Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/31

BHIWANA. BHIWANA, h'he-wii'na. A town of British India, in the District of Hissar, Punjab, 55 miles west of Dellii (Map: India, C 3). It has a con- siderable trade in metaU. sugar, spices, and salt, and is the chief trading centre of the district. Population, 35.500.

BHOPAL, h'ho-pal' (ii/io/, its founder + Hind. pill, dam I. The capital of the British political agency, and of the native State of the same name. Central India (Map: India, C 4). Population, in 1891, 70.300. It is surrounded by a dilapidated stone wall of about two miles in circuit. The fort, which is the residence of the Xawab. stands on a huge rock outside the town. Other inter- esting buildings comprise the Begum's palace, two mosques, the arsenal, and the mint. The to^TTi is clean, has fine promenade gardens, is well lighted, and owns and operates its own water- works, which utilize two immense tanks in the immediate neighborhood — one being 2 miles in length, and the other measuring 4^7^ miles by IVo- Each sends forth a river, and most probably both were formed by the embanking and dam- ming up of their respective streams.

BHOPAL. A territory and British political agency of Central India", situated within the basins of the Ganges and the Xerbudda. in lati- tude 22° 32' to 23= 46' X., and longitude 76° 25' to 78° 50' E. It comprises 31 native administra- tions, including the native State, and is under the immediate superintendence of the Governor- General. Area, 8200 square miles: population, in 1801. 2.006.860: in 1901, 1,198,350.

BHRIGU, b'hre'goo. The name of a Brah- manical tribe, ahd also of the discoverer of fire, according to the mythology of the Vedas.

BHUJ, b'hnnj, or BHOOJ (named after its founder. Bhuj or Bhoj ). The capital of the native State of Cutch or Kachh, India, situated at the foot of a fortified hill of the same name, in latitude 23° 15' N., and longitude 69° 44' E., about 35 miles from the sea (Jlap: India, A 4). Its mosques and pagodas, interspersed with plan- tations of dates, give to the town an imposing appearance from a distance. A temple dedicated to the cobra de capello is an interesting feature. Bhuj is celebrated for its manufactures in gold and silver. Population, about 25,400.

BHURTPORE. See Bu.vktpub.

BHUTAN, b'hoo-tan'. An independent State of India, situated on the southern slope of the Himalayas (Map: India. F 3). It is bounded on the south by Bengal, and on the north and east by Tibet. Some of the mountains attain an altitude of over 16.000 feet. The area is esti- mated at 16,000 square miles, and the popula- tion at 200,000. Some poitions of the territory are fertile, and produce millet, wheat, and rice. The supply, however, is insufficient to meet the domestic demand. Cattle are reared and consid- erable numbers of a peculiar breed of ponies are exported. The manufactures comprise coarse cloths, silks, arms, and the production of musk. The natives are linguistically and physically of Tibetan stock, with some infiision of Ari-an, and possibly also of Dravidian blood. Polygamy and polyandry prevail. The common religion is Buddhism in its Lamaistic form, with added su- perstitions of local origin. The administration of the State consists of a spiritual and secular ad- mi.ture, divided between the secular Del R;ija, who nominally is elected for a term of three years by the penlops, or magnates, from their midst, but in reality is the nominee of the predominat- ing chieftains, and the Dharm Raja, the pre- sumed reincarnation of Buddha, who is supposed to interest himself solely with the spiritual control of the State. The capital is Punakha, or Dosen, a strong natural fortress, Bhutan for- merly comprised considerable tracts of territory now included in Bengal and Assam, which have been annexed by the British Government in re- taliation for outrages committed by the na- tives. After an attack by the natives in 1865, a punitive expedition was sent by the British Government, with the result that a treaty was concluded with the ruler of Bhutan, by the terms of which he was to receive a subsidy of 50,000 rupees (about .$16,000) as a guarantee against further aggression.

BIAFRA, be-a'fra. Bight of. An inlet of the Gulf of Guinea (q.v. ) (Map: Africa, E 4). The name is usually applied to that portion of the Gulf of Guinea which extends along the west- em coast of Africa between Cape Formosa on the north an(J Cape Lopez on the south, and thus borders Calabar, the German possession of Kam- erun, and the northern part of French Congo. The width of the bight is over 400 miles from cape to cape. The island of Fernando Po lies just off the Kamerun coast, and Prince's Island and the island of Saint Thomas lie in the broad entrance to the bight.

BIALOWICZA, byil'li-ve'cha, or ByiXOV- YEZHSK.Y. PlSHTCHA, FOBEST OF. See LlTH-

BIALYSTOK, byal'e-stdk', or BIELOSTOK, byal'd-stok'. A garrison town in the Government of Grodno, ^Yestcm Russia, on the Bialy, a trib- utary of the Narew, 45 miles southwest of Grod- no (Map: Russia, B 4). It is well built, has a commodious market, several churches, and a municipal palace and park, called the "Versailles of Poland,' the former residence of the C'oimta of Braniski, Bialystok has manufactures of woolen goods, leather, hats, soap, etc. Popula- tion, in 1892, 62.626; in 1897, 63.927.

BIAN'CA, Ital. pron. byiin'ka. (1) In Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, the gentle younger sister of Katharine. She marries Lu- centio after Katharine's marriage to Petruchio. (2) In Shakespeare's Othello, a flame of Cassio. (3) The heroine of Massinger and Fletcher's Fair Maid of the Inn. (4) In Dean Milman's Fazio, the wife of Fazio, who from jealousy denounces her husband. She repents, but, failing to save him, becomes insane and dies.

BIANCA VILLA, byan-kft-vel'lft (It. hinnca, white + villa, tovm). A city in Sicily, on the southwest slope of Jlount Etna. 20 miles north- west of Catania (Map: Italy. .110). The streets are paved with lava, and in the vicinity are tho basaltic grotto of Scila and the grotto of the .Archi in the lava of 1607. with a tunnel half a mile long at the height nf nearly 7000 feet. The country prodiices wine and gr:un. and the cotton from all this part of Sicilv bears the name of Biancavilla. The town was founded as an .-Mba- nese colonv in 1480. Population, in 1881, 13,319; in moi. 133.-)S.

BIANCHI, bvan'k* (It., the Whites, plur. of bianco: cf. Eng. blayil:). A political party in