Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/555

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SAINT FRANCOIS SAINT HELENA 531 SAINT FRANCIS, an E. S. E. county of Mis- souri, drained by the Big river, a branch of the Maramec, and the sources of the St. Francis ; area, 350 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 9,742, of whom 518 were colored. The surface is broken and hilly, and includes a portion of the Iron moun- tain. It has extensive iron works. It is trav- ersed by the St. Louis and Columbus and the St. Louis and Texas divisions of the St. Louis and Iron Mountain railroad. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 63,632 bushels of wheat, 247,581 of Indian corn, 125,803 of oats, 3,083 tons of hay, 9,490 Ibs. of tobacco, 20,460 of wool, 66,133 of butter, and 12,354 of sorghum molasses. There were 1,927 horses, 732 mules and asses, 1,945 milch cows, 512 working oxen, 2,921 other cattle, 9,459 sheep, and 17,217 swine. Capital, Farmington. SAINT GALL (Ger. Sanct-Galleri). I. A N. E. canton of Switzerland, bounded N. by Thur- gau, N. E. by the lake of Constance, E. by the Rhine, which separates it from Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein, S. by Glarus, and W. by the lake of Zurich ; area (exclusive of the canton of Appenzell, which it entirely encloses), 780 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 191,015, nearly all Ger- mans, and two thirds Roman Catholics. It is watered by tributaries of the Rhine, including the Thur, the Sitter, and the Necker. Lake Wallen is almost entirely in this canton. The S. part of the canton is one of the lofty Al- pine regions of Switzerland, Mounts Scheibe, Graue Homer, and Speerberg being within its limits. The whole surface of the canton is mountainous. The soil is generally fertile. The mountainous districts are covered with wood or rich pasture, and on the lower slopes are vineyards and orchards. The most impor- tant manufacture is that of cotton. The gov- ernment is democratic. The great council is composed of 88 Catholics and 62 Protestants, elected for two years, and meeting twice a year. The executive council is composed of seven members, chosen by the great council from their own number and holding office four years. The canton was admitted to the confederation in 1803. It is divided into 15 districts. The constitution of 1861 made the church virtually independent of the state, and the latter controls education. II. A city, capi- tal of the canton, on the Steinach, a branch of the Sitter, 43 m. E. of Zurich ; pop. in 1870, 16,676. The suburbs are finely laid out, and command beautiful views. It is the centre of the manufacture of muslins and of the trade of N. E. Switzerland. The principal build- ings are the cathedral, the restored Gothic church of St. Lawrence, and the new school house with a large library and museum. The city grew up around an abbey built by St. Gall in the 7th century. (See GALL.) It was re- ceived into the Helvetic confederation in 1454. The abbey was secularized in 1805 ; it is now the residence of the bishop, and contains an extensive library, remarkable for old German manuscripts. SAINT-GERMAIN, or St. Germain-en-Laye, a town of France, in the department of Seine-et-Oise, 8 m. W. of the enceinte of Paris; pop. in 1872, 22,862. It was long a royal residence, and is now a fashionable summer resort. James II. of England died here. The revolution con- verted the palace into barracks ; Napoleon I. made it a military prison, and Napoleon III. a museum of antiquities. Adjoining it is one of the largest forests in France. SAINT-GERMAIN, Count de, a cosmopolitan ad- venturer of the 18th century, of unknown origin. He arrived in Paris about 1740, in company with the marshal de Belle-Isle, and created a prodigious sensation by his conver- sational powers, by his knowledge of chemis- try and history, and by his unaccountable pos- session of diamonds of great value. The most fabulous stories were circulated about him, and his graphic and familiar delineations of par- sonages long dead gave an impression that he had been their contemporary. For many years he was a favorite at court and in the highest society in Paris. He is said to have ended his life at the court of the landgrave of Hesse-Cas- sel. Voltaire called his life, in allusion to his title of count and to his stories (contes), ce conte pour rire. He is supposed to have been really a spy in the pay of various governments. SAINT GOTHARD. See ALPS, vol. i., pp. 352 and 354. SAINT HELENA, an E. parish of Louisiana, bounded W. by the Amite river and drained by the Tickfah river and Natalbany creek ; area, about 450 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 5,423, of whom 2,914 were colored. The surface is gently un- dulating, and the soil fertile, especially along the streams. The chief productions in 1870 were 91,265 bushels of Indian corn, 38,961 of sweet potatoes, 3,875 Ibs. of wool, and 3,284 bales of cotton. There were 807 horses, 1,823 milch cows, 3,999 other cattle, 1,858 sheep, and 8,977 swine. Capital, Greensburgh. SAINT HELENA, an island belonging to Great Britain, in the S. Atlantic ocean, about 1,200 m. W. of Africa and 2,000 m. E. of South America ; lat. 15 57' S., Ion. 5 42' W. ; area, about 47 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 6,241, including natives of mixed European and Asiatic origin, west Afri- can negroes, and whites (government officials, the garrison, merchants, and farmers). Rug- ged and precipitous cliffs from 600 to 2,000 ft. high encircle the island. The principal inlets are James's bay, having an excellent harbor, on which is Jamestown, Rupert's and Lemon valley on the N. W., and Sandy bay on the S. E. side, all fortified. There are narrow ravines where landing is possible, which are also pro- tected by small forts built during Napoleon's imprisonment, but now mostly unoccupied, as the entire garrison in 1874 numbered but 191 men. The island is of volcanic origin. From a crater on the S. side lava and other volcanic matters have flowed in every direction, the other side having, it is supposed, sunk into the ocean. A lofty ridge of calcareous rocks,