Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/621

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GAMMELL GANGES 609 Indiana that winning any sum of money, how- ever small, at cards, is an indictable offence ; and in Tennessee the common form of lottery called "gift enterprises," in which the pur- chaser of an article is entitled to the chance of winning a prize, has been held to be gaming and indictable. But it has been said in New York, that playing to see who shall pay for the use of the implements, as a billiard table, is not gambling. GAMMELL, William, an American author, born in Medfield, Mass., Feb. 10, 1812. He gradu- ated at Brown university in 1831, and soon afterward was appointed a tutor in the univer- sity ; in 1835 he was chosen assistant, and in 1836 full professor of rhetoric. In 1850 he was transferred to the professorship of history and political economy, which chair he resigned in 1864. In 1859 he received the degree of LL. D. from the university of Rochester, and in 1870 was made one of the fellows of the corporation of Brown university. He has pub- lished various orations and discourses on lit- erary and historical subjects; also numerous articles in reviews and magazines, especially in the "Christian Review," of which for sev- eral years he was one of the editors. He has written a life of Roger Williams, and one of Governor Samuel Ward, for Sparks's "Ameri- can Biography ;" and a "History of American Baptist Missions," at the request of the board of the American Baptist missionary union. GANDO. I. A kingdom in Africa, lying on both sides of the principal branch of the Niger. It consists of several rich provinces, comprising the western half of Kebbi, Mauri or Arewa, Zaberma, Dendina, a great part of Goorma, a small portion of Borgoo, a large portion of Yoruba, Yauri, and Nufi. Much of the terri- tory is well inhabited, and presents a luxuriant vegetation, embracing the yam, the date, and the banana. The inhabitants are of the Foolah race, and most of them Mohammedans. King Khaliloo, whom Barth visited in 1853, lived in almost monastic seclusion, leaving the admin- istration in the hands of one of his brothers, in consequence of which the provinces were plunged into anarchy and mutual hostilities. II. A town, the residence of the king, in a narrow valley surrounded by hilly chains, in lat. 12 20' N., Ion. 4 50' E., 615 m. N. E. of Cape Coast Castle. It is intersected from N. by the broad and shallow bed of a tor- rent, the borders of which are covered with luxuriant vegetation, and is adorned with trees, among which the banana is prominent. The onion of Gando is superior in size and quality to any produced in the neighboring districts. The inhabitants prepare cotton cloth of excel- lent quality, but their dyeing is inferior. Gt.XGES (Hind. Gangd, stream), one of the great rivers of British India, rising on the S. f the Himalaya mountains, and flowing ootherly and easterly into the northern portion )f the bay of Bengal. The river Bhagirathi, usually regarded as its true source, has its origin in the territory of Gurhwal, 10 m. from the temple of Gungootree, a favorite resort of Hin- doo pilgrims. It flows from a cave in a per- pendicular ice wall at the extremity of a glacier, as a torrent about 40 yards wide, not far from lat. 30 54' N., Ion. 79 7' E., at an elevation of 13,800 ft. above the sea. The surrounding mountains are upward of 20,000 ft. in height. It is not until the Bhagirathi is joined by the Aluknunda, 120 m. from its source, that the stream is called the Ganges. At Hurdwar, 47 m. further down, the river reaches the great plain of India, here 1,024 ft. above the ocean level. Thence to Allahabad, where it joins the Jumna, a distance of 488 m., the course of the Ganges is S. S. E., with an average fall of 22 in. to the mile. Its most important affluent between these two cities is the Ramganga, an eastern tributary. From its confluence with the Jumna, the Ganges pursues a winding course eastward, 563 m., to the head of the delta. In this portion of the river the fall is about 5 in. to the mile. Among the important tributary streams are the Goomtee, on which Lucknow is situated, the Gogra from the north- west, the Gunduk flowing from the west and the Coosy or Cosi from the east of Katmandu, the distant capital of Nepaul, and the Sone from central India. The head of the delta of the Ganges is about 30 m. below Rajmahal, and 216 m. in a straight line from the bay of Bengal. At this point the first arm is given off; it flows southward, and is known as the Bhagrutti. Further to the southeast the main stream throws off another branch to the south called the Jellinghi, and still another called the Mata- bunga. These three western offshoots unite to form the Hoogly, the great branch of the Ganges, on which Calcutta is situated at a dis- tance of about 100 m. from the sea. The em- bouchure of the Hoogly is in lat. 21 40' N., Ion. 88 E. The principal stream, still retain- ing the name of Ganges, continues to flow in a southeasterly direction, sending out other branches southward, which combine and form the Hauringotta arm of the delta. Finally, it partly intermingles its waters with those of the Brahmapootra, and falls into the bay of Ben- gal near that river, but by a separate mouth. The average descent of the Ganges from the head of the delta is 3 in. per mile. The entire length of the Ganges is between 1,500 and 1,600 m. Its depth and width and the rapidi- ty of its flow vary greatly at different seasons. There is an annual rise of its waters, generally beginning at the end of May and attaining its height in September. The rise is 7 ft. at Cal- cutta, without taking into account the tide, and from 29 to 45 ft. at Allahabad. The ave- rage width of the Ganges on its whole course is estimated at 1 m. in the dry season. The section between Hurdwar and Allahabad abounds in* shallows and rapids, but is navi- gable by small boats throughout its whole ex- tent, and by steamers for passenger traffic over the lower four fifths of its length. At Allaha-