CHATHAM ISLANDS

chatham islands, a small group in the pacific ocean, forming part of new zealand, 536 m. due e. of lyttelton in the south island, about 44° s., 177° w. it consists of three islands, a large one called whairikauri, or chatham island, a smaller one, rangihaute, or pitt island, and a third, rangatira, or south-east island. there are also several small rocky islets. whairikauri, whose highest point reaches about 1000 ft., is remarkable for the number of lakes and tarns it contains, and for the extensive bogs which cover the surface of nearly the whole of the uplands. it is of very irregular form, about 38 m. in length and 25 m. in extreme breadth, with an area of 321 sq. m.--a little larger than middlesex. the geological formation is principally of volcanic rocks, with schists and tertiary limestone; and an early physical connexion of the islands with new zealand is indicated by their geology and biology. the climate is colder than that of new zealand. in the centre of whairikauri is a large brackish lake called tewanga, which at the southern end is separated from the sea by a sandbank only 150 yds. wide, which it occasionally bursts through. the southern part of the island has an undulating surface, and is covered either with an open forest or with high ferns. in general the soil is extremely fertile, and where it is naturally drained a rich vegetation of fern and flax occurs. on the north-west are several conical hills of basalt, which are surrounded by oases of fertile soil. on the south-western side is petre bay, on which, at the mouth of the river mantagu, is waitangi, the principal settlement. the islands were discovered in 1791 by lieutenant w.r. broughton (1762-1821), who gave them the name of chatham from the brig which he commanded. he described the natives as a bright, pleasure-loving people, dressed in sealskins or mats, and calling themselves morioris or maiorioris. in 1831 they were conquered by 800 maoris who were landed from a european vessel. they were almost exterminated, and an epidemic of influenza in 1839 killed half of those left; ten years later there were only 90 survivors out of a total population of 1200. they subsequently decreased still further. their language was allied to that of the maoris of new zealand, but they differed somewhat from them in physique, and they were probably a cross between an immigrating polynesian group and a lower indigenous melanesian stock. the population of the islands includes about 200 whites of various races and the same number of natives (chiefly maoris). cattle and sheep are bred, and a trade is carried on in them with the whalers which visit these seas. the chief export from the group is wool, grown upon runs farmed both by europeans and morioris. there is also a small export by the natives of the flesh of young albatrosses and other sea-birds, boiled down and cured, for the maoris of new zealand, by whom it is reckoned a delicacy. the imports consist of the usual commodities required by a population where little of the land is actually cultivated. there are no indigenous mammals; the reptiles belong to new zealand species. the birds--the largest factor in the fauna--have become very greatly reduced through the introduction of cats, dogs and pigs, as well as by the constant persecution of every sort of animal by the natives. the larger bell-bird (_anthornis melanocephala_) has become quite scarce; the magnificent fruit-pigeon (_carpophaga chathamensis_), and the two endemic rails (_nesolimnas dieffenbachii_ and _cabalus modestus_), the one of which was confined to whairikauri and the other to mangare island, are extinct. several fossil or subfossil avian forms, very interesting from the point of view of geographical distribution, have been discovered by dr h.o. forbes, namely, a true species of raven (_palaeocorax moriorum_), a remarkable rail (_diaphorapteryx_), closely related to the extinct _aphanapteryx_ of mauritius, and a large coot (_palaeolimnas chathamensis_). there have also been discovered the remains of a species of swan belonging to the south american genus _chenopis_, and of the tuatara (_hatteria_) lizard, the unique species of an ancient family now surviving only in new zealand. the swan is identical with an extinct species found in caves and kitchen-middens in new zealand, which was contemporaneous with the prehistoric maoris and was largely used by them for food. one of the finest of the endemic flowering plants of the group is the boraginaceous "chatham island lily" (_myositidium nobile_), a gigantic forget-me-not, which grows on the shingly shore in a few places only, and always just on the high-water mark, where it is daily deluged by the waves; while dracophyllums, leucopogons and arborescent ragworts are characteristic forms in the vegetation. see bruno weiss, _funfzig jahre auf chatham island_ (berlin, 1900); h.o. forbes, "the chatham islands and their story," _fortnightly review_ (1893), vol. liii. p. 669, "the chatham islands, their relation to a former southern continent," _supplementary_ _papers_, r.g.s., vol. iii. (1893); j.h. scott, "the osteology of the maori and the moriori," _trans. new zealand institute_, vol. xxvi. (1893); c.w. andrews, "the extinct birds of the chatham islands," _novitates zoologicae_, vol. ii. p. 73 (1896). chatillon, the name of a french family whose history has furnished material for a large volume in folio by a. du chesne, a learned frenchman, published in 1621. but in spite of its merits this book presents a certain number of inaccurate statements, some of which it is important to notice. if, for instance, it be true that the chatillons came from chatillon-sur-marne (marne, arrondissement of reims), it is now certain that, since the 11th century, this castle belonged to the count of champagne, and that the head of the house of chatillon was merely tenant in that place. one of them, however, gaucher of chatillon, lord of crecy and afterwards constable of france, became in 1290 lord of chatillon-sur-marne by exchange, but since 1303 a new agreement allotted to him the countship of porcien, while chatillon reverted to the domain of the counts of champagne. it may be well to mention also that, in consequence of a resemblance of their armorial bearings, du chesne considered wrongly that the lords of bazoches and those of chateau-porcien of the 12th and 13th centuries drew their descent from the house of chatillon. the most important branches of the house of chatillon were those of (1) st pol, beginning with gaucher iii. of chatillon, who became count of st pol in right of his wife isabella in 1205, the last male of the line being guy v. (d. 1360); (2) blois, founded by the marriage of hugh of chatillon-st pol (d. 1248) with mary, daughter of margaret of blois (d. 1230),--this branch became extinct with the death of guy ii. in 1397; (3) porcien, from 1303 to 1400, when count john sold the countship to louis, duke of orleans; (4) penthievre, by the marriage of charles of blois (d. 1364) with jeanne (d. 1384), heiress of guy, count of penthievre (d. 1331), the male line becoming extinct in 1457. see a. du chesne, _histoire genealogique de la maison de chastillon-sur-marne_ (1621); anselme, _histoire genealogique de la maison royale de france_, vi. 91-124 (1730). (a. lo.) chatillon-sur-seine, a town of eastern france, capital of an arrondissement in the department of cote-d'or, on the eastern and paris-lyon railways, 67 m. n.n.w. of dijon, between that city and troyes. pop. (1906) 4430. it is situated on both banks of the upper seine, which is swelled at its entrance to the town by the douix, one of the most abundant springs in france. chatillon is constructed on ample lines and rendered attractive by beautiful promenades. some ruins on an eminence above it mark the site of a chateau of the dukes of burgundy. near by stands the church of st vorle of the l0th century, but with many additions of later date; it contains a sculptured holy sepulchre of the 16th century and a number of frescoes. in a fine park stands a modern chateau built by marshal marmont, duke of ragusa, born at chatillon in 1774. it was burnt in 1871, and subsequently rebuilt. the town preserves several interesting old houses. chatillon has a sub-prefecture, tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a school of agriculture and a communal college. among its industries are brewing, iron-founding and the manufacture of mineral and other blacks. it has trade in wood, charcoal, lithographic and other stone. chatillon anciently consisted of two parts, chaumont, belonging to the duchy of burgundy, and bourg, ruled by the bishop of langres; it did not coalesce into one town till the end of the 16th century. it was taken by the english in 1360 and by louis xi. in 1475, during his struggle with charles the bold. chatillon was one of the first cities to adhere to the league, but suffered severely from the oppression of its garrisons and governors, and in 1595 made voluntary submission to henry iv. in modern times it is associated with the abortive conference of 1814 between the representatives of napoleon and the allies.