Proceeding from Dvinsk up the Dvina as far as Druya, then drawing a line northward to near Izborsk, thence northwestward to the sea, we get the Letts to the north of the Lithua nians, But the Lithuanian territory is dotted with Polish and Russian settlements, while the Lettish territory is similarly filled with German colonies, and, in the east, with Great Russian oases.
To the north of the Letts live the Esthon ians, who almost reach to lakes Pskov and Peipus, then down the Narova to the sea. The islands of Dago and Osel are also Esthonian. The Esthonians are not Indo-Europeans, but belong to the same group as the Finns. Vari ous Finnish races, in small groups, occupy the littoral from the Narova almost to Petrograd. North of Petrograd, between the Bay of Fin land and Lake Ladoga, as far up as Rautus, the population is mixed Russian and Finnish. The southern littoral of Lake up to the mouth of the Swir River, is Russian. If a straight line be drawn from here to Perm and the Urals, most of the territory to the south would be chiefly Russian. To the north of this line they live only along the rivers, the largest block being on the Kama, north of Perm, as far as Cherdyn. The southern line of the Russians runs along the Black Sea to Gagri in the Caucasus. Thence a line to Alek sandriskaya on the Caspian Sea forms the southernmost border of the Russians. Within this region, we distinguish between the Little Russians or Ukrainians, related to the Ruthen ians of Galicia, in the governments of Cher nigov, Poltava, Kharkov, Voronezh, Podolsk and parts of Kherson, Ekaterinoslav and the Crimea. Eastward they have been settling in the government of Stavropol and as far as the Volga. The White Russians occupy the greater part of the governments of Grodno, Vilno, Vitebsk and Smolensk, and all of Mogilev, and a small part of Chernigov. The rest of the Russian territory belongs to the Great Russian dialects. But it must be borne in mind that there is no strict division of these groups, as dialects pass into each other at the points of meeting. The vast territory of Russia has,
besides, a large number of other than Indo European linguistic blocks.
Finland, except for the littoral in the bays of Bothnia and Finland, which is Swedish, and the extreme north Uleaborg, which is in habited by the Lapps, is Finnish. Related tribes are Carelians, between lakes Ladoga and Onega, and as far north as Lake Pavozero, and also in many settlements in the government of Tver; the Esthonians, already mentioned; the Mordovinians, in many settlements in the governments of Nizhegorod, Penza, Simbirsk, Saratov, Samara; Cheremisses to the north of the Volga and to the west of Kazan; Votyaks between the rivers Vyatka and Kama; Syryans along the rivers Vychegda, Mezen and Pechora. Of Turkish people the most numerous are the Bashkirs between the rivers Ural and Kama the Tatars in the government of Kazan and along the Kama, also in the Crimea; the Chu vashes on the Volga, near the Kama; the Tatars and Nogays south of the Volga, along the Caspian Sea; the Kirgizes to the north of the Caspian Sea, east of the Volga. Of Mongols we have the Calmucks, on the upper Ural, between the Kirgizes and the Bashkirs.
The races of the Caucasus baffle any brief description and must be treated separately.
To the same linguistic group as the Finns belong the Magyars or Hungarians, who oc cupy all the territory of Hungary not other wise described as occupied by Slavic people. In addition to the Tatar settlements of the Dobrudja there are the related Turks in the littoral of the yEgean and in small scattered colonies in Macedonia. In about the same re gions are also found scattered colonies of Armenians who belong to the Indo-European group. There are also Armenian colonies in Galicia, who, however, are rapidly becoming Polonized. We have also one Semitic language in Europe, namely, Maltese, a curious mixture of Arabic and Romance, which is spoken at Malta and Pitayusa, islands of the Mediterra nean.
LEO Wrgwgit.