196 
MADAGASCAK. 
successfully the attempts of the Hova authorities to 
subjugate him, and was able for a considerable period 
to defy a large and ably directed army, from the almost 
impregnable mountain of Tkongo, where the doughty 
chieftain sat like an eagle in his nest and defied the 
Hovas with bitter taunts and gestures. On the summit 
of Ikongo, which is tolerably level, there is a large 
town, and many rice-fields watered by a stream of some 
size. There are, however, no residents, it is said, but 
the guards, who for some reason are changed every year. 
The only means of ascent and descent are supplied by 
ladders of fragile creepers, which are dropped and drawn 
up as occasion demands by the soldiers of the garrison 
within. No foreigner is permitted to see Ikongo, over 
which the Tanala watch with the greatest jealousy. 
Strange to say, in the centre of this district is a small 
republic, governed by a number of petty chiefs, who 
have managed to throw off the yoke of the Zafirambo 
dynasty and declare their independence. 
“The country of the Tanala consists of undulating 
hills, for the most part covered with trees, bamboo, and 
the cardamom plant; the valleys between the hills are 
often marshy, but in many places they afford pasture- 
land for the herds of cattle. Towards the south, more 
especially near the Ampelapa and Taivondro, the 
country is comparatively free from forest, and from the 
hill of Isanaraha it has the appearance of undulating 
grassy hills, and this is the reason why these tribes are 
not properly considered as Tanala, or forest-dwellers. 
Those who have settled in the great forest, such as the 
Imahasfla and those about Anjolobato, are wood-cutters, 
while those on the western edge of the great forest are for 
the most part workers in iron, which is found in great 
