39 
t 6 71 ] of the Island Dauphine, &c. 
Officers, until seeing themselves forc’d, & the Sieurs de 
Champmargou, la Casse, & others entering into the Village 
with the Troops, they retir’d without loss, in spite of all 
the precautions which had been taken to prevent them 
from so doing. 
This action was creditable enough on the part of the 
Blacks, in daring to face more than 1300 men, as many 
French as Blacks ; & with not more than one hundred 
men to bravely await the assault, to kill both French & 
Blacks & only to retire on seeing themselves overpower’d, 
without sustaining material loss. 
This is the most severe action that the Negroes of 
Madagascar have made since the French settl’d in the 
Island. Indeed Ramousset & his People had been 
brought up among the French & had knowledge of Arms; 
this is why they had no fears as the other Blacks had 
always had, when they had an affair with the French, on 
account of their whiteness & their fire-arms, by which 
when they saw their folk kill’d without seeing the missiles 
coming, fear wou’d take them, of such kind that they 
believ’d they would all be kill’d in the same way, without 
being able to defend themselves : & by their flight they 
had always left the victory to their Enemies : & if they 
have sometimes beaten parties of French, & if they have 
massacr’d some of them, it has been by surprise & never 
in open War. 
’Tis not the case, however, that we have not had some 
Chiefs & other Frenchmen in the island who have chew’d 
by their actions much courage & boldness, as Monsieur 
de Champmargou has done. He has always been very suc¬ 
cessful in his enterprises, has dearly paid for it in his 
person, and had much success, both in protecting the 
Country, and in avoiding the ambushes which they laid in 
order to assassinate him, having always found opportunity 
of punishing those who have wish’d to do him harm, & 
