THE DRINK EVIL 177 



toaka, the native rum, and the quantities of chopped sugar-cane, 

 from which the spirit is made, lying about the place, all told 

 of the liking of the people for strong drink. 



This indeed is one of the flagrant evils common among the 

 Sihanaka, as it is also of many of the outlying tribes. My 

 friend, Mr Stribling, who lived among these people for several 

 years, gives the following incident illustrating the power which 

 rum has over them : 



" Calling at a village one day for shelter from a sudden 

 storm, we were most graciously received by a native, who 

 was decidedly ' the worse ' for drink. Wishing to be sociable, 

 however, I said to my host, ' Well, my friend, how many horns 

 of rum can you drink before becoming drunk ? ' (The Sihanaka 

 use the horns of oxen instead of glasses, for drinking.) In 

 a most friendly manner the man replied, ' Well, I can drink 

 three hornfuls at least ' (about one and a half quarts). ' How 

 much water would you mix with it ? ' ' Water ! why, we 

 never put water into the rum, that would make it insipid.' 

 Thereupon, turning to a little girl about six years old, the 

 man said, ' This is my daughter, a scholar in your mission 

 school at Ambandrika.' ' And does she also drink rum ? ' 'Of 

 course, why not ? ' He then told me that the baby, a year 

 old, who was also present, was a son of his. ' And does he 

 also drink rum ? ' ' O dear, no ! he is still only a fool.' ' Then 

 he will drink it when he becomes wise 1 3 'Of course he will ; 

 we all drink it when we come to understand what is good.' ' 



We encamped again in the open grassy plain, near two or 

 three houses and a cattle-fold ; and the following morning 

 proceeded on our journey to the north-north-east. An hour 

 and a half's ride brought us to two considerable villages near an 

 extensive rice-valley. Here we were surprised to see the fields 

 dotted over with round stacks of rice with conical heads, much 

 like those in an English farmyard. And we also found that 

 here and all through Antsihanaka the rice is not transplanted, 

 as in Imerina, but after the ground has been trampled over by 

 oxen the seed is sown broadcast, and the rice grows there until 

 it is fit for cutting. After leaving these villages we began to 

 mount a line of hills which forms the eastern boundary of the 

 more level portion of the Ankay valley ; and on reaching its 



M 



