APENNINES. 



thousands may be Men in a wild state. No snakes nor other veno- 

 mous reptiles exist in thin island, but their absence i* compensated for 

 by mosquitoes. Fuh U plentiful along tho coast White whale* 

 he chunel of Mozambique, and are often kill.'.l by 

 tho inhabitants of this island. Cowrie* are fouud ou the shoals in the 

 Mighbourhood, aud fonn an article of export. 



"The population consists of Africans and Arabs. The Arabs, who 

 oompoM the upper rlsnsnn. have introduced their religion, law*, and a 

 part of thoir knowledge, especially of navigation. But tho A: 



uipose the bulk of the inhabitant*, are very little advanced in 

 civilisation. The inland i* governed by a sultan whoae power is 

 checked by the noble*. The island formerly numbered about 

 100,000 inhabitant*, but the population ha* been greatly reduced by the 

 pirate* of MndTgivr^r. who make expedition* to the*) island* for 



-'.i',. 



The town of MaUamudo, or Uachadu (the capital), which lies at the 

 end of an open bay, U vixited by European vessels for refreshment, 

 and ha* about 3000 inhabitant*. But the king reside* in another town, 

 called Domoni, which i* 10 miles from MaUamudo, in the interior. 

 The trade of thi* island i* very inconsiderable. [COMORO ISLES.] 



A08TA, a province of Piedmont, in the administrative district of 

 Ivrea, consist* chiefly of one long valley of the same name, which i" 

 watered by the Dora Baltea. Thi* river, from its source in the Oraian 

 Alps, run* first eastward for about 85 miles, and then turning south- 

 eastward below Chatillon enters the province of Ivrea below the fortress 

 of Bard, and finally joins the Po batween Chiavasso and Crescentino. 

 Many smaller valleys open into the main one on both sides, following 

 the course of the mountain streams which flow from the Upper Alps 

 into the Dora. The principal are ou the north side, the Vol Leaa . 

 begins at St. Martin on the Dora and extends up to the glacier of Lys, 

 at the foot of Mont Rosa ; Val Touruanche, which begins at Chatillon 

 and runs to the foot of Uont Cervin, east of which is the Joch, called 

 also the Col of M.jnt (Vrvin ; it in the highest pass in Europe, and leads 

 to Visp in the V allots ; Val Pellina, which extends north-east of the city 

 of Aosta, along the base of Mont Yelan and M u to the Col 



, o\,-r wliii-h there is another pass, nearly 8000 feet high, into 

 the Vallais ; the Val du Butier, so called from the feu-rent of th: 

 which leads from Aosta to the Great St. -Bernard. Ascending the 

 Dora from the city of Aoste towards the foot of Mont Blanc, the main 

 valley branches out into several high and narrow glens : of these the 

 Val d'Entreves contains the village and the baths of Cormayeur, from 

 whence a pas* lead* northward over the Col de Ferret into the Vallais ; 

 and the Val Veui, called also Alice Blanche, skirts several vast glaciers 

 that descend from the range of Mont Blanc, and leads to the Col de 

 la Seigne, over which there is a pass into Savoy. Here the Dora has 

 its source in the little lake Combal. Another stream, coming from the 

 south-west, joins it at Pro" St.-Uidier, a village with mineral waters. 

 The valley that follows this stream, and leads to the pass of the Little 

 St-Bernard, is called Val de la Tuile. This is the best and the easiest 

 of all the passes leading from the Val d' Aosta over the Alps. A lofty 

 summit, called the Cramont, covered with perpetual snow. divides the 

 Val de la Tuile from the Allee Blanche. The other valleys that branch 

 out of the main one south of the Dora are : Val Qrisauchc, which 

 leads from the village of Livrogne to the great glacier of 1; 

 embedded in a lofty group of Alps that projects eastward of tho Oraiau 

 range between the Little St. -Bernard and Mont Iseran ; Val Savers 

 Vecchia, or Saveranche, leading from Villeneuve, on the right bank of 

 the Dora, to the foot of Mont Iseran ; Val di Cogne, extending from 

 Aosta to Mont Soana, an offset from the great chain of Mont Iseran, 

 which incloses the province of Aosta on the south ; a passage for mules 

 leads over Mont Soana to the valley of the Orca in the province of 

 Turin ; and, lastly, Val Camporoier, which stretches along the same 

 range, and opens to the right bank of the Dora, nearly opposite 

 St. -Martin. All the streams that traverse these valleys are subject to 

 sudden freshets ; but as they flow generally in very deep beds, and for 

 a large part of their course through ravines, the impetuosity of tin .1- 

 currents on them occasions is seldom attended by any other result 

 than the deeper erosion of their channels. 



Each of these valley* contain* villages and hamlets ; several hamlet* 

 are ranged in groups on the side of the mountain, and the principal 

 one of the group i* distinguished by the parish church. The lower 

 parts of the valleys are very fertile ; they produce little wheat, but 

 plenty of barley, oaU, and rye, all sorts of fruit, and above all rich 

 pasture* which feed a great number of cattle aud Books of sheep. The 

 Val d' Aoste supplies the neighbouring provinces with butcher's meat, 

 butter, and cheese. Most of the peasants of Aoste are possessed of 

 some land, and those of the upper valleys, who are the poorest, 

 emigrate for the winter, and earn their bread by various callings in 

 the neighbouring countries, from which they return in summer for 

 the labours of their scanty fields. A considerable transit trade is 

 carried on between Switzerland an.! Italy l.y the St-Bernard. which 

 is the moot direct communication between Bern and Turin. The vine 

 thrive* on the lower hills, which have a southern aspect, and some of 

 the win**, especially those of Chambave, are not inferior to those of 

 Montferrat In the province there are all seasons and climate* within 

 a short range. On the Alpine summit* are perpetual ice and wow j 

 next are forest* of fin and larches ; lower down, chestnut and walnut- 

 tree* ; then vines , and, lastly, the olive, almond, fig, and mulberry-trees 



growing in all the luxuriance of the south. In the valley hemp, maize, 

 .u. i fruit-tree* are extensively cultivated. 



The river Don and the other stream* (which mostly run in very 

 deep beds) afford excellent trout The I.IM-. iti.-e i- rich in mineral* : 

 iron, copper, lead, manganese, cobalt, crystal, and rock -salt are found ; 

 particles of gold are found in some of the streams, especially in the 

 stream which flows through the valley of C'hollant Mineral springs 

 also abound. There are iron-work*, in .. 



mountain streams is made available, at St-Vinoeut, iiuur Chatillon, 

 Mont-Jovet, St-Maroel, Orossun, Cogne, Ac. 



The people of these secluded valley* speak a dialqt resembling the 

 patoi* of Savoy aud western Switz.-rl.unl. ' wever 



understand French, and speak it well enough 



Italian is like a foreign language here, although it i* the language of 

 the government, and a* such spoken by all civil officers and magistrates. 

 The men wear long frocks of blue, red, or green cloth, short breeches 

 and worsted stockings of the same colours, buckles to their shoes, and 

 huge cooked-hats. The women wear black or white caps, fastened 

 under the chin, which serve partly to conceal the gottrtt, or wen*, with 

 which most of them are more or leu* afflicted. 



The province of Aosta is one of the most interesting provinces of 

 North Italy to the traveller and the naturalist It lies at the foot of 

 the highest summit* in Europe; Mont Blanc, Monti*! 

 Bernard, Mont Combiu, Mont Corviu, and Mont Rosa tower a! 

 and almost inclose it with their glaciers. It is bounded X. anil N.W. 

 by the Pennine Alps; W. aud S.W. by the Oraian Alps; S. by 

 Mont Soana above mentioned ; and E. by an oil's, range 



of Mont Rosa, which separates the Val Lesa from the ; 

 Valsesia. Over this last range is the pass of Col Valdobbia, above 

 7000 feet high, affording a communication between the two provinces. 

 It is only at the south-eastern extremity of the province that the 

 mountains leave an outlet into the lowlands of Pii-.lm :,!. i> 

 which the Dora makes its way, and by the side of the river in th 

 road passable for carriages. The pas* in often eonlim-il Uiw.-en the 

 mountain on one aide and the river on the other. Near Mont -J . ivet the 

 rock has been cut out to widen the road. I. i down, between 

 ::n.l I'on r.\. i .ve been cut vertically to the height of 30 feet, 



and a i wide has been thus made with a parapet on the 



river : ! out of the rock itself: this work is ascribed to 



The fort of Ban! destroyed by the French in 1800, but 

 since rebuilt and made much stronger, risen high above the village of 

 the same name, and completely commands the pass. 



The Salaam, a Celtic tribe, ore the first inhabitants of these i 

 mentioned in history : Strabo (book iv.) gives an .' count of 

 They fought repeatedly and bravely against t y were 



defeated in the year u.c. 718, by Marcus Valerius Measala, wh 

 obliged to winter among th Tibullus a- 



Messala in this expedition, to which he alludi '* in his pan. ;:> K. . i' his 

 natron. The Sahusi having revolted again, Augustus sent Terentius 

 Varro, wh.. .oil -.1 on a wat of extermination, and completely sn 

 tin-in ; ;ti;,i>nO of both sexes v . at. Kpomlia (Ivrea). 



Augustus sent afterwards a colony of Itoim 1'ra-toriun.s who built the 

 !' Augusta Pretoria, now Aosta. Terentius Varro, having also 

 subdued the Centrones on the other *:> . that 



country took the name of Tar s in-. AM 



made a carriage road over the mountain, now called the I. it 



I. which became the great line of comi 



t Yi. line on the Rhone. Traces of this road are still to be seen in 

 After tho fall of the empire, the country pawed 

 under the dominion of the Goths, the Lougobords, and the Bur- 

 gun. liann ; and lastly, of the Counts of Savoy. Amadeu* 111., in the 

 18th century, conquered the valley of Aosta. whose inhabitants had 

 I ami imprisoned his messengers. Tho F.mperor Frederic IL, 

 on his passage by Turin, granted Amadeus the title of DM: 

 which was borne in the last century by the - I' ihe king 



of Sardinia. The last who hod it was Vietor Kuimanm-l, who after- 

 wards became king, and who abdicated in \~~\. 



The whole province or duchy contains 73 communes, forming seven 

 mandameuti, < di-trict, under one intendsnt-generol : tho population 

 in 1848 was 81, 23'.!. The length of the province from east to west is 

 .V. miles, and its greate-- - 30 miles. The area is 1233 square 



,-. hi.-li is occupied by barren mountain* and glaciers. 

 The town- ith the exception of Aoste are small. 



The chief town of the province is Acttu. which is built in an opening 



where seven ot, and at the junction of the Dora Baltea and 



, Turin, and 65 miles S.I',, from (ieneva, 



in 46 45' N. lat, 17" I : population, 6000. It is the seat 



of a bishop, and the residence of the intendent.-. .,r military governor 

 rovince. There are in the town a tribunal of justice, a royal 

 itals, three churches, and a cathedral; its chief 

 architectural attractions however are the ancient Roman stm 

 which it contains. Among these are a triumphal arch, a i 

 and an amphitheatre. Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury in the reigns 

 of Rnfus and Henry I., was a native of Aosta. 8t Bernard de 

 celebrated Hospice of St Bernard, was 



mountains which traverse Italy. Tho name is 

 supposed to be derived from the Celtic term J'cnvr Ben, signifying ' a 



