Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/854

* YENISEI. 722 YEOMEN OF THE GUARD. deretl dangerous by severe northern gales. Never- theless sea-going vessels can ascend the river as far as Yeniseisk, near the mouth of the Angara, and ships from Europe have for a number of years regularly carried supplies for the mines along the river, by way of the Arctic Ocean, a good harbor having been found in the estuary. The Trans-Siberian Eailroad crosses the river at Krasnoyarsk. YENISEISK, yen'e-salsk. A -government of Siberia extending from the Arctic Ocean to Jlon- golia and bounded on the east by Yakutsk and Irkutsk and on the west by Tobolsk and Tomsk (Map: Asia, J 2). Area, estimated at over 988,000 square miles, or nearly half of Euro- pean Russi.a (excluding Finland). The region has a greatly varied surface. In the south the Sayansky Jlountains extend in parallel chains inclosing deep and narrow valleys and rising in their highest peaks to over 5000 feet. North of the Sayansky Jlountains the surface is mostly un- dulating or hilly and is densely wooded. The en- tire portion north of the Tungus Mountains con- sists of tundras varied to a slight extent by hilly patches east of the Yenisei. The region belongs largely to the basin of the Yenisei (q.v. ), which receives many tributaries. In the northern part there are also a number of rivers flowing direct- ly into the Arctic Ocean,, such as the Kliatanga, the Taimur, and the Pyassina. The lakes are comparatively small. The climate is on the whole continental and extremely severe. In the northern part the soil remains frozen at a. depth of two feet even in the summer, and the winter temperature in that part is lower than in Nova Zembla. The mean annual temperature ranges from 8° at Tolstv Nos (latitude 70° 5' N.) to 31° at Minusinsk (latitude 53° 43' N.). Yeni- seisk is not rich in minerals, although gold is fomid in the extreme south. In 1899 the output of gold amounted to nearly 81.800 ounces. There is an abundance of agricultural land in the south, but labor is very scarce. The land belongs almost entirely to the Crown. The ex- tensive and valuable forests are utterly unpro- tected by the GoAernment and are sufl'ering greatly from conflagrations. Fishing is carried on extensively in the north. The Trans-Siberian Railway runs through the southern part of the government. Population, in 1897, 559,902. of whom the non-Russians (chiefly Tiinguses, Yakuts, Samoyeds, Ostyaks, and Tatars) num- bered about .50,000, The Russian population includes over 57.000 exiles and a large number of dissenters. Capital, Krasnoyarsk (q.v,). YENISEISK. A town in the Government of Yeniseisk, Siberia, on the Y''eni.sei, about 220 miles north of Krasnoyarsk. It has a cathedral. The town was founded in 1018. Population, in 1897, 11,3.39. YEO, Sir James Lucas (1782-1818). A British naval oflicer, prominent in the War of 1812. He was born at Southampton, and entered the British Navy in 1793. In 1800 he was pres- ent at the siege of Genoa and then served in the Adriatic, entering the harbor of Cesenatieo. at the head of a small force, and destroying Ihirteen merchant vessels on .Xufrust 2ritli. In 1809. at the bead of about 400 English and Portuguese, lie captured Cayenne, the capital of French GuiiuiM -iciiiring about 1000 prisoners. On Feb- ruary 3, 1812, in command of the frigate South- ampton, he captured a superior piratical frigate, the Amethyste; and early in 1813 he was made commodore and commander-in-chief of the Brit- ish naval force on the Great Lakes, where he was opposed by Commodore Chauneey, command- ing the American fleet. At the outset the two fleets seem to have been about equal in fighting strength. Y'eo took formal command at Kingstcm, on Lake Ontario, in May. and on the 29th, the American fleet being at the west end of the lake, united with Sir George Prevost (q,v. ) in a half- hearted and unsuccessful attack on Sackett's Harbor, where the Americans were building two new vessels. On August 10, 1813, in an in- decisive engagement with Chauncey's fleet off Fort Niagara, Y'eo captured two small American vessels, the Groiclcr and the Julia; and on Sep- tember 11th an unimportant engagement occurred off the mouth of the Genesee River, Chauneey gaining a slight advantage. In another engage- ment, on September 28tli. in York Bay, Yeo was somewliat crippled, and thereafter for some time was blockaded by Chauneey in Kingston Harbor. On May 6, 1814, Y'eo. w-ith a strengthened fleet, captured Oswego, which, however, was immedi- ately reoceupied by the Americans: and from May 29th to .lune Cth he blockaded Chauneey at Sackett's Harbor. Thereafter imtil the close of the war neither officer felt strong enough to attack his opponent, and both avoided a general engagement. In 1815 Yeo became commander- in-chief of the British naval forces on the west coast of Africa, and in 1818 died while return- ing to England. YEOMAN (probably from AS. ga, gc, Goth. (/awi, OHG. gorri, gouiri, Ger, Gaii, district, prov- ince -|- man, man). A term in early English history applied to a common menial servant, but after the fifteenth century denoting a class of small freeholders, forming the next grade below gentlemen. The term yeoman is sometimes considered identical with the freeholder, pos- sessed of the elective franchise. YEOMANRY. The mounted branch of the British volunteers (see Volvsteer) up to the Boer War were described as Y'eomanry Volun- teers, owing to the fact that they were recruited from the yeomanry classes, and thus were finan- cially able to support the necessary cavalry charger and equipment. In the Boer Yar these troops served with considerable success, so that (April 17, 1901) the title was changed to Im- perial Yeomanry, and the strength of the force very considerably increased. The organization into regiments of four squadrons with a regi- mental stalT and machine-gun .section and fixed rates of ])ay and allowances was also provided. It was the intention of the War Oflice in 1902 to establish a force of yeomanry aggregating 35.- 000 men, divi<led into 24 regiments, and in November of that year 20,000 had been enlisted. The Imperial Yennianrv were ilesigned primarily as mounl<'d forces for home defense, wliile Colo- nial Yeomanry for Imperial defense were also enlisled. The yeomanry come under the same cbissificafion and re!.'ilations as the volunteer iiif:iii(ry. YEOMEN OF THE GUARD. An llnglisb eompniiy furming n pari of llie lioyal llouschnld and serving on .State occasions as the bodyguard