NORTHUMBERLAND, an extensive county in England, situated on its northern extremity, upon the borders of Scotland, from which it is separated partly by the river Tweed, which, during the latter part of its course, flows between this county and Berwickshire, and partly by a line supposed to be drawn over the mountainous region on the west and north-west, where it meets with Roxburghshire. The other boundaries are the German Ocean on the east, Durham on the south, Cumberland on the west, and on the north two small districts called Norhamshire and Islandshire, which, though belonging by their situation to Northumberland, form a part of the county of Durham, along with another tract called Bedlingtonshire, on the southeast. But in a general description it is unnecessary to attend to these distinctions. The Tweed may, therefore, be considered as the northern boundary of the county, and in this case it will include the towns of Berwick and Norham. Lindisfarne or Holy Island, on the north-east cdast, which in like manner belongs to Durham, is situated about two miles from the mainland, opposite to the mouth of the brook Lindis, and accessible to all kinds of conveyance at low water. Although about nine miles ’ in circuit, it contains, little more than 1000 acres, the half of which is sand-banks. These several portions may extend to something more than 100 square miles, or about one twentieth part of the whole. In this view, Northumberland is situated between 54. 51. and 55. 48. north latitude, and between 1. and 2. 27. west longitude from London. Its greatest extent from north tα south is sixty-four miles, and from east to west it varies from about forty-six miles, which is its usual breadth between the river Tyne on the south and the Coquet on the north, till it terminates at the town of Berwick on the north, in a breadth of only five or six miles. According to Mr Rickman’s Report of 1831, the area of the county is 1871 square miles, or 1,197,000 acres; but the actual returns from the parishes give only 1,165,430 acres, a difference which is supposed to arise from the inaccurate measurement of the mountainous and uncultivated part of the western division of the county. Nearly one third of the county is scarcely capable of beneficial cultivation.

It is divided into six wards, namely, Tindale, Coquetdale, Glendale, Bamborough, Morpeth, and Castle, the first three comprising the western and mountainous district, and the second three the coast lands on the east. These last, though extending over only one fourth of the county, are by far the most wealthy and populous, owing chiefly to the great coal-works in Castle ward, near the town of Newcastle, and along the banks of the Tyne. It contains five deaneries and seventy-three parishes, all of which are in the archdeaconry of Northumberland and diocese of Durham.

All the western side of this county is mountainous, from the common boundary with Durham on the south, almost to the valley of the Tweed on the north; but this extensive tract, comprising more than a third of the whole area, is not all of the same character; the northern, or Cheviot Hills, extending to about 90,000 acres, being mostly all green nearly to their summits, comprehending many narrow but fertile glens, and affording excellent pastures for the breed of sheep to which they have given their name; whilst those to the west and south are, in general, open solitary wastes, covered with heath, and of very little value. On the coast, from the mouth of the Tyne to that of the Tweed, and also on the north, throughout its whole breadth [7:16:254]from Belford to Mindrum, the country is, with few exceptions, level and rich, with a soil which in some places is a strong clay, and in others a dry loam, but almost everywhere very productive, under the enlightened system of cultivation which prevails so generally throughout Northumberland.

The principal rivers of the county are the Tyne, Blyth, Wansbeck, Coquet, Ain, and the Tweed, all of which fall into the sea, carrying with them the tribute of many smaller streams. The Till, which empties itself into the Tweed, is also a considerable rivulet. The Tyne and Tweed are by far the most important, the tide flowing up the former sixteen miles, and up the latter eight or ten miles; whilst the navigation of the other rivers is confined to a small distance from their mouths. Both of these have long been celebrated for their salmon fisheries, which yield great rents, and afford a valuable article of trade with London, to which the fish are sent packed in pounded ice, by which means they are presented in the market in nearly as fresh a state as if they had been newly taken from the water.

Northumberland has been long distinguished for its subterranean treasures, which are the main source of its wealth and population. Of these, coal, which abounds in most parts of it, is by far the most important. It is of the best quality in the south-eastern quarter, on the banks of the Tyne, whence those vast quantities are exported which supply the great consumption of the metropolis, as well as the coasting and foreign trade. In some years the exportation from the port of Newcastle has amounted to upwards of 600,000 chaldrons of fifty-three cwt. each, and probably, as much more has been sent from Sunderland and consumed in Northumberland and Durham, the same coal-field extending across the Tyne to the latter county. This coal is all of the kind called “caking coal,” which melts and runs together in the fire, and, when of the best quality, leaves very few ashes. Calculations have been made as to the extent of this tract, the quantity of coal which it may contain, and the period when it must be exhausted; but upon this last point there is a great difference of opinion, some estimating that the supplies must cease in three hundred years, some not in less than eight hundred, whilst by others it is held to be almost inexhaustible. Of the coal found in Bamborough, Islandshire, and Glendale ward, the seams are in general thin, and the quality inferior, not caking nor burning to a cinder, but yielding a great quantity of ashes. ⅛ This is used only for home consumption and for burning limestone, a purpose for which it is well adapted; and through all this district coal and lime are generally found together. The south-eastern quarter, which is so rich in coal, is destitute of limestone. Lead ore abounds in the mountains on the south-west, particularly towards the head of that branch of South Tyne called Allendale, where it has long been wrought to a considerable extent. Iron ore is found in many parts; stone marl near Tweedside, shell marl in Glendale ward, and various sorts of sandstone or freestone are obtained in almost every quarter, somé of it affording tolerable slates for roofing, and flags for floors. Excellent grindstones are raised in the sandstone quarries, of which a great many are exported from Camus and Warkworth.

The agriculture of Northumberland is an object which is only second in interest and importance to its coal works. Almost all those branches of rural economy for one or more of which other districts are celebrated, may here be found combined into one system, and conducted upon the same farms. One finds here the Leicester sheep and the shorthorned cattle of Durham and Yorkshire, both in great perfection; the turnips of Norfolk cultivated upon the drill system of Scotland; the well-dressed fallows of East Lothian and Berwickshire; and that regular alternation of tillage and grazing which is, of all other courses of cropping, the one best adapted to sustain and even to improve the productiveness of the soil. These remarks apply in an especial manner to the northern part of the county, where the farms are in general large, and the occupiers men of education and liberal acquirements. This quarter has been long distinguished as a school of agriculture, to which pupils are sent, some of them gentlemen of fortune, from various parts; a character for which it is eminently indebted, as well as for other distinctions, to the late Messrs Culley, who were amongst the most extensive and successful farmers in the kingdom. The common period of leases, at least in the northern district, is twenty-one years, although many are shorter, and upon a few estates no leases are granted. By the account taken for the purpose of levying the property-tax in the year 1815, it was found that the annual value of the real property amounted to L.1,240,594. It may be worthy of remark here, that at the seat of the Earl of Tankerville, called Chillingham Castle, there still exists in the forest the remains of the herds of wild cattle which are supposed to have formerly abounded in this island, and to have been the origin of our races of cows.

Northumberland is not eminently a manufacturing county. Some wool-combing is carried on at Hexham, and some thread is spun in the villages; but the chief branches of manufacturing industry are those depending upon the cheapness of iron and coal, and are chiefly carried on within and around the town of Newcastle, to which head in this work the reader is referred.

The population of the county at the four decennial enumerations has been as follows:—In 1801 it amounted to 157,101, in 1811 to 172,161, in 1821 to 198,965, and in 1831 to 223,000. The burials, including both the registered and unregistered, in the ten years from 1821 to 1831, appear to have been one in fifty-two of the whole number of inhabitants then living. The illegitimate births were one in fifteen of the whole number born.

The occupations of the people, according to the returns arranged by Mr Rickman, were in 1831 as follows:
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In these there were 48,364 families, of whom 10,127 were chiefly employed in agriculture, 14,246 in trade or manufactures, and 23,091 belonged to neither of these classes. This county is included in the northern circuit. The assizes are held at Newcastle, and the quarter-sessions successively at Newcastle, Morpeth, Hexham, and Alnwick.

The title of duke of this county belongs to the family of Percy, though now in the female line. The Earl of Carlisle derives his second title from the town of Morpeth. For the purposes of election two divisions are formed, each returning two members. The elections for the northern division are held at Alnwick; and the polling places are, besides that town, Berwick, Elsdon, Morpeth, andWooler: for the southern they are held at Hexham, and the other polling places are Bellingham, Haltwhistle, Hexham, Newcastle, and Stamfordham. There are two boroughs within the county; Newcastle, which returns two members to the House of Commons; and Morpeth, which also returned two before the reform bill, but at present only one. Berwick, which, though for some purposes a county of itself, [7:16:255]may be considered as in Northumberland, returns two members.

The towns containing more than 1500 inhabitants, with their population in 1831, were the following, viz.
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The most remarkable of the noblemen and gentlemen’s seats are, Alnwick Castle, the Duke of Northumberland; Chiyingham Castle, the Earl of Tankerville; Haggerstone Castle, Sir Carneby Haggerstone; Howick House, Earl Grey; Falloden House, General Grey; Bamborough Castlc, Lord Crewe; and Barmour Castle, F. Sitwell, Esq.

Northumberland Islands, a chain of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, near the north-eastern coast of New Holland, which runs parallel to the mainland at the distance of from five to eight miles. The largest is about thirteen miles in circumference. Long. 149. 47. to 150. 37. E. Lat. 21. 32. to 22. S.

Northumberland Straits, a narrow channel of the Eastern Seas, between the islands of Calamianes and the shoals of Apo.

North-EastPassage, a passage to theEastIndies along the northern coast of Asia, which, like the North-West Passage, has frequently been attempted, but hitherto without success. See Polar Seas. North-West Passage, a supposed passage to the Pacific Ocean through Hudson’s Bay or Davis’ Straits, and which has frequently been attempted, as yet with only partial success. See the article Polar Seas. North-West Territory, a vast tract of country in North America, situated between 42. 30. and 49. north latitude, and 87. 30. and 95. 30. west longitude. It is bounded on the north by the British possessions and Lake Superior, on the east by Lake Michigan, on the south by Illinois, and on the west by the Mississippi, and a line drawn from the source of that river to the northern boundary. In length it extends about 500 miles, and in breadth about 400 miles. In some of its physical features this territory resembles that of Missouri; but a greater proportion of it is covered with wood. It is, generally speaking, a hilly country, with the exception of extensive levels of prairie land. At the western extremity of Lake Superior are the Cabotian Mountains; and near the mineral district are the Smoky Mountains. The chief rivers, with the exception of the Mississippi (see the article Mississippi), are the Ouisconsin, Fox, Chippeway, St Croix, Rum, St Francis, and Savannah of the Mississippi. Grand Portage, Ontonagon, Montreal, Mauvaise, Boisbrule, St Louis, and nearly fifty smaller streams, discharge themselves into Lake Superior. Riviere la Pluie falls into the Lake of the Woods. None of the lake rivers have a course of more than a hundred and fifty miles, and few of them more than fifty miles. The Ouisconsin, the largest tributary of the Mississippi in this territory, rises in the northern interior of the country, and interlocks with the Montreal of Lake Superior. It has a course of between three and four hundred miles, with a shallow and rapid current, which is, however, generally navigable by boats in good states of the water, and is 800 yards wide at its mouth. There is i portage of only half a mile between this and Fox River, lt extends over a level prairie, across which, from river to 'iver, there is a water communication for periogues in high dates of the water. Fox River has a course of 260 miles, flowing through Winnebago Lake, and into the Green Bay of Lake Superior. The country on its banks is very fine, and the climate is salubrious. Another considerable tributary of the Mississippi is the Chippeway, which enters it immediately below Lake Pepin. It is half a mile wide at its mouth, and has communication, by a short portage, with Lake Superior. This is one of the very best regions for hunters. In the upper part of the country, buffaloes, elks, bears, and deer, arc common. Beavers, otters, and muskrats, are taken for their furs. The trappers, and also the Indian tribes, pursue their prey over an immense extent of prairie. The soil is fertile in some parts, and no doubt the enterprise and industry of civilized men will ere long bring a great portion of it under cultivation. White and yellow pine and white birch are common amongst the forest trees. All the water courses, ponds, and marshes, are covered with wild rice, which the inhabitants use as one of their chief articles of food. The elevation of the head waters of the Mississippi is estimated at 1330 feet above the level of the sea.

This country abounds in minerals, and rich veins of valuable ore have been discovered and wrought to considerable advantage. Great quantities of terre verte or green earth, lead, iron, and copper, are also found in it. The lead-mine district is situated in the lower part of the country, between Rock River and the Ouisconsin. The chief establishments of the present miners are on Fever River, and the mines are reckoned as rich and productive as any in the world. The following are the quantities produced in each year from 1823 to 1832.
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The great increase in the years 1828 and 1829 reduced the price so low as to render the working of the mines in a great measure unprofitable. For upwards of half a century it has been confidently asserted that great quantities of native copper may be found along the northern shore of Lake Superior. On the Outogon there is a vast abundance of pure copper in detached masses. One of these masses is estimated to weigh 3000 lbs. The common reports, however, of the existence of large veins of copper, have not been confirmed by recent travellers; but there are nevertheless sufficient indications that mines of this metal are to be met with in this territory. Besides lead, iron is found in various places, and in great abundance.

In the southern portion of this large territory the climate is comparatively mild, and not unlike that of the northern belt of Missouri. At the Falls of St Anthony, on the Mississippi, the summers are temperate, whilst the winters are extremely cold. The sources of the Mississippi are in a region extremely inclement. At St Peters, in 1820, the mean temperature of January was zero, a degree of cold which is never experienced in any part of the United States that has been extensively settled. The summer, however, was temperate, and the atmosphere beautifully serene. Even at Prairie du Chien, although much more temperate, the winters are extremely severe. At the Falls of Packagama> on the Mississippi, about 1200 feet above the level of the sea, water has been known to freeze to a considerable extent in the middle of July. The following table, extracted from the work of an American writer, will convey the best idea of the nature of the climate in different parts of the North-west Territory:
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The North-west Territory is divided, or rather marked off, into four counties, which have been named and partially settled by whites; but there are still a number of Indians in it. Prairie du Chien, Cassville, and Green Bay, are the largest villages; and the whole population has been estimated at 16,000. Green Bay settlement is situated at the outlet of Fox River, and contains 952 inhabitants. A few miles up Fox River, in a most romantic position, there is an interesting Episcopal missionary settlement. Prairie du Chien is of importance as a place of outfit from the Lower Mississippi to the upper waters. It is situated near a beautiful prairie, and there are flour-mills in its vicinity. Most of the permanent settlers here are a mixed race of Indians and whites. Frequent voyages are made from St Louis to Prairie du Chien in keel-boats. The richest copper mines, and the largest masses of pure copper, are said to be found here. One third of the land is capable of being farmed, and about one sixth is well timbered.

The whole of this vast region has been for some time politically connected with Michigan for the sake of convenience, but it must ultimately constitute a state by itself. Most of the lands are owned by Indians, or by the United States; the latter havingyecently made a purchase from the former of a very considerable tract of country. The following description of the Indian territory is from Flint’s Geography: “The tract reserved to the Indians, of 500,000 acres, is also a fine body of land, containing very extensive and fertile meadows along the Fox River, with woodlands of good timber, in which there is no underbrush. The writer proceeded thirty-eight miles from Green Bay, up the Fox River, to Winnebago Lake, passing rapids whose whole descent is about 100 feet. The river is ninety yards wide, its bed a limestone rock, the banks from fifty to 150 feet high. The water is of course adequate to move any machinery. Doty’s Island, in the outlet of the lake, contains 400 acres heavily timbered. The bank of the lake itself is covered with trees of a height and diameter indicating the nature of the soil, which is a black loam, rich and deep. The Cliff, so called, is a mountain 300 feet above the level of the lake, presenting a picturesque prospect. The main roads leading from Green Bay to Chicago, Ouisconsin, Portage, the Lead Mines, and Galena, will probably pass this point. Beyond this the mountain recedes three or four miles from the shore, forming a valley fifteen miles in length, of as fertile land as can be found in the United States, terminating to the south in a dry prairie called Cass Plains. These plains contain 25,000 acres of rich land, which are already cleared by nature for the plough, and they extend to the Manitoovoc River. Soon after begin the prairies, which run, with scarcely any timber, to the Mississippi. In the whole distance, near 100 miles, passed by the writer, the land seems to be of the kind and aspect just described, namely, rich prairie, with occasional growths of fine timber, equally indicative of fertility. A road from the mouth of Fond du Lac River to Galena would be of great advantage to the mines, and a direct route for one might be followed at a trifling expense. It would facilitate the transportation of property from New York by the canal and the lakes