Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/45

 SIKHS SILENUS 37 Mussulman government, tortured, and put to death in 1606. His son, Har Govind, to avenge his death, led the Sikhs against their Moham- medan foes; but they were driven from the region which they occupied about Lahore, and forced to find refuge in the mountains in the north. In 1675 Guru Govind, a grandson of Har Govind, became their tenth theocratic chief, gave them a code of laws, and organized them as a state. He added to their sacred books by writing the biographies of his nine )redecessors. He abolished caste, established ibsolute equality, and introduced a peculiar dress, such as the wearing of blue, peculiar customs, such as allowing the hair and beard to grow long and uncut, and peculiar require- ments, such as that every man should be a soldier and always carry steel. He recom- menced the struggle against the Mogul em- perors, but without avail, 'and was defeated and finally murdered by a private enemy. His successor, a chief named Banda, renewed the contest early in the 18th century, devastating "le eastern Punjaub and Sirhind with such suc- 38 that Bahadoor Shah himself took the field gainst the Sikhs, and partially repressed their ising power. In 1716 they were overwhelm- ingly defeated and almost annihilated. Their religious fervor decreased, and for many years they did not recover from this blow ; but they finally united their roving bands and drove the Afghans from the Punjaub in 1764. For the following 30 years they were divided into L2 small confederations, called misals, which rere governed by sirdars or petty chiefs, of rhom Maha Singh was the most powerful, ifter his death in 1794, his son Eunjeet Singh >rought the other sirdars into subjection, and meed the Punjaub to his sway. (See RUN- SINGH.) When this distinguished Sikh the kingdom of Lahore, included all the >rincipal Sikh states except those E. of the Sutlej. They soon fell into anarchy, the pow- of the army became supreme, and war with e English broke out in 1845. Battles were fought and victories won by the British, un- ~ Sir Hugh Gough, at Moodkee, Dec. 18; Ferozeshah, Dec. 21 and 22 ; at Aliwal, Ian. 28, 1846; and finally at Sobraon, Feb. 10, where the Sikhs lost 10,000 men. The contest then terminated in a treaty by which the greater part of their territory and almost their entire government was ceded to the East India company. This treaty soon led to new complications, and to a second war between the British and the Sikhs, beginning in 1848. Mooltan was invested in the autumn of that year, and taken in January, 1849 ; but the British, under Gough, were repulsed and nar- rowly escaped disastrous defeat at the battle of Chillianwallah, Jan. 13, when they lost 2,446 killed and wounded. A subsequent vic- tory at Guzerat, in February, concluded the war ; the Sikh army surrendered, and the Pun- jaub was incorporated into the British domin- ions. The only portion of the Sikh territories remaining independent is comprised in the nine small states of Sirhind. The Sikhs were faith- ful troops during the sepoy mutiny of 1857, and aided materially in its suppression. In 1868 the number of Sikhs in British India was officially stated at 1,129,319. Their ethnologi- cal affinities are with the Jats. In spite of the destruction of their commonwealth, they main- tain their national characteristics, being tall, thin, dark, and active, excellent soldiers and horsemen, frank, sociable, and pleasure-loving. Amritsir is their spiritual capital. SIKKIM, a native state of British India, on the S. slope of the Himalaya range, bounded N. by Thibet, E. by Bhotan, S. by Bengal, and W. by Nepaul, between lat. 27 and 28 10' N., and Ion. 88 and 89 E. ; area, 2,544 sq. m. ; pop. about 7,000, principally mountaineers. The surface consists of a series of ranges of the Himalaya mountains, which on the south rise abruptly from the plains to the height of from 6,000 to 10,000 ft., and increase toward the north and northwest, where Kintchinjun- ga, long believed to be the loftiest point on the. surf ace of the globe, attains a height of more than 28,000 ft. above the sea. The mountains are separated by precipitous ra- vines, nowhere wide enough to form plains. The drainage belongs to the basin of the Gan- ges, toward which it flows by the Teesta, which rises in Thibet, and pursues a winding course through Sikkim. The mountains are covered with vegetation to the height of 12,000 ft., and at the lower levels it is often very luxuri- ant. Sikkim abounds in fine timber, produ- cing oak, walnut, chestnut, and cherry at ele- vations of from 6,000 to 8,000 ft., and saul and sissoo further down. Copper is the chief min- eral product. The soil consists mostly of a rich black mould ; and the principal crops are millet, maize, and rice, the last of which has been cultivated to the height of 8,000 ft. above the sea. The aboriginal inhabitants have Mongolian features, and speak a Thibetan dia- lect. The Gorkhas conquered Sikkim in 1789, and it became tributary to them ; but during the Nepaul war of 1814 the rajah cooperated with the British, and in 1817, after peace was concluded, his independence was guaranteed, and his dominions were increased by the grant of certain tracts of Nepaulese territory. In 1836 the rajah ceded Darjeeling to the Brit- ish, for an annual grant of 300, subsequently increased to 600. In 1849 he countenanced some outrages on British subjects, which led to a temporary forfeiture of this allowance, and a further loss of territory. In 1861 he opened his dominions to British trade without restriction, and in 1872 his allowance was in- creased to 1,200. His capital is Tumloong. SILEMS, in Greek and Roman mythology, a satyr prominent in the retinue of Bacchus. He is differently called the son of Mercury and of Pan, and is represented as a jovial old man with a bald head, a pair of goat's ears,
 * hieftan died, in 1839, his dominions, known