172 
VISITS TO MADAGASCAR, 
CHAP. VII. 
and eagerly asked my friend how much longer the men would 
remain before recommencing their journey. As he said an 
hour or so, I induced one of them to accompany me with the 
camera to the wood, and having selected a couple of trees, 
partly covered with creepers, and bearing on different parts 
of their trunks or branches beautiful plants of Angrcecum 
superbum in bloom, and surrounded by ferns, Alpinia 
nutans , and other species of tropical vegetation, I fixed the 
camera before first one and then another, using waxed paper 
which I had excited in the morning before setting out, and 
hoping by this means to secure a memorial of the beautiful 
natural objects grouped before me. While the light was 
transferring the forms of the trees and the flowers to the 
paper in the camera, I set off in another direction, pene¬ 
trating still farther into the wood, in search of other and 
rarer plants; and found so many that, though it was but the 
commencement of the journey, I could not refrain from 
gathering a bundle to carry on to the place where we ex¬ 
pected to halt for the night. On returning, I found the men 
who were my bearers gathered round the camera ready to 
proceed; and was perfectly relieved from any apprehension 
about their having been overtasked, either with the length of 
their journey or the weight of their load, by perceiving one 
or two of them, tall athletic, swarthy fellows, standing on 
their heads and amusing themselves and their companions 
by kicking their heels up in the air. 
After stopping altogether about two hours, we resumed our 
journey. Our road, or rather narrow winding footpath, for 
no vehicles ever travelled along it, now turned towards the 
mountains, and passed over a slightly undulated verdant 
country generally covered with masses of shrubs, or small 
trees. The bearers seemed invigorated with their rest and 
refreshment, and trotted along apparently in cheerful spirits. 
I noticed that whenever any one of the bearers wished to ease 
