AMARILLO 



220 



AMAZON 



of faith." Everlastings is another name for the 

 same flowers, which are frequently used during 

 the winter for decorative purposes. Most of 

 the brilliant red, green, yellow and purple ones, 

 however, which are to be seen in Christmas 

 wreaths have been dyed. The coxcomb and 

 prince's feather, often seen in gardens, are 

 species of amaranth. 



AMARIL'LO, TEXAS, the county seat of 

 Potter County, centrally located in the "Pan- 

 handle," the northwestern part of the state. 

 The nearest large city, Oklahoma City, is 273 

 miles east; Fort Worth is 336 miles southeast, 

 and Denver is 467 miles northwest. Three 

 railroad lines intersect at Amarillo the Fort 

 Worth & Denver City; the Atchison, Topeka 

 & Santa Fe, and the Chicago, Rock Island & 

 Gulf. The population in 1900 was 1,442; in 

 1910, 9,956; in 1914, 13,585. The area of the 

 city is three and a half square miles. 



Amarillo is the commercial center for a vast 

 section of cattle country. Level, dry, but fer- 

 tile, plains extend in every direction. The city 

 obtains an abundant supply of water for every 

 purpose from a lake 200 feet underground. 

 The city reflects the character of the country; 

 it is one of the largest cattle shipping points 

 in the United States, and also ships great 

 quantities of flour and wheat. The important 

 manufactures include leather goods, saddles, 

 harness and shoes; there are also ice plants 

 and grain elevators. 



From a small settlement near a large cattle 

 corral, Amarillo in fifteen years became a city 

 of paved streets, electric lights, street car 

 service, fine residences and public buildings. 

 Among the latter are the Federal building, 

 completed in 1916, costing $200,000; a city 

 hall, a courthouse, and a city hospital. In 

 addition to the public schools there is the 

 Lowrey-Phillips Military School, Saint Mary's 

 Academy and a business college. The commis- 

 sion form of government was adopted in the 

 year 1914. T.T. 



AMARYLLIS, am aril' is, FAMILY, lily- 

 like plants, of which one species was formerly 

 supposed to be the Biblical "lily of the field," 

 which "toils not, neither does it spiri." In gen- 

 eral the members of the Amaryllis family 

 spring from bulbs and bear beautiful, highly- 

 colored flowers, many of which are highly 

 prized in gardens and hothouses. The snow- 

 drop, the daffodil and the narcissus are every- 

 where familiar, and the century-plant grows 

 profusely in warm climates. The bulb of a 

 certain South African species known as the 



blood-flower is so poisonous that the Hottentots 

 use the juice to anoint their deadly arrow- 



BELONGING TO THE AMARYLLIS FAMILY 

 (a) Belladonna Illy; (b) Narcissus; (c) Star 

 grass. 



heads, and the bulb of the common narcissus 

 is strongly emetic. The most valuable mem- 

 ber of the family commercially is the agave, 

 which is treated under the title CENTURY- 

 PLANT. 



AMAZON, am' azon, the great river of 

 South America, and with its tributaries the 

 largest river system in the world. The origin 

 of the name is uncertain, but it is usually cred- 

 ited to one of the early Spanish explorers. His 

 party was attacked by a band of natives, in- 

 cluding many women, whose presence sug- 

 gested the name of the warlike women of 

 Greek mythology (see AMAZONS). The Ama- 

 zon is the only great river in the world whose 

 general direction is east and west, all others 

 being north and south. The total length of 

 the main river is 3,300 miles, about 100 miles 

 longer than the distance from New York to 

 San Francisco, and its drainage basin has a 

 total area of 2,500,000 square miles, equal to 

 five-sixths of the .United States, excluding 

 Alaska. The river is navigable for ocean 

 steamers as far as Iquitos, 2,300 miles from 

 the Atlantic, and up to this' point it has an 

 average depth of 120 to 150 feet during the 

 rainy season. For nearly 500 miles beyond 

 Iquitos it is navigable for steamers drawing 

 no more than fourteen feet of water, and 

 smaller vessels have ascended even higher. 

 The total length of navigable rivers in the 

 system is about 15,000 miles. 



The Amazon is formed by the junction of 

 two main branches, the Maranon and the 

 Ucayali. The Maranon, which rises in the 

 Andes only sixty miles from the Pacific Ocean, 

 has its source farther west than the Ucayali, 

 but the latter, being larger, is usually called 

 the chief branch. In its long course the Aina- 



