ALEUTIAN ISLANDS 174 



breads. The population is about 200,000, three- 

 fourths of whom are Moslems. 



ALEUTIAN alu'shan, ISLANDS, a group 

 of small islands extending southwest for over 

 800 miles in a graceful curve from the Alaska 

 Peninsula, separating Bering Sea from the Pa- 

 cific Ocean. There are about 150 islands in the 

 group, which was formerly known as the Cath- 

 erine Archipelago, in honor of the Russian 



ALEXANDER 



ALEUTIAN ISLANDS 



From Alaska Peninsula to the westernmost 

 island is nearly as great a distance as from New 

 York to Chicago. 



empress of that name. The present name refers 

 to the Aleuts, the natives of the region. The 

 area is 6,391 square miles. Most of the islands 

 are small, all have rugged or mountainous sur- 

 faces, nearly all show the marks of volcanic 

 origin, and on a number of them are extinct 

 volcanoes. Hot springs are common, but some 

 of the larger islands contain cool springs and 

 rapid streams. Those containing soil are cov- 

 ered with growths of shrubbery, grass, moss 

 and lichens, but there are no large trees. 



Until recently it was supposed that these 

 islands were unsuited to any form of agricul- 

 ture, but the largest have been found well 

 adapted to the raising of live stock, and since 

 1900 several ranches owned by Americans have 

 been established upon them. The native 

 Aleuts are a branch of the Eskimo stock. 

 Population in 1910, about 3,000. See ALASKA; 

 ESKIMO; ALEUTS. 



ALEUTS, al' i yutcs, a branch of the Eskimo 

 family, native in the Aleutian Islands, the 

 latter having been named for them. The 

 origin of the word is unknown, unless the con- 

 jecture is correct that it is derived from the 

 Indian aliat, which means island. The Aleuts 

 are said to be more intelligent than their rela- 

 tives, the Eskimos, and a little more sanitary 



in their customs, but lack some of the initiat ivo 

 and independence that the Eskimo possess. 



They occupy most of the Aleutian Inlands. 

 and are scattered along the adjoining Alaska 

 Peninsula and the northwest coast of the con- 

 tinent. When the Russians first occupied 

 Alaska the Aleuts numbered 25,000; now then- 

 are only about 2,000. At various times small- 

 pox has killed hundreds in a single visitation. 

 See ESKIMO. 



ALEWIFE, one of the most important 

 North American food fishes, found in va-t 

 numbers on the eastern coast. It closely n- 

 sembles the herring and the shad, but is slightly 

 inferior in quality and flavor. The name may 

 be 'derived from the Indian aloof e, or from 

 the supposed resemblance of the fish in general 

 contour to a corpulent woman. It attains an 

 average length of eight to ten inches, with a 

 weight of from one to two pounds. Vast shoals 

 enter Chesapeake Bay and many eastern rivers 

 to spawn, each female depositing from 60,000 

 to 100,000 eggs. 



ALEXAN'DER, the name of eight Popes, 

 whose names and dates may be found in the 

 article POPE. The most famous of the eight is 

 Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia, 1431-1503), who 

 was born at Valencia, in Spain. He was in his 

 early youth a handsome and gallant courtier, 

 but he soon developed remarkable executive 

 ability and at the age of twenty-five was ap- 

 pointed a cardinal by his uncle, Pope Calixtus 

 III. At the death of Innocent VIII in 1492 

 he became Pope. He set himself the task of 

 reducing the power of the Italian princes and 

 increasing the papal revenues. Endowed with 

 sagacity and fearlessness, he accomplished all 

 he undertook. Among the events of his reign 

 are the introduction of the index of prohibited 

 books (see INDEX EXPURGATORIUS), the division 

 of tjie New World between Portugal and Spain, 

 and the burning of Savonarola. Two of Al- 

 exander's children, Caesar and Lucretia Borgia, 

 were very prominent in the life of their day 

 (see BORGIA). 



ALEXANDER, the name of three important 

 emperors of Russia. 



Alexander I (1777-1825) came to the throne 

 in 1801 on the assassination of his father, Paul 

 I. He joined the union of the powers against 

 Napoleon in 1805, but after severe defeats 

 signed the Treaty of Tilsit (1807), in which 

 he and Napoleon agreed to divide the world 

 between them. Alexander deserted Napoleon 

 in 1812, which led to the latter's invasion of 

 Russia and the famous retreat from Moscow. 



