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1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Cordonnier, Victor Louis Émilien

CORDONNIER, VICTOR LOUIS ÉMILIEN (1858-), French general, was born at Surgy (Nièvre) March 23 1858, and after passing through the military college of St. Cyr entered the infantry as sub-lieutenant in 1879. Eight years later he graduated from the École de Guerre, and thereafter staff and regimental service (including tours of duty in the Alps and in Algeria) alternated till in 1905 he was appointed an instructor at the École de Guerre. He had already served as commander of the cadet battalion and director of studies at St. Cyr, and from this time till 1910 his work was wholly instructional. In this period he wrote his work Les Japonais en Mandchourie (published 1911), a study which soon took rank as the most important critical work on the Russo-Japanese War and was translated into several languages (English translation, The Japanese in Manchuria, Part I. 1912, Part II. 1914). In 1910 on promotion to colonel he took command of an infantry regiment and in 1913 he was promoted general of brigade and appointed to command the new 87th Brigade, forming part of the reënforced couverture created by the Three Years' Service Act.

In command of this brigade, Cordonnier played a distinguished part in the successful action of Mangiennes on Aug. 10 1914, and in the heavy fighting of the IV. Army in the Ardennes. Before the battle of the Marne he had been advanced to the command of the 3rd Division, and he led this formation in that battle and in the advance to Ste. Menehould and the Argonne which followed. On Sept. 15 he was severely wounded, and though he resumed his command in October, he had again to be invalided. In December, having meantime become general of division and an officer of the Legion of Honour, he commanded his division in the bitter trench-warfare fighting in the Argonne, and in Jan. 1915 he was in charge of a group of divisions in Alsace. From May 1915 he commanded the VIII. Corps in the St. Mihiel sector. In July 1916, having been meantime awarded the grade of commander in the Legion of Honour, he was appointed to command the French contingent of the Salonika armies grouped under Sarrail, which became the “Armée française d'Orient.”

In general charge of the Allied left wing in Sarrail's autumn offensive he fought the actions of Ostrovo, Fiorina, Armenohor and Kenali, but owing to acute differences with Sarrail, which are discussed elsewhere, he returned to France just before the battle at Monastir which his movements and combats had prepared. He was already gravely ill, and immediately on landing in France was sent into hospital, where he underwent an operation for cancer. A command on the French front had been promised to him but he was never fit to take it up, and soon after the end of the World War he was placed on the retired list. He then devoted himself to historical and critical work on the war. In 1921 he published an account of the operations of the 87th Brigade under the title Une Brigade au feu; Potins de Guerre.


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Rh converse occurs—the first spiral vessels arise near the center of the stem, and development proceeds centrifugally from the first. We may begin our study of the shoot by tracing the course of the vascular bundles, which, it must be remembered, are the channels of communication between the water-supply at the roots below and the leaves and young parts of the shoot above.

If we cut a transverse section of the terminal bud of the oak, as close to the tip as possible, we shall obtain a preparation of the young axis consisting entirely of embryonic tissue, all the cells of which are practically alike—small, polygonal, thin-walled cells, with large nuclei and much protoplasm, but without sap-vacuoles; these cells are in a state of active division, those in the interior dividing successively in all planes. Those which form the peripheral layer, however, are already distinguished by only dividing in the two planes at right angles to the periphery, and they constitute the primitive epidermis. There is no structure corresponding to a root-cap.

Transverse sections a little lower down show differences of the following nature: In the first place, the outline of the section tends to be somewhat pentagonal, the points of origin of the very young leaves being at the angles of the pentagon in accordance with their phyllotaxis—i. e., the order in which the leaves are arranged on the stem. This is of such a nature that each leaf stands some distance above and to one side of its

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1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Cornell University

CORNELL UNIVERSITY (see ). The total enrolment of regular students in 1920 was 5,765 (including 1,127 women), divided as follows: graduate school, 407; college of arts and sciences, 1,812; college of law, 178; medical college, 312 in New York city and 37 taking freshman work in the Ithaca division of the college; New York state veterinary college, 103; New York state college of agriculture, 1,283; college of architecture, 130; college of civil engineering, 403; Sibley College of mechanical engineering, 1,210; duplicate enrolment, 110. In addition 2,171 students were enrolled in the 1919 summer session (especially for teachers) and 396 in the short winter course in agriculture in 1920. The students came from nearly all the states, territories, and insular possessions of the United States and from 38 foreign countries — e.g. there were 50 students from China, 30 from Europe, 25 from South America, 16 from Cuba, 7 from South Africa, 6 from Japan, 3 from Australia, etc.

In 1919-20 new endowment was pledged to the amount of $5,700,000 to increase teachers' salaries. The same year an anonymous gift was received of $1,500,000 to build and equip a new laboratory of chemistry; $500,000 from August Heckscher of New York for the endowment of research, and from other sources special gifts aggregating $708,000. Under the will of Goldwin Smith, $683,000 was received in 1911 for the promotion of liberal studies, and from Jacob H. Schiff, in 1912, $100,000 for the promotion of studies in German culture; in 1918 at Mr. Schiff's request the purpose was changed to the promotion of studies in human civilization, and in the same year Baron Charnwood gave 15 lectures on this foundation.

During the decade 1911-20 the university's physical growth continued; the state added 10 large buildings to the equipment of the two state colleges and built a new armoury for the department of military science; gifts of $350,000 from George F. Baker, a New York banker, and $300,000 from Mrs. Russell Sage provided four residential halls for students; Mrs. Florence Rand Lang of Montclair, New Jersey, added Rand Hall (machine-shop and electrical laboratory) to Sibley College. In 1919 the university's invested funds amounted to $14,976,500, yielding in the fiscal year 1919-20 an income of $738,100; the income from state and nation was $1,397,800, and from tuition fees $975,000. The grounds, buildings, and equipment were valued at about $7,637,400. The area of the campus was 359 ac. and that of the experimental farms (adjoining the campus) was about 1,100 acres. The appropriation made by the state to the College of Agriculture for the fiscal year 1920 was $1,800,588; in 1910 it was $412,000. The regular annual tuition fee in 1921 was $200, but in medicine it was $300; tuition in the two state colleges was free to residents of New York state. The university library in 1920 contained about 630,000 volumes. Among the important recent accessions were the Charles W. Wason collection of works relating to China and the Chinese, 9,399 volumes, presented in 1918; the James Verner Scaife collection of books relating to the American Civil War; and the engineering library of the late Emil Kuichling, 2,093 volumes, presented by Mrs. Kuichling in 1919. The Willard Fiske bequests have been described in three important bibliographies: Catalogue of the Icelandic Collection (1914), Catalogue of Runic Literature (1918), both compiled by H. Hermannsson, and Catalogue of the Petrarch Collection (1916), compiled by Mary Fowler. The results of the Cornell expedition to Asia Minor and the Assyro-Babylonian Orient were published in 1911. In 1920 appeared the fifth volume of the Cornell Studies in English, founded in 1916. Several volumes have also been added to the Cornell Studies in Classical Philology, the Cornell Studies in History and Political Science, and the Cornell Studies in Philosophy. The valuable law library numbered about 53,200 volumes. The law school publishes The Cornell Law Quarterly (established 1915). Since 1909 the governor of New York state has appointed five members of the university's board of 40 trustees; 15 are coöpted, and the alumni elect ten; others are ex-officio members. Since 1916 the faculty has sent three representatives to the board who sit as trustees, but without a vote. Andrew Dickson White (q.v.), who, at the request of Ezra Cornell, drew up the original plans for organizing the university and served as its first president, died at Ithaca Nov. 4 1918. Pres. Jacob Gould Schurman (q.v.) resigned in June 1920, and Prof. A. W. Smith, dean of Sibley College, was elected acting-president. Of the 21,445 degrees granted since the founding of the university, 18,992, or more than seven-eighths, were granted during President Schurman's 28 years of service. He was appointed U.S. minister to China by President Harding in 1921. Dr. Livingston Farrand (q.v.) was elected president in June 1921. Dr. Farrand, formerly a professor in Columbia University, was president of the university of Colorado from 1914 to 1919, and was then appointed chairman of the Central Committee of the American Red Cross. For two years he directed the work against tuberculosis in France under the auspices of the International Health Board of the Rockefeller Foundation.

During the World War the university, in coöperation with the

War Department, conducted at Ithaca a school of military aeronautics, a school of aerial photography, a school for military artisans, and a unit of the Students' Army Training Corps, and, at the medical college in New York, a school of röntgenology for officers of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Many members of the faculty gave professional or technical service to the Government. About 7,000 students and former students of the university were in uniform; 1,500 of these were in officers' training organizations when hostilities ceased; of the others, 3,300, or 60%, were commissioned officers; 216 died in the service; 147 were decorated for distinguished services or gallantry in action. (W. P.)


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By the time dinner was ready he had polished it up and it was as good as ever, which made us feel a little more at home, for we had heard most bloodcurdling tales of the ferocity of the jaguars and tigers so common in this region. The jaguar, ounce, or American tiger (Fells onca) is almost as large and ferocious as the tigers of Asia, often measuring over six feet in length, exclusive of the two feet long tail. It attacks nearly all animals, and sometimes man himself. Its sleek coat is of a bright tan color on the back and white underneath, and on its flanks four rows of black rings, surrounding small black dots, are to be observed. This is the most common kind met with. Other species are: the black jaguar (Fells onca nigra) known to the Indians as the jaguarete, which is very ferocious. The puma, cougar, or American lion (Fells concolor) whose coat is of a uniform tan, and which often measures four feet in length. The grey tiger (Foils pardalis) which is only about two feet long and the maracaja tiger (Fells tlgrina) which has a coat of different shades of black, white, and grey, and is still smaller than the preceding one. The next morning we again went out hunting and exploring, and found numerous danta, or tapir tracks, from the forest to the river. They were very large, and we followed them until they disappeared into the inaccessible forest. Reaching the southern end of the beach, we observed several turtle tracks, but did not notice them closely, for just then we stumbled upon what looked like a jaguar trail, which we followed until it, too, disappeared in the depths of the forest. Somewhat discomfited at these repeated disappointments, we returned to the alligator pools and amused ourselves at taking pot-shots at the alligators until they discovered our game and promptly got away. A little later we shot a small bird, resembling a seagull which we saved as bait for a fishing expedition we had planned for that evening. Returning to the canoe, we had lunch and then, as it was too hot to go out on another expedition, devoted the rest of the afternoon to chess: but I lost every game. Although when we were on the Cauca Railway I used to beat Perkins easily. Whether my mind was distracted by our shipwreck, or whether Perkins had done some studying up, I cannot say the fact remains that during all the time we were shipwrecked I only won a single game, and we must have played over fifty. At about seven o'clock in the evening we went down to the edge of the river and commenced fishing. At first we did not get a single bite, and we were just about giving it up in despair, when a school of enormous catfish appeared upon the scene, and in less than an hour and a half we had enough to last for a couple of days. Here we observed several more monstrous alligators, and soon so many appeared that we began to get a little nervous. They did not molest us, however, and we kept on fishing until nine o'clock, when we retired to our humble abode — the canoe. Shortly after breakfast the next morning I went out on another expedition, taking my machete with me.

After exploring the plaija, without seeing anything more than tracks, I succeeded in penetrating a short distance into the forest, where I was lucky enough to kill a fine, large bird, known as the paujil. Returning to the canoe, I stumbled upon a large turtle track following it some distance, I observed that it had dug up the sand, probably to deposit some eggs, so, excavating a little with my machete, I discovered the nest, which contained over eighty eggs. As these eggs are excellent eating, I took off my shirt, tied them up in it and carried them to camp, along with the paujil. At any rate, we were in no danger of starving. There are two kinds of turtle common on the Putumayo, a large and a small species, known respectively as the charapa and the charapilla. The former is often two or three feet in diameter, and lays eggs almost as large as those of a hen and sometimes as many as a hundred in a nest. The latter is only about a foot or eighteen inches across, its eggs are only about half the size of the former's, and there are only from twenty to thirty of them in a nest. The flesh of both these Chelonians is succulent and nourishing. The shell, which, however, is not so valuable as that of a sea- turtle, is used in some places for different purposes. The eggs are very agreeable, and are eaten either fresh or smoked. In Brazil they extract from them an oil, which is employed for illuminating, like kerosene. After lunch, which was composed of rice, turtle eggs, fish, and yuca, we again took up chess, which we played steadily until about three o'clock, when, happening to glance up towards the river, I was overjoyed to perceive several canoes coming upstream. Rushing down to the water's edge, we saw that there were five canoes, each one containing about ten Indians. As soon as they came up to us, I told them of our misfortune and asked them to help us out, promising to reward them generously. The wretches merely smiled and passed on, which so enraged us that, had I not observed that they were all well-armed, I should certainly have fired a couple of rifle-shots across their bows. As it was, we could do nothing but stand there and execrate them, which naturally was useless. When they finally disappeared, we returned with bitter thoughts to our chess, which we kept at until after dinner.

During this meal we were so upset over the malicious action of the Indians that we determined to have blood of some sort, so, after some deliberation, we decided that it should be the danta's whose track I had observed in the morning. Accordingly, at about nine o'clock, we set out on the warpath. Perkins carried the shotgun and I the rifle, while we both had a revolver and a naked machete. Arriving at the spot where the trail disappeared into the forest, we selected a couple of well-concealed but comfortable seats and waited. After spending several hours sitting there in absolute silence, our patience was finally rewarded by hearing the sound of snapping underbrush, and the next moment a large, awkward form waddled past us and out upon the moonlit sands. We fired almost simultaneously, and had the satisfaction of seeing the animal fall with a thud. The next instant, however, it was again upon its feet and dashing wildly and violently about. Meanwhile, we discharged our revolvers again and again, but without much effect. At last the gallant Perkins rushed up and with a few powerful blows of his machete ended the melee, receiving, however, a slight gash in the calf of his leg from a projecting tusk.

We dragged the heavy body of the vanquished danta to our canoe, and after duly celebrating our victory, found him to be nearly six feet in length and close to three feet in height. We then proceeded to skin him and cut him up in small pieces for smoking, for this is the most common method of preserving meat in this region. This operation concluded, we immediately built a large fire, erected over it a barbacoa and then, salting the pieces one by one, we put them over the roaring fire until they were cooked through. This task was not finished until daylight, when, not troubling to get breakfast, for we had eaten an enormous quantity of the roasting tapir, we immediately retired, quite exhausted but happy. The tapir, danta, or gran bestia is the largest mammal of the Amazon Valley, and somewhat resembles the hog. Its snout is, however, prolonged to a small, flexible proboscis and its brown skin is covered, not with bristles but with a few silky hairs. During the daytime the tapir generally remains hidden in the cool, swampy marshes, coming out only at night to feed on roots, nuts, &c. When startled, he rushes along at great speed, his head down and perfectly regardless of trees and underbrush, through which he passes like a whirlwind. The only sounds this animal makes are low grunts and short, shrill whistles, quite out of proportion to his large frame. The tapir — the most valuable of all the pachyderms— ought to be domesticated, for its flesh is excellent and its skin makes first-rate leather. In addition to this, a framework of unseasoned wood built over an open fire to suspend meat, etc. from it has been suggested that it would also serve as a beast of burden. We did not awake until about 11 a.m. when we had breakfast or lunch — whichever it was — after which we set out on our usual stroll. Perkins elected to take the shot-gun and penetrate the forest a short distance, while I went down to the alligator-pool. I saw several turtle tracks on the way, but decided not to dig any eggs, as we had an ample supply of provisions. Arriving at the pool, I sat down in the sand awaiting for some of the Saurians to put in an appearance ; I sat there for some time, and was just thinking of returning to camp, when the water swirled up and the head of a river-cow or lamantin showed up for an instant.

I jumped to my feet and the Cetacean promptly disappeared. Although I hung around the pool for an hour or more, I saw nothing more of the river-cow, and, quite disappointed, returned to our abode. The manatee, diigong, uaca-marina, or lamantin is none other than the classical siren, and sometimes reaches a length of from twelve to fifteen feet. Its pisciform body terminates in a fan-shaped tail, while the two fins in front, although flat and membranous, consist of five claw-like projections, somewhat resembling human fingers. The females have breasts, similar in shape to those of a woman. Their flesh is excellent, and they generally yield large quantities of fat, which is often used as an illuminant. As the manatee has a very delicate sense of hearing, its capture is rather difficult, and the Indians generally conceal themselves in the thick rushes that surround the bank of a pool and wait there for the victim to come up. As it feeds on certain plants that grow on the edge of the bank, it approaches the shore with some frequency. The Indians then watch their chance and, at a favorable moment, spring out and stab it before it can escape. This animal is becoming rarer every year, owing to the persecution it suffers. In about half an hour Perkins arrived with three victims — a small dove, a little green lizard, known as the iguana, and a parrot. After making a brief examination of these trophies, of which he seemed very proud, I prepared dinner, after which we had a quiet smoke and then retired. The next morning we were overjoyed to perceive that the river had risen nearly a foot during the night, but our hopes began to abate when it slowly commenced to go down again, and by eleven o'clock completely vanished, for the water was even lower than before. It certainly began to look as though we were to be detained here several weeks, possibly months. In the afternoon we went out hunting, in spite of the suffocating heat. Coming to Perkins's trail in the forest, we followed it to the end, took out our machetes, and, cutting out some of the underbrush, proceeded for about a kilometer farther. Resting here for some time without seeing anything worth shooting, we were about to return when the crackling of twigs indicated that some large animal was prowling around in our vicinity. Approaching cautiously, we peered through the rank vegetation and perceived a herd of about fifteen peccaries, busily engaged in devouring the fallen fruits of a group of palm trees. As we had plenty of meat, we did not kill any of them, but after observing them for a few minutes, started back to camp___________

_________________ some more turtle eggs. Reaching the vicinity of the alligator pool, I found a small trail which led along the bank for some distance. Following it with my eyes on the ground, I suddenly stumbled over something and almost lost my balance. Looking around, I perceived that I had run up against an enormous spectacled alligator that had been sunning himself on the sands, and I assure the gentle reader that I lost no time in making my getaway. The hideous monster lost no time in pursuing me, and my blood ran cold when I looked around and saw his wide-open jaws not more than two meters behind me. Fortunately, the forest was close, and in less time than it takes to. tell it I was up a tree and pouring down a hot revolver fire upon my disgruntled antagonist, who soon walked off in disgust. After some time I cautiously descended. Needless to say, I did not follow up any more turtle trails in the vicinity of the pool, for I had no desire to enter those pearly gates that I had just escaped from so narrowly. Perkins, better in the afternoon, went out, while I remained with the canoe ; in about an hour and a half he returned with about twenty small eggs, having found a charapilla's nest and a large, beautifully plumaged bird, known as the piuri. This bird has a magnificent, black curled topknot and a yellow bill, tipped with black, and is about the size of a turkey. I believe this fine bird is rather rare. The next morning Perkins and I set out on a forest expedition. Following our previous trail to the end, we took out our machetes and hacked our way on a couple of kilometers farther. On the way we saw a tribe of the monkeys known as the Barrigudos. They are hairy and pot-bellied, with large, bullet-shaped heads and well-formed limbs. As soon as they saw us they scampered off, and we did not take a shot at them. Finally, perspiring from every pore as a result of our exertions, we were about to sit down to rest a little while, when Perkins heard in the distance the hoarse, piercing call of the toucan (Ramphastas discolorus) Wishing to secure a specimen of this strange, queer-looking bird, he set out in the direction from whence the call seemed to come, while I remained at the end of our trocha, enjoying a smoke. After waiting there an hour or so I began to get alarmed for him, and hallooed repeatedly at the top of my voice, but the deep silence of the forest was broken by no answering yell. Then I bethought myself to discharge my rifle, but nothing was to be heard in reply except the long-drawn-out echoes. What could I do? I dare not set out in search of him, lest I too be lost, for in these dense solitudes people have perished from starvation and exposure, unaware that they were within a kilometer of a house. I sat there for hours, shouting and firing my rifle at short intervals and was just becoming desperate, when faint in the distance, I thought I heard the dull report of a shotgun. When the echoes of my answering discharge died away, I listened anxiously and, after a short interval, once more heard the muffled boom of the shot-gun, but a little louder than before. Keeping up a steady fire, in about three-quarters of an hour I was overjoyed to see Perkins, with the toucan in his arms, appear in quite a different direction than he had set out from.

After he had recovered himself somewhat by means of the small flask of aguardiente that I had with me, he informed me that the possibility of getting lost had never occurred to him until having shot the bird. After about an hour's pursuit, he started to return. Then he had realized that he was lost, for he had not the slightest idea of which way to return, and wandered about for hours until he finally got within range of the report of my rifle. After that, the rest was easy, and in less than an hour he had found his way back. Returning to the camp, we examined the toucan that had been the means of leading him astray. These birds are as a rule about the size of a pigeon. Their huge yellow beak is almost as big as their entire body. It is, however, of a porous and cellular structure, and does not weigh much. Their plumage is brilliant and attractive, the back, tail, and wings being of a dark rich blue, while the breast is yellow. The toucan lives in hollow trees in the depths of the forest, and feeds on fruits and insects. As a rule, it lays only two or three eggs, which it often devours. At about four o'clock I went out in search of some turtle eggs, and, after some half hour's trailing, found a large nest containing over a hundred. Tying them up in my shirt, I was returning to camp when I heard the report of the rifle, which seemed to come from that direction. Hastening onward, I turned a bend and saw three men get out of a canoe and approach our abode, where they seemed to be cordially received by Perkins. Within a few minutes I joined them, and was overjoyed to see that they were a detachment of the Caraparana police force of the Corregidor, Gabriel Martinez.

The officer in charge of the little ____(?) —AIferez Velasco — was very agreeable and courteous, and readily consented to lend a hand. So after dinner, which was a very pleasant affair, we removed all our effects from the canoe, collected our rollers, passed around the aguardiente, and in less than two hours our gallant craft was again afloat. The Alferez and his men then retired, completely exhausted by this task and the long day's poling up the river, and Perkins and I commenced our heartbreaking labor of carrying our baggage, etc. over the half-kilometer that separated us from the canoe — for it had not been convenient to roll the heavy craft to the nearest part of the river on account of the sand-hummocks that intervened, and to have taken the canoe up to this place would have meant two hours' hard work on account of the strong current and the long bend in the river. It was truly a sickening task. We had had originally seven bultos, weighing about four arrobas each. Now, in addition to this we had a barrel of aguardiente our Indian souvenirs, Perkins's mineralogical specimens, our danta,etc. To add to our disgust the river commenced to rise rapidly and soon we perceived that, if we had not been in such a hurry, there would probably have been no necessity for carrying our things, as the river would have relieved us of this task. Sweat fell from us in streams, the rough edges of the bultos cut our shoulders mercilessly, and, to make matters worse, it began to rain in torrents. Still we stuck to it, and at about one o'clock in the morning Perkins staggered on board with the last load — the barrel of aguardiente — on his back. After lightening this part of our equipment by two good drinks each, we immediately retired and slept the sleep of the just. The next morning it was as we had expected — the river had kept on rising, and the greater part of the playa was submerged. Making our way to the police detachment, we held a long chat with the officer, gave them a chunk of the smoked danta meat, passed around the aguardiente, and thanking them heartily, took our departure. The swift current took us along rapidly, and soon the scene of our shipwreck faded away in the distance and became but a pleasant memory of the past. Lunching in the canoe at about eleven o'clock, we steadily continued our descent. At about two I thought I would like to try my hand at being popero, so Perkins accordingly gave me a few hints on it and then retired under the pamacari to enjoy a short nap.

I got along first-rate for an hour or so and was beginning to think myself almost the equal of a professional Indian boga, when, borne along at a tremendous rate by the rushing current, we ran into a log that stuck some six feet out of the water at an angle of about thirty degrees. The log was too high to strike the bow, and passed over it. It reached the pamacari, got caught fast in it, the canoe turned broadside, listed to port, water poured over the gunwale in torrents and I commenced to say my prayers. The next moment the pamacari snapped, the canoe veered around bow foremost again. The log, with the released pamacari still attached to it, raked the rear part of our craft, knocked me overboard, and the canoe was free. I hastily grasped the end of the log and hung to it like a tick to a nigger's shin, until Perkins struggled to his feet and threw me a rope, for no mortal man could have come up with the canoe in the teeth of the current. I grabbed the rope, and Perkins, after some delay, finally yanked me aboard, none the worse for my misadventure except a large bruise on my forehead. I did not play the role of popero again for some time. At about five o'clock we stopped for the day at a large playa. I may say, however, that we spent some time in sounding the vicinity of the place where we tied the canoe, in order not to get stranded again. Taking a little walk to explore our neighborhood, we stumbled upon several turtle trails, and, following them up, found some three large nests. Digging a little with our machetes at one of them, we unearthed about eighty eggs, which we conveyed to the canoe. Some of these eggs we had for dinner in the shape of an omelette. The next morning we again set out on our journey. As our danta was now getting spoiled, I kept an eagle eye on the trees along the bank in hopes of killing something, and shot at several monkeys, but with apparently no effect. Finally I perceived a large turkey, and as soon as we got within range drew a bead on him and fired. The bird fell to the ground, we drew up, I got out and found the dead body of a buzzard or gallinazo. This repugnant bird, also known as the urubil in Brazil, is about the size of the wild turkey, which it somewhat resembles at a distance. Its plumage, however, is a sort of dingy black, and its fairly large beak is of the same color. They always emit an insufferable, carrion smell, and are the universal scavengers of the tropics.

Indeed, in Colombia the killing of a gallinazo is punishable by a heavy fine. Of these birds the best known species are the Cathartes fcetens, the C. aura, and the C, jata. The white gallinazo is not so common, and is popularly supposed to be the king of the flock. While on the Cauca Railway I saw one feeding on a dead mule, while all the common urubils stood on one side, waiting until he had had enough. The Indians (as well as many of the "whites") are very superstitious in regard to this bird, and consider its appearance as a good omen. Having shot nothing eatable, we reached a promising looking playa at two o'clock and disembarked in search of some more turtle eggs. We were busily engaged in excavating a nest, when Perkins saw a solitary canoe slowly making its way upstream. Approaching the bank, we hailed the strangers, and they began to steer in our direction. As they came nearer we saw that they were all Indians, except one, who was a well-dressed, elderly white man. It was then that we became conscious of our clothes, or rather of our lack of them, for I was dressed only in a torn shirt, an equally torn pair of trousers, and a wide Stetson hat, while Perkins was clad only in a long shirt and his flowing beard. Mastering our embarrassment, we introduced ourselves to the old man, who proved to be none other than Don Rogerio Becerra, the gentleman who had escorted the exiles down to the Caraparana, from whence he was now returning to Mocoa, He seemed to be a very pleasant and agreeable man, and we held quite a conversation with him, in the course of which he informed us that the Corregidor, Don Gabriel Martinez, to whom Jurado had given us a letter, was on his way up also with his police force, and that we might expect to meet him in a couple of days. After a little more conversation he presented us with a live charapilla, of which he had several, and slowly resumed his long and tedious journey. After unearthing the rest of the eggs, we too set out and continued our trip without any further incidents until about half-past five, when we stopped at a large playa. While I was engaged in cooking the dinner here, Perkins went out for a prowl with the shotgun and succeeded in getting a large duck. The following morning, December 22nd, we got an early start at six o'clock and continued the trip without incident until ten o'clock, when, owing to the stifling heat, we drew up to a beach and put up a new pamacari-frame, over which we laid our mosquito-bars to make a little shade. No sooner was this accomplished than the sun disappeared behind a cloud, a strong wind arose, and it began to rain in torrents.

This kept up for some two hours, and, of course, we got soaked. At the end of this time, however, the sun came out again as hot as ever, and in another two hours we were dry. Shortly after this we met a group of four or five capivaras trying to scramble up the crumbling, four-foot-high vertical bank of an immense sand island covered with a tall, dense grass. As soon as we got within range Perkins let fly at them with his rifle, while I did the same with the shotgun. The only noticeable effect was to accelerate their frantic efforts to mount the bank. Then the swift current wafted us down opposite to them, and we opened up a hot revolver fire. One or two of them dived then, and another, with a desperate leap, got on top of the bank and instantly disappeared in the tall grass. By this time we were some distance past the spot where they had been, and as the current was very strong, we did not judge it worth while to go back, seeing that they had all disappeared. On the following day we were again favored, at about noon, with another heavy downpour. The wind was so strong as to cause large waves and make our progress exceedingly slow. When the storm passed, at about one o'clock, the sun again obligingly came out and dried our clothes for us, as on the previous day. A little after this we had the luck to shoot a turkey and find a large nest of turtle eggs. The charapilla that Don Rogerio had given us we still kept tied up on his back alive in the bow, intending to keep him for Christmas. At about 3 p.m. we came in sight of a house, which, according to what Don Rogerio had told us, we surmised was Yaracaya, the rubber establishment of Seiior Jesus Lopez.

Around the house was a little patch of clearing, planted with ijuca, plantains, etc. while, surrounding this little piece of man's feeble handiwork rose the unbroken stretch of primeval forest and the island-studded river, rushing onward to join the mighty Amazon. Keeping in towards the right bank — upon which the establishment is situated — we were so engrossed in taking stock of the place that we got stuck on a submerged sand-bar and some difficulty was experienced in getting off it. Then a tall, dark, bearded man, dressed in a pair of checkered blue trousers and a white shirt, who proved to be Lopez himself, came down to the bank, accompanied by a peon, and gave us a cordial welcome. Leading us up the gentle slope, he conducted us into the house, which was built on posts about six feet above the level of the ground. It was of bamboo and split-palm, large and ample, and had a porch running along the front, which faced the river. Presently a tall, rather pretty woman appeared, whom he introduced to us as the wife of his partner, now absent on a trip to Iquitos, via the River Napo. In the kitchen we observed a number of Indian women busily engaged in making farina. We had not intended stopping here for more than an hour or so, but shortly after our arrival Perkins was attacked by a heavy dose of fever, and as Lopez pressed us to stay, we were glad to accept his invitation. I spent most of the lime in conversation with our host, who kindly supplied me with considerable information about the region of the Caraparana.

In the course of this conversation I learned that there was considerable ill-feeling between the Colombians of that section and the Peruvians on account of the boundary dispute and the aggressions of the latter, who are much more numerous than the Colombians and all employees of a large firm which has its headquarters in Iquitos and is known as the Peruvian Amazon Company. Lopez informed me that this company, planning to get possession of the rubber estates of the Colombians of the Caraparana, had influenced the Peruvian officials at Iquitos, in open violation of the modus vivendi, to send troops up to help expel them, and that, moreover, these troops had just arrived. Somewhat taken aback at this rather interesting information and not wishing to get mixed up in any frontier disputes, I asked Lopez if it were not possible to avoid passing through that region and cross over by some varadero to the River Napo, as his partner had done. He replied that there were several varaderos we could take, the best one being near an establishment known as Remolino— some five-days journey down the river — which belonged to the Colombian company of Ordonez and Martinez. These gentlemen, Lopez went on to inform me, had plenty of Indians in their service, and, in addition to lending us the necessary number of cargadores, would probably be glad to buy our canoe and such effects as we did not desire to take with us. This advice seemed reasonable, and I determined to act on it. The next morning found Perkins no better, so we had to prolong our stay. In the course of my conversations with Lopez, who seemed to take life pretty easily, I learned that all the rubber produced in this section of the Putumayo is an inferior kind of jebe or siringa, known technically as jebe debil or weak-fine rubber. Such large quantities of it are produced, however, and at such a small cost, especially in the Caraparana and Igara-parana districts, that its poor quality is more than compensated for. Lopez furthermore told me that he had several racionales and a number of Indians employed on his inland estates. The former he paid a salary, while the Indians exchanged the rubber they collected for merchandise. In the middle of the afternoon we perceived several canoes coming up the river. Finally reaching the port, they disembarked, and we saw that they were the police force that Becerra had told us of. Lopez and I went down to the port to greet the Corregldor, Don Gabriel Martinez. What was our amazement when the corporal in charge gave us the pleasing information that four or five days previously, while they had been stopping at an establishment known as Yubinete, a launch had appeared with about forty employees of the Peruvian Amazon Company on board, who had informed the corregldor that he must go to El Encanto, their headquarters, with them. Upon his refusal they had exhibited their arms, and declared that they would take him by force then. Seeing that resistance would be useless, Martinez had ordered his men to wait three days for him, and, if he did not appear at the end of that time, to proceed on up the river.

They had not seen him since, and naturally feared that he had been detained. Lopez asked them to stop over Christmas, and they gladly assented, for the poor fellows, of whom there were eight, were in a lamentable condition. Thin, weak, and emaciated, they looked more like ghosts than men. They were all in rags, without food, without medicines, and suffering from malarial fever of the worst kind. Lopez gave them some food and assigned them quarters under the house, while I gave them the greater part of our quinine. They were accompanied by ten or twelve Cioni boatmen, who, curiously enough, looked quite plump and healthy. The next day was Christmas, and Perkins was better, so we celebrated the occasion by killing, the turtle Don Rogerio had given us. In addition to this delectable dish, the lady of the house made some plantain dessert and several other dainties, which we devoured ravenously. Then Lopez brought out a small barrel of the indispensable aguardiente, and everybody, including the sick policemen, their Cioni boatmen, and Perkins and myself, got on more or less of a jag which lasted all day, and was not interrupted even by the death of one of Lopez' Indians, who, it seems, had been ailing for some time. The next morning at eight o'clock the policemen set out on their homeward journey. We saw them off, and, returning to the house, spent the rest of the forenoon in taking down a lot of Cioni words, which Lopez was kind enough to furnish us with. This task completed at four o'clock, we had lunch, and after rendering the genial Lopez a small return for his hospitality, Perkins and I set out once more upon our journey down the river. During the afternoon we stopped on a large play a and dug up a quantity of turtle eggs. While engaged in this operation we observed a magnificent bird of a blackish color, which we took to be the ibis. We endeavored to drop him, but he was too wily for us, and we could not get within range. A little later I succeeded in killing a couple of wild ducks, which seemed to be very numerous in this vicinity.

title: User:Turn685/Putumayowork


text: Author:Woodford Patterson

title: Author:Woodford Patterson


text:
Category:Religion in poetry

Poems about or relate to religion.

title: Category:Religion in poetry


text:
The Putumayo, The Devil's Paradise/Chapter 7

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Their dress is very simple, and consists merely of a long shirt called ciishma, of black or white cotton... although generally the latter, which is worn by both men and women. The only difference between the men's cushma and the women's is that in the former the opening that admits the head is vertical and runs down along the bosom, while in the latter it is horizontal and reaches from shoulder to shoulder. This garment resembles nothing so much as a night-shirt without sleeves. The Cionis are also excessively fond of beads, and the amount of them they wear is astounding. In fact, they are so numerous as to totally conceal their necks, the lower parts of their ears, and most of their shoulders. These beads, which often weigh from ten to fifteen pounds, are only removed when the Indians go to bed, bathe, etc.

Besides these they generally wear several necklaces of monkey or danta teeth and a string or so of the bright, red-spotted-with-black seeds of the huairuro or quairor (Abrus precatorius) which they wear as a sort of talisman. The houses of these Indians are, like those of the Incas, large, rectangular structures, the walls of which are formed either of upright poles tied together with the bark of the sacha-huasca or the tamshi, or else of slabs of split bamboo or palms, such as the chonta (Bactris ciliata) the camona or huacrapona (Iriartea deltoida) and the tarapoto (Iriartea ventricosa) whose thick, almost hollow trunks, when split, form large durable planks, quite suitable for different purposes. The roofs are of thatch, for which the leaves of the yarina (Phitelephas macrocarpa) or vegetable-ivory tree are generally used. Several families, as a rule, live in the same house, each, however, having its own corner, fireside, and utensils. Their furniture is limited to hammocks of their own manufacture and little low stools either carved out of solid wood or else made from slabs of bamboo or the above-mentioned palm-trees. Overhead several light cross-timbers are stretched, upon which they hang their clothes, their arms, and many domestic utensils. As they generally eat with their fingers, knives and forks are unknown, while for spoons they employ certain shells or small gourds. As dishes they use the easily prepared fruits of the totuma or cuyera (Crescentia cuyete) which, by the simple operation of cutting open and cleaning out, form convenient receptacles for their food. For cooking they employ the earthen pots similar to those of the Incas; in the manufacture of these pots and the subsequent painting and varnishing of them the Cionis exhibit great skill. Other utensils are — fans, various-sized baskets, rude drums, palm-fibre bags, little clay ovens to bake farina in, fishing-nets, whistles made of the leg-bones of different birds, fifes made of bamboo, and torches of the heart of the magiwy or of chonta, impregnated with resin, etc.

For washing their clothes, hair, etc, they use the inner bark of a tree called the quillay and a soapy substance known as suyuyu. Each of their villages seems to be absolutely independent of the others, and, like the Incas, elects annually, with great solemnity, its chief or gobernador, who has about the same powers as among those aborigines. In addition to the gobernador, there is a sort of lieutenant-governor, called the capitan, who acts as a sort of auxiliary to the chief and takes his place when the latter is absent. These Indians are now lazy and peaceful, and the intervillage wars, formerly frequent and sanguinary in the extreme, are now, thanks to the teachings of the priests and the Colombian settlers, a thing of the past.

Their arms, which are now used only for hunting, consist merely of machetes and shotguns, obtained from the Colombians, and the bodoqaedas or cerbatanas, already described, which they get, in exchange for their hammocks, from the Indians of the Napo. Their food is much more diversified than that of the Santiago Indians, for, in addition to the numerous forest products, such as the papaya (besides Carica papaya) the lime (Citrus limonum) the caimito (Liicuma caimita), maranon (Anacardium occidentale), the pishuayo (Guilielma speciosa), bread-fruit (Artocarpus incisa), the tender tops of the chonta, the camona, &c. Hunting is excellent here, and many are the animals that fall victims to their skill. Among these we may mention, as the most important, the danta or sacha-vaca (Tapirus americanus) which lives in shady swamps; the chancho del monte or huangana (Dicotyles labiatus), which is a kind of peccary that lives in herds in the depths of the forest ; the roiisoco or capivara (HydrochcBrus capibara) a large amphibious rodent; the venado or deer (Cervus), of which there are several species; several kinds of monkeys, such as the guarlbas, the cotomonos, and ihe maquisa pas; the sloth (Bradypus), the armadillo (Dasypus) and various others. They also hunt wild birds of many different species and sizes, such as the paujiles, wild -ducks, partridges, wild -turkeys, various kinds of doves, etc. To all these we must add the numerous different kinds of fine fish, which they catch at all seasons of the year, especially in the dry season. Among the most important of these are palometas, corbinas, bagres, boquichicos, gamitanas, cunchis, dorados, etc. For fishing they use nets made of chambira palm fibre, spears and hooks manufactured from hard wood or thorns, which they bait with larvae or with the fruit of the setico tree (Cecropia peltata).

Besides these, they frequently employ the celebrated barbasco (Yacquinia armillaris). Selecting some pool or quiet corner of the river, they drop a quantity of the crushed leaves and root of this plant into the water, which shortly assumes a milky hue and soon poisons the fish, both large and small. Directly the whole surface of the pool becomes covered with the dead bodies of the fish, of which the largest only are selected, the rest, including the millions of tiny fish, thus being killed and left to rot without being utilized at all. On other occasions they often take advantage of the pools left when the river goes down in the dry season, the fish imprisoned in them being either speared or caught in nets. Besides these sources of food, the women cultivate a few plantain trees (Musa paradisiaca), a little maize (Zea maiz) and the invaluable yuca or manioc, from which they manufacture their two most popular alimentary products, mazata and farina. There are two kinds of yuca — the wild -yuca or yuca brava (Manihot utilissima) and the cultivated variety (Manihot aypi) both of which are very much used in the whole Amazon Valley, The former contains, however, besides its nutritive elements, a milky sap, which is one of the most virulent vegetable poisons known, its active principle being hydrocyanic acid, but, as the sap is volatile, it is easily removed from the farine by means of pressure and evaporation. In the preparation of the mazata, the favourite beverage of these Indians, the yuca is peeled and boiled in but little water in one of their large pots, after which it is smashed to paste by means of a club. This process concluded, the next step is to take out a proper proportion of this mass and mix it with saliva, in the same manner as the Incas do with their scalded maize. The yuca thus prepared is then well mixed with the other, the pot is carefully covered, and the preparation is left to ferment several days, when it is ready for consumption. This mazata does not differ much in taste from the maize-mazata of the Incas. The civilized inhabitants of this region prepare this beverage in a less repugnant and more hygienic way — that is, they add to the paste sugarcane juice or the juice of a ripe plantain, in place of the saliva. In preparing the farina, the yuca is thrown into a trough filled with water and left there until it is in a state of semi-putrefaction, when it is taken out, peeled, and pulverized. If it is the cultivated variety, it is then dried and put through a roasting process upon hot plates, but if it is the yuca brava, the poisonous sap must first be removed. To do this, the yuca, already pulverized, is wrapped up in a good-sized piece of llanchama — the tough, inner bark of a tree of the same name — which is then twisted up and tightened with a stick, after the fashion of a tourniquet, until the sap is all pressed out and evaporated. It is then dried and roasted in the same way as the other yuca. This farina can be preserved for a long time if kept dry, and it forms one of the chief articles of food of many of the inhabitants of the Amazon, especially when they are traveling. It is eaten either dry with water or, best of all, with milk and sugar, when it becomes an agreeable, as well as a wholesome, article of food.

The Cionis are very skilful in the manufacture of the light, durable, and beautiful hammocks, which they use in place of beds, from the strong fibers of the leaves of the cambira-pahti. They often spend months upon the fabrication of a single hammock, first collecting the leaves, next extracting the fibres, then twisting them into long strings, and finally weaving the strings into a ham- mock. One of these hammocks can be rolled up until it occupies only the space of a fair-sized book, and it is so durable that it will last for years. They also exhibit marvelous patience and skill in making the insect, feather, and shell ornaments that they wear on their feast-days. One especially interesting ornament is the yacta, a beautiful crown, composed of a great variety of fine large red and yellow plumes, inlaid with so many small feathers of so many different kinds and colors that it is a veritable work of art. Another common ornament is a long string of brilliantly colored feathers, which is worn around the neck. They also collect the bright green wings of a large insect, very common in these parts, of which, after a sufficient supply has been obtained, they make a similar string, which also encircles the neck. In addition to all these, which are worn only on special occasions, they generally have several bracelets, anklets, etc of gaily colored woollen yarns or locks of hair. At their dances, the music of which is furnished by drums, whistles, and fifes of their own manufacture, they always wear a quantity of cascabeles, which are nothing more than strings of the dried fruits of the schacapa (Cerveza peruviana). These cascabele's they attach to their legs and waist in such a manner as to produce a rattling, tinkling noise at every step they take. Other very interesting products of the industry of these aborigines are the fine combs, made of carefully arranged and polished thorns, tied together with eccentrically coloured threads. Some of these combs are really splendid pieces of workmanship. A thorough and extensive knowledge of the uses and properties of the countless products of the forest is also possessed by the Cionis. Thus, for example, the root of a certain beluco, which they call yoco, is their substitute for coffee ; from another bejuco they extract a narcotic known to them as aijahuasca or yajen, the effects of which are similar to those of hasheesh and opium ; the leaves of the huitoc or jagua are used to cure itching and all erysipelatic diseases, as well as to protect them from the gnats and mosquitoes and thousands of other trees, shrubs, and bejucos supply them with almost everything they need or desire. Early the next morning, Sunday, December 1st, we engaged two Cioni boatmen for our canoe, as did Materon for his; and, after constructing a platform of split bamboo to put in the bottom of the boat in order to prevent our effects from becoming damp, we began loading our little craft with its miscellaneous cargo. In accordance with Materon's advice, we determined to stow away our trunks, books, and engineering instruments in the most inaccessible part of the canoe, while our food and the Indian trading stuff, as well as our arms, should occupy such parts as to render them quickly getatable. After a good deal of shifting about and changing, we succeeded in getting everything more or less as we desired it, and were by ten o'clock ready to start. Thinking that this was an occasion worthy of a little celebration, Materon, Perkins, and myself then proceeded to lessen the contents of our barrel of aguardiente by a good drink each, after which we called up the Indian boatmen and, one by one, gave them a good bracer also, which they swallowed with great solemnity. Then we got in the little space that had been reserved for us in the middle of the canoe — for the cargo was stowed fore and aft as much as possible — and gave the signal to begin the journey. Materon had already informed us that the first couple of days' journey was somewhat dangerous, on account of the swift, roaring current, the powerful whirlpools, and the numerous stumps and logs that stud the whole course of the river. But we did not fully realize it until the canoe, shooting out into the middle of the stream, was caught by the current, almost before it could be turned bow foremost, and dashed with sickening speed among the stumps and logs that loomed up on every side. We soon perceived, however, that our Cionis were used to their job, for they guided the flying canoe with the greatest skill as it continued its wild progress down the swift-running river. One of them, the popero, or pilot, always sits on the high, narrow seat in the stern, and, paddle in hand, steers the canoe and from time to time directs the manoeuvres of the other, known as the puntero, who generally stands in the bow and calls out the obstacles, such as logs, stumps, etc, to the popero, in case the latter cannot see them from where he is seated. In descending a river one puntero is sufficient, for the canoe is generally carried along rapidly enough by the current, and all the bogas (known as Boatmen) have to do is to keep the craft from striking against obstacles and from being thrust by the strong currents sometimes encountered into the unpleasant and often dangerous remolinos or whirlpools. But when the river is to be ascended, several bogas are necessary. The route must then be close to the bank, where the current is not so strong, but where such obstacles as logs, stumps, salient rocks, overhanging branches, troublesome insects, and other similar inconveniences are numerous. Here the paddles are useless, except when crossing the river in search of an easier route on the opposite bank, and the bogas must push the canoe along by main force, employing for this purpose long poles called botadores or tanganas.

In canoeing in the smaller rivers, especially in the dry season, bad places, caused by the shallowness of the water or the immobility of the huge logs that frequently form an impenetrable network on or near the surface of the water, are often met with _______. In such cases the bogas either wade ashore and pull the canoe out of the bad place by means of a rope or else enter the water and shove and lift until it is free. If, however, the canoe is very heavy and these methods fail, they strip the bark from the sezco-tree, which is always to be found on the banks of these rivers, and stretch it out on top of the obstacle. As this bark is very slippery and soapy, the canoe readily slides over it when they push. Materon informed us that, as a general rule, one day's descent is equivalent to three days' surcada. This, however, is subject to numerous circumstances and mishaps, such as the conduct of the boatmen, the condition of the river, the weight of the cargo, the cut of the canoe, the character of the travelers, the necessity of hunting and fishing for food, etc.

What a pleasant sensation it was to sit calmly in the canoe, while the swift current bore us steadily onwards, and to watch the thick, tropical vegetation, which lined the banks of the stream, swiftly recede until hidden from view by a bend of the river! How different it was from the monotonous climbing and descending of the Andes that had caused us so much toil! Several times we passed through places that seemed to me perilous in the extreme, for the whirling current would dash us with frightful rapidity directly towards some huge stump or half-submerged log, while other obstacles of a similar nature appeared on every hand. We seemed to be almost upon it, when a deft turn of the popero's paddle would bring us to one side by a margin of three or four inches. Again, we would shoot some small rapid; the canoe would give a jump, and the next instant we would dash the water out of our half-blinded eyes, and, looking around, would see the rapid far behind us. We saw plenty of wild turkeys, wild ducks, and monkeys on the trees near the bank, while occasionally a river seal, or nutria, would be seen curled up on a log or disporting itself near the shore. All these animals seemed quite tame, and would allow us to approach within a few meters, and then, just as we were taking aim, off they would go. Finally, after wasting a good many shots — for it is no easy matter to shoot from a rapidly moving canoe— I managed to kill a nice fat paua, or wild turkey, and one of Materon's men shot a duck. At noon we stopped on a gravel playa for lunch, which consisted chiefly of panela and aco, and took us only some fifteen minutes. Then we continued about two hours, when we entered the much discussed Putumayo, much larger than when we saw it in the Andes, but still not a large river. It was low, and the high banks and the exposed islet were completely covered with the debris it had brought down in the wet season, such as huge logs, branches of trees, bamboo poles, etc.

During the afternoon we continued to observe large numbers of birds and monkeys, which made the whole forest resound with their ear-numbing howls. Great flocks of parrots and other gaily plumaged birds flew overhead, their rather harsh voices being heard continually. We shot at several, but whether they were too high for our guns, or, as was probably the case, our aim was inaccurate, we did not get a single specimen. We did, however, kill two or three more ducks. These ducks are generally to be seen perched up in the trees along the banks or else on some stump in mid-stream, although occasionally one perceives them floating with the current or swimming on the surface of the water. They dive with lightning-like rapidity, and very often succeed in getting away, even when hit severely. Their vitality is amazing, and they are not slow to bite one if they are not quite dead on being picked up. At about 4 p.m. we reached the tiny Cioni village of San Diego, a small group of about ten little bamboo shacks on the right bank of the river. The whole village came out to welcome us as we rather stiffly climbed out of our canoes, for it seemed that Materon was very popular with them. They brought out a few fruits and a small jar of the yuca-nazata, already described, which we respectfully refused. They are in all respects similar to those of Puerto Guineo, and each of the little huts contained two or three families. Materon informed us that they had but recently established themselves here, abandoning their old village on the other bank of the river on account of a severe epidemic that had broken out among them and killed nearly half their number.

We spent the rest of the afternoon trading with them, giving them some of our beads, harmonicas, mirrors, hats, handkerchiefs, &c., for a few of their manufactures, such as hammocks, yactas strings of monkey and danta teeth, combs, and the like. They are no fools at bargaining, and have a pretty good idea of the value of the articles they are acquainted with. They are also rather clever at demonstrating what labor it has cost them and how much time they have spent in making any article that one fancies. So, on the whole, we did not get much the better of them. At bedtime, which was about nine o'clock, the capitan and gobernador showed us the corner that we were to occupy in conjunction with a couple of Cioni families, and helped us fix up our hammocks. Following the example of our hosts, we did not trouble to undress very much, but soon fell asleep, and did not awake until time for desayuno. Early next morning, after taking leave in a most affectionate manner of our hosts, who supplied us with several bunches of plantains and a quantity of yucas and an agreeable fruit known as the papaya, we set out on our easy and interesting journey. At about noon we passed the mouth of the Guamues, the outlet of Lake Cocha, which seemed almost as large as the Putumayo itself.

During the morning we succeeded in shooting a couple of wild turkeys and several ducks. One of the former was almost lost on account of having fallen in a lot of thick bushes some distance from the shore. The vegetation is very dense all along the banks. The most common types are large bamboos, numerous palms, such as the palma de la cera or wax-palm, the chonta, the fragrant stasia, the royal, and others (setico) already mentioned; the palo de la balsa, or raftwood-tree; the yarina, or vegetable ivory tree; and a variety of others, intermingled with shrubs and bushes of innumerable kinds, and bound together into one tangled, impenetrable mass by the countless bejucos and climbers everywhere in evidence. Nearly every tree of any size is covered with innumerable parasites, among which are to be found several varieties of orchids, whose brilliant flowers serve to diversify the universal green of the forest. The most common of these are different species of Epidendrum, Oneidium, Peristeria, Catasectum, Sobralia, Cypripedium, Maxillaria, Stanopoea, etc. At about two o'clock we reached Materon's establishment La Sofia, where we were cordially received by the other partner, Gonzalez, and his wife. La Sofia is a good-sized, two-storied bamboo bungalow, with a fine wide veranda extending along its front, while around the building in every direction extend fields of maize, ijuca, sugarcane, &c., with the dark, silent forest in the background. As the place is built on a rather high bank, one can obtain from the veranda an excellent view of the placid, smiling river as it slowly rolls past to join the mighty Amazon on its course to the Atlantic. La Sofia was formerly the headquarters of General Reyes, ex-President of the Republic, when he was engaged in the collection of quinine in this region years ago. It is at the head of steam navigation on the Putumayo, and it was here that Reyes' steamer Tiindama was lost.

When Materon had arrived here, some eleven months before, he had found everything overgrown by the rank, tropical vegetation and all the old buildings almost completely destroyed. Reyes had named the place La Sofia in honor of his fiancee, and Materon and his partner had retained the name. The company already had about ten peons engaged in clearing the land and cultivating the crops, and had advanced merchandise to all the Cionis, who had agreed to work out their indebtedness by planting rubber trees, building houses, clearing land, &c. I was pleased to observe that strict morality was the rule, and that Gonzalez permitted no abuses against the aborigines either by taking away their women, by cheating them, or in any way at all. As to the peons they seemed cheerful and contented. There are two distinct kinds of rubber — that produced by a tree that must be cut down to extract the milk, which is called caucho negro, or black rubber, and is produced by the Gastilloa elastica, and that which is the product of a tree that can be tapped indefinitely, which is known as jebe or siringa, and is collected from the Hevea brasiliensis. These two varieties of rubber are each subdivided into several classifications, according to the quality of the latex or milk and the care and skill employed in their extraction and preparation. As a general rule, siringa is much more valuable than caucho, and is the best kind adapted for cultivation, although Materon was planting both sorts. After showing us some samples of each, he informed us that the whole region of the Upper Putumayo had once abounded in caucho negro, but that at the present date very little remained, owing to the fierce onslaughts of the caucheros many years ago. The next day Materon had some of his men build a little rancho of palm leaves over our canoe amid ships to protect us from the sun and rain. This sort of awning is called a pamacari, and is in general use in the Amazon Valley. It gave the canoe a very picturesque appearance, and, as we afterwards found, was very convenient. We spent the rest of the day in inspecting the estate and taking down a Cioni vocabulary, in which language Gonzalez was very proficient and kind enough to give us the benefit of his knowledge. This vocabulary, which I had hoped to take back to civilization with me, was, however, lost under particularly aggravating circumstances, which will be duly recorded in a succeeding chapter. Although Materon and Gonzalez implored us to stay a week or so with them, we decided to resume our journey on the following day; but in the morning, just as we were about to start, Perkins was attacked with a heavy fever, and so our departure was postponed. We dosed him up with quinine and put him to bed, where he soon began to perspire freely, which is to be desired in these malarial attacks.


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A preliminary comparative study across disciplines in English, Spanish and Arabic

 * Imogen Casebourne
 * Dr. Chris Davies
 * Dr. Michelle Fernandes
 * Dr. Naomi Norman

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xxxii while a short distance further off lay a cluster of miserable huts. Soon after we had anchored, a half-white half-red pennon appeared over the square white edifice, which we learned later was the residence of the Governor ; but it had not fluttered long before it was hurriedly replaced by a Union Jack. Presently a canoe came off with two men, who informed us that they were of the household of the Sultan, who had that morning left for a residence he had several hours distant in the interior. To one of these men we entrusted a letter to be despatched at once informing His Highness of our arrival, and the object of our visit, and that we had brought for him letters from the Government in Aden which we desired to present as soon as he could honour us with an interview.

Late the same evening our messenger returned on board to inform us that the Sultan, who had arranged to return over night, would receive us next morning. Accordingly after breakfast the following day. Captain MacArthur and I with Gulaid our interpreter, proceeded on shore, where an aged sheikh was waiting to conduct us, between the ranks of a barbaric guard of honour, to the Sultan's audience chamber in a low unfloored shed a little distance from his "palace." Sultan Selim received us at first very coldly and suspiciously ; but when he had perused General Creagh's communication, and the letter from Mohammed Jaffier, and heard we had come on a scientific mission only and not on a retributory visit, he mellowed considerably, and through our interpreter returned his thanks for the letter we had brought from the Resident of Aden. He accorded us permission to visit any part of the island we desired. Our present he accepted with little effusion, and by a gesture consigned it to one of his relations near him, as if the receiving of "bukshish" was too common an occurrence to necessitate his even touching or looking at it. Mrs. Theodore Bent had advised us to obtain as guides two Sokotri, Amr and Ali, who had accompanied her hasband and herself and been very useful to them during their visit to Sokotra. On making a request for their services from the Sultan, both men, strange to say, were standing close by me among


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 Casebourne, I., Davies, C., Fernandes, M., Norman, N. (2012) Assessing the accuracy and quality of Wikipedia entries compared to popular online encyclopaedias: A comparative preliminary study across disciplines in English, Spanish and Arabic. Epic, Brighton, UK. Retrieved from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EPIC_Oxford_report.pdf

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Licence http://creativecommons.org/licences/by-sa/3.0/

Supplementary information Additional information, datasets and supplementary materials from this study can be found at: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Accuracy_and_quality_of_Wikipedia_entries/Data 2

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Rh composed of numerous low bushes not exceeding two to three feet, became more abundant, in some places even dense, with trees seven to eight feet high. Among them, up from about 300 feet to nearly the summit, I gathered a small and very elegant asclepiad, a species of Cochlanthus (C. scotranus), and noted the remarkable Euphorbia described as E. Abdelkuri by Professor Balfour on page 529, and figured on the page opposite. The strong yellow webs of the large beautifully marked spider referred to above {Argyope clarkii) were met with all up the mountain side, very aggravatingly moored across the open passages between the trees. Several other inconspicuous arachiu'ds were also collected, of which a full account by Mr. Pocock is to be found in a subsequent section. Under nearly every stone, and often several inches deep in the soil beneath them, in the crevices of the rocks and on the twigs of the shrubs we found numerous land-shells, assignable in all to nine species belonging to the genera Buliminus, Tropidophora and Lithidion. On the summit the rock crannies were tenanted by crowds of a specially charming though minute form Lithidion gratum, its coral-red interior conspicuous against the white limestone. Of these nine species four have proved new to science. Three or four species of scorpion, one centipede and the gigantic Scolopendra balfouri, Plate xxvi. (which was found first in Sokotra by Balfour), together with a few beetles, indicate the chief invertebrates taken by us on Gebel Saleh. Within a few feet of the summit I found two rare ferns : Schweinfurth's Asplenium, and in faultless condition Balfour's beautiful Maiden-hair (Adiantum Balouri). A diminutive linear-leaved purple Iris (Romulea edulis), a dwarf Asphodel (Asphodelus tennifolius), and a slendei' ground-orchid {Hahniana sorotrana), together with a long spiked Orobanche {0. abi/miiica) hidden away in a deep recess under a cliff, flourished well on the scanty soil. The limestone is first seen resting on the granitoid and gneissic rocks at an elevation of about 700 to 800 feet. The uppermost limestone strata seemed to me to repose on a lower unconformable series, inclined to them at a considerable angle, as seen in the accompanying view of Gebel 8aleh (p. xxx.) photographed from the shore. On the shore near oui' landing place I picked up several nodules of a water-worn, amber-like gum or resin, which certainly was not an obvious product of the island, foi' no gum-producing trees, save euphorbias, were anywhere seen by us. These fragments were most prol:)ably, therefore, washed out of the soil or sea-borne to Abd-el-Kuri. I had expected them to prove to l)e a copal, drifted, perhaps, from the Copal Coast, l)ut from an analysis which has lieen made, it seems to be neither true copal nor true aml)er l)ut to possess some of the characters of l)oth. Its true origin and haltitat must for the present remain an open question. The " amber of good (piality," which Duarte Barljosa mentions as found in this island, refers with little doubt to the ambergris, or " grey ambei' " l)tained from the Sperm- whale. The natives complained that they suffered gi'catly from fever, induration of the liver, and, especially their children, from dysentery, and begged for medicine. I administered quinine and ipecacuanha to several of those who


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1. Introduction

Previous studies, most notably the one carried out by the journal Nature in 2005, have sought to compare the quality of Wikipedia articles with that of similar articles in other online Encyclopaedias. In part as a result of the findings of such studies, Wikipedia has instigated a number of processes for assessing the quality of its entries, inviting readers and editors to rate articles according to criteria such as trustworthiness, neutrality, completeness and readability. Recently, Wikipedia's founder Jimmy Wales highlighted the value of conducting a study which analysed articles across both languages and subjects to allow differences in levels of accuracy and quality across language and subject domains to be identified. The results could inform editor recruitment efforts and the design of expert feedback mechanisms.

The size, scope and complexity of undertaking such a large-scale study necessitated gathering preliminary evidence to inform the methodology and design. It was therefore decided that a small-scale preliminary project would be essential to determine a sound research methodology, which is the reason that the present pilot study was undertaken. The present study, funded by the Wikimedia Foundation, presents the background, methodology, results and findings of a preliminary pilot conducted by Epic, a UK-based e-learning company, in partnership with the University of Oxford.

2. Aims and Objectives

The key aims of this pilot study are as follows:

1. To explore the opinion of expert reviewers regarding attributes relating to the accuracy, quality and style of a sample of Wikipedia across a range of languages and disciplines.

2. To compare the accuracy, quality, style, references and judgment of Wikipedia entries as rated by experts to analogous entries from popular online alternative encyclopaedias in the same language.

3. To explore the viability of the methods used in respect of the first two aims for a possible future study on a larger scale.

3. Research Methodology

Three languages were selected for study: English, Spanish and Arabic. Pairs of articles in those languages were selected in the following broad disciplinary areas: (a) Humanities, (b) Social Sciences, (c) Mathematics, Physics and Life Sciences and (d) Medical Sciences. Each pair consisted of an article from Wikipedia, and an article from one of a range of comparator online encyclopaedias: Encyclopaedia Britannica (English), Enciclonet (Spanish), Mawsoah and Arab Encyclopaedia (Arabic).

Twenty-four postgraduate students of the University of Oxford were selected to help review pairs of articles and to identify academic experts in their fields who would be recruited to review the same pairs of articles. Thirty-three academic experts were finally recruited. All 5

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Rh catamaran of three narrow logs of wood lashed together, with his legs dangling in the water, by which to paddle himself about the bay. It seems that the chief employment of the people is as divers for pearl-shell on the Bacchus Bank to the north-east of the island, on the boats of shellers who come probably from Zanzibar, Arabia, or India. The diver descends to the sea floor holding to a line weighted by a heavy stone on which he stands, his nostrils being closed by a small wooden spring-clamp or pincers. At the end of his 'turn' he drops the stone and is pulled to the surface.

Next day we explored to the left of the anchorage, paying a visit to the only native hamlet, so far as we could learn, on the island. The dwellings were extremely poor. All were more or less circular in shape—the simplest form and the easiest to construct—three to four yards in diameter, and composed of unhewn blocks of coral and rough conglomerate stone piled one upon the other. A longer stone for lintel carried the superstructure over the single small squared orifice which served for door, which, with the interstices in the wall, took the place also of chimney and windows. The roof was flat and composed of brushwood, over which was laid a layer of clay, or occasionally a covering of mats or skins. The approach to the door was protected by a double cheval de frise of thorny brushwood four to five yards in length. The doorway of most of the huts faced south-east toward the hills, which would protect them from the driving rains of the west monsoon. The door itself was a mere wicker-work hurdle. Some of the dwellings contained several women and children, of whom, while the older ladies were indifferent to the prying eyes of the Feringhee, the younger hastily and with some alarm drawing a garment over the lower part of the face, retreated into the obscurity of their abode as I peeped within the door. Round every hut lay numbers of large turtle carapaces (each with an oblong hole in the middle of its back, for what purpose cut I do not know), from which the 'shell' had been stripped. Near many of the huts also lay baskets full of dark coloured muscovite, in large crystals, but for what use it was collected I could not discover.

The dress of these people, who can hardly number more than two or three score souls all told, consisted, among the men, of the ordinary turban round the head from the forehead to the nape of the neck ; a loose cotton jacket buttoned down the front, and a cotton cloth, girt about the loins, hanging down to the ankles from a supporting belt ; over the shoulder they carried an extra cotton cloth, whose fashionable pattern was red and white check. Of the women we got only a glimpse, l)tit their principal garment was the long thobe, worn slightly open at the throat, reaching down to the ankles. Some of the men wore sandals, but the majority went about barefooted.

Scattered over the stony strath and everywhere all around the base, and on the lower slopes of the archæan hills in the interior up to about 60 or 70 feet, I observed much marine detritus, consisting of pieces of sponge, coral fragments and fields of dead mollusca—the most conspicuous and abundant being a large species of limpet with perforated apex (Fisurella)—as if an enormous wave had swept over the lower part of the island at no distant period and left this jetsam behind. A reef-limestone of Pleistocene


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 heavily censored and was therefore excluded as it would possibly confound the research results. The three languages selected at the end of this process were:

These languages offer a range of numbers of total articles and average edits per article for Wikipedia, as shown in Table 3.1 below:

3.1.2 Selection of Comparison Encyclopaedias in Each of the Languages

The criteria for the selection of the comparison encyclopaedia in each of the three languages were as follows:

Essential Criteria:

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562 Among the genera that move erect without crouching in the vicinity of their prey, and catch it upon surfaces below their level, and which are commonly effaced as to their top contours, by white in their costume, are herons, cranes, pelicans and the omnivorous swans, geese and ducks. And a similar use of white effaces the rear view of an immense number of widely separated members of the animal kingdom which tend to be seen by their pursuers against the sky. Among these are hares, deer and antelopes, ground-nesting birds that commonly spring on wing from the nest on being flushed, such as waders, ducks and geese, many passerines, and such hawks as nest on the ground. These all wear some white rump or tail pattern, which obliterates them in the most magical way, against the sky, exactly while, in getting under way, they are for a fateful instant within springing reach of the cougar, lynx or fox that, with head close to the ground, has crept up to them. White patterns abound on aerial passerines in general, but even white wing bars are lacking from such as keep so close to the ground that no enemy sees them against the sky. And among small rodents none has top-white unless, like the jerboa, he jumps high enough to be seen by his pursuer against the sky.

Now, while these white top patterns seem to be universally employed wherever they can be of the above service, on the other hand, they are conspicuously lacking from the rears of such ground-nesters as habitually run, instead of flying from the nest, and thereby avoid showing against the sky, to terrestrial eyes. Such are gallinaceous birds, tinamou, rails and many other sedge-haunting species. (Gallinules whose upturned tails present, as they fly, a white sky-picture, probably keep their tails down when they slink from their nest.)

The white patterns on the breasts of several kinds of bear, which Mr. Pocock has classed as warning colors, serve perfectly the same obliterative purpose that we find in all the rest of upward-facing white patterns. (These patterns face upward when the bear stands erect, i. e., face upward to the degree necessary for catching top light.) Now, we find that for recognition a monochrome silhouette, especially in a thicket, is far superior to a patterned one (see Fig. 8), and also we have small grounds for thinking that such bears, when standing erect in the jungle, have need to be afraid of being attacked by mistake by any of their neighbors that would avoid them if they recognized them. On the other hand, be the beards object, in thus assuming man's attitude, either aggression or defense, he gets the same general advantage out of escaping detection, and the chance of enjoying this boon is, as we now realize, greatly increased by the chance of this light patch being, at the right moment, just sufficiently illuminated to pass for a sky-hole through the dark mass of shrubbery of which the erect bear forms the dark center. All woodsmen know that when one has followed with the eye some bird


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 possessed doctorates and were employed in academic posts at a highly rated department within a well-established university. All students and academic experts were fluent in the target languages.

A feedback tool was devised for eliciting numerical scores and qualitative comments about the articles, which were reviewed blind by the academics, who were asked to certify that they had not sought out the original articles online during the review process. The feedback tool provided academics with a wide range of quality criteria, drawn from extensive previously published research.

Articles were standardised so as to erase information which helped to identify their origins; in particular, checks were carried out to ensure that a particular article was not the victim of vandalism (although this did not impact on article selection for the present study).

Twenty-two articles were selected in all. Some difficulty was encountered in finding articles of sufficient substance and scope in encyclopaedias paired with Wikipedia in different languages.

4. Data Coding and Analysis

Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed through separate processes. Quantitative data analysis was carried out on the sample overall, in relation to each language separately, and in relation to each disciplinary area separately. Data was coded in five main dimensions: i) accuracy, ii) references, iii) style/ readability, iv) overall judgment (including citability), v) overall quality score.

Qualitative analysis was initially carried out blind, and involved the reduction and display of reviewers' comments so that these could be compared with one another, in relation to specific articles, pairs of articles and across the sample as a whole. The qualitative analysis aimed to capture both the opinions of reviewers about specific aspects of the articles, and their overall judgments about each individually and in comparison with the other in the pair.

5. Results

All of the results outlined below are based on a small sample studied for the purposes of piloting the study's approach and methods, and these results cannot therefore be generalised to the wider output of the online encyclopaedias referred to.

Quantitative results for the articles reviewed show that the Wikipedia articles in this sample scored higher overall than the comparison articles with respect to accuracy, references, style/ readability and overall judgment. The scores for the latter item, which includes citability, indicated that none of the encyclopaedias were rated highly by academics in terms of suitability for citation in academic publications.

Results across languages showed that Wikipedia fared well in this sample against Encyclopaedia Britannica in terms of accuracy, references and overall judgement, but no better on style and overall quality score. The same was true of Enciclonet, but the Arabic encyclopaedias scored significantly higher on style than Wikipedia and equally well on the other criteria. 6

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620 in three tiers. These rooms are small and usually dark, the only entrance being often a small doorway which served also for window and chimney.

The kivas, one of which is shown in the illustration, are curious structures, probably survivals of pit-houses of an antecedent people. Two walls enclose the circular room, on the inner of which rest six pedestals which support the roof beams consisting of cedar logs cut with stone axes. The fire-place is in the floor and there is a second depression which is a symbolic opening into the under-world. In addition to the kivas there are two other circular rooms and several rectangular rooms, which were probably used for ceremonial purposes. There is also a mortuary room, in which several skeletons have been found.

The culture was apparently self-centered; the people were farmers, timid, industrious and superstitious; they seem never to have ventured far from home and seldom met strangers; the language they spoke is unknown.

regret to record the death of Dr. William Torry Harris, for many years U. S. Commissioner of Education and eminent for his contributions to education and philosophy.

The Copley medal of the Royal Society has been awarded to Dr. G. W. Hill, the eminent American astronomer.—Dr. Theodore W. Richards, professor of chemistry at Harvard University, has been elected a corresponding member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.—Professor J. H. Van Amringe, head of the department of mathematics in Columbia University, and dean of the college, will retire from active service at the end of the present academic year, when he will have completed fifty years of service for the institution and reached his seventy-fifth birthday.

has given the sum of $1,000,000 to combat the hookworm disease and has selected a commission to administer the fund which includes Dr. William H. Welch, professor of pathology in Johns hopkins University; Dr. Simon Flexner, director of Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, and Dr. Ch. Wardell Stiles, chief of the division of zoology, United States Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, discoverer of the prevalence of the disease in America.

the will of John Stewart Kennedy, the banker of New York City, who died on October 31, in his eightieth year, bequests are made for public purposes amounting to some $30,000,000. The bequests depend on the size of the estate and the amounts are conservative estimates. They include seven bequests of $2,225,000 each, respectively, for Columbia University, the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, and to three of the boards of the Presbyterian Church; of $1,500,000 to Robert College, Constantinople, and to the United Charities of New York; $750,000 to New York University and the Charity Organization Society of New York for its School of Philanthropy; $100,000 to the University of Glasgow, Yale University, Amherst College, Williams College, Dartmouth College, Bowdoin College, Hamilton College, the Protestant College at Beirut, the Tuskegee Institute and Hampden Institute; $50,000 to Lafayette College, Oberlin College, Wellesley College, Barnard College (Columbia University), Teachers College (Columbia University), Elmira College, Northfield Seminary, Berea College, Mt. Hermon Boys' School and Anatolia College, Turkey; $25,000 to Lake Forest University and Center College; $20,000 to Cooper Union. There are also a number of other bequests to hospitals and charities.


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chief object of the following pages is to indicate some of the earliest ideas of mankind, as they are reflected in Ancient Law, and to point out the relation of those ideas to modern thought. Much of the inquiry attempted could not have been prosecuted with the slightest hope of a useful result if there had not existed a body of law, like that of the Romans, bearing in its earliest portions the traces of the most remote antiquity and supplying from its later rules the staple of the civil institutions by which modern society is even now controlled. The necessity of taking the Roman law as a typical system, has compelled the author to draw from it what may appear a disproportionate number of his illustrations; but it has not been his intention to write a treatise on Roman jurisprudence, and he has as much as possible avoided all discussions which might give that

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vi to his work. The space allotted in the Third and Fourth Chapters to certain philosophical theories of the Roman Jurisconsults, has been appropriated to them for two reasons. In the first place, those theories appear to the author to have had a much wider and more permanent influence on the thought and action of the world than is usually supposed. Secondly, they are believed to be the ultimate source of most of the views which have been prevalent, till quite recently, on the subjects treated of in this volume. It was impossible for the author to proceed far with his undertaking, without stating his opinion on the origin, meaning, and value of those speculations.

H.S.M.

London: January, 1861.

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There's an error here, the Table of Contents actually starts on page 3. I suppose we leave the error in? -Pete (talk) 01:43, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

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 Results across disciplines showed that Wikipedia scored higher in this sample in terms of provision of references in humanities-based articles, but no differences were apparent in terms of the other criteria, as was also the case with articles in mathematics, physics and life sciences. There was a similar result for articles in social sciences, but with higher scores on style/ readability for the other encyclopaedias. In medical science articles, Wikipedia scored significantly higher on accuracy, references and overall judgment, but there were no differences on the other criteria.

Qualitative results for this sample showed similar findings, but also revealed the importance to reviewers of articles possessing a sense of cohesiveness and structure. Although many Wikipedia articles in the sample were commented on favourably, they were criticised in some cases for lacking cohesiveness and for internal inconsistencies and repetition. Reviewers were particularly approving of articles that presented an engaging and coherent introduction to a topic, rather than excessive amounts of information.

The same differences seen in the quantitative analysis were evident in the qualitative with respect to different languages. In terms of different disciplines, small differences in terms of favoured quality criteria were evident, such as an emphasis on the notion of conciseness in the science-based article reviews.

6. Discussion

In many respects, the methodological approach had proved productive and workable on the small scale of the present study. But it was recognised that there were difficulties (even on this small scale) in terms of identifying appropriate articles, recruiting a sufficient range of reviewers, and anonymising articles which, if the study were to be carried out on a far larger scale, would possibly prove hard to surmount. Therefore, it is recommended that the viability of a larger study of this kind in the future should be considered cautiously, and that consideration might be given instead to carrying out a series of more compact studies of this kind over time.

It is also recommended that more research might be carried out on what is reasonable and appropriate to expect of online encyclopaedia content. It was clear from this study that, while many academics spoke in positive terms about a high proportion of articles reviewed from all encyclopaedias, it was not the case that they were inclined to regard these as being citable in academic publications alongside peer-reviewed journals and published books. We recommend that more research is done on how users interpret and make sense of content from online encyclopaedias in general and from Wikipedia in particular.

Overall, the Wikipedia articles in this very small sample, investigated as part of a pilot study only in this instance, fared well in comparison with articles from other encyclopaedias. While no generalisations can be made from this outcome, these findings do help to point researchers in future studies towards investigation of the unique qualities of Wikipedia, as a source of knowledge that was shown in the small number of instances studied here at least to be capable of producing articles that were markedly up to date and well referenced. 7

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The investigators of this study are grateful to all the academic and student experts from all parts of the world who participated in the study and undertook the reviewing of the articles with great rigour. The investigators gratefully acknowledge those who helped in the selection of the encyclopaedias and articles in Arabic and Spanish, and in the standardisation and anonymisation of the articles before review.

The investigators are thankful to the Clarendon Scholars Council, the Spanish and Latin American Societies, the Middle East Centre and the Khalil Research Institute, the Medical Sciences Division and the Middle Common Rooms of various colleges of the University of Oxford for their help in recruitment.

The investigators appreciate all those students and academics at the University of Oxford who expressed an interest in the study and thank them all for their overwhelming enthusiasm.

The investigators are grateful to the Department of Education at the University of Oxford and to Exeter College for hosting various aspects of the study.

The investigators are grateful to the Wikimedia Foundation for granting the funding to carry out this study. 8

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