. . v ; -, 7,7 . 7^...a^,^^ :.;-%;-v^ tW^W?p\®¥^^\^*Wt>>W# ---... 729 42. Wejlern Africa - . _ . - 747 43. Colony ofthe Cape - - - - '75 1 44. Enjlern Africa - - . _ _ .- * r Sketches of Central Africa .... «gg Ar X.*»M* S (f - ^'^"W "^ ¥ cit ftv>..*lv..- ^V^i.% ' ^7-v^«,.C;7p ../¦..-•C^^"4-*H,l.-H'^-i5' 1?4 ) 2. w «. t MODERN MODERN GEOGRAPHY. HAVING thus given a defcription fufficiently ample, as is pre- fumed, of Europe, the moft interefting portion of the globe, that of the remaining three quarters fhall be more reftricted, as the topics ai-e generally lefs alluring to the European reader, and in many inftances the materials are imperfect. Of fome parts of America, and the vaft central regions of Africa, little is known i but Afia prefents a more extenfive theme, and teems with fcenes of important events in ancient and modern hiftory. A S I A. This great divifion of the earth extends, in length, from the Hellef- Extent. pont to what is called the Eaft Cape ; that is from about the - 26° of longitude, eaft from London, into the other hemifphere to near 190 de grees of eaft longitude, or 170° weft from London ; being no lefs than 164° or (taking. the degree at a medial latitude) more than 6500 geo graphical miles. From the fouthern cape of Malacca to -the cape of Cevero Voftochnoi, which braves the ice of the Arctic ocean, the breadth extends from about 1° of northern latitude to about 770, or nearly 4500 geographical miles. * If, for the fake of a rude and merely comparative calculation, one fixth part be added for the difference be tween the ftatute and geographical mile, the length of Afia in Britifh miles would be. about 7583 : and theNbreadth 5250. vol. 11. B Of 2 ASIA. Extent. Ofthe vaft extent of Afia" the ancients entertained" moft indiftintTr ideas ; and in fact'the difcovery of this great divifion of the world may be faid to have commenced with the travels of Marco Polo, the Ve netian, in the end' of the thirteenth century ; and it was-nofrcompleted,. with regard to the eaftern extremities, till the recent travels were pub lished in Ruffia, and the voyages of Beering, Cook, and La Peroufe.. It is now well known that Afia is limited, on the eaft, by a ftrait which:- divides it from America; and which in honour of the difcoverer is called Beering's ftrait. The northern and fouthern boundaries are the Arctic and Indian oceans, in which laft many large iflands, particularly that of New Holland,. now more claffically and, properly ftyled by fome Aufiralafi'a^ afford a vaft additional extent to this, quarter of the globe. . The weftern limits of Afia have already been difcuffed in the account of the eaftern limits of Europe. Original Po- The population of Afia is -by all authors allowed to be. wholly primi tive and original ; if we except that of the Techuks or Tchuktchi, who,.. by the Ruffian travellers and Mr. -Tooke, are fuppofed to have paffed- frpm the oppofite coaft of America. A few colonies have migrated from Ruffia to the northern parts, as far as the fea of Kamtchatka : and there - are well known European fettlements in Hindoftan and the ifles to. the S. E. ; but the firft ferious attempt to colonize what is efteemed a. parte of Afia was the recent fettlement at Port Jackfon. With thefe and other trifling exceptions Afia prefents a prodigious original population,, as may be judged from the following table, which will be-found"? more ; cjear than any prolix difcuffion on the fubject. » XiINNJE-AN TABLE OF THE NATIONS AND ¦ LANGUAGES IN. ASIA. Ordo. Genus. Species. I. Affyrians. Affyrians. Chaldee. - 1 ;; Arabians. Hebrew, &c. Egyptians. II. Scythians. Perfians. , . . Scythizniiitttra et extra Imaum, &c. Armenians- T • * More briefly Nota/ia, from the Greek, as from them we receive the name of- Afia : and in fuch new terms the Grecian language is juflly and properly preferred. f The Parfi and Zend are cognate with the Gothic, Greek, Latin, according to Sir William Jones. Indian Differt. vol. i. p._ 206. The Pehlavi is Affyrian or Chaldak. Id. 187, 188. 206. Ordo. ASIA. Ordo. III. Sarmats. Genus. Medea. Parthians. Species. Georgians.Circaffians. TV TSeres- 1V* \ Indi. Hindoos. Northern and Southern, &c. V. Sins. Chinefe. Japanefe, * Barbaric nations fi rom north to fouth, and according to the degrees of barbarifm. VI. Samoieds. Oftiacs, Yurals, &c. VII. Yakuts. VIII. Koriacs. Yukagirs. Techuks or Tchuktchi. -(Expelled Tatars, according to Tooke and Leffeps.) t IX. Kamchadals. Kurillians. X X. Mandfhursor Tungufes. Lamuts. (Ruling people in China.) XI. Monguls. Kalmucs. Soongars. Tonguts. Burats, &c. XII. Tatars or Huns. § Turk*. Khafars. Uzes. ' Siberians. Nogays.Bafhkirs. Kirgufes or Kaizaks. Teleuts. original Popula tion. Befides thefe numerous original nations, the Malays and Afiatic iflanders conftitute another large and diftinct clafs of mankind, with a peculiar fpeech, in the fouth of the extenfive continent of Afia. The • Thefe have a Tataric form and face : they are probably highly civilized Tatars, Monguls, or Mandfhurs. -j- From the oppofite coaft of America. Tooke's Ruffia. The Yukagirs area tribe of the Yakuts (around Yakutfk), and both are expelled Tatars. Tooke's View, ii. 80. Leffeps, ii. 312. J Thefe refemble the Japanefe. § After the deftru&ion of Attila's fwarms, and the effects of unfortunate inroads, the Huna became fubj-eft to the Monguls, who under Zingis or Genghiz-Khan, Timur, &c. conftituted the fupreme nation in Afia. The great fhare of population which Europe has received from Afia will appear from the fol lowing little table : .PRIMEVAL INHABITANTS. Ordo. Genus. L Celts. Irifh. Welch. Arrnorican. II. Fins (chief god Turn- Finlanders. mala). Efthoriians. Laplanders. Hungarians^ " 2 COLONIES Species. Erie, Mariks. Cornifh. Permians or Biarmians. Livonians. Votiacs and Chermiffes, Voguls and Oftiacs. 4 ASIA, Progres- The progreffive geography of this quarter of the globe might afford *H?hT an important and interefting fubject of difcuffion, if treated at due length,, as embracing the various difcoveries which, at long intervals of time, fucceffively difclofed its vaft extent. The moft authentic informa tion concerning the knowledge ofthe ancients is to be found in the( geography of Ptolemy ; but modern commentators differ in the eluci dation of his text. The extreme points of difcovery mentioned by Ptolemy are, towards the Indian Ocean, the town of Sina ; ^and, inland, in the parallel of the fouth of the Cafpian, Sera, the metropolis of the Seres. That able geographer D'Anville has expreffed his opinion, con cerning Sina, in the following terms : " The oriental geographers, to whom the country of the Sines muft have been well known, comprife. its capital in the zone of the firft cli mate ; which rifing to twenty degrees and a half does not extend to China : but by an extravagant error Sinarum Metropolis has been ap plied to Nan-kin in the thirty- fecond degree. The imperial rank of the laft mentioned city, to which it did not attain till towards the clofe of the fourth century, could not have caufed it to be thus diftinguifhed by Ptolemy, who lived under the Antonines, about two ages before. The Chinefe do not acknowledge the name that we have given to their nation. They are fond of borrowing for the purpofe of diftinction, , the name of fome dynafties, whofe memory is precious to them : and above all, from that of Hah, which commenced two hundred and fome years before the Chriftian sera, they denominate themfelves Han-ngin, COLONIES FROM ASIA. III. Scythians or Goths Icelanders, Norwegians. (Odin). Swedes, Danes. Germans. Swifs, Frific 7 Englifh, Flemifh, Dutch.'* IV. Sarmats or Slavons Poles. Heruli. (Perun). Ruffians. Vendi. Koffacs. Lettes. The inhabitants of France, Italy, and Spain* are alfo of Afiatic origin j and fpeak corrupted Roman, which, like the Greek, is a polifhed dialecl ofthe Gothic, .according to Sir William Jones, and other able antiquaries. The Heruli, Wends, and Lettes, "ufed mixed and imperfect dialeftsofthe Slavonic. Critical Review, vol. xxvii, p. 129. or ASIA.' or the people of Han; and by an idea which they have of the moft advantageous fituation of their country, they name it Tchon-koue' or the middle kingdom. But the name of Sines is preferved in that of Cochin-China, which, without the alteration that it hasfuffered on the part of Europeans, is Kao-tfii-Sin. The Arabs have found the name of Sin. in the country where Ptolemy knew the Sines. The name of Singi, whiph the Indians as well as the Arabs give to the fea which in volves this country, is a derivation from the fame name. This name of Sin has followed the progrefs of navigation and commerce, beyond the true limits of the ancient country of Sin; having been extended by the Portuguefe, who preceded the other weftern nations in thefe re mote longitudes, and become common among thofe which have fol lowed. And that the country of Sinse ought not to be tranfported to China, as it appears in all the maps which have preceded thofe of the author ofthe prefent work, is an article in ancient geography which. may juftify the foregoing difcuffion. " The capital of the Sines is named Thynse by Ptolemy ; and' ac cording to the Latin verfion, which is regarded as a text, Sina?. Its pofition appears at a diftance frpm the fea, at the mouth of a river named Cotiaris, having communication on the left with another river whofe name was Senus. This then can be no other than the great river of Camboja ; which, eighty leagues above its mouth, divides into two branches. The principal, or that of the right, correfponding with the Cotiaris, and which is called the Japanefe river, conducts to a city of which the Arabian geographers fpeak as being very celebrated for its commerce under the name of Loukin ; and this pofition appears to anfwer to that of Thinse in Ptolemy. But the city of the Sines, named Sin by the Arabian geographers, and in the Chinefe memoirs Tehen^ teheii, is a pofition more remote than Loukin, and is found diftin guifhed by the name of Sin-hoa, as having been the moft flourifhing city of Cochin-China, before its port was deftroyed by alluvions of fand. The name of Thoan-hoa, which its diftrict bears, feems, toge ther with the other circumftances reported, to favour the application of the name of Thinse to this city alfo. Thinae is mentioned diverfely in many authors of antiquity. But what cannot ^ have a place here will H be. Progres sive Geo graphy. 6 ASIA. r Progres- be found in a memoir, contained in vol. xxxii. ofthe Memoirs ofthe craphy. Academy, on the .limits, of the world known to the ancients beyond the Ganges." ' So far this induftrious geographer, -whofe reafoning muft, at the firft glance, be pronounced to be vague arid inconclufive. Nor has .he been able to avoid that rock upon which many geographical theories have fplit, the attempt to trace ancient appellations by modern names : while the latter, though bearing even ftrong refemblance, may be "very recent, and have no connexion whatever with the ancient etymon. The opinion of D'Anville has fince been ably controverted by Goffellin 4* who feems to demonftrate that the Golden Cherfonefe of Ptolemy is the fouthern part of the kingdom of Pegu, not Malacca as D'Anville fuppofed ; and that the capital of the Sina? is Tanaferim in the weft of the country of Siam. In this Goffellin feems well founded ; though in. a latter work he certainly have too^much ,reftricted the knowledge of the ancients concerning Africa. With regard to the other extreme pofition, that of Sera, while D'An ville ridicules the idea of tranfporting it to Pekin,"he himfelf feems tp have placed it too much to the eaft, when he infers, from very vague circumftances, that it is Can-Tcheou, a town of Tangut, now com prized in the Chinefe province of Shen-fi. There can on the contrary be little doubt, from the afpect of Ptolemy's maps, that his Serica is the country now called Little Bucharia. Nor is there any reafon to believe that the ancients had ever paffed the great defart of Cobi. His Scythia beyond the mountains of Imaus, or Belur Tag, is by himfelf reftricted to a narrow Jlripe on the eaft of thefe mountains ; and feems now to correspond with the mountainous diftricts on the weft and north of Little Bucharia. From this difcuffion it will appear that not above one quarter of Afia was known to the ancients ; and this knowledge was little encreafed till Marco Polo, whofe travels became well known in Europe in the be ginning of the fourteenth century, eftablifhed a memorable epoch in geography, by paffing to-China, and difclofing the extent of that coun- » D'Anville, Ancient Geography, p. 563. London, 1791. 8vo. * GeographiedesGrecs analyfce. Paris, 1750. 4I.0. try, ASIA. try, the iflands of Japan, and a faint intelligence of other regions, illuf- Progres- trated and confirmed by recent accounts. The wide conquefts of the GRAPHY. famous Zingis, in the beginning of the thirteenth century, firft opened the. difcovery ofthe diftant parts of Afia, the Monguls, whofe fovereign he. was, being fituated to the eaft of the Huns, who had before diffufed terror over Europe. The firft feat .of the Monguls was in the moun tains which give fource to the river Onon ; and at a fhort diftance to the S. W. was Kara-kum, the firft capital of the Mongul empire. The victories of Zingis extended from Cathay^ or the northern part of China, to the river Indus; and his fucceffors extended them over Ruffia, while their inroads reached Hungary and Germany. This widely ^ diffufed power of the Monguls naturally excited an attention and cu- riofity, never ftimulated by a number of petty barbaric tribes ; and at the fame time facilitated the progrefs of the traveller, who, as in Africa af prefent, had been formerly impeded by the enmities of diminutive potentates. . By force of arms the Monguls alfo firft opened the obfcure recefles of Siberia, Sheibani Khan, A. D. 1242, led a horde of 15,000 families into thofe northern regions ; and. his defcendants reigned at Tobolfkoy above three centuries till the Ruffian conqueft.3 Two Eu ropean travellers, Carpini and Rubruquis, wrere commiffioned to infpect the power and refources. of the new empire of the Monguls ; the latter found at Kara-kum a Parifian goldfmith, employed in the fervice. of the Khan; and by Carpini's. relation it appears, that, from their brethren ih Si beria the Monguls had received fome intelligence concerning theSamoieds. Thus the difcovery of Afia, which had been nearly dormant fince the time of, Ptolemy, began to revive in the thirteenth century; Yet after the publication of Marco Polo's travels little was done for two centuries; and the authenticity of his accounts even began to be quef tioned..* One man indeed, of. great mental, ppwersj was impreffed ; with their veracity, and in confequence accompHfhed a memorable enter prize. This was-Chriftoval Colon, or as we call him Chriftopher Co- 3 Gibbon, xi. 424.. * From the map ofthe world by Andrea Bianco the Venetian, 1440, it fufficiendy appears, ¦ that the difcoveries of Polo had, even in his native country, been rather diminifhed than encreafed. . See Formakoni, Saggio Mia Nautica Antiea dei Veneziani. Ven. 1783. 8vo. See alfo the de--, " fcription of Afia by Pope Pius II, who does notappear even to have feen the.travels of Polo. 4. lumbus/, 8 ASIA- Progres- lumbus, who was led by the relation of Polo to conceive that, as Afia ex- GRVAEp?E°" tended fo far to the eaft, its fhores might be reached by a fhort navigation from the weftern extremity of Europe. In this erroneous idea, when that great man difcovered the iflands now called the Weft-Indies, he thought that he had arrived at the Zipango of Polo, or Japan ; and thus the name of India was abfurdly beftowed on thofe new regions. After the difcovery of America and the Cape of Good Hope, the ma ritime parts and iflands of Afia were fucceffively difclofed. Yet the recent voyages of the Ruffian navigatprs, of our immortal Cook, and of the unfortunate La Peroufe, evince that much remained to be done ; and concerning the interior of Siberia fcarcely any folid information arofe, till Peter the Great/ after the battle of Pultowa, fent many Swedifh prifoners into that region ; and Strahlenberg, one ofthe officers, publifhed an account of Siberia. This knowledge was greatly improved and in- creafed by the well known journies of Pallas, and others. Yet our knowledge of Afia is far from being perfect, efpecially in refpect to DaOuria, and other regions near the confines between the Ruffian and Chinefe empires ; not to mention central Afia in general, Tibbet or Tibet, and fome more fouthern regions ; nor had even the geography of Hindoftan been treated with tolerable accuracy till Major Rennell publifhed his excellent map and memoir. It is almoft unneceffary to remind the reader of the recent difcoveries to the fouth of Afia, in ^ which the interior, and fouthern coaft, of New Holland remain to be explored : with other defects of fmaller confequence. But while many improvements are wanted in the geography of feveral European coun tries, it is no wonder there fhould be great deficiencies in that of the other quarters of the globe. The importance of the fubject will excufe the length of thefe remarks on the progreffive geography of Afia, than which no part of the fcience can be more juftly interefting ; from the vaft extent of that portion of 4 the globe; from the great variety of nations, civilifed and barbarous, by whom it is peopled ; and from its intimate connexion with the def- tinies of Europe, which it has frequently overawed, while the favage tribes of Africa and America can never become formidable to European'" arts or happinefs. The ASIA, i The religions of Afia are various, and will be illuftrated in the ac- Religions. counts of the feveral countries, The climate alfo admits of every van riety, from the equator to the arctic fea. Though Afia cannot vie with Europe in the advantages of inland Seas. feas, yet, in addition to a fhare of the Mediterranean, it poffeffes the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and gulph of Perfia ; the bays of Bengal and Nankin ; and other gulphs, which diverfify the coafts much more than thofe of Africa or America, and have doubtlefs contributed greatly to the early civilifation of this celebrated divifion of the earth. The Red Sea, or the Arabian gulph of antiquity, conftitutes the grand Red Sea. natural divifion between Afia and Africa; but its advantages have chiefly been felt by the latter, which is entirely deftitute of other in- • land feas ; Egypt and Abyffinia, two of the moft civilifed countries in that divifion, having derived great benefits from that celebrated gulph, which frpm the ftraits of Babelmandeb to Suez extends about 2i°, or 1470 Britifh miles; terminating not in two equal branches, as delineated in old maps, but in an extenfive weftern branch, while the eaftern afcends little beyond the parallel of Mount Sinai.' The Perfian gulph is another noted inland fea, about half the length of the former, being the grand receptacle of thofe celebrated rivers the- Euphrates. and the Tigris. The other gulphs do not afford fuch ftrong features of what are pro perly termed inland feas ; if the Euxine be excepted, which has already been briefly defcribed in the general furvey of Europe.* But the vaft extent of Afia contains feas totally detached, and of a different defcrip tion from any that occur in Europe, or -other quarters of the globe. Such is the Cafpian fea, extending about 1 o° or 700 miles in length, Cafpian. and from 100 to 200 in breadth. Strabo and Pliny idly fuppofed this fea to be a gulph, extending from the northern ocean ; while Herodor- tus, many centuries before, had expreffed more juft ideas. Yet the Cafpian feems at one period to have fpread further to the north, where the defarts are ftill fandy and faline, and prefent the fame fhells that are * The form of rhe Euxine has' been greatly improved, frpm recent observations, in Mr. Ar- rowfmith's maps ; the breadth from the fouthern cape of Crimea to ihe oppofite Afiatic promon- •tories being found to be far lefs than formerly fuppofed. vox. 11. , c found io , ASIA. Seas. found in the Cafpian : but the chain of mountains which branches from the weft ofthe Urals to fhe north of Orenburg, and reaches to the Volga, muft, in all ages, have reftricted the northern bounds of the Cafpian. To the eaft this remarkable fea, in the opinion of moft geographers, extended at no very remote period tp the lake of Aral ; the defarts on that fide prefenting the fame features as thofe to the north, though there be now an elevated level between the fea of Aral and the Cafpian, occafioned perhaps by the quantity of fand rolled down by the Gihon, the Si'rr, and other rivers which now flow into the fea pf Aral. The northern fhores' are low and fwampy, often ©vergrdwn with, reeds; but in many other parts the coafts are precipitous, with fuch deep water that a line of 450 fathom will not reach the bottom.- This fea is the receptacle of many important rivers, as the Jemba, the Ural or Jaik, and the Volga- from the north : the Kuma, Terek, Kur, and'Kizil Ozen from the weft: thofe from the fouth are Of fmall mo ment ; but from the eaft the Cafpian. is fuppofed ftill to receive the Tedjen ; and the Gihon, or Oxus of antiquity, flowed into the Cafpian, at leaft by one or two branches, till it bent northward and joined the fea of Aral.- Befides herrings, f"almon,.and other fifh with porpufes and feals, this fea produces fterlet, and great numbers of excellent fturgeon ; -which laft in particular afcend the Volga, and fupply kaviar and other articles of .exportation, The birds moft gene rally feen are ftorks, herons, bitterns, fpoon-bills, with many others • particularly a kind of heron of a pure white, while the tips of the wings, the beak and feet, are fcarlet.4 The beft haven in the Cafpian is thatof Baku : that of Defbent is rocky, and that of Enfili, or Sinfili" not commodious, though one of the chief pons of trade. Aral. About 100 miles to the Eaft of the Cafpian, is the fea or lake of Aral, which is about 200 miles in length, and about 70 miles in breadth- receiving the river anciently called Iaxartes, more recently the Sirr or Sihon, and the river Gihon the Oxus of antiquity ; both ftreams of confiderable courfe, flowing from the mountains of Belur Tag or Imaus. The fea of Aral being furrounded with fandy defarts, has, been little ex- 4 Tooke's View of the Ruffian empire, i. 239. plored ; ASIA. u plored ; but it is fait like the Cafpian, and there are many fmall faline Seas. lakes in the vicinity. Another remarkable detached fea is that of Baikal in Siberia, or Afiatic Baikal. Ruffia, extending from about the fifty-firft to the fifty-fifth degree of north latitude, being about 350 Britifh miles in length, but its greatefl breadth not above $5. The water is frefh and tranfparent, yet of a green or fea tinge, cpmmonly frozen in the latter end of December, and clear of ice in May. The Baikal is, at "particular periods, fubject to violent and unaccountable ftorms, whence, as terror is the parent of fuperftition, probably fprings the Ruffian name of Svetoie More, or the Holy Sea.s There are many feals* and abundance of fifh, particularly a kind of herring called omuli. Several iflands appear, and that of Olchon has fulphureous fprings. The chief river flowing into the Baikal is the Selinga, from the fouth ; while from the north' it emits the Angara, which joins the prodigious ftream of the Yenifei. Ofthe other Afiatic feas a minute account would be fuperfluous ; but a few obfervatipns may be offered on the remarkable ftrait which divides Afia from America. This ftrait, which was difcovered by Beering and afterwards by Cook, is about 13 leagues, or near 40 miles in breadth, Beering, a Dane, was employed by Peter the Great in 1728, and actually paffed this ftrait, probably in the ufual fogs ofthe climate, without discovering land tp the eaft ; but Pur great navigator gave the name ofthe Danifh adventurer to thefe ftraits, when he after wards explored them with his ufual accuracy.6 On the Afiatic fhore is the Eaft Cape ; and on the American that called Prince of Wales. The depth of the ftrait is from 12 to 30 fathoms. To the north of thefe ftraits the Afiatic fhore tends rapidly to the weftward ; while the Ame-*- rican proceeds nearly in a northern direction, till, at the diftance of about four or five degrees, the continents are joined by fplid and im penetrable bonds of ice. In the Afiatic feasthere are numerous fhoals, or fand banks ; but few of them have been defcribed as conducive to human induftry. The chief rivers of Afia are the Kian K"U and Hoan Ho, the Lena, Rivers. the Yenifei, and the Ob, ftreams whicn rival in the length of their ' 5 Tooke's View, i. 141. 6 Pennant, Arc. Zool. clxxxix. c 2 courfe ia A S I A. / .River*. courfe any others on the globe. The Volga has been named among the rivers of Europe, to which the principal part of its courfe belongs. Next in confequence are the Amur, and the Maykaung of Laos, if the courfe be rightly delineated, the Sampoo or Burrampooter, and the Ganges ; compared with all which the Euphrates and Indus hide their diminiihed heads. A more particular account of thefe rivers will be given under the refpective regions. Mountains. The Afiatic mountains are faid not to equal the European in height. The Uralian chain, forming a boundary of Europe, has been already Altai. defcribed. The Altaian chain may be claffed among the moft exten- five on the globe, reaching from about the feventieth to the hundred and fortieth degree of longitude eaft from London, or about 5000 miles, thus rivalling in length the Andes of S. America. But as chains of mountains rarely receive uniform appellations, except from nations highly civilized, the Altaian chain, beyond the fources of the Yenifei, is called the mountains of Sayanfk; and from the fouth ofthe fea of Baikal the mountains of Yablonnoy : branches of which extend even to the country of the Techuks, or extreme boundaries of Afia. To the fouth ofthe Altaian ridge extends the elevated defart of Cobi or Shamo, running in a parallel direction from eaft to weft ; and the high region of Tibet may be included in this central prominence of Afia. The chain of Alak may perhaps be regarded as a part of the Altaian, blanching to the fouth^ while the Taurus, now known by various. names in different countries, was by the ancients regarded as a range of great length, reaching from cape Kelidoni on the weft of the gulph of Satalia, through Armenia, even to India ; but this laft chain has not imprefled modern travellers with the fame idea of its extent.* Other confiderable ranges of mountains are Bogdo, Changai, Belur, thofe of Tibet, the eaftern and weftern Gauts of Hindoftan ; and the Caucafian chain between the Euxine and Cafpian ; all which will be afterwards more particularly defcribed. * See Pliny, lib. v. c. 27, who fays that the Imaus, the Emodus, and" the mountains running through the centre of Perfia, including the Niphates of Armenia, and even- the Caucafus itfelf, are. all parts of the Taurian chain, which-thence fpreads S.W. along the Mediterranean. But this great fouthern chain is unknown td modern geography, and feems rather theoretical in reducing mountains of various directions, to one feries. The northern chain of Natolia- was called Aiiti Taurus by the apcients. The ASIA. *S The Afiatic governments are almoft univerfally defpotic, and the very idea of a commonwealth feems to be unknown. The mildeft fyftems- are perhaps thofe found in Arabia. In arranging the extenfive ftates of Affa, according . to their popu lation and relative confequence, the firft and chief rank, beyond all comparifon, muft be affigned to the Chinefe empire. But that pro digious domination being eftranged from Europe, and having in no* age exerted the fmalleft influence on its deftinies, it feems preferable, in this inftance, firft to confider two powerful ftates, intimately blended: with European policy. The Turkifh empire in Afia conftitutes a na tural and eafy tranfition from the defcription of Europe ; and the Ruffiart empire, though in population far inferior, yet in military and political • force tranfcends that of China. From the Ruffian empire in Afia the tranfition is eafy to that of China, a bordering ftate ; after which fhall be defcribed Japan, and a new great power, the Birman empire. Hindoftan and Perfia bemg now divided into feveral diftinct fovereignties, and Arabia containing many independent ftates, the fcale of political importance becomes tranfitive and indiftinct ; and may juftly yield in fuch- cafes to mere geographical arrangement. Hence the fmaller ftates of India beyond the Ganges, or between Hindoftan and China, will follow the Birman empire, to which,, or to China, they may perhaps foon be fubjectedl A weftern progrefs leads to Hindoftan, Perfia, and Arabia : and a fhort account of the various interefting and important iflands in the Indian,, and in the Pacific, oceans, will clofe this grand department of the work* TURKEY IN" ASIA. 'Extent. CHAPTER I. Historical Geography. Entent.— Boundaries.— Original Population.— Progreffive Geography.— Wftorical Epochs and Antiquities. 'TpHIS region extends from the fhores of the Egean fea, or Ar- chipelago, to the confines of Perfia ; a fpace of about 1050 Britifh miles. The boundaries towards Perfia are rather ideal than natural, though fomewhat marked by the mountains of Ararat and Elwend. In the north the Turkifh territories are now divided from the Ruffian by the river Cuban, and the chain of t Caucafus ; in the fouth they extend to the junction of the Tigris and the Euphrates, which laft river, for a confiderable fpace, divides the Turkifh ppffeflions from thofe of the Arabs. From the river Cuban to the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates, maybe about 1100 Britifh miles. This extenfive territory;, which in itfelf would conftitute an empire, could it refume its priftine population, is divided into nine or ten pro vinces. Natolia, the moft wefterly, is followed by Karaman in the fouth ; and Roum in the north eaft. To the north of Armenia are Guria, or Guriel, Mingrelia, and the Abkhas of Caucafus, the ancient Circaffians. Armenia is alfo ftyled Turcomania ; to the fouth of which are Kurdiftan, and Irak Arabi, a part of ancient Perfia around the *3 celebrated CHAP. I. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. *S celebrated" capital, Bagdad. The ancient Mefopotamia, between the ExTENT» Tigris and the Euphrates, now partly correfponds with the province of Algezira; and the claffical name , of Syria or Soria is ftill allotted to the • celebrated countries along the eaftern extremities of the Mediterranean. Some ofthefe provinces are of comparatively recent acquifition ; Bagdad having belonged to Perfia till 1638; while on the contrary Erivan, reconquered by the Perfiahs in 1635, has remained ' free from the Turkifh domination. Thefe provinces are fubdivided into governments, arbitrarily ad- miniftered by Pafhas, a detail pf which would afford little fatisfaction, efpecially in the prefent declining ftate ofthe Turkifh empire. ¦V The original, population ofthefe regions confifted chiefly of Scythic ofrginal nations, mingled, with a few Affyrians from the fouth. But a complete pu atI0H illuftration of this fubj ect would be foreign to the nature of this work. At prefent the ruling language is the. Turkifh, next to whiqh may. be placed the modern Greek; but the Arabic, Syrian, Perfian, and Ar menian, with various -dialects ufed by the tribes on the Black fea, indicate the diyerfity of population. ( The progreffive geography may be traced. frpm the remoteft antiquity Progreffive - to mbdern times ; but Turkifh barbarifm has. prevented the precifion of GeoSraPnr- recent knowledge from adding complete illuftration to the geography of this part of Afia. The chief epochs of Turkifh hiftory have already been mentioned-, in Hiftoricai. defcribing their European+poffeffions^ Armenia and Georgia, were fub- EPochs* dued ;by the Turks in the eleventh, century, and the whole of Afia Minor rapidly followed. Their kingdom of Roum extended from the Euphrates to Conftandnpple, and from the Black fea to the confines of Syria. Succeffive warlike princes', acquired additional territory from the Mamaluks of Egypt, and the. Perfians. Syria, formerly an ap panage of Egypt, was conquered by Selim II in 1516; Tauris and .Diarbekr, which laft had formerly belonged; to Perfia, were , fubdued •by the fame monarch; and in 1589 Abbas, v the great, fpvereign ef <• Perfia, was obliged to yield three provinces, tp the Ottomans, though •he> extended . his conquefts to the eaft ; and Bagdad, as already- men- tionedj. *5 TURKEY IN ASIA. J^woricw, fioned, with the furrounding province of Irak Arabi, became fubjedt to the Turks in 1638. The prefent limits feem to have been fixed by the treaty between the Porte and Perfia, 1736: fince which period the Turks have been chiefly occupied in their own defence againft the Ruffians ; but their afcendancy over Perfia had been fuch, that in 1727 they had acquired the territory from Erivan to Tauris, or Tebriz, and thence to Hamadan, a boundary which feems indeed more precifely marked by nature than the prefent. Antiquities. The antiquities of Afiatic Turkey, once the chofen feat of the arts, are numerous, and important, but have been fo repeatedly defcribed as to have become trivial themes, even to the general reader. The fplendid publications by the fociety of Dilettanti, and the defcriptions of Balbec arid Palmyra, will convey a more juft idea of thofe auguft re mains than the moil elaborate defcription. The moft fplendid ruins are thofe of Palmyra, or Tadmor in the defert, about 150 miles to the S. E. of Aleppo, at the northern, extremity of the fandy Waftes of Arabia. It is conceived, with fome probability, that the fands muft here have encroached upon a territory formerly fertile ; but as there is no river the fituation remains equally furprifing, for a capital of fuch opulence. It is now underftood that this city owed its fplendour to the Indian trade, conducted by caravans to the mercantile fhores of Syria. Balbec, the ancient Heliopolis, is about 50 miles to the N. W. of Damafcus ; the moft remarkable ruin being that of a temple, fuppofed to have been dedicated to the fun. Recent inveftigation has difclofed another remarkable fcene of an tiquities, in the fite and celebrated plain of Troy, which have been ex hibited by 'Mr. Morritt, -and other travellers, with laudable zeal for claffical lore. The Simois is now demonftrated. to be a cOnfiderable ftream, which runs into the Hellefpont, nearly oppofite to the New Caftles conftruded under the order of Tott. The Scamander, which formerly flowed into the weftern fide of the Simois, having been di verted by the Romans into a different channel, this unnoted circum- ftance not a little baffled antiquarian refearch. The tombs of remote antiquity having been conftructed like the large barrows of our an- ceftors, CHAP. I. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. 17 ceftors, in the laftingform of fmall hills, they withftood the aflaults of Historical ] ' pAP (JC, time, or avarice ; and our travellers indicate, with fome plaufibility, that of Hector, behind the fite of Troy ; thpfe of Achilles, and Patro- clus on the fhore ; and a few others ofthe Homeric- heroes.* * See Morritt's vindication of. Homer, &c. 1798, 4t0 » Dallaway's Conftantinople ; and Dalzell's tranflation of Chevalier's memoir. The map of-Dallaway is inferior to that of Morritt ; but adds a few modern names. A curious general map ofthe Troad, Hellefpont, &c. may be found in the edition ofthe Voyage d'Anacharfis, Paris, An. vii. 1799, drawn up by Barbie du Bocage, from a drawing ofthe plain of Troy taken in 1786, by the direction of the Count Choifeul Gouffier, and of the coafts in 1785-6-7 by Truguet. This laft excellent map perfectly - correfponds with that of Morritt, except that the latter fuppofes the Thymbrius to join tha Simois from the north ; and the former from the fouth There is yet wanted an exaft tranflation, with notes, ofthe long defcription by Strabo ; and a comparative map arranged folely according to that defcription. Du Bocage obferves, p. 67,' that in his opinion new Ilium held the very ^ fite of ancient Troy, as Strabo fays it flood upon a height, which correfponds with the hill of Bounar-Bachi. The rivulet of Kirke-Keuzler, he agrees is the Scamander-of Homer; but fup pofes that the new fettlers.applied that name to the larger river, or Simois of Homer, which rifes ' jiear the fummit qf'ldaj and is now called Mcndere-Sou, VOL. IL- O 18 TURKEY IN ASIA. CHAPTER H. Population, SsrV. "ANY of the topics affigned l;o this chapter have been already treated in the defcription of European Turkey. The TurkifHs empire in Afia is eftimated at 470,400 fquare miles ; and the popula tion at ten millions ; which, allowing eight for the European part, will? render the total 18,000,000. Geographers have, contrary to the united voice of travellers, confidered Egypt as a Turkifh province.:. while in, fact it was only occafionally tributary, and was fubject to the military ariftocracy of the Beys. Some of the maritime Mahometan powers have likewife affifted the Porte with fhips in time of war ; but cannot with any juftice be regarded as fubject to the Ottoman fceptre. . The population ofthefe African ftates is therefore foreign to the prefent confederation. .. - V CHAP. III. CIVIL GEOGRAPHY. 19 CHAPTER III. Civil Geography. Manners and Cuftoms. —Language. — Literature. — Education. — Univerfties.— . Cities and Towns. — Edifices. — Roads. — Inland Navigation. — Manufactures and Commerce. THE manners and cuftoms of the Turks have been briefly defcribed Manners in the former volume ; but the Afiatic character is deeply im- customs. preffed upon the fubject nations. So lax is the government that hords of banditti carry on their depredations almoft within fight ofthe capital. Near Erzeron Tournefort found encampments of Kurds.' In the fum mer the Kurds pafs from Moufoul to the fources of the Euphrates ; and they are never punifhed either for robbery or murder. They are a paftoral people, conducting their herds from one country to another ; and in the time of that traveller they extended as far weft as Tokat; where other hords, thofe of the Turcomans, began to appear.* The Armenians, though they profefs the Chriftian faith, retain many fingular manners and cuftoms ; but they are defcribed as a fenfible and polite people, and the chief 'conductors of the Levant trade, for which office they are fingularly qualified by frugality and enterprize. They embrace the Eutychian perfuafion, which only admits one nature in Jefus Chrift ; a tenet which renders them irreconcileable enemies of the Greeks. ' ii. 199. * See Volney, i. 369, who faysthatthe language ofthe Turcomans is the fame 'with that ofthe Turks, but the mode of life nearly fimilar to that ofthe wandering Arabs. Their property con- fifts in flieep, with fome goats, -camels, and buffaloes. He feems to acquit the Turcomans of the charge of robbery, d 2 The 20 TURKEY IN ASIA. Markers The Druzes, a remarkable people of Syria, have attracted the ob- CutroMs. ^ervation or" rnany writers. Though they affect the exterior appear ance of Mahometans, yet they feem to have little or no religion ; but . even among them there are fects, who do not accord in the modes of difbelief. According to Volney, they7practife neither circumcifion, prayers, nor fading; they obferve neither feftivals nor prohibitions. They drink wine, eat pork, and allow marriage- between brothers and filters, though not between fathers and' children. Near Antioch there is faid to be a feet, which profeffes fome of the moft diffolute tenets of paganifm. The Maronites are chriftians, who acknow ledge the fuperlority of the Roman church, but have many minute peculiarities. In the northern extremities of Afiatic Turkey, there are alfo many tribes who have adopted fingular manners and cuftoms. Six or feven languages are fpoken in the country between the Euxine, and the Cafpian/ The Abkhas are, by the Circaffians, called Kufh-Hafip which implies a people beyond the mountains : they retain' fome traces of chriftianity. The Tfherkefs, or] Circaffians, occupy an extenfive ter ritory, and might become formidable if they were united. Part of the Circaffians is now fubject to Ruffia ; but little alteration can '> have • taken place in their manners. The princes cannot poffefs lands : the nobles are chofen by the princes from the vaffals, or third clafs. Public meafures are propofed by the prince, and debated by the nobles and deputies of the people, on a fpot deftined for this purpofe, near the royal refidence. The agriculture of the Circaffians barely fuffices for their own confumption ; but they export fheep, and horfes, and the flaves taken in their predatory excurfions. The beauty of the Cir- caffian women having been fo much vaunted, the following extract from' a recent arid authentic author, may perhaps intereft the reader.3 " Girls are brought up by the mother. They learn to embroider, to make their own drefs, and that of their future hufbands. The daugh ters of flaves receive the fame education ; and are fold according to their beauty, from twenty to one hundred pounds, and fometimes much higher. Thefe are. principally Georgians. Soon after the birth s Ellis's Memoir, p. 14. 3 jbi p 2^ &Ca of CHAP. III. CIVIL GEOGRAPHY, » ofagjrl, a wide leather belt is fewed round her waift, and continues Man-kbf* till it burfts, when it is replaced by a fecond. By a repetition of this Customs*, practice their waifts are rendered aftonifhingly fmall ; but their fhouldess become proportionably broad, a defect which is little attended to on account of the beauty of their breafts.. On the wedding night the belt is cut with a dagger by the hufband, a cuftom fometimes productive of very fatal accidents. The bridegroom pays for his bride a marriage prefent, or Kalym, confifting of arms, or a coat of mail; but he muft not fee her, or cohabit with her, without the greatefl: myftery; This referve continues during life. A Circaffian will fometimes permit a ftranger to fee his wife, but he muft not accompany him. The father makes the bride a prefent oft the wedding day, but referves the greater part of what he intends to give her till the birth of her firft child. Oa this occafion fhe pays him a vifit, receives from- him the remainder of her portion, and is cloathed by him in the drefs of a matron, the prin cipal diftinction of which confifts in a veil. Until this time the drefs of the women is much like that of the men, excepting that the cloak is longer, and frequently white, a colour never worn by men. The cap too is generally red or rofe-coloured. " Before marriage the youth of both fexes fee each other freely, at the little rejoicings which take place on feftivals. Before the ball the young men fhew their activity, andaddrefs, in a variety of military exercifes ; and the moft alert have the privilege of chufingthe moft beautiful part- riers. Their mufical inftruments are a long flute, with only three ftops? a fpecies of mandoline, and a tambourin. Their dances are in the Afiatic ftyle, with very little gaiety or expreffion. The ftepa feem- very difficult, but not graceful. " The Circaffian women participate ih the general character of the nation ; they take pride in the courage of their hufbands, and reproach them feverely when defeated. They polifh and take care of the armour ofthe men. Widows tear their hair, and disfigure themfelves with fears, in teftimony of their grief. The men had, formerly the fame cuftom ; but are now grown more tranquil, under the lofs of their wives, and relations. The habitation of a Circaffian is compofed of two huts, becaufe the wife and hufband are not fuppofed to live to gether* 22 TURKEY IN ASIA. Manners gether. One of thefe huts is allotted to the hufband, and to there- Cu-toms cept"-011 °f ftrangers ; the other to the wife and family : the court which feparates them is furrounded by palifades, or flakes. .At meals the whole family is aflembled ; fo that here, as among the' Tartars, each village is reckoned at a certain number of kettles., Their food is ex tremely fimple, confifting of only of a little meat, fome pafte made of millet, and a kind of beer compofed ofthe fame grain, fermented." The Mameluks of Egypt were, as is well-known, flaves regularly imported from Circaffia and Georgia. In Imeritia, Mingrelia, and Guriel, as well as in Georgia, which forms a Perfian province, the barons have power of life and death over their vaffals; and form a power ful ariftocracy, formidable to the prince, who refides at Cutais'.* The Dadian, or chief of Mingrelia and Guriel, though poffeffed of a more extenfive cpuntry, is tributary to the former fovereign. The religion of all is the Greek ; and thefe provinces can fcarcely be regarded as fubject to Turkey. In general the moft ftriking feature of manners and cuftomSj in the " Turkifh empire, is that half the people may be confidered as fomewhat civilized, while the other half are paftoral wanderers, ranging over ex tenfive' waftes. This laxity of government renders travelling in Afia Minor very unfafe ; and has proved a great impediment tp any exact geographical knowledge of thefe regions. Under a prudent govern ment the wandering hords of Turcomans, and Kurds would be ex pelled ; and regular troops and garrifons maintained on the frontiers ; whence induftry and the arts might again vifit this claffical territory. Cities and ^ The capital of the Turkifh empire has been already defcribed. Next Akppo. in dignity and importance is the city of Haleb, or Aleppo, fuppofed to contain about 250,000 inhabitants. This city is Conftructed with fome elegance, and the tall cyprefs trees, contrafted with the white minarets of numerous mofks, give it a moft picturefque appearance.6 The buildings and population feem tp be on the increafe.; but the ad jacent villages are deferted. The chief languages are the Syrian and Arabic. The manufactures of filk and cotton are in a flourishing con dition ; and large caravans frequently arrive from Bagdad and Baffora ?. Ellis's Memoir, p. 57. s Rufrel"s Aleppo. ' Browne, 384, &c. , & charged CHAP. III. CIVIL GEOGRAPHY. 23 charged with the products of Perfia and India ; Aleppo being the Cities an» modern Palmyra. Confuls from various. European powers refide here, 0WM« to attend the interefts ofthe refpective nations. Damafcus is fuppofed to contain about 1 87,ooo fouls. It was for- Damafcus., merly celebrated for the manufacture of fabres, which feem to have been conftructed, by a method now loftj of alternate thin layers of iron and fteel, fo as to bend1 even to the hilt without breaking, while the edge would divide the firmeft mail. When Timur fubdued Syria) about the beginning of the fifteenth century, he ordered all the artifts in fteel to migrate into Perfia. The manufactures now confift of filk . and cotton, chiefly mingled together; and excellent foap is made of oil of olives, with kali and chalk. From the Mediterranean are im ported metals and broad cloths : and ' the caravans of Bagdad bring Perfian and Indian articles. This city alfo increafes, by the gradual;- depopulation, of the villages and country, which laft always prefent the chief fymptoms of national profperity, or decline. The Pafhalik of Damafcus is efteemed the firft in Afia ; and the office of Pafha has, in the decline of the Turkifh empire^ become in fome meafure hereditary;, with abfolute power?of life and death, and without any appeal. , Smyrna may be regarded as the third city in- Afiatic Turkey, con- Smyrna,. taining about i20,ooo..fouls. This flourifhing feat of European com merce, and chief mart of the Levant trade, is faid to have been founded by Alexander the Great, eminently diftinguifhed from all other conquerors by the foundation, and not the deftruction^ of cities. . °6+"~"M< In the wars- between the Turks and the Greeks Smyrna funk into great decline; and was taken with vaft - flaughter by Timur in 1402. The: excellence of the haven renders Smyrna the centre of all the traffic of ,7/ / Afia Minor; but the frequent vifits of the peftilence greatly impede its.-' profperity.7 ; Prufa is a beautiful city, in a- romantic fituation at the northern prufa... '/. bottom of mount Olympus. By Toumefort's computation of families the inhabitants maybe about 60,000. It is enUvened by numerous fprings, which defcend from the mountains, and by the proximity of 7 Chandler, 65. ' , 'the >''.-- .; ¦ . • ,-> , ¦•'/. ,; fi_. M TURKEY IN A ST A,' C i tiss ano the hot baths. Prufa was formerly the chofen refidence ofthe fultans, ^and contains many of their tombs. Magnifi, or Magnefia, is alfo a city of fome repute in this quarter of the empire ; and Kircagatch has rifen to confiderable population, from the cultivation of cotton, being about 40 miles to'the N. E. of Magnifi, on the route to Prufa.* jAngora. Angora may contain 80,000 inhabitants ; and is a ftriking, and agreeable city in a lofty fituation. The trade is chiefly in yarn, of which our fhalloons are made ; and in their own manufacture of Angora fluffs, •made chiefly of the. fine hair of a particular breed of goats, which, like that of the cats, occurs in no other country. Yet there feems no pe culiarity in the air, fituation, or foil, which is a fine red marl. Tukix. Tokat is alfo a flourifhing place. The inhabitants are computed at •60,000. The fituation is fingular, amidft rugged and perpendicular rocks of marble ; and the ftreets are paved, which is a rare circumftance in the Levant. Silk and leather are manufactures of Tokat ; but the , chief is that of copper utenfils, which are fent to Conftantinople, and even to Egypt. The copper is from the mines of Gumifcana, at the diftance of three days journey from Trebifond ; and from thofe of Caftan Boul, yet richer, and fituated ten days journey from Tokat, on the jweft towards Angora.6 jBafra. 'Bafra, or Baflbra, on the eftuary of the Euphrates, and Tigris, muft be regarded as rather belonging to an independent Arabian prince,- who pays dubious homage to the Porte, but as it has an intimate connexion with Afiatic Turkey, it may be here briefly mentioned as a city of. 50,000 inhabitants, but of great commercial confequence, being fre quented by numerous veffels from Europe and Afia, and the feat of an * 'Humeri's Travels, 1790",. 8vo. p. 159. See alfo the map in Peyffonnel's journev from Smyrna to Sardes, arid Thyatira, at the end of his Obfervations Hiftoriques et Geogra- phiques, &c. Paris, 1765, 4to. This journey is full of infcriptions and antiquities, like moft ,£>f thofe to the Levant, and of courfe contains very little folid information. Voyages to' the Levant, as they are called, are indeed of all others the moft common, and the moft vague and uninftrudtive. A few ufelefs infcriptions, and a thoufand quotations from the -daffies, or de fcriptions of Egypt and Syria, repeating what has been repeated a hundred times before, conftitute what is called a voyage to the Levant. If an able traveller were to inveftigate the geography,' natural hiftory, and other topics of real importance in-- Afia Minor only, he would fupply many^ deficiencies in modern knowledge. -? Tjournefort, ii. J24. J3 Englifh CHAPr>III. CIVIL GEOGRAPHY. 25 Endifh conful. Here. the various products of Europe and India are Citifs and O • - * * J.QWHS. exchanged for thofe of Perfia ; and. opulent caravans proceed to the chief cities of Afiatic Turkey, to all which it is the moft central port of the mpre oriental trade. The great and romantic, Bagdad,. the feat ofthe Califs, and the fcene Bagdad. of many eaftern fictions, has now dwindled into a town of about 20,000 inhabitants. Not far to the fouth are fome ruins of the cele brated Babylon, which have been ably illuftrated in. a recent work of Major Rennell.9 t3ar.'MF.. ... Many ah important j city of antiquity has funk into a village, and even the village often into a mafs of rubbifh, under the deftructive do mination of the Turks,,, perhaps, the only people whofe fole occupation * has been to deftrpy. The maps are crowded with many names, now only known, by miferable hamlets ; and an enumeration which would feem fhort may yet- be. complete. The ancient and celebrated city of Jerufalem is reduced to. a mean town, chiefly exifting by the piety of pilgrims., Towards the frontiers of Perfia the ravages of frequent war have fpread additional deftruction ; yet Erzeron, the capital of Ar menia, retains about 25,000 inhabitants. Kars, the extreme town upon the frontiers of Perfia, is tolerably fortified ; but is an inconfider- able place.10 -The chief manufactures of Afiatic Turkey have been already inci- Manufac- dentally mentioned in the preceding account of the cities ; to which tures' may be added the excellent carpets fo frequent in England.., "Thefe, with rhubarb, and feveral other drugs, ' may be regarded as the chief articles of commerce. The Levant, or Turkey, trade was formerly of great confequence to Great Britain ; but fince the middle of laft century has been more ad vantageous to France. Sir James Porter, formerly ambaffador at Con- ftantinople, has publifhed feveral important obfervations on this fub ject." He remarks that many of the ftems of our nobility fprung from this great root of opulence ; for in former times the Turkey merchants 9 Geography of Herodotus. .¦ >.. ,0 Tournefort, ii. 217. " Obfervations on the Turks, 1771, 8vo, p. 361. vol. 11. e were a6 TURKEY IN ASIA 7VIEI. Manufac- W€re the moft rich and refpedtable body of men in the city. The ca pitulations of this commerce, fo called becaufe they were mere conceffions granted by the Porte, date from the reign of Elizabeth. Though the charter were granted to a company there was no common flock ; but each individual traded in his own way, and upon his own fund. There was a code of regulations : the fhips were fent annually : and no bullion was allowed to be remitted to Turkey. The decline of this trade appears, from the account of this author, to have arifen from feveral injudicious bills brought into parliament, which from their feverity induced the merchants to export cloth of an inferior quality. Yet as he confeffes that the trade had declined, before the ftatutes had paffed, it feems reafonable to infer, that the avarice of fome traders was the real caufe of the inferiority of our articles to thofe of the French, who artfully availed themfelves of the -opportunity, and by ftrict regulations maintained their fuperiority. In the period from 1729 to 1738 the Englifh cloth fent to Conftantinople amounted an nually to 574 bales; while from 1739 to 1748 it had fallen to 236 bales. For the nature and caufes of the decline of our Turkey trade, and the afcendancy of that of the French, the reader, who wifhes for minute information, muft be referred to the fame judicious traveller* CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. *7 CHAPTER IV. Natural Geography. Climate and S&afons.—Face of the Country. — Soil and Agriculture. — Rivers.— Lakes. —Mountains. • — Forejls, —-Botany. — Zoology. —Mineralogy .—¦ Mineral Waters. — Natural Curiofities* THE climate of Afia Minor has always been confidered as excellent. Climatb There is a peculiar foftnefs and ferenity in the air, not perceivable and Sea sons. on the European fide of the Archipelago. The heat of the fummer is confiderably tempered by the numerous chains of high mountains, fome of which are faid to be covered with perpetual fnow. The general appearance of Afiatic Turkey may be regarded as Face of the mountainous ; but intermingled with large and beautiful plains, which, ^"¦"T' inftead of being covered with rich crops of grain, are paftured by the numerous flocks and herds of the Turcomans. The foil, as may be expected, is extremely various ; but that of Afia Minor is chiefly a deep clay j and wheat, barley, and durra form the chief, if not the only products of agriculture." But excellent grapes and olives abound ; Agriculture. and the fouthern provinces are fertile in dates. In Syria the agricul ture is in the moft deplorable condition ; and the inftruments, and management are alike execrable. The peafants are in the moft mifera ble fituation ; and though not fold with the foil, like thofe of Poland, are, if poffible, yet more oppreffedj barley bread* onions, and water s conftituting their conftant fare.1 The principal river of Afiatic Turkey is, beyond all comparifon, the Riverc. Euphrates, which rifes from the mountains of Armenia, a few miles to £u n. ' Browne, 4.18. » Volney, 3. 413. * 2 the 2.8 TURKEY IN ASIA., Rivers. the N. E. of Erzeron ;3 and chiefly purfues a S. W. direction to Semifat, where it would fall into the Mediterranean, if not prevented by a high range of mountains. Tn this part of its courfe the Euphrates is joined by theMorad from the eaft,- a ftream almoft doubling in length that of Euphrates ; fo that the latter river might more juftly be faid to fpring from mount Ararat, about 160 Britifh miles to the eaft ofthe imputed fource. At Semifat, the ancient Samofata, this noble river affumes a foutherly direction; then runs an extenfive courfe to the S. E., and after receiving the Tigris, falls by two or three mouths into the gulph of Perfia. The comparative courfe of the Euphrates may be eftimated at about 1400 Britifh miles. Tigris. Next in importance is the Tigris, which rifes to the north of Medan, v about 150 miles fouth from the fources ofthe Euphrates, and purfues nearly a regular direction S. E. till it join the Euphrates below Korna, about 60 miles to the north of Baffora ; after a comparative courfe of about 800 miles. The Euphrates, and the Tigris, are both navigable for a confiderable diftance from the fea. Kiziilrmak. The third river in Afiatic Turkey is that called by the Turks Kizil Irmak, the celebrated Halys of antiquity; rifing in mpunt Taurus, npt far from Erekli, but by other accounts more to the eaft, and, purfuing a winding courfe. to the north, nearly acrofs the wmole of Afia- Minor, till it join the Euxine fea on the weft ofthe gulph of Sanfoun. The Saearia- river Sacaria, the ancient Sangarius, or Sangaris, rifes about 50. miles to the fouth- of Angora, and. running to. the N. "W". joins the Euxine, about 7.0 miles to the eaft of Canftantinople.. Maeander. 7 In the next rank may be placed the., claffical river of Maeander, rifing to the north ofthe ancient city of Apamia, and running, in a winding ftreamy about 250 Britifh miles. Dr. Chandler has obferved that Wheleri,. otherwife a moft accurate and intelligent traveller, has miftaken a tributary ftream for the real Maeander;*" which is called. by the.Turks Boyuc Minder, or the Great Mseander, to diftinguifh it from this little > 3 Tournefovt, ii. 198., . , * This little ftream, whofe windings rival thofe of the river, flows due fouth, and joins the Msander uear its mouth, after a courfe of about 40 Britifh, mi les. 1 ftream, CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 29 ftream, which refembles it in mazes. The Minder, not far from its Riv/rs. mOuth, is about 100 feet broad ; with a fwift, muddy, and extremely deep current, having received a eonfiderable acceffion of waters from the lake of Myus. TheSarabat, or ancient Hermus, renowned for its golden fands, joins Sarabat. the Archipelago about yo Britifh miles to the north ofthe Minder, after a courfe of fimilar length. The other rivers of Afia Minor are far more inconfiderable, though many of them be celebrated in claffical hiftory and poetry. The chief river of Syria is the Orontes, now called Oron or Afi, Orontes. rifing about 80 miles to the N. of Damafcus, and running" nearly due north till it fuddenly turn S. E. near Antioch, after which it foon joins the Mediterranean. Afiatic Turkey alfo contains numerous lakes. That of Van in the Lakes. north of Kurdiftan, is the moft remarkable, being about 80 Britifh miles Van* in length from N. E. to S. W., and about 40 in breadth : it is faid to abound with fifh. This great lake, with that of Urmiah in Perfia, about 100 miles to the S. E., appears to have been little noted in ancient geo graphy; and D'Anville does not feem to have confidered the difficulty, though the lake of Van may be the Thofpitis of antiquity ; but his maps, and difquifitions are open to many improvements from recent ac counts]* In Syria what is called the Dead Sea may be regarded as a lake of Dead Sea. about 50 miles in length, and 12 or 13 in breadth. The lake of Rack- ama^ to the fouth of Hilla and the ancient Babylon, is about 30 miles in length, and flows into the Euphrates* Towards the centre of Afia Minor there is a remarkable faline lake, about 70 miles in length, and a mile or two in breadth, being the Tatta or Palus Salfa of DAnville's ancient geography. Numerous other fmall lakes appear in Natolia, among wvhich maybe particularly mentioned that of Ulubad, anciently ftyled the lake of Apol- uiubad. Ionia, which according to Tournefort is about 25 > miles in circum- * From Ptolemy it: may -be concluded that the lake of Urmiah- is the Arfiffa of antiquity ; but when he derives the Tigris from the lake Thofpitis he probably means the fmall lake of Gur- gick, near the real fouree of the Tigris. ference, 30 TURKEY IN ASIA. Rivfu-s. ference, and in fome places feven or eight miles wide, fprinkled with feveral ifles and fome peninfulas, being a grand receptacle of the waters from mount Olympus.* The largeft ifle is about three miles in circuit, and is called Abouillona, probably from the ancient name of the city which ftood on it. About 50 miles to the N. E. was the lake called Afcanius by the ancients, now that of Ifnik. Mountains. Many of the mountains of Afiatic Turkey deferve particular atten- Taurus. tjon> from their ancient celebrity. The firft rank is due to the Taurian chain of antiquity, which was confidered as extending from the neigh bourhood ofthe Archipelago to the fources ofthe Ganges, and the ex tremities of Afia, fo far as difcovered by the ancients. But this notion little accords with the defcriptions of modern travellers, or the refearches "of recent geography ; and we might perhaps with equal juftice infer that the Carpathian mountains* the Alps, and the Pyrenees conftitute one chain. Science is equally impeded by joining what ought to be divided, as by dividing what ought to be joined. The Caucafian mountains have been well delineated by the Ruffian travellers, as form ing arrange from the mouth of the river Cuban, in the N. W., to where the river Kur enters the Cafpian, in the S. E. The remaining intelligence is dubious and defective ; but it would feem that, in re- femblance ofthe Pyrenees, a chain extends from Caucafus S. W. to near the bay of Scanderoon. This ridge feems the Anti Taurus of anti quity : but various parts of it were known by different names, as marked in D'Anville's map of Afia Minor. At the other extremity of the Caucafus other chains branch out into Perfia, which they pervade from N. W. to S. E., but they may all be juftly confidered as termi nating in the defarts of the fouth eaftern part of Perfia ; or as having fo imperfect a connexion with the mountains of Hindoo Koh, which fupply the weftern fources ofthe Indus, that it would be mere theory to regard them, as a contained chain. Far lefs can they be regarded as an extenfion of Mont Taurus, which on the contrary, terminates at the Euphrates and defarts -of Algezira. Of. this the ancients, were aware 4 and in their fondnefs for the Taurus ?ii, 363. reprefented CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 31 reprefented it as winding like an immenfe fnake, by the Aoti Taurus to Mountains. the Caucafus, thus including the latter in the Taurian chain. Such ideas would only introduce confufion into geography : and modem precifion will be contented to obferve that the chain of Taurus, now called Kurun, perhaps from the old Greek name Ceraunus, extends for about 600 miles E. and W. from the Euphrates to near the fhores of the Archipelago. A recent traveller found the afcent and defcent, between Aintab and Boftan, to occupy three days ; and the heights abound with cedars, favines, and junipers. It is probable that thefe, and the other mountains of Afiatic Turkey, are calcareous ; while the Caucafus alone afpires to the rank of a granitic or primitive chain. Towards the eaft of Armenia is Ararat, of which we have a defcrip- Ararft. tion by Tournefort ;5 and from his account it feems chiefly to confift of free-ftone or calcareous fandftone. It is a detached mountain, with two fummits; the higheft being covered with eternal fnow. In one of the flanks is an abyfs, or precipice, of prodigious depth, the fides being perpendicular, and of a rough black appearance, as if tinged with fmoke. This mountain belongs to Perfia, but is here mentioned on account of connexion. Beyond Ararat are branches of the Caucafian chain ; to which, as is probable, belong the mountains of Elwend, which feem to be the Ni-- phates of antiquity. In Syria the moft celebrated mountain is that of Lebanon, or Libanusy, Libanuti. running in the foutherly and northerly direction of the Mediterranean fhore, and generally at the diftance of about 30 or 40 miles. The Anti Libanus is a fhort detached chain, running nearly parallel on the eaft. Thefe mountains are of confiderable height, the fummits being often ^ covered with fnow; and they feem to be calcareous, the granite not appearing till the neighbourhood of Mount Sinai and the Arabian. gulph. The eaftern fide ofthe Archipelago prefents many mountains of great . oiympusv height and claflical fame, chiefly in ranges extending from N. to S._ Of thefe Olympus (now Kefh'ik Dag) is one ofthe moft celebrated, and is defcribed by Tournefort as a vaft range covered with perpetual fnow; . 5 ii, 267-, &c. He 32 TURKEY IN ASIA, Mountains. He fays that a day's jpurney would be required to vifit the fummit of the mountain ; and adds that it is one of the higheft in Afia. Many fmall ftreams fpring from Olympus, and the large lake of; Ullabad.is, another receptacle of its waters. ...... Ha. About 140 miles to the weft of Qlympus rifes mount Ida, of great though not equal height. The fummit of Ida was by the ancients called Garganus ; from which extend, weftern prominences: reaching to, the Hellefpont, and amidft them ftood the celebrated city of Troy ; Garganus, or the fummit of Ida, being about 30 miles from the fhore; and giving fource to the Granicu6, the Simois, and other noted ftreams, moft of w,hich run to the north. Other remarkable mountains on this elaffieal fhore were thofe. of Rhea, at an equal diftance between Ida and Olympus..* Mount .Redafus feems. merely the fouthern extremity of Rhea.' Farther to the fouth the mountains may perhaps be confidered as branching from the Tauni9,- fuch as the range which paffes from the head" of the Masander, jand forms the promontory oppofite to Scio, known in different diftricts by the ancient names of Melfogis, Tmolus, Sipylus, Gorycus, and Mimas ; while anothdr branch paffes along the fhore to the mouth of the Msean-: " der, prefenting the heights of Corax, Gallefus, and Mycale, the laft op- pofiteto Samos. To the fouth of the Minder, or Meander, the Taurus detaches a chain, called Cadmus and Grius, bending towards the ifle of Cos ahd the Cyclades. Forefk. Thefe numerous mountains in Afiatic Turkey are often clothed. -with immehfe fofefts of pines, oaks, beeches, elms, and other trees. The fouthern fhores5 of the Black Sea alfo prefent many gloohly forefts of great extent. This abundance" of timber fupp'lies the inhabitants with fuel; nor has pit coal been explored ih any' part of' Afiatic Turkey. Sometimes conflagrations arife, from the heedlefs w.afte of the caravans, "' who, inftead of cutting off a few branches, will fet fire to a ft'anding tree. ; ¦•':*' -Botany. The extenfive provinces of Natolia, Syria, and Mefopotamla, fince" their reduction under the Turkifh yoke, have been but little "acce'ffiofe to CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. ; to European curiofity. The natural productions of Syria however, have Botany. been inveftigated, though imperfectly, by feveral naturalifts of eminence, while the mountains and rich vales of Natolia towards the great Caucafian chain are almoft wholly unknown*. Thefe countries having been inhabited and civilized from the remoteft antiquity, poffeffing for the moft part a dry rocky foil, with fewer rivers than any tract in Eu rope of equal extent^ contain none of thofe low f wampy levels that form fo characteriftic a feature in almoft all the American countries, that compofe the greater part of Holland, and occupy no fmall proportion of Hungary and the dominions north of the Baltic. Thofe vegetables therefore that inhabit fwamps, lakes, and bogs, will be very fparingly found in the flora of Afiatic Turkey ; nor will the indigenous alpine plants be more numerous ; not indeed on account of the abfence of high mountains, hut from their having been hitherto almoft entirely unexamined. Ofthe fcanty catalogue of plants that have been found wild in the Afiatic part of the Ottoman territory, the following are the moft worthy of notice : Among the trees may be diftinguifhed, olea europsea, the olive treei abounding throughout the whole Archipelago and the fhores ofthe Levant; falix Babylonica, the •weeping willow, graceful with its flender pendent branches, which has adorned the banks ofthe Euphrates from time immemorial ; elseagnus anguftifolius, wild olive, bearing a fmall fweet efculent fruit ; betula alnus, the alder ; morus_ albus, the white mulberry ; cercis filiquaftrum, remarkable for its long feedpods ; zygo- phyllum fabago, berry bearing tea ; melia azedarach, the bead tree ; ftyrax ofEcinalis^onwe tree, from which exudes the fragrant gum refin of the fame name ; punica granaturh, pomegranate ; mefpilus py'ra- cantha: amygdalus communis, almond tree, and amygdalus perfica, peach tree ; cerafus fativus, cherry, a native of Pontus in Natolia, whence it was brought to Rome by Lucullus ; citrus limon and auran- tium, the Irtnon and orange ; cytifus. laburnum, and myrtus communis, myrtle, growing plentifully by the fide of running ftreams ; mufa paradifaica, plantain tree ; rhamnus paliurus ; vitis yinifera, vine, in a perfectly wild ftate, climbing up the higheft trees, and forming ver dant grottos among its ample feftoons ; piftachia lentifcus, terebinthus vol. ii. F and J4 TURKEY IN ASIA* •Botany. ana^ vera, the maftich, chio turpentine, and pijlachia nut tree ; ceratonia fili- qua,, carob ; juniperus drupacea and oxycedrus, two of the largeft fpe- cies of this genus nearly equalling the cypress in height, and found upon Mount Caffms and other, rocky hills in Syria ; cupreflus fempervirenss cyprefs ; thuia orientalis, pinus cedrus, the cedar, a fewTarge trees of which ftill remain on Mount Lebanon, the venerable relics of its facred- forefts. Hibifcus Syriacus, diftinguifhed by the uncommon fplendour of its bloffbms, and on this account much cultivated about Conftanti- nople and other parts of the Turkifh empire, where it does not ,grow" fpontaneoufly ; ficus carica, Jig tree ; ficus fycomorus, Jfycamore Jigr abounding in Paleftine and other parts of Syria ; phcenix dactyliferarJ date tree ; quercus cerris, prickly cupped oak, from which are procured'" the fineft Aleppo galls ; laurus indica ; platanus orientalis, oriental'1 plane tree, highly efteemed for its fhady tent-like , canopy of foliage; Mimofa arborea ; carpinus oftrya, hop hornbeam ; and menifpermum.* cocculus, the berries of which, commonly called cocculus indicus, are much ufed by the natives for taking fifh, on account of their narcotic qualities. Of the lower trees and flowering fhrubs the principal are fyringa vulgaris, lilac, abounding on the banks of the Euphrates ; jafminum fruticofaand officinalis, yellow and common j a/mine, found plentifully in- the thickets and woods of Syria ; the lOng hollow ftems- of the latter of thefe are in great requeft among the inhabitants, as ftems to their to bacco pipes ; ruta fruticulofa and linifolia, two fpecies of rue, the for mer of which is rather uncommon, and has been chiefly found about Damafcus; arbutus unedo, arbute ; prunus proftrata, a trailing fhrub, the fmalleft of the plum kind, covering, the rocks near the fummit of Mount Lebanon; Spartium junceUm and fpinofum, Spanifh and thorny broom, occupying many of the fandy trads that are of fuch frequent occurrence in Syria ; nerium oleander, a common ornament of every rivulet ; tamarix gallica, tamarijk,; rhus cotinus ; lycium europseum, boxthorn ; ofyris ^ alba, poet's cajfia; erica fcoparia, with many other kinds of heath; laurus nobilis, bay free.; capparis fpinofa, caper bufjj ¦ feveral fpecies of ciftus, efpecially the /age- leaved and gum cijlus ; and euphorbia. CHAP. IY. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. $s -euphorbia mauritanica, maurifanian /purge, ' with the acrid juice of which Botan y. „ the fcammony is not unfrequently adulterated. Several dying drugs and articles ofthe materia mediea are imported from the Levant, among which may be particularized rubia tinctorum, madder ; a variety of, this, called alizari, is largely cultivated around Smyrna, which yields a much finer red dye than the European kind, and to this the fuperiority ofthe Greek and Turkifh reds is principally •to be afcribed ; fmilax afpera ; mirabilis jalapa, jalap ; convolvulus {ca.mm.oma, /cammony ; cordia royxa, /ebe/en ; croton tinctorium : rici- ¦nus Communis, the feed of which yield-s by expreffion the caflor oil ; momordica elaXenum, /quirting cucumber ; cucumis colocynthis, coloquin- lida ; papaver fomniferum, opium poppy ; fefamum orientale ; and cof- tus Arabicus, /pikenard. A few efculeht plants not commonly made ufe of elfewhere are the produce of Natolia and Syria, fuch as folanum melongena, mad-apple ; cyperus efculentus, the large aromatic root of which is much efteemed ; corchorus olitorius, Jews' mallow ; arum colocafia, remarkable for its fweet farinacepus root, while thofe of its kindred fpecies are intolerably acrid. The following vegetables are remarkable either for their beauty or Angularity: exoacantha heterophylla, an umbelliferous plant diftin- guifhed by its uncommonly thorny involucrum, found in the vicinity .of Nazareth ; dianthus Libanotis, Lebanon pink ; anthyllis tragacan- thoides, a rare, plant found on Lebanon, and eminently beautiful with its long clufters of purple papilonaceous flowers ; amaryllis montana, alfo a native of Lebanon ; afphodelus ramofus, branched afphodel ; lil'mm album and bulbiferum, white and orange lily ; narcifius tazetta ; ornithogaium umbellatum, /lar of Bethlehem ; hyacinthus orientalis, oriental . hyacinth ; xeranthemum frigidum, a beautiful plant growing clofe to fhe fnow on Mount Lebanon ; hyofciamus aureus, golden hen bane ; phyfalis alkekengi, winter cherry ; atropa mandragora ; calla ^orientalis ; arum intortum ; origanum heracleoticum and creticura, cretan origany ; falvia acetabulofa ; thymus maftychina ; and anaffatica jbierochuntica, ro/e 0/ Jericho. J 2 The g6 TURKEY IN ASIA. Zoology. The beft horfes in Afiatic Turkey are of Arabian extract, and arc fparingly fed with a little barley and minced ftraw, to accuftom them to abftinence'and fatigue ; but mules and affes are in more general ufe. Concerning the breed of cattle little is mentioned by travellers, but it feems inferior to thofe of Europe ; and beef is fcarce and bad. The mutton is fuperior ; and the kid is a favourite repaft.* In Afiatic Turkey appears that king of ferocious animals called the lion, which is unknown to any region of Europe, and even to Afiatic -Ruffia. Yet he rarely roams to the'weft of the Euphrates : but Tour nefort obferved many tigers on mount Ararat. He muft mean the fmall tiger, or perhaps the leopard or the mountain eat ; for the royal or large tiger feems to be reftricted to the wattes of Hindoftan. The hysena, and the wild boar, are known animals of Afia Minor ; and the jackal ranges in troops, which, raife dreadful cries in the night, but the fable of their accompanying the lion is juftly exploded. The cities and villages fwarm with dogs, who are allowed to wander, as a conftant defence againft ftrangers or enemies. The ibex, or rock goat, appears on the fummits of Caucafus. The fmgular goats and cats of Angora have been already mentioned. The gazel, a kind of antelope, is alfo an inhabitant of Afia Minor ; with numerous deer and hares. The partridges are generally of the red legged kind, about a third larger than the common European. ' Of fifh there are numerous names, and many of them are excellent. The dif ficulties of travelling have confiderably abridged our knowledge of the zoology of thefe various regions, Haflelquift, the difciple of Linnasus,. having paffed fromlSmyrna to Alexandria, and chiefly occupied himfelf in the natural hiftory of Paleftine and Egypt. Mineralogy. The mineralogy of thofe extenfive and mountainous provinces remains in a deplorable ftate of imperfection. Ancient Lydia was- famous for the production of gold ; but in modern times no mines feem to be indicated, except thofe of copper which fupply Tokat. The indolencetof the Turks, or indeed their induftry in deftruction, is alike inimical to metallurgy and agriculture. Haflelquift obferved lead and * Haffelquift, p. 192, fays that the fheep of Anti Libanus have fometimes a cruft on their teeth, with the pei fed appearance of yellow pyrites. It is imputed to the grafs or lucem. J5 copper CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 37 A LO GI'. copper ore, with rock cryftals, in the ifland of Cyprus. But his account Miner of oriental minerals only contains whetftone and natron, both Egyp tian ; and he informs us that Mofes muft have infcribed the laws on granite, which conftitutes mount Oreb and mount Sinai.6 The moun tains of Judaea, he fays, are of a very hard limeftone of a yellowifh white ; and towards the eaft of a loofe grey limeftone. If fuch be the profound obfervations of a naturalift, what is to be expected from other travellers ? The moft noted mineral w'aters are thofe of Prufa, at the bottom of Mineral w»- mount Olympus. The baths are -fplendid, and paved with marble, with two refervoirs or rather cifterns for bathing, one for the men, another for the women. The water fmoke-s continually, and is fo hot as to fcald the hand ; but in the baths it is mingled with cold water from the numerous ftreams of Olympus. There are many other hot fprings in different quarters of Natolia. The natural curiofities, and fmgular features, pf fo mountainous a Natural d> country, muft be numerous ; but as fuch feldom occur in the beaten n0 mes" tracks, and there is no fafety in vifiting diftant receffes, the chofen haunts of banditti,Jt is no wonder that this topic is left barren by tra vellers. ' The beautiful mazes ofthe Minder have been celebrated from early antiquity ; and it is probable that the large fait lake, in the cen tre of Afia Minor, might afford a curious object of inveftigation. Dr. Chandler7 defcribes the fingular cliff near Pambouk or Hierapolis, pro duced by the hot petrifying waters, and refembling an immenfe frozen- cafeade, as if the water had been fixed and fuddenly converted to ftone.. In the fame vicinity is a cave remarkable for pernicious effluvia. ISLANDS BELONGING TO ASIATIC TURKEY. The chief iflands in the Archipelago, confidered as belonging to Afia, are Mytilene, Scio, Samos, Cos, and Rhodes. 6 P. *9i. T' P. 230. Mytilene,, 38 TURKEY IN ASIA., Islands.' Mytilene, the ancient Lefbos, is the moft northerly and largeft of .Mytilene. thefe ifles, being about 40 Britifh miles in length by 24 at its greateft. breadth. The mountainous appearance of this ifle is agreeably diver- fified with bays, and inlets of the fea, and plantations of olives, vines., and myrtle.1 There are hot baths iffuing from cliffs uefembling thofe of St. Vincent near Briftol, and which indicate the ifle to be chiefly cal careous. The climate is exquifite ; and it was anciently noted for" wines, and the"beauty of the women. .Scio. "Scio, the ancient Chios, is about 36 Britifh miles in length, but only about 13 in medial breadth. The Chian wine is celebrated by Horace, and retains its ancient fame. The town of Scio, oh the eaft, fide of the ifle, is handfome and convenient. The Greeks here enjoy confiderable freedom and eafe ; and difplay fuch induftry that the country refembles a ¦ garden. This particular favour arifes from the cultivation ,of the maftic trees, or rather fhrubs, for they are fmall evergreens .which fup- ply the gum, fo acceptable to the ladies ofthe fultan's haram, or, as we term it, the feraglio. The beauty ofthe women is confined to one form of features, as in the Grecian ftatues ;, and even the clearnefs of . their complexion cannot atone for the prepofterous form of their drefs, which is here, if poffible, more ridiculous than in the other Egean ifles. Pococke's figure of Homer, which he pretends to have found here, is imaginary ; and the original feems to be an image of Cybele. This^ ifle is alfo very mountainous. The earth of Scio was celebrated by the aneients, but was only a common bole like that of Lemnos. Tourne fort obferved here tame partridges, kept like poultry; and it is probable the cuftom is retained, for among the Turks every thing is ftationary, . except deftruction. Chandler faw numerous groves of lemons, oranges, and citrons, perfuming the air with the odour of their bloflbms, and , delighting the eye with their golden fruit. The Genoefe poflefled this .beautiful ifle about 240 years, but loft it in 1566. Oppofite to Scio, ,on the Afiatic fhore, is Chefme, where the Turkiih fleet was deftroyed by the Ruffian, 1 770. , Theinhahitants of Scio are fuppofed to ;be about 60,000. ' Dallaway's Conftantinople, p. 313. f Tournefort, p. 281. Van Egmont, i. 237, &c. Chandler, 48. .Samos CHAP. IV* , NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 3p Samos is about 30 miles in length, and 10 in breadth. This ifle is Islands. alfo croffed by a chain of hills, and the moft agreeable part is the plain Samos. of Cora. Tournefort computes the inhabitants at 12,000, all Greeks ; with a Turkifh Aga or military officer, and a cadi or judge, magiftrates ufual in every Turkifh diftrict. The women are celebrated for their complete want of beauty, thus forming a remarkable exception to the other Greek ifles. The pottery of Samos was anciently excellent ; at prefent moft branches of induftry are neglected ; but nitre, emery, and iron, might ftill be worked. Pitch is prepared from the pine trees in the north part of the ifland ; and the filk, honey, and wax, are efteemed. Moft. of the mountains are of white marble, and fwarm with game of . various defcriptions. The beft haven is that of Vati to the N. W. • Some remains are obferved of the celebrated temple of Juno.3 Cos is about 24 miles in length, by three or four in breadth ; but has been little vifited by modern travellers. Pliny ftyles Cos a moft noble ifle ; and from it was firft. derived the name and fubftance ofthe whet- ftone. It is. now covered with groves of lemon trees, and there is an oriental plane tree of vaft fize. The chief trade is in oranges and lemons ;. and Cos is the refidence. of a Turkifh pafha.* Rhodes is about Rhodes.!- 36 Britifh. miles in length,, by 15 in breadth,, an ifland celebrated in an- » cient and modern times. It is fertile in, wheat, though the foil be of a fahdy, nature. The population is computed at about 3o;ooo. The city of the fame name, in which no Chriftian is now permitted to dwell, ftands in the north end ofthe ifle ; and was anciently noted for a coloflus in. " bronze, about 130- feet high, which could not have ftood over the har-- bpur as fabled, for it was foon caft down by an earthquake, and the frag ments many centuries afterwards were fold by the Saracens ; while if it had ftood over the port it muft have fallen into the fea.5 This ifle was for two centuries poflefled by the knights of St. John of Jerufalemi • thence ftyled of Rhodes, till 1523, when it was taken by the Turks ;-, and the emperor Charles V affigned to the knights the ifland of Malta.6 Along the fouthern fhore of Afia Minor there are fome fmall ifles, , among which is that of Caftel Roffo, S. E. of Patira. But they are of. 3 Tournefort, i. 307. Dallaway, 251. + Van Egmont, \. 262. 5 Gibbon, ix. 425. 6 Van Egmont, i, 268, who gives along defeription of Rhode*. 9,. no 4? TURKEY IN ASIA. Islands. no moment, when compared with the large and celebrated ifland of Cyprus. Cyprus, which is about 160 Britifh miles in length, and about 70 at its greatefl: breadth. It was long poffeffed by the Ptolemies of Egypt, till it fell under the Roman power ; wrien it remained a portion of the Byzantine empire, till it was ufurped by a Greek prince, who was ex pelled by Richard I of England. This monarch bellowed the king dom of Cyprus on the houfe of Lufignan, as a compenfation for the lofs of the throne of Jerufalem. In the fifteenth century the heirefs of the houfe of Lufignan refigned this ifle to the Venetians ; but in 1570 it was feized by the Turks. The foil is fertile, yet agriculture in a neg lected ftate. The oxen are lean and of a fmall fize : the fheep are of a better defcription. The chief products are filk, cotton, wines, tur pentine, and timber. The wine of Cyprus is defervedly celebrated. The oranges are excellent; and- the mountains are covered with hya cinths and anemOnies, and other beautiful flowers. Cyprus is fuppofed to have derived its name from the abundance of copper ore ; and it is faid to have anciently produced gold, filver, and emeralds. What is called the Paphian diamond is a rock cryftal, found near Paphos ; and - there is a quarry of amianthus, while feveral hills confift chiefly of talc. The other mineral productions are red jafper, agates, green earth, and umber. The Cypriots are a tall and elegant race ; but the chief beauty of the women confifts in their fparkling eyes. To the difgrace of the Turkifh government the population of this extenfive ifland is com puted at 50,000 fouls ! Cyprus is pervaded by a chain of mountains, among which is a third Olympus, fome primitive name, .which feems to have been general for a mountain of great height. Van Egmont fays that there is not one river in the ifland, he means that continues its courfe in the fummer ; but that there are many ponds, lakes, and fens, pro ducing a damp and malignant air. The chief cities are Nicofia the ca pital and refidence ofthe governor, and Famagufta.7 1 Van Egmont, i, 281. Mariti, &c. RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN ASIA. CHAPTER I. Historical Geography. Names.'— Extent. — Boundaries. — Original Population.— -Progreffive Geography.— Hijlorical Epochs and Antiquities. THIS large portion of the habitable globe extends almoft the whole Extent. length of Afia, from about the 37th degree of longitude eaft of London to more than 1900 ; or 170 of weftern lOngitude. As the northern latitude is very high, the degree fhall only be aflumed at 30 miles; and the length may thus be computed at 4590 geographical miles. The greateft breadth from the cape of Cevero Vofto.chnoi, called in fome maps Taimura, to the Altaian chain of mountains on the fouth of the fea of Baikal, may be 2 8°, or 1680 geographical miles. In Britifh miles the length may be roughly computed at 5350 ; and the breadth at i960: an extent which will be found to exceed that of Eu rope.* The furtheft eaftern boundary is that of Afia, and the feas of Kam- Boundaries. ehatka and Ochotfk ; while the northern is the Arctic Ocean. On the - * Mr. Tooke, in his View of the Ruffian Empire, computes the whole, including the Euro- pean part, at 9,200 Englifh miles in length, and 2,400 in breadth. VOL. II. G weft 42 A.SIATIC RUSSIA. Bou nba- weft the frontiers correfpond with thofe between Afia and Europe. R1£S* The fouthern limits require more explanation. The river Cuban, part of the Caucafian chain, and an ideal line, divide the Ruffian territory .from Turkey and Perfia. The boundary then afcends along the north of the Cafpian through the ftepp or defart of Iffim, and the eaftern fhore of the river Ob, to where it iffues from the- Altaian mountains, when it meets the vaft empire of China; and proceeds along that chain to the fources of the Onon, where it includes a confiderable region called Daouria, extending about 200 miles in breadth, to the fouth of the mountains called Yablonnoy ; the limit between Ruffia and Chinefe Tatary being partly an ideal line, and partly the river Ar- goon, which joined with the Onon conftitutes the great river Amur. Thence the boundary returns to the mountainous chain, and follows a branch of it to a promontory on the north of the mouth of the Amur. Original Po- The population of Afiatic Ruffia may be regarded as wholly primi- pulation. tjVC} except a few Ruffian colonies recently planted, and- the Techuks in the part oppofite to America, who have been fuppofed to have pro ceeded from that continent, as already mentioned, becaufe their perfons and cuftoms are different from thofe of the other Afiatic tribes. Next to the Techuks, in the furtheft north, are the Yukagirs, a branch ofthe Yakuts,* and yet further weft the Samoieds. To the fouth of the Te chuks are the Coriaks, a branch of the fame race : and yet further fouth the Kamchadals, a diftinct people, who fpeak a different language. The Lamuts are a part of the Mandlhurs or Tungufes, who have been ¦vaguely called Tartars or Tatars, though they neither belong to that race nor to the Monguls. The Tungufes are widely diffufed between the Yenifei and the Amur : and the fouthern tribes ruled by a khan or monarch, conquered China in the feventeenth century. The Oftiaks, and other tribes of Samoieds, have penetrated confiderably to the fouth between the Yenifei and the Irtifh, and are followed by various tribes ofthe Monguls, as the Calmucs, Burats, &c., and by thofe ofthe Tatars • The Yakuts are expelled Tatars from the fouth, as the Ruffian writers decide from their lan guage, traditions, and manners. The far greater part of the Monguls and Mandfliurs are fubje<& to China : and the Tatars are beft dbferved in Independent Tatary. or- CHAP. I. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. 4$ or Huns as the Teluts, Kirgufes, and others. The radically diftindt Original languages amount to feven, independent of many dialects and mix- Tl0f(m tures.* The vaft extent of northern Afia was firft known by the name of Names. Sibir or Siberia ; but this appellation feems gradually to pafs into dif- ufe. When the Monguls eftablifhed a kingdom, in thefe northern regions, the firft refidence of the princes was on the river Tura, on the fpot where now ftands the town of Tiumen, about 180 miles S.W. of Tobolfk.1 But the khans afterwards moved to the eaftern fhore ofthe Irtlfh, where they founded the city of Ifker near Tobolfk- This new refidence was alfo called Sibir, from what etymon or caufe is not ex plained ; and the name of the, city paffed to the Mongul principality. f • When the Ruffians began the conqueft of the country, being uncon- fcious of its extent, the name of this weftern province was gradually diffufed over half of Afia. The progreffive geography of this vaft part of Afia commences at a Progreflivt recent period ; nor was it difclofed to the attention of civilized Europe eoSraP *T* till the middle of the fixteenth century. It is indeed a fmgular circum- ftance in human affairs, that America may be faid to haye been dif covered before Afia, though it be natural to fuppofe that the latter would have engaged a more deep and immediate intereft, becaufe the barbarous fwarms in the extremity of Afia had repeatedly aftonifhed. and almoft fubjugated Europe. It has already been mentioned that in- 1242 the Monguls under Sheibani eftablifhed a principality in the weftern part of Siberia, around Tobolfk, and the river Tura, whence this principality was fometimes ftyled that of Turan. J The hiftory of this diftant principality is obfcure, and loft in. the fuperior fplendour of the other Mongul dynafties. In the reign of Ivan Vafilivitch, the firft of both thefe names, and by his conqueft over the Tatars the founder of Ruffian greatnefs, fome in- • See the Hift. des Decouvertes Ruffes, &c. Berne 1779. 1787. 6 vols. 8vo., beingan abftracl: of the travels of Pallas, Gmelin, Ghiorghi, &c. " Tooke's Ruffia, ii. 60. f This is doubtful, Coxe, 182. Mulier thinks the denomination was ufed by the Permians, a Finnifh nation on the confines of Siberia. | This muft not be confounded with the Toman (or Tatary ) of the Perfians. G 2 curfions 44 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Progres siva Geo graphy. curfiohs were made as far as the river Ob, and fome Mongul chiefs were brought priforiers to Mofcow.1 But more than half a century elapfed "before the real conqueft of Siberia commenced in the reign of Ivan Va- •filivitch II, who afcended the Ruffian throne in 1534. Trogonaff, a Ruffian merchant of Archangel, having opened a traffic for Siberian furs, the tzar was induced to attempt the conqueft of the country which fupplied them ; and in 1558 had* added to his titles that of lord of Sibir or Siberia. Yermac, a Coffac chief, being forced by the Ruffian con- quefts in the fouth to take refuge near the river Kama with 6000 of his followers, he afterwards directed his arms againft- Kutchum the Mongul khan of Sibir, whom he defeated and expelled ; but perceiving that his power was precarious, in 1582 he claimed and obtained the protection of Ruffia. Yermac foon after perifhed, and the Ruffians, re- 1 treated : but towards the beginning of the feventeenfh century they, ¦ had firm eftablifhments, and one Cyprian was appointed firft archbifhop of Sibir in 1621, refiding at Tobolfk, where he drew up a narrative of the conqueft. Towards the middle of the feventeenth century .the Ruffians had extended as far eaft as the river Amur ; but Kamchatka wasmot finally reduced till the year 171 1. Beering and other naviga- gators afterwards proceeded to difcover the other extreme parts of Afia. In his firft voyage of 1728 Beering coafted the eaftern fhore of Siberia as high as latitude 670 18', but his important difcoveries were made during his voyage of 1741. The Aleutian ifles were vifited in 1745 ; and in the reign of the late emprefs other important difcoveries fol lowed, which were completed by thofe of Cook. In the fouth the Mongul kingdom of Cazan having been fubdued in 1552, and that of Aftracan in 1554, and the Ruffian monarchy ex tended to the. Cafpian fea, a considerable acceffion was added to the progreffive geography by the chart of that fea drawn by command of Peter the great. ^ It hence appeared that all geographers, ancient and modern, had miftaken the very form ofthe Cafpian, which extends greatly from north to fouth inftead of fpreading from eaft to weft as formerly delineated. In the reign of the late emprefs many important additions were made to the progreffive geography by Pallas and other .» Coxe's Ruff, Dif. p. 177. fcientific CHAP. I. HISTORICAL1 GEOGRAPHY. A5 fcientific travellers, and a Ruffian atlas was publifhed, which, may be re- Pro'gres- 1 siv'e Geo- garded as nearly complete. graphy. The Ruffian power iff Afia is of fuch recent origin, that it affords few Hiftoncal hiftorical epochs except thofe which have been already mentioned in the progreffive geography. The hiftory of Capfchak, or the kingdom of Aftracan* before and after the conqueft of the Monguls, is obfcure and uninterefting ; nor can that of Cazan or Kazan, a more northern and barbarous ftate, claim fuperior attention. The city of Kazan was built in 1 257, and became the capital of a fmall independent Mongul prin cipality, partly in Europe and partly in Afia, A. D. 1441. The Ruffians affert that they poffeffed Aftracan before the invafion of the Monguls in the thirteenth century; but while even this is doubtful, other parts ofthe hiftory of Afiatic Ruffia cannot be fuppofed to be very clear, f" The acquisitions on the frontiers of Turkey and Perfia are recent and well known events. As the Ruffian,- empire in Afia borders for a great extent upon Chi nefe Tatary, or rather the Monguls and Mandfhurs, who acknowledge the protection and fupremacy of China, it may be proper here to com memorate a few events which have arifen from this -proximity. It has already been obferved that about the middle of the feventeenth century the Ruffians had advanced to the river Amur ; here theyfubdued fome Tungufian tribes, and built fome fmall fortreifes. The Chinefe mo narch Camhi' having formed a fimilar defign, the two great powers unavoidably clafhed ; open hoftilities commenced about 1680, and the Chinefe deftroyed the Ruffian forts.. In Auguft 1689 t^ie treaty of Ner- fhinfk, fo called from the town in Daouria, was figned by the Ruflian and Chinefe plenipotentiaries, and the limits fpecified were a chain of mountains far to the north of the Amur, and the fource ofthe fmall river Gorbitza, thence to where that river joins the Amur, and laftly along % * Capfchak once fpread through the whole Mongul conquefts in Mufcovy, including the Cri mea, Aftracan, Cazan and Kipzak on the N. of the Cafpian. f The curious genealogical hiftory of the Tatars by Abulgafi-Chan gives little inform ation concerning the northern dynafties. The manufcript was brought from Siberia by Baron Strahlenberg, one ofthe Swedifti prifoners, and the French tranflation, publifhed 1726, is faid to be by one De Verannes, but perhaps by M. Bentink!. The long and inftru&ive notes by M. Ben- tink were collected apart, and form the defcription of Tatary in the Recueil des Voyages du Nord, tome x, and the Hiftoire Generale des Voyages, tome vii. 8* the 46 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Historical the Argoon or Argounia, &c.3 By this treaty the Ruffians affert that Epochs. tney not on\y \0ft a wide territory, but alfo the navigation of the river " Amur, which would have been of great confequence to their remote poffeffions in Afia : yet the advantage was gained of a commercial in- tercourfe with the Chinefe. In 1727 the limits were continued, weft- ward from the fource of the Argoon to the mountain Sabyntaban, near the conflux of two rivers with the Yenefei ; the boundary being thus afcertained between the Ruffians and the Monguls fubject to China. The trade with China has been latterly conducted at Zuruchaitu, on the river Argoon, lat. 50. long. 117., and at Kiachta, about 90 miles S. of the fea of Baikal, lat. 51. long. 106.* This boundary between two ftates is the moft extenfive on the globe, reaching from about the 65th to the 145th degree of longitude ; eighty degrees (latitude fifty) com puted at 39 geographical miles, will yield the refult of 3120 miles. Its hiftory therefore becomes fmgular and interefting ; but it is probable that the Ruffians will infift upon extending the boundary to the river Amur, which would form a natural limit, as there are no chains of mountains in a proper direction further to the fouth between their empire and China. The moft curious antiquities feem to be the ftone tombs which abound in fome ftepps,, particularly near the river Yenefei, reprefenting in rude fculpture human faces, camels, horfemen with lances, and other. objects. Here are found befides human bones thofe of horfes and oxen, with fragments of pottery and ornaments of drefi.* 3 Coxe, 200. Du Halde, iv. * Mr. Coxe, p. 212, unaccountably fays 35° N. latitude. 4 Dec. Rufs. vi. 21c. CHAP. II. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. 47 CHAPTER II. Political Geography. Religion. — Ecclefiaftical Geography. — Government. — Law's.'— Population.— Colonies. — Army. — Navy, — Revenues, — Political Importance and Relations. m THE Grecian fyftem of the Chriftian faith, which is embraced by Religion. the Ruffians, has made inconfiderable progrefs in their Afiatic poffeffions. Many of the Tatar tribes in the S. W. are Mahometans ; and others follow the fuperftition of Dalai Lama, of which an account fhall be given in the defcription of the Chinefe empire. But the more eaftern Tatars are generally addicted to the Schaman religion, a fyftem chiefly founded on the felf-exiftence of matter, a fpiritual world, and the general reftitution of all things." The Schamanians even believe that the Burchans, or gods themfelves, arofe from the general mafs of matter and fpirit. Their epochs of deftrudtion and reftitution fomewhat refemble thofe of the Hindoos. While common fouls immediately receive their final decree, the virtuous become chiibils, or wandering fpirits, who are purified by tranfmigration, fo as alfo to become Bur chans, or gods. Between men and gods are the Tengri, or fpirits of the air, who direct fublunary affairs, and all the trifles fo important to man, but beneath the moft remote attention of the gods. The infernal regions chiefly contain thofe who have offended the priefthood. This fyftem is intimately connected with that of the Dalai Lama, and is fo widely diffufed that fome have afferted Sehamanifm to be the moft pre valent fyftem on the globe.* In Afiatic Ruffia it is profeffed by moft 1 Tooke's Ruffia, 1783. iv. 42. • In his firft volume Mr. Tooke afferts that this fyftem is the parent of Brahminifm ; and that the Schamanians are by Strabo called Germanians, by Clemens Alexandrine Sarmanians, by Por phyry Samanians. *9 nations* ASIATIC RUSSIA. Religion, nations, as a great part of the Tatars, with the Fins, Samoieds, and Oftiaks, the Mandfhurs, and Burats, and Tungufes; and has eVen pafled to the Coriaks, and Techuks, and people of the eaftern ifles.3. The population indeed of Afiatic Ruffia fcarcely exceeds -five millions, cbut many of the Chinefe are Schamanians, and the fyftem is intimately connected with that of the Brahmins, or rather of Boodh. On the eaftern coaft ofthe fea* of Baikal is the rock ofthe Schamans, an idol pf a fmgular fhape : and among the inferior fpirits may be named the Garan, or aquatic fairies, the Ilguirki thofe of the earth, Temir Kam thofe of the mountains, and Vodafch thofe of the forefts. But as the Schamanians admit one chief infernal deity and his fubalterns, authors df evil, fo they believe in one fupreme uncreated beneficent .being, who commits the management of the univerfe to inferior deities, who delegate portions of it to fubalfern fpirits. With more philofophy they might fuppofe that evil cannot exift except in matter, and that an evil fpirit is a contradiction in terms. It might afford a fubject of curious en quiry to inveftigate whether Schamanifm be the parent of the Boodian, and Brahmin fyftem, as fome fuppofe, preferved in its original. ftate among thefe barbarous tribes : or only a corruption of thofe diffufed from India. Few literary topics can be more interefting, as it would not only embrace the fources ofthe Hindoo mythology, but alfo thofe of claffical paganifm. The archiepifcopal fee of Tobolfk is the metropolitan of Ruffian Afia in the north, and that of Aftracan in the fouth. There is another fee that of Irkutfk and Nerfhinfk ; and perhaps a few others of recent foundation. Government. Siberia is divided into two great governments, that of Tobolfk. in the weft, and Irkutfk in the eaft. The fmaller provinces are Kplivan, Nerfhinfk, Yakutfk, and Ochotfk. In the S. W. is the government of Caucafus, with one or two other divifions, intermingling Europe and Afia. At a diftance from the capital the government becomes pro- portionably lax, and tribute is the chief mark of fubjection. Population. The population of Siberia - cannot be computed at above three millions and a half;3 fo that Europe can in future have little to appre- * Tooke's Ruffia. 1 783. iii. 3 Tooke's View, ii. 132. hend CHAP. II. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. 49 hend from the Tataric, fwarms. Small Ruffian colonies have been Colonies. eftablifhed in feveral of the diftant. provinces and ifles. The political Political Im. importance and relations of this part ofthe Ruffian empire chiefly relate Relations. to China and Japan. The late' emprefs had, it is faid, projected the conqueft of Japan, which might perhaps have imparted a fpirit of in- duftry to her continental poffeflions in that quarter ; and_ it was com puted that io,ooo Ruffians could have conquered China. But the fubjection of many parts of what was called Independent Tatary have given to China a military frontier, and the proximity to Pekin tlie capital, being fo much greater, the Chinefe efforts would be fpeedy and probably decifive; while the march of Ruffian ^reinforcements, through fuch wide and barren regions, would be difficult and hazardous. In fact, on fettling the frontier, the Ruffians were overawed by fuperior numbers, though it is probahle that at no diftant period the river Amur,' alfo called the Sagalien Oula, may be eftablifhed as the boundary. The conqueft of Japan, though more difficult than may have been conceived, affords many commercial temptations, but that of China would feem too vaft even for the moft grafping ambition. It is alfo afferted that the late emprefs, in cafe of a war with England, me ditated to fend an army from" her Afiatic poffeffions to Hindoftan, through the provinces on the eaft ofthe Cafpian, by Samarcand, and Cafhmir to the Ganges. This indeed would be but a trifling effort compared with the marches of Zingis, Timur, and other oriental chiefs. But the mode of warfare is greatly changed. When Voltaire inftigated Catharine to feize Conftantinople, fhe replied that an epic poet eafily might ; but that modern armies confift of men who eat, and all her power could not produce magazines of provifions. This difficulty would be found far more cogent in a march of greater length, except that the powers in the nortji of India were unanimous in the favour of the Ruffians. VOL. II. H 5© ASIATIC RUSSIA. Manners and CHAPTER III. Civil Geography.. Manners and Cuftoms.— Language. — Literature.'— Education. — Cities andTownu — Manufactures and Commerce. THE manners and cuftoms of Afiatic Ruffia vary with the numerous tribes, by whom that extenfive region is peopled'. The Tatars Customs, properly fo called, are the moft numerous, not only remaining in their ancient kingdom of Sibir, but conftituting many other tribes in the weft, as the Nogays, the Kirgufes or Kaizaks, the Bafhkirs, and other tribes as far as the fources of the river Ob. Next in importance are the Monguls, of whom one tribe,, the Kalmuksr are foitnd to the weft of the Cafpian j while the others, called Burats, Tonguts, &e. are chiefly around the fea of Baikal. Yet further to the eaft are the Mandfhurs^ or Tungufes. Such are the three radically diftinct divifions - of men, whom former European ignorance claffed under the general name of Tartars. The manners of the Tatars, who are the fame people with the Hums of antiquity, are minutely defcribed by thofe authors who have de lineated the fall of the Roman empire, prior to which period they feem to have been : abfolutely unknown to the ancients, though many modern authors haye erroneoufly confounded them with the Scythians of Herodotus, and other Gothic tribes, who were afterwards van- quifhed, or expelled by the Tatars. Nor are the Seres a mild induftfi- ous race to be regarded as Tatars, but as, perhaps, northern Hindoos.* It would be fuperfluous to enter into a detail ofthe manners and cuftoms * The Bucharian language has not been inveftigated. of CHAP. TIL CI'YIL GEOGRAPHY. 5* of the various nations in Afiatic Ruffia, for which the reader may be Mashers 1 AND referred to the works of Pallas, and other recent travellers, In fo ample Customs. a theme the difficulty is to felect ; and the manners of the Monguls Monguls. . may be chofen as a fpecimen. Thofe ofthe Ruffian empire are wholly Nomadic, their herds confifting of horfes, camels, oxen, fheep, and goats. The women tan leather, dig the culinary roots, prepare the winter provifions, dried or faked, and diftil the koumifs, or fpirit of mare's milk. The men hunt the numerous beafts, and game, that roam through the vaft wilds. Their tents are formed ofa kind of felt, and in fome parts they erect little temples, and the priefts have alfo wooden hovels around the temples. - The Kalrmiks are divided into three ranks 4 the nobility, whom they call white bones ; the. common people, who are bondmen, and termed black bones ; and the clergy, defcending from both, who are free.' In 'like manner the noble ladies are called white flefh ; and the common women black flefh : but pedigrees are only reckoned by the bones. The power of the Taidfha, or chief prince, confifts folely in the number and opulence of his fubjects, ter ritory being of no eftimation in fo wide a region. Thefe fubjects form an Olu/s^ divided into Imaks, from 150 to 300 families ; each Imak being commanded by a Sai/fan, or noble. If there be a great'Khan, or emperor, the princes are only guided by him in affairs of general im portance. The tribute . is about a tenth part of the. cattle, and other property ; but on the firft fummons every man muft appear on horfe- back before the prince, who difmiffes thofe who are unfit for the ' - fatigues of war. The weapons are bows, lances, and fiabres, and foirie- ^-Umes fire arms ; and the rich warriors are clofhed in mail of inter woven rings, like that ufed in Europe till the fifteenth century. "But they cannot -oppofe regular armies, and are apt even to diforder that of their, allies. , The "Monguls are : rather fhort in ftature, with flat vifage, fmall oblique^ eyes,* thick lips, and. a fhort xhin, with a fcanty heard. The 1 Tooke, iv. 14. * The eye afcendfng towards the ^emples, like the Chinefe, feems a peculiar feature of the, Jtfonguls and' Mandflrars. The Tatar eye is fmall,. but ftrait, or horizontal. - ¦: H 2 ears J2 , ..ASIATIC RUSSIA. M.1NKERS ears are very large and prominent, the hair black, and the complexion Customs, ofa reddifh, oryellowiih brown; but that of the women is clear, and of a healthy white and red. They have furpriling quicknefs of fight and apprehenfion ; and are docile, hofpitable, beneficent, active, and voluptuous. Induftry is a virtue entirely female ; yet great, and ac companied with perpetual cheerfulnefs. Their religious books are in the dialect of Tangut, or Tibet, and there is a fchoolmafter in every Imak, who imparts more knowledge to the boys than would be ex pected. Marriages are celebrated at an early age ; and the bride brings a dower in cattle, or fheep. The tent has a fire place in the middle; and in the defarts dried cow dung is ufed for fuel. The tents of the nobles are hung with filk, and the floor covered with carpets of Perfia. The houfehold utenfils are numerous ; and in the fuperior tents are veffels of pewter, filver, and porcelain. The drefs eonfifts of a flat yellow bonnet, while the head is fhaven except one lock. The trow- fers are wide, the veft of light fluff with narrow fleeves, and a girdle which fupports the fabre, - knife, and implements for fmoking tobacco. The outer garment is of cloth, with wide fleeves, and lineri is wound about the feet, over which aire drawn bufkins of leather, ge nerally black or yellow. Shirts are unknown : and the drefs of the women is the fame, but inftead of the outer garment they wear a gown without fleeves. The hair of the females is long, and plaited in treffes. Animal food is abundant, and fometimes mixed with vegetable ; while the general drink is water ; but they fometimes Indulge in four milk, prepared after the Tatarian manner, butter milk, and koumifs, but mead and brandy are now greater favourites. When pafturage begins to fail, the whole tribes ftrike their tents, generally from ten To fifteen times in the year, proceeding in the fummer to the northern, -and in the winter to the fouthern wilds. The herds, men, women, and . children, form a regular proceffibn ; and are followed by the girls, finging with harmony and fpirit. The amufements of thefe jovial wan derers confift in running races on horfeback, in which even the girls* excel ; archery, wreftling, pantomime, dances, and the fongs of the" young women, generally accompanied by the lute, viol, and .pipe* the themes of their ditties being gigantic tales of chivalry, and amorous 6 adventures CHAP. III. CIVIL GEOGRAPHY. 53 adventures and fentiments, but the melody is harfh and difmal. Cards Manners • " m • r ANI> are not unknown, but chefs is the favourite game. The bodies of the~ Customs. princes, and chief priefts are burnt with many folemnities ; and the tombs are fometimes walled, and ornamented with high poles and fan- taftic drapery. Mr. Tooke has printed fome curious pieces of Kalmuk poetry, from which a characteriftic fpecimen fhall be felected, being an elegy on the feceffion of a hord on the Volga, which, difgufted by the Ruffian do mination, fought the protection of China.* " The water of the vaft ocean, When, it has raged with all its fury, becalms itfelf again ;.. This is the courfe of the world ; and likewife' ftill to forget. • Ye white herds, with the mark of Schaebiner! Thou prince Schereng, in the van as conductor, Riding on thy noble reddifh-bay horfe ; The prince Zebek following with his numerous troop, Ah ! Ubafchakhan, ctfndudt as now the Tbrgots ! There over rocks, over ftones, and rough places, The herds drag themfelves along, and become lean, By flying over the land all covered with fnow and froft. Ah ! how the droves trot over the fnow ! Now you are got thither and tome to your refting place. % Why was there any quarrel between thee and the white Khan?* Ye otherwife peaceful Torgpts between the Yaik and the Volga, How far ye now retreat ! Ah ! the beautiful Volga- (Idftiel) is abandoned by the Torgot. Ah ! the lovely ftream of Mazak is now likewife become an orphan. Ah ! thy many excellent young princes, Ye are now all marched far away over the Yaik. Ah ! thou welLarranged troop of Torgots, Art now perhaps arrived at the Irtifch (Ertfchis). Ah ! helplefs lamentable time ! , Thou excellent hoft of warriors marching towards Altai, Ye have, no princely women among you ! Fare ye well, ye, who bring up the rear ofthe hord, Princes Akfakal and Kirep !" Such, with fome flight fhades of difference, are alfo the manners of the Tatars, and Mandfhurs ; and Rouffeau might, with far more plau fibility, have enquired concerning the perfection, and happinefs of 1 Ruffia 1783, 4 vols. 8vo; vol. iv. p. 66. * Zagaii Khaian, the name by which the Ruffian monarch is known among almoft all the eaftern nations. ' . man 54 AS I ATIC RU73S1 A. Manners and Customs- man among thofe fpirited and gay tribes of barbarians, than among the favages of Africa, or America. Concerning the manners of the Samoieds little is known, as no in- quifitive traveller has vifited their bleak and barren heaths, and marfhes, Mr. Pennant has ftyled them the Hottentots of the north, and defcribes them as refembling the Laplanders, but far more ugly and brutal.* They ufe the rein deer to draw their fledges, but feem ftrangers to its milk, and feed foully on quadrupeds, and fifh. A late ingenious traveller affords more precife information concerning the manners of the Kamchadals, and the Technks, the moft remote people of Afiatic Ruffia.5 He-travelled in the winter, when the fnowy hurricanes were Often fo thick as to obftruct the view as much as a Kamchadals. heavy fog. The ifbas, or balagans, huts . of the Kamehadals, are in the fouth raifed on pofts, about 12 or 13 feet high, for the purpofe of drying their fifh, almoft their only food. A cotton fhirt. is worn next their fkin, with trowfers, and a loofe frock of deerfkin ; the boots are . of tanned leather, and the cap of fur. The men are chiefly occupied in catching fifhr and in the fummer the women proceed to the woods to gather fruits and vegetables, when they abandon themfelves to a kind , cf bacchanalian frenzy. The Kamchadals .are of .fmall ftature, with little hollow eyes, prominent cheek bones, .flat nofe, black hair, fcarcely any beard, and a-tawny complexion. They confiderably re semble fhe "J apanefe > and their character is mild and hofpitable. In ftead ofthe rein deer, the. dogs, which, refemble the fhepherd curs of France, draw a light fledge, -upon which the traveller fits in a fide pofition. ; In the north of Kamchatka the hovels are partly excavated under ground, like thofe which Dr.- Brown obferved near Belgrade, for the fake of warmth, but the confined air, and flench are almoft in- : fupportable. •Techuks. The Techuks, .who in all fcarcely exceed a thoufand families, .are " generally "found in fmall. camps, pitched by the fide of the rivers. The. rude tents are fquare, confifting of four poles fupporting fkins of 4 Arc. Zool. p. cliv. * Travels in Kamchatka by Leffeps, 1790. 2 vols. .8va. Leffeps .attended Xa Peroufe, . and returned wifh difpatches through Afiatic Ruffia. _^ rein CHAP. III. CIVIL GEOGRAPHY: 55 reindeer, which alfo form the covering ; before every tent are fpears, Mansers and arrows, fixed in the fnow againft any fudden attacks of the Customs. Koriaks, who, though of the fame race, are a more malicious and en- terprifing people. In the midft is a ftove, and the bed confifts of fmall branches of -trees fpread on the fnow, and covered with deer fkins. Their habitations and food are dirty and difgufting ; and the drefs of the women confifts only of a fingle deer fkin fattened at the neck, fo that on loofing one knot the lady remains naked. The features are coarfe, but they have not the flat nofes, nor little hollow eyes of the Kamchadals ; and Leffeps pronounces their countenance to have nothing of the Afiatic form, in which affertion he had been preceded by Pallas and Tooke. Even the Koriaks are fuppofed not to exceed 2000 families.6 . Further to the weft the Yakuts, around the town called Yakutfk, and a tribe of the fame people, called Yukagirs, near the Arctic ocean,, are .degenerate Tatars who fled into thefe remote regionsfrom the power of the Monguls, and preferve their language and manners, as far as a more fevere climate will permit. The Oftiaks are chiefly Samoieds, though fome Of their tribes feem to be Fins, who, in the interchange of nomadic nations- have paffed. from the European fide ofthe Uralian chain. , Upon the. whole the threediftindt barbaric nations of Tatars, Mon guls, and Tungufes, or Mandfhurs, are by far the moft interefting in thefe middle regions of Afia, as their anceftors have overturned the greatefl empires, and repeatedly influenced the deftiny of half the globe. The vague name of Tartary Is nearly difcarded from our maps, and might yield with far greater precifion to names derived from the feats of the chief nations, as Tungufia, or Mandfhuria, in the eaft, Mongolia in the centre, and Tataria in the weft. Ofthefe the Monguls are the chief people, and the' account already given of their manners will fuffice wifh the preceding defcriptions of fome other tribes, to im part an idea of the ethical condition of Afiatic P^ulfia. ,. 7 The languages of all thefe original nations are radically different ; Language. and among the Tungufes, Monguls, and Tatars, there are fome flight 6 Leffeps, ii, 84. - traces 56 A S I A T I C R U S S I A. Language, traces of literature ; and not a few manufcripts in their feveral languages. Literature. The hiftory of the Tatars, by Abulgafi, is a favourable fpecimen of Tataric compofition. The late emperor of China ordered many of the beft Chinefe works to be tranflated into the Mandfhur language, which, * * having an . alphabet, may be more eafily acquired than the original. In the Mongul language there are alfo many books, written in the various countries to which their wide conquefts extended. Superior, even amid their barbarifm, to the chief original nations of Africa, and America, the central races of Afia deferve an attention which has been lavifhed upon inferior objects. tities and Jn Afiatic Ruffia" the principal city is Aftracan, at the mouth of the 1 owns. ' _ Aibacan. Volga, which is fuppofed to contain 70,000 inhabitants.- This city was founded by' the Tatars, or rather Monguls of Kipfchak, yet fome affert that the Ruffians built Aftracan before Batu, the Mongul con queror, feized this region. In 1554 the Monguls were expelled ; and in 15^9 it was befieged by the Turks,' who, being fuddenly attacked by the Ruffians, were defeated with great flaughter. In 1672 it fell under the deftructive power ofthe infurgent Rafih, who in a few years met with a deferved punifhment. Aftracan is built orf feveral fmall ' ^ hills, that rife amid the meadows of the Volga. The fortrefs on the weft is triangular, but the walls of the city are" neglected. The wooden houfes have expofed it to frequent conflagrations, and attempts. have been vainly made to enforce the ufe of brick. Vines are cultivated in the neighbourhood, and other fruits abound. There are twenty-five Ruffian churches, and two convents. The Armenians, Lutherans and Tapifts, have alfo their places of worfhip ; and even the Hindoos have been permitted to erect a temple.7 The chief trade of Aftracan is in fait and fifh, particularly fturgeon, and kaviar, from the Volga ; and it alfo attracts fome portion of oriental commerce. The fifhery on the Cafpian, which centers at Aftracan, is efteemed of the utmoft con fequence to the empire. Azof. Azof, on the Afiatic fide of the Don, is of fmall importance, ex cept as a fortified poft. The chief towns on the Afiatic fide of the 7 Tooke's Ruffia, iv. 341, &c, Volga CHAP. III. CIVIL GEOGRAPHY. SI Volga are Samara, and Stauropol. At the mouth of the river Ural, Cities and or Jaik, ftands Gurief ; but the chief place after Aftracan is Orenburg, founded in the year 1740, to protect the acquisitions in thefe parts, and promote their commerce. Nor have thefe views failed, for Oren burg is the feat of a confiderable trade with the tribes on the eaft of the Cafpian. On paffing the Uralian chain firft occurs the city of Tobolfk, which Tobolik. only contains about 15,000 fouls, but is efteemed the capital, of Siberia. Being moftly built of wood, it was- nearly confumed by a violent fire about 1786 ; but it is believed is now rebuilt chiefly of ftone. Tobolfk is more diftinguifhed as the refidence of the governor and archbifhop, • than for the importance of its commerce. The upper town ftands on a hill, on the eaft fide ofthe Irtifh, and contains a ftone fortrefs of fome ftrength. Indian goods are brought hither by Kalmuk and Bucha- xian merchants ; and provifions are cheap and plentiful. Kolyvan; is a town of fome confequence on the river Ob. In the Kolyvan. neighbourhood there are filver mines of confiderable produce. To the north of Kolyvan is Tomflc, faid to contain about 8000 fouls. Further to the caft the towns become of lefs confequence, but a village attracts attention when fituated in a defert. On the river Yenifei is a fmall town of the fame name ; and another called Sayanfk, whence the adjacent part of the Altaian chain is called the mountains of Sayanfk. On the river Angara, which iffues from the fea of Baikal, ftands Irkutfk, fuppofed to contain 12,000 inhabitants. There are feveral irkutik. churches and other edifices of ftone, and the wooden hpufes are large and convenient. Irkutfk Is the chief mart of the commerce between .Ruffia and China, the fee of an archbifhop, and the feat of fupreme jurifdiction over eaftern Siberia.7 The numerous officers, and ma- giftrates have introduced the cuftoms and fafhions of Peterfburg, and > European equipages are not uncommon in this diftant region, 7 Leffeps, ii. 344. vol. 11. 1 On 58 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Cities and Towns. Yakutfk. Manufac tures. Commerce. On the wide and frozen Lena ftands Yakutfk, with fome fiona churches,, but the houfes are moftly of wood, and inhabited chiefly by Ruffians, as the Yakuts are fond of a wandering life. Leffeps fays that the Lena is here about two leagues in .width, (though about 700 miles- from its mouth,) but is greatly impeded with ice; and there are only a few fmall barks, chiefly employed in fupplying the town with pro vifions. Ochotfk, on the fea of the fame name, may be rather re garded as a flation than a town* There are fome manufactures, particularly in leather, at Aftracan ; and fait is prepared there, and in feveral other places in Afiatic Ruffia. Ifinglafs is chiefly manufactured on the fhores of the Cafpian, from the1 founds or air bladder of the fturgeon, and the beluga. Kaviar is the fa! ted". roe of large fifh. There is a confiderable fabric of nitre, about 40- miles% to the north of Aftracan ; but though aluminous earth abound near the Argoon, and Yenifei, yet it is almoft' neglected; The. Tatars and" Bafhkirs make felts of a large fize, fome of which are exported/ The; Ruffia leather is chiefly fabricated in the European provinces, being- tanned with willow bark, and afterwards flaihed. Shagreen- is pre pared from the hides- of horfes, or affes,, but only a particular part of the back is fit for this purpofe ; and the grain is given with the. bard. feeds of the greater Orach, preft into the leather while moift;8 Pitch is made by the boors from the pines of Siberia, Near the Uralian, mountains are feveral manufactures in iron and copper. The chief commerce; of this - part of the Ruffian empire confifts in. fables, and other valuable furs, which are eagerly bought by the Chinefe, who return tea, filk, and nankeen; That with the Kirgufes confifts in exchanging Ruffian woollen cloths, iron, and ho ufehold. ar ticles, for horfes, cattle, fheep, and beautiful' fheep fkihs.. On the Black Sea there is fome commerce with Turkey, the exports bein furs, kaviar, iron, linen, Sec. and the imports wine,, fruit coffee "Tooke's View,. iii. 53 1*. filks, CHAP. Ill, CIVIL GEOGRAPHY, 59 filks, rice. In the trade on the Cafpian the exports are the fame; Commerce. but the return chiefly filk. The principal Ruffian harbours are Aftra can, Gurief, and Kifliar, near the mouth of the Terek, but the beft haVen is Baku, belonging to the Perfians, The Tatars, on the eaft pf the Cafpian, bring the products of their country, and of Bucharia, as cotton yarn, furs, fluffs, hides, rhubarb ; but the chief article is raw filk, from Shirvan, and Ghilan, on the weft of the Cafpian. v., -r ,._<-, , :.-:^* I 2 f- fo ASIATIC RUSSIA* CHAPTER IV. '"} Natural Geography. Climate and Seafons.—Face of the Country:— Soil and Agriculture.— Rivers.— Lakes.— -Mountains.^— Forejts Botany* — Zoology t —Mineralogy. —Mineral- Waters. — Natural Curiofities. Climate T N Afiatic .Ruffia. the climate extends from the vine at the bottom of AIsons1A" Caucafus, to the fofitary lichen on the rocks ofthe arctic ocean. Through* the greater part of Siberia^ the moft fouthern frontier being: about co°,. while the northern afcends to 78°, the general climate may more juftly be regarded as frigid than temperate; being, in three- quarters of the country, on a level with that of Norway and Lapland^, Bntempered by the gales of the Atlantic. To the fouth of tlie fea of Baikal the climate parallels with that of Berlin, and the north of Ger many, fo that the fineft and moft fertile regions in middle Afia belong to the Chinefe. The chains of high mountains, which form the fouth ern boundary of thefe provinces, alfo contribute to increafe the cold ;, and the fea of Baikal is commonly entirely frozen from December till May. The fineft climate in thefe eaftern parts feems to be that of Baouria, or the province around Nerfhinfk ; and the numerous towns- on the Amur evince the great fuperiority of what is called Chinefe- Tatary, which: is comparatively a fertile and temperate region. The- change ( of the feafons is very rapid: the long winter is almoft inftan- taneoufly fucceeded by a warm fpring j. and: the quicknefs and lux uriance ofthe vegetation exceed defcription* Face of tfce In a general view of Afiatic Ruffia,. the northern, and eaftern parts; Country. prefent vaft marfhy plains, covered with almoft perpetual fnow, and pervaded by enormous rivers, which, under maffes of ice, purfue their 5 dreary CHAP. IV. "NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 6r drearv wav to the Arctic ocean. Even the central parts of Siberia feem Faceofth* „ ... , i, , , , r .. cr Country- deftitute of trees, vegetation being checked by the fevere cold or fo wide a continent. Towards the fouth fjbere are vaft for efts of pine, fir, larch, and other trees, among which is a kind of mulberry, which- might probably thrive equally in many climates which are now deftitute of that valuable tree. ' The fublime fcenes around the fea of Baikal are agreeably contrafted with the marks of human induftry, the cultivated field and the garden.* Even in the fouth the rivers have al ready acquired the fize of the Danube, and the Rhine, and they arc navigable with fafety for a great extent. The vaft plains called ftepps conftitute a feature almoft peculiarly Afiatic; but the mountains do not correfpond in dignity, rather refembling the Apennines, than the Alps, or even the Pyrenees. Many parts of Siberia are totally incapable of agriculture ; but in Soil and' the fouthern and weftern diftricts the foil is of remarkable fertility. Towards the north of Kolyvan barley generally yields more than- twelve fold, and oats commonly twenty fold.' Buck wheat,, in this black light mould, is apt to run into ftalk,, but fown in the pooreft fpots yields from twelve to fifteen fold'. Exclufive of winter wheat, moft of the ufual European grains profper in foutheioi Siberia. It is remark able that the culture of potatoes has not yet appeared, the Ruffians having fome ftrange prejudice againft that invaluable plant. In fome parts flax grows wild, and hemp is alfo prepared from the nettle. Woad is found in Siberia, and faffron near the Caucafus. The culture ©f the olive tree has been attempted near Aftracan, and" the heat ofthe- fummer was fufficient, but the winter cold' too fevere. The beft rhubarb abounds on the banks of the Ural, or Jaik, in the foutherm diftricts watered by the Yenifei„ and in the mountains of Dapuriaj and might be cultivated with advantage ih thefe its native regions. But in all parts ef the Ruffian* empire agriculture has made -little pro- grefs; nor indeed is it poffible while the peafantry are flaves, and fold' with the foil:, and if even a free farmer acquire a little money, a noble neighbour, will feize the fruits ef his induftry. In fpite of thefe ob- * See Bell's animated.defeription of this region. ' Tooke's "Vaew, iii. 238. ftacles- 6t ASIATIC RUSSIA. Son. aud ftacles an intelligent traveller was furprifed at the- abundance of buck Agricul- wheat, rye, barley, oats, and other grain which he obferved to the fouth of Tobolfk ; where the cattle were alfo very numerous, and in -the winter fed with hay.1 ; Nay he affures us that in 1720, when he accompanied the Ruffian ambaffador to Pekin, he obferved to the fouth of the fea of Baikal rich crops of wheat^ rye, barley, oats, buck wheat, and peas, befides culinary plants; but the inhabitants had not then begun to plant any fruit trees, though in his opinion they would profper, as the fnow never lay above two months on the ground.' The large garden ftrawberry, called haut-bois, is found wild in the territory pf Irkutfk: and on the Altaian mountains the red currant attains the fize of a common cherry, ripening in large bunches of excellent flavour. Near the Volga and the Ural are excellent melons of various kinds. Bees are not known in Siberia ; ' but among the Bafhkirs, to the weft ofthe Uralian chain, form an article of great advantage to the farmer. Rivers. Some ofthe largeft rivers of Afia belong to the Ruffian empire, nearly equalling in the length of their courfe any others on the globe. The Ob, including its wide eftuary, may be faid to hold a comparative courfe of 1,900 Britifh miles; while that Ofthe Yenefei is about 1750; and that of the Lena 1 570; In the fame mode of menfuration the Hoan Ho of the Chinefe, will, in its wandering progrefs,* exceed the Ob ; while the Kian Ku, pervading the center of China, may be traced, if the Porticho be included, for a length of about 2300 miles ! Ob, The Ob may be traced from the lake of Altyn, lat. 510, if its fource be not even followed along the Shabekaii river to lat 470. The upper Irtifh flows into the lake of Saifan, whence it iffues under the name of Lower Irtifh, and after a circuit of great extent joins the Ob "below Samarof. It rifes about the 450, and ought perhaps to be regarded as the principal ftream. But fuch doubts are frequent concerning the Siberian rivers in particular, the names, and diftinctions propofed by ignorant barbarians, ufurping the place of exact geography. However this be the Ob, piercing the Altaian chain, after having received many fmall ftreams, paffes Kolyvan, and at fome diftance to the N. receives the *¦ Bell, i. 228. 8vo. edition. 3 jD. ,26". Tomm, CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. % Tomm, and other large rivers from the eaft. Below Samarof, as already "R'vers. mentioned, it receives the great river Irtifh, and runs into the fea of Ob, a gulph of the Arctic ocean. The Qb is navigable almoft to its fource, that is to the lake of Altyn, and abounds with fifh, but the fburgeon ofthe Irtifh are the moft efteemed.. After it has been frozen for fome time, the water becomes foul and fetid-, owing to the flownefs ofthe current,, and the vaft morafles; but the river is; purified in the fpring by the melting of the- fnow.* This is juftly and univerfally efteemed the largeft river in the Ruffian empire. The fhores and: channel are generally rocky till it receive the Ket;. after which the courfe is through clay, marl, fand, and moraffes. Next is the Yenifei,' which is. confidered as- deriving its- fource from Yeiftei. . the mountains to the. S; W, of the Baikal, in the river called Sifkit ;. but the name Yenifei is not imparted, till many ftreams have joined;. when it holds its courfe almoft due north to the Arctic ocean. . Yet with far more propriety, might the Yenifei , be. derived from- the fea of Baikal, whence flows the Angara^ afterwards abfurdly called Tun-* gufka,* being a ftream of more length and importance than the Yenifei, fothat the name, of Angara-might be continued till it join the Arctic fea... This river, has fome rapides, but is navigable for a great way. The Angara, afterwards^ called- Tungufka, is. faid- to be about a mile in Angara^ breadth, when it iffues from the Baikal, and is fo clear that the pebbles of the bottom. may be. feen at. the depth of two fathoms.5 The channel is-, full of rocks for the fpace of about a mile from its egrefs ; and there is no paffage for the fmalleft boats,- except- along the eaftern bank. " The waters dafhing upon, the ftones make a noife like the roaring of the fea, , fo that people, near them can fcarce hear -one another fpeak. Lcannot exprefs the awfulnefs- with which one is ftruck at the fight , of fuch < aftonifhing fcenes of nature, as appear round- this place, and which L believe are. not to. be equalled,, in . the known. worlcL. The pilots and ± 4 -Pennant, Arc Zool. clxi. . * There are two other rivers of this name further to the north, the largeft joining the. Yenifti in lat. 66°.' But Mr. Pennant's Mangazea feems. very doubtful, if it be not the-, village, , or ftation called Tourouk Hanfls.. s Bell, i. 307—315; failors » 64 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Rivers. failors who navigate the lake fpeak -of it with much reverence, calling it the Holy Sea, and the mountains about it the Holy Mountains ; and are highly difpleafed with any perfon who fpeaks of it, with difrefpect, or calls it a lake."6 Selinga. The Selinga is a noble river, further to the fouth, which flows into the fea of Baikal,^ after receiving the Orchon and other rivers, among which is the Tula, or Tola, the laft ftream that 'occurs till the wide defart be paffed, which here divides the Ruffian empire from China proper. The territory adjacent to the Selinga and the Onon is the moft interefting in Siberia, abounding with new, and truly Anatic botany, and zoology. 3Lena. The laft ofthefe large rivers is the Lena, which rifes to the weft of the fea of Baikal, running nearly parallel with the Angara, from which it is feparated by a chain of hills. The Lena receives the Witim, and the Olekma from the Yablonoi mountains ; and, till near Yakutfk, pur-. fues a courfe from the S. W. to the N. E., a direction of confiderable utility, as affording navigation to the remote regions. From Yakutfk the courfe is nearly due north ; the' channel being of great breadth and full of iflands. The current of the Lena is generally gentle, and "the bottom fandy. Travellers fail from the Lena into the Aldan, thence into the Maia, and the Yudoma, their route to Ochotfk, and Kam chatka, being thus expedited. Such are the moft important rivers of Afiatic Ruffia, the Volga having Yaik. been already defcribed in the European divifion. The Yaik is a con fiderable ftream which flows into the Cafpian : the name was recently changed for that of Ural, on account of a daring infurrection of the tribes bordering on the YaiLf The Terek alfo joins the Cafpian on the weft, and its chief confequence is derived from the fertility of its fhores. The Kuban, or ancient Hypanis, runs in an oppofite di rection into the Euxine, the lower fhores being plain, and deftitute of wood, while near the fources are large forefts. 6 Bell, i. 316. * The Selinga might be regarded as the original Angara, or Yenifei, as the Ob, and Irtifh alfo pafs through lakes. f This river alone rifes ob the E. ofthe Ural mountains, and afterwards pierces the granitic chain, and paffes W. Dec. Ruff. iv. 309, Towards CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 6$ Towards the other extremity of Afiatic Ruffia is the Anadir, which Rivers. pervades the country of the Techuks. The long courfe of the Amur properly belongs to the Chinefe dominions. The Argoon may be properly confidered as the original Amur, while the Onon alfo called the Schilka, 'which is regarded as another fource of that great river, , may be confidered as entirely Ruffian. The courfe of the Onon is about 500 miles ; and it receives numerous ftreams from mountains on the N. and S. In the north of Siberia the moft confiderable lake is that of Piazinfko. Lakes. In the fouth the fea of Baikal is frefh, but the extent far exceeding that of any other lake, it has been defcribed among the inland feas of Afia. Between the river Ob and the Irtifh is a large lake, about half the length ofthe Baikal, or 170 miles in length, divided by an ifland into two parts, called the lakes of Tchany and Soumi. In this quarter there are many fmaller lakes, and others to the north of the Cafpian, fome of which are fait, particularly that of Bogdo, near the fmall mountain fo called, and confidered as proofs of the northern extenfion of that fea. The Altan Nor, or golden lake, fometimes corruptly called ' Elton, is a large faline lake on the Eb of Zaritzin. The lake of Altyn, already mentioned -in the account of the river Ob, is called by the Ruffians Teletzko, and is confiderably elevated on the north fide of the Altaian mountains ; but from the beft maps is not above 40 miles in length, and 20 in breadth. v The Uralian mountains have been already defcribed in the account Mountains. of European Ruffia. The grandeft chain in Siberia is that called the mountains of Altai which, according to Pallas,* croffing the head of Altai. the Irtifh, prefehts precipitous and fnowy fummits between that river and the fources of the Ob. Thence it winds by the fprings of the Yenifei-, and the fouth of the fea of Baikal, where it is called the mountains of Sayanfk. Here the Altaian chain bends in a more northerly direction to the neighbourhood of Ochotfk, under the ap- 7 Dec. R. vi. 363. * He begins with the Great Bogdo, which, as afterwards appears, is a central fummit, like St. Gothard in the Alps. The weftern commencement feems to be about long. yo° E. from London. See Arrowfmkh's map of Afia, Iflenieff, &c. Vol. ii. k pellation 66 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Mountains, pellation of the Yablonoi ridge, a name implying the. mountains' of Apples. Branches of inferior height pafs to the eaftern extremity of Afia under the latter name,- or that of the Stanovoi mountains. The fame chain in the north of Daouria is alfo called the Daourian moun tains ; and in this quarter a lower ridge paffes due fouth towards- China. « The Altaian chain, ftrictly fo called, is by the Chinefe denominated the Golden Ridge, perhaps from the rich metals which it contains. The ftepp, or defart of Iffim, feems to divide and diftinguifh it from the mountains of Ural, which bend by the weft of Orenburg.: and there are fait lakes and other figns that, the Cafpian anciently ex> tended in this direction. BogdoAlim. According to Dr. Pallas. Bogdo Tola, or Bogdb Alim, the. almighty mountain, rears its pointed fummits with ftriking fublimity, on the limit between the Soongarian and Mongolian deferts, while a chain ex tends to the lake of Altyn in the N. W., and another to the S. E. called Changay, and a fnowy ridge, that of Maffart, paffes fouth, and is fup pofed to join thofe of Tibet;* and laftly this parent mountain fends forth a rocky arm " called Allakoola,, or the checquered ridge, and by the Tartars Ala Tau, connected with the Kirgufian Alginfkoi Sirt." Between the laft ridge, and the Maffart, according to our . author,, rife the river Sirr, or Sihon, and the Talas. From Alia koola the Hi runs north into the lake of Palkati, or Balkafh, and the Emil and Tfhui flow in the fame direction. From the mighty Bogdo itfelf rifes the upper Irtifh, which flows into the lake of Saizan : hence this great . mountain muft be fituated about long. 930. lat. 440. It is thus, pro bable that the Altaian chain is connected -with the fouthern by other ridges befides that of Maffart, the defarts between Siberia, and Hin doftan, and eaftern Bucharia being alternate hills and plains, and ex tremely rocky.7 * This Maffart, or Mufart, may poffibly be the Alak, (Alak ukv, or Alak Tag,) which- ^ joins the Bdur Tag; but Mr. Tooke's tranflation from the German is far from clear, or ap plicable to modern maps. View of Ruffia, i. 145: — 17^. See alfo Pallas Sur la formation des Montagues, Paris 1779, abridged in the fixth volume of the Decouvtrtes Ruffes. 1 Pallas, ib, • The CHAP. IV- NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 67 ¦The weftern part of the Altaian chain is -chiefly argillaceous^ with Mountains. granitic heights, containing fchorl, but many parts are calcareous. 'Sinnaia-Sop'kaj or the blue mountain, the chief fummit ih the govern ment of 'Kolyvan, does not exceed 3000 feet above the. fea, and confifts of coarfe granite, with argillaceous fchiftus, *and limeftone at the bottom. Here a granitic ridge runs north towards the river Tfarifh, abounding with ores of filver, copper, and zinc. Wacken, and filiceous fchiftus, with hornblende, and felfpar, are alfo frequent in this part. The Schlangenberg is the richeft In minerals, and near the river Alay to the N. W. branches of hills continue full of minerals, and often compofed of porphyry, and granite, one of them on the north of the river Ouba rifing to 5691 Englifh feet above the bed of the ftream. That fpace of the Altaian chain which runs between the Ob and the Yenifei has been little explored ; but affords granite, porphyry, jafper, primitive and fecondary limeftone, with ferpentine, petrofilex, flate, mountain cryftal, carnelian, and calcedony: one of the higheft fum mits is the Sabin, near the fource of the Abakan. In'general they are bare, the chief forefts being in the bottoms near the rivers, and confifting of pines, firs, larches, cedars, birch, afpine, alder, and willow. That portion called the Sayanfk mountains alfo confifts chiefly of granite, and porphyry, with feveral mines of talc, or Mufcovy glafs. Branches extend on both fides of the fea of Baikal, likewife prefenting mines of talc, and promontories of milk white quartz, other fummits are of fihe grained granite, and fometimes there are maffes of felfpar containing green fchorl. Near Irkutfk coal has been found ; and there are fait fprings in many places. Other products of this rich diftrict fhall be mentioned in the mineralogy. ' The mountains of Nerfhinfk, or Ruffian Daouria, fend branches, to- Nerfhinfk, wards the Selinga, ahd the Amur. The chief heights are towards the fources of the Onon, and Ingoda, where there are precipitous fummits of granite. A ridge paffing S. W. and N. E. to the fouth of Nerfhinfk between the rivers Onon and Argoon, (the laft of which is the real Amur,) is the moft fertile in minerals of all Afiatic Ruffia. Among the produ&s may be named granite, porphyry, jafper, calcedony, car nelian, onyx, petrofilex, large fmoaky topazes, beryl, or aqua marine, K 2 the 63 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Mountains, the real topaz, thejacint, and beautiful fchorls ; with ferpentine, afbef- tos, fmectite, or indurated fteatite, and alabafter, befides flate, and limeftone. In this opulent diftrict are alfo fait lakes, and warm fprings with vitriolic pyrites, ores of alum, native fulphur, and coals. The metals are zinc, iron, copper; and many mines of lead ore, containing filver,, andgold. The zoology and botany are alike curious and in terefting.* Stanovoi. »pke cnajn 0f Stanovoi, otherwife called the mountains of Ochotfk, is only a continuation of the mountains of Daouria. This part has been little explored ; but produces granite, porphyry, calcedony, and car- nelian, with rock cryftal, fulphureous pyrites, and ores of alum, and it is faid that coal is found in this diftrict. A great Angularity of this lidge is, that fome entire branches confift of beautiful red and green jafper. That branch wThich pervades Kamchatka is little known, being covered with perpetual ice and fnow, but it abounds with volcanoes ; and the ifles which ftretch towards Japan are frequently volcanic, nor is the latter kingdom yet free from the ravages of burning mountains. This grand chain contain^ almoft the whole mountains of Siberia, the remainder of the land on the W. of the Yenefei being level ; and to the E. of that river are only feveral long ranges extending from the S. to theN. But in the S. W. part of Afiatic Ruffia fome ranges deferve attention, as the lower part of the Uralian chain, which bends, as before ob ferved, to the W. above Orenburg. The fuppofed branch connecting the Uralian and Altaian chains is doubtful, being far to the S. of the Ruffian boundary, and 'in a region little explored. f The claffical range of Caucafus forms a partial limit between the Ruffian empire, and thofe of Turkey and Perfia. Between the Euxine and the Cafpian the Caucafian chain extends for about 400 B. miles • and where the chief heights are diftinctly marked about 5 miles in breadth, but in many places 20 or 30. The fummits are covered * The mountain Adunfhollo, celebrated for minerals, is in the fouthern extremity of Ruffian Daouria. Dec. Ruff. v. 502. That volume, and the fixth, or laft, may be confulted for aa account of this country. •J- Pallas mentions it in general terms as low and broken; and confiders the Uralian ridge as. bending S. W. towards the Yaik, and the Cafpian. See Independent Tatary. 1 2 „ witk CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. *9 with eternal ice and fnow ; and confift as ufual of granite, fucceeded by Mountains. flate and limeftone. In ancient times they produced gold ; and there ' are ftill veftiges of filver, lead, and copper ; and it is fuppofed of lapis lazuli. The vales abound with excellent foreft trees.* Afiatic Ruffia is fo abundant in forefts that particular names have not Forefts. been affigned to fo vaft an extent. On the weft of the government of Irkutfk an enormous, dark, and marfhy foreft of refinous trees extends to the river Kan.8 The northern and eaftern parts of Siberia are bare of wood ; the Norway fir not being found farther north than lat. 6o°, while the filver fir does not exceed lat. 58*. In Europe, on the con trary, the Norway fir forms extenfive forefts in Lapmark, within the m arctic circle.9 After the forefts may be confidered the extenfive level plains, an ap- Steppsw pearance of nature almoft peculiar to Afia, and fome parts of European Ruffia ; but fomewhat fimilar to the fandy defarts of Africa. The ftepps are not fo barren of vegetation, being moftly only fandy, with fcattered patches of thin grafs, and at wide intervals a ftunted thicket! Between the mouths of the Don and Volga, is a ftepp which refembles the bed of a fea ; with fpots of fait, and faline lakes, being entirely deftitute of frefh water and wood.10 On the eaftern fide of the Volga begins an extenfive ftepp, formerly called that ofthe Kalmuks, from tribes who ufed to roam there, till they withdrew from the Ruffian dominions in 1771. To theS. it is bounded by the Cafpian fea, and the lake Aral ; while to the N. it1 may be regarded as connected with the ftepp of Iffim ; and on the E. may be confidered as extending to the river Sarafu' ;. the greater part not be<- longingto the Ruffian dominions, but being abandoned to the wander- * See the laft travels of Pallas, 1793 — 4, London i8oi» 2 vols. 410. In- veL Lp. 335^, there is a curious defcription pf the Caucafian chain, which may be compared with that o£ Gmelin, Dec. Ruff. ii. hi. Tlie Perfian name of the chief fummit, Elburz., (fee D'Anville'*, map of Afia) the Do&or latinizes Elburus, and then puzzles himfelf concerning the etymon-.. This ftupendous alp Pallas, fuppofes equal in height to Mont Blanc : it feems central, but nearer the Euxine thijn the Cafpian. The Bern Tau. is calcareous, and collefts vapours like other cal careous mountains, lb. iii. 70. The other chief heights are Ketihergan,. Barmamut, Urdift Kandftial. Sherefedin ftyles the whole chain of Caucafus Alburz. . 8 Dec. Ruff. vi. 183,. 9 Pennant* A. Z. p. «lxxx. ,B Tooke's View, f. 17& »8 70 ASIATIC RUSSIA. $rnppS. ;ng Kirgufes. This vaft defart extends about 700 B. miles from E.to \V7; and, including Iffim, nearly as far from N. to S~, but on the N. of the Cafpian the breadth does not exceed 220. A ridge of fandy hills ftretches from near the termination of the Uralian chain towards the Cafpian; the reft is a prodigious fandy level, with fea fhells, and fait pools.* There are however fmall diftricts capable of improvement, like the Oafes, or ifles in the midft of the African deferts. The north eaftern part of this ftepp is connected with that of the Irtifh ; nay it is confidered as extending even to the Oh, under the name of the Barabin ftepp. This ftepp of Barabin, N. W. of Omfk, is about 400 miles in length, and 300 in breadth, containing a few fait lakes, but in general of. a good black foil, interfperfed with forefts of birch. f That of Iffim afpires but rarely to the fame quality : and in both are found "many tombs, inclofing the remains of paftoral chiefs, Tatar or Mongul. The vaft fpace between the Ob, and the-Yenifei, from the north of Tomfk to the arctic ocean, is regarded as one ftepp, being a prodigious level with no appearance of a mountain, and fcarcely of a hill. The fame term is applied to the wider fpace between the Yenifei, and the Lena, between the arctic ocean on the north, and a river TungufkaJ lat. 650 ; and to the parts beyond the Lena as far as the river Kolyma, or Covima. Botany. When we confider the, vaft extent of the Afiatic provinces of the -Ruffian empire, the fcantinefs of their population, and the few years that have as yet elapfed fince the firft attempt to inveftigate their .natural jjroductions, we fhall feel rather furprized at what has been * See in ihe laft travels of =Pallas, i. 178, a curious account of a detached ' mountain in this ftepp, towards the Volga, jcalled Bogdo Ula. This hill near the faline lake of Bogdo, has no connexion, ' fave' in name, -with the great mountains of Bogdo, in a remote quarter; the word only fignifying mqfl mighty, and Ula feems in the Kalmuk to imply a,mountain, as in Mandfhur a river. This fmgular folitary hill is vifible at the diftance of 25 miles. f The poverty of defcriptive language- is frequently to be regretted. A Ruffian ftepp fome times refembles a defart, ,at other times a favanna waving, with luxuriant grafs. % This vague name feems only to imply -a. river of the Tungufes. It is to be wifhed that the Academy of Sciences at Peterfburg would revife the maps of A fiatic Ruffia, and give us diftindt, and pronounceable names. At prefent we may well wifh for more knowledge, "and fewer <;on- -fonants. done, CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 71 done j, than difappointed becaufe no greater progrefs has been made in Botany. arranging, and defcribing their indigenous vegetables. The labours of Steller and Gmelin, and laftly of Pallas, under the munificent patronage of the Emprefs Catharine, have difclofed to- the view of fcience the- wilds of Siberia, and the defarts of Tatary, and though many_ ex tenfive tracts continue wholly unexplored, yet from the ample fpecimen ¦ that has been furveyed, we may form a very probable conjecture con cerning the botany of the remainder. Ruffia in Afia, with regard to its flora, is- divided by nature into two unequal portions : the fmaller of thefe is bounded on the weft by the- Don,, and Wolga, -on the eaft by the Uralian mountains, and on the- fouth by the Cafpian fea, and the Turkifh, and Perfian frontiers. The climate of this diftrict is delicious, and the foil fertile, it Hopes towards the fouth, and is protected from the northern blafts by lofty mountain- ous ridges ; in its botany it greatly refembles the province of Taurida, of which an account has already been given : the cedar, the, cyprefs, the favine, red juniper, beech, and oak cloath the fides ofthe moun tains; the almond, the peach, and the fig abound in the warm recefles ofthe rocks: the quince, the apricot, the willow-leaved pear, and the vine are of frequent occurrence in the thickets, and on the edges of the forefts. The date-plum^ (dio/pyros lotos,) the jujube, and Chrift's- thorn, (rhamnus zizyphur, and paliurus,) are alfo natives of thefe pro vinces, and evince the mildnefs of the climate : the bogs are adorned by thofe exquifitely beautiful plants the rhododendron ponticum, and azalea pontica: the olive, the wild olive, (elceagrtis orientalis^) the ftately wide fpreading eaftern plane tree, (platanUs orientalis,) the laurel, - the bay, and lauruftirius grow in abundance on the fhores of the fea of Azof, and the Cafpian; and the romantic vales ofthe Caucafus arc perfumed and enlivened with the fyringa, the jafmine, the lilac, and the Caucafian rofe. From fo flattering a fpecimen it is hot to be doubted' that future natu-ralifts will gather an abundant harveft of ufeful and beautiful vegetables in thefe diftricts, which have hitherto been-- very inadequately noticed. By far the larger part of the Ruffian dominions in Afia is tlie wide expanfe of Siberia, Hoping towards the north, and fhut up on the I fouth 72 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Sotan y. fouth by the fnowy fummits of the Altaian, and other mountainous chains. As the winters are of great length and feverity throughout the , whole of this tract, none but the hardieft vegetables are found to in habit It. The oak, and the hazle, which endure the rigours of a Ger man winter without fhrinking, cannot exift in a Siberian climate ; dwarfifh fpecimens indeed of each may be traced at the foot pf the Altaian mountains, quite acrofs Afia, as far as the banks ofthe river Amur, in Daouria, where, being fcreened from the northern blafts, they refume their natural fize, but all that attempt to penetrate north ward become more diminutive as. they advance, and foon entirely dif- appear. Even the common heath, and bog myrtle, (myrica gale,) , which cover the lower parts of Lapland, venture but a very little way eaftward of the Uralian mountains. We are not however hence to , conclude that the mighty rivers of Siberia pour their everlafting ftreams " through a barren wafte of perpetual fnow ; on the contrary they are bordered with-inexhauftible forefts of birch, of alder, of lime, of Tata rian maple, of black and white poplar, and afpen, befides millions of noble trees of the pine fpecies, fuch as the fir, the Scotch pine, the larch, the ftone pine, and yew-leaved fir. Nor during their fhort fummer are they deftitute of many beautiful plants, that lie concealed under the fnow during the greater part of the year ; feveral of the orchis tribe are natives of the Siberian forefts, fuch as cypripedium bul- bofum, fatyrium epipogium, ophrys monorchis, and the fplendid orchis cucullata: the lily ofthe valley, the black and white hellebore, the Siberian iris, and anemone, blending with the white feathery flower-fpike of the fpirsea trilobata, thalictroides, altaica, or Kamtfcha- tica, form an affemblage of fragrance and beauty, unequalled by many more fouthern countries. The Siberian plum, and crab (prunus fibiricus, and pyrus baccaia,) the mountain afh, the daphne Altaica, and Tatarian honeyfuckle, (lonicera tataricah) robinia frutefcens, and altagana, Tatarian mul berry, (morus tataricus,) and the daourian rofe form thickets of ex- quifite beauty, under fhelter of which arife the white flowered peony, the gentiana glauca, algida, altaica, and feveral congenerous fpecies, allium fibiricum, amaryllis Tatarica, afphodelus Tataricus, lilium Kamtf- chatenfe, • CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 73 chatenfe, the yellow faranne lily, whofe roots are a favourite food with Botany. the Tatarian tribes, and a multitude of others, a bare lift of whofe •names would be neither amufing nor inftructive. The moffes, and . heaths are inhabited by feveral elegant ¦ fhrubby plants, among which may be diftinguifhed rhododendron chryfanthemum, Tataricum, and Kamtfehaticum ; andromeda taxifolia, and bryanthus; together with rubus chamemorus, and others that are found in fimilar fituations in the north of Europe. Only two plants more need be mentioned, the heracleum panaces, and fibiricum, from the dried ftalks of which the natives procure a faccharine efflorefcence, whence, by fermentation, and diftillation, a coarfe ardent fpirit is made that enables them to enjoy the fupreme beatitude of all the northern. nations, drunkennefs. Siberia has hitherto been foundto poffefs fcarcely any peculiar genera of plants : and even all the fpecies, of any confiderable importance, are thofe trees which are common to it and the north of Europe. In the greater part of Afiatic Ruffia the rein deer, which extends to Zoology. the furtheft eaft, performs the office ofthe horfe, the cow, and the fheep ; if we except Kamchatka, where dogs, like the Pomeranian, are ufed for carriage. But the fouth may perhaps be confidered as the native coun try of that noble animal the horfe, being there found wild, as well as a fpecies Ofthe afs." The terrible urus. or bifon is yet found in the Cau cafian mountains ; and the argali, or wild fheep, is. hunted in Siberia. That fmgular fmall fpecies of cattle called the mufk bull and cow, with hair trailing on the ground, feems peculiar to the north of America." The ibex or rock goat is frequent on the Caucafian precipices ; and large flags occur in the mountains near the Baikal, with the mufk ani mal, and wild boar. Wolves and foxes, and bears, of various names and defcriptions, are alfo found. That kind of weazel called the fable affords a valuable traffic by its furs. Some kinds of hare§ appear, little known in other regions ; and the caftor or beaver is an inmate of the Yenifei. The Walrus, or large kind of feal, once termed the fea horfe, is no ftranger to the arctic fhores ; and the common feal extends even " Pennant A. Z. L 2. See alfo Dec. Rufs. vi. 309. " Ib. 8. It feems a fmall fpecies of the yak of Tibet and Mongolia. VOL. II. L tO 74 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Zooiogy. to Kamchatka, while the manati, perhaps the mermaid of fable, inhabits the ftraits of Beering, and - the ifles between the continents. To enu merate the other animals of this extenfive part of Afia would be fuper fluous, as Siberia is fo rich in zoology and botany, that, as Mr. Pennant obferves, even, the difcovery of America has fcarcely imparted a greater number of objects to the naturalift. It will be more appofite to the prefent purpofe to give a brief idea of the moft interefting animals. The horfes of the Monguls are of lingular beauty, fome being ribbed like the tyger, and others fpotted like the leopard. The noftrils of the foals are commonly flitted, that they may inhale more air in the courfe. The three great Nomadic nations of the centre of Afia, the Tatars, Monguls, and Mandfhurs, have no averfion to horfe flefh, which is in their opinion fuperior to beef; but it is never eaten raw, as fabled, though they fometimes dry it in the fun and air, when it will keep for a long time, and is eaten without further preparation. The adon, or ftud of a noble Mongul, may contain between three and four thoufand horfes and mares. The cattle are of a middling fize, and pafs the winter in the ftepps or defarts. As thefe nations ufe the milk of mares, fo they employ the cow for draught, a firing being paffed through a hole -made in their noftril. Mr. Bell, met a beautiful Tatar girl aftride on a cow, attended by two male fervants* The fheep are of the broad tailed kind ; but the deli cately waved lambfkins are procured by the cruel practice of opening the womb of the mother. The beft fables are found near Yakutfk and Nerfhinfk ; but thofe of Kamchatka are the moft numerous, and feveral ftratagems are-employed tocatch or kill the animal, without any injury to the fkin, which is fometimes worth ten pounds on the fpot. The black foxes are alfo highly efteemed, one fkin being fometimes fufficient to pay the tribute of a village/3 The rock or ice fox, generally of a white colour, fome times bluifh, is found in ;great numbers in the eaftern Archipelago. This animal, rivals the ape in fly tricks and mifchief. Other animals purfued for their fkins are the marmot, the marten, the fquirrel, the ermine, and others of inferior repute. The bear is deftroyed by many •3 Tooke's View, iii. 43. ingenious CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 75 Ingenious methods. The Koriaks contrive a loop and bait hanging Zoologv* from a tree, by which heisrfufpended. In the fouthern mountains his ufual path is. watched, a rope is laid in it with a heavy block at one end, and a. noofe at the other. When thus entangled by the neck he is either exhaufted by dragging fo great a weight, or attacking the /- block with fury he throws it down fome precipice, when it feldom fails to drag him to deftruction. On the European fide of the Uralian chain, where the peafants form bee hives in tall trees, the bear is de ftroyed in his attempt to feize the honey, by a trap of boards fufpended from a ftrong branch, and flightly attached to the entrance of the hive : the animal finding this platform convenient for his purpofe undoes the flight fattening to get at his lufcious repaft, but is inftantly conveyed to a great diftance, and remains in the perpendicular of the branch, till he be difcovered and fhot by the contrivers. Nor muft fhe beaver and the civet cat be omitted, the latter animal being found in the Altaian chain, and that fupreme prominence of Afia which extends to Tibet, though perhaps fometimes confounded by travellers with the mufk deer of Tibet j and even the civet cat rather refembles the fox. The elk alfo abounds in Siberia ; the chamois is found on the Caucafian moun tains ; and feveral kinds of antelopes in Daouria. The wild boar grows to fuch a fize that the tufks are fometimes faid to weigh fix hundred pounds, in which cafe it is no wonder that we hear of the tufks of elephants found in Siberia.'4 The wild horfe, afs, and fheep, are mi nutely defcribed by Pallas ; but the various fhades of difference be* tween them and the domeftic animals are too minute for this rapid \ furvey. The mineralogy of Siberia is equally fertile, and difplays many fin- Mineralogy. gular and interefting objects. Peter the great, who directed his atten tion to every object of utility, was the firft who ordered thefe remote mines to be explored, which have fince fupplied great refources of na tional wealth and induftry. For the- example of Spain, adduced by theorifts againft this important branch, without which neither agricul ture; nor' any of the- arts could profper, is .an exception and not a rule ; and only fhews that mifmanagement may ruin any advantage. As well ** Tooke, iii. 79. L 2 might 76 ASIATIC, RUS'SIA. GY. Mineralo- might we declaim againft agriculture, becaufe the cultivation of rice is unhealthy. No propofitions can be more plain than that England has derived her vaft manufactures and commerce from her mines of coal, without which material they muft long ago have terminated ; that the iron. of Sweden is the great refource of the ftate ; and that the filver mines of Saxony have been the grand caufe of the flOurifhing agricul ture and general profperity of that country. It is equally clear and fimple that if valuable mines were difcovered in a barren country, they would net only employ many ufeful labourers, but the product might be exchanged to advantage for the neceffaries or decorations of life, or expended in agricultural improvements. Hence the mines of Siberia have fupplied great refources to Ruffia; while, merely by a miferable form of adminiftration, thofe of Mexico and Peru have been ranked among the caufes of the decline of Spain. • The chief gold mines of Siberia are thofe of Catherinburg or Ekathe- ringburg, on the eaft ofthe Uralian mountains, about lat. 57?, where an office for the management of the mines was inftituted -in 1719. The mines of various forts extend to a confiderable diftance on the N. and S. of Catherinburg ; and the founderies, chiefly for copper and iron, are computed at 105. But the gold mines of Berefof, in this vicinity, were of little confequence till the reign of Elizabeth. The mines of Nerfhinfk, difcovered in 1704, are principally of lead mixed with filver and gold ; and thofe of Kolyvan, chiefly in the Schlangenberg, or mountain of ferpents, fo called by the German miners, began to be worked for the crown in 1748., The gold is fometimes found native, but generally mingled with various fubftances, (the aurum larvatum of Gmelin,) particularly filver which conftitutes the electrum of the < ancients. The gold mines off Berefof are the chief in the empire ; thofe of Kolyvan and Nerfhinfk being denominated filver mines, their produce of gold being of much f mailer confequence.* * For Berefof, a few miles N. E. of Catherinburg,. fee the Decquvertes Ruffes, iv. 1 62, &c, and the map in that volume. The gold mines are near the river Pyfhma, which falls into the Tobol That entire volume defcribes Ufa, the Bafhkirs, and the Uralian chain, inftead of being a Fovage tn Perfe, as the running title bears. , J ¦ The CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. . 77 The filver is rarely native, but often mingled with gold, as already Mine-rau- mentioned ; and in the Daourian mountains with lead. That kind called horn filver is alfo found in the Schlangenberg ; and what is called the glaffy ore, and thofe kinds called fragile and nit ens by Gmelin,. as alfo the red arfenical ore, and the cupriferous fulphurated filver ore of Kirwan, moftly found in the Schlangenberg, and other mountains, branching north from thofe of Altai towards Kolyvan. Befides the copper mines in the Uralian mountains there are alfo fome in thofe of Altai. The moft fmgular ore is the dendritic, fome- what refembling fern, of a pale colour, and perhaps containing filver. Malachite, or ftalactitic copper, is found in the greatefl perfection in a % mine about 30 miles S. of Catherinburg. What is called the Armenian. - ftone is a blue malachite." The red lead of Siberia is found in the mines of Berefof, on a micaceous fand ftone. This fubftance it is well known has difclofed a new metal called chrome. But the iron mines of Ruffia are of the moft folid and Iafting im portance, particularly thofe which fupply the numerous founderies of the Uralian mountains.* Yet Ruffia ftill imports quickfilver, and zinc; and the femi-metals are rare. Rock fait is chiefly found near the Ilek, not far from Orenburg. Coal is fcarcely known ; but fulphur, alum, fal ammoniac, vitriol, nitre. and natron, are found in abundance. Nor muft the gems of Siberia be omitted, of which there Is a great variety, particularly in the mountain Adunfhollo near the river Argoon in the province of Nerfhinfk or Daouria. The diamond has never ap peared except in Hindoftan and Braftl, where it is always detached • as is the ftone chiefly found in Ceylon, and called according to its colour the ruby, fapphire, and oriental topaz. Common topazes are found in Adunfhollo, in quadrangular prifms, as is alfo the jacint. The emerald ¦>' Guthrie, Table of Gems. Bee xv. p. 3 1 z. In the ftepp near Orenburg is a fmgular mine of copper with- petrified trees. Dec. R. iii. 147. * Near mount Emor, or Nemir, not far from the river Yenifei, in the fouth of Siberia Dr.- Pallas difcovered a large mafs of native iron. See Dec. Rufs. vi. 328, which places iVnear Kraf- nojarflc. In the fame volume, p. 189,. is a curious account ofthe rich iron- mines near Rybna" S. E-. of that place, covered with mineralized trunks ot trees, '' 78 ASIATIC RUSSIA. MiMKRAio- is unknown ; the kind of jad called mother of emerald is a Siberian product: and beryl tor aqua marine is found in Adunfhollo, but in greater perfection in what are called the gem mines of Mourfintfky near Catherinburg, along with the chryfolite. Red garnets abound near the fea of Baikal ; and a yellowifh white kind was difcovered hy Lax* man. The opal is faid to have been found in the Altaian mountains ; probably only the femi-opal, the noble opal feeming peculiar to Hun gary.* The ruby coloured fchorl was difcovered in the Uralian moun tains, by Mr. Herman, at Sarapoulfky, about feven miles from Mour fintfky. It is called by Mr. Kirwan the rubellite, being of a delicately fibrous texture, and often when polifhed prefenting the varying fplen- dour of ruby coloured velvet. The baikalite ofthe fame author is of an olive green colour, and contains a fufficient quantity of magnefia to be arranged in the muriatic clafs along with the peridot of the French, to which it feems nearly allied. The green felfpar of Siberia is a beau tiful ftone, by the Ruffians carved into various ornaments. The Daou- rian mountains between the Onon and the Argoon alfo produce elegant onyx. The feive ftone is an agatized fungites.16 The beautiful ftones called the hair of Venus and Thetis, being limpidrock cryftals contain ing capillary fchorl, red or green, are found near Catherinburg. The alliance ftone confifts of a greyifh porphyry, united, as if glued together, with traflfparent quartz. The beautiful red and green jafpers of Siberia are from the moft dif tant mountains, as already mentioned ; and lapis lazuli is found near the Baikal. The Uralian chain alfo prefents fine white marble ; and in the numerous primitive ranges there are many varieties of granite and porphyry. Mineral Wa- Mineral waters do not abound in Afiatic Ruffia. There is a fetid fulphureous fpring near Sarepta, on the frontier of Europe and Afia, and feveral others in Siberia. The baths on the Terek, towards the * The Siberian opals are only opalline yock cryftals. Guthrie, 54. A curious, roek: of agate and clay, running as it were into each other, occurs near the river Ifett. Dec» R. iv.37 !. '" Guthrie, ut fupra. 1 1 Caucafu-s, ters CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 79 Caucafus, are of a middle temperature: and there are others in the Mineral province of Nerfhinfk ; among the Kalmuks to the fouth ofthe Altai in the country fometimes flyled Soongaria ; and in the neighbourhood of the fea of Baikal. Vitriolic waters or chalybeates, the four fprings of the Germans, are found near Catherinburg, in the midft of the iron mines ; nor are they unknown in Daouria. Springs impregnated with naphtha and petroleum occur near the Cafpian and the Baikal. But the chief mineral waters are thofe in Kamchatka, as defcribed by Leffeps. The hot baths of Natchikin, not far from a volcano in the fouth of that peninfula, feem not to have been traced to their fource, * but they fall in a rapid cafcade about 300 feet above the baths, bene volently erected by Mr. Kafloff, for the benefit of the Kamchadals, the ftream being about a foot and a half deep, and fix or feven feet wide. The water is extremely hot, and of a very penetrating nature, feem- ing to contain vitriolic and nitrous faits, with calcareous earth. On the weft fide of the gulph of Penjina is a hot. fpring which falls into the Tayatona, being of a great fize and emitting clouds of fmoke. The chief natural curiofities of Afiatic Ruffia have already been in- Natural Cn- *identally, mentioned.* The fait lakes near the Cafpian, and that fea nolitlC3° itfelf, may be regarded as" fmgular features of nature. The fublime fcenes around the Baikal have been already defcribed. Near the river Onon whole mountains are in fummer on one fide of a lilac colour, from the bloffoms of the wild apricOt ; and on the other of a deep pur ple, from thofe of the Daourian rhododendron.'7 The arctic levels of Siberia contrail with the thick forefts on the fouth, which- fometimes overhang the roads and rivers with a gloomy and difmal caiiopy. The numerous volcanoes of Kamchatka are alfo ftriking objects ; but none of them appear to have been minutely explored, the feverity of the * Near Kungur, on the European fide of the Ural mountains, are remarkable caverns, faid to xtend for ten verfts. Dec. R. iv. 407. ** .Dec. Ruf. v. 470. climate 8o ASIATIC R US SI A. Nawrai, climate being adverfe to the curious traveller. Of -moft of them the. fmoke is perpetual, but they rarely throw out afhes or lava. ^URIOSI TIES. ISLES BELONGING TO ASIATIC RUSSIA. fe.Es. These were formerly divided into the Aleutian, Andrenovian, and Kurilian groupes, with the Fox ifles, which extend to the promOntory of Alafka in North America. The Aleutian ifles, on the eaft of Kam chatka, were multiplied by the early navigators as they faw them in different directions, but are now reduced to only two worth notice, Bee- ring's ifle and Copper ifle. The Andrenovian ifles may be regarded as the fame with the Fox iflands, being the weftern part of the fame range : if they muft be diftinguifhed, the Andrenovian form a groupe of fix or more ifles, about 500 miles to the S. E. of Beering's.18 It appears that the Fox and Andrenovian ifles are a icind of elongation of the American promontory of Alafka, and may more juftly be referved for the defcrip tion of N. America, late . Englifh navigators having difpelled many doubts concerning the real pofition of thefe ifles. Beering's ifle, and Copper ifle, are both uninhabited, and do not merit particular defcrip tion.* Kurilian. The Kurilian ifles extend from the fouthern promontory of Kam chatka towards the land of Jeffo and Japan, being fuppofed to be about 20 in number, of which the largeft are Poro Mufchir and Mokanturu. Several of thefe ifles are volcanic ; and fome contain forefts of birch, . alder, and pine. Moft of them fwarm with foxes of various colours. Even after the difcoveries of La Peroufe it is difficult to diftinguifh what particular ifles in the fouth of this chain are implied by the Ruffian 13 Coxe, Ruffian Difc. 25. ; but he fays the N. E; * The Andrenovian ifles have almoft vanifhed from, Englifh maps and charts, which only admit the Aleutian or Fox iflands ; and the Ruffian navigators muft have erred grofsly in their ob- ^rvations. 9 appellations. CHAP. IV. NATURAL GEOGRAPHY.' 8s appellations. If Matmai be the land of Jeffo, Tfhikota may be Staten Isles- land and Kunaffyr the -Companies Land ; but it feems more probable that this laft is Ou op, and that Jeffo is Etorpu. The difcoveries are too imperfect to admit of decifion ; and it would even appear that the Ruffian navigators had, with their ufual confufion^ defcribed the fame iflands under different names. The inhabitants of the Kurilian ifles feem to be of fimilar origin with the Kamchadals ; and in the interior of fome is a people called hairy Kurilians, from what circumftance is not explained. VOL. II. M THE CHINESE EMPIRE. IN the laft century the Chinefe emperors, of the Mandfhur race, ex- •*" tended this wide empire over many weftern countries, inhabited by wandering hords of Monguls, Mandfhurs, and Tatars ; and eftablifhed fuch firm influence over Tibet, that the Chinefe empire may nOw be confidered as extending from thofe parts ofthe Pacific ocean called the Chinefe and Japanic feas, to the rivers Sarafou and Sihon in the weft,* a fpace of 8i°, which, taking the medial latitude of 308, will amount to nearly 4200 geographical, or 4900 Britifh miles. From N. to S. this vaft empire may be computed from the Uralian mountains, lat. 500, to the fouthern part of China, about lat.'2i?, being 290 of latitude, 1740 geographical, or nearly 2030 Britifh miles. Divisions. This empire therefore confifts of three principal divifions ; that of China proper ; the territory of the Mandfhurs and Monguls, on the north and weft ; and laftly the fmgular and interefting region of Tibet orTibbet. Thefe countries are not only fo wide and important, but are fo radically different in the form of government, in the manners, and other cir cumftances, that it will be proper to defcribe each apart. • This fuppofes that the great hord of Kirgufes, who only pay homage to China, are included. But the mountains of Belur Tag,, and the . Palkati or Balkafh lake, feem never to have been pafled by the Chinefe. About aoo B. miles of medial length may in this cafe be fubtrafted. PART I. CHINA PROPER. CHAPTER I. Historical Geography. Names. -—Extent. — Boundaries. — Original Population. — Progreffive Geography,— Hiftorical Epochs. — Antiquities. THIS diftinguifhed region is by the natives ftyled Tchon-Koue, Names. which fignifies the centre of the earth, as they proudly regard other countries as mere fkirts and appendages to their Own. After the conqueft of the northern part by the defendants of Zingis, it was ftyled Cathay, a name loudly celebrated in travels, poetry, and romance ; while the fouthern part was known by the appellation of Mangi. The origin of the name of China, or Tfin, feems uncertain, but the connec- ' tion between this word and the Sinae Of the ancients appears imaginary, the country of the Sinae being fhewn by Goffellin to be much further to the weft. The Mahometan travellers of the ninth century, publifhed by Renaudot, (the authenticity of the work being now undoubted,) call this country Sin, but the Perfians pronounce it Tchin.* 1 Englim Tranflation. Remarks, p. 40. m 2 China CHINA PROPER. Extent. Original Po jpulation. China proper extends from the great wall in the no'rth to the Chi* nefe fea in the fouth, about 1140- geographical, or 1330 Britifh miles. The breadth from the fhores ofthe Pacific to the frontiers of Tibet may be computed at 884 geographical, or nearly 1030 Britifh miles. In fquare miles the contents have been cftimated at 1,297,999, and in acres Boundaries. ^830,719,360.* On the caft and fouth the boundaries are maritime, and to the north they are marked by the great wall. and the defart of ShamO ; the confines with Tibet on the weft feem to be chiefly indi cated by an ideal line, though occafionally more ftrongly marked by mountains and rivers : particularly according to D'Anville the river Yalon, which falls into the Kjan-ku, the country of Sifan lying between Tibet and China, on the fouth of the Eluts of Kokonor. The population of China feems wholly aboriginal, but the form of the features appears to imply intimate affinity with the Tatars, Mon guls, and Mandfhurs ; yet the Chinefe probably conftitute a fourth grand divifion, not ftrictly derived from either of thefe barbaric races. The progreffive geography of China, as known to the Weftern nations, is not of ancient date, whether with D'Anville. we fuppofe the'Sinse to have been in Cochin China, or with Goffellin place them in the weftern part of Siam. The moft ancient external relation which we poffefs is^ that of the two Mahometan travellers in the ninth century, who fur- prife us with accounts of barbarifm and cannibalifm little to be expected : but the Arabs are fo fond of fables, that implicit credit may be fafely witheld from feveral paffages. Yet thefe travellers impart high ideas concerning the Chinefe empire, and mention- Canfu, fuppofed to be Canton, as a city of great trade, while the emperors refided at Camdan, which feems. to be the city alfo called Nankin, or the .Southern Court, in contradiftinction from Pekin or the Northern CoUrt. This wide em pire continued, however, obfcureto the inhabitants of Europe till the travels of Marco Polo appeared, in the end of the thirteenth century. Yet the work of this traveller remained fo unknown that Pope Pius fl, in his defcription of Afia,3 is contented with the more imperfect account •Progreffive •Geography * Macartney's Emb. iii. Appen. 3 P. 18--28. Edit. Paris 1534. Pius wrote about 1450. by CHAP. I. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. S5 by Nicola Conti, a Venetian traveller of his own time who vifited Peogres- Cathay.* Haitho the Armenian, who' wrote .his book on the Tatars -'^I^vhy" about the year 1306, begins with an account of Cathay; and Oderic of Portenau defcribed his voyage to China 13 18.* Our Sir John Mande- ville vifited China about 1 340 ; and .Pegoletti gave dire&ions for the route in 1335. 5 But in the following century there feems to have been a ftrange and unaccountable intermiffion of intercourfe and refearch, if we except the travels of Nicola Conti above mentioned ; and fo periih- able was the knowledge acquired as to have efcaped even a learned pontiff. After this relapfe of darknefs, the rays of more genuine and authentic knowledge gradually emerged by the difcovery of Cape df Good Hope, and the fubfequent enterprizes of the Portu guefe. The Chinefe hiftory is faid to commence, in a clear and conftant Hiftorical narration, about 2500 years before the birth of Chrift. The founder of EPoclvs- the monarchy is Fo-Hi ; but the regular hiftory begins with Yao.6 The dynafties or families who have fucceffively held the throne amount to 22,. from the firft named Hia, to the prefent houfe of Tfing.7 Yu, the firft emperor of the houfe of Hia, is faid to have written a book on agriculture, and to have encouraged canals for irrigation ; and it is alfo Jfflerted that he divided the empire into nine provinces. The ancient revolutions of China would little intereft the general reader. The dy nafties, as ufual, generally terminate in fome weak or wicked prince, wdio is dethroned by an able fubject. Sometimes the monarchy is di vided into that of the fouth', which is efteemed the ruling and" fuperior inheritance ; and that of the north. The emperor Tai Tfong, wrho reigned in the feventh century after Chrift, is, regarded as one of the * Cathay had been before faintly known to Europeans, from the travels of John de Piano Car- 'pini.1245, and of Rubruquis, 1251. The account ofthe latter in particular is interefting, as he' vifited Gathay by the route of Karakum, the capital of the Mongul empire, placed by D'Anville on the Ongui Muren, but by Fifcher in his hiftory of Siberia on the eaft fide of the river Orchon about 150 B. miles to the N. W-. 4 Forfter's Difc. in the North, p. 147. s Ib. 150. The original is to be found in a work entitled Delia Becima,e della altre gravczzif. "Iffbona e Lucca, 1766, 4/0. « Du Halde, iii. 7. "Have, 1756. 410. -i lb. i. 266; &c» greateft 86 CHINA PROPER. Historical greatefl princes who have filled the Chinefe throne. The Mandfhui^ pochs. tQ ^g jjqj.^ 0f China repeatedly influenced the fucceffion to the em pire ; but the Monguls under Zingis and his fuccelfors feized the five northern provinces. Hoaitfing, who began to reign A. D. 1627, was the laft prince of the Chinefe dynafties. Some unfuccefsful wars againft the Mandfhurs had rendered this emperor melancholy and cruel ; and infurrections arofe, the moft formidable being conduced by two chiefs Li and Tchang. The former befieged Pekin, which was furrendered by the general difcontent, and the emperor retiring to his garden firft flew his daughter with his fabre, and afterwards hanged himfelf on a tree, having only lived 36 years. The ufurper feemed firmly feated on the throne, when a prince of the royal family invited the Mandfhurs, who advanced under their king Tfong Te. The Mandfhur monarch had fcarcely entered China when he died ; and his fon of fix years of age was declared emperor, the regency being entrufted to his uncle. This young prince, named Chun Tehig, was the firft emperor ofthe prefent dynafty, and has been followed by four princes of the fame Mandfhur family. Antiquities. Among the remains of Chinefe antiquity may be mentioned the coins ofthe ancient dynafties, of which arranged cabinets are formed by the curious natives. Du Halde has publifhed many of thefe "ancient coins and to his work the reader is referred. There are alfo feveral pagodas, or ornamented towers, fometimes erected in commemoration of great events ; many temples, which are low buildings of a different conftruc- tion from the pagodas ; and fome triumphal arches, which boaft con fiderable antiquity. But the chief remain of ancient art in China is that ftupendous wall, extending acrofs the northern boundary.5 This work, .which is de- fervedly efleemed among the grandeft labours of art, is conducted over - the fummits of high mountains, fome of which rife to the height of 5225 feet, acrofs thedeepeft vales, over wide rivers by means of arches • and in many parts is doubled or trebled tb command important paffes : and at the diftance of almoft every hundred yards is a tower or maffy 8 Sir G. Staunton, ii. 360. 8vo. 4 baftion.' CHAP. I. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY. *; TIES. baftion. The extent is computed at 1500 miles; but in fome parts of Antiqui- fmaller danger it is not equally ftrong or complete, and towards the N. W- only a rampart of earth. For the precife height and dimenfions of this amazing fortification the reader is referred to the work already quoted, whence it appears that near Koopekoo the wall is 25 feet in height,' and at the top about 15 feet thick : fome ofthe towers, which are fquare, are 48 feet high, and about 40 feet wide. The ftone emT ployed ih the foundations, angles, &c. is a ftrong grey granite ; but the greatefl part confifts of bluifh bricks, and the mortar is remarkably pure and white. Sir George Staunton confiders the era of this great barrier as abfo- lutely afcertained, and he afferts that it has exifted for two thoufand years. In this affeveration he feems to have followed Du Halde, who informs us that "this prodigious work was conftrudted 215 years be fore the birth of Chrift, by the orders of the firft emperor of the family of Tfin, to prote£t three large provinces from the irruptions of the Ta tars."9 But in the hiftory of China, contained in his firft volume, he afcribes this erection to the fecond emperor of the dynafty of Tfin, namely Chi Hoang Ti ; and the date immediately preceding the narra tive of this conftrudlion is the year 137 before the birth of Chrift.10 Hence fufpicions may well arife, not only concerning the epoch of this work, but even with regard to the purity and precifion of the Chinefe annals in general. Mr. Bell, who refided for fome time in China, and whofe travels are defervedly efteemed for the accuracy of their intelli gence^ affures us" that this wall was built about 600 years ago, (that is about the year 1160,) by one ofthe emperors, to prevent the frequent incurfions of the Monguls, whofe numerous cavalry ufed to ravage the provinces, and efcape before an army could be affembled to oppofe them. Renaudot obferves that no oriental geographer, above 300 years in antiquity, mentions this wall :" and it is furprifing that it fhould have efcaped Marco Polo ; who, fuppofing that he had entered China by a different route, can hardly be conceived, during his, long refidence » Tome ii. p. 54. '" Tome i. 340. " Travels, ii. 112. 8vo. '* Ut fupra, 137. in 88 CHINA PROPER. TIES. Antiqui- ix\ the north of China, and in the country ofthe Monguls, to have re* mained ignorant of fo ftupendous a work. Amidft thefe difficulties, perhaps it may be conjectured that fimilar modes of defence had been adopted in different ages ; and that the ancient rude barrier" having fallen into decay, was replaced, perhaps after the invafion of Zingis, by the prefent erection, which even from the ftate of its prefervatioa cas* fcarcely afpire to much antiquity. CHAP. II. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. 89 CHAPTER II. Political Geography. Religion. — Ecclefiqftical Geography. — Government. — Laws.— Population. — Colonies* _ —Army. — Navy. — Revenues. — Political Importance and Relations. * ACCORDING to Du Halde the ancient Chinefe worfhipped a fu- Religiok. preme. being, whom they ftyled Chang Ti, or Tien, which is faid to imply the fpirit which prefides over the heavens ; but in the opinion of others is only the vifible firmament. They alfo worfhipped fubakern fpirits, who prefided over kingdoms, provinces, cities, rivers, and mountains. Under this fyftem, which correfponds with what is called Shamanifm, facrifices were offered on the fummits of hills. The feet of Tao See was founded on principles fimilar to thofe of Epicurus ; but as the idea of death tended to difturb their boafted tranquillity, they invented a potion which was to confer imaginary immortality. About A. D. 65 the feet of Fo was introduced into China from Hin doftan. The name was derived from the idol Fo, (fuppofed to be the Boodh of Hindoftan,) and the chief tenets are thofe of the Hindoos, among which is the Metempfycofis, or tranfition of fouls from one animal to another. The priefts are denominated Bonzes, and Fo is fuppofed to be gratified by the favour fhewn to his fervants. Many fubordinate idols are admitted ; but as the Jefuits found the .followers of Fo the moft adverfe to Chriftianity, they have abfurdly enough called them atheifts. Since the fifteenth century many Chinefe literati have embraced a new fyftem, which acknowledges an univerfal principle, under the name of Taiki, feeming to correfpond with the foul of the world of fome ancient philofophers. , This opinion may indeed deferve the name vol. 11. *r of 9o CHINA PROPER. Rilision. 0f theifm ; nor is it unufual to find ingenious reafoners fo far difgufted with grofs fuperftitions as to fall into the oppofite extreme of abfurdity.* But fuch opinions are confined to very few ; and the Chinefe are fo far from being atheifts that they are in the oppofite extreme of poly- theifm, believing even in petty demons who delight in minute acts of evil, or good. There is properly no order of priefts, except the Bonzes of the feet of Fo ; nor of courfe can any high prieft afpire to the imperial power. The feet of Fo, and that of Lao Kian, which is the fame with that ofthe Tai See, admit of monafteries. The noted feftival of lantherns is, according to Ofbek, celebrated in honour of the god of fire, to avert the danger of conflagration. The Chinefe temples are always open ; nor is there any fubdivifion of the mouth known in the country.1 Government. The government of China is well known to be patriarchal. The em peror is indeed abfolute ; but the examples of tyranny are rare, as he is taught to regard his people as his children, and not as his flaves. The {lability of the government, ih all its effential, and even minute forms and cuftoms, juftly aftonifhes thofe who are the moft verfed in hiftory. It arifes from a circumftance unknown in any other government, the admiffion and practice ofthe principle afferted by Lord Bacon that knowledge is power. - For all the officers of government pafs through a regular education, and a' progrefs of rank, which are held indifpen- fable. Of thefe officers, who have been called mandarins, or com manders, by the Portuguefe, there are nine clafles, from the judge of the village to the prime minifter. The profeffion requiring a long and fevere courfe of ftudy, the practice of government remains, like that of medicine, unfhaken by exterior events; and while the imperial throne is fubject to accident and force, the remainder of the machine purfues its ufual circle. In fo vaft an empire, with a computed population of more than 330,000,000, perhaps the liability of the ftate is' incom patible with much freedom; yet the ideas of an European are fhocked * It muft however be remembered that even thefe literati admit the exiftence of gods of various clafles, emanated from the foul of the world. Hence they are in fact' polytheifts, who^ do not admit a fupreme intelligent being. 1 Pauw Recherchesvphilofophiques fur les Egyptiens. et les Chinois- Tonne ii. 217. by CHAP. II. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. gi bythe frequent ufe ofthe rod, a paternal punifhment which would, in Govern- his eyes, appear the moft degrading fpecies of flavery The foldiers, however, fhew the greatefl tendernefs to the people ; and every fentence of death muft be figned by the emperor. It is impoffible to fix any general criterion of human opinions, which vary according to minute, and fometimes invifible circumftances; and thus in China the prime minifter may be chaftened with rods, and acknowledge no mark of flavery;in what he regards as a mere fatherly admonition. The governors of the provinces have great and abfolute power, yet rebellions are not unfrequent. Bribery is alfo an univerfal vice ; and the Chinefe government, like many others, is more fair in the theory * than in the practice. Yet the amazing population, and the general eafe and happinefs ofthe people, evince that the practice of the government muft be more beneficial than any yet known among mankind. The Chinefe laws are ancient, but numerous; and edicts of the Laws. reigning dynafty have reftrained the mandarins within ftricter limits of duty. The population of China has been a topic of confiderable debate. Population. Pauw, a bold, and decifive affertor, and a declared enemy of the Jefuits, has attacked all their defcriptions of China. He Obferves, from Du Halde, that when the miffionaries proceeded through the empire, to prepare their maps, they found in the greater part of the large govern ments countries of more than 20 leagues, little peopled, almoft uncul tivated, and often fo wild that they are quite uninhabitable. Pauw alfo mentions the abundance of tigers, and the exiftence of the Chinefe favages in the extenfive forefts ; and he fuppofes that the population is exaggerated when, it is computed at 82,000,000.* In fo wide an empire moft of the features are on a large fcale, nor can human in duftry overcome certain impediments of nature, as ridges of rocks barren heaths, and extenfive fwamps, in certain pofitions ; and in the north of China large forefts are indifpenfably preferved for the fake of fuel. On a fmaller fcale fuch obftacles to univerfal population are 2 Recherches, i. 78. N 2 found 92 CHINA PROPER. Govern. MENT. found even in the moft fertile countries, and Baglhot heath, with per haps feveral tents of gypfies, occur near the capital of England. Civil wars,, which have repeatedly raged in China, may alfo defolate parts of a country for a long period of time, while the inhabitants crowd to the, cities and places of defence. As it would be abfurd to fuppofe that all China confifts of cultivable land, fo it would be equally abfurd to deny that the population has impreffed .every traveller with aftonifhment, and with ideas totally different from thofe of Pauw, who decided in his cabinet, in a fpirit of enmity againft his materials; and who feems to have forgotten that the want of cultivation in fome diftricts is balanced by that refiding on the waters, millions of families paffing their whole exiftence in boats on the numerous rivers, lakes, and canals. The recent Englifh embaffy was aftonifhed at the excefs of population ; and Sir George Staunton has publifhed the following table, from the information of a mandarin of high rank, who had every opportunity of exact knowledge. Table of the population and extent of China Proper, within the great wall. Taken in round numbers from the fiat ements of Chow-la-Zhin. PROVINCES. Pe-che-lee - - - - - Kiang-nan, two provinces Kiang-See - - - - - Tche-kiang - - - - - Fo-chen ...... Hou"naen}HoU(luang " Hon an - - - - - - -Shan-Tung - - - - - Shan-fee . . . . . Shen-fee ...... Kan-fou ...... Se-chuen - - - - . Canton ---.... Quang-fee. - - - - - Yu nan ..... Koei-cheou - - - - POPULATION. SQUARE MILES. 38,000,000 32,000,000 19,000,000 21,000,000 15,000,000 .000,000 000,000 25,000,000-24,ooo,oco27,000,000 18,000,000 1 12,000,000 j 27,000,00021 ,oqo,ooo 10,000,000 8,000,000 9,000,000 333,000,000 58,94992,96172,176 39.15° - 53>48° 144,770 65,10465,104 55.268 154,008 166,800 79.45<5 78,250 107,969 64,554 1,297,999 ACRES. * Tnis identic repetition muft be erroneous. 37»727736o 59,495,040 46,192,640 25,056,000 34,227,20092,652,800 41,666,56041,666,560* 35,37i,52o 98,565,120 106,752, oeo 50,851,84050,080,00069, 1 00; 1 60 41,314,560 83°>7 '9»36o How CHAP. II. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. 93 How far this table may deferve implicit credit, may be doubted by GB°"RN" thofe who know the difficulty of fuch refearches, even in the moft en lightened countries of Europe. As the Chinefe laws permit no native to leave his country, there can Colonies. be no colonies properly fo called.* The army has been computed at Army. 1,000,000 of infanfy, and 800,000 cavalry; and the revenues at about Revenue. thirty-fix millions and a half of tahejs, or ounces of filver, or about nine millions fterling ; but as rice, and other grain, are alfo paid in kind it may be difficult to eftimate the precife amount or relative value compared with European money, f The political importance and. relations of China may be faid to be Political -Im- concentrated in itfelf, as no example is known of alliance with any R°1]ta™onyind other ftate. It has been fuppofed that one European fhip would de- ftroy the Chinefe navy, and that 10,000 European troops might overrun the empire. Yet- its very extent is an obftacle to foreign conqueft, and perhaps not lefs than 1 00,000 foldiers would be ne ceffary to maintain the quiet fubj ligation ; fo that any foreign yoke might prove of very fhort continuance. The recent conqueft by the Mandfhurs happened in confequence of the general deteftation, excited againft a fanguinary ufurper ; and the invaders were in the immediate proximity, while 'even a Ruffian army would find almoft infurmount- able difficulties on the route, and the conqueft, like, that by the de fendants of Zingis, would infallably prove of fhort duration. The Englifh, in Hindoftan, nearly approach to the Chinefe territories ; but there can hardly arife any rational ground of diflention in oppofition to the interefts of Britifh commerce. Were the Chinefe government per- fuaded of the utility of external relations, an alliance with the Englifh might be adopted, as a proteftion againft maritime ontrage, while the Ruffian power might be divided by connections with the fovereigns of Perfia. * Yet the number of Chinefe at Batavia, and other fituations in the Oriental Archipelago, many of whom pafs as traders to and from their country, fhews that thefe laws are little regarded. f Sir George Staunton, iii. 390, eftimates the revenue at 200,000,000 of ounces of filver, which he fays equal 66,ooo,oool. fterling-; but valuing the ounce of filver at five millings, the amount i3 .30,000,000!. §4 CHINA PROPER. CHAPTER III. Civil Geography. Manners and Cuftoms. -Language. - Literature. -Education. - Univer/ties.- Cities and Towns.— Edifices. -Roads.— Inland Navigation. -Manufactures and ¦Commerce. Mankehs rpHE Chinefe being a people in the higheft ftate of civilization their CutroM,. 1 manners and cuftoms might require a long defcription, efpecially as they are extremely different from thofe of other nations. The limits of this work will only admit a few hints. In vifiting the fea ports of China foreigners have commonly been impreffed with the idea of fraud and difhonefty; but it is to be fuppofed that thefe bad qualities are not fo apparent where there are fewer temptations. The indolence of the upper clafles, who are even fed by their fervants, and the naftinefs of the lower, who eat almoft every ^kind of animal, in what ever way it may have died, are alfo ftriking defects, though the latter may be occafioned by dire neceflity in fo populous a country. To the fame caufe may be imputed the expofition of infants, a cuftom which long prevailed in Scandinavia, and was not unknown in ancient Greece and Rome, but which always yielded to the progrefs of civiliza tion. On the other hand the character of the , Chinefe is mild and tranquil, and univerfal . affability is very rarely interrupted by the flighteft tincture of harfhnefs, or paffion. Thefe qualities may be partly imputed to the vigilant eye ofthe patriarchal government, and partly to ftrift abftinence from heating foods, and intoxicating liquors. The general drink is tea, of which a larger veffel is prepared in the morning for Ae occafional ufe of the family during the day. Marriages are CHAP. III. CIVIL GEOGRAPHY. 95 are conducted folely by the will ofthe parents, and polygamy is allowed. Ma*nnders The bride is purchafed by a prefent to her parents, and is never feen by Customs. her hufband till after the ceremony. Divorce- is permitted in cafe of adultery, antipathy of temper, a claim urged by Milton ; and even in cafe of juft ground of jealoufy, of grofs indifcretion, and difobedience to the hufband, of barrennefs, and contagious difeafes. Yet divorces are rare among the higher clafles, whofe plurality of wives enables them to punifh by neglect. It is not permitted to bury in cities or towns, and the fepulchres are commonly on barren hills, and mountains, where there is no chance that agriculture will difturb the bones of the dead. The colour of mourning is white, that perfonal neglect or for- getfulnefs may appear in its fqualor ; and it ought on folemn occafions to continue for three years, but feldom exceeds twenty-feven months/ The walls of the' houfes are fometimes of brick, or of hardened clay,, but more commonly of wood ; and they generally confift only Of a ground floor,, though in thofe of merchants there be fometimes a fecond ftory, which forms the warehoufe. The houfes are ornamented with columns, and open galleries, but the articles of furniture are few. The drefs is lorig, with large fleeves, and a flowing girdle of filk. The fhirt and drawers vary according to the feafons; and in. winter the ufe of furs is general, from the fkin of the fheep to that of the ermine. The head is covered with a fmallhat, in the form of a funnel, but this varies among the fuperior clafles, whofe rank is diftinguifhed by a large bead on the top, diverfified in colour according to the quality. The drefs is, in general, fimple and uniform ; and on the audience given to lord Ma cartney that ofthe emperor, was. only diftinguifhed by one large pearl in his bonnet. The chief amufements of the Chinefe feem to be dramatic exhibitions, fire works, in which they excel all other nations, and feats of deception and dexterity. The language is efteemed the moft fmgular ontheface of the globe. Language.. Almoft every fyllable conftitutes a word, and there are fcarcely 1500 diftinct founds; yet in the written language there. are at.leafl 80,000 characters, or different forms of letters, fo that every found may haye about 50 fenfes.1 The leading characters are denominated keys, ' Du Halde, ii. 146... Si Staunton, iii.. 41 8. which i qS CHINA PROPER. Language. Education. Cities and Towns. Pekii which-are not of difficult acquifition. The language feems originally to have been hieroglyphical ; but afterwards the found alone was con fidered. Abftract terms are expreffed, as ufual, by relative ideas ; thus virtue, which in latin implies ftrength, among the Chinefe fignifies filial piety ; the early prevalence of knowledge in China excluding mere ftrength from any meritorious claim. The fchools of education are numerous, but the children of the poor are chiefly taught to follow the bufinefs of their fathers. In a Chinefe treatife of education, publifhed by Du Halde, the following ar,e re commended as the chief topics, i. The fix virtues, namely, prudence, piety, wifdom, equity, fidelity, concord. 2. The fix laudable actions, to wit, obedience to parents, love to brothers, harmony with relations, affection for neighbours, fincerity with friends, and mercy with regard to the poor and unhappy. 3. The fix effential points of knowledge, that of religious rites, rnufic, arghery, horfemanfhip, writing, and ac- compts." Such a plan is certainly more ufeful than the acquifition of dead languages. The chief cities of China are Pekin and Nankin, or the northern and fouthern courts, the former being the Cambalu, or city of the Chan, in writings of the middle ages, the capital of Cathay, as Nankin was of Mangi. Pekin occupies a large fpace of ground ; but the ftreets are wide, and the houfes feldom exceed one ftory. The length of what is called the Tatar city is about four miles, and the fuburbs are confider able.3 The principal part, or that called the Tatar city, is fo denomi nated, becaufe it was re-edified in the thirteenth century, under the dynafty of the Tatars, or rather the Monguls.* By the beft informa tion, which the recent embaffy could procure, the population was com puted at 3,000,000. The houfes indeed are neither large nor nu merous ; but it is common to find three generations, with all their wives and children, under one roof, as they eat in common, and one room contains many beds. The neatnefs of the houfes, and various repletion of the fhops, delight the eye of the vifitor. At Pekin the 3 Staunton, ii. 297. * So Staunton ; but Du Halde, i. 135, fays it is fo called becaufe the houfes were allotted to the Mandfhurs, in the beginning ofthe prefent dynafty. ¦x4 grand CHAP. III. CIVIL GEOGRAPHY. 97 grand examinations take place, which confer the higheft degree in Cities and literature, or in other words the chief offices in government. Exceffive wealth, or, poverty, feern" equally unknown, as there is no right of primogeniture, and no hereditary dignity : and there are properly but three clafles of men in China, men of letters, among whom the man darins are felected; cultivators of the ground; and mechanics, in cluding merchants.-4 The walls of this capital are of confiderable ftrength and thicknefs; and the nine gates of no inelegant architecture. Strict police and vigilance are obferved, and the ftreets are crowded with paffengers and carriages. The grandeft edifice is the imperial palace, which confifts of many picturefque buildings, difperfed over a wide and greatly diverfified fpace of ground, fo as to prefent the ap- • pearance of enchantment. Nankin, which was the refidence of the court till the fifteenth cen- Nankin* tury, is a yet more extenfive city than Pekin, and is reputed the largeft in the empire. The walls are faid to be about 17 Britifh miles in cir cumference. The chief edifices are the gates with a few temples ; and a celebrated tower clothed with porcelain, about 200 feet in height. Such towers were ftyled pagodas by the Portuguefe, who fuppofed them to be temples ; but they feem to have been chiefly erected as memorials, or as ornaments, like the Grecian and Roman columns. To the European reader one of the moft interefting cities is Canton, Canfon. which is faid to contain a million and a half of inhabitants ; numerous ' families refiding in barks on the river. The European factories, with their national flags, are no fmall ornaments to this city. The chief ex port is that of tea, of which it is faid that about 13,000,000 of pounds weight are confumed by Great Britain, and her dependencies, and about 5,000,000 by the reft of Europe. The imports from England, chiefly woollens, with lead, tin, furs, and other articles, are fuppofed to exceed a million ; and the exports a million and a half, befides the trade between .China and our poffeffions in Hindoftan. Other nations carry to Canton the value of about aoo,oool. and return with articles to the value of about ,6oo,oool* So that the balance in favour of China- may be computed at a million fterling. * Staunton, ii. 329. But the miUtary muft be iregarded as a fourth clafs. vol. 11. o The 98 CHINA PROPER. Other The other large cities of China are almoft innumerable; and many ofthe villages are of a furprifing fize. Among the cities may be men-v tioned Singan, the capital of the province Of Shenfi, Kayfong, that of ^ Honan, Tayyuen of Shanfi, Tfinan of Shanton, Chingtu of Sechwun, Vuchang of Huquang, Nanchang of Kyangfi, HaUgchew of Chekyang, Euchew of Fokyen, Quegling of Quangfi, Queyyang of Queychew, and Yunnan of the weftern province fo called, with Shinyan, the chief city of the northern province of Lyautong, and KinkitaO of Corea, a dependency of China. Of thefe cities Singan is by fome efteemed equal to Pekin. In general the plan and fortifications are fimilar ; and a Mandfhur garrifon is carefully maintained. Edifices. The moft ftrikirig and peculiar edifices in China are the pagodas, or towers, already mentioned, which fometimes rife to the height of nine ftories, of more than twenty feet each. The temples, on the contrary, are commonly low buildings, always open to the devout worfhippers of polytheifm. The whole ftyle of Chinefe architecture is well known to be fmgular, and is difplayed with the greatefl fplendour in the imperial palace at Pekin, which is defcribed at great length by Du Halde, and Sir George Staunton. The late emperor chiefly refided in the fummer at the palace of Zheho, about 120 miles N. E. from Pekin, in the country of the Mandfhurs, not far beyond the great wall, where the ^ various edifices of the palace are, as ufual, fituated in a pleafure .ground of wide extent. The architecture is elegant, and highly ornamented, but the paintings of mean execution, as the Chinefe are ftrangers to perfpective, and do not admit of fhade, which they regard as a blemifh, Roads. The roads are generally kept in excellent order, with convenient bridges. That near the capital is thus defcribed by Sir George Staunton. " This road forms a magnificent avenue to Pekin, for perfons and com modities bound for that capital, from the eaft and from the fouth. It is perfectly level ; the centre, to the width of about twenty feet, is paved with flags of granite, brought from a confiderable diftance, and of a fize from fix to fixteen feet in length, and about four feet broad. On each fide of this granite pavement is a road unpaved, wide enough for carriages to crofs upon it. The road was bordered in many places with trees. CHAP. Ill, CIVIL GEOGRAPHY. 99 trees, particularly willows of a Very uncommon girth. The travellers Roads. foon pafled over a marble bridge, of which the conftruction appeared equal to the material. The perfection of fuch a fabric may be con fidered to confift in its being made as like as poffible to that of which it fupplies the want : and the prefent bridge feems to anfwer that defcrip tion; for it is very wide, and fubftantially built, over a rivulet not fubject to inundations, and is. little elevated above the level of the roads which it connects together." ~ The canals of China have long excited the envy and wonder of other Inland Navi- nations. As the two "grand rivers of Hoan ho and Kian ku bend their sa 101 courfe from weft to eaft, the chief object was to interfect the empire from north to fouth ; which was in great meafure accomplifhed by the imperial canal. This wonderful Work, which in utility and labour exceeds the enormous wall, is faid to have been begun in the tenth century ofthe chriftian era, 30,000 men having been employed for 43 years in its completion. " This great work differs much from the canals of Europe, which are generally protracted in ftraight lines, within narrow bounds, and" without a current, whereas that of China is winding often in its courfe, of unequal and fometimes confiderable width, and its waters are feldom ftagnant. " The ground which intervened between the bed of this artificial river, and that of the Eu-ho, was cut down to the depth of about 30 feet, in order to permit the waters ofthe former to flow with a gentle current into the latter. Their defcent is afterwards checked occafionally, by flood gates thrown acrofs the canal, wherever they were judged to be neceffary, which was feldom the cafe, fo near as within a mile of each other, the current ofthe water being flow in moft places. This canal has no locks like thofe of Europe. The flood-gates are fimple in their conftruction, eafily managed, and kept in repair at a trifling ex- pence. They confift merely of a few planks, let . down feparately orie upon another, by grooves cut into the fides of the two folid abutments, or piers of ftone, that project one from each bank, : leaving a fpace in the middle juft wide enough to admit a paffage for the largeft- veffels em- o 2 ployed too CHINA PROPER. Inland Na- ployed upon the canal. As few parts of it are entirely level, the ufe of thefe flood gates, affifted by others cut through its banks, Js to regulate the quantity of water in the canal. Some fkill is required to be ex erted;, in order to direct the barges through them without accident. For this purpofe an immenfe oar projects from the bow ofthe veflel, by which one of the crew conducts her with the greatefl nicety. Men are alfo ftationed on, each pier with fenders, made of fkins fluffed with hair, to prevent the effect ofthe veffels ftriking immediately againft the ftone^ in their quick paffage through the gates. " Light bridges of timber are thrown acrofs thofe piers, which are eafily withdrawn whenever veffels are about to pafs underneath. The flood-gates are only opened at certain ftated hours, when all the veffels collected near them in the interval pafs through them, on paying a fmall toll, appropriated to the purpofe of keeping in repair the flood-gates, and banks ofthe canal. The lofs of water occafioned by the opening ofthe flood-gate is not very confiderable, the fall at each feldom being many inches ; and which is foon f applied by ftreams conducted into the canal from the adjacent country on both fides. The fall is, however, fometimes above a foot, or two, when tlje diftance between the flood gates is confiderable, or the current rapid. The1 canal was traced often. in the beds of ancient rivers, which it refembled in the irregularity of Its depth, the finuofity of its courfe, and the breadth of its fijrface, where not narrowed by a flood-gate. Wherever the circumftances of the ad-, jacent country admitted the water in the canal to be maintained in a. pro per quantity, without any material -deficiency, or excefs, by means of fluices managed in itsfides, for the purpofe of influx, or difcharge, as was the cafe farther to the fouthward, few flood-gates were neceffary to be conftructed; nor were there any where met above half a dozen in d"5 \ ay. The fame author defcribes- this canal as beginning at Lin-fin* choo, where it joins the river Eu-ho, and extending to Han-choo-foo, in an irregular line of about 500 miles. Where it joins the Hoan-ho, or Yellow river, it is about three quarters of a mile in breadth. From the fubfequent narrative it appears that Du Halde, Le Comte, and other 5 Sir G. Staunton, iii, 204, so French CHAP. IIL CIVIL GEOGRAPHY. 101 i- French authors, have been mifled when they fuppofed thatjhe imperial Inland Na- canal extends from Canton to Pekin, while half of the courfe is fupplied V,GAT10N- by river navigation, and fmaller canals, and it is fometimes interrupted by mountainous diftricts.* In the fouth the river Kan Kian, which runs from S. W. to N. E., fupplies a very Confiderable part ofthe navi gation. To enumerate the other canals of China would be infinite, as there is a, large canal in every province, with branches leading to moft of the towns and villages. The manufactures of China are fo multifarious, as to embrace almoft Manufac- every article of induftry. The moft noted manufacture is that of commerce." porcelain; and is followed in trade by thofe of filk, cotton, paper, &c. The porcelain of China has been celebrated from remote ages, and is chiefly prepared from a pure white clay called kaolin : while the pe- tunfi is underftood to be a decayed felfpar. Some writers add foap rock, and gypfum.6 The excellent imitatio'ns which have appeared in various countries of Europe, more elegant in the form and painting, have con- fiderably reduced the value of the Chinefe manufactory. The internal commerce of China is immenfe, but the external trade is unimportant, conftdering the vaftnefs of the empire. A fcanty in- tercourfe exifts with Ruffia, and Japan ; but the chief export is that of tea, which is fent to, England, to the value of about one million yearly. * Philh'ps, p. 8 feq. giyes a very erroneous idea. of jhe length c;£. this canal. 8 Staunton, iii. 300. • ica CHINA PROPER. CHAPTER IV. Natural Geography. Climate and, Seafons. — Face of the Country. — Soil and Agriculture.— Rivers — Lakes. — Mountains. — Forefts.—. Botany.— 'Zoology. — Mineralogy. — Mineral Waters. —Natural Curiofities. ' > Gmmate fTPHE European intercourfe with China being chiefly confined to the AIsons!A" fouthern part of the empire, the climate is generally confidered as hot, whereas the northern part of this extenfive country is liable to"" all the rigours ofthe European winter." At Pekin fuch is the effect of the great range of Tatarian, or rather Manfhurian, mountains covered with perpetual fnow, that the average degree ofthe thermometer -is under 2o0 in the night, during the winter months ; and even in the day it is confiderably below the freezing point. The inhabitants, unaccuftomed to domeftic fires, increafe their cloathirig ; but in large buildings there are ftoves provided with foffil coal, which is found in abundance in the vicinity. In an empire fo wide, fuch a diverfity of climate and feafons muft occur that no general defcription can fuffice. Perhaps every vege table produdion, adapted to ufe or luxuryj might be reared within. the Chinefe boundaries. Face ofthe The face ofthe country is infinitely diverfified ; and though in a ge- Country. neYa\ view it be flat and fertile, and interfeded with numerous large rivers and canals, yet there are chains of granitic mountains, and other diftrids of a wild and favage nature. Cultivation has however con fiderably reduced the number and extent of fuch features, whence the natives feek to diverfify the famenefs of improvement, by introducing them in miniature into their gardens. In general the appearance ofthe ' Staunton, iii. 157. 2 country CHAP. IV. 'NATURAL GEOGRAPHY. 103 country is rendered fingularly pidurefque by the peculiar ftyle of the Fageoftkb buildings, and uncommon form of the trees and plants. The Lil is infinitely various, and agriculture, by the account of all- Soil and travellers, carried to the utmoft degree of perfedion. The extent of the internal commerce has had the fame effed as if wealth had been pro cured from foreign climes ; and the advantage has been laudably ufed in the improvement of the country. It is well known that the emperor himfelf fets an annual example of the veneration due to agriculture, the firft and moft important province of human induftry. Sir George Staunton thus expreffes his ideas of Chinefe agriculture :* " Where the face ofthe hill or mountain is not nearly perpendicular m to the level furface of the earth, the flope is converted into a number of terraces, one above another, each of which is fupported by mounds of ftone. By this management it is not uncommon to fee the whole face of a mountain completely" cultivated to the fummit. Thefe ftages are not confined to the culture of any particular vegetable. Pulfe, grain, yams, fweet potatoes, onions, carrots, turnips, and a variety of other cu linary plants, are produced upon them. A refervoir is funk in the top ofthe mountain. The rain water colleded in it is conveyed, by chan nels, fucceffively to the different terraces, placed upon the mountain's fides. In fpots too rugged, barren, fteep, or high for raifing other plants, the camellia fefanqua, and divers- firs, particularly the larch, are cultivated with fuccefs.