Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/821

 POWERS lished "Impressions of America" (2 vols. 8vo, London, 1835); "The King's Secret," a novel ; " The Lost Heir," &c. POWERS, Hiram, an American sculptor, born in Woodstock, Vt., July 29, 1805, died in Florence, Italy, June 27, 1873. He passed his youth on his father's farm, and emigrated with the family to Ohio ; and on the death of his father soon afterward he settled in Cin- cinnati, where he was first a clerk, and then an apprentice to a clockmaker. Learning from a German sculptor the art of modelling in clay, he made some busts and medallions of con- siderable merit, and for seven years had charge of the waxwork department of the western museum at Cincinnati. In 1835 he went to Washington, where he was for some time em- ployed in modelling busts of distinguished men. With the assistance of Nicholas Long worth of Cincinnati, he was enabled in 1837 to visit Italy, and settled in Florence, which continued to be his home till his death. He at first de- voted himself chiefly to modelling busts ; but in 1838 he produced an ideal statue of Eve, which Thorwaldsen pronounced a masterpiece. A year later he finished the model of his " Greek Slave," his most widely known work, of which at least six duplicates in marble have been made, besides casts and reduced copies. Among other well known works by him are the "Fish- er Boy," of which three repetitions in marble have been produced ; " II Penseroso ;" "Pro- serpine," a bust; "California;" "America," modelled for the crystal palace at Sydenham, England; and portrait statues of Washington for the state of Louisiana, of Calhoun for South Carolina, which has been called his best work of the kind, and of Webster for Massachusetts. Of his busts, which comprise much the greater part of his works, those of Adams, Jackson, Webster, Calhoun, Chief Justice Marshall, Ev- erett, and Van Buren are well known and stri- king specimens. His latest ideal productions are " The Last of his Tribe," a statue of an In- dian maiden, and a " Head of Jesus Christ." Powers invented a process of modelling in plas- ter which, by obviating the necessity of taking a clay model, expedites the labor of the sculptor. POWERS, Mechanical. See MECHANICS. POWESHIEK, a S. E. county of Iowa, drained by the north fork of Skunk river, which crosses the S. W. corner, and by English river and other streams ; area, 576 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 15,581. It has a fertile soil. The Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific, and the Central Iowa railroads pass through it. The chief produc- tions in 1870 were 709,726 bushels of wheat, 1,435,557 of Indian corn, 189,362 of oats, 78,987 of potatoes, 286,630 Ibs. of butter, 28,127 of wool, and 22,783 tons of hay. There were 7,064 horses, 5,223 milch cows, 9,710 other cattle, 8,395 sheep, and 25,102 swine ; 7 manu- factories of carriages and wagons, 4 of sad- dlery, and 3 flour mills. Capital, Montezuma. POWHATAff, an E. county of Virginia, bor- dered N. by the James river and S. by the 681 VOL. xin. 51 POWNALL 797 Appomattox ; area, about 300 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 7,667, of whom 5,115 were colored. It has a level surface and a naturally fertile soil. The Richmond, Danville, and Piedmont railroad passes the S. E. border. The chief productions in 1870 were 70,804 bushels of wheat, 74,896 of Indian corn, 72,046 of oats, 541,430 Ibs. of tobacco, and 5,541 of wool. There were 628 horses, 447 mules and asses, 982 milch cows, 1,405 other cattle, 2,070 sheep, and 3,554 swine. Capital, Powhatan Court House. POWHATAN, an American Indian sachem, born about 1550, died in Virginia in April, 1618. His original name was Wahunsonacock, the name Powhatan being that of his early residence near the falls of the James river, on the present site of Richmond. He raised him- self from the rank of a chieftain to the com- mand of 30 tribes, which numbered about 8,000 souls. His dominions included the country between the rivers James and Patuxent, and in the interior as far as the falls of the chief rivers. After the extension of his power, he resided principally at Werowocomoco, on York river, in the present county of Gloucester. When the first expedition under Newport and Smith visited him at Powhatan, he treated them with hospitality. Subsequently Smith, according to his own story, was taken prisoner, and was about to be despatched when Pow- hatan, through the intervention of his daughter Pocahontas, spared his life, and ultimately sent him to Jamestown with strong protestations of regard. Recent investigations have thrown discredit "upon this tale. When Newport sub- sequently returned to Virginia from England, he brought several presents, one of which was a crown, and the ceremony of coronation was performed a few days later. For the honor shown him, Powhatan gave Newport his man- tle and old shoes. Captain Smith afterward made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the " emperor " in order to obtain a supply of corn ; and in revenge Powhatan prepared to attack the English by night, but was foiled by the watchfulness of Pocahontas. The quarrels between Powhatan and the English did not cease until the marriage of his daughter with Rolfe, after which he was their firm friend. POWNALL, Thomas, an English statesman, born in Lincoln in 1722, died in Bath, Feb. 25, 1805. He emigrated to America in 1753, and in 1757 was appointed governor of the colony of Massachusetts Bay. He was recalled at his own request, and succeeded Sir Francis Bernard as lieutenant governor of New Jersey in 1760, and soon afterward became governor of South Carolina. In 1761 he returned to England, was made comptroller general of the expen- ditures of the army in Germany, and in 1768 was elected to parliament. He earnestly op- posed the measures of the government against the colonies. After being three times returned to parliament, he retired in 1780, and passed the remainder of his life in antiquarian studies. He was the author of a great number of works,