Part 32

KARAMZIN, NIKOLAI MIKHAILOVICH (1765-1826), Russian historian, critic, novelist and poet, was born at the village of Mikhailovka, in the government of Orenburg, and not at Simbirsk as many of his English and German biographers incorrectly state, on the 1st of December (old style) 1765. His father was an officer in the Russian army, of Tatar extraction. He was sent to Moscow to study under Professor Schaden, whence he afterwards removed to St Petersburg, where he made the acquaintance of Dmitriev, a Russian poet of some merit, and occupied himself with translating essays by foreign writers into his native language. After residing some time at St Petersburg, he went to Simbirsk, where he lived in retirement till induced to revisit Moscow. There, finding himself in the midst of the society of learned men, he again betook himself to literary work. In 1789 he resolved to travel, and visited Germany, France, Switzerland and England. On his return he published his _Letters of a Russian Traveller_, which met with great success. These letters were first printed in the _Moscow Journal_, which he edited, but were afterwards collected and issued in six volumes (1797-1801). In the same periodical Karamzin also published translations of some of the tales of Marmontel, and some original stories, among which may be mentioned _Poor Liza_ and _Natalia the Boyar's Daughter_. In 1794 and 1795 Karamzin abandoned his literary journal, and published a miscellany in two volumes, entitled _Aglaia_, in which appeared, among other things, "The Island of Bornholm" and "Ilia Mourometz," a story based upon the adventures of the well-known hero of many a Russian legend. In 1797-1799 he issued another miscellany or poetical almanac, _The Aonides_, in conjunction with Derzhavin and Dmitriev. In 1798 he compiled _The Pantheon_, a collection of pieces from the works of the most celebrated authors ancient and modern, translated into Russian. Many of his lighter productions were subsequently printed by him in a volume entitled _My Trifles_. In 1802 and 1803 Karamzin edited the journal the _European Messenger_. It was not until after the publication of this work that he realized where his strength lay, and commenced his _History of the Russian Empire_. In order to accomplish the task, he secluded himself for two years; and, on the cause of his retirement becoming known to the emperor Alexander, Karamzin was invited to Tver, where he read to the emperor the first eight volumes of his history. In 1816 he removed to St Petersburg, where he spent the happiest days of his life, enjoying the favour of Alexander, and submitting to him the sheets of his great work, which the emperor read over with him in the gardens of the palace of Tzarskoe Selo. He did not, however, live to carry his work further than the eleventh volume, terminating it at the accession of Michael Romanov in 1613. He died on the 22nd of May (old style) 1826, in the Taurida palace. A monument was erected to his memory at Simbirsk in 1845.

As an historian Karamzin has deservedly a very high reputation. Till the appearance of his work little had been done in this direction in Russia. The preceding attempt of Tatistchev was merely a rough sketch, inelegant in style, and without the true spirit of criticism. Karamzin was most industrious in accumulating materials, and the notes to his volumes are mines of curious information. The style of his history is elegant and flowing, modelled rather upon the easy sentences of the French prose writers than the long periodical paragraphs of the old Slavonic school. Perhaps Karamzin may justly be censured for the false gloss and romantic air thrown over the early Russian annals, concealing the coarseness and cruelty of the native manners; in this respect he reminds us of Sir Walter Scott, whose writings were at this time creating a great sensation throughout Europe, and probably had their influence upon him. Karamzin appears openly as the panegyrist of the autocracy; indeed, his work has been styled the "Epic of Despotism." He does not hesitate to avow his admiration of Ivan the Terrible, and considers him and his grandfather Ivan III. as the builders up of Russian greatness, a glory which in his earlier writings, perhaps at that time more under the influence of Western ideas, he had assigned to Peter the Great. In the battle-pieces (e.g. the description of the field of Koulikovo, the taking of Kazan, &c.) we find considerable powers of description; and the characters of many of the chief personages in the Russian annals are drawn in firm and bold lines. As a critic Karamzin was of great service to his country; in fact he may be regarded as the founder of the review and essay (in the Western style) among the Russians.

KARA SEA, a portion of the Arctic Ocean demarcated, and except on the north-west completely enclosed, by Novaya Zemlya, Vaygach Island and the Siberian coast. It is approached from the west by three straits--Matochkin, between the two islands of Novaya Zemlya, and Kara and Yugor to the north and south of Vaygach Island respectively. On the south-east Kara Bay penetrates deeply into the mainland, and to the west of this the short Kara river enters the sea. The sea is all shallow, the deepest parts lying off Vaygach Island and the northern part of Novaya Zemlya. It had long the reputation of being almost constantly ice-bound, but after the Norwegian captain Johannesen had demonstrated its accessibility in 1869, and Nordenskiold had crossed it to the mouth of the Yenisei in 1875, it was considered by many to offer a possible trade route between European Russia and the north of Siberia. But the open season is in any case very short, and the western straits are sometimes ice-bound during the entire year.

KARASU-BAZAR, a town of Russia, in the Crimea and government of Taurida, in 45 deg. 3' N. and 34 deg. 26' E., 25 m. E.N.E. of Simferopol. Pop. (1897), 12,961, consisting of Tatars, Armenians, Greeks, Qaraite Jews, and about 200 so-called Krymchaki, i.e. Jews who have adopted the Tatar language and dress, and who live chiefly by making morocco leather goods, knives, embroidery and so forth. The site is low, but the town is surrounded by hills, which afford protection from the north wind. The dirty streets full of petty traders, the gloomy bazaar with its multitude of tiny shops, the market squares, the blind alleys, the little gates in the dead courtyard walls, all give the place the stamp of a Tatar or Turkish town. Placed on the high road between Simferopol and Kerch, and in the midst of a country rich in corn land, vineyards and gardens, Karasu-Bazar used to be a chief seat of commercial activity in the Crimea; but it is gradually declining in importance, though still a considerable centre for the export of fruit.

The caves of Akkaya close by give evidence of early occupation of the spot. When in 1736 Khan Feta Ghirai was driven by the Russians from Bakhchi-sarai he settled at Karasu-Bazar, but next year the town was captured, plundered and burned by the Russians.

KARATEGHIN, a country of Central Asia, subject to Bokhara, and consisting of a highland district bounded on the N. by Samarkand and Ferghana (Khokand), on the E. by Ferghana, on the S. by Darvaz, and on the W. by Hissar and other Bokharian provinces. The plateau is traversed by the Surkhab or Vakhsh, a right-hand tributary of the Amu-darya (Oxus). On the N. border run the Hissar and Zarafshan mountains, and on the S. border the Peter I. (Periokhtan) range (24,900 ft.). The area is 8000 sq. m. and the population about 60,000--five-sixths Tajiks, the rest Kara-kirghiz. With the neighbouring lands Karateghin has no communication except during summer, that is, from May to September. The winter climate is extremely severe; snow begins to fall in October and it is May before it disappears. During the warmer months, however, the mountain sides are richly clothed with the foliage of maple, mountain ash, apple, pear and walnut trees; the orchards furnish, not only apples and pears, but peaches, cherries, mulberries and apricots; and the farmers grow sufficient corn to export. Both cattle and horses are of a small and hardy breed. Rough woollen cloth and mohair are woven by the natives, who also make excellent firearms and other weapons. Gold is found in various places and there are salt-pits in the mountains. The chief town, Harm or Garm, is a place of some 2000 inhabitants, situated on a hill on the right bank of the Surkhab.

The native princes, who claimed to be descended from Alexander the Great, were till 1868 practically independent, though their allegiance was claimed in an ineffective way by Khokand, but eventually Bokhara took advantage of their intestine feuds to secure their real submission in 1877.

KARAULI, or KEROWLEE, a native state of India, in the Rajputana agency. Area, 1242 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 156,786; estimated revenue about L330,000. Almost the entire territory is composed of hills and broken ground, but there are no lofty peaks, the highest having an elevation of less than 1400 ft. above sea-level. The Chambal river flows along the south-east boundary of the state. Iron ore and building stone comprise the mineral resources. The prevailing agricultural products are millets, which form the staple food of the people. The only manufactures consist of a little weaving, dyeing, wood-turning and stone-cutting. The principal imports are piece goods, salt, sugar, cotton, buffaloes and bullocks; the exports rice and goats. The feudal aristocracy of the state consists of Jadu Rajputs connected with the ruling house. They pay a tribute in lieu of constant military service, but in case of emergency or on occasions of state display they are bound to attend on the chief with their retainers. The maharaja is the head of the clan, which claims descent from Krishna. Maharaja Bhanwar Pal Deo, who was born in 1862 and succeeded in 1866, was appointed G.C.I.E. in 1897, on the occasion of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.

The town of KARAULI had a population in 1901 of 23,482. It dates from 1348, and is well situated in a position naturally defended by ravines on the north and east, while it is further protected by a great wall. The palace of the maharaja is a handsome block of buildings dating mainly from the middle of the 18th century.

KAREN, one of the chief hill races of Burma. The Karens inhabit the central Pegu Yoma range, forming the watershed between the Sittang and Irrawaddy rivers, the Paunglaung range between the Sittang and the Salween, and the eastern slopes of the Arakan Yoma mountains to the west of the Irrawaddy delta. They are supposed to be the descendants of Chinese tribes driven southwards by the pressure of the Shan races, before they were again made to retire into the hills by the expansion of the Mon power. Their own traditions ascribe their original home to the west of the sandy desert of Gobi stretching between China and Tibet. According to the census of 1901 they numbered in all 727,235 persons within British India, divided into the Sgaw, 86,434, the Pwo, 174,070, and the Bghai, 4936, while 457,355 are returned as "unspecified." The Sgaw and Pwo are collectively known as the "White Karens," and chiefly inhabit British territory. They take their name from the colour of their clothes. The Bghai, or "Red Karens," who are supposed by some to be an entirely distinct race, chiefly inhabit the independent hill state of Karen-ni (q.v.). The Karen is of a squarer build than the Burman, his skin is fairer, and he has more of the Mongolian obliquity of the eyes. In character also the people differ from the Burmese. They are singularly devoid of humour, they are stolid and cautious, and lack altogether the light gaiety and fascination of the Burmese. They are noted for truthfulness and chastity, but are dirty and addicted to drink. The White Karens furnish perhaps the most notable instance of conversion to Christianity of any native race in the British empire. Prepared by prophecies current among them, and by curious traditions of a biblical flavour, in addition to their antagonism to the dominant Burmese, they embraced with fervour the new creed brought to them by the missionaries, so that out of the 147,525 Christians in Burma according to the census of 1901 upwards of a hundred thousand were Karens. The Red Karens differ considerably from the White Karens. They are the wildest and most lawless of the so-called Karen tribes. Every male belonging to the clan used to have the rising sun tattooed in bright vermilion on his back. The men are small and wizened, but athletic, and have broad reddish-brown faces. Their dress consists of a short pair of breeches, usually of a reddish colour, with black and white stripes interwoven perpendicularly or like a tartan, and a handkerchief is tied round the head. The Karen language is tonal, and belongs to the Siamese-Chinese branch of the Indo-Chinese family.

See D. M. Smeaton, _The Loyal Karens of Burma_ (1887); J. Nisbet, _Burma under British Rule_ (1901); M. and B. Ferrars, _Burma_ (1900); and O'Connor Scott, _The Silken East_ (1904). (J. G. Sc.)

KAREN-NI, the country of the Red Karens, a collection of small states, formerly independent, but now feudatory to Burma. It is situated approximately between 18 deg. 50' and 19 deg. 55' N. and between 97 deg. 10' and 97 deg. 50' E. The tract is bounded on the N. by the Shan states of Mong Pai, Hsatung and Mawkmai; on the E. by Siam; on the S. by the Papun district of Lower Burma; and on the W. a stretch of mountainous country, inhabited by the Bre and various other small tribes, formerly in a state of independence, divides it from the districts of Toungoo and Yamethin. It is divided in a general way into eastern and western Karen-ni; the former consisting of one state, Gantarawadi, with an approximate area of 2500 sq. m.; the latter of the four small states of Kyebogyi, area about 350 sq. m.; Bawlake, 200 sq. m.; Nammekon, 50 sq. m.; and Naungpale, about 30 sq. m. The small states of western Karen-ni were formerly all subject to Bawlake, but the subordination has now ceased. Karen-ni consists of two widely differing tracts of country, which roughly mark now, and formerly actually did mark, the division into east and west. Gantarawadi has, however, encroached westwards beyond the boundaries which nature would assign to it. The first of these two divisions is the southern portion of the valley of the Hpilu, or Balu stream, an open, fairly level plain, well watered and in some parts swampy. The second division is a series of chains of hills, intersected by deep valleys, through which run the two main rivers, the Salween and the Pawn, and their feeder streams. Many of the latter are dried up in the hot season and only flow freely during the rains. The whole country being hilly, the most conspicuous ridge is that lying between the Pawn and the Salween, which has an average altitude of 5000 ft. It is crossed by several tracks, passable for pack-animals, the most in use being the road between Sawlon, the capital of Gantarawadi and Man Mau. The principal peak east of the Salween is on the Loi Lan ridge, 7109 ft. above mean sea-level. Parts of this ridge form the boundary between eastern Karen-ni and Mawkmai on the west and Siam on the east. It falls away rapidly to the south, and at Pang Salang is crossed at a height of 2200 ft. by the road from Hsataw to Mehawnghsawn. West of the Balu valley the continuation of the eastern rim of the Myelat plateau rises in Loi Nangpa to about 5000 ft. The Nam Pawn is a large river, with an average breadth of 100 yds., but is unnavigable owing to its rocky bed. Even timber cannot be floated down it without the assistance of elephants. The Salween throughout Karen-ni is navigated by large native craft. Its tributary, the Me Pai, on the eastern bank, is navigable as far as Mehawnghsawn in Siamese territory. The Balu stream flows out of the Inle lake, and is navigable from that point to close on Lawpita, where it sinks into the ground in a marsh or succession of funnel holes. Its breadth averages 50 yds., and its depth is 15 ft. in some places.

The chief tribes are the Red Karens (24,043), Bres (3500), and Padaungs (1867). Total revenue, Rs. 37,000. An agent of the British government, with a guard of military police, is posted at the village of Loikaw. Little of the history of the Red Karens is known; but it appears to be generally admitted that Bawlake was originally the chief state of the whole country, east and west, but eastern Karen-ni under Papaw-gyi early became the most powerful. Slaving raids far into the Shan states brought on invasions from Burma, which, however, were not very successful. Eastern Karen-ni was never reduced until Sawlapaw, having defied the British government, was overcome and deposed by General Collett in the beginning of 1889. Sawlawi was then appointed myoza, and received a _sanad_, or patent of appointment, on the same terms as the chiefs of the Shan states. The independence of the Western Karen-ni states had been guaranteed by the British government in a treaty with King Mindon in 1875. They were, however, formally recognized as feudatories in 1892 and were presented with _sanads_ on the 23rd of January of that year. Gantarawadi pays a regular tribute of Rs. 5000 yearly, whereas these chieflets pay an annual _kadaw_, or _nuzzur_, of about Rs. 100. They are forbidden to carry out a sentence of death passed on a criminal without the sanction of the superintendent of the southern Shan states, but otherwise retain nearly all their customary law.

Tin, or what is called tin, is worked in Bawlake. It appears, however, to be very impure. It is worked intermittently by White Karens on the upper waters of the Hkemapyu stream. Rubies, spinels and other stones are found in the upper Tu valley and in the west of Nammekon state, but they are of inferior quality. The trade in teak is the chief or only source of wealth in Karen-ni. The largest and most important forests are those on the left bank of the Salween. Others lie on both banks of the Nam Pawn, and in western Karen-ni on the Nam Tu. The yearly out-turn is estimated at over 20,000 logs, and forest officers have estimated that an annual out-turn of 9000 logs might be kept up without injury to the forests. Some quantity of cutch is exported, as also stick-lac, which the Red Karens graft so as to foster the production. Other valuable forest produce exists, but is not exported. Rice, areca-nuts, and betel-vine leaf are the chief agricultural products. The Red Karen women weave their own and their husbands' clothing. A characteristic manufacture is the _pa-si_ or Karen metal drum, which is made at Ngwedaung. These drums are from 2(1/2) to 3 ft. across the boss, with sides of about the same depth. The sound is out of proportion to the metal used, and is inferior to that of the Shan and Burmese gongs. It is thought that the population of Karen-ni is steadily decreasing. The birth-rate of the people is considered to exceed the death-rate by very little, and the Red Karen habit of life is most unwholesome. Numbers have enlisted in the Burma police, but there are various opinions as to their value. (J. G. Sc.)

KARIKAL, a French settlement in India, situated on the south-east coast, within the limits of Tanjore district, with an area of 53 sq. m., and a population (1901) of 56,595. The site was promised to the French by the Tanjore raja in 1738, in return for services rendered, but was only obtained by them by force in 1739. It was captured by the British in 1760, restored in 1765, again taken in 1768, and finally restored in 1817. The town is neatly built on one of the mouths of the Cauvery, and carries on a brisk trade with Ceylon, exporting rice and importing chiefly European articles and timber. A _chef de l'administration_, subordinate to the government at Pondicherry, is in charge of the settlement, and there is a tribunal of first instance.

KARLI, a village of British India, in the Poona district of the Bombay presidency, famous for its rock caves. Pop. (1901), 903. The great cave of Karli is said by Fergusson to be without exception the largest and finest _chaitya_ cave in India; it was excavated at a time when the style was in its greatest purity, and is splendidly preserved. The great _chaitya_ hall is 126 ft. long, 45 ft. 7 in. wide, and about 46 ft. high. A row of ornamental columns rises on either side to the ribbed teak roof, and at the far end of the nave is a massive _dagoba_. Dating from the beginning of the Christian era or earlier, this cave has a wooden roof, which repeats the pattern of the walls, and which Fergusson considers to be part of the original design. Since wood rapidly deteriorates in India owing to the climate and the ravages of white ants, the state of preservation of this roof is remarkable.

KARLOWITZ, or CARLOWITZ (Hungarian, _Karloeza_; Croatian, Karlovci), a city of Croatia-Slavonia, in the county of Syrmia; on the right bank of the Danube, and on the railway from Peterwardein, 6 m. N.W. to Belgrade. Pop. (1900), 5643. Karlowitz is the seat of an Orthodox metropolitan, and has several churches and schools, and a hospital. The fruit-farms and vineyards of the Fruska Gora, a range of hills to the south, yield excellent plum brandy and red wine. An obelisk at Slankamen, 13 m. E. by S., commemorates the defeat of the Turks by Louis of Baden, in 1691. The treaty of Karlowitz, between Austria, Turkey, Poland and Venice, was concluded in 1699; in 1848-1849 the city was the headquarters of Servian opposition to Hungary. It was included, until 1881, in the Military Frontier.

KARLSKRONA [CARLSCRONA,] a seaport of Sweden, on the Baltic coast, chief town of the district (_lan_) of Blekinge, and headquarters of the Swedish navy. Pop. (1900), 23,955. It is pleasantly situated upon islands and the mainland, 290 m. S.S.W. of Stockholm by rail. The harbour is capacious and secure, with a sufficient depth of water for the largest vessels. It has three entrances; the principal, and the only one practicable for large vessels, is to the south of the town, and is defended by two strong forts, at Drottningskar on the island of Aspo, and on the islet of Kungsholm. The dry docks, of great extent, are cut out of the solid granite. There is slip-accommodation for large vessels. Karlskrona is the seat of the Royal Naval Society, and has a navy-arsenal and hospital, and naval and other schools. Charles XI., the founder of the town as naval headquarters (1680), is commemorated by a bronze statue (1897). There are factories for naval equipments, galvanized metal goods, felt hats, canvas, leather and rice, and breweries and granite quarries. Exports are granite and timber; imports, coal, flour, provisions, hides and machinery.