Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/225

 CONE SHELLS CONFEDERATE STATES 221 CONE SHELLS, univalve shells of the genus j comprising many species and varie- ties. The shell is very thick, and appears as if rolled up in conical form. The outer lip 1. Conus irnperialis. 2. C. zonatus. 4. C. marmoreus. 3. C. nocturnus. is simple and sharp-edged, the inner lip is smooth. The spire is frequently very flat. The mollusk has a distinct head, with gills, a long proboscis, and a pair of tentacula bearing eyes. A horny operculum closes the opening of the shell. The cones are many of them very beau- tiful both in form and colors, and some speci- mens bring a high price. They are mostly found in tropical seas, but some are met with in the Mediterranean. They live in fissures and holes in rocks, and especially in the warm pools and on the sandy bottoms inside coral reefs, at depths varying from a few feet to 30 fathoms. They move slowly, and are all predatory ; some will bite when handled. Some fossil species occur in the tertiary formation. CONESTOGAS, or Gandastognes, a tribe of Indians formerly on the Susquehanna river, commonly called by the French Andastes, by the people of Virginia and Maryland Susquehannas, and by the Dutch and Swedes Minquas. They were of the same family as the Hurons and Iroquois, and their name G-andastogues meant nation of roof poles. Before 1600 they nearly extermi- nated the Mohawks in a ten years' war, and were still at war with them in 1608, when Capt. Smith met a party of Susquehannas on Chesa- peake bay. They held in subjection all the neighboring Algonquin tribes, and were at war with those of Maryland. Acquiring firearms and cannon from the Swedes, they were so troublesome to Maryland that Gov. Calvert pro- claimed them public enemies in 1642. They were friends and allies of the Hurons of Upper Canada, and offered to aid them with 1,300 warriors. In 1652 they ceded to Maryland lands on the Patuxent, Choptank, and Elk. In 1656 they were involved in war with the Iro- quois, and though much reduced by smallpox, they fought desperately, gaining many victories over superior forces, but we/e completely over- thrown in 1675. A part submitted to the Iro- quois ; others, retreating into Maryland, were attacked by Maryland and Virginia troops, who put five chiefs to death. The desperate Indians then ravaged the frontiers till they were cut off. In 1701 Canoodagtoh, their king, made a treaty with William Penn. They appear in a treaty in 1742, but were then fast disappear- ing. In 1763, during a period of excitement against the Indians, the remnant of the Cones- togas took refuge in the jail at Lancaster, Pa., where they were cruelly butchered by an or- ganization called the Paxton boys. The most distinguished of their chiefs was Logan, the fa- mous orator. A' vocabulary of their language was preserved in the works of the Swedish missionary Campanius, Nye Sverige and Lutheri Catechismus (Stockholm, 1696). A brief Eng- lish account of them is in Alsop's "Maryland" (London, 1666; New York, 1869). CONEWANGO CREEK, a stream which rises in the N. W. corner of Cattaraugus co., N. Y., flows in a general S. direction, receiving the waters of the outlet of Chautauqua lake, and joins the Alleghany river at Warren, Warren co., Pa. By means of this creek and its out- lets there is boat navigation from the gulf of Mexico to within 10 m. of Lake Erie. CONEY ISLAND, a barren strip of white sand at the S. W. extremity of Long Island, 9 m. S. of New York city, 1-J- m.long and m. broad. It is but slightly separated from the mainland. During the summer season it is much resorted to by pleasure-seekers, and on holidays espe- cially is crowded by multitudes who flock from the neighboring cities to enjoy the sea air and bathing. It is connected by rail with Brook- lyn, and by steamboats with New York. CONFARREATION, the most solemn of the three ceremonies of marriage used among the ancient Romans. The other forms of marriage were coemptio and usus. These last are the only ones mentioned by Cicero, which shows that confarreation had fallen into disuse before his time. The ceremony was performed by the pontifex maximus or flamen dialis. A formula was pronounced in the presence of at least ten witnesses, and the man and woman partook of a cake of salted bread; part of which only they ate, the rest being thrown upon the sacrifice, which was a sheep. The cake was called farreum (from far, grain), whence confarreatio. By this form the woman was said to come into the possession of her husband by the sacred laws, and became a partner of all his substance and sacred rites, those of the penates as well as the lares. If the husband died intestate and without chil- dren, the wife inherited the whole property; if there were children, she received with them an equal share. ,The offspring of this form of marriage were called patrimi or matrimi; and from them were chosen priests and priest- esses, especially the flamen dialis and vestal virgins. Tiberius wished for a priest of this pure lineage, but the ceremony had fallen into disuse, so that three patricians thus qualified could not be found. Confarreation could only be dissolved by a form of divorce equally sol- emn, called disfarreatio. Bride cake is a relic of confarreation ; until within 200 years it was made of wheat or barley, without fruit. CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, a con- federacy formed by eleven southern and slave- holding states which seceded from the United States in 1860-'61, and organized a govern- ment terminating in 1865. In the presidential