406 CHE 
America, and in the province of Darien, three miles from 
the town of Panama, which it fupplies with provifions 
and fruits. Lat. 8. 46. N. Ion. 8a. 45. E. 
CHEPOO'R, a fmall Spanifh town on the ifthmus of 
Darien and Terra Firma, in South America, feated on a 
river of the fame name, fix leagues from the fea. 
CHEP'STOW, a feaport town, in the county of Mon¬ 
mouth, fituated near the mouth of the Wye, over which 
is a bridge of ftone and timber. It Hands for the molt 
part on the fide of a hill; and the rocky cliffs on each 
fide of the river have a molt beautiful and romantic ap¬ 
pearance. It is a large, well-built, populous, and fiou- 
rilhing, town, formerly walled round, and defended by a 
caftle, part of which remains. In the month of March, 
1647, the caftle was garrifoned by king Charles the Firft, 
and continued in the hands of the royalifts till May, 
1648, when the Welch, under major Langhorne, colo¬ 
nel Poyer, and colonel Powell, were defeated ; Poyer was 
executed, and moft of the cattles : in Wales were con¬ 
quered about this time. Chepftow is the port for all the 
towns that ftand on the rivers .Wye and Lug. Ships of 
600 tons burden are built here; and the town of late is 
become fo flourifhing, that the merchants import their 
own wine from Oporto, and deals, hemp, flax, pitch, and 
tar, See. from Norway and P.ulJia, as fhips of 700 tons 
burden come up to the town. The tide comes in at this 
place with greater rapidity than at Briftol, and fometimes 
riles at the bridge:from thirty to iixty feet. In January 
1768, the bridge was much damaged by an extraordinary 
rife of the tide, which then flowed above feventy feet. 
As half the bridge is in Monmouthfhire, and the other 
half in Gloucefterfliire, it is maintained at the expence 
of both counties; and, in 1790 and 1791, it underwent 
a thorough repair. This port fends great quantities of 
timber to Portlmouth, Plymouth, Deptford, and Wool¬ 
wich ; and bark, iron, cyder, &c. to feveral parts of Ire¬ 
land, Liverpool, and other places. There are five con- 
ftant trading velfels between this port and London, which 
in general go and return in two months. There is a 
market-boat of feventy tons burden, that goes regularly 
from this place to Briftol every Tuefday, and returns 
every Thurfday. It has a market weekly on Saturday, 
well fupplied with all forts of provifions ; and on the laft 
Monday in every month for cattle and fvvine; alfo four 
fairs, Friday in Whitfun-week, Saturday before the 20th 
of June for wool, Auguft x, and Friday before St. Luke’s 
day. It is three miles from Weft-ferry, five from the New 
Paflage, fifteen from Monmouth, twenty-eight fouth-weft 
of Gloucefter, and 134 weft-north-weft of London. Lat. 
5r.42.N- Ion. 2. 36. W. Greenwich. 
About four miles from Chepftow is Piercefield, deferv- 
edly an objefit of every ftranger’s attention ; but it is to 
be i'een only on Thurfdays. The eftate commences near 
the three miles Hone, bey ond which a road leads through 
the grounds up to the houfe, where the names of all vi- 
iitors are regiftered. “ We enter the Ihrubbery by a wicket 
at the weft end of the lawn before the houfe, from whence 
we are conduced through a wildernefs to the fummer- 
houfe, where a feene burfts fuddenly on our fight that 
cannot fail of enrapturing every fpeftator. The town 
and caftle and bridge of Chepftow are now beneath us ; 
the rocks oppofite to them range themfelves fo as to ap¬ 
pear over the town, above which, in an intervening 
fpace, we trace the Wye to its junftion with the Severn, 
which exhibits an immenie fheet of water, bounded by 
the Gloucefterfliire hills. The compofition of this land- 
fcape and the fore-ground are well adapted for a pifture. 
From hence the path, now riling, now defeending, is 
continued through a wood, when, from an opening, we 
are prefented with a rock-fcene, but more contracted than 
that we have defcribed. The path then afeends abruptly 
through a lhady walk for near a mile. From an avenue, 
we look down the river and fee a beautiful hanging wood. 
Above this rile the higheft rocks on the Wye. Nothing 
can be grander than this feene; but, as we ftand three 
CHE 
hundred and feven feet above the level of the river, we 
lofe much of the eft'eCt fuch ftupendous heights mull pro¬ 
duce when viewed from their bales. From hence we gra¬ 
dually afeend to an eminence commanding the moft ex- 
tenlive views. All that had before charmed us in de¬ 
tail, is now collected in one grand whole; rocks, woods, 
hills, vales, lawns, and rivers, blended in the moft grace¬ 
ful con fufi on. The hi Lis of Somerletlhire, the Briftol 
channel, the Denny rock in the mid-channel of the Se¬ 
vern, and the beautiful peninfula of Llancot, are all within 
view ; and contribute to form a pi&ure, which can nei¬ 
ther be conceived nor defcribed, without detracting in¬ 
finitely from its charms.” 
CHEQ^or Cherif, the prince of Mecca, who is, as it 
were, high prieft of the law, and fovereign pontiff of all 
the Mahometans of whatever feCt or country they be. 
See Caliph. The grand fignior, fopliis, moguls, khans 
of Tartary, &c. fend him yearly prefents, with vaft fums 
of money, to provide for all the pilgrims during the fe~ 
venteen days of their devotion. 
CHEQUETAN', or Seguataneio, on the coaft of 
Mexico, or New Spain, lies feven miles weftward of the 
rocks of Seguataneio. Between this and Acapulco, to 
the eaftward, is a beach of fand of eighteen leagues ex¬ 
tent, againll which the fea breaks fo violently, that it is 
impoflible for boats to land on any part of it; but there 
is a good anchorage for fhipping at a mile or two front 
the fiiore, during the fair l'ealon. The harbour of Che- 
quetan is very hard to be traced, and of great import - 
ance to fuch vefl’els as cruize in thefe leas, being the molt 
fecure harbour to be met with in a vaft extent of coaft, 
yielding plenty of wood and water; and the ground near 
it is able to be defended by a few men. When lord An¬ 
ion touched here, the place was uninhabited. 
CHER, a river of France, which rifes near Auzance, 
in the department of the Creufe, paffes by Montlugon, 
Amay-le-Vieux, St. Amand, Chateauneuf, St. Florent, 
Vierzon, Menetou, Villefranche, Chabris, Selles, St. Aig- 
nan, Montrichard, Blere, See. and joins the Loire, a few 
miles below Tours. 
CHER, a department of France, bounded on the north 
by the department of the Loiret, on the eaft by that of the 
Nyevre, from which it is feparated by the Allier, on the 
fouth by the department of the Allier, and on the weft: 
by the department of the Indre and Loire, and Cher: it 
takes its name from the river Cher, which crofl'es a part 
of it. Bourges is the capital. 
CHERAMETA,/. in botany. See Averrhoa. 
CHERAS'CO, a town of Italy, in the principality of 
Piedmont, and capital of a comte of the lame name, on 
the borders of the comte of Afti, fituated on a moun¬ 
tain, at the conflux of the Stura with the Tanaro. It is 
laid to have been built by lbme inhabitants of Alba, 
Manzano, Miana, &c. who were driven away from their 
towns by the tyranny of their refpeCtive lords : they fixed 
on this Ipot, built a town, and furrounded it with walls; 
Chriftina of France, duchel's of Savoy, caufed the town 
to be fortified in the modern manner, with baftions, fo fi¬ 
fes, and outworks. Since that time Cherafco has been 
confidered as the key and boulevard of the eliates ot Sa¬ 
voy, being fituated on the frontiers of Piedmont, Mont- 
ferrat, and the duchy of Milan-; and ftrong both by art 
and nature. Cheralco was firft a republic, governed by 
its particular laws, though profefiing to be dependant on 
the emperors of Germany, and to obey them. This flou- 
riftiing ftate continued to the year 1260, when they took 
the oath of allegiance to Charles I. of Anjou, comte of 
Provence, afterwards king of Naples and Sicily, and con¬ 
tinued fubjeCt to that crowivtill the reign of Jane I. queen 
of Naples, who took no care to protect her lubjeCts from 
their enemies, when the inhabitants followed the exam¬ 
ple of other towns, and furrendered themfelves volunta¬ 
rily to Amadeus VI. comte of Savoy, and Jaques de Sa¬ 
voy, prince of Achaia. This fituation they did not long 
enjoy, for, in a few years after, they became fucceffively 
fubjeCt 
