Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/118

 114 COLTSFOOT and on July 28, 1846, was appointed alcalde of Monterey in California by the American mili- tary authorities. Having discharged the duties of this office for nearly two months under a military commission, he was elected by the citizens of Monterey as alcalde or chief judge, with a jurisdiction extending over 300 m. of territory. He established the first newspaper and built the first school house in California. The first public announcement of the discovery of gold in California was made by him in a let- ter to the Philadelphia " North American," in May, 1848. He returned to Philadelphia in 1849. His "Deck and Port" and "Three Years in California" were published in 1850 ; and a volume of "Literary Remains," with a memoir by Henry T. Cheever, in 1851. COLTSFOOT (tussilagofarfara), an herb grow- ing wild in Europe and North America; found in this country in the northern and mid- dle states. Though the whole plant is used, its virtue is principally in the leaves. These are Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara). gathered and dried, and used generally in the form of a decoction. Coltsfoot is employed in pulmonary complaints, as a demulcent, often in the form of cough candy. It is said to have been smoked by the ancients in aifections of the lungs. COLUBER, the principal genus of a family of ophidian reptiles, characterized by an elongated head, distinct from the neck, and covered above with smooth polygonal plates ; the snout rather rounded ; the eyes large, and the pupil round ; the body long, cylindrical, and tapering, cov- ered above with rhomboidal scales, generally smooth, but sometimes carinated. The tail has always double plates on the under surface ; the plates of the abdomen are transverse ; the jaws furnished with numerous sharp teeth, direct- ed backward, without poisonous fangs. Some species are oviparous, others ovoviviparous. In the old Linnaean genus coluber were in- cluded all ophidians having double plates on the under surface of the tail ; this embraced many venomous serpents ; the genus has since COLUMBA been restricted by Boie, Schlegel, and others, so that it now forms a very natural one, recog- nized rather byilfs general than by any isolated characters. Its numerous species are found in most parts of the globe where any ophidians can exist ; they are generally terrestrial, rarely entering the water unless from necessity ; most of them climb trees easily, where they lie in wait for their prey ; some are found in marshy districts, some in thick woods, some in open sandy plains, and the locality impresses various habits of life upon them ; they generally pursue small mammals, birds, and reptiles. They at- tain a considerable size, sometimes a length of 8 ft. The abdominal plates and the ribs are exceedingly numerous, sometimes as many as 300. The sides of the snout are rarely con- cave, and the plates over the eye are not very prominent, giving to their physiognomy a gen- tle expression, which is confirmed by the dis- position of many of the species living in the vicinity of man. The colors are rarely bril- liant, brown shading into black or green being the prevailing tints ; some are striped or spot- ted, but all undergo considerable changes in their progress to maturity. The genus has since been subdivided into many. Among the best known species is the one dedicated to jEsculapius (G. ^Ssculapii, Lacep.), emblem of the sagacity and health-bestowing qualities of the great physician; and, in this country, the black snake (basoanion constrictor, B. and G.), the corn snake (scotophis guttatus, B. and G.), the chicken snake (ophibolus eximius, B. and G.), the indigo snake (Georgia Couperi y B. and G.), the green snake (cTilorosoma ver- nalis, B. and G.), and the striped snake (entce- nia sirtalis, B. and G.). COLUGO. See FLYING LEMUR. COLUMBA, called by his countrymen COLTJMB- KILLE or CILLE (" dove of the cell "), a saint of the Eoman Catholic church, styled also the apostle of Caledonia, born at Gartan, Done- gal, Ireland, in 521, died in lona, June 9, 597. His father was of the royal race of Niall or O'Donnell, his mother a princess of the reign- ing family of Leinster. Educated from boy- hood by the priest who had baptized him, he passed into the great monastic school of Clo- nard, under Finnian, styled magister sancto- rum, who ordained him deacon, and finished his course in the monastery of Maghbile, Down, under another Finnian or Finbar, afterward bishop of Lucca in Italy. His own wealth and powerful connections enabled him to found in Ireland 37 monasteries before his 25th year. He resided at Derry, superintending the other establishments, and fostering in all the love of rural labor, the culture of sacred and profane letters, and the work of translating the Old and New Testaments. A copy which he had furtively made of a rare manuscript of the psal- ter involved him in a suit with his old master Finnian, which was carried before the king at Tara, who decided against Columba ; and soon after, a young prince of Connaught who had