Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/387

MESA. 353 MESENTERY. village of Acoina in west cciilral Now Jlexico. It id a perpendicular sandstone rock rising from a grassy plain. It is of elongated shape, 2050 feet long and from 100 to 3o0 feet wide. Above a sloping talus. 100 to 200 feet in height, towers tlie perpendicular wall to a height of 480 feet above the plain. The sununit is nearly level, and consists of a hard rock very much weathered and siippniting a few stunted cedars. The rock is held in superstitiuus awe by the neighboring Aeoma Indians, and a tradition is current among them that their remote ancestors once inhabited the snnnnit. The rock had never been ascended by white men until Professor Libbey scaled it in the summer of 1890.' He and F. V. Hodge, who ascended it in 1897, found an artilicial stone monument and numerous fragments of pottery and some stone iuijjlements. The Mesa Verde is situated in the extreme southwestern corner of Colorado, on the right bank of the ilaneos River. It is a plateau 15 miles long and 8 miles wide. Its talus is 300 to 500 feet high, above which rises a precipitous wall of yellow- sandstone 150 to 300 feel farther, the top of the mesa being 400 to 800 feet above the plain. It derives its name { '('r<ic = 'green') from the fact that its entire upper surface is covered with a dense growth of cedars and pinon trees. The summit is more accessible than that of the Encantada, being intersected by the numer- ous ramifieations of a canon which opens into that of the JIancos River. The rock walls of the Mesa Verde are interrupted by nmnerous hori- zontal ledges occupied by the ruins of ancient cliff dwellings, some in a remarkable state of preservation. Large numbers of stone imple- ments, pot-sherds, and some mummies have been found among the ruins. Consult Xordenskjold, The ('liff-Du-€lIers of ihc Mesa ^'cr(^e. translated by Alorgan (Stockholm, 1893) . See Cliff Dwell- ers. MESAGNE, m&sa'nya. A town in the Prov- ince (if Lecce. Southern Italy, situated about 10 miles by rail southwest of Brindisi (Map: Italy, M 7). It is an ancient town, picturesquely situ- ated in a fertile region, producing oil, wine, grain, and fruit. Population (commune), in lOni. 1-2,10.1. MESCALA, ma-skii'la, or MEXCALA. A river of Jlexico, rising in the State of Tlaxcala, 60 miles east of Mexico City. Its general course is westerly, bending southward shortly before emptying into the Gulf of Lower California at the piirt of Zacatula. It is known in the first part of its course as the Atoyac, and in its lower course, where it serves as the boundary line between the States of Guerrero and Michoacan, as the Rio de las Balsas. The current is exceed- ingly swift, and the river is not navigable, but it furnishes power to a number of textile and other mills. MESCALERO, ma'ska-ln'r'.. A small Atha- pa.scan tribe. They receive their name from their use of mescal bread prepared from the maguey root by roasting under cover until it softens into a white, .sticky, and sweetish mass, which is said to be extremely nutritious. They formerly ranged over the arid Pecos and Staked Plain region of Texas an<l Xew Mexico, and were constantly at war with the Ute and Xavaho, while maintaining a precarious friendship with the T^iowa and Comanche, They lived entirely by hunting and depredation upon the frontier settlements of Te.xas and Mexico, in coni])any with other roving tribes, and were distinguished for their warlike and cruel disposition. Their shelters were mere wikiups of boughs; they planted nothing and went nearly naked. Since about 1803 they have been confined upon a reservation in southeastern Xew Mexico, shut in by mountains and well .sup- plied with timber and water, where they are now making some advance in farming, stock-raising, and civilization, although still greatly addicted to tis-imn, a sort of sour beer manufactured from com. In 1855 they were est<imated at about 750. They number now' 470. MESDAG, mes'dJiG, Hendrik Willkh (1831- 1902). A Dutch marine painter, born in (ironin- gen. He was a pupil of Alma-Ta<lenia in Brus- sels, and afterwards lived at The Hague. He is one of the best of modern Dutch marine painters. His style is naturalistic, and his work is cliarac- terized by breadth, atmospheric elVeet. and sober color. His pictures include: "Sunrise on the Shores of Holland." in the Rotterdam iluseum ; "Return of the Fishing Boat" (1875), in The Hague Museum; "Evening;" and "Seashore" (1889). He received a gold medal and the cros.s of the Legion of Honor in 1889. MES'EMBRYA'CE.ffi, Aizo.ce.e or Ficoide.e (Xeo-Lat., from (ik. fie<rr;ij.l3pla, iiicsOiiihria, mid- day, from iiiaos, mcsos, middle + 'hl^^P"; hCmera, day; so called because the (lowers of many species open only during midday). An order of dicotyledonous succulent herbs or shrtibs. As defined by some botanists, it includes the orders Tetragoniaceae, Sesuviaeese, etc. Of the more re- stricted Mesembryaceie about 400 species are known, embraced by eighteen or twenty genera, a few of which are natives of the south of Europe, some of America. The greater numlx>r lielong to South Africa and the South Sea Islands. The perianth is usually 5-parted; stamens 5 or many; ovary 3-eelled with numerous ovules. The leaves of some species, when burned, yield soda in great abundance. Large quantities of barilla are made from them in the Canary Islands, in Spain, and in Egypt. The seeds of some, as the ice plant (ilesemhrijiinthemum crys- tallinum) , and of Mesembryanthemum geniculi- florum, are ground into flour to make bread. Mesembryanthemum geniculidorum is used as a pot-herb in Africa. The fruit of Mesembryan- themum edule (known as Hottentot's fig) is eaten in South .frica. and that of JIeseml)ryan- themum icquilaterale (pig's-faces) in Austra- lia. Mesembryanthemum anatomicum is called kou by the Hottentots, who beat and twist up the wliole plant, allow it to ferment, and chew it like tobacco. 'hen nearly fermented it is narcotic and intoxicating. Some species of Mesembryan- themum are common anmuils in flower garilens. The principal genera are Mollugo. Scsuvium, Aizoon. and Mesembryanthenmm. MESEN", ma'zyen. A river in Russia. See Mezex. MES'ENTERY axd its Disease.s. The mes- entery derives its name from being connected to the middle portion (Gr. ij.4<rov,) of the small intestine (errepoi'). It is a broad fold of peri- toneum (the great serous membrane of the abdo- men), surrounding the jejunum and ileum, and attached posteriorly to the vertebral cnlunni. Its breadth between the intestinal and vertebral