Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/43

Rh M U N M U II 33 MUNZINGER, WERNER (1832-1875), African traveller and linguist, was born at Olten in Switzerland, 4th April 1832. After studying at Bern, Munich, and Paris, he went to Egypt in 1852 and spent a year in Cairo studying the language. Entering a French mercantile house, he went as leader of a trading expedition to various parts of the Red Sea, fixing his quarters at Massowah in 1854 to 1855, where he acted as French consul. In 1855 he removed to Keren, the chief town of the Bogos, in the north of Abyssinia, which country he explored in all directions during the next six years. In 1861 he joined the expedi tion under Heuglin to Central Africa, but separated from it in November in northern Abyssinia, proceeding along the Gash and Atbara to Khartiim, and thence in 1862 to Kordofan, failing, however, in his attempt to reach Darfur and Wadai, having meantime succeeded Heuglin as leader of the German African expedition. After a short stay in Europe in 1863, Munzinger returned to the north and north-east borderlands of Abyssinia, and in 1865 was appointed British consul at Massowah, rendering valuable aid to the English Abyssinian expedition in 1867, among other things exploring the almost unknown Afar country. In acknowledgment of his services he received the honour of C.B. In 1868 he was appointed French consul, and in 1871 by the khedive governor of Massowah with- the title of &quot;bey.&quot; In 1870, with Captain Miles, Munzinger visited the interior of southern Arabia. As governor of Massowah he annexed to Egypt a part of northern Abyssinia, and in 1872 was made pasha and governor- general of the eastern Sudan. In an expedition from Tajurra Bay to the kingdom of Shoa, Munzinger was killed, along with his wife and many of his companions, in an attack by a body of Gallas on 14th November 1875, in the neighbourhood of Lake Assal. Munzinger s contributions to our knowledge of the country, Eeople, and languages of north-eastern Africa are of solid value, ce Proc. .K. G. S., vol. xiii. ; Jl. R. G. S., vols. xxxix. , xli. , and xlvi. (obituary notice) ; Petcrmann s Mitthcilungcn for 1858, 1867, 1872, et sq. ; Dietschi and Weber, Werner Munzinger, tin Lcbcnsbild (1875). Munzinger published the following works : Sittcn und Recht der Bogos (1859) ; Ostafrikanische Studien (1864) ; Die deutsche Expedition in Ostafrika (1865) ; Vocabulaire de la Langue de Tigre (1865), besides papers in the geographical serials referred to, and a memoir on the northern borders of Abyssinia in the Zcitschrift fur allgcmcine Erdkunde, new series, iii. MURADABAD, or MORADABAD, a district in the lieu tenant-governorship of the North -Western Provinces of India, lying between 28 13 and 29 15 N. lat. and 78 7 and 79 2 E. long., is bounded on the N. by Bijnaur and the Tarai, on the E. by Rampur state, on the S. by Budaun, and on the W. by the Ganges. The area is 2284 square miles. It lies within the great Gangetic plain, and is demarcated into three subdivisions by the rivers Ram ganga and S6t. The eastern tract consists of a submontane country, with an elevation slightly greater than the plain below, and is traversed by numerous streams descending from the Himalayas. The central portion consists of a level central plain descending at each end into the valleys of the Ramganga and S6t. The western section has a gentle slope towards the Ganges, with a rapid dip into the low lands a few miles from the bank of the great river. The district is well wooded throughout, and mango groves abound in the neighbourhood of the nourishing villages which cluster thickly over its whole surface. Cultivation has spread over almost every part, patches of jungle rarely occurring, and only a few stray pieces of sandy soil or mar waste being found among the uplands. Shallow lakes {jhils) are found at intervals, and are in every case utilized for irrigation. The district as a whole consists of a well- tilled and somewhat monotonous alluvial plain, unrelieved by any striking natural features. The census of 1881 returned the population of the district, ex clusive of non- Asiatics, at 1,155, 173 (males 610, 291, females 544,882), Hindus numbering 767,844, Aiohammedans 384,713, and native Christians 1877. Muradabad contains live municipal towns, viz., Muradabad, 67,387; Amroha, 36,145; Sambhal, 35,196; Chan- dausi, 27,521 ; Dhanaura, 5204. The total area under cultivation in 1881-82 amounted to 1291 square miles, the staple crops being millets, wheat, pulses, and sugar-cane. As a whole the people are well off and live better than the peasantry in other districts. The labourers too have prospered, wages having risen considerably of late years. About two-sevenths of the cultivators possess hereditary rights, the remainder^ hold as tenants-at-will. Floods upon the Ganges and Ramganga cause much damage to the crops, and the district is liable to famine caused by drought. The last famine in 1868-69 was due to the failure of the rainfall, but with the aid of Govern ment relief the difficulty was tided over without serious losses. The chief exports are grain and sugar-cane. The main line of the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway crosses the district ; there are also 654 miles of good road. The total revenue of Muradabad in 1881-82 amounted to 1,775,303 rupees, of which 1,399,450 were derived from the land-tax. Education was carried on in 1881 by means of 181 schools, with an aggregate of 5496 pupils. The climate is gen erally healthy, except in the submontane tract bordering on the Tarai and in the lowlands of the Ganges and Sot. The average annual rainfall in the ten years ending 1870 was 37 6 inches. The annual mean temperature is 74 - 5 Fahr., the lowest monthly mean being 56 in January, and the highest 86 in June. For the early history of Muradabad see BAHKLI. It passed into the possession of the British in 1801, and in 1857 joined in the general rebellion of that year. Order was restored early in May 1858. MURADABAD, town and headquarters of the above dis trict, is situated on the right bank of the Ramganga river (28 49 N. lat., 78 49 E. long.), with a population in 1881 of 67,387, of whom 34,584 were males, and 32,803 females. It was founded in 1625 by Rustam Khan, who built the fort which overhangs the river bank. The town forms a large centre of trade in country produce. The engraved metal-ware of Murddabad has lately attracted much attention, the total value of the annual output being about 3^ lakhs of rupees. MURJ5NA is the name of an eel common in the Mediterranean, and highly esteemed by the ancient Romans; it was afterwards applied to the whole genus of fishes to which the Mediterranean species belongs, and which is abundantly represented in tropical and sub tropical seas, especially in rocky parts or on coral reefs. Some ninety species are known. In the majority a long Mursena pictu, from the Indo-Pacific. fin runs from the head along the back, round the tail to the vent, but all are destitute of pectoral and ventral fins. The skin is scaleless and perfectly smooth, in many species ornamented with a pretty pattern of very varied and bright colours, so that these fishes are frequently mistaken for snakes. The mouth is wide, the jaws strong and armed with formidable, generally sharply-pointed, teeth, which enable the Muraena not only to seize its prey (which chiefly con sists of other fishes) but also to inflict serious, and even sometimes dangerous, wounds on its enemies. It readily attacks persons who approach its places of concealment ir. shallow water, and is therefore justly feared by fishermea XVIT. -- 5