Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/739

 GEORGIA 72' ment to the constitution of the United States, to entitle the state to representation in con- gress. By an order of Dec. 24 Major Gen. Terry was placed in command of the troops to carry the act into effect. The legislature met, Jan. 10, 1870, in pursuance of a proclamation of Gov. Bullock, and adjourned from time to time until the 26th of that month, when a commission appointed by Gen. Terry to deter- mine the eligibility of certain members reported against 21 as ineligible under the 14th amend- ment, or for refusing to take the test oath, and the candidates having the next highest number of votes in the respective districts were seated in their places. Both houses were declared duly organized on the 31st, and on Feb. 2 the 15th amendment was ratified by a vote of 26 to 10 in the senate and 55 to 29 in the house. The conditions prescribed in the reconstruction acts of 1867 were also assented to, and subse- quently United States senators were elected. On July 15 an act for the readmission of the state received the approval of the president. An election for congressmen was held Nov. 20-22, and they, together with the senators elected in 1868, having been admitted to con- gress in the following December, the recon- struction of the state became complete. GEORGIA (Russ. Qrusia ; Pers. Gurjistan; anc. Iberia), the name formerly applied to that part of western Asia comprised in the Russian Transcaucasia, lying between the Caspian and the Black seas, and the Caucasian and Arme- nian mountains; area, about 70,000 sq. m. Within its boundaries are included the Rus- sian governments of Kutais, Tiflis, Elisabeth- pol, Baku, and Erivan, and the districts of Sa- katal, Sukhum, and Tchernomore. These are the -extreme limits of ancient Georgia, but in modern times the name has generally been confined to the territory bounded N". by the Caucasus, E. by Shirvan, S. by the range of the Armenian mountains separating the valley of the Kur from that of the Aras, and W. by a branch of the Caucasian range, having an area of about 25,000 sq. m. The surface of the en- tire country is mountainous, but many of the valleys, especially that of the river Kur, which flows through it from W. to E., are of great fertility. The climate is agreeable and health- ful, and the soil produces in abundance all the cereals, hemp, flax, and cotton, and many fine fruits, particularly grapes, from which much wine is made. For a more particular descrip- tion of the country see RUSSIA and the articles on the modern governments and districts. The Georgians, or ancient Iberians, including their kindred, 'the Suanethians, Mingrelians, and Lazians, form the main race of the south- ern division of the Caucasian group of the Medi- terranean family of the human species. Their name is believed to be derived from the Per- sian gury (Gurjistan, "the land of wolves"). They call themselves Kartveli or Kartlians, af- ter the province Kartlia of the former Geor- gian empire. The Armenians call them Virk. The Georgians proper occupy the country com- prised within the more limited of the bounda- ries above given, and embracing Kartlia on the Kur, Kakhetia, N. E. of Kartlia, and other dis- tricts. West of them are the Mingrelians, who occupy Mingrelia, and Guria, on the Black sea. The Suanethians inhabit the southern slope of the Caucasus N". E. of the Mingrelians. These three divisions belong to the Russian empire. The Lazians in the sanjakate of Lazistan, pa- shalik of Trebizond, are subjects of Turkey. While the Armenians, who control most of the traffic of the country, are timid and intent on gain, the Georgians are bold, reckless, turbu- lent, and extravagant. They are also indolent, apathetic, and ignorant, seldom giving any signs of animation except when on a drink- ing bout. The lower classes are chiefly culti- vators of the soil, which they work in the same way that their ancestors did centuries Georgian Costumes. ago. The Georgian men are noted for their athletic forms and the women for their beauty, although the features of the latter are regular and handsome rather than beautiful, and are wanting in expression. The general character- istics of the race are finely chiselled brows, large, black, liquid eyes, prominent semi-aqui- line nose, and voluptuous mouth. Before mar- riage the women endeavor to keep their waists as small as possible by means of a girdle, which they wear almost continuously ; tiiis results in a large development of the bosom, which is much admired. It is said that in former times the belt was never removed until the nuptial day, when it was cut by the dagger of the bridegroom. Many such ancient customs, now obsolete in the neighborhood of Tiflis, are still preserved in the mountains and isolated dis- tricts. Before the Russian domination a large