us 
ISLAND OF MADAGASCAR. 
ed with saffron, ginger, &c. These plain messes are served 
on the leaves of the Raven, which answers for spoons, 
plates, &c. They have only two w'ays of preparing their 
food; boiling in clay pots, or roasting on the coals. 
At Foul Point they put into their broth some leaves of the 
Ravensara, and a little sea water, salt being almost unknown 
to them. In the interior they use, instead of sea water, 
leaves of a tree, which is called the salt tree. They drink 
not after meals, except sometimes water boiled with rice, 
which precaution is necessary in a country where the water 
is not good. Their houses are kept clean, and some of 
their towns are supposed to contain twenty five thousand 
inhabitants. 
Their government consists of a chief to each tribe, who is 
sometimes elective, but generally hereditary. Each tribe 
possesses the place it likes best, which must frequently oc- 
casion broils. In some parts, the chief always carries his 
gun, and a stick tipped with iron, the end of which is orna- 
mented with cow's hair. The principal ornament which 
distinguishes the chiefs from their subjects, is a cap of red 
wool. In some parts the power of the chief is pretty ex- 
tensive, though not generally so. Some small revenue h 
raised among the people and given to the chiefs. 
Determinations for war or peace, are generally formed 
with the concurrence and consent of the people, who are as- 
sembled for the purpose. The concourse of people on such 
an occasion is very great. These assemblies are called 
Polabras, and in them speeches are made which display 
much energy and natural eloquence. 
Theft and adultery are punished by law, which shews that 
private property is respected, and that the law of nature is 
not so entirely lost among that people as some afhrm. 
Though they have no character that can be called their 
own, yet their language can be reduced to a system, as is 
evident from a Catechism and Vocabulary in it, which 
Mr. Milne obtained at the Isle of France. Their learned 
men, whom they call Ombrasses, use the Arabic character. 
They have some histories, and treatises on Physic, Geometry, 
and Astrology. The art of writing is thought to have been 
introduced by the Arabs. 
Paper is manufactured, in the valley of Amboul, from 
the Papyrus Nilotica, and called by the natives Songa 
Sanga. Their ink is prepared from the bark of the Aran 
Drato ; it is not so black as ours, but has a finer gloss. Their 
pens are made of bamboos. 
