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 696 CANDIA of the mountain chain. The mountains, of calcareous formation, abound in caverns and grottoes. In this island was the famous laby- rinth of the Minotaur, which was probably one of these grottoes, rendered more intricate by the art of Diedalus, under the directions of Minos. Some travellers have placed this laby- rinth in the neighborhood of ancient Gortyna, S. E. of Mount Ida. Cape Matala, the south- ern point of the island, is the most southern land of Europe. Candia can scarcely be said to have any rivers, the watershed of the mountains not exceeding 15 m. in breadth either way to the sea. In the rainy season torrents are precipitated from the mountains, but they dry up in the summer, and the only resources for the irrigation of the land are the small springs which abound among the hills. .The island is nevertheless tolerably fer- tile, but not more than one third of the arable land is cultivated. The neglect of agriculture is owing to the idleness of the people and the many holidays they keep. The farm imple- ments are of the rudest kind; and of wheat, barley, oats, cotton, and corn, not enough is raised for home consumption. The products of the ground for exportation are olives, rai- sins, figs, almonds, chestnuts, oranges, lemons, and other fruits requiring little cultivation. But much attention is paid to silk raising; the silk is of superior quality, and, with cocoons and silkworm eggs, is exported in considerable quantities, principally to Austria and France. There is good pasturage among the hills, and large numbers of goats and sheep are raised, but comparatively few cattle, mules, and horses. The climate is mild and generally healthy, with the exception of those portions of the valleys not readily drained, which in the summer months are extremely unhealthy. Leprosy is the only endemic. The thermometer ranges from 00 to 70 F., in extreme instances rising to 88. The K wind (called by the natives ebnat) tempers the summer heat. The peaks of the mountains, especially in the western and central part of the chain, are covered with snow for three fourths of the year. Among the numerous birds of beautiful plumage and song is the kajabulbul, which is so much es- teemed in Turkey as to command a price of $100. Many of the trees and shrubs are aro- matic. The commerce of Oandia is chiefly in the hands of Turks, and very few Greek mer- chants are engaged in foreign trade. The Cretans in 1871 owned 28 vessels of small size, employed only in coast trade and in car- rying fruit to Turkish and Greek ports, and the foreign freights are wholly in foreign ves- sels. The commerce for the year ending Sept. 30, 1870, at the ports of Candia, Canea, and Retimo, was: imports, $2,014,760; exports, $2,340,200. There are four silk factories, manufactories for bags, cotton shirtings, and towellings, and 36 soap factories, which in 1871 made 600 tons of soap. Crete was originally settled by Phrygians, Pelasgians, and Phceni- cians, and so populous in early times that Homer spoke of it as the island "of a hundred cities" (eKar<5//7ro)l(f). The legends of Minos, whose power swayed the island and the sur- rounding seas, are part of the numerous tradi- tions referring to its remote antiquity. About 1000 B. C. Crete was conquered by the Dorians, who had occupied the Peloponnesus. They founded in the island a number of independent republics, whose constitutions closely resembled those of Sparta, and of which Cnossus in the northeast, Cydonia in the northwest, and Gor- tyna in the south were the most prominent. In later times democracy supplanted the Dorian institutions, and the Cretans became prover- bially degenerate. They preserved, however, their renowned ability as archers, serving as mercenaries in foreign armies. The island was conquered by the Romans in 67 B. C. In the partition of the empire, Crete fell to the East, and was held till about A. D. 823, when it was taken by the Saracens, who retained its pos- session till 961, when it was reconquered by Nioephorus Phocas. On the conquest of Con- stantinople by the crusaders, it was allotted to Boniface, marquis of Montferrat, who sold it to the Venetians, Aug. 12, 1204. The Vene- tians ruled the island with ability and rigor, and successfully defended it against the Genoese, and for a long time also against the Turks. After various attempts and long sieges, how- ever, it was occupied by the latter toward the close of the 17th century, the capital, Candia, having succumbed in 1669. In the west alone, the Sphakiote mountaineers continued to de- fend their independence. The island was dev- astated and impoverished by oppression and futile attempts at insurrection, especially in 1821. It was ceded to the viceroy of Egypt in 1830, and was restored to the Porte in 1841. A new insurrection broke out in 1858, and in 1866 began an almost general struggle of the Christian population against Turkish rule. In 1867 there were several important engagements between Omer Pasha, commanding the Turks, and the insurgents, and vigorous fighting at intervals from April to September, when, by order of the Turkish government, hostilities were suspended for four weeks. The Turkish grand vizier, Aali Pasha, arrived on the island Oct. 4, 1867, and proclaimed amnesty. The insurgents protested against amnesty, and de- manded an international commission of in- quiry and universal suffrage. Hostilities were renewed even before the expiration of the armistice. During the year attempts were made by negotiation to settle the difficulties. In January Mussulman and Christian delegates went, by order of the sultan, to Constanti- nople, to express the wishes of the people ; but they effected nothing, and on May 3 went back to Crete, leaving a protest to the great powers. In June a collective note from France, Russia, Prussia, and Italy urged a suspension of hos- tilities, and an inquiry into the grievances of Crete by a joint commission of the powers and