NEW GROUND. 
219 
volcanic action are also traceable in the same 
region. 
The tops of the mountains are popularly sup¬ 
posed to be a favourite retreat for the spirits 
of deceased chiefs and kings, and are conse¬ 
quently, in a measure, held sacred, and are sel¬ 
dom if ever approached by the natives. The 
crashing peals of thunder, bursting from the 
cloud-capped summits of the Xsalo, strike terror 
and dismay into the hearts of the valiant but sup¬ 
erstitious Bara. Amongst their craggy peaks, 
it is thought that the spirits of the old Bara 
kings still meet in council, and debate the affairs 
of the people; and the vivid zigzag flash of the 
lightning, which blasts and scorches a track for 
itself down the rugged sides of the Isalo, is to 
them a message from the ghostly conference. 
Ploughed and rent by the storms of centuries, 
they still cast their deep shadows over the ad¬ 
jacent country, and are never absent from the 
sky-line, no matter from what quarter you may 
chance to be looking. Wind and rain and sun¬ 
shine have all contributed to score and stain and 
disintegrate these mighty hills, and to produce 
that strange and grotesque effect, which is a 
striking feature of the peaks of Isalo, and which 
gives them that unique grandeur which is pos¬ 
sessed by no other range in the island. The 
gloomy fierceness of the Bara who dwell in the 
