- cent, and is strongly fortified. Population, 26,000. Augsburg was founded by the Romans in the reign of Augus- tus. The public buildings are magnificent, and the city is one of the handsomest in Germany. Population, 32,000. Nurem- burg has large manufactures of various kinds. It is famous for its toys, which afford amusement to children in almost all quar- ters of the world. Watches, brass, and globes were invented in this city. Population, 40,000. Bamberg is a fine city, with a magnificent castle. Population, 20,000. Wurtzburg, on the Mayne, has a large trade in wine. Population, 20,000. Furth, Bayreuth, Amberg and Passau, are important towns. Deux Ponts or Zweybrucken, (i. e. two bridges,) is noted for its valuable editions of the Greek and Latin classics, formerly pub- lished here, called the Bipont editions from the word Bipons, the Latin name of the town. Spire, situated on the west bank of the Rhine, contains 8000 inhabitants. This city was frequently the seat of the German diet; and here, in 1529 the Reformers enter- ed a protest against certain proceedings of the emperor, which procured for them the name of Protestants. Both these cities are situated in that division of Bavaria which lies west of the river Rhine. 29* 2N* 449 342 EUROPE. KINGDOM OF SAXONY. This kingdom is bounded north by Prussia, south by Austria, south-west by Bavaria, and west by Reuss and Saxe-Altenburg. It contains 7200 square miles, and 1,500,000 inhabitants. It is watered by the Elbe, Mulda, and some other streams. Saxony has lost its principal agricultural provinces, and little is raised in the kingdom except grain. There are upwards of two millions of sheep in this state, the wool of which is largely ex- ported, and is highly esteemed for its fineness. Manufactures are active, and employ three-fifths of the population. Trade is flour- ishing, and is much facilitated by the Elbe and its tributaries. Saxony is a constitutional monarchy. The army amounts to about 10,000 men. The electorate of Saxony was raised to a kingdom in 1806, but its limits were much reduced by the con- gress of Vienna, in 1815. Dresden, the capital, stands on the Elbe. It is elegantly built; the houses are all of freestone, and nearly all of the same height. It has numerous palaces and public buildings, beautiful in archi- tecture, and magnificently furnished. This city is called the Ger- man Florence : it has a gallery of paintings, inestimable in value; many establishments for the fine arts and for education; a royal library with above 250,000 volumes, and three other public libra- ries. The city is strongly fortified. Population, 70,000. Leipzic is one of the most important cities in Germany. Here are held, yearly, three great fairs, which draw together a vast concourse of purchasers. The books sold at these fairs are valued at 1,000,000 dollars annually, and the other commodities at about 16,000,000. Various manufactures are carried on here ; in par- ticular, those of gold, silver, silk, woollen, and linen yarn. Leip- zic has been the scene of many sieges and battles : the two most memorable are the victory gained by Gustavus Adolphus of Swe- den, over the Austrians, in 1641, and that of the allies, over Napoleon, in 1813. Population, 40,000. Chemnitz has large manufactures of cotton and woollen cloth, hosiery, and silk hand- kerchiefs. Population, 16,000. Freyberg, on a branch of the Mulda, is a famous mining town. It stands on a lofty site, and is completely undermined by galleries and caverns. Population, 12,000. Bautzen is celebrated for a bloody battle fought near it in 1813. Population, 12,000. Zittau is noted for its manufactures of linen, Plauen for its cotton and cotton-printing works, and Meissen for its porcelain. These three last towns have respec- tively 8000, 7000, and 5000 inhabitants. GERMANY. 343 KINGDOM OF HANOVER. This kingdom is bounded north by the North Sea, Holstein, and Mecklenburg; south by Prussia and Brunswick; and west by Holland. It contains 14,720 square miles, and 1,600,000 in- habitants. The Hartz mountains occupy a portion of territory in the south, detached from the main body of the kingdom ; other- wise the whole country is an immense plain, diversified here and there by sand-hills, sterile heaths, and barren moors. The Elbe washes the north-eastern boundary, and the Weser, Leine, Aller, and Ilmenau, flow through different parts of the country. The mineral products are various. Gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, zinc, marble, slate, lime-stone, coal, &c, are produced here. The mines of the Hartz are rich in silver, and afford annually 1,200,000 dollars, besides some gold. The salt-springs are also productive. This country does not raise sufficient grain for its own subsist- ence, and in some parts the land is so poor that numbers of the inhabitants leave the country annually for Holland, in quest of employment. The articles of cultivation are various sorts of grain, hops, flax, potatoes, &c. On the heaths of Luneberg, considera- ble numbers of bees are reared. The manufactures consist of linens from flax, coarse damasks, yarn, silver plate, gold and sil- ver lace, jewelry, amber, and saddlery. The internal trade is assisted by four annual fairs at Hanover, and two at Osnaburg, where are sold the commodities purchased at the fairs of Bruns- wick, Leipzic, and Frankfort. The chief exports are horses, cat- tle, lead, linens, salt, oats, barley, iron, copper, peat, timber, &c. Hanover is a constitutional monarchy, and has a general as- sembly consisting of two chambers. From the year 1814 until 1837, this kingdom was ruled by a governor general, appointed by the king of Great Britain ; but on the death of William IV. the crown of Hanover devolved on Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, his eldest brother, and fourth son of George III, late king of England. The army amounts to 13,000 men. Hanover, the capital, stands on the river Leine, in the midst of a sandy plain. It is built in the form of a half-moon, and has several handsome streets. Many of the houses are very ancient, and the date of their erection is always marked upon them. In those of 1565, each story projects over the one below it, and all are embellished with confused mixtures of medallions, Pagan dei- ties, warriors, and verses from the Psalms. The electoral palace is an elegant structure of hewn stone. The public library has 24,000 volumes. Population, 28,000. 3 44 EUROPE. Gottingen, on the Leine, is famous for its university, which has one of the best libraries in Europe, containing 300,000 volumes. Its botanic garden, observatory, collection of natural history, &c, are all highly valuable. Population, 9000. Emden, at the mouth of the Ems, is the chief sea-port of the kingdom. Its commerce is very active, and it employs 300 ves- sels in the herring fishery. Population, 12,000. Osnaburg, on a branch of the Ems, is a considerable seaport, famous for the manufacture of coarse linen called Osnaburgs. Population, 10, 000. Luneburg, on the Ilmenau, has an ancient castle, and considera- ble trade in salt and horses. Population, 12,000. KINGDOM OF WIRTEMBERG. This kingdom is bounded north-east by Bavaria ; south by the lake of Constance ; south-west, west, north-west, and north, by Baden. It contains 7770 square miles, and 1,600,000 inhabitants. It is watered by the Neckar and Danube, with their several head streams. The soil is very fertile. The minerals are silver, copper, iron, cobalt, sulphur, coal, limestone, &c. Warm baths and medicinal springs are numerous, and those of Heilbron are particularly celebrated. Wirtemberg produces great supplies of grain of different kinds. Flax and hemp are raised, and the mountains are covered with vines which produce a rich and wholesome wine called Neckar. Cherries are cultivated extensively in some parts, for manufac- turing the strong liquor called Kirschwasser. A singular, yet considerable branch of industry, is the feeding of snails, millions of which are fattened in the neighbourhood of Ulm during the autumn, and exported to Vienna and Italy. Manufactures are not numerous ; but some cloth and lace are made in a few of the towns ; and there are many large distilleries and oil-mills. The government is a constitutional monarchy. The legislative body consists of two chambers, one of the nobility, and the other electoral. The army amounts to 5943 men. Stuttgard, the capital, is situated near the Neckar. It is indif- ferently built, but contains a magnificent royal palace ; an acade- my for painting, sculpture, and architecture ; a large opera-house and theatre. It is surrounded by a wall, flanked with towers. The suburbs are large and handsome. The seminaries of learn- ing are numerous and respectable: the royal library has 200,000 volumes, and is remarkable for its collection of bibles, compris- ing 8250 copies, in sixty-eight languages. The inhabitants manu- GERMANY. 345 facture silks, hosiery, and ribands. Population, 31,000. Ulm, on the Danube, at the head of - navigation for large vessels, has the largest cathedral in Germany, with five spires, and an organ with 2952 pipes. It has some commerce by the river. Popu- lation, 12,000. Reutlingen with 10,000, and Tubingen with 7000 inhabitants, are the other chief towns. GRAND DUCHY OF BADEN. This territory is bounded north by Hesse Darmstadt, east by Wirtemberg, south by Switzerland, and west by France. It contains 5800 square miles and 1,200,000 inhabitants. Baden consists chiefly of an extensive fertile plain, bounded on the east by the mountainous range of the Black Forest. The Rhine washes the western border, and some of its tributaries pass through this country. The Danube rises in the southern part. The Lake of Constance forms a part of the south-eastern boundary- The soil is good and vegetation luxuriant. There are mines of silver and iron, and quarries of freestone and marble. Mineral springs and hot baths are very numerous. In the city of Baden there are 26 hot baths, some of which are scalding hot : all of them spring out of rocks of alum, salt, and sulphur. Grain and fruits of various kinds are cultivated, but wine is the chief product. The government is constitutional, and the sovereignty hereditary. The army amounts to 11,566 men. Carlsruhe, the capital, is three miles from the Rhine. It is one of the finest cities in Germany. All the streets diverge in straight lines from the castle in the centre. The houses are regularly built. The public library has 70,000 volumes. The gardens of the grand duke are very handsome. Population, 20,000. Manheim, on the Rhine, is regularly built in squares, and with houses all of the same height. It has a magnificent castle, 750 feet in length, and a library of 70,000 volumes. A bridge of boats here crosses the Rhine. Population, 21,000. Heidelberg, on the Neckar, is famous for an enormous tun containing 600 hogsheads. Its university is one of the oldest and most respectable in Germany- Population, 10,000. Frey- berg has a large Catholic university and a fine Gothic minster. Population, 10,000. Baden has a pleasant neighbourhood, and is much visited for the baths already mentioned. Population, 4,000. Constance, on the lake of that name, is surrounded by a rich wine district. Population, 5000. 346 EUROPE. HESSIAN STATES. The Hessian States comprise the Electorate of Hesse Cassel, the Grand Duchy of Hesse Darmstadt, and the Landgraviate of Hesse Homburg. They are situated on both sides of the river Mayne in several separate portions. These states have nomi- nally a limited, but in fact an arbitrary, government, and they are much less improved than some other parts of Germany. In Hesse Cassel, only the oldest sons of clergymen, and the sons of noblemen, counsellors, and public officers, are allowed to receive a liberal education. More attention has been paid of late to the instruction of the people, and seminaries have been established here, as in most parts of Germany, for the education of teachers, Agriculture and manufactures are generally in a low state. Hesse Cassel. — This state is surrounded by the territories of Hanover, the Saxon Duchies, and Hesse Darmstadt. It con- tains 4352 square miles and 650,000 inhabitants, most of whom are Protestants. It is to some extent a mountainous country, but is intersected by fertile valleys. Many parts of the moun- tains are covered with forests. Gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, alum, sulphur, coal, marble, &c. are found here, and salt springs and mineral waters abound. The agricultural productions are grain, fruit, wine, flax, and hemp. There are few manufactures except linen. The military force is 18,000 men, of whom 2000 are in regular pay, the rest are only called out during part of the year. Hesse no longer carries on that extensive traffic of mercenary troops which for- merly brought in large sums of money, and rendered the elector, perhaps, the richest individual in Europe. Cassel, the capital, stands on the river Fulda. It has several splendid public places and elegant buildings, with a library of 70,000 volumes. Population, 26,000. Marburg has a university and a library of 56,000 volumes. Population, 7000. Hanau is a regular and handsome town near the Mayne. Population, 12,000. Fulda has a population of 8000. Hesse Darmstadt. — This Grand Duchy consists of two distinct territories, lying north and south of the river Mayne. Its area is 3600 square miles, and the population 740,000. The country is mountainous, and is watered by the Rhine, Mayne, and other streams. The rearing of cattle is the chief branch of husbandry : the agricultural products are similar to those of the south of Germany. The army amounts to 8421 men. The prevailing religion is Lutheran. 451 GERMANY. 347 Darmstadt, the capital, is well built in the more modern part, and has a gymnasium with a library of 90,000 volumes. The town is fortified with very extensive works. In the neighbour- hood of the town is a magnetic rock. Population, 20,000. Mentz, or Mayence, on the Rhine, a little below its junction with the Mayne, pleasantly situated, but indifferently built : it has a bridge of boats over the Rhine, a library of 90,000 volumes, a fine museum of Roman antiquities, and a large cathedral. The fortifications are of great strength and extent, and are held by the Germanic Diet as one of the bulwarks of the empire. Here is still shown the house in which Faust and Guttemburg made their first essays in the art of printing. Population, 28,000. Worms, long an important town, exhibits only the ruins of its former state, and is almost choked with rubbish, the fruit of suc- cessive desolating wars. It has still the remains of some fine edifices, and a good fruit and corn market. Population, 7000. Offenbach, a thriving little town, is the only place in the duchy where manufactures flourish. Hesse Homburg. — This Landgraviate consists of two distinct parts, separated about 50 miles from each other. It contains 138 square miles and 24,000 inhabitants. Homburg, the chief town, has a population of 3000. The inhabitants are mostly Protestants. The Saxon States comprise the Grand Duchy of Saxe Weimar, and the Duchies of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Mein- ingen-Hildburghausen, and Saxe Altenburg. The government ot these states is more free than that of the Hessian states, and education is more attended to. Agriculture and mining, which form the chief employments of the people, are conducted with much skill ; and manufactures are somewhat advanced. The Prince of Saxe Weimar is distinguished as a patron of learning, and is the most liberal and popular of all the German princes, and was the first of them to give his subjects a representative constitution ; and every degree of freedom is allowed to the press that the great monarchs will permit. The Grand Duchy of Saxe Weimar contains 1408 square miles and 232,000 inhabitants. The chief rivers are the Saale and Werra. Grain, fruit, and flax, are cultivated. The govern- ment is a constitutional monarchy. The army consists of 2164 men. The prevailing religion is Lutheran. The constitution was established in 1816. Weimar, the capital, stands in a fertile valley watered by the Ilm. The city has a high literary reputation, and has been par- ticularly distinguished as the residence of Goethe, Schiller, and 348 EUROPE. other eminent writers. Weimar has a public library of 120,000 volumes, a drawing academy, and a theatre, considered one of the best in Germany. Population, 10,000. Jena, on the Saale, stands in a pleasant spot surrounded by hills; it is a walled and well-built town, with large suburbs, and contains a ducal palace, and a university which is the chief sup- port of the place. Population, 6000. Eisenach has consi- derable manufactures. Population, 9000. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha has been lately formed by the union of these two branches, on the extinction of that of Gotha. The city of Gotha, the capital, containing about 12,000 inhabitants, is the channel of a considerable trade connected with the fair of Leipzic. It is somewhat a learned city ; containing a library of 60,000 volumes, with valuable manuscripts. This territory has been raised to distinction by the good fortune of one of its younger members, now king of the Belgians. Square miles, 1024; popu- lation, 156,000. Saxe-Meiningen-Hildburghausen, situated principally on the Werra, is enriched by mines of salt at Salzungen, and by some of coal, iron, and cobalt. Area, 875 square miles ; population, 130,000. Its principal towns are Meiningen and Hildburg- hausen, with about 5000 inhabitants each. The first is the capital. The little duchy of Saxe-Altenburg consists of two detached portions, separated from each other by the territories of Saxe- Weimar and the Reuss princes, and has an area of 491 square miles, with 114,000 inhabitants. The capital, Altenburg, is a considerable town with about 12,000 inhabitants. Mecklenburg is a territory, situated in the north part of Ger- many, lying north-east of Hanover. It consists to a great extent of lake and forest, and the cultivation is comparatively rude, yet a variety of gentle hills gives it a picturesque aspect. It is divided into the two grand duchies of Schwerin and Strelitz. They are both limited monarchies, and the inhabitants are principally Lutherans. Mecklenburg Schwerin is the most extensive of the two states, and contains an area of 4755 square miles, with 450,000 inha- bitants. Schwerin, the capital, is a pretty considerable town, with a handsome palace, situated on a lake, and containing a good gallery of pictures. Population, 12,000. Rostock is a larger town, with 20,000 inhabitants, situated on the Baltic, and exporting grain to a considerable extent. Wismar, on the Bal- tic, has a good harbour and considerable trade. Population, 10,000. GERMANY. 349 Mecklenburg Strelitz lies to the eastward of the preceding division, and has an area of 768 square miles, with a population of 84,000. Its capital, New Strelitz, is but little more than a large village : it contains 6000 inhabitants. Old Strelitz is only a mile distant from the former, and is a small place with a popu- lation of about 3000. The duchy of Brunswick is rather a productive territory, sur- rounded by Prussia and Hanover, and comprises five distinct portions. The government was nearly absolute till very lately, when the people, by a violent change of dynasty, effected for themselves a representative constitution. Area, in square miles, 1514; population, 250,000. The city of Brunswick is a large place, in proportion to the state, containing a population of about 36,000. It is a consi- derable seat of the inland trade of Germany, its fairs ranking next to those of Frankfort and Leipzic. Wolfenbuttel, about seven miles south of Brunswick, contains a very large and valuable library, considered one of the richest in Europe : it com- prises 200,000 printed volumes, and 10,000 manuscripts. Popu- lation of the town, 8000. The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg is distinguished by the high rank of its princes, connected by family alliances with all the great powers of the north, particularly Russia. The duke has possessions in different parts of the north of Germany, but the main portion of them is situated on the west side of the Weser, and nearly surrounded by the territories of Hanover. It is a flat, marshy district, but abounding in rich pastures, and somewhat resembling Holland. Population, 251,500; area, 2752 square miles ; government absolute. The capital, Oldenburg, is situated on the river Hunte, a tributary of the Weser, which is navigable by small vessels. Inhabitants, 8000. Nassau is a duchy situated on the banks of the Rhine and the Mayne : it produces those valuable wines, Hock and Bleschert, which distinguish this part of Germany : it does not contain, however, any towns of importance. Wisbaden, the capital, much visited on account of its fifteen warm springs, has a population of 8000. At Niederselters, two million bottles are annually filled with the celebrated Seltzer water. Population of the duchy, 356,000 ; area, 2164 square miles. The duchies of Anhalt are situated on the Elbe, and sur- rounded by the territories of Prussia ; they have a population of 136,000 divided between the three branches of Dessau, Bern- burg, and Cothen. The family is ancient, and has produced some men of eminence. The capitals of the respective duchies are small towns of the same name. 30 20 457 350 EUROPE. The German Principalities are ten small states, most of which are contiguous to, or enclosed by the dominions of Prussia. They are Schioartzburg-Rudolstadt, Schivartzburg-Sonders- hausen, Reuss-Greitz, Reuss-Schlcitz, Lippe-Detmold, Lippe- Schauenburg, Hohenzollern- Sigmaringen, Hohenzollern- Hech- ingen, Waldcck, and Lichtenstein. ScJiwartzbvrg belongs to a very ancient house, and is divided into the two branches of Schwartzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwartz- burg- Sondershausen, containing in all about 112,000 subjects, of which the first has 60,000, and the other 52,000. The ter- ritories are detached from each other, and about 25 miles apart, Rudolstadt being very nearly surrounded by the Saxon States, and Sondershausen entirely enclosed by the province of Prussian Saxony. Rudolstadt and Sondershausen are the capitals. The territory of Reuss is divided between Reuss-Greitz and Reuss-Schleitz, the elder and younger lines: the former has 25,000 subjects, and the latter, which is subdivided into the several branches of Reuss-Schleitz, Reuss- Lobenstein-Ebersdorf, and Reuss-Koestriz, has 59,000. This family dates its origin from the year 950. The principal town is Gera, called in Germany Little Leipzic, on account of its trade, which is considerable. The capitals are Greitz and Lobenstein. Lippe-Detmold and Lippe-Schauenburg are situated to the south of Hanover, and form two distinct territories, about ten miles apart. A former prince of Lippe-Schauenburg made a distinguished figure in the service of Portugal. Their inhabitants amount to 104,000. Detmold and Buckeburg are the capitals. There are two princes of Hohcnzollern, Sigmaringen and Hechingen, having between them 55,000 people. Their ter- ritories are situated between Baden and Wirtemberg. The capitals are Sigmaringen and Hechingen. Waldeck, composed of two separate districts, situated about 30 miles apart from each other, derives almost its sole importance from the mineral baths of Pyrmont, which are among the most celebrated in Europe. Population, 56,000 ; area, 459 square miles. Arolsen is the capital. Lichtenstein borders on Switzerland and the Tyrol. It con- tains 5550 inhabitants and 53 square miles of territory. Vadutz is the capital ; the government is constitutional, and the inhabit- ants are Catholics. The Prince usually resides at Vienna. The Lilliputian lordship of Kniphausen was recognized as an independent state by an act of the Germanic Diet in 1826. It is situated within the territories of the Duke of Oldenburg. Population, 3000 ; area, 17 square miles. GERMANY. 351 THE FREE CITIES OF GERMANY. Hamburg, Lubec, Bremen, and Frankfort are small republics, which constitute what are denominated the free cities of Germany ; they comprise the remnant of the Hanse towns, or Hanseatic League, a confederation that was formed about 600 years ago. In time this alliance increased to such an extent that it comprised 85 commercial cities and towns, and grew so powerful that by the influence of its wealth and the terror of its arms it ruled for a time a great part of Northern Europe. It continued in existence almost 400 years, and was dissolved in the year 1630. The territories of Hamburg comprise several detached portions, the chief part of which is situated on the north bank of the Elbe, about 70 miles from the sea. Area, 134 square miles; popula- tion, 150,000. The government is vested in a self-elected senate of 28 members, who, however, are checked by popular councils, chosen by all who have property, to a certain amount, within the city. Hamburg is the principal commercial city in Germany, and is, after London and Liverpool, the most important in Europe. Its trade was almost annihilated during the wars of the French revolution : since that time, however, it has greatly revived, though not to its former extent. The manufactures of this city are various, but chiefly comprise cotton and linen fabrics, and refined sugar. Hamburg is not a well-built town, the streets being, in general, narrow and irregular, and the houses constructed of brick or wood. The churches of St. Michael's and St. Peter's have elegant spires, and the new exchange is handsome, but there is no edifice particularly distinguished for its splendour. Popula- tion, 125,000. Cuxhaven, at the mouth of the Elbe, is a little village belonging to Hamburg, whence regular packets and steam- vessels sail to Amsterdam and Harwich. The republic of Lubec comprises several small detached districts, bounded by the Danish and Mecklenburg territories. Area, 122 square miles; inhabitants, 47,000. The city, though less important than formerly, is still a place of considerable trade. It is situated on the river Trave, eight miles from the Baltic, and contains 26,000 inhabitants. The republic of Bremen consists of a small territory, lying on the river Weser, about 50 miles from the sea, and surrounded by the dominions of Hanover. The government is administered by four burgomasters and a senate, all of whom are chosen for life. Area, 72 square miles ; population, 59,000. 459 352 EUROPE. The city of Bremen, situated on both sides of the Weser, 50 miles from the sea, is enriched by the commerce of that im- portant river, down which are brought the productions of interior Germany, and it also carries on a considerable foreign trade. The old town consists of narrow streets, bordered by high gloomy houses, built in the fashion of the middle ages ; but there is a new town in a much more elegant style. Population, 40,000. Frankfort, the seat of the Germanic Diet, stands on both sides of the river Mayne, and is one of the most important towns in Germany. It has two annual fairs, in March and September, which draw hither many merchants from every country of Europe. The chief articles of traffic are cottons, woollens, and books. The city was once strongly fortified, but the defences have been converted into public walks. The buildings are indifferent. The whole territory of Frankfort comprises 113 square miles, and 55,000 inhabitants, the chief part of whom belong to the city. The government is republican, and the inhabitants are mostly Protestants. The German Territories of Denmark, Belgium, Prussia, and Austria. The duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg lie north of the river Elbe, and form the most northern part of Germany : they belong to Denmark, and comprise an area of 3691 square miles, with 410,000 inhabitants. Kiel, Altona, and Gluckstadt, are the chief towns. The German duchy of Luxemburg, forming the most southern part of Belgium, belongs to that kingdom. The capital city, Luxemburg, contains 10,000 inhabitants. It is one of the strongest places in Europe, and one of the fortresses of the Ger- manic Confederation. Area of the duchy, 2347 square miles, and 305,000 inhabitants. Prussian Germany includes the provinces of the Rhine, West- phalia, Saxony, Brandenburg, Pomerania, and Silesia. The two first named provinces form a distinct division, separated from the others by the territories of Hanover, Brunswick, and Hesse Cassel ; altogether they comprise about two thirds of the territory belonging to the kingdom of Prussia, with an area of 70,549 square miles, and 10,160,000 inhabitants. German Austria comprehends the archduchy of Austria, the duchy of Styria, Bohemia, Moravia, Tyrol, and the duchies of Carniola and Carinthia, or Illyria. These territories comprise about one-third of the empire of Austria, and contain an area of 78,451 square miles, and 11,840,000 inhabitants. SWITZERLAND. Alpine Spaniel. Ibex. The Alpine Spaniel is one of the largest of the dog kind. These animals are bred by the monks of St. Bernard ; they exhibit great sagacity, and are used in discovering travellers lost among the mountains in time of snow. Chamois. Bearded Vulture, or Vulture of the Alps. The Ibex and Chamois are animals of the goat species, that inhabit the most inaccessible summits of the Alps. Here they are followed by adventurous hunters, who kill many of them every year. The Bearded Vulture is one of the largest of its kind. It attacks sheep, lambs, young stags, and even the ibex and chamois fall victims to its rapacity. EUROPE. Great Falls of the Rhine, at Schaffhausen. The Great Fall of the Rhine is sixty feet high. It is remarkable for the turbulence of the water, and the violence of its sound, which may be heard six miles distant. Source of the Aveyron. The river Aveyron rises amongst extensive glaciers at the foot of Wont Blanc, and flows through the vale of Chamouni into the Rhone. Glacier of Grindelwald. In the valley of the Grindelwald, at the foot of the Alps, green meadows and cultivated fields border closely on immense glaciers, which afford, by the singular contrast, a scene seldom witnessed, except in Switzerland. SWITZERLAND. 353 SWITZERLAND. Switzerland is a mountainous region, situated in the centre of Europe, and occupying the country lying north and west of the great range of the Alps. It is remarkable for the grandeur of its natural features and scenery, and for the freedom of its political institutions. This territory forms a confederacy, com- posed of 22 cantons, each of which is an independent republic ; but, for mutual security, they are united together, and governed by a general diet, and are known as the Helvetic Confederacy, or Helvetic Republic. Switzerland is bounded north by Baden and Wirtemberg, east by Austria, south by Sardinia and the Lombardo- Venetian king- dom, and west by France. Its length, from east to west, is 200 miles; its breadth, from north to south, 130 ; and its superficial extent is about 15,000 square miles. Population, 2,000,000. Two distinct ranges of mountains bound this region. The chain of the Jura stretches from south-west to north-east, and separates Switzerland from France. The Alps form a more extensive chain, and run nearly parallel to the Jura, with numerous branches, known among geographers by the names of the Pennine, Lepontine, and Rhaetian Alps. These vast mountains divide this country from Italy. They exhibit inaccessible peaks, covered with snow ; eternal and boundless wastes of ice ; valleys sur- rounded by immense precipices ; in contrast with wooded and undulated slopes, vine-clad fields, and bright patches of vegetation. Mont Blanc, the highest summit in Europe, overlooks the vale of Chamouni, in Savoy ; a district not comprised within the political limits of Switzerland, but which pertains to it in a geo- graphical character. This mountain is 15,668 feet in height : it is capped with eternal snow, and the approach to the top is so full of difficulty and hazard that it has never been ascended except in a few instances. Some of the principal rivers in Europe take their rise in this country, and flow from it in nearly all directions. The Rhine, the Rhone, and the Inn, are the most important; and the Tecino, and other Italian rivers, rise on its borders. The Aar is the chief stream that has its course wholly in Switzerland. This country is noted for the number of its romantic and pic- turesque lakes. The waters of the lake of Geneva, or Leman, are beautifully transparent, and the surrounding scenery has long been celebrated for its magnificence. It is 46 miles in length, 1000 feet deep, and is elevated 1230 feet above the level of the sea. The lake of Constance is 45 miles long and about ten 30* "63 354 EUROPE. wide Its banks are fertile and abound with towns and villages. The lakes of Neufchatel, Lucerne, Zurich, Lugano, and Thun, are smaller, and are all elevated at considerable heights above the level of the ocean. The general surface of Switzerland exceeds, in rugged sub- limity, any other portion of Europe. The nature of the country presents numerous obstacles to its cultivation ; but they have been, in a great measure, overcome by the industry of the inha- bitants. The traces of the plough are visible on the sides of precipices apparently inaccessible ; and spots, which nature seemed to have doomed to eternal sterility, are crowned with vegetation. The produce of grain is generally equal to the consumption; but pasturage is the main object of the farmer. The chief manufactures are cotton and woollen goods, linen, silk, leather, jewelry-ware, and particularly watches. Being situate in the centre of Europe, Switzerland is much restricted in its commercial intercourse by the barriers of the Alps, and the prohibitory systems of the neighbouring States. The chief exports are cattle, sheep, linen, lace, silks, jewelry, &c. The imports are principally corn, flax, raw silk, cotton, spices, and various kinds of manufactured goods. As to national character, the Swiss enjoy the reputation of being a plain, honest, brave, and simple people, among whom linger the last remnants of antique and primitive manners. Their fond attachment to their native country is conspicuous even amid the necessity which compels them to abandon it, and to enter the service of the neighbouring powers. It is observed that no sooner is the Ranz des Vaches, a simple mountain air, played in their hearing, than the hardy soldiers melt into tears. An ardent love of liberty has long distinguished the Swiss people. The religion of Switzerland is divided between the Protestant and Catholic churches. The cantons of Schweitz, Uri, Unter- walden, Lucerne, Zug, Friburg, Soleure, Valais, and Tesino, are Catholic: St. Gall, Appenzell, Aargau, and Orisons, are mixed: Geneva, Vaud, Berne, Glarus, Zurich, Basle, Schaffhausen, Thurgau, and Neufchatel may be ranked as Protestant ; though even in Geneva there are 15,000 Catholics. The Protestant churches were at first strictly Calvinistic, both as to doctrine and discipline ; but the Genevan church has, in a great measure, renounced the tenets of this school of theology. The Presbyterian form of church government, however, still prevails throughout Protestant Switzerland. The Catholic reli- gion exhibits this peculiar feature, that, instead of being, as usual, combined with high monarchial principles, it is established among the most purely democratic of the Swiss Republics. SWITZERLAND. Am> : :SL Devil's Bridge. The Devil's Bridge is built across a deep and dangerous chasm, into which the river Reuss fails several hundred feet. Source of the Reuss. Fall of Staubbach. The river Reuss rises in a small lake at the foot of Mount St. Gothard, amid some of the wildest scenery in Switzerland. The cataract of the Staubbach is formed by a small stream that falls 800 feet. In its descent, it spreads out into a species of white vapour, which, when illumined by the rising sun, produces a brilliant effect. 465 EUROPE. View of Berne, Switzerland. View of Geneva, Switzerland. ;<>- ^ Chapel of William Tell, Burgeln. The Chapel of William Tell is built on the spot where he leaped ashore, and escaped from the Austrian Governor, Gessler. sSsmm Monastery of St. Bernard, on the Alps. The Monastery of St. Bernard is situated in the pass over the Great St. Bernard mountain, at the height of 9000 feet above the level of the sea. Here the monks entertain all strangers gratis for three days. 466 SWITZERLAND. 355 Learning, though not very generally diffused throughout Switzerland, has been cultivated with great ardour at Geneva and Zurich, both of which have a character more decidedly in- tellectual than most European cities. Elementary knowledge is general throughout the Protestant population. The habits and general forms of life are substantially German, modified, in the western cantons, and especially in Geneva, by a somewhat inti- mate communication with France. The Helvetic diet consists of deputies from the different cantons, which meet once a year. Extraordinary meetings may also be called on the requisition of any five cantons. This assembly takes cognizance of every thing that concerns the foreign rela- tions, and the general defence of the country. The army of the confederacy is formed of contingents, which each canton, in proportion to its number, is obliged to furnish. From these is made out an entire amount of 33,000 men. Among the Swiss cantons the forms of government are various : Neufchatel is a constitutional monarchy, of which the king of Prussia is the executive head ; Berne, Lucerne, Friburg, and Soleure are aristocratic ; the other seventeen cantons have con- stitutions based more or less on democratic forms and principles. A remarkable peculiarity in the military system of Switzerland is, the employment of its citizens in the service of foreign powers as a stipendiary force. This system has long prevailed, and is regularly authorized by the government. The number, in 1816, was estimated at 30,000. The singular consequence follows, that citizens of the most democratic state in Europe, form, in many cases, the main instrument in supporting the arbitrary power of foreign princes. The city of Berne is usually considered as the capital of Swit- zerland, but Zurich and Lucerne share with it that honour ; each being alternately the seat of government for two years at a time. Berne is pleasantly situated on the Aar, and is a large and handsome place, partly fortified, and containing a beautiful ca- thedral, a college, an arsenal, and several other public edifices. Population, 18,000. Basle, one of the largest trading towns in the confederacy, is situated on the Rhine, by which it is divided into two parts united by a bridge. It has a library of 28,000 volumes, and is the seat of a university, founded in 1459. Po- pulafion, 16,000. Geneva stands at the western extremity of the lake of that name, and is divided by the Rhone into two parts. Its library contains about 50,000 volumes. It has some manufactures of woollen, muslin, chintz, silk, porcelain, and particularly watches, 356 EUROPE. which employ near 3000 persons. The book trade has ever been very flourishing here. Population, 26,000. Zurich stands on the lake of the same name, upon both sides of the river Limmath. It is distinguished for its college and public library, and has flourishing manufactures of muslins, cottons, and silk handkerchiefs. Population, 11,000. Lausanne is delightfully 'situated on three eminences, a mile north of the lake of Geneva. It contains a gothic cathedral of considerable magnificence. Population, 10,000. Lucerne, on the lake of the same name, occupies a gentle eminence, and is surrounded by a wall and towers. Population, 7000. ITALY. Italy is an extensive region in the south of Europe, and one of the finest in the world, as to soil and climate, and noted as the theatre of many of the greatest events in history. It is now in a state of decline, but is filled with grand monuments and scenes, calculated to awaken the most lofty recollections. This portion of the European continent forms a large peninsula, bounded on the north by Germany and Switzerland, east by part of Austria and the Gulf of Venice, south and south-west by the Mediterranean, and on the west, in the northern parts, by France. Length, 700 miles ; breadth, from 350 to 75 miles. The whole area may be reckoned at 127,000 square miles, in- cluding the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. The surface of Italy is the most finely diversified of any country in the world. It has the loftiest mountains and the most beautiful plains in Europe. The Alps extend along the whole of its northern frontier, and some of their proudest pinnacles, Mont Blanc, St. Bernard, &c, are within the Italian territory. The Apennines are a chain that belong entirely to Italy, and range through the peninsula from north to south. The plains of this country are as remarkable for their extreme beauty, as the mountains for their grandeur. The most extensive is that of Lombardy, between the Alps and the Apennines, which, being profusely watered, highly cultivated, and under a genial climate, is, perhaps, the richest and most productive region in Europe. Of the rivers of northern Italy the Po is the most prominent: it flows into the Gulf of Venice, and is about 400 miles in extent. The others, in the same region, are much smaller in their length of course : they are the Piave, Brenta, Adige, and the Arno. The ITALY. Millet. Arundo Donax. Besides Indian-corn, wheat, rice, and the other grains raised in Italy millet is in many parts extensively cultivated. The Arundo Donax is a gigantic grass, of the stems of which fences are made ; also, walking- canes, fishing-rods, and a variety of other articles, which require strength combined with lightness. Caper. Stone-Pine. The Caper is a low trailing plant, two or three feet long, that grows in dry rocky situations, and also on old walla, in Italy and the south of France. The buds of the flower are gathered before expansion, and put into vinegar ; they are much used as seasoning for various disheB. The Stone-Pine grows in all parts of Italy. Its dark hue and picturesque outline have recom- mended it so much to the artist, that it forms a Btriking feature in almost all Claude Lorraine's and Gaspar Poussin's celebrated Italian landscapes. 2P 468 EUROPE. Pomegranate. Myrtle. The Pomegranate is a fruit that in Italy attains the size of a large apple, though in warmer regions it grows much larger. The pulp contains a great many small red seeds ; a cooling and grateful beverage is made of the juice mixed with sugar and water. Mount Etna. 470 ITALY. 357 well-known Tiber, Pescara, Garigliano, and Ombrone, are in the centre ; and the Votturno, Ofanto, Brandana, and Sele, in the south. The lakes are the Maggiore, Como, and Garda, in Lom- bardy, with Perugia and Bolsano, in the States of the Church, together with Celano, in Naples. The principal islands are Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica ; those of Elba and the Lipari islands are less important. Malta, Gozzo, and Comino, though geographically Italian, belong to Great Britain. In Italy are to be found the finest specimens of architecture in Europe. The churches are costly and magnificent, and the dwellings of some of the higher nobility rival the palaces of kings and emperors. In Florence, the houses resemble fortresses, — a feature indicative of the time when the city was convulsed by the violence and feuds of its factions. In the northern states the buildings are often provided with projecting porticoes, or arcades, stretching without interruption from one end of a city to another. In the Roman and Neapolitan territories, they are almost univer- sally without chimneys, as the mildness of the climate renders a fire seldom necessary. This country, once the most important commercial and manu- facturing region in Europe, is now dependent upon other nations for the superb fabrics with which she formerly supplied them ; her ships no longer cover the Mediterranean ; her merchants, who were once her nobles and her princes, retain only the shadow of mighty names. Yet such is the felicity of the soil and climate of Italy, that the produce of her land is still ample and valuable, and, after supplying a dense population, affords a large surplus for exportation. The inhabitants of this country are descended from different nations, which, at various times, overran Italy, though they are now blended into one race. The foreigners are mostly Germans, resident in Lombardy, Venice, &c, and Jews scattered over the country. The Italians are distinguished for their animated and expres- sive countenances, and brilliant eyes. They are generally of dark complexions, well formed and active. The women have black or auburn hair, and most of the requisites for beauty. Among the inhabitants are many cripples and deformed ; for the poor in Italy suffer many hardships and privations ; but among the lowest class, and especially at Naples, the human form is seen in its greatest perfection, and the half-clad lazzaroni are the best models for a sculptor. In all the states of Italy there are the usual grades of European nobility ; and the individuals are more numerous than those of 471 358 EUROPE. the same class in any other country. In some of the states of Italy all the sons of the nobility, and their sons, bear the original title. Of these, many individuals are indigent ; and some of them have been known to solicit charity. Rome, Naples, and the towns of the south, are thronged with mendicants, whose distress is not always assumed, for in this land of fertility many are without food. The Italians are, in some respects, the most polished and refined people in the world. While many of the German and English nobles place their enjoyment in hunting and the pleasures of the table ; music, painting, poetry, and assemblies for conversation, form the delight of the Italians. Even the common shopkeepers of Rome and Florence possess a taste in the fine arts, and, also, sometimes in poetry, which is unknown amongst similar classes elsewhere. The peasants are a quiet, orderly, but ignorant race ; while the populace of the great towns are often tumultuous and unlicensed. Trie lazzaroni of Naples, in particular, form a numerous body, who exist almost wholly out of the pale of regular society. The climate enables them to live without houses, almost without clothes, and with only a daily handful of food. Another too numerous class, are the bandits, or robbers, who, established in the recesses of the mountains, form, as it were, a separate class, and carry on their vocation on a great and re- gular scale. The road from Rome to Naples is their favourite haunt. They seldom disturb the indigent traveller ; their grand aim being to carry off some person of distinction, and then to exact a ransom proportionable to his means and dignity. During the late domination of the French, the prompt means pursued by that people greatly reduced the number of the banditti, and many, to save their lives, were forced to become soldiers ; but, under the supine indolence of the Neapolitan government, they are in- creasing. The Roman Catholic religion is established throughout Italy, and nowhere else has it so many splendid accessories, addressed to the senses and the imagination. There are Protestant com- munities in Piedmont, which, however, are much restricted, though generally the Italians are not intolerant, and Protestants, Greeks, and Mussulmans may approach the Pope himself. The English at Rome, have, on the great festivals of the church, a conspicuous place assigned to them. In literature and science the world is deeply indebted to Italy : first, for the classical works which she produced during her Augustan age, and then for the brilliant revival of literature under her auspices, after a long night of ignorance. In the ITALY. 359 fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, she could boast of poets and historians unrivalled amongst those of any age or country ; and although her literary greatness has suffered some decay, she has not ceased to produce, from time to time, men eminent in the various departments of learning. The literary collections of this region are of singular value. The library of the Vatican, if not the most extensive, is probably the most valuable in the world. The number of volumes con- tained in it are estimated at about 600,000, and the manuscripts at 50,000. The libraries of Florence, Bologna, and Milan, though secondary to the former, contain, however, a rich store of ancient manuscripts and early printed works, formed by the munificent princes who once reigned over these cities. The fine arts, in Italy, have attained a splendour quite unrivalled in any modern country, and have ever flourished in that region as their chosen and peculiar soil. Painting, in the sixteenth century, and in the Roman and Florentine schools, reached a height of perfection, unequalled, perhaps, even in ancient times, in all the qualities of form, design, and expression, which constitute the highest excellence of art : no names can yet rival those of Michael Angelo and Raphael. The sculpture of Italy, even during its happy stages, did not equal that of the ancient schools. In the present age, however, the genius of Canova has burst forth with a brilliancy which has enabled modern times, in this art, almost to rival an- tiquity. In architecture, also, this country has no modern rival. Though some of the northern nations may have erected more huge and costly structures, none of them display the same high, pure, and classical taste. In music, this region has boasted a similar pre-eminence; and, for a long period, all the great composers in the highest style of art were exclusively Italians. Of late, however, Germany has come forward as a powerful rival, and has produced several composers of the first class. Yet Italy seems still to be regarded as the chief home of the musical art : hither all the students re- pair, and its vocal performers are considered over all Europe as superior to those of any other country. Italy is chiefly divided among five potentates. The Emperor of Austria, who holds Lombardy and Venice, to which may be added Parma and Piacenza, the appanage of Maria Louisa ; the King of Sardinia ; the Grand Duke of Tuscany ; the Pope, ruler of the States of the Church ; the King of Naples and Sicily ; besides these, the Duchies of Modena and Lucca, the Principality of Monaco, and the Republic of San Marino, form separate, though they hardly deserve the name of independent states. 2 P * 473 360 EUROPE. The area in square miles, and the population of the several Italian States, are as follows : Kingdom of Lombardy and Venice Sardinia Tuscany States of the Church Naples Parma Modena Lucca San Marino Monaco Total Area, in Total square miles. Population. 18,534 4,300,000 29,534 4,400,000 8,759 1,280,000 17,572 2,600,000 42,700 7,414,000 2,250 440,000 2,145 400,000 434 150,000 22 9,000 50 7,000 122,000 21,000,000 SARDINIA. The kingdom of Sardinia consists of five separate divisions, Piedmont, Genoa, Savoy, Nice, and the island of Sardinia. The first four comprise the continental section of the kingdom. They occupy the north-western portion of Italy, and are encompassed by France, Switzerland, Austrian Italy, Parma, and the Gulf of Genoa. The whole region is about 200 miles in length and 135 in width, with an area of 19,725 square miles. The island of Sardinia, from which the kingdom takes its name, forms the insular division of this state. It is situated on the Mediterranean sea to the southward of Corsica, and upwards of 200 miles south of the main land of Sardinia. It is 170 miles in length and 90 in breadth. Area, 9809 square miles ; area of the whole kingdom, 29,534 square miles ; population, 4,400,000. Continental Sardinia is inclosed, on three sides, by the Alps and the Apennines, which gives it an irregular surface, and renders the scenery more sublime, and the climate colder, than in southern Italy. In Piedmont the soil is very fertile and well cultivated. The plains produce rice, Indian corn, and other grains, and the hills are covered with vineyards and olive-yards. The pastures are very rich, and grazing is an important branch of husbandry. Savoy is a rugged province, resembling Swit- zerland in its character, and lying among the loftiest of the Alps near Mount Blanc and Mount Cenis. The irregularity of the surface renders cultivation very difficult, and it is naturally one of the poorest countries in Europe. The Savoyards are but ITALY. 361 poorly instructed ; but their industry, frugality, and sobriety, enable them to gain a comfortable subsistence. The mountains, which extend over the country, give rise to a number of small streams, that unite to form the Po. The Rhone forms part of the north-western boundary, and receives the most of those rising on the northern and western slope of the Alps. The Var forms the line of separation between Nice and France, and falls into the Mediterranean. The lake of Geneva borders Sardinia on the north, and Lago Maggiore on the north-east. There are, besides these, several smaller lakes. The principal articles of exportation are silk, rice, and oil. Genoa is the only port which has any foreign commerce. The island of Sardinia supplies the continental states with salt, and some grain and vegetables. There are manufactures of silk at Genoa, to the amount of 1,000,000 to 1,400,000 dollars annually. This city also manufactures paper, soap, chocolate, maca- roni, &c. In Piedmont are some manufactures of silk. Nice produces perfumes and scented waters. There are some smelt- ing furnaces in Piedmont and Savoy. The tunny fisheries of the island of Sardinia are said to produce near 200,000 dollars a year. The coral fishery is also a considerable source of revenue. The king of Sardinia is an absolute hereditary monarch. The government is directed by a Supreme Council of State, a Council of Finances, a Council of Government, the Council of Savoy, the Senate of Turin, the Council of Nice, and the Council of Genoa. Justice is administered by the nobles. The army consists of 28,000 men, and the navy of two ships of 54 guns and six or eight smaller vessels. Public instruction is very deficient. Gymnasia and high- schools exist in most of the large towns, but little except Latin and scholastic theology is taught in them. The universities, with the exception of those at Turin and Genoa, are very insig- nificant. It is estimated that there are not ten individuals in 100 who can read, write, and cipher. A strict censorship prevails, and few foreign books, pamphlets, or newspapers, are allowed to enter the country. The Island of Sardinia is one of the least valuable portions of the kingdom, though few regions exceed it in natural fertility. Its situation, in the heart of the Mediterranean, and with a number of fine harbours, might afford the opportunity of an extensive commerce ; but, the population is in the most uncultivated and savage state, perhaps, of any in Europe. The peasantry in the interior are clothed, in a great measure, in shaggy goat or sheep skins ; they subsist chiefly by the produce of their flocks and by hunting, and go constantly armed, for their own defence, against 31 475 362 EUROPE. the numerous and desperate banditti, by whom the mountains are infested. A considerable portion of the horses, cattle, and sheep, are in a wild state. The Sardinian government is making exertions to improve the condition of the island, by the formation of roads, &c. Cagliari and Sassari are both considerable towns ; the former having some trade, but crowded, ill-built, and ill-paved; the latter, smaller, but more elegant. Oristagno has a fine harbour, and flourishes by the tunny fishery, and by the culture of wine in its neighbourhood. Turin, the capital of Piedmont, and, also, of the kingdom, is situated on the western bank of the Po, at the foot of a range of beautiful hills. It is the most regularly built of all the Italian cities, with broad, straight, and clean streets, and is admired for the sym- metry of its squares, the splendour of its hotels, and the general elegance of its houses. It has four splendid gates, adorned with pillars and cased with marble ; 110 churches, a university, and many fine palaces. The royal palace is spacious, and surrounded with delightful gardens. The outward view of the city is very imposing, and it has no mean suburbs or mouldering walls. Population, 114,000. Genoa, surnamed the superb, and the once proud capital of the great naval republic of the same name, stands on the shores of the Gulf of Genoa. The aspect of its white buildings ascend- ing in regular progression from the sea is highly magnificent. The interior consists of streets, or rather lanes, eight or ten feet wide, between immensely high edifices. Two of the streets only are accessible to carriages. The Strada Balbi is one of the most magnificent streets in the world, and is full of splendid palaces. Genoa has several public libraries, a university, and other literary institutions. Its harbour is one of the finest in Europe, and it has a considerable trade. Population, 80,000. This city was taken by the English and their allies, from the French, in the year 1800, when 20,000 of the besieged perished with hunger. It was, however, evacuated after the victory of Marengo. Nice is beautifully situated on the Gulf of Genoa, and has a good artificial harbour. The mildness of its climate draws many invalids to this quarter. Population, 25,000. Chamberry, the chief town of Savoy, occupies a charming spot, surrounded by gentle eminences covered with vineyards, pastures, and wood ; but it is not a well-built place. Population, 12,000. Alessandria, on the Tanaro, a branch of the Po, is the strongest place in the kingdom. It is well built, with broad and handsome streets. Population, 35,000. In the neighbourhood of this city is the ITALY. Cathedral of Milan. The Cathedral of Milan is one of the finest churches in the world. It was commenced in the sixteenth century, hut is not yet entirely finished. This edifice is built of white marble ; it is 456 feet long, and 270 wide. The height of the cupola is 232, and that of the tower 335 feet. The, statues which adorn it, inside and out, are said to amount to 4000. ,__ 4/7 EUROPE. .- '« :r , r '&'i J ".---'-" J -' Italian Cottage. The cottages of the peasantry in Lombnrdy and Tuscany are often adorned with porticoes and colonnades, and frequently display :\ classic aspect. 478 ITAL*. 363 village of Marengo, the scene of one of Bonaparte's most cele- brated victories. Other towns, with their population respectively, are— Asti, 22,000; Coni, 18,000; Mondovi, 17,000; Vercelli, 16,000 ; Novarra, 15,000. Monaca. — The principality of Monaca is a small independent state, under the protection of Sardinia. It has an area of 50 square miles. The prince usually resides at Paris. Monaca, the capital, is a village with 1000 inhabitants. Mentore, the largest town, has a population of 3000. AUSTRIAN ITALY. Austrian Italy, or the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, called also the kingdom of Lombardy and Venice, is situated in the north- eastern part of Italy, and forms the finest portion of the Austrian empire. It consists of an extensive and populous plain, which stretches, on the one hand, from the Alps to the Po, and, on the other, from Sardinia to Illyria, comprising several territories that were once politically distinct. The luxuriant fertility of this vast plain, the beautiful and ro- mantic landscapes presented by the southern declivity of the Alps, the lakes which spread at their feet, and the fine shores of the Gulf of Venice, unite in making it one of the most desirable coun- tries in Europe. The kingdom consists of two great divisions ; the late republic of Venice in the east, and Lombardy in the west. It is bounded north by Switzerland and the Tyrol ; south by the States of the Church, Modena, and Parma ; east by Illyria, and west by Sar- dinia. It is 220 miles long, 140 wide, and contains 18,534 square miles, with 4,300,000 inhabitants. The Po washes the southern limit of the kingdom. This river, denominated the prince of Italian streams, rises in the western Alps, on the confines of France and Italy, and, after receiving numerous tributaries from the north and the south, flows into the Gulf of Venice. It is about 400 miles in length, is everywhere deep and rapid, and is navigable to Turin. The Adige and the Piave also flow from the Alps into the Gulf of Venice. The chief lakes are the Maggiore, Como, and Garda: they are more remarkable for their beauty than their extent, and are all connected with the Po by tributaries of that stream. The climate of this region is delightful, yet the winter has some features of Alpine severity. The heats of summer are mi- tigated by the cool breezes from the Alps. The irrigation applied 364 EUROPE. to the lands in Lombardy is the most perfect in Europe. The mountains, which border the country, afford an inexhaustible supply of water. The meadows yield six crops of hay in a year. Rice is cultivated in some parts. The grain and ordinary fruits are ripe in June or July, and the vintage takes place in October. The bee and the silk-worm receive much attention, but the dairy is the main occupation of the farmer. The chief manufactures are silk, glass, and hardware. At Venice and Murano beautiful mirrors are made ; hardware and fire-arms at Brescia, and jewelry and plate at Milan and Venice. There are also some manufactures of woollen cloths, musical instruments, china, carpets, paper, artificial flowers, perfumes, vermicelli, macaroni, glass beads, &c. Venice has been made a free port : its foreign commerce, however, is trifling, but the in- ternal trade is active. The government is arbitrary, and is administered by an Aus- trian viceroy. There is a show of representation, yet everything is controlled by the authorities at Vienna. All the taxes are imposed by the emperor. The administration of justice is arbi- trary and wretched in the extreme, and the censorship is very rigid. Milan, the capital of the kingdom, and the residence of the viceroy, is a large and splendid city, eleven miles in circumfer- ence. It is considered the most elegant city in Italy, and was very much improved and beautified by Napoleon. The finest building is the cathedral, which is inferior only to St. Peter's at Rome. It is completely built, paved, vaulted, and roofed with the whitest and most resplendent marble. Most of the buildings in this city are constructed according to a regular order of architecture, and a mean-looking house is as rare here, as a palace elsewhere. Here is the famous Ambrosian library, with 72,000 volumes, and 15,000 manuscripts. The hospitals and charitable institutions are numerous. Milan was founded 584 years before Christ, by the Insubrian Gauls. It has been forty times besieged ; forty times taken, and four times destroyed. It has above 200 churches, and more than 100 monastic institutions. Population, 160,000. Venice is the most picturesque city in Europe, and full of cha- racter and variety. It stands in the Gulf of Venice, about five miles from the main land, and is built upon a multitude of islands, which are intersected by canals instead of streets. The Grand Canal is crossed by the Rialto, a marble arch ninety feet in span. The prospect from this bridge is lively and magnificent. There are 500 other bridges. Most of the canals are narrow, and some have no quays, so that the water washes the houses. Boats ITALY. 365 called gondolas, are used to navigate the canals, in which all parts of the city may be traversed with ease and safety. The ducal palace, and the churches of St. Mark and St. Gemignano, are rich and splendid edifices. The square of St. Mark is 800 feet in length, and has a magnificent appearance. The republic of Venice, with its series of splendid triumphs, its gorgeous no- bility, and its rich commerce, is now an empty name : but the city still remains ; and, though possessing but the shadow of its former importance, yet contains 150,000 inhabitants. Padua, the birth-place of Livy, has a famous university, founded by Charlemagne, and is said to have had, at one time, 18,000 students; in 1817, only 300. Population, 55,000. Mantua is a strong town, standing in the midst of a lake formed by the Mincio. The streets are broad and straight, and the squares spacious. Population, 25,000. Cremona stands near the conflu- ence of the Po and the Adda, ft has a splendid cathedral and is regularly built, but the streets are grass-grown, and the place has a decaying look. It is particularly celebrated for its manufacture of violins. Population, 27,000. Brescia, to the west of lake Garda, has also a fine cathedral. Population, 31,000. Pavia, on the Tecino, has a university founded by Charlemagne. Population, 21,000. Lodi, on the Adda, is celebrated for a victory gained by Bonaparte over the Austrians. Population, 18,000. Verona, on the Adige, at the foot of the Alps, has a charming situation, and many fine buildings. Its ancient walls and towers inclose a vast area, and have a noble appearance. The great amphitheatre, at this place, is one of the noblest monu- ments of Roman magnificence now existing. Population, 55,000. TUSCANY. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ranks next to the Roman States as the theatre of great historical events, and has surpassed Rome itself as the seat of modern learning. It is bounded north and east by the Roman States, south-west by the Mediterranean, and north-west by Lucca. It contains 8759 square miles, and 1,280,000 inhabitants. The chief river is the Arno, which rises among the mountains in the eastern part, and flows westerly to the sea. The Ombrone, in the south, is not navigable. The Tiber rises in the mountains of this country. Tuscany is admired for its romantic scenery. The boldness, grandeur, and rich luxuriance of the country, are hardly any- where equalled. The vale of the Arno is one of the most delight- 31 * 2Q, 481 366 EUROPE. ful regions in the world. It is abundantly rich and well cultivated, and is divided into very small farms, separated by rows of trees, or small canals. Chestnuts are an important production ; in some parts they are used for bread. The Maremma, a desolate unhealthy tract of country, stretches along the coast for 200 miles southward from Leghorn : the noxious atmosphere, called Malaria, renders this region almost uninhabitable. The Tuscans are among the most industrious of the Italian nations. Their manufactures of silk are carried on with great activity, and employ a number of individuals. Straw hats are made in great numbers by the women, in the valley of the Arno. The other manufactures are linen, broadcloth, soap, perfumes, letter-paper, china, and mosaics, with various articles in marble, coral, alabaster, &c. Leghorn is a noted sea-port, and has an extensive commerce with the Levant, Europe, and America. The government is an absolute monarchy. There are 4000 regular troops, besides militia. The chief universities are at Florence, Pisa, and Sienna. They comprise about 1200 students. At Florence are also several public schools. The island of Elba is nine miles from the coast of Tuscany. It is sixty miles in circumference, and contains 160 square miles. The chief production is iron, taken mostly from a single moun- tain consisting of one immense mass of iron ore. The island contains, also, copper, lead, and silver mines, and produces ex- cellent wines. Population, 14,000. The chief town, Porto Ferrajo, has a good harbour, and contains 3000 inhabitants. In 1814, this island was given in entire sovereignty to Napoleon, who resided here from May, 1814, till February 26, 1815. Florence, the capital, stands on the Arno, fifty miles from the sea. It is six miles in compass, and, next to Rome, is the most beautiful city in Italy. It is built in a plain, skirted by the Apennines. The city is surrounded by walls ; the buildings are magnificent, and the streets well paved and kept remarkably clean. The ducal palace, the cathedral, the church of Santa Croce, and many other edifices, are noted for their size and splendour. The Medicean gallery is rich in those treasures of painting and sculpture which draw to this city visiters from every quarter of the civilized globe. The Laurentian library has 120,000 volumes; others have 90,000 and 50,000. There are many splendid private galleries and libraries. Florence was the cradle of the arts, at the time of their regeneration, and the birth-place of Dante, Michael Angelo, Galileo, and Amerigo Vespucci. The city contains a great number of wealthy English residents. Population, 80,000. Pisa, on the Arno, near the sea, was once the capital of a ITALY. 367 republic, the rival of Genoa and Venice. It is now decayed, but can still boast some marble churches, a marble palace, and a marble bridge. The cathedral is a large gothic edifice of marble. Near it stands that remarkable structure, the Leaning Tower : it is 190 feet high, and overhangs its base fifteen feet, seeming to threaten a fall at every instant ; yet it has stood six hundred years, and endured the shock of earthquakes which have over- thrown many a perpendicular structure. Pisa has a university with a library of 60,000 volumes. Population, 20,000. Leghorn is the chief sea-port of Tuscany. It is a neat, well- built, and busy town, with a tolerable harbour. The streets are filled with Europeans, Turks, Jews, Armenians, Greeks, and Moors, exhibiting a most picturesque variety of costume. But few works of art and architectural monuments exist here. The com- merce of this place is very active. Population, 66,000. Sienna, once the capital of a flourishing republic, is now much reduced, but still contains a magnificent cathedral and a university. Population, 18,000. Duchy of Parma. — Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, though they have been formed into a state for Maria Louisa, the ex-em- press of France, form, in reality, an appendage of Lombardy, and a continuation of its great plain, to the foot of the Apennines. The country abounds in the richest pastures, from which is pro- duced the celebrated Parmesan cheese. The city of Parma, on a small river of the same name, is large, populous, airy, and clean. It does not contain any remarkable architectural features, except the theatre, modelled on the ancient plan, and, perhaps, the noblest in the world, but now in a state of decay. Population, 30,000. Piacenza, or Placentia, with 28,000 inhabitants, is also a large and well-built city ; but its celebrated amphitheatre, which sur- passed that of Verona, was burnt to the ground in one of the furious civil contests which laid waste Italy. The population of the duchy is about 440,000, and its area 2240 square miles. Duchy of Modena. — Modena is a fine small domain, composed of a rich plain at the foot of the Apennines. It is held as a fief of Austria, and by a branch of that family. It has an area of 2145 square miles, and 400,000 inhabitants. The territory is fertile and well cultivated. Modena, the capital, is a handsome city, with 27,000 in- habitants. The ducal palace is an elegant edifice, and the cathedral is remarkable for its tower, the most lofty in Italy. Reggio, also, contains a ducal palace, with a population of 18,000. Carrara is noted for its fine statuary marble, which is largely exported. 368 EUROPE. Duchy of Lucca. — Lucca is one of the few Italian republics, which, amid the revolutions of 800 years, maintained its inde- pendence. The people reaped the benefit of this, in the superior education and more decent deportment of the nobles ; and in that agricultural industry, which has converted a land liable to inundation, and destitute of many natural advantages, into a complete garden. The territory, though comprising an area of only 434 square miles, two-thirds of which consist of mountain and defile, reckons a population of 150,000. The capital is Lucca, with 22,000 inhabitants. The city contains a palace, university, and observatory. The celebrated baths of Lucca are near the town. The country residences of the higher ranks are generally magnificent structures. THE POPEDOM, OR STATES OF THE CHURCH. The Popedom, or States of the Church, called, also, the Eccle- siastical States, and the Roman States, comprise one of the most celebrated countries in the world, and occupy the centre of Italy. Though these states have lost that paramount importance and influence which they once possessed, yet, as they contain Rome with all its stupendous monuments, and were the central theatre of all the ancient grandeur of Italy, they still excite an interest superior to that of any other of these celebrated regions. This territory is washed on the north-east by the Gulf of Venice, and on the south-west by the Mediterranean sea. On the north it is bounded by the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, on the south-east by the kingdom of Naples, and on the west by Modena and Tuscany. Its extreme length is 260 miles from north to south, and its breadth from 25 to 110 miles. It contains 17,572 square miles, and 2,600,000 inhabitants. The Roman States are intersected by the Apennines, which divide the country into two unequal sections, moderate the violent heats of summer, and give rise to a number of small rivers. Of these, the Tiber, though not the largest stream in Italy, is the first in classical celebrity. It passes through the city of Rome to the Mediterranean, and is about 150 miles long. There is no other river of any importance wholly within this territory, but its northern boundary is washed by the Po. The Campagna di Roma is a continuation of the Tuscan Maremma. It exhibits an undulated surface, bare of trees, and is noted for its impure atmosphere. The Pontine marshes, in ITALY. St. Peter's, at Rome. Coliseum. The Coliseum, built by the Emperor Vespasian, is the largest amphitheatre ever erected ry the Romans. It is 1612 feet in circum Terence, and is now about one-half in ruins. The materials for erecting several palaces have- been taken fr;im it. 2 U * 485 EUROPE. Arch of Constantine. Triumphal arches were often erected by the Romans in commemoration of great actions and signal achievements. The arch of Constantine is the most perfect of any that remain ; and is one of the finest works of art. F^W EL T~^SZ^~ ■ — Trajan's Column. Column of Antoninus. Triumphal columns were erected for the same purpose as triumphal arches. The columns of Trajan and Antoninus are noted examples of this description of edifice. They are formed of the finest white marble, each about 130 foet high, and adorned with finely-executed sculp- tures. The Pantheon. The Pantheon is one of the best preserved of the ancient Roman edifices. It was built, as its name imports, in honour of all the gods; but was consecrated in the seventh century to the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs. 486 ITALY. 369 the southern part of these states, also add to the insalubrity of the coast. The ancient Csesars and the modern Popes have in vain attempted to drain them. The lake of Perugia, near the city of that name, is a beautiful sheet of water, four miles across, bordered with gently sloping hills, everywhere covered with woods or cultivated fields, and rising at a distance into mountains. The lakes of Albano and Nemi are charmingly situated among the hills. There are other small lakes. The climate is mild, but the mountains are covered with snow from October to April. The Sirocco, or hot wind from Africa, is felt on the shore of the Mediterranean. In the mountainous parts the air is healthy, but in the Maremma, on the coast, and in the neighbourhood of the Pontine marshes, are pestilential exha- lations which cause fever and ague. The northern parts, near the Po, are also unhealthy. The soil does not differ materially from that of Tuscany. The oranges and lemons produced in the plain of Rome are the best in Italy. The lands are commonly held by great proprietors. In the plain of the Po cultivation is active, but the rest of the country is neglected. The Romans are less industrious than their northern neighbours. The vine and olive grow everywhere. Onions are raised in immense quantities in the marshes of Ancona. Hemp, saffron, and beans, are extensively cultivated. The commerce is chiefly in the hands of foreigners, and the only sea-port of consequence is Civita Vecchia. The manufactures merely supply the home consumption. Some silk is manufactured at Bologna, beside many miscellaneous articles. Gall-nuts and cantharides are articles of exportation. The government is an elective monarchy. The pope possesses both the legislative and executive power, and is chosen by the college of cardinals from among themselves. The number of cardinals is about 70. Constitutionally, the pope is an absolute sovereign, but in practice he is only the head of an oligarchy. Since the time of Adrian VI., who was obtruded upon the throne by Charles V., all the popes have been Italians. The military force is about 7000 men. There is no navy. Rome, the capital of this territory, once the capital of the world, stands on the Tiber, 15 miles from the sea ; is 13 miles in circumference, but has much open ground, comprehending gar- dens, fields, and meadows. It has a sombre appearance, rendered still more striking by large squares, spacious and deserted streets, and the majestic ruins which are seen at every step. Some of the streets are of immense length ; others are half built; many are narrow and crooked. In one part are noble palaces half hidden among miserable huts ; in another part all is gorgeous 487 370 EUROPE. and magnificent. Other places may be more beautiful, but Rome is one of the most richly picturesque cities in the world. The hills, insignificant in themselves, seem made to display the build- ings to the greatest advantage. The spectator is dazzled with the multiplicity of objects, and decaying ruins are relieved by modern magnificence. The church of St. Peter, built at the expense of the whole Roman world, is the glory of modern architecture. It is fronted by a circular colonnade, surrounding an Egyptian obelisk, and two magnificent fountains. This church was 111 years in building, and cost a sum equal to 160,000,000 dollars at the present day. No other church in Rome can be compared to this, yet there are many remarkable for magnificence and antiquity. The Pantheon is the most perfect edifice of ancient Rome ; it is now converted into a church ; its portico is unrivalled. Trajan's pillar is a fine monumental column, in good preservation. But the most won- derful monument of Roman magnificence is the Coliseum, an amphitheatre, capable of containing 60,000 spectators, and in which the Roman people assembled to witness the combats of gladiators and wild beasts. It is now a ruin, but enough of it remains to attest its former magnificence. The Vatican palace is the greatest repository of ancient and modern art in existence. The whole pile of building, with its gardens, comprises a circuit of some miles, and the apartments are numbered at 4442. The library is an immense collection. The Vatican is the residence of the pope in winter. Rome has 300 churches and 300 palaces. The Corso, a street nearly a mile long, is a fashionable drive, where the better class display their equipages daily. During the carnival, a horse-race takes place here, which has given the street its modern name. The country around Rome abounds with the remains of antiquity and with villas. The city is unhealthy from the malaria or impure atmosphere in summer. Population, 155,000. Bologna, the next city in size to Rome, is situated in the northern part of the Roman territory. It is surrounded by a brick wall, six miles in circuit. Its curious leaning towers and antique spires, have a singular and striking effect. The city has a venerable aspect, without being ruinous, and abounds with large churches and handsome palaces. Here is a university founded in 425, the oldest in Europe, and said to have been at one time attended by 10,000 students. The public library has 160,000 volumes. Population, 71,000. Ferrara is one of the largest towns in Italy. It is regularly and superbly built, but the traveller would imagine that the inhabitants had just abandoned it. The streets are grass-grown, ITALY. The Villa Borghese, in the vicinity of Rome. The villas, or country residences of the Roman nobles, are often composed of beautiful and spacious mansions, surrounded by extensive gardens. The villa Borghese is one of the raosS noted. Its finely-ornamented walks are open for the recreation of the public. Great Fall of Tivoli, fifteen miles from Rome. The Falls of Tivoli are formed by the river Teverone. They have been long celebrated, and! are regarded as among the finest cascades in Europe. Their beauties have been described by some of the most noted writers, both in prose and verse. The great fall descends about 100 feet ; the smaller one is of less elevation, and possesses less interest. .Utile Fall of Tivoli. The Quarries of Puzzolana, six miles from Naples. The Quarries of Puzzolana produce the well-known cement, so remarkable for the valuable- property it possesses of hardening under water. 483 EUROPE. View of the City of Naples. Sorento. Sorento is a small seaport, situated on the extremity of the Bay of Naples. It is admired for the striking aspect of its volcanic rocks. The country in the vicinity is well cultivated, and is noted for its fine fruits. The wines of Sorento were much esteemed by the ancients. Salerno. Salerno is situated at the head of the gulf of that name. The surrounding mountains give it a romantic and interesting appearance. During the middle ages, the medical school of this place was in such high repute as to be greatly resorted to from all quarters ; even Arabian and ♦Saracen pupils studied here. 4'JO NAPLES. 371 and all the large houses are empty. The cows pasture undis- turbed upon the pavements in front of noble palaces. The city possesses few advantages of situation, but was once very populous. At present it has 24,000 inhabitants. Ravenna, near the Gulf of Venice, had once a harbour, which is now filled up. It was at one time the seat of the Italian Exarchs, and contains the tomb of Dante. Population, 24,000. Ancona, on the Gulf of Venice, is a strong place, with a tolerable harbour. Population, 30,000. Civita Vecchia, a sea-port on the Mediterranean, has some com- merce and 8000 inhabitants. Republic of San Marino. — This little territory, the most free and virtuous of all republics, is an independent state under the protection of the pope. It has existed almost 1400 years, exemplifying in the virtue, simplicity, and happiness of its people, the powerful influence of free institutions. The government is a mixture of aristocracy and democracy. The magistrates and legislators are for the most part elected for life. The revenue of the state amounts to $15,000. The army consists of 60 men. The population of the capital is about 5000. Four villages constitute the rest of the territory of the republic. Area, 22 square miles ; population, 9000. NAPLES, OR THE TWO SICILIES. Naples, or the two Sicilies, is the most considerable state in Italy for extent and population ; but, owing to the supine and indo- lent character of its government, the kingdom has no weight in the political system of Europe. It comprises Naples, the most south- ern division of Italy, and the island of Sicily and the Lipari isles. The continental section contains 30,500 square miles, and the islands 12,200. Total, 42,700. Population, 7,414,000. The ridge of the Apennines extends through the whole of Na- ples, from north to south, and gives rise to numerous small but beautiful streams, of which the Garigliano, Vulturno, Sele, Vasi- ento, Crati, &c, are the chief: none of these, however, exceed 100 miles in their length of course. This kingdom is distinguished for its natural fertility, and com- prises some of the finest sections of Italy. Vegetation throughout most parts of the country, is rich and exuberant. Here flourish the fig-tree, the almond, the cotton-plant, and sugar-cane. Sicily is one of the most productive spots on the earth. The soil is calcareous, and its fertility is much increased by volcanic fire. 372 EUROPE. Agriculture is badly managed, and the cultivators are poor. On the continent are produced wine, oil, silk, wheat, Indian-corn, &c. ; Sicily produces the same articles, with flax and hemp : oranges, lemons, figs, and almonds are raised, in great quantities. The exports consist chiefly of the products of the country, and are not extensive. The commerce is entirely in the hands of foreigners. There are no manufactures of any consequence. Education and the sciences are in a low state throughout the kingdom, and there are no schools for the instruction of the lower class. The three universities at Naples, Palermo, and Catania are provided with fine libraries and numerous professors, but little is taught in them besides law and natural philosophy. The government is a constitutional hereditary monarchy ; yet the king exercises both the legislative and the executive power. The army consists of 28,000 men, and the navy of two ships of the line, five frigates, and fifty sail of small vessels, all in a very inefficient condition. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean : it is separated from the continent by the strait of Messina, which is five miles wide. The mountains of this island may be regarded as a contin- uation of the Apennines. Mount Etna, near the eastern shore, is 10,925 feet in height. This celebrated volcano has thrown out flames, at intervals, for more than 2000 years. Its immense size and solitary elevation, the beauty and magnificence of the sur- rounding scenery, and the terrific grandeur of its eruptions, have made it one of the wonders of the world. The Lipari islands lie north of Sicily. They are 12 in number, and contain a population of 20,000 : a part of them only are inhab- ited. Stromboli is a volcano that burns without ceasing. Volcano, another island, constantly emits smoke. Capri, Ischia, and Procida, are small fertile islands in the Bay of Naples. Naples, the capital of the kingdom, is the largest city in Italy. It stands on the splendid bay of the same name, and with its su- burbs and contiguous villages extends six or eight miles along the water. Nothing can surpass the beauty of the bay or the prospect of the city viewed from the water, where its long lines of palaces, splendid gardens, and terraced roofs are seen to great advantage. The dark towering summit of Vesuvius rises to the height of 3932 feet above the bay, while its lower regions are covered with the richest vegetation, and dotted with white country-houses. The streets of the city are straight but narrow ; some are re- freshed with fountains ; others are decorated with statues and sculp- tured obelisks. The houses are high, the roofs flat. Naples in its interior has no parallel on earth. The whole population is out of doors and in incessant motion. Every trade, occupation, and ITALY. Olranto. Otranto, on the strait of the same name, and in the most eastern part of Italy, is a Bmal! bat ancient town, now chiefly distinguished for its spacious castle, which has been celebrated even in romance. Pompeii. Herculaneum and Pompeii are remarkable for having been buried by an eruption of Vesuvius, in the reign of Titus, A. D. 79 ; and so completely covered with lava and ashes were both of these cities, that a knowledge of their precise situation was lost for almost seventeen centuries. Herculaneum was discovered in 1738, and Pompeii in 1750. Many ancient streets and buildings are again thrown open, and in them we see, as it were, the domestic life of the ancients. Tarento. Tarento, the ancient Tarentum, was once the capital of a powerful republic, and the rival of Rome. Though still possessing some trade, it is comparatively unimportant. Its caslle is a fortress of some strength. The inhabitants are chiefly fishermen. 2R 493 EUROPE. Squillace. Squillace, in Calabria, the most southern province of Naples, is a small but ancient and picturesque town ; it was much injured by the great earthquake of 1783. I'lain of SybariB The Plain of Sybaris, in the southern part of Italy, is a rich tract of country. It is diversified with fruitful groves of oranges and citron, above which rise finely-cultivated hills ; while the dis- tance is formed by the mountains of Calabria, capped with almost perpetual snow. Corigliano. Corigliano, situated ten miles west of Otranto, stands very nearly on the site of the ancient Sybaris. It presents a striking and picturesque appearance. Girgenti. Girgenti, situated near the southern coast of Sicily, occupies part of the site of the ancient Agrigcntum, once the largest city in the island, and, for a time, the rival of Cartilage. The lemains of many interesting antiquities are to be seen here. 494 IONIAN REPUBLIC. 373 amusement is here going on in the midst of a tumultuous crowd rolling up and down. The number of lazzaroni, or vagabonds, is immense. They are idle from choice : their tatters do not indi- cate misery, for the climate requires hardly any covering. Six strong castles defend the city, and an excellent mole shelters the port. There are above 300 churches in Naples, remarkable for their rich ornaments. The nobility are numerous, and 120 of them have the title of princes. Population, 364,000. Torre del Greco, a sea-port near Naples, has 13,000 inhabitants; Gaeta, 15,000 ; and Lecci also has 15,000. Bari, on the Adri- atic, has a good harbour, and a population of 19,000. Palermo, the capital of Sicily, is a fine city. The streets are regular and wide; the houses elegant, and several of the public squares very beautiful. Population, 168,000. Catania lies at the foot of Mount Etna. It was founded 700 years before the Chris- tian era, and has suffered severely from eruptions of the mountain and earthquakes. Population, 47,000. Messina stands upon the strait of that name ; it is regularly built, has one of the best harbours in the Mediterranean, and is the first commercial town in the kingdom. It was completely destroy- ed by an earthquake in 1783, but has been rebuilt. Population, 40,000. Trapani, Syracuse, and Girgenti are towns of some note on the coast, and have each respectively 24,000, 18,000, and 12,000 inhabitants. IONIAN REPUBLIC. The Ionian Islands is the name given to a range extending chiefly along the coast of Greece. The principal islands are Cephalonia, Corfu, Zante, Santa Maura, Theaki, and Cerigo ; the latter is situated at a considerable distance from the rest, oft* the southern coast of the Morea. These islands once formed a part of the dominions of the late republic of Venice ; they afterwards belonged to France ; but in the year 1815, the congress of Vienna formed them into a separate state, by the title of the Ionian Republic, or the Repub- lic of the Seven Islands, and placed them under the protection of Great Britain. The inhabitants, 190,000 in number, are chiefly Greeks and Italians, with some Jews. The Lord High Commissioner, who is at the head of the government, is appointed by the sovereign of Great Britain. The legislative assembly consists of 29 elective and 11 integral members, all of the class of nobles : the former are chosen for the term of five years by the nobles ; the latter are virtually, if not directly, nominated by the High Commissioner. The senate con- sists of a president, nominated by the commissioner, and five mem- bers chosen by the Legislative assembly from their own number. 32 493 374 EUROPE. These islands, like the opposite coast of Greece, are rocky, rugged, and picturesque. This surface renders them ill fitted for the cultivation of grain ; but wine and fruits, especially the latter, are raised in great perfection. The species of small grape, which, when dried, are called currants, and olive oil, are largely exported. Honey, wine, and flax, are the other most important articles of agricultural industry. The annual value of the exports is about $1,200,000. The public revenue, independent of the military establishment which is supported by the British govern- ment, is $700,000 per annum. The following table gives a general view of the Ionian islands : Names. Cephalonia Corfu Zante Santa Maura Cerigo (with Cerigotto) Theaki (with Calamos) Paxo (with Antipaxo) . . Sq. M. Population. 350 59,000 240 56,000 140 35,000 100 18,000 90 9,000 60 8,000 20 1000 5,000 190,000 Capitals. Argostoli Corfu Zante Santa Maura . . Modari Vathi St. Gago Population. 4,000 17,000 18,000 5,000 1,000 2,000 4,000 Zante is the richest and most flourishing of these islands, but Corfu contains the city of Corfu, which is strongly fortified, and is the seat of government of the republic. Argostoli, Corfu, and Zante, are the principal ports. Malta is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, about 54 miles to the southward of Sicily : it is about 60 miles in circuit, and, together with the neighbouring small islands of Gozzo and Comino, belongs to Great Britain. These islands were formerly in the possession of the Knights of St. John, a rich and powerful military order. They were captured from them by Napoleon Bonaparte on his voyage to Egypt, and were afterwards taken by the British in the year 1800. In no part of Europe are the fortifications so imposing. In Gibraltar, admiration is excited by the works of nature; in Malta, by those of art. To garrison the latter completely, would require above 30,000 men. Malta was originally nothing but a barren rock ; but such quantities of soil have been carried to it from Sicily and Africa, that it is now fertile and well cultivated. The people are industrious, and raise grain, cotton, and excellent fruits, particularly oranges. Population, 104,000. On the neighbouring smaller island of Gozzo there are 16,000; and Co- mino, lying between Malta and Gozzo, contains 600 inhabitants. La Valetta, the capital and port of Malta, being situated on a narrow tongue of land, with a noble harbour on each side, forms an admirable naval station, deriving great importance from its ITALY, Port of Messina, in Sicily. Catania, in Sicily, Catania is the finest city in Sicily. It contains many Greek and Saracenic structures. Some of the modern buildings are large and handsome. The University is celebrated. The streets are wide and well paved with lava. Temple of Segeste, in Sicily. The Temple of Scgesle, near Trapani, in the western part of Sicily, is a simple, grand, and almost entire edifice, standing on a solitary hill, iiU* 497 EUROPE. Ruins of Selinus, in Sicily. The remains of Selinus, in the western part of Sicily, consist of fragments of huge columtw and vast blocks of stone, forming the most stupendous mass of ruins in Europe. Temple of Jupiter Olympus, in Sicily. The Temple of Jupiter Olympus, near Girgenti, was a vast structure, "88 by 188 feet. It is altogether in ruins ; and has been called the Temple of Giants, from the great size of •he stones used in its construction Temple of Concord. The Temple of Concord, which stands in the vicinity of that of Jupiter Olympus, is a fine specimen of the Doric order of architecture, and is in a state of tolerable preservation. 498 GREECE. 375 position in the heart of the Mediterranean. It serves also, espe- cially during war, as a commercial depot, whence goods may be introduced into Italy and the Levant. Population, 32,000. Citta Vecchia, in the centre of the island, is also well fortified. Population, 5000. GREECE. Greece, or Hellas, as it is called by the natives, is one of the most celebrated countries in the world. Its name is dear to every man of taste and lover of learning. Two thousand years ago Greece excelled all other nations in civilization, literature and the arts. It was for almost the whole of the last four cen- turies subject to Turkish bondage, but has lately, after a bloody and protracted warfare, become free and independent. Modern Greece comprises only a portion of the ancient country of that name. It comprehends a section of the most southern part of Europe, together with a number of islands in the Archi- pelago. It is formed of two peninsulas, of which that of the Morea is the most southern. It is joined to the mainland by the isthmus of Corinth. The kingdom is encompassed, on all sides, by the sea, except the north, where it is separated from European Turkey by a boundary which stretches from the Gulf of Volo to that of Arta. The interior of Greece is greatly diversified with rugged mountains, and with fertile and picturesque vales. Along the shores there are beautiful plains, the soil of which is fruitful, and the climate delightful. There are many inlets and bays, afford- ing great facilities for commerce, and presenting strong induce- ments to navigation. In various parts of Greece, there still remain many interesting monuments of antiquity. The ruins of temples, known to have been built 3000 years ago, exist at the present day. It is remarkable that these remains exhibit a styleof archi- tecture, common in that remote age, more truly chaste and beau- tiful than has been since devised. The general divisions of Greece are the four provinces of Western Hellas, Eastern Hellas, the Morea, and the Isles which are divided into ten nomoi, and these again are subdivided into 48 eparchies. The area of the whole is about 21,000 square miles. The population is estimated at from 600,000 to 1,000,000. Many of the mountains of this country are greatly renowned in history and poetry. The most celebrated, however, as Athos, Olympus, Pindus, Pelion, &c. are not comprised in the present 376 EUROPE. kingdom. Parnassus, Helicon, and Hymettus, on the mainland, and Taygetus, in the Morea, are the best known of those included in modern Greece. The rivers Aspropotamus and the Alpheus are the principal Greek streams ; they are however small, the first being only 140 miles in its length of course, and the other about one half of that extent. The Gulf of Lepanto, in the west, and Egina, in the east, are separated from each other by the isthmus of Corinth, which is only five miles wide, and connects the peninsula of the Morea with the continent. The other important inlets are the gulfs of Arta and Arcadia, on the west, Coron, Colokythia and Napoli, on the south, and Volo and Zeitoun, on the east. The agriculture of this region is very imperfect, yet, so genial are the soil and climate, that the products are abundant. Wheat, barley, Indian-corn, cotton, &c, are generally cultivated ; and honey, oil, and wine, are also produced. Greece, however, is almost altogether a pastoral country ; the people are skilled in the management of cattle, sheep, and goats, which are fed in vast numbers on the sides of the hills and on the high plains of the interior. Manufactures are in a still ruder state than agriculture, and the country is indebted to foreigners for every thing, except a few coarse and common fabrics. Commerce is carried on with much greater activity than any of the other branches of industry, and has been one of the main instruments in raising this renowned country from its extreme depression. A prodigious impulse was given to the commerce of this country by the general war conse- quent on the French revolution, which left the Greek for a long time the only neutral flag in Europe. The islands, and parti- cularly the little harbours of Hydra, Ipsara, and Spezzia, not only exported the produce of Greece itself, but maintained the carrying trade from port to port all around the Mediterranean. In 1809, the exports were estimated to amount to 14 million dollars. It is difficult to ascertain the present condition of the commerce of this country. During the late dreadful contest it was trodden under foot, and the people of Hydra, in whom it centred, had all their resources occupied by war, nor has it pro- bably revived at all to its ancient extent. In 1832, however, the Greek merchant-vessels exceeded 1000 in number. The Greek army, in 1820, was estimated at 50,000 men, con- sisting of brave but irregular troops, and commanded by skilful generals. The military force at present does not probably exceed 15,000 men. The navy was composed mostly of merchant brigs belonging to the islands, amounting to about 80 sail. They generally beat the Turkish fleets during the war, and many of GREECE. Mount Parnassus. Parnassus, the most elevated mountain in Greece, is near 6000 feet high. It was sacred to Apollo and the muses, and also to Bacchus. This mountain became celebrated in early ages ; and its fame has descended to us through the writings of the Greek authors. Grotto of Antiparos, on a small island in the Archipelago. This Grotto consists of a series of cavos, the sides of which are encrusted with crystallized marble as white as snow. When properly lighted up, these caverns present a scene of unrival- led splendour. The Pass leading to the Vale of Tempe. The Vale of Tcmpe is a beautiful valley, the approach to which is through a narrow rocky defile. It was highly eulogised by the Greek writers for its sequestered and picturesque scenery. The observations of modern travellers verify the ancient descriptions. 501 EUROPE. Plain of Marathon, fifteen miles from Athens. Marathon is celebrated for the victory gained, in the year 500 B. C, by the Greeks, under Miltiades, over the Persians. The great tumulus, or barrow, is supposed to have been erected over the bodies of the slain. Delphi, at the base of Mount Parnassus. Delphi was the seat of a heathen oracle, and the most celebrated of the ancient shrines to which the credulous pagans resorted. The Bplendid temple dedicated to Apollo has entirely disappeared, and even its exact situation is unknown. The small village of Castro occupies the site of the ancient city. Cheronea, near the base of Mount Parnassus. Cheronea was a great battle-field, on which the fate of Greece was repeatedly decided. A most conspicuous tumulus still exists, a monument of the ensanguined field. 502 GREECE. 377 the largest Turkish vessels were destroyed by means of fire- ships, the employment of which was, with the Greeks, a favourite mode of warfare. The great body of the people of Greece are destitute of educa- tion and knowledge, but they are anxious for improvement, and are eager to rise from the degradation consequent upon their long political servitude. The Greeks are an active, vigorous race of people, and are generally distinguished for their personal beauty ; their complexion is dark and clear, and their eyes ani- mated and brilliant. In their late contest with the Turks, they displayed a courage and bravery not unworthy their heroic ancestors. The religion of the Greeks is that of the church which bears their name. Though it retains the title of Christian, it is lament- ably fraught with ignorance and superstition, being a system of mere forms and ceremonies, with but little of the light or spirit of the Gospel. Strenuous exertions have been made for some time past, by several missionary and philanthropic societies in the United States and Great Britain, to improve the moral and spiritual condition of this interesting people. Learning in Greece, where it once flourished with such unri- valled splendour, had fallen into a state of total extinction. As soon, however, as the government had become settled, schools of mutual instruction were established in various places, and the formation of central schools and libraries, and of a university at Athens, was decreed. All these institutions are yet only in their infancy ; but there cannot be a doubt that the exertions now making for the improvement of the people of Greece, will result in elevating their intellectual character as a nation. Five newspapers and a periodical review are now published at Athens. The government chosen for this country, by the great European powers, is a limited monarchy, with a Senate and House of Re- presentatives. The selected sovereign is Otho, son of Charles Louis, of Bavaria. In 1833, he arrived in Greece, accompanied by a council of regency, and was acknowledged by the people as their sovereign. In June, 1838, Otho, being of age, took the direction of the affairs of state. He bears the title of the King of Greece. The administration of the national affairs has not, as yet, realized the expectations of the friends of Grecian liberty. The islands form a prominent and interesting appendage to Greece; the principal of these are Negropont, the Cyclades, the Sporades, the Ionian Islands, and Candia, — the two last are now, however, politically distinct. Negropont is a long, narrow island, 100 miles in length, and from six to twenty broad. It is separated from the continent by 32 * 503 378 EUROPE. the strait of Egripo, which, in some places, is only a feu- hundred feet wide, and is crossed by several bridges. The island is diversified by rugged mountains and fertile valleys. The capital, Negropont, has a population of 10,000 or 12,000, and is an important commercial town. The northern Sporades, lying north-east of Negropont, com- prise Skyro, Chelidonia, and some other islands. The Western Sporades, which lie along the east coast of the Morea, are Hydra, Spezzia, Poros, Egina, &c. The two islands of Hydra and Spezzia, though little favoured by nature, have, in a singular manner, taken the lead of all the states and islands of Greece. The former, a rugged mass of rock, with scarcely a spot of verdure, contains about 40,000 in- habitants, many of whom have acquired considerable wealth. Their energies were, during the revolution, exclusively turned to war, and, perhaps, they will never regain their former extensive commerce. Spezzia is a sort of outwork of Hydra, with only 3000 inhabitants, yet with somewhat more of cultivation. Hydra, the capital of the island of the same name, is a well-built town, with about 20,000 inhabitants : it contains handsome houses and quays, and clean streets. The Cyclades, a numerous and celebrated group, are inter- posed between Candia and Asia Minor, but nearer to the continent, from which they recede in a south-east direction. Their aspect, bold, rocky, yet richly verdant, presents to the vessels sailing through it scenes of varied beauty. The principal of these are Paros, Antiparos, Naxio, Santorini, Milo, Argentera, Syra, An- dro, Sino, Zea, &c. The city of Syra, on the island of the same name, is the capital of the Cyclades, and one of the principal commercial places in Greece. Population, 25,000. Candia, lately ceded to the Pacha of Egypt, is generally con- sidered one of the Greek islands, and among the largest in the Mediterranean, being about 500 miles in circumference. The interior is covered with mountains, of which Mount Ida towers to a very lofty height. The inhabitants of Candia are a fine active and spirited race, and were more independent of the Turkish government than the vassals of most other parts of the empire. Candia, the capital, has had its harbour choked up with sand, and the greater part of its trade has passed to Canea. It still bears the traces of a handsome town, with substantial houses formed into regular streets and squares ; but the havoc of its long siege, and subsequent desertion, give it a very gloomy aspect. The former event, protracted for twenty-four years, forms one of the most memorable eras in modern history. Canea is popu- lous and flourishing, having 15,000 inhabitants. Between Canea GREECE. Sepulchres at Plat, and have never been restored. 520 ASIA. 387 ASIA. Asia is the largest and most populous division of the eastern continent, being more extensive in area, and containing a greater number of inhabitants, than Europe and Africa united. This part of the earth is supposed to have been the scene of the creation of man; and, after the deluge, it became a second time the nursery of the world. In Asia the chief part of the important and interesting events, recorded in the sacred Scriptures, took place. Here the patriarchs performed their pilgrimages, the prophets proclaimed the will of Heaven to man, and the Redeemer appeared, died, and rose again from the dead. Here, also, civilization, learning, and the arts, had their commencement ; the first temples were erected, and the wor- ship of the Most High was celebrated, while Europe, and other parts of the earth, were unknown and unexplored. The vast expanse of Asia, stretching through almost eighty de- grees of latitude, presents every variety of surface, soil, and climate. It is encompassed by the sea on nearly every side, being washed on the north by the Arctic, on the east by the Pacific, and on the south by the Indian Ocean, and is bounded on the west by the Red, the Mediterranean, and the Black seas. This great region is estimated at 6000 miles in extent, from east to west, and about 5000 from north to south ; comprising an area of 16,000,000 square miles, or about one-third part of the land surface of the globe. Every thing in Asia is on a vast scale; its mountains, its rivers, its plains, and its deserts. The grandest feature, and one which makes a complete section of this great region, is an extensive chain of mountains, which, under various names, but with very little interruption, crosses the continent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, an extent of 5800 miles. The Taurus, Elborz, and the Himmaleh mountains are the best known portions of this mighty range. On one side it has Southern Asia, the finest and most extensive plain in the world, covered with the rich- est tropical products, watered by magnificent rivers, and filled with populous nations and great empires. On the other side, it serves as a bulwark to the wide table-land of Thibet, which, though under the latitude of the south of Europe, has many of the characteristics of a northern region. To the northward are the three almost parallel chains, of the Kuen-lun, the Thian-chan, and the Altay mountains ; these, though imperfectly explored, are known to be of great elevation, varying 2T* 5*1 388 ASIA. from 12,000 to 20,000 feet in height, and ranging thousands of miles in extent. The Ural mountains, which separate European from Asiatic Russia, and the Ghauts of Hindoostan, are the prin- cipal of the secondary chains. Central Asia comprises several large lakes or inland seas, salt like the ocean, receiving considerable rivers and having no outlet. These are the Caspian, the Aral, the Balcash, and others of lesser magnitude. No part of the eastern continent has so many rivers of the first order, some of which are inferior in extent only to the vast water- courses of the New World. The principal rivers of the northern part of Asia, are the Obe, the Irtysh, the Yenesei, and the Lena: these gloomy streams, flowing into the Arctic Ocean, and bound by almost perpetual frost, afford little aid either to agriculture or the intercourse of nations. The Euphrates, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Irrawaddy, empty into the Indian Ocean, and the Meinam and Cambodia into the Pacific. They are the chief rivers of Southern Asia, and flow through and fertilize some of the most populous and productive countries in the world. The Yang-tse Kiang, and the Hoang Ho, rising in the high mountainous regions of Central Asia, take their course eastvvardly across the Empire of China, to whose prosperity they mainly con- tribute, and fall into the Pacific Ocean. The Amoor runs in the same direction through Northern Tartary, but without any advan- tage to that barren district. Lastly, the Sihon, the Amoo, the Ural, and others of lesser magnitude, flow along the great plains of Western Tartary, but, unable to reach the ocean, expand into the Aral, the Caspian, and other inland seas. Asia is distinguished for the great variety of its rich vegetable productions. In the warmer regions, rice, indigo, Indian-corn, dhourra, and millet, are the chief agricultural staples. In the more temperate regions, wheat and other grains are produced, and barley and oats are raised as far north as sixty degrees of latitude, and, also, on the elevated plains of the more southern districts. The tea shrub is indigenous to China, Japan, and Assam, and the coffee to Arabia. The sugar-cane is produced in India, and the poppy plant furnishes great quantities of opium for exportation. The cotton shrub, and mulberry tree, grow throughout the south- ern regions. Asia, likewise, furnishes other parts of the earth with cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmegs, pepper, camphor, the fra- grant balm of Mecca, and also many various kinds of medicinal plants and dye-stuffs. Asia is rich in mineral productions, and yields all the useful and precious metals, but the wealth of the Asiatic mines has not been ASIA. Tea Plant. Coffee Plant and Berries. Aloe Soccotrina. The Tea Plant grows principally in China and Japan, and attains the height of five or six feet. When it is three years old, the leaves are plucked off, placed iri an iron pan, and heate:| for some time over a fire ; they are then poured out, and as they cool, each leaf is rolled in the palm of the hand into a kind of ball ; when the heating and rolling have been repeated two or three times, the procesB is complete. The Coffee Plant is cultivated in various parts of the earth, and grows eighteen or twenty feet high. The fruit is of a dark-red colour, the size of a cherry, and contains each two seeds; these, when freed from their husk, and dried in the sun, constitute the coffee of commerce. The Aloe Soccotrina, or Socotrine Aloe, grows in Arabia, Socotra, &c. Its inspissated juice forms the medicinal gum known as aloes. There are many species of the aloe plant found in various parts of the earth. Sorgho, or Durra Plant. Doum Tree, and Fruit. The grain callod Sorgho, Dhourra, or Durra, is a coarse kind of millet, that is cultivated in warm sandy regions. It yields in some places three crops a year, and forms the chief food of many of the inhabitants of Asia and Africa. The Doum Tree grows on the edge of the various deserts in Arabia, Egypt, &c. Its trunk furnishes the chief part of the timber used in those countries ; and from its leaves carpets, bags, and baskets, are made. The fruit in taste resembles gingerbread, but is not of much value, being full of fibres. When ripe, the kernel becomes very hard, and fine beads for rosaries are made of it, as it takes a beautiful polish. 523 ASIA. Cinnamon Tree. Indigo Plant. Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tree that grows from twenty to thirty feet high, in Ceylon and the adjacent countries. When five or six years old, and upwards, branches of an inch thick are cut from the tree: the bark is then peeled off, the outer part scraped away, and the residue, being dried in the sun, is fit for use. Indigo is manufactured from a plant that is cultivated in various parts of the earth. In India, when two or three months old, the branches are cut off, and steeped in vats, until the colouring matter of the leaves is wholly extracted by the water ; it is then strained through hair or mat- bags ; and the fecula, being carefully dried, becomes indigo. Pepper Plant. Acacia Arabica, or Gum Arabic Tree. Pepper is the fruit of a low creeping vine, that is cultivated nearly in the same manner that peas are with us. When ripe, the berries are gathered, and dried in the sun, which is all the preparation necessary. This plant produces two crops annually. It grows on the Malabar coast, in the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Mauritius, as well as in Cayenne. The Gum Arabic Tree grows in Arabia, and also in Africa, on the southern edge of the Great Desert. The gum exudes from the branches, in the same way that we see it in the peach and some other trees. The African gum is usually called Gum Senegal. Betula Nana. Epilubium Latifulium. Rhododendron kamtchaticum. 524 ASIA. Butea Frondosa. Shorea Robusta. Amyris Gileadensia. Andromeda Polifolia. Stillingia Sebifera, or Wax Plant. The Amyris Gileadensia grows in Syria and Abyssinia. It yields by incision the medicinal gum called the Balm of Gilead, which is known to have been an article of commerco so far back as the days of Joseph. It has been for ages highly extolled, and is still regarded as a most valuable medicine and cosmetic by the Turks, and other eastern nations. With us, how- ever, it is not in much repute, and its virtues are believed to have been greatly overrated. The Wax Plant of China yields a kind of wax that is made into candles by the natives. 525 ASIA. Bengal Tiger. Long-armed Ape. Orang Outang of Malacca, Borneo, &c. Argali, Mountain or Wild Sheep. The Orang Outang is an animal of the ape species, which approaches more closely than any other the human form. The stature of the adult is uncertain ; those brought to Europe and America have been from three to four and a half feet in height. They are grave and gentle in disposition, and soon become attached to those who treat them kindly. The fables formerly told of this animal walking upright, waging war with clubs, and each individual equalling several men in strength, are now exploded. It appears to have been formed for climbing trees, and living among the branches ; and can only by long and painful discipline be made to totter along in an upright position for a short distance, and even then not without the help of a stick. 536 ASIA. 389 fully explored. Gold and silver are found in Siberia, Thibet, China, Japan, and India ; quicksilver in Japan, China, and Cey- lon ; tin in China; and iron, lead, copper, coal, and salt, abound in various Asiatic countries. Hindoostan produces the finest dia- monds in the world ; they are found, also, to some extent in Siberia, and the ruby, amethyst, turquois, &c, are met with in various quarters. Asia has always been remarkable for the number and variety of its animals : the larger species are more numerous than in other quarters of the earth, and nearly all the domestic kinds known amongst civilized nations, had their origin in this region. The elephant, though never bred in a tame stace, may be placed at the head of its domestic animals. From time immemorial this quadruped has been used in war by the people of India, and for the purposes of travelling, bearing heavy burdens, &c. Its ser- vices appear to be universal, and it is as essential to the Indian sportsman, as a good horse to an English fox-hunter. Domestica- tion has so far subdued the instinct of nature, that tame elephants are employed to decoy and catch their wild brethren. Immense troops of the latter still roam over the northern parts of India, in Ceylon, Chin-India, particularly in Laos, and, probably, in all the larger of the neighbouring islands. White elephants are occasionally met with. They are, how- ever, so rare, that the king of Siam considered the possession of six individuals, at one time, a circumstance peculiarly auspicious to his reign. They are believed to contain the spirit of some de- parted monarch, and, as such, have the rank and title of a king, and have, also, numerous attendants, who wait on and feed them with the greatest care and solicitude. When taken abroad, the people, both in Siam and Birmah, are obliged to prostrate them- selves, as before their actual sovereign. The common domestic animals of Asia, present greater varieties of species than those of any other region ; and though no longer found, except in a few instances, in a state of nature, are still pro- verbial for their symmetry and vigour. In Arabia, particularly, the horse is, of all other animals, the object of most especial care and value. In no other part of the world does he display so much gentleness, intelligence, and spirit. The nomadic and pas- toral nations which have, from time immemorial, occupied the plains of Asia, may be said to live almost on horseback ; and, in- deed, it would be almost impossible for them to carry on their predatory expeditions, or to traverse the vast steppes of the central districts, without the aid of this noble animal. His flesh, also, supplies them with their favourite food, and the milk of the mare is the greatest dainty of a Tartar feast. 33 * 527 390 ASIA. The ass of Persia, Syria, and the Levant, is greatly superior to the same animal in Europe; it approaches nearer to the large size of the horse, and partakes much of his beautiful symmetry of form, noble carriage, and unrivalled speed. The camel and dromedary are, no doubt, of Asiatic origin. The former, distinguished by two humps, is found chiefly, if not solely, among the wandering Tartars, from the confines of Siberia to the northern ridges of the Himmaleh mountains ; whilst the dromedary spreads not only over Arabia, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia, but extends into India, and probably even into China, and is also widely spread over all the northern and sandy parts of Africa. Of the ox kind, four distinct varieties have been, from time im- memorial, domesticated in different parts of Asia. The common Indian ox is the usual beast of draught and burden in Hindoostan, and, from its great speed, is frequently used for the saddle, even by Europeans. The yak has been long domesticated in the cen- tral parts of the continent, and especially among the Tartars. The buffalo, common in India and China, supplies the inhabitants with milk and butter. The fourth species, the gayal, frequent among the Burmese and in Thibet, is also found wild in many parts, and is, in that state, a formidable animal, being as much dreaded by the native hunters as the tiger. The varieties of sheep and goats are numerous in Asia. The broad-tailed sheep is widely dispersed. The tail is the best part of the animal, for the flesh is dry and insipid ; and, instead of wool, the body is covered with a short coarse hair. From the fleece of the shawl-goat of Cashmere, the Indians manufacture those rich and valuable shawls which are so highly esteemed in Europe, as well as throughout the East. The Angora goat is an inferior variety of the shawl-goat, whose long wool is of a tolerably fine texture, but. not adapted to the same purposes as the richer wool of the Cashmerian animal. Among the carnivorous animals, are three or four species of bears. These are found chiefly in the mountains and plains of India. Besides which, the common brown bear of Europe, and the white or polar bear, abound in Siberia, Kamschatka, and the shores of the Frozen Ocean. The tiger, the most savage and formidable of all the rapacious animals, exists only in southern Asia, and the neighbouring isles. He is fearless of man, ferocious and blood-thirsty, and will kill and drag off a horse or a buffalo with great ease. Hunting the tiger, by sportsmen mounted on elephants, is a favourite amuse- ment ; it is, however, dangerous, and frequently attended with loss of life. The leopard and panther are common in the forests of India. The lion also has been lately found in the province of ASIA. Arabian Horse. Fat-tailed Sheep, of Thibet. Gazelle, of Persia, Turkey, and Tartary. Musk Deer, of Thibet Angora Sheep, of Turkey. Brown Eat, of Persia. Four-horned Antelope. Flying Dragon. 2U 529 ASIA. Gigantic Crane, of India. Peafowl. The Gigantic Crane is sufficiently high to appear, when walking, something like a naked Indian. These birds are exceedingly voracious, and devour all kinds of reptiles, garbage, &.C. They are in consequence very useful, and are held in great estimation by the natives. Impeyan Pheasant. Long-legged Plover. The Impeyan Pheasant is called by the Hindoos the Bird of Gold. Its whole plumage i 488 ASIA. Singapore, situated on a small island at the southern extremity of Malacca, was founded by the British in 1819 ; and being de- clared a free port, has acquired great commercial importance. The inhabitants have doubled in amount since 1828, and are now 30,000 in number, comprising Europeans, Americans, Malays, Chinese, Arabs, Jews, Hindoos, &c. There is, here, an important missionary station and printing establishment, where books, in va- rious eastern languages, are published. Pulo Pinang, or Prince of Wales's Island, situated near the west coast of Malaeca, was established as a settlement in 1786, and soon became a commercial depot for the neighbouring dis- tricts, but is now, in a measure, supplanted by Singapore. George- Town is the capital : population of the island, 18,000. MALACCA. The peninsula of Malacca comprises the most southern part of Asia : it is 750 miles long, and from 50 to 150 wide, and is united to the rest of the continent by the isthmus of Kraw. On the west this country is bounded by the Bay of Bengal and the strait of Malacca, which last separates it from the island of Sumatra ; on the east side are the Gulf of Siam and the Malayan Sea ; the latter stretching from Malacca to Borneo. A range of high mountains extends through the whole length of this country, and the interior is covered with thick forests and marshes, so that it is difficult to penetrate any distance inland. The soil, though not very fertile, yet furnishes various fruits of excellent quality, and in great abundance ; grain, however, is not raised in sufficient quantity to supply the inhabitants. The northern part of the peninsula is under the control of Siam, and the southern, of Great Britain. The intermediate portion in- cludes a number of small independent states, governed by petty chiefs who are but little known. On the east coast are Ligor, Son- gora, Patani, Tringano, Pahang, and Johore, and on the west are Queda, Pera, and Salengore : the population of the whole proba- bly does not exceed 200^000. The inhabitants of Malacca are called Malays, and are all Mahomedans. Five hundred years ago they were a powerful and flourishing nation : they carried on an extensive commerce, con- quered Sumatra and the other principal islands in this quarter, and planted numerous colonies, in consequence of which they are a widely-spread people, and their language, with its various dialects, is spoken over the innumerable islands extending from Sumatra to the eastern limits of Polynesia. The superiority and rivalry of the Europeans, however, have diminished their importance, and CHINESE EMPIRE. 489 they are now divided into a number of distinct tribes, without any- sovereign or general head. The great body of the Malays are slaves ; and the Oramlai, or nobility, who are the masters, are mostly independent, and sell their services to him who will pay them best. These people are fond of war, navigation, plunder, change of place, and all desperate enterprises ; they are, by turns, merchants, pirates, and robbers ; their vessels traverse all the oriental seas, and piracy is, with them, as regular an employment as commerce. Several instances have occurred in which both American and Euro- pean ships have been surprised by them, and the crews destroyed. The Malays are active only when engaged in war ; at home they are indolent, leaving all the labour to their slaves, and despise agriculture, and other laborious employments. The Nicobar and Andaman Isles lie to the westward of Malacca, about 300 or 400 miles distant ; they are both in the possession of the natives. Those of the former group are of the brown Malay race, and are peaceable and well-disposed. The Andaman islanders are a variety of the oriental negroes. They go quite naked, never cultivate the ground, but live on fish, which they spear with great dexterity. The English attempted to form settlements on the Andaman, and the Danes on the Nicobar Islands, but both were abandoned, the climate being found fatal to European constitutions. CHINESE EMPIRE. The Chinese empire contains the greatest number of inhabitants subject to any one sovereign in the world, and is second only to the Russian empire in extent. It occupies a large portion of the central and eastern parts of Asia, and is inclosed on the north, south, and west, by Siberia, India, and Independent Tartary. This vast empire stretches over 70 degrees of longitude and 38 of latitude, being in extent, from east to west, 3300, and from north to south, 2200 miles ; comprising an area of 5,200,000 square miles, or nearly one-ninth part of the whole land surface of the globe. It includes various extensive territories, and several distinct nations, speaking different languages. The Mantchoos are the ruling people ; but the Chinese, or native race, comprise the great portion of the inhabitants. The emperor and the royal family belong to the dominant race. The population of the empire is variously reckoned at from 150 to 350 millions. The following estimate is about a medium be- tween the two extremes : 655 490 ASIA. China Little Bucharia Mantchooria . . . Mongolia Soongaria Thibet, &c Corea Of this vast expanse of territory, China Proper, Mantchooria, and Little Bucharia, only are under the direct control of the Chi- nese government. The other regions are merely tributary, or protected states. Mongolia and Soongaria belong to the former : the latter includes the petty chiefs of Thibet and Bootan, the king- dom of Corea, and the Loochoo islands. Square Miles. Population. 1,640,000 200,000,000 282,000 4,000,000 1,230,000 3,000,000 1,200,000 2,000,000 200,000 2,000,000 600,000 8,000,000 48,000 7,000,000 5,200,000 226,000,000 CHINA. China Proper is the principal division of the Chinese Empire. It occupies the south-eastern part of Asia, and is one of the most populous countries in the world. It is remarkable for the antiquity and singular character of its manners, customs and institutions, and for the reserved and jealous policy of its government towards other nations. In extent, this section of Asia stretches from south-west to north- east 1900 miles, and from south-east to north-west 1500: area, 1,640,000. It is divided into eighteen provinces, the majority of which are, in area and population, equal to some of the most pow- erful monarchies of Europe. The face of the country is much diversified, though the greater part of it is level, intersected by numerous rivers, canals, and oc- casional mountain chains, of which one of the most important appears to be a continuation of the great Himmaleh range, extend- ing eastward to the shores of the Pacific ocean. The chief rivers of China, the Hoang Ho and Yang-tse Kiang, rank amongst the most important on the eastern continent ; they both have their sources among the mountains of Thibet, and after a course of near 3000 miles, discharge their mighty waters into the ocean, separated by an interval at their mouths of only 160 miles. The principal lakes of China are the Tonting, about 300 miles in circumference, and covered with boats, inhabited by a numerous population, who subsist by fishing; and the Poyang, CHINA. White Ox. White- Wax Insect. The Chinese oxen are of two kinds, and are both of the humped variety. The largest is about equal in size to the smallest of our oxen, with very short horns, bent back, and the colour of the hide mostly white. The other, or dwarf zebu, does not exceed a good-sized hog in bulk ; they are commonly greyish-white, and with very little horns, sometimes without any. The insect which furnishes the white wax, so extensively used in China as a medicinal drug, and in the manufacture of candles, is rather larger than a common fly. It produces a white powder, which it imparts to the stems and leaves of the plants on which it is found ; this being collected and melted with some vegetable oil, coagulates into a solid substance like bees-wax. 657 ASIA. Group of Chinese. The Chinese are generally of the middle size : very few of them are tail, and still fewer dwarfish or deformed. Among the mandarins and the wealthy, there are many individuals who appear robust and corpulent ; but the mass of the people, from their scanty diet, are mostly spare in person. ^>dtufJJP% Chinese Barges. The internal trade of China is very great, and is conducted on the rivers and canals by means of numerous barges, which convey from province to province the vast amount of manu- factured and agricultural produce requisite to supply the wants of so large an empire. The imperial tax being nearly all paid in kind, and conveyed to Pekin from all quarters, consti- tutes of itself the basis of an extensive navigation. Chinese Mandarin, Ladies and Servant. In China, the women of the lower order are treated harshly, and aic almost invariably coarse nnd vulgar. A few of the higher rank casually seen by Europeans, made a mure favourable impression, and, from the delicacy of their complexion and the regularity of their features, seemed entitled to admiration. The practice of the rich in buying the most handsome females for their wivos, &c, forms a principal cause of the apparent difference between the two classes. 058 CHINESE EMPIRE. 491 which is surrounded by picturesque and finely wooded hills. The other lakes are of much less magnitude. The chief part of China lies in the temperate zone, and has a corresponding climate ; but in the northern and western districts, from the proximity of the high mountains of Central Asia, the winters are severe. The coasts of China are often visited by tre- mendous tempests, called typhoons, resembling the hurricanes of the West Indies, which often cause great destruction of life and property. The soil is, either by nature or art, fruitful of every thing that can minister to the necessities, conveniences, or luxuries of life. This country produces nearly all the fruits of tropical and tem- perate countries. The camphor, tallow, and cinnamon trees are common in the fields and gardens. The most celebrated produc- tion, however, is the tea-plant, which grows wild, but is much im- proved by careful culture. It is a shrub, five or six feet in height, producing leaves of different flavour, according to the soil. This is so extensively used in China, that although European and Ame- rican traders take annually from Canton upwards of sixty millions of pounds weight, it is said, that were the foreign exportation to cease altogether, it would not sensibly lower the price in that country. China produces nearly all the metals and minerals that are known in the world. White copper and tutenag are peculiar me- tals. The gold mines are only partially and slightly worked ; and the currency of that metal is supplied by grains, which are found in the sand of rivers and mountains. The silver is furnished from the mines of Honan. Coal is abundant. No nation is so famed for industry in all the arts that minister to human subsistence. The lands, in particular, are cultivated with a minute care, without example among any other people. The peculiar importance attached to agriculture is testified by an annual festival, in which the emperor exhibits himself to his sub- jects, guiding the plough. The Chinese carry on farming on a small scale, with rude instruments, and almost no cattle. Their chief exertions are employed in watering their fields ; and when that can be extensively performed, two crops are raised every year, without intermission or rotation. The highest mountains are formed into terraces, so constructed as to retain the requisite quan- tity of water, and allow what is superfluous to pass ; and reser- voirs are formed on the summits. In manufactures, these people are also eminent. The fabric of porcelain, so superior in beauty to every other species of earthen- ware, originated entirely with them ; and, though the taste of their imitators in Europe has produced more elegant patterns, they are 492 ASIA. still unrivalled as to its whiteness, hardness, and the transparency of its colours. Silk is also a fabric which the western world has acquired a knowledge of from the Chinese. A number of little or- namented trinkets and toys are also made with the simplest instru- ments, and by the hands of single individuals ; yet with a beauty which we in vain attempt to rival. Such are their ivory fans and baskets ; their ornaments of tortoise-shell and mother-of-pearl ; their silver filigree and lackered cabinets, chests, &c; their stained paper and Indian-ink are also well known. The interior commerce of China is chiefly confined to the ope- ration of bartering the productions of its different provinces. The most ample facilities are afforded by the great rivers and theit nu- merous tributaries, and also by the canals, which are constructed on a greater scale than in any other country. Salt is a most ex- tensive article of traffic ; and coal, turf, and other fuel give occu- pation to numerous barges. The distribution throughout China of the silks, porcelains, and various manufactures of the central provinces, affords another source no less ample. The foreign commerce of this country amounts to between 30 and 40 millions of dollars annually ; of this the European part is the most considerable, and has been chiefly in the hands of the English. Foreigners can deal only with a body of licensed Chi- nese traders, called the Hong merchants, who are required to give security to the government lor the payment of the import and ex- port duties on the cargo of every ship that arrives, and for the good conduct of the crew. There are, however, others, called outside merchants, many of whom, under sanction of the Hong, carry on traffic to a considerable extent. The British trade in Canton was recently under the supervision of an officer of their own, appointed by the crown, and styled the Superintendent of the Merchants. About 45 million pounds of tea have been annually sent to England, besides a corresponding proportion of the other articles of trade. Of the European na- tions, the Dutch trade is the largest after the British ; but even with the assistance of protecting duties in Holland, the Dutch cannot withstand the enterprise and activity of the Americans. Though the Portuguese possess the island of Macao, and the Spaniards, from the Philippines, have access to the port of Amoy, they make little use of these advantages. The French, Swedes, and Danes, all carry on a little intercourse with Canton. The trade to China from India, called the country trade, was, until lately, very important, principally in opium, cotton, pepper, tin, betel-nut, &c. ; it is now somewhat interrupted, in consequence of hostilities having commenced between China and Great Britain. This event took place, because the Chinese prohibited the intro- duction of opium into the empire, and destroyed a quantity of CHINESE EMPIRE. 493 that article, valued at 10 million dollars, belonging to British mer- chants. In July 1840, Canton river was blockaded ; soon after- wards, Tchusan, a considerable island on the east coast was taken; and, according to the latest intelligence (Aug. 1841,) Canton was also captured by a British force. The American Chinese trade commenced in 1783 with a single vessel from the port of New York, and has increased from 30 to 40 ships annually ; the average amount of whose cargoes is up- wards of live million dollars; the imports are near 15 million pounds of tea of various kinds, with some nankeens, silks, toys, &c. : in return are sent seal-skins, ginseng, sea-slug, woollen and cotton goods, and specie. The foreign commerce carried on by the Chinese themselves, though much less in amount than that by Europeans, is not incon- siderable : many voyages are annually performed in their large, unwieldy junks, whose model can never be improved, as the slightest deviation from their present clumsy structure would sub- ject the owners to the high duties imposed on foreign merchants. Saigon, Bankok, Singapore, and Batavia are the ports to which the Chinese principally trade. The over-land foreign trade of China, carried on by caravans, is also extensive. The principal stations for this trade are Mai- matchin, on the Russian frontier ; Yarkand and Cashgar, near the frontiers of Bucharia ; Ladak and Lassa, in Thibet ; Yong- tchang, in Yunnan, near the Birman frontier ; and Koei-lin, near that of Anam. The inland navigation, by means of rivers and canals, which everywhere abound, is unparalleled. The Imperial Canal is the greatest work of the kind in the world. It extends from Peking to the Kiang-ku, about 600 miles. It is said to have employed 30,000 men upwards of 40 years in its construction. The great wall which bounds China on the north is the most extensive fabric in the world. It is 1500 miles long, passing over a vast chain of mountains, 30 feet high on the plain, 15 or 20 when carried over rocks and elevated grounds ; and of such thickness, that six horsemen can easily ride abreast upon it. It is said to have been completed 214 years before the Christian era. The whole of the immense population of China composes strictly one people, cast in one mould, both of form and mind ; and exhibit, in their general appearance, striking proofs of Mongol origin. They have a square, flat face, small nose, pale, yellow complex- ion, and long black hair. The latter is plaited into a tail, reach- ing from the crown of the head sometimes as low as the calf of the leg, the rest of the scalp being closely shaven. According to the ideas of the Chinese, the chief beauty of the females consists 42 3F 661 494 ASIA. in the small ness of their feet, which are swathed from the ear- liest infancy, in order to prevent their growing to the natural size. The national character of the Chinese has been very differently regarded ; and perhaps there has of late prevailed a disposition to rate it somewhat too low. Quietude, industry, order, and regu- larity, qualities which a despotic government seeks always to fos- ter, seem to be peculiarly conspicuous. A general good-humour and courtesy reign in their aspect and proceedings. Flagrant crimes, and open violations of the laws are by no means common. The attachments of kindred are encouraged and cherished with peculiar force, particularly towards parents, and ancestry in gene- ral. The support of the aged and infirm is inculcated as a sacred duty, which appears to be very strictly fulfilled. It is said to be customary, that a whole family, for several generations, with all its members, live under one roof, and with only two apartments, one for sleeping, and the other for eating. Within the domestic circle, however, and that of ceremonious social intercourse, appears to terminate all that is estimable in the Chinese disposition. In every other respect, they show no interest in the welfare of their fellow-creatures, nor even the com- mon feelings of sympathy. Repeated instances have occurred of Chinese dropping into the sea, and being rescued by foreigners, while their own countrymen did not take the least notice, or make a single effort to save them. Their propensity to fraud has been amply noticed by travellers, but appears to have been somewhat exaggerated. The want of all independent place and power, the abject sub- mission required, and the application of the rod to all classes alike, produces a general degradation of character, and the vices which are its natural consequences. The highest officers of state are said to show an entire disregard of truth, and hesitate not to utter the most glaring falsehoods, whenever a political purpose is to be served. Learning is highly esteemed in China ; and superior attainments in knowledge are a sure passport to office and distinction. The literature is, however, much encumbered by the difficulties of the language, which is meagre and imperfect. Poetry is a general study, and there are many tales, books of ceremonies, dramas, &c. The literary works most esteemed are attributed to Confucius. There is a gazette published at Canton ; and, though there is no censorship, the penalties for publishing what is distasteful to the au- thorities are sufficiently severe to restrain all liberty of the press. The existing worship of China is a confused mixture of super- stitions ; for, generally speaking, all religions are tolerated, though the reigning Tartar family adhere principally to the religion of CHINESE EMPIRE. 495 the Grand Lama. The religion of Fo is professed by the great body of the people, and its temples and priests are very numerous. This system is very similar to Buddhism in other countries, Fo being merely another name for Buddha. The doctrines of Confu- cius are adopted by the learned : they consider the universe to be an animated system, actuated by one spirit, of which every livingr thing is an emanation, and to which, after death, it returns. This sect pays divine honours to the heavens and the earth, the sun and moon, deified sages, heroes, inventors of useful arts, martyrs to virtue, eminent statesmen, and ancestors. The Taou, or Rational religion, is also prevalent in China. Its votaries are devoted to contemplation : they profess to despise riches, fame, and worldly distinction, and place their chief good in tranquillity and present enjoyment. There were many Catholic Christians once in China ; but they have been often persecuted, from an indiscreet zeal in the missionaries ; so that, at present, they are hardly tolerated. There have been, for some years back, both American and British Protestant missionaries stationed in Canton or Macao : their success, however, in spreading the gospel has been but limited. The Scriptures, with a number of religious works and tracts, have been translated, and printed in the language of the country, and distributed to some extent. The Chinese are more completely and substantially clothed than the other nations in the south of Asia. The men wear long gowns and petticoats, which would give them a feminine appear- ance, did they not add boots ; while the women, with short jackets and trousers, might pass for men, but for the elegant ornament of braiding their hair with flowers. Silks, satins, and occasionally fine cottons, form the material of dress for the higher ranks : the lower are clad in coarse cottons. The button forms the attribute of rank, and, by its various shapes and sizes, expresses at once, to a Chinese eye, the dignity of the wearer. The people of China differ from the other Orientals in their food, and in the mode of taking it. Instead of squatting on the floor, and eating with their fingers, they sit on chairs, and eat off tables. Their dishes are piled in successive stages over each other : they consist, in a great measure, of confections and fruits, the latter of which are iced. One favourite luxury of the rich con- sists of soups made with the gelatinous substances, sea-slug, birds'- nests, &c, imported from Cochin China, Malaysia, &c. The mandarins live luxuriously ; the ordinary Chinese can have only rice, with a little seasoning. The lower classes arc always strait- ened for food, and often eat various animals, and articles of diet rejected by other nations. Tea is the well-known universal beve- rage, presented at and after meals, and on all occasions. Their 406 ASIA. wine is bad, but they have an ardent spirit, distilled from grain, of which they use pretty largely in private. There is not, in any part of the world, a government more en- tirely despotic than the Chinese. No rank or honour exists except that which emanates from the sovereign. No distinctions are owned except those conferred by office. This supreme power of the monarch is claimed for him as the representative of Deity on earth ; and, although his government is entirely unlimited, yet it is in practice among the most mild and protecting. The emperor is held within a circle of laws, institutions, and ideas, by transgressing which, he would lose the very basis on which his authority rests. The doctrine that he is the son and vicegerent of Heaven implies that he will use this high descent and power in securing prosperity to the nation over which he holds a higher than earthly sway ; and this is so fully recognised, that, even when his people are suffering under evils of nature, famine, earthquake, or inundation, he takes the blame, humbles himself, fasts, and strips himself of his costly attire, as a penitent under whose sins his people are groaning. The fundamental, and highly laudable maxim in this country, has long been to make skill in literature the sole ground of official rank and public employment. The examinations for this purpose are conducted with the greatest apparent fairness, and, as seems to be generally believed, with much real impartiality. Strict precau- tions are adopted for this purpose ; such as, that every piece of composition that is to be judged, must be given in sealed and anonymous. The military force of China amounts to about 800,000 men. The greater part are a mere militia, which, in their appearance and habits, are most unmilitary. Their paper helmets, wadded gowns, quilted petticoats, and clumsy satin boots, exhibit to the eye of the European, nothing of the aspect of war. It appears from ancient records, that the Chinese and Tartars made use not only of gunpowder, but even of something resembling cannon ; but artillery does not at present constitute any part of the effective force of the empire. A few armed vessels are employed to pre- vent smuggling and piracy ; but nothing which can be called a navy. The Chinese are, undoubtedly, a very ancient nation ; and from the brief notices of the Roman historians, we learn that they were 1800 years ago, precisely a similar people to what they are at present. Their early annals are evidently fabulous, reaching back to a period of 49,000 years : their esteemed authors, however, ascribe to the empire the more credible antiquity of 3000 years before Christ. About the fifth century before the Christian era, CHINA. Chinese Soldiers, Boats, &x. Hall of Audience, attached to the Imperial Palace, Pekin. In the Chinese style of building, there is little either of elegance or magnificence. The external splendour of the palaces and temples consists merely in coloured varnish and gilding. One of the Dutch embassies was received by the Emperor in an apartment only ten feet square; and most of those occupied by the royal family are small, and but little ornamented. There are, however, a number of large halls, like galleries, for festivals and public occasions. View of part of the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of China was constiucted with a view to exclude the incursions of the Tartars, but since the conquest of the empire by that people, its use is no longer felt. Though unrivalled among human productions for the amount of labour bestowed on it, this huge work implies no skill, either in architecture, or military defence. It is merely a mound of earth, faced on both sides with stone or brick, and strengthened at short distances with square towers, that rise twelve or fifteen feet above the top of the wall. It is in some parts doubled, and even trebled, to secure important passes more ed'ectually. 3F* COJ ASIA. Porcelain Tower, at Nankin. The chief architectural monument of China is the Porcelain Tower of Nankin ; it is 200 feet high, and is divided into nine stories. This edifice was nineteen years in building, and was finished about the year 1411. ■S3 Distant View of Pekin. The City of Pekin is the largest in Asia, and perhaps in the world. It is surrounded with walls fifty feet high, and so broad that sentinels traverse them on horseback. The most remarkable building in Pekin is the Imperial Palace, the grandeur of which does not consist so much in the nobleness and elegance of the architecture, as in the multitude of its buildings, courts, and gardens. ~k Imperial Gardens. In gardening, the Chinose seek to exhibit the wildest and rudest aspects in nature — lakes, dells, hanging woods, and natural forests. Iu the Imperial gardens at Yuen-mein and Zhehol, where a considerable extent of country is ornamented in this manner, a great deal of fine scenery is included. Gbo CHINESE EMPIRE. 497 arose Confucius, whose master-mind established those principles of law, manners, and govei-nment which have since predominated in this country. From that period China has existed as a distinct empire, although it has several times been subdued by different conquerors. The last event of this kind occurred in 1644, when it was overrun by the Mantchoos, who, however, assumed the laws and manners of the people they vanquished. The name of China is unknown to the natives, who call themselves men of the Cen- tral Empire, or men of the Central Flower. Peking, the celebrated capital of this great empire, stands al- most in a corner of it, only 40 miles from the great wall. It con- sists of two very distinct parts, the Chinese and the Tartar cities, of which the former is the most elegant and populous, but the latter is adorned by the imperial palace and gardens. The united city is about twelve miles in circumference, surrounded by walls, like every other in China ; but those of Peking are peculiarly lofty, and completely hide the city from those who are without. The population is estimated at 1,500,000. Peking is divided into re- gular streets, the principal one of which crosses the whole city, and is about 120 feet wide, unpaved, but carefully watered. It consists chiefly of shops, which, though, like most other edifices in the empire, seldom exceeding one story in height, are adorned with flags, varnish, painting, and lanterns of a peculiar and elegant construction. The streets are immensely crowded, as the Chinese spend much of their time in the open air. Nanking, the ancient capital of China, is in extent, considera- bly superior to Peking. Since the government and tribunals, how- ever, were transferred to the latter, it has greatly declined, and about a third part of its area is now uninhabited. Nanking is still the most manufacturing city of the empire. Learning also continues to flourish in an unrivalled degree ; booksellers' shops are more numerous, and a greater number of physicians are educated here than in any other city of the empire. This city contains the celebrated porcelain tower, which con- sists of nine stories, ascended by 884 steps. The material is a fine white tile, painted in various colours ; and the whole is so artfully joined together as to seem one entire piece. The galleries are filled with images, and set round with bells, which jingle when agitated by the wind. On the top is a large ball, in the shape of a pine-apple of solid gold. The inhabitants amount to 500,000. Souchow is extolled by the Chinese as their terrestrial paradise. Branches from the great canal traverse it throughout, and render it, like Venice, a city on the waters. The small lake of Taihoo, in the neighbourhood, surrounded by picturesque hills, affords a scene of delightful recreation. Population, 700,000. 42 * 667 498 ASIA. Canton, the best known city of China, and with which alone Euro- peans carry on habitual intercourse, is situated at the confluence of the Pekiang with the Taho river, and at the head of a broad estuary, called the Bocca Tigris, which extends about fifty miles in length and twenty in breadth, to its junction with the ocean. This city is almost five miles in circumference : besides which, its extensive suburbs compose, as it were, another town. The waters of the Bocca Tigris, also, are covered with boats, arranged in streets, the tenants of which have no home on land. The hongs, or factories, as the warehouses and residences of the European and American merchants are called, are handsome buildings, situ- ated in the suburbs, and arranged in a line along the water. The streets of Canton are narrow, and the front of almost every house is a shop ; but the suburbs and vicinity contain many agreeable sites, in which the wealthy inhabitants have erected their mansions. The inhabitants are estimated at 800,000. Near the mouth of the Bocca Tigris is the island of Macao. The town built on it is the only European settlement in China. It was once a place of high importance, when the Portuguese, in their days of prosperity, carried on most of the commerce between Europe and China. It has more than shared, however, in that supine sloth and decay which have involved all their Eastern em- pire. The town contains, at present, a population of 12,000, in- cluding about 4000 Portuguese. Shang-hae is the great commercial mart of Eastern China ; it is situated not far from the Yang-tse-kiang, in one of the most populous parts of the empire. The missionary, Mr. Gutzlatf, who visited it a kw years ago, found its port crowded with junks, and every evidence of a great commerce, and a dense population. The coasting trade of this city is said to exceed that of Canton. Teen-tsin, on the Pei-ho river, about 75 miles south-east from Peking, is the principal trading mart of Northern China, and the sea-port of the capital. Besides the vast trade of the surrounding region, 500 large junks arrive here annually from Southern China, Cochin China, and Siam : it is also a great depot for salt. The population is said to be 700,000. A number of other cities in China, but little known to foreign- ers, are large and populous, and are the seats of manufacturing and commercial industry. Of these, Hangtchow has 600,000 in- habitants ; Kingteching, 500,000; Voutchang, 400,000; Nant- chang, 300,000 ; Singan, 300,000, &c. The first is noted for its silks, the second for fine porcelain, and the third for its great trade in tea. Chinese Islands. — There are several islands and groups of islands attached to China, that are not unimportant : of these, the CHINESE EMPIRE. 499 most interesting are the islands called the Loo-Choo ; they are situ- ated 400 miles east from China, and were conquered by that power about 550 years ago. They comprise a group of thirty-six, of which the largest is between fifty and sixty miles in length. The great Loo-Choo island is represented as one of the most delightful spots on the globe. The climate is mild and pleasant throughout the year. The inhabitants are kindly, hospitable, and intelligent ; they exhibit none of the recluse and contracted habits of the Chinese, but appear peculiarly alive to social enjoyment. These people are a diminutive race, averaging only five feet two inches high ; but stout and well built ; their faces rather agreeable than handsome. This interesting group appears to extend about 500 miles in a direction nearly from south-west to north-west. Formosa is in possession of the Chinese. Settlements were formed at an early period by the Portuguese, and afterwards by the Dutch ; but both have been expelled. The eastern part of the island is occupied by races almost savage, who live by hunting, and tattoo their skin like the rudest of the South Sea islanders. Hainan is a large island, 190 miles in length and 70 in breadth, separated by a narrow channel from the southern extremity of China. Though in view of vessels going to Canton, it is little known or visited. Part of the population is said to be independent. Along the coast extends the almost numberless group of the Tchusan islands, of which, in a sail of sixty miles, 300 have been discovered. They are small, verdant, and cultivated, and rise from the sea in a conical shape. The great Tchusan island, about forty miles in length, is highly cultivated. Tinghai, the capital, intersected by canals, resembles Venice on a small scale, and pre- sents a crowded scene of busy industry. COREA. The Peninsula of Corea is separated from Japan by the Straits of Corea, and by the Yellow Sea from China. The country, 400 miles long by 150 broad, is traversed from north to south by a chain of mountains ; and though some parts are sterile and rug- ged, it contains a considerable extent of fertile and well-cultivated territory. Corea is ruled by a sovereign who pays homage and tribute to China, but in his general sway is entirely independent. The peo- ple are very little known. The arts and letters of China have been to a great extent imported ; and Corea has the same written lan- guage, though its spoken one is entirely different. Men of letters undergo similar examinations, and hold the same conspicuous places as in that country. The capital is King-ki-tao, an inland town, situated nearly in the centre of the country. 500 ASIA. THIBET. Thibet forms a high table plain, surrounded on all sides by ranges of lofty mountains, some of which are among the most elevated on the globe : it is bounded on the north by Mongolia, west by Little Thibet, south by Hindoostan and Birmah, and east by China. On the southern boundary are the Himmaleh moun- tains, and on the northern the Kuenlun. The exact dimensions of this region are but imperfectly known ; it is supposed to be about 1000 miles in extent from east to west, and 600 or 700 from north to south. Besides its grand mountain features, Thibet is distinguished as containing the sources of many of the greatest rivers of Asia. The Burrampooter, the Irrawaddy, the Mecon, the Hoang-Ho, and Yang-tse-Kiang, all have their sources within its borders. The lakes are the Terkeri, 70 miles long, lake Tousea, and several others, respecting which but little is known. One of these lakes is said to resemble a large canal about five miles in breadth, and surrounding an island, a hundred miles in circumference. The climate of Thibet, especially in winter, is cold and bleak in the extreme, from the severe effects of which the inhabitants are obliged to seek refuge in the sheltered valleys and hollows. In the temperature of the seasons, however, a remarkable uniformity prevails, as well as in their periodical duration and return. The soil of Thibet is generally thin and sterile ; yet the wants of the inhabitants are amply supplied by the animal and mineral wealth of the country. The principal domestic quadrupeds are the broad-tailed sheep, shawl goat, and yak : the latter is a spe- cies of buffalo, with a hump upon the shoulders. It furnishes food and clothing to the inhabitants, and it is also used as a beast of burden. Its tail is covered with long glossy hairs, and is much used in the East to drive away flies. Gold, lead, quicksilver, rock-salt, and tincal, or crude borax, are among the mineral productions of this country ; the last is found in inexhaustible quantities in a lake of about 20 miles in circumfer- ence, in the northern part of the country. The manufactures of Thibet are principally shawls and woollen cloth. The exports, which go chiefly to China and Bengal, con- sist of gold-dust, diamonds, pearls, musk, rock-salt, woollen cloth, and lamb-skins : in return for which, silk, satin, gold and silver brocade, tea, tobacco, and furs of various kinds, are received from China ; and from Bengal, the productions of that country, and a variety of English commodities and manufactures. The inhabitants of Thibet are stout and hardy, and of a ruddy complexion : they are of various distinct tribes, which are but little THIBET. 501 known. These people are mild and gentle in their manners, and have made some progress towards civilization : though sunk in superstition, they are free from many of the sanguinary customs of the Hindoos. What learning they possess is chiefly connected with their religion, and, together with the language, is of Hindoo origin. The houses are meanly constructed, and built of rough stone, with a few apertures to admit light. The Thibetians are said to reverse the general practice of the East, in polygamy, the women being permitted to have several husbands. The eldest brother of a family has the prerogative of choosing a wife, and she becomes the wife of all the others. The dead are either buried, burned, thrown into a stream, or exposed in the open air to be devoured by wild beasts. Thibet is remarkable as the chief seat of that branch of the Buddhist religion, which in China is called Fo, and in Tartary Shamanism. The Grand Lama is the sovereign head of this system ; he is considered to be the Creator himself, in a human form, and is believed to be immortal ; and when he dies, his spirit merely quits a diseased and worn-out tenement for one more youth- ful and vigorous. In that event, the priests, by pretended celestial indications, discover an infant into whom his soul is supposed to have transmigrated. This person is immediately exalted into the character of Lama, and in his name all the civil and ecclesiastical affairs of the state are administered ; and such is the sanctity at- tached to his character, that it is pretended a heavenly odour is exhaled from his whole body ; that flowers grow beneath his foot- steps ; and that in the most parched desert, springs flow at his command. In Thibet and the bordering regions of Tartary, every great district has its Lama ; but the chief of these spiritual sovereigns is the Grand Lama, who resides at Lassa ; next to him is the Teshoo Lama, resident at Teshoo Loomboo. As the sovereignty centres in the Lama, so the nobility is formed by the monks, called jelums. The monastic principle exists under the Buddhist system in its utmost rigour. These habits being adopted by the most cele- brated characters both in church and state, the idea of dignity is exclusively centred in them, and those of degradation and vul- garity are attached to marriage. The priests reside in large man- sions, uniting the character of convents and palaces. Their de- portment is represented as humane and obliging ; on the part of superiors unassuming, and respectful on that of inferiors. A favourite part of the religious services in Thibet consists of music, less remarkable for its harmony than noise. The priests assume the whole business of prayer. They sell a certain num- ber of prayers, which are written out and attached to the cylinder 502 ASIA. of a mill, and every turn is supposed to constitute a valid prayer. Some are moved by water. Notwithstanding the difference between the religion of this coun- try and that of Hindoostan, many of the temples of Thibet are crowded with Hindoo idols ; and the seats of Indian pilgrimage, particularly Benares, Juggernaut, &c. are devoutly visited by vo- taries from the dominions of the Grand Lama. On their part, the Hindoos pay a deep religious veneration to the lofty snowy peaks and the lonely mountain lakes of this elevated neighbourhood. Lassa, the spiritual capital of Central Asia, is situated in the finest part of Thibet ; and, independent of its chief ornament, the temple of Pootala, is represented as handsome and opulent. The inhabitants are estimated at 80,000. This city is the seat of the grand, or sovereign Lama, from whom all the priests and sovereigns of that denomination, throughout Thibet and Tartary, receive their investiture. He ranked, also, till lately, as the civil ruler of an extent of country about 300 miles in length, and com- posed of the best territory in this region ; but the Chinese, after expelling the Nepaulese invaders, annexed his domain to their empire. They rule it, however, with a mild sway, leaving all the ecclesiastical institutions undisturbed, and in full possession of their ample endowments ; and the tribute, conveyed by an annual em- bassy to Peking, is extremely moderate. Teshoo Loomboo is the seat of a Lama, second in rank to that of Lassa. About 400 mansions combine to form a large mon- astery, the walls of which are built of stone, the roofs of coloured wood, and crowned with numerous gilded canopies and turrets. The number of monks, or jelums, the sole inhabitants of this monastic capital, amounts to about 4000. Jigagungar, the largest city in Thibet, is situated near the Irrawaddy : it is said to contain 100,000 inhabitants, but nothing is positively known of its loca- tion or condition. Little Thibet lies north of Hindoostan and west of Thibet. It is very imperfectly known, and is a high and rugged region, sur- rounded on all sides by vast mountains, from which flow the head streams of the Indus, the Ganges, the Burrampooter, and the Amoo rivers. This country is governed by various petty chiefs, some of whom are independent, and others acknowledge the power of China. The inhabitants profess the religion of the Grand Lama. The chief town, Ladak, is situated on the Indus river : it is the seat of a considerable trade, being the place of resort for the caravans from Thibet, Hindoostan, and Cabul, to Yarkand and Little Bucharia. Near the source of the Indus river is Gortope, a great market for shawl-wool, which is collected here from the adjoining districts, and sent from hence to Cashmere. CHINA. Castls of the Deb Rajah, at Tassisudon. The Castle of the Deb Rajah, or Lama, of Bootan, is a stone building of considerable extent, at Tassisudon, the capital of Bootan. It is built on the bank of the river Tchintchien, in a narrow valley, surrounded by high mountains. Mausoleum of the Teshoo Lama, at Teshoo Loomboo, Thibet. The Mausoleum of the Teshoo Lama is a stone edifice about seventy feet high, the inside of which is overlaid with plates of silver. It contains the body of the late Lama, laid in a coffin of solid gold, a present from the Emperor of China, and two statues of him, the size of life, one of gold, and the other of silver gilt. The building is filled with sacred books and costly presents, the gifts of the devoiees who visit the tomb. 3G 673 ASIA. I"dgSJ©S£! Japanese Costume. Prison in which the Russian navigator, Krusenstern, and his officers, were confined for several months, in the year 1804. Olea Fragran. Salisburia Adiuntoides JAPAN. 503 JAPAN. Japan is a flourishing and populous empire, situated on the eastern confines of Asia. It bears a strong resemblance to China, in the nature of its institutions, and in the manners, customs, and character of its inhabitants. Being marked by striking and pecu- liar features, it has attracted a large share of the curiosity of civilized nations. This empire is separated from the continent of Asia by the Sea of Japan, thestraitsof Corea, and the channel of Tartary. It com- prises the islands of Niphon, Sikoke, Kiusiu, and Jesso, the south- ern division of Seghalien, with about one-half of the Kurile islands. The area of the whole is estimated at 260,000 square miles, and the population is supposed to be about 24,000,000. Lofty and rugged mountains, of which several are volcanoes, traverse all the larger islands, and render the scenery bold, varied, and striking. Fusi is the highest mountain in Japan : its elevation is unknown, but its summit is covered with perpetual snow. The Japanese are among the most industrious nations of Asia. Their fertile soil, and even those parts of it to which nature has been the least bountiful, are improved with the most exemplary diligence. Rice is the main staff of life. Next in utility ranks the daid-su, a species of large bean, which, being made into a pulp, serves like butter as a condiment to season many of their dishes. Wheat and barley are also standard grains, though not to an equal extent. The tea-plant grows without culture in the hedges ; ginger, pep- per, sugar, cotton, and indigo are cultivated with success. One of the most valuable trees is the Arusi, which yields the varnish employed in the rich lackered ware peculiar to the country. There are but few cattle in Japan ; a variety of the buffalo, and some small oxen, only being employed in agriculture. The horses are small, but not numerous : dogs abound, and a few hogs have been brought from China. This country is rich in mineral productions, which consist of gold and silver, copper in great abundance, said to be the best in the world, some iron and tin, also sulphur and coal. Pearls and am- ber are found on the sea-shores in considerable quantities. The manufactures are similar, in fabric, and appearance, to those of the Chinese. Silk, cotton, porcelain, and lackered ware, in which last the people excel, are the chief. They are also well acquainted with the art of working in glass and metals. The Japanese do not, themselves, carry on any foreign com- merce, but permit the Chinese and Coreans to trade to Nangasaki ; 675 504 ASIA. also, the Dutch, who are restricted to a small island, where, sub- jected to every humiliation, they are allowed to dispose of two annual cargoes. As they make, however, on these, a profit of 100,000 dollars, they continue to endure all the mortifications and dangers which attend this traffic. The internal commerce of the empire, and the coasting trade, appear to be very extensive. All the shores and bays are crowded with barks, conveying from place to place the various products of the provinces. The roads are excellent, and thronged in a surprising degree ; they are kept clean by the mere anxiety of the people to collect the mud as manure. The broad and rapid torrents in the mountainous districts are crossed by handsome bridges of cedar, well fenced, and always kept in the most perfect repair. This country was entirely unknown to the ancients, and is not mentioned by any of their historians. The empire, however, has records, which affect to detail its revolutions for a period long an- terior to that which we are justified in assigning to the origin of human society. The Portuguese visited Japan in the early part of the sixteenth century : they were well received, and for a time freely admitted into the country. Under their auspices the Catho- lic missionaries propagated Christianity to a great extent ; many of the princes and nobles were converted, and even an embassy was sent to the court of Rome. Owing to the imprudence, how- ever, of the Portuguese, they, and all other Christian nations, were banished, and many thousands of the native converts suffered a miserable death from persecution. The Japanese of the present day seem to be more averse than even the Chinese, to hold any intercourse with foreigners ; and they appear particularly studious to exclude Christians ; the Dutch only being allowed access to the empire. An attempt was lately made by some American citizens to restore to their native coun- try three Japanese sailors, who had been shipwrecked on the coast of California ; but they were not permitted to land, and the vessel, though unarmed, was fired on. The government of Japan is an absolute and hereditary mon- archy, which is believed to be administered, generally, in accord- ance with the public welfare. The dairi, or emperor, who is con- sidered a descendant of the gods, is at present only the spiritual ruler of the empire, the whole civil power having been usurped in 1585 by the kubo, or commander of the forces, who leaves to the dairi merely the name and honours of emperor. The latter re- sides in his palace at Miaco, which he never quits except on a visit to some of the principal temples. The provinces are governed by hereditary princes, who form a JAPAN. 505 sort of feudal aristocracy, and generally occupy strongly fortified castles : they maintain lofty ideas of independence, and, in conse- quence, are watched with a jealous eye by the government, which requires them to leave their families at the capital as hostages, and also to reside there themselves for a part of the year. When any of these nobles are convicted of treasonable practices, capital punishment is the inevitable consequence. The Japanese are a robust, well-made, active people. They have straight black hair, and the small oblique eye which characterises the Chinese. Their complexion, a yellowish brown, appears to be produced by climate only, since ladies, who are constantly pro- tected from the heat of the sun, are as fair as in Europe. The laws of this empire are extremely severe ; the punishments are cruel and executed with the utmost rigour. The security of person and property is, in consequence, rendered very complete. Great crimes and capital punishments are, perhaps, more rare here than in almost any other nation. Roasting alive, cutting to pieces, and immersion in boiling oil, are common modes of punish- ing the guilty. The parent is made to suffer for the crimes of the child, and the child for those of the parent. The Japanese are distinguished by a more manly frankness and independence of thought and manner than is common amongst Asiatics. They are not destitute of courage, and are good-hu- moured, patient, and industrious, but suspicious and vindictive. Pride seems to be the greatest defect in their character ; it runs through all classes, rises to the highest pitch among the great, and leads them to display an extravagant pomp in their retinue and style of living. Self-murder here, like duelling in Europe, appears to be the point of honour among the upper ranks ; and the nobles, even when condemned to death by the sovereign, reserve the pri- vilege of executing the sentence with their own hands. There are three religious sects in Japan. That of Budso, of Confucius, and of spirits, or genii. The last, called the reli- gion of Sinto, is a native system, at the head of which is the dairi ; the Budso is the same as that of Buddha which prevails so extensively over all Eastern Asia : this is the most popular form of worship, and has great influence with the common people. The religion of Confucius, brought from China, has many followers. The Japanese temples are remarkable for the great number, the singular shapes, and the stupendous magnitude of their idols, which are said to amount to more than 30,000 ; and no where is idolatry more gross and monstrous than among these people. Women hold a higher rank in this country than in China ; they enjoy the same degree of liberty as in Europe, and are educated with the same care as the other sex. Pilgrimage to the shrine of 43 3 G * 677 506 ASIA. Isje, the most holy spot in the empire, is held to be an indispensa- ble duty once a year; and, in consequence, the roads leading to that place are continually crowded with devout worshippers. The Japanese probably travel more than any other people. This is owing to their numerous pilgrimages, the extent of their inland trade, and to the immense retinues, sometimes20,000 in number, which attend the princes in their journeys to and from the court of the Kubo. That such a multitude may pass without inconve- nience, all the inns are engaged for a month before ; and in all the towns, &c. on the route, boards are set up, to announce that, on such a day, a great lord is to pass through. Jedo, the capital of Japan, and the residence of the Kubo, lies at the head of a deep bay, on the eastern coast of Niphon. It is seven miles long and five broad, and contains many splendid palaces of the great lords. The buildings, on account of the fre- quency of earthquakes, are built of one story only. The palace, however, though equally low, is five leagues in circumference, in- cluding a wide exterior area, occupied by the spacious mansions of the princes and chief officers of the court. The city is subject to destructive fires, one of which, in 1703, consumed 100,000 houses. It is the seat of varied branches of industry, and carries on, also, a great internal trade. Miaco, the spiritual capital of Japan, is the chief seat of polished manners, refined arts, and intellectual culture. The finest silk- stuffs, flowered with gold and silver, the richest varnishes, the best painted papers, and the most skilful works in the precious metals and copper, are here manufactured. It is, likewise, the centre of literature and science; and most of the books which are published and read in Japan, issue from its presses. The inhabitants amount to 500,000, of whom one-tenth belong to the religious orders and the court of the dairi. Osaka, at the mouth of the river on which Miaco is situated, is a flourishing sea-port, intersected, like Venice, by numerous ca- nals, which are connected by bridges of cedar: population, 150,000. Matsmay, the chief town of Jesso, has about 50,000 inhabitants. Nangasaki, in Kiusiu, the only port in the empire into which foreigners are permitted to enter, is a large, industrious, trading town. On a small adjoining island, the Dutch are allowed to carry on their scanty commerce. They have here a space of 600 feet long by 120 broad, on which they have erected several large warehouses, and rendered them fire-proof. Extraordinary precautions are taken to prevent any contraband transaction, commercial or political, and yet it is confidently asserted that these are insufficient to guard against the powerful impulse of self-interest, and that an illegal trade is, notwithstand- ing, carried on to a considerable extent. AFRICA. 507 AFRICA. Africa is, next to America, the greatest division of the globe. It comprises about one-third of the world known to the ancients ; and, though settled at a very early period, is still the least known quarter of the earth. It is almost entirely in a state of barbarism ; yet in ancient times, its northern states rivalled Europe in civilization. Egypt and Carthage, when in their glory, ranked among the most improved and opulent countries then existing ; and, in after ages, a high degree of learning and science distinguished the splendid Saracen courts established in the west of Barbary. The continued sway, however, of the Mahomedan religion, and the separation caused by it from all the refined modern nations, have caused these coun- tries to relapse into comparative barbarism. Africa forms a vast peninsula three times larger than Europe, and about one-third less than Asia. It is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, on the west by the Atlantic, and on the south by the South- ern Ocean. Occupying 72 degrees of latitude, and almost 70 of longitude, it extends from north to south 5000 miles, and from east to west 4700 miles, comprising an area of 11,000,000 square miles. The most striking feature of this part of the eastern continent is the Great Desert, an immense tract of arid sand, ranging from the Atlantic ocean to the Red Sea, and comprising an area equal to almost the one-half of Europe. This vast and almost boundless plain, exposed to the vertical rays of a burning sun, is deprived of all moisture necessary to cover its surface with vegetation. Moving sands, tossed by the winds, and whirling in eddies through the air, surround, and continually threaten to bury the traveller, in his lengthened route through these trackless deserts. The sterility of the scene is only interrupted by a few islands, or oases, as they are termed, scattered at wide intervals over this im- measurable waste. These spots, affording springs, verdure, and a few dates, support a scanty population, but are chiefly valuable as places of rest and refreshment for the caravans. The interior regions of Africa being but imperfectly known, it is not possible to detail accurately its mountains and rivers : they do not, however, appear to equal the mighty snow-capped ranges of Asia, or the magnificent water-courses of America. The rivers are but few in number, and none of them are navigable to any ex- 679 508 AFRICA. tent for large vessels. The Nile of Egypt, the far-famed myste- rious Niger, the Senegal, the Gambia, the Congo, the Orange, and the Zambeze, are the principal African streams. The mountains are generally more distinguished for extent than elevation. The Atlas mountains in Northern, the Snowy moun- tains in Southern, and those of Kong and of the Moon in Central Africa, are the principal ; the two last seem to form in connexion an almost unbroken range across it from east to west. The Crystal mountains in the interior of Congo and the Lupata chain on the east coast, are so little known, that even their very existence is doubted. Some ranges in Abyssinia are described as attaining a considerable elevation ; but no scientific measurements have yet been made for ascertaining that point. Africa is the hottest region on the globe. It lies mostly within the tropics, and the influence of a fervid climate extends even over those portions which are in the temperate zones. Some parts of this region have the most insalubrious atmosphere in the world. Sierra Leone, the coasts of Guinea, Congo, and Zanguebar, have all been found particularly fatal to the existence of Europeans and Americans ; it is only in the most southern districts that they find a climate suited to their constitutions. The Harmattan of the west coast, and the Khamsin of Barbary and Egypt, are dry scorching winds, similar to the Simoom of Asia and the Sirocco of Southern Europe; they blow from the Great Desert at certain periods, and are generated by the action of a tro- pical sun on its extensive and heated surface. But little is known of the mineral productions of Africa. Gold seems to be widely diffused over Senegambia, Guinea, and Mo- zambique ; it is obtained both from the sand of rivers and the soil of alluvial valleys and plains. Salt exists in various places in the Great Desert, Abyssinia, &c, and it forms an important part of the inland traffic of Africa; iron is found in Morocco, Bambarra, and other regions ; silver in the territory of Tunis, and copper in various quarters. The force of vegetation in many parts of Africa is very re- markable, and seems as if designed by Providence to compensate for the sterility of its desert regions. The baobab, or monkey bread-tree, attains gigantic dimensions ; it has a trunk often of 60 or 70 feet high and 30 in diameter, and its branches form a circle sometimes 450 feet in circumference. The juice of the fruit is highly beneficial in some dangerous kinds of fe\er, and the leaves, powdered, are mixed by the natives with their food for the purpose of checking profuse perspiration, and also as a medicine in some disorders. The date and oil-palrn are both useful productions: the fruit of the former, on the borders of the Great Desert and in Palm-Oil Tree. Dragon'sT.Iood Tree. The Palm-oil tree is one of the most valuable foand on the coast of Guinea. The nuts yield the well-known palm-oil, now so extensively used in the manufacture of soap, &c. The Dragon's-blood tree grows to a great size. One seen a few years ago, in the Canary Islands, measured 16 feet in diameter. Dragon's-blood, a red-coloured friable resin, used in the manufacture of varnishes, exudes from the trunk of this tree. Double Cocoa-Nut Tree and Fruit. Pandanus Candelabrum. The Double Cocoa-Nut grows in the Seychelle Islands. It was formerly called Cocas de Mer (sea cocoa-nut), from an idea that it grew in the sea. These nuts were at one time believed to be a preservative against all diseases, and an antidote for every poison ; and so highly were they valued, that several hundred dollars have been given for one nut. Since, however, they have been found in the Seychelles, the belief in their imaginary worth has ceased . 681 AFRICA. Proteaces of several kinds. Oleander. The Proteacere are a tribe of plants, of which nearly 200 species are known to be natives of Southern Africa. Many of these are conspicuous for the beauty and magnitude of their flowers. Colombo Plant. Cape Heaths of different species. The Colombo plant, the root of which is well known in medicine as a valuable remedy, grows spontaneously along the shores of Mozambique. The natives dig up the root, cut it into slices, and stringing these on cords, dry them in the eun. Seeds of this plant have been introduced into the islands of France, Bourbon, New Zealand and Tahiti, with a view to its cultivation. The Cape Colony has long been interesting to the botanist for the great number of the Heaths found there. 500 species and varieties are known, of which some are of singular boauty and delicacy. ■^:£y f Mesembryanthomum Cryatallinum, or Ice-Plant. Leaf of the Hydrogeton Fenestralis. The Hydrogeton Fenestralis is a plant found in Madagascar, whose leaves are pierced with boles arranged with great regularity, and having the appearance of a tissue of lattice- work. 082 AFRICA. 509 the Oases, supply the inhabitants with the chief part of their sus- tenance : and the produce of the oil-palm has attained such im- portance, that 8000 tons of British shipping are employed in its exportation from the estuaries of the Niger alone. The shea, or vegetable butter-tree, and the lotus, are useful and curious products ; the farinaceous berry of the latter, when pro- perly prepared, resembles in taste the sweetest gingerbread, and furnishes a highly nutritious food. The cassava, yam, and ground- nut, are cultivated in various quarters. The banana, cocoa-nut, orange, lime, tamarind, and pine-apple, are the principal fruits of the tropical regions. The acacias, dragons-blood, and gum-sanda- rach trees, furnish the valuable gums of commerce. The cultivated grains, Indian-corn, caffre-corn, wheat, barley, and rice, grow in those places where the soil is adapted for them, and the dhourra is extensively raised in the dry sandy regions. A considerable part of Barbary, the lower valley of the Nile, the coasts of Guinea, and many of the lately explored districts of Soudan, appear to be highly distinguished for their fertility. Africa excels all the other divisions of the earth in the number and bulk of its animals ; of these, the quadrupeds of burden are highly important. The Arabian camel, or dromedary, is now spread over all the northern and central parts of this region, and is invaluable for its services in crossing the extensive and arid deserts which cover so great a portion of its surface north of the equator. The horses and asses of Barbary, those of the Bedouins and of Egypt, yield in no respect to the finest Arabs either in beauty of form or spirit. The first of these races was introduced into Spain during the ascendency of the Moorish power in that country, and from it the noble Spanish breed of modern times is descended. On the west coast, south of the Great Desert, the ass supplies the place of the camel, being extensively used in carrying on the inland trade of the country. Of horned cattle there are many different varieties. The most remarkable are the Sanga, or Galla oxen of Abyssinia, with im- mense horns nearly four feet in length, and a kindred race in Bor- nou, the horns of which measure upwards of two feet in circum- ference at the base, and yet scarcely weigh two pounds apiece. The most singular variety of sheep is the broad-tailed kind, whose tail grows so fat and heavy, that it is said they are fre- quently obliged to be supported on little wheel-carriages. This animal is common in Barbary, at the Cape of Good Hope, and in different parts of the continent ; other varieties of the sheep, and also several of the goat, abound in various quarters ; the latter are common in many parts bordering on the Great Desert, feeding on the dry aromatic herbs which are in places thinly scattered. 43 * 683 510 AFRICA. One of the most peculiar of the animals of this region is the chimpanzee, of which it is thought more than one variety exists in Africa. It approaches much nearer to the human form than the orang-outang of Malacca, Borneo, and Sumatra. Some of the varieties of baboons attain a very considerable stature, and from their great strength and malicious disposition, are much dreaded by the negroes ; and they have even been known to de- stroy human beings. Carnivorous and ferocious animals are extremely numerous in all parts of Africa. The lion, the panther, and the leopard, lurk in the vicinity of the rivers and fountains, to surprise the different species of antelopes and other animals ; but, unless pressed by hunger, these beasts rarely attack the inhabitants. The various species of hyenas are, properly speaking, African, one only being found in any other part of the world. They all live upon offal and carrion, are nocturnal in their habits, and nightly visit the towns and villages, where they prowl through the streets till morning. The striped hyena abounds in Northern and the spotted in Southern Africa. The true civet is found in a state of nature in different quarters, and great numbers of them are also domesticated and kept by the inhabitants for the sake of their perfume. Nearly allied to the civet, are the ichneumons. Of these there are four or five distinct species, which wage incessant war against the numerous serpents and other reptiles which infest every part of the country. The elephant occupies the first rank among the wild quadrupeds of this region. The African species, though long confounded with the Asiatic, is now well known to be distinct. These animals are hunted by the negroes for their teeth, which form the ivory of commerce, and constitute one of the most important articles of the trade of this region. They inhabit all the woody parts of Africa south of the Sahara, and are also found in Darfur. These huge creatures live in herds of from one hundred and fifty to two hun- dred individuals. They are not now employed in the service of man, although the ancient Egyptians undoubtedly obtained war elephants from Ethiopia. The African rhinoceros, like that of Sumatra, lias two horns, hut is distinguished from the latter by having no front or incisor teeth. The horns, as in the East, are highly esteemed for their supposed medicinal virtues, and are also used by the natives as battle-axes. The hippopotamus is entirely an African quadruped, being found in all the large rivers and lakes south of the Great Desert, and appears to have occupied the same countries from the earliest ages. He delights in being in the water, and stays there as willingly as upon land. AFRICA. African Elephant. t-'pring-Bok. The Spring- Bok, or Mountain Antelope, of Southern Africa, is frequently seen in troops of 2000 or 3000 in number. They run extremely quick, and, if impeded in their course, will spring to the height of four or five feet, clearing ten or twelve feet at a bound. The beautiful form of this animal, its elegant markings, and the incredible lightness and grace of its motion, render it extremely interesting. African Lion. African Camel, or Dromedary. Hippopotamus. Harnessed Antelope. The Hurnessed Antelope is a beautiful animal, about the size of a fallow deer ; the ground colour of a bright bay, but marked with white stripes in various directions, and with such regularity, as to give the idea that a harness of some white material was thrown over its body. It abounds in Western Africa over a large extent of country. 3H 685 AFRICA. Northern Giraffe. Civet Cat, of Abyssinia. Common Baboon. Green Monkey, of Western Africa. Egyptian Goat. Hunting Hyena, of Southern Africa. Egyptian Ichneumon. AFRICA. 511 The zebra, the dow, and the quagga, abound in nearly all the known parts of Central and Southern Africa. These beautiful animals, equally remarkable for the symmetry of their forms, the rapidity of their course, and the regularity of their colours and markings, associate in large herds upon the open plains, and are the frequent prey of the lion. The camelopard, or giraffe, is peculiar to Africa, and is found from the Orange river as far as Nubia, although it is said there is a difference between those of the north and the south. Two or three species of the wild buffalo inhabit the woods and marshy grounds of the interior. The bos caffer, or wild buffalo of the Cape, has the base of the horns extending all over the top of the head and forehead, in the manner of a helmet. He is a savage, dangerous animal, and is much dreaded by travellers. Antelopes and gazelles are numerous. Of the former there are more than sixty different species. Multitudes of these fall a prey to the lion, the leopard and panther. Among the animals which inhabit the seas and coasts of Africa is the lamantin, which frequents the mouths of the great rivers on the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, and feeds upon the aquatic plants that it can reach along the shores. It was this creature which, from the habit of raising itself half out of the water, especially when in the act of suckling its young, gave origin to the fable of the mermaid, by which name it is often mentioned by ancient African voyagers and travellers. The most peculiar and important of the birds of Africa is the ostrich. It abounds in all the desert sandy regions, and is a very cautious and shy animal ; it is hunted by men on horseback, who chase it in succession until the bird is worn down with fatigue. The wild Hottentots of Southern Africa also kill it by disguising themselves in imitation of the ostrich, and thus approach suffi- ciently near to shoot it with their poisoned arrows. This bird, when full-grown, is from seven to nine feet high, and weighs from 70 to 80 pounds. It is affirmed that it never drinks, but is, of all animals, the most voracious, swallowing lead, glass, metals, &c. The large feathers of the ostrich form a considerable article of trade from several parts of the continent. Similar to the ostrich in many of their habits, and even some- what in appearance, are the bustards, many different species of which inhabit the Great Karroo, and the arid plains of the south- ern districts. The Guinea-fowl, the only African bird adapted to the barn-yard, is found exclusively in this region. There are three or four distinct species : they collect in flocks of 400 or 500, and frequent the underwood and bushes in the vicinity of ponds and rivers. There are many species of partridges and 512 AFRICA. grouse, also water-fowl in abundance, on the rivers and lakes ; various species of owls, falcons, &c. The vultures, like the hyenas among the quadrupeds, are highly useful in consuming the offal and carrion, which might otherwise taint the air, and produce disease. One of the most remarkable of the species is the secretary vulture, which may be not impro- perly described as an eagle mounted on the long naked legs of a crane. This bird preys exclusively on serpents, which it pursues on foot, and destroys in great numbers. The smaller birds of Africa comprise many species remarkable for the gaudiness and brilliancy of their plumage, or the singu- larity of their manners and economy. Of the former kind may be mentioned the innumerable varieties of parrots and parroquets, which, from the size of a sparrow, upwards to that of a raven, swarm in all the forests, and make the woods resound with their hoarse, unmusical screams. Of the latter, it will be sufficient to mention the honey cuckoo, and the little bird called the republican. The crocodile inhabits all the large rivers of the tropical parts of Africa, and is still abundant in the Nile, below the first cata- ract. Different species of chameleons may be seen in various quarters, on every hedge or shrub; and the enormous python, a serpent thirty feet long, lurks in the fens and morasses. Among the venomous species are the asp, the dipsas, and the cerastes, or horned viper. In the south, the garter-snake, the puff-adder, and other species are employed by the Bushmen to poison their arrows. Of the insect tribes, Africa also contains many thousand dif- ferent kinds. The locust has 'been, from time immemorial, the proverbial scourge of this part of the world : scorpions, scarcely less to be dreaded than the noxious serpents, are very abun- dant ; and the zebub, or fly, one of the instruments employed by the Almighty to punish the Egyptians of old, is still the plague of the low and cultivated districts. The termites, or white ants, found along the coast of Guinea, are among the most singular of the insect tribes : they build conical houses, ten or twelve feet high, which are divided into apartments, with magazines for pro- visions, arched chambers, and galleries of communication. The processes of agriculture and manufacture are, in Africa, performed generally in a rude and imperfect manner. The soil, however, is cultivated to a considerable extent ; and, owing to its fertility, the earth renders back to the cultivator the seed increased an hundred fold. Some coarse fabrics are made, particularly those of cotton- cloth, mats, and articles of leather ; and gold ornaments are very widely diffused : a few rude implements of iron are manufactured AFRICA. S^ 2 *" The Ostrich. The Dodo, a bird no longer known to exisl, was a former inhabitant of the isles of France snd Roderique, in the Indian Ocean. It was somewhat similar to, but larger than a goose. An entire specimen of this bird existed in England, at the commencement of the last century. There is at present a bill of the Dodo, in the Ashmolean, and a foot in the British Museum, London, said to have belonged to the specimen alluded to. Snake-eater of South Africa. 3H* AFRICA. Nubian Bustard. Crested Kingfisher, South Africa. Plantain Eater of West Africa. Crowned Eagle, West Africa. Abyssinian Hornbill. Barbary Shrike. Abyssinian Plant-cutter. Paradise Fly-catcher of South Africa. AFRICA. 513 in Western Africa, in Soudan, and also amongst the Boshuanas. In Barbary, the common mechanic arts are understood only in a limited degree; but in Egypt, the introduction of the improvements of Christian Europe has already rendered the people of that country greatly superior to the surrounding Asiatic and African nations. The maritime commerce of Africa is carried on principally with the European colonies and the states to which they belong ; on the east coast by the Arabs, and from that of Berbora, with the Hin- doos ; and at the port of Alexandria in Egypt, a considerable trade with various nations of Europe exists. The chief com- merce of the interior is performed by caravans, consisting of numbers of camels and merchants, which cross the Great Desert in various directions. By these perilous journeys the traders pro- cure considerable quantities of gold, ivory, and slaves : of these unfortunate beings, it is estimated that 20,000 are annually con- veyed across the desert and distributed over Barbary, Egypt, Turkey, and Persia. They serve generally as domestic slaves, and are, on the whole, mildly treated. A severer lot awaits those who, from the western shores of Africa, are carried off by European navigators : after suffering through the passage, hardships which prove fatal to a large proportion, they are sold chiefly in Brazil and the West Indies, where they are employed in the labours of the field. It is calculated that during the flourishing period of the slave-trade, 80,000 were annu- ally transported across the Atlantic. Great Britain and the United States were formerly deeply engaged in this traffic, but both na- tions have, some time since, abolished it. France afterwards fol- lowed the example ; and thus the export of slaves from the north- ern part of Guinea has in a great measure been prevented, though the numbers still procured from the southern shores of Benin and Congo, by the Spaniards and Portuguese, are but little diminished. In various parts of Soudan and Senegambia, a traffic between the coast and the interior is kept up by means of coffles, formed of large droves of asses; and many articles are also carried for hundreds of miles on the heads of slaves, both male and female. A limited intercourse with the countries on the Niger takes place, by means of native boats, with the European traders, at the mouths of the various estuaries of that stream. The chief part of the population of Africa is composed of ne- groes, who, though inferior in arts and attainments to the other races, are generally good-natured and hospitable. Like all bar- barous nations, they are fond of war, and cruel to their enemies ; but their domestic intercourse is friendly, and they receive with kindness the unprotected stranger. They are led away with fan- 514 AFRICA. tastic superstitions, charms, witchcraft, ordeal, &c. ; but these errors never impel them to hate or persecute those who entertain the most opposite belief. Their external aspect is well known, being marked by a deep black colour, flat nose, thick lips, and coarse hair like wool. The next great division of the people of Africa are the Moors, including the descendants of the original Arab invaders, and those whom conquest and religion have assimilated with them. They reach the banks of the Senegal and the Niger, which may be con- sidered as the boundary of the two races, though they mingle and alternate on the opposite sides, where sometimes one, sometimes another, hold the chief sway. These people are deeply embrowned by the influence of the sun, but have not the least of the negro colour or aspect. The Moors are a rough roving race, keeping numerous herds, chiefly of camels, with which they perform immense journeys through the most desolate tracts, and across the greatest breadth of the continent. Africa is indebted to them for all the literature she possesses ; at least few of the negroes can read or write, who have not learned from them. The Moors, however, at least all that inhabit the desert, are a race peculiarly unamiable. A furious bigotry, joined to the most embittered hatred of the Christian name, renders them mortal foes to every European traveller who falls into their power. Of the subordinate races, the Fellatas of Soudan, and the Fou- lahs of Senegambia, supposed to be the same people, have been, for some time, acquiring power and distinction in Central and Western Africa. The Somaulies of the east coast are but little known ; they are represented to be of mild and peaceable habits, and are engaged in traffic and commerce. The Caffres and the Hottentots of Southern Africa are also peculiar races, both pasto- ral in their habits ; the former are often engaged in war, and are amongst the most formidable in battle of the native tribes. The Mahomedan and Pagan are the systems of religion most prevalent in this part of the world ; the former has been estab- lished over all Northern Africa, and also in Soudan and on the east coast. The priests, or moolahs, of this faith have great in- fluence with the natives, teaching the children to read the Koran, &c, and converting many of the Pagan inhabitants to the religion of the false prophet. Among the Pagan negroes the most disgust- ing Fetishism prevails, demanding from many of its votaries human sacrifices, and the most disgusting and foolish rites and observances. The population of Africa has been variously estimated by dif- ferent writers at from 50,000,000 to 150,000,000; but, as nothing AFRICA. White Ants' Nests. White Ants. The White Ants, or Termites, found in Western Africa, display a wonderful economy. They build conical structures so strong and firmly cemented, as to bear the weight of three or four men ; and on the plains of Senegal, they appear like the villages of the natives. The destruction they effect is remarkably rapid : they destroy furniture, books, clothes, and timber, of whatever magnitude, leaving merely a thin surface, and in a few hours a large beam will be eaten to a mere shell, not thicker than writing-paper. Caravan crossing the Great Desert. AFRICA. Horsemanship and Amusements of the Moors. Manner in which the Arabs in Morocco move their families from place to placo. Battle of Algiers. 694 BARBARA 515 but vague conjecture can be employed in their calculations, even in relation to those parts of the continent best known and explored, it is evident that these cannot be regarded in any other light than as a mere expression of opinion. The following estimate forms a medium between the highest and lowest : Sq. M. Population. 10,000,000 Egypt 180,000 .. 2,500,000 JNubia 320,000.. 500,000 Abyssinia 280,000 .. 3,000,000 Great Desert... 2,600,000 .. 300,000 Bergoo.Darfur.&c 540,000 .. 1,200,000 Senegambia.... 850,000 .. 7,000,000 Sq. M. Population. Upper Guinea. 280,000 . . 6,500,000 Lower Guinea.. 260,000 . . 5,500,000 Southern Africa 480,000 . . 1,500,000 Eastern Africa. 600,000 . . 3,000,000 Central Africa.. 3,830,000 . . 13,000,000 African Islands. 210,000 . . 3,000,000 Total 11,000,000 .. . 57,000,000 BARBARY. Barbary is that portion of Northern Africa stretching eastward from the Atlantic Ocean, including Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. It extends about 2100 miles from east to west, and is traversed by the Atlas Mountains, of which the loftiest pinnacles rise above the plains of Morocco to the height of 11,400 feet; in Algiers and Tunis, however, they seldom exceed 3000 or 4000 feet; and in the territory of Tripoli, gradually subside to that fiat, sterile surface which characterizes Northern Africa. The rivers are all unimportant, none of them, probably, being more than 200 miles in their length of course. The principal are the Tensift, Morbeya, and Seboo ; these flow into the Atlantic Ocean, and the Moulouia, Shillef, and Mejerdah, or Bagrada, into the Mediterranean Sea. Between the mountains and the sea, there is a tract of well-wa- tered, fertile country, from 50 to 100 miles in width: this is the most productive and best inhabited portion of Barbary. South of the mountains, and between them and the Great Desert, is another tract, dry and sandy, called the BeledelJerid, or Land of Dates. In Barbary, vegetation is vigorous and abundant ; all the fruits of Southern Europe come to perfection ; the excellence of the olive is particularly noted ; the vine flourishes, though the reli- gious system of the natives forbids them from converting the grape into wine, even for exportation. Wheat and barley are the grains usually cultivated, and, notwithstanding the imperfection of the cultivation, such is the fertility of the soil and the want of a manu- facturing population to consume its produce, that a large surplus accumulates in every State, which forms, when permitted, the sta- ple article of export. 516 AFRICA. The trade of Barbary is limited ; the exports consisting chiefly in the raw produce of the soil. In' ancient times the African coast formed the granary of the Roman Empire ; and its corn continued to find a ready market in Southern Europe till its exportation was prohibited by the absurd policy of all the Barbary States ex- cept Tunis : even there, it is loaded with heavy imposts. The most active commerce of these States is that by the cara- vans with the interior country, south of the Great Desert. Tripoli sends hers by Fezzan to Bornou and Houssa ; Tunis, by Gadames and Tuat, to Timbuctoo ; Morocco across the broadest part of the desert to the same city, and the countries on the Senegal. Into these regions the caravans carry salt, with various articles of Eu- ropean manufacture. The Barbary States, particularly Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, were formerly engaged in piracy : but the first is now a subject State ; the others possess but few ships, and their naval strength is almost entirely prostrated. In their piratical expeditions the Bar- bary corsairs exhibited much courage and fierceness, and their cap- tives were generally reduced to the most galling slavery. The subjects of nearly all the maritime powers of Europe, and also the citizens of the United States, were once, more or less, exposed to their depredations. The government of these countries is formed on the Turkish model ; being, for the most part, a pure despotism, in which but little trace of order, liberty, or regular authority, exists. The only check on the tyranny and cruelty of the rulers is found in the tumultuary sway of a brutal and licentious soldiery, who, par- ticularly in Algiers, set up, deposed, and massacred the chief ma- gistrate at pleasure. In Tunis and Tripoli, some amelioration has of late taken place ; but in Morocco, the sovereigns of modern times are, if possible, more absolute and cruel than formerly. The Moors, Arabs, and Berbers, are the principal races that inhabit this part of Africa. The first-named reside chiefly in the cities and towns : they are generally of middle stature, and of va- rious shades of complexion. Like all the other inhabitants of Bar- bary, they are rigid Mahomedans, and hate and despise the Chris- tians and Jews most heartily. Those among the Moors who do not labour, are excessively indolent, and averse to exertion ; and have hardly any employ- ment or amusement except riding on horseback, and playing chess. In the former, they exhibit considerable skill ; and the feats of some individuals are rather remarkable. The most conspicuous object in the dress of the Moors, and also of the Arabs, is the haick, a large piece of woollen cloth, five or six yards long, and one and a half wide, folded loosely round the body, and fastened BARBARY. 517 with a girdle round the waist. On the head, the Moors wear a pointed red cap, with a turban or sash wrapped around it. Among these people, the women are considered beautiful in pro- portion to their bulk; and corpulency is, in the female sex, anx- iously promoted. They dye their hair, feet, and finger-nails, of a yellowish colour, with an herb called henna, and load themselves with rings and bracelets, both on the arms and ancles. In all these countries, the women, as among other Mahomedan nations, live in strict retirement, and never appear in public without being closely veiled. The Arabs of Africa are, no doubt, originally the same people as those of Arabia. In Barbary, they overspread all the unoccu- pied fertile plains, keeping large herds of camels, horses, cattle, &c. ; cultivate the ground, and, when one spot is exhausted, they remove to another. They are often engaged in war with each other, with the Berbers, or the forces of the states that exact tribute from them. Their encampments are formed of tents, pitched in a circle, hence called douars : each of these is under the sway of its own sheik ; and the union of a number of encampments is go- verned by an emir. The people, like all the Arab tribes, are equally noted for robbery and hospitality, often plundering those who had previously been the objects of their bounty. They own but a nominal subjection to the government of the states in which they reside. The Berbers inhabit the Atlas mountains, and the country called the Beled el Jerid. They speak a peculiar language, and are supposed to be the descendants of the ancient Numidians. The Shelluhs of the southern Atlas, the Errifi, bordering on Al- giers, and the Kabyles, in that state, are all tribes of this race. Those of the Atlas live chiefly by hunting, tilling the ground, and. raising bees : they are mostly independent, elect their own chiefs, and have, what is rare in Africa, a republican form of govern- ment. These people are athletic and hardy ; they are dexterous marks- men with the musket, and their valour, and the rugged nature of the country, render them almost invincible. In their contests with the Moorish states, they occasionally descend to the level country, and carry their inroads to the very gates of Morocco, and other large cities. The Tuaricks and Tibboos, of the Great Desert, and the people of Nubia, are believed to be all branches of the same race. The next class of inhabitants are the Jews : of these there are great numbers in Barbary, who are much despised, taxed, and abused, yet are permitted to engross almost every species of trade and commerce. They coin the money, and are also the principal 44 3 1 697 518 AFRICA. mechanics. Many of them acquire great wealth, which they carefully conceal, lest their rapacious rulers should rob them of it. Besides these races, there are many negroes, brought originally from interior Africa. In Morocco, they form the standing army of that empire, and the body-guard of the sovereign. Barbary was much more populous and flourishing in ancient than in modern times. Carthage, Numidia, and Mauritania, were all, particularly the former, renowned and important states. The Carthaginians, celebrated for their extensive commerce, were, for a time, the merchants and traders of the ancient world. Rendered illustrious by their rivalry with Rome, and their mighty struggle for universal empire, the people of Carthage were not less distin- guished by their glorious fall. These districts, being incorporated into the Roman empire, became noted for their fertility. Conquered afterwards in succession by the Vandals and the Saracens, the aspect and character of the provinces of Northern Africa became completely changed. Fez, and other cities, were, for a time, celebrated capitals, and distin- guished for their learning and civilization ; by degrees, however, they lost their light and intelligence, and finally, under the blight- ing influence of bigotry and superstition, the whole region has become rude, ignorant, and barbarous. EXTENT AND POPULATION OF THE BARBARY STATES. Sq. M. . 90,000 . Population. . 6,000,000 . 1,500,000 . 1,000,000 Sq. M. Tripoli, &c... 100,000 . Beled el Jerid 140,000 . Total 570,000 . Population. . 600,000 . 900,000 . 10,000,00 MOR occo. The empire of Morocco occupies that part of Africa which lies nearest to Europe. It is the largest and most important part of the Barbary States, and has two sea-coasts ; one extending along the Mediterranean Sea, the other along the Atlantic Ocean. The territories of this State extend about 800 miles in length, and from 200 to 300 in breadth, and contain an area of 190,000 square miles. The loftiest part of the chain of the Atlas mountains runs par- allel to the coasts of Morocco, leaving an intermediate plain, finely watered, and not surpassed in natural fertility by any part of the globe. Beyond the range of the Atlas, however, the empire in- cludes a more arid region, named Tafilelt, yielding the finest dates in the world, and rearing a breed of goats whose skin affords the materials for the fine Morocco leather. BARBARY. 519 In the southern part of this territory, and bordering on the Great Desert, is the district of Suse, a fruitful and well-settled country, over which the Emperor pretends to assume authority which is not, however, recognized by the people. It contains a number of little walled towns and villages, under the control of petty chiefs, who are frequently at war with each other, and also with the Moors and the Arabs of the desert. Spain possesses, on the coast of the Mediterranean, the fortified towns of Ceuta, Mellila, and Penon de Velez, but without any ter- ritory attached to them ; and this is now the only memorial of the long and deadly wars waged between the two nations. Industry and commerce have, in this empire, a very limited range. Some hides, goat-skins, olive-oil, almonds, ostrich-feathers, &c, are shipped from Mogadore, which is the only port at which foreigners are permitted to trade. The usual traffic of the Bar- bary States is carried on from Morocco with Interior Africa. The most important manufacture is that of the leather, which bears the name of the country. It is noted for its fine and durable colour, which Europeans are unable fully to imitate. The government of this State is a pure despotism ; and every right and privilege enjoyed by the people, depends upon the mere will and caprice of the sovereign. The emperors of Morocco claim the crown as descendants of Mahomed, and seek to increase the dignity of the throne by assuming the character of prophets and saints, which, however, they do not consider inconsistent with the most unbounded indulgence of cruelty and sensuality. Some of these princes have been among the most bloody and remorse- less despots on record. Hence, in consequence of their tyranny, insurrections and appeals to arms, especially by the remote moun- tain tribes, are of frequent occurrence. Morocco, the capital, is situated on a very extensive plain, above which rises one of the loftiest ranges of the Atlas. The mosques are numerous, and several of them present striking specimens of Arabian architecture, particularly that called El Koutouben, the tower of which is 220 feet high. The palace forms an oblong of 1500 by 600 yards, divided into a number of inclosures, where, surrounded by gardens, are the pavilions of the sovereign, his principal officers, and ladies. Fine gardens surround the city, and spacious aqueducts, conveying water from the mountains, twenty miles distant, bear testimony to a superior state of the arts in former times. The inhabitants are estimated at from 70,000 10 100,000 in number. Fez is situated in the northern part of the empire, in a fine, fer- tile district, and surrounded by numerous groves and orchards. It is a place of high celebrity, and ranked long as the metropolis 520 AFRICA. of Western Africa. This city was founded about the end of the eighth century, and rose to great magnitude and distinction. Its mosques, schools, and baths, were very celebrated. This place is now much decayed, and presents a singular mixture of splen- dour and ruin. It, however, still possesses some remains of the sciences which formerly rendered it illustrious; but they are nearly confined to the Koran and its commentators, a slight tincture of grammar and logic, and some very imperfect astronomical obser- vations. The population is estimated at 80,000. Mequinez has risen to importance by having been made the occasional residence of the sovereign. The imperial treasury in this city is reported to contain money and jewels to the amount of $50,000,000. The inhabitants are said to be more polished and hospitable, and the females handsomer, than in the other cities of Morocco : population, 60,000. Mogadore, the chief emporium of Morocco, was founded in 1760, by the emperor Sidi Mahomed, who spared no pains in raising it to importance. Being composed of houses of white stone, it makes a fine appearance from the sea ; but the interior presents the usual gloom of Moorish cities, and is chiefly enlivened by the residences of the European merchants and consuls. The country round is almost a desert of sand ; water is scarce, and provisions must be brought from the distance of several miles. The popula- tion is reckoned at about 10,000. Saflee, a very ancient town, with a fine harbour, though in a barren country, was the chief seat of the commerce with Europe, till the preference of the emperor transferred it to Mogadore : population, 12,000. Farther north, on the opposite sides of a small river, are the important towns of Sallee and Rabat. Sallee, once the terror of the seas, whence issued such bands of pirates, is now still and life- less. What remains of its commerce has been mostly transferred across the river to Rabat, or New Sallee. This place, when viewed from without, presents a picturesque grouping of minarets, palm- trees, ruined walls, and old mosques. The town has still some activity, and the markets are well supplied: population, 18,000. Larache was once a flourishing European and Christian town ; but the churches are now converted into mosques. It has been made the imperial arsenal, and is very strong towards the sea. Tangier, on the straits, derives its chief importance from the per- mission granted by the emperor to supply Gibraltar with provi- sions, and from the residence of European consuls. Tetuan, the only port within the Straits of Gibraltar, is allowed to carry on some intercourse with the English, whose vessels often take in supplies there on their way up the Mediterranean. BARBARY. 521 ALGIERS, OR ALGERIA. Algiers (now called Algeria by the French), once the most powerful and enterprising naval state in Africa, and the terror of the people of Southern Europe, has become a colonial appendage of the kingdom of France. It embraces a considerable territory, extending along the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea for 700 miles, with a breadth estimated at from 100 to 150. This region is greatly distinguished for natural fertility. With the exception of some arid and rocky plains, it consists of valleys covered with rich pastures, fitted for the best kinds of European grain, blooming with the orange and the myrtle, and producing olives, figs, and grapes, of peculiar excellence and size. Yet the indolence of the people, the oppression of the government, the want of roads and interior communications, cause three-fourths of the country to be left uncultivated. The trade, before the French invasion, was almost entirely in the hands of the Jews, and consisted in the export of rose-water, prepared skins, baskets formed of palm-leaves, &c, and of some oil, wax, fruits, and wool. The Algerines took in return light cloths, glass, toys, fire-arms, and powder. The inhabitants of the maritime towns of Algiers, include French and other Europeans, Moors, Jews, &c. The interior districts are in the possession of the Arabs ; and the mountains of the Atlas are inhabited by a hardy and brave race of men, called Kabyles, who belong to the Berber nation. The late government of Algiers was a tumultuary and ill-regu- lated military despotism. The army, composed of about 15,000 Turks, recruited from tho meanest classes in the ports of the Levant, long domineered over the country. This body, at short intervals, strangled the Dey, electing in his stead the boldest and bravest of their number. The corsairs, or pirates, formed a kind of separate republic, carrying on their barbarous trade under the sanction of the prince, who received a large share of the slaves and booty. These marauders, in 1815, suffered a severe chastisement from the American fleet; and from the English in 1816. Again, after they had for some time set the French at defiance, that nation, in 1830, fitted out a formidable expedition, by which Algiers was en- tirely subjugated. The Dey was dethroned and banished, and the country appears now likely to remain a permanent colony of France. The continued hostility, however, of the Arabs and Kabyles of the interior, renders it probable that but little advantage will accrue to the conquerors for at least a considerable period. 44 * 3 1 * vol 522 AFRICA. Algiers, the capital, is built on the declivity of an eminence, facing the Mediterranean, and rising by successive stages above each other, with loftier hills behind it; it makes thus a magnificent appearance. On entering the city, however, all this beauty dis- appears, and it is found to be a labyrinth of steep, narrow, and dirty lanes. There are several splendid edifices, particularly the palace of the late Dey, and the principal mosques. The barracks are also fine structures, adorned with fountains and marble col- umns ; and the naval arsenal is spacious and commodious. The bagnios, or the quarters formerly occupied by the slaves, are huge but gloomy and dirty edifices. Algiers contains about 25,000 inhabitants, of whom 5000 are Europeans. The French expedition captured here 10,000,000 dollars in money, besides an ample supply of ships, artillery, and ammunition. The fortifi- cations towards the sea are very strong, but on the land side they are by no means formidable. In the western quarter of Algeria, the chief place is Tlemsen, once the capital of a powerful kingdom, and still containing about 20,000 inhabitants, situated in a beautiful and finely watered dis- trict. Mascara, about a mile in circuit, on the face of a moun- tain which commands the view of a fertile and well-cultivated plain, is an agreeable but ill-built city. Oran, on the sea-coast, long a subject of contention between the Moors and the Spaniards, remained in possession of the latter people till 1792. It has a good harbour, and a population of 10,000 inhabitants. In the eastern part of this country is Constantina, supposed to contain about 15,000 inhabitants. It is boldly situated on a rock, precipitous on one side, where it overhangs the small stream of the Rummell. The surrounding country is fine. The site, how- ever, is distinguished by splendid monuments of antiquity ; and the ground in one place is entirely covered with the remains of broken walls, columns, and cisterns. This city was captured by the French in 1837. Bona was in modern times the chief settle- ment of the French African Company, which they lost during the revolutionary war. It derives consequence from the coral fishery carried on in its vicinity ; and the same cause gives value to La Cala and the neighbouring island of Tabarca, which were also long in possession of the French. TUNIS. Tunis is the most northern, and also the smallest, of the Bar- bary states : it occupies that part of Africa which approaches nearest to the Italian shores, being within 75 miles of the island BARBARY. 523 of Sicily. It extends from north to south about 300 miles, and from east to west 150. A considerable part of the country, particularly that section of it watered by the Mejerda, or Bagrada river, is highly fertile, and profusely covered with all the riches of culture and vegetation. The situation of Tunis, like the ancient Carthage, whose site it occupies, is favourable for commerce; and the amount of trade in olives, wool, soap, and grain, is very considerable. The exporta- tion of the latter, absurdly prohibited by the other Barbary pow- ers, is allowed under a license from the Dey : there is also a considerable traffic with Interior Africa, for its staples of gold, ivory, ostrich feathers, and slaves. Tunis imports a variety of European goods, India stuffs, and colonial produce. There are some extensive manufactures carried on of velvets, silk stuffs, and the red caps generally worn in the Levant. The people of Tunis, though composed essentially of the same elements as those of Algiers, have imbibed a considerably greater share of polish and civilization : and, from their intercourse with foreigners, are less bigoted than in some other parts of Barbary. The ruler of this state was formerly a mere officer of the Turk- ish sultan ; but Hamooda, the late Bey, succeeded in emanci- pating himself from this subjection in the year 1816. He estab- lished a regular administration of justice, and extended equal protection to all classes of his subjects, including Christians and Jews. Although the government is yet, in some respects, despotic and oppressive, yet, on the whole, its subjects are governed with more mildness than those of some of the other Barbary states. The city of Tunis, only ten miles south-west from the site of Carthage, and on the same spacious bay, possesses all the advan- tages which raised that city to such a beight of prosperity. It is the largest place in Barbary, the population being estimated at 100,000. This city has entirely renounced its piratical habits, and applied itself to several branches of useful industry. Six miles to the westward is the Goletta, the harbour and citadel of Tunis, and the naval and commercial depot of the state. It is strongly fortified. Of the other cities of Tunis, the chief is Kairwan, founded by the Saracens, and long the capital of their possessions in Northern Africa. On the north coast, Porto Farini, near which are the ruins of Utica, and Bizerta, have both some trade in grain ; though the fine harbour of the latter is now so choked up as to allow only small vessels to enter. The chief towns on the coast reach- ing southward from Tunis, Monastir and Cabes, are both distin- guished by a flourishing modern trade, which gives to the one a 524 AFRICA. population of 12,000, and to the other of 20,000. Sfax carries on traffic on a smaller scale. Near El Jem are the remains of a magnificent Roman amphitheatre. TRIPOLI. Tripoli is the most eastern and the least populous of the Bar- bary states. It consists chiefly of extensive desert plains, inter- spersed along the shore with occasional rich tracts of country. This state comprises a sea-coast of 800 miles, and, including Barca, its tributary, is 1300 miles in extent. The Gharian mountains, situated at from 40 to 50 miles inland from the capital, appear to be the eastern extremity of the Atlas. They are inhabited by a race of Arabs, who have, from remote antiquity, lived in caves under ground ,* and a populous mountain might be passed over by a traveller, without suspecting that it was inhabited. This state is the chief theatre of the intercourse with Bornou and Houssa, the most fertile countries in the interior of Africa. Fezzan, the great emporium of the caravan trade, as well as Barca and Augela, are tributary to the Bey ; and he possesses a powerful influence over the courts of Kouka and Soccatoo. This prince has shown a more enlightened spirit, a greater desire to cultivate intercourse with the European powers, and to introduce the im- provements of civilized life, than any other in Barbary. A singu- lar absence of that jealousy which usually actuates Mahomedan courts, has been displayed in the welcome given to the British expeditions of discovery, and the zeal displayed in promoting their objects. The authority of the Turkish government, as in the other Bar- bary states, was formerly established over Tripoli ; but the Bey Hamet the Great, in the commencement of the last century, re- lieved himself from the control of its officers in a manner truly barbarous. Having invited them to a feast, he caused them all to be seized and strangled ; and the Turkish soldiers being at the same time overpowered by his adherents, the sway of the Porte was en- tirely annihilated. This sovereign was active in promoting all the manufactures for which Tripoli was adapted, and inducing Euro- peans to settle in his territories. Tripoli, the capital, is built on a low neck of land, extending for some distance into the sea. The district in which it stands forms only an oasis ; and he who takes his departure from it in any direction, finds himself soon in the heart of the desert. It BARBARY. Emperor of Morocco. Moorish Serpent-charmer. Among the Moors in Barbary, there are individuals who make a boast of charming serpents. They exhibit themselves to the admiring multitude, almost naked, in strange attitudes and con- tortions, and wound round by those reptiles, which they appear to handle with impunity. Diess of the Moore. 705 AFRICA. View of the Necropolis, or City of Tombs, at Cyrene, on the coast of Barca. The ancient Cyrene, now Grenna, was in early times a Phoenician, and afterwards a Grecian colony, and was long an important city. Its ruins form the most interesting object to be seen on the coast of Barca. They are situated on a high table-land, which descends to the sea by successive stages. Besides the remains of splendid edifices, and the tombs of the Necropolis, there are several fine springs, whose waters flow among the ruins ; one of these, called the Fountain of Apollo, is greatly resorted to by the Arabs. Caravan overtaken by a Sand-storm on the Great Desert. The most dangerous encounter experienced in traversing the Great Desert is that of the snnd wind, when the sand blown up by violent storms forms an extensive moving surfiice, fills and darkens the air, and threatens to overwhelm and suffocate the traveller. The most terrible effects are described to huve taken place, whole caravans being reported to have perished beneath moving clouds of sand. 706 BARBARY. 525 thus cannot equal the other capitals of Barbary ; and its popula- tion is not supposed to exceed 25,000. Even this is supported rather by commerce and industry, than by the limited productions of the soil. Tripoli is not a handsome city ; yet its palace, and the generality of its mosques, have some beauty : and there is a triumphal arch, and several other interesting remains of antiquity. The fortifications, consisting of the castle and several batteries, possess some strength. The name of Tripoli is familiar to the American ear from having been the scene of the exploits of Preble, Decatur, and other gallant spirits, whose deeds shed a lustre over the infant navy of their country. To the eastward of the capital, and in its close vicinity, begins a dreary portion of the Great Desert of Africa : about 70 miles, however, to the eastward, the district of Lebda presents a more smiling appearance; here, thick groves of olive and date trees are seen rising above the villages, and a great space is covered with luxuriant crops of grain. A similar country continues to Mesurata, to the east of which is also a plain singularly fertile. Mesurata carries on a manufactory of carpets, and a consider- able trade with Central Africa. At the termination of the rich plain on which it stands, commences the desolate expanse of the Syrtis. Stretching around the Gulf of Sidra, or Syrtis, for 400 miles, it presents an almost tenantless and desolate waste, except occasionally some little valleys or detached spots, traversed by the Arabs, with their flocks, herds, and moveable tents. Barca, the ancient Libya, is separated from the settled dis- tricts of Tripoli by the desert of the Syrtis. It was, in ancient times, noted for its fertility, but hardly any part of its soil is now cultivated. On this coast the Greeks founded Cyrene, one of their most flourishing colonies. At present, it is abandoned by all civilized and industrious nations ; and with the exception of a few poor villages, is occupied exclusively by the wandering Arabs with their flocks and herds. Bengazi, the ancient Berenice, is now only a miserable village. Every trace of the ancient city appears to have been buried under the sands of the surrounding desert. The range of valleys, how- ever, east of Bengazi, is singularly picturesque, their sides being, in many places, steep and rocky ; yet every cleft is filled with a brilliant vegetation. The ruins of Cyrene, which may be said to be a recent disco- very, form the most striking object in this remarkable region. There are the remains of a spacious amphitheatre, as well as nu- merous buildings and statues ; but the most striking feature consists in the Necropolis, or City of the Dead, consisting of groups of tombs, and sarcophagi, rich in ornaments and inscriptions, and presenting 526 AFRICA. the appearance of gay and splendid streets. Derne and Bengazi are the only places in Barca at all deserving the name of towns. They are both the residence of governors dependent upon the pacha of Tripoli. The former was taken by General Eaton, an American, in the year 1805. BELED EL JERID, (OR D'JERID.) The Beled el Jerid, or Land of Dates, is a hot, sandy region, situated between the Atlas mountains and the Sahara, or Great Desert, and stretching from Morocco to Tripoli. The precise limits of the country are not accurately defined ; but it is probably about 800 miles in length, and from 160 to 200 in width. This territory is entirely in the interior ; and is known to the civilized world only from the descriptions of the natives ; never having been explored by any Christian traveller. The climate is extremely sultry : its rigours are, however, some- what allayed by the cool breezes from the Atlas ; yet, during the summer months, the hot winds of the Sahara render the heat al- most insupportable. Rain, as in the desert, seldom falls, but the dews are heavy, and refresh to some extent the thirsty soil. Water, though scarce near the surface, may be found in nearly all parts of this region, by digging to the depth of from 20 to 200 feet. This water, the Arabs say, springs up from the sea, under ground. That part of the country lying along the edge of the Great Desert, partakes of the same dry and barren character, but is in- terspersed with occasional fertile and well-cultivated spots. In the more northern districts, at the base of the mountains, the soil de- rives from the small streams poured down from the Atlas, a degree of fertility which enables the inhabitants to cultivate to some ex- tent, barley and other products. Dates are the great staple of the country, and abound in all quarters ; they are of excellent quality, and are raised in such abundance as to form the chief food of the population. Camels, asses, and goats, are the principal ani- mals ; the first are employed to a considerable extent by the in- habitants, in the caravan trade across the Great Desert. The territory comprising the Beled el Jerid is not under the con- trol of any monarch, or general government, but is inhabited by a number of small Berber tribes, who are mostly independent and elect their own chiefs. The Marabouts, or priests, possess among these people great influence and consideration. Some tribes of Arabs live interspersed with the Berbers. But little is known of the manners, customs, or habits of the people ; but in these they are, no doubt, similar to the same races GREAT DESERT. 527 in other quarters. The towns are small, and but few in number ; they are nearly all inclosed by walls, and are inhabited, some by two, and others by three different tribes. They are, in conse- quence, divided by interior walls into distinct sections. Furious contests often occur between the tribes in these towns, in which event, the gates connecting the different quarters are closed until peace is restored. Eghwaat, Tuggurt, Wargelah, Gardeiah, and Gadames are the principal towns.* GREAT DESERT. The Great Desert constitutes an immense range of territory, which occupies nearly one-fourth of the surface of Africa. It extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, and from Barbary to Soudan, and is more than 3000 miles in length, and from 800 to 1000 wide. This wide expanse of country, the most dreary and desolate on the face of the earth, forms an obstacle to the intercourse of na- tions, greater than is opposed by the widest oceans. Yet, the daring spirit of enterprise has induced human beings to occupy every extremity, or corner, in which subsistence could, by any means, be procured ; and they have formed routes, by which re- gular journeys may be performed across this vast and sterile region. The term, Sahara, is usually applied to that part of the Great Desert lying westward of Fezzan ; to the eastward it is called the Libyan, and between the Nile and the Red Sea, the Nubian desert. The surface of the Great Desert does not consist entirely of one uniform plain of sand. In the most level tracts it has been blown into heaps, or hillocks, steep on one side, which remarkably in- crease both the dreary aspect of the region, and the difficulties with which the traveller has to contend. The horrible spectacle of the bones of animals and human beings which strew the ground, and sometimes crackle unexpectedly beneath the tread of the tra- veller or his camel, lends, at intervals, additional terrors to the scene. The most remarkable feature of the Great African Desert, con- sists in the oases. These are detached fruitful spots, over which springs, bursting forth amid the desert, diffuse a partial verdure *The most recent information respecting this country, has been commu- nicated by VV. B. Hodgson, Esq. who was attached to the late American Consulate-General in Algiers. The towns inhabited by two or more tribes, have been denominated by that gentleman, " Bigential towns." 3K 709 528 AFRICA. . and fertility. They are, in some instances, embellished with flowering shrubs of peculiar beauty ; whole tracts being covered with forests of acacia, from which rich gums distil, and with groves of the date and lotus, yielding sweet fruits and berries. The most important of these areFezzan, Tibesty, Bilmah, Agdass, Twat, and Tedeekels. Fezzan is a large oasis, about 300 miles long and 200 broad, sometimes dignified with the title of kingdom. Nature has scarcely distinguished it from the surrounding desert : it is not irrigated by a stream of any importance. The inhabitants, however, raise up the water, which is always found at a certain depth under ground, and thus form a number of small oases, in which dates and some grain can be reared, and where a few asses and goats, and nu- merous camels, are fed. It is the inland trade that the inhabitants regard as the chief source of animation and wealth. Fezzan lying due south from Tripoli, and about midway between Egypt and Morocco, is the most central point of communication with Interior Africa. Through these resources, the country is enabled to maintain a population of about 70,000. The sultan is tributary to the bey of Tripoli. Mourzuk is the chief seat of commerce. It contains remains of ancient stone edifices ; but the present structures are poorly built of mud. Zuela, Gatrone, and Tegerhy, are small towns on the eastern frontier. Traghan, near Mourzuk, has a thriving manu- factory of carpets. Sockna, in the desert to the north, on the road from Tripoli, forms a caravan station. Tibesty, a country but little known, is situated south-west from Fezzan, and is separated from it by a desert of some extent. The people, rude and ferocious, have been subjected to the control of that state. There are a few small villages in Tibesty, of which Arna, Aboo, and Berdai, are the chief. Caravans sometimes pass through this country from Fezzan to Bergoo, or Waday. North-east from Fezzan, is Auguela, an oasis, known upwards of 2000 years ago to the Greeks and Egyptians, by almost the same name. The town is a dirty ill-built place, about a mile in circuit. Siwah, 200 miles to the eastward of Auguela, is a small but productive oasis, containing a town of the same name, with 2000 inhabitants. It is interesting from its vicinity to the ruins of the temple of Jupiter Amnion, so celebrated in ancient times, and to which Alexander the Great paid a visit. El Khargeh and El Dakhel, are fertile spots in the desert, lying about 200 miles westward from the Nile : the first contains a small town of about the same size as Siwah ; in its vicinity are the remains of magnificent temples, consisting of immense masses GREAT DESERT. 529 of stone. Siwah, El Khargeh, and El Dahkel, and a few still smaller oases, are under the dominion of the Pacha of Egypt. The most interior part of the desert, between Fezzan and Cen- tral Africa, is occupied chiefly by two native tribes, the Tibboos and Tuaricks, who are both supposed to be tribes of the ancient Berber race : the former are found on the caravan route to Bor- nou ; the latter, more westerly, on that of Kano and Kashna. The Tibboos are nearly as black as negroes, but with a dif- ferent physiognomy. They subsist on the milk of their camels and the produce of a few verdant spots scattered amid the desert; this they seek to aid by a little trade with Fezzan, and not unfre- quently by the plunder of the caravans. Bilmah, the Tibboo capital, is a small, mean town, built of earth : the other villages are still smaller and inferior. The Tuaricks are the most renowned of the desert tribes ; they are tall, erect, and handsome, with an imposing air of pride and independence. Their skin is not dark, unless where deeply embrowned by exposure to the sun. They hold in contempt all who live in houses and cultivate the ground, deriving their subsist- ence from pasturage and plunder ; and they also carry off and sell as slaves, the inhabitants of the Tibboo villages and other tribes, with whom they are often at war. They possess, it is reported, the kingdom of Agdass, whose capital, of the same name, long celebrated as a commercial emporium, is supposed even to equal Tripoli; but our information respecting it is very scanty. The tribes, occupying the western region of the desert, appear to be all Moors, or Arabs, originally from Morocco, and who have brought with them their usual pastoral, warlike, and predatory habits. They often meet with a rich booty in the vessels which suffer shipwreck on the dangerous shores of the Sahara, and which are always plundered with the most furious avidity : the only hope of the wretched crews is to be able to tempt their cap- tors by the promise of a high ransom, to be paid at Mogadore. These dreary regions are sometimes animated by the passage of the great caravans between Morocco and Timbuctoo. At Tisheet and Taudenry, are extensive mines of rock-salt, a product in great demand over all the populous regions of Central Africa. The trade in this article has given to Walet an importance nearly equal to that of Timbuctoo ; and Aroan, also, derives from it a popu- lation of about 3000. The principal tribes of the Western Desert are the Mongearts, Wadelims, or Woled Deleym, Woled Abousseba, Trasarts, Brak- naks, &c. But the chief state occupied by the Moors, is Luda- mar, on the frontiers of Kaarta. The bigotry and ferocity of the 45 7n AFRICA. race were strongly marked by the treatment which Mr. Park met with, during his captivity. Benowm, their capital, is merely a large encampment of dirty tent-shaped huts. In the heart of the Great Desert, between Gadames and Tim- buctoo, is the district of Tuat, inhabited by a mixture of Arabs and Tuaricks, in no respect superior to the rest of the roving tribes. Aghably and Ain-el-Saleh, their chief towns, are frequented as caravan stations. Tedeekels, to the westward of the latter, is an oasis, similar in character to the others, and inhabited by people of the same description. That part of the Great Desert adjoining Suse, is, together with a portion of that district, governed by Sidi Ishim, an independent Moorish prince, who rules over a mixed population of Moors and negroes. His country has become a great depot for the trade be- tween Morocco and Timbuctoo. The little towns of Noon, Akka, and Tatta, are the chief caravan stations. REGION OF THE NILE. The Region of the Nile comprehends the north-eastern sec- tion of Africa, and includes the countries bordering on the river Nile, and watered and fertilized by that celebrated stream and its va- rious tributaries. It comprises Egypt, Nubia, Abyssinia, Kordofan, Darfur, Fertit, &c. This division of Africa, for an extent of more than twelve hun- dred miles southward from the Mediterranean Sea, consists almost entirely of a vast expanse of desert sand, occasionally interspersed with arid and rocky mountains, and also with a few rich and pro- ductive tracts. Farther to the south, it comprises the elevated and fertile, but barbarous region of Abyssinia ; and also the unex- plored countries, extending to the westward, and traversed by the lofty chain called the Mountains of the Moon, or the Donga Moun- tains, which, though known 2000 years ago, are yet as much hid- den from the view of civilized men as at that distant perk)d. The chief feature of this great region is the memorable Nile : that renowned stream, recalling the days of Moses and of Pharaoh, and the earliest dawnings of history, is formed of two principal branches, the Abawi, or Blue River, and the Abiad, or White River ; the former rises in the high fertile regions of Abyssinia ; and the other in the still more elevated Mountains of the Moon, descending from whence, and each flowing for hundreds of miles, they unite their waters in the territory of Sennaar, and form the celebrated river of Egypt. EGYPT. 531 One hundred and eighty miles lower down, this stream receives its last tributary, the Tacazze, from the east, thence traversing a series of cataracts, and flowing through Nubia and Egypt, after a course estimated altogether at 2800 miles, it pours its fertilizing flood into the Mediterranean Sea. The principal channels are the Rosetta and Damietta ; these inclose between them a rich trian- gular tract of country called the Delta, celebrated from the earliest times for its fertility and the profusion of its rich products. The Nile is remarkable for flowing the last 1600 miles of its course without receiving the smallest accession to its stream ; and it is said to be larger and deeper 1800 miles from its mouth, than within 100 of that point. This river was adored by the ancient Egyptians as the tutelary deity of the country. When the waters began to rise, the inhabitants celebrated the festivals called the Niloa, sacrificed a black bull to the divinity, strewed lotus flowers on the surface of the stream, and practised other profane and heathen rites in token of their deep sense of its importance and value. EGYPT. Egypt, now the most powerful and important state in Africa, is distinguished for its early progress in the arts and sciences, and for the extensive place it fills in sacred and profane history. Its mighty pyramids, splendid obelisks, and the ruins of its ancient cities, all attest its former magnificence. Egypt is encompassed on the north and east by the Mediterra- nean and the Red Seas, and on the south and west by Nubia and the Great Desert. From the Mediterranean to Assouan it is 600 miles in length, and from the eastern oases of the desert to the Red Sea 300 or 400 miles in breadth, and contains an area of about 200,000 square miles. Of this great region only one-fourteenth or fifteenth part is ca- pable of being cultivated. That portion of Egypt bordering on the Mediterranean Sea consists of a highly productive alluvial plain upwards of 100 miles wide on the coast, and narrowing to the southward almost to a point ; this forms the renowned Delta, so noted in all ages for its fertility : from thence to the southern bounds of the country a strip of territory, four or five miles wide along the banks of the Nile, and inclosed on either side by low ridges of barren hills, comprises all the fertile soil of Upper Egypt ; beyond these rocky barriers the surface consists of wild, sandy wastes, the domain of rude wandering Arabs. The country is divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Egypt. 532 AFRICA. The fertility of Egypt depends almost entirely upon the floods of the Nile. In the lower part of its course that river is on a level with the districts which it intersects, and when swelled by the au- tumnal rains of Central Africa overflows them entirely ; and the fer- tilizing mud deposited by the waters of the river renders the land extremely productive. The towns of the Delta are all built upon artificial mounds, consisting of huge masses of unburnt brick : some are very ancient ;> and their formation is supposed to have been among the labours to which the Israelites were subjected by their Egyptian task-masters. During the overflow, intercourse be- tween these places is carried on by means of boats. Lake Mosris, so celebrated in ancient times as an artificial work, is, at present, called Birket Karoon, and is almost dried up. The district in which it lies, 50 miles south-west from Cairo, called the Fayoum, is one of the most fertile in Egypt. Of the other lakes the Natron, or Soda, is remarkable. The lakes Mareotis, Bour- los, and Menzaleh, at the mouth of the Nile, are more properly inlets of the sea. Canals are numerous in Egypt, some of which are the remains of similar works constructed more than 2000 years ago. The greater number are used merely for the purpose of irrigating the soil, and others for navigation. The most important of the latter, are Joseph's canal, on the west side of the Nile, 100 miles long and from 50 to 300 feet broad ; the Abou Meneggy canal, on the east side, also about 100 miles in length. The canal of Cleopa- tra, now the Mahmoudie, was, some years since, re-opened by Mahomed Ali : it is 60 miles long, 90 feet broad, and 18 feet deep. From 150,000 to 250,000 men were employed on this work for twelve months, during which period so little regard was paid to their health and comfort, that 30,000 of them are said to have perished. This canal connects Alexandria and Rahmanieh on the Nile. The canals of Egypt, passing through a perfectly level country, are constructed without locks. The climate is in general hot, and is moderate in Lower Egypt only. The great heat, however, produces the most exuberant ve- getation. The Khamsin, (a hot, dry wind which blows from the desert,) the plague, and ophthalmia, are the peculiar torments of Egypt. It has but two seasons, spring and summer ; the latter lasts from April to November. During this period the sky is al- ways clear, and the weather hot. In the spring the nights are cool and refreshing. Formerly, it seldom ever rained in Egypt, but at Alexandria it now rains for 30 or 40 days, and at Cairo there are from fifteen to twenty rainy days every winter. It is supposed that this re- EGYPT. 'J* Papyrus Plant. Egyptian Arum. Carthamus Tinctorius. The Papyrus is the plant from the fibres of which the ancients made their paper. It grows eight or ten feet high ; and is found in Egypt, Syria, and Abyssinia. Ropes, matting, and baskets, are at present made of its stems. The Egyptian Arum, or Arrow Root, is used for the same purposes as the West Indian pro- duction of the same name. The Carthamus Tinctorius, or Safflower, bears large orange- coloured flowers, that are much used in dyeing and colouring. Nymphsea Lotus, or Sacred Lotu9. Castor-oil Plant. The Sacred Lotus was consecrated by the ancient Egyptians to Isis and Osiris; and wor- shipped by them as an emblem of the creation of the world from water. The Castor-oil Plant is extensively cultivated in Egypt, and large quantities of the oil are produced. Zyzyphus Lotos, Barbary. Kuara Tree, Abyssinia. The Zyzyphus Lotos bears a berry that, when ripe, tasteB like gingerbread. One of the fableB of the ancients was, that this fruit had the power of making those who fed on it forget their native country. , The bean of the Kuara Tree has been used from time immemorial tn Africa for weighing gold. The term carat, employed with us to denote the fineness of that metal, and also the weight of diamonds, is supposed to have been derived from it. 715 AFRICA If View of one of the principal Squares of Cairo. i Cleopatra's Needle. Pompey's Pillar. Head of the Sphinx. Cleopatra's Needles and Pompey's Pillar, at Alexandria, are remains of the ancient city. The first consist of two Egyptian obelisks, each formed of a single 6tone, and about sixty feet high ; they are nearly all covered with Hieroglyphics — only one of these is standing, the other is lying on the ground. Pompey's Pillar is a Roman column, ninety-five feet in height. The pedestal, the shaft, and the capital, consist each of a mass of the finest granite. It is supposed to have been erected by the Emperor Dioclesian. The Sphinx is a gigantic image, representing the body of a lion with a human head. It stands about 300 feet from the base of Cephrenes, the second pyramid. It had long been buried to the neck, but the sand was sometime since cleared away, and the whole found to be about 125 feet long, and near CO high. The body is monolithic, or formed of a single stone, but the pawst which arc thrown out fifty feet in front, are constructed of masonry. The body of the Sphinx is again covered with sand. 716 EGYPT. 533 markable change is owing to the immense plantations of the Pa- cha, twenty millions of trees having been planted below Cairo. The contrary effect has been produced in Upper Egypt by the de- struction of the trees there. The chief products of this country are Indian-corn, rice, wheat, barley, and millet ; also flax, hemp, indigo, cotton, &c: palm, and date groves, with the olive, apricot, citron, lemon, and acacia or gum-arabic, and various other useful and ornamental trees, cover the country. Roses are raised in large quantities, and rose-water forms an important article of export. Marble, alabaster, porphy- ry, jasper, granite, salt, natron, nitre, alum, &c, abound. The inhabitants devote themselves to agriculture, the raising of bees and poultry, the preparation of sal-ammoniac, the manufac- turing of leather, flax, hemp, silk and cotton, carpets, glass, and potters'-ware. Constantinople is supplied with grain from Egypt, which, when a Roman province, was called the granary of Rome. The coasting-trade is considerable, and much inland traffic is car- ried on, chiefly with Syria, Arabia, and Western Africa. Cotton, indigo, sugar, rice, natron, nitre, soda, wool, hides, and many other articles, are exported to various quarters. Oxen of a large breed, and tame buffaloes, are used in agricul- ture ; the animals of burden are camels, horses, and asses ; goats are numerous, and the ichneumon, the active enemy of serpents and lizards of all kinds, and also the destroyer of the eggs of the crocodile, is domesticated and kept, as cats are with us, by the inhabitants. Crocodiles and hippopotami abound in the Nile in Upper Egypt , and lions, hyenas, and antelopes, in the adjacent deserts. Chickens are hatched artificially in ovens constructed for the purpose ; the birds, however, are not so robust as those produced in the natural way. Vast numbers of bees are also raised, and on a failure of the verdure in one spot the hives are placed in boats belonging to persons who devote themselves to that employment, and conveyed to places up or down the Nile where flowers and vegetation abound : here the industrious little insects collect their rich store from the adjacent luxuriant fields ; when the hives are filled, they are, on the payment of a small compensation, returned to their owners. The people of Egypt consist of Copts, the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, who are Christians of one of the branches of the Greek Church ; the Arabs, the most numerous race, divided into Fellahs or peasants ; and Bedouins, the wandering tribes of the desert. The Turks, though the ruling people, have never been numerous in this country. The Mamelukes, that remark- able race of military slaves, who were long the masters and 45 # 717 534 AFRICA. plunderers of Egypt, have been entirely exterminated. Besides these, there are Jews, Greeks, Armenians, and some Europeans in the service of the government. The prevailing language is the Arabic, and the predominant re- ligion is that of Mahomed, of which the Pacha has declared him- self the head and director ; he has curtailed the power of the priests, and has also done much to lessen the prejudices of the Mussulmans against Christians. The murder of the Mameluke chiefs, in 1811, subjected Egypt to the sway of Mohamed Ali, who had received from the Porte, five years before, the appointment of pacha,' but who, profiting by the distractions of the Ottoman empire, has established a power wholly independent. He also acquired Syria, Cyprus, and Candia, extended his dominion southward along the Nile as far as Sen- naar and Kordofan ; and in Arabia, has added to his domain the sacred territory of Mecca, as well as Medina and Yemen. In 1840, Mahomed Ali was compelled by the united arms of Great Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia, to relinquish Syria to the Sultan ; he was, however, confirmed in the government of Egypt, and his other possessions. His territories extend, therefore, in Africa, from Abyssinia to the Mediterranean Sea, 1400 miles, and in Asia from the strait of Babelmandel to the confines of Syria, almost 1600 miles in length, and in breadth from the oases of the Libyan desert to the inte- rior regions of Arabia. This new empire, though less important since the retrocession of Syria, is still more extensive than that of the Mameluke Sultans, the Ptolemies, or the Pharaohs, and contains 6,000,000 inhabitants, of which Egypt itself comprises from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000. The army of the Pacha is powerful and efficient ; it amounts to 140,000 men, and has been organized and disciplined in the European manner by French officers. The navy consists of nine ships of the line, six frigates, eleven smaller vessels, and three steam-ships: it is manned by 16,000 sailors. At Cairo there is a military college with 1400, and at Alexan- dria a marine academy with 860 pupils ; these are mostly Arabs, and they are instructed by Europeans. The students in the first are destined for officers in the army, and the others for the navy. A cannon-foundry and a manufactory of arms and gunpowder have been also established at Cairo. Mahomed Ali is particularly attentive to the public security : he takes, therefore, all Europeans under his immediate protection, and allows no one to be molested on account of his religion : strangers, also, may travel from one end of Egypt to the other, with perfect safety. He has done much for the commerce and in- dustry as well as civilization of Egypt, and has established a bet- EGYPT. Distant View of the Pyramids The Pyramids stand on the west bank of the Nile, above Cairo. They are about forty in number, arranged in five groups, and are scattered along the bank of the river for a distance of sixty miles. The Great Pyramid. Entrance to the Second Pyramid. Cephrenes, or the second pyramid, was first opened by Mr. Belzoni, in the year 1818. At tho end of a long passage, he found a chamber forty-six feet by sixteen, and twenty-four feet high, in which was a sarcophagus, or stone coffin. It contained a small quantity of bones, found to be those of the cow, one of the chief objocts of ancient Egyptian worship. AFRICA. Ruins of Antinoe, situated on the east bank of the Nile, 170 miles above Cairo. The Ruins of Antinoe extend about a mile in every direction. They are the remains of a city built in the Greek style, by the Emperor Adrian, with the design of uniting the elegance of classic architecture with the colossal grandeur of the Egyptian. The theatre, the hippodrome, the principal street, a triumphal column, a triumphal arch, and a great gate, may still be traced. Ruins of Anteopolis, 260 miles above Cairo. At Gau el Kebir, situated on the east bank of the Nile, some massive ruins are to be found, 1'nc remains of the ancient city of Anteopolis. Traces of a temple 230 feet by 150, are still existing ; the columns have their capitals formed of representations of the leaves of the date palm, and, being surrounded with groups of those trees, of which they present a faithful copy, produce an interesting effect. Portico of the Temple at Esneh, on the west bank of the Nile, 310 miles above Cairo. Esnch is a considerable modern town. It occupies the site of the ancient Eatopolis; and contains an Egyptian temple, the portico of which is remarkable for its beauty. The zodiac with which its cupola is adorned, forms one of the most remarkable ornaments of ancient ncience, and has given rise to much controversy. 720 EGYPT. 535 ter system of law and order than that unfortunate country has experienced since the days of its most potent monarchs. The Pacha encourages every species of industry, and is study- ing to introduce the arts, the sciences, and improvements of Europe. He is, however, the absolute lord of the soil, and the productions of the country, and is also the principal merchant ; and no one can deal with foreigners without his consent. His revenue is about 18,000,000 dollars, derived from taxes of various kinds, duties on imports, and the sale of cotton, indigo, sugar, rice, &c, which he monopolizes, purchasing those articles at a low rate from his sub- jects, and selling them at a great advance to foreigners. The government of Mahomed Ali is thus one of the most des- potic in existence ; and, notwithstanding the advances that have been made towards civilization, the mass of the people are greatly oppressed by the heavy exactions and severe duties required of them. When recruits are wanted for the public service, the vil- lages are often surrounded by soldiers ; the most able-bodied of the men are dragged from their families, loaded with chains on the least reluctance being expressed, and sent to the army or navy. Still, Egypt, depressed and degraded under the government of the Mamelukes and the Turks, has been raised by the energetic ad- ministration of its present ruler to a degree of distinction that the country has not enjoyed for ages ; and, though by means in some instances not the most creditable, yet he has founded an empire of such importance, as to excite the attention and command the re- spect of the most powerful European states. Egypt abounds in some of the most remarkable antiquities in the world : of these, the pyramids are, perhaps, the most astonish- ing monuments of human labour in existence. The two largest are those of Cheops and Cephrenes; the former is 461 feet high, with a square base of 693 feet in extent, and occupying about eleven acres of ground. This pyramid can be ascended in about twenty minutes, and consists of 206 steps of stone, from one to four feet in height, each tier retiring from the one below, so as to form a series of steps from the bottom to the top. At the foot of Cephrenes is the celebrated Sphinx, an imaginary monster, with a lion's body and a human head, cut out of the solid rock ; it is in a lying posture ; the head and neck are about 30 feet high, and the body, though covered with sand, has been found to be 125 feet long. There are, also, in Egypt, extensive cata- combs existing in various places, from which mummies, or em- balmed bodies, are obtained. Some of these were deposited 3000 or 4000 years ago. Thebes, in Upper Egypt, is rendered famous by the description of the ancient writers, as the city of an hundred gates, from each 3Ii 721 536 AFRICA. of which a thousand warriors went forth equipped for battle. This place, when Greece was just emerging from barbarism, and before Rome was built, was the most magnificent city in the world. The splendid description given of it by the Greek writers were long considered fabulous, but the observations of modern travellers prove their accounts to have fallen short of the reality. The ancient city was 23 miles in circuit, and nearly all of this space is now filled with its ruins. The banks of the Nile for an extent of between seven and eight miles, are covered with magni- ficent portals, obelisks decorated with sculpture, forests of columns, and long avenues of colossal statues. One of the temples is a mile and a half in circumference. It has 12 principal entrances ; the body of the temple consists of a prodigious hall, or portico ; the roof is supported by 134 columns. Four beautiful obelisks mark the entrance to the shrine, a place of sacrifice, which con- tains three apartments built entirely of granite. The temple of Luxor probably surpasses in beauty and splen- dour all the other ruins of Egypt. In front, there were, until lately, two splendid obelisks of rose-coloured marble, 100 feet high : one of these has been conveyed to Paris, and now stands in that city. But the objects which most attract attention are the sculptures, which cover the whole of the northern front. They contain, on a great scale, a representation of a victory gained by one of the ancient kings of Egypt over his Asiatic enemies. The number of human figures introduced amounts to 1500 ; 500 on foot, and 1000 in chariots. Such are some of the remains of a city which perished before the records of authentic history begin. Cairo, or Grand Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is situated on the east bank of the Nile, 1 30 miles from the sea : it comprises Old Cairo, New Cairo, and Boulac ; it is the largest and most popu- lous city in Africa ; and throughout that region and Arabia, Cairo is considered the queen of cities, the city without a rival : its splen- dour forms one of the chief themes of eastern romance. Euro- peans and Americans find little, however, in its present aspect corresponding to the ideas produced by oriental description. The streets are mere winding alleys, unpaved, and filled with clouds of dust, caused by the concourse of men, camels, and asses, which pass through them. The houses are built of stone and brick, with terraces and flat roofs, and the windows are often glazed with coloured glass. There is a prodigious number of gardens in the city. The mosques are covered with Arabesque ornaments, and adorned with handsome minarets. The waters of the Nile are received by canals into a great number of docks, or artificial ponds, in different parts of the city. Cairo has a flourishing trade with the interior, by caravans. Population, 300,000. EGYPT. Portico of the Temple at Dendera. Part of a Wall at Dendera, covered with the Hieroglyphical Sculptures of the ancient Egyptians. Interior of the Temple at Dendera. Dendera, the ancient Tentyra, is 240 miles above Cairo, on the we9t side of the Nile, and about a quarter of an hour's walk from the river. The ruins found here cover a space a mile long by half a mile wide. The most entire edifice remaining is an Egyptian temple, 265 feet by 1-10, and 60 feet high in front. It is remarkable for the vast amount and variety of the hieroglyphical sculptures with which its walls are covered, both outside and in. A part of the ceiling of the interior, where the sculptures are supposed to represent the twelve signs of the zodiac, has been cut out and conveyed to Paris. 723 AFRICA. Ruins of Karnac, at Thebes. Principal Hall at Karnac. £38$? ASSESS Ruins of the Temple of Luxor, at Thebes. 724 EGYPT. 537 This city is beginning to imbibe some of the elements of Chris- tian civilization. A scientific society and various schools on the European plan have been founded, and printing-presses have been established by the government, at which a number of Arabic trans- lations, from the most celebrated French and English works, have been printed. Hotels are kept in Cairo on the plan of those in Paris, though in a somewhat inferior style. Alexandria, on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles to the west- ward of the Rosetta mouth of the Nile, is one of the most re- nowned cities in the world. After being for ages in a state of decay, it is now lifting its head from the dust. The Pacha seems determined to raise it to importance; and it may perhaps become again a vast emporium. It is now the chief sea-port and naval station of Egypt, and is connected with the Nile by the Mahmou- dia canal ; its commerce, which has of late years greatly increased, is now considerable. Vessels of nearly every European nation are to be found in its harbour ; and steam-boats run to all the prin- cipal sea-ports in the Mediterranean. The population, a few years ago estimated at 20,000, is now supposed to amount to nearly three times that number. This city was founded by Alexander the Great, and soon rose to wealth and distinction. It was the capital of the Ptolemies, and for science and literature was second only to Rome. It con- tained at one time 600,000 inhabitants. After its capture by the Saracens, it began to decline; and the discovery of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope, destroyed its commercial im- portance. At present it consists of narrow, crooked, and dirty streets, with lofty buildings. An immense accumulation of ruins, mostly buried in the sand, Pompey's pillar, Cleopatra's needles, the cisterns, catacombs, and columns, some entire and some broken, scattered here and there, are the remains of the ancient Alexandria : these, however, are not of Egyptian, but of Greek, or Roman origin ; and, in compari- son with the pyramids, are quite modern. Rosetta stands on the west branch of the Nile, four miles from its mouth, and is completely environed by the blooming groves and rich gardens of the Delta. It is built in a better style than most of the Egyptian cities, and has been long a place of considerable importance ; but is now on the decline, much of its trade having been transferred to Alexandria. Population, 15,000. Damietta is built on the eastern branch of the Nile, 10 miles from the sea. The appearance of the town is beautifully pictu- resque, and the country in the neighbourhood is the most fertile and best cultivated in Egypt. Like Rosetta, this city is also of less importance than formerly. Population, 25,000. 3L* 125 538 AFRICA. Tanta, in the centre of the Delta, is distinguished by a splendid mosque, built in honour of a famous Mahomedan saint, to which near 150,000 pilgrims annually resort from various countries, some even from Darfur. Minieh, Achmounien, and Manfalout, are all places of some note, above Cairo. Siout, 160 miles above this city, has 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the west side of the Nile, two miles from the river, and is the chief point from which the caravans take their departure to Nubia and Interior Africa. Akhmin, above Siout, has a population of 10,000, and Girge, Kenneh, and Esneh, are among the chief towns in Upper Egypt: the latter has some manufactures of cotton shawls, and pottery. Assouan, the ancient Syene, the most southern town of Egypt, has some trade in dates. Three miles above this place is the first cataract of the Nile, described by the ancient writers as a pro- digious fall \ but which is now found to be nothing more than a turbulent rapid. Suez, at the head of the Red Sea, is surrounded by a sandy desert. It has a large trade with Arabia by caravans, and also by sea ; and steam-ships often ply between this place and Bombay. Population, 5000. Cosseir is a sea-port on the Red Sea, and has some trade in grain. The country around it is a desert. NUBIA. Nubia is an extensive region lying south of Egypt, and ex- tending to the confines of Abyssinia. It is bounded on the east and west by the Red Sea and the Great Desert : nearly the whole country is composed of rocky and sandy deserts. The atmo- sphere is dry, the summer hot, the climate healthy, and the plague unknown : the whole region, together with Kordofan, adjoining it on the south-west, is now subject to Mohamed Ali, the Pacha of Egypt, having been conquered by him a few years since. Length, 800 miles; breadth, from 350 to 500. Area, about 320,000 square miles. The little fertility which Nubia possesses is artificial, being pro- duced by raising the water of the Nile, by means of wheels worked with oxen, to the level of the highest banks : in this way a strip of land of from one-eighth of a mile to half a mile in breadth is rendered productive, on which is cultivated dhourra, barley, cotton, tobacco and indigo. The territory of Sennaar, bordering on Abyssinia, does not altogether partake of the barrenness so general in the greater part of Nubia ; some portions of it are comparatively fertile, being watered by the tropical rains which are here considerable, though not so violent as in regions immediately under the equator. NUBIA. Memnonlan Statues, at Thebes, called Jama and Chama by the natives. The Memnonian Statues at Thebes, now much mutilated, are fifty-two feet high, and are each composed of a single block of granite. One of them appears from inscriptions to have been the vocal statue of Memnon, celebrated by the ancients as emitting a musical sound at sunrise, or when struck, at particular times of the day. No modern visiter, however, has been able to elicit more than the usual sound made by percussion upon granite ; and there seems no doubt that the musical tones were produced by some contrivance of the Egyptian priests. Specimen of the hieroglyphical painted sculptures, found on the walls of the ancient Egyptian tombs. This is supposed to represent Osiris, the chief deity of Egypt, judging the dead. Modern Egyptian Bath. 727 AFRICA. Cataracts of the Nile, Upper Egypt. The Cataracts of the Nile do not correspond, at the present day, with the descriptions given of them by the classic writers. They are mere rapids, up and down which the Arabs ascend and descend with their boats. It is evident that a great change has taken place in the condition of the river here, since the days of the Pharaohs and tho Ptolemies. \\\ ! Philae, four mileB above the Cataracts of the Nile, Upper Egypt. The island of Philae, now El Heiff, exhibits a confusion of grand and beautiful monuments, rivalling those left by the greatest cities of Egypt. There are eight temples, built apparently at different times, and in different styles of architecture. The largest of these is supposed to have been that consecrated to Osiris. The most solemn oath of the ancient Egyptians was by Osiris in Philae. 723 NUBIA. 539 Besides the usual domestic animals of these countries, the giraffe or camelopard, antelopes of various kinds, foxes and wild dogs, abound ; and an animal is said by the natives to reside in the deserts rather smaller but similar in appearance to the horse, with one long straight horn growing from its forehead. The inhabitants of Nubia have scarcely any manufactures ex- cept some coarse cotton and woollen cloths and mats ; indigo is made from the plant which furnishes that article. The latter is monopolized by the pacha, who appropriates, as in Egypt, the whole produce and commerce of the country. The trade from the interior, which passes through Nubia to Egypt, consists mostly of slaves, gold, and ivory ; that from Egypt and Arabia, European goods, arms, &c. The people of this region are of two classes ; the residents of the towns, similar to the Berbers of Mount Atlas, are generally a well-made, muscular race, of a very dark complexion; the females are modest and pleasing in their demeanour. The inhabitants of the desert are of Arab origin. They were formerly always at war with each other, and with the adjacent tribes, but they are now subject to Mohamed Ali; they pay him an annual tribute, and are obliged to furnish such camels and guides for the use of go- vernment and of travellers as may be required. Europeans can now traverse, under the protection of the pacha, the whole region from Egypt to the confines of Abyssinia, with comparative safety. Some of the remains of the ancient temples found in Nubia rival the proudest monuments of Thebes. The Egyptian edifices con- sist of masonry : those of Nubia are either under ground or are dug out of the solid rock. One of the most magnificent is that of Ebsambul ; it is situated on the west side of the Nile, and is in a state of complete preservation, rising immediately from the bank of the river, and cut out of a perpendicular cliff; in front and near it are statues of colossal size, supposed, when perfect, to have measured 60 or 70 feet in height. At El Belial, near Merawe, are the remains of numerous temples, pyramids, &c. The chief divisions of Nubia are the kingdoms of Dongola in the centre and that of Sennaar in the south ; the territory of Beja, lying along the west coast of the Red Sea, and the districts of Kenous, Nouba, and Dar Mahas in the north, and those of Dar Sheyga and Shendy between Dongola and Sennaar. On the Nile are the small towns of Derr, New Dongola, Old Dongola, El Makkarif and Shendy, containing each from 3000 to 4000 inhabitants. Suakem is the port of Beja, and the only sea- port Nubia possesses. Here the pilgrims from the interior of Africa take passage to Jidda and Mecca. The city of Sennaar, on the eastern branch of the Nile, once estimated to contain a 729 540 AFRICA. population of 100,000, is now deserted and in ruins, the inhab- itants having abandoned it soon after the Egyptian conquest. The sovereign of Sennaar, called the Mek, was lately a pensioner of Mohamed Ali. Kartoom, at the junction of the two great branches of the Nile, is a town recently founded by the Egyptian government, and already contains 15,000 inhabitants. Darfur is a considerable country lying almost due south from Egypt and west of Kordofan. It is but little known, never hav- ing been visited but by one European, (Mr. T. G. Browne,) who resided there during the years 1793, '4, '5, and '6 : his informa- tion, however, is rather limited, having been, during most part of the time, viewed with great jealousy and closely watched. The country is dry and sandy : the tropical rains, however, in undate its level plains to some extent, and enable the women to cultivate, though in a rude manner, some wheat and millet. Ca- mels, horned cattle, goats, horses, sheep and asses abound. The people, supposed not to exceed in number 200,000, are a mixture of Arabs and negroes. The king, though absolute, is sometimes deposed and strangled by the soldiery, who elect in his room an- other member of the royal family. Large caravans pass occasionally between Egypt and Darfur, interchanging slaves, ivory, ostrich-feathers, &c, for cloths, car- pets, toys, and beads. A considerable intercourse of religion and trade is carried on with Mecca by way of Jidda and Suakem. Cobbe, the capital, is not supposed to contain more than 4000 in- habitants ; it is about two miles long, but consists merely of ranges of detached houses surrounded by wooded inclosures. Bergoo, or Waday, is an extensive country reaching westward from Darfur almost to the confines of Begharmi and Bornou. Ac- cording to the imperfect accounts yet received, it appears to be greater and more populous than Darfur or Kordofan. Wara, the capital, is represented as a considerable city. A large river, call- ed the Bahr Misselad, is reported to traverse the country in a northern and westerly direction. Kordofan, on the east, and separated by deserts from Darfur, forms a country nearly similar. Its warriors, like those of Bor- nou, are invested in chain armour. In 1820 it was conquered by the Pacha of Egypt, who continues to claim the sovereignty. Fertit, to the south of Darfur, inhabited solely by negroes, contains valuable mines of copper. Still farther south is the mountainous country of Donga, inhabited by a barbarous people, and in which the main branch of the Nile is said to have its origin. NUBIA. Rock Temple, at Ebsambul, Nubia. Interior of the Temple at Ebsambul. The excavated Temple of Ebsambul is the most interesting and entire specimen of the works of the ancient Nubians. It is cut out of a high rock on the west side of the Nile ; the interior is 117 feet wide, and 86 feet high. It is adorned with numerous hieroglyphics, painted sculptures, colossal statues, and all the peculiar ornaments which characterize Egyptian archi- tecture. Pyramid at El Belial, in the Southern part of Nubia At El Belial and Merawe are a number of ruined temples and pyramids, which, being built originally of a soft friable sandstone, have become much decayed. One of the pyramids h,i3 fallen down in part, and presents the curious feature of a smaller pyramid, entire, and of a different style of architecture, enclosed within it. 731 AFRICA. Ruins of the Temple of Soleb, Nubia. Majestic ruins, the relics of a superior race and more civilized times, are found in Nubia, at various points along the banks of the Nile. The remains at Soleb consist of a number of columns, and other remnants of a spacious temple, in which much architectural beauty haa been displayed. View of the Mountains of Samen, northern part of Abyssinia. Obelisk at Axum, the ancient Capital of Abyssinia. Axum is interesting from its extensive monuments of antiquity; the great square alone con- tains forty obelisks, of which, that represented in the engraving is eighty feet high. Many of the Abyssinian chiefs wear, as a mark of dignity, an ornament in the shape of a slraight horn, projecting fiom the forehead. ABYSSINIA. 541 The Shilluk nation reside on the banks of the Bahr-el-Abiad, to the southward of Kordofan and Nubia ; the people are negroes, and conquered Sennaar in 1504 ; many of them live on the islands in the river, which are very numerous. The Shilluks are men of vast size and strength, and wonderful stories are told by their neighbours of their prowess in attacking the hippopotamus and crocodile in the water, which they seldom fail to overcome. They have numerous canoes which they manage with great skill, and form expeditions against their neighbours, both up and down the river. These people are now subject to Mohamed Ali. - The Denka, who reside farther up the Bahr el Abiad, were ori- ginally the same people, but they are now constantly at war with one another ; both possess great quantities of cattle ; they are armed with long spears, which they do not throw, but, crouching behind their shields, wait the approach of their enemy. ABYSSINIA. Abyssinia is an extensive country situated on the head waters of the eastern branches of the Nile. Though it has long excited considerable attention in the civilized world, and has been partially explored by the travellers Bruce, Salt, and others ; it is yet but imperfectly known. On the north it is bounded by the Red Sea, on the south partly by the kingdom of Adel and the country of the Somaulies, and partly by unknown regions occupied by the barbarous Galla tribes. On the west its limits are undetermined, but they probably border on the country of the Shilluks and Denka. In extent it is sup- posed to be about 600 miles long and 400 wide, with a population estimated at from 3,000,000. to 5,000,000. Abyssinia is a country of rugged mountains intersected by deep and extensive valleys. A lofty range, called Lamalmon, bars up the entrance from the Red Sea. The mountains of Samen, Go- jam, Efat, and Amid-Amid occupy various parts of the country, and are said to be very lofty ; the latter are supposed to be a branch of the mountains of the Moon. The Abawi, Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue river, rises to the south- west of the lake Dembea, through which it flows, and after a course of 900 miles joins the Bahr-el-Abiad or White river in Sen- naar, and forms the long celebrated Nile. The Tacazze, a smaller tributary of the Nile, with the Maleg, Dender, Rahad, and other rivers, water the various districts of Abyssinia. The country in general is extremely fertile and productive where 46 3M 733 542 AFRICA. it can be cultivated, and is in a great measure exempted from that empire of sand which dooms so large a portion of Africa to steril- ity. Though situated within the Torrid Zone, the climate of Abys- sinia is for the most part temperate and healthful, but varies with the surface and aspect of the country. The seasons are divided into wet and dry. The rains continue to fall from April to Sep- tember. The domestic cattle of Abyssinia are chiefly a large white va- riety, with very long horns, called the Sanga or Galla oxen. An- other, the hunched breed, are marked with black and white spots, and have the horns loose, turning freely either way, and hanging against the cheeks. Horses are numerous, and the elephant, rhi- noceros, lion, and panther are not uncommon ; the hippopotamus is also found in some of the rivers : the civet cat, noted for the odo- riferous substance which it yields, is in some places domesticated for the sake of its perfume, an article, though not much prized in Europe, in great request in the East. Agriculture in this region is in a rude state, yet some products are raised in great abundance. Teff, a very small grain, fur- nishes the principal food of the people, and is made into large thin cakes. Wheat, barley, Indian-corn, and cotton, are raised in va- rious quarters. Balsam, myrrh, and other medicinal productions are common. Salt is found in great quantities in the north-eastern parts of Tigre ; it overspreads an extensive plain, is hard like ice, and being cut into convenient pieces, is circulated like cotton cloth through the country as money. The people of Abyssinia are composed of different tribes, va- rious in figure and colour ; the general complexion, however, is olive. They are generally a well-formed, active race, with long hair, and features somewhat of the European cast. The Jews, who comprise an important class, settled here in remote ages, and have nearly lost the Hebrew language. The inhabitants of Tigre are rude and barbarous ; but the ferocity and filthiness of the Galla, a people who have conquered some of the finest provinces of Abyssinia, almost surpass belief. In their incursions they destroy every human being without dis- tinction of age or sex, smear themselves with the blood of slaugh- tered animals, and hang the entrails about their necks. These savages resemble the Caffres of Southern Africa, but are smaller in size ; they have a round head, small eyes and thick lips, with fine hair, rather frizzled than woolly. In the north-western districts are found the Shangalla, a rude and savage negro race, with visages approaching to those of apes. They live under the shade of trees, and at some seasons in caves. The Abyssinians frequently hunt them as wild beasts. ABYSSINIA. 543 The customs of the people of this country are exceedingly sa- vage and disgusting. At their brinde feasts they eat the raw and still quivering flesh of cattle just slaughtered, and drink their fa- vourite liquors bouza and hydromel to intoxication. A perpetual state of civil war seems the main cause of their peculiar brutality and barbarism. Human life is but little regarded, and dead bodies are often to be seen lying in the streets, which serve as food to dogs and hyenas. Marriages are formed and dissolved at plea- sure, and conjugal fidelity is but little regarded. The rulers are unlimited despots in ecclesiastical and civil affairs, disposing of the lives of their subjects at pleasure. The Abyssinians boast that their country was the Sheba of Scripture, and that the queen of that name who visited Solomon was their sovereign. The Jewish religion was adopted several hundred years before the Christian era ; but about the commence- ment of the fourth century, the nation was converted to Chris- tianity, which it has ever since professed. The Abyssinian church owns the supremacy of the Coptic pa- triarch of Cairo, and from him the Abuna, or spiritual head, re- ceives his appointment. The worship is very corrupt, and greatly burthened with trifling forms and ceremonies, and is much inter- mixed with Jewish rites and observances. The Mosaic laws in regard to clean and unclean meats are respected, and both Satur- day and Sunday are observed as a Sabbath. The churches are numerous and much ornamented with paintings, and the altars have the form of the ark of the covenant. This country was formerly under the dominion of one sove- reign called the Negus, whose government was despotic; but the conquests of the Galla and the disunion produced by long conti- nued civil wars, has reduced the strength and importance of the state to a low condition. The power of the monarch is now merely nominal ; he resides at Gondar, a king without a kingdom, and is kept almost a prisoner by the Galla chief of Amhara. Abyssinia now comprises three distinct states, Tigre in the east, Amhara in the west, and Shoa and Efat in the south. The unsettled condition of affairs in Abyssinia renders it difficult to give any specific account of these divisions. Tigre is the most important; it is supposed to contain about half the population of the country, and is governed by a chief called the Ras. Shoa and Sfat form one state, and are under the control of a ruler, who is a descendant of the ancient royal family. Amhara, one of the most fertile divisions of Abyssinia, is now governed by a Galla chieftain. Adowa, the capital of Tigre, is the only point of communica- tion with the interior. It has a considerable trade, and the inha- 544 AFRICA. bitants are among the most highly civilized of the Abyssinians. Population, 8000. Antalo, which has . for some time been the residence of the Ras, stands upon the side of a mountain, and is supposed to contain a population of 10,000. Axum, the ancient capital, is now in ruins, but is remarkable for its antiquities. Gondar, the capital of Amhara, is three or four leagues in circuit. The houses are built of red stone, and roofed with thatch. It is now in the hands of the Galla. WESTERN AFRICA. Western Africa comprehends that long range of coast which extends southward from the Great Desert to the tropic of Capri- corn, and from the sea-shore to the distance of from 200 to 600 miles inland. It comprises three great divisions, Senegambia and Upper Guinea, and Lower Guinea ; these names, however, are all European, and unknown to the natives. The whole region is divided into a multitude of states, mostly small, governed by despotic princes, and without any political con- nexion ; yet there is such a resemblance of climate, soil, and character, as justifies a description of them under one general head. The rivers of Western Africa are numerous, though none of them are decidedly of the first magnitude. The Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Congo, or Zaire, and Coanza, are the principal. The Senegal was long considered the outlet of the Niger, but the tra- vels of Mr. Park, in 1795, dispelled that idea. Though that mysterious stream has its rise and termination in this quarter, it must be considered as belonging to Central Africa. Farther south, the Congo, or Zaire, pours its vast mass of waters into the ocean, which it freshens for a considerable distance : the chief part of its course is still shrouded in mystery. Like the Senegal, it was also supposed to be the outlet of the Niger, but the discoveries of the Messrs. Landers showed that opinion to be unfounded. Extensive portions of this territory are covered with dense and almost impenetrable forests, and the soil is capable of yielding the richest treasures of the vegetable world. Indian-corn, rice, mil- let, coffee, sugar, cotton, and tobacco, are all, more or less, culti- vated, but chiefly for native use, seldom as articles of trade. The yam, sweet potatoe, banana, pine-apple, orange, lime, the negro- peach, and monkey-apple, are among the roots and fruits found in nearly all quarters. The palm-tree yields an intoxicating liquor called palm-wine, and the palm-oil has become an object of great commercial importance. WESTERN AFRICA. 545 The manufactures of the natives are generally rude, compared with those of civilized nations : they are confined to the usual African articles of coarse cotton cloths, a few rough implements of iron, and ornaments of gold. The inhabitants do not engage in any maritime commerce, but trade with the American and Eu- ropean vessels that arrive on the coast and at the different factories, exchanging their gold, ivory, &c. for fire-arms, gunpowder, brandy, calicoes, and other articles. They, however, have a considerable traffic with the interior countries, by means of coffles. The slave trade, though declared unlawful to the northward of the equator, is still carried on to a great extent on the coasts of Western Africa ; and the various native chiefs engage in and encourage it, furnish- ing slaves to the traders, both from their own subjects, and from the prisoners taken in war. The people of Western Africa are strangers to literature and the ornamental arts, and their progress in that which constitutes improved and civilized life, is extremely limited. Their ideas of religion are absurd and irrational, and their gross superstition is almost unparalleled. Whatever strikes the imagination of the un- tutored negro, or appears to his eyes as sacred or supernatural, becomes his Fetish, or object of worship. Thus he adores a rock, a tree, a fish-bone, a ram's horn, or a blade of grass ; and the ser- pent, the lizard, the leopard, &c, are regarded as gods among various nations. All the good fortune of the negro is supposed to arise from the favour of the Fetish, and every evil to proceed from offence taken by it. The universal amusements of all the negro nations are music and dancing : as soon as the sun descends beneath the horizon, there is dancing and merriment in nearly all parts of Africa. Their per- formance, however, in both brandies, is rude, grotesque, and bar- barous. Polygamy is universal, and by the chiefs and princes it is carried to the utmost extent that their circumstances will permit. To have numerous wives and children is considered a matter of boast, and is even converted into a source of wealth, for their wives are regarded merely as slaves, and are made to till the ground, weave cloth, make mats, &c. In some of the larger despotic monarchies, as Ashantee and Dahomy, the wives of the sovereign amount to several thousands, selected, not only from prisoners taken in war, but from the families of any of his subjects. In the art of building, the native Africans show bnt little inge- nuity : there is not, perhaps, among any of the negro nations, a single house erected of stone; earth, branches of trees, leaves, rushes, and grass, are the principal materials employed. Their villages have been compared to groups of dog-kennels rather than of houses : the door is seldom more than two or three feet high, 46* 3M* ™ 546 AFRICA. and the occupant can barely stand upright in the most elevated part of his cabin : the habitation of their chiefs, and even kin^s, are seldom better than those of the poor, only more numerous, each wife having a hut ; and the whole assemblage being sur- rounded by a mud wall, or dyke, resembles a rude village, rather than a palace. Among the rich a considerable taste for finery prevails ; brace- lets and rings are worn in great numbers, and sometimes of con- siderable value, on the arms and legs, and in the ears. Costly robes of silk, velvet, Indian chintz, &c, also form part of the dress of the rich : some of the women paint their faces with white and red spots, and tattooing is likewise practised. The lower classes are content with a wrapper of the coarsest stuff of the country, and many are almost destitute of clothing. SENEGAMBIA. Senegambia extends along the coast of Western Africa, from the Great Desert to the colony of Sierra Leone, and from the At- lantic Ocean into the interior, embracing the regions watered by the various tributaries of the Senegal and Gambia rivers, extend- ing in length about 800, and in breadth about 560 miles. The country on the coast is much of it flat and marshy, and very unhealthful for Europeans ; notwithstanding which, the English, French, and Portuguese, have some small settlements. In the interior are many mountainous districts, mostly about the sources of the great rivers. This region is generally well watered by the Senegal and its numerous branches, and also by the Gambia and Rio Grande. The climate and vegetable productions are such as belong to tropical regions. Senegambia is inhabited by different negro tribes, but marked with various distinctions of person, character, and manners : they live mostly under petty sovereigns, and in general are an easy, good-natured race; but ignorant, and barbarous. Among these various nations, the Foulahs, Jaloffs, and Mandingoes, are the most numerous. The Foulahs are wjdely diffused over Western Africa : they are superior in form and feature to the other nations in this quar- ter, and are of a complexion inclining to olive : their habits are pastoral, and their character for honesty, industry, and sobriety, is proverbial. The Foulahs are supposed to be the same people as the Fellatas of Soudan, and, like them, are Mahomedans. The Foulah kingdoms of Western Africa are a species of theo- cracies, being governed by elective, spiritual sovereigns, styled WESTERN AFRICA. 547 Almamys, or chiefs of the faithful. The principal states are Foota Jallon, Foota Toro, Foota Bondoo, and Fouladoo, the original coun- try of the Foulahs. Foota Jallon, the largest of the Foulah states, is said to ex- tend about 350 miles in length and 200 in breadth, and lies along the head waters of the rivers Senegal, Gambia, and Rio Grande. It is the most improved of all the native states in this part of Africa. The inhabitants manufacture cloths of considerable fine- ness, and work in iron, gold, silver, and leather. Here, where they are the ruling people, they by no means display that pacific character which distinguishes the tribes on the lower Gambia and Senegal : they can bring into the field 16,000 men, and are often engaged in war. Timboo, the capital, is said to contain 7000 inhabitants, and Laby 5000. Foota Toro is situated on both sides of the Senegal river, and is a considerable kingdom. The sovereign is often at war with the adjacent state of the almost pagan Darnel, or Burb of the Ja- loffs : the latter, however, by the strength of his country, and a prudent system of warfare, has been able to baffle these attempts. The Jaloffs inhabit the territory situated between the Senegal and Gambia rivers, and extending from the sea-coast to a con- siderable distance in the interior : though of a deep black com- plexion, and with decided negro features, they are the handsomest race in Western Africa. They excel in the manufacture of cotton- cloth, rival the Moors in horsemanship, and are fearless and ex- pert hunters. The Jaloffs occupy several small states, the govern- ments of which are despotic, and the princes hereditary. Of these, the chief are Barra and Boor Salum, on the Gambia ; Brak, on the Senegal ; and Darnel and Cayor, on the sea-coast. The Mandingoes are the most numerous people of this region. Their employments are chiefly a slight agriculture, and traffic, in which their enterprise exceeds that of all the other negro races : they trade with the Americans and Europeans on the coast, and conduct large kafilas to a considerable distance in the interior. These people are cheerful and inquisitive, and are inveterate dan- cers : their taste is rather more refined than is usual among the Africans, particularly in poetry, the extemporary composition and recitation of which forms one of their favourite amusements. They are partly Mahomedans and partly pagans. Their original coun- try is Manding, of which the government is a species of republi- canism. Bambouk, Saloom, Kaboo, and Koorankoo, are Man- dingo states ; and Bambarra and Kaarta, in Soudan, are also set- tled by the same people. 548 AFRICA. Bambouk, situated on the upper Senegal, is almost a country of mountains, from whence rise numerous streams, nearly all of which flow over golden sands. The trade is mostly carried on with the French, by the Serrawoollies, a small, but peculiar tribe, who are very industrious, and devoted to traffic. Soolimana, to the south of Foota Jallon, is a warlike and con- siderable kingdom, of which the sovereign is a Mahomedan, while the bulk of the nation are pagans. The people are a gay, thought- less, stirring race. The two sexes seem to have reversed their occupations ; the women till the ground, build the houses, and act as barbers and surgeons ; while the men tend the dairy, sew, and even wash the clothes. Senegal. — Among the European settlements on this coast, that of Senegal, belonging to France, is the most northern. Fort St. Louis, the chief settlement, is situated on an island in the river Senegal. The French lost this place during the revolutionary war, but had it restored to them in 1814. The population is supposed to be about 6000. The commerce of this colony is confined to the gum and the gold trade of Bambouk. The gum, which from this river and settlement is called gum-Senegal, is the produce of some scattered oases, or verdant spots, that occur in the Great Desert, north of the Senegal river : it is collected mostly in the month of Decem- ber, by the Moorish tribes in the vicinity, and by them the gum is bartered to the French. The amount exported is about 250,000 pounds. At Goree, a small island near Cape Verde, the French have established the capital of all their African dominions : it is an al- most perpendicular rock, and is well fortified. The town contains 3000 inhabitants. It is a busy bustling place, being the entrepot for all the opposite coast, and the point at which French ships bound for India stop for refreshments. Gambia. — The European settlements on the Gambia are entirely English. Bathurst, on St. Mary's island, at the mouth of the river, containing a population of about 2000, is the principal place. Fort James, near the mouth of, and Pisania, a considerable distance up the river, are small trading posts : at Bathurst, the Wesleyan Missionary Society has established a church and several schools, which are in a prosperous state. There is a mission also at Macarthy's Island, about 180 miles above Bathurst. South of the Gambia, on the San Domingo river, and other streams, the Portuguese have a few small posts, of little or no im- portance. WESTERN AFRICA. 549 SIERRA LEONE. The British colony of Sierra Leone is situated on the west coast of Africa about 400 miles south-east from the Gambia river : it was founded in 1787, with a view of introducing civilization and Chris- tianity into Africa ; the first emigrants were negroes who had found their way from various quarters to London and other places in Great Britain. The population was afterwards augmented by a number of American slaves who had left the service of their mas- ters during our revolutionary war, and also of maroons from Ja- maica. The bulk of the inhabitants, however, are liberated slaves taken from the various slave-ships captured from time to time. With a view to initiate these people into the habits of civilized life, the British Church Missionary Soeiety has introduced teachers and schools into the colony, and many hundreds of the children are now taught. The population of Freetown, the capital of the colony, and its suburbs, has risen to near 10,000 ; and eight or ten little towns or villages have been established in its vicinity ; of these, Regents- town, Gloucester, Wellington, &c, are the principal. The inhab- itants of the colony amount to about 30,000, of whom not more than 100 are whites. The extreme unhealthiness of the climate of Sierra Leone ren- ders it difficult to procure well-qualified Europeans to settle there ; and its unfavourable position on the coast, in contact only with a few turbulent tribes, not with any of the great and leading native states, has hitherto prevented an impression being made upon Af- rica. No radius of civilization proceeds from the colony, and it appears certain it has not as yet realized the expectations of its benevolent founders. GUINEA. Guinea, the largest division of Western Afriea, extends along the sea-coast from the St. Paul's river to the Bembaroughe, a dis- tance of 2800 miles. It is intersected by the equator nearly mid- way between its northern and southern extremities, and forms a vast crescent around the Gulf of Guinea. This region comprehends the countries of Upper Guinea and Lower Guinea ; the first, the most northern section, ranges from cast to west. Lower Guinea lies almost at right angles with the former, and extends from north to south. Though these coasts 550 AFRICA. were discovered by the Portuguese previous to the voyages of Co- lumbus, and have, since that time, been much frequented, yet the interior districts are almost unknown. Upper Guinea commences at the river St. Paul's, and extends along the coast to the most eastern estuaries of the Niger, and into the interior from the sea to the mountains of Kong. It is in length about 1300, and in breadth from 150 to 350 miles. The coasts are usually divided by mariners into the Grain, Ivory, Gold, and Slave coasts, so named from the commodities that form the chief objects of trade at the respective places. The political divisions are, Liberia, Ashantee, Dahomey, Benin, Waree, &c. The interior countries of Guinea, with the exception of Ashantee and Dahomey, are almost entirely unknown ; of the latter some knowledge has been obtained from the different agents of the British government, sent thither for diplomatic purposes. The principal rivers are the St. Paul's, Cestors, St. Andrew's, Lahou, Assinee, Bossumpra, Volta, and Niger. LIBERIA. The colony of Liberia, now the most interesting country in Af- rica, was founded by the American Colonization Society, in the year 1821, for the purpose of facilitating the gradual emancipation of the slaves of the United States. Liberia is situated on the coast of Africa at the western extrem- ity of Guinea, and about 4000 miles south-eastward from the At- lantic shores of this country. The colonial territory stretches from Cape Mount to Cape Pal mas, a distance of about 300 miles. It is a tropical region, lying between five and seven degrees of north latitude, and possesses the climate, productions, and charac- teristics of that part of the world. After suffering much from the hostility of the natives, with whom it had to sustain several severe conflicts, this little colony has at length obtained tranquillity, and is in a prosperous condition. The soil is rich and fertile, yielding rice, cotton, coffee, sugar, indigo, banana, cassada, yams, &c. Camwood is abundant, the timber of which is durable and well adapted for building. Monrovia, the capital and seat of government, is a town of 500 houses, built on Cape Mesurada, and about 200 miles south-east from Sierra Leone ; the chief of the other settlements are Mills- burg and Caldwell on the St. Paul's river ; Edina and Bassa Cove, at the mouth of the St. John's, founded under the auspices and guidance of the Pennsylvania and New York Societies ; Green- WESTERN AFRICA. 551 ville, a territory lately purchased by the Mississippi Society, and in part settled by the colonists which it has sent out ; Louisiana, in Africa, a recent purchase by the Louisiana Society ; and finally, on the extreme south-east, Cape Palmas, or Maryland, in Liberia, the settlement of the Maryland Society. The colonists consist of free blacks, emancipated slaves, and recaptured Africans. The whole number is about 5000. The general direction of affairs is in the hands of the Society's agent, but the local interests of the colony are confided to the care of colonial councils and magistrates. In Liberia there are eighteen churches, forty ministers of the gospel, and eight hundred professors of religion. Nowhere is the Sabbath more strictly observed, or the places of worship better attended. Sunday schools and Bible classes are established gene- rally in the churches, into which the native children are gathered together with those of the colonists ; and in many cases adults also attend. There are a number of week-day schools, supported generally by missionary and education societies. Nearly thirty missionaries, from the principal religious denomi- nations in the Union, are aided and protected in those settlements while devoting themselves to the great work of instructing the heathen in Christianity, and building up, amid these abodes of vice and cruelty, the Church of the living God. The slave trade, which formerly was prosecuted extensively along the whole west- ern coast, is now entirely broken up wherever the influence of the colonists extends. To different points of the coast vessels built at the wharves of Monrovia, and manned and commanded by her citizens, convey articles of American and European skill, in exchange for the gold, ivory, camwood, palm-oil, the precious gums, and various pro- ducts of that vast and fertile country ; thus encouraging the native population to turn from an illegal traffic to agricultural pursuits and lawful commerce. The native tribes comprise the Deys, an indolent and inoffen- sive race, occupying the coast on both sides of the St. Paul's river to the number of about 7000 or 8000 ; the Bassas, also a peace- ful, but more industrious and numerous people farther south, and the Queahs and Condoes in the interior. There are likewise scat- tered settlements of Kroomen, whose native country is near Cape Palmas, and who are a laborious and hardy race, acting as pilots, porters, and oarsmen for the trading vessels on the coast ; they commonly speak English. The Grain Coast, occupied mostly by Liberia, derived its name from the Guinea-pepper, or grains of Paradise, a spice about the size of hemp-seed, which was regarded by Europeans when they 552 AFRICA. first landed here, as a delicious luxury ; but, after the aromatics of the east became familiar, it fell into disrepute. The Ivory Coast extends from Cape Palmas to Apollonia, about 400 miles : the name is derived from the quantities of ivory ob- tained from the elephants on the sea-shore and in the interior. There are a number of small ports along the coast, at which Eu- ropean ships occasionally trade. The Gold Coast extends from the Ivory Coast to the Volta river, about 280 miles. This region derives its designation from the rich product which its name indicates. The English, Dutch, and Danes, all have here trading settlements, or forts. The chief of these, belonging to Great Britain, are Cape Coast Castle, a strong fortress, mounting 90 pieces of cannon ; Dix Cove, Suc- condee, Winebah, Acra, and others. Those of the Dutch are El Mina, formerly belonging to the Portuguese, and seven or eight others. The Danish forts are Christianburg, Ningo, and Quitta. The Slave Coast extends eastward from the Volta river 300 miles, to the Formosa river, so named because slaves were for- merly procured here in greater numbers than elsewhere. It con- sisted, originally, of the kingdoms of Whidah and Ardrah, which, in the beginning of the last century, were conquered by Dahomey, and incorporated into that state. Ashantee, lying in the interior, and north of the Gold Coast, is the most important native power in this quarter of Africa. In military skill and valour, in arts and intelligence, they are de- cidedly superior to any other of the inhabitants of Western Africa. Large armies assemble at a short warning, which furnishes evidence of a dense population. The rude magnificence displayed in their camp when visited by the English, and the dignity and courtesy of deportment both of the king and his officers, indicate a degree of civilization much superior to that of the surrounding nations. There are, notwithstanding, features in the character and cus- toms of this people, surpassing in barbarity almost any other ex- cept in the contiguous kingdom of Dahomey. On the death of the king or any of the royal family, thousands of human beings are put to death : this is done, also, when any of the great men wish to propitiate the manes of their ancestors, or when favourable omens are sought respecting any great projected enterprise. The legal allowance of wives for the king is 3333, a mystical number on which the welfare of the kingdom is supposed to de- pend : these unfortunate beings are no better than slaves, and on any capricious disgust, are treated with the greatest cruelty, and often put to death. The Ashantees cultivate rice and the sugar-cane ; fine cotton WESTERN AFRICA. 553 grows spontaneously, and tropical fruits are abundant. Their cattle are large and fine, but their horses mostly of small size. They are but indifferent horsemen, and sometimes ride on oxen. They use a loom similar to the European, and produce fine cloths with brilliant colours. They also work skilfully in metals and leather ; their articles of gold are in particular very neatly made. Coomassie, the capital, is said to have from 60,000 to 80,000 inhabitants. The houses are well built and neat. The streets are all named, and are each under the charge of a captain, or chief. Ashantee proper is supposed to contain a population of 1,000,000 ; but, including its tributary states, probably three or four times that amount. Dahomey, lying east of Ashantee, and north of the Slave Coast, extends into the interior upwards of 200 miles. It consists of an extensive and fertile plain, capable of every species of tropical cul- ture. The people of this kingdom are warlike and ferocious, and more brutalized in their manners and customs than any known race. Human sacrifices take place here on a greater scale than even in Ashantee, and the bodies of the victims, instead of being interred, are hung up on the walls and allowed to putrefy. Human skulls make the favourite ornaments of the palaces and temples : the king has his sleeping apartment paved with them, and the roof ornamented with the jaw-bones of chiefs whom he has slain in battle. Abomey, the capital, contains about 24,000 inhabitants ; Ardra, 25 miles from the coast, 10,000; Griwhee, the port of Abomey, about 7000 ; and Badagry about 5000. Benin, eastward of Dahomey, extends from east to west up- wards of two hundred miles. This region is but little known; but for Europeans the climate is very unhealthful. The natives are active traders in slaves, ivory, and palm-oil. The king is not only absolute, but he is considered fetish, or a god, in the eyes of his subjects, and all offences against him are punished in the most cruel and summary manner, not only as treason, but as impiety. Waree, south of the Formosa river, is a much smaller state than Benin. The country is low, marshy, and covered with a thick forest. Here, too, the king is absolute, and carries polyg- amy to a great extent. The whole of this region, from the river Formosa to Biafra, in- cluding part of Benin, Waree, Bonny, &c, comprises the Delta of the Niger, and is traversed by a great number of rivers. Of these, the Nun, by which the Messrs. Landers descended to the ocean, if not the largest, is at least the most direct. The Bonny, another large estuary, to the eastward of the Nun, has on its banks, 47 3N 745 554 AFRICA. a few miles from the sea, the towns of Bonny and New Calebar. The people support themselves by the trade in salt, slaves, and palm-oil. The Old Calebar, Rio del Rev, and Camcroons, are important estuaries. On the first, about 60 miles from the sea, is Ephraim Town, with 6000 inhabitants, governed by a duke. LOWER GUINEA. That part of Western Africa lying south of the Niger river is sometimes called Lower Guinea, a term which is however not generally adopted. Here, as in Upper Guinea, the interior is but imperfectly known ; the heat of the climate is extreme, and the manners and customs of the people are rude and barbarous. Bia- fra, Loango, and Portuguese Guinea, are the principal territories in this division of Africa. South of the Niger, and extending towards Congo, are the Danger, Moondah, Gaboon and other rivers ; these water the countries of Biafra, Calbongas, and Gaboon ; they are all of them but. little known, and but occasionally frequented ; the country, with a few exceptions, being very unhealthful for Europeans. It yields, however, some ivory and palm-oil, which form almost the only inducement for visiting it. Loango, situated between the country of Gaboon and Congo, extends along the coast about 400 miles. The climate is de- scribed as fine, and the soil in the vicinity of the sea-coast fertile, yielding in profusion a great variety of tropical productions. The slave-trade, for which alone this part of Africa is most frequented, is chiefly carried on at Malemba and Cabenda, on the south part of this region. Malemba is so pleasant and healthful as to be called the Mont- pelier of Africa ; and Cabenda, near the mouth of the river of the same name, also a beautiful town, is known by the appellation of the paradise of the coast. Loango, about 100 miles north of the Congo river, is the chief town in this country, but is now seldom frequented. Population, 15,000. Mayumba, in the northern part of Loango, is a considerable town, the inhabitants of which are the most mild and intelligent of any on these shores. Portuguese Guinea. — The next division of Lower Guinea consists of Congo, Angola and Benguela. Their coasts, and also those of Loango, are named by navigators the coast of Angola, or more commonly the coast. The principal river is the Congo, or Zaire, a powerful and rapid stream, which enters the Atlantic by a single channel ; it was ascended in 1816 by Captain Tuckey, WESTERN AFRICA. 555 280 miles, yet nothing was ascertained as to its origin and early- course. The other chief rivers are the Ambriz, Dande, Coanza, and Cuvo. Of these, the Coanza is, next to the Congo, the most important stream; it is said by the Portuguese, on the report of the natives, to flow from a large lake far in the interior, in the country of the Cassanges, in which the Coango, the head tributary of the Zaire, also has its source. This country extends from the Congo river to the Bembaroughe, the southernmost limit of Benguela, about 800 miles; and into the interior the distance is very uncertain. The Portuguese claim sovereignty over the whole region, but their authority is supposed to be merely nominal, except in the vicinity of their forts, and in the immediate neighbourhood of the coast. The country was dis- covered by them in 1487, and soon afterwards visited by a number of missionaries, who converted many of the natives to the Catholic faith. Congo, the largest division of the Portuguese territories on this coast, lies immediately south of the Congo river, and extends for a considerable distance into the interior, which is entirely unknown. The chief town is St. Salvador, at which the Portuguese maintain a mission. Of this place no recent details have been received. In the natives of Congo the negro indolence is carried to its utmost excess ; the little cultivation that exists, carried on entirely by the females, is nearly limited to the manioc root, which they are not very skilful in preparing. Their houses are formed of mats, made from the fibres of the palm tree, while their clothes and bedding consists merely of matted grass. Angola and Benguela lie to the southward of Congo. Of the former, the chief settlement is at St. Paul de Loando, a large town in an elevated situation. It exports annually 18,000 to 20,000 slaves, mostly to Brazil. San Felipe de Benguela, in a marshy and unhealthful site, is now considerably declined, and its population does not exceed 3000, mostly free negroes and slaves. Matemba, &c. — Far inland are the countries of Matemba and Cassange. In this interior region, two centuries ago, the Jagas, or Giagas, were celebrated by travellers as a formidable tribe, addicted to the most ferocious and revolting habits : they were constantly at war with the people around them, but are probably extinct or changed in their habits, as they appear now to be un- known. Moolooa. — To the northward of Cassange, and about midway between the eastern and western coast, is the nation of the Moo- looas, represented as more numerous and more intelligent, and to 556 AFRICA. have attained a higher degree of industry and civilization than any other in this quarter of Africa. The country abounds in copper. The king is absolute, and the atrocious custom of human sacrifice prevails. Cimbebas Country. — Stretching south of Benguela for several hundred miles, are the desert and dreary coasts of Cimbebas, on which fresh water is very scarce, and only found in spots far distant from each other. The whole region along the sea-shore comprises a strip of sandy desert 40 or 50 miles in breadth, behind which the interior country becomes hilly and apparently well fitted for pastur- age. Horned cattle constitute the riches of the inhabitants, who are clothed in ox-hides, and seem to be a mild and inoffensive race. They are similar in appearance to the Hottentots, and are probably a tribe of that people. These coasts have been lately visited by some Americans, who held intercourse with the natives at a few points, and purchased good cattle from them at the low rate of one or two dollars a head. SOUTHERN AFRICA. Southern Africa extends from the tropic of Capricorn to Cape Lagullas, the most southern point of the eastern continent : it includes the Cape Colony, Caffraria, the country of the Hotten- tots, and that occupied by the Boshuanas. It extends from north to south 750, and from east to west from 600 to 900 miles, and has an area of about 480,000 square miles. The principal mountain ridge of this territory is that called, in different parts of its range, by the names of Nieuwvelds Bergen, and Sneuw Bergen, or Snowy Mountains, which divides the waters of the Orange river from those flowing to the south in the Cape Colony, and those of Caffraria, which run eastward into the Indian Ocean. This chain is supposed to extend about 1100 miles in length ; many parts of it are constantly covered with snow, and its highest peaks are about 10,000 feet in height. Much of the surface of this region is unfit for cultivation, particularly that part of it in the colony immediately south of the mountains, called the Great Karroo, which is a level plain, covered with a hard and im- penetrable soil, 300 miles in length, and near 100 in breadth. North of the mountains, the territory gradually improves, till it opens into the extensive pastoral plains occupied by the Boshu- anas. So far as this has been explored, to the northward, it be- comes always more fertile ; though to the west, there has been 748 SOUTHERN AFRICA. mi Gnaphaliums and Xeranthemamus. Protea Mellifcra, South Africa. The Gnaphaliums and Xeranthemamus grow in great variety in Southern Africa. Many of them retain the form and colour of the flower long after they have been gathered, and have hence received the name of everlastings. In the Protea Mellifera a great deal of honey is secreted, which attracts swarms of bees and insects, and also some kinds of birds. Arachis Hypogosa. Protea Repens, South Africa. The Arachis Hypogaea grows in Western Africa. The flower-stalk of this plant, after tho blossom has withered, bends downwards, and buries the germ in the ground, where it increases in bulk, and soon ripens. The fruit is a pod, containing one or two seeds, or nuts, that have the taste of almonds, and are eaten by the natives. A valuable oil is extracted from these nuts. Stapelias, or Carrion Flowers. Hottentots' Bread, South Africa. .- . ..(.-. .i.j, «, vumui] » I.... ..i.-,. iiuiiciu.no i.i<-.m. ouulii nmca. The Carrion Flowers, of which there are several kinds, emit an odour, which so much resem- bles putrid meat, that insects are deceived by it, and deposit their eggs upon the leaves • these are hatched by the heat of the sun, when the larval perish for want of animal food. The Hottentots' bread is a singular production that attains the bulk of three feet in height, and the same in diameter. The inside is a fleshy substance, something like a turnip. This, when baked on the coals, is eaten by the Hottentots. 3N* 749 AFRICA. Honey Guide, South Africa. Bristle-necked Thrushes, West Africa. Bushman disguised as an Ostrich. 750 SOUTHERN AFRICA. 557 observed the sandy desert of Challahengah, or Karri Harri, which is reported by the natives to be of great extent. The eastern coast also consists of a fine pastoral country, occupied by various CafTre tribes. The chief river of this region is the Orange, which, with its tributaries, drains a large extent of country north of the Snowy mountains, and, after a course of probably 1000 miles, falls into the Southern Ocean, about 400 miles north of Cape Town. Those in the colony, and south of the great mountain chain, are the Oliphant's river, the Breede, Gaurits, Camtoos, Zoon- dag, and the Great Fish rivers, which last, though the most con- siderable, has not a course of more than 200 miles. In Caffraria, a number of small rivers flow into the Indian Ocean : of these, the stream most known is the Great Kei, about 120 miles in length. Southern Africa abounds in animals of various kinds, many of which are of the largest size : the elephant, hippopotamus, rhino- ceros, lion, and camelopard, are the principal. The zebra, quagga, leopard, jackal, hyena, and many other smaller species of quadru- peds are numerous. Antelopes and gazelles also abound : the former are of great variety, and assemble in herds of many thou- sands. The Gnu is a peculiar animal, resembling at the same time the horse, the buffalo, and the stag ; it is the size of a small horse, and extremely swift ; the horns are large, sharp, and crooked. This animal is furnished with a strong mane on the back of the neck, and a long beard, which depends from the lower part of the chin : like the bull and the buffalo, it becomes furious at the sight of scarlet. The ox is the chief domestic animal in this region. It is nu- merous in all quarters, and is used not only as a beast of draught, but is ridden like the horse ; and, by some of the interior tribes, it is trained for warlike purposes. The horse is scarce, and is found only in the colony. The sheep of these countries are mostly of the fat-tailed breed. The population of this part of Africa may be divided into the following classes : 1st. The British, comprising the officers of government, the troops, and a few thousand agricultural emi- grants. 2d. The Dutch, who farm most of the lands in the colony, and constitute the chief part of the population of Cape Town. 3d. The Hottentots, the native race, part of whom were, for a long period, slaves to the colonists. Of the other Hotten- tots, the chief part includes various pastoral tribes, and the re- mainder, the Bushmen, or Wild Hottentots. 4th. The Caffres, inhabiting the country extending along the Indian Ocean. 5th. The Boshuanas, who occupy the territory lying northward of the 47 * 751 558 AFRICA. Hottentot country. Besides these different races, there are indi- viduals called Bastaards, the Cape term for any coloured person with an admixture of European blood, however small. CAPE COLONY. The Cape Colony occupies the most southern extremity of Africa : it extends from east to west 650, and from north to south 230 miles. Area, 120,000 square miles: population, 150,000. This region was discovered by the Portuguese in 1498 ; settled by the Dutch in 1650; twice conquered from them by Great Britain ; and finally confirmed to that power in 1815. A consi- derable portion of this territory consists of mountains of naked sandstone, or of the great Karroo plain, whose hard, dry soil is scarcely ever moistened by a drop of rain. The finest part of the Colony is the narrow plain along the sea-coast, which has a deep and fertile soil, and is well watered by numerous rivulets. At the foot of the Snowy Mountains, beyond the Great Karroo, there is an excellent grazing country, where cattle are raised in great numbers. The changes in the atmosphere are frequent and sudden ; grain of good quality, wine and fruits for the supply of the Colony, are all produced within the distance of one to three days' journey from Cape Town, but most of the territory is devoted to pasturage. The agriculture is generally slovenly; 14 or 16 oxen being fre- quently used to draw an unwieldy plough, that only skims the surface. The Dutch farmers, or boors, of whom grazing forms almost the sole occupation, are generally very ignorant and indolent, but extremely hospitable. They live in rude plenty, surrounded by their flocks and herds ; and had, until lately, numbers of Hotten- tot slaves, who are now emancipated. The eastern part of the Colony, called the District of Albany, was settled in 1820, by British emigrants, whose prospects were for a time discouraging, but of late have been much improved. The people carry on a lucrative trade with the interior tribes. Cape Town, the capital of the Colony, is built at the foot of Table Mountain ; it is situated about 30 miles north of the Cape of Good Hope, and is an important station, being the only place of refreshment for vessels between Europe and America on one side, and the East Indies, China, and Australia on the other. This place must, in consequence, always be a great commercial tho roughfare. The Dutch Society at the Cape is extremely mercan- tile ; and Hoopman, or Merchant, is held as a title of honour. SOUTHERN AFRICA. 559 Since the occupation by its present possessors, the residence of the civil and military officers, and numerous British emigrants, have given it much the character of an English town. Cape Town is strongly fortified, and contains a college, public library, botani- cal garden, menagerie, &c: population, upwards of 20,000. The other towns in the Colony are, in general, only villages. Constantia and Simon's Town in the close vicinity of the Cape, are supported, the one by the produce of wine, the other by docks for shipping. Stellenbosch and Zwellendam, the chief places in the two most flourishing agricultural districts, adjoining, can hardly aspire to the rank of towns. Graaf Reynet and Uitenhage, at the head of extensive districts in the east, are not more important. Gnadenthal has been made a neat village by the missionaries, who have fixed it as their principal station. Graham's Town, a recent settlement near the eastern extremity of the Colony, has risen to some importance. It is an ill-built, straggling place, containing a population of about 3000, consisting chiefly of British emigrants : it is romantically situated in a deep valley, surrounded by hills and glens. CAFFRARIA. Caffraria, or the Country of the Caffres, extends eastward from the Cape Colony, along the shores of the Indian Ocean, to the river St. Lucia, being about 650 miles in length, and from 130 to 150 miles in breadth. To its coasts the Portuguese have given the name of Natal, from the circumstance of being discovered on Christmas day, 1498 : this title is made use of by navigators, but is altogether unknown to the natives. The Caffres, called also Koussas, appear to be either a distinct people, or a mixture of the negro and the Arab. They are an active, vigorous race, of a deep brown colour, with features almost Eu- ropean, and frizzled but not woolly hair. In their habits they are pastoral, and have large herds of horned cattle, which they teach to follow and come at their call. Milk is the chief food of the Caffres ; they seldom kill any of their oxen : and owing to their roving way of life, do not depend much upon agriculture. Caffre-corn, a peculiar species, somewhat resembling Indian- corn, but in which the grain grows in a bunch like grapes, millet, pumpkins, watermelons, and tobacco, are sometimes cultivated by the women ; the latter also construct inclosures for the cattle, make utensils, clothes, and rush mats, and baskets of reeds, so closely woven as to hold milk and other liquids. They likewise 560 AFRICA. cut wood and build huts in the shape of a dome, and thatched with straw. The employments of the men are war, hunting, and tending cattle. Their weapons are the assagay, shield, and club ; the first is a short spear which they throw to some distance with surprising accuracy. The Caffres, like the Chinese, consider all other na- tions inferior to themselves, and suppose that Europeans wear clothes merely on account of having feeble and sickly bodies. These people have scarcely any religious ideas : some of them, however, profess to believe that a Great Being came from above and made the world, after which he returned, and cared no more about it. The CafTres comprise the Tambookies, Mambookies, and Zoo- las ; the last-named are the most numerous and warlike of all the tribes. Several contests between the Canres and the Cape Colo- nists have, at different times, taken place, which have terminated generally in the latter extending their territory eastward, into Caf- fraria. At Port Natal, a station settled by about 5000 Dutch boors from the Cape, several bloody battles were lately fought with the forces of Dingarn, a Zoola chief, which, after various turns of fortune, resulted in the success of the whites. Several missionary stations had been established in the southern parts of this region, where schools for the instruction of the native children were formed, and churches established, at which many Caffres attended. The recent wars, however, with the British have destroyed, in a great measure, the good effects produced by these institutions, and forced nearly all the missionaries to leave the country. HOTTENTOTS. Between Cape Colony and the Boshuana territories, there is an extensive tract of country, stretching from Caffraria, westward, to the Atlantic Ocean, inhabited by various tribes known under the general name of Hottentots. On the Atlantic coast are the Namaquas ; their country, espe- cially that on the north of the Orange river, is, in many parts of it, fertile and well adapted for pasturage. North-west of these are the Damaras, who are also pastoral in their habits. Thev are much darker than any of the other Hottentots, and bear a strong resemblance to the negro race. The Corannas occupy a central country of considerable extent, which rears cattle in abundance. The Bushmen, or wild Hottentots, inhabit the country in the 754 SOUTHERN AFRICA. Kigali Cape Town, South Africa. This is the largest town belonging to the British in Africa. It was founded by the Dutch in 1652, and is built with great regularity, and some elegance. The streets are wide, and cross each other at right angles; the houses are mostly of stone, and are generally white- washed outside. Immediately behind Cape Town, rises Table Mountain, 3582 feet above the sea. The Devil's Hill, 3315, and the Lion's Head, 2160 feet high, rise on each side. This triple summit forms a most conspicuous object from the sea, over which also these spots com- mand a very striking prospect. ■ws&m; Kureechane, Boshuana Territory, South Africa. Kureechane, the capital of the Marootzees, a Boshuana tribe, is the largest and best-builJ native town yet discovered in Southern Africa. It lies a thousand miles north-east from Capo Town ; and was first visited by Mr. Campbell, a missionary, in the year 1820, who was surprised at the industry and intelligence of the people, and the evidences of civilization by which ho was surrounded. Many of the articles made here of iron, copper, leather, pottery-ware, &c.„ would not have disgraced European workmen. Hottentots constructing their Kraals, or Huts. 755 AFRICA. A group of Aloes Plants, of various kinds. Telfairia Volubilis. The tribe of Aloes is very extensive, 170 different kinds alone being cultivated in green- houses. Many species are found in South Africa, from some of which the well-known drug of the same name is prepared. The Telfairia Volubilis is a climbing plant, lately discovered on the coast, of Zanzibar. It produces an esculent fruit, three feet long, and full of seeds as large as chestnuts, (266 in one fruit.) These are as well-tasted as almonds, and yield an abundant oil, equal to the best pro- duced by olives. This fruit is now cultivated in the isle of France, and in hot-houses in England. Tanghinia Veneniflua. Peach of the Negroes. The Tanghinia Veneniflua produces a fruit, the kernel of which, though not larger than on almond, is of so poisonous a nature, that a single one suffices to destroy more than twenty persons. It has been long used in Madagascar as an ordeal to detect criminals, and such is tin: superstition of the natives, that they have the most unbounded confidence in its power of reveal- ing guilt and clearing innocence. The Peach of the Negroes is a large fleshy and solid fruit, full of small seeds, and not much unlike a strawberry in flavour and consistence, The tree grows in Sierra .Leone, and uttains the height of ten or twelve feet. 756 SOUTHERN AFRICA. 5G1 vicinity and north of the Snowy Mountains. These people are squat, excessively lean, and possess a wild, unsteady expression of countenance. They have no settled place of residence, but wander about the country in families, and subsist on roots, grass- hoppers, toads, lizards, &c; they always use poisoned arrows in war, or in destroying wild beasts ; and it is singular that the sting of the scorpion, dangerous to all other human beings, has no effect on these savages. The Colonial Hottentots, upwards of 30,000 in number, were lately emancipated from slavery. Though indolent and dull, they are quiet, honest, and affectionate, and possess an excessive fond- ness for trinkets and tobacco. The Hottentots are of a yellowish brown complexion, with black, woolly hair, high cheek-bones, small eyes, and thick lips ; they are of a moderate height, lean in person, and altogether unprepos- sessing in appearance. Their filth and indolence, and the harsh- ness and poverty of their language, led the Europeans to consider them as little better than brutes, and by their treatment they al- most reduced them to that condition. But kinder usage, adopted by the missionaries, has shown them to be capable of improve- ment, and not to be wanting in ingenuity and industry. Their villages, called Kraals, are circular clusters of beehive- shaped huts, which are covered with mats woven by the women ; an opening in front serves as a door, window, and a chimney. The Hottentots, at several of the missionary stations, now cul- tivate the ground, own large numbers of cattle, exercise various trades, and contribute liberally to the support of religious and charitable institutions, exhibiting such improvement as affords a striking proof of the power of Christianity to elevate men from the lowest point of intellectual and moral depression. BOSHUANAS. The country of the Boshuanas is bounded on the east by Caf- fraria ; on the west by the extensive desert of Challahengah, or Karri Harri ; on the south is the Hottentot territory, which sepa- rates it from the colony of the Cape ; while on the north is the domain of various tribes but little known. The Boshuanas are not so tall and athletic as the Caffres, but appear to be a nearly similar people, and have made greater pro- gress in industry and the arts. They dwell in towns of some magnitude, and cultivate the ground, raising millet, beans, gourds, watermelons, &c. Their herds of cattle are numerous, which the 3 757 562 AFRICA. men, as among the Caffres, both tend and milk, while the females till the soil and build the houses. These people place their glory in commandoes, or forays, un- dertaken with a view of carrying off cattle and murdering the owners. In consequence of this mutual hostility, the population is almost entirely concentrated in towns or their immediate vicinity ; these are in consequence larger than might be expected in this part of Africa. New Lattakoo, Meribohwey, Mashow, Melita, and Kurrechane appear to be the principal towns ; the latter, 1000 miles from Cape Town, is the largest in this region ; and here the inhabitants have made the greatest progress in the arts of life. They work skil- fully in iron, copper, leather, earthen-ware, &c. Their houses are surrounded by good stone inclosures, and the walls of mud are often painted, as well as moulded into ornamental shapes. The population, when first visited, was about 16,000, but is now reduced in consequence of having been sacked by the Mantatees, a wandering and predatory tribe, who overran, some years ago, a considerable part of this and the neighbouring country of Caf- fraria. EASTERN AFRICA. Eastern Africa comprises a vast extent of coast, reaching from Abyssinia to Caffraria, a length of upwards of 3000 miles. This extensive region contains a large proportion of fertile territory, capable of yielding the most valuable productions ; yet scarcely any part of the world is less known, or has excited less interest among Europeans. The Portuguese, as soon as they had disco- vered a passage into the Indian seas, occupied all the leading ma- ritime stations, from which they studiously excluded every other people. The country consists almost entirely of spacious plains, often covered with extensive forests. Two or three hundred miles in the interior, considerable ranges of mountains arise, which geogra- phers have called Lupata, or the Spine of the World. The rivers are of considerable magnitude, though only their lower courses are at present known. The Zambeze, which flows into the channel of Mozambique, is the most important stream of Eastern Africa. Its current is extremely rapid, which renders its upward navigation tedious and difficult. The Pangany, Ozee, Tuba and Webbe, farther to the north, are reported to be large rivers, though nothing has been ascertained of their commence- ment and course. The only lake known in this quarter is the Maravi, which is said to be of great extent, and salt like the ocean. EASTERN AFRICA. 563 This territory is generally occupied by brown or black nations, who, however, bear no resemblance to the true negroes except in colour ; some of them are partially improved, and are not wholly destitute of arts and industry. The coast has,, in modern times, been chiefly in possession of two foreign powers, the Portuguese and Arabs. The former, on their first appearance on these shores, found all the principal maritime stations in the hands of the latter, whom they succeeded in driving successively from each, and occupying their place. The Arabs have, however, regained their ancient predominance on some parts of the coast. The Country of the Somaulies, the most northern part of Eastern Africa, is situated along the shores of the Gulf of Aden, and to the eastward of Abyssinia. It is hilly and beautiful, and maybe considered the native region of incense, myrrh, and sweet- smelling gums. The inhabitants are rigid Mahomedans ; they are an active, industrious race of people, of a bright olive com- plexion, with regular, pleasing features, and long soft hair, which they allow to flow in ringlets over their shoulders. Adel and Berbora are the principal territories occupied by the Somaulies. Adel occupies that part of the coast immediately adjacent to the straits of Babelmandel ; the inhabitants of this country waged long and bloody wars, embittered by religious enmity, against Abyssinia. For a century back, their power has been greatly reduced, and they are now divided into a number of small sepa- rate states. Zeyla, the capital, is a place of considerable trade, and, though irregularly built, contains some good habitations. Berbora, the principal Somaulie state, is an extensive country, and is said to stretch into the interior many days' journey. Hur- rur, an inland town, is the residence of the sultan of the Somaulies. Berbora is the chief commercial port : here a great annual fair is held, at which large quantities of gum-arabic, frankincense, and myrrh, are sold. This place is visited by Arab and Hindoo tra- ders : the latter come from Cutch, in Hindoostan, near the mouth of the Indus, 1800 miles distant, in open undecked boats. Gold and ivory are brought to Berbora from the inland districts, twenty days' journey. The countries in the interior from this coast, though imperfectly known, appear to be occupied by the Galla and other tribes, who surpass in barbarism even the rest of Africa. Here, in a wild and mountainous region, is the kingdom of Gingiro, ruled by a despot elected with rude and savage ceremonies, and who celebrates his accession by the death of his predecessor's ministers and favourites, with whose blood the walls and gates of the palaces are dyed. 759 564 AFRICA. Ajan, which on the north joins Berbora, extends from Cape Guardafui to Magadoxa. This country is generally arid and 'sandy, though in the northerly parts it becomes hilly and fragrant, like the neighbouring region of Berbora. The coast is but little frequented, being rocky and destitute of good harbours. The in- habitants are fierce, warlike, and hostile to strangers. Zanguebar. — The country lying south of Ajan, and extending from Cape Bassas to Cape Delgado, is called Zanguebar or Zan- zibar. It contains several distinct states, of which but little is known ; of these, the principal appear to be Magadoxa, Mombas and Quiloa. This territory, when discovered by the Portuguese, was occupied by the Sohilies, a peaceable and industrious people; but the coast has now been mostly wrested from them by the Arabs of Muscat, while much of the interior is possessed by the Galla, the same ferocious race who have conquered the southern parts of Abyssinia, and who, in the course of a furious warfare, have destroyed every sea-port on this coast which was not pro- tected by an insular position. Magadoxa extends from Cape Bassas to the equator : its limits inland have not been ascertained. The prince of this territory having succeeded in maintaining his independence and repelling all European intercourse, does not allow the country to be ex- plored : it is in consequence but very little known. The capital, a town of the same name as the country, makes a handsome appearance from the sea. It contains many lofty stone fabrics ; but these belong to a part which, comprising only tombs, may be called the City of the Dead. The habitations of the living are low thatched huts. A considerable trade with the interior regions is said to be carried on. Brava, in the southern part of Magadoxa, is a small Arab town and territory, having a trifling commerce. Melinda, which stretches from the equator to Mombas, was at the time the Portuguese first became acquainted with these regions, and for a considerable time afterwards, the most powerful and im- portant kingdom on the coast ; but it hrvs been long in a state of decay, and was lately overrun and destroyed by the savage Galla. Melinda, the capital, once a handsome and flourishing city and a great commercial emporium, is now completely destroyed ; it was conquered by the Portuguese at an early period, but it was taken from them by the Arabs in 1698. Patta, formerly a town of considerable note, has lost its importance, and the chief part of its trade has been transferred to the neighbouring flourishing port of Lamoo. EASTERN AFRICA. 565 Mombas, south of Melinda, is fertile in grain and well adapted for the sugar-cane; the small shells, called cowries, are collected in great abundance along its shores. The town of Mombas is situ- ated on a small island surrounded by high cliffs which make it a kind of natural castle. The harbour is excellent, and a consider- able trade is carried on along the coast in dows, (Arab vessels whose planks are sewed together,) often of 250 tons burthen. Quiloa, situated to the northward of Cape Delgado, was found by the Portuguese, a great seat of power and commerce, and be- came a part of their territory. About the end of the seventeenth century it was wrested from them by the Imam of Muscat, whose officers have since governed it. The city of Quiloa, once a great emporium, has long since dwindled into a miserable village. Portuguese Possessions. — On this coast the Portuguese at pre- sent claim authority from Cape Delgado to Delagoa Bay, a region about 1300 miles in length, and extending for some distance into the interior. This territory they denominate the government of Mozambique ; but their power is exercised at only a few detached points, and is much less regarded by the natives than formerly. Querimba, Sena, Sofala, Sabia, and Inhambane are districts in- cluded in this government. The Bororas and Makooas are populous and savage tribes in the interior, who live to the westward of Mozambique and north of the Zambeze river : the latter are said to be cannibals. Mozambique, the principal settlement of the Portuguese in East- ern Africa, is situated 300 miles north of the mouth of the Zam- beze river. It has hitherto derived its importance from being the emporium of the trade brought from the interior down that stream, but which has been, in a great measure, transferred to Quillimane. The traffic in slaves, the most extensive, has been much dimin- ished since the British obtained possession of Mauritius and the Cape, and prohibited the introduction of them into these colonies. Quillimane, at the mouth of the Zambeze, is now the chief seat of commerce on this part of the coast. The situation is swampy and unhealthy ; the population is about 3000, mostly negroes. Gold, ivory, and slaves are the chief exports : the last are sent principally to Rio Janeiro. In the interior, on the Upper Zambeze, the Portuguese possess merely the small forts of Sena and Tete, erected with a view to the protection of their trade ; with two, still smaller, in the more remote stations of Zumbo and Manica. The country is generally fertile, and produces, besides the necessaries of life, honey, wax, senna, and other drugs. 48 30* 761 566 AFRICA. Sqfala, supposed by some to be the Ophir whence Solomon drew large supplies of gold and precious stones, was, at the time of the first arrival of Europeans, an important commercial empo- rium ; but since Quillimane has engrossed the trade of the coast, this place has sunk into a village of poor huts. The Portuguese, however, still maintain there a fort, which holds supremacy over the districts of Sabia and Inhambane. Sabia, immediately south of Sofala, is thinly settled, although the soil is fertile ; in the most southern part of this territory is In- hambane; the chief town is of the same designation: it has an excellent harbour, and is defended by a fort and 150 men. The other Portuguese do not exceed twenty-five, but there is a numer- ous coloured population. Monomotapa, or Motapa, situated westward from Sofala, and southward from the Zambeze river, has been dignified in the early narratives with the title of empire. If it ever deserved such an appellation, it is now broken into fragments, the largest of which was some time ago held by the Changamera, a chief represented aa a great conqueror, but of whom no very precise or recent in- formation has reached us. He belonged to the Maravi, a race of daring freebooters, who neglect agriculture and devote themselves entirely to plunder. Manica is celebrated as the country chiefly affording the gold for which this part of Africa is famous. A small fort is maintained here by the Portuguese. Cazembe, a country situated 900 or 1000 miles in the interior, is said to be densely inhabited. The country, the capital, and the sovereign appear to be all of the same name ; the latter is abso- lute in power, and rules despotically. This territory yields, in abundance, iron and copper, and also some gold, and is the seat of a very considerable trade in ivory and slaves. The inhabitants belong to the Moviza, who are a comparatively peaceable and in- dustrious people. These, with the Maravi before mentioned, are the predominant races in this quarter. CENTRAL AFRICA. Central Africa comprises all the interior parts of the conti- nent, stretching from the Great Desert south to the equator and the confines of Guinea, and from Senegambia on the west to Dar- fur on the east, extending in length about 2000, and from 500 to 1000 miles in width. A great proportion of this region is yet entirely unknown to Christian nations; and it is only within the last forty or fifty years CENTRAL AFRICA. 567 that the courage and enterprise of the celebrated travellers, Park, Denham and Clapperton, Caille, and the brothers Landers, have explored some detached portions of its territory. The Mountains of the Moon, though known to the ancients by the same name, are still unexplored, and have never been visited by any Christian traveller : the mountains of Abyssinia are sup- posed to be connected with them on the east, and those of Kong on the west, and they are generally represented in that manner on maps : they would thus form a range of near 4000 miles in extent. These mountains, south of Darfur, are, according to native report, constantly covered with snow, which, in that latitude, would give them an elevation of near 15,000 feet above the level of the ocean. The Kong Mountains, however, where crossed by British travellers west of the Niger, were found not to exceed from 2500 to 3000 feet in height. The long-renowned Niger, for ages involved in such deep mys- tery, appears to be the chief river of Central Africa : though much of its course is unexplored, yet it is known to rise about 200 miles inland from Sierra Leone ; thence passing in a north-east direction towards Timbuctoo, it appears to take a great bend to the south- ward, and after flowing through various territories, pours its vast mass of waters into the Gulf of Guinea, forming one of the greatest deltas in the world ; its estuaries covering a space of 200 miles. The whole extent of this great stream is but little less than 3000 miles. In the upper part of its course it is called the Joliba, and in the lower the Quorra. The Tsadda, the principal known branch of the Niger, and the Shary and Yeou, which flow into lake Tchad, are the other chief rivers of this region. In this part of Africa there are but few lakes : the most pre- eminent is the Tchad, situated to the eastward of Bornou ; it is almost 200 miles long and 150 wide, and contains numerous large islands, inhabited by savage tribes, said to be infidels and pirates. The Dibbie, Delo, or Dark Lake, formed by the Niger about 200 miles above Timbuctoo, is much less extensive. The names of lake Fittre and others, lying east of the Tchad, have been vaguely reported ; but of their situation and character, geographers are ignorant. Central Africa may be considered as divided into two great sec- tions ; that on the north of the Mountains of the Moon, is known by the appellation of Soudan, or Nigritia, of which some portions have been explored by Christian travellers ; and the other, extend- ing southward to the equator, and by some denominated Ethiopia, is, as regards our knowledge of it, a vast blank ; no European having ever penetrated into its remote and unknown territories. Agriculture is practised over the whole of Central Africa, though 568 AFRICA. in a very rude manner. The plough appears never to have passed the desert ; the only instrument for turning up the ground being the hoe, which does little more than scratch the surface ; yet the fertility of the soil produces abundant crops. Gussub, a species of millet, is the chief product of Bornou, which, instead of being formed into bread, is merely boiled into a paste. In Houssa, two crops of wheat are produced in the year; and the markets are abundantly supplied with fruits and vegetables. Rice is raised co- piously on the inundated banks of the Niger ; and Indian-corn, cot- ton, and indigo, are produced in nearly all quarters. Commerce, throughout this region, is carried on with some ac- tivity, though in modes rather peculiar. Maritime trade is pre- cluded by its situation, far distant from any coast. Even river navigation is not practised with much diligence, unless on the Niger. Various commodities are conveyed by large troops, some- times resembling little armies, called caravans, kafilas, or coffles. Those which pass between Northern and Central Africa, across the immense expanse of the desert, employ camels, so admirably fitted by Providence for the service of man in that dreary region. In the wooded and mountainous tracts of Western and Southern Soudan, burdens are chiefly conveyed by means of asses ; while in the great fertile plains of Houssa and Eyeo, the human head is the most frequent vehicle. Salt, in large quantities, is brought from pits in the interior of the desert ; and kolla-nuts, a favourite luxury, are transported from the western districts over all parts of this region. The returns made to the countries on the sea-coast consist of gold, ivory, and slaves. War, in Central Africa, is carried on with all the ferocity of the most barbarous nations : extensive tracts, formerly populous and flourishing, were seen by recent travellers reduced, by it, to a state of entire desolation. Many of the contests that take place in these countries arise from the system of slave-hunting, carried on against the pagan tribes of the southern mountainous districts, which the Fellatas and Bornouese look upon as a grand entertainment, though sometimes they fail in the accomplishment of their object. The armies of the various states of Soudan consist chiefly of a turbulent militia, who take the field on the summons of the prince, and support themselves by plunder. The military force of Bornou and Begharmi consists of cavalry, which has a very martial ap- pearance ; the horses, as well as their riders, being completely enveloped in chain and sometimes in plate armour ; these troops, however, are generally cowardly and inefficient. The Kanemboo spearmen, organized by the present Sheik of Bornou, form the most regular and effective force in Interior Africa. They march with merely a skin around their waist, and their only weapons are CENTRAL AFRICA. 569 a long shield and a spear. Fire-arms are almost unknown, the most powerful princes having only a few inferior muskets. The caravan followers, armed with these weapons, are thus superior to thousands of their opponents, and often decide the battle between the greatest sovereigns. In religion, the inhabitants are pretty equally divided between the Pagan and Mahomedan. The adherents of the latter do not strictly conform to the recluse and contracted habits of life gene- rally prevailing among nations of that profession : the females are by no means so closely immured, and intoxicating liquors are not rigidly abstained from. One fixed article of belief among them is, that they may lawfully reduce to slavery all the kerdies, or pa- gans, who people the southern mountain districts. Learning, throughout Central Africa, appears in a very depressed state. The reading even of the Koran is confined to a very few of the great fighis, or doctors. Its verses are chiefly employed as amulets to secure triumph over enemies, or success in the different pursuits of life; and a person capable of writing these is held in high estimation. Extemporary poetry, sung by the composers, is repeated at almost all the African courts. Singing men and sing- ing women are constant attendants on the chiefs and caboceers : their songs, however, are generally conceived in terms of the grossest flattery. The government in these countries is completely despotic ; and in most of the states, the homage paid to rulers and grandees is far more abject and debasing than in any civilized empire : yet their dwellings, usual attire, and daily habits, differ little from those of their meanest subjects. The kings have no regular revenue, or income, but enrich themselves by presents, and by taxing the passing caravans ; they also carry on a good deal of traffic, in which they scruple not to employ both force and stratagem for their own advantage. Kaarta, the most western state in Soudan, is a somewhat ex- tensive kingdom, with a sandy but moderately fertile soil. The capital is Kemmoo. Manding, the original country of the Man- dingoes, south-east from Kaarta, is a mountainous and rather ste- rile region, in which gold is found to some extent in the sand of the streams and rivers. Bour£, Kankan, Wassela, &c, are countries situated on the head waters of the Niger : of these, Boure abounds in gold. Kankan is famous for the great market held at its chief town, at which not only gold and all the products of this part of the world, but European goods in great variety, arms, powder, &c, are exhibited for sale. Wassela is a rich territory, inhabited by an industrious and hospitable people. Kong, Dag- 48* ™ 570 AFRICA. wumba, Gago, &c, are countries situated between the Niger river and the Kong mountains, whose names are known only from na- tive report. Bambarra consists of a fertile and well-cultivated territory, through which the Niger flows for about 300 miles. In Mr. Park's time it comprised one kingdom, but now appears to be divided into two, which, in reference to their situation on the Niger river, may be termed Upper Bambarra and Lower Bambarra ; the latter appears to be the most powerful state, and was governed, in 1828, by Sego Ahmadou, a Fellata chief. His capital is El Lamdou, a town lying east of the Niger, and some distance north of Jenne. Sego, the capital of Upper Bambarra, is built on both sides of the Niger, and contains 30,000 inhabitants. At this place, the numerous canoes on the river, the crowded population, and the cultivated state of the surrounding country, exhibit altogether a scene of civilization and improvement scarcely to be expected in the centre of Africa. Sansanding, a great commercial town higher up the Niger, contains 10,000 people. Bammakoo, where the Niger first becomes navigable for large canoes ; Maraboo, a great market for salt ; Samee and Silla, near the eastern frontier, are all considerable towns on the Niger. Jenne, the chief city of Lower Bambarra, is built on a branch of the Niger, and is a place of great commercial importance ; its merchants, chiefly Moors, trade with Sego, Timbuctoo, and other places on the river by means of large boats. M. Caille found the merchants of this city more polished than any other class of per- sons he met with in Central Africa. Population from 8000 to 10,000. North of Bambarra are the kingdoms of Massina and Beroo, of which the former is inhabited by the Foulahs, and the latter is famous for its trade in salt. The capital is Walet, said to be large and important. Baedoo and Maniana are countries lying east- ward of Bambarra, known only by name : the inhabitants of the latter are reported to be cannibals. Timbuctoo is a territory situated on the Niger river, 1 000 miles from the nearest coast ; it was once an important kingdom, whose authority extended over Houssa and the neighbouring countries, but is now a subject state under the dominion of the Fellatas. Its celebrated capital, being the place where the caravans from Mo- rocco, and most of those from Algiers and Tunis, first touch on the fertile regions of Central Africa, must always possess great commercial importance, and a depot is found there o( the commo- dities which it affords for exchange with other countries. Gold, and still more, slaves, are the staple articles. The city of Timbuctoo has been for several hundred years the CENTRAL AFRICA. 571 most noted emporium in Central Africa, and has long excited great attention for its supposed riches. M. Caille, who visited Timbuctoo in 1828, and the only European who has ever returned from that city, has dispelled, in a great measure, the reputation it enjoyed for wealth and importance. According to that traveller, the popu- lation is chiefly negroes, and about 12,000 in number. The city stands eight miles, north of the Niger, in the midst of deserts of moving sand. It consists of ill-built earthen houses, and contains seven mosques. Timbuctoo is about 1400 miles south- west from Tripoli ; 1000 from Morocco, and probably not less than 1500 or 1600 from the ocean by the course of the river. Houssa is an extensive territory, situated in the centre of Sou- dan and lying east of the Niger river ; it is more elevated, and has a climate less sultry than Bornou or any of the neighbouring dis- tricts : travellers have even occasionally suffered from cold. The soil is rich and fertile, and the face of the country exhibits evident marks of superior cultivation and a superior people. This region is in possession of the Fellatas, an active warlike race, said to be similar to the Foulahs of Western Africa. They are supposed to have emigrated originally from that quarter, and have been, since the commencement of the present century, the most prominent nation in Central Africa : about that period they conquered Houssa, and several other countries on the Niger, be- sides Bornou, which last, however, they retained but a short time. The Fellatas are a tall and well-made people of a light bronze complexion, and with features approximating to the European. Soccatoo, the capital of Houssa, and the residence of Sultan Bello, the Fellata sovereign, is the most populous city in Central Africa. The houses are built closer than usual, and more regu- larly laid out in streets. The place is surrounded by a high wall, with twelve gates always shut at sunset. Population, 60,000. Kano, lying about 200 miles south-east from Soccatoo, is the centre of an extensive commerce. It is a walled city, 15 miles in circumference. The houses, however, are built in a very scattered manner, and, like Kashna, Zaria, Youri, Eyeo, and other cities in this quarter, they occupy but a small part of the circuit inclosed by its walls. The inhabitants amount to 30,000. Kashna, to the north of Kano, is also a considerable city ; its walls, however, encircle ten times the space occupied by its in- habitants. This city is the seat of a considerable trade with Bor- nou, Timbuctoo, and with caravans coming across the desert by the way of Gadames and Tuat. South of Kano is Zegzeg, one of the finest and most fertile dis- tricts in Soudan. Zaria, the capital, has a population of 40,000. 767 572 AFRICA. Cuttup is a collection of 500 villages, or rather clusters of houses, covering a beautiful plain : it forms the market for a great extent of country. Farther south, occupying a mountainous region, are the Yam Yams, a savage race, who, some time ago, are said to have killed and eaten a whole caravan. Dunrora and Jacoba, the latter situated on the Tsadda, with Adamowa and Karowa farther to the east, are all places reported of some note, situated in the midst of fertile and well-settled districts. The countries on the lower course of the Niger form an exten- sive and important part of Central Africa. Being copiously wa- tered, they yield rice and other valuable species of grain in abun- dance. The inhabitants are negroes, but the Fellatas are making rapid encroachments, and several of the states have been conquered by them and converted to the Mahomedan faith. Youri consists of a very fertile plain, peculiarly fitted for the production of rice. The city of the same name, built on the east bank of the Niger, is encompassed by high walls, which inclose a circuit of twenty or thirty miles, comprising corn-fields and pas- ture-grounds, with here and there a cluster of huts interspersed. The people, being numerous and brave, have repelled every attempt by the Fellatas to subdue them. Boussa. — The kingdom of Boussa lies immediately below Youri on the Niger. The capital is a considerable town, situated in the midst of a fertile and well-cultivated country. The Niger, immediately above and below Boussa, presents a magnificent body of water : in passing that city, however, it is obstructed by the rocks and straits, among which the lamented Park lost his life. Borgoo, situated west of Boussa, is a confederacy of small, in- dependent states ; the country is composed, in a great measure, of rugged mountain tracts, interspersed with fertile and beautiful valleys. Kiama, the only part of Borgoo visited by English trav- ellers, is inhabited by a courageous and warlike people. Yarriba on the west, and Nyffe on the east side of the Ni- ger, occupy the banks of that stream below Borgoo. The former is an extensive state, well cultivated and densely peopled. The loom is busily plied, though its products are not equal to those in the neighbouring country of Nyffe. Eyeo, the metropolis of Yar- riba, is 15 miles in circumference: the population, however, can scarcely even be conjectured. Nvffe, now in possession of the Fellatas, is a very fine coun- try, occupied by the most industrious and improved of all the ne- gro nations. Their cotton cloths are held in the highest estimation. Rabba, the capital, is considered one of the largest towns in this CENTRAL AFRICA. 573 quarter. The mats made there are reckoned superior to all others in Africa. Egga, the southernmost town of Nyfle, extends four miles along the banks of the Niger, and has numerous boats be- longing to it. The population is half Mahomedan, half Pagan. The states which extend down the river from Nyfle consist of little more than single towns, each governed by its own chief, with little or no mutual dependence. Kacunda, under the absolute sway of a single chief, contains a peaceable, industrious, and friendly people. About forty miles below Kacunda, the Niger re- ceives its greatest tributary, the Tsadda : coming from the east, its origin and early course are, however, unknown. At the junction, it is little inferior to the main stream, and is navigated by nume- rous boats. To this point, the Niger was ascended, a few years ago, by the steam-vessels Quorra and Alburka. Funda, reported the greatest emporium of this part of Africa, is about three days' sail up the Tsadda. Towns of some importance continue to occur in the course of the Niger downwards. Bocqua, about 80 miles below Kacunda, is the seat of a very large market, much frequented : it is followed by Abbazaca and Dammagoo. Kirre, a large trading town, is about 50 miles below Bocqua. Here commences the Delta of the Niger, which at this place detaches a branch supposed to flow to Benin. Seventy miles below Kirre is a large town situated in the midst of a territory called the Eboe country : it forms the great mart from which the ports on the coast are supplied with slaves and palm-oil. Bornou is one of the most important states in Central Africa ; it extends about 200 miles in every direction to the westward of lake Tchad. The people, called Kanowry, are negroes : they are quiet and peaceable, but are very deficient in many respects, and even in some of the humblest of the useful arts. The only fabric in which they have attained any kind of excellence is that of cot- ton cloth dyed blue with their fine indigo, pieces of which form the current coin of the realm. They have, however, the absolute necessaries of life in abundance. Numerous herds of cattle are bred by Arabs, called Shouas, who have transported into Bornou all their pastoral habits. The government of this state is'absolute ; but when the English travellers, Denham and Clapperton, some time since, visited the country, they found it in a singular political situation. The Sheik El Kanemy, who by his valour had rescued the kingdom from Fellata invasion, possessed all the real authority, which he exer- cised with justice and vigour ; but he found it prudent to confer the ostensible dignity of sultan on a member of the ancient royal family, who lived in empty pomp at New Bornou. There is pro- 3P 769 574 AFRICA. bably no court of which the taste is so absurd or preposterous. The primary requisite for a fine gentleman and a courtier is a huge stomach ; and where feeding and cramming will not produce this beauty in sufficient perfection, the part is swelled out by stuff- ing and cushioning. The towns of Bornou are considerable, though not of the first magnitude, and are all inclosed by high walls. New Bornou, the present residence of 'the sultan, contains about 10,000 people, and Kouka, where the sheik kept his court, is still smaller. Angornou contains a population of 30,000, and during the crowded market held there, often from 80,000 to 100,000 people are assembled. All these are in the heart of the kingdom, on the western bank of the Tchad. Angala, on the southern or Begharmi frontier, and Woodie on that of Kanem, are also considerable : at the latter, the caravans are made to stop till permission to proceed is obtained from the sovereign. Kanem, situated on the north-east shores of Lake Tchad, is a rude district belonging to Bornou, partaking somewhat of the cha- racter of the bordering desert ; but its inhabitants are peculiarly brave, and compose the most efficient soldiers in the country. Lari, the chief town, consists of clusters of rush huts, in the shape of well-thatched corn-stacks. Loggun, a district on the Shary river, about 40 miles south of Lake Tchad, is noted for the industry of its inhabitants: they weave cloths superior to any of their neighbours, and have money made of iron in the shape of a horse-shoe. The women are de- scribed as the most handsome and lively of the negro race. Loggun, the capital, is a town of some extent, with wide streets. Begharmi, a considerable country lying to the south-east of Lake Tchad, is known to the civilized world only by report. The people wage almost continual war with Bornou. Their chief force consists in mounted lancers, which, with their horses, are cased still more completely in iron mail than those of Bornou ; but they do not in the field display any higher degree of courage. Mandara, situated to the south of Bornou, comprises a fine fertile valley, containing eight large towns, the principal of which is Mora. The whole country, and even the capital, is bounded on the south by a range of high mountains, which are occupied by a rude pagan race called El Fellati, who have their villages strongly fortified, and fight desperately with poisoned arrows, by which they once put to flight the whole force of Bornou and Man- dara, though aided by a numerous and well-armed body of Arabs. Their territory, called Darkulla, or Dirkulla, appears to ex- tend south and south-east from Mandara, and is known only from report. CENTRAL AFRICA. Musicians and Musical Instruments of Western Africa. All the negro nations are noted for their attachment to music, but this circumstance has not led to any refinement in the art. Their instruments are of the rudest kind, some of which produce the most horrid dissonnance. The most simple of them are used to accompany thj traditionary songs and poems, the recitation of which is listened to with delight. Ashantee Chief in lull dress. Horseman of Begharmi clad in a species of armour. Bosbuana Warrior. Boshuana Queen. Spearman of Bornou. 771 AFRICA. When visited by Messrs. Denham and Clapperton, the Sultan of Bornou was found sitting by himself in a kind of cage or crib, and surrounded by a number of courtiers ; the latter had Hiugo turbans on their heads, and were enveloped, when the person was not sufficiently bulky, with ten or twelve robes, for the purpose of producing the appearance of great size, that requisite being a mark of quality in Bornou. ri&, View of Mora, the Capital of Mandara, a country lying to the southward of Bornou. Mora is a considerable town, situated in a tine valley anions the Mandara mountains. The fmurcs seen in front of the picture represent the Arab party, with whom Major Denham visited the place, and who arc saluting the town with a discharge of musketry. AFRICAN ISLANDS. 575 AFRICAN ISLANDS. Africa is surrounded, at various distances, with numerous islands and groups of islands, situated, some in the Atlantic, and others in the Indian Ocean. Most of these are populous, fertile, and productive in a variety of valuable commodities ; and some of them present grand, imposing, and often beautiful features. The Azores, or Western Islands, belong to Portugal : they are situated in the Atlantic Ocean, from 1000 to 1200 miles west- ward from the southern part of that kingdom. These islands are nine in number: St. Michael, St. Mary, Terceira, Fayal, Pico, Graciosa, St. George, Corvo, and Flores. They all bear evident marks of having been produced by the action of subterraneous fire, the symptoms of which are still visible, though no volcano is at present burning. The soil is extremely fertile, yielding, where cultivated, abun- dance of grain ; while even from the crevices of the volcanic rocks grow the delicate oranges for which St. Michael is cele- brated ; and the wines which cover the steep sides of the mountain of Pico yield the wine called Fayal. These, with other products, afford ample materials for an export trade, in exchange for Euro- pean fabrics and colonial produce. The population of the Azores is estimated at 250,000. Though St. Michael is the largest island, being above 50 miles in length, and is also the most fertile, yet its capital, Ponte Del- gada, is not the seat of government. This distinction is enjoyed by Angra, in Terceira, in consequence of its comparatively safe harbour. The inhabitants of this place amount to 11,000. Madeira, also, belongs to Portugal. It lies about 600 miles south-west from that country, and contains 100,000 inhabitants. It is a beautiful and fertile island, and noted for its wine. The growth of the island is about 20,000 pipes, of which a consider- able quantity is sent to England, America, and the East and West Indies. The wine trade of Madeira has lately somewhat declined ; in consequence of which, coffee is planted to some extent, and has become an article of export. Funchal, the capital, is almost an English town, nearly all the opulent inhabitants being merchants of that nation, employed in the wine trade, while the Portuguese are generally very poor. Population, 20,000. Madeira has, adjacent to it, Porto Santo, a small high island, with a good roadstead. The Canary Islands are among the most celebrated and, beautiful groups in the world. They belong to Spain, and lie 3 P * 773 576 AFRICA. about 1000 miles south-west from that country, and from 200 to 400 west from Morocco. There are thirteen islands altogether ; but seven only are of any note. The population of the Canaries is estimated at 200,000. The principal islands are Teneriffe, Grand Canary, Palma, Lanzarota, Fortaventura, Gomera, and Ferro. They consist of high mountains, which rise abruptly from the shore to a great height. Of these, the Peak of Teneriffe, a great land-mark to mariners, is 12,000 feet high. The soil in these islands displays much of that luxuriant fertility which distinguishes tropical coun- tries : the principal produce is wine, which, though inferior to Madeira, has, from its cheapness, come into considerable use. The export is estimated at 8000 or 9000 pipes : there is also some trade in brandy, soda, and archil. The chief seat of this commerce is Santa Cruz, in Teneriffe, which enjoys the advantage of an excellent roadstead. It is also the capital of the Canaries, and contains 8000 inhabitants ; but Orotava is the largest town: population, 11,000. Grand Canary is the most fertile, and supplies the other islands with grain. Las Palmas, its chief town, is the ecclesiastical capital of the islands. Ferro, a small, arid, and rocky island, was once supposed to form the most westerly point of the Old World, and has often been used by geographers as the first meridian. The Canarians are a sober, active, and industrious people, many of whom have migrated to the Spanish dominions in America and the Indies, and there form the most useful part of the population. The Cape Verde Islands, situated about 400 miles west from Cape Verde, are ten in number ; St. Jago, St. Antonio, St. .Nicholas, Mayo, Bonavista, Sal, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Brava, and Fogo. The three first islands rise in the interior into high mountains ; and Fogo (fire) contains a very active volcano. In general the surface is arid, rocky, and much less productive than the Canaries. Long droughts sometimes prevail, and reduce the inhabitants to great distress. Out of a population of 88,000, one- iburth are said to have died of famine in 1831. The chief growth of these islands is cotton. A very fine breed of mules and asses is reared, many of which are sent to the West Indies. Goats, poultry, and turtle abound. Salt is formed in large quantities by natural evaporation. The Portuguese, since the first discovery, have claimed the sovereignty of these islands, and maintain a governor-general, who resides at Porto Praya. Several small islands lie in the Gulf of Guinea : of these, Fer- nando Po, the largest, is but a short distance from the mouth of the Niger. The British government formed, in 1827, a settlement on this island ; but, in consequence of the unhealthfulness of the AFRICAN ISLANDS. 577 climate, the garrison and settlers have been removed. Prince's Island is high and thickly wooded. St. Thomas is well watered and fertile ; and Annobon is inhabited by a simple native race. These three islands run in a chain to the south-west from Fer- nando Po, and are subject to the crown of Portugal. Ascension is an island, 60 miles in circuit, situated about 1000 miles due south from Liberia. It is rocky and barren, and was, until lately, uninhabited. It is now garrisoned by British troops, who have erected a fort, built houses, and constructed a large tank for holding water ; some cultivation has likewise been successfully commenced. In a crevice of a rock, letters for passing vessels were formerly deposited, hence called the Sea Post-Office. This island has been long famous for its turtle ; as many as 2500 have been caught in a year, some of which weighed from 600 to 800 pounds. Population, 230. St. Helena, so celebrated as the ocean-prison of the greatest of modern warriors, is an island, 28 miles in circumference, situ- ated 1200 miles west from the coast of Africa. It rises like an immense castle out of the sea to the height of from 600 to 1200 feet : it is strongly fortified, and contains about 3000 inhabitants. Longwood, on the east side of the island, was the residence of the Emperor Napoleon, from 1815, until the time of his death, 1821. His remains were conveyed to France in 1840. There are only four small openings in the wall of the rock com- posing the island, on the largest of which, where alone a small extent of beach appears, has been built James Town. Here the governor resides ; and refreshments, though on a limited scale, are provided for ships. St. Helena belonged to the East India Com- pany, but in 1830 it was vested in the crown of Great Britain. The Ethiopian Archipelago is a collection of islands, situ- ated on the east side of Africa, and southward of the equator. It includes the island of Madagascar, with the Mascarenha, Comoro, Seychelle, and Almirante groups, and also some detached islands. Madagascar is one of the largest and finest islands in the world ; it is separated from the eastern coast of Africa by the channel of Mozambique, and is about 1000 miles long and 220 in its greatest breadth. The interior is traversed from north to south by a chain of lofty mountains, from whose rugged sides de- scend numerous streams which water the fertile plains at their base : these are extremely fruitful in rice, sugar-cane, Indian-corn, manioc-root, bread-fruit, pine-apple, &c. ; fitted, indeed, for almost every tropical product. The mountains contain valuable mines, especially of iron ; but are only partially worked. This island contains many fine bays and ports, well suited for 49 773 578 AFRICA. commercial purposes. Those most frequented are Anton Gils Bay, Foul Point, Tamatave, Port Dauphin, and Bombetok. On the latter are the towns of Bombetok and Majunga. The trade, here, was formerly in slaves; but is now in bullocks, bees'-wax, rice, and gums. American vessels often visit this place. The population of Madagascar is probably about 2,000,000. The inhabitants cultivate the ground and practise some arts ; they are, however, rather rude and barbarous, and some of them are notorious pirates who ravage and plunder the adjacent islands. They are divided into a number of small tribes, who wage fre- quent wars with each other. Imeeina, the kingdom of the Ovahs, was recently the most important state in Madagascar. The late sovereign, Radama, had reduced to subjection the largest and finest part of the island : he had formed a train of artillery ; armed part of his troops with muskets ; and had also sent a number of young natives to obtain instruction in Paris and London. With the aid of the missionaries, he had established a printing-press, and trained a number of teachers, who were settled in various parts of the kingdom. Unhappily, this prince, in July, 1828, was poisoned by his wife> who immediately raised an unworthy paramour to the throne. This event has introduced great anarchy and confusion, and ar- rested entirely the career of improvement commenced under such prosperous auspices. The converts to Christianity have been much persecuted ; and some of them have sealed their devotion to the cause of the Redeemer with their blood. Tananarivou, the capital of Imerina, is situated some distance from the west coast of the island, and is built on a high table-land, 7000 or 8000 feet above the level of the sea : population, 8000. The Mascarenha, or the Islands of Bourbon and Mauritius, lie due east from Madagascar. These are well settled, fertile, and valuable islands, and were both discovered by Mascarenha, a Por- tuguese navigator, in 1592. Bourbon, situated 470 miles east from Madagascar, belongs to France. It is about 150 miles in circumference, and consists en- tirely of the heights and slopes of two great mountains, the most southerly of which contains a volcano in perpetual activity. A great part of the surface of the island consists of what is called burnt country, a complete desert of hard, black soil, with numerous holes and crevices. The rest, however, is well watered by nume- rous torrents, and is highly favourable for the growth of all the chief tropical productions. After being in possession of the French almost 170 years, Bourbon was captured by the British in 1810, but restored to AFRICAN ISLANDS. 579 that power in 1814. Coffee and cloves have been long culti- vated ; but sugar is now the chief product. The island contains 97,000 inhabitants, of whom 16,000 are whites. St. Denis, the chief town, contains a population of 8000. Bourbon has no good harbour, and its commerce is carried on principally through the ports of the neighbouring island. Mauritius, or the Isle of France, lies about 130 miles north-east of Bourbon: it is not quite so large, yet is still 110 miles in circuit. The rugged mountains which cover a great part of the island give it a somewhat sterile character ; yet the lower slopes produce coffee, cotton, indigo, and sugar, of improved quality. The island is famous for its ebony, which is superior to any other in the world. It does not yield grain sufficient to supply the inhabitants ; but depends upon the island of Bourbon for that article. This island, long the capital of the French possessions in the Indian Seas, was so strongly fortified as to be considered impreg- nable. It was taken by the British in 1810, and now belongs to that nation. The island contains 95,000 inhabitants, of whom only 12,000 are whites. The negro population, lately slaves, were emancipated by the Act of Parliament abolishing slavery in the British empire. The white inhabitants are mostly descendants of noble French families, and are remarkable for their polished man- ners. Port Louis and Port Bourbon are the principal harbours. The Seychelles, nearly north from Madagascar, with the bordering group of the Almirantes, have been subject to Great Britain since 1794 : they are a cluster of very small islands, high and rocky, and are but little fitted for any culture except cotton ; they abound, however, with cocoa-nuts, and their shores with turtle and excellent fish. The inhabitants are estimated at 7000, nearly all of whom are negroes, lately emancipated. The Comoro Islands, situated between Madagascar and the continent, are very elevated and mountainous in the interior ; but the lower tracts abound in sheep, cattle, and all the tropical grains and fruits. The inhabitants are mild and industrious, but they have been most dreadfully infested, and their numbers thinned by the Madagascar pirates, who make an annual inroad, laying waste the open country, and blockading the towns. Angazicha, or Great Comoro, is the largest island, containing a mountain supposed to rise 6000 or 7000 feet high ; but Anjouan, or Johanna, is the most flourishing : its chief town still contains 3000 inhabitants. Mohilla and Mayotta are comparatively small. Pemba, Zanzibar, and Monfia, which lie parallel to, and dis- tant twenty or thirty miles from, the coast of Zanguebar, are small, 580 OCEANICA. but fertile islands, partly independent, and partly subject to the Imam of Muscat. The town of Zanzibar, on the island of the same name, is said to contain 10,000 inhabitants. American vessels trade to this place, and an American consul resides here. Socotra, 150 miles east from Cape Guardafui, belongs to the sheik of Keshin, a petty sovei'eign on the coast of Arabia, who sends one of his family annually to collect the revenue. It is mountainous, rocky, and arid ; and yields the best aloes in the world ; also, some of that peculiar resinous substance called dra- gon's-blood. This island was lately selected by the East India Company, as a station connected with the steam navigation of the Red Sea ; but, being found unhealthy, has been abandoned. OCEANICA. Oceanica is the name adopted to designate the numerous islands and groups of islands, situated partly to the south of Asia and partly in the Pacific Ocean, between Asia and America. It stretches over 90 degrees of latitude, 40 degrees north, and 50 de- grees south; and 160 degrees of longitude, 88 degrees east, and 62 degrees west; extending from north to south 6210 miles, from east to west 11,010 miles, and comprehending almost a third part of the entire surface of the globe. The Portuguese were the earliest Europeans who investigated any portion of Oceanica ; which they did from the West, proceed- ing from the shores of India, sometime after they had become ac- quainted with the route to that section of Asia. Magellan, the first circumnavigator, sailed from Spain in 1519. Passing through the Straits which bear his name, he advanced fearlessly from south- east to north-west, across the vast expanse of the unknown Pacific, and, by his boldness and success, opened the way for subsequent discoveries. Three hundred years elapsed before all the islands which now pass under the name of Oceanica, were known to civilized society. After Magellan, the Spanish navigators continued to explore the Pacific Ocean, particularly Alvaro de Mendana, who, in the last part of the sixteenth century, discovered the Solomon Islands and the Marquesas ; afterwards, Fernandez dc Quiros, who had ac- companied him on his third voyage, made known to the world the Society Islands and the New Hebrides. In the seventeenth cen- tury, the Dutch began to explore this part of the world ; and, be- sides several small islands, discovered Australia, or New Holland, which received its name from them. OCEANICA. 581 Tasman, a Dutchman, and Dampier, an Englishman, continued these discoveries. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the British navigators, Byron, Wallis, and Carteret, and the French Bougainville, exerted themselves to extend the knowledge of Oceanica. But Captain James Cook, who circumnavigated the world from 1768 to 1779, contributed most to our knowledge with regard to the islands already known, re-discovered some be- fore seen, and was the original discoverer of New Caledonia and the Sandwich Islands. After the time of Cook, both the French and English exerted themselves to give mankind a better acquaint- ance with Oceanica. Among the later navigators, Vancouver, Entrecasteaux, La Perouse, Baudin, Flinders, Krusenstern, Kotze- bue, and Beechey, all added to our knowledge of this region. A few of these islands are of such magnitude, as to approach the character of continents ; while others can scarcely aspire above the diminutive appellation of islets. Nearly all the large islands appear to be mountainous ; and some contain active volcanoes, which occasionally cause dreadful ravages. The volcano of Gilolo broke out in 1673 with a violence which made the whole of the Moluccas shake. The ashes were carried as far as Magin- danao, and the scoria and the pumice-stones, floating on the sea, seemed to retard the progress of the vessels. Several volcanoes are in constant activity in the Sandwich and Friendly Islands, also in the New Hebrides, Celebes, Borneo, Sumbawa, &c. The formation of many of the islands of Oceanica, particularly in Polynesia, is attributed to the operation of the minute coral insect. All the low islands seem to have for their base a reef of coral rocks, generally disposed in a circular form. They are, no doubt, raised from the depths of the ocean by successive layers of coral rock, or carried to their present height by accumulations of the same material, on the original rocks at the bottom of the sea. Numbers of these low islands are inhabited, and covered with groves of cocoa-nut, and other trees, while some are quite destitute of trees, and without inhabitants. The coral rocks and islands are seen in all stages of their form- ation, some in deep water, others just appearing above the surface, some already elevated above the sea, but destitute of vegetation, others with a few weeds on the higher parts, and some again covered with large timber. Many of the islands of this quarter are extensive countries ; and one of them is nearly equal in area to Europe. The whole of their land surface is estimated at from 4,500,000 to 5,000,000 square miles, and the population at from 15,000,000 to 20,000,000. The great divisions of this region are Malaysia, Australasia, and Polynesia. 49* 779 582 OCEANICA. MALAYSIA. Malaysia, called also the East Indian Archipelago, comprises those numerous islands, lying immediately southward and south- eastward from the southern part of Asia. The name of this region is derived from the Malays, who are the principal and predominant race. The islands are Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, usually called the Sunda Isles, together with Celebes, the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, and the Philippines, besides other smaller groups and islands. Malaysia is bounded on the north by the Malayan Sea and the Bay of Bengal, south by Australasia, east by Polynesia, and west by the Indian Ocean and Chinese Sea. The population of the whole of the islands is, probably, about 15,500,000, of which Sumatra contains 4,000,000; Java 4,000,000; Borneo 3,000,000; the Philippine Islands 2,500,000 ; Celebes and its appendages 1,000,000; Bally, Lombok, Sooloo, &c. 500,000, and Timor and the Spice Islands, &c, nearly 500,000. Situated on both sides of the equator, and in a tropical climate, the islands of Malaysia rank, as to soil and productions, among the most favoured regions on the globe, and yield in great profu- sion, a variety of exquisite fruits and spices. The climate is that of the torrid zone, and is, in many places, very unhealthful for Europeans and Americans. Violent hurricanes, called typhoons, occur at certain seasons of the year ; and destructive earthquakes occasionally take place in gome quarters. Minerals are found to a considerable extent in this region : tin is the most abundant ; but gold, copper, iron, salt, sulphur, and diamonds also abound ; the latter are met with only in Borneo. One of the largest known of these gems belongs to the prince of Matan, in that island : it is in a rough state, and is estimated to be worth nearly 1,500,000 dollars. The rich soil of these islands yields many of the most import- ant articles of commerce : sugar, coffee, indigo, pepper, cotton, and rice, with cinnamon, cloves, nutmegs, camphor, &c, are among the products. The fruits are various and delicious. The mangosteen, mango, durion, and guava, are all highly prized. The teak, sandal-wood, and ebony, many species of palms, fur- nishing dates, sago, &c. and various dye woods, are also common. Malaysia abounds with various animals, of which one of the most remarkable is the well-known orang-outang, found in Borneo, Malacca, &c. ; he is from three to four and a-half feet in height, and is incapable of walking erect without a staff, or some other support, but seems particularly fitted for climbing trees. The pongo, a native of Sumatra and Borneo, is supposed by MALAYSIA. Rafflesia Arnolrlii. The Rafflesia Arnoldii is a parasitical plant, without leaves, and with roots so minute, that they are embedded in the slender stem of a species of vine, and grow wherever the seed may happen to alight. The flower which comprises the entire plant, when full blown, is three and a half feet across. The hollow in the centre will hold the capacity of fifteen pints. Camphor. Nutmeg. Camphor is obtained from a species of laurel that grows in Sumatra and Japan. The roots and branches are cut into chips, and distilled within an iron pot, which causes the camphor to fly oft', and it becomes concreted on straws, that are placed in the head of the still. The Nutmeg tree is a native nf the Spice Islands, and bears blossoms and fruit at all seasons of the year. The fruit is about the size of a peach. When ripe, the lower part opens, and discloses the mace, inside of which, and in the centre of the fruit, is the nutmeg. Guava. The Guava, of which there are many species, is cultivated in all the tropical countries of the East, and of America, and also in the South of France. The fruit, which is pear shaped, and about the bulk of a hen's egz, has a sweet agreeable flavour, and is considered very wholesome ; it is eaten either in a crude state, or in the form of jellies. 3ft 781 OCEANICA. Clove. Mangosteen. The Clove, so well known for its fragrant odour and warm pungent taste, is the unexpanded tlower-bud of a tree that formerly grew only in the Moluccas, but its culture now extends to the isles of Fiance and Bourbon, as well as to Guiana and the West Indies. The buds when gathered from the tree are merely dried, and are then fit for use. The Mangosteen is said to be the most delicious, and at the same time the most wholesome, of all known fruits. It is about the size of an orange, and is divided internally into several cells, each containing a single seed. The tree is a native of the Molucca islands, but is now extensively cultivated in many parts of the East. Mango. Durion. The Mango is a native of India and the adjacent islands, but has been introduced into the West Indies. The fruit is generally kidney-shaped, and contains a large flattened stone. The taste is delicious, slightly acid, and yields only to the Mangosteen. More than eighty varieties of the mango are cultivated. The Durion grows in the Sunda and Molucca Islands. It is a large, tender, and luscious fruit, in tnste something like sweetened cream ; the smell is disagreeable, resembling rotten onions; but thoso who overcome their first repugnance generally become very fond of it. When eaten to excess, the durion often produces dangerous inflammatory fevers. 762 MALAYSIA. Nepenthes, or Pitcher Plant. Coryphaea. The Pitcher Plant grows eighteen or twenty feet high, and with leaves nearly two feet long. At the end of each full-grown leaf, there is an appendage eight or nine inches in length, which turns up, and resembles a small elongated pitcher ; on the top of this is a lid, attached as if by a hinge, which opens in the day-time and closes at night. This curious leaf contains a liquid that is secreted by the plant ; it is slightly acid to the taste, and appears to attract and destroy insects, as the inside of the pitcher at the bottom is blackened with their dead bodies. Malay Tapir. Babyroussa Hog. The Malay, or Indian Tapir, inhabits Sumatra and some of the adjacent islands. It is an animal of nearly ttie first magnitude, and has been but recently discovered. In disposition it is mild and gentle, and often becomes as tame and familiar as a dog. The Babyroussa Hog possesses much of the habits and disposition of the common hog, and attains the bulk of the largest of that variety. It is said to swim well, and has been known to go a considerable distance in passing from one island to another. The tusks grow to the length of eleven or twelve inches, of a fine hard grain, like ivory. These animals are easily tamed ; and their flesh is well taBted. Tusks of the Babyroussa Hog. Tupaia Tana, Sumatra. 783 OCEANICA. Two-coloured Squirrel. Chestnut Tupay. The Two-coloured Squirrel of Java is a peculiar species ; the colour ahove is brown, but the fur on the under part of the body is of a golden yellow. It is a great favourite with the natives, who keep many of them in their houses. The Chestnut Tupay is a singular little animal, possessing all thj! tamenesa and sprigbtlinesb of the squirrel. The body is seven or eight inches long, and the tail is rather shorter ; the back and sides are of a rusty brown colour, while the under part of the body is white. These animals are found wild in the forests of Sumatra and Malacca, but when taken young, are easily domesticated ; while in that state, they go over every part of a house, and at table par- take freely of milk and vegetables. v^y Head of the Proboscis Monkey. Long-armed Black Ape. Hand of the L. li. Ape. The dense forests of the larger islands of Malaysia abound with apes and monkeys of various kinds, (he particular habits and character of which are very imperfectly known. The Long- armed Black Ape is upwards of three feet high, of a strong muscular form, and throughout of a jet black colour : it has no tail, but its long arms touch its feet; one of its peculiar character istics lies in the fingers being joined together at their base. Head of the Long-snouted Bat. Head and Fland of the Tippet Bat. Bats are numerous in Malaysia, and, as in all warm climates, continue in activity the whole year. Some of those animals are striking, from their size and strange conformation. The Tippet Bat measures in extent of wing two feet, having a head not much unlike that of a dog. The head of another species, the Long snouted Bat, resembles that of a greyhound. It lives in large societies, and feeds entirely upon fruits, hence causing the most serious injury to pluntatioos. ~g4 MALAYSIA. 583 some naturalists to be the orang-outang of mature age ; it is six or seven feet in height, and is very formidable, from its strength and fierceness. The long-armed ape, or siamang, is found in troops in Sumatra ; they are headed by a chief, who is considered invul- nerable by the Malays ; these animals assemble at day-break and make the woods resound with their wild and peculiar cry. In cap- tivity they are remarkably tractable. The monkey tribes are nu- merous ; one of which, the proboscis monkey, is distinguished from all others by having a long projecting nose, giving to the head of the animal the appearance of a ludicrous mask. The Malay tapir is almost the size of a buffalo ; its fore and hind parts are nearly black, while the body has a broad belt of white extending round it, resembling a piece of white linen thrown over the animal. The Babyroussa hog, found in Amboyna, has enormous curled tusks growing out of his mouth. The island of Sumatra contains several species of tigers, two of the rhinoceros, and also elephants, which are numerous, in a wild state, and have only, in a few instances, been trained to the service of man ; a small and handsome breed of horses, with fawn-coloured and reddish- white buffaloes likewise abound. The birds are of great variety and beauty, comprising superbly coloured birds of paradise, doves of beautiful plumage, parrots, cuckoos, and the magnificent Argus pheasant, the pride of the Malaysian forests. Crocodiles are numerous in the rivers ; and serpents of various species have been discovered, some of which are from twelve to twenty feet in length. The commerce of Malaysia is extensive, and is carried on chiefly by Europeans and Chinese. The Bucris and the Malays are the most active of the native traders. The Chinese, in their unwieldy vessels called junks, some of which are 1000 tons burden, make one voyage a year to Batavia, carrying tea, silks, cotton goods and China ware, receiving in return among other articles, those somewhat fantastic luxuries, shark's fins, tripang, and edible birds'- nests. The first quality of the latter article sells in China for dou- ble its weight in silver, or upwards of 30 dollars per pound ; it is considered the highest dainty, and is made use of by the most wealthy only. American vessels trade to various parts of Malaysia, especially to Batavia, Manilla, Cheribon, Samarang, &c, and also to the west coast of Sumatra, for pepper, where they are sometimes cap- tured by the Malays of that island and the crews murdered. To avenge these injuries and protect the trade, United States' ships of war have been sent to this quarter, and have in more than one instance inflicted summary punishment upon these pirates. The inhabitants of Malaysia include two races, the black and 3Q* 785 584 OCEANICA. the brown. These are entirely distinct in origin, language and character, and are engaged in constant warfare with each other. The black race, called the Papuan or Oriental negroes, are the farthest removed from civilization of any of the human family. They appear to be a dwarf variety of the negro of Africa, but of shorter stature, never exceeding five feet in height. The com- plexion is sooty rather than black, and the woolly hair grows in small tufts with a spiral twist. These savages are generally diffused through Borneo, New Guinea, Australia, the New Hebrides, &c. Their habits are not much known, and little is recorded of them except the ferocity with which they wage their ceaseless war against the brown races. The Malay tribes who inhabit the islands of this region are found also in New Zealand, and over nearly the whole of Polyne- sia. They exist in different stages of civilization, and vary in their character from great ferocity to comparative mildness. These people are generally short in stature : the chiefs, however, and the superior ranks, in many of the islands, are tall and robust. The Malays of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, &c, are the same peo- ple as the inhabitants of Malacca, on the continent. They are generally Mahomedans, much addicted to piracy ; in their disposi- tion daring, ferocious and vindictive. Amongst them gambling and games of hazard are pursued with an intense degree of passion. Every man goes armed with a kris, or dagger, which he regards as the instrument both of defending himself and redressing his wrongs. The right of private revenge is claimed by every indi- vidual for injuries received either by himself, his family, or tribe. When circumstances deprive him of any hope of avenging himself with ease and safety, he has recourse to that dreadful outrage pe- culiar to these islands, termed running a muck. The individual under this impulse, being also generally infuriated "with opium, draws his dagger, and runs into the street, stabbing without distinc- tion every one he meets, till he himself is killed or taken. Sumatra, the largest of the Sunda islands, is separated by a narrow strait from the peninsula of Malacca. It is about 1000 miles long, and is intersected by the equator. A chain of lofty mountains, one of which is 14,160 feet high, extends through its whole length ; but the coasts are low, marshy, and insalubrious. Black pepper is the principal staple, which is raised and export- ed in large quantities : the other productions are cinnamon, cam- phor, sago, rice, coffee, and various fruits. The American trade with Sumatra is chiefly for pepper, of which, about 2,500,000 pounds is imported annually into the United States: it is carried on for the most part along the west coast of the island, at Muckee, Sinkel, Quallo Battoo, and other ports. MALAYSIA. Slender Loris. Tailless Fowl. Crested Wagtail. Green Fruit-Eater. Great-billed Toddy. Six-shafted Bird of Paradise. Locust of Amboyna. 787 OCEANICA. King-bird of Paradise. Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Malays capturing a European Vessel. The Malays are notorious pirates, being perpetually engaged in plundering the neighbouring nations. When they find the crews of European or American vessels off their guard, they will attack and capture them, generally murdering all who fall into their hands. Javanese Court Dress. ^^^m^ Javanese Common Dress. 783 MALAYSIA. 585 The country is divided into several small kingdoms. In the north part of the island is Acheen ; in the east Siak ; and to the south Palembang and Lampong. The native governments are generally hereditary despotisms. Slavery is common in this island ; princes sell their subjects, parents their children, and creditors their debtors ; and a slave-trade is carried on from the islands on the west coast, with Acheen and other ports. The Dutch are also said to be actively engaged in it. The interior of the island is inhabited by several different tribes, of whom the Battas are comparatively civilized, yet practise can- nibalism. They not only devour their enemies in the heat of vic- tory, but among them a part of the sentence of criminals is to be put to death, and afterwards eaten in public, which is invariably performed. These people have a written language, a peculiarity of which is, that it is read from the bottom upwards. About one- fourth of the Battas are supposed to be capable of reading. Sumatra is begirt with a number of islands, of which, those on the west side are but little known, and have a mountainous and rugged aspect. Off the eastern coast the islands of Pulo Lingin and Bintang have been long noted for their commerce and piracy. The islet of Rhio, which belongs to the Dutch, is separated from Bintang by a narrow channel. The town of Rhio, being made a free port, has acquired great importance, both as an entrepot and a place of refreshment. Its population amounts to 6000. The island of Banca, east of Sumatra, derives its sole import- ance from its mines of tin ; and Billiton is distinguished by those of iron, the most valuable in this quarter. The Dutch have set- tlements at Bencoolen, Palembang, and Padang, in Sumatra. Java is a fertile and populous island, 650 miles in length ; it lies south-east from Sumatra, and is separated from that island by the straits of Sunda. High mountains extend throughout its whole length, and contain numerous volcanoes, which are mostly extinct ; the soil is exceedingly fertile, producing sugar, coffee, rice, pepper, spices, indigo, cotton, and all the principal fruits of this region. A great portion of the island is under the government of the Dutch ; but the southern extremity, which is in the possession of the original inhabitants, contains the two native states of Jogo- Karto and Solo-Karto, fragments of the empire of Mataram, which formerly held sway over the greater part of Java. The first is supposed to contain 1,000,000 subjects, and the latter 700,000. The two capitals, bearing the same name with the kingdoms, are estimated to contain a population of 100,000 each. The native population of Java are professors of the Hindoo religion. Batavia, the metropolis of Java, is a large and important city. It is built in a low situation, and the streets are traversed by ca- 586 OCEANICA- nals in the manner of the towns of Holland. It was long noted for its deadly climate, but has, by judicious draining, &c, been greatly improved. The city enjoys an extensive commerce, and contains 60,000 inhabitants, of whom a considerable number are Chinese. The other chief towns in Java are Sourabaya, Cheri- bon, and Samarang. The islands of Bally, Lombock, Sumbawa, Floeis, and Ti- mor, extend eastward from Java ; they seem to be almost a contin- uation of that island, and are similar to it in climate, productions, &c. Timor is held jointly in possession by the Dutch and Portu- guese. Coepang is the principal settlement of the first, and Deily of the latter people. Sumbawa contains the kingdom of Bima, trib- utary to the Dutch, also an active volcano, which, in 1815, com- mitted serious ravages. Borneo is, next to Australia, the largest island in the world, being between 800 and 900 miles long, and 700 wide. It is well gifted by nature, and though directly under the equator, the moun- tains of the interior, 8000 feet high, give rise to numerous streams which impart moisture and fertility to the soil. Its products are rice, pepper, cinnamon, coffee, &c Gold and diamonds also abound ; the mines of the former are the most copious in the East. The inhabitants of the coast comprise Malays, Javanese, Bugis, and Chinese ; the latter are the most industrious people on the island ; they carry on a considerable commerce, work the gold mines, &c. The interior is inhabited by various independent tribes between whom and the people of the maritime districts there is al- most constant war. These tribes are the Dyaks, Biajoos, Hara- foras, and Papuan negroes. The Dyaks are tall, robust, and ferocious : these savages ex- tract some of their front teeth and insert pieces of gold in their stead : they eat the flesh of their enemies, drink their blood, use their bones and skulls as ornaments, and even as money, and they consider a man unfit for matrimony or any important function of life until he has slain at least one enemy and can show his head as a proof of his courage. The principal trade is at Benjar Massin, a port containing 6000 inhabitants, and the metropolis of a kingdom under the control of the Dutch. Borneo, the capital of a state which, during its great- ness, gave its name to the whole island, is now much decayed, but still contains 12,000 inhabitants. Succadana and Pontiana are places of some note. The Sooloo Archipelago extends eastward from Borneo, and comprises 27 islands, which are governed by a Sultan : the inhab- itants, who are all devoted to piracy, are called the Algerines of MALAYSIA. Javanese War Press. Gigantic Statue in the Temple of Brambanan, Java. Temple of Boro Budor, in Java. The Temple of Boro Budor, near Cheribon, in Java, is an ancient and gigantic monumenJ of Buddhist worship, built of hewn stone, each side being 520 feet long, and 116 high. It stands on the top of a small hill, and consists of a series of six enclosing walls, surmounted by a dome. The walls are covered with a profusion of sculptures, including between 300 and 400 images of the god Buddha. OCEANICA. Representation of Buddha. The engraving is a representation of Buddha, whose worship is so widely spread in the East ; and is a copy of the principal image of the god in the temple of Boro Budor, in Java. Malay House. Houses of ihe Chiefs unci people of the higher orders. The houses of the Malays, the people of Java, &c, are very slight, being formed of bamboo, rnttan, palmetto, leaf, and grass. The habitations of the chiefs and the wealthy are only dis- tinguished from those of the lower class by the greater number and size of the edifices, and the carving and paintings with which they are adorned. The public hulls of the towns, the mosques, and even the slate halls of audience, consist only of such structures on a larger scale. 792 MALAYSIA. 587 the Eastern seas : from 300 to 400 vessels are continually issuing forth in this fierce and perilous occnpation ; yet these people carry on extensive commerce with the Chinese and other nations, and protect those who trade with them. Celebes, or Macassar, lies east of Borneo ; it is very irregular in shape, being composed of four great peninsulas, producing all the chief staples of this region. Most of the island is occupied by native tribes, which are tributary to the Dutch. The Macassars and Bugis are the two principal races : the lat- ter are, at present, the rulers ; those of Boney are the most war- like, and those of Wagoo the most commercial. The latter are active traders. The cargoes of some of their vessels are often worth 50,000 dollars ; and they traverse all parts of this region from Australia to Siam. Macassar, or Vlaardingen, is the capital of a small territory at the south end of the island, in the possession of the Dutch : it is defended by Fort Rotterdam. The Moluccas, or Spice Islands, comprise Gilolo, Ceram, Bouro, Banda, Amboyna, Ternate, Tidor, &c. They derive celeb- rity from producing the rich spices, cloves, nutmegs, and mace. Gilolo is the largest of the group, and presents the usual spectacle in these regions, of a rude people governed by a number of turbu- lent chieftains. Ceram is mostly under the power of a single prince, who is tributary to the Dutch. Amboyna is the chief European settlement, and is the only island where, until lately, the clove was permitted to be raised. The town of Amboyna contains 7000 inhabitants. Nassau, a town on the small island of Neira, is the residence of the Dutch governor of the Moluccas. The Philippines form an extensive archipelago, comprising about 1000 islands, islets, and rocks, situated north-east of Borneo. Few countries are more favoured as to soil and climate. Though placed but little north of the equator, the height of the mountains and the ocean breezes preserve these islands from suffering under any severe or scorching heat. They produce most of the staple tropical articles, sugar, rice, tobacco, coffee, indigo, &c. The largest of the group are Luzon and Mindanao ; the first is about equal in area to the state of Alabama, and the other to that of South Carolina ; of the remaining islands, eight only are of any importance, a vast majority being mere islets and rocks. They belong to Spain ; the chief part, however, of the inhabitants are of the native races, of which the most improved are the Taga- las ; another is the Bisayans ; there are also in the interior of the larger islands a considerable number of Papuan negroes. Manilla, the capital of Luzon, and of the whole group of the 3R 793 588 OCEANICA. Philippines, contains, with its suburbs, 180,000 inhabitants. This city is the centre of an extensive commerce, and its harbour is crowded with European, American, and Chinese vessels. AUSTRALASIA. Australasia comprises the south-western section of Oceanica ; it contains about three-fourths of its land surface, and lies wholly south of the equator. This region includes Australia, Van Die- man's Land, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, Solomon's Archipelago, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, &c. The inhabitants have been reckoned at from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000, and the area at about 3,500,000 square miles. Australia, formerly New Holland, is the largest island in the world : it is 2600 miles in length, and contains 3,000,000 square miles. The whole island is claimed by Great Britain. It is laid off into two great divisions : the western retains the old name, New Holland, and the eastern is called New South Wales. This vast extent of territory is very imperfectly known ; we are acquainted, for the most part, with the coasts only, except that some exploring parties have penetrated from the eastern to the western shores in the southern portion of the island. The Blue Mountains, which extend parallel with the east coast, about 70 or 80 miles inland, are the most extensive range yet discovered ; from their western declivities, the Darling, Lachlan, Morumbidgee, and other streams, appear to unite in the Murray, a river upwards of 1000 miles in length, which flows into the ocean through lake Alexandrina. That stream, first discovered in 1830, is the most considerable yet met with in the island. Australia is, in some respects, unlike any other part of the world. Nearly all the various species of plants, from the most minute shrub to the loftiest ornaments of the forest, differ from those of the other quarters of the earth. None of its rivers or marshes contain any species of the tortoise or the lizard ; and no animal larger than a common-sized sheep has been discovered. Almost every thing in the animal and vegetable world is singular and striking. The swans are black, and the eagles white; the mole lays eggs, has a duck's bill, and suckles its young. The pears are made of wood, with the stalk at the larger end ; and the cherry grows with the stone on the outside. The kangaroo, of which there are many varieties, is the most considerable animal yet discovered in Australia : the largest is about the size of a full-grown sheep, and moves by springing 30 feet at a bound, which it is enabled to do by the great length and AUSTRALASIA. Telopea Speciosissima. Doryanthes Excelsa. Araucaria Excelsa. The Doryanthes Excelsa, Australian or New Holland lily, is one of the most magnificent of all known plants. In green-houses it has flowered and attained the height of twenty-four feet, bearing on its summit a crown of blossoms of the richest crimson, each six inches in diameter. The leaves are very numerous, sword-shaped, and from five to six feet long. Acacia. The Australian Acacias include near a hundred species, and are, so far as the country is known, very generally diffused. In al! of them the leaves are vertical, and present their margin, and not either surface, towards the stem, both surfaces having, consequently, the same relation '.o light. 795 OCEANICA. Phormiura Tenax. Dawsonia Polytrichoides. The Phormium Tenax, or New Zealand Flax, grows in the islands of New Zealand, and furnishes the inhabitants of that region with a strong and serviceable species of flax, much superior for making all kinds of cording, to any similar article found elsewhere. The leaves attain the length of five or six feet ; when sufficiently grown for use, they are cut from the plant, and are immediately prepared for service. This operation is performed by a simple but rather tedious process. The native women, holding the end of a newly-cut leaf with their toes, and inserting a shell between the green substance and the fibre, readily effect the separation by merely drawing the shell through the whole length of the leaf. This plant has been successfully cultivated in England and France ; but no rapid process for separating the fibre having as yet been invented, its introduction into European countries has not realized expectation. Cenomyce Rc-tispora. Claudea Elegans. Cephalotus Follicularis. The Cephalotus Follicularis has among its leaves ascidia, or pitcher-shaped bodies, with a lid to them, very similar to the nepenthes plant, which, however, it resembles in no other par- ticular. These pitchers are generally half-full of a slightly sweet-tasted liquid, in which numbers of ants and other small insects are found dead. The lid is sometimes raised, and sometimes lowered, and its position is supposed to be determined by the 6tate of the atmosphere. 796 AUSTRALASIA. Kangaroo. New Holland Dog. Dog-faced Opossum. The New Holland Dog, or Dingo, 13 fierce, active, and voracious ; it is never known to bark, and is the only native domestic animal of Australia. One that was brought alive to England leaped on the back of an ass, and would have destroyed it. The Dog-faced Opossum has something of the appearance of the dog and the panther united. The fur is short and soft, and the body is marked by brfJad transverse stripes. It inhabits the rocks about the sea-shore, and feeds upon fish. Platypus, or Duck-bill Menura Superba. Ground Parrot. 797 OCEANICA. Crimson-tailed Cockatoo. Wedge-tailed Eagle. Crested Bronze-winged Pigeon. The Crimson-tailed Cockatoo is a large splendid bird, of a black colour on the body, and having the tail variegated with rich crimson. In Australia, but few birds of prey have as yet been found ; the largest is the Wedge-tailed Eagle, about the size of the golden eagle of Europe. Its legs are feathered to the toes. The Crested Bronze-winged Pigeon is the rarest of Australian birds. Only one specimen is known in Europe, now preserved in the Museum of the Linnean Society, London. Spotted Grosbeak Superb Warbler. King Oriole. The Spotted Grosbeak is a most elegantly-coloured bird ; it is of a light slate colour above, with the bill and rump deep crimson; the throat has a black collar, and the sides have snow- white spots on a black ground. The Superb Warbler is a beautiful little bird. The back of the head and the throat are velvet black, divided by bands of the richest blue. It is constantly in motion, carries its tail nearly erect, and sings a short little song as it perches. The King Oriole is of two colours only — golden yellow and the deepest black ; the feathers of the head resembling the softest velvet, so that nothing can exceed the richness of its appearance. Bronze-winged Pigeon. 798 AUSTRALASIA. 589 strength of its hind legs. The female of all the different varieties is provided with an abdominal pouch, similar to that of the opos- sum, for the reception of the young. They use their tail as a weapon of defence, a blow from which has been known to break a stout man's leg. The flesh of this animal is much esteemed for food, and is said to resemble mutton. The dingo, or New Holland dog, is never known to bark : it is fierce, active and voracious. The dog-faced opossum inhabits Van Diemen's Land : it lives among the rocks on the sea-shore, and feeds on fish. The duck-bill is a most singular animal ; it is about the size of a cat, is covered with fur, web-footed, and has a bill like a duck. It lays eggs, suckles its young, and spends most of its time in the water. The foot of the male is armed with a spur, through which passes a poisonous liquor, rendering the animal dangerous. The emeu is the largest of Australian birds; it has some resem- blance to the ostrich, but is smaller, being only about seven feet high : the feathers at a little distance appear like coarse hair : it is often hunted for its flesh, which has the flavour of beef. The black swan is like the white in form and habits, but is rather less in size. The bird called the honey-sucker has a tongue like a brush, with which it extracts the juice of flowers. Beautiful parrots, cockatoos and parakeets abound, with pigeons and doves of various colours. Some of these are green, and some brown, while others are beautifully variegated with the richest colours, relieved with bright spots equal in brilliancy to the richest gems. The native inhabitants of Australasia, excepting those of New Zealand, all belong to the Papuan race already mentioned. They have been also called Melanesians, a term signifying Black Isl- anders. Among these people, especially in Australia, the state of nature is complete. There is no society, no government, no laws ; and each man acts according to his own will and fancy. These miserable beings are often destitute of clothing and dwell- ings of any kind, living in the open air, and sleeping in the crevices of the rocks or among the bushes. They are ignorant of the use of the bow, but are armed with spears, clubs, and shields. It is said they have no precise notion of a Supreme Being, and are without idols, sacrifices, prayers or priests. Their perceptions are quick ; and, like other rude tribes, they can discover a track amongst the grass or bushes where the civilized man can see nothing to guide him. These savages have often great powers of mimicry, and in disposition are cunning, lively and capricious. The people of New Guinea, New Britain, Solomon's Archi- pelago, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, &c, though of the same race, are rather more advanced in the arts of life than those 50 ™ 590 OCEANICA. of Australia, and have some imperfect forms of government. They build rude dwellings, construct canoes, and make fishing-nets and sails with some degree of skill. The natives of New Zealand belong to the Malay variety of the human family, and like that people in other quarters, comprise two classes, nobles and slaves. They are a finely-formed race of savages, but very warlike, cruel and ferocious : they are known to be cannibals, and eat not only the prisoners they take in war, but even their domestic slaves, whom they often kill when under the influence of passion. Many European vessels have been at various times captured by them, and the crews destroyed and eaten ; but these horrid practices have greatly diminished wherever the missionary influence has extended. The more civilized of the New Zealanders are ofien employed on board of whaling and other vessels, and are found to be tract- able and serviceable. In one instance a native, though highly tattooed, has become the first officer of a large English ship, and a skilful and scientific navigator. Some of these islanders have wrought also as labourers at Sydney, and are much esteemed, having no propensity for spirituous liquors. Many of the chiefs have a turn for oratory, and sometimes they make speeches of two or three hours' duration, accompanied with vehement gestures, to which those of the audience correspond. Tattooing, or the practice of covering the person with various lines and figures, is carried to a great extent in New Zealand ; the faces and even the whole body of some of the chief men are thus marked, degrees of rank being designated by the greater or less surface of tattooed skin. This operation is performed by punctur- ing the flesh with a sharp instrument and infusing colouring matter into the incisions. The children of the white settlers, or the Anglo- Australians and Tasmanians, even in the first generation, appear to differ in some respects from their progenitors: almost without exception, they have fair complexions and blue eyes ; they grow up tall and thin, and soon arrive at puberty. In character they are said to be en- ergetic, intelligent and courageous, and believe themselves to be a great improvement on the parent stock. In the Australian colonies the pride of station is carried to an extravagant height, and a strong line of distinction between the free and convict population exists. The native-born inhabitants are in common language called currency, and the European ster- ling. The former are greatly attached to their native soil, and affect to have a marked .contempt for the mother country. Botany Bay Colony. — In the southern part of New South Wales, is the settlement founded in 1787, and commonly known AUSTRALASIA. Native of Dam pier's Archipelago, a group of islands on the north-west coast of Australia. Canoes with one Man. Australians spearing Fish. The main occupation of the aborigines of Australia, who live on the sea coast, is fishing ; yet their canoes are small and rude, consisting with some of only a sheet of tree bark folded and tied up at each end. The native of Dampier's archipelago has merely a log on which he sits astride. In other quarters, canoes are hollowed out from a piece of wood just sufficient to hold a single person, who sits and steers them with a couple of chips or a piece of bark. The most advanced of the Australian tribes possess canoes large enough to hold two persons • and also show some dexterity in striking the fish with spears. Missionary addressing South Sea Islanders. There are, at the present time, many missionaries employed in spreading the gospel among the heathen nations of Oceaniea. In the Sandwich Islands they are Americans; in Malaysia, American, Dutch, and English ; and in Australia, Van Diemen's Land, New Zealand, and the Society and Georgian Islands, English. 801 OCEANICA. Man and Woman of New Zealand New Zealand Chief. Fortified Village in New Zealand. Owing to the almost continual wars that are carried on between the New Zealand tribes, Ihcir villages, or hippahs, are generally fortified, and are placed on high rocks or steep hills, ascended by pathways narrow, winding, and often almost perpendicular. Man and Woman of New Caledonia. New Zealand Family. Natives of Tanna, ono of the Hebrides. 802 AUSTRALASIA. 591 as the Botany Bay Colony. The climate of this part of Australia is temperate and agreeable ; the soil is moderately fertile : the country, however, is liable to long droughts, which do much injury. Wheat, Indian-corn, and potatoes, are the chief objects of culture. Cattle and sheep are numerous ; and wool is one of the chief pro- ducts. A few common articles are manufactured, chiefly of the bulky kind. The colonists are actively engaged in the whale and seal fishery. Population, from 80,000 to 100,000. To this region, great numbers of criminals have been banished from Great Britain. Here they labour during the term for which they were sentenced ; and, on its expiration, they may return to England, or remain in Australia. In the latter event, they re- ceive a grant of 40 acres of land, with stock and provisions. The Colony extends along the coast about 300 miles, and contains a number of small towns and settlements. Sydney, the capital of Australia, stands on Port Jackson. It has a fine situation, a good harbour, and a population of 15,000 or 20,000. It contains churches, public and private schools, banks, &c, and carries on an active commerce with Great Britain, China, India, New Zealand, Cape Colony, &c. Wool, sperm and whale oil, wheat, &c, are the principal exports. Paramatta, Windsor, and Liverpool, are small towns on the east side of the Blue Mountains, of which the first has about 3000 in- habitants, and the others 1000 or 1500 each. Bathurst, 160 miles from Sydney, and west of the mountains, is situated 1800 feet above the sea. It enjoys a cool and pleasant climate, and is sur- rounded by an extensive grazing country, which supplies large quantities of wool. The Colony of West Australia was established at Swan River in the year 1829. The country is rather dry and sandy, but is favourable for raising cattle. The settlement contains from 3000 to 4000 inhabitants. Perth and Freemantle are small towns, containing each a few dwelling-houses. South-east of Swan River, and on the south coast of Australia at King George's Sound, is the small settlement of Albany. The Colony of South Australia, founded in 1836, lies on the west coast of the island, almost due west from Sydney. It was established by the South Australian Company, to whom a large tract of land has been granted by the British government, the proceeds of which are to be applied to the conveying of free settlers to the colony. No convicts are to be sent to this quarter. The population in 1840 was estimated at 10,000, of whom a por- tion are Germans. Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, is laid out near the west coast of the Gulf of St. Vincent. It was founded in 1837, 592 OCEANIC A. and now contains a few temporary public buildings and a number of private dwellings. The bank of South Australia has com- menced operations, and a newspaper is already printed. Glenelg and Kingscote are small towns, lately laid out : the latter is situated on Kangaroo island. Farther to the south-east, at Portland Bay and Port Philip, settlements have been formed. At the latter, the town of Melbourne has been laid out. Population 3,000. Van Diemen's Land, or Tasmania, is an island separated from Australia by Bass' Strait. A settlement was commenced here in 1804, which continued for 21 years politically united to New South Wales, but is now a separate government. This colony is in a prosperous condition, and is settling rapidly ; the inhabitants amount to upwards o{^ 40,000, of whom one-third are convicts. Length of the island, 200 miles ; breadth, 150 ; area, 27,000 square miles. The original inhabitants, now reduced to 300 or 400 in number, have been removed to an island in Bass' Straits. The chief towns are Hobart Town, Launceston, George Town, &c. The first is the capital : it has one of the finest harbours in the world, is pleasantly situated, and carries on a flourishing com- merce. Population, 13,000. The other towns are mere villages, containing not more than a hundred houses each. New Zealand comprises one small and two large islands, which lie to the south-east of Australia, and contain an area of 95,000 square miles. Ranges of mountains extend through both the larger islands, and rise in some cases to the height of 12,000 or 14,000 feet. The soil, where level, is very fertile. The products are Indian- corn, yams, potatoes, and a species of very strong flax, highly ser- viceable for clothing, cordage, &c. The forests contain large and valuable timber; some trees, of a species of pine, grow 100 feet high from the ground to the branches, and are 40 feet in girth : great quantities are cut and exported. In the northern island, missionary labours were commenced in 1815. Many of the natives have been instructed in reading, writing, and religion ; and, in the vicinity of the missions, they are beginning to cultivate the soil in a regular manner, and to breed cattle : they are also acquiring a taste for European clothing and comforts. A British settlement is established at the Bay of Islands, on the east coast of the northern island: here there are several mission- aries stationed, and about 500 English families have taken up their residence. This place is a great resort for whale-ships, 20 or 30 being often in harbour at one time. The British settlements in New Zealand were until recently under the cognizance of an of- AUSTRALASIA, View of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney, founded in 1788, by Governor Phillip, was the first British settlement in Australia, and is still the largest town. Originally, the houses were built without order, but of late years a regular plan has been followed, and some of the streets present a handsome appearance. The hard material of the surface renders paving unnecessary; but lighting at night has been adopted for some time past. The best houses are of white free-stone, or brick plastered, and have a light and airy appearance. Waterfall, Prince Regent's river, north-west coast of Australia. In the waterfall of Prince Regent's river, the stratified form of the rock causes the stream to appear as if falling down a range of steps. Convicts landing in one of the Penal Colonies. The transportation of convicts for crimes committed in Great Britain, is the mode in which New South Wales and Van Dicmen'a Land, called Penal Colonies, were at first settled. The convicts are sent out in considerable numbers at a time, in large vessels, known as convict ships, specially prepared for the purpose. The first cargo of these people was landed at Botany Bay, in 1788, and the first sent to Van Piemen's Land in 1804. The plan is still pursued ; and the number of convicts now in the colonies is estimated at 40,000, or about one-third of the whole population. 3S 805 OCEANICA. Branch and Fruit of the Bread Fruit Tree. Branch of the Yam Plant. The Bread Fruit is the chief article of the vegetable kind that the South Sea Islanders use as food. The tree produces three or four crops annually, being seldom quite destitute of ripe fruit. The Yam is a nutritious root that is raised to some extent in Polynesia, and is cultivated in the same way as the potatoe. Under good management, the produce is very great, 20,000 or 30,000 pounds weight to the acre having been obtained. Paper Mulberry. Aleurites Triloba. Sandal Wood. Of the inner bark of the Paper Mulberry, the South Sea Islanders make a kind of cloth that serves for garments, matting and bedding. It is, however, of a perishable nature, being but little stronger than stout paper. The Aleurites Triloba affords an oily nut, that was formerly used as a substitute for candles. Thirty or forty nuts are strung on a rush, and the uppermost being lighted, communicates, when nearly burnt out, its flame to the one beneath, and thus they are consumed in succession. Sandal Wood is the chief article of export from the Sandwich Islands. It is sold by weight, and is carried to Canton, where it is purchased by the Chinese for the purpose of burning in their temples, or jos-houses, as incense. South Sea Morai, or Temple. POLYNESIA. 593 ficer called the Resident, who was invested with magisterial pow- ers, and had authority to send offenders to Sydney for trial. At Hokianga, on the western coast, and about 20 miles from the Bay of Islands, another English colony has been established. Near this place, the British New Zealand Colonization Company has purchased a considerable tract of land ; and emigrants are constantly arriving from Europe. In October, 1835, a number of the native chiefs of the northern island met at Waitunga (Bay of Islands,) declared the country independent, under the title of the United Tribes of New Zealand ; and decreed the sovereign power to reside in themselves alone in congress assembled : they, at the same time, invited the southern tribes to join their union, and solicited the British monarch to be- come its protector. In 1840, New Zealand was added to the possessions of Great Britain, and a royal governor was appointed. Papua, or New Guinea, lies north of Australia, from which it is separated by Torres' Strait: it is 1200 miles in length, and is believed to be one of the most fertile countries in the world, but is almost unknown. The population consists of the Papuan, or oriental negroes, rather more advanced than those of Australia, mingled with the still ruder race of the Harafbras, who inhabit the interior mountains. Louisiade, situated south of New Guinea, is supposed to con- sist of a number of islands lying very close together. New Britain, New Ireland, Solomon's Archipelago, the New He- brides, and iVete Caledonia, are all in the north-eastern part of Australia ; they are but little known, and are described as gene- rally fertile. The inhabitants of these islands are divided into petty tribes, and, like all savages, are constantly at war with each other ; and some of them are said to be cannibals. Norfolk Island, about 1000 miles north-east from Sydney, is a penal settlement, to which convicts are sent who have been found guilty of crimes committed in New South Wales, and sen- tenced to. hard labour for life, or for a long period. The number here is 500 : the whole population being about 800, including the military, &c. POLYNESIA. Polynesia, signifying the many isles, comprises the numerous groups of islands with which a great part of the Pacific Ocean is studded. They lie chiefly within the tropics, and are among the most delightful countries to be found in the world. The population 50 * 807 594 0CEAN1CA. of this region was formerly conjectured to be about 1,500,000 ; but is now supposed not to exceed one-third of that amount. The climate of Polynesia is mild and agreeable, the heat being moderated by the close vicinity to the sea ; and the inhabitants, in consequence, require but little shelter or clothing. The tempera- ture is remarkably uniform, and a perpetual spring seems to reign by the side of a perpetual summer. The larger islands contain lofty mountains, some of which are volcanoes ; while others, reared by the coral insect, are low and almost on a level with the surface of the ocean. The soil of these islands yields many useful productions which grow either spontaneously or under the influence of culture. The yam, the taro, the sweet potatoe, and the plantain, all more or less answer the double purpose of bread and vegetables. The moat important product is the bread-fruit tree, the trunk of which rises to the height of 40 feet, and attains the thickness of a man's body. The fruit is as large as a child's head : gathered before it is fully ripe, and baked among ashes, it becomes a wholesome bread some- what resembling fresh wheat bread in taste. The trunk of the bread-fruit tree supplies timber for building canoes and houses, the gum which exudes from it answers the purpose of pitch, and a species of cloth is made from the inner bark. There are no less than fifty varieties of this tree. The cocoa-nut is, after the bread-fruit tree, the most valuable : its fruit, its wood, its leaves, and its fibres, are all subservient to the wants and necessities of the people. Besides the articles enu- merated, oranges, shaddocks, limes, citrons, pine-apples, guavas, figs, &c. abound. The practice of tattooing, as in New Zealand, is also general among these people. The various figures impressed on the skin in this operation are not merely fanciful but are for the most part indicative of the tribe, rank, or sex of the individual. The native cloth of the Polynesians is produced by beating the bark of certain trees with a mallet until it becomes soft and pliable. From the leaves of the Pandanus tree fine mats are made, sometimes twenty yards square, and similar in texture to the plait of a Leghorn bonnet : splendid, and often fantastic head-dresses, are also formed of the feathers of various birds. The only domestic animals are hogs and dogs, both used as food; they form, however, luxuries which are indulged in only by the chiefs, and superior ranks. The larger animals are not yet intro- duced to any extent ; but the sugar-cane, rice, pine-apple, grape, and common potatoe have been carried thither by Europeans. The principal animal food of the inhabitants is derived from the sea, and the chief part of the fish is eaten raw. 80? POLYNESIA. 595 These islands furnish but few commodities of much value in commerce ; the sandal-wood of the Sandwich and Feejee groups finds a ready market in China, but is now become scarce. The chief ports are much visited by whale and other ships for supplies of provisions, water, &c, which creates a market for the timber, live stock, and fruits of the various islands. About 200 vessels are supposed to touch annually at Tahiti or Otaheite, and double that number at the Sandwich Islands. The inhabitants of Polynesia appear to be of the Malay race; and, though scattered over so wide an extent of ocean, bear a striking resemblance to each other. In complexion, they are of various shades, often not darker than Southern Europeans, and in beauty and regularity of form, are mostly superior to the people of Malaysia. The inhabitants of this region are often called South Sea Islanders. They are in general mild and gentle in disposition, and tender in their attachments, but often indolent and inactive : when en- gaged in war, however, or stimulated by some particular interest, they are courageous, fierce and cruel ; and their contests have been carried on with such barbarity that some islands have been entirely depopulated. When first visited by Europeans, many of these islanders had attained a certain degree of civilization ; being organized into re- gular societies, having a settled system of religion, laws and cus- toms rigidly adhered to, and a distinct division of society into chiefs and slaves. The inhabitants of the small islands are gene- rally more barbarous and cruel than those of the larger. The native religion of Polynesia may be ranked amongst the darkest forms of superstition. It not only gives no support to vir- tue, but affords full sanction to the most cruel and dissolute prac- tices. Cannibalism and infanticide were general in all quarters ; and are still common among the pagan inhabitants. Besides the numerous animals offered in sacrifice, human victims were univer- sally put to death on the altars of the hideous idols worshipped by these people. One of the observances peculiar to these islands is, that of the taboo, in which the chiefs, or priests, may declare any place or object sacred, or consecrated ; and also punish with death those who infringe or disobey the regulation. Women are considered by the Polynesians as impure, and are not allowed to eat with the men, or to enter the morais, or temples of the gods. The American and English missionaries have effected, during the present century, a remarkable change upon the people of Polynesia ; and, in many instances, they have obtained a predomi- nant influence. By their exertions numerous churches have been 596 OCEANICA. built, which the inhabitants frequent, decently dressed, and with a serious and reverential air. As soon as Christianity was established, schools were set on foot, and the natives applied themselves with much ardour to the acquisition of learning. After the first novelty, however, is over, many individuals become careless and indifferent : still, numbers of the islanders have acquired a competent knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Though much is yet wanting in the condition of the Christian converts, both as to knowledge and behaviour, yet it is undeniable that the labours of the missionaries have been highly beneficial in these islands. Through their influence, the grossest superstitions have been abolished ; human victims are no longer sacrificed, in- fanticide has become extinct, and the murders and depredations so often perpetrated by the pagan islanders on European and Ameri- can sbips, have entirely ceased. The Ladrone, or Marianne Islands, lie about 1800 miles east of the Philippines, and were the first known in this region, having been discovered by Magellan in 1521. They are covered for the most part with rich vegetation, and have been extolled by some navigators as forming a terrestrial paradise. The original inhabitants have been nearly exterminated in their war with the Spaniards: the few that remain can hardly be dis- tinguished from their conquerors. Though these people were de- scribed by their first discoverers as a race of thieves, vet they were more civilized than any of the South Sea Islanders. They built spacious temples, composed of pillars, and surmounted by a circu- lar dome ; their women were treated with kindness and humanity, and a rude species of money was coined, and used by them. Agri- gan, on the island of Guahan, is the capital of the group. It con- tains 3000 inhabitants, mostly Spaniards, with some Indians from Peru. The Caroline Islands lie immediately north of the equator. They extend from east to west upwards of 30 degrees of longi- tude, and are situated in a most tempestuous ocean, exposed to frequent hurricanes, some of which often sweep away the entire produce of an island ; yet the people are still more at home on the waves than even the other South Sea Islanders, and are distin- guished by their skill in navigation. They steer their course at night by the stars, and use a rude sort of compass. The greater part of the Caroline islands are low, and of coral formation. They comprise several groups of islands, of which the Pelew and Egoy are the best known. On the Pelew Islands, the ship Antelope was wrecked, in 1783, POLYNESIA. 597 when Captain Wilson and his crew were treated by the inhabit- ants with the most generous kindness. Abba Thulle, the king, on the departure of the captain, sent with him his son, Prince Le Boo, who delighted the society of London by the amiable simplicity of his manners; but, unfortunately,. he was soon seized with the small-pox and died. Captain Wilson described the Pelew Island- ers in the most pleasing colours ; but subsequent navigators have represented them as displaying all the bad qualities incident to savage life. Central Archipelago. — This name has been applied from their central situation to a number of detached groups, extending to a great distance, chiefly to the south-east from the Caroline Islands, consisting mostly of Mitchell's, Ellice's, and De Peyster's groups, the Taswell's Islands, also Gilbert's Archipelago, Scarbo- rough's Range, and the Mulgrave Islands. The natives are gene- rally described as friendly, courteous, and amiable, free from the thievish propensities and dissolute conduct which are common in many of the other islands. The Sandwich Islands have been long known as a place of resort for American whaling-ships, and have also, for some time past, excited general interest on account of the important change effected in the manners, customs, and character of the people. These islands are ten in number, of which eight only are inhabited. They form, as it were, a solitary cluster, far to the north and east of the principal ranges of this region. Hawaii, or Owhyhee, the largest of the group, and also the largest island in Polynesia, occupies 4500 square miles of the 7000 constituting the area of the whole. Some of the mountains rise to an Alpine height, and have their summits wrapt in perpetual snow: those of Mouna Roah and Mouna Kaah are the most elevated of any insular mountains in the world, both being about 16,000 feet in height. There are several volcanoes in this group, and some of them are in constant activity. The soil is exceedingly fertile, and yields abundantly the bread-fruit, sugar-cane, cocoa-nut, sweet potatoes, &c. In the year 1819, the inhabitants of these islands renounced idolatry, and burned their idols : this circumstance induced the missionary societies in the United States to send out ministers of the gospel to impart to them the religion and arts of civilization. A large proportion of the population has been instructed by them in reading, writing, and arithmetic : churches have been erected ; a press has been for some time in operation, at which school-books, the scriptures, newspapers and periodicals are printed in the lan- guage of the country ; and many useful arts have been introduced. 598 OCEANIC A. The town of Honolulu, in the island of Oahu, contains about 5000 inhabitants, of which nearly 100 are Americans and English. Great commercial activity prevails here ; many European and American ships are always in the port : a considerable number of small vessels also belong to the natives. Sandal-wood is the most important native article of trade. The Mendana Archipelago consists of two groups, the Marquesas and Washington islands. The first were discovered in 1596 by the Spanish navigator Alvaro Mendana, and after being long forgotten were re-discovered by Cook. The more northerly group was first visited in 1791, by Captain Ingraham, of Boston, and called by him the Washington Islands. They are all mountainous, fertile, and well watered. The people of this group are among the most finely-formed of any known race ; their complexion is but little darker than that of southern Europeans, but is visible only in the youths, for the tat- tooing practised all over the Pacific Ocean is carried to such a pitch, that the skin of an adult becomes the mere canvass of a picture. The operation begins at 12 or 13 years of age, but it is not until 30 or 35 that the person is entirely covered. The Society and Georgian Islands are situated about 2500 miles nearly due south from the Sandwich group, and at about equal distances from South America and Australia. They are among the most fertile and beautiful islands in Polynesia, and are generally described under the name of the Society Islands : they are, however, geographically, as well as politically, distinct ; being governed by different rulers. The inhabitants were the first con- verts to Christianity in this quarter of the globe. They are now as much distinguished by their regard for religion and morality, as they were once for idolatry and licentiousness, and are fast advancing in learning, knowledge, and the arts. Tahiti, or Otaheite, the largest of the Georgian group, and the residence of the sovereign, is about 108 miles in circuit. The interior rises into high mountains, whose sides are clothed with trees and verdure almost to the summit. Eimeo, the next in size to Tahiti, is chiefly distinguished as being still the centre of that European and Christian civilization which originated there. It con- tains the South Sea Academy, a printing-office, and a cotton-factory. Raiatea, the largest of the Society islands, is about half the di- mensions of Tahiti. It is governed by a prince who has authority over some of the adjacent islands. King George's and the Prince of Wales' Islands, are small groups, situated about 300 or 400 miles north-east from POLYNESIA, Tacca Pinnatifida. Dracaena Terminalis. The root of the Tacca Pinnatifida yields a nutritious substance, very similar to the arrow- root of the West Indies. When sufficiently grown, the root is beaten to a pulp, and subjected to repeated washings; it is then dried in the sun, and is fit for use. The Dracaena Terminalis, or Ti Root, is sweet and palatable when baked ; and a kind of beer is produced from it by fermentation. Great quantities of this root are used in making av intoxicating liquor, called ava, that the natives often drink to excess, and under the influence of which they frequently murder ea«;h other in the frays produced by their dissipation. Sandwich Islander with a Mask. Natives of the Friendly Isles. 813 OCEANICA. Distant view of the Island of Tahiti, or Otaheite. Tahitian Dance. Sn Tahiti, dancing was one of the principal amusements of the people, and was performed on all occasions of pleasure, worship, state or ceremonious reception. The dances of the two first descriptions were often very exceptionable ; the others were generally slow and stately, with graceful and sometimes fantastic movements. The missionaries have discouraged the practice uf dancing, on account of its close connexion with previous idolatrous and licentious habits. Sandwich Islanders destroying an Idol. POLYNESIA. 599 Tahiti, and inhabited by a race similar in language and habits, but inferior in condition, to the people of that island. The Pearl, Paumotu, Low Islands, and Dangerous Ar- chipelago, are the several names given to an almost numberless range of islets extending east and south-east of the Georgian isles. They are thinly peopled and but little known. The Gambier islands, five in number, are the most southern of this group. The Palliser Islands lie north-east from Tahiti. The prin- cipal of this group is Anaa, or Chain island ; the inhabitants were once particulary noted for their vicious propensities. Hervey's, or Cook's Islands, which extend nearly west from the Georgian group, are deficient in water, yet they are tolerably well peopled and cultivated. The Austral Islands, situated at from 400 to 600 miles south from Tahiti, are all small and scattered far apart from each other. The inhabitants of the three foregoing groups are similar in habits and language to those of the Georgian and Society islands. They were, some time since, rigid idolaters, and grossly ignorant and superstitious ; but they have been all, more or less, converted to Christianity. In some of the islands the entire population has been baptized ; and in nearly all of them churches and schools have been established. In the Austral group, the change has been effected by native Christian teachers, from Tahiti. The Friendly Islands are an extensive range, 150 in num- ber, and comprise the groups of the Navigator's, Feejee, Tonga, and Habaai islands. The character of the natives has been drawn in highly flattering colours ; and the name given to them by Cap- tain Cook expresses his opinion of their disposition. Subsequent visiters have represented them much less favourably : the mission- ary cause, however, in some of these islands, has met with flattering success. In the Tonga and Habaai groups, more than 2000 chil- dren are instructed in the schools, and the church has upwards of 1100 native members. In the Navigator's islands, the gospel bids fair to obtain a steadfast footing among the people. The Navigator's, or Samoa Islands, eight in number, are fer- tile, well watered, and appear to be very populous. The interior of the largest of these islands contains lofty mountains, clothed with thick forests, which, with the wooded valleys at their base, watered by numberless streams and rills, present a beautiful landscape. The Feejee Islands, the largest of the Friendly Archipelago, are but imperfectly known : the people are still pagans, and are more ferocious, and of darker complexion, than those of any of the adjacent islands. This group is much visited by American vessels for sandal-wood. 600 OCEANICA. The Tonga Islands, the most southern of the Friendly Archi- pelago, are fertile and populous. The natives cultivate 15 different varieties of the bread-fruit, besides yams of several kinds, and other roots. Lefuga, the principal of the Habaai Islands, was long the residence of a chief who held sway over the others. Vavaou, Cocoa-nut Island, and Amargura, to the north of the Habaai group, are all fertile and well inhabited. Pitcairn's Island, which lies 1200 miles south-east from Tahiti, has attracted a remarkable degree of interest, in conse- quence of having been the retreat of the mutineers of the ship Bounty ; and also from the pleasing feelings excited on the disco- very of their virtuous and amiable posterity. The island was visited, for the first time after its settlement, in 1810, being twenty years subsequent to that event, by Captain Fol- ger, an American, who found but one of the mutineers alive : this individual, John Adams, having been led to habits of serious re- flection, was induced to devote himself to the education of the women and children, which he performed with such good effect, that the little community grew up to be, perhaps, the most orderly and amiable in existence. Adams died in 1829. Shortly afterwards, the islanders, in consequence, it is said, of a scanty supply of water, emigrated to Tahiti, but being disappointed in their views, soon returned to their solitary, but interesting island. Sometime subsequent, a competent and worthy person was sent out by the British government to act as a teacher and magistrate ; but he was unable to prevent several dis- solute sailors from settling on the island, whose wicked practices have, it is feared, already corrupted the minds of the simple inhabit- ants. The last account represented the population of Pitcairn's Island to be about 80 in number. Easter Island, the most eastern of the Polynesian range, is about 20 miles in circuit. The natives are estimated to amount to 1200. This island was formerly celebrated for its gigantic busts, rudely carved out of huge blocks of stone ; but they have been destroyed. The Archipelagoes of Anson and Magellan are situated in the north-western part of Polynesia. They comprise a number of small groups and islands, situated for the most part distant from each other. On the Bonin group, there are some American and English sailors settled, who took wives with them, a few years since, from the Sandwich islands : here they have built huts, and cultivate some small patches of ground, carry on fishing, &c. STATISTICAL TABLES. EXTENT AND POPULATION OP THE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD. NORTH AMERICA :— Russian America Greenland British America United States Texas Mexico Guatimala West Indies SOUTH AMERICA:— New Grenada Venezuela Equador Guiana North Peru South Peru Bolivia Chili Brazil Buenos Ayres Paraguay Uruguay Patagonia EUROPE :— Sweden and Norway Russia and Poland Denmark Holland Belgium Great Britain and Ireland France Spain Portugal Prussia Austria German States Switzerland Italy Ionian Islands Greece Turkey 51 Area in square miles. Total Population. Population to a square mile 500,000 50,000 1 in 10 840,000 20,000 lin42 2,310,000 1,360,000 lin U 2,300,000 17,000,000 7* .200,000 250,000 H 1,500,000 8,000,000 5 200,000 2,000,000 10 100,000 2,970,000 29 7,950,000 31,650,000 4 4 450,000 1,687,000 420,000 900,000 2 280,000 • 600.000 2 160,000 182,000 1 300,000 700,000 2 130,000 800,000 6 450,000 1,716,000 4 170,000 1,500,000 8£ 3,390,000 5,000,000 H 750,000 700,000 1 88,000 150,000 1* 92,000 75,000 1 370,000 30,000 lin 12 7,050,000 14,040,000 2 297,000 4,000,000 13 1,755,000 49,000,000 28 22,000 2,100,000 95 11,000 2,800,000 254 13,000 4,200 000 323 121,000 25,000,000 206 205,000 32,500,000 158 183,000 12,000,000 65 59,000 3,600,000 62 107,000 14,000,000 130 259,000 33,000,000 127 102,000 15,000,000 147 15,000 2,000,000 133 122,000 21,000,000 172 1,000 190,000 190 21,000 610,000 28 207,000 9,000,000 43 3,500,000 230,000,000 | 66 817 602 STATISTICAL TABLES. Extent and Population of different Countries — continued. ASIA:— Asiatic Russia Independent Tartary Turkey Syria and Palestine Arabia Persia Afghanistan Beloochistan Hindoostan Eastern or Chin-India Chinese Empire Japan AFRICA:— Barbary Egypt Nubia Abyssinia Great Desert Soudan Bergoo, Darfur, &c Senegambia Upper Guinea Lower Guinea Southern Africa Eastern Africa Ethiopia African Islands OCEANICA :— Malaysia. Sumatra Java Borneo Philippine Islands Celebes Spice Islands, Sooloo Islands, &c Timor, Floris, Sumbawa, &c . . . Australasia. Australia, including Botany Bay, the Swan River Colony, Albany, &c Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land New Zealand ■:[ New Guinea, New Britain, &c. . . ) New Hebrides and New Caledonia £ Area in square 5,300,000 690,000 370,000 60,000 990,000 470,000 340,000 200,000 1,200,000 920,000 5,200,000 260,000 16,000,000 570,000 180,000 320,000 280,000 2,600,000 1,200,000 540,000 350,000 280,000 260,000 480,000 600,000 3,130,000 210,000 11,000,000 156,000 60,000 400,000 105,000 70,000 31,000 28,000 850,000 3,000,000 28,000 95,000 377,000 3,500,000 Total Population. Population to a square mile. 10,000,000 6,500,000 8,000,000 2,000,000 8,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 1,500,000 140,000,000 20,000,000 226,000,000 14,000,000 450,000,000 10,000,000 2,500,000 500,000 3,000,000 300,000 10,000,000 1,200,000 7,000,000 6,500,000 5,500,000 1,500,000 3,000,000 3,000,000 3,000,000 57,000,000 4,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 1,000,000 450,000 500,000 15,450,000 615,000 35,000 500,000 500,000 250,000 1,900,000 2 9 21 33 8 17 17 7 116 21 43 54 28 17 13 Is 10 1 in 8 8 2 20 23 21 3 5 1 14 25 66 7 23 14 14 18 18 1 in 5 1 in 2 818 STATISTICAL TABLES. 603 Extent and Population of different countries — continued. Polynesia. Sandwich Islands Ladrone Islands Caroline Islands Central Archipelago Washington and Marquesas Islands Society and Georgian Islands Cook's, Austral, Paumotu, Gambier Islands, &c Navigator's Islands Vavou, Habaii, and Tonga Islands. ■ Fejee Islands The remaining groups and single Is 7,000 Y . 143,000 150,000 _ . , _ ... Population to Total Population, ^wre mile 150,000 10,000 80,000 30,000 15,000 20,000 27,000 160,000 8,000 100,000 40,000 650,000 TOTAL POPULATION OF THE WORLD. North America. South America . Europe Asia Africa Oceanica 7,950,000 7,050,000 3,500,000 16,000,000 11,000,000 4,500,000 50,000,000 31,650,000 14,040,000 230,000,000 450,000,000 57,000,000 18,000,000 21 }..A 800,690,000 4 2 66 28 5 4 16 STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES. The following table shows the date of the settlement of the different States ; the towns first settled; and the nation by whom the settlement was made. States. Date. Towns. NaUon. 1565 1607 1614 1620 1623 1621 1627 1630 1633 1634 1636 1650 1670 1670 1682 1683 1685 16110 1699 1702 1716 1725 173:! 1763 1756 1775 1788 Spanish. English. Dutch. English. English. Danes. Swedes and Finns. English. English. English. English. English. English. French. English. French. French. French. French. French. French. English. English. French. English. York C04 STATISTICAL TABLES. SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. Denominations. Baptists " Freewill " Seventh-Day " Six-Principle Methodists " Protestants Presbyterians " Cumberland '* Associate " Reformed " Associate Reformed Congregationalists Catholics Episcopalians Universalists Lutherans Dutch Reformed Christians German Reformed Unitarians " Mennonites Friends Tunkers Jews Moravians, or United Brethren. . Mormons Shakers New Jerusalem Church Ministers. Churches or Con- gregations. 4,239 6,319 612 753 46 42 10 16 2,764 400 2,225 2,807 450 500 87 183 20 40 116 214 1,150 1,300 389 443 849 850 317 653 267 750 192 197 800 1,000 180 600 174 200 200 500 40 40 33 24 45 15 33 27 452,000-) 33,876 I 4,503 f 2,117j 650,103 > 50,000 \ 274,084" 50,000 16,000 3,000 12,000 J 160,000 62,226 22,515 150,000 30,000 30,000 3,000 5,745 20,000 6,000 Population. 4,300,000 3,000,000 2,175,000 1,400,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 540,000 450,000 300,000 450,000 180,000 120,000 100,000 30,000 15,000 12,000 20,000 6,000 5,000 IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 1791 1795 1800 1805 1810 1815 1820 1825 1830 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 Value of Imports. 52,000,000 69,756,268 91,252,768 120,000,000 85,400,000 113,041,274 74,450,000 96,340,075 70,876,920 149,895,742 189,980,035 140,989,217 113,717,404 162,092,132 104,805,891 Value of Exports. 19,012,041 47,989,472 70,971,780 95,566,021 66,757,974 52,557,753 69,691,669 99,535,388 73,849,508 121,693,577 128,663,040 117,419,376 108,486,616 121,028,416 131,571,950 Excess of Imports ovt Exports. 32,987,959 21,766,796 280,988 24,433,975 18,642,026 60,483,521 4,758,331 28,202,165 61,316,995 23,560,801 5,230,788 41,063,716 Excess of Exports over Imports. 3,195,313 2,972,588 26,766,059 In the year 1811 the exports first exceeded the imports. In 1836 the imports were highest (1)189,080,035). In 1840 the exports exceeded the imports moro than in any former year, and those of 18'J5 were the next highest. STATISTICAL TABLES. 605 PRINCIPAL CANALS, FINISHED OR IN PROGRESS, IN THE UNITED STATES. Cumberland and Oxford (Me.) Middlesex (Mass.) Blackstone (Mass. and R. I.) - Farmington, Hampden, &c. - Delaware, Hudson, Lackawaxen Erie (N. Y.) Champlain (N. Y.) Black River (N. Y.) Oswego (N. Y.) Chenango (N. Y.) Seneca (N. Y.) Cayuga (N. Y.) Chemung (N. Y.) Morris (N.J.) Delaware and Raritan (N. J.) - Delaware Canal (Pa.) Lehigh (Pa.) Schuylkill (Pa.) Little Schuylkill (Pa.) Union (Pa.) Pennsylvania Susquehanna Division (Pa.) - - West Branch (Pa.) North Branch (Pa.) Beaver Division (Pa.) French Creek Division (Pa.) - Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal - Sandy and Beaver (Pa. and O.) Chesapeake and Delaware - - Chesapeake and Ohio (Md.) - Dismal Swamp (Va. and N. C.) James River (Va.) Santee(S. C.) Savannah and Alatamaha (Ga.) Brunswick (Ga.) Muscle Shoals (Aa.) La Fourche (La.) Miami (O.) Ohio and Erie (O.) ------ Wabash and Erie (Ind. and O.) White Water (Ind.) Illinois and Chicago (II.) - - - Places connected. Portland and Sebago Pond Boston and Lowell Providence and Worcester New Haven and Northampton (Mas.) Hudson River and Honesdale (Pa.) - Albany and Buffalo Lake Champlain and Hudson River Rome and Black River Syracuse and Oswego Binghamton and Utica Seneca Lake and Erie Canal - - - - Geneva and Montezuma Elmira and Seneca Lake Easton (Pa.) and Jersey City - - - - New Brunswick and Bordentown - Bristol and Easton Easton and White's Haven Philadelphia and Port Carbon - - - Port Clinton and Tamaqua Reading and Middletown Columbia and Pittsburg Juniata and Northumberland - - - - Northumberland and Dunstown - - Northumberland and Lackawanna - Beaver and Mercer County - - - Franklin and Erie Beaver River and Akron - - - - Beaver and Bolivar Delaware and Elk Rivers - - - - Georgetown and Cumberland - - Portsmouth and New Lebanon - Richmond and Lynchburg - - - Santee and Cooper's River - - - Savannah and Alatamaha River - - Brunswick and Alatamaha River - Round the Muscle Shoals - - - - New Orleans and La Fourche River Cincinnati and Maumee - - - - Portsmouth and Cleveland - - - La Fayette and Manhattan - - - Illinois River and Lake Michigan - 20J 27 4J> 78 82£ 363 63 76 38 96 23 20 23 101 42i 60 66 108 20 82 312 39 66 76 30 46 82 73 14 186 23 150 22 60 12 37 85 265 306 110 76 96 PRINCIPAL RAIL-ROADS, FINISHED OR IN PROGRESS, IN THE UNITED STATES Eastern Rail-Road, Mass. and N. H. Boston and Portsmouth Boston and Lowell, Mass. Boston and Worcester, Mass Providence and Stonington, Con.. Norwich and Worcester, Mas. Con, Hartford and New Haven, Con... Utica and Schenectady, N. Y Troy and Ballston, N. Y Mohawk and Hudson, N. Y 51* Albany and Schenectady. 534 25$ 45 17 5J3 ■Hi si 25 16 606 STATISTICAL TABLES. Rail-Roads of the United States — continued. Saratoga and Schenectady, N. Y Utica and Syracuse, N. Y Auburn and Syracuse, N. Y Lockport and Niagara Falls, N. Y.... Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N. Y Tonawanda, N. Y Ithaca and Owego, N. Y New York and Erie, N. Y Jersey City and Paterson, N. J Jersey City and Trenton, N. J Camden and Amboy, N. J Philadelphia and Trenton, Pa. and N. J. Philadelphia and Columbia, Pa Philadelphia and Baltimore, Pa. De. Md. Philadelphia and Norristown, Pa Philadelphia and Reading, Pa Central, Pa Lancaster and Harrisburg Westchester, Pa Baltimore and Susquehanna, Md. Pa.. Williamsport and Elmira, Pa Reading and Port Clinton, Pa Little Schuylkill, Pa Cumberland Valley, Pa VVrightsville and Gettysburg, Pa New Castle and French Town, De. .. Baltimore and Ohio, Md Baltimore and Washington, Md. D. C. Winchester, Va Richmond and Potomac, Va Richmond and Petersburg, Va Petersburg and Roanoke, Va. and N. C. Portsmouth and Roanoke, Va. and N. C. Roanoke and Greensville, Va. and N. C. Raleigh and Gaston, N. C Wilmington and Raleigh, N. C South Carolina, S. C Central, Ga Monroe, Ga Georgia, Ga Tuscumbia and Decatur, Aa Montgomery and Chattahoochee, Aa. . Vicksburg, Mi Jackson and Brandon, Mi Grand Gulf and Port Gibson, Mi New Orleans and Nashville, La. Ten. Clinton and Port Hudson, La St. Francisville and Woodville, La... Memphis and La Grange, Ten Mad River, O Lexington and Ohio, Ky Central, Mic Detroit and Pontiac, Mic Erie and Kalamazoo, Mic Madison and Lafayette, Ind Lavvrenceburg and Indianapolis, Ind.. Places connected. Rochester and Attica Hudson River and Lake Erie . Danville and Pottsville Westchester and Columbia R. Road Baltimore to Wrightsville, Pa. . Port Clinton and Tamaqua Harrisburg and Chambersburg. Completed to Harper's Ferry. . . Winchester and Harper's Ferry. Richmond and Potomac River.. Petersburg and Blakely . . Portsmouth and Weldon. Hicksfbrd and Gaston Wilmington and Halifax. Charleston and Hamburg Savannah and Macon Macon and Forsyth Augusta and Decatur Montgomery and West Point . Vicksburg and Jackson Dayton and Sandusky City. Louisville and Lexington . . Detroit and St. Joseph's. . . . Toledo and Marshall. m 50 25 20 23 47 29 340 15 58 61 26 81 1 92^ 17 56 44$ 37" 9 70 74 20 20 49 42 16* 80" 40 30 75 21 60 80 18 86 161 135 200 25 160 45 85 54 500 28 28 50 153 90 180 30 90 150 90 STATISTICAL TABLES. 607 POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. States. Square Miles. Population 1S30. Population 1840. Free coloured 1840. 1,355 537 8,668 3,238 8,105 730 20,027 21,044 47,854 16,919 4,361 62,020 49,842 22,732 8,276 2,753 820 1,366 2,039 24,368 5,524 7,309 17,342 7,165 3,598 1,574 465 707 178 153 Slaves, 1840. 35,000 9,491 7,800 1,225 4,764 8,000 47,000 8,320 46,000 2,100 100 9,356 70,000 50,000 33,000 62,000 55,000 48,000 51,770 48,320 45,000 40,000 44,000 36,400 55,000 64,000 55,000 60,000 100,000 200,000 399,955 269,328 610,408 97,199 297,665 280,652 1,918,608 320,823 1,348,233 76,748 39,834 447,040 1,211,405 737,987 581,185 516,823 34,730 136,621 309,527 215,739 681,904 687,917 937,903 343,031 157,455 140,455 30,388 31,639 501,793 284,574 737,699 108,830 309,978 291,948 2,428,921 373,306 1,724,033 78,085 43,712 459,273 1,236,073 753,419 594,398 691,392 54,477 375,649 590,424 352,402 829,201 779,923 1,519,467 685,866 474,807 383,702 97,574 212,267 30,943 43,113 1 1 5 17 4 674 64 2,605 4,694 89,536 448,987 245,817 327,038 280,944 25,717 195,211 253,532 165,219 183,059 182,072 3 3 331 58,240 19,935 8 18 New Hampshire. Massachusetts . . Rhode Island. . . Connecticut .... New Jersey .... Pennsylvania . . . Dist. of Columbia Virginia ....... North Carolina. . South Carolina. . Mississippi . ... Ohio Employed in th e naval sen 12,866,020 17,062,012 6,100 386,069 2,486,368 Total, 17,068,112 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1830 AND 1840. Census 1S30. Census 1840. Whites .10,532,060 14,189,575 Free coloured.... 319,599 386,069 Slaves 2,009,043 2,486,368 Naval service .. . 5,318 6,100 Total, 12,806,020 17,068,112 Increase in ten years. Whites 3,657,515 or about 35 per cent. Free coloured 67,470 " 21 Slaves 477,325 " 23f " White Population. 1830. Free States and Territories 6,865,700 Slave States and Territories 3 660 548 1840. Increase. . 9,555,922 39 per cent . 4 630 653 26 608 STATISTICAL TABLES. Comparative mew of the Population of the United States — continued. Free coloured. 1830. 1840. Increase. Free States &c 137,322 170,704 24j per cent. Slave States, &c 182,270 215,365 18 Progress of Population in the United States since the year 1790. Year. Whites. 1790 ... 3,172,118 1800 . . . 4,312,841 1810... 5,802,093 Free coloured. . 59,511 . . - 110,072 . • . 186,446 . • 697,697 896,840 1,191,364 Year. 1820 1830 1840 Whites. 7,861,906 .. 10,526,248 . . 14,195,675 . . Free coloured. . 238,161 . . . 319,599 . . . 386,069 . . Slaves. 1,538,064 2,009,043 2,486,368 POPULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS. Cities and Towns. New York Philadelphia New Orleans Baltimore Boston Cincinnati Brooklyn , St. Louis , Washington City Providence Pittsburg Troy Buffalo Portland New Haven Hartford Savannah Wilmington, Del . . Newport Norwich Middletown Newburyport Dover, N. H Canandaigua New London Gardiner Bath Natchez Bridgeport Wilmington, N. C. Dover Charleston Portsmouth, N. H. 1830. 1840. Increase. 202,589 312,234 109,645 188,797 258,832 70,035 50,103 102,191 52,088 80,625 101,378 20,753 61,392 84,401 23,009 24,831 46,382 21,551 12,903 36,283 23,380 5,852 24,585 18,733 18,827 22,777 3,950 16,832 22,042 5,210 12,542 21,296 8,756 11,405 19,372 7,967 6,321 18,356 12,035 12,601 15,218 2,617 10,678 14,390 3,712 9,789 12,793 3,004 7,303 11,214 3,911 6,663 8,367 1,704 8,010 8,321 311 5,179 7,239 2,060 6,893 7,210 317 6,388 7,161 773 5,449 6,438 989 5,162 5,653 491 4,356 5,528 1,172 3,709 5,044 1,335 3,773 5,000 1,227 2,790 4,826 2,036 2,800 4,570 1,770 2,700 4,268 1,568 3,416 3,775 359 Decrease. 30,289 29,253 1,036 8,082 7,884 198 STATISTICAL TABLES. COLLEGES IN THE UNITED STATES. G09 Bowdoin Waterville * Dartmouth University of Vermont Middlebury Norwich University Harvard University Williams Amherst Brown University * Yale Washington t Wesleyan University t Columbia t Union Hamilton Hamilton Lit. and Theol.* . Geneva t University of New York . . College of New Jersey Rutgers University of Pennsylvania Dickinson t Jefferson Washington Allegheny t Western University Pennsylvania Lafayette Marshall Newark St. John's St. Mary's § Mount St. Mary's § Georgetown § Columbian * William and Mary t Hampden-Sidney Washington University of Virginia Randolph-Macon t Emory and Henry t Rector College * University of N. Carolina. Davidson Wake Forest * Charleston South Carolina College . . . University of Georgia. . . . Oglethorpe Emory t University of Alabama. . . Sto- Volumes it dents. Libraries. Brunswick, Me Waterville, " Hanover, N. H Burlington, Vt Middlebury, " Norwich, " Cambridge, Mass Williamstown, " Amherst, " Providence, R. I New Haven, Con Hartford, " Middletown, " New York Schenectady, N. Y Clinton, " Hamilton, " Geneva, " New York Princeton, N. J New Brunswick, N. J. . Philadelphia, Penn Carlisle, " Canonsburg, " Washington, " Meadville, " Pittsburg, " Gettysburg, " . . . . Gaston, " Mercersburg, " Newark, Del Annapolis, Md Baltimore, " Emmitsburg," Georgetown, D. C Washington, " Williamsburg, Va Prince Ed. Co. " Lexington, " Charlottesville, " Boydton, " Glade Spring, " Harrison County, Va. . Chapel-Hill, N. C Mecklenberg Co., N. C. Wake Forest, " , Charleston, S. C Columbia, " Athens, Ga Midway, " Oxford, " Tuscaloosa, Ala 150 55 321 109 67 57 236 128 169 177 438 78 124 139 241 92 74 66 85 263 76 111 99 147 18,000 6,000 16,500 9,200 7,054 51,000 7,500 12,500 14,000 27,000 6,500 10,300 14,000 13,000 9,000 4,600 5,400 11,000 6,500 5,000 10,600 4,500 Founded 59 3,300 100 59 51 53 55 27 73 31 154 25 140 65 49 243 8,000 500 2,270 1,350 1,200 4,000 12,000 3,500 12,000 4,200 4,250 8,000 2,000 16,000 120 1,000 50 156 86 77 50 168 116 31 35 56 9,000 4,000 3,000 13,000 11,000 5,289 1794 1820 1770 1791 1800 1834 1638 1793 1821 1764 1700 1824 1831 1754 1795 1812 1819 1823 1831 1746 1770 1755 1783 1802 1806 1815 1819 1832 1832 1836 1833 1784 1799 1830 1789 1821 1693 1783 1812 1819 1832 1839 1839 1791 1838 1838 1795 1804 1785 1836 1837 U328 825 610 STATISTICAL TABLES. Colleges in the United States — continued. Lagrange t Spring Hill§ Jefferson Oakland Louisiana Jefferson St. Charles § Baton Rouge Greeneville Washington University of Nashville .... East Tennessee Jackson Transylvania St. Joseph's § Centre Augusta t Cumberland Georgetown * Bacon St. Mary's § University of Ohio Miami University Franklin Western Reserve Kenyon + Granville * Marietta Oberlin Institute Cincinnati Woodward Indiana South Hanover Wabash Indiana Asbury University t Illinois Shurtleff* McKendree t McDonough University of St. Louis § . . . St, Mary's § Marion Columbia St. Charles $ Fayette Michigan University Marshall St. Philip's § Lagrange, Ala Spring Hill," Washington, Mp Oakland, " Jackson, La. Bringiers, " Grand Coteau, La Baton Rouge, " .... Greeneville, Tenn Washington Co., Tenn. Nashville, " . Knoxville, " . Near Columbia, " . Lexington, Ken Bardstown, " Danville, " Augusta, " Princeton, " Georgetown, " Harrodsburg, " Marion Co. " Athens, Ohio Oxford, " New Athens, " Hudson, " Gambier, " Granville, " Marietta, " Oberlin, " Cincinnati, " Cincinnati, " Bloomington, Ind South Hanover, " .... Crawfordsville, " .... Jacksonville, II. .. . Upper Alton, " . . . . Lebanon, " . . . . Macomb, " . . . . St. Louis, Mo Barrens, " New Palmyra, Mo. Columbia, " . St. Charles, " . Fayette, " . Ann Arbour, Mich . Marshall, " . Near Detroit, " . 140 107 59 160 37 260 100 65 41 43 95 56 100 30 69 66 75 49 105 203 40 90 135 51 63 55 12 50 70 84 20 59 120 100 70 42 60 47 60 104 43 85 75 200 62 30 1,000 4,000 1,522 1,800 1,000 300 3,000 1,000 8,493 3,307 1,250 4,400 7,000 2,000 2,500 1,050 1,200 1,200 4,000 2,500 4,352 1,900 4,200 8,720 3,000 3,500 800 1,765 2,000 2,000 1,000 7,900 6,400 2,300 3,000 1831 1830 1802 1831 1825 1831 1838 1794 1794 1806 1807 1830 1798 1819 1822 1825 1825 1829 1836 1837 1821 1809 1825 1826 1826 1832 1832 1834 1819 1827 1829 1833 1839 1829 1835 1834 1837 1829 1830 1831 1835 1839 1837 1839 The Colleges marked thus(*) are under the direction of the Baptists ; thus(t) Episcopalians ; thus (+) Methodists ; thus (§) Catholics. With respect to the Colleges that are unmarked, the prevailing religious influence of those that are in the New England States is Congrrsalionalism : of the most of the others. Prcsbytcrian- ism. Norwich University, Vt., is an institution recently established by the Univcrsalists. 826 STATISTICAL TABLES. THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS. 611 Bangor Theological Seminary Thomaston Theol. Institute- . Gilmanton Theol. Seminary . Theological Seminary Divinity School Theological Institution Theol. Dep. Yale College Theological Institute of Conn. Theol. Inst. Episcopal Church New York Theol. Seminary. . Theol. Seminary of Auburn. . Hamilton Lit. and Theol. Inst. Hartwick Seminary Theol. Sem. Associate Ref. Ch. Theol. Sem. Dutch Ref. Church Theol. Seminary Pr. Ch. U. S. Sem. Lutheran Church U. S.. . German Reformed West. Theological Seminary. Theological School Theological Seminary Episcopal Theol. School of Va. Union Theological Seminary. Virginia Baptist Seminary... Southern Theol. Seminary . . . Theological Seminary Furman Theol. Seminary . . ... Literary and Theol. Seminary South- Western Theol. Sem. Lane Seminary Theological Dep. Ken. College Theol. Dep. Wes. Reserve Col. Theological School Granville Theological Dep.. . Oberlin Theological Dep....- Indiana Theol. Seminary. . . . Alton Theological Seminary . Carlinville Theol. Seminary. . Theol. Dep. Marion College . . Bangor, Maine. Thomaston, Maine Gilmanton, N. H.. Andover, Mass. . . . Cambridge, Mass. . Newton, Mass.. New Haven, Conn. E. Windsor, Conn. New York New York Auburn, New York Hamilton, N. York Hartwick, N. York Newburgh, N.York N. Brunswick, N. J. Princeton, N. J... . Gettysburg, Penn.. York, Penn Allegheny T. Penn. Canonsburg, Penn. Pittsburg, Penn. . . Fairfax Co., Va.. . . Prince Ed. Co., Va. Richmond, Va Columbia, S. C Lexington, S. C . High Hills, S. C... Eaton, Georgia.. . . Maryville, Tenn.. . Cincinnati, Ohio. . Gambier, Ohio Hudson, Ohio Columbus, Ohio.. . Granville, Ohio .. . Oberlin, Ohio S. Hanover, Ind.. . Upper Alton, 111.. . Carlinville, 111 N. Palmyra, Mo. . Denomination. Cong Baptist .... Cong Cong Cong. Unit. Baptist .... Cong Cong Prot. Epis.. . Presbyterian Presbyterian Baptis Lutheran . . . Ass. Ref. Ch. Dutch Ref. Presbyterian Evang. Luth. G. Ref. Ch Presbyterian Assoc. Ch. . Assoc. Ref. Prot. Epis.. Presbyterian Baptist Presbyterian Lutheran . . Baptist Baptist Presbyterian Presbyterian Prot. Epis.. . Presbyterian Lutheran . . Baptist Presbyterian Presbyterian Baptist Presbyterian Presbyterian Volumes Com. 1839-40. Library. tion. 44 7,000 1816 23 500 1837 26 2,200 1835 135 17,500 1808 17 1824 44 4,000 1825 78 200 1822 29 4,000 1834 74 7,260 1817 129 12,000 1836 71 5,01)0 1821 27 2,250 1820 3 1,000 1816 11 4,000 1836 30 1784 113 7,000 1812 26 7,000 1826 20 1825 31 6,000 1828 1,600 19 1828 32 3,500 1822 20 4,000 1824 67 1,600 1832 18 3,730 1831 10 1,800 1835 30 1,000 10 1834 24 6,000 1821 31 10,300 1829 10 1828 14 8 500 1832 54 1834 10 1835 700 1838 Catholic Ecclesiastical Seminaries, with the number of students, as stated in the " Catholic Almanac :"— Philadelphia, 12 ; Baltimore, 10 ; Emmitsburg, 23 ; Frederick, 19 ; Charleston, 2; near Bardstown, and at St. Rose, in Washington County, Kentucky ; Cincinnati, 15 ; Vincen- nes, 20, and Perry County, Ohio ; the Barren?, Missouri, 14. LAW SCHOOLS. Place. Name. Profes. Students. Cambridge, Massachusetts. New Haven, Connecticut. . o 2 3 1 1 1 3 3 120 45 23 36 72 71 25 Law Department, New York University. Carlisle, Pennsylvania .... Williamsburg, Virginia. . . . Charlottesville, Virginia. . . Schools for the study of law are much less frequented than schools for the study of the other professions. The first institulion of this nature, of much note, that was established in the United States, was the Law School at Litchfield, in Connecticut, which had, from 1798 to 1827, 730 students ; but it is now discontinued. 627 612 STATISTICAL TABLES. MEDICAL SCHOOLS. Name. Maine Medical School New Hampshire Medical School Vermont Academy of Medicine Vermont Medical College Mass. Medical School, Harv. Univ.. . Berkshire Med. Inst., Williams Col. Medical School, Yale College Coll. Physicians and Surgeons, N. Y. College of Phys. and Surg. West. Dist. Geneva Medical College Albany Medical College Medical Uep. Univ., Pennsylvania. . Medical Dep. Jefferson College Medical Dep. Pennsylvania College. Medical Dep. University of Maryland Washington Medical College Medical Dep. University of Virginia Hampden-Sidney College Medical College of the State of S. C. Medical College of Georgia Medical College of Louisiana Medical College of Trans. Univ Louisville Medical College Medical College of Ohio Willoughby Medical College Reformed Medical College of Ohio. . Louisville Medical School Place. Brunswick . . . Hanover Castleton Woodstock . . . Boston Pittsfield New Haven.. . New York. .. . Fairfield Geneva Albany Philadelphia. . Philadelphia. . Philadelphia. . Baltimore Baltimore Charlottesville Richmond, Va. Charleston . . . Augusta New Orleans . Lexington. .. . Louisville Cincinnati .. . Willoughby . . Worthington . Louisville Lectures Feb. 10th to 18th... 1st or 2d Thur. Aug. 2d Thurs. in March. StiThurs. in March. 1st Wed. in Nov. . . 1st Thur. in Sept... | six weeks from 3d ( Wed. in Aug 1st Mond. in Nov. . 1st Mond. in Oct.. . 1st Wed. in Oct IstTues. in Oct 1st Monday in Nov. 1st Monday in Nov. 1st Monday in Nov. 1st Monday in Nov. 1st Monday in Nov. 1st Monday in Sept. 1st Monday in Nov. 2d Monday in Nov. 2d Monday in Nov. 1st Monday in Dec. 1st Monday in Nov. 1st Monday in Nov. last Monday in Oct. last Monday in Oct. 1st Monday in Oct. Table exhibiting the Seuts of Government, the . times of holding the Elec- tion of Slate Officers, and the times of the Meeting of the Legislatures of the several States. States. Maine N. Hampshire. Vermont Massachusetts Rhode Island. . Connecticut . . New York .... New Jersey . . . Pennsylvania . Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia .... Alabama. .. Mississippi Louisiana. ■ Arkansas . . Tennessee . Kentucky .. Ohio Indiana ... Illinois .... Missouri . . . Michigan . . Augusta .... Concord Montpelier .. Boston I Providence I and Newport Hart.&N.Hav Albany Trenton Harrisburg .. Dover Annapolis . .. Richmond . .. Raleigh Columbia. .. . Milledgeville Tuscaloosa . . Jackson New Orleans Little Rock. . Nashville.. .. Frankfort . .. Columbus.. .. Indianapolis. Springfield .. Jefferson City Detroit Times of holding Elections. 2d Monday in Sept 2d Tuesday in March. 1st Tuesday in Sept.. . 2d Monday in Nov.. . . Gov. and Sen. in April, Rep. in April and Aug, 1st Monday in April. . 1st Monday in Nov. . . 2d Tuesday in Oct. . . . 2d Tuesday in Oct.. . . 2d Tuesday in Nov.. . . 1st Wednesday in Oct. 4th Thursday in April Commonly in August. 2d Monday in Oct. .. . 1st Monday in Oct. . . . 1st Monday in Aug. . . 1st Mon.&Tues. Nov. 1st Monday in July.. . 1st Monday in Oct. .. . 1st Thursday in Aug. . 1st Monday in August 2d Tuesday in Oct 1st Monday in Aug.. . 1st Monday in Aug. . . 1st Monday in Aug.. . 1st Monday in Oct. ... Times of the Meeting of the Legislatures. 1st Wednesday in January. 1st Wednesday in June. 2d Thursday in October. 1st Wednesday in January. 1st Wed. in May and in June, last Wed. in Oct. and in Jan. 1st Wednesday in May. 1st Tuesday in January. 4th Tuesday in October. 1st Tuesday in January. 1st Tues. in Jan. biennially. last Monday in December. 1st Monday in December. 2d Monday in Nov., bienn. 4th Monday in November. 1st Monday in November. 1st Monday in November. 1st Monday in Jan. bienn. 1st Monday in January. 2d Monday in October, bienn. 1st Monday in Oct., bienn. 1st Monday in December. 1st Monday in December. 1st Monday in December. 1st Monday in Dec. bienn. 1st Monday in Nov. bienn. 1st Monday in November. THE END. or thi r UNIVERSITY