Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/279

Rh prophecy and miracles. In less than three months he converted more than 10,000 Indians in the province of Tubara. Leaving some of his companions to complete his work, he next went among the Indians of Cipacoa, whom he found threatened with famine, owing to the absence of rain. This danger having been averted, as the natives believed, by the prayers of the missionary, they all embraced Christianity. After attempting unsuccessfully to evangelize the Caribs, he turned his attention to the savages of the St. Martha mountains, whom, to the number of 15,000, he formed into a civilized community. Similar results attended his labors in the province of Monpox and in the island of St. Thomas. Although his efforts to Christianize the natives were hindered by some of his countrymen whose vices he denounced, he succeeded in converting all the Indians of New Grenada. He then decided on returning to Spain, with the object of enlisting novices for the American mission. But the entreaties of the Indians, combined with his election as prior of the convent of Santa-Fe-de-Bogota, changed his plans. He set out from Carthagena; but the vessel which carried him was wrecked on an island in the Magdalena, and he was obliged to return. Here he was met by a summons from the general of the Dominicans to return to Europe. A few days later he put to sea, reaching Valencia in the month of October, 1569. He was placed at the head of a novitiate, and spent the rest of his life in training missionaries for the Indian mission.

BESSELS, Emil, scientist, b. in Heidelberg, Germany, 2 June, 1847; d. in Stuttgart, 30 March, 1888. He was educated at the university of his native place, was made an assistant at the Royal museum of Stuttgart, and there became interested in arctic discovery. In 1869 he made the voyage with August Petermann into waters between Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla. By his observations he traced the influence of the gulf stream east of Spitzbergen, adding to the scanty knowledge of that region. He was chief of the scientific department of the &ldquo;Polaris&rdquo; expedition of 1870–'3, and in 1876 edited the first three volumes of scientific results of that expedition, devoted to hydrography, meteorology, and astronomy. He was also in the expedition of Dorst and Weyprecht, and edited reports of the U. S. naval institute. Dr. Bessels returned to Washington, where he prepared articles on arctic and zoological subjects, and projected a work on the Eskimo, but all his manuscripts were destroyed by fire in 1885. Soon after he sailed for his native land, where he settled in Stuttgart, occupying his time in literary pursuits, in the study of art, and in geographical instruction and lectures.

BETANCOURT, Agustin (bay-tahn-coor'), Mexican monk of the Franciscan order, b. in the city of Mexico in 1620; d. in 1700. He was an excellent scholar and a famous teacher of the Mexican language. Among his works are "Arte de Lengua Mejicana," "Via Crucis," in Mexican, and "Cronografia sacra." The best is his "Teatro Mejicano," a rich chronicle of Mexican history down to about the end of the 17th century.

BETANCOURT, José Ramon, Cuban lawyer, b. in Puerto Principe, Cuba, in 1823; d. 24 June, 1890. He was educated in Havana, and in 1847 was admitted to the bar. In 1869 he removed to Madrid, Spain, where he represented Cuba several times in the Spanish Cortes. He published a novel entitled "Una Feria de la Caridad," a well-drawn picture of Cuban customs and manners. His other works-are "Cartera de Viajes," "Juicios criticos," and "Polemicas y otras Cosas."

BETANZOS, Domingo de (bay-tan'-thos). missionary, b. in Leon, Spain, in 1480; d. in Valladolid, 10 Sept., 1549. He was educated at the university of Salamanca, and spent whatever time he could spare from his studies in visiting the hospitals and in other charitable offices. At the end of his course he sold his possessions, distributed the proceeds among the poor, and begged his way to a hermitage in Catalonia. He led a solitary life for some months, and then set out for Rome, to consult the pope on his future vocation. From Rome he went to the island of Ponzo, near Naples, where he lived for five years, seeing nobody but a fisherman who brought him the vegetables that formed his sole support. He finally became a Dominican in the convent of St. Stephen, Salamanca, and was sent to Santo Domingo. After studying the language of the natives, he devoted himself to their conversion. He excited the hostility of the Spaniards by his efforts to protect the Indians from their cruelty. After a stay of twelve years in Santo Domingo he was summoned to Mexico, where the mission of the Dominicans was almost ruined, all its members having died except two. The preaching of Father de Betanzos was so effective with several young Spaniards, who had come to America in search of riches, that he soon had a large number of novices. He founded a convent of his order in the city of Mexico, and afterward, as every vessel that touched on the coast afforded him recruits, was able to found others in the cities of Tlascala, Puebla, and Oaxaca. Satisfied that his followers would complete his work in Mexico, he set out on a journey of 300 miles for Guatemala, with two companions, travelling on foot. He did not remain long in Guatemala, having been recalled to Mexico in 1530; but during his stay he built a church and convent and made such an impression upon the natives that his name was afterward a protection to other missionaries. The reason of his recall was a claim set up by the Dominican province of Santo Domingo to jurisdiction over the convents of the order in Mexico. Father de Betanzos was sent to Rome to defend the rights of the province of Mexico, was successful, and on his return was elected the first provincial of the province of Santiago of Mexico. His next step was to establish a college for the study of the Indian dialects, which varied not only in different provinces, but in different villages. He also erected schools in the pueblas with the same object. He was named bishop of Guatemala, but declined the appointment. His death occurred as he was returning from Rome, where he had gone on a mission connected with the affairs of his order.

BETANZOS, Pedro (bay-tan'-thos), Spanish missionary, b. in Betanzos, Galicia, Spain, early in the 16th century; d. in Chomez, Nicaragua, in 1570. He was the first missionary that went to Central America, and founded the province of Nicaragua. In eight years he learned fourteen Indian languages in Central America, and then went to Mexico to learn Mexican. He also was the first missionary that, in his sermons and teachings to Indians, substituted the Spanish word "Dios" (God) for the Indian "Cabovil." This course was opposed by other missionaries, and created much discussion between the Dominicans and Franciscans of Guatemala; but Betanzos's opinion prevailed.

BETETA, Gregorio (bay-tay-tah), Spanish missionary, b. in Leon, Spain, about 1500; d. in Toledo in 1562. At the age of seventeen he began his novitiate in the convent of St. Stephen, Salamanca. He finished his course in the university of the same city, and, after gaining distinction as