WYNDHAM

from those of noted observers who had gone before him. His most recent papers relate to archæological subjects, the last one (read at a meeting of the society of natural history, May 20, 1874) being on the discovery of human remains in the fresh-water shell heaps of Florida. WYNDHAM, Sir William, a British statesman, born at Orchard-Wyndham, Somersetshire, in 1687, died in Wells, July 17, 1740. He was educated at Oxford, and entered the house of commons for his native county. He identified himself with the tories, and was secretary at war in the Oxford and Bolingbroke ministry in 1711-'13, and chancellor of the exchequer in 1713-'14. In the quarrel between Oxford and Bolingbroke he took the part of the latter, and was suspected of treasonable relations with the pretender. On the outbreak of the rebellion in Scotland under the earl of Mar in 1715, he was arrested at his house in Somersetshire, but escaped. A reward of £1,000 was offered for his apprehension, and after lurking for some time in disguise he surrendered himself and was committed to the tower. He was finally released without a trial, but remained until his death a leader of the parliamentary opposition to the ministry of Sir Robert Walpole.-His son, Sir CHARLES WYNDHAM, who inherited from his mother's brother, the duke of Somerset, the title of earl of Egremont, was chosen by Fox and Waldegrave to be secretary of state after the dismissal of Pitt by George II. in 1757; but the return of Pitt to office frustrated the arrangement. Egremont however received the place on Pitt's final resignation, Oct. 5, 1761. He died in 1763.

WYNKIN DE WORDE. See WORDE. WYOMING, a territory of the United States, situated between lat. 41° and 45° N., and lon. 104 and 111° W., forming nearly a perfect quadrangle; length E. and W. about 350 m., breadth about 275 m.; area, 97,883 sq. m. It is bounded N. by Montana, E. by Dakota and Nebraska, S. by Colorado and Utah, and W. by Utah, Idaho, and Montana. It is divided into seven counties, viz.: Albany, Carbon, Crook, Laramie, Pease, Sweetwater, and Uintah. The principal places, all of which are small, are Cheyenne, the capital, in Laramie co.; Laramie City and Sherman, Albany co.; Rawlins and Carbon, Carbon co.; South Pass City, Rock Springs, Green River City, and Atlantic City, Sweetwater co.; and Evanston, Uintah co.; all, except South Pass City and Atlantic City, on the Union Pacific railroad. The population in 1870 was 9,118, including 183 colored persons, 143 Chinese, and 66 non-tribal Indians; in 1875, estimated by the governor at 24,000. Of the inhabitants in 1870, 5,605 were native and 3,513 foreign born, 7,219 males and 1,899 females. Of the natives, 293 were born in the territory, 985 in New York, 627 in Pennsylvania, 547 in Ohio, 404 in Illinois, and 319 in Missouri. Of the foreigners, 1,976 were natives of the British isles, including 1,102 Irish, and 652 of Germany. There were

449 males and 407 females between 5 and 18 years of age, 6,056 males from 18 to 45, and 6,107 males 21 years old and upward. The number of families was 2,248, with an average of 4.06 persons to each; of dwellings, 2,379, with an average of 3.83 to each. Of persons 10 years old and upward, 468 could not read and 602 could not write; 6,645 were returned as engaged in all occupations, of whom 165 were employed in agriculture, 3,170 in professional and personal services, 1,646 in trade and transportation, and 1,664 in manufactures and mining. There are about 1,800 Shoshone Indians occupying a reservation of 1,520,000 acres in the W. part of the territory, who maintain tribal relations.-The surface of Wyoming is high and mountainous, the mean elevation being 6,450 ft. The main chain of the Rocky mountains extends across it S. E. and N. W., entering from Colorado W. of the 105th meridian and passing out at the N. W. corner. Much the larger part of the territory lies N. E. of the "divide." The principal ranges are the Wind River mountains, in the N. W.; the Big Horn mountains, N. of the centre; the Black hills in the N. E.; the Laramie mountains S. W. of these, and still further S. the Medicine Bow mountains, on the Colorado border; the Bishop mountains, W. of the main chain and also on the border; and the Rattlesnake hills and Sweetwater mountains, in the central portion of the territory, the former N. and the latter on both sides of the Sweetwater river. Fremont's peak, the loftiest summit of the Wind River mountains, about lat. 43° 15', lon. 110°, is 13,570 ft. high. The Laramie mountains form the E. boundary of the Laramie plains. Laramie peak is about 10,000 ft. high. The Laramie plains have a length N. W. and S. E. of 90 m. and an average breadth of 75 m., comprising an area of nearly 7,000 sq. m., with an average elevation of 7,000 ft. They are bounded N. W. by the Rattlesnake hills and S. by the Medicine Bow mountains, and are drained chiefly by the Laramie and Medicine Bow rivers. The surface varies in character and elevation, some portions consisting of beautiful meadow expanses, while others are rolling and hilly, with little vegetation. The Black hills (partly belonging to Wyoming and partly to Dakota) lie between the N. and S. forks of the Cheyenne river, a tributary of the Missouri, chiefly in Dakota, and between the 43d and 45th parallels and the 103d and 105th meridians, extending N. and S. about 100 m., with a breadth of from 40 to 60 m. The base has an elevation of from 2,500 to 3,000 ft., while the peaks rise to a height of from 6,000 to 7,000 ft. A greater quantity of rain falls here than in the surrounding plains, and the hills are well wooded, chiefly with pine. Valuable pastures exist, and there is considerable arable land. Gold has recently been discovered. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to extinguish the Indian title to the Black hills, but large num

which cattle and horses graze throughout the year without shelter. The arable lands are limited in extent, but large portions of the territory are admirably adapted to the raising of horses, cattle, and sheep. Timber is found chiefly in the mountains and at the heads of the streams. In the mountains the principal varieties are pine, cedar, fir, and hemlock; on the streams, cottonwood and quaking asp. In 1870 there were only 4,341 acres of land in farms, of which but 338 were improved; esti- | mated value of all farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock, $42,760; value of all live stock, $141,795. The principal productions were 30,000 lbs. of wool and 3,180 tons of hay. There were on farms 584 horses, 283 mules and asses, 707 milch cows, 922 working oxen, 9,501 other cattle, 6,409 sheep, and 146 swine; besides which there were 3,169 horses and 25,342 neat cattle not on farms. There were 32 manufacturing establishments, employing 502 hands; capital invested, $889,400; value of products, $765,424. There are about 490 m. of railroad in the territory, viz.: Union Pacific, 480 m., and Denver Pacific, 10 m. The former passes through the S. portion from E. to W., and at Sherman attains its greatest elevation, about 8,240 ft.; the latter extends from Cheyenne to Denver, Colorado, 106 m. There are two national banks, with a joint capital of $125,000. The governor and secretary are appointed by the president with the consent of the senate for four years. A treasurer, auditor, and territorial librarian are appointed by the governor with the consent of the council for two years. The legislature consists of a council of 13 members and a house of representatives of 27 members, elected for two years, and holds biennial sessions. The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, three district courts, a probate court for each county, and justices of the peace. The supreme court has appellate jurisdiction, and consists of a chief justice and two associates, appointed by the president with the consent of the senate for four years. The district courts have general original jurisdiction, and are held by a single judge of the supreme court. The probate judges are elected in the respective counties for two years. A territorial act of Dec. 10, 1869, extended the right to vote and hold office to women. sessed value of property in 1870 was $5,516,748 ($863,665 real estate and $4,653,083 personal property); true value, $7,016,748; total taxation, $34,471 ($6,163 territorial and $28,308 county). The assessed value of property in 1875 was $8,684,000; territorial taxation thereon, $26,052 24, besides which there is a poll tax of $2 on each person 21 years old and upward. The territorial finances for the two years 1873-5 were as follows: on hand at the beginning of the period, $3,907 02; receipts, $36,485 08; expenditures, $30,805 74; balance, $8,776 37. There is no territorial debt.

The as

The territorial librarian is er officio superintendent of public instruction. A county superintendent is elected in each county for two years, and three directors are elected annually in each school district. The public schools are free to all between 7 and 21 years of age. A tax of two mills on the dollar is annually levied in each county for school purposes. In 1875 there were 13 public school houses, 7 male teachers, 16 female teachers, and 1,222 pupils enrolled; total amount paid for teachers' wages, $16,400; total value of school houses and furniture, $32,500. According to the census of 1870, there were six newspapers (two daily and four weekly), issuing 243,300 copies annually, and having a circulation of 1,950; and 31 libraries, with 2,603 volumes, of which 20, with 1,500 volumes, were private. There are now (1876) 16 churches (2 Baptist, 1 Congregational, 3 Episcopal, 2 Methodist, 4 Presbyterian, and 4 Roman Catholic), with more than 4,500 sittings and property to the value of $50,000.-The territory of Wyoming was organized by the act of July 25, 1868, from portions of Dakota, Idaho, and Utah. The first settlements within its limits were made in 1867, during the progress of the Union Pacific railroad.

WYOMING. I. A W. county of New York, bounded S. E. by the Genesee river, and drained by affluents of that stream, and Tonawanda, Buffalo, and other creeks; area, 590 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 29,164; in 1875, 30,595. The surface is generally broken and hilly, and the soil fertile and well adapted to stock raising. It is intersected by the Erie railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 272,372 bushels of wheat, 193,249 of Indian corn, 514,862 of oats, 164,958 of barley, 42,314 of buckwheat, 58,834 of peas and beans, 243,624 of potatoes, 1,561,291 lbs. of butter, 709,935 of cheese, 255,661 of wool, and 105,118 tons of hay. There were 9,529 horses, 24,331 milch cows, 10,362 other cattle, 56,823 sheep, and 7,294 swine; 6 manufactories of agricultural implements, 2 of bricks, 31 of carriages and wagons, 32 of cheese, 1 of wrapping paper, 13 tanneries, 23 flour mills, 2 woollen mills, and 15 saw mills. Capital, Warsaw. II. A N. E. county of Pennsylvania, intersected by the North branch of the Susquehanna river, and drained by Tunkhannock, Mahoopeny, and other large creeks; area, 345 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 14,585. The surface is generally hilly or mountainous, Mahoopeny, Tunkhannock, Knob, and Bowman's mountains occupying a portion. The soil is fertile. Timber, coal, and iron are very abundant. It is intersected by the North Branch canal, and by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western and the Lehigh Valley railroads. The chief productions in 1870 were 71,891 bushels of wheat, 38,334 of rye, 187,213 of Indian corn, 250,048 of oats, 124,983 of buckwheat, 286,525 of potatoes, 449,532 lbs. of butter, 18,615 of wool, and 17,258 tons of hay. There were 2,987 horses, 5,814 milch cows, 4,908 other

WYOMING VALLEY

cattle, 6,857 sheep, and 3,398 swine; 13 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 4 of iron castings, 8 tanneries, 3 currying establishments, 11 flour mills, and 18 saw mills. Capital, Tunkhannock. III. A S. county of West Virginia, bordering S. W. on Virginia and drained by the branches of Sandy and Guyandotte rivers; area, about 500 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 3,171, of whom 41 were colored. The surface is mountainous, and the greater part covered with forests of valuable timber. Great Flat Top mountain extends along the S. E. border. The soil is moderately fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were 2,150 bushels of wheat, 57,899 of Indian corn, 11,073 of oats, 5,962 of Irish and 2,269 of sweet potatoes, 32,329 lbs. of butter, 5,630 of wool, and 594 tons of hay. There were 345 horses, 1,042 milch cows, 1,582 other cattle, 2,827 sheep, and 3,338 swine. Capital, Oceana.

WYOMING VALLEY (a corruption of the Indian Maughwauwama, large plains), a beautiful and fertile tract on the Susquehanna river in Luzerne co., Pennsylvania. It lies N. E. and S. W., having an average breadth of 3 m. and a length of 21 m., and is enclosed by ranges of rugged mountains about 1,000 ft. high. It is rich in coal. (See ANTHRACITE, and LACKAWANNA.) The valley was purchased from the Six Nations in 1754 by an association formed in Connecticut and called the Connecticut Susquehanna company; but no permanent settlement was attempted till 1762. The next year the settlers were dispersed by the Indians. In 1769 a body of 40 Connecticut pioneers was sent thither by the Susquehanna company, but found themselves forestalled by some Pennsylvanians, the Six Nations having in the preceding year again sold the territory to the proprietaries of Pennsylvania; and for the next six years Wyoming was the scene of numerous conflicts between settlers from the two colonies, both of which under their charters, as well as by purchase, claimed possession of the soil. The Connecticut people, however, so far succeeded in maintaining their hold in the valley, that at the commencement of the revolutionary war they had established there a flourishing town called Westmoreland, containing more than 2,000 inhabitants. On June 30, 1778, a body of 400 British provincials with about 700 Indians, under the command of Col. John Butler, entered the valley, which was ill prepared for defence, many of its best men having fallen in the continental armies. On July 3 Forty fort (so called from the 40 Connecticut pioneers), the principal fortification, was summoned to surrender. A consultation ensued, and the available military force, comprising about 300 men of all ages under command of Col. Zebulon Butler, a continental officer, having decided to give battle, were on the same day, after a desperate struggle, defeated and driven back to the fort, with a loss of more than two thirds of their number, who were massacred by the Indians and to

ries with every circumstance of savage cruelty, not even the prisoners being spared. Some of the latter were put to death on the evening of the battle, and Queen Esther, a half-breed Indian woman, to avenge the death of her son, tomahawked 14 with her own hands near a rock which still bears her name. On the 5th the fort surrendered; and notwithstanding the promises of the British commander, the Indians showed so little respect for property or life, that most of the surviving inhabitants fled from the valley. The whole number who perished during the war by violent deaths probably exceeded 300. The barbarities perpetrated by the Indians and tories, shocking as they were, were greatly exaggerated by contemporary and succeeding narrators. Brant, the Mohawk chief, whom Campbell in his "Gertrude of Wyoming" stigmatizes as one of the principal actors in the tragedy, it is now generally believed, upon his own testimony and that of his friends, took no part in Butler's invasion.-The troubles of Wyoming by no means ended with the war. The vexed question of title to the territory, which had remained in abeyance between Connecticut and Pennsylvania, was revived in 1782, and a commission, appointed by congress to decide upon the controversy, reported in favor of Pennsylvania. But upon an attempt by the authorities of that state to eject the Connecticut settlers from their lands, the latter again took arms, and for several years the conflicts of the early colonists were renewed. In 1787 the legislative assembly of Pennsylvania confirmed the settlers in their possessions, but it was not until after the commencement of the present century that all the land claims were quieted by law. Wyoming is now the centre of a rich agricultural and mining region. A monument was erected in 1843 on the site of the battle field of July 3.-See "History of Wyoming," by Charles Miner (Philadelphia, 1845), and "Wyoming," by George Peck, D. D. (New York, 1858).

WYSS, Johann Rudolf, a Swiss author, born in Bern, March 13, 1781, died there, March 30, 1830. He was educated at German universities, and in 1806 became professor of philosophy in the academy at Bern, and subsequently chief librarian. His works include Vorlesungen über das höchste Gut (2 vols., Tübingen, 1811); Der schweizerische Robinson (Bern, 1813), translated into numerous languages, and known in English as "The Swiss Family Robinson;" Idyllen, Volkssagen, Legenden und Erzählungen aus der Schweiz (3 vols., 1815'22; partly translated into French in Mme. de Montolieu's Châteaux suisses, 1816); and Reise im Berner Oberland (1808; French translation, 2 vols., Bern, 1817).

WYTHE, a S. W. county of Virginia, intersected by the Great Kanawha (here called the New) river; area, about 600 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 11,611, of whom 2,342 were colored. It is mostly an elevated plateau, lying between