CHAPTER XXI

THE SOUTH-EASTERN PEOPLES 270

A Built Boat—In the Bush—A Canoe Voyage—Canoe Songs—The _Angræcum_ Orchids—Pandanus and Atàfa Trees—Coast Lagoons—A Native Dance—A Wheeled Vehicle—Lost in the Woods—A Fatiguing Sunday—Dolphins and Whales—Forest Scenery—A Tanàla Funeral—Silence of the Woods—The Sound of the Cicada—Mammalian Life—Hedgehogs and Rats—Why are Birds comparatively so few?—Insect Life in the Forest—A Stick-Insect—Protective Resemblances—The Curious Broad-bill Bird—Minute Animal Life in a River Plant—Ambòhimànga in the Forest—A Tanàla Chieftainess—River-fording and Craft—We reach the Interior Highland—Bétsiléo Tombs—Return to Antanànarìvo