Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/456

LEFT PUFF ADDER 380 PULITZER tion of Protestantism) ; "History of Swe- den," "History of Charles Gustavus," etc. Died 1694. PUFF ADDER, the Vipera {Clotho) arietans, one of the most venomous ser- pents of South Africa. In length, when full grown, it is from four to five feet; is as thick as a man's arm, and, when disturbed, puffs out the upper part of its body, whence its popular name. PUFF BALL, a fungus of the genus Lycoperdon. They mostly grow on the ground and are roundish, at first firm and fleshy, but afterward powdery with- in. PUFFIN, the Fratercula arctica, a common English sea bird, with many popular names — bottlenose, coulterneb, pope, sea-parrot, and tammy norie, with others that are only locally known. It is rather larger than a pigeon; plumage glossy black above, under surface pure white; feet orange-red; bill very deep, and flattened laterally, parti-colored — red, yellow, and blue, and grooved dur- ing the breeding season. Puffins lay a single egg — white, with gray markings — in a burrow. PUG DOG, a dwarf variety of the com- mon dog, like a diminutive bull dog. PUGET SOUND, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, on the N. W. Washington coast, connecting the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Admiralty Inlet and the Hood Canal; in all an area of over 2,000 square miles and having 1,600 miles of shore line. The sound has many bays, islets, and in- lets. Fishing, especially that of salmon, is carried on extensively. Clams and oysters are found in profusion. Ship- building is an important industry. Seat- tle and Tacoma are the most important ports situated on its shores. PUGILISM, the practice of boxing or fighting with the fists. It formed one of the earliest of the athletic games of the Greeks; and we find the Greek poets de- scribing their heroes and gods as excell- ing in the pugne. Boxing for men was introduced in the Olympic games in the 23d Olympiad, and for boys in the 37th Olympiad. With the exception of a gir- dle about the loins, the ancient pugilist ^ fought nude. There was one feature, I however, which bore no analogy to the pugilism of modern days; this consisted in the use of cagstus, a weapon formed of thongs or bands of raw ox-hide tied round the hands, and frequently as high as the elbows, of the boxers. Even in its simplest and most primitive forms, it was a fearful weapon enough; but when "im- provements" crept in, in the shape of knobs of lead or iron, and, still later, w^hen it assumed the form of a disk of bronze, it came to be a murderous piece of mechanism, fraught with despair and death to the less skillful fighter. As the head was exposed to great danger through the use of the caestus, ampho- tides, or armor for the head, by which the temporal bones, arteries, and ears were protected, were invented; alto- gether, they were not unlike helmets. Both ancient Greeks and Romans used the right arm chiefly in attacking, the left being reserved as a protection for the head and upper portions of the body. Like all the other athletic games of the Greeks, boxing was regulated by certain rules; the principal of these was that the pugilist was bound to continue to fight till wounds, fatigue, or despair compelled him to desist. It was not till the reign of George I. that pugilism came to be in a manner appropriated by the English. In the United States, as in England, the art has been brought down to the present day through a succession of pugilistic champions. PUISNE, in law, younger or inferior in rank. The several judges and barons of the divisions of the high court of jus- tice other than the chiefs, used to be called puisne judges. PULASKI, COUNT CASIMIR, a Polish patriot and military officer, who participated in the war of the American Revolution; born in 1748. His father, a Polish nobleman, and his brothers were killed fighting against Russia for the lib- erty of Poland. Casimir escaped to Turkey, whence he proceeded by way of France to join the Americans, then fight- ing for independence, bearing recommen- dations from Franklin to Washington, whom he joined in 1777. Entering as a volunteer, he so distinguished himself at the battle of Brandywine as to be pro- moted by Congrress to a cavalry com- mand, with the rank of Brigadier-Gen- eral. He afterward organized an inde- pendent corps of cavalry and light in- fantry, with which he rendered effectual service under General Lincoln, in South Carolina, in 1779, and in the siege of Savannah, Ga., where, in an assault on the latter place, he was mortally wounded. He died in 1779. PULITZER, JOSEPH, an American journalist; born in Budapest, Hungary, April 10, 1847. When quite young he came to the United States; served in the Civil War; and found a home in St. Louis, Mo. He began journalism as re- porter on the "Westliche Post," of which he afterward became editor and chief proprietor. He was well known in that city as a politician, legislator and Con-