MALACCA 



3610 



MALARIA 



tories. Their tribal name, Kew-net-che-chat, 

 means cape people. The Makaws inhabit the 

 region along Puget Sound and along the Strait 

 of Fuca, on Cape . Flattery. They excel in the 

 management of canoes and are bold and daring 

 fishermen, venturing farther from land in search 

 of fish than any of the neighboring tribes. 

 Formerly they were a warlike tribe, but are 

 now fairly civilized and live upon a small reser- 

 vation on the cape. The women are expert 

 basket weavers. They number less than 400. 



MALACCA, or MALAKKA, malak'a, a ter- 

 ritory in the British Straits Settlements, on the 

 southwest coast of the Malay Peninsula, the 

 southernmost point in Indo-China and ninety 

 miles above the equator. It has an area of 

 about 700 square miles. Next to India it once 

 had more commerce than any other part of 

 continental Asia. It is low and swampy, and 

 the principal products are rice, pepper and sage. 

 The principal exports are tin and rubber. In 

 1911 the population was 125,000. 



Malacca, the capital of the territory of Ma- 

 lacca, is situated 125 miles northwest of Singa- 

 pore, a town whose growing trade has decreased 

 the commercial importance of Malacca. It was 

 founded by the Portuguese in the fourteenth 

 century, passed into the hands of the Dutch in 

 1641, and was taken by England in 1824. Popu- 

 lation, 1911, 21,200. 



Strait of Malacca, a body of water between 

 the Malay Peninsula and the island of Suma- 

 tra, connecting the Bay of Bengal with the 

 South China Sea. Its breadth varies from 50 to 

 250 miles and it is 500 miles long. The narrower 

 end has a number of small islands ; one of these 

 is Singapore, on which is the important trading 

 center of the same name. See SINGAPORE. 



MALACHI, mal'aky (420 B.C.), the last of 

 the Hebrew minor prophets, and writer of the 

 book of Malachi. The name means messenger 

 of Jehovah; it is also translated as my mes- 

 senger. His writings supplement those of Ezra 

 and Nehemiah, and his prophecies show that 

 they were given after the return of the Jews 

 to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple. 

 Some modern authorities consider the name to 

 be a title and not the real name of the prophet. 



Book of Malachi. This is the last book of 

 the Old Testament, and it is divided into three 

 sections. The first represents Jehovah as the 

 loving father and ruler of His people; the sec- 

 ond rebukes the priests for their departure 

 from the true worship and reproves the people 

 for mixed marriages; the third foretells and 

 emphasizes the coming of the Messiah. 



MALACHITE, mal'akite, a copper ore usu- 

 ally found massive in structure, is a beautiful 

 green in color, and is used for ornaments, mo- 

 saics and as a veneer for costly furniture. It is 

 formed in layers varying in shade from apple 

 to verdigris green. Of old, amulets of mala- 

 chite were thought to be a protection against 

 lightning, witchcraft and contagion. By some 

 authorities the ore is thought to be identical 

 with the Hebrew stone soham, one of the sacred 

 jewels of the high priest's breastplate. Ground 

 to a powder, it is used as pigment under the 

 name mountain green. The chief sources of 

 the mineral are Siberia, Russia and Australia. 



MALAGA, mah'lahgah, one of the most im- 

 portant seaports of Spain and capital of a 

 province of the same name, is situated in the 

 extreme south of the country, on the Mediter- 

 ranean Sea, sixty-five miles northeast of Gibral- 

 tar. Because of its mild and uniform climate, 

 Malaga has become famous as a resort for 

 invalids. Though the city's trade has shown a 

 decline in recent years, due to disease-ravaged 

 orange and lemon groves, unscientific methods 

 of agriculture and insufficient means of com- 

 munication, still olives, olive oil, wine, raisins, 

 lead, almonds, lemons, grapes and esparto grass 

 are exported annually to the amount of $5,000,- 

 000. Manufacturing industry has been given 

 renewed impetus, and there are thriving estab- 

 lishments for making cotton and linen goods, 

 artistic pottery, flour, soap and wine and oil 

 presses. Of the 2,500 vessels which enter the 

 harbor annually, one-sixth are British and 

 three-fourths are Spanish. 



Under the Romans Malaga was a flourishing 

 town, having been founded by the Phoenicians. 

 It was also an important city under the Moors, 

 and there still remain a Moorish castle, built 

 in the thirteenth century, and similar Moorish 

 landmarks in the older parts of the town which 

 stand out in marked contrast to the imposing 

 modern structures in the newer quarters of the 

 city. Population, 1910, 136,365; the number of 

 people has varied but little since 1880. 



MALARIA, mala'ria, an infectious disease 

 caused by an animal germ that feeds on the 

 blood of man and certain mosquitoes. It is 

 characterized by chills, fever and sweating, and 

 is known also as ague, marsh fever, chills and 

 fever and malarial fever. The name malaria is 

 really a misnomer; it is the Italian word for 

 bad air, and was applied to the disease because 

 formerly it was believed to be caused by poi- 

 sonous emanations from swamps and marshes. 

 This impression prevailed until the latter part 



