at Nablus, the ancient Shechem. Attempts | W. and W. by Campania and Latium, and have been made by Europeans to maintain a comprising most of the present provinces of correspondence with the remnants of the Sa- Campobasso and Benevento, with some surmaritans; as by Joseph Scaliger in the latter rounding districts. The country is occupied part of the 16th century, by several learned men by some of the highest mountain groups of in England in 1675, by the Ethiopic scholar the central Apennines. It was watered by Ludolf in 1684, and by Sylvestre de Sacy and the upper courses of the Sagrus (now Sangro), others. All the letters of the Samaritans writ- Tifernus (Biferno), Frento (Fortore), Aufidus ten on these occasions, with an essay on their (Ofanto), and Vulturnus (Volturno), all of history by De Sacy, may be found in Notices which, except the last, flow into the Adriatic. et extraits des manuscrits de la bibliothèque du The principal places were Beneventum (Beneroi (vol. xii., Paris, 1831). The best modern vento), Caudium (Airola)—near which were the accounts of them are by the Americans Fisk narrow passes called Caudine Forks, where a ("Missionary Herald," 1824) and Robinson defeated Roman army passed under the yoke ("Biblical Researches,” vol. iii.), and Guérin, in 321 B. C.—Aufidena (Alfidena), Bovianum Description géographique, historique et archéo- (Bojano), and Æsernia (Isernia). The Samlogique de la Palestine, deuxième part, Samarie nites were a warlike people of the Sabine race, (Paris, 1875).-The Samaritans recognize, of who conquered the country from the Opicans the books of the Old Testament, only the Pen- before the foundation of Rome. With this tateuch, rejecting all the rest of the Hebrew republic they waged a series of wars, in which canon, together with the traditions of the Valerius Corvus, Curius Dentatus, Papirius Pharisees. Of the Pentateuch they have a Cursor, Fabius Maximus Rullianus, and other translation in the Samaritan language, an Ara- Romans shine as heroes amid frequent calammæan dialect, mixed with many Hebrew forms ities and humiliating defeats of their countryand words. In the same language are written men (343-290 B. C.). They were finally subtheir rituals and liturgies, and a number of dued, joined Pyrrhus in 280, but succumbed psalms. (See Gesenius, Carmina Samaritana, again, and in 216 took sides with Hannibal, in his Anecdota Orientalia, Leipsic, 1824.) but without any permanent result. They rose They have also preserved an ancient Hebrew again together with other Italians in the social text of the Pentateuch, first described in Eu- war (90), and were the last of the allies to rope by Morinus in 1628 (after a copy bought yield. During the war of Sulla and Marius by Pietro della Valle from the Samaritans in they tried to recover their independence; but Damascus), and shortly after published in the their army was annihilated by Sulla in a battle Paris polyglot. It is of considerable impor- at the Colline gate of Rome, and their country tance, agreeing with the Septuagint in a vast laid waste and distributed to Roman settlers, number of places where that differs from the the inhabitants being sold into slavery (82). ordinary Hebrew text, though Gesenius has proved the studied design of the Samaritan revisers to conform their text to their peculiar anti-Jewish tenets, and the blundering way in which they executed their emendations. It is written in the old Hebrew characters, closely resembling the Phoenician. When the Arabic became the conversational language of the Samaritans, all their works were translated into it; and they have also in Arabic a so-called book of Joshua. (See JOSHUA.) We know from the New Testament that the Samaritans, like the Jews, were waiting for a Messiah, who in their later writings is called Hashshaheb or Ilattaheb, i. e., the Restorer. Their later writings also prove their belief in spirits and angels, in the immortality of the soul, and in the resurrection. They observe the Mosaic ordinances concerning the sabbath, and many other prescriptions of the Mosaic law.-See Juynboll, Commentarii Historia Gentis Samaritana (Leyden, 1846), and John W. Nutt, "Fragments of a Samaritan Targum," edited from a Bodleian manuscript, and containing a sketch of Samaritan history (London, 1874).

SAME, or Samos. See CEPHALONIA. SAMNIUM, a division of ancient Italy, bounded N. W. by the territories of the Marsi, Peligni, and Marrucini, N. E. by that of the Frentani, E. by Apulia, S. by Lucania, and S.

SAMOAN ISLANDS, or Navigators' Islands, a group in the S. Pacific, about 400 m. N. E. of the Feejee islands, between lat. 13° 27' and 14° 18' S., and lon. 169° 28′ and 172° 48′ W. They include nine inhabited islands, viz.: Manua, Olosinga, Ofu, Anuu, Tutuila, Upolu, Manono, Apolima, and Savaii; area, according to recent authorities, which reduce the figures of Com. Wilkes's survey of 1839, about 1,125 sq. m.; pop. in 1869, 35,107. Besides these, there are at the E. end of Upolu four islets, Nuulua, Nutali, Taputapu, and Namoa, and between Manono and Apolima an isolated islet called Niulapo. All the islands and islets are of volcanic formation, though the latter are separated from the former by coral reefs. There are extinct volcanoes on most of the islands, and the natives have no traditions of eruptions from any of them; but in 1867 a submarine volcano burst out of the ocean between Manua and Olosinga, and for two weeks shot up jets of mud and dense columns of sand and stones to a height of 2,000 ft. It left no permanent protrusion above the bed of the sea, and it is said to be difficult now to obtain soundings on its site. Manua, the most easterly island of the group, which has an area of about 20 sq. m., rises like a dome to the height of 2,500 ft. Olosinga is a narrow ledge of rocks with a double coral reef around it, the outer shelf

sea.

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591

shore line, the mountains, and a lava field on the E. end of Savaii, there is little naked land on any of the group. The interior is covered with dense forests of tropical luxuriance, containing many varieties of valuable timber trees. Among the trees and fruits are the banian, two varieties of pandanus, several species of palms, the anauli, bamboo, rattan, breadfruit, cocoanut, wild orange, lemon, lime, banana, plantain, yam, taro, paper mulberry, tacca (from which arrowroot is made), pineapple, vi apple, guava, mango, and citron. Wild sugar cane grows abundantly, and there are two varieties of sea-island cotton, one of longer staquantities, and some coffee is raised. The ava (macropiper methysticum), which grows in clusters from 6 to 10 ft. in height, is a species of pepper. From its dried root is made an intoxicating beverage, which when taken in small doses is a delightful soporific. There are no traces of native mammalia except a species of bat (pteropus ruficollis), which often measures 4 ft. from tip to tip of wings. Horses, cattle, and swine have been introduced. Poultry is plentiful, and pigeons abound. A bird called the tooth-billed pigeon (didunculus strigerostris), allied to the dodo, is found in the lonely parts of the mountains.-Among the Polynesian islands the inhabitants of the Samoan group rank in personal appearance second only to the Tongese. The men average about 5 ft. 10 in. in height, are erect and proud in bearing, and have straight and well rounded limbs; the women are generally slight in figure, symmetrical, and easy and graceful in their movements. The skin of both sexes is dark olive, but the chiefs and better families are much lighter. The nose is usually straight and not flattened like that of the Malay, and the mouth is large, with thick lips. In some the eyes are oblique. The hair is black and straight. Beards are not so common as among Europeans, yet many have heavy beards. Polygamy is customary, but two wives seldom live in the same house. They are generally cleanly in their habits and social in disposition. Women are considered the equals of men, and both sexes join in the family labors. Great ingenuity is displayed in the construction of their houses, which are built of the wood of the breadfruit tree, thatched with wild sugar cane or pandanus leaves. The ancient religion of the islanders acknowledged one great God, but they paid less worship to him than to some of their war gods. They had a god of earthquakes, a god who supported the earth, and gods of lightning, rain, and hurricanes, and also many inferior gods who watched over certain districts; and they had carved blocks of wood and stone, erected in memory of certain chiefs, whom they worshipped. All are now nominally Christians; there are schools and a church in every village, and the missionaries have unbounded influence. Nearly all the children seven years of age can read their own

50 to 60 ft. wide, and the inner in some places 140 ft. It contains but 6 sq. m.; Ofu, next to it, is somewhat larger. Tutuila is high and mountainous, with precipices rising from the ocean to a height of from 1,200 to upward of 2,300 ft. Its W. end, which is lower, is cov. ered with luxuriant vegetation and is thickly settled. On its N. coast are many good ports, but the best is Pango-Pango or Pago-Pago on the S. side. It is completely landlocked, has an entrance clear of rocks, and water enough for the largest vessels. It is one of the safest and best harbors in the Pacific, and, being on the direct steamship route between America and Australia, must become in time an impor-ple than the other. Tobacco is grown in small tant port. The area of the island is about 50 sq. m., and it contains, together with Anuu, an islet off its E. extremity, 3,500 inhabitants. Upolu, the most important island of the group, has an area of about 335 sq. m., and in 1869 had 16,610 inhabitants. A range of broken hills occupies its middle, the sides of which, covered with luxuriant vegetation, slope to the Apia, on the N. side, the chief town, has a population of about 300, of whom 100 are whites. It is the official residence of the various consuls, of the members of the London missionary society, and of the Roman Catholic bishop of Oceania. Almost all the business of the port is in the hands of Hamburg firms. The harbor of Apia is sheltered by a natural breakwater, and is second only to that of Pango-Pango. Manono, which is enclosed within the sea reef of Upolu, has an area of only 3 sq. m. Apolima, about a mile distant, 2 sq. m. in area, is a natural fortress. It is the crater of an extinct volcano, and is a ring of perpendicular cliffs, with a single opening on the N. side, through which only one boat at a time can pass to the basin within. A few miles distant is Savaii, the westernmost and largest island of the group, containing about 700 sq. m. and a population in 1869 of 12,670. Its interior, which has not been explored, is occupied by a mountain chain, in parts nearly 5,000 ft. high, sloping gradually to the sea, and leaving but a strip of alluvial land a few miles wide along the shores. It has little timber and no running streams, and its shores are rocky and precipitous, with few harbors. On the N. side the bay of Mataatu affords good anchorage. A series of wonderful caves in the island have been explored for 24 m., but not to their full extent. The climate is very equable, the mercury seldom rising higher than 88° or falling lower than 70°. From observations made in 1872 at Malua in Upolu, the mean temperature for the year was 78.33°. The difference of temperature between sun and shade is seldom more than 7. Rains are distributed evenly throughout the year, excepting in January, February, and March, when heavy rain storms with northern winds prevail; but destructive storms are rare. The soil is a rich vegetable mould, with a slight proportion of decomposed lava impregnated with iron. Excepting the VOL. XIV. 38

language, and most of the adult population can 6th century B. C. their navy was the most read and write. The Bible has been transla- | powerful in the Grecian waters. The capital, ted and printed, and hymn books and other Samos, near the site of the present town of works are published at the missionary printing Chora, was one of the finest cities in the Heloffice. According to a census taken in 1869 lenic world. Polycrates, who usurped the by the representatives of the London mission- government about 535 B. C., enriched it with ary society, the population was divided denom- a temple of Juno, artificial moles enclosing inationally as follows: Independents and Pres- the harbor, an aqueduct hewn in solid rock to byterians, 27,021; Wesleyans, 5,082; Roman convey water to the town, and a fortified palCatholics, 3,004.-The commerce of the islands ace. After his death in 522 the island was is small. The exports are coppra, or the dried subject to Persia for 43 years, when it was libmeat of the cocoanut, from which oil is made, erated by the victory over the fleet of Xerxes and a small quantity of cotton. Of the for- at Myçale, and became a member of the Athemer about 10,000 tons are shipped annually, nian league. It revolted, but was conquered mainly to Hamburg. The imports are general by the Athenians in 439. The Romans made merchandise and provisions, and some lumber the capital a free city. In the middle ages from California and Oregon. Nearly all the the island was taken by the Saracens, who trade is controlled by the Hamburg house of were expelled in the 13th century. During Godeffroy and co., who have buildings at Apia the Greek revolution the Samians expelled the and several cotton plantations in the vicinity. Turks, but by the treaty which secured the In 1873 105 vessels, of 25,198 tons, entered the independence of other parts of Greece Samos port of Apia, of which 47 were German, 47 remained subject to Turkey, though enjoying English, and 4 from the United States.-The special privileges. Since 1835 it has been govSamoan islands were named by Bougainville, erned by the Greek family Vogorides. The who visited them in 1768, the archipel des na- governor, styled "prince of Samos," pays an vigateurs, from the skill of the natives in using annual tribute of about $18,000 to the sultan. their canoes. In 1787 La Pérouse touched at The production and population of Samos have these islands, and De Langle, the commander been much reduced within a few years. In of one of his vessels, and 11 men were killed February, 1873, an earthquake continuing four by the natives. The first missionaries landed days destroyed many lives and much property. in Savaii in 1830, from the Society islands, and in 1836 they were joined by others from England. The first Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in 1846. The islands were surveyed by Com. Wilkes in 1839. In 1872 Com. Meade visited the group, and, by arrangement with the native chiefs, took the harbor of PangoPango under the protection of the United States. In 1873 a special agent, Mr. A. B. Steinberger, was sent by President Grant to the islands, who reported that the chiefs were desirous that the whole group should be protected by the United States; but in 1875 a native king was elected, and Steinberger became his prime minister.

SAMOS (called by the Turks Susam-Adassi), an island of the Grecian archipelago, belonging to Turkey, separated from the coast of Asia Minor by the strait of Little Boghaz, and from the island of Nicaria (anc. Icaria) by the Great Boghaz; length, from E. to W., 27 m., greatest breadth 12 m.; area, 213 sq. m.; pop. about 15,000, nearly all Greeks. The chief town is Chora. There are several good harbors on the coast. The interior is traversed by two mountain ranges, one of which attains the height of 4,725 ft. in Mt. Kerkis (anc. Cercetius). Samos was anciently celebrated for its fertility. The olive and vine are cultivated, and grain, silk, cotton, wine, figs, and oil are exported. The minerals include marble, iron, lead, silver, and emery, but are not worked. The original inhabitants are supposed to have been Carians and Leleges. The Samians planted several colonies on the shores of the Propontis and Ægean, and early in the

SAMOTHRACE (modern Gr. Samathraki; Turk. Semendrek), an island of the Grecian archipelago, belonging to Turkey, between Lemnos and the coast of Thrace; area, about 32 sq. m.; pop. about 1,800. It is the highest land in the north of the archipelago. It is sterile and destitute of ports. In antiquity it was called Dardania, Electris, Melite, and Leucosia, and was renowned as a chief seat of the worship of the Cabiri. It was in early times independent, with possessions on the mainland, aided Xerxes in the battle of Salamis, and was afterward subject to Athens, Macedon, and Rome.

SAMOYEDS, a nomadic people in the northern parts of European and Asiatic Russia, forming a branch of the Uralo-Altaic division of mankind. The name, which signifies in Russian "persons who devour themselves," and occurs in early Russian chronicles, would seem to imply that the people had once been cannibals, if it were not more likely that in this instance it is a corruption of some word connected with the Finnic Suomi or Lapp Sam and Sabme. The Samoyeds were originally spread from the Altai mountains to the Arctic ocean, and from the White sea nearly to the river Lena. They are still met with in groups from the White sea to the river Khatanga, but the space between the Obi and the Yenisei is now their principal seat. Their whole number is estimated at less than 20,000, divided into three principal and several smaller tribes speaking different dialects. They are mostly idolaters, of small stature and repulsive features, but peaceably disposed. They dwell in tents of reindeer skin.-See "The Land of the

North Wind: Travels among the Laplanders | continent is sometimes cooked as a pot herb. and the Samoyedes," by Edward Rae (Lon--The plant sometimes called samphire in this don, 1875).