Chapter I: Preface

The title of this book may perhaps be considered by some as too ambitious, and may provoke comparison with others somewhat similar in name, but with whose distinguished authors I have no claim at all to compete.

I have no tales to tell of hair-breadth escapes from savage beasts, no shooting of “big game,” no stalking of elephant or rhinoceros, of “hippo” or giraffe. We have indeed no big game in Madagascar. The most dangerous sport in its woods is hunting the wild boar; the largest carnivore to be met with is the fierce little _fòsa_, and the crocodile is the most dangerous reptile.

But I ask the courteous reader to wander with me into the wonderful and mysterious forests, and to observe the gentle lemurs in their home, as they leap from tree to tree, or take refuge in the thickets of bamboo; to come out in the dusk and watch the aye-aye as he stealthily glides along the branches, obtaining his insect food under the bark of the trees; to listen to the song of numerous birds, and to note their habits and curious ways; to hear the legends and folk-tales in which the Malagasy have preserved the wisdom of their ancestors with regard to the feathered denizens of the woods and plains, and to admire the luxuriant vegetation of the forests, and the trees and plants, the ferns and flowers, and even the grasses, which are to be found in every part of the island.

I invite those who may read these pages to look with me at the little rodents and insect-eaters which abound in and near the woods; to mark the changing chameleons which are found here in such variety; to watch the insects which gambol in the sunshine, or hide in the long grass, or sport on the streams. If such unexciting pleasures as these can interest my readers, I can promise that there is in Madagascar enough and to spare to delight the eye and to charm the imagination.

I confess that I am one of those who take much more delight in silently watching the birds and their pretty ways in some quiet nook in the woods, than in shooting them to add a specimen to a museum; and that I feel somewhat of a pang in catching even a butterfly, and would much rather observe its lovely colours in life, as it unfolds them to the sunshine, than study it impaled on a pin in a cabinet. No doubt collections are necessary, but I have never cared to make them myself.

Nothing is here recorded but facts which have come under my own observation or as related by friends and others whose authority is unquestionable. And while my main object is to convey a vivid and true impression of the animal and vegetable life of Madagascar, I have also given many sketches of what is curious and interesting in the habits and customs of the Malagasy people, among whom I have travelled repeatedly, and with whom I have lived for many years. I have no pretensions to be a scientific naturalist or botanist, I have only been a careful observer of the beautiful and wonderful things that I have seen and I have constantly noted down what many others have observed, and have here included information which they have given in the following pages.

I have long wished that someone far more competent than myself would write a popular book upon the natural history and botany of this great island; but as I have not yet heard of any such, I venture with some diffidence to add this book to the large amount of literature already existing about Madagascar, but none of it exactly filling this place. For many years I edited, together with my late friend and colleague, the Rev. R. Baron, the numbers of _The Antanànarìvo Annual_, a publication which was “a record of information on the topography and natural productions of Madagascar, and the customs, traditions, language and religious beliefs of its people,” and for which I was always on the look-out for facts of all kinds bearing on the above-mentioned subjects. But as this magazine was not known to the general public, and was confined to a very limited circle of readers, I have not hesitated to draw freely on the contents of its twenty-four numbers, as I am confident that a great deal of the information there contained is worthy of a much wider circulation than it had in the pages of the _Annual_.

Finally, as preachers say, although this book is written by a missionary, it is not “a missionary book”; not, certainly, because I undervalue missionary work, in which, after nearly fifty years’ acquaintance with it, and taking an active part in it, I believe with all my heart and soul, but because that aspect of Madagascar has already been so fully treated. Books written by the Revs. W. Ellis, Dr Mullens, Mr Prout, Dr Matthews, Mr Houlder, myself and others, give all that is necessary to understand the wonderful history of Christianity in this island. Despite what globe-trotting critics may say, as well as colonists who seem to consider that all coloured peoples may be exploited for their own benefit, mission work, apart from its simply obeying the last commands of our Lord, is _the_ great civilising, educational and benevolent influence in the world, deny it who can! But in this book I want to show that Madagascar is full of interest in other directions, and that the wonderful things that live and grow here are hardly less worthy of study than those events which have attracted the attention of Christian and benevolent people for nearly a hundred years past.

The author thanks very sincerely his friends, Mr John Parrett, Monsieur Henri Noyer, and Razaka, for their freely accorded permission to reproduce many photographs taken by them and used to illustrate this book. And his grateful thanks are also due to his old friend, the Rev. J. Peill, for the care he has taken in going through the proof sheets, especially in seeing that all Madagascar words are correctly given.

Two or three chapters of this book cover, to some extent, the same ground as those treated of in another book on Madagascar by the author, published some years ago by Mr Fisher Unwin. The author here acknowledges, with many thanks, Mr Fisher Unwin’s kindness in giving full permission to produce these, which are, however, rewritten and largely added to.

J. S.

_NOTE._—Throughout this book Malagasy words are accented on the
syllables which should be emphasised, and if it is borne in mind
that the vowels _a_, _e_ and _i_ have as nearly as possible the
same sound as in French or Italian, and that _o_ is exactly like
our English _o_ in _do_, _to_ and _move_, and that the consonants
do not differ much in sound from those in English, except that _g_
is always hard, _s_ always a sibilant and not like _z_, and _j_ is
like _dj_ there will be no difficulty in pronouncing Malagasy words
with a fair amount of accuracy.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
PAGE
INTRODUCTORY 17

Natural History of the Island—Still Little Known—Roads and
Railway—We travel by Old-Fashioned Modes—Great Size and
Extent of Madagascar

CHAPTER II

TAMATAVE AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE COUNTRY 20

“The Bullocker”—Landing at Tamatave—Meet with New
Friends—Landing our Luggage—Bullocks and Bullock Ships—Native
Houses—Strange Articles of Food—A Bed on a Counter—First
Ride in a _Filanjàna_—At the Fort—The Governor and his
“Get-Up”—A Rough-and-Ready Canteen

CHAPTER III

FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ALONG THE SEASHORE 27

Travelling in Madagascar—Absence of Roads—“General
Forest and General Fever”—Pleasures and Penalties of Travel—Start
for the Interior—My Private Carriage—Night at Hivòndrona—Native
Canoes—Gigantic Arums—Crows and Egrets—Malagasy
Cattle—Curious Crabs—Shells of the Shore—Coast
Lagoons—Lovely Scenery—Pandanus and Tangèna Trees—Pumice
from Krakatoa—Sea and River Fishes—Prawns and
Sharks—Hospitable Natives—Trees, Fruits and Flowers—“The
Churchyard of Foreigners”—Unpleasant Style of Cemetery—“The
Hole of Serpents”—Killing a Boa-constrictor—The
White-fronted Lemur—Andòvorànto—How the Aye-Aye was
caught—What he is like—And where he lives—A Damp
Journey

CHAPTER IV

FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ANDÒVORÀNTO TO MID-FOREST 48

A Canoe Voyage—Crocodiles and their Ways—River Scenery—Traveller’s
Tree—Which is also “The Builder’s Tree”—Maròmby—Coffee
Plantation—Orange Grove—We stick in the
Mud—Difficulties of Road—Rànomafàna and its Hot Springs—Lace-leaf
Plant—Native Granaries—Endurance of Bearers—Native
Traders—Appearance of the People—Native Music and
Instruments—Bamboos—Ampàsimbé—Cloth Weaving—Native
Looms—_Rofìa_-palms—“A Night with the Rats”—Hard Travelling
—Béfòrona—The Two Forest Belts—The Highest Mountains—Forest
of Alamazaotra—Villages on Route—The Blow-Gun

CHAPTER V

FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ALAMAZAOTRA TO ANTANÀNARÌVO 63

“Weeping-place of Bullocks”—“Great Princess” Rock—Grandeur
of the Vegetation—Scarcity of Flowers—Orchids,
Bamboos, and Pendent Lichens—Apparent Paucity of Animal
Life—Remarkable Fauna of Madagascar—Geological Theories
thereon—Lemurs—The Ankay Plain—An Ancient Lake—Mòramànga—River
Mangòro—Grand Prospect from Ifòdy—The
Tàkatra and Its Nest—Hova Houses—Insect Life—Angàvo
Rock—Upper Forest—Treeless Aspect of Imèrina—Granite
Rocks—Ambàtomànga—And its big House—Grass Burning—First
View of Capital—Its Size and Situation—Hova Villages—A
Cloud of Locusts—Reach Antanànarìvo

CHAPTER VI

THE CHANGING MONTHS IN IMÈRINA: CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND
LIVING CREATURES OF THE INTERIOR 75

The Seasons in Madagascar—Their Significant Names—Prospect
from Summit of Antanànarìvo—Great Rice-plain—An
Inundation of the Same—Springtime: September and October
—Rice-planting and Rice-fields—Trees and Foliage—Common
Fruits—“Burning the Downs”—Birds—Hawks and Kestrels—Summer:
November to February—Thunderstorms and Tropical
Rains—Lightning and its Freaks—Effects of Rain on Roads—Rainfall
—Hail—Magnificent Lightning Effects—Malagasy New Year

CHAPTER VII

SPRING AND SUMMER 90

Native Calendar—Conspicuous Flowers—Aloes and Agaves—Uniformity
of Length of Days—Native Words and Phrases for Divisions of
Time—And for Natural Phenomena—Hova Houses—Wooden and Clay—Their
Arrangement—And Furniture—“The Sacred Corner”—Solitary Wasps
—Their Victims—The Cell-builders—The Burrowers—Wild Flowers

CHAPTER VIII

THE CHANGING MONTHS IN IMÈRINA: CLIMATE, VEGETATION, AND
LIVING CREATURES OF THE INTERIOR 103

Autumn: March and April—Rice Harvest—The Cardinal-Bird—The
Egret and the Crow—Harvest Thanksgiving Services—Rice,
the Malagasy Staff of Life—Queer “Relishes to Rice”—Fish
—Water-beetles—A Dangerous Adventure with One—Dragonflies—Useful
Sedges and Rushes—Mist Effects on Winter Mornings—Spiders’
Webs—The “Fosse-Crosser” Spider—Silk from it—Silk-worm Moths—And
Other Moths—The “King” Butterfly—Grasshoppers and Insect Life on
the Grass—The Dog-Locust—Gigantic Earthworms—Winter: May to
August—Winter the Dry Season

CHAPTER IX

AUTUMN AND WINTER 116

Old Towns—Ancient and Modern Tombs—Memorial Stones—Great
Markets—Imèrina Villages—Their Elaborate Defences—Native
Houses—Houses of Nobles—Hova Children—Their Dress and
Games—Village Churches—And Schools—A School Examination—Aspects
of Nightly Sky Epidemics in Cold Season—Vegetation

CHAPTER X

AT THE FOREST SANATORIUM 127

A Holiday at Ankèramadìnika—The Upper Forest Belt—The Flora of
Madagascar—Troubles and Joys of a Collector—A Silken Bag—Ants
and their Nests—In Trees and Burrows—Caterpillars and Winter
Sleep—Butterflies’ Eggs—Snakes, Lizards and Chameleons—An
Arboreal Lizard—Effects of Terror—Some Extraordinary
Chameleons—The River-Hog—Sun-birds

CHAPTER XI

FOREST SCENES 140

Forest Scenes and Sounds—The Goat-sucker—Owls—Flowers and
Berries—Palms and other Trees—The Bamboo-palm—Climbing
Plants—Mosses, Lichens and Fungi—Their Beautiful Colours
—Honey—The Madagascar Bee—Its Habits and its Enemies—Forest
People—The Bétròsy Tribe—A Wild-Man-of-the-Woods—A Cyclone
in the Forest—A Night of Peril

CHAPTER XII

RAMBLES IN THE UPPER FOREST 150

Forest Parts—Lost in the Woods—Native Proverbs and Dread
of the Forest—Waterfalls—A Brilliant Frog—Frogs and their
Croaking—A Nest-building Frog—Protective Resemblances and
Mimicry—Beetles—Brilliant Bugs—Memorial Mounds—Iron
Smelting—Feather Bellows—Depths of the Ravines—Forest
Leeches—Ferns—Dyes, Gums and Resins—Candle-nut Tree—Medicinal
Trees and Plants—Useful Timber Trees—Superstitions about
the Forest—Marvellous Creatures—The Ball Insect—Millipedes
and Centipedes—Scorpions

CHAPTER XIII

FAUNA 162

The Red-spot Spider—Various and Curious Spiders—Protective
Resemblances among them—Trap-door Spiders—The Centetidæ
—Malagasy Hedgehogs—The Lemurs—The Propitheques—The Red
Lemur—Pensile Weaver-bird—The Bee-eater—The Coua Cuckoos
—The Glory and Mystery of the Forests—A Night in the Forest

CHAPTER XIV

ROUND ANTSIHÀNAKA 173

Object of the Journey—My Companions—The Antsihànaka
Province—Origin of the People—Anjozòrobé—“Travellers’
Bungalow”—A Sunday there—“Our Black Chaplain”—The
“Stone Gateway”—Ankay Plain—Ants and Serpents—Hair-dressing
and Ornaments—_Tòaka_ Drinking—Rice Culture—Fragrant
Grasses—The Glory of the Grass—Their Height—Capital of the
Province—We interview the Governor—Flowers of Oratory—The
Market—Fruits and Fertility—A Circuit of the Province—Burial
Memorials—Herds of Oxen—Horns as Symbols—Malagasy Use of
Oxen—A Sihànaka House—Mats and Mat-making—Water-fowl—Their
Immense Numbers—Teal and Ducks—The Fen Country—Physical
Features of Antsihànaka—The Great Plain—Ampàrafàravòla
—Hymn-singing—Sihànaka Bearers—“Wild-Hog’s Spear” Grass—Dinner
with the Lieutenant-Governor—“How is the Gun?”—Volcanic
Action—Awkward Bridges—Fighting an Ox—Occupations of the
People—Cattle-tending—Rice Culture—Fishing—Buds

CHAPTER XV

LAKE SCENERY 193

The Alaotra Lake—Lake Scenery—A Damp Resting-place—Shortened
Oratory—We cross the Lake—An Ancient and Immense Lake—The
Crocodile—Mythical Water-creatures—A Pleasant Meeting
—“Manypoles” Village—A Sihànaka Funeral—Treatment of
Widows—A Village in the Swamp—Unlucky Days and Taboos
—Madagascar Grasses—We turn Homewards

CHAPTER XVI

LAKE ITÀSY 208

Old Volcanoes—Lake Itàsy—Distant Views of it—Legends as
to its Formation—Flamingoes—Water-hens—Jacanas—Other
Birds—Antsìrabé—Hot Springs—Extinct Hippopotami—Gigantic
Birds—Enormous Eggs

CHAPTER XVII

VOLCANIC DISTRICT 215

Crater Lake of Andraikìba—Crater Lake of Trìtrìva—Colour of
Water—Remarkable Appearance of Lake—Legends about it—Its
Depth—View from Crater Walls—Ankàratra Mountain—Lava
Outflows—An Underground River—Extinct Lemuroid Animals
—Graveyard of an Ancient Fauna—The Palæontology—And
Geology of Madagascar—Volcanic Phenomena—The Madagascar
Volcanic Belt—Earthquakes—A Glimpse of the Past Animal
Life of the Island

CHAPTER XVIII

SOUTHWARDS TO BÉTSILÉO AND THE SOUTH-EAST COAST 228

Why I went South—How to secure your Bearers—The Old Style
of Travelling—Route to Fianàrantsòa—Scenery—Elaborate Rice
Culture—Bétsiléo Ornament and Art—Burial Memorials—We leave
for the Unknown—A Bridal Obligation—Mountains and Rocks
—Parakeets and Parrots—A Dangerous Bridge—Ant-hills—The
Malagasy Hades—Brotherhood by Blood—Bétsiléo Houses—“The
Travelling Foreigners in their Tent”—A Tanàla Forest
—Waterfalls—A Tanàla House—Female Adornment

CHAPTER XIX

IVÒHITRÒSA 246

Ivòhitròsa—Native Dress—a Grand Waterfall—Wild Raspberries—The
Ring-tailed Lemur—The Mouse-Lemur—A Heathen Congregation
—Unlucky Days—Month Names—The _Zàhitra_ Raft—A Village Belle
and her “Get-up”—The Cardamom Plant—Beads, Charms and
Arms—Bamboos and Pandanus—A Forest Altar—Rafts and Canoes
—Crocodiles—Their Bird Friends—Ordeal by Crocodile—Elegant
Coiffure—A Curious Congregation—Ambòhipèno Fort—We reach the
Sea—Gigantic Arums—Sea-shells—Pulpit Decoration—Butterflies
—Protective Structure in a Certain Species—An Arab Colony—Arabic
Manuscripts—Frigate-birds and Tropic-birds—Other Sea-birds

CHAPTER XX

AMONG THE SOUTH-EASTERN PEOPLES 257

Hova Conquest of and Cruelties to the Coast Tribes—The
Traveller’s Tree and its Fruits—A Hova Fort—Ball Head-dressing
—Rice-fields—Volcanic Phenomena—Vòavòntaka Fruit—A
Well-dunged Village—Water from the Traveller’s Tree—We
are stopped on our Way—A Native Distillery—Taisàka Mat
Clothing—Bark Cloth—Native Houses and their Arrangement
—Secondary Rocks—Ankàrana Fort—A Hospitable Reception—A
Noisy Feast—“A Fine Old _Malagasy_ Gentleman”—A Hearty
“Set-Off”—Primitive Spoons and Dishes—Burial Memorials

CHAPTER XXI

THE SOUTH-EASTERN PEOPLES 270

A Built Boat—In the Bush—A Canoe Voyage—Canoe Songs—The
_Angræcum_ Orchids—Pandanus and Atàfa Trees—Coast
Lagoons—A Native Dance—A Wheeled Vehicle—Lost in the
Woods—A Fatiguing Sunday—Dolphins and Whales—Forest
Scenery—A Tanàla Funeral—Silence of the Woods—The Sound
of the Cicada—Mammalian Life—Hedgehogs and Rats—Why
are Birds comparatively so few?—Insect Life in the Forest—A
Stick-Insect—Protective Resemblances—The Curious Broad-bill
Bird—Minute Animal Life in a River Plant—Ambòhimànga
in the Forest—A Tanàla Chieftainess—River-fording and Craft—We
reach the Interior Highland—Bétsiléo Tombs—Return to
Antanànarìvo

CHAPTER XXII

TO SÀKALÀVA LAND AND THE NORTH-WEST 285

North-West Route to the Coast—River Embankments—Mission
Stations—A Lady Bricklayer—In a Fosse with the Cattle—An Airy
Church on a Stormy Night—A Strange Chameleon—The “Short”
Mosquitoes—Ant-hills and Serpents—A Sacred Tree—Andrìba Hill
and Fort—An Evening Bath and a Hasty Breakfast—Parakeets,
Hoopoes, and Bee-eaters—The Ikòpa Valley—Granite Boulders
—Mèvatanàna: a Birdcage Town—We form an Exhibition for the
Natives—Our Canoes—Crocodiles—Shrikes and Fly-catchers
—Tamarind-trees—Camping Out—The “Agy” Stinging Creeper—River
Scenery—Fan-palms—Scaly Reptiles and Beautiful Birds
—Fruit-eating and Other Bats—Secondary Rocks—Sparse
Population—The Sàkalàva Tribes—A Vile-smelling Tree