Z                                                                  2128                                                   ZAMBEZI

z

Z (zē, zĕd, ïzzêrd), the twenty-sixth letter, is a voiced consonant It is a dental, zh a palatal. Ordinarily it has a buzzing sound, as in zone, dizzy, buzz. Z in some words has the sound of zh, as in azure. Its own sound is more often represented by s than z.

Zacatecas (să'ká-tâ'kás), capital of the Mexican state of that name, lies in a deep valley or ravine, somewhat over 300 miles from the City of Mexico. It is built over a vein of silver which has been deeply explored. The streets are somewhat narrow and crooked, but it has a fine appearance from a distance, owing to the size and massiveness of its churches and the elegance of many of its residences. Population 32,-856; of the state 447,265.

Zahm, John Augustus, born at Lexington, O., June 14, 1851; graduated at Notre Dame University and joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1871; became a priest in 1874; and was Provincial of his order in the United States from 1897 to 1906. He studied and experimented with Helmholtz in Germany, and is a leading authority on acoustics; his first book, Sound and Music (1893) popularized that subject and greatly aided musical science. He is known as an advanced evolutionist, but his works aim only to show the harmony between demonstrated science and the Christian religion. They are Evolution and Dogma; Catholic Science and Catholic Scientists; Scientific Theory and Catholic Doctrine; Science and the Church. His brother, a layman, Albert F. Zahm, Ph. D., professor of physics at the Catholic University of Washington, D. C, is a noted authority on aerodynamics, and has been of great service to aeronautical investigators.

Za'ma, The Battle of, was fought about 100 miles southwest of Carthage in B. C. 202, between the Romans under Publius Cornelius Scipio and the Carthaginians under Hannibal. The Carthaginians were completely defeated, and Hannibal became a fugitive until his death. There were two places, about 30 miles apart, called Zama. The scene of the battle according to Polyb-ius, lay west of Carthage, at a distance of two days' journey. Some authorities locate the battle at the other Zama, perhaps five days' journey from Carthage.

Zambezi (zàm-bă'zê) River and Region, the extensive region in southeastern Africa known to medieval geographers under the general name of the empire of Monomotapa,

is shown on old maps as drained by a river, called Zambese or Zambere, which plainly is the modern Zambezi. Although the lower region of the Zambezi, for at least 300 miles from its mouth, has nominally been in possession ol the Portuguese since the beginning of the 16th century, it is only within the last half of the 19th century, through the reports of Livingstone and other explorers, that we gained any definite knowledge of this vast region, the total length of whose river is 1,650 miles. The river bears the name of Zambezi from its mouth to its junction with the Chobe; thence to its junction with the Liba, coming from Lake Dilolo, it is called the Liambai. Part of the upper basin of the Zambezi was explored by Major Serpa Pinto in 1878-9. In the region where the Liba joins the Liambai the main stream is 200 or 300 yards wide and quite deep. From the confluence to Victoria Falls there are many long tracts that could easily be plied by large steamers. Lake Dilolo, from which the Liba flows, seems to have an outlet both to the north and to the south, the northern outlet probably running into one of the tributaries of the Kongo. Large areas in this region are liable to be flooded and to stand under water for considerable periods at a time. Victoria Falls are about 2,500 feet above the sea, while Lake Shirwa, a smaller lake southeast of Nyasa, is 2,000 feet. The natives inhabiting the coast region drained by the Zambezi are of the pure negro type, while the Kololo who were found in the central and upper country, belong to the Betjuana family. According to Pinto this tribe long ago ceased to have separate existence. On the upper Zambezi Pinto discovered a tribe of yellowish white color. The Zulu tribe, who inhabit the high region dividing the Limpopo from the Zambezi basin, have overrun and conquered nearly all the tribes south of them. The possession is governed by the Mozambique and Nyasa Companies, and the Zambezia Company carries on industrial, commercial, agricultural and mining operations, while the Mozambique Sugar Company has plantations on the lower Zambezi. The Zambezi is navigable for stern-wheelers as far as Tete. The ports of Portuguese East Africa are visited regularly by the steamers of the German East Africa line, and on the Zambezi and Shiré Rivers many small steamers ply. The Delagoa Bay