| Excerpts |
| 7 | 1915
27 | There were but three modes of conveyances -- viz. one's own legs, the lakana or canoe, and the filanjana or palanquin. We intended to make use of all these means of getting over the ground (and water); but by far the greater part of the journey of two hundred and twenty miles would be performed in the filanjana, carried on the sinewy shoulders of our bearers or maromita. This was the conveyance of the country (and it is still used a good deal); |
| 8 | 1915
27 | during the first thirty years and more of my residence in Madagascar, there was not a single wheeled vehicle of any kind to be seen in the interior, nor did even a wheelbarrow come under my observation during that time. |
| 9 | 1915
67 | more than once we saw small companies of lemurs high over our heads, leaping with wonderful agility from branch to branch, and uttering their peculiar cry. These cries could often be heard when the animals were not seen, and sounded almost like the cry of children; and to myself there was always something pleasant in it, as that of living creatures rejoicing in their freedom in these boundless forests. |
| 10 | 1915
69 | One of the most noticeable of these is the Takatra or tufted umber, a long-legged stork with a large plume or crest. It builds an extraordinarily large nest, which is visible at a considerable distance and might be taken at first sight for half-a-load of hay. It is usually placed on the fork of a large tree, and is composed of sticks and grass, plastered inside with a thick lining of mud. It is from four and a half to six feet in diameter, dome-shaped, with a lateral entrance, and is divided into three chambers, in one of which its two large eggs are laid. |
| 11 | 1915
109 | The most conspicuous of the many species of spider seen in Madagascar is a large Nephila, a creature about an inch and a half long, with a spread of legs six or seven inches in diameter. It is handsomely marked with red and yellow, and may be noticed by scores in the centre of its geometric web stretching across the branches of trees. From the considerable distances spanned by the main guys and supports of its great net, this spider is called by the Malagasy Mampita-hady, or "fosse crosser"; and these main lines are strong enough to entangle small birds, for at the mission station at Ambàtoharànana a cardinal-bird and a kingfisher were both caught in these nets. The male spider is only about a quarter the size of the female as just described, and, sad to say, he frequently is caught and devoured by his affectionate spouse, after mating. Attempts have been made, and with some success, to employ the silk made by this spider in the manufacture of a woven fabric; but it is very doubtful whether such silk could be procured in such quantities as to be of commercial value. |
| 12 | 1915
126 | They have no name for the first-magnitude stars, or for the planets, except for Venus, as a morning star -- viz. fitarikandro -- i.e. "Leader of the day." |
| 13 | 1915
130 | No one can pass through the upper or lower forests without noticing the much more prominent nests made in the trees by another insect, a small species of black ant. These nests are often as large as a football, and are apparently made of cow-dung, or earthy and vegetable matter, forming a coarse papery substance; they are peopled by large numbers of ants, and are dark brown in colour. |
| 14 | 1915
151 | So one of their proverbs says: "Roa lahy miditra ala: ka izy tokiko, ary izaho tokiny" -- that is, "Two men entering the forest: it's 'He's my confidence, and I am his' "; the fact is that both are afraid. |
| 15 | 1915
176 | On the bare downs we frequently came across ant-hills, about two feet high and formed of greyish soil. It is said by the people all over the island that a serpent called renivitsika (i.e. "mother of ants") is enticed by these ants into its nest, and is then fattened, killed and eaten by them. |
| 16 | 1915
183 | Some of the cattle we saw were magnificent animals, and it is not strange that the bull was used frequently in public speeches, as an emblem of strength, as it is the largest of all the animals known to the Malagasy. |
| 17 | 1915
286 | We left Antananarivo on Thursday afternoon, 13th September, a large number of our missionary friends accompanying us for a distance out of the city, in fact as far as the banks of the Ikopa, along which our route lay for several miles. Here one could not but be again impressed with the importance of these river banks in preserving the rice-fields from being flooded, and by the good work done by the old kings of Imerina in embanking the river and thus turning marsh and bog into fruitful fields. |
| 18 | 1915
291 | Part of our fifth and the whole of our sixth and last day's land journey was taken at no great distance from the Ikopa river; and I began to wonder where the western belt-forest was; for, as we have seen, we had passed through no such masses of dense forest as must be crossed anywhere on the eastern side of the island when one comes up to the interior of Madagascar. |
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