* 
756 KIR 
KIRCH'PERG, a town of Auftria: four miles eaft of 
Weitra. 
KIRCH'PERG, a town of Bavaria : ten miles eaft- 
north-eaft of Pfaffenhofen, and thirteen north-weft of 
Moftmrg. 
KIRCH'PERG, a town of Auftria : fix miles fouth of 
Glognitz. 
KIRCH'PERG, a town of Auftria: eight miles fouth* 
weft of Sonneburg. 
KIRCH'SCHLAG, or Kirchschlagen, a town of 
Auftria : twenty miles fouth of Ebenfurth, and thirty- 
eight fouth of Vienna. 
KIRCH'SCHLAGEN, a town of Auftria, with a me¬ 
dicinal bath: ten miles fouth of Zwetl. 
KIRCHWALSE'DE, a town of Germany, in the 
county of Verden : eleven miles north-eaft of Verden. 
KIRCUB'BIN, a poft-town of Ireland, in the county of 
Down and province of Ulfter, fituatedin the peninfula of 
Ardes, and ninety-feven miles north-by-eaft from Dublin. 
KIRDISTAN'. See Curdistan, vol. v. 
KIRDORF, a town of Upper Hefle: eleven miles eaft 
of Marburg, and thirty-four weft of Caflel. 
KI'REN. See Kirin. 
KIREN'GA, a river of Ruflia, which runs into the Ir- 
Rutfk near Kirenfk. 
KIREN'SK, a town of Ruflia, in the government of 
•Irkutlk, on the Lena: 1232 miles eaft of Tobolfk, and 
348 north-north-eaft of Irkutfk. Lat. 57.40. N. Ion. 108. 
14. E. 
KIREN'SKOI, a town of Ruflia, in the government of 
Irkutfk, on the borders of China, built in the year 1655, 
in a fertile foil, but at prefent in a ftate of decay : 112 
miles weft of Doroninfk. 
KIRGANEL'LA, f. in botany. See Phyllanthus 
jiiruri. 
KIRGON'GA, a river of Thibet, which runs into the 
Dewah fifty miles north of Dharmfaleh. 
KIRGU'SES, Kirghises, or Kirgeeses, a tribe of 
Tartars, who occupy about one-half of Independent Tar¬ 
tary, in the north. They are of undoubted Tartaric ori¬ 
gin, and feem to live in perfect amity with their fouthern 
brethren, the Ulbeks. Thefe Kirgufes are divided from 
Siberia by the great Steppe, or delert, of Iflim, which is 
interfected by a river of the fame name. On the weft 
of the Kirgufes there ftill remain fome tribes of Kalmucs, 
though the 1110ft of them migrated from the Volga in 1770, 
•when they fought the protection of the Chinefe. The 
Kirgufes are fuppofed to derive their name from the 
founder of their horde; and from time immemorial have 
been clafled under three divifions, of great, middle, and 
little, though quite unknown to Europe till the Ruffian 
conqueft of Siberia," at which time they nomalifed at the 
fuperior Yeniffiei about the Yufs, the Abakhan, &c. and 
in the year 1606 fome tribes of them became fubject to 
the Ruffian empire, at the fame time with the Barabinzes. 
From that period, by their pufillanimity, their faithlefl- 
nefs, their frequent rebellion, and the fubjugation of cor¬ 
relative nations, they have had the character of an ex¬ 
tremely turbulent people. The revolutions which have 
thus been produced in their political condition induced 
them to remove from the Yenilfei to the Oby, and gra¬ 
dually farther to the weft and the fouth. They at pre/ent 
inhabit the prodigious defert between the Ural and the 
Irtilh, denominated by the Ruffians the Kirghifian Steppe, 
and bordering weftward on the Cafpian and the go¬ 
vernment of Caucafus, northwards upon the parts about 
the Ufa and the Tobol, and eaftwards on the government 
of Kolhyvan. The great horde, defended by mountains 
on the fouth and eaft, alferted their independence in re¬ 
peated contefts with the Kalmucs of Soongaria. The 
middle and little hordes have acknowdedged the Ruffian 
fovereignty ever fince the year 1731 ; but, having always 
been unfaithful allies, and a very piratical people, the 
Ruffians have been obliged to conftruct lines of fmall forts 
along the frontier rivers. Each of thefe two hordes is ef- 
K I R 
timated at 30,000 liibitkies, or families; and, fuppofing the 
great horde to contain 60,000, and each family to confift 
of fix perfons, the population of this wide region may 
amount to 720,000; but it probably does not exceed half 
a million. 
Their manners have been minutely aeferibed by Pallas. 
Their tents are conftructed of a kind of felt; their drink 
is kumifsy made of acidulated mare’s milk. The great 
horde is confidered as the fource of the two others. Be¬ 
ing fettled near the mountains of Alak, called alfo Ala 
Tau, this horde has been denominated the Alatanian 
Kirgufes. They lead a wandering life from the borders 
of the Upper Sirr, or Syrt, near Taflikund, to the Steppe 
of Iffim. Each horde has its peculiar khan; but the mid¬ 
dle horde, when Pallas approached this country, was con¬ 
tented with a prince that acknowledged the khan of the 
little horde; and in 1777, this khan of the little horde, 
whofe eleiftion had been confirmed by Ruflia, was called 
Nur Hali, a fenfible and equitable prince. The features of 
the Kirgufes are Tartaric, with the flat nofe and fmall eyes, 
but not oblique like thofe of the Monguls and Chinefe. 
They have horfes, camels, cattle, flieep, and goats. Some 
individuals in the middle horde are faid to have 10,000 
horfes, 300 camels, 3 or 4000 cattle, 20,000 flieep, and 
more than 2000 goats; while fome in the little horde were 
proprietors of 3000 horfes, and a proportionable number 
of the other animals. Their dromedaries furniflied a 
confiderable quantity of woolly hair, which was fold to 
the Ruffians and Bukharians, being annually clipped like 
that of fheep. Their chief food is mutton, of the large¬ 
tailed fort ; and fo exquifite is the lamb, that it is fent 
from Orenburg to Peterfburg for the tables of the palace. 
The lamb-lkins are the moft celebrated after thofe of 
Bukharia, being damafked as it were by clothing the lit¬ 
tle animal in coarfe linen. But the wool of the fheep, be¬ 
ing coarfe, is ufed only in domeftic confumptian for felts 
and thick cloths. The fteppes fupply them with objefts 
of the chace, wolves, foxes, badgers, antelopes, ermines, 
weazels, marmots, &c. In the fouthern and eaftern 
mountains are found wild flieep; the ox of Thibet, which 
feems to delight in fnowy alps; with chamois, jackals, ti¬ 
gers, and wild afles. 
As theKirgufians regard one another as brethren, their 
only fervants, or flaves, are captives whom they take in 
their incurfions. Their drefs is the common Tartaric, 
with large trowfers and pointed boots. A thin veft fup- 
plies the place of a fhirt, and they commonly wear two 
fhort robes. The head is fliaved, and covered with a co¬ 
nical bonnet. Theirfaddle-horfes are richly ornamented; 
but the men are fhort in ftature, and their trowfers afeend 
to the arm-pits, fo that they look like a pair of panta¬ 
loons on horfeback. The ladies ornament their heads 
with the necks of herons, difpofed like horns. They ap¬ 
pear to be Mahometans, though rather of a relaxed creed. 
The Kirgufians carry on fome trade with Ruflia. The 
chief traffic, which is wholly by exchange, is at Oren¬ 
burg, but the middle horde proceed to Omfk. Sheep, to 
the amount of 150,000, are annually brought to Oren¬ 
burg; with horfes, cattle, lambs, fkins, camels’-wool, and 
camlets ; fometimes fhey offer (laves, Perfians or Turco¬ 
mans. In return they take manufaflured articles, chiefly 
clothes and furniture. From Bukharia, Khieva, and 
Tafhkund, they receive arms and coats of mail, which 
Ruflia refufes, in return for camels and cattle. They are 
extremely fond of the Kalmuc women, who long retain 
their form and charms; and often marry them, if they 
will adopt the Mahometan religion. There is an annual 
feftival in honour of the dead. About the beginning of 
the 17th century, this people, who were formerly Shama- 
nians, became children of circumcifion, by the exertions of 
the priefts of Turkiftan ; but Pallas, in 1769, found them 
addifled to forceries and other idle fuperllitions. 
This barren country, now inhabited by the Kirgufes, 
has been the feene of confiderable events; and it is not 
improbable, that its numerous deferts and plains have 
Jieen 
