At this height the south-east winds blow hard and cold. But the three tents, firmly pinned, afforded thorough shelter; and when our beds and boxes had been duly arranged, we spent a cosy, comfortable evening. The men all left us (except our servants) to find shelter in scattered houses. The night proved cold, and before sunrise the thermometer had fallen to forty degrees; a thick mist lay on the hills, and there was slight rain. When the mist had cleared on the following morning, we climbed to the summit of our hill, and had a fine view on every side. The other great peaks of Ankárat lay to the south, still somewhat veiled; on the west was a sea of hills and long ridges; far in the north-east, among the hundred hills of Imerina was the Capital. Careful observation showed that the peak of Ambohitsámpan has a height of eight thousand feet above the sea. The observations were made both by the boiling-water point and by Aneroid barometer. Our camp was more than seven thousand feet above the sea; and the ascent of the peak was eight hundred feet. On other occasions we had good opportunities of examining the extent and character of these noble mountains, and I now briefly state the conclusions to which we came respecting them. The Ankárat Mountains are the loftiest in Madagascar. They are of volcanic origin; they have been protruded through the gneiss and granite of the great central range of the island, and they lie some fifteen miles west of the watershed of that range. This mountain mass rests on an enormous base. Taking account of the long fingers or tongues of lava which have flowed out from the centre in all directions, it will be seen that it covers a space of six hundred square miles. It appears broad rather than high. From the Imerina plain, four thousand feet above the sea, the lava slopes upward from its junction with the clay, till the ground attains the height of six and seven thousand feet, when we reach the base of the great central peaks. These occupy a space of fifty-four square miles. They are five in number, with minor elevations between. M. Grandidier calls one of them, Ambóhitrakóholáhy, the highest; but here he is mistaken. We ascended two of these peaks, measured the height of a third by theodolite; and eventually Mr. Cameron’s native assistant ascended and measured all five. The heights of the whole are as follows:— Tsi-áfa-závona, 8950 feet. Tsi-áfak-áfo, 8820 feet. Ambóhimirándrana, 8780 feet. Ambóhitrakóholáhy, 8200 feet. Ambóhitsámpan, 8000 feet.