Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Kano

KANO, a town of central Africa, at the head of a province of the kingdom of Sokoto, about 230 miles east of Sokoto and 360 miles west of Kuka. The circuit of the walls is upwards of 15 English miles; but little more than a third of the enclosed area was actually occupied at the time of Barth's visit. The oldest part of the town is that which lies at the foot of the hill Dalá (120 feet), and from this the inhabited portion stretches south for 2½ miles to the walls. To the south of the great market-place lies a deep pond, Jakara, upwards of a mile and a half in length. Two kinds of dwelling-houses are common—square-shaped clay-built structures with flat roofs, and round huts with conical tops. The population, estimated at 30,000, consists of Fellatah, Kanuri (Bornuese), Houssas, and Nupe. Commerce and manufactures go hand in hand, and every family has its share in each. Cotton cloth, woven and dyed in the town, forms a chief article of trade; and to this may be added sandals and shoes, twisted leather straps, and jebiras (purses of a peculiar make), kola-nuts, and slaves. About 20,000 loads of natron pass through the town in a year from Bornu to Nupe.