PORT COLBORNE 



4767 



PORTER 



manufactories of shirts, sheets and pillow slips, 

 gas stoves and other commodities. Settled 

 about 1742 and known as Saw Pit until 1837, 

 Port Chester was incorporated as a village in 

 1868. The population, which in 1910 was 12,809, 

 was 15,129 (state census) in 1915, and was 16,- 

 183 (Federal estimate) in 1916. CJ>.c. 



PORT COLBORNE, kol'bohrn, a town in 

 Welland County. Ontario. It is situated on 

 the north shore of Lake Erie, at its eastern end, 

 and is at the southern end of the Welland 

 Canal. Its harbor is excellent, being deep 

 enough for the largest lake steamers, and its 

 docking facilities are ample. It is also served 

 by two railways, the Grand Trunk and the 

 Canadian Northern. By rail it is t \\vnty-f our 

 miles west of Buffalo and about twenty miles 

 southwest of Niagara Falls, whence it derives 



i ic power for its industries. These include 

 a planing mill, large flour and grist mills, and a 

 cork factory- There is also one of the Cana- 

 dian government's great grain elevators. Pig 

 iron is another important product, and nickel 

 will soon be added to the list, for a $3,500,000 

 nickel refinery is being erected by the Interna- 

 tional Nickel Company. Natural gas and a 

 good quality of limestone are found in the vi- 

 cinity. Port Colborne was named for Sir John 

 Colborne (Baron Seaton), who was lieutenant- 



rnor of Upper Canada when the Welland 

 Canal was completed in 1833. Population in 

 1911. 2,250; in 1916, estimated, 2,500. 



PORT ELIZ'ABETH, a town and seaport 

 in South Africa, in the Cape of Good Hope 

 Province, ranking next in importance to Cape 



;i. the capital. It is situated on Algoa Bay, 

 about 435 miles directly east of Cape Town 

 and about 380 miles southwest of Durban, on 



slopes and top of hills which rise about 

 200 feet above the sea. For the most part the 



has a barren, treeless appearance, and is 

 not in any way remarkable for beauty. As a 



mercial center, however, it is of great im- 

 portance, and has earned the name of the "I.i\ - 

 erpool of South Africa." 

 One of the most remarkable buildings in tin 

 be Feather Mark, t H.,ll. win-re annual 

 sales of u-mrh leathers are held. The town 

 hall, post office, courthouse and public library 

 possess considerabl < tural merit 



residential .IMM.-I is known as "The Hill 



there is a fine monument to Sir Rufus 



-in. who established the town and whose 



Save it her nainr. 

 ibeth has no protected harbor, but 



roadstead has excellent anchorage, and ves- 



sels drawing twenty-one feet of water are able 

 to tie up alongside the jetties which run out 

 to a depth of about twenty-five feet. From the 

 jetties there is railway communication with 

 the main lines, and goods may be sent direct 

 from ships to all parts of South Africa. There 

 is a vast import trade, for the port is a supply 

 port for Kimberley, the Transvaal, Orange Free 

 State Colony and Rhodesia. 



Algoa Bay, on the shore of which the city 

 stands, was discovered by Bartholomew Diaz in 

 1488 and was first named Bahia da Roca (Rocky 

 Bay). The name was eventually changed to 

 Bahia da Lagoa and finally corrupted into 

 Algoa. In 1799 the British erected a fort on a 

 hill overlooking Baaken's River, naming it Fort 

 Frederick. A few houses were built round the 

 fort, and the influx of immigrants led to the 

 formation of a small town. Fort Frederick is 

 still preserved on account of historic interest. 



PORTER, the family name of two men, 

 father and son, whose careers added luster to 

 the annals of the American navy. The son and 

 an adopted son became the first two admirals 

 of the navy. 



David Porter (1780-1843) was the first of the 

 two. He was bora in Boston. His father was 

 a naval officer in the American Revolution, and 

 David served for a time on merchantmen, be- 

 ing twice captured by the English. In 1798 he 

 joined the Ameri- 

 can navy as mid- 

 shipman. The 

 next year, as lieu- 

 t nant, he served 

 on the Constella- 

 tion, then went 

 to Tripoli on the 

 Philadelphia and 

 was taken pris- 

 oner (seeBARBARY 



STATES). 



At the begin- 

 ning of the War 

 of 1812, Porter 

 was given command of the Essex; with it he 

 captured several English prices, and the next 



was commissioned to harass English whal- 

 ing vessels in the Pacific Ocean. On this cruise 

 he was accompanied by the boy, David G 

 ragut, whom he had adopted, and who after- 

 wards became an admiral. Just after starting. 

 ' h<> Essex captured two Hnn>h vessels, and the 

 -h prisoners conspired to gain possession 

 Farragut overheard the plot, and 



!>lcd Porter to frustrate it. In three weeks 



DAVID PORTER 



