Polish Succession (Pol.) (Amsterdam, 1789); Protest against the Succession to the Throne (Pol.) (ibid. 1790); and other political works.
See Friedrich Schulz, Poland in the year 1793 (Pol.) (Warsaw, X899); Josef Zajaczek, History of the Revolution of 1794 (Pol.) (Lemberg, 1881). (R. N. B.)
POTOMAC, a river in the east central part of the United
States, having its source in the Alleghany Mountains and flowing
S.E. into Chesapeake Bay. It is formed by the union of its
north and south branches, about 15 m. S.E. of Cumberland,
Maryland. The main stream has a length of about 450 m. and
is navigable for large vessels for 113 m. above its mouth. The
north branch, about 110 m. long, rises in the north-eastern part
of West Virginia, pursues a north-easterly course, and forms
part of the boundary between Maryland and West Virginia.
The south branch has its sources in Highland county, Va.,
and in Pendleton county, W.Va., and flows north-east for
about 140 m. until it joins the north branch. From the junction
of these two streams until it reaches Harper's Ferry the
Potomac river separates Maryland from West Virginia. At
Harper's Ferry it receives the waters of the Shenandoah river
and cuts through the Blue Ridge Mountains in a gorge noted
for its scenic beauty. From this point to its mouth it forms the
boundary between Virginia and Maryland. The stream crosses
the Blue Ridge Mountains at an elevation of about 245 ft., and
at Georgetown (Washington), 62 m. distant, it meets tidewater.
Of this descent about 90 ft. occurs about 15 m. above Washington,
at the Great Falls, a series of rapids about a mile long and
including a cataract about 35 ft. high. Three and a half miles
above Washington are the Little Falls, which mark the head of
navigation. Large vessels, however, are prevented by a bridge
from proceeding above Georgetown. At Washington there are
two channels, with respective depths at mean low water of 18
and 21 ft. Large sums have been spent since 1870 on improving
these channels. A few miles below the city the river broadens
into a deep tidal estuary from 2½ to 7 m. wide; and channels
24 ft. deep and 200 ft. wide through all the shoals were secured
by the project of 1899. The Anacostia river, or “ East Branch,”
which flows into the Potomac just south of Washington, is
navigable for large vessels for about 2 m. and for small scows
and lighters as far as Bladensburg, Md., 8¾ m. above
its mouth; its natural channel was narrow and tortuous
and about 18 ft. deep; in 1909 improvements (begun in 1902)
had procured a channel 20 ft. deep at mean low water
and 380 ft. wide. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, from
Georgetown to Cumberland, Md., follows the Potomac closely
on the Maryland side. The shipments over the Potomac above
Washington in 1907 were valued at $7,596,494, and those
below Washington at $21,093,800, the principal commodities
being sand and gravel, ice, oils, naval ordnance and supplies,
and building and paving materials. The shipments on the
Anacostia river were of much the same character, and in
1907 were valued at $4,312,687.
POTOROO, or Rat Kangaroo, any member of the diprotodont marsupial sub-family Potoroinae (see Marsupalia). None of
them exceed a common rabbit in size. They inhabit Australia
and Tasmania, are nocturnal, and feed on the leaves of grasses
and other plants, as well as roots and bulbs, which they dig up
with their forepaws; in this way some of them do considerable
damage to cultivated crops. About ten species are known,
presenting a considerable range of diversity in minor characters.
The members of the type genus (Potorous) run, rather than leap,
and do not use the hind feet for kicking. In the genus Bettongia
the tail is prehensile, and with it they collect grass and twigs
for making nests in their burrows.
POTOSÍ, a department of Bolivia occupying the south-western
angle of that republic, bounded N. by Oruro, Cochabamba and
Chuquisaca, E. by the two last departments and Tarija, S. by
Argentina and W. by Chile and Oruro. Pop. (1900), 325,615,
the larger part Indians; area, 48,801 sq. m. The eastern part
of the department is traversed north to south by the eastern
branch of the Andes, locally known as the Cordillera de los
Frailes and the Sierras de Chichas. Spurs and broken ranges
project eastward from these, between which are the head streams
of the Pilcomayo and Guapay, the first flowing south-east to the
La Plata, and the second north-east to the Madeira and Amazon.
The Pilcomayo itself rises in the department of Oruro, but several
of its larger tributaries belong to Potosi-the San juan, Cotagaita
and Tumusla in the south, and Cachimayo in the north.
The western part of the department belongs to the great Bolivian
altaplanicie, or southern extension of the Titicaca basin. It is
a barren, saline waste, almost uninhabitable. In the north,
bordering on the transverse ridge of which the Cerro de Tahua
(17,454 ft.) forms a part, is the depression known as the Pampa
de Empeza, 12,080 ft. above sea-level, which is largely a region
of morasses and saline plains. On and near the southern frontier
is another transverse ridge, in part formed by the Sierra de
Lipez, and in part by apparently detached groups of high peaks;
it is a waterless desert like the Puna de Atacama.
Potosí is essentially a mining department, though agriculture and grazing occupy some attention in the eastern valleys. The western plateau is rich in minerals, especially silver and copper. The Huanchaca group of mines, situated on the slopes of the eastern Cordillera, overlooking the Pampa de Empeza, has the largest output of silver in Bolivia. The Pulacayo mine, belonging to this group, 15,153 ft. above sea-level, ranks next to the Broken Hill mine of Australia in production. Between 1873 and 1901 it yielded 4520 tons of silver, of an estimated value of £23,200,000. Farther south are the Portugalete mines, once very productive, and near the Argentine border are the Lipez mines. East of the Cordilleras are the famous “ silver mountain " of Potosi, once the richest silver mine in the world; the snow-capped peak of Chorolque (18,452 ft.), which is claimed to have the highest mine in the world; Porco, a few miles south-west of Potosi; Guadalupe, Colquechaca and Aullagas. Besides silver, the Chorolque mines also yield tin, copper, bismuth, lead and Wolfram. In 1907 the national government undertook railways from Potosí to Oruro, 205 m., and from Potosí to Tupiza, 155 m., to connect with the Central Northern line of Argentina, which was opened to Quiaca on the frontier on the 25th of May 1908. In western Potosi the department is traversed by the Antofagasta & Oruro railway (0.75 metre gauge). Besides Potosí, the capital of the department, the principal towns are Huanchaca (pop. about 10,000 in 1904), the seat of famous silver mines, 13,458 ft. elevation, and overlooking the Pampa de Empeza; Uyuni, 9 m. from Huanchaca, 12,100 ft. above sea-level, a small town but an important railway junction and commercial centre on the waterless plain, the shipping point and supply station for an extensive mining region; and Tupiza (pop. about 5000 in 1906), a prettily situated town near the Argentine frontier, on a small branch of the San juan river, 9800 ft. above sea-level.
POTOSÍ, a city of Bolivia, capital of the department of Potosi, 47 m. (direct) S.W. of Sucré, or 88 m. by the post-road. Pop.
(1906, estimate), 23,450. Potosi stands on a barren terrace on the northern slope of the Cerro Gordo de Potosi, 12,992 ft. above sea-level, and is one of the highest towns in the world. The famous cerro from which its name is taken rises above the town to a height of 15,381 ft., a barren, white-capped cone honeycombed with mining shafts. The town is regularly laid out with streets crossing each other at right angles. The smoke begrimed buildings, many of which are unoccupied and in ruins, are commonly of adobe. A large plaza forms the conventional centre, around which are grouped various religious edifices, the government house, town hall, national college, the old “ royal mint ” dating from 1585, and the treasury. The city has a massive, plain cathedral, which in part dates from early colonial times, and in part from the closing years of Spanish rule. The water supply is derived from a costly system, of reservoirs and aqueducts constructed by the Spanish government during the years of the city's greatest prosperity. There are 27 of these artificial lakes, and the aqueducts originally numbered 32, some of which are no longer serviceable. Rough mountain roads and pack animals are the only means of transportation to and from Potosí, but a railway from Oruro to Tupiza via Potosí, forming part of the projected Pan-American route, was contracted for in 1908. In 1611 the population of Potosí was reported to be 160,000, which probably included the whole mining district. A part of the diminution since then is explained by the fact that the great majority of the mines on the cerro have been abandoned.
