MOBILE 265 MODENA clothing, carriage, confectionery, saddlery and harness, and other plants. It also has a large export trade to Mexico, Central and South America. The most important exports include cotton, rice, coal, grain, lumber, cigars, tar, resin, turpentine, and vegetables. There are National and State banks and many daily, weekly, and monthly periodicals. In recent years the docking facilities have been greatly increased by the con- struction of a great system of docks. The bay has also been dredged and straight- ened. Public Interests. — The corporate limits of Mobile extend 6 miles N. and S. and 2 or 3 miles W. from the river. Its streets are generally well paved, shaded, and quite regular. The water supply, which is by two systems, is so pure that it is employed for chemical purposes without filtering. Here are the United States Government Building, which cost $250,- 000, the court house, United States Marine Hospital, city hospital, Provi- dence Infirmary, Odd Fellows' and Tem- perance Halls, the Battle House, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, etc. The educational institutions include the College of St. Joseph, Spring Hill Col- lege, McGill Institute, Barton Academy, Evangelical Lutheran Institute, Convent and Academy of the Visitation, Medical College of Alabama, St. Mary's School, and a public library. History. — In 1702 a fort was built about 20 miles N. of the present site of Mobile by Le Moyne de Bienville and named St. Louis de la Mobile. In 1711 this settlement was nearly annihilated by a furious hurricane, and a disastrous deluge, which compelled its removal to the present location of Mobile. The colony was ceded to Great Britain in 1763 by the treaty of Paris, but with all the English possessions on the Gulf of Mex- ico was transferred to Spain in 1783. The Spanish government administered its affairs till 1813, when it was taken by an American army under General Wilkinson. It received its charter as a city in 1819. Mobile was under Confed- erate rule from Jan. 11, 1861, to April 11, 1864. The fleet of Admiral Farragut sailed up Mobile Bay on Aug. 5, of the latter year, and a great battle with the Confederate vessels and forts was fought. This resulted in the destruction of the Confederate fleet, and the capture of Forts Morgan and Gaines. In the spring of 1865 the city was carried by assault, and the city passed into Union hands. The name of Mobile was changed to Port of Mobile in 1879, but the place was re- incorporated with full city rights in 1887. Pop. (1910) 51,521; (1920) 60,777. MOBILE (mo-bel'), a river of the United States, in Alabama, formed by the union of the Alabama and the Tom- bigbee, which unite about 45 miles above the town of Mobile. It enters Mobile Bay by two mouths. MOBILIZATION, in military lan- guage, the act of mobilizing; the state of being mobilized; the calling of troops into active service; the placing of an army on a war footing or readiness for active service. MOCCASIN SNAKE, Cenchris pisci- varus, of the family Crotalidx, some- times called the water viper, from its frequenting marshy places. It is a fish- MOCCASIN SNAKE eating snake. Habitat, North Carolina, the country to the S. and across to the Rocky Mountains. Also the name is sometimes applied to the copperhead snake. Both these reptiles are extremely poisonous. MOCHA (mo'M), a seaport, and once the capital of Yemen, in Arabia; on the Red Sea, 130 miles W. N. W. of Aden. From early in the 16th century till the middle of the 17th Mocha was the port from which the coffee of Yemen was principally exported; hence called Mocha coffee. It is now an unimportant place. MOCKING BIRD, the popular name of Minus polyglottus. Ashy brown above, white beneath; wings black, varied with white, tail black. Its range in this coun- try, of which it is native, is from 40° N. to Mexico. It is also said to occur in Cuba. Its vocal powers, imitative and in natural song, exceed those of any other species. MOCK ORANGE, a name applied in England to the syringa, and in the United States to the Pnimis caroliniana, a small evergreen resembling the cherry- laurel. MODENA (mo'de-na) (ancient Muti- na), capital of the former duchy of Mo-
