grist mill, and 1 church. Value of real estate in 1858, $1,049,253. The San Antonio and Mexican Gulf railroad is to pass through this county. Organized in 1846. Capital, Seguin. GUADELOUPE, one of the Leeward islands of the West Indies, and the most important of those which belong to France, between lat. 15° 47′ and 16° 30′ N., and long. 61° 15′ and 61° 45' W.; area, 529 sq. m.; pop. in 1856, 131,160, about of whom are colored. It consists, properly speaking, of two islands, which are separated by a narrow channel, not more than from 30 to 100 yards broad, called Rivière Salée, or Salt river, which is navigable for vessels of small burden. The western, or larger island, styled Guadeloupe Proper, is about 27 m. long and 15 m. wide; the eastern, or smaller one, called Grande-Terre, is nearly 30 m. long, and from 10 to 12 m. wide. Guadeloupe Proper is of volcanic origin, and is traversed from N. to S. by a mountain range whose highest summit is a volcano over 5,000 feet above the sea. Grande-Terre, on the contrary, is low, flat, and marshy, being composed of coralline matter and marine detritus. The climate is in general hot, humid, and unhealthy. Hurricanes are frequent and destructive, but violent earthquakes rarely happen, that of 1843 having been the first severe one since the discovery of the island. The soil is for the most part fertile and well cultivated. The principal exports are sugar (47,000,000 lbs. in 1854), molasses, rum, cotton, tobacco, coffee, dye woods, and copper. The principal imports are cotton goods, pottery, glassware, provisions, and medicines. The exports in 1856 were valued at $3,300,000, and the imports at $2,900,000. The value of imports from the United States is about $450,000 a year. The government of Guadeloupe consists of a governor, a privy council of 6, and a colonial council of 30 members. It has its seat at Basse-Terre, the capital, and exercises jurisdiction over the islands of Guadeloupe, Marie Galante, Desirade, Les Saintes, and St. Martin. Grande-Terre possesses 2 harbors, those of Moule and Pointe-à-Pitre. The latter, at the S. entrance of the Rivière Salée, is one of the best in the Antilles, and is the residence of a U. S. consul. Guadeloupe was discovered by Columbus, Nov. 4, 1493. It was taken possession of by the French in 1635, and after having been repeatedly taken from and by them in the next century and a half, it was ultimately restored to them in 1816. The principal event since that time was the emancipation of the slaves in 1848. A bishopric was created there in 1850, and an imperial decree dated July 26, 1854, regulated the administration of colonial affairs.

GUADET, JOSEPH, a French author and philanthropist, born in Bordeaux in 1795. Educated as a lawyer, he early devoted himself to literary labors, and soon received an appointment as teacher in the imperial institute for blind youth at Paris, where he is now the director-in-chief. He has prepared many works for the use of the blind, a very complete history of the instruction of the blind in France, and biog

raphies of blind artists and mechanicians; he is also the author of some 18 or 20 volumes on historical, chronological, and political topics, which have had a large circulation. His Saint Emilion, son histoire et ses monuments (8vo., 1841), obtained for him in 1838 the gold medal of the institute.

GUADIANA (anc. Anas), a river of Spain, rising on the N. side of the Sierra Alcaraz, in La Mancha, and falling into the Atlantic between the Spanish town of Ayamonte and the Portuguese town of Castro Marim. It flows first N. W., and after several windings enters Estremadura, which it traverses in a westerly direction, passes Badajoz, turns toward the S. S. W., and forms 30 m. of the boundary between Spain and Portugal. It then enters the Portuguese province of Alemtejo, flows S. E. and S., and after passing the town of Serpa forms a cataract called the Salto del Lobo (leap of the wolf) in a narrow passage between the Sierra Morena and the Sierra de Caldeirão. After receiving the Chanza it again forms the Spanish boundary for 30 m. to the sea. It is navigable for some distance above the mouth of the Chanza. Length about 380 m.

GUADIX, an ancient city of Spain, in the province of Granada, on the N. declivity of the Sierra Nevada; pop. 10,000. It was once a place of considerable strength, and is still surrounded with walls, and is said to be the oldest bishopric in Spain.

GUAHAN, GUAM, or SAN JUAN, the largest and southernmost of the Marianne or Ladrone islands in the N. Pacific, in lat. 13° N., long. 145° E.; pop. about 5,000. It is about 100 m. in circumference, and surrounded by coral reefs. The coasts are broken by several bays, one of which, called Calderone de Apra, is known to sailors as a commodious haven. The S. part of the island is of volcanic formation, and there is also a small volcano in the N., but the shores on this side are composed of bold coralline masses. The interior is well watered, wooded, and fertile, rice, maize, cacao, sugar cane, indigo, cotton, and a great variety of fruits, growing in profusion. The domestic animals of Europe, which have been imported here by settlers, are found in a savage state. The inhabitants are not aborigines, the primitive possessors of the island having been long ago extirpated, but are mostly descendants of Mexicans and Philippine islanders, who were brought here by the Spaniards, to whom the island belongs. They are peaceable and friendly, and are skilful mechanics. The principal place is San Ignazio de Agana, a fortified village of bamboo huts, containing not more than 1,500 inhabitants, but having a good harbor enclosed by coral reefs. It was formerly a victualling station for Manila galleons. The island was discovered by Magellan in 1521.

GUAIACUM, a resinous substance from the guaiacum officinale, of the natural order zy-. gophyllacea. The tree grows in the West Indies and upon the mainland opposite. The

wear.

trunk is sometimes 5 feet in circumference. The wood, known as lignum vitæ, is remarkably heavy and hard, and is much used for the sheaves of blocks, for nine-pin balls, and other purposes requiring strength and resistance to It possesses medicinal properties, as does also the concrete juice or resin, and in a much higher degree the bark; but the shavings of the wood and the resinous juice, or "gum guaiacum," only are kept by the druggists for the sake of these properties. The wood contains about 26 per cent. of resin, and 0.8 of a bitter pungent extractive. It is administered in decoction, and usually in combination with other medicines. Its action is stimulant and diaphoretic. The resin, which is the more active medicine, is obtained either by spontaneous exudations from incisions made into the tree (which is the "guaiac in tears"), or by heating blocks of the wood, in which auger holes have been bored in the centre in the direction of the grain, and collecting the juice as it flows out through the holes; also by boiling the chips and sawdust of the wood in salt water, and skimming off the water which rises to the surface. This is the form in which it is usually met with. The ir regular-shaped pieces brought to the United States are of a dark olive color without and reddish brown within, diversified with various shades; they possess a slight fragrant odor, and a pungent acrid taste after being held in the mouth a short time. The pure substance is entirely soluble in alcohol, ether, alkaline solutions, and sulphuric acid. It is adulterated with common resin, from which it may be distinguished by the solubility of the latter in turpentine. The powder becomes green by exposure to the light; it is often administered in this form, made into pills. In Europe it is prepared with liquor potassæ, which is diluted with twice its weight of water and boiled, when the guaiacum is gradually added and stirred in to the point of saturation. The compound is then filtered, evaporated, and made into pills. Guaiacum is administered in many complaints, and is especially beneficial in acute and chronic rheumatism. It promotes various secretions, and excites profuse perspiration. In large doses it purges. It is also an alterative, and is beneficially applied in scrofulous diseases, cutaneous eruptions, &c. GUALAN, a town of Guatemala, situated on the camino real from the port of İsabal to the city of Guatemala, at the point where it crosses the Rio Motagua, also sometimes called Rio Gualan; pop. 4,000. It is well built, adorned with a fountain, and has a large church and town hall. It is the principal town in the eastern part of the republic, and the largest on the route to the capital from the Atlantic. Isabal may be considered the port of Gualan. Most of the business of the coast and interior passes through the hands of agents residing here.

GUAM. See GUAHAN.

GUAMANGA, a city of Peru, in the department of Ayacucho, 220 m. E. S. E. of Lima; pop. 26,000. It stands in a large and beautiful

plain, and is well and handsomely built. it contains numerous avenues adorned with rows of trees, and several spacious and tastefully laid out squares. The principal public edifices are the cathedral, which is a magnificent struc ture, and the university. The city was founded by Pizarro in 1539. Several years afterward it became the scene of the execution of Almagro's followers.

GUAN, a gallinaceous bird, of the family cracide or curassows, and sub-family penelopine; it includes the genera ortalida, penelope, and oreophasis, the first two South American, and the last peculiar to Central America. (For the family characters, see CURASSOW.) In the genus penelope (Merrem) the bill is shorter than the head, broad at the base, arched at the tip; wings short and rounded, with the 4th to the 6th quills the longest, and the 1st series arched and narrowed at the ends; tail long, very broad, and rounded at the end; tarsi rather slender, as long as the middle toe; hind toe long and on the same plane with the others; claws short and curved; the sides of the head and front of the throat naked and wattled, the latter capable of inflation. The crested guan (P. cristata, Linn.) is the largest, measuring from 2 to 24 feet in length; the color is a shining reddish green, with rump and belly chestnut, neck and chest white spotted; naked temples violet, and the throat and feet red; the female is of a more reddish tint, with the crest, neck, and mantle bordered with white. The whistling guan (P. pipile, Jacq.), about 28 inches long, is of a violet black color, with a white crest, and white spotted neck, chest, and wing coverts; the female is smaller, with less shining plumage. The marail (P. marail, Gmel.) is crested, of a greenish black color, with a yellowish belly, and white spotted chest; it is about 2 feet long. There are several other species described, all inhabiting the central portion of South America. Though the guans have most of the habits of the curassows, they are far less gregarious, being generally seen singly, in pairs, or in small bands; they are more noisy and restless, and have two broods in a year, about January and June; the nests are built in trees, near the origin of large branches, and the young are led and protected as by the domestic hen. They are of mild and peaceable disposition, easily domesticated, breeding in captivity; they have frequently been carried to Europe, and with a little care would make a valuable addition to the farmer's stock of poultry there and in the United States. They perch on trees, descending in search of grains and fruits; they are heavy fliers, but rapid runners, keeping their wings unfolded. In many species the trachea makes remarkable turns on the exterior of the chest, as in the curassows.—The parraqua guans (ortalida, Merrem) have the head and throat covered with feathers, or with very slight bare spaces on the cheeks and throat; the bill is higher and more pheasant-like than in the penelope. The best known species (0, katraca,

Bodd) is about 20 inches long, bronze-colored above, whitish beneath, and reddish on the head; the habits and tracheal peculiarities are the same as in the preceding genus; they prefer woods near the sea coast, and are fond of cultivated fields where they can pick up grains, worms, and insects; the voice is loud and disagreeable, resembling the utterance of their specific name; they are found only in the warm regions of South America.-A curious and handsome bird of this family is the oreophasis Derbianus (Gray), from Guatemala. The base of the bill is covered with velvety black down; the space above the eye is naked, and the forehead is surmounted by a broad, rounded, truncated knob, of a red color; there is a small bare space on the throat. The general color above is greenish black; below whitish, with longitudinal blackish dashes; white band on the middle of the long and rounded tail; bill, legs, and bare spaces red.

GUANACASTE, a district or province of Central America, lying between Lake Nicaragua and the bay of Nicoya. It comprises a broken country, thinly populated, and only adapted for grazing purposes. During the dominance of the Spanish crown, it was under the political and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Nicaragua ; but after the independence, and the establishment of the republic of Central America, it was set off by the federal congress to the state of Costa Rica. The measure was declared to be temporary, and was against the wishes of its inhabitants. On the dissolution of the federation, Costa Rica asserted jurisdiction over it, on the strength of the enactment of congress, but her rights were disputed by Nicaragua. The question led to bitter discussions, until it was settled by a treaty in 1858, in virtue of which the greater part of the district was conceded to Costa Rica, and its name changed to Liberia. GUANAHANI. See SAN SALVADOR, GUANAJA. See BAY ISLANDS. GUANAJUATO, or GUANAXUATO, a state of Mexico, lying between lat. 20° and 21° 49' N., and long. 100° and 102° W., almost entirely upon the great plateau of Anahuac, with an elevation of more than 6,000 feet above the level of the sea; bounded N. by the states of Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi, E. by Queretaro, S. by Michoacan, and W. by Jalisco; area, 12,618 sq. m.; pop. in 1854, 718,775. It is divided into 4 departments, San Miguel de Allende, Leon, Guanajuato, and Zelaya, whose capitals or chief towns bear the same names. The other large cities and towns are Irapuato, San Felipe, and Salamanca. In the Cordillera chain are lofty mountains. Those of the Sierra de Santa Rosa are porphyritic in their character, and present elevations of 11,400 feet above the level of the sea; the highest mountain is that known as the Cerro de los Llanitos, which is 2 leagues N. of the capital. There are 3 rivers, the Lerma, Laja, and Turbio. The first forms the southern boundary of the state, and discharges itself into Lake Chapala in Jalisco.

The others are inconsiderable streams, scarcely deserving the name of rivers. There is also a small lake, Yurirapundaro, 4 leagues long by 1 in width, the waters of which supply the capital and neighboring towns with a variety of small fish. In the S. portions of the state the lands are very fertile, while the N. plains also yield plentifully. The chief cereals raised are maize, wheat, and frijoles (beans). The vine is cultivated for its fruit alone. The chili colorado, or red pepper, so much used in Mexico, is raised in large quantities, and is a considerable article of export, epicures considering that raised in certain districts here as possessing a peculiar flavor and pungency. Efforts have recently been made with success to extend the cultivation of the olive. In some portions of the state are extensive stock farms where large numbers of horses, mules, horned cattle, sheep, and goats are raised. Upon a single estate near San Felipe 30,000 sheep and as many goats are annually slaughtered, chiefly for the markets of Guanajuato and Mexico. The mineral products of the state are valuable, consisting of silver, iron, lead, and copper, the first in the greatest abundance. The chief silver mines are Valenciana, Guanajuato, Villalpando, Monte de San Nicolas, Santa Rosa, Santa Anna, San Antonio de las Minas, Rayas, Malado, Secho, Serena, Comanja, San Luiz de la Paz, San Rafael de los Lobos, El Duranzo, Rincon de Zenteno, San Miguel, and San Felipe. Although some of these mines are just beyond the boundaries of the state, they are all under the jurisdiction of its mint. Soda is found in large quantities in the S. part of the state, and in the N. parts the earth is impregnated with nitre. Mineral waters exist on the S. slope of the Cerro de Cubilete. Warm and sulphur springs are found in Leon, Allende, and Zelaya, all of which are resorted to by invalids. There are manufactories of woollen, cotton, leather, earthenware, &c.; also some for refining sugar. The climate, owing to the great elevation, is mild and pure, and the people do not suffer from extremes of heat and cold. The rainy season is from April to June. The population comprises 3 races, 25 per cent. of whom are whites, 39 per cent. Indian, and 36 per cent. the mixed race.-GuanaJUATO, or Santa Fé de Guanajuato, the capital of the above state, is situated in lat. 21° 0′ 15′′ N., long. 100° 55' W.; pop. in 1854, 63,000. It is irregularly built on hills and mountains, presenting a most singular and picturesque appearance. Its elevation above the sea is 6,869 feet. It possesses many fine edifices, including a cathedral, the church of the Jesuits, with lesser chapels, 3 monasteries, 5 convents, a college, a Bethlehemite hospital, a theatre, a barrack, a mint, and a gymnasium. It has also some very fine private houses, the residences of the wealthy miners. It is in the centre of a rich mining district, in which, within a circuit of 5 leagues, are more than 100 mines, including those of Valenciana, giving employment to 75,000 laborers,

GUANCHES, the aborigines of the Canary islands. The name is derived from guan, a word of their own signifying man. They have been extinct since the end of the 16th century, slavery and pestilence having aided the barbarism of the Spaniards in accomplishing their destruction. They are said to have been gigantic in stature and simple and mild in character. They tilled the ground with rude implements, employing bullocks' horns for ploughshares, and for food used barley, wheat, and goats' milk. They believed in a future state, in a good and an evil spirit, and a place of torment for the bad, which they supposed was in the volcano of Teneriffe. They preserved the bodies of their dead and deposited them in catacombs, which are now visited among the curiosities of the islands. They had solemn marriage rites, in preparation for which the brides were fattened on milk. Not more than 150 words of their language are known, and these were long thought to be totally unlike any living tongue, but later researches have traced an analogy between them and certain of the Berber dialects. The origin of the Guanches is disputed. Some regard them as Libyans who fled to these islands on the conquest of Barbary by the Arabs, and this opinion is supported by the similarity of several customs of the Libyans and Guanches. Humboldt supposes them to belong to the races of the old continent, perhaps to the Caucasian, and not, like the rest of the Atlantides, to the nations of the western world.

GUANO (Peruvian, huano, manure, spelled by the Spaniards guano), the excrement of sea fowl, intermixed with their decomposed bodies and eggs, and the remains of seals, found accumulated upon the islands of the Pacific and coasts of South America, Africa, &c. It was known to the ancient Peruvians as a valuable manure, and the immense deposits of it were an especial object of care to the incas of that country. Acosta (quoted by Prescott) states that during the breeding season of the birds no one was allowed under pain of death to set foot on the islands where it was produced, and to kill the birds at any time was a like offence. At the time of the discovery of the country by Europeans the islands were called the Sierra Nevada, or snowy mountains, from the hills covered with white saline incrustation. Humboldt first drew attention in Europe to the substance in 1804. He described the deposits as covering the granitic rocks of the islands to the depth of 50 or 60 feet, and yet the accumulation of the preceding 300 years had formed only a few lines of this thickness. He procured analyses to be made of the substance by Fourcroy, Vatquelin, and Klaproth, by which it was found to be composed of phosphates of ammonia and lime, with urate and oxalate of ammonia, water, organic matters not determined, and some sand. Sir Humphry Davy alluded to it about the year 1810 as likely to prove valuable to European farmers; and in that year a trial was made of it at St. Helena by Gen. Beatson. But none was brought to Eu

rope for trial until the year 1840, when 20 casks were imported into Liverpool by Mr. Myers, The next year the shipments amounted to several cargoes. The exclusive right of digging and shipping guano for the term of 9 years was sold at this time by the Peruvian and Bolivian governments for the sum of $40,000; but the contract was soon after repudiated by the former, as the increasing demand for the article developed the immense value of the deposits. The monopoly was soon after revived, however, Messrs. Gibbs and son of London becoming the agents of the Peruvian government, and sole importers of the article into Great Britain, and Messrs. Barreda, brothers, for the United States, until succeeded by Messrs. Zaracondeque and co. Upon the 3 small islands called the Chincha islands, off the S. coast of Peru, it was estimated that there were about 40,000,000 tons, the largest one having no less than 17,000,000 tons. The Lobos islands off the N. coast also contained enormous deposits, and many smaller islands were covered with it. Upon the principal Chincha island the deposit is stated to attain a thickness of 160 feet, or even more. The exports from these localities rapidly increased, so that guano became an important article of commerce, and vessels returning from the Pacific to England or the United States now found a profitable return cargo at the Chincha islands, instead of going as heretofore to China and the East Indies in search of one. The revenue to the Peruvian government from this trade exceeded that from all other sources; and its agents reaped enormous profits from their authorized commissions upon the shipments. The demand led to explorations in, other parts of the world, and other deposits were found, but nearly all inferior in quality to those collected upon the rainless islands off the coast of Peru. Upon these the ingredients have remained little changed in the dry atmosphere, and under the tropical sun. The uric acid and ammonia, both products particularly subject to ferment and decompose in the presence of moisture, remain unaltered, except as they become dry and are locked up in the coarse brown powder produced from these and the other ingredients of the excrement. So the nitrate of soda and common salt, both deliquescent in a moist atmosphere, are found as a dry deposit among the parched sands of the desert of Atacama in the same rainless district. (See ANDES.) In localities subject to rains these valuable nitrogenous compounds disappear, and the value of the guano consists principally in the next useful ingredients, the phosphates, which remain. Next to the Chincha islands the most important are those belonging to the American guano company of New York, upon Jarvis, BaKer's, and Howland's islands, situated as follows: the first in lat. 0° 21' S., long. 159° 52′ W.; the second in lat. 0° 15' N., long. 176° 21′ W.; and the third in lat. 0° 50′ N., long. 176° 52′ W. The deposit on Jarvis island is estimated at 3,500,000 tons, and that on Baker's island at 2,500,000

tons, while that on Howland's has not been calculated. The amount obtained in 1858 was about 15,000 tons, all for American soil as required by the American government. The arrangements of the company now enable them to load 125 tons a day from Jarvis island. They have constructed a railroad upon this and upon Baker's island, by which mules draw the guano to boats which take it to the ships that are moored to large "can" (iron) buoys stationed off the shore. About 100 men, including two chemists, are constantly employed. The market for the guano is chiefly in the middle and southern Atlantic states. In 1860 the company will be able to import no less than 100,000 tons. The following table shows the exports from the Chincha islands from the commencement of the trade to Dec. 1857, under different contracts: No. of registered]

Dates,

tous exported.

6,500 England. England.

Markets.

1841.

1842-47

126,904

England and Italy.

England.

United States.

Total... 2,457,977

England and Europe.

United States.

France.

England, Europe, and Australia. France.

Spain.

Mauritius

Costa Rica

Total........

1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,002.22 For commercial purposes it is of no importance to enumerate all the compounds. The approximate value of samples can be arrived at in the following manner. Multiply the values named below by the per cent. found of each ingredient; the sum obtained will represent the value of 100 tons of the guano. Thus for the nitrogen found the rate per cent. is $370, or if, instead of this being separated, the ammonia is estimated, the rate is $300; for phosphate of lime the additional amount is $40; soluble phosphate of lime, $120; organic matter, $5; alkaline salts, $5; sulphate of lime, $5. Example of sample of first class Peruvian guano:

Countries

No. of tons register.