Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/534

* CHAGOS ISLANDS. 456 CHAIN. Great Britain, and is an administrative depend- ency of Mauritius. CHAGKES, chii'griis. A river of Colombia, South America, ilowing nearly across the Istli- nius of Panama and entering the Atlantic west of Colon (Map: South America, A 2). It is over 100 miles long and it is the intenticm to i!se its abundant waters in conned icni with the Panama Canal (q.v.). At its niouUi is situated the i)rt of Chagres. CHAHA, clui'hi, or CHAJA. See Scheamer. CHAILLE-LONG, sh-i'vi'ldN', Charles 1840 — ). An American explorer. He was bom in Maryland of French descent, and served in the Lnion Army during the Civil War. In ISO!) he was a]ipc)intc(l liculenant-coloncl in the Kgyjitian Army, aiul four years later became chief of stall' to General Gordon, then engaged in sup- pressing the slave trade on the Yhite Nile. Soon afterwards he was sent by the Khedive to the Court of the King of Uganda, who acknowledged himself the vassal of Kgypt. He published an account of this expedition in Central Africa: Xaked Truths of Xaked People (1870). Kcturn- ing to Now York, he studied law at Columbia, and in 1882 went to Ale.xandria to practice in- ternational law. There he rendered imjMirlant services during the Alexandria massacre, and the subsequent bombardment by the English squadron. In the absence of the United States consul-general and consular agents, he reestab- lished the consulate and protected many Euro- peans and Americans. Later in the same year he practiced international law in Paris, and in 18S7 was appointed United States consul-general and secretary of legation in Korea. In 1884 he published The Three Prophets: Chinese Gor- don, the Mahdi, and Arahi Pacha. CHAIN (OF. chaine, Fr. chaine, Dutch heten, ketting, MLG. kedene, kede, Ger. Kette, OIIG. chettin'i, from Lat. catena, chain). A series of Ilcxibly connected links of metal or other material designed for ornament or to serve the purpose of cord, rope, or cables. Chains are evidently of very ancient origin. Nearly all old writers speak of their use, and they are re- l)eated!y referred to in the Bible. Remnants of cliains of Roman manufacture are preserved in nniscums and they show a variety of link fornui- tions and excellent workmanship. The uses made of chains by the ancients were few and unimpor- tant compared with the multitude of uses to which they are aj)plied at present. They served for ornament, as emblems of investiture and badges of ollice, and as fetters for captors, but cordage was employed for all other purposes to which chains are now extensively applied. Cliains are now employed as ornaments and for the various purposes of a band, cord, rope, or cable in hoisting and hauling operations, in transmitting jjower, and in connecting, confining, and restraining objects. The modern chain of commerce, therefore, embraces chains varying in size and material, from the thread-like article of pure gold to the ship's cable of iron, each link of which weighs from 100 to 200 ptmnds, and will withstand a breaking strain of many tons. SInieturally, chains may be somewhat roughlj' divided into those whose separate links are each composed of a single piece of metal and those whose links are each made up of several sepa- rate pieces of metal. The ordinary oval link hoisting chain is an example of the first class, while the bicycle chain exemplifies ipiite well the second class. Chains may be also divided into liand-made and machine-made chains, but the division is not a sharp one. It is also common practice to define chains by special names based upon the form of the link, as stud chains, open- link chains, and twisted-link chains: or upon the use to which the chain is put, as crane chain, chain cable, and bicycle chains, or upon the name of the inventor or some other real or apjiarcnt peculiarity. This form of definition so far as it is practiced is neither complete nor systematic. Chains are made in a variety of ways depend- ing upon the material used, the size, the link formation, the purpose to which the article is to be put, etc. Chains for cranes, -ship's cables, dredges, etc., are always hand-made, that is, each link is welded by hand and often is both formed and welded by hand from rolled bar iron. The various .stages of operation are substantially as follows: The workman, taking a round bar or rod of iron of the proper diameter, heats it in a forge and then by means of a chisel cuts ofT a piece long enough to form a single link. This piece is again heated and then licnt by liammer- blows around a suitably shaped nose until it has a U shape. The U-shaped piece is then hooked into the last completed link of the chain and the unconnected ends thrust again into the forge to receive a welding heat. The final process is to weld together the unconnected ends arinind a nose of suitable shape and to bring the link to perfect form and dimensions. In chains made as just described, the weld is usually at the end of the link. When making large shi]i's cables the chain-maker often uses presses for bending the bars into link f<n-m and the bending is so done as to bring the weld at the side of the link. The welding may also be done by power hammers in making very large cables. In making stud chains or twisted-link chains the only change in the mode of procedure de- scribed above is the introduction of the neces- sary additijnnal operation of inserting the brace or stud or of twisting the link, just iirevious to closing up the ends of the U-piece for the final welding operation. A stud chain is an open-link chain, in each link of which a transverse stud or brace is placed to pre^•ent the sides of the links from closing up or drawing together when the chain is subjected to a heavy pull or load. Twisted links are of great advantage when a chain has to be wound on a drum, since they lie Hat and smooth on the drum. Generally speaking, all chains over one inch in size are made by hand, but the great bulk of the chains of smaller sizes are macle by inachinery. Machine-made iron chains are of two kinds, known as welded chains and wcldless ch;iins. In making welded chains by niachinc the rod of iron is first run through a machine called a winder, which winds it around a mandrel and turns it out in the form of a long spiral sjiring. This rod is then cut by a machine so that each twist or spiral is severed from the next and the stock is in the form of rings whose ojien ends only need to be welded together to form complete closed links. The welding is done by heating the ring and placing it in dies, which, under the blows of a trip-hammer operated by the work- man's foot, form it into shape and weld together