Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/805

Rh him command of a flotilla, consisting of four ves- sels, to explore Yucatan, which Hernandez de Cor- dova had just discovered, and he sailed from Ha- vana, 1 May, 1518. After a successful fight with Indians at the place where Cordova had been de- feated, he continued his route westward, keeping close to the land. The farther he advanced .the more cultivated and populous the land appeared, and, some one having exclaimed that he seemed to be in a new Spain, that name was given to the en- tire country. He afterward penetrated into the country for a short distance, ascending the river of Tabasco, which is still called after his name, and then continued his course along the coast. He traded with the inhabitants, and learned that he was indebted for his friendly reception to the or- ders of a powerful monarch, named Montezuma. The sight of such rich countries had inspired Gri- jalva with the desire of taking possession of them, but he was restrained by the orders of Velasquez, who had expressly enjoined him not to make any settlement. Nevertheless he decided to despatch a vessel to Cuba, with an account of his discoveries and with the precious metals he had collected. Af- ter sailing still farther to the north, he returned to Havana, where he arrived on 10 Nov. Noticing preparations in a neighboring harbor for a new ex-, pedition, he thought that he was to be given com- mand ; but Velasquez reproached him bitterly for not planting colonies. The command of the new expedition was given to Cortes. Grijalva afterward settled in Nicaragua, and was slain during an up- rising of the Indians in the valley of Ulancha.

GRILLET, Jean, French missionary, b. in France about 1630 ; d. in Guiana about 1675. He was a member of the Jesuit society, and was su- perior of the Jesuit house in Cayenne in 1666 when the English became masters of that colony. He did nottake refuge among the savages, like many of his brethren. In 1673 a father-visitor of the so- ciety arrived in Cayenne, and appointed Grillet to go on a mission among the Indian tribes that were most distant from the sea, in order to collect in- . formation about their habits and state of civiliza- tion, as well as about the geography of the coun- try. Grillet asked that Father Francois Bechamel should be his companion, as the latter thoroughly understood the Galibi language. The two mission- aries supplied themselves -with the instruments necessary for taking observations, as well as all the requisites for drawing a map of their route, and set out, 25 Jan., 1674. "After many fatigues, which ultimately ruined their health, they reached a point 420 miles southwest of Cayenne, and found them- selves among a people who had never before seen a European. They returned on 17 June. Father Grillet sent a narrative of his journey to France, accompanied by a letter dated 2 Sept., 1674. It was published "under the title "' Journal du voy- age qu'ont fait les peres Jean Grillet et Francois Bechamel dans la Guyane, I'an 1674." It was in- serted in the second volume of Gomberville's •' Re- lation de la riviere des Amazones" (Paris, 1682). and afterward in the " Voyage around the World " of Woods Rogers (Amsterdam, 1716). It contains the first account of the savages of Guiana.

GRIMES, Bryan, soldier, b. in Pitt county, N. C, 2 Nov., 1828 ; d. near Bear Creek. Pitt co., N. C, 14 Aug., 1880. His grandfather, William, was a patriot of the Revolution. Bryan was graduated at the University of North Carolina in 1848. and engaged in planting until he entered the Confederate army in 1861 as major of the 4th North Carolina regiment. He served throughout the war, and attained the rank of senior major-general in "Stonewall" Jackson's corps, his division making the last charge at Appomattox. After the war he returned to agricultural pursuits. While driving at nightfall along the public road, two miles from his residence, he was fired upon and killed. The assassin was never discovered, but was supposed to be a sympathizer with the accused in a criminal suit in which Gen. Grimes was an important witness.

GRIMES, James Wilson, statesman, b. in Deer- ing, Hillsborough co., N. H., 20 Oct., 1816 ; d. in Burlington, Iowa, 7 Feb., 1872. He was graduated at Dartmouth in 1836, and in the same year went west and began to practise law in Burlington, Iowa, then in what was known as the " Black Hawk Pur- chase," in the territory of Michigan. From 4 July, 1836, till 12 June, 1838, it was part of Wisconsin territory, and in 1837-'8 Mr. Grimes was assistant librarian of the territorial library. After the for- mation of Iowa territory he was a delegate to its assembly in 1838 and 1843, and in 18^, -after its admission to the Union, was a member of the legis- lature. He was governor of the state in 1854-'8, having been elected by Whigs and Free-soil Demo- crats, and while holding the office did much to fos- ter Free-soil sentiment in his state. On 28 Aug., 1856, he wrote an official letter to President Pierce protesting against the treatment of Iowa settlers in Kansas. He was elected to the U. S. senate as a Republican in 1859, and re-elected in 1865. His first speech, delivered on 30 Jan., 1860, was a reply to Robert Toombs, who had accused Iowa of pass- ing laws in Aj^olation of the rights of sister states, and after this he spoke frequently, and was known as a hard-working member of the senate. In 1861 he was a delegate to the peace convention. He was- a member of the committee on naval affairs from 24 Jan., 1861, till the end of his service, and was its- chairman from December, 1864. He strongly ad- vocated the building of iron-clads. and the abandonment of stone fortifications for harbor defence. Mr. Grimes was noted for his independence of character, which frequently brought him into conflict with his party associates in the senate. Thus, although he favored a vigorous prosecution of the war, he considered President Lincoln's enlargement of the regular army in 1861 a dangerous precedent, and later he opposed a high protective-tariff. In the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, Mr. Grimes was one of the few Republican senators who voted " not guilty," and this act brought upon him a storm of condemnation which lasted but a short time, owing to the evident fact that his vote had been strictly in accordance with what he considered his duty! Mr. Grimes had a stroke of paralysis in 1869. and in April of that year went abroad, resigning his seat in the senate on 6 Dec. He returned m September, 1871. apparently improved, but died soon afterward of heart disease. Mr. Grimes founded a professorship at Iowa college, at Grinnell. and gave money for scholarships there and at Dartmouth, receiving the degree of LL. D. from both colleges. He also established a free public library in Burlington, Iowa. See " Life of .James W. Grimes." by William Salter (New York, 1876).

GRIMKÉ, John Faucheraud, jurist, b. in South Carolina, 16 Dec., 1752; d. in Long Branch, N. J., 9 Aug., 1819. He studied law in London, and was one of the Americans there who petitioned George III. against the measures that infringed on colonial rights. He returned home at the beginning of hostilities, and fought through the Revolution as lieutenant-colonel of artillery. He was elected a judge of the superior court in 1783,