Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 08.djvu/67

LEFT RIENZI 49 RIFLE led the Metis' Red River rebellion in 1869, which was subdued by a Canadian force under General Wolseley. He fled from the territory to escape arrest, and re- turned after peace terms had been ar- ranged. He was elected to the Dominion Parliament in 1873, but was not allowed to take his seat. Again he incited rebel- lion, but it assumed only small propor- tions and was subdued by the Canadian Government. His attempt to create re- sistance in 1885 was more successful, but the rebellion was overthrown by General Middleton's forces. Riel was captured, tried for treason, and was sentenced to death. It was generally believed by French Canadians that Riel was insane. He was executed, Nov. 16, 1885, at Re- gina in the Northwestern Territory. RIENZI (re-ain'dza), NICOLA GA- BRINI, a Roman patriot; born about 1310. He was of obscure birth; but hav- ing received an excellent education, which he improved by a strong will and vigorous understanding, he was sent by his fellow citizens to Clement VI., at Avignon, in NICOLA GABRINI RIENZI order to prevail on that pontiff to return to Rome. His eloquence pleased the Pope, though it did not persuade him; and Rienzi on his return formed the design of making himself master of Rome, with the title of tribune. Having gained a considerable number of partisans, he en- tered the capitol, harangued the people, and elevated the standard of liberty. He designed to unite the whole of Italy into one great republic, with Rome for its capital. For some time he was success- ful, his government was popular, and even Petrarch wrote in his favor, com- paring him to Brutus. But at length a conspiracy was formed against him; and having lost the popular favor by his arro- gance and tyranny, he was compelled to seek safety in flight, but was taken and cruelly put to death in 1354. RIESA, Germany, a town situated on the Elbe, in Saxony, 33 miles north- west of Dresden by rail. It is an im- portant railway junction. One of the finest steel and stone bridges in Ger- many spans the river at this point. The harbor accommodates a great volume of shipping, and considerable shipbuilding is carried on here. Iron foundries and machine shops add to the industries of the town. Pop. about 20,000. RIESENGEBIRGE, or Giants' Moun- tains, a mountain range of Europe, sepa- rating Silesia from Bohemia and Moravia, till it joins the Carpathians; but the name is properly applied to that part of this range which lies between the sources of the Neisse and the Bober. It contains the loftiest mountains of the N. or cen- tral parts of Germany, the Schneekoppe being 5,257 feet high. The geological structure of the range consists of granite, gneiss and mica slate, and in the valleys there are coal and basaltic strata. RIFF, a name given to the coast dis- tricts of northern Morocco extending from Ceuta to the W. frontier of Algiers, and forming a line of steep cliffs with few harbors. Its Berber inhabitants were formerly much addicted to savage piracy. RIFLE, a gun of high power, long shooting range, and finding its classifica- tion among weapons, chiefly in respect to the construction of its barrel. The term rifle means a gun with a grooved barrel. Originally, this grooving was developed for the two-fold purpose of accommodat- ing the excess carbonization from the dis- charge of the black powder cartridge and to impart greater definition to the bullet by contracting the internal area of the barrel. It was discovered, after long experimentation, that the most effective combination of these two qualities was attained by boring the barrel with a spiral grooving which induced the twisting or spinning motion in the discharging bul- let, thereby greatly increasing its direc- tional accuracy and diminishing or flat- tening the curve of its trajectory with corresponding increase in the effective- ness of the weapon for hunting, target and military practice. The progress of development in the perfection of the rifle both as a weapon for sport and an instru- ment of military accomplishment has