T A i; 



56 



T A I! 



wen, nor is thU island enumerated among tin* pOMeiuons 

 of t hr Chinese. The aborigines call themselves. /Vm(f.. 

 men), and are at present known u ml IT that niinif us a nation. 

 Tin- nation extends northward to the pMUMul* of Kamt- 

 chatka, of which it occupies the must southern extremity 

 near Cape Lopatka. :uui it inhabits the Kurilc Islands, the 

 Japanese island of Ycso, T.iraka'i. and the eoast of the 

 cniitiiieiit of Asia from the mouth of the Amur river south- 

 ward to tlie very boundary-line of Corea. Tliev never cul- 

 tivate the soil, nor apply themselves to hunting wild 

 animals, and they keep no domestic animals except dogs, 

 which they use in winter for drawinsr their sledges, like 

 the inhabitants of Kamtehatka. T.a 1'erousc found them 

 somewhat shorter in stature than Europeans, rarely ex- 

 ceeding ti\e feet six inehes, and some hard!) the feet. 

 Their countenances are benevolent and friendly: thev have 

 tolerably large eyes, thiek lips, rather high check-Vines, 

 and u somewhat broad and compressed no.-e. Their cheeks 

 and chins are covered with long, thick, black beards : there 

 are many individuals whose body is covered with hair, 

 as occasionally is the case in Europe. The only kind of 

 manufacture among them is a kind of cloth made of the 

 bark of willow-trees, which are very common in the island, 

 and do not seem to differ from the European species. They 

 use iii this manufacture a machine. The other articles <,t 

 cloth thev obtain by barter from the Japanese anil Mant- 

 choos. They show also some skill in the erection of their 

 huts and the building of their boats. Their huts are of 

 wood, covered with the white bark of birch, and have a 

 roof of wood thatched with dry straw. I,:i IVrouse com- 

 pares them with the cottages of the peasants of France. 

 fheir boats are of large size and strongly built. Some of 

 their costumes are evidently adopted from the Chinese, as 

 the practice of letting their nails grow to a considerable 

 length, and their mode of saluting by prostration. Like 

 them, thev sit on mats, and eat with little sticks. Their 

 language does not resemble either that of the Japanese. 

 Chinese, or Mantchoos. The Mantchoos visit the northern 

 and western coast to barter dried and smoked salmon, and 

 dried herrings, for some nankeens, tobacco, and utensils. 

 The Japanese visit the southern arid eastern districts, 

 where they obtain train-oil, herrings and salmon, ami a 

 few furs, and give in return lacquered wooden eating and 

 drinking vessels, tobacco and tobacco-pipes, kitchen uten- 

 sils, rice, coarse cotton-cloth, and some minor articles. 



(La Perouse's I'lii/n^,' rntunl tin' II nr/i/ : Hroughton's 

 I'litjua,' of Disrorcnj in thi' \'irt fit'fii /'</// nf the'PiiriJic: 

 Krusciistcrn. I'uynf!'' rniiinl the ll'urlil; and Krnsenstern's 

 Hi i-in il ili' .\lt'iii'iir<:< i-.i jilicatifs, <^c. ; LftDffldorf'a I'oyages 

 unil Tfarflx in ruriiiiix 1'iuix nf tin- Wand.) 



TA It A NTA'SIA, or TAUANTAISE. [SAVOY.] 



TARANTISMUS is the name given to a peculiar 

 nervous affection which was lung supposed to be the con- 

 scqunce of the bite of the Tarantula Spider. It seems to 

 have occurred frequently in the kingdom of Naples during 

 the sixteenth century, and to have been nearly similar in 

 its characters to the disease which was originally called 

 St. Vitus's dance [CnoKK\], and to that which has occa- 

 sionally prevailed in parts of Scotland, and has been called 

 the leaping ague.' 



T he 'pat ients, nearly all of whom were women, soon 

 after being bitten (as it was supposed) used to fall into a 

 profound stupor, from which nothing roused them but the 

 sound of such music as pleased them, on heaiiug which 

 they had an irresistible desire to dance. So long as the 

 music continued, and was in tune and sufficiently lively, 

 they would go on jumping and dancing till they fell 

 exhausted; and, all the time, some used to shriek, some 

 to laugh and sing, some to weep. When, after a short rest, 

 they had recovered from their fatigue, they would ag.iiu 

 begin to dance with an much vigour as before, mil 

 music were played slowly or confusedly, when they would 

 stop and grow anxious and melancholy, or even, if the 

 music were not soon made agreeable to them, would fall 

 into a dangerous stale of stupor. The disease u-cd to last 

 about four days, and seemed to be cured by the ] 



orations brought on by the active exercise: but it 

 often returned at the same iime in the following year, or 

 even for a succession of years, and on every o< 

 required the same treaine:it.' 



Since it has been found that the bite of the Tarantula 

 can produce no such strange effects as these, many have 

 suspected that the disease ascribed to it never really 



existed, but was feigned lor tin pity 



or for the pleasure of dancing. Th. 'ii to 



believe that in most instance- il wa-iudclv d.-.inlcrfcitcd: 

 lull there can be no doubt that such a disease had oei 

 and had given occasion to th. t.f the' fiaiul. 



Hcsides its similarity to di-i 8 ivalitv i- n neralK 



admitted, such a- the St. Vilu-'s dance and the leaping 

 agne, cases have occasionally been met with in i 

 times which closelj resemble It, and in which there could 

 be no just suspicion of fraud. Such a case is described 

 by Mr. K. Wood, in the seventh volume of the M. 

 Chirurgieal Transactions;' another is recorded by Mr. 

 Ciichton, in the :Ust volume of the ' Kdiul.urgh Medical 

 and Surgical Journal ;' and in the ' Cxclopu -ilia of i 

 lical Medicine.' art. ' Chorea,' sev .ial ca-i - of ana! 

 affections are related. All the.-e however occurred a 

 That the Tarautismus and the St. Yitu.s's dance should have 

 assumed the characters of epidemics may be a-cribed to 

 their propagating themselves, a- all convulsive aliectimis 

 are apt to do among nervous and superstitious pci 

 by the propensity to imitation, the effects of which arc still 

 frequently seen in the production of hvsteria. chorea, and 

 other similar diseases. 



TATIANTO, a town of Apulia, in the kingdom of 

 Naples, in the administrative province of IVna 



d'Otranto. It is an archbishop's see. and the head town 

 of a district : it contains 1S.IXX) inhabitants. I 

 only a small part of the site of the au'ieiit Tareiitum, 

 being coniined to the island or peninsula at the entrance 

 of the inner harbour or Mare piccolo, on which formerly 

 stood the fortress or acropolis of Tareiitum. 1 

 few remains of the aiilienl town. Modem Tarento is ill 

 built : it is fortified and has a castle, several eh 

 convents. It carries on some trade by sea in small 

 It has also some manufactures of linen anil of ' pinna 

 marina,' the name of a kind of mussel or shell-fish, the 

 silky filaments of which are woven into gloves and other 

 articles. A part of the population is employed in fishing. 

 Excellent oysters are found on the coast. The inner port 

 is nearly tilled up, but the outer or large pa -sible 



to ves-els of good sixe, and is protected by two islands 

 which are situated at the month. Tarauto has tlic advan- 

 tage of being the only sale harbour in that part of the 

 eastern coast of Italy which extends from Messina to ('ape 

 Leucas. The large gulf whieh lies between the ci . 

 Calabria and the Iap\ gian peninsula is called the gulf of 

 Taranto. Much wool is grown in the neighbourhood of 

 Taranto. Two lagoons, one of them of considerable extent, 

 which lie south-east of the town, and which coniinu: 

 with the sea, yield a great quantity of sail by evaporation. 

 The district of Taranto contains above S7.IXKI inhabitants. 

 [Oru.vvro, TKKUA >.] iNcigcbaur: Scrri-tuii; Alan di 

 Rivera, < 'niisiilii;i-i'nii xiilli- iluc Sii-i/n- : i'ctmni. 

 .\iiin'iiiii i/i'l 1'i'iili Itniiiinj. 



Antient Tareiitum, the Taras , T^i.,,; of the Circeks. was 

 one of the pi incipal.or rather the ]>rincipal CJreek city on the 

 cast coast, of Italy. It is said to have been a town of the 

 Messapi a:is. to which were joined some ( 'rctan colonists from 

 the neighbouring town of Uria. About G94 H.C., according 

 to the story. 1'lialantu-, one of the Partheiiia', or illegiti- 

 mate sons of the Spartan women born during the al 

 of their husbands in the first Messcnian war, having Icfl 

 his country with a number of others of the same condition, 

 arrived on the coast of lapygia, took Tareiitum, and c. 

 pellcd the original inhabitants. lie organi/cd the new 

 colony, and remained at the head of it until he v. : 

 pellcd by an insurrection, and withdrew to Brunduaium, 

 where he died, i Justin, iii. 4.: A war between the Ta - 

 rentines and the lapygiaiis ensued, in which the people of 

 Ithcgium assisted the Tarentines. hut they were d. ; 

 by the lapygians, who destroyed a great number of the 

 'I'arentines. . Diodoru-. \i. Tareiitum however rccoxcivd 

 from its losses, and it nourished by commerce, acquired 

 a considciahle extent of territory, and became the most, 

 powerful city of Magna Gra'cia. Hci,i<-|ca vva- a colony 

 of Tarentmn. Herodotus iii. llili nit .to]ihilides 



as king of Tarenlnm in the time of Darius Ilvstaspc-. 

 The government however underwent several changes, and 

 Slrabo ,1. 1!>.'1 s)ica].s of Tareiitum as being at one time 

 a democracy. Archvtas. a native of Tarcntum. is said to 

 have made a bod) of laws for the Tarentines. | AitcnvTAS.] 

 About :t:W .<. the Tarentiues, being engaged in war 

 with their neighbours the Lucanians, applied to Sparta 



