ORK 
ORIZA'VA, or Orisaba, a town of Mexico, in tlie 
province of Tlafcala, fituated in a fertile valley, fur- 
rounded with detached mountains; with a population of 
3000 whites, and 1500 Indians and negroes. The neigh¬ 
bourhood produces great quantities of tobacco. There 
are fome tanneries and man ufaflures of cloth. It is fifty- 
five miles fouth-eaft of Puebla de los Angelos. 
Orizava is on the high road between Vera Cruz and 
Mexico, being, according to Alcedo, forty-fix leagues to 
the eaft of the capital. In its vicinity is a volcano, which 
is regarded as the moll majeftic in the viceroyalty. 
D’Auteroche obferves, that the mountain Orizava is laid 
to be the higheftin Mexico ; and its fnowy head is vifible 
from the capital., a diftance of fixty miles. This celebrated 
mountain is to the fouth-eaft of Mexico, not far from the 
road to Vera Cruz. It became volcanic in 1545, and 
continued for twenty years; fince which time there has 
been no appearance of inflammation. Although thefum- 
mit be clothed with perpetual fnow, the fides are adorned 
with beautiful forefts of cedars, pines, and other trees. 
Clavigero notices its conic form, which is obferved at fea 
at the diftance of fifty leagues. Some think it higher 
than the Peak of Teneriffe. The detached mountains, 
called by the Mexicans Popacatepec and Iztaccihuatl, are 
alfo to the fouth-eaft of the capital, at the diftance of 
about thirty miles, and are both volcanic. The crater 
of the former is laid to be half a mile wdde, and celebrated 
for ancient eruptions. Both are covered with perpetual 
fnow. 
ORK,/ [See Orc.] The grampus. 
ORK, /! in commerce, a kind of hulk; a calk of wine 
or figs. AJh. 
OR'KANJ. SeeURKONjE. 
OR'KEDAL, a town of Norway, in the province of 
Drontheim : eighteen miles fouth-weft of Drontheim. 
OR'KEL, a river of Norway, in the province of Dron¬ 
theim, which runs into the Bay of Drontheim fourteen 
miles fouth-weft of Drontheim. 
OR'KENED, a town of Sweden, in the province of 
Schonen : twenty-four miles north of Chriftianftadt. 
ORKIA'NI, a town of Curdiftan : thirty-fix miles 
eaft-north-eaft of Erbil. 
ORK'NEY IS'LANDS, a clufter of iflands, fituated in 
the Northern Ocean, between the coaft of Caithnefs, the 
moft northerly county of the mainland of Great Britain, 
and the Shetland Ifles; diftant from the former about 
four, and from the latter nearly twenty, leagues. The 
latitude of the chief town, Kirkwall, is computed to be 
59. 9. N. and the longitude 2. 39. W. Greenwich. From 
the force of the ocean, their form, as may be fuppofed, 
is extremely irregular. Their fize alfo varies greatly; 
fome of them being mere infulated rocks, incapable of 
human habitation ; while others are feveral miles in cir¬ 
cumference. Pomona, or the Mainland, extends above 
30 miles in length from eaft to weft, and difcovers, 
throughout that fpace, a confiderable degree of diverfity 
in point of appearance, foil, culture, and elevation. 
According to the moft accurate furveys, the whole 
iflands compofing this interefting group are fixty-feven 
in number, thirty of which are inhabited; the remain¬ 
ing thirty-feven are denominated holms , and are appro¬ 
priated to pafturage during the fummer-months. Be- 
fides all thefe, there are feveral which are overflowed at 
high-water, and have fcarcely any foil for the produftion 
of vegetables ; on thefe, land-animals can with difficulty 
fubfift : thefe, in the fame language, are called Jherries, 
a name which indicates fharp ragged rocks. Even in 
thefe, however, infignificant as they may appear, tempo¬ 
rary huts are fometimes erefted in the fummer-feafon, on 
purpofe to accommodate a few people employed in cut¬ 
ting, collefling, drying, and burning, the marine plants 
for the kelp-manufadture. The holms are at that leafon 
frequently occupied in the fame manner, for the fame 
beneficial purpofe. As the grafs on the latter feems to 
be very fine, and is at the fame time luxuriant, both the 
Vo 1.. XVII. No. 1213. 
ORK 745 
flieep and cattle that feed on them foon acquire an un¬ 
common degree of fatnefs. But there is fomething either 
in the nature of the plants which they produce, occa- 
fioned by their being frequently drenched by the fait wa¬ 
ter, or in the animals fometimes feeding on fea-weed, 
that renders their flefh lefs pleafant than that of others 
fed in different circumftances. Situated for the moft part 
near the larger iflands, from which they appear to have 
been torn, both the holms and fkerries belong generally 
to thofe proprietors whofe lands are not the neareft, but 
divided from them by the fhalloweft water. 
The names of the inhabited iflands are, Pomona or the 
Mainland, Graemfay, Hoy, Waas, Ruffay or Riflay, Far- 
ray, Cavay, Flotay, South Ronaldfay, Swannay or Swinna, 
Pentland, Skerry, Burray, Lamon or Lambholm, Copin- 
fay, Shapinfay, Stronfay, Papay-Stronfay, Eday, Sanday, 
North Ronalcifay, Weftray, Papay-Weftray, Eaglefliay, 
Roufay, Weir, Enhallow, Gainfay, and Damfay. The 
chief of thefe will be found defcribed under their re- 
fpe&ive appellations, in preceding or fubfequent pages. 
The period at which the Orkney iflands were firftmade 
known to the civilized world, is not recorded in the works 
of any ancient author. Dr. Barry, however, deems it 
more than probable, that they were difcovered by the 
Carthaginians, or by the fpirited Greek colony at 
Marfeilles, feveral centuries previous to the Chriftian 
era. But whether they were inhabited at that time, is a 
queftion which the fame writer admits it to be impoffible 
to determine ; though he is of opinion that they were, 
and thinks it moft likely that the original inhabitants 
came hither from the north of Scotland. At all events, 
there is no doubt of their having been known to the later 
Greeks, and to the Romans. Herodotus mentions Bri¬ 
tain in general. Diodorus Siculus takes notice of Scot¬ 
land in particular, mentioning Cape Orcus or Dunnet, 
the moft northern promontory of Caithnefs, from which 
thefe iflands can be diftindlly feen ; and Pomponius Mela 
points them out under the name of Otcades, which is to 
this day their Latin appellation. Buchanan, and fome 
other authors, mention the names of feveral kings who 
reigned over thefe iflands during the firft five centuries 
of the Chriftian era ; and, in the divifion of the Roman 
empire among the fons of Conftantine, the Orcades are 
chaffed with Britain, Gaul, and Spain, in the enumeration 
of thofe countries which fell to the lot of young Conftan¬ 
tine. 
Thefe circumftances tend ftrongly to fliow that the 
Orkneys were formerly confidered as an ancient king¬ 
dom ; but of their hiftory, throughout this period, no¬ 
thing can be affirmed with certainty, except that they 
were inhabited by the fame race of people, who, under 
the denomination of Pi 6 ls, occupied the whole eaftern 
coaft of Scotland, forming two diftinft monarchies, fepa- 
rated from each other by the Grampian hills. To the 
more northern of thefe fovereignties the iflands were tri¬ 
butary in the eighth and ninth centuries. Towards the 
clofe of the latter, however, they were reduced under the 
dominion of Norway, by Harold Harfager, who likewife 
fubdued the Weftern Iflands and the Ifle of Man. This 
prince conferred the hereditary government of his new 
conquefts on Ronald count of Merca ; but that nobleman 
immediately refigned them in favour of his brother Si¬ 
gurd, whom the king, at the fame time, created earl of 
Orkney. By the nature of this grant, Sigurd, though 
tributary to the king of Norway, was in efteft as inde¬ 
pendent as any fovereign prince, and could levy troops 
and make war at his own pleafure. Accordingly, he turned 
his arms againft Scotland, and reduced under his fway 
the whole of Caithnefs and Sutherland. This earl was 
fucceeded by his fon Gottorm, who dying without iflue, 
the earldom reverted to his uncle Ronald, by whom it 
was given to Hallad, one of his own fons. His govern¬ 
ment was marked with timidity and weaknefs. Inftead 
of exerting himfelf to repel the inroads of the numerous 
pirates who infefted the iflands, he fliut himfelf up in one 
9 D of 
