There are a number of paths in the forest which may be followed from the sanatorium, north, east and south, and with a considerable variety of scene. But it is easy to get lost in them, for I remember one day when a party of us set out for a morning’s walk, but could not find our way back, although we often caught sight of the house; and it was late in the afternoon before we at length got home, very tired and very hungry. Two of our friends, who were well acquainted with the neighbourhood, were lost in paths not very far from the sanatorium, and had to spend the night in the woods, making as comfortable a resting-place as they could with leaves and bracken, but getting no sleep from the multitude of mosquitoes. And a curious circumstance was, that the Malagasy from the house, who came out to seek for them, were afraid either to shout out loud to them, or to show the lights they carried, for fear of offending the _lòlo_, or spirits, which they think haunt the woods. Had they done either of these things, our friends would probably have escaped being benighted. Happily, the time of this adventure was in the dry season, or it might have had serious consequences. From what has been said in Chapters IV. and V. about the difficult paths through the chief forest, it is not strange that the Malagasy have considerable dread of it and do not share in our admiration of its beauties. So one of their proverbs says: “_Roa lahy miditra ala: ka izy tokiko, ary izaho tokiny_”—that is, “Two men entering the forest: it’s ‘He’s my confidence, and I am his’”; the fact is that both are afraid. It is to them the “dark forest,” full of mystery and fear, and it may easily be imagined that before any practicable roads were made through it, it had much to inspire dread. One of the native hymns, often sung when the natives have friends going away to a distance, prays for protection for them in the forest and also in crossing the rivers, on account of the many things in both which may injure the traveller.[14] [Sidenote: A MADAGASCAR FOREST] It would probably be a very serious matter for a European to be lost for long in a Madagascar forest, for he would be entirely at a loss for food, and would most likely be unable to produce fire to cook anything he could find. To a Malagasy, however, especially one living in the neighbourhood of the woods, it would not matter so much, as there are several species of yam, which he would easily find. These _Ovinàla_ are climbing plants common in the forest, belonging to the genus _Dioscorea_, and have very large edible tubers, which are much sought after by the people; their taste is similar to other yams which are so largely used as food in other parts of the world. In Drury’s “Adventures,” he speaks frequently of procuring these yams in the south-western forests; for, living many years, as he did, like a native in that part of the island, he became well versed in woodcraft and could live as the people lived.