We now got ready for our journey.  We had a guide who had been in England, and some years at the Cape of Good Hope, and spoke English perfectly.  Our palanquins were something like cots slung on a long pole, with a roof of native cloth, which could be rolled up or let down to keep off the rain or sun.  The machine was borne by four bearers, two before and two behind, while four others walked by the side ready to relieve them.  No wheeled carriages are used in Madagascar, so that the only roads are the paths made by the unshod feet of the natives, or by the bullocks' hoofs; and there is no water-carriage--all goods are conveyed on men's shoulders from one part of the country to the other; so that we had quite an army with us, what with our relays of bearers, and those who carried our baggage and presents.  Up and down hills we travelled, through the wildest scenery we could imagine.  It is difficult to describe it.  Sometimes we had to wind up and down over rugged heights; then through forests, frequently turning aside to avoid the huge trees which had fallen across our path; then across swamps and plots of slippery mud; and often we had to force our way through dense jungle, or through miles of primeval forests.