Christianity however is the best friend of the Sihánaka; and it is working among them with power. It is moderating the rule and the demands of their governors. It is uniting the two races together. It is strengthening the order, the security, the peace in which the people live. Everywhere the fortressed hills are deserted for the open plain. Police are little needed. Property is secure. The great cattle-herds roam over the grassy hills, almost without attendants.
The gospel was brought to them by their own countrymen; and it is almost entirely by native agency and by the native churches that it has been since sustained. Seven years ago some of the Christian officers and soldiers of the garrison in Ambátondrazáka applied to their minister, the Rev. R. G. Hartley, for a teacher. A young man, named Rábé, who was teacher of their day-school, was selected by Mr. Hartley’s people for the purpose. He was a slave, but they purchased his freedom; and for three years he did the people in the province good service; greatly assisted by the young Sihánaka, who is pastor at the present time. In 1869 they were visited by Mr. Pearse. In the same year the great stimulus which sprang from the burning of the idols reached them. And they have derived continual benefit from the growth and improvement of the Hova churches in Imerina, whence officers and soldiers with their families continually go and come.
Would we know what the gospel has already done for them, let us look at the picture drawn of them by their teacher, Rábé, when he first arrived among them. At that time, he says,—
“Only a person here and there could be found who washed their clothes; for everyone’s dress was smeared with castor oil, and they thought it would spoil their clothing to wash them, as they would be soon worn out; so that the clothing of the people was offensive to the last degree. For that reason the dark blue cotton was generally worn, as it was nearly black to begin with. But now there is hardly anyone who does not wash his clothes, and has not white dress. Not long ago, when it was evening, the young men in the villages used to form into two parties, and had violent boxing-matches all through the village, the women also often joining in the fray. But now no one practises this rough sport. Not long ago, rum was what the people chiefly delighted in; and if any strangers who visited them were not made thoroughly drunk, the owner of the house was looked upon as inhospitable, although he gave them the best of everything to eat. One day I, with five others, happened to be staying at a certain village, and the people of the house in which we stayed, brought thirty bottles of rum and a small water-pot half full for us to drink together with the family. And although we reproved them, it was with difficulty we prevented them from drinking, until they saw we were really in earnest. And this is but a sample of the love of the people for drink. So that at night there was great disturbance everywhere from drunken people. But now there is nothing of that kind, for if anyone is seen drunk by his companions he is exceedingly ashamed; and those who still like excess drink in secret, for everyone now knows the folly of it. And what has brought about such a change but the spreading of the Word of God?”
There are now thirty-one churches in the Sihánaka province; and in a few years, judging from the villages we saw, the number will be increased. Of the strength of their principle and the vitality of their piety we saw abundant proofs. Left to themselves they keep holy the Sabbath; they maintain public worship; they have chosen pastors for their instruction; they pay teachers for educating their children. From small beginnings they have grown numerous and strong. The grace of God which has helped their brethren, which has helped converts in other lands, has strengthened and upheld them. Their family life has grown purer, the great vice of drinking has vastly diminished: the soiled clothes are replaced by clean dress. Order, peace, fellowship and good will prevail among them. And the root of all this regeneration and revival is the simple Gospel of Christ.
They will gain greatly by the proposed residence among them of their friend Mr. Pearse and a younger colleague. The Christian women too will greatly benefit by the advice and example of one or two English ladies in their midst. The work of a wise Englishman in these young communities, is to shorten processes of growth, to remove difficulties, to warn against errors, to expound the Scriptures more fully, to organise efficient agencies, especially schools; to stimulate by his example and his higher knowledge; and in other ways to bring the power, the experience, and the resources of a higher Christian civilisation to bear upon the elevation and improvement of these children in the faith. The willingness of these converts, the earnestness with which they have kept their faith, and their longing for more light and higher life, indicate that our friends have before them a noble prospect of usefulness.
Judging from our survey and the map resulting from it, the Sihánaka province, within its bordering ranges, covers a space of about two thousand square miles. It is a vast basin in the midst of these hills, having a clear lake and a great reedy swamp in the centre. The levels, redeemed for rice culture and pasturage, and the dry ridges above them, form but a limited portion of the whole. The Alaotra lake lies nearer to the eastern than the western shore: it is hammer-headed in shape, and has a length of thirty-two miles, with a breadth of four or five. The reed swamps, with their numerous arms cover a space of over six hundred square miles.
The population of the province we estimated at forty thousand people. We counted some sixty villages and small towns in the district, of which only three have more than six hundred inhabitants.
The day following our pleasant visit to Márosalázana and its bright scholars, we reached Ambatondrazáka once more. Most reluctantly we quitted our kind friend the governor and his people to plunge once more into the wilderness. But time was pressing; we explained the case to our bearers, stimulated them by the offer of a day’s pay; and they bore us vigorously over the rough hills. More than ever we admired the soft, rich foliage of the forest; we climbed the lofty “Gate of rock,” and rested for another quiet Sunday at Anjozórobe. Again we traversed the basin of the Mánanára; crossed over the granite moors; had a pic-nic tiffin in “Boulder Glen”; and slept in peace in the handsome church of Ambohitrérena. The next day, July 7th, at noon, we reached the capital, glad and grateful for the wonders we had seen.