Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/828

* YACHT. 702 YAKIMA. there exploded, when the pressure of the gas drives the piston. Alcohol is used in place of naphtha in some motors. Naphtha launches first became popular in 1886. Thousands have been set afloat since tliat date. The Adlos, built by H. S. Leighton, of Syracuse, in 1902, though but 55 feet long, was driven at a speed of 23 land miles an hour, by a motor of 120 horse power. In a race between naphtha launches, on the Seine, in 1903, the swiftest reached a speed of 22 knots. The EdUhia, owned by John H. Hanan, is a cruiser 114.9 feet long, and she is driven by motors that aggregate 120 horse power. Electric storage batteries have been used to furnish power for launches. In 1889 the Delta, an electric, 39 feet long, in use on the Thames, England, covered long stretches at more than five miles an hour by using the power stored in 44 cells. Much better results can be obtained now, but the lack of stations for recharging the cells prevents a common use of them. YAD'KIN RIVEB. See Geeat Pedee 'River. YAGUARONDI, ya'gwa-rOn'de. See Jagua- Eoxni. YAHGAN, ya'giin. or YAPOO, South American tribe apparently constituting a distinct linguistic stock, occupying the shore of Beagle Channel, in Tierra del Fiiego. They are represented as very low in the scale of culture, building only the merest shelter from the wind, having almost no government or ceremonial forms and very little conception of numbers. They go almost naked, anointing their bodies pro- fusely with grease. On the other hand, they are of good physique, expert hunters and fishers, with bow, bola, lance, and various nets, skill- ful canoe-builders and weavers of water-tight baskets, and have trained their dogs to hunt. Some parts of the Bible have been translated into their language. The race is now nearly ex- terminated, although about 90 are gathered in the two missionary stations of Ushnaia and Tekenika. YAHOOS, ya-hwz'. The slaves of the noble Houylinhnms or horse-folk, in Swift's Gulliver's Travels. They possess the form of man and all his most brutal passions, mischief, hate, ete., and are intended as a satire on the human race. YAHWEH. See jEnovAH. YAJNAVALKYA, yaj'nya-val'kya. A Hindu sage, the author of a legal work entith'd Yajnava-llcyadliarmasastra and cited as the cliief authority in the tiatapatha-Iirdhmana (see Veda), whore he is spoken of as the pupil of the renowned teacher Aruni. According to tradi- tion, Yajnavalkya traced his lineage back to Visvamitra (q.v. ). He seems to have held a position of influence at the court of King Janaka in Mithiln, the capital of Vidcha. the modern Tirhut, Northern Behar. In importance liis code is second only to Manu (q.v.), which it resembles in manj' ways. It comprises 1009 slokas, or couplets, and is divided into three books. The date of its composition is about the middle of the fourth century a.»., when the author is now generally believed to liavc lived. The Ydjiinval- kyadharmaiaslra was edited and translated by Stenzlcr, Ydjfiavalhya's Oesctzbuch, Sanskrit und Deutsch (Berlin, 1849), and with Vijna- nesvara's commentary at Bombay (3d ed. 1892). YAJUE-VEDA, ya'jnr-va'da (Skt., Veda of sacrifice). The name of the third Veda. See Veda. YAK (Tibetan gyal;, gyag). A species of ox (Pwphagus grunniens) found in Tibet, and domesticated there. The wild yak of Central Asia is found only near the limits of perpetual snow, descending into the higher wooded valleys in winter, and ascending in summer to the pas- tures of short grass and sedges, some of which are at an elevation of 17,000 feet above the sea. It is hunted by large dogs, and is very fierce, falling upon an adversary not only with its horns, but with its chest, and crushing him by its weight. It is generally black. The yak has been domesticated from time immemorial, and forms a great part of the wealth of the inhabi- tants of the highest and coldest regions of Cen- tral Asia. The domesticated yak is aboiit the height of an ordinary ox, which it much resem- bles also in figure of body, head, and legs. It is covered all over, however, with a tliick coat of long silky hair, hanging down like the fleece of a sheep. The head is rather short ; the ej-es large and beautiful; the horns not very large, spread- ing, tapering from the base, a little turned back at the tips, a space between them on the fore- head covered with a mass of curling hair. The neck is short ; the withers high and arched ; the rump is low; the legs are short. Over the shoul- ders there appears a bunch somewhat like that of the zebu, but it consists only of long hair. The tail is covered with a large quantity of long flowing hair, descending to the hock. Black and white are the most prevalent colors. The yak does not low like an ox. but utters a short grunting sound like a pig, as the expression both of uneasiness and of satisfaction. Its milk is very rich, and the curd made of it is much used by the Tibetans, both fresh and dried, often powdered into a kind of meal. The butter made from yak-milk is excellent, is preserved for a long time in the dry and cold climate of Tibet in bladders, and is an important article of com- merce. The flesh of the yak is of the finest qual- ity, and is often dried in the sun and eaten raw. The yak is never used for tillage or draught, but is very much employed as a beast of burden, and travels at a slow ])ace, twenty miles a day, where no other beast of burden could well be employed. The hair is spun into nqies, and made into coverings for tents. The soft fur on the hump and shoulders is woven into a fine and strong cloth. Caps, jackets, cloaks, and blankets are made of the skin with the hair on. The tails are the c7toifrics, or fly-flappers, used in all parts of India, and which are to be seen ])ar- ticularly on all occasions of state and parade. Consult Lvdeklcer, Wild Oxen, SIhcep, and (loats (London, 1898). See Plate of Wild Cattle. YAKIMA, yillie-ma (runaway, applied to them in derision by another trilie). -Vn im- jiorfaiit confederacy of Shaha])tian stock (q.v.), formerly occupying a considerable territory on the Yakima and Columbia rivers, eastern Wash- ington, and now gathered with other tribes on the Yakima Reservation in the same country. They call themselves Waptailmim. 'people of the narrows,' in allusion to their principal village,