Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/33

PIKE-PERCH. 17 PILCOMAYO. names. It is brassy olive in color, with the lower jaw, belly, and lower fins pinkish. It is scattered in favorable waters all over the North- western vStates and the Mississippi Valley, and is caught both in nets and by angling. A second species {tilhostedion Canadense) is more northerly in its distribution, and is known as 'sauger' and 'sand' or "gray' pike. It is particularly a fish of the Great Lake region, and has a more cylindrical form and more spotted fins than the wall-eyed jjike, from which it may al.so be distinguished by absence of the jet-black spot over the hinder spines of the dorsal fin. See Plate of Perches. PIKE'S PEAK. A peak of the Rocky Moun- tains, in El Paso County, Col., near Colorado Springs (Map: Colorado, E 2). It was dis- covered by General Pike. U. S. Army, in 1806. Its height is 14,108 feet above the level of the sea, and it commands a magnificent and widely extended view of the great plains, and of a rugged, mountainous countn^' containing many lakes and rivers. Pine forests cover the slopes to a height of 11,700 feet, above which the mountain consists of bare granite rocks. The summit was occupied by a meteorological .station of the United States Signal Service from 1873 to 1888. and reoccupied by the ^'eather Bureau in 1892. A rack and pinion railroad to the top was opened in 1891. PILASTER (ML. pUastrum, little pillar, diminutive of Lat. pila, pillar). An ornamental member in architecture, corresponding to the column and pier, but forming a part of the wall from which it projects. When it is not promi- nent and is lacking in capital and base, it is called j)ilaster strip. In Greek architecture it was called anta : in Roman buildings, as in Greek, the pilaster usually responded to a column, but in some cases, as in the beautiful arch at Tripolis, it was independent and richly orna- mented. The pilaster was used in every style, but until the Renaissance was not as favorite a form as the engaged column. The decorative pilasters of the early Italian Renaissance were the most charming works of their class, and. though copied in design from Roman art. were more profusely used than in any other style. PILATE {Lat. Pontius PiUitiis). The Roman Governor of the territory comprising Judaea, Samaria, and a large part of Iduraica. which, after the deposition of Herod Archelaus in A.D. .6, became an Imperial province. His official title was procurator, and he resided in the praetorium at Ciesarea. going up to Jerusalem at the season of national feasts. He possessed complete judicial authority except in cases of Roman citizens, who had the right of appeal to Rome, but many of these functions were dis- charged by local courts, particularly by the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem : death sentences were confirmed and executed by the procurator. Pilate's term of service in Palestine was long. from the appearance of John the Baptist, through the ministry of Jesus, and while the early Church was gaining its first converts (..D. 26-36). The early years of his administration were marked by strained relations between himself and the .Tews, whose intense religious convictions and national pride he failed to understand. He was thoroughly hated, and, in one instance at least, the people appealed successfully to the Emperor against him. Pilate is kno'n chiefly from his coiuiection with the trial and death of Jesus of Nazareth. After the Sanhedrin had condemned .Jesus to death, they came to Pilate evidently expecting that he would ratify their decision without investigation. This, however, he refused to do. The Jews therefore presented charges of corrupt teaching, interference with tribute, and false claims of kingship against Jesus (Luke xxiii. 2), which brought him within the sphere of civil law. Pilate examined liim privately and Jesus answered his questions frankly. As a result of the examination. Pilate was convinced that Jesus was politically harm- less and wished to save him, but he feared to do so by peremptory release. In the end popular clamor prevailed, and personal and political con- siderations of a selfish nature outweighed Pilate's loyalty to the functions of a just judge. Pilate's rule in .Jud;ea ended by his being cited to appear in Rome to explain certain acts of cruelty. Thereafter he disappears from authentic history. There are many traditions concerning the end of his life. One of these is connected with Mount Pilatus, near "Lucerne, Switzerland, in a lake on which his body is said to lie. Consult, besides the lives of Christ, and Sehiirer's History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ (Eng. trans., Edinburgh, 1886-90), especially, G. A. Mliller. Pontius Pilatus der fiinfte Prokurator vonJudiia (Stuttgart, 1888). PILATE, Acts of. See Apocrypha, section on .Vcic Testament. PILATE, Abch of. An arch spanning the Via Dolorosa at Jerusalem, .said to mark the spot where .Jesus with the crown of thorns was pre- sented to the Jews by Pilate with the words "Ecce Homo." The structure is probably a Io- nian triumphal arch. PILATUS, pi-lii'tus, MoixT. A peak of the Bernese Alps in Switzerland, rising from the western shore of the Lake of Lucerne (q.v.) to a height of 6998 feet (Map: Switzerland. C 2). It is visited by numerous tourists on account of the fine view to be had from the summit, which is reached by a rack and pinion railroad. The name is probably a corruption of pileutus, 'capped:' but according to a legend it is derived from Pontius Pilate, whose boiiy is supposed to have been thrown into a little lake at the foot of the mountain, and whose ghost, as the legend goes, still haunts the place. PIL'CHARD (formerly also pitcher, from Ir. pilseir, jiilchard ) . A European fish ( Clui>ea pilchardus). closely allied to the herring and the same thing as the sardine, sardines being simply young pilchards. (See Sakdine. ) The pilchard occurs in vast schools along the western coast of Europe and in the ilediterranean Sea, and is taken by means of seines in enormous quantities for the European markets and pre- serving factories. It reaches nearly the size of the herring, but is rather thicker, and the outlines of the back and belly are straighter: the upiier part of the body is bluish green, the sides and abdomen silvery white, the cheeks and gill- covers yellowish, and the dorsal fin and tail duskv. " In Great Britain it is caught only along the Channel coast. See Plate of Heerixg and Shao. PILCOMAYO, pel'kA-ma'yd. A river of South America, the longest tributary of the Paraguay