Cross River

CROSS RIVER, a river of West Africa, over 5oom. long. It rises in 6° N., io° 3o' E. in the mountains of the Cameroons and flows at first north-west. In 8° 48' E., 5° 50' N. are a series of rapids ; below this point the river is navigable for shallow-draught boats. At 8° 20' E., 6° io' N., its most northern point, the river turns south-west, and then south, entering the Gulf of Guinea through the Calabar estuary. The Calabar river, which rises about 3o' N., 8° 3o' E., has a course parallel to, and io to tom. E. of, the Cross river. Near its mouth, on its east bank, is the town of Calabar (q.v.). It enters the estuary in 4° 45' N. The Cross, Calabar, Kwa and other streams farther east, which rise on the flanks of the Cameroon mountains, form a large delta. .

BURIAL A

T, in former times the method of disposing of executed criminals and suicides. The explanation is that the ancient Teutonic peoples often built their altars at the cross-roads, and as human sacrifices, especially of criminals, formed part of the ritual, these spots came to be re garded as execution grounds. After the introduction of Chris tianity, criminals and suicides were buried at the cross-roads during the night, in order to assimilate their funeral to that of the pagans. An example of a cross-road execution-ground was the famous Tyburn in London, which stood on the spot where the Oxford, Edgware and London roads met.