Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/801

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BOGDANOVITCH BOGOTA 781 this business. Some of his inventions are of j scientific interest. His pyrometer, used to as- I certain the expansion of metals and stones, is remarkable for delicacy and accuracy ; and he claims for his deep-sea sounding machine that it will measure a depth of 10 or 15 miles, if necessary, with absolute accuracy, whatever currents it may encounter ; in its use he was the first in 100 years to revive the plan of sounding without a line. His improvements of tools have also been numerous. BOGDASOVITCH, Ippolit Fedoroviteh, a Russian poet, born in Little Russia in 1743 or 1744, died near Kursk, Jan. 18, 1803. He was sent at the age of 11 by his father to Moscow to be educated as a surveyor. Four years afterward he applied to KheraskofF, the manager of the theatre there, to receive him into the company. Kheraskoff refused his application, but enabled him to enter the university, where in 1761 he was made inspector. He found protectors among the influential nobility, and was sent some years afterward as secretary of legation to Dresden, where he commenced his beautiful romantic poem Dmhenka, which was not published till 1775. Besides this, his chief work, he pub- lished songs, minor poems, and many transla- tions, and edited various periodicals. He was patronized by Catharine II., and after her death retired from the public service, and spent the rest of his days at a country seat in the inte- rior of Russia. BOGGS, Charles Stnart, an American naval officer, born at New Brunswick, N. J., Jan. 28, 1811. He is a nephew of James Lawrence, commander of the Chesapeake, who fell in the action with the Shannon. He entered the navy in 1826, and served on the Mediterranean sta- tion, in the West Indies, the gulf of Mexico, on the coast of Africa, and in the Pacific, be- coming lieutenant in 1837. In 1855 he was promoted to the rank of commander, and as- signed to the mail steamer Illinois, and in 1858 was appointed lighthouse inspector on the Pacific coast. When the civil war broke out he was placed in command of the gunboat Varuna, of Farragut's gulf squadron. In the attack upon the Confederate forts and squadron at the mouth of the Mississippi, April 24, 1862, the Varnna destroyed six of the enemy's gun- boats, but was finally disabled, after driving her last antagonist ashore in flames.. When Boggs found his vessel sinking, he tied her to trees on the bank, and fought the guns until the water was above the gun tracks. He was soon placed in command of the sloop of war Juniata, with the rank of captain. He became commodore in 1866 ; in 1867-'8, commanded the steamer De Soto, of the Atlantic squadron ; in July, 1870, was commissioned rear admiral ; and in 1871 commanded the European fleet. BOGLIPOOR, or Bhansnlpore. I. A district of Bengal, in the Lower Provinces, bordering on Nepaul, between lat. 24 15' and 20 30' N., and Ion. 86 15' and 88 10' E. ; area, 5,806 sq. m. ; pop. about 2,000,000, one third of whom are Mohammedans, and the rest Hindoos and mountain tribes. The district is traversed by the Ganges and several of its tributaries. It is exceedingly hilly, especially in the southwest, and so stony that only a small portion even of the comparatively level land is fit for the plough. II. The capital of the district, 200 m. N. N. W. of Calcutta, on the river Ganges ; pop. about 30,000, the greater part Mohammedans. The city is of modern erection, has a small Catholic church, a seminary where English is taught, and a Mohammedan college now in a state of decay. In the neighborhood are two round towers of ancient structure, the objects of pil- grimage. BOGODUKHOT, a fortified town of Russia, in the government and 30 m. W. N. W. of the city of Kharkov ; pop. in 1867, 10,069. The chief industry of the town is leather dressing and boot making. It also carries on a consid- erable trade in cattle and hides. BOG03IILES. See BASIL, a Bulgarian phy- sician. BOGOTA, Santa Fe de, an inland city of the United States of Colombia, capital of the state of Cundinamarca and of the republic, on the picturesque and fertile plateau of Bogota, 8,671 feet above the sea, in lat. 4 35' 48" N. and Ion. 74 12' W. ; pop. about 46,000. Viewed from a distance the city, slightly elevated above the plain and rising in the form of an amphi- theatre, presents a pleasing aspect. Two lofty mountains, the Guadalupe and Monserrate, rise on the east and send down a copious supply of water to be distributed through the town by means of numerous public and private fountains. The streets are regular and bisect each other at right angles, but are narrow, ill- paved, badly lighted, and in many parts cover- ed with grass, the city traffic being exclusively carried on by mules. Streams of water running down the middle of many of the thoroughfares are made the receptacle of filth. Two of these streams, more voluminous than the rest, are called rivers, and are crossed by several neat and well built stone bridges. The Calle Real or principal street runs the entire length of the city, is well paved, and terminates in a spa- cious square, embellished with a statue of Bolivar, and bordered by an arcade, where a market is held weekly. The private houses are of sun-dried bricks (adobes), whitewashed, covered with red tiles, and usually built low on account of the liability to earthquakes. In consequence of the influx of foreigners, the interior arrangement of dwellings has mate- rially improved of late years, as has also the style of building; the old-fashioned grating has very generally been superseded by glass in the windows; walls are painted, and carpets and other furniture are imported from Europe and the United States. There are few chimneys, stoves alone being in use. The stores are for the most part badly kept and dingy, the only admission for light being through the door. Of the public edifices the most noteworthy are