Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/671

Rh ALPS 633 alternates with severe frost by night. There, a sun which never sets sends feeble rays that maintain a low equable temperature, rarely rising more than a few degrees above the freezing-point. Hence the upper region of the Alps sustains a far more varied and brilliant vegetation. . &amp;gt;pulation At the earliest period of which records are preserved I the Alps. the AJps appear to have been mainly inhabited by Celtic tribes ; some of which, before they were subjugated by the E omans, had made considerable progress in the know ledge of the useful arts. The Rhaetians and Vindelicians especially, in whom a primitive Turanian stock seems to have been amalgamated with a dominant Celtic race, readily assimilated the civilisation of Rome ; and ^the language of the conqueror, modified by peculiarities of pronunciation and the retention of some native terms, still survives in Eastern Switzerland, and in a few isolated valleys of Tyrol. Throughout by far the larger part of the Alps, however, the flood of Teutonic invasion either exterminated or drove into exile the previous population. The Alemanni and other kindred tribes settled in the main valleys of the Eastern Alps, and finally became masters of the greater part of Switzerland, leaving to the original Celtic population the Western Alps and both slopes of the great Pennine chain. At a later period the invasion of Slavonic hordes threatened to substitute a new nationality throughoiit the same region, but after pro longed contests these tribes were restricted to its south eastern portion, being nearly confined to the upper valleys of the Drave and the Save, with their tributaries. The Italian valleys of the Alps, from the Val d Ossola to the Tagliamento, inhabited by people of mixed race, have, with a few exceptions, preserved the language of Italy, much varied in the local dialects; while the western dis tricts, in which the Celtic element remained predominant, have for the most part clung to the French tongue. The estimates formed of the present population of the Alps are uncertain, because they usually include towns and populous districts lying without the mountain region. It is usually reckoned that there are about 1,500,000 of Celto-Gallic stock in the French and Savoy Alps, western Switzerland, and some valleys of Piedmont; about 4,000,000 of Teutonic origin in the Swiss and German Alps ; about 1,000,000 of Slavonic stock, chiefly Slovenes; and about 1,000,000 of Italians in the valleys of Northern Italy, the Swiss cantons of Tessin and Grisons, and in the Italian Tyrol, making an aggregate of 7,500,000. To these should be added about 70,000 people speaking some dialect of the Rha3to-Roman or Romansch. All these numbers excepting the last are excessive, if we would restrict the estimate within the proper limits of the Alps. anna of Although no conspicuous species of quadruped or bird ie Alps. j s k nown to be exclusively confined to the Alps, they have ia afforded an asylum to many animals that have become rare or extinct elsewhere. The great urus, the elk, and the wild swine have disappeared since the Roman period, and the beaver in more recent times ; but the brown bear, the lynx, the wild cat, and the wolf still survive. Among Ruminants, the red deer, fallow deer, and roebuck, chiefly found in the lower forest region, are common to other mountain districts. More characteristic of the Alps is the chamois, which is found elsewhere only in the Carpathians, Pyrenees, and the mountains of European Turkey, and is the sole representative of the antelopes in this part of the world. Much rarer is the ibex or bouquetin, which still lives in the higher Alpine region of the Graian Alps, and possibly also in some recesses of the Pennine chain. Un like the chamois, which descends at night to find suste nance as low as the verge of the pine forests, this fine animal remains, at least in the summer, in the upper region, on the verge of the snow-fields, or on the rocks that rise amidst the glaciers. The massive horns of the male are often a yard or more in length. Closely allied species are found in the Pyrenees and other mountain ranges of the Iberian peninsula, and in the Caucasus, but the true ibex seems to be now confined to this small corner of the Alps. The few endemic species of Mammalia found in the Alps are chiefly small Rodentia and Insectivora, which alone can multiply rapidly in the midst of a large and increasing human population. The marmot, which is the most characteristic of the Rodentia, maintains its ground in the stony recesses of the Alpine region, and does not diminish in numbers as most other wild animals have done. The most singular of this group is the snow-vole (Arvicola nivalis), whose nearest ally is a native of East Siberia. Several forms (varieties or sub-species) are found in various parts of the Alps. They ascend through the Alpine region to the rocks of the glacial zone, at least as far as 12,000 feet above the sea; and, unlike other animals framed to endure severe cold, they continue in activity throughout the long winter. There is at least one species of shrew (Sorex alpinus) peculiar to the Alps. The Cheiroptera are represented by numerous forms, which, with one exception ( Vcsperugo maurus), are not confined to this region ; but the Alps form a limit to the distribu tion of many of this order : some species of middle Europe do not cross the main range, while several species of the Mediterranean region find their northern limit in the valleys on the southern side. The Birds of the Alps are proportionately very numer- Birds, ous. Many southern species find a home in the warmer Italian valleys, and there meet northern forms that descend during the winter and spring, but return to the upper zone in the warm season. Of the more conspicuous species of the high Alps, the lammergeyer (Gypaetos barbatus] once common, but now become very rare is pre-eminent. It is also found in Algeria, in Syria, and in Northern Asia, but is one of those animals that is threatened with ex tinction by the progress of civilisation. The rock chough (Pyrrhocorax alpinus), distinguished by golden-yellow bill and feet, builds on rocks in the glacial region as high as 10,000 feet above the sea. Several song birds, such as the snow lark and snow finch, ascend to the limits of vegetation. The Gallmacese are well represented. The cock of the woods ( Tetrao urogallus), the grouse, ptarmigan, blackcock, gelinotte, and rock partridge (Caccabis saxatilis), are the most remarkable. The first, which is somewhat rare and extremely shy, surpasses the dimensions of an ordinary well-grown fowl. Several Reptiles are found even in the upper region of Reptil the Alps, though none are very common. Of three venomous species of viper, Vipera berus ascends to about 8000 feet ; and the black viper ( V. prester) also reaches the Alpine region. V. Redii is confined to the warmer Italian valleys. The snakes and lizards frequent the lower zones, excepting Lacerta pyrrliogastra, which is sometimes seen in the upper region. Batrachians are more common than true reptiles. An Batrac Alpine frog attains the extreme limit of vegetation, and a tans- toad ascends nearly as far. These have been considered by some as distinct species, by others as varieties of the common animals. At least one triton (T. Wurfbeinii) is peculiar to the Alps. The spotted salamander is common in the sub-Alpine region, but in the Eastern Alps it is re placed by S. atra, which is entirely black. This is some times found far above the limit of the pine forests. The great lakes of the Alps are very rich in Fish, not Fishes only as regards the number of individuals, but in species also. Thus in the Chiemsee, at the northern foot of the Bavarian Alps, thirty-three species have been found, iu the lake of Constance twenty-six species, and twenty-four I. 80