IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 4r 1.0 I.I iiM23. 12.5 i^ I 12.2 £ US mo .8 L25 iU 11.6 % <^ /2 7 *: >?>' y /^ Photographic Sciences Corporation .1^"^ 'i>^ ^ ^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 '9> y^\ ^ i^\^i^ MP CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHJVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductlons / !nstltut Canadian de microreproductlons historlques ©1984 Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ la meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a M possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiquis ci-dessous. Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag6e Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur6e et/ou pellicul6e Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur^es et/ou pelliculies Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque >/ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6colordes, tashet^es ou piquies Coloured maps/ Cartes g6ographiques en couleur Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) V Showthrough/ Transparence I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ D D D Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intirieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6x6 filmdes. I I Quality of print varies/ Quality in6gale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplimentaire D D Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont ^t6 filmdes d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl6mentaires: Varioui pagingt. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film6 au taux de rMuction indiquA ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 1 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X aire I details lues du t modifier iger une 9 filmage / j6es ire ly errata Bd to nt ne pelure, ifon & Th« copy filmed h«r« hat ba«n r«produe«d thanks to tha ganarosity of: University of Aiberta Edmonton Tha imagas appearing hara »rm tha bast quality poaaibia considering the condition and iegibillty of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract speciflcationa. Originel copiea in printed psfMr covera are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illuatratad impree- sion. or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copiee are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impree- sion, and ending on the laat page with a printed or illuatratad impreeaion. The laat recorded frame on each microfiche shell contain tha symbol «^(meening "CON* TINUED"). or the symbol ▼ (meaning "END"), whichsiyer applies. Mapa, platea, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Thoaa too large to be entirely included in one expoaure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames aa required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: 1 2 3 L'exemplaira filmA fut reproduit grica A la gAnArositi da: University of Alberta Edmonton Las imagas suivantas ont M reproduitas avec le plus grand soin. compta tenu da la condition et da la nettetA de I'axamplaira film*, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat da filmage. Lea exemplaires originaux dont la couvarture en papier est imprimte sont filmte en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la darnlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le caa. Tous las autras exemplaires originaux ^ont fllmis an commanqant par la pramlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration at en terminant par la darnlAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la darniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symboie — »> signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartea, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fllmte A das taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtra reproduit en un seul clich*, il est film* * partir da I'angle sup*rieur gauche, de gauche * droits, at de haut en baa, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m*thoda. 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 DI< L e yctVcAUU -iol OKCAVOL, (/ji^i- p/oY ^JIuLm^^^^^^^ ' ^^^ A ] th: NO] AI TH th: SPC JUST PUBLISHED. THE LIBRARY EDITION. COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME. DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, Pro- NOUNOiNO, Etymolooical, AND EXPLANATORY, Embracing Scienti- fic and other Terms, Numerous Familiar Terms, and a Copious Selection of Old English Words. To which are appended Lists of Scripture and other Proper Names, Abbreviations, and Foreign Words and Phrases. By the Rev. JAMES STORMONTH. The Pronunciation carefully revised by the Rev. P. H. Phelp, M.A. Cantab. Royal Svg^handsomely bound in half morocco, 31s. 6d. A LADY'S RIDE ACROSS SPANISH HONDURAS. With Illustrations, post 8vo. THE GERMANS. By the Rev. Father Didox, of the Order of Preaching Friars. Translated into English by Raphael Ledos DE Beaukout. In one volume, crown 8vo. New and Cheaper Edition. NORFOLK BROADS AND RIVERS ; or, the Waterways, Lagoons, and Decoys op East Anqlia. By G. CHRISTOPHER DAVIES, Author of ' The Swan and her Crew.' Illustrated. Crown 8- ■ fis. New and Cheaper Edition, Revised. A BOOK ABOUT ROSES. How to Grow and Show Them. By S. REYNOLDS HOLE, Canon of Lincoln. Eighth Edition, Revised. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. Cd. New and Cheaper Edition. THE BOOK OF BALLADS. Edited by Bon Gaultier, and Illustrated by Doyle, Leech, and Crowquill. Fourteenth Edi- tion. Fcap. 8vo, 5s. Sixth Edition, Enlarged. THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. Containing Minute In- structions IN ALL HlOHLAND SPORTS, WITH WANDERINGS OVER "Crag and Corrie, Ilood and Fell;" and Recollections of THE Author's Early Life. By JOHN COLQUHOUN. 2 vols, post 8vo, with Portraits, 26s. SPORT IN THE HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS OF SCOTLAND WITH ROD AND GUN. By T. SPEEDY. 8vo, with Illustrations, 15s. New and Cheaper Edition. THE BABY'S GRANDMOTHER. By L. B. Walford, Author of ' Troublesome Daughters,' 'Cousins,' ' Mr Smith: a Part of his Life,' &c. New Edition, complete in one volume. Crown 8vo, 6s. THE WORKS OF GEORGE ELIOT. Cabinet Edition. In 20 volumes, of a convenient and handsome form, printed from a new and legible type. £5. Contents :— Adam Bede, 2 vols.— The Mill en the Flosa, 2 vols.— Silas Marner, The Lifted Veil, Brother Jacob, 1 vol.— Scenes of Clerical Life, 2 vols.— Felix Holt, 2 vols.- Romola, 2 vols. — Middlemarch, 3 voKs. — Daniel Doronda, 3 vols. — The Spanish Gypsy, 1 vol.— Jubal ; and other Poems, Old and New, 1 vol. — Impressions of Theophrastus Such, 1 vol. Hack Volume, price 5s., viay be had separately. NOVELS BY GEORGE ELIOT. Cheaper Editions. With Illustrations. Adam Bede, 3s. 6d.-The Mill on the Floss. 3s. 6d.— Felix Holt, the Radical, 3s. 6d.— Scenes of Clerical Life, 3s.— Silas Marner, 2s. 6d. — Romola, with Vignette, 3s. 6d. — Daniel Deronda, with Vignette, 7s. 6d.— Middlemarch, with Vignette, 7s. 6d. ESSAYS BY GEORGE ELIOT, AND Leaves from a Note -Book. Second Edition. Post 8vo, 10s. 6d. WISE, WITTY, AND TENDER SAYINGS, in Prose and Verse. Selected from the Works of George Eliot. Sixth Edition, cloth, gilt, 6s. THOUGHTS ON ART AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ME- MOIRS OF GIOVANNI DUPRE. Translated from the Italian by E. M. Perdzzi, with the permission of the Author. With Portrait, crown 8vo, lOs. 6d. EOTHEN. By A. W. Kinglake. A Ncav Edition, uniform with the Cabinet Edition of the ' History of the Crimean War,' price 6s. TOWARDS THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON. A Journey in East Africa. By Mrs PRINGLE of Whytbank, Yair. With a Map. Svo, 12s. 6d. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, Edinburgh and London. MADAGASCAE MADAGASCAR ITS MISTOEY AND PEOPLE BY THE REV. HENRY W. LITTLE (some YEARti MISSIONARY IN KA8T MADAGASCAR) WITH A MAP WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCLXXXIV All Righti reserved '^''^^^^'^^^''^^^^^^^-'^^^^^ , I LIBRAR1 TO HIS EXCELLENCY RAINILAIAEIVONY, PRIME MINl.STKR AND COMMANDEK-IN-CHIEF, AND TO THE TEOrLE OF MADAGASCAE, THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED, AS A SLIGHT TOKEN OF GRATITUDE FOR MUCH KINDNESS SHOWN TO " A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND." 789204 I I PREFACE. The object of this book is twofold : Ist, to give in a concise form the principal facts of Malagasy history, with a brief description of the habits, customs, and natural features of the country; 2d, to direct public attention to, and create an interest in, a small and insular but progressive and worthy people, who are at the present time passing through a great national crisis, which will, however, act, let us hope, only as a stimulus to fresh efforts for self-improve- ment and judicious domestic reform. Much of what I have written has been gathered from personal observation during a prolonged residence on the east coast of the island — at the interesting and important town Vlll PREFACE. !< I I of Andevoranto — the ancient capital of the once independent and powerful Betsimisaraka tribe. Much also has been gleaned from the private journals of friends and fellow-travellers. The works of Mr Ellis, Mr J. Sibree, jun., and others, have been frequently consulted ; and I hereby acknowledge my obligations to those able and well-informed authorities upon all that relates to Madagascar and the Malagasy. - I- LoxDOX, 1884. VI ; ( :[ 3 XI m CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE, ... 1 II. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND, . 24 III. TRIBAL DIVISIONS — CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS, . 42 IV. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, FAST AND PRESENT, . 59 V. RITES AND CEREMONIES, CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS, 79 VI. A CANOE VOYAGE ALONG THE EAST COAST LAKES, 94 VII. VISIT TO THE COURT AND CAPITAL OF THE HOVAS, . . . . .118 Vm. IN PERILS BY SEA, . . . .142 IX. THE GREAT NORTH-EAST, . . . IPS X. NEW GROUND, . . . . 191 XI. MEDICAL EXPERIENCES, . . . 224 XII. THE CORONATION OF RANAVALONA IIL, . 243 XIII. PROGRESS IN THE PAST — PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE, ..... 267 X CONTENTS. XIV. HINTS TO TRAVELLERS, . . . 287 XV. FLORA, FAUNA, AND LANGUAGE, . . 311 XVI. AN OUTLINE GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY OF USE- FUL WORDS AND TERMS, . . . 329 XVIL CONCLUSION, ..... 342 ■ TABLE OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS AND DATES IN THE HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR, . . . 353 NAMES OF THE VARIOUS TRIBES OF MADAGASCAR AND THEIR LOCATION, WITH THE PRINCIPAL GEO- GRAPHICAL POINTS, .... 354 ITINERARY FROM TAMATAVE TO THE CAPITAL, . 356 MADAGASCAR. N THE • 353 \n AND L GEO- • 354 355 CHAPTER I. FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. In June 1874, I was commissioned by authority to proceed to the east coast of Madagascar, in connection with work of an educational and in- dustrial character which had been inaugurated amongst the Betsimisaraka tribe by some English societies. I shared at the time the prevailing ignorance of people at home as to the country and its inhabitants, and the island in which I was destined to pass several eventful years of hopeful labour was then a veritable terra incognita to me. I turned at once to the best sources of informa- tion then available as to the land and its inhabi- tants, but on my actual arrival in the island I found that, after all, no pen however brilliant, or pencil however facile, l\ad succeeded in doing A 2 MADAGASCAE. anything like justice to the great natural beauty of the country, or the many peculiar and interest- ing characteristics of its population. So im- perfect was the knowledge of Madagascar even amongst the generally well-informed classes, that, at the time I was preparing to sail, some of my friends were full of commiseration for what they regarded as my unhappy fate in being banished to an inhospitable island in the centre of the ocean, where cannibalism was rampant, and where cold missionary in various forms was the universal article of diet. One remarked that he had always heard that the Terra del Fuegians, whom he evidently re- garded as the near neighbours of the Malagasy, were remarkable for their treachery and ferocity; and with a cruel frankness another friend said his " Farewell," with an expression of his opinion as to the absurdity of any hope on his part of seeing me again. On a bright June morning, then, I bought my last daily paper — that crowning achievement of our modern civilisation — at London Bridge, and took train for Gravesend, off which port the gallant but somewhat ungraceful and aged ship Sea Breeze was lying, awaiting her captain and passengers. Her usual occupation was that of a Mauritius sugar-drover, and her cargo in consequence generally consisted of innumerable ,; ■i I V FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. "J casks of molasses and strong rum. On this occa- sion she was freighted out with a general cargo, consisting of machinery, Manchester goods, and stores for the English colony at the capital of Madagascar; and amongst the passengers were a bishop and his family, some half-dozen mis- sionaries and school teachers, and other per- sons, whose homes and avocations were in the far East. The passage was long — nearly one hundred days — and uneventful. The usual excitement of the first whale, the first shark, and the incessant exercise of the gentle craft with hook and line over the stern- rail in fine weather, and books, journals, im- promptu concerts or entertainments in the saloon in times of storm, or on disagreeable nights, helped to make a very commonplace voyage a little less monotonous. But life on board a sail- ing-ship after the thirtieth day must be a little wearying; and having crossed the line, and obedi- ently, if not gracefully, submitted to the ancient and somewhat tyrannical and overbearing de- mands and usages of the court of Neptune, at this particular point of our progress we hailed with delight the ofier of our genial captain to give us a day's ramble upon the rocky, and, as we after- wards found, not at all cheerful island of Trinidad, in the South Atlantic. The sensation of feeling MADAGASCAR. once more the unyielding earth under foot was very pleasing ; and the scrambles over the scori- ated and slaggy surface, which resembled a vast red cinder-heap, and had evidently been in the remote past the scene of action of an active volcano, were healthful and enjoyable. An amusing incident attended the hauling up on deck of our first shark. The brute had been anxiously waited for, and at length secured by a huge bait of salt pork, cunningly disposed upon a fearful -looking three-pronged hook of curious manufacture. We had got him on deck by the aid of " all hands," when by some means, in our anxiety to examine his points more closely, or perhaps through the sudden cessation of tension, the hook released itself from the jaws of the captive, who proceeded to survey the crowd with expressive gestures. He began to show signs of agility and a disposition to act up to his character of an insatiable glutton always in search of prey. There was an expression in his eye, and an ominous click of his jaws, which clearly meant mischief, and his unabashed de- meanour under the circumstances was a sight to remember. He was rushing open-mouthed to- wards the entrance to the companion, in search (with a refinement of taste which was creditable to him) of a bishop, or l naval lieutenant (we had one on board), or a naturalist, or perhaps ( FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. only a humble schoolmaster, just as one of our lady passengers put up her head to walk out on deck, entirely unconscious of the proximity of such a visitant. She speedily took in the posi- tion and her head, however, and beat a retreat, to the great disappointment doubtless of the wretched shark, who had now complete posses- sion of the poop-deck — crew, officers, and pas- sengers all having shown a remarkable unanimity in their desire to seek other and more remote points of vantage, whence they could witness without danger the eccentricities of their new *' find." The whole scene was, however, brought to a summary close by a daring and reckless sea- man, who advanced upon the enemy armed with a wooden handspike. Watching his opportunity, he thrust his extemporised weapon into the open jaws of the creature, and by this simple method destroyed effectually all its powers of doing further injury. Shark cutlets are sometimes belauded, and are even said by some enthusiasts to be preferable to a beef-steak ; but having in a weak mor lent tasted shark, I prefer beef. One cannot help remarking the odd kind of sentiment which exists in the "foc'sle" and amongst the sailors for anything connected with the shark. The head or jaws are carefully preserved, the backbone is polished and converted into a walk- ing-stick, and the fins have also some peculiar I G MADAGASCAR. virtue according to " Jack "-lore, which T fear I have forgotten now. The exciting rumour on shipboard of the exist- ence of herds of wild pigs upon the island, had induced several of our party to arm themselves with spears and death-dealing rifles ; but we found on effecting a landing, which we did after considerable difficulty, that there was nothing more formidable to encounter than a vast flock of stupid-looking gannets and red-pouched and paddle-winged penguins. These creatures were so tame, or wanting in sense, that they did not deign to rise even when we laid ruthless hands upon them, to stroke and admire their handsome plumage, and bear them away in triumph to our ship, to skin and preserve at our leisure, and to send back to our friends in England as mementoes of the passage out. A small white bird, with a very graceful figure and plaintive cry, also shared the place with the gannets and penguins, and came and nestled upon our arms or shoulders with the greatest confidence. It was almost painful to witness, h wever, the mistrust and shyness with which the whole feathered and pouched population soon began to regard us, after the firing of the guns and the death of one or two members of their community ; and before we left the rock, they approved, by instinct, the unwisdom of putting trust in man, for they con- \ FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. 7 veyed themselves to the highest and most in- accessible peaks, from which they surveyed our movement with quaking cries and utterances of terror and despair. As we left Trinidad to return to the Sea Breeze, which awaited us in the offing, we were suddenly exposed to a danger which is not uncommon in these waters. The wind, striking the liigh and rugged cliffs of the island, rushes through the enormous fissures, and falls upon the waters with great violence, in the shape of a miniature cyclone, which rushes over the surface, raising a furious wash in its wake, and exhausting itself at length out in the open sea. The only safety is to down sail instantly, or the boat will be twisted round and round for a few minutes like a mere cork, and then overturned in the foaming billows. We were unconscious of this local peril ; and whilst we were busily engaged in examining the spoils we had brought off with us, we were suddenly startled by seeing the vigilant captain snatch out his knife and cut the rope which sup- ported the sail of our little craft. The loosened sail fell with a crash amongst us, but not a moment too soon ; for we instantly heard a sharp whistling sound, and saw the waters all around us washing and foaming, and lashed with fearful energy by the circular storm which passed over our heads, and away into the distance, happily 8 MADAGASCAR. I' i i without further incident. The reality of the danger, however, and the visible presence of two huge sharks, following steadily in our rear, with their noses about two feet from the shallow bul- wark of the heavily laden boat, gave us a con- siderable scare ; and one of our scientific friends, who always carried a certain quantity of whisky about him, in which to put any specimens of rare insects he might meet with, in the excitement drew the cork of his flask, and hastily swallowed the cordial, utterly oblivious of the fine spider which he had only recently deposited for preser- vation in the spirit. The habits and appearance of the shoals of flying- fish which suddenly start up out of the placid waters at this point of the voyage, are always entertaining and worthy of note. The idea of a fish with wings is novel; but the sight of a flock of these delicate and nicely fashioned creatures in full flight, some yards above the crest of the waves, when pursued by a porpoise or other enemy of their kind, is a spectacle which borders on the marvellous. The flashing of their sides in the bright sunlight, and the almost noiseless motion with which they glide through space, are very noticeable. They fall back into their native element as suddenly as they rise from it ; but an unfortunate member of the finny crowd some- times loses his way or his centre of gravity, and ■ i FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. 9 t falls upon the deck, where he is at once eagerly inspected, the ever-changing hues of his gleaming skin or fins duly admired, and then, alas! he descends to the kitchen, to reappear at breakfast next morning as a dainty and not unwelcome addition to the ordinary fare of the cabin table. We were tempted once, when delayed in the region of perpetual calms, to man a boat, and, armed with harpoon and rifle, the captain in command, and the bishop, a keen sportsman by the way, and a splen- did shot, at the helm, the rest of us toiling at the, on that occasion certainly, labouring oar, to ven- ture over what proved to be some miles of calm undulating sea, with a broiling fc in overhead, on the trail of some huge black-looking objects which had attracted our attention early in the morning from the dock of the Sea Breeze, and had at once and efifectually aroused all the hunting and harry- ing propensities of our English natures. The uncertainty as to the precise nature of the game we were pursuing, of course added zest to the chase ; and we were breathless with excitement and rowing when we at length drew near to the spot which was to be the scene, we all felt con- vinv^ed, of no uncertain victory on our parts. But a silence, as intense as it was eloquent, fell upon us as the uplifted harpoon and the strong arm of one of the best of captains and truest of men were arrested in mid-air ; the epis- !■■ 10 MADAGASUAll. copal rifle, all ready for the fray, was softly but firmly lowered ; and as the huge monsters, some fifty or more, having gone under for a moment, presumably to hold a council of war on seeing the approach of the militant expedition, now rose up in their strength to the surface with a unity of purpose and a series of snorts and violent plungings, wiiich lashed tiie water on all sides of us with mountains of foam, and threatened the tiny boat with instant destruction, we, as others have done before us, thought discretion the highest form of valour, and beat a hasty retreat from the presence of the overwhelming foe, and retired slowly and by the nearest route to our ark of safety, which awaited us in the dis- tance, looking verily "like a painted ship upon a painted ocean." We had unwittingly disturbed a school of blackfish, as they are called popularly by seamen — huge, coaly-skinned, full-eyed mon- sters, who, in their playfulness, would have made short work of the whole bench of bishops. As it was, we luckily escaped any damage — although the force with which these creatures can strike is only equalled by that of the whale itself, to which species they naturally belong. We were followed at Trinidad in a few days by the yacht of the Earl of Crawford and Bal- carres, then Lord Lindsay. His lordship, in the pursuit of his favourite science, had organised an FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. 11 expedition, entirely at his own expenHc, to ]\Iauii- tius, to observe the transit of Venus. The party, on landing from the yacht, were very much sur- prised to find a lady's woollen wrapper, evidently only lately dropped, and recent footmarks, which revealed the presence of fashionable boots at no very distant period, upon the sands of a tiny rill of pure sweet water, which flowed at the bottom of a deep fissure in the rocks ; and various were the conjectures of the bewildered spectators as to how these signs of fashionable female attire could have come there. It was clearly the puzzle of the "fly in the amber" repeated; or perhaps, nearer still, that of the human footprint which so disconcerted the immortal Crusoe. Whether the mystery of the fashionable shawl left beside the little fountain on this desolate rock in mid-ocean was ever solved by the finders we cannot say. We should presume not, however, as a friend afterwards assured me that a year or two ago he had seen the relic of Trinidad pre- served in a northern museum, where it was regarded with considerable interest, not un- mixed with pathos, as the only remains of some unfortunate victims of the unknown terrors of the deep. We may say, however, that the shawl had been left behind and forgotten by one of the ladies of our party. The long passage by the Cape to Tamatave has i 12 MADAGASCAR. i : f l! several advantages, and, amongst others, I might mention a very important one from a hygeian point of view. It braces up the constitution undoubtedly for a prolonged residence in the hot and enervating climate, and amongst the feverish swamps and marshes of the east coast. It also gradually prepares the whole physical system for those new conditions of life into which we enter when making our home in the tropics. This question of acclimatisation cannot be overlooked ; and the best and readiest means of securing it is of the first importance to a dweller in Madagascar, where success in any undertaking is almost entirely a matter of good health and spirits and carefully sustained energy; and therefore a voyage out by sailing-ship is not, as many might suppose at first sight, a pure waste of time. A brief call at the Cape is often the first intro- duction the outward-bound passengers have to anytliing like genuine unconventional colonial or foreign life ; and as the anchor falls in the grand harbour, overshadowed by the Table Moun- tain, eager e^es are strained landwards to catch a glimpse of strange scenes, and glean something of the altogether fresh and striking beauty of these lands, where, to the untravelled English mind, everything in nature seems to be fashioned upon a vast and strangely lavish scale. \ FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. 13 I might hygeian titution in the gst the t coast, jhysical ife into in the L cannot means ce to a in any of good energy; p is not, a pure st intro- have to colonial ; in the e Moun- to catch mething 2auty of English ashioned The weather off the Cape is generally rough, and the winds are keen and cold ; so that the passengers, who had been tempted to throw off their warmer clothing during the passage of the balmy mid-Atlantic, are again glad to shelter themselves behind dreadnoughts and heavy furs. This is the spot, on a wild and tempestuous night, to go up in the dark hours of the middle watch upon deck, and take in, from the lips of some old salt, the weird legend of the " Flying Dutchman," so dear to sailors and so terribly fascinating to landsmen. Onward through the fierce but silent drift of the great Agulhas current we go, and making for the north-west, with a considerable anterior period, however, of southing, w^e soon welcome overhead the creaking cry of the boat- swain-bird, which hovers over us, with its small body, and one long plume drooping from its tail, and reveals by its presence the cheering fact that our voyage is complete, and that we shall soon sight the lofty eminences of Peter Bot and the Poose, which mountains are the earliest recog- nisable features of the hospitable and beautiful Mauritius ; or, as she proudly but not inaptly styles herself on her official banner, the Star of the Isles of the Indian Sea. Here warm greetings are in store for us, and with that remarkable air of sincere and generous kindness which distinguishes English colonists ^■ i k 14 MADAGASCAR. abroad, we are literally overwhelmed with ofiers of hospitality on all sides. The harbour of Port Louis, the chief town of the Mauritius, at once arrests the attention of the visitor. Its waters are of great depth and of marvellous purity, so that the forests of coral- trees, and fantastic masses of mountain and valley and rugged counterscarp, which lie deep beneath the translucent waves, are plainly vis- ible to the delighted and astonished beholder, as he leans over the ship's rail, and gazes into their white and sinuous recesses, througli which are floating continually myriads of small glittering fish, and occasionally, in silence and solitude, a grim specimen of the terror of these seas, the ravenous shark. The first impressions of a visitor, upon landing on the busy quays of Port Louis, are on the whole pleasing. A sense of bewilderment comes over us — for a short time only, however — as we pass along the crowded streets, and first experience the great contrast between the bustle and ac- tivity of the full flow of oriental life which is all around us, and the quiet and monotony of our days at sea. The polyglot population, the oriental air of the whole place, the entire absence of European equipages, the domes of a Mohammedan mosque, the open portals of the Indian temples, the kl FKOM LOXDON TO TAMATAVE. 15 ubiquitous Chinee sitting at his shop-door at every turn and corner, the turbaned coachmen, the dashing carioles, and the roll of the tom-tom, with the bejewelled and gorgeous Indians throng- ing every thoroughfare of the town, cannot fail to present an ever-changing picture of wonder and delight to the newly arrived European. The town, lying spread out in its triangular plain, at the foot of the famous Peter Bot moun- tain — a name which speaks of the Dutch origin of the colony — with its splendid and capacious harbour in front, and a massive, picturesque background of rugged mountains and serrated table-land, is well adapted for a military or naval display; and the authorities had evidently made the most of the situation on a certain brilliant June afternoon some years ago, Avhen we paid it an unexpected visit, and found it en fete in honour of the reigning Sultan of the Comoro Islands, who was just returning to his native shores after a rather lengthened sojourn in the Mauritius. The shipping at the anchorage, and the numerous masts of the consular establish- ments on. shore, were gay with streamers and flags of all nations ; the great guns of the forts above boomed at impressive intervals from the ramparts over the town ; and at the landing- place a company of the ill-fated regiment, soon after routed by Cetewayo at Isandula, was drawn 16 MADAGASCAR. :; t f:i I up to form a guard of honour, and imparted quite a homely English look to the scene. The then Lieutenant-Governor of the Mauritius, Sir G. F. Bowen, K.C.B., with some of the privileged State officials, were grouped upon the pier, eagerly discussing the latest war news from the Cape ; and at a becoming distance were small crowds of the always animated, gaily clad, and diverse inhabitants of the colony. With that generous thoughtfulness and ready tact in dealing with the intricacies of Eastern character, for which he stands out pre-eminently amongst that noble line of satraps by whose wisdom and high personal gifts we have been able for so long to govern our distant dependencies, not only with honour to ourselves, but without lops of comfort or dignity to them, Sir George Bowen had drawn around him, on the occasion to which I refer, some of the dig- nity which becomes the representative of his illus- trious sovereign, to say " Farewell," and wish a prosperous voyage, and a long and peaceful reign to his Highness Abdullah Mohammed Hadji II., Sultan of Johanna, and the chief of the islands of the Comoro group. I found that Sultan Ab- dullah had for some time suffered from cataract, which at length brought total blindness, and he had been induced to visit the Mauritius for the purpose of availing himself of the valuable ser- vices of the medical men of the colony. A very J FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. 17 parted The us, Sir nleged jagerly Cape ; crowds diverse merous or with tiich he ble line ersonal em our nour to Tnity to ad him, the dig- lis illus- wish a ul reign adji II., ! islands tan Ab- cataract, , and he for the ible ser- A very I successful operation was performed, and the sight of the Sultan restored, to his intense delight ; and he was now returning to his island-home, filled with warm sentiments of gratitude, and admira- tion, and wonder at what appeared to him the miraculous power of the Mauritian surgeons and oculists. As the guest of the Imperial Govern- ment, the Sultan had been shown everything that was thought likely to be of use to him on his return to Johanna"; and as he stepped on board his own good ship Genetiv from the Governor's barge, there was a kindly look of tender gratefulness and regret at parting upon his swarthy but intelligent features, which was very interesting and touching to witness, and which did not fiiil to awaken a fresh interest in the little ccean-kingdom over which he ruled. Many kindly eyes followed the Genetiv, and many good wishes, as she drew out to sea, with our own familiar colours at the main ; the royal ensign of Johanna, bearing the crescent and the open hand, displayed at the fore ; and the genial Sultan — a tall hale man of about fifty perhaps, wearing the green turban, which marks the lineal descendants of the great Prophet — bowing and waving his " salaam " from the poop-deck where he stood, surrounded by his sons, his prime minister, and chief officers of his suite. One result of this visit has been the ratification of a B iii 18 MADAGASCAR. Hi new treaty between England and this sovereign, by which considerable injury is done to the slave- trade; and the operations of the chief traders who have hitherto found a too ready welcome in the Comoros, are considerably circumscribed. From Mauritius to Madagascar is often a voy- age of only a day; but sometimes it is extended to a week, or even twenty-one days, if the wind is contrary. Travellers proceeding to Tamatave via Mauri- tius have sometimes to re-embark at Port Louis, and take passage for the land of the Hovas in one of the numerous bullock- vessels which are employed to bring cattle and rice to Mauritius. As the meat-market there is almost entirely de- pendent upon the Malagasy for its supplies, these vessels are frequently passing between the islands during the summer months. A considerable sum is charged for passengers ; the accommodation is abominable, the food almost uneatable, and the danger very considerable. Only vessels already condemned as unfit for use in every other part of the world are put upon this line of commerce, and the bullock-trade with Tamatave has been well described as the " Botany Bay " of shipping. This particular quarter of the world is remarkable for the special dangers to which those who tra- verse its v/aters are liable at certain seasons of the year ; and wdiilst the Pacific is known for its ^ 1 FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. 19 reign, slave- adera Icome :ribecl. L voy- ;ended ) wind Mauri- Louis, )vas in ch are aritius. ely de- these islands le sum ion is nd the ilready er part imerce, been ipping. irkable ho tra- sons of for its I freedom from anything in the nature of storms, and the Atlantic for its gales and tempests, the Indian Ocean, alone is swept by periodic bursts of hurricane and cyclone, which rush across its surface with terrific violence, carrying devasta- tion and ruin in their course over land and sea. The Mauritius is about the centre of the field of these circular storms; and consequently, for long periods every year, the surrounding seas are full of peril even to the best found vessels and most experienced navigators. Few persons, therefore, who have been in the neighbourhood of these islands, have quite escaped without some expe- rience of the dangers and hazards which attend the passage of Madagascar waters at any time. One friend of my own \\ as particularly unfortu- nate in this respect. He never went on board a ship without being followed almost inevitably by a furious hurricane. His official position ne- cessitated a life of travel, and at length he be- came known as the man with the " cyclone in his pocket " ; and captains have been known to refuse double passage-money, and even to sail a day sooner than that announced for their departure, and with only a part of their cargo on board, to escape carrying my friend. Communication between Madagascar and the other islands is therefore often suspended during the whole of the winter season, from June to m i' i n 20 MADAGASCAR. November, on account of the enormous risk which is run in venturing across the track of these dreaded storms, and during this time vessels only of large size and good build will attempt the passage. A few years ago this was the only route to Tamatave; and on more than one occasion Europeans have passed away on the crazy decks of these bullockers, under a blazing tropical sun, worn out with fever and the terrible hardships incidental to such a voyage. There is a touch- ing story told of a poor missionary, who died, stretched between decks upon a truss of hay, and forgotten by the crew, or at least neglected by them, in a crowded hold of bullocks, with which the ship was packed from stem to stern. The return voyage, which proved too much for this enfeebled missionary, then often occupied from thirty to forty days — a fact which can only be remembered now with a sickening shudder, especially when we think of the poor women and children who have in times past had to endure it. The communication is, however, much improved now, and a better class of vessels are employed ; and Madagascar is also now in direct communica- tion with Europe. It was our lot, in 18745 to take passage in the Rosa, a thorough specimen of a bullocker, and commanded by a good and well-known sea- man. Captain Judic. The crew and officers of FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. 21 : which f these vessels npt the le only iccasion y decks cal sun, irdships , touch- 10 died, lay, and cted by h which D. The for this jd from only be ihudder, nen and idure it. nproved I ployed ; munica- 3sage in lUocker, wn sea- Hcers of H.M.S. Shearwater cheered us as we passed out of the harbour, and, having dipped flags, the Mauritius gradually sank out of sight, and we were stretching away for our future home in the great western island. Our experiences were pleasant enough of the passoge; it only lasted two days ; the captain was most agreeable ; and as the weather w^as fine, we spent most of our time on deck, where we also had our meals, which, as they were confined chiefly to fruit, did not suffer from the bad cooking about which we had heard so much. The strangely untidy ap- pearance of everything on board our craft — the creaking timbers and gaping deck, through which we could catch fitful glimpses of all that was going on below — the vivacity of our captain, and the general originality of the whole position, — grati- fied us, and, as far as I was concerned, quite made up for lack of table-cloths, beds, or an elaborate cuisine. Captain Judic was an epicure in his way, however, and his particular weakness seemed to be an early al fresco meal of oysters ; and he looked the picture of contentment with the little barrel of bivalves between his knees, from which he took his oysters one by one, opened and swallowed them with every sign of relish, and pitched the shells at his negro cabin-boy, who stood grinning at a short distance, trying to catch the missiles as they flew past him. Poor Judic /; 22 MADAGASCAR. made his last voyage soon after this. The ship he commanded was more unseaworthy than usual, and the tempest proved too much for her, and the good, genial, old sailor went down to a sailor's grave coffined in his ship. We reached the outer bar of the port of Tamatave in the evening of September 1 9 ; and although it was very dark and there were no harbour - lights, our commander, out of sheer kindness, that we might have a good and quiet night's rest inside the bar, ran us in and over the bar, entering by rule of thumb — a feat about which the olc' sea-dog boasted afterwards, but for which, I have reason to know, he was severely reprimanded by the owners of the ship and cargo on board. The next morning we rose with the sun, and saw, for the first time, the town of Tamatave at our feet, and, stretching away in the distance, the hills and mountains of the country we had travelled so far to see, and about which we had read and heard so much that was remarkable and interesting. We saw by the inscription of the flag of the Hova fort that the wise and tender-hearted Queen Nanavalona II. still lived and ruled. We were thankful for this, as otherwise we knew that the purpose of our journey would have been in a great measure defeated. One of our first visitors on board was the ^ I FROM LONDON TO TAMATAVE. 23 representative of H.B.M. late Consul, T. C. Pakenliam,^ Esq., and the messengers of his Excellency the Hova Governor of Tamatave, who sent to f)ay he hoped wc had had a pleasant voyage, and had arrived in good health. On landing from the boats on the .shore, the friendly greeting of the Consul and the attentions of the natives soon made us feel quite at home ; and we entered upon our sojourn in Madagascar with feelings of pleasure and hope. ^ The painfully sudden death of Mr Pakenhura on the 2l8t of June 1 883, within a few hours of the bonihardment of Tamatave liy a French flotilla under the command of Admiral Pierre, and immediately after he had been gazetted to the Consul-General- ship at Odessa, after a lengthened period of devoted and faithful service to the British Crown in Madagascar, nmst he recorded here. It is a nuitter for melancholy satisfaction to know that Mr Pakenham was accorded a distinguished funeral, and that the obsequies were attended by the French and English naval officers, and representatives of all the chief Governments of Europe. In H.B.M. 's late Consul the native Government had a faithful counsellor, and the English colony a wise and impartial administrator. 24 {I I T CHAPTER II. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. Stretched along the south-east coast of Africa, and separated from it only by the narrow channel of the IMozambique, the island of Madagascar occupies a prominent position upon the map of the world ; and the attention of the student of geography is at once drawn to it by its peculiar elongated form, its strange name, and its vast irregular surface, scored and marked from end to end by lofty mountain-ranges, deep and often inaccessible ravines, broad tidal rivers, dense forest tracts, and the unique chain of fresh- water lakes, which afford excellent means of communication and transit for more than two hundred miles upon its eastern seaboard. The proximity of Madagascar to our South African colonies and dependencies, and the in- fluence which it may one day exercise over our Eastern commerce, either in impeding or develop- ing it, and the unwearying and persistent efforts GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 25 of France for centuries to secure a footing in the island, render it impossible for the politician to look upon this isolated but rising kingdom with indifference ; and its physical conformation, its almost unlimited natural resources, and its valu- able mineral deposits, combined with the thrilling history of its intestine struggles, often renewed, between tyranny and freedom, barbarism and civilisation, superstition and enlightenment, at once secure for it tlie interest and sympathy of the philanthroi)ist and the scientist. The stirring and eventful history of this island during the past eighty years compels us to believe that it has a great and important future before it. That it will ultimately become in some measure to the great African continent what England is to Europe, we have every reason to hope, from what we have seen of the energy and capacity of the Malagasy in the past ; and in the friendly co- operation in time to ci»me of themselves and the English Government, we have doubtless the key to the solution of that perplexing problem — the effectual and complete suppression of the slave traffic in East African waters and the South Indian Ocean. What more splendid position can her best friends wish for her than that Madagascar, with her central situation, her large and fertile area, her rich natural productions, and her intelligent and ^1 I. i 26 MADAGASCAR. progressive population, should be in the years to come, under favourable circumstances, a refuge for the distressed, and a leading power among the rising nations of that quarter of the world ? United with the most influential European powers, as she now is, by wise and liberal treaties of friendship and commerce, she may be called upon in the future to preserve the balance of power amongst the numerous states of the neighbouring continent, and in due course even to plant colonies of her own in the islands of the Eastern Sea. The history of Madagascar commences with a description of the island by the great Venetian navigator and discoverer, Marco Polo, in the thirteenth century. The entire narrative of the travelling achievements of this famous explorer is full of interesting descriptions of the oriental world, and of kingdom after kingdom which he visited ; and he has also faithfully recorded the strange traditions and hktory of this distant and at that time unknowfi. island. He was the first European or Asiatic writer who had noticed even the existence of the country which is called by him Magaster. It was, however, after his time frequently visited by Moorish and Arab traders and adventurers ; and an active trade gradually grew up along the north-west coast in slaves. India-rubber, gums, and spices, even at this early period. The Portuguese attempted to ' i GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 27 trade 1 form a settlement after a visit paid by Almeida, envoy to India, in 150G ; and a French colony was established as early as 1642, in the province of Anosy, in the south-east. An English settle- ment was made also on the west coast, which was named St Augustine, in the same year ; but these essays in colonisation were imperfect in organisation, and consequently only ""^mporary in their results. The numerous harbours and islets offered refuge to the bands of pirates and slave-hunters which infested the Mozambique Channel ; and on more than one occasion the west coast was, as early as the seventeenth cen- tury, the scene of conflicts between the combined forces of European men-of-war and tLese despera- does. It is sad to think that, after all the sacrifice of life and money which has been freely made by this country for this particular service, it is not possible even now to record the complete abolition of the desolating and foul trade in human beings, which clings like a curse to the African shores. From time to time attempts have been made, chiefly by France, to plant European colonies in Madagascar; but so far they have only met with disaster and disappointment. From Cape Amber in the north, to Cape St Mary at the extreme south, the length of the island is nearly 950 miles, and it measures in its broadest part about 350 miles, with an area 28 MADAGASCAR. ^) equal to that of Great Britain and Ireland, and a population not quite equal to that of London. It lies chiefly in the tropics; and a portion of the northern coast, and some of the low-lying districts along its eastern side, are extremely hot and unhealthy, and have an unenviable notoriety, even amongst the natives themselves, for the ma- larious fogs and vapours and fever-swamps which abound. Although possessing an extensive coast- line, Madagascar is strangely deficient in good harbours ; and most of its finest rivers are un- fortunately choked at the mouth, and so r3n- dered useless as means of exit for native produce, by dangerous sand-bars and drifts of vegetable and other deposit, which form across the estuaries and effectually block the passage. There are no insuperable difficulties in the way of the removal of these obstacles by the use of ordinary engineer- ing appliances ; and when the internal affairs of the country are in a more settled state, and the native Government is able to give its attention to domestic affairs and the further improvement of its means of communication with the outer world, some attention will be given probably to this im- portant question of opening up the waterways from the interior to the coast, so that vessels can enter and take cargoes at various points which are at present altogether closed to them. Considerable danger, and a great deal of diffi- GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 29 and, and London, ortion of low-lying imely hot lotoriety, r the ma- ips which ive coast- in good 3 are un- l so r3n- I produce, vegetable I estuaries jre are no 3 removal engineer- affairs of , and the mention to ement of ter world, ) this im- '■aterways jssels can its which m. 1 of diffi- culty, attend the navigation of Malagasy waters, on account of the heavy surf which beats inces- santly" upon the shores, and the sunken rocks which exist on all sides of the island. The two principal harbours are, — Tamatave, on the east coast, where the chief trade of the country is carried on, and where the foreign consuls reside ; and Mojanga, on the west, also a place of con- siderable activity, and a port of call for the mail- steamers of the British India Company. The imports from the United Kingdom during 1880 were £57,000, and the exports £7557. The usual routes adopted by travellers from London to Madagascar are by Paris and the mail-steamers of the French Messageries Mari- time, through the Suez Canal and vid Mauritius; or directly by the Donald Currie Line, vid the Cape of Good Hope to Tamatave. The latter is preferable for several reasons — amongst others, that it avoids the intense heat and discomfort of the Red Sea passage, and also affords the voyager an interesting experience of ocean trav- elling; but the former is more expeditious, the journey by the Suez Canal occupying only about a month, whilst the more circuitous passage by the Cape takes nearly six weeks. If we except the country along the main roads, or, more strictly, paths, to the capital, which is situated upon a lofty and commanding eminence 30 MADAGASCAR. I I i 200 miles inland, the island is very sparsely peopled. Much of the surface is taken up by extensive forests; and there are beautiful dis- tricts and tracts of woodland through which the traveller passes for days without meeting a per- son or seeing a single human habitation. The continuous mountain-ridges, rising gradu- ally in a regular series of terraces from the coast to the central province of Imevina, which contains the capital, form the principal and most striking physical features of Madagascar, and impart to the scenery a stern and massive grandeur, that never fails to impress the spectator with a feeling of awe and admiration, which becomes intensified as he traverses the sombre and almost silent forests that fill up the precipitous ravines, and even clothe for a considerable distance the slopes of the more elevated passes. Huge masses of gneiss rise up here and there, sometimes from the greensward, and often from the hillsides, tower- ing high above the surrounding objects, and covered with moss, or hoary with the passage of time, and curiously suggestive often of tho tot- tering arches and buttresses of some old-world cathedral or gigantic castle which has been over- whelmed by some sudden and tremendous catas- trophe. The paths that do duty for r/ads, even to the capital, are rough and always sadly out of repair, and in places are mere inclines of greasy GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 31 parsely up by ■ul dis- ich the a per- gradu- le coast ontains striking part to ir, that feeling ensified i silent es, and 3 slopes isses of :om the tower- ts, and 5sage of ;ho tot- d-world ;n over- s catas- ds, even J out of greasy clay, up which the native bearers climb with extraordinary tenacity — varied here and there by sloughs and pools of red and odorous mud, through which it is only possible to wade with great exertion and considerable patience and pluck. There are, however, between the rocky terraces, bright stretches of grassy and verd. it plain, and narrow fruitful strips of soil, where herds of native cattle find pasture, and which supply the people with rich and abundant har- vests of rice and sweet-potatoes, with scarcely any expenditure of labour except planting and gather- ing. These oases are formed often by the mud and decomposed granite brought down by the mountain torrents in the rainy season, and are therefore of delightful fertility. The Malagasy are very simple in their habits, and their wants are therefore few. Eice is their chief article of food, and this, put in a little soup, or mixed with a few common herbs, will always furnish them with an ample meal. The ox is to them what the camel is to the Arab, and the rein- deer to the Laplander. Perhaps no country presents a greater variety of natural beauty to the visitor than may be seen on a journey from any point on the coast to the interior of Madagascar. The eastern side, which is washed by the Indian Ocean, is especially interesting, from the fact that it is being rapidly Ill m I; 32 MADAGASCAR. brought under cultivation by Creole planters and other settlers, who have crossed over in great numbers from Mauritius and Bourbon, and even India, to find a home amongst the amiable and peaceful Malagasy. Extending for sometimes ten and often fifty miles inland to the foot of the first of the ascend- ing terraces, there is a belt of rich productive meadow-land, intersected by numerous deep and rapid rivers, and covered everywhere with lux- urious and umbrageous tropical vegetation. The orange-tree, the cocoa-nut palm — the huge water arum, sAveeping our .oat as it floats along the surface of the beautifully transparent stream — the tree-fern, lifting its graceful fronds high up over- head — the wild citron, the broad-leaved banana, the luscious mango, the feathery bamboo cane, with " its tresses heaving in the wind," — arc all around us in rich profusion ; and the eye wanders with delight over fields beyond fields bright with the fresh green of the young rice-plant not yet in ear, and echoing with the cries and songs of the native boatmen, or the maromlta at work among the sugar-canes. The Betsimisaraka, a coast tribe, are a happy people, full of good-nature and high spirits, and seem to take a very cheerful view of things. They cannot be silent, and they seem to have a collection of inspiriting and mirth- provoking songs, which they are never tired of '4 313 and 1 great id even 3le and 3n fifty ascend - tductive jep and Ltli lux- a. The je water ong the im — the up over- banana, )o cane, —are all wanders rht with )t yet in s of the : among a coast ture and cheerful nd they d mirth- tired of GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 33 repeating when employed in any kind of labour which brings a number of them together. The ruling tribe, the Hova, which occupies the central table-land, and holds the coast tribes in a kind of feudal subjection, originally landed on the south- east corner of the island, gradually made its way, conquering as it went, up through the interior, and at length became a power under Eadama I. (1808), a man of great spirit and intelligence, who consolidated the Government of the Hova, united the twelve subdivisions of the family into one clan, and established the sovereignty at the pres- ent capital, Antananarivo, " the city of a thousand towns." This monarch was as ambitious as he was enterprising. He had many good qualities, and seemed a hundred years in advance of his people in shrewdness and mental capacity. He was the founder of the present reigning dynasty. Radama had a peculiar aversion to the French, who, in his day, had designs upon his territory ; and his reply to a hint that his enemies w^ere about to invade the island may be quoted as probably explaining that policy of " masterly inactivity " which the Hovas invariably adopt when a foreign foe effects a landing upon their shores, and which hitherto has proved a more sure defence to them than armies or fleets. The king's reply to the intima- tion of the French invasion of his day was, " /ery well, let them try. I have two officers in my i 34 MADAGASCAE. I service, Generals Tazo and Hazo ; I'll leave them in tlieir hands for a while,, and have no doubt as to the result." Tazo is the name of the dreaded Malagasy fever, and Hazo that of the almost impenetrable forest between the coast and the capital. An important treaty was concluded between Great Britain and Radama in 1817, by which the sale of slaves beyond the seas was prohibited, and the introduction of European teachers and artisans, for the instruction of the natives, was facilitated. The agents of various philantliro23ic societies, but chiefly those of the London Missionary Society, set up schools and workshops, under the protection and patronage of Radania, and the native youth were taught the art of printing, as well as working in stone, leather, iron, brick, and wood ; and they were also instructed most carefully how to build houses, churches, palaces, and bridges, and to improve their own dwellings and dress both in material and shape : so that those people, who are naturally painstaking and very patient, with the imitative faculty strongly developed, advanced rapidly in civilisation and in the application of the useful arts. They were also taught to read and write their own language, which had not previously been reduced to writing or printed ; and although in 1820 there were not more than six persons, it is said, who could read it even in Arabic let- 'I ive them ubt as to dreaded 3 almost and the oncluded 1817, by seas was European )n of the f various 50 of the lools and ronage of Luo'ht the in stone, [ley were d houses, improve material naturally imitative apidly in he useful md write reviously although persons, rabic let- GEXERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 35 ters, the Malagasy language is now universally read and written in European characters by all classes of the people, who have at this time a considerable literature and some newspapers, printed by the natives themselves at the well- appointed Government and mission presses at Antananarivo. The real history of the country may, in fact, be said to have commenced with Radama ; and since his time it has continued to progress and to develop its resources and power — slowly, it is true, but always in the right direction. Nations are not made in a day, or even in a century. If only there is growth, however gradual, we must not be too anxious about the measure or the depth. That a great and searching change has come over the whole heart and mind of this people, is clear to those who know their history or have passed through their borders. During the past eighty years, old systems of idolatry and superstition have disappeared completely and for ever, evil and degrading customs have been abolished, just and humane laws have been enacted, horrible and barbarous state punishments have been dis- continued, old habits which defiled and debased the people have been given up or have died out, the laws relating to slavery have been wisely and considerably modified, enslaving prisoners taken in war is now unlawful, all African slaves have 36 MADAGASCAR. been manumitted, polygamy discountenanced by royal decree, and the spear and shield are laid aside for the implements of the husbandman and the artificer. Sunday is respected as a day set apart for rest and religious exercises ; a system of compulsory education has been adopted by the Government ; the life of every man, even of the poorest slave, is held sacred ; and no person can now be put to death without a fair and open trial in the presence of the representatives of the Queen. Much remains to be done before the whole Mala- gasy people, especially in the remote districts, can be said to enjoy the full benefit of these important and vital reforms. But we may venture to say that probably in no state in modern times has more real improvement been effected than in Madagascar, already known as the " Great Britain of Africa"; and when we consider the short period in which this has been accomplished, the small resources and the limited opportunities of these people, we cannot but feel admiration for their energy and patient perseverance in the path of self-improvement. It has seldom been given to men in any age to witness the pleasing spectacle of a nation such as this — small, obscure, and insular — working out its own regeneration and civilisation, and securing for itself a place amongst the older and long-established Powers, and making considerable advances in its intel- GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 37 meed by are laid man and , day set a system ;d by the m of the I can now I trial in le Queen, ole Mala- :ricts, can mportant re to say :imes has than in it Britain 3rt period the small of these for their path of given to spectacle lire, and ition and a place I Powers, its intel- lectual and social life, within the short period of little more than half a century. The Comoro group of islands, which occupies a position midway between the northern point of Madagascar and the African mainland, although possessing an independent government of its own, may fitly be noticed here, as it is inti- mately connected with the country of the Hova, by race, commercial ties, and a unity of in- terests, as well as by its geographical position. Much has been written about the natural loveli- ness of Comoro, Johanna, Mohilla, and Mayotte, tha islets which form the group, and which seem to float upon the bosom of the clear waters " like emeralds set in a silver sea " ; but of the moral and intellectual condition of the active and numerous inhabitants — partly negro and partly Arab — there is scarcely anything satis- factory to be said. Their chief source of rev- enue is the trade in sugar, rice, and coffee with Eastern Africa and the adjacent islands of the Mozambique, — viz., Bourbon, Mauritius, and Madagascar. There are several flourishing sugar- estates on the island of Johanna, the property of the sultan of that island — who is the supreme authority throughout the Comoros — and one or two Creole planters who have established them- selves along the banks of the rivers of Johanna and Comoro. But it is of a less legitimate com- ^ 38 MADAfJASCAll. merco than this that we are compelled to speak when considering the past, present, and future of the sultanate of Johanna. The various har- bours and roadsteads of this ocean - kingdom have always afforded ready and secure shelter to the vessels and dhows enpraged in the fiendish and desolatinfr slave-traffic between Africa and Madagascar, and the other islands of the archi- pelago ; and as the poor kidnapped Africans or Mozanibiques are sturdy of limb, and of untir- ing energy in manual labour, they arc eagerly sought after, at prices varying from £6 to £10 English money, for the heavier work connected with the cultivation of the sugar-cane, which requires a powerful frame, a dogged determina- tion, and a certain recklessness of consequences, such as exposure to extremes of weather, and privations in matters of sleep and food, which characteristics are all to be found in the native of East Africa. The Comoro Islands are, or were till very recently, the home of some of the most enterprising slave-traders in the African or In- dian seas. It is very difficult, after all that has been said on this subject, for people who have never left Europe to appreciate, even in the smallest degree, the whole amount of misery and despair which is contained in that word " slavery." There are good people who speak gently, and even kindly, of the system, and of II ;o speak 1 future Dus har- cingdom shelter fiendish rica and le archi- L'icans or )f untir- eagerly to £10 )nnccted ;. which termina- qucnces, ler, and which e native or were he most or In- that has ho have in the misery at word speak and of Q GENEIAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 39 the condition of the slave — of the comfort he has, and the immunity he enjoys from all anxiety or responsibility. The examples of Abraham and the patriarchs, and the Pauline instructions, have been quoted with a view to modify the harsh judgment one might be disposed to pass upon a system which makes one man the chattel of another, to be sold or slain at will. But the real healthy feeling of the whole civilised world is, without doubt, altogether against this lenient view of ^ hat is really an outrage upon the first great law of human life and society. Man was made upright, and endowed with an individu- ality and a will. No doctrine of expediency or of necessity, no theory as to inferiority of mental power, or difference of cranial structure, or defici- ency of facial angle, can destroy the sacred in- dividuality and personal responsibility of man. Indeed, from whatever stand-point the subject of this trade in mankind is approached, we find it remains in principle, as it is in fact, a horrible and cursed thing, an outcome of that greed and cruelty which lias so long disgraced heathen and semi-civilised communities. It is a fearful defi- ance of the laws of divine beneficence, and an outrage against humanity the foulest and most disastrous in its effects which the evil heart of man has yet conceived or the earth witnessed. Imagine the mental and moral condition of a f. ! ! I 40 MADAGASCAR. man stolen in the first place from his home, bought and sold in the public market, with no power of acquiring anything, and possessing no- thing he can call his own, not even his body or his will. He is wholly and solely the property of another. His master eats tbe produce of his labour, sells hi? children, separates him from his wife, and, as often happens, ships him off to lands from which he can never hope to return. The influence of the English Government has been brought to bear upon the Sultan Abdullah of late, however, and there is now an active consul in residence at Johanna ; so that we may hope soon to see a right view of this traffic in sorrow ,nd death adopted by the more intelligent mem- bers rf the community of planters and chiefs ia the Comoros. The details furnished to the House of Commons in 1871, of the condition of the slave-trade on the East African seaboard, are more than sufficient to convince the most scepti- cal mind that the efforts, great as they have been, for the destruction of this hateful commerce, still need to be followed up by energetic and sustained action if the trade is to be in the end and for ever abolished. Much depends upon a proper treatment of this moral plague, which hangs over the people of the Mozambique like a thick cloud, crushing out every hope and energy, and destroying the GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 41 IS home, , with no ssing no- 1 body or property Lce of his from his to lands rn. The has been iullah of TQ consul nay hope n sorrow nt mem- iid chiefs d to the dition of loard, are 3t scepti- ave been, erce, still sustained . and for tment of le people crushing ying the very humanity of its victims, so that in too many cases they soon cease to be men, except in form. The abolition of this evil will also remove the difficulties which bar the way to the legitimate trader in South Africa and the islands along this coast, and which at present hinder the rapid and sure development of commercial activity through the length and breadth of the continent. Eemove men and women and chil- dren from the public markets, once let them cease to be saleable commodities, and other merchan- dise will naturally and necessarily become the negotiable basis of barter, and other articles will become the medium for the employment and circulation of capital and the acquisition of wealth. The evil has been reduced and its area considerably limited of late years, through the devoted energy of the officers and men in our ships of war on the Zanzibar station. Much, however, remains to be accomplished ; and it is to Madagascar that we must look for that assist- ance which will enable us, in a few years per- haps, to regard the slave-trade of Eastern Africa as a phase of life in that region which has passed away happily for ever. i 42 CHAPTER III. TRIBAL DIVISIONS — CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS. Although the name " Malagasy" is now given to the whole of the inhabitants of the island, they do not appear to have sprung originally from one race. On the contrary, the distinctive marks of a diverse descent are numerous and conclusive. The oval features, lank hair, elegant figures, and light complexion of the dominant race, the Hovas, at once fix their origin as Malayan ; whilst the woolly head, thick and prominent lips, broad faces, and black skin of the numerous branches of the Betsimisaraka tribe on the east coast, point to Africa without doubt as their ancestral home. The whole question, however, of the origin of the Malagasy, is a difficult one, and it is almost impossible to obtain any accurate information upon the subject from either their traditions or their folk-lore. The peculiarities of the people generally, their physical appearance, their mental capabilities, their manners and customs, their CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS. 43 HOVAS. given to ^nd, they from one marks of nclusive. ires, and e Hovas, liilst the )ad faces, IS of the point to il home. )rigin of 3 almost )rmation tions or B people c mental IS, their imitative rather than constructive powers, and above all, the structure of their language, dis- tinctly point to affinity with the Asiatic rather than the African continent ; and there are many words in the dialects of the natives of Sumatra, Borneo, and the isla,nds of the Pacific, which are identical in sound and signification with words in common use by the inhabitants of Madagascar. Before the rise of the Hova power, the country was divided into five great kingdoms : the Saka- lava, a name given by the Hovas, and meaning " long cats," occupying the north-west ; the Hova, holding the central province of Imerina; the Betsimisaraka (the great undivided), inhabiting the east coast ; the Betsileo, with Fianarantsoa as their capital, dwelling in the south ; and the Antsianaka tribe, located between the Sakalava and Hova territory. The numbers of the various tribes have been roughly estimated as follows : The Hovas, 800,000; the Sakalavas, 1,000,000 (including the Antsianaka) ; the Betsileo, about 2,000,000; and the Betsimisaraka, 1,000,000. No census has ever been taken, however, and a correct statement of the population is impossible. It is generally supposed that the people are not by any means so numerous as in the days of the first Radama ; and the ruins of villages in all parts of the country, which were once centres of activity, and the existence of the remains of large I 1^ i ' 44 MADAGASCAR. earthworks and irrigation schemes, since fallen to decay, all point to th presence of inhabitants in plnces which are now forsaken. This reduc- tion of numbers is due partly to the enormous drain upon the youth and manhood of the coun- try during the terrible reign of Ra- ivalona I., and the custom, now long abolished, of sending yeady large consignments of slaves across the seas to supply the markets of Arabia and India. Each of the great divisions of the Malagasy had formerly its sovereign chief, its capital, its own social customs, particular dress, language, code of laws, and even its own peculiar civil and re- ligious rites and ceremonies ; and some of these latter observances were marked by horrible atro- cities, — as, for instance, the oflfering of human sacrifices in the southern province of Vamgain- drano, where it appears that a weekly oblation of victims — if possible, chiefs or persons of some importance — w^as made to satisfy the vengeance and outraged dignity of the local deity. Over tlie Betsil^o, the Betsimisaraka, and the Antsiana- ka, the Hova Government has long exercised its supremacy ; and this arrangement is decidedly for the advantage of the whole community, as its policy is one of advance and enlightenment, and will no doubt ultimately effect the complete moral elevation and improvement of the whole population. I CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS. 45 Qce fallen ihabitants lis reduc- enormous the coun- valona L, >f sending across the ind India, agasy had il, its own lage, code il and re- le of these rible atro- of human Va'mgain- Y oblation IS of some vengeance Lty. Over I Antsiana- :ercised its decidedly nity, as its iment, and I complete the whole The repeated attempts at aggression by foreign nations will be in the end beneficial to Madagas- car, as they have to'^ded considerably to consoli- date the power anc. strengthen the influence of the native Government over those portions of the country where hitherto its rule has been scarcely more than nominal. The great and only real hope for the future prosperity and advancement of the Malagasy lies in the Hova domination ; and this all friends of the country w4sh to see secured, as the only possible or feasible means for securing the certain and systematic progress of all classes of the people, and for the preven- tion of tho^e devastating tribal wars, which, as in South Africa^ have been a constant source of alarm and spoliation, and a certain hindrance to all industry, and to the extension of legitimate commercial enterprise. But apart from these considerations, the Hova is evidently born to rule : he has the air and gait by nature of a king of men ; and better still, he has great sagacity, indomitable perseverance, great powers of endur- ance, much patience, strong self-restraint, and a natural adaptability to trade and intercourse with the foreigner. In all these respects he stands out in marked contrast to the neighbouring and subject tribes. His presence on the island is, however, an interesting mystery ; and in the absence of any authentic information, various r ) 46 MADAGASCAR. attractive and clever theories and traditions have been put forward to account for the phenomenon of a Malayan family crossing the troubled and uncertain waters of the Indian Ocean in the centuries past, and obtaining a home and sov- ereignty on an island hundreds of miles from their original location. The matter may be ex- plained in this way. In the distant period long before the British ascendancy in the East, the Indian and China seas were infested by pirates and freebooters, who had their hon, ;S and fast- nesses in the rocky islands of the Malayan Archi- jDclago. The men were remarkable for their ferocity as well as their adventurous spirit, and they struck boldly out to sea in their rude vessels in search of plunder and slaves. In the hurricanes which prevail with fearful energy at fixed seasons in those seas, safety for the unfortunate mariner who happens to be entrapped within the fatal circle of the tempest is in drifting before the wind. A fleet of these piratical marauders having been caught in one of these storms, is supposed to have drifted across the sea, and to have reached at length the south-eastern corner of Madagascar. At least the first traces of the Hova occupation are found there. More than one incursion of the strange colonists is considered to have taken place. The country at that time was inhabited by the ons have nomenon bled and 1 ill the and sov- iles from ay be ex- riod long East, the )y pirates and fast- an Archi- erocity as ley struck in search nes which seasons in e mariner the fatal 3cfore the 3rs having J supposed ve reached adagascar. Dccupation sion of the ,ken place. ;ed by the CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS. 47 forefLithers of the tribes already referred to. These, however, the invaders (who probably in the first place landed through stress of weather) found in a weak and defenceless condition, given solely to pastoral pursuits, and armed with sharpened sticks, their only weapon of defence. Against these the Hovas used the spear with its iron head, which they had sufficient knowledge to fashion out of the metal which is found close to the surface in the central parts of Madagascar. This, at that time, formidable weapon, combined with tlieir natural hardihood and intelligence, soon placed the districts through which they passed in their hands. They appear to have gono up towards Im(5rina, where they gradually estab- lished themselves, and became the sovereign power under Andrlan-impoin-Imerina (the princs of the heart of Im^rina), 1790. There are still to be seen around the capital and in the neighbour- hood of the sacred towns some curious and mas- sive tombs, which are described as the burial- places of the Vazimba, who were supposed to have been the chiefs of the original inhabitants, who were overcome and brought into subjection by the Hovas. Cruel and degrading as were the practices and ideas of these people till the open- ing out of the island to European influence and teaching in 1818, they were still far in advance cf the other island tribes by which they were 48 MADAGASCAR. f. \l surrounded. The Hovas were thorough - going idolaters, and given over to vile and degrading superstitions, which actually justified murder and infanticide to a terrible extent. Next in importance and interest to the Hovas we must place the Betsimisaraka. This tribe is of African descent, and the people all along the east coast present every characteristic of that race. They were originally governed by an independ- ent king, who ruled at Tamatave and Andevo- ranto ; but they retained their tribal system, and the independence of their chiefs was respected, as it is to this day in a modified way, by the Government of Quecxi Ranavalona. The name of Betsimisaraka (the great undivided) was derived from the fact that the clans composing this large and widely scattered family were always found united together for the common good, and their subjugation to the yoke of the central authority in Imerina was not effected without considerable difficulty and exercise of diplomacy on the part of Radama I. Assisted by an astute non-commis- sioned British officer named Brady, an Irishman, who was raised by the king to the rank of general and commander-in-chief of the Mala- gasy forces, Radama led a large army down through the defiles of the central provinces and the pass of Biforona to the seaboard, and estab- lished himself at Tamatave, which then became CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS. 49 going rading er and Hovas bribe is Dng the lat race, depend- tVndevo- iem, and ispected, , by the name of 3 derived ibis large ys found and their authority isiderable the part i-commis- Irishman, ! rank of ihe Mala- my down inces and md estab- m became a Hova fort and stronghold. The Hova king called an immense assembly {kahdry) of Betsi- misaraka chiefs and people at the ancient village of Ambohibohazo, and a treaty of service was entered into, by which the coast people bound themselves to act as soldiers and bearers for the Hovas, the king undertaking on his part to afford them protection from foreigners, and all the other privileges enjoyed by his most favoured subjects. As there are no beasts of burden or roads in Madagascar, the whole of the imports have to be carried on m«. I's shoulders over the tract of 200 miles of forest and mountain which leads to the capital. This work is performed by the Bet- simisaraka as part of their tribute to the reigning power. These people are naturally indolent, self- indulgent, and indiflferent to their position as a subject race. They indulge to a large extent in a native drink made from the sugar-cane ; and this habit tends still further to weaken their character and to diminish their power for exer- tion, either mental or physical. The consequence is, that they have never made any real effort to free themselves from the bonds placed upon them by the first great Hova king ; indeed they seem " to love to have it so." Between them and the Sakalava on the opposite side of the island, there is a remarkable contrast. The Sakalava have D 60 MADAGASCAR. M t \ i ^' 1:1 i« 1 \ i never really been completely subjugated, and they have constantly resisted the attempts of the Antananarivo Government to bring them into a position of obedience and servitude. The resist- ance of this tribe to any idea of submission has been unceasinG:; and althouf^h at one or two perio.'s of their history the Hovas have effected a temporary lodgment upon their territory, they have in the end been driven off by force, or tempted to retire by specious promises which have never been performed. The Sakalava people are fierce, warlike, and nomadic in their manner of life. They dwell in forest villages, are rapid and panther-like in their movements, and are splendid shots with the rifle. Every Sakalava carries his gun, powder - horn, and supply of bullets. Whatever else he lacks, he retains his gun. It is his companion by night and day. "Without it he is disgraced in the eyes of his family and fellow-men. He does not value money except that it will secure him a superior weapon, a refill of powder, or a fresh stock of bullets. And supposing he is well furnished from other sources with these — for instance, by the sale of his oxen — he does not scruple to beat out the surplus silver dollars of which he may happen to become possessed into broad plates for the decor- ation of his gun-stock or powder-horn. It was with these people that the French made treaties, CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS. 51 ed, and ts of the 1 into a ,e resist- sion luis or two 1 effected ory, they force, or cs which va people r manner are rapid , and are Sakalava supply of •etains his and day. ^es of his ue money or weapon, of bullets. From other ;he sale of sat out the happen to the decor- ■n. It was de treaties, and it is from amongst them that they propose to raise levies of troops and a native militia for the defence of the tract of country claimed by them along the west and north-west of the island, against any further invasion of the Ilovas. The French island of Nosi Be lies abreast of the Sakalava country, and the island of St Mary on tlie east coast also belongs to France. The Ens- lish have no possessions nearer than Mauritius. In 181G, however, when that colony was ceded to Great Britain by the French, a part of Mada- gascar was also formally made over to England by the native chiefs ; and it remains ours, though unoccupied to the present day. In fact, this action of the Malagasy authorities was the ground of the understanding between the two great Euro- pean Powers, which was respected up to a few months ago, that neither Government shorM attempt to gain an actual footing in the island of Madagascar without the full and free consent of the other. In the almost unknown forests of the west, there exists a tribe of nomads, inhabit- ing tree-dwellings, and communicating with each other in a speech at present unknown to any outside themselves. They wear no clothes, are diminutive of stature, mild and inoffensive in demeanour, very timid and retiring, and are cov- ered with hair, and would delight the heart of a disciple of Darwin, or a philosopher, or student tM. I !' 52 MADAGASCAU. (( of canthropology in search of the " missing link." Much that has been said of the Sakalava ap- lies to their immediate neighbours the Antsian- aka. But of the Betsik'o in the south a some- what different description is necessary. The Betsih'o more nearly resemble the Betaimisaraka, and are less given to war, and a wandering and unsettled life generally, than the north - west tribes. They have some of the martial ardour of the Sakalava, with a considerable pastoral and domestic preference in their character and dis- position. They were also reduced to subjection by the notorious Brady, of whom it is recorded that he gave orders, in his campaigns on behalf of the Hovas, that all the young men of the enemy were to be cut down as the army advanced, so that no hostile element should be left in their wake to endanger the safety of the invaders. When asked to give a standard for the guidance of the executioners of his atrocious order, he merely stretched out his arm, and directed that all who could not pass beneath it should be instantly slain. As he was a man of short stat- ure, the slaughter was immense, but the effect was certain. The pride and power of the con- quered people thus perished ; and before the next generation grew up to take arms, the dominion CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS. 03 missing lava ap- Antsian- a some- y. The nisaraka, ring and [•til - west il ardour toral and and dis- n by the d that he If of the 6 enemy anced, so in their invaders. cTuidance order, he cted that hould be lort stat- ;he effect the con- the next dominion of the Hova was completely and firmly estab- lished. One brave old chief of the Bctsih'o, how- ever, resisted for many years the vanquisher of his clan, in his rock-protected fortress, to which he withdrew with liis children and his immediate retainers, and whence he defied with bitter taunts the opposing forces for many years, although the latter had the formidable assistance of cannon and rockets. He only surrendered on receiving a promise tliat he should retain his rank and title ; and this he did to the end of his days. Fiananantsoa, the chief town of the Betsileo, in several points strongly resembles Antananarivo, the capital of Imerina. It is situated upon a long stony ridge of considerable elevation, and has already several large and imposing buildings, erected after European models, and is surrounded by beautiful scenery and rich and fertile plains. The Malagasy are long-lived, and one is struck, in passing through their villages, by the number of old people to be seen at the doors of their dwellings, and enjoying the balmy atmo- sphere and the warm sunshine. This is partly due to their abst*. mious habits, simple diet, and active lives passed ci iefly in the open air. Their in- dulgence in intoxicants to excess is a habit of recent origin, brought about by the introduction of a cheap and fiery rum from the Mauritius, which has a deadly effect upon the consumers in i i i ;ii 54 MADAGASCAR. a very brief space of time. The present Govern- ment has dealt with the matter, however, by putting into force a very stringent code of laws dealing with the whole question. This code makes it penal to sell, or even possess, spirits ; but the evasion of the law is almost universal, in consequence of the difficulty of the native Govern- ment in dealing effectually with the servants and employes of ":X\q European and other settlers at the caj^ital. It is interesting to find that the English, centuries ago even, took great interest in Mada- gascar, and, in fact, talked of settling a colony there as early as the time of Charles II. Some portions of the island are still wofully degraded, and the inhabitants of these remote districts are still sunk in barbarism and ignorance ; but it is right to say always in this connection, that wher- ever the central authority penetrates, then at once a great improvement takes place both in the physical and moral condition of the people. The Antimora and the Tanala inhabiting the country south of the Betsimisaraka and Imerina, the central province, are still far behind the rest of the population. Hova traders have, however, circulated amongst these people ; and when tlie Government is free again to direct its undivided attention to domestic affairs, efforts are to be made to reach the whole length and breadth of I,': I CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS. 00 the land by a judicious system of national edu- cation. The fabulous reports of the existence of rich deposits of mineral wealth, especially in the north-east, have always been a great attraction to the French and others ; and there is a roman- tic tradition extant in the island of a Count Benyowsky, a Polish nobleman, who went, by permission of the authorities at Paris, to form a settlement in north Madao-ascar in 1773. His O history is a remarkable one, and not without pathetic incidents, which reveal something of the true spirit and generosity of Malagasy character. He soon gained the confidence and aifection of the natives by his gentleness, and truth, and evident sincerity. They became most attached to the stranger, whose distinguished presence and noble figure fascinated and charmed them, and they gradually laid hold of the idea that he was the son of one of their most famous but long- buried chiefs. We have no proof of any kind that Benyowsky encouraged this romantic idea, but the superstition grew and gained such hold of the people, that at length they went so far as to determine to offer him the crown of the island in a formal assembly of the people. They there- fore invited him to a kahdnj, or great gathering of the several tribes. When he arrived he found 50,000 people in solemn assembly, who immedi- ately and silently ranged themselves round his ^ I! ' li! W 56 MADAGASCAR. feet, circle by circle ; they fell prostrate before liim, and swore allegiance to him as king of Madagascar ! He consented to become their monarch, and was beginning to draw up a legis- lative code for their better government, when an attack — prompted, doubtless, by jealousy — was made upon his settlement by the French in 1786, and Benyowsky was slain. But his memory is still cherished by the children of those who had sworn fealty tn him, and a cairn of stones, raised by them, still marks the lonely burial-place of this friend of the people. The Kim OS are now extinct, and no traces of them can anywhere be found, although diligent and patient search has been made for any relics of them by modern explorers. They v/ere a community of pigmies, little more than three feet high, and of very amiable disposition, ex- cellent craftsmen, and given to industry. For- mer travellers make frequent allusions to them and their peculiarities ; but they have now passed away, and their existence is only a tradition. The vast number of slaves brought into the island by Arab traders from the African main- land for over two centuries, has given to the population on the west coast an almost African character entirely. The slaves, known familiarly in Madagascar as " Mozambiques," were much in demand for carrying purposes. They were CONQUEST BY THE HOVAS. 57 te before king of ae their ) a legis- wlieu an sy — was in 1786, emory is kvho had !S, raised ■place of traces of diligent ny relics v/ere a m three don, ex- y. For- to them V passed ion. into the n main- to the African ,miliarly •e much ey were faithful, and in spite of their untoward circum- stances, cheerful and industrious. Many of them have risen to high rank in the country by purchasing their own freedom, and making them- selves useful to the Hova Government, and have thus shown again that there is nothing in the natural capabilities of the negro to prevent his becoming, with favourable surroundings and fair opportunities, an intelligent and useful mem- ber of any civilised community. The manumis- sion of all who were either brought into the island, or who could trace their descent from any imported slaves even to the remotest period, was a bold measure on the part of the present Prime Minister, who, in conjunction with the late British Consul, Mr Pakenham, ever a true friend and counsellor to the native authorities, designed and carried out the manumission in the face of great opposition on the part of a consid- erable section of the native nobility. By this stroke of policy, however, the Prime Minister at once secured a new and powerful body of support- ers and devoted adherents, who felt that they could not do less than give in their entire allegi- ance to a man who had dared to free them from the bonds of slavery, and had not even paused to consider the question of compensation to their masters. That the " Mozambique " element in Malagasy I It 58 MADAGASCAR. political life v. ill make itself felt more and more as time passes, there caix be no doubt. It is aggressive, patient, and sagacious, and already possesses wealth and influence, and under these conditions must soon possess a voice in local and domestic matters, which will be certain to be listened to with attention and respect. More than one of these people have already returned to their native country, carrying with them money, new ideas, some education, and a know- ledge of other lands, and of people more ad- vanced than themselves ; and in this — at present slender — current of emigration from Malagasy shores, we see the first signs of that condition of things, upon which we have already touched in these pages, when Madagascar will become the centre from which a well-organised system of commerce, a higher stage of civilisation, and a more extended wave of enlightenment and know- ledge, shall flow over the whole of the African continent. ;; 'I l:.ii an( 59 CHAPTER IV. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, PAST AND PRESENT. Although surrounded by a dense cloud of super- stition and ignorance, there is a marked contrast between the manners and customs of the natives of Madagascar and those of the inhabitants of the neighbouring continent of Africa. There is also an utter absence of those fearful atrocities which formerly were enacted by the barbarous aboriginals of New Zei land and the South Seas ; and there is nothing, nor, as far as can be gathered, has there ever been in the island any- thing approaching the horrors of the holocausts of Dahomey or the " spear-washing " of the Kaffir tribes. Human life has, on the contrary, been always to a great extent respected, and, in the darkest days of heathendom, we only hear of human sacrifices being offered to a very limited extent — by a savage tribe in the south-east corner of the country. The terrible persecutions and wholesale massacres which disgraced the I). I' E II I GO MADAGASCAR. reign of the first Ranavalona, were rather the outcome of violent paroxysms of political fear and religious fanaticism than an expression of the real mind and feeling of the Malagasy as a nation. It is remarkable that — notwithstanding the large area of the island, and the thinness of population, and the very limited communication which is kept up by the inhabitants of one dis- trict with those of other parts of the country — there is . a marked similarity in the habits and manners of the natives. In their domestic architecture, dress, speech, and family arrangements they differ very slightly; and this fact has been made the most of by those who' hold that originally these people all came from one common stock. Infanticide prevailed to a large extent years ago, and even now the dread custom lingers in some remote places ; but the crime is heavily punished wherever the perpetrators can be brought to justice. The superstition of lucky and unlucky days prevailed throughout all the tribes, and the unfortunate infants who came into the world on any of those days were immediately destroyed. The fearful trial by poison ordeal, or administration of the tanr/ena, was perhaps the most cruel and revolt- ing practice with which the Malagasy, however, could be charged. The test was administered to prisoners accused of capital crimes, by command li MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 61 ther the ;ical fear sssion of ^asy as a istanding inness of iinication one dis- ountry — ibits and 5, speech, slightly; by those all came prevailed now the ices ; but ever the 3e. The prevailed fortunate ■ of those le fearful )n of the id revolt- however, istered to command of the sovereign or the judges of the native courts. The tangena nut, which, although a deadly poison, only produces sickness if given in small quantities, was used for the purpose. The nut, or a portion of it, was inserted in the fruit of the banana, and thus swallowed by the wretched criminal. If retained by the stomach, a terrible and rapid death ensued, and the victim of the tangena was pronounced to have been guilty of the crime of which he had been charged. If, however, the poison was ejected by sickness, the sentence of not guilty was awarded. Persons who were in danger of this trial by ordeal, were often induced by their friends to drink large quantities of cold water ; and this, it is said, pre- vented the poison from acting deleteriously in any way, as it invariably produced nausea and the rejection of the deadly nut. A pleasing feature of Malagasy life is the studied courtesy and hospitality shown to strangers. Throughout the island, and even in the most uncivilised parts, the duty of kindness and hospitality to strangers and friends alike is considered of the first importance. In journey- ing from one village to another, the traveller may always feel sure of a ready welcome and an ample meal. Each town, however obscure and unimportant, contains a good house, which is called the Queen's house, and which is always k' r G2 MADAGASCAR. h 1 fr i' placed at the disposal of passers-by for their use and eujoyment, free of any charge, by command of the central Government. This house is kept •lean and in good repair by the chief man of the vtiJi^ge, and this duty is part of ihafanampoana or personal service rendered to the State in lieu of direct taxes. The ceremony of the fanange- nana, or covenant of blood, as practised by the Malagasy, is peculiar. It prevails to a consider- able extent even now amongst the Sea Dyaks of Borneo, and consists of a solemn vow of eternal friendship and mutual obligation, sealed by the act of solemnly partaking of each other's blood by the two contracting parties — by which act they become brothers or members of the same family. A small puncture is made in the breast, in the region of the heart, and the smallest quantity of blood possible suffices for the cere- mony. But its effect is binding and life-long, and its obligations are always observed by the Malagasy with the most profound respect and care. The betrothal of children prevails here as in India and elsewhere in the East, and they are often engaged long before they can understand the nature of their engagement, such arrange- ments being made by the parents for family reasons, and for the purpose of keeping together the possessions of the tribe. 7i.'he Malagasy are MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 63 heir use )mmand is kept 11 of the mpoana 2 in lieu anange- . by the onsider- )yaks of f eternal by the s blood liich act he same e breast, smallest the cere- life-long, 1 by the Dect and sre as in they are derstand arrange- r family together igasy are much given to festivity, and the betrothal of a daughter is always the occasion for a great dis- play of good-nature and friendliness on the part of the parents. A dowry invariably accompanies the bride whatever her circumstances may be, but this has to be returned to her ' arents again in the event of a divorce being obtu.'ne ' in after- years. In Madagascar the woi. an is always regarded as the helpmate of the man ; but she receive* much honour and atten^.on, and her position in the household is ertain, and her influence, as amongst European nations, often very considerable. The royal dignity is not confined to one sex, and the fact that the present sovereign is the fourth woman who has occupied the throne, shows how Malagasy women are regarded, and contrasts most favourably with the condition of miserable drudgery and abject slavery which is their lot in most barbarous and even semi-civilised countries. She is not scorned as essentially inferior to man, and therefore unfit to share his counsels or re- sponsibilities, as is the case in the East generally; but she enters into her husband's cares and joys, and shares his life, in fact, much in the same way that a wife does amongst us. Divorce is much too frequent, and is too freely granted, upon any pretext almost, and upon the most trivial grounds; but the change of public opinion of late years, C4 MADAGASCAK. 1^ f with the gradual growth of knowledge, and the customs of other nations, have already had con- siderable effect in this matter, and will ultimately, it is hoped, reduce the evil within very small limits. As in India, the marriage of persons of different rank has always been contrary to the national idea and feeling. For instance, the anch'tana or noble, however poor, must only marry a member of the same cLan, and a Hova must only unite with a Hova, or the citizen with a person of the same class, and so on. A free- man must not espouse a slave- woman ; or if he does so, he is bound to redeem her, and make her his equal in social position. If afterwards judi- cially parted from her husband, she retains this freedom. In this, as in several other customs, as will be shown, the Malagasy resemble the Jews. Marriages take place at a very early age, fre- quently soon after twelve. These people do not as a rule have large families, and a considerable portion are childless. Children are therefore much prized by the Malagasy. The native mother carries her infant upon her back, and not in her arms, as elsewhere ; and there is a very pleasant usage amongst the grown-up sons and daughters, who gather together from different parts of the country at each New Year, to visit their homes and parents, and to present the mother with a small gift called /o/b?i domdsina — MANNERS AND t'L'STUMS. 65 nd the id con- mately, J small sons of to the ice, the 3t only a Hova ;en with A free- or if he lake her ds judi- lins this toms, as le Jews. ige, fre- c do not siderable therefore e native , and not s a very sons and different , to visit jsent the mosina — fragrance of the buck — in remembrance of their infancy, and the trouble and anxiety she then underwent on their account. To a very limited extent indeed, and chiefly in the more distant parts of the island, polygamy still exists. It is but fair to the central Government to say, how- ever, that every discouragement is show towards this mode of life, especially amongst all persons holding any official position. The custom of the son taking over the wives of his father, on suc- ceeding to the headship of the family, is now entirely abolished. Although considerably modi- fied of late years, there is yet room for much improvement in the enactments of the law of divorce. One of its most cruel features as it now stands is that a man can, under certain circum- stances, so divorce his wife that she is unable ever to marry again. The practice of adopting children is frequent, in consequence of so many marriages being fruitless. Family names are unknown in Madagascar, and persons are usually known as the "son of" or "father of" others. For instance, the present prime minister is called " Rainilaiarivony," which, however, only means the father of " Laiarivony," *' Rain " signifying father, the remainder of the word being the name of his first-born. The names of animals are often given to the children of even the best families ; and we meet with " Mamba," the crocodile — E G6 MADAGASCAR. ' IE! I I "Voaliivo," the nit — " Totosy," the mouse — " Omby," the ox, — and so on. Of hite years, however, an improvement has taken phice in the matter of personal nomenchitiire, and the names of Mary, David, John, Caleb, Henry, &c., with the native " Ea " as a prefix, testify to the im- proved taste of the JNIalagasy in naming their ehildren. The houses of the ]\Ialagasy are by no nieans the miserable, comfortless huts persons might imagine them to be. As a rule, they are built only of leaves and the branches of the rojia })alm, and the walls and roof fastened together by thongs formed of the twisted tendrils of some forest creeper ; but they are very cosy and com- fortable, and in Imurina the wood dwellings are even substantial, with two storeys, and a sleeping- chamber in the roof. It is only lately that houses built of dried clay, brick, or stone have been allowed in the capital and the chief towns of Imurina. The palaces formerly were constructed of a kind of teak of great hardness and durability. On the coast the ribs of the nyfia palm and its leaves afford all the material necessary for the erection of a suitable and commodious dwelling. No chairs or tables are used, but the inmates usually sit and partake of their meals upon the floor, which is first cleanly swept, and then covered with finely woven rush-mats. No knives MANNEllS AND CUSTOMS. G7 )U80 yciirs, in the names :., with ;he im- o; their means might •e built e I'ojia oirether of some d coin- ncs are eepiug- houses '■e been )wns of tructed ability. and its for the ^veiling, inmates Don the d then knives or spoons are employed, but a kind of cup, twisted deftly out of a piece of green leaf, serves all the purposes of these articles of domestic comfort in use amongst ourselves. The smoke finds vent through the door or windows, and in course of years the roof becomes festooned with spiders' webs and soot, which are never on any account disturbed. These are regarded by the natives as marks of honour, as they are supposed to show the age of the family, and the number of years the particular dwelling has been occupied by themselves and their ancestors. The progress of time is reckoned by the age and phases of the moon ; and the ]\lalagasy have a very ingenious plan for marking the various periods of the day fi'om sunrise to sunset, by pointing the finger to different elevations of the sky, which mark the stages of the sun's progress. For instance, if they Avish to speak of noon, they raise the finger verti- cally overhead ; if of evening, they point low down to the western horizon, as the spot where, as they express it, the sun dies. If afternoon is meant, they take a point midway between these ; and the clear blue sky, which is seldom altogether clouded, makes it possible to follow this system with tolerable accuracy. The natives are very early risers, and they are astir and commencing their daily employment soon after " cock-crow " in the morning. This is about four o'clock, or 68 MADAGASCAE. m even earlier ; and the crowing cock is an invari- able adjunct to a Malagasy family, being accom- modated with a perch inside the house, or on the rafters just above the sleeping-place of the head of the family. The intense heat in the middle of the day necessitates these early habits. From eleven o'clock to three in the day all activity ceases, and all who can do so retreat to the shade of their houses for refreshment and rest. Strangers on their first visit to Madaojascar will possibly be startled occasionally by the spectacle of some miserable-looking and poorly clad wretch hobbling along through the streets, with iron shackles about his ankles, and attached to a roughly fashioned iron girdle, which galls the flesh tfmbly at times, and is riveted about his waist. This is one of the convicted felons. The tottering wretch is generally carrying a bundle of firewood or perhaps merchandise upon his shoulders, and is altogether one of the most repulsive sights to be witnessed either in Mada- gascar or in the world, in these days of advance in social science and in the methods of treatment of the poor and the degraded residuum of society. The more humane treatment of its criminal classes is a point we would in all friendliness press upon the Hova Government, as well for the sake of the community at large as the prisoners themselves ; I MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 69 and surely the missionaries and apostles of hu- manity who have influence at the capital, might find in this work a most congenial and useful field for the exercise of their religious and phil- anthropic zeal. So far as we know, there is no mission as yet organised to the pruoners of Madagascar; but we venture to think that such an eftbrt, carried out by even one zealous and single - hearted man, with the spirit of John Howard in his breast, would be most useful, and would be gladly welcomed by the degraded outcasts, who in many cases stand sadly in need of true sympathy and tender treatment. In one respect the convict system of the island differs from any probably which prevails elsewhere, in the amount of liberty allowed to the prisoner. The Government only provides a sleeping-place for the convicts to herd in at nightfall. After conviction they are shackled by the public execu- tioner, as we have described, and assigned to the charge of some prison-keeper. They then pro- ceed to find employment in the ordinary way, as they have to provide their own food and raiment, and support their own families as usual; but each night at sunset they have to return to the fixed location or prison to which they have been assigned, and report themselves to the officer in charge. Some few of the con- victs, however, who have friends in high places. 70 MADAGASCAR. and are under life sentences, obtain, through monetary or personal influence, a considerable relaxation of the rules of even this very modified criminal code, and are allowed to live in a house apart from the common prison, with their wives and slaves and families, and to carry on trades, or engage in agricultural pursuits. But the con- dition of the poorer prisoners, who happen to be friendless and without means, and who have in consequence to use the prison, and live as best they can, is deplorable in the extreme. They are often desperate characters, and victims of intoxication ; and being neglected by all classes, they become reckless and daring, and sometimes take advantage of the mistaken leniency of the Government to remove their chains, and flee to the forest fastnesses, where they form them- selves into bands, and prey upon any travellers or bearers of merchandise who may fall in their way, But as the punishment for this crime of breaking prison is death, and the chances of ultimate escape exceedingly precarious, these cases are rare. The manners of the Malagasy deserve commen- dation. Like the ratives of our Indian empire, the native of Madagascar is always reserved, courteous, and ex " lii'^gly well-behaved. The coast tribes are perhaps less dignified than the Ilovas, and are more remarkable for their hilarity MAXyERS AND CUSTOMS. 71 and good-nature ; but the entire population may be described as shovvino; what we in Endand would call the points of good-breeding ; and even the most ragged and tattered slave pos- sesses a natural diL;uity and case of manner, which contrasts favourably with the rude con- duct and boorish manners of the lower class at home. No one would think of passing another upon the road without saying, " Allow me to pass, sir;" to which the usual reply is, "Pray proceed, sir." Then follow a number of in- quiries : " IIow are you?" "How is it with you?" &c. ; "May you #«ach the end of your journey safely and happil}'." &e. ; and finally, the expression ''Veloma" — "Fare you well" — and " May you live to a good old age," conclude the greetings. The people are very temperate in tiioir hab- ''s, except where they have come into con- tact with Europeans and Creoles ; and their food is principally rice and manioc root, with boiled herbs, or fowl and beef cooked with the rice. Large quantities of gold and silver fish are caught in the streams near the capital, and are sold in the markets for food ; but they, strange to say, are not appreciated, as they pos- sess a muddy, insipid flavour. Tropical fruits and vegetables of all kinds abound. The poor people sometimes eat a small species of the locust, •«a»^- 72 MADAGASCAR. i; h^ which they catch with their hands, and roast, after blowing away the wings and legs. There is no coinage in the country ; but the currency consists of pieces of American and French dollars, cut up and weighed in tiny scales, a pair of which every person carries with him. The smallest weight represents the money value of one-twentieth of an English halfpenny. The people are very careful in the use of these scales, and sometimes will waste half an hour in arrang- ino: a baroain and Avei^liinof out the value of the purchase, which may be only a voamcna, or two- pence of our money. The Malagasy are thrifty, self - denying, and siven to amassinc; wealth, whicli often is hid- den, on account of the grasping character of the central ;, oi. lorities till very lately, who were credited, auvJ \^'ith some show of reason, with the detestable practice of fabricating charges against their wealthy subjects in order to squeeze their possessions from them in the shape of exor- bitant and incessant fines. Justice, till the rise of the present prime minister, was bought and sold ; and the poorest litigant almost always lost his cause. Bribery and false swearing prevailed to a terrible extent ; and even now, we may say with abundant truth, that the fountain of justice is not always pure. Lying is a popular weak- ness amongst the Malas^asv, and is too often \f \ ^:^-'^ .*" MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. rs :h roast, )ut the Hn and scales, him. y value The scales, arraug- ' of tlie or two- ig, and is hid- icter of ho were n, with charges squeeze of exor- the rise 5'ht and ays lost re vailed imy say ' justice r weak- often \ i indulged in on the side of the strong against the feeble — their natural sagacity and fear lead- ing them to ally themselves rather with the powers that be, or are likely to be, than with the power that was, and i^ not likely to be able to reassert itself; and this without any regard as to the abstract riijht or wronij of th.e matter about which they take sides. But in this unenviable weakness of the national character of the Mala- gasy they resemble closely all the Eastern na- tions, — the duplicity and cunning which their best friends have to deplore in them being the natural result of centuries of superstition, ignorance, and submission to the rule of tyrannical despots, with whom the spy system has always been a necessity, and who have thus become responsible for the moral degradation which foUows inevitably upon a common disregard for the principles of truth and honour. As the Government, however, has strengthened itself in Madagascar, and has given greater protection and security to property and life, this vice of prevarication and want of ver- acity has become weaker ; and there are hopeful signs on all sides, and among all classes, that truth is being more respected for its own sake, and that the people begin to appreciate the real power and stit-ngth and comfort which a mutual confidence in each other engenders. It may be remarked that in the matter of dress tii I! I f 74 MADAGASCAR. not much is really required, as the climate is warm, and in some districts extremely hot. One large flowing robe, about the size of a counter- pane, and made either of cotton or a coarse kind of hemp, which is formed from the fibres of the rojia palm, is, as a rule, all that the men wear, with the exception of a long full girdle of the same material. The women have a skirt, and sometimes neat bodice, in addition to the all- prevailing lamha, which is the national dress of the people, and is worn by all sections of the community, varying only in the costliness of the material and he fineness of the manufacture. The cloth is worn very gracefully at all times, and it is put on in many different fashions, to suit particular occasions and places. The upper classes are gradually tid opting the European style of dress, witli long hats, and even dress-coats for State occasions : but this is much to be regretted, at least on the ground of effect, as the lamha of the jMnlagasy is a most artistic and becoming article of attire, and, when properly put on, is very striking and picturesque. The amusements of the Malagasy are very simple in character, and few in number. They have iio sports in any way resembling the ath- letic exercises of Europeans ; and they seem to prefer sitting at their doors, or in some [)ublic place, hearing or telling some new thing. k MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. v75 IS to expending their energies, or bracing their somewhat attenuated limbs by strong healthy- recreation. Formerly they indulged in the pleas- ures of the chase to a limited extent ; and Radama I. was fond of boar-hunting ; but the only prevailing diversion appears to be what is called mamcly-diamdnga, and simply consists in kicking at an antagonist backwards, like a mule or horse. A game much resembling: draughts is a common recreation amongst the Betsimisaraka. It is played with stones or beans, on a board, or piece of smooth stone or clay, having thirty-two divisions or holes. The Malagasy are very musical, and singing is a favourite pastime with them everywhere : their idea of harmony is almost perfect ; and the wild and often plaintive beauty of their improvised melodies is most affecting. The only instrument they possess is the ra.Wia, or native harp. They read music very readily : the tonic sol-fa system seems to be most preferred ; and there are some large classes, consisting of hundreds of members, ahvays in full practice at Antananarivo and the larger centres. The practice of circumcision is universal, and is carried out in its details with great care and festivity, and is another sign of the Asiatic origin of these people. It is, however, a social rather than a religious ceremony amongst the Malagasy, \ 7G. MADAGASCAR. i 5Ui and is commendable at least on sanitary grounds. The " covenant of blood," already described, is also doubtless of Asiatic origin ; at least its existence cannot be traced elsewhere than in Madagascar and Polynesia. The institution of ** taboo " exists extensively amongst the Malagasy under the name of fach/, and each family has its own particular articles of diet and places of resort which are fady, or not to be touched or visited on penalty of death or destruction by some dire calamity. These things were originally forbidden the head of the tribe or clan by the idol-keepers or mjxinao ody, witch-doctors, and they have ever since been avoided by their descendants. What is fadij to one family, however, may be quite harmless and even necessary to others. For instance, manioc is tabooed to one clan, beef to another, and to another the use of the foreign or imported articles — and so on. Tobacco is G;rown and used in the island, in the shape of snuff, which is placed in the mouth under the tongue, and not in the nose, as with Europeans. The powder, after being retained a few minutes, is ejected, and a fresh supply taken. The subject of domestic slavery cannot be overlooked in treating of the customs of these people. The system pre-vails throughout the island, and was not affected in any degree by 1 1 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 77 rounds. ibed, is ast its lian in 3nsively f fady, articles mly, or )f death These of the ao ody, 3e been |is fady larmless nstance, another, iiported nd used hich is aid not powder, ted, and mot be 3f these 3ut the :;Tee by the generous manumission of all slaves of Mo- zambique origin, which took place a few years ago. A great propo'tion of the whole population of over 4,000,000 are slaves. But the slavery of Madagascar is not to be compared with that of the West Indies or America in years past. The domestic slaves are not torn from other lands l)y violence, and imported into the markets of the island. They are born on the soil, and now have rights and privileges secured them by legal enact- ments. The slave is treated often with the greatest kindness, confidence, and respect, and is regarded as a member of his master's family ; he is, moreover, allowed to follow his own inclina- tions, and even to go away for long periods to seek employment in distant parts of the island, provided always that he remits a portion of his earnino-s at resfular intervals to his master. A man may be sold into bondage by his creditors, with his wife and children, or he may be enslaved with his family for some political oflences. But the laws and regulations with reference to this im- portant part of the community have been amended frequently in the direction of mercy and justice during the past few years, and the position and prospects of the slaves, as well as their general treatment, have considerably improved. This improvement will, in the natural order of things, continue doubtless till the whole population is MADAGASCAR. il! : i free and slavery entirely abolished. A alave may now redeem himself or his friends by a money payment, and the master is bound to accept a reasonable oft'er from the man himself for his own or his wife or child's redemption. Some interesting particulars as to the condi- tion of slaves in Madagascar in 1702 may be gleaned from the life of Robert Drury, an English lad, son of a London tavern-keeper. The boy ran away from home, and joined an East India- man, which was afterwards wrecked upon the south-east coast of that island. Drury was en- slaved by the natives, who kept him in bondage for many years. He at length, however, effected his escape, and was taken off the island by a friendly vessel ; but, as is too often the case, his own bitter experience of the miseries of slavery did not seem to develop in him any feelings of commiseration for the sorrows of others, for we find that he afterwards returned to the coast of Madagascar as a slave-dealer himself. 79 jiiglish CHAPTER V. RITES AND CEREMONIES, CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS. Ill cles(,'ril)ing the rites ami ceremonies, civil and religious, peculiar to Madagascar, we Lave, in the first place, to consider the Jan>' c%i^.'>'' ^^ 7 >^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 872-4503 iV \ N? \ \ ^<^ V \ 80 MADAGASCAR. I 1^ If persons at this time to pay a visit of ceremony to parents, superiors, and the palace of the sov- ereign, with some kind of present, varying in value according to the social status of the giver. Vast herds of fat oxen are slaughtered in and about the capital at this time, and slaves are s: in all directions bearing huge seen passiUjjj masses of beef, as presents of the fandroana, from the palace to the strangers and other residents in the city or suburbs. The scene on the first day of the festival is most imposing. Representatives of all the various tribes and families of the people, arrayed in holiday lambas, robes of coloured stripes, and often of silk or other rich material, assemble and proceed in procession to the rdra, or palace, and present hdsina, as a sign of subjection and submission to the central authority. This hdsina is always presented in interviews with th ; jrovernment, and generally consists of a new silver dollar or gold piece, which is received and acknowledged by one of the officers in attendance on behalf of her Majesty. Foreigners, as well as natives, follow this custom of presenting hdsina as a recognition of the sover- eignty and protection of the Hova Government. On the first day of the fandroana (1864), when the deputies of the people arrived at the palace, her Majesty Ranavalona XL, the late Queen, was seen occupying her usual place on the balcony at KITES AND CEREMONIES. 81 the end of the palace, with the sign of royalty, the red umbrella, extended over her. As the fandrOana is a peculiarly Malagasy commemora- tion, it is always directed that everything Euro- pean should be put aside, and that nothing but native customs and attire should be adopted. The Queen on this occasion wore a native robe of great beauty and simplicity, white, with the royal fringe all around it. Sitting there in state, surrounded by her oflficers and chief ministers, she received the homage of her people, who crowded the courtyard below the balcony, with their presents of rice, honey, nuts, offerings of money, and immense bundles of firewood. The latter is a sensible provisior. for the enormous amount of extra cooking which is done at the fandroana. On the eve of the great day of the feast, just before sunset, a small fire of dry grass is lighted in every courtyard, and the boys fasten torches of dry grass to long sticks, and perambu- late the streets of the city with them. Tlie efi'ect is very pretty when viewed from the higher points of the capital. These fires are apparently a relict of some system of fire-worship, which originated in Eastern Asia, and is still practised by the Parsees. This is the real commencement of the new year ; and amid the firing of cannon and the congratulations of the people, the Queen appears 82 MADAGASCAK. : f again upon the balcony of her palace, and cries to her people, " Samba, samba, no tratra harfva, tadna 1 " (" We have reached the eve of the new year, happy ! happy 1 ") — to which her subjects reply by shouts of " Trarantitra 1 " (" May you reach a good old age ! ") The Queen then passes along the balcony, and from a horn in her hand sprinkles the crowd, which sprinkling is said to typify an abundance of rain during the coming year. There is much that is Jewish in their observance of this season, and it is evident that many of the ceremonies are derived, if not from Jewish sources, at least from traditions of a very remote antiquity. It may be interesting in this connection to say that there is a tribe in the south, which was visited some years ago for the first time, who are called in Malagasy, " Zanaka- Ibraim" (Sons of Abraham). Many of their words are Hebrew Malagasy, and they also use some of the Hebrew letters in their writings, and retain many Jewish traditions amongst them +o this day. The fact, however, that they have retained their name unchanged, is perhaps the most remarkable, as that evidently points to an origin neither Polynesian nor African, but most probably Arabian or Abyssinian. The sprinkling of blood upon the door-posts and lintel of the houses, and, in some cases, suspending a rush or bunch of grass dipped in blood over tie entrance RITES AND CEREMONIES. 83 P A — an observance now almost discontinued — has also a striking resemblance to the great act of the Jewish Passover. The festival of the fandrdana used to be marked by great licentiousness ; but in this, as so many other matters, there has been a great change in the direction of civilisation and propriety. Perhaps one of the most distressing sights in the island is the number of lepers upon the road from the capital to the country residence of the Queen at Ambohimanga. These miserable creatures dwell by themselves in villages of wretched huts away from the Hova towns, and they subsist by begging from the passers-by. They are not allowed to approach thr ^lanjdna, but they place small baskets by the wayside, into which the traveller casts money or food, and these are removed by the unhappy victims of disease after the donors have passed on. The Malagasy entertain great respect for their dead. They also seem to fear them to a consid- erable extent ; and a great deal of their wealth is often expended, in the case of sickness or trouble befalling themselves or their families, in sacrificing oxen at the tombs of their ancestors, to propitiate them and appease their wrath, as they consider any calamity a sure sign of the displeasure of their forefathers. As with the Jews, an idea of uncleanness is connected with the dead ; and it is 84 MADAGASCAR. I I ■ li 111 IH Kf fi unlawful for any one who has been near a corpse to enter a royal palace or to approach the presence for at least a month. The ruling idea of the M.vlagasy is that the angatra, or spirits of the departed, still have power in the affairs of the world and everyday life ; and their religious system seems built up in great measure upon this central article of belief. Their view of God is indefinite and vague, and partakes more of the nature of an opinion than a belief, God being to them more a principle than a person perhaps. The spirits of the dead are supposed still to hover about the tombs, and even to revisit their former homes ; and it is customary in great floods or downpours of rain for the people to beat the sides of their houses with great violence, to drive away, as they say, the angatra or spirits who may be seeking to re-enter and shelter themselves beneath the ancestral roof. They do not appear to have any very definite idea of future rewards and punish- ments, and there is no national religious idea prevalent amongst the people, but each family appears to have its own peculiar form of belief and set of idols or sampys. These, however, are not worshipped as having power in themselves, but are regarded as charms to defend the home or wearer from evil, and are venerated as having been so used by the family for many genorations. The first duty of a Malagasy is to be on good EITES AND CEREMONIES. 85 terms with his departed kinsfolk, and it is no uncommon thing to find a native laying out more money upon his family tomb than upon his own house. In some parts of the country the head- stones are carefully wrapped year by year with new lambas and anointed with oil, and invoca- tions made by the whole assembled clan to the departed. As soon as a man takes to himself a wife, he sets about preparing his tomb, which often occupies him for years. It is usual to bury with the body any articles which may happen to have been particularly valued by the deceased during his lifetime, and clothes, watches, ac- cordions, books, and pictures are often placed upon the coffin before closing the vault. Above the royal tombs a small chamber is erected, and always kept in perfect order, and furnished with a table, chair, and vessels containing rice, beef, and wine. These are replenished at intervals by slaves whose duty it is to attend to these matters. These provisions are thus arranged in readiness for the refreshment of the spirit of the dead monarch, which is supposed at intervals to seek rest and refreshments in this chamber. Years ago it was the custom, on the death of a chief, to keep the corpse unburied for sometimes thirty days, or as long as the relatives could afford to sustain the funeral ceremonies. The body was then wrapped in numerous folds of silk or cotton 86 MADAGASCAR. mi Ml lamha, and placed in the fasana, which on the coost consists of a hollowed tree. The coffin is then conveyed to the forest with shoutings and tumult, and placed beside the remains of the deceased relatives upon the ground. No grave is dug, but a fence of stakes is erected around the spot to preserve the remains from the attacks of wild animals. In the central province the tombs are of stone, and more elaborately prepared and garnished. Upon the death of a sovereign the whole nation goes into mourning, and every person has to shave his head and uncover the shoulders, and wear a blue or dark-purple lamha for a long period. The people are expected to assume a dejected appearance, and to meet daily at the house of the chief man in every village and town throughout the islaad to bewail for a stated time the departure of their king or queen. Upon the decease of a man of wealth, all his slaves repair to the courtyard of his residence and wail for hours, with streaming eyes and flowing hair, uttering most melancholy cries, expressive of bereavement and despair. At a given signal these cries are hushed, and are quickly succeeded by shouts of laughter and glee, as all prepare to partake of the funeral feast. The serpent is honoured by the people in some parts of the island with a superstitious _-i RITES AND CEREMONIES. 87 « awe, founded upon the extraordinary belief that the spirits of their fathers often inhabit the forms of the reptiles aftei they leave the body. This horrible idea is very strong amongst the Bet- sildo; and not many years ago a T^^- n priest, in the excess of his zeal, and to show the people, as he thought, tho. folly of this idea, visited a house in which a large serpent fiom a neighbour- ing forest was a daily and a welcome guest. The creature used to come to the door of the dwelling at regular periods of the day and re- ceive its mjai of milk. It was addressed by the family it visited by name, and, in fact, treated as one of themselves. The good priest presented himself at the house one day just as the serpent was creeping up to the door. Seeing the infatu- ation of the people,, he seized a stout club and struck the hidcca' beast a deadly blow. The whole country rose against him, however, and he had to flee for his life. Many of the Betsil^o families have small enclosures near their dwel- lings, where they maintain numbers of these reptiles, and regard them "till as being in a w^ay family connections. The natives are very reticent as to the prac- tices of the country in former years, and it is exceedingly difficult to get at the facts with regard to the idols which were pablicly de- stroyed in 1869 by royal decree. Thesse people 88 MADAGASCAR. jl I il il were never idolaters, probably, in the sense in which the term is applied to the Hindoos or the Chinese. There is an absence throughout the land of temples dedicated to idol-worship, or of signs and marks of the prevalence of outward superstitious observances upon a large scale. Their idols, so called, were not images ; they had no organised worship, no definite ritual, no settled priesthood. There were no pilgrimages, penances, self-mortifications, or costly sacrifices. There were ten or twelve principal idols held in respect by the Hovas and the people of the central provinces, and of these, three were re- garded as chief. One, Kelimaluza, was con- sidered the guardian of royalty ; then came Ramahavaly, the benefactor of the sick ; and Rafantaka, the special protector of the royal palaces and family. As to the forms of these idols it is difticult to speak, as they were never exhibited in public, but when carried out were always covered with a red cloth, and it was con- sidered wrong even for the people to look at this. It is believed, however, that some of the idols had some rude resemblance to the human form. They were of no great size, and were kept in boxes of about a foot long, which were placed in the houses set apart for the idols. It is supposed that one of the gods was an insect of some kind, or an imitation of one, and another It RITES AND CEREMONIES. 89 was said to be a meteoric stone. Whenever brought out in public the idols were fixed to the top of a long pole, and carried beneath a cover- ing of velvet. These coverings were often orna- mented with silver chains and objects in the shape of crocodiles' teeth. As the idol passed along, the people stood by the roadside with bared heads, in an attitude of respect. An eye- witness of one of these processions says ; " In the latter part of the way I was behind the idols, and at one time quite surrounded by them. They were about thirteen in number, and were carried on tall slender poles, about ten feet high. There was in most of them little resemblance to anything in heaven or In earth ; dirty pieces of silver chain, silver balis, from the size of a marble to that of a hen's egg, pieces of coral or bone, or silver ornaments, intended to represent sharks' teeth, with narrow strips of cloth, one or two feet long ; some of them half concealed under what might have been a cap of liberty or an old red night-cap, and others tied up in a bag of native cloth or small rush - basket. Such were the objects on which the security and pros- perity of the nation was formerly supposed to depend." These are now, however, numbered amongst the things of the past. An attempt by the keepers of these objects of superstition to assert 7' 90 MADAGASCAR. ft ■ III i ( their authority at the palace durinfr the raging of an epidemic brought about their final destruc- tion. Whilst the keepers were kept at the palace, whither they had gone to present their complaints in person of the growing neglect of the ancient deities, the prime minister ordered certain officers to ride off to the villages round the capital, where the idols were kept, and de- stroy them by burning. This was done, and on the return of their keepers they found no vestige of either idol or house remaining. Experience teaches that ancient superstitions die hard, and there are frequent instances of this in Madagas- car, as in distant parts of the island and in obscure corners of it there are yet to be seen the lingering remains of these old systems of belief. But, with the progress of education and the influence of European example and intercourse with other nations, the death-blow has been given to idolatry in Madagascar. Upon the west coast, amongst the Sakalava, a Mohammedan propaganda has been at work for some years, and with a considerable amount of success. Numbers of the Malagasy have adopt- ed the faith of the prophet of Mecca, and there are several mosques in the large towns. This singular circumstance is worthy of note, in that it is almost the only instance in these days in which Mohammedanism comes before the world c i V a RITES AND CEREMONIES. 91 as an aggressive system. The influence of tlie Arabs has always been extensive, however, on the west, and to this it is probably due that the people have embraced the faith of Mohammed in considerable numbers. In the early days of Radama I., the Arab influence at the capital was very considerable ; and when Europeans first arrived in 1818, they found that several of the Malagasy had already learned Arabic, and Radama I. had some idea of making that lan- guage the medium of communication between his people and the outer world beyond the seas. Thus by the timely arrival of the English arti- sans and teachers with the first English consul, at that period Madagascar was in all probability saved from becoming a Mohammedan power. In February 18G3, a remarkable mania broke oiit in the south-west of the island, called the imanenjdna, or dancing mania. It gradually approached Antananarivo, and in March of the same year it became quite common. A kind of infection for dancing seized the people, and this spread to the remotest villages, and even to solitary cottages in the most out-of-the-way places in Imerina, to which province, however, it was confined. The public mind was greatly excited at the time by the acts of Radama II., who had placed himself and the country almost altogether in the hands of the French. A strong 92 MADAGASCAR. anti-Christian and anti-foreign feeling had arisen, and this strange epidemic was looked upon by the native Christians as a kind of demoniacal possession. The lower classes were chiefly, but not solely, affected by it, and the great majority of victims were young women. There were, however, many men amongst the dancers, but mostly of the lower orders of society. Scarcely any of the native Christians came under its influence — no doubt, partly because the general spirit of unrest and dissatifef action and fear did not disturb them so much. The tombs or sacred places were favourite resorts of the dancers, who kept their bodies in motion for hours, to the music of a low monotonous cliant. Sometimes grear. excitement and muscular agi- tation accompanied the exercises, leaving the patient afterwards exhausted for days, and in some cases permanently prostrated. This dis- ease, known as choreomania, is familiar to physiciars, and is the result of pent-up passion and excitement. The child-pilgrimages of che thirteenth century in Europe, towards the end, began to assuur: some of the characteristics of choreomania, and the visitation may always be connected with the disturbance of national pre- judices — political or religious. Few really fatal cases resulted, however. It is possible, and indeed it is allowed by an eyewitne.-i of the RITES AND CEREMONIES. 93 [ arisen, pon by Loniacal Hy, but lajority 3 were, jrs, but scarcely der its general ad fear tombs of the ion for i ciiant. lar agi- Lng the and in his dis- iliar to passion of the he end, istics of vays be nal pre- lly fatal le, and of the whole progress of this strange epidemic in Im^rina, that a certain amount of imposture was practised. But the eminent physician who supplied the facts upon which these references are based, and who had to deal practically with the suflferers from the mania, maintains that there could be no question as to the serious reality of the whole phenomenon. 94 CHAPTER VI. A CANOE VOYAGE ALONG THE EAST COAST LAKES. The entire absence of roads in Madagascar makes travelling a matter often of danger, but always one of inconvenience and difficulty, especially to Europeans. The native Govern- ment have neglected to open up, or in any way provide means of access to the interior, as they consider that to facilitate the admission of large numbers of foreigners to the seat of power would prepare the way for aggression and ultimate conquest of their island. The inhabitants are very tenacious of their right to be considered the supreme and sole possessors of the whole of Madagascar ; and they have again and again repeated of late their determination to submit to any privations or suffering rather than yield up one foot of territory to the French or any other nation. There are two means by which persons or merchandise can be conveyed in Madagascar — A CANOE VOYAGE. 95 viz., the canoe or lakana, and the Jilanjdna or palanquin. Walking for any distance is almost impos- sible to foreigners, on account of the intricacy of the paths, which wind in and out through the forests, across the beds of rivers and mountain torrents, and along the sea-shores — and also on account of the extreme heat of the climate in the lowlands. The Jilanjcina is the more pleas- ant vehicle, and consists of a chair slung be- tween two stout poles about eight feet long, and carried by four sinewy horazana, or bearers. Each jilanjdna generally has two sets of bearers, and they pass it from one to the other at inter- vals of about ten minutes. They keep up a good swinging pace for hours, and seldom seem much fatigued, even after a journey of thirty miles. The lakana, or canoe, is a heavy " dug- out," and is not so agreeable, on account of its narrowness and slowness of motion. These are, however, the sole means of transit which are available for the natives of the east coast for the navigation and passage of their beautiful lakes, which reach from Tamatave to a distance of about 300 miles south of Andevoranto, the ancient capital of the coast tribe, which stands at the mouth of the noble Iharoka, one of the largest and most important rivers on the coast, and along which all the traffic has to pass from 'a, t . 96 MADAGASCAR. 1^ i : i Tamatave and abroad to the capital. This chain of lakes is one of the most peculiar and interest- ing physical features of the island, as they follow from end to end the line of the sea-shore ; and whilst at some points they are four or five miles distant from the coast, at others only a few feet of sand separates their waters from those of the Indian Ocean. The lakes ha^'e not, however, an uninterrupted course, and stretches of land intervene, varying from a mile to a hundred yards across. Over these the lakana has to be carried, and this frequent change from the Jilan- jdna to the boat makes this mode of travelling tedious at times, especially in the wet season. It was one of the great schemes of Eadama I. to dig through these obstacles, and thus complete an uninterrupted communication ; and he vis- ited the coast in person at the head of a vast concourse of people to carry out the work. Crowds of natives from all parts assembled in obedience to his command — each furnished with a considerable store of provisions, and the rude implements used by these people for agricultural purposes. He directed that no one should be permitted to return home or leave the locality on any pretence till the projected cuttings were finished. The plan was a bold and at the same time sagacious conception, and worthy of the practical and energetic mind of the founder of . I I > A CANOE VOYAGE. 97 the Hova dynasty. There can be no doubt as to the enormous impetus and encouragement which would have been given to commerce and trade in the island, and especially in the in- land provinces, at present so difficult of access, if this project of uniting these lakes had been successfully carried out, as a convenient outlet would thus have been provided for the rapid and cheap transport of produce from the more remote districts to the seaports and the various home and foreign markets, which is now not of sufficient value to bear the exorbitant cost of transit. Eadama had been at work some time when the whole undertaking was suddenly abandoned. It is a matter of tradition that one day, as the people were digging, human cries issued from the trench, and blood was seen to ooze forth at the same spot. This was reported to the king, who took counsel with his idol-keepers. They declared — as the native oracles had, and still have, an eccentric habit of doing — that this idea of a canal being new was therefore undesirable, and that these were unmistakable signs of the anger and disapproval of the gods ; and he, rather weakly we think, decided to proceed no further at that time with his project of uniting the lakes. The scenery around these magnificent sheets G 98 MADAGASCAR. * i of water resembles very mucli the glades and shady nooks of an English park, and in passing along beneath the ample foliage and through the sequestered bits of forest, it is difficult at times not to imagine one's self in Devonshire or the Chats- worth district. In journeying down south along these lakes it is always necessary to make careful and even elaborate provision for food and shelter en route, before commencing the journey; The villages are few and scattered, and the supplies to be obtained in them scarce or inferior, and one or two days are generally occupied before starting in engaging bearers, repacking baggage, storing canteens, and looking to the cords of hammocks, and the supplies of light, salt, and flour, — three i idispensable requisites for a Mala- gasy tour. These preliminary and necessary arrangements have to be made at Tamatave, and present no features calling for special re- mark, if we except the all-important and most perplexing item of choosing your bearers. In this matter there is often a sharp, and, to the onlookers, amusing contest between native wit and European obstinacy. The traveller offers a sum per day per man, which is probably quite fair and reasonable enough, and may even in some cases be considerably in advance of the usual karama, or wages ; but from sheer love of bargaining and debate, the offer is at «» I f ? A CANOE VOYAGE. 99 I J I I ' first refused with some show of indign ^tion and scorn, and one by one the crowd of maromita (bearers) rise with solemn face, and casting their ragged hempen lamha about them with all the air of an old nobility, they stalk off and dis- appear, and the newly arrived and terribly anx- ious visitor to the island thinks, doubtless, that he has achieved his first false step, and failed utterly in his method of dealing with the native character. Nothing of the kind. In Madagas- car the virtue to acquire is patience. There it is doubly true that " everything comes to the man who waits." But it is just this waiting for every- thing and everybody which annoys and exasper- ates the ever-active and volatile foreigner, especi- ally for the first few months of his life amongst the Malagasy. And in his innate disposition to press forward and be doing something, and his strong disinclination to wait, he is at a great disadvan- tage in all his dealings with the natives. They tire him out, and gain their point, and he suc- cumbs at length, although he despises himself for so doing ; and the light-hearted and mirthful manner in which the maromita, having gained the victory in the matter of pay, begin to car- ry out their part of the contract with a sudden display of good feeling which is overwhelming to the uninitiated, is doubly irritating to the superior intelligence of the vazaha (stranger). 100 MADAGASCAR. ; who has, however, to accept the inevitable with the best grace he can, and proceed on the initial step of his first journey in the new country, haunted by the humiliating consciousness that he has been outwitted by the dark-skinned and unclad, but clear-headed and good-tempered barbarians, who trot cheerfully by his side, and whom he has previously been disposed, perhaps, to despise. But these men, although keen enough in making contracts, are, as a rule, thoroughly honest, and true to the terms of agreement when once made. They are faithful to their temporary masters, and render them all kinds of little services outside the usual duties of a maromita. To ladies and children they are especially well-mannered ; and it is very pleasant to see a rough sturdy fellow come up to the side of the Jilanjdna of some fever-worn and weary lady on the journey down from Im(5rina, and hand in a magnificent bouquet of orchids and lady- fern, which he has gathered along the forest paths, with all the grace and courtesy of a high-born gentleman. Goods or money intrusted to them are always safe ; and a poor native will travel hundreds of miles of trackless country with a parcel of specie or other valuables without any danger of the loss of the property, so careful are they in the carriage and disposal of it during an occasional rest or stoppage for refreshment. » i- A CANOE VOYAGE. 101 le with J initial ountry, ss that ed and mpered de, and »erhaps, h keen a rule, irms of faithful tiem all uties of tiey are )leasant the side weary id hand lady- t paths, gh-born ;o them I travel with a 3ut any eful are iring an t. As probably nothing in the way of food will be available but rice and very tough beef on the journey, the traveller lays in a goi -, store of tea, biscuits, and preserved meats. For those who require something stronger in the way of refresh- ment, a very inferior kind of rum, and the native beer, may be had at any of the villages at a very cheap rate ; but in most cases it is wisest to carefully and firmly avoid indulgence in these luxurio"; as they are almost always heavily adul- terated, and therefore contain incentives to fever and debility. The start is usually made in the afternoon from Tamatave, as it takes some time to get the bearers together at the last, and to send off" everything in the way oi baggage well on ahead of the traveller himself. The rule in Madagascar is, ahvays to keep your belongings in front of you. No amount of persuasion, or specious promises on the part of his bearers, will induce the old campaigner to start until he has seen all his luggage carefully packed and sent off, and then he himself mounts his Jilanjdna, and gives the word to depart. About eight miles south of Tamatave is the busy and thriving town of Ivondrona, where a considerable trade is done between the up- country Hovas and the east coast merchants, who come down here to meet the sellers and get an early choice of the market. The mouth T •; 102 MADAGASCAR. U > i -if is of the Ivondrona river is wide and open to the winds, and it is often a task of considerable peril to cross it in the miserable native boats, which are simply the trunks of large trees hollowed out by burning, and are easily swamped, and sink like lead in a moment when the water gets into them. They possess no buoyancy, on account of the iron-like texture of the wood from which they are made, and having no bulwarks, the waves easily wash over their sliallow sides and produce a catastrophe. It is very necessary that all the details of the passages of these rivers should be seen to by the traveller himself, as the maromita are careless and venturesome, and all as a rule good swimmers, and are therefore in- different to the dangers which surround them at these times. On the arrival of a traveller at the Ivondrona ferry, a noisy scene of animated confusion arises ; and amid the fierce gesticulations and deafening clamours of rival ferrymen, he selects the craft which seems most likely to bear him safely over, and then allows himself to be carried in the arms of his bearers, and placed gently in the bottom of the seatless boat. To the stranger on his first visit to Madagascar, the whole scene is a novel and very interesting one. The canoe is probably twenty or thirty feet long, and about three feet wide. Into this narrow vessel some A CANOE VOYAGE. 103 scene canoe . about some twenty-five persons or more will put themselves in a crouching position, each armed with a wooden paddle shaped like a tea-spoon. At a given signal the paddles are dashed into the water, and the boat shoots forward with an enormous jerk on her way across the stream. Every one on board the crazy craft is obliged to preserve his equilibrium, as the slightest devia- tion, or movement even, is ofter>. sufficient to precipitate the whole party into the water, and send the empty " dug-out " to the bottom. The motion of the canoe is not, however, disagreeable, and the way is enlivened by songs and laughter from the boatmen, who keep up an incessant round of jokes and fun to the end. Some of their compositions are impromptu, and embrace the probable history of their master for the time being, who sits amongst them in perfect ignor- ance all the while, it may be, of the fact that he is the theme of their adulation and the cause of their hilarity. One of them will lead ou with a glowing description of the stranger, his j ersonal beauty, his prowess, his magnanimity and moral worth, calling upon his companions from time to time to support him in his description, which they do most heartily by a rousing chorus, in which they declare their unfeigned belief that the gentleman is full of generous impulses, has plenty of money, and that they are certain he 104 MADAGASCAB. I I 1^ will give them a splendid and substantial pres- ent, over and above the usual fare, when they arrive at their destination. Of course all this is lost upon the passenger who may be unac- quainted with the vernacular ; but to those who understand the language, these sly hints or more open suggestions as to the ubiquitous backsheesh are as amusing as they are clever. The waters abound in crocodiles, and it is no rare thing to see the brown -crested log- like head of one of these *' fathers of the waters " following the canoe for miles along its course. They may frequently I j seen also lying on the banks in the full blaze of the sun, with their off- spring, in a deep sleep, which the maromUa dis- turb by uproarious shouts, and cries of contempt and derision, which disturb the monsters, and cause them to slide quickly down into the depths beneath. The Betsimisaraka have a great horror of these reptiles, and propitiuie them sometimes by addressing them in terms of friendship and endearment, which reminds one very much of the alligator-worship of the Ganges. At a cer- tain spot in the river, which is the known haunt of one of these brutes, large pieces of beef are thrown in dail}* for food, and occasionally a goose or fowls are also oflfered to satisfy the voracious appetite of the horrible monster. The people have a very ingenious way of securing h i^ A CANOE VOYAOK. 105 >> these creatures and destroying them, as they often do on account of the ravages they commit. A ball of dried flax is covered with a thin layer of beef. This is dropped into the water near the lair of the crocodile. In due course the bait is swallowed, the flax expands with the water in the stomach of the beast, and he is eflectually suffocated. His carcass is then drawn to land, amid universal rejoicing, and treated with the greatest contempt, and then consumed by fire. To the vast herds of oxen which are continually being brought down to the coast for deportation, these reptiles are a frequent source of annoyance and loss. The natives are also often seized and taken down by the wary brutes, if they are foolish enough to wade into the rivers, as they often do, in search of fish. A few years ago a valuable horse, which was being taken up the country for the use of the prime minister, was caught by a crocodile in one of the streams on the way to the capital, and dragged under water and killed. In journeying along the coast a halt is usually made each day just before noon, and the crew, after having drawn up the boat under the shade of a tree by the water side, proceed to prepare their first meal. Their passenger has, however, partaken in the early morning, if he is wise, of a cup of good strong coffee, with the smallest par- 1^ 106 MADAGASCAR. 1 tide of quinine in it as a preventive and neces- sary stomachic. The meal of the men consists merely of a good supply of boiled rice, and some herb which they have gathered in the woods (often common grass), and a few fish, with which these lakes abounci. An awning is spread for the stranger, beneath which he partakes of his repast, which is rather more elaborate, and then he snatches a few minutes' sleep during the enervating and almost overpowering heat of the day. And when we remember that the journey commences each day soon after four o'clock, this break will not appear unnecessary or out of place. About three o'clock in the afternoon all the party rouse themselves again and start on- ward ; and as the boat glides over the smooth surface of the sparkling waters, the rowers relieve the monotony of the way, and amuse themselves by racing with any canoes they may happen to be near, or exchange salutations with the crews of the numerous and heavily laden boats which are constantly passing up and down with pas- sengers. Government messengers, traders, or merchants' wares. Now and then a stately Arab passes in his boat with a cold suspicious salu- tation, and a splendid and fully loaded rifle across his knees, with his hands always upon the lock. These men are not liked by the people, on account of their share in the slave-trade in neces- 3onsists d some woods I which 3ad for of his id then ng the ; of the journey ck, this out of lOon all [art on- smooth relieve [nselves ppen to 3 crews 3 which th pas- ers, or y Arab is salu- d rifle s upon people, rade in A CANOE VOYAGE. 107 the past, and their known disregard for human life. Then perhaps, by way of contrast, we notice the placid features and genial bearing of an Indian or Parsee merchant, who looks the very personification of confidence and repose. These men are British subjects from Bombay, Madras, or Mauritius, and are generally respected and trusted by the native population, on account of their natural ability as men of business, and their benignity to those whom they employ. As we get further south, we notice amongst the passers-by a wilder look, and marks of a decided downward progress or falling off in civilisation. The grotesque appearance and the almost incom- prehensible dialect of some of the people who return our greetings, mark our approach to the borders of a less known and less cultivated class, the Antimora, already referred to. The dreaded Malagasy fever is supposed to be most fatal in its effects along this coast. Beauti- ful as the lakes and river deltas appear to the eye, they are the real sources of danger, and a swift death to the unwary and the fresh comer. This fever, about which so much has been said, is little understood, and consequently persons land in the country entirely ignorant of its peculiar charrcter, and of the proper means to employ to check its ravages and to neutralise its effects. That it is one of the worst and most ' i^ 108 MADAGASCAR. fatal forms of miasmatic disease, there can be no doubt. It prevails in a modified form in all tropical countries where there are swamps and damp low-lying jungles and forests, and the water is the channel through which the insidious poison is conveyed into the system. Few persons en- tirely escape its attacks, and many Europeans have from time to time been swept away with awful rapidity before it. But a somewhat lengthened experience in one of the worst locali- ties in the island, confirms me in the opinion that much suffering and ultimate injury to the system may be prevented by the simple habit of taking an infinitesimal portion of a grain of quinine with the first cup of coffee every morning with- out fail, from the day of one's arrival in the country. The attacks will come, but they will be weakened by this simple expedient, and less virulent and certainly less harmful in their ulti- mate effects. And this last consideration is perhaps the most important one, since the Mala- gasy fever finds out any weak point of heart, or lungs, or liver, and fastens upon that, and effects there a chronic lodgment, appearing and reap- pearing years after the patient has left the country, and probably almost forgotten it Long intervals between meals, or excessive fatigue, or wet feet, invariably bring on the attacks, which are preluded by pain in the legs and back, and m, ' f! » I A CANOE VOYAGE. 109 Long loss of sleep. The most distressing and painful feature of the disease is, however, the demoralis- ing effect that it has upon the individual, intel- lectually and physically, after the acute and critical stages have safely passed. The brain, nerves, and muscular system are entirely upset and weakened, and the powers of thought, de- cision, and even of self-preservation, overturned ; and the abject misery which follows upon all this to the bewildered and solitary being whose lot may be cast in the remoter districts is so complete that insanity often follows. A lamentable story was told me by the natives of a Eoman priest, a good man, who had been sent down considerably to the south of And^voranto, to a small settlement on the banks of one of the large rivers. He worked on zealously for a time, but at length he fell a victim to the fever, and the fearful natives, much as they loved him, failed to keep him under due restraint during the crisis of his malady ; and breaking out of the hut in the night, parched and burning with the wasting plague, he wandered up and down the banks of the flowing stream, and at length, in a sudden pproxysm of despair, cast himself into the surging waters, and thus ended once for all a valuable and heroic life. The native mode of treatment for fever, with the addition of constant doses of quinine, is I) (ii 110 MADAGASCAR. to be preferred to any European expedients, in my opinion. The natives use the hot bath and copious douches of hot water in the feverish stages, and these they render fragrant by the use of the leaves of aromatic plants. They then crush and squeeze the muscles of the patient, and stretch the limbs at frequent intervals, and at the same time rub all the joints of the body firmly, and thus assist the circulation of the blood and vital energy throughout the system. When the period of convalescence ensues, great care is required, and a generous diet, without pvcitants, is necessary, as collapse may intervene, and the life may ebb away in a few hours. Some years will pass before the effects of this fever leave the system entirely, and then the permanent result upon the brain is often most deplorable and sad, inasmuch as no one is so conscious of the depres- sion and loss of mental energy as the sufferer himself, who can never hope, unless blessed with exceptional recuperative powers, to entirely re- cover his usual strength and vivacity. The full virulence of this dread visitant may be better understood when it is stated that even animals shun the spots where it breathes forth its deadly vapours, and the natives themselves fall before it, if unaccustomed to life on the coast, even more readily than Europeans. The natives chew the bark of the cinchona tree, which is a A CANOE VOYAGE. Ill natural product of the country, as a protection against the insidious inroads of the disease ; and even when taken in this crude state, the marvel- lous and rapid effects of quinine are marked and certain. The mortality, however, amongst the Hova garrisons is very great, and whole regi- ments have been decimated by the fever within a few months of their arriving on the coast from the interior. The lakes of Nosive, Irangy, Eosoobo, and Ivavongy, between Tamatave and And^voranto, are well supplied with delicious fish of several kinds, and rude weirs are constructed at frequent intervals across their broad waters, to retain the finny harvest which, at stated seasons, is brought to land by hundreds of lahana and crowds of excited fishermen. At Vavony, on the lake Ivavongy, a curious sight may often be witnessed. As evening draws near, in the season, numbers of canoes put off from the landing-place, each carrying a fire at the bows, and filled with boys and men armed with sharp long spears. Immense shoals of fish dart up in the direction of the blaze, and by the dexterity of the fishermen these are caught upon the spears, and so secured. Fires are kindled along the shores, and rude racks erected over them, upon which the fish are rough-dried and smoked, after being split open, and the roes, 112 MADAGASCAR. which are considered a great delicacy, extracted. Vast numbers of these fish, which resemble large haddock or ling, are thus prepared at Vavony for the distant coast and inland markets, and the roes are specially treated, and command a ready sale. We were more than once offered eggs of crocodiles at this village, but declined the luxury. The eggs of the turtle are also sold, and much appreciated by the poorer classes. They watch the animal coming up from the sea and the pro- cess of depositing its eggs, and afterwards go to the spot and disinter the eggs, which have been carefully buried by the creature in the hot sand. Crocodiles' eggs are also eaten by the natives, and may always be purchased in any of the country markets. The passage from Andavakamenarana (the place of serpents), to Andevoranto, the slave- mart, by canoe, is very striking, and altogether tropical in character. The stream is so narrow that there is not room in places for two canoes to pass, and the overhanging vegetation reaches so low that it is constantly necessary to bend one's self to avoid contact with the branches. It is in the depths of these woods that the rarest specimens of the orchid plant have been obtained, and it is here that the famous Malagasy lemurs hold their revels, darting in and out amongst the branches, and playing their odd tricks in the 6I( , A CANOE VOYAGE. 113 •acted. large avony nd tlie ready orgs of GO uxury. much watch he pro- s go to ;^e been it sand, natives, of the a (the slave- ;ogether narrow canoes reaches bend lies. It rarest jtained, lemurs gst the in the Q presence of the passengers in the canoes. Some of them are very attractive, and they form quite a .listinct class in the natural history of the world. It was melancholy to see on all sides, as we passed along on our journey, the signs of sufFer- ino: and distress which these woods and thickets presented, and which accompanied a most appal- ling outbreak of the worst kind of small-pox, which was at that time raging in the district. Vaccination had up to this period been practi- cally unknown amongst these people, and con- sequently the epidemic had free course. The insanitary condition of the villages, the intense heat of the coast climate, and the habits of the people in the more remote districts, all combined to spread the ghastly visitation and to increase the area of its operation. Whole families were stricken at once, and a panic ensued. The people fled as from the face of an invading army ; villages where the plague had shown itself were immediately deserted, and the unfortunate beings upon whom the complaint fastened were treated as cursed of heaven, and were driven out by their own flesh and blood from their homes into the forests, where the unhappy wretches made themselves huts of leaves and branches, or more often sat upon the ground exposed to the pitiless torrents, and waited for death, or H I, H: 114 MADAGASCAR. plunged into the streams and put an end to their miseries. If they attempted to return to their homes and families, their relatives drove them away with stones and weapons. Some in their delirium wandered through the woods, unclothed and raging, and at length lay down to die. We noticed several unburied corpses lying amongst the foliage, and more than once went out of our way to avoid contact with infected bodies float- ing down the streams. The real want of these people on the east coast is medical help, and a regular system of cottage hospitals in the chief towns, where medicine and advice can be given at a fair charge. There need not be any eleemosynary character about this work, as the Malagasy are not poor, or unable to pay for such real assistance as a medical dispensary would allow them. On the contrary, they are, as a nation, remarkably free from debasing grinding poverty, and there are few amongst them who have no shelter or food even in the^'r worst times of depression. The time has come, therefore, when they should no longer be allowed to draw largely upon the alms and offerings of philan- thropic societies for the purpose of educational or hospital work in the island. They now know full well the value of both these great, and, to them, invaluable blessings; but they are not above taking advantage of the lavish i t I .5 I A CANOE VOYAGE. 115 5 their f their ! them 1 their jlothed !. AVc tnongst of our s float- 3t coast cottage ine and 3re need »ut this lable to 3ensary are, as grinding em who st times icrefore, to draw philan- cational ey now great, ut they lavish kindness of good people at home. It is hardly creditable to them, however, as there are so many poorer communities to whom the help which England now affords them would not only be acceptable, but more righteously given. When we consider the amount of labour and money expended upon the erection of the royal palaces and house of the prime minister, it seems strange that constant appeals should be made in England for means to build places of worship for these people. It is always customary in Madagascar to send a notice on before of the intended sojourn of a stranger, if only for a few hours, in a native town or village. This is not only done as a mark of respect to the mptansaina, or chief man, but also in order that the Queen's house — a place set apart for Government purposes in each town — may be got ready for the visitor, as the native theory is that every foreigner is the guest of the sovereign whilst in the country. Just before entering any place of importance, the bearers rest for a short time and gird themselves up for a sharp effort, and carry the visitor at a smart trot through the streets up to the door of the Government house at the foot of a tall staff, from which floats on Sundays and days of national importance the royal standard of the Queen of the Hovas, with her name and style, 116 MADAGASCAR. "I t'l I Ranavalona, Queen of Madagascar, emblazoned across it in scarlet letters upon a white ground. On the arrival of the guest, the head-man, at- tended by his lieutenant, and often half the village, pays a formal visit and asks after the welfare of the traveller, at the same time pre- senting fowls, rice, and fruit in the name of the Queen. The visitor responds, after a becoming interval, with an inquiry as to the welfare and prosperity of the kingdom, and the personal health of the Queen and her chief Ministers of State. It is considered a mark of great courtesy and politeness amongst the Malagasy to ask such questions over and over again ; and we were very much an. used as well as flattered by the per- sistency with which the Governor of Tanimandry, a genial old Hova, repeated these inquiries as to our comfort, the conduct of our bearers, and the attention we had received in our journey down, on the occasion of our first visit to him. At Andevoranto, the chief town of the Betsi- misaraka tribe, we observed three flagstaffs, and also a special residence for the Hova governor. This town, standing at the mouth of the Iharoka, is a place of considerable antiquity, and, as its name implies, was formerly the great slave-mart of the east coast ; and it is regaining its former importance, not only on account of its present position with relation to the capital, but also A CANOE VOYAOE. 117 azoned rround. an, at- alf the •ter the ne pre- i of the jcoming are and personal isters of courtesy isk such 'ere very the per- mandry, :ies as to and the y down, le Betsi- afFs, and overnor. Iharoka, d, as its LivG-mart s former present but also because it is destined in the near future to take the place of Tamatave as the chief seaport of the island. The only obstacle to this change in its pros- pects is the shifting sand-bar which exists across the mouth of its splendid river ; but this, we are convinced from personal inspection, could be easily removed by the use of the ordinary dredg- ing appliances available in the present day, and the whole stream of commerce would be at once diverted from Tamatave to Andevoranto. The position of the latter town would shorten the journey to Imerina by three days for goods and passengers, and this would bring down the total cost of freightage and porterage considerably. When the present crisis is past, and they have time and opportunity to give due attention to internal improvements and developments, in all probability the pressing question of opening out this river to the sea will receive careful considera- tion from the chiefs of the native Government. 118 CHAPTER VII. VISIT T(> THE COURT AND CAPITAL OF THE IIOVAS. Interesting as the provinces and outlying dis- tricts of the island are to the traveller, it is im- possible to get any adequate and correct idcai of the capacities of the Malagasy, of tlieir real con- dition, powers, and resources, until he visits Imerina and its hill city of Antananarivo, the capital of the island. Here only, at the centre of social life and of judicial power and authority, a careful observer can perceive the real measure of progress which this obscure nation has made in the past, and of the future greatness and honour which is in store for it, if this progress continues. It is to the capital that the face of every native turns, no matter how far distant he may be at the time, whenever the name of the reigning sovereign is formally mentioned in pub- lic kahdry (meeting); and Antananarivo is very much to these people what Jerusalem was to the Jew, and Mecca is to the followers of Mohammed. VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 119 %'. In all cases of appeal against tlic decree of the provincial courts, the final tlecision is given at the capital ; and each officer, even from the most distant parts of the country, has to go up to InK'rina to receive his credentials and to he invested with authority. Justice is slow and tardy still even at the capital, and suitors have often to wait months, and even years, before a decision is come to in matters in whicli they are concerned. But a gradual reform is evident in the legal and judi- cial arrangements of the Hova courts, and things arc confessedly much better than they were only a few years ago in this respect. Reforms in the administration of law and equity are, as we have found by experience in England, the most difficult of all reforms to effect speedily and thoroughly. It takes years to sweep away the mass of vested interests, pre- cedents, prejudice, and superstition which cling around any established and venerable system of justice, however corrupt ; and the Hova Govern- ment deserve credit for the courage with which they have grappled with flagrant abuses, and at least secured protection and a hearing for both parties in a suit. This is not much, but those who know anything of Madagascar will gladly allow that it is a considerable improvement upon the former state of things. I' Hi , M' r 120 MADAGASCAR. However difl&cult it may be to get bearers on the coast for journeys in other directions, and even for short distances, on account of the difficul- ties or the danger which attends, or is supposed to attend, the opening up of new tracks, along which the men have never before travelled, there is no such hindrance in the way of a visit to Antananarivo. The men are always delighted at the prospect of a journey up to Imerina, and as they are certain to have plenty of society on the well-known path, they start up the river from Andevoranto, where the road strikes inland from the coast, and where the actual journey to the capital commences, with an alacrity as amusing as it is often inconvenient. Utensils for cooking on the way ; bedding, or, better still, a strong grass hammock ; spare clothing for a change after being drenched, as often happens during a sudden storm ; and all the odds and ends which an explorer gradually gathers about him, — have to be packed ssr^urely in handy deal cases, and lashed firmly to stout bamboo poles, for portage upon men's shoulders. Stores have to be overhauled, necessaries replenished, and the bars, bolts, and straps of the Jilanjdna have to be thoroughly overhauled at the first halting- place, Maromby, — as, once on the way, there is little possibility of renewing anything which may be exhausted, or of supplying anything which VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 121 may be lacking in the commissariat department, or of making good any damages which the baggage or palanquin may meet with in crossing the rivers or scaling the ravines which intersect the road at frequent intervals for the whole of its length. The first few miles of the land journey after qu'tting Maromby are most refreshing and en- joyable. The fresh keen air on the rising ground begins at once to invigorate and stimulate the depressed spirits of the travellers, who have been enfeebled and distressed by the fetid atmosphere and warm damp air of the lakes and marshes along which they have been passing for some days. The broad grassy pampas or undulating plains on the way to the first halting-place, Ranomafana (hot- water springs), are well adapted for the indulgence in that favourite recreation of the maromUa, a, Jilanjdna race. Utterly heed- less of the incipient terror depicted in the faces of their trembling burdens, they dash along at break-neck speed, over hill and dale, and through the smaller streams, with shouts and peals of ringing laughter, until thoroughly wearied out by the violence of their fun. There is really no danger, as these fellows are as sure-footed as the chamois-goat itself, and with their naked feet they will climb the sides of steep rocky passes or slippery slopes of clay with the most perfect certainty and coolness. ( J 1 ^ 122 MADAGASCAR. They take every care of their passengers, and are as gentle and tender as children, and are very proud of the commendation which it is always right and wise to bestow upon them at the end of a day's journey, if they have deserved it. They are, however, very sensitive to rough or unkind treatment, and amusing stories are extant of cases where they have not been properly used by foreigners, when they have oflfered no violence in any form in return for violence to themselves, but have just put down their burden quiotly in the midst of the somlire forest, and retired until their fare has come to a better mind, — which he very quickly does, as the prospect of being deserted under such circumstances is by no means flattering or agreeable. At Ranomaftina a halt is generally made, and a visit paid to the celebrated hot springs near the village. These waters are medicinal ; and on the occasion of one of our visits, numbers of the natives were bathing in them, as they are considered very efficacious for skin affections and other complaints. They contain a large quantity of sulphur, and would naturally, there- fore, be beneficial in most cases of cutaneous eruptions, from which the native:; suffer almost universally. These waters were visited in 1867 by Queen Rasoherina, the chief members of the Hova 4 II (ii VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 123 Government, and several thousands of her Hova subjects, and it was at this time that the English fleet, under Commander Brown, manoeuvred off Andevoranto. She viewed tne ships from the coast at Tanimandry with astonishment and de- light. At Ranomnfana may be seen in profusion in all the streams the beautiful and delicate lace- plant, now familiar to English botanists, by reason of the care and success with which the specimens taken from this neighbourhood to Kew Gardens have been reared and multiplied. The pitcher-plant, that curious contrivance of nature for condensing the vapour and storing it for the refreshment of the thirsty wayfarer, and the traveller's tree, from which a copious draught of cool water may at any time be drawn, are natives of this locality. Leaving the hot springs, the journey is con- tinued over an irregular and tortuous path, and over the rang;e of hills which forms the first of a series of terraces, the highest of which, nearly two hundred miles distant, is crowned by the tombs and palaces of the royal city. The road is by no means without its peculiar objects of interest ; and the stone placed upon the spot from which the first view of the distant sea is obtained on the downward journey from Imerina, is worthy of notice as commemorating the aboli- tion of the exportation of native slaves for sale. 124 MADAGASCAR. It is called the Jitomian-kova, or weeping-place of the Hovas, because the wretched captives here took leave for ever of their native province, and prepared to descend to the maritime plain, along which they were driven to the port of embarka- tion. Groups of bearers are met coming down from the interior with native produce, or driving herds of bullocks to the coast, for transport to the Mauritius and elsewhere, — and between these and our bearers continual questioning went on as to the news, the state of the road, the health of friends, and the general condition of affairs in Imerina. It is when traversing this route that the visitor to Madagascar is really impressed with the vast food-producing capabilities of the island; and it cannot but be regretted that its wonderful powers of production should be al- lowed to remrin dormant for want of energy and a larger population to give them an oppor- tunity of due development. The personal experiences gained in these jour- neys are net always pleasant, however, for the houses in which one has to rest are not at times so thoroughly in accord with European tastes and ideas as one would wish. Eats, mice, and fleas abound, especially in the forest villnges and the poorer Hova towns ; and when these are ab- sent, as is generally the case on the coast, their places are supplied by the ever-restless and san- !S and VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 125 guinary mosquito, — so that the sensitive and rather nervous alien suffers from frequent sen- sations of utter discomfort and disquiet, which do not appear to aflflict the prosaic and uncom- plaining Malagasy. The great forest of Alamazaotra has to be traversed, and it generally takes three days to pass through it and to reach the edge of the interior elevated plateau Avhich comprises the great central province of Imerina. In the forest of Alamazaotra gigantic trees abound, and orchids of rare beauty and delicacy occasionally attract the eye ; whilst such novelties as large trees in flower and lofty ferns of many feet in height, add freshness and grace to the somewhat sombre colouring of the dense woods and thickets through which the passage winds often for considerable distances. The fauna of the country is limited, and almost altogether unimportant, if we except the lemurs. There are no large quadrupeds or huge reptiles, as in most tropical lands ; and there is a strange silence in the woods, broken only by the occasional note of a bird, or the melancholy cry of a soUtary lemur; and there is even an absence of the hum of insects to break the death- like silence. At Beforona, on the edge of this forest, an im- portant stage of the journey is reached. This is supposed to be one of the most unhealthy towns \V 126 MADAGASCAR. it\ H y on the road, and the stay here is usually made as short as possible, to escape the effects of the malarious waters by which the place is sur- rounded. We, however, found no ill effects from a sojourn of several days on more than one occa- sion. The house and courtyard which we occu- pied through the courtesy of the then French consul, M. Laborde, were of ample dimensions, and were surrounded by a strong fence, and had a large coffee plantation at the back, which had at one time been a source of considerable revenue to the proprietor. But it was gradually going to decay, and had been very much neglected of h ' years, in consequence of a dispute with the native Government as to the actual ownership of this and other estates of M. Laborde. The consul claimed right of ownership by virtue of a conces- sion made by Radama II.; but the Government, whilst allowing right of occupation, were not inclined to give up all title whatever to the pro- perty. During the late consul's lifetin^e the con- troversy was never pursued with malignity, but his heir claimed the sole right at his death to occupy, sell, or otherwise dispose of these estates; and his action being supported by the newly ap- pointed consul in 1880, was really the source of all the grievous misunderstanding between the t-o Governments of France and Madagascar, which resulted in the bombardment, in June it| VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 127 1883, of Mojanga and Tamatave, and the occu- pation of portions of the island by the troops of the Republic. It appeared to us that a very valuable addition to the exports of the country would be found in the mahogany, camphor-wood, ebony, and rosewood which abound in the Ala- mazaotra forest, if once a good road could be opened up l^etween the sources of supply and the harbours on the east coast. The last place of importance before entering the capital is Amoromdnga, a busy town which stands in. the centre of a broad and level plain of that name. The Tankay, a harmless and indus- trious, but still densely ignorant and supersti- tious tribe, occupy the district around and along the basin of the IMangoro river, which flows through the plain. They are rather lighter and more refined in features than the provincial Malagasy generally, and wear silver dollars in their ears and strung about their necks and wrists. They come up in great numbers to the weekly market, Alakamisy, held at Amoromanga, and appear to possess all the genial qualities of the other tribes, without their sagacity and weari- some duplicity and cunning. It was a great relief to find ourselves once more on level ground, after days spent in ascending and descending, and precarious journeying along the edges of jagged ravines and precipitous mountain-passes ; ^ 128 MADAGASCAR. h ^ and our bearers as well as ourselves enjoyed the rest and refreshment tendered us by the poor people of Amoromanga. After another progress of a day, a halt is made at Ankeriraadinaka, just beyond the lofty peak of Angavo, to enable all to prepare them- selves for a formal entrance into the chief city of the Hova kingdom. There were unmistak- able signs on all sides that we were in its vicinity, in the appearance of greater neatness and care about the houses and dress of the people ; and we could not refrain from bearing testimony to the change for the better which was visible in the language and manners of the natives, as well as in their material surroundings, even within a few years. There is, however, with all this progress, a supercilious air prevail- ing amongst the younger and more educated class of the community, which we found after- wards at the capital as painful and annoying as it was general. The self-conceit and even fop- pishness of some of the native teachers and preachers we noticed ; and the obviously mercan- tile spirit with which they entered into the work of evangelising their fellow-countrymen, as well as their eagerness to grasp the temporal advan- tages, whilst being sadly slow to accept the self- denial which the new system of faith and morals offered for their acceptance, is a trait of Hova VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 129 character which has caused their best friends much distress ; but all this will in time be toned down and crushed out, we are convinced, as deeper knowledge and really solid attainments take the place of what, from the circumstances of the case, must be at present scarcely more than a superficial glance through such subjects as chem- istry, classical languages, mathematics, and Chris- tian ethics, Wc are quite certain that a little more frankness on the part of their friends and counsellors would be very useful, especially to the coming men of the country, as to the solid advantages of thoroughness and plodding and patience with themselves, as there appears to be a tendency to push on with too great an eagerness towards the goal of perfection, which we all heartily desire to see them eventually attain. The site of the capital has been remarkably well chosen. Like the stronghold of the redoubt- able Theodore of Abyssinia, the great city, founded by Radama I. to perpetuate his name and the inauguration of his supremacy, is built upon an eminence that can be seen at long distances, and from various points of the sur- rounding country. The approach to it from the coast is an ascent from the time of leaving Bi- forona, and the occasional glimpses which the traveller obtains of Antananarivo, as he draws I \^' 130 MADAGASCAR. .i' nearer and nearer to it, are very striking and picturesque. The town stands upon an elongated hill or ridge about a mile and a half in length, and 13 plainly visible ^.t a distance of about four- teen miles. When the first view is caught of the lofty buildings which comprise the rova or royal precincts, shouts of exultation burst forth, and even tears of joy are seen upon the faces of the bearers, who now suspend their labours for a moment to congratulate the stranijers and each other upon the successful accomplishment of their long and toilsome journey. The city presents a very imposing appearance when seen from this point, with the sun lighting up its spires and palaces, and gleaming upon the windows and glass decorations in the balconies of the residences of the nobles and the various buildings of state grouped about the rova, which itself occupies a wooded knoll almost in the centre of the hill upon which it stands. The irregular outline of the still distant but strangely f:M.niliar capital, the mixture of old and new materials and styles in a peculiar harmony of colour and design, the towering roofs and the huge dome of the prime minister's resi- dence, with the towers of the churches and the white cliffs and crags towards the south, gave to the view quite a majestic and regal appearance, which surprised and pleased us. As we drew nearer, the view was lost at times in the descent of the valleys. VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 131 g and ijjated eiigth, t four- nrbt of ova or } fortb, aces of •s for a d eacli of their ►resents 3m this 'es and ,vs and idences ; state upies a 1 upon le still nixture )eculiar jo; roofs r's resi- ,nd the to the , which rer, the valleys, and again it burst upon us each time with greater distinctness of detail, revealing new objects of interest, to which our attention was constantly being called by the natives about us. Perhaps the great impression that Antananarivo makes upon the visitor on his first arrival is in a meas- ure due to the squalor and discomfort which prevails in so many of the Hova villages on the borders of the province, and some experience of which the most complacent and good-tempered traveller can scarcely altogether avoid. But however this may be, we one and all felt devoutly thankful when at length there was a prospect of our sittinfj down jjain at an Enijlish table and sleeping in a bed. The bearers, too, whose wives and children are generally resident in the capital, are glad to get home for a few days' rest before again returning to the coast in search of fresh employment, and the final rush of the palanquin along the narrow paths and across the muddy rice -fields that surround the town is therefore unequalled by anything of the kind that has hitherto been experienced. But this met'iod of ** bringing one in with a run " has its incon- venient side, for if one is fortunate enough to have friends in this out-of-the-way corner of the world, and they have come out to greet us, as is customary, the chances are that we shoot clean past them, or through them, and they have to ' I I 132 MADAGASCAR. defer the hand-shaking till wo meet them upon their own thresholds. The road onward now presents a very animated appearance, as group after group of native civilians or soldiers pass and repass us, either going to or returning from the great centre of Malagasy life and commerce. Friendly salu- tations arc exchanged between the occupant of the palanquin and the passers-by, and at length the actual ascent into the city begins. There are no roads or streets laid out on any orderly system, and huge boulders block the way or fill up the gaping watercourses here and there, ex- actly as they did probably in the days of the first Radama. The less dignified but still sacred cities of the country which cluster round Antan- anarivo are pointed out to us, and the quarter of the city whence so many hundreds of the popu- lace were hurled in the days of the first Ranava- lona, for political and other offences, upon the sharp rocks belo^v. The entry into the capital may be best described as a succession of climb- ing operations, varied by undignified scrambles on the part of the bearers over the rocks and gullies that choke the road upwards to the centre of the town ; and the aspect of the new- arrival is that of a man who has undergone some struggle of an exhausting nature, in the course of which he has suffered damao-e to his . VISIT TO THE COUKT OF THE HOVAS. 133 upon mated native either itrc of r salu- )ant of length There jrderly T or fill 3re, ex- ile first sacred Antan- ter of popu- anava- on the apital limb- mbles vs and ;o the e new er^one in the to his \ personal appearance and attire. The entire hill is covered irregularly with houses and buildings of various sizes and kinds. They are principally constructed of dark wood, square, high-pitched roofs, thatched with hcrdna, or rush, and with the inevitable Hova projecting horns at the point of each gable. The principal buildings are built of stone and brick, and the European residents have comfortable villa-like residences on the outskirts of the town, built of brick and wood, with deep verandahs, Venetian shutters, well-kept gardens, detached kitchens, and all the accessories which modern ideas of comfort and repose in a tropical climate suggest. The frank and generous hospitality dispensed at these houses to casual visitors to Imorina is a matter of history, and has been commended by all who have ever had occasion to visit the place either for business or pleasure. The presence of these well-appointed houses, and the happy phase of pure family and social life that they have for years shown to the Malagas}, ha^^e liad a most beneficial eflcct upon the domestic habits and ideas of these people, and they have indirectly exercised a very great civilising and elevating power throughout the land. The sharp lines of social and political diflferences that unfortunately divide us at home are lost out here, and the smaller matters of controversy and debate are forgotten or put I i i _i'LJi i ;. . t«!C i »t-'JBi j ' . ' -.tim i j a 134 ^'TADAGASCAR. aside in the general desire to li^^e in harmony and good-fellowship, which happily prevails in the European colony. The population of Antananarivo is estimated at a,bout 90,000 people. The court and royal palaces are near tl ; centre of the city, and are surrounded by the -louscs of the chief officers of the sovereign. Within the courtyard is the royal chapel, a new building of good style, with clock- tower, organ, stained glass, and beautiful carving. Near this are the tombs of deceased monarchs. The state residences are themselves buildings of large size, and at lu ;u.,>]e of the largest — Man- jakamiadana — is a sijuare t'>wer with a fine clock and bells. Over tb: roof, with outstretched wings, is an enormous eagle, llie crest of the reigning family, of copper gilt ; cind a similar figure adorns the chief gateway or entrance to the rova. From the balcony of the great palace the Queen grants audiences to her subjects, and it was here that she sat to witness the review of her troops during our stay in the capital. The palace is constructed of wood, and painted white, but showing signs of decay. It was some years ago encased in stone, and it now presents a very massive and substantial appearance, being sur- rounded by stone arcades of classic design, with a row of columns for the upper stories. Its height is about one hundred and twenty feet, the rmony lils in imated L royal Lnd are Lcers of e royal . clock- arving. narchs. lings of — Man- le clock retched of the similar mce to palace s, and view of The white, e years a very lo- sur- 1, with Its jet, the VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 135 slant of the roof being quite fifty feet. It is one hundred feet long and about sixty-five feet broad, and is in three tiers or stories. This enormous houso was built hy fanampdana, or enforced gra- tuitous service^ and many lives were lost in the operations necessary to bring the huge timbers of which it If composed from the distant forests, and up the hillsides to the site. The ground floor is divided into two immense rooms. The ceilings and walls are painted and adorned with curious designs of a Moorish or Persian pattern, and the lower parts of the walls are covered with gaudy wall-papers of French manufacture, repre- senting huntins: and battle scenes. The floors are beautifully inlaid with varieties of the hard woods of the island, and the only furniture is the Queen's throne, a small table for the crown royal, and side-tables bearing silver vases of native workmanship. There is a garden behind the building for the private use of members of the royal family. At the south-east of the great court is the Trano Vdla or " silver house," so called from the fact of silver nails only being used in parts of the fabric. This building is also of great size, but is dwarfed by its gigantic neighbour to the west. It is in this palace that audiences are granted by the prime minister upon matters of state, and it was here that we had a conversation with his Excellency upon the 136 MADAGASCAR. affairs of the kingdom in general and of the east coast in particular. Having several matters re- lating to the civil government and the tenure of land on the coast to arrange and discuss with the central authority, we sent a notice of our arrival to Eainilaiariv(5ny, and requested an interview at his convenience. This was readily and courteously granted, and as we represented the interests of the whole Bet- simisaraka population, we looked forward with much interest and some anxiety to this meeting. A time was fixed by letter for the meeting at the palace, and at the hour chosen one of the secre- taries of the Government conducted us to the first floor of the Trdno Vola, where Rainilaiarivdny was awaiting us, surrounded by his attendants and officials. The amount of real hard work that the chief minister of Madagascar gets through daily is enormous. He is virtually the supreme authority in the island, though not so nominally. He is a man of untiring energy and devotion to his country, and it is to his influence that the new departure which the Government took some years ago in throwing open the country to foreigners is to be attributed. He is never familiar, but very genial, easy in manner, intelli- gent in appearance and address, quick in reply, and untiring in questioning his visitors., yet without rudeness or presumption in any way. VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 137 he east ;ers re- Qure of ith the arrival view at ed, and >le Bet- :d with leetiug. 5 at the e secre- the first ariv(5ny F'ndants work gets ly the not SO gy and iuence rnment ountry never ntelli- reply, L's, yet way. .r He is of short stature, spare figure, has grey hair, a keen eye, and martial bearing, and at once gives one the idea of great bodily and mental vigour ; and although he has never been beyond the borders of his country, he has the manners of a polished and well-bred gentleman. He is exceed- ingly desirous of obtaining information from all sources as to the customs and usaojes of foreim countries, and especially as to the way in which social and commercial problems, such as educa- tion and the collection of the revenue, are worked out amongst European nations. He complained bitterly of the forcible importation of rum into the island against his wishes, and of the terrible devastation the spirit was working amongst his people. The sale of intoxicants by white traders was, he said, weakening and debasing the youth of the country ; and, as far as his Government was concerned, it would gladly prohibit the admission of a single bottle into the island, but the British Government would not allow this. We think it rather hard upon these people that they should have no control whatever over this matter of strictly domestic policy; but as a considerable revenue is reaped yearly in the Mauritius from this rum-trade, of course there are conflicting interests, and the question becomes difficult and complicated. And so the same vessels which take over the cases of Bibles and parties of 138 MADAGASCAR. missionaries in tlieir cabins, are generally well freighted and ballasted with en: !;s of rum in their holds. We may remark that l,he prime minister was dressed in handsome European clothing, and is very neat and agreeable in his general appear- ance. He is a capital horseman, and looks re- markably well when riding at the head of his staff in his capacity of commander-in-chief of the native army. After this brief personal intercourse with the Malagasy prime minister, it is not difficult to read the secret of his elevation to his present high and responsible, and at the same time pre- carious dignity. There is in him that innate depth of thought and width of grasp of any sub- ject that makes in every age and country a successful statesman. That he is far ahead of his day and generation in thought and aspiration there is no doubt, and in this fact lies the one element of danger to himself and the steady development of the country. There is a large and influential old national party who have tacitly resisted the advanced policy of Rainilaia- rivdny, especially in regard to the abolition of the old customs and the liberality extended to foreigners. Should this party ever gain tem- porary popularity, the fall of Rainilaiarivdny is certain, and for a time anarchy and retrocession would ensue. That there could be any per- VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 139 manent check to the prcsrrt progressive spirit of the Government, however, is not at all likely, or even possible. The material advantages that have resulted from the efforts of the prime niiuister to bring his countrymen into friendship and com- munion with foreign Powers are too substantial to cause any fear on this point ; but a crisis might be brought about and a panic result, during which useful institutions might suffer, and much good work that is now bearing fruit might for the time be disorganised or overthrown. The prime minister is, however, remarkably reticent and self-restrained, and quite realises that his mission is not to accomplish everyt^ing that will be requisite for the entire regeneration of his country. His self-abnegation in this respect is as noble as it is rare in men of his type and sur- roundings. He is ready and willing to prepare the way for other workers, and more complete measures of reform. He will not lay a burden upon the shoulders of his people which they, in their present condition of semi-civilisation and imperfect education, are not able to bear. Some who have been deeply interested in the prosperity of the country, and who have in a thousand ways shown that thev have had the true interests of the Malagasy at heart, have blamed him for at times pursuing what to them even appeared a vacillating aid nervous line of policy, and have 140 MADAGASCAR. ' n urged him to more rapid changes and advances in his system of government. But he has had the marvellous and rare gift of beinjj able to move only with the progress of his people. He is a man who can wait. Solid advance, however slow, is what he demands, before agitating the coun- try with new measures. He showed this in an unmistakable manner in his masterly dealing with the reorganisation of the army, and in his action in conjunction with our late able consul, Mr T. C. Pakenham, on the question of native slavery. In the impartial manner, too, with which the whole vexed question of the rival communions and Churches in the island has been approached by the Hova Government, much real sound wisdom and statesmanlike ability has been shown, that would have done credit to the chief minister and advisers of any European sovereign. Perhaps one of the greatest difficulties of Rainil- aiarivdny has been to hold his hand when almost overwhelming pressure has been brought to bear upon him, through foreign consuls and others, to whom the country is deeply indebted for much ffood done, to force him on. But a^^ain and ac^ain during the past few years, even those who have been for the time annoyed at his seeming hesi- tancy have had to acknowledge, with admiration and enthusiastic respect for his abilities as a politician, that he was after all right in waiting. VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 141 ( and that they were wrong in urging him to a course of action that would have been danger- ously premature, and would have brought on a catastrophe and deluged the land with blood. The reception-room in the Trano Vdla presents a somewhat incongruous appearance, in conse- quence of the varied nature of its contents, and the peculiar taste with which they were dis- played. Clocks of different makes, pictures, a small organ, with side-boards, tables, and sundry articles preserved under canvas covers, make up the appointments of the apartment, in one corner of which we had our interview with one of the most eminent men Madagascar has yet produced. It is customary on these occasions to present hdsina, a new silver dollar, as a mark of allegi- ance to the Queen, and as a tribute of respect and an acknowledgment of the supreme authority of her Majesty within her dominions. Having performed this pleasing duty, we took our leave, and in a few days left the capital again for the coast. 142 CHAPTER VIU, IX PERILS BY SEA. Little of importance was known about the lan- guage or habits of the people, or the island of Madagascar itself, before 1702, when a fine East Indiaman was wrecked upon the south coast near Fort Dauphin, and the ship and valuable cargo entirely lost. The progress of scientific knowledge in rela- tion to nautical matters has of late years ren- dered the navigation of the South-East Indian Ocean a comparatively easy task, but formerly it was an enterprise full of danger and diffi- culty. One can only admire the wonderful energy and patience of the old navigators, who opened out the water-way by the Cape to In- dia, and who had to thread their path across the then unknown ocean, in fear and doubt, yet full of hope and high endeavour. Amongst such men the names of Lawrence Almeida, Vasco de Gama, and others, will ever remain as IN PERILS BY SEA. 143 examples of true heroism and patriotic devotion to duty. The dangers which then had to be encountered were rendered more formidable by the absence of any correct chart or map, either of the coasts of Africa or Asia, or the numerous currents — such as those of the Mozambique Channel and Agul- lias — which have a great influence, and must always be taken into account in approaching these seas. The most useful addition to modern atlases is the Wind map, upon which is shown with almost unerring accuracy the direction and force of the various atmospheric currents, and by the use of which the seaman of to-day can find in any quarter of the world the prevailing wind, and avail himself of its help to go a straight course to his destination, without having to wait, as formerly, till he found it, or drift aimlessly about the ocean seeking for it, or perhaps beating up against an adverse blast, whilst, only a few leagues off, had he known it, he could have found a '* trade " that would have carried him literally on its wings to " the haven where he would be." This wider knowledsje of the winds and cur- rents has already considerably shortened the passage to India and Australia, and has very much reduced the risk of the Eastern passage. 144 MADAGASCAR. fl m Dangers, however, sufficiently serious, remain to make a voyage in the Indian Seas at any time a serious and even hazardous affair ; and in the " hurricane season " a passage between the various ishmds is almost out of the question, so sudden and so violent arc the storms that burst over these waters, and sweep away to almost certain destruction anything in the sV'pe of a vessel that may happen to come within the vortex of the tempest. The cyclone, or circular storm, is perhaps the most fierce and relentless of all these visitations. It literally falls out of i, clear sky, the only sign of its approach being a painful silence and an absence of all movement in the air : a sense of depression amounting almost at last to suffocation hangs over even the minutest forms of animal life, the flowers droop their heads, the leaf hangs listless upon the branch, nature seems to sink down into a fit of sullen stupor, a pale red haze shimmers everywhere, the sun loses his colour, the birds hide them- selves away and their songs cease, till the silence of night seems to have fallen upon all things. The boughs of the gigantic forest trees do not even vibrate, the slender ferns and graceful palms look limp and weary, and a strange gloom prevails everywhere. Old Easterns read quickly enough these warn- ings, and at once take precautions for the pro- IN PERILS BY SEA. 145 gloom * tection of themselves and their homes by putting up hurricane shutters, fastening doors with planks roughly nailed across them, and securing all the movable timber about the premises. A sensation akin to awe steals across the mind, as the now imprisoned family sits wrapped in a silence which is not peace to catch the first murmurings of the rising: wind. In harbour a rapid clearance has been effected, and every ship which could be got ready has already been taken out far off to sea, to avoid the frightful havoc which a crowded port involves at such a time. At Port Louis, a few years ago, an eye-witness records the effect of a sudden visit from one of these circular storms. There had not been suffi- cient warnino; to enable the vessels to get free from their moorings and to stand out from the shore, and in a few hours nothing remained but a crowd of broken and dismantled wrecks, flung hither and thither, as balls are tossed by a child, and crushed and battered by contact with one another in the midst of the hurricane. The scene resembled most of all the gathering of a noble fleet after a severe naval action. The town also appeared as if it had been swept from end to end by a bombardment. Houses were overthrown or unroofed, gardens were uprooted and bared of every vestige of form or beauty, K ii 'Mil ' 14G MADAGASCAR. 'ii whilst many lives were sacrificed both on land and in the harbour to the irresistible fury of the gale. So fierce was the power of the wind on this particular occasion, that a group of pines were observed to bend almost double and to maintain a constant series of bowings nearly to the ground, which were curiously sug- gestive of the noddings of a set of hearse plumes. When the hurricane has spent itself, the trees regain their former uprightness, the flowers rear their heads, songs burst forth from the groves, and sounds of life again fill the streets ; but, alas 1 the damage and loss wrought by a single cyclone are sufficient to ruin often very wealthy planters of sugar or coffee in such colonies as Mauritius or Reunion, and to throw the whole community back and cripple its resources for many years to come. Every man has one event, which he regards as the event of his career. On one occasion in discussing the subject of " cyclones " with my *' hurricane" friend referred to on page 19, he related to me what he always considered the event of his life. His story was briefly as follows : — He had taken ship in a northern port of Madagascar for the Mauritius, having managed so far to delude the captain, I presume, as to convince him that the fatality as to hurricanes had left him. However that may be, we know » 1 IN PERILS BY SEA. L land fury of the group louble )\ving3 [y sug- >lumes. ic trees rs rear groves, i ; but, single veal thy iniea as whole ces for event, career, ect of ferred always )ry \vas 3ort of Managed as to ricanes 3 know •c 147 not, but having secured his passage, he congratu- lated himself upon a speedy deliverance from the terrors of those seas, and a hai)py reunion with his wife and friends in the more congenial and always hospitable colony of JMauritius. Tlie first and second days passed in happiness and serenity, but soon the signs, at first ()])S(;ure, but uatheriuf; in definiteness with fearful rapidity, of an ap- proaching storm began to manifest themselves to the wrath (at first unexpressed) of the captain, and the dismay of his unhappy passenger. So dark became the face of the worthy seaman, as the sky began to darken, and the first breathings, low but heavy, of the cyclone began to toss the waters, and disturb somewhat roughly the tackle of the vessel, that his tremblincr liuc^t be-:'ich done up. Finally the boat was got ashore, and a rope fastened to each end of it, one on board and one on shore ; and in this way, two at a time, we all reached land safely. It was pouring with rain, so that we were pretty well drenched. 4 IN PERILS BY SEA. 153 Mary luckily had her waterproof on, and so kept her shoulders dry. My trousers were torn somehow, and ray waistcoat fell overboard, so that I landed in Mada- gascar with a coat, a shirt, and a pair of shoes and socks." The crew of the Indiaman already referred to were fortunate enough to reach the she j, and were kindly received by the natives of the south coast. One of these was Robert Drury, the son of a London inn-keeper, about whom something has already been said in a former chapter. For some months everything went on pleasantly, and the wants of the white strangers were anticipated and generously supplied in every respect. In fact, so kind was the treatment Drury and ]^is companions in misfortune received on all sides, that they began to suspect the natives of a design to secure their goodwill, and then ultimately reduce them to slavery. The crew therefore arranged a plan of attack, and, suddenly tur ling upon their hosts, made the chief of them a prisoner. The white men were, however, quickl}'- outnumbered, and the Malagasy began to treat them with great rigour. The foreigners soon fell sick for want of food and water, and from the constant assaults made upon them, and their numbers wer j at length reduced to two or three, about whose ultimate fate there has always been some degree of uncertainty. Drury, being then only a lad, was spared and made a slave. As he i i i I I il 1 \il III 154 MADAGASCAR. was the first Englishman who had had any acquaintance with the natives of this, at that time almost unheard of, country, his experiences of the place and people, which were afterwards published, are very interesting and instructive. He frequently fell into errors in the spelling of the native names, and in his explanation of the rationale of native ceremonies and customs ; but he was fairly intelligent and gifted with great powers of observation, and the information he brouirht to England concerning the island was eagerly sought after, and created quite a sensa- tion at the time. His narrative is very pathetic in places, and the records of his own personal sufferings and privations are very touching and sad. He at length effected his deliverance by attracting the attention of his friends in England and elsewhere by an extraordinary and very clever device. He wrote his name and a brief sentence describing his deplorable condition upon a leaf, and sent it down to the coast by a friendly native, to be delivered to the first white man who should by chance be seen there. After some delay, the captain of a European vessel received the strange missive, and quickly grasped the purport of the message it carried. Ultimately Drury was able to reach the sea-coast, where he was gladly welcomed, and enabled to leave the country (1717). He did not penetrate to An- IN PERILS BY SEA. 155 any that very brief tananarivo or the districts of Ank6va, nor does lie appear to have heard of either the one or the other. Indeed, at that time the present capital was a phvce of no importance, being merely one of many small towns in Im^rina. Judging from his journal, he never probably passed beyond what is now known as the Province of Anosy, at the entrance to the south-eastern corner of the island. Drury's account of the southern tribes, amongst whom he passed the time of his captivity, makes no mention of the gods which were at that period reverenced as the deities of Imc^'rina ; but his description of . the religious ceremonies of the tribe with which he dwelt is very interesting. Their chief object of worship appears to have been what he calls an owley. It is not clear what this word means. Perhaps it is a provincial corruption, or rather variation, of the Hova word ody, a charm. He says : — " The inhabitants have all in their houses a small portable utensil which is devoted to religious uses, and is a kind of household altar, which they call the oiolcy. It is made of a peculiar wood, in small pieces, neatly joined, and making almost the form of a half-inoon with the horns downward, between which are placed two alligator's teeth. This is adorned with various kinds of beads, and sucli a sash fastened to it as a man ties about his waist when he goes to war. I observed that they brought two forks from the woods and fixed them i''ll % ' \ 156 MADAGASCAR. ' :■-! j in the ground, on which wus hiid a beam, slender at each end, and about six feet long, with two or three pegs on it, and upon thi.^ tl ey iiung tlie owley. Behind it was a long pc \ , ' » ■v-'liich a bullock was fastened with a cord. They r > a j a=) full of live coals, on which they threw an aromatic gum .n. ^ planted it under the oivlcy. They then took a small quantity of hair from the tail, chin, and eyebrows of the ox, and put them on the owlcy. Then my master used some particular gestures, with a large knife in his hand, and made a formal prayer, in which the people joined. In the next place, they threw the ox on the ground, and my master cut his throat; for as there are no priests amongst them, the chief man, whether of the country, town, or family, performs all divine offices himself" « Poor Drury, then a mere lad, narrowly escaped being killed by his master for refusing to join in this ceremony or repeat the prayer or invo- cation used by the people ; for he remarks : " As I thought this kind of worship to be down- right idolatry, and that they paid their ador- ations to the owley, I resolutely told him that I would sooner die than pay divine homage to any false deity whatsoever." It was only at the intercession of his owner's brother that his life was spared. In a conversation with one of his masters some time after this occurrence, the Malagasy chief told him : " It is not the wood nor the alligator's teeth that we worship, but there are certain IN PERILS BY SEA. 157 guardian demons who take care of all nations, families, and private persons ; and should you be possessed of one of these oivhys, and give it the name of some guardian spirit, it will undoubtedly attend you." The patriarchal element in ]\Ialagasy idolatry is distinctly recognised in these early accounts, and confirms what was ascertained by the first Protestant missionaries. There has apparently never been a priesthood proj)erly so-called, nor anything like an organised worship. Drury remarks : " There are no people here who pretend to be greater favourites of the Supreme Being than other men, and to have a particular com- mission to interpret and declare His will. No one has as yet been so presumptuous as to attempt this, and if any one should be so hardy, he would meet with but few to credit him. Every man here — the poor man as well as the rich lord — is a priest for himself and his family." The political power of the numerous petty chiefs having been absorbed in the one sovereign of Madagascar, their sacerdotal office was naturally transferred to the same supreme ruler; so that since the commencement of the present century the king or queen has acted as the national high priest at the fandroana and on other solemn occa- sions. Reference to some of these customs has already been made, in describing the New Year's 158 MADAGASCAK. festival and the sacred character of Malagasy royalty. The different tribes with whom Drury lived during his stay in Madagascar seem to have been frequently at war with one another, but more for purposes of plunder and cattle and slave dealing than for conquest. Their expeditions were not accompanied with anything like the cruelty and cold-blooded atrocity which marked the march of Ranavalona's armies, disciplined and armed with European weaj)ons. The TNlalagasy tribes appear to have lived much in tlie same way as the freebooting Highland clans of that very time, with their frequent raids into their neigh- bours' domains to carry off sheep and cattle, or like the border chiefs of England and Scotland at an earlier period. The generally kind treatment which Drury received was not an exceptional case. From the earliest date of their intercourse with Europeans, the Malagasy have shown a friendliness and a wish to conciliate, contrasting strangely with the disgraceful conduct of those who visited them, both Portuguese and French. From the first they were remarkably scrupulous in keeping to the engagements which they entered into with Europeans, and it w^as not until they learned by frequent experience how so-called Christians were not ashamed to deceive and injure them, that they IN PERILS BY SEA. 159 Drury began to use the same weapons in self-defence, and thus acquired a reputation for duplicity which was owing in great part to those who should have set an example of honesty and truth- fulness. The original state of the different tribes inhabit- ing Madagascar, as seen in the accounts of Drury and other writers, seems to have combined the patriarchal and feudal elements. A chief of cour- age, ability, and personal bravery would attract around him more followers than one of inferior qualifications ; while a reverence for authority by hereditary right gave to all chieftains a claim upon the services of those connected with their clan. Practically a large amount of personal liberty seems to have been enjoyed, each warrior of the tribe having the right of free speech and expressing his opinions upon any measures pro- posed. This relic of earlier freedom survives in the hahdnjs, or national assemblies, still called together by the sovereigns of ]\Iadagascar, where the right of free utterance is theoretically allowed, but which in many cases is of little avail aga; lit the modern arbitrary government, unless it is backed by a very general and strongly felt opinion amongst the people at large. The Malagasy possess no navy. They have lately acquired a small vessel, however, to act as a means of communication between the various IGO MADAGASCAR. fiif ports of the coast. Till very lately it was ex- tremely difficult to pass from one point to another of the island by sea, and long and tedious land journeys were the only practicable methods often by which the explorer or trader could get to any particular place. The east coast is worse off" in this respect than the western seaboard. The tiny vessels which collect the rubber, hides, gum, and bee's-wax for the Tamatave merchants seldom venture far in the stormy season, and it is ex- tremely difficult to prevail upon the captains to accept a passenger on any terms. The accom- modation on board these craft is of the most meagre condition, and a passage in them, even under the most favourable conditions of wind and weather, is far from enjoyable. The seamen who command them are, however, kindness itself, and the writer of these pages cannot refrain from putting on record here his gratitude to those gallant sailors, with whom he has voyaged, and whose society, under a variety of circumstances, he has been privileged to enjoy. On the west coast the traveller finds himself much better off with regard to means of transit. He can at almost any port secure for a reasonable sum the services of an Arab dhow or a sail canoe, that really skims the waves like a thing of life. These canoes are long and narrow, without gun- wale, and are sailed with an enormous sheet, which L IN PERILS BY SEA. IGl as ex- notlicr a land 3 often to any off in The 1, gum, seldom is cx- ;ain8 to accom- e most n, even f wind seamen indnesa refrain o those ed, and ances, nil imself transit. 3onable canoe, of life. gun- , which appears somewhat carelessly slung upon the mast, that bends and cracks in a most threatening manner in a furious gale. The Arab skipper sits silently upon a coil of rope or bundle of cloths in the stern, with a large paddle, shipped so as to act as a rudder, and with the rope of the sail twisted round his arm, or even held some- times in his teeth. The passenger is mounted dangerously high up in the centre of the canoe, and is charged earnestly and often to keep ex- actly in the position appointed to him, or the whole affair will suddenly heel over and disappear beneath the waters. Hour after hour the canoe drifts onward before the wind, at a magnificent speed, and amid a silence broken only by the plash of the waves, or the cry of a startled sea- bird overhead, or the muttered devotions of the Moslem crew, who, if it happen to be their sacred month of Ramadan, will remain without food or water beneath the burning sun throughout the day, and only refresh their parched throats and bleeding lips when the sun has at length fallen into the wesiern sea. At all times ab- stemious, these men during Ramadan barely touch food even of the simplest kind, and one cannot but admire their strength of principle and self-restraint, while pitying their intellectual and moral darkness. To them " Azrael," the angel of death, is an indescribable terror. The mention L : i 162 MADAGASCAR. of his name will often blanch the cheek of the most stolid son of Ishmael, who may have had to face the bayonets of an English company or the cannon of a British fleet, and has done so unmoved. Fearless, and without dread in the face of human foes, they are powerless and un- hinged in an instant at the whisper of the one dreaded name, and when upon the water they seem to have a special dread of his power. In the lowering cloud, or the rustle of the rising storm — in the sudden leap of the sea-dolphin at the bows, or in the scream of the night birds, they appear ever to hear the motion of his wings ; and in the presence of death their cries and utterances of despairing horror are heartrending m the extreme. The Mohammedan creed con- tains much that is only a species of veiled fatal- ism, and the Arab is constantly endeavouring through life to cheat his destiny. I had a considerable knowledge of many of these mei. old slave-traders, and former com- manders of dhows which had been swept from the Mozambique waters by the activity of the British cruisers. Having eluded the vigilance of the English blockade, these people had settled down in Madagascar as planters or traders, and occasionally it was possible to get from them some account of their former nefarious and often murderous exploits, when engaged in the slave- f IN PERILS BY SEA. 163 traffic between the east coast of Africa and the land of the Hovas. All that has ever been printed upon this subject has hitherto lailed to convey anything like an adequate picture of the atrocities and horrors which surrounded this par- ticular and most disgusting phase of commercial venture in its palmy days. There can be no doubt about the excellent cflfect of our slave jDolicy so far, and of the good results which have followed from our friendly relations with the present Sultan of Zanzibar ; but the evil is only " scotched, not killed." A brisk traffic in former times was carried on in East African slaves, be- tween the Hova princes of Imerina and the ports along the coast of the continent, and the Arabs of Muscat and Johanna were the merchants by whom it was directed. These men landed in the night from their swift-sailing dhows, and shipped oft' carG:oes of wretched creatures of all ases, with which they made for the unfrequented harbours and inlets of the Sakalava country, which ex- tends from Imerina along the whole of the north and west coasts of the islands. When pursued, the miserable freight was cast overboard and drowned. If the slavers were successful, on the other hand, in eluding the vigilance of the boats of her Majesty's cruisers, their unhappy victims were sold at the landing-place to traders from the capital, or agents of the great nobles, who were 1^ H 'v. I I III \ ml ■ 164 MADAGASCAR. sent down to secure the hardiest and most likely bargains. Many exciting scenes have been witnessed from time to time in the channel of the Mozam- bique, when a band of these sea-brigands have been perhaps surprised suddenly in some quiet bay by a detachment of blue -jackets (anxious for some relief to the usual monotony of naval life on the Zanzibar station), before the human cargo could either be thrown into the sea or hidden in the recesses of the forest. The Arabs seldom showed any disposition to fight or resist autho- rity ; but usually either (",ried to escape, or if actually secured, to incriminate one another and to pTOve that any one but themselves was the orioiLator of the slave-hunt and the owner of the slaves. The calm, placid self-assurance of these sons of the desert, however, generally gave way at the sight of the ominous rope suspended from the yard-arm, which was the inevitable fate of all those caught red-handed and with slaves actually in their possession. Cruel and rapacious by nature, and in their dealings with the weak and dispirited and unhappy beings who fell into their power, though they were, they themselves could not face certain death, and to be hung by the neck was to them the most frightf •• f all the visitations of their dreaded Azrael. The condition in which the slave cargoes were „ IN PERILS BY SEA. 165 often found can scarcely be realised. *' The gaunt skeleton forms, the abject apathetic looks of the miserable captives, and the utterly hopeless aspect of the various groups as they sat about the feet of their deliverers, and scarcely had strength left to realise that they were free, reminded the spectator often of Charon and his crew of slaves." Sick- ness, disease, hunger, and the brutality of the treatment they had received on Ijoard the dhows, where they were sometimes found packed in layers, in numbers amounting to 200 or 300 in a space only sufficient for 100 at the outside, often induced insanity, and they have been known to throw themselves into the sea in their paroxysms of mad despair. The melancholy duty of gathering up the corpses of the dead from the loathsome hold can only be perf rmed after the living have been drawn up to the fresh air on deck. The mangled bodies of the feebler children and women wlio sank down and were crushed to death in the fearful struggle, only add another and more repulsive feature to the already overwhelming horrors of life on a slave-ship. It has been stated, on good authority, that 30,000 slaves were annually landed, a few years ago, by our cruisers at the Sej^chelles alone : these islands, which are very important by reason of their geographical position, forming a convenient rendezvous for her JNIajesty^s ships which are em- v..,_ * ■ ft" ' 166 MADAGASCAR. ployed in the South Indian Ocean in the suppres- sion of this hateful traffic. The real difficulty of the friends of the slave, however, commences with the release of so many thousands of helpless beings in an alien land, far away from their homes and old associations. The question is, What is to bo done with and for them after they have been delivered from the bands cf their captivity ? Successful attempts have been made by good people to solve this knotty problem, both in St Helena and Sierra Leone, where cargoes of liberated negroes were till very lately constantly being landed from the boats of her Majesty's men-of-war. But so far on the east coast nothing in the way of an ade- quate provision has been made for the education and industrial training of liberated Africans. This appears to be the weak poii)- in what is certainly the most humane and noM;' "f all our n-^tional enterprises — the abolition of slavery. lo is to England that the eye of the oppressed turns from every quarter of the world, — it is to her that the outcast appeals, no matter where his domicile may happen to be : it is her proud and glorious prerogative that she is the fountain of liberty, of mercy, and of justice — the arbiter of the nations, the nursing-mother of the races — and it is for her to continue to maintain this great position, to accept her magnificent destiny, and . ...p^^ inY x.^ h IN PERILS BY SEA. 167 to finish the work which has boen placed in her hands, by securing for those who are freed by her efibrts from the grasp of the oppressor, that moral and physical instruction and enlightenment which will enable them to become capable and useful citizens, and thoughtful and honest men. 1G8 ■i ! CHAPTER IX. THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. i R The north-eastern province of Madagascar is less known than Imdrina ; and until very recently our information as to the physical conform (.ion of the territory, or the peculiar manners and habits of the population, was very limited. This absence of information may partly be accounted for by the difficulty of access to the district — there beinof no known way through it except the direct route from the capital. Traders and adventurers have from time to time touched at some of tlie seaports, but hnrp not penetrated many miles into the interior. The European name of the province i.-' Vohinia''e ; but the Malagasy call it VohimarJiiana (from vohitsa, village, and marina, level). The whole of this region is well supplied with streams, which How eastward from the central range of hills, as is the almost invari- able rule of all the ureat rivers of Madacfascar. The general aspect of the north-east of the 1 f H k THE GREAT XORTH-EAST. 169 is less tly our I of the ibits of ibscnce for by til ere direct iturers of tljc miles lof the V call , and s well from nvari- VdV. f tlie island is mountainous ; but there are rich and fertile valleys enough here, which abound in masses of unrestrained tropical vegetation, and which present very favourable conditions for settlement and industrial colonisation. With a little expenditure of ingenuity and money, the streams, which are seldom, if ever, quite dry, could be turned in any direction ; and the vast fields, which are so unproductive solely for want of water, by a simple system of irrigation could be made to yield an enormous and profitable return in the shape of abundant crops of rice, coffee, or sugar. Splendid timber for ship- building or other purposes abounds in the forests around the bay of Diego Saurez ; and there is also a very useful kind of stone, and unlimited deposits of iron. Coal has long been worked in the region of Nosibd ; and beautiful sj^ecimens of rock crystal have been brought up to the capital from time to time by the natives of Vohimare ; whilst quartz is also found in great quantities. The principal harljours on the north-oast coast are the Bay of Vohimare, Port Leven, Port Luquez, and the Bay of Diego, or British Sound. An attempt was made in the beginning of the last century to found a British settlement in Port Luquez, and great care was taken to send forth an expedition, suitably equipped for the purpose by Sir R. Farquhar, then governor of i 170 MADAGASCAR. the Mauritius ; but unfortunately the settlers were murdered in cold blood by the ferocious Sakalavas, who were then even more warlike and savage than they are now. The harbours of Vohimare and Diego Saurez are the chief centres of a limited but active commerce with Mauritius, Reunion, and even more distant islands. The neighbourhood of these ports is quite un- inhabited, except by the members of a half-savage tribe, who spend their time in hunting the herds of wild cattle which roam at will over the grassy plains, and share tiie cool shade of the verdant banks of the innumerable streams which inter- sect the meadow-land with the crocodiles which abound. These men intercept, in a clever man- ner, the calves of the herds, and cut them off from the parent stock, and then drive them away to some secluded spot, where they are tamed, and at length placed with the domestic cattle. The harbour of Vohimare is a broad and noble expanse of water, running inland in a westerly direction, and, as is often the case on these coasts, shut off from the full sweep of the Indian Ocean by a sunken coral reef, which rolls back the enormous breakers which burst upon it, and affords a welcome and secure shelter to tiie vessels which frequent it. The passage, however, be- tween the reef and the mainland is very narrow, and great care has to be exercised in entering. III THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. 171 inter- which man- [im off I away amed, cattle. noble stcrly these ndian back t, and essels r, be- rrow, ering, especially with a south or south-west wind, or in a few moments you may be on the reef and in peril of death. The danger is not so much on account of the depth of water, however, in case of wreck, as on account of the sharks which in- fest these harbours. These insatiable monsters have no mercy : they are extremely agile in their movements ; and natives have been known to be drawn under and devoured by them only a few feet from the custom-house landing-place. The view on entering this harbour is very pleasing. On the left appears the little settlement of the Creole traders, and others engaged in the com- merce of the port ; while on the west and north- west the bay is shut in by hills ; and a fringe of tropical shrubs and trees adorns the extreme edge of the shore. The Hova authorities, having learned wisdom from experience, generally erect their forts some distance inland, to escape the guns of European war-ships. Few Hovas are, therefore, to be seen in the harbour itself, ex- cept when friendly ships are in port, and they come down to receive the dues on behalf of the Queen — their stronghold, Amboanio, being some miles away to the west. The scene is generally an exciting and a busy one when a Mauritius bullock-ship is taking in her cargo of live cattle. The cattle are brought down from the country districts by the native drivers «•_.-. C— *- . 172 MADAOASCAK. to the shore, where they are conveyed on board in a very primitive fashion. A rope is fastened to the horns of the captive, and several scores of Malagasy tug and strain at the rope, with a view to induce the stubborn and often enraged animal to take to the water. A frightful din is kept up on all sides by the drivers to frighten off the sharks ; and when at length the bullock begins to swim, a canoe full of men take charge of the rope, and steadily steer the helpless animal to- wards the vessel, into which he is duly hoisted, and takes his place alongside some hundreds of companions, duly staked and foddered for the often difficult and perilous voyage to the Mauri- tius. Often, however, the cattle are by no means tractable. They resist, by all means in their power, thi.j enforced expatriation, and rush upon the men who have charge of them with ungovern- able fury ; or occasionally the rope breaks by which the bullock is held, and then for the time the released and bellowing brute has it all to himself. A general stampede takes place ; and half the morning is sometimes wasted in that, to the Malagasy, most exhilarating of all pastimes, an ''ox hunt." Boys, men, and even girls and women, join in the pursuit, over field and stream, and up the hillsides, now chasing and now being chased, roaring with delight, and utterly indiff'erent to the passage of precious moments. THK GREAT NORTH-EAST. 173 or the rapid ebb of the tide, which will detaiu the already irate skipper of the still unfilled " bullocker " perhaps for another day or two. At length, bleeding and panting, the poor beast is again secured, and led in triumph to the landing-place, whence he is dragged, heartless and weary, to the vessel's side, up which he is lifted more dead than alive, probably only to survive the brutal treatment he has received during tlie " liunt " a few hours, when his lifeless carcass will then be flung overboard, as a feast for the crowd of sharks that always follow per- severingly in the wake of these vessels, on the chance of what they may pick up. The bullocks of Vohimare are the finest in the island, and are much prized in the markets of Mauritius on account of the quality of the beef. This superiority of flavour is doubtless due to the quantity of rich grass with which the downs and valleys in the north-west are clothed. The Saka- lava in this neighbourhood have never taken kindly to the Hova rule : they take every oppor- tunity of resisting their authority ; md they seldom appear at Amboanio, the local seat of the central Government, except at the annual festi- vals, or to exchange or sell rice or other produce. The Betsimisaraka of the Vohimare province are very clean and neat in their dwellings, which compare most favourably in this respect with the ^> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 2^ // :/ fe ^ 1.0 l^|28 |2.5 |5o '■^" iffliaBi ■^ 1^ III 2.2 WUl. I.I 1.25 V] > ># #%.''?" ? Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-450S ) *• .V4 6 r ^.>■aMrM M.-jmtnemmm 174 MADAGASCAR. II : houses of the Sakalava, and even of some of those of the Hova officials. They usually erect their houses a few feet from the soil, — a plan that is generally followed by the Europeans on the coast, and which affords some degree of protection from the damp and malaria. In former days this corner of the island used, it is said, to be infested by pirates, who after- wards settled down amongst the inhabitants ; and the remains of many foreign tombs in various parts of the country, and the existence of traces of European names amongst the people, testify to the fact that a considerable colony of white strangers once existed there. Perhaps the most remarkable town in the north- east of Madagascar is Antomboka. It is the stronghold of the Hovas in this locality, and has a somewhat eventful history. Like the capital, it is built upon e Diountain, and thus presents a striking appearance when approached from the plain by which it is surrounded. A visitor to the fortress a few years ago thus describes its situation and means of approach : — " We then left Antananarivokely, and after travelling across a plain, ascended the mountain on which Antomboka is built, and entered the town. Antomboka, properly speaking, is the name of a very small village of ten or twelve houses, situated close to the Bay of Diego Suarez ; THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. 175 but the name is given by some natives and Europeans to the town or citadel of the Hovas, called sometimes by the Hovas Vohimarina, and by the Sakalavas Antsingy. It is a fortress of the Hovas, built on the top of a mountain, which on all sides is defended by projecting and precipitous rocks from invasion. There are only three ways by which the top is reached, all of them exceed- ingly difficult. One is on the south, one on the west, and one on the east. I first ascended by that on the south side of the mountain. Just before coming to the top, the only means of getting up is a ladder of from 15 to 20 feet — a favourite device of the Malagasy in all their fortified strongholds. Having mounted that, a plateau stretches itself out before you, on which is built a Sakalava town — i.e., the Sakalava por- tion of Antomboka. Higher up is the town of the civilians, and higher still is the residence of the governor, officers, and soldiers. This town is so naturally and almost invulnerably defended, that it forms the key of the whole north of Madagascar. The Hovas quite regard it in this light ; so that while scarcely a hundred soldiers are stationed at Amboanio, quite a thousand are quartered at Antomboka." The Bay of Diego Suarez is beginning to be known as one of the finest in the world. It com- prises five large harbours, and is completely shel- 176 MADAGASCAR. k k' tered from the Indian Ocean. The scenery around it is extremely beautiful, the climate is healthy, and the soil black, rich, and fertile, and at the same time well watered. The whole of th.. north- east will ultimately, and probably at no very dis- tant period, become one of the most important districts of Madagascar. The abundant materials which it possesses for a large and lucrative trade in its cattle, timber, and mineral deposits, are sure to be developed by the enterprise of the present Government ; and the vast resources of this region will be poured out upon the world, in return for useful imports and articles of domestic comfort, which are everywhere so much needed, and for which there will be an increasing de- mand as the people become more enlightened, and as the country advances in civilisation, and in the knowledge of its own splendid endowments of power and wealth. There is a great lack in the native mind of that peculiar energy which is the chief element in the success of a commercial nation, but this defect is almost altogether con- fined to the subordinate tribes. The Hovas, on the other hand, show marvellous signs of the mercantile instinct, which, if rightly directed and encouraged, wiU be the means and instrument of their eventual and nc'^ remot-j elevation to a position of political power and dignity on the East African seaboard, that will be as unrivalled THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. 177 as it will be creditable both to themselves and to all those who have befriended them. A natural indolence oppresses the other races in the island, and they are quite satisfied with producing suffi- cient rice for the day's requirements, and sufficient sugar-cane for the manufacture of their favourite drink, called toaha, without being in the least impressed with the lavish prodigality with which Providence has blessed their beautiful country. It is feared that there is still a leakage in the matter of the slave-trade in this particular corner of the territory of the Hovas ; and gum, copal, and other productions of the locality are occa- sionally sold for cotton prints, gunpowder, and slaves, introduced stealthily by the Arabs, with whom kidnapping appears ever to be a pleasant as well as a profitable employment. Under pre- tence of being sailors, and mere servants of the owners of the Arab dh3\vs, miserable Africans from the Mozambique have been introduced into the island and sold to Hova officials up to very recent times, and it is to be feared it will be years before the traffic can be said to be for ever put an end to. The influence of these Arabs of Johanna and the Comoros is anything but salutary. I heard of one, who frequently called upon me during my residence at And^voranto for medical treatment, who carried on a system of M 178 MADAGASCAR. most unblushing body-snatching under our very- eyes for some time there, and which we were powerless to stop. He usually went to some mothf^r with a large family, or some poor Betsi- misaraka chief who had a large number of slaves, and under pretence of hiring a likely lad or youth, would engage his services for some weeks for a rice-collecting voyage up one or other of the rivers towards the interior of the island. All would go well till some obscure town or village had been reached, when the rascally Arab would then proceed to hawk the boy about for sale. Of course the wretched victim of the plot denied bitterly that he was the slave of the Arab. But this was of no avail in most cases, as it is not an uncommon thing for slaves to deny ownership if they do not want to be sold away from their home and kindred. The miserable lad would be parted with for half his value probably, and in due course the Arab would reappear at And^- voranto w4th the blandest of faces, and the most sympathetic of voices, and handing the mother or the master a dollar, would say that, alas I for poor hoto (the boy), he had been eaten by a crocodile, after repeated warnings from him as to incautious bathing in the streams. Sometimes the tale was varied to tazo (fever), or latsak in drano (drowned) ; but unfortunately on one occasion the youth himself reappeared, after THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. 179 very were some Betsi- ilaves, ad or weeks &lier of I. All village would le. Of denied ). But not an rsliip if m tlieir ould be and in And^- le most mother asl for by a m as to etimes tsak in m one after % about two years' absence, and exposed the whole transaction, to the horror of the relatives of those who had been taken away by the Arab, and to the complete confusion and utter consternation of this worthy son of the Prophet, who said that there had been some mistake somewhere, and that he would go and inquire into the matter. His departure from amongst us was, to say the least of it, abrupt, and when lar' I heard from Andevoranto and from our people there, he had not returned. Perhaps he has found the problem he set out to solve more complicated than he anticipated ! A little north of Imerina lies the AntsihanaJca country, a district inhabited by a small but interesting clan of people called the Sihanaka. Little was known about this tribe till recently, and the information which has come to hand is quite of a nature to make us wish to have a more extended knowledge of the place and its population. Antsihanaka may be described as an undulating oval plain about forty-five miles in length from north to south, and twenty-five miles broad from east to west. Many of the villages stand on the extreme border of the plain ; but a few are found in the very centre of the swamp, which is chiefly made up of large tracts of rice-field and enormous marshes. The oval plain of Antsihanaka may be divided 180 MADAGASCAR. u ?■ for consideration into (1) The forest district ; (2) The open country ; (3) The marshes. Of the forest district the most interesting pro- duets worthy of notice are the magnificent tim- ber woods to be found on all sides. One of the trees is called the voamatalwharatra (the fruit afraid of the thunderbolt), because the tree is said to shed its leaves at the approach of a thunder-storm. Mahogany, rosewood, and ebony are represented by various close-grained woods of the same family, which are capable of taking a very high polish, and of being worked up into beautiful articles of useful and ornamental fur- niture. There are also white and yellow v\'^oods, resembling maple and box, and numerous speci- mens of the pcndcmus and the palm, which latter are not however of much value as timber. India-rubber is also obtained in the forests around Anl;sihanaka, from what appears, by its name, to be a kind of creeper or climbing plant rather than a tree. Honey is very plentiful ; and there are some wild animals which are the largest known in the island. Of these the most notable are the forest dog, the haihay, the fosa, and several species of the lemur. The haihay is a kind of wild cat, very savage ; and the fosa is a kind of dog with black fur, strong muscular claws, and with the contracting pupil of the eye seen in the felidse. There is also a mythical THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. 181 Istrict ; Qg pro- nt tmi- ; of the lie fruit tree is ill of a d ebony 1 woods f taking up into ntal fur- ;v woods, us speci- Lch latter r. ,e forests ?s, by its ing plant )lentiful ; 1 are tlie the most the fosa, le haihay I the fosa muscular )il of the I mythical creature known as the songom, about which much has been said, but little really known. It is described as a creature as large as a donkey, spotted with red, and d we] ling in the forests to the north. A recent traveller speaks of the native report of a remarkable .pider in these regions, which constructs a web so strong that birds are caught in it, and he says that he had no reason to question the truth of the report. There are numerous serpents in the Antsihan- aka mr^shes, but none of them are venomous. An entirely new species was obtained by the late Mr Crossley (an English naturalist). The body was only a little larger than a spear-shaft, its length was about six feet, and its colour perfectly white. Twenty different species of birds were coll ;cted from these woods by M. Grandidcir — one about the size of a pigeon, and of a beautiful blue colour, resembling the finest silk, attracting;' considerable attention. The open country is covered with vast herds of cattle, which are parily owned by the Sihan- aka and partly by the Hovas. Rice is ex- tremely cheap, and bananas and mangoes are very plentiful. Geese and ducks are kept all over the district in great numbers ; and in this part of the country there is said happily to be no fever. The plains of the Antsihanaka are 1. 1 1 1 I 182 MADAGASCAR. V n liable to be overrun at any time by the Saka- laka, who delight, as is the case with the Bilra in the south, to descend upon the fruitful fields and well-stocked meads of their neigh- bours, and carry off all that they can possibly lay hands upon. They have been known to carry off two hundred head of cattle at one swoop ; and consequently the Hovas have erected a belt of small forts along the western side of the plain for the protection of the district. The herds cover the plains, and cattle-tending is the chief business of the people, and probably in no part of the island are there so many cattle as in the Antsihanaka. The oxen are used extensively for treading the rice -fields. They are driven to and fro over the mud, and thus reduce it to a state exceedingly well fitted to receive the seed grain. Guinea fowls abound, but as they are very shy, it is diflicult to get at them with the gun. The yearly tribute to the Queen is paid by these people in chillies, geese, mats, and quills for pens. The civet-cat is also known, and a kind of hedgehog which is considered very good eating indeed. Two-fifths of the district is marsh or boggy land, and is the great source of supply for the reeds and rushes which are worked up by the Sihanaka women in useful mats and baskets, these being sold in Imerina, and especially at the !^ THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. 183 Saka- ! Bilra ruitful neigh- ossibly wn to at one erected side of . The I is the ibly in r cattle e used They d thus tted to ibound, to get 3ute to chillies, ivet-cat which ' boggy for the by the caskets, y at the capital, in large numbers. A plant also grows in these marshes which, when burnt, supplies a kind of potash, much used in the place of salt. But the most striking physical feature of the Sihanaka country is the Lake Alaotra, which is a noble expanse of perfectly clear water, spreading twenty miles in length from north to south, and about four miles broad, perhaps, from east to west. It is bordered with mang, citron, and other trees, in rich profusion ; and on a bright day, as the traveller climbs the side of one of the neighbouring hills and looks for the first time across the placid bosom of Alaotra, the view is enchanting, for the limpid surface glimmers in the light of the bright sunshine like an enormous and beautifully polished mirror of burnished geld, while the tiny towns built along its shores stand up from the lake and are thrown into a bold relief, which, reflected in the clear water, is very pretty in its effect. The shores are further enlivened by the herds of cattle grazing amongst the luxuriant tropical foliage ; flocks of birds skim the surface of the lake ; the children laugh and play with their toy boats on the edge of the water ; and the constant passage to and fro of parties of men and women in their canoes, completes a most attractive and agreeable picture of life in Madagascar. At the northern end of the lake is a small island, which I, maam^ «'• n ; i '^ I i 184 MADAGASCAR. is no longer allowed to bo inhabited. It was there that the old Sihanaka chiefs made their final stand against the Hovas, and bravely and successfully resisted them, until Radama I., hav- ing placed a cannon upon a ruft, finally destroyed the stronghold. The birds which throng the lake are very numerous, and at evening, when they settle down along the shore, one cannot walk along, and the ground is black with them on all sides. The vivi/ (diver) and the famakisi- fotra (breaker of a land - shell) are the most important amongst the feathered denizens of Alaotra. The latter is like a small heron, but its beak is quite the length of one's hand, and at the same time small as a penholder in length and diameter. A bird called mlonihonkomana is worthy of notice for its good manners, as it always, when feeding, covers up its head with both its wings till it has finished. Fish abound in the waters of this lake, and the inhabitants of the surrounding villages carry on a very lucrative fishing trade with Imt^rina, and even more distant provinces. Crocodiles are to be found everywhere, and on. the small rocky islets they may often be seen on a fine afternoon snapping and struggling for a place to bask in the warm rays of the sun. The people seldom cross the lake except in companies of two or three lakana, as they are in great It was le their ely and I., hav- 38troyed ong the y, when cannot th them tmakisi- le most zens of ron, but 1, and at a length mana is as it ad with abound abitants a very id even and oa seen on OP for a a. The mpanies n great /, THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. 185 dread of being upset by these huge and hideous brutes. One of the bearers used to tell a curious tale of a fight between a wild boar and one of these horrible monsters. The boar was approach- ing some shallow water, and the crocodile drew near to seize him. Tlie boar saw the crocodile, and accepted the battle, which soon waxed fast and furious. The boar ripped up the stomach of the crocodile with his terrible snout, but the reptile succeeded in dragging the boar into deep water and drowning him. The dead bodies of both came to the surface, and were secured by the natives, who preserved their heads. There is a bird of the cormorant type which always attends upon the sleeping crocodile, and is often seen perched upon his head or back in perfect security. At the approach of danger, the bird utters a peculiar cry, which acts as a signal to the startled beast, who immediately glides off the rock into the water, and sinks below the surface. The burial customs of the Sihanaka differ con- siderably from those which prevail in other parts of the island. When any one falls ill amongst them, the relatives immediately convey the sufferer with the greatest privacy into some secret place in the forest, where no one is allowed to see him except one or two persons who are appointed to nurse him. If he dies, the corpse / 186 MADAGASCAR. I 1 ;;i| - ^X^V^^^ [ ■' "A mm-' . 1 ■ Ji. ' ? it* ■ j'-l f is brought into the village with great ceremony, and it there lies in state, probably for some weeks. " A number of women, both old and young, sit in the house containing the corpse, and the chief mourners weep, bat the rest sing and beat drums. The funeral dirge they call cds9/, for it cannot be properly called singing; and all the custom.': together are termed undravuna ; and there is no cessation in them day or night until the burial, although that sometimes does not take place for some time in the case of wealthy people. Tlie dirges sung on these occasions are dis- tressing and strange to hear, and show plainly their ignorance of the future state and of what is bej^ond the grave, for the dead are termed 'lost' {vdrif), — lost as people are who are left by their compo.nions, and do not see the way to j'o home again ; and death they look upon as the messenger of some hard-hearted power, who drives hard bargains which cannot be altered, and puts one in extreme peril (lit., ' in the grip of a crocodile '), where no entreaties prevail. The dead they call ' the gentle (or pleasant) person ' ; and they will not allow his wife and children and all his relatives to think of any- thing but their bereavement, and the e\il which they have to expecL from the want of the protection they had from the dead; Cor now the pillar of the house on which they leant is broken, and the house which shel- tered Lhem is pulled down, and the town they lived iu is destroyed, and the strong one they followed is over- come. And, after that, they declare thut the living are in trouble, and seem to agr^o that it had been better not to have been born. THE GREAT NORTH-EAST. 187 tnony, some , in the 3urners funeral J called termed . day or es does wealthy are dis- ly their ond the -lost as I do not ey look rer, who ind puts lodile '), dl 'the lllow his of auy- ;h they ley had )use on ih shel- lived in lis over- lying are better " While they are yet singing, in the manner just de- scribed, a man goes round the house and sings a dirge in a melancholy tone ; upon hearing which those in the house stop suddenly and are perfectly still. Then the one outside the house proceeds rapidly with his chant, as follows : — " ' Oh, gone away ! oh, gone away, oh ! Is the gentle one, oh, the gentle one, oh ! Ah, farewell, ah, farewell, oh ! Farewell, oh ! farewell io his house ! Farewell, oh ! farewell to his friends ! Farewell, oh ! faretvell to his wife ! Farewell, oh! farewell to his children!' " Then those indoors answer, ' Haie ! ' as if to say, Araen. Then thfv inquire and reply as follows, those outside asking, and the others in the house answer- ing :— " ■ What is that sound of rushing feet ? ' ' The cattle.' ' What is that rattling chinking sound ? ' ' The money.' * What if making such a noise ? ' ' The people' — referring to the property of the deceased. Then the one outside the house chants again : — " ' Oh ! distressed and sad are the many ! Oh ! the plantation is overgrown with weeds ! Oh ! scattered are the calves ! Oh ! silent is the band ! Oh I weeping are the children ! ' " Then those in the house answer again, ' Haie ! ' Then the one outside the house begins again : — " ' Oh ' gone away, gone away is the gentle one I Fuiewell, oh ! ftu-ewell!' &c. &c. ■ I 1 188 MADAGASCAR. ■I ' ? I': I' ?'i Jt " Then the one outside goes away, and those in the house begin again. Meanwhile the men remain in another house called ti^dno lahy (men's house, or male house), and continually bring toaka (rum) and cooked meat for the women to eat, and there is a great noise and disturbance. And every evening they kill a num- ber of oxen and buy quantities of toalm ; but on the final days of watching the corpse they bring up into the village a great many oxen, and all the men take their spears and spear the animals to death all over the village; and every one takes what meat he pleases, except the head, for tlie heads of all the oxen killed are collected together an placed one over another on long poles. " And when the corpse is about to be buried, the widow is decorated profusely with all the ornaments she possesses, wearing a scarlet lamha, with beads and silver chains on her neck and wrists and ankles, long ear-rings depending from her ears to her shoulders, and silver ornaments on her head. Then she is placed in the house so as to be seen by every one, so that (they say) it may be seen how her husband adorned her while he was yet living ; and when the people go away to the funeral she remains still in the house, and does not go to the grave. And all the cattle which were the property of the deceased, together with those of his family as well, are brought up near the village, so that people may see their numbers. Some of the oxen are taken to the path by which the corpse is to be carried, and, when the corpse approaches, men go before it to spear the oxen and lay the carcasses on the road, so that they may be stepped on by those who carry the corpse. If the grave is at some distance, this is done a fl