Dartmoor

an elevated tableland and royal forest in Devonshire, England. The forest contains about 400 square miles. The moor lies about 2,00 feet above the sea, and is bleak, but affords pasturage and peat cuttings. Some of the peat beds are 20 feet deep. Many of the ravines are fertile, and afford fine trout fishing. Dartmoor is noted for a number of prehistoric ruins. A large number of American sailors and soldiers were confined in Dartmoor prison during the Revolutionary War. A number were shot in an attempt to get away after rumors of peace had been heard. This unfortunate event has been stigmatized as the "Dartmoor Massacre." The inclosure embraces about thirty acres. It is surrounded by two high stone walls, and is now in use as a convict prison. See England

Dartmouth (dart'muth) College, one of the earliest seats of learning in New England. It grew out of a school at Lebanon, Connecticut, for Indian boys. With $50,000 raised in England and a grant of 44,000 acres of land, the school was moved to Hanover, New Hampshire. In 1770 Eleazer Wheelock became the first president. The college was named for Lord Dartmouth, one of the liberal donors of money. The college has always been governed by a board of twelve trustees, acting under a charter granted by George III. In 1816 the state undertook to control the institution. The trustees brought suit. Daniel Webster carried the famous case from court to court, obtaining finally a decision from no less a jurist than Chief Justice Marshall, sustaining the inviolability of the royal charter, and leaving Dartmouth in the hands of the old trustees. Modern opinion runs to the effect that the decision is based largely on sentiment. The college occupies a beautiful site near the bank of the Connecticut. Buildings, new and old, and fine avenues of elms give an air of refinement to the grounds. The college is open to men only. In addition to the traditional classical school there are schools of science, medicine, and civil engineering. The present value of the property is between three and four millions. There are about seventy professors, and well on toward a thousand students. A host of distinguished graduates have taken a part in the affairs of New England and in the empire building of the West.