In 1148 he led an expedition into Pomerania and in the following year induced the duke of that country to embrace Christianity. In 1150 he was raised to the electoral dignity. In 1157 he made a third expedition against the Wends, conquered their country and colonized it with agriculturists from Germany, Holland and Zealand. In 1164 he went on a crusade to the Holy

Land. Another war broke out between him and Henry, Duke of Saxony, which was terminated to the advantage of the latter in 1168 by the mediation of the Emperor Frederick I._In 1169 Albert remitted his estates to his son. The origin of Berlin, Köln, Aachen on the Elbe and other towns is attributed to the colonies founded

by him. Consult Heinemann, Albrecht der Bär (Darmstadt 1864).

But

ALBERT I, Duke of Austria, and afterward Emperor of Germany: b. 1248; d. 1 May 1308; son of Rudolph of Hapsburg, who had a short time before his death attempted_to place the crown on the head of his son. the electors, tired of his power and emboldened by his age and infirmities, refused his request and indefinitely postponed the election of a King of the Romans (the title of the designated successor of the Emperor). After the death of Rudolph, Albert, who inherited only the military qualities of his father, saw his hereditary possessions, Austria and Styria, rise up in rebellion against him. He quelled by force this revolt which his avarice and severity had excited; but success increased his presumption. He wished to succeed Rudolph in all his dignities, and without waiting for the decision of the Diet seized the insignia of the empire. This act of violence induced the electors to choose Adolphus of Nassau Emperor. The disturbances which had broken out against him in Switzerland, and a disease which deprived him of an eye, made him more humble. He delivered up the insignia and took the oath of allegiance to the new Emperor. Adolphus, after a reign of six years, lost the regard of all the princes of the empire, and Albert was elected to succeed him. A battle ensued near Gellheim, in which Adolphus fell by the hand of his adversary. The last barrier had fallen between Albert and the supreme power, but he was conscious of having now an opportunity of displaying his magnanimity, He voluntarily resigned the crown conferred on him by the last election, and as he had anticipated was re-elected. His coronation took place at Aix-la-Chapelle in August 1298, and he held his first Diet at Nuremberg with the utmost splendor.

But a new storm was gathering over him. The Pope, Boniface VIII, denied the right of the electors to deprive Adolphus of the imperial dignity and bestow it upon one who had caused the death of the legitimate sovereign. He accordingly summoned Albert before him to ask pardon and submit to such penance as he should dictate; he forbade the princes to acknowledge him and released them from their oath of allegiance. The archbishop of Mainz from a friend became the enemy of Albert and joined the party of the Pope. On the other hand, Albert formed an alliance with Philip le Bel of France, secured the neutrality of Saxony and Brandenburg, and by a sudden irruption into the electorate of Mainz forced the

333

archbishop not only to renounce his alliance with the Pope, but to form one with him for the five ensuing years. In April 1301 Boni

face forbade all submission to Albert until he would go to Rome and repair his crimes. The next year Albert entered into negotiations with the Pope, in which he again showed the duplicity of his character. He broke his alliance with Philip, acknowledged that the Western Empire was a grant from the Popes to the emperors, that the electors derived their right of choosing from the see of Rome and promised to defend with arms the rights of the Pope whenever he should demand it, against any one. As a reward Boniface excommunicated Philip, proclaimed him to have forfeited his crown and gave the kingdom of France to Albert. Philip in revenge annoyed and persecuted the Pope.

Albert was engaged in unsuccessful wars with Holland, Zealand, Friesland, Hungary, Bohemia and Thuringia. While preparing to revenge a defeat which he had suffered in Thuringia he received the news of the revolt of the Swiss and saw himself obliged to direct his forces thither. The revolt of Unterwalden, Schwyz and Uri had broken out 1 Jan: 1308. Albert had not only foreseen this consequence of his oppression but desired it, in order to have a pretense for subjugating Switzerland entirely to himself. A new act of injustice, however, put an end to his ambition and life. Suabia was the inheritance of John, the son of his younger brother Rudolph. John had repeatedly asserted his right to it, but in vain. When Albert set out for Switzerland John renewed his demand, which was contemptuously rejected by Albert. John, in revenge, conspired with his governor, Walter of Eschenbach, and three friends against the life of Albert. The conspirators took advantage of the moment when the Emperor, on his way to Rheinfelden, was separated from his train by the river Reuss, and assassinated him.

ALBERT, Peter Paul, German archivist: b. Steinbach, Baden, 29 Jan. 1862. He was educated at the universities of Freiburg, Würzburg and Munich. In 1899-93 he was assistant archivist of the Grand-Ducal General Public Archives in Karlsruhe and in 1897 became archivist at Freiburg-im-Breisgau. He is a member of the Baden Historical Commission and has published: Matthias Döring) (1889); "Geschichte der Stadt Radolfzell' (1896); (Steinbach b. Mudan' (1899); 'Baden Zwischen Neckar und Main' (1901); Die Geschichtschreibung der Stadt Freiburg' (1912); 'Schloss Burgheim am Rhein' (1904); 'Die Schiller von Herdern' (1905); Die Odenwaldbahn Mosbach-Mudan' (1906); 'Die Schneeburg ob Ebringen' (1909); Der Meister E. S. (1910). He is editor of the Freiburger Münsterblätter and the Freiburger Zeitschrift für Geschichte Altertums-und Volkskunde.

ALBERT. See ANCRE.

ALBERT COAL. See ALBERTITE.

ALBERT LEA, Minn., county-seat of Freeborn County, on the Chicago, M. & St. P., the Burlington, C. R. & N. and the Minneapolis & St. L. railroads, about 100 miles south of St. Paul and 10 miles north of the boundary of Iowa. The presence of many lakes and ar

tesian wells of chalybeate waters make the city and neighborhood a popular summer resort. It is the market town for a large agricultural and dairy region, is noted for its State creamery and has considerable manufacturing interests. It is the seat of a Presbyterian college for women and a Lutheran Academy. Pop. (1910) 6,192; (1916) 12,000.

ALBERTA, äl-bur'ta, Canada, a northwestern province. A part of the present area of the province was in 1882 given territorial status and called Alberta in honor of H. R. H. Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria and wife of the Marquis of Lorne, 9th Duke of Argyle, at that time Governor-General of Canada. The country was sparsely settled, what white population there was being chiefly in the south and engaged in ranching. For upwards of 15 years little change took place, but subsequent to 1896 a vigorous immigration policy was instituted and settlers flowed in. By the autonomy acts of 1905 the old territories stretching from the western boundary of Manitoba to the Rockies were erected into the two provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. The boundaries given to the latter were the 49th parallel — the United States frontier- to the south, the 60th parallel to the north, the 4th meridian to the east and British Columbia to the west. This vast area of 253,540 square miles is 750 miles from north to south and at its broadest part 400 miles from east to west. Though somewhat smaller than Texas, Alberta is more than twice the size of Great Britain and Ireland and considerably more extensive than France or Germany.

vast

Physical Features.- Alberta is a plateau ranging from 1,000 to 3,500 feet above sea-level. The land lies higher in the south and falls away toward the north. The country is well watered, both the great Mackenzie and Saskatchewan river systems taking their rise within the province. The Saskatchewan system, with its north and south branches, drains Alberta approximately from the Ed

The

monton district to the American boundary, while the northern half of the province is watered by the various rivers which ultimately combine to make up the Mackenzie. chief streams flowing into the south branch of the Saskatchewan are the Belly, Old Man, Saint Mary's, Bow and Red Deer, while into_the north branch debouch the Clearwater, the Battle, the Sturgeon, the Vermilion and other smaller streams. The northern section of the province is drained by three great waterways, the Athabasca, Peace and Hay, which, united on issuing from Great Slave Lake, become the Mackenzie. Lakes also abound, especially in the northerly part of the province. Among the more important of these may be mentioned Gull, Buffalo, Wabamun, Saint Anne, La Biche, Claire and Lesser Slave Lake. Some of these are considerable bodies of water. Claire and Lesser Slave cover respectively 405 and 480 square miles and Lake La Biche has an area of over 100 square miles. Most of these lakes teem with fish the whitefish of the northern lakes being much esteemed as an article of diet. Mention should be made of two small lakes that enjoy a world-wide reputation for beauty -- Lake Louise in the Bow

Pass through the Rockies and Lake Maligne in the Yellowhead Pass. While the southern part of the province is characterized by vast treeless prairies, the central section has been aptly described as a park-like country, prairie and wooded districts being intermingled. As one goes farther north, prairie again becomes predominant.

Climate.- Alberta has a continental climate, warm in summer and cold in winter. In the former season the thermometer frequently registers 90° during the daytime, but the nights are always cool. The distribution of heat varies little as regards latitude. At Fort Vermilion (lat. 58° 29') the mean summer temperature is 61°; at Dunvegan (lat. 55° 56′) 60°; at Edmonton (lat. 53° 33') 61°; at Calgary (lat. 51° 2′) and Cardston (lat. 49° 12′) 59°. This equality of heat seems the more extraordinary when it is remembered that Fort Vermilion and Cardston with two degrees difference in mean summer temperature are in a northerly and southerly direction roughly 700 miles apart. It may be pointed out in this connection that owing to its northerly latitude the summer days are very long in Alberta. These are accompanied with a correspondingly large amount of sunshine, which facilitates the rapid growth of field crops and vegetation of all kinds. At midsummer there are 18 hours of sunshine. In winter the weather is cold, but as the atmosphere, owing to the altitude, is dry, low temperatures are easily supported. In southern Alberta the winters are much modified by the warm chinook winds which, crossing the mountains from the Pacific, bring in their train periods of extremely mild and genial weather. Alberta is a region of light rainfall. The subjoined table indicates the average precipitation

in the various months;

Though the foregoing figures yield only 23.71 inches for the year, it will be noted that of this total 13.87 inches or 58 per cent comes

during the growing season and the crops are thus amply supplied with necessary moisture when it is most needed. In the southern portion of the province snow falls during the winter but soon disappears; in the more northerly section the snowfall varies in depth from six to 18 inches and remains on the ground from the beginning of December till the end of March.

Soil. The soil of Alberta consists, generally speaking, of a marly clay subsoil overlaid with a black or chocolate-colored mould. The latter, the product of ages of decayed vegetable matter, varies from six inches to several feet in depth. The combination results in a soil capable of storing moisture and at the same time of extraordinary fertility.

Industries. The chief industry is agriculture. The immense crops returned by the virgin land of Alberta have too often caused the farmer to devote himself exclusively to grain growing and to neglect stock. With the establishment, however, of extensive packing plants and resultant steady markets, increased interest is being taken in mixed farming, for which Alberta is admirably fitted. The area under crop and the production of cereals are