310 FOOTE ore is wrought and manufactured into a very malleable species of metal. The inhabitants are Mohammedans of the Foolah race, remark- able for their fanatical hatred of all infidels ex- cept the whites, from whom they claim descent. Their houses are neat and well built ; the prin- cipal towns contain manufactories of articles of dress, of iron, silver, wood, and leather. Trade is carried on with Timbuctoo and other places, and the merchants often make long commercial journeys. Timbo, the capital, is said to con- tain 7,000 inhabitants, and there are several other towns with a population of between 3,000 and 5,000. The government is elective. FOOTE, Andrew Hull, an American naval offi- cer, born in New Haven, Conn., Sept. 12, 1806, died in New York, June 26, 1863. He entered the navy in 1822 as acting midship- man, became passed midshipman in 1827, and lieutenant in 1830. In 1833 he was flag lieu- tenant of the Mediterranean squadron, and in 1838 circumnavigated the globe as first lieu- tenant of the sloop of war John Adams, par- ticipating in an attack on the pirates of Su- matra. While stationed at the naval asylum in 1841-'3 he prevailed upon many of the in- mates to give up their spirit rations, and du- ring the cruise in the Cumberland in 1843-'5 he not only induced the crew to forego the use of spirits, but personally superintended their religious instruction, delivering every Sunday an extemporaneous sermon. In 1849, in command of the brig Perry, he joined the squadron on the African coast, where during the next 2| years he was actively engaged in suppressing the slave trade. After serving on the naval retiring board, he was appointed in 1856 to the command of the sloop Portsmouth, and ordered to proceed to the China station. Arriving at Canton just previous to the com- mencement of hostilities between the English and Chinese, he exerted himself in protecting the property of American citizens ; and hav- ing been fired upon from the Canton barrier forts while in the discharge of this duty, he demanded an apology. This being refused, he attacked the forts, four in number, with the Portsmouth, supported by the Levant, breached the largest and strongest, and, landing with a force of 280 sailors and marines, carried the work by storm. The remaining forts were successively carried, with a total loss of 40 to the attacking party. The works were mass- ive granite structures, mounting 176 guns and garrisoned by 5,000 men, of whom 400 were killed and wounded. At the commencement of the civil war in 1861, Commander Foote was executive officer at the Brooklyn navy yard. In July he was commissioned a captain, and in September was appointed flag officer of the flotilla fitting out in the western waters. He personally superintended the completion of this work, and on Feb. 4, 1862, sailed from Cairo with a fleet of seven gunboats, of which four were iron-clad, to attack Fort Henry on the Tennessee river. "Without waiting for the arrival of the land force under Gen. Grant, which was to cooperate with him, he opened fire upon the fore at noon of the 6th, and after an action of one hour compelled its surrender. Returning to Cairo, he sailed soon after for the Cumberland river, and on the 14th attacked Fort Donelson. The action was sustained with great vigor on both sides for an hour and a quarter, when the fleet was obliged to haul off", in consequence of two of the gunboats becom- ing unmanageable by having their steering ap- paratus shot away. Capt. Foote was severely wounded in the ankle, and his ship, the St. Louis, was struck 61 times. Though suffering from his wound, he proceeded down the Mis- sissippi with his fleet, and commenced the siege of Island No. Ten. After the reduction of that place, he received leave of absence. Upon being restored to health, he was appointed chief of the bureau of equipment and recruit- ing. In July, 1862, he was appointed rear admiral, and in May, 1863, was ordered to take command of the South Atlantic squad- ron, but died while preparing to leave New York for Charleston. He was the author of "Africa and the American Flag" (1854), and a series of " Letters on Japan " (1857). His " Life " is announced as being in preparation by Prof. James Hoppin. FOOTE, Henry Stuart, an American politician, born in Fauquier co., Ya., Sept. 20, 1800. He graduated at Washington college, Lexington, Va., in 1819, was admitted to the bar in 1822, and in 1824 removed to Tuscumbia, Ala., where he edited a democratic newspaper. In 1826 he removed to Jackson, Miss. In 1847 he was elected to the United States senate, and was made chairman of the committee on foreign relations. In 1850 he took an active part in favor of the compromise measures, and in 1851, in a hotly contested election, was chosen governor of Mississippi, his competitor being Jefferson Davis. In 1854 he removed to California, but in 1858 returned to Missis- sippi, taking up his residence at Vicksburg. In the southern convention at Knoxville in 1859 he spoke warmly -in opposition to dis- union. During a great part of the civil war he was a member of the confederate congress from Tennessee, and distinguished himself by his personal and political hostility to Jefferson Davis. Not long after the close of the war he resumed the practice of law. He has been engaged in several duels, in two of which he was slightly wounded. He has published "Texas and the Texans" (Philadelphia, 1841) and "The War of the Rebellion, or Scylla and Charybdis" (New York, 1866). FOOTE, Samuel, an English dramatist and actor, born in Truro, Cornwall, in 1720, died in Dover, Oct. 21, 1777. He was entered at Worcester college, Oxford, but his powers of mimicry involved him in indiscretions which led to the severance of his connection with the university when he was 20 years old. He soon afterward became a student at law in
