GREAT SEAL 391 GBECO-TURKISH WAB slowly receding. Several species of in- sects and a brine-shrimp have been found in its waters, but no fishes; large flocks of water-fowls frequent the shores. The first mention of Great Salt Lake was by the Franciscan friar Escalante in 1776, but it was first explored and described in 1843 by Fremont. A thorough survey was made in 1849-1850 by Capt. Howard Stansbury, U. S. A. See Salt Lake City; Utah. GREAT SEAL, the official signature royal seal for the United Kingdom, held in charge by the Lord Chancellor for Crown Documents. GREAT SLAVE LAKE a body of water in the Canadian Northwest Terri- tory (62° N. lat.) ; greatest length about 300 miles, gi-eatest breadth 50 miles. By the Slave river it receives the surplus waters of Lake Athabasca; and it dis- charges by the Mackenzie river into the Arctic Ocean. See Athabasca. GREAT SLAVE RIVER, a river in Canada flowing from Alberta into the Northwest Territories, carrying the sur- plus waters of Athabaska Lake into Great Slave Lake. After leaving the former, it is joined by the Peace river. Its total length is about three hundred miles, practically all of which is naviga- ble for river steamers during the open season. The valley through which it flows is remarkable for its fertility, but still largely unsettled. GREAT SOUTH BAY, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean on the S. coast of Suffolk CO., Long Island, N. Y.; 50 miles long, from 1% to 5 miles wide. Great South Beach, which is about 35 miles long, and has Fire Island Lighthouse on the W. extremity, separates it from the ocean. GRECO-TURKISH WAR, THE, a war which took place between Greece and Turkey in 1897. On Feb. 3, 1897, the Turkish troops in Crete wantonly pillaged and massacred a large number of Christians. About 15,000 Greek women and children fled to Greece, where the people had to provide for them. In the meantime the Cretans proclaimed their independence of Turkey, their union with Greece, and appealed to that coun- try for help. This action led King George of Greece to send a small army to occupy the island, a movement which was opposed on the part of the Powers by whom the island was blockaded March 17, 1897. After a demand was made that the Greek troops be withdrawn from Crete, which was not complied with, the Powers landed soldiers and occupied the island. Soon afterward a body of Greejc "irregulars" invaded Macedonia, where- upon the Turkish Cabinet declared on April 17 that a state of war existed with Greece, and Edham Pasha, commander of the Turkish army, was ordered to take the offensive. This issue was promptly accepted by Greece, and hostilities were at once be- gun on the Grecian frontier, which soon developed into a general cannonading along the entire frontier of Thessaly, while operations were likewi.se initiated on the sea. The Greeks, fighting their way northward, invaded Turkey and threatened Alassona, while the Turks swept down from Salonika through the mountain passes and invaded Greece, thus forcing the Greeks to abandon La- rissa, their principal source of supplies. In the meanwhile the Greek navy was ac- tive, having bombarded and destroyed a number of important towns along the Gulf of Salonika. During the latter part of April and the beginning of May the Greeks were mainly victorious. A Gre- cian army of 12,000, under General Smol- enski, repulsed a Turkish force of 14,000, with heavy loss, near Velestino, on April 30, and held in check another movement May 2. The tide, however, was soon turned, for on May 5 the Turks, with 50,000 men, compelled an army of 23,000 Greeks to withdraw from Pharsalos. The Greeks now became aware that they could not cope with the constantlv increasing Tur- kish army, and this conviction, with the knowledge thati the country was without funds, disheartened the soldiers and caused the army to collapse. On May 8 the Powers were informed that the Greek troops would be recalled from Crete, thus signifying that Greece was ready to be guided by the Powers. On May 11 a joint note was sent t< the Greek minister of foreign affairs of- fering mediation, and on May 12 a re- quest for an armistice was sent to the Turkish Government. Four days later that country replied that it would not allow an armistice except on the follow- ing conditions: Annexation of Thessaly; an indemnity of £10,000,000: abolition of the canitulations or treaties conferring privileges on Greeks in the Turkish em- pire; and a treaty of extradition with Greece. These harsh terms met with a protest from all Europe. The Czar of Russia now wrote a personal letter to the Sultan, with the result that hostili- ties immediately ceased, and on May 20 an armistice for 17 days was concluded. The question of the cession of Thessaly was referred to a military commission, which recommended no cession beyond the mountain summits on the Turkish frontier, which gave to Turkey a stra-
