GEOGRAPHY, TRAVEL, ARCHITECTURE 



525 



But the energy of its inhabitant.- and its favor- 

 able situation enabled it to recover in a sur- 

 prisingly short time. The World's Columbian 

 Exhibition was held in Chicago in 1892-1893. 

 It celebrated Columbus' discovery of America. 

 January 2, 1900, a ship and drainage canal \\a- 

 opened between this city and the Gulf; the cost 

 was $35,000,000. Population, 1,990,750. 



Chile (chll'e) [sometimes written Chilil. A 

 soi it h western republic of South America, term- 

 ing a long, narrow strip of country lying between 

 Andes and the Pacific Ocean ; mean breadt h. 

 from 110 to 120 miles. Chile is bounded north 

 by Bolivia; east by fhe Argentine Republic 

 the Andes; southeast and south by Pata- 

 gonia and the Gulf of Ancud, separating it from 

 Chiloe; and west by the Pacific. The backbone 

 of this country is found in the Great Cordillera 

 of the Andes, here attaining an average height 

 of 14,000 feet, many of whose peaks are volcanic. 

 My that of Aconcagua a he highest Andean 

 summit -. which has an altitude of 23,910 feet 

 alve the sea. The coast line presents steep 

 and rocky shores, broken into by some excellent 

 harbors. The rivers and lagoons are so small 

 o be undeserving of mention. Climate i 

 healthful, as a whole; a scarcity of rain is, how- 

 ever, often felt. Earthquakes are of common 

 occurrence. Chile is one bed of metals; silver, 

 gold, lead, and iron are found largely and worked ; 

 copper, however, is the principal resource of 

 the national wealth, and is mined on an immense 

 Sulphur, antimony, zinc, manganese, 

 alum, nitre, salt, coal, etc., are other mineral 

 items which influence a large exportation. The 

 soil is of varying fertility, most fertile towards 

 the south and the foothills of the Andes, where 

 luxuriant vegetation flourishes. Many hard 

 woods are made useful, instead of iron, and the 

 fruits of the temperate zone thrive excellently. 

 The bulk of commercial transactions is carried 

 on with Great Britain. The chief cities and 

 t owns are : Valparaiso, the chief port ; Santiago, 

 the capital; Valdivia, Concepcion, and Talca. 



China, or The Chinese Empire. A 

 country of Asia, occupying the vast elevated 

 plateau known as Eastern High Asia. Tin 

 Chinese Empire has an area of nearly l.oon.ono 

 square miles, or one-fourth of the whole of Asia. 

 It embrace-. Thina pro|x>r. Manchuria. Mongolia, 

 and Tibet. China proper is bounded on 

 north by Mongolia, and Manchuria; on the 



::irolia. Tibet, and Biirmah; on the south 



by Burmah, Anam, and the China Sea; and on 



the east by the Pacific Ocean, the Yellow Sea, 



RML It contain* several mountain ranges, 



from which proceed the Ih.ang -Mo. the Yangste- 



the 1'eiho. and the Canton river-. 1 .' < 



(lunate of China is very varied, and in some 

 parts of the country there is excessively cold 



winter, followed by excessively hot summer; 

 but the soil i- generally productive, the moun- 

 n elothed with timber, and the hillsides 

 and the plain- are laid out in rice h '. 

 d6DS. Agriculture is the chief occm>nli>n <>t 



the people, and ducted by them with 



great skill and assiduity. Besides rire. which 

 is grown most extensively in the south, wheat 

 and barley are cultivate* I in the north, and 

 the tea plant in the maritime provinces, the ex- 



ports of tea alone amounting in value to $50,000,- 

 000 a year. Cotton is also grown in the neighbor- 

 hood of Shanghai. In some of their manu- 

 factures, the Chinese have never been surpassed. 

 Their silks and porcelains have always been 

 famous, and in certain arts requiring patience 

 and ingenuity, such as the making o cardcases. 

 snuffboxes, and fans, they are equaled only by 

 the Japanese. There is a great caravan trade 

 carried on with Russia and Farther India, and 

 a* large traffic by sea with Hritish India. North 

 and South America, Great Britain, and the 

 other countries of Europe. From India opium 

 is imported, and its effects upon the people is 

 most deleterious. Internal communication is 

 carried on chiefly by means of rivers, and of a 

 Grand Canal which, commencing at the city of 

 Hang-kow. runs northward for a distance of 

 seven hundred miles. Railways and telegraphs, 

 however, are now being generally introduced, 

 and at the beginning of 1908, more than thirty 

 lines of railways were under construction. The 

 provinces of China are : Chihli. Shantung. Kiang- 

 su. Chehkiang. Fukien. Kwangtung. Shen-i. 

 Anhwei. Monan, Shansi, Kansu, Szechuen, 

 Hupeh, Kwang-si, Hunan. Kiang-i. Kweichow, 

 and Yunnan. The capital of China proper and 

 of the entire empire is Peking. Other town- of 

 importance are Nanking, Canton, Shanghai. 

 Ning-po. Fuchau, Amoy, Hang-kow, Kin -te- 

 ching, and Chee-foo. 



Cincinnati, the "Queen City of the \ 

 is situated in the southwest part of Ohio, on 

 the northern shore of the Ohio River. The lo- 

 cation is fine, and the suburbs are not surpassed 

 for beauty. This great emporium of the Central 

 States is an aggregation of towns that have 

 merged into one. It is compo-ite also as to 

 population, which is derived from many nation-. 

 The German element is very large. Mere arc 

 established a famous college of music and a 

 richly endowed art school. Five bridges connect 

 Cincinnati with the citio of Covington, Newport. 

 and Ludlow on the Kentucky shore. The 

 tectural achievements of the city are striking 

 for splendor and variety. Among its ot In 

 ing industries are pork-packing, brvwii,. 

 tilling, and manufactures of iron, stone, 

 clothing, food-products, tobacco, soap, jeweln . 

 and drugs. Among its interesting institutions 

 are the university, public library, art m 

 .1 .society', soeiety of natural ! 

 /(...logical garden, indus't rial expo 

 musical festival, city armory, medical colleges, 

 ho-p I crematory. Cincinnati is the 



site of one of the earliest astronomical 



in the I niled Stall"*, founded about the 

 same time a- that of Mar\ard College ami the 



Naval Ob* hincton. 



( in axxia. 



ing the north-western division of the Caucasus, 

 between the shores of the Black and Caspian 

 seas. The whole country is mountain.. us. 

 forty years the Circassians main- 

 tuned a brave struggle against t! 

 menu of the Russians, but were finally defeated, 

 with the rest of the inhabitant!* of the Caucasus, 



:. ieat whirh lead practically 

 e\fmetion as a nation. After the close of the 

 war, large numbers of them emigrated to Asia 



