Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/168

* RIFLEMAN. 148 RIGAS. RIFLEMAN and RIFLE CORPS. Formerly, the term rillemau designated an infantry soldier armed and eijuipped so as to l)e capable of greater mobility and more efl'eetive marksman- ship than was possible with the ordinary infantry soldiers of the line. Modern condi- tions, however, demand that all regiments alike possess these (lualitics. so that, with the excep- tion of uniform, the rifleman of to-day differs in no material way from his comrade in the line. Throughout the armies of Europe the rifle regi- ments are dressed in uniforms of black, dark green, or some other shade of inconspicuous color. In England, the Rifle Brigade, King's Eoyal Rifles, Irish Rifles, and Scottish Rifles (see Cam- ERONiiVNS) constitute the entire rifle establish- ment of the Regular Army, and are all distin- guished b}- their dark green uniforms, varied only by tlie facings, or the tartan trews of the Gam- eronians. The term rifleman is frequently used as being synonjmious with sharpshooter (q.v. ), but such is no longer the case. Wlien in 177!) the volunteer citizen soldier became an integral fac- tor in English national defense, he was spoken of as a rifleman, and his regiment as a volunteer corps. His uniform was gray, the particular shade of which has since been known as rifle- gray. In the United States Armj', the preeminent characteristics of the soldier, whether mounted or dismounted, have ever been those of the rifle- man. The tactics employed by the Colonials against the British were later developed bj' long experience in Indian fighting, so that the ability to skirmish and shoot became marked charac- teristics of the frontier soldier. The mounted rifleman is a product of comparatively recent military development. See Moukted Infantry. RIFLING. See Ordnance; Small Arms. RIFT VALLEY. A depression in the earth's crusts formed by a vertical displacement of the strata. In some instances there is a single line of displacement, along which the strata on one side have been depressed, but quite often there are a series of faults running in parallel direc- tions and dividing the strata into blocks which show the effects of differential movement. The depressions thus formed may be occupied by riv- ers or lakes and in time they lose their character- istic sharp contours, taking on the appearance of ordinary erosional valleys. Rift valleys are common in mountainous districts all over the world. The Great Basin region, particularly in southeastern Oregon, affords many fine examples and those occupied by the great lakes of Central Africa are especially noteworthy. RIG (of a vessel). See Ship. / RIGA, re'ga. A seaport of Russia, capital of the Government of Livonia and the seat of the Governor-General of the Baltic Provinces, sit- u<ated on the Dlina, about 10 miles above its mouth in the Gulf of Riga, 363 miles southw-est of Saint Petersburg (Map: Russia. B 3). The old town on the right bank of the Diina has the appearance of a mediaeval German town, while the suburbs, which contain the bulk of the popula- tion, are largely modern. Riga possesses com- paratively few ancient buildings. There may be noted the Domkirche, founded originally in the thirteenth century, but rebuilt in the sixteenth and containing one of the largest organs in the world; and the Church of Saint Peter, with a steeple 440 feet high. The castle, now the residence of the Governor- General and the seat of the administration, the house of the Black Heads, the exchange, the guild houses, and the theatre may also Ije mentioned. Riga is better provided with educational and charitable institutions than most Russian cities. It has a polytechnicum with over 1400 students, a seminary for priests, a school of navigation, and a municipal museum. It occupies the third rank among the seaports of Russia and the second among the Baltic seaports. Riga is also an important industrial centre. The chief manufactures are machinerj', railway cars, lumber, leather, candles, tiles, glass, tobacco products, etc.. the annual value of its manufac- tures exceeding .$30,000,000. The principal har- bors of Riga aie those at the mouth of the Diina and the lliihlgraben, nearer to the city. Lighter craft go up to the city by the canalized river. The harbor is frozen for a considerable part of the year and is not well protected. Riga has latterly grown in connnercial importance. The average value of its annual exports rose from about .$26,000,000 for the period of 1891-95 to over $35,000,000 for the period of 1896-1900; while the imports increased from about $13,000,- 000 in 1891-95 to nearly $27,000,000 in 1896- 1900. The principal exports are cereals, flax and flaxseed, eggs, and lumber; and the chief imports, machinery, cotton, coal, and groceries. The popu- lation rose from 169,329 in 1881 to 282,943 in 1897. About 50 per cent, of the population is German. Riga was founded by Albert L. Bishop, of Livo- nia, in 1201. An episcopal see was established here, which soon was erected into an archbishop- •ric. The town attracted many colonists from Germany on account of the commercial privi- leges granted to it by its fountier, and became a flourishing member of the Hanseatic League. Its burghers were involved in conflicts with the arch- bishops, who sought to hold the city under their temporal power, and with the Teutonic Knights. About the middle of the sixteenth century Riga passed into the possession of the King of Poland. Soon after the archbishopric was abolished In 1621 the city was taken after a long siege by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. It passed to Russia in 1710. Consult: Neumann, Das mit- telalterliche Ripa (Berlin, 1892) ; Tobien, Er- gebnisse der Rifjaer Handelstatistik, 1866-91 (Riga, 1893) ; Mettig, Oeschichfe der t<trfdt Riga (Riga, 1895) ; Der Stadt Riga (Riga, 1901). RIGA, Gulf of. An inlet of the Baltic Sea, extending in a southerly direction between the governments of Esthonia, Livonia, and Courland (Map: Russia, B 3). It is about 100 miles long and over 70 miles wide. Its water is less salty than that of the Baltic Sea. The gulf never freezes over entirely and is ice free for about two-thirds of the year along the coast. At its southeastern corner it receives the River Diina. At the entrance to the gulf lie the isl.ands of Oesel, Dago, and Mohn. RIGAS, or RHIGAS, re'gits, Konstantinos (1754-98). A Greek patriot and poet, born at Velestinos (ancient Pherce). Until 1790 he was in the employ of the Hospodar of Wallachia and then, joining the revolutionary party, attempted, first to form an anti-Turkish committee in