Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-06-27

,a;n sh. Ii, sn' hSpw
sev.F - !: roughly. He turned his
RIyALDo eyes toward him and
with the same bland smile answered in the
purest French, "From Mauritius, captain;
am going to Madagascar; my parents are there
at Mahanoro. will not disturb you-if-h
but alas I am hungry, if you will plsssesgive
me TO eat" A torrent Of questions followed,
and the fierce captain had snatched up piece
of rope to strike with, shouting at him, 'You
viper! You stowaway! I'll teach you better
trick than thatp
To all of which this odd being only answered
with his black eyes and bland smile and re
peating gently: ''Alas, if but you would give
me to eat"
l put ont my hand and touched him on the
shoulder. Come aft, lad. I'll see what l can
do for you" 30 was introduced to my future
friend, guide and interpreter. l took him
down into the little cabin and got out some
ported meat and crackers, with q lump of
cheese. / told him kindly to pitch in. He did
without word and ate with the voracity OF a
hungry animal. i waited patiently till he had
finished. He stood more steadily on his feet
then and gazed long at me wonderingly with
his black eyes. i waited for him to speak. He
did presently in a voice as deep as that OF a
grown person, but to my utter astOnishment In
most excellent English.
RINALDo's STORY.
''Thank you, sir; you are very, very good and
kind. will serve you" And he quickly put
away the tins of meat and bread from whence
he had seen me take them. After that our ac-
quaintance ripened rapidly. In the few days
that remained before our schooner dropped
anchor off the little Malagasy village of Mahon-
ORC in southeastern Madagascar i had learned
much of the story of his life, at least as much
as he may have deemed advisable to tell me.
He was born, so he said, in Port Louis of a
French creole father and an English mother.
The former was the overseer of a large sugar
plantation In Mauritlus and the latter the gov
erness OF the several children of an English Of
fcer stationed on the island. He had been the
only child when his English mother died of the
fever ten years ago. He had been sent first to
a French school in Port Louis for a while and
adjacent French island. His father had re-
married and gone with his creole wife to Mad
agascar to start sugar plantation. He soon
learned that he had been purposely deserted by
his father, SO he had worked his way in little
coasting vessel from Bourbon to Maui
how for he only came out at
night, he said) for eight months in the streets
of Mauritius. Hearing of our schooner he had
slowed himself away the night before we sailed
and had eaten nothing till he had been found.
That was all his story. So he went with me
through the vast, dim forests OF eastern NADIA
Gascar toward the capital of the queen. In
the middle OF the year 1854 reached with my
party Antanarlvo, the capital city of interior
Madagascar, and for six following weeks / re-
NAMED the guest of the Hova queen, Ranayo-
Iona i'll. In all those many dreary DAYS, made
often the sadder still by the deaths or deser-
ton OF my party, by forest fever, by long ex-
posure and the innumerable disheartening incl
dents OF travel in an unknown and barbarous
country, from the far coast to the upland in
terror, 'Rinaldo (as called him }, the cas.away,
was my ever faithful comp anion. He followed
nv
He paid me the most implicit obedience always.
and forestalled my every unexpressed wish.
His oldish wrinkled face lit up ALWAYS with
the same bright smile when / addressed
him. His CHEEKY voice in good old English
came to my ears amid the jibbering of half
thousand naked men like cool water to the
thirsty palate. His devotion to me was the
blind devotion of animal to human. He would
sleep nowhere but in front of my tent at
night or trot by my side the long weary way
through the forest belt. He exercised pecu-
liar sway with natives who accompanied u.s.
though he spoke not their language He ex-
cited certain awe among them much by
his peculiar physical appearance as ANYTHING
else. We were travelling in the country of the
Beteimasaraka, degraded and vindictive race,
and steeTed in all the lowest beliefs of savag-
cry and fetishness. i often. at sly moments
studied this peculiar creatures face. When in
repose it expressed little, and 1 have
tried to picture to myself how such
head would look upon another
body CT such body with a
younger head. Then the combination in Ri
naldo would suddenly force itself upon me
again, and could have shouted with laughter
at the oddity of the thing if il were not for the
earnest. honest look of love and reverence for
me / could see creep into his black ewes when
he caught my glance at him. At the end of our
stay at the capital in the fall of 1884. started
at the head Of "a native expedition OF nearly 400
souls to reach the west coast Of Madagascar
Rinaldo accompanied me. His devotion for me
became more and more marked each day. both
while we were In Antanarivo and the terrible
journey toward the sea. In somewhat over a
month our party found ourselves in the heart
Of the western or Sakalara district, the country
of totally barbarous, cruel and savage race
BY constant desertions and deaths our once
small army had dwindled to a handful Of men
ami women. and food was scarce. We were
many, many miles from the coast. Our situa-
ton grew daily more hopeless and was full
of a dull foreboding and anxiety. Little BY little
l noticed. too. that the natives about me showed
in many ways discomfort and insubordination.