Chico, to distinguish it. It has the same course, and terminates to the s. w. of the former. SOLI-VINOKOU, a river of the province and corregimiento of Copiapó in the kingdom of Chile. It rises at the skirt of the mountain and volcano of Tucapél, runs straight to the s. and enters the Biobio. SOLOCO, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Luya and Chillaos in Peru; annexed to the curacy of the settlement of Cheto. [SOLODAD, or ŠOLEDAD Port, on the e. side of the easternmost of the Falkland Islands, was formerly called Port Louis. The inner part of the harbour lies in lat. 51° 34' s. and in long. 58° w. SOLOLA, and ATITAN, a province and alcaldía mayor of the kingdom of Guatemala in N. America; bounded n. by the provinces of Quesaltenango and Totanicapan, s. by the sea, w. by the province of San Antonio de Suchitepeque, and e. by the valley of Guatemala. It is of a limited extent but very fertile in wheat of excellent quality, especially in that part called De Polopó, and this wheat, together with the garbanzos, is highly esteemed. It produces many vegetables and fruits, amongst which the Chumbo figs pass for the best in the kingdom. It fabricates a considerable portion of cotton, and with all the above articles carries on a considerable trade with the other provinces. The Lake of Atitán occupies the greater part of the extent of this province. This lake is six or seven leagues in circumference, and on its shores are established the finest settlements; and it has this singular property, that although it be entered by several very considerable rivers, it always keeps the same level; the natural inference of which is, that it has some subterraneous vent. In the s. part of this lake the currents are violent, and the sounding is not to be found, nor is there any strand save that by Atitán and Polopo. The water is extremely cold, notwithstanding the temperature of the province is hot. No fish breed in this lake, a circumstance attributed to its coldness, though the Indians have an idea that it is owing to a visitation of providence on a certain alcalde mayor, who had committed many excesses against the fisheries. The greater part of the traffic of the province is carried on by great canoes, inasmuch as the land-routs are extremely rocky and difficult, and the whole of the country is mountainous and full of ravines. Here are two volcanoes, the one of which is called Atitán, and the other Sololá. Both at no great distance from the lake. SOLOLA, the capital, is of the same name, with the dedicatory title of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion. It has a convent of the religious of S. Francisco, who were the curates, until the appointment of the regular clergy. It is a large town, and full of inhabitants, the which amount to 4700 Indians of various nations, such as the Quiches, Sotohiles, and Kazehiqueles. Twelve leagues from the capital of the kingdom of Guatemala. San Juan de los Le The other settlements are, Santa Lucia Utatán, Santa Cruz, San Francisco Pana- La Concepcion, Santa Maria Magda prosos, San Joseph, Santiago Atitán, San Lucas Tolimán, San Pedro de la La guna, Santa Clara, La Visitacion. lena del Patulul, [SOLOMON'S Isles, or LAND OF THE ARSACIDES, a group of islands, concerning the existence of which there has been much dispute, lie about 1850 Spanish leagues w. of the coast of Peru, in the vicinity of New Guinea, between lat. 5° and 12° 8' s. and between long. 154° and 163° e. They were first discovered by Mendana, in his first voyage in 1567. Herrera, in his description of these islands, reckons 18 principal ones belonging to the group, from 50 to 300 leagues in circumference, besides many of a smaller size. The air of these islands is salubrious, the soil fertile, the inhabitants numerous, and of different shades from white to black. The principal of these islands are, St. Isabella, (which see); St. George, St. Mark, St. Nicholas, Florida, the Island of Palms, &c.] [SOLON, a military township of New York, Onondago County; about 29 miles n. w. from Susquehannah River, and 31 s. from Lake Oneida. It is under the jurisdiction of the town of Homer, which was incorporated in 1794.] SOLOYA, a river of the province and country of Las Amazonas; which, according to Mr. Bellin, engineer in ordinary to the king of France, in his general map and description, runs e. and enters the Iza or Putumayo. SOMA, a small river of the province and government of Cumaná, which rises in the sierra of Imataca, runs s. and enters the Cuyuni by the n. side. [SOMBAVERA Islands, in the W. Indies. See SOMBRERO.] [SOMBELLO Point, w. of the Gulf of Darien, is five miles n. of Francisco River.] SOMBRERETE, a settlement of the province and government of Venezuela, in the Nuevo Reyno de Granada, at a small distance from the city of San Carlos to the s. SOMBRERETE, another settlement, in the Nuevo Reyno de Leon. [SOMBRERETE, the head town and residence of a diputacion de mineria, (deputation of mineralogy) in the intendancy of Zacatecas in Nueva España.] SOMBRERO, or SAMBRERO, a small island of the N. Sea, one of the Antilles or Caribes, of the figure of a hat, and thus called by the Spaniards, who discovered it. It is about a league long, and the same broad, and lies between the island of Anguila and that of Anegada one of the Virgin Islands, 33 miles n. w. of the former. It is entirely desert and abandoned. [It was on this island that the unfortunate seaman Jeffery was so inhumanly left by order of his captain, for the offence of having tapped a barrel of beer when the water of his Britannic Majesty's brig ran short and the crew were allowanced. After eight days suffering from thirst and hunger, supporting life by a few limpits that he picked up on the shore, and a little rain water he found in the crevices of the rocks, he was providentially delivered from his distressing situation by the schooner Adam, of Marble Head, John Dennis, which touched at the isle, took him off, and landed him in the county of Essex. Sombrero is in lat. 18° 37′ 40′′ n. long. 63° 28′ 30′′ w.] SOMBRERO, a settlement of the province and government of Venezuela, in the Nuevo Reyno de Granada on the shore of the river Guarico, and at the foot of the sierra of Carrizal by the n. part. SOMBRERO, another, with the dedicatory title of Nuestra Señora de la Concepcion, in the same province and kingdom as the former, and in the district of the city of S. Sebastian de los Reyes; bounded e. by the settlement of Barbacoas, from whence it is 44 leagues w. by the town of Calabazo, 40 miles to the s. w. ; n. by the settlement of Ortiz, 13 leagues. Its territory is nearly full of sabanas, in which breed an infinite number of neat cattle, mules, and horses, of which consists its principal commerce. In the parish-church is venerated on an altar by the side of the epistle-side a miraculous image of Nuestra Señora, called Del Arroyo, painted on a stone which is said to have been found some 50 years ago by two boys whilst bathing. The population of this settlement is composed of 2182 persons of Spaniards, Indians, Mulattoes, Mustees, and Negroes. SOMBRERO, a river of the province and government of Buenos Ayres in Peru, which runs w. and enters the Plata, near the city of Corrientes. SOMELSDYCK, a colony of the Dutch or part of Surinam, in the part where the rivers Commewine and Cotich unite, and where there is a good and well-furnished fortress. Here the Dutch carry on a lucrative trade, as the soil is very fertile, and abounding in sugar-canes, cotton, tobacco, and coffee. SOMERS. See BERMUDAS. [SOMERS, a township of Connecticut, on the n. line of Tolland County, which separates it from the State of Massachusetts. It contains about 1200 inhabitants, and is 15 miles n. e. of Hartford.1 SOMERSET, a county of Maryland. SOMERSET, a town of the United States. [SOMERSET, a township in Washington County, Pennsylvania.] [SOMERSET, a township of Vermont, Windham County; 10 or 12 miles n. e. of Bennington.] [SOMERSET, a post-town of Massachusetts, Bristol County, and on Taunton River. It was incorporated in 1790, and contains 1151 inhabitants. It is nine miles e. of Warren in Rhode Island, and 38 s. of Boston.] [SOMERSET, a well-cultivated county in New Jersey, on the n. side of the great road from New York to Philadelphia. The soil, especially on Rariton River and its branches, is good, and produces good crops of wheat, of which great quantities are annually exported. It is divided into six townships, which have three churches for Presbyterians, five for the Dutch reformed, one for Dutch Lutherans, and one for Anabaptists. It contains 12,296 inhabitants, including 1810 slaves.] [SOMERSET, the capital of the above county; situate on the w. side of Millstone River. It contains a court-house, gaol, and about 30 houses. It is 23 miles n. of Trenton.] [SOMERSET, a county of Maryland; bounded e. by the State of Delaware and Worcester County, and w. by the waters of Chesapeak Bay. It contains 15,610 inhabitants, including 7070 slaves. Washington Academy, in this county, was institued by law in 1779. It was founded, and is supported by voluntary subscriptions and private donations; is authorised to receive gifts and legacies, and to hold 2000 acres of land.] [SOMERSET, a new county of Pennsylvania; bounded n. by Huntingdon and s. by Alleghany County in Maryland, and is divided into five townships.] [SOMERSWORTH, a township of Stratford County, New Hampshire, 19 miles from Portsmouth, containing 943 inhabitants. It was taken from Dover, from which it lies adjoining to the n. e.; and incorporated in 1754. A dreadful storm of thunder and lightning happened here in May 1779.] SOMONDOCO, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Tunja, in the Nuevo Reyno de Granada; in the ancient province of Tensa, and in the valley of this name. It is of a mild temperature, and produces fruits of a warm climate, such as sugar-canes, plantains, maize, yucas, anniseed, and a quantity of garbanzos. In its district is the celebrated mineral mountain abounding in emeralds, which was discovered in 1537, by Pedro Fernandez Valenzuela, and Antonio Diaz Cardoso; from whence immense riches have been extracted, and by which the settlement has been well peopled, though the above labour having decreased, the population is now reduced to 200 housekeepers and 100 Indians. [Twenty-nine miles s. e. of Tunja, and 61 n. e. of Santa Fé.] SOMPALLON, SANTIAGO DE, a city of the Nuevo Reyno de Granada; founded in 1544 by Fernando Valdes, on the shore of the grand river Magdalena: 40 leagues distant from Teneriffe, 14 from Talameque, and 70 from the mouth of the river. It took its name from a settlement of Indians that was established there, called Sompallos. But this unfortunate city was demolished by the infidels as soon as it was founded, and nothing but the memory of it remains. SÕNAITA, a river of the province and government of Sonora in N. America. SONCHE, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Chachapoyas in Peru; annexed to the curacy of the settlement of Levanto. SONCOR, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Atacama, and bishopric of Charcas in Peru; annexed to the curacy of its capital. SONDA. See SAMBALLOS. SONDA, BUENA, a shoal of the coast of Brazil, in the province and captainship of Rio Janeiro, near Cape Santo Tomé. SONDONDO, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Lucanas in Peru; annexed to the curacy of the settlement of Cabana. SONDOR, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Piura in Peru; annexed to the curacy of Huancabamba. It was formerly of consideration, but has now fallen into great decay. It is situate on the confines of the kingdom of Quito, and of the province of Jaen, on the n. shore of the river Huancabamba, on a beautiful and pleasant spot, in the high road leading to Jaen and to Tomependa. Its whole population is composed of Indians. In lat. 5° s. SONDORILLO, a settlement of the same province and corregimiento as the former, on the shore of the river upon which that stands. This is small. SONETES, Island of Rattle-Snakes, is in Lake Erie of Canada, near its w. coast, and opposite the mouth of the Strait of Misisagues. SONGO, a large settlement of Indians, of the province and corregimiento of Larecaxa, and archbishopric of Charcas in Peru; situate in a mountainous and rough spot. The natives rose against the Spaniards in 1723, putting many to death; but in the following year they returned to their obedience. [SONGO River, in the district of Maine, is formed by two branches which unite in Raymondtown, about three miles from Sebago Pond. The longest branch rises in Greenland, about three miles from Amariscoggin River, where is a pond called Songo Pond, two miles long. This stream, which pursues a s. course for at least 70 miles, is so free from rapids, that timber may be brought conveniently from within a few miles of its head. The other branch comes from Waterford and Suncook, and passes through a number of small ponds; then falling into Long Pond, it proceeds through Brandy Pond, and meets the other branch. It is boatable its whole length, 25 miles. See ORANGETOWN or GREENLAND, and SEBAGO Pond.] SONLAHUE, a river of the province and government of Louisiana, which runs s. and enters the sea very abundantly, to the w. of the Movila. SONO, a settlement of the province and government of Guayaquil, and kingdom of Quito, at the entrance of the river Guayaquil, in the s. part, and on the shore opposite the capital. SONO, a river of the kingdom of Brazil, which is small, runs n. n. w. and enters the Paratinga, just before this joins the Tocantines. SONOMARE, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Caxamarquilla in Peru. SONORA, S. JUAN BAPTISTA DE, a province and government; bounded n. by nations of Indians but little known, s. by the province of Sinaloa, e. by the province of Taraumara, and w. by the coast of the sea of Californias, following the coast its whole extent for more than 100 leagues, and being about 350 leagues in circumference, as to that part which has been reconnoitred and is settled. It was discovered in 1596 by Captain Sebastian, a Vizcayan, when he went to discover and reconnoitre the Californias. It takes its name from a valley it has, of more than 60 leagues long, and which the first Spaniards called La Señora, and in which governed a cacique, or regular chief, over the infinite Indians with whom these countries were peopled. The same Indians voluntarily solicited instruction in the Catholic faith in 1638; and on their having been committed to the charge of the Jesuits, the father Bartolomé Castaño went out on the mission and baptised many. His labours were imitated by several others; and they succeeded in founding 25 settlements of the Indians, called the Pimas Baxos, Opatas, Tobas, Tequiamas, Hequis, Pimas Altos, Ceris, Tepocas, and Guaimas; all of whom, excepting the latter nation, dwell in the finest valleys. Such valleys, however, are very few, and are, properly speaking, ramifications of the mother sierra; nor can they be approached without that sierra being first passed. This province is watered by many rivers and streams, which make it most abundantly irrigated, and very fertile for crops of maize, French beans, and wheat; as also for vines yielding excellent grapes, although in no quantity, either from want of attention in the Indians or from their ignorance in the cultivation of them. The territory also yields many other fruits, as well of America as of Europe; also pulse and gardenherbs. It has many silver-mines, the working of which is not worth speaking of, owing to the great expense of labour. As a defence to the settlements of this province against the invasions of the Apaches Indians, there have been established, at different periods, five garrisons, furnished with a sufficient supply of troops, and of the names of Visani, San Felipe de Jesus Guevavi, Horcasitas, Coro de Guachi, Pitiqui, Rio Chico, and Buenavista. In 1744, the father Jacobo Sedelmair, a Jesuit, reconnoitred this province to find a pass by the VOL. IV. n. to reduce the province of Moqui, [an independent nation of Indians since 1680]; and in 1765, the inhabitants of Sonora, enraged at the hostilities they had experienced from the infidel Indians, sent to the viceroy, then the Marquis de Croix, and besought him that he would furnish them with troops and arms for their defence.— Although the royal coffers were at that time in a very low state, a sum was raised by means of the commerce of the province, and by the subscriptions of individuals, equal to 200,000 dollars, and an expedition was entrusted to the charge of Don Joseph de Galves, who was, at that time, in that kingdom. A six years' war was the event, before that, in 1771, he could reduce those barbarous tribes. In pursuing them, he traversed with his army over parts hitherto unattempted by Spaniards, and in some of the sierras through which he passed, discovered rich mines of gold and silver; and in the spot called La Cienequilla, which is a llanura of upwards of 14 leagues long, were found only two foot from the surface of the earth lumps of gold of such magnitude, as that one alone should weigh nine marks; and thus were many thousands of marks of gold collected, without even the trouble of washing the earth from off it. Indeed, such were the riches of this mine, that some intelligent persons have asserted that it might have produced a million of dollars. This affair soon caused no less than 2000 persons immediately to settle here. The form of the government of the province was changed, and a commandant-general appointed, who was Don Theodore de Croix, knight of Croix, and of the Teutonic order, and now colonel and director of the regiment of the Royal Walloon Guards ; and, in honour of this expedition, the aforesaid Don Joseph de Galvez took the title of La Sonora; though some years after, and on another occasion, he changed it for that of Castilla. [Humboldt thus describes that tract of country which he denominates the Intendancy of Sonora. This intendancy, which is still more thinly peopled than that of Durango, extends along the Gulf of California, called also the Sea of Cortez, for more than 280 leagues from the great bay of Bayona, or the Rio del Rosario, to the mouth of the Rio Colorado, formerly called Rio de Balzas, on the banks of which the missionary monks Pedro Nadral and Marcos de Niza made astronomical observations in the 16th century. The breadth of the intendancy is by no means uniform. From the tropic of Cancer to the 27th degree the breadth scarcely exceeds 50 leagues;] 3 L [but further n. towards the Rio Gila, it increases so considerably, that on the parallel of Arispe it is more than 128 leagues. The intendancy of Sonora comprehends an extent of hilly country of greater surface than the half of France; but its absolute population is not equal to the fourth of the most peopled department of that empire. The intendant who resides in the town of Arispe has the charge, as well as the intendant of San Luis Potosi, of the administration of several provinces, which have preserved the particular names which they had before the union. The intendancy of Sonora, consequently, comprehends the three provinces of Cinaloa or Sinaloa, Ostimury, and Sonora Proper. The first extends from the Rio del Rosario to the Rio del Fuerte; the second from the Rio del Fuerte to the Rio del Mayo; and the province of Sonora, called also in old maps by the name of New Navarre, includes all the northern extremity of this intendancy. The small district of Cinaloa is now looked on as part of the province of Cinaloa. The intendancy of Sonora is bounded on the w. by the sea; on the s. by the intendancy of Guadalaxara; and on the e. by a very uncultivated part of New Biscay. Its n. limits are very uncertain. The villages De la Pimeria alta are separated from the banks of the Rio Gila by a region inhabited by independent Indians, of which neither the soldiers stationed in the presidios, nor the monks posted in the neighbouring missions, have been hitherto able to make the conquest. From the port of Guitivis, at the mouth of the Rio Mayo, called also Santa Cruz de Mayo, the courier embarks for California, charged with the dispatches of the government and the public correspondence. This courier goes on horseback from Guatemala to the city of Mexico, and from thence by Guadalaxara and the Rosario to Guitivis. After crossing in a lancha the sea of Cortez, he disembarks at the village of Loreto in Old California. From this village letters are sent from mission to mission to Monterey and the port of San Francisco, situate in New California under lat. 37° 48'n. They thus traverse a route of posts of more than 920 leagues, that is to say, a distance equal to that from Lisbon to Cherson. The river of Yaqui, or Sonora, has a course of considerable length; it takes its rise in the w. declivity of the Sierra Madre, of which the crest, by no means very elevated, passes between Arispe and the Presidio de Fronteras. The small port of Guaymas is situate near its mouth. The most n. part of the intendancy of Sonora bears the name of Pimeria, on account of a numerous tribe of Pimas Indians who inhabit it. These Indians, for the most part, live under the domination of the missionary monks, and follow the catholic ritual. The Pimeria Alta is distinguished from the Pimeria Baxa; the latter contains the Presidio de Buenavista; the former extends from the military post (presidio) of Ternate to the Rio Gila. This hilly country of the Pimeria Alta is the Choco of N. America. All the ravins, and even plains, contain gold scattered up and down the alluvious land. Pepitas of pure gold, of the weight of from two to three kilogrammes, (from 5 lb. to 8 lb. troy) have been found there. But these lavaderos are by no means diligently sought after, on account of the frequent incursions of the independent Indians, and especially on account of the high price of provisions, which must be brought from a great distance in this uncultivated country. Further n. on the right bank of the Rio de la Ascension, live a very warlike race of Indians, the Seris, to whom several Mexican savans attribute an Asiatic origin, on account of the analogy between their name and that of the Seri, placed by ancient geographers at the foot of the mountains of Ottorocoras to the e. of Scythia extra Imaum. There has been hitherto no permanent communication between Sonora, New Mexico, and New California, although the court of Madrid has frequently given orders for the formation of presidios and missions between the Rio Gila and the Rio Colorado. The extravagant military expedition of Don Joseph Galvez did not serve to establish in a permanent manner the n. limits of the intendancy of Sonora. Two courageous and enterprising monks, fathers Garces and Font, were able, however, to go by land through the countries inhabited by independent Indians from the missions of La Pimeria Alta to Monterey, and even to the port of San Francisco, without crossing the peninsula of Old California. This bold enterprise, on which the college of the Propaganda at Queretaro published an interesting notice, has also furnished new information relative to the ruins of La Casa Grande, considered by the Mexican historians (Clavigero, i. p. 159) as the abode of the Aztecs on their arrival at the Rio Gila towards the end of the twelfth century. Father Francisco Garces, accompanied by Father Font, (see Chronica Serafica de el Colegio de Propaganda fede de Queretaro, por Fray Domingo Arricivitor, Mexico, 1792, tom. ii. p. 396, 426, and 402,) who was entrusted with the observations of latitude, set out from the Pre-] |