SION [Ger. Sitten], the capital of the Swiss canton of the Valais. It is on the railway between St Maurice ( 25½ m. distant) and Brieg (33 m. distant). Sion is one of the most picturesque little cities in Switzerland, being built around two prominent hillocks that rise from the level valley of the Rhone. The north hillock is crowned by the castle of Tourbillon (built 1294, burnt 1788), which was long the residence of the bishops. The south hillock bears the castle of Valeria, long the residence of the canons (it now contains an historical museum) with the interesting 13th century church of St Catherine. In the town below is the 15th century cathedral, and the Majoria castle (burnt in 1788) the former residence of the " major " (or mayor of the city). There are various other curious objects in the city, which is built on the banks of the Sionne torrent, and is at a height of 1680 ft. above the sea-level. In 1900 Sion contained 6048 inhabitants (mainly Romanists), of whom 1481 were German-speaking and 4446 French-speaking.
Sion [Sedum] dates from Roman times, and the bishop's see was removed thither from Martigny [Ododurum] about 580. In 999 the bishop received from Rudolf III., king of Burgundy, the dignity of count of the Valais, and henceforward was the temporal as well as the spiritual lord of the Valais, retaining this position, at least in part, till 1798.
See also J. Gremaud, Introduction to vol. v. (Lausanne, 1884) of his Documents relatifs à l’histoire du Vallais; R. R. Hoppeler, Beiträge zur Geschichte des Wallis im Mittelalter (Zurich, 1897); B. Rameau, Le Valais historique (Sion, 1886). (W. A. B. C.)
SION COLLEGE, in London, an institution founded as
a college, gild of parochial clergy and almshouse, under the will (1623)
of Dr Thomas White, vicar of St Dunstan's in the West. The
clergy who benefit by the foundation are the incumbents of the
City parishes, of parishes which adjoined the city bounds when
the college was founded, and of parishes subsequently formed out
of these. The original buildings in London Wall were on a site
previously occupied by Elsing Spital, a hospital for the blind
founded in 1329, and earlier still by a nunnery. They comprised
the almshouses, a hall and chapel, and the library added to the
foundation by Dr John Simson, rector of St Olave's, Hart Street,
one of White's executors. There were also, at least originally,
apartments for students. In 1884 the almshouses were abolished,
and the almsfolk became out-pensioners. It was subsequently
found possible to extend their numbers from the original number
of 10 men and 10 women to 40 in all, and to increase the pension.
In 1886 Sion College was moved to new buildings on the Victoria
Embankment, and is now principally known for its theological
library which serves as a lending library to members of the college,
and is accessible to the public. A governing body appointed by
the members to administer the foundation consists of a president,
two deans and four assistants.
SIOUX, a tribe of North American Indians. The name is an abbreviation of the French corruption Nadaouesioux of the Algonquian name Nadowesiwug, " little snakes. " They call themselves Dakotas (" allies "). They were formerly divided into seven clans: hence the name they sometimes used, Otceti
Cakowin, " the seven council-fires. " There was a further distribution into eastern and western Sioux. The former were generally sedentary and agricultural, the latter nomad horsemen. The Sioux were ever conspicuous, even among Indians, for their physical strength and indomitable courage. Their original home
was east of the Alleghanies, but in 1632 the French found them chiefly in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Thereafter driven westward by the Ojibwa and the French, they crossed the Missouri into the plains. The Sioux fought on the English side in the War of
Independence and in that of 1812. In 1815 a treaty was made with the American government by which the right of the tribe
to an immense tract, including much of Minnesota, most of the
Dakotas, and a large part of Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and
Wyoming, was admitted. In 1835 missions were started among
the eastern Sioux by the American Board, and schools were
opened. In 1837 the tribe sold all their land east of the Missis-
sippi. In 1851 the bulk of their Minnesota territory was sold,
but a hitch in the carrying out of the agreement led to a rising
and massacre of whites in 1857 at Spirit Lake on the Minnesota-
Iowa border. There was peace again till 1862, when once again
the tribe revolted and attacked the white settlers. A terrible
massacre ensued, and the punitive measures adopted were
severe. Thirty-nine of the Indian leaders were hanged from
the same scaffold, and all the Minnesota Sioux were moved to
reservations in Dakota. The western Sioux, angry at the treat-
ment of their kinsmen, then became thoroughly hostile and
carried on intermittent war with the whites till 1877. In 1875
and 1876 under their chief, Sitting Bull, they successfully re-
sisted the government troops, and finally Sitting Bull and most
of his followers escaped into Canada. Sitting Bull returned in
1881. In 1889 a treaty was made reducing Sioux territory.
Difficulties in the working of this, and religious excitement in
connexion with the Ghost Dance craze, led to an outbreak in
1890. Sitting Bull and three hundred Indians were killed at
Wounded Knee Creek, and the Sioux were finally subdued.
They are now on different reservations and number some twenty-
four thousand. See Indians, North American.
SIOUX CITY, a city and the county-seat of Woodbury county, Iowa, U.S.A., at the confluence of the Big Sioux with the Missouri river, about 156 m. N.W. of Des Moines. Pop. (1890) 37,806; (1900) 33,111, of whom 6592 were foreign-born (including 1460
Swedish, 1176 German and 1054 Norwegian); (1910, census) 47,828. It is served by the Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul, the Chicago & North-Western, the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Illinois Central,
and the Great Northern railways. The bluffs approach the Missouri more closely at this point than elsewhere in the state, so that little more than manufacturing establishments and business blocks are built on the bottom lands, and the residences are spread over the slope and summit of the bluffs. The city has a public library (housed in the city hall) and eight parks (including Riverside on the Big Sioux), with a total area of more than 500 acres. Among the principal buildings are the city hall, the post office, the Young Men's Christian Association building, and the High School. There are several boat clubs and a
country and golf club. Two miles S. of the city is a monument to Sergeant Charles Floyd of the Lewis and Clark expedition, who died here in r8o4; and 1 m. W. of the city is the grave of War Eagle, a Sioux chief. Among the educational institutions are Morningside College (Methodist Episcopal, 1894), 3 m. from
the business centre of the city, which had in 1908-1909 34 instructors and 672 students; the Sioux City College of Medicine
(1889), and St Mary's School. The principal hospitals are the
Samaritan, the St Joseph's Mercy, and the German Lutheran.
Sioux City is the see of a Roman Catholic bishop. The Chicago,
Milwaukee & Saint Paul, the Great Northern, and the Chicago,
Saint Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha have shops here; meat packing
is an important industry, and the city has large stock yards.
As a manufacturing centre, it ranked first in 1900 and third in
1905 among the cities of the state; the value of its factory pro-
duct in 1905 was $14,760,751. Its manufactures include
slaughtering and meat-packing products, cars and car repairing,
linseed oil, bricks and tiles (made from excellent clay found in
and near the city). The city does a large wholesale and dis-
tributing business. Sioux City was settled about 1850, was
platted in 1854, becoming the headquarters of a United States
Land Office, was incorporated in 1856, and was chartered as a
city in 1857. It was the starting-point of various expeditions
sent against the Sioux Indians of the Black Hills.
SIOUX FALLS, a city and the county-seat of Minnehaha county, South Dakota, U. S. A., on the Big Sioux river, about 12 m. N.W. of the N.W. corner of Iowa. Pop. (1890), 10,177; (1900) 10,266, of whom 1858 were foreign-born; (1905), 12,283; (1910), 14,094. It is the largest city in the state. Sioux Falls is served by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, the Great Northern, the Illinois Central, the Chicago, St Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha (North-Western lines), and the South Dakota Central railways. In the city are the State Penitentiary, the State Children's Home, the South Dakota School for Deaf Mutes, a United States Government
