Arapaima

( Zool.) A genus of malacopterygious fishes, nearly allied to the Clupeidæ, or Herring family, and remarkable for the mosaic work of strong, bony, compound scales with which the body is covered. The A. is the largest known fresh-water fish in the world, being sometimes taken 18 ft. in length, in the Rio Negro, South America. Arapa'res, a mountain-chain in Brazil, in which the rivers Jurneao, Arinos, Paraguay, and Cuyaba take their rise. Araparip'ucu, a town of Brazil, on a branch of the Marañon, 170 m. W.S.W. of Para. Arapijo, a town of Brazil, in the prov. of Pará, 18 m. W.S.W. of Gurupa. Arap'iles, in Spain. See SALAMANCA. Ar'aqui, a river of Asia, in Georgia, which, rising in the Caucasus, joins the Kur, 25 m. above Tiflis. Ararangua, a river of Brazil, falling into the sea about 50 m. to the S.W. of San Antonio de Laguna, after a course of about 60 m., 15 of which are navigable from its mouth. Ar'aras, Sierra d', a range of mountains in Brazil, forming part of the boundary between the prov. of Minas-Geraes and Goyaz. Ararat, a district of Australia, in the British colony of Victoria. It is one of the principal gold-mining districts, and contains a pop . of about 52,000. Ararat, a river of N. Carolina, emptying into the Yadkin. Its Ararat (Mount), a famous mountain of Asia, in Armenia, on the confines of the Ru ian, Turkish, and Persian empires; Lat. 39° 42′ N.; Lon. 44° 35' E. base is washed by the Araxes, from whose low plain it rises to an immense height, terminating in two conical peaks, one much higher than the other. After many fruitle attempts to reach its principal summit, or Great Ararat, this arduous task was accomplished in 1830, by Profe or Parrot, who determined its altitude to be 17,230 ft. above sea-level. The whole of the upper region of the mountain, from the height of 12,750 ft., is covered with perpetual snow and ice, and is frequently the scene of tremendous avalanches. It is believed to be of vol- canic origin. A. is said to be the Ararat of Scripture on. whose summit the ark rested. (Gen. viii. 4.) IMG:content-0263.png:[ocr errors][merged small][merged small] flourished about 300 в. с. Ara'tus or SICYON, B. 273 B. c., delivered his native city from the tyrant Nicocles, and, with the help of Ptolemæus Philadelphus, restored the republican form of government. D. 216 в. с., poisoned by order of Philip, king of Macedon. Arauca'nia, a large territory of S. America, comprising all the country lying between 37° and 39° 50′ S Lat.,. and 70° and 75° 20 W. Lon. On the N. it is bounded by the river Biobio; S. by the Valdivia; E by the Andes; and on the W. by the Pacific ocean. A. was formerly divided into 4 tetrarchies, each governed by a toqui or tetrarch, and subdivided into 9 all are gues or provinces, each of which is presided over by an apo -ulmen. The form of government is an intermixed democracy and aristocracy. The natives proper of A. belong to the Moluches race of Indians, and derived their name of Araucanians or Aucas from the Spaniards. A partial agricultural industry prevails, but horses, cattle, guanacos, and vicunas form the principal wealth of the country. The inhabitants have a sort of criminal code, and a religion which admits the immortality of the soul. They are a warlike people. None of the aborigines of S. America have resisted with such obstinate bravery the attempts of Europe ans to reduce them to subjection, and, until recently, they retained their independence. They learned from the Spaniards the use of cavalry tactics in warfare, and are now in this respect almost unri valled. The gov. of A. was republican until 1859, in which year a French man, named M. de Tonneins, who had travelled through the country, formed a party of adherents, and proclaimed himself sovereign, under the title of King Aurelius Antonius I. To get rid of him, the opposite party called for the aid of Chili, whose troops defeated and made him prisoner in 1862. He eventually was liberated, and retired to France. After having his regal title formally recognized in the course of a lawsuit, he returned to A., was again at war with Chili in 1869-'70; but in 1871 had to sail once more for France, where he died in poverty. A. was nominally annexed to Chili by a law of Oct. 13, 1875.