KAMPTSKATKA....KAVA.

199

caps of the same. When they come to a river, they want no bridge or boat to help them across; but they plunge in with their horses, and, sliding from their backs, hold fast by the manes till they get over; and then-immediately mount again, and proceed.... Walker.

KAMPTSKATKA, a peninsula of Asia, belonging to the Russian empire, and separated from the western coast of America by only a narrow sea. The peninsu la of Kamptskatka is situated on the eastern coast of Asia, and extends from 52° to 61° north latitude; its greatest breadth being about two hundred and thirty-six miles. Sometimes, even in the month of May, this country is covered with snow, from six to eight feet in depth. They have, properly speaking, no spring: from October to the beginning of June, it is all dreary winter; the Kamptskadales, notwithstanding, think that no country on the globe is equal to theirs. In Kamptskatka there is a remarkable breed of dogs, which are used for transporting persons from place to place. The natives make use of these dogs for the draught, as others do horses. They are fed chiefly with fish, and receive their meals only at the end of the day's journey. They are yoked in sledges. The length of the body of one of these sledges is about four feet and an half. is made of light tough wood, fastened together with wicker-work, and elegantly stained with red and blue, the seat being covered with furs or bear-skins: it is shod with the bone of some sea animal. This sledge, which usually carries only one person and his baggage, is drawn by five dogs; four of them yoked two and two, and the other acting as a leader. They go with amazing swiftness there has been an instance of a despatch conveyed in this manner, two hundred and twenty miles, in twenty-three hours.... Cooke's Voyages.

It

KAVA, a kind of pepper-plant, rising about five or six feet in height, and bearing large heart-shaped leaves, and jointed stalks. From the roots of this plant the people of the Friendly Islands, in the southern Pacific Ocean, obtain a spiritous intoxicating liquor, which they extract in this singular manner. The roots are dug up and given to the servants; who breaking them

200

KELP....KENNEBECK.

in pieces, scrape the dirt off, and each chews his portion, which he afterwards spits into a piece of plantain-leaf. Those who are to prepare the liquor, collect these mouthfuls of spittle together and deposit them in a large wooden bowl, adding a sufficient quantity of water to make it of a proper strength. The better sort then quaff this delicious cordial; about half a pint usually being put into each cup, as sufficient for one person.... Cooke's Voyage.

KELP, a species of sea-weed, which, when burnt, yields an alkaline salt, useful for making glass, and soap, and for several other purposes. The kelp is first dried in the sun, and then burnt in a kiln, of about two feet, or less, in diameter. In this is burnt a small parcel of the herb, and before it is reduced to ashes, more is thrown on till the kiln is full, or the materials are expended. This reduces the ashes to a hard and solid cake, or to a sort of pot-ash, by the heat of the kiln, and the quantity of salt in the herb. The landlords in Great Britain, whose estates are bounded by a kelp shore, demand a rent for the profits of this weed, as well as for their cornfield....Amer. Mus. A. Smith.

:

KENNEBECK, a fine river which rises in the northwest part of the province of Maine, in Massachusetts; and flowing in a southerly direction, falls into the Atlantic Ocean it abounds with fish, particularly excellent salmon and shad. This river forms the nearest sca-port for the people on the upper part of the river Connecticut; it being ninety measured miles from the upper Cohoes, on Connecticut river, to the tide water in Kennebeck. A sensible writer, speaking of the Kennebeck, and the country adjacent, says, "the navigation of the river, the great abundance of the fish it contains, the constant healthiness of the climate, the happy severities of the winters always sheltering the earth with a voluminous coat of snow, the equally happy necessity of labor; all these reasons would greatly preponderate against the softer situations of Carolina; where mankind reap too much, do not toil enough, and are liable to enjoy too fast the benefits of life."....Farmer's Letters.

KENTUCKY....KILDA, ST.

201

KENTUCKY, one of the United States of America; bounded north-westerly by the river Ohio, east by Virginia, southerly by the state of Tennessee, and westerly by the Missisippi; extending about two hundred and fifty miles in length, and two hundred in breadth: Lexington is the capital. The Kentucky-country, which in the Indian language signifies bloody, was established into a separate district, in 1782. The falls of Ohio, which are about the mean climate of this state, are situated in 37° 30′ north latitude; but the country is much more serene and temperate than could be supposed from its situation, owing chiefly, perhaps, to its great remove from the northern lakes. Spring approaches early in February; and by the beginning of March several shrubs and trees begin to shoot forth their buds. The first and second rate lands, are from one to several feet deep of a chocolate, and, in some places of a deep mulatto colour, exempted from stones, gravel, or sand on the surface; lying generally on a flat limestone quarry, from three to six feet below the soil....Morrison.

KILDA, ST. a small island of Scotland, being one of the Hebrides: the inhabitants live chiefly by fishing and catshing wild-fowls. Perhaps, of all the shores in the world there is none so high as that of St. Kilda, which has been found to be six hundred fathoms perpendicular, above the surface of the sea. In a barbarous age, lord Grange of Scotland, (one of the Erskine family) suspecting that his lady had come at the knowledge of some secret state papers, and would divulge their contents; he, together with his son conveyed her privately to the island of St. Kilda, and there put her on shore, and left her to shift for herself. The lady's relations could never find the place of her concealment till after her death. The island of St. Kilda afforded no implements for writing, and the lady's history could never have been known, had she not worked it on her muslin apron with her hair. She lived thirty years in this state of banishment. After her death, her family, by some means or other, got possession of this curious piece of workmanship.....V. Lon. Review. See BIRD

MEN,

202 KILLER....KINGBIRD....KINGFISHER.

KILLER, a sea animal, comparatively small, but of amazing strength, and armed with powerful teeth; it is a terrible enemy to the whale. A number of them are said to surround a whale, in the same manner as dogs get round a bull. Some attack it with their teeth behind; others attempt it before; until, at last, the great animal is torn down, and its tongue is said to be the only part they devour when they have made it their prey.... Goldsmith.

KINGBIRD, an American bird, too well known in this country to need a description. J. Hector St. John, a farmer of Pennsylvania, gives us, in his Farmer's Letters, the following curious story of this bird. "At the time of my bees swarming (says Mr. St. John) the Kingbirds came, and fixed themselves upon the neighboring trees, from whence they catched those that returned loaded from the fields. This made me resolve to kill as many as I could; and I was just ready to fire, when a bunch of bees as big as my fist, issued from one of the hives, rushed on one of the birds and probably stung him ; for he instantly screamed, and flew, not as before in an irregular manner, but in a direct line. He was followed by the same bold phalanx, which unfortunately at length becoming too sure of victory, quitted their military array, and disbanded themselves; and no sooner did he perceive their disorder, than he instantly returned, and snapped up as many as he wanted. I killed him and opened his craw, from which I took one hundred and twenty-one bees. I laid them all on a blanket in the sun, and to my great surprize, fifty-four returned to life, licked themselves clean, and joyfully went back to the hive."

KINGFISHER, a bird not much larger than a swallow; its shape is clumsy; the legs disproportionally small, and the bill disproportionally long. But the colours of this bird atone for its inelegant form; the crown of the head and the coverts of the wings are of a deep blackish green, spotted with bright azure; the back and tail are of the most resplendent azure; the whole under side of the body is orange-coloured; a broad mark of the same passes from the bill beyond the eyes;

KINKAJOU....KNIGHT.

203

beyond that is a large white spot; the tail is short, and consists of twelve feathers, of a rich deep blue; and the feet are of a reddish yellow. This bird is one of the most rapacious little animals that skims the deep. It is for ever on the wing, and feeds on fish: it chiefly frequents the banks of rivers, and takes its prey by balancing itself at a certain distance above the water for a considerable space, then darting into the deep, and seizing the fish with inevitable certainty. While it remains suspended in the air, in a bright day, its plumage exhibits a beautiful variety of the most dazzling and brilliant colours.... Goldsmith.

KINKAJOU, an American animal resembling a cat, and about as large, but better formed for agility and speed than for strength. His tail gradually tapers to the end, and is as long as his whole body; his colour is yellow. Between him and the fox there is a perpetual war. This animal is able to suspend himself by twining the end of his tail round the limb of a tree, whereby he can pursue his prey where cats cannot; and when he attacks a large animal, his tail enables him to secure his hold till he has opened the blood vessels of the neck. In some parts of Canada these animals are very numerous, and make great havoc among the deer; nor do they spare even the neat cattle.... Winterbotham.

KNIGHT, a person advanced to the degree of military rank, which took its origin from the custom of the ancient Germans, who used to present their youths with a shield and javelin in a public assembly, as soon as they were capable of bearing arms. The addition sir to the names of knights, was from sire, which in old French signifies seignior, or lord. A gentleman soldier was made a knight by receiving from a prince, or any one belonging to the order of knighthood, a gentle blow of a sword. It was, in former times, a point of honor for a knight never to yield to any one below that dignity. Hence when the English commander, the duke of Suffolk, in a battle in France, was obliged to yield himself a prisoner to a Frenchman called Renaud, before he submitted, he asked his adversary, whether he was a gentleman? On receiving a satisfactory answer, he de