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 416 NEZ PERCE partments of Moselle and Eure-et-Loir in 1849, and attached himself to the party of the prince- president. He was one of the first senators created under the empire. After being colonel of lancers and dragoons, he was appointed brigadier general in 1853; but he was better known as a patron of arts, literature, and the turf, than as a soldier. He composed an opera called Begine. His only daughter was married to Count Persigny. NEZ PERCE, a N. county of Idaho, bounded N". by the Clearwater river, E. by Montana, S. by Salmon river, and W. by Oregon and Wash- ington territory, from which it is separated by the Snake river; area, 7,350 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 1,607, of whom 747 were Chinese. It is watered by tributaries of the Clearwater and Salmon rivers. The surface is generally rugged and mountainous. The valley of the Clear- water contains extensive arable lands, and Camas prairie in the N. W. corner is very fer- tile. Gold is mined to some extent. The chief productions in 1870 were 1,970 bushels of wheat, 6,050 of oats, 3,595 of barley, 3,780 j)f potatoes, and 18,900 Ibs. of butter. There Vere 534 horses, 916 milch cows, 1,076 other cattle, and 542 swine. Capital, Lewiston. NEZ PERCES, a tribe of American Indians, now in Idaho, belonging to the Sahaptin family. They are said to call themselves Numepo, and are styled by Lewis and Clarke Chopunnish. The origin of their present name is uncertain, for they are not known to have pierced their noses. The Wallawallas and Palooses are kin- dred tribes. They were estimated at 8,000 on the Clearwater and Lewis rivers, where they had a fine grazing country. They made a treaty of peace with Lewis and Clarke, which they have adhered to. Capt. Bonne- ville in 1832 acquired influence among them, and a mission under the American board was established in 1836, when the tribe num- bered about 4,000. A school was opened, laws were adopted, a government was formed, and attempts were made to advance agricul- ture. But the mission was suspended in 1847, after the murder of the Rev. Mr. Whitman by the Cay uses. They had only 50 acres under cultivation in 1857. In the Oregon Indian war the mass of the tribe remained friendly, saving the lives of Gov. Stevens and others in 1855, and covering Col. Steptoe's retreat. When Col. Wright asked the head chief what they wanted, he replied : " Peace, ploughs, and schools." A treaty was made in 1854 dis- posing of part of their land, but a portion of the tribe never submitted to it, and the treaty Nez Percys alone went on the reservation. The others are often absent for years on the buf- falo plains, occasionally at war with the Sioux. Those on the reservation were soon disturbed by white and Chinese miners after gold was discovered in 1859. This led to the introduc- tion of liquor, and drunkenness now prevails. The Lapwai reservation is in the N. W. part of Idaho, and is said to contain the best land in NIAGARA that section. The Kamiah reservation is in N". E. Oregon. The two contain 1,925 sq. m. In 1874 there were 1,550 on the reservations, and 350 on small farms off the reservations. The Presbyterians had revived the mission, a stone church had been erected, about 1,800 acres were cultivated, and their property in horses and cattle was estimated at $136,250. There were also 900 Nez Percys in Wallowa valley in the eastern part of Oregon. The New Testa- ment and some school books have been printed in their language. JVGAMI, a lake of South Africa, supposed to be from 50 to 70 m. long, and from 7 to 9 m. wide. Its situation may be roughly stated as in lat. 20 28' S., Ion. 22 50' E., and it extends from E. N. E. to W. S. W., being narrowest at a point near the middle. Its elevation above the sea is 3,285 ft. as determined by Livingstone, but a subsequent measurement by Andersson makes it 3,713 ft. The water is perfectly fresh except when the lake is low; it then becomes brackish. It is subject to a rise and fall of two or three feet, the cause of which is unknown. A low and sandy shore forms the northern border of the lake, and ex- tends about a mile backward, beyond which the country is well wooded. The opposite shore is elevated, fringed with belts of reeds and bushes, and only accessible in a few places. The principal tributary of Lake Ngami is the Tioge, a river which flows in on the west and is about 40 yards broad, but very deep when at its highest stage. It overflows in June, July, and August, and sometimes later. The Zouga, a broad and sluggish river, issues from the E. extremity of the lake ; its width at the outlet is 200 yards. After an easterly course of about 200 m. the waters of this stream expand into a small lake known as Kumadan, beyond which they do not suffice to fill the channel, and disappear, probably by evaporation. It is supposed, however, that the Zouga communi- cates with the Limpopo, and also that the tributaries of Lake Ngami are connected with the Zambesi river system. This lake was dis- covered in 1849 by Livingstone, Oswell, and Murray, and has since been visited by Anders- son and other Europeans. NIAGARA, a river of the United States and Canada, flowing N. 33 m. from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, between the state of New York and the province of Ontario, and having in its course the most celebrated falls in the world. It is the channel by which all the waters of the four great upper lakes flow toward the gulf of St. Lawrence, and has a total descent of 333 ft., leaving Lake Ontario still 231 ft. above the sea. The interruption to navigation oc- casioned by the rapid descent of the Niagara river is overcome on the Canadian side by the Welland canal ; and on the American side the communication between tide water and the upper lakes was first effected by the Erie canal. From the N. E. extremity of Lake Erie the Niagara river flows in a northerly direction