: 



BERCHTB8OADEK. 



r.KIM-.NHT. 



MM 



destroying the forests and devastating several rich plantations. In 

 1794 Berbice surrendered to the British force* with the rent of the 

 Dutch settlements on this const, but they were all restored to Holland 

 by the tre.ity of Amiens in 1802. The limit* of the colony, 

 formerly extended no farther to the eastward than the Devil's Creek, 

 were, after the mil-rendering of Surinam to the English, enlarged in 

 1799 by the addition of the country between that creek and the 

 river Courantyne : the opposite boundary, separating it from Deme- 

 rara, panes from the mouth of Abary Creek in a direct lino to the. 

 southward. On the breaking out of the war in 1803 England again 

 took possession of Berbice, since which time it has remained a British 

 colony, having been finally ceded by the treaty of Paris, August 

 1814, with the condition that the Dutch proprietors should have 

 liU'rty to trade with Holland under certain restrictions. In 1831 

 Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice were united under one govern- 

 ment called British Guyana. Cotton, sugar, and coffee arc the prin- 

 cipal articles of export. Besides the supiwrt afforded by government 

 to the Episcopalian worship, the Dutch Reformed Church, the 

 Weslcyan Methodists, and the Roman Catholics receive pecuniary 

 grants from government towards the support of their religious 

 establishment*. 



ffev Amiterdam, the capital of the colony, was commenced in 1 7!"', 

 the position of old Amsterdam, which was higher up, being found 

 inconvenient. It stands on the east bank of the Berbice River, 

 immediately above the junction of the Conjee, where, it is intersected 

 by canals, and has all the advantages of the tides. It extends about 

 a mile and a half along the Berbice, and each house has an allotment 

 of a quarter of an acre, completely insulated by trenches, which, 

 iK'ing filled and emptied with the tide, prevent nil accumulation of 

 filth. The government house is of brick in the European style, and 

 is considered the finest building in British Guyana. There ore Hchools 

 conducted by Episcopalians, Scotch Presbyterians, and Roman 

 Catholics, each receiving some portion of government aid. 



The whole line of sea-coast, extending between 50 and 60 mile:*, in 

 low and flat. It has a shoal along it which runs off about 3 miles, 

 the laud Wing scarcely visible to vessels till they arrive in very shallow 

 water. There are several small creeks along the coast navigable only 

 for boats. Off the coast the current sets strongly to the westward. 

 A beautiful road, 60 feet broad with parapets on each side, runs 

 nlung the shore to Demerara ; the sea-coast has been embanked and 

 Hid out in luxuriant plantations. 



Berbice River fills into the Atlantic 67 miles eastward of the 

 Demerara, in 6 21' N. lat ; at its testuary it is 4 miles wide with low 

 cleared land on both sides covered with trees in clusters. In mid 

 channel lies Crab Island, so called from the number of land-crabs on 

 ili Inland is low and bushy, with a spit of mud running mit 

 to the north and south, which with a saud bar across the mouth of 

 the river, both tend to block up the harbour. The entrance to the 

 river is protected by three strong batteries, two on the eastern side, 

 nnd the other called York Redoubt, on tin- w tern bank opposite 

 I'r.th Inland. About 4 miles up the river !H Fort St. Andrew, a small 

 IMW fortification with four bastions, surrounded by :i ditch and 

 mounted with 1 8 1 2-poundcr guns. An extensive swamp lies in the 

 rear of this fort, which is separated from N i.nu liy the 



i '.injce. Vessels of 300 tons may sail up the Berbice as for as Fort 

 Nassau, which is 30 miles directly inland, and about 50 miles liy the. 

 counc of the river. Vessels drawing 7 feet water may ascend the 

 river more than 160 miles from its mouth. The river is lined on both 

 sides with luxuriant vegetation. The banks are low and covered with 

 nigur and coffee plantations : several small creeks branch off on each 

 aide, but are only accessible to boats. Its source is among the 

 mountains which bonnd the colony to the southward, at the distance 

 of about 60 miles inland from the sea-coast It was in the Berbice 

 River that Sir It Schomlmrgk, on January 1, 1837, first saw the 

 magnificent water-lily called Virtoria Sato, which has been since 

 reared at Kew Gardens, and at Chntsworth, the seat of the Dake of 

 -hire. 



The statistics of Berbice, as a British settlement, will bo found 

 under OCTAHA, Bum 



(Bryan Kd wards'* tt'tti Imlin; 1'urdy's tWomfttnn Narigalor ; 

 Arrowsmith's Chart ; Hchomburgk, in landon Oroyrapkical Journal.) 



T.KKi llTKSilAliKX, a district in the circle of 1'ppcr lUvoris, 

 lying at the south-eastern extremity of the kingdom, and bound. -.1 

 east by the Salxberg territories in the 'province above the 

 Knt,' or Upper Austria. It has an area of about 147 squar. 

 with a population of about 9000. Rerchtesgaden is as romantic and 

 picturesque a region as any among the Alps, b--ing encircled by lofty 

 mountains, such as the Untersbcrg (6200 feet high) in the north, and 

 the' Hohe Gobi' (7812 feet) in the south, which i-i.-es b-hind the town 

 of Hsrrhtssgiilen. It contains numerous delightful valleys, the most 

 considerable of which lies along the course of the Ai Inn. This river 

 traverses the centre of the district, and flows out of the Koniga-see, 



Bart]M|oBjMw*l Lake, a piece of water nearly 8 miles in 



about 111 milc in breadth, 18 miles in circuit, and' walled in by high 



ins. The district lm> contains the Obenee, a small lake con- 



prwdinp, and several smaller lake*. The whole 



'-y is covered with lon.ly dwelling*, stnnding like 



hermitages on hill, precipice*, and narrow plateaus, and its natural 



features render it an object of great interest as well as of constant 

 resort to the naturalist, the artist, and the stranger. The climate is 

 raw and keen : grain does not thrive ; but the inhabitants find ample 

 resource* in its forests, meadows, and ; less than in the 



salt-mines, and their well-known skill in manufacturing articles of 

 wood, ivory, bone, &c. Berchteagadeu indeed resembles a scattered 

 manufacturing town ; and the industry of the females is such that 

 they may frequently be seen carrying on three occupations at the 

 some time, driving cattle before them, carrying burdens on tin ir 

 heads, and knitting as they go along. The government salt--, 

 the shafts of which when lighted up have the appearance of a fairy- 

 palace, are situated on the Salzberg, at Frauenreuth, cost of the town 

 of Rerchtesgaden. Owing to the scarcity of wood-fuel in the i 

 bourhood only a small part of the brine is boiled on the spot, the 

 rest is forced through iron pipes by hydraulic engines to Reichenboll. 

 This district also produces mill-stones, lime, gypsum, nnd turf. 



BercMagadm, the principal town, lies in 47 .T.i' N. lat., 12* 68' 

 E. long., at an elevation of 2018 feet above the level of the sea, and 

 is tnvi rsed by the Alben, or Acheu, which runs into the Salzach. It 

 has a judicial tribunal, an office of woods and forests, an ancient 

 cathedral church with pointed marble towers, a Franciscan monastery, 

 and a charitable asylum ; but its most striking embellishment 



nstein, a royal palace beautifully situated, in which are a library, 

 and the principal depot for the articles in wood, &c., which the < 1 

 manufactures. There are a number of stocking-looms in the town. 

 North of it lies Schellenberg, a markeHown on the Alb.-n. close to 

 the Austrian borders, with about 1500 inhabitants. Near this place 

 is a defile, through which the Albe forces ito way between the base of 

 the Untersberg and the Hoho Guhl, and which leads from the Austrian 

 territory to Btfrchtcsgoden. A rock at the end of the defile is marked 

 with the following inscription carved : ' Pax introntibus et iuhabi- 

 tantibus.' South-west of Berchtesgaden is Ramsau, on the Klausen- 

 bach, a village with a population of 800, with quarries and mill-stone 

 works in its vicinity. The royal family of Bavaria repair occasionally 

 to Berchtesgaden ; they have a hunting seat on the K <--.,, T|., 

 Berchte.igaden Alps are the haunt of the chamois, the vultur 

 the eagle. Their highest points ore the Watzmann and the Rcichen- 

 which ore respectively 9150 and 9340 feet high. 



BERCY. [SEINE, Department of.] 



r.i:!:i>Y('ZIETT. [VOLHTNIA.] 



BEREGH. [HUNGARY.] 



ItKKKXKT,, in Cyivimica. [BENCAZI ; BARCA.] 



BBBEKI'CB (1.), a city and port on the west side of the Red Sea, 

 at the bottom of a bay, which is described by Stnitxi under the name 

 of Acathartus, or Foul, in about 28 56' N. lat, 35 S4' ]',. long. 

 Ptoleuucus places Berenice in the same parallel as Sy. 

 both were accordingly on or near the Bqamootia] line. Tin- li.-irKmr 

 was sheltered from the north-west wind by the island Ophiodcx. This 

 inland produced topazes. A small temple, built of poft calcareous 



one, in tin- Ki_:y ptian style, has been discovered ; it is]' 1 

 Ion:; nnd 4'J feet wide. A part of the wall, which w..- 



- wan nculpturod with w.-l! "\icuted figures in boasc-r 

 in the Egyptian style: hieroglyphic* were also found on the wall. 



Thomirvey of the lie : It in the years IS: 1 ." 1 J ::. by <'..m- 



U. Moresby, and Lieutenant T. O. Corlcss it India 



ny's service, confirms the description of Slnilio, and the 

 accuracy of the position assigned by D'Anville as the site of Be: 

 According to their chart Berenice is at the bottom of a bay, the north 

 i-idc ( f which is formed by the promontory Ras Benass, which is 

 about 19 miles east by south fjjgm Berenice. A range of high moun- 

 tains runs along this part of the coast, leaving near the bay a small 

 ii.irniw strip on which stand the supposed ruins of Berenice. The 

 1 Mountain*, which lie near the coast and north-west of 

 Berenice, ore of great height ; one of them, called Jebel Wady Le- 

 liuma, about 34 miles north-west of Berenice, in marked in the survey 

 as visible at 1 20 miles distance ; but this is probably not quite c 

 as it would give the mountain a height in round numbers of 9Gc 

 Two peaks which lie south of Berenice and near the coast ore i 

 respectively 4440 and 4036 feet. There is good anchorage in; 

 Ras Benass, but the bottom i MTV I. ml. 



This town of lien-nice w.m built or rc.itored by Ptolemajus 1'hil- 

 adelphus ; and a mad was formed from Berenice to Coptos on the Nile 

 (26 N. lot), by which the merchandise of Arabia, India, an.! Kthi..pi.i 

 was conveyed on camels to the Nile, and the troublesome navigation 

 to the head of the (Julf of Suez was avoided. The halting places, 

 t-n in nunilicr, between Berenice and Coptos were determined hy the. 

 situation of the wells. BeUoni found traces of several of these 

 stations. He confirmed D'Anville'x opinion as to the site of IU < 

 which city he says measured 1600 feet from north to south, and 'Jouo 

 feet from east to west. From a rough calculation he concludes that 

 may have had a population of about 10,000. 



lirn mrl' K-jiifilr A ncitnne; Belzoni's Ruearchci, tc.) 



'2. Ihrrnirf, nirmmcd Kpi-Dein-s ('on the Neck, ') from its posit ion on 

 : land, stood, according to Pliny, near the entrance 

 lied Sea, on the African shore. 



renter, siirnamcd Panchrynos, 'all Koldc-n' (Plin., vi. ir 

 placed by I>'Aimllc on the west coast of tin I:, .i 

 nnd -\' N, lat., near the gold minus of Jebel Olhiki or Allaki, fi "in 



