Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/709

 ORISSA ORKNEY ISLANDS 695 from 2,500 to 3,500 ft. high, stretching sea- ward from the plateau of central India, and separated by the valleys of the three principal rivers of the province. The greatest river is the Mahanuddy, which waters the southern portion of Outtack. False Point, at the prin- cipal mouth of the Mahanuddy, encloses one of the finest harbors in India. The Chilka lake, in the S. E. corner of the province, near the bay of Bengal, is 44 m. long, 5 to 20 m. wide, and only 3 to 6 ft. deep. It is fresh in summer, but salt in winter. Much salt is made by solar evaporation. The climate of Orissa is hot, wet, and unhealthy. In Cuttack the annual temperature averages 84, and the yearly rain- fall 63 - 18 inches. The tributary states and the hilly border of the organized districts con- stitute the forest region. The saul tree is the chief timber product of the interior; resin, lac, and valuable vine fibres are also obtained. Ebony, bamboo, and rattan are produced in Poo- ree. There are many wild animals, and large coarse oysters are found in Pooree. Rice is the staple crop and main article of food, and pulses are also extensively cultivated. Other prod- ucts are jute, hemp, flax, tobacco, sugar cane, maize, cotton, and oil seeds. The government has constructed a high level canal from the Brahmani river to the city of Cuttack, and the Kendrapara canal along the N. arm of the Mahanuddy delta. The commerce is chiefly carried on through the port at False Point. The Indo-Aryan Hindoo race of Uriyas con- stitute the largest portion of the population. There are several immigrant castes of Hindoos. It is estimated that one fourteenth of the pop- ulation of Outtack consists of Mohammedans. The aboriginal races are represented by the Kandhs, Kols, and Savars, all hill tribes. Small communities of native Christians exist in Poo- ree and Cuttack, and the Roman Catholics and American Freewill Baptists maintain missions in Balasore. The chief towns are Cuttack, the capital, on the Mahanuddy, Jeypoor, Jug- gernaut, Balasore, and Pooree. The govern- ment of the organized districts is administered by a commissioner. The supervision of the native tributary states is intrusted to a su- perintendent. Orissa first appears in history as an aboriginal kingdom under the name of Odra, although it is called Kalinga in the an- cient Sanskrit records. Prior to 250 B. C. it was colonized by Aryans, and Buddhism sub- sequently became the religion of the country. About A. D. 500 a Hindoo dynasty rose into power, and Buddhism was gradually supplant- ed by Brahmanism. About 1590 the Hindoo kingdom was subjugated by the Mohammedan emperor Akbar and became a dependency of the Mogul empire. In 1751 the governor of Ben- gal ceded it to the Mahrattas, under whose mis- rule it remained for upward of 50 years. The British permanently annexed it to their do- minions in 1803. Orissa has repeatedly suffered terrible famines; the latest occurred in 1866, the mortality of which is variously estimated at from 750,000 to 2,000,000. See "Orissa," by W. W. Hunter, director general of the sta- tistical survey of India (2 vols., London, 1872). ORIZABA, an inland city of Mexico, in the state of Vera Cruz, 160 m. E. S. E. of Mexico ; pop. about 20,000. It is on a delightful plain 3,975 ft. above the sea. It has good streets and some fine houses. Of the 12 churches, the paro- chial alone is noteworthy. There is a very good exchange, a house of refuge, a theatre, two hospitals, and several primary and high schools. The city has many commercial houses, some industrial establishments, and 12 mills. It is one of the principal stations on the rail- way from Mexico to Vera Cruz. The chief arti- cles of export are tobacco, coffee, sugar, rum, honey, chilli, and tropical fruits. Orizaba is said to be one of the most ancient towns in America, having existed for many centuries under the name of Izhuatlan. It was seized by Montezuma I. in 1457, and remained sub- ject to the Aztec kingdom until the time of the Spanish conquest. A large number of Spaniards were massacred in 1521 by the na- tives, who submitted peacefully to the con- querors in 1522. In 1862 Orizaba was the headquarters of the French army of interven- tion ; and in the same year the Mexican troops were completely overthrown in an encounter with the French at the Cerro del Borrego, a high mountain at the edge of the city. The Pico de Orizaba, or Citlaltepetl, an extinct vol- cano, according to recent measurements 17,176 ft. high, and covered with perpetual snow, is 6 m. N. of the city. ORKNEY ISLANDS (Norse, Orkneyar, from ork, whale, and eyar, islands ; Lat. Orcades), a compact group lying off the N. coast of Scot- land, separated from it by Pentland frith, be- tween lat. 58 44' and 59 23' N., and Ion. 2 24' and 3 26' W. ; area, about 500 sq. m., of which about one fourth is under cultivation ; pop. in 1871, 31,274. The group includes 67 islands, of which 29 are inhabited. The prin- cipal are Pomona or Mainland, Hoy, North and South Ronaldshay, "Westray, Sanday, Eday, Stronsay, Ronsay, and Shapinsay. Many of the uninhabited islands are small holms used for pasturage, and others are rocky islets devoid of herbage. Sanday is the most fertile. Hoy alone of the group can be called mountainous, its greatest elevation being 1,600 ft. Geologi- cally the islands belong to the old red sand- stone formation, though granite is found near Stromness in Pomona. In the peat mosses which abound throughout the group traces of ancient forests have been discovered, but the climate is now unfavorable to the growth of trees. The soil is chiefly clay and sand, inter- mixed with peat mosses, and shell marl and bog iron ore are met with. There are no large streams, but springs of pure water abound, and there are several lakes, the largest of which is Stennis, in Pomona, 14 m. in circuit. There is but little frost or snow ; the range of the ther- mometer is from 25 to 75, and the mean an-