The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-10-10
Ehe aaia 1aiy Eagle: Tmursday 9Hornme getob

the power Of the queen seems unlimit-
/ ed. But she is only the mouth piece of
| her husband, and she carries out his
| ideas with the energy and dramatic
| power which evoke rare enthusiasm.
She was crowned on her twenty-second
| birthday, in November of 1888, and is
| not quite 35-years-old. When the
| French made their first offensive moves
| the national assembly of the country
| was then in progress, and the queen,
! under the direction Of her husband seiZ-
ed the opportunity to stir up patriotism
| among her subjects.
On this occasion she stood up in the
center of 81, 900 of her subjects and wav-
| ing a sword above her head declared
| that she would lead her soldiers to waA
against the French.
Continuing she said: We want
peace with all the world. We love
peace and hate war, but we will fight
till we die to keep the land God gave
| us and our fathers preserved. The
| French are landing on our coast to eff
| face our flag. to destroy our govern
| ment, and to make US merely part
| Of themselves. Oh, the shame OF II!
| We have sought no war with France,
| but we will fight till every home is burn
| ed and every man has persisted before
we will submit to such a disgrace.
| What Hova is there who cares 10 sur
| vive his country"
TROUBLESOME WAR.
| The French are not having an easy
| time of il, although the Hovas are poor
| ly armed and lack the knowledge OF
modern warfare. In a regular battle
| the French would have little trouble in
| disposing of them, but the Hovas appre-
| ciate their weakness and refuse to al
| low the French TO draw them into an
| open fight.
All of the rich cities Of Madagascar
! are inland among the healthy high
| lands, but to reach these the French
/ must march through a low country
| reeking with fever and disease germs.
| The most potent aid of the Eovas are
these low countries, which kill off the
| invaders by the hundreds. 1t is al
most impossible to move heavy guns
from the coast to the highlands, be-
| cause the intervening country is little
| better than a quagmire. The question
| of transporting rations is also serious
| one far the French, as the natives de-
| stroy food before allowing it to fall into
| the hands of the invaders. They have
also threatened to destroy all of their
cities by fire rather than see them in
possession of the French.
The Hovas worry the French in the
marches through the low country by
annihilating detached parties and plac-
ing almost insurmountable obstacles in
| the roads. No decisive victory has yet
| been gained by the French, although
| the war has been going on in a desul-
| tory fashion for nearly year.
THE NEW YEAR.
On November IL begins the new year
| in the Malagasy calender, and the tenth
| day of the new year is always celebrat-
| ed in extraordinary fashion. Business
| is suspended and the sovereign COM
mands that enemies become friends for
at least that day. So literally is the
command obeyed that wives return to
| their divorced husbands. Gifts are eX-
| changed the country over. At s
| o'clock on the evening Of November q
there is a salvo of artillery, and the ma
tive dignitaries, along with distinguish
| ed Europeans, hasten to the Palace of
| Silver. There the queen is found en-
| throned upon daiS covered with red
velvet. The servants of the queen file
past offering presents. Then the prime
minister makes a long speech, review
| ing the events of the year just closed,
praising the virtues of the queen and
holding up to the people the wisdom of
her government, which is his own. AS
he reviews each act OF government he
asks whether it was just right, and
the shouted reply from the assembled
company is Mariner izay!" ct is
true"
When the speech Is done the relatives
of the queen, from her oldest uncle to
her tiniest nephew, file before her bear
ing spoons for preparing the tradition
al rice. Before the rice Is presented
| the queen disappears behind curtain
ed screen, where a basin of warm water
has been made ready, and takes BATH
The cannon announces that the purifi-
| cation of the royal person is complete,
and the queen, having dressed, returns
to the I hrone. She bears now an OK
horn filled with water from her bath
Having wet her fingers with the water,
she streaks her forehead with differ
ent caste marks, and, having sprinkl-
ed spoonfalls of rice, the first cooked
in the country since the opening of the
new year. This ends the official fete.
but IL is continued next day and for
several days thereafter by the people
throughout the country with various
observances and much zeal. The queen
lets loose in the streets of the capital
half a dozen fat cattle, which are madly
pursued by the people, the first man to
bring down and seize one of the beasts
becoming its possessor