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309 CHAP. XII. Beauty of the Mountain Scenery. — Mode of catching a Bullock. — Charms against evil Dreams.—Tomb of a Chief. — Weeping Place of the Hovas. — Beautiful Forms of growth of the Bamboo. — Wild Cattle and wild Boars. — Former hunting Excursions in Madagascar. — Frightful Roads. — The great Forest of Alamazaotra.—Magnitude of the Trees, beauty of the Flowers, and rarity of the; Ferns. — The Ferry of Mangoro. — Military Salute. — Friends from the Capital.— Breakfast with a Hova Family.— Prince Ramon- ja’s Village. — Salutation of his aged Nurse. — Presents from his Tenantry. — Extent and beauty of the Valley of Angaro.—The mountain Pass and Fortress.—Village Market.— Locusts caught and preserved for food.—Houses of Ankova First night in a Hova Village.—Depredations of the Rats and Mice.—The feudal-looking Village of Ambatomanga.—Accommodations and Lodging. — Friends from the Capital. — Tombs of the Hovas. — Interior of the House at Amboipo. —Native Silk-weaving. On the morning of the 15th of August, we were stirring by daylight, and, in descending from the village of Mahela, crossed the Farimbongy, a river between twenty and thirty yards wide, and along the banks of which we had travelled on the previous day. Ascending the hill, on the opposite side, we pursued our way along the ridges of the hills. I walked up a steep ascent, and was tempted to prolong my walk for a mile or two. From the summit of one of the ridges that we crossed, I obtained a view of tbe sea, off Tamatave, and stretching away to the southward of Hi- vondro. The well-defined line of the distant horizon, which the ocean formed, was very distinct, as seen above the tops of the intervening ranges of mountains which we had crossed; and the elevation of our present route must have been considerable, as we must have been nearly a hundred miles from the sea. The morning was clear, and the prospect wide and beau- x 3