Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/273

MASSARUNI MASSENA 261 They were regarded as Scyths, and were re- puted warlike. They worshipped the sun, to which they sacrificed horses. Their very old people were also sacrificed, according to Greek accounts, and the flesh eaten. They raised no grain, but kept cattle and lived largely on fish. Cyrus, the Persian conqueror, is said to have fallen in an expedition against them, when they were commanded by their queen Tomyris. Some critics identify them with the Meshech of the Scriptures. MASSARUNI, a river of British Guiana, rising about lat. 4 30' N., Ion. 59 30' W., and holding an extremely circuitous course, first westward, then N. about 70 m., and finally 1ST. and N. N. E., to the extreme southerly point of the estu- ary of the Essequibo, in which it merges. In lat. 5 50' N. it receives the waters of the Rupununi and becomes a wide and majestic stream. It has numerous islands. It has been explored by Hillhouse to a distance of 400 m. from its junction with the Essequibo. The navigation of the upper portion is difficult, owing to the frequent rapids and cascades. The river is celebrated as having long been supposed by geographers to form a part of the fabulous lake of Parime. MASSASOIT, a sachem of the Wampanoags, died in the autumn of 1661, about 80 years of age. His dominions extended over nearly all the southern part of Massachusetts, from Cape Cod to Narragansett bay ; but his tribe, once estimated at 30,000 in number, had shortly before the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth been reduced by a disease supposed to have been yellow fever to about 300. On March 22, 1621, three months after the founding of Plymouth, he appeared there with 60 war- riors, armed and painted, for the purpose of forming a friendly league with the white men. Although the tribe were reputed cruel and treacherous, the very open and friendly greet- ing of Massasoit so favorably impressed Gov. Carver, that after the necessary and imposing formalities were concluded, he formed in be- half of the colony a treaty of peace and mu- tual protection with the Wampanoags, which for 50 years was sacredly kept. The friendly disposition of Massasoit toward the colonists never relaxed. His residence was within the limits of what is now the town of Warren, R. I., near an abundant spring of water, which still bears his name. Roger Williams, when banished from the Massachusetts colony, on his way to Providence, was entertained by him for several weeks at this place. Massasoit was humane and honest, never violated his word, and constantly endeavored to imbue his people with a love of peace. He kept the pil- grims advised of any warlike designs toward them by other tribes. In person, says Morton in his " Memorial," he was " a very lusty man in his best years, an able body, grave of coun- tenance, and spare of speech." His family consisted of his wife, two brothers, three sons, a daughter, two sons' wives, and a grandson. His two eldest sons were named Mooanum and Pometacom. Soon after the death of Mas- sasoit these sons went to Plymouth and re- quested the pilgrims to give them English names. The court named them Alexander and Philip. The former became chief sachem, died within a year, and was succeeded by Philip. MASSE, Gabriel, a French jurist, born in Poi- tiers in 1807. He was called to the bar in Paris in 1833, and in 1868 became councillor of the court of cassation, and also one of the chief editors of the Eecueil des Arrets. In 1874 he succeeded Odilon Barrot in the acad- emy of moral and political sciences. With De Villeneuve he has published Dictionnaire du contentieux commercial (2 vols., Paris, 1839- '45; 2d ed., 1851), and is the sole author of Le droit commercial dans ses rapports avec le droit des gens et le droit civil (6 vols., 1844-'8 ; 2d ed., revised and enlarged, 4 vols., 1861-'3). With Charles Verg6 he translated from the German into French with annotations, under the title Le droit civil francais, the Handbuch des franzosischen Civilrechts, by Karl Salomo Zachariii von Lingenthal (5 vols., Paris, 1854-'9). MASSENA, a town and village of St. Law- rence co., New York, 170 m. N. N. W. of Al- bany; pop. of the town in 1870, 2,560; of the village, 483. The town borders on the St. Lawrence river, and is intersected by the Grass and Raquette rivers, which afford good water power. The village is situated on Grass river, and about a mile S. E. on the W. bank of the Raquette are the Massena springs. These are saline and sulphurous, and are much resorted to in summer. MASSENA, Andre, prince of Essling, a marshal of France, born in Nice in May, 1758, died in Paris, April 4, 1817. It has been said that he was of Jewish origin, and that his real name was Manasseh. In early life he was a sailor, and subsequently entered the royal Italian regiment in the Sardinian service, in which he served 14 years without rising above the grade of sergeant. On the annexation of Nice to the French republic in 1792 he resumed the profession of arms, was appointed adju- tant major and soon after colonel, and by the end of 1793 had attained the rank of gen- eral of division. His tactical skill in the Ital- ian campaigns of 1794-'5 attracted attention, and in 1796 Bonaparte gave him the command of the advanced guard of the army of Italy. At Montenotte, Millesimo, Castiglione, Arcole, and Rivoli, Massena distinguished himself, and Napoleon surnamed him the "favored child of victory." In February, 1798, he was sent to replace Berthier in the Papal States ; but the appointment proving unpopular among the troops and the people on account of his char- acter for rapacity and avarice, he soon re- signed. In the succeeding campaign his ope- rations against the allied Austrian and Russian armies in Switzerland were attended with brilliant success, and the decisive defeat in- flicted by him on the Russian general Korsa-