Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/391

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CHERUSCI CHESHIRE 383 CHERUSCI, a German tribe, celebrated for their great victory over the Romans under Varus. They are first mentioned by Caesar. They dwelt on both sides of the Weser, border- ing S. on the Suevi, from whom they were separated by the Bacenis forest, probably the western part of the Thuringian mountains, N. E. on the Elbe and the Longobardi, N". W. on the Angrivarii, and S. W. on the Catti. The elder Drusus first led a Roman army through their country, advancing as far as the Elbe ; but their ensuing subjection to the empire was soon onded by the great German conspiracy under Arminius, and the destruction of the legions of Quintilius Varus in the Teutoburg forest, in the year 9 of the Christian era. The dissensions, however, which broke out between Arminius and Segestus, his father-in-law, allowed Ger- manicus to invade their country in the years 15 and 16. He defeated Arminius, but was soon compelled to return. In 17, the Longo- bardi having gone over from the league of the Marcomanni to that of the Cherusci, Arminius was victorious over Marbod (Maroboduus), the king of the Marcomanni. After the death of Arminius intestine struggles weakened the power of the Cherusci ; an ensuing period of peace made them indolent and unwarlike, ac- cording to Tacitus, but they still appear as an important people in several later leagues of the Saxon tribes, in whose general name they be- came merged. They are last mentioned by Claudian, toward the close of the 4th century. CHERVIN, Nicolas, a French physician, cele- brated for his researches into the nature and treatment of yellow fever, born at St. Laurent d'Oingt, near Lyons, Oct. 6, 1783, died at Bour- bonne-les-Bains in 1843. In pursuance of his inquiries into the types of fevers, and particu- larly of typhus, he spent some time in the mili- tary hospitals of Mentz, and formed the opinion that typhus is not contagious, but appears so from its rapid propagation. In 1819, Dr. Lassis having contended that yellow fever is no more contagious than typhus, Chervin determined personally to investigate the subject. With this view he set out for the "West Indies, and visited successively Santo Domingo, Guade- loupe, Martinique, New Orleans, and Cayenne. During his five years' search he only met with the disease in sporadic cases, never in its epi- demic form ; but by thoroughly investigating these, and secretly dissecting several bodies, he became convinced that yellow fever is non- contagious. On his return to France he was made a member of the legion of honor, but passed the rest of his life in great poverty, writing innumerable papers to prove that yel- low fever is not contagious, and that quarantine regulations neither prevent nor check it. CHERT, Philippe, a French painter, born in Paris, Feb. 15, 1759, died Feb. 28, 1838. Es- pousing the cause of the revolution, he took a part in the capture of the Bastile, and was suc- cessively a member of the convention, member of the first committee of public safety, mayor 179 VOL. iv. 25 of Charonne and Belleville, and chief of police in the department of the Seine. Banished by Bonaparte after the 18th Brumaire, he did not return to France till 1802. His historical paint- ings gained for him a high reputation. CHESAPEAKE BAY, the greatest inlet in the Atlantic coast of the United States. It enters Virginia between Cape Charles and Cape Henry, and extends into Maryland. Its length, following the curve, is about 200m. ; its breadth varies from 4 to 40 m. There is sufficient depth of water for the largest ships to ascend the main bay almost to the mouth of the Sus- quehanna. The Chesapeake is remarkable for the vast number of arms or estuaries, of vari- ous dimensions and of irregular shapes, which mark the line of its shores. Some of these serve as outlets to the rivers of Virginia and Maryland, while others are fed by no perma- nent streams, but are mere indentations in the coast. Southwest of Cape Henry the rivers and sounds of the Atlantic coast are shallow, and there are few good harbors ; but the Chesa- peake forms the first of a series of deep and commodious bays which extend along the coast, at no great distance from one another, from Virginia to the N. E. extremity of the United States. CHESEBRO', Caroline, an American authoress, born in Canandaigua, N. Y., March 30, 1825, died at Piermont, Feb. 1 6, 1873. Her first stories and sketches appeared in 1848. Her writings are remarkable for purity of diction and the ef- fective use of simple materials. Among them are : " Dreamland by Daylight " (1851) ; " Isa, a Pilgrimage" (1852); "Children of Light" (1853); "The Little Cross-Bearers" (1854); " The Fisherman's Daughter " (1855) ; " The Beautiful Gate" (1855); "Victoria, or the World Overcome" (1856); " AmyCarr, or the Fortune-Teller " (1863) ; " Peter Carradine, or the Martindale Family" (1863); and " The Foe in the Household " (1871). She was for several years a teacher in the Packer collegiate institute, Brooklyn, and contributed regularly to various periodicals. CHESHIRE, the S. W. county of New Hamp- shire, bounded S. by Massachusetts, and sepa- rated from Vermont on the W. by the Con- necticut river ; area, 770 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 27,265. It is drained by the Ashuelot and some smaller streams. The Connecticut is nav- igable by boats the whole length of the county. The surface is hilly and beautifully diversified by a number of lakes and ponds, and there are some mountains of considerable elevation, the principal of which are Grand Monadnock and Ashuelot. The soil is good, and the river bot- toms especially are very fertile. The Cheshire and Ashuelot railroads traverse the county. The chief productions in 1870 were 5,369 bush- els of wheat, 7,165 of rye, 146,040 of Indian corn, 104,601 of oats, 263,791 of potatoes, 56,975 tons of hay, 63,278 Ibs. of cheese, 531,601 of butter, 110,529 of wool, 151,189 of tobacco, and 227,701 of maple sugar. There