Seychelles

sa-shel', an archipelago of thirty-four islands in the Indian Ocean a few hundred miles northeast of Madagascar. Many are mere uninhabited rocks. The larger islands produce fine timber, vanilla, and a certain cocoanut that is not found elsewhere. The inhabitants are Africans. The group belongs to Great Britain. The Seychelles have present interest for Americans from the exhibition of a gigantic 450-pound tortoise at the St. Louis World's Fair. This venerable tortoise is known to be 150 years old, and is thought to be a century older. It is a representative of a race well nigh extinct. It is held in high esteem by the natives, but they were induced to loan the old settler to the fair, where he was greatly admired, and gave many schoolchildren a ride on his broad back. See Galapagos; Tortoise