Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/479

 CRENSHAW CREOSOTE 475 ting with acetate of copper the crenic acid as a crenate of copper. This is decomposed by sul- phuretted hydrogen, and purified by washing with alcohol. Its formula is given as Ca4Hi 2 O,, or C 7 H 6 N0 8. CRENSHAW, a S. E. county of Alabama, drained by Patsaliga and Conecuh rivers; area, about 600 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 11,156, of whom 2,206 were colored. It has been re- cently formed from portions of Butler, Coffee, Covington, Lowndes, and Pike counties. The surface is generally hilly, and the soil sandy and poor. Pine forests cover a considerable portion of it. The chief productions in 1870 were 263, 615 bushels of Indian corn, 45,320 of sweet potatoes, 4,638 bales of cotton, and 10,- 855 Ibs. of rice. There were 1,173 horses, 697 mules and asses, 2,843 milch cows, 4,552 other cattle, 2,610 sheep, and 14,263 swine. Capi- tal, Rutledge. CREOLE, a corruption of the Spanish word criollo, which signifies one born in America or the West Indies, of European ancestors. In this sense all the native white people of the United States are Creoles. But the word in its English use has undergone both a limita- tion and an extension. It is limited to persons born within or near the tropics ; and it is made to include persons of all colors. Thus the term Creole negro is employed in the English West Indies to distinguish the negroes born there from the Africans imported during the time of the slave trade. The application of this term to the colored people has led to an idea com- mon in some parts of the United States, though wholly unfounded, that it implies an admix- ture, greater or less, of African blood. The Creoles of the West Indies and the adjacent coasts of the continent are distinguished by marked physical peculiarities from their Euro- pean ancestors. Bryan Edwards, who had ample opportunities for observation, and who is a very competent observer, describes them, in his " History of the West Indies," as ob- viously a taller race on the whole than the Eu- ropean, but in general not proportionately ro- bust. He had known several who were full 6 feet 4 inches in height, but they wanted bulk to come up to the idea of masculine beauty. This peculiarity, however, it is to be observed, is not confined to the Creoles of the tropics. The same remark has been made respecting the descendants of Europeans born in the Uni- ted States and in Australia. The Creoles are distinguished for the freedom and suppleness of their joints, which enables them to move with great ease, agility, and grace. From the same cause they excel in penmanship, and in everything requiring flexibility of movement. The effect of climate is likewise obvious in the structure of the eye, the socket being con- siderably deeper than among Europeans, thus affording a protection against the glare of the sun. Their skin feels considerably colder than that of Europeans ; a circumstance observed in a still stronger degree of the negroes, and going to show an effort of nature to protect their bodies against the heat. Even though living in the same way with Europeans, they are rarely subject to those inflammatory disorders, yellow fever included, which prove so often fatal to the former. This is particularly true of the Creole women of the West Indies, who live in general very quiet and regular lives, and are very abstemious in their diet. Simple water or lemonade is the strongest beverage in which they indulge, and a vegetable mess at noon, seasoned with Cayenne pepper, consti- tutes their principal meal. To a stranger newly arrived, they appear as if just risen from a sick bed. Their voices are soft and spiritless, every step betrays languor, while their cheeks lack entirely the bloom of the rose. They have, however, in general, beauti- ful black hair and fine eyes and teeth. The peculiarities of the white Creole are to be found also in the mixed race, with more of force and vivacity on the part of the latter, the women especially, as being less enervated by the cli- mate. There may be observed also a marked distinction between the Creole negroes and those imported from Africa. The former are more slender, agile, and graceful, though not less strong or capable of labor, with quicker perceptions and more volatile dispositions. The dialects which have sprung up in tropical America, formed by the corruption of Spanish, French, and English, are generally called cre- ole dialects. See on this subject " The Theory and Practice of Creole Grammar," by J. J. Thomas (Port of Spain, Trinidad, 1869), and UHistoire de Cayenne et la grammaire Creole, by M. de Saint-Quentin (1872). CREOX. I. A mythical king of Corinth, the father of the beautiful Cretisa, for whom the hero Jason deserted the enchantress Medea. When Cretisa was consumed by the burning robe sent to her by the sorcerer, Creon, who endeavored to embrace his daughter as the flames surrounded her, was also caught in the fire, and perished. II. A legendary king of Thebes, brother of Jocasta, whom he gave in marriage to (Edipus as a reward for his victory over the Sphinx, at the same time resigning his crown to the successful hero. (Edipus, ignorant of the fact that he was Jocasta's son, thus made that incestuous marriage the conse- quences of which form the theme of some of the greatest tragedies of the ancients. After the death of (Edipus Creon resumed the throne, and it was he who imprisoned Anti- gone for disobeying the edict which forbad^ the burial of Polynices. CREOSOTE, an oily, colorless liquid, of a burning and bitter taste, and a peculiar smoky odor. It was first obtained by Reichenbach in 1830, among the products of the distillation of wood, and named from the Greek Kptac, flesh, and au&iv, to preserve, in reference to its peculiar antiseptic properties. It possesses neither acid nor alkaline reaction. It boils at the temperature of 397, and does not freeze