Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/541

 WAYWODE with the Indians of the northwest, and to take possession of all forts held by the British in that territory, and died while returning from this expedition. On account of his bravery and apparent rashness he was popularly called " mad Anthony Wayne." His life by John Armstrong is included in Sparks's " American Biography" (1st series, vol. iv.). WAYWODE (Slav, wi or woy, war, and vodit or wodsi^ to lead), a title formerly borne in Slavic countries by military leaders, who were also frequently governors of provinces, hence, as in Poland, called waywodeships. The gov- ernors of Moldavia and Wallachia, in the ear- lier history of those countries called waywodes, afterward took the Greek title despota, and finally the Slavic hospodar. The title way- wode (Hun. mjda) was also in use in Hungary and Transylvania ; and Serb Woiwodina (Serb Waywodeship) was the name of a division of Austria established by Francis Joseph in 1849, and abolished in 1860. It included the Banat and the county of Bacs. WEAK FISH, or Sqneteagnc, a spiny-rayed fish of the genus otolithus (Cuv.), resembling the perch. It has numerous teeth in the jaws, WEASEL 521 Common Weak Fish (Otolithus regalis). some having the form of elongated, hook-like canines ; the head is convex, supported by cavernous bones ; the air bladder has a horn on each side projecting forward. The common weak fish (0. regalis, Cuv.) is between 1 and 2 ft. long, brownish blue above, with irregular brownish spots, and tinged with greenish and banded in the young ; the sides silvery, abdo- men white, and iris yellow ; lower fins orange ; no barbels on chin, and bones of anal fin weak ; there is a single row of very small teeth in the upper jaw, and a double series in the lower ; dorsals separated, and the second, with the caudal and anal, mostly covered with scales. This was formerly one of the most common marine fishes in Vineyard and Long Island sounds, but is now less abundant ; it has been taken in the gulf of St. Lawrence and the gulf of Mexico ; it often accompanies the bass (la- brax). The flesh is wholesome and well flavored, but so quickly gets soft that it does not rank high in the market. The air bladder makes excellent isinglass for culinary purposes. WEAKLEY, a N. W. county of Tennessee, bor- dering on Kentucky, drained by tributaries of the Obion river ; area, about 550 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 20,755, of whom 3,899 were colored. The surface is nearly level, and the soil fertile. It is intersected by the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 136,298 bushels of wheat, 279,544 of Indian corn, 5,933 of Irish and 10,282 of sweet potatoes, 258,295 Ibs. of butter, 20,056 of wool, and 2,599,590 of tobacco. There were 3,914 horses, 2,673 mules and asses, 4,062 milch cows, 4,913 other cattle, 13,034 sheep, and 38,935 swine ; 4 flour mills, 1 cotton mill, and 10 saw mills. Capital, Dresden. WEASEL, the general name of the carniv- orous mammals of the family muttelidce, in- cluding many genera approaching the cats in bloodthirstiness. Most of these have been de- scribed under BADGER, ERMINE, FERRET, FISH- ER, GLUTTON, MARTEN, MINK, OTTER, POLECAT, SABLE, and SKUNK ; indeed, most of the Amer- ican weasels will be found under ERMINE and MINK, the latter being the type of Cuvier's ge- nus putorius, since divided into three by Wag- ner. The head is short and rounded ; the den- tal formula is : incisors f if, canines ~, pre- molars fif, and molars l=3f or 34, being one premolar fewer on each side, above and below, than in the less carnivorous genus mus- tela (Linn.) ; ears short and round ; feet five- toed, with sharp claws; hair fine and soft. They are small, with elongated bodies and short legs, giving them a peculiar gliding serpentine motion ; they are very active, preying on small quadrupeds and birds, and so eager for blood that they kill indiscriminately all the animals they can overpower, usually breaking in at once the skull of their victims ; they are some- times destructive among poultry, their slender form enabling them to penetrate through very narrow openings ; when alarmed or irritated, they exhale a disagreeable odor. Our common or least weasel (P. pusillus, And. and Bach.) is only 6 in. long, with a tail of 1 in., slender and not tufted nor tipped with black; it is dark brown above, the lower parts, inside of limbs, and upper lip white, this color extend- ing high up on the sides ; it becomes white, according to Richardson, in the fur countries during winter, but remains brown above all the year in the United States ; it extends from New York to Minnesota and northward. The common European weasel (P. vulgaris, Cuv.), Common European Weasel (Putorius vulgaris). la lelette of the French, is 6 or 7 in. long, with a tail of 2 in. more ; it is reddish brown above, the upper part of tail like back, but lower sur- face white ; it is said to become all white in winter in the far north. It is found through- out temperate Europe, generally near the abode