.- 



ARACAV. 



IRAQON 



ly the beat, the inundation*, and the general moisture. The 

 nowvver of the country U very great, and it* soil is fit for the 



culture of nearly all t r 



I country u very great, and iU loil u fit fur the 

 tropical production* ; but in the actual state of 

 agriculture rice only u cultivated to any great extent Indigo, cotton, 

 near, hemp, and tobaooo, are also raised ; together with a variety of 

 puses, fruit*, and vegetables. Timber U scarce. Of the Ecology and 

 mineralogy of the district Tory little in known ; silver, iron, and salt, 

 are mentioned among iU mineral produce. 



A mean, the ancient capital, is built on a plain entirely surrounded 

 by hill*, and interwcted by several streamlet*, in 20* 43' N. lat, 

 M* 31' E. long. One of the streamlet* divides the town into two 

 ]*rU connected by strong but clumsy wooden bridges. During the 

 periodical rains the greater part of the town is inundated, and on this 

 account here, as well as in the villages on the plain, the houses are 

 raised upon piles or strong posts of timber, little more than four feet 

 above the ground. These houses or rather huts are miserable 

 structures, only one story high, and thatched with straw or mats. 

 They are ranged with considerable regularity in streets, the chief of 

 which skirt* the stream on each side. Within the town U a very 

 ancient fort, surrounded by three quadrangular concentric walls, each 

 about 20 feet high and of considerable thickness. There are also four 

 pagodas built in the centre of the town on a hill about 100 feet high, 

 and inclosed by a quadrangular wall ; they contain many remarkable 

 sculptures, some of which bear an analogy to those of Egypt. Except 

 the fort the pagodas are the only stone buildings in Aracan. The 

 heights which surround the town are covered with pagodas, the gilt 

 spires of which, shooting up from every pinnacle around and glittering 

 in the sun, contribute greatly to the singular and picturesque appear- 

 ance of this place. Upwards of sixty of these temples of various forms 

 may be counted at once. The population, which amounted to nearly 

 100,000 before the capture of the town by the British in 1824, has 

 since declined. 



Al-yab, the present capital of the district of Aracan, has a good 

 harbour, but hna been little frequented, on account of it* unhealthful- 

 neas. Much improvement has been effected in the town during the 

 last twelve years by the erection of several government offices, an 

 hospital, an exchange, draw-bridges, several rood bridges, and a 

 lighthouse, which rises 100 feet above the sea. A landing-place has 

 been constructed and part of the sea-beach has been strengthened by 

 an embankment Tulak, on the Talak Keon, and Aeng, on the 

 Tanawav Keon, are places of some commerce. 



The district of Sando way comprehends chiefly the mainland between 

 18 and 19* N. lat, and is a mountainous country, intersected by 

 valleys running east and west Not being exposed to inundations, or 

 subject to fogs, it is tolerably healthy, and enjoys a cool sea-breeze, 

 with temperate nights, nearly through the year. Agriculture is 

 increasing, on account of the neighbourhood of the large town of 

 Kyouk Phyoo. The capital, Sandoway (in 18 28' N. lat, 94 27' 

 E. long.) lies on a navigable river, and is a thriving town. 



The district of Ramree contains the two large islands of Ramree and 

 Cheduba, and several smaller ones. The island of Ramree is of con- 

 siderable extent, and is divided from the mainland by a narrow but 

 navigable channel It consists of hills (some of them volcanic), inter- 

 mingled with much level ground, and has generally a very fertile soil 

 Kyouk Phyoo is at present the capital of the whole province and 

 begins to be a place of some trade. It U situated at the northern 

 extremity of the island of Ramree. At the southern end of the island 

 is a safe harbour, called Ramree or Amherst Harbour. The island of 

 Cheduba u divided from Ramree and the mainland by a navigable 

 nhanncl, but no safe harbour is found on it It U of moderate height, 

 with several hummocks on it ; its soil is excellent and well watered 

 by hill-streams, on the banks of which rice, tobacco, cotton, red pepper, 

 hemp, and sugar-cane, are cultivated. But the larger part of the 

 island is still covered with jungle. In 1827 it contained about 2300 

 houses, and 12,000 inhabitant*. Here also are several volcanoes, 

 mostly of the description called mud-volcanoes, strongly impregnated 

 with sulphur. They are worshipped by the inhabitants, who think 

 them occasioned by the great maga or serpent which supports the 

 world, and which take* this method of giving vent to its agony. 



The population of Aracan is from 200,000 to 260,000. The 

 aborigines, who appear to form almost exclusively the. population, 

 are called Mugs by the inhabitant* of Bengal, but their national name 

 is Yakain, or Ma-ran-ma. They arc short, squat, robust and fleshy, 

 and differ in features greatly from Europeans. Their face is some- 

 what of the shape of a loienge, the forehead and chin being sharpened, 

 but the face at the cheek-bone* very broad. The eyebrows project 

 verv little, and the eyes an very narrow, and placed rather oMi.|ii.-ly 

 in the head, the external angle* being the highest Their nose U very 

 mall, but it has not like that of the negro, the appearance of having 

 been flattened j the hair is harsh, lank, and black. Their language is 

 one of thnae which may properly be called monosyllabic, from the 

 mass of their radical words being monosyllable*, like the spoken 

 dialocu of China. They do not neglect education. A person is 

 rarely met with who cannot read and write. Their records are kept 



S7-FS [ T *!^T rti ^ ll l Jf 1 c< > uep d . generally on a gilt groun.l with 

 dark letters. Their religion U that of Buddha ; their priests, of whom 

 two are three are to every village seem entirely occupied in the 

 * of the children; the school, are open to all The Mugs 



are distinguished for their simple honesty and 



they are free from the servile hypocrisy of the Hindoos, and they 

 are also unlike them as to probity their word being generally trust- 

 worthy. The women are not so secluded as in China ; but a peculiar 

 usage of this nation is, that when a man wants to raise money he 

 pawns hi* wife for a certain period, or until the debt is liquidated. 



The mountains which separate Aracan from the Burmese empim 

 are inhabited by a nation called by the Burmese Kyain, but who t. -i-iu 

 themselves Koloon, and whose language in peculiar, having lit 

 no affinity to either Rakhain or Burma. 



A considerable traffic was formerly carried on between Aracan and 

 Ava, the first exporting Hindustanee and European goods, such as 

 velvet, broad-cloth; piece-goods, muslins, betel-nut salt, 4c., and 

 receiving in return ivory, silver, copper, sugar, tobacco, oil, and 

 lacquered ware. Under the British sway the commerce of Aracan 

 ha* been partly diverted to other possession* along the ultra-Gangetio 

 coast 



(Byrnes' s Embauy to the Court of Ara; Francis Buchanan, Dr. 

 Ley den, Paton, and Trant, in the Atiatic Rttearcket; Journal of the 

 Land. Gtogr. Society, vol i. ; Aniaiic Journal.) 



ARACATY, a town in Brazil, in the province of Ceara, in 40 10' 

 S. lat, 87 80' W. long., is built on the eastern margin of the- Id . 

 Jaguaribe, at a distance of about 8 miles from the sea. The tide ascends 

 the Rio Jaguaribe to about 30 miles from its mouth. Araoaty is the 

 largest most populous, and flourishing town of the province, as vessels 

 of considerable size can run up to it. The streets are wide and partly 

 paved, and many of its houses are commodious. Its populut 

 stated to amount to 26,000. Its commerce is con-id. -r.d. I, and consists 

 principally of cotton, hides, sheep and goat-skins, dried fish, and 

 brazil-wood. It has a grammar school. 



(Spix and Martins, Rate in Sraiilien ; Henderson's Jfittory of 

 Brazil.) 



ARACENA. [SEVILI.A.] 



ARAD ISLAND. [lUmiElN.] 



ARAFAT. [M> 



ARAGON, frequently in English written Arragon, a i>rovr 

 Spain, formerly a kingdom, is bounded N. by France. X.W. l.y 

 Navarre, W. and S.W. by distills Vieja and Castilla Nueva, S 

 S.E. by Valencia, and E. by Catnluna. It is situated between 40 2' 

 and 42 54' N. lat, 48' E. long., and 2 8' W. long. The greatest 

 length N. to S. is about 190 miles; the greatest width I'., it, \\ . is 

 about 130 miles. It comprises the following modern provinces : 



Area in ftq. miles. Pop. in 1849. 



Zaragoza 3254 350,000 



Huoca 5032 .17,105 



Tcrucl 4404 250,000 





. 14,710 



847,10} 



Surface. The surface of Aragon is mountainous with the exception 

 of that portion of the basin of the Ebro which in south and south-east 

 of the city of Zaragoza, comprising the extensive plains between tin- 

 Rio Huerba and the Rio Ouadalope. The northfrn lioundary ft' Hi.- 

 province is formed by the summit-line of the Pyrenees, the offsets of 

 which extend southwards far into Aragon. The: vullrvs which lie 

 between the ridges have a rapid slope, and are from 10 to 40 miles in 

 length ; but sometimes they are contracted into gorges or expanded 

 into circular hollows surrounded by mountains. Some of these 

 rounded basins seem to have originally contained lakes, which have 

 bunt and discharged their waters. There are several small lakes 

 among the mountains ; one on the Monte Perdido is 8393 feet above 

 the sea level. The Monte Perdido forma a group or knot of moun- 

 tains, the highest summit of which has an elevation of 11,184 feet 

 above the sea. A short distance west of this summit is the fam,m 

 'Brecha de Roldan,' a vast fissure in the mountain-ridge, which 

 Orlando (Roldan in Spanish) is said to have made by a stroke of hi* 

 tud sword. The opening may be Keen from Huesca, a distance 

 of more than 40 miles, whence it appears like a mere notch in the 

 rocky mountain, but when approached is found t.i I,.- tin enormous 

 gap between perpendicular walla from 300 to 600 feet high, in shape 

 like the square opening in a battlement The Monte Maledeta, which 

 separates the valley of Aran in Cataluba from the valley of Venaaqne 

 in Aragon, is the highest mountain of the Pyrenees. It rises in tin- 

 form of a huge sugar-loaf to an elevation of 1 1,424 feet above the sea, 

 its dark summit emerging from a covering of snow and glaciers. 



The valleys which lie between the ridges of the Pyrenees in Aragon 

 are among the most beautiful of the whole range. They are generally 

 fertile and afford good pasturage. Many of the slopes are well wooded 

 with oaks, pines, and other trees, and much timber is flouti -d d,, u tin- 

 rivers to the Ebro, and thence to Tortosa. Strabo observed (iii. 245) 

 how much better wooded were the southern slopes of the Pyrenees 

 than the northern. The woods however have suffered much f>-om 

 waste and neglect; for the natives seem to destroy almost as much an 

 they use, and they never replant The principal valleys, taken ft MM 

 east to west, are Venasque or Benasque, 24 miles long ; Oistain, about 

 the same length (both oast of Monte Perdido) ; Broto, west and south 

 of Mont.' IVnliilo ; Tvna, almut 20 miles long; Canfranc, about 15 

 miles long ; and Anso, about 1 miles long. 

 A district of high and hilly ground, called the Sierra de Alcubierre, 



