GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. 31 
clay, up which the native bearers climb with 
extraordinary tenacity—-varied here and there 
by sloughs and pools of red and odorous mud, 
through which it is only possible to wade with 
great exertion and considerable patience and 
pluck. There are, however, between the rocky 
terraces, bright stretches of grassy and verdant 
plain, and narrow fruitful strips of soil, where 
herds of native cattle find pasture, and which 
supply the people with rich and abundant har¬ 
vests of rice and sweet-potatoes, with scarcely any 
expenditure of labour except planting and gather¬ 
ing. These oases are formed often by the mud 
and decomposed granite brought down by the 
mountain torrents in the rainy season, and are 
therefore of delightful fertility. 
The Malagasy are very simple in their habits, 
and their wants are therefore few. Eice is their 
chief article of food, and this, put in a little soup, 
or mixed with a few common herbs, will always 
furnish them with an ample meal. The ox is to 
them what the camel is to the Arab, and the rein¬ 
deer to the Laplander. 
Perhaps no country presents a greater variety 
of natural beauty to the visitor than may be seen 
on a journey from any point on the coast to the 
interior of Madagascar. The eastern side, which 
is washed by the Indian Ocean, is especially 
interesting, from the fact that it is being rapidly 
