22 TAMATAVE AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS 



native town, which possessed at that time few European resi- 

 dences and no buildings erected for religious worship. 1 Canoes, 

 formed out of the trunk of a single tree, soon came off to our 

 ship, but I was glad to dispense with the services of these unsafe- 

 looking craft, and to accept a seat in the captain's boat. Half- 

 an-hour after anchoring we were rowing towards the beach, and 

 in a few minutes I leaped upon the sand, with a thankful heart 

 that I had been permitted to tread the shores of Madagascar. 



Proceeding up the main street a sandy road bordered by 

 enclosures containing the stores of a few European traders we 

 came to the house of the British Vice-Consul. Here I found 

 Mr Samuel Procter, who was subsequently the head for many 

 years of one of the chief trading houses in the island, and also 

 Mr F. Plant, a gentleman employed by the authorities of the 

 British Museum to collect specimens of natural history in the 

 then almost unknown country. From them I learned that a 

 missionary party which had preceded me from Mauritius had 

 left only two days previously for the capital, and that Mr Plant 

 had kindly undertaken to accompany me on the journey for the 

 greater part of the distance to Antananarivo. At first we 

 thought of setting off on that same evening, so as to overtake 

 our friends, but finding that this would involve much fatigue, we 

 finally decided to wait for two or three days and take more time 

 to prepare for the novel experiences of a Madagascar journey. 

 In a little while I was domiciled at Mr Procter's store, where 

 I was hospitably entertained during my stay in Tamatave. 



The afternoon of my first day on shore was occupied in seeing 

 after the landing of my baggage. This was no easy or pleasant 

 task ; the long rolling swell from the ocean made the transfer 

 of large wooden cases from the vessel to the canoes a matter 

 requiring considerable dexterity. More than once I expected 

 to be swamped, and that through the rolling of the ship the 

 packages would be deposited at the bottom of the harbour. 

 It was therefore with great satisfaction that I saw all my 

 property landed safely on the beach. 



Although Tamatave has always been the chief port on the 

 east coast of Madagascar, there were, for many years after my 

 arrival there, no facilities for landing or shipping goods. The 

 bullocks, which formed the staple export, were swum off to the 

 ships, tied by their horns to the sides of large canoes, and then 



