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 Imerina and the 

 Betsileo country. It was a dull cloudy morning, and we could not 

 get any distant points, but took the bearings of a few neighbour- 

 ing villages. But we were greatly interested to find that the hill 

 had certainly been the centre of volcanic action, was, in fact, an 

 extinct crater, for large masses of lava were scattered all over 

 the hill, from the base to the summit We afterwards found, as 

 we proceeded on our journey round its north-western slopes, 

 that the crater was on that side, and that from it a stream of 

 molten rock had poured down, spreading over a considerable 

 surface of ground. After bidding our good friends farewell, 

 although they much wished to keep us longer, we left at nine 

 o'clock, still going northward. We crossed over the head of 

 the large bay of the plain formed by the long promontory, 

 passed a little cluster of villages called Morarano, and then 

 ascended the ridge of hills, coming out on some very high 

 ground which forms the western boundary or shore of this part 

 of the plain. From it we had an extensive view over the great 

 level surface, and could see the whole length of the Alaotra 

 lake from north to south. There was a fine variety of outline 

 in the eastern line of hills and mountains, and towards the 

 north end of the plain there was a great opening between the 

 hills, showing the valley through which the Maningory river 

 runs from the lake to the sea. We soon left the high ground 

 and came down to the plain, skirting its edge, generally on low 

 hills, and occasionally crossing great arms of it running west- 

 ward. Several of these were very boggy and difficult to cross, 

 N 193 



