Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/94

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OTIS 62 OTTAWA office he held till May 5, 1900. He was a member of the Philippine commission, and on June 16, 1900, was promoted Major-General, U. S. A., and later as- signed to the Department of the Lakes. He died Oct. 21, 1909. OTIS, HARmsON GRAY, an Ameri- can statesman, son of James; born in Boston, Mass., Oct. 8, 1765; was member of Congress, 1797-1801, and United States Senator, 1817-1822. He was prominent in the Massachusetts Legisla- ture ; took an active part in the Hartford Convention of 1814; and was mayor of Boston in 1829. His published works in- clude : "Letters in Defense of the Hart- ford Convention" (1824), and "Orations and Addresses." He died in Boston, Oct. 28, 1848. OTIS, JAMES, an American states- man; born in West Barnstable, Mass., Feb. 5, 1725. At an early age he at- tracted attention by his eloquence in be- half of the colonists against British op- pression, and his determined opposition to the "writs of assistance" in 1761. Through his efforts the Stamp Act Con- gress was assembled in 1765. He was the author of a number of political es- says and orations, among which are "Vindication of the Conduct of the House of Representatives" (1762); "Rights of the British Colonies Asserted" (1765); •'Consideration on Behalf of the Colon- ists" (1765). He died in Andover, Mass., May 23, 1783. OTOMIS, a tribe of Mexican Indians, and one of the oldest nations in the mountainous regions of the plateau. They were agriculturists and had some knowledge of the manufacture of cloth and ornaments of gold and copper. Dur- ing the siege of Mexico they came to the assistance of Cortez (in 1521), and have ever since been nominally in subjection to_ the whites. They accepted the Cath- olic faith, but have made little progress in civilization. Their descendants, about 200,000, mostly live in the mountains of Queretaro, Guanajuato and Hidalgo. They speak Spanish and Mexican. OTRANTO (the ancient Hydruntum) , a town in the extreme S. E. of Italy, 29 miles S. E. of Lecce, and on the Strait of Otranto, 45 miles from the coast of Albania on the opposite side. During the later period of the Roman empire, and all through the Middle Ages, it was the chief port of Italy on the Adriatic, whence passengers took ship for Greece — having in this respect supplanted the famous Brundusium of earlier times ; but its port is now in decay. OTTAWA, one of the largest rivers of British North America, rises nearly 300 miles due N. of Ottawa city, flows W. to Lake Temiscamingue, some 300 miles, and thence 400 miles S. E., and falls into the St. La-vrence by two mouths, which form the island of Montreal. ^ Its drain- age basin has an area variously esti- mated at from 60,000 to 80,000 square miles. During its course it sometimes contracts to 40 or 50 yards; elsewhere it widens into numerous lakes of consider- able size. It is fed by many important tributaries, the Petewawa, Bonnechere, Madawaska, Rideau, Coulonge, Gatineau, and Rivieres du Lievre and du Nord. These, with the Ottawa itself, form the means of transit for perhaps the largest lumber trade in the world. OTTAWA, a city of Ontario, Canada, the capital of the Dominion, and the county-seat of Carleton co. It is on the right bank of the Ottawa river at the junction of the Rideau. It is on the Canadian Pacific, the Canadian North- ern, the Grand Trunk, and the Ottawa and New York railroads. There is steamship communication by the Ottawa river with Montreal and by the Rideau Canal with Lake Ontario. The Ottawa river rushes over several cataracts and fails near the city. The city has an area of 5,295 acres or approximately 8 square miles. The Ottawa river and its tributaries furnish an abundance of water power which is employed by the industries of the city. It is estimated that vdthin 50 miles there is available 1,000,000 hydraulic horse power. The city is attractively situated in the midst of picturesque and beautiful scen- ery. It IS essentially a city of homes. It is in the center of one of the most attractive agricultural belts in Ontario and is also the center of an extensive lumber region. The river is spanned by several large bridges and the Rideau Canal divides the city into the Upper Town or western portion and the Lower Town or eastern portion, the former be- ing distinguished by its predominantly English and the latter by its predomi- nantly French population. The streets are wide and attractively laid out at right angles. The most nota- ble buildings are those of the Dominion Parliament. The Parliament buildings were burned in 1916 but their rebuilding was at once begun and in 1921 the main structure was almost completed. Other notable buildings include the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Notoe Dame, Christ Church, city hall, Rideau Hall, the residence of the governor-general, several large hospitals, the Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition building, pub-