At half-past four we emerged from the forest and came down by a steep slippery path through bush and jungle. And now there opened before us one of the grandest scenes that can be imagined. The valley, down which we had come, opened out into a tremendous hollow or bay, three or four miles across, and more than twice as long, running into the higher level of the country from which we had descended. The hills, or, rather, edges of the upper plateau, rise steeply all round this great bay, covered with wood to their summits, which are from two thousand to three thousand feet above the lower country. Between these bold headlands we could count four or five waterfalls, two of them falling in a long riband of foam several hundred feet down perpendicular faces of rock. Between the opening points of this great valley, three or four miles apart, could be seen a comparatively level undulating country, with patches of wood and the windings of the river Màtitànana. On a green hill to the north side of the valley was a group of houses, which we were glad to hear was Ivòhitròsa, our destination. This hill we found was seven hundred feet above the stream at its foot, but it looked small compared with the towering heights around it. At last we reached the bottom of the valley, crossed the stream, and presently commenced the steep ascent to the village. It was quite dark before we reached it, muddy, wet and tired out; we had been eight hours on the way, and five and a half on foot over extremely rough and fatiguing paths. The native chief and his people had overtaken us in the forest and went on first to prepare a house for us. [Sidenote: A STRIKING PICTURE]