BISCAY. 



Biscay, which yield twice or thrice as much iron in propor- 

 ' tion as conies from the ore of Somorrostro, but hard 

 and brittle. A' out a league from the town of Man- 

 dragon, in Guipuzcoa, is the iron mine of Mondra- 

 gon, the ore of which affords about forty per cent, 

 of metal. It is of difficult fusion, and is said to con- 

 tain natural steel. Tradition affirms, that the famous 

 Toledo sword-blades were made of the iron of Mon- 

 dragon, and that they were tempered only during 

 winter. Others insist that they were fabricated of 

 the pure steel found there, to which some iron was 

 added in the middle of the blade, to render it more 

 flexible : It is likewise reported, that the name Pedro 

 dc Lagaretea of Bilboa proves that a blade is ge- 

 nuine. Copper and marble are found in Biscay. A 

 salt spring near the village of Aguana produces a 

 great quantity of salt, which is extracted by boiling 

 and evaporation : and there are various mineral wa- 

 ters, both hot and cold, in all the three cantons ; 

 though their constituent principles, from never ha- 

 ving been analysed, are unknown. Near the village 

 of Llodio, between Bilboa and Orduna, is a well, ap- 

 parently communicating with the sea, which is seven 

 leagues distant. When the tide flows, the water in 

 the well rises, and a6 k ebbs, it falls. Besides this 

 periodical rise, the well becomes still fuller, and even 

 overflows in a storm, when it crosses a neighbouring 

 road, and is hot and soapy. 



The mountains of Biscay are beautiful and pictu- 

 resque ; many of them are covered with trees and 

 shrubs of natural growth, such as the oak, straw- 

 berry, and cnrrant, indigenous to the climate ; and 

 the inhabitants of the province have contributed to 

 render them 6till more woody, by the plantation of 

 fruit trees, and those which afford useful timber. The 

 immense waste of fuel in the iron works of the pro- 

 vince render this a necessary precaution ; and, were 

 it not for the constant renewal of wood, the moun- 

 tains would in a few years be stripped bare. 



Wild boars still exist in the woods of Biscay, and 

 lynxes have been killed in their immediate vicinity. 

 Wolves sometimes appear, and foxes are extremely 

 noxious to the animals they can overpower. 



Five, species of birds of passage annually enter 

 Spain from Africa, when the heat of the season forces 

 them to change their abode. Those called chimbos, 

 on the failure of fruit, by being burnt up, and of 

 ants their principal sustenance retreating from the 

 scorching rays of the sun, cross the Straits, and enter- 

 ing Andalusia, distribute themselves in flocks over all 

 Spain. The chimbos breed in Andalusia and the Sierra 

 Morena, and remain there among the copses, which 

 they particularly inhabit, feeding on fruit and ants ; 

 but when these fail, they take a rapid flight over the 

 plains of La Mancha, and arrive in Biscay during 

 August, where great numbers are caught and brought 

 to the public markets. Though lean, feeble, and ex- 

 hausted with the length of flight, in the space of 

 Jour days they become as fat as ortolaus or beccafi- 

 gos. The chimbos again shift their abode, when the 

 autumnal rains occasion the failure of their necessary 

 food, and then they disappear in a single night. An. 

 instance is related of a great multitude of them ha- 

 ving collected on the 27th of September, when a 

 :esh breeze sprung up, and next day not one was to 



VOL. in. TAUT 111. 



537 



be seen : they disappeared as if anticipating heavy 

 rains, which began to fall on the 29th. The chim- 

 bos are succeeded by wood-cocks, which breed a- 

 mong the rocks on the north parts of the mountain 

 Gorveya. 



The population of Biscay is limited in proportion 

 to the extent of territory, for the whole lordship does 

 not contain above 300,000 souls. According to the 

 royal census in 1787, 1788, the population was 

 310,758, of which 116,042 belonged to Biscay Pro- 

 per; but from a more recent enumeration in 1800, 

 the population, even including a district which is ge- 

 nerally esteemed without its confines, had decreased 

 20,000. One portion of the population was divided 

 into 2084 priests, 2043 monks and nuns, 116,92:) 

 nobles, 471 persons in the law department, 455 stu- 

 dents, and 8731 servants. 



The territory contains 720 parishes, in which are 

 158 religious houses, 4- cities, 176 towns, and 446 

 villages. The chief towns are, Bilbao in Biscay Pro- 

 per, Vittdria in Alava, and St Sebastian in Guipuz- 

 coa. The first is situated on the banks of the river 

 Ybaizabal, about two leagues from the sea ; and be- 

 ing a port, which in former days was proverbially the 

 terror of British seamen, carries on a considerable 

 trade. ' This would be greatly increased, were it not 

 for injudicious regulations, by which it is rather dis- 

 couraged than otherwise. Owing to the inhabitants 

 resisting the introduction of customhouses among 

 them, they are deprived of free commerce with Ame- 

 rica ; and whoever wishes to engage in an adventure 

 thither, must prepare it in another port beyond the 

 province. The settlement of strangers in the town is 

 likewise subject to difficulties ; for, to obtain the free- 

 dom of it, one must prove that he is not descended 

 from a Moor or a Jew ; that he is sprung of a noble 

 family ; at least that he has not exercised any mean 

 or mechanic art. Commissioners are actually charged 

 with investigating these particulars ; a proceeding so 

 repulsive to the encouragement of liberal traffic, that 

 it can excite no surprise if it should never flourish. 

 An uncommon degree of dampness prevails in Bilbao, 

 by which iron is covered with rust ; furniture, even in 

 the upper apartments, injured ; the salt extracted 

 out of dried fish ; and, as some suppose, the multi- 

 plication of destructive insects promoted. Yet few 

 diseases prevail, and the inhabitants enjoy health and 

 strength, a cheerful disposition, and loi^gcvity. It 

 has thence been asked, " Why should Bilbao, built 

 on the side of a river, in such a damp situation, and 

 chiefly on piles, like the cities in Holland, be so re- 

 markably healthy, when every thing should conspire 

 to render it the reverse ?" The solution of the diffi- 

 culty has been traced to the constant breezes, which 

 prevent any accumulation of vapour, and that stagna- 

 tion of it which is pestiferous to animated existence. 

 During four months that Don Guillermo Bowles resi- 

 ded there, only nine persons were buried, four of 

 whom were above eighty. Vittoria, which is situa- 

 ted on the declivity of a hill, contains 6000 or 7000 

 inhabitants ; its population is said to have been an- 

 ciently 18,000. Here there is a royal asylum for 150 

 persons, and six monasteries and nunneries. St Se- 

 bastian lies on a peninsula, flanked with batteries, and 

 orotccted bv a castle on a naked circular hill ; but, 

 3 Y 



Biscay. 



