SOLOMON ISLANDS

[s. 711] : A group in the South Pacific, consisting of a double chain extending from northwest to southeast, between 5° and 10° 54’ south latitude, and 154° 40’ and 162° 30’ east longitude. They were first discovered in 1567, but as yet have not been explored to any great extent. Since 1886 the northerly part of the group, including the islands of Bougainville, Choiseul, Isabel or Mahaga, together with various smaller islands, with a total area of 57,000 square miles, has been seized by Germany. The population of this part is estimated at 80,000. The principal other islands are San Cristoval, Guaddalcanal, Malanta, and Bouro. The climate is damp and unhealthful on the coast, tho the high lands are probably more salubrious. The natives belong to the Me lanes i an race, and the language is of Me lanes i an type, but with dialects differing in different islands. Of their religion, habits, and customs little is known, tho they resemble the other Me lanes i ans in most things, and are known to be cannibals to some extent. Mi ion work is carried on in these islands by the Me lanes i an Mi ion. SOMA LIL AND (French) An African po e ion: France, including the colony of Obock, lying between Aby in i a and the Strait of Bab-el Mandeb, bounded north by Eritrea and south by Italian Soma lil and, touching also British Soma lil and on the east. It has 46,000 square miles of area and 200,000 inhabitants (estimated). The natives are Gallas or Danakil. The capital and chief port is Jibutil, where two French mi ion cf one for boys and one for girls, were opened in 1902, under government grants. schools, SOMA LIL AND (Italian): A protectorate of Italy in Africa, lying on the Indian Ocean and bounded landward by Aby in i a, French Soma lil and and British Soma lil and on the north, by British East Africa on the.southwest, and by the Egyptian Sudan on the west. The area is about 100,000 square miles, the population about 400,000, chiefly Somalis. The country away from the coast is mountainous, and largely unexplored by Europe ans. As a mi ion field it is thus far unoccupied. The Mohammedan faith and the pagan religions still wholly prevail. SOMA LIL AND S. 693 Protectorate: A British prop. G. Somerville tec to rate in Africa. It adjoins Aby in i a on the southwest of that state, having Italian Soma lil and on the south; comprises 68,000 square miles, with a population of about 500,000, all Mohammedans, and largely nomadic. This territory has been the scene of operations of “The Mad” Mullah,” as he is called. Military operations by Great Britain for tlie pacification of the interior of the country have been going on for some years. Some account of the “Mad Mullah” is of interest in connection with the problem of introducing and maintaining mi ions in this region. The name of the man is Mohammed Abdullah. He belongs to a section of the Ogaden tribe in the southwest of Soma lil and, and married a girl of the Ali Gheri, one of the Dolbahanta tribes in the southeast of the British protectorate. By his marriage he extended his influence from Aby in i a on the west to the The borders of Italian Soma lil and on the east. Ali Gheri were his first followers. These were presently joined by two sections of the Ogadens. He set himself forward as a champion of Mohammedan puritanism, paying great attention to the rites of religion, making several pilgrimages to Mecca, and, as is the custom with religious revivalists in Islam, advocating the free use of the sword Every visit to Mecca added to purify the earth. to his reputation and increased his influence. In 1899 the Mullah openly incited the tribes to rebellion against the British authority, and soon afterward he began to resort to force to gain supporters. His methods were primitive but effective, and he continued to gain adherents. It was in August, 1899, that the first serious alarm over the activity of the Mullah was felt. He appeared at Burao with 5,000 men, marched to within fifty miles of Berbera, where, tho the two British gunboats kept him from the city, he was clever enough to use them, for he told his followers their searchlights were the eyes of God looking on them with favor. Since then it has been frequently reported that he has met with “crushing defeat,” but he has always turned up again as strong and menacing as ever. Besides the bravery and fanaticism of the Mullah’s followers, the British officers have also had to contend against the cowardice of the native Somali levies. It has been found nece ary to bring Indian troops to carry on the war against this redoubt Meanwhile the devastation of the able fanatic. country by the Mad Mullah and his followers continues, and there is as yet no po ibility of mi ionary enterprise in that region. 711