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WEST INDIES. 439 WESTINGHOUSE. July and November, cause serious destruction of life and ]iro|jerty. The llora is related to lliat of tropical South America, though less ricli in disliiictively tropical species. The fauna is char- acterized ohiclly hy a iiaucity of large mammals as com[)ari'd with the fauna of llu' mainland, though the other divisions of the uniinal kingdom are well represented, for details of the llora and fauna of the princi]ial islands see the separate articles. The industries are mainly agricultural, and sugar, tohacco, and eod'ee are the juineipal economic [dants. The importance of cane sugar has declined in recent .year-s, but fruit and cot- ton culture is developing. The ])opdation of the whole archipelago is a little more than 0,000,- 000. Two-tliirds of the inhabitants are negroes or of African blood, though in Cuba and Porto Rico the whites are in the majority. The Ku- ropeansare chiefly descendants of Spanish, French, and English setth'rs. The principal remaining elcmerjt of the jmpulation is the in]port<'d Chinese and Indian coolies, the aboriginal Indian popu- lation being almost wdioUy extinct. Politically the West Indies are much divided. Of the Greater Antilles, Porto Rico belon_gs to the United States and Jamaica to Great Pritain, while Cuba and Haiti represent indejiendcnt republics, the latter containing two — Haiti and Santo Do- mingo. The other islands are colonial possessions of (iroat Britain, France, the Netherlands, and nenniark. the British possessions being by far the largest. The West Indies were so called because they were at first believed to be a part of India. They were the earliest parts of the New World to be discovered and settled, and served as a base for the Spanish expeditions of conquest and ex- ploration on the mainland. For details of his- tory, see articles on the separate islands. BiBLiOGR.^pnT. Hooper, The Forests of the TVest Indies (ib., 1888) : Deekert, Politisch- geor/raphische Betrachtnnijen iiber West-indien (Leipzig, 1896); Eedwav, T/ic VTest Indies and the Spanish Main (New York, 1890) ; Fiske, The West Indies (ib., 1899) : Hamm. Poi'to Rico and the West Indies (London, 1899) ; Froude, The Enplish in the West Indies (London, 1888). See also the authorities cited under Cuba and Pokto Rico. WEST INDIES, Danistt. A group of three islands in the West Indies, situated east of Porto Eieo, belonging geographically to the Virgin Islands, and politically to Denmark. It con- sists of Sainte Croix (q.v. ), Saint Thomas (q.v. ), and Saint John, with a total area of 1.38 square miles (Map: West Indies, P 5). The chief industry is the cultivation of sugar. The trade is chiefly with the United States and Denmark, the exports consisting almost entirely of sugar and rum. The group is practically autonomous. The legislative power is vested in two councils, one for each of the two districts into which the colony is divided ; three- fourths of their members are elected. The execu- tive power is in the hands of the Governor- General, appointed by the Crown. The revenue IS derived principally from customs, and as the trade of the colony is in a state of decline, it is insufficient to cover the expenditures. Popula- tion, in 1901, ,■50,527. - The inhabitants are most- ly negroes, the Danish element being represented almost exclusivel}- by the oflScials and their fam- ilies. The chief language is a Spanish dialect, but English is generally spoken in the ports. The seat of govennnent is Christiansted, on Saint Croix. Negotiations for the sale of the islands to the United States were for a number of years in progress, but were terminated in 1902 by the rejection of a treaty of sale by the Danisli Parlia- ment. WEST INDIES, Dutch. See XUtiieblanus, paragraph on Colonies. WESTINGHOUSE, Oeoroe (1840—). An -American inventor and engineer, famous for his invention of the air-brake. He was born at Cen- tral Bridge, Schoharie County, N. Y., but re- moved when a young boy to Schenectady, where he was educated in the public schools. His father was a large manufacturer of agricultural machinery, and Westinghouse spent considerable time in the machine shops, showing his inventive and mechanical g(>nius at an early age. In the Civil War he served with the Twelfth New York . Regiment and the Sixteenth New York Cavalry until the latter part of 1804, when he became as- sistant engineer in the United States Navy. On his return to Schenectady in 1865 he matricu- lated at Union College and studied until the end of the sophomore year, being occupied in the meantime with mechanical investigations. His first invention of note was a railway frog, and from this and other railway appliances his at- tention was turned to brakes. Realizing the necessity for a power brake, and that it was im- possible to use steam, on account of condensation, he experimented with compressed air, which was then beginning to be used as a motive power in European tumieling. In 1808 he invented the air-brake, which was successfully used in that year and soon came to he emplo.yed universally throughout the United States and gradually in Europe. From time to time this important ad- jimct to railway travel received important and extensive improveinents at the hands of Westing- house and its efficiency was wonderfully in- creased. (See Air-Brake. ) Railway signaling also attracted Westinghouse's attention, and many inventions and imjjrovements in safety de- vices followed. Becoming interested in elec- tricity, Westinghouse acquired patents for alter- nating current machinery and immediately de- voted himself to the development of this branch. Through his eflorts the alternating current for pow'er and lighting was u.sed on a large scale, notably at the Chicago Exposition of 1893, and in spite of the opposition of the direct-current advocates, came rapidly into widespread use. The induction motor of Tesla and other inven- tions that were developed under his direction made possible long-di.stance transmission of power. To construct air-brakes, and electrical and other machines, large works were erected at Pittsburg, which were constantly added to and jnaintained at a high degree of efficiency, espe- cially as regards equipment and organization. From these works were supplied the generators for the great power plants at Niagara Falls, and of the elevated and rapid transit .systems of New York, while in their different departments were constructed steam and gas engines, steam tur- bines, and electrical and other machinery, which in nearly all cases was of improved form, invented or developed in the Westinghouse shops and