Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 14.djvu/165

Kuen-lun in the sense thus explained, the zone it includes will be seen to abut at its north-western extremity on the series of elevated plateaus known under the name of Pamir, which extend over a distance of nearly 200 miles to a little beyond 39° N. lat. Here the width of the zone is about 100 miles. To the eastward it becomes broader, and on the 79th meridian is nearly 150 miles across. In this region the chief ranges appear to be laid out, generally, in a north-west and south-east direction, like those of western Tibet, with transverse ridges at irregular intervals. The transverse direction would seem to predominate in the outer portion of the zone nearest to the plain of Turkestan, but the geographical details are too little known to permit us to say more on this point. Of the longitudinal ranges two are of conspicuous magnitude, running approximately parallel to one another about 60 or 70 miles apart; the more northern or outer may be spoken of as the main Kuen-lun; the other, which separates the waters of the Indus, which run off to the south-west, from those of the streams which pass down to the plains of Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgar, constitutes the watershed before referred to, and has been called the Muztagh or Karakorum range from two of the best known passes across it. The latter of these great lines of elevation, from which the Kuen-lun slope of the Tibetan plateau may be said to commence, is of very considerable altitude throughout, its summits rising more than 28,000 feet above sea-level, and few of the passes falling below 18,000 or even 19,000 feet over a length of some 400 miles. Its flanks are covered with enormous glaciers, some of them being continuous for distances of 60 or 70 miles. The main Kuen-lun is not much inferior in magnitude, one of its peaks rising above 25,000 feet, while the points between that elevation and 20,000 feet are numerous. The passes lie between 18,000 feet on the east and 13,000 feet on the west. The valleys between these ranges vary in elevation from about 15,000 feet to 10,000 feet, the drainage in some cases collecting in small lakes, in others forming streams which, after flowing for some distance parallel to the separating ridges, suddenly change their direction and run off to the north-east through deep transverse lines of rupture, in a manner analogous to that observed on the border of the Himalayan mountain slope.^[1]

The whole of the region is described as remarkable for its general barren character. The mountain sides are naked and the valleys for the most part narrow and steep. There is a complete absence of forest, and trees of any sort are only found at the lower levels bordering on the northern plain,—walnuts, poplars, and willows alone being mentioned, besides a few fruit trees. The vegetation is scanty and botanically poor, brushwood being found along some of the rivers, and pastures in the bottoms of the deep valleys among the higher ranges. Among the shrubs are species common in Tibet, such as tamarisk, juniper, astragalus, willow, rose, barberry, and clematis. The animal life also appears to be mainly that found in the neighbouring parts of Tibet.

Some facts of interest relating to the geological structure of these mountains may be gathered from the fragmentary reports of Dr Stoliczka, the accomplished geologist who so prematurely died from the results of exposure in these inhospitable regions. The summit of the Karakorum Pass is of Triassic age, and cretaceous beds are found in some of the ranges on the north of the Kuen-lun main range, associated with Paleozoic deposits supposed to be Carboniferous and Silurian. For the greater portion of the year the climate is very rigorous. The extremes of temperature are great, and the rainfall little.

The population is small. The fixed settlements are confined to the outer valleys; few villages or hamlets are found above 6000 feet of altitude, and hardly any over 8000 feet. The upper valleys are occupied by a nomadic population, wholly pastoral in their habits.

The tract may be regarded as appertaining politically to the sovereigns for the time being of the principalities lying in the plain below it. But from the nature of the case any recognized authority hardly extends beyond the permanently inhabited region.

(r. s.)

KUKA, or Kukawa, the capital of the kingdom of Bornu in Central Africa, is situated in 12° 55′ N. lat. and 13° 25′ E. long., 41/2 miles from the western shores of Lake Tsad or Chad,^[2] in the midst of an extensive and for the most part uncultivated plain. The soil of the whole district consists of a layer of sand resting on clay, beneath which are found sand and lime. At a depth of 40 or 50 feet water is reached, usually sweet, but sometimes brackish. From a distance Kuka presents a very dead and monotonous appearance, there being no minarets or lofty buildings of any sort. The walls, built of earth, are about 20 feet in height. There are two distinct towns, separated by more than half a mile. The western town or Billa Futebe is the larger of the two, measuring from west to east about a mile and a half, and rather less from north to south. The plan is rectangular, and there is a gate in each of the four sides. From west to east runs the main thoroughfare known as the Dendal, which widens out to the west into the market place. About the middle of the Dendal stands the sheikh’s secondary palace. The eastern town or Billa Gedibe is somewhat longer and narrower than the western. The Dendal continues from its western gate till closed at the east end of the town by the great palace of the sheikh, gradually widening out into a large open square. The larger dwelling-houses of Kuka are of mud or earth, with windowless walls and flat roofs; the poorer houses are mere huts of straw or reeds, varying in shape from that of a bell to that of a sugar-loaf. In almost every courtyard there is at least one large shady tree, whose branches are tenanted by storks, herons, or a variety of lesser birds; and the whole place is vocal with song. Kuka is a wealthy town. It always contains a large number of strangers—merchants, pilgrims, and adventurers—attracted even from Mecca, Medina, Morocco, Egypt, Tunis, Tripoli, by the fame of the sheikh’s liberality. The town enjoys the rare advantage of being absolutely free from all taxation of trade or industry. In the Monday market, which is held outside the western gate, there are often more than 10,000 buyers and sellers. It is at once a fair for horses, cattle, camels, and other livestock, a fruit, grain, and vegetable market, a meat market, and a slave market. The currency consists mainly of Maria Theresa dollars and cowries. For the Mohammedans, not only of Bornu but of the neighbouring countries, Kuka serves as a kind of university town. In its streets are to be seen bands of mendicant students, who spend the day in collecting alms from the people, and after supper gather round the fires which they kindle in the public squares, and noisily and mechanically recite the verses of the Koran far into the night. A less cheerful feature of the street life is the unusual number of blind beggars. The population is estimated at 60,000.

Kuka was founded by Sheikh Mohammed al Amin el Kanemi. It received its name from a kuka or monkey bread tree (Adansonia digitata), which attracted the attention of the settlers as a rare thing in the district. In 1840 the town was laid waste by King Mohammed Sherif of Wadai; and when it was restored by Sheikh Omar he gave it the present double form. It is probably from this feature of the place that the plural Kukawa has become the ordinary designation of the town in Kano and throughout the Sudan; though the local inhabitants generally use the singular Kuka. Kuka has been visited by Denham and Clapperton, Beurmann, Vogel, Barth, Rohlfs, and Nachtigal.

For further details see Barth, Travels in Central Africa, London, 1858; Rohlfs, Quer durch Afrika, Leipsic, 1874; Nachtigal, Sahará und Súdán, Berlin, 1879, vol. i. p. 581–748. The last is the most elaborate account.

KUKU KHOTO, in Chinese Kwei-hwa-tcheng or Gui-hua-tcheng, a city of the Chinese province of Shan-se, situated to the north of the Great Wall, in 40° 50′ N. lat. and 111° 45′ E. long., about 160 miles west of Kalgan. It lies in the valley of a small river which joins the Hoang-ho

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1. For information as to the geographical details which have been collected reference may be made to the map published in the Royal Geog. Soc. Journal, vol. xlviii., accompanying Captain Trotter’s account of the results of Sir T. D. Forsyth’s mission to Kashghar.
2. The fear lest the town should be submerged by the lake led the sheikh to found (1873) a new residence (Kherwa) on a range of sand hills about two hours north of Kuka.