S O E 



S O F 



SODUCENA, a country of Afia, in the Greater Ar- 

 menia, S. of Colthene, according to Ptolemy. 



SODUS, Great, in Geography, a large townfliip of 

 America, in the N.E. corner of Ontario county, in the 

 ftate of New York, with a poft-office called " Troupville," 

 bounded N. by lake Ontario, E. by Seneca county, S. by 

 Lyons, and W. by Williamfon and Palmyra ; about i8 miles 

 fquare, and including a great part of Sodus bay. The fur- 

 face is undulated with hillocks and vallies, in a N. and S. 

 direftion, and the foil is good and well watered. The 

 timber is luxuriant, and confifts of the fugar-maple, beech, 

 oak, hickory, elm, afh, linden or bafs-wood, cherry, tulip- 

 tree or poplar, butternut, &c. Crops of wheat, rye, maize, 

 hemp, flax, oats, and the common grafles, fucceed well, as 

 do alfo the conuiion fruits of the country. In the N.E- 

 corner of Sodus is Great Sodus bay, reckoned the bed har- 

 bour on the S. Ihore of the Ontario ; and on an elevated 

 point of land, projefting into the bay, the poll-village of 

 Troupville is very eligibly and handfomely fituated, 2I2 

 miles from Albany, and about 30 N.E. of Canandaigna. 

 Sodus has two grill-mills, five faw-mills, one fulling-mill, and 

 a confiderable number of the common mechanical branches 

 of manufafture for the convenience of the inhabitants. Here 

 are two meeting-houfes, one for Prefbyterians and one for 

 Baptifts, and feveral fchool-houfes. Iron ore has been found 

 here. The firfl. fcttlements in this town commenced in 1790, 

 by two German families from the Mohawk river ; and 

 though the progrefs of population was flow, it amounted, 

 by the cenfus of 1810, to 1957 perfons, and 343 families. 

 N. lat. 43° 10'. W. long. 77^ 5'. 



Sodus, Little, a town of New York, in Albany, on the 

 S. fide of lake Ontario ; 12 miles E. of Great Sodus. 



SOEBORG, a town of Denmark, in the ifle of Zealand, 

 feated on an ifland in a frefli-water lake. Near this town is 

 a triangular pillar, with Latin, Danifli, and German infcrip- 

 tions, erefted in the year 1738, in honour of Frederick IV. 

 and Chriftian VI., for having flopped the progrefs of flying 

 fand, which overwhelmed one traft of land and village after 

 another, and threatened the bell part of Zealand with defo- 

 lation. In the reigns of thefe two monarchs this evil was 

 reflrained under the infpeftion of the prefeft Frederick Von 

 Gram, by the addrefs of John Ubr. Rohl. This fandy 

 wafte is now covered with verdure, and appears like a fine 

 meadow ; 9 miles W.N.W. of Helfingoer. 



SOELBO, a town of Norway, in the province of Dron- 

 theim ; 20 miles E. of Drontheim. — Alfo, a lake, 18 miles 

 S.E. of Drontheim. 



SOELENGAT, a town of Norway, in the province 

 of Bergen ; 112 miles N. of Bergen. 



SOEST, or ZoEST, Gerard, in Biography, was a native 

 of Weftphalia, born about the year 1637. He acquired the 

 art of painting in his own country, but praftifed principally in 

 this, whither lie came rather before the period of the rellora- 

 tion. His portraits have a confiderable portion of truth 

 and animation, wrought in a finifhed manner, and with great 

 warmth and glow of colour ; fo much fo as to clafs him 

 among the better rivals of fir Peter Lely. He was moft 

 fuccefsful in his portraits of men, among whom he had a 

 very confiderable (hare of employment ; but the more grace- 

 ful and engaging pencil of fir Peter fecured the charms of 

 the fofter fex to himfelf. Soeft died at the early age of 44. 



SoEST, in Geography, a town of Germany, in the county 

 of Mark, formerly one of the Hanfe towns, enjoying im- 

 perial privileges and the right of coining money. Its ex- 

 tent is large, and contains feveral churches. \l was the 

 place in which feveral of the fucceffors of Charlemagne 

 refided; 22 miles E. of Dortmund. N. lat. 51° 33'. E. 



long. 8" 1 1'. — Alfo, a river of Eaft Friefland, formed by 

 the union of the Soke and Vehne, which, after a llraight 

 courfe, runs into the Leer near Stikhufen. 



SOETA, in /indent Geography, a town of Scythia, 

 beyond the Imaus. Ptolemy. 



SOETERWEER, in Geography, a town of Holland; 

 S miles E. of the Hague. 



SOFA, in the Eall, a kind of alcove raifed half a foot 

 above the floor of a chamber, or other apartment ; and 

 ufed as the place of ftate, where vifitors of dillindlion are 

 received. 



Among the Turks, the whole floor of their ftate-room i« 

 covered with a kind of tapeftry, and on the window-fide is 

 raifed a fofa or fopha, laid with a kind of matrafs, covered 

 with a carpet much richer than the other. On this carpet 

 the Turks are feated, both men and women, like the tay- 

 lors in England, crofs-legged, leaning againd the wall, which 

 is bolltered with velvet, fattin, or other ftuff, fuitable to the 

 feafon. Here they eat their meals ; only laying a flcin over 

 the carpet, to ferve as a table-cloth, and a round wooden 

 board over all, covered with plates, &c. 



The ambafladors of France flood out a long while, and 

 refufed to vifit the grand vizir, unlefs he would receive thetji 

 on the fofa : at length he granted them the fofa. 



SOFALA, ZoFALA, or Quiteve, in Geography, a king- 

 dom of Africa, bounded on the N. and W. by the ftates of 

 Mocaranga, on the E. by the Mozambique channel, and on 

 the S. by Sabia, about 350 miles from E. to W. and 120 

 from N. to S., extending about 50 leagues along the coalt 

 and about 80 into the interior of the country. This coun- 

 try is faid to be fubjedl to a Mahometan prince, tributary 

 to the king of Portugal. Its capital, of the fame name, was, 

 at the arrival of the Portuguefe, an inconfiderable town, 

 without walls, and fenced only with a thorny hedge ; but it 

 has fince been fortified, and much improved, as well as the 

 fort, which they conftrufled for its defence. It was then 

 called " Cuama ;" but geographers and pilots retain its 

 ancient name of Sofala. It is conveniently fituated on a 

 fmall ifland, at the mouth of the river Cuama. On the 

 coall are alfo two other towns, w'z. Haulema and Dardema, 

 with feveral obfcure villages. The natives of Sofala are 

 generally black, with fhort curled hair ; in fliape taller and 

 more genteel than the negroes of Mozambique, Quiloa, &c. 

 Their common drefs is a piece of filk or cotton, wrapped 

 round the middle, covering them to the knees ; the reft of 

 the body being naked, except the head, as perfons of the 

 fupcrior clafs wear a kind of turban. All perfons adorn 

 their necks, arms, wrifts, legs, and ancles, with rings of 

 gold, filver, amber, or coloured beads, according to their 

 condition. The fluffs and trinkets ufed in their drefs are 

 chiefly imported from Bombay by the Portuguefe ; and 

 thofe of the better fort affecl to wear fwords with handles 

 of ivory. The inhabitants of the country and town of 

 Sofala are a mixture of Mahometan Arabs, idolatrous Caf- 

 fres, and Portuguefe Chriftians. Thofe who inhabit the 

 coaft fpeak the Arabic tongue, which is their native lan- 

 guage ; as they are not the original natives but the de- 

 fcendants of the Arabs, who, leaving their native country, 

 fettled more or lefs on this coaft. They cultivate rice and 

 millet for bread, and eat the flefli of elephants, large and 

 fmall cattle, and alfo fiih, with great variety of which the 

 fea and rivers abound. They likewife make beer both of 

 rice and millet, and fome other liquors from honey, palm, 

 and other fruits. Honey is abundant, and bees-wax ferves 

 them to exchange for painted cotton or filk, and other 

 cloths. Their principal commerce i^ carried on with the 

 inhabitants of Mozambique, Quiloa, Mombaja, and Me- 



^ linda, 



