The Portland daily press., 1897-08-12

In German Southwest Africa Dut from
what I heard in Petoria they soon re-
formerly complained of English tyranny
had no words with which to describe the
administration of the friends the Ger
mans.
QUEER THINGS IN MADAGASCAR.
Strange Revelations at the Removal of
Royal Remains-Wsird Ceremonies and
Wild Music.
Correspondence of the Revue du Cercie
Militaire.)
The ancient Kings Of Madagascar and
the famous holy city Of Ambohimanga
have been the subject of some discussion
of late. Ambohimanga is few kilometres
from Tananarive. The Hovas and their
dynasty have made such bad use OF the
place, which is the hotbed of superstition
and fanaticism, that 1t became necessary
to put an end to their continued fetish
ceremonies, which furnished occasions for
seditious outbursts and insurrectionary
appeals.
Gen. Gallieni told the Hovas that it
would be better to have their ancestors all
buried in the palace of Tananarive with
guard Of honor; and the Znaadralambo
caste, the only men who have right to
touch the bodies Of princes, were sent
out under the command of DR.. Lacaze,
the director of native affairs, and the
T,r11x ~ e
militia, to remove all the bodies
from Ambohimanga. On the way they
halted at the city Of Ilfay, half hold
town, to move the bodies of some other
members Of the royal race. The convoy
arrived at two o'clock in the morning in
the beautiful and clear moonlight. The
cortege had been increased by crowd of
men from the neighboring villages.
| Monotonous prayers and responses of be-
tween four and FIVE thousand attendants
were followed by prolonged chants. -Four
or tive groups OF musicians here and there
broke the long line Of white robed process
sionists. These musicians played polkas,
waltzes and quadrilles which were inter-
mingled with sad and somnolent Malgasy
air playeL- by a multitude of clarinets.
The clarinet, the product of European
| civilization, Is in this country the
favorite instrument for rendering all the
| impressions of the soul. Consequently it
holds'the highest place In the orchestras
The deliciously pure night air, the long
white procession that lookd like q line
of silverain the rays of the moon, the.sol-
enn aspect of the immense crowd on the
| Tananarive road, ascending and descend
ing the numerous risings of the ground,
formed fantastic spectacle, enriched at
certain points by from twenty live to
thirty catafalques of dark red color that
contained the remains of the Kings and
Queens of Madagascar.
! Some of the bodies were carried by is,
80, Ga, and even 100 men, according to the
weight and Importance of the catafalque
Almost all the catafalques were of solid
silver, and one of them weighed 1000
th1simassive affair had to be taken apart
to facilitate the task of the carriers who
were staggering under it's great weight.
Nothing could be more fantastic than
this march in the night between the thi n
line of bayonets of the militia, natives of
the country enrolled under the Frenc h
| flag. There was not one seditious cry or
a single discordant note. At 2 a. M the
cortege moved slowly into the grounds of
the Queens Palace, as the last notes of
the clarinets were expiring. The bodies
were placed on the sidewalks of the Silver
Palace and the supports before the tombs,
to await the ceremonies that were to be
performed later. Sentinels were placed
here and there, and. carrying lanterns
lighted with tallow candles, the immense
crowd dwindled away without the least
| incident.
At o'clock all the bands were grouped
| in the courtyard, where they commenced
their interminable and strange repertoire.
While they were pouring forth their floods
| Il Rp r1iv hn ~.
Malgasy government arrived, escorted by
a committee appointed by Gen. Gallienf.
| The old tombs of the palace were opened
with grand ceremonies to receive the re-
mains of the ancestors that were brought
there early that morning. EVERYTHING
was carried on under the supervision Of
M. JULY.
| In the interior of the queer-shaped
mausoleum the first Kings of Madagascar
repose in big rectangular zinc boxes,
which it was necessary to unfasten and
open, as in the case at Ambohimanga and
Ilafy. I assisted at the opening of some
of those sarcophagi The bodies are COM
| $50, and 200 silk wrappings. All that was
necessary was to unroll the first one to
make the Identification perfectly clear.
Around the bodies, above, below, under
the heads and under the feet, there was
d collection Of laces, tinsels. casques, raj
ment, ornamented In gold and silver,
oasuuets, toys, money bags filled with sill.
yer coins, &C., all slightly furnished, Civ
ing evidence Of just little humidity, but
| without the slightest odOr of mustiness or
of decomposition.
| The most astonishing thing in this
strange country is the marvellous skill
with which embalming is carried on.
The skeletons are intact. The skins re-
main like parchment upon the bones.
The thick silk wrappipQS doubtless act
as isolants and completely repel all the
attacks of decomposition, Moreover, the
final interment is delayed by long cere-
wrappings is exposed and thoroughly
| dried.
Respect of the dead in this country is so
great, and worship of ancestors is SO last
ing and SO thoroughly blended with
superstitious dread, that not one of the
thousands of tombs that surround Tana-
narive was ever robbed, Notwithstanding
| the numerous treasures that they all con
tain. In extreme cases only the head of
the family is permitted to take away the
coins with which the pillows of his ances-
I