the Ysel. There is a considerable, trade in dairy produce; and there are shipyards, rope-walks, a tool factory, cigar factories, paper mills, &c.
KAMPTEE, or Kamthi, a town of British India, in the Nagpur
district of the Central Provinces, just below the confluence of the
Kanhan with the rivers Pench and Kolar; 10 m. N.E. of Nagpur
by rail. Pop. (1901), 38,888, showing a continuous decrease since
1881. Kamptee was founded in 1821, as a military cantonment
in the neighbourhood of the native capital of Nagpur, and became
an important centre of trade. Since the opening of the railway,
trade has largely been diverted to Nagpur, and the garrison has
recently been reduced. The town is well laid out with wide
roads, gardens and tanks.
KAMRUP, a district of British India, in the Brahmaputra
valley division of Eastern Bengal and Assam. The headquarters
are at Gauhati. Area, 3858 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 589,187,
showing a decrease of 7% in the decade. In the immediate
neighbourhood of the Brahmaputra the land is low, and exposed
to annual inundation. In this marshy tract reeds and canes
flourish luxuriantly, and the only cultivation is that of rice. At
a comparatively short distance from the river banks the ground
begins to rise in undulating knolls towards the mountains of
Bhutan on the north, and towards the Khasi hills on the south.
The hills south of the Brahmaputra in some parts reach the
height of 800 ft. The Brahmaputra, which divides the district
into two nearly equal portions, is navigable by river steamers
throughout the year, and receives several tributaries navigable
by large native boats in the rainy season. The chief of these are
the Manas, Chaul Khoya and Barnadi on the north, and the
Kulsi and Dibru on the south bank. There is a government
forest preserve in the district and also a plantation where
seedlings of teak, sál, sissu, súm, and nahor are reared, and
experiments are being made with the caoutchouc tree. The
population is entirely rural, the only town with upwards of 5000
inhabitants being Gauhati (11,661). The temples of Hajo and
Kamākhya attract many pilgrims from all quarters. The staple
crop of the district is rice, of which there are three crops. The
indigenous manufactures are confined to the weaving of silk and
cotton cloths for home use, and to the making of brass cups and
plates. The cultivation and manufacture of tea by European
capital is not very prosperous. The chief exports are rice, oil-seeds,
timber and cotton; the imports are fine rice, salt, piece
goods, sugar, betel-nuts, coco-nuts and hardware. A section of
the Assam-Bengal railway starts from Gauhati, and a branch
of the Eastern Bengal railway has recently been opened to the
opposite bank of the river. A metalled road runs due south from
Gauhati to Shillong.
KAMYSHIN, a town of Russia, in the government of Saratov,
145 m. by river S.S.W. of the city of Saratov, on the right bank of
the Volga. Pop. (1861), 8644; (1897), 15,934. Being the terminus
of the railway to Tambov, Moscow and the Baltic ports, it is an
important port for the export of cereals and salt from the Volga,
and it imports timber and wooden wares. It is famous for its
water-melons. Peter the Great built here a fort, which was
known at first as Dmitrievsk, but acquired its present name
in 1780.
KANAKA, a Polynesian word meaning “man,” used by Polynesians to describe themselves. Its ethnical value, never great, has been entirely destroyed by its indiscriminate use by the
French to describe all South Sea islanders, whether black or
brown. The corrupt French form canaque has been used by
some English writers. The term came into prominence in 1884–1885
in connexion with the scandals arising over the kidnapping
of South Sea islanders for enforced labour on the sugar
plantations of north Queensland.
KANARA, or Canara, the name of two adjoining districts of
British India: North Kanara in the presidency of Bombay,
South Kanara in that of Madras. Both are on the western
coast.
North Kanara District forms part of the southern division of Bombay. The administrative headquarters are at Karwar, which is also the chief seaport. Area, 3945 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 454,490, showing an increase of 2% in the decade. The trade of the interior, which used to pass down to the seaports, has been largely diverted by the opening of the Southern Mahratta railway. Along the coast rice is the chief crop, and coco-nut palms are also important. In the upland there are valuable gardens of areca palms, cardamoms and pepper. Rice and timber are exported, and sandalwood-carving and salt manufacture are carried on. The main feature in the physical geography of the district is the range of the Western Ghats, which, running from north to south, divides it into two parts, a lowland or coast strip (Payanghat), and an upland plateau (Balaghat). The coast-line is only broken by the Karwar headland in the north, and by the estuaries of four rivers and the mouths of many smaller streams, through which the salt water finds an entrance into numerous lagoons winding several miles inland. The breadth of the lowlands varies from 5 to 15 miles. From this narrow belt rise a few smooth, flat-topped hills, from 200 to 300 ft. high; and at places it is crossed by lofty, rugged, densely wooded spurs, which, starting from the main range, maintain almost to the coast a height of not less than 1000 ft. Among these hills lie well-tilled valleys of garden and rice land. The plateau of the Balaghat is irregular, varying from 1500 to 2000 ft. in height. In some parts the country rises into well-wooded knolls, in others it is studded by small, isolated, steep hills. Except on the banks of streams and in the more open glades, the whole is one broad waste of woodland and forest. The open spaces are dotted with hamlets or parcelled out into rice clearings. Of the rivers flowing eastward from the watershed of the Sahyadri hills the only one of importance is the Wardha or Varada, a tributary of the Tungabhadra. Of those that flow westwards, the four principal ones, proceeding from north to south, are the Kali, Gungawali, Tadri and Sharavati. The last of these forms the famous Gersoppa Falls. Extensive forests clothe the hills, and are conserved under the rules of the forest department.
South Kanara District has its headquarters at Mangalore. Area, 4021 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 1,134,713, showing an increase of 7% in the decade. The district is intersected by rivers, none of which exceeds 100 miles in length. They all take their rise in the Western Ghats, and many are navigable during the fair weather for from 15 to 25 miles from the coast. The chief of these streams are the Netravati, Gurpur and Chendragiri. Numerous groves of coco-nut palms extend along the coast, and green rice-fields are seen in every valley. The Western Ghats, rising to a height of 3000 to 6000 ft., fringe the eastern boundary. Forest land of great extent and value exists, but most of it is private property. Jungle products (besides timber) consist of bamboo, cardamoms, wild arrowroot, gall-nuts, gamboge, catechu, fibrous bark, cinnamon, gums, resin, dyes, honey and beeswax. The forests formerly abounded in game, which, however, is rapidly decreasing under incessant shooting. The staple crop is rice. The chief articles of import are piece goods, cotton yarn, oils and salt. Tiles are manufactured in several places out of a fine potter’s clay. The Azhikal-Mangalore line of the Madras railway serves the district.
See South Canara District Manual (2 vols., Madras, 1894–1895).
KANARESE, a language of the Dravidian family, spoken by
about ten millions of people in southern India, chiefly in Mysore,
Hyderabad, and the adjoining districts of Madras and Bombay.
It has an ancient literature, written in an alphabet closely
resembling that employed for Telugu. Since the 12th century
the Kanarese-speaking people have largely adopted the Lingayat
form of faith, which may be described as an anti-Brahmanical
sect of Siva worshippers (see Hinduism). Most of them are
agriculturists, but they also engage actively in trade.
KANARIS (or Canaris), CONSTANTINE (1790–1877), Greek patriot, belonged to the class of coasting sailors who produced if not the most honest, at least the bravest, and the most successful of the combatants in the cause of Greek independence. He belonged by birth to the little island of Psara, to the north-west of Chio. He first became prominent as the effective leader of the signal vengeance taken by the Greeks for the massacre at
