Bielozero
a lake 25 miles long by 20 miles broad, in the province of Novgorod, Russia; named from its milky appearance, caused by the wash of the chalk formation of its bed. It has an outlet into the Volga by the river Sheksua. BIELSHÖHLE (bēlsʼhe-la), a stalactite cavern in the Harz Mountains, on the right bank of the Bode. It was discovered about 1672, but first made accessible in 1788. Its entrance is 108 feet above the bed of the stream; and its total length is 230 yards.
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Bienne
or BIEL, a town of Switzerland, canton of Bern, 16 miles N. W. of Bern, beautifully situated at the N. end of the lake of the same name, and at the foot of the Jura. Pop. about 25,000. The lake is about 10 miles long by 3 broad. It receives the waters of Lake Neufchâtel by the Thiel and discharges itself into the Aar.
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Bierstadt
ALBERT, an American painter, born near Düsseldorf, Germany, Jan. 7, 1830; removed with his parents to Salem, Mass., in 1831; began to paint in oils in 1851; and in 1853 returned to Düsseldorf to study his art, spending a winter in Rome, traveling in Italy and Switzerland, and returning to the United States in 1857. In 1859 he accompanied General Lander's expedition to the Rocky Mountains, and studied mountain scenery. He was elected a member of the National Academy in 1860. In 1861 he finished his painting, "Laramie Peak," and in 1863 "View of the Rocky Mountains-Lander's Peak." These at once gave him a high reputation. He received medals in Austria, Bavaria, Belgium, and Germany, ermany, and French, Russian and Turkish orders. rders. Among his best known paintings are "North Fork of the Platte" (1864); "Looking Down the Yosemite" (1865); "Storm on Mt. Rosalie" (1866); "Settlement of California," and "Discovery of the Hudson River," both in the Capitol at Washington; "In the Rocky Mountains" (1871); "Great Trees of California" (1874); "Estes Park, Colorado" (1878); "Storm on the Matterhorn" (1884); "Valley of Zermatt, Switzerland" (1885); "California Oaks" (1886). He died Feb. 18, 1902.
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Bies-Bosch
a marshy sheet of water interspersed with islands, between the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and South Holland, formed in 1421 by an inundation which destroyed 72 villages and 100,000 people.
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Biet
ANTONIO (bēt), a French missionary, in 1652 accompanied 600 colonists to Cayenne, where he remained 18 months. He was the author of "Voyages de la France Equinoxiale" (1664), with a Galibi dictionary at the end. BIÈVRE BIÈVRE (byāv're), MARQUIS DE, born in 1747; served in the corps of the French musketeers, was a life guard of the King of France, and acquired much reputation by his puns and repartees. He is the author of several amusing publications, including "Le Séducteur," a comedy in verse; an "Almanach des Calembourgs," or collection of puns. He died in 1789.
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Biffant
A little-known demon, chief of a legion who entered the body of one Denise de la Caille (q.v.) and who was obliged to sign with his claws the proces verbal of exorcisms.
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Biffin
a variety of excellent kitchen apple, often sold in a dry and flattened state.
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Bifrons
A demon of monstrous guise who, according to Wierius, often took the form of a man well versed in Astrology and planetary influences. He excels in geometry, is acquainted with the virtues of herbs, precious stones and plants, and it is said that he is able to transport corpses from one place to another. He it is also who lights the strange corpse-lights above the tombs of the dead. Twenty six of the infernal regions obey his behests.
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Bifrost
in Northern mythology the name of the bridge represented as stretching between Heaven and Earth (Asgard and Midgard); really the rainbow.
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Big Bethel
a village in Virginia, on the peninsula between the York and James rivers; the scene of a battle, June 10, 1861, between the Federal and Confederate forces. It resulted in the defeat of the Federal army with the loss of about 100 men. Maj. Theodore Winthrop was killed in this battle.
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Big Black River
a river of Mississippi, flowing into the Mississippi at Grand Gulf. Its valley constitutes a fine cotton region 200 miles long. The name is also applied to Black river, in southeastern Arkansas.
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Big Bone Lick
a salt spring, in Boone co., Ky., 11 miles S. of Burlington, where fossil remains of mastodons **and other extinct fauna have been found.
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Big Horn
the haplocerus montanus or wild sheep of the Rocky Mountains, named from the size of its horns, which are 3½ feet long, the animal itself being of the same height at the shoulder. The big horns are gregarious, going in herds of 20 or 30, frequenting the craggiest and most inaccessible rocks, and are wild and untamable. It is called also Rocky Mountain sheep.
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Big Horn Mountains
a range of mountains beginning near the center of Wyoming and running N. into Montana, containing heights of from 8,000 to 12,000 feet, and covering 7,500 square miles.
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Big Horn River
a river of Montana and Wyoming; rises in the Rocky Mountains near Fremont's Peak, and flows N. E. into the Yellowstone. Along its course is some of the grandest mountain scenery in the world. It is navigable in its lower course, and has a total length of 400 miles.
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Big Sandy River
a river forming the boundary between West Virginia and Kentucky, and flowing into the Ohio; having two confluent forks, Tug Fork, that rises in West Virginia, and West Fork, that rises in Kentucky. It is navigable for 100 miles of its lower course; flows through a timber and coal region.
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Big Sioux
a river of South Dakota that flows into the Missouri near Sioux City; it is 285 miles long.
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Big Stone Lake
a large lake of Big Stone co., Minn., drained by the Minnesota river; it is about 25 miles long.
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Bigamy
in civil law: (1) English, the act of marrying a second time, while the first husband or wife is still known to be living. By a law passed in 1276, it was punished with death. In 1603, during the reign of James I., it was made felony, without benefit of clergy. By a law passed in 1794, the capital penalty was modified into imprisonment or transportation. (2) In the United States, the statutory provisions against bigamy or polygamy are in general similar to, and copied from, the statute of James I., excepting as to punishm and the Congressional legislation against those practicing polygamy as a part of their religious belief. Under the Federal laws, bigamy in the Territories is punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years and a fine not exceeding $500. The different States vary in the punishment attached to the crime. In many States fines are imposed in addition to a prison sentence and a failure to pay the fine results in a lengthening of the sentence.
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