130 
men, attended by a large number of armed blacks, 
to lay waste, by fire and sword, the beautiful district 
of Franchere. Nothing was spared; the houses and 
huts of the poorer class, as well as those of the 
Rhoandrians, with the chief part of their property, 
was destroyed, and great numbers of their cows and 
oxen carried away. Fie sent several parties into the 
interior, to explore the country, and obtain a know¬ 
ledge of the customs and manners of the inhabitants. 
It is principally to him we are indebted for the ac¬ 
counts we are enabled to give of the natives, and of 
the country; his history being published upon his re¬ 
turn to France, which took place in 1655. He went 
thither in order to ascertain the cause why the East- 
India Company had not sent him the promised sup¬ 
plies. Pronis, who still remained on the island, where 
he had married a native woman, was left in command 
during Flacourt’s absence. The latter, when he 
arrived in France, found that the East-India Com¬ 
pany’s charter was about to expire, and that the 
Marshal Meilleraye was desirous of uniting himself 
to them in a continuation of the enterprise, at Ma¬ 
dagascar. Whether upon the renewal of the charter, 
this union actually took place, does not appear in 
Flacourt’s work; he was, however, again appointed 
governor; and, about the year 1659, set sail with a 
suitable cargo to resume the command; but before he 
could reach Madagascar, a violent storm arose, in 
which his vessel was wrecked, and himself and the 
whole of his men perished. 
