723 
K l M‘ 
together at Conftantinople, in 1513 and 1530, folio; and 
by Dan. Bomberg at Venice, in 1529 and 154.5, folio, 
with the notes of rabbi Elias- Levita to the edition laft 
mentioned. Euxtorf made thefe works the foundation 
of his rhefaurus Linguae Hebrsese, and his Lexicon Lin* 
guae Hebrasas. Several of Kimchi’s Letters, written dur¬ 
ing tne controverfy between the French and Spanish fyna- 
gogues, may be found in a volume of the “Letters of 
Maimonides,” publifhed at Venice, 1545, 8vo. and fome 
of them in the appendix to Buxtorf’s lnftit. Epiftol. Haeb. 
—Rabbi Kimchi had a brother called MoSes Kimchi, 
the author of a fiiort Hebrew grammar, entitled Mahalac 
Scevile Haddaath, which was printed at Venice in 12'rrio. 
with notes by different rabbis ; and reprinted in Holland, 
with notes in Latin by rabbi Elias Levita. 
KIM'EDY, a town of Hindooftan, in the circar of Ci- 
cacole : thirty miles north-weft of Cicacole, and fev'enty 
fouth-weft of .Ganjam. 
KI'MEN, a town of China, of the third rank, in Ki- 
ang-nan : forty miles weft of Hoei-tcheou. 
' KIM'GSWISEN, a town of Auitria : ten miles north 
of Grein. 
KFMI. See Kemi. 
KIMPTO, a town .of Sweden, in the government of 
Abo: twenty-three miles fouth-eaft of Abo. 
KIM'KIN, a town of Walachia: fifty-five miles north 
of Buchareft, and ninety eaft-fouth-eaft of Hermanftadt. 
KIMLAS'SA, a town of Hindooftan, in the countiy 
of Malvva : thirty-five miles fouth of Chanderee : and 172 
eaft-nortb-eaft of Ougein. Lat. 24. 15. N. Ion. 78. 42. E. 
KIMMOO', a town of Africa, in Jajaaga. Lat. 14. 23. 
N. Ion. 10. 20. W. 
KIMMOU'X, a town of Hindooftan, in Oriffa: five 
miles north of Sonepour. 
KIM'NIK, a town of Walachia, on the river Alaut: 
forty-four miles eaft-fouth-eaft of Tergovifta, and feventy- 
fix north-eaft of Orfowa. 
KIM'OLI. See Argentiera, vol. ii. 
KFMOS, a lake of Ruffia, in the government of Olo- 
netz : eight miles north-weft from LakeNuk, with which 
it communicates by a finall river. Lat. 64. 45. N. Ion. 
30.^14. E. 
KI'MOS, a nation of pigmies, faid to inhabit the moun¬ 
tains in the interior part of the ifland of Madagafcar, of 
whom tradition had long encouraged the belief: but Fia- 
court, in the laft century, treated the ftories then in cir¬ 
culation with great contempt. The abbe Rochon, how¬ 
ever, in his late Voyage a Madagafcar , has revived them ; 
and has not only given them the fanffiori of his own be¬ 
lief, but that of M. Commerfon, and of M. de Modave, 
the late governor of Fort Dauphin. As their opinions 
are of weight, and as the fubjeft is curious, we fliall pre- 
fient our readers with an epitome of the memoirs which 
thefe gentlemen drew up concerning the Kimos, and which 
M. Rochon inferted entire in the body of his work. 
“ Lovers of the marvellous, (fays M. Commerfon,) who 
would be forry to have the pretended fize of the Patago¬ 
nian giants reduced to fix feet, will perhaps be made fome 
amends by a race of pigmies, who are wonderful in the 
contrary extreme. I mean thole half-men who inhabit 
the interior part of the great ifland of Madagafcar, and 
form a diftinct nation, called, in the language of the coun¬ 
try, Kimos. Thefe little men are of a paler colour than 
the reft of the natives, who are in general black. Their 
arms are fo long, that, when ftretclied out, they reach to 
the knees, without Hooping. The women have fcarcely 
breafts fufficient to mark their fex, except at the time of 
lying-in ; and even then they are obliged to have recourfe 
to cows’ milk, to feed their children. The intellectual fa¬ 
culties of this diminutive race are equal to thofe of the 
other inhabitants of the ifland, who are by no means de¬ 
ficient in underflanding, though extremely indolent. In¬ 
deed the Kimos are faid to be much more aftive and war¬ 
like ; fo that, their courage being in a duplicate ratio of 
their fize, they have never fuffered themfelves to be op- 
K 1 M 
prelTed and fubdued by their neighbours, who have often 
attempted it. It is aftonifhing, that all we know of this 
nation is from the neighbouring people; and that neither* 
the governors of the Ifle of France, of Bourbon, nor the 
commanders of our forts on the coaftof Madagafcar, have 
ever endeavoured to penetrate into this country. It has 
indeed been lately attempted, but without fuccefs. i 
fliall however atteft, as an eye-witnefs, that in a voyage 
which I made in 1770 to Fort Dauphin, M. de Modave, 
the, laft governor, gratified my curiofity, by Ihowing me 
among his Haves a female of the Kimos tribe, about thirty 
years of age, and three feet feven inches high. She was 
of a much paler colour than any other natives of Mada- 
gafear that I had feen,was well made, and did not appear 
mif-lhapen, nor Hinted in her growth, as accidental dwarfs 
ufually are. Her arms were indeed too long in propor¬ 
tion to her height, and her hair was Ihort and woolly ; but 
her countenance was good, and rather refembled that of 
an European than an African. She had a natural habi¬ 
tual fmile on her face, was good-humoured, and feemed, 
by her behaviour, to pofiefs a good underflanding. No 
appearance of breafts was obfervable, except nipples ; but 
this Angle inftance is not fufficient to eftablilh an excep¬ 
tion fo contrary to the general law of nature. On the 
whole, I conclude, in firmly believing the exiftence of 
this diminutive race of human beings, who have a cha¬ 
racter and manners peculiar to thcmfeitfes. The Lap¬ 
landers feeni to be the medium between men of the com¬ 
mon fize and thefe dwarfs. Both inhabit the coldeft 
countries and the higheft mountains on the earth. Thofe 
of Madagafcar, on which the Kimos refide, are fixteen or 
feventeen hundred toifes (or fathoms) above the level of 
the fea. The plants and vegetables which grow on thefe 
heights are naturally dwarfs.” 
M. de Modave fays, “When I arrived at Fort Dauphin 
in 1768, I had a memoir put into my hands, which was 
ill drawn up, giving an account of a pigmy race of peo¬ 
ple, called Kimos, who inhabit the middle region of Ma¬ 
dagafcar, in lat. 22. I tried to verify the fa£t, by prepar¬ 
ing for an expedition into the country which is laid to be 
thus inhabited: but, by the infidelity and cowardice of 
the guides, tny fcheme failed. Yet I had fuch indifpu- 
table information of this extraordinary fait, that I have 
not the leaft doubt of the exiftence of fuch a nation. The 
common fize of the men is three feet five inches. They 
wear long round beards. The women are fome inches 
Ihorter than the men, who are thick and ftout. Their co¬ 
lour is lefs black and fwarthy than that of the natives; 
their hair is Ihort and cottony. They forge iron and fteel, 
of which they make their lances and darts ; the only 
weapons that they ufe. The fituation of their country is 
about fixty leagues to the north-weft of Fort Dauphin. 
I procured a female of this nation, but {he was faid to be 
much taller than ufual among the Kimos ; for (he was 
three feet feven inches in height. She was very thin, ami 
had no more appearance of breafts than the leaneft man.” 
To thefe relations, the abbe Rochon fays, he might add 
that of an officer who had procured a Kimos man, and 
would have brought him to Europe ; but M. de Serville, 
who commanded the veflel in which he was to embark, 
refilled to grant his permiffion. 
KIMOZERSKA'IA, a town of Ruffia, in the govern¬ 
ment of Olonetz, on the Lake Kimos: eighty-eight miles 
north of Kemi. 
KIMPI'NA, a town of Walachia : thirty-fix miles fouth 
of Cronliadt, and forty-four north of Buchareft.? 
KIM'PLING, a town of Auftria : four miles weft of 
Griefkirchen. 
KIM'POLL T NG, a town of European Turkey, in Mol¬ 
davia: 116 miles weft-north-weft of Jafiy, and 115 north- 
north-eaft of Hermanftadt. Lat. 47. 42. N. Ion. 25. 8. E. 
KIM'POLUNG, a town of Moldavia : 125 miles weft 
of Jafiy. Lat. 48.27. N. Ion. 25. 14. E. 
KIMPOU'R, a town of Bengal : twenty-feven miles 
eaft-nortb-eaft of Purneah. 
1 KIM'SLAj 
