Part 28

The greater part of Kordofan consists of undulating plains, riverless, barren, monotonous, with an average altitude of 1500 ft. Thickets and small acacias dot the steppes, which, green during the _kharif_ or rainy season, at other times present a dull brown burnt-up aspect. In the west, isolated peaks, such as Jebel Abu Senum and Jebel Kordofan, rise from 150 to 600 ft. above the plain. North-west are the mountain groups of Kaja and Katul (2000 to 3000 ft.), in the east are the Jebel Daier and Jebel Tagale (Togale), ragged granitic ranges with precipitous sides. In the south are flat, fertile and thickly wooded plains, which give place to jungle at the foot of the hills of Dar Nuba, the district forming the south-east part of Kordofan. Dar Nuba is well-watered, the scenery is diversified and pretty, affording a welcome contrast to that of the rest of the country. Some of the Nuba hills exceed 3000 ft. in height. The south-western part of the country, a vast and almost level plain, is known as Dar Homr. A granitic sand with abundance of mica and feldspar forms the upper stratum throughout the greater part of Kordofan; but an admixture of clay, which is observable in the north, becomes strongly marked in the south, where there are also stretches of black vegetable mould. Beneath there appears to be an unbroken surface of mica schist. Though there are no perennial rivers, there are watercourses (_khors_ or _wadis_) in the rainy season; the chief being the Khor Abu Habl, which traverses the south-central region. In Dar Homr the Wadi el Ghalla and the Khor Shalango drain towards the Homr affluent of the Bahr el Ghazal. During the rainy season there is a considerable body of water in these channels, but owing partly to rapid evaporation and partly to the porous character of the soil the surface of the country dries rapidly. The water which has found its way through the granitic sand flows over the surface of the mica schist and settles in the hollows, and by sinking wells to the solid rock a supply of water can generally be obtained. It is estimated that (apart from those in a few areas where the sand stratum is thin and water is reached at the depth of a few feet) there are about 900 of these wells. They are narrow shafts going down usually 30 to 50 ft., but some are over 200 ft. deep. The water is raised by rope and bucket at the cost of enormous labour, and in few cases is any available for irrigation. The very cattle are trained to go a long time without drinking. Entire villages migrate after the harvest to the neighbourhood of some plentiful well. In a few localities the surface depressions hold water for the greater part of the year but there is only one permanent lake--Keilat, which is some four miles by two. As there is no highland area draining into Kordofan, the underground reservoirs are dependent on the local rainfall, and a large number of the wells are dry during many months. The rainy season lasts from mid-June to the end of September, rain usually falling every three or four days in brief but violent showers. In general the climate is healthy except in the rainy season, when large tracts are converted into swamps and fever is very prevalent. In the _shita_ or cold weather (October to February inclusive) there is a cold wind from the north. The seif or hot weather lasts from March to mid-June; the temperature rarely exceeds 105° F.

The chief constituent of the low scrub which covers the northern part of the country is the grey gum acacia (_hashob_). In the south the red gum acacias (_talh_) are abundant. In Dar Hamid, in the N.W. of Kordofan, date, dom and other palms grow. The basbab or calabash tree, known in the eastern Sudan as the _tebeldi_ and locally _Homr_, is fairly common and being naturally hollow the trees collect water, which the natives regularly tap. Another common source of water supply is a small kind of water melon which grows wild and is also cultivated. In the dense jungles of the south are immense creepers, some of them rubber-vines. The cotton plant is also found. The fauna includes the elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, giraffe, lion, leopard, cheetah, roan-antelope, hartebeeste, kudu and many other kinds of antelope, wart-hog, hares, quail, partridge, jungle-fowl, bustard and guinea-fowl. Nearly all the kinds of game mentioned are found chiefly in the western and southern districts. The ril or addra gazelle found in N. and N.W. Kordofan are not known elsewhere in the eastern Sudan. Reptiles, sand-flies and mosquitoes are common. Ostriches are found in the northern steppes. The chief wealth of the people consists in the gum obtained from the grey acacias, in oxen, camels and ostrich feathers. The finest cattle are of the humped variety, the bulls of the Baggara being trained to the saddle and to carry burdens. There are large herds of camel, the camel-owning Arabs usually owning also large numbers of sheep and goats. Dukhn, a species of millet which can grow in the arid northern districts is there the chief grain crop, its place in the south being taken by durra. Dukhn is, however, the only crop cultivated in Dar Homr. From this grain a beer called _merissa_ is brewed. Barley and cotton are cultivated in some districts. A little gold dust is obtained, but the old gold and other mines in the Tagale country have been, apparently, worked out. Iron is found in many districts and is smelted in a few places. In the absence of fuel the industry is necessarily a small one. There are large beds of hematite some 60 m. N.W. and the same distance N.E. of El Obeid.

_Inhabitants._--The population of Kordofan was officially estimated in 1903 to be 550,000. The inhabitants are roughly divisible into two types--Arabs in the plains and Nubas in the hills. Many of the villagers of the plains are however of very mixed blood--Arab, Egyptian, Turkish, Levantine and Negro. It is said that some village communities are descended from the original negro inhabitants. They all speak Arabic. The most important village tribe is the Gowama, who own most of the gum-producing country. Other large tribes are the Dar Hamid and the Bederia--the last-named living round El Obeid. The nomad Arabs are of two classes, camel owners (_Siat El Ilbil_) and cattle owners (_Baggara_), the first-named dwelling in the dry northern regions, the Baggara in southern Kordofan. Of the camel-owning tribes the chief are the Hamar and the Kabbabish. Many of the Hamar have settled down in villages. The Baggara are great hunters, and formerly were noted slave raiders. They possess many horses, but when journeying place their baggage on their oxen. They use a stabbing spear, small throwing spears, and a broad-bladed short sword. Some of the richer men possess suits of chain armour. The principal Baggara tribes are the Hawazma, Meseria, Kenana, Habbania, and Homr. The Homr are said to have entered Kordofan from Wadai about the end of the 18th century and to have come from North Africa. They speak a purer Arabic than the riverain tribes. The Nubas are split into many tribes, each under a _mek_ or king, who is not uncommonly of Arab descent. The Nubas have their own language, though the inhabitants of each hill have usually a different dialect. They are a primitive race, very black, of small build but distinctive negro features. They have feuds with one another and with the Baggara. During the _mahdia_ they maintained their independence. The Nubas appear to have been the aboriginal inhabitants of the country and are believed to be the original stock of the Nubians of the Nile Valley (see NUBIA). In the northern hills are communities of black people with woolly hair but of non-negro features. They speak Arabic and are called Nuba Arabs. Some of the southern hills are occupied by Arab-speaking negroes, escaped slaves and their descendants, who called themselves after the tribe they formerly served and who have little intercourse with the Nubas.

The capital, El Obeid (q.v.), is centrally situated. On it converge various trade routes, notably from Darfur and from Dueim, a town on the White Nile 125 m. above Khartum, which served as port for the province. Thence was despatched the gum for the Omdurman market. But the railway from Khartum to El Obeid, via Sennar, built in 1909-1911, crosses the Nile some 60 m. farther south above Abba Island. Nahud (pop. about 10,000), 165 m. W.S.W. of El Obeid, is a commercial centre which has sprung into importance since the fall of the dervishes. All the trade with Darfur passes through the town, the chief commerce being in cattle, feathers, ivory and cotton goods. Trade is largely in the hands of Greeks, Syrians, Danagla and Jaalin. Taiara, on the route between El Obeid and the Nile, was destroyed by the dervishes but has been rebuilt and is a thriving mart for the gum trade. El Odoaiya or Eddaiya is the headquarters of the Homr country. It and Baraka in the Muglad district are on the trade road between Nahud and Shakka in Darfur.

Bara is a small town some 50 m. N.N.E. of Obeid. Talodi and Tendek are government stations in the Nuba country. The Nubas have no large towns. They live in villages on the hillsides or summits. The usual habitation built both by Arabs and Nubas is the tukl, a conical-shaped hut made of stone, mud, wattle and daub or straw. The Nuba tukls are the better built. In the chief towns houses are built of mud bricks with flat roofs.

_History._--Of the early history of Kordofan there is little record. It never formed an independent state. About the beginning of the 16th century Funj from Sennar settled in the country; towards the end of that century Kordofan was conquered by Suleiman Solon, sultan of Darfur. About 1775 it was conquered by the Funj, and there followed a considerable immigration of Arab tribes into the country. The Sennari however suffered a decisive defeat in 1784 and thereafter under Darfur viceroys the country enjoyed prosperity. In 1821 Kordofan was conquered by Mahommed Bey the defterdar, son-in-law of Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt. It remained under Egyptian rule till 1882 when Mahommed Ahmed, the mahdi, raised the country to revolt. It was in Kordofan that Hicks Pasha and his army, sent to crush the revolt, were annihilated (Nov. 1883). The Baggara of Kordofan from that time onward were the chief supporters of the mahdi, and his successor, the khalifa Abdullah, was a Baggara. In Kordofan in 1899 the khalifa met his death, the country having already passed into the hands of the new Sudan government. The chief difficulty experienced by the administration was to habituate the Arabs and Nubas, both naturally warlike, to a state of peace. In consequence of the anti-slave raiding measures adopted, the Arabs of Talodi in May 1906 treacherously massacred the mamur of that place and 40 men of the Sudanese regiment. The promptness with which this disturbance was suppressed averted what otherwise might have been a serious rising. (See SUDAN: _Anglo-Egyptian_, § "History.")

See _The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan_, edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905); H. A. MacMichael, _Notes on the History of Kordofan before the Egyptian Conquest_ (Cairo, 1907); John Petherick, _Egypt, the Sudan, and Central Africa_ (London, 1861); Ignaz Pallme, _Beschreibung von Kordofan_ (Stuttgart, 1843; trans. _Travels in Kordofan_, London, 1844); Major H. G. Prout, _General Report on Province of Kordofan_ (Cairo, 1877); Ernst Marno, _Reise in der egypt. Equat. Provinz_ (Vienna, 1879); papers (with maps) by Capt. W. Lloyd in the _Geog. Journ._ (June 1907 and March 1910); and the bibliography given under SUDAN: _Anglo-Egyptian_.

KOREA, or COREA (CH'AO HSIEN, DAI HAN). Its mainland portion consists of a peninsula stretching southwards from Manchuria, with an estimated length of about 600 m., an extreme breadth of 135 m., and a coast-line of 1740 m. It extends from 34° 18´ to 43° N., and from 124° 36´ to 130° 47´ E. Its northern boundary is marked by the Tumen and Yalu rivers; the eastern boundary by the Sea of Japan; the southern boundary by Korea Strait; and the western boundary by the Yalu and the Yellow Sea. For 11 m. along the Tumen river the north frontier is conterminous with Russia (Siberia); otherwise Korea has China (Manchuria) on its land frontier. Nearly the whole surface of the country is mountainous. (For map, see JAPAN.)

The south and west coasts are fringed by about 200 islands (exclusive of islets), two-thirds of which are inhabited; 100 of them are from 100 to 2000 ft. in height, and many consist of bold bare masses of volcanic rock. The most important are Quelpart and the Nan Hau group. The latter, 36 m. from the eastern end of Quelpart, possesses the deep, well-sheltered and roomy harbour of Port Hamilton, which lies between the north points of the large and well-cultivated islands of Sun-ho-dan and So-dan, which have a population of 2000. Aitan, between their south-east points, completes this noble harbour. The east coast of Korea is steep and rock-bound, with deep water and a tidal rise and fall of 1 to 2 ft. The west coast is often low and shelving, and abounds in mud-banks, and the tidal rise and fall is from 20 to 36 ft. Korean harbours, except two or three which are closed by drift ice for some weeks in winter, are ice-free. Among them are Port Shestakov, Port Lazarev, and Wön-san (Gensan), in Broughton Bay;[1] Fusan, Ma-san-po, at the mouth of the Nak-tong, on the south coast; Mok-po, Chin-nampo, near the mouth of the Tai-dong; and Chemulpo, near the mouth of the Han, the port of the capital and the sea terminus of the first Korean railway on the west coast.

Korea is distinctly mountainous, and has no plains deserving the name. In the north there are mountain groups with definite centres, the most notable being Paik-tu San or Pei-shan (8700 ft.) which contains the sources of the Yalu and Tumen. From these groups a lofty range runs southwards, dividing the empire into two unequal parts. On its east, between it and the coast, which it follows at a moderate distance, is a fertile strip difficult of access, and on the west it throws off so many lateral ranges and spurs as to break up the country into a chaos of corrugated and precipitous hills and steep-sided valleys, each with a rapid perennial stream. Farther south this axial range, which includes the Diamond Mountain group, falls away towards the sea in treeless spurs and small and often infertile levels. The northern groups and the Diamond Mountain are heavily timbered, but the hills are covered mainly with coarse, sour grass and oak and chestnut scrub. The rivers are shallow and rocky, and are usually only navigable for a few miles from the sea. Among the exceptions are the Yalu (Amnok), Tumen, Tai-dong, Naktong, Mok-po, and Han. The last, rising in Kang-wön-do, 30 m. from the east coast, cuts Korea nearly in half, reaching the sea on the west coast near Chemulpo; and, in spite of many serious rapids, is a valuable highway for commerce for over 150 miles.

_Geology._--The geology of Korea is very imperfectly known. Crystalline schists occupy a large part of the country, forming all the higher mountain ranges. They are always strongly folded and it is in them that the mineral wealth of Korea is situated. Towards the Manchurian frontier they are covered unconformably by some 1600 ft. of sandstones, clay-slates and limestones, which contain Cambrian fossils and are the equivalents of a part of the Sinian system of China. Carboniferous beds, consisting chiefly of slates, sandstones and conglomerates, are found in the south-eastern provinces. They contain a few seams of coal, but the most important coal-bearing deposits of the country belong to the Tertiary period. Recent eruptive and volcanic rocks are met with in the interior of Korea and also in the island of Quelpart. The principal mountain in the latter, Hal-la-san (or Mount Auckland), according to Chinese stories, was in eruption in the year 1007. With this possible exception there are no active volcanoes in Korea, and the region has also been remarkably free from earthquakes throughout historic times.

_Climate._--The climate is superb for nine months of the year, and the three months of rain, heat and damp are not injurious to health. Koreans suffer from malaria, but Europeans and their children are fairly free from climatic maladies, and enjoy robust health. The summer mean temperature of Seoul is about 75° F., that of winter about 33°; the average rainfall, 36.3 in. in the year, and of the rainy season 21.86 in. The rains come in July and August on the west and north-east coasts, and from April to July on the south coast, the approximate mean annual rainfall of these localities being 30, 35 and 42 in. respectively. These averages are based on the observations of seven years only.

_Flora._--The plants and animals await study and classification. Among the indigenous trees are the _Abies excelsa_, _Abies microsperma_, _Pinus sinensis_, _Pinus pinea_, three species of oak, five of maple, lime, birch, juniper, mountain ash, walnut, Spanish chestnut, hazel, willow, hornbeam, hawthorn, plum, pear, peach, _Rhus vernicifera_, (?) _Rhus semipinnata_, _Acanthopanax ricinifolia_, _Zelkawa_, _Thuja orientalis_, _Elaeagnus_, _Sophora Japonica_, &c. Azaleas and rhododendrons are widely distributed, as well as other flowering shrubs and creepers, _Ampelopsis Veitchii_ being universal. Liliaceous plants and cruciferae are numerous. The native fruits, except walnuts and chestnuts, are worthless. The persimmon attains perfection, and experiment has proved the suitability of the climate to many foreign fruits. The indigenous economic plants are few, and are of no commercial value, excepting wild _ginseng_, bamboo, which is applied to countless uses, and "tak-pul" (_Hibiscus Manihot_), used in the manufacture of paper.

_Fauna._--The tiger takes the first place among wild animals. He is of great size, his skin is magnificent, and he is so widely distributed as to be a peril to man and beast. Tiger-hunting is a profession with special privileges. Leopards are numerous, and have even been shot within the walls of Seoul. There are deer (at least five species), boars, bears, antelopes, beavers, otters, badgers, tiger-cats, marten, an inferior sable, striped squirrels, &c. Among birds there are black eagles, peregrines (largely used in hawking), and, specially protected by law, turkey bustards, three varieties of pheasants, swans, geese, common and spectacled teal, mallards, mandarin ducks white and pink ibis, cranes, storks, egrets, herons, curlews, pigeons, doves, nightjars, common and blue magpies, rooks, crows, orioles, halcyon and blue kingfishers, jays, nut-hatches, redstarts, snipe, grey shrikes, hawks, kites, &c. But, pending further observations, it is not possible to say which of the smaller birds actually breed in Korea and which only make it a halting-place in their annual migrations.

_Area and Population._--The estimated area is 82,000 sq. m.--somewhat under that of Great Britain. The first complete census was taken in 1897, and returned the population in round numbers at 17,000,000, females being in the majority. It was subsequently, however, estimated at a maximum of 12,000,000. There is a foreign population of about 65,000, of whom 60,000 are Japanese. It is estimated that little more than half the arable land is under cultivation, and that the soil could support an additional 7,000,000. The native population is absolutely homogeneous. Northern Korea, with its severe climate, is thinly peopled, while the rich and warm provinces of the south and west are populous. A large majority of the people are engaged in agriculture. There is little emigration, except into Russian and Chinese territory, but some Koreans have emigrated to Hawaii and Mexico.

The capital is the inland city of Seoul, with a population of nearly 200,000. Among other towns, Songdo (Kaisöng), the capital from about 910 to 1392, is a walled city of the first rank, 25 m. N.W. of Seoul, with a population of 60,000. It possesses the stately remains of the palace of the Korean kings of the Wang dynasty, is a great centre of the grain trade and the sole centre of the _ginseng_ manufacture, makes wooden shoes, coarse pottery and fine matting, and manufactures with sesamum oil the stout oiled paper for which Korea is famous. Phyöng-yang, a city on the Tai-dong, had a population of 60,000 before the war of 1894, in which it was nearly destroyed; but it fast regained its population. It lies on rocky heights above a region of stoneless alluvium on the east, and with the largest and richest plain in Korea on the west. It has five coal-mines within ten miles, and the district is rich in iron, silk, cotton, and grain. It has easy communication with the sea (its port being Chin-nampo), and is important historically and commercially. Auriferous quartz is worked by a foreign company in its neighbourhood. Near the city is the illustrated standard of land measurement cut by Ki-tze in 1124 B.C.

With the exceptions of Kang-hwa, Chöng-ju, Tung-nai, Fusan, and Wön-san, it is very doubtful if any other Korean towns reach a population of 15,000. The provincial capitals and many other cities are walled. Most of the larger towns are in the warm and fertile southern provinces. One is very much like another, and nearly all their streets are replicas of the better alleys of Seoul. The actual antiquities of Korea are dolmens, sepulchral pottery, and Korean and Japanese fortifications.

_Race._--The origin of the Korean people is unknown. They are of the Mongol family; their language belongs to the so-called Turanian group, is polysyllabic, possesses an alphabet of 11 vowels and 14 consonants, and a script named _En-mun_. Literature of the higher class and official and upper class correspondence are exclusively in Chinese characters, but since 1895 official documents have contained an admixture of _En-mun_. The Koreans are distinct from both Chinese and Japanese in physiognomy, though dark straight hair, dark oblique eyes, and a tinge of bronze in the skin are always present. The cheek-bones are high; the nose inclined to flatness; the mouth thin-lipped and refined among patricians, and wide and full-lipped among plebeians; the ears are small, and the brow fairly well developed. The expression indicates quick intelligence rather than force and mental calibre. The male height averages 5 ft. 4½ in. The hands and feet are small and well-formed. The physique is good, and porters carry on journeys from 100 to 200 lb. Men marry at from 18 to 20 years, girls at 16, and have large families, in which a strumous taint is nearly universal. Women are secluded and occupy a very inferior position. The Koreans are rigid monogamists, but concubinage has a recognized status.

_Production and Industries._ i. _Minerals._--Extensive coal-fields, producing coal of fair quality, as yet undeveloped, occur in Hwang-hai Do and elsewhere. Iron is abundant, especially in Phyöng-an Do, and rich copper ore, silver and galena are found. Crystal is a noted product of Korea, and talc of good quality is also present. In 1885 the rudest process of "placer" washing produced an export of gold dust amounting to £120,000; quartz-mining methods were subsequently introduced, and the annual declared value of gold produced rose to about £450,000; but much is believed to have been sent out of the country clandestinely. The reefs were left untouched till 1897, when an American company, which had obtained a concession in Phyöng-an Do in 1895, introduced the latest mining appliances, and raised the declared export of 1898 to £240,047, believed to represent a yield for that year of £600,000. Russian, German, English, French and Japanese applicants subsequently obtained concessions. The _concessionnaires_ regard Korean labour as docile and intelligent. The privilege of owning mines in Korea was extended to aliens under the Mining Regulations of 1906.