Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 4.djvu/512

 420 SOUTH AND EAST AFEICA. Sultan of Keshiu and of England, and obeying no law except that of custom and traditional usages. But the sultanate of Keshin was lately divided between two brothers, one of whom reigns on the Arabian coast, while the other resides at Tamarida or in the neighbouring district, where he holds court and administers justice over the wliole island. Such, however, is the peaceful and even gentle disposition of the natives, that he is rarely called upon to exercise his judicial functions. Among them acts of violence or robbery are almost unknown, and they keep very few slaves, although numerous runaway Negroes are settled on the coastlunds. The small islands following to the west of Sokotra in the direction of Cape Guardafui, also belong to the sultanate of Keshin. But of these none are inhabited except Jiauder-Saleh {Samneh), and Abd-el-Kiiri, where a few wild goats browse on the scanty vegetation of the rocky soil. The natives, who are very poor, live mainly on the produce of their iisherios. A few miles farther north stand some steep islets covered with guano, which attract the rare visits of the local Arab dhows. II. — Madagascar. This great island of the Indian Ocean is one of the largest on the globe, yielding in extent only to Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo, and probably also the insular mass in the Antarctic waters. Lying at a relatively short distance from the south-east coast of Africa, not more than 230 miles at the narrowest part of the intervening channel, Madagascar stretches in a straight line from the northern headland of Cape Amber, for about 1 ,000 miles to its soutl^ern extremity at Cape St. ]SIury. The mean breadth east and west, as indicated by a line drawn from Andovorauto on the east side through Tananarivo to the Ya-Zimba coast, is about 300 miles ; while the shore-line, excluding minor indentations and inlets such as the Diego-Suarez Bay, has a total development of over 3,000 miles, giving a super- ficial area of 237,000 square miles, or one-sixth more than that of France. Its general configuration is somewhat regular, in its outlines greatly resem- bling Sumatra, the first large island met by the seafarer on the opposite side of the Indian Ocean. It presents the form of an elongated oval, disposed in a parallel line with the axis of the adjacent African seaboard. But the side facing seawards is nearly rectilineal f )r about half of its length, this formation being due to the equalising action of the waves, which have raised a false coastline of sands und mud across the bays and inlets indenting the primitive seaboard. The west side, facmg the mainland, is of far more irregular outline, being much diversified by projecting headlands and numerous little gulfs and havens. The present name of Madagascar seems to be due to a mistaken application or extension of the term originally attributed by Marco Polo to the city of Magdoshu (Magadoxo), on the Somali coast.* Nevertheless, by a curious coincidence, this ai)p«dlation bears a tolerably close resemblance to that of Malagasy, the collective • Col. H. Yule, The Book of Set Marco PoJo. •