LEON, a province, or, as it is more commonly called by the natives, a kingdom, of Spain. Asturias bounds it on the north side, Galicia on the west, Estremadura and Old Castile on the south, and New Castile on the east. Its extent is 1207 square leagues, and the number of its inhabitants is 714,037. It is frequently divided into six departments, those of Leon, Palencia, Valladolid, Toro, and Zamora; but the more recent division into two departments, each clearly defined by the course of the river Duero, is more natural, and less likely to perplex. The two divisions are denominated that of Leon to the north, and that of Salamanca to
the south, of the Duero. Of the various rivers that cross Leon, the most considerable is the Pisuerga, in the northern limits, to the eastward of the fountains of the Ebro and Reynosa. This is one of the points of separation which divide those streams that run to the Atlantic, from those which run to the Mediterranean, and is consequently one of the most elevated districts in Spain. From its great elevation, it is necessarily cold; and some of its summits reach the line of perpetual snow. These hills produce the loftiest and best oaks in the peninsula, and are highly useful in the construction of ships. Many bears and some wolves are found in this range of mountains. The principal part of the labour of the mountaineers is directed to the iron mines, and to the manufactory of hardware. In the intervals between the highest hills they have good pastures, and feed many cows, from whose milk butter is made, which, if the natives understood, or rather practised, the simple art of salting, and packing in casks, might become a valuable branch of commerce with the other parts of Spain, which draw their supplies of that commodity from Holland or from Ireland. The mountains which diverge from these towards the west are very steep, and gradually increase in height till they reach the border of Asturias, with which the communication is held by fissures in the mountains called the Puertos de Piedrafita, de Pajares, de Somceda, &c.
The height of these mountains has never been accurately ascertained; but if the various plants that grow on their tops is a certain criterion of their elevation, they are equal to the Pyrenees, and to most of the points of the Alps. The inhabitants of these mountains are a detached race, and are thus described by Don Mariano Lagasca, a recent and very intelligent traveller. "The villages have few inhabitants, and are mostly in the valleys. The inhabitants are robust and simple in their manners; they are equally ignorant of luxury and drunkenness; all are clothed very coarsely, but warmly, from the looms of their own females, and have their garments made in the simplest fashion. Without physician, surgeon, or apothecary; without irregular pleasures, they live happily, drinking the milk of their cows, and eating their barley-bread and salted meat. They have no other bed than a table fixed to the wall at one end of their dwellings, which in shape resembles a coffin. They cultivate a few vegetables, and grow barley in some of the least cold parts of the district, but not sufficient for even their scanty consumption. From June to September they have abundant pasture for their own cattle, as well as for the migratory flocks of merino sheep that pass through their confines. In the valleys they have meadows, on which they make hay for winter food for their cattle. The only industry that is exercised is in making wooden shoes, and bowls and platters of the same substance, which they sell in the neighbouring lower districts. Some are also employed in collecting medicinal plants, which are sold to the city of Leon. Before the year 1803, it was not known that the district abounded in the Iceland moss. Since that period considerable quantities of that substance have been collected, and it is now sold in Madrid at twenty reals the pound, whereas before it was sold at 160. It has begun to form a branch of commerce with the mountaineers, and in time it may become an important article of subsistence for them, as it is for the natives of Iceland."
The river Pisuerga, descending to the plains, receives on the right the river Carrion, and on the left the Arlanza, and passes by Palencia, and through the fertile valley of Tierra de Campos, abounding in wine and oil, till it is joined by the Esgueva near the city of Valladolid, whence it has a short course to the Duero. The other rivers of Leon are the Esia, the Torio, the Bernesga, the Sil, and the Boeza, all of which unite ultimately with the
Duero. On the southern part of Leon, the department of Salamanca, the population is thicker, and the country more fertile. There are some mines of copper, and quarries of marble. Many cows, sheep, horses, and mules, are bred; and, though not a rich, yet, when compared with the mountain districts, it is a fertile tract of land. The principal rivers that water it are the Daraton, the Eresma, the Adaja, the Tormes, and the Aguada, which run to the Duero, and the Alogon, which runs south, and, after crossing part of Estremadura, loses its name in the Tagus.
The different agricultural and commercial productions of the kingdom of Leon will be found under the places in which they are created; and the history of Leon, long a separate kingdom, is included in the general history of Spain. The province of Leon, one of the five in the kingdom, according to the ancient mode of dividing it, is 493 square leagues in extent, and is inhabited by 239,810 people. It contains two cities, 197 towns, and 1284 villages, in 1373 parishes; and has fifty monasteries, and sixteen charitable institutions.