Page images
PDF
EPUB
[graphic][graphic]

BELOOCHISTAN, BORNEO, ETC.. -1. Beloochistan Soldier. 2. Interior of Dyak house, Borneo,

3. Bo

7. Nobleman of Banjermassin. 8. Dyak iron-smelting. 9. Market at Dobbo (Arru-island). and Negro. 14. 15. Flutes. 16. Battle-scythe.

[graphic][graphic][graphic][graphic][graphic]

Borneo.

24

[ocr errors]

20

25

[graphic]

3. Bornoese dance. 4. Ngadjus (Southern Borneo). 5. Dyaks. 6. Beloochistan chief.
10. Joloffe warrior.
II. Joloffe. 12. Young negro in festival dress. 13. Fellatah

(Arru-island).

Belper.

Germany. In 1546, he left France, and visited Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, and Arabia. He returned in 1549, and in 1553 published the results of his travels, in a work entitled Observations on several Singular and Memorable Things discovered in Greece, Asia, Judea, Egypt, Arabia, and other Foreign Countries. Charles IX. gave him apartments in the Château of Madrid, a sumptuous edifice which Francis I. had constructed in the Bois de Boulogne. Here he resided till his tragic death in April, 1564. He was murdered by robbers when gathering herbs at a late hour in the evening in the Bois de Boulogne.

Besides the valuable work already mentioned, B. published, in 1551, A Natural History of Strange Sea-fish, with a correct Representation and Account of the Dolphin, and several others of that Species, which contains, among other things, an exact description of the dolphin, and the earliest picture of a hippopotamus in any European book; in 1555, A Natural History of Birds, which is often quoted by Buffon, and acknowledged to be the most important treatise on ornithology of the 16th c.; in 1558, an elaborate and interesting work on arboriculture, in which he gave a list of the exotic trees which it would be useful to introduce into France. Besides these, B. wrote several other treatises of trees, herbs, birds, and fishes.

BEL'ONE. See GARFISH.

BELOOCHISTAN', or BALUCHISTAN, a country of southern Asia, bounded on the n. by Afghanistan, on the e. by Sinde, on the s. by the Arabian sea, and on the w. by the Persian province of Kerman. B. corresponds in general with the ancient Gedrosia, excepting that the latter name appears to have extended to the Indus, while the former nowhere reaches that river. B. stretches in n. lat. between 24° 50' and 30° 20′, and in e. long. between 61° and 68° 40', having a coast-line of 500 miles. The area is about 130,000 sq. m., and the population is estimated at about 500,000. Though it was anciently a part of Persia, yet its modern relations connect it rather with India, more particularly since Sinde and Moultan have fallen under the dominion of the English. In the bygone ages of the overland invasions of Hindustan, the Gedrosian or Beloochee desert formed, as it were, a barrier for the lower Indus, constraining every assailant, from Alexander downwards, to prefer the less barren, though perhaps more rugged route through Afghanistan into the Punjab-a preference strengthened by Alexander's direful experience in returning from the Indus along the coast. The surface is generally mountainous, more especially towards the n., the peak of Takkatu being said to be 11,000 ft. high. Even the bottoms of some of the valleys have an elevation of 5700 ft.; and the capital, Kelat, situated on the side of one of them, is 6000 ft. above the level of the sea. The rivers are inconsiderable, unless after heavy rains: even the largest of them, the Dusti, after a course of about 1000 m., has been found to be only 20 in. deep, and 20 yds. wide at its mouth. The pastures, as may be supposed, are poor, so that there are few cattle; sheep and goats, however, are numerous. The dromedary is the ordinary beast of burden, and it is only in the n.w., towards Kerman, that horses are bred. Wherever there is a sufficiency of water, the soil is productive-the lowlands yielding rice, sugar, cotton, indigo, and tobacco; and the higher grounds, wheat, barley, madder, pulse, and European fruits. In the sandy waste of Mekran, where Alexander's army suffered its severest hardships and privations, the only valuable product is the date. The minerals are copper, lead, antimony, iron, sulphur, alum, and sal-ammoniac; and the manufactures are skins, woolens, carpets, and tent-covers of goat's and camel's hair, and rude firearms. B. has but one seaport, Sonmeanee, near the frontier of Sinde. The trade is insignificant, being, such as it is, chiefly monopolized by Hindus. The chief peoples of B. are the distinct races of the Belooches or Baluchis and the Brahuis; all the inhabitants are Mohammedans of the Sunnite confession. The greater part of the country is ruled directly by native chiefs under the suzerainty of the Khan of Kelat. The latter, however, owns to a certain extent the authority of the British agent. British officials administer in his name the districts of Quetta and Bolan. Another portion, comprising seven districts and known as British B. is directly under British control; and the remainder is possessed by Afghan or Baluch tribes. For types of people, see illus., BELOOCHISTAN AND BORNEO.

BELPAS'SO, a t. of Sicily, on the lower part of the southern slope of Mt. Etna, in the province and 8 m. n.w. from the town of Catania. Pop. about 7000. Below the town is an expanse of brown lava, but the surrounding country is generally rich and fruitful. A town called Mel Passo, from the abundance of honey in its neighborhood, stood not far from the site of the present town, but was destroyed by an eruption in 1669; when the inhabitants removed to a locality a few miles off, in the plain, and built a town of which the desolate remains bear the name of Belpasso Vecchio.

BELPER, a market t. of Derbyshire, England, on the Derwent; a station on the North Midland railway, 7 m. n. from Derby. It is well built, in great part of gritstone, which is obtained in the neighborhood. One of the most conspicuous public buildings is a church, of recent erection, on an eminence above the town; the union workhouse is also worthy of notice, being a splendid building in the Elizabethan style of architecture. B. is, to a considerable extent, a town of recent growth, and owes its prosperity to the establishment of cotton-works here by Messrs. Strutt, one of whom was elevated to the peerage as lord Belper. In these works, a very great number of operatives are employed. The manufacture of silk and cotton hosiery is also largely carried on in Belper. Nailmaking and the manufacture of brown earthenware also give employment to many of

Beltrami.

the inhabitants. The surrounding country is rich in coal, iron, lead, and limestone. B was at one time the residence of John of Gaunt, part of whose mansion still remains. Pop. '71, 8527; '91, 10,420.

BELSHAM, THOMAS, one of the ablest expounders of the Unitarian system of theology, was b. at Bedford in 1750. He was educated in the principles of Calvinism, and for some years officiated as pastor of the dissenting congregation and head of the theological academy at Daventry. These offices he resigned in 1789, on embracing Unitarian views, and shortly after received the charge of a new theological academy at Hackney, which in a few years collapsed for want of funds. Before its extinction, he succeeded Dr. Priestley in his pastoral charge, and in 1805 removed to London as the successor of Dr. Disney, where he continued till his death in 1829. Most of his works are controversial: his doctrine regarding the person of Christ represents the purely "humanitarian" view, as distinguished from the more nearly Arian sentiments of men like Channing. He published also a work on mental and moral philosophy, following Hartley, and a memoir of his predecessor, Theophilus Lindsey. His brother, William (b. 1752; d. 1827), was an active and voluminous writer of history and political tracts on the side of the Whigs.

BELSHAZZAR, or BEL SAR-UZAR, a Babylonian ruler of the Chaldean dynasty, who was slain about 538 B.C., when Babylon was taken by the Medes and Persians, as related in the book of Daniel (chap. v.). This account, which speaks of him as the king of Babylon, and as warned of his doom by the handwriting on the wall, long confused scholars, since it conflicted with the narratives of other writers. Herodotus (1,184, 89) calls the last king Labynetus and says that he was defeated in the open field, while Berosus in Josephus (apion, 1, 20) calls him Nabonnedus, stating that he was blockaded in Borsippa (Birs-i-Nimrud), and finally surrendered to Cyrus, being assigned an honorable retirement in Carmania. That truth lies on both sides, has become known through cuneiform inscriptions discovered in 1854 and deciphered by Rawlinson, which state that Bel-sar-uzar, the eldest son of king Nabonnedus, was associated with his father on the throne. Belshazzar at first conducted the campaign against Cyrus, but afterwards was left to govern and hold the city (and so perished) while Nabonnedus took the field. The latter, returning to the relief of Babylon, was defeated and took refuge in Borsippa. In Dan., v. 2, Belshazzar is spoken of as the son of Nebuchadnezzar, but the word "father" is properly translated ancestor or grandfather.

BELT (signifying Girdle), the name given to two straits, the GREAT and the LITTLE B., which, with the Sound, connect the Baltic with the Cattegat. The GREAT B., about 70 m. in length, and varying in breadth from 4 to more than 20 m., divides the Danish islands, Seeland and Laaland, from Fünen and Langeland. The LITTLE B. divides the island of Fünen from Jütland. It is equal in length to the Great B., but much narrower. Its greatest breadth is about 10 m., but it gradually nar rows toward the n., until at the fort of Frederica it is less than a mile wide; thus the passage from the Cattegat into the Baltic is here easily commanded. Both the Belts are dangerous to navigation, on account of numerous sandbanks and strong currents; and therefore, for large vessels, the passage by the Sound (q.v.) is preferred.

BEL TEIN, BEL'TANE, BEIL'TINE, or BEAL'TAINN, the name of a heathen festival once common to all the Celtic nations, and traces of which have survived to the present day. The name is derived from tin or teine, fire, and Beal or Beil, the Celtic god of light or sun-god, a deity mentioned by Ausonius (309–92 A.D.) and Tertullian (who flourished during the first half of the 3d c.), as well as on several ancient inscriptions, as Belenus or Belinus. B. thus means "Beal's fire," and belongs to that sun and fire worship which has always been one of the most prominent forms of polytheism. The great festival of this worship among the Celtic nations was held in the beginning of May, but there seems to have been a somewhat similar observance in the beginning of November (the beginning, and the end of summer). On such occasions, all the fires in the district were extinguished (while the system was in full force, even death was the penalty of neglect); the needfire (q.v.) was then kindled with great solemnity, and sacrifices were offeredlatterly, perhaps, of animals, but originally, there can be little doubt, of human beings. From this sacrificial fire the domestic hearths were rekindled.

The earliest mention of B. is found by Cormac, archbishop of Cashel in the beginning of the 10th century. A relic of this festival, as practiced in some parts of the highlands of Scotland about the beginning of the 19th c., is thus described: "The young folks of a hamlet meet in the moors on the 1st of May. They cut a table in the green sod, of a round figure, by cutting a trench in the ground of such circumference as to hold the whole company. They then kindle a fire, and dress a repast of eggs and milk in the consistence of a custard. They knead a cake of oatmeal, which is toasted at the embers against a stone. After the custard is eaten up, they divide the cake in so many portions, as similar as possible to one another in size and shape, as there are persons in the company. They daub one of these portions with charcoal until it is perfectly black. They then put all the bits of the cake into a bonnet, and every one, blindfold, draws out a portion. The bonnet-holder is entitled to the last bit. Whoever draws the black bit is the devoted person, who is to be sacrificed to Beal, whose favor they mean to implore in rendering the year productive. The devoted person is compelled to leap three times over the flames." The leaping three times through

« PreviousContinue »