Page:EB1911 - Volume 25.djvu/166

 SION [Ger. Sitten], the capital of the Swiss canton of the Valais. It is on the railway between St Maurice ( 25½ m. distant) and Brieg (33 m. distant). Sion is one of the most picturesque little cities in Switzerland, being built around two prominent hillocks that rise from the level valley of the Rhone. The north hillock is crowned by the castle of Tourbillon (built 1294, burnt 1788), which was long the residence of the bishops. The south hillock bears the castle of Valeria, long the residence of the canons (it now contains an historical museum) with the interesting 13th century church of St Catherine. In the town below is the 15th century cathedral, and the Majoria castle (burnt in 1788) the former residence of the " major " (or mayor of the city). There are various other curious objects in the city, which is built on the banks of the Sionne torrent, and is at a height of 1680 ft. above the sea-level. In 1900 Sion contained 6048 inhabitants (mainly Romanists), of whom 1481 were German-speaking and 4446 French-speaking.

Sion [Sedum] dates from Roman times, and the bishop's see was removed thither from Martigny [Ododurum] about 580. In 999 the bishop received from Rudolf III., king of Burgundy, the dignity of count of the Valais, and henceforward was the temporal as well as the spiritual lord of the Valais, retaining this position, at least in part, till 1798.

See also J. Gremaud, Introduction to vol. v. (Lausanne, 1884) of his Documents relatifs à l’histoire du Vallais; R. R. Hoppeler, Beiträge zur Geschichte des Wallis im Mittelalter (Zurich, 1897); B. Rameau, Le Valais historique (Sion, 1886).

 SION COLLEGE, in London, an institution founded as a college, gild of parochial clergy and almshouse, under the will (1623) of Dr Thomas White, vicar of St Dunstan's in the West. The clergy who benefit by the foundation are the incumbents of the City parishes, of parishes which adjoined the city bounds when the college was founded, and of parishes subsequently formed out of these. The original buildings in London Wall were on a site previously occupied by Elsing Spital, a hospital for the blind founded in 1329, and earlier still by a nunnery. They comprised the almshouses, a hall and chapel, and the library added to the foundation by Dr John Simson, rector of St Olave's, Hart Street, one of White's executors. There were also, at least originally, apartments for students. In 1884 the almshouses were abolished, and the almsfolk became out-pensioners. It was subsequently found possible to extend their numbers from the original number of 10 men and 10 women to 40 in all, and to increase the pension. In 1886 Sion College was moved to new buildings on the Victoria Embankment, and is now principally known for its theological library which serves as a lending library to members of the college, and is accessible to the public. A governing body appointed by the members to administer the foundation consists of a president, two deans and four assistants.

 SIOUX, a tribe of North American Indians. The name is an abbreviation of the French corruption Nadaouesioux of the Algonquian name Nadowesiwug, " little snakes. " They call themselves Dakotas (" allies "). They were formerly divided into seven clans: hence the name they sometimes used, Otceti Cakowin, " the seven council-fires. " There was a further distribution into eastern and western Sioux. The former were generally sedentary and agricultural, the latter nomad horsemen. The Sioux were ever conspicuous, even among Indians, for their physical strength and indomitable courage. Their original home was east of the Alleghanies, but in 1632 the French found them chiefly in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Thereafter driven westward by the Ojibwa and the French, they crossed the Missouri into the plains. The Sioux fought on the English side in the War of Independence and in that of 1812. In 1815 a treaty was made with the American government by which the right of the tribe to an immense tract, including much of Minnesota, most of the Dakotas, and a large part of Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Wyoming, was admitted. In 1835 missions were started among the eastern Sioux by the American Board, and schools were opened. In 1837 the tribe sold all their land east of the Missis- sippi. In 1851 the bulk of their Minnesota territory was sold, but a hitch in the carrying out of the agreement led to a rising and massacre of whites in 1857 at Spirit Lake on the Minnesota- Iowa border. There was peace again till 1862, when once again the tribe revolted and attacked the white settlers. A terrible massacre ensued, and the punitive measures adopted were severe. Thirty-nine of the Indian leaders were hanged from the same scaffold, and all the Minnesota Sioux were moved to reservations in Dakota. The western Sioux, angry at the treat- ment of their kinsmen, then became thoroughly hostile and carried on intermittent war with the whites till 1877. In 1875 and 1876 under their chief, Sitting Bull, they successfully re- sisted the government troops, and finally Sitting Bull and most of his followers escaped into Canada. Sitting Bull returned in 1881. In 1889 a treaty was made reducing Sioux territory. Difficulties in the working of this, and religious excitement in connexion with the Ghost Dance craze, led to an outbreak in 1890. Sitting Bull and three hundred Indians were killed at Wounded Knee Creek, and the Sioux were finally subdued. They are now on different reservations and number some twenty- four thousand. See Indians, North American.

SIOUX CITY, a city and the county-seat of Woodbury county, Iowa, U.S.A., at the confluence of the Big Sioux with the Missouri river, about 156 m. N.W. of Des Moines. Pop. (1890) 37,806; (1900) 33,111, of whom 6592 were foreign-born (including 1460 Swedish, 1176 German and 1054 Norwegian); (1910, census) 47,828. It is served by the Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul, the Chicago & North-Western, the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Illinois Central, and the Great Northern railways. The bluffs approach the Missouri more closely at this point than elsewhere in the state, so that little more than manufacturing establishments and business blocks are built on the bottom lands, and the residences are spread over the slope and summit of the bluffs. The city has a public library (housed in the city hall) and eight parks (including Riverside on the Big Sioux), with a total area of more than 500 acres. Among the principal buildings are the city hall, the post office, the Young Men's Christian Association building, and the High School. There are several boat clubs and a country and golf club. Two miles S. of the city is a monument to Sergeant Charles Floyd of the Lewis and Clark expedition, who died here in r8o4; and 1 m. W. of the city is the grave of War Eagle, a Sioux chief. Among the educational institutions are Morningside College (Methodist Episcopal, 1894), 3 m. from the business centre of the city, which had in 1908-1909 34 instructors and 672 students; the Sioux City College of Medicine (1889), and St Mary's School. The principal hospitals are the Samaritan, the St Joseph's Mercy, and the German Lutheran. Sioux City is the see of a Roman Catholic bishop. The Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul, the Great Northern, and the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha have shops here; meat packing is an important industry, and the city has large stock yards. As a manufacturing centre, it ranked first in 1900 and third in 1905 among the cities of the state; the value of its factory pro- duct in 1905 was $14,760,751. Its manufactures include slaughtering and meat-packing products, cars and car repairing, linseed oil, bricks and tiles (made from excellent clay found in and near the city). The city does a large wholesale and dis- tributing business. Sioux City was settled about 1850, was platted in 1854, becoming the headquarters of a United States Land Office, was incorporated in 1856, and was chartered as a city in 1857. It was the starting-point of various expeditions sent against the Sioux Indians of the Black Hills.

SIOUX FALLS, a city and the county-seat of Minnehaha county, South Dakota, U. S. A., on the Big Sioux river, about 12 m. N.W. of the N.W. corner of Iowa. Pop. (1890), 10,177; (1900) 10,266, of whom 1858 were foreign-born; (1905), 12,283; (1910), 14,094. It is the largest city in the state. Sioux Falls is served by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, the Great Northern, the Illinois Central, the Chicago, St Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha (North-Western lines), and the South Dakota Central railways. In the city are the State Penitentiary, the State Children's Home, the South Dakota School for Deaf Mutes, a United States Government