carry tourists and vacationers to seaside
locations around the world.
History
In early times people moved ships with
oars. Many early ships also used the
wind to move across the seas. These
ships had sails—large, raised pieces of
cloth that caught the wind. Ancient
Egyptian warships had at least 40 oars
and a single sail. The powerful longships
of the Vikings also had oars and one sail.
By the 1400s European ships had several
sails. Sailing ships known as galleons
carried large guns along their sides for
making war. In the 1800s long, slim
ships called clippers also had several
sails.
Ships were made mainly of wood until
the middle of the 1800s. At that time
iron ships began to replace wooden
ones. Steam-powered engines also began
to replace sails.
Today most ships are made of steel or
other modern materials. They have
internal-combustion engines that run on
diesel fuel or gas. Some modern ships
run on nuclear power.
#More to explore
Boat • Exploration • Submarine
• Transportation •War
Shoshone
The Shoshone (or Shoshoni) are Native
Americans of the western United States.
They are historically divided into four
groups. The Western Shoshone traditionally
lived in what are now Nevada,
California, and Utah. The Northern
Shoshone lived in what are now Idaho,
Utah, Montana, and Oregon. The Wind
River (or Eastern) Shoshone lived in
what is nowWyoming. The Comanche
were part of theWind River Shoshone
before they split off and moved to what
is now Texas.
TheWestern Shoshone ate mostly roots,
nuts, seeds, fish, and small animals.
SomeWestern Shoshone built huts covered
with brush or bark mats. Others
lived in caves.
A photograph from about the 1890s shows
a Shoshone man named Heebe-tee-tse.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Shoshone 83
The Northern Shoshone fished and collected
wild roots. TheWind River Shoshone
hunted for food. By 1700 the
Northern andWind River Shoshone
had gotten horses. They began to travel
to the Great Plains to hunt bison (buffalo).
There they started to use tepees
covered with bison skins for housing.
The U.S. explorers of the Lewis and
Clark Expedition visited the Shoshone in
1805. Soon after that fur traders,
Mormon settlers, and miners began
arriving in the Shoshone territory. By the
mid-1800s many Shoshone had died
from diseases brought by the newcomers.
The U.S. government pressured the surviving
Shoshone to move to reservations.
At the end of the 20th century there
were about 10,000 Shoshone living in
the United States.
#More to explore
Comanche • Lewis and Clark
Expedition • Native Americans
Shrew
The animals called shrews look like
mice. But unlike mice, shrews are not
rodents. Instead shrews belong to a
group of insect-eating mammals called
insectivores. There are more than 300
species, or types, of shrew.
Shrews live mostly in moist places north
of the equator. They hide in the grass or
dig underground burrows. Except when
mating, shrews live alone.
Shrews are among the world’s smallest
mammals. Some measure only 2.5
inches (6.4 centimeters), including the
tail. Shrews have brownish gray fur and
sharp teeth. A pointed snout overhangs
the lower lip. Shrews have bad eyesight
but a good sense of smell.
Some shrews are active both day and
night.Others are active only at night.
Shrews usually eat more than their body
weight in food each day. Some birds of
prey and snakes eat shrews.However,
most animals will not eat shrews because
shrews can give off a bad smell.
A female shrew gives birth to 2 to 10
young at a time. The furless, blind
babies mature quickly. Most shrews live
only one to three years.
#More to explore
Mammal
Shrimp
#see Crustacean.
A shrew looks out from its burrow.
Shrews are
nervous creatures.
Shock
from a loud
noise or a
rough touch
can kill them.
84 Shrew BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a small country on the
coast ofWest Africa. Its name means
“lion mountains.” It was named for the
hills that surround the country’s main
harbor. The capital is Freetown.
Geography
Sierra Leone shares borders with Guinea
and Liberia. The Atlantic Ocean lies to
the west. Most of the coast is flat and
swampy. The northern coast has some
mountains. Central Sierra Leone is flat
in the north and hilly in the south.
Mountains rise in the east. The climate
is hot and humid.
Plants and Animals
Grasslands cover the north. Forests grow
on the hills and mountains. Palm trees
are common. Sierra Leone’s animals
include monkeys, chimpanzees, tigers,
porcupines, antelope, and crocodiles.
People
The largest groups of people are the
Mende and the Temne. Creoles form a
small group. Their ancestors were slaves
who returned to Sierra Leone after being
freed. Most of the people speak Krio, a
mixture of English and African languages.
About half of the people follow
Islam. Many others follow traditional
African religions. Most of the people live
in the countryside.
Economy
Sierra Leone is a very poor country.
Most people are farmers. Crops include
rice, cassava, peanuts, and sweet potatoes.
Sierra Leone has rich supplies of
diamonds.
History
People have lived in what is now Sierra
Leone for thousands of years. Portuguese
