Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/549

 SAINT-ARNAUD SAINT BERNARD 525 SAINT-ARNAUD. See LEEOY DE NAUD. SAINT AUGUSTINE, a city, port of entry, and the county seat of St. John's co., Florida, on the E. coast, 33 ra. S. S. E. of Jacksonville; pop. in 1870, 1,717, of whom 594 were colored ; in 1875, about 2,000. It occupies a penin- sula, formed by the Matanzas river on the east and the St. Sebastian on the south and west. Directly in front is Anastasia island, forming a breakwater. Along the E. front of the city, about a mile, is a sea wall 4 ft. wide, built by the United States in 1837-'42, afford- ing a delightful promenade on moonlight even- ings. On the N. end of Anastasia island (S. side of the entrance to the port) is a revolv- ing light, lat. 29 53' N., Ion. 81 16' W. The streets, which are generally narrow, cross each other at right angles. In the centre is a fine public square, called the " Plaza de la Consti- tution," on which are the custom house and post office, an imposing structure, formerly the residence of the Spanish governor, remodelled by the United States ; the Roman Catholic cathedral, a large edifice in the Moorish style, erected in 1793 ; the Episcopal church, the old convent, and the ancient markets. Until within a few years the only material used in building was the coquina rock, a conglomerate of small sea shells, quarried on Anastasia island, and dried hard in the sun. The barracks are among the finest and most complete in the country. The building was formerly a Fran- ciscan monastery. The old Spanish wall, which extended across the peninsula from shore to shore, and protected the city on the north, is in ruins. The principal object of interest to visitors is the old fortress of San Marco, now Fort Marion. It is of coquina, is well pre- served, and will accommodate a garrison of 1,000 men. It was finished in 1756, after hav- ing been more than a century in construction, and was built entirely by Indian slaves. On account of the mildness of its climate, St. Au- gustine is much resorted to in the winter from the north ;. the number of visitors in 1874-'5 was more than 7,000. The mean annual tem- perature is 70 ; frosts seldom occur, and semi- tropical fruits flourish. The chief business is the manufacture of "palmetto straw" work, which is largely shipped to the north. There is some coasting trade. Two lines of sailing packets run to New York. A railroad, 14 m. long, extends to Tocoi on the St. John's river, whence steamers ply to Jacksonville. There are four hotels, with accommodations for 700 guests ; two free schools, one conducted by the sisters of charity, the other supported by the Peabody fund, each having about 200 pu- pils ; two weekly newspapers ; a public library of about 1,000 volumes ; two convents ; and five churches, viz. : Baptist (colored), Episco- pal, Methodist (colored), Presbyterian, and Ro- man Catholic. About four fifths of the white inhabitants are of Spanish origin, and belong to the Catholic church. St. Augustine is the oldest town in the United States, a fort hav- ing been built here by the Spaniards under Menendez in 1565. It was several times at- tacked by the French, English, and Indians. With the rest of Florida it came into the pos- session of the English by the treaty of 1763, was ceded to Spain in 1783, and transferred to the United States in 1819. SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, an island in the N. E. angle of the West Indian archipelago, about 25 m. N. of St. Christopher ; area, 8 sq. m. ; extreme length 6 m., greatest breadth 3 m. ; pop. about 2,900, chiefly colored. The shores are deeply indented ; the surface consists of barren hills and fertile valleys, yielding fruit, vegetables, sugar, cotton, and tobacco. The highest point, 992 ft., is near the E. end. Fuel and water are scarce. The climate is warm but healthful, owing to the trade wind. Gustavia, the capital, is on an arm of the sea opening into a bight on the S. W. side ; it is a free port, but the harbor is too shallow to ad- mit large vessels. The island was settled by the French in 1648, and finally came into the possession of Sweden in 1785. It is the only Swedish colony in the West Indies. SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, Massacre of. See BAR- THOLOMEW, SAINT. SAINT BERNARD, a S. E. parish of Louisiana, between the gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi river, having Lake Borgne on the north ^ area, 620 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 3,553, of whom 1,913 were colored. The surface is level and the soil fertile, the higher portions producing large crops of sugar cane. The chief productions in 1870 were 12,775 bushels of Indian corn, 32,767 of sweet potatoes, 190,480 Ibs. of rice, 61 bales of cotton, 680 hogsheads of sugar, and 42,580 gallons of molasses. There were 7 molasses and sugar establishments. Capital, St. Bernard.. SAINT BERNARD. I. Great, a mountain pass in the Pennine chain of Alps, between Martigny in the Swiss canton of Valais and the Pied- montese valley of Aosta. There is no moun-. tain bearing the name. The highest point of the pass is about 8,000 ft. above the sea. On the east is Mont Velan and on the west the Pointe de Dronaz. At the highest elevation of the pass, near the line of perpetual snow, is the hospice or monastery of St. Bernard, the highest dwelling in Europe. Its inmates are Augustinian monks, assisted by lay breth- ren (marronniers), celebrated with their dogs for rescuing travellers. In their hospice at times as many as 500 or 600 travellers have been accommodated at once. The snow around the hospice averages 7 to 8 ft. in depth, and the drifts sometimes rest against it and accu- mulate to the height of 40 ft. The severest cold recorded was 29 below zero, and the greatest heat 68 F. A monastery is believed to have existed on the Great St. Bernard pre- vious to the foundation of the present hos- pice by St. Bernard of Menthon, in 962. Its most flourishing period was at the end of the 15th century, but it now depends on gifts and