Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/658

 638 POINT DE GALLE PO1RSON which is Fort Monroe, a formidable structure covering 60 acres of ground. A redoubt thrown forward from its N. W. bastion de- fends the strip of land which connects the point with the mainland. One mile S. of Fort Monroe, on the other side of the entrance to Hampton roads, an artificial island has been formed upon a mud bank originally covered with 17 ft. of water, and upon the foundation thus obtained an important defensive work, named Fort Wool, is in process of erection. Forts Monroe and Wool close the entrance to Hampton roads, James river, and the water approaches of the navy yard at Norfolk. Fort Monroe is. the seat of the artillery school of the United States army, which is a special school of application for both officers and enlisted men. Each of the five regiments of artillery has one battery stationed permanently at the school with its captain, and sends annually to the school four lieutenants. The instruction extends through one year, and comprises the theory and practice of gunnery, military engi- neering, history, law, mathematics, and tactics. The school was established in 1867 under the command of Brevet Major Gen. W. F. Barry, who is still its commandant (1875). POINT DE GALLE, a fortified town on a rocky promontory at the S. W. extremity of the island of Ceylon, 65 m. S. S. E. 'of Colombo ; pop. in 1871, 4,954. It is the seat of govern- ment of the southern province of the colony of Ceylon ; but its chief importance is as the coaling depot and port for transshipping pas- sengers and goods from one line to another, for the steamers that ply between Calcutta, Australia, and Suez, Bombay, Penang, Singa- pore, and China, with branches to the Dutch and Spanish possessions in the Indian archi- pelago. The native artisans are celebrated for their skill in making gold and silver ornaments. POINTE-A-PITRE, a city of the island of Guadeloupe, West Indies, on the S. W. coast of Grande-Terre, at the S. entrance of the river Salee; pop. about 19,000. Its harbor, which is strongly defended, is one of the best and safest in the Antilles. The city is regularly built, and its streets are broad, straight, and well paved. There are three public squares, fine quays, and many handsome buildings, mostly of stone. Pointe-d-Pitre is one of the chief commercial centres of the Antilles, and almost all the trade of the colony is done through it. Its chief exports are sugar, mo- lasses, brandy, cacao, cassia, coffee, cabinet and dye woods, indigo, tortoise shell, pre- served fruits, and rum ; imports, mostly man- ufactured goods and provisions. Pointe-a-Pi- tre was founded in 1768. In 1780 it was nearly destroyed by fire, and in 1843 by an earthquake. In 1871 another disastrous fire burned a large part of the city. POINTE COCPEE, a S. E. parish of Louisiana, bordered E. by the Mississippi river and W. by the Atchafalaya; area, 576 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 12,981, of whom 9,229 were colored. It has a low and level surface, subject to over- flow by the Mississippi, and a fertile soil. The chief productions in 1870 were 138,010 bushels of Indian corn, 9,744 bales of cotton, 1,548 hogsheads of sugar, and 113,210 gallons of mo- lasses. There were 612 horses, 1,537 mules and asses, 1,586 milch cows, 1,920 other cattle, 1,257 sheep, and 1,584 swine. Capital, Pointe Coupee. POINTER (canis amcularis), a well known sporting dog belonging to the race of hounds, which it resembles in general aspect, character, and colors. Though frequently called Spanish, and probably introduced by the Phoenicians- into western Europe from Spain, the breed is generally believed to have originated in the East. Their habit of standing fixed and point- ing to game is the result of a long course of Pointer. severe training; and, from the succession of generations educated to this purpose, the fac- ulty has become innate to such a degree that young dogs of the pure breed point with scarce- ly any instruction ; good dogs have been known to stand pointing for an hour at a time. When shooting supplanted hawking and coursing, in the latter part of the 17th century, the point- er and other trained dogs took the place of the more powerful, fiercer, and swifter hounds. The hair of the pointer is smooth, sometimes marked like the foxhound's, but generally with more spreading dark colors ; and some of the best breed are entirely black. The thorough- bred Spanish pointer has the nostrils separated by a deep groove, and their wings dilated and very sensitive. POINT LEVI. SeeLfivis. POIRSON, Angnste Simon Jean Chrysostome, a French historian, born in Paris, Aug. 20, 1795, died in July, 1871. The college of Charle- magne acquired great importance under his direction from 1837 to 1853, when he retired. His works include Histoire romaine (2 vols., Paris, 1827-'8), Precis de VMstoire de France (1834-'52), and Histoire de Henri IV. (3 vols., 1857; 2d ed., 4 vols., 1862-'7), which received the Gobert prize from the academy.