sampan a small boat used in China and Japan usually propelled with a scull from the stern and often having a sail and a small cabin formed of mats.
self-abnegating lacking consideration for oneself or one's own interest.
Shinto shrine a religious building of the principal religion of Japan, with emphasis upon the worship of nature, ancestors, ancient heroes, and the divinity of the emperor. Prior to 1945, Shinto was the state religion.
sickle senna any of the caesalpinia family of plants, with finely divided leaves and yellow flowers.
Society of Jesus See Jesuit.
solicitous showing care, attention, or concern.
Spanish bayonets yuccas having stiff, sword-shaped leaves.
staves plural of staff; sticks, rods, or poles; here, used as a support in walking.
subjugation to be in a useful, helpful, or serving capacity, especially in an inferior or subordinate capacity.
succor to give assistance to in time of need or distress; help, aid, relief.
succumbed died.
talismanic thought of as having magical power.
terminus either end of a transportation line, or a station or town located there; terminal.
triangulating a method of determining the distance between two points on the earth's surface by plotting on a chart a series of connected triangles, measuring a base line between two points, and locating a third point by computing both the size of the angles made by lines from this point to the ends of the base line and the lengths of these lines.
unprecedented having no precedent or parallel; unheard-of; novel.
