326 



SOUTH AMERICA SOUTHAMPTON. 



and the penguin, tire also found in this part of the 

 continent. In tne great grassy plains between the 

 arms of the Plata and the Madeira, roam numberless 

 herds of wild horses and cattle, sprung from those 

 brought to the country by Europeans. In the Bra- 

 /ilkin province of Rio Grande and on the Plata, the 

 latter are so numerous that they are killed merely 

 for their hides. In the high lands are found some 

 of the most venomous and dangerous of the serpent 

 tribe; for example, the rattlesnake, the enormous 

 boa, &c. Centipedes, scorpions, frogs (for instance, 

 the rana pipa of the Orinoco) and lizards are also 

 found. In Guyana, the air is filled with butterflies 

 of the most various colours. The lantern flies 

 light, the traveller by night with their shining 

 heads. The mineral kingdom abounds in the most 

 precious productions. In Brazil, diamonds are found 

 of the largest size and in the greatest number; but 

 they are inferior to the Oriental diamonds. (See 

 Diamond, and Diamond District.} In some parts 

 of Brazil, there are gold mines; but the greatest 

 quantity of gold is obtained from the sands of 

 rivers. Other minerals, as iron, tin, lead, quick- 

 silver, salt, &c., although abundant, are little 

 sought after. Gold mines are found in Grenada 

 and Peru ; platina is found in the mines of Choco 

 and Barbacoas; silver is plentiful only in the 

 colder Peruvian provinces, and the silver mines of ; 

 Potosi are less productive than formerly. (See j 

 Mine.) In Chile, there is scarcely a mountain 

 without gold, or a river without golden sands. 

 Copper and tin are exported. South America, for- 

 merly almost entirely in the possession of two effete 

 monarchies of Europe, is now, with the exception of 

 Guyana, entirely independent of European rulers. 

 It is divided into the empire of Brazil, the repub- 

 lics of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Boli- 

 via, Chile, Buenos Ayres, or the United Provinces 

 of La Plata, and the Banda Oriental, or Uraguay ; 

 Guyana, Paraguay, or the dominions of Francia, and 

 Patagonia, with the Terra del Fuego, in possession 

 of the native tribes. The whole population is es- 

 timated at between thirteen and fourteen millions. 

 The history and geographical details of each of 

 these divisions will be found under the separate 

 heads. (See, also, America, Columbus, Americus, 

 Cabot, Pizarro, &c., for the earlier history ; Boli- 

 var, Francia, Pedro I., San Martin, Sucre, Santan- 

 der, Paez, &c., for more recent events ; for the 

 commerce of South America, see the article Commerce 

 of the World, and the articles on the separate coun- 

 tries.) The population of South America is com- 

 posed of whites, Indians, and Negroes, and of vari- 

 ous mixed races descended from two or all three of 

 the pure varieties. The whites are mostly Creoles, 

 or native born descendants of Europeans, the num- 

 ber of the latter being very small. The native 

 tribes are, in some parts of the country, still en- 

 tirely independent, and, in others, have long been 

 subdued, and converted to the Catholic religion. 

 (.See Indians, American.) The Negroes are Afri- 

 cans, or of African descent, and are not very nume- 

 rous. Slavery has been abolished in the South 

 American republics. Mestizoes form a large class 

 of the population. Peace and order, which can only 

 be secured by the stability of the governments and 

 the intelligence of the people, are yet wanting to 

 render the possession of liberty a blessing to those 

 new states, and to heal the wounds which the bad 

 policy of the parent states, civil wars, and domestic 

 factions, have inflicted on that part of the American 

 continent. 



SOUTH AMERICAN REVOLUTIONS. See 

 the articles on the different countries of South 

 America. 



SOUTH CAROLINA. See Carolina. 



SOUTH POLAR ISLANDS. Cook sailed 

 south as far as lat. 60 S. (See Sandwich Land.) 

 In 1819, the Russian captain Bellinghausen advan- 

 ced to 70, and, several years later, captain Wed- 

 del reached the parallel of 74 15' : and the whale 

 and seal fishery is carried on in the Antarctic ocean 

 from the United States. Still the south pole has 

 not been approached so nearly as the north pole, 

 nor have these waters been carefully examined. It 

 was for a long time supposed that there was a great 

 southern continent; but later voyages render it 

 probable, that the Southern ocean does not contain 

 any great masses of land. The islands which have 

 been visited here are, New or South Georgia (Ion. 

 37 W. ; lat. 54 30' S.), inaccessible during a great 

 part of the year, on account of the ice ; it was dis- 

 covered by La Roche, in 1675 : Sandwich Land, vi- 

 sited by captain Bellinghausen, in 1819 ; he found it 

 to consist of small islands surrounded with icebergs, 

 and enveloped in fog : New South Shetland, disco- 

 vered in 1819 by captain Williams (lat, 61 63 

 S. ; Ion. 71 81 W.); the captain explored the 

 coast for 200 miles, went on shore, and found the 

 island covered with snow, and uninhabited; the coast 

 abounded with whales and seals: Alexander and 

 Peter's island (lat 69 S.), discovered by Bel- 

 linghausen, in 1821 ; it is the most southern land 

 yet discovered ; the Austral or Southern Orkneys, 

 discovered by captain Weddel, in 1822 (lat. 60 

 45' S. ; Ion. 50 W.), and described as a mass o 

 naked rocks. See Weddel's Voyage towards the 

 South Pole (1825). 



SOUTH SEA. See Pacific Ocean. 



SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. See Australia. 



SOUTH WALES, NEW. See New South Wales. 



SOUTHAMPTON; an ancient borough and 

 sea-port of England, the capital of Southampton- 

 shire, or Hampshire (q. v.), is situated seventy-four 

 miles from London, on a pleasant peninsula, which 

 gently slopes down to the north-eastern shore of 

 the Southampton Water, which at the entrance is 

 about two miles broad, and extends to the north- 

 west for seven miles. The town consists of one 

 principal street, which, in elegance and spaciousness, 

 resembles the High Street of Oxford ; and many 

 smaller ones branch from it. It was anciently en- 

 closed by a wall, with round towers at intervals, 

 remains of which are at present visible. When 

 thus defended, it appears to have been about a mile 

 and a quarter, but it is now full three miles in cir- 

 cumference. Many new streets and handsome 

 buildings have recently been erected, the chief of 

 which are the guildhall, sessions-hall, audit-house, 

 prisons, &c. The town is well paved and lighted 

 with gas, and the inhabitants are supplied with 

 water from several springs in the vicinity, conveyed 

 to the houses by means of pipes. The chief sources 

 of amusement for the inhabitants and visitors are a 

 theatre, assembly rooms, and races held annually in 

 the autumn on Southampton Common. An annual 

 regatta also takes place for subscription prizes. 

 There are a literary society, a botanical society, 

 and several subscription libraries. Here is a mili- 

 tary asylum for the orphan children of soldiers, 

 being a branch of the Chelsea institution. It was 

 first established in 1816, under the auspices of the 

 Duke of York. The advantages of situation, and 

 the attractions of this part of a fine and highly pic- 



' 



