SAMOAN ISLANDS 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 covered 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 important 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 sea. 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 | 722 VOL. XIV.-38 591. 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 staple than the other. Tobacco is grown in small quantities, 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 language, and most of the adult population can | read and write. The Bible has been translated and printed, and hymn books and other works are published at the missionary printing office. According to a census taken in 1869 by the representatives of the London missionary society, the population was divided denominationally as follows: Independents and Presbyterians, 27,021; Wesleyans, 5,082; Roman Catholics, 3,004.-The commerce of the islands is small. The exports are coppra, or the dried meat of the cocoanut, from which oil is made, and a small quantity of cotton. Of the former about 10,000 tons are shipped annually, mainly to Hamburg. The imports are general merchandise and provisions, and some lumber from California and Oregon. Nearly all the trade is controlled by the Hamburg house of Godeffroy and co., who have buildings at Apia and several cotton plantations in the vicinity. In 1873 105 vessels, of 25,198 tons, entered the port of Apia, of which 47 were German, 47 English, and 4 from the United States.-The Samoan islands were named by Bougainville, who visited them in 1768, the archipel des navigateurs, from the skill of the natives in using their canoes. In 1787 La Pérouse touched at these islands, and De Langle, the commander of one of his vessels, and 11 men were killed by the natives. The first missionaries landed in Savaii in 1830, from the Society islands, and in 1886 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 Egean, and early in the 6th century B. C. their navy was the most powerful in the Grecian waters. The capital, Samos, near the site of the present town of Chora, was one of the finest cities in the Hellenic world. Polycrates, who usurped the government about 535 B. C., enriched it with a temple of Juno, artificial moles enclosing the harbor, an aqueduct hewn in solid rock to convey water to the town, and a fortified palace. After his death in 522 the island was subject to Persia for 43 years, when it was liberated by the victory over the fleet of Xerxes at Mycale, and became a member of the Athenian league. It revolted, but was conquered by the Athenians in 439. The Romans made the capital a free city. In the middle ages the island was taken by the Saracens, who were expelled in the 13th century. During the Greek revolution the Samians expelled the Turks, but by the treaty which secured the independence of other parts of Greece Samos remained subject to Turkey, though enjoying special privileges. Since 1835 it has been gov erned by the Greek family Vogorides. The governor, styled "prince of Samos," pays an annual tribute of about $18,000 to the sultan. The production and population of Samos have been much reduced within a few years. In February, 1873, an earthquake continuing four days destroyed many lives and much property. SAMOTHRACE (modern Gr. Samathraki; Turk. Semendrek), an island of the Grecian archipel ago, 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. 66 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 SAMPHIRE SAMSON 593 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). SAMPHIRE (formerly written sampire and sampetra, from the old Fr. name l'herbe de Saint Pierre, Ital. San Pietro, from its grow Samphire (Crithmum maritimum). ing on rocks), a very succulent plant of the parsley family or umbellifers, crithmum maritimum, with fleshy, dissected leaves, and compound umbels of small white flowers destitute of calyx teeth; the fruit oblong, dark green or purplish. It is a smooth perennial, about a foot high. Samphire is found on rocky cliffs by the seashores of Britain and southward to northern Africa, the roots penetrating deep into crevices by means of their numerous strong fibres. The leaves and young shoots have a pleasant aromatic taste, and the plant was held Marsh Samphire (Salicornia herbacea). in great esteem by the old herbalists as a stomachic, and used in salads and pickled. It is still used in England as a pickle, and on the Its country, and marsh samphire in England, is salicornia herbacea (Lat. sal, salt, and cornu, horn, a saline plant with horn-like branches), more generally known as glasswort; it is one of the goosefoot family, or chenopods. annual stems are 6 to 12 in. high, leafless and long, succulent, jointed, and much branching; the minute flowers each in a hollow in the stems at the joints. It is very abundant along the coast and in saline marshes in the interior; it is much relished by cattle, and in Europe was formerly burned in large quantities for the soda contained in its ashes. It is said that much of the pickled samphire sold in England is really this plant, which is very abundant and more accessible than the true samphire, from which it differs not only in appearance but in the absence of aromatic flavor. SAMPSON, & S. E. county of North Carolina, bordered W. by South river and drained by Black river and several tributaries of that stream; area, 940 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 16,436, of whom 6,483 were colored. The surface is undulating and the soil sandy but fertile. There are extensive forests of pitch pine. The chief productions in 1870 were 281,381 bushels of wheat, 21,950 of peas and beans, 141,373 of sweet potatoes, 1,231 bales of cotton, 19,837 lbs. of rice, 7,523 of tobacco, 11,437 of wool, 35,554 of butter, and 22,664 of honey. There were 1,441 horses, 605 mules and asses, 3,378 milch cows, 1,149 working oxen, 5,267 other cattle, 6,732 sheep, and 22,524 swine. Capital, Clinton. SAMSON (Heb. Shimshon), a judge of Israel, celebrated for his bodily strength. He was the son of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, and was born about the middle of the 12th century B. C. He was devoted to the life of a Nazarite from his birth, and early began to exhibit superhuman strength. The great achievements recorded of him are connected with his love for his Philistine wife and for two women of loose character, one of whom, Delilah of Sorek, ascertained that the secret of his strength lay in his hair, which had never been shorn. Having entered into a plot against him with the Philistines, she called in a man to cut off his hair while he lay sleeping in her lap; he was then seized by his enemies, deprived of his sight, and made to grind in the prison. But when his hair grew long his strength came back. An immense multitude of Philistines having assembled in a temple to rejoice in his captivity, he was brought in to make them sport, and was placed, where all might see him, between the two central supports of the building. Persuading the lad who held him by the hand to let him feel the pillars and lean upon them, he grasped them both, and exerting all his strength overthrew them, and the building fell, burying the whole assembly, himself included, beneath the ruins. He was a judge of Israel for 20 years. SAMSON, George Whitfield, an American clergy- | man, born at Harvard, Worcester co., Mass., Sept. 29, 1819. He graduated at Brown university in 1839, and at Newton theological institution in 1843, and was pastor of the 4 street Baptist church, Washington, D. C., till October, 1849. He was president of Columbian college from 1859 to 1871, and of Rutgers female college in New York in 1872-'3. He has published a series of letters from Egypt, Palestine, and Italy (1848); To Daimonion (1852; enlarged under the title of "Spiritualism Tested," 1860); "Outlines of the History of Ethics (1860); "Elements of Art Criticism" (1867); and "Physical Media in Spiritual Manifestations" (1869). SAMSON, Joseph Isidore, a French actor, born in St. Denis, July 2, 1793, died in March, 1871. He was of humble origin, and was at first a lawyer's clerk and a copyist in a lot tery bureau. In 1812 he began to study at the conservatory after performing at a minor theatre. From 1832 to 1863, when he retired, he was connected with the Théâtre Français, being especially distinguished in the comedies of Molière and Beaumarchais. He also wrote vaudevilles and dramas, and L'Art théâtral, a didactic poem, and lectured on dramatic art. He was professor of elocution at the conservatory for upward of 30 years.-See Samson et ses élèves, by Legouvé (Paris, 1875). thor of the book of Judges and of a part of the books of Samuel. SAMUEL, Books of, two canonical books of the Old Testament, reckoned by the Jews as one book. The present division into two books dates from the edition of the Hebrew Bible by Bomberg (1517-'18), and is derived from the Septuagint and Vulgate, in both which versions they are termed the 1st and 2d books of Kings. They consist of the connected biogra phies of Samuel, Saul, and David. The author of the books of Samuel is unknown. Grotius, Eichhorn, Jahn, Herbst, and Hävernick regard the prophet Jeremiah as the author. Most commentators agree that they were the work of one compiler, who used several older books; but as to the number and character of these they do not agree. The date of the work seems from internal evidences to have been between 975 and 622 B. C. Some writers, as Hobbes, Spinoza, Simon, Le Clerc, Eichhorn, Thenius, and De Wette, have maintained that the book contains contradictory statements; but their arguments have been disputed by Carpzovius, Davidson ("Biblical Hermenentics"), Hengstenberg, Hävernick, Welte, Keil, and others. Among the most recent commentators are Thenius, Die Bücher Samuels (2d ed., Leipsic, 1864); Keil, Die Bücher Samuels (1864; English translation, 1866); Wordsworth, in his "Holy Bible, with Notes and Introductions" (1866); and Erdmann, in Lange's Bibelwerk (1873). For the latest critical view of the state of the text, see Wellhausen, Der Text der Bücher Samuelis (Göttingen, 1871). SAMUEL (Heb. Shemuel, "heard of God"), a Hebrew seer or prophet, the last judge of Israel. He was the son of Elkanah and Hannah, of the tribe of Levi, and was born in the latter part of the 12th century B. C., proba- SANA, or Sanaa, a city of Yemen, Arabia, bly at Ramathaim Zophim in Mt. Ephraim. formerly capital of the imamate of Sana, 110 Even before his birth his mother had bound m. E. N. E. of Hodeida; pop. about 20,000. him to the obligations of a Nazarite, and he It lies in a fertile valley, about 4,000 ft. above was set apart from his early youth to the ser- the sea, and is surrounded by a ruinous wail vice of the tabernacle at Shiloh, under the of sun-baked brick, 54 m. in circumference. immediate tutelage of Eli. His first prophecy It is divided into a Jewish quarter, on the W. concerned the doom of Eli's house. Twenty side, and the city proper, with the citadel, at years after the death of Eli Samuel assembled the E. end. The imam's palaces are built of the people at Mizpah, urging them to remain cut stone, with extensive gardens, surroundfaithful to the Lord, and promising themed by separate walls and fortifications. The speedy deliverance from the Philistines. At this time he seems to have been acknowledged as judge, an office which he held for about 20 years, restoring every where the neglected national worship. The Philistines, the most dangerous foes of Israel, were routed, and did not recruit their strength during the remainder of his leadership. The Amorites, the eastern foes of Israel, remained in peace with him. His dwelling was at Ramah, and in his old age he appointed two of his sons deputy judges at Beersheba. The people became dissatisfied, and demanded a king. Samuel, with great reluctance, at length yielded by divine direction to this demand, and anointed Saul the first king of Israel. He rebuked Saul on several occasions, and at length, in the name of the Lord, anointed David as second king before the demise of Saul. He died before 1060 B. C. According to Jewish tradition, he was the au streets are wide and comparatively well kept, but a large part of the town is in ruins. The climate is subject to great variations; sometimes no rain falls for several years, and the drought produces famine and pestilence; but generally there are rains in January, June, and July. Sana is the centre of the coffee trade of Yemen, and is famous for its fruits, especially grapes. The rich merchants have summer houses at Raudhah, 5 m. N. of the city.-Sane was a city of the Sabæan kingdom, and is of great antiquity. It is probably the Tamna or Thomna of the ancient geographers. It is described by Pliny as a large commercial town, with 65 temples, to which caravans from Gaza resorted. About 930 it became the seat of the imams of Yemen, who ruled all S. W. Arabia. (See YEMEN.) In July, 1872, it was taken by the Turks, who have since held it with a garrison of 1,000 men. SAN ANTONIO SAN ANTONIO, a city and the county seat of Bexar co., Texas, on the San Antonio and San Pedro rivers, 75 m. S. W. of Austin and 250 m. N. by W. of Brownsville; pop. in 1850, 3,488; in 1860, 8,235; in 1870, 12,256, of whom 4,120 were foreigners and 1,957 colored; in 1875, about 16,000, of whom about a third are of German and a third of Mexican origin. It consists of three parts: the old town, or San Antonio proper, between the two streams; Alamo, E. of the San Antonio; and Chihuahua, W. of the San Pedro. The old town is the business quarter, and has in great part lost its Mexican character, having been almost entirely rebuilt since 1860. The two principal streets are Commerce and Market, running parallel to each other from the main plaza. The former is built up with handsome business structures, two and three stories high. Separated from the main plaza by a fine Catholic church is the plaza de las armas. From the two plazas run to the right and left a number of other streets, mostly with Spanish names, and still in part occupied by low, castellated Mexican houses, built of limestone, without windows. Chihuahua is almost exclusively Mexican in character and population. The houses are one story high, partly built of stone and partly of upright logs with cane roofs. Alamo is the largest quarter of the city, is considerably higher than the other two, and is mostly inhabited by Germans. It is divided into two parts by the Alameda, an extension of Commerce street. In the N. part is the Alamo plaza, with the fort of that name celebrated in Texan history. (See ALAMO.) The land immediately around the city is level. A mile distant rises a chain of limestone hills, which furnish an excellent building material. The sources of the San Pedro and the adjacent land belong to the city, and are set apart as a public park, which has long been the principal pleasure resort of the citizens.-San Antonio is the chief city of W. Texas, and has an extensive trade. Its most important manufactories are three large flouring mills, a soap and candle factory, a wood and stone cutting establishment, two ice factories, a meat extract factory, and three breweries. It has a national bank, with $125,000 capital, and four private banks. The city is not yet reached by any railroad, but the Gulf, Western Texas, and Pacific, and the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio lines, in progress (1875), will connect it with Indianola and with Houston and Galveston respectively. The former is completed to Cuero, 75 m. S. E., and the latter to Kingsbury, 42 m. E. N. E. Regular lines of stage coaches run to these points and to Austin. San Antonio is divided into four wards, and is governed by a mayor, recorder, and a board of twelve aldermen. It has a good fire department. There are a hospital and a female orphan asylum, under the control of the Roman Catholics; a Roman Catholic college and convent; two German-American schools; five free public schools with about 1,000 pupils; two daily, a tri-weekly (German), and three weekly (one German) newspapers; and ten churches, viz.: 1 Episcopal, 1 Lutheran, 3 Methodist (2 colored), i Presbyterian, and 4 Roman Catholic.-San Antonio was founded in 1714 by the Spaniards, who established a fort on the right bank of the San Pedro, and called it San Fernando. Near this some monks in 1718 established the mission of the Alamo. On account of the Indians, both the fort and mission were removed to the left bank, where the plaza de las armas now is. The settlers established themselves around this, and called it San Antonio de Bexar, while a portion of the town E. of this was called San Antonio de Valero. The mission continued to be called San Antonio de Valero till 1783. San Antonio was the centre of important operations in the wars for Mexican and Texan independence. It was incorporated as a city in 1733. The German immigration commenced in 1845. SAN ANTONIO RIVER, a river of Texas, rising in Bexar co., and following a general S. E. course of nearly 200 m. to Espiritu Santo bay. It unites with the Guadalupe about 12 m. from its mouth. Its largest tributaries are the Medina and Salado in Bexar co., and the Cibolo in Karnes co. The chief towns on its banks are San Antonio and Goliad. SAN AUGUSTINE, an E. county of Texas, bordered W. by Angelina river and Attoyac bayou, and drained by their branches; area, 680 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 4,196, of whom 1,964 were colored. The soil is very rich and produces excellent cotton. The chief productions in 1870 were 110,007 bushels of Indian corn, 10,082 of sweet potatoes, 2,598 bales of cotton, and 1,135 lbs. of wool. There were 913 horses, 2,576 milch cows, 791 working oxen, 5,868 other cattle, 1,221 sheep, and 8,713 swine. Capital, San Augustine. SAN BENITO, a W. county of California, bounded E. by the main range of the Coast mountains, and embracing the valley of the San Benito river. It was formed in 1874 from the E. portion of Monterey co. The raising of sheep and cattle is largely pursued, and agriculture is carried on to some extent. It is traversed by the Southern Pacific railroad. Capital, San Benito. SAN BERNARDINO, a S. E. county of California, bounded N. E. by Nevada, and E. by Arizona, from which it is separated by the Colorado river; area, about 16,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 3,988. About three fourths of the county, comprising the N. and E. portions, consists of dry desert valleys and volcanic mountains. This region has little vegetation, and is interspersed with hot springs and deposits of sulphur and soda. There are some streams that lose themselves in "sinks." Death valley, in which the Amargoza river disappears, is from 100 to 250 ft. below the level of the sea, is destitute of good water, and is extremely hot in summer. Gold and silver are found in the Sierra Nevada mountains in |