CHAP. XI. 
OFFICERS AND AIDES-DE-CAMP. 
279 
and said, the “ Mananboninahitra,” man or men C£ having 
rank,” are coming. The officers were not distinguished by 
any particular dress, except on public occasions, when those of 
highest grade wore some sort of uniform. In travelling, the 
officers are distinguished by having a sword, generally without 
a sheath ; but on the road this is generally carried by a slave, 
who follows with his master’s baggage.. 
The aides-de-camp also form a class which I may have fre¬ 
quent occasion to mention. Dekana is the native term, bor¬ 
rowed from the French. This does not designate an officer 
appointed to special duties, but is applied to the young men 
in the army above the ranks, or privates, and who attach them¬ 
selves, as adherents, to any particular chief, and are considered 
devoted to the interests of such chief. Their number appeared 
to be limited only by the popularity of the chief or the pros¬ 
pects of advantage to his followers. Thus, when a young man 
was spoken of as Dekana of any chief, it seemed to mean 
that he was devoted to his interests, and to be engaged in his 
service. 
In addition to the cup of tea and biscuit which I generally 
took every morning before starting, I now added a small por¬ 
tion of quinine, one or two grains, which, acting as a tonic, 
might, it was supposed, render me less likely to be affected by 
the atmospheric influences to which I was exposed. 
Before we set out, Babotobefe, a chief from the neighbour¬ 
hood of Hivondro, brought a present of twenty fine fish, ap¬ 
parently a species of mullet, which I gratefully accepted, five 
being set apart for myself and my bearers, and the rest distri¬ 
buted amongst the people. It was past seven o’clock before I 
set out, and we soon entered a thick forest. Bicher vegeta¬ 
tion I had seldom seen. Ferns and orchids were abundant, 
but chiefly of sorts I had observed before. A clump of An - 
grcecum sesquijpedale , growing within a yard of my path, ex¬ 
hibited some of the finest flowers I have yet seen. The tails 
