Part 46

KURILES (Jap. _Chishima_, "thousand islands"), a chain of small islands belonging to Japan, stretching in a north-easterly direction from Nemuro Bay, on the extreme east of the island of Yezo, to Chishima-kaikyo (Kuriles Strait), which separates them from the southernmost point of Kamchatka. They extend from 44° 45´ to 50° 56´ N. and from 145° 25´ to 156° 32´ E. Their coasts measure 1496 m.; their area is 6159 sq. m.; their total number is 32, and the names of the eight principal islands, counting from the south, are Kunashiri, Shikotan, Etorofu (generally called Etorop, and known formerly to Europe as Staten Island), Urup, Simusir, Onnekotan, Paramoshiri (Paramusir) and Shumshiri. From Noshapzaki (Notsu-no-sake or Notsu Cape), the most easterly point of Nemuro province, to Tomari, the most westerly point in Kunashiri, the distance is 7(1/3) m., and the Kuriles Strait separating Shumshiri from Kamchatka is about the same width. The name "Kurile" is derived from the Russian _kurit_ (to smoke), in allusion to the active volcanic character of the group. The dense fogs that envelop these islands, and the violence of the currents in their vicinity, have greatly hindered exploration, so that little is known of their physiography. They lie entangled in a vast net of sea-weed; are the resort of innumerable birds, and used to be largely frequented by seals and sea-otters, which, however, have been almost completely driven away by unregulated hunting. Near the south-eastern coast of Kunashiri stands a mountain called Rausunobori (3005 ft. high), round whose base sulphur bubbles up in large quantities, and hot springs as well as a hot stream are found. On the west coast of the same island is a boiling lake, called Ponto, which deposits on its bed and round its shores black sand, consisting almost entirely of pure sulphur. This island has several lofty peaks; Ponnobori-yama near the east coast, and Chachanobori and Rurindake in the north. Chachanobori (about 7382 ft.) is described by Messrs Chamberlain and Mason as "a cone within a cone, the inner and higher of the two being--so the natives say--surrounded by a lake." The island has extensive forests of conifers with an undergrowth of ferns and flowering plants, and bears are numerous. The chief port of Kunashiri is Tomari, on the south coast. The island of Shikotan is remarkable for the growth of a species of bamboo (called Shikotan-chiku), having dark brown spots on the cane. Etorofu has a coast-line broken by deep bays, of which the principal are Naibo-wan, Rubetsu-wan and Bettobuwan on the northern shore and Shitokap-wan on the southern. It is covered almost completely with dense forest, and has a number of streams abounding with salmon. Shana, the chief port, is in Rubetsu Bay. This island, the principal of the group, is divided into four provinces for administrative purposes, namely, Etorofu, Furubetsu, Shana and Shibetoro. Its mountains are Atosha-nobori (4035 ft.) in Etorofu; Chiripnupari (5009 ft.) in Shana; and Mokoro-nobori (3930 ft.) and Atuiyadake (3932 ft.) in Shibetoro. Among the other islands three only call for notice on account of their altitudes, namely, Ketoi-jima, Rashua-jima and Matua-jima, which rise to heights of 3944, 3304 and 5240 ft. respectively.

_Population._--Not much is known about the aborigines. By some authorities Ainu colonists are supposed to have been the first settlers, and to have arrived there via Yezo; by others, the earliest comers are believed to have been a hyperborean tribe travelling southwards by way of Kamchatka. The islands themselves have not been sufficiently explored to determine whether they furnish any ethnological evidences. The present population aggregates about 4400, or 0.7 per sq. m., of whom about 600 are Ainu (q.v.). There is little disposition to emigrate thither from Japan proper, the number of settlers being less than 100 annually.

_History._--The Kurile Islands were discovered in 1634 by the Dutch navigator Martin de Vries. The three southern islands, Kunashiri, Etorofu, and Shikotan, are believed to have belonged to Japan from a remote date, but at the beginning of the 18th century the Russians, having conquered Kamchatka, found their way to the northern part of the Kuriles in pursuit of fur-bearing animals, with which the islands then abounded. Gradually these encroachments were pushed farther south, simultaneously with aggressions imperilling the Japanese settlements in the southern half of Sakhalin. Japan's occupation was far from effective in either region, and in 1875 she was not unwilling to conclude a convention by which she agreed to withdraw altogether from Sakhalin provided that Russia withdrew from the Kuriles.

An officer of the Japanese navy, Lieut. Gunji, left Tokyo with about forty comrades in 1892, his intention being to form a settlement on Shumshiri, the most northerly of the Kurile Islands. They embarked in open boats, and for that reason, as well as because they were going to constitute themselves their country's extreme outpost, the enterprise attracted public enthusiasm. After a long struggle the immigrants became fairly prosperous.

See Capt. H. J. Snow, _Notes on the Kurile Islands_ (London, 1896).

KURISCHES HAFF, a lagoon of Germany, on the Baltic coast of East Prussia, stretching from Labiau to Memel, a distance of 60 m., has an area of nearly 680 sq. m. It is mostly shallow and only close to Memel attains a depth of 23 ft. It is thus unnavigable except for small coasting and fishing boats, and sea-going vessels proceed through the Memeler Tief (Memel Deep), which connects the Baltic with Memel and has a depth of 19 ft. and a breadth of 800 to 1900 ft. The Kurisches Haff is separated from the Baltic by a long spit, or tongue of land, the so-called Kurische Nehrung, 72 m. in length and with a breadth of 1 to 2 miles. The latter is fringed throughout its whole length by a chain of dunes, which rise in places to a height of nearly 200 ft. and threaten, unless checked, to be pressed farther inland and silt up the whole Haff.

See Berendt, _Geologie des Kurischen Haffs_ (Königsberg, 1869); Sommer, _Das Kurische Haff_ (Danzig, 1889); A. Bezzenberger, _Die Kurische Nehrung und ihre Bewohner_ (Stuttgart, 1889); and Lindner, _Die Preussische Wüste einst und jetzt, Bilder von der Kurischen Nehrung_ (Osterwieck, 1898).

KURNOOL, or KARNUL, a town and district of British India, in the Madras presidency. The town is built on a rocky soil at the junction of the Hindri and Tungabhadra rivers 33 m. from a railway station. The old Hindu fort was levelled in 1865, with the exception of one of the gates, which was preserved as a specimen of ancient architecture. Cotton cloth and carpets are manufactured. Pop. (1901), 25,376, of whom half are Mussulmans.

The DISTRICT OF KURNOOL has an area of 7578 sq. m., pop. (1901), 872,055, showing an increase of 6% in the decade. Two long mountain ranges, the Nallamalais and the Yellamalais, extend in parallel lines, north and south, through its centre. The principal heights of the Nallamalai range are Biranikonda (3149 ft.), Gundlabrahmeswaram (3055 ft.), and Durugapukonda (3086 ft.). The Yellamalai is a low range, generally flat-topped with scarped sides; the highest point is about 2000 ft. Several low ridges run parallel to the Nallamalais, broken here and there by gorges, through which mountain streams take their course. Several of these gaps were dammed across under native rule, to form tanks for purposes of irrigation. The principal rivers are the Tungabhadra and Kistna, which bound the district on the north. When in flood, the Tungabhadra averages 900 yards broad and 15 ft. deep. The Kistna here flows chiefly through uninhabited jungles, sometimes in long smooth reaches, with intervening shingly rapids. The Bhavanasi rises on the Nallamalais, and falls into the Kistna at Sungameswaram, a place of pilgrimage. During the 18th century Kurnool formed the _jagir_ of a semi-independent Pathan Nawab, whose descendant was dispossessed by the British government for treason in 1838. The principal crops are millets, cotton, oil-seeds, and rice, with a little indigo and tobacco. Kurnool suffered very severely from the famine of 1876-1877, and to a slight extent in 1896-1897. It is the chief scene of the operations of the Madras Irrigation Company taken over by government in 1882. The canal, which starts from the Tungabhadra river near Kurnool town, was constructed at a total cost of two millions sterling, but has not been a financial success. A more successful work is the Cumbum tank, formed under native rule by damming a gorge of the Gundlakamma river. Apart from the weaving of coarse cotton cloth, the chief industrial establishments are cotton presses, indigo vats, and saltpetre refineries. The district is served by the Southern Mahratta railway.

KUROKI, ITEI, COUNT (1844- ), Japanese general, was born in Satsuma. He distinguished himself in the Chino-Japanese War of 1894-95. He commanded the I. Army in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5), when he won the opening battle of the war at the Yalu river, and afterwards advanced through the mountains and took part with the other armies in the battles of Liao-Yang, Shaho and Mukden (see RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR). He was created baron for his services in the former war, and count for his services in the latter.

KUROPATKIN, ALEXEI NIKOLAIEVICH (1848- ), Russian general, was born in 1848 and entered the army in 1864. From 1872 to 1874 he studied at the Nicholas staff college, after which he spent a short time with the French troops in Algiers. In 1875 he was employed in diplomatic work in Kashgaria and in 1876 he took part in military operations in Turkistan, Kokan and Samerkand. In the war of 1877-78 against Turkey he earned a great reputation as chief of staff to the younger Skobelev, and after the war he wrote a detailed and critical history of the operations which is still regarded as the classical work on the subject and is available for other nations in the German translation by Major Krahmer. After the war he served again on the south-eastern borders in command of the Turkestan Rifle Brigade, and in 1881 he won further fame by a march of 500 miles from Tashkent to Geok-Tepe, taking part in the storming of the latter place. In 1882 he was promoted major-general, at the early age of 34, and he henceforth was regarded by the army as the natural successor of Skobelev. In 1890 he was promoted lieutenant-general, and thirteen years later, having acquired in peace and war the reputation of being one of the foremost soldiers in Europe, he quitted the post of minister of war which he then held and took command of the Russian army then gathering in Manchuria for the contest with Japan. His ill-success in the great war of 1904-5, astonishing as it seemed at the time, was largely attributable to his subjection to the superior command of Admiral Alexeiev, the tsar's viceroy in the Far East, and to internal friction amongst the generals, though in his history of the war (Eng. trans., 1909) he frankly admitted his own mistakes and paid the highest tribute to the gallantry of the troops who had been committed to battle under conditions unfavourable to success. After the defeat of Mukden and the retirement of the whole army to Tieling he resigned the command to General Linievich, taking the latter officer's place at the head of one of the three armies in Manchuria. (See RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR.)

KURO SIWO, or KURO SHIO (literally blue salt), a stream current in the Pacific Ocean, easily distinguishable by the warm temperature and blue colour of its waters, flowing north-eastwards along the east coast of Japan, and separated from it by a strip of cold water. The current persists as a stream to about 40 N., between the meridians of 150° E. and 160° E., when it merges in the general easterly drift of the North Pacific. The Kuro Siwo is the analogue of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic.

KURRAM, a river and district on the Kohat border of the North-West Frontier province of India. The Kurram river drains the southern flanks of the Safed Koh, enters the plains a few miles above Bannu, and joins the Indus near Isa-Khel after a course of more than 200 miles. The district has an area of 1278 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 54,257. It lies between the Miranzai Valley and the Afghan border, and is inhabited by the Turis, a tribe of Turki origin who are supposed to have subjugated the Bangash Pathans five hundred years ago. It is highly irrigated, well peopled, and crowded with small fortified villages, orchards and groves, to which a fine background is afforded by the dark pine forests and alpine snows of the Safed Koh. The beauty and climate of the valley attracted some of the Mogul emperors of Delhi, and the remains exist of a garden planted by Shah Jahan. Formerly the Kurram valley was under the government of Kabul, and every five or six years a military expedition was sent to collect the revenue, the soldiers living meanwhile at free quarters on the people. It was not until about 1848 that the Turis were brought directly under the control of Kabul, when a governor was appointed, who established himself in Kurram. The Turis, being Shiah Mahommedans, never liked the Afghan rule. During the second Afghan War, when Sir Frederick Roberts advanced by way of the Kurram valley and the Peiwar Kotal to Kabul, the Turis lent him every assistance in their power, and in consequence their independence was granted them in 1880. The administration of the Kurram valley was finally undertaken by the British government, at the request of the Turis themselves, in 1890. Technically it ranks, not as a British district, but as an agency or administered area. Two expeditions in the Kurram valley also require mention: (1) The Kurram expedition of 1856 under Brigadier Chamberlain. The Turis on the first annexation of the Kohat district by the British had given much trouble. They had repeatedly leagued with other tribes to harry the Miranzai valley, harbouring fugitives, encouraging resistance, and frequently attacking Bangash and Khattak villages in the Kohat district. Accordingly in 1856 a British force of 4896 troops traversed their country, and the tribe entered into engagements for future good conduct. (2) The Kohat-Kurram expedition of 1897 under Colonel W. Hill. During the frontier risings of 1897 the inhabitants of the Kurram valley, chiefly the Massozai section of the Orakzais, were infected by the general excitement, and attacked the British camp at Sadda and other posts. A force of 14,230 British troops traversed the country, and the tribesmen were severely punished. In Lord Curzon's reorganization of the frontier in 1900-1901, the British troops were withdrawn from the forts in the Kurram valley, and were replaced by the Kurram militia, reorganized in two battalions, and chiefly drawn from the Turi tribe.

KURSEONG, or KARSIANG, a sanatorium of northern India, in the Darjeeling district of Bengal, 20 m. S. of Darjeeling and 4860 ft. above sea-level; pop. (1901), 4469. It has a station on the mountain railway, and is a centre of the tea trade. It also contains boys' and girls' schools for Europeans and Eurasians.

KURSK, a government of middle Russia, bounded N. by the government of Orel, E. by that of Voronezh, S. by Kharkov and W. by Chernigov. Area, 17,932 sq. m. It belongs to the central plateau of middle Russia, of which it mostly occupies the southern slope, the highest parts being in Orel and Kaluga, to the north of Kursk. Its surface is 700 to 1100 ft. high, deeply trenched by ravines, and consequently assumes a hilly aspect when viewed from the river valleys. Cretaceous and Eocene rocks prevail, and chalk, iron-stone, potters' clay and phosphates are among the economic minerals. No fewer than four hundred streams are counted within its borders, but none of them is of any service as waterways. A layer of fertile loess covers the whole surface, and Kursk belongs almost entirely to the black-earth region. The flora is distinct from that of the governments to the north, not only on account of the black-earth flora which enters into its composition, but also of the plants of south-western Russia which belong to it, a characteristic which is accentuated in the southern portion of the government. The climate is milder than that of middle Russia generally, and winds from the south-east and the south-west prevail in winter. The average temperatures are--for the year 42° F., for January 14° F. and for July 67° F. The very interesting magnetic phenomenon, known as the Byelgorod anomaly, covering an oval area 20 m. long and 12 m. wide, has been studied near the town of this name. The population, 1,893,597 in 1862, was 2,391,091 in 1897, of whom 1,208,488 were women and 199,676 lived in towns. The estimated pop. in 1906 was 2,797,000. It is thoroughly Russian (76% Great Russians and 24% Little Russians), and 94% are peasants who own over 59% of the land, and live mostly in large villages. Owing to the rapid increase of the peasantry and the small size of the allotments given at the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, emigration, chiefly to Siberia, is on the increase, while 80,000 to 100,000 men leave home every summer to work in the neighbouring governments. Three-quarters of the available land is under crops, chiefly rye, other crops being wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, millet, potatoes, sugar-beets, hemp, flax, sunflowers and fruits. Grain is exported in considerable quantities. Bees are commonly kept, as also are large numbers of livestock. Factories (steam flour-mills, sugar-factories, distilleries, wool-washing, tobacco factories) give occupation to about 23,000 workers. Domestic and petty trades are on the increase in the villages, and new ones are being introduced, the chief products being boots, ikons (sacred images) and shrines, toys, caps, vehicles, baskets, and pottery. About 17 m. from the chief town is held the Korennaya fair, formerly the greatest in South Russia, and still with an annual trade valued at £900,000. The Kursk district contains more than sixty old town sites; and barrows or burial mounds (_kurgans_) are extremely abundant. Notwithstanding the active efforts of the local councils (_zemstvos_), less than 10% of the population read and write. The government is crossed from north to south and from west to south by two main lines of railway. The trade in grain, hemp, hemp-seed oil, sheepskins, hides, tallow, felt goods, wax, honey and leather goods is very brisk. There are fifteen districts, the chief towns of which, with their populations in 1897, are Kursk (q.v.) Byelgorod (21,850), Dmitriev (7315), Fatezh (4959), Graivoron (7669), Korocha (14,405), Lgov (5376), Novyi Oskol (2762), Oboyañ (11872), Putivl (8965), Rylsk (11,415), Staryi Oskol (16,662), Shchigry (3329), Suja (12,856) and Tim (7380). There are more than twenty villages which have from 5000 to 12,000 inhabitants each. (P. A K.; J. T. Be.)

KURSK, a town of Russia, capital of the government of the same name, at the junction of the railways from Moscow, Kiev and Kharkov, 330 m. S.S.W. from Moscow. Pop. (1897), 52,896. It is built on two hills (750 ft.), the slopes of which are planted with orchards. The environs all round are well wooded and the woods are famous for their nightingales. Among the public buildings the more noticeable are a monastery with an image of the Virgin, greatly venerated since 1295; the Orthodox Greek cathedral (18th century); and the episcopal palace, Kursk being a bishopric of the national church. It is essentially a provincial town, and is revered as the birthplace of Theodosius, one of the most venerated of Russian saints. It has a public garden, and has become the seat of several societies (medical, musical, educational and for sport). Its factories include steam flour-mills, distilleries, tobacco-works, hemp-crushing mills, tanneries, soap-works and iron-works. It has a great yearly fair (_Korennaya_), and an active trade in cereals, linen, leather, fruit, horses, cattle, hides, sheepskins, furs, down, bristles, wax, tallow and manufactured goods.

Kursk was in existence in 1032. It was completely destroyed by the Mongols in 1240. The defence of the town against an incursion of the Turkish Polovtsi (or Comans or Cumani) is celebrated in _The Triumph of Igor_, an epic which forms one of the most valuable relics of early Russian literature. From 1586 to the close of the 18th century the citadel was a place of considerable strength; the remains are now comparatively few.

KURTZ, JOHANN HEINRICH (1809-1890), German Lutheran theologian, was born at Montjoie near Aix la Chapelle on the 13th of December 1809, and was educated at Halle and Bonn. Abandoning the idea of a commercial career, he gave himself to the study of theology and became religious instructor at the gymnasium of Mitau in 1835, and ordinary professor of theology (church history, 1850; exegesis, 1859) at Dorpat. He resigned his chair in 1870 and went to live at Marburg, where he died on the 26th of April 1890. Kurtz was a prolific writer, and many of his books, especially the _Lehrbuch der heiligen Geschichte_ (1843), became very popular. In the field of biblical criticism he wrote a _Geschichte des Alten Bundes_ (1848-1855), _Zur Theologie der Psalmen_ (1865) and _Erklärung des Briefs an die Hebräer_ (1869). His chief work was done in church history, among his productions being _Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte für Studierende_ (1849), _Abriss der Kirchengeschichte_ (1852) and _Handbuch der allgemeinen Kirchengeschichte_ (1853-1856). Several of his books have been translated into English.

KURUMAN, a town in the Bechuanaland division of Cape Colony, 120 m. N.W. of Kimberley and 85 m. S.W. of Vryburg. It is a station of the London Missionary Society, founded in 1818, and from 1821 to 1870 was the scene of the labours of Robert Moffat (q.v.) who here translated the Bible into the Bechuana tongue. In the middle period of the 19th century Kuruman was the rendezvous of all travellers going north or south. Of these the best known is David Livingstone. The trunk railway line passing considerably to the east of the town, Kuruman is no longer a place of much importance. It is pleasantly situated on the upper course of the Kuruman river, being beautified by gardens and orchards, and presents a striking contrast to the desert conditions of the surrounding country. Its name is that of the son and heir of Mosilikatze, the founder of the Matabele nation. Kuruman disappeared during his father's lifetime and the succession passed to Lobengula (see RHODESIA: _History_). In November 1899 the town was besieged by a Boer force. The garrison, less than a hundred strong, held out for six weeks against over 1000 of the enemy, but was forced to surrender on the 1st of January 1900. In June following it was reoccupied by the British.

KURUMBAS and KURUBAS, aboriginal tribes of southern India, by some thought to be of distinct races. There are two types of Kurumbas, those who live on the Nilgiri plateau, speak the Kurumba dialect and are mere savages; and those who live in the plains, speak Kanarese and are civilized. The former are a small people, with wild matted hair and scanty beard, sickly-looking, pot-bellied, large-mouthed, with projecting jaws, prominent teeth and thick lips. Their villages are called _mottas_, groups of four or five huts, built in mountain glens or forests. At the 1901 census the numbers were returned at 4083.

See James W. Breeks, _An Account of Primitive Tribes of the Nilgiris_ (1873); Dr John Shortt, _Hill Ranges of Southern India_, pt. i. 47-53; Rev. F. Metz, _Tribes Inhabiting the Neilgherry Hills_ (Mangalore, 1864).