Following in the main the course of the river Màtitànana, we had frequently to cross its tributaries, and found we were advancing in civilisation as we proceeded. First, we had a single _zàhitra_ to ferry us over; then two _zàhitra_ and a small canoe; then we got good-sized canoes. A little after leaving the ferry we passed through a large clump of immense banana-trees. They were at least forty feet high, and with their smooth green stems—almost trunks—and grand broad leaves, and great clusters of fruit, presented a magnificent appearance. The fruit is called _òntsy_; these are about a foot long and a couple of inches thick, and so a single one makes a fair meal. [Sidenote: CROCODILES] For several miles the river makes a great bend to the north, and on following its banks again we saw crocodiles for the first time on this journey. These were basking in the sunshine, perfectly motionless, on a group of rocks just showing above the water. At the distance we were I should not have noticed them but for my men pointing them out; but with the glass every scale could be seen, and very unpleasant-looking creatures they are in their slimy length, with serrated back and tail, and rather small heads. Near them were several large wading-birds, some white and others dark brown, and called _àrondòvy_ (_i.e._ “protector of the enemy”). These birds are constant attendants on the crocodiles, performing some service for them; and where the birds are seen, the reptiles are never far distant. We afterwards noticed that near all the villages on the river banks a small space in the water was enclosed with stakes, so that the women and children coming to draw water could do so without fear of being seized by a crocodile, or swept off into the stream by his tail. From a remote period the Malagasy have been accustomed to resort to ordeals for the detection of crime, and the ordeal by the _tangèna_ poison has already been referred to in these pages (see Chapter III.). But among the Tanàla tribes an ordeal of another kind was commonly employed to find out a guilty person; for anyone suspected of wrong-doing was taken to the bank of the Màtitànana, or one of its tributaries, where crocodiles abound. The people having assembled, a man stood near the accused, and striking the water thrice, addressed a long speech to the reptiles, adjuring them to punish the guilty, but to spare the innocent. The accused was then made to swim across the river and back again; and if he successfully accomplished this, and was not hurt by the crocodiles, he was considered innocent, and his accuser was fined four oxen. If, on the contrary, he was seized and killed, he was supposed to have justly merited his fate. This ordeal was termed _tangèm-voày_ (_voày_ = crocodile). [Illustration: COIFFURES Various styles of hairdressing among the Hova Malagasy women. The upper figure on the right is in mourning with her hair dishevelled] [Sidenote: HAIRDRESSING]