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KORAN

IOII

KOSCIUSKO

and vegetables. Most of the land Is well-timbered and lumbering, next to mining, is the principal industry There are considerable areas of fertile land in western Kootenay, a good deal of which is utilized for fruitgrowing. The fame of the Kootenay mines is world-wide, the mountains being rich in gold, silver, copper and lead, and the eastern valleys are underlaid with coal and petroleum. British Columbia mining has reached its highest development in Kootenay, and as a consequence many prosperous cities and towns have been established. The development of the Crow's Nest coalfields and the revival in metalliferous mining caused a rapid increase in population, especially in eastern Kootenay, where it is estimated to have more than doubled since 1901.

Koran (ko'ran or kd-rdn'), the sacred book of Mohammed and the foundation of Mohammedan literature. The word is derived from the Arabic karaa, to read, so that Koran means the Reading or the book to be read. It is divided into 114 suras or chapters, each of which bears a title indicating the nature of its contents, though occasionally the title is merely some word which occurs in the chapter. The Koran was dictated to Mohammed at different times during 23 years at Mecca and at Medina, either by the angel Gabriel in human shape, "with the sound of bells," or by God himself, veiled and unveiled, "in waking or in dreams of the night," The original fragments were written without any special order or arrangement, and many have been entirely lost. A year after Mohammed's death the scattered portions were collected by the prophet's scribe and copied without any attempt to reduce them fco order or sequence, with all the variations; repetitions and gaps. This volume was intrusted to the keeping of Hafza, the daughter of Omar and one of the prophet's wives. In the 3oth year of the Hegira (A. D. 650), Caliph Othman ordered new copies to be made from the original fragments, and all the old copies were burned.

The chief doctrines laid down in the Koran are that there are one God, one true religion and a day of judgment. When mankind at different times forsook the path of truth, God sent prophets — Moses, Jesas and .Mohammed being the principal ones — to lead them back into the right way. The doctrine of the divine sovereignty is carried almost to the verge of fatalism, and submission to the will of Allah is emphasized as the highest virtue of which man is capable Mohammedans everywhere hold the Koran in the highest reverence. It is never held below the girdle, never touched without previous purification, an injunction to that effect being generally found on the cover. It is consulted on all weighty and important questions, and nothing is more hateful in the eyes of a Moslem than to see the book in the hands of an unbeliever.

Kordofan'. See EGYPT and SUDAN.

Kore'a, known also as Chosen (Dawn-Land) and The Hermit Nation, once an Asiatic empire, is chiefly situated on a peninsula lying between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. It is separated from the Japanese islands by the Strait of Korea. The eastern coast is high? while the southern and western shores are low, with many inlets and islands. Port Lazaref is a fine harbor, which the Russians would have liked to get possession of. Until 1894 China was the suzerain of Korea, but, as the result of the war between China and Japan, the latter stepped into China's role, though the country was nominally independent. Russia was keen to get control; but the Japanese fought the great Muscovite power (1904—5) and did not permit her to get possession of the country. Foreign commerce was carried on through the three treaty ports of Chemulpo, Fusan and Yuensan, the bulk of the trade being with Japan. Its chief products, besides ginseng and rice, are millet, cotton, hemp and tobacco. Korea is quite mountainous. It is in the same latitude as Italy, and, like it, is shut in on the north by mountains; while a chain crosses the country from north to south. Its largest river is the Yalu or Am-nok. Iron, copper and gold are found; grass-woven mats, paper and silk are manufactured ; and most of the trade is with Japan. Coin has just come into use, taking the place of gold-dust and silk, which were always used in barter. Most of the houses are mud huts thatched with straw. Korea until lately was a closed country. Japan first secured a treaty with Korea in 1876. Treaties were made with China and the United States in 188*2, with Germany and Great Britain in 1883 and later with other nations, and three ports were opened to foreign commerce. There are over 600 miles of railway and 2,170 of telegraph. Conflicting claims to regulate affairs in Korea led to war between Japan and China in 1894. Since 1904 it has become a dependency of Japan, Christian missions have had wonderful success, The capital, Seoul, has a population of 278,958. Korea's is estimated at 13,125,027; its area at 86,000 square miles.

Kosciusko (kos-st-fts'kd), Thaddeus, a Polish general and patriot, was born in Lithuania, Feb 12, 1746. He chose the profession of arms at an early age, and received his military training in France. On his return to Poland he received a captain's commission; but in 1777 he came to America and participated in the Revolutionary War, in which he rose to the rank of brigadier-general. When Russia assailed Poland in 1792, Kosciusko held a position at Dubienka for five days with only 4,000 men against 18,000 Russians, and after King Stanislaus surrendered to Empress Catherine he retired to Leipsic. At the rising of 1794, Kosciusko was appointed die*