SEBASTOPOL 



SECRETARY BIRD 



ligious faith having been discovered, he was 

 condemned to death, tied to a tree and shot 

 with arrows by a troop of archers. He was 

 left as dead, but life was not extinct, and he 

 was cared for in the home of a Christian lady 

 named Irene. After his recovery he again pub- 

 licly professed his faith. Thereupon the em- 

 peror ordered him to be beaten to death with 

 clubs, in the amphitheater. He was buried in 

 the catacombs. The martyrdom of Saint Se- 

 bastian was a favorite subject of the early 

 Italian painters. 



SEBASTOPOL, sebas'topohl, a fortified 

 Russian city on an inlet of the Black Sea, 

 famous as the scene of one of the greatest sieges 

 in history (see subhead Crimean War, in article 

 CRIMEA). Sebastopol is situated in the south- 

 western part of the Crimean peninsula, on a 

 magnificent harbor that has become the most 

 important naval station in Southern Russia. 

 Since the close of the Crimean War, in 1856, the 

 city has been practically rebuilt, and now con- 

 tains handsome cathedrals, two museums, ex- 

 tensive docks and several monuments in com- 

 memoration of the war. The principal indus- 

 trial establishments are the shipbuilding yards. 

 This city was bombarded by the Turks in the 

 War of the Nations. Population in 1913, 77,000. 



SECESSION, sesesh'un, WAR OF. See WAR 

 OF SECESSION. 



SECORD, se'kawrd, LAURA, a Canadian 

 heroine, whose courage gave the British a vic- 

 tory in the Battle of Beaver Dam, during the 

 War of 1812. It was in 1813, in the midst of 

 the Niagara campaign, that Mrs. Secord per- 

 formed the feat which made her famous. The 

 British forces had been retiring before the 

 enemy until Sir John Harvey checked the 

 American advance at Stoney Creek. As a re- 

 sult of Harvey's victory the British stationed 

 a force of about fifty regulars and 500 Mohawk 

 Indians at Beaver Dam, about half way be- 

 tween Stoney Creek and the Niagara River. 



The Americans planned to surprise and cap- 

 ture this force at Beaver Dam. Secord, a 

 wounded militia officer who was then living at 

 Queenston, overheard several Americans dis- 

 cussing these plans. He himself was unable to 

 warn the force at the Dam, but his wife, Laura 

 Secord, undertook the errand. Driving a cow 

 before her until she reached the woods, in order 

 to avoid suspicion, she then set forth on a 

 tramp of twenty miles, through dense forests, 

 in constant danger from lurking Indians or from 

 Americans. It was an all-day tramp, and Mrs. 

 Secord was quite exhausted when she finally 



gave the warning to the British commander. 

 When the Americans then advanced to the at- 

 tack, the British and their Indian allies were 

 ready, and started 

 such a fierce fire 

 that the Ameri- 

 c a n commander 

 thought himself 

 surrounded by a 

 large force and 

 surrendered. 



This victory did 

 not involve large 

 forces, but it gave 

 the Canadians 

 much encourage- 

 ment. Mrs. Se- 

 cord became 

 famous in a day. 

 After the close of 



A MEMORIAL 

 "To perpetuate the name 

 and fame of Laura Secord." 



the war she lived 



quietly for many 



years in a little 



cottage at Niagara which is still pointed out to 



visitors. 



SECRETARY, sek'retari, BIRD, a falcon- 

 like bird of large size, about four feet long, 

 found in South Africa. It takes its name from 

 the tufts of feathers that project from the sides 

 and back of its head, giving it a resemblance 



SECRETARY 

 BIRD 



to a clerk, or secretary, with quill pens behind 

 his ears. It has very long legs and tail, and 

 ordinarily it prefers to run rather than to fly. 



