Madagascar before the conquest : the island, the country, and the people, with chapters on travel and topography, folk-lore, strange customs and superstitions, the animal life of the island, and mission work and progress among the inhabitants

Preface

This is my third book on Madagascar, and probably some of my readers may be disposed to ask what more I can have to say about the country or the people. The following pages form a reply to such a question, and it may be further said in explanation that it is now twenty-six years since the publication of my first book I and sixteen since the second ^ was issued ; and that since the latter of those dates much new information has been accumulating with regard to the physical geography, geology, fauna and flora, and ethnology of Madagascar.

During the thirty-two years that I have been connected with this great island, I have been continually collecting information and writing about it, chiefly in the Antananarivo Annual^ a publication issued every year in the capital, as well as in the Proceedings of various English societies ; but as these papers are only known to a limited class of readers, I have thought that at this time, when public attention is being again called to Madagascar, the information given in the following pages would be interesting to the public generally. They will, I trust, give to many a clearer notion of what kind of place this country is, and what sort of people they are who inhabit it.

I here express my obligations to my friend, M. Alfred Grandidier, for permission to translate and reproduce much that is valuable from his numerous publications referring to Madagascar in the French language.

^ Madagascar and its People (R.T.S., 1870). » The Great African Island (Trubner, li

VI PREFACE.

I have also to thank my friends, Mr. J. Parrett and Dr. S. B. Fenn, for being able to reproduce several photographs which adorn these pages.

And, lastly, my grateful thanks are due to the Rev. W. E. Cousins for his great kindness in correcting the proofs, so far at least as Malagasy words are employed. It has, of course, been a disadvantage that I could not personally revise the proofs when the work was passing through the press, and I must plead that in excuse for any faults that may be discovered by the critical reader. The publisher has done his best to minimise the difficulties necessarily involved in writing a book in Madagascar and publishing it in England.

J. s.

London Missionary Society's College, Antananarivo, Madagascar.

November 20, 1895.

Note. — All through this book Malagasy words are accented on the syllables which should be emphasised. And if it is borne in mind that the vowels have as nearly as possible the same sound as in Italian, and that the consonants do not differ much in sound from those in English, except that ^ is always hard, s always a sibilant and not like 2, and j is like dj, there need be no difficulty in pronouncing Malagasy words with a fair amount of accuracy.

Chapter I

Scenery around the capital — Its picturesque situation — Rugged streets and paths — Houses and other buildings — Recent introduction of i

PAGE

FROM COAST TO CAPITAL : NOTES OF A JOURNEY FROM MA-

HANORO TO ANTANANARIVO I

Various routes to interior — Mahanoro — Madagascar travelling — Filanjana or palanquin — Native bearers — Native villages — Betsimisaraka Cemetery— Canoe travelling— Canoe songs — Tropical vegetation — The Travellers '-tree — Scenery — Native houses and arrangements — A tiring Sunday's journey — Butterflies and birds — A village congregation — Forest scenery and luxuriance — Romantic glens and glades — Uplands and extensive prospects — In Imerina at last — Over old haunts in forest — Mantasoa and its workshops — Native bridges — War preparations — ^A hearty welcome to the capital.

CHAPTER n.

IMERINA THE CENTRAL PROVINCE : ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES AND

VILLAGE LIFE I5

Recent advances in knowledge of Madagascar -geography — Recen t journeys — Tamatave — Mode of travelling — Coast lagoons — Scenery — Forest and climbing plants — Ankay Plain — Upper forest belt — Imerina or Ankova "Home of the Hova" — Mountains and prominent peaks — Bare uplands — Geology and colour of soil — Extinct volcanoes — ^Watershed of island — Lakes — Population — Sacred towns — Village fortifications — Maps of Imerina — An Imerina village — Ancient villages , on high hills — Hova houses and arrangements — Ox-fattening pits — ,1 Native tombs — Trees — Hova children and games — Village chapels j and schools.

! CHAPTER HI.

a: s^tananarivo, the capital : its public buildings, memorial and other churches, and religious and charitable institutions . . 34

Vlll

CONTENTS.

bricks — Royal palaces — Faravohitra — Ancient gateway — Sacred stones — Weekly market of Zoma — Amusements — L.M.S, churches and rehgious institutions — Ambatonakanga Church — Other memorial churches — " Mother churches " and districts — Chapel Royal — Sunday observance — Colleges and school-buildings — Dispensaries and hospitals — Other missions — Extent of Christian work carried on — Civilising work of L.M.S. mission — Population — Plans of the capital — Antananarivo the heart of Madagascar.

CHAPTER IV.

THE CHANGING YEAR IN CENTRAL MADAGASCAR : NOTES ON THE CLIMATES, AGRICULTURE, SOCIAL CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE, AND VARIED ASPECTS OF THE MONTUS . . . -52

The seasons in Madagascar — Their significant names — Prospect from summit of Antananarivo — The great rice-plain — Springtime : September to October — Rice-planting and rice-fields — First crop — Trees and foliage — " Burning the Downs " — Birds — Summer : November to February — Thunderstorms and tropical rains — Effects on roads — Rainfall — Hail — Magnificent lightning effects — Malagasy New Year — Native calendar — Royal bathing — Conspicuous flowers — Aloes and agaves — Christmas Day observances — Uniformity in length of days — Native words and phrases for divisions of time — and for natural phenomena — Effects of heavy rains — Wild flowers of Imerina — Autumn : March and April — Rice harvest — Harvest thanksgiving services — Mist effects on winter mornings — Spiders' w^ebs — Winter : May to August — Winter the dry season — ^Ancient villages and fosses — Hova tombs — Great markets — Aspects of nightly sky — Epidemics in cold season — Vegetation.

CHAPTER V.

THE CRATER LAKE OF TRITRIVA : ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES AND LEGENDARY HISTORY ; AND THE VOLCANIC REGIONS OF THE INTERIOR 82

Ancient volcanoes of Central Madagascar — Hot springs — Fossil remains in limestone deposits — Crater lake of Andraikiba — Tritriva Lake — Colour of water — Remarkable appearance of lake — View from crater walls — Mr. Baron on volcanic phenomena — Ankaratra Mountain — Ancient crater — Lava streams — Volcanic rocks — Recent character of volcanic action.

CHAPTER VI.

AMBATOVORY : ONE OF OUR HOLIDAY RESORTS IN MADAGASCAR ; WITH NATURAL HISTORY AND OTHER NOTES ....

The rest-house— Amboniloha Hill— A deserted village— Ambatovory rock — Woodland paths— Birds — Lizards and chameleons — Grassi 'f

CONTENTS. IX

PAGE

hoppers — Protective colouring — Warring colours — Beetles — Ants and ant-nests — Ball insects — Spiders — Butterflies — King butterfly — Solitary wasps — Wasp nests — Angavokely Mountain — Extensive prospect.

CHAPTER VII.

MALAGASY PLACE-NAMES I09

Mixed nomenclature of coast and interior places — Early European influence — Arab and Portuguese names — Influence of fady or taboo — Name of Madagascar — Mountain names — The name-prefixes Anand Am — Height and prominence — Mystery and dread — Size — Words meaning rock and stone — Animals and birds — Personal names for hills — Grandeur of mountain scenery — River names — Descriptive epithets — Lake names — Town and village names — Dual names — Names of capital and its divisions — Town names from natural features — forests — river banks — from animals — Personal — Tribal — Province names — Appendix on Betsileo place-names.

CHAPTER VIII.

CURIOUS WORDS AND CUSTOMS CONNECTED WITH CHIEFTAINSHIP AND ROYALTY AMONG THE MALAGASY ; AND NOTES OF THE SIGN AND GESTURE LANGUAGE I49

The Betsileo — Special words, or " chief's language " — in Malayo- Polynesian languages — for Malagasy sovereigns — Illness and death — Burial — Mourning — Diseases — Royal servants — Royal houses — Chief's words among Betsileo — for family of chiefs — for elderly chiefs — for chiefs old and young — Extreme honour paid to chiefs — Fady or taboo in words — Tabooed animals — Royal names — Sacred character of — Veneration for royalty — Sakalava chiefs — Posthumous names — Relics of the sign and gesture language — Salutations — Symbolic acts — Royalty — "Licking the sole" — Kaharys — The taboo.

CHAPTER IX.

ALAGASY FOLK-LORE AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS . . .174

Animals — The ox — Birds — Insects — Fabulous animals — Fanany, or seven-headed serpent — Footprints of giants — Trees and plants — Ordeals — Folk-lore of life — Lucky and unlucky actions — Sickness and death — Witchcraft and charms — Food and fady of the Sihanaka — Snakes and lemurs — Tabooed days — in clans — and villages — Good omens — for food — and wealth — Evil omens — as to famine — Trade — Poverty, and death — Weather prognostics — Various portents — dreams.

X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER X.

PAGE

MALAGASY ORATORY, ORNAMENTS OF SPEECH, SYMBOLIC ACTIONS,

AND CONUNDRUMS I9I

Introductory historical sketch — Folk-lore — Folk-tales — Proverbs — Kahary — Oratory and figures of speech — The desolate one — Mutual love — The bird — A divorced wife — Transitoriness of life — Bereavement — Death — Imagination — Boasting — The crocodile — A place for everything — Filial love — Friendship — Thanksgiving — Evil speech — Symbolic acts — The two kings — The heir to the throne — Riddles and conundrums.

CHAPTER XI.

MALAGASY SONGS, POETRY, CHILDREN'S GAMES, AND MYTHICAL

CREATURES 213

Songs to the sovereign — Dirges — Sihanaka laments — Ballad of Benandro — Friendship — Children's games — Rasarlndra — Sohvitditra — Sakada — "Leper" game — "Star killing" — New Year's games — Counting games — Marvellous creatures — Songomby — Fanany, or seven-headed serpent — Tokandia, or " Singlefoot " — Kindly — Dona, or Pily (serpent) — Lalomena (Hippopotamus ?) — Angalapona — Siona. .

CHAPTER Xn.

MALAGASY FOLK-TALES AND FABLES 2yj

Bonia — Crocodile and dog — Three sisters and Itrimobe — The members of the body— The little bird— Rap^to— The lost Son of God— The five fingers — The earth and the skies — The birds choosing a king — The lizards — Hawk and hen — Vazimba — Chameleon and lizard — Serpent and frog — The rice and sugar-cane — Two rogues — Wild hog and rat,

CHAPTER XHI. '

DIVINATION AMONG THE MALAGASY, TOGETHER WITH NATIVE

IDEAS AS TO FATE AND DESTINY 262

The Sikldy — Subject investigated by Mr. Dahle— Little organised idolatry among the Malagasy — Diviners — Divination and fate — Invocation of the Sikldy — Sixteen figures of the Sik}dy — Sixteen columns of the Sikldy — Erecting the Sikldy — Working of the Sikldy — Identical figures — Unique figures — Combined figures — Miscellaneous Sikldy — Gun charms — Trade charms — Medicinal charms — Fortunate places and days — Ati-pako — Fate as told by zodiac and moon — Lucky and unlucky days — House divinations — Fate as told by the planets — Days of the week — Decreasing influence of the Sikldy.

CONTENTS. xi

CHAPTER XIV.

PAGE

Two great divisions of the people — Idea of impurity in connection with death — A revolting custom — Funeral feasts — Tankarana — Their carved coffins — Analogies to those of Philippine Islanders — Betsimisaraka — Ranomena — Tambahoaka, Taimoro and Tanosy — The Fanano — Tandroy and Mahafaly — Sakalava — The Zomba, or sacred house — The Vazimba — Behisotra and Tandrona — Sihanaka — Bezanozano — Tanala — Vorimo — Ikongo — Hova — Betsileo — Bara — Funeral of Radama I. — Enormous wealth put in tomb — Silver coffin.

CHAPTER XV.

DECORATIVE CARVING ON WOOD, ESPECIALLY ON THE BURIAL MEMORIALS OF THE BETSILEO MALAGASY ; TOGETHER WITH NOTES ON THE HANDICRAFTS OF THE MALAGASY AND NATIVE PRODUCTS 313

Absence of artistic feeling among the Hova — The Betsileo — Carved memorial posts — Various forms of tombs — Character of the carving Vato lahy, or memorial stones — Graves of great depths — Carving in houses — Collection of rubbings — General style of ornamentation — Symbolic meaning ? — Malagasy handicrafts — Spinning and weaving — Different kinds of cloth — Straw-work — Bark-cloth — Metal-work — Pottery — Building — Canoes and boats — Cultivated products of country — Exports.

CHAPTER XVI.

ODD AND CURIOUS EXPERIENCES OF LIFE IN MADAGASCAR . . 335

The comic element everywhere present — First experiences — Native dress — Borrowed garments — Christmas Day exhibition — Interruptions to Divine service — A nation of bald-heads — Native houses and their inmates — Receptions by Hova governors — Native feasts — Queer articles of food — First attempts at speaking Malagasy — "Try a relative " — Transformations of English names — Biblical names — Odd names — English mistakes — The "southern" side of his moustache — Funeral presents — Church decoration — Offertory boxes — Deacon's duties.

CHAPTER XVII.

T^|E FAUNA AND FLORA OF MADAGASCAR IN CONNECTION WITH M j THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND ; WITH NOTICES m I OF THE EXTINCT FORMS OF ANIMAL LIFE OF THE COUNTRY . 353

General characteristics of mammalian fauna — Remarkable difference to that of Africa — An ancient island — Wallace's " Island Life " — Oriental and Australian affinities — Vegetable productions — Botanising in xii

CONTENTS.

Madagascar — Three-fourths of the flora endemic in the island — Three different regions described by Mr. Baron — Floral beauty — Orchids — The eastern region — The central region — The western region — Extinct forms of animal life — Grandidier's discoveries — Geology — Huge lemuroid — Link between apes and lemurs — Small hippopotamus — The iEpyornis — Crocodiles — Enormous terrestrial lizard — Primaeval Madagascar.

►2

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

T^

CENTRAL PORTION OF ANTANANARIVO ... . FwilUspiece HOW WE TRAVEL IN MADAGASCAR . . To face p. I

CANOES ON RIVER NEAR COAST ... „ 4

VILLAGE ON COAST „ 15

STONE GATEWAY OF ANCIENT TOWNS IN IMERINA „ 26

NORTHERN PART OF ANTANANARIVO . . ,,34

VIEW FROM ANDOHALO .... „ 46

ANTANANARIVO FROM THE WEST. SOUTH END OF CITY

To face p. 52

A SAKALAVA WARRIOR „ 1 49

BfeTSIMISARAKA WOMEN .... ,,191

TAISAKA CHIEFS „ 286

BETSIMISARAKA CEMETERY . . . . „ 29O

MALAGASY LOOM, AND WEAVING A LAMBA . „ 313

A HOVA OFFICER, MALAGASY ARMY . . ,, 336

travellers' TREES, LOWER FOREST . . ,, 353

RIVER SCENE IN FOREST .... „ 368

1,

I

I r f

III w iiiki

Si

MM^ I fi ^

CHAPTER I.

I COAST TO CAPITAL; NOTES OF A JOURNEY FROM MAHANORO TO ANTANANARIVO.

routes to interior — Mahanoro — Madagascar travelling — Filanjana or alanquin — Native bearers — Native villages — Betsimisaraka cemetery — finoe travelling — Canoe songs — Tropical vegetation — The Traveller's-tree — Icenery — Native houses and arrangements — A tiring Sunday's journey — butterflies and birds — A village'congregation — Forest scenery and luxuriance — J'^mantic glens and glades — Upland and extensive prospects — In Imerina at it — Over old haunts in forest — Mantasoa and its workshops — Native idges — ^War preparations — A hearty welcome to the capital.

T the time of the Franco-Malagasy war of 1 883-1 885, the route to the capital from the East Coast, by way of natave, was closed for many months, and the roads from hanoro and Mananjara became the usual route of foreigners ling into the interior. It was my good fortune to be able ;ome up to Imerina by the Mahanoro route in the month vember, 1883 ; and it may perhaps not be uninteresting ive here the substance of my daily notes describing our ey.

e found ourselves, early in the afternoon of Thursday, fmber 8th, fairly on our way towards the interior. Our ages were the ordinary native filanjana, or light, open iquin ; our motive power, strong Malagasy bearers, eight ach person, in two sets of four each ; the roads we traversed, paths made simply by the bare feet of the natives, generation generation, mounting hills, floundering through bogs, and ing through streams, just as they happened to come ; our

2 I t* s ^ ^r inns, the huts of rush or wood, innocent alike of doc

windows, table or chairs or beds, and boasting only a cleai , spread for us over many dirty ones ; our cuisine, the rice r l

fowls always to be got on the way, supplemented by a J

stores taken in tin boxes ; and our accommodation foil ^,

night, light, portable " stretchers " carried by our men, wit! .

bedding secured in similar watertight contrivances. Our {■ ,r

consisted of my wife and little girl, two years old, and m;

together with our friend Mr. Houlder.

I should perhaps add a few words here in answer 1

. . . n in

possible question as to what kind of vehicle we travel i' . „

Madagascar. This contrivance, generally called " palanq \ ,

by Europeans, but filanjctna by the Malagasy (from the ^ r

milanja, to carry on the shoulder), consists of a coupk

light, strong poles, about lo feet long, kept together by , j

stout iron rods, and with a seat framed of iron and covd , . _.

with leather, hung from the poles. Ladies' filanjdna are a j ., j

of oblong basket, made of fine strips of sheepskin pic .^^ .

together, and carried on two poles made of the strong but 1 ^

midrib of the leaves of the rofia palm. When travelling 1( , A??,

distances, a hood of rofia cloth is fixed over ladies' filanjci ^■»

as a protection from the sun and rain. The "bearers" a;

. L-ure

as a rule, strong, active, and cheerful fellows, generally ve^

kind and helpful, and most careful of the safety of the ^

whom they carry, hour after hour and day after day, on t

shoulders.

The first stage of our journey was northwards, along a sa ,

breadth of land, between the belt of trees which line the c( ^

a 1 and the lagoons. Beyond these trees, to the left, extends si ,*

wooded country, with a range of low hills west of it, gradu .' f'

approaching the lagoons, and then showing line after lin^ ,

higher hills towards the interior. The Traveller's-tree is v

plentiful, as well as several species of Pandanus, and la ''

Arums in the shallow waters. After four hours and a quart ^^

steady march we came to a village called Beparasy, \\ ^^^ aore to east iinto nearly one hundred houses. This afternoon we passed a small Betsimisaraka cemetery, where we saw at a little distance the curious fashion they have of wrapping up the corpses in mats and enclosing them in planks, and then fixing them on a stage, 4 or 5 feet above the ground.^ Near the village were i tombs of a different description, resembling a house-roof, enclosed by a double line of pointed stakes. In the centre of the village is fixed a post, whose top is sharpened into two long " horns," and on this are the mouldering remains of an ox-skull. This, they told us, was a circumcision memorial.

Friday, Nov. gth. — We were up soon after four o'clock, got our things packed, had a good breakfast, took our quinine, and were all clear away before six o'clock. Going down to the foot of the rising ground on which the village is built, we came to a narrow creek, where a canoe was awaiting us. Going along this creek we came to a broader reach of the lagoon, and were soon admiring the great Vlha arums, 9 or lo feet high, just flowering, and one of the various species of Pandanus, which has an almost grotesque but withal a very graceful and slender

(outline. After passing through another short, narrow channel, we came out on a broad, widespreading lake. Few experiences are more pleasant in Madagascar travelling to glide rapidly down or across one of the large rivers in irly morning — the time when the eastern rivers, at least, are moothest — and in a large canoe, with plenty of paddlers, :en to the rowers' songs, which are often both amusing and :al. They will frequently improvise a song, one of them ng up a recitative, in which circumstances which have red on the journey are introduced, while the others chime it^ a chorus at regular intervals, a favourite one being isy vd ? " — " Oh ! is there some ? " This question refers

IS good things they hope to get at the end of the day's

such as plenty of rice, beef, sweet-potatoes, &c., these ismri

I witl

mec ibsequent chapter on " Funeral Ceremonies," for fuller information on burial customs.

V

MADAGASCAR BEFORE THE CONQUEST.

articles of food being mentioned one after another by the leader of the song. A little delicate flattery of their employer, the Englishman they are rowing, is often introduced, and praises of his hoped-for generosity in providing these luxuries for them ; something in this style : —

E, misy va ?

E, misy re !

E, ny vorontsiloza, zalahy e ?

E, misy re !

E, ny gisy matavy, zalahy e ?

E, misy re !

E, ny akoho manatody, zalahy e ?

E, misy re !

E, ny Vazaha be vola, zalahy e ?

E, misy re !

Oh, is there any ?

O yes, there's some !

Oh the turkeys, lads, O ?

O yes, there's some !

Oh the plump-looking geese, lads, O ?

O yes, there's some !

Oh the egg-laying fowls, lads,"0 ?

O yes, there's some !

Oh the very rich foreigner, lads, O ?

O yes, here he is !

and so on, ad libitum.

In another song heard by the writer on the Matitanana river (south-east coast), the chorus was Mandany vatsy, Toamasina malctza e ! " Le., " Consumes provisions for the way, famous Tamatave O ! " while the recitative brought in all the different villages on the journey from Tamatave to the capital, ending with Andohalo (the central space), and Avara-drova (the northern and chief entrance to the palace).

The lagoons of the eastern coast form a very marked feP:ure

in the physical geography of the island. They extend for J^iore

than three hundred miles, that is, from north of TamataV i to

south of Mananjara, forming an almost continuous line ; at east

the cutting of about thirty miles of canal would make therr into

an uninterrupted waterway between all the chief ports oi" the

eastern coast. During the reign of the enlightened Radama I.

(i8 1 9-1 828) the work of uniting these lagoons was com'-f enced,

but was soon stopped by his death. It may be hopej^ ' *at it

will not be long before this work will be again taken ) r-and.

' V L, It would, doubtless, be of great value to the comme. f

r ^ ila I *

mter-(;ommunication of the eastern coast.

These coast las^oons sometimes take the form of'

rt i at w vere i

H

'IhI^SVK '^^3iil^K^I i

- M j^^^^^BBBB

1^ smQ witl me* p er running for several miles in almost a straight line, while in many places they broaden out into extensive lakes.

After leaving the canoes we began to turn westward and then north-westward, over a wooded country. The most noticeable feature in the vegetation is the Traveller's-tree, which is very abundant, almost covering the hills wherever the virgin forest has been cut down. The Pandanus and the rofia palm are also very plentiful ; and the dense secondary woods, through which the narrow path winds, were most beautiful, many trees and plants being just at the time of flowering.

On all parts of the East Coast, from the sea level up to i,ooo feet above the sea, the most prominent and interesting tree is this well-known Traveller's-tree. This tree, which seems to form a link between the bananas and the palms, gives a peculiar character to the vegetation, and at once marks the landscape as a Madagascar one. From a palm-like trunk, usually from lo to 30 feet high, but in certain situations reaching from two to three times the latter height, springs a gigantic fan of long and broad leaves like those of a banana, often forming an almost complete circle of 20 to 30 feet in diameter. These have a peculiar effect, especially when a line of them crown the sides and summit of a hill. Mr. Ellis has compared them to the feathered crest in the head-dress of an Indian sachem, and there is much truth in the comparison.

Although it has been sometimes denied, it is perfectly true that a good supply of pure and cool water can always be obtained by piercing the base of the leaf stalks ; and I have myself been thankful, when travelling along the coast, and could get no water except from the stagnant and brackish contents of the lagoons, to tap these living fountains and take a hearty drauight from the Traveller's-tree.

The Longbzy (cardamom) is also very abundant, and the sm.Tll curving Bamboo. We soon began to ascend hill after

land presently caught sight of the sea, many miles behind

) The hills and forest appear to come here nearer to the coast than on the Tamatave route. On reaching the end of a ridge, we caught sight of a river roaring over rapids below us, a mile or two away, and flowing to the sea (at Marosiky). We had a long ride of (including stoppages for canoes) five hours and twenty minutes. Many of the ascents and descents were very steep, and the paths narrow. There appears to be a considerable number of small villages on the road. Our afternoon's ride was much shorter than that of the morning, two hours and a half only, but generally following the valley of the pretty river Manampotsy, which flows westwards and southward, frequently foaming over rocky bars and rapids. We passed large masses of pinkish quartz, and in some places the rocks in the bed of the river were tilted, with their strata almost perpendicular. All over this country the air was thick with the smoke from the burning of the trees and grass on the hillsides, in order to plant rice in the ashes — a most wasteful and barbarous custom, which causes a great destruction not only of the secondary woods and jungle, but also of the virgin forest. Before four o'clock we stopped at a village called Ambodimanga, built on rising ground some 200 feet or so above the river, which here flows nearly north and south. On both sides of the rivervalley rise high hills to a height of several hundred feet, and covered with patches of old forest on their summits.

Saturday^ Nov. loth. — We must now have ascended to between 1,000 and 2,000 feet above the sea, and a thick rug became a very comfortable covering towards the small hours of the morning. We were off before six o'clock, and immediately commenced a steep ascent of several hundred feet. Our road lay along a ridge, and then west and north-west, up and down, over some very rough paths. The river Manampotsy is still our companion to the right, flowing af" ] due east. Here there is no continuous forest, but only pat/

of it left on the summits and sides of the hills. We mal *^,

er s short morning's ride of two and a half hours, and stopper ^^

a village called Antanambe. In the house where we rested a number of pretty little mats called lakatra^ about i8 inches square, with a variety of patterns in brown straw. These, they told us, were for ornamenting the house, and were here fixed on the walls. We tried to buy some, but they had none new enough to sell us. In these Betsimisaraka houses the arrangement of the single room is thus : door at the left-hand side ; another facing it on the opposite side ; on the right-hand nearest corner, as you enter, is the hearth, with four massive posts supporting two stages, and called salazana. Near the door is fixed a large cylindrical box, hollowed out of a tree trunk, 3 feet high and i8 inches wide, and used for storing rice. As in Hova houses, the soot is allowed to accumulate, and to hang in long strings from the roof.

Our second stage, of between six and seven hours, was very hot and wearisome. We crossed a lovely glen, with rocks and stream overhung by forest, and here the men enjoyed a bathe. During the afternoon we crossed the higher waters of the Manampotsy, here flowing from the south. We stayed for nearly an hour, about half way, under some trees, to rest a little from the great heat. The hills around are very high, and are covered with virgin forest. The house in which we stayed for the night was the smallest in which we have yet put up ; it was only about 12 feet by 10 feet, and had about as much room as we should have had in the cabin of a ship. This was the coldest night we have yet had. We fairly entered the great forest before getting to our halting-place.