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LA^TK-ST.-ANDRfe 



LADUONE ISLANCa 



Laonnita ia well doMiribad by Enripidn ■■ diffleuH of mob* to ui 

 •aemjr. (Stnbo, riil 866.) On the watt tha nuiga of Tajigetiu 

 formwl an almost inauparabla barrier to an inraduiK foroe ; and on 

 the north there were only two natural paaaei by which the country 

 could be entered ; one by the valley of the Upper Eurotaa, aa the 

 ooune of that rirer above Sparta may be termed, and the other by 

 the valley of the (Enna. Both of theaa natural openinga led to Sparta, 

 which ahowB how admirably the capital was situated for purpowa of 

 defencei The want of good harboun on the ooaat also protected it 

 from invasion by tea ; and the poaaesaion of the inland of Cythera, at 

 the entrance of the Laconiiin Bay, which contained tevetal good 

 harboura, was therefore always oonndered by the Laoadeemoniant aa 

 a point of great importance. Oythium, on the coast of the mainland, 

 waa the naval station of the Spartans. 



There were no towns of any importance in Liicnnica, with the 

 exeeption of SpartiL [Spabta.] One of the most ancient towns was 

 Aw^/eta, the reaidence of the Achicau kings, situated a little south 

 of Sparta, in a fertile plain. In the time of Pausaniaa it had 

 become a small place, but contained many temples and works of 

 art (Pausan., iii. 18,) ; and its temple of Apollo ia described by Polybius 

 aa superior to almost all the other temples of Laconica. (Polyb. t. 

 p. 867, Cataub.) The inhabitants of the rugijcd district of 

 SeiritU, which lay to the south of Arcadia, between Tegea and the 

 valley of the Upper Eurotas, enjoyed peculiar honours and privUegee. 

 They formed a separate body iu the Spartan army, and wei-e always 

 stationed on tibe left wing. (Thucyd., t. 67 ; Xenoph., ' Rep. Laced.,' 

 xii. 3; 'Cyrop.,' iv. 2, sec. 1.) After the invasion of Laconica, B.C. 369, 

 tiiey revolted from the Spartans. (Xenoph., ' Hell.,' vii 4, sec 21.) 

 They appear to have been of Arcadian race. 



The Leieget, according to the moat ancient traditions of Laconica, 

 were the rariiest inhabitants. (Pausan., iii. 1, sec. 42.) Leiex, the 

 first king, was succeeded by his son Mules, who left the kingdom to 

 his son Eurotas. According to the same traditions Eurotas, dying 

 without children, bequeathed the kingdom to Lacedicmon, the son of 

 Jupiter and Taygeta, who married Sparta, the daughter of Eurotas. 

 The sovereignty is taid to have remained in his family till shortly 

 before the Trojan war, when the descendants of Pclops, Menelaus, and 

 Ag^unemnon obtained possession of the country by marrying Clytem- 

 nettn and Helen, the daughters of Tyndareus, the last monarch of 

 the ancient dynasty. At the time of the Trojan war we find the 

 country in the poesession of the Achasans, who undoubtedly settled in 

 Laconica at a very early period, and probably conquered the Leleges. 

 Menelaus was succeeded by Orestes, and Orestes by Tisomenus, during 

 whose reign Peloponnesus was invaded by the Dorians. 



After the conquest of the country Laconica was assigned to Aristo- 

 demus, or bis sons Eurysthenes and Procles, for, according to the 

 general tradition, Aristodemus did not live to enter Laconica. Strabo 

 relates, on the authority of Ephorus (viii. p. 364), that Eurysthenes 

 and Procles divided Laconica into six districts, over which they set 

 governors with the title of kings. During the reign of Eurysthenes 

 the conquered people were admitted to an equality of political rights 

 with the Dorians; but his successor Agis deprived them of these 

 privileges. The condition of the original inhabitants of the laud, 

 and their relation to their Dorian rulers, as well as the retuaiuiug 

 history of the country, belong to the history of Spabta. 



(Strabo, lib. viii. ; Pausauias, Lacunica ; Leake, Morea ; Qell, 

 Itinerary o/Qreece; Miiller, Doriant; Thiersch, De t£tat Actuel de 

 U Oriet: Thirl wall, Iliftory of Grtect.) 



LA-c6TE-ST-ANDRfi. [IsiBK.] 



LADAKH is a kingdom in Asia, situated to the cast of Cashmei-o, 

 from which it is separated by that branch of the Himalaya Mountains 

 which is called the Tibet Paujahl range. According to Moorcroft its 

 area is equal to half that of England. It has the figure of a triangle, 

 whose longest side runt from Bissahir [Hi>ialata] along the moun- 

 tain range to Cashmere. North of it lie Baltistau, or Little Tibet, 

 and Khotiin in the Chinese province of Thian-shau-Nanlu. From the 

 luit-mentione<l country it is divided by the nearly unknown mountain 

 chains of Kuenluen and Kora-komm. Ea.«t of it is Chang-tang, a 

 province belonging to Tibet. 



I.«dnkh is a ]>art of the elevated table-tand which is supported by 

 the Himalaya system, and divided by it from the low plains of the 

 Oanges and Indus. Its elevation above the valley of the Indus can 

 hardly b« less than 10,000 feet The mountain ranges which traverse 

 the country in a direction nearly parallel to the course of the Indus, 

 rise in their highest parts to between 22,000 and 23.000 feet above 

 the sea. Through the middle of the country runs the vnllcy of the 

 river Indus, hero called Sing-ke-t»e. This river, after passing Uertope, 

 enters I.rfulakh at its southern extremity, where its valley is upwards 

 of two miles wide. It continues to bo wide as far as 33° 12' N. Ut, 

 78* fiO' E. long., where it breaks through a central range and nishot 

 witli great impetuosity into the plain on which Leh, the capital of 

 the country, is built. The plain is extensive and well i>eoplcd, but 

 tho country bordiring it ou the north is unknown. 



The Indus, which trsvcrtcs the country iu a north-north-western 

 direction, reoeivet here teveral considerable tributaries, of which the 

 Shnyuk, the most important, joins the Indus below Leh. There are 

 several lakes in this cuuutry, most of which arc salt, and furnish 

 groat quantities of that article. The largest of thc<te hUica is that 



of Chimorarel, which it from 80 to 2S miles long, with a width of 8 

 or 10 miles. 



As the suHaoe of the country it to elevated above the tea, its 

 climate and productions do not correspond to its latitude (30° to 39°). 

 The whole country is covered with snow in winter, and most of the 

 mountains are so even in the month of June. The winters are long 

 and severe, and all the riven are covered with ice, which facilitates 

 travelling in this season, just as in the northern countries of Europe. 

 The people are mostly dad in aheep-skins and fur, as in Russia. The 

 summers sre hot and dry. Rain does not appear to be firequent. 



The plain about Leh, though of moderate fertility, is well cultivated, 

 which ia the case with other districts of less extent Wheat, barley, 

 and lucerne are grown to a great amount In some districts a kiiid 

 of barley is raised which resembles wheat; in others cotton is 

 cultivated iu small quantities. Turnips are grown very extensively. 

 Wood is scarce : poplars and tome other ijreet are planted in the 

 lower triicts. 



The pastures occupy a huge part of the country. The cattle are 

 small and of three different lunds, common cattle, chowry-tailed 

 cattle (Yaks), and a third kind called ' tho,' a mixed breed between 

 the two former. Asses are nither numerous, aa well aa goats, which 

 also live in a wild state. But the shawl goat is not found in the 

 country. Sheep are numerous, and among them there is a small i«oa 

 called the ' purick-sheep,' which produces excellent wool. Horses are 

 pretty^common. Ou the uncultivated plains a species of wild horse 

 is found, called by Moorcroft ' Equus Kiang.' Among the domestic 

 animals is the dog, which is large and strong. The animal from which 

 musk is obtained is abundant in the mountains. 



The sauds of most of the rivers which fall into tho Indus contain 

 small particles of gold ; these are collected iu several places. Other 

 metals are not mentioned. Saltpetre and sulphur also are fouud, 

 and supply materials for gunpowder, which is made in cousidei-able 

 quantities. 



Leh, or Lei, the capital of the country, contains according to Moor- 

 croft, 1000 houses, each several stories high and substantially built 

 There are several bazaars, each containing from twelve to fourteen 

 shops. Leh is a place of great trade, being tlie principal entrep6t for 

 shawl-wool, oud three great fairs ore aimu^ly held here, of which tliat 

 in February is the most frequented. These £airs are attended by 

 merchants from Yerliond, iu ihe Chinese province of Thion Shau 

 Kanlu, from L'Hossa and other ports of Tibet, from Amritsir and other 

 towns of the Panjab, and particularly from Cashmere. Roodok, ou 

 a small feeder of the upper Pungung Lake, is another place of con- 

 siderable traffic. It is said to contain 300 families, and is chiefly 

 connected with Hindustan by the way of Kunawar in Bissahir. 



[HiMALAY.V.] 



The inhabitants of Ladokh belong to the same race as the inhabit- 

 ants of Tibet They are a very industrious and frugal people, and 

 well acquaiuted with the arts of civilised life. Their country being 

 surrounded by mountains they have preserved their independence.-, 

 though on all sides bordering on neighbours much more powerful than 

 themselves. Their sovereign, who resides at Leh, is called Qealbo, 

 that is, rajah of Leh. He sends however from time to time presents 

 to his neighbours, because his subjects are couuected with their coun- 

 tries by commerce. Ladakh, being situated between Hindustan, 

 Cashmere, Khotan, and Tibet, is the thoroughfare of a very extensive 

 commerce. The commercial routes are few : that to Tibet runs irom 

 Leh to Roodok, and thence to Oertope along the Indus; from Oertope 

 it seems to cross mountain ranges to L'Uassa. From Roodok tue 

 road to Kunawar traverses a table-laud, and then descends to tue 

 Paruti River, a tributary of the Spiti, which falls iuto the Siillej. 

 Kunawar is that couutry which occupies the tract where these throe 

 rivers join. The ruad from Leh to Cashmere and the Panjab leads 

 westward over the Tibet Panjohl Mountains by the elevated mountain- 

 pass of Kaubuck Nai MalUk. Ladakh is colled Tibet by the Cashme- 

 rians. The road from Leh to Yerkand is by far the most difficult 

 and dangerous : it crosses the high mountain range of Kara-korum oud 

 the whole mountain system of the Kuouluen, and traverses wide 

 mountain tracts which sre neai'ly uniiihobitod. 



The principal object of tliis extensive commerce is the wo<il of the 

 goats, which is used in tlie manufacture of shawls. It is brought 

 from OcrtoiM) to Leh, and thence convoyed to Cashmeru and the 

 Panjab ; 800 horse-luads are said to be canied annually by this route. 

 The merchauta of Kunawar bring to Roodok sugar, tobacco, cotton 

 and woollen cloths, indigo, swords, copper, tin, irou, paper, rice, and 

 spices. They take iu return salt, borax, gold-dust, tea, and Khawl- 

 wool. 



(Traiitactiont of the Atiatic Sociely ; Journal of (Ac London 

 Geographical Society; Aiiatic Journal; lUtter; Erkuude. 



LADOGA, LAKE. [RtJssiA.] 



LADKONE ISLANDS, so called from the thievish disposition of 

 tho natives at the time of their discovery by Magalbaeus (1521), are 

 also called hfariane hlaiiilt, in honour of the queen of Philip IV. of 

 Spain, who caused them to be settled. Tboy extend in a northern 

 and southern direction between 13° and 20° 30' N. lot, 144° and 

 146° 30' E. long., and are about twenty in number. They are mostly 

 of a volcanic character, and even in modem times some of the 

 vulcaoues have been in activity. Like other islands of this description 



