In one day we often saw a great variety of face and colour, and met representatives of several of the different tribes which people the island; and these differ considerably in colour and features. Among the faces we saw, although there were few that could be called handsome, judging by a European standard, there was yet a large proportion of good heads, with high, well-formed foreheads, and a general look of quickness and intelligence. The impression given was certainly not that of a race low in mental organisation or capabilities. [Sidenote: NATIVE MUSIC] At Ambàtoharànana, where we breakfasted, we were favoured with a little native music while our meal was being prepared. The instrument consisted of a piece of bamboo about four feet long, with parts of the strong outer fibre detached and strained over small pieces of pumpkin shell like the bridge of a violin. With this simple contrivance the performer produced a soft plaintive kind of music, not unlike the tones of a guitar. This instrument is called a _valìha_, and is played by the fingers. A simpler and ruder musical effect is obtained by a kind of bow of wood, with two or three strings, and to which, at one end, the half of a large gourd is fixed to give resonance; this is called _lokàngam-bòatàvo_ (_vòatàvo_, pumpkin), but its sound is poor and monotonous. Although the paths we traversed were most difficult, the scenery was singularly delightful. There are few more beautiful forms in tropical vegetation than the bamboo, which unites the most perfect symmetry and bright colour, and in some places a particular species[5] gave quite a special character to the scenery. The long elastic stems, thirty or forty feet in length, three inches or more in diameter at the base, and tapering to a fine point, were curving over the path in every direction, and with their feathery whorls of leaves, yellowish-green in colour, growing from every joint, were a constant delight to the eye. Sometimes a whole valley seemed filled with bamboos; while in others the _rofìa_ palm and the tree-ferns were the prevailing forms. [Sidenote: RICHES OF THE COUNTRY] Our midday journey this day was a continual ascent, until we were evidently at a considerable elevation above the sea. From one ridge we had a most extensive prospect and could see the Indian Ocean fifty or sixty miles behind us, while before us was a yet higher chain of hills, dark with dense woods of the main line of forest. As we rode along, I could not but observe the capabilities of the country and its vast powers of production, were it brought extensively under cultivation. The country is rich also in mineral wealth—iron, gold, copper, and other metals, as well as graphite and probably also petroleum.