MADAGASCAR (III) 251 
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passed about the existence of a tufted-tailed mouse, but not a shred 
of evidence was forthcoming. 
That night I decided to sleep on the outskirts of the village at 
which we had halted, setting up my camp bed and mosquito net 
under a small tree. At dusk the village Chief and some of the 
elders approached saying that it was dangerous to sleep away from 
the village as there were numerous brigands wandering round at 
night. Knowing full well that this was based on superstitious fears, 
I replied that I had slaughtered hundreds of brigands during my 
travels and that I had no fear of them whatsoever. What really 
worried me was fleas! At this they seemed incredulous and won- 
dered if I had fully understood what they were driving at. My 
remarks about fleas must have caused some bewilderment, for the 
Malagasy is introduced to these parasites within a few moments 
of birth and is never without them. After a lot of repetition on 
both sides the deputation departed. The long day in the sun had 
made me so tired that immediately after a dinner consisting 
mainly of rice I turned into bed. As I lay under the bright moon 
a gentle breeze soon fanned me into a healthy sleep with no 
visitations from bloodthirsty parasites. 
In the vicinity of the Mangoky River I continued the search for 
Macrotarsomys for several days, using native villages as my head- 
quarters. In this region the natives seldom see a European and 
my arrival created great interest. They gathered round daily to 
watch me eat and shave, and the unfamiliar sight of flame being 
produced without the agency of wood when I set my primus stove 
going never ceased to mystify these simple people. 
No evidence as to the whereabouts of Macrotarsomys was forth- 
coming, the only rodents in this region being rattus and mus, 
which were common around the native lands. Crossing the 
Mangoky River, where crocodiles were much in evidence on the 
sand-banks, I continued to search for some days and then pro- 
ceeded south through the uninhabited country separating the 
Mangoky and Mananantanana Rivers. This is a distance of over 
twenty miles. We still had no luck, so after making a thorough 
search in the plains near the latter river I made the three-day 
journey back to Midongy. 
This result was disappointing, though I had enjoyed the experi- 
