Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/194

MATADOR 152 MATE MATADOR, the individual who, at a bullfight, attempts to kill the bull with a thrust of a sword. MATAGALPA, capital of the Mata- galpa department, Nicaragua, 12 miles Havana. Following American interven- tion, Matanzas greatly increased in prosperity. It is the third city in Cuba in population. On April 27, 1898, the forts protecting Matanzas harbor were shelled and destroyed by the United SKELETON OF MASTODON S. E. of Jinotega. On elevated plateau, in fertile agricultural region, has a large trade in coffee and tobacco. Pop. about 17,500. MATAMOROS (ma-ta-mo'ros) , a port of Mexico, opposite Brownsville, Tex., on the Rio Grande, 40 miles from its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. With the other Mexican towns on the river it has formed a free-trade league since 1861. The Rio Grande is navigable for small vessels as far as Reynosa, and a railway from Mata- moros extends beyond this point to San Miguel (75 miles). Pop. (1920) about 10,000. Another Matamoros is in the Mexican state of Puebla, 4,100 feet above sea-level. It has coal mines. MATANUSKA, a river in Alaska, emptying into Cook Inlet at Kink Arm. The valley of the river is important be- cause of its rich coal deposits, the United States Government having undertaken to construct railroads for their development. A large part, 7,680 acres in extent, is to be reserved for exclusive government use. MATANZAS (ma-tan'thas), a seaport on the N. W. coast of Cuba, capital of the province of the same name, 52 miles E. of Havana, with a large, safe, and convenient harbor; has considerable com- merce, exporting sugar, molasses, and coffee, and ranking in importance next to States warships "New York," "Cincin- nati," and "Puritan." Pop. about 65,000. The province of Matanzas is one of the six territorial Cuban divisions; area, 3,700 square miles; pop. about 270,000. MATCH, anjrthing which readily catches fire, either from a spark or by friction, and is used for conveying, com- municating, or retaining fire ; specifically, a splint or strip of combustible material, usually wood, one end of which is dipped in a composition that ignites by friction. MATCHLOCK, an old form of musket fired by means of a match. They were invented in the first half of the 15th century, and were succeeded by the arquebus. MATE (ma'ta), the plant that yields Paraguay tea, the Ilex Paraguay ensis, a kind of holly, natural order Aquifoliacex. It has smooth, ovate-lanceolate, unequal- ly serrated leaves, much branched racemes of flowers, the subdivisions of which are somewhat umbellate. In Bra- zil and other parts of South America the leaves are extensively used as a substi- tute for tea, the name mate having been transferred to the plant from the gourd or calabash in which the leaves are in- fused. Boiling water is poured upon the powdered leaves, then a lump of burned sugar and sometimes a few drops of