SENEGAL 



5302 



SENSES 



mer resort; Watkins Glen is one of the promi- 

 nent attractions. The lake is thirty-seven miles 

 long and one to four miles wide; its greatest 

 depth is about 600 feet, and it lies about 450 

 feet above sea level. It is fed by the waters of 

 Keuka Lake, discharges through the Oswego 

 and Seneca rivers into Lake Ontario, and is 

 connected also by canals with the Erie Canal 

 and Chemung River. It receives its name from 

 the Seneca Indians, a powerful tribe who in- 

 habited the district in early days. 



SENEGAL, sen'egawl, an important French 

 colony in West Africa, between the rivers Sene- 

 gal and Gambia. The inhabitants are chiefly 

 Berbers and various Negroid races, numbering 

 altogether about 1,800,000 (see RACES OF MEN). 

 Polygamy is extensively practiced, though the 

 French authorities strive to suppress it. The 

 climate is hot and unhealthful for Europeans. 

 There are two seasons, wet and dry; the dry 

 season is fairly healthful, but during the wet 

 months yellow fever, malaria and other diseases 

 are prevalent. 



The principal products are cocoanuts, rubber, 

 raisins, millet and maize, mostly for local needs, 

 as there are no manufactures, and the com- 

 merce is unimportant. Lions, leopards, chee- 

 tahs, wild boars and hyenas are numerous, and 

 crocodiles swarm in the upper portions of the 

 Senegal River. Monkeys of many varieties 

 abound in the forests, and antelopes and ga- 

 zelles are found in herds on the plains. Gold, 

 iron and quicksilver are exported, and the na- 

 tives have large flocks of sheep and goats be- 

 sides many camels and horses. The capital is 

 Saint-Louis, which is connected by railway with 

 Dakar and Rufisque, the two towns next in 

 importance. The principal tree of the terri- 

 tory is the baobab, which has sometimes a cir- 

 cumference of over one hundred feet at twenty 

 feet from the ground. 



SENEGAL, a West African river which gives 

 its name to the French province of Senegal, on 

 the southwestern border of the Sahara Desert. 

 The Senegal rises near the sources of the Niger, 

 in the mountains of Futa Jallon, and after a 

 course of nearly 1,000 miles discharges its 

 waters into the Atlantic Ocean 110 miles north 

 of Cape Verde. The upper course of the river 

 is marked by many rapids, but near the coast 

 the stream becomes deep and sluggish, coasting 

 vessels navigating to a distance of about 450 

 miles inland. 



1 The river has two notable and picturesque 

 falls, named Guine and Felu, each about fifty 

 feet in height. The basin drained by the Sene- 



gal is hot and unhealthful, and the soil is for 

 the most part unfertile, except where it is cov- 

 ered with forest and rank jungle growth. The 

 river does not discharge its waters direct into 

 the sea, but flows into a lagoon which is sepa- 

 rated from the sea by a shifting bar of sand 

 which is extremely dangerous to shipping. 



SENEGAMBIA, sen e gam' bi a, a name for- 

 merly applied to the territory between the riv- 

 ers Senegal and Gambia, on the west coast of 

 Africa. It is now known as Senegal. 



SEN'NA. See CASSIA. 



SENNACHERIB, sehnak'erib ( ? -681 B.C.), 

 a king of Assyria, the son of Sargon II, whom 

 he succeeded in 705 B. c. His conquests in- 

 cluded parts of Medea, Sidon, Ashkelon, Ekron, 

 Tyre and Aradus, and he was successful in sup- 

 pressing frequently threatening revolt in Baby- 

 lonia. He also carried on war against Hezekiah, 

 king of Judah, and Hezekiah was forced to pay 

 him a heavy tribute, as related in II Kings 

 XVIII, 13, though in XIX, 35 it is recorded 

 that the strength of Sennacherib was cut down 

 by the angel of the Lord, and that, as a result, 

 he withdrew his forces, never to trouble Heze- 

 kiah again. He destroyed Babylon completely, 

 but was soon afterwards murdered by two of 

 his sons. The palace of Koyunjik was one of 

 the most magnificent structures erected by him. 



The destruction of so large a part of his 

 army and the liberation of the Hebrews is de- 

 scribed in Byron's The Destruction of Senna- 

 cherib, ending with this stanza : 



And the widows of^Ashur are loud in their wail, 

 And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal, 

 And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the 



sword, 

 Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord ! 



Consult Johns' History of Assyria; Smith's 

 History of Sennacherib. 



SEN'SES, SPECIAL. We see, we hear, we 

 taste, we smell, we feel, we experience sensa- 

 tions of heat and cold, hunger and thirst, fa- 

 tigue and pain. We are made aware of these 

 sensations through the sensory nerves, which, 

 when properly acted upon, convey impulses to 

 the brain, where they are interpreted. Those 

 senses which bring us knowledge of the world 

 about us sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch 

 are called special senses, and those that make 

 us aware of our bodily needs are commonly 

 known as general sensations. Chief among 

 these are the sensations of temperature, hunger, 

 thirst, fatigue and pain, the last a warning that 

 some organ is failing properly to perform its 

 functions. 



