Three visits to Madagascar during the years 1853-1854-1856 ... Illustrated by woodcuts from photographs, etc

Front matter

THEEE VISITS TO M A D A G A S C A E. LONDON PEINTED BY 8POTTISWOODE AHD CO. NEW-STBEET 8QUABE vo, THEEE VISITS TO MADAGASCAR DURING THE YEARS 1853-1854-1856. including A JOURNEY TO THE CAPITAL. WITH NOTICES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY AND OF THE PRESENT CIVILISATION OF THE PEOPLE. BY THE EEV. WILLIAM ELLIS, E.H.S. AUTHOR OF "POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES." ILLUSTRATED BY WOODCUTS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, ETC. LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1858 The right oj translation it reserved.

Preface

. The chief part of the following pages was written in Madagascar. It was my habit, whether travelling or residing in one place, to note down, generally at the close of the day, the impressions produced by the novel or attractive objects I might have met with, or the information I might have gathered from the people. This record of daily occurrences was from time to time sent home in the form of journal letters; and from these letters chiefly the following narratives have been prepared. More than twenty years have elapsed since the last English missionaries left Madagascar, and during this period religious changes of the most decisive nature, and events of the highest and most sacred character, have occurred amongst the people. The imperfect, and at times conflicting, accounts of these events received in England indicated the desi rableness of a personal visit. Such visit has been made, and was, there is every reason to believe, wel come to the government and people of Madagascar; A VI

PREFACE.

. while its results, it is hoped, will prove satisfactory to their friends in this country. The visit proposed by Mr. Cameron and myself was one of friendship to the queen and people, not an official religious mission; though no objects were so deeply interesting to us as the religious state of the people. For observing this, ample opportunities were afforded ; and on this subject I received much valuable information from the people themselves ; part of it exceedingly painful on account of the sufferings it made known, the rest though highly satisfactory, and full of hope, I have not, for obvious reasons, included in the narrative of my visits. The profession of Christianity is not per mitted by the present Government of Madagascar, and statements acceptable and interesting to our selves might affect injuriously good men in a country where civil and religious liberty does not exist, where it is contrary to law for a man even to leave his country without permission from the government, and where the most cruel death I heard of on the coast, had been inflicted on men who had attempted to quit the country without leave from their superiors.

As a friendly visitor from England, I was kindly received by the queen and all classes of the people ; and nothing could exceed the hospitality and atten tion shown me on the coast, during my journeys, and at the capital. I have described the novel and often

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. VII singularly beautiful aspects of the country through which I passed, and the chief incidents of my visits, as they occurred, leaving my readers to form their own opinions of the character of the people, their resources, and present civilisation ; which would advance much more rapidly, and develope itself far more satisfac torily, were the people not so frequently harassed by threatening rumours of invasion from a foreign power The accounts comprised in the following pages of my intercourse with the people, especially with the young prince, the queen's son, and the heir to the throne, for the preservation of whose valuable life the affectionate anxieties of the people are at times intensely excited, will, I most sincerely trust, increase the in terest felt in the people of Madagascar, and particu larly in the young prince personally, by the English generally, and more especially by the religious por tions of the community.

The language and physical character of the people frequently suggested attractive ethnological inquiries, and the new and beautiful plants which I met with in the forests or plains not only afforded much grati fication at the time, but have enabled me to add a few specimens of some that are highly esteemed as rare and curious, to those already cultivated in England. Besides those which are described, I have, since the following sheets were printed, been informed by Sir A

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. W. J. Hooker, that among the ouvirandra which I brought over there has recently been found a second species, the Ouvirandra Bernieriana, bearing deli cately rose-coloured flowers. This new species Sir W. J. Hooker has described and figured recently in the " Botanical Magazine." The map is reduced from the outline of the late Commodore Owen's survey. I am indebted to photography for the chief part of the illustrations of the volume. The different portraits, some of which exhibit remarkable heads, are all from photographs taken in the country. Several of the views, as well as the representations of a number of trees and plants, were obtained by the same means, or from sketches made, with one or two exceptions, while the objects were before me. The ouvirandra was drawn from a plant brought to this country; and I beg to return my sincere thanks to the pro prietors of " Knight's Museum of Animated Nature " for the use of three illustrations of subjects of natural history.

In my remarks on the native language, I have made use of the grammars of Messrs. Baker and Griffiths, but more especially of a valuable paper on the language, kindly furnished for me some years ago by the late Rev. J. J. Freeman. I also avail myself of the present opportunity to PREFACE, IX acknowledge my obligations to Sir W. J. Hooker and Dr. Lindley, for the useful suggestions which they kindly offered, in directing my attention, previous to my departure from England, to the botanical treasures which Madagascar was known to contain. Nor would I omit on this occasion to express my grateful sense of the hospitality and kindness of His Excellency Sir James Higginson, Governor of Mauritius at the time of my visit, to General Sutherland and General Hay, the late Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey, the Rev. J. Le Brun, and Messrs. l'Estrange, as well as that of other friends in Mauritius and at the Cape of Good Hope.

The kindness evinced by these friends was not only gratifying to myself personally, as a stranger amongst them, but also highly encouraging as an expression of the deep interest felt in the welfare of the people to whom my visits were directed. W. E Hoddesden, October, 1858. CONTENTS.