Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/748

 712 ARK the bay of Iskanderun. It ascends in an insu- lated peak to the height of 13, 100 ft. It is dis- tinctly visible at a distance of 160 m., and it was believed by the ancients that both the Euxine and the Mediterranean could be seen from its summit. It is an extinct volcano, and its sloping sides are covered with volcanic cones and craters. Its summit is covered with perpetual snow, and the natives of the country affirm that it has never been ascended. ARK. I. The vessel (Heb. tebah) construct- ed by Noah, according to Gen. vi., for the preservation of his family and of the different species of animals during the deluge. The form of the ark was that of an oblong chest, while its dimensions were 300 cubits in length, 50 in breadth, and 30 in height. Two questions have been raised, with a design to throw discredit on the Biblical account : the first as to the form of the ark, that it was not adapted for floating ; the second as to its dimensions, that it was not large enough to answer the purposes for which it was designed. Both to strengthen and to obviate the objections raised, many curious speculations have been resorted to, to prove the basis of calculations, but no valuable re- sults have been attained on either side. II. The ark (Heb. arori) of the covenant, or testi- mony, among the appointments of the Jewish tabernacle and temple. This was built of shit- tim (acacia wood), inlaid and overlaid with pure gold. Its dimensions were two cubits and a half in length, and one and a half in width and height. Its location was in the holy of holies. The cover of this ark was the mercy seat, over which stood the two cherubim. The contents of the ark of the covenant were, ac- cording to 1 Kings viii. 9, exclusively the tables of the law received by Moses (from which the ark had its name) ; but, according to Heb. ix. 4, it also contained the pot of manna and Aaron's rod, and at a later period probably also a copy of the book of the law. The Jews esteemed this ark peculiarly sacred. It was made to be carried in procession before them in the jour- ney to the promised land, and for this purpose was committed to the care of the Kohathites, and none were permitted to touch it but the tribe of Levi. In war times, after the con- quest of Palestine, it sometimes accompanied the army. At the close of the judgeship of Eli it was captured by the Philistines, but subse- quently restored. It seems to have perished in the destruction of the temple by Nebuchad- nezzar. ARKANSAS, the name given by the, Algonquins to the Ouquapas, a tribe of Indians of the Da- kota family. According to Gravier, a Jesuit missionary in Illinois about the year 1700, the Arkansas had previously resided on the Ohio river, whence after a long struggle they were driven down the Mississippi by the Illinois and their allies. This corresponds with the tradi- tion of the Lenni, another Algonquin tribe, as to the Allegewi or Alleghans; and as early French writers use indifferently the term Al- ARKANSAS kansas or Akansas, the suspicion increases as to their identity. They comprised several divi- sions known as the Quappas or Kappas, Dogin- ga, Toriman, and Osotteouez or Sothouis. One division, called by the Algonquins Mitchiga- mias, removed to the country of the Illinois, but subsequently returned. The Arkansas were first visited by Marquette, and from his time were always friendly to the French, welcoming La Salle and Tonti, as well as the survivors of La Salle' s last expedition. They refused to join the Natchez against the French, and nearly exterminated the Yazoos, who had massacred the French among them. They were at this time a powerful tribe, able in 1740 to send out 400 warriors, but they soon lost by smallpox and other diseases. The remnant, now called Quapaws, are in the Indian territory west of their former country, and number only 200. ARKANSAS, a S. W. river of the United States, the largest tributary of the Mississippi except the Missouri. Its extreme sources, which were first explored in 1806 by Lieut. Pike, U. S. A., lie in the Rocky mountains W. of the South Park, in lat. 39 N., Ion. 106 W., at an elevation of 10,000 ft. above the sea level, which is reduced one half in the first 150 m. It flows E. through Colorado to near the centre of Kansas, and thence generally S. E. through the Indian territory and Arkansas to its junction with the Mississippi at Napoleon, 275 m. (direct) above New Orleans; length, over 2,000 m. Near its source the river pours with great violence through a deep and narrow fissure in the gneiss rock ; after leaving the mountains it traverses a sterile hilly region, sustaining con- siderable timber. The width of the Arkansas undergoes great variations. From 150 ft. near the mountains, it gradually increases to about a mile as it traverses the sandy desert; and after entering the hilly region it varies from 1,000 to 2,000 ft. Through the prairie region the ordinary depth is about 2 or 3 ft., but there are seasons when the water entirely dis- appears, being absorbed by the immense beds of sand through which it flows. The range of the river between low and high water is about 45 ft. at Napoleon, 40 at South Bend, 35 at Little Rock, 25 at Fort Smith, and 10 at Fort Gibson, 642 m. from the mouth. It is navi- gable for steamboats of 3 to 4 ft. draught to a point 40 m. above Little Rock, and during the floods as far as Fort Smith and Fort Gib- son. Below Pine Bluff it has been neces- sary to construct levees to restrain the flood. For a distance of 400 m. from its mouth the Arkansas has many lakes and bayous. Its principal tributary is the Canadian in the In- dian territory. The White and Arkansas are connected by a large bayou 6 m. above the junction of the former with the Mississippi, through which the current moves sometimes in one direction and sometimes in another, ac- cording to the relative stand of the rivers. The principal points on the Arkansas are Na- poleon, Arkansas Post, Pine Bluff, Little Rock,