The following day our journey northward was over a pleasant undulating country, but almost entirely uninhabited; here and there were solitary houses far apart from each other, but no villages. On the bare downs we frequently came across ant-hills, about two feet high and formed of the greyish soil. It is said by the people all over the island that a serpent called _Rènivìtsika_ (_i.e._ “mother of ants”) is enticed by these ants into its nest, and is then fattened, killed and eaten by them. The Hova in the centre of the island, the Bétsiléo in the south, the Sàkalàva in the west, and Sihànaka in the north-east, all affirm that this is a fact; and it seems difficult to doubt their united testimony. After a long ride of six hours we at last came to a group of six or seven houses called Andrànokòbaka, where we rested for a time and had tiffin. This place appeared to be the first of the Sihànaka villages from the south. There was an evident difference in the appearance of the people; the women reminded me of the Bétsimisàraka on the east coast, and both men and women had their hair plaited in a great number of little ropes ending in a knot, and hanging loosely all round the head. The women and children, even those who had no kind of clothing, all had some kind of ornament: necklaces of red beads or silver chains, and armlets of silver, a striking contrast to the lower class of Hovas, who only put on ornaments on extraordinary occasions. The village smelt strongly of _tòaka_, the native rum, and the quantities of chopped sugar-cane, from which the spirit is made, lying about the place, all told of the liking of the people for strong drink. [Illustration: SIHÀNAKA MEN WITH MEAT BASKETS Note how the làmba is worn] [Illustration: A FOREST VILLAGE Note the baskets for carrying fowls against the doorway of the house] [Sidenote: THE DRINK EVIL] This indeed is one of the flagrant evils common among the Sihànaka, as it is also of many of the outlying tribes. My friend, Mr Stribling, who lived among these people for several years, gives the following incident illustrating the power which rum has over them:—