About 4 m. west of the present city, stretched along the slopes of a rocky ridge, and extending into the plains at its foot, are the ruins of the old city of Kandahar sacked and plundered by Nadir Shah in 1738. From the top of the ridge a small citadel overlooks the half-buried ruins. On the north-east face of the hill forty steps, cut out of solid limestone, lead upward to a small, dome-roofed recess, which contains some interesting Persian inscriptions cut in relief on the rock, recording particulars of the history of Kandahar, and defining the vast extent of the kingdom of the emperor Baber. Popular belief ascribes the foundation of the old city to Alexander the Great.Although Kandahar has long ceased to be the seat of government, it is nevertheless by far the most important trade centre in Afghanistan, and the revenues of the Kandahar province assist largely in supporting the chief power at Kabul. There are no manufactures or industries of any importance peculiar to Kandahar, but the long lines of bazaars display goods from England, Russia, Hindustan, Persia and Turkestan, embracing a trade area as large probably as that of any city in Asia. The customs and town dues together amount to a sum equal to the land revenue of the Kandahar province, which is of considerable extent, stretching to Pul-i-Sangin, 10 m. south of Kalat-i-Ghilzai on the Kabul side, to the Helmund on the west, and to the Hazara country on the north. Although Farah has been governed from Kandahar since 1863, its revenues are not reckoned as a part of those of the province. The land revenue proper is assessed in grain, the salaries of government officials, pay of soldiers, &c., being disbursed by “barats” or orders for grain at rates fixed by government, usually about 20% above the city market prices. The greater part of the English goods sold at Herat are imported by Karachi and Kandahar—a fact which testifies to the great insecurity of trade between Meshed and Herat. Some of the items included as town dues are curious. For instance, the tariff on animals exposed for sale includes a charge of 5% ad valorem on slave girls, besides a charge of 1 rupee per head. The kidney fat of all sheep and the skins of all goats slaughtered in the public yard are perquisites of government, the former being used for the manufacture of soap, which, with snuff, is a government monopoly. The imports consist chiefly of English goods, indigo, cloth, boots, leather, sugar, salt, iron and copper, from Hindustan, and of shawls, carpets, “barak” (native woollen cloth), postins (coats made of skins), shoes, silks, opium and carpets from Meshed, Herat and Turkestan. The exports are wool, cotton, madder, cummin seed, asafoetida, fruit, silk and horses. The system of coinage is also curious: 105 English rupees are melted down, and the alloy extracted, leaving 100 rupees’ worth of silver; 295 more English rupees are then melted, and the molten metal mixed with the 100 rupees silver; and out of this 808 Kandahari rupees are coined. As the Kandahari rupee is worth about 8 annas (half an English rupee) the government thus realizes a profit of 1%. Government accounts are kept in “Kham” rupees, the “Kham” being worth about five-sixths of a Kandahari rupee; in other words, it about equals the franc, or the Persian “kran.”Immediately to the south and west of Kandahar is a stretch of well-irrigated and highly cultivated country, but the valley of the Arghandab is the most fertile in the district, and, from the luxuriant abundance of its orchards and vineyards, offers the most striking scenes of landscape beauty. The pomegranate fields form a striking feature in the valley—the pomegranates of Kandahar, with its “sirdar” melons and grapes, being unequalled in quality by any in the East. The vines are grown on artificial banks, probably for want of the necessary wood to trellis them—the grapes being largely exported in a semi-dried state. Fruit, indeed, besides being largely exported, forms the chief staple of the food supply of the inhabitants throughout Afghanistan. The art of irrigation is so well understood that the water supply is at times exhausted, no river water being allowed to run to waste. The plains about Kandahar are chiefly watered by canals drawn from the Arghandab near Baba-wali, and conducted through the same gap in the hills which admits the Herat road. The amount of irrigation and the number of water channels form a considerable impediment to the movements of troops, not only immediately about Kandahar, but in all districts where the main rivers and streams are bordered by green bands of cultivation. Irrigation by “karez” is also largely resorted to. The karez is a system of underground channelling which usually taps a sub-surface water supply at the foot of some of the many rugged and apparently waterless hills which cover the face of the country. The water is not brought to the surface, but is carried over long distances by an underground channel or drain, which is constructed by sinking shafts at intervals along the required course and connecting the shafts by tunnelling. The general agricultural products of the country are wheat, barley, pulse, fruit, madder, asafoetida, lucerne, clover and tobacco.Of the mineral resources of the Kandahar district not much is known, but an abandoned gold mine exists about 2 m. north of the town. Some general idea of the resources of the Kandahar district may be gathered from the fact that it supplied the British troops with everything except luxuries during the entire period of occupation in 1879-81; and that, in spite of the great strain thrown on those resources by the presence of the two armies of Ayub Khan and of General Roberts, and after the total failure of the autumn crops and only a partial harvest the previous spring, the army was fed without great difficulty until the final evacuation, at one-third of the prices paid in Quetta for supplies drawn from India.History.—Kandahar has a stormy history. Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni took it in the 11th century from the Afghans who then held it. In the beginning of the 13th century it was taken by Jenghiz Khan, and in the 14th by Timur. In 1507 it was captured by the emperor Baber, but shortly afterwards it fell again into Afghan hands, to be retaken by Baber in 1521. Baber’s son, Humayun, agreed to cede Kandahar to Persia, but failed to keep his word, and the Persians besieged the place unsuccessfully. Thus it remained in the possession of the Moguls till 1625, when it was taken by Shah Abbas. Aurangzeb tried to take it in 1649 with 5000 men, but failed. Another attempt in 1652 was equally unsuccessful. It remained in Persian possession till 1709, when it was taken by the Afghans, but was retaken after a two years’ siege by Nadir Shah. Nadir Shah was assassinated in 1749, and immediately on hearing the news of his death Ahmad Shah (Abdali) seized Nadir Shah’s treasure at Kandahar, and proclaimed himself king, with the consent, not only of the Afghans, but, strange to say, of the Hazaras and Baluchis as well. He at once changed the site of the city to its present position, and thus founded the Afghan kingdom, with modern Kandahar as its capital. Ahmad Shah died in 1773, and was succeeded by his son Timur, who died in 1793, and left the throne to his son Zaman Shah. This prince was deposed by his half-brother Mahmud, who was in his turn deposed by Shah Shuja, the full brother of Zaman Shah. After a short reign Shah Shuja was compelled to abdicate from his inability to repress the rising power of Fateh Khan, a Barakzai chief, and he took refuge first with Ranjit Singh, who then ruled the Punjab, and finally secured the protection of British power. Afghanistan was now practically dismembered. Mahmud was reinstated by Fateh Khan, whom he appointed his vizier, and whose nephews, Dost Mahommed Khan and Kohn dil Khan, he placed respectively in the governments of Kabul and Kandahar. Fateh Khan was barbarously murdered by Kamran (Mahmud’s son) near Ghazni in 1818; and in retaliation Mahmud himself was driven from power, and the Barakzai clan secured the sovereignty of Afghanistan. While Dost Mahommed held Kabul, Kandahar became temporarily a sort of independent chiefship under two or three of his brothers. In 1839 the cause of Shah Shuja was actively supported by the British. Kandahar was occupied, and Shah Shuja reinstated on the throne of his ancestors. Dost Mahommed was defeated near Kabul, and after surrender to the British force, was deported into Hindustan. The British army of occupation in southern Afghanistan continued to occupy Kandahar from 1839 till the autumn of 1842, when General Nott marched on Kabul to meet Pollock’s advance from Jalalabad. The cantonments near the city, built by Nott’s division, were repaired and again occupied by the British army in 1879, when Shere Ali was driven from power by the invasion of Afghanistan, nor were they finally evacuated till the spring of 1881. Trade statistics of late years show a gradual increase of exports to India from Kandahar and the countries adjacent thereto, but a curious falling-off in imports. The short-sighted policy of the amir Abdur Rahman in discouraging imports doubtless affected the balance, nor did his affectation of ignoring the railway between New Chaman and Kila Abdulla (on the Peshin side of the Khojak) conduce to the improvement of trade.
About 4 m. west of the present city, stretched along the slopes of a rocky ridge, and extending into the plains at its foot, are the ruins of the old city of Kandahar sacked and plundered by Nadir Shah in 1738. From the top of the ridge a small citadel overlooks the half-buried ruins. On the north-east face of the hill forty steps, cut out of solid limestone, lead upward to a small, dome-roofed recess, which contains some interesting Persian inscriptions cut in relief on the rock, recording particulars of the history of Kandahar, and defining the vast extent of the kingdom of the emperor Baber. Popular belief ascribes the foundation of the old city to Alexander the Great.
Although Kandahar has long ceased to be the seat of government, it is nevertheless by far the most important trade centre in Afghanistan, and the revenues of the Kandahar province assist largely in supporting the chief power at Kabul. There are no manufactures or industries of any importance peculiar to Kandahar, but the long lines of bazaars display goods from England, Russia, Hindustan, Persia and Turkestan, embracing a trade area as large probably as that of any city in Asia. The customs and town dues together amount to a sum equal to the land revenue of the Kandahar province, which is of considerable extent, stretching to Pul-i-Sangin, 10 m. south of Kalat-i-Ghilzai on the Kabul side, to the Helmund on the west, and to the Hazara country on the north. Although Farah has been governed from Kandahar since 1863, its revenues are not reckoned as a part of those of the province. The land revenue proper is assessed in grain, the salaries of government officials, pay of soldiers, &c., being disbursed by “barats” or orders for grain at rates fixed by government, usually about 20% above the city market prices. The greater part of the English goods sold at Herat are imported by Karachi and Kandahar—a fact which testifies to the great insecurity of trade between Meshed and Herat. Some of the items included as town dues are curious. For instance, the tariff on animals exposed for sale includes a charge of 5% ad valorem on slave girls, besides a charge of 1 rupee per head. The kidney fat of all sheep and the skins of all goats slaughtered in the public yard are perquisites of government, the former being used for the manufacture of soap, which, with snuff, is a government monopoly. The imports consist chiefly of English goods, indigo, cloth, boots, leather, sugar, salt, iron and copper, from Hindustan, and of shawls, carpets, “barak” (native woollen cloth), postins (coats made of skins), shoes, silks, opium and carpets from Meshed, Herat and Turkestan. The exports are wool, cotton, madder, cummin seed, asafoetida, fruit, silk and horses. The system of coinage is also curious: 105 English rupees are melted down, and the alloy extracted, leaving 100 rupees’ worth of silver; 295 more English rupees are then melted, and the molten metal mixed with the 100 rupees silver; and out of this 808 Kandahari rupees are coined. As the Kandahari rupee is worth about 8 annas (half an English rupee) the government thus realizes a profit of 1%. Government accounts are kept in “Kham” rupees, the “Kham” being worth about five-sixths of a Kandahari rupee; in other words, it about equals the franc, or the Persian “kran.”
Immediately to the south and west of Kandahar is a stretch of well-irrigated and highly cultivated country, but the valley of the Arghandab is the most fertile in the district, and, from the luxuriant abundance of its orchards and vineyards, offers the most striking scenes of landscape beauty. The pomegranate fields form a striking feature in the valley—the pomegranates of Kandahar, with its “sirdar” melons and grapes, being unequalled in quality by any in the East. The vines are grown on artificial banks, probably for want of the necessary wood to trellis them—the grapes being largely exported in a semi-dried state. Fruit, indeed, besides being largely exported, forms the chief staple of the food supply of the inhabitants throughout Afghanistan. The art of irrigation is so well understood that the water supply is at times exhausted, no river water being allowed to run to waste. The plains about Kandahar are chiefly watered by canals drawn from the Arghandab near Baba-wali, and conducted through the same gap in the hills which admits the Herat road. The amount of irrigation and the number of water channels form a considerable impediment to the movements of troops, not only immediately about Kandahar, but in all districts where the main rivers and streams are bordered by green bands of cultivation. Irrigation by “karez” is also largely resorted to. The karez is a system of underground channelling which usually taps a sub-surface water supply at the foot of some of the many rugged and apparently waterless hills which cover the face of the country. The water is not brought to the surface, but is carried over long distances by an underground channel or drain, which is constructed by sinking shafts at intervals along the required course and connecting the shafts by tunnelling. The general agricultural products of the country are wheat, barley, pulse, fruit, madder, asafoetida, lucerne, clover and tobacco.
Of the mineral resources of the Kandahar district not much is known, but an abandoned gold mine exists about 2 m. north of the town. Some general idea of the resources of the Kandahar district may be gathered from the fact that it supplied the British troops with everything except luxuries during the entire period of occupation in 1879-81; and that, in spite of the great strain thrown on those resources by the presence of the two armies of Ayub Khan and of General Roberts, and after the total failure of the autumn crops and only a partial harvest the previous spring, the army was fed without great difficulty until the final evacuation, at one-third of the prices paid in Quetta for supplies drawn from India.
History.—Kandahar has a stormy history. Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni took it in the 11th century from the Afghans who then held it. In the beginning of the 13th century it was taken by Jenghiz Khan, and in the 14th by Timur. In 1507 it was captured by the emperor Baber, but shortly afterwards it fell again into Afghan hands, to be retaken by Baber in 1521. Baber’s son, Humayun, agreed to cede Kandahar to Persia, but failed to keep his word, and the Persians besieged the place unsuccessfully. Thus it remained in the possession of the Moguls till 1625, when it was taken by Shah Abbas. Aurangzeb tried to take it in 1649 with 5000 men, but failed. Another attempt in 1652 was equally unsuccessful. It remained in Persian possession till 1709, when it was taken by the Afghans, but was retaken after a two years’ siege by Nadir Shah. Nadir Shah was assassinated in 1749, and immediately on hearing the news of his death Ahmad Shah (Abdali) seized Nadir Shah’s treasure at Kandahar, and proclaimed himself king, with the consent, not only of the Afghans, but, strange to say, of the Hazaras and Baluchis as well. He at once changed the site of the city to its present position, and thus founded the Afghan kingdom, with modern Kandahar as its capital. Ahmad Shah died in 1773, and was succeeded by his son Timur, who died in 1793, and left the throne to his son Zaman Shah. This prince was deposed by his half-brother Mahmud, who was in his turn deposed by Shah Shuja, the full brother of Zaman Shah. After a short reign Shah Shuja was compelled to abdicate from his inability to repress the rising power of Fateh Khan, a Barakzai chief, and he took refuge first with Ranjit Singh, who then ruled the Punjab, and finally secured the protection of British power. Afghanistan was now practically dismembered. Mahmud was reinstated by Fateh Khan, whom he appointed his vizier, and whose nephews, Dost Mahommed Khan and Kohn dil Khan, he placed respectively in the governments of Kabul and Kandahar. Fateh Khan was barbarously murdered by Kamran (Mahmud’s son) near Ghazni in 1818; and in retaliation Mahmud himself was driven from power, and the Barakzai clan secured the sovereignty of Afghanistan. While Dost Mahommed held Kabul, Kandahar became temporarily a sort of independent chiefship under two or three of his brothers. In 1839 the cause of Shah Shuja was actively supported by the British. Kandahar was occupied, and Shah Shuja reinstated on the throne of his ancestors. Dost Mahommed was defeated near Kabul, and after surrender to the British force, was deported into Hindustan. The British army of occupation in southern Afghanistan continued to occupy Kandahar from 1839 till the autumn of 1842, when General Nott marched on Kabul to meet Pollock’s advance from Jalalabad. The cantonments near the city, built by Nott’s division, were repaired and again occupied by the British army in 1879, when Shere Ali was driven from power by the invasion of Afghanistan, nor were they finally evacuated till the spring of 1881. Trade statistics of late years show a gradual increase of exports to India from Kandahar and the countries adjacent thereto, but a curious falling-off in imports. The short-sighted policy of the amir Abdur Rahman in discouraging imports doubtless affected the balance, nor did his affectation of ignoring the railway between New Chaman and Kila Abdulla (on the Peshin side of the Khojak) conduce to the improvement of trade.
(T. H. H.*)
KANDI,a town of British India, in Murshidabad district, Bengal. Pop. (1901), 12,037. It is the residence of the rajas of Paikpara, a wealthy and devout Hindu family. The founder of this family was Ganga Govind Singh, the banyan or agent of Warren Hastings, who was born at Kandi, and retired hither in his old age with an immense fortune. His name has acquired celebrity for the most magnificentsraddha, or funeral obsequies, ever performed in Bengal, celebrated in honour of his mother, at a cost, it is said, of £200,000.
KANDY,a town near the centre of Ceylon, 75 m. from Colombo by rail, formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name,situated towards the heart of the island, 1718 ft. above the sea. It lies round the margin of an artificial lake constructed by the last king of Kandy in 1806, and is beautifully surrounded by hills. The most striking objects are the temples (of which twelve are Buddhist and four Brahman), the tombs of the Kandian kings, and the various buildings of the royal residence, partly allowed to fall into disrepair, partly utilized by the government. Of the temples the Dalada Malagawa is worthy of particular mention; it claims, as the name indicates, to be in possession of a Buddha tooth.
Kandy was occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in 1763; but in both instances the native kings succeeded in shaking off the foreign yoke. The British got possession of the place in 1803, but the garrison afterwards capitulated and were massacred, and it was not till 1814-15 that the king was defeated and dethroned. The British authority was formally established by the convention of March 2, 1815. In 1848, owing to an attempt at rebellion, the town was for a time under martial law. It has been greatly improved of recent years. Sir William Gregory when governor did much to restore the ancient Kandy decorations, while the Victoria Jubilee Commemoration Building, including “Ferguson Memorial Hall,” and two fine hotels, add to the improvements. The Royal Botanic Gardens are situated at Peradeniya, 3 m. distant. Kandy is a uniquely beautiful, highland, tropical town, full of interesting historical and Buddhistic associations. A water supply and electric lighting have been introduced. Roman Catholic missions are active in the work of education, for which a large block of buildings has been erected. Church of England, Wesleyan and Baptist missions are also at work. The population of the town in 1900 was 26,386; of the district, 377,591. Average annual rainfall, 81½ in.; average temperature, 75.3. There is a branch railway from Kandy, north to Matale, 17 m.
KANE, ELISHA KENT(1820-1857), American scientist and explorer, was born in Philadelphia on the 20th of February 1820, the son of the jurist John Kintzing Kane (1795-1858), a friend and supporter of Andrew Jackson, attorney-general of Pennsylvania in 1845-1846, U.S. judge of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania after 1846, and president of the American Philosophical Society in 1856-1858. Young Kane entered the university of Virginia and obtained the degree of M.D. in 1842, and in the following year entered the U.S. navy as surgeon. He had already acquired a considerable reputation in physiological research. The ship to which he was appointed was ordered to China, and he found opportunities during the voyage for indulging his passion for exploration, making a journey from Rio de Janeiro to the base of the Andes, and another from Bombay through India to Ceylon. On the arrival of the ship at its destination he provided a substitute for his post and crossed over to the island of Luzon, which he explored. In 1844 he left China, and, returning by India, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Greece, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, reached America in 1846. In that year he was ordered to the west coast of Africa, where he visited Dahomey, and contracted fever, which told severely on his constitution. On his return in 1847, he exchanged the naval for the military service, and was sent to join the U.S. army in Mexico, where he had some extraordinary adventures, and where he was again stricken with fever.
On the fitting out of the first Grinnell expedition, in 1850, to search for Sir John Franklin, Kane was appointed surgeon and naturalist under Lieut. de Haven, who commanded the ships “Advance” and “Rescue.” The expedition, after an absence of sixteen months, during nine of which the ships were ice-bound, returned without having found any trace of the missing vessels. Kane was in feeble health, but worked on at his narrative of the expedition, which was published in 1854, under the title ofThe U.S. Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin. He was determined not to give up the search for Franklin, and in spite of ill-health travelled through the States lecturing to obtain funds, and gave up his pay for twenty months. At length Henry Grinnell fitted out an expedition, in the little brig “Advance,” of which Kane was given the command. She sailed in June 1853, and passing up Smith Sound at the head of Baffin Bay advanced into the enclosed sea which now bears the name of Kane Basin, thus establishing the Polar route of many future Arctic expeditions. Here, off the coast of Greenland, the expedition passed two winters, accomplishing much useful geographical, as well as scientific, work, including the attainment of what was to remain for sixteen years the highest northern latitude, 80° 35′ N. (June 1854). From this point a large area of open water was seen which was believed to be an “open Polar Sea,” a chimera which played an important and delusive rôle in subsequent explorations. After enduring the greatest hardships it was resolved to abandon the ship, Upernivik being reached on the 5th of August 1855, whence a relief expedition brought the explorers home. Medals were authorized by Congress, and in the following year Dr Kane received the founder’s medal of the Royal Geographical Society, and, two years later, a gold medal from the Paris Geographical Society. He publishedThe Second Grinnell Expeditionin 1856. Dr Kane died at Havana on the 16th of February 1857, at the age of thirty-seven. Between his first and second arctic voyages he made the acquaintance of the Fox family, the spiritualists. With one of the daughters, Margaret, he carried on a long correspondence, which was afterwards published by the lady, who declared that they were privately married.
SeeBiography of E. K. Kane, by William Elder (1858);Life of E. K. Kane and other American Explorers, by S. M. Smucker (1858);The Love-Life of Dr Kane, containing the Correspondence and a History of the Engagement and Secret Marriage between E. K. Kane and Margaret Fox(New York, 1866); “Discoveries of Dr Kane,” inJour. of the Roy. Geog. Soc., vol. xxviii. (reprinted inR. G. S. Arctic Papersof 1875).
SeeBiography of E. K. Kane, by William Elder (1858);Life of E. K. Kane and other American Explorers, by S. M. Smucker (1858);The Love-Life of Dr Kane, containing the Correspondence and a History of the Engagement and Secret Marriage between E. K. Kane and Margaret Fox(New York, 1866); “Discoveries of Dr Kane,” inJour. of the Roy. Geog. Soc., vol. xxviii. (reprinted inR. G. S. Arctic Papersof 1875).
KANE,a borough of McKean county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., about 90 m. E.S.E. of Erie. Pop. (1890), 2944; (1900), 5296, (971 foreign-born); (1910) 6626. It is served by the Pennsylvania, the Baltimore & Ohio, the Kane & Elk, and the Big Level & Kinzua railways. It is situated about 2015 ft. above the sea in a region producing natural gas, oil, lumber and silica, and has some reputation as a summer resort. The borough has manufactories of window glass, plate glass and bottles, and repair shops of the Pennsylvania railroad. Kane was settled in 1859, and was incorporated as a borough in 1887. It was named in honour of its founder Gen. Thomas L. Kane (1822-1883), brother of Elisha Kent Kane.
KANGAROO,the universally accepted, though not apparently the native, designation of the more typical representatives of the marsupial familyMacropodidae(seeMarsupialia). Although intimately connected with the cuscuses and phalangers by means of the musk-kangaroo, the kangaroos and wallabies, together with the rat-kangaroos, are easily distinguishable from other diprotodont marsupials by their general conformation, and by peculiarities in the structure of their limbs, teeth and other organs. They vary in size from that of a sheep to a small rabbit. The head, especially in the larger species, is small, compared with the rest of the body, and tapers forward to the muzzle. The shoulders and fore-limbs are feebly developed, and the hind-limbs of disproportionate strength and magnitude, which give the animals a peculiarly awkward appearance when moving about on all-fours, as they occasionally do when feeding. Rapid progression is, however, performed only by the powerful hind-limbs, the animals covering the ground by a series of immense bounds, during which the fore part of the body is inclined forwards, and balanced by the long, strong and tapering tail, which is carried horizontally backwards. When not moving, they often assume a perfectly upright position, the tail aiding the two hind-legs to form a tripod, and the front-limbs dangling by the side of the chest. This position gives full scope for the senses of sight, hearing and smell to warn of the approach of enemies. The fore-paws have five digits, each armed with a strong, curved claw. The hind-foot is extremely long, narrow and (except in the musk-kangaroo) without the first toe. It consists mainly of one very large and strong toe, corresponding to the fourth of the human foot, ending in a strong curved and pointed claw(fig. 2). Close to the outer side of this lies a smaller fifth digit, and to the inner side two excessively slender toes (the second and third), bound together almost to the extremity in a common integument. The two little claws of these toes, projecting together from the skin, may be of use in scratching and cleaning the fur of the animal, but the toes must have quite lost all connexion with the functions of support or progression. This type of foot-structure is termed syndactylous.
The dental formula, when completely developed, isincisors3⁄1,canines1⁄0,premolars3⁄3,molars3⁄3on each side, giving a total of 34 teeth. The three incisors of the upper jaw are arranged in a continuous arched series, and have crowns with broad cutting edges; the first or middle incisor is often larger than the others. Corresponding to these in the lower jaw is but one tooth on each side, which is of great size, directed horizontally forwards, narrow, lanceolate and pointed with sharp edges. Owing to the slight union of the two halves of the lower jaw in front in many species the two lower incisors work together like the blades of a pair of scissors. The canines are absent or rudimentary in the lower, and often deciduous at an early age in the upper jaw. The first two premolars are compressed, with cutting longitudinal edges, the anterior one is deciduous, being lost about the time the second one replaces the milk-molar, so that three premolars are never found in place and use in the same individual. The last premolar and the molars have quadrate crowns, provided with two strong transverse ridges, or with four obtuse cusps. InMacropus giganteusand its immediate allies, the premolars and sometimes the first molar are shed, so that in old examples only the two posterior molars and the incisors are found in place. The milk-dentition, as in other marsupials, is confined to a single tooth on each side of each jaw, the other molars and incisors being never changed. The dentition of the kangaroos, functionally considered, thus consists of sharp-edged incisors, most developed near the median line of the mouth, for the purpose of cropping herbage, and ridged or tuberculated molars for crushing.
The number of vertebrae is—in the cervical region 7, dorsal 13, lumbar 6, sacral 2, caudal varying according to the length of the tail, but generally from 21 to 25. In the fore-limb the clavicle and the radius and ulna are well developed, allowing of considerable freedom of motion of the fore-paw. The pelvis has large epipubic or “marsupial” bones. The femur is short, and the tibia and fibula of great length, as is the foot, the whole of which is applied to the ground when the animal is at rest in the upright position.
The stomach is large and very complex, its walls being puckered by longitudinal muscular bands into a number of folds. The alimentary canal is long, and the caecum well developed. The young (which, as in other marsupials, leave the uterus in an extremely small and imperfect condition) are placed in the pouch as soon as they are born; and to this they resort temporarily for shelter for some time after they are able to run, jump and feed upon the herbage which forms the nourishment of the parent. During the early period of their sojourn in the pouch, the blind, naked, helpless young creatures (which in the great kangaroo scarcely exceed an inch in length) are attached by their mouths to the nipple of the mother, and are fed by milk injected into their stomach by the contraction of the muscle covering the mammary gland. In this stage of existence the elongated upper part of the larynx projects into the posterior nares, and so maintains a free communication between the lungs and the external surface, independently of the mouth and gullet, thus averting danger of suffocation while the milk is passing down the gullet.
Kangaroos are vegetable-feeders, browsing on grass and various kinds of herbage, but the smaller species also eat roots. They are naturally timid and inoffensive, but the larger kinds when hard pressed will turn and defend themselves, sometimes killing a dog by grasping it in their fore-paws, and inflicting terrible wounds with the sharp claws of their powerful hind-legs, supporting themselves meanwhile upon the tail. The majority are inhabitants of Australia and Tasmania, forming one of the most prominent and characteristic features of the fauna of these lands, and performing the part of the deer and antelopes of other parts of the world. They were important sources of food-supply to the natives, and are hunted by the colonists, both for sport and on account of the damage they do in consuming grass required for cattle and sheep. A few species are found in New Guinea, and the adjacent islands, which belong, in the zoological sense, to the Australian province, beyond the bounds of which none occurs.
The more typical representatives of the group constitute the sub-familyMacropodinae, in which the cutting-edges of the upper incisors are nearly level, or the first pair but slightly longer than the others (fig. 3). The canines are rudimentary and often wanting. The molars are usually not longer (from before backwards) than the anterior premolars, and less compressed than in the next section. The crowns of the molars have two prominent transverse ridges. The fore-limbs are small with subequal toes, armed with strong, moderately long, curved claws. Hind-limbs very long and strongly made. Head small, with more or less elongated muzzle. Ears generally rather long and ovate.The typical genusMacropus, in which the muzzle is generally naked, the ears large, the fur on the nape of the neck usually directed backwards, the claw of the fourth hind-toe very large, and the tail stout and tapering, includes a large number of species. Among these, the great grey kangaroo (M. giganteus, fig. 1) deserves special mention on account of having been discovered during Captain Cook’s first voyage in 1770. The great red kangaroo (M. rufus) is about the same size, while other large species areM. antilopinusandM. robustus. The larger wallabies, or brush-kangaroos, such as the red-necked wallaby (M. ruficollis) constitute a group of smaller-sized species; while the smaller wallabies, such as the filander (q.v.) (M. muelleri) andM. thetidis, constitute yet another section. The genus ranges from the eastern Austro-Malay islands to New Guinea.Nearly allied are the rock-wallabies of Australia and Tasmania, constituting the genusPetrogale, chiefly distinguished by the thinner tail being more densely haired and terminating in a tuff. Well-known species areP. penicillata,P. xanthopusandP. lateralis. The few species of nail-tailed wallabies,Onychogale, which are confined to the Australian mainland, take their name from the presence of a horny spur at the end of the tail, and are further distinguished by the hairy muzzle.O. unguifer,O. fraenatusandO. lunatusrepresent the group. The hare-wallabies, such asLagorchestes leporoides,L. hirsutusandL. consepicillatus, constitute a genus with the same distribution as the last, and likewise with a hairy muzzle, but with a rather short, evenly furred tail, devoid of a spur. They are great leapers and swift runners, mostly frequenting open stony plains.Fig. 4.—Skull and teeth of Lesueuir’s Rat-Kangaroo (Bettongia lesueuiri).c, upper canine. Other letters as in fig. 3. The anterior premolar has been shed.More distinct is the Papuan genusDorcopsis, as typified byD. muelleri, although it is to some extent connected withMacropusbyD. macleyi. The muzzle is naked, the fur on the nape of the neck directed more or less completely forward, and the hind-limbs are less disproportionately elongated. Perhaps, however, the most distinctive feature of the genus is the great fore-and-aft length of the penultimate premolar in both jaws. Other species areD. rufolateralisandD. aurantiacus. In the tree-kangaroos, which include the PapuanDendrolagus inustus,D. ursinus,D. dorianus,D. benetianusandD. maximus, and the North QueenslandD. lumholtzi, the reduction in the length of the hind-limbs is carried to a still further degree, so that the proportions of the fore and hind limbs are almost normal. The genus agrees withDorcopsisin the direction of the hair on the neck, but the muzzle is only partially hairy, and the elongation of the penultimate premolar is less. These kangaroos are largely arboreal in their habits, but they descend to the ground to feed. Lastly, we have the banded wallaby,Lagostrophus fasciatus, of Western Australia, a small species characterized by its naked muzzle, the presence of long bristles on the hind-feet which conceal the claws, and also of dark transverse bands on the lower part of the back. The skull has a remarkably narrow and pointed muzzle and much inflated auditory bullae; while the two halves of the lower jaw are firmly welded together at their junction, thus effectually preventing the scissor-like action of the lower incisors distinctive ofMacropusand its immediate allies. As regards the teeth, canines are wanting, and the penultimate upper premolar is short, from before backwards, with a distinct ledge on the inner side.In the rat-kangaroos, or kangaroo-rats, as they are called in Australia, constituting the sub-familyPotoroinae, the first upper incisor is narrow, curved, and much exceeds the others in length; the upper canines are persistent, flattened, blunt and slightly curved, and the first two premolars of both jaws have large, simple, compressed crowns, with a nearly straight or slightly concave free cutting-edge, and both outer and inner surfaces usually marked by a series of parallel, vertical grooves and ridges. Molars with quadrate crowns and a blunt conical cusp at each corner, the last notably smaller than the rest, sometimes rudimentary or absent. Forefeet narrow; the three middle toes considerably exceeding the first and fifth in length and their claws long, compressed and but slightly curved. Hind-feet as inMacropus. Tail long, and sometimes partially prehensile when it is used for carrying bundles of grass with which these animals build their nests. The group is confined to Australia and Tasmania, and all the species are relatively small.In the members of the typical genusPotorous(formerly known asHypsiprymnus) the head is long and slender, with the auditory bullae somewhat swollen; while the ridges on the first two premolars are few and perpendicular, and there are large vacuities on the palate. The tarsus is short and the muzzle naked. The genus includesP. tridactylus,P. gilbertiandP. platyops. InBettongia, on the other hand, the head is shorter and wider, with smaller and more rounded ears, and more swollen auditory bullae. The ridges on the first two premolars are also more numerous and somewhat oblique (fig. 4); the tarsus is long and the tail is prehensile. The species includeB. lesueuiri,B. gaimardiandB. cuniculus. The South AustralianCaloprymnus campestrisrepresents a genus near akin to the last, but with the edge of the hairy border of the bare muzzle less emarginate in the middle line, still more swollen auditory bullae, very large and posterially expanded nasals and longer vacuities on the palate. The list is completed byAepyprymnus rufescens, which differs from all the others by the hairy muzzle, and the absence of inflation in the auditory bullae and of vacuities in the palate.Perhaps, however, the most interesting member of the whole group is the tiny musk-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) of north-east Australia, which alone represents the sub-familyHypsiprymnodontinae, characterized by the presence of an opposable first toe on the hind-foot and the outward inclination of the penultimate upper premolar, as well by the small and feeble claws. In all these features the musk-kangaroo connects theMacropodidaewith thePhalangeridae. The other teeth are like those of the rat-kangaroos.
The more typical representatives of the group constitute the sub-familyMacropodinae, in which the cutting-edges of the upper incisors are nearly level, or the first pair but slightly longer than the others (fig. 3). The canines are rudimentary and often wanting. The molars are usually not longer (from before backwards) than the anterior premolars, and less compressed than in the next section. The crowns of the molars have two prominent transverse ridges. The fore-limbs are small with subequal toes, armed with strong, moderately long, curved claws. Hind-limbs very long and strongly made. Head small, with more or less elongated muzzle. Ears generally rather long and ovate.
The typical genusMacropus, in which the muzzle is generally naked, the ears large, the fur on the nape of the neck usually directed backwards, the claw of the fourth hind-toe very large, and the tail stout and tapering, includes a large number of species. Among these, the great grey kangaroo (M. giganteus, fig. 1) deserves special mention on account of having been discovered during Captain Cook’s first voyage in 1770. The great red kangaroo (M. rufus) is about the same size, while other large species areM. antilopinusandM. robustus. The larger wallabies, or brush-kangaroos, such as the red-necked wallaby (M. ruficollis) constitute a group of smaller-sized species; while the smaller wallabies, such as the filander (q.v.) (M. muelleri) andM. thetidis, constitute yet another section. The genus ranges from the eastern Austro-Malay islands to New Guinea.
Nearly allied are the rock-wallabies of Australia and Tasmania, constituting the genusPetrogale, chiefly distinguished by the thinner tail being more densely haired and terminating in a tuff. Well-known species areP. penicillata,P. xanthopusandP. lateralis. The few species of nail-tailed wallabies,Onychogale, which are confined to the Australian mainland, take their name from the presence of a horny spur at the end of the tail, and are further distinguished by the hairy muzzle.O. unguifer,O. fraenatusandO. lunatusrepresent the group. The hare-wallabies, such asLagorchestes leporoides,L. hirsutusandL. consepicillatus, constitute a genus with the same distribution as the last, and likewise with a hairy muzzle, but with a rather short, evenly furred tail, devoid of a spur. They are great leapers and swift runners, mostly frequenting open stony plains.
More distinct is the Papuan genusDorcopsis, as typified byD. muelleri, although it is to some extent connected withMacropusbyD. macleyi. The muzzle is naked, the fur on the nape of the neck directed more or less completely forward, and the hind-limbs are less disproportionately elongated. Perhaps, however, the most distinctive feature of the genus is the great fore-and-aft length of the penultimate premolar in both jaws. Other species areD. rufolateralisandD. aurantiacus. In the tree-kangaroos, which include the PapuanDendrolagus inustus,D. ursinus,D. dorianus,D. benetianusandD. maximus, and the North QueenslandD. lumholtzi, the reduction in the length of the hind-limbs is carried to a still further degree, so that the proportions of the fore and hind limbs are almost normal. The genus agrees withDorcopsisin the direction of the hair on the neck, but the muzzle is only partially hairy, and the elongation of the penultimate premolar is less. These kangaroos are largely arboreal in their habits, but they descend to the ground to feed. Lastly, we have the banded wallaby,Lagostrophus fasciatus, of Western Australia, a small species characterized by its naked muzzle, the presence of long bristles on the hind-feet which conceal the claws, and also of dark transverse bands on the lower part of the back. The skull has a remarkably narrow and pointed muzzle and much inflated auditory bullae; while the two halves of the lower jaw are firmly welded together at their junction, thus effectually preventing the scissor-like action of the lower incisors distinctive ofMacropusand its immediate allies. As regards the teeth, canines are wanting, and the penultimate upper premolar is short, from before backwards, with a distinct ledge on the inner side.
In the rat-kangaroos, or kangaroo-rats, as they are called in Australia, constituting the sub-familyPotoroinae, the first upper incisor is narrow, curved, and much exceeds the others in length; the upper canines are persistent, flattened, blunt and slightly curved, and the first two premolars of both jaws have large, simple, compressed crowns, with a nearly straight or slightly concave free cutting-edge, and both outer and inner surfaces usually marked by a series of parallel, vertical grooves and ridges. Molars with quadrate crowns and a blunt conical cusp at each corner, the last notably smaller than the rest, sometimes rudimentary or absent. Forefeet narrow; the three middle toes considerably exceeding the first and fifth in length and their claws long, compressed and but slightly curved. Hind-feet as inMacropus. Tail long, and sometimes partially prehensile when it is used for carrying bundles of grass with which these animals build their nests. The group is confined to Australia and Tasmania, and all the species are relatively small.
In the members of the typical genusPotorous(formerly known asHypsiprymnus) the head is long and slender, with the auditory bullae somewhat swollen; while the ridges on the first two premolars are few and perpendicular, and there are large vacuities on the palate. The tarsus is short and the muzzle naked. The genus includesP. tridactylus,P. gilbertiandP. platyops. InBettongia, on the other hand, the head is shorter and wider, with smaller and more rounded ears, and more swollen auditory bullae. The ridges on the first two premolars are also more numerous and somewhat oblique (fig. 4); the tarsus is long and the tail is prehensile. The species includeB. lesueuiri,B. gaimardiandB. cuniculus. The South AustralianCaloprymnus campestrisrepresents a genus near akin to the last, but with the edge of the hairy border of the bare muzzle less emarginate in the middle line, still more swollen auditory bullae, very large and posterially expanded nasals and longer vacuities on the palate. The list is completed byAepyprymnus rufescens, which differs from all the others by the hairy muzzle, and the absence of inflation in the auditory bullae and of vacuities in the palate.
Perhaps, however, the most interesting member of the whole group is the tiny musk-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) of north-east Australia, which alone represents the sub-familyHypsiprymnodontinae, characterized by the presence of an opposable first toe on the hind-foot and the outward inclination of the penultimate upper premolar, as well by the small and feeble claws. In all these features the musk-kangaroo connects theMacropodidaewith thePhalangeridae. The other teeth are like those of the rat-kangaroos.
(W. H. F.; R. L.*)
KANGAROO-RAT,a name applied in different parts of the world to two widely different groups of mammals. In Australia it is used to denote the small kangaroo-like marsupials technically known asPotoroinae, which zoologists prefer to call rat-kangaroos (seeMarsupialiaandKangaroo). In North America it is employed for certain small jumping rat-like rodents nearly allied to the pocket-gophers and belonging to the familyGeomyidae. Kangaroo-rats in this latter series are represented by three North American genera, of whichDipodomys phillipsi,Cricetodipus agilisandMicrodipodops megacephalusmay respectively be taken as examples. Resembling pocket-gophers in the possession of cheek-pouches, kangaroo-rats, together with pocket-mice, are distinguished by their elongated hind-limbs and tails, large eyes, well-developed ears and general jerboa-like appearance and habits. The upper incisor teeth are also relatively narrower, and there are important differences in the skull. The cheek-teeth are rootless in kangaroo-rats, but they develop roots in the pocket-mice. The former inhabit open, sandy districts, where they burrow beneath rocks or stones, and hop about like jerboas; their food consisting of grasses and other plants.
KANGAVAR,a small district of Persia, situated between Hamadan and Kermanshah, and, being held in fief by the family of a deceased court official, forming a separate government. The district is very fertile and contains 30 villages. Its revenues amount to about £500 per annum, and its chief place is the large village of Kangavar, which has a population of about 2500 and is 47 m. from Hamadan on the high road to Kermanshah.
KANGRA,a town and district of British India, in the Jullundur division of the Punjab. The town, sometimes called Nagarkot, is situated 2409 ft. above the sea. Pop. (1901), 4746. The Katoch rajas had a stronghold here, with a fort and rich temples. Mahmud of Ghazni took the fort in 1009 and from one of the temples carried off a vast treasure. In 1360 Kangra was again plundered, by Feroz Shah. The temple of Devi Bajreshri was one of the oldest and wealthiest in northern India. It was destroyed, together with the fort and the town, by an earthquake on the 4th of April 1905, when 1339 lives were lost in this place alone, and about 20,000 elsewhere. In 1855 the headquarters of the district were removed to the sanitarium of Dharmsala.
The district of Kangra extends from the Jullundur Doab far into the southern ranges of the Himalaya. Besides some Rajput states, annexed after the Sikh wars, it includes Lahul, Spiti and Kulu, which are essentially Tibetan. The Beas is the only important river. Area, 9978 sq. m., of which Kangra proper has only 2725. Pop. (1901), 768,124; average density 77 persons per sq. m., but with only one person per sq. m. in Spiti. Teacultivation was introduced into Kangra about 1850. The Palampur fair, established by government with a view to fostering commerce with central Asia, attracts a small concourse of Yarkandi merchants. The Lahulis carry on an enterprising trade with Ladakh and countries beyond the frontier, by means of pack sheep and goats. Rice, tea, potatoes, opium, spices, wool and honey are the chief exports.
SeeKangra District Gazetteer(Lahore, 1906).
SeeKangra District Gazetteer(Lahore, 1906).
KANISHKA,king of Kabul, Kashmir, and north-western India in the 2nd centuryA.D., was a Tatar of the Kushan tribe, one of the five into which the Yue-chi Tatars were divided. His dominions extended as far down into India as Madurā, and probably as far to the north-west as Bokhāra. Private inscriptions found in the Punjab and Sind, in the Yusufzai district and at Madurā, and referred by European scholars to his reign, are dated in the years five to twenty-eight of an unknown era. It is the references by Chinese historians to the Yue-chi tribes before their incursion into India, together with conclusions drawn from the history of art and literature in his reign, that render the date given the most probable. Kanishka’s predecessors on the throne were Pagans; but shortly after his accession he professed himself, probably from political reasons, a Buddhist. He spent vast sums in the construction of Buddhist monuments; and under his auspices the fourth Buddhist council, the council of Jālandhara (Jullunder) was convened under the presidency of Vasumitra. At this council three treatises, commentaries on the Canon, one on each of the three baskets into which it is divided, were composed. King Kanishka had these treatises, when completed and revised by Aśvaghosha, written out on copper plates, and enclosed the latter in stone boxes, which he placed in a memorial mound. For some centuries afterwards these works survived in India; but they exist now only in Chinese translations or adaptations. We are not told in what language they were written. It was probably Sanskrit (not Pali, the language of the Canon)—just as in Europe we have works of exegetical commentary composed, in Latin, on the basis of the Testament and Septuagint in Greek. This change of the language used as a medium of literary intercourse was partly the cause, partly the effect, of a complete revulsion in the intellectual life of India. The reign of Kanishka was certainly the turning-point in this remarkable change. It has been suggested with great plausibility, that the wide extent of his domains facilitated the incursion into India of Western modes of thought; and thus led in the first place to the corruption and gradual decline of Buddhism, and secondly to the gradual rise of Hinduism. Only the publication of the books written at the time will enable us to say whether this hypothesis—for at present it is nothing more—is really a sufficient explanation of the very important results of his reign. In any case it was a migration of nomad hordes in Central Asia that led, in Europe, to the downfall of the Roman civilization; and then, through the conversion of the invaders, to medieval conditions of life and thought. It was the very same migration of nomad hordes that led, in India, to the downfall of the Buddhist civilization; and subsequently, after the conversion of the Saka and Tatar invaders, to medieval Hinduism. As India was nearer to the starting-point of the migration, its results were felt there somewhat sooner.
Authorities.—Vincent A. Smith,The Early History of India(Oxford, 1908); “The Kushan Period of Indian History,” inJ.R.A.S.(1903); M. Boyer, “L’Époque de Kaniska,” inJournal Asiatique(1900); T. Watters,On Yuan Chwang(London, 1904, 1905); J. Takakusu, “The Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma Books,” inJour. of the Pali Text Soc.(1905), esp. pp. 118-130; Rhys Davids,Buddhist India(London, 1903), ch. xvi., “Kanishka.”
Authorities.—Vincent A. Smith,The Early History of India(Oxford, 1908); “The Kushan Period of Indian History,” inJ.R.A.S.(1903); M. Boyer, “L’Époque de Kaniska,” inJournal Asiatique(1900); T. Watters,On Yuan Chwang(London, 1904, 1905); J. Takakusu, “The Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma Books,” inJour. of the Pali Text Soc.(1905), esp. pp. 118-130; Rhys Davids,Buddhist India(London, 1903), ch. xvi., “Kanishka.”
(T. W. R. D.)
KANKAKEE,a city and the county-seat of Kankakee county, Illinois, U.S.A., in the N.E. part of the state, on the Kankakee river, 56 m S. of Chicago. Pop. (1900), 13,595, of whom 3346 were foreign-born; (1910 census), 13,986. Kankakee is served by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis, the Illinois Central, and the Chicago, Indiana & Southern (controlled by the New York Central) railways. It is the seat of the Eastern Hospital for the Insane (1879) a state institution; St Joseph’s Seminary (Roman Catholic) and a Conservatory of Music. At Bourbonnais Grove, 3 m. N. of Kankakee is St Viateur’s College (founded 1868), a well-known Roman Catholic divinity school, and Notre Dame Academy, another Catholic institution. The city has a public library and four large parks; in Court House Square there is a monument erected by popular subscription in honour of the soldiers from Kankakee county who died in the Civil War. There are rock quarries here, and the city manufactures sewing machines, musical instruments, especially pianos, foundry and machine shop products, agricultural implements and furniture. The total value of the factory product in 1905 was $2,089,143, an increase of 222% since 1900. Kankakee is also a shipping point for agricultural products. It was first settled in 1832; was platted as the town of Bourbonnais in 1853, when Kankakee county was first organized; was chartered as the city of Kankakee in 1855, and was re-chartered in 1892.
KANKER,a feudatory state of India, within the Central Provinces; area, 1429 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 103,536; estimated revenue, £10,000. It is a hilly tract, containing the headwaters of the Mahanadi. The extensive forests have recently been made profitable by the opening of a branch railway. The residence of the raja, who is of an old Rajput family though ruling over Gonds, is at Kanker (pop. 3906).
KANO,one of the most important provinces of the British protectorate of Northern Nigeria. It includes the ancient emirates of Kano, Katsena, Daura and Kazaure, and covers an area of about 31,000 sq. m. The sub-province of Katagum was incorporated with Kano in 1905, and is included within this area. The population of the double province is estimated at about 2,250,000.
Kano was one of the original seven Hausa states. Written annals carry the record of its kings back to aboutA.D.900. Legendary history goes back much further. It was conquered by the Songhoi (Songhay) in the early part of the 16th century, and more than once appears to have made at least partial submission to Bornu. Mahommedanism was introduced at a period which, according to the system adopted for the dating of the annals, must be placed either in the 12th or the 14th century. The Hausa system of government and taxation was adopted by the Fula when in the early part of the 19th century that Mahommedan people overran the Hausa states. It has been erroneously stated that the Fula imposed Mahommedanism on the Hausa states. The fact that they adopted the existing system of government and taxation, which are based upon Koranic law, would in itself be sufficient proof that this was not the case. But the annals of Kano distinctly record the introduction and describe the development of Mahommedanism at an early period of local history.
The capital is the city of Kano, situated in 12° N. and 8° 20′ E., 220 m. S.S.E. of Sokoto and 500 N.E. of Lagos. It is built on an open plain, and is encompassed by a wall 11 m. in perimeter and pierced by thirteen gates. The wall is from 30 to 50 ft. high and about 40 ft. thick at the base. Round the wall is a deep double ditch, a dwarf wall running along its centre. The gates are simply cow-hide, but are set in massive entrance towers. Only about a third of the area (7¼ sq. m.) enclosed by the walls is inhabited nor was the whole space ever occupied by buildings, the intention of the founders of the city being to wall in ground sufficient to grow food for the inhabitants during a siege. The arable land within the city is mainly on the west and north; only to the south-east do the houses come right to the walls. Within the walls are two steep hills, one, Dala, about 120 ft. high being the most ancient quarter of the town. Dala lies north-west. To its east is a great pond, the Jakara, 1½ m. long, and by its north-east shore is the market of the Arab merchants. Here also was the slave market. The palace of the emir, in front of which is a large open space, is in the Fula quarter in the south-east of the city. The palace consists of a number of buildings covering 33 acres and surrounded by a wall 20 to 30 ft. high. The architecture of the city is not without merit. The houses are built of clay with (generally) flat roofs impervious to fire. Traces of Moorish influence are evident and the horse-shoe arch is common. Theaudience hall of the emir’s palace—25 ft. sq. and 18 ft. high—is decorated with designs in black, white, green and yellow, the yellow designs (formed of micaceous sand) glistening like gold. The dome-shaped roof is supported by twenty arches.
The city is divided into fourteen quarters, each presided over by a headman, and inhabited by separate sections of the community. It is probably the greatest commercial city in the central Sudan. Other towns, like Zaria, may do as much trade, but Kano is pre-eminent as a manufacturing centre. The chief industry is the weaving of cloth from native grown cotton. Leather goods of all kinds are also manufactured, and from Kano come most of the “morocco leather” goods on the European markets. Dyeing is another large trade, as is the preparation of indigo. Of traders there are four distinct classes. They are: (1) Arabs from Tripoli, who export ostrich feathers, skins and ivory, and bring in burnouses, scents, sweets, tea, sugar, &c.; (2) Salaga merchants who import kola nuts from the hinterland of the Guinea Coast, taking in exchange cloth and live stock and leather and other goods; (3) the Asbenawa traders, who come from the oases of Asben or Air with camels laden with salt and “potash” (i.e.sodium carbonates), and with herds of cattle and sheep, receiving in return cotton and hardware and kolas; (4) the Hausa merchants. This last class trades with the other three and despatches caravans to Illorin and other places, where the Kano goods, the “potash” and other merchandise are exchanged for kolas and European goods. The “potash” finds a ready sale among the Yorubas, being largely used for cooking purposes. In Kano itself is a great market for livestock: camels, horses, oxen, asses and goats being on sale.
Besides Hausa, who represent the indigenous population, there are large colonies of Kanuri (from Bornu) and Nupians in Kano. The Fula form the aristocratic class. The population is said to amount to 100,000. About a mile and a half east of Kano is Nassarawa, formerly the emir’s suburban residence, but since 1902 the British Residency and barracks.