SAMOLTJS 222 SAMOYEDES Germans as king, though against the pro- test of the British and American consuls at Samoa. Mataafa, a near relative of Malietoa, made war upon Tamasese and succeeded to the kingship. In 1889 a conference between the repre- sentatives of the American, British, and German governments was held at Berlin, at which a treaty was signed by the three powers guaranteeing the neutrality of the islands, in which the citizens of the three signatory powers would have equal rights of residence, trade, and per- sonal protection. They agreed to recog- nize the independence of the Samoan Gov- ernment and the free rights of the natives to elect their chief or king and choose a form of government according to their own laws and customs. A supreme court was established, consisting of one judge, styled the chief justice of Samoa. Malietoa, who had been deported, was restored as king in November, 1889, and continued as such till his death, which occurred Aug. 22, 1898, when the consuls of the three powers, with the chief jus- tice as president, took charge of the ad- ministration pending the election of a successor. Out of the election and recog- nition of this successor to King Malietoa, deceased, serious disagreements between the local representatives of the three gov- ernments maintaining the joint protec- torate over the islands occurred. These were followed in 1899 by a new agree- ment between the three nations: the United States, Germany and Great Bri- tain, whereby each nation assumed con- trol over certain islands. Great Britain afterward ceded her share to Germany for concessions in Africa and elsewhere. In the first year of the World War (1914) , German Samoa was captured by New Zea- land troops and by the terms of the Peace Treaty of 1919 New Zealand was awarded control of this territory. A volcanic erup- tion, begun in 1905, in the interior of Savaii, continued until 1909, the greatest volcanic disturbance in the history of the world. SAMOLTJS, a genus of plants, order Primulacex. They are herbs with alter- nate leaves, and flowers corymbose or racemose. S. valerandi, the water pim- pernel, found in wet, gravelly places throughout the world, is one foot high, and has small, white flowers, the corolla of which is twice the length of the calyx. SAMOS, now SAMO, an island in the Grecian Archipelago, near the coast of Asia Minor; 45 miles S. W. of Smyrna, formerly belonging to Turkey, and now a possession of Greece; area, 180 square miles. It has a mountainous surface, partly covered with pine forests; several fertile and well-watered valleys ; produces corn, fruit, and excellent wine; and has several valuable minerals, including ar- gentiferous lead, iron, and marble. The principal town is Vathy, with a good harbor on the N. E. side of the island. The principal exports are raisins, skins, wine, and oil; imports, grain, colonial produce, and woven fabrics. Samos was inhabited in antiquity by Ionian Greeks, and had an important position among the Greek communities as early as the 7th century B. c. In the latter half of the 6th century it was in a specially flourish- ing condition under Polycrates, and sub- sequently was under the domination of Athens. In 84 B. C. it was united with the Roman province of Asia. In 1550 it was conquered by the Turks. It now occupies an exceptional position, having been erected into a tributary principality of the Sublime Porte in 1832, the ruler being a Greek prince. During the Bal- kan War of 1912 the Greeks seized the island. Pop. about 69,000. SAMOSATA, the capital till A. D. 17 of the Syrian kingdom of Commagene, on the Euphrates, 130 miles N. N. E. of Aleppo. It was the birthplace of Lucian and of Paul of Samosata. SAMOTHEACE, or SAMOTHRAKI, an island in the N. of the iEgean Sea, belonging to Turkey, about 14 miles long by 8 miles broad. It has a very moun- tainous surface, one of its summits ex- ceeding 5,000 feet. Its chief products are corn and oil. The island is of in- terest as being in antiquity the prin- cipal seat of the worship of the Cabiri, and celebrated for its religious my&teries. It is interesting also as being visited by St. Paul in the course of his second mis- sionary journey (Acts xvi. 11). Recent archaeological researches have produced valuable results. SAMOVAR, a Russian tea apparatus, the water in which is boiled by means of hot coals contained in an iron tube, and then poured over the tea. SAMOYEDES, or SAMOIEDES, a peo- ple of Ural-Altaic stock, inhabiting the shores of the Arctic Ocean, both in Eu- rope and Asia, from the Yenisei to the White Sea. They consist of two main groups, a S. resembling the Tartars, and a N. and more degraded group. They are nomadic, and live chiefly by fishing, hunting, and keeping reindeer. They are of small stature, have a flat, round, and broad face, thick lips, wide nose, little beard, black hair in ^ small quantity. Their religion is fetishism, though they have an idea of a great divinity; they are extremely superstitious, and generally peaceable. The reindeer supplies them
