Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/533

 CHOUGH CHOULES 521 the instincts and habits of these partisan bands. Consequently, after the heavy loss experienced by the royalist army near Le Mans, and espe- cially after their bloody defeat at Savenay, Dec. 27, 1794, the Chouans returned to their haunts, and resumed their guerilla warfare. Detach- ments of troops were overtaken or slaughtered, stage coaches were arrested on the highway, receivers of public money were carried off and tortured, and the chiefs were powerless to pre- vent these excesses. On the death of Cot- tereau, Jambe d' Argent had become one of their leaders ; but the most popular was Georges Cadoudal, who had then taken up his abode in Lower Brittany, and waged unrelenting war against the republican troops. Some attempt- ed to bring about a pacification by a treaty concluded at La Mabilais ; but this was reject- ed by Cadoudal and other influential Chouans. Even the disaster of Quiberon, July 16, 1795, was unable to shake their power. The loss of that disaster had fallen on the emigres and the English, while the royalist peasantry had suf- fered little. They not only kept in arms, but their chiefs tried to reenforce their organiza- tion and to bring about insurrection in several other provinces of France. Their efforts were in some measure successful, and would have been completely so if any prince of the Bour- bon family had dared to land in Brittany and put himself at the head of the movement. The count d'Artois indeed cruised off the coast of France for a few days in August, 1795, and this alone was sufficient to give a new impulse to royalist ardor ; but the disappointment caused by his sudden departure crushed the hopes of the most zealous. Some chiefs and several bands still persisted, but the great army of the Chouans dwindled away, disgusted at serving princes by whom they were sacrificed. The most obstinate joined the emigres in several conspiracies. Cadoudal was arrested and exe- cuted in 1804, and the Chouannerie may be said to have died with him. CHOUGH (coracia gracula, Linn.), a bird of the crow family, sometimes called Cornish daw, and red-legged crow. It is a native of Europe, and is most numerous on the bold rocky shores of Cornwall, Devonshire, Wales, and the Hebrides islands ; on the continent it prefers the Alpine regions. The plumage of the adult male and female is black, glossed with purplish blue and green ; the legs, feet, and bill are red ; the claws black, strong, and hooked ; the bill is longer than the head, arched and tapering to an acute point ; the wings are about the same length as the tail, which is even, with a small tip; on the head and neck the plumage is blended and highly glossy. The length to the end of the tail is 17 in. ; extent of wings 34 in. ; tail 6J in. ; bill 2J in. ; tarsus 2| in. ; weight about 14 oz. The female is somewhat less in size, and has a shorter bill. When seen at a distance, the chough resembles the rook, which it excels in elegance of form ; near at hand, the red bill and feet readilv dis- tinguish it. It is gregarious like the rook and jackdaw, both of which it resembles in its note and mode of flying. Its food consists of insects, grubs, seeds, and the flesh of dead animals ; it is particularly fond of grasshoppers and cockchafers, for which it scratches fields and rocky places, walking like the rook. It is very shy, unless in the breeding season; its flight is high, irregular, and performed by slow motions. It breeds near the sea in rocks, caverns, and ruined towers ; the nest is com- posed of sticks, and lined with wool and hair ; the eggs are generally five in number, of a dull white color, with light brown and ash-colored spots, chiefly at the larger end. In confine- ment the chough becomes very tame and do- cile ; it is very crafty, hiding its food, and fre- quently articles of value which it has stolen, and as the bird always selects elevated posi- tions, it is often difficult to recover them. It Chough (Coracia gracula). eats little at a time and regurgitates its food like ruminating quadrupeds ; even when full fed, it will try to throw up a portion of its meal in order to take a little more. It is capable of very strong attachments and dislikes. CHOULES, John Overton, D. D., an American clergyman, born in Bristol, Eng., Feb. 5, 1801, died in New York, Jan. 5, 1856. His parents were members of the Wesleyan connection; but he united with the Baptist church, and in 1822 became a student of divinity in the Bap- tist college at Bristol. Having completed his theological course, he emigrated to America in 1824. The first winter after his arrival in New York was spent in supplying various churches in that city and vicinity. In the spring of 1825 he became principal of an acad- emy at Eed Hook, N. Y. In September, 1827, he was ordained as pastor of the second Bap- tist church in Newport, E. I. After a pastor- ate of about six years, he accepted the call of the first Baptist church in New Bedford, Mass. In 1837 he became pastor of the Washington street church, Buffalo, in 1841 of the Sixth street Baptist church, New York, and in 1843 of the Baptist church at Jamaica Plain, near