ROCHESTER. 



ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 



310 



scholars receives 16 13* 4(7. a year from the endowment S 

 Joseph Williamson's Free Mathematical school, founded in 1703, 

 free to the sons of freemen of Rochester. It has' an income from 

 endowment of about 600i a year, and had 47 scholars in 1354. There 

 are National and British schools, a dispensary, and a savings ban! 

 Watts' Charity for Poor Travellers provides entertainment and 

 night's lodging for wayfarers. This charity has an endowment o 

 about 30002. a year, which is applied in part for the benefit of th 

 local poor. 



The bridge at Rochester in the time of Henry I. appears to hav 

 been of wood, with 10 arches or spaces between the piers, and a tola 

 length of about 431 feet A stone bridge of 11 arches, 530 feet long 

 with a stone parapet and balustrades, was completed in the reign 

 of Richard II. Near this bridge, but a little lower down the river 

 i* a new bridge, chiefly of iron, constructed by Messrs. Fox an 

 Henderson, from designs by Sir William Cubitt There are three 

 lofty arche*; the centre arch, 50 feet in span, opens at the crown 

 to allow large vessels to pas* without lowering masts. The ap 

 preaches to the bridge rest on a series of brick arches. The cast! 

 is on the bank of the Madway, just above the old bridge. The oute 

 walls inclosed a quadrangular area nearly 300 feet square, an 

 are, with their towers, now in ruins. The keep, a massive square 

 buildin;, U yet standing, with a tower at each angle rising 12 fee 

 above the rest of the building ; three of these lowers are square, tha 

 at the south-eastern angle a round. On the north side is anothe 

 tower, through which was the entrance ; it joins the keep, and rise 

 about two-thirds of its height The walls of the castle are of grea 

 thickness, built of Kentish ragstone, and cemented with a grouting 

 or mortar, equal to the stoue itielf in hardness. The architecture 

 is Norman, except perhaps the round tower at the south-eastern 

 angle. 



The other public building* are, a commodious town-hall, with a 

 market-bouse beneath, and a small jail adjacent ; a clock-house, buil 

 by Sir Cloudesley Shovel on the site of a former town-hall ; a nea 

 theatre ; and the bridge chamber or record-roam, opposite the eas 

 end of the bridge. There are some remains of the city wall* ; an< 

 part of the fortifications of Chatham are within the city. 



I'rindibury, which form* part of the borough of Rochester, consists 

 chiefly of one long street The church U on an eminence commandinj 

 a very fine prospect. The Wesleyan Methodist* have a chapel, an< 

 there are National schools. Upnor Castle, erected by Queen Elizabeth 

 on the Medway, is in Frindabury parish : it consist* of an oblonj 

 central building, with a round tower at each end, and is surroundec 

 by a moat ; it ha* been occasionally used as a powder magazine. 



There are no manufactures in Rochester. The chief source of it* 

 prosperity is tha trade supplied by tha government establishments al 

 Chatham and Strood. Trading vessels come up to the bridge, where 

 they discharge their cargoes, chiefly coals, which are conveyed up the 

 river in small craft The oyster-fishery U carried on with great 

 activity under the direction of the corporation. Considerable quantities 

 of oysters an sent to London or exported to Holland ; shrimps also 

 are sent to London. The number of vessels registered as belonging 

 to the port of Rochester on December 31st, 1853, was, under 

 50 ton*, ailing-vesselii, 324, tonnage 10,091 : steamers 4, tonnage 154 : 

 above 50 tons, sailing-vessel* 62, tonnage 7745 ; and one steam-vessel 

 of 62 ton*. During 1853 there entered the port, 2458 vessel* of 

 204,791 tons; and there cleared 974 vessels of 38,137 ton*. During 

 the year 4 1 steam-vessel* entered, of 2945 tons. There are two weekly 

 market*, one on Tuesday lit corn, and one on Friday for provisions ; 

 an 1 there U a monthly cattle-market. Fair* are held on May 30th 

 and December 10th. Quarter sessions and a county court are held 

 in Rochester. The city has returned member* to parliament since the 

 reign of Edward I. 



The diooese of Rocherter include* the city and deanery of Rochester, 

 the county of Essex except 10 parishes, and the whole of Hertford- 

 shire. The number of benefices is 562. The diocese H in the province 

 of Canterbury, and is divided into the archdeaconries of Rochester, 

 Essex, Colchester, and St Albans. The chapter consists of the dean, 

 the four archdeacons, five canons, a chancellor, and five minor canon*. 

 The income of the bishop i* fixed at 50004. 



[Xw YORK.] 

 CITY. | i 



[MlBSlSoim, BlVEB.] 

 [MOVAQHAX.J 



\K')KD. [Ii.usois.] 



;il.\M. [ NORTH AMiTomoiRC.] 



KY MOUNTAIN'S i* a term usually applied to an extensive 

 mountain system in North America, corresponding in a measure to 

 that of the Andes in South America. Believing that this term has 

 too general a aignification to be with propriety applied to a particular 

 system, some geographers have proposed to call the North American 

 range the Ckifpetcytm MvtuUatmt, but tbia designation has not come 

 into common use. Though farther inland than the Andes, the Rocky 

 Mountains are like them much nearer to the Pacific than to the 

 Atlanay Ocean. It was formerly supposed that these mountain* were 

 only a continuation of the Andes, the two mountain regions being 

 connected by a chain which traversed the Mexican Isthmus. But it is 

 now known that two depressions intervene between the Andes and the 



Rocky Mountains on the Isthmus of Panama and on that of Nicaragua' 

 [ANDES.] 



This mountain system, which is noticed generally under AMERICA, 

 vol. i. col. 284, may be divided into three parta the Southern, Central, 

 and Northern Rocky Mountains. The Southern extends from 19 to 



ranges, which are described under MEXICO. The most easterly ranges 

 belong to TEXAS. That part of the Southern Mountains which extends 

 from 34 to 42 N. lat , has a breadth of from 50 to 100 miles. The 

 mountains rise abruptly from the plains to the east of them, towering 

 into peaka of great height, which are visible at the distance of mora 

 than 100 miles east of their base. They consist of ridges, knobs, and 

 peaks variously disposed, among which there are many wide and fertile 

 valleys. The more elevated parta of the mountains are covered with 

 perpetual snow, which gives them a luminous, and at a great distance 

 even a brilliant appearance, whence they have derived the name of 

 the ' Shining Mountains ; ' and some of the loftiest summits are more 

 than 11,000 feet above the sea-level This part of the range is described 

 under NEW MEXICO. Here occurs, near 30 N. lat, the most frequented 

 pass over the Southern Rocky Mountains, being that of the great 

 overland route from Missouri to Santa Fa 1 in New Mexico and the 

 country westward. Some distance south of this, near the boundary 

 of Mexico and the United States, is another much-frequented pass, 

 that of the Paso del Norte. 



The Central portion of the Rocky Mountains, extending from 40 

 to 49 N. lat, appears to consist in its southern part of two, but 

 farther north of three or four, distinct ranges. These ranges are loftier 

 and more difficult of transit than any other part of the system. The 

 only really practicable pass is that known as the Great South Pass, 

 near 42 N. lat, over which flows the great stream of emigration to 

 Utah and California, The mountains of the central range are how- 

 ever of very unequal elevation ; they present rather the appearance of 

 extensive groups than regular ranges, and are here and there overtopped 

 by high peaks, among which some rise more than 13,000 feet above the 

 level of the sea. Fremont's Peak, north of the Great South Pass, is 

 13,570 fe^t high. [NoBTH-WssT TEBHITOKT; WASHINGTON TEHRI- 

 TOHV.] The higher parta of the ranges consist of granite, and are 

 bleak and bare, being nearly destitute of vegetation, but many of the 

 inferior ridges are scantily clothed with scrub pines, oaks, cedar, and 

 furze. In some places these mountains have traces of volcanic action. 

 On the eastern side of this region originate the numerous rivers by 

 whose confluence the Missouri is formed, besides its first great con- 

 fluents the Yellow Stone Hiver, which receives the water* of the Big 

 Horn River, and the Nebraska or Piatte River. The great velocity 

 with which the Missouri flow* through all its course, and the numerous 

 falls on it* upper branches, together with the severity of the climate, 

 favour the supposition that the base of thi* hilly region is at least 

 5000 feet above the sea-level On the western side of this part of the 

 Rocky Mountain system originate most of the upper tributaries of the 

 Oregon or Columbia River. 



The ffortikem section of the Rocky Mountain* extends from 49 



tf. lat to the Arctic Ocean west of the mouth of the river Mackenzie, 



a distance of about 2000 miles, and is described generally under 



AMERICA and Hooson's BAY TERRITORIES. The direction of the 



Rocky Mountains hare is nearly due north-west The southern 



mrtion, between 49 and 55 N. lat, seems to be the highest part of 



he whole range. Most of the summit* are covered with snow all the 



rear round. Mount Hooper is 15,690 feet and Mount Brown nearly 



6,000 feet high ; these two lummiU arc between 52 and 53 N. lat. 



On their eastern declivities rise tha northern fork of the Saskatcbevau 



and the river Athabasca, and from the western descend the rivers that 



orm the northern fork of the Oregon River. There are two passes 



iver this portion of the Rocky Mountains : the more southern is near 



2 30' N. lat ; the northern occurs near 53 30' N. lat, between the 



ted Deer River, a branch of the Athabasca, and the northern branch 



f the Columbia River; but these passes are only practicable 



ruin the end of June to the mid lie of September, when they are 



roased by the agents of the Hudson's Bay Company, who bring tho 



ur* collected in the countries west of the Rocky Mountains to their 



Uments on the east of that range. 



Farther north, between 56 and 57 N. lat., the Peace Hiver breaks 

 liro\igh the eastern range of the mountains, its upper course being in 

 valley between the two principal rangea, which appear to be here of 

 early equal height : both of them contain summits which are always 

 ovi>red with snow ; their height above the sea-level however seems to 

 all short of 6000 feet The western range, which is about 200 miles 

 rom the Pacific, constitutes the watershed between the rivers which 

 in east to the Atlantic and west to the Pacific. North of 57 N. lat. 

 10 mountains appear rather to sink lower than to rise. As far north 

 i 62' N. lat. they seem to occupy a much greater width, and consist 

 T three or moro nearly parallel ranges, and the watershed between the 

 vers which fall respectively into the Atlantic and Pacific is advanced 

 mch more to the west. The Turnagain River, which after having 

 ift the mountain region assumes the name of the Southern Branch of 

 le Mackenzie, rises on this watershed, and breaks through two range* 

 ' mountains before it reaches the great plain east of the Kooky 



