‘Though the first insurgents in the west had given in their submission, others arose to take their place, and among various acts of violence committed by these desperate men must be reckoned, as the saddest of all, the assassination of our friends Messrs. Escande and Minault, Protestant missionaries of the Paris Missionary Society, who happened to be travelling through that part of the country at the time. In many distant places, too, anarchy reigned supreme, and for months the peaceable members of the community were at the mercy of prowling bands of lawless men, who, in the attempt to gain their ends, scrupled at no deed of violence. It became impossible for Europeans, and even for natives, to travel anywhere in the island without danger, a state of things the very reverse of that which had existed for so many years; for, except in certain remote places, the last thought that entered the mind of the traveller was that of danger. As, for a time, the French and native troops were insufficient to quell the revolt, the excited mobs drew nearer and nearer the capital, and for some weeks large conflagrations--schools, churches, or even whole villages set on fire by the rebels--were to be seen from the capital almost nightly. In one instance, a village was burnt within a mile of the capital, and no one would have been surprised if, at any time, an attempt had been made to fire the capital itself. ‘By this time many parts of the country, and more especially Imèrina, were in a state of seething anarchy, such as had never before been witnessed in the island, and vigorous and severe measures were necessary to repress it. To the work of pacification General Gallieni set himself. The greater part of the country was placed under martial law and divided up into military districts, outposts of soldiers were stationed in the more disaffected territories, many of the native government officials, who were supposed to be implicated, were banished or shot, and the rebels were attacked at numerous points, the undisciplined natives being worsted at every encounter, large numbers of them perishing. Accusations were also rife, and, as is always the case at such times, many innocent persons along with the guilty doubtless suffered death. But this energetic action soon began to tell; the insurgents were gradually dispersed, or from stress of other circumstances returned to their homes, and the leaders of the movement gave in their submission one after another, until finally (towards the close of 1897) the whole country, except the remote west and south, had once again settled down into peace.