Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/245

LEFT CROCKETT 201 CB(EST7S Zagrab. Pop. 2,650,000. In a. d. 640 the Croats, a tribe from the Carpathians, settled in Croatia, and gave their name to the country. It long maintained a sort of independent existence, but in 1309 it was incorporated with Hungary. See Jugoslavia. CROCKETT, DAVID, an American Eioneer hunter, politician and humorist; om in Limestone, Tenn., Aug. 17, 1786. DAVID CROCKETT He was member of Congress from Ten- nessee and served in the Texan War. He vsrrote his "Autobiography" (1834); "Tour to the North and Down East" (1835) ; "Sketches and Eccentricities" (1847); etc. He was killed at Fort Alamo, San Antonio, Tex., March 16, 1836. CROCKETT, SAMUEL RUTHER- FORD, a Scotch novelist; born in Little Duchrae, Galloway, in 1860. He was a tutor and university pupil-teacher at an early age; but a volume of verse, "Dulce Cor," and "The Stickit Minister," vol- ume of prose stories, showed literature to be his vocation. "The Raiders," "Mad Sir Ughtred of the Hills," "The Lilac Sun-Bonnet," "The Men of the Moss Hags," "Sweetheart Travelers," "Cleg Kelly, Arab of the City," "The Grey Man," "The Moss Troopers" (1912), "Sandy's Love Affair" (1913), are among his books. He died April 18, 1918. CROCODILE, a huge reptile, in general contour most resembling a great lizard, found in or near the Nile ana some other rivers. It is the LaceHa crocodilus of Linnaeus, the Crocodiltcs vulgaris of Cuvier. Its jaws project moderately; there are six cervical plates; the dorsal shields or scutcheons are quadrangular and surrounded by six rows of slightly elevated carinsB. The hinder feet are palmated, their posterior border with a festooned crest. It is about 25 feet long. At least four varieties of it exist. It was held sacred among the ancient Egyp- tians. The Nile was and is its best known habitat. The leviathan of Job is almost cer- tainly the crocodile, but in other parts of the Scripture different animals are desig- nated by the same word. CROCUS, a genus of iridacese. The perianth, which is single, is colored. The tube is long and the limb cut into six equal segments. The root a corm, the leaves grassy. The appropriate habitat of the crocuses is in the S. and E. of Europe and in Asia Minor. Some are vernal, others flower in autumn. C. luteus is the common or large yellow crocus. It was carried from Turkey to various pai'ts of Europe in A. D. 1629. C. m-cesiaciis, imported from Greece in the same year, may not be distinct; nor may C. airretis, the small yellow crocus, also from Greece. C. lagenoeflorous, an- other Greek species, has red-yellow, pale- yellow, and more typical yellow varieties. C. vet-nus is the common purple or white spring crocus. C. sativus is an autumnal f)lant, brought from the East. It has ong been cultivated for its long reddish- orange drooping stigmas, which when driea become the saffron of the shops. According to Gussone C. odonis fur- nishes Sicilian saffron. CRCESUS, the fifth and last king of Lydia, He succeeded his father Aly- attes, 560 B. C. He was so successful in all his enterprises that he soon became one of the richest monarchs of that time. He asked the philosopher Solon what he thought of his good fortune, "I pronounce no man fortunate until his death," was the reply. Croesus was made prisoner by Cyrus, King of Persia. When bound to the stake and about to be burned to death, he recalled the words of Solon, and thrice repeated his name. Cyrus demanded an explanation. Croesus gave it, and Cyrus not only spared his life, but also took him into his favor. At the death of Cyrus he recommended Croesus to the favor of Cambyses, who