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OTTAWA

2400

OTTER

lumber-area. Some of its wealthiest citizens have made their fortunes in the lumber-trade. Its water-power facilities are unexcelled. Within the city a great amount of power is immediately available and is attracting a large variety of industries. Rideau Hall, the official residence of the governor-general, is in Ottawa. Its electric street-railway service is one of the best in Canada. Its educational facilities are admirable. One of the provincial normal schools of Ontario for training teachers is located here. Ottawa has a large French population. The parliament buildings are imposing.

Ottawa, III., capital of La Salle County, at the junction of Illinois and Fox Rivers, in northern-central Illinois, 82 miles southwest of Chicago. It is situated in a rich region, and has a considerable trade in shipping grain, lumber and produce; besides manufacturing industries, which include plate and opalescent glass, glass bottles, electric-light bulbs, lamp-chimneys, pottery, tile roofing, drain tile, sewer pipe, firebrick, carriages, wagons, organs, saddlery and harness, agricultural implements etc., cream separators and pianos, Ottawa operates three sand-works, which prepare sand for glassmaking, and one which ships molder's sand — that is, the article as it is obtained. Ottawa's prominent buildings are Ryburn Memorial Hospital and Illinois Appellate Court etc. The city has excellent public schools, fine parochial schools and a high school library, besides Reddick and Odd Fellows' libraries. Ottawa has city ownership of its lighting and waterworks system. Pop. 9,535.

Ottawa River, Can., the depth of which at Grenville is from six to 15 feet, receives numerous rivers and falls into the St. Lawrence. In its course the river forms picturesque rapids and magnificent lakes. The water-power of the Long Sault is estimated at 20,681 horse-power. The Ottawa rises in western Quebec, flows west to Lake Temiskaming, thence southeasterly, separating Quebec from Ontario, and joins the St. Lawrence after a course of 750 miles. Chaudiere Falls at Ottawa are grand. It is navigable for steamers as far as Ottawa, 87 miles up.

Ottawa, University of, was established in 1848 by Joseph Eugene Guiges, first bishop of Ottawa. In 1889 ^ was by Pope Leo raised to a Catholic University with power to confer degrees. It was intended to have the same position in Ontario as Laval University in Quebec. It has a valuable museum of natural history. The attendance of students averages about 500. The present archbishop of Ottawa and the bishop of Alexandria were among its first students. The theological and the arts' course each cover four years. There are courses in law and engineering. Arch-

bishop Duhamel of Ottawa is Chancellor. Nearly all the professors belong to the Oblates.^ Amongst its graduates are not a few distinguished men.

Ottawas, a tribe of American Indians of the Algonquin family, living, when first found by the French explorers, in the northern part of Michigan. They fled from the Iroquois beyond the Mississippi, to the country of the Sioux, and after war with them went back to Mackinaw. They joined with the French, and after the settlement of Detroit a part of the tribe lived near it. At the close of the last war of the French for Canada, their chief, Pontiac, headed a great conspiracy against the English. In the Revolutionary War, they helped the English, but finally joined in the Indian treaty of Greenville, Aug. 3, 1795. A band of them settled on the Miami River, and when their land was ceded to the United States, a tract 34 miles square was reserved to them on the Miami. Other bands have taken up lands in the Indian Territory, while some are still found on the shores of Lake Superior and in Canada.

Ot'ter, an aquatic carnivorous animal related to the weasel, and highly valued on

account of its fur. Otters inhabit both the Old and the New World. They have an elongated, low body, with short limbs and webbed feet. They are seal-like in appearance, the color a seal-brown, brighter below than above. The common otter of Europe is similar in form to the American otter, but shorter, being about two feet long without the tail. The American otter is from three and a half to four feet long. It is found occasionally in Florida and the Carolinas, in portions of the Rocky Mountain region and from British Columbia to Central Alaska, but is rare. Otters are fond of sliding down slopes into the water; in winter they slide on the snow and enjoy coasting as well as a schoolboy. Among themselves they are playful and affectionate, are gentle and easily tamed. They feed almost exclusively on fish. They are expert swimmers and divers and readily overtake fish, which they bring to shore to devour. In certain parts of India and China the otter is taught to catch fish and assist in driving them into nets. It is said that when fishing is poor, otters sometimes resort to land-hunting. When disturbed with their young by an inquisitive dog, they have little trouble in defending themselves. They take excellent care of their offspring, the young usually numbering two. The dens

OTTER