SIERRA MADRE 424 SIGEL Liberia, E. and S. E. Area, 27,000 square miles. Principal products: palm kernels, cola nuts and gum copal. Exports in 1919 were valued at £2,101,569; imports at £2,123,344. There are 169 elementary schools. A college at Fourah Bay, to pre- pare natives for the ministry, is supported by the Church Missionary Society. Pop. of colony about 75,500; of Protectorate, about 1,400,000, mostly negroes. There are about 700 whites. Sierra Leone was purchased by Great Britain in 1787 from the native chiefs, for the purpose of a settlement for liberated negroes, and to aid in the suppression of the slave trade. Capital, Free Town. Pop. 34,000. SIERRA MADRE ("Main Chain"), a general name for the mountains that in Mexico stretch N. from about Guadala- jara to Arizona, forming the W. wall of the plateau, and separating Chihuahua from the maritime States of Sinaloa and Sonora. Along the E. foothills of the range, in northwest Chihuahua, the coun- try is very fertile. The so-called Sierra Madre plateau, on the United States fron- tier, is a continuation of the Chihuahua plateau. The name has often been more widely extended, however, to include the central and E. ranges of the Cordilleras. SIERRA MORENA, a chain of moun- tains in Spain, between New Castile and Andalusia, separating the Guadiana on the N. and the Guadalquivir on the S., and attaining a height of 5,500 feet above sea-level. SIERRA NEVADA, a chain of moun- tains in southern Spain, the most ele- vated in the peninsula. The greater part of it is in the province of Granada, run- ning E. and W., and the highest peak in Mulahacen, which has an elevation of about 11,678 feet, and is capped with ever- lasting snow. The range is rich in fer- tile valleys and picturesque scenery. SIERRA NEVADA, a mountain range of California, extending N. and S. along the E. boundary of the State. It con- sists of an aggregate of ranges, on an average some 70 miles wide, with numer- ous peaks reaching an elevation of 10,000 and 15,000 feet. Gold mining, timber cutting, and sheep rearing are important industries in these ranges. SIESTA, the name given to the prac- tice indulged in by the Spaniards, and the inhabitants of hot climates generally, of sleeping two or three hours in the middle of the day, when the heat is too oppressive to admit of their going from home. SIEYES, EMMANUEL JOSEPH, bet- ter known as the Abbe Sieyes, a French revolutionist; born in Frejus, France, May 3, 1748, and pursued his studies for the Church at Paris. He was active in furthering the progress of the Revolution, and soon acquired great influence in the National Assembly. He originated the idea of the new geographical division of France into departments, arrondisse- ments, and communes. In 1791 he be- came a member for the Seine department, and in 1792 deputy for the department of Sarthe. During the Reign of Terror he withdrew into the country, but after Robespierre's downfall he returned to the convention and took an active part in affairs. In 1799, on his return from a mission to Berlin, by which he secured the neutrality of Prussia, he became a member of the directory. He subse- quently suppressed the Jacobin Club, and was active in bringing about the over- throw of the directory and the substitu- tion of the consular government by the revolution of the 18th Brumaire, the new constitution being devised by him. Sieyes soon found his speculations completely overmatched by Bonaparte's practical en- ergy, and though a consul provisionally, he saw it desirable to terminate his politi- cal career. He retired with the title of count, and obtained grants of land and property to the value of at least $250,000. He was exiled at the restoration, but returned on the July revolution of 1830, and died in Paris, June 20, 1836. SIFTON, SIR CLIFFORD, a Canadian lawyer, born in Middlesex, Ontario, in 1861. He was educated at the High School, London, Ont. ; the Boys' College, Dundas; and Victoria University, Co- bourg. In 1882 he was called to the Mani- toba bar and in 1895 became Q. C. He was elected to the Manitoba Legislature for North Brandon in 1888 and continued a member until 1896. He entered Sir Wilfred Laurier's administration as Min- ister of the Interior in 1896 and resigned in 1905. He represented Canada at the International Conference of Conservation of Resources at Washington in 1909, and resigned as chairman of the Commission for Conservation of Natural Resources in 1918. SIGEL, FRANZ, an American military officer; born in Sinsheim, Baden, Nov. 18, 1824; was graduated at the military school at Carlsruhe in 1843 and commis- sioned a lieutenant in the army. When the Baden revolution began he raised troops; assumed the leadership of the in- surrection; and was made Secretary of War and Commander-in-Chief of the army. He came to the United States in 1852, and when the Civil War broke out, organized a regiment and went to the front, where he served with unusual dis- tinction, being promoted Major-General.
