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POTfT-A-MOUSSON 304 PONTOON After the French defeat at Leipsic Poniatowski escaping with others, was drowned while attempting to cross the River Elster, Oct. 13, 1813. PONT-A-MOUSSON, a town of France, department of Meurthe-et-Moselle ; on the Moselle, 18 miles N. N. W. of Nancy and 18 S. S. E. of Metz. There is a fine Gothic church of the 13th century dedi- cated to St. Martin. The former abbey of St. Mary is now a seminary. The town was the birthplace of Marshal Du- roc, the friend of Napoleon. Pop. about 15,000. Was the scene of heavy fighting in the World War (1914-1918). PONTCHARTBAIN, I^AKE, in Louisi- ana, about 5 miles N. of New Orleans, is 40 miles long and 25 wide. It is navigated by small steamers, and com- municates with the Gulf of Mexico. The drainage of New Orleans is carried into the lake through canals. PONTEFRACT, or POMFBET, a mar- ket-town in the West Riding of York- shire, England; on an eminence near the influx of the Calder to the Aire, 13 miles S. E. of Leeds. It stands on the line of a Roman road, but seems to have arisen round its Norman castle, which, founded about 1076 by Ilbert de Lacy, was the scene of the executioii or murder of the Earl of Lancaster (1322), Richard II. (1400), and Earl Rivers (1483), was taken in the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536), and during the Great Rebellion sustained four sieges, being finally dismantled in 1649, after its capture by Lambert. There are two old churches, a town hall (rebuilt 1796), a market hall (1860), a grammar school of Edward VI. (1549), and large market gardens and nurseries, the growing of liquorice for the lozenges called "Pomfret cakes" be- ing a specialty as old as about 1562. PONTIAC, a city of Michigan, the county-seat of Oakland co. It is on the Clinton river, and on the Grand Trunk and the Pontiac, Oxford, and Northern railroads. It is situated in the midst of a picturesque lake region and is noted for its hunting and fishing. It has a large trade in wool, fruit, and farm produce, and its industries include the manufacture of automobiles, wagons, farm machinery, paints and varnishes, foundry products, flour, etc. It is the seat of the State Hospital for the In- sane. It has a public library and other public buildings. Pop. (1910) 14,532; (1920) 34,273. PONTIAC, a celebrated Indian chief of the Ottawa tribe; born about 1712. He was the leader in Pontiac's War, and was killed in Illinois in 1769. . PONTIAC'S WAR, an Indian war of 1763 between the English settlers and garrisons on the frontiers, and a com- bination of the Dela wares, Wyandots, Shawnees, Mingoes, Chippewas, and other Indian tribes, under the leader- ship of Pontiac. The war lasted two years and was marked by ferocious and bloody battles in which some garrisons were completely annihilated. An unsuc- cessful attack was made on Detroit in 1763. PONTIFEX, a bridge builder; a title given to ihe more illustrious members of the Roman colleges of priests. Their number was originally five, the presi- dent being styled Pontifex Maximus. The number was afterward increased to nine, and later still to 15. It is now the title of the Pope. PONTIGNY, a village of the French department of Yonne, 10 miles N. E. of Auxerre, with a famous Cistercian mon- astery, dating from the 12th century. It was the burial place of St. Edmund of Canterbury. Here Thomas Becket found refuge in 1164-1166; as did Ste- phen Langton in the next century. The monastery was devastated by the Hugue- nots in 1567, and finally destroyed at the Revolution; but the church (mainly 1150-1170) is the most perfect Cister- cian church in existence. PONTINE MARSHES, an extensive marshy tract of land in Italy, in the S. part of the Roman Campagna, extend- ing along the shores of the Mediter- ranean for about 24 miles, with a mean breadth of 7 miles. The Romans, by the construction of the Appian way and by means of canals, made a considerable part of them dry, and many of the Popes, especially Pope Pius VI., engaged in the drainage and reclaiming of the marshes. PONTOON, a floating vessel support- ing the roadway timbers of a floating military bridge. They may be boats, water-tight cylinders of tin, or wooden frames covered with canvas, india-rub- ber, etc. Also, a barge or lighter of large capacity, used in careening ships, raising weights, drawing piles, etc., or capable, in pairs, of acting as camels. And a barge or flat-bottomed vessel fur- nished with cranes, capstans, and hoist- ing tackle, used in wrecking, in connec- tion with a diving bell, or in raising submerged vessels. In hydraulic engi- neering, a water-tight structure which is sunk by filling with water, and raised by pumping it out, used to close a sluice- way or entrance to a dock. It works in grooves in the dock walls, and acts as a lock gate.