K A M 
eaft Leitmeritz, and thirty miles fouth-eaft of Drefden. 
Lat. 50. 47. N. Ion. 14. 32. E. 
KAM'NITZBACH, a river of Bohemia, which runs 
into the Elbe feven miles fouth of Tetfchen. 
KA'MO, a town of Japan, on the fouth coaft of the 
ifland of Sado. 
KAMOE'TER, a fmall ifland in the Eaftern Indian Sea. 
Lat. 6. 30. S. Ion. 13a. 5. E. 
KAMOSEBRO'ICK, a town of Pruflia, in the province 
of Samland, on the bank of the Pregel, oppofite Inlterburg. 
KAMOURAS'KAS, a town of Canada, on the right 
bank of the St. Laurence. Lat. 47. 33. N. Ion. 69.40. W. 
KAMP, a river of Auftria, which riles on the borders 
of Bohemia eight miles weft: of Weftra, and runs into the 
Zwetl at Zwetl. 
KA 1 VPPL. See Cham, vol. iv. 
KAMSCHEV'SKA, a town of Ruflia, in the province 
of Ekaterinburg, on the Ifet: fifty-two miles fouth-eaft 
of Ekaterinburg. 
KAMS'CHLOV, a town of Ruflia, in the province of 
Ekaterinburg : fifty-fix miles eaft of Ekaterinburg. 
KAM'SIN,/. The name of a hot foutherly wind com¬ 
mon in Egypt, of which we find the following defcription 
in M. Volney’s Travels. Thefe winds, lays he, are 
known in Egypt by the general name of winds offifty days-, 
not that they laft fifty days without intermiflion, but be- 
caufe they prevail more frequently in the fifty days pre¬ 
ceding and following the equinox. Travellers have men¬ 
tioned them under the denomination of poifonous winds, or, 
more correfitly, hot winds' of the defert. Such in fact is their 
quality ; and their heat is fometimes fo exceflive, that it is 
difficult to form any idea of its violence without having 
experienced it; but it may be compared to the heat of a 
large oven at the moment of drawing out the bread. When 
thefe wfinds begin to blow, the atmofphere afiumes an 
alarming afpeft. The Iky, at other times fo clear in this 
climate, becomes dark and heavy ; the fun lofes his fplen- 
dour and appears of a violet colour; the air is not cloudy, 
but grey and thick, and is in faft filled with an extremely 
fubtile dull, which penetrates everywhere. This wind, 
always light and rapid, is not at firft remarkably hot, but 
it increafes in heat in proportion as it continues. All ani¬ 
mated bodies foon difcoveritby the change it produces in 
them. The lungs, which a too-rarefied air no longer ex¬ 
pands, are contracted, and become painful. Refpiration 
is fliort and difficult, the fkin parched and dry, and the 
body confumed by an internal heat. In vain is recourfe 
had to large draughts of water ; nothing can reftore per- 
fpiration. In vain is coolnefs fought for; all bodies in 
■which it is ufual to find it deceive the hand that touches 
them. Marble, iron, water, notwithftanding the fun no 
longer appears, are hot. The ftreets are defected, and the 
dead filence of night reigns everywhere. The inhabitants 
of towns and villages fliut themfelves up in their houfes, 
and thofe of the defert in their teflts or in wells dug in 
the earth, where they wait the termination of this deftruc- 
tive heat. It ufually lafts three days, but if it exceeds that 
time it becomes infupportable. Woe to the traveller whom 
this wind furprifes remote from (belter: he mull fuffer all 
its horrible efieCls, which fometimes are mortal. The dan¬ 
ger is moil imminent when it blows in fqualls ; for then 
the rapidity of the wind increafes the heat to fuch a degree 
as to caufe fudden death. This death is a real fuffocation 5 
the lungs being empty are convulfed, the circulation is 
dilordered, and the whole mafs of blood driven by the 
heart towards the head and bread ; whence the hasmorrha- 
gy at the nofe and mouth which happens after death. 
This wind is efpecially deftrudlive to perfons of a pletho¬ 
ric habit, and thofe in whom fatigue has deftroyed the tone 
of the mufcles and the vefiels. The corpfe remains a long 
time warm, fwells, turns blue, and foon becomes putrid. 
Thefe accidents are to be avoided by flopping the nofe and 
mouth with handkerchiefs; and on this occafion the camels 
inltinClively bury their nofes in the land, and keep them 
there till the fquall is over. Another quality of this wind 
is its extreme aridity, which is fuch, that water fprinkled 
1 
K A M 595 
on the floor evaporates in a few minutes. By this extreme 
drynefs it withers and drips all the plants ; and, by exhal¬ 
ing too fuddenly the emanations from animal bodies, crifps 
the (kin, clofes the pores, and caufes that feverifh heat 
which is the conftant effeftof fupprefled perfpiration. 
Captain Wallh, in his Journal of the Campaign in 
Egypt, has given us one fatal inftance of the effect of this 
wind, which happened under his own eye: “ On the 23d 
of May, we experienced the very difagreeable effects of 
the kamfin or firocco wind, which blew violently, and 
was indeed fo fuffocating as to make refpiration very dif¬ 
ficult. At the camp near Alexandria, which was altnoft 
furrounded by water, the thermometer role to 99 0 in the 
(hade ; at Algam it was at 109 0 , and 120 0 where not 
(haded. An Arab fell dead in the market-place at gene¬ 
ral Coote’s encampment,and a camel fhared the lame fate at 
Algam.” We have given leveral interelling particulars from 
Denon’s account, under our article Egypt, vol. vi. p. 384. 
KAMTSCIIAT'KA, a peninfula of Ruflia, in the go¬ 
vernment of Irkutlk, bounded on the north by the pro¬ 
vince of Ochotlk, on the eaft and fouth by the Northern 
Pacific Ocean, and on the weft by the Sea of Ochotlk and 
the Penzinlkoe Gulf; about fix hundred miles in length, 
and from thirty to tw'O hundred in breadth. This penin¬ 
fula was not dilcovered by the Ruffians before the end of 
the laft century. It is probable, however, that lome of 
that nation had vifited Kamtfchatka before the time above- 
mentioned ; for, when Volodomir Atlafl’ofF entered upon 
the conquell of this peninlula in 1697, he found that the 
inhabitants had already feme knowledge of the Ruffians. 
A common tradition as yet prevails among them, that, long 
before the expedition of Atlafloff, one Feodotoff and his 
companions had refided among them, and had intermarried 
with the natives ; and they Hill (how the place where the 
Ruffian habitations flood. None of the Ruffians remained 
when Atlafloff firft vifited Kamtfchatka. They are find 
to have been held in great veneration, and almoft deified 
by the natives ; who at firft imagined that no human power 
could hurt them, until they quarrelled among themfelves, 
and the blood was feen to flow from the wounds which 
they gave each other ; foon after which, upon a feparation 
taking place, they were all killed by the natives. Thele 
Ruffians were thought to be the remains of a (hip’s crew 
who had failed quite round the north-eaftern promontory 
of Afia called Tfchakutjkoi No/s. The account we have of 
this voyage is as follows : In 1648, feven kotches or vef- 
fels failed from the mouth of the river Kovyma, or Koly¬ 
ma, lying in the Frozen Ocean, in about 72 0 north lati¬ 
tude, and 173 0 or 174 0 eaft longitude from Ferro, in or¬ 
der to penetrate into the Eaftern Ocean. Four of thefe 
were never more heard of; the remaining three were com¬ 
manded by Simon Defhneff, Gerafim Ankudinoff, two 
chiefs of the Cofacs, and Feodotoff Alexeef, head of the 
Promyfhlenics, or wandering Ruffians, who occafionally 
vifited Siberia. Each veffel was probably manned with 
about thirty perfons. They met with no obftrubcions from, 
the ice ; but Ankudinoff’s veffel was wrecked on the pro¬ 
montory above-mentioned, and the crew were diilributed 
on-board the two remaining vefiels. Thefe two foon after 
loft fight of each other, and never afterwards rejoined. 
Defhneff was driven about by tempeftuous winds till Oc¬ 
tober, when, he was lhipwrecked on the northern part of 
Kamtfchatka. Here he was informed by a woman of Ya- 
kutfk, that Feodotoff and Gerafim had died of the feurvy ; 
that part of the crew had been (lain ; and that a few had 
efcaped in fmall veffels, wdio had never afterwards been 
heard of: and thefe were probably the people who, as we 
have already mentioned, fettled among the Kamtfchatkans. 
As the inhabitants of this country were neither nume¬ 
rous nor warlike, it required no great force to fubdue them; 
and in 1711 the whole peninfula was finally reduced under 
the dominion of the Ruffians. Forfome years this ac.qui- 
fition was of a very little confequence to the crown, ex¬ 
cepting the fmall tribute of furs exafled front the inhabi¬ 
tants. The Ruffians indeed occafionally hunted, in this 
peninfula, foxes, wolves, ermines, fables, and other ani¬ 
mals,. 
