munities were abolished. The Basques are even prouder than the Spaniards, and the mere fact of being born in their territory seeures the privi- lege of 'universal nobility.' Escualdunac is the name the Basques give themselves, a word which is usually taken to mean either 'eaters of acorns,' or 'dweilers in oak forests,' although many Basque scholars consider this meaning absurd, •iind say that it may be derived from a root meaning 'way of speaking.' Their country they call IJscualeria ; and their language, which is [leculiarly their own, Escuara, the i)relix Escu bein;;. perhaps, 'the old Osc, Vesc, Vasq of Italy and Iberia.' The origin of the Basques is doubt- ful. The researches of Humboldt and Marrast have, however, established the fact that most of the early Iberian names are derived from the Basque, and that Basque was the language spo- ken liy the primitive inhabitants of the entire peninsula of Spain, as well as by the Iberians.
On biological grounds the Basques are now placed with the Hamitie branch of the white races. Egyptians and Berbers. It is in this direction, not among the Finns and Esthonians, that their genealogy must be sought. The Basques are north African or European, not Asiatic. On this consult Collignon, La race basque, quoted by Keane in Man: Past avd Present (Cambridge, 1890).
There are at present about half a million Basques in Sprtin and France, three-fourths of whom are in the Basque Provinces. It is said that in addition to these some 200,000 Basques emigrated during the last half of the Nineteenth Century to South America, to which they have contributed a most desirable element in the popu- lation ever since the beginning of Spanish Amer- ica, on account of their great bodily strength, good habits, and industry. Many eminent Span- iards have come from the Basque Provinces, the most noted being Ignatius Loyola and Saint Francis Xavier. For a more particular account of the Basque race, consult: Vinson, Les Basques et le pays basque (Paris, 188'2), an excellent summary; the same writer's Essai d'une bib- liofiraphie de la langue basque (Paris, 1891); Marrast's edition of Humboldt, Recherche sur les i'lhabitants primitifs de I'Espaqne (Paris, ISOfi): Hiibner, Monumenta Lingua: Iberiece (Berlin, 1893) ; Michel, Le pays basque (Paris, 1857); and Baudrimont, Histoire des Basques (Paris. lS(i7).
BASRA. BUSRA, or BASSORA (Pers. and
Arab. Basrati, fortress). A town of Asiatic Tur-
key, the capital of the easternmost vilayet of the
same name (area 16,482 square miles; popula-
tion, 200.000), on the Ashar or Basra Creek,
about 3 miles from its confluence with the Shat-
el-Arab, (iO miles from the Persian Gulf (Map:
Turkey in Asia, M 7 ) . Situated at the head of
navigation, Basra is a place of great commer-
cial importance, and has regular steamer com-
munication with Europe and Indian ports. The
chief imports from India are coffee, indigo, rice,
wood, and drugs : and from Europe, and espe-
cially Great Britain, manufactured articles. The
surroimding country is very fertile, and yields
vast quantities of fruit; dates are exported to
the amount of 60.000 tons annually. In 1900
the value of imports was $6,220,274, of exports
$6,806,370. The town is surroimded by a wall
in imperfect repair; its most notable buildings
are two fine mosques, and the tomb of Zobeir. It
is a military station, with a dockyard and a
factory, and is the seat of a British consulate
and of a United States consular agency. The
consulates and mercantile establishments line the
river bank in the Margil suburb. The climate
is malarious and unhealthful, and the water-sup-
ply bad. The population of Basra, which in the
Eighteenth Century was estimated at 151,000, is
now about 40,000, and consists chiefly of Arabs,
a few Europeans and Indians, and some 3000
Persian merchants and employes, 1000 Jews,
and 400 Armenians.
BAS-RELIEF, bii're-lef' (Fr., low relief).
See Alto-Kilievo and Relief Sculpture.
BASS, bfls, or BASE (Fr. bas, fern, basse, It.
basso, low, from LLat. bassus, low, short).
The deepest or loucst part in a nuisical compo-
sition, and the deepest or lowest tone in a chord.
It is next to the upper part in the independence
and originality of the melodic design, and in re-
spect to harmony it is the most important part,
containing more frequently the fundamental
notes of the chords; on it, moreover, is formed
the effective musical figure known as organ-point
(q.v. ). Bass or basso. — The lowest male voice,
generally with a compass of F to d all in the
chest register (q.v.). Bass. — The name of an old
bow instrument with five or six strings.
BASS, bas (originally barse, AS. baers, the
perch ) . The name of many fishes, chiefly and
most correctly applied to those of the perciform
families Serranid;c and Centrarchidae. The for-
mer family include the Salt-mater Bass, repre-
sented typically in Europe by the sea-perch
(Morone lahrax, formerly called Labrax lupus),
to which the old English name 'basse' was first
applied. This is common in the Mediterranean
and in British and Dutch waters, swimming in
shoals and entering estuaries and streams to
spawn. It may reach 2% feet in length, and is
highly esteemed as food. The nearly related
American strijjed bass, or rockfish, Morone
tineata (see colored plate accompanying article
Trout), often reaches a weight of 30 to 90
pounds, is distributed along the entire east
coast of the United States, ascending at times
30 to 50 miles above the tide-water line, is
very abundant, and enters rivers in the spring
to spawn. It is one of the most important
American food-fishes, and has been introduced
by the United States Fish Commission to the
Pacific Coast, where it has now become numer-
ous and valuable. Angling for this fish is one
of the foremost sports along the eastern coast
as far north as the Bay of Fundy, where they
congregate in great nvimbers. Various methods
are employed, as trolling, in Chesapeake Bay,
etc.; but the customary method is to cast in
the surf with a rod and I'eel, the former like a sal-
mon-rod, and the reel capable of holding 200 to
300 yards of line. The season is July, August,
and September, when the fish approach close to
the shore, schooling in the surf, and entering
bays and rivers. Hence such rocky shores as
those from New York City to Cape Cod are
favorable; and the finest of sport is enjoyed
from out-reaching rocks at the entrance of Buz-
zards and Narragansett bays, w'here expensive
stagings are often erected for convenience. Liv-
ing bait of great variety is used, and very long
and skillful casting is required, success being re-
warded by an e.xciting tussle with this strong
