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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Single-source entries: B (73)
These 18 listings are so strange that each appears in only one of the 7 encyclopedias we compared. They include such classics as Biet, Biffant, Biffin.
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.
Only in An Encyclopaedia of Occultism
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.
Only in An Encyclopaedia of Occultism
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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Bigelow
ERASTUS BRIGHAM, an American inventor, born in Boylston, Mass., April 2, 1814; became a leading manufacturer in Clinton, Mass.; invented looms for suspender weaving, for counterpanes, for coach lace and for carpets; and pu published a text book on shorthand writing, "The Tariff Question" (1862), and other works. He died in Boston, Dec. 6, 1879.
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Bigelow (JOHN an American author born)
JOHN, an American author, born in Malden, N. Y., Nov. 25, 1817; graduated at Union College, in 1835, and became first a lawyer and afterward a journalist. In 1845-1846 he was inspector of Sing Sing prison; of the in 1849-1861 one of the editors New York "Evening Post"; in 1861-1864, United States Consul-General at Paris; JOHN BIGELOW and in 1864-1867, Minister to France. He was Secretary of State of New York in 1875-1877. In his will Samuel J. Tilden appointed him his biographer and one of the three trustees of the bulk of his estate, set apart for the establishment of a public library in New York City. Mr. Bigelow was elected President of the consolidated Board of Trustees of the library and appointed Chairman of the Executive Committee. His works include "Molinos the Quietist," "France and the Confederate Navy," "Life of William Cullen Bryant," "Life of Samuel J. Tilden," "Some Recollectons of Edouard Laboulaye," "A Life of Franklin." In 1885 he published "The Writings and Speeches of Samuel J. Tilden," and in 1888 "The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin," "Retrospection of an Active Life" (1909). He died in 1911.
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