KNOXVILLE 



3273 



KOBE 



afforded by the hills. The city is on the 

 Knoxville & Augusta, the Knoxville & Bristol, 

 the Louisville & Nashville and the Southern 

 railroads and is a port for small steamboats 

 which ply the Tennessee and French Broad 

 rivers for two-thirds of the year. A splendid 

 steel bridge spans the river between Knoxville 

 and South Knoxville. The area is over four 

 square miles. Knoxville is the fourth city of 

 the state in size; the population in 1910 was 

 36,346; in 1916 it was 38,676 (Federal estimate). 



The attractive parks of the city include Chil- 

 howie and Circle parks and Emory Place, 

 which contain national and Confederate monu- 

 ments. The marble Federal building, custom- 

 house and post office ; the county building, sur- 

 rounded by parked grounds; the city hall; 

 Lawson-McGhee public library; Y. M. C. A. 

 and Y. W. C. A. buildings ; the Auditorium and 

 the city markets are noteworthy buildings. 



Institutions. Knoxville is the seat of the 

 University of Tennessee (attended, in 1916, by 

 more than 4,000 students), the East Tennessee 

 Female Institute, the Tennessee Normal Col- 

 lege, University Preparatory School and Saint 

 Mary's Academy. Knoxville College, a United 

 Presbyterian school for colored students, is 

 located here. The city also contains the State 

 School for Deaf Mutes and a branch of the 

 State Hospital for the Insane. 



The benevolent and charitable institutions 

 include the Lincoln Memorial and Knoxville 

 general hospitals, the Industrial School for 

 Juveniles, an orphanage and a home for aged 

 women. 



Industries. A great variety of valuable 

 timber, coal from rich coal fields (the Coal 

 Creek and Jellico districts), iron ore, pottery 

 clays, marble and zinc are the raw materials 

 easily accessible for the trade and manufac- 

 tories of Knoxville. The sawing and polishing 

 of marble from large quarries near the city is 

 one of the most important industries. Next in 

 importance is the manufacture of woolen and 

 cotton goods, flour, furniture and cabinet man- 

 tels, pottery, boilers, stoves, bar iron, castings, 

 caskets, iron fencing, ready-made clothing, zinc 

 products and desks. Knoxville is an important 

 wholesale center and conducts a large shipping 

 business by rail and by boat throughout the 

 surrounding country. Car and repair shops of 

 the Southern Railroad are located here. 



History. The first building on the site of 

 Knoxville was a blockhouse erected in 1791 

 by General James White for the protection of 

 settlers against attacks of Cherokee Indians. 



Barracks were later erected and for many years 

 the settlement, named in honor of General 

 Henry Kndx, the first Secretary of War, was 

 frequently attacked by Indians. It was the 

 capital of the "Territory South of the Ohio" 

 from 1792 to 1796, and was the state capital 

 until 1811 and again in 1817. A city charter 

 was granted in 1815. 



In 1911 the commission form of government 

 was adopted. The city owns and operates the 

 water system, purchased in 1909. J.L.B. 



Consult Powell's Historic Towns of the South- 

 ern States. 



KOALA, koa'la, a small, pouched animal of 

 Australia, resembling the bear in appearance 

 and the sloth (which see) in its lethargic dis- 

 position. It is sometimes called the Australian 

 bear, pouched bear or native sloth. It is about 



THE KOALA 



twenty-four inches long and twelve inches high 

 at the shoulder, and has no tail. Its fur is 

 very thick, soft and woolly, reddish-gray above 

 and yellowish- white below. The head is thick, 

 the snout short and the mouth provided with 

 cheek pouches. Its long toes enable it easily 

 to grasp the branches of trees, from which, like 

 the sloth, it often hangs with its back down- 

 ward. It sleeps in the daytime in the top of 

 some blue-gum (eucalyptus) tree, on the leaves 

 of which it feeds, but it also roams around on 

 the ground digging up roots. The mother car- 

 ries her cub in her pouch when it is very young, 

 and when old enough to leave the pouch it 

 rides on her back. The natives of Australia 

 eat the flesh of the koala, and often climb the 

 highest trees in search of the animals. 



KOBE, ko'be, a seaport of Japan, on the 

 southern coast of the island of Hondo. In 

 1892 it was merged with Hiogo, a town which 

 adjoined it directly on the southwest. Kobe 

 has a fine, deep harbor and enjoys direct steam- 

 ship communication with China, Australia, 

 Hong-kong and various European and Ameri- 



