BECE 462 BECKET race. In winter there are sharp frosts, and snow falls in some years. The rains fall in summer, and then only the rivers are full. It is an excellent country for cattle; sheep thrive in some parts, and there are extensive tracts available for corn lands; but it is not a wheat country on account of the summer rains. It can be reached from Cape Tovra, Port Eliza- beth, Durban, Delagoa Bay, and the Zam- bezi, the railroad from the former being extended from Kimberley, Vryburg, Mafeking, Falachwe, Tati, and Bula- wayo. There are extensive forests to the N. E., and to the W. the Kalahari Desert. Gold has been found near Sitlagoli, and there are indications of gold-bearing quartz reefs in many directions. Dia- mondiferous soil is also said to exist in several localities; indeed, diamonds were discovered at Vryburg in the autumn of 1887. The province of Stellaland is princi- pally inhabited by Boers, and the re- mainder of the country by Bechuanas. The Bechuanas are a black race, possess- ing a language in common with the Bantu races of South Africa, extending as far N. as the equator. The Bechuanas have divided up within the last 150 years, and comprise the Bahurutse, Ba- mangwato, Bakwena, Bangwaketse, Baro- longs, Batlapins, and Batlaros. Each tribe has an animal as an emblem, or heraldic sign, which it is said they hold in esteem. They have since 1832 been at enmity with the Matabele. During the native risings in 1878, the Bechuanas invaded Griqualand West, and were in turn subdued by British volunteers as far as the Molopo. When the British Government withdrew from Bechuana- land in 1880, the natives, being helpless, were left to the mercy of the Boers of the Transvaal, whose harsh treatment in 1882 and 1883 led to the Bechuanaland expedition in 1884. The system of gov- ernment among the Bechuanas would be termed in Europe local government. All important matters are decided in the public assembly of the freemen of the town, but matters are previously ar- ranged between the chiefs and headmen. During the British-Boer War of 1899- 1900, Mafeking was the scene of one of the most determined and successful de- fenses in history. BECK, JAMES MONTGOMERY, an American lawyer and publicist, born in Philadelphia in 1861. He graduated from Moravian College in 1880. In 1884 he was admitted to the bar. From 1896 to 1900 he was United States attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and from 1900 to 1903 was assistant at- torney-general of the United States. At the outbreak of the World War he took a strong stand against Germany and wrote much and delivered many ad- dresses to show Germany's responsibil- ity. He delivered many orations on notable occasions on various subjects. He wrote "The Evidence in the Case" (1914); "War and Humanity" (1916). BECKER, GEORGE FERDINAND, an American geologist, born in New York, Jan. 5, 1847; graduated at Harvard Uni- versity in 1868; was Instructor of Min- ing and Metallurgy in the University of California in 1875-1879; attached to the United States Geological Survey since 1879„ and Special Agent of the 10th Census, 1879-1883. He was ap- pointed a special agent to examine into the mineral resources of the Philippine Islands in 1898 and was later placed in charge of the chemical and physical research division. United States Geologi- cal Survey. He was also geophysicist of the Carnegie Institution and a member of several scientific associations. His publications include "Geology of the Corn- stock Lode," "Geology of the Quicksilver Deposits of the Pacific Slope," "Age of Earth," etc. BECKET, THOMAS A, an Arch- bishop of Canterbury, the son of a London merchant, born in 1118; studied THOMAS A BECKET at Oxford and Bologna. Henry II.,, in 1158, made Becket his chancellor, and in 1162 he was appointed to the primacy. He then laid aside all pomp and luxury, and led a life of monastic austerity. In the controversy which immediately arose, respecting the limits of civil and eccle-
