CORSICA 



1597 



CORTEZ 



rosive sublimate is a most violent poison, and 

 careless people, taking it by accident under 

 the belief that they are swallowing headache 

 medicine, are sometimes killed by it. The 

 best antidote is the white of an egg, with 

 which it forms an insoluble compound. In case 

 of poisoning from it a physician should be 

 called at once, and a strong emetic as well as 

 the white of an egg should immediately be 

 administered to the patient. 



CORSICA, kawr'sika, the fourth in size of 

 the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, and a 

 dependency of France. It is situated about 

 100 miles southeast of the French coast and 

 a less distance west of Italy, and is separated 



I MED/ TERRA NEAN ^ SEA 



LOCATION OF CORSICA 



Map shows its position with respect to the cities 

 of Marseilles, Genoa and Rome, and the location 

 of the capital, Ajaccio. 



from Sardinia by the Strait of Bonifacio, nine 

 miles wide. It covers an area of 3,367 square 

 miles, a little less than the combined areas of 

 Delaware and Rhode Island. The island is 

 famous at the present time chiefly as the 

 birthplace of Napoleon and as the original 

 home of the vendetta and of brigands, but it 

 was anciently an important spot. The days 

 of brigandage have passed, but the vendetta, 

 a feud which. may last for generations, still is 

 maintained by the passionate, vengeful inhabi- 

 tants of the more isolated mountain regions. 



The climate is ever mild, and the soil is 

 fertile, producing olives, fruits, grain and vege- 

 tables. There are extensive forests of pine, 

 oak, cork and chestnut trees and well-culti- 

 vated vineyards the source of brandy and wine 

 of good quality. Chestnuts form an important 

 article of food among the peasants. Iron, lead 

 and copper are mined, and there are valuable 

 quarries of alabaster, marble and granite. 

 Labor is scarce, but at harvest time many men 

 and women are imported from the mainland. 

 The capital is Ajaccio, a flourishing city, and 

 terminus of the island railway system. 



The island was first colonized by the ven- 

 turesome Phoenicians, who named it Cyrnos. 



The Romans captured it and gave it the pres- 

 ent name. From the Romans it passed to the 

 Goths, then to the Saracens, who held it until 

 the fifteenth century. The Genoese then be- 

 came its masters, and ceded it to France in 

 1768. In 1795 it came by force of arms into 

 British possession. The French succeeded in 

 recapturing it in 1796, and have since retained 

 undisputed possession. Population in 1911, 

 288,820. See, also, SARDINIA. 



CORSICANA, kawr si kah' na, TEX., the 

 county seat of Navarro County, fifty-three 

 miles southeast of Dallas, is the center of an 

 extensive oil industry. It is on the Houston 

 & Texas Central, the Saint Louis Southwestern 

 and the Trinity & Brazos Valley railroads, and 

 on the Southern Traction line. The city has a 

 Federal building, courthouse, Carnegie Library, 

 a natatorium, several sanatoriums, an Odd Fel- 

 lows' Widows' and Orphans' Home, an Elks' 

 Home and the state orphan asylum. In the 

 vicinity are a great number of oil wells, two 

 large refineries and oil-machinery factories. 

 The city has large cotton mills, gins and com- 

 presses, cottonseed oil mills, sheet-metal works, 

 foundries and machine shops, flour and planing 

 mills, and manufactories of brooms, harness, 

 "soda-water, candy and overalls. The popula- 

 tion in 1910 was 9,749; in 1914 it was 9,934. 

 The area of the city is three and one-half 

 square miles. 



CORTES, kor'tes. See SPAIN, subhead Gov- 

 ernment. 



CORTEZ, or CORTES, kor'tez, or kor toys', 

 HERNANDO (1485-1547), a Spanish adventurer of 

 the reign of Charles V, who, lured by the hope 

 of winning golden treasure, achieved lasting 

 fame as the conqueror of Mexico. He began 

 his career of ad- 

 venture in 1504, 

 when he sailed for 

 the West Indies. 

 Having distin- 

 guished himself in 

 crushing a revolt 

 of the natives in 

 Santo Domingo, 

 he was appointed 

 chief assistant of 

 Velazquez in the 

 expedition sent to 

 Cuba for the conquest of that island, and so 

 impressed his superior officer with his energy, 

 daring and supreme ability as a fighter that 

 the latter made him commander of a fleet 

 which he was fitting out for a voyage to the 



CORTEZ 



