Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/717

SCINDE tary officer. The largest of the group is St. Mary's, with the capital, Hughtown. On the W. side of the island is Star Castle, and a garrison with numerous batteries. The Scilly islands are generally supposed to be the Cassi- terides or Tin islands of the ancients; but as that metal is not now found upon them, it is thought that the western extremity of Corn- wall was also included under that name. The group was sometimes used by the Romans as a place of banishment, and was called by them Selling or Silurum insulce. They were an- nexed to the English crown in the 10th century. SCDiDE. See SINDE. S( INDIA, or Siudla. See GWALIOR. SCIO, Skio, Chio, or khio (anc. Chios ; Turk. Sakis-Adassi), an island of Asiatic Turkey, in the Grecian archipelago, off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the strait of Scio, 4 in. wide in its narrowest part; area, about 400 sq. m. ; pop. about 50,000, most of whom are Turks. The surface is rocky and uneven, being traversed by limestone ridges, and the scenery is picturesque. There are beautiful valleys and several small streams, but much of the irrigation is by means of water obtained from wells ; and the country presents a scene of perpetual verdure, though only a small part of the land is arable. The chief productions are silk, cotton, wool, fruit, oil, and gum mastic, the last of which is the staple of the island. The wine of Chios was highly esteemed in antiquity, and still enjoys some repute. Chios is said to have been anciently peopled by Tyrrhenian Pelasgians and Leleges, after whom it was occupied by an Ionian col- ony; and the chief city, also called Chios, claimed the honor of being the birthplace of Homer. It was invaded by the Persians and devastated in 494 B. C. After the battle of Mycale (479) it became a member of the Athe- nian league; in 358 it recovered its indepen- dence ; in 201 it was taken by Philip V. of Macedon, and it afterward became subject to Borne. In the early part of the 14th century the Turks captured the capital and massacred the inhabitants. From 1346 to 1566 it was in the hands of the Genoese. It then again fell under the dominion of the Turks, and, except- ing a short interval during which it was sub- ject to Venice, it has since been in their pos- session. During the Greek revolution its in- habitants rose against the Turks (1822), but were soon subdued. "Within two months 23,- 000 Sciotes, without distinction of age or sex, were put to the sword, 47,000 were sold into slavery, and 5,000 sought safety in other parts of Greece. By the end of August the former Christian population of nearly 104,000 was re- duced to 2,000. In June, two months after the massacre, Canaris attacked the Turkish fleet in the harbor of Scio with fire ships, and destroyed the vessel of the capudan pasha, who perished in the flames. In 1827 a Greek force under Col. Fabvier, a French philhel- Iwiist, landed in Scio and attacked the Turk- SCIPIO 693 ish garrison, but were compelled to withdraw. Scio, or Kastro, the capital, is near the mid- dle of the E. coast; pop. 14,500. It has a harbor, is defended by a castle, and manufac- tures velvet, silk, and cotton. SCIOTO, a river of Ohio, rising in Hardin co., and flowing first nearly E. and then S. by E. to Columbus, thence S. to the Ohio, which it joins at Portsmouth. It is about 200 m. long, and navigable 130 m. Its principal tributaries are the Olentangy or Whetstone river, which unites with it at Columbus, and Darby, Walnut, and Paint creeks. The Ohio and Erie canal follows its lower course for 90 m. The Scio- to valley is famed for its fertility and wealth. The Little Scioto is a small stream which flows into the Ohio 8 m. above Portsmouth. SCIOTO, a S. county of Ohio, bounded S. by the Ohio river and watered by the Scioto and Little Scioto rivers and branches ; area, about 500 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 29,302. The surface is uneven and the soil fertile. In the E. part of the county iron is plentiful, and large fur- naces and founderies are in operation. The Portsmouth branch of the Marietta and Cin- cinnati railroad traverses it. The chief pro- ductions in 1873 were 73,365 bushels of wheat, 818,603 of Indian corn, 116,569 of oats, 60,701 of potatoes, 7,179 tons of hay, 2,619 Ibs. of to- bacco, 204,384 of butter, and 11,232 of wool; 91,266 bushels of coal and 27,576 tons of iron ore were mined, and 14,876 tons of pig iron manufactured. In 1874 there were 5,579 horses, 12,886 cattle, 6,979 sheep, and 13,976 swine. In 1870 there were 8 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 5 of charcoal, 10 of cooperage, 7 of furniture, 2 of forged and rolled iron, 1 of nails and spikes, 6 of pig and 3 of cast iron, 4 of tanned and 2 of curried leather, 1 of engines and boilers, 3 of marble and stone work, 6 saw mills, 2 planing mills, 2 flour mills, and 2 woollen mills. Capital, Portsmouth. SCIPIO, a Roman patrician family belonging to the Cornelia gens. The tomb of the Scipios, discovered in 1616 and excavated in 1780, is near the modern gate of St. Sebastian. The most distinguished members of the family are : I. Publics Cornelias Sfiplo Afrieanas Mnjor, a Ro- man general, born about 234 B. C., died about 183. He was the son of P. Cornelius Scipio, who with his brother Cneius Cornelius Scipio was defeated and killed in Spain by the Car- thaginian generals Mago and Hasdrubal (211). He is first mentioned at the battle of the Ti- cinus in 218. In 216 he was at the battle of Cannse, and Livy and other writers ascribe to his influence the prevention of the scheme en- tertained by the Roman nobles after that dis- astrous day of fleeing from Italy ; but better authorities attribute this to Varro, the defeated general. In 212 he was made curule sedile. After the defeat and death of his father in Spain, being then 24 years of age, he offered to take command of the Roman armies in that province as proconsul. He arrived in Spain in the summer of 210, and found the three Car-