(The conquest of Turkey. 810 Pages)
The conquest of Turkey. 810 Pages
https://www.amazon.com/conquest-Turkey-Porter-C-Bliss-ebook/dp/B00SLD54WC?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00SLD54WC
Porter Bliss was born on December 28, 1838, on the Cattaraugus Reservation of Senecas in New York, United States, the son of the Rev. Asher Bliss, for many years a missionary to the Indians, and of Cassandra (Hooker) Bliss. His chief interest in childhood was in observing the habits and life of the Indians.
When a young man, Porter Bliss studied for a year at Yale and received the degree of B. A. at Hamilton.
In 1860 Porter Bliss began his travels by a tour through Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, in the service of several Boston societies, to investigate the condition of Indian tribes in that region. After fulfilling this commission in 1861, he went to Washington, hoping to secure a position in the Interior Department which would give him the opportunity to continue his studies of the Indians beyond the Mississippi. He failed to obtain more than a clerkship, but when Gen. James Watson Webb was made minister to Brazil in 1861, Bliss was appointed his private secretary. Gen. Webb surrendered his office in 1862. Bliss, instead of returning to the States, made a trip to Buenos Aires. Almost immediately he was commissioned by the Argentine Republic to explore the country known as the Grand Chaco, an immense desert inhabited by Indian tribes. He spent eight months in this service, acquainting himself with various Indian dialects and studying the antiquities of the country and the habits of the natives. Then for a short time Bliss edited a monthly periodical in Buenos Aires called the River Plate Magazine.
In 1866 Bliss went to Paraguay and became private secretary to Charles A. Washburn, who was serving as United States minister. The same year President Lopez appointed Bliss to write a history of Paraguay. While this work was in progress, Lopez declared war against Brazil, Uruguay, and the Argentine Republic, and from this event the trouble of the young historian began. Knowing that he had come from Brazil, the Paraguayans suspected him of hostility to Lopez. Soon the archives of the government were closed to him and he was told that his contract was ended and that he would not be paid for his work. At about this time, Washburn resigned his position as minister and with Bliss prepared to sail for the States. On their way to the boat, Bliss was seized by the police and thrown into prison. For three months he was subjected to severe torture in efforts to force him to admit a conspiracy against Lopez. He was finally released at the demand of the United States Government and returned to Washington, where he was made translator to the State Department. At his request, the committee on foreign affairs of the House investigated the charges made against him in Paraguay and declared them unfounded.
In 1870 President Grant appointed Bliss secretary of the legation to Mexico, which position he held for four years. While there he found time to study and write on the history, geography, and condition of Mexico and on American enterprises in that republic. In 1874 Bliss went to New York City and became one of the editors of Johnson's New Universal Cyclopædia, taking charge of the biographical department. He contributed over 1, 500 biographies to that publication. He also wrote for it articles on Sanskrit and Portuguese literature. When the Cyclopædia was completed in 1877, Bliss became editor of a literary periodical called the Library Table, which venture soon failed. In 1878 he wrote in collaboration with Dr. L. P. Brockett, a history of the Russo-Turkish War, entitled The Conquest of Turkey. It is a very detailed and carefully written history, including the causes of the war and the principals that took part in it. During the same year Bliss became one of the editors of the New York Herald and in 1879 he again visited South America as correspondent for the Herald. The material he sent back to his paper contained many bits of forgotten lore and many pieces of quaint erudition. He returned to the United States and in 1881 went to Mexico on a gold-hunting expedition on his own responsibility and in behalf of some friends. After this trip he failed rapidly in health and except for a few months, when he edited the New Haven Morning News, did no more active work. At the age of forty-seven he died, in New York City.
Porter Bliss contributed a lot to the exploration of the Indian tribes of the Grand Chaco. His researches were published by the Argentine government and are standard works on these tribes. He also was considered the best informed man of his time concerning the political situation of the South American countries which history and geography he studied while serving as historiographer of Paraguay. His materials were later published in History of Paraguay (2 vols. , 1871).
(The conquest of Turkey. 810 Pages)
Bliss was an active member of the Mexican Geographical and Statistical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, the American Philological Society.
