Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/323

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BROOKINGS BROOKLYN 317 felted his appointment. On a voyage from Calcutta to China he conceived the idea of establishing a civilized power among the islands of the Indian archipelago. He returned to England, purchased a yacht out of the royal squadron, enjoying the same privileges as a man-of-war, and sailed for the East in October, 1838. On his arrival at Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, he found the country in a state of warfare, the Dyaks, its inhabitants, carrying on a losing contest. To secure his assistance, the rajah offered to make Brooke his successor, and give him the command of {he army. Es- tablished in authority over Sarawak, after de- feating the hostile forces with great ease, he endeavored to accustom the inhabitants to a regular government, and to turn them from piracy and local war to agriculture and trade, in which he succeeded to an extraordinary de- gree. In conjunction with the English naval commanders he attacked, routed, and extir- pated the Malay pirates of the archipelago. Though independent of the English, and hold- ing the dignity of rajah by appointment from the sultan of Borneo, when his conduct was attacked in England, he visited that country in 1847 to vindicate himself. He was success- ful, was knighted, and received the title of governor of Labuan, a salary of 2,000, and a staff of subordinate officers under British pay. From this office, however, ho was removed after a subsequent visit to England. His rule was greatly for the benefit of his people. He compiled a code of laws, opened trade, made roads, and provided for the security of prop- erty. Upon the breaking out of the war of England with China in 1857, his residence was suddenly attacked by a body of 4,000 Chinese, and he escaped only by swimming the river. The Dyaks rallied to his support, and in a short time he fell upon the Chinese, and routed them with a loss of half their num- ber. The following year he returned to Eng- land and took up his residence in Devonshire. He suffered much from the attacks of his ene- mies in parliament. In 1861 he made two voy- ages to Borneo, to suppress an insurrection and settle the government, which he left in charge of his nephew, though he retained the title and authority of rajah until his death. Portions of his journals have been published, and the " Private Letters of Sir James Brooke, K. 0. B., from 1838 to the present Time " (3 vols., London, 1853). ItKOOk I M.s, a 8. E. county of Dakota, bound- ed E. by Minnesota, and intersected by the Big Sioux river ; area, 750 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 163, of whom 145 were civilized Indians. The eastern and central portions are watered by streams flowing into the Minnesota river and the Big Sioux, and by numerous lakes ; the N. W. portion is mountainous. BROOKUiVE, a town of Norfolk cp., Mass., 5 rn. S. W. of Boston, of which it is a sub- urb; pop. in 1870,6,650. Almost the whole town is occupied by beautiful country resi- dences. It contains one of the reservoirs for supplying Boston with water, which covers 38 acres, the water surface being about 22i acres, and the capacity about 100,000,000 gallons. BROOKLYN, capital of Kings county, New York, the third city in the United States in point of population, on the W. end of Long Isl- and, opposite New York city, and separated from it by the East river, an arm of the sea connecting the bay of New York with Long Island sound; lat. of the navy yard, 40 41' 50" N., Ion. 73 59' 30" W. The exterior line of the city measures 22 m., embracing an area of 13,337 acres, or 20'84 sq. m., of which 6-48 sq. m. are devoted to streets and alleys. Begin- ning at the northeast, its boundaries are New- town creek and Queens county, the towns of New Lots, Flatbush, and New Utrecht in Kings county, the bay of New York, and the East river. Its extreme length from N. to S. is about 7f m., and its greatest breadth 5 m. ; the ave- rage breadth, however, is only about 3 m. The western boundary of the city affords 8J m. of water front. Newtown creek, an irregular arm of the bay, receiving several small fresh- water streams, is navigable for a mile or two from the East river for vessels of light draught. Wallabout bay is a deep indentation lying in the section known as Wallabout, between the old cities of Williamsburgh and Brooklyn. Go- wanus bay extends into the southern part of the city. Opposite South Brooklyn is Gover- nor's island, between which and the shore is Buttermilk channel, about a quarter of a mile wide, in early times fordable by cattle, bat now navigable for the largest vessels. The portion of land between Buttermilk channel and Gowanus bay is known as Red Hook point. Brooklyn is for the most part considerably elevated above tide water. The S. and E. borders are occupied by a broad range of low hills; a large portion of. the S. part of the city is low and level. Along the East river S. of Fulton street is an irregular bluff, 70 ft. above the level of the sea, known as Brooklyn Heights. It is thickly built upon, and affords a magnificent view of the city and bay of New York. The city embraces seve- ral districts still locally known by the names which they bore when they were distinct mu- nicipalities. Brooklyn proper includes the old- er portion of the city S. of Wallabout, and the part of this lying S. of Atlantic avenue is known as South Brooklyn. Williamsburgh includes the thickly settled portions N. of Division ave- nue. Bushwick occupies the N. portion of the city E. of Williamsburgh. In the vicinity of Wal- labout bay is Wallabout, adjoining which is the section called East Brooklyn. Greenpoint lies between Bushwick and Newtown creeks, occu- pies the extreme N. E. part of the city, and forms the 17th ward. Gowanus is the name of that portion of the city which has grown up around Gowanus bay. Bedford and New- Brooklyn are localities in the E. part of the city, formerly separate villages. The city is legally divided into the Eastern District, embracing