MASTOIioN 



MATCHES 



mastiff, averaging from '.'7 ! 30 inches t iiliuulJer. 



The head i longer, muruuei. Hint more elevated 



the back ur emit*, the -kin much looser, ami 



forming a fold from the eyebrows which descends 



." licing in. ur |M-ndiilou- than in the 



i . and |>iirt:iUi!i_' Minn' Hi the chiirac- 



.IIM si hound. Tin- hair i- rough ind d-n-e, 



.nl Im-hy ami curled generally over ihe laok, 



Mack, with tan or fa-vu shading* 



tin- eye-, on tin- paw-. nnil under tin- lielly ; 



l>nt fa n coloured s|M>rimens are not iinconiinon. 



lii- kind an' found in Nepal, Ithutan, 



Tilx't, Mongolia. and probably northward through 



Russia and Siberia, in a state of more or I>SM purit v ; 



mod dog* presenting the characteristics of the 



Asiatic mastiff and of vast size appear to have 



existed since tlu> <tays of I'H.- Assyrian empire, 



WO B.C. See the Itev! M. a Wyiin a History of the 



MaModon. a conns of extinct elephants, whose 

 remains are fonini in Europe, A.iia, and America, 

 in Miocene, 1'lioccnc, and I'l.'i-tocene strata. They 

 equalled or excelled their modern relatives in si/c. 

 The name maxtodon refers to the mammillary cusps 

 or teat-like prominences on the molar teeth. See 



Kl H'HA.NT. 



Masfidl. Aiifi. HASSAX A LI, an Arab traveller 

 ami author (died !**>*), was born at Bagdad aliotit 

 tlii- end of the !lth century, and *|xmt great part of 



life in travel, visiting Egypt. Palestine, tin- 

 Caspian shores, India, Ceylon, MadagMCV, ami 

 perhaps even China. Hi- chief works are the 



ill, of which an abridgment. The Mnnluwsof 



'. was printed with a French tianslution by 



M.-Miard in I SO 1-77 (one vol. of an English trans- 



lation by Sprcngi-r in ls.41 i.and the Iiitlinitur. 



Masillipalain , lli" principal seaport of Ki-tna 



r in the CM i'lciicx ni Madia*, lies 215 miles 



N ..i Madras citv. Vessels anchor 5 miles from 



shore. Total value of trade lAVi.tHtO to 300,000 



per annum. Here the Engli-h c-tuhlishcd an 



gency in 1611, and after 1028 it became the centre 



of their trade in those parts. Since 1841 the 



i has been an active mi imiaiy centre. In 

 1864 a storm wave swept o\er it ami destroyed 

 30.(". i I: (1881) 35,086; (1891) 38,809, 



n IK in <>f whom weave cotton-. 



MalnlHrI;illd. a country stretching north 

 ward- from the South African Itepublic or Trans- 

 vaal towards the /:unli<--i, and having Kh:i- 

 territory on tin- mith --t. ll im-.u-iires alHtut 180 

 niilti- from north to -onth and l.Vi fmm east to wi--t, 

 ml embraces the wat<-i>lied )..-iweeii the rier- 

 tin- Zamltcxi and the I,JIII|MI|K>. When 

 tin- ' Imka ruled over tlie /.ulus (q.v.), a 



'Hi ol the nation under a ii\al chief, Sloxili- 



.-. relH'lli-d and mo\e<I nil' towards the north. 

 Aft- 'i(J for a while in what is now the 



.val. they finally settled in |s|O (H-yond (lie 

 tfraintie luteppo Mountains. Mili-luinj; and almo-t 

 the |M'oji|i-s they found there the 

 Manhona, tin- Makalaka. and the lUnyai. The 

 Matabele, who prfx-rviil the warlike habits of the 

 Zulu nui-, were divided intn fi.ur territorial divi- 

 aioo, and mnnU-i.-.l in all some '.IHI.INKI |,ei-i,n-. ,,f 

 whom 1.5,000 were RghtinB-iuen, The eiiuiitry was 

 handed over in IHl to the lni|>eiial Hnti-l, Smith 

 Africa Company, who, as the Matabele still con- 

 tinued their periodical raids and forays, renewed in 

 July nnd Aii({Ut IH'13, inunnis<>i| an e\|x'dition 

 in tlin*' r<iluiiin-, SIIMKII ted by some regular 

 linii-li troops, and by Kliama and lii- Itamiintin.ito, 

 g>int Kmt: Lobengnla, the son of Mo-ilikatxe. 

 e\|M-.litii,n, which U-cati to advance on -d 

 was brilliantly i! in re|H-ated|y 



defeatinK the savage warrim -. w Im could not stan.l 

 Wurv the Maxim guns, and, after some sharp light- 



iii^-. in briMikiii); up their military urbanisation. 



|nla died in hiding in February IMU. < l iuarU 



ieh infold exist in various | laitM.t thei i.unt i x . 

 So.ui at'ier the .laiiu-Min Kaid into the Transvaal (at 

 1890) the Matabele seized the o|>|>oitmi- 

 ity of M-iu-sertin^ their independeiioe | the native 

 ai'med |Milii-e iiiutinietl, and lluluwayo. the capital, 

 w a* blockaded. The liiitish South African Com- 

 pany, it- olliceis, and settlers strained every nerve 

 to maintain their |K>Mlioii and repn < the rising : 

 and after much sharp lighting ami with the help ot' 

 British tnKips had p-actically pacilied the country 

 liy the latter ]iait i>f the year. 



See Baines, (Jold Region* of South -catt Africa (1K77 ) ; 

 Miming!! Kerr. The far Interior (186) ; Gates, .l/.i/. 

 laml (L'<1 c-d. 1WJ); Selous, A Hunter'i H'timhriiuji in 

 Africa (1SS1), and Trarfl and Adrtnture in Soutk-cait 

 A trim il-'JIil: Mathers, Zambaia (1891); Colquhoun, 



Matador (Sjian., 'slayer'). See Buu, KH.HT. 



MataiUO'rOH. a river-port of Mexico, lies oppo- 

 site Urnwns\ille, Texas, on the south hank of tlie 

 Kin (Irande, 40 miles from its mouth in the (.nil 

 of Mexico. With the other Mexican towns on the 

 river it has formed a free trade leapic since Istil. 

 The Kio (Jrande is navigable for small vessels a- far 

 asKeynosa, and a railway from Matamoti extends. 

 iM-yotnl this point to San .Miguel (75 miles'. I 'op. 

 13, 74(1. --Another Matamoros is in tlie Mexican 

 state Pnebla, 4160 feet above sea-level. It has 

 coal-mines and a pop. of 13,408. 



Matanzas. a fortified town and seaport on the 

 north coast of Cuba, ;V> miles by rail E. of Havana, 

 to which city alone it is second in si/e and wealth. 

 It is well built, situated in an exceedingly fertile 

 district, and has an excellent liarlmur, slielt.-n-il 

 from all but tin- north-east winds, and a large trade 

 in sugar, mola-se-. cofl'ee. tobacco, xc. 1'op. (1899) 

 I.3T4 : of the province. -JuJ.-UJ. 



Matapnn. (.'APE, the southernmost point, liold 

 and precipitous, of the Morea in Greece, 'M 2' N". 

 lat, 



Mataro, a seaport of Spain, 17 miles by rail 

 Nl ..i UiM-.'lona, has cotton, sailcloth, glass, and 

 machinery factories, irnn-foundrii-*. and shipbuild- 

 ing yards, U-sides a marine school. 1'op. 17,l''."i. 



MutrlH'S the name now given to splints of 

 wood tip|M-d with some composition (often contain- 

 ing phosphorus) to produce a light by friction. 'I 

 came into general Use about the year l.s.'il. Before 

 that the common light producer was the flint and 

 steel along with a tindcr-lmx. The tinder (charred 

 cotton) was set en tire by sparks from the Hint and 

 steel, but did not burst into Maine. This was 

 obtained by touching the burning tinder with a 

 spunk or strip of WIMM! tipped with sulphur, j'cr 

 haps the most primitive way of producing a li^ht 

 is liy nibbing two piece* of wood together, or by 

 rapidly twirling one piece of wood into a hole ,,r 

 socket in another piece, touchwood l>eing ignited by 

 eil her procr lien sullicient heat i> tai-i'd. These 

 method- cif obtaining lire by the friction of two bits 

 of wood are in use by some savage rac'- see FIKE). 

 Among other devices formerly employed for the 

 sanii' puipo-eweie a lens to coneentiale the sun's 



mi -oiiii- intlammablc substance ; an aria 1 

 ment ( Doliereiner's lamp) for prinlueing and kind- 

 ling a jot of hydrogen gas by making it play on 

 spongy platinum : tlie n.rifiiiiiriiiti- mulr/i, cm, 



"i a splint tip|>ed with a mixture of chlorate 

 of tKita-h and sugar, %%'hidi took fire on contact 

 with sulphuric acid; and the /-/// mn/i-fi, which 

 was tip|M'd with a ]aste eontaiiiing chlorate of 

 IKita-h and sulphide of antimony that ignited \\lnn 

 drawn aero sand-paper. Tliis original lueifor 

 match reijiiired to lie niblied with a good deal of 

 pressure to produce a light, and as it gave off 



