PEORIA 



4578 



PEPPER 



Chicago & North Western, the Chicago & Al- 

 ton, the Chicago, Peoria & Saint Louis, the 

 Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, the Cleveland, 

 Cincinnati, Chicago & Saint Louis, the Illinois 

 Central, the Lake Erie & Western, the Minne- 

 apolis & Saint Louis, the Peoria & Pekin Union, 

 the Toledo, Peoria & Western and the Vandalia 

 lines. An electric interurban line runs to Bloom- 

 ington and Springfield. In 1910 the population 

 was 66.950; in 1916 it was 71,458 (Federal esti- 

 mate). 



Peoria occupies over nine square miles. The 

 business and manufacturing sections are on the 

 plain along the river; the residential sections 

 extend into the surrounding low hills. Glen 

 Oak, Bradley, Proctor Recreation Center and 

 other parks together contain more than 400 

 acres. Grand View Drive, a boulevard 100 feet 

 wide, overlooks the Illinois River Valley. 

 Peoria is the seat of Bradley Polytechnic Insti- 

 tute and of Spalding Institute. It has the 

 Peoria Public Library and a Carnegie Library, 

 a law library, a Federal building, county court- 

 house (centrally located in the city and sur- 

 rounded by a park where was held one of the 

 famous Lincoln-Douglas debates), the Proctor 

 Old Folks' Home, Proctor Hospital, the Creve- 

 coeur Club and other clubs, and several memo- 

 rials to soldiers and sailors who lost their lives 

 in the War of Secession. 



Industry. Peoria is situated in the heart of 

 the greatest corn-producing state in the Union, 

 and is one of the important corn markets of the 

 country, in 1915 handling more than 20,450,000 

 bushels. It is one of the largest distilling cen- 

 ters in the United States. Capital amounting 

 to more than $8,000,000 is employed in the 

 manufacture of distilled and malt liquors, and 

 the value of the annual output averages ap- 

 proximately $46,000,000. The internal revenue 

 collected in the Peoria district each year ex- 

 ceeds $28,000,000. Other important manufac- 

 tures are agricultural implements, tractors, ve- 

 hicles of all kinds, wire and steel products, 

 paper, stoves and grain products. The annual 

 value of the products of all industries is over 

 63,000,000. Peoria has also important interests 

 in live stock and coal, and has an extensive 

 commerce both by rail and water. 



History. The site of the present city was 

 once occupied by a village of the Peoria In- 

 dians. In 1680 La Salle built on the site Fort 

 Crevecoeur, which was abandoned within a 

 year. French fur traders, who settled there 

 some time in the eighteenth century, were driven 

 out by General Craig in 1812 because of their 



suspected treachery in connection with Indian 

 troubles. A permanent settlement was made in 

 1819, which was incorporated as a town in 1835 

 and as a city in 1845. Among Peoria's dis- 

 tinguished citizens have been Robert G. Inger- 

 soll, George Fitch and Archbishop Spalding, 

 and the city is the birthplace of Emma Abbott, 

 one of the earliest American prima donnas. 



Consult Rice's Peoria. ('it;/ an<l Countu. 



PEP 'IN, or PIP 'PIN, the name of several 

 officers prominent in the early history of France 

 who bore the title of mayor of the palace but, 

 had in reality the authority of kings. PEPIN 

 THE ELDER, who died in 639, virtually ruled the 

 kingdom during the reign of the weak Mero- 

 vingian king Dagobert I. His grandson, PEPIN 

 OF HERISTAL (died 714), was appointed mayor 

 of the palace over the eastern part of the king- 

 dom only, but finally succeeded in gaining con- 

 trol of the whole country. A natural son of 

 Pepin of Heristal was the famous Charles Mar- 

 tel (which see). 



Pepin the Short (714-768), like his predeces- 

 sors, began his career as mayor of the palace. 

 The people had come to recognize the utter 

 feebleness of the Merovingian kings, and in 751 

 Pepin was able to depose King Childerich and 

 have himself crowned king. He was the first 

 of the Carolingian dynasty (see CAROLINGIANS). 

 In two invasions of Italy he overthrew the 

 Lombards, and by giving to the Pope the lands 

 which he took from them he laid the foundation 

 for that temporal sovereignty of the Papacy 

 which had such varied consequences in Euro- 

 pean history. 



PEPPER, pep' er, the general name for a 

 number of spices of great commercial value. 

 The familiar black pepper known in every 

 household is the product of a trailing or climb- 

 ing shrub cultivated in the East Indies and 

 other tropical regions. The plant bears a small 

 green berry about the size of a pea, which turns 

 red on ripening. The berries are gathered just 

 when they begin to change color, and are then 

 cleaned and dried, the latter process taking 

 place in the sun or before a slow fire. In dry- 

 ing, the berries turn black, and when ground 

 and sifted they form the black pepper of com- 

 merce. White pepper is obtained from the ripe 

 berries of the same plant. These are bruised, 

 then washed until freed from the pulpy mat- 

 ter and bits of stalk, and finally dried. White 

 pepper, though it has a finer flavor than black, 

 is not so pungent. Red pepper is obtained 

 from species of capsicum (which see), and the 



