GRAN CHACO 



GRAND RAPIDS 



351 



of Kutlaml, was Iwirn January 2, 1721. He en- 

 tct ed the army, and soon after attaining the rank 

 if lieutenant general (17-V.I) was -'-ill in Ger- 

 niany us second in command, under Lord George 

 Baokville, of tliw British troops co-operating with 

 the king of Prussia. After the liattle of Min- 

 den lit- was nppoiiitMi commander-in-chief of 

 tin- British troop>. ami held that iM>st during the 

 remainder <f the Seven Years' War. After the 

 peace ut I7i>.'{ In- was constituted master-general of 

 i In- ordnance, and in 17(ii> coininander-in-cliief of 

 tin- army. Hi- died al Scarborough on 19tli October | 

 1770. Though very popular in his time, as is j 

 evidenced by the frequency with which his portrait [ 

 \\a- used as a public-house sign, he was the 

 subject of some of the most terrible invectives of 

 liinius. His military qualities appear to have 

 been overrated by his contemporaries. 



(ran riiaro. an extensive central tract of 

 South America, extending from the southern tropic 

 to 29 S. lat., and bounded on the E. by the Para- 

 guay ami Parana, and on the W. by the Argentine 

 provinces of Santiago del Estero and Salta. Its 

 area, aliout 180,000 sq. m., exceeds that of Great 

 Britain ami Ireland by one-half. The portion south 

 of the Pilcomayo belongs to Argentinia, and the 

 remaining third to Paraguay ; but the possession 

 of the upper section of the Pilcomayo is disputed 

 by Bolivia. The country rises gradually from the 

 Parana towards the north-west as far as 25 40' S. 

 lat. , when it dips to the valley of the San Francisco 

 part of a great depression extending through 

 Bolivia nearly to the frontier of Peru, and subject 

 to annual inundations. The Chaco is watered i 

 principally by two long, narrow, and tortuous | 

 streams, the Berrnejo and the Pilcomayo, flowing 

 smith east in courses generally parallel, and about ; 

 180 miles distant from eacli other. Only the \ 

 former has been explored throughout, but it is 

 known that both possess an unusual number of 

 olis (ructions, though these are quite removable, ; 

 con-isting mainly of shallows caused by the com- | 

 pact argillaceous bed which is a geological charac- i 

 teristic of the whole Chaco subsoil. The bed of 

 the Berrnejo also oscillates backward and forward, ! 

 and in 1870-72 the river opened up a new channel 

 (known as the Teuco) for nearly 200 miles. The 

 most northern part of the Chaco is an extremely 

 arid /one, but the banks of the upper Pilcomayo 

 are fertile and its sands auriferous. To the north of 

 the Bermejo there are numerous and wide marshes 

 and stretches of jungle, drained by many small | 

 streams ; but the land is well wooded, chiefly with 

 vast seas of palms (here an indication, however, of 

 marsliv lands subject to inundation, as the local 

 algatooa is of dry, high land), while south of the 

 Bermejo the primeval forest extends into Salta. 

 The annual rainfall is probably 80 inches, all con- 

 centrated into the six months from November to 

 May ; then wide sections become almost a lake 

 district, whilst in seasons of extraordinary floods 

 the Paraguay and the other great rivers create a 

 vaster sea than the Nile. Thus much of the region 

 is of modern alluvial formation, and exceedingly 

 fertile. A very dry season succeeds, and some 

 di-tricts are then utterly waterless, or the wells 

 that have been sunk are impregnated with salt. 

 The average temperature is 80 F. ; the climate is 

 said to be equable, and in the soutliern section 

 suitable to colonists of the Anglo-Saxon race. 

 Since 1537, when the first explorer. Captain Juan 

 de Ayolas, marched with 250 men into the wilder- 

 ness from which none ever returned, numerous 

 expeditions have been sent out from the surround- 

 ing countries; but the savage tribes (still un- 

 subdued throughout the unexplored interior), 

 swamps, lagoons, and floods defeated all early 

 attempts to open up the country. In 1884 garrisons 



were established along the Bermejo, and since 1885 

 permanent settlement* have l>een made. Already 

 there are many agricultural colonies and small 

 towns along the Paraguay, connected by rail and 

 telegraph ; the Berriejo lands, on both banks for 

 400 miles from its mouth, have been conceded by 

 the Argentine government for various enU?rprwe ; 

 thousands of hands are employed in the timlx-r 

 trade, and steam sawmills are in operation ; cattle- 

 raising and farming are carried on, and from the 

 sugar-cane refined sugar and rum are manufactured. 

 Concessions also have l>een granted for railways 

 from Corrientes to the Bolivian frontier. See 

 an interesting paper by Captain John Page in 

 Proc. Roy. Geoff. Soc. (1889). C/uicu, the Quichua 

 word for 'hunt,' may refer to the great Indian 

 botflies ; but under the Incas it was applied to the 

 numbering of flocks, and so came to signify wealth 

 Gran Chaco thus meaning ' great riches. 



Grand-combe, LA, a town in the French 

 department of Gard, 41 miles NNW. of Nimes. 

 Near it are very important collieries. Pup. 

 6111. 



Grandees (Span. yntm/es), since the 13th 

 century the most highly privileged class of nobility 

 in the kingdom of Castile, in which the members 

 of the royal family were included. Their honours 

 were hereditary ; they held lands from the crown 

 on the tenure of military service, were exempted 

 from taxation, could not be summoned before any 

 civil or criminal judge without a special warrant 

 from the king, and could leave the kingdom, and 

 even enter the service of a foreign prince at war 

 with Castile, without incurring the penalties of 

 treason. Besides this, they had the right of being 

 covered in the presence of the king. In the national 

 assemblies they sat immediately behind the prel- 

 ates and before the titled nobility (titulailnn). 

 Under Ferdinand and Isabella they were deprived 

 of most of their peculiar privileges ; and Charles V*. 

 converted them from an independent feudal nobility 

 into a dependent court nobility. Under Joseph 

 Bonaparte their dignities and privileges were 

 entirely abolished ; but they were partially regranted 

 at the subsequent restoration. Grandees are still 

 members of the senate in their own right. 



Grand Forks capital of Grand Forks county, 

 North Dakota, on the Red River of the North, 

 opposite the mouth of Red Lake River, is aliout 

 75 miles N. of Fargo, at the intersection of two 

 railways. It has several Hour and saw mills, iron- 

 works, and a brewery, besides a large transit trade 

 in wheat. Pop. ( 1880 ) 1705 ;( 1900 ) 7652. 



Grand Haven, capital of Ottawa county, 

 Michigan, on Lake Michigan, and on the south 

 bank of Grand River, 31 miles W. by N. of Grand 

 Rapids by rail. It has a good harbour, with two 

 lighthouses, and ships large 'quantities of lumber 

 and grain. It contains several lumber-mills and 

 manufactories of wooden wares, &c. ; and a medici- 

 nal spring renders the place a summer resort. Pop. 

 (1880) 4862 ; (1900) 4743. 



Grand Jury. See Ji uv. 



Grand Pensionary. See PKNSIONARY. 



Graildpr<S a village in the French department 

 of Ardennes, on the river Aire, 40 miles PJNE. of 

 Chalons. Here on 14th September 1792 Dumouriex 

 was defeated by the Allies. 



Grand Rapids, capital of Kent county, 

 Michigan, stands at the head of steamboat naviga- 

 tion on Grand River, here crossed by six bridges, 

 and at the junction of several railways, 60 miles 

 \V N NV. of Lansing. The river, which enters Lake 

 Michigan 40 miles below, here falls 18 feet in a 

 mile, and across it extend the rapids which gh' 1 

 name to the town. Conducted by canals, it 



