The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-01-24
MAOAGASCAR'S CAPITAL.
A Handsome City Evolved From q Town
OF strAM and MArtle.

a Handsome City Evolved From Town
OF straw and Waffle.
Any one who has read of Madagas-
cars progress has heard of Rev.
James Sibree, who for thirty years has
been identified with missionary work
there. He has now returned to En-
gland from Antananarivo, the capital,
and has given to the Royal Geograph-
ical society an account of Madagascar
civilization. He describes the capital
of the Hova kingdom, town which
thirty years ago contained only huts of
straw and mud and the place where
hundreds OF Christians were killed dur
ing the heather prosecutions. To-day
the capital is far advanced in civi|iza-
tion and contains hundreds of fne stone
and brick buildings.
Antananarivo stands upon a long Hill
six hundred feet above the valleys that
surround it. 1t was the old custom
in Madagascar to build all towns upon
eminences in order that they might be
more easily defended. The hill is Gov
cred with houses from summit TO base
and hundreds of structures are percbcd
upon its sides on terraces cut into the
rock. On one side of the hill is the
precipice where in 1ss9 hundreds of
Malagasy Christians were hurled TO
death because they refused to disavow
their belief in Christianity. Road-ma&-
ing is very difficult, because the bare
rock almost everywhere comes TO the
surface
A silly law was once in force. No
building of stone or clay was permitted
within the limits of the town. The
houses Of the mobiles and wealthy peo-
pic were of massive timber, rooted with
wooden shingles or thatch- Fires,
therefore, were of frequent occurrence.
When the queen and her government
accepted Christianity in 1868 this fool
ish law was repealed, and the old tim
Der houses have now almost wholly
given place TO structures OF brick or
stone, The building art was revolution
lied when Mr.. Sibree and other mission
aries erected IA stone the martyr me
mortal churches The city now con
tains several thousand of good two and
three story houses and many public
buildings The residences Of some Of
the wealthier people have spacious YER
andas with pillars OF nodded brick or Of
stone with carved capitals Not few
buildings arestill unfinished and an as
pect OF ueatness and tidiness is lacking
StiIl, when the visitor remem bers thai
the present town has been evolved
from a heather settlement Of straw and
waffle he wonders that the Hova pso-
pie have made such progress
Among the prominent buildings are
the royal palaces, the largest OF which,
q three-story timber structure, - sur
rounded with great stone vcranda and
arches strengthened with corner towcrA
Then there IS the immense stone-aDd-
brick palace % the prime minister. who
il also the queens husband. and hand
some residences for high officers The
high court Of justice IS quite imposiag
with its Ionic columns, and has toe ap-
pearance Of Greek temple The spir~s
or towers Of the religious and ecgca-
tional buildings are seen from = joasT
distance and add much % the beauty %
the city.
TINS the capital of the Maiazasy has
become a respectable city The mis-
sionaries there and IL other towns ~
the Hova nation are teaching oae ~
dred thousand children in iBe.r schools
and i Is these miss.ouarses who Savs
wrought the wonderful change IN Azd-
egascar. They have Lifted once - Z