Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/335

Rh the Araucanians, and built in 1608-'10 a stone bridge over Riraac river tiiat is still in existence. In 1611 he constructed the municipal palace and the public promenade of Los Descalzos, and in the next year he prohibited the distribution of Indi- ans for the service of the viceroy, the supreme judges, and other superior officers. When in 1615 a Dutch fleet under Admiral Spilberg entered the Pacific, he prepared everything for resistance, threw up defensive works in Callao, and sent a fleet under his nephew. Rodrigo de Mendoza, to en- counter Spilberg, but during a night action near Pisco on 17 July one of the Spanish ships was sunk by their own flag-ship. On 21 July, Spilberg appeared before Callao. but after a short cannon- ade left for Paita, and afterward for the Philip- pines. Notwithstanding the repeated petitions of citizens against Mendoza's removal, the Prince of Esquilaehe, Francisco de Borja {q. v.), was appoint- ed his successor, and Mendoza delivered the gov- ernment to him, 18 Dec, 1615. He returned to Spain and was appointed councillor of state, and afterward president of the council of Aragonia. He was the author of noteworthy sacred poems, which have not been printed, but the manuscript of several were found in the archives of Mexico. He also wrote " Ordenanzas para el mejor beneficio de las minas de la N. E." (Mexico, 1G06).

MENEES, Thomas, physician, b. near Nashville, Tenn., 26 June, 1823. He was graduated in medicine at Transylvania university in 1846, and practised in Springfield, Tenn., and after 1865 in Nashville. In 1874 he was chosen professor of materia medica and therapeutics in the University of Nashville, and in 1875 he was transferred to the chair of obstetrics. He was also elected to the same place in Vanderbilt university in this year, and became dean of its medical department. Dr. Menees was a member of the state senate in 1857, and of the Confederate congress during the civil war. He has made numerous contributions to medical literature.

MÉNIER, Joseph Henry (main-yay), French missionary, b. in Louviers in 1590 ; d. in Fort Royal, Martinique, in 1671. He became a Domini- can friar, and went to St. Christopher in 1635 as a missionary, and afterward to Martinique, where he became superior of the missions of his order. He did much to colonize the latter island, built churches and colleges, dug canals, improved lands, and in many ways contributed to its welfare. He made several trips to Europe to promote emigra- tion to Martinique, and was successful also in ob- taining supplies of all kinds. He published " De- scription de I'ile d'Amerique appelee La Marti- nique " (2 vols., Paris, 1650) ; " Dictionnaire de la langue Caraibe" (1652) ; "' Grammaire de la langue Caraibe" (1652) ; and " Voyage aux iles du vent et sous le vent par un missionnaire de l'ordre des freres precheurs" (2 vols., 1659).

MENKEN, Adah Isaacs, actress, b. near New Orleans, La., 15 June, 1835; died in Paris, 10 Aug., 1868. Her father was a Spanish Jew, and her mother a native of Bordeaux. Her maiden name was Dolores Adios Fuertes. When seven years of age she made a successful appearance as a dancer with her sister Josephine. During her early career on the stage she mastered French and Spanish, and visited Havana, where she became popular, and was known as the &ldquo;Queen of the Plaza.&rdquo; After playing in Texas and Mexico she returned to New Orleans, retired from the stage, and published a volume of poems entitled &ldquo;Memories,&rdquo; over the signature of &ldquo;Indigena.&rdquo; While in Galveston, in 1856, she married Alexander Isaacs Menken, a

musician, from whom she was subsequently divorced in Nashville, Tenn. Returning to the stage, she appeared at the Varieties theatre in New Orleans during the season of 1858. After playing in Louisville and Cincinnati, and as leading lady on the southern circuit, she entered a studio in Columbus, Ohio, for the purpose of studying sculpture. On 3 April, 1859, she married in New York city John C. Heenan, the pugilist, but in 1862 was divorced from him by an Indiana court. She made her first appearance in New York city in June, 1859, played there in 1860, travelled throughout the west and south as an actress, and returned to New York, where she married Robert H. Newell. She sailed for California in July, 1863, went to England in the following year, and was immediately engaged at Astley's theatre, London, where she played her favorite character, Mazeppa. In 1865 she was divorced from Newell. In 1866 she again visited New York, repeating her personation of Mazeppa, but terminated her engagement abruptly and made a brief tour through the west. On 21 Aug., 1866, she married James Barclay, at her residence in New York city, and the same year again sailed for England. She died in the Jewish faith, and her remains rest in Montparnasse cemetery. On her tomb, at her request, were engraved the words &ldquo;Thou Knowest.&rdquo; While in London she published &ldquo;Infelicia,&rdquo; a volume of poems (1867).

MENNA BARRETO, Joao Propicio (men- nah-bar-ray'-to), Brazilian soldier, b. in Rio Janeiro in 1809 ; died in S. Gabriel, 9 Feb., 1867. He was entered as a cadet in the 1st regiment of the line, 27 July, 1820, and soon was promoted major. Dur- ing the rebellion in the city of Rio Janeiro in April, 1832, Maj. Menna did good service. He was afterward appointed commander of the regi- ment " Municipal Permanente." In 1835, as com- mandant of the " Guarda Nacional," he served in Rio Grande do Sul in suppressing a revolution, and on 30 Sept., 1846, he was promoted colonel. He became brigadier, 14 March, 1855. general, 2 Dec, 1856, and marshal, 2 Ma'-ch, 1864. In the latter year he was appointed to lead an expedition against Montevideo, and he captured Paysandu on 2 Jan., 1865. He received many decorations at different times. In 1866 he was appointed to com- mand the forces in S. Gabriel, but, being in poor health, he resigned, and died soon afterward.

MENTELLE, Francois Simon, French explorer, b. in Paris in 1731 ; d. in French Guiana, 21 Dec, 1799. His knowledge of geography and astronomy gained hira professional employment at an early age under the French government, and when it was determined to make an attempt to colonize a portion of Guiana he was ordered to accompany the first expedition, which landed at Cayenne in July, 1763. He laid out the city of Kouron, "but colonists ari'ived more quickly than houses could be built for them, and most of them died of typhus fever. Mentelle escaped to Cayenne, where he was employed in laying out streets and in topographical work. He made several efforts to obtain permission to travel in central Guiana, the geography of which was then little known ; but he did not succeed until 1766, when he accompanied a detachment that was sent to aid the natives on the right bank of the Maroni against the Maroon negroes of Surinam. The expedition returned to Cayenne on 13 June, after travelling more than 150 miles through the interior. Mentelle took every precaution to guard against the loss of the result of his labor, making every evening two copies of the notes that he had taken during the day, and placing them in different canoes. He drew a map of this journey.