|
and Ardgowar. The peninsulas of Cantyre and
Cowal are likewise very large. The chief islands,
attached to this county, are Mull, Islay, Jura,
Tirey, and Col. The soil of Argyleshire, in the
high grounds, though little fitted for cultivation,
affords excellent pasture. Some parts are covered
with heath, and others exhibit rugged and bare
rocks. The sides of the hills and lakes are in-
terspersed with woods; and there are rich mines
of copper, iron, and lead. The mountainous parts
abound with deer and the heaths with grouse. The
chief town is Inverary.
Arica, a seaport at the south extremity of Peru.
It is but badly fortified, and has been much injur-
ed by earthquakes. Here the treasure brought
from Potosi is shipped ; and there are many farms
employed in the cultivation of Guinea pepper, in
which it has a great trade. It is 550 m. S. E. of
Lima. Long. 70. 25. W. lat. 18. 27. S.
Arievzo, a town of Naples, in Terra di Lavoro,
14 m. N. E. of Naples.
Arindal, a town of Norway in the government
of Bergen, noted for the productive iron mines in
its vicinity. It is seated near the sea, 10 m. N.
N. E. of Christiansand.
Arisch, or El Arisch, a town and fort of Egypt,
on a gulf of the Mediterranean, to which it gives
name. The French became masters of it in 1799;
but it wins retaken by the Turks and English at
the end of the year. In 1800, the Turks and
French signed a convention here, by which the
troops of the bitter winre to evacuate Egypt; but
the English admiral refused to ratify the capitu-
lation. Arisch stands on the confines of Arabia
and Palestine, 36 m. S. W. of Gaza, and 120 N.
E. of Suez, in N. lat. 31. 8. E. long. 34. 3.
Arispe, the chief town of the extensive district
of Sonora, Mexico. Arispe it situate at the foot
of the Cordilleras, near the source of the Mia, or
Yaqui river, in the lat. of about 31. N. and 109.
W. long.
Arkansas, a territory of the U. S. formed from
a part of the Missouri territory in 1819. It lies
between 33. and 36. 30. of N. lat. and between
90. and 100. AV. long. Bounded N. by the state
of Missouri, E. by the river Mississippi, separat-
ing it from Tennessee and Mississippi, S. by Lou-
isiana, and AT. by the Mexican and Alissouri ter-
ritories. Containing above 500,000 sq. m., and a
population of 30,383, of which 4,578 are slaves.
The limits of this region are strongly defined by
physical and geographical lines. These lines are
for the most part large rivers and the ocean of
prairies beyond. The chief rivers are the Missis-
sippi, Arkansas, AVhite, Washita and Red rivers.
The western part is traversed by the Ozrak and
Masserne Mountains.
For some distance up the waters of Arkansas
and AVhite rivers, the country is an extensive,
heavily timbered and deeply inundated swamp.
Near the St. Francis hills and at Point Chico, the
eastern front along the Mississippi is above the
overflow. The remainder of the eastern line is a
continued and monotonous flooded forest. It has
large and level prairie plains. It possesses a great
extent of rocky and sterile ridges, and no inconsid-
erable surface covered with mountains. Perhaps
no section of our country is more diversified, in re-
gard to its surface. Its northern line is inter-
sected by a range of hills, which are commonly
denominated the 1 alack mountains,’ a line of
elevations running from Black river to the west-
ern extremity of tb ? territory, and separating be-
tween the winters of AVhite river and Arkansas.xe2x80x94 |
There are ranges of hills, that have the name of
mountains, which separate the winters of Ar-
kansas from those of Washita. Near the Hot
springs, these ridges mount up into elevated
peaks, which in the eye of a visitor at the springs,
from the level country of Louisiana, have the as-
pect of lofty mountains. At the south-western
extremity of the territory, there are three parallel
ranges of hills, that divide the waters of Red riv-
er from those of AVashita. There are, also, many
detached hills, and flint knobs. On some of these
is found the whortleberry xe2x80x98vaccinium’ of the north,
in great perfection and abundance. These hills
exhibit red cedars and savins, such as grow on
hills of a similar appearance on the Atlantic shore.
In the central parts of the territory, and intermedi
ate between Arkansas and Washita rivers, on the
waters of the latter is that singular detached el-
evation, called xe2x80x98 Mount Prairie.’ On tfie waters
of White river and St. Francis, the country gene-
rally is rolling. But, take the extent of the terri-
tory together, it is either very level or very hilly.
In some places, the hills rise at once from level
prairies and plains. A very considerable portion
of the country is broken land, and unfit for culti-
vation. A great part of the xe2x80x98 barrens’ of this state
are what their name imports. There are four con-
siderable detached bodies of good upland. Buc
it may be assumed as a general fact, that the high
prairies and timbered lands are sterile. That part
of the course of the Washita, which runs in this
territory, has narrow, though in some places rich
bottoms. Here are cane brakes, birch, maple,
holly, and muscadine grape vines. The tender
soil on the banks is often torn away by the sweep-
ing and rapid course of the full river. Rugged
hills, covered with stinted pines and cedars come
in close to the river; and the valley is so deep,
and its boundaries so abrupt, that the sun is seen
but a few hours in a day.
There is a large tract of country, on the upper
waters of AAhite river, which has sometimes been
denominated New Kentucky, either from its be-
ing fertile, rolling, and abundant in lime stone
springs ; or from its being more congenial to the
staple products of Kentucky, than the country
lower down. It is sheltered on the north by
mountains. The fertile tracts are valleys embos-
,omed between high hills ; and the productions of
the north and the south for the most part succeed
in this soil. It has one great inconvenience.
The streams, that run among its precipitous, hills,
receive the waters of the powerful showers that
occasionally fall, and pour these winters from an
hundred shelving declivities into the streams.
They have been known to rise forty feet in per
pendicular height, in a fewT hours. The standing
corn and cotton is submerged; and the hope cf
the year destroyed.
Arkansas is the northern limit of the cotton
growing country. The rich lands on the Arkansas
produce cotton of the same staple and luxuriance
as those of Red river ; but, having a season some i
what shorter, it cannot ripen so well. Neverthe !
less, the planters here assert, that even here they
can raise more, that their hands can xe2x80x98 pick out/
as the phrase is; consequently they affirm, that
they lose nothing by the shortness of their season.
Cotton becomes an uncertain crop north of the
river St. Francis. As win ascend the Arkansas
towards the higli table prairies, the temperature
diminishes more rapidly, than would be indicated
by the latitude; and cotton ceases to be a sure
crop a little beyond 34. in that direction. It is at |
