SCHWYZ, a canton of Switzerland, which gives its name to the whole confederation. It is bounded on the north by Zurich, on the north-east by St Gall, on the east by Glarus, on the south by Uri, and on the west by Lucerne and Zug. It extends over 344 square miles, and comprises six towns, twenty-seven communes, and 36,390 inhabitants, who all adhere to the Roman Catholic church. It furnishes a contingent of 602 men to the force of the confederation, and a contribution of 3010 francs yearly. The government is a pure democracy. The surface is intersected by a chain of mountains in the form of an arch, on both sides of which are some beautiful and moderately fertile valleys; and the mountains in summer afford excellent pasturage for cattle, which is the chief object of trade. It neither produces nor consumes much corn, and of what it does use, a part is obtained by the sale of cattle and of cheese. The most remarkable of the mountains is the Rigi, 5680 feet, on whose summit is a tavern, where visitors are accommodated. The chief river is the Sihl, which conveys to the Limmat all the waters of the several brooks that are formed from the mountains. The capital of the canton has the same name. It stands between the Rigi
Scio. Scigraphy and Myten Mountains, and has a fine council-house, a church, and a monastery, and contains 4790 inhabitants, who have very little commerce of any kind except what is created by the visits of tourists. Long. 8. 33. E. Lat. 47. 1. N.