traffic to different parts of Hindoostan. The
woods are infected by tigers. They abound also
with snakes of a monstrous size, among which is
the boa constrictor, one of which has been known
to destroy a tiger, and devour him at one meal.
Spiders, centipedes, and scorpions also grow to
an enormous size. Here the mantis, or creeping
leaf, is met with; which is supposed to be a
species of grasshopper, having .every member of
common insects, though in shape and appearance
it greatly resembles a leaf: it is of a green colour.
The sea coasts abound with fish. Alligators and
all the lizard tribe are also numerous. xc2xbb

The aborigines of Ceylon consist of two classes
of people, the Cingalese and the Veddahs. The
latter are still iij the rudest stage of social life ;
they live embosomed in the woods, or in the hol-
lows of the mountains: hunting their sole employ-
ment, and providing for the day their only care.
Some of them acknowledged the authority of the
king of Candy; and exchanged with the Cingal-
ese elephants’ teeth and deer flesh, for arrows,
cloth, &c. but this practice is not general, for two-
thirds of them hold no communication with the
Cingalese, and have an utter antipathy to strangers.
They worship a particular god ; and their reli-
gious doctrine seems to consist of some indistinct
notions of the fundamental principles of the
Braminical faith. In some places they have erect-
ed temples ; but for the most part they perform
worship at an altar constructed of bamboos, un-
der the shade of a banyan-tree. The Cingalese,
subjects of the kings of Candy, during tne ex-
istence of their reign, -appear to have been, be-
yond time of memory, a race of Hindoos, in-
-,'vucted in all the arts of civil life, and maintain-
ing, if notan ascendancy, a co-equality of influ-
xe2x80xa2 in-tt and importance with their continental
aeignuours. The distinction of castes into 19
grades prevails among them as scrupulously as
among the Hindoos. In their devotion they are
Pagans; and though they acknowledge a supreme
God, they worship only the inferior deities,
among which they reckon the sun and moon.
In their temples are images, well executed, though
their figures are monstrous; some are of silver,
copper, &c. The different sorts of gods have
various priests, who have all some privileges.
Their houses are small and low, with walls made
of hurdles, smoothly covered with clay, and the
roofs thatched. They have no chimneys, and
their furniture is only a few earthen vessels, with
two copper basins, and two or three stools; none
but their king having been allowed to sit in a
chair. Their food is generally rice, and their
common drink is water, which they pour into
their mouths out of a vessel like a tea-pot, through
the spout, never touching it with their lips.
There are some inscriptions on the rocks, which
must be very ancient, for they are not understood
by any of the present inhabitants. The subver-
sion of the native government of Ceylon, and
the predilection of the English to force a distribu-
tion of the products of British labour, over every
part of the globe, are calculated to effect a great
change in the tastes and habits of the Cingalese,
the result of which it is difficult to foresee. In
addition to the various productions of Ceylon
previously enumerated, connected with it is the
pearl fishery, in the gulf of Manara, which is
considered the richest source of that article in the
world, and which, with cinnamon to the amount
of 300,000 to 400,000 lbs. weight annually, consti-
tutes the basis of its commerce, in exchange for

European productions. The population is esti
mated at about 1,500,000; the principal towns ore
Colombo, Negombo, and Arrobo on the west coast,
Trincomalee and Batacola on the east coast, Ma-
gane and Matura at the south end, and Candy
nearly in the centre of the island.

Chabeuil, a town of France, in the department
of Drome, with about 4,000 inhabitants, 8 m. S.
by E. of Valhuce.

Chablais, a fertile province of Savoy, bounded
on the north by the lake of Geneva, east hy
Valois, south by Faucigny, and west by the
Genevois. Thonon, 22 m. E. N. E. of Geneva
is the capital.

Chablis, a town of France, in the departmen.
of Yonne, celebrated for its excellent white wine.
It is 12 m. E. by N. of Auxerre.

Chacao, a seaport at the N. E. end of the island
of Chiloe, on the strait that separates it from the
main land, in the lat. of 41. 53. S.

Chachapoyas, a town of Peru, in the province
of Truxillo, capital of a district lying east of the
main ridge of the Andes. It is seated on a river,
160 m. N. N. E. of Truxillo. Long. 77. 30. W
lat. 6. 20. S.

Chaco, or Gran Chaco, an interior district of
South America, bordering east on the Paraguay
River, which, under the influence of the Incas,
and more recently of the domination of the
Spaniards, was a sort of country of refuge for the
native Indians. Its length is estimated at 750,
and its breadth 450 miles. It is well watered,
and yields most of the productions of other parts
of Peru : it is now merged into the United pro-
vinces of Buenos Ayres.

Chaddeston, a township of Eng, in the parish
of Oldham, Lancashire, with 5,124 inhabitants in
1821. See Oldham.

Chafalia, properly Atchafalaya, a diverging
branch of the Mississippi river, which see.

Chagang, a city of Birmah, with a small fort.
It is the principal emporium for cotton, which is
brought from all parts of the country, and em
harked here in boats up the river Irrawaddy into
the province of Yunen. Here also is the only
manufacture of marble idols, whence the whole
Birman empire is supplied; none being allowed
to be made in any other place. It is situate op-
posite Ava, the present capital, on the north side
of the Irrawaddy, which here turns north and
parts it from Ummerapoora, the present capital.

Chagre, a town and fort on the isthmus, connect-
ing, the two great divisions of the western hem-
isphere, at the mouth of a river of its name, to
the S. W. of Porto Bello, forming the easiest
channel of communication between the Atlantic
and Pacific Ocean. The fort was taken by Ad-
miral Vernon in 1740. Long. 80. 17. W. iat. 9.

10. N.

Chais Dieu, a town of France, in the depart-
ment of Upper Loire, with a celebrated Benedic
tine abbey, 12 m. E. of Brioude.

Chaleo, a town of Mexico, 18 m. S. E. of the
city of Mexico.

Chaleur, Bay of, a spacious bay on the west
side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which di-
vides the district of Gaspe, Lower Canada, from
the province of New Brunswick. Miscou Island,
at the entrance of the bay, is in lat. 48. 4. N. and

64. 14. W. long, from which point the bay runs
about 80 miles further west, being about 20 miles
in breadth, indented on the north by Cascapedia,
and on the south by Nipesiguit bay. It receives
several rivers, the principal of which is the Risti