Chapter III: Visit to the Betsileo Province (1)

SOUTH of Imerina lies the BETSILEO province, containing a most important section of the Malagasy people. The province is long and narrow; and, like Imerina, it occupies the entire breadth of the upper plateau of the island. It has for fifty years been under the Hova Government; but to English people it remained almost unknown till recent days. After the reopening of the mission in Imerina, difficulties were experienced in the endeavour to visit the Betsileo people. Even Mr. Ellis could not make his way thither. We knew nothing of their towns and rivers, except their names. At length, in 1868, Mr. Toy and Mr. Jukes travelled through the churches. Members of other missions also paid them visits. Then Mr. Richardson was sent from England to commence a separate mission in the province, and settled in its chief town Fianárantsoa. Other missionaries have since joined him; and now our Directors were anxious to learn to what extent the people still required their aid.

As the dry season had yet six weeks to run after our arrival, my colleague and I prepared to employ it in visiting the Betsileo province. And we set out without delay. We carried with us our two tents, eleven feet square, with a small one of nine feet; and found our camp equipage and English stores of even greater service than during our journey from the coast. Many of the bearers who had brought us from Tamatave, offered their services for this longer journey. Mr. Cameron, who has been a member of the mission nearly fifty years, and the Rev. W. E. Cousins, kindly consented to accompany us; and throughout our rough but pleasant tour they proved most kind and agreeable companions, and rendered us great service.

TURTLE-HEAD ROCK—AMBATOMALAZA.
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We left the capital on Wednesday, September 10th. Our course was directed in the first instance to the south and west, that we might pass through the Ankárat mountains, and pay a visit to some of the Norwegian Missions in Betáfo and Sírabé. Our road lay across the Ikopa river, and past the “famous rock” of Ambátomaláza. This rock is conspicuous, not only from the capital, but from distant parts of Imerina; it is a portion of a gneiss ridge, and an enormous turtle-head stands out grandly at the top. The river Sisáony flows at its foot on its way to the Ikopa. The valley is full of villages; indeed all this southern corner of Imerina is thickly peopled; and we have a large number of churches and congregations crowded within a small space. Having crossed the beautiful basin of the Andromba river, full of villages and pine-apple fields, we commenced a steady ascent of the long lava fingers of Ankárat and pitched our camp on the second day, under the sheltered side of the lofty hill of AMBOHITSAMPAN, seven thousand feet above the sea.

At this height the south-east winds blow hard and cold. But the three tents, firmly pinned, afforded thorough shelter; and when our beds and boxes had been duly arranged, we spent a cosy, comfortable evening. The men all left us (except our servants) to find shelter in scattered houses. The night proved cold, and before sunrise the thermometer had fallen to forty degrees; a thick mist lay on the hills, and there was slight rain.

When the mist had cleared on the following morning, we climbed to the summit of our hill, and had a fine view on every side. The other great peaks of Ankárat lay to the south, still somewhat veiled; on the west was a sea of hills and long ridges; far in the north-east, among the hundred hills of Imerina was the Capital. Careful observation showed that the peak of Ambohitsámpan has a height of eight thousand feet above the sea. The observations were made both by the boiling-water point and by Aneroid barometer. Our camp was more than seven thousand feet above the sea; and the ascent of the peak was eight hundred feet. On other occasions we had good opportunities of examining the extent and character of these noble mountains, and I now briefly state the conclusions to which we came respecting them.

The Ankárat Mountains are the loftiest in Madagascar. They are of volcanic origin; they have been protruded through the gneiss and granite of the great central range of the island, and they lie some fifteen miles west of the watershed of that range. This mountain mass rests on an enormous base. Taking account of the long fingers or tongues of lava which have flowed out from the centre in all directions, it will be seen that it covers a space of six hundred square miles. It appears broad rather than high. From the Imerina plain, four thousand feet above the sea, the lava slopes upward from its junction with the clay, till the ground attains the height of six and seven thousand feet, when we reach the base of the great central peaks. These occupy a space of fifty-four square miles. They are five in number, with minor elevations between. M. Grandidier calls one of them, Ambóhitrakóholáhy, the highest; but here he is mistaken. We ascended two of these peaks, measured the height of a third by theodolite; and eventually Mr. Cameron’s native assistant ascended and measured all five. The heights of the whole are as follows:—

Tsi-áfa-závona, 8950 feet.
Tsi-áfak-áfo, 8820 feet.
Ambóhimirándrana, 8780 feet.
Ambóhitrakóholáhy, 8200 feet.
Ambóhitsámpan, 8000 feet.

Each of these grand hills presents a striking appearance, Ambóhitsámpan is conical, and has a double head, whence its name; it is conspicuous from the Capital, and seems to be the highest of the group. Ambóhitrakóholáhy is also in two parts, and has a beautiful cone on its east side. Ambóhimirándrana stands in the centre of the group; and Mr. Pillans ascended it without difficulty. Tsi-áfak-áfo faces the west; it is a noble mountain with a lofty peak; and as its precipices slope rapidly on that side, it forms a grand and conspicuous object on a clear day, over a vast reach of country. We fixed its position with great care, and its name often appears in our survey-lists. Tsi-áfa-zavona is the noblest of all the peaks; it slopes up grandly to a lofty point; and looked at from the eastern foot of the range it is a striking object indeed. Vast jagged precipices lie immediately beneath its crown. When the east wind blows it is “rarely free from mists,” whence its name. It is seldom ascended; and the villagers of the plain beneath it were greatly opposed to any effort on our part to climb it. They have a superstitious dread of the anger of some invisible, intangible power ruling over these great hills; and to him they sacrifice fowls on the top of the hills in times of pestilence and peril. We tried to ascend the great peak on two successive days, but were baffled by the thick mists. The whole of the peaks and of the mountain mass are covered with broken lava; the streams of lava flow outward from the centre on every side, and on the south they are twenty-five miles in length. On the east, at the foot of Ankárat, are other centres of volcanic outflow, and the lava hills are of great size. We found many pretty wild flowers at the top of Ambóhitsámpan; and the small aloe, having dark green leaves tipped with crimson, and a bright orange flower, grows in abundance all over these lofty hills.

Striking our little camp, we started to the westward: and after crossing several deep ravines, we reached a broad grassy ridge, one of the lava tongues; along which the bearers carried us at a great pace, so that we speedily reached the pretty valley and town of Menálalóndy.

TSI-AFAK-AFO FROM THE WEST.
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The population in these parts is very scanty, and is to a great extent cut off from intercourse with more civilised districts. The villages are few and scattered, and are planted along the bottoms of the valleys, which allow a fair cultivation of rice. Yet they are far more numerous than they were when Mr. Cameron first travelled this way, forty years ago. The people are extremely ignorant, especially of Christian truth; nevertheless every large village has its chapel: the Friends are striving to meet the wants of this border of their district; volunteer teachers render what service they can; and the longing of the people for higher and fuller knowledge of the truth is unmistakeable. Here and there also individuals of marked piety are like “the salt of the earth” among their neighbours.

Journeying on to Manjákàndrían, and thence by the lake of Vinánynóny to Betáfo, we found objects of deepest interest at every step. Shapely valleys and lofty hills, covered with gneiss boulders, were before and around us. Below Anzázamadínika a little river runs through a narrow ravine, and the boulders have so rolled in and filled the ravine that for a quarter of a mile the river disappears under ground. Mounting the opposite bank we were confronted by a fine conical hill, Tsi-áfak-alíka, “that which a dog cannot climb.” West of Manjákàndrían is a lofty hill, Márovítsika, “many ants;” and beyond it another, in an exposed position, Bémásoándro, “having plenty of sun.” To the south of the village is the hill of Bé-vóha, “thoroughly open.” In this part of our journey we were constantly crossing small streams that take their rise in the roots of Ankárat; and it was a great pleasure, six months afterwards, when travelling through Ménabé, to meet them again as large rivers, and to see in the distance the great hills at whose foot we had encamped. The lake of Vinánynóny is formed by one of these streams, flowing strong and clear from under the lava; it is two miles square; and is drained to the west by the Sahomby river, which becomes a large stream and finally joins the Kitsamby.

Beyond Vinánynóny we came into the long, closed alleys of the Vava Vato, a vast collection of serrated ridges of pure felspar granite. We struck them on the north-east side and passed through their eastern valleys. Six months later we mounted their central ridges and stood on the loftiest peak of the whole, the great rock of Iávohaikia. I will speak of them more particularly at that point. From these alleys we came again on to the red clay; and descending rapidly, two thousand feet, into the deep basin of Betáfo, encamped in the grounds of the Norwegian Mission.

I will not dilate here upon the beauties of this noble basin, cut out of the clay deposits by the upheavings of earthquakes and the action of powerful streams; or describe its thousands of rice terraces cut in the hill-sides, from which twenty thousand people, year by year, gather their golden harvest. I will pass over our visit to the hot springs; the garden-walls of black lava in the lower villages; the fine cascade of the Loalambo; the royal tombs of the ancient line of Betáfo kings, and the hill-fortress on the south, from which they commanded the country. Nor will I pause to describe the old craters which we found so abundant; the great lava-field in their midst; and the lime-pits and deposits of Sirabé. All these we saw to greater advantage at a later time and learned to understand more fully. Many of the Norwegian brethren were absent also from their spheres of labour, through sickness or on duty; but we visited them again and heard more completely about their work. Only one did we see on our present journey, Mr. Rosaas; and from him and his good wife at Sirabé we received the heartiest welcome.

From Sirabé to Ambositra we kept the western road, down the valley of the Mánandóna and found throughout it objects of interest, of which (like most others above referred to) books contain no notice. West of the Mánandóna is a noble granite mass, the hills of Ibéty. The Mánandóna valley is a fine rice plain; and its river has but a narrow outlet through the granite range. When a heavy flood comes suddenly down from the long valleys of Ankárat, the valley is submerged; it “gets a bath,” as the name implies, until the waters can pass off through the ravine to the Mania. Beyond the point where the river goes west, the valley is continued southward between high and precipitous hills. Beyond Ambohimanjáka, again, where we stayed, the valley is covered with huge boulders of graphite granite; and to the south of Iláka and its broad rice basin, the ravines are numerous and deep. We never had in Madagascar a journey so difficult or distressing, as the travel of that long Saturday morning, when we were carried over the narrow paths, up and down the steep ravines which immediately open upon the Mania. But we forgot our troubles and our hunger, when we reached the open valley of the Mania, and saw the waters tumbling in creamy foam over the huge boulders with which for three hundred yards the stream is barred. These boulders form a natural bridge; and we crossed the river, jumping short distances from one to another, while the river ran boiling and foaming between and underneath them. All around us were lofty cones, mountain masses, rugged precipices. The sight was truly grand, and we lingered over it long.

The men had eaten nothing all day; but we found some quiet villages higher up the river and the rain compelled us to remain. We had narrow quarters in a real Betsileo house, surrounded by the live stock of the proprietor. The family goose was “sitting;” the fowls were active and hungry; the mice ran busily about us; the ducks quacked at intervals all night; and the cocks crowed early in the morning. I slept soundly through it all, as did Mr. Cameron in his little tent outside. Mr. Pillans however was not so happy. We left early the next day; and after a rapid run of two hours down a long slope, we arrived in good time for service at the town of Ambositra. Here we found our colleague Mr. Cousins, who had come from the Capital by the direct road, and had brought us English letters; and here we spent two delightful days.

We had now reached the Betsileo Province. AMBOSITRA is the chief town of its northern division, and is 4320 feet above the sea. It stands on a low hill, in the centre of a wide, well-watered basin: it contains over two hundred houses; and numerous villages, and small clumps of houses termed “válas,” are scattered over the basin, among the fertile fields. The basin is bounded by lofty hills on the east and west; other valleys are found behind these hills, though the population which they contain is thinner. On the east, about fifteen miles away, is the town of Mády, on the Mády river; it also has several villages in its neighbourhood. To an English eye, and to the eye of a missionary who knows anything of India or China, the country appears thinly peopled. Some of the first missionaries who came and looked at this district, doubted whether it was of sufficient importance to constitute it a principal station of the mission. My colleague and I had little hesitation on the subject at our first visit. Upon our return, after traversing the entire province, we felt no doubt whatever. On the contrary, in relation to the country generally we deem Ambositra a place of great importance. Within the district are some five thousand “hetra” or holdings, representing as many families, and about thirty thousand people. The town contains a thousand people; and twenty thousand lie within a half-day’s journey from it. Eight congregations are connected with the central church, and five others with the church at Mády. Ambositra lies on the high road from the Capital: its broad, rich valley, full of people, is a refreshing resting-place for those who have traversed the granite moors and valleys, north and west; the forest and its rough ridges are beyond Mády to the east, with a road into the Tánála district; and on the south, scarcely a village is seen for a whole day, among the rocky lines of hill which cross the country.

We were glad to see congregations of more than three hundred people in the chapel, during both services on the Sunday of our arrival; although a large number of the residents were at Fianáran with the Queen. We were heartily thanked for our visit. And a formal deputation of the chief members and elders of the church, on the following day, warmly pressed a request on us that we should secure for them the appointment of an English missionary. Happily we were all of one mind on the subject. At a later stage of our visit, Mr. Brockway volunteered to remove to the station; and Mrs. Brockway and he have long since settled at Ambositra, with excellent prospects of usefulness.

Having spent a quiet Monday in surveying the basin of Ambositra and given our men a holiday, we proceeded south the following day to the chief town of the second division of the province, the town of Zoma-Nándihízana. We passed on the road several isolated valleys, empty of inhabitants; and rested at midday under the noble rocks of a ridge 5680 feet high, which crossed the country, called Angávo or “the heights.” We next entered a strip of the “primeval forest,” which here projects into the open country; and then suddenly descended twelve hundred feet, down the valley, to our resting-place. The whole Betsileo country is celebrated for its rice terraces. They are cut on the hill-side wherever a spring pours its water from the rock. But amongst all the results of industry and ingenuity which we saw in the province, we admired none so much as the hundreds of green terraces that were cut on the face of this amphitheatre in the hills above Nandihizana. Several streams rise in the neighbouring hills and forest; and they are made to do ample service before they escape into the rocky ravine at the bottom of the basin, and find their way into the Sákaláva plains.

The next part of our journey lay along the crest of one of the clay ridges; having deep valleys on the east and west, with parallel ridges and valleys, three or four in number, on each side. Far away on the east were three towering hills in the forest, overhanging the great wall above the valley of the Tanála. From, this lofty ridge, 4900 feet above the sea, we had a fine view of the country to a great distance on each side. It was very regular in its lines of hills; and the valleys between were green and fair: but the wild south-easter blew hard and cold, and we did not wonder that when the forest is once cut down, it is almost impossible to replace it. At noon we rested at a small village a mile from Ikiangára, near which are several remarkable tombs; and an ancient fortress on an isolated hill. The fort was defended by six or seven fosses, cut like rings deep into the slope of the hill; and must have been very difficult of approach. These fosses abound in all parts of the country. Their sides are perpendicular: they are from ten to twenty feet broad, and about sixteen feet deep. They are to be crossed generally at only one point, where the clay has been left solid; and here will be found the city gate. Old Ambositra, now deserted, to the south of the present town, is a good specimen of a fortified town. Except for the guarding of the cattle, these deep ditches are in these peaceful days a great inconvenience to every one. They are often planted with plantain and other tropical trees, which benefit by their warm shelter. After a short day’s run we reached the town of Ambóhinamboárina.

This town has a larger population than Nándihízana: but it is by no means a pleasant place. Dirty and full of pigs it stands on the slope of a hill, under a high ridge; it has deep fosses on the land side, and on other three sides it is enclosed by the Fanindróna river, recently strengthened by the waters of the Isáhatóny. The rice valleys are numerous in the neighbourhood: and there are some thirty small villages scattered about it. A cleaner and more open place of residence, with useful labours, would be found in the neighbouring valley of Ikála. This basin is two miles square, level and full of villages, of which the largest, Maharivo, has a chapel. On the west side of the basin are two enormous promontories of gneiss rock, jutting from a mountain mass much higher than themselves, while great boulders lie at their feet.

In this part of the province the hills and valleys are truly beautiful. As we passed on we had the rich valley of Ianjánana on our left with the river Mango; and the town itself on a towering height above us. The river Matsíatra, holding so important a place in the geography and social rule of the province, was meeting us in front; then it turned westward, where the long ridges of Ifánjakána make a lofty background to the rural picture. We crossed a fine open plain in the centre, on the east of the river, and passing the site of the Queen’s camp and the Market of the locality, settled for the night in the damp chapel of Ivohitromby.

On Friday the bearers were all excitement. We were to arrive at Fianárantsoa, the capital of the province, where the Queen was now encamped and where they would meet with hosts of friends. They therefore donned their best and our servants had the breakfast cooked long before we were ready to partake of it. Immediately on starting we crossed the Matsíatra on a wooden bridge, resting on twenty-six stone piers, built in the rocky, shallow bed. Noble hills were about us all the way. A grand ridge, with the Matsíatra at its foot, went off to the south south-east. Under the lofty mass of Avománitra two level valleys were stretched out, containing no less than eighty hamlets, with several chapels, chief of which was the village of Natáo. Beyond this point we met the Mánuláfaka river, coming through from the west; and then climbing a lofty ascent, along which a broad road had been newly cut, we suddenly came in sight of the camp, with a long valley at our feet, dotted with the green rings of the Betsileo válás; and beyond them all the town of Fianárantsoa, crowning its solitary hill and standing forth in calm dignity like a veritable Queen. That was no common sight in this poorly peopled land.

FIANÁRANTSOA.
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We arrived at noon; met a warm welcome from all the members of the mission; and were hospitably received into their homes. We were truly fatigued with our long journey over rough roads and looked forward with pleasure to a few days’ rest.

FIANARAN-TSOA occupies a commanding position. It is built upon a hill, detached from the range to which it belongs; and the houses are erected in lines upon the hill-side, but do not cover it completely; they form three special groups upon the hill. The róva or Government stockade, with the lofty Government house, is on the summit of the hill, 4200 feet above the sea, while the market occupies a broad and open space at the bottom. The town is in some respects an imitation of Antanánarivo; and it has a lake and island, with a garden and summer house in the centre, resembling (in a small degree) the lake on the west side of the Capital. The town is larger than any other in the upper provinces of Madagascar, except the Capital; it has over a thousand houses, and from five to six thousand people. A large proportion of the inhabitants are Hovas from Imerina, being the officers and soldiers of the garrison. But there are many Betsileo; some of the chief civil officers are Betsileo, men of wealth and standing in the community, with numerous dependents around them. Below the houses are planted thick hedges of the prickly pear, which are, next to the deep ditches, the great resource of Malagasy engineers, in the fortifying of their towns. These hedges were probably a terror to their bare-legged and bare-footed enemies in the days of the shield and spear. At present the traditions and conservative habits of the people maintain them, at great inconvenience even to their well-booted friends. At the foot of the hill there are four valleys, running off north, north-west, and south. They are bright and green in the rice season with a multitude of fields; every little knoll and peninsula is occupied with Betsileo hamlets and their green rings; and amongst them all the Ranofotsy river winds like a silver thread.

The town and its people were not in their normal condition during our visit; and whether in relation to their ordinary life or to the religious state of the three churches, we were unable to see for ourselves what they generally are and do. The visit of the Queen and her court had disarranged all their ordinary concerns; and that with good reason; for it was a great event in their history; and it was being carried out in a spirit which would render the visit a blessing to the Betsileo people for many days to come. Radáma the first had entered the province with his armies fifty years ago to extend his conquests and consolidate them. At an earlier date his English drill-sergeant had covered himself with infamy by the severity of his treatment of the Betsileo people, and of the Antanósis beyond them. But though the Betsileos had remained subject, even Radáma could not master the rock-fortress of Ikongo. For more than forty years the Betsileos had had a hard time under Hova rule. They had been fleeced by excessive exactions and they had been left in complete ignorance by their task-masters. With Christianity came justice, light, and peace. The Hova Christians, to their honour be it said, began to gather the Betsileo around them for worship; they became ashamed of their hard dealings, and their rule grew much more gentle. The presence and instruction of English Missionaries had greatly strengthened these improvements; many churches had been established; hundreds of children were being taught in the schools; the Betsileo were as welcome to these services as the Hovas. And now the Queen had come to see her people; to call them around her; to make acquaintance with them personally, to meet them in their tribes; and to speak to them with authority on questions in which their welfare was deeply concerned. At the time of our visit this intercourse of the Queen, the Prime Minister, and the chief officers, with the people was already producing good fruit. The people were loud in praise of the Queen’s friendliness, of her kind speeches, her royal gifts. She had paid special attention to the governor of the Tanala, the princess Hiovana, a great favourite with every one. And the camp and its kabárys were the resort of thousands of visitors every day. Sublunary considerations had entered no doubt into the question of the visit. The herds of fat cattle offered as presents meant something; and the officers and their dependents lived on Betsileo rice. Nevertheless such things both the rich and the poor of the province could for once afford to pay; and under the security of property prevailing as the result of good government and of Christian feeling, material products like these will speedily be multiplied to them a hundred-fold.

The Queen’s camp was pitched on a picturesque knoll, in the open valley on the north side of Fianáran. Towards the east was the royal court-yard, surrounded by a wooden palisade; in the centre of which was pitched the scarlet tent, intended for the Sovereign’s personal use; three other tents were behind it; in the corner was the cooking tent, a black affair about which there was no sham; and on the west was a wooden platform, on which the Queen sat with the officers of government around her in the public assemblies that were held. The scarlet umbrella held over her head, always denoted to the people, even at a distance, that their Sovereign had appeared in public. The tents of the officers and troops, and the clusters of tents belonging to the Betsileo tribes, which had marched in from a distance, were arranged in excellent order. Many of the officers had brought their families with them; and both the camp and the houses in the town were crowded with people.

Our arrival was duly notified to the Prime Minister and the Queen; and on Saturday, at a special private audience, we paid our respects, and were graciously received. Numerous presents of turkeys, geese, fowls, beef, and eggs, began to flow in in a stream; and many of the leading Christian people, whose names are known in England, came to pay us a visit. One lively friend of ours very kindly sent her turkeys cooked; and as to the rest my kind hostess expressed it as her opinion that she would require an extra man to guard and feed the extensive stock of poultry of which Mr. Cameron and I had suddenly become possessors. The Churches also failed not to notice our arrival and sent us presents of the same kind.

On Sunday we had the pleasure of worshipping with the Queen in the camp. From the royal platform the sight of the vast congregation was very striking. There were eight thousand persons present, of whom the inner and larger portion were seated on the ground. Beneath the platform, and just in front of the Queen, were several rows of women who formed the choir. Beyond them in the centre were the women and ladies of the general congregation. The men were on the right. And a broad circle of men behind both closed them all in. The dress of all was exceedingly neat and clean. The men wore the large straw hat, usual to the Hovas, with its black velvet band. The lambas both of men and women were to a large extent white; but many were striped with black; many were blue, others of a check pattern; and a great number were stamped with pink flowers. Exposed to the sun, the men kept their hats on, and when he shone forth brightly, an army of umbrellas was put up, dark and light blue, brown and white, to temper the heated rays. Over all was a sky of pale blue, flecked with clouds driven rapidly by the strong south-east winds. The platform was crowded with the ladies and officers of the Court, conspicuous amongst whom, and seated close to the Queen, was Hióvana, the governor of the Tanála tribes. Most were on the ground; the few chairs had been brought by their occupants and were of various shapes and sizes. The Queen was simply dressed in a white lamba, and had a large Bible on her knee; the scarlet umbrella was held above her head.

The service was after the Congregational and Presbyterian order, and was conducted by the native ministers, with as much propriety as such services are among the oldest Churches in England. The service was opened by an Anthem, in which the ninety-first Psalm was sung through, the band accompanying in a most appropriate manner. The Scriptures were then read and prayer offered. Again chapter iii. of Lamentations was sung very sweetly; and the first sermon followed from the text: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” The favourite hymn of the Malagasy, No. 46, was next given out, and was sung by the entire congregation with great spirit: the Scriptures were again read and prayer offered. There was another hymn from the Pilgrim’s Progress, a favourite also; and then Andriambélo preached from the text: “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” The usual dismissal hymn was sung and the blessing pronounced; and the vast congregation dispersed. The general comment on the sermons was, “Rainitávy’s sermon was the more clever; but Andriambélo respect and love most; and we listen to what he says.” I never attended a more interesting native service at any mission I have visited.

During the week we had the opportunity of seeing one or more of the public entertainments which occupied the intervals of serious business with the Queen and her people. In these the separate tribes took part, some on one day, some on another. Tribal dances, parades, the special music of certain localities, were exhibited and played. To me one of the most interesting was an exhibition of mimic war with the old simple weapons of the spear and hide-shield. The way in which the scout used his eyes, searching every thing for the expected enemy, and in which he managed to cover every part of his body by his small round shield, was very striking. In all these exhibitions, everything was graceful and dignified; nothing was outré.

In these public gatherings we had a good opportunity of seeing how Hova and Betsileo ladies dress their hair. The hair of all native women is black; in those of pure Hova blood it is smooth, but in those who have more or less African taint, the hair is crimped and curled naturally. In both cases, individuals differ in the fulness and length of their hair. In some it is very rich and glossy and black, an “ornament” indeed. The hair of a Hova lady is divided into twenty or twenty-four sections; in each of these the hair is again divided into a number of tails which are plaited together, and the plait is tied up into a small bow; when the dressing is complete, there are some twenty-four of these bows on the head. The number varies with the taste of the wearer: most of the ladies I saw had from sixteen to twenty-four. The Betsileo hair is done up in several styles; in plaits: in round plaited curls; and the like. All these methods take up much time; and are renewed at intervals too long for cleanliness and comfort. Many Hova ladies therefore are adopting the simpler system prevalent among English women, and dress their hair daily.

On Wednesday, October 1st, there was a public Examination of the Betsileo schools, in the presence of the Queen and Prime Minister. Two thousand scholars assembled in the inside of the Palace Court. After singing the national hymn, they went through a variety of exercises to exhibit their attainments in reading, knowledge of Scripture, mental arithmetic, and the like. The questions were put chiefly by Mr. G. Shaw, the able Superintendent of the Normal School and of Education generally in the central Betsileo; but the Prime Minister also joined in the Examination, showed an intelligent appreciation of the progress made, and gave new proof of the deep interest which the Queen and he have long taken in the education of the people.

His Excellency himself delivered the prizes. In addition to the rewards assigned by the mission, the Queen presented every holder of a prize with a new hymn-book and Testament. The Prime Minister also (who had loaded his pockets with money) gave them dollars, half-dollars, and broken money, according to merit: and finally the Queen presented every scholar before her with a new dress. Nearly two thousand were given away, which it took his Excellency two hours to place in the scholars’ hands. But the gift produced a deep impression, and showed the people that their Sovereign was really anxious that they should learn. Before them all, the Queen heartily thanked Mr. Shaw and the members of the mission, for what they had done for the instruction of her Betsileo people.

The following day, a public kabáry was summoned, attended with the usual ceremonies, that the Queen might specially address her people on this subject of education. The soldiers of the line were brought up in force to keep the ground. The three regiments of guards immediately surrounded the platform. One of these regiments is dressed in red knickerbockers: another has trousers, striped pink and white: the third, consisting of young officers, has a uniform of rifle green and is armed with the Snider rifle. The Queen wore a dress of light green watered silk: above it was her scarlet velvet mantle; and she wore a large gold coronet. Her chair was of scarlet and gold; and her footstool was one that had been worked by one of Mrs. Shaw’s girls, and had been presented to her on the previous day. The assembly was very large; there must have been fifteen thousand people present.

As soon as the Queen appeared the assembly rose; and when she stood in her place, a general salute was presented; the Prime Minister also was saluted as Commander-in-Chief of the army; and the business of the day was proceeded with. A royal speech in Madagascar takes a peculiar form, derived doubtless from long tradition; it contains many antique phrases and modes of address; and its general style of appeal to the people, points to the days when the entire tribe was taken into consultation by the chiefs and rulers, and a general vote settled the question in hand. After expressing in a clear and distinct voice, her pleasure in meeting her people once more, the Queen uttered several sentences, usual to these assemblies, in which she dwelt upon the close and affectionate relations subsisting between them and herself. “You are a father and mother to me: having you, I have all.... And if you confide in me, you have a father and a mother in me. Is it not so, O ye under heaven?” To which with a deep voice, the people reply, “It is so.” Passing at length to the subject specially before her, the Queen said: “My days in the south are now few; for I am about to go up to Imerina; therefore I will say a word about the schools. And I say to you all here in Betsileo, whether north of the Matsiatra or south of the Matsiatra, cause your children to attend the school. My desire is that, whether high or low, whether sons of the nobles, or sons of the judges, or sons of the officers, (here she used the Betsileo term, Andevohova) or sons of the centurions, let all your sons and let your daughters attend the schools and become lovers of wisdom.” The Prime Minister then in the Queen’s name, addressed the assembly on the subject of usury, a great evil among poor natives, and only too common in stages of society like that in Madagascar; and said: “Thus saith the Queen; all that usury exacted by the Hovas from the Betsileo is remitted; and only the original debt shall remain.”

After a general salute, the tribes came forward in succession and replied to the Queen, thanking her for her words and her affection: and expressing their approval of her sentiments. The tribes addressed her through their chief men, who on such occasions have a good opportunity of displaying their oratorical power. The first who now came forward was the Andrían or Prince of the Betsileo people, the head of the Isandra family, which ruled the country before its surrender to Radáma. His sister and he are Christians and most interesting people. The best speech of the day was made by the judge of Fianárantsoa, speaking for the people of that town and district. The old gentleman is very stout and very witty. He stalked up and down in the open space before the Queen, flourishing his long stick; and with all sorts of compliments to her rule, expressed his agreement with her views: he added also; “Trust your Betsileo people: have no fear of your Betsileo people: they have begun to read the New Testament: and the people who read the New Testament are an obedient, orderly people.” But the old gentleman had worked himself into a great heat; and at each return up the line of his companions he drank copiously from the water-gourd, which was held and replenished by one of his faithful henchmen: while at each pause of his earnest address the people responded; _Izány hoy izy_. “Hear, hear.” “He says it.” Other matters then occupied attention. A new governor was appointed to Fianáran; the governor of Ambohimandroso was confirmed in his position; and questions of jurisdiction were arranged. After which the Queen retired and the Assembly dispersed, the kabáry having lasted three hours.

I need not dwell further on our proceedings in Fianáran, or our pleasant interviews with officers of the government, and others prominent in the Christian life of the Capital, as well as of the Betsileo province; or our visits to the Churches; and our hospitable reception by the governors old and new. I will only add a word respecting an important interview we held with the governor of the Tanála people, the princess Hióvana and her family. The TANALA district lies about twenty miles to the east of the central line of the Betsileo provinces. As its name indicates it is the “land of forests.” It is in fact a continuation of the first terrace under the hills, viz. of the plain of Ankay, which we had crossed at Moramánga and Ifódy. The plain is ploughed deep in all directions and contains a multitude of low hills. On one of these is built the town of AMBOHIMANGA, the capital of the district. It contains two hundred houses and a population of 1200 persons. Some of the houses are large and convenient: many are frail and poor. There are numerous villages scattered up and down the district, which is well watered; and the Tanála people may probably amount to twenty thousand in number. The river Mangóro flows along the Ankay plain from the north almost into the Tanála country; and then turns eastward, breaks through the hills in rough rapids and falls into the sea. The west boundary of the Tanála is a noble wall of rock running up and down the country from north to south: and its buttresses are formed here and there of hills that are truly massive and grand. The forest which covers them is the same that we crossed at Angavo; the inner line, which separates the Central provinces in their entire length from the districts nearer the coast. In this its lower portion it is very wide, and still contains magnificent trees.

The Tanála people are reckoned with the Betsileo: but I doubt whether they are of Betsileo blood. They seem rather to be a portion of the Bezánozáno, who people Ankay; and these again are part of the Betsimisáraka tribes. Their country is extremely unhealthy. Placed between the two lines of forest, and their decaying vegetation, it suffers greatly, for eight months of the year, from fever. And none can reside there permanently, who have not become _víta-tázo_, “fever-proof.” This constitutes the religious difficulty. Gladly would the Mission place one of its English families there to take charge of the Tanála people, were it not for the unusual risks which they would be called to run. We talked the matter over with Hióvana and her brother in Fianáran. She impressed us as being a truly noble lady. She is an eloquent speaker in public; and her addresses at the kabarys are listened to with delight by the assembled multitudes. But she can speak with peculiar beauty of voice and tone in private: and the shrewd and touching pleas with which she and her brother urged that we should appoint an English missionary to their people, were presented with earnestness and power. They have always given a warm welcome to those missionaries who have paid them a visit: and any one who would spend some months of the year with them would do the Tanála people great service. They ought at least to command the services of one of the ablest native ministers, whom the Mission can supply.

For several years I had taken a deep interest in the southern part of the Betsileo province and in the town of Ambóhimandróso; to whose people the Society had long desired to send a missionary: we now prepared to visit it. On Friday, October 3d, the whole party from the Capital, accompanied by Mr. Brockway, left Fianáran. The greater part of our road lay along a fine valley, narrow and bordered by peculiarly noble hills. The parallel ridges of the Betsileo Country run generally from north-north-west to south-south-east. This valley ran for twenty miles a little west of south. The ridges therefore all crossed it; but some mighty force had broken them through at this point, had swept away their rocky remains: and left great precipices, buttresses and promontories overhanging the narrow cleft along which we journeyed. Each headland has its distinctive name. Nothing but photography can duly show the grandeur of these rocks; and only a map on a large scale can rightly delineate the country. The highest mountain in the Betsileo, a grand peak, named Ambohitramanjáka, “king’s town,” we left up a narrow valley on the west of our road. All the way we had on one side or the other, the drain of the valley, the river Ranofotsy. We camped in the valley at night, and had the hills on the east of us all on fire.

Next day we came early to the end of the valley, which is a cul de sac: and saw in it and in the hills to the east the sources of the Ranofotsy. To the west of the terminating hill is a most noble boulder standing alone on the mountain side, called Vato-ávo, “high rock.” Mr. Cameron and I climbed it and found that we had unwittingly secured a most important station for the survey of the country. Both Fianáran and Ambohimandroso were visible: it is the only point in the line of route from which both can be seen at once. We saw at our feet on the south the great rice basin of Ambohimandroso, studded with hamlets perched on the red clay hills. East and west were enormous gneiss mountains: while far to the south was the lofty granite ridge of Kipaséha, its sharp saw-like crest standing clear against the sky. Near to us was the Betsileo village of Ivátoavo, through which we were to pass, and in which the houses are built in and amongst a mass of gigantic boulders, with a thick cactus hedge as their protection. As we passed, the women all came out to look at us. We also looked at them; for their hair was fastened up into a number of flat buttons, which looked like a supply of black penny-pieces hanging about their ears. We reached our destination at four o’clock.

AMBOHIMANDROSO is an important town. It is situated on a round clay hill: the Hova fort and governor’s house being as usual on the crest, 3260 feet above the sea. The houses are three hundred in number; and the total population must be fifteen hundred. Most of the houses, according to the usual Betsileo fashion, are built of wood. The posts are strong and square, the walls are of thick boards fixed upright: and the roof, as in Imerina, has a high pitch. It is formed of strong timbers and is thatched with leaves or reeds. The windows of Betsileo houses are small: the door also is small and the door-sill is high above the ground: a post therefore is provided for the paterfamilias and his belongings, on which each carefully stands before he doubles himself up and makes his way through the opening. It is worth noting that in Malagasy the same word is used for door and window; both being constructed in the same fashion and in old houses differing little from one another. The houses of the garrison, of the governor and his officers, follow the fashion of Imerina; they have large doors; are strongly made; and their sides are neatly panneled. But as elsewhere they lack finish; and but little provision is made for privacy. Not a single house we saw had a glass window in it, to provide light, when rain and wind compel the owner to close his wooden shutters. The newest houses outside the fort are being made of clay. The town has on the south other lofty hills: but as in Ankay and Menabe, the sandy parts of these hills have worked into deep hollows which at a distance look like scars and sores upon the hill-side.

On the north, east and west the basin of Ambohimandroso is more level; the rice fields are numerous, and the little hamlets with their rings of verdure dot the country everywhere. The basin is watered by a single stream, flowing from the eastern hills. Its supply is not overabundant. Hence the curious name given to the place, _Tsi-énim-paréhy_, “not enough for the rice cultivation.” A larger supply of water would doubtless produce far greater crops in both portions of the district. Beyond a low ridge to the east is a second open valley with numerous arms, rich also in villages and rice grounds: several of these villages have chapels: and it is the comparative abundance of population, which renders this town so eligible as the residence of an English Missionary. The Chapel of Ambohimandroso occupies an excellent site and is of large size, sixty feet by thirty. But it needs a great deal of improvement to make it, what it ought to be, the model chapel of the district; and it will be well worth the while of the Mission to assist the congregation in giving to it that position.

We spent a pleasant Sabbath with the people: and though the governor of the town, the native pastor and his excellent wife, and many other principal members of the church were absent with the Queen, we had several serious consultations with those still here, on the provision they would make for the comfort of the missionary, who was now on his way from England. How far would they co-operate with him in securing for their children a more thorough Christian education than they have ever enjoyed? On the whole they responded to our views; and we believe that the Station can be made as great a position of usefulness as any in the Betsileo Country.

We spent three days in Ambohimandroso, gathering information on many points of value. We were encamped in the Chapel, and two young officers of the garrison showed us great attention in securing our comfort and making our habitation less airy. The butchers of the town were not so complaisant. And when our cook enquired after some beef for us, as a change from the constant supply of poultry, they answered that there was a good quantity of “old beef” still unsold; and they declined to kill until that had been expended. It mattered little. Mr. Cousins was an admirable caterer; and though our Irish butter somewhat failed us, yet other English stores, with good turkeys, chickens, bread made by English ladies, sweet potatoes, plantain fritters and other trifles, provided sufficient sustenance even for hungry Englishmen in the keen, hard air. During Monday we arranged for the preparation of a temporary house for a missionary: and then made a careful survey of the town and neighbourhood; we connected our observations completely with those made by Mr. Cameron at Fianárantsoa, and took sketches of the ground. Mr. Pillans went off early with a select band of bearers to climb the peak of Iody, ten miles to the south-west, and take observations of the granite ridge, which bounded the horizon beyond.