317 



CAPE WALKER. 



CAPITANATA. 



318 



W. long. Their shores are commonly low, or of moderate elevation, 

 but in the interior the islands often rise to a considerable height. 

 They are doubtless of volcanic origin, and a volcano still exists in the 

 island of Fogo, the summit of which is above 9000 feet high. The soil 

 is very dry, but by no means sterile. The rainy season lasts from 

 July to November, and is attended with thunder-storms and thick 

 fogs. Sometimes no rain falls for three or four years together, and 

 the consequence is a famine. During the rainy season the climate is 

 unhealthy. Maize and rice are the principal objects of agriculture ; 

 but all the fruits of the south of Europe and of Western Africa grow 

 abundantly, especially oranges, melons, pomegranates, bananas, lemons, 

 figs, gnavas, grapes, cocoa-nuts, and pine-apples. Coffee grows well, 

 as also indigo and tobacco. Sugar and cotton are grown, but very 

 little is exported ; and though the vine flourishes, the wine made is 

 of inferior quality. The palm, tamarind, and adansonia are the principal 

 trees. The number of trees on the island however is but small. 

 Among the domestic animals the most numerous are cattle, goats, 

 asses, and fowls ; goat-skins are the principal article of export, upwards 

 of 6000 being annually shipped. Asses are exported to the West 

 Indies. The most remarkable of the wild animals are monkeys and 

 bisam-cats ; turtles abound in the neighbouring seas. Salt is made 

 by evaporation from sea-water in most of these islands on the low 

 shores, and forms an important article of export to America and the 

 coast of Africa. A good deal of orchilla is gathered. The inhabit- 

 ants, who are all Catholics and speak Portuguese, are mostly negroes, 

 mixed with some mulattoes, the descendants of the Portuguese who 

 have settled here. There are very few whites. Vessels bound for the 

 East Indies sometimes stop here for fresh provisions. 



The group consists of 8 larger islands and several barren islets. 

 The following table shows their area and comparative populations : 



It must be mentioned however that the total population of the 

 islands in 1850 amounted to 86,738. The population in the table is 

 taken from the Census of 1834. The total area of all the islands and 

 islets belonging to the group is 1642 square miles. 



Branca, Chaon, Camera, and Ghuay are bare rocks, and Ilha do Sal 

 has a sterile soil, but is important for the great quantity of salt col- 

 lected in the numerous lagunes with which its beach is covered, and 

 which is formed by solar evaporation. 



The capital of the islands is Itibeira Grande, which is situated on 

 the island of Santiago. It is the seat of a bishop, the residence of the 

 Portuguese governor of the Cape Verds, and contains 500 houses : it 

 is situated at the mouth of a river which forms a small harbour, but 

 it is not much visited, Porto Praya is a good harbour, and is visited 

 by vessels bound for India : it contains 1200 inhabitants. 



Theee islands were discovered in 1449 by the Portuguese, and some 

 years afterwards they were settled. They are still in the possession 

 of the Portuguese, and under a separate governor. Besides the few 

 articles (goat-skins, salt, turtles, fruits, saltpetre, cattle, and asses) 

 which are exported, the inhabitants have some commerce with the 

 continent of Africa, where they sell cotton cloths. Whales abound 

 round the islands, and amber is found on all the coasts. Linen, 

 earthenware, pottery, and soap are made on some of the islands. 



In the sea which divides this group from Africa, the atmosphere 

 for the greater part of the year is hazy and foggy, especially near 

 the continent, so that the vessels sailing south prefer to keep to the 

 west of the islands. The same phenomenon of a foggy atmosphere is 

 observed farther north, between the Canaries and the coast north of 

 Cape Bojador. 



(Mac^regor, Commercial Statistic!.) 



CAPE WALKER. [NORTH POLAII COUSTRIES.] 



i Al'KLLE, LA. [AisNK.] 



CAPERNAUM, an ancient city of Galilee in Palestine, about 70 

 miles N. by E. from Jerusalem, was situated on the north-western 

 shore of the Sea of Tiberias, and about 2 miles W. from the mouth of 

 the Jordan. It wag a place of considerable importance hi the time of 

 Christ. It was there that our Saviour commenced his public minis- 

 try ; and in its neighbourhood he delivered the Sermon on the Mount. 

 Its continued impenitency and unbelief, notwithstanding the peculiar 

 opportunities with which it was favoured, led to the denunciations 

 pronounced against it. The name (Kaphr-nahum) meant ' village of 

 consolation.' The ruins are now called Tell-Hum, 'the ruined heap 

 of a herd of camels.' The remains of Roman baths, porticoes, and 

 buildings attest its ancient importance. 



CAPITANATA, a province of the kingdom of Naples correspond- 

 ing to the ancient Daunia, extends along the Adriatic from the mouth 



of the Saccione to the mouth of the Ofanto. The Ofanto divides the 

 province on the south-east from Basilicata and Ban ; on the south 

 and south-west lies the province of Principato Ultra, separated from 

 Capitanata by the main ridge of the Apennines. The north-western 

 boundary towards Saunio or Molise is formed by the upper course of 

 the Fortore to the point where this river crosses the high road from 

 Lucera to Ururi : it then runs along this road for five miles in a 

 north-west direction, and thence down to the Saccione, along the left 

 bank of which it runs to its mouth. The length of the province along 

 the coast in a straight line is 70 miles ; but reckoning the winding 01 

 the sea round the great projection of Monte Gargano, the coast-line 

 measures at least 100 miles. The average width of the province is 

 about 45 miles ; but between the crest -of the Apennines and the 

 extremity of Monte Gargano it is not less than 75 miles. The area is 

 about 2359 square miles, and the population in 1851 was 318,415. 

 The governor of this territory and the adjoining parts of Italy sub- 

 ject to the Eastern emperors, was styled Kataprm ; and Capitanata 

 is supposed to be a corruption of Katapanata or Catapanata, the name 

 by which his province would most probably be designated. The pro- 

 vince is also vulgarly called Puylia Piano, (or level Puglia) to distin- 

 guish it from Puglia Pietrosa (the rocky), now Terra di Bar! and Otranto. 



The greater part of Capitanata consists of a wide plain sloping 

 gently from the foot of the Apennines to the Adriatic. In the 

 northern part of the province the mountainous region of Monte Gar- 

 gano projects eastward into the sea, forming a promontory which 

 from its shape and position has been called the ' Spur of Italy." To 

 the north-west the districts of Torre Maggiore, Lucera, and Vulturara 

 lie among offsets of the Apennine ridge. To the west the towns of 

 Troja and Bovino, and to the south that of Ascoli rise at the foot of 

 the ridge itself. All the rest is a vast monotonous plain, without 

 trees, with hardly any villages or houses, and with only the city of 

 Foggia in the middle of it, and the town of Cerignola near the Ofanto. 

 This plain is known by the name of Tavoliere di Puglia. The Fortore 

 flows north-north-east into the sea to the north of Lake Lesina, 

 opposite the Tremiti Isles. The Candelaro rises to the north of 

 Torre Maggiore, not far from the right bank of the Fortore, from 

 which it is divided by a low offshoot of the Apennines ; it thence 

 flows south-east along the western base of the Monte Gargano, receiv- 

 ing on the right bank from the Apennines the Triolo, the Volgano, 

 and the Celone (which cross the northern part of the Tavoliere), and 

 on the left bank a few small streams from Monte Gargano, and falls 

 into the shore-lake of Pantano Salso, a few miles south of Man- 

 fredonia. The Cervaro and Carapella flow in a north-east direction 

 from the Apennines, and at a distance of only a few miles apart 

 across the Tavoliere, the former enters the Pantano Salso ; the latter 

 discharges part of its waters into the shore-lake of Salpi, and the rest, 

 by a canal cut in 1830, into the Adriatic. The Candelaro, Celone, 

 and some of the other rivers are embanked to prevent inundations. 

 The Ofanto (ancient Aufidus) is noticed under BASILICATA. 



About one-sixth of the surface among the hilly regions of Gargano 

 and the Apennines is covered with forests and plantations of trees. 

 Monte Gargano, the ancient Garganus, is the only great promontory 

 on the Italian shore of the Adriatic between Aucona and Otrauto. 

 The region is a compact mass of limestone mountains geologically 

 connected with the Apennines, but separated from them by a portion 

 of the great plain of Apulia. It extends not less than 35 miles from 

 east to west, above 20 miles from north to south, and attains iu its 

 highest point an elevation of 5120 feet above the sea. In ancient 

 times Garganus was celebrated for its dense forests of oak, but these 

 have now almost entirely disappeared. The southern slopes of Monte 

 Gargano are covered with aromatic herbs, from which the bees of the 

 region make most excellent honey the offshoot between Monte Sail 

 Angelo and the sea was celebrated for its honey by Horace, who^e 

 name for the range (Matinus) is perpetuated in that of Mattinata, a 

 village with a tower and small port. The ridges of Monte Gargano 

 that extend down to the sea screen several coves well adapted for 

 sheltering small craft. The Monte Gargano, with its well-wooded 

 ravines interspersed with villages, presents much beautiful and inter- 

 esting scenery. The region contains extensive quarries of alabaster. 



The great plain of the Tavoliere is about 60 miles long and 30 miles 

 broad iu its widest part ; it occupies 1,120,000 moggia, or nearly one- 

 half of the surface of the province. It belongs to the crown, with the 

 exception of a few small portions. Two-thirds of the plain are left 

 for pasture, and have no resident population ; and the other third is 

 cultivated, excepting 58,000 moggia of it, which are covered with 

 marshes. The history of the Tavoliere is interesting. Daunia, pre- 

 vious to the Roman invasion, was well inhabited, and had many towns. 

 In the second Punic war the devastation of the country was com- 

 menced. The wars of Sulla and the servile war of Spartacus com- 

 pleted the desolation. The towns and villages of the plain being 

 destroyed, the inhabitants became wanderers and shepherds. The 

 course of the rivers and drains being neglected, pestilential marshes 

 were formed near the sea-coast ; while the inland plain, deprived ot 

 irrigation, was burnt up by the summer heats. In winter however 

 it afforded a natural and abundant pasture. The mountaineers of 

 Samnium and Abruzzo began to lead their flocks in winter into the 

 plains of Apulia, which were abandoned, and returned to the moun- 

 tains for the summer. This was the origin of the system of migratory 



