Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/59

BISPHAM 45 BITLIS tween the shoulders and a shaggy mane. Two species are known: 1. Bison americanus, or bonasiis amer- icamis, the American bison, popularly but erroneously called the buffalo. It has 15 ribs on each side, while the Eu- ropean bison has but 14, and the domes- tic ox 13. These animals once roamed in herds in the western parts of Can- ada and the United States. The only representatives of the species at the present day being a small herd gathered and protected by the United States Gov- ernment in the Yellowstone National Park, a few individuals in the more re- mote Canadian regions, and still other small numbers of them grouped in zo- ological collections, such as that at Lin- coln Park, Chicago; the Agricultural Fair Grounds, St. Louis; Zoological Gar- den, New York City, etc. 2. Bison p^'iscus, sometimes called bo- 7iasus bison, the European bison. It is the bnnassos or bonasos of Aristotle, the biso7i of Oppian, the bison jubatus, and the bonasus of Pliny, the bos bison of Linnaeus, and the bison europaeus and P7-ISCUS of Owen. It is often called the aurochs, which is etymologically the same word as Caesar's tirris, but the two species are distinct. Caesar's ox is best distinguished as the urox, leaving the word aurochs to be monopolized by the European bison. The urox was a gen- uine bos, the 60s urus or primogenius, which Prof. Boyd Dawkins believes to have been a giant variety (and no more) of the ordinary 60s taurus. The Euro- pean bison was once a British animal, though now found only fossil. BISPHAM, DAVID S., an American baritone; born in Philadelphia in 1857. He was gifted with a remarkably strong and mellow baritone voice and cultivated it with assiduity, making his debut as the Due de Longueville in the "Basoche," Royal English Opera in 1891. He filled important engagements with English and American opera companies, singing leading roles in German, French, and Italian, as well as English. In his later years he became best known as a con- cert singer. BISSAGOS ISLANDS, a group of small volcanic islands, about 30 in all, off the W. coast of Africa, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande. The islands are inclosed by a reef, and, with a few exceptions, are thickly wooded; many of them are densely peopled. There are several fine ports, but the climate is excessively dangerous for Europeans. The principal islands belong to the Portuguese, whose governor resides at Bolama. 4 — Vol. BISSAO (bis-a'6), an island and Por- tuguese station closer to the African coast than the Bissagos. BISSING, BARON MORITZ FERDI- NAND VON, a German genei'al and ad- ministrator, Governor-General of Bel- gium during first three years of the war ; born in Bellmannsdorf, Silesia, Jan. 30, 1844. He entered the army at the age of 19 and served during the war l^- tween Pi-ussia and Austria in 1866, and the Franco-Prussian war, 1870-1871. He retired in 1908, at which time he held the rank of General. He was recalled into the service after the war broke out, and in November, 1914, was made Governor- General of Belgium, then in German pos- session. He ruled the people with an iron hand. BISTINEAIT, a navigable lake in N. W. Louisiana; 25 miles long by 2 milea wide; discharges into the Red river. BISTORT, the English name given to a sub-genus or subdivision of the genus polygonum. Two well-known weeds fall under it — the polygonum bistorta (com- mon bistort or snakeweed), and the P. vivipamm, or viviporous Alpine bistort. Each has a simple stem, and a single terminal raceme of flowers. The former has flesh-colored flowers, and is common; the latter has paler flowers, and is a mountain plant. It is sometimes called Alpine bistort. BISTOURY (from Pistoja, anciently called Pistorium, a city in Italy, 20 miles N. W. of Florence, where these knives were made at an early period), a surgical instrument used for making incisions. It has various forms — one like a lancet, a second called the straight bistoury, with the blade straight and fixed in a handle; and a third the crooked bistoury, shaped like a half moon, with the cutting edge on the inside. BISTRE, a pigment of a transparent brown color, derived from the soot left after beechwood has been burned. BITLIS, town of Asia Minor and capi- tal of the former Turkish vilayet bear- ing the same name, situated on the Bitlis Chai, a tributary of the Tigris. The be- ginnings of the town date back to the time of Alexander the Great, to whom is attributed the building of a castle now in ruins that dominates the town. It is situated about 5,000 feet above the level of the sea, and is a place of considerable strategic importance. The inhabitants are composed of Turks and Armenians, the latter having most of the trade of the district of which the town is the com- mercial center. The principal articles of II — Cyc