CRENEL. 563 CREON. Lat. crena, notch ) . Any embrasure or opening in the walls of a fortified pUice; espeeially the spaces between merlons (q.v. ) on a battlemented parapet, from which missiles could be dis- charged. Hence it is sometimes used to desig- nate a battlement. Crenellated is used of a building supplied with crenels. See B.ttle- ME.XT. CRE'NIC ACID (from Gk. Kpi/vi/, krCne, fountain). One of the constituents of vegetable mold, produced wherever leaves and other j)lant matter are decaying, especially in peat-bogs and marshes. CREODON'TA (Xco-Lat., nom. pi. of Gk. Kpfaf, krcas. llcsh + Wot'f, odous, tooth). A suborder of extinct mammals, ancestral to the true carnivores, and lience sometimes called Car- nivora Primigenia, and found fossil in the lower Tertiary rocks. The creodonts comprise primi- tive or synthetic types of animals that vary in size from that of a weasel to that of a grizzly bear, and that combine the characters of the true carnivorous families in such manner as to render determination of the taxonomic rank of any particular species a matter of some difficulty. The members of the suborder present resem- blances to the bears, civets, and dogs among the true carnivores; the genus Patriofelis seems prophetic of the Pinnipedia, or seals, and Me- sonyx resembles the carnivorous marsupials of Australia. The more primitive forms show char- acters possessed also by the Insectivora, Tillodon- tia. and Condylarthra. The oldest known mam- mal skull — that of Triisodon from the lower Puerco beds of the lowest Eocene of New Jlexico — is placed among the Creodonta. Creodont re- mains are found in the lower Tertiary of Pata- gonia, and these are of interest because they re- semble the carnivorous marsupials of Australia and New Zealand much more closely than do the North American creodonts. The range of the suborder in both North America and Europe is from the base of tlie Eocene into the lower Miocene. During Eocene time the creodonts played that important rOle among land animals which subsequently, during later Eocene and Miocene time, was assumed by the true carni- vores. Among the more interesting and impor- tant genera are Arctocyon. Hysenodon, Mesonyx, Oxya?na, Patriofelis, Stylolophus. BiELioGRAPiiT. IMatthew, "A Revision of the Puerco Faima," BuUclin of the .American Mu- seum of KaturnI History, vol. ix. (New York, 1897) ; id.. "Additional Observations on the Creodonta," liullctiii of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. xiv. (New York, 1001) ; Scott, "A Revision of the North American Creo- donta," Journal of the Aciidcmy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. ix. (Philadelphia, 1887). See articles on ME.so^'TX: Ost.ena; Hy.enodon; Patkiofeus; Mammalia; Tkhso- BO'J. CREOLE (Fr. Creole, Sp. erioUo : probably a negro corruption of Sp.*eriadillo. criado, servant, from criar, to create, rear). A name properly used in the southern United States and in Latin America to designate the imre-bloodcd descend- ants of original French, Spanish, or Portuguese stock. By English writers it has sometimes been incorrectly supposed to mean a mestizo or mulatto; but it cannot properly be applied to any person of mixed race, non-Latin stock, or European birth, neither is it used in speaking of the Canadian French. CREOLE CASE, The. An incident in Ameri- can history, wiiich caused some friction between the governments of the United States and Great Britain and was the occasion of an animated debate between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery elements in Congress. In 1841, 1!) of the 1^5 slaves on board the American brig Creole re- volted, while being transported coastwise between Hampton Roads and New Orleans, and securing control, after killing the captain and wounding several others, directed the vessel to Nassau. New Providence, where all those who had not been directly concerned in the revolt were immediately liberated by the British authorities, the others being held for trial on a charge of murder, in the local courts. Daniel Webster, wlio was then Secre- tary of State, demanded the return of the slaves, on the ground that they were legally property and were on American soil and under the jurisdiction of the United States, so long as the}' were luider the American Hag, even when on board a shi|). They were never returned, however, bj' the Brit- ish Government. The incident caused .J. R. Gid- dings ( q.v. ) to otl'er a series of resolutions in the House of Representatives, on JIarch 21, 1842, declaring that slavery could exist only by positive law of the separate States ; that these States had delegated no control over slavery to the Federal GovernmeTit, which alone had jurisdiction on the high seas, and, therefore, that slaves on the high seas became free, and the coastwise slave trade was unconstitutional. The House passed a resolu- tion of censure, and Giddings immediately re- signed, but was triumphantly reelected. His resolutions expressed the basis of one phase of the constitutional anti-slavei-y agitation. They are given in full in Giddings's History of the Jiehellion (New York. 1804). The statute of March 2, 1807, regulating the coastwise slave trade, is in 2 U. S." Statutes at Large 426. See Slavery. CREOLE STATE. Louisiana. See States, PopvLAR Names of. CRE'OLIN (origin uncertain). An iinoflicial dark-brown, sinipy liquid, of tarry odor, derived from coal-tar. It is soluble in alcohol and forms a milky fluid (an emulsion) with water. Differ- ent specimens vaiy considerably in composition and strength, and the careless use of the sub- stance may cause poisoning. It is a good anti- septic, particularly against organisms that bear no spores, and is a powerful deodorizer. In operative surr;ery. it has the disadvantage that the milky character of the solution makes it diffi- cult to see instruments placed in it. CRE'ON (Lat., from Gk. Kpiav, Kreon). In the Greek legend, the son of Alenoeeeus. and brother of .locasta. wife of Laius, King of Thebes. After the death of Laius he assumed the govern- ment and ofl'ered the crown and .Tocasta to who- soever could free the city from the Sphinx. Oedi- pus (q.v.) accompli.shed the task, and thus unconsciously became the husband of his ovrri mother. After his fall Creon once more assumed the rule as guardian of the sons of CEdipus. Eteo- cles and PohTiices (q.v.). After the death of the brothers. Creon again became king, and for- bade the burial of Polynices and the Argives. Antiyone (q.v.), however, defied Creon and buried her brother's body, whereupon Creon sen-
