Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 05.djvu/454

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KUBOKI 378 KUT-EL-AMABA KUROKI, TAMESADA, COUNT, Japanese general; born at Sago, Japan, March 16, 1844. Having received a thorough military training, he first dis- tinguished himself in the war with China in 1894, when ho was entrusted with the mobilization of the army, and afterward with a field command, being present at the capture of Wei-hai-wei. He attained the rank of general in 1903, and was made a baron in 1895, and a count in 1907. In the war with Russia he gained the first victory on land at the Yalu river on May 1, 1904, and by his tactics subsequent to that battle effected the isolation of Port Arthur. In the later battles at Li'aoyang, the Shaho, and Mukden he held important divisional commands. He is a member of the Japanese council of war. KUROPATKIN, ALEXEI NICOLAI- EVITCH (kur-6-pat'kin), a Russian statesman and soldier; born in 1849. He was educated at the Cadet Corps School and the Pavloskoe Military Col- lege in St. Petersburg. In 1866 he was appointed sub-lieutenant in the Turke- stan Rifles, and with the Russian ad- vance was sent to Turkestan, where for a long time he was engaged in fighting. He wrote excellent works on the Balkan crusade and on Algiers and Kashgar. Fought in Russo-Jap War, 1904. In the World War, in 1915, commanded Grena- dier Guards. Later commanded north- ern forces. 1916, Governor of Turke- stan. In the Turkish War (1877-1878) he distinguished himself, obtaining the rank of a colonel. In 1898 he was ap- pointed minister of war. KUUO SIVO, or JAPAN CURRENT, the Gulf Stream of the Pacific; is the offspring of the great equatorial current, flows past Formosa, Japan, the Kuriles, the Aleutian Islands, and thence bends S. to California. It is much inferior to the Gulf Stream, both in volume and high temperature. KURSHOUMLIA or KURSUMLIJA, a village in the province of Toplica, on the river Toplica, 35 miles S. W. of Nish, Siberia. It is sustained largely by agri- culture and has a population of 2,000. Some heavy fighting occurred in and around the village during the invasion of the Austro-Germans in the World War. KURSK, the chief town of the Russian province of Kursk. The chief industry is tanning; but soap, tobacco, candles, and spirits are also manufactured. Kursk is celebrated for its orchards and has an observatory. Pop. 83,000. Near the town a fair is held after Easter, when vast quantities of goods are dis- posed of, the chief being cotton, silk, and woolen fabrics, sugar, tea, leather, horses, etc. The province of Kursk, in the middle of south Russia, contains 17,931 square miles, three-fourths fertile arable land (black earth). Pop. about 3,000,000. KURU, a noted legendary hero of In- dia, the contests of whose descendants form the subject of two great Indian epics. KURUMAN, a mission station of the London Missionary Society in Bechuana- land, about 130 miles N. W. from Kim- berley. It was for many years the scene of the labors of Dr. Moffat and Living- stone. KUSATSU (ko-sats'), a resort in Japan where are numerous hot springs impregnated with minerals. Invalids frequent the place in large numbers. KUSI, a considerable tributary of the Ganges, rises in the Nepal Himalayas, to the N. W. of Mount Everest, and flows generally S. Its length is about 325 miles, and it is navigable, by boats of 10 tons, to the Nepal frontier. Its bed is constantly shifting to the W. KUSTRIN (kiist'rin), a town of Prus- sia and a fortress of the first rank; situated in the midst of extensive marshes at the confluence of the Warthe with the Oder; 51 miles E. of Berlin. It was first fortified in 1535-1543, and was held by the French from 1806 to 1814. Kiistrin is also an important rail- way center. KUTABMINAR (ko-tab-men-ar') , a column of red sandstone, erected at Delhi, India, to commemorate the victory gained by the Mussulmans over the Rajputs in 1193. This conquest gained for them the sovereignty of the Punjab. The column is 50 feet in diameter at the base and 13 at the top. Its face is covered with inscriptions from the Koran. KUT-EL-AMARA, a town on the Tigris river, in Mesopotamia, where the channel Shatt-el-Hai leaves the Tigris and flows to the Euphrates at Nasiriyeh, the reputed site of the Garden of Eden. Scene of fighting in World War, the British defeating the Turks and entering the town Aug. 29, 1915. However, April 9, 1916, the British troops in the town, under General Townshend, surrendered to the Turks. Meanwhile, however, the British had been gathering together a new army, made up mostly of East In- dian forces, and efforts were made to