B-& Hayin, Sc.lS Oeeirge Sir.

SKETCH
OF ROUTE FROM
BY LIEUT. S.P. OLIVER ROYAL ARTT
. .July 1862.

TOM AS INA JiPruaf T
IAMATAYE -?2,*wtoa* P>

Route 
Bendez-vous of dans o
Boundary of Provinces 

SECTION OF COUNTRY FROM AN D EVORANTE TO TH E CAPITAL.

SeaLeveL.

Day&.San.(Xflmited) Lita

MADAGASCAR

AND THE

MALAGASY.

SKETCHES IN THE PROVINCES OF
TAMATAVE, BETANIMENA,
AND ANKOVA.

BY

Lieut. S. P. OLIVER,

royal artillery.
f!r.g.s.
" USIQUE."

LONDON:
PUBLISHED BY DAY AND SON, LIMITED,
I^tfjjojjntplttrs, ^printers, anb IJaMsJrcrs,
GATE STEEET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS.

TO

SIR RODERICK I. MURCHISON, K.C.B. D.C.L.

Cjris Walmm

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY

THE AUTHOR.

INTRODUCTION.

On the death of Ranavalona, the old Queen of Madagascar,
iu August 1861, her son Eakoto was placed on the throne
under the name and title of Radama II. The government
of Mauritius soon after received a letter from Ra Hani-
raka, the Malagasy Minister of Foreign Affairs, a man
who had had an English education, to the effect that Mada
gascar was reopened to all foreigners as in the time of the
first Radama. Ra Haniraka also suggested that the
Governor of Mauritius should send a mission of congra
tulation to the King.
Accordingly, in September, Colonel Middleton, of the
Royal Artillery, Lieutenant Marindin, of the Royal Engi
neers, and some civilians, were sent over by Governor
Stephenson with some valuable presents. They reached
the capital, where they stayed five days, and returned as
quickly as possible, owing to the danger of being on the
coast in the fever season. Letters and presents were also
sent by the French towards the end of the same year.
The importance of responding to the invitation of the

Vill INTRODUCTION.
new sovereign of an island, so long closed to European
civilisation and trade, was evident. Mauritius and the
neighbouring French colony of Reunion derive the whole
of their supplies of beef from Madagascar, and the trade
in rice and other produce is capable of being increased
indefinitely. Meantime, the King sent an autograph letter to our
most gracious Queen Victoria, at the hands of Mons.
Lambert, a French adventurer, who had played a con
spicuous part in the affairs of Madagascar. The Queen
replied by an autograph letter sent to the care of the
Governor of Mauritius, and at the same time instructions
were received from the Home Government that some officer
of rank should be chosen to present King Radama with
Her Majesty's letter, as well as with the accompanying
presents : —
A quarto family Bible ; a scarlet silk umbrella ; a
silver -gilt tankard and goblets ; Wilkinson rifle ; gold-
mounted Field Marshal's scimetar and sword-belt ; a Field
Marshal's uniform complete ; a full-length portrait of Her
Majesty ; and a set of musical instruments for a band of
twenty-five performers.
On the 27th June, 1862, the Governor appointed Major -
General Johnstone to take the Queen's letter, and the
Lord Bishop of Mauritius to present the Bible, both the
above having volunteered to go.
Captain Anson, R.A., was selected to take the remain
ing presents; Captain Wilson, of H.M.S. " Gorgon," was

INTRODUCTION. IX
offered a place in the mission, but declined ; Lieutenant
Oliver, R.A., accompanied it as aide-de-camp to the Major-
General. The presents were sent in a merchant vessel to Ta-
matave, the chief seaport of Madagascar, under the care
of Mr. Caldwell, who had visited the country before, and
undertook to get them up to the capital with as little
delay as possible.
The French Government despatched a mission to the
court of Madagascar at the same time that the English
Government did ; the head of this was Commodore Dupre,
who was accompained by a numerous staff.
Madagascar is so little known by the English public,
and its semi-civilised people have in a general way excited
so little interest, that it may be as well to mention very
briefly a few facts connected with it.
It is peopled by various tribes, chief among which, both
in civilisation and importance, are the Hovas. This tribe
was originally limited to the central province of Ankova,
but the chief of it is now looked upon as the king of the
whole island ; to it also belong all the great officers of
state and principal nobility. The capital, Antananarivo,
is situated in the province of Ankova, and in the very
centre of the island.
The people are intelligent, gentle, and hospitable.
Christianity has made considerable progress among them
in spite of the persecution it met with in the latter part
of the late Queen's reign. King Radama II. , at the time

X INTRODUCTION.
of his accession, was about thirty-three. He was a friend
of the Christians, and had been himself baptized in 1846.
He was married to his cousin, the Princess Rabodo, who
was considerably his senior.
Madagascar has had a standing army ever since 1816,
when a few British soldiers sent from Mauritius assisted
the first Radama in organising and disciplining his troops
according to European methods. The different grades in
the army are designated by the word Voninahitra, which
we have translated, " Honour." They originally ranged from
the lowest, or first Honour, i.e., the private soldier, up to
the thirteenth Honour, or Commander-in-chief, but some
additional ranks have been added of late years, bringing
the number of Honours up to sixteen, or even seventeen.
The power of the first King, Radama, was greatly
strengthened by an alliance into which he entered in 1817
with the Governor of Mauritius. On consideration of his
putting a stop to the slave-trade in his dominions, the
British Government agreed to make him an annual pay
ment, — this payment was to consist partly of money, and
partly of arms and ammunition, and to these means is
to be ascribed much of Radama's success in extending the
power and influence of the Hovas.
The instructions given to the English mission of 1862
were, to proceed as quickly as possible to the capital, to
present the letter of congratulation and the gifts of Her
Majesty, to attend the coronation, and to return as soon
as was consistent with comfort.

INTRODUCTION. XI
The " Gorgon " left Port Louis with the mission on
board on Saturday, the 12th of July, and anchored in
the roadstead off Tamatave, on Tuesday, the 15th of the
same month.
The following extracts from a diary, kept by a member
of the mission, will perhaps best connect and explain the
accompanying illustrations. They commence from the
day when H.M.S. "Gorgon" arrived at Tamatave.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

THOMASINA, THE FORT OF TAMATAVE
GROUP OF BETSIMASARAKS
CHIEF MARMITE.
WOMAN" OP FANTOMAZINA.
SLAVE AND WOMAN.
THE RIVER HIVONDRONA
PANTOMAZINA .
AMBOHIBOHAZO .
RIVER AT MAHELA
AMPASIMBEBEFORONAFALLS OF ANEVOCA
FERRY AT ANDAKANA
MOUNT ANGAVO
AMBATOMANGA .
GATEWAY OF PALACE
AMBOHIPOTSY
AMBOHIDZANAHARYANTANANARIVO .
GROUP OF HOVAS
razanakombana, Assistant Secretary of State.
ralefoka, Daughter of Rarnonja.
THE DAUGHTERS OF EAMBOUSALAM.
PALACE, FROM HOUSE OF COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
ANTANANARIVO, FROM ROCKS UNDER SALUTING BATTERY
ANTANANARIVO, FROM AMBOHIPOTSY
TOMB OF RAINIHAIRO
ANATY ROVA ....
ANTSAHATSIROA
SOUTHERN DIVISION OF PALACE YARD

TO FACE PAGE 4

141926
2728 29
31 38
4043
54
57 586165

6668
70
75 77
7888

MADAGASCAR.

CHAPTER I.
Arrival at Tamatave — Visit to the Governor — Ludicrous Appearance of
Procession — The Fort of Thomasina — Saluting Flag of Kadama —
Malagasy "God save the King" — Andriatnandroso — Chief Judge's
House — Entertainment given to the Mission — Presents from the
Governor. Tuesday, 15th July, 1862. — At daylight Madagascar
was visible from the deck, and as soon as the sun was well
up, the coast lay before us stretching into the distance on
either side ; the mountains in the back-ground being partly
concealed by mists and clouds. By the time we anchored
in the roadstead, at 11.45, everything was bright, and
clear, and glittering under the blaze of a tropical sun.
Although we had been prejudiced against Tamatave, the
first impressions were decidedly favourable. We looked
upon a line of white sand, backed by grassy hillocks and
groves of fine trees with deep cool shadows ; from behind
the trees peeped the top of the Fort, over which floated
Radama's white flag ; this, with the town running out into
the sea upon a narrow point of land, combined to form a
perfect picture. Round the point, half a mile off, stretched
a coral reef, on the outer ridge of which lay the skeletons

2 MADAGASCAR.
of two luckless " bullockers," — i.e. coasting vessels employed
in the exportation of cattle, — against the sides of which the
spray of the outside rollers leaped as high as their ancient
masts. These soon after afforded excellent marks for the
10-inch shells of the " Gorgon." Lieutenant Keppel, R.N.
pulled ashore as soon as the anchor was down, and informed
the Governor of our arrival. This information elicited a
salute of twenty-one guns, the tiny cracks of which seemed
scarcely to be equal to those of musketry. They were
speedily silenced by the roar of the " Gorgon's " cannon in
reply. A boat now came off from the shore with some of
the native officers dressed in semi-European costume ; they
mounted to the quarterdeck amidst the barely concealed
laughter of the officers, and after introducing themselves
to the General and the rest of the party, begged for a list
of our names and titles, which was readily afforded.
We now learnt that the "Hermione" (a French fifty-
gun frigate, lying two miles off near the Isle des Prunes)
had brought Commodore Dupre and a large staff, as the
French representative at the coronation, and that he had
left Tamatave that same morning for Antananarivo, the
capital of Madagascar.
We also heard that our newly appointed Consul, Mr.
Packenham, had not yet started for the capital, but was
still at Tamatave ; that he had wished to hoist his flag here,
but that the Governor would not allow him to do so without
orders from Radama ; and that our Consul had taken offence,
and refused to meet the Governor at all. At three p.m.
the Bishop and I went on shore, and Captain Anson accom
panied Captain Wilson on board the "Hermione." I then
visited Mr. and Mrs. Packenham, who were living in a
small, but not uncomfortable house.
The people crowded down to the boats when we landed.
They seemed good-natured and friendly disposed towards

TAMATAVE.

us. Most of them were dressed in the common lamba, which
is a piece of stuff the size of half an ordinary sheet,
wrapped round both shoulders, and the longer end again
thrown over one shoulder, so that both arms are impri
soned, and as the loose end is very apt to fall off, one
hand is continually engaged in keeping it on. The lamba
is made of all kinds of material. The poorer people use
Rabanne cloth, made from the bark of the Rofia palm.
Those who can get it prefer European cotton. Lambas of
various striped patterns are woven by the Hovas in
Imerina, both of cotton and silk.
Tamatave is a large village, and will no doubt soon
become a place of importance. There are about five thou
sand inhabitants. The village itself consists of two parallel,
but rather straggling streets, running north and south.
Being built on a point it has the sea on both sides of it,
and the main part of the village lies in a hollow between
two sand-banks. The west sand-bank entirely hides the
sea from the village, and is covered with trees, conspicuous
amongst which is the Pandanus, the wild Vacoa, which
grows to a great size. The eastern bank is not planted,
but here the best houses in the place are built, surrounded
with large enclosures of bamboos, and interspersed with a
few cocoa-nut trees. On leaving the Consul, I joined the
Bishop and Captain Anson, and found that an escort of
soldiers and a band of music, with chairs and bearers, had
been sent down to take us to the Fort. We mounted our
chairs, and the band in front marched off, blowing away
at some rather battered European brass instruments, a
saxhorn, a cornet, a trombone, a clarionet or two, and
several drums.
Then followed the soldiers in double ranks, dressed in
white trousers and blouses. They carried old Tower flint
muskets and bayonets, not particularly clean. Their

MADAGASCAR.

cartouches and belts were falling to pieces ; many of them
were kept together by pieces of string, and evidently had
not been pipeclayed for the last twenty years. After the
soldiers, of whom there might have been some twenty-five
or thirty, walked the officers, who were still more incon
gruously dressed. They displayed every style of European
costume, but in so ragged a form that they looked as if
they had come from Donnybrook fair. Very few had
shoes, and fewer still stockings, and those who had these
latter allowed them to drop over the heels of their low
boots. After these magnates came our party in chairs,
or, as the natives call them, filanzans. Some were arm
chairs fastened to poles, others were merely seats made of
a piece of ox-hide, stretched between two poles. Seated
in these, the Bishop, Anson, and I, with our interpreter
Andronisa, proceeded in solemn state to the Fort. The
Fort lies about half a mile to the north of the town. It is
composed of a keep or citadel, mounting some dozen
cannon ; outside this is a deep ditch, and outside this
again an enormous glacis, so steep as not to deserve the
name ; embrasures are cut in the glacis for the guns of
the keep to fire through. To the west, so placed as to
flank the approach to the town, is an outwork of earth
mounting three small cannon. This is also used as a
saluting battery. To the north of the Fort is a large
palisaded camp capable of holding three thousand soldiers.
I was unable to find out how many soldiers were quartered
there at this time, but I do not suppose there were more
than four hundred. On entering from the front we passed
three guard-houses, one at the gateway of the palisaded
camp, the next at a second line of palisades to the east of
the Kabary (or council) ground, and, after passing through
the archway of the glacis, we found another guard-house
on , the bridge over the ditch. The guards all turned out

" MALAGASY ' GOD SAVE THE KING. 5
as we passed and presented arms. I should mention that
all the soldiers have spears as well as muskets when in
the ranks ; when halted in line, they plant the spears in
front of them. The object of this is, I imagine, to give
the idea of a greater number of men, as at a distance when
one can only see the spear-heads and bayonets, the troops
appear more numerous than they are in reality.*
After the last guard-room, we passed another archway
under the rampart, and then entered the courtyard ofthe
Fort ; here the troops were drawn up in parade order,
forming three sides of a large square round the flag-staff ;
the Governor and his staff were in front of his house, a
long, low, two-storied building, with verandah painted red.
The band struck up " Sidikin," the Malagasy " God save
the King."f The troops presented arms to the flag, the
Governor took off his hat, and we followed his example.
Directly the music ceased, the Governor, staff-officers,
&c, all salaamed to the flag, exclaiming, " Veloome, Velo-
o-o-o .... me Tsara Tompk ....ay!!" which means,
"Hail, O good king!" The band then struck up "The
British Grenadiers," and the soldiers again presented arms,
whilst we advanced to meet the Governor, who came
towards us with outstretched hands. He was dressed in
striped pyjamas, slippers, yellow waistcoat, and a long
scarlet coat reaching nearly to his heels, and wore two large

* This custom, as I afterwards learnt, is not followed at the capital, but
only in the coast fortresses and military posts, where there are but few
soldiers. t Malagasy " God save the King."

^Vj j J~r i r^^TrT^ff^^^P^^^fl

Za-na - ha ry ta-hio ny tom-po-nay ! Ra- da-ma Mpan-ja-ka ny Ma-da -gas - uai

Aoka i - zy ho - lo - ha ny tou-dra anay : Ha-nao ny soa a - sai - nao a - tao - may

MADAGASCAR.

bullion epaulettes. He shook hands with us all round,
then led us into the house, and upstairs to his reception
room, where there was a long table with champagne and
glasses. We sat down, and, through the interpreter, made
the usual common-place compliments. The Governor then
ordered the wine to be opened, and as soon as our glasses
were filled, proposed the health of Radama and Victoria.
The signal was given to the band outside, who played the
national airs of both countries, and the troops again pre
sented arms. In fact, the wretched troops seemed to be
kept on parade all day long, presenting arms on the slight
est occasion. After arranging with the Governor about
the landing and ceremonial the next day, we took leave,
and were escorted down to the beach by the band and
soldiers as usual. We returned on board ship in time for
Captain Wilson's dinner, and made arrangements for getting
all our things on shore the next day.
Wednesday, \%th July. — Occupied all the morning in
getting the luggage ashore in the paddle-box boat, and
storing it in the custom-house. At two o'clock a band
and escort of soldiers, &c, with palanquins as the day
before, came down to the beach, and the General and staff
landed in the captain's gig, being saluted as they left
the " Gorgon." The procession was soon formed, Mada
gascar etiquette placing the highest ranks last ; in the
order of march. We then proceeded to the house of the
Chief Judge Pilibert, where in front of the house, in a large
courtyard shaded by lofty trees, ^ sat the Governor in gala
dress ; a small French cocked hat jauntily stuck upon
the side of his head, scarlet coat with long swallow-tails,
and gold frogs, blue velvet trousers embroidered with
gold down the seams, a field-officer's sword, scabbard, and
epaulettes. Andriamandroso is the imposing name of this
dignitary. A large escort of soldiers was drawn up in

CHIEF JUDGE S HOUSE. 7
line, and went through the customary ceremonies. The
Governor then advanced and shook hands with us all,
and led the General into the house, which he proposed
giving us to live in whilst we were at Tamatave. As the
General, however, preferred living on board, only Anson
and I took possession of the house, storing our cases all
round the room, which was a fine large one papered with
French paper representing the battles of the Crimea.
The Governor made it over to us in a long speech, and
after a great deal of complimentary language on both
sides, we again mounted our palanquins, and went up to
the Fort, where all the old ceremonies were gone through,
with which the visit concluded.
Thursday, July 11th. — Went ashore with Anson, and
took up our quarters in the Chief Judge's house. An-
dronisa set out to engage Marmites, as the bearers are
called, to take us up to the capital. The French are re
ported to have taken more than six hundred of them. Cald
well's party, who are about to start with the presents for the
King, require two hundred, and we shall want four hundred,
which are very difficult to obtain. Last year the price
for each Marmite was $2, this year they have raised
their price to $3-50, which makes a great difference in
the expenses of the journey. The Chief Judge's house
where we now live is decidedly one of the best in Tama
tave. It consists of one large room about fifty feet long,
the timber of the roof .is palm-tree lashed with rofia —
the thatch is very neatly put on, and is formed of ravenale
leaves. The floor is raised some three feet from the
ground, which here is pure sand. So far it is the same
as the other houses, but inside there is an attempt at
European ornamentation, as it is floored and papered ;
the wind, however, comes through the boards in a manner

8 MADAGASCAR.
that secures thorough ventilation. Here we live, Anson
slinging his cot from the cross-beam, and I making use
ofthe General's palanquin for a bed. Our staff of servants
consists of a Tranquebar cook, who is always called " cook,"
and apparently never had any other name ; Peter Botte,
a Malagasy naturalized British subject, he is the General's
personal attendant ; David, a Betsimasaraka, speaking
both Creole and Malagasy ; Medine, my man, an awful
rascal; and Jean, a little constable, who is Anson's retainer;
he had been an escaped Sakalava slave. Francine, the
assistant cook, a first-rate young fellow, makes up the
number. We have brought plenty of preserved soups,
hams, and potted meats, not to mention wine, beer, and
other drinkables ; and as turkeys are to be bought four
for a dollar, we shall not want for eating. Arranging,
and unpacking, and repacking, and stowing, have occupied
the greater part of this day. In the evening, Anson and
I strolled through the town, amusing ourselves with the
novelty of all we saw.
Friday, 18th. — Up soon after daylight and out shooting,
I also made two or three sketches. The views from the
tops of the sand-hills, that stretch along the shore, are
beautiful in the extreme ; in front a wide plain, green and
fertile, sprinkled here and there with clumps of low trees;
beyond, a gently undulating country, covered with ravenale
and large timber; and in the distance mountains of every
shade and colour, growing fainter and fainter. We had
the edge of our appetite for breakfast taken off by coming
across the body of a man in a state of decomposition ; he
had been strangled, the rope was still round his neck, but
whether murdered, or destroyed by his own hand, it was
impossible to say. We afterwards told the authorities,
but they appeared to think it no business of theirs. After

PRESENTS. 9
breakfast a deputation from the Fort arrived with a present
to our party of four bullocks, rice, sugar-cane, and fruit.
After entertaining the chiefs who brought them, we re
ceived an invitation to dine with the Governor, for which
purpose the General and Bishop, who were still on board
ship, came on shore at two o'clock.

10 MADAGASCAR.

CHAPTER II.
Engagement of four hundred Men to carry the Personnel of the Mission
to the Capital— Dividing the Baggage — Strike of the Marmites — A
Wet Sunday in Tamatave — Advance of a Portion of the Baggage on
the Road — First Day's March — River Hivondro — Anzolokafa — Cross
ing a River — Halt at Ambalatambaca — Arrival at Trano Maro.
By this morning, the number of Marmites recruited for us
by well-paid, emissaries was nearly complete, and we are
in hopes of sending off on Saturday about two hundred
men with the heavy luggage, and of following ourselves
on Monday. We were taken up to the Fort at the dinner
hour, with all the usual ceremony, and found a large table
spread in the lower room ofthe Governor's house, with
roast and boiled, stewed and curried, — all the delicacies
in and out of season. Everybody helped himself, some
sixty guests sitting down. Knives and forks were used
by those who had them, those who had not availed them
selves of their fingers. The Governor sat at the top of
the table with the General on his right hand, and the Bishop
on his left. A great many loyal and friendly toasts were
drunk, and at about six o'clock we were able to get away,
after a cup of very good native coffee. The General and
Bishop were escorted down to the beach, where Anson
and I left them, and returned to our house, attended by
innumerable fire-flies.

DIVISION OF THE BAGGAGE. 11
Saturday, July \§th  In the morning, the sailors, to
whom we had given a bullock, came on shore to kill it.
This was easier said than done, and the capture of the
animal was not effected for a long time ; at last, however,
he was cut up and taken to the ship. The mornings are
cool and pleasant now; at 7.30 the thermometer stood
at 68°, barometer (aneroid), 3036 inches. Before break
fast the Marmites began to muster in the courtyard under
the trees, and by the time we had finished were present
to the amount of some five hundred. All the baggage
was in front of our house before the door-way, and round
this the Marmites squatted in a semicircle, each with his
eyes fixed upon that piece of luggage which he thought
lightest ; as there were not many .light packages, and abund
ance of heavy ones, of course a great many were eager
after the same thing, and at last they charged down on
the luggage, fighting and struggling for the lightest things,
no one attempting to touch the heavy ones. Anson and I,
and Andronisa, backed by the servants, however, drove
them back after a vigorous application of long sugar-canes,
and restored some kind of order ; but Anson being called
away, our forces were so diminished, that when a second
charge took place we were forced to retire, and to let them
have their own way, and tie up the packages as they liked.
Not one could we induce to touch some very heavy large
cases and magazines, that unwittingly we had brought with
us. However at last, through the oratory of Mr. Andro
nisa, a compromise was effected, and by tbe help of a little
extra pay, and the promise of a bullock, we came to terms.
The General and Bishop came to see how we were getting
on during the afternoon. We could not get matters with
the Marmites arranged before it was dark, so that it was
impossible to start off the heavy stores as we had intended,
and we had to put off our departure till Tuesday. This

1 2 MADAGASCAR.
evening it came on to blow and rain. Everything was soon
wet and moist inside the house as well as out.
July 20th, Sunday. — Rain — pouring rain. Anson laid
up with a slight attack of fever. The Marmites kill their
bullock, and do not "appear to mind the wet a bit. The
Bishop held morning service on board the " Gorgon," but
we were unable to go, as there were none of the ship's boats
on shore, and the sea was too rough to go off in a canoe.
In the afternoon, however, the Bishop came ashore, the
weather having moderated, and read the service in French
at the store of a trader in the town, where we joined him.
The congregation was very small, only four or five people
of the place in addition to ourselves. The retail traders
here are a very low set, chiefly ex -filibusters from Mexico.
Anson was not at all well in the evening, and I began
to be seriously afraid that he would not be able to go
on with us.
Monday, 21st July. — Early in the morning one hun
dred and thirty-four Marmites started off with our heavy
baggage in advance ; two hundred and forty-five remain
behind, being the bearers and carriers of our personal
effects and stores for the march up. An escort of twelve
Hova soldiers under two officers, with our seven servants,
interpreter, and five of ourselves, made the whole of
our forces amount to four hundred and six. The
General's palanquin is to be carried by twenty-four men,
eight at a time. Captain Anson's the same. Mine only
requires eight, as does also Dr. Meller's (a botanist, who
is on sick leave from Dr. Livingstone's expedition, and
has requested permission to join our party.) The Bishop
will have sixteen men to his. The whole of this day has
been devoted to packing.
Tuesday, 22d July. — The General and Bishop landed
toierably early, and we were able to form our line of march

LEAVING TAMATAVE. 13
by ten o'clock a.m., at which time the vanguard started witli
music, escort, and all due military honours. Anson and I
remained behind at least two hours afterwards to see everyi
thing off. We then started at a tearing pace ; he in his
long, bed-like palanquin covered something like a hearse
with black waterproof ; I in a simple chair on two poles,
and with no protection from the sun.
On leaving Tamatave we travelled along the coast in a
south-west half west direction. Our course lay over a
flat plain, the soil sandy, but covered with grass, there
being a great quantity of dark vegetable matter mixed
with the sand. We noticed a number of strychnos, pan
danus, &c, and various shrubs ; and we passed several
herds of oxen in pens ready for shipment in " biillockers "
to Mauritius or Reunion. We had to ford two or three
streams, and passed numerous pools of shallow water, in
which little naked children were sailing mimic boats. A
good trade- wind from the south-east blew freshly the
whole day. After travelling two or three miles I caught
up the advanced guard and passed it, having the lightest
chair. The country now became more wooded and park
like ; short, crisp turf made the plain like an English lawn,
and on each side of the road, about half a mile off, were
very good groups and topes of timber, principally fillahoes,
and gum-trees, and palms of every description. The
ground within that distance had been cleared on account
of the numerous herds of cattle that come from the interior
for sale at Tamatave.
I reached Hivondro River more than thirty minutes
before any of the rest, and halted at the village of Anzo-
lokafa, where I waited the arrival of the others in the
verandah of a house belonging to Madame Fische, a
Malagasy princess. All our luggage as it came up was
stored in the Government guard-house. The General and

14 MADAGASCAR.
the Bishop took possession of a house close by, while the
rest of us put up in Madame Fische's house, which also
served as our mess-room. The first day's journey from
Tamatave is always short, in order that travellers may
have an opportunity of sending back for anything they
may find missing, and alter the arrangement of the bag
gage, &c, &c.
Wednesday, 23rd July. — Up early, and got a bathe
in the sea while the sun was rising ; by the time it was
up I had walked to the highest part of the village, and
sketched the river, and the noble panorama beyond it.
Before I had half finished, breakfast was ready, to which
we all did ample justice except poor Anson, who was
still prostrate with fever. I forgot to say in its proper
place, that when we arrived here yesterday, we found
our heavy baggage, which had got here before us, but
a great many of the bearers had bolted, so we had all the
trouble of looking out for and engaging new ones. This
of course delayed the day's march, as we have to send
these people on in front.
We waited a long time on the banks of the Hivondro,
as there were not boats enough to take us over. These
boats or canoes are about two feet broad, and vary from
twenty to forty feet in length ; they are formed from the
simple trunks of trees hollowed out. They are very crank
and easily upset.
Crossing in the heat of the day was very tedious, but
was accomplished at last, and then, after a march of two
or three hours, we reached Ambalatambaca (the place of
tobacco), a wretched hamlet of not more than half-a-dozen
huts or sheds of the most miserable description. Here
the Marmites set down our baggage and refused to move
a step further except for higher wages. The Bishop and
General looked at the proposed accommodation with horror.

If. r?S)T-

ETffiyeclJEA del

landc!n.]?r!bliahedVI>sy"* Sonjliratedl Lithojrajhers Gas Streetimcolii'sJiiiiHelds ff.C .
RIVER HIYOIDRO.

Day 5- Snn fTnmfayQTntfr

TRAN0 MARO. 15
A few reeds and stalks of ravenale offered only the
scantiest shelter from the dew and wind at night, which
we were apt to feel greatly after the fatigue and heat of
the day. After a long delay here, we bribed the Marmites
to resume their loads, and take us on as far as Trano
Maro (many houses), by the promise of an extra sixpence,
and an advance of half-a-dollar upon the money due to
them. We did not, however, reach Trano Maro until dark.
This village was at least a decided improvement upon
the one we had just left. About fourteen houses were
arranged in the form of a square, enclosing a piece of
ground about thirty yards long. All round this piece
of ground the Marmites encamped, making the whole
village glow with their fires. Meller had been in
defatigable in collecting plants, birds, and insects, all day
long; and in the evening, after our dinner, employed him
self in arranging his prizes and skinning the birds we
had shot. We had a little rain, but the houses were
tolerably snug. About eight o'clock the officer in com
mand of the escort of soldiers in a loud voice proclaimed
watch -setting, and that any Marmite or other person
moving about after that hour would be shot by the sentries.
A sentry was posted at each door. One of them from
time to time fired off his musket in order to scare away
possible thieves, but this was the only disturbance of the
night.

MADAGASCAR.

CHAPTER III.
Payment of Marmites — Current Coin — White Ants — Park Scenery —
Ampanirano — Angrsecutns — Lake Erangy — Andranakooditra — Horned
Owl — Fleas — Takalampona — Travelling along the Seashore — Ferry —
Woods — Pantomazina — Lemur albifrons — Makis — A hasty Meal —
Sago Palms' — Ivavongy — King's Lapa — Sakalava Drums — Botanist.
Thursday, July 2Uh. — I was up before daybreak, and
bathed by moonlight in a small pond behind the village,
after which I employed myself in sketching until breakfast
was ready, while Anson superintended the payment of the
promised advance of half-a-dollar to each of the men.
The Marmites are very particular about their money ; the
current coin of the realm is the dollar, or rather the French
five-franc piece, and this is cut up into halves, quarters,
eighths, and sixteenths. They are never tired of weighing
and testing their money, so as to ensure their not being
cheated. This matter being settled at last, most of the
baggage was sent on by 8.45, and our party followed,
some in palanquins, some on foot.
After leaving Trano Maro, the track is narrower, the
trees look more healthy, and there is an absence of those
blanched, gaunt, dead trunks of trees which are so re
markable a feature of the country between Trano Maro
and Hivondro River. The white ants seem to be respon-

BIRDS. 17
sible for this ; all along the coast multitudes of their nests
are to be seen up in the trees, the sides of which are
covered with their tracks ; the trees themselves are very soon
destroyed by them. Plenty of paroquets, green pigeons,
cardinals, egrets, black and white crows, flying about here,
furnished occupation for our guns. The thickets became
closer, but the path still continued as broad as an English
highway, and covered with beautiful turf. The scenery
altogether reminded me of a shrubbery or wilderness
in some lovely park in England, and we could almost
have expected to see at the next turn a beautiful mansion,
with lawns and gardens ; instead of which, however, we
only passed the squalid huts of a few charcoal-burners,
and woodcutters, who stared with wondering eyes at our
caravan, which extended over from two to three miles
of country. Turning out of the forest at Tanyfotsy, and crossing
a small stream, we came once more upon the sea-shore,
and travelling along the sand for a few miles reached
Ampanirano, a small village on a lake. This lake was
only about a mile long, and, like most of the lagoons about
the coast, was covered with dwarf pandanus and large
arums, with papyrus. Here we halted at mid-day and
breakfasted. I shot two very pretty birds, one a small humming
bird with two bright yellow spots on its shoulders, the
other a grey bird, the size of a thrush, with red eyes. It
was very hot, and we often had to rest under the thick
•bushes, and so had plenty of time to admire the magnificent
orchids which were in full blossom around and above
us on every side, more especially the Angroecum ses-
quipedale and superbum, on which the Rev. W. Ellis expa
tiates in his work on Madagascar. Our course after this
brought us to one of the largest of the lakes — Lake Erangy
c

18 MADAGASCAR.
— where we halted at a collection of wretched cottages,
on a high bank of sand, between the lake and the sea,
called Andranakooditra. After having arranged our
things for the night we walked out along the coast, but
only shot a few sandpipers; bathed in the sea, and whilst
waiting for dinner shot a large horned owl. We also
caught sight of a goatsucker, which, however, it was then
too dark to shoot.
The fleas are always a great annoyance to us at night,
and we have to anoint ourselves with camphor, which we
find a partial remedy. Anson has another touch of fever.
Friday, 25th July. — Daylight saw us stirring. The
usual custom was to pack off everything as early as
possible, leaving just sufficient to enable us to breakfast
comfortably. Got a dip in the sea — the chance of a
shark there being less than that of a crocodile in the lake.
Our journey to-day led us under the shade of some thick
pandanus groves along the Erangy lake. It was pleasant
walking under the shelter of these groves, and when they
opened we got beautiful glimpses of the lake and the
wooded banks and hills beyond.
We left Andranakooditra at eight o'clock, and strolled
along, taking it very easily till we came opposite Taka-
lampona, a small village on a point of land running out
on the western side of the lake, exceedingly like some
of the flatter parts of Windermere. We now emerged
from the woods and again took to the sea-shore, travelling
along which at midday was very trying. The sand glowed
till it was painful to the eye ; and the white sea foam,
extending some three or four hundred yards beyond, ren
dered the prospect still more dazzling. The sea itself was
obscured with a hazy, misty glare, which suggested suf
focation, and the only relief the eye had was the groves
on our right, consisting of fillahoes, palms, and vacoas,

LEMURS. 19
at which we wistfully gazed. The line of sand -bank
between the sea and lake became gradually narrower and
lower, and presently disappeared altogether, so that we
were forced to take pirogues and cross at a ferry. Directly
after crossing we had to ascend a steep bank, at the top
of which was a village ; we then turned our steps to the
left, and after passing a lovely grassy glade surrounded
by an amphitheatre of lofty timber, plunged into the
intricacies of a thick forest, through which the path was
so narrow that it was with great difficulty that the General's
palanquin was got through at all. Creepers, parasites,
orchids, and ferns of large size, were to be seen here in
great abundance. After an hour's march we emerged
from this, along the banks of a small stream skirting the
edge of the woods, which we forded, and then halted for
the mid-day meal at the hamlet of Pantomazina (pound
ing of rice by night). In the woods we saw a kind
of lemur, which did not appear very timid. They belong
to the tribe of Lemur albifrons, and vary in colour from
chestnut to grey, with white hair on the forehead. The
natives call them " Makis."
We halted at Pantomazina for some time. The bearers
quickly arranged themselves in little groups of three or
four, one of whom made the fire between three stones,
another put the rice and water in a thin earthenware pot,
and another collected the leaves of ravenale, or plantain,
which served them as plates, cups, and saucers. It took
about half-an-hour to cook, eat, and finish everything,
but we generally allowed them to rest for at least an
hour. The sago-palms about this time began to form a
new feature in the scenery.
Our afternoon's march brought us to Andrasoabe Lake,
where, at the village of Ivavongy, was our resting-place
for the night. On the western side of the lake is the

20 MADAGASCAR.
military post, and lapa, or king's house (of which there
is one in every village), with a flag-staff, rice-store,
and out - buildings, all enclosed in a neat palisade of
gaulettes. The village on the east is a small collection
of huts which have sprung up as a market, and accommo
dation for travellers. After we halted, I crossed over alone
to the western village to sketch the lapa. In one of the
cottages I found two Sakalava drums, of one of which
I made a sketch; they consist of a solid piece of hard
wood hollowed out, leaving the thickness of about an
inch. A piece of ox-hide with the skin and hair on, is
fastened outside by withes, and kept tight by twisted
rofia cord, stretched over clumsy bridges of wood.
Here we met with a young botanist named Magee, in
the service of Messrs. Veitch, the celebrated florists in
England. He is engaged in collecting orchids and ferns
for his employers.

TANGENA. 21

CHAPTER IV.
Lake Ranomainty — Tangena Poison — Quails — Andevorante — River Iha-
roka — Comfortable Quarters — Halt for Sunday — GameofKatra —
Burial-ground — Curious Coffins — Funeral Ceremonies — Memorial
Stones — Cenotaphs — Ghosts — Canoes — Ambon ibohazo — Marombe —
Coffee-plants — Noisome Marshes — Manamboninahitra — Rats — Ra-
nomafana — Hot Springs — River Farimbongy — Mahela — Circum
cision Poles at Ampasimbe — Dancing Girls — Beforona — Ida
Pfeiffer and Lambert — Babacootes — JEpyornis maximus — A Night in
the Woods — Valuable Trees — Forests of Analamazaotra — Sugar
Mill — Blow-Tube — Moromanga.
Saturday, 2§th July  At half-past eight we had formed
our order of march, and were on our way by the banks
of the Lake Imoasa. We passed the village of Ambila
on the opposite side of the lake, where it began to rain,
which it continued to do till we arrived at the ferry across
Lake Imoasa, which here joins the sea ; we went over
in pirogues (some of them of the frailest and rudest con
struction) to Andavaka Menerana (the hole of serpents),
where we dried our steaming garments over a fire in
one of the huts. When the rain ceased we started off
again, nor halted till we came to Lake Ranomainty (Black
water) near which were great quantities of sweet limes,
which we found very palatable and refreshing. I also
noticed several shrubs of tangena (the celebrated Malagash
poison) about here. We put up a few quails, but did
not get a shot. By-and-bye we came in sight of An
devorante, a large village, consisting of at least two hundred
cottages, situated at the junction of the Lake Ranomainty
and the River Iharoka.

22 MADAGASCAR.
We found a comparatively comfortable house at Ande-
vorante ready for us, much larger than any we had been
accustomed to before. It consisted of one large and two
side rooms. The General and Bishop occupied one, and
Anson and I the other of the smaller rooms, while the
centre one served as a dining and sitting-room. This night
Anson's cot and my hammock were both slung from the
same transverse chevron that ran along the junction of
the steep roof and wall. The weight of two persons
proved too much for the slightly built framework, and
accordingly down we both came with a crash.
Sunday, July 21th. — Halt for the day. We felt really
thankful for this day's rest, and it was a great comfort
not to be obliged to hurry through one's breakfast, and
pack directly afterwards. To-day we were able to wash
and dry ourselves and our clothes. After a bathe, and
breakfast, the Bishop performed divine service. A pile
of champagne and brandy cases, covered with a plaid,
made a reading-desk, at which he read prayers. He did
not give us a sermon, which was a relief to at least some
of the party, who were eager to get outside and look about
them. Directly after service all, except the General,
set out to see the country. The first thing that caught
our attention was a group, consisting of a man and girl
seated under the projecting eaves of one of the cottages,
engaged in playing the game of Katra, in which they
seemed to feel as absorbing an interest as the most enthu
siastic amateur does in chess. The game appeared some
thing like draughts, and was played by moving beans on a
board from one hole to another, but we failed to make out
its rules accurately.*
* " This game of katra somewhat resembles draughts. A large stone or
board is prepared with a given number of divisions, and small pebbles
or seeds about the size of nuts, are used as the draughts or dice. The

COFFINS. 23
We next met a group of traders from the interior with
their families. The women of the party were very taste
fully dressed, in little short jackets of blue cotton, stiff
petticoats of striped rofia cloth, and shawls of bandana
over their shoulders. Their ears were ornamented with
silver ear-rings, three in each ear of different sizes.
Leaving the village we crossed the sand-hills to the
south, and came to a long bar of sand which appeared
to go right across the mouth of the river. We
went along the top of the bar for half a mile or more ;
it is about the breadth of Plymouth break-water, and the
running between the waves to escape the sea water re
minded me much of that place. The slope of the sand
is a very curious curve, on the outer side hollow, and on
the inner one sloping. At last we got far enough to see
the mouth of the river Iharoka, the width only about
600 yards, with apparently a calm, deep channel, perfectly
practicable for navigation. After making a sketch we
walked back to our temporary house, and after luncheon
started again in the opposite direction to examine some
tombs on the north-east of the village. These mostly con
sisted of groups (generally three in a group) of coffins placed
side by side, and covered by a roughly constructed shed of
ravenale, surrounded by palisades of some eight or ten
feet in height. The coffins were made of the trunks of
notice of this game is attended with some degree of pleasure, from having
advanced one step nearer to what is intellectual in the amusements of the
Malagasy. Thirty-two small square holes are cut in an oblong board
used in playing this game. Boards of this kind are kept in many of the
houses ; and in some places the game is followed out-of-doors, and the
square holes are cut in the surface of a rock, or smooth flat stone near
the native dwelling. Small stones are used in playing, and the art of
the game consists in moving them from one hole to another, as the pegs
are moved in the children's game of fox and geese, until one entire row is
emptied." — W. Ellis's Hist of Madagascar.

24 MADAGASCAR.
trees hollowed out in a horse-shoe form, covered with a V-
shaped roof of boards. The coffin was supported on trestles
or platforms of unhewn wood, and in front of them were
generally some broken earthenware plates or dishes, and
some little bits of coloured paper or cardboard, stuck into
the split ends of sticks ; these last are used by the natives
as fans at and before the funeral, in order to drive away
the flies and insects from the corpse while it remains in the
house, and on the road to the grave ; they are called fiko-
pana. On the highest pole of the surrounding palisade
were stuck, as a memorial, the skulls and horns of the oxen
killed at the funeral ceremony. The number of cattle
slaughtered on these occasions depends entirely upon the
rank and riches of the deceased. The natives say that the
use of the afana, or funeral ceremony, is that the dead
may rest quietly in his grave. This is their last act of kind
ness to the departed. Emblems of their profession were
generally placed at the eastern end of the coffin ; for in
stance, the prow of a canoe placed on end at the foot
of one coffin suggested the untimely end of some poor
boatman. At the foot of another was a simple cross neatly
carved, and but lately erected, probably showing the rest
ing-place of one who had been tortured by the tangena and
died in the cause of Christianity.
Beyond these tombs was a tumulus, and on the top
of it six upright conical stones of different sizes, the largest
about six feet high. Opposite the centre one was a pole,
and a single skull of an enormous ox with wide-spreading
horns, grinned from the top. These erections are memorial
pillars, though without any kind of mark or inscription on
them. They are called fahatsiarovana (causing to re
member). Those we saw were in memory, I understood,
of six Hova officers who died here during a campaign of
Radama I. against the Betanimenas. It is customary in

GHOSTS. 25
general, for the comrades of Hovas to carry their bodies
home; and they often bring their bones from the most
distant parts of the country, and deliver them with great
care to the friends of the deceased, by whom they are
received with funeral solemnities.
We frequently come across cenotaphs, consisting of a
low wall built on three sides of a square. These are
intended for the ghosts of those who die in battle, and
whose bodies have not been found. The ghosts, it is
supposed, are allured to repose in sacred spots thus reared
for them by the hands of friends, and thereby find that
rest which otherwise they would have sought in vain,
while wandering with the abhorred owls (vorondolo) and
animals of ill omen in the forests, or paying unwelcome
visits to their former dwellings and disturbing the survivors.
Monday, July 28th. — We were rather longer than
usual this morning packing, as our halt on the previous
day had induced us to get out many extra articles. By
9 a.m. sixty-four canoes were chartered to take us and our
baggage up the River Iharoka.
We had now quitted the coast line and our march
led inland. We had left Tamatave sixty miles north of
us, and had come south along the beach to Andevorante,
crossing three considerable rivers, the Hivondro, the Imoasa,
and the Iharoka, all draining a most important and exten
sive tract of country.
The intervals between these rivers are filled up with
the most enchanting lake scenery, which extends far to
the south of Andevorante.*
After some delay we all managed to embark, and I and
Meller occupied the same canoe. Meller is a most amusing
* These lakes have since been explored by Captain Rooke, R.A.,
who, with a party in a boat, specially designed and built by himself, visited
them in 1864.

26 MADAGASCAR.
companion and a first-rate botanist. He made our journey
up very interesting, being able to point out all manner of
rare plants, &c, that I should never have noticed. We
paddled slowly along, stopping every minute for fresh
specimens, so that the greater part of our fleet of canoes
shot on in front. We passed the villages of Marovata,
Batrasina, and Maromandia ; near the latter we left the
main stream of the Iharoka, and turned in a south-westerly
direction along a narrow tributary by Ambohibohazo, a
large government station. We pushed on for Marombe,
a small village on the top of a steep, slippery, clay bank. '
Here, in a plantation, we noticed for the first time some
coffee-bushes, which seemed flourishing. Presently the
rain set in, and leaving our pirogues we took to our
palanquins, filanzans, or chairs, and were carried, slipping
and tumbling, through a narrow lane, in which the mud
poached up by the cattle was so deep as to threaten to
engulf us.
We saw no more filaos ( Casuarina equisetifolia) after
leaving the eastern coast where they abounded. Now the
ravenale ( Urania speciosa), bamboos, and the dark useful
rofia palm, were the characteristic trees, and filled up all
the marshy and swampy bottoms between the downs, most
of which were bare of vegetation. The country towards
the south is more hilly and gives some sharp outlines,
forming a good background to the smooth and low un
dulations immediately in front. The marshes in the
valleys, where the streams are choked with the fallen,
decayed trunks of rofias, ravenale, and other palms, are
full of dark discoloured water, and exhale noisome and
pestilential vapours from the decomposition of vegetable
matter. The country seemed desolate and little inhabited
till we came to the village of Manamboninahitra, a snug
pleasant place, but with little cultivation around it. Here we

o IS! W O

RATS. 27
put up for the night, and the people cleared out a rice-store
for us to sleep in. My hammock-lashings came down with
a run, and I had to sleep on the floor. The rats, deprived
of their usual supper, revenged themselves by running
steeplechases over the intruders the whole night.
July 29th  Left Manamboninahitra about 8 a.m. shower
ing benedictions on the rats ; descending a valley, and
crossing some wet paddy-fields, we had a rather stiffish
ascent up a clay bank on the other side of a small rivulet,
which gave us a slight foretaste of the difficulties before
us. There being no regular road constructed, everybody
takes his own line of country. The consequence is, that
there are a number of little paths, here converging, there
parallel, and in other places diverging in irregular routes.
At midday we approached Ranomafana (hot water),
a village on a small tributary of the Iharoka. We visited
the hot springs which are in the bed of the river, the water
of which was full of glittering particles of mica. The
springs came bubbling up through the fine quartz sand of
which the bed of the river was composed, and the water
was too hot to be pleasant — -in fact, almost scalding.
After this nothing remarkable occurred in the day's
journey, and the night was passed, much as the former
ones had been, in a village with a long and barbarous
name. July 30th. — We kept along the course of the river
Farimbongy, a small stream with a pretty succession of
deep pools, small cascades, and miniature rapids, with
beautifully wooded banks. The Osmunda obtusa flourishes
here, rivalling in beauty the 0. regalis of England. There
were many beautiful specimens of water plants, especially
the lace leaf with its long streamers in the current, and
its pink blossom just above the surface of the water. We
now reached Mahela, which village is on the left bank of

28 MADAGASCAR.
this river. Here we forded the river astride the backs
of our bearers, who now are getting into admirable con
dition. Our next halt was at Ampasimbe. On arriving
at this beautifully situated village, larger than any
that we had passed since Andevorante, the most con
spicuous objects in the long main street of low huts
was a group of " Circumcision poles," on which the skulls
and horns of the bullocks killed during the celebration of
this national rite are stuck. The poles are merely the
branches of large trees planted in the ground, roughly
squared at the base, and with the ends of the forked
branches sharpened. They are generally covered with
cobwebs and lichens from disuse, and we observed them in
most villages of any pretension. The celebration of this
rite takes place every seven years, and this year, 1862 A.D.,
was the year of celebration. In consequence, however, of
the year of mourning for the death of Queen Ranavola, it
was celebrated privately, without any feasting or public
festivity. This evening we had an opportunity of seeing
the dances and hearing the songs of the Betanimena people.
In many of the villages singing and dancing are much
practised, and the people often assemble on fine moonlight
evenings, and accompany their songs and dances with the
native musical instruments, the lokanga and the valiha,
or even with a simple hollow bamboo beaten with a
stick, whilst the clapping of hands in constant and regu
lar time adds effectively to the wild chorus. Five or six
of the matrons of the place came forward with a large
bamboo, supported at either end by a young child, and
began chanting a wild prelude, beating time with short
sticks upon the bamboo. Obedient to this invitation a girl,
apparently about thirteen years old, came forward and
commenced a somewhat monotonous dance, her feet hardly

"Mr

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m
ft

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BEFORONA. 29
leaving the ground. She advanced and retired, moving
slowly round, swaying her supple form and waving her
arms, her hands especially quivered to the quick notes of
the music, to which was presently added the chorus of some
twenty women, who stood round in a half-circle. After
this exhibition two grown women came forward. Their
gestures were less graceful and expressive than those of
the girl, and their movements much resembled those of the
Nautch girls of India, whilst the first performer reminded
me ofthe Chinese dancers in the Sing-Song houses at Can
ton. After giving them a small present we were glad to
retire to our not uncomfortable quarters. Neither rats nor
creeping things annoyed us.
Thursday, July ?>lst. — After passing much beautiful
and varied scenery, and crossing and recrossing a small
river, whose course we followed for a long distance, we were
glad at night-fall to reach the large village of Beforona.
It was already dusk, and most of the baggage had arrived,
and the shouts of the delighted Marmites as they slaugh
tered and cut up the promised bullock, mingled with the
songs and music of the women of Beforona, who gave a
very similar performance to what we had witnessed at
Ampasimbe. Beforona is built round a large square, in the
centre of which are a flag-staff and the usual circumcision
poles. The place is notorious for fever ; when Lambert and
the celebrated Ida Pfeiffer were sent away from the capital
to the coast by the old Queen, whom they had conspired
to dethrone, their escort had orders to detain them for
eighteen days in this place, in the hopes of their dying of
fever. Ida Pfeiffer ultimately died of the effects of it, and
Lambert suffers severely to this day.
1st August, Friday.— The morning was cold, the
valley filled with fog and mist, the thermometer as low
as 47° Fahrenheit. Our road during the early part of the

30 MADAGASCAR.
day lay over a succession of steep and toilsome hills, which
were exceedingly difficult to climb, for the rain came down
in torrents, and mingling with the stiff red clay made the
footing on the sides of the hills most uncertain, while it
filled the valleys between with mud and water. Later in
the day we found ourselves engulphed in a vast forest,
the deep shades and solitudes of which were most im
pressive. The silence was only broken by the dull sound
of the ceaseless rain, the rushing ofthe torrents, and the
yells, screams, and gibing laughs of the babacootes. (Ap
pendix A. )
The natives have many wild and strange legends of
this forest and its inhabitants, especially of immense birds,
which, according to their account, rival the Roc of Sinbad
the Sailor in size. It is not, indeed, altogether impossible
that in the inmost and inaccessible recesses of these wide-
stretching forests, there may still linger specimens of those
gigantic creatures called JEpyornis maximus. Eggs of
this bird are known to have been found. They surpass
those of the Ostrich in size. The originals are now, I be
lieve, in Paris, but there is a cast of one of them in Case 108
of the Eastern Zoological Gallery of the British Museum.
In spite of all the wet and difficulties of the road, the
good spirits of the Marmites toiling under their heavy
burdens were indomitable. Imitating the lemurs' cries,
they would attract those handsome soft-furred animals
(which take the place of monkeys in Madagascar), till
they would come quite near, springing and swinging from
bough to bough, supported by their convolute tails.. The
vegetation we passed to-day was wondrous. Besides in
numerable large timber trees, their vast limbs covered
with litmus, lichens, orchids, creeping ferns, and parasites,
palms of numerous varieties shot up- to a tremendous
height : the candelabra-like pandanus exhibited a thousand

SP Olivfir.IIEA.deL. Bay*SoD.Iimited,Il4-
EALLS OP ANEVOGA, FOREST OF ANALAMAZAOTRA

LardarL,Pi:QiiL^dlyDay&Scd,IiimLted,Id^

TROPICAL SCENERY. 31
fantastic shapes, and various bamboos shook their feathery
plumes, like monstrous hop -plants, whilst magnolias,
myrtles, fig-trees, tree-ferns, with their umbrella-like cano
pies, filled the space between. Here, in a humid atmo
sphere and under a tropical sun, the spontaneous growth
and decay of vegetation has proceeded without interruption
for centuries, presenting scenes unsurpassed in the world.
The scenery, indeed, is never to be forgotten, especially
one part of the road, that wound round the edge of a rapid
torrent, which, flowing under a gigantic table of granite,
fell in a foaming broad cascade, into a caldron hollowed
out of the massive rock beneath. The ravine formed by
this torrent was superb, and the cascade, swollen by the
rains which had now ceased, was seen to its best advantage.
The granite table formed a Titanic bridge over the torrent,
and holes worn in it by eddies during past centuries
showed the hissing waters beneath. The magnificent
foliage met overhead, entwined with wonderful creepers,
shutting out the rays of the tropical sun, and throwing a
sublime gloom on the scene, lightened here and there by
the bright colour and delicate young fronds of the tree-fern.
We stopped awhile to breathe and admire. Everything
was dripping, — trees, rocks, ferns, parasites, and creepers,
ourselves also, whilst our Marmites steamed under their
exertions. The road was much easier to travel where it
was rocky, but oftentimes we would come to sudden
chasms and precipitous slopes, slippery with clay, mud,
and water. It was no joke to meet, as we once or twice
did, one of the numerous herds of cattle, on their way to
Tamatave from the capital, in one of these gullies ; they
are forced over the edge of these places, and slide, roll, or
tumble all the way down without being able to stop them
selves till they are brought up in the soft mud at the
bottom. Magnificent creatures many of them were, all

32 MADAGASCAR.
destined to supply the carnivorous propensities of beef-
eating John Bull at Mauritius, and, in a less degree, of his
Gallic neighbours at Reunion.
Almost the only way to ascend these steep ravines was
by climbing along the sides with a shod spear by way of
a mountain pole, and pulling oneself along by the net
work of tangled roots and fibres, which were exposed here
and there where the subsoil had been washed away. Here
and there, too, huge trees had fallen across our track, and
half imbedded in the clay, or hanging yet in mid-air, either
afforded us a causeway over the mud, or caused us to
climb and twist over or under them, or else to leave the
path altogether and get entangled in the dense underwood
and enormous parasitical plants on either side. Often on
the summit of some of the steepest ascents we found huge
piles of branches, twigs, bits of cloth, &c, the thank-offer
ings of passing travellers for having reached thus far on
their journey and surmounted the hill. The rain presently
came down again worse than ever. We found the road
almost impassable, and darkness coming on, we fully
realized the feelings of the natives, who call this tract " the
wilderness," and more fully sympathized with the sufferings
of those who, persecuted on account of their religion during
the reign of Ranavalona, fled here for shelter and for life.
We were finally obliged to stop for the night in one or
two wretched woodcutters' huts ; half of the baggage and
Marmites, however, remained in the woods all night.
2nd August. — Awoke at sunrise, and anxiously awaited
the arrival of the baggage that was left in the forest. By
the time we had finished our breakfast, we had the hap
piness of seeing the Marmites coming up, covered with mud
from head to foot, the cases and packages in the same
condition — not that we ourselves were much better. A
bright sunshine soon enabled us to dry our clothes, and

VALUABLE TREES. 33
we were ready to start off again about nine o'clock. The
Marmites, however, were so fatigued that we only could
accomplish half a day's journey, and complete the stage
that we ought to have performed the previous day. The
road was still very difficult, but the rain had ceased, and
the clay was soon baked into firm walking ground. We
halted, after three hours' march, at Analamazaotra, a small
military station, which takes its name from the forest in the
centre of which it stands. It is prettily situated in a small
clearing on the side of a hill. There are a few patches of
red sugar-cane, the Madagascar ground nut ( Voandzeia
subterranea), tobacco, manioc, and sweet potatoes. At the
bottom of the hill runs a small brook with some deep pools
in it. We put up some wild duck, and Meller shot a small
diver. We found the water icy cold when we bathed.
The stream is half choked by trunks of trees, snags, &c,
washed down by floods, or thrown down by decay or storm.
There were many splendid trees, among them the valuable
Azaina* tree, from which we drew some of its yellow
resin ; the tatamaka, a very hard and durable wood ;
the colophane ; the stink wood ; the iron wood, which will
turn the edge of an axe, being almost as hard and as heavy
as the metal after which it is named ; the benzoin, and ebony
of various kinds. There was also the sagaye, a very tough
wood, and good for shafts, the bois de natte, much used in
building, the vangassaye or Madagascar orange, various
citrons, fig-trees, and tamarinds, the nowrok tree with its
* " The Azaina (Azign of Chapelier) has been regarded by some as the
most useful tree in Madagascar. It is the Chrysopia fasciculata. Three
other species of it have been met with, viz. verrucosa, pomifera, and
parviflora. They belong to the family of Guttifera, and produce a great
quantity of yellow juice, or resin called by the natives ' Kitsy,' and
used by them in fastening knives, &c. into their handles. The tree is
used for the construction of canoes, which are made by scooping out the
trunk." — History of Madagascar, by W. Ellis. D

34 MADAGASCAR.
scarlet blossoms, and the magnificent crimson Madagascar
creeper. In the evening the lemurs made a great noise.
Their wailing resembles that of a young child. The Mar
mites danced and sang in joyful anticipation ofthe Sunday's
halt and rest, besides the prospect of a calf that we ordered
to be killed for them. The natives accompanied them with
the music of the bamboo valiha, and the lokangavoatavo, a
sort of two-stringed fiddle made of wood, with a calabash
and a quill bridge. It gives eight distinct notes.
3rd August. — After a week's good hard exercise, we
enjoyed the leisure afforded by the Sunday halt. We
walked and strolled about the woods in the neighbourhood,
and amongst other objects our attention was drawn to a
rudely constructed machine for crushing sugar-cane. It
was composed solely of the round trunk of a tree ; half-a-
dozen or so of stout pegs or handles were driven into this
large roller, one end rested in a groove cut out of a cross
beam supported on two forked uprights, the other rested
upon a rudely shaped piece of timber, somewhat resembling
a canoe with only one end hollowed out ; on the flat part
the sugar-cane is crushed by the heavy roller, and the juice
then runs into the hollowed part. A most primitive mill,
certainly. Some of the Marmites amused themselves to
day with shooting birds with a blow-tube ; they can hit an
object correctly at the distance often or twelve yards. The
tube is about three feet long, and the arrow, which has a
small quantity of fluff or wool at the blunt end, is about
six inches long.
The houses here were the first we saw built of solid
wood. The one we lodged in was very substantial, of one
room as usual, but having a window and door both with
wooden shutters. A stout post occupied the centre of the
room, and the western half was divided by a loft formed by
cross timbers at the level where the roof met the upright.

TIMBER. 35
The side walls were formed of stout pieces of strong bark,
of what tree I could not find out. Our servants were
accustomed to thrust our table-knives through and through
the walls of the houses by way of extemporising a knife-
cleaner. The floors were raised a foot or two above the ground.
One house occupied by people making snuff was raised
from the ground some ten or twelve feet on piles similar
to many of the rice-stores for which it had probably been
built. It formed a picturesque object in the village square
with a platform as a balcony surrounding it. This evening,
like the previous one, was employed by all the people
in singing, &c.
Analamazaotra was formerly the boundary beyond
which no Hova could pass without a passport from the
Queen Ranavalola. This restriction is now abolished, and
Radama allows his people full liberty to go or come.
The people accordingly sang songs with words in com
memoration of this new-found liberty of the subject. In
all these military stations where we halted there was a
Hova officer, and a couple of soldiers or more under him,
whose duty it is to forward on packages, letters, &c,
which have been officially franked, from post to post till
they reach their destination.
August Ath. — A glorious bright day ; and in the cool
shades of the forest we were able to laugh at the impotent
fierceness of the tropical sun. The trees were if anything
larger even than yesterday. It was from this neighbour
hood that the famous shaft was hewn which now forms the
centre pillar or mast of the Great Palace at Antananarivo.
This piece of timber, on which probably the whole weight
of the roof depends, is said to be 120 feet in height, and
this will give some idea of the immense size of the trees
in this forest. How many forced labourers were killed or

36 MADAGASCAR.
maimed in felling and transporting this huge mass to the
capital through dense forest, and over mountain and river,
must for ever remain unknown. But it is certain that
the transport employed was sheer corporal strength,
mechanical appliances being unknown. A certain creep
ing, feathery bamboo, which we had not noticed before,
became now a conspicuous feature in the scenery.
At mid-day we halted at a small place called Ampas-
sapojy, and soon after recommencing our journey shot
some more lemurs, and also one or two immense kites.
The Monte Christo, or saloon carbine, answered capitally
for shooting lemurs, as it makes little or no noise, and
is easily loaded. The bullet, too small to injure the skin
is carried very straight, and the ammunition and weapon
are both portable.
Towards evening we discovered that we were ap
proaching open country; the thick forest trees became
less and less, the clearings more numerous, and at last,
after a slight ascent, we saw a wide, open, prairie country
before us.
We had arrived at Moromanga, and before us, spread
in a glorious panorama, lay the province of Antankay,
stretching north as far as the eye could see. To the
south were wooded hills, and in the west glowing in the
sun were the mountains of Ankova.

ANKAY. ' 37

CHAPTER V.
Province of Ankay — The Plains of Moromanga — Mangoro River — Ferry
at Andakana — Ifody — Valley ofthe Vahala — Ambodinangavo — The
Pass over Mount Angavo — Mandraka River — Ankera Madinika
— Granite Boulders — Ambatomanga — Tomb of Indriamato-
aravalo — Fahitra — Tedien — Distant View of Antananarivo —
Andriasora — Entrance into the Capital — Fat Bullock presented by
the King.
August 5th. — After the mountains, ravines, and forests
we had traversed, we found an agreeable novelty in the
easy walking across the flats of Ankay, or Antankay.
The whole of this plain has the appearance of having been
under water, and during the rainy season the major portion
of it must be flooded. Even during the dry season there
are numerous streams ; and the bogs and marshes are full
of wild duck and snipe. These marshes are extensively
covered with zoro-zoro, a tall papyrus, through which it
would not be easy to pursue a crocodile, even if one had
the chance; but 'at this time of the year they hide them
selves in the mud, and are seldom seen, though they are
very numerous about here. The natives, from super
stitious feelings, never kill them. (Appendix B.)
After about fifteen miles across the plain we came to
the banks of the River Mangoro, which flows first south,
draining the plains of Moromanga, and then east through
Anteya. It is the second largest river in the island, and

38 MADAGASCAR.
in time ought to become a highway for merchandise. At
present, on account of its numerous cataracts and rapids
it is impracticable. It is from this part of the country that
the Bezanozano Marmites come. They are not tall, but
strong, and are by far the best coolies in the island. From
constantly carrying burdens on their shoulders regular
humps are formed, which act as pads for the protection of
the shoulder-blade, an ugly but most serviceable provision
of nature. We crossed the Mangoro River in some very cranky
canoes, and halted for luncheon on the top of the opposite
bank. Our naturalist busied himself between each mouth
ful in skinning the lemurs we had shot the day before.
Now began a stiff climb up the hill called Ifody. For
a wonder the track this time did not lie over the highest
part of the hill as it always seemed to do in the forest.
The tops and sides of Ifody are clothed with woods, and
the finest ebony in the island comes from here, as well
as a species of mahogany called mango-wood, with a beau
tiful grain.
Crossing the hill we again descended to Ambodinofody,
a small military post, where we did not stop, but pushed
on up the beautiful valley of the Vahala, which lies be
tween the mountains of Angavo and the Ifody range.
This valley has the most happy, fertile, and prosperous
appearance. Fields of rice were being trodden in by
bullocks. Gardens with manioc, water-melons, sugar-cane,
maize, bananas, pine-apples, sweet potatoes, mulberries, &c,
spread out in all directions. The valley was dotted here
and there by farm-houses and villages, the markets of
which seem well supplied with every necessary article.
The little river Vahala, which flows to the north, and
skirting round Ifody, falls into the Mangoro, waters this
valley, and irrigates the rice-fields without trouble to the

FORTIFIED VILLAGE. 39
husbandmen. The people seemed happy and industrious,
well-to-do, and neater and cleaner than any we had yet
come in contact with.
At the extremity of the valley, which terminates in a
fine amphitheatre of hills, stands Mandrahoody, or Am-
bodinangavo ; the former name means " the last impediment
home." The sick or wounded Hova, when returning
from some campaign against the turbulent Bezanozano,
or the yet unsubdued Betanimena, on being carried to this
place, would look up and say, " If I can only surmount
this last hill, I shall be in my own country — If I have
strength to climb this mountain, I shall live to enjoy my
highland home" — hence the name Mandrahoody.
This was the first village we stopped at that had
any semblance of defensive works. We had passed, indeed,
one village and market during the day which was sur
rounded by a high, stout, clay wall, bound here and there
with sticks, but the wall had fallen to decay and now was
valueless. Mandrahoody, however, although a small hamlet of
not more than a dozen houses, is cut off from the side
of the hill on which it is built by a ditch varying from
twelve to twenty feet in depth. This moat is broad enough
to enable four men to walk abreast at the bottom, and is
wider still above. The approach to the village is through
this ditch. The sides are covered with a species of melon,
and mulberries, and shrubs of Buddlea Madagascarensis.
The houses here were built in the true Hova fashion,
with steep, high-pitched roofs, the gable ends produced
crossways at the top so as to appear like long straight
horns. These project beyond the roof of thatch, in length
proportionate to the rank of the owners of the house.
Rudely carved birds are often seen at the extremity of
the horns. The roofs are thatched with the herana, a

40 MADAGASCAR.
rush that grows in abundance. There is a large stone
as a step before the door and another downwards inside
the door-sill, but the floor itself is on the same level as
the ground outside. The height of the roof from the top
of the wall to the ridge is often double the height of the
wall from the ground, so that if the walls are twelve feet
high the ridge of the roof will be perhaps twenty-four feet
above that. There was a loft or upper apartment in the
house we occupied with a regular staircase up to it, and
a window. A door to the west and a window below were
general. The best houses had partitions and bedsteads,
and one had a table and some rough chairs. From this
place we despatched a messenger to the capital to announce
our arrival so far to Rahaniraka, the King's Minister for
Foreign Affairs.
August 6th. — We had now a steep climb up the pass
of Angavo on foot to a height of at least 1500 feet above
the valley of the Vahala. On reaching the summit of the
pass, we found ourselves again in the woods, and, thence
descending into a precipitous valley, we crossed the
Mandraka river, which flows into the Ikiopa, which runs
into the Mozambique Channel. We had thus passed
the great watershed which runs north and south. As
cending for the last time we left the woods and came
into open country, undulating with bare downs, and were
now 5000 feet above the sea, and in the country of the
Hovas. The first Hova village we arrived at was Ankera Ma-
dinika. Here we halted, and our men spent a little of
their hard-earned cash in buying cray-fish, locusts, dried
shrimps, and other delicacies, for there was a market
being held in the squalid streets. Ankera Madinika was
a miserably filthy place, unworthy of the province of
Ankova. In one house which I entered there was the

5.P Oliver LlX.A.d«L

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LandcaLpat.liahedlyliayt Sai(Liiniteaj lithographers. Gate StreetJincdtiSjiaiHelds W. L

MOUNT AE&AVO.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. 41
usual central post, and two lofts which occupied opposite
quarters of the hut, called salazan and arehan. The fire
place was under the salazan and a fire burning on the
hearth, in the smoke hung a leather bag suspended from
a crook of wood. A bamboo ladder leant against the
arehan. The salazan over the fireplace was covered with
shreds of soot, an ornament esteemed by the proprietors
as a badge of honourable ancestry. The walls were of
bark, caulked with clay and dung. The doors were rudely
fastened with twisted strips of ox-hide. When I returned
to the market-place, I found there a man entertaining an
audience with a performance on the valiha, which is a long,
hollow, stout bamboo, about four inches in diameter, with
eleven strings, made of strips of bamboo-fibre, with bridges
of the same wood. The tone of this instrument is very
sweet, resembling the Swiss zittern.
The village was so filthy that we did not stop to luncheon
till we got out again, and found a resting-place near a
small stream. I noticed several women about here with
small spindles stuck in their hair, perhaps a sign of their
being good housewives.
From Ankera Madinika to the capital the country is
an assemblage of bare and barren downs, with hardly a
tree or trace of natural vegetation, the granite cropping
up on their summits in huge boulders, and rocks of fantastic
shapes, but now and then the eye is surprised and refreshed
by the rich bright green of the rice-fields in the valleys
below. Here, in this natural citadel of rock, reside as in
an inaccessible fortress those Normans of Madagascar who
have plundered, devastated, and finally subdued the coast,
and other tribes immeasurably superior to them in physical
force, for like the Norman the Hova is small, spare, and
delicate compared to those around him, and certainly not
so strong by a great deal. As in other countries, wherever

42 MADAGASCAR.
nature has been apparently less kind than usual the energy
of man rises superior to her, and every available inch of
ground is subject to cultivation ofthe best description.
We next passed a very neat and picturesque homestead,
called Angavokeli. Here was plenty of grass, a double
avenue of the aviavy, or wild fig, a small piece of
water, rice-fields, and plenty of sheep and cattle feeding.
Not far from this we passed the village of Anoserive.
Cultivation increased as we drew nearer to the capital.
The sides of the hills were diversified by large patches
of burnt grass, which is periodically set on fire by the
neighbouring farmers. The idea is to promote the growth
of fresh young grass for their cattle, by destroying the
old dry grass before the rains set in. One conical
mountain in front of us was surmounted by three immense
granite boulders, and formed a conspicuous landmark for
miles. We now occasionally passed some of the anciently
fortified villages on the very summits of the highest hills,
protected by trenches and huge moats scarped in the rock.
Some of them had a complete network of moats round
them. The ravines, too, were terraced below and planted
with rice, irrigated by water collected in these moats, and
drained into the ravine. These herculean tasks must have
taken generations to complete. There were many me
morial stones and cenotaphs by the roadside, for it might
almost be called a regularly constructed road now.
Passing Amboikanij we came in sight of Ambatomanga,
literally Blue Rock, so called from an enormous mass of
blue granite, near which it is built. Ambatomanga is
a fine village situated on an eminence. On the top of the
above-mentioned granite rock is a tomb, the resting-place
of Indriamato-aravalo, the late chief, to whose family the
greater part of the town and the neighbouring land

BLUE ROCK. 43
belong. The whole village is enclosed by double moats
from fifteen to twenty feet deep, and the appearance of it is
noble in the extreme.
Below the Blue Rock were some men quarrying gra
nite. By burning cow-dung on the part they wish to
remove, and dashing cold water along the line thus heated,
the stone easily separates in thick layers. When the slab
is detached, bands of straw are fastened to it to prevent
breakage in the removal, and it is dragged by main force,
with or without rollers, to its destination.
The centre of the village is occupied by a large house
with verandahs two stories high, in European style, and
roofed with wooden bardeaux, like the houses in Mauritius
and Bourbon. A lightning conductor fixed at one end of
the roof leads down to a small pit in rear of the building.
The lower part only was inhabited, the whole building
being in a state of decay. It was built by Indriamato-
aravalo, the chief whose tomb surmounts the rock, and
is still occupied by his heiress Rasoa.
The other houses in the village have steep-pitched
thatched roofs, and have each a little terrace and wall of
stone and clay round them. Narrow sunken paths lie
between them.
August 1th. — Went this morning with the Bishop and
Anson to examine the tomb on the top of the rock.
Climbing up a narrow path on the south side, we found
a plateau artificially levelled on the summit. Here we
could look down upon the village beneath us, and a curious
sight it was. The multitude of crossed sticks or poles at
the ends of the roofs, gives a most quaint effect.
The surface of the rock had been scarped, leaving a
semi-elliptical terrace revetted with stone-work, and an
entrance under a stone archway, at the south-west corner.
The tomb itself consisted of a large stone vault, forty feet

44 MADAGASCAR.
long by thirty-six broad, and about ten feet in heightj
lying north and south with an altar at the south end.
The main body of the vault was surmounted by a low
stone balustrade. The stone-work below was separated
into partitions by stone columns. Above was a small
neatly constructed wooden building, which we were not
allowed to enter, and here were piously preserved the wear
ing apparel and effects of the deceased chief.
At this time of the morning the whole country was
covered with a sea of white mist, only the tops of the
hills and rocks rising like islands in the midst. The sun
rose behind us, and threw our shadows, magnified into
gigantic figures, on the opposite mists, producing a similar
effect to the spectre of the Brocken, greatly to the astonish
ment of the natives, who had never noticed such a phe
nomenon before.
Our examination over, we left the rock, and after a
hasty breakfast set out on our way. Passing several great
pits for fattening cattle (called Fahitra), and crossing the
ditches, we left Ambatomanga, and again crossing a bare
down, remarkable for a large Druidical memorial stone,
we descend to the bridge and village of Yedien ; this was
the first stone-arched bridge we had seen. It is thrown
over a brook some eighteen feet broad. It was a very
narrow single span arch, not calculated to resist much
force. The fields on the sides of the hills were surrounded
with low banks, planted with a slight hedge of red or
yellow prickly euphorbia, in bright blossom. Ascending
another down, we beheld the welcome sight of the distant
capital, Antananarivo, about ten miles off; its palace
gleaming white in the morning sun. The Marmites danced
with joy on beholding it, taking off their hats, and saluting
it, leaping and shouting, pointing to the city, and describing
its joys and pleasures. The country here is quite open,

PROCESSION. 45
hardly a tree to be seen, except a few amongst the houses
of the surrounding villages. About half-way from our
last station, we arrived at the village of Betoff. Here
we halted and mustered our caravan, and were met by an
escort of soldiers, several mounted officers, and a band of
music, sent to escort us to Andriasona, a small village
about two miles from the capital, remarkable only for its
tall clay-walled enclosures, hot clay-walled hoxises, and
general burnt-up and baked appearance. Having brought
us to this delectable spot, the escort left us and returned
to the capital to announce our arrival, and prepare for our
entry in state next day.
August 8th — Last night there was such a beautiful
moonlight that we sat till a late hour outside our house
listening to the valiha, to which the natives sang and
danced before us. In the morning a large escort came
down to meet us, with mounted officers in most gorgeous
though incongruous costumes. In compliment to them
we exchanged our travel-worn shooting-jackets and cor
duroys for uniforms and gold lace, the good Bishop making
quite a sensation in his apron and silver buckles. Our
Marmites too, donned their best and whitest lambas, and
altogether we were astonished at our own smartness.
About eleven o'clock the procession was formed. First
the band, much better appointed than the one at Tamatave ;
then a body of men in double file, dressed in old Guards
and E.I.C. uniforms, and home-made white caps, armed
with old Tower flint muskets. The whole equipment pro
bably dates from 1817, when Mauritius paid annually to
the first Radama in consideration of the suppression of
slave-trade and piracy, the following articles: — $2000,
100 barrels of powder, 100 English muskets with accoutre
ments, 10,000 flints, 400 red jackets, do. trousers, do.
shirts, shoes, and caps; 12 swords, 600 pieces of cloth, 2

46 MADAGASCAR.
horses, and a full general's costume for the king. These
troops had no spears like those on the coast. On reaching
the crest of the hill over against Antananarivo (the city of
a thousand towns,) we were welcomed by a salute of twenty-
one pieces of cannon from the heights, and now we got
our first full view of the eastern side of the capital.
Antananarivo appears from the east to cover the crest
and sides of a long irregular hill ; the highest point cul
minates in the large white three-storied palace, Manjaka
Miadara, 120 feet in height, painted white from the
top to the bottom ; the voromahery, or sacred eagle of
Madagascar, stretching its wings on the top. It shines in
brilliant contrast to the small, dingy, and monotonously
coloured houses and huts which compose the remainder of
the town. The Silver Palace, slightly to the north of it,
smaller, and of only two stories high, adds the colour of
its red walls to the general effect of the picture. Every
house in the city is detached, and they are planted one
above another on the hill without order or regularity, built
just where their owners found it convenient to scarp, or
bank up on the side of the hill, a terrace large enough for
his house and yard. Every house, however insignificant,
has its accompanying yard, containing its rice-store, &c*
The floor of one house is often on a level with the roof
of the house beneath it. There are several European-like
houses belonging to the great nobles not far from the
palace. The entrances and windows all look to the west,
so that approaching the town from the east it appears to
be a motley jumble of houses without doors or windows.
The gable ends terminate in long horns similar to those
* A well-educated young secretary of the king's one day asked me
while looking at the print of a European town, " where the yards were,"
and expressed his astonishment that civilised people should manage to
exist in houses that had no yards.

RECEPTION. 47
described before. Passing the suburb of Faliarivo, where
a small daily market is held, we entered the town, which
has no fortification or regular boundary, and began ascend
ing the hill by a steep, tolerably broad street. The walls
and terraces of the adjoining houses were crowded with
Hovas, men, women, and children, chiefs, freedmen and
slaves, all inquisitive, laughing and smiling good-naturedly,
and making free comments on the appearance and costumes
of the foreigners.
When partly up the hill, we passed through an old
ill-repaired arched gateway and guardhouse, after which
the street became still steeper, and the crowd and heat
increasing, we were not sorry to reach the top, where in an
open space round the tomb of a chief judge, were assem
bled all the elite of Antananarivo. Dismounting from our
chairs, a vigorous series of introductions and shakings of
hands followed, and we were then conducted to the houses
set apart for us. Razafinkarevo, one of the officials of the
prime minister, with the brothers Rabezandrina and Ra-
bearana, both 13th Honours and Aides, accompanied us.
The first-named has received an English education, and
the two last could both read and speak English fairly.
Followed by a numerous crowd, we turned down the street
to the north, and after several intricate windings and
twistingsr descended some steps, and passing through a
doorway found ourselves on a terrace overlooking the
west. In front of us was a single-storied, shingle-roofed
house, with a good verandah, which commanded a mag
nificent view. We looked over the Vale of Betsimatatatra,
and across the plains to the Ankaratra mountains, and the
hills near Lake Itasy. Five hundred feet below us lay
Mahamasina, the parade ground of the troops, a fine
Champ de Mars, surrounded by a noble amphitheatre of
hill and rock. This house was destined for the big- wigs

48

MADAGASCAR.

of our party, the General and the Bishop. Anson and I
found more modest accommodation in some neighbouring
houses, where we also set up our mess-house and kitchen.
The luggage now fast arriving, we proceeded to make
ourselves as comfortable as we could. In the evening we
mustered all our bearers at the Kabary, or council -ground, an
open green space not far off from us. These to the number
of 430 were paid all their wages and dismissed with a
bullock or two, which were killed for their benefit. The
king sent us a fine fat ox as a present this evening, and
several of the grandees and people of property sent oxen,
sheep, geese, fowls, rice, &c, as presents. These kept
pouring in, always accompanied with the necessary quantum
of palaver and compliments. The ox sent us by the King
was really worth noticing, with a hump the greatest I ever
saw. The following are some of his dimensions : —

Height from top of hump
Round girth behind hump
Round hump at base
Round cap of hump
Length nose to buttock
Behind hump to tail
From tail to ground
Round the loins .

ft.

in.

5

8

7

8f

6

9

2

6

7

2

3

1

4

9

7

3i

This animal had been fattened by feeding, and con
fining him in a Fahitra, a pit in which the creature is
forced to eat standing, with its fore-feet on a higher level
than its hind-legs. How would this answer in England ?
Ask Mechi to dig a Fahitra at Tiptree.

HOISTING THE BRITISH FLAG. 49

CHAPTER VI.
The Union Jack hoisted again — Congregation of Christian Converts —
London Missionary Society — Reception by the King in the Trano-vola
— Anty-Rova — Tomb of the first Radama — The King and Queen —
Rainilairivony — Ambohipotsy — Palace at Soanirana — Mahamasina —
Atnbohidzanahary — Troops Drilling — Mahazaorivo — Procession of the
King — Anosi Lake and Palace — Grand Fete given by the French —
N. R. V. — Singing and Clapping of Hands — Dinner with the Com
mander-in-chief — Presents delivered to the King — Nampahamarinana
— The Vorondolo — Rahaniraka — Administration of Justice — Market —
Dine with Rahaniraka — Mary — Arrival of the Missionaries — Sermon
by Mr. Ellis in the School-house — National Games — Tomb of Raini-
hairo — Mustering of Troops.
Saturday, August dth.- — The King having intimated
through his minister that we might hoist the British flag,
early this morning we made arrangements for the same.
A guard of honour, band, and a vast amount of incon
gruously dressed officials came down at eleven o'clock ;
the General's palanquin poles, eighteen feet long, being
lashed together and fastened to the supports of the veran
dah, made a very fair temporary flagstaff. The officer
commanding the troops begged the General to give them
the word of command to present arms, which he did with
due solemnity, while Captain Anson hauled up the Union
Jack, the band playing " God save the Queen." The north
batteries fired a salute of twenty-one guns in honour of
the British flag being again hoisted in Madagascar. It had

50 MADAGASCAR.
been hauled down thirty-four years before by Mr. Lyall,
November 12th, 1828. The British flag was first hoisted
in Antananarivo by Mr. Hastie, October 1820. After the
ceremony we entered the house, and entertained the officers
with champagne and other refreshments, and the usual
toasts of Radama and Victoria were drunk with all honours.
We were informed that the populace were unwilling to
allow foreign flags to be unfurled in the capital, and that
it was probable that they might make an attempt to haul
it down. However, we saw no symptom of any such
feeling on their part. In the afternoon we got a mast
forty feet high fixed in the ground ; and changing the flag
to this, made it a conspicuous object for many a mile.
On the General's arrival at Antananarivo, he found the
card of Commandant Dupre had been left for him, but the
Commandant did not call upon him personally. This after
noon the General sent me to take his card, and find out if
the French Commodore intended to call first, or whether
he expected the General to do so, and to intimate that the
Commodore ought to be the first visitor, as his rank was
inferior to that of the General. Jules Dupre is only a
Capitaine de Vaisseau, and as Commodore should rank as
Brigadier. The Frenchman would not, however, see it in
this light, but claimed equal rank with the Major-General,
and on account of priority of arrival expected General
Johnstone to call upon him first.
In the evening at about nine o'clock, a gun is fired,
after which time the inhabitants are forbidden to leave
their houses, fires and lights are extinguished, and the
watchmen keep bawling to one another to show that they
are on the alert. These functionaries assemble at a small
parade-ground opposite the tomb of Rainimahay. They
continue their cries till daylight.
Sunday, August 10th. — Mr. Ellis called this morning.

THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 51
This gentleman is chief of the mission sent to Madagascar
by the London Missionary Society. He first arrived in
1853, but he has returned to England more than once since
that time. He is an Independent minister, but an earnest
worker. He preaches to the King every Sunday, but as
we have not yet been presented to his Majesty, we are
unable to attend his chapel to-day. Mr. Ellis, how
ever, invited the General and myself to accompany him
to a part of the town called Ambatonakanga, where he was
about to address a large congregation of native Christians.
Mounting our chairs and passing the head-quarters of
the French mission, we arrive in time at a guard-house,
beyond which, in the time of the late Queen, no pigs, goats,
or onions might pass, as they were considered unclean,
and therefore forbidden by the idols. The road below
brought us to Ambatonakanga, a suburb inhabited princi
pally by mechanics. We found here a long shed, and a
congregation of some 1200 people assembled singing hymns,
and engaged in devotion. We entered the rude chapel,
the people making way for us, and sat down at a table in
the centre of it. The building was crowded, and the en
trances blocked up by people unable to obtain places.
Mr. Ellis preached to them in Malagasy, and our inter
preter, Andronisa, also addressed them. It was very inter
esting to see, in the midst of a town but lately the very
centre of idolatry,, so large a congregation of Christians,
and to think that at the same moment in six other parts of
the town there were similar congregations of almost equal
magnitude. They are in the habit of meeting early in the
morning, and every Sunday at daybreak crowds may be
seen in holiday and bright clothing, walking towards their
respective chapels, where they remain continuously sing
ing and praying, or listening to exhortations and sermons
delivered by their elders for the whole day ; they go in and

52 MADAGASCAR.
out as they please, but the major portion do not return to
their houses till dusk. To account for this apparent en
thusiasm, it must be borne in mind that all the Hovas are
remarkably fond of singing, and music, and crowded
assemblies. They hold kabarys and councils on the most
trivial occasions, and are very proud of displaying their
powers of oratory in public. When at home, they are in
the habit of sitting for hours together singing and talking ;
not having much to *do, they pass the day squatted either
on the matted floors of their houses, or basking in the sun
in their courtyards, or, strange to say, perched on the top
of the wall that overlooks the street. Here they gossip,
watch with listlessness the coming and going of passers-
by, salute their acquaintance, make satirical remarks on
their enemies, or chaff the strangers.
To people like this Sunday is a great fete-day. The
excitement, amusement, and last, but not least, the excuse
for putting on fine clothes, are great inducements to go
to any public gathering. So that their crowding to the
chapels every Sunday must not altogether be placed to
the score of religion. But of what congregation in Eng
land could not the same be said? I may remark, too,
that the Hovas certainly do not feel that weariness which is
often exhibited after a long sermon by the majority of
British audiences. Both the Christian and heathen Hovas
will sing the psalm-tunes for the sake of the music, for
which they have a natural taste, but often without a
thought of the words they are using. Sometimes on
entering a house the whole family will strike up the Old
Hundredth as an appropriate compliment to us, and be
rather surprised than otherwise at our not joining in chorus.
In English drawing-rooms young ladies who sing pretty
ballads would be much astonished if they were expected to
feel all the absurd sentiment expressed by the words of

CHRISTIANITY. 53
their songs, and so the Hovas are wont to sing sacred
hymns and psalms, but consider the words they are uttering
as something totally foreign to the matter. Very many of
them, in renouncing their superstitious faith in the idols,
pretty nearly renounced all religion. Rahaniraka him-
self^ on my inquiring about the progress of Christianity
among the Hovas, said, " Christianity is a good thing for
the people,— for the lower orders,— it is a good thing for
them certainly, but what good is it to us?'' (meaning the
high Honours) — " we do very well without it."
Nevertheless, that there are many sincere and devoted
Christians there is no doubt, and the patience and meekness
with which they have endured persecution, chains, and
even martyrdom, will always form a glorious page in the
history of the Church of Madagascar.
There are at least three thousand Hovas professing
Christianity in the capital at this time. This is entirely
owing to the former and present exertions of the London
Missionary Society. This Society-first sent out missionaries
to the coast in 1818. They reached the capital in 1820,
and were cordially welcomed by the reigning King,
who seemed delighted at the prospect of learning from
them many useful arts. These missionaries learnt the
Malagasy language, and translated the Bible into it. On
the death of the King, however, great persecutions of the
Christians followed.*
Monday, 11th August, 1862. — This day was appointed
for our official reception by the King at the Silver Palace.
* Since the above was written, missions have been established on the
coast in connexion with the diocese of Mauritius and its dependencies,
under the able direction of Dr. Ryan, the Bishop of that colony, who,
with great judgment, has not interfered with the operations of the London
Missionary Society at the capital under the Rev. W. Ellis, but confined
his operations to the coast for the present, where such labour was much
wanted.

54 MADAGASCAR.
Accordingly at eleven o'clock, we put on full uniform, and
proceeded in chairs to the gateway of the palace.* Here
we dismounted and ascended the steps to the gate ; the
doors were opened, and we were ushered into the court
yard, — and a noble courtyard it was ; the Great Palace
rising 120 feet, the white massive timbers striking, the
beholder by their ponderous proportions. On the left
of this, and at right angles, was the Silver Palace ( Trano-
vola), smaller, but still a fine building, and of greater finish
than its huge brother. To the right of this was the tomb of
the first Radama, and we were directed to take off our hats
in passing it. The troops, with their band, were drawn up
in two sides of a square. Three hundred men on parade
composed the palace-guard. They presented arms to the
General, the band playing the " British Grenadiers." At
* The view of the palace-gate, Antananarivo, is sketched from the
house called Maromoditra. The principal entrance to the palace is at the
northern end of the Anty-Rova, or palace-yard. It consists of an arched
gateway, approached by a flight of twelve stone steps ; the ground on
which the palace stands being ten feet above the level ofthe road. Under
this arch lounge the guard. Two sentries with muskets and bayonets
fixed, and crossing one another, bar the entry, and no person is allowed to
pass except with the permission of the ofiicer of the guard, — unless he be
an ofiicer of the palace. This gateway is surmounted by the " Voroma
hery," (the powerful bird of Madagascar.)
The strange-shaped piece of wood-work, painted red and black, was
originally the frame of a looking-glass, and is now by no means orna
mental. The gate has a lightning-conductor connected with it, as indeed has
every building of any importance in Antananarivo.
On each side of the gateway is a small brass field-piece, the bracket
trails of which are more adapted for their cramped position than for service
in the field.
The roof covered with bardeaux in the foreground is that of the prac
tising room of the King's brass band. Opposite to it is the house of the
keeper of the idols.
In the background is seen the northern end of the Great Palace, 120
feet in height, and painted white from top to bottom, with the exception of
the balustrades of its extensive verandahs, which are painted red.

S/POj.-hTHI/UbI l<nstoi.Rjb%I).wfeSm^r„bd)li(Kr\3ate3t^j.icc^.!lniL]ra'W"C.
OAT fi WAY OF P ALA C 'B .

5:lLlJ.3it»ljiA

RECEPTION BY THE KING. 55
the gate of the Silver Palace we were met by Rahaniraka,
who conducted us into the reception-room, where the King
and Queen were awaiting us. The King was dressed in
English uniform, the Queen sat on his left. They rose
when we entered. The General made a short speech, pre
sented Queen Victoria's letter, and introduced the other
members of the mission. The Bishop then presented a
very handsome Bible, and made a long speech. This was
one of our Queen's gifts, and was presented before the
others, as the Bishop was anxious to leave Antananarivo
as soon as possible. Captain Anson next addressed His
Majesty, informing him that all the presents had not as
yet arrived. The King is a small man, with an olive com
plexion, but nearly as fair as any European who has been
long in a tropical country. He has a good forehead, short
curly hair, small features, hooked nose, and short mous
tache. He deports himself amazingly well, and on public
occasions is dignified and self-possessed. He is decidedly
the best behaved of all the Hovas we have seen, and being
neat and well dressed, is a nearer approach to a European
gentleman, than one could have imagined the king of a
barbarous country to be. Queen Rabodo is not at all un
like the picture of her in Ellis (page 413), but rather older-
looking, and on this occasion better dressed than she there
appears. The likeness of the King on the same page gives
a very bad idea of him. The Queen held by her left hand
her little adopted daughter, grand-daughter of the first
Radama's sister ; to the child's left again, stood Tahiri, her
adopted son, and heir to the throne, as the Queen has no
children. On the left of the children, and in front, were
the court-ladies, nieces and daughters of Rambousalam and
Ramonja. Ramonja was the prince of the Antsianka, and
having been the first of all the chieftains to acknowledge
Radama I. as king, ranks next to the blood royal.

56 MADAGASCAR.
Rambousalam, who died six months ago, was the adopted
son of the late Queen, before Rakoto Radama, the present
King, was born. The present King was not born for several
months after the death of his father, and this gave Ram
bousalam a sort of claim to the throne. On the death
of the Queen, a party tried to secure the succession for
Rambousalam, a proceeding which would have effectually
closed Madagascar to Europeans ; failing, however, the
chief was kept in honourable confinement, and most of his
adherents were imprisoned in distant parts of the country.
Rambousalam either starved himself to death, or was
murdered, though certainly not by the wish of Radama.
The King and Queen took his children under their pro
tection, and now on the eve of the coronation have pro
claimed a general amnesty, and released all his adherents.
On the right of the King stood Rainilairivony, the second
commander-in-chief. His elder brother, prime minister
and first commander-in-chief — both offices being merged
in one — was laid up with the gout, and consequently not
present. Rainilairivony is very prepossessing in appear
ance. He had been a great favourite with the late Queen,
and has always been friendly disposed to Europeans, in
which respect he is unlike his brother, who is suspicious
and jealous of strangers. The -King now seated himself
and begged us all to do the same. General conversation
ensued, Rahaniraka translating. Behind the King were
several secretaries and aides-de-camp, all in rather gor
geous apparel, trousers with gold stripes, French cocked
hats, with an extra amount of lace, green frock-coats, gold
lace, and pouch -belts. Presently refreshments were
offered, and champagne handed round, and soon after this
we took leave and quitted the palace with great ceremony.
In the afternoon some of us walked through the principal
streets towards the southern extremity of the hill. Here

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AJIBOHIPOTSY.THE EXECUTION GROUND AND IS OKIE BANA PALACE

AMBOHIPOTSY. 57
we came upon the execution-ground, called Ambohipotsy,
where so lately the native Christians had testified, as
the martyrs of old, to the truths in which they had placed
their trust. To an English mind it was scarcely possible,
in this age of the world, to realise the hard, dry fact that
that stump of wood was the foot of the cross, and that
other the transverse beam, on which our Christian brethren
had been crucified; and that the bleached, dry bones in
the ditch were those of men and women who had died but
a few years before for the name of the Saviour ; that on
the spot where we now stood, on the crest of the hill, and
surveyed, one of the noblest panoramas in the world, had
knelt these martyrs, whilst a spear was driven through
their loins, inflicting mortal wounds that did not kill at
once, but made the wretched sufferers roll in torture into
the ditch below, with the spears still fixed in their bodies,
while not even the nearest or dearest relative dared to
soothe their dying struggles, or evince by a look of sym
pathy a doubt of the justice of the punishment. A church,
it is said, is shortly to be built on this spot, and the bones
of the martyrs collected and placed under it, while the
fragments of the cross are to be built into the walls.*
To the south of us lay the Palace of Soanirana with
its circular park and avenue of aviavy ; to the west an
immense conical hill, called Ambohidzanahary, remarkable
* It' is not known by what means the idea of crucifixion as a mode of
punishment was adopted by the Malagasy. It is possible that it may
have been derived from the Arabs or from Scripture history. The
wooden frame used in the place of a cross resembled a gallows. To this
the malefactor is nailed while it remains flat upon the earth, after which
it is lifted up with its miserable burden, and fixed in two holes made in
the ground for the purpose. Here the sufferer is exposed until he dies of
exhaustion, hunger, and thirst, in great agony. Some criminals have
remained for hours in the gaze of the multitude. A fire is sometimes
lighted to windward of them by which they and the cross are consumed
together.

58 MADAGASCAR.
for gigantic trenches cut in it, the purpose for which they
were excavated is doubtful. Some assign as the reason
that the great Radama, by whose order they were dug,
wished to level the whole hill and failed in that herculean
task; others say that they were simply dug by the troops
for practice in digging entrenchments and scaling their
sides. Beyond to the south and south-east was a mag
nificent panoramic view stretching away to the mountains
of Ankaratra and the country of the Betsiles.
August 12th. — Mounted on a pony, lent me by Raini-
kotavao, one of the richest men in the island, I accompany
the General, Bishop, and Meller, in their chairs with
Rabearana and Rabezandrina, both thirteenth Honours,
and both capable of speaking English well. The two last
acting as our guides were mounted on small horses bred
in the country. They took us by the north road as far as
Ambatonakanga, where we turned, first to the west and
then to the south, and by a circuitous route reached Ma-
hamasina, the large Champ de Mars, to the north of which
is a small piece of ground where foreigners are buried.
Among the graves are those of the late Mr. Hastie and
of several missionaries, who had the misfortune to die
here far from their friends and home.
Crossing Mahamasina, we passed close to the sacred
stone of Madagascar on which the kings and queens are
crowned. We then ascended a slight hill forming a kind
of isthmus between the heights of the town and the hill
Ambohidzanahary. The parade-ground measures some
800 by 500 yards. We now went under the rocks of
Ambohipotsy, the dreary execution-ground, and crossed
some rice-fields, watered by a small stream. Still keeping
in a southerly direction, we passed through a street of
booths forming a bazaar for the accommodation of the
troops who parade at Soanirana.

I

SP

v^n

SP.OtererimA.del.

AMBOHIDZANAHARY & SUBURBS OF ANTANANARIVO.

JDay~& SaEbliiiioteiliidL

THE PALACE OF SOANIRANA. 59
We at last came to the palace of that name (which
signifies "a place well suited for inquiry.") It is built
on a circular plateau, the site formerly of a low hill cut
away and levelled by Radama. Round this is a double
avenue of the Madagascar fig-tree ; and in the centre is the
palace, a large, low building, entirely of wood, with spa
cious verandahs and large shingle roofs, and with the
initials R. R. (Radama Rex) entwined in the decorations.
There were about 2000 men on parade, and being drilled
in a large hollow square facing inwards. They went
through the manual exercises tolerably. They had no
scabbards for their bayonets, and at the word " Unfix
bayonets," threw down those weapons, making their points
stick in the ground at their feet.
We entered the palace, which is very handsome. The
ascent to the upper story is by a curious winding staircase
of very broad and shallow steps twisting right and left.
We next proceeded to the King's country-seat at Maha-
zaorivo, the lake and gardens of which appeared most in
viting. The gardens are not very extensive, but are
prettily situated near the River Ikiopa. There is a flower-
garden, in which cabbages are conspicuous ; a small vine
yard, where the vines are trained over rude trellis- work ;
an orchard of peaches, and large plantation of banana-
trees. There are a few rofia palms, planted date-trees,
and one very peculiar vacoa, besides limes and fig-
trees. The garden-house is a comfortable bungalow with
three small rooms and a large verandah, kitchens, out
houses, &c. Attached to it are fishing and summer-houses.
Between the lake and the river is a half- finished stone-
house, with arches supported on columns all round. The
stone-masons were at work upon it. It is intended when
finished for a banqueting-hall. Having examined all, we
returned home. In the afternoon I accompanied Raini-

60 MADAGASCAR.
kotavao to his country-house, a mile out of the town to
the north. Here he is building a handsome stone vault
as a tomb for himself and his family. Caldwell's party has
arrived with the presents.
August 13th.— This morning Meller and I went down
towards the large parade ground at Mahamasina, and met
the King walking with his court and guards in a long
procession. The guards,* about 200 in number, in white
undress with fixed bayonets, enclosed the procession,
forming a hollow square round them. In the procession
the band went first, then the court ladies and gentlemen,
two and two, and arm in arm, the ladies in gorgeous even
ing dresses of the brightest colours, without bonnets, but
any amount of wreaths and artificial flowers by way of
head-dresses ; fortunate was the envied owner of a crinoline.
Shoes and stockings were rather at a discount, but each
possessed a parasol, or an umbrella, of the gayest possible
hue, except red, which is the prerogative of royal blood
alone. The court gentlemen were dressed mostly in plain
clothes. Red trousers seemed fashionable, and yellow
waistcoats with black or blue frock-coats or evening dress-
coats. Broad beavers, gold-lace caps, and wide-awakes,
were worn indiscriminately. Several of them affected the
same style of cap as the King wore, which consisted of

* The first regiment formed by the great Radama was entirely of the
Clan " Voromahery " (a powerful bird), a term applied to the capital
and the district about three miles around it. It consisted of 3000 men.
These composed the King's body-guard. The regiment of Voromahery
has also the name of Fotsy-sy-mainty (" the white and black.") At the
present time this regiment consists of 1200 men, and their rendezvous is
at Mahamasina and Soanirana. It is the crack regiment of Madagascar ;
has the commander-in-chief for its colonel, and answers to the household
troops at home. It furnishes a daily guard to the palace of 300 men, of
which 200 move with the King wherever he goes.

S .P.OJirer.L-* BA. del .

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ANTANANARIVO

Dajrfc SnnffWim-MJIifli .

LAKE AN0SI. 61
the hide of the hump of an ox tanned, and shaped some
thing between a jockey cap and the French kepi. These
caps they use to drink out of when they are thirsty, and
when they are on a journey they eat out of them too. The
King himself was dressed in a suit of clothes all of stout
hand-woven, undyed, native silk. He was in the rear of
the procession, surrounded by his staff in plain clothes,
and with a few spearmen on either side. Behind the files
of soldiers followed a crowd of singing women (Tsiman-
doavavy ), the wives of the guards, keeping up wild choruses
accompanied by vigorous clapping of hands. The roads,
walls, and houses on both sides of the line of march, were
crowded with people who kept- up a cry of hoo-hoo-oo-oo-oo-
oo . . . like so many humble bees whilst the procession passed ;
this cry is their mode of cheering.
Crossing Mahamasina, the King visited the Queen's
palace on the Lake Anosi. This small summer, or fishing
palace, is built on a little island in the centre of the lake,
and from this spot the western view of Antananarivo is
very striking. The opposite view is taken from the north
western corner of the lake near the mills of Soraky. In
the foreground is the island with its European - looking
buildings, each protected by a lightning-conductor, and
surrounded, by a garden on a raised terrace, enclosed within
a stone balustrade. Beyond the lake can be seen the
noble parade-ground of Mahamasina, on which is raised
the circular white plaster platform which guards the sacred
coronation-stone. A canopy is being erected over it in pre
paration for the approaching coronation of Radama II. The
overhanging rock immediately over the coronation-stone is
the famous Tarpeian rock of Antananarivo, over which con
demned criminals were hurled, and where many Christians
have suffered martyrdom. On the right is part of the
hill Ambohidzanahary, and between this and the town is

62 MADAGASCAR.
the road to Soanirana Palace. In the centre, crowning the
whole, is the great Palace of Manjaka Miadara, the Trano-
vola, or Silver Palace, to the left, and the houses of the
judges, nobles, and principal officers of the Government.
On the highest part of the town, seen just over the
Palace of Anosi, is a signal station, with a cannon mounted
to be fired in case of alarm ; it is marked by a small tree.
On the southern extremity of the hill, in the right distance,
is the execution-ground of Ambohipotsy, distinguished by
an upright boulder of granite.
When the King had paid his visit to this palace he
returned to Mahamasina. Here he and his party sat down.
Most of the French mission were here with Commandant
Dupre and the French Consul, Mons. Laborde. Some of
Caldwell's party and myself represented the English nation.
We were soon on good terms with the young French
officers, and though our knowledge of French and their
knowledge of English was limited, the entente cordiale was
a cure for all that. The King was very anxious to see the
Europeans ride, so we mounted as many of his horses as
were there, and raced much to his edification.
After this we all accompanied the King to a small house
on the borders of the parade-ground, where we sat down
on the grass, and Vermouth was handed about. We then
walked up to the palace, but it was so dreadfully hot in
the narrow, dusty lanes, that I made my escape and went
home after being invited to dine with the King. In obe
dience to this invitation I went about half-past three to
the stone school-house, where they had already sat down
to dinner. Curry and rice formed the chief part of the
entertainment. When the tables were cleared away the
band struck up, and they danced a sort of quadrille. After
wards followed some faster dance in which we joined.
The name of my partner, a lady of the blackest and ugliest

FETE DAY. 63
description, was Razandkazana ; however, she was a capital
dancer. I left very early with the French Colonel of
Marines in time to find our own party at dinner when I
returned to our head-quarters.
August l&th  Spent the day with Caldwell and his
party. He amused his native visitors by showing them
small balloons filled with hydrogen gas. To-morrow is
the f4te day of the French Emperor, so we have all re
ceived invitations to attend a grand banquet given in honour
of it by the French Mission and Consul. We are also
invited to assist at a grand mass at which the King and
Queen will be present, but our good Bishop particularly
requests that we will decline this part of the invitation.
August 15th, St. Louis. — This being the f4te day of
the Emperor Napoleon the French Mission hoisted their
Tricolor with great ceremony, and the celebration of
mass followed. At three o'clock we attended the banquet
given by the French Plenipotentiary and Mons. Laborde,
the French Consul, to which we were all invited to meet
their Majesties. The banquet was set out in a large
marquee in the courtyard of Laborde's house. It was
tastefully arranged, a handsome cold collation, with plenty
of plate, cut-glass, flowers, and champagne. The tent was
decorated with French, Malagasy, and English flags, and
with the initials N. R. V encircled with wreaths at regular
intervals. The guests were received in the adjoining house. Their
Majesties had already arrived. After paying our respects
to them and to our French hosts, the whole party ad
journed to the marquee. The King and Queen sat at the
top of the long table, the Commandant, Jules Dupre, on
the King's right, and the General on the Queen's left.
After a long peroration Dupre proposed the health of the
King of Madagascar together with the healths of Victoria

64 MADAGASCAR.
and Napoleon. The King and the General replied, the
former in Malagasy, translated easily and readily by La
borde, the latter in French. After this, and a little more
speechifying, we commenced an attack upon the viands,
and everybody's spirits rose considerably. Stiffness and
dulness soon wore off, and eating, and drinking, and
entente cordiale, were the order of the day. I had a
good position between the Commandant of the island of
St. Mary's* and Soumaigne, a French trader, both of
them had known Madagascar for many years. Behind the
chairs stood Malagasy female slaves dressed in white, with
horse-hair tails at the end of long rods to brush away the
flies on the table. French and Malagasy servants hurried
about replenishing the glasses, &c, and a regular fusillade
of champagne corks was kept up with great spirit. Mean
time the band outside played Malagasy and European airs.
The intervals between each selection were filled up by
the barbarous songs of the Tsimiriry (singing women), who
squatted like sea-fowl in great numbers outside, singing
odes in honour of Radama and Rabodo, and their fore
fathers, and keeping up an accompaniment of Kentish fire
with their hands. The door of the tent was guarded by
men with spears, and double sentries with their muskets
crossed. The remaining guards formed a cordon round
the courtyard, lounging, standing or sitting, with bare feet,
white blouses and trousers, black pouches, and blue bands
round their caps.
When it got dusk the King and Queen arose, and we
followed their example, and the whole party adjourned
to the house which was brilliantly lighted up. Dance
music struck up. The Queen opened the ball with Com
mandant Dupre, and dancing succeeded for an hour or
* In the possession of the French, on the east coast of Madagascar,
and north of Foule Point.

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AN IMPROMPTU ILLUMINATION. 65
more. The Queen's maids of honour, got up in splendid
ball-dresses, made capital partners, and went through the
intricacies of a quadrille, or whirled in a galop, much better
than we could have believed. The conversation naturally
was limited to a few sentences, generally appropriate com
pliments learned a moment before from some of the in
terpreters. About ten o'clock the Queen's filanzan stopped the way,
and this broke up the party, which formed in procession and
accompanied the King and Queen back to the palace. As
it was an hour after gun-fire, the whole town was deserted
and dark, but at the sound of the King's band of music
the inhabitants rushed out of their houses all along our
road with torches and lighted bundles of dry grass and
straw. This rude impromptu illumination had a fine effect.
Wherever the procession passed, men and women were
ready with torches and firebrands, lighting them just as
the head of the-procession reached them, and extinguishing
them directly after the rear of it had passed. The fixed
bayonets and the brass instruments with the gilt appoint
ments and accoutrements of the King and his court flashed
in the red torchlight. The Queen and her attendants, whose
gay ball-dresses were now covered with rich coloured silk
lambas, were borne in their filanzans, each surrounded by
white-robed female slaves. The rattle of the drums with
the clang of cymbals, and the ringing brass instruments,
made the old streets rattle again with martial music, the
whole forming a splendid though barbaric pageant. The
rear was brought up by the screaming and clap - clapper,
clap -clap, of the singing women, while the cheering of
the crowds that lined the walls and houses, each person
waving a flaming brand, was taken up in succession from
street to street like a rolling wave, '* Trarantitra Ts-a-
ra-a-a ... a Tomp . . . qu-a-a Veloma Ra-da-a . . . ama!"
F

66 MADAGASCAR.
We left the procession and crowd at that part of the
road nearest to our mess, and were glad to escape and have
a quiet cup of coffee.
August lQth. — This morning, Mr. Pakenham, the
English Consul, and his wife arrived from the coast ; Anson
and I went to meet them, and brought them to breakfast.
They complained (and well the lady might) of the fatigues
of the journey, and their Marmites appear to have been
mutinous. In the afternoon we went to dine at the Commander-
in-chief's by invitation from the King. As the King is
unable to entertain during the year of mourning observed
after the decease of his mother, he orders one of his chief
officers to represent him and show hospitality to any dis
tinguished strangers who may visit the capital ; and he
himself sends contributions towards the expenses of the
feast. On this occasion the King sent $30, and the same
number of bottles of wine, — a very small proportion ofthe
expense incurred by our noble host on this occasion.
At three o'clock, the fashionable dinner hour in Anta
nanarivo, we found ourselves at the house of -Rainilairi-
vone, from the gateway of whose courtyard the opposite
view is taken.
Rainilairivone received us most hospitably, and led the
way to a. fine banqueting-hall, round which ran an arched
gallery. The arches and cornices were ornamented with
small looking-glasses close together, producing a glittering
effect. A magnificent dining-table, twenty feet long by
twelve feet broad, with the corners rounded off, stood in
the centre, covered with a profusion of candelabra, epergnes,
and vases of flowers, with dishes of every description of
fish, flesh, and fowl, sent up in a style worthy of Gunter.
All the dishes on the table were cold. A large company
of Hova ladies and gentlemen were awaiting us, and di-

^SaiLU^Tixl:&d)iitb .

VI^W FSOM1 TH"E COEMKDEB. US' CKIEFS HOUSE

PRESENTS TO THE KING. 67
rectly after our arrival we sat down, in number about
thirty. Soup was handed round, then rice, and endless
dishes of hot curries, hashes, and stews. Rice was eaten
with every dish. It was very tedious, and the conversation
with the dark beauties at one's side rather flagged, so we
were heartily glad when it was over.
Sunday, August 11th. — The Bishop performed divine
service at our head-quarters. All the English in the place
were present. In the afternoon Anson and I had a stroll.
We were amused with a little incident that occurred.
Walking towards Ambohipotsi, we were met and stopped
by Ramanarika (the King's private secretary, who speaks
English well), who said that Miss Razandkazana, a lady I
had danced with several times, was on her way to make
me a present of fruit. The young lady then appeared
herself, with two servants carrying baskets containing pine
apples, oranges, and vegetables. I made my best English
bow and my best Malagasy compliments, and the fruit
being sent to our house we continued our walk.
August \8th. — This morning the Bishop and Dr. Mel
ler started to return to Tamatave, the former labouring
under severe illness.
The presents for the King and Queen having now all
arrived, were arranged in the Silver Palace, and to-day
was appointed for the presentation. They were well
selected, and consisted of silver-gilt goblets and tankard,
a full-length portrait of H.M. Queen Victoria, a gold-
mounted Wilkinson rifle, scarlet silk umbrella, a coronation
robe for the Queen, a field-marshal's complete equipment,
and a set of musical instruments for a band of twenty-five
performers. At noon we of the staff attended the General to the
palace, and after waiting some time, Radama and Rabodo

68 MADAGASCAR.
entered arm-in-arm, followed by a few attendants. After
salutations and compliments, they examined the presents
minutely and were excessively pleased. The Queen, with
great complacency, tried on the robe to see how it would
become her, and the King seemed most taken by the musical
instruments. The reception of the British Consul, Mr. Pakenham,
and his wife, followed.
August 19th. — Drew a view of the capital as seen from
our mess-room. Visited the Rock of Nampahamarinana,
from which criminals convicted of witchcraft or sorcery
were formerly hurled. In more recent times, when Chris
tianity was looked upon as a similar crime, many con
verted Hovas, both men and women, here fell victims to
relentless persecution, and were dashed to pieces on the
broken rocks below. There is a slide at the top for a few
feet, then the rock overhangs a sheer precipice of ninety
feet, then again there is a steep descent for another hun
dred feet or so, and at the bottom some small peach-trees
mark the exact spot where the mangled bodies were
arrested in their hideous roll. The interest attaching to
this spot was much increased by the fact, that we were
accompanied by some who had been eye-witnesses of these
fearful scenes, — men who had seen their friends and rela
tions perish by this cruel death, and had stolen after night
fall to bury their bodies out of reach of the wild dogs and
wild cats which abound among these rocks.
On our return by the rocks under the saluting battery,
we found Caldwell and his party shooting the white owls
which come out towards evening. The owl is a bird of
evil omen, known by the name of Vorondolo. At first the
natives looked with the extremest horror upon the attempts
of the Europeans to kill these birds, and expected to see

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ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 69
some dire vengeance overtake them on the spot. Finding,
however, that the " Whites " suffered no harm, the Hova
lads took courage, and will now bring us any amount of
owls, snakes, chameleons, lizards, caterpillars, butterflies,
&c. We kept some owls a long time alive in our mess-
room. August 20th. — We had expressed a wish' to hear some
good singing, .so the King this evening sent down his sing
ing-class, under the leadership of his private secretary.
We had requested them to come after dinner, but long
before dinner we found our court-yard crowded with them.
As soon as we had finished, however, we invited them
in, and they sang their principal national songs, accom
panied by the usual clapping of hands.
August 2 1st. — The chief incident of the day has been
seeing the King administer justice. A law-court in Mada
gascar is literally a court, for there is no house, and all
the cases are tried sub Jove. The system seems to be that
the twelve judges, so called, form a jury, and decide all
cases brought before them. If they do not agree, the
case is referred to the King. Jury, criminals, and wit
nesses, go at once before him. The King hears the case,
decides off-hand, and dispenses judgment. When we
arrived, one of these cases had just been concluded, and
the court was being cleared. The King wore a rough
undyed sort of silk suit, and a hump skin cap, and was
sitting on a rude iron chair outside a half-finished stone
building. August 22nd  An invitation was received for our
whole party to dine with Ra Haniraka to-morrow. To-day
we visited the Anzouma, or Friday weekly market : this
is attended from all parts of the country, and is capitally
supplied with broad-tailed sheep, oxen, turkeys, &c. A

70

MADAGASCAR.

quotation of the current prices will give a good idea of the
expenses of housekeeping at the capital : —

Malagasy money. French money.

Rice per bushel,

1 kirobo.

| dollar.

Turkeys, each,

do.

do.

Geese, * do.

1 venty.

*do.

Ducks, each.

1 lasiray.

h do.

Fowls, five for

1 kirobo.

Bullocks,

3 to 8 dollars

Sheep, average

1 kirobo.

We gave for a fattened sheep a loso (half-a-dol
lar), a kirobo, and a sikajy, about 3*. Qd. in English
money. A cow with a young calf cost 4 dollars ; and
as to pigs, from two to four might be bought for a single
dollar. Besides these articles there were pine-apples, grapes,
sugar-cane, cotton, manioc, sweet potatoes, European
ditto, bananas, bundles of bamboos, papyrus sold by
weight, silk in cocoons, a dollar's weight for a dollar, spun
silk and coarse silk, ground nuts, cray-fish, locusts, gums,
all kinds of pottery, hardware, cotton cloths, rabannas,
lambas, basket-work, filanzans, hats and caps, glass bottles,
rude knives, forks, horn spoons, and scissors. Agricultural
instruments of all sorts were there ; pails, brooms, &c.
August 25th. — While at dinner got a letter from Ra
Haniraka, stating that the King wished to see me. I
accordingly go to supper with Radama at Ambohitsimbona.
We have a long private interview. He wishes me to stay
with him as aide-de-camp when the rest of the mission
has returned !
August 21th — This morning the Queen sends us a
present of fruit. I must here allude to a delicate circum-

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ANTANANARIVO FROM AMBOHIPOTSY

JESUITS. 71
stance ! The Queen being old and childless, the King, it
must be known, does not live with her, but has a left-
handed wife called Mary, who lives at Ambohitsimbona.
This lady is in reality his consort, though never recog
nised in public. She was confined of a son the day after
we entered the capital. She is married pro forma to the
King's chief Menamaso, or Red Eye. The Menamaso, or
Red Eyes, are a party of young noblemen, who form a sort
of guard of honour for the King, and never lose sight of
him. They are always on the watch against treachery and
intrigue. Mary, who has now lived with the King for
many years, was most devoted and active in saving the
persecuted Christians from death during the late Queen's
reign. She frequently hid them and supplied them with
the means of escape or with money. Mr. Ellis and that
school of missionaries will not recognise Mary at all; but I
believe the Bishop of Mauritius wishes to bring about a
divorce between the King and Queen, which would allow
him to marry her. The King consults her on every
question of importance.
It was debated a long time whether we ought to visit
Mary, at last the General settled that it would be polite,
and accordingly he paid her a visit to-day and made her a
handsome present.
August 28th. — This morning, greatly to the annoyance
of us all, Tahiri (the watched one), the Queen's adopted
child, was taken from the care of Mr. Ellis, who has hitherto
had charge of him, and handed over without warning to
the Jesuits, who have established a school here. This was
owing to the influence of Laborde. The General spoke to
Dupre about it, but he declared that the affair was quite
beyond his province. To-day we explored a part of the
town to the east of Ambatonakanga beyond Ando-

72 MADAGASCAR.
halo, where, curiously enough, the King is not allowed
to enter.* August 29th. — Received a long memorandum from the
General relative to what I am to do, and what his wishes
are, in the event of my staying behind in Madagascar. The
King continues to urge it, but I tell him I am Queen
Victoria's servant, and without her permission cannot enter
his service. August 30th. — A party of missionaries, sent out by the
London Missionary Society, arrived to-day, Mr. and Mrs.
Toy, Dr. and Mrs. Davidson, Mr. Stagg, and Mr. Duffus.
I breakfasted very early and set off in ray chair with my
bearers to meet them. The ladies of the party were
dreadfully knocked up by the fatiguing journey. Their
houses had been prepared for them by Mr. Ellis, on the
same site where years ago the former missionaries were
established. September 1st. — To-day we arranged some games to
come off at Mahamasina. At eleven o'clock the King and
his court arrived on the ground. We picked teams of
Marmites and made them race with palanquins round the
Champ de Mars ; next followed a flat race, and then a race
for boys. We had also steeple-chases, and a canoe-race on
Lake Anosi, whither we adjourned. Crowds came to wit
ness The King was much amused, and much astonished
that none of the French sailors ventured to race against
the English soldiers !
* " The origin of this is, that when " Radama's ancestor Andrianjaka
stormed Tananarivo, he drove the chieftain of that place into the north
east part of the town, where he put him to death. After which the people
surrendered to him, on condition that neither he nor his descendants would
ever ascend to that part of the town where their chieftain was killed ;
and to the present time the custom is strictly adhered to, no member of
the royal family ever venturing to- go there." — Ellis.

A MALAGASY CONGREGATION. 73
In the afternoon the King sent for me, and introduced
me to Mary ; she is very intelligent, but not at all good-.
looking, according to our ideas.
September 3rd. — This evening we entertain at mess the
King, the Commander-in-chief, and Ra Haniraka.
Friday, September 5th — Attend the levee. Witness
a family kabary outside the small house where the King
and Queen breakfast. Their Majesties addressed the
people in turn from a little window, from which you could
only see their heads and shoulders, the people sitting round
in a semicircle, while the elders address the King and
Queen in turn.
Sunday, September 1th. — We followed , our usual Sun
day practice of attending divine service at the school-house
of Ambohitsimbona, where Ellis preaches before the King.
The court were all present, but we waited some time for
the King, who was detained by the French Consul about
the treaty. The room in which the service was held is
about thirty feet by twenty. The grandees sat all round
the room on long benches; the softer, if not fairer sex
occupied themselves in chewing snuff and expectorating
with Yankee-like precision and ability. A pulpit stood
in one corner, from which, as soon as the King had
entered, Mr. Ellis preached a sermon in Malagasy ; in
terrupting the course of it now and then to chide the in
attention or sleepiness of some of the congregation, who
seemed utterly indifferent to everything except the sing
ing, in which all joined with more vigour than har
mony. September 8th. — To-day we had horse-races round the
park at Soanirana Palace ; as few of the horses could be
persuaded to go in the same direction, the result was
amusing, if not exactly satisfactory ; then followed more

74 MADAGASCAR.
palanquin races, into the fun and spirit of which the crowds
fully entered. The French were all present with the King
and ourselves in the large verandahs of the palace, which
made a capital grand stand. Afterwards followed the
grand national game with which we had especially asked
the King to entertain us. This game, which the natives
frequently indulge in when not prevented by any public
mourning, is called " Mamely dia manga," " kicking back
wards," or, more literally, "striking blue with the sole
of the foot." It consists of parties kicking one an
other in the same manner as horses or other animals.
This accomplishment is sedulously cultivated from youth
to manhood, and many become desperately expert in the
amusement, if amusement it may be called, where the
accidents of sprained or broken ankles and legs are not
unfrequent accompaniments. Hundreds at a time occa
sionally join in this noisy sport, forming themselves into
parties as at an English football match, and rushing upon
each other with amazing force, each one seeking to main
tain his advanced position and repel his antagonist by
kicking backwards.
On this occasion a large circle was formed by the
soldiers on guard at the palace, who sat down with their
muskets upright between their knees. Rainikotavao's
slaves, who are kept in regular training for this amuse
ment, stepped into the ring, stripped, with the exception
of the salaka round their loins. One of these advanced
from the rest and challenged the crowd. An antagonist
was quickly found, stript, and brought forward. Advanc
ing cautiously one towards the other, after several feints
and counters, one turning with great rapidity nearly caught
his antagonist with the heel of his foot in his face, he just
missed his blow however, and was hurled violently to the

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THE NATIONAL GAME. 75
ground by a kick in the small of his back, that settled
him. Rainikotavao's slave was the winner of this bout.
Several other rounds came off with varied success, but the
slaves of Rainikotavao were decidedly the best. There were
twelve of them, and the whole twelve presently challenged
any twelve of the crowd to fight, whereupon a general
grand mMee took place, the end of which was that the
twelve new-comers were beaten ignominiously off the field.
The victory was so complete that no new combatants ap
peared until the victors offered to fight double their num
ber; twenty -four of the by-standers then engaged them,
but the well-trained twelve were again conquerors. The
temper of the crowd now was roused, and they were with
difficulty restrained from maltreating the twelve challengers,
whom we handsomely rewarded for their prowess.
September 12th. — French treaty signed to-day at noon
with much ceremony. There have been sundry diplomatic
hitches which have kept it back. It was read aloud in
Malagasy and in French.
September 13th. — Attend the King's morning levee.
Afterwards make a portrait of Ra Haniraka's wife. She is
preparing her coronation robes. All the princesses of the
blood are to wear scarlet, close-fitting bodices, and skirts
long behind, so as to form a train. The bottom of the
skirts are to be studded with gold spangles, for which
they have been very anxious to obtain sovereigns, which
are beaten out thin and cut into little spangles. It takes
several sovereigns to ornament one dress in this way.
September 14th. — Walked to the north-west suburb and
examined the tomb of the late Prime Minister and Com
mander-in-chief, Rainihiaro, the father of Rainivonihitriony,
the present minister. The Fasanrainihiaro, as this large
structure is called, consists of a square terrace of hewn

76 MADAGASCAR.
stone, the sides of which are sixty feet long ; a stone col
onnade runs round it, with nine arches, supported on plain
pillars. On the top of the terrace is a square space, en
closed by stone arches, on short, fantastic pillars. The
usual head-stone stands at the eastern end. At the north
and southern corners are two minarets. The whole struc
ture stands in a large polygonal area with arched gateway,
and is surrounded on three sides with the neatly thatched
houses of the keepers of the tomb.
Monday, September 15th. — To-day we gave a grand
pic-nic at Mahazaorivo, the pleasant grounds of which are
well adapted for anything of that kind. There was an
immense party, and the French in great force. We spread
a sheet for a table-cloth on a shady plot of grass sheltered
by a group of banyan-trees ; but this not being near large
enough we spread plantain leaves at the lower end to eke
it out. Meantime the cooks were at work and made huge
dishes of soup, curry, and the unfailing rice. As soon as
this was ready we sat down to the number of at least two
hundred, the band playing at a short distance from us. It
all went off very pleasantly and agreeably, but we found
the way home tedious, and the steep ascent into the capital
drove us all to our palanquins.
Tuesday, 16th. — There was a great muster to-day of
troops on the ground at Mahamasina, and a rehearsal of
the arrangements that would be made on the coronation
day. The country all around is dotted with tents, the
camps of the soldiers and their families who have come
from a distance.
September 19th. — To-day, for the first time, we were
admitted inside the great palace, Manjaka Miadara, which
has been closed ever since the late Queen's death, and
is now open to prepare for the coronation festivities.

PLAN OF
THE PALACE GROUNDS
19* Sept* 1862.

Summers House

Thedli
Bamyvola Tjufltby
Rauamal

House of the Late
Queen's Prime Minister
Rainijahary"

rjn-lr Market

Eay£.Saa,tCinutaiUI,iai

¦¦'¦'.. .¦..'....

TKE TALACKS OF ANATY R.OVA .

Day8:Sgii(liim.tsd)litl-

THE GREAT PALACE. 77
We spent the morning in examining and measuring. It
consists of three huge rooms, one over the other, and
some very small ante-rooms at each end of them. Each
story has an immense verandah, or balcony, the top one
having projecting eaves like the points of an umbrella.
The main building is 120 feet high. One solid piece of
timber, of enormous girth at the base, rises to that height
from the ground-floor in the very centre of the building.
This spar, cut in the forest of Analamazaotra, has been
alluded to before. The whole building is painted white
from top to bottom, with the exception of the balustrades,
which are red. This palace was built in 1841, by the late
Queen; the smaller one, Trano vola, being built in 1846
for the present King Radama and his wife Rabodo.
North of the Trano vola is the tomb of the first Ra
dama, made of stone, covered with red cement. It rises
in two successive terraces, the shape of it being a diamond,
thirty feet long on the sides, and sixteen feet high. Above
it is a small house with a verandah. In the interior of
this house we were informed that there was wearing apparel,
with wine and water on a table, and a chair, in case the
matoatoa, or ghost of the King, might wish to revisit the
place of his ashes. The tomb is surrounded with high
palisades on the top of which are spear-heads. Close to
the tomb is a large tank and flower-garden, in which are
two summer-houses, one being a glass house presented
to the first Radama by George III. Within the palisades
is a small barrier, used as a refuge during bull-baiting,
which amusement was carried on here during the late
Queen's reign.
This afternoon all the prisoners concerned in the con
spiracy to set Rambousalam on the throne were released
by order of the King, and great rejoicing was caused
by the general amnesty proclaimed on the occasion of

78 MADAGASCAR.
the coronation. The King dined privately with us this
evening. Sunday, September 21. — This evening the whole coun
try was illuminated for miles round, and the whole of the
Betsimatatra valleys and plains were blazing with small
bonfires. The streets were illuminated by men and boys
holding torches and wisps of lighted straw. It was a
glorious sight, and showed how thickly inhabited the sur
rounding country must be. At about nine o'clock a house
near the palace took fire, and a fire in Antananarivo, where
the streets are narrow, water scarce, and houses built of
wood and straw, is no joke !
One house set fire to another. The drums beat an
alarm through the streets. The guards assembled round
the palace, headed by their chiefs. The troops gathered at
their rendezvous ; slaves hurried along with water in their
jars and bamboos. The women from the burning houses
were carried along shrieking on the backs of their slaves,
followed by their female slaves skirling like sea-fowl.
Above all the flames rose clear and high in the calm night.
The smoke went up straight, for there was not a breath
of wind, and the white palace stood out in the midst reflecting
back the fierce red flames. Meantime, the neighbours and
troops, led by the example of Lieut. Wadling (of Caldwell's
party), quickly pulled down the burning houses and those
nearest to them, and the fire burnt itself out. The conse
quence might have been very disastrous had there been
any wind. The King warmly expressed his gratitude for
the prompt exertions of Lieut. Wadling.
Monday, September 22. — The coronation is now at
hand, and as yet the question remains unsettled, as to
whether the representatives of the English or of the French
government are to take precedence on the occasion. The
King determined that General Johnstone, as representative

ENGLISH AND FRENCH CONSULS. 79
of'the English nation, which had done so much for Mada
gascar, should stand on his right; but Dupre declared that
if that were the case, he would leave Antananarivo, go
straight to Paris, and return with the Emperor's leave to
bombard Tamatave and to burn the capital. The two
consuls, Pakenham and Laborde, are to settle how the
Europeans are to be placed, but it must be an edifying
sight for the king of a half-civilized country to see the
bitter jealousy between the two great allied powers.
The country was again illuminated this evening ; the
town, however, was in darkness, the fire of the preceding
evening having deterred the people from repeating the
experiment. Tuesday, September 23. — To see Antananarivo on a
fine winter morning is a magnificent sight at any time.
Owing to its height the clouds settle upon it during the
night, but when the sun rises its rays gradually dispel
them, and they roll along the sides of the hills in long
fleecy masses. As they moved off this morning, they dis
closed the troops arranged in battalions, deploying into the
fines previously marked out with banners, and — tell it not
in Woolwich or Aldershot — with cords also, so as to enclose
the area in front of the sacred stone. At the same time,
from every path and road, from town, suburb, and village,
as far as you could see in the far distance of the Betsima
tatra valley, lines of gaily-coloured crowds continually
streamed, one and all hastening forward towards the sacred
stone. I do not think a single Hova in Antananarivo could
have slept the previous night, for every house was crammed
with people from the country, either guests or lodgers, and
the strict curfew regulations were relaxed. There was a
noise of revelling, singing, and chattering, the whole night ;
and all were so anxious not to be late and to secure good

80 MADAGASCAE.
places, that I believe most of them dressed over night.
Wretched were the unhappy slaves whose duty it would
be to stay in the house and guard it whilst the family were
absent at the great spectacle, and many, I suspect, played
truant. In the town itself great confusion reigned. In
front of every house the bearers and slaves in their best
clothes prepared the filanzans, which were all decorated
for the occasion, with silk, and cloth, and gold. As their
occupants were carried off in them, many were the colli
sions between those going to, and those returning from, the
palace, where everybody of any standing at all hastened at
daylight to attend the levee and congratulate the popular
prince on his coronation.
Notwithstanding that the French party had used all
their influence to induce his Majesty to don a magnificent
suit of royal robes brought from France, Radama per
sisted in his original intention of being crowned in English
uniform, and wore accordingly that of a British field-
marshal, which we had presented him with from the Queen.
The Jesuits set about a report, that they had crowned the
King privately, with all due Roman Catholic ceremony
before daylight ; but this I cannot believe. Radama is
superior to superstition, and would, I am perfectly sure,
never allow himself to be subject to any such imposition.
The Jesuits, however, have spread such scandalous reports
about the Bishop, Mr. Ellis, and the Nonconformist mission
aries, that it is clear their veracity is not to be depended
upon. The King received all visitors at the Trano vola in plain
morning clothes, and by seven o'clock the procession began
to form outside the north gate of the palace. Meantime,
the road from the palace to Mahamasina was lined with
troops in single file, banners with the insignia of Radama
II. being planted at intervals throughout the whole dis-

SINGING WOMEN. 81
tance. The crowds still continued to pour in in the direc
tion of the sacred stone ; and the crush was such that with
difficulty we passed in our filanzans up to the palace.
In the verandahs of the Trano vola were assembled
most of the chiefs and high honours in the island, with
whom we were now on tolerably intimate terms. The
dresses sported on this occasion would have put to shame
many a masquerade or fancy ball in Europe. The amount
of bright-coloured velvet and gold embroidery was really
astonishing. In the court-yard were the singing women of the town
and provinces, singing songs in praise of Radama's fore
fathers, the clapping of hands being kept up so vigorously
as almost to overpower the efforts of the King's band, who,
twenty-five in number, played very accurately selections of
marches, and other pieces of music. The singing women
were all in white, and squatted like wild fowls to the num
ber of two or three hundred, in the furthest corner of the
court-yard. While the King was dressing we kicked our heels out
side, impatient of delay, for we had had no breakfast, and
there seemed no prospect of any. It must have been at
least eleven o'clock when the King appeared in his uniform ;
he was speedily joined by the Queen, who was got up
royally indeed, but .my knowledge of ladies' toilette tech
nicalities is too limited for me to attempt to describe it.
The King mounted his horse, and the Queen her palanquin,
and, accompanied by her little adopted daughter, preceded
the King. The whole procession moved on, the members
of the English and French missions following behind the
King, who seemed rather nervous on his spirited horse,
which was fretted by the slow pace at which the pageant
was obliged to move, and had to be led by a groom.
Laborde and I walked down together, being unable to get

82 MADAGASCAR.
our palanquins in the crowd. The remainder of the day's
proceedings shall be told in the words of Mr. Caldwell,
who gives the following graphic account of the coronation
ceremonies, published in the "Commercial Gazette," De
cember 1862.
" The long-expected 23rd September was ushered in at
grey dawn by the roar of all the numerous cannon so
profusely scattered over the rock on which Antanan
arivo stands, and which waked from their heavy slumbers
the people not usually remarkable for early rising. The
King having told us the previous evening, that he would
like to start early, if possible, to avoid the hot sun, and
having fixed seven o'clock as the hour at which we should
come to the palace, we were there with true British punc
tuality, and followed in a few minutes by the British Em
bassy. As we walked up from our quarters, close by the
palace, we found the main street lined with soldiers in red
coatees, white trousers, and shakos ; and outside the arch
leading into the palace yard, a very large assemblage of
officers of the 14th and inferior ranks, including many of
the ministers, judges, and other functionaries. They were
all dressed in new uniforms of very good taste, many of
them French diplomatic or civil-service gold-embroidered
suits, made to order at Paris, and a few home-made suits
of scarlet cloth, or richly coloured velvet, in gold native
embroidery of superior quality, and in excellent taste. The
palace gates were wide open, no sentries with crossed arms
impeding free passage to-day; and inside were drawn up on
two sides of the square a considerable number of troops,
with the King's band, who were furnished with the instru
ments just presented to the King by Her Majesty Queen
Victoria, and called after her ' The Victoria Band.'
" On our arrival, we were conducted inside the stockade,
surrounding the Silver Palace, where we found assembled

THE PROCESSION. 83
most of the King's and Queen's households, and paid our
respects to his Majesty, who had not yet begun to dress
for the ceremony. Within this enclosure also came the
13th Honours, and the officers of the palace, all likewise in
handsome uniforms, more plain and elegant than those of
last year ; the commander-in-chief, Rainilaiarivony, in a
velvet tunic embroidered in gold, that would have done
credit to Bond Street ; and our friend Rainikiotava, Minister
of Public Works, staggering under a heavy brass helmet,
profusely ornamented with imitation gems of every size and
colour, which, after being duly admired, he exchanged with
eagerness for a lighter cocked hat, apparently quite satisfied
with having the unique helmet carried behind him by an
aide-de-camp. " The body-guard of Menamaso were also on duty inside,
dressed in Lincoln green tunics, with red facings and red
shakos, each man armed with a spear, the blade and staff
of which were entirely made of silver.
" About eight o'clock the French mission, the English
and French Consuls, and the rest of the foreigners arrived ;
Commodore Dupre wearing a plain black dress suit, having
sunk his naval rank in the superior one of plenipotentiary
of his Imperial Majesty, but decorated with the Legion of
Honour, the Bath, and his other crosses. The King then
retired to dress, soon afterwards appearing in a full-dress
British field-marshal's uniform, which had been presented
to him a few days before from Queen Victoria, and which
fitted him as if made on the spot, and her Majesty then
coming up with her personal attendants, every one began to
await the move.
"At about half-past nine the King mounted a handsome
Egyptian horse, just brought up by Mr. Lambert. The
Queen came next in very elegant Parisian-made gilt palan
quin, lined with rich crimson damasked silk, her little

84 MADAGASCAR.
daughter at her feet, and a large and richly ornamented
scarlet umbrella fixed over her head. She was dressed in a
white satin skirt and rich crimson coronation robe, embroid
ered with gold, a present from the Empress of the French,
and looked remarkably well. She was carried by eight men
at a time ; all her bearers dressed like her body-guard, but
with caps instead of shakos. Just behind came General
Johnstone, Commodore Dupre, and M. Laborde, the French
Consul, in palanquins, and Mr. Lambert on horseback, and
a few of the principal officers, and then the guard formed
up, leaving out indiscriminately all the other Europeans,
official or visitors, the Hovas, and a prodigious crowd of
persons, who had to get through the archway as best they
could. The greatest good humour, however, prevailed;
English, French, and native uniforms, and black coats, were
mixed up in one dense mass.
" From the palace gate to the Champ de Mars below,
about a mile and three quarters following the contour of
the road, the way was lined with troops, and at each hun
dred yards, was on either side a mast with a streamer,
white bordered with red, and in the field R. R.
(Radama Rex). As the cortege passed on, the roar of
artillery began, and continued during the time it was in
motion ; the only halt being made at Andahalo, a large
open triangular place, about three-quarters of a mile from
the palace, and one third of the way down the mountain,
where the King dismounted, and stood upon some tra
ditionary stone there for a few minutes.
" The procession arrived below at about half-past ten.
The King, Queen, the nobles, and the English and French
ambassadors, and those who had got within the guards,
mounting the steps that led up to the dais erected over the
sacred stone, a very handsome and elegant pavilion,
designed and executed by the French Consul, M. Laborde.

THE CORONATION. 85
So great was the crowd below, and so difficult to get
through, that the rest, of both English and French missions,
and all the visitors, could only get up about a quarter of an
hour later ; but they thereby gained the advantage of a
better view of the moment when the King took his crown
and placed it on his head, and then crowned the Queen.
He then advanced to the front, drew his sword, and addressed
the people in a spirited and stirring speech, which appeared
to elicit unqualified approbation from his people. As, even
at the time, this speech was much talked of, I made par
ticular inquiries about it, and am enabled, on the testimony
of the most trustworthy Hova nobles, and some most in
telligent and educated Malagasy gentlemen, not Hovas,
whom all those at Antananarivo will know as high-class
men, to give a flat contradiction to the statements, that he
ever mentioned in it that he was King by the will of God,
and the consent of the European powers. What he did say,
according to those who understood the language, was to
the following effect. He was now King of Madagascar,
not because he had tried to be so (a phrase evidently pointed
at the reports so industriously circulated by some parties,
and even printed, accusing him of being privy to several
conspiracies against his mother the late queen), but because
God had willed it, and that he intended to govern his people
with kindness and justice. That such as they had found
Prince Rakoto, merciful, tender of shedding blood, and even
solicitous of enlightening his country, and advancing its ma
terial interests, so they would find him now as Radama II.
Such a declaration would, indeed, touch the hearts of
the dense multitude around him, so long and so cruelly
oppressed in former times, and frequently, in all probability,
ill used in the Queen's name, without her knowledge, by
wicked and rapacious officers, who turned her known
severity and iron will to their own advantage, under pre-

86 MADAGASCAR.
tence of acting by her directions. During this part of the
ceremony, a royal salute was fired from some brass field-
pieces, cast many years ago at Soatsimananapiorani, which
would have done credit to the best European foundry. On
their way down the previous day, I had stopped one as it
was being taken down from the arsenal in the palace, and
examined it minutely.
" To a stranger who did not understand the language,
the most interesting part of the ceremony, the homage to
the King, now began. For some reason or other, the
original programme of fixed places previously appointed,
both in the procession, and at the ceremony, was not carried
out, and every one found a place for himself as best he
could. As it was fearfully hot in the raised gallery on the
right, appropriated to the ministers and visitors, I got round
to the back of the dais, upon the wall surrounding the
sacred stone. Here some of the officers round the royal
pair made me advance till I was close behind the Queen's
chair. General Johnstone and Captain Anson came to the
same place ; Commodore Dupre and Messrs. Laborde and
Lambert were on the edge of the wall, on the right hand
side ; and Mr. Pakenham, the English Consul, found his
way into the ladies' gallery on the left, where Mrs. Paken
ham was in the midst of a large assemblage of the highest
noble ladies of the Hovas, many being dressed from head
to foot in scarlet, and with even scarlet boots and scarlet
parasols, the peculiar privilege of wearing which, belongs
to those who have royal blood in their veins. The King's
chair alone was allowed to rest upon the sacred stone, the
Queen being on the surrounding wall, none (under pain of
death in the last reign) daring to touch this peculiar talis
man, which is, apparently, a rough granite stone, accident
ally cropping up in the plain, about seven feet high, five
wide, and surrounded with a circular wall of four feet thick.

THE CORONATION. 87
In front and at the back of the wall, were steps leading up
to the flat summit of it ; and on either side, running north
and south, were the two long uncovered galleries of 150
feet each, already mentioned. The front faced therefore to
the west, towards the artificial lake and island of Anosy,
where the late Queen's summer-house is situated, and a
broad avenue had been left right in front about 250 feet
long. The rest of the space on either side had been parti
tioned off with ropes for the different tribes, and, including
the soldiers present, there cannot have been much less than
100,000 people on the plain. The middle avenue, up which
we had come, was densely crowded also, and it was along
it that each of the chiefs and nobles came to present his
hasina, or tribute of a dollar, and made a speech to the
King, the dollar being received by the King's private
secretary Ramaniraka or his assistant, and dropped into
one of the two boxes covered with red cloth, at the top of
the wall. Among others who crowded near the sacred
stone, were the idol keepers with their idols, carried on
long poles, and generally covered over with scarlet or other
cloth; and apparently a mass of something or another
without any definite shape. These, however, the King paid
no attention to (though neither did he affront them), not
withstanding their pressing up so close to the platform that
they invaded the place of, and got mixed up with, the band
of Les Enfants de la Ressource, directed by the Jesuit Mis
sionaries, who also had a banner on a high pole, as we see
in processions here. At length, about half-past twelve,
when chieftains from all parts of the kingdom, North,
South, East, and West, Sakalava, Betsileo, Menabe, Betsim-
asaraka, Betanimena, and many others whose names I do
not recollect, had made their submission, the procession re
formed, and proceeded to climb the hill again. Here the
same scrambling for places again took place, and all went

88 MADAGASCAR.
on merrily till the party reached Andahalo, where the
King's horse reared, and his Majesty, though an excellent
horseman, would have received a severe fall had he not
been caught in the arms of Mr. Eardley Wilmot, of her
Majesty's 5th Fusiliers, who, not having been able to find
his palanquin, was walking immediately behind the King.
The procession, after a slight stoppage, proceeded to the
palace, many of us falling out, as we passed our residences,
to take some breakfast, and change, before going to the
banquet at half-past three.
" The coronation banquet was served in the large hall of
the large palace, which was now first publicly opened since
Queen Ranavalo's death, although we had been allowed to
examine it minutely on the 19th, when the prepar
ations for the banquet had been commenced. It is a really
magnificent building, though seldom seen to full advantage,
from being surrounded on all sides by other buildings, or
by walls, which obstruct a direct view of the lower story ;
and the best point to judge of its noble elevation is from
the stone archway ; on the north side of the yard, though
the north and south facades are smaller than the east and
west one, the front being, in fact, the western one. It is
built altogether of wood (dragged from forty to ninety
miles distance with prodigious labour), on the plans and
under the personal direction of the late Queen, and was
completed in the short space of three years. It consists of
three principal stories and three attics, besides the top of
the roof; and each floor is, according to the Hova custom,
divided into one large central room, lighted only by a
door in the west, and two smaller side rooms or narrow
closets ; the lower story is rather low for its size, but
the first floor room is as finely proportioned as it is pos
sible to be.
"The tables were laid in the form ofthe letter H, and

S.P01i-ve*,LrRA.del

TiRAKMK 07 THE GHEAT PALACE AN" D TOMBS OP THF KlNGS

D ay feS.ao$imtea)lv:

THE BANQUET. 89
the principal guests arranged as follows, no native under
the rank of 15th Honour being admitted to the banquet.
" Covers were laid for 120 people, and the repast was
admirably served. In front of the King and principal
guests were the large silver -gilt flagon and six cups to
match, presented by the British Mission on the part of
Queen Victoria, and the table was adorned with many
native works of silver, and two handsome gold vases from
the Silver Palace, and on the sideboard were, amongst other
ornaments, two silver vases, four feet four inches high, all
pf native manufacture. The viands were of excellent
quality and abundant, and the wines very fair, and for the
first time we saw locusts and water-beetles served on a
Malagasy table. The first toast, the King's health and
the prosperity of his kingdom, was proposed by Commodore
Dupre, to which his Majesty replied by the healths of
Queen Victoria and the Emperor of the French, after
which General Johnstone proposed her Majesty Queen
Rabodo, and the toasts were brought to an end by the
King coupling in a short speech, said to have been full of
humour, the healths of his Minister for Foreign Affairs
and of the two Consuls present. The banquet was over
about six o'clock.
"As soon as the Queen had retired for a short time, and
changed her robe for the crimson velvet mantle sent her
by Queen Victoria, dancing commenced ; the ball being
opened by the King, who danced with one of the ladies of
the court, and the Queen, who danced with the Commodore ;
• after a gay and pleasant evening, during which both Eng
lish and French vied with each other and with the Court
in keeping up the gaieties of the day, every one retired at
about half-past nine, after drinking the health of their
Majesties. " The 24th September was spent in arranging for our

90 MADAGASCAR.
proximate departure until half-past four, when all the
visitors again repaired to the palace, to witness an exhi
bition of fireworks on the lake below from the balcony of
the palace. General Johnstone gave his arm to the Queen,
the King and each gentleman also conducting a lady, and
ascending to the upper floor which commands a view of
from twenty to fifty miles in every direction. The only
fault of this pageant was, that the fireworks were com
menced a quarter of an hour too soon, at sunset ; but they
were of excellent quality, notwithstanding that two years
had elapsed since they were brought out from France.
The evening again closed with dancing, the company re
tiring at the same early hour of nine."
After the coronation, the English and French Missions
left the capital with as little delay as possible, and, reaching
the coast without any remarkable incident, embarked on
board the " Gorgon " and " Hermione." The writer accom
panied his party, having given up all thoughts of remaining
behind on the staff of the King of Madagascar.

91

APPENDIX.

Note A. — Babacootes.
On our return from the capital, whilst traversing the forests before
arriving at this village, two good specimens of the babacoote,
Propithecus diadema, were shot by some of our party. On entering
Beforona, our hanging up of their dead bodies preparatory to skinning
them attracted a great deal of attention. One of the chiefs of the
place came forward, and with tears in his eyes deplored the slaughter
of the animals, begging hard for their bodies. He declared that they,
the tribe of Betanimenes, had originally sprung from the ancient and
respectable line of Babacootes, We mildly tried to prove that man
was a distinct species ; that we could admit the Betanimenes to be men
and brothers, although belonging to a different variety of the human
race ; but we strongly objected to look upon the Propithecus diadema
in that light. Our arguments, liberally backed by quotations from
Blumenbach, were perhaps not rendered very correctly by our in
terpreter, who probably believed in the truth of this legend himself.
However, at all events, they signally failed to convince this dark-skinned
anthropologist, who, in support of his curious theory of development,
related that years ago, his father, when climbing a tall tree in the
neighbouring forests in search of wild honey, was precipitated from a
great height in consequence of a bough breaking. A large babacoote
below, seeing his relative's danger, and actuated by the purest feelings
of family affection, stretched out his arm and caught him, and thus

92 APPENDIX.
saved him from certain death. Our chief related this story with
perfect gravity, and expected us to think it a clenching argument.
He even offered us money for the bodies, but we compromised the
matter by keeping the skins ourselves and giving him the carcasses,
much to the disgust of some irreverent sceptics among our Bezanozano
Marmites, who had expected them as a savoury addition to their
evening meal.
The extraordinary similarity of the cries of the Babacootes to
human screams, cries, and moans, has induced the belief among the
natives that these creatures are akin to them.

Note B. — Crocodiles.
A day or two after we had passed the plain of Mangoro, Mons.
Lambert followed, bringing among other presents for the King an
Arab horse with an Egyptian groom, and some donkeys. Whilst
crossing one of the small marshy streams, the greatest depth of which
could not exceed four feet, the horse was attacked on his left flank by
a huge crocodile (the marks of whose teeth were shown to me after
the horse arrived at the capital). The groom jumped off on the side
farthest from the crocodile, who was repulsed by a kick in its jaws
from the wounded horse. Disgusted with this reception the crocodile
next attacked a Malagasy slave who was leading a donkey, dragged
him under the water and destroyed him.

Note C. — The Revolution.
In May 1883, barely eight months after his coronation, which we
had seen celebrated with so much pomp and solemnity, a complete
revolution occurred in Madagascar, which deprived King Radama of
his life. The fate of this prince was truly melancholy. His name is
now forbidden to be spoken, and no man is allowed to inquire for the
place of his burial.
The following account of the revolution is extracted from a letter
written by Mr. W. Ellis to General Johnstone, and published in
Mauritius.

APPENDIX. 93
" Antananarivo, May 26th, 1863.
" During the last fortnight a revolution, as complete as any ever
known to have taken place in this country, has occurred. Towards
such a crisis events have been for some time past inevitably tending ;
but not even the parties most immediately concerned in accomplishing
it expected that it was so near, or that it would proceed so far as it has
already gone.
" Though I had seen nothing to excite alarm during the day the
revolution commenced, as I proceeded towards dusk to Andohalo, I
found the city in great commotion : armed men in small parties or
singly were hurrying through the streets ; women and children, fol
lowed by female slaves carrying their most portable valuables; while
companies of armed men, chiefs or nobles and their dependants, were
crowding in along the great northern roads towards the Minister's
residence. " Some of the grounds of dissatisfaction which have now brought
the reign and life of Radama to a close, have existed ever since his
accession to the throne. Among them may be mentioned his destruc-r
tion of an important source of the revenue of the country, by abolish?
ing all duties on exports and imports. From this source the pay of a
number of officers was derived, and from the first the nobles and
officers have expressed their disapproval of the measure, while the
people have been disappointed by finding scarcely any perceptible
increase in sale or decrease in the price of the articles on which duty
was formerly paid. Another cause of dissatisfaction has been the use
of intoxicating drinks by the King, as they say his most injurious
measures have been completed when he has not been sober: and
their first stipulation was to prevent evil from this source in future.
A third, and perhaps the most serious cause of offence on his part,
has been the excluding frdm his councils, and from all beyond a mere
nominal share of the government, of many of the highest nobles and
most intelligent men in the country, and surrounding himself with a
number of young men, some of them grossly immoral, most of them
without position or stake in the country, as his secret and confidential
advisers. Men whose families had been closely connected with tlie
government during the last two years, some for a much longer period,
men who had taken no secondary part in placing Radama on the throne,
did not like to see their rank and power ignored and their places filled

94 APPENDIX.
by men heretofore unknown ; many of them with neither character
nor ability, and whose chief recommendation might be, that they
would be ready to advise and commend such measures as would be
agreeable to the King, and to contribute to his amusement.
" The King possessed many amiable and attractive qualities. His
frank good nature won the hearts of the people, and his desire to gra
tify their wishes could scarcely fail to secure for him the affection of
many. At the same time, the instability of his character, the want
of any sound fixed principles of government, weakened confidence in
his rule ; while the few and feeble efforts put forth to prevent and
repress, or even punish, crime when detected, grieved and disappointed
his best friends, some of whom asserted that crime was increased by
the impunity with which it was perpetrated ; yet all were willing to
wait in hopes of a change for the better.
" Extraordinary efforts have been made during the last three
months to restore to the idols and other objects of superstitious rever
ence their former influence. A disease, resembling in some respects
an intermittent fever, appeared also in some of the adjacent villages,
and those affected by it were said to be unconscious of their actions,
as well as to be unable to refrain from running, jumping, and dancing.
These people also pretended to see visions and to hear voices from
the world of spirits. They stated that they had seen the ancestors of
the reigning family, and had received messages from them to the
King, first, that they, viz. the spirits of his ancestors, were coming to
tell him what to do ; and afterwards to declare that if he did not stop
the praying among the people, some great calamity would overtake
him. The King seemed to be deeply interested in the disease which
was said to be sent by the idols, who were enraged at the increase of
the praying in the land. Though no one had more frequently ridi
culed the idols than the King had done, he uid not seem displeased by
these pretended messages; and when the disease appeared in the
capital, all the crazy dancers went to his house, where they were
treated with great respect, and an order was issued requiring all per
sons meeting them in the streets to take off their hats as they passed
them, giving to them the same homage as was formerly paid to the
idols when carried in procession through the streets. The dancers
being most of them female slaves, all of them heathens (for no single
Christian in the capital or country was affected with the disease), it

APPENDIX. 95
was exceedingly galling to high Hova chiefs to be obliged to uncover
their heads to those whom all but the most ignorant of the people con
sidered as deluding and deceived.
" Shortly before this time, a female for whom the King had long
shown great regard, associated herself with the Christians in their
worship. The King was exceedingly angry. He declared that Jesus
Christ was only a man, and that he himself was above Jesus Christ,
and only below God. The female above referred to was visited with
his extreme displeasure, because she would not give up praying and
receiving Christian instruction. I have been repeatedly told that this
circumstance, more than any other, caused the King to regard with
disfavour the Christians, and that on this account alone it was in
tended, according to one of the King's steady friends, to put one of
the preachers to death. At the same time the influence of the idol-
keepers increased, and it was said the disease would increase until the
praying was stopped. A bullock was killed at the palace by order
of the King, and offered to the idols, and it was reported that the
heathen party meditated an attack upon the Christians. The King
proposed to enact a law, that if any persons wished to fight with fire
arms, swords, or spears, they should not be prevented, and if any were
killed the murderers should not be punished. Two days afterwards,
viz. on Thursday the 7th instant, he officially announced his intention
to issue that order. His friends and some of the nobles remonstrated,
but he would not forego his purpose. It was also said that the Prime
Minister and some of the nobles were to be assassinated.
" The announced intention of the King to issue the order which
would have legalised murder, created great consternation among all
classes, and the next morning the Prime Minister, attended by from
one hundred to one hundred and fifty officers and heads of the people,
went to the King, remonstrated with him against the issuing of that
order, telling him it was his duty, as the father of the people, to pre
vent violence and murder instead of sanctioning it ; and when the
King refused to change his purpose, the Minister went down on his
knees and entreated the King in vain to pause. He then rose, and
standing in front of the multitude who attended him, said to the King :
* Do you, before these witnesses, declare that if any one wishes to
fight, to attack any other person with fire-arms, spear or sword, you
will not prevent him, and that if he kills any one you will not punish

96 APPENDIX.
him ? ' The King replied in the affirmative. ' Then,' said the
Minister, '.we must arm.' Turning from the King to his friends, he
said, ' Enough, so be it. Let us return to breakfast.' I was struck
by the grave and silent aspect of the long procession as it followed
the Minister to his own residence. Here they determined to prevent,
hy force, the promulgation of the law, and to destroy the authors of it.
Messengers were despatched to the adjacent villages and provinces,
and before daybreak the next morning the whole city, including the
palaces, with the exception of the southern extremity where the King
resided, was in the possession of the armed bands of the ministers and
nobles. The first effort of the nobles was to seize more than thirty
of the Menamaso,* against whom they drew up a formal indictment
extending to twenty specific charges, the most serious of which there
is reason to fear were too well founded. Ten of the Menamaso were
taken and soon afterwards put to death ; several fled, some of whom
have since been taken, the rest took refuge with the King, who after
long resistance was obliged to give them up to be put in chains for
life, but they- were on the following day also put to death. The King
is also reported to have threatened that he would avenge his confiden
tial advisers on their enemies; and this, it is said, induced them to change
their purpose, which was at first to remove the Menamasos and put
good men in their places, but the menace of the king caused them to
feel that his removal was required for their own safety, to say nothing
of the danger of civil war. The King died the next morning. A
paper was speedily drawn up by the nobles, setting forth the chief
principles on which they wished the government to be administered.
This document they sent by four of the highest of their order to Ra
bodo, stating that if she was willing to govern according to the prin
ciples set forth in that document, they were willing to offer her the
throne, but that if she declined they must look elsewhere. After
reading the paper and receiving explanation on some of the points,
* These men were the confidential secret advisers of the King, on
whose recommendations or by whose influence, punishment or acquittal for
Offences was awarded, complaints dismissed, or honours and offices dis
tributed or sold, &c. &c. They were also a sort of inquisitors who secretly
investigated all informations or accusations brought to the King against
any of the people.

APPENDIX. 97
the Queen expressed her full and entire consent to the articles set forth
in the paper. When it had been signed by the Minister on behalf of
the nobles, and by the Queen, the firing of cannon announced the in
auguration of a new reign. A copy of this paper was shortly after
wards brought by some officers and read to us. At the same time, a
kabary was held at Andohalo, where the compact between Rabodo
and the nobles was read, and under the title of Rasoaherena, Rabodo
was proclaimed Queen of Madagascar.
" Within an hour afterwards, an officer from the Minister required
our attendance at the palace, where we were introduced to the Queen,
who wore the crown and gold- embroidered scarlet lamba of the Hova
Sovereigns. Her countenance was dejected, and her hair partially
unplaited, a sign of mourning. We assured her Majesty, that as the
government was changed, we were happy to pay our respects to her
as sovereign ; that the friendship which her predecessors and herself
had shown towards the English warranted us to expect that the exist
ing friendship would be preserved, and that we should receive pro
tection, presenting at the same time our hasina. Her Majesty in reply
said, that she was glad to see us, that the English had always been
friendly towards Madagascar, and she wished that friendship should
continue. It was her sincere desire, she added, to be friendly with
England, France, and all other foreign nations, that she would protect
all foreigners coming to Madagascar, and encourage' their efforts to do
good to the people. Her Majesty, I have been informed, repeated to
the consuls of England and France her desire to perpetuate the exist
ing friendly relations between Madagascar and those countries, and
assured them that protection would be given to the subjects of both
countries coming to Madagascar. I have also heard that the present
government has signified to Her Majesty's Consul here its wish to
maintain the treaty entered into last year between Radama and Queen
Victoria. "You will doubtless have been made acquainted from other sources,
with the basis on which the present government has been organised.
Tt avows, —
" Friendship towards other nations ;
"Free commercial intercourse with foreigners and protection of the
latter ;
" Perfect liberty for the profession, worship, and teaching of Chnst-
H

98 APPENDIX,
ianity, promising the same protection and civil privileges to Christians
as are given to other portions of the community ;
" Domestic slavery is continued, but owners are at liberty to make
their slaves free ;
" The army is to be kept up ;
" Death is not to be inflicted on the will or order of the sovereign
alone, but according to law and after trial ;
" The sanction or approval of the heads of the nobles and people is
to be given to any proposed law before such law is promulgated and
binding on the people.
"Such are some ofthe chief items of the document which the Queen
and nobles agreed to, and signed before the former was proclaimed
Queen of Madagascar. The Queen associated herself with the King
during the whole period of his differences with the nobles, never left
him, used her utmost endeavours on his behalf to the very last, and,
I have been told, weeps much on account of his death.
"In conjunction with the Queen, the nobles and heads of the
people have been employed ever since the inauguration of the new
government in revising existing arrangements which the great change
requires ; and it is expected that a large national kabary, or public
assembly, will be convened, perhaps to-day, when the result of these
deliberations will be publicly made known to the people.
"I was much struck with the regularity and order with which these
great changes were effected. The houses of the obnoxious Menamaso
who were put to death, were plundered and destroyed, not in obedience
to orders, but according to acknowledged Malagasy usages in war.
No article belonging to any other individual was touched; no other
persons than those demanded by the nobles were molested in the
slightest degree, though it is stated that, during the continuance of
the disturbance there were nearly twenty thousand armed men in the
capital, some having been marched in from a great distance. 3000
were Betsileo, from beyond Vakinankaratra, the high broken ridge of
mountains to the south-west. There were but few troops with the
King, and these refused to fire on the adherents of the Minister.
" In some respects the members of the new government have begun
well. One of their first acts was a most unprecedented one : they
gave daily pay to the soldiers on duty at the palaces, and served out
new lambas of six yards each to 8000 of the troops that came into the

APPENDIX. 99
city during the first three days after the call of the minister and his
associates. They also gave new lambas to 1500 city watchmen.
Acts of this sort will make them very popular.
" Some of the Christians are, perhaps, a little doubtful about the
permanency of the present liberty and privileges ; but should the ex
isting friendly relations between England, France, and Madagascar,
remain uninterrupted, the progress of Christianity, and the prosperity
of Madagascar, would seem to rest on a broader and safer foundation
than it has ever done before. The Christians seem to be impressed
with a sense of their duty to put forth every effort of which they are
capable for conveying the knowledge of Christianity to the heathen
portions of the people. The preparation for the memorial churches
has been but slightly interrupted, and will, in a day or two, be re
sumed with great activity.
"P.S. A kabary, or national assembly, at which not fewer than
30,000 persons were present, has been held to-day. The code of laws
for the kingdom has been read, and the heads of the several classes in
the community, and all present seem satisfied."
A native version of the same events in given in the subjoined
letter from Rainilairivony, the Commander-in-chief, to Major A. E.
H. Anson, Royal Artillery : —
" I write to inform you as a friend, that his Majesty Radama has
given too much power to the Menamaso, who were too proud to every
body by the power which his Majesty has given them, and judged the
people in an unjust manner, that if any man do wrong, if he give the
Menamaso money, he will be free ; and they raised people that gave
them money, from low rank to be generals or colonels. They also
attempted to have disbanded all the Malagasy soldiers, and to kill all
the chief officers, but they did not succeed. They also flattered the
King that the men and women will do such shameful things which I
cannot tell you, and the people grumbled at this. They also made a
law which I think would desolate Madagascar : everybody was to be
allowed to kill by muskets or swords, and they encouraged the idol-
keepers to murder all the Christians in Madagascar, to the number
of many thousands. But the Almighty God, who is the master of all
things, did not wish to desolate our beautiful island.

100 APPENDIX.
" On the morning of the 8th May last, all the chiefs ofthe different
districts of Imerina, the judges, and all the great ofiicers of state,
went to the house of his Excellency the Prime Minister to ask him
to go with them, as they are going to ask his Majesty jto take off these
bad laws. To such a request the Prime Minister did not object, and
went with them. They went up together, and waited for the King in
the court-yard for many hours, as his Majesty was drunk the night
before, and did not get up from his bed till ten o'clock in the morning.
As soon as the King had dressed himself and left his bed-room, they
asked him to speak to him, and, as soon as he consented, the Prime
Minister spoke, and said that the people, on hearing of the new law,
were afraid of such a law, and came to ask his Majesty to take it off,
as it will produce civil war. At first he nearly consented, and the
people were bursting with joy ; but in four or five minutes his bad
thoughts came to him, and he said, ' I will not take off my law, as that
will do good for my country.' Again the people asked him to take
it off, as no one would be safe with such a law ; to which his Majesty
did not agree. After stopping about an hour at the Royal Chamber,
they all retired, and grief was upon all the countenances of the brave.
Again they returned after a few steps, and asked his Majesty whether
they are to arm themselves against their enemies the Menamaso.
' Go and arm yourselves,' was the reply. The people then went to
the Prime Minister's house, and told him that they will kill all the
Menamaso, for these men had caused the King to make such a terrible
law. For which the Prime Minister thought it would not be safe for
his own life to refuse, and he immediately consented.
" At six on the morning of the second day, all Antananarivo rose
as one man in arms, and were all ready to kill the Menamaso. In an
hour about ten of them were killed by the people, on the road or in
their houses ; and the rest, to the number of about thirty-three, fled or
joined the King at the stone house, who hastened from the Palace to
save them.
" In a few moments the Royal Flag was in the midst of the people,
carried by four men, who said that His Majesty asked that the rest of
the Menamaso shall not be killed. The countless multitude shouted
that they will fight to the last man to cut these devil Menamaso in
pieces, who had so ill-judged us, and had got too much riches from us,
and had sold our wives and children to be slaves by bad judgments.

APPENDIX. 101
They asked the King to give to them the Menamaso, as they did not
wish to shoot the King. The flag and the King's messenger returned
several times, but the people did not consent.
" The King then returned to the palace, where he was joined by
his Queen and the other of the royal family, and ordered the guards
to load their arms, and the Artillery of the Royal Guards to load their
guns. The soldiers immediately followed the order of their sovereign,
by loading the muskets with the powder, but not a single one of them
put a bullet inside. The artillery-men then assured his Majesty that
they had no powder, and the King called all the slaves to go up to the
verandah of the big palace, and about three hundred got up there.
" These arrangements made by the King were soon known to the
officers and the people, and made them very angry, and they said,
' We are not to fight against our King, but we are to fight the Mena
maso ; and why does the King make his guards fight against us ? '
" On the morning of the 10th of May, Sunday, they sent many
hundreds of the people without arms to the palace, to tell the King
that they will not kill the Menamaso, but put them in chains. To
this request the King did not consent, and at noon of the same,
the people, in countless numbers, with a fearful rage, came up from the
Prime Minister's yard, and blockaded the palace. His Majesty, on
seeing the people coming up, told the Menamaso that he would deliver
them to the people to be put in chains, and in a few months he would
disband all the soldiers and untie them, and then kill all the chief
officers, and some of the chief civilians ; and the Menamaso consented.
" In an hour a message from the King arrived, and said that he
will deliver the Menamaso to the people, and the people were glad to
put them in irons. In the evening it was heard that the King in
tended to kill all the chief officers in a few months. On the second
day the Menamaso were delivered to the people to be put in chains.
" The people now began to think to kill his Majesty Radama II.,
as they were afraid he would kill them, and to put Rabodo on the
throne, as she is the heir of the throne by the will of the late Queen
Ranavalona. " The King Radama II. was killed by the people at seven o'clock
on the morning of Tuesday 12th May, and the people afterwards made
very good laws : the Queen of Madagascar is no more to be despotic,

102 APPENDIX.
the Christian is to be free from all annoyance, and the abolition of the
Tangena is to be for ever. To which the Queen consented.
" Thus ended the reign' of Radama II., King of Madagascar. I
hope now that Madagascar will grow up to be a nation.

" Your sincere friend,
" Rainilairivony,
" Commander-in-Chief, &c. &c."

Conclusion of the Teeaty.
By our latest advices from the capital of Madagascar, which reach
to the 30th of June, we are happy to learn that H.B.M.'s Consul has
successfully negotiated the English Treaty, which was signed on the
27th of that month, at the Palace of Manjakamiadana, in presence of
the Queen, Prime Minister, and Chief Hova officers, seemingly amid
great rejoipings. What took place on the occasion being thus de
scribed by a correspondent : —
" After protracted negotiation and reference to the British Govern
ment, H.B.M.'s Consul obtained the acceptance of the English Treaty,
on the 22nd of June, when the contents of it were, by the Queen's
orders, published to all the government officers and to the representatives
of the people, the latter having been summoned from all parts of the
province of Imerina. When full publicity had thus been given to the
proposed Treaty, and that public opinion had decidedly pronounced in
favour of its being concluded, Tuesday, the 27th of June, was fixed
upon as the day for signing it, the Queen, with very great tact and
judgment, selecting for her plenipotentiaries two sixteen Honours, one
of them the Chief Secretary of State, the other a noble, the Chief Judge
of Imerina, and the head of the civilians of that province. By this
judicious arrangement, the Queen, government, nobles, and people,
are alike parties to the agreement.

APPENDIX. 103
"Early on the morning of the 27th, an unusual movement was
discernible in Tananarivo and its suburbs. Numbers of officers in
gorgeous uniforms might be seen hurrying up to the palace, in many
cases followed by their wives in palanquins ; all appeared bustle and
excitement. Towards noon, the square of Andahalo and the road
thence to the palace became crowded, the terraces, and even the tops
of the houses on each side of it, being literally covered with natives
in their white lambas, all evidently expecting some great event.
About two o'clock p.m., eight officers of the palace in full dress on
horseback, with the Queen's band and a guard of honour dressed in
scarlet uniforms, arrived from the palace, aud formed on ' Andahalo '
facing the British and French consulates; and on the two consuls
appearing, the troops presented arms, the band playing successively
' God save the Queen/ and ' Partant pour la Syrie.' The Consuls
then set out for the palace in palanquins, preceded by the officers on
horseback and band, and escorted by the guard of honour. By this
time the road to Manjakamiadana had become so thronged with eager
spectators, of whom there must have been at least 10,000, that a passage
could with difficulty be forced through the crowd. On reaching the
palace gate, most of the British residents joined the cortege. (The Queen
had invited the whole of the European community to be present on
the occasion.) On alighting from their palanqunis the Consuls,
accompanied by the European residents present, on entering the inner
enclosure of Manjakamiadana (in Malagash ' to reign in peace,') were
received by a large number of officers and troops in full dress, the
latter presenting arms; also by two bands of musicians, who struck
up simultaneously 'God save the Queen/ and 'Partant pour la
Syrie.' What with ministers, officers, princesses, nobles, ladies of
honour, civilians, and the tsimandors (the Queen's confidential ser
vants) in neat green uniforms, in all about 1000 persons, the spacious
state-room of Manjakamiadana was as full as it could hold : but a
passage, lined by officers, had been left from the entrance to the
further end where the Queen was seated. Her Majesty, ' clothed in
green velvet robes fringed with gold, and wearing a tiara looked
remarkably well, and thoroughly the Queen. To her right, on a
crimson velvet cushion, was placed her crown. In a semicircle,
almost immediately in front of her Majesty, seats had been placed for

104 APPENDIX.
the Prime Minister and Consuls. In rear of them stood the princesses
and ladies of honour, all dressed in European costumes, and imme
diately behind them, the nobles and civilians. To the right of her
Majesty were the Ministers of State and the courtiers. The whole of
the court arrangements were admirable, and the ceremonies were con
ducted with the greatest order and decorum. The Queen rose to
receive the Consuls, but received all other visitors, seated. After
a few words of compliment, the British Consul asked the Queen's
permission to proceed with the signing of the treaty, and on obtaining
her Majesty's assent, after the different signatures and seals had been
affixed, tended it for her Majesty's inspection, when a salute of
twenty-one guns was fired. On receiving it back, the Consul spoke
as follows : —
" ' May it please your Majesty, Prime Minister, officers, nobles, and
representatives of the people, I cannot allow the present occasion to
pass without a few observations and words of friendly advice on the
important act which has just been performed. The friendly relations
existing between England and Madagascar have this day been strength
ened, and confirmed by the treaty which has been concluded. Its
different clauses have been for a long time under the consideration
of the Hova government; they have been carefully examined and
fully discussed. In November last, the negotiations opened, and in
December following, I received and submitted to H.B.M.'s govern
ment a note of such modifications as the Hova government desired
in the original draft which I am happy to say the British Government
have been pleased to admit as far as possible. The publicity which
has been given to this treaty, coupled with the fact of your Majesty
having very wisely deputed the representatives of the people as well
as your confidential officers to sign it, whereby the people of Mada
gascar as well as the Government are parties to the agreement, must
prevent its ever being truthfully said that I forced a treaty on your
Majesty's Government with the stipulations of which they were
unacquainted. A strict observance of the engagements which have
this day been contracted will ensure to Madagascar the friendship of
England ; any disregard of them will plunge your Majesty's Govern
ment into trouble and difficulties. Allow me to express a sincere hope,
that with the assistance of my friend and colleague the French Consul,

APPENDIX. 1 05
your Majesty may shortly be able to conclude a treaty with France,
and thus secure the friendship of that country. I take the oppor
tunity of thanking your Majesty and your ministers for the friendly
spirit in which the negotiations have been carried on, and for the
courtesy and consideration I have met with. As I am about leaving
for Tamatave, I commend to the special care and protection of your
Majesty and your officers not only all British, but all European
residents at Antanarivo. It now only remains for me to pray God,
which I do most fervently, to grant unto your Majesty a long, happy,
peaceful, and prosperous reign ; to dispose the hearts of your ministers
to love and respect truth and justice, and those of your subjects to
respect the laws of their country.' "
The Queen thanked the British Consul for the words he had
spoken, stating that the Treaty engagements would be faithfully
executed, as her Government and the people wished to be friends with
England. Her Majesty also expressed her sincere thanks to the
British Consul for the manner in which he had conducted the negotia
tions, and then addressing the French Consul, said, that her Govern
ment desired also the friendship of France. The Consuls then took
leave of the Queen, and were reconducted to their respective con
sulates with the same ceremony as on leaving for the palace.

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