Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/616

 592 SAMOS SAMOYEDS language, and most of the adult population can read and write. The Bible has been transla- ted 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 mission- ary society, the population was divided denom- inationally as follows : Independents and Pres- byterians, 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 for- mer 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 na- vigateurs, from the skill of the natives in using their canoes. In 1787 La P6rouse 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 1836 they were joined by others from Eng- land. 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 Pango- Pango 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 pro- tected by the United States; but in 1875 a native king was elected, and Steinberger be- came his prime minister. SAMOS (called by the Turks Su*am-Adai), an island of the Grecian archipelago, belong- ing 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 har- bors on the coast. The interior is traversed by two mountain ranges, one of which at- tains the height of 4,725 ft. in Mt. Kerkis (anc. Cercetius). Samos was anciently celebrated for its fertility. The olive and vine are cul- tivated, and grain, silk, cotton, wine, figs, and oil are exported. The minerals include mar- ble, iron, lead, silver, and emery, but are not worked. The original inhabitants are sup- posed to have been Carians and Leleges. The Samians planted several colonies on the shores of the Propontis and JSgean, 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 Hel- lenic 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 pal- ace. After his death in 522 the island was subject to Persia for 43 years, when it was lib- erated by the victory over the fleet of Xerxes at Mycale, and became a member of the Athe- nian 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 1885 it has been gov- erned by the Greek family Vogorides. Th*o 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. SAMOTIIRACE (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 des- titute of ports. In antiquity it was called Dar- dania, 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. SAMOYED8, a nomadic people in the northern parts of European and Asiatic Russia, forming a branch of the Uralo- Altaic division of man- kind. The name, which signifies in Russian " persons who devour themselves," and oc- curs in early Russian chronicles, would seem to imply that the people had once been can- nibals, if it were not more likely that in this instance it is a corruption of some word con- nected 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 num- ber 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 fea- tures, but peaceably disposed. They dwell in tents of reindeer skin. ^See " The Land of the