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A NATURALIST IN MADAGASCAR
A NATURALIST IN MADAGASCAR
A Record of Observation Experiences and Impressions made during a period of over Fifty Years’ Intimate Association with the Natives and Study of the Animal & Vegetable Life of the Island BY JAMES SIBREE, F.R.G.S. Membre de l’Academie Malgache AUTHOR OF “THE GREAT AFRICAN ISLAND,” “MADAGASCAR ORNITHOLOGY,” &c., &c., &c. WITH 52 ILLUSTRATIONS & 3 MAPS PHILADELPHIA J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY LONDON: SEELEY, SERVICE & CO. LTD. 1915 Dedicated WITH MUCH AF
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PREFACE
PREFACE
THE title of this book may perhaps be considered by some as too ambitious, and may provoke comparison with others somewhat similar in name, but with whose distinguished authors I have no claim at all to compete. I have no tales to tell of hair-breadth escapes from savage beasts, no shooting of “big game,” no stalking of elephant or rhinoceros, of “hippo” or giraffe. We have indeed no big game in Madagascar. The most dangerous sport in its woods is hunting the wild boar; the largest carnivore to
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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY
THE great African island of Madagascar has become well known to Europeans during the last half-century, and especially since the year 1895, when it was made a colony of France. During that fifty years many books—the majority of these in the French language—have been written about the island and its people; what was formerly an almost unknown country has been traversed by Europeans in all directions; its physical geography is now clearly understood; since the French occupation it has been scienti
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CHAPTER II TAMATAVE AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE COUNTRY
CHAPTER II TAMATAVE AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE COUNTRY
IT was on a bright morning in September, 1863, that I first came in sight of Madagascar. In those days there was no service of steamers, either of the “Castle” or the “Messageries Maritimes” lines, touching at any Madagascar port, and the passage from Mauritius had to be made in what were termed “bullockers.” These vessels were small brigs or schooners which had been condemned for ordinary traffic, but were still considered good enough to convey from two to three hundred oxen from Tamatave to Po
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CHAPTER III FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ALONG THE SEASHORE
CHAPTER III FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ALONG THE SEASHORE
TRAVELLING in Madagascar fifty years ago, and indeed for many years after that date, differed considerably from what we have any experience of in Europe. It was not until the year 1901 that a railway was commenced from the east coast to the interior, and it is only a few months ago that direct communication by rail has been completed between Tamatave and Antanànarìvo. But until the French occupation, in 1895, a road, in our sense of the word, did not exist in the island; and all kinds of merchan
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CHAPTER IV FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ANDÒVORÀNTO TO MID-FOREST
CHAPTER IV FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ANDÒVORÀNTO TO MID-FOREST
IT rained heavily during the night of Tuesday and nearly until daybreak, so it was half-past six o’clock before we were able to leave Andòvorànto. Hitherto we had followed the seashore southwards; now we were to start westwards into the interior. After an immense deal of shouting and some quarrelling on the part of our bearers, who seemed to think it necessary for everyone to give his opinion at the same moment, we pushed off in six large canoes and paddled away up the river Ihàroka. For several
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CHAPTER V FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ALAMAZAOTRA TO ANTANÀNARÌVO
CHAPTER V FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ALAMAZAOTRA TO ANTANÀNARÌVO
ON the Friday morning we left Béfòrona soon after five o’clock and for nearly four hours were passing through the forest, here known as that of Alamazaotra, over the highest hills and the most difficult paths we had yet seen. Certainly this day’s journey was the most fatiguing of any on the whole route, so that when we reached our halting-place I was thoroughly exhausted and glad to throw myself on the floor and sleep for an hour or more. At one part of the road there is a long slope of clay, kn
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CHAPTER VI THE CHANGING MONTHS IN IMÈRINA: CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND LIVING CREATURES OF THE INTERIOR
CHAPTER VI THE CHANGING MONTHS IN IMÈRINA: CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND LIVING CREATURES OF THE INTERIOR
MY object in these chapters is to describe, as vividly as I am able, the varied aspects of the different months throughout the year in this central province of Imèrina, as they present themselves to anyone who lives in the capital city of Antanànarìvo, and is frequently travelling in the country around it. I want to show the variety of nature during the changing seasons, as the result of the heat or cold, and of the moisture or drought of the climate. And it must be remembered that although this
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CHAPTER VII SPRING AND SUMMER
CHAPTER VII SPRING AND SUMMER
BESIDES flowers growing on the ground, there are many shrubs and small trees now in blossom, although some are by no means confined in floral display to the warm and rainy season. Along the hedges in some localities is a small bush, with clusters of purple leguminous flowers, called famàmo ( Mundulea suberosa ); branches of these shrubs are sometimes placed in a pool or stream, so as to stupefy, and thus easily obtain, any fish present in the water. Very conspicuous are the bright yellow flowers
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CHAPTER VIII THE CHANGING MONTHS IN IMÈRINA: CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND LIVING CREATURES OF THE INTERIOR
CHAPTER VIII THE CHANGING MONTHS IN IMÈRINA: CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND LIVING CREATURES OF THE INTERIOR
AUTUMN: March and April. —It will be understood from what has been previously stated as to the divisions of the seasons in the Imèrina province that, as with the seasons in England, there is some variety in different years in the times when they commence and finish. Generally, both crops of rice—the earlier and the later—are all cut by the end of April, although in the northern parts of the province it is usually five or six weeks after that date. But if the rains are late, and should happen to
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CHAPTER IX AUTUMN AND WINTER
CHAPTER IX AUTUMN AND WINTER
OTHER noticeable objects when travelling about the central provinces are tall stones of rough undressed granite, from eight to twelve feet high, called Vàtolàhy ( i.e. “Male stones”), which have been erected in memory of some bygone worthy, or of some notable event, now forgotten, and which often crown the top of prominent hills. They are also sometimes memorials of those who went away to the wars of olden times, and who never returned to their homes. In these cases a square of small stones—at l
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CHAPTER X AT THE FOREST SANATORIUM
CHAPTER X AT THE FOREST SANATORIUM
BY the kind concern of two of the missionary societies working in Madagascar for the comfort and health of their representatives, who live in Imèrina, two sanatoriums have been provided for them away from the capital. One of these is at Ambàtovòry, about fifteen miles distant to the east, and close to a patch of old forest still left among the surrounding somewhat bare country; the other is at Ankèramadìnika, at about double that distance, and is built close to the edge of the upper belt of fore
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CHAPTER XI FOREST SCENES
CHAPTER XI FOREST SCENES
ANYONE who has stayed near the upper forest during December or January, and has quietly watched for a short time among the trees, will not complain of scarcity of bird life to admire and study. The beautiful creatures will come and alight all around us, if we only remain perfectly still, seeking their food as they hop on the ground, or flutter from branch to branch. We may watch their nests and see their eggs, and then the newly fledged birds, noting from day to day how they develop; until one m
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CHAPTER XII RAMBLES IN THE UPPER FOREST
CHAPTER XII RAMBLES IN THE UPPER FOREST
THERE are a number of paths in the forest which may be followed from the sanatorium, north, east and south, and with a considerable variety of scene. But it is easy to get lost in them, for I remember one day when a party of us set out for a morning’s walk, but could not find our way back, although we often caught sight of the house; and it was late in the afternoon before we at length got home, very tired and very hungry. Two of our friends, who were well acquainted with the neighbourhood, were
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CHAPTER XIII FAUNA
CHAPTER XIII FAUNA
WHILE on the subject of noxious creatures, we remember that one, if not more, of the spiders of Madagascar must be included in the list. This is a small arachnid, about the size and shape of a marble, shining glossy black in colour, except for a small red spot on the fundament. It is greatly dreaded by the natives, who believe its bite to be fatal, and it is probably so if cauterisation and other remedies are not immediately applied. Dr Vinson, a French naturalist, ascertained that this spider,
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CHAPTER XIV ROUND ANTSIHÀNAKA
CHAPTER XIV ROUND ANTSIHÀNAKA
SOME years ago I was asked to accompany two gentlemen on a journey to one of the then least-known provinces of Madagascar, that occupied by the Sihànaka or lake-dwellers. Two of our party took surveying instruments with them, and we were thus able to prepare the first accurate map of the Antsihànaka province. My companions on this journey were the late Rev. Dr Mullens, then Foreign Secretary of the London Missionary Society, and the late Rev. John Pillans, one of the directors of the same societ
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CHAPTER XV LAKE SCENERY
CHAPTER XV LAKE SCENERY
WE were up early on Monday morning, the doctor to prepare paper for photographs, Mr Pillans and I to survey. He and I walked up a rounded scarped hill, about a mile to the north-east of the town. This was the only place we had seen in the neighbourhood which showed this rude kind of fortress, so common on the hills of Imèrina and the Bétsiléo country. It was a dull cloudy morning, and we could not get any distant points, but took the bearings of a few neighbouring villages. But we were greatly i
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CHAPTER XVI LAKE ITÀSY
CHAPTER XVI LAKE ITÀSY
MADAGASCAR is not at present one of those regions of the earth where volcanic disturbances occur; but there is ample evidence, from the numerous extinct craters found in various parts of the island, that at a very recent period, geologically considered—possibly even within the occupation of the country by its present inhabitants—it was the theatre of very extensive outbursts of subterranean energy. The whole island has not yet been examined with sufficient minuteness to determine the exact exten
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CHAPTER XVII VOLCANIC DISTRICT
CHAPTER XVII VOLCANIC DISTRICT
WITHIN a few miles of Antsìrabé are two crater lakes. The nearer and larger of these is called Andraikìba, which lies distant about four miles due west. This is a beautiful sheet of water, blue as the heavens in colour, in shape an irregular square, but curving round to the north-west, where it shallows into a marsh, which is finally absorbed in rice-fields. The lake is said to be of profound depth, but the hills surrounding it are not very lofty, rising only about two hundred feet above the sur
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CHAPTER XVIII SOUTHWARDS TO BÉTSILÉO AND THE SOUTH-EAST COAST
CHAPTER XVIII SOUTHWARDS TO BÉTSILÉO AND THE SOUTH-EAST COAST
A FEW years ago I was invited by the Friends’ Foreign Missionary Association to accompany one of their missionaries, Mr Louis Street, on a journey to some of the southern portions of Madagascar. The object of this journey was twofold: firstly, to visit the scattered Christian congregations connected with the London Missionary Society, and to preach to and teach the people; and secondly, to gain some more accurate information as to the geography and physical features of the south-eastern province
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CHAPTER XIX IVÒHITRÒSA
CHAPTER XIX IVÒHITRÒSA
OUR Sunday at Ivòhitròsa was such a novel and interesting one that I shall depart for once from my rule of omitting in these chapters mention of our religious work. It was a wet morning, so that it was after eleven o’clock before the rain ceased and we could call the people together. A good many had come up from the country round on the previous day to see us, and we collected them on a long and pretty level piece of rock which forms one side of the little square around which the houses are buil
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CHAPTER XX AMONG THE SOUTH-EASTERN PEOPLES
CHAPTER XX AMONG THE SOUTH-EASTERN PEOPLES
FROM the Hova military post at Ambòhipèno, my companion and I made our way southwards, or rather first to the south-west, intending to visit the congregations at the three or four other important places in this district, as well as some of those in their vicinity. This part of Madagascar is a comparatively level or undulating country, extending for many miles between the forest-covered mountains and highlands to the west, and the ocean to the east, and only about three hundred to four hundred fe
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CHAPTER XXI THE SOUTH-EASTERN PEOPLES
CHAPTER XXI THE SOUTH-EASTERN PEOPLES
ON the Saturday afternoon we reached Ambàhy, a large village not far from the sea, with a ladoàna or custom-house. Here a detachment of military awaited our arrival—viz. four officers and two soldiers, but outside and inside the stockade rather more than the usual amount of tedious ceremony was gone through, which was, however, amusing as well, from the absurd costume of many of the performers. On the Sunday, as my companion was still unwell, I took the services entirely. The church was in the v
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CHAPTER XXII TO SÀKALÀVA LAND AND THE NORTH-WEST
CHAPTER XXII TO SÀKALÀVA LAND AND THE NORTH-WEST
AS the contents of former chapters in this book show, I was able on various occasions during the first few years of residence in Madagascar to make journeys in different directions: from the east coast to the interior; from Imèrina to Antsihànaka; from Imèrina again to Bétsiléo and from thence to the south-east, visiting the Tanàla, the Taimòro, and other tribes in that part of the island, not to mention shorter journeys in the central province itself, to Itàsy and other places. But the north-we
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CHAPTER XXIII TO THE NORTH-WEST COAST
CHAPTER XXIII TO THE NORTH-WEST COAST
CROCODILES are not the only reptiles to be seen in the river, for we also saw many large tortoises. They were chiefly of the genus Pyxis , the Geometric or Box tortoise, having the carapace divided into large hexagons beautifully marked, and were basking in the sun on small spits of sand rising just above the surface of the water. A carapace which I afterwards procured on the coast was about eighteen inches long. Two other species are also found in Madagascar, named respectively, Testudo geometr
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