Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/488

 484 CEIMEA around the salt-water lagoons and marshes. The climate of this region is not as healthy as the more southern part, the winters being cold and damp and the summers excessively warm; it is also subject to sudden changes from long droughts to severe rain storms. The Tauridian mountain chain (Yaila) appears to be a western continuation of the Caucasus, from which it is separated only by the strait of Yenikale. It rises almost precipitously from the sea, girdling the whole southern coast. At the Tchatirdagh, or Tent mountain (anc. Tra- pezus Mons), it attains an elevation of 4,980 ft. above the sea, and terminates to the south- ward of Sebastopol in the promontory called Orion Metopon (Ram's Face) by the Greeks and Ai Burun (Holy Cape) by the Tartars. As it advances toward the north it divides into sev- eral parallel chains, which gradually decline in elevation till lost in the northern steppes. This range presents a succession of lofty moun- tains, picturesque ravines, and wide basins, well watered and teeming with vegetation. Wherever the slope of the hillsides is not too steep, they are covered with vineyards and country houses; the valleys, watered by nu- merous small streams, produce rich crops of grain and fruit. The mountains abound in valuable timber. The steppe, on the other hand, is mostly destitute of fresh- water springs and rivers, and its soil is generally impregnated with salt. It abounds, however, in excellent pastures. The two principal rivers of the Crimea are the Salghir, which rises S. E. of Simferopol, and, flowing mainly N. E., emp- ties into the Putrid sea, and its S. affluent the Karasu. Of the smaller streams, the Alma and the Katcha, running W., N". of Sebastopol, are chiefly to be noticed. The products of the peninsula are varied. Maize, hemp, to- bacco, and almost all European and tropical fruits are produced. Of wild animals, only deer, wolves, badgers, foxes, hares, weasels, and jerboas are found. Camels are employed on the northern steppes, where also buffaloes and oxen, sheep and goats, are raised. The horses of the Crimea are more remarkable for activity and intelligence than beauty. The birds most common are crows, owls, thrushes, blackbirds, partridges, quails, kingfishers, pi- geons, poultry, geese, swans, ducks, teals, and gulls. Among the insects, the hideous rana variabilis, scorpion, tarantala spiders, centi- pedes, and scolopendras may be mentioned. Bees are abundant. Fish abound on the coast, but not in the rivers. The salt manufacture is monopolized by government; the most cele- brated salt mines are those of Perekop, Eupa- toria or Kozlov, and Kertch. The grape has been of late years extensively cultivated, and produces some excellent wines, vines being imported from Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhine, Hungary, Spain, and Portugal. The principal forest trees are the oak, beech, plane, poplar, and ash. In consequence of the thin- ness of the population and their aversion to labor, the Crimea produces but a very small' part of what it might do. The Tartars, who form the bulk of the population, though they have renounced their roving habits, have not much aptitude for husbandry. Besides milk and other animal food, they subsist chiefly on millet. The mineral wealth of the Crimea is in- significant. There are a few coal mines, por- phyry, and fine red marble. The industry of the country is also unimportant; cutlery, morocco, lamb-skin caps, saddles, blankets, carpets, sacks, and cordage are manufac- tured. Commerce is likewise limited, and is chiefly carried on by Greeks and Jews. The principal articles of export are salt, wine, honey, wax, leather, hides, wool, lamb skins, and morocco leather; and an active transit trade exists, corn, seeds, tallow, tobacco, and silk being brought here for barter with Euro- pean, and especially Russian manufactures. The peninsula is divided into four districts: Simferopol, Feodosia, Yalta, and Eupatoria. The capital, Simferopol, or Akmetchet, has 17,000 inhabitants, and has lost all vestiges of its former splendor as a residence of the Tar- tar khans. It had been outgrown by Sebasto- pol before the destruction of that place in 1855, and by Eupatoria (Kozlov), Bakhtchiserai, Feo- dosia (Kaffa), and Kertch. The last, situated on the strait of Yenikale, which is often designated as the strait of Kertch, is almost the only town in Russia that is built entirely of stone ; its population amounts to about 20,000. Karasu-Bazar, situated N. E. of Sim- feropol and containing about 15,000 inhabi- tants, is the principal seat of what little indus- try the Crimea can boast of. The popula- tion of the peninsula is a mixture of the Tar- tar, Greek, Italian, and Slavic nationalities. There are, besides, Armenians, Caraite Jews, Greeks, gypsies, and also German colonies es- tablished since 1804. The Tartars (Moham- medans), in former times so numerous that they were able to muster 100,000 warriors, still constitute the principal part of the popu- lation. The aboriginal inhabitants were the Cimmerians. About the 7th century B. C. their country was invaded by other Scythians and they were driven to the mountains, where they received the name of Tauri; hence its ancient name Tauris, or Chersonesus Taurica. It was celebrated in the legends of Iphigenia and Orestes. About the 6th century B. C. Greek colonies from Miletus settled here, and founded Theodosia (now Feodosia or Kaffa), PanticapaBum (now Kertch), and other cities ; and the Heracleans who settled on the S. "W. part of the peninsula founded Chersonesus. It was the chief part of the kingdom of the Bos- porus, the struggles between the Greeks and Scythians continuing till about 112 B. C., when Mithridates acquired possession of the penin- sula, and made Panticapseum the capital. (See BOSPORUS.) It was subsequently conquered by the Sarmatians. Early in the middle ages it belonged to the Byzantine empire. Toward