nearly due W., and continues in that direction about 120 m. to the mouth of the Okinakane. It then flows S. W. about 50 m., when it turns S. E., and flows in that direction about 165 m. to the 46th parallel. Throughout its entire length the Columbia is very rapid, often passing through mountain gorges and broken by many cataracts. The tide sets up 165 m. to the Cascades, which are a series of rapids caused by the passage of the stream through the Cascade range. At a distance of about 30 m. from the ocean the river expands into a kind of bay from 3 to 7 m. wide, which forms its mouth. At low tide there is about 20 ft. of water over the flats at the entrance to this bay, while the depth of the channel is 24 ft. Ocean steamers can ascend to Vancouver, 115 m. above the mouth, and steamers of 200 or 300 tons to the Cascades, around which there is a railroad 6 m. long. The Dalles, 40 m. further, again obstruct navigation. Here the river bends like a horseshoe to the south, and flows with a rapid current through a basaltic trough with walls 20 ft. high and 200 yards apart. Other falls, with stretches of navigable water between, are Priest rapids, 179 m. above the Dalles; Buckland rapids, 66 m. further; and Kettle falls, 274 m. above. The last is a perpendicular fall of 15 ft. At high water (from the middle of May to the middle of July) steamers could probably ascend from the Dalles to Kettle falls. Above Kettle falls the river is again navigable about 50 m. to falls just N. of the 49th parallel. Above the head of Upper Arrow lake, lat. 50° 30', there is no navigable water. At Vancouver the Columbia is a mile wide. Its total length is over 1,200 m. The rise at Vancouver during high water is 19 or 20 ft., and so great is the force of the current as to overcome the effect of the tide, and render the water drinkable even on the bar. The principal E. branches are the Kootenay (also called McGillivray or Flat Bow), which joins the Columbia in British territory about 20 m. N. of the boundary; Clarke's, or Flathead river; the Spokane; and Lewis fork (also called the Saptin or Snake river), which is the great southern tributary, and rises in the Rocky mountains in W. Wyoming, about lat. 44°, lon. 110° 30'. The tributaries from the west are smaller; the chief are the Nehoialpitkwu, Okinakane, and Yakama. Below the great bend several streams empty into the Columbia from the north, the largest of which is the Cowlitz; from the south it receives the Umatilla, John Day's river, the Des Chutes, and the Willamette.-Columbia river was discovered in 1792 by Capt. Robert Gray, who entered it May 11 of that year, in the Columbia Rediviva, of Boston, Mass. It was from this vessel that the river received its name. The first exploration of the Columbia was made in 180-5, by Captains Lewis and Clarke, under the direction of the war department.

COLUMBIANA, an E. county of Ohio, separated from Pennsylvania on the S. E. by the Ohio

river, and drained by several streams; area, 490 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 38,299. The southern portion is hilly, the northern level or gently undulating. The soil is fertile. Coal and iron are found. It is traversed by the Sandy and Beaver canal, and by the Cleveland and Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago, and the New Lisbon railroads. The chief productions in 1870 were 270,190 bushels of wheat, 25,175 of rye, 566,242 of Indian corn, 653,001 of oats, 163,484 of potatoes, 45,301 tons of hay, 848,882 lbs. of butter, 573,561 of wool, and 602,978 of flax. There were 8,827 horses, 9,519 milch cows, 9,137 other cattle, 131,527 sheep, and 15,996 swine; 8 flour mills, 18 manufactories of stone and earthen ware, 6 of machinery, 1 of pig iron, 10 of iron castings, 4 of agricultural implements, 8 of bricks, 20 of carriages and wagons, 2 of hardware, 2 of lightning rods, 15 of saddlery and harness, 12 of tin, copper, and sheetiron ware, 3 of woollen goods, 4 planing mills, 9 saw mills, 17 tanneries, and 16 currying establishments. Capital, New Lisbon.

COLUMBIUM, a metal extracted from the mineral columbite, found in Connecticut. It was first discovered by Mr. Hatchett in 1801, and afterward by a Swedish chemist, who gave it the name of tantalum, having extracted the substance from tantalite. It was proved, however, by Dr. Wollaston, that this metal was identical with columbium, as is also the metal called by Rose niobium. It is of a yellowish white or gray color, and when burnished has a metallic lustre. The name columbium was probably given from its being originally discovered in North America.

COLUMBO, or Calumba, the root of cocculus palmatus or jateorrhiza palmata, and of J. calumba, climbing plants of the order menispermaceæ, growing in Mozambique. The root is cut into transverse slices, which are from an eighth of an inch to near an inch in thickness, from one to two inches in diameter, and when of good quality of a tolerably bright yellow color in the cortical portion, somewhat lighter in the interior, and covered with a brownish wrinkled epidermis externally. Columbo contains a crystallizable neutral bitter principle, called colombine, and an alkaloid, berberina. Its medical virtues are those of a pure bitter, slightly if at all stimulating, and generally acceptable to the stomach. American columbo, the root of Frasera Walteri, of the order gentianacea, and a false columbo from coscinium fenestratum, belonging to the same order with the genuine, have been sold in Europe instead of the genuine.

COLUMBRETES, or Colombretes, a group of small islands in the Mediterranean, belonging to Spain, about lat. 39° 54' N., lon. 0° 44' E., 29 m. S. E. of Cape Oropesa. They are of volcanic origin, and very picturesque, their broken masses seeming like the fragments of a larger island. There is deep water between them, and a deep and capacious harbor in the

lege, which in 1871 had 10 professors and 42 students. The Ohio agricultural and mechanical college, endowed with the congressional land grant, was opened in September, 1873. The state library contains over 36,000 volumes. There are two musical societies, two daily newspapers, four tri-weekly (one German), five weekly, and four monthly periodicals (two German). One of the weeklies, "The Mute's Chronicle," is published by the institution for the deaf and duinb. The churches, 44 in number, are as follows: 4 Baptist (one for colored people), 4 Congregational, 1 Disciples, 3 Episcopal, 2 Evangelical Association, 1 Friends, 1 Independent Protestant, 1 Jewish, 4 Lutheran (1 German), 9 Methodist, 5 Presbyterian, 4 Roman Catholic, 4 United Brethren, and 1 Universalist.-Columbus was laid out in 1812; it was incorporated as a borough in 1816, and as a city in 1834. It became the seat of the state government in 1816, and was made the county seat in 1824.

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COLUMBUS. I. Christopher, the discoverer of America, born in Genoa, Italy, died in Valladolid, Spain, May 20, 1506. The time of his birth is uncertain. The earliest date given (1430), derived from a statement of Ramusio, is irreconcilable with admitted facts, and must be set aside. Peschel has recently endeavored to show that he was born in 1456, the ultimate evidence for which is a letter of Columbus, dated in 1503, stating that he was then 48 years of age. This is so much at variance with admitted facts that it seems probable that there an error in writing (48 for 58, or even 68). Between 1435 and 1449 there is hardly a year which has not been fixed upon by different authors. Bernaldez, whose intimate connection with Columbus gives special weight to his statement, says that he died "at the age of 70 Years (setenta años), a little more or less." This would fix the date at 1435 or 1436, which has been generally accepted. But D'Avezac has recently argued that instead of 70 (setenta) years should be read 60 (sesenta), and presents plausible reasons for the alteration. This would give the date of his birth at 1445 or 1446. Either date, 1435-236, or 1445-'6, is reconcilable with ascertained data. According to the custom of the time, he Latinized his name of Cristoforo Colombo into Columbus, and when he went to Spain adopted the Spanish form of it, Cristóbal Colon. He was the eldest son of Domenico Colombo, a wool comber, and Susanna Fontanarossa. They had two other sons, Bartolommeo and Giacomo (the latter called in Spain Diego), and a daughter. Columbus having early evinced a decided inclination for the sea, his education was mainly directed to fit him for maritime life. Besides the ordinary branches, he was instructed in Latin, and made some proficiency in drawing. For a short time he was sent to the university of Pavia, where he studied geometry, geography, astronomy, and navigation. He then returned to Genoa, and assisted

his father in his trade of wool-combing. When about 14 years of age he began his nautical career with a distant relative of the same name, an admiral in the Genoese service. Little is known of Columbus during the many years he spent at sea. He is supposed to have served in the naval expedition fitted out in Genoa in 1459 by John of Anjou, duke of Calabria, to make a descent upon Naples in the hope of recovering that kingdom for his father, King René; but he appears to have been principally engaged in commercial_voyages on the Mediterranean and up the Levant. About 1470 he went to Lisbon, where he supported himself by making maps and charts. He also sailed occasionally in the expeditions to the coast of Guinea. Soon after he had settled at Lisbon he married Doña Felipa, daughter of Bartolommeo Moñis de Perestrello, an Italian cavalier, lately deceased, who had been one of the most distinguished navigators under Prince Henry, and had colonized and governed the island of Porto Santo. Columbus now resided for some time on that island, where his wife had inherited some property, and where his son Diego was born. Here he studied the papers, charts, and journals which had been left by his father-in-law; and here he was brought into association with persons interested in maritime discovery, among whom was Pedro Correo, a navigator of note, who had married the sister of the wife of Columbus. Columbus determined upon sailing west, not to discover a new continent, but to reach India by a new route; and his confidence in the practicability of this project was greatly enhanced by the recent application of the astrolabe to navigation. His theory, according to his son Fernando, was founded upon the nature of things, the authority of learned writers, and the reports of navigators. He set down as a fundamental axiom that the earth was a terraqueous sphere or globe, the circumference of which from east to west at the equator he divided into 24 hours of 15 degrees each, making 360 degrees. Comparing the globe of Ptolemy with the earliest map of Marinus of Tyre, he concluded that 15 hours had been known to the ancients, extending from the Canary islands to the city of Thinæ in Asia; and that the Portuguese had advanced the western frontier one hour more, by the discovery of the Azores and the Cape Verd islands; leaving 8 hours, or one third of the circumference of the earth, unknown and unexplored. This space might in a great measure be occupied by the eastern regions of Asia; and by pursuing a direct course from east to west through the interve-. ning ocean, a navigator would arrive at the extremity of that country. This supposition was corroborated by the narratives of Marco Polo and John Mandeville, who in the 13th and 14th centuries had visited the remote parts of Asia, far beyond the regions laid down by Ptolemy; and also by the opinion of Strabo, who believed that the earth was surrounded by the

ocean which washed India on the east and Spain and Mauritania on the west. Moreover, various indications of land in the west had been found. A Portuguese pilot had taken from the water, 450 leagues west of Portugal, a piece of curiously carved wood, while a similar piece which had drifted from the same quarter was seen on the island of Porto Santo. Canes of tropical growth had been washed on the Madeiras, huge pine trees on the Azores, and even two drowned men, of appearance unlike Europeans, had been found on the island of Flores-all from the west. The precise time when Columbus first conceived the design of seeking a western route to India cannot be determined; but in the summer of 1474 he opened a correspondence upon this subject with Paulo Toscanelli, a learned cosmographer of Florence, who had already, in a letter to Alfonso V. of Portugal, expressed his views on a western passage to India. In reply to Columbus he said: "I praise your desire to navigate toward the west; the expedition you wish to undertake is not easy, but the route from the west coasts of Europe to the spice Indies is certain, if the tracks I have marked be followed." He also sent him a map projected partly according to Ptolemy and partly according to the descriptions of Marco Polo. On this map Asia was laid down in front of the western coasts of Africa and Europe, with a moderate space of ocean between them, in which were placed Cipango (supposed to be Japan), Antilla, and other islands. This map, by which Columbus sailed upon his first voyage of discovery, has been lost. In 1477 he made a voyage, apparently of exploration, to the northwest, 100 leagues beyond "the island of Thule," supposed to have been Iceland, into lat. 73°, where he was astonished to find the sea not frozen. Next he is reported to have visited the Portuguese settlement of San Jorge da Mina, on the coast of Guinea. It is asserted that Columbus first applied for aid in his undertaking to his native country, Genoa, but without success; and he is supposed to have vainly solicited the patronage of Portugal before the death of Alfonso. But the first application for royal patronage of which there is any clear and indisputable record was made to John II., who ascended the throne of Portugal in 1481. This monarch had imbibed the passion for discovery from his grand-uncle Prince Henry, and with his reign all its activity revived. King John seems to have received the proposition with favor, and referred it to a learned body charged with all matters relating to maritime discovery, and subsequently to a council composed of prelates and persons of the greatest learning in the kingdom, both of which treated the project as extravagant and visionary. Meantime he sent a caravel with the ostensible design of carrying provisions to the Cape Verd islands, but with secret instructions to pursue the route indicated by Columbus. After cruising for several days the caravel returned with

the report that no indications of land had been seen. The king was not yet inclined to abandon the project, but Columbus, who had lost his wife and was now reduced to poverty, determined to abandon Portugal and seek elsewhere for patronage. Accordingly, with his son Diego, he left Lisbon for Spain toward the end of 1484, secretly, lest his departure should be prevented by King John, or, as some have asserted, by his creditors. He had already engaged his brother Bartolommeo to apply for aid to the king of England, though he does not appear to have entertained great hope from that quarter. It is said that Columbus after leaving Portugal made proposals to the government of Genoa for the second time, and also to Venice, which were declined. In 1485 he was in the south of Spain, where he endeavored to interest the dukes of Medina Sidonia and Medina Celi. The latter recommended the project to Queen Isabella, who requested that Columbus might be sent to her. Having arrived at Cordova, and while waiting for an opportunity to appear at court, Columbus became attached to Doña Beatriz Enriquez, by whom he had a son, Fernando, born in 1487, who became the historian of his father. Columbus followed the court to Salamanca, where he was introduced to the king by Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, grand cardinal of Spain, the most important personage about the court. Ferdinand heard him without disfavor, and referred the matter to a council of learned men, mostly ecclesiastics, under the presidency of the confessor of the queen. The conference assembled in the Dominican convent of San Estevan at Salamanca, but, instead of investigating the project on scientific grounds, controverted it by Scriptural texts; and it was not till 1491, after many renewed applications, that the commission reported "the project in question vain and impossible, and not becoming great princes to engage in on such slender grounds as had been adduced." Columbus, however, appears, during the seven years he attended the court, to have experienced personally the favor of the king and queen, and to have had frequent communication with them, although the king at least could not be brought to believe in his wonderful projects. The Spanish sovereigns were during this period engaged in the war against the Moors of Granada, and Columbus seems to have borne arms as a volunteer. A passage in Diego Ortiz's "Annals of Seville" incidentally mentions his bravery. Records are also extant of his having been provided with free quarters at the king's charge, with pay equal to his personal expenses. During this period of hope deferred, Columbus sustained himself with undiminished confidence. Endued with a poetic temperament, the auguries he 'sought for in the mystic language of the Scriptures gave a bias to his mind, which in his later years amounted almost to delusion. He sought in prophecy for assurance that the time had come when Christianity should be