A CANOE VOYAGE. 
95 
viz., the canoe or laJcana , and the jilanjdna or 
palanquin. 
Walking for any distance is almost impos¬ 
sible to foreigners, on account of the intricacy of 
the paths, which wind in and out through the 
forests, across the beds of rivers and mountain 
torrents, and along the sea-shores — and also 
on account of the extreme heat of the climate in 
the lowlands. The jilanjdna is the more pleas¬ 
ant vehicle, and consists of a chair slung be¬ 
tween two stout poles about eight feet long, and 
carried by four sinewy borazana , or bearers. 
Each jilanjdna generally has two sets of bearers, 
and they pass it from one to the other at inter¬ 
vals of about ten minutes. They keep up a 
good swinging pace for hours, and seldom seem 
much fatigued, even after a journey of thirty 
miles. The lakana, or canoe, is a heavy “ dug- 
out,” and is not so agreeable, on account of its 
narrowness and slowness of motion. These are, 
however, the sole means of transit which are 
available for the natives of the east coast for the 
navigation and passage of their beautiful lakes, 
which reach from Tamatave to a distance of 
about 300 miles south of Andevoranto, the 
ancient capital of the coast tribe, which stands 
at the mouth of the noble Iharoka, one of the 
largest and most important rivers on the coast, 
and along which all the traffic has to pass from 
