CHAPTER III.VISIT TO THE BETSILEO PROVINCE.

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

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

TURTLE-HEAD ROCK—AMBATOMALAZA.

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

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

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

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

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

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

TSI-AFAK-AFO FROM THE WEST.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FIANÁRANTSOA.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

During the day Mr. Cousins made special enquiry concerning theIbáratribes, among whom the Mission will be glad in due time to preach the gospel; since almost none of them have heard it. He found with much satisfaction that they are akin to the Betsileo and in many respects resemble them. Their language is substantially the same: here and there he caught a new word, or an older form of idiom. But he judged that as the language of the Tanála and the Betsileo differs but moderately from the Hova dialect, so the Ibára differs but little from the Betsileo. They build too the same kind of houses: on the hill tops they erect their forts, while in the open valleys they form válas or hamlets with the green fence, and plant gardens around them. They also have large herds of cattle. But as the Betsileo differ from the Hovas in the mode of dressing the hair (though closely akin to them), so do the Ibára differ from the Betsileo. While the latter tie up the hair in penny-pieces, the Ibára form a topknot on the crown ofthe head, profusely plaistered with grease. Two Ibára men turned up in the town during the day and came to visit us. We found that the tribe lives west and south-west of this place. For a day and half (thirty miles) there are still Betsileo villages, even below the foot of the hills and forest. Then for four days Ibára occupy the country; and beyond them are Sákalávas. M. Grandidier who approached these tribes from the west coast indicates in his maps the same thing.

The chief town of the Ibára in this direction is Benarivo: and they hold considerable intercourse with the Hovas and Betsileo. They look on the present governor of Ambohimandroso as a friend; and through him they only recently sent a friendly message to the Queen at Fianáran, with a small brass gun. There is hope that the gospel will soon find an entrance among them. It happens, in God’s good providence, that the wife of the pastor at Ambohimandroso is herself an Ibára, the daughter of the chief ruling in Benarivo. When young she was taken captive in one of the Hova wars and went to the Capital a slave. There she married. Her husband and she bought their freedom and after a time leaving the Capital, they came south and settled in the Betsileo. Making enquiries, they found that her father and many relatives were still living in Benarivo. She was warmly welcomed home again, with her husband: and from Ambohimandroso, where he holds his appointment, they occasionally visit her friends. Both husband and wife are good Christian people: and it is hoped that through them, an entrance for light and truth and grace may be secured among the Ibára tribes. We can hope this the more, that though the rule of the Hovas in thepast has often been hard, selfish and grasping, a great improvement has taken place among them. They are far more merciful, gentle and just toward other tribes in modern days, than they were: and they are far more willing to help in raising them. Were all the local officers (notwithstanding the temptations of their poverty), to be as considerate and just as the Queen, the Prime Minister and a large number of the officers immediately around them, the whole system of Malagasy government would be raised, and a moral conquest of the whole island would be a mere question of time.

A short day’s journey to the south of Ambohimandroso brought us by several important villages, toImahazony, one of our principal out-stations. In a pool below the hill on which it stands, I was delighted to find a large cluster of blue water-lilies. Imahazony is a large town, containing two hundred houses. It is a busy place, and has many rice fields and several villages in the valleys around it. There is a great deal of sedimentary clay in this south part of the Betsileo, and towards the east the high hills give rise to many small streams of water. We had much pleasant talk with the elders of the congregation about their religious wants. It was plain that they were not far advanced: and that the whole district stands greatly in need of good schools and systematic instruction.

We had now reached the south border of the Betsileo country. Indeed we might say that we were close to three boundaries which enclose its southern end. And when in the afternoon, my colleague and I climbed the ridge of Kinanga, which overhangs the town, we had these chains of hills prominent and near. On the west and south-westwas the granite ridge of Kipaseha, towering over the country. Within it were two lower groups of gneiss hills, with the forest close by, bounding the Ambohimandroso valley. To the east was the lofty mountain of Ambóndrombé, covered with dense wood. Directly south was a line of hills crossing the country from the one set of ridges to the other and shutting us completely in. Beyond the town to the south we noted several villages, and ten miles away, upon a spur of these hills, with the green forest just beyond, was the village of Angalampona, the last village peopled by the Betsileo in that direction. This was the boundary of the Hova dominion; and of the sphere which the Mission has yet occupied. Imahazony is on the line of Lat. 22° S.

It must not be supposed that on the other side of the southern forest there is no population. Population does not cease, but it changes its character. What change there may be in the ground no one could clearly describe. One thing however we had ourselves observed with deep interest. The fall in the ground of fourteen hundred feet, immediately south of Ivato-avo, as well as the profusion of red clay outside the gneiss hills, indicated that in the basin of Ambohimandroso we had descended on to the first terrace toward the south. We were no longer on the high level of the Imerina and Betsileo plateau. It is exceedingly probable that some few miles beyond another and lower terrace is reached, as in the north of the island. From the top of Iody Mr. Pillans observed that the country seemed to be falling and to be more open: and the natives were unanimous in declaring that in the south the country was more level and more easy to travel thanthe Betsileo. As on the eastern and western slopes, so towards the south also, the ground doubtless falls in broad, well-watered terraces, till it reaches the great, level plains observed near the extreme end of the island. It is hoped that in due time some members of the Mission may solve these questions by a personal examination of the district.

Whatever it may be with the geography of the country, one thing we know, that both in and beyond the south forest, the country is occupied by Ibára tribes, and that their villages are numerous. Their capital is said to be Ivóhibé, a day and a half to the southward and built on a big hill. The name of the chief is Rebáhy. His people and he did not burn their idols when the Hovas did. They still practice divination by the sikidy, and observe lucky and unlucky days; they sacrifice on old stones on joyful occasions, and give thanks to their ancestors who to them have become gods. Their speech is louder, broader and more uncouth than that of the Betsileo. Their chief believes himself to be a great man. No Hova is ever allowed to see him. When he goes abroad his own people also are debarred that pleasure. His attendants cry out: “The Biby is coming,” and every one disappears. His kingdom goes a long way to the south: the people have a trading place below the hills, called Soava: and they visit a port on the west coast, called Isáli. East of these Ibára are the Tanála again.

Much remains to be learned concerning these districts. To the south and south-east there are two small provinces, Anosy and Vangaindrano, never yet visited by the Mission; and yet in one, or both, of them there is Christian work going on through the medium of the Hovaofficers and garrisons. The beautiful and fertile valley of Ambolo coming down to the sea-coast near Fort Dauphin, is reckoned to the Betsimisáraka people. But the Hova armies have always reached it through the Betsileo provinces: and the river Mangáry is said to be the line of route. Radáma’s troops took full possession of the place fifty years ago, and pulled down the French flag as unauthorised. Hova garrisons have occupied both districts since that time, and they are said to contain a large population. It was from one of these provinces that three years ago some soldiers came to the Capital, after a long march of two months, seeking for Christian books and Bibles. Hova Christians had been teaching the people: chapels had been built: the Sabbath was observed: congregations were gathered. But they had only four Bibles. And as they had heard a rumour that plentiful supplies of Bibles and Hymn books could be obtained in Antananarivo, they resolved to go and see if it was true. The strangers came. They happily fell into the hands of Mr. Parrett; who showed them the wonders of the Mission Press; supplied all their wants and more; and sent them back again with rejoicing hearts. Ought we not to try and learn more about people like these?

From every part of Imahazony, one can see on the east the massive mountain ofAmbondrombe. It is distant twelve or fourteen miles, and is some ten miles in length. It stands on the edge of the Betsileo plateau: and from the terrace beneath it to the east it must present one of the grandest objects in Madagascar. It is covered with dense forest. While at Imahazony we heard much about it. It is considered to be the entrance to the MalagasyHades. Its Betsileo name is I-rántsy, “the evil place.” It is peopled by Tánin-dulo, “sons of ghosts.” “Have you been there?” (we asked of our informant). “No: I dare not go.” “There is a large village there,” he added. “Are there any houses in the village?” “No: none.” All exhibited a great fear of the place. “Well: we Englishmen would not be afraid to go and see it.” “Then you must be very good men.” The people stoutly assured us, that on the day the Queen arrived at Fianáran, the ghosts fired three guns! “We heard them.” When Radáma came into this province he sent three officers to examine Ambóndrombé. Of these one was Raháníraka, so well known in later years as a Government Secretary. He reported that there is in the hill a great cave and that in certain states of the wind, the sound of guns seems to issue from the cave. On this occasion the people probably heard the guns at Fianáran direct.

To the east of Ambóndrombé is the lofty rock of Ikongo, on which is built a native fortress, a maiden stronghold hitherto attempted by enemies in vain. Radáma and his army tried it in his Betsileo campaign. The rock is of peculiar shape, is unusually precipitous and is accessible only by ropes from above. Ikongo is the head of a little kingdom, containing some ten to twenty thousand people. Its chief is very proud of his independence. But it separates him and his people from their Betsileo neighbours: and leaves them all in ignorance and barbarism, Efforts will be made by the Mission to get access to the people and supply them with the knowledge of the Gospel and the means of education. The Queen when in Fianáran sent presents and friendly messages to theChief of Ikongo; and received a friendly embassy in return.

From Imahazony we returned to Fianárantsoa by the eastern route, under the long buttresses of Ambondrombe and up the great rice valley lying to the east of Ambohimandroso. We rested at Itsimaítsohasóa, the former capital of this district; and were pleased to find a most efficient school and a goodly band of scholars. This district, the fifth and most southern of the Betsileo provinces, is called Iárindráno, “abounding in water,” and it thoroughly justifies its name. From Fianáran southward the great gneiss hills are full of springs, and the little streams are abundant on every side. But off the main road of the province the villages are few. We traversed with ease the long valley south of Midongy; passed beneath the lofty peaks of Sánga-sanga and Vohimánitra; crossed the narrow col of Maneva; and skirting the great boulders of Ieranány, late in the day, reached Fianárantsoa once more in safety.

Our rough journeyings were beginning to tell upon our health: and in Fianáran I was laid up for several days with a severe cold. At this time my colleague and Mr. Cousins paid a visit to the important town ofIfanjakana, which it was proposed to make the centre of a Mission district and the residence of an English Missionary. Ifánjakána is now the chief town in the Sandra province: (4630 feet above the sea); and is the principal residence of the Sandra family, which, before the days of Radáma, ruled the Betsileo people, south of the Matsiatra. This province lies almost entirely west of the road which we had travelled from the capital: it extends westward to theedge of the hills and the line of forest: and it contains several important towns.

My colleagues reached Ifánjakána in eight hours. They travelled to the north and west along the Ranofotsy; then crossed various ridges and narrow valleys to the north-west of the river: passed the village of Itomboana; with many hamlets in fertile valleys: and reached the high ground, scored with long clefts and valleys on which Ifánjakána stands. Beyond it to the west the plateau is high and so continues for ten miles, when it falls away towards the lower plains. They found the town to contain nearly three hundred houses, with fifteen hundred people. On a high ridge facing it to the eastward is the township of Ivohitromby, containing as many more, and giving the same number of people to Government service. The valley east of the town swells into uplands which go off in the direction of Ambohinamboarina. All these valleys contain a scattered population, which has Ifánjakána on its western edge. But a little to the south-east is a fine cluster of villages. Near the ruined town of Mahazarivo are the tombs of the Sandra Kings, surrounded by gigantic trees, planted at the time of their burial. Of the town of Nasandratony the sister of the present prince, granddaughter of the last King, is the head.

Farther west is an important place, Ambohivolamena, “gold-town.” And still beyond, to the south-west, there is a town more important still, Ikálamavóny. It stands below the edge of the plateau, in the lower plain, and it has a high and massive hill behind it. Sheltered from the easterly winds its climate is warm, and its people suffer much from fever. It has often suffered in formerdays from the raids of the Ibára tribes, and has both had its houses burned and its people destroyed. It has long flourished in recent days under an excellent Hova Governor; and it is owing to his zeal and skill and taste that the Church at Ikálamavóny is the handsomest place of worship in the whole Betsileo. The congregations of this cluster of towns in the Isandra district have had a most interesting religious history: they have been willing scholars, under more than one zealous and devoted native teacher; and the English Missionary who will take them under his charge, will have before him a sphere of solid usefulness.

I need scarcely say that throughout our visit, under the guidance and with the companionship of Mr. Cameron, we followed up with great care the survey of the country. We based it on the survey of Imerina, commenced by Mr. Cameron four years ago. It is laid down by an unbroken succession of cross bearings of a long line of conspicuous points, both up and down the province: and by a series of latitudes, determined by meridian transit of the sun and of various principal stars. Throughout our journey also both ways, I daily placed in my Journal a sketch of the ground traversed; and the number of these local sketches is large. The result of all these observations is embodied in the Map of the district; and only a portion of these results has been referred to now.

As with the map of Imerina the key of the map is the position of the Capital: so in the Betsileo, the key of the whole is the town of Fianárantsoa. By several observations, Mr. Cameron fixed the latitude of the town at 21° 27′ 10″ S. Judging from his map, M. Grandidier, who crossed the Betsileo at this point, makes the latitude thesame. Mr. Cameron was foiled in his attempt to determine the longitude by independent observations of Jupiter’s satellites and moon culminating stars: the rolling mists obscuring both moon and planet at the moment when they were needed to be clear. But both Mr. Cameron and M. Grandidier agree in placing Fianáran on a meridian 30′ to the west of the meridian of Antanánarivo. Having both taken and worked out the series of observations myself, I concur with Mr. Cameron in his conclusions: and would fix the longitude of Fianáran at 47° 11′ 30″ E. of Greenwich, at a distance of seventy-five miles from the Indian Ocean.

The following is a brief list of the principal heights in this part of the island:—

The Betsileo Province is a continuation southward of the province of Imerina: and embraces the entire width of the plateau lying along the backbone of the island. On its northern boundary, the river Mania, the province has a breadth of fifty miles: it narrows as it goes southward; at Imahazony, on the line of lat. 22″ S., it has a breadth of only thirty miles: and from the peak of Kinanga, we were in sight of the three ridges which close the province in. The cultivable area within the Province is but a limited portion of the whole: and that which isunder cultivation, owing to the scantiness of the population, is smaller still. The province is full of mountains. It seems to be free of volcanic influences: but it is crossed by long ridges of gneiss and clay, strewn with boulders of enormous size. South of Fianárantsoa the rocky ridges lie close together and the massing of the mountains is very grand. Several of its ridges and detached mountains, like Ilalanza and Ipáno, Iódy and Indraimbáki, Kipaséha and Ambóndrombé, I have already named. The cultivated spots of any great size are the basin and valleys of Ambositra; the amphitheatre of Nandihízana; the valleys of Ambóhinamboárina and Ifánjakána; the basins of Ikála and Natao; the valley of the Matsiatra and its offshoots; the valleys of Fianáran; and the broad basin of Ambohimandroso. I have said that the province contains five districts. Two of these, Ambositra and Nándihízana, lie north of the chief river the Matsiatra; and three others, forming the Betsileo proper, lie south of that river, viz.—the Isandra to the west: Ilalangina near Fianárantsoa; and to the south, the Iárindráno, abounding with fertilizing streams.

The province is almost entirely agricultural. Manufactures have made little progress and are at present in a primitive stage. Fine herds of cattle are abundant: one chief duty of the Hova dependents who live down south is to watch over the herds, belonging to Imerina nobles, which are fed on the unoccupied hills and wastes. But the chief staple of the Betsileo is rice, and of this great harvests are reaped, which supply the people with abundance of their favourite food. Give to the Malagasy rice and gravy, gravy and rice, and they desire little more.The ingenuity with which the Betsileo secure their crops is deserving of high praise. I do not mean the unhallowed ingenuity with which, after digging up their rice fields and flooding them, they turn a herd of cattle in and drive them round and round, over and over, the soil to mash and pound and tread it into soft mud, until the poor beasts are utterly wearied and are splashed from head to foot with the filth, which in due time the young rice plants will clothe with their tenderest green. I mean the ingenuity with which they terrace the hills; tap the streams at their highest sources, and lead them down step by step over the terraced fields; or by long channels bring them from one basin to another, making the water do duty many times over and securing abundant fruitfulness. Very pleasant to the eye are these bright terraces when the rice is young. Rich in rice are the valleys of Ambohimandroso and the broad fields of Ikala; but nothing can exceed the skill and care expended on the amphitheatre of Nandihízana, in which the terraces descend step by step from a great height, and a lavish supply of water from three streams, covers them year by year with a golden harvest.

It was in the weekly market of Nandihízana, that we saw as good an illustration of the products of the Betsileo, as in any part of the province. The chief articles exposed for sale were rice, manioc, Indian corn; in meat, pork, beef and fowls; and a little honey, on the purchase of which there was reserved to the buyer the right of clearing the spoon. The manufactures were very simple: lambas made of rofia fibre; a little coarse silk; coarse but strong iron spades; spade handles, timber rafters, thick clumsy window shutters, with the hinge-pin projecting above andbelow; wooden spoons; leaf plates; grass baskets and earthen plates.

We were surprised and disappointed as to the population. We had always heard that the Betsileo were a million and a half in number. As we traversed the country and saw how painfully empty it is, we asked ourselves again and again: Where are the people? In a few broad basins, in a few rich valleys, are built a small number of towns, having from a hundred to three hundred, houses. Only Fianáran has five thousand people, including the Hova garrison. Enjoying complete security, the peasantry scatter themselves over the open country, not building their houses in large clusters or in villages containing from a hundred to five hundred people; but inválás; with two or three houses each; and in the absence of wood, which will not grow in the hard, foggy climate and the keen east winds, the eye looks with pleasure on the multitude of green rings, the cactus hedges of these little hamlets, which stud the hill-sides, or the terraces above the levels where the rice-plant grows.

The government reckon in all the Betsileo and Tanála provinces fifty thousandhetraor holdings, great and small. This number will indicate as many families; even allowing for changes since the arrangement was made. And that calculation would give for the entire Betsileo a population not exceeding three hundred thousand souls.

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