Iroquois

(ir-o-kwoi'.) (Ethnol.) A fam. ofN. American aborigines which had its habitat in central and W. New York, and was originally styled the Six Nations, it being composed of the Oneidas, Mohawks, Senecas, Cayugas, On on dag as, and Tuscaroras. Later, to these were added the Hurons and Algonquins. The English and Canadians knew them under the general term of Mingoes. They became divided in their partisanship during the Old French War, one section siding with the English, and the other with the French. In the War of the American Revolution, the 1. were the steadfast allies of Great Britain, and seriously troubled the American frontiersmen. At the present day, they are scattered over New York and some of the N.W. States. Iroquois', in Illinois, a N.E. co., b. E. by Indiana; area, 1,100 sq. m.; C. Middle port. Pop. 25,782. Irradiation, (-ra-de-a's hun.) [From L. ir radio, I make a light.] (Opt.) A phenomenon in virtue of which white objects or those of a very bright color, when seen on a dark ground, appear larger than they really are. With a black body on a bright ground, the converse is the case. 1. arises from the fact that the impre ion produced on the retina extends beyond the outline of the image. It bears the same relation to the space occupied by the image that the duration of the impre ion does to the time during which the image is seen. Irrational, (ir-rash'ün-al.) [From L. in, and rational is, a meditating.] (Math.) Designating a number or quantity the root of which is incommensurable with unity, and, consequently, incapable of proper extraction: opposed to rational. [s. 493]