{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_71480/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_71480","id":"gutenberg_71480","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71480","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: History - Other","Category: Travel Writing","Ethiopia -- Description and travel","Ethiopia -- Religion","Sudan -- Description and travel"],"text":"[Illustration: THE SOURCE OF THE BLUE NILE SHOWING LAKE IN\nTHE DISTANCE.\n\n_See p._ 136.]\n\n\n                           THE SOURCE OF THE\n                               BLUE NILE\n\n        A RECORD OF A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUDAN TO LAKE TSANA\n              IN WESTERN ABYSSINIA, AND OF THE RETURN TO\n                   EGYPT BY THE VALLEY OF THE ATBARA\n\n                                 WITH\n                 A NOTE ON THE RELIGION, CUSTOMS, ETC.\n                             OF ABYSSINIA\n\n                                  BY\n                    ARTHUR J. HAYES, L.S.A. (LOND.)\n               MEDICAL OFFICER, QUARANTINE OFFICE, SUEZ\n                                  AND\n                       AN ENTOMOLOGICAL APPENDIX\n                                  BY\n                     E. B. POULTON, LL.D., F.R.S.\n         HOPE PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD\n\n                     _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS_\n\n                                LONDON\n                SMITH, ELDER & CO., 15, WATERLOO PLACE\n                                 1905\n\n                        _(All rights reserved)_\n\n\n                              PRINTED BY\n                   WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,\n                          LONDON AND BECCLES.\n\n\n\n\n                                PREFACE\n\n\nIn Africa the centre of interest shifts quickly, from Khartoum to the\nCape, from the Congo to Morocco. Before now it has lain in Abyssinia,\nfor Englishmen especially. It may be found there again. If so, the\ntheatre of action will probably be the little known region of Western\nAbyssinia, and that district of the Anglo-Egyptian Nile Province which\nadjoins it.\n\nGeographically, Western Abyssinia dominates the south-east of the\nSoudan. The Soudan, as every one in England knows now, is not a\ncontinuation of the Desert of Sahara, but a land that once flowed with\nmilk and honey, and may again. It contains vast tracts of soil\nperfectly adapted for the cultivation of cotton. A hostile force\ndescending from Abyssinia has the enormous advantage of moving from\ndifficult into easy country with an open line of retreat into almost\ninaccessible mountains. An expedition from the Soudan, on the other\nhand, would be confronted, after traversing miles of uninhabited hilly\nwastes, by the necessity of forcing its way up mule-paths winding among\nprecipices.\n\nThere is no reason why peace should not be permanently established\nbetween Egypt and Ethiopia, if the Abyssinian slave-raids are stopped.\nBut the changes and chances of international politics bring about\nstrange consequences. Rumours, not without foundation, have been\ncirculated recently of new engagements entered into by the Negus giving\nfar-reaching concessions to Americans. Other Powers are busy, and a\ndiplomatic\u2014and spectacular\u2014mission started lately from Berlin for Addis\nAbbiba. There is room in the country for all nations to find commercial\nopportunities. But if influences hostile to Great Britain became\ndominant in Western Abyssinia, a danger to the Soudan\u2014and not to the\nSoudan only\u2014would have arisen, the seriousness of which few people at\nhome, perhaps, rightly realize. I make no further apology for bringing\nsome account of a journey from Khartoum to Lake Tsana before the public.\n\nMy heartiest thanks are due to my friend, Mr. Godfrey Burchett, without\nwhose aid in preparing for publication the rough notes of a traveller\u2019s\ndiary, this book would not have come into existence. I cannot too\ncordially acknowledge my indebtedness to him.\n\nI wish to acknowledge also my great obligation to Sir W. Garstin, who,\non behalf of the Egyptian Government, has allowed me to reproduce the\nmap of Lake Tsana, published in his Report on the Basin of the Upper\nNile (1904); to Professor Poulton for his kindness in preparing the\nentomological appendix to this volume; and to Mr. C. E. Dupuis for\npermission to publish interesting photographs taken by him. And I have\nthe pleasure of cordially thanking Mr. John Murray for leave given me\nto make extracts from \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d by Mansfield Parkyns, and\nthe \u201cNarrative of the British Mission to Theodore, King of Abyssinia,\u201d\nby Hormuzd Rassam; Messrs. Macmillan and Co., for similar permission in\nthe case of \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d by Sir Samuel Baker;\nMessrs. C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd., in the case of \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d by Herbert\nVivian; Messrs. Chapman & Hall in the case of \u201cA Narrative of a Journey\nthrough Abyssinia,\u201d by Henry Dufton; and Mr. Augustus Wylde in the case\nof \u201cModern Abyssinia.\u201d It would have been impossible to publish the\ncollated information about the Soudan and Abyssinia contained in this\nvolume without the privilege kindly granted me by these gentlemen.\n\n                                                         A. J. HAYES.\n\nSUEZ, 1905.\n\n\n\n\n                         LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                           TO FACE PAGE\n\n  THE SOURCE OF THE BLUE NILE, SHOWING LAKE IN THE\n  DISTANCE                                               _Frontispiece_\n\n  THE START AHEAD OF THE CARAVAN                                      4\n\n  CHILDREN AT NO. 6 STATION, BETWEEN HALFA AND ABOU HAMED,\n  EAT THE REMAINS OF LUNCH, CURRY AND RICE                            4\n\n  THE WELCOME AT ABOU HARRAS                                         13\n\n  VILLAGE MUSICIANS AT ABOU HARRAS                                   14\n\n  THE WELLS AT THE FOOT OF GEBAL ARANG                               18\n\n  MR. FLEMMING\u2019S HOUSE AT GEDAREF                                    22\n\n  REST-HOUSE BETWEEN GOZ REGEB AND ADARAMA                           22\n\n  GUM-BEARING MIMOSA TREES                                           30\n\n  TRYING THE TEMPERATURE OF A PATIENT AT THE DOCTOR\u2019S PARADE         30\n\n  RAIN COUNTRY                                                       64\n\n  THE KNOTTED SAPLING NOW BECOME A TREE                              66\n\n  MESSENGER SENT TO STOP US GOING DOWN TO THE LAKE                   68\n\n  HOUSES AT DELGI                                                    79\n\n  WASHING OUT \u201cTEDJ\u201d POTS AT DELGI                                   79\n\n  A CASE OF LEPROSY                                                 104\n\n  FORDING THE RIVER GUMARA                                          106\n\n  INTERESTED IN THE PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERA                             110\n\n  WOMEN DANCING AT THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY                        110\n\n  THE \u201cCANDELABRA EUPHORBIA\u201d ON THE EDGE OF A DRY WATER-COURSE      114\n\n  BETWEEN SARA AND KORATA                                           114\n\n  THE CHURCH AT KORATA CONTAINING THE FRESCOES                      118\n\n  THE PORTUGUESE BRIDGE OVER THE BLUE NILE                          118\n\n  FRESCOES IN THE CHURCH AT KORATA                                  120\n\n  OUR GUIDE BETWEEN KORATA AND WOREB                                132\n\n  THE DONKEYS CROSSING THE FERRY                                    140\n\n  THE MULES SWIMMING THE FERRY                                      140\n\n  PUSHING THE DONKEYS INTO THE WATER, PREPARATORY TO THEIR\n  BEING FERRIED ACROSS                                              142\n\n  INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH AT BAHARDAR GEORGIS                        154\n\n  MARKET-DAY AT ZEGI                                                162\n\n  INTERVIEWING THE SULTAN OF DELGI                                  170\n\n  THE SULTAN OF DELGI, AN OLD PRIEST, AND SLAVE CARRYING\n  THE SHIELD                                                        170\n\n  HEAD OF A HAARTEBEEST                                             184\n\n  \u201cLATES NILOTICUS\u201d CAUGHT WITH A TROUT-ROD                         184\n\n  HADENDOWA, CAMEL-DRIVER                                           186\n\n  DINKA BOY, CAMEL-DRIVER                                           186\n\n  SOUDANESE WITH AMULETS                                            190\n\n  AT THE WELL, GORATIA                                              190\n\n  KASSALA HILL AND MARKET-PLACE                                     204\n\n  THE MOUDIRIEH AT KASSALA                                          206\n\n  TENTS PITCHED IN THE ENCLOSURE OF THE MOUDIRIEH AT KASSALA        206\n\n  GOZ REGEB GRANITE STONE, MIMOSA SCRUB IN THE DISTANCE             208\n\n  GOZ REGEB STONES                                                  208\n\n  ROCKS AT GOZ REGEB                                                210\n\n  ROCKS AT GOZ REGEB HILL                                           210\n\n  A MIRAGE, SHOWING GOZ REGEB HILL IN THE DISTANCE                  212\n\n  LORD KITCHENER\u2019S BRIDGE OVER THE ATBARA, NEAR BERBER              214\n\n                                 MAPS\n\n  THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SOUDAN                          _At end of Volume_\n\n  LAKE TSANA                                                 \u201e\n\n\n\n\n                                  THE\n                        SOURCE OF THE BLUE NILE\n\n                               CHAPTER I\n\n\nIn October, 1902, I was acting as Medical Inspector of the native\nquarter of Alexandria. Cholera had kept the staff busy, and we had\nbrought the number of cases down to about fifteen in the last days\nof the month. I had passed the disinfecting gangs in review one\nmorning before sending them to their allotted quarters of the town,\nand had just resumed my work in the hospital, when I heard a voice\nsing out to me\u2014without preliminary\u2014\u201cHayes, would you like to\ngo to Abyssinia?\u201d\n\nIt was the Chief Inspector of the Sanitary Department who asked the\nquestion. By the evening I had made up my mind, and told him that I\nshould be glad to take the chance. However, I heard nothing more of\nthe matter till the middle of November. Then I received a telegram\ndirecting me to make my preparations in Cairo. And I had no time to\nwaste; for I learned that the expedition to which I was attached\nwould start in seven days. The \u201cjumping-off place\u201d would be\nclose to Khartoum.\n\nTwenty years earlier the journey thither would have had a lingering\nfascination of romance. Ten years earlier it would probably\nhave brought the traveller by painful paths to the Land of No\nReturn. To-day it lies within the range of the prudent tourist who\nprefers safe adventures between regular meals. He is much indebted\nto Lord Kitchener.\n\nIn Cairo I joined my companions Mr. Dupuis and Mr. Crawley. They had\nhad arrangements for the expedition in hand for many months; indeed,\nit had been planned for the previous year, but the illness of Sir\nWilliam Garstin at Khartoum delayed it. On November 27 we reached\nAssouan. Like hundreds of my fellow-countrymen, I photographed the\ngreat dam, and the temple of Phil\u00e6. Our next stage was by post-boat\nto Wady Halfa, where we arrived on December 1. In the evening of that\nday we took train on the Soudan Government Railway. The following\nmorning I had a new experience; for I had never before seen the\nmirage from the window of a railway carriage.\n\nThe granite rocks seemed to rise out of a great lake. The illusion\nwas so perfect that I used it as a test of my black \u201cboy\u2019s\u201d\nshrewdness. I called him, and said, \u201cLook at the water!\u201d His\nanswer was, \u201cIt is not the water. It is the water-thief, your\nexcellency.\u201d\n\nIn this desolate land, with a burning sky over it, there are no\ntrees. It is all of a piece, and the different parts of it give no\nsense of varied locality. The stations are not named but numbered,\nand here the water is stored in zinc tanks. Command of the tanks\nmeans command of the country\u2014an important fact in connection with\npossible _\u00e9meutes_ of native troops.\n\nAt Abou Hamed we reached the Nile again, and saw vegetation. Warm\nbaths are provided in the station. We jumped out of the train in\nour pyjamas and rushed into luxury.\n\nThe railway follows the river to Helfiah, on the opposite side\nof the river to Khartoum. Here I first beheld our camels, the\nsteadily stubborn source of infinite vexation. All that is hard and\nheart-breaking in the character of the desert is incarnate in the\ncamel. At Helfiah we engaged Soudanese \u201cboys,\u201d settled matters\nwith officials, and finished our preparations for shooting big game.\n\nI went to the Soudan Club at Khartoum, and strolled about the town\nin the spirit of an inquiring tourist. It is carefully administered,\nand is laid out in three sections. The best houses are being built by\nthe riverbank. Plans of these must be submitted for approval. They\nare mostly of red brick, and well constructed. Smaller houses, the\n\u201csecond class,\u201d have their sites behind the big residences. The\n\u201cthird-class\u201d district is still further back. The object of\nthis caste system applied to builders\u2019 enterprise is to secure\nthat there shall be a fine promenade along the river front, and no\nmean streets near to it. The British and Egyptian flags are hoisted\nside by side over the quarters of the army of occupation. The\nGordon College\u2014the other tribute to the man\u2019s work\u2014is a big,\nsquare, red-brick building. It seems to insist on its resemblance\nto barracks. No dahabeahs are seen on the Nile here; the boats\nare feluccas. Having made these notes of a tripper I returned to\nHelfiah. This was on December 5.\n\nWe dined in our camp, and slept in our tents for the first time, and\nI ceased to be a tourist, and became a member of an expedition. My\ncompanions and I showed the servants how to pitch the tents and peg\nthem, and we apportioned loads to the camels. The camel is\u2014not\nmetaphorically\u2014foul-mouthed. We put some of the boys up to try the\npaces of the animals, trusting chiefly to one who had served in the\nCamel Corps under Kitchener. I watched the exhibition of ungainly\nshuffling with the face of one who judges, but I thought of the\nhours during which I should be shaken under the glaring sun.\n\nNext morning we were up at sunrise. We had not yet lost touch of the\nBritish breakfast-table, for we ate sausages and poached eggs. Then\nthe camels were loaded and the tents were struck, and at mid-day we\nstarted\u2014three Englishmen, six native servants, forty camels, and\nten camel-men. Our route lay along the north bank of the Blue Nile,\nover a beaten track in a wilderness of loose sand. A few scattered\nthorny mimosa bushes are the only vegetation. I timed the camels\nand found they travelled about 3\u00bc miles an hour. At two o\u2019clock\nthe temperature was 104\u00b0 F. in the shade, but all the surroundings\nwere new to me, and I enjoyed the journey in spite of the monotony of\nthe country. It is all bare desert, and one never loses sight of the\nmirage. At one point I watched a flock of goats, which looked exactly\nas if they were knee deep in water. We reached Soba, fourteen miles\nup the river, at sundown. Here there is a pleasant and clean little\nrest-house built of straw. We had kept ahead of our baggage-train,\nwhich arrived an hour later. People in England who speak of tea\nas refreshing do not know the full meaning of that word. The cups\nwere filled for men who had fasted since breakfast at 7.30, except\nfor a welcome drink of river water on arrival, and were served\nwith biscuits and sardines. After this, the happiness of a wash,\nand an eight o\u2019clock dinner. A meal of curry and rice and tinned\nroast beef is not a severe hardship, and the only _contretemps_\non our first day in the desert was the discovery that we must put\nourselves on short rations of candles. A mistake had been made about\nthe quantity ordered, and we were ill supplied. But there was a clear\nmoon. We turned in to sleep in the open, and the sandflies found us\nand were glad; for we were fresh blood, and they were small enough\nto crawl through the meshes of the mosquito curtains.\n\n[Illustration: THE START AHEAD OF THE CARAVAN.\n\n_See p._ 4.]\n\n[Illustration: CHILDREN AT NO. 6 STATION, BETWEEN HALFA AND ABOU\nHAMED, EAT THE REMAINS OF LUNCH, CURRY AND RICE.\n\n_See p._ 2.]\n\nThe first signs of dawn brought us out of bed next morning. We were\nin good luck; for the servants had kept a fire alight all night, and\nhot water was ready for us. There was beatitude in a warm bath after\nthe plague of sandflies. We started at daybreak; there was no change\nin the track or the country. Heat, a high wind and dust spoiled the\njourney in the morning. We halted to lunch under the largest mimosa\nbush we could find, which gave as much shade as a telegraph pole.\n\nCrawley opened his big artist\u2019s umbrella, which should have been\na successful aid to comfort, but it tried conclusions with the wind\nand was worsted. We started again at two o\u2019clock, and arrived in\nthe evening at our camping-ground opposite the pleasant village\nof Sheik-el-Obeid. Our guns played the part of poulterer for us\nand varied our diet. In the morning Dupuis had shot a brace of\nsand-grouse, and in the khor[1] below our camp I had the luck to\nbag a teal. The temperature fell rapidly after sundown, and the\nnight was very cold. The mosquitoes were numbed and did not stir,\nbut the camels did, and I found them as effective in promoting a\nvigil. All night long they were browsing on the mimosa scrub; they\nrelish the thorns, which are about two inches long. I heard them\npull the branches, and then, when one was released, it recoiled into\nplace with a swish. There was a continuous noise of this movement,\nand it vaguely reminded me of breaking water.\n\nThe camels were hobbled, and stumbled from bush to bush. I constantly\nexpected that one would stumble upon my bed. They loomed up, shadowy\nand grotesque, in the light of the bearers\u2019 fires, and I had a\nkind of nightmare of them without sleep.\n\nOn the 8th we were up before sunrise. Probably the camels, after\nsupping all night, were tired. I say \u201cprobably\u201d; for the camel is\nan aberrant type, and one can only guess its sensations. They were\nunwilling to barak[2] to receive their loads, and were grunting,\nsnarling, and growling. When one of these beasts seems likely to\nbecome unmanageable, the camel-man \u201cbridles\u201d it by passing his\nindex finger through the orifice between its nostrils. In breaking\nin young ones, a stout thorn, shaped as a peg, is used in the same\nposition.\n\nWe started at 7.30, and walked ahead of the baggage train with our\nguns. At nine o\u2019clock, when the sun had gained power, we took to the\nsaddle. The country through which we passed is cultivated during the\nrainy season; it is scored with ravines, hollowed out by the rush of\nwater in the wet months, and is uncomfortable ground for travellers.\n\nDuring the day we shot five pigeons and a sand-grouse. Beside the\nriver we saw and heard great numbers of demoiselle cranes, but found\nit impossible to get within gun-range of them. They have scouts on\nthe watch both when they are in flight and when they settle, and\nas soon as the warning cry is given by the outpost the shooter\u2019s\nchance is gone.\n\nWe reached our camping-ground, near Bushagra, before five o\u2019clock,\nand pitched one tent for our own use in case a dust storm should\ncome upon us. I bathed on the brink of the river, but kept out of\nthe pool for fear of crocodiles. As yet I had seen none, but I made\ntheir acquaintance quite closely enough later in the journey. The\nnight was warm, and we slept in the open on the bank of the Nile.\n\nI began the next day (December 9) with a lucky shot. I had put my\ngun and a No. 3 cartridge\u2014the only one I had\u2014on the table near my\nbed before turning in, as I hoped that the demoiselles might be less\ncautious before daybreak. I was up an hour before dawn, and loaded my\ngun. I could hear the croaking of the birds for a long distance, and\nknew from the sound that they were moving. Just at the moment when I\nwas ready, three cranes sailed over the camp. They were within range;\nand when I fired, a fine demoiselle collapsed and came to the ground\nin a heap. These birds make good eating.\n\nAll the country in this district has the same character. The low\nmimosa scrub is varied by patches of land which are cultivated in the\nrainy season. The Khalifa had his powder and cartridge factory at\nBushagra, and possibly the natives thought that European vengeance\nmight fall on them for this reason. In any case the Soudanese here\nshowed nervousness, and made off when they saw us coming.\n\nWe ate another British breakfast\u2014porridge and sausages\u2014and\nthen started on foot with our guns at half-past seven. A tramp of\nfive miles gave us no sport, and we mounted our camels about nine\no\u2019clock. Our road lay through the hottest country I have ever\nknown, and the temperature rose hourly as the day advanced. Smoked\nglasses ease the eyes a little, and there is shade under one\u2019s\nwhite umbrella, but nothing seems able to allay the thirst which this\nland causes. It is a mistake to suppose that one must go east of Suez\nto gain experience of true human drought. The water in my bottle[3]\nlasted, and only just lasted, through the journey.\n\nHot, parched men, in a hot, uninteresting land, are not likely to\nbe in their best temper, and we had to bear with our guide. He had\nasserted that he knew the whole country, but he barely knew how to\nfollow the track, and seemed to lack ideas of time and distance. We\nasked him, \u201cWhen shall we reach the river again?\u201d He pointed to\na large section of the heavens and answered, \u201cWhen the sun reaches\nthere.\u201d He could not tell us the names of villages which lay on\nour route, and our maps were not trustworthy.\n\nWe reached the river bank after our halt at lunch-time, but left it\nagain, and my camel\u2019s action appeared to be more back-breaking and\nmonotonous than ever. Two hours in the saddle seemed like four, and\nXenophon\u2019s Greeks were not more delighted to behold the sea than I\nwas by the sight of the blue water as we approached it late in the\nafternoon. Our camping ground was beside the stream, and I rushed\nto the brink with my enamelled mug; the water was rather muddy,\nbut the draught seemed like nectar.\n\nI tried for a fish, without success. When I returned to camp I heard\na camel grunting loudly and dismally. On going to discover the cause,\nI found the animal fastened to the ground by cords, while a man was\nscarifying its back with live cinders. The object is to produce\ncounter-irritation as a remedy for cysts. I arrived too late to\ndeliver the unhappy beast from the horrors of Soudanese veterinary\ntreatment, as the operation had just been completed. However, I gave\nthe Arabs \u201ca piece of my mind.\u201d They may not have understood my\nArabic, but they could not mistake the meaning.\n\nWe had covered twenty miles during the day and camped beside a khor,\nopposite to a village called Baranku, which is situated on an island\nin the river.\n\nOn the following morning we started with our guns and walked ahead\nof the camels. Besides pigeons, we shot plovers of two kinds which I\nhad not seen before. Our route throughout the day was over fertile\nsoil, perfectly adapted for the cultivation of cotton. At present,\ngrain (durrha) is grown here, and apparently only one crop is raised\nannually, after the summer rains. But Dupuis told me that if a canal\nwere cut and a system of irrigation established the soil would bear\n\u201cthe kindly fruits of the earth\u201d all the year round. Villages are\nnumerous in this district, and we never lost sight of one or other\nof them during our day\u2019s journey. I noticed a great disproportion\nbetween the numbers of male and female inhabitants. In a hamlet in\nwhich I made inquiry there were eighteen women to one man. Nearly all\nthe men had perished in the days of the Mahdi and Osman Digna. As\na consequence, the women worked in the fields, while their few\nsurviving consorts led lives of idleness. I suppose they were\nconsidered, and considered themselves, too valuable to be subjected\nto fatigue. They were too poor to buy tobacco, or smoking might\nhave kept them silent. As it was, when they were not asleep they\nwere talking, and I wondered how they could possibly find topics\nfor incessant conversation.\n\nWe halted for the night on the bank of the river, two miles\nfrom Rufa\u2019a, which is the second largest town on the Blue\nNile. Miralai[4] Blewitt Bey, the Moudir[5] of Rufa\u2019a, sent a\npolice officer with a courteous message, expressing his desire to do\nall in his power to assist us. A welcome gift of eggs and fresh milk\nreached us a few hours later, and at the same time two night-watchmen\n(Gaffirs) arrived for the protection of the camp. We were heartily\ngrateful for our countryman\u2019s good-will. Dupuis dined with him\nthat evening, while Crawley and I remained in charge of the camp.\n\nIn the course of the afternoon I applied iodoform to the back of one\nof the camels, to keep the flies from a sore. All the drivers came\nclamouring to me after this, importuning me to treat every scratch\non the beasts of burden in the same way. One wishes to conform to\nthe tradition of ready helpfulness which is, happily, associated\nwith the medical profession, but I declined to become physician in\nordinary to the forty camels, as far as abrasions were concerned.\n\nNext morning our troublesome guide sought me out to complain\nof symptoms of dyspepsia. He remarked that he was incessantly\nspitting\u2014a circumstance which I had already noticed with disgust. I\ntold him that if he swallowed the water which Allah gave him in his\nmouth, it would make his food move from the place where he had the\npain, which was a punishment from Providence for his wastefulness. He\nasked many questions to make sure that I knew what I was talking\nabout, and then left me, much impressed. My \u201cprescription\u201d had\nthe desired effect, and he gave up his objectionable habit.\n\nThe morning of December 11 was very cold for these low latitudes. Just\nbefore sunrise the thermometer sank to 43\u00b0 F. When we were ready\nto start, we found that the head baggage-man was drunk. He had\nbeen tippling \u201cmarissa,\u201d which the villagers brew from fermented\nbarley. The man leered vacantly and was incapable of work. Considering\nthe thirst and the opportunities there was little drunkenness among\nour boys in the Soudan, and we had no further trouble from this\nsource. But the precepts of the Prophet did not keep those who\naccompanied us into Abyssinia from the vile beer of the country.\n\nBlewitt Bey, on his pony, met us just after we had mounted our camels,\nand rode five miles with us. He gave us most valuable information\nabout the land in which our road lay, and we were sorry when he said\ngood-bye with best of wishes for our success.\n\nWe were in the saddle nearly eight hours and travelled about\ntwenty-three miles. We reached our camping-ground at Abou Harras at\nfive o\u2019clock. The sun set almost immediately, and we, who were\nin advance, pitched our three tents by moonlight. The last of the\nbaggage train did not arrive till an hour and a half later, and the\ndrunken \u201cSheik of the Afsh\u201d[6] was not with it.\n\nThe country through which we passed was similar to that which we had\nseen on the previous day. It is perfectly fertile. We had left the\nsand and mimosa scrub behind us, and were in a well-wooded region,\nwith abundant undergrowth of bushes. The open ground is covered by\ngrass which grows to a height of nine feet in the rainy season,\nbut was now dried and matted under foot. It supplies pasturage\nfor cattle, and I saw a herd of kine grazing on it. They were in\nfine condition. I handed my mug to the herdsman and asked him for\nsome milk. He gave it to me willingly, and I thought it the best I\nhad tasted since I left England in 1899. It seemed to me that this\ndistrict offered a valuable field to British capital and enterprise.\n\nI extract from my diary the following unsystematic notes, with an\napology to the reader:\u2014The butterflies which I saw most frequently\non the journey were the clouded yellow and the red tip. The brimstone\nand painted yellow are seen occasionally. The familiar cabbage white\nis found on the banks of the river. I heard no singing bird except\nthe chaffinch, but I saw a pair of blackbirds, tits of many kinds,\nand fly-catchers. A long-tailed species, which is a little smaller\nthan a ring-dove, is very common. It was called \u201calbicora\u201d by\nour black boys.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: THE WELCOME AT ABOU HARRAS.\n\n_See p._ 13.]\n\n                              CHAPTER II\n\n\nWe did not expect to receive a public welcome at Abou Harras, and\nwere thoroughly surprised when the entire village, on the morning of\nthe 12th, turned out to give us a reception. Women and men bore down\non us, dancing and clapping their hands to a hideous accompaniment\nof tomtoms and drums. Many of them leaped and capered in the craziest\nfashion to emphasize the display of pleasure at our arrival. The women\nand children expressed their delight by a peculiar tremolo cry, which\nreminded me of that heard in Lower Egypt at marriage festivals.[7]\nOne old man came on at a leisurely pace giving an exhibition of\nsword-play in our honour. He afterwards delivered a panegyric of the\nEnglish, declaring that they were the saviours of his country, that\nthe children of the Soudanese were now no longer torn from them, and\nso forth. I found that the young men were almost all absent from the\nvillage, doing military service on the Abyssinian frontier; the women\nwho came out to show their delight officially by their shrilling were\n\u201cthe girls they left behind them.\u201d This singular deputation had\nnot approached very near, and presently retired a little way. Some\nof the slower movements of those who took part in the ceremony were\nby no means ungraceful, but the din was indescribably discordant. I\nwent to inspect the procession at close quarters, supposing that it\nwould shortly withdraw and disperse. But the \u201cmusic\u201d continued\nfor fully an hour and a half, and it was more difficult to endure\npatiently during the latter part of the time as we were all busily\nwriting letters for the homeward mail. A messenger had to carry\nthem half a dozen miles and return immediately to rejoin, and he\nwas waiting for our correspondence.\n\nThe point of junction of the river Rahad with the Blue Nile is half a\nmile distant from Abou Harras, and my companions walked to the spot\nlater in the day. I attended to some odd jobs of the kind which a\ntraveller always finds he has in arrear, and then I tried for fish,\nbut caught nothing and lost my spinner. Many herons had taken their\nstation on a strip of sand about a hundred yards from the place\nwhere I stood, and paid no heed to my presence.\n\nOn this day we had the good luck to receive two English visitors. The\nfirst was Mr. Wilson, the Moudir of Wad-el-Medani. We could only\noffer him a cup of rather muddy tea; but the village offered him the\npublic reception, and the music was as loud as ever at the second\nperformance. Our second guest was Bimbashi Gwynn, who landed from\nthe sternwheeler which had left Khartoum on the 10th. He was on the\nway to Abyssinia to settle the boundary question. He had been in\nthat country before, and as he was able to stay and dine with us,\nwe had the benefit of many useful hints in the course of a pleasant\nchat in the evening.\n\n[Illustration: VILLAGE MUSICIANS AT ABOU HARRAS.\n\n_See p._ 14.]\n\nAt Abou Harras we parted company with our guide, drivers, and forty\ncamels. There was no unhappiness at the leave-taking. We inspected\nthe men and animals that we had hired in their place, and devoutly\nhoped we had made a better choice.\n\nOn the following morning the thermometer again sank to 43 degrees,\nand the atmosphere and the water seemed bitterly cold to us. We\nstarted on the road to Gedaref just before nine o\u2019clock. Our new\nguide was a Greek, who had made the journey many times, and was said\nto know everything that need be known. I was sceptical.\n\nOur route followed the course of the telegraph, and lay at first\nbeside the Rahad. This river differs considerably in the dry season\nfrom the Blue Nile. In the latter we had found a fairly fast current\nflowing over a stony or sandy bed between banks composed of mud. The\nstream passed through a succession of shallows and deep pools. The\nRahad, at the point of junction with the Nile, was entirely dry, and\nwe proceeded some distance up the course before we found pools. The\nbanks are high and steep.\n\nI do not think that Sir Samuel Baker at all exaggerated the fertility\nand value of the land in this region. He wrote: \u201cThe entire country\nwould be a mine of wealth were it planted with cotton.\u201d[8] The\nRahad, as he said, \u201cflows through rich alluvial soil; the country\nis a vast level plain, with so trifling a fall that the current\nof the river is gentle.\u201d[9] This circumstance would facilitate\nirrigation. Besides mimosa trees and much other timber, we found in\nthis region matted growths of bushes and wide stretches of long grass\nnow tangled on the ground\u2014all bearing testimony to the quality of\nthe soil.\n\nI soon perceived that my hope of a better mount was vain. My new\ncamel was a failure from the start. His paces were indescribable,\nand when he trotted I felt like a bad sailor in a small boat on a\nlively sea. In an hour\u2019s time I had lost my temper and got rid\nof the camel. As the result, I was better served, and a beast was\nbrought for me which shambled evenly, and allowed me to keep up with\nmy companions.\n\nWe halted for lunch at a village called Hadeiba, where two sheikhs\ncame out to receive us. They were very polite, but would neither\neat nor smoke, as we were in the month of Ramadan. By-and-by they\nremembered that they ought to give us a present, and left us,\nsaying that they would bring two sheep, according to the custom of\nthe Soudan. Half an hour later we quitted the spot.\n\nThat night we camped at a place named Khor Abou Segeira, close to\nthe Rahad. Near at hand was a muddy pool in the course of the river,\nand we had to draw our supply of liquor from it. As usual, we set\nour Berkfeld filters to work. A candle is a part of the apparatus\nthrough which the water filters, and we found that this incessantly\nbecame foul and required to be cleaned every three minutes. However,\nwe replenished our stock of clear water sufficiently, and then went\nto bed by moonlight in the open.\n\nWe started at a quarter-past seven on the morning of the 14th. No\ntents had been pitched the night before, so none had to be struck,\nand our departure was earlier on this account. My companions and I\ntook our guns into the bushy ground beside the river while the camels\nfollowed the track towards Gedaref. We were in search of guinea-fowl,\nwhich are found in great abundance on the banks of the Rahad. These\nbirds run in flocks, and rise at about forty yards\u2019 distance when\none tries to approach them.\n\nI lost sight of my companions in the thick, tangled vegetation, and\nafter waiting where I was for a while in case they should chance\nto rejoin me, roamed on. I found no guinea-fowl, but pigeons and\nringdoves were in great abundance, and there were hoopoes, hornbills,\nkingfishers, and numbers of other birds. A little later I came to the\nbanks of the river. Here I saw a company of grivet monkeys. These,\naccording to Mansfield Parkyns, are called \u201ctota\u201d or \u201cwaag\u201d\nin Abyssinia. He described the species as \u201ca beautiful little\ngreenish-grey monkey, with black face and white whiskers.\u201d[10]\nThe natty little fellows whom I met by the Rahad just answered the\ndescription. They were clean and sleek, and looked as \u201cspry\u201d as\ncleverness could make them.\n\nAfter following the course of the river for about half a mile I\nmade towards the track and found it without difficulty, but I saw\nno sign of our baggage-train. However, one of our boys trotted up\na few minutes later, and then I learned that the camels were some\nway behind. In fact, an hour and a half passed before they overtook\nme. When the others came up, I learned that they had supposed me to\nbe lost and had scoured the country in all directions, and that the\nwhole party had been detained till all the searchers were called\nin. I was intensely annoyed to find that I had been the cause of\nthe needless delay.\n\nWe lunched beside another muddy pool in the course of the Rahad,\nand then moved forward to our camping-ground for the night, which\nwas called Mesr-el-Ashir.\n\nDuring the journey we had noticed that our escort were driving two\nsheep. We made inquiry about them, and were told that they had been\npurchased by the Greek guide on the previous day. We had a very\nstrong suspicion that they were the animals which the Sheikhs had\npromised us at Hadeiba, and that the subtle Hellene had benefited by\nthe gift. One of the sheep was killed in the evening, and we received\n\u201ca present\u201d of a leg, some chops, and a couple of kidneys. The\nmeat was excellent.\n\nOur route now left the course of the Rahad, and we turned eastward\ntowards Gedaref.\n\nOur beds were spread in the open again. Orion was straight above me\nas I lay, before falling asleep, and Sirius nearer to the southern\nhorizon. I looked for the constellation and the star each night when\nI turned in, and had a sense of being in the presence of old friends\nwhile I gazed at them.\n\nOn the following morning, December 15, I again changed my mount for\nthe better, and rode a smoothly trotting camel at last. Our day\u2019s\njourney was a short one, and brought us to the last watering-place\nwhich a traveller on this road reaches before the wells of Fau. On\nthe way my companions shot a couple of guinea-fowl, and we were glad\nto see them at dinner-time.\n\nWe camped at night close to a long range of hills of a granite\nformation called Gebal Arang. They rise to a height of three hundred\nor four hundred feet, and make a striking change in the landscape as\none approaches them. I knew that our Berbereen boys had never seen\nsuch high ground, and watched them to observe what impression it made\nupon them. It made none. They are an apathetic race, philosophers\nof the _nil admirari_ school by temperament.\n\n[Illustration: THE WELLS AT THE FOOT OF GEBAL ARANG.\n\n_See p._ 18.]\n\nOn these inland marches we carried water in tanks, and were obliged\nto hoard it. We had to go back in the morning to the allowance which\nhad served us for washing purposes overnight. In all this region,\nevery condition of life, important and unimportant, depends upon\nthe rivers. At Gebel Arang we saw gazelles and the antelopes called\nariels for the first time. We also caught sight of a large bustard,\nand my companion stalked it unsuccessfully. It is hard work to carry\na gun in a hot country where every bush, and even the grass, grows\nthorns that \u201cmean business,\u201d and the man who fails is usually\nweary as well as disappointed.\n\nNext day, December 16, we travelled at the foot of the hills. It\nwas a pleasant journey, for there was verdure, and the tall mimosas\nthrew shade on the track. Besides the flocks of guinea-fowl to\nwhich we were accustomed, we saw a hare\u2014the first we had found\nin the Soudan. Before midday we reached the wells of Fau. The\ndrinking-water here is of a fairly good quality, but not quite free\nfrom mud. Guinea-fowl again supplied our dinner. They are slow to\nrise, but not easy to shoot; for they run in the most nimble fashion\namong the thick covert, and to come within range, the \u201cguns\u201d\nhave to run too. The sun is strong overhead, the thorns are strong\nall round, and the exercise is smart work, even for a man in sound\ncondition.\n\nIn the evening a messenger from the Intelligence Department reached\nour camp. He brought us letters and papers, and I ascertained that\nhe, on a fast camel and without baggage, had travelled in two and\na half days a distance which we had covered in six.\n\nOur halting-place was between two ranges of the hills. The wind\nblew hard during the night, and the current of it came racing down\nthe valley where we lay. Great clouds of dust were carried with\nit, and the particles were driven thickly into every crevice and\ncorner. Crawley and I tried to form a shelter by piling up our square\nboxes behind us, but this was of little avail. It was an excitement\nof a sort, but not pleasant to a sleepy man.\n\nWe lay later than usual next morning, December 17, as we did not\nintend to strike our camp till midday. My companions went to shoot\nthe poultry, and I remained in my tent and nearly shot myself without\nexpending a cartridge. Our plan for securing fizzing drinks was to\nput a sparklet in a bottle of water and screw in the top. I was busy\nupon this operation when the bottle which I was handling burst. As\nluck would have it, I received no injury, though I was peppered\nwith fragments of glass. One particle entered the eye of my boy\nAchmet. I extracted it and found that no serious damage had been\ndone to the organ. After this, we abandoned the use of sparklets,\nand fizzing drinks were things of the \u201cdear, dead past,\u201d and\nthe uncertain future.\n\nWe left the camp at midday, after six guinea-fowl had been brought\nin, and struck into the waterless country between our halting-place\nand Gedaref. The distance is seventy-two miles. We were obliged to\ncarry the drinking supply for the whole journey. Our route lay along\na good track that follows the line of the telegraph.\n\nThe soil in this region is soft, friable earth, perfectly adapted for\ncotton cultivation. But the district is unhealthy in the rainy season,\nwhen malaria prevails and the country is a reeking swamp of dead and\nliving vegetation. It was perfectly dry when we traversed it, and\nwe ran no risk of disease. The tangle of desiccated tall grass lay\nupon the ground, as in so many tracts of this part of the Soudan,\nand our road was bordered by mimosa shrubs. They grow thickly in\nplaces, but were not high enough to give protection from the sun.\n\nWe halted for the night at five o\u2019clock, and unpacked only our beds\nand such things as were strictly necessary, for we were to start at\nhalf-past four next morning.\n\nI was very sleepy when I was roused at 3.30 a.m. on the 18th. We had\na cup of cocoa, and then left our camping-ground at the appointed\ntime by moonlight. The air was chilly even after the sun rose at six\no\u2019clock, and the warmth of the day did not make itself felt before\neight. At half-past ten we halted for a _d\u00e9jeuner \u00e0 la fourchette_,\nand rested for a couple of hours.\n\nDarkness had fallen by the time we reached our camping-ground at\nthe place called Terras Wad-el-Fau. We had covered thirty-two miles\nof our journey since the morning. At this spot we rejoiced to find\nthat an Egyptian soldier in charge of two _fantasses_ (watertanks)\nhad been sent to meet us by the Inspector of Gedaref. Our camel-men\nwith the baggage were some distance behind us, and we lighted a\nbonfire of mimosa wood to cheer them forward. They overtook us at\ntheir leisure, and our dinner of stewed guinea-fowl was not served\ntill a quarter to ten.\n\nWe were out of bed by five o\u2019clock next morning, December 19,\nand hastened the preparations for the start. We had to cover thirty\nmiles in order to reach Gedaref in the evening. All this country\u2014I\ncannot call it desert, though the conditions are not dissimilar\u2014is\ncomfortless for travellers, but our last day\u2019s journey in it was\nthe worst. The heat was intense; so much so that \u201cresting\u201d at\nlunch-time seemed less tolerable than movement on camel-back. To\nquench an incessant thirst we had only the water stored in our tanks,\nwhich was warm and far from colourless. Even the hint of shade given\nby the mimosa scrub had now disappeared, and our eyes were wearied by\nthe monotonous stretches of land, in which nothing was seen but the\ndried and matted grass. It had been fired in places, accidentally I\nthink; for though it is often kindled to clear the ground for crops,\nin this region there was no trace of agriculture. The flames had\na ghostly, exhausted, unreal look in the burning sunshine. After\na march that seemed interminable we beheld, from rising ground,\nthree trees with verdure on them, and then we knew that we were near\nthe boundary of this distressing district. A two miles\u2019 journey\nbrought us to the house of Mr. Flemming at Gedaref[11]\u2014a square\nbuilding made of sun-dried mud. At our countryman\u2019s dwelling a\nwarm welcome and cool drinks awaited us. Here we found Bimbashis\nGwynn and Liddell. That evening Mr. Flemming gave us our Christmas\ndinner\u2014and we reconciled ourselves to antedating it\u2014with true\nBritish plum-pudding in the _menu_.\n\n[Illustration: MR. FLEMMING\u2019S HOUSE AT GEDAREF.\n\n_See p._ 22.]\n\n[Illustration: REST-HOUSE BETWEEN GOZ REGEB AND ADARAMA.\n\n_See p._ 214.\n\n_From a Photograph by Mr. C. E. Dupuis._]\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER III\n\n\nI had slept in the open by choice and felt it a luxury to awake on\nthe following morning with no prospect of a fatiguing journey. At\nseven o\u2019clock on December 20 we met again at Mr. Flemming\u2019s house,\nand busied ourselves with amateur photography.\n\n\u201cYou are the last white men I shall see until June next year,\u201d\nsaid our host, \u201cso I want to keep your faces.\u201d\n\nAfter breakfast we proceeded to the selection of seventeen \u201cboys,\u201d\nwho were to go up with our donkeys from Gallabat to Abyssinia. The\ncharacter of the country beyond the frontier of the Soudan renders\ntransit by camel impossible. It struck me as an interesting fact,\nnot without a bearing upon the doctrine of Evolution, that the\nchange from a flat or undulating to a mountainous region is here\naccompanied not only by a variation in the means of access, in the\nclimate, in the flora and fauna, but in the race of inhabitants and\nthe creed which they profess. In fact, the highlands of Abyssinia\nmay be said to constitute \u201can island on the land,\u201d if one may\nborrow the phrase which Darwin applied to the peaks of the Andes. And\na similar peculiarity in the survival of types can be observed here\nas that to which the great biologist referred in the other connection.\n\nMansfield Parkyns pointed out that the Abyssinians were, in his\ntime, poor swordsmen, ridiculous in their practice of musketry\nand frequently wanting in genuine courage.[12] Their country has\nconstantly been the scene of civil war and other dissensions. Indeed\nthe Jews among them, to whom I shall refer in another chapter, at one\ntime established a separate state in the \u201cmountain fastnesses of\nSemien and Belusa, where, under their own kings and queens called\nGideon and Judith, they maintained till the beginning of the\nseventeenth century a chequered and independent existence.\u201d[13]\n\nIn spite of these hindrances and deficiencies the Abyssinian people,\ngovernment and creed, have survived among heights protected on\none side by the sea and on the other by a tract of country which is\nuninhabitable and impassable from May to September, on account of the\nincessant torrential rains and the floods which they cause. If these\nfavouring conditions had not existed, the Abyssinian nation would long\nago have been \u201cconverted\u201d to Islamism or exterminated, and in the\nformer case they would have become assimilated by consanguinity to,\nif not merged in, the surrounding Arab and negroid tribes. As it is,\nthe Abyssinians form, ethnologically, an entirely distinct race.\n\nThis digression has carried me a long way from the \u201cdonkey-boys\u201d\nat Gedaref. They were paraded to the number of a hundred for our\ninspection\u2014Dongolis, Abyssinians, Tokrooris, Dinkas, Hadendowas,\nmen from every clan in the district. An uglier-looking crowd I never\nbeheld, and, as I gazed at the sinister, villainous faces, I hoped\nrather than believed that our choice of seventeen would not include\nrobbers or murderers. We adopted the plan of choosing one or two men\nfrom each of the different races. Experience showed that the policy\nwas sound, for no tribal quarrel was raised during our journey in\nAbyssinia. None of the groups was strong enough to commence a feud\nwith confidence.\n\nThe business of selection was completed after the haggling and\nconfusion inseparable from a bargain among Orientals, and I spent\nmost of the remainder of this and the following day in acquainting\nmyself with the features of life in Gedaref. As this place is a\ntype of the more important towns in the Soudan, in which Great\nBritain has a permanent interest, I hope the reader will tolerate\nthe transcription of a few of my notes.\n\nThe inhabitants number about eight thousand, and live\u2014to use\nMr. Dufton\u2019s description\u2014\u201cin a number of scattered villages,\nthe principal called Hellet-es-Sook, or the market town.\u201d[14]\nThe dwellings in this part of the Soudan and in Abyssinia are of the\nsame construction, and I cannot better convey a conception of their\nsimplicity and their appearance to those of my readers who have not\nseen them than by quoting the following passage from Mr. Dufton\u2019s\nwork:\u2014\u201cSome of the houses are built of sun-dried bricks and have\nflat roofs, but most of them\u201d (almost all in Western Abyssinia)\n\u201care conical thatched huts. The latter are made in the following\nmanner:\u2014In the first place a circle of about twenty feet diameter\nis described on the ground and surrounded by strong posts, each a\nyard apart, which are interlaced with thin pliable branches of trees,\nthe whole being covered outwardly with durrha stalks, tied together\nwith the long grass common on the banks of the river. A roof is\nformed in skeleton on the ground. A number of beams, corresponding\nto that of the posts, are made to converge at the top, and are held\nin this position by concentric circles of plaited twigs; the whole\nbeing then raised to its position on the house, where it is fastened\nand made ready to receive the thatch of straw and grass. Not a nail\nor rivet of any kind is used in the construction of these buildings,\nand they are rendered totally impervious to the wet. Of course their\ndisadvantage in comparison with mud houses is their liability to\ncatch fire, one or two cases of which I have witnessed; but they\nare generally built at sufficient distance not to endanger others,\nand a house of this description is rebuilt in a day or two.\u201d[15]\nHence the scattered appearance of the huts. They cover a distance\nsome five miles in length at Gedaref. These dwellings are called\n\u201ctokhuls,\u201d and I shall have occasion to allude to them frequently\nunder that name. In the Soudan storks build their nests round the\nupper part of the roofs, and are not molested.\n\nIn Mr. Dufton\u2019s time an open-air market was held twice a week\nin Gedaref. He thus describes it:\u2014\u201cOne part is devoted to the\nsale of camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; another to that of corn\nand durrha; another milk and butter; another raw cotton, dates,\netc. The butcher slaughters his meat on the spot, whether ox, sheep,\nor camel. The camel is killed somewhat differently from the rest; for\nit may well be imagined that a camel with merely its throat cut might\nbe a long while in dying. They therefore adopt the mode of striking\nit with a long knife at once to the heart, having previously taken\ncare to tie his long legs in a manner that he cannot move.\u201d[16]\n\nThe commerce of the place has been resuscitated since the British and\nEgyptian occupation. The market is now held daily. In addition there\nare the usual bazaars of an Oriental town. Gedaref has the advantage\nof possessing wells from which water of good quality is drawn. The\nplace suffered severely in the time of the Dervishes. They raided the\ndistrict as often as their supplies ran low, ruined the cultivation,\nand destroyed the greater part of the habitations.\n\nThe people seemed to be peaceable and contented under the present\nadministration, and I was struck by their politeness towards\nEuropeans. As we passed, they rose, if they were squatting on the\nground; those riding dismounted as a token of respect; those who\nwere at work discontinued it and stood still.\n\nThere are a certain number of shops in the town kept by Greeks. The\ncommerce of the Eastern Soudan is almost entirely in the hands\nof Hellenes, who import goods by way of Suakim. The merchandise\nis brought up the country by camel-train. The articles most in\nrequest among the natives are cheap mirrors, tumblers, coloured\nsilk handkerchiefs and similar goods\u2014in short, cheap finery and\ncheap small commodities. I am not a commercial man, and do not speak\nupon the point with certainty, but I think German houses meet this\ndemand. The Greek retailers also carry on a brisk trade in olives,\nwhich are imported in barrels. Olives and bread are the staple of\nthe diet of many Soudanese, and they eat this simple food with relish.\n\nWe found that we could purchase sugar, taken from the familiar\nsugar-loaf, soap, similar sundries and tinned provisions at\nGedaref. I was pleased to observe\u2014for my own sake and that\nof British enterprise\u2014that the latter bore the trade-mark of\nMessrs. Crosse and Blackwell.\n\nMy impression with regard to commercial opportunities in these towns\nis that a northern-bred storekeeper could not compete with the Greek\nretailer. I do not refer, in making this inference, especially\nto the singular astuteness of the latter. But it is an important\nconsideration that these men are able to live almost on the same\nscale as the natives, and their profits are due to the frugality of\ntheir life.\n\nWe managed to start our baggage-train on the journey from Gedaref\nto Gallabat by a quarter to eight on the morning of the 22nd\nDecember. Then we breakfasted with Mr. Flemming, and mounted our\ncamels to take the road again at 9.15. We moved forward at a trot,\nand I, now making trial of my fourth \u201csteed,\u201d found I had good\nluck for the second time. But I do not think that any one could devote\nto the camel the affection which is so readily given to a horse after\na brief acquaintance. The animal with the \u201csculptured sneer\u201d does\nnot invite friendship. It grunts and grimaces when one mounts, and\nthe rider can be under no illusion as to its sentiment towards him.\n\nWe saw some ariel, and my companions gave chase and tried to get\nwithin rifle-range. But the animals were shy and wary. The hunters\nexhausted their supply of ammunition, but brought no game. We lunched\nas usual in the scrappy shade of a mimosa bush, and reached Shisana\nwell shortly after four o\u2019clock.\n\nWe had now left the \u201ccotton soil\u201d region, and entered an\nundulating country, where our road lay over rocky or stony ground. The\ncharacter of the vegetation changed, and we began to pass through\nglades of the great mimosa forest which extends from the neighbourhood\nof Gedaref almost to Gallabat. Here the mimosas are not bushes but\ntrees, and it is from them that the gum-arabic is collected which\ngives Gedaref its highly valuable trade and its prosperity. Large\nquantities of the gum are exported by way of Suakim, and there is a\nmarket for it at Cairo and other towns of Lower Egypt. For instance,\nmuch crape is manufactured in Damietta, where I have watched the\nprocess. Gum from Gedaref is used to stiffen the texture, and serves\nthe same purpose in the preparation of various silken fabrics.\n\nThe industry might be largely developed. At present it is in the\nhands of Greek traders. As the supply of coin in the Soudan is small,\nthe gum is used as a kind of currency by the natives, who barter\nit for other goods. A small duty is levied by the Government on\nthe quantity exported, and no one seems appreciably the worse. I\npresent this detail of information to fiscal controversialists,\nand make no demand upon their gratitude in doing so.\n\nThe gum-bearing mimosas are, on an average, I should say, about\ntwenty-five feet high. The boles are straight. Thorns grow thickly\non the branches. The white bark gives a characteristic and almost\nhaunting feature to the great forest. The gum exudes, chiefly,\nat the junction of the branches with the trunk. Its appearance has\nbeen excellently described by Sir Samuel Baker: \u201cAt this season\nthe gum was in perfection, and the finest quality was now before\nus in beautiful amber-coloured masses upon the stems and branches,\nvarying from the size of a nutmeg to that of an orange. . . . This\ngum, although as hard as ice on the exterior, was limpid in the\ncentre, resembling melted amber, and as clear as though refined by\nsome artificial process. . . . The beautiful balls of frosted yellow\ngum recalled the idea of the precious jewels upon the trees in the\ngarden of the wonderful lamp of the \u2018Arabian Nights.\u2019 The gum was\nexceedingly sweet and pleasant to the taste.\u201d[17] The trees were\nin flower when we saw them, and the blossoms scented the air sweetly.\n\nThe present method of collecting gum is primitive and\nunsystematic. Natives go a two or three days\u2019 journey from Gedaref\ninto the forest, when they are pressed by want of a commodity to sell\nor exchange, and return with as much as they have gathered at hazard.\n\n[Illustration: GUM BEARING MIMOSA TREES.\n\n_See p._ 30.]\n\n[Illustration: TRYING THE TEMPERATURE OF A PATIENT AT THE DOCTOR\u2019S\nPARADE.\n\n_See p._ 115.]\n\nThroughout the day\u2019s march we had seen fires raging in the dried\ngrass, and we had frequently passed places where the charred surface\nshowed the effect of the flames. The custom of setting the undergrowth\nalight would destroy the mimosa forest, but for the fact that the\nfires burn low and travel quickly. The branches of the trees do not\nspring from the lower expanse of the boles, and there is consequently\nno combustion of the timber, except where a quantity of old, sapless\nwood is ignited.\n\nTrouble threatened us at Shisana well. Grain for the donkeys and boys,\nthat were to accompany us into Abyssinia, had been packed in sacks\nat Gedaref. The friction caused by the camels\u2019 movement had frayed\nthese open, and the grain was lying on the ground when we arrived. At\nfirst we feared that we should be obliged to return to the town and\npurchase new sacks; but luckily the camel-men were bringing with them\na stock of capacious and pliable baskets, made of slit palm-leaves,\nwhich they had intended to sell at Gallabat. These we commandeered,\nand so extricated ourselves from the difficulty.\n\nOur journey next day was through entirely similar scenery, over\nundulating, rocky ground. We saw some ariel, but again they were too\nshy for us. Then we \u201cdeclined upon\u201d guinea-fowl, and bagged two\nafter a brisk, exciting run.\n\nThe heat was overpowering, and at lunch-time we had no rest. Bees\nabound in this region, and get their honey from the flowers of the\nmimosa trees. As the land is almost waterless in the dry season, these\ninsects suffer much from thirst. Even the moisture of perspiration\nattracts them in their parched state, and, in addition, there was\nthe smell of water from our drinking-supply. The result was that they\nswarmed upon us; in fact, they mobbed us. Every drinking vessel was\ncrowded with them. Our boys drank from calabashes; when these were\nput upon the ground, bees clustered on the edges and crawled towards\nthe liquor. Impatient successors thronged upon the first comers and\npushed them into the water, so that in a few minutes the surface was\na mass of \u201cstruggle-for-lifers.\u201d In spite of the heat we had to\nkeep moving; for when we settled, so did the bees\u2014all over us.\n\nThat night we pitched our camp in the mimosa forest, six miles from\nthe village and watering-place called Doka.\n\nNext day\u2014Christmas Eve\u2014we started at seven, carrying our guns, and\nhad not walked a mile when we disturbed a flock of guinea-fowl. Away\nthey sped through the tangle of dry grass, and we after them. We\nblazed away here and there, but the birds, hit or not, were out\nof sight in an instant amidst that cover, and we missed in this\nway many that we had not missed in the other. Our bag consisted of\nfour. When a bird dropped, the Soudanese \u201cgillies,\u201d who were\ncarrying our rifles in case big game should be seen, pounced upon it\nand decapitated it. Otherwise it would not have been clean meat for\na Mohammedan. The land around Doka is hilly, and the ground rises to\na height of which Primrose Hill would be a good example. We reached\nthe village about nine o\u2019clock.\n\nHere we found, to our surprise, that the camel-men wanted to water\nevery beast in our convoy. We were but a few miles from another\nwatering-place, where the business could have been done in the\nevening without wasting the hours of daylight in which we were able\nto travel. We compromised by hurrying up the animals as soon as we had\nfilled our tanks, and when half a score had drunk, the well ran dry.\n\nWe pushed on through the mimosa country. The temperature was\nabout 102\u00b0, and I found the heat extraordinarily oppressive. The\ntrees around us and overhead\u2014they grow thickly in parts of the\nforest\u2014seemed to shut out every movement of air, such as had always\nrelieved us a little in the open tracts. Our extreme thirst constantly\ntempted us. We had made it a rule not to draw upon our ration of water\ntill eleven in the morning, and abstinence till then was Spartan\ndiscipline. If one began to drink, it was a sheer impossibility to\nleave off, and the supply did not hold out. On calm reflection at a\ndistance, I doubt whether our normal breakfast of tinned sausages\nand tea was wisely selected under the circumstances. But it could\nbe quickly prepared, and we seldom had time to be leisurely.\n\nWhile we were traversing the forest, I neither saw nor heard any bird\nexcept the guinea-fowl. The dried grass in which they wander was\nthe only undergrowth. Usually the place was as still as a tomb. Of\nlarger animals I saw none but antelopes, and not many of these.\n\nWe halted for lunch in a small ravine, and the bees did not find\nus till we had nearly finished the meal. We \u201csmoked\u201d them with\ncigarettes, cigars, and a bonfire, to no purpose. Then we shifted our\nquarters, but they followed. All of us were stung, and we were not\nquit of them till we mounted our camels and outdistanced the swarms.\n\nWe camped for the night among the mimosas about seven miles from the\nwatering-place called Zeraf Zaid. I thought we had been delivered\nfrom the plague of insects, but I deceived myself. Our camp was\nstormed by hosts of small creatures\u2014tiny beetles, flying ants, and\nthe like. They thronged and crawled on one\u2019s candle, one\u2019s book,\none\u2019s face, and one\u2019s hands, and I found it difficult to write\nmy diary. Some of them\u2014I do not know whether they were prompted\nby hunger or malignity\u2014added insult to injury by biting us.\n\nOn the morning of Christmas Day we started with our guns in advance\nof the convoy and bagged two brace of the usual poultry. I had\nnot hitherto found the country unhealthy, though the climate tries\none\u2019s condition; but on this occasion I felt \u201cout of sorts,\u201d\nand was glad\u2014for a wonder\u2014to mount my camel after the tramp in\nthe sunshine.\n\nAt 9.30 we reached the village of Zeraf Zaid. Here a clean hut serves\nas a rest-house. We found the place pleasant and cool. Within it\nwere trestle-beds, of the kind commonly used in the Soudan and called\n\u201cangareebs.\u201d Sir Samuel Baker has given a concise description of\nthem: \u201cThe angareebs, or native bedsteads, are simple frameworks\nupon legs, covered with a network of raw hide worked in a soft state,\nafter which it hardens to the tightness of a drum when thoroughly\ndry. No bed is more comfortable for a warm climate than a native\nangareeb with a simple mat covering; it is beautifully elastic, and\nis always cool, as free ventilation is permitted from below.\u201d[18]\nI concur in this favourable opinion of the native bed, and hope that\nits value in cases of sickness or injury that are not serious may\nbe brought to the notice of the medical authorities of the army. It\nwould be easy to furnish tent-hospitals with this simple appliance\nin any part of the Soudan.\n\nWe rested in contentment, and then lunched while the camels were\nwatered. Our convoy started at noon, and we two hours later. We\novertook the baggage at half-past three.\n\nAt Zeraf Zaid there is an outpost of \u201cthe Arab Battalion,\u201d which\nconsists of Soudanese natives and Soudanese (_i.e._ naturalized)\nAbyssinians,[19] Egyptian non-commissioned officers, and two\nEnglishmen, first and second in command, with the rank respectively\nof colonel and major. The strength is about two hundred, and the\npermanent head-quarters are at Kassala. The duty of the battalion\nis to protect the frontier and suppress the slave raids which are\nfrequently attempted by Abyssinian subjects. I doubt whether the\nlatter part of the supervision duty is quite successfully performed\nowing to the smallness of the corps, and it is well to bear in mind\nthat these raids may upon some occasion lead to serious political\ncomplications affecting the attitude of the Anglo-Egyptian Government\ntowards the _Negus Negesti_.[20] He has but slight control over\nhis more powerful feudatories near the frontier; moreover, the\nsuccession to the throne will assuredly be disputed upon the death\nof the present ruler, and the whole country will then be plunged\nin misrule and civil war. It is clear that a very serious state of\naffairs may at any time be established in this region. Questions\narising from incursions made into territory where the British flag\nflies from districts where no effective or responsible government\nexists may assume the gravest importance.\n\nThe \u201cArab Battalion\u201d is a sort of legacy to us from our\npredecessors, and the men still wear the picturesque uniform chosen\nfor them in the days of the Italian occupation. It consists of a\nwhite tunic extending to the knees, loose white trousers, sandals\nsurmounted by white gaiters, a broad green sash round the waist, and\na red tarboush with a green tassel. I cannot offer a valid opinion\nupon the sufficiency of this body as a frontier guard in the event\nof disturbances over a wide area, and I am not able to judge what\neffect the racial sympathy of some members of it with Abyssinians\n\u201cover the border\u201d would have in such a case.\n\nShortly after we had left Zeraf Zaid on the road to Gallabat we saw a\ngreat bustard near at hand. One of my comrades tried to shoot it for\nour Christmas dinner, but his luck failed him. However, I had brought\nthe materials of a plum pudding with me from Cairo, and hoped that it\nwould be a solace and a pleasant surprise for the other two members\nof our mess. The cook obtained some eggs in the village, and I gave\nhim careful and emphatic directions and swore him to secrecy. Ours\nis a phlegmatic race. The cook did his work creditably, the pudding\ncame to table, and was eaten without comment. The poultry in these\nvillages is of a stunted size, but the flesh is tender and makes\ngood eating. Pigeons are to be had in all the hamlets.\n\nOur camping-ground for the night was a pleasant spot, bare of\ngrass, and surrounded by high trees. In honour of the day, and in\nexpectation of entering Gallabat early on the following afternoon,\nI discharged a professional man\u2019s duty towards his toilet, and\nscraped a week\u2019s stubble from my face. In the wilderness even a\ndoctor can neglect appearances.\n\nOn Boxing Day we entered rising country with features different from\nthose seen in the mimosa forest.\n\nThe sides of the rocky hills have been seamed with ravines by the\nrains. Nearly all the trees are still of the same order, but certain\nspecies have broader leaves, and their appearance resembles that of\nthe timber found in the temperate zones. However, I saw no specimen\nof the varieties common in England. I heard one songbird in this\ndistrict, the chaffinch. Water-wagtails abound.\n\nAs usual, we made an excursion ahead of the baggage with guns and\nrifles. The game birds are sand-grouse and partridges, and we shot\na brace of the latter. Crawley brought down an ariel buck, which\nwas in good condition. This was our first venison. The shot caused\nintense excitement in our convoy, and the guides and boys all made\na rush for the beast to cut its throat before it died of the bullet\nwound. It had been hit in the neck.\n\nWe rested in a ravine called Otruk\u2014a lovely wooded gorge in which a\nsmall stream was flowing. A little further down the course the water\ndisappeared in the sand. Here, for the first time, I saw a troop of\nbaboons. No doubt they inhabit caves and clefts in the surrounding\nrocks. Some were fully of human stature. Partridges and guinea-fowl\nwere numerous here, and beyond question the rivulet in the khor\nattracts animals of every kind existing in the district. It was\nthe first running water we had seen since we left the Blue Nile. We\nrested until two o\u2019clock, and then rode on towards Gallabat.\n\nWhen we were half an hour\u2019s journey distant from the town, we were\nmet by Mr. Saville, the Inspector, who accompanied us to our quarters.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER IV\n\n\nPolitically, Gallabat is a place of much importance, as the principal\nstation on the frontier between Abyssinia and the Anglo-Egyptian\ndominions. It is the terminus of the telegraph line whose course\nwe had followed along a part of our route, and I shall presently\nexplain why I think it would be difficult to carry the wire from\nthis point into Menelek\u2019s country.\n\nThe town consists of two main thoroughfares and of the scattered\n\u201ctokhuls\u201d which form the villages throughout Abyssinia and the\nEastern Soudan. It contains about eight hundred inhabitants. Formerly,\nI have no doubt, there was a larger population, but this place, like\nall other trading centres in the land, suffered severely in the days\nof the Dervish ascendency. The \u201cshops,\u201d which abut upon the main\nroads, are hovels in a row under a heavily thatched roof, and are\nseparated by rough and ragged partitions of cane thatch. They are\n\u201cbusiness premises\u201d only, and the proprietor and his family dwell\nelsewhere. A considerable trade is carried on by Abyssinians who come\nto Gallabat to sell coffee; sometimes they have a leopard\u2019s skin\nor other hunter\u2019s trophy to barter in addition. They exchange their\ngoods chiefly for cotton, which is used in the making of _shamas_ and\nother garments worn in Abyssinia. Sir S. Baker mentions a commerce\nin bees\u2019-wax and hides, but I saw no evidence of it in Gallabat,\nand I think it must have declined.\n\nThe traffic in coffee proceeds regularly during the dry season, but\nceases, of course, when the rains make the neighbouring Abyssinian\nhill-country impassable. A square, in which there are booths, is\nset apart for the use of the Abyssinian traders. In the middle of\nit are the large scales in which the coffee is weighed, and I was\nmuch interested to learn that not only the amount of the import duty\npayable to the Egyptian Customs, but also the sum charged as export\nduty by the Abyssinian Government, was here determined by the weight\nof the bundles. The latter tax is retained at the time in the hands\nof the Anglo-Egyptian officials, and is afterwards remitted by them\nto Menelek\u2019s Revenue Department. I need hardly add that this is a\nrecent arrangement, and it seems to show that British influence in\nthe Soudan has inspired confidence at Addis Abiba.\n\nThe town of Gallabat is five miles distant from the bed of the\nAtbara. It is built on the slope above a small watercourse. This\nrivulet and the adjacent supply of drinking water which the\ninhabitants use are\u2014in all but details\u2014as they were in Sir\nSamuel Baker\u2019s time. He thus described them:\u2014\u201cWe were horribly\ndisgusted at the appearance of the water. A trifling stream of about\ntwo inches in depth trickled over a bed of sand, shaded by a grove\nof trees. The putrefying bodies of about half a dozen monkeys, three\nor four camels, and the remains of a number of horses, lay in and\nabout the margin of the water. Nevertheless, the natives had scraped\nsmall holes in the sand as filters, and thus they were satisfied with\nthis poisonous fluid; in some of these holes the women were washing\ntheir filthy clothes.\u201d[21] There are three wells in the town from\nwhich good water is obtained. The soldiers of the garrison use this\nsupply, and it is available for all who will take the trouble to\ndraw from it. But generally, the inhabitants, either because they\nare too indolent to pull up buckets or from mere adherence to custom,\nprefer the \u201cpoisonous fluid\u201d procured in the traditional way.\n\nOur quarters were in the dismantled Dervish fort, which lies on\nthe summit of the hill, above the town. The thick brick wall which\nsurrounded it is now ruinous. In the enclosure are barracks for\na detachment of the Arab Battalion, a small rest-house, and the\ntelegraph station.\n\nWe set our boys to pitch three tents for us, and before long I had\nthe indescribable delight of tubbing in my portable rubber bath.\n\nAfter this we received, in the rest-house, the interpreter whom\nMenelek had sent to await us. His name was Johannes. I learned\nthat he had been three weeks in Gallabat, so perhaps it had been\nexpected that we should travel more rapidly than we did. With him\nwere an assistant, by name Walda Mariam, officially attached to his\n\u201cmission,\u201d and a servant.\n\nJohannes was a tall, handsome man, with grizzled hair and beard. In\nperson he seemed cleanly, but his _shama_\u2014the toga-like robe,\nalso known as \u201cquarry,\u201d[22] which is universally worn by\nAbyssinians\u2014was soiled. It is unfashionable, and even a breach of\nestablished custom, for a man to appear in a clean _shama_ except at\nrare intervals. As all sorts and conditions of men in the country\nare infested by vermin it may be imagined that an Abyssinian\u2019s\nclothes usually add nothing to the pleasure of his company.\n\nOur interpreter had spent three years in Marseilles, and we\nfound that he and his followers conformed to the requirements of\ncivilization as regards dirt much more closely than the generality\nof his countrymen. I do not know whether Parkyns\u2019s description of\nthe use of butter as pomade still holds good in parts of Abyssinia;\nprobably not very widely, as Mr. Wylde tells us that \u201cEuropean hats\nare getting very common, and are generally of the bowler, wideawake,\nor Terai patterns,\u201d[23] but in the western provinces, where nearly\nall the people whom we met were peasants, we saw no sign either of\nthis innovation or that the dairy had been drawn upon to smarten\nthe _coiffure_. Nevertheless, greasiness of person was the rule.\n\nI may mention here that bodily cleanliness is not only unusual in\nAbyssinia, but raises a doubt as to the genuineness of a man\u2019s\nreligious profession. In this respect matters have not changed since\nParkyns\u2019s time. \u201cSt. John\u2019s is the only cleanly day in the\ncalendar; for in the evening the whole population, male and female,\nold and young, go down to bathe. It is a fact, that, excepting on\nthis occasion, there are many of the number, who, beyond washing\ntheir hands before and after meals, and their feet after a journey,\nnever trouble the water from one year\u2019s end to another. My\nhabit of washing every day in the European fashion gave rise to\nmuch scandal on my first arrival; and it was constantly inquired,\n\u2018Is he a Mussulman, that he thus washes, and so often?\u2019\u201d[24]\nThe Abyssinians are fond of shaking hands, and it is impossible\nto avoid this civility without giving serious offence. Nearly all,\nowing to their independence of soap, suffer from a complaint once\nassociated\u2014wrongly, no doubt\u2014with a highland region nearer home,\nand the result was that none of the Europeans of our party escaped\n_scabies_.\n\nJohannes possessed a felt sombrero, which he held in his hand when\nwe received him in the rest-house. Like most of his countrymen, he\nwore a cartridge-belt around his middle. He also carried a revolver\nin his belt. His \u201cboy\u201d held his rifle. Altogether the interpreter\nwas a picturesque but piratical figure, and it occurred to me that a\ngroup of Abyssinian \u201cvillains\u201d would be effective in a melodrama.\n\nThe interpreter bowed to the earth each time we addressed him. He\nhad brought letters for us from Menelek and from Colonel Harrington,\nthe British Minister at Addis Abiba, which is now the capital of\nthe country. The king\u2019s letter is a kind of superior passport,\nwhich is generally granted to Europeans who enter his realm with\nhis consent. It is useful, but is not too obsequiously respected in\nall parts of the land. Johannes had a fair knowledge of French\u2014a\nmatter of importance to one of his calling, seeing that the\nAbyssinians and the French are neighbours, and that an increasing\namount of the commerce and traffic of the country is likely to\npass through Jibuti. A railway has been commenced from that point,\nand a concession obtained from Menelek for its extension into his\ndominions. Mr. Herbert Vivian has recently pointed out the important\ndevelopments which may be brought about by the construction of\nthe line.[25]\n\nThe Dervish fort at Gallabat is literally a \u201ccockatrice den.\u201d\nWe speared eight or nine fine specimens upon the walls, using\nour knives, and among them was the largest black scorpion I had\nseen. The rest-house swarmed with these disquieting arthrogastra, and\none of our servants was stung during the evening. Parkyns remarked\nthat, though he had several times endured the sting himself without\nserious consequences, he had heard of many instances which had ended\nfatally.[26] Our boy probably had in his mind a similar dismal record,\nfor he howled till midnight. I had very little sympathy with him,\nespecially as he prevented me from sleeping. He, like the other\nservants, had been provided with boots but persisted in running\nabout the fort barefoot.\n\nI was delighted by the change of scenery which commenced at Gallabat\nafter the long tracts of desert and mimosa forest. To the eastward,\nthe Abyssinian mountains were visible, and there is a most stirring\nsplendour in the sight of the distant peaks when one beholds them\nin the pink, hot glow of sunset.\n\nAn escort of ten men had been appointed for us. All these were\nAbyssinians by race, but \u201cnaturalized\u201d Egyptians, serving in the\nArab Battalion, and they spoke Arabic in addition to their native\ntongue. There was an odd significance in the fact that our journey to\nLake Tsana familiarized the inhabitants of the western provinces of\nMenelek\u2019s kingdom with an Italian uniform which had become British.\n\nOn December 27 we \u201clazed\u201d and enjoyed our indolence. Our only\nactivity was to make trial of our patent donkey saddles. We had\nseventy of these, and found them anything but serviceable. The\nnatives fasten the loads on the donkeys by long thongs of hide,\ngiving about six girths for each animal. Our saddles allowed but\none girth, and, as the consequence, the loads slipped round. On\nthe 28th my companions went to take measurements in the course of\nthe Atbara. I remained in Gallabat and superintended the conversion\nof camel loads into donkey loads. This involved getting the right\nweight of flour and corn\u2014fifty pounds\u2014into the sacks. It was\ntroublesome work done by trying people, and the supervision of it\nwould have taxed the patience of a saint.\n\nOn the 29th we were all busy with the baggage, sorting our\nsupplies. We took with us sufficient for six weeks. The remainder\nwas left in the zaptieh,[27] and we fully expected that the rats and\nthe white ants would clear it up for us before our return. Our cook\nhad a touch of malarial fever, and during the day I gave him thirty\ngrains of phenacetine and nine grains of quinine. These quantities\nwere effective.\n\nWe were to start on the following morning, and sat longer\nthan usual over dinner, and many yarns were told about Egyptian\nofficials. One\u2014I hope it is not a stale story to my readers\u2014ran as\nfollows:\u2014An Egyptian battalion, under a native officer, had been\nsent to a remote district. The commander had orders to telegraph to\nhead-quarters if anything unusual occurred. He sent off a message\nannouncing that one of his soldiers had died suddenly, and that he\nawaited instructions. The reply was, \u201cBury the man, but make sure he\nis dead first.\u201d The native officer thereupon reported by telegram,\n\u201cHave buried soldier, and know he is dead, because I hit him on the\nhead with a fishplate.\u201d It need hardly be said that the fishplate\nwas not of the kitchen but the railway kind.\n\nOn the following morning, December 30, we had further proof of the\ndefects of the saddles which had been provided as baggage-gear for\nthe donkeys. When, after much tedious work, we had balanced the load\non an animal, we started it on the road and turned our attention to\nanother. Five minutes later, the beast that had been despatched was\nbrought back with its load under its stomach. My companions toiled\non through the heat of the day; but I fear my services became rather\nlike those of the fly on the wheel, for the malarial fever had got\nhold of me, and the commencement of a bout with it nearly took me\noff the list of effectives.\n\nWe made a start at last, a little after eleven o\u2019clock, with the\nintention of travelling about eight miles, and crossed the stream\nbelow Gallabat by a stony ford, over which water a few inches deep\nwas running. I was told that this rivulet is never quite dry, and I\nobserved that in the bed of it were the stagnant pools usually found\nin the watercourses of this district. We had seen the last of the\ncamels at Gallabat, and my companions and I now rode mules. They are\nthe best mounts in the rough, steep, and almost trackless region which\nforms the western border of Abyssinia. Horses would be useless here\nfor a journey, either to carry men or for purposes of haulage; and\nI doubt if ponies could anywhere be found that would be more than an\nencumbrance, at least for long and steady travelling at a fair pace. I\nbelieve that the Abyssinians of the Highlands use horses in their\nhunting expeditions and slave-raiding forays\u2014at all events they do\nin their campaigns in their own country\u2014and I have little doubt that\nthe inhabitants of the lofty hill district adjoining the border tract,\nwho are of mixed race and bandits by immemorial tradition, use any\nanimals they can lay their hands on when they, like Roderick Dhu and\nhis men, \u201cwith strong hands redeem their share\u201d from travelling\nmerchants or Soudanese villagers. But these are \u201cspurts\u201d of work,\nrapid dashes made by unencumbered men, not plodding regular marches,\nand, generally speaking, those who cannot pass through this country\non a mule or an ass must use their own feet or not go at all.\n\nWhen my companions and I had advanced about four miles, we halted\nfor lunch at a pleasant spot beside a brook. After the meal, some\nguinea-fowl were seen, and one was bagged. No doubt many more were\nhit and lost, as usual, among the high grass. We were in the saddle\nagain at three o\u2019clock, and reached our camping-ground an hour\nand a half later.\n\nThe fever had a grip of me by this time, and I rested in bed, and\nsoon felt the benefit of a dose of quinine. It enabled me to tackle\nmy dinner, and that is no small boon to a sick traveller.\n\nOur boys had cut down trees and formed a zareba, within which the\ndonkeys were penned to prevent them from straying and give them\nprotection from hyenas.[28] I lay idly watching the camp-fires and\nlistening to the occasional outbreaks of scuffling and braying among\nthe donkeys, and presently fell asleep till dawn.\n\nThe country which we entered on that day is full of rounded\nhills. Boulders crop out from the surface of them, and they are\nseparated by ravines with sandy beds. There is no regularity in the\nconfiguration of these hills, and no uniformity in their size. When\nI saw them they were covered either with dried grass or with mimosa\nscrub.\n\nThe region which we had now reached is, as I have said, impassable\nin the wet season, and Abyssinia is then impregnable as far as its\nwestern boundary is concerned. The violence of the storms and the\nrush of rain are such that it is doubtful whether even a line of\ntelegraph posts and wires could be carried through the district\nwith a likelihood that it would be in working order for any length\nof time between May and September. The floods would probably be as\nprohibitive to an underground system of wires as to one overhead,\nand in both cases allowance would have to be made for the extreme\nelectrical disturbances which often occur at brief intervals during\nthe rainy season.\n\nI have already referred to the raids that take place from the\nAbyssinian side when the country can be traversed, and will only\nadd here that they are carried out frequently enough to maintain a\nsupply of slaves for all persons in the country whose prosperity\nraises them above the degree of a peasant. For example, when we\nreached Gallabat on the return journey we found that eighty-three\nSoudanese had been carried off during an incursion which had been made\nsince we left the place. It is needless to insist on the difficulties\nthat may arise from raids of this kind undertaken by people who are,\nnominally at least, subjects of the Negus.\n\nI can testify that slaves are found everywhere in Western Abyssinia,\nbut among the female victims I never had the good fortune to behold\none of the class which impressed Sir Samuel Baker so pleasantly\nat Gallabat. He wrote, \u201cOn my return to camp I visited the\nestablishments of the various slave merchants; these were arranged\nunder large tents formed of matting, and contained many young\ngirls of extreme beauty, ranging from nine to seventeen years of\nage. These lovely captives, of a rich brown tint, with delicately\nformed features and eyes like those of the gazelle, were natives\nof the Galla, on the borders of Abyssinia, from which country they\nare brought by the Abyssinian traders to be sold for the Turkish\nharems. Although beautiful, these girls are useless for hard labour;\nthey quickly fade away and die unless kindly treated. They are the\nVenuses of that country, and not only are their faces and figures\nperfection, but they become extremely attached to those who show\nthem kindness. There is something peculiarly captivating in the\nnatural grace and softness of these young beauties, whose hearts\nquickly respond to those warmer feelings of love that are seldom\nknown among the sterner and coarser tribes. They are exceedingly\nproud and high-spirited, and are remarkably quick at learning. At\nKhartoum, several of the Europeans of high standing have married\nthese charming ladies, who have invariably rewarded their husbands\nby great affection and devotion. The price of one of these beauties\nof nature at Gallabat was from twenty-five to forty dollars.\u201d[29]\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAPTER V\n\n\nOn the morning of December 31, the donkeys were laden and our journey\nwas begun by a quarter to eight. We were again hindered on the march\nby the shifting of the donkeys\u2019 loads.\n\nOur track now lay among craggy mountains, in the rain-scoured\ndistrict, where there is no single human habitation. I saw neither\nwild beast nor bird, and the country gave a strange impression of\nstillness and lifelessness. The flora is quite distinct from that of\nthe Soudan. The trees are tall and spreading and of many different\nspecies. I recognized the \u201cMatabele apple,\u201d and saw the hard,\nuneatable fruit on the branches. The ground in many places was covered\nwith \u201cbamboo grass,\u201d too high for a mounted man to look over,\nand the thick, overtopping growth seemed to shut out the air. As we\nadvanced during the afternoon we discovered that the grass had been\nfired at several spots along our route\u2014I do not know by whom,\nor whether it was kindled accidentally or by design. The flames\ndrove out some partridges, and Dupuis and I thought that we saw\na tasty breakfast for the next morning. But when we moved forward\nwith our guns the birds, to our amazement, ran back into the burning\ncover. The fire died out in the evening, and all was quiet at night.\n\nThere is much stony land in this district. The soil of the fertile\ntracts is not of the friable kind which we had so often seen in\nthe Soudan: but there are many fissures in it, due, no doubt, to\nalternate drenching and drying in the rainy season. Our road often\nlay along steep and wide gorges, through which an enormous volume\nof water descends to the Atbara at the time of the floods. My mule\nwas very steady on his legs and the motion was easy when he trotted\non open ground. He only showed the waywardness of his kind when I\nled him. It was pleasant to think that some sort of understanding\nexisted between the rider and his mount after one had been accustomed\nfor weeks to the impassive eye of the camel.\n\nOn January 1, a couple of shabby fellows visited our camp in the\nmorning. We questioned them and found, from the answers which Johannes\ntranslated, that they were the escort sent to accompany Gwynn and\nwere on the way to join him at Gallabat. He might consider their\ncompany a sign that he was honoured, but scarcely a sound protection\nagainst robbery. We struck our camp after this and commenced the\nday\u2019s journey, following the bed of a river. As usual, there\nwere dry tracts and well filled pools in its course. Later, we\nclimbed the bank and struck into the country beyond, continually\nriding up hill and down dale. Again we saw an abundance of tall\ngrass and fine timber. The former was dry at this season, and had\nbeen burned in many places. The country here abounds in big game,\nbut the height and thickness of the grass make it very difficult to\nsight animals. We saw a koodoo, three gazelles, traces of elephants,\nand spoor of other beasts, but none came within range.\n\nWe had covered fourteen miles by half-past eleven, and then halted,\nconsidering that the donkeys had journeyed far enough. Our progress\ndepended on them, and we were careful not to overwork them. Three were\nsuffering from girth sores. We pitched our camp in a ravine about a\nquarter of a mile distant from the bed of the Gundar Wahar\u2014which\nis the river Atbara with an Abyssinian name.\n\nOne of our escort was reported ill with fever, and I found that his\ntemperature was 104 degrees. But quinine had brought about a decisive\nimprovement by nightfall. I had another patient. My friend Crawley had\nchafed his instep, and there was a bad sore on it. I had recourse to a\nlittle doctor\u2019s diplomacy to keep him still, and put on such a large\nfomentation that he could not walk. Then Dupuis and I took our guns\nand rifles and tramped in the jungle\u2014for the mass of thick, lofty\ngrass deserved the name. My companion shot a brace of partridges, and\nwe saw some guinea-fowl, and much spoor of big game. But nothing more\ngot into our bag, and the excursion was wearisome and disappointing.\n\nOn January 2 our road again lay through hilly, verdurous\ncountry. While the donkeys climbed or descended the steep inclines\ntheir loads slipped as before, and kept all hands busy. The boys\nwere continually shouting for help, and the burdens were replaced\namid yelling and cursing. These natives never worked without talking,\nsinging, or swearing, and they were specially fond of hearing their\nown oaths. But, I think, very little ill-will went with the words,\nand in spite of the endless imprecations uttered over the donkeys,\nthey treated the animals well.\n\nDuring the morning I took my rifle, filled my pockets with ball\ncartridges, and rode ahead of our party in the hope of trying a shot\nat big game. But I found small parties of Habashes[30] at intervals\nalong the track throughout a distance of two miles in front of our\nconvoy. Clearly it would be useless to search for any large wild beast\nin the proximity of these groups. I recognized the men as folk who\nhad attached themselves to our train. They made a practice of camping\nwhere we pitched our tents, and had hitherto forestalled us in the\nchoice of ground, and settled under the most suitable trees. They\nsought protection from the robbers who infest the district\u2014the most\nnotorious at the time was a Soudanese Arab called Hakos. I was glad\nthat these wayfarers should enjoy a sense of security, but resented\nhaving sport spoiled. So I addressed a remonstrance to Johannes, who\npromised that all camp followers should keep in the rear in future,\nand he was as good as his word.\n\nThat afternoon we pitched our tents on the banks of the Gundar\nWahar, which was here a stream trickling from pool to pool. We had\ntravelled about fourteen miles. My friend Dupuis fitted out his\nangling tackle, and tried his fortune in some of the pools, using\nan ordinary spoon-bait. He caught three fair-sized fish, belonging\nto the perch family. I saw him land the biggest, which weighed six\npounds, and showed fight. It had to be played into the shallows,\nand was brought ashore in smart style. Crawley, who was lame, limped\nto the edge of the river and cast a line with dough on the hook. He\nfished patiently, and his perseverance was rewarded with two little\ncreatures of the size of sticklebacks.\n\nAll the camping-grounds by the waterside in this district are called\n_warshas_, and as there are few distinctive names for places in\nthe uninhabited tract, we called the spots where we halted _warsha_\nnumber one, _warsha_ number two, and so on.\n\nIn this region, near the rivers, the white ants are extremely\nnumerous. They are not seen at a distance from water, and cannot\nwork without moisture to renew the fluid that exudes between their\nmandibles. This enters into the composition of the stiffened earth of\nwhich they build their dwellings. They are voracious and destructive,\nand have a propensity for gnawing leather, felt\u2014which unfortunately\nthey found in the pads of the donkeys\u2019 saddles\u2014and any textile\nmaterial. They are most active at night, and, to preserve our bedding,\nwe had provided ourselves with \u201cWillesden sheets.\u201d These are made\nof canvas coated with a preparation of arsenic, which the white ants\navoid. The sheets were always spread under our beds when we camped,\nand if anything that was to the taste of the ants slid beyond the\nedge in the dark, destruction awaited it.\n\nI formed the opinion that the white ants have rendered\nvaluable service to Egypt by amassing the fertile mud which is\ncarried down to the Nile Delta, and venture to put forward the\nfollowing considerations in support of the theory. On entering the\nAbyssinian borderland, one cannot help remarking the structure of\nthe ground. Our track lay generally along watercourses, and the\nbeds of dry mountain torrents. Here the soil was composed of sand,\nshingle, and pebbles. On either bank, and for some distance beyond,\nlay an expanse of basaltic stone, on which little earth was to be\nseen. Grass grew there, but by no means so abundantly as in the\nplains, and there were climbing plants, such as convolvulus, and\nivy, which clung to nearly every tree. These creepers made the path\nextremely difficult to follow. Further away from the watercourses\nlesser vegetation and longer grass appeared. The white ants\u2019 nests,\nfrom nine to twelve feet in height, were found here, usually close\nto a soft wooded tree. The roots of it, in most cases, had been\nattacked by the insects, and converted into \u201cwhite ant earth.\u201d\nThe trunk afterwards undergoes the same process, and by the advent\nof the rainy season only the outlying twigs remain intact. A heavy\ngust of wind will then overthrow the _simulacrum_ of a tree. The rain\nfalls in torrents, and the compost which the insects have made of\nthe timber is broken up and carried by innumerable channels into the\ntributaries of the Atbara, and finally reaches the main stream. It\nis well known that the Atbara brings down the greatest quantity\nof this mud, the Blue Nile carrying less, and the White Nile, the\nmost sluggish stream of the three, least. The two more rapid rivers\nrise in Abyssinia, in regions where the white ant is extremely\ndestructive to vegetation. Moreover, the innumerable ant-heaps[31]\nare made entirely of earth, which crumbles under the rains, and is\nswept into the watercourses in the season of floods. And in the dry\nmonths the ants\u2014besides devouring straw and the bark of living\ntrees[32]\u2014eat into every branch and twig that the past storms\nhave brought to the ground. Carrying earth into their excavations,\nthey hollow the wood, as in the case of the soft standing timber\nwhich they attack, and leave just the outer covering intact. I\nhave often stooped to pick up a stick for the cook\u2019s fire, and\nfound that my fingers broke a thin shell of bark, and scattered the\ncontents. Another circumstance which seemed worthy of remark was\nthat we found no deposit of \u201cNile mud\u201d within the Abyssinian\nboundary, nor any earth resembling it; so one may conclude that, as\nsoon as the Atbara, when in flood, reaches the level of the Soudan,\nit spreads a deposit of this fertile soil beside its banks, though\nthe great mass is carried into the Nile. According to this view,\nthe fertility of the alluvial districts of Lower Egypt is in no\nslight measure due to _detritus_ from Abyssinia, and the white ants\nhave contributed an important share to the resources of the Nile\nvalley. Of course, I do not for an instant contend that all the\nmud deposited by the river in Egypt is supplied by the white ants,\nbut I believe that the wonderful productive property of the alluvial\ndeposits is due to the work of these insects in the western borderland\nof Abyssinia. Therefore, in my belief, the white ant has justified its\nexistence, though its room is undeniably preferable to its company.\n\nOn January 3 I saw a buffalo, tried to stalk it, and lost it. While\nI was on the way to rejoin our party, a water-buck sprang up within\nrange\u2014and so startled me, that he got away before I took an aim.\n\nThat day we marched seven hours, and covered twenty miles. Our\ncamping-place was in the rocky course which a torrent follows in\nthe rainy season. There were pools in it, and we had an abundance\nof clear water.\n\nThe aneroid barometer showed that we were now three thousand\nfeet above the sea, and the air was chill as soon as the sun went\ndown. It was the first day on which we had reached any considerable\nheight. At this altitude bamboos form the prominent and characteristic\nvegetation.\n\nOn January 4 we continued our ascent. The narrow path followed a\nzig-zag course up a steep mountain-side. The track was full of loose\nstones, and we constantly had to \u201cnegotiate\u201d boulders and big\nrocks or scramble through cramped passes. In these the larger loads\nstuck, and it will be readily inferred that we made slow progress. I\nheard of no other practicable route through this region, and believe\nthat it would be well-nigh impossible to carry heavy baggage this way.\n\nWe reached the summit at last, and saw in front of us, in the\ndistance, the plateau in which Lake Tsana lies. We were almost on\na level with it. Far away, many mountains rose in view, clearly\noutlined, and showing light and shade in a soft and lovely purplish\nblue colour. There was no glacial cap upon these high peaks, though\nit is probable that the loftiest points in Abyssinia are within the\nline of perpetual snow.[33]\n\nOne of our escort of Habashes from the Arab Battalion pointed eagerly\nto the high lands opposite, and said to a Soudanese boy who was\nstanding near, \u201cLook at my beautiful country!\u201d The soldier\u2019s\nmanner showed all the zest of a schoolboy returning home for the\nholidays. The answer was, \u201cCall this a country! Where are the\npeople?\u201d Our men from Upper Egypt were puzzled and disdainful. They\nhad travelled eighty-six miles in Abyssinia and had not seen a\ndwelling or a sign of cultivation.\n\nA deep ravine lay below us, and we descended through it and entered a\ngreat gorge which opened out as we advanced. We were on rocky ground,\ncovered with a layer of earth and loose stones. Our track wound\nthrough dense groves of bamboos, and we had to perform gymnastics on\nmuleback to avoid a whipping from the canes. In this uncomfortable\ncovert we passed a party of traders taking coffee to Gallabat. They\nhad with them about sixty loads.\n\nPresently our convoy, which in extended order covered nearly a mile\nand a half, debouched upon the valley of the river Geerar.[34] The\nbed, which is of bare rock, was dry when we passed through it. I\nsaw here many basins neatly excavated in a curious fashion. They\nvaried in size, but at the bottom of each was a stone. Evidently,\nthis had first been lodged during the time of flood in some small\nhollow in the water-course. There, being constantly driven round\nby the eddying water, it had worn a deeper and deeper hole, at the\nbottom of which it rested in the dry season. We followed the course\nof the river up stream for about five miles.\n\nThe valleys on either side are sharply cut ravines in the\nmountain-sides. They were covered with grass at that period of\nthe year.\n\nWe lunched in the shade of the river bank, and afterwards visited\nsome hot springs which were near at hand. The first was a runnel of\nclear water guided from its source in the rock to a pool by a wooden\ngutter. I put my hand under this, and judged that the temperature\nwas well over 150\u00b0 F. At a little distance we found another spring\nwhich, welling from the ground, filled a basin about forty feet in\ncircumference and one foot deep. Here, too, the temperature of the\nwater was high, but not so high as to prevent bathing, and a roof of\nthatch had been built over the pool. We saw several Habashes, men,\nwomen, and children, who inhabited some rough, small thatched huts\nwhich had been put up close by. Some were old dwellings, some newly\nconstructed. I could not ascertain whether these people resorted to\nthe springs for a \u201ccure\u201d or merely formed a settlement established\nby keepers in charge of the place. Apparently all belonged to one\nfamily. I visited their camping-ground, but when I approached the\nwomen and children bolted into one of the huts. Perhaps they had\nnot seen a European before and did not consider the first example\nprepossessing; or they may still have supposed\u2014as most Abyssinians\nat one time did\u2014that all persons who came from that continent\nwere Turks. In the latter case I excuse their timidity. They watched\nme through the thatched walls of the hovel just as a rat sometimes\nwatches a suspect from the entrance of its hole.\n\nThe water, as far as I could judge, was pure. It was tasteless,\nand very \u201csoft,\u201d as I found by using it in my bath. No steam\nwas visible at the springs, though before I left them\u2014about four\nin the afternoon\u2014the air was becoming cool. Some large trees grew\nnear the pool, and I saw a big and fine monkey with a shaggy face\nand a growth of fluffy white hair on its tail leaping and squatting\namong the boughs.\n\nThere are many hot springs in Abyssinia, and they are highly\nvalued by the natives for the medicinal qualities attributed to\nthem. Probably in some places the virtue of the waters is real,\nin others merely reputed.\n\nThe most frequented baths are at Wansage on the River Gumara,\nwhich flows into Lake Tsana. Dr. Stecker visited the spot in 1881,\nand wrote the following brief account of it,[35] which throws a\nlight on Abyssinian social customs: \u201cThe hot spring issues from\nthe left bank of the river and rises to a height of two or three\nmetres from the ground. It fills a basin constructed by King Theodore\nwith water of a temperature of 37\u00b0 C. A hut has been built over the\nbasin\u201d\u2014as at the spring which I saw\u2014\u201cand the Abyssinians who\nare trying the \u2018cure\u2019 here sport in the water all day long. In\narrangements these baths resemble Ostend and Trouville in miniature,\nseeing that women and men, youths and girls, spend their time in\nthe bath in lively promiscuity and keep up an intercourse that\nis not always decorous. Quarrels often arise among the \u2018cure\u2019\npatients, especially when some one has used the baths longer than\nis permitted to him. Thus from early till late one hears the loud\ntones of the brawlers and the lamentations of women and children,\nwho often come in for a beating on these occasions.\u201d\n\nOn January 5 our road lay at first beside the River Geerar, which is\nthe main source of the Rahad. Presently it diverged from the bank,\nand the track, which lay over stiff hills, became worse. At some\npoints the donkeys could not pass, and we had to lift them bodily,\nloads and all, over obstructions, or push them past the rocks between\nwhich their loads were jammed. Once the animal that was carrying\nDupuis\u2019 valise and Gladstone bag, half slipped into a steep ravine\nwith water at the bottom, forty feet below. In another place I saw an\nunlucky little beast turn two complete somersaults while it tried to\nscramble down a sloping ledge of rock. To my horror I caught sight\nof my medical bag on the top of its burden. I rushed up, and helped\nto unload the donkey, which seemed none the worse for the fall,\nand, to my astonishment and relief, I found all my doctor\u2019s gear\nintact. Even the tabloid bottles, with a precious stock of quinine\nand phenacetine in them, had escaped by a miracle.\n\nIn crossing and recrossing the river-bed I was able to note the height\nto which the floods rise in the water-courses. I saw that flotsam,\nsuch as wisps of straw and bits of wood, had been lodged in branches\nand twigs at least twelve feet above the bed of the stream, and this,\nin the upper reaches among the hills, has a width of twenty-five to\nthirty feet on an average.\n\nWe camped at the foot of the mountain-side which would give us our\nfinal climb to the lake-plateau. Johannes pointed out the route to\nme, and I thought that one would have as much chance of shoving a\ndonkey up the Great Pyramid as up that sheer precipice.\n\nSome Habashes came to us at the camping-ground, bringing a cow, a\nchicken and ten eggs. They told us, through Johannes, that the cow\nwas \u201ca present,\u201d and he said that it was worth ten dollars.[36]\nWe decided to offer a \u201cpresent\u201d of fifteen dollars in return,\nand counted out the money. To our astonishment, the Habashes marched\nthe cow off, saying that they would not accept the gift. We picked\nup our coins, feeling rather small. But money is \u201ca good soldier\nand will on,\u201d as Falstaff had found. In an hour the animal was\nbrought back, and the \u201cpresents\u201d were duly exchanged. Then there\nwas a wrangle among our Mohammedans as to the ceremonial proper to\nbe observed in slaying the unlucky cow; for some of the boys were\nof one sect, some of another. The question was settled after much\nhaggling, and they held high festival and ate meat late into the\nnight. A few choice cuts had been reserved for ourselves, but the\nbulk of the carcase was handed over to our followers, and they left\nonly niggardly fare for the vultures next morning.\n\n[Illustration: RAIN COUNTRY.\n\n_See p._ 64.]\n\nA very good impression of the character of the country through which\nwe had been marching is given by Mr. Dufton\u2019s short description of\nit. \u201cThe road was very uneven, now ascending a steep mountain-side,\nnow descending into a deep valley. The country was magnificent, far\nsurpassing anything I had previously seen. The high mountains of the\nScotch highlands, covered with the fertility of the Rhineland, would\nbest represent it, but the vegetation was of a nature quite different\nfrom that of the Rhine, characterized as it was by the luxuriance of\nthe tropics. Once the road skirted the side of a mountain the summit\nof which, raised one thousand feet above our heads, looked down into\na deep valley another thousand feet below our feet. On the opposite\nside of the valley the land rose to a similarly steep eminence, which,\nin one part, was connected with that on which we stood by a low chain\nof undulating ground, so that a pretty little stream at the bottom,\nlike a silver thread in the dark shadow of the mountains, wound about\nsearching for its channel. Fruitful fields hung over it thick at every\ncurve. The hills, of secondary formation, were broken here and there\ninto rocky chasms, through which leaped innumerable falls of water\nin their downward course to join the stream; and here I saw for the\nfirst time the beautiful Euphorbia called the Kolquol, whose dark,\ncandelabra-shaped branches, tipped with bright orange-red flowers,\nstood out in deep relief from the lighter ground. Bright flowers\nof every variety, most of which were unknown to me, but amongst\nothers the familiar wild rose, the honeysuckle and the jessamine,\nlent their beauty and fragrance to the scene.\u201d[37]\n\nThe knotted sapling which I photographed in the course of this\nday\u2019s journey (January 5) has an historical interest which tempts\nme to moralize on the variability of human fortunes and the happy\ntranquillity of vegetable life. The tree had been growing in this\ndistorted form since the time of the battle of Gallabat, which was\nfought between the Dervishes and the Abyssinians in 1889. I have\nalluded elsewhere to the singular vicissitudes of the fight.[38]\nThe Dervishes, in light order, pursued their foes as far as the lake\ndistrict, a circumstance which shows that raids are possible even in\nthis difficult country. The Mahdi\u2019s men, like our own War Office\non a more recent occasion, had extremely little geographical or\ntopographical information. So the advance party twisted the saplings\nto mark the route for those who came after them, and to guide the\nforce on its return journey to the Soudan. The trees are the only\nremaining memorial of the Dervish raid.\n\n[Illustration: THE KNOTTED SAPLING NOW BECOME A TREE.\n\n_See p._ 66.]\n\nIn this region I saw very few birds. But on the night of the 4th,\nwhile I was getting ready for bed, I heard one whose notes ascended\nthrough a perfect chromatic scale. My friend Dupuis told me that these\nsongsters are common in India, where they are called \u201cbrain-fever\nbirds.\u201d Whether he spoke as a humourist or a genuine informant,\nI cannot say. In the Soudan I had often heard a bird whose notes\nreversed the process and _descended_ the chromatic scale very\nperfectly. I omitted to suggest to my companion that he should import\nsome of this species to India and try its performance as a remedy\nfor brain fever.\n\nOn the morning of January 6, we started to climb to the plateau\nin which Lake Tsana lies. The ascent commenced immediately. The\nnarrow track was extremely steep, and, as on the previous day, our\npath was full of loose stones and led us over great rocks that crop\nout of the mountain-side. The donkeys were constantly slipping and\nfalling. Some came to a standstill, and refused to budge. We had\nto shove the animals by main force over boulders and up slippery\nledges of rock, and at places not a few of them were raised bodily,\nloads and all, by means of their tails and forelegs, and lifted over\nobstacles. At this rate of ascending we covered two miles in three\nhours and a half, and still had a climb of another couple of miles\nahead of us. Then the character of the track changed, and we travelled\nround a horseshoe-shaped chasm, following a path four feet wide,\nwith a sheer precipice four hundred feet deep below us and another\nrising to the same height above our heads. It was a fine sight, and\nthere is a lovely growth of cactus on the mountain side. Besides,\nwe looked out upon a vast expanse of beautiful scenery, but I felt\nuncomfortably like the ungodly of whom the psalmist said that they\nwere set in slippery places with a great risk of being cast down and\ndestroyed. \u201cOh, how suddenly do they consume; perish and come to\na fearful end!\u201d[39] It was an inopportune moment to recall the text.\n\nWe reached the plateau at last, after another stiff climb upward\nfrom the chasm. I need hardly say that the donkeys were utterly\nfagged out. We had left the mimosas and the bamboos below us, and\nDupuis\u2019 aneroid barometer showed that we were some six thousand\nfeet above sea-level. Here many species of cactus, large and small,\nabounded. The soil on the plateau is rich, and the ground was thickly\ncovered with lush plants in blossom. I noticed, as I passed, the\nfamiliar \u201cred-hot poker,\u201d the wild strawberry, moss of many hues\ngrowing luxuriantly, the maiden-hair fern, and, on the trunk of a dead\ntree, the Tonbridge fern. Many springs were bubbling from the rock,\nand their courses were marked by the tenderest and brightest tints of\nthis wild mountain garden. I found that Dupuis, who had marched at\nthe head of the column, had been stopped by a couple of soldiers on\nthe edge of the plateau. The Abyssinian \u201cregular\u201d has no uniform,\nbut wears a dirty shama and the rest of the national costume, and\ncarries a rifle of an obsolete French pattern. These men were not\nacting under Menelek\u2019s orders but had been sent by the deputy of\nthe chief of the village, who was himself absent upon a visit to\nRas Gouksha, one of the great feudatories of Western Abyssinia. They\nsaid that they had orders to stop the three Englishmen, and I found\nthat Dupuis had arranged to lunch at that spot and await developments.\n\nPresently the \u201cDeputy-Governor\u201d arrived. He was barefoot, and\nhis shama and linen trousers showed that he was a sound observer\nof Abyssinian custom in respect of cleanliness. He was escorted\nby some grimy fellows with forbidding faces who carried guns. The\n\u201cDeputy\u201d bowed low and shook hands with the three Europeans. Then\nDupuis offered him a camp-stool for a seat and talked to him, Johannes\ninterpreting. Menelek\u2019s letter, giving us the right to pass freely\nthrough any part of his realm and calling on his lieges to assist\nus, was read, but to our consternation the \u201cDeputy\u201d refused to\nlet us go down to the lake, which was eight miles distant, until\nwe had received permission from his Ras.[40] Three days, he said,\nwould elapse before this could be obtained. We gave him a drink\nof green chartreuse, and then he promised that he would allot a\ncamping-ground to us about a quarter of a mile from Lake Tsana,\nbut insisted that we must not pitch our camp on the shore.\n\n[Illustration: MESSENGER SENT TO STOP US GOING DOWN TO THE LAKE.\n\n_See p._ 68.\n\nIn Abyssinian intercourse the raising of the shama to cover the\nnose is an assertion of _superiority_ by the person who so acts; to\nraise the shama to cover the mouth implies a claim to _equality_. To\nlower it to the waist is a sign of extreme deference; strictly,\nit implies servitude.]\n\nAfter the palaver he remained to watch us. A skin had been spread\nfor him under a tree a few yards distant from us, and he lounged\non this, staring at us when we were near, and following all our\nmovements as closely as he could without giving himself trouble. Long\ngrass grew around our camp, and I noticed some tamarind trees. We\nstrolled among these surroundings with our guns and shot a few wild\npigeons for dinner. Great numbers of these birds are seen on the\nhigh ground. Then, _more anglicano_, we had afternoon tea.\n\nAfter sunset the air was very keen, and we put on our thickest\nclothes. The variation between the heat of the day and the cold at\nnight is extreme on the plateau, and of course it is sharply felt. We\nturned in early and slept in the open. Our guard lay around us;\nfor we were in strange company. Besides the \u201cDeputy,\u201d who might\nbe calculating whether it would pay him better to see what present\nwe should offer and avoid the risk of complications, or to cut our\nthroats as quietly as possible and loot the camp, we had as near\nneighbours a party of Abyssinian traders on their way to Gallabat\nwith coffee. They had bivouacked under a tree close by. They might\nor might not be disposed to share in the pillaging, if any took\nplace. In the land of the Negus it is well to remember that \u201cno\none is expected to feel ashamed of any crime or vice; and whereas in\nother countries men in committing serious crimes are morbidly excited,\nin Abyssinia they are perpetrated with indifference, and generally\nrecounted, sometimes by the individual himself, certainly by others,\nwith gaiety and laughter. . . . Theft is in many provinces regarded\nas an honourable employment; highway robbery is quite excusable,\neven if accompanied by homicide.\u201d[41]\n\nAfter all, we slept as peacefully as if we had been in Anerley\nor Tooting. On the morning of January 8, we rose when the sun had\nwarmed the air, and ignored the presence of our dirty warder, who\nstill kept us under observation. While we were breakfasting I saw a\nwhite umbrella approaching through the long grass, and shortly the\npriest of the village hard by came in view. Neither the hamlet nor its\nchurch was visible from our camp. This divine did not wear a turban,\nwhich is the emblem of priestly rank in Abyssinia, but had on his\nhead the old straw lining of a tarboush. His other visible garment\nconsisted of a length of yellow and plum-coloured chintz. He carried\na staff surmounted by a cross of filigreed iron. One attendant held\nover him the white umbrella, which had a blue lining, another bore\nbefore him an open book, on one page of which appeared a picture\u2014the\nquaintly stiff and gaudy depiction of saints and sacred persons which\nis an unvarying convention of Abyssinian art\u2014and on the other page\nI saw manuscript in the Amharic or Geez character.\n\nThe \u201cDeputy\u201d approached the priest, bowed, and kissed the book,\nand some of his retainers followed his example. Then Johannes\nexplained to us that it was customary for travellers to make an\noffering to the church of this village, which is on the boundary\nof inhabited Abyssinia. Dupuis asked what the usual oblation was,\nand the \u201cspiritual pastor\u201d had the effrontery to reply, through\nJohannes, that it was ten dollars. Upon this Dupuis remarked that we\nhad been very badly received and were dissatisfied with our welcome,\nthat hindrances had been put in our way in spite of the terms of\nthe king\u2019s letter, and that he should give no alms to any one.\n\nThis declaration disconcerted both the priest and the \u201cDeputy.\u201d\nThe former departed without further parley. The latter continued to\nfollow us and spy upon us. Dupuis and Crawley decided to disregard his\nprohibition and advance. They moved in front of the column, and took\nwith them Johannes, his two attendants, and eight soldiers. I brought\nup the rear with a couple of mounted men for escort. My progress was\nnot interrupted, and gradually Lake Tsana came clearly into view. I\nfound, when I rejoined my companions at the camping-ground which they\nhad chosen on the shore, that the \u201cDeputy\u201d had made an attempt\nto stop them when they were about five miles from the spot. He had\ngiven them to understand that they might see the lake, but must not go\ndown to the water\u2019s edge. Dupuis replied that he should regard no\nsuch order, and marched ahead. Upon this the \u201cDeputy\u201d shrugged\nhis shoulders, and forthwith took his leave, saying that he must\nthen return to his house, but that he would visit us in the evening,\nand supposed he would find us on the shore of the lake, as we were\nresolved to proceed thither. He had an answer in the affirmative,\nand departed, to the relief of the whole party.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER VI\n\n\nLake Tsana lay before me as a vast expanse of blue water stretching\nto the horizon. The shore here, near the village of Delgi at the\nnorth of the lake,[42] is in places sandy, in others covered with\ngrass. At some points one can walk to the edge of the clear water,\nat others the shelving bank leads, by a scarcely perceptible incline,\nto stretches of reed-grown, swampy ground. I saw no water-weed upon\nthe surface.\n\nThe lake lies at an altitude of 1942 metres (6372 feet) above\nthe sea-level. Its length from the mouth of the Magetsch to the\noutlet of the Blue Nile is approximately forty-five miles, and its\nbreadth on the twelfth parallel of longitude is about thirty-seven\nmiles. The map published in this volume is mainly reproduced from that\nprepared by Dr. Stecker for the African Association of Germany. How\npainstaking he was in collecting information may be inferred from\nthe fact that during his excursions in the native boats he took three\nhundred soundings\u2014an example of patient research which those will\nbest appreciate who have seen a \u201cboat\u201d of the kind. Dr. Stecker\ngave the following results of his survey:\u2014\u201cLake Tsana covers a\nsuperficial area of 2980 square kilometres. All the islands together\npossess a superficial area of about fifty square kilometres, of which\nforty are included in Dek, and four in Dega. I found the greatest\ndepth between the island of Dega and Zegi, viz. seventy-two metres,\nwhile the deepest sounding between Korata and Zegi was sixty-seven\nmetres. Between Dek and Adina the depth ranged between thirty-two\nand forty-seven metres. But I am fully convinced that the deepest\nplaces\u2014in my opinion having a much greater depth than one hundred\nmetres\u2014are to be found north of Dek in the direction of Dega and\nGorgora. One cannot, however, well venture to make an excursion to\nthose parts in the fragile Abyssinian craft.\u201d[43]\n\nThis beautiful lake is everywhere girt by mountains, and in some\nplaces they rise directly from its shore. As a consequence it is\nexposed to sudden gusts and squalls that sweep down the valleys\nand ravines, and these would make navigation risky for small\nsailing boats. Hippopotami swarm in the waters. The Abyssinians\nhereabouts\u2014Christians and Mussulmans alike\u2014regard their flesh\nas unclean; but the hippos do not \u201clead a very snug life,\u201d as\nDr. Stecker supposed. They are constantly harassed by the natives,\nwho shoot them for the sake of their hides. From these are made the\nwhips called _coorbatch_, which are in general demand and are much\nvalued. Plowden wrote that \u201cthe crocodile, that is found in most\nof the large rivers of Abyssinia, does not infest this lake.\u201d[44]\nSo far as my personal observation goes, he was right. But, knowing\nthe enterprising character of the Blue Nile crocodile, I should\nthink it wise to verify the statement, while on the spot, by careful\nobservation.[45]\n\nI did not hear of the \u201cDeputy\u2019s\u201d peaceful departure immediately\non arriving at the lakeside, for neither of my comrades was in\nview. After a few minutes I saw one strolling towards me carrying\na wild goose, which he had just shot with a rifle, and then the\nother appeared, coming from the opposite direction, with a brace\nof wild duck. It was clear that the lake country was well stocked,\nand that the expedition would fare sumptuously if it were not cut up.\n\nAll our tents were pitched by eleven o\u2019clock, and we began to think\nof lunch. A man looks forward cheerfully to his meals in the fine\nmountain air. But on that morning anxiety about the future harassed\nour minds. However, I had no leisure to make forecasts, for I had\nto attend to one of our soldiers who had fever, and one of our boys\nwho had dysentery, and then I found that I was appointed honorary\nsurgeon to the neighbourhood, and that a patient was waiting. He was\nan old man, who had a large abscess in the sole of his foot, and had\nendured the affliction for more than a week. I operated, while his\nfriends looked on. There was no superfluity of medical stores, and\nit seemed fair to make \u201cthe case\u201d supply his own bandage. This,\nwhen produced, proved to be a piece of dirty shirting. It served,\nover sublimate wool, and the patient was very grateful and thanked\nme profusely.\n\nParkyns made some striking and interesting observations about the\ninsensibility to pain displayed by the Abyssinians and the African\nraces of all kinds.[46] He said, \u201cI have never noticed in Africa any\neducation for the purpose of rendering men patient under suffering,\u201d\nand he attributed the power of endurance to the hardening effect\nof a rough, primitive life. How far this is the cause and how\nfar the advantage may be due to a somewhat lower form of nervous\norganization than that developed in Europeans I will not attempt\nto determine. But surprising as are the facts related by Parkyns,\nI do not doubt that he has described them without exaggeration,\nand my own experience showed that the Habashes stood pain well,\nthough I observed no inclination towards heroism among them.\n\nWhen I had finished the public demonstration in surgery, I noticed\na small throng of people around Dupuis\u2019s tent. Their faces\ndisplayed their satisfaction, and I joined the group to learn what\nhad happened. Then I heard that the true representative of Ras Gouksha\nhad arrived, and that the \u201cDeputy\u201d was a fraud. The envoy who had\nnow come into our camp had expected us to reach the lake by another\ntrack, and had taken his post to await us. This man greeted us with\na most civil welcome, gave us teff,[47] eggs, milk, fowls\u2014in fact,\nall the supplies which we chiefly needed\u2014and offered to accompany\nus round the lake and see that we were everywhere treated with\ncourtesy. He seemed a smart and \u201clikely\u201d fellow, and any one\nmay imagine our delight in the prompt exposure of the \u201cDeputy\u201d\nand the dramatic change for the better in our situation. We gave our\nnew friend a stiff drink of green chartreuse, which he swallowed at\none gulp. Then he went off to collect further supplies for us.\n\nA little later the \u201cDeputy\u201d returned to exculpate himself. He\ngrovelled on the ground, imploring forgiveness. He had brought a sheep\nas a peace-offering, and when we had added this to our belongings,\nwe graciously pardoned him. Upon hearing that he was absolved from his\nguilt, he stooped down and kissed a stone close to Dupuis\u2019s feet.\n\nWe had had enough parley for the day, so Dupuis and I started\nupon an explorers\u2019 tramp, carrying our guns. We walked about two\nmiles in a north-westerly direction, and saw innumerable kinds of\nwater-fowl along the margin of the lake. The birds were scarcely\nshy of us at all, and we approached within ten yards of wild geese\nbefore they rose. I noticed among the mass a species of goose like\na big Muscovy duck, with dark green plumage and white feathers in\nthe wings, plovers of all sorts, herons, pelicans, snake-birds, and\nthe ibis in numbers. We shot none, for we had meat enough in store,\nand it would have been sheer slaughter to do so. I did, indeed, try\nmy luck with some quail that took to the wing, but no harm came to\nthem, and I was not sorry.\n\nWe returned to the village. It was pleasant to see kine again after\nthe long march through the deserted border-country. They are here of\nthe long-horned, hump-backed \u201cZebu\u201d kind common throughout Africa\nand the East.[48] My friend Crawley had taken a rod and line to the\nedge of the lake. He landed a fish about 2 lb. weight, of the perch\ntribe. So we had a very complete _menu_. The cold was keen after\nsundown, but we had a cheery finish to our first day by the lake,\nafter all. And it would hardly be possible to look upon a more lovely\nscene than that which we saw from our camp when the moon had risen.\n\nWe were not astir very early in the morning of January 8, and\ndawdled over breakfast until half-past seven; it is almost worth\nwhile to live a strenuous life at times in order to enjoy dawdling\nafterwards. Dupuis and Crawley set out with an assortment of gear to\nmake a survey, and I amused myself with a butterfly-net and a camera.\n\nThen I inspected my patients. Several came into camp from the\nneighbourhood, as I had expected. The old man with the abscess\npresented himself, and I found that the injured foot was healing\nwell. He thanked me again very profusely, and I believe that after\nthis second visit he departed to the village whence he came with\na good opinion of European surgery. Another Habash found me less\nsatisfactory as a physician. He had come to ask what medicine he\ncould take to cure the headache caused by _tedj_. Now, _tedj_ is the\nbeer, or mead, of the country; it is made from fermented barley,\nand flavoured with honey diluted in the proportion of one part to\nthree parts of water. It is a very heady\u2014and, to Europeans, a\nmost nasty\u2014drink, and the Abyssinians consume enormous quantities\nof it. Parkyns was told of a man who was said to have swallowed\ntwenty-six pints at a sitting, on the occasion of a wedding-feast\nat which the English traveller was present. But he regarded this\nstatement as \u201ca stretcher.\u201d[49] I told the inquirer that the\none and only prescription was not to drink _tedj_, and thereupon\nthe little audience of his fellow-countrymen enjoyed a laugh at\nhis expense.[50]\n\n[Illustration: HOUSES AT DELGI.\n\n_See p._ 79.]\n\n[Illustration: WASHING OUT \u2018TEDJ\u2019 POTS AT DELGI.\n\n_See p._ 79.]\n\nI was glad to see that the servants set to work to wash their clothes\nwith soap in the lake. The cleansing was needed. Soon the tents in\nour camp were draped with garments enough to occupy the wash-lines\nof a whole suburb. The lake had a pleasant temperature for bathing,\nand the men stayed in the water till their clothes were dry.\n\nOn this morning we had a visit of ceremony from another priest,\nwhose umbrella was of many colours. His attendants were a boy\ndressed in plum-coloured chintz with a yellow scroll-pattern on it,\nanother boy, who was naked, and carried a bell which he tinkled\nincessantly, and three Abyssinian students. These learn to read\nand write the Gheez language, and I think the Bible is the only\nbook which they study. They are lads from the villages who are\n\u201ccandidates for orders,\u201d and the theological classes are held\nin the church-porches. I secured two satisfactory snap-shots of the\npriest. He received an oblation of five dollars with an absolutely\nimpassive face, and then left us in doubt whether he was secretly\ngratified by the amount of the offering or inwardly disgusted by it.\n\nDupuis and Crawley resumed their survey work in the afternoon, and\nI strolled away from camp with my gun and brought down a lesser\nbustard, of the size of a turkey. I also shot a brace of quail,\nbut lost them in the long grass. Altogether it was a quiet day. The\nclimate was now very pleasant, neither too hot at noon nor too cold\nat night. In the early morning there was a dead calm. After this a\nlittle breeze came down from the north-west, and the wind remained in\nthat quarter till the afternoon. At four o\u2019clock it shifted right\nround to the south-east, and blew pretty stiffly about seven. We\nalways saw lightning in the evening. It seemed to play over the lake.\n\nOn the morning of the 9th Dupuis and I got our Berthon collapsible\nboat ready. This had caused us much trouble on the upward march,\nas it is awkwardly shaped for donkey-transport. We took our guns\nand angling tackle, and paddled about three miles westward. Then we\nlanded on a sandy beach, left two of our boys in charge of the boat,\nand went in search of game, taking one man with us. We had not walked\nfar when we sighted a covey of guinea-fowl. We got ahead of them,\nand were trying to drive them towards the water when about forty\nrose in all directions, and we could not reload fast enough. Several\nwere lost in the thick grass, chiefly owing to the boy\u2019s stupidity;\nhe could not make up his mind which bird to pounce upon first. As we\nwere returning to the beach by the way we had come, Dupuis put up a\nbrace of partridges and shot them. They must have \u201csat tight\u201d\nall through the fusillade, and only rose when my companion nearly\nwalked them down. We carried about ten head back to the boat.\n\nWhen we came to the shore we found our two men in a state of great\nexcitement. As soon as the guns were fired a hippopotamus that had\nbeen asleep about ten yards from them sprang up, and rushed into\nthe water, snorting. The beast had nearly frightened them out of\ntheir wits. Looking at the path I had followed after landing I\nsaw that I must have passed within a yard of the place where the\nhippo lay. The men now drew my attention to something in a tree,\nbut I could not discern at first what they were pointing out. After\npeering for three or four minutes I saw a pair of gleaming eyes above\na branch in the deep shade. I fired with number four shot\u2014the only\nsize I had\u2014at a distance of about ten yards, and down came a civet\ncat. It was hit in the head and dead, when I picked it up.\n\nWe tried our luck with the fish while the men paddled us back to\ncamp, but caught nothing. I set about preserving the skin of the\ncat after lunch, rubbed some arsenical soap well in, and packed the\nhide in an empty cigarette tin. It was brought to England in good\ncondition. While I was busy in this way, my comrades were taking\nsoundings of the lake from the boat. Later we went out together with\nour guns, and added two bustards, three partridges, and a quail to\nthe stock in the larder.\n\nDuring the day, whenever I was in camp, I was importuned by patients;\nmany had trivial ailments, and others troubles, such as chronic\nophthalmia, which I certainly could not cure during a three days\u2019\nsojourn at Delgi. If they judged that I was not sufficiently moved by\nthe account which they gave at first of their malady, they described\nwhat they suffered from another, and a fictitious one. Thus, if I\ntold a man who had chronic ophthalmia that I could not help him,\nhe would remain to declare that he was consumptive, or that his\nfeet needed treatment. They became so tiresome at last that I was\nthankful for the prospect of resuming the march next day. It seems\nto be taken for granted in all countries that a doctor ought to be\nmore long-suffering than any other person.\n\nOn the morning of the 10th I received, by Abyssinian post, a letter\nwhich had been despatched from Port Said on November 25, the day on\nwhich I left Cairo. It reached me by a roundabout road; for it had\nbeen to Wady Halfa, Berber, Kassala, Sennaar, and Gallabat. I was\nsurprised that it came to hand. The postman was a Soudanese black,\nand, when we met him, he was on the return journey to Gallabat\nbearing some official communication. These couriers carry before\nthem\u2014like a wand of office\u2014a long cane, which is split at the\ntop. The \u201cmail\u201d is inserted in the orifice. The cane is a badge\nthat is respected, and I was told that the letter-carriers are never\nstopped. They amble along at a steady jog-trot, and cover a great\ndeal of ground in a day.\n\nWe made a short journey of about ten miles to the eastward after\nleaving Delgi. Our road kept us some little distance from the\nnorthern shore of the lake, and took us through long jungle grass,\nso tall that we could not see over it, and so thick that there was\nno possibility of using a gun in it. We camped on a spot where this\ngrass had been beaten down, and spent the afternoon reading. There\nwere no mosquitoes, but the flies swarmed into our tents, and we\nsympathized with Pharaoh and the Egyptians.\n\nSeveral of the boys from the Soudanese lowlands had a touch of fever\non this high ground. Three were on my hands that day. Quinine was a\nquick and sure remedy for them. I think that they were affected by\nthe great change of temperature between midday and nightfall much\nmore than Europeans.\n\nThe morning of Sunday, January 11, was very cold, and the thermometer\nstood at 31\u00b0 F. just before sunrise. I noticed that it always rose\nto a point above 80\u00b0 about noon, and these figures will give an idea\nof the effect of the variations. The servants were shivering when\nthey served our breakfast, but at half-past seven we took off our\novercoats, and when we started at a quarter-past eight the day was\nwarm. Our road lay through tall grass, and took us over undulating\ncountry, and then up a long, gradually rising slope to Tschenkar,\nwhere we arrived at one o\u2019clock. This was by far the largest\nvillage that we had yet seen in Abyssinia.\n\nTschenkar is four miles distant from the lake. As we travelled we\nhad skirted the base of the promontory called Gorgora, which lay\non our right hand. This is very lofty ground. Stecker ascended to\nthe highest point of it, the summit of the mountain called Goraf. He\nfound by barometrical measurement that this was 2134 metres above the\nlevel of the sea, and recorded the following interesting observations:\n\u201cThis excursion yielded very important results in relation to the\ngeological formation of the mountain chain. I found on the high\nground extensive remains of a great stream of lava which I could\ntrace down to Lake Tsana. There were craters half filled up and\nvery considerable volcanic cumuli. The upper strata of the mountains\nconsist of crystalline schist, but the lower are composed of the same\nsandstone formation in which tertiary coal deposits were discovered\nat Tschelga.\u201d[51]\n\nIn an interview reported in the _Egyptian Gazette_, Mr. William\nMacMillan spoke disparagingly, as it seems to me, of the resources\nof the country.[52] I dissent completely from the opinion that\nAbyssinia has little to offer to commercial enterprise. Its\npotential wealth is enormous, and if difficulties of transit could be\novercome\u2014which means, in this connection, if the Blue Nile could be\nmade navigable\u2014I believe that a vast and most lucrative development\nof commerce and industry would follow. As the question appears to\nme to be of great importance, and as I think that Mr. MacMillan\u2019s\nwords may spread a quite erroneous impression, I hope the reader\nwill forgive me for bringing forward the following evidence.\n\nConsul Plowden reported in his \u201cGeneral Survey of Abyssinia,\u201d\n1852-53: \u201cGold and copper exist, and iron is found in great\nabundance; plains of sulphur and various salts, in the province now\noccupied by the Taltals, supply all Abyssinia with those commodities:\nand other wealth may lie hid in that volcanic tract. A search for\ncoal would, elsewhere, be probably successful.\u201d[53]\n\nDufton visited the district of Tschelga with M. Lejean, the French\nConsul, who was then taking gifts from the Emperor Napoleon III. to\nKing Theodore. M. Lejean found, when he attempted to make observations\nin this neighbourhood, that \u201cthe ferruginous nature of the rocks\ndestroyed the determinative power of his delicate compass, sometimes,\nwhen placed on the ground to a matter of 90 degrees. The presence\nof iron was further evidenced by the slimy yellow deposits of oxide\nwhich some of the mountain rivulets make in their course. Beds of an\ninferior coal we also found in the plain of Tschelga, laid bare by a\nsmall stream which had dug for itself a passage of some forty feet\ndeep. The fact of the presence of coal, not only here but also in\nmany other parts of Abyssinia, seems to point to sources of wealth\npossessed by this country, which only an enlightened government is\nrequired to open out.\u201d[54]\n\nMr. Vivian considers that the \u201cone insuperable objection\u201d to\nindustrial enterprise in Abyssinia is \u201cthe monstrous craft and\nsubtlety of the Abyssinian.\u201d He wrote, \u201cYou or I might spend\nourselves and our treasures in discovering coal, or copper, or iron,\nor gold, or emeralds; we might call new industries into being and\nestablish an era of prosperity; but the Abyssinians would take all\nthe profit, and we should be left out in the cold.\u201d[55]\n\nIt seems to me, if one may say so without flippancy, that the\nintroduction of a few mineowners from the Rand would soon show the\nAbyssinian that he is \u201ca child in these matters.\u201d A fertile\ncountry with an enormous range of climate, capable of well-nigh\ninfinite variety of production, well watered, well wooded, and\nendowed with gold, iron, and coal is something more than a small\nmart for American shirtings and Russian oil.\n\nTo return to Tschenkar. The soil in this region is very rich, and\nthere is a considerable cultivation of durrha and other grain and of\nchillies for cayenne pepper. This is the condiment universally used in\nAbyssinia. It is cooked with or added to every dish, and the natives,\nincluding the children, eat it in quantities which scorch the most\nhardened European gullet. When it is remembered that the Habashes\nusually eat their meat raw, not even rejecting uncleansed tripe,[56]\nand that they are constantly passing from fasts which they observe\nwith superstitious rigour[57] to an excess of gluttony, that they\nare immoral from their early years,[58] and that drunkenness is an\nuncensured habit even among the priests, it is surprising that the\nrace has retained its vigour. I am, however, bound to say that the\nAbyssinian is, normally, hardy and cheery. No doubt the weakly die\nin infancy or childhood, and the development of those who survive\nis greatly helped by the fine air in the upland country.\n\nI made inquiry of our interpreter Johannes as to the system of land\ntenure here, and was interested to learn that the \u201cLord of the\nManor\u201d leased ground to tenants on the _m\u00e9tayage_ system. He\nhimself paid tithe in kind to the Ras. I fancy the landowner takes\nthe lion\u2019s share of the crops; and the peasantry are heavily\nmulcted by the priests and scribes. In addition, it is the rule\nthat all guests of the Ras, when travelling within his fief, must\nbe supplied with food by every village at which they halt. So the\nfarmers have to thrive on what is left.\n\nWe were, officially, guests of the Ras. In consequence we found\nthat gifts of _teff_, and poultry, and eggs were brought in without\nstint. All are cheap commodities in Abyssinia. Augustus Wylde\ncalculated that at Bohoro in the Yejju province, when he was there,\nfowls were selling at a rate which would have given eight hundred\nand eighty for the pound sterling, and that the same sum would have\npurchased eight thousand eight hundred eggs.[59] The eggs presented to\nus were nearly all bad, a fact which might be due to a misapprehension\nabout European taste or to a feeling that waste articles might fairly\nbe got rid of as unrequited tribute. The fowls made good eating,\nbut they are very small birds. I do not think the Habashes, at the\nend of the reckoning, had much reason to regret our presence.\n\nIn the evening we received a visit from the priest, a pleasant,\nfine-looking old man. He wore the turban of his class. We promised\nto see him at his church early on the following morning and present\nan offering.\n\nThe dry grass had been fired in places around the village, and the\nflames showed impressively after nightfall, though their effect\nwas dimmed by the light of the moon, which was nearly full. We had\nno reason to fear being burned out of our camp, for the stalks had\nbeen beaten down all about into a matted mass. But clouds of smoke\nand showers of blacks from a conflagration close by would have given\nus more discomfort than we bargained for, and we watched the drift\nof the fires in the light, varying winds with interest. Luckily,\ntrouble was not for us that night, and we turned in, with all the\ncontentment of the well-fed Briton, and slept in peace.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER VII\n\n\nOn the morning of January 12, we fulfilled our promise to the priest\nof Tschenkar and went to see the church. It has the reputation of\nbeing an exceptionally holy place, because the Dervishes made several\nattempts to burn it down when they raided the village during their\nincursion after the battle of Gallabat, and their endeavour failed. I\ncannot tell how the roof fared, for it was made of the ordinary thatch\nused in Abyssinia when I saw it and looked very inflammable. But it\nwas hardly necessary to attribute the preservation of the rest of\nthe fabric to a miracle. In many cases the entire structure consists\nof a timber framework with a covering of thatch, and I never heard\nthat these buildings possessed the immunity of Shadrach, Meshach,\nand Abednego. But the church at Tschenkar is built in part of hard\nbaked mud bricks and in part of stone, and the doorways are made of\nan extremely tough wood which is found in the country. This had also\nfurnished the beams within the building. Under these circumstances\nthe only marvel seems to be that the Dervishes repeated their attempt\nto kindle the materials.\n\nThe church is round and stands in a circular enclosure, according to\nthe custom in Abyssinia. The wall of the churchyard is of stone,\nand there are four entrances, facing north, south, east, and\nwest. Cypresses\u2014which I did not observe in other places\u2014were\ngrowing in the enclosure, which, as usual, is just a small grassy\nexpanse. No tombstones or other monuments to the dead are seen\nin it. The church also has four doors and is divided into two\nparts. These do not closely correspond to nave and chancel; for the\n_sanctum sanctorum_ of an Abyssinian place of worship is walled in,\nand makes a third enclosure. Moreover, it does not contain an altar\nbut a representation of the Jewish Ark of the Covenant, which is\ncalled a _tabot_. I shall have occasion to allude to this custom\nand its origin in a later chapter.\n\nThe priest showed us round the building. The walls are decorated with\nthe usual extraordinary \u201csacred subjects,\u201d treated in the manner\nwhich convention strictly prescribes. St. George and the Dragon and\nthe Virgin Mary are almost invariably depicted, and I was fortunate\nenough to obtain some clear photographs in the church at Korata,[60]\nwhich exemplify the singular devotional art of the Habashes. At\nTschenkar there were some rude carvings of cherubim and designs\nof the Virgin drawn with burnt wood on the doorways. We were not\nadmitted to the _sanctum sanctorum_.\n\nOutside I obtained a photograph of the theological class, which was\ncomposed of one teacher and four pupils. Their library consisted of\na single book. I could not, of course, decipher the text, but the\nvolume had the appearance of a very dirty and greasy manuscript\nmissal. Probably it was a copy of the Scriptures, in the Gheez\nlanguage. There was a quaint thatched belfry in a tree, which looked\nlike a primitive bee-hive or an old bird\u2019s-nest.\n\nWe had ordered that the baggage donkeys should be loaded and take the\nroad while we were at the church. But we found that confusion always\narose if no European was present at the start, and on this occasion,\nwhen we had spent some forty minutes with the priest, and then made\nour way to the track which we were to follow, we beheld no trace of\nthe expedition. When the train did draw in sight we found that one\npart had been separated from the other, and the two divisions were\napproaching from opposite sides. It was only a slight _contretemps_,\nbut we lost an hour by it on a day when we had a long march before\nus. Matters were righted and we moved ahead.\n\nDupuis and I were bringing up the rear. At half-past eleven we\nfound that the whole expedition had halted on the bank of the\nriver Magetsch, and one of the guides was insisting that we must\ncamp there. He seemed to have no reason for the choice except that\nthere was water in the stream and that the place which we purposed\nto reach, called Ambo, was, in his opinion, too far off. All the\nHabashes were of the same mind as the guide, but we did not take\ntheir view, and set to work to cross the river.\n\nHere\u2014about a mile and a half from the lake\u2014the current was some\ntwenty feet wide. It was clear and shallow, running over a shingly bed\nin a ravine. We forded it without difficulty, and moved on towards\nthe camping-ground which we had selected. We arrived at the place\nshortly after two o\u2019clock.\n\nOur route crossed the two effluents of the lesser Gumara River not\nfar below Wansage. A concise and interesting account of the geology\nand botany of the river-valley at that place has been given by\nDr. Stecker.[61] This morning while we were on the road we met the\n\u201cSultan of Delgi.\u201d The \u201cSultan,\u201d notwithstanding his title,\nis a subordinate official, the tax-collector of a district. It\nwas this man whose \u201cDeputy\u201d had met us when we arrived on the\nplateau and raised difficulties. We found the \u201cSultan\u201d a very\naffable old man. He shook hands with us, asked if matters went well\nwith the expedition, and if we were in need of anything. This was\nthe more satisfactory as he was then returning from a visit to the\nfeudal lord of the district, Ras Gouksha.\n\nThe village of Ambo was destroyed by the Dervishes, and had not been\nrebuilt. The site of it is on a beautiful little bay of the lake,\nwhich at one part has a sandy beach that shelves into the clear\nwater and at another is bordered by a thick fringe of reeds. Snipe\nswarm in these. There was no cultivated ground at this spot, and no\ntimber or \u201cscrub.\u201d Tall grass was growing everywhere, and I have\nno doubt that the soil is extremely fertile.\n\nThe tents were pitched, and after lunch we took out our guns to\nreplenish the larder. We made a bag of some half-dozen snipe, and saw\nan abundance of geese\u2014but they are not very good eating\u2014herons,\nand other large and small water-fowl. On the way back to camp we\nput up a flock of crown crane and could have brought down some of\nthem. They are excellent at table; but it seemed a scandal to kill\nsuch fine fellows, and we did not shoot. These are noble-looking\nbirds.\n\nIn the afternoon some natives passed the camp, who had shot a\ntree-boa. They were carrying the skin. Without the head, which\nthey had cut off, the snake measured ten and a half feet. As we\nhad avoided camping at a village\u2014a course by which we cheated\ninnumerable vermin\u2014we had no evident claim on any hamlet for free\nviands. But I found that a fowl and some eggs had been brought into\ncamp, and, to do the Habashes justice, I do not think they grudged\nthe tribute in kind which our presence exacted from them. It is a\ncustom of the country to offer a gift in order to receive one of\ngreater value in return, but the rural folk of the lake country had\nno such motive\u2014as far as I could see\u2014in furnishing supplies.\n\nWe started on the following morning at a quarter to eight. The\ntemperature was then below the freezing-point, and we felt the\ncold keenly. Our road lay, for some distance, through the tall\njungle grass, but when we emerged from it the scenery changed\ncompletely. We entered a broken, mountainous district, where the\nheights rise directly from the lake, and the traveller passes from\none surpassingly lovely vista to another. Many palms grow here,\nand the banks and dells are covered with wild flowers\u2014a varied,\nabundant growth excelling even that which we had seen on reaching\nthe lake plateau. Great numbers of butterflies, large and small,\nfamiliar and unfamiliar, some of sober hue, others brightly gorgeous,\nwere flitting among the blossoms. The giant hemp abounds here, and\nthe stems, some eighteen feet high, tower above one. At that season\nthe daytime and the evening were alike cloudless. The whole region\nis fertile and charming.[62]\n\nIt is\u2014for that country\u2014thickly populated. There are many\nvillages, groups of scattered _tokhuls_, and as we advanced we found\nthese yet more numerous. They lie, perhaps, four miles apart on an\naverage. Cattle are seen in all. Very few cases of serious sickness\ncame to my notice hereabout, and the people generally seemed healthy,\nas well as prosperous. I saw no money in circulation, and all trade\nappears to be carried on by barter.\n\nAs we drew near to our halting-place for the night, those who were\nleading our column came upon two _tokhuls_ full of Habashes. They\nwere about fifteen in number, and, as they carried rifles of an old\nFrench pattern, there is very little doubt that they were soldiers. I\nwas in the rear, and when I passed them they were squatting on the\nground and staring at those who rode by in a manner that was evidently\nmeant to be grossly insulting. Moreover, they had kindled the grass\non both sides of the track, and we were obliged to trot ahead in the\nmidst of smoke and flames. Oddly enough, both the donkeys and mules\ntook the adventure quite quietly, though the fire was close enough to\nsinge their hair and burn their feet. The Abyssinian \u201cregulars\u201d\nare a class apart, and are unpopular; they are mostly rapacious,\nhectoring, and ill-conditioned, and are a bane to all from whom they\ncan levy exactions.\n\nOur camping-ground was close to the village of Tschera, which stands\non an islet near the lake-shore. It is reached by wading through\nabout fifty yards of water lying over firm sand. Further out is\nthe pretty island of Mitraha, on which we could see houses and a\nchurch. My companions took out the boat and their guns and brought\nback a brace of duck and a green pigeon. Earlier in the day five\nguinea-fowl had been added to the larder.\n\nWe sent two soldiers to buy meat for the men. They purchased five\nsheep, for which they paid four dollars. This works out at a rate\nof about one and sixpence per sheep, English money.\n\nWe did not intend to resume the march on the following morning, so\nnone of us rose before half-past six, when \u201cthe day was aired\u201d\na little. The lowest reading of the thermometer at night had\nbeen thirty-two degrees. After breakfast, we three Englishmen and\nJohannes the interpreter started in the boat to visit Mitraha. It\nis a hilly, tree-clad little island with a population consisting\nof six families. The people welcomed us on our approach and guided\nus through a channel between rocks to a good landing-place. They\nseemed pleased to show us over the ground.[63] It is a perfectly\npretty islet, with quaint thatched cottages among foliage and a\nruinous old church, and\u2014for historic interest\u2014it contains the\ntomb of an ancient king of Abyssinia, John by name. We visited the\nsepulchre and saw the open coffin, which was full of an agglomeration\nof bones. If they belonged to the dead monarch, he must have been\nthe boniest man that ever lived, and embarrassed, into the bargain,\nby possessing two right arms. However, it was an article of belief\nwith everybody on the island, including the priest, that nature had\nonce contrived to stow all that \u201canatomy\u201d into one human body.\n\nThe island is traversed in all directions by narrow tracks marked by\ntrodden leaves, and there is a thick undergrowth of weeds, thistles,\nand thorns. In this tangle I saw numbers of large spiders\u2019 webs,\nfrom three to four feet in circumference. The spiders are about the\nsize of a shilling, with a speckled abdomen and legs of enormous\nlength. I saw none of this species on the mainland.\n\nThe islanders had poultry but no cattle. We asked them about their\nfood. They said, \u201cWe eat durrha when we can get it.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you eat fish?\u201d we asked. \u201cSurely, there are plenty\nof fish in the lake.\u201d\n\n\u201c_No_,\u201d they answered emphatically. \u201cAfter King Johannes was\nkilled by the Dervishes[64] all the fish disappeared.\u201d\n\nIt is quite likely that these people are too idle even to cast a\nnet,[65] for it is notorious that fish of many kinds and of large size\nabound in Lake Tsana; but, knowing how superstitious the Habashes are,\nI would not vouch for it that they did not sincerely believe what\nthey said. Probably they have little intercourse with the mainland\nand invent their own news.\n\nThey took a keen interest in our boat, and asked many questions\nabout it. Their own rafts, called _tankoa_, consist merely of a\nbundle of papyrus reeds strung together with strips of hippopotamus\nhide and stiffened by a bamboo in the centre which serves as a kind\nof keelson. They do not use a sail, but punt or paddle with a pole.\n\nWhen we had finished the tour of the island Dupuis presented five\ndollars to the church and community and thereupon received the\nceremonial blessing of the priest.[66]\n\nWe returned to camp. During the afternoon I tried my hand at\nbutterfly-hunting, fly-fishing in a sluggish stream near by called\nthe Kumon, and shooting beside the Lake. It was all pleasant enough\nsport, but I had poor luck. The butterflies that were worth catching\nwere always seen when we were in \u201cmarching order,\u201d and my net\nwas packed up. When I cast in the Kumon my tackle mostly got foul\nof the reeds and the weeds, and while tramping along the shore I\nfound nothing to shoot, unless it were a huge hippo who was basking\nin the sun about three hundred yards out. I should have been _impar\ncongressus Achilli_ if we had tried conclusions, so I did nothing\nto provoke enmity.\n\nIn the afternoon I was on medical duty for native patients. The first\nwas a poor little fellow about seven years old, who was covered from\nhead to foot with craw-craw, a kind of aggravated _scabies_. He was\nbrought to me by his father, to whom I gave half a cake of soap,\nand bade him take the child to the water and wash him. I saw that\nthis was properly done, and then treated the boy\u2019s skin with a\nweak solution of corrosive sublimate and afterwards smeared boric\nointment over him. The father was set to wash his son\u2019s shama with\nthe remainder of the soap\u2014an office of cleanliness which had been\nneglected at home in accordance with Ethiopian usage.\n\nMy other patient was a man whose upper eyelids were inverted\n(entropion), as a result of ophthalmia. This malady is very common\nin the country. I removed the eyelashes with a forceps and applied\nointment, but the extent of the injury was already so great that\nlittle good was likely to come from my intervention. The Russians\nmaintain a Red Cross Mission at Addis Abbiba,[67] which has\nestablished a hospital on an adequate scale. Here natives receive\ntreatment free of charge.[68] European medical aid is sorely needed in\nthe country, and I wish that it might be found practicable to support\na British medical station in Western Abyssinia. Our popularity and\nprestige would be increased by this step. An opportunity would be\ngiven for valuable observation and research, and the benefit to the\ninhabitants would be incalculable.\n\nGifts of bread (teff), eggs, and fowls were brought into our camp in\nplenty, and some liberal Habash sent us a big jar of honey, the comb\nand all packed in together. It was a welcome and useful present, and\nserved as a luxury in lieu of jam, of which we had a short supply. The\nsize of the jar\u2014it rather suggested the lurking-places of the Forty\nThieves\u2014embarrassed us, and we did not wish to carry quantities of\nhoney-comb through Abyssinia. So we consulted Johannes. He told us to\nheat the jar until the honey just boiled, skim off the wax and pour\nthe clear liquor into bottles. Fortunately we had saved empty bottles,\nand we filled up all we had; but half the jar remained after that, and\nhad to be returned to the giver. All three of us were interested and\nbusy in melting the honey and straining it through a piece of mosquito\ncurtain, and were splendidly sticky and messy when we left off.\n\nWhile we were in the kitchen-quarters, we heard a loud grunting and\nsnorting about twenty yards away, which made the ground tremble, and\nrecognized at once that a hippo was in the reeds there. This badly\nfrightened the cook, who slept in the tent nearest that spot. We had\nto assure him solemnly that the hippo would not carry out a night\nattack upon him.\n\nWe struck our camp next morning (January 15), and marched to the\nRiver Reb. The boat was brought into service in crossing it. At\none part the stream was about four feet six inches deep, and though\nthis dip in the bed was only a couple of yards wide, it prevented\nthe baggage animals from walking through. The water was shallow\nover the rest of the ford, so that they could keep their feet. All\nthe mules and donkeys were unloaded while we lunched. The boat was\nquickly got ready and about half-past two Crawley pulled across\nwith his first cargo. After he had had about an hour of the work,\nI took my turn. Dupuis was superintending the pitching of the tents\nand the stowing of the loads on the further side of the river. Then\nthe fun began with bringing the baggage animals over.\n\nThere was no great difficulty with the mules. One gave a lead,\nand then the rest swam across, the boys swimming beside them. But\nwith the donkeys it was a different matter. The men tried coaxing\nthem, leading them, whacking them. It was all no good. The donkeys\nsettled into the firm, resolute stubbornness of their kind, which\nis invincible, and it seemed as if the expedition would be left in\nthe condition of a wasp that has been cut through the middle\u2014the\nactive half in one place and the \u201cportage and storage\u201d half\nin another. Sunset began before progress had been made, and the\nair was quickly becoming colder. Finally we solved the problem by\nbrute force. Five fixed nooses were tied in a long rope, and five\ndonkeys\u2019 heads were put in the nooses. Then we, on the further side\nof the stream, hauled on to the rope. It was a \u201ctug of war,\u201d\nand we moved the donkeys. Then one of us took the rope back in\nthe boat, and the next batch came over by \u201ccable ferry.\u201d There\nwas a chance that the donkeys would struggle and strangle or drown\nthemselves, but all were pulled across without casualties. The last\nthree made the journey just after six o\u2019clock. Of course our men\nhad to be in the water with the beasts to steady them, and keep\nthem in place, and all worked with a will. Some were in the stream,\noff and on, for three or four hours, and the cold was sharp when the\nsun sank. Unluckily there was no wood near our camping-ground, so\nthey had no fire to cheer them afterwards, and could not dry their\nwet clothes. The Habashes, when they cross a ford of this kind,\nroll all their garments into a bundle, which they carry on their\nheads while they swim or wade. We were all sorry for the mischance\nwhich denied the boys warmth after a wetting, and we served out a\nnip of green chartreuse to those who had been in the water longest.\n\nOn the next day, January 16, we had before us the business of fording\nthe river Gumara, and, to avoid a repetition of the trouble with\nthe donkeys, we determined to strike away from the lakeside, so as\nto reach the stream where we could go over on foot. Dupuis found\nthat this route would bring him close to the Debra Tabor road, and\nat once resolved to set off, on the following morning, with a light\nbaggage train, to pay a visit of thanks to Ras Gouksha, who was at\nthat place. Crawley was to accompany him, while I stayed in charge\nof the camp.\n\nIt was a short march from our halting-place beside the Reb to the\nford by which we were to cross the Gumara, and we did not start till\neleven o\u2019clock. The baggage animals were able to have a feed of\ngrass, and they and the boys alike were warmed by the sun before\nour journey began. All needed a little rest and comfort after the\nprevious day\u2019s work.\n\nIt is a plain country between the Reb and the Gumara, partly covered\nat that season by tall, dry grass, and partly by swamp-grass standing\nin ooze. In the wet months the whole tract is a morass.\n\nMany Habashes assembled to see us start. They were tiresome, but\nquite friendly. I was much struck by the prevalence of eye disease\namong them; _trachoma_ is very common, and most of the cases which\ncame under my notice were beyond hope of cure. A crowd gathered\nround me to gaze at my camera, which was an unknown marvel in this\nland; for Western Abyssinia has seldom been visited by Europeans,\nand I heard of none who had been in the district since Stecker had\npassed through it more than twenty years before. Even cigarettes were\na novelty. I put one between my lips when I had shut up my camera,\nand offered another to a young man who was standing close to me. He\ndid not know what it was, and hesitated about taking it. To gratify\nmy curiosity, I pressed it on him, and he held it at arm\u2019s length,\nand looked at it with wonder and suspicion. But when he saw me light\nmine and smoke issuing from my mouth, he dropped his cigarette as if\nit were a live shell with a fuse smouldering in it and ran. Crawley\ngave a cigarette one day to a Habash, who ate it, paper and all,\nand said he liked it.\n\nWe reached the Gumara at half-past two, and pitched our camp beside\nthe ford; it is an unpleasant place, in the line of a frequented\nhighway. During the afternoon we passed the donkeys in review, and\npicked out the best for Dupuis\u2019s expedition to Debra Tabor. We\nalso made a selection of stores for the journey, which was expected\nto last five days in all.\n\n\n\n\n                             CHAPTER VIII\n\n\nOn the way between our camp and the Gumara River we passed\nmany villages. In one I saw a leper in an advanced stage of the\ndisease. Thereupon I made inquiry, and was told that leprosy is\nvery prevalent throughout Abyssinia. Almost all the maladies that\nwork havoc among the people could be gradually checked by adequate\nmedical control under European administration.\n\nOn Saturday, January 17, I said good-bye to my two companions,\nwho started for Debra Tabor at nine in the morning. It was the\nproper course to see Ras Gouksha, and thank him personally for\nallowing us to travel through his territory, and we desired to\nobtain from him a letter of introduction and recommendation to\nTecla Haimanot, the King of Godjam, whose dominions lie on the other\nside of the lake. This potentate is named after the most popular,\nvenerated\u2014and apocryphal\u2014saint in the well-filled Abyssinian\ncalendar. I shall refer to his miraculous exploits and experiences\nin another chapter. They are unequalled by anything to be found in\nthe Golden Legend, and one can only regret that the late \u201cThomas\nIngoldsby\u201d had never heard of him.\n\nThe emperor, when he is powerful enough to do so, exercises a\nsuzerainty over the King of Godjam, who served with the Abyssinian\nforces at the battle of Adowa. But the difficulties of a suzerainty\nunwillingly accepted, are as manifest in Eastern as they were\nin Southern Africa, and the country has often been in revolt. For\ninstance, Consul Plowden wrote that in his day the ruler of Abyssinia,\nwho was then the Ras of Begemeder, though a titular emperor was\nalive,[69] \u201chad been engaged in the siege of a hill-fort in Godjam\nnow for four years; and another chief in rebellion, after gaining\ntwo battles, had pillaged Gondar, and rendered all communication\nwith Godjam circuitous or dangerous.\u201d[70] Menelek\u2019s safe-conduct\nletter is not valid in Tecla Haimanot\u2019s dominions, and Dr. Stecker,\nwho was provided with this passport, was refused admission to the\ncountry. The German explorer wished to cross the Blue Nile in the\nneighbourhood of Woreb, but was unable to carry out his plan because\nthe escort officer who had been attached to his party declined to\nproceed into Tecla Haimanot\u2019s jurisdiction. The doctor pointed out,\nwith the logic of his race, that his permit was issued by the Negus\nNegesti, and that a mandate from the king of kings was binding on\nthe ruler of Godjam. The escort officer disregarded logic after the\nmanner of his kind, and Dr. Stecker failed to cross the river. He\nagain tried to enter this territory from the north at Wendige, and\nwas again turned back. A third attempt, which promised well, was\nfrustrated by the double dealing of Litsch-Abai, Governor of Wendige,\nand though the traveller finally received a special permit from King\nJohn himself as Tecla Haimanot\u2019s suzerain, he was unable to make\nuse of it, except for a few hasty excursions by water from Korata,\nfor he was summoned back to the Abyssinian court before he could\naccomplish the journey in Godjam which he had planned.[71]\n\n[Illustration: A CASE OE LEPROSY.\n\n_See p._ 103.]\n\nI took a photograph of my two companions while they were crossing\nthe river Gumara, and then at once returned to the camp and made\narrangements to remove it to a less inconvenient site.\n\nI started on my mule with a native guide and an escort of two boys,\nand in an hour and a half reached a perfect camping-ground about\nhalfway between our last halting-place and Korata. It was a quiet\nspot on a little plateau, where a spring rose from the rock and ran\ndown a clean, hard channel. This was a welcome change from the muddy\nwater which we had been obliged to use during the last two days. I\nreturned to camp, and after lunch found\u2014for the first time in\nmy life\u2014my reputation embarrassing. Patients poured in, and it\noccurred to me that if they had had any money and I had wished to\nestablish myself in practice in Abyssinia, I should have done very\nwell by the lakeside. The diseases which I had to treat were leprosy,\nophthalmia, t\u00e6nia, malarial fever, itch, and certain maladies of\nanother order.[72]\n\nAmong my visitors was the parish priest. I supposed he had come\nto ask alms, and sent a message intended to put off the demand,\nexplaining that I was only the doctor of the party, and that if there\nwas anything which he required, he must return when \u201cthe Bey\u201d\n(Dupuis) came back to camp and tell him about it. To my surprise he\nsent an answer that he wished to see me and not the Bey, and that he\nwas not seeking alms. That being so, I was very pleased to receive\nhim, and found that he wanted treatment for the itch.\n\nWhen he had gone I took my rod and tried a fly in the muddy river;\nbut the fish did not rise. So I gave up casting, which brought me\nnothing but the armache, and went out with my gun. On the swampy\nground bordering the lake I shot three of the big geese that are\nfound there in great abundance. They were for the camp larder, not\nfor mine, as I thought the flesh rank and tough. The boys had often\nasked me to shoot one and give it to them.\n\n[Illustration: FORDING THE RIVER GUMARA.\n\n_See p._ 105.]\n\nOn Sunday, January 18, I moved to our new camping-ground. It was\na well-wooded spot, grassy and full of wild flowering plants of\nmany kinds. This pleasant place is called Sara; it is six or seven\nmiles distant from the lake. Game was plentiful. On the way I shot\na sand-grouse, and, taking my gun in the afternoon, brought down\ntwo plovers of a kind which I had not seen before. One, probably\nthe male bird, had excrescences of yellow skin on each side of the\nbeak. There were snipe and quail in abundance, but I did not get\nwithin range of any.\n\nDuring the day a man came to me who had a splinter of wood about two\ninches long buried in his leg near the shin. To remove it I had to\ncut down a couple of inches into the flesh. My patient endured the\noperation without wincing.\n\nApproaching the camp on the way back, I heard tomtoms, women warbling\nafter the manner of the country and the ringing of bells. I supposed\nfor a moment that a stray shot of mine had injured some one and that\nthe neighbourhood was in an uproar about it, and expected to find\na demonstration in progress. But on making inquiry I learned that\nnext day the Epiphany was celebrated, when there is a general feast\nand holiday throughout Abyssinia. The gathering of Habashes was in a\nhut near the river where they had come to be ready for the opening\nof the festival. This is the blessing of the water by the priest,\nand the people are allowed to bathe in it after the ceremony. I did\nnot myself see that any availed themselves of the privilege.\n\nThe Habashes, who had assembled near the stream, began their singular\ndevotions at daybreak. Mansfield Parkyns witnessed the whole procedure\nof one of these commemoration feasts, and his lively account of it\nis as exact now as when it was written:\u2014\n\n\u201cAs we have already stated while speaking of the fasts, the day\nbefore the Epiphany is passed by the priests and other devout men\nin abstinence until sunset. During the afternoon the Holy Sacrament\nis administered to the priests only, in their churches. After the\nconclusion of the ceremony they form in procession, and, accompanied\nby the defterers or scribes, and bearing with them all the church\nparaphernalia, go down to the neighbouring rivulet. Tents are\npitched near its banks, ready to receive them, and there is a store\nof comestibles of every variety, with, of course, the usual large\nproportion of beer and honey-mead; the whole of which good things\nare from the voluntary contributions of the devout of the parish.\n\n\u201cWhen the much-wished-for sunset has arrived the feasting begins,\nand it is fearful to behold with what vigour the half-famished divines\nset to work. There is abundance for them; for the food being begged\nas a supply for the ark, or tabote, the superstitious people think\nthat they are doing a very godly act in providing vast quantities,\nwhile in reality the only result is that the priests make beasts\nof themselves. The whole night is often passed in alternate prayer,\nsinging, dancing, and drinking. The songs and dances are both of a\nreligious kind: the latter probably taken from the religious dancing\nof the Israelites, frequently mentioned in the Bible, is merely a\npeculiar sort of shrugging of the body and stamping with the feet. The\nend of these devotional orgies is the administration of the Sacrament\nbefore sunrise; but it not unfrequently happens that long before that\ntime many of the priests are not in a very fit state to partake of it,\ndisgraceful scenes of drunkenness often disturbing these religious\nfestivals. During the evening of timkat, or the Epiphany, that I\npassed at Adoua, several of the holy priests were found to have\ntumbled into the neighbouring brook, Assam, overcome, as charitably\ndisposed persons may have said, by their religious fervour; though\nsome sinful scoffers\u2014myself included, I fear\u2014suggested that\nliquor might have been the cause of their overthrow.\n\n\u201cAfter the Sacrament has been distributed among the priests,\nthe chief priest, raising his hands over the stream, blesses it,\nand then the people bathe in it. Great men, however, and priests,\nare sprinkled, to obviate the necessity of their mixing, even in\nsuch a ceremony, with the vulgar herd. After this the women dance\nand sing, and the men engage in various sports.\u201d[73]\n\nThe \u201cdancing\u201d of the women seemed to me not unlike that which\nis customary in Egypt and the Soudan. The chief feature of it was\nthe protruding of the chest and chin alternately. The more forcibly\nthis was done the more excellent was the style of the dancer. During\nthe performance they gasp like whirling dervishes.\n\nThe Abyssinian women are not kept in seclusion. Indeed, the liberty\nwhich they have would be considered license from a European point\nof view. But perhaps they had been shy of appearing before a\nband of strangers. Anyhow, I had had no opportunity of forming an\nopinion about the girls of Ethiopia while we travelled among the\nvillages. They came in numbers to the combined church-service and\ndance which was in progress by the river, and I then found that some\nwere very decidedly good-looking. I took a couple of snap-shots of\none leading beauty, and the reader can determine for himself\u2014or\nherself\u2014if she is fascinating. Tastes differ in these matters;\nbut it is fair to her to say that the charm of an animated, varying\nexpression and of lithe, graceful movements is poorly represented\nin a photograph.\n\nI took my place among the crowd, not by preference\u2014for the Habash\nresembles Gargonius more than Rufillus[74]\u2014but that I might use\nmy camera effectively. Some of the young girls had one-half of the\nhead shaved, and this, I learned, was a sign that they had not yet\n\u201ccome out.\u201d It corresponded to short frocks and hair down the back\namong us. Marriageable maidens had a tonsure\u2014an odd contrast to our\nemployment of the same sign, more especially as it further denotes\nthat the damsel wishes to be mated. As far as I could discern the\ndances are arranged by the older women with the object of letting\nthe girls be seen to advantage, and I noticed that the tonsures had\nall been neatly renewed for the occasion. The hair grows naturally\nin stiff ringlets, and these, springing up vigorously around the\nshaven circle, make it a very striking feature. The married women\nwear their hair plaited in rolls, which are saturated with grease.[75]\nThe gathering broke up about eleven o\u2019clock in the morning and the\n\u201ccongregation\u201d left the bank of the stream. The \u201crecessional\u201d\nwas the tinkling of a bell carried by a miserable-looking little boy,\nwho was dressed in a red gown. He headed the party; then came the\npriest, bearing a cross, and behind him the laity. It was a quaint\nand interesting sight.\n\n[Illustration: INTERESTED IN THE PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERA.\n\n_See p._ 102.]\n\n[Illustration: WOMEN DANCING AT THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY.\n\n_See p._ 110.]\n\nWhen the camp was quiet again I turned my attention to entomology and\nwent out with a butterfly-net and a tin box to hold captures. Behind\nme was a boy carrying my gun\u2014a sort of Friday to my Robinson\nCrusoe. We walked down the stream, and I saw many green swallow-tail\nbutterflies, but they were much too quick to be caught by my\npursuit. Presently I noticed that they were attracted by a certain\nred mossy growth in the water, so I waited near a patch of this. A\nbutterfly hovered over it, and I made a dash for the specimen, and got\nit, but damaged it in the process. Then I laid it, in as life-like an\nattitude as I could give it, on the moss, and by this means secured\nfour fine specimens which came to see what my decoy had found.\n\nIn the afternoon I wandered up stream and saw one snipe, which I\nshot as part of the menu for dinner. Then I left the course of the\nriver, and walked towards some trees which seemed to form a detached\nclump. But as I drew nearer and fresh ground became visible, I found\nthat they were part of a fine wood. When I was close to the edge of\nit, four quail rose at my feet. I tried to hit one, but was not sharp\nenough. At the noise of the discharge a large bush-buck sprang up\nin alarm and scampered off among the shrubs. The trees were chiefly\nof the cypress family, and, following a footpath, I discovered the\nexplanation of this; for I came to an old ruinous church, and the\nwhole grove had spread gradually from its enclosure. Beyond the church\nthere was open ground, and a village lay at a little distance. The\nscene was sunny, pleasant, and almost idyllic. I retraced my steps\nand completed my bill of fare by adding a pigeon to the snipe.\n\nThe next day (January 20) I was medical officer to the country-side\nagain until half-past ten. One man had a half-inch splinter of wood\nburied in his leg. He, like my former patient in a similar plight,\nwas very plucky and let me cut down on it and take it out. When I had\ndressed the wound, he showed the zeal of his gratitude by throwing\nhimself upon the ground and trying to kiss my boots. Several of\nmy \u201ccases\u201d sent me offerings of eggs. About two dozen came in\naltogether, a couple from one, three from another, and so on. I was\ngratified, because these voluntary gifts, though they were small,\nwere tokens of good-will. Ordinarily the escort-officer[76] whom Ras\nGouksha, according to the custom of the country, had told off to\nattend us, and whom we called \u201cthe tout,\u201d extorted provisions\nfor us from the villagers\u2014bread, milk, eggs, honey, grain, and\nthe like, we being entitled to levy this tribute as the official\nguests of the Ras. The \u201ctout\u201d had gone with my companions to\nDebra Tabor, and it was pleasant to find that, in his absence,\nI received \u201cbenevolences\u201d of another kind. This man professed\nto be our guide for the journey round the lake, but we found that\nhe knew nothing at all about the roads and tracks. I may add that\nthe eggs spontaneously given were all new-laid, while those exacted\nmost emphatically were not.\n\nAfter lunch I went out with my gun, and shot, besides a brace\nof pigeons, a pair of fly-catchers of a very pretty kind. Their\nplumage seemed to be worth preserving and I skinned them in the\nafternoon. Later I had a complimentary visit from the priest. We\nexchanged our respects in silence, by pantomime. He bowed and\ndisplayed his deference ceremoniously in dumb-show, and I bowed in\nreturn, and then the formalities ended. After this I talked to him\nby the aid of Johannes. This priest was a leper suffering from the\nform of the malady called \u201cnerve leprosy.\u201d He, poor fellow, had\nnot known the fact until I told him. I almost regretted that I had\nunwittingly ended his ignorance. He showed the greatest astonishment\nand interest while he listened to an account of the methods employed\nin the treatment of the disease in Europe.\n\nI was up early on the morning of January 21, and set to work to put a\ncoat of paint on the boat, but patients soon found me out and changed\nmy occupation. One case interested me much. It was that of an old\nlady, a _dear_ old lady, who told me that she was a hundred years\nold! Why she reversed feminine tradition by saying that, I cannot\ntell; upon closer observation I judged her age to be about fifty-five,\nallowing for the earlier senescence of Oriental people. She had heard\nof me in Tigre, eighty-five miles distant, and had come all the way\nto Sara that I might examine her broken wrist. The fracture was a\nfortnight old, and I found that the bone had been set very sensibly,\nand bound up with a ligature made of strips of cane strung together\nupon a piece of leather. This made an excellent splint. The injury\nwas in a favourable position, and the _soi-disant_ centenarian had\nfull use of her fingers. I set up the fracture just as it had been\nbound before, only with cotton-wool, a couple of bits of cardboard\nand a neat new bandage. I thought that, as the patient had made\nsuch a journey to consult me, she deserved that much treatment,\nand she would have been sorely disappointed if she had returned to\nTigre with no outward and visible sign of the European doctor\u2019s\nattention to show to her friends. As it was, she was pleased and\ngrateful, and took the homeward road forthwith in all contentment.\n\nAbout four o\u2019clock in the afternoon my companions returned from\nDebra Tabor. They had been received three times \u201cin audience\u201d by\nthe Ras, but I did not gather that any very deep impression had been\nmade upon them. They were, in fact, relieved to think that no more\nvisits of ceremony were in prospect. To the grief of all, one of our\nsoldiers had died on the journey. He was seized with fever the day\nafter he started, rapidly became worse, had to be left in a hut some\nsix miles out of Debra Tabor, and succumbed during the evening of\nthe second day of his illness. From a description of the symptoms,\nI judged that his death was caused by severe intestinal irritation,\nprobably due to ptomaine poisoning. This, in all probability, resulted\nfrom eating putrescent meat, a practice which we could not suppress\namong our men, though it was particularly likely to be fatal in such\na climate as that of Abyssinia.\n\nMy companions brought with them some guinea-fowl and a sheep, and\nwe bought an ox in camp, which was to be killed the next day at\nKorata. The cost of it was seven dollars, or about twelve shillings\nand six pence, the vendor reserving the hide for his own purposes\nas a condition of the bargain. That night a hyena was prowling\nround my tent. I was not sure what manner of beast it was until\nCrawley enlightened me next day. It certainly would not be safe for\na traveller to sleep in the open in places haunted by these creatures.\n\nOn the morning of January 22, after some delay in starting, we made\na steady jog-trot journey, through dried grass in a well-timbered\ncountry, down the gentle slope that trends away from the plateau. The\ntrack which we followed was rocky for the most part, and lay in\ncultivable land. We saw enclosed fields here and there and numerous\nvillages\u2014one in every four miles or so. There was no mishap, except\nwhen the donkeys stuck in the mud at the bottom of the watercourses,\nor lay down in it. And then it was dirty work to get them on, or\nup. Just before one o\u2019clock we arrived in Korata Bay and pitched\nour camp there.\n\n[Illustration: THE \u2018CANDELABRA EUPHORBIA\u2019 ON THE EDGE OF A DRY\nWATER-COURSE.\n\n_See p._ 66.]\n\n[Illustration: BETWEEN SARA AND KORATA.\n\n_See p._ 114.]\n\nAfter lunch my companions started on muleback with their guns. They\nwere to be guided by a native boy about eighteen years old, whom our\ninterpreter Johannes had engaged in the town, and who said that he\nknew where game was to be found. Crawley took the young fellow\u2019s\nstaff in one hand, and in the other held out a Maria-Theresa dollar,\nand made him understand by signs that if the sport was good he would\nget the money, but if no game was seen he would have a cudgelling. The\nhumour of this tickled his fancy very much, and he was convulsed\nwith laughter over it. It was the first time I had seen an Abyssinian\nenjoy a hearty laugh.\n\nKorata stands upon a promontory. When I had held a \u201cdoctor\u2019s\nparade,\u201d I took my gun and walked round the point of this little\nheadland. There appeared to be no birds to shoot, and I had made\nup my mind to turn back empty-handed, when I saw a couple of fat\nlittle ducks on a rock in the lake. I shot them when they rose, and,\nknowing they were dead, sat down to wait till the waves brought them\nwithin reach. The noise of the firing roused the curiosity of two\nAbyssinians, who came up to me and bowed. Then one very obligingly\nwalked into the water and fetched out the birds. After this both\naccompanied me, the first carrying the ducks, the other bearing my\ngun. I understood that they meant to show me the way over the brow\nof the hill and through Korata to our camp.\n\nWe left the sandy beach, and walked up a rocky track full of loose\nstones into the town. It is merely a collection of tokhuls scattered\nin groups of six or seven among untended coffee plantations. These are\nnot separated by hedges or fences, and perhaps I might best convey an\nidea of their appearance to an English reader by comparing them to a\nseries of neglected orchards without traceable boundaries. Indeed,\nI should have supposed that the coffee bushes, which attain a most\nremarkable size, grew wild here, if it were not for a statement in\nConsul Plowden\u2019s report. He wrote: \u201cThe more temperate provinces\nwould probably be favourable to the growth of pepper, spices,\nand coffee, which last has already been planted at Korata.\u201d[77]\nEvidently the soil is admirably suited for the raising of this produce\nto advantage; the coffee is of an excellent quality, and though the\nnatives bestow no trouble and spend no money on the industry, there is\neven now a steady export trade in the berries from this district. The\nprincipal market for it is in the Soudan, where the demand is likely\nto be larger as the development of Upper Egypt proceeds.\n\nWe traversed the main thoroughfare on the way back to camp. It is\nso narrow that two persons cannot pass abreast. On either side is a\nbank overgrown with nettles and other weeds. I saw very few people;\nthe life of the place seemed to be stagnant, and here, as elsewhere\nin Abyssinia, there was very little money in circulation. Judging\nroughly, I should estimate that Korata contains a population of\nsome two thousand, and that three-quarters of these are Soudanese\nslaves. It is the custom among the Habashes that each man has a\nboy-slave, and each married woman a girl-slave. The attitude of mind\nof the Christian Abyssinians towards these wretched people is well\nshown by the following slight incident\u2014as I was walking through\nKorata with the two Habashes who had volunteered to guide me, we\npassed a couple of slave-boys. I said, \u201cSoudanis,\u201d and immediately\nmy companions spat upon the ground to signify their contempt.\n\nWhen we reached camp I gave my new acquaintances a drink of chartreuse\nin token of my gratitude, and then they squatted in front of my\ntent, and seemed greatly interested in watching me while I dressed\na wound on the leg of one of the donkey-boys. They were doing no\nharm, but \u201cthe tout\u201d bustled up in his most consequential mood\nto hurry them off, and I think he hit one of them. Anyhow, there\nwas some disturbance, and the other Habashes made common cause. The\ncorporal came to report to me that the escort officer was drunk,\nand had struck a man. Thereupon I summoned \u201cthe tout\u201d and rated\nhim, and ordered him to go and apologize to those visitors of mine,\nwho had done me a service. Matters straightened themselves out,\nfor the two men came to me half an hour later to say good-bye, and\nthey appeared to be perfectly happy and contented. They \u201cbowed and\nscraped\u201d in the usual Abyssinian manner before they took their\ndeparture. \u201cThe tout\u201d made some representation to Dupuis when\nhe returned to camp; so I explained that the fellow was tipsy and\ntroublesome, and he was sent about his business. I gathered that he\nasked leave to go, and hoped that he meant to quit us altogether,\nbut found afterwards that he had only sought permission to spend\nthe night in the town\u2014over more tedj, of course. Dupuis paid no\nheed to what he was saying, so off he went, but came back in an\nunruffled mood, and full of complacency, on the following morning. I\nthink Johannes gave us the explanation of his conduct\u2014that he had\norders from the Ras to make sure that we three Europeans should have\nas little intercourse as possible with the Habashes.\n\nThat night the noise in our camp disturbed a hippo, whose\nresting-place in the reeds was close by. I heard him snorting\nloudly and angrily. He had a prescriptive right to quiet sleep\nin that place, and I felt that we were intruders upon the ancient\norder. The old-world life seemed to have a _raison d\u2019\u00eatre_ superior\nto that of a modern expedition, and though the hippo kept me awake,\nI sympathized with his indignation.\n\nHe and his kind were prominent figures in the scene next morning\n(January 23). We counted five that were in sight together, and four\nwere less than two hundred yards from the shore.\n\nAfter breakfast we visited the celebrated church of Korata. I am not\nsure that it is the only one in the place, but its reputation makes\nit _the_ church of Korata. We were told that a certain Frenchman\nhad travelled from France expressly to see it; if he did, it will be\nowned that he was an exceptional Gaul, for the length and discomfort\nof his journey were out of all proportion to the satisfaction to be\nobtained at the end of it. The building\u2014as my photograph of the\nexterior shows\u2014is circular, with thatched walls, and in point of\nstructure differs only in size from the village churches. It stands\nin a compound, surrounded by a rough stone wall. The entrances are\ntwo lich-gates, surmounted by thatched porticoes.\n\nThe church owes its especial sanctity to the patronage of a female\nsaint. Her chief exploit has been described by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, and\nas the passage in which he recounts it is full of the \u201catmosphere\u201d\nof the country, I quote it in full:\u2014\u201cIn accordance with orders\nfrom the King (Theodore) the two principal merchants of the place\n(Korata) Aito Kasa and Aito Wand\u00e9\u2014the latter, as mentioned above,\nthe person on whom Theodore had bestowed Lij Tasamma\u2019s sister,\none of his favourite concubines\u2014came out in a wherry to meet us\nabout a mile from the shore, clad in gorgeous habiliments. After\nan interchange of civilities, we followed them to a small plateau\nwhich rises above the lake about two miles to the south of the town,\nwhere upwards of a hundred ecclesiastics from the neighbourhood were\nassembled to welcome us, his Majesty having directed the clergy to\nreceive me with royal honours, and to take care that their persons\nand garments were scrupulously clean. They were in full canonicals,\nand greeted us with prayers and psalmody, conducting us with the same\naccompaniments to a tent which had been erected for the occasion,\na few yards from our landing-place. The glitter of the pageant was\nheightened by a grand display of crosses, croziers, mitres, church\numbrellas, David\u2019s harps and censers, which were born aloft in the\nprocession. After spending a short time witnessing their religious\ndances and listening to their discordant chants, the benediction was\npronounced, and the Lord\u2019s Prayer wound up the service, when we\naccompanied the merchants to their dwellings on mules provided for our\nuse. Korata rejoices in a patron saint of great celebrity\u2014a native\nJoan of Arc, in fact\u2014called Waldt-Maryam. She was a resident nun\nwhen a formidable Galla Chief, who had overrun a great part of the\ncountry, appeared before Korata. She encouraged the townsmen to defend\nthe place, and their valour combined with her powerful intercessions\navailed to withstand the repeated assaults of the infidel hosts,\nwho were eventually obliged to retreat with great loss. Since that\ntime the town has been placed under her special patronage, and to\nshow their veneration for the locality Abyssinians generally dismount\non approaching it, and walk on foot through the streets.\u201d[78]\n\n[Illustration: THE CHURCH AT KORATA CONTAINING THE FRESCOES.\n\n_See p._ 118.]\n\n[Illustration: THE PORTUGUESE BRIDGE OVER THE BLUE NILE.\n\n_See p._ 147.\n\n_From a Photograph by Mr. C. E. Dupuis._]\n\nIt is curious to reflect that the name of this remote little township\nin Western Abyssinia was once very familiar to British ears, and it\nwould scarcely be straining an accepted phrase to say that the eyes\nof the nation were turned towards this place; for while the British\nmission was here and King Theodore was encamped on the peninsula\nof Zegi, on the opposite shore of the lake, the negotiations about\n\u201cthe captives\u201d reached and passed the crucial stage in the early\nmonths of 1866. The end of the story, as the whole world knows,\nwas the suicide of the King at Magdala. It is difficult even now,\nin spite of all that has been written on the subject, to judge\nhow far he was mad and how far sane, how far a capricious, clever,\ncruel savage, and how far a man of good parts and fine character\nmarred by circumstances.\n\nIn the church of Korata we first saw Abyssinian frescoes. It struck\nme that they had an unmistakable resemblance to the Persian style,\nand, in some instances, in spite of their crudity, the depiction of\nthe faces is good. The \u201cexposure\u201d photographs which I obtained\nshow the types of the subjects represented. Saint George, who is\nthe patron of Abyssinia as he is of England, is always a prominent\nfigure. The holy people who, by established usage, are admitted to\nthe \u201cgoodly fellowship\u201d on the walls include certain worthies of\nthe Apocrypha. The picture which struck me most showed the Virgin and\nChild crossing the Red Sea\u2014probably during the flight to Egypt\u2014in\nan Abyssinian rush-boat and feeding hippopotami with bread as they\nwent. They are seated in the stern and are rowed by a Habash.\n\n[Illustration: ]\n\n[Illustration: FRESCOES IN THE CHURCH AT KORATA.\n\n_See p._ 120.]\n\nThe church of Korata has a large staff of priests and _defterers_\nor scribes.[79] To benefit fully by the sanctity of the place,\nthey sleep in the porches, on the beds which are called _angareebs_\nin the Soudan. A theological school is attached to the holy building,\nand we saw five or six of the students. One of them was suffering from\nthe disease which Stecker found to be so distressingly prevalent in\nAbyssinia. The Chief Priest received us very graciously. He was much\ninterested when we named the saints depicted in the frescoes, and\nappeared suddenly to realize that we were Christians. He seemed to\nhave the impression that an English official\u2019s training comprised\ninstruction in all handicrafts; for he put into my friend Dupuis\u2019s\nhands the separate parts, including the mainspring and all the wheels,\nof an old silver timepiece, and signified through the interpreter\nto my astonished companion that he was desired to put them together\nagain and return the watch in working order. Dupuis explained that\nhe was not a \u201cpractical jeweller and repairer.\u201d The agreeable\nold dignitary, whose name was John, received an offering of ten\ndollars with great gratitude.\n\nLater in the day he sent me as a patient one of his students, who was\nsuffering from ophthalmia. This man brought a citron for each of us\nthree Europeans; why, I cannot guess, for this pulpy kind of lemon is\nnot a useful gift, nor a delight for a _gourmet_. The fruit may have\nhad some symbolical meaning, but, if so, we remained in ignorance\nof it. I saw many other patients. Nearly all suffered from trivial\nailments. A woman and her husband, who both appeared to be in sound\nhealth, kept trying to tell me some long tale or other, hovered\nabout near me, and drew my attention at every turn. Finally they\ninduced a soldier to interpret for them, and besought me to attend\nto the woman\u2019s case. When I examined her, I found that she had\ncome to consult me about the traces of the scar of an abscess which\nhad healed, as far as I could judge, some twenty years before! This\nblemish on her \u201cbeauty\u201d was about the size of a shilling.\n\nIn the afternoon we went shooting. The boy\u2014Zody by name\u2014who had\nbeen so tickled by my friend\u2019s dumb-show on the previous day, and\nhad earned his dollar by taking my comrades where guinea-fowl were\nplentiful, again attached himself to our party. He guided us well,\nand we made a good bag of quail, guinea-fowl, and partridges.\n\nWhen we returned we found that we had received a present from\nthe lady of the Ras in whose dominions we were. It consisted of\nloaves of \u201cteff\u201d bread, ten fowls, sixty eggs and a jar of\nhoney. All this we distributed among the men. The Ras\u2019s wife was\nowner of the soil hereabouts; it had been given to her as dowry,\nand in such a case a woman has practically absolute proprietorship,\nand the taxes are collected for her benefit. But her authority does\nnot extend to the selection of officials; that power remains in the\nhands of the Ras. As the Mussulmans had killed during the day the ox\nwhich we had bought for twelve shillings and sixpence, the men had\nplenty of good fare before them, and our own larder was not badly\nstocked. Vultures of enormous size gathered round the spot where the\nanimal was slaughtered, and fought over the offal that was left on\nthe ground. Numbers of carrion crows had flocked to the feast, and\nhad to be spectators for the most part. But they slipped in among\nthe big combatants now and then, and filched away a morsel adroitly.\n\nI have given rather fully my impressions of Korata, which is a\ntypical township of Western Abyssinia. It may interest the reader if\nI supplement it by the brief note written by Stecker, who sojourned\nin the place more than a fortnight. He wrote\u2014\n\n\u201cOn April 1\u201d (1881) \u201cwe reached Korata, the most important,\nmost charmingly situated and largest town on Lake Tsana. Korata has\noften been visited by Europeans before, most recently by Piaggia,\nwho stayed here about a year and a half and occupied himself with\nornithology. Korata is famous for the first-rate excellence of its\ncoffee, which, as I was able to satisfy myself, flourishes here\nexceptionally. The place is almost the most important market on the\nTsana, but at the moment does not contain more than eight hundred\nto one thousand inhabitants against three thousand in Theodore\u2019s\ntime, as very many have either migrated from the town or died of\nfever. At an earlier time the Mohammedans were numerous here, but\nmost of them emigrated to Gallabat after the order issued to them by\nKing John that they should one and all embrace Christianity. Only a\nfew families abandoned Islamism and adopted the Coptic faith. There\nare also three Jewish families living here. Korata is divided\ninto ten districts whose names are Dengelteffa, Tukuwodeb, Margeza,\nKulomalfia, Siet biet Negus, Guaguata, Guwi, Adisamba, Vof tschogevia,\nGusudur, and Slam biet (or Slam modeb), which last is at present\nentirely deserted. Korata is the abode of an exceptionally numerous\npriesthood.\u201d Dr. Stecker formed friendships among the laity in\nthe place, but \u201cby no means lived in the best harmony with the\npretentious clergy.\u201d[80]\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER IX\n\n\nWe remained two days at Korata in order to replenish our stock of\ngrain and other provisions. During this time I watched the birds\nof prey as closely as I could. They are of the same species as\nthose found in the Soudan, and my rough and brief observations,\nso far as they went, altogether confirmed the interesting remarks\nof Sir S. Baker on the subject. The passage illustrates so well\nthe brilliant combination in that explorer of keen sportsmanship,\nand rare ability in the study of natural history that I need offer\nno apology for quoting it:\u2014\n\n\u201cA question has been frequently discussed whether the vulture is\ndirected to his prey by the sense of smell, or by keenness of vision;\nI have paid much attention to their habits, and, although there can\nbe no question that their power of scent is great, I feel convinced\nthat all birds of prey are attracted to their food principally by\ntheir acuteness of sight. If a vulture were blind it would starve;\nbut were the nostrils plugged up with some foreign substance to\ndestroy its power of smell, it would not materially interfere with\nits usual mode of hunting. Scent is always stronger near the surface\nof the ground: thus hyenas, lions, and other beasts of prey will\nscent a carcase from a great distance, provided they are to leeward;\nbut the same animals would be unaware of the presence of the body\nif they were but a short distance to windward.\n\n\u201cIf birds of prey trusted to their nostrils, they would keep as\nnear the ground as possible, like the carrion crow, which I believe\nis the exception that proves the rule. It is an astonishing sight to\nwitness the sudden arrival of vultures at the death of an animal, when\na few moments before not a bird has been in sight in the cloudless\nsky. I have frequently lain down beneath a bush after having shot\nan animal, to watch the arrival of the various species of birds in\nregular succession; they invariably appear in the following order:\u2014\n\n\u201cNo. 1, the black and white crow: this knowing individual is most\nindustrious is seeking for his food, and is generally to be seen\neither perched upon rocks or upon trees; I believe he trusts much\nto his sense of smell, as he is never far from the ground; at the\nsame time he keeps a vigilant look-out with a very sharp pair of eyes.\n\n\u201cNo. 2 is the common buzzard; this bird, so well known for its\nextreme daring, is omnipresent, and trusts generally to sight,\nas it will stoop at a piece of red cloth in mistake for flesh;\nthus proving that it depends more upon vision than smell.\n\n\u201cNo. 3 is the red-faced small vulture.\n\n\u201cNo. 4 is the large bare-throated vulture.\n\n\u201cNo. 5 the marabou stork, sometimes accompanied by the adjutant.\n\n\u201cWhen employed in watching the habits of these birds it is\ninteresting to make the experiment of concealing a dead animal\nbeneath a dense bush. This I have frequently done; in which case\nthe vultures never find it unless they have witnessed its death;\nif so, they will already have pounced in their descent while you\nhave been engaged in concealing the body. They will then upon near\napproach discover it by the smell. But, if an animal is killed\nin thick grass, eight or ten feet high, the vultures will seldom\ndiscover it. I have frequently known the bodies of large animals,\nsuch as elephants and buffaloes, to lie for days beneath the shade\nof the dense nabbuk bushes, unattended by a single vulture; whereas,\nif visible, they would have been visited by these birds in thousands.\n\n\u201cVultures and the marabou stork fly at enormous altitudes. I believe\nthat every species keeps to its own particular elevation, and that the\natmosphere contains regular strata of birds of prey, who, invisible\nto the human eye at that enormous height, are constantly resting\nupon their wide-spread wings, and, soaring in circles, watching with\ntelescopic sight the world beneath. At that great elevation they are\nin an exceedingly cool temperature, therefore they require no water;\nbut some birds that make long flights over arid deserts, such as\nthe marabou stork and the bustard, are provided with water-sacs;\nthe former in an external bag a little below the throat, the latter\nin an internal sac, both of which carry a large supply. As the birds\nof prey that I have enumerated invariably appear at a carcase in their\nregular succession, I can only suggest that they travel from different\ndistances or altitudes. Thus, the marabou stork would be farthest from\nthe earth; the large bare-necked vulture would be the next below him,\nfollowed by the red-faced vulture, the buzzard, and the crow that is\ngenerally about the surface. From their immense elevation, the birds\nof prey possess an extraordinary field of vision; and, although they\nare invisible from the earth, there can be no doubt that they are\nperpetually hunting in circles within sight of each other. Thus,\nshould one bird discover some object upon the surface of the earth\nbelow, his sudden pounce would be at once observed and imitated by\nevery vulture in succession. Should one vulture nearest the earth\nperceive a body, or even should he notice the buzzards collecting at a\ngiven point, he would at once become aware of a prey; his rush towards\nthe spot would act like a telegraphic signal to others, that would\nbe rapidly communicated to every vulture at successive airy stations.\n\n\u201cIf an animal be skinned, the red surface will attract the vultures\nin an instant; this proves that their sight, and not their scent,\nhas been attracted by an object that suggests blood. I have frequently\nwatched them when I have shot an animal, and my people have commenced\nthe process of skinning. At first, not a bird has been in sight,\nas I have lain on my back and gazed into the spotless blue sky; but\nhardly has the skin been half withdrawn, than specks have appeared\nin the heavens, rapidly increasing. \u2018Caw, caw,\u2019 has been heard\nseveral times from the neighbouring bushes; the buzzards have swept\ndown close to my people, and have snatched a morsel of clotted blood\nfrom the ground. The specks have increased to winged creatures, at\nthe great height resembling flies, when presently a rushing sound\nbehind me, like a whirlwind, has been followed by the pounce of a\nred-faced vulture, that has fallen from the heavens in haste with\nclosed wings to the bloody feast, followed quickly by many of his\nbrethren. The sky has become alive with black specks in the far\ndistant blue, with wings hurrying from all quarters. At length a\ncoronet of steady soaring vultures forms a wide circle far above, as\nthey hesitate to descend, but continue to revolve around the object\nof attraction. The great bare-necked vulture suddenly appears. The\nanimal has been skinned, and the required flesh secured by the men;\nwe withdraw a hundred paces from the scene. A general rush and\ndescent takes place; hundreds of hungry beaks are tearing at the\noffal. The great bare-necked vulture claims respect among the crowd;\nbut another form has appeared in the blue sky, and rapidly descends. A\npair of long, ungainly legs, hanging down beneath the enormous wings,\nnow touch the ground, and Abou Seen (father of the teeth or beak,\nthe Arab name for the Marabou) has arrived, and he stalks proudly\ntowards the crowds, pecking his way with his long bill through\nthe struggling vultures, and swallowing the lion\u2019s share of the\nrepast. Abou Seen, last but not least, had arrived from the highest\nregion, while others had the advantage of the start. This bird is very\nnumerous through the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia, and may generally\nbe seen perched upon the rocks of the waterside, watching for small\nfish, or any reptile that may chance to come within his reach. The\nwell-known feathers are situated in a plume beneath the tail.\u201d[81]\n\nOn the night of January 23, the thermometer sank to 29\u00b0 F. just\nbefore sunrise, so no one turned out with alacrity, and we were\nlater than usual in starting.\n\nI was surprised to find that the boy Zody sought to attach himself\nto the expedition. While we were preparing to leave Korata he\ncame to us and said, \u201cYou are good people and I want to go with\nyou.\u201d We raised no objection, and he joined our party. A little\nwhile afterwards he declared his intention of accompanying us to\nthe Soudan. Thereupon he returned to Korata and \u201crealized his\ncapital\u201d by selling the cow which he possessed. Then he overtook\nthe expedition, and served throughout the journey to Gallabat,\nreceiving the same pay as the other boys. He was smart, willing, and\nuseful, soon learned from his comrades what our requirements were,\nand acted both as indoor and outdoor servant. He had no Arabic,\nand all intercourse between us was by signs, which he was extremely\nquick to understand. The motive that prompted him to render us\nservice was undoubtedly his devoted loyalty to Crawley.\n\nMost travellers have given the Habashes a thoroughly bad character. It\nis said that they are vain, greedy, treacherous, and cowardly. Though\nwe Europeans had but few unpleasant experiences of them while we\nwere in the country, I cannot say that I saw anything which would\ngive me authority to dispute the conclusions of writers who knew\nthem better from longer observation, and it is the more pleasant\non this account to record an instance of an Abyssinian\u2019s fidelity\nand cheerful good-will.\n\nWe marched through the familiar dry grass for about half an hour\nafter we left Korata, and then reached the river Gelda at a place\nwhere, according to the \u201ctout,\u201d it was fordable. This is a\nmuddy, rapid stream, flowing between earthy banks. Its bed here\nwas soft and yielding, and there was not the least possibility of\ngetting the beasts and baggage across. In fact, our guide had misled\nus. It was a most annoying waste of time. While we were shooting on\nthe previous day we had seen a fording-place higher up the stream,\nand now struck towards it in spite of the \u201ctout\u2019s\u201d assertion\nthat the water there would be up to the men\u2019s necks.\n\nWhen we reached the spot, we found a shallow, fairly fast current\nflowing over a rocky bed. The guide was entirely unabashed by the\nfact that he had misdirected us and lied to us. After this we ceased\nto consult natives and planned our course according to Stecker\u2019s\nmap, and in this way managed the matter well enough. There are\nsome small inaccuracies in the doctor\u2019s work, but it is entirely\nsufficient for all practical purposes and a worthy record of the\nGerman traveller\u2019s high attainments and untiring patience.\n\nThe ledges of rock which form the bed of the river at the upper ford\nare smooth and round, and in consequence very slippery. We had a busy\ntime getting the donkeys over. Men had to be posted in the water to\nsteady them as they crossed, but the real trouble was at the further\nbank. It was high and steep, and the way up was by a narrow cutting\nwith a hard surface. The first wet donkey that passed along this made\nit as insecure for foothold as a slide, and the next donkey struggled\nand scrambled and fell back into the water. We had to tell off boys\nto shovel relays of earth on to the slope and then others grabbed\nthe donkey\u2019s load, its ear, its tail, or anything they could get\na grip of, and shoved it up bodily. Another detachment was on duty\non the top of the bank to prevent the animals from straying.\n\nBeyond the river lies a steep hill about five hundred feet high. The\nascent is by a track of the usual kind, about a foot and a half\nwide. The way down from the summit is very precipitous and was full\nof loose stones. These the donkeys often dislodged, and many rolled\nalong and struck the animals that were moving in front, but we had\nno trouble with them.\n\nWe passed a village which is called Selselima, consisting of the usual\ntokhuls grouped about a round thatched church. Here I saw an example\nof Abyssinian methods of administration. A lad of about eighteen\nwas standing in a field, watching us pass. Ras Gouksha\u2019s man,\nthe \u201ctout,\u201d went up to him, grabbed him by his gown, and began\nto question him. Soon another Abyssinian approached him, grasped the\nboy\u2019s _shama_ in like manner, and also interrogated him. I inquired\nwhat they were asking, and was told they were seeking directions to\nguide them by the nearest way to the source of the Blue Nile, which\nwas then some four miles distant. Presently without apparent reason,\nboth our fellows began to belabour the lad with their staves. I rode\nup and ordered them sharply to desist, and explain to me what they\nwere about. Thereupon they made off, and one of our escort told me\nthey had been beating the boy so as to force him to act as their\nguide\u2014without pay, of course\u2014and accompany them to the river,\nthough he had already given them full directions for the road.\n\nThe end of the descent brought us to the lake shore again, and we\ncamped on the further bank of a little stream of clear water running\nin a rocky bed. It is called the Tschembolo. This is near to the\nvillage of Woreb, and is only two miles from the point where the\nBlue Nile flows from Lake Tsana. We could not proceed further that\nday, for the march had been a long one, and it was late already. So\nwe halted upon this spot by the brook, as it was a very suitable\ncamping-ground with a clean drinking supply, and determined to move\non the morrow to a more central position, if we could find one,\nfor the survey work which Crawley and Dupuis were to undertake.\n\nPatients had followed me from Korata. They were people who had\nreached our camp there in the morning, after I had packed up the\nmedicine-chest and mounted my mule. Some half a dozen had come over to\nWoreb after us, and were now waiting to see me. But I was dead tired\nthat evening and refused to attend to them. There were no serious\ncases, and I told those who wished to have advice to return at nine\no\u2019clock the next morning. If I had made myself more accessible than\nI was, I should have been mobbed not only by the sick in Abyssinia,\nbut by a host of people who fancied they had ailments.\n\n[Illustration: OUR GUIDE BETWEEN KORATA AND WOREB.\n\n_See p._ 132.]\n\nJust before dinner there was a commotion close to our tents, and\nwe found that one of the soldiers of our escort had tried to stab\nWalda Mariam,[82] the assistant of Johannes, with whom he had come to\nmeet us at Gallabat. We immediately disarmed the soldier, and then\ndiscovered that both had been to a village near by to get _tedj_,\nand were drunk. So we disarmed the deputy-interpreter also, and I\nwas sorry to see him in disgrace, for he had always been willing,\nhard-working, and cheery on the journey. We placed the soldier under\narrest, and warned him that if he were found brawling again he would\nbe flogged. Then, order being restored, we went to dinner.\n\nIn this part of Abyssinia the mountain air sharpened our appetites,\nand I must own that we were sturdy trenchermen. Each would tackle a\nwhole guinea-fowl or duck for lunch, and be ready for another in the\nevening. We had puddings \u201cof sorts\u201d too, and yet, like Oliver\nTwist, we \u201casked for more.\u201d\n\nOn the morning of January 26, the quarrelsome soldier, now sober\nand crestfallen, was brought up for a formal reprimand. He was told\nthat his case would be reported at Gallabat, and that he would be\npunished there according to military law. Then his arms were returned\nto him. Walda Mariam also attended, looking sheepish and sorry for\nhimself, and his weapons too were restored to him.\n\nAfter this the medicine-chest was unloaded, and I redeemed my promise\nto patients. One family\u2014father, mother, and two children\u2014had come\nfrom a distance to consult me at Korata. They had arrived too late,\nand had followed us to Woreb. The father was suffering from necrosis\nof the lower jaw, and I had to draw three teeth for him. The mother\nhad come to hear what instructions were given about the children\u2014a\nlittle boy and a little girl. They were suffering from strumous,\ntuberculous glands of the neck. I had as \u201chospital orderly\u201d\na soldier who understood Arabic and Amharic, and could therefore\nput me _en rapport_ with my patients. After an examination of the\nchildren, I concluded that the right thing would be an operation\nwith the knife. I told this to the woman, and the soldier interpreted\nwhat I said word for word. As soon as the little girl heard the word\n\u201cknife,\u201d she gave vent to the loudest, most piercing scream that\nshe could utter, and fairly flew from the spot. The noise created\na sensation among the Habashes and boys, who seemed to think that\nI was killing a patient. It would have been awkward in any case to\noperate in camp, and on this occasion I had no opportunity. Nothing\nshort of brute force would have brought the little girl back, and\nI think the word \u201cknife\u201d conveyed to her mother and brother the\nnotion of the butcher\u2019s rather than the surgeon\u2019s implement.\n\nMy companions had mounted their mules and started on an exploring\njourney, intending to select a good site as a camping-ground close\nto the river. But by the time they returned they had decided that\nour present position could not be bettered, as the river-banks were\nlow ground covered with papyrus swamps, and any halting-place there\nwould be very unhealthy. They had also found that all the points from\nwhich they wished to make observations were easy of access from the\nspot that we had chosen.\n\nI had a rather sharp touch of fever in the afternoon, and was obliged\nto give up work and lie down. These attacks are unavoidable at times\nin that country. They make one feel extremely helpless and depressed\nwhile they last, but soon yield to quinine and a little rest.\n\nThe next morning, January 26, I was better, but felt shaky when I\ngot on my mule and started with my companions. At a short distance\nfrom the camp we left the animals in a hollow and climbed a steep\nhill about five hundred feet high. It was covered with tall grass\nand the soil was stony, so that I was soon out of breath. But when\nwe reached the summit a lovely scene lay in front of us. The Blue\nNile, winding away from its outlet in the lake, was bright in the\nsunshine. The green banks on either side were delightful to the eyes,\nand here and there in the stream were little islands, vivid in colour,\nwhere the papyrus grew to a height of twelve or fourteen feet. There\nwere many dark dots in the water\u2014heads of hippopotami, which swarm\nin these upper reaches of the Blue Nile. Mountains rise above the\nriver-valley on both sides, and the stream curves among the spurs at\ntheir base, till it is lost to sight. The view from the high land\nis far-reaching, and the clearness of the air makes even distant\noutlines very distinct. I can scarcely imagine a scene at once so\ncharming, tranquil, and impressive as this prospect of lake, river,\nand mountains. It is impossible to convey in words the effect of\nthe simple, strong colouring\u2014the blue lake, the flashing stream,\nthe verdurous islands and swamps, the cloudless, lustrous sky, the\nchromes and grays and purplish shadows among the ridges that sweep\nupward and recede from the valley in splendid lines. And upon the\npeace of this landscape at least, the personally conducted tripper\nwill not intrude just yet.\n\nI noticed several cataracts, but none of any great extent. The water\nin these rapids was rushing over and between rocks, and they must be\nugly places when the lake rises. In other parts the river was smooth\nand still. In one pool we counted eighteen hippos taking the air,\njust their snouts being out of water.\n\nAlmost at once we set to work and piled up a heap of stones, and fixed\nin the centre of it a long pole as a landmark. This was a straight,\nthin branch which we cut from a tree near at hand. After this we\nset up three more \u201ccairns\u201d on selected spots, and then descended\nto the low ground, where the mules were waiting. I remained in the\nvalley, for exertion soon tires one out after the fever. My friends\nclimbed other hills and erected more landmarks before returning to\nlunch. In the meanwhile I tried my luck at angling in the river,\nbut caught nothing, and soon gave up the attempt, and lounged under\na palm-tree, reading.\n\nMy companions started on their mules after lunch to continue\ntheir survey, and I went back to camp and was glad to be idle. The\nday\u2019s work was ended before evening, and I believe we were the\nfirst Britishers who had five-o\u2019clock tea beside the head waters\nof the Blue Nile.\n\nNext morning (January 27) I had instructions to set up a stone-heap\non a little hill about four miles from camp. I made my way to it\ndirect through a tangle of jungle-growths, and from the summit\nobtained the photograph of the source of the river at the point of\noutflow from the lake which forms the frontispiece of this book. I\nbelieve this to be the only photo of the place in existence.\n\nI descended the hill, and walked along the riverbank towards the\nplace where we had arranged to lunch. The soil was boggy, covered in\nsome parts by reed-grass and in others by jungle-growths. Hippo spoor\nwas everywhere. This tract is not well-wooded; there are a few palms,\nand some scattered trees of other kinds, chiefly mimosas. The bed of\nthe river is hard rock, and the water was clear and drinkable. The\ndepth varied very greatly, from a few inches in the rapids to some\nsix metres in the pools. I saw the stream at its lowest. Watermarks\nshowed clearly that in flood time it rises sixteen to eighteen feet\nabove this level.\n\nWhen I reached the place where we were to lunch, I saw a big herd\nof hippos basking on the surface of the river. Crawley and I walked\ntowards them, and when they saw us, they sank, leaving only their\nsnouts visible. These offered an interesting target for rifle-fire,\nand for awhile the hippos watched our practice with unconcern. Then\na shot told\u2014there was a \u201cgeneral post\u201d\u2014and not a sign of\nthe huge beasts remained in sight.\n\nAfter this I took my rod and tried for a fish in a pool below a\nrapid. While I was standing there, I saw a large white eagle, a\nsplendid fellow, which had been watching me fishing, swoop from the\nbranch of a high tree. He circled twice above me, and then pounced\nupon a young duck, that was hiding under a ledge in the river-bed,\nand bore it off. The parent birds were close at hand, and I heard\ntheir loud, frightened, and indignant cackling. I do not think wild\nduck are plentiful hereabouts. No doubt they are harried by these\neagles and have to find safer breeding-places. We saw only a very\nfew. I landed a plump fish of the perch tribe, which weighed about\nfour pounds. He showed no fight, but came tamely into shallow water,\nwhere the boy who was with me picked him up. My friends came late\ninto camp after a hard day\u2019s work upon their survey.\n\nThe high ground beside the head waters of the Blue Nile is pleasant\nand healthy and could support a large population. The maximum\ntemperature in the day, when we were there, was about eighty-five\ndegrees. Usually a cool, exhilarating breeze was blowing, and we\ndid not feel the heat disagreeably. If this place were more easily\naccessible, it would be a perfect pleasure-resort and a most valuable\nsanatorium for residents in the Soudan.\n\nThe event of January 28, was the appearance of potatoes at\ntable. I had often gazed at this unvarying factor in one\u2019s diet\nwith indifference if not slightingly, and had wondered why the\nthings were served so constantly at European tables. It was not\ntill we missed the daily luxury that we appreciated it. The roast\nfowl was another bird with this accompaniment. These were the only\npotatoes that we saw in Abyssinia; they were very small. The cook\nhad discovered them in a remote hamlet. I can offer no explanation\nof their presence in that place. He purchased a sackful for one salt\nand an empty lime-juice bottle, and returned to camp in triumph,\nshouting at the top of his voice that he had found \u201cbatatas\u201d\nat last. Perhaps as he failed to discover any more, the expedition\ndenuded the country of its whole stock.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAPTER X\n\n\nOn January 29 my companions and I started early for the little\nhill beside the river on which I had set up a \u201ccairn\u201d the\nday before. This is the first rising ground beyond the outlet of\nthe Blue Nile. (It ought to be named after some kingly, heroic,\nhalf-divine figure that looms in the dawn of legend, but\u2014with my\nmodest compliments to future geographers\u2014it has since been called\nHayes\u2019s Hill.)\n\nAt the foot of it, just below the first cataract in the stream, is a\nferry. It is a primordial means of transit into Godjam. Two men are\nin charge of a papyrus boat which they paddle across, using a pole in\nthe manner of a canoe-paddle, as the water is too deep for punting. At\nthis spot Dupuis had some survey work in hand which involved taking a\nrope to the opposite bank. Our Berthon boat had been brought down to\nthe riverside, and Crawley and I rowed over towing the line astern and\nmade it fast to a tree. Crawley returned, and I remained at leisure\nin Godjam and used my camera and fishing-rod to wile away the time.\n\nI saw some natives using a net like a seine in the shallow water\njust below the rapids. They had some very fair catches, and among\nthe fishes which they hauled ashore I noticed in particular one of\na blue colour which had what appeared to me to be a red sucker on\nits snout. I have no idea to what species it belonged.\n\nMy friends finished their mapping about one o\u2019clock, and then\nwe lunched in the shade of a mimosa. While we sat there we had an\nopportunity of watching the Habashes\u2019 method of getting donkeys\nacross the stream. They were pushed into the water, then four to six\nmen would scramble on to the crazy _tankoa_, which looked as if it\nmust sink under their weight. Each man would now seize a donkey by\nthe ear, and then the boat would start guided by the old ferryman\nin the stern. Thus the donkeys had to swim alongside the raft\u2014it\nis no more than that\u2014and as their heads were held above water,\nthey could scarcely come to harm.\n\nWe saw that it would save us much time and trouble if our beasts were\ntowed across in this way, and, after some deliberation, we asked the\nferryman what his charge would be for transporting seventy donkeys. He\nreplied that he would do it for seven dollars. This, on consideration,\nseemed a fair bargain, and we resolved to make an early start on\nthe following day. The baggage was to go over in our own boat, which\ncould be hauled across by means of a line made fast on both banks.\n\nAfter concluding this arrangement we went back to camp, carrying\nthe rope with us. It might have tempted Charon\u2014I don\u2019t know his\nAbyssinian name\u2014if we had left it. We had sent Walda Mariam as\nan envoy to King Tecla Haimanot, whose lands we should enter after\ncrossing the river. The king was in residence not far off, and in\nthe evening our man returned with a satisfactory message giving\nus all necessary permission. The jurisdiction of Tecla Haimanot\nextended only ten or twelve miles northward beside the lake, and we\nfound that we should have to obtain the consent of Ras Mangousha,\nwhose dominions march here with those of the King of Godjam, before\nwe could complete the circuit of the lake.\n\n[Illustration: THE DONKEYS CROSSING THE FERRY.\n\n_See p._ 140.]\n\n[Illustration: THE MULES SWIMMING THE FERRY.\n\n_See p._ 140.]\n\nWe made an early start on the morning of the 30th. I went to the ferry\nand had our Berthon boat put together. We found that our plan answered\nexcellently. Our boat, loaded with baggage, was easily hauled over,\nand by a quarter to ten half a score of donkeys had been carried\nacross in tow of the ferrymen\u2019s _tankoa_. Some of the boys would\nput their arms under a donkey and lift it bodily into place by the\nferryboat at the starting-point, where the water was shallow. It\nwas a scrambling, pushing, splashing business, and they thoroughly\nenjoyed standing in the stream and basking in the sunshine. A number\nof Habashes from Woreb helped, and our crossing was a merry, pleasant\nscene. The mules did not go \u201cby ferry,\u201d but swam over with men\nbeside them, as at other deep water passages. It was all done and\nwe had landed in Godjam without mishap of any kind by a quarter-past\none. The last load that I took over in our boat consisted of nine of\nour men, rather more passengers, I fancy, than I was \u201clicensed to\ncarry.\u201d We scrambled up some rocks on the further side, and then\nfound ourselves on level ground, where travelling would be easy.\n\nFully half of the donkeys had been reloaded by the time we finished\nlunch, and we moved ahead with this detachment. The country on the\nfurther side of the Nile seemed to me to be in a more prosperous\nstate. There was more cultivation of dhurra and grain. The natives\nwere fatter and looked, by comparison, \u201cwell-to-do.\u201d I heard\nafterwards that the ruler here is not so extortionate as certain\nother chieftains. I believe that we were the first Europeans to\ntraverse this part of Godjam.\n\nAfter a journey of three-quarters of an hour we approached the village\nof Bahardar Georgis. Before entering the hamlet we had to conform to\na singular usage. Two men had stationed themselves beside the track,\none on each side of it, and they held a _shama_ across it. We asked\nJohannes what this meant, and he told us that it was to protect the\nvillagers from the power of the \u201cevil eye.\u201d This is lost if the\nstranger who may possess it passes under the _shama_. We had to\nmove the greasy robe aside and go beneath it, hoping rather than\nbelieving that it was not verminous. The Habashes are extremely\nsuperstitious in this respect. It is customary to screen a person\nof rank with a shama when he drinks, to safeguard him from the same\nperil, and such persons are frequently kept from view likewise while\nthey eat their meals. Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, being a high dignitary, was\ncarefully shielded in this way to his no slight disgust. He wrote:\n\u201cAs the generality of the garments spread out for our seclusion\nhad not been washed for months, and probably not since they were\nfirst worn, the reader\u2019s imagination may be left to conceive the\nodour which surrounded us on these occasions. But even if they had\nbeen washed no later than the previous day, the disagreeable smell\nof rancid butter with which the natives besmear their heads would\nsuffice to render any such curtain almost intolerable.\u201d[83]\n\nWe had to use care in the selection of our camping-ground near\nBahardar Georgis. Much of the ground is covered by the papyrus\nplant, and this shows dampness and, by consequence, risk of\nfever. We finally selected a spot on some high ground, where\nthere was a dry, red soil. This happened to be close to a little\nsettlement of the curious people called _Waitos_, who are only\nfound in this district. They inhabited two or three huts near the\nvillage. Mr. Rassam has given a concise and interesting account of\nthem: \u201cThe Waitos are Mussulmans of the Maliky sect, and although\nMohammedanism recognizes no castes among its adherents, nevertheless\nthese people, who subsist upon the flesh of the hippopotamus\u201d\n(which is considered unclean by all other Abyssinians), \u201care looked\ndown upon by their co-religionists, who consider it a degradation\nto associate with them. A few among them cultivate a little grain,\nbut the flesh of the hippopotamus forms their staple food. . . . I\nwas unable to obtain any satisfactory account of the origin of this\npeculiar people. It is just possible, however, that there may be\nsome relationship between them and the _Watos_, a tribe of Gallas\ninhabiting the banks of the Hawash, south of Shoa, who are also\nsaid to live on the flesh of the hippopotamus.\u201d[84] Stecker,\nwho was scrupulously accurate in almost every particular which\nhe mentioned, said that the _Waitos_ were, \u201cstrictly speaking,\na Pagan sect (_eigentlich Heiden-secte_)\u201d[85] but in this he was\nmistaken. Oddly enough, these people, though they are, in a sense,\noutcasts, are exclusive, and proud of their isolation.\n\n[Illustration: PUSHING THE DONKEYS INTO THE WATER PREPARATORY TO\nTHEIR BEING FERRIED ACROSS.\n\n_See p._ 141.]\n\nOn the morning of January 31 my companions took the Berthon boat\nand a whole cargo of surveyors\u2019 gear, and started to complete the\nwork for which the expedition had been organized. A full account\nof the results will be found in Sir William Garstin\u2019s official\nReport on the Sources of the Nile. My services were not requested,\nand I certainly have had more practice in surveying symptoms than\nground. I stayed in camp for awhile, and then walked to the river with\nangling-tackle, and landed a fair-sized fish with a spoon-bait. It\nwas of the perch family.\n\nThe country around Bahardar Georgis is flat, as I have said, and in\nplaces swampy. The marshy tracts are overgrown by papyrus, and it is\nnot easy to distinguish them before one is both on and in them. On\nthis moist ground we saw flocks of wild geese and various species of\nibis. In the neighbourhood of the village I first observed the bird\nknown as _buphaga Africana_. It pitched upon the backs of any of our\ndonkeys that had sores, and caught the flies that settled there. The\nbodies of these birds are gray, and scarcely distinguishable from\nthe donkey\u2019s hide. Their beaks are red, and, at a little distance,\nI noticed that they exactly resembled a sore on the beasts which they\ninfested. This colouring seems a remarkable example of evolution in\nthe direction of \u201cprotective mimicry.\u201d They worry cattle also,\nand it is well known that they peck the animals to make raw places,\nwhich then attract the flies that are caught upon them. I believe\nthat they also use their beaks to mimic sores, for my attention was\nfirst drawn to the birds by the semblance of abrasions on the spinal\narea of some of the donkeys, where I knew that none existed. No\ndoubt the beaks, used thus, are a successful trap.\n\nDuring the day I received a visit from an Abyssinian artist who\nlived at Bahardar Georgis. He came to beg colours from us, if we had\nany; I have no notion how the Habashes compound their pigments. He\ntold me that he had a commission to execute some paintings for the\nchurch. I could only give him some pieces of red and blue pencil. He\nwas extremely grateful for these, and bestowed upon me some samples\nof his art.\n\nI presented him to Dupuis, who was greatly interested by his\npictures, and kindly took the trouble to discover, after much\nrummaging, an old box of paints. This he gave to the youth, whose\ndelight was indescribable. He promised Dupuis works of art in his\nbest style. In the evening he came to our camp again, and I showed\nhim the Christmas Number of _Pearson\u2019s Magazine_. This pleased him\nhighly, especially when he found that he was to be the possessor of\nit. The three coloured plates caused him an ecstasy of wonder and\npleasure, and the respective artists\u2014and the colour-printers\u2014have\na venerating admirer by the lake-side.\n\nMy friends returned to camp rather later than they had expected,\nbut were well pleased by the result of the day\u2019s work. They found\nthat at this season of the year the discharge from the lake into the\nriver was at the rate of forty-two cubic metres to the second. And\nthey brought some guinea-fowl to the larder. The future proprietor\nof the Blue Nile Hotel and pension on Lake Tsana will always be able\nto offer his guests fish and poultry.\n\nOn February 1 my companions started on foot, accompanied by Johannes,\na pack-mule and some boys, to see the first falls in the course of\nthe Blue Nile, and the ancient stone bridge which spans the river\nat this point.[86] These falls are twenty-one miles below the outlet\nof the stream from the lake.\n\nI remained in charge of the camp, and, to wile away the time, took\nour boat out upon the lake. This caused a great sensation among the\nvillagers, who had seen nothing of my friends\u2019 excursion in it\nthe previous day. The Habashes flocked to the edge of the water,\nbut whenever I rested on the oars for a few moments, they rushed\nscreaming into their huts. Apparently they regarded me as a naval\nforce, and thought I meant to carry Bahardar Georgis by a _coup de\nmain_. Perhaps they remembered King Theodore\u2019s descent upon the\nisland of Dek. \u201cHe was in pursuit, it appears, of a refractory\nchief under Ras Ali, who had taken refuge on the island. In less\nthan twenty-four hours he had two hundred canoes constructed, in\nwhich he suddenly appeared off the place with five hundred chosen\nwarriors.\u201d[87] I should think that this was the only occasion on\nwhich the _tankoa_ was used in war, and have a feeling of compassion\nfor the five hundred warriors.\n\nWe noticed that at this place the children seemed especially\nfrightened of white men. Perhaps their mothers used us as bogeys\nto terrify those that were troublesome. We found that we could soon\nregain the confidence of the people by giving them any little picture,\nno matter of what; prints from advertisements of furniture or clothes\nserved quite well. They received these with delight.\n\nOn the next day (February 2) my friends returned to camp, having\nmade short work of their tramp of forty-two miles. Crawley had\nshot an oribi, a species of gazelle, on the way to the falls, and\nDupuis secured one on the march back. The former had served as tasty\nrations to the party on the journey, the latter came into our larder,\nand the prospect of venison after a long course of guinea-fowl was\nvery pleasant.\n\nThey had met a small body of Habashes on the road, who attempted to\nturn them back, and these men loaded their rifles as a menace. They\nwere probably soldiers of the King of Godjam, but as the Abyssinian\ntroops wear no uniform it is difficult to distinguish those who are\n\u201cin the service\u201d from those who are not. As among the Boers,\nthe combatant can at any time become a non-combatant if he has time\nto hide his rifle and cartridges. My friends took no notice of the\nhostile demonstration and rode on. Nothing came of it. Probably the\nthreat was intended to extort money. Usually we were well received,\nand I attribute this to the sound judgment of our chief, who took\ncare to leave the villages near which we camped a little richer than\nwe found them.\n\nThe bridge is a most interesting relic of the times of Portuguese\nascendency in Abyssinia. I am indebted to Dupuis for permission\nto reproduce his photograph of it. The following account of its\nconstruction is taken from Dr. Johnson\u2019s translation of Father\nJerome Lobo\u2019s[88] \u201cVoyage to Abyssinia.\u201d I quote the passage\n_in extenso_ because it contains a reference to a question which has\nbeen much discussed, though it has merely an academic interest,\nviz. whether Lake Tsana, or the river which is its principal\ntributary, should be regarded as the true source of the Blue Nile.\n\n\u201cThe Nile, which the natives call Abavi\u201d (Abai), \u201cthat is the\nfather of waters, rises first in Sacala, a province of the kingdom\nof Goiama\u201d (Godjam), \u201cwhich is one of the most fruitful and\nagreeable of all the Abyssinian dominions. This province is inhabited\nby a nation of the Agaus, who call themselves Christians, but by\ndaily intermarriages they have allied themselves to the Pagan Agaus,\nand adopted all their customs and ceremonies. These two nations are\nvery numerous, fierce, and unconquerable, inhabiting a country full\nof mountains, which are covered with woods, and hollowed by nature\ninto vast caverns, many of which are capable of containing several\nnumerous families and hundreds of cows. To these recesses the Agaus\nbetake themselves when they are driven out of the plain, where it is\nalmost impossible to find them and certain ruin to pursue them. This\npeople increases extremely, every man being allowed so many wives\nas he hath hundreds of cows; and it is seldom that the hundreds are\nrequired to be complete.\n\n\u201cIn the eastern part of this kingdom, on the declivity of a\nmountain, whose descent is so easy that it seems a beautiful plain,\nis that source of the Nile which has been sought after at so much\nexpense of labour, and about which such variety of conjectures hath\nbeen formed without success. This spring, or rather these two springs,\nare two holes, each about two feet diameter, a stone\u2019s cast distant\nfrom each other. The one is but about five feet and a half in depth,\nat least we could not get our plummet farther, perhaps because it\nwas stopped by roots, for the whole place is full of trees. Of the\nother, which is somewhat less, with a line of ten feet we could\nfind no bottom, and were assured by the inhabitants that none ever\nhad been found. It is believed here that these springs are the vent\nof a great subterraneous lake; and they have this circumstance to\nfavour their opinion, that the ground is always moist, and so soft\nthat the water boils up underfoot as one walks upon it: this is more\nvisible after rains, for then the ground yields and sinks so much,\nthat I believe it is chiefly supported by the roots of trees that\nare interwoven one with another. Such is the ground round about these\nfountains. At a little distance to the south is a village named Guix,\nthrough which the way lies to the top of the mountain, from whence\nthe traveller discovers a vast extent of land, which appears like a\ndeep valley, though the mountain rises so imperceptibly that those\nwho go up or down it are scarce sensible of any declivity.\n\n\u201cOn the top of this mountain is a little hill, which the idolatrous\nAgaus have in great veneration. Their priest calls them together\nat this place once a year; and having sacrificed a cow, throws the\nhead into one of the springs of the Nile; after which ceremony every\none sacrifices a cow or more according to their different degrees\nof wealth or devotion. The bones of these cows have already formed\ntwo mountains of considerable height, which afford a sufficient\nproof that these nations have always paid their adorations to this\nfamous river. They eat these sacrifices with great devotion, as flesh\nconsecrated to their deity. Then the priest anoints himself with the\ngrease and tallow of the cows, and sits down on a heap of straw on the\ntop and in the middle of a pile which is prepared. They set fire to\nit, and the whole heap is consumed without any injury to the priest;\nwho, while the fire continues, harangues the standers by, and confirms\nthem in their present ignorance and superstition. When the pile is\nburnt, and the discourse at an end, every one makes a large present\nto the priest, which is the grand design of this religious mockery.\n\n\u201cTo return to the course of the Nile. Its waters, after the first\nrise, run to the eastward for about a musket-shot; then turning to\nthe north, continue hidden in the grass and weeds for about a quarter\nof a league, and discover themselves for the first time among some\nrocks; a sight not to be enjoyed without some pleasure by those\nwho have read the fabulous accounts of this stream delivered by the\nancients, and the vain conjectures and reasonings which have been\nformed upon its original, the nature of its water, its cataracts,\nand its inundations, all which we are now entirely acquainted with,\nand eye witnesses of.\u201d[89]\n\nThe Nile \u201crolls away from its source with so inconsiderable a\ncurrent that it appears unlikely to escape being dried up by the hot\nseason, but soon receiving an increase from the Gemma, the Kelta,\nthe Bransu, and other less rivers, it is of such a breadth in the\nplain of Boad, which is not above three days\u2019 journey from its\nsource, that a ball shot from a musket will scarce fly from one bank\nto the other. Here it begins to run northward, deflecting, however,\na little towards the east, for the space of nine or ten leagues; and\nthen enters the so much talked of lake of Dambia\u201d (Tsana), \u201ccalled\nby the natives Barhar Sena, the resemblance of the sea, or Barhar\nDambia, the sea of Dambia. It crosses this lake only at one end, with\nso violent a rapidity that the waves of the Nile\u201d (Abai) \u201cmay\nbe distinguished through all the passage, which is six leagues.[90]\nHere begins the greatness of the Nile. Fifteen miles farther, in the\nland of Alata, it rushes precipitately from the top of a high rock,\nand forms one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. I passed\nunder it without being wet, and resting myself there for the sake of\nthe coolness, was charmed with a thousand delightful rainbows which\nthe sunbeams painted on the water in all their shining and lively\ncolours. The fall of this mighty stream, from so great a height,\nmakes a noise that may be heard to a considerable distance. . . . The\nmist that rises from this fall of water may be seen much farther than\nthe noise can be heard. After this cataract, the Nile again collects\nits scattered stream among the rocks which seem to be disjoined in\nthis place only to afford it a passage. They are so near each other,\nthat, in my time, a bridge of beams, on which the whole Imperial\narmy passed, was laid over them. Sultan Segued[91] hath since built\nhere a bridge of one arch in the same place, for which purpose he\nprocured masons from India\u201d (_i.e._ the Portuguese Indies).[92]\n\u201cThis bridge, which is the first the Abyssinians have seen on the\nNile, very much facilitates a communication between the provinces,\nand encourages commerce among the inhabitants of his Empire.\u201d\n\nBruce\u2019s description of the source of the Abai differs somewhat\nfrom that given by Father Lobo. It is brief, and as an exceptional\ninterest attaches to the spot, it may not be superfluous to quote it.\n\n\u201cHalf undressed as I was, by loss of my sash, and throwing my\nshoes off\u201d (as he had been directed to do in order to conform to a\nsuperstitious usage of the natives), \u201cI ran down the hill towards\nthe little island of green sods, which was about two hundred yards\ndistant; the whole side of the hill was thick grown with flowers,\nthe large bulbous roots[93] of which appearing above the surface\nof the ground, and their skins coming off upon treading upon them,\noccasioned me two very severe falls before I reached the brink of\nthe marsh. I after this came to the altar of green turf, which was in\nform of an altar apparently the work of art, and I stood in rapture\nover the principal fountain, which rises in the middle of it.\u201d[94]\n\nBruce talked with \u201cthe Shum, the priest of the river, whose title\nwas Kefla Abai, or \u2018Servant of the river.\u2019 He was a man of about\nseventy. The honourable charge which he possessed had been in his\nfamily, he conceived, from the beginning of the world; and as he was\nthe happy father of eighty-four children, it appeared that his race\nwas likely to flow as long as the Nile itself. He had a long white\nbeard; round his body was wrapped a skin, which was fastened by a\nbroad belt. Over this he wore a cloak, the hood of which covered\nhis head, his legs were bare, but he wore sandals, which he threw\noff as soon as he approached the bog from which the Nile\u201d (Abai)\n\u201crises\u2014a mark of respect which Bruce and his attendants were\nalso required to perform.\u201d The Shum very obligingly presented his\ncomely and sprightly daughter Irepone, aged sixteen, to the Scottish\ntraveller as housekeeper.\n\nBruce says that at this time the people of the place called the\nSpirit of the River \u201cThe Everlasting God, Light of the World, Eye\nof the World, God of Peace, Saviour and Father of the Universe.\u201d\nHe asked the Shum if he had ever seen the Spirit, and the old man\nanswered without hesitation, \u201cYes, very frequently.\u201d[95]\n\nThe Abai mentioned above is the main tributary of the Blue Nile,\nbut a glance at the map will show that Lake Tsana receives many other\nrivers, and the surrounding mountains, of course, add the volume of\ninnumerable torrents and small streams to its waters in the rainy\nseason. For practical purposes the source of the Blue Nile is the\nlake fed by all the affluents which collectively determine the amount\nof the discharge into the river.\n\nTo return to the camp at Bahardar Georgis. The survey work of\nthe expedition was now completed, and our subsequent stages were\nupon the homeward journey. On February 3 we visited the village\nchurch. I obtained a clear photograph of some of the paintings in\nthe interior. Unfortunately, as I am no arch\u00e6ologist, I cannot\npretend to say whether the clothing of St. George, either in his\ncombat or his victorious return, or the conception of the other\nfigures, gives an indication of the origin of the Abyssinian school\nof ecclesiastical art. I hope that some of my readers who are better\ninformed may be able to throw light upon the subject. It is, perhaps,\nof considerable interest for the following reason: If the usages of\nthe Abyssinian church, which is strictly conservative, represent a\nreally primitive form of Christianity, they show that the observance\nof ritual ceremonies was, in the early days, at least as much a\nmatter of concern as the condition of the individual conscience. And\nthe style of the Abyssinian pictures of sacred subjects may help to\ndetermine the date when the accepted liturgy took its present form.\n\nIn the afternoon the guns of the party added some venison, poultry,\nand game to the larder, and in the evening we were serenaded\u2014against\nour will and at our expense. A band of singers and dancers from the\nvillage\u2014both men and women\u2014came into camp. They had no intention\nof showing their skill without remuneration, and as it would have\ncaused ill-will among them and disappointment to our own boys and\nescort if we had sent them away, we endured their performance and\npaid for it. One of the instruments which they use is a piece of\nboard, over which strings are stretched, so that it looks like a\nrude archaic forerunner of the violin. They twang the strings with\ntheir fingers, but do not \u201cstop\u201d them to obtain different notes\nfrom the same string. Our troupe also played the tomtom and sang in\nthe high nasal voice which is characteristic of the race. We heard\nthe last of them, thankfully, at half-past nine.\n\nWhile we were at Bahardar Georgis, the Waitos near our camp drove a\nbrisk trade in courbashes.[96] I bought of them some hippo tusks,\nwhich they were glad to sell, as they live in great poverty. If I\nhad had some more small change (salt) I could have purchased a quite\nconsiderable stock.\n\n[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH AT BAHARDAR GEORGIS.\n\n_See p._ 153.]\n\nInsects are an annoying pest in this part of the lake side. Hosts\nof mosquitoes and small beetles of a peculiar species appeared on\nthe flat ground at sunset, and swarmed throughout the neighbourhood\nfor an hour afterwards. The beetles settled upon us in throngs, and\ncrawled into our noses and ears and under our clothes, and we could\nnot even crush them on account of the unendurable smell which their\nbodies then gave forth. When the first hour after sundown is past, the\ntemperature falls very rapidly, and one sees no more of these insects.\n\nOn February 4 we started to complete the circuit of the lake and reach\nDelgi by way of the Zegi peninsula. Our road lay across flat land,\nbordered by marshes and full of swamps and quagmires. Sometimes the\nmarshes stretch a long way into the land, and long detours had to be\nmade to avoid them. I saw yams for the first time in Abyssinia growing\njust above the swampy tracts in this region. We had to cross three\nrivers with rocky beds, which were made rougher and more slippery\nby loose stones. To add to our difficulties, our guide twice led\nus out of the right path, and once to a ford which was impassable\nfor the donkeys. In this way we lost nearly three hours. At lunch\ntime we sent the baggage-train on ahead of us. The latter part of\nthe journey was over a beaten track, and gave us no trouble. We\novertook the baggage animals and their escort just as they entered\nthe undulating ground which forms the approach to the peninsula of\nZegi. We pitched our camp near the shore of a little bay of which\nthis promontory was the further boundary.\n\nWhile we were on the road I received a scribbled note from Crawley,\nwho told me that one of his soldiers was ill, had lain down and\nrefused to move. I rode back at his request, and found the invalid\nunder a tree. He said, \u201cLeave me alone. I want to die.\u201d It was\nevident at a glance that he was suffering from ague. The only remedy\nwhich we had at hand was chartreuse. I gave him a big \u201cnip\u201d of\nthe cordial, and it had an excellent effect upon him. He was able\nto ride to the end of the journey, and was none the worse for the\neffort. I venture to commend this incident to the consideration of\nstrict teetotalers.\n\nThe village near which we were encamped is that which is marked as\nFurje on Stecker\u2019s map. The district affords a curious example\nof feudal tenure in Abyssinia. We had quitted Tecla Haimanot\u2019s\ndominions, and the land on which our camp stood was under the\ncontrol of a certain chief called Fituari[97] Ali, a feudatory\nof Ras Mangousha. He dwelt close to the town of Zegi, but had no\njurisdiction within its boundary, though his lordship was valid in\na region extending beyond the town to the Abai.\n\nThe chieftain had gone to attend the marriage of Ras Mangousha\u2019s\ndaughter, and had left his son in authority. So we sent a messenger\nwith an escort to carry the news of our arrival to this young Habash\nwith due formality. He brought back an uncivil reply to the effect\nthat the Fituari\u2019s son was absent, and if we wanted anything we\nhad better go and find him. This was sent by his majordomo. While we\nwere waiting for tea to be served, Johannes reported that the young\nHabash was approaching, and we saw him at a little distance attended\nby a band of followers, some of whom carried guns. Our interpreter\nasked what he should say to this truculent young man, and we bade\nhim explain that we only asked leave to pass through the land, and\nshould require nothing unless it were to purchase a little grain\nfor our animals. We always sought to avoid trouble with the natives,\nand therefore impressed upon Johannes that he should show we wished\nto be friendly, and say we hoped the Fituari\u2019s son would come and\nhave a drink with us.\n\nJohannes departed with his message, and presently we heard\na great hubbub\u2014many Habashes talking at once at the top of\ntheir high-pitched voices. We wondered what gave rise to so much\nexcitement. Presently Johannes emerged from the crowd and approached\nus slowly. The young man\u2019s answer was that he would speak with us\nwhen he had seen the King\u2019s letter. Now, this permit and all our\ncredentials had been dispatched on February 1 from Bahardar Georgis\nto Ras Mangousha that we might obtain his leave to travel through\nhis territories beyond the Abai, and we did not expect our messenger\nto return until late on the following day.\n\nIt was an uncomfortable situation. The Ras\u2019s reply might be\nunfavourable. In that case we should be confronted by the necessity\nof retracing our steps over the whole of the toilsome journey by\nthe lake side. We all longed to kick the tiresome coxcomb who was\nin our way, and went to dinner in a glum mood.\n\nWe were obliged to spend the following day (Feb. 5) in inaction\nawaiting the return of our messenger with Ras Mangousha\u2019s answer. I\nbusied myself with the camera, having every reason to believe that\nno photographs of this tract of country had ever been taken.\n\nDuring the morning we received a visit from the head man of Zegi. We\nthought it a favourable sign that he gave us a very pleasant and\ncourteous welcome. This young man, Hyli by name, was about nineteen\nyears of age. I learned afterwards that he was studying the ancient\nGeez language under the tuition of the priests of Zegi, and presume\nthat he intended to \u201cgo into the Church.\u201d These candidates for\norders are not permitted to smoke or drink strong liquor while they\nare _in statu pupillari_. A similar restriction would scarcely be\npopular in our own ancient universities.\n\nHyli, we found, had a large consignment of coffee to send to the\nmarket at Gallabat. It is his business to collect the dues payable\non this produce before it leaves the village, and the revenue so\nobtained is handed to Ras Mangousha. Hyli had now come to request\nthat his caravan might join ours during the journey through the\n\u201crain-country\u201d\u2014that borderland between Abyssinia and the Soudan,\nwhich, as I have said, is infested by bandits. We had every reason to\nwin friends where we could, and every wish to please the young Habash,\nso we consented willingly. He told us that the coffee was already at\nDelgi, and that he had been informed of the date of our arrival at\nthat village, at Korata and at Woreb, and had been looking forward\nto our coming for a month past. In the evening he sent us a present\nof flour and fowls.\n\nAfter this visit, I walked to the township of Zegi. It is surrounded\nby a thick hedge of incense-bush, and this forms the boundary\nbetween the Fituari\u2019s jurisdiction and Hyli\u2019s. Zegi very closely\nresembles Korata. It consists of groups of tokhuls scattered among\nsmall, square enclosures where the coffee bushes grow apparently\nuntended. These plantations, with the cottages and churches among\nthem, cover the whole promontory. I should estimate the population,\nwhen I saw the place, at about three thousand souls.\n\nDr. Stecker\u2019s account of his visit to the town is brief and\ninteresting, and I quote it. I saw nothing of the stone dwellings\nwhich he describes, and think they must have been replaced by straw\ntokhuls since 1881. He wrote:\u2014\n\n\u201cOn June 7 I made a _tankoa_-journey to the peninsula of Zegi,\nand climbed to the highest peak, Tekla Haimanot (2074 metres above\nsea-level, according to barometrical measurement), which afforded\nextremely important survey-bearings.\u201d The traveller then mentions\nhis visit to Livlivo, Adina, and the island of Dek, and adds, \u201cThe\nZegi peninsula is especially famed for its coffee plantations. Some\ncoffee-trees are as much as a metre in girth. The coffee is mostly\nexported to Metemmeh\u201d (Gallabat), \u201cless goes to Massowah, but\nit is not considered so good as that of Korata. Besides coffee the\n_Ensete_ banana flourishes here conspicuously, and also the edible\nspecies (_Musa Ensete edulis_); but, unfortunately, in recent years\nthese charming plantations have been almost entirely destroyed by a\nspecies of pig called _Assama_ (_potamochoerus penicillatus_),[98]\nwhich is found here in hundreds. This remarkable animal feeds\nalmost entirely on the roots of these fine bananas. What struck\nme here particularly was the neatness of the tokhuls, which are\nchiefly of stone, and in general all villages on Lake Tsana have a\nmuch cleanlier and more pleasant appearance than those inland. There\nis no lack of clergy on the Zegi Peninsula: there are here no fewer\nthan seven churches with twelve hundred priests and defterers.\u201d[99]\nI am bound to say that I saw no indication during my brief stay that\nthe population was deplorably priest-ridden!\n\nI was returning to camp about four o\u2019clock in the afternoon,\nand was still at some distance from it when I met a Habash, who\nmade me understand by signs that our messenger had brought the\nRas\u2019s letter, and as I hastened on I noticed that the news was\nalready public property. Upon reaching camp I saw our man, grimy\nand travel-stained. He and a companion, with one mule to ride, had\ncovered about a hundred and thirty miles in four days over very rough\ncountry, and they had waited while the Ras attended to our business;\nso they had not let the grass grow under their feet. I felt sorry\nfor the mule. Walda Mariam had had charge of this business. We had\ngiven him one day\u2019s rest at Bahardar Georgis after his return with\nTecla Haimanot\u2019s message, and then dispatched him on this second\njourney. It is expected of these runners, when they are in charge of\na missive from the Negus or a great chief, that they shall not sleep\ntill they have delivered it. The man bowed low, and handed the Ras\u2019s\nletters to me in a manner which showed that he now made me responsible\nfor their custody. I then learned, by the aid of an Arab interpreter,\nthat the chief\u2019s reply was of the most favourable kind, and that he\nhad sent mandates to all concerned to give us every furtherance on\nour way round the lake. He also inquired very courteously about our\nhealth and our progress, and had sent a soldier from his own guard as\na special escort for the party. The Ras, moreover, had even furnished\nus with letters to chiefs through whose lands we should not pass on\nthe road to Delgi, to be used in case we wished to turn aside from\nthe way and visit the _hinterland_ of the lake district. And, best\nof all, there was a communication addressed to Fituari Ali\u2019s son,\nenjoining upon him that he should show us every civility. Johannes,\nwho had been absent from camp when the messenger arrived, had returned\nby the time my companions came back from an excursion. The despatches\nwere then interpreted to them in French, and we enjoyed the prospect\nof our enemy\u2019s discomfiture. It was resolved that the mandate to\nhim should be delivered on the following morning. I noticed that\nthe Habashes did not appear to make common cause with Ali\u2019s son,\nbut seemed pleased at our success. Among the Ras\u2019s letters was one\nto Hyli, which we sent to him immediately, though it was scarcely\nrequired in his case. Zody was the bearer of it.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER XI\n\n\nFebruary the 6th was a market-day in Zegi. In the morning we mounted\nour mules and went to visit St. George\u2019s Church. Hyli was studying\nin the theological school attached to this round, thatched place\nof worship, which resembled in all respects the others that we had\nseen in the country. When the Chief Priest had received a suitable\noffering, our Abyssinian friend took us to his house, and here, for\ncourtesy\u2019s sake, we were obliged to drink _tedj_\u2014a vile, bitter\ndraught. We had escaped it on other occasions. The composition of it\nhas been mentioned elsewhere. Hyli was very anxious that we should\nstay and eat a meal with him\u2014doubtless it would have consisted\nchiefly of raw meat smothered with red pepper and sour _teff_\nbread\u2014but we managed to excuse ourselves from this ordeal. On our\nway back to camp we passed through the market-place, which was now\nthronged. I do not know whether any European had been seen there\nbefore; but in any case we were objects of the utmost curiosity,\nand the people pressed around us so thickly that we had a difficulty\nin making our way through them.\n\nIn the afternoon I returned to the market for the purpose of obtaining\nsnap-shots. It is held on the top of a stretch of rising ground,\nunder the shadow of some half a dozen big trees. Under each tree was\na large stone. On market-days a priest from each of the different\nchurches stands on the stone allotted to his parish. These men are\nstriking figures, clad in their ecclesiastical vesture, of which\na large white turban and a shama with a broad red border are the\nconspicuous features. The parishioners from the different districts\nsquat around their pastor near the stone, and the priest takes\ntithe in kind upon the spot when any member of his flock completes a\npurchase or a sale. Our people bought some grain and two sheep. The\nruling prices were: for an ox (without the hide), seven shillings;\nfor a sheep, two shillings.\n\n[Illustration: MARKET DAY AT ZEGI.\n\n_See p._ 162.]\n\nIn one of the photographs which I obtained, the curious plaits in\nwhich the married women wear their hair are clearly shown. Stern\nthus describes the manner in which the _coiffure_ is preserved\nfrom disarrangement at night. \u201cThe woman whose hair has undergone\nthe tedious process of plaiting, must also have it protected from\nbecoming dishevelled while she sleeps; and as this cannot so easily\nbe done in a country where a bullock\u2019s hide or a mat forms the bed,\nnecessity has contrived a bowl-shaped stool, in which the neck is\nwedged. . . . In Abyssinia, where the women are particularly proud of\ntheir copper-coloured charms, very few, even on a journey and with\nfifty pounds weight on their backs, will forget to take the wooden\npillow and the hollow grease-filled gourd,\u201d from the contents of\nwhich the hair is \u201cdressed.\u201d[100]\n\nI purchased a leopard\u2019s skin in the market for a dollar, but it was\nnot a good specimen. During the afternoon I received a visit from\nanother Abyssinian artist, who presented me with two pictures in\nreturn for a black lead-pencil and a part of a blue one. And I had\na constant stream of patients, who claimed attention very freely. I\nam bound to say that the maladies from which the majority of them\nsuffered fully justified the allegation of Dr. Stecker, to which I\nhave already referred.\n\nThe letter from the Ras to the Fituari\u2019s son was delivered early in\nthe morning. In the evening we heard that no sooner had he received\nit than he disappeared, and nobody seemed to know his whereabouts. No\ndoubt it was his intention to declare afterwards that he had not\nbeen in the village when we arrived. If his conduct came to the\nRas\u2019s knowledge, I have little doubt the vainglorious youth was\nflogged\u2014this has been the penalty inflicted on other Habashes\nwho have shown rudeness to travellers provided with the King\u2019s\nsafe-conduct letter.\n\nOur tents at Zegi were in a pleasant position, under a spreading fig\ntree; these trees are found throughout Abyssinia and in the \u201crain\ncountry,\u201d and give abundant shade. I have never seen them growing\nthickly, in a clump.\n\nWe made an early start on the morning of February the 7th, and trotted\nahead at a good speed, as the donkeys were very fresh after their\nrest. The country is similar to that which we traversed in approaching\nZegi. At eleven o\u2019clock we reached the bank of the Abai. At the\nford where we were to cross, it is a broad river, more than a hundred\nyards in width, as I should judge. The water was running in a fairly\nrapid current, and I was told that the stream is perennial. The banks\nof the river are steep, and the bed is stony. The water, at that\nseason of the year, was almost clear. But during the rains, when the\nstream is in flood, it brings down vast quantities of the deposits\nof the white ants and other detritus. The flat island of Dek has been\nformed by siltage of alluvial soil thus brought, and it is matter in\nsolution which renders the course of the Abai traceable in Lake Tsana.\n\nAt the ford we found that the water came just above a man\u2019s\nknee. The crossing gave us little trouble, and there was no serious\nmishap. The larger loads and our valises\u2014of the \u201cWolseley\u201d\npattern\u2014were wetted, but the sun soon dried them. One donkey\ncollapsed, and fell with his burden into the stream about two yards\nfrom the further bank; but there were many to help, and he was soon\nput on his feet again. He was not carrying anything which would be\nruined by a soaking. The rise beyond the ford was steep, and the\ndrippings from the wet animals made it slippery, so we had to throw\nearth on it to give them a foothold, as in crossing the Gelda.\n\nAfter passing the Abai, we entered a flat district full of the long\ndry grass, of which we had seen so much on the north side of the\nlake. The country hereabouts is full of the kind of gazelle called\n_oribi_. We had not elsewhere in Abyssinia found these creatures\nin herds. Game birds abound in this region, which appeared to be\nalmost deserted. We passed scarcely any villages, and those which\nwe saw consisted of only five or six huts.\n\nOur camping-ground was an open space not far from a papyrus swamp. We\nshould not have selected this spot by choice, as the proximity of\nmarshy soil was a danger to health. But we were obliged to halt there\nbecause no water was to be had for a considerable distance on the road\nahead. All around were ruins of houses built of stone, with thatched\nroofs that had fallen in. The number of them showed that a town or a\nlarge village must have existed here at one time. Stone dwellings are\nnot usual in this region, and I inquired what the name of the place\nwas and tried to learn its history, but could get no information.\n\nDupuis and Crawley went out with their rifles, and added three\noribis to the store in the larder. I stayed in camp \u201con duty,\u201d\nand after treating a patient sat reading outside my tent. My servant\nrushed up to me, and said that I was wanted to shoot a snake that\nhad crept under some brushwood. I hastened to unpack my gun and\nran after the boy, and soon came to where our men, in a state of\ngreat excitement, had formed a cordon round a patch of dry grass,\nto which they had set fire. Finally the snake came out, and all our\nfellows shouted at it. They were in mortal terror of it, as a fact,\nand certainly it looked \u201can ugly customer.\u201d It was too big to be\nstopped by shot unless I could make sure of hitting it in the head,\nand this I was not able to manage before it crawled under a saddle\nbelonging to one of the soldiers. The saddle was lifted by the aid\nof a long pole, and in a moment the snake\u2019s head was smashed by\nthe same means. I measured it, and found that it was just over two\nyards in length. The back was brown and the belly white, and the\nskull had the typical shape of the adder family. Generally speaking,\nwe saw fewer reptiles in Abyssinia than we had expected.\n\nAfter this incident, I strolled round the camp with my gun, and\npresently noticed a little grey animal scampering among the stones\nof a ruined house. It was of the same colour exactly as the stones,\nbut presently I believed I could discern an eye, and, being anxious\nto ascertain what creature it was, took aim and fired. I walked up\nto the spot but found nothing, looked around and wondered how the\nanimal could have vanished. At the moment I heard the rustling of a\nleaf beyond the tumbledown wall on the left, and, guided by the sound,\ndiscovered the animal just dead. It was a specimen of the hyrax\u2014an\ninteresting creature to biologists, which Huxley described as \u201cthe\ntype of a distinct order, in many respects intermediate between the\n_Ungulata_, on the one hand, and _Rodentia_ and _Insectivora_ on\nthe other.\u201d[101] It is found only in Syria and Africa. I thought\nthe skin worth preserving, and one of the soldiers flayed it for me.\n\nOn Sunday, February 8, our road lay, for the most part, at some little\ndistance from the lake, which was out of sight till the end of the\njourney. We plodded on through long grass and past burnt patches. The\ntrack is only about a foot wide, and in consequence the loads of the\ndonkeys extended beyond it on either side. When they were among the\ntall growth they had to sweep it aside from their burden as they went,\nand this tired them greatly.\n\nWe reached the edge of the lake at two o\u2019clock, after an unbroken\njourney of six and a half hours, and pitched our camp. About two\nhundred yards from the shore five hippos were standing, well clear\nof the water. They looked for all the world like rocks, even when we\nbrought field-glasses to bear on them. After lunch Crawley had the\nBerthon boat put together, and I rowed him towards the hippos. When we\nwere within a hundred yards of them, I considered that the range was\nquite short enough to give the marksman an opportunity of displaying\nhis skill, and he got no nearer. He began practice at once, but the\nboat was pitching rather sharply, and this made aiming with the\nrifle almost chance-work. Presently the sport became like firing\nat disappearing targets, for the hippos rose only once in two or\nthree minutes to breathe. If they had taken my friend seriously,\nwe should probably not have left Lake Tsana, and I felt relieved\nwhen he had had enough of the pastime and we rowed ashore.\n\nVarious small offerings of milk and bread reached us from the hamlets\naround. The milk is always sour. The Habashes do not drink it when\nit is fresh, and as a consequence they never wash the gourds in which\nthey keep it, because it \u201cturns\u201d sooner in a dirty receptacle. At\na few places we were able to have the cows brought into camp, and\nstored the milk in our own vessels, but this was impossible when we\nonly remained one night on a camping-ground.\n\nThat evening Johannes, the interpreter, had a touch of fever. On\nthe previous night his tent had been close to the papyrus swamp,\nand this, no doubt, accounted for the attack.\n\nOn the following day, February 9, our road lay through more broken\ncountry and more pleasing scenery. The track led us up hills, and\ndown them, and between them, and sometimes close beside the lake. I\nsaw no trees in this region but mimosas; the ground was covered\nin places by mimosa scrub, in others by dry grass. We made a march\nof seventeen miles, as we reckoned, a longer distance than we had\ntravelled on the previous day. The donkeys were tired out at the\nend of the journey. Some stood still and refused to move, others\nlay down under their burdens in the path. We camped on the shore\nof the lake, at a spot very similar to that which we had chosen for\nour last halting-place.\n\nThe interpreter\u2019s fever had yielded considerably to the usual\nquinine treatment, and he seemed very little the worse for his long\nride in the heat.\n\nIn the evening the wind rose and presently blew hard enough to make\nme wonder whether my tent would collapse or not. I observed that\nvery soon enough wash was knocked up in the deeper water to stop\nthe headway of a rowing-boat. The lake would be a perfect place for\nfishing and sailing in the dry season. But without experience and\nwatchfulness, risks would arise\u2014quite apart from the humours of\nthe hippopotami.[102]\n\nOn Tuesday, February 10, after a journey of about twelve miles through\ntall grass that impeded our baggage-train, we reached the village of\nDelgi, and pitched our camp upon the same ground which we had chosen\nfor our first halting-place beside the lake. To the best of my belief,\nwe were the only Europeans who had ever completed the circuit of this\nlovely reservoir of the Nile\u2014the distance in all is one hundred\nand sixty to one hundred and seventy miles. Those who love regions\nbeyond the outposts of our civilization, where the tourist ceases\nfrom troubling, could not seek isolation amid sweeter surroundings\nthan this sunlit lake, these tropical mountains, and the quaint,\nquiet hamlets of a primitive people, who as yet, thank Heaven,\nhave not been infected with \u201cYankee hustle.\u201d\n\nThe level of the surface of the water had sunk perceptibly since we\nwere here a month ago, and many rocks were now visible which had then\nbeen covered. But I do not think the variation between the maximum\nheight in the rainy season and the minimum in the dry is very great;\nI doubt if it exceeds eight or ten feet.\n\nAt midday we noticed that the climate into which we had come in the\nnorth-west corner of the lake was distinctly warmer than that of the\nother parts. We remembered the Soudan, towards which our faces were\nset, and knew that in the heat there we should think longingly of the\nwaterside, in spite of all the worries inseparable from travelling\nin Abyssinia.\n\nThe \u201cSultan\u201d of Delgi came to camp to welcome us as soon as\nhe heard of our arrival. It was pleasant to meet this cheery,\ngenial old Habash again, and his visit put us in good spirits. He\nbrought us a couple of chickens and some bread, and we showed our\nhospitality by offering him chartreuse. He drank half a pint at a\ndraught without \u201cturning a hair,\u201d seemed none the worse for it,\nand wanted more. A man who remains sober after that performance must\nhave a sound head and a strong body, but I do not recommend even\nthe hardiest of my readers to attempt the feat. The Abyssinians who\nsurvive have inured their stomachs to excesses of abstinence from\nfood as well as gluttonous excesses, an unwholesome and repulsive\ndiet and the abuse of condiments, and they have constitutions _\u00e0\ntoute \u00e9preuve_. I may mention that the children, who would be the\nfirst to suffer from bad climatic conditions, and the women seemed,\nas a body, fairly healthy, though they eat raw flesh like the men\nand suffer from the consequent parasitical trouble.\n\nNothing was mentioned or seen of the \u201cDeputy\u201d who had tried to\nprevent us from reaching the lake. But we made kindly inquiry for\nthe \u201cSultan\u2019s\u201d wife, who had shown us goodwill and sent us\nbread and _tedj_ on our first arrival, and were glad to hear that\nthe lady was in good health. At nightfall we saw that the grass was\nblazing in two places, and it was interesting to observe with what\nextraordinary swiftness the flames ran over the ground when the\nbreeze from the lake fanned them.\n\n[Illustration: INTERVIEWING THE SULTAN OF DELGI.\n\n_See p._ 170.]\n\n[Illustration: THE SULTAN OF DELGI, AN OLD PRIEST, AND SLAVE CARRYING\nTHE SHIELD.\n\n_See p._ 170.]\n\nWe had determined to show our liking for the \u201cSultan\u201d by treating\nhim handsomely when we gave the customary presents. He came into\ncamp next day (February 11) as soon as we had finished breakfast,\nand we arranged the gifts on the table. They were a revolver, a\nfolding-chair, a bottle of chartreuse, and a red silk cummerbund for\nhis consort. He appeared to be well pleased and thanked us, through\nJohannes, with all the formalities of the country. We suggested\nthat he should come for a row in the Berthon boat, but he backed\nout of this immediately. Then he had his new folding-chair carried\nto the shore, and sat there surrounded by his bodyguard, a force\nwhich would have had a great success in a pantomime. He followed\nour movements with much interest while we put the boat together,\nbut he was plainly apprehensive when Crawley tested in still water\nthe electric current-meter which he had used in calculating the\noutflow from the lake into the Blue Nile. It made a buzzing noise,\nand I think he suspected that it might \u201cgo off\u201d at any moment. He\nremarked that it was _a watch_ for the water, but he soon retired,\nfollowed by his comedians under arms.\n\nEverything in camp that could be cleaned in water was washed in the\nlake during the day, and the ground near our tents looked like an\nimprovised laundry. It was strewn in all directions with articles\nspread out to dry. Those boys who had no change of garments, stayed\nin the water while their clothes were aired in the sunshine, and\nenjoyed it.\n\nBoth Christians and Mussulmans received an ox on this day in order\nthat they might make biltong for the journey. We bought flour and\ngrain and sheep and fowls, and laid in as large a stock of provisions\nas we could carry for use in the uninhabited borderland between\nDelgi and Gallabat.\n\nFebruary 12 was our last day beside Lake Tsana, and the prospect of\nleaving it filled me with regret. The \u201cSultan\u201d came into camp\nagain, and in answer to one or two questions gave us the following\ninformation: that the rainfall on the margin of the lake in the wet\nseason is not great; the heavy rains descend upon the heights around,\nand the floods are carried down the rivers and khors in overwhelming\ntorrents, so that all the watercourses are then impassable. This\ncircumstance, of course, has a very important bearing on the\npossibility of a commercial development of the region.\n\nBefore quitting the subject, I will bring to the reader\u2019s notice\nDr. Stecker\u2019s thoughtful conclusions as to the present relation\nof the River Abai to Lake Tsana:\u2014\n\n\u201cI made another extremely interesting discovery in the Gorgora\nmountains, viz. of a remarkable shell, which by its character reminds\none of the oyster.[103] We found both the shells and the living\ncreatures in abundance on the shore. With lemon juice they taste like\ngenuine oysters. But it is remarkable that I had already found this\nspecies in the Blue Nile, and that I found it later on the island of\nDek, enclosed in unmistakable volcanic rock (tuff). I can only offer\nthis explanation, that, at a time when Lake Tsana already existed,\na great eruption took place in the south. According to my view the\nlake had its origin in tertiary times as a consequence of a great\nvolcanic movement in the north (at the Gorgora range). The Abai,\nwhich was previously an unimportant stream, and described the great\ncurve which is indicated on my map by arrows, and now carries it\nround Dek and Dega, was forced in consequence to the south-western\nand southern shores, though its original course can still be\ntraced quite distinctly. The second volcanic movement took place,\naccording to my opinion, in the south, and the islands of Dek[104]\nand Dega in Lake Tsana owe their origin to it, as do a whole series\nof islands beside the eastern shore of the lake and the masses of\nrock of volcanic origin which encumber the course of the Blue Nile\nand lie scattered in the whole valley of that river.\u201d[105]\n\nThe moon was full that night, and the lake and the mountains formed\na glorious scene, which left in the mind a longing to behold it\nagain. Lake Tsana has that haunting, attractive power which some\nplaces possess, and which prompts one to return to them in spite of\nall that commonsense says about obstacles and discomfort.\n\nOn February 13 we made an early start upon our return journey to the\nSoudan, and reached the top of the plateau at half-past ten. We saw\nnothing, after all, of Hyli\u2019s men; I did not hear why they failed\nto join us. As we now retraced our steps over the same ground that we\nhad traversed on the way to the lake, I shall not give any detailed\naccount of our progress. In one day\u2019s journey we covered a distance\nwhich had given us an arduous two days\u2019 climb on the upward march,\nand we came again into the region of the Soudanese heat. The sequence\nof vegetation according to altitude was strikingly apparent during\nthe descent. Throughout the first half of it we were in the cactus\ncountry, then in the bamboo zone, and, finally, among the mimosas and\ndesert scrub. The heat proved trying to man and beast. We Europeans\nfelt fagged and dull; I had three fever patients among our followers\nin the evening; and the donkeys straggled into camp jaded and spent.\n\nAn incident of the journey will show the nature of the road. A little\nwhile after we had passed the long and narrow gorge which has already\nbeen described, I caught sight of my valise and some other luggage\nstacked on a bank. Upon asking why it was there, I found that the\ndonkey which had carried the load had slipped from the path and had\nfallen and rolled about ninety or a hundred feet. The beast seemed\nnone the worse for the adventure, and the boys were bringing up the\nbaggage piecemeal from the ledge which had stopped the donkey. I\nhave no doubt that its burden saved it; a rider might have performed\nthe same service if his remains had kept in place. A mirror and a\ncandle-globe which \u201caccomplished the descent\u201d were not injured.\n\nIn spite of the steepness and roughness of the path\u2014the mountains\nare genuine _sierras_ (saws)\u2014I believe that no great trouble and\nexpense would be needed to make this approach to Western Abyssinia\neasy and safe, but it would be impossible for camels.\n\nOn the following day we reached the banks of the River Gerar, on\nwhich there is a thick growth of bamboos. Many of these had fallen\nacross the track. We were not so much impeded by them as we should\nhave been but for our previous experience of this part of the road. We\nsent men ahead with axes to clear the path as well as they could. In\nthe evening we lost one of our baggage animals for the first time;\ntwo donkeys fell on the road exhausted. We left them while we moved\non into camp, in the hope that they would recover. One was brought in\nlater, but the other was found to be in such a helpless and pitiable\nstate that nothing remained but to put it out of its misery, and it\nwas shot. Our camp was beside the hot springs which have already\nbeen mentioned. We found in the neighbouring huts apparently the\nsame company that we had seen on the upward journey. I was not able\nto learn anything about the people.\n\nOn the following day we left the valley of the Gerar, crossed a high\nridge, and then followed the course of the Shemal Warhar. When we\nreached the place where we had pitched our camp before, we found the\ntrees charred and the ground blackened by fire. There was no shade,\nand the water in the pools was very low. So we marched about three\nmiles to another camping-ground called Ananta. Here water and shade\nwere plentiful.\n\nOn February 16 we reached the bank of the Gundar Warhar. From\nmidday till three o\u2019clock the thermometer showed a temperature\nof 98\u00b0 F. We had now entered the region in which robber bands are\nactive. On the 17th we passed two parties of traders and heard from\nthem our first news of the world outside Abyssinia. This was that\nSlatin Pasha had arrived at Gallabat on a tour of inspection. We\nthought of Gallabat\u2014by contrast\u2014as a centre of civilization. Our\nhalting-place was a pleasant, shady spot beside the river-bed,\nin which water was abundant. In the afternoon Crawley shot a\nwater-buck. I secured a much smaller prize in the form of another\ncivet-cat. We heard that a large crocodile had been seen in a pool\nabout two hundred yards from camp, but saw nothing of the beast. At\nnight we were much plagued by mosquitoes and the beetles which\nswarm on one and do not bite, but are malodorous in death\u2014a most\nperplexing pest.\n\nOn the 18th the temperature rose to 101\u00b0 F. in the shade. We made a\nshort march, but one of our donkeys succumbed and had to be left for\nthe vultures. We found that the grass about our former camping-ground\nhad been trodden down and a part of it burned. The water, too, was\nmuch lower in the pools, the dry season being now far advanced,\nthough it was still abundant to meet all the requirements likely\nto arise in that country before the rains. At this time of the year\nthe trees cast their leaves, so that there is much less shade along\nthe track. On the 19th we reached the \u201cwarsha,\u201d which is the\nfirst from Gallabat on the road to Abyssinia and the last on the\nreturn journey. The ground was in a filthy state, and it was evident\nthat many people had encamped at the place since we left it. Water\nwas plentiful; it was drawn from a deep pool. To our horror, just\nas we had settled to rest in our chairs, we saw some of our boys\nand camp-followers washing their persons and their clothes in the\nwater which we were to drink! One of them was a leprous trader. We\nraised some first-class trouble about this, and posted a sentry\nby the pool. But all we could do was to boil and filter the water\nthoroughly\u2014and think of the other people who had bathed in it since\nwe last tasted it. On Friday, February 20, we arrived at Gallabat.\n\nI will not dilate on the traveller\u2019s delight in seeing again a\nbatch of envelopes addressed to him in familiar handwriting. It is\none of the pleasures which is becoming rare, but a trip into Western\nAbyssinia still provides an opportunity for it. In the town I met\nthe Doctor of Kassala. He was then making a tour of inspection with\nthe object of discovering cases of leprosy. The Egyptian Government\nhas wisely ordained that lepers shall be compulsorily segregated;\nthere is a hospital for them at Gallabat, which serves as a receiving\nstation. An attempt is being made to form a colony of these stricken\npeople, where they may cultivate the land and live by their labour.\n\nThe water which we had drunk at \u201cWarsha No. 1\u201d punished us\nrather severely for our rashness. And while suffering from this\ninward infirmity, I saw the camels that were waiting to wreak their\neccentricities upon us during the remainder of the journey. It\nwas our intention to follow the upper course of the river Atbara\nthrough Sofi to Kassala. This was formerly a frequented route, but\nthe Dervishes had destroyed all the villages that stood beside it,\nand, as a consequence, the disused track had become impassable. It\nwas then being repaired, but the work was still some way short of\ncompletion, and it seemed that we might be compelled, after all,\nto return as we had come by the road through Gedaref. However,\nour chief telegraphed to Mr. Flemming, asking him to send a gang\nof men, if possible, to the spot where the track was in the worst\ncondition, and this he did. So we were able to carry out our plan,\nand had the satisfaction of being the first travellers who journeyed\nby the repaired highway from Gallabat to Kassala.\n\nOn February 22 we paid off the escort and followers who had gone\ninto Abyssinia with us. Johannes received as presents a revolver\nand a watch, the others a gift of money. We found that nearly all\npreferred a settlement by means of drafts on Colonel Harrington at\nAddis Abbiba. If they carried cash through the \u201crain country\u201d\nthey would run a great risk of losing both their money and their\nlives. Before we bade farewell to Johannes, he told us that we\nhad on one occasion, unconsciously, been in no small danger in\nAbyssinia. At a certain village a rumour was spread that King\nMenelek had sold the lake to the British. The supposed transfer\nwas by no means to the taste of the Habashes\u2014and we represented\nthe English interest. Disregarding the niceties of French grammar,\nJohannes remarked that he had _beaucoup de peur_ at the time. In\nour case ignorance was bliss.\n\nOn this day we said good-bye to Zodi. He had decided to return\nto his own country with Johannes. We all wished that he could have\nfinished the journey with us, but felt that we should not be justified\nin discharging him finally in a country where he was ignorant of\nthe language. He took his leave of us, bowing to the ground and\naddressing us in his own tongue. His face bore an expression which it\nis difficult to describe; he was showing his spotlessly white teeth\nin a smile, but he was half crying nevertheless. I have always wished\nthat I could have engaged him as my servant. He was an excellent and\nfaithful lad, and I believe that he did us valuable service when\nwe were near Zegi, and the Fituari\u2019s son was inclined to give\ntrouble. Zody, as a native of the lakeside (Korata), was able to\ninfluence his neighbours on the opposite shore when a Habash from\nanother district might have been disregarded or set at naught.\n\nMy two companions went out with their rifles in the afternoon, and\nthere was no slight commotion in Gallabat when they were heard firing\nat antelopes in the distance. During our absence, as I have already\nmentioned, an Abyssinian band had raided two villages and carried off\nthirty-eight men and boys into slavery. The noise of the discharges\nmade the natives think that the slave-raiders were at their work\nagain. The very serious political consequences which these incursions\nwill certainly cause sooner or later have been alluded to before.\n\nIt may interest my readers, if, before saying the last word\nabout Gallabat, I give a brief account of the battle which took\nplace there in March, 1889, between King John of Abyssinia and the\nDervishes. Perhaps no incident in modern history so strangely combines\nthe oriental and the medi\u00e6val atmospheres, or so oddly illustrates\nthe effect of weapons of precision in warfare of the biblical type. A\ndetailed narrative has been given by Mr. Augustus Wylde.[106]\n\nThe Dervishes had invaded Abyssinia in 1887, at a time when the\nforces of the Negus were scattered. They defeated Tecla Haimanot\nand devastated the region to the north of Lake Tsana. In 1888 they\nrenewed the invasion, but in the meanwhile the King of Godjam\u2019s army\nhad been reinforced and his troops had been rearmed. The Dervishes\nsuffered a severe defeat. The Negus completed his preparations in the\nwinter of 1888-9, and gave notice to the Khalifa of his intention to\nmarch upon Omdurman. The Dervishes massed about seventy thousand men\nat Gallabat, where they occupied a large zareba which was protected\nby a dyke and some redoubts. They also had artillery in the fort\nwhere the scorpions have now become so formidable. But they were\nbadly supplied with small-arms, whereas King John\u2019s men had a\nplentiful stock of effective rifles of a French pattern.\n\nThe Dervish position was surrounded by the Abyssinian army. The\nKhalifa\u2019s men were crowded in their enclosure, and, owing to its\nconstruction, could not fire from it without exposing themselves. The\nAbyssinian marksmen did terrible execution, and finally a body of\nKing John\u2019s horse, supported by a hot rifle-fire at short range,\nburned the thorns of the zareba at several points and filled up the\nditch. The position was then \u201crushed,\u201d and only a few of the\nDervishes, aided by the smoke and the confusion, escaped.\n\n\u201cFacing King Johannes\u2019s bodyguard,\u201d says Mr. Wylde, \u201cone small\nredoubt, strongly fortified and held by the black slave soldiers of\nthe Dervishes, still held out, and their rifle-fire was doing some\nexecution. The King, getting angry that it had not been taken in the\nrear by the troops that had entered the sides of the fortifications,\nand who were engaged in plundering, went forward to attack it with\nhis followers. The gaudy dresses worn by his staff, with their silver\nshields and the bright silks, drew the fire of the defenders. King\nJohannes was struck by a bullet that traversed the lower part of\nhis arm and entered the intestines near the navel, taking into the\nwound a part of his dress. He still gave orders, and kept on the\nfield till the redoubt was rushed and those in it all killed.\u201d\n\nThe King died about twenty-four hours after he was wounded. Quarrels\nwith regard to the succession immediately commenced among the Rases,\nand instead of following up their victory, they retired at once\ninto Abyssinia with their captives and plunder, in order to serve\nthe interests of their respective factions.\n\n\u201cOn the 11th, in the afternoon, old Ras Areya, the King\u2019s uncle,\na man nearly eighty years of age, who had played a wonderful part in\nAbyssinian history, was left with a few followers to bring back the\nKing\u2019s body for burial. The body had been cut in half so that it\ncould be carried more easily, and was put in a clothes-box so that it\ncould be laden on a mule. Only a few of the King\u2019s devoted servants\nremained behind, with a few priests and their armed servants. On\nthe 12th, while following the Taccazze road, the sad and mournful\nprocession was overtaken by a few Dervishes and some Arabs, who\nhad returned on the night of the 10th to reconnoitre Gallabat, and\nwhen they found it abandoned they had followed one of the lines of\nretreat to find out what was going on and the reason the Abyssinian\nvictory had not been followed up.\u201d[107]\n\nRas Areya could have escaped, but died, with a few of his soldiers and\nthe bravest of the King\u2019s servants, defending all that remained of\nhis liege. He \u201cwas last seen standing alongside the box containing\nthe King\u2019s body, after having expended all his ammunition, with\nhis shield and sword in his hands.\u201d He was speared by a Dervish\nfrom behind. The Khalifa made no attempt to invade Abyssinia in\nforce after the battle of Gallabat.\n\nMr. Wylde received this information from a priest who was present\nand who escaped, though he was badly wounded. I was told that the\nKing died in a small hut, attended by two monks and four nuns, who\ntried to keep his death secret, and that an old woman, a servant of\nthe nuns, being captured later by the Dervishes, revealed, in order\nto save her life, the line of retreat of the party that was bearing\naway the King\u2019s body.\n\nThe encounter took place at night, and such a scene in the moonlight\nseems more like an imagined passage in an epic than an occurrence\nin the closing years of the last century. I do not know whether the\nnuns accompanied Ras Areya, nor what their fate was. The Dervishes\ncut off the King\u2019s head and carried it to the Khalifa at Omdurman.\n\nThere are numerous graves around Gallabat of those who fell in\nthe engagement. These are mounds, on which are laid agates brought\nfrom the bed of the Atbara. The tombs of the Soudanese have upon\nthem a calabash, or more usually a pair, containing grain and\nwater\u2014presumably to satisfy the needs of the dead man\u2019s shade. I\ndo not know how the custom of solacing the deceased thus is reconciled\nwith the doctrine of Islam.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAPTER XII\n\n\nThe valley of the River Atbara can now scarcely be regarded as\nunfamiliar country. Those who wish to read a most lively, interesting\naccount of all the opportunities that it offers to the sportsman,\nshould turn to Sir Samuel Baker\u2019s book, \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of\nAbyssinia.\u201d Our journey from Gallabat to Cairo by way of Kassala\ncan be quite briefly described.\n\nIn reply to our inquiry we received a telegram from Mr. Flemming, who\ntold us that a guide would meet our party at an appointed spot to show\nus the now disused and obscured road, and on the morning of February\n23 we left Gallabat. About four hours\u2019 travelling over flat, rocky\ncountry brought us, by an easy descent, to the Atbara. The banks\nhere are low, and the bed is hard and clean, with tracts of shingle\nin it. The breadth of the course is about a hundred and fifty yards,\nand there were large pools of clear, good water. Many of them were\ndeep. At this season of the year an insignificant stream trickles\nfrom pool to pool, and sometimes disappears altogether. There are\nbig fish in these pools, and they need cautious handling. I took my\ntackle after we had pitched our camp, landed a two-pounder, and was\n\u201cwool-gathering\u201d a few moments afterwards when a powerful fish\nseized my bait with a dash and had me off my balance in an instant;\nresult, a bruised knee and two hooks lost.\n\nNext day Dupuis moved ahead of the party with his Soudanese\n\u201cShikari,\u201d and in a couple of hours stalked and shot a gazelle and\na bushbuck with a fine pair of horns; later in the day a haartebeest\nfell to his rifle. We saw great numbers of gazelles and ariels,\nand the country was full of game. The tracks left by many kinds of\nanimals going to and from the river were visible in all directions. In\naddition, guinea-fowl were plentiful. The ground near the river was\ncovered with dry grass, and there was a thin but continuous growth\nof mimosa scrub. The baobab tree flourishes in this region.[108]\nWe camped on the site of a village that had been laid waste by the\nDervishes. No vestige of it remained but potsherds.\n\nWhen the flesh of the animals was being cut into strips for use as\nbiltong, a host of the carrion birds of all orders gathered around\nus\u2014crows, hawks, vultures, and marabous. There was something\ndisquieting and unpleasant in the presence of these groups of\neagerly expectant scavengers, which faced us wherever we turned,\nand eyed us from every tree. That night the mosquitoes \u201crushed\u201d\nmy curtains and made a most successful raid, retreating at sunrise\nfrom the stricken\u2014and bitten\u2014field.\n\nShortly after we had started on February 25, I saw, at a little\ndistance from camp, a piece of neatly made basketwork, and picked\nit up. Further on I found another. On making inquiry I was told\nthat these were parts of game-traps. A log is buried in the ground,\nand a piece of cord with a noose at the loose end is attached to\nit. Then a hole is dug where tracks of game are seen, the noose is\n\u201cset\u201d in the hole, the basketwork is laid down to cover the trap,\nand the cord is hidden by a layer of earth. When a beast steps into\nthe hole, the movement of the basketwork pulls the noose tight around\nits leg. The more the beast struggles, the firmer the grip becomes;\nfinally, as a rule, the log is pulled up by its exertions, and the\nhobbled creature limps away, but is easily caught, and can then be\nkilled as the Mohammedan rite requires.\n\n[Illustration: HEAD OF A HAARTEBEEST.\n\n_See p._ 184.]\n\n[Illustration: \u2018LATES NILOTICUS\u2019 CAUGHT WITH A TROUT-ROD.\n\n_See p._ 200.]\n\nThe track in this region is kept open by the cutting down of mimosa\nscrub. It lies upon \u201ccotton soil\u201d with fissures in it, large\nand small. The camels, which stare stupidly ahead while they walk,\nare constantly stumbling on account of these holes; their legs seem\nto have a marvellous instinct for finding them. Another difficulty\nwas the descent and ascent in numerous little khors which run down\nto the river bed, and the camel is singularly clumsy when it leaves\nlevel ground. We pitched our camp at midday on the site of another\ndeserted village, called Wad Abou Simam. Before that time each of\nmy friends had shot a waterbuck. Very sensibly, the Anglo-Egyptian\nAdministration imposes a fine on those who shoot the females of the\nlarger antelopes.\n\nI think we must have seen hundreds of thousands of guinea-fowl\nduring the last two days\u2019 journey. They were in the jungle of\nmimosa scrub and neblik and on the shingle in the river bed, where\nby reason of their colour they can scarcely be distinguished from\nthe stones; in fact, they swarmed in all directions. I took my gun\ninto the dry course of the Atbara and sat down near an islet which\nwas covered with very dry grass. This was a favourite place of\nrefuge for the guinea-fowl. Dupuis drove them to the bank, where\nthey rose, and flocks of them flew towards the little island. In\nthis way I had some fine practice, and the birds were always\nuseful in the larder. Travellers in this region should set up their\nmosquito-curtains with care. I was remiss about it that night, and the\ndetermined and virulent insects bit my scalp, face, and hands through\nthe covering. The next evening I was more attentive to the matter,\nand formed a frame by means of four dhurra stalks. This arrangement,\nwith draping, had all the advantages and some of the solid dignity\nof a four-post bedstead.\n\nOn the following day (February 26) we encamped at Sherafa. There was\nno incident worthy of mention during the journey. In the afternoon\nDupuis and I saw a crocodile within range in the river bed, and fired\nat the same moment. The only visible result was that he scuttled\ninto a pool and disappeared.\n\nOn the 27th Crawley brought down an ariel, but we had entered a\ndistrict in which game was much rarer. We reached a well at a place\ncalled Tubra Cullah. This has been dug at the edge of a rock, the\nwater was brackish, and there was no trough for the camels. We had\nnow left the course of the Atbara, but had, fortunately, brought\nwith us water from the pools which was sufficient for the men. On\nthis day the temperature rose to 107\u00b0 F. in the shade. The road,\nwhich had at that time been cleared, ended at Tubra Cullah, and here\nwe were met by the guide whom Mr. Flemming had sent to show us the\nunrepaired track between this place and Sofi.\n\n[Illustration: HADENDOWA, CAMEL DRIVER.\n\n_See p._ 186.]\n\n[Illustration: DINKA BOY, CAMEL DRIVER.\n\n_See p._ 186.]\n\nOn the following day we marched to Goratia. Our guide had\nmisinformed us as to the distance, which was much greater than we had\nexpected. The heat was scarcely endurable, and none of our marches\nhad been more fatiguing. How we longed for the coolness and freshness\nof the lakeside! Close to the village was a well with good water and\ntroughs for the camels, which had not drunk for nearly forty-eight\nhours. We found the inhabitants very willing to help our men. While\nwe were passing through Goratia the women within the huts warbled\ntheir welcome in the usual manner and with unmistakable enthusiasm. We\nlearned that when our party was first sighted, a rumour spread that\nwe were Abyssinian raiders, and the non-combatants rushed to the\nshelter of their homes. The relief of the villagers was evidently\nvery great when they found that we were English people.\n\nThe following instance may serve to show the difficulty which British\nadministrators have in suppressing the slave traffic.\n\nA certain man, a native of the White Nile region, appeared one morning\nbefore Colonel G. at Rosaires and said that while he was taking a\nconvoy of slaves into Abyssinia, he had been stopped by the sheikh\nof a village in the Colonel\u2019s district. This sheikh, he asserted,\ntook possession of the slaves, and bound him and his companion,\nto whom they belonged. In order to keep what he had captured and\ndestroy those who could bring him to justice, the sheikh had the\ntwo slave-dealers brought to a precipice and cast over it. Ono was\nkilled, the other escaped with whole limbs. Then he repaired to the\nGovernor\u2019s quarters to report the matter.\n\nColonel G. ordered the sheikh to attend and bring the slaves that\nhe had taken. The sheikh, astounded to hear that the Moudir[109]\nhad learned what he had done, attributed his misfortune to the Will\nof God with the usual phrase \u201cInshallah,\u201d[110] and started for\nthe Moudirieh accompanied by the slaves. On the way he consoled\nhimself with the words, \u201cGod will help me\u201d (_Rabonna effrighi_).\n\nWhile he was upon the journey he met two native merchants returning to\ntheir village, and immediately he concluded that Allah had heard his\nprayer. \u201cUm del Allah!\u201d said he, \u201cGod is good.\u201d He caused the\nmerchants to be bound, and then he had the slaves brought before him,\nand made them all swear upon the Koran that these two men were they\nwho had raided the village and carried the people away captive. And\nthe merchants were forced to follow him with the slaves.\n\nWhen the sheikh arrived at the Moudirieh, the Governor ordered him to\ndeliver up the men in whose possession he had found the slaves\u2014and\nthe sheikh forthwith had the two merchants led forward. Colonel\nG. was in a dilemma. Evidently the raider who had complained to\nhim was telling the truth, but all the slaves swore that they knew\nnothing of the man. Questioning was of no avail, and did not shake\ntheir evidence. Then the Moudir, turning suddenly to a little girl,\nasked her, \u201cWho told you to say that these two accused men raided\nyour village and took you away?\u201d The little girl instantly pointed\nto the sheikh and answered, \u201cPlease, sir, that man.\u201d\n\nThis decided the matter. Some time after, the body of the\nslave-dealer\u2019s companion was found. I did not hear what befell the\nsheikh, but the Moudir was not a man to be trifled with, and I have\nno doubt that justice was done.\n\nThe sheikh of Goratia came into camp to greet us, and afterwards\nsent us hot coffee, which was excellent. It is the most refreshing\ndrink of all after a tiring journey in the baking sunshine.\n\nIn this village we found a man who declared that he could act as\nguide to the junction of the Atbara and the River Salaam, a point\nwhich is of interest in connection with the all-important problem\nof water-storage and distribution. It has not been sketched or\nmapped\u2014indeed, I believe that no European has yet succeeded in\nreaching it, though the British officers in the Soudan have been\neager to discover the spot. My two companions arranged to start on the\nfollowing morning and endeavour to make a rough survey of the place.\n\nAt Goratia I obtained a photograph which shows clearly the amulet worn\nby almost all the Soudanese. The youth who wore it had been married\nabout a week, and the scars on his back illustrate a singular custom\namong the people. Sir Samuel Baker has described it.\n\n\u201cThere is but little lovemaking among the Arabs. The affair of\nmatrimony usually commences by a present to the father of the girl,\nwhich, if accepted, is followed by a similar advance to the girl\nherself, and the arrangement is completed. All the friends of both\nparties are called together for the wedding; pistols and guns are\nfired off, if possessed. There is much feasting, and the unfortunate\nbridegroom undergoes the ordeal of whipping by the relations of his\nbride, in order to test his courage. Sometimes this punishment is\nexceedingly severe, being inflicted with the coorbash or whip of\nhippopotamus hide, which is cracked vigorously about his ribs and\nback. If the happy husband wishes to be considered a man worth having,\nhe must receive the chastisement with an expression of enjoyment;\nin which case the crowds of women in admiration again raise their\nthrilling cry. After the rejoicings of the day are over, the bride is\nled in the evening to the residence of her husband, while a beating of\ndrums and strumming of guitars (rhababas) are kept up for some hours\nduring the night, with the usual discordant idea of singing.\u201d[111]\n\nIt is interesting to compare Mansfield Parkyns\u2019s description of\nthe mode of duelling in Dongola.\n\n\u201cThis duel is not a serious matter, but is engaged in by young\nmen on the slightest possible pretext, often merely to display their\nmanhood. An angareeb, under which a jar of beer is usually set (for\nrefreshment between the rounds), is placed between the combatants,\neach of whom is stripped to the waist, and armed with one of the\nformidable whips I have described\u201d (coorbash). \u201cAs soon as all\nis ready they begin, giving alternate stripes on each other\u2019s\nshoulders, but neither being allowed to evade or ward off a blow;\nthey continue this agreeable pastime for a very long time, till\none falls down exhausted from loss of blood and the punishment he\nhas received.\u201d[112]\n\nI spent a lazy day on March 1, watching the peaceful, patriarchal\nlife of the village, and especially the flocks and herds when they\ncame to the well to drink. Men, women, and boys all helped to fill\nthe cattle-troughs, which are made of baked mud. The surroundings\ndescribed in the book of Genesis seemed to have been preserved here\nwithout change of any kind.\n\nMy friends did not return on March 2, as they had expected. I took\nmy rifle and a guide and tried to bring home an ariel, but could\nnot approach within three hundred yards of the game. At about that\ndistance one was hit, but got away. On the 3rd the guide and I went\nin another direction. Creeping carefully up against the wind, I\naimed at a buck at three hundred yards\u2019 distance. He fell forward,\nburying his horns in the ground, when I fired, but was up again,\nand ran in a circle and then fell once more. I rushed forward to\ngive him the _coup-de-grace_, but he bolted over the brow of a hill\nat the top of his speed, and we lost sight of him. I wandered about\nseeking for his tracks, but could not find them in that tumbled\ncountry. Later I saw three more ariels, which ran into some dry\ngrass. We made a circuit, and presently came within sight of them\nagain. They were evidently on the alert. Under cover of a tree,\nI took a steady aim and hit a buck, who limped away and lay down,\nbut presently rose at eighty yards distance as we advanced, and I\nthen killed him by a shot through the heart. We covered the body\nwith branches to protect it from vultures, and carried the head into\ncamp. I kept the skin and the head, but gave the flesh to my guide,\nwho was much delighted. He went out on a donkey and cut the beast up,\nand distributed presents of meat among his friends.\n\n[Illustration: SOUDANESE WITH AMULETS.\n\n_See p._ 189.]\n\n[Illustration: AT THE WELL, GORATIA.\n\n_See p._ 190]\n\nMy companions returned half an hour after midday. They had had\ndifficulty in finding the course of the Atbara, and their camels\nhad been on the march eight hours when they reached it at a gorge\nin coarse sandstone rock, where the river forces its way through\na narrow cleft about twenty metres wide, between cliffs rising\nvertically from a profoundly deep pool. There they determined to\nencamp and spend the next day in attempting to find the junction\nof the rivers. To the great disappointment of all, they failed to\nachieve their purpose. The country in which they were is extremely\nwild. A lion had killed one of their camels in broad daylight. The\nboy who was in charge of the beasts while they browsed saw the lion\ncreep from the thick undergrowth, spring upon the camel and crush its\nskull with one blow of the paw. He screamed, and the lion walked off\ninto the scrub in which it had been concealed. The other camels were\nterrified, and would certainly have bolted in a panic if they had\nnot been hobbled. At night my friends heard hyenas running within\na dozen yards of their beds.\n\nThey had been much interested in watching the huge flocks of small\nbirds of the linnet kind which assembled half an hour before sunset\nand went to drink together in the pools of the Atbara. They come with\nan undulating flight, and, small as they are, the rushing of the wind\nas they beat the air makes a noise like thunder, and their numbers\ndarken the sky. The weight of the throngs of them which alight at\na time bends down the ends of the overhanging branches and twigs to\nthe level of the water. I had seen these flocks many times, and the\ncunning trick which the crocodile uses in preying upon them. This\nwas a point of Soudanese natural history which did not escape the\nobservation of Sir Samuel Baker.\n\n\u201cFew creatures are so sly and wary as the crocodile. I watch them\ncontinually as they attack the dense flocks of small birds that throng\nthe bushes at the water\u2019s edge. These birds are perfectly aware of\nthe danger, and they fly from the attack if possible. The crocodile\nthen quietly and innocently lies upon the surface, as though it\nhad appeared quite by an accident; it thus attracts the attention\nof the birds, and it slowly sails away to a considerable distance,\nexposed to their view. The birds, thus beguiled by the deceiver,\nbelieve that the danger is removed, and they again flock to the bush,\nand once more dip their thirsty beaks into the stream. Thus absorbed\nin slaking their thirst, they do not observe that their enemy is no\nlonger on the surface. A sudden splash, followed by a huge pair of\njaws beneath the bush that engulfs some dozens of victims, is the\nsignal unexpectedly given of the crocodile\u2019s return, who has thus\nslily dived, and hastened under cover of water to his victims. I\nhave seen the crocodiles repeat this man\u0153uvre constantly, they\ndeceive by a feigned retreat, and then attack from below.\u201d[113]\n\nThese birds fall a prey not only to crocodiles but to large fish\u2014of\nwhat species I am not sure\u2014which rise at them as other kinds rise\nat flies and snap them off the twigs. Besides, kites scout about\nthe outskirts of the flocks as they fly and pick up the stragglers.\n\nIn this part of the country we saw baobab trees only on the banks of\nthe river. Elsewhere, the trees are all mimosas and the undergrowth\nof the same order.\n\nOn the 4th we marched over a dead level of cotton soil to an abandoned\nvillage. We had to carry drinking-water, for the well at this place\nhad been filled up by the Dervishes. I have very little doubt that\nthis region is full of malaria in the wet season. Our camp was at\nthe foot of a rocky hill, on which we found abundance of guinea-fowl\nwhen we took out our guns late in the afternoon. On the following day\nwe saw herd after herd of ariel as we marched. They were extremely\ntame, and we passed within ten yards of some of them. The track\nwhich we followed brought us to the Atbara again, at the hamlet of\nAradeeb. This village was poverty-stricken and almost in a state of\nfamine. The aphis[114] had blighted the entire dhurra crop of the\ninhabitants. I could not discover how the people lived, but they\nseemed to bear their trouble uncomplainingly, and here as elsewhere\nappeared to be sincerely thankful for the peace and safety which the\nAnglo-Egyptian rule secures to them. In every village to which we\ncame we heard the same remark\u2014\u201cMiri quies,\u201d \u201cthe Government\nis good.\u201d I believe that this expression of opinion is perfectly\nsincere. If so, it is one of the greatest of the many great triumphs\nof British administration.\n\nThe course of the Atbara is much narrower here than at the point\nwhere we had left it, and the pools are deeper. They are not\nconnected by a current in the dry season. I judged that the stream\nwould be from twenty-five to thirty feet deep when the floods are at\ntheir height. The river runs, with a shingly bed, through a curious\nformation of coarse, gritty sandstone, which forms fine cliffs and\nnumerous rocky bars and barriers. The sandstone stratum extends to\nabout two-thirds of the height of the ravines, and the upper third\nconsists of the usual black-cotton soil.\n\nWhen the heat of the day was over I caught a couple of fish of\nabout three pounds and four pounds weight. They showed some sport\nand made very good eating. In the evening we should have rested in\nperfect contentment, after enjoying the luxury of a bath, if insects\nof various sorts had not swarmed upon us incessantly, crawling and\nbiting. Dupuis gave the sheikh of the village two sheep which we\nhad brought from Zegi. They suffered severely from the heat, and\nit seemed cruel to drive them further. Besides, we were glad to add\nsomething to the store of the villagers in their time of scarcity.\n\nOn March 6 we quitted Aradeeb. The old sheikh came to our camp to\nsee us start, and brought us hot coffee in which we ceremonially\ndrank \u201cpeace to the village.\u201d Throughout our journey on this\nday we followed the course of the river, constantly crossing gorges\nand khors. We reached Sofi at midday. This is the large village near\nwhich Sir Samuel Baker dwelt for five months in 1861. He has given\na very full and most interesting account of the surrounding district\nin \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia.\u201d There are rest-huts built\nof straw at Sofi, and we were glad to take refuge in them, though the\ntemperature within when we arrived was 107\u00b0 F. However, we were able\nto remove our helmets, and this we could not do in our tents in the\ndaytime as the sun penetrated the canvas. At night the temperature was\n98\u00b0 F., and a hot wind was blowing strongly. Towards evening I had\ntaken my rod to a pool in the river, but this unpleasant breeze had\nby that time ruffled the surface smartly, and I got no sport. I think\nthe fish lie quietly in shelter during these storms and do not feed.\n\nNext morning we left Sofi, passed through the village of Tomat,\nand about midday pitched our camp five miles beyond this place\nopposite to the \u201cmugra,\u201d that is the junction of the Settite\nand Atbara rivers. The two streams at the point of meeting have a\ncourse about a quarter of a mile broad. The bed of the Atbara is\nflat and there is much shingle in it. The sandstone formation has\ncome to an end, and the rocks which crop up here and there are of a\ngranitic character. Very little water was flowing in either river,\nbut a larger stream trickled in the Settite than in the other. We\ndid not stir far from camp in the afternoon, but shot sand-grouse\nas they came to drink in the pools.\n\nDuring the day we saw tracks of lions, hyenas, and monkeys\u2014grivets\nand baboons. The soil and the vegetation by the river were such as\nwe had seen on the previous marches. A lion came into the camp during\nthe night. We were sleeping in the open and heard him sniffing round\nour beds. I sang out to Dupuis, and asked him what was making the\nnoise. He struck a light, and the beast skulked off into the bush. My\ntwo friends snatched up their rifles and hurried off to see if he\nmeant to attack the camels. That, no doubt, had been his errand,\nfor he left us alone, though I saw his tracks within a yard of my bed\nnext morning. The camels, as usual, were gathered in circles near the\nmen\u2019s fires. They were hobbled, and I heard them stamping quickly\non the ground in their fright, making a strange pattering noise. I\nbelieve they only show fear in this way when they smell a lion.\n\nThe next day we marched to Khor Katout, a big ravine in the plain\nof the Atbara, which extends to the river. A hot wind had again\narisen, and was carrying quantities of dust with it. The journey was\nexceedingly unpleasant, and coolness was nowhere to be found. Khor\nKatout is a well-known haunt of lions, and we heard them roaring in\nthe night. On March 10 we arrived at the point where the road from\nGedaref to Kassala joins that on which we were travelling. Here\nthere is a \u201cnocter\u201d\u2014a military post, where five soldiers\nare stationed. At this place we found a rest-hut, in which we took\nshelter till three in the afternoon, and then marched on till six,\ncovering about nine miles in the three hours. Since we had left the\ncourse of the Atbara we had been obliged to send to the river for\nwater. It was brought in the \u201cfantassis.\u201d[115] This necessity\ndelayed us, and added to the petty troubles of the journey, but we\nexpected to reach the river bed again on the next day. That night\nmy sleeping-place in the open was within three or four yards of the\ntrack, and the moon was very bright. It was a most characteristic\nEastern sight, when, about nine o\u2019clock, some thirty camels passed\nalong the route at the foot of my bed, slowly and silently. They\ncarried no loads, and were probably returning from Kassala to Gedaref.\n\nOn the following day, as we marched, we saw spoor of lions and\nleopards among the mingled traces of hyenas, jackals, and many\nantelopes. We camped for the night at a very lonely spot on the Atbara\nwhich is called Khashim el Girba.[116] Here the river emerges from\na narrow, deep, rocky gorge where the width of its course in places\ndoes not exceed one hundred and twenty feet. The steep sides have\nbeen smoothed by the terrific rush of water in the rainy season. One\nof the pools in the bed of this cataract is very large, and uniformly\ndeep. I noticed that earth had lodged behind rocks which jutted from\nthe sides of the gorge, and a growth of mimosa scrub had established\nitself even in the shallow soil on these ledges. There is no village\nat Khashim el Girba, but it is a recognized camping-ground. Beyond\nthe narrows the Atbara broadens to a width of half a mile, and its\ncourse is divided by an island. Here, at the time of our visit, one\ncould wade across the river bed through a stream which reached the\nankles. The scene must be one of singular beauty and grandeur when\nthe floods are coming down from Abyssinia. We heard a lion roaring at\nnight, and there are numbers around this place, but they had plenty\nof game to prey upon and did not approach the camp.\n\nOn the morning of March 12 the Berthon boat was put together, and my\ncompanions took her, with some surveying gear, to the great pool in\nthe gorge. I followed and carried my angling-tackle. We rowed about\nhalf a mile up the course of the river upon this stretch of water,\nand then came to the narrowest part of the bed of the rapids. Here a\nvery large rock that has an accessible side juts out into the pool,\nin a most convenient position for survey work, and my companions began\nto take measurements, walking up a gravelly incline which seemed to\nhave been placed there for the purpose. Their object was to mark out a\ngauge which would show the rise and fall of the river during the flood\nseason in this gorge, where, of course, the movement is very clearly\nseen. My friends made the necessary marks in chalk at the time, and\nthese were afterwards chiselled in the rock by a mason, who was sent\ndown for the purpose. The gauge has since been connected by electric\nwire with Cairo, and since then in flood time the variations in the\ndepth of the Atbara have been telegraphed every other day to the\nIrrigation Department in the capital. This has proved to be a very\nsatisfactory arrangement. If an exceptionally heavy flood occurs,\nthe news is sent to Cairo immediately; warnings are then dispatched\nup and down the Nile so that all concerned may be prepared for the\nconsequent rise of the river, which will take place, say, in six\nweeks\u2019 time. The Irrigation Department and the landowners look\nto their culverts and strengthen weak parts of the banks, and all\nis in readiness when the flood comes. Formerly it was the custom to\npatrol the riverside night and day when an unusual rush of water was\nexpected, but the risk of disaster in Lower Egypt from this cause\nhas been almost ended by the operation of the dam at Assuan and the\nprecautions now taken.\n\nI tried my luck in the pool, where I saw many huge fish, but they did\nnot bite, though a number smelled at the spoon bait and some struck at\nit with their tails. I made attempts with other attractions, but the\ncopper spoon appeared to allure them most. Then I cast the line into\nseveral pools in vain, but presently, in the shallower part of the\nbig one, hooked a fish of about four pounds\u2019 weight, which fought\nhard, lashing the water, and plunging and keeping the reel busy. It\ntook me half an hour to play him into a shallow, and in the meanwhile\nmany big fish came up to see what was making the disturbance.\n\nI went back to the deeper part of the pool, and as soon as I had made\na cast, hooked one, whose first tug showed that he was a prize worth\nlanding. I feared that I should lose him, as my tackle was hardly\nstrong enough for a heavy catch, so I made up my mind to play him\nvery gently and tire him out, if possible. Away he went and round spun\nthe wheel. He hid under a ledge of rock, and I wound it gently. This\nstarted him again, and now he showed sport without a break for twenty\nminutes. After that, to my surprise, I brought him up quite close to\na shallow, and then I saw that I had hooked a real monster and had a\ngood chance of landing him. But it would be useless to try to get him\nashore without help, and I shouted and shouted again; for all the time\nhe was making dashes and stopping in exhaustion, and I was playing\nhim in nearer to the shallow. At last one of our boys came to aid me,\nand I saw that he was eager to help\u2014but the first thing that he\ndid was to rush into the water and grab my line! I yelled to him to\nleave it alone and strove to explain what he was to do. The next time\nmy prize came into the shallow his strength had nearly failed him,\nfor he rolled over and showed his white belly. It was a moment of\nexcitement when the black fellow slipped into the water and tried\nto catch hold of _the fish\u2019s tail_. I did nearly lose him then,\nbut he was almost spent; and after a great deal of shouting I made\nthe boy understand at last that he was to put his thumbs into the\nfish\u2019s gills on each side. At first he thought I wanted him to put\nhis fingers into its mouth, and was afraid. It took two men to lift\nmy fish on to dry ground, and I could hardly believe that the tackle\nhad held him; I was using a small trout-rod. From snout to tail he\nmeasured forty-five inches, and he had a girth of thirty inches. We\njudged his weight to be between fifty and sixty pounds. This species\n(_lates niloticus_) is called by the natives \u201cel baggar\u201d (the\ncow). It has been described by Sir S. Baker, who also published in\n\u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia\u201d a drawing of a fine specimen\nwhich he caught in the Atbara. My photograph shows that the fish which\nI landed does not altogether correspond to his description. It may\nbe that the Soudanese name covers more than one species, or there\nmay be considerable variation among members of the same species,\nbut I am inclined to think that the illustration in Sir S. Baker\u2019s\nbook was prepared from an imperfect sketch.\n\nDuring the morning we saw a troop of baboons. For a time they watched\nus. It was interesting to note their method of scouting. Here and\nthere one would climb a tree, scan the surroundings sharply, and then\ndescend quietly and join the main body. A few minutes later another\nwould renew the observation from another tree. In this manner they\nkeep a constant look-out. Mansfield Parkyns studied the habits of\nthese creatures in Abyssinia and has given a most interesting account\nof them.\n\n\u201cThe monkeys, especially the Cynocephali, who are astonishingly\nclever fellows, have their chiefs, whom they obey implicitly,\nand a regular system of tactics in war, pillaging expeditions,\nrobbing cornfields, etc. These monkey forays are managed with the\nutmost regularity and precaution. A tribe, coming down to feed\nfrom their village on the mountain (usually a cleft in the face\nof some cliff), brings with it all its members, male and female,\nold and young. Some, the elders of the tribe, distinguishable by\nthe quantity of mane which covers their shoulders, like a lion\u2019s,\ntake the lead, peering cautiously over each precipice before they\ndescend, and climbing to the top of every rock or stone which may\nafford them a better view of the road before them. Others have their\nposts as scouts on the flanks or rear; and all fulfil their duties\nwith the utmost vigilance, calling out at times, apparently to keep\norder among the motley pack which forms the main body, or to give\nnotice of the approach of any real or imagined danger. Their tones\nof voice on these occasions are so distinctly varied that a person\nmuch accustomed to watch their movements will at length fancy\u2014and\nperhaps with some truth\u2014that he can understand their signals.\n\n\u201cThe main body is composed of females, inexperienced males, and\nthe young people of the tribe. Those of the females who have small\nchildren carry them on their back. Unlike the dignified march of the\nleaders, the rabble go along in a most disorderly manner, trotting on\nand chattering, without taking the least heed of anything, apparently\nconfiding in the vigilance of their scouts. Here a few of the youth\nlinger behind to pick the berries off some tree, but not long, for\nthe rearguard coming up forces them to regain their places. There\na matron pauses for a moment to suckle her offspring, and, not to\nlose time, dresses its hair while it is taking its meal. Another\nyoung lady, probably excited by jealousy or by some sneering look\nor word, pulls an ugly mouth at her neighbour, and then, uttering a\nshrill squeal highly expressive of rage, vindictively snatches at\nher rival\u2019s leg with her hand, and gives her perhaps a bite in\nthe hind-quarters. This provokes a retort, and a most unladylike\nquarrel ensues, till a loud bark of command from one of the chiefs\ncalls them to order. A single cry of alarm makes them all halt and\nremain on the _qui vive_, till another bark in a different tone\nreassures them, and they then proceed on their march.\n\n\u201cArrived at the cornfields, the scouts take their position on\nthe eminences all round, while the remainder of the tribe collect\nprovision with the utmost expedition, filling their cheek-pouches as\nfull as they can hold, and then tucking the heads of corn under their\narmpits. Now, unless there be a partition of the collected spoil,\nhow do the scouts feed? for I have watched them several times, and\nnever observed them to quit for a moment their post of duty till it\nwas time for the tribe to return, or till some indication of danger\ninduced them to take flight. They show also the same sagacity in\nsearching for water, discovering at once the places where it is most\nreadily found in the sand, and then digging for it with their hands,\njust as men would, relieving one another in the work if the quantity\nof sand to be removed be considerable.\u201d[117]\n\nIn the afternoon Crawley shot a wild pig. I walked to the river again,\nbeing charmed by the lovely scenery, and as I approached saw numbers\nof crocodiles scuttle into the water. None was of great size. I doubt\nif any region in the world affords more varied sport than the valley\nof the Atbara. The climate is perfectly healthy in the dry season.\n\nOn March 13 we struck our camp in the afternoon and soon met the\nfirst European whom we had encountered since we left Gallabat. He was\na British officer on the way from Kassala to Gedaref, and he made\nmention of the slave-raids which had taken place since we left the\nlatter place. It seemed likely that the Arab Battalion would be kept\nbusy in holding the marauders in check. In the course of our march we\ncrossed the Atbara, at a point where it is about four hundred yards\nin breadth. Water that reached our ankles was trickling among the\nshingle in places. At sundown we arrived at a camping-ground called\nFashur, and halted for the night. Our dinner was \u201cbully beef\u201d\nand pickles\u2014neither a luxurious nor a prudent meal. We were now\nsuffering from heat eczema, which is most irritating in the cool of\nthe night. The baying of a hyena kept me awake for hours, and a bed\nin the Soudan is not a pleasant place for one who lies on it with\nan itching skin and listens to that dismal noise.\n\nOur camp at Fashur was very hot and dusty. In the afternoon of the\nnext day we started for a march of twenty-two miles, which would take\nus half the way from the Atbara to Kassala. We turned our backs to the\nriver and crossed a plain covered by dried grass and mimosa scrub,\nwhich is probably a swamp during the rainy season. Our tents were\npitched on the open, level ground after an exhausting journey, at the\nhalting-place ordinarily used by those who follow this track. There\nwere no habitations, and we saw none on the road. During the night\na detachment of the Arab Battalion passed our encampment, on its\nway to protect villages against slave-raiders.\n\nOn March 15 we arrived at the River Gash just outside Kassala. Its\ncourse here lies in a flat, sandy bed, which was quite dry. During\nthe journey\u2014eighteen and a half miles\u2014we saw eight ostriches. The\nGash, beyond Kassala, splits into numerous small streams which,\neven in the rainy season, sink into the ground and disappear\ncompletely. Sir Samuel Baker has given an account of the river at\nthat time of the year, which shows its importance in relation to\nproduce and water-supply in the district.\n\n\u201cAs we approached within about twenty-five miles of Kassala, I\nremarked that the country on our left was in many places flooded;\nthe Arabs, who had hitherto been encamped in this neighbourhood\nduring the dry season were migrating to other localities in the\nneighbourhood of Soojalup and Gozerajup with their vast herds of\ncamels and goats. As rain had not fallen in sufficient quantity to\naccount for the flood, I was informed that it was due to the river\nGash, or Mareb, which, flowing from Abyssinia, passed beneath the\nwalls of Kassala, and then divided into innumerable ramifications;\nit was eventually lost, and disappeared in the porous soil, after\nhaving flooded a large extent of country. This cause accounted for\nthe never-failing wells at Soojalup\u2014doubtless a substratum of clay\nprevented the total escape of the water, which remained at a depth\nof forty feet from the surface. The large tract of country thus\nannually flooded by the river Gash is rendered extremely fruitful,\nand is the resort of both the Hadendowa and the Hallonga Arabs\nduring the dry season, who cultivate large quantities of dhurra and\nother grain. Unfortunately, in these climates, fertility of soil is\ngenerally combined with unhealthiness, and the commencement of the\nrainy season is the signal for fevers and other maladies.\u201d[118]\n\n[Illustration: KASSALA HILL AND MARKET-PLACE.\n\n_See p._ 205.]\n\nWe were now close to the curious and isolated eminence called\nKassala Hill, which stands within the border-line of the colony of\nEritrea. We had seen this towering landmark when we were more than\nforty miles distant from it, and a whole day\u2019s travelling had seemed\nto bring us no nearer to it. It offers a splendid sight in the desert,\nwhen the setting sun shines on the bare pile of red granite. I was\ntold that in the days when the Italians occupied Kassala, Alpine\nclimbers, with elaborate paraphernalia, had attempted the ascent,\nbut failed in all cases to reach the summit. There is a superstition\namong the natives that any one who tries to scale the heights will\ndie shortly afterwards, and this belief has been confirmed among\nthem by the death of Colonel Collinson, a former Moudir of the town,\nwho made the last endeavour of which I heard, and succumbed to fever\nsix months afterwards.\n\nWe rose early next morning (March 16) and visited the British officers\nat the Moudirieh. Needless to say we were in touch with a civilized\n_cuisine_ again, and nothing teaches a man to appreciate a good\nlunch in a cool room like a journey in the desert. In the afternoon I\nvisited the hospital, which was in charge of Dr. Ensor. It is a most\ninstructive place to a medical man; for here patients are gathered\ntogether from all parts of the Eastern Soudan. And it affords a\nproof of the benefits of Anglo-Egyptian administration that is\nbeyond cavil. I saw cases of many interesting tropical diseases,\nabout which the doctor and I had a long talk in the evening. We dined\nat the mess of the 11th Battalion of the Egyptian army\u2014once more\namong our fellow-countrymen.\n\nOn the next day we visited Cristo\u2019s, the Whiteley\u2019s of Kassala,\nand made purchases for the remainder of the journey. At sundown\nI watched the 11th at tattoo. This regiment had a good band,\ncomposed of Soudanese blacks, and it gave one a lively pleasure to\nhear European music again, though I must admit that they played the\nOld Hundredth arranged as a march! In the evening the Governor had\na dinner-party in honour of St. Patrick\u2019s-day, and a number of\nofficers were present. The place might have been an Indian station\ninstead of Kassala.\n\nOn March 18 my companions left the camp very early, accompanied\nby another English soldier who was visiting the town, to make an\ninspection of the bed of the Gash above Kassala. In the evening they\nrode out in the opposite direction to see the end of its course\nin the tract in which it is absorbed. Possibly the subterranean\nwaters, free from evaporation, will afford an invaluable reservoir\nfor irrigation and the maintenance of stock in the future.\n\n[Illustration: THE MOUDIRIEH AT KASSALA.\n\n_See p._ 205.]\n\n[Illustration: TENTS PITCHED IN THE ENCLOSURE OF THE MOUDIRIEH\nAT KASSALA.\n\n_See p._ 205.]\n\nThe Governor of Kassala had a small black servant, about thirteen\nyears of age, called Fadl Mullah (Courtesy of the Prophet). The lad\nhad been picked up in a deserted Dervish trench during the battle of\nthe Atbara, where he was found tied to a dead camel and covered with\nblood. The Governor told us that he was \u201cas sharp as a needle\u201d\nand most zealous in service, never sleeping in the afternoon, and\nalways running when he was sent upon an errand. He only gave trouble\nin one way, and this was that once in every two months or so he would\ncome to the Moudir and declare that he had found his father. When the\nputative parent had disclaimed the bond, and the Governor had said\nthat he would hear no more about it, the boy would acquiesce. But\nhe was sure to discover another \u201cfather\u201d a few weeks later.\n\nWhile we were at Kassala an Italian officer arrived in the town from\nEritrea. No one had received notice of his coming, and no one seemed\nto know what his business was. I sat next to him one night at dinner,\nand he told me that he was a lieutenant in the Mountain Artillery, and\nwas using his leave to make a journey to the junction of the Atbara\nand Settite Rivers. He would return thence direct to his battery.\n\nOn the 20th we struck our camp and left Kassala in the afternoon,\nturning our faces towards the Atbara again. We had the pleasure of the\ncompany of the Governor and another English officer during the next\ntwo days\u2019 journeys, which were hot, tiring, and uneventful. We bade\nfarewell to our friends on the afternoon of the 22nd. On the following\nday we marched in the direction of the Goz Regeb hill. This singular\nrise of ground in the desert appeared and disappeared as we moved down\nimperceptible slopes and then ascended again. We saw the mirage all\naround us. The soil in this region was shingly. At Goz Regeb there\nwas a two-roomed rest-house. It was of baked mud, and was the most\nsolid building that we had seen since we left Khartoum. We had been\ntold at Kassala that it belonged to the Slavery Department, and that\nwe might make use of it as it was then unoccupied. That night there\nwas a high wind, and among its _ludibria_, was Crawley\u2019s sponge,\nwhich, oddly enough, was found next day in the Atbara about half a\nmile from our halting-place.\n\nOn March 24 Dupuis climbed Goz Regeb Hill and took photographs of the\ncurious balanced granite blocks which stand upon it. At a distance\nmany of them look like figures of men, and at a nearer range like\nworn statues. But it is certain that they have not been placed in\ntheir position by human agency. I am unable to offer any conjecture\nas to their origin or geological relation to their surroundings.\n\nAn incursion of great numbers of Arabs from the south, with their\nflocks and herds, into the region around Goz Regeb takes place\nregularly at the commencement of the rainy season. They are then\ncompelled to come to this district to avoid the seroot fly[119]\u2014the\ntsetse of the Soudan\u2014which is fatal to all live stock except\ngoats. Obviously, this necessary migration is an important fact both\nin relation to politics and campaigning in the Soudan. Sir S. Baker\ncame in contact with the movement northward.\n\n[Illustration: GOZ REGEB GRANITE STONE, MIMOSA SCRUB IN THE DISTANCE.\n\n_See p._ 208.\n\n_From a Photograph by Mr. C. E. Dupuis._]\n\n[Illustration: GOZ REGEB STONES.\n\n_See p._ 208.\n\n_From a Photograph by Mr. C. E. Dupuis._]\n\n\u201cThe commencement of the rainy season was a warning to all the Arabs\nof this country, who were preparing for their annual migration to the\nsandy and firm desert on the west bank of the river, at Gozerajup;\nthat region, so barren and desolate during the hot season, would\nshortly be covered with a delicate grass about eighteen inches\nhigh. At that favoured spot the rains fell with less violence, and\nit formed a nucleus for the general gathering of the people with\ntheir flocks.\n\n\u201cThe burning sun, that for nine months had scorched the earth,\nwas veiled by passing clouds; the cattle that had panted for water,\nand whose food was withered straw, were filled with juicy fodder;\nthe camels that had subsisted upon the dried and leafless twigs and\nbranches, now feasted upon the succulent tops of the mimosas. Throngs\nof women and children mounted upon camels, protected by the peculiar\ngaudy saddle hood, ornamented with cowrie shells, accompanied the\nmarch: thousands of sheep and goats, driven by Arab boys, were\nstraggling in all directions; baggage-camels, heavily laden with\nthe quaint household gods, blocked up the way; and fine bronzed\nfigures of Arabs, with sword and shield, and white topes or plaids,\nguided their milk-white dromedaries through the confused throng with\nthe usual placid dignity of their race, simply passing by with the\nusual greeting, \u2018_Salaam Aleikum_\u2019 (Peace be with you).\n\n\u201cIt was the Exodus; all were hurrying towards the promised\nland\u2014the \u2018land flowing with milk and honey,\u2019 where men and\nbeasts would be secure not only from the fevers of the south,\nbut from that deadly enemy to camels and cattle, _the fly_; this\nterrible insect drove all before it.\u201d[120]\n\nDuring the wet season the Mouderir (Government) of Kassala is\ntransferred to new buildings which have recently been erected for its\nreception at the village of Goz Regeb, and there is a general movement\nof the Europeans and the wealthier native inhabitants of the town to\nthe same place. The exercise of jurisdiction and the collection of\nrevenue in this region are made difficult by the annual migration of\nwhich Sir Samuel Baker wrote. Great numbers of people from different\nparts of the country collect now, as in former days, within one\ndistrict in a very short space of time, the comminglement of flocks\nand herds adds to the confusion, and it is no simple administrative\ntask to deal with a shifting population of this magnitude. If the\nseroot fly were exterminated, as certain species of noxious African\nmosquitoes have been, this yearly exodus would no longer take place.\n\nOn March 25, we camped beside the river at a pleasant place well\nshaded by trees. I took my rod to a pool and landed a couple of fish,\none about six pounds and the other twelve pounds in weight. They\nwere of the same species as my fifty-pound prize, and both showed\nfight. They came into shallow water after plenty of coaxing, and\nI got them ashore without aid. My experience that evening shows\nthat a diary is kept with difficulty in the Soudan. I sat on my bed\nto write the notes of the day, and held a candle aloft in my left\nhand to keep it out of reach of the draughts which blew the flame\nin all directions if I lowered it. With the right hand I used my\npencil, and kept clearing away the insects that flew upon my face\nand swarmed about the light. They seemed to exercise no choice, but\nflew indifferently into one\u2019s mouth or eyes or into the flame, and\nthey were nastiest when moribund, but still active, after resolutely\npassing through the fire.\n\n[Illustration: ROCKS AT GOZ REGEB.\n\n_See p._ 208.\n\n_From a Photograph by Mr. C. E. Dupuis._]\n\n[Illustration: ROCKS ON GOZ REGEB HILL.\n\n_See p._ 208.\n\n_From a Photograph by Mr. C. E. Dupuis._]\n\nOn the 26th we halted, after marching from five in the morning\ntill eleven, at a spot a few miles distant from the river, where\nthere are three rest-houses\u2014one for the chiefs of the party\nwhich is travelling, one for the servants, and one to serve as\nkitchen. Gazelles were plentiful in this district, but we were\nunable to use our rifles on account of the throng of Arabs, cattle,\nand sheep in the neighbourhood. It was interesting to watch the\nmanner in which the goats feed at this season. They are tended\nby half-naked Soudanese boys who carry long crooked staves. With\nthese they pull down the branches of the mimosas, and the goats\nbrowse the leaves and twigs. They also stand upon their hind legs,\nresting their forelegs upon boughs, and so reach the foliage,\nkeeping the branches down with their hoofs, while they eat the\nsucculent new shoots. When they are seen from a distance in this\nattitude they exactly resemble people. In this region the villages\nare very small\u2014mere hamlets consisting of a few huts, and very\nlittle ground is under cultivation. The land is used for pasture\nthroughout the district, and is apparently common to all comers.\n\nOn March 27, we travelled about thirteen miles and halted at a\nrest-house. We had reached a zone of lower temperature\u2014the maximum\nat midday was 89\u00b0\u2014and the journeys were no longer unpleasant. The\nriverside scenery is interesting and beautiful in the lower as well\nas in the higher reaches, and the dome-palms become more numerous as\none advances northward and add to the charm of the banks. There was no\nother vegetation when we saw the country except low-grown mimosas and\nmimosa-scrub. Sand stretches away on either side from the course of\nthe river, and we crossed few khors after leaving Goz Regeb, for the\nrainfall in this region is absorbed in the soil and is insufficient\nto produce torrents which would scour a course towards the stream.\n\nIn the afternoon I took my fishing-tackle and tried my fortune in\na pool from which I landed two fish, one of about fifteen pounds\nand one of about five pounds, and a crocodile tried his luck upon\nthe bank and nearly caught a man. Before I set out with my rod\nI had been warned by the sheikh of the village near which we had\nencamped that the beasts were very dangerous in this part of the\nAtbara, and I kept a good look-out for signs of them. It happened,\nhowever, that just as I had made a cast, Dupuis, who had been out\nwith his rifle, passed behind me and sang out, \u201cHave you caught\nanything?\u201d I stepped back briskly, as good luck would have it,\nand answered, \u201cHave _you_ shot anything?\u201d and at the instant\nthe crocodile lashed at my legs with its tail to strike me into the\nwater. It had been awaiting its chance to take me off my guard, and\nI had had no inkling of danger. I judged the length of the reptile\nto be about twelve feet. It certainly had a sound sporting plan and\nmade a smart dash; for it only missed me by a few inches. The tails\nof these creatures are very powerful, and if the one that had been\nstalking me had judged distance a little better, I should certainly\nhave been knocked into the pool.\n\nA little later I heard in Cairo that a week after my adventure, a\nwoman, who was filling a water-sack close to the place where I had\nstood, turned round to answer some men who were exchanging chaff with\nher; as she did so, a crocodile struck her on the hip with its tail,\nlashed her some distance into the water, and immediately dragged her\nunder. I was told that they use the tail-trick only with human beings\nand always seize beasts by the snout. But this account does not quite\nagree with the observations of Sir S. Baker, who made a very careful\nstudy of the habits of the crocodiles in the rivers of the Soudan.\n\n[Illustration: A MIRAGE, SHOWING GOZ REGEB HILL IN THE DISTANCE,\nALSO NUMEROUS GAME TRACKS.\n\n_See p._ 208.]\n\n\u201cThe crocodile perceives, while it is floating on the surface in mid\nstream, or from the opposite side of the river, a woman filling her\ngirba,[121] or an animal drinking, etc. Sinking immediately, it swims\nperhaps a hundred yards nearer, and again appearing for an instant\nupon the surface, it assures itself of the position of its prey by a\nstealthy look; once more it sinks, and reaches the exact spot above\nwhich the person or animal may be. Seeing distinctly through the\nwater, it generally makes its fatal rush from beneath\u2014sometimes\nseizing with its jaws, and at other times striking the object into\nthe water with its tail, after which it is seized and carried off.\n\n\u201cThe crocodile does not attempt to swallow a large prey at once,\nbut generally carries it away, and keeps it for a considerable time\nin its jaws in some deep hole beneath a rock, or the root of a tree,\nwhere it eats it at leisure.\u201d[122]\n\nThe fish which I had caught were of the same species as those\nwhich I had previously landed, and proved very good at table in the\nevening. It was our custom to dress for dinner\u2014in pyjamas.\n\nOn March 28 our journey lay through the desert, and reminded us of\nour first marches towards Gedaref. The river banks with their dome\npalms were the only landmark. Elsewhere nothing was to be seen but\nsand, with patches of thinly-growing, very coarse grass or low mimosa\nscrub here and there, and mirage all around us.\n\nNext day we travelled twenty-one miles to Adarama. On the way we\npassed at a distance a great zareba prepared by Osman Digna. This\nwas protected by double walls, each about twelve feet high. There\nis an interval of some three feet between the two. They enclose a\nsquare space of sandy ground, and the sides have a length of about\nthree hundred yards. The Dervish leader intended to occupy it after\nthe battle of the Atbara. The defences are now slowly falling to\npieces; for the walls are made of sun-dried mud, and as this becomes\nweatherworn and crumbles the wind carries it away, leaving gaps in the\nramparts. The sight symbolizes much. Adarama was formerly one of the\nlarge towns of the Soudan, but now consists of a few mud huts. There\nis also a small garrison of about twenty soldiers. The place lies\nhalfway between Gozerajup and Berber, and has a pleasant rest-house\namong the palm-trees close to the river. The bed of the Atbara is\nsandy here, and the average breadth is about four hundred yards.\n\nOn March 30 we reached Gumaza. I had the luck to bring down a fine\nbuck gazelle while we were on the road. In the evening Dupuis and I\nmade practice at the crocodiles in the river, and their numbers were\nshown by the commotion that they made in the pools. The next day we\npushed on across the desert towards Berber and slept in the open. On\nApril 1 our road lay through similar country. Sometimes a gazelle\nwould scamper away in the distance, but often nothing was to be seen\nbut sand and mirage. And then suddenly we were confronted by vestiges\nof civilization. When we were not far from the Atbara battle-field\nwe saw the unmistakable traces of a traction engine. About eleven\no\u2019clock dome palms were in sight, and we reached a rest-house beside\nthe river half an hour later. After lunch we heard the jerky puffing\nof a petrol motor, and rushed out to see what was approaching. It was\na heavy engine dragging a car, and the tracks which we had discerned\nwere accounted for. The Englishman in charge told us that he had\ncarried a tombstone to the battlefield; it had been erected on an\nofficer\u2019s grave. He added that he could travel six miles an hour\nin the desert, but that petrol was very expensive in Berber, where\nit cost ten shillings a gallon; so he had come to the rest-house to\nawait a troop of forty mules, which were to drag the engine and car\nback to the town.\n\n[Illustration: LORD KITCHENER\u2019S BRIDGE OVER THE ATBARA, NEAR BERBER.\n\n_See p._ 214.]\n\nOn April 2 we reached the bridge over the Atbara\u2014_monumentum \u00e6re\nperennius_, if Lord Kitchener\u2019s energy and perseverance receive\ntheir deserts from posterity. It was strange to us to see a railway\ntrain, and hear the whistle of a locomotive once more. On the next day\nwe arrived at Berber. Here we were in full contact with civilization,\nand here, practically, the duties of the expedition ended, for we\nfollowed the ordinary train and steamer route to our journey\u2019s\nend. Here, too, I will take leave of my reader, hoping that the long\nexcursion from Khartoum has not wearied him, and will only add my\nconviction that a splendid future lies before the Eastern Soudan,\nand before Abyssinia, _after_ the clouds have gathered over that\ncountry and burst.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n\n[Footnote 1: A khor is a gully or gorge formed by the rush of rain\nin the wet season. It is a watercourse at that time, but a dry ravine\nduring the rest of the year.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Kneel.]\n\n[Footnote 3: These bottles were of aluminium covered with felt. Before\nwe started on the day\u2019s march, the felt was soaked in water,\nand the evaporation from it tended to keep the drinking supply cool.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Lieutenant-Colonel.]\n\n[Footnote 5: Governor.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Chief baggage-man.]\n\n[Footnote 7: This trill is maintained on the same note\u2014the upper B\nflat of the feminine vocal compass\u2014and is produced by a vibration\nof the tip of the tongue on the hard palate. Many European ladies\nhave tried to give a rendering of it, but without success. In Lower\nEgypt the \u201cjoy-trilling\u201d is called _zungareet_.]\n\n[Footnote 8: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d 1867, p. 525.]\n\n[Footnote 9: Ib. p. 523.]\n\n[Footnote 10: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d 1868, p. 101]\n\n[Footnote 11: \u201cThe great plain comes to an end within a few miles\nof Gedaref, the ground becomes uneven and rocky, and Gedaref itself\nis situated in an open valley surrounded by bare hills of basaltic\nrock.\u201d\u2014Sir W. Garstin, \u201cReport upon the Basin of the Upper\nNile,\u201d 1904.]\n\n[Footnote 12: \u201cThe shotel (sword) is an awkward-looking\nweapon. Some, if straight, would be nearly four feet long; they\nare two-edged, and curved to a semicircle, like a reaper\u2019s\nsickle. It is a very clumsy weapon to manage. Many of the swords\nare made of the soft iron of the country and bend on the least\nstress. The handles are made of the horn of the rhinoceros, sawn\ninto three longitudinal pieces, and incised so as to end in sharp\npoints parallel to the blades. The shank is usually clinched over\na half-dollar beaten convex. I should scarcely mind a blow from a\nsword thus mounted, as, were the striker to give his wrist any play,\nin order to make his cut at all effective, he could not fail sending\none of the highly ornamental but very useless points of his hilt\ninto his own wrist. . . . In the use of the gun the natives are in\ngeneral exceedingly clumsy. They prefer large, heavy matchlocks,\nto load which is a labour of some minutes. They carry their powder\nin hollow canes fitted into a leathern belt worn round the waist;\nand, having no fixed charge, pour out at hazard a small quantity into\nthe hand. This they measure with the eye, occasionally putting back\na little if it appear too much, or adding a little if it seem not\nenough. After this operation has been performed two or three times,\ntill they are pretty well satisfied as to the quantity, it is poured\ninto the gun-barrel. The proper charge is now tested by the insertion\nof the ramrod. Lastly, when all is settled, some rag and a small bar\nor ball of roughly wrought iron are rammed down. This last operation\n(with the exception that the ramrod often sticks in the rag for half\nan hour) is not difficult, as the ball is made of about a quarter\nof an inch less diameter than the bore of the piece for which it is\nintended. It is great fun to see these gunners, when taken unawares\nby a sudden alarm; one can\u2019t find his flint, another has lost his\nsteel; then there is the striking of a light, blowing the match,\npriming the gun, fixing the match to a proper length and direction;\nand, lastly, sticking into the ground the rest, which nearly all of\nthem use, especially if their piece be of the heavy description. There\nis one thing in their favour\u2014that the mere sound of driving in\nthe rest is generally sufficient to turn away the bravest Abyssinian\ncavalry that ever charged.\u201d\u2014Mansfield Parkyns, pp. 236, 241.]\n\n[Footnote 13: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas in Abyssinia,\u201d by\nRev. H. Stern, 1862.]\n\n[Footnote 14: \u201cNarrative of a Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d by\nHenry Dufton, 1867.]\n\n[Footnote 15: Dufton, pp. 16, 17.]\n\n[Footnote 16: Ib. pp. 35, 36.]\n\n[Footnote 17: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d 1867,\npp. 356-357.]\n\n[Footnote 18: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d p. 182.]\n\n[Footnote 19: For a variety of reasons\u2014some of them creditable\u2014a\nnumber of Abyssinians abandon their allegiance to Menelek and the\nRases (chiefs) and become subject to Anglo-Egyptian jurisdiction.]\n\n[Footnote 20: \u201cKing of Kings,\u201d title of the Abyssinian monarch.]\n\n[Footnote 21: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d p. 502.]\n\n[Footnote 22: Mansfield Parkyns has given a full and careful\ndescription of the national costume. I extract the following details\nfrom it:\u2014\u201cThe \u2018quarry\u2019 is the principal article of Abyssinian\ndress: it is of cotton, and very fine and soft; those of the richer\nbeing finer but probably not so serviceable as those of the poorer\nclass. It is made in three pieces; each piece is about three feet\nbroad by fifteen feet long. Near both ends of each piece is a red\nstripe, five or six inches broad.\u201d The pieces are sewn together\nso as to form \u201ca white double cloth, with a red border near the\nbottom only; the breadth of the \u2018quarry\u2019 is nine feet by seven\nand a half long. . . . The methods of putting on the cloth are as\nvarious as the modes of wearing a Highland plaid. One of the most\nordinary ways is first to place it like a cloak over the shoulders:\nthe right end, which is purposely left the longer, is then thrown\nover the left shoulder, and the bottom border, which would otherwise\n(from its length) trail on the ground, is gathered over the right\nshoulder\u201d (\u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 228, 229). \u201cThe trousers\nare of a soft textured but rather coarse cotton stuff, made in\nthe country, and are of two sorts: one called \u2018c\u00e1llis,\u2019 the\nother \u2018coumta.\u2019 The former reaches half-way down the calf of\nthe leg, the latter to about three or four inches above the knee\u201d\n(ib. pp. 225, 226). The other garment worn by the men is a belt. These\ncinctures \u201cvary in length from fifteen to sixty yards, and are about\none yard in width. In quantity of cotton they are nearly all of the\nsame weight, as the very long ones are in proportion finer than the\nshorter\u201d (ib. p. 227). With regard to feminine dress, \u201cthere is a\ndistinguishing costume for young girls, and for those who, from being\nmarried or otherwise, are no longer considered as such. The dress of\nthe former is indeed rather slight, though far more picturesque than\nthat of the latter. . . . The girls merely wear a piece of cotton\nstuff wrapped round the waist and hanging down almost to the knee,\nand another (or the end of the former, if it be long enough) thrown\nover the left shoulder, so as to leave the right arm and breast\nexposed. In other parts of Tigre a black goat-skin, ornamented with\ncowries, is often substituted for this latter. An ordinary woman\nwears a large loose shirt down to the feet, with sleeves made tight\ntowards the wrist. This, with a \u2018quarry\u2019 similar to those of the\nmen, but worn rather differently, and a parasol when out of doors,\nis a complete suit\u201d (ib. pp. 241-243). Parkyns thus describes the\nsystem of hairdressing: \u201cIn general, neither sex wears any covering\non the head, preferring to tress and butter that with which nature\nhas provided them. The hair of the Abyssinians is admirably adapted\nfor this purpose, being neither short and crisp like a negro\u2019s,\nnor yet of the soft elasticity of a European\u2019s, but between\nthe two. . . . The operation of tressing is a very tedious one,\nusually occupying an hour or two per head: therefore, of course,\nit is repeated as seldom as possible: by some great dandies once a\nfortnight: by others once a month, or even less frequently. In the\ninterim large supplies of fresh butter are employed, when obtainable,\nin order to prevent the chance of a settlement of vermin; and a\npiece of stick, like a skewer, is used for scratching. The hair is\ngathered in plaits close over the whole surface of the head, the\nlines running fore and aft, and the ends hanging down in ringlets\nover the neck. . . . Some ladies have their butter daubed on nicely,\nand then some scent: but the great \u2018go\u2019 among the dandies is to\nappear in the morning with a huge pat of butter (about two ounces)\nplaced on the top of the head, which, as it gradually melts in\nthe sun, runs over the hair and down the neck, over the forehead,\nand often into the eyes, thereby causing much smarting. This last\ningression, however, the gentleman usually prevents by wiping his\nforehead frequently with his hand or the corner of his \u2018quarry.\u2019\nAs may be imagined, the dresses neither of the women nor men are long\nfree from grease; but this, especially among the latter sex, is of\nno importance; indeed, many young men among the soldiery consider a\nclean cloth as \u2018slow,\u2019 and appropriate only for a townsman or a\nwoman. These never have their quarries washed from one St. John\u2019s\nDay to another\u201d (ib. pp. 243-245).]\n\n[Footnote 23: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 248.]\n\n[Footnote 24: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 282.]\n\n[Footnote 25: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d by Herbert Vivian, 1901, pp. 314-327.]\n\n[Footnote 26: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 418.]\n\n[Footnote 27: Guard-house.]\n\n[Footnote 28: \u201cOn one occasion we had a small adventure. We were\nresting one night near the summit of a mountain, when about two hours\nbefore daybreak we were awaked by a loud hubbub and the discharge\nof a gun. Starting to our feet, we inquired what was up, and our\nanxiety was increased by M. Lejean\u2019s Arab seizing the second gun\nand discharging it. All I saw, for it was pitch dark, was one of the\nmules kicking about amongst the ashes of a half-extinguished fire,\nand endeavouring to extricate himself from the leather thong which\nbound his head to a tree. This he soon succeeded in doing, and went\noff at a furious rate towards the woods which clothe the sides of\nthe mountain. I thought he had burnt himself at the fire, and that\nthis was the cause of his breaking loose, but the rest maintained\nthat he had been bitten by the hyenas: and they were right, for at\ndaybreak we saw and gave chase to one of these brutes, who was still\nprowling about. These creatures were much bolder here than near the\nvillages. As we were sleeping in the open air, with our faces exposed,\nit was fortunate for us that the hyenas preferred trying mule\u2019s\nflesh to man\u2019s. We heard afterwards that the mule had returned to\nGallabat, a distance of forty miles, but was so severely bitten in\nthe flank that he was perfectly useless.\u201d (Dufton, \u201cA Journey\nthrough Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 48, 49.)]\n\n[Footnote 29: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 515, 516.]\n\n[Footnote 30: \u201cThe word \u2018Habash\u2019 (the native name for\nAbyssinian) means, I believe, a \u2018mixture\u2019 in the Giz language\u2014a\nmixture of various qualities of corn goes by that name in some of\nthe provinces of Tigre. It is supposed by some that a great number\nof Jews followed the Queen of Sheba, on her return from her visit\nto Solomon, and that a large colony of fugitives also took refuge\nin Abyssinia about the time of the destruction of the temple and\nthe captivity. Subsequently the Greeks sent missionaries, and they\nwere doubtless accompanied by adventurers; and the Portuguese sent\na number of troops, some of whom remained in the country for many\nyears. The variety of complexion, observable in both sexes, is, I\nshould think, attributable to the mixture of races of which the nation\nis composed.\u201d (Mansfield Parkyns, \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 224.)]\n\n[Footnote 31: That most resourceful of travellers, Sir Samuel\nBaker, once put an ant-hill of this kind to a singular use. The\nincident may be new to some of my readers. The explorer wished to\nmake soap in the Soudan. \u201cI had neither lime nor potash, but I\nshortly procured both. The hegleek-tree (_Balanites Egyptiaca_)\nwas extremely rich in potash; therefore I burned a large quantity,\nand made a strong ley with the ashes; this I concentrated by\nboiling. There was no lime-stone; but the river produced a plentiful\nsupply of large oyster-shells, that, if burned, would yield excellent\nlime. Accordingly I constructed a kiln, with the assistance of the\nwhite ants. The country was infested with these creatures, which had\nerected their dwellings in all directions; these were formed of clay\nso thoroughly cemented by a glutinous preparation of the insects,\nthat it was harder than sun-baked brick. I selected an egg-shaped\nhill, and cut off the top, exactly as we take off the slice from an\negg. My Tokrooris then worked hard, and with a hoe and their lances,\nthey hollowed it out to the base, in spite of the attacks of the ants,\nwhich punished the legs of the intruders considerably. I now made a\ndraught-hole from the outside base, at right-angles with the bottom\nof the hollow cone. My kiln was perfect.\u201d (\u201cThe Nile Tributaries\nof Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 424, 425.)]\n\n[Footnote 32: I have seen living trees of the height of ninety feet,\nthe bark of which had been entirely converted into a layer of \u201cwhite\nant earth.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 33: \u201cMy sight was now delighted by frequent views of the\nsummits of the Simyen mountains, thickly covered with snow. As this\nwas the month of April, one of the hottest, I can easily believe that\nsome of these mountains are never free, but are within the region\nof perpetual winter. They are the highest in Abyssinia, attaining\nan elevation of fifteen thousand feet in Aboo Yared, the loftiest\npeak.\u201d (Dufton, \u201cA Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d p. 196.) The\nheights of Simyen lie north-east of Lake Tsana, between the lake\nand Adowa.]\n\n[Footnote 34: \u201cThe Geerar is a typical mountain river in a country\nconsisting almost wholly of impervious basaltic and granite rocks;\nit is evidently a furious torrent after rain, but dry except for\nthe merest trickle at other times; it runs in a deep narrow valley,\nshut in, hot, and airless, and probably very unhealthy.\u201d (Sir\nW. Garstin, \u201cReport upon the Basin of the Upper Nile,\u201d 1904.)]\n\n[Footnote 35: \u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in\nDeutschland,\u201d vol. iii., 1881.]\n\n[Footnote 36: These are the \u201cMaria Theresa\u201d dollars. \u201cThe Maria\nTheresa dollar is a facsimile of the coin of 1780. It is still issued\nby the Austrian Government, and circulates as a trade coin nearly all\nover Africa. Though roughly about the size of a five-shilling piece,\nit only exchanges for a little more than its intrinsic value, which\nwas about 1_s._ 11_d._ when I left Africa.\u201d (\u201cAbyssinia,\u201d\nby Herbert Vivian, 1901, p. 239.) Dufton wrote, with regard to\nAbyssinian marketing: \u201cThe Maria Theresa dollar is the only coin\nused in these transactions under the name of _bir_ (silver). This\npiece must be of a certain kind, however, containing the spots which\nform the queen\u2019s tiara, and other marks clearly defined; for which\nreason it is called by the Arabs of the Soudan Abou Nukter, or father\nof spots.\u201d (\u201cA Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d p. 61.) Mr. Vivian\ngives the following table of Abyssinian currency:\u2014\n\n  4 cartridges  = 1 salt\n\n  4 salts       = 1 Maria Theresa dollar\n\nThe \u201csalt\u201d is a bar of that mineral, which is ordinarily carried\nand used in lieu of coin. I found that its value was, roughly,\nsixpence, as Mr. Vivian says. At an earlier date its purchasing power\nseems to have been less. \u201cPieces of salt, called _tsho_, are the\nmonetary medium throughout the greater part of Abyssinia. This salt\nis obtained from extensive mines in the country of the Danakil, where\nit is cut into small blocks, eight inches long by one inch and a half\nin breadth, each of which is of a variable market value of between\ntwopence and threepence.\u201d (\u201cA Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d\npp. 61, 62.) Evidently there has been \u201cappreciation of salt\u201d in\nthe land of the Negus since 1862, when Mr. Dufton visited it.]\n\n[Footnote 37: \u201cA Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 47, 48.]\n\n[Footnote 38: See p. 179.]\n\n[Footnote 39: Psalm lxxiii. 18.]\n\n[Footnote 40: Chieftain. As in the feudal times in Europe there is a\nchain of allegiance\u2014often enough broken\u2014between the king and the\nmass of his subjects. This Ras was the \u201cDeputy\u2019s\u201d feudal chief.]\n\n[Footnote 41: Consul Plowden (1848-60), quoted in \u201cAbyssinia and\nits people,\u201d by J. C. Hotten, 1868, pp. 130, 135.]\n\n[Footnote 42: See map.]\n\n[Footnote 43: \u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in\nDeutschland,\u201d vol. iii. p. 32.]\n\n[Footnote 44: \u201cAbyssinia and its People,\u201d by J. C. Hotten, 1868,\np. 128.]\n\n[Footnote 45: Mr. MacMillan, describing some of the incidents of\nhis recent expedition to the upper reaches of the Blue Nile, told\nan interviewer: \u201cWe were roused at four in the morning by the wild\nscreams of one of our people (a Somali), who had been seized by a big\ncrocodile, which had crawled up the rocks. The brute had seized his\nvictim by the head and dragged him to the water\u2019s edge. By throwing\nstones at the crocodile we succeeded in making him leave the Somali,\nwho, though terribly mauled, eventually recovered.\u201d\u2014_Egyptian\nGazette_, October 21, 1903. Mr. MacMillan told me subsequently in\nconversation that the Somali, when he was attacked, was sleeping with\nhis head on his arm, and that the crocodile seized both head and arm,\nwith the result that the Somali put his finger in the crocodile\u2019s\neye. Mr. MacMillan was inclined to believe that this action made the\nreptile release the man. The guns and ammunition of the expedition\nhad all been lost, and were at the bottom of the river, and the\nnight was pitch dark.]\n\n[Footnote 46: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 383 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 47: Native bread. \u201cThe chief corn of the country is\n\u2018teff\u2019 and \u2018d\u00e1gousha,\u2019 if, indeed, we may venture to include\nthese under the head of corn; for they both resemble different sorts\nof grass, and the seed is not larger than rape or canary seed. Of\neach of these there are various qualities, esteemed according to their\ncolour, white, red, or black. White \u2018teff\u2019 bread is preferred by\nall natives even to wheat bread. . . . The \u2018teff\u2019 is considered\nby the Abyssinians wholesome and digestible; but so far from being\nsatisfied of this, I am doubtful of its containing much nutritious\nproperty; and as for its taste, only fancy yourself chewing a piece\nof sour sponge, and you will have a good idea of what is considered\nthe best bread in Abyssinia.\u201d (Parkyns, \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d\npp. 198-200.)]\n\n[Footnote 48: In other parts of Abyssinia \u201cthere are also two\nkinds, one a very large one and another of Jersey size, that show\nabsolutely no trace of an Eastern origin, and are as straight-backed\nas any English short-horn.\u201d (\u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d by Augustus\nWylde. Methuen, 1901.)]\n\n[Footnote 49: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 259.]\n\n[Footnote 50: I do not know whether the women drink much _tedj_,\nbut even the ladies of the land did so in Bruce\u2019s time. He\nwas in Gondar when \u201cOzoro Esther\u2019s sister, the Iteghe\u2019s\u201d\n(queen-mother\u2019s) \u201cyoungest daughter was married to Powussen,\nthe governor of Begemder. The king gave her large districts of land\nin that province, and Ras Michael a large portion of gold, muskets,\ncattle, and horses.\u201d On this occasion \u201cthe Ras, Ozoro Esther,\nand Ozoro Altash entertained all Gondar. A vast number of cattle\nwere slaughtered every day, and the whole town was one great market:\nthe common people, in every street, appeared laden with pieces of raw\nbeef, while drink circulated in like profusion. The Ras insisted upon\nBruce\u2019s dining with him every day. After dinner they slipped away\nto parties of ladies, where anarchy prevailed as completely as at the\nhouse of the Ras. All the married women ate, drank and smoked like\nthe men; in fact it is impossible to convey to the English reader,\nin terms of proper decency, any idea of this bacchanalian scene\u201d\n(Head\u2019s \u201cLife of Bruce,\u201d pp. 297, 298). In Parkyns\u2019s time a\nwedding-feast was an orgy of the same kind for all classes and both\nsexes. And as there is a complete absence of _g\u00eane_ in the conduct\nof modern Abyssinian women in other respects, I have little doubt\nthat they still favour the _tedj_ when the mood prompts them.]\n\n[Footnote 51: \u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in\nDeutschland,\u201d vol. iii. p. 27.]\n\n[Footnote 52: \u201cAsked about the trade prospects in Abyssinia\nand the projected American commercial mission, Mr. MacMillan said,\n\u2018The greater part of the trade of Abyssinia is already in American\nhands. The principal import is white cotton sheeting, which every\nAbyssinian wears, all of which comes from the United States. I do not\nsee that there is much possibility of further development in the trade\nas far as this sheeting\u2014which is everywhere known as Amerikani\u2014is\nconcerned; the supply has already reached its maximum. There may be\nsome possibilities in the case of oil, which at present comes from\nRussia. As a matter of fact there is no money in the country.\u201d\n(_Egyptian Gazette_, October 21, 1903.)]\n\n[Footnote 53: Quoted in \u201cAbyssinia Described,\u201d by J. C. Hotten,\np. 129.]\n\n[Footnote 54: Dufton, \u201cA Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d p. 63.]\n\n[Footnote 55: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 124.]\n\n[Footnote 56: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d by Augustus Wylde, p. 345.]\n\n[Footnote 57: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d by Mansfield Parkyns, p. 278.]\n\n[Footnote 58: Ib. p. 254.]\n\n[Footnote 59: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 369.]\n\n[Footnote 60: See p. 120.]\n\n[Footnote 61: \u201cThe Gumara here flows between high rocks, which\nconsist of porphyry and trachyte, in which calcareous tufa is found\nembedded. Its banks are adorned with tropical vegetation, and the\nplace derives its characteristic features especially from the wild\n_Ph\u0153nix_ with its delicate foliage and the colossal _Musa Ensete\nornamentalis_ with carmine leaf-panicles, which is called _guma-guma_\nby the natives to distinguish it from the edible _Musa Ensete_. In\nmany places the Gumara is deep and full of fish; innumerable wild\nducks and geese, _scopus umbretta_, etc., enliven the surface of\nthe water, while bright-hued butterflies, the charming _Danais_\nand equitid\u00e6 with their brilliant play of colour, mingled with\ntiny metallic-tinted nectarini\u00e6 (_affinis metallica_), flit around\nthe fragrant _Dodon\u00e6a viscosa_ and the brilliant blossoms of the\nTsana-tree\u201d (\u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft\nin Deutschland,\u201d vol. iii. 1881, pp. 23, 24). _Ph\u0153nix_ is the\nname given to a family of pinnate palms, of which the Egyptian\n_Ph\u0153nix dactylifera_, the finger-date, is an example. _Ensete_ is\nthe Abyssinian name of a thick-stemmed, large-leafed banana, which\nis grown in gardens as an ornamental plant. The thick flower-stalk\nis used as an article of food by the natives, but the fruit, being\nsmall and dry, is useless. In spite of these attractions, Wansage,\n(see p. 63) according to Stecker, would hardly be a suitable\nhealth-resort for European invalids. He wrote, \u201cBy night an\ninfernal din prevails, which, mingled with the singing of women and\nclapping of hands, forms the characteristic music of the Baths. The\nbull-frogs that live in the Gumara supply a harmonious accompaniment,\nwhich, with the noise kept up by the donkeys and beasts of burden,\ndoes not cease till long after midnight\u201d (Ib.).]\n\n[Footnote 62: This is the district called Lamge. Stecker said of it:\n\u201cI consider Lamge the prettiest place on Lake Tsana; the ancient,\nmassive _Dokma_ trees are all covered by parasitical _Loranthid\u00e6_\nwith rose-red and purple blossoms, and by whole nests of olive-green\n_Viscum_, and another parasitical plant which is peculiar to this\none tree; and they are surrounded by an impenetrable growth of\n_Cucurbitace\u00e6_ and _Convolvulace\u00e6_, which in some places form the\nmost romantic piazzas, and in others arbours and formal galleries,\nand afford the coolest shade. This Lamge is a place for which one\nmay prophesy a brilliant future. Everywhere hereabouts on ancient\nacacias hang the nests of weaver-birds (_textor alecto_), and,\nout of curiosity, I counted upon one of them 872 basket-shaped,\nsuspended nests\u201d (\u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft\nin Deutschland,\u201d vol. iii. 1881, p. 26).]\n\n[Footnote 63: Europeans are not allowed to visit the Island of Dega,\n\u201cbecause it is not permitted to any one to set foot on this holy\nground, which is only inhabited by anchorite monks and is sacred\nto St. Stephen\u201d (Stecker, \u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen\nGesellschaft in Deutschland,\u201d p. 31).]\n\n[Footnote 64: At the battle of Gallabat in 1889.]\n\n[Footnote 65: I saw no rods or hooks used by natives in\nAbyssinia. They have nets weighted with pieces of lead. These are\nsimply thrown out to sweep the water at their full spread and slowly\npulled in. Then the net is gathered up, hung over the fisher\u2019s\nleft arm and cast again.]\n\n[Footnote 66: Stecker did not visit the Island of Mitraha. He wrote:\n\u201cOn account of a quarrel that arose between my servants and the\ntatterdemalion clergy of Mitraha I did not land on this parsons\u2019\nisland. The priests wanted to extort money from me by this method:\nthat they would sell me no provisions before I had visited their\nchurch, which meant, before I had given them baksheesh in profusion\u201d\n(\u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,\u201d\np. 26).]\n\n[Footnote 67: Wylde, \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 417.]\n\n[Footnote 68: Vivian, \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 186.]\n\n[Footnote 69: Stern gave the following interesting account of\nthe monarch _de jure_:\u2014\u201cWhilst at Gondar we visited various\npersonages of rank and dignity; amongst others _Atzee Johannes_,\nthe Shadow King, and according to Abyssinian annals, the legitimate\nsuccessor to the throne and lineal descendant of Solomon by the Queen\nof Sheba\u2019s son. He was seated on an _alga_ in a dirty little room,\nwith a monk\u2019s skull-cap on his head, reading the Psalms. He asked\nme many questions on geography, and unlike the majority of Abyssinian\nsavants did not believe that beyond Jerusalem the sun never shone,\nand that only serpents and other venomous reptiles occupied the\nuntenanted land. I was told that whenever _Atzee Johannes_ visits\nKing Theodore, the latter stands before him, as an acknowledgment\nof his title to a crown which he could not defend. He receives an\nannual pension from the Royal Treasury\u201d (\u201cWanderings among the\nFalashes in Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 212, 213).]\n\n[Footnote 70: Quoted in \u201cAbyssinia Described,\u201d J. C. Hotten,\npp. 122, 123.]\n\n[Footnote 71: \u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in\nDeutschland,\u201d 1881, vol. iii. pp. 26-31.]\n\n[Footnote 72: Stecker wrote: \u201cEs gehen nach Wansage Kranke aller\nArt, und da es wenige Abyssinier giebt, die nicht syphilitisch w\u00e4ren,\nso sieht man meistens nur Patienten, die gegen Lustseuch und ihre\nFolgen hier Heilung zu finden glauben\u201d (\u201cMittheilungen,\u201d\np. 23). As far as my experience goes, this overstates the case a\nlittle, but the complete disregard of morality by both sexes\u2014a\nmatter about which the clergy do not trouble themselves\u2014has\nrendered disease of this kind extremely common. The pest of internal\nparasites, which is the bane of all classes of Abyssinians, and is\nalmost universal among them, is undoubtedly due to their disgusting\nhabit of eating raw meat. They devour flesh warm and quivering\nfrom the newly slaughtered carcase, and Bruce asserted that in\nhis time they habitually cut the meat from the living animal, and\ncontinued to do so until it bled to death. This would be an unusual\nbarbarity, and Parkyns saw no instance of it, though he believed\nBruce\u2019s statement to have been true when he made it (\u201cLife in\nAbyssinia,\u201d p. 204). Mr. Wylde has given another explanation of what\nBruce observed (\u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 153). But, whatever may be\nthe fact as to this particular, the habit of eating uncooked flesh\nprevails everywhere in the country. I noticed that the ceremonial\npractices of the Mussulmans appeared to save them both from t\u00e6nia\nand scabies. But, in spite of their ablutions, they are infested, like\nthe rest of the inhabitants, with body lice. Mohammedans are regarded\nwith disdain by the Christian Abyssinians, and the prejudice against\nthem, as I have said, accounts for some of the uncleanliness of the\nChristians. To wash much or regularly is to behave like a Mussulman.]\n\n[Footnote 73: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 282, 283.]\n\n[Footnote 74: \u201cPastillos Rufillus olet, Gargonius hircum.\u201d Horace,\n_Sat._ I. 2.]\n\n[Footnote 75: _Cf._ p. 42.]\n\n[Footnote 76: \u201cThis official is called a \u2018_balderabba_,\u2019 and\nis intrusted with a traveller\u2019s safety\u201d (Stern, \u201cWanderings\namong the Falashes,\u201d p. 96), and \u201cbecomes a sort of agent, and\nexpects you to acknowledge by presents, any service he may render\nyou, such as assisting you out of difficulties in which you may be\ninvolved\u201d (Parkyns, \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 72)]\n\n[Footnote 77: Quoted in \u201cAbyssinia Described,\u201d p. 129.]\n\n[Footnote 78: \u201cNarrative of the British Mission to Theodore,\nKing of Abyssinia,\u201d by Hormuzd Rassam, F.R.G.S. Murray,\n1896. Vol. i. pp. 317, 318.]\n\n[Footnote 79: See p. 223.]\n\n[Footnote 80: \u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in\nDeutschland,\u201d 1881, vol. iii. pp. 24, 25.]\n\n[Footnote 81: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 492-496.]\n\n[Footnote 82: Cf. such a Spanish name for a man as Jos\u00e9 _Maria_.]\n\n[Footnote 83: \u201cNarrative of the British Mission to King Theodore,\u201d\nvol. i. p. 229.]\n\n[Footnote 84: \u201cNarrative of the British Mission to King Theodore,\u201d\nvol. i. p. 314.]\n\n[Footnote 85: \u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in\nDeutschland,\u201d 1881, vol. iii. p. 27.]\n\n[Footnote 86: See p. 151.]\n\n[Footnote 87: Hormuzd Rassam, \u201cBritish Mission to King Theodore,\u201d\nvol. i. p. 315.]\n\n[Footnote 88: Father Lobo reached Abyssinia in 1624.]\n\n[Footnote 89: Father Lobo, who landed on the east coast of Africa,\nhad never heard of the White Nile\u2014this is made evident by his\ndiscourse upon the Abai\u2014and believed the head-waters of the Blue\nNile to be the origin of the whole river.]\n\n[Footnote 90: In the map reproduced in this volume, the course of\nthe Abai through Lake Tsana is marked by arrows. Its current can be\nquite plainly distinguished, as Father Lobo says, from the surrounding\nwater. The circumstance was remarked by Dr. Stecker.]\n\n[Footnote 91: See p. 256.]\n\n[Footnote 92: Stern mentions \u201ca solid stone bridge of seven\narches\u2014one of the few monuments left by the Portuguese,\u201d which in\nhis time spanned the Reb. He called the stream Erib (\u201cWanderings\namong the Falashas,\u201d p. 169). Both he and Dufton crossed that\nriver by this bridge. In all probability it was constructed by the\nartificers who built the arch over the Abai. I do not know whether\nthe Reb bridge is still standing. We forded the stream, as has been\nsaid, and were not aware at the time that it had ever been bridged.]\n\n[Footnote 93: The bulbous roots here mentioned are probably those\nof the \u201cred-hot poker\u201d plant, which grows abundantly in damp\nplaces in the higher regions of Abyssinia.]\n\n[Footnote 94: \u201cTravels to discover the Sources of the Nile in the\nyears 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773,\u201d by James Bruce of\nKinnaird, Esq., F.R.S.]\n\n[Footnote 95: \u201cLife of Bruce,\u201d by Major F. P. Head, pp. 276-278.]\n\n[Footnote 96: Whips made of thongs of hippopotamus hide, which serves\nboth for lash and handle.]\n\n[Footnote 97: This is a military title, and means \u201cCommander of\nAdvance Guard.\u201d (A. Wylde, \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 495).]\n\n[Footnote 98: We saw few bananas and none of these pigs in 1903.]\n\n[Footnote 99: \u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in\nDeutschland,\u201d 1881, vol. iii. pp. 30, 31.]\n\n[Footnote 100: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 13.]\n\n[Footnote 101: \u201cThe Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals,\u201d p. 367. This\nlittle animal is the coney of the Scriptures.]\n\n[Footnote 102: Since we were by the lakeside a decree has been\nissued that the hippos, for their misdeeds in destroying crops\nand overturning _tankoas_, are to be treated as _vermin_, and\nshot whenever opportunity arises; so I fear that these ancient\n\u201criparian owners\u201d will soon disappear from their pleasant and\nimmemorial haunts.]\n\n[Footnote 103: We found these shells and oysters in all the rivers\nto which our journey brought us. They are especially abundant in\nthe shallow pools of the Atbara.]\n\n[Footnote 104: I have already said that the island of Dek seems to\nme to have been chiefly formed by siltage.]\n\n[Footnote 105: \u201cMittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft\nin Deutschland,\u201d 1881, vol. iii. p. 28. The following general\ndescription of the lake district embodied by Mr. Dupuis in his Report\non the Expedition, and published in Sir W. Garstin\u2019s Despatch\nalready cited (Ed. 2165, 1904, p. 215), is terse and interesting:\n\n\u201cThe depression occupied by the lake is, generally speaking,\nsaucer-shaped, the land rising from the edge of the water in gentle\nundulating plains, getting steeper and steeper and terminating in\nconsiderable hills or mountains of some importance. In several places,\nas at Gorgora on the north, Mitraha and Koratsa on the east, Zegi\non the south, and Dengelber on the west, the hills come right down\nto the lake and descend more or less abruptly into the water, but\nmore often they stand back at some distance from it. The geological\nformation is almost everywhere of the same primitive character\nthat seems to be universal in the Eastern Soudan, granite, gneiss,\nand quartz, varied only by tracts of lava, basalt, and eruptive\nrocks. Sandstone is reported by some travellers, and lime-stone is\nsaid to be found near Gondar, but I saw neither myself. The large\ntracts of comparatively level land consist almost entirely of the\ncracked black cotton soil usually found associated with igneous\nrocks. At the mouths of all the larger rivers flowing into the lake\nare extensive alluvial plains generally composed wholly of this same\ncotton soil, and of the greatest fertility, though nine-tenths of\ntheir area now grows nothing more valuable than coarse grass.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 106: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 40-43.]\n\n[Footnote 107: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 42.]\n\n[Footnote 108: _Adansonia digitata_. These are tall trees, whose\ntimber is of a spongy consistency. Sir S. Baker mentions one which\nwas about forty feet in circumference. He wrote: \u201cThe _Adansonia\ndigitata_, although a tree, always reminds me of a gigantic fungus;\nthe stem is disproportioned in its immense thickness to its height,\nand its branches are few in number, and as massive in character\nas the stem. The wood is not much firmer in substance than cork,\nand is as succulent as a carrot.\u201d (\u201cThe Nile Tributaries of\nAbyssinia,\u201d p. 356.)]\n\n[Footnote 109: Governor.]\n\n[Footnote 110: \u201cIf God is willing.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 111: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 124, 125.]\n\n[Footnote 112: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 385, 386.]\n\n[Footnote 113: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d p. 240.]\n\n[Footnote 114: This blight is known as \u201casal,\u201d or \u201choney,\u201d\nfrom the sticky deposit formed all over the plant and leaves. At the\ntime of the expedition it prevailed more or less severely throughout\nthe greater part of the Kassala Moudirieh. The stalks of the plants\nattacked become black.]\n\n[Footnote 115: These are watertanks of galvanized iron. Two of them\nform a camel\u2019s load.]\n\n[Footnote 116: Mr. Dupuis\u2019s account of this place has been published\nin Sir W. Garstin\u2019s Report (p. 219), and is in the following\nterms: \u201cThis is a very remarkable spot, and the probable site\nof large canal works in the future, if such are ever undertaken\non the Atbara. Just above the \u201cmeshra,\u201d or watering-place,\nthe Atbara flows in a narrow deep trench, perfectly straight for\na couple of miles or so, with a width of little over one hundred\nmetres, and a depth of about ten metres all across the pool when at\nsummer level. The sides of this trench are nearly vertical cliffs\nof extremely hard granitic rock rising twenty metres or more from\nthe water. At the meshra this trench suddenly fans out into a wide\nshallow channel, the pool ceases, and the river breaks up into three\nor four separate branches, amidst a confusion of rocky islands, and\nis not fully re-united into a single stream for several miles. The\nrocky substratum through which the river has cut its way here gives\nlittle or no indication of its presence in the level uplands, which\ncontinue as before to form an unbroken bush-covered plain of black\nsoil up to within a couple of miles or so of the river, where it\nsuddenly breaks into ravines.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 117: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 102, 103.]\n\n[Footnote 118: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d p. 66.]\n\n[Footnote 119: \u201cThis peculiar fly is about the size of a wasp, with\nan orange-coloured body, with black and white rings; the proboscis\nis terrific, it is double, and appears to be disproportioned, being\ntwo-thirds the length of the entire insect. When this fly attacks an\nanimal, or man, it pierces the skin instantaneously, like the prick\nof a red-hot needle driven deep into the flesh. At the same time the\ninsect exerts every muscle of its body by buzzing with its wings as\nit buries the instrument to its greatest depth. The blood starts from\nthe wound immediately, and continues to flow for a considerable time;\nthis is an attraction to other flies in great numbers, many of which\nwould lay their eggs upon the wound.\u201d (\u201cThe Nile Tributaries of\nAbyssinia,\u201d pp. 184, 185.)]\n\n[Footnote 120: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 107,\n109, 110.]\n\n[Footnote 121: Water-sack. These are made from skins.]\n\n[Footnote 122: \u201cThe Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 240, 241.]\n\n\n\n\n          A NOTE ON THE RELIGION, CUSTOMS, ETC., OF ABYSSINIA\n\n\nIn _The Pall Mall Gazette_ of August 19, 1904, an interesting account\nof an interview with M. Hugues Leroux was published. M. Leroux\nhad just returned from a \u201cdiplomatic and scientific mission\u201d\nto Abyssinia. He had been the bearer of an autograph letter from\nM. Loubet to the Emperor Menelek. M. Leroux brought back much\ninteresting information which concerns only the present circumstances\nof the country\u2014_e.g._ that the Emperor \u201cis striving to follow out\nwhat he himself calls a policy of good-humour. He wants to be on good\nterms with all the world, but he does not want to be devoured. He is\nanxious to open up Abyssinia, but to commerce, not to conquest.\u201d\nAnd again, \u201che has at last granted permission for the railway from\nDjibouti, which hitherto went only as far as Harrar, to be carried\nup to Addis Abiba. He will probably refuse the British and Italian\nrequests to build branch lines connecting this railway with Zeila\nand Massouah, the towns on the coast to the north and the south\nof Djibouti which belong respectively to Great Britain and Italy,\nhis comment upon this scheme being, \u2018I would like one ladder up\nto my front door, but not three.\u2019\u201d\n\nM. Leroux had been entrusted with an autograph reply from the\nEmperor Menelek to the President of the French Republic. But he bore\naway from Ethiopia a much more interesting document, which\u2014if\nit is genuine and is rightly described by the traveller and the\ninterviewer\u2014is invaluable for the clue that it gives to the origin\nof the Abyssinian nation. It is said to be \u201ca most extraordinary\nAbyssinian manuscript, which is certain to make a great sensation\nwhen the translation of it is published, for it throws a flood of\nlight upon the early history of the Jews. The Abyssinian monarchs\nhave always considered this manuscript to be among their most sacred\npossessions. It was appropriated by the English at the capture of\nMagdala, but on Emperor John succeeding to the throne, he opened\ndiplomatic negotiations and recovered it from the British Museum,\nwhere it had been deposited. It is written in the Geez language,\nwhich is of Hebraic origin, of great antiquity, and known only to the\npriests. It relates that after the plagues of Egypt some hundreds\nof thousands of Jews did not follow Moses across the Red Sea, but\nwent west, down the Blue Nile, to found a kingdom of their own,\nwhich they called Saba\u2014\u2018Saba\u2019 merely meaning west. These were\nthe original Abyssinians.\u201d\n\nWe are told that \u201cthe original of this manuscript had remained\nseventeen hundred years in an island of Lake Zouai, whose inhabitants\nare still of the purest Jewish type, but they were Christianized\nat a very early date, and their religion has now degenerated into\nfetishism. They knew nothing as to the contents of the manuscript,\nwhich they nevertheless regarded as a very precious object.\u201d\nWhatever may be the real antiquity of this document its existence and\nthe importance attributed to it seem to give evidence of a tradition\nof great age, and this tradition offers a credible explanation of the\nfact that such a people as the Abyssinian is found in the mountains\nof East Africa. No doubt the Habashes are now, almost universally,\na race of mixed blood, but they possess a national character which\nis quite distant from that of the neighbouring tribes. The Semitic\ninvasion may have taken place immediately after the captivity of the\nJews in Egypt or at an earlier or later date, but it was powerful\nenough to affect the whole polity and population of Ethiopia.\n\nGenerally, writers upon Abyssinia ascribe the incursion to the\nreign of King Solomon, and this is in accordance with a legend\nthat is believed throughout the country. The Queen of Sheba was, of\ncourse, the Queen of Ethiopia; her visit to the wise and much-married\nking provided her with an heir; \u201cher son Menelek was in due time\ntransmitted to his august sire. The young prince was duly instructed\nin all the mysteries of Jewish law and science, and being anointed\nking under the name of David, he was returned to his native land,\nescorted by a large suite of the nobles of Israel, and a band of her\nmost learned elders under the direction of Ascarias, the son of Zadok,\nthe High Priest.\n\n\u201cThe gates of the temple of Jerusalem were left unguarded, and the\ndoors miraculously opened in order that the holy ark of Zion and the\ntables of the law might, without difficulty, be stolen and carried\naway. The journey was prosperously performed, and the Queen-Mother,\non resigning the reins of authority to her son at her death, about\nnine hundred and seventy years before the birth of Christ, caused\na solemn obligation to be sworn by all that henceforth no female\nshould hold sway in the land; and that those princes of the blood\nroyal upon whom the crown did not devolve should, until the succession\nopened to them or during the natural term of existence, be kept close\nprisoners on a lofty mountain; a cruel and despotic enactment which,\nthrough a long succession of ages, was jealously observed.\u201d[123]\n\n\u201cThe impetuous zeal of the emigrants,\u201d wrote Mr. Stern, \u201cfound\nample scope for its loftiest inspiration in the new world to\nwhich they were transplanted, and in the course of a few years the\nworship of the God of Israel extensively supplanted the idolatries\nof Ethiopia.\n\n\u201cFrom these vague traditions,\u201d the same writer prudently added,\n\u201cin which truth and fiction are inextricably jumbled together, the\ninquirer does not gain much trustworthy information on the history\nof Ethiopia and the settlement of the Jews in that country.\u201d[124]\n\nMr. Augustus Wylde visited a charming and sequestered spot where,\naccording to one legend, the stolen ark was deposited. \u201cWe\nhalted for lunch just _vis-\u00e0-vis_ to the first sources of the\nTaccazze. . . . Just before reaching the sources, on a hill on\nthe north side of the valley, is the church of Chevenan Gorgis, in\na splendid grove of juniper trees; immediately above the sources\non the hill is another church, also surrounded by juniper trees,\ndedicated to Debbessa Jesu; tradition has it that when Menelek, the\nson of the Queen of Sheba by King Solomon, came from Jerusalem with\nthe ark, it was placed on the ground at this spot, where he camped,\nand these springs gushed forth, and he immediately ordered a temple\nto be built on the spot.\n\n\u201cOn leaving this camp Menelek commenced his march towards the\neast, and on the bearers of the ark putting it down, after about\nan hour\u2019s march, they found that they could not move it, as it\nfirmly adhered to the ground. This spot is supposed by some of the\nAbyssinians to be the true resting-place of the ark that was brought\nfrom Jerusalem; there is a church built over the spot called Eyela\nKudus Michael. . . . It is nearly impossible for a stranger to obtain\nadmittance to this church, and the place in the Holy of Holies where\nthe ark is supposed to rest is shown to no one. This ark cannot be\nin two places; the people of the north declare it is in the sacred\ngrove of Axum in the church of Selata Musser (place of Moses), and\nthe priests of the Eyela district declare it is in their church,\nso they always quarrel and wrangle over this vexed question, the\nsame as European priests do over their sacred relics.\u201d[125]\n\nPerhaps the soundest opinion which can be formed under present\nconditions as to the origin of the Abyssinian people has been\nexpressed by Mr. Wylde:\u2014\u201cThe race, as the name Habash or\nAbyssinian denotes, is a mixture, undoubtedly of very long standing,\nbut most likely of Jew with the inhabitants of Southern Arabia and\nthe non-negro races of Eastern Africa.\u201d[126]\n\nAccording to tradition, Christianity was introduced into the country\nin the fourth century.\n\n\u201cIn the year 330 after the birth of our Saviour, Meropius, a\nmerchant of Tyre, having undertaken a commercial voyage to India,\nlanded on the coast of Ethiopia, where he was murdered by the\nbarbarians, and his two sons, Frumentius and Edesius, both devout men,\nbeing made prisoners, were carried as slaves before the Emperor. The\nabilities, the information, and the peaceable demeanour of the\nbrothers soon gained not only their release but high office in the\ncourt; and living in the full confidence of the monarch until his\ndecease, and subsequently under the protection of the Queen-mother,\nthe good-will of the entire nation quickly succeeded. The work of\nconversion was commenced, and proceeding with wonderful rapidity\nand success, a thriving branch was shortly added to the great\nEastern Church.\n\n\u201cBearing the happy tidings, Frumentius appeared in Alexandria, and\nwas received with open arms by the Patriarch Athanasius. Loaded with\nhonours, and consecrated the first bishop of Ethiopia, a relation\nwas thus happily commenced with Egypt, which has remained firm and\nfriendly to the present day, and throughout fifteen centuries has\nbestowed upon a Coptish priest the high office of Patriarch Abouna\n(_i.e._ our Father) of the Ethiopic Church.\n\n\u201cOn his return to the country of his hopes, Frumentius found that\nthe spark of life had spread rapidly throughout the gloomy darkness of\nthe land. Baptism was instituted, deacons and presbyters appointed,\nchurches erected, and a firm foundation laid whereon to establish\nthe Christian religion in Abyssinia.\n\n\u201cDuring the succeeding century, priests and apostles, men of\nwonderful sanctity, flocked into the Empire from all parts of the\nEast, and miracles the most stupendous are related in the legends\nof those days. Mountains were removed, and the storms of the angry\nocean stilled by the mere application of the staff. The adder and the\nbasilisk glided harmless under foot, and rivers stayed their roaring\ntorrent, that the sandal of the holy man should remain unstained by\nthe flood. Arag\u00e1wi raised the dead\u2014the fingers of Lik\u00e1nos flamed\nlike tapers of fire\u2014Samuel rode upon his lion; and thus the kingdom\nof Arw\u00e9, the old serpent of Ethiop, was utterly overthrown.\u201d[127]\n\nThe conservatism of the Abyssinian people in matters of religion is\nwell illustrated by the fact that throughout the many and violent\nvicissitudes of their history since the introduction of Christianity\nthey have always received their Patriarch from the mother-church. His\nposition is one of great authority. \u201cThe chief man in the country\nafter the king of kings is the Abouna, or archbishop, the head of\nthe Church; without the Abouna no king can be crowned, and it is\nhe that, at his own or the king\u2019s wish, can excommunicate any\nof his subjects, or the king himself, if necessary, and then the\nking can only rule by the strength of his followers who adhere to\nhim. These archbishops come from the Coptic Monastery at Alexandria\nor Cairo, and when they reach Abyssinia, they never leave it on\nany consideration.\u201d[128] Moreover, \u201cthe Abyssinian Church,\nin common with all other Christian communities in Asia and Africa,\nis strictly episcopal. The Abouna, or primate, who is consecrated\nto his office by the Patriarch of Alexandria, the revered successor\nof St. Mark, can alone confer the priestly title. Every candidate,\nbefore presenting himself for ordination, must have acquired some\nknowledge in the reading of the sacred language of Ethiopia, and\nin the complicated ceremonies of the liturgical service. On the day\nappointed for ordination the primate, in full canonicals and seated\non the episcopal throne, receives the applicants for the sacred\noffice. All being properly ranged before the chair of St. Mark,\neach candidate, instead of the imposition of hands, receives the\nAbouna\u2019s consecrating breath. Former archbishops, less scrupulous\nthan the present successor of Frumentius, indiscriminately breathed\non all, whether qualified or not, who could pay the requisite fee\nof two salts\u2014fourpence.[129]\n\n\u201cDeacons are selected from among boys, who are only allowed to serve\nin the Church till they attain the age of twelve or thirteen; after\nthat period their purity of life is suspected, and they are no longer\nconsidered fit to approach the sacred shrine of the _tabot_.[130]\nThe bishop and monks may not marry, while the priests may; and as,\non the death of their wives, they cannot contract a second alliance,\nthe reverend wooers invariably choose for their partners the most\nrobust and sprightly lasses in the land.\n\n\u201cThe _debterahs_, or scribes, constitute the lowest but the most\ninfluential body in the Church. These worthies enjoy no ecclesiastical\nrank and are under no ecclesiastical discipline, and yet no service\ncan be properly performed unless they take part in it. Their chief\nduty consists in chanting the Psalms and Liturgy, but their uncouth\ngesticulation and discordant shouting, instead of elevating devotion,\ntend rather, at least in European estimation, to convert the service\nof God into a sinful burlesque and the sanctuary into a bedlam. The\nscanty learning of the country is exclusively monopolized by this\norder; and they are so proud of their erudition that they deem it a\ndisgrace to exchange, by the breathing of the Abouna, the proud title\nof _debterah_ for the less learned appellation of _kas_, or priest.\n\n\u201cThese literati, notwithstanding their better acquaintance with the\nsacred volume and the lives of the saints, are considered the most\narrant scoundrels in the land. Gondar, which contains a considerable\nnumber of the fraternity, is notorious for the dissolute profligacy\nof its inhabitants; and it is proverbial throughout the country that\nwherever _debterahs_ abound there vice and immorality thrive.\u201d[131]\n\nMansfield Parkyns found that many of the _debterahs_, or _defterers_,\nprofessed to practise witchcraft. He wrote: \u201cThere are persons\nin the country who are supposed to be able to call up spirits and\nobtain from them any information they may require. These men are\nmostly _defterers_ (or Scribes), and are regarded with a certain\namount of rather dubious respect. The scene of their incantation is\ngenerally some ravine, with a stream running through it. As I have\nonly heard the reports of the common people on the subject, I cannot\ndescribe accurately what ceremonies are observed, or what form the\ndevil assumes on quitting the water at their summons. My informants,\nhowever, assured me that he came as a great chief, with the usual\ntrain of shield-bearers behind him and gunners before him.\u201d[132]\n\nThe Abyssinian liturgy is not impressive, according to European\nideas. Stern was present at one of the services, and gave a lively\ndescription of it. \u201cThe deafening tom-tom of the _negareet_,\nintermingled with the nasal chorus of a host of _debterahs_ in\nvarying cadences, reverberated on my ear. This indication that the\nservice had already begun put a stop to our contemplation of the\ngrand mountain scene, and in a most reverent mood we hastened to the\nuproarious sanctuary. A wooden gate in a circular wall brought us\nwithin an open grassy space that formed the cemetery, and the spot\nwhere, adjoining to the church, rises the Bethlehem in which the\npriests prepare the eucharistic bread. A crowd of men and women,\nas if in some place of amusement and dissipation, were spread in\npicturesque knots over the soft turf. The majority were busily\nplying their tongues, but I fear from the burst of merriment which\nnow and then broke from one or the other of those animated groups\nthat their conversations had very little to do either with religion\nor the service in honour of the saint. Not belonging to this impure\nclass, who are justly excluded from the interior of the sacred edifice\n(_i.e._ those whose marriage is secular and dissoluble), we mounted\na few steps, and then, through a partition occupied by the laity,\nstepped into a second compartment concentric with the outer one, and\nthere found ourselves at the porch of the enclosure which constitutes\nthe _sanctum sanctorum_.\n\n\u201cCrowds of priests and _debterahs_ thronged the whole of that\ncorridor. The _debterahs_ constitute the choir in all their churches;\nand their devotionless mien, as they chanted to the monotonous\nsound of the _negareet_, quite excited my indignation. During the\nmaddening noise created by the _debterahs_, the priests, robed\nin gaudy canonicals, were exerting to the utmost their cracked\nvoices in intoning the liturgy and psalms. At certain intervals\nan ecclesiastic, clad in his garish finery, and attended by an\nincense-waving boy-deacon and a bearer of the Ethiopic Gospel,\nmarched out of his sanctum into the cemetery to edify the godless\nand profane multitude by reading to them a portion of Scripture in\nan unknown tongue. A reverend gentleman near me, who was evidently\na great Church dignitary, as he wore a huge turban, and had a very\nstupid unmeaning face, pointed his gaunt fingers towards the daubed\nwalls, and condescendingly inquired whether I knew St. George and\nMiriam, the mother of God? . . .\n\n\u201cUnable to perform any religious rite without the savage\naccompaniment of tinkling keys and other discordant sounds, the\nsacrament of the mass (_Corban_), the most solemn service of the\nChurch, is also performed amidst the most confused and distracting\nclangour. The liturgy and consecration service over, all, except\nthe communicants, leave the place of worship. These now approach\nthe vestibule of the holy of holies, where the officiating priests,\nenveloped in clouds of incense, are busily occupied in washing their\nhands\u2014this ceremony is copied from Pilate\u2019s example. The water,\nwhich this act sanctifies, must not be spilled on the ground, but,\nas a regeneration emblem, it is sprinkled on the bended heads and the\ngarments of the faithful, whilst the priest says, \u2018If you think that\nI have now cleansed your garments and purified your bodies, and yet\ncontinue to cherish hatred and malice in your hearts, I tell you that\nthe body of Christ will prove to be a burning fire to consume you,\nand His blood a bottomless sea to drown you!\u2019 After this exhortation\nthe _tabot_, the substitute for the altar, is taken out of the holy\nof holies, and each communicant receives a small piece of wheaten\nbread and a spoonful of raisin wine. To prevent the desecration of\nthe sacred elements every one, before he quits the church, drinks\na cup of water, and also refrains from expectorating that day.\u201d[133]\n\nThe ecclesiastical art of Abyssinia has already been mentioned. Stern\nhas given an account of a singular instance of its development and\nof an equally strange result of the devotional use of pictures. He\nvisited \u201cKudus Yohannes, which next to that at Quosquam, is the\nhandsomest and most gorgeously bedaubed of the forty-four churches\nin and around Gondar.\u201d Here \u201cone aspiring artist, weary perhaps\nof the antiquated cherubims and saints, the blazing flames and\nleafy bowers, which are the ordinary ornaments of the churches, had\nsought immortal fame by painting quite a new subject\u2014the Migration\nof the Israelites. In his picture he represented them marching in\nsoldier-like attitude over the heaving and surging waves of the Red\nSea, clad in British uniform, with muskets and bayonets on their\nshoulders.\u201d Again, Major Harris, at the time of his mission to\nSahela Selassie, who was then Negus, had presented His Majesty with a\nportrait of Queen Victoria. This \u201clay securely guarded amidst the\nregalia of the Ethiopian Empire till the death of the despot. His\nheir and successor, Hailu Malakot, to atone for some indiscretion,\npresented it in pious contrition to the Cathedral Church, and there\nthe people flock on all grand festivities to worship it as the\nrepresentation of the Virgin Mary.\u201d[134]\n\nReference has been made to certain Abyssinian saints, to whose\nexploits Major Harris alluded. But these are neither the most notable\nnor the most venerated in the ecclesiastical chronicles. Tekla\nHaimanot\u2014_facile princeps_\u2014\u201cis said to have converted the\ndevil, and induced him to become a monk for forty days, though\nwhat became of him afterwards we are at a loss to know. The same\nholy man, wishing to ascend a steep mountain with perpendicular\nsides was accommodated in answer to prayer with a boa-constrictor,\nwhich took him up on its back.\u201d[135] Before the birth of this\nsaint, \u201ca glorious light rested for several days over the parental\nhouse. At the baptism of the child the priest was so dazzled by its\nsupernatural beauty that, lost in admiration, he dropped the babe,\nand might have killed it, had not an invisible hand kept it suspended\nabove the hard floor.\u201d In due course Tekla Haimanot became a monk,\nand \u201cthe mortifications, self-imposed penances and incredibly long\nfasts which followed his initiation into the monastic brotherhood are\nfaithfully recorded in the annals of the Church for the edification\nof the faithful.\u201d Later, he visited the Holy Sepulchre, after\nmarvellous adventures among the Moslems, and was subsequently ordained\npriest by the Copt Patriarch in Egypt. He then proceeded to the Galla\ncountry, where his mother had been kept prisoner, and converted the\nheathen by hundreds of thousands. On one occasion he repaired to\nthe monastery of Debra Damo, but here \u201cthe brotherhood did not\nmuch sympathize in the general jubilee that greeted the austere\nmonk. The monastery stands on the summit of a perpendicular rock,\nand, being quite inaccessible, no visitor can reach it unless drawn\nup by a rope. The Evil One did not like the ascetic to tamper with\nthe merry fellows on the rock, and, to effect his wicked purpose, he\nmaliciously cut the frail support when Tekla Haimanot was in mid-air,\nand probably he would have been dashed to pieces in a ravine below,\nhad not immediately six wings unfurled themselves under his garb and\nborne him aloft. In commemoration of this miraculous volant power,\nthe saint is represented, in most of the churches dedicated to him,\nas nearly smothered in a profusion of gorgeous plumage.\u201d\n\nTekla Haimanot\u2019s ascetic practices in \u201ctenantless wastes and\nmalarious jungles\u201d did not suffice him as the years advanced. \u201cHe\nhit upon an original idea of mortifying the flesh. There is in Shoa a\nsmall lake, which the saint in his peregrinations had often passed. To\nthese waters he now repaired. The good people who followed him from\nall parts to hear his discourses and to obtain his blessing entreated\nhim not to expose his precious person to the alligators and other\naquatic monsters; but the holy man, who knew that all his exploits\nfor the glory of the Church had not yet been accomplished, fearlessly\nstepped into the deep. Seven successive years he continued in the\nwater, and probably he would have expired on his liquid couch, had\nnot one of his legs dropped off. The clamour for this valuable relic\ncreated quite a dissension in the Church, but the monarch judiciously\nput a stop to the fierce war between the rival claimants by ordering\nit to be kept as a Palladium in the royal metropolis. This sacred\ntalisman possesses more wonderful sanitary virtues than all the\ndrugs in the universe. Patients from every province of the country\nvisit the shrine to make votive offerings and to quaff the healing\nwater in which the saint\u2019s leg is weekly washed.\u201d[136]\n\nThat the miracles above related are stock miracles\u2014if one may\nuse such a phrase\u2014and that the same legends are connected with\nmore than one saint is evident from the following _gesta sanctorum_\ncited by Mansfield Parkyns:\u2014\n\n\u201cGabro Menfus Kouddos (Slave of the Holy Ghost) was a great saint\nfrom his birth; nay, more\u2014he was born a saint. No sooner did he\nenter the world than he stood up, and three days after his birth\nhe bowed his head thrice, saying in a distinct voice, \u2018Glory be\nto the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.\u2019 He never\ntasted of his mother\u2019s milk, nor during the whole period of his\nlife partook of food or drink of any sort. Once, when praying on a\nmountain, he fell over a precipice two hundred cubits deep. Two angels\nimmediately joined their spread wings under him to support him; but\nhe refused their assistance, saying that he trusted to God alone for\nhelp. Another time he was ascending a very high mountain, and, being\nfatigued, the Holy Trinity came and assisted him. Many other equally\nabsurd and almost blasphemous stories are related of him; at last,\nafter a very long life, I forget of how many years, the Almighty sent\nAzrael, the angel of death, to take him. But the saint refused to die,\nsaying, that as he had neither eaten nor drunk, he could not die. So\nall the saints came to him in turn for the purpose of persuading him\nto leave earth for Paradise. St. John the Baptist first addressed\nhim, saying that he had gone the way of all flesh, notwithstanding\nhis many privations and sufferings. Gabro Menfus Kouddos, however,\nat once met him with the answer, \u2018Yes; but _you_ could not fast\neven for forty days, but fed on locusts and wild honey.\u2019 Thus he\nreplied to all the saints, and at last even to the Virgin and our\nSaviour. Still, however, the decrees of the Omnipotent must be obeyed,\nand his life was taken from him; but then there was a dispute among\nthe elements as to what was to become of his body. The earth refused\nto receive it, as he had never partaken of her produce. A similar\nrefusal was made by the water, for he had never taken a drop within\nhis lips. The fire had also equally strong objections. So the saint\nwas restored to life, and taken up alive into heaven. His tomb is,\nhowever, shown at Zoukwahla in Shoa; but it is said to contain\nonly one of his ribs, which, at the time of his ascent to heaven,\nhe took out and left on earth as a memento for his followers.\n\n\u201cAbouna Aragawy was one of the nine missionaries sent to Abyssinia\nby St. Athanasius. His doctrine and the miracles which he wrought\ngained for him many followers; but from some of the unbelieving he\nsuffered persecution. This is the account given by some historians;\nwhile others assert that, overcome by his popularity, he sought\nretirement from this world, in order to devote the remainder of his\ndays to religious duty. Be it as it may, he came to the rock on which\nis now the celebrated monastery of Debra Damo. After walking several\ntimes round it, without finding any means of access to its summit,\nhe prayed to the Almighty, who sent him an enormous boa-constrictor,\nwhich offered to carry him up in its mouth; but he said, \u2018I fear\nyour mouth; turn round and let me take your tail.\u2019 So the snake\ndid as he was desired; and the saint, holding fast by its tail,\nwas drawn up to the summit of the rock in perfect safety. The snake\nhaving performed its duty offered to leave the saint if he wished\nit; but Aragawy begged that it would remain, making, however, the\ncondition of its not alarming or destroying any of his disciples\nwho might come to visit him. They then took possession of the caves\nand holes which are in the mountain, where they are by many supposed\nto be still living. Some, however, pretend that the snake is dead;\nbut no one is so wanting in faith as for a moment to deny that\nthe saint yet lives there, and will continue to live till the day\nof judgment. No curious person, however, dares to venture into the\ncave. The monks will not allow lights to be taken in; and the people\nassert that a spirit which protects the place will not permit any\none who enters to come out alive.\n\n\u201cWhen I first went to Rohabaita it was reported that an immense\nsnake had some years before been killed there by a hunter. The man\nwas severely reproached by the priests, who said that the snake\nwas the guardian angel of the place. It was reported to have been\ntwenty-seven cubits, or forty feet in length, and was probably of\nthe boa tribe.\u201d[137]\n\nAnother saint of remarkable powers was Tederos (St. Theodore). He\nresided at the hamlet near Rohabaita which now bears his name. Here,\n\u201con the face of the rock is the little hole wherein he lived; it\nis barely high enough for a person to squat in; and the marks worn\nin the stone by the crown of his head, the soles of his feet, and\nhis elbows are still shown. His miracles were many. Among others,\na leopard ate up his son, the saint, returning home, missed him,\nand set out in search of him. When in the forest he called aloud\nto him three times, and at the third time the leopard appeared:\non seeing him, the saint guessed how the matter stood with the\nunfortunate youth; but, nothing discouraged, he coolly ordered the\nbeast to return him safe and sound. Now this was rather difficult,\nas the leopard had, no doubt, half digested him; nevertheless, so\ngreat was the saint\u2019s power that the boy left the leopard\u2019s maw\nnone the worse, perhaps rather the better, for having been dismembered\nand reconstructed. Being asked where a church should be built, the\nsaint threw his staff, desiring the inquirers to build where they\nfound the staff had fallen. After many days it was found several\nmiles off in Serawi, on the other side of the valley, exactly on\nthe spot where now stands the church of Debra Mariam.\n\n\u201cMany other wonderful stories were told me of his feats, but I\nhave forgotten them. The most useful act attributed to him was that\nhe caused the rock below him to become hollow, in order to receive\nthe rain-water. The hollow still exists, though I should strongly\nsuspect it to be of Nature\u2019s construction; or, if the saint had\na hand in its design, he must have been a clumsy fellow, for with\nhalf the labour he might have made a place capable of containing\ntwice the quantity of water.\u201d[138]\n\nParkyns was not sure of the parentage of the youth who was disgorged\nby the leopard. \u201cI hope I am right in giving St. Theodore a son,\u201d\nhe wrote. \u201cI don\u2019t know whether his being a father would preclude\nhis being a saint: however, it was a youth nearly related to him,\nif I remember the story right.\u201d\n\nSome chroniclers \u201cpretend that St. Matthew and St. Bartholomew\nactually visited the country. Some even go so far as to assert that\nthe Virgin Mary herself, with the child Jesus, came into Abyssinia\nwhen she fled to Egypt, and show a place in a high mountain which\nis called her throne or seat.\u201d[139] Bruce wrote that \u201cin the\nSynaxar, or history of their saints, one is said to have thrown the\ndevil over a high mountain; another persuaded him to live as a monk\nfor forty years; another had a holy longing for partridges, upon\nwhich a brace perched on his plate\u2014martyrs ready roasted.\u201d[140]\n\n\u201cIn many cases,\u201d Parkyns wrote, \u201cthe patron saint is preferred\nto the Almighty; and a man who would not hesitate to invoke the\nname of his Maker in witness to a falsehood would have difficulty\nin disguising his perjury if he were appealed to in the name\nof St. Michael or St. George. It is also a well-known fact, and\nmost common of occurrence, that a favour besought in the name of\nGod would often be refused, while, if the request were immediately\nafter repeated in the name of the Virgin or of some favourite saint,\nit would probably be granted. This may be observed in the appeal of\nthe common street beggar in Tigre, whose ordinary cry is, \u2018Silla\nIzgyheyr! Silla Medhainy Allam!\u2019 (For the sake of God! For the\nsake of the Saviour!)\u2014while, if he be very importunate, he will\nchange his usual whining tone, and add with persuasive emphasis,\n\u2018Silla Mariam! Silla Abouna Tekla Haimanout!\u2019\u201d (For the sake\nof Mary! For the sake of Tekla Haimanout!)\n\nIt has already been said that Tekla Haimanot and other early\ncelebrities of the Church were monks. Monasteries are plentiful\nin the land, and there are also hermits who practise asceticism in\ndesolate and lonely places. Mr. Herbert Vivian gained admission to a\nconventual house, and has given a lively description of it.[141] The\nsanctity of the Abyssinian monk or anchorite is in proportion to his\nprowess in mortifying the flesh, and this class of men still retains\nmuch religious _prestige_ and influence in the land. But probably\nthe pristine rigour of their life has been much relaxed, and the\nremarks of Major Cornwallis Harris are applicable at the present time.\n\n\u201cEducation was in former days to be obtained alone from the inmate\nof the monastic abode, and a life of scanty food, austerity, and\nsevere fasting was embraced only by the more enthusiastic. But the\nskin-cloak and the dirty headdress now envelope the listless monk,\nwho, satisfied with a dreamy and indolent existence, basks during\nthe day on the grassy banks of the sparkling rivulet, and prefers\na bare sufficiency of coarse fare to the sweeter morsel earned by\nthe sweat of the brow.\u201d[142]\n\nThe same writer\u2019s account of the consecration of a friar is\ninteresting. \u201cThe monk is admitted to the order of his choice by\nany officiating priest. A prayer is repeated, the skull-cap blessed\nwith the sign of the cross, and the ceremony is complete. But a more\nimposing rite attends the oath of celibacy before the Abouna. The\nclergy assemble in numbers, and fires are lighted around the person\nof the candidate. His loins are bound about with the leathern girdle\nof Saint John, and the prayer and the requiem for the dead rise\npealing from the circle. The _glaswa_\u2014a narrow strip of black cloth\nadorned with coloured crosses\u2014is then placed on the shaven crown,\nand shrouded from view by the enveloping shawl; and the archbishop,\nclad in his robes of state, having repeated the concluding prayer\nand blessing, signs with his own hand the emblem of faith over the\nvarious parts of the body.\u201d[143]\n\nConsul Plowden wrote in a somewhat censorious mood of the Abyssinian\nregulars. \u201cMonasteries are not wanting to complete the resemblance\nto the Roman Catholic Church and to the Middle Ages, where every\nimmorality is practised; nor solitary hermits, who dwell in gloomy\nforests, feeding on roots, and exposed to ferocious animals, and\nwho are sometimes as sincere as they are useless.\u201d He added,\n\u201cnunneries alone are absent from the picture; though vows of\ncelibacy are sometimes taken, if rarely kept save at an advanced\nage.\u201d\n\nWith regard to religious sisterhoods he was in error. Bruce wrote\nthat, \u201call women who choose to renounce acquaintance with men are\nallowed to turn priests, they then wear a skull-cap, like the men;\nand these priests, male and female, all pretend to possess charms\nof a nature both offensive and defensive, which are most generally\nbelieved in.\u201d[144] The same writer asserted that he and his party\non one occasion, after passing the River Taccazze, \u201cat last reached\na plain filled with flowering shrubs, roses, jessamines, etc., and\nanimated by a number of people passing to and fro. Several of these\nwere monks and nuns from Waldubba, in pairs, two and two together. The\nwomen, who are both young and stout, were carrying large burdens of\nprovisions on their shoulders, which showed that they did not entirely\nsubsist upon the herbs of Waldubba. The monks, their _compagnons de\nvoyage_, had sallow faces, yellow cowls, and yellow gowns.\u201d[145]\n\nBruce may have been mistaken as to the character of these young\nwomen; but not all who take the vows are strict in the observance\nof them. Mr. Augustus Wylde met a nun in the flesh, a lady of\nhigh rank in the country, whose charms were neither \u201coffensive\nnor defensive.\u201d He wrote, \u201cbefore getting to Mokareet we were\njoined by Ras Mangesha\u2019s young sister. She is supposed to be a nun\nand devote her time to charity and good actions, and she has asked\npermission of Hailou to join us and camp with us for the next three\nor four days. I now quote from my diary\u2014\n\n\u201cI believe this is a got-up job, as Hailou had his hair replaited\nthis morning and put on clean cloths, and the pair are evidently very\nold friends. She is dressed in the most spotless white garments of the\nvery best quality, and is most clean and neat in her appearance. From\nunder her clean white hood a pretty face appears with a pair of\nroguish merry eyes. . . . She sent over her pretty waiting-maid as\nsoon as camp was pitched, asking me to come and pay her a visit,\nbut I was too seedy with fever, so sent Schimper to make my excuses;\nwhen he came back his first remark in his precise manner of talking\nwas: \u2018Oh, Mr. Wylde, I do not think she is a very good lady, she\nhas asked me for many things, and she wants your umbrella.\u2019 Of\ncourse I had to send it, and next morning on the way to Merta I had\nsome of the sweetest of smiles, and we kept up a long conversation;\nshe had never seen an Englishman before, and she wanted to know if\nthey all had red heads and moustaches and were big men . . .\n\n\u201cI found out that she was considered very \u2018rapid\u2019 even for\nAbyssinia, where the young ladies are fast, and that her brother\nhad sent her to a nunnery as he could not keep her in order, and she\nabsolutely refused to marry the men of his choice; she was changing\nher quarters from one nunnery to another, and was evidently sweet\non Hailou.\u201d\n\nBut Mr. Wylde had met other nuns, \u201cgood pious old ladies at\nAbbi-Addi and Macalle, who fasted for over half the number of\ndays in the year, and were perpetually praying and singing from\nthe early grey dawn till late at night, and they seemed to live\na calm and peaceful life in their beautiful natural surroundings,\nand bothered themselves very little with the troubles of this life,\nand passed their days in eating, sleeping, and praying, and doing\nwhat little acts of charity they could in the way of tending the\nsick and feeding any poor beggars that came to their houses.\u201d[146]\n\nMany rites and ceremonies of Hebrew origin have been incorporated in\nAbyssinian Christianity, _e.g._ circumcision is practised. Considering\nthe history and traditions of the people, this respect for Judaic\nordinances is not surprising. Major Harris devoted a chapter of his\nbook to \u201cAbyssinian Rites and Practices which would appear to have\nbeen borrowed from the Hebrews,\u201d and most of the authors who have\nwritten about the country have alluded to the same subject. Perhaps\nthe most remarkable example of the influence of Jewish doctrines is\nthe veneration in which the _tabot_ is held.\n\n\u201cThe Jewish temple consisted of three distinct divisions\u2014the\nforecourt, the holy, and the holy of holies. To the first laymen\nwere admitted, to the second only the priest, and to the third the\nhigh priest alone. All entrance was denied to the Pagan, a custom\nwhich is rigorously enforced in Abyssinia; and her churches are in\nlike manner divided into three parts.\n\n\u201cEight feet in breadth, the first compartment stretches, after the\nfashion of a corridor, entirely around the building. It is styled\n_Kene M\u00e1helet_, and, strewed throughout with green rushes, forms the\nscene of morning worship. To the right of the entrance is the seat of\nhonour for priests and erudite scribes; and beyond this court, save on\ncertain occasions, the bare foot of the unlearned layman cannot pass.\n\n\u201c_Makdas_ is the second compartment. This is the sanctuary in which\nthe priests officiate, and a corner is set apart for laymen during\nthe administration of the holy supper, whilst a cloth screens the\nmysteries of the interior. Here also hang, arranged around the walls,\nthe bones of many deceased worthies, which have been carefully\ngathered from the newly opened sepulchre, and are deposited by\nthe hand of the priest in cotton bags. By the nearest relative\nthe first opportunity is embraced of transporting these mouldering\nemblems of mortality to the sacred resting-place of Debra Libanos,\nwhere the living and the dead are alike blessed with a rich treasure\nof righteousness, since the remains of Tekla Haimanot, the patron\nsaint of Abyssinia, still shed a bright halo over the scene of his\nmiracles upon earth.\n\n\u201cTo _Kedis Kedisen_, the holy of holies, none but the Alaka[147]\nis admitted. Behind its veil the sacrament is consecrated, the\ncommunion vessels are deposited, and the tremendous mysteries of the\n_tabot_, or ark of the covenant, are shrouded from the eyes of the\nuninitiated. The gold of the foreigner has penetrated the secret\nof the contents of this box, which are nothing more than a scroll\nof parchment, on which is inscribed the name of the patron saint of\nthe church; but the priest who dared to open his lips on the subject\nto one of his own countrymen would incur the heavy penalties due to\nthe sacrilege.\u201d[148]\n\nAnother foreigner whose gold \u201cpenetrated the secret\u201d of the _Kedis\nKedisen_ was Mr. Herbert Vivian. In company with a friend he was, for\na consideration of two dollars, admitted to the _sanctum sanctorum_\nof the Church of St. Raguel at Entotto. \u201cThe custodians seemed\nto know very well that they were doing wrong, and displayed huge\nanxiety to get the thing over as quickly as possible. They hurried us\nup the rickety steps, opened the door of the sanctuary, took great\ncare to keep us as far off as possible, and kept exclaiming, \u2018Now\nthat is all. I hope you are satisfied. Let us go away again. You\nought really to give us some more dollars for what we have done.\u2019\nThere was, however, really next to nothing to see. In the darkness\nI could just make out the tabernacle inside the holy of holies. It\nwas a kind of ark, covered with cheap draperies and surmounted by\na crucifix. A few lanterns lay about. That was all. At any rate,\nthat was all that we could induce the priest to show us.\u201d[149]\n\nMr. Hormuzd Rassam has given a sketch of a _tabot_ in his book, with\nthe following description: \u201cThe _tabot_ is a square block of wood\non which the emblem of the cross, with some appropriate passage of\nScripture, is sometimes represented. No church can be consecrated\nwithout it, and in the church from which it has been removed the\nLord\u2019s Supper cannot be celebrated. It is placed upon the altar\nin the centre of the holy of holies, and by the ignorant clergy is\nregarded with as much veneration as the consecrated elements.\u201d[150]\nAnnually, on the eve of the festival which commemorates Christ\u2019s\nbaptism, the _tabot_ is carried out of the church by the chief\nofficiating priest, \u201cand left all night covered in a tent or\nhut erected for the purpose near a stream or pool. At daybreak\nthe following morning it is taken to the water, and after being\nsprinkled with a few drops is again enveloped in the church-cloth,\nand replaced under the tent until the time arrives for its formal\nrestoration to the church\u2014a grand religious ceremony, accompanied\nwith singing of psalms and dancing.\u201d In this recessional solemnity,\nwhich Mr. Rassam saw, \u201cthe priests led the way, bearing various\nsacred symbols, and chanting psalms all the while, followed by a\ntrain of about three hundred men and a score of damsels, all dancing,\nsinging, and screeching as they went.\u201d[151]\n\nThe appearance of Abyssinian churches has already been alluded to,\nbut the following general description, given by Major Harris, may\nserve to bring the principles of their construction clearly before\nthe reader. \u201cThere are, perhaps, more churches in Abyssinia than\nin any other part of the Christian world; and he who has erected\none believes that he has atoned for every sin. But even the best\nare very miserable edifices of wattle plastered with mud, only to\nbe distinguished from the surrounding hovels by a thin coating of\nwhitewash, which is dashed over the outside to point with the finger\nof pride to the peculiar privilege of the two great powers in the\nland. Circular in form, with a door to each quarter of the compass,\nand a conical thatch, they have an apex surmounted by a brazen cross,\nwhich is usually adorned with ostrich eggs; and the same depraved and\nheathenish taste pervades the decorations of the interior. Sculpture\nis strictly forbidden; but the walls are bedaubed with paintings\nof the patron saint of the church, the Blessed Virgin, and a truly\nincongruous assemblage of cherubim and fallen angels, with the\nevil one himself enveloped in hell flames. Timbrels and crutches\ndepend in picturesque confusion from the bare rafters of the roof,\nand no ceiling protects the head from the descent of the lizard\nand the spider.\u201d[152] Mr. Hormuzd Rassam has given a sketch of\nthe ground plan of an Abyssinian church, showing the entrances and\n\u201ccourts.\u201d[153] According to him \u201cthe outer enclosure is for\nthe congregation generally, male and female, the former occupying\nthe western portion, and praying with their faces towards the east;\nthe latter standing opposite to them and facing the west.\u201d[154]\n\nThe \u201ccrutches\u201d mentioned by Major Harris astonished Mr. Vivian\nat a later date. He saw them in a monastery, and \u201cimagined they\nhad been contributed by lame people, to whom the saint of the\nplace had restored the use of their legs. As a matter of fact,\nhowever, they were merely the crutches which every priest uses in\nthe ritual of the dance.\u201d[155] The manner in which these singular\nadjuncts of the priestly office are employed has been described by\nMr. Vivian. He attended a service at Trinity Church in Addis Abiba,\nand has given a very interesting account of the ceremonies. At a\ncertain stage \u201call the priests grasp their long crutches and go\nthrough a kind of gymnastic exercise, which reminds me of the use\nof spears at a Somali dance. The crutches are five feet long, and\nmust, I imagine, have originally taken their origin from spears,\nadapted for civilian use. The tops are either of ivory or brass,\nsome of them elaborately carved. . . . One priest acts as conductor,\nand the others imitate his movements, all singing loudly through\ntheir noses. . . . The crutches are held in the middle and darted\nat the ground, now near, now far, with a forward movement made by\nslightly bending the right knee. It is as though spears were being\npoised and aimed playfully at objects on the floor. The crutches are\nthen lifted, crook end up, a foot into the air, they are poised,\nthey are swung, with ever-increasing vigour. All of a sudden the\nwhole exercise ceases without any warning whatever.\u201d[156]\n\nMajor Harris wrote, with regard to certain other clerical\nfunctions\u2014\u201cThe Father Confessor is bound to the strictest secrecy;\nand it is believed that on this point a dread oath is taken before\nordination, when all the mysteries are expounded by the Abouna,\nand especially those which have reference to the preparation of\nbread for the holy supper. In a small house styled Bethlehem,[157]\nwhich rises immediately behind every church, the mysterious ceremony\nis performed. The deacon can alone bake the cake; and the most\nvigilant guard is invariably preserved against the approach or\nintrusion of females or other improper visitors during the hour of\nsolemn preparation.\u201d[158]\n\nThe first appendix to Vol. III. of Major Harris\u2019s book contains\na list of the sacred writings used by the Abyssinian Church. These\ninclude, _inter alia_\u2014\n\n  The Old Testament.\n\n  The four gospels with readings, and all the other books of the\n  New Testament.\n\n  _Genset._ A book used in funeral solemnities, ascribed to Athanasius,\n  and stated to have been discovered by Helena at the digging out of\n  the Holy Cross.\n\n  _Retna Haimanot._ The orthodox faith.\n\n  _Henoch._ The prophecies of Enoch.\n\n  _Gadela Tekla Haimanot._ Life of Tekla Haimanot. (And the lives of\n  many other saints.)\n\n  _Synodos._ Canons of the Church, attributed to the Apostles.\n\n  _Sena Febrak._ History of the Creation; containing certain fabulous\n  traditions concerning the Creation and the Antediluvian world, said\n  to have been communicated to Moses on Mount Sinai, but not recorded\n  in the Book of Genesis.\n\n  _Tamera Mariam._ Miracles of the Holy Virgin, wrought during her\n  sojourn in Abyssinia, where she is said to have tarried three years\n  and six months with the infant Jesus, before her return to Palestine.\n\n  _Nagara Mariam._ Words of the Holy Virgin.\n\n  _Ardeet._ Words said to have been spoken by Christ before his\n  ascension.\n\n  _Kedasie._ Liturgy of the Abyssinian Church.\n\n  _Gadela Adam._ History of Adam.\n\n  _Auda Negest._ Book for prognostication.\n\n  _Kufalik._ Mysteries revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, not written\n  in the Pentateuch.\n\n  _Serata beita Chrestian._ Institutions of the Christian Church.\n\n  _Degwa._ Book of anthems, in which all the pieces of the liturgy\n  that are chanted are set to music by St. Yareed, a native of Simien,\n  who lived thirteen centuries ago and is believed to live still.\n\n  _Lefafa Zedik._ Prayers and spells against evil spirits and diseases,\n  a book much esteemed, and buried along with the corpse.\n\n  _Zalota Musa._ Prayers of Moses against the influence of evil\n  spirits.\n\n  _Melka Michael._ Prayers to St. Michael.\n\n  _Mazafa Tomar._ A letter which Christ is said to have written.\n\n  _Germama._ Prayers to frighten evil spirits.\n\n  _Fekaric Yasoos._ Christ\u2019s prophecy of the consummation of the world.\n\n  _Haimanot Abao._ Doctrines of the Abyssinian Church, comprising\n  extracts from the Holy Scriptures, from synods, councils, and\n  writings of the Fathers.\n\n  _Gelota Monakosat._ Prayers of the monks.\n\n  _Felekisus._ Book on monastic subjects.\n\n  _Gadela Yob._ Life of Job.\n\n  _Raia Miriam._ Dream of the Holy Virgin.\n\n  _Gadela Samoetal._ Lives of the martyrs.\n\nThe second appendix of the same volume contains a summary of the\n\u201cSenkesar, or Synaxaria, being a _Collectio Vitarum Sanctarum_\ntogether with the Calendar of the Ethiopic Christian Church.\u201d The\ncompiler of the summary wrote, \u201cThe following calendar, translated\nfrom the Latin of Ludolf, has been considerably enlarged by a\ncomparison at Ank\u00f3ber with a complete copy of the \u2018Senkesar.\u2019\nThe lives of the Saints, or the detail of miracles written against\neach day, are publicly read in the churches at the services beginning\nat the cock\u2019s first crowing.\u201d\n\nThe first month of the Abyssinian year is September. It is not\nsurprising that in the long list of saints, patriarchs, prophets,\nmartyrs, virgins, hermits, kings, \u201cFathers,\u201d presbyters,\nemperors, and male and female ascetics whose deeds are commemorated\nbetween New Year\u2019s Day (September 1, by Ethiopian reckoning) and\nthe festival of St. Andrew and Moses, Bishop of Ferme, (being the\nthirtieth and last day of August according to the same computation),\nthere should occur many names of worthies who are unknown to most\nEuropean readers. For instance\u2014\n\n  Abba Anbasa, who rode upon a lion.\n\n  Eustathius, who brought a dead child back to life. (This miracle is\n  attributed to many of the saints.)\n\n  Ananias, who baptized St. Paul.\n\n  Pantaleon.\n\n  Jemrah, a martyr. On the spot where his blood was spilt there grew\n  up a fine vine.\n\n  Naakweto-Laab, the last Emperor of Ethiopia, of the family of\n  Zague. He did not die.\n\n  Cosmus, Metropolite. It is said that the image of Mary shed tears\n  when it beheld his excruciating tortures.\n\n  The two hundred and ninety-two brothers and forty-nine sisters\n  of Cosmus.\n\n  Abba Marina, who was discovered after death to have been a woman.\n\n  Barsufius.\n\n  Johannes Cama, whose fingers and nails seemed burning like candles\n  during prayer.\n\n  Abba Libanus, who brought water out of a rock.\n\n  Daniel, the woman-hater, who vowed never to look at a woman.\n\n  The forty-nine old hermits.\n\n  Joseph, who was saved out of a fiery oven.\n\n  The 80,107 martyrs with Isidorus.\n\n  Atom and Arianus.\n\n  Eusebius, who, \u201cbeing threatened to be burnt, was taken to heaven\n  by Uriel the archangel, and remained there fourteen years.\u201d[159]\n\nAnd many others whose sanctity is as little known in the Western\nChurches.\n\nIf there is anywhere a leisured and adventurous student of comparative\nhagiology, he would obtain some interesting results by tracing the\norigin and growth of the legends which glorify these worthies.\n\nA survey of what has been said shows that Consul Plowden was fully\njustified when he wrote, \u201cthe Christianity professed and taught\nin Abyssinia is much materialized.\u201d Nevertheless, the credulity\nand superstition which prevail in the country are not in essence\ngrosser than the unwarranted beliefs which were accepted in Europe\nwhen the _Aurea Legenda_ passed as sound devotional reading, and it\nwould be as unjustifiable to judge the intellectual capability of the\nHabashes by their faith in myths as it would have been to estimate\nthe ability of our forefathers by a similar standard. Nor is it\ncertain that any sudden reformation would improve the religious\nstate of the people. An intemperate zeal for enlightening them\nmight, by introducing an ideal far above their real sympathies and\ncomprehension, discredit the old conceptions without effectually\nsubstituting the new. Moreover, the fabulous feats of the saints\nmay require a cautious and sparing criticism; for to differentiate\nthe degrees of probability in miracles, among an unscientific\nbut argumentative race, would, perhaps, be more likely to promote\nscepticism as to all thaumaturgy than to lead to the repudiation of\ncertain miracles and the continued acceptance of others.\n\nIt is, of course, the fact that at present \u201creligion\u201d consists\nof little more than a mere series of outward observances. Veneration\nof the fabric of the church takes the place of devotion within its\nprecincts. Dufton wrote:\u2014\u201cThe prayers are read in Ethiopic\u201d\n(Geez), \u201ca language which the people know nothing about, so that\nlittle profit can be derived from the service. Indeed, most persons\ncontent themselves with kissing the floor or the walls of the edifice,\nand such is a criterion of a man\u2019s piety; he kisses the church,\nthey say, and so esteem him a good Christian. Some will utter a\nprayer. The petition takes a form similar to the following, which\nan old woman was heard to offer up during my visit, though the last\nclause is probably in most cases omitted\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018O Lord, give me plenty to eat and drink, good raiment, and a\ncomfortable home, or else kill me outright!\u2019\u201d\n\nMr. Vivian visited the Church of the Blessed Virgin at Entotto,\nand noticed that all the Abyssinians who were with him \u201chastened\nto kiss the floor-beam and side-posts or lintels of the door in the\nouter wall.\u201d And at Trinity Church in Addis Abiba \u201cwhenever a\npeasant approached the church on a mule, he dismounted and kissed a\nlarge black stone which stood some twenty yards away. Other persons\nof a more pious turn of mind went right up to the entrance and kissed\nnot only the lintels, but even the floor-beam of the doorway. This\nwas also done by everybody who was coming to church, and my servant,\nin whom I had never detected any semblance of piety on the road,\nwas particularly punctilious in this respect.\u201d[160]\n\nBut it is not the case that the Habashes avoid all religious duties\nthat are irksome. Parkyns wrote: \u201cTheir fasts are more numerous\nperhaps than those of any other Christian people, more than two-thirds\nof the year being assigned to abstinence. Nor in their fasting do\nthey get off as easily as Roman Catholics; for it is not sufficient\nthat they should abstain from animal food only; an Abyssinian,\nduring fast-time, neither eats nor drinks anything till late in the\nafternoon. . . . It is true the Mohammedans do nearly the same during\ntheir month of Ramadan; but they only change the day into night,\nfeasting during the night-time on more luxurious food than many of\nthem could allow themselves during the remainder of the year; while\nthe Abyssinian, when he does eat, confines himself to dried peas,\ndressed in a sort of bad oil, or to an equally unpalatable dish made\nof a kind of spinach, called \u2018hamly\u2019 or \u2018goummen.\u2019 . . . Many\nof the Abyssinian fasts are of long duration. The time of day when\nthe people may eat is determined by the length of a man\u2019s shadow,\nmeasured by his own feet, and varies in different fasts. Thus the fast\nof Advent is during the last ten days of the month Hedar (October)\nand the whole of Tahsas (November), and during each day till a man\u2019s\nshadow measures nine and a half feet. The fast of Lent lasts till\nsunset during fifty-five days. . . . Besides these are the Wednesdays\nand Fridays, making nearly 260 days of fasting. . . . Some of the\npriests are very rigorous in keeping all these fasts, and many even\nvoluntarily add a number for their own observance. The people, too,\nin general are tolerably attentive to this duty; and I have frequently\nmet with men undergoing extreme labour, yet persevering in what they\nhave been brought up to consider as one of the most essential parts of\ntheir religion; for, strictly speaking, a man who has been known to\nneglect the rules of the Church is looked upon almost as an infidel,\nand should he die in such a state of disobedience, his body would\nbe refused sepulture in the churches. Good Friday and the following\nday are passed by the priests and the rigidly devout in an absolute\nfast of forty-eight hours.\u201d[161]\n\nPlowden remarked: \u201cSo much do they attach importance to this\n(fasting) and other outward forms that a man of Hamazayn[162]\nwill slay his near relative, and returning home calmly, will be\nhorror-stricken should his wife have ground flour on a saint\u2019s day,\nor prepared his meal before the hours of fasting have expired.\u201d[163]\n\nIt must be owned that the Habashes recompense themselves as far as\npossible for the severity of their abstinence by gluttony at the\nnumerous feasts which the Church also ordains.\n\nMajor Cornwallis Harris drew attention to a singular custom in the\nfollowing words\u2014\u201cFasts, penances, and excommunication form the\nchief props of the clerical power; but the repentant sinner can always\npurchase a substitute to undergo the two former, and the ban of the\nChurch is readily averted by a timely offering.\u201d[164] This seems\nto indicate an opinion among the Abyssinians that a sin is expiated\nnot by the contrition of the evil-doer, but by a formal amount of\npunishment undergone somewhere by some one\u2014no matter by whom.\n\nThe Abyssinian Church teaches, and the great majority of the people\naccept, the doctrine of transubstantiation. Those who hold this\nbelief \u201cassert that the actual body and blood of our Saviour are\npartaken of by the faithful, but that an angel takes them away from an\nunbeliever, and restores the bread and wine, in his hands, in their\nnatural state, such as they were previous to the benediction. The\nwine is merely an infusion of dried raisins.\u201d[165] Stern tells the\nstory of a miracle which is supposed to have established the fact\nof transubstantiation, and adds, \u201cThe erudite reject the legend,\nand, in their sentiments, approximate to the Lutheran doctrine of\nconsubstantiation.\u201d[166] The Church also teaches the doctrine\nof purgatory and that \u201cprayers for the dead are necessary,\nand absolution indispensable. The souls of the departed do not\nimmediately enter upon a state of happiness, the period being in\nexact accordance with the alms and prayers that are expended upon\nearth.\u201d[167] Stern declared that \u201cthe number of masses requisite\nfor the repose of the soul has not been defined by the Church, and\nthus the misery or bliss of the defunct is at the mercy of niggardly\nrelatives and exacting priests.\u201d[168] Both writers attribute the\nintroduction of this opinion to the Jews.\n\nThe badge of Ethiopian Christianity, worn by all classes, is the\n_mateb_, a blue neck-thread of silk or wool. This is the distinctive\nmark of the Abyssinians\u2019 creed; they hardly believe that one\nwho does not wear it is in reality a Christian, and, said Dufton,\nbesides disdaining their Mohammedan and Jewish neighbours, \u201cthey\noften include in their contempt every form of Christianity even which\ndoes not conform to their own\u201d[169]\u2014in which prejudice they are\nnot so singular as at a first glance they may appear to be. Commonly\na silver ring or cross is attached to the cord.\n\nThe general character of the clergy appears from what has already\nbeen related. Parkyns saw them in remote places and in their\nleast spiritual aspect. For instance, in describing the feast on\nSt. Michael\u2019s day at Addy Harisho, he wrote: \u201cAn old priest came\nup to me and offered, on the part of himself and his brethren, to\nperform, if I pleased, the religious dance and song used by them on\nsuch occasions. I never shall forget their ludicrous efforts to appear\ngraceful, at the same time staggering every step; while the expression\nof devotion they affected to assume was reduced to a languid smile\nand thickening eyelids, expressive of nothing but liquor. A hiccup or\ntwo occasionally interfered with the solemn words they were chanting;\nand the stately movements they had begun with changed gradually,\nand by degrees the dance became a reel, or rather reeling movement,\nthe words only which accompanied it remaining solemn. At last an old\npriest, suddenly forgetting the original chant, changed its words\nto those of a jovial drinking ditty: \u2018Don\u2019t you stop the liquor,\nand I will dance for ever!\u2019 Instead of the marks of disapprobation\nfrom his fellow-priests, they only burst into a loud laugh, and,\ndeclaring the entertainment to be changed for the better, all with\none consent followed his example and his tune.\u201d[170]\n\nNevertheless, Parkyns wrote of the priests with tolerance and good\nhumour. And it is worthy of note that two other British writers\nwho knew the country well have had a good word to say for the\nclergy. Plowden, after mentioning some of their faults, observed:\n\u201cIt is just to say that they have preserved the Christian faith,\nimpure indeed, but still alive, in the midst of foreign invasion,\ndomestic degradation, and the extinction of Government, and that it\nis under their protection that agriculture flourishes, and villages\nare built where deserts would else be seen.\u201d[171] Mr. Augustus\nWylde, among several remarks in a similar sense, said: \u201cI have\nfound the clergy, if left alone, peaceable, simple-minded men, very\nhospitable and always willing to do me a good turn, and ready to\nhelp me and pass me on to their neighbouring friends, and I expect\nother travellers would find them the same as long as they treated\nthem properly.\u201d[172]\n\nAn interesting instance of the survival of a Jewish institution among\nthe Christians of Abyssinia is that of Cities of Refuge. Plowden\nwrote, \u201cAll the larger towns are entirely under their (the\npriests\u2019) control, and being cities of refuge, sacred even from\nthe Ras, are filled with dissolute and dangerous characters.\u201d[173]\nParkyns mentioned Axum as a place of this kind, and added, \u201cat\nAdoua the whole of that part called after the church, in fact the\nparish, is sanctuary (\u2018guddam\u2019), and no person having taken\nrefuge there can be arrested, although he walk about the public\nstreets in broad daylight, so long as he does not pass the parish\nboundaries.\u201d[174] Stern alluded to the subject, and had formed\nthe impression that churches in general were sanctuaries. \u201cIn\nmost cases the murderer may elude the violent rage of his pursuers\nby taking refuge in a church, where the priests will negotiate the\nprice of his release.\u201d[175] He mentioned also certain rivers\u2014the\nTaccazze and the Abai\u2014forming the limits of provinces, which the\n\u201cavenger of blood\u201d may not pass.[176]\n\nThe Jewish Sabbath is still held in veneration by the Abyssinian\nChristians. Parkyns observed that a feast called \u201cadam Souaur,\u201d\nor \u201cleft Saturday,\u201d was observed, \u201cas that day was formerly\nthe Jewish Sabbath, but given up by the Christians for the Sunday at\nthe time of the resurrection of our Saviour. The priests collect a\nquantity of rushes, and bless them in the church; and then a priest\nand a deacon take them out into the parish, the deacon carrying the\nbundle, and the priest distributing the rushes to all passers-by,\nbinding them on the head of the receiver. They also visit the houses\nwith them, and generally receive a handsome present.\u201d[177] It would\nbe interesting to discover the origin of this custom. Major Harris,\nwriting in 1843, said, \u201cThe Jewish Sabbath is strictly observed\nthroughout the kingdom. The ox and ass are at rest. Agricultural\npursuits are suspended. Household avocations must be laid aside,\nand the spirit of idleness reigns throughout the day.\u201d[178] The\nsame writer has given a brief history of the observance.[179]\n\nIt is well known that at one time Abyssinia was, so far as the\nEmperor\u2019s power extended at that period, converted to Roman\nCatholicism by the instrumentality of Portuguese missionaries. The\nconnection with Portugal commenced in 1499, when Pedro Covilham\npenetrated by way of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, to Shoa,\nwhere the Emperor then held his court. He was well received. An\nancient Ethiopian law decreed that no foreigner who reached Abyssinia\nshould be allowed to leave the country, but Covilham was permitted to\nsend home an account of his experiences. At a later date a further\ncommunication from the traveller induced the Portuguese Government\nto despatch an embassy, which, after many privations and adventures,\narrived in Shoa in October, 1520. It brought no presents, and was not\ncordially welcomed. However, the Emperor desired to send an answer\nto the King of Portugal, and therefore\u2014in defiance of the ancient\nusage\u2014allowed the ambassador to return to Lisbon, taking with him\nan Ethiopian envoy. But certain of the Portuguese were detained in\nAbyssinia, among whom was a priest named John Bermudez.\n\nSome years later this man was appointed Abouna, or Patriarch, on\nthe death of the incumbent of that office. He made his way to Rome,\nwhere Pope Paul III. confirmed his title, and he thence proceeded,\nin accordance with the Emperor\u2019s desire, to Portugal, and solicited\nthe aid of European troops to assist the Abyssinians in repelling\nthe Mohammedan invasion which then threatened the country.\n\nThe Portuguese Government despatched an expedition of some four\nhundred men under Don Christopher de Gama. These troops disembarked\nat Massowah in 1542. In an engagement with the Mohammedan forces\non August 30 of that year the Abyssinian allies took to flight,\nand the Portuguese were surrounded. They cut their way through the\nenemy and effected their retreat, but Don Christopher, who had been\nwounded, was captured by the enemy and murdered by the Mohammedan\ncommander. His skull was sent to Constantinople as a trophy. The\nsurviving Portuguese besought of the Emperor an opportunity to avenge\ntheir leader, and they shortly afterwards took part in an action in\nwhich the Mohammedan forces were routed with great slaughter.\n\nThese circumstances added to the influence of Bermudez, but he\ninsisted rigorously on the complete acceptance of Roman doctrine and\nritual by the Abyssinians, and thus incurred the resentment of the\nEmperor. As a consequence he lost the advantages which he and his\ncompatriots had gained, and finally abandoned his task and quitted\nthe country, embarking at Massowah, where he had landed.\n\nA subsequent mission under the leadership of Oviedo, Bishop\nof Hieropolis, which reached Massowah in 1558, failed equally,\nafter many adventures\u2014including an Abyssinian Council at which\nthe Emperor and the bishop publicly and heatedly disputed about\npoints of doctrine\u2014and in 1560 Oviedo received orders from Rome\nto withdraw from Ethiopia and proceed to Japan.\n\nPeter Paez was the next missionary who attempted to bring Abyssinia\ninto communion with the Catholic Church. After suffering shipwreck in\nthe Red Sea and enduring a seven years\u2019 captivity in the hands of\nthe Turks he landed at Massowah in 1600. Paez was a man of prudence\nand ability. He prepared himself for his task by learning the Geez\nlanguage and opening a school at Maiguagua, in which he was able to\nstudy the character of the Abyssinian people. He acquired a reputation\nas a teacher and disputant, and in 1604 was summoned to the court,\nwhere the reigning Emperor, Za Dengel, received him as a person\nof distinction. He soon acquired influence over this monarch, who\nsanctioned the use of the Roman ritual and shortly became a convert to\nCatholicism. A rebellion\u2014one of the ordinary incidents of Abyssinian\npolitics\u2014was organized against him, and he was slain. A period of\ncivil war ensued, during which his successor shared the same fate.\n\nThe crown then passed to the Emperor Segued (called also Socinios and\nSusneus).[180] Paez aroused his interest by his skill in architecture\nand his other talents, was received into favour, and for the second\ntime induced the ruler of the country to recognize the authority\nof the Catholic Church. Letters announcing the event, signed by the\nEmperor himself, were sent to the Pope and the King of Portugal. Paez\ndied in 1623, shortly after receiving Segued\u2019s formal abjuration\nof heresy and administering to him the sacrament of penance.\n\nUpon receipt of the Emperor\u2019s letter, the Pope, in 1624, despatched\nto Ethiopia a mission headed by Alphonso Mendez, a Jesuit and\ndoctor of divinity. This envoy and his followers reached Abyssinia\nin 1625. On February 11, 1626, before the court and the magnates\nof the country, the Emperor avowed his submission to the head of\nthe Catholic Church, and took the oath of obedience to the Holy\nSee. A proclamation was then made that \u201call persons intended for\npriests should embrace the Catholic religion under pain of death,\nand that all should follow the forms of the Church of Rome in the\ncelebration of Easter and Lent under the same penalty.\u201d\n\nThe change of creed was not popular in the country. It was opposed\nby force, and became the occasion of a renewal of civil war. The\nEmperor found that he had alienated his subjects, and, in spite of the\nprotests and resistance of Mendez, he issued, in 1632, an edict by\nwhich he restored the ancient religion to its former authority, and\nabdicated in favour of his son. Segued died a few months afterwards,\nstill professing the Catholic faith. His successor banished Mendez\nand his retinue, whereupon they sought protection with the Prince\nof Bar, who had been at enmity with the Abyssinian king; but this\nchieftain delivered them to the Turks. Father Jerome Lobo, who\nwrote a history of the mission, and some of his companions, reached\nEurope after many adventures; others were ransomed from the Pasha of\nSouakim and proceeded to India, and the few Jesuits who had remained\nin Abyssinia were put to death.\n\nOf nine Capuchins who endeavoured to enter the country soon after\nthese events, seven were killed, the three who arrived last being\nmurdered by the Pasha of Souakim, at the Emperor of Abyssinia\u2019s\nrequest, as soon as they reached the coast.\n\nNo subsequent attempt of similar importance was made to convert\nthe Abyssinian nation to Catholicism, and the story of the struggle\nbetween the Roman and the Alexandrian forms of belief may be said\nto have ended with the banishment of Mendez.\n\nThere have been theological contentions in the Abyssinian Church as\nin others, and it has not escaped schism. The fiercest dispute arose\nabout the number of the births of Christ, and the sword has been\nused\u2014as elsewhere\u2014to lend force to arguments. Major Harris wrote:\n\u201cAt the expense of a bloody civil war, Gondar, with Godjam, Damot,\nand all the south-western provinces of Amh\u00e1ra, has long maintained\nthe three births of Christ\u2014Christ proceeding from the Father from\nall eternity, styled \u2018the eternal birth;\u2019 His incarnation, as\nbeing born of the holy Virgin, termed His \u2018second or temporal\nbirth;\u2019 and His reception of the Holy Ghost, denominated His\n\u2018third birth.\u2019 The Tigre ecclesiastics, on the other hand,\nwhose side is invariably espoused by the Primate of Ethiopia, deny\nthe third birth, upon the ground that the reception of the Holy\nGhost cannot be so styled.\u201d[181] Bishop Samuel Gobat, whose book\nwas published in 1834, gave a fuller account of the controversy,\nwhich Parkyns quoted.[182] In Stern\u2019s time the Abouna (primate)\nwas supported by King Theodore in his opposition to the doctrine of\nthe three births, and \u201cthe royal herald made proclamation that in\nfuture all who adhered to the obnoxious dogma of the threefold birth\nwould be taught obedience by the _giraffe_ (scourging). The Shoa\nclergy denounced this decision as arbitrary and tyrannical, as indeed\nit was; but an application of the promised whip wrought a wonderful\nchange among that insubordinate body.\u201d[183] The same author on\none occasion saw about a dozen priests in chains, who were brought\nbefore the Abouna to be admonished because \u201cthey had pertinaciously\nclung to the abolished dogma of the three births of Christ.\u201d[184]\nThe penalty which they incurred \u201cconsisted of several months\u2019\nsuccessive fasts, divers fines, and the promise of the _giraffe_.\u201d\n\nFor a detailed account of Abyssinian Christianity and ecclesiastical\nhistory, reference should be made to the books already mentioned in\nthis volume\u2014Bruce, Gobat, Harris, Lobo, Legrand, Stern, Dufton,\nPlowden, and Parkyns especially\u2014and to the works of F. Alvarez[185]\nand Job Ludolphus.[186] A digest of the writings of the early\ntravellers and missionaries in Abyssinia was published by F. Balthazar\nTellez, and translated into English by John Stevens (1710).\n\nMention has already been made of the Falashas (Jews) of\nAbyssinia. These people, said Stern, \u201cclaiming a lineal descent\nfrom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, pride themselves on the fame of their\nprogenitors and the purity of the blood that circulates in their\nown veins. Intermarriages with those of another tribe or creed are\nstrictly interdicted,[187] nay, even the visit to an unbeliever\u2019s\nhouse is a sin, and subjects the transgressor to the penance of a\nthorough lustration and a complete change of dress before he can\nreturn to his own home. Their stern uncompromising sectarian spirit\nhas been highly beneficial in excluding from their community that\nlicentious profligacy in which all the other inhabitants of Ethiopia\nriot; and it is generally admitted that Falasha men and women seldom,\nif ever, stray from the path of virtue, or transgress the solemn\nlaw of the decalogue.\u201d[188]\n\nVarious accounts, of which two have already been mentioned, are\ngiven of the origin of the Jewish colony in Abyssinia. It is commonly\nbelieved among the people that a large retinue returned with Maqueda,\nQueen of Sheba, from her visit to King Solomon. Harris remarked,\n\u201cThe tradition of Queen Maqueda has been ascribed to the invention\nof those fugitive Jews, who, after the destruction of Jerusalem by\nthe Emperor Titus, emigrated into the northern States by way of the\nRed Sea, who disseminated it with the design of obtaining the desired\npermission to settle in the country, and whose descendants are the\nFalashas still extant among the mountains of Simien and Lasta.\u201d[189]\nAccording to Stern, \u201cthe most probable conjecture is that at a\nvery early period\u2014perhaps when Solomon\u2019s fleet navigated the\nRed Sea\u2014some adventurous Jews, impelled by love of gain, settled\namong the pleasant hills of Arabia Felix; whilst others of a more\ndaring and enterprising spirit were induced to try their fortune\nin the more remote mountain scenes of Ethiopia. . . . Subsequent\ntroubles in Palestine and the final overthrow of the Jewish monarchy\nby Nebuchadnezzar increased the number of the emigrants, and in\nthe lapse of a few centuries the Jews formed a powerful state in\nArabia, and a formidable and turbulent people in the Alpine regions\nbetween Tigre and Amhara in Ethiopia.\u201d[190] Mr. Vivian alluded to\n\u201ca colony of aboriginal Jews up in the mountains of Tigre. They\nlive in pastoral fashion, like the old Hebrew patriarchs, upon the\nproduce of the flocks and herds. They have been there for centuries,\nperhaps even for thousands of years, and the Abyssinians confess\nthat they have always failed to dislodge them from their inaccessible\nfastnesses.\u201d[191] Falashas are also found in the provinces bordering\non Lake Tsana, including Godjam, and it was in this district that\nStern visited them. It seems probable that the Jews who have retained\ntheir religion are the descendants of those who refused to conform to\nthe doctrines of the Coptic Church when they were generally adopted\nin the country. Bruce mentions that \u201cabout one hundred and eighty\nyears after the establishment of Christianity, a religious war is said\nto have taken place between the converted and unconverted Abyssinians\n(the Christians and the Jews),\u201d[192] and if one may judge by the\nsteady and successful opposition which Hebrews in other countries have\noffered to the most strenuous methods of conversion, it appears likely\nthat a portion of those in Abyssinia adhered to their ancient creed.\n\nThere is a tradition that in the tenth century the Jews obtained\nascendency in Ethiopia, and preserved their supremacy for about three\ncenturies. \u201cIn the year 960 the Jews, supported by their king and\nby his daughter Judith, a woman of great beauty, resolved to attempt\nthe subversion of the Christian religion and the destruction of the\nrace of Solomon (Queen Maqueda\u2019s descendants having been converted\nto the Alexandrian doctrines). They surprised the mountain of Damo,\nthe residence of the Christian princes, the whole of whom, about four\nhundred, were massacred, excepting one infant, who escaped into the\npowerful and loyal province of Shoa. A solitary representative of the\nblood of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba was thus preserved. Judith\ntook possession of the throne, and not only enjoyed it herself\nfor forty years, but transmitted it to five of her posterity. On\nthe death of the last of these the crown descended to one of his\nrelations, a Christian, and is said to have remained in his family\n(who, though Christians, were not of the line of Solomon) for five\ngenerations. Finally, Tekla Haimanot, the famous saint, persuaded\nthe reigning king to restore the crown to the house of Solomon,\nwhose descendants had survived in Shoa.\u201d[193]\n\nDiffering accounts of the former political status of the Hebrews in\nthe land have been given by various writers; Stern said that in their\n\u201cmountain fastnesses of Simien and Bellesa they maintained, under\ntheir own kings and queens, called Gideon and Judith, a chequered\nand independent existence till the beginning of the seventeenth\ncentury.\u201d[194] Harris, following Bruce more closely, wrote,\n\u201cChristianity became the national religion of Abyssinia in the\nbeginning of the fourth century. The Falashas, descendants of the\nJews who were believed to have accompanied Menelek from Jerusalem,\nhad meanwhile waxed extremely powerful, and refusing to abandon the\nfaith of their forefathers, they now declared independence. Electing\na sovereign of their own creed, they took possession of the almost\nimpregnable mountain fastnesses of Simien, where their numbers were\naugmented by continual accessions from the Jews who were expelled from\nPalestine and from Arabia. Under the constant titles of Gideon and\nJudith, a succession of kings and queens held a limited sway until,\nin the middle of the _tenth_ century,\u201d the Princess Esther brought\nabout the revolution which Bruce ascribed to Judith\u2014one writer\nprobably using the name and the other the title of the usurper in\nquestion. Whatever the circumstances may really have been, there\nseems reason to believe that the Jews were at one time sufficiently\ninfluential to impose a dynasty of their choice upon the nation.\n\nStern has given a full and very interesting account of the Falashas\nwhom he saw. According to this they dwell as a rule, though not\ninvariably, apart from the remainder of the population, and \u201ctheir\nsettlements are strikingly distinguished from the Christian villages\nby the red earthen pot on the apex of their _mesquid_, or place of\nworship, which towers from the centre of the thatched huts by which\nit is environed. . . . Husbandry and a few simple trades\u2014such as\nsmiths, potters, and weavers\u2014constitute the sole occupations in\nwhich they engage; commerce they unanimously repudiate as incompatible\nwith their Mosaic Creed, and it is quite a disappointment not to\nfind a single merchant among a quarter of a million of people,\nthe lineal descendants of those who are supposed to have acquired a\ntaste for traffic and riches on the very eve of their emancipation\nfrom Egyptian servitude.\u201d\n\nThough they had very few copies of the Scriptures in Stern\u2019s\ntime they were well acquainted with the Old Testament, especially\nthe Pentateuch and the Psalms. \u201cTheir sacrifices,\u201d he wrote,\n\u201care most capriciously offered, and with the exception of the\nPaschal Lamb, neither the offering on the Sabbath nor on the day of\natonement is in accordance with the original command. . . . Every\nFalasha settlement has a hut at its outskirts, and there the unclean\nand impure must take refuge during the prescribed number of days. This\nritual scrupulosity involves many social hardships and inflicts on\nnumbers many a keen pang. Particularly in the hour of dissolution,\nwhen the sweet expressions of friendship and love are so soothing\nto the agonized soul and anguished frame, the dying Falasha has\nno affectionate hand clasped in his, and no words of comfort from\nbeloved objects whispered in his ears. The inflexible law forbids\nthe last offices to the weeping relative, and the helpless sufferer\nis in death\u2019s agonizing convulsions dragged from the weary couch\ninto the open air, where the polluted and unclean remove him from\nthe bare ground to the tainted and lonely hut.\u201d\n\nOn the Sabbath \u201cthe service, which consists in chanting psalms\nand hymns relieved by allegorical stories and a few verses or a\nchapter of the book of Leviticus, lasts a considerable time, and\nin some places the plaintive notes of the worshippers may even be\nheard across the quiet valley and around the lonely hill throughout\nthe night. . . . Broad phylacteries and the garments of fringes are\nutterly unknown among them, nor do they wash the cup or practise\nany of the decrees of the rabbins. . . . About the advent of the\nMessiah they have no intelligent or definite idea. \u2018We believe\nthat Jerusalem will again be rebuilt,\u2019 is the answer on the lip\nof every Falasha, when questioned as to the future destiny of his\nnation. This event they regard as the consummation of their brightest\nhopes\u2014the realization of their fondest mundane visions. . . .\u201d\n\nAsceticism, borrowed from the Christian hermits, has become a practice\namong the Falasha priests, who \u201cafter their initiation frequently\npass months and years in swampy marshes, stern wilds and poisonous\njungles, where roots or dried peas, which latter they carry with them,\nare their only means of subsistence. Numbers succumb to the noxious\ninfluence of the atmosphere, others perish of famine, whilst not a few\nbecome the prey of the lion, hyena, and other voracious beasts which\ninhabit those unsightly tracts.\u201d There are also Falasha monks,\nand \u201cthe dwellings and convents of these ascetics are carefully\nisolated from the abodes of the impure and unholy people.\u201d\n\nThere were, in Stern\u2019s day, three Falasha high-priests in Abyssinia,\none in the province of Quara, the other in Armatgioho, and the\nthird, Aboo Maharee, in Dembea. The missionary had some indecisive\ndiscussion with the last-named, a man about sixty years of age,\n\u201cof a noble and commanding figure, swathed in a white _shama_,\nand holding a long bamboo staff, which in the distance looked like\nthe crosier of a bishop.\u201d He had a \u201chigh and expressive forehead,\nmelancholy restless eyes, and a countenance once no doubt mild and\npleasing, but to which self-imposed penances and a repulsive practice\nhad imparted an expression most strange and unearthly.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe common people have all an erect, upright carriage;\u201d the\nwomen are intelligent and _sympathiques_, and the younger of them\nattractive. To judge by Stern\u2019s description,[195] the Falashas are\ngenerally a worthy, simple and devout race, bigoted but \u201cexemplary\nin their morals, and cleanly in their habits\u201d\u2014in which latter\nrespect they form a striking contrast to their co-religionists in\nthe slums of London. Plowden said of the Abyssinian Jews, \u201cThey are\nstill found in some numbers, and, though despised, are not persecuted;\nthis may be owing to their poverty. They know nothing of the Hebrew\ntongue, but some read the Mosaic books in Geez, and are as scrupulous\nin their ceremonials as their brethren elsewhere. They are the best\nmasons in the country.\u201d[196]\n\n\u201cThe _mesquids_, like the Christian churches, consist of three\ndivisions, with an entrance towards the east. The admission into\nthese different courts is rigorously regulated by Levitical law,\nand the severest penalty would be inflicted on any one who should\nincautiously pollute the sacred edifice. In the rear of every place\nof worship is a small enclosure with a huge stone in the centre;\nand on this crude altar the victim is slaughtered, and all other\nsacrificial rites performed.\u201d[197]\n\nFor a notice of a curious superstition of which a class of Jewish\npeople are often the object among Christian Abyssinians, see p. 288.\n\nIn the \u201cJewish Year-Book\u201d[198] for 1904 the number of Jews in\nAbyssinia is computed at 50,000; the \u201cAmerican Jewish Year Book\u201d\nestimates it to be 120,000. Both these figures must be conjectural,\nand the former differs very widely from that given by Stern, who had\nhad opportunities of obtaining information in the country. Considering\nthe fecundity of the Jews in most parts of the world it is unlikely\nthat their numbers have diminished in Ethiopia during the last\nforty years.\n\nIn Plowden\u2019s time there was a large and prosperous Mohammedan\npopulation in Abyssinia. He wrote: \u201cIn all large towns they\nhave a separate quarter, with mosques and public prayers. From\nthe advantage that their commerce in slaves gives them over their\nChristian competitors, the Mussulman traders are the most wealthy,\nand are, therefore, generally appointed to the high post of Negadeh\nRas, or collector of all customs, literally \u2018head of merchants.\u2019\nTo enforce their authority these keep large bodies of armed men, and\nconfidently predict the final triumph of the faith of the Prophet in\nAbyssinia. The Abyssinian Mussulmans, as distinguished from the Galla,\nare all traders; they will not eat meat killed by Christians, and are\nfrequently their superiors in morality and intelligence. They live\non terms of equality, good humour and friendship with the Christians,\nopenly defend their creed, and receive any proselyte that offers, and\ndo not appear to think that the restrictions in the Koran respecting\nstrong drinks apply to them at all.\u201d Plowden added that they,\nlike the Christians, did not generally seclude their women.\n\nKing Theodore, early in his reign, issued an edict which \u201crequired\nperemptorily the expulsion from the country, or the instant return\nto the bosom of the Church of his apostate countrymen,\u201d _i.e._\nMohammedans.[199] Circumstances prevented him from enforcing this\ndecree. It was revived by King Johannes, and no doubt, had in other\nparts of Abyssinia the effect which Stecker observed in Korata.[200]\nBut Mohammedans are still to be found\u2014_e.g._ in the district of\nAxum[201] and in Shoa.[202]\n\nAllusion has already been made to the Waitos.[203] Plowden wrote of\nthem: \u201cThey call themselves Mohammedans, but are not recognized\nby the other followers of that creed. They principally reside near\nthe Lake Tsana, and are a very handsome race. They are regarded\nwith as much aversion as the Jews.\u201d[204] It must be owned that\nthe appreciation of their personal appearance is a matter of taste.\n\nAnother singular sect is that known as Koomants, or Kamants. These\npeople, \u201cfound only in the neighbourhood of Gondar, are acknowledged\nby neither Christian, Mussulman, or Jew, and have a bastard creed,\na compound of all three. They are skilful carpenters, and supply\nall Gondar with wood. They are despised, but being very courageous,\nand having lately shown an inclining towards Christianity, it is not\nimprobable that their distinctions will soon disappear; many even now\nhave ceased a practice which was the chief separating cause. They\nhung heavy weights in the lobe of the ear of the girls, who are\nthereby excluded from any chance of marriage with Christians.\u201d[205]\nHormuzd Rassam on one occasion halted at a village of Kamants called\nSaraba, north of Lake Tsana, in the direction of Gondar. He saw\nthere \u201ca place of worship, which they hold in great veneration. The\nentire space between the spring and this temple, or, more strictly,\ngrove\u2014they have no building for their religious services\u2014is\nregarded as sacred, and no Christian or Mohammedan is allowed to\nenter within the hallowed precincts. When engaged in prayer, they\ntake up a position under a tree, on the banks of the stream, or\nin the wood about half a mile from the spring. It is owing to this\npractice that the Christian Abyssinians style them \u2018Worshippers of\nwood,\u2019 or simply \u2018Wood.\u2019 Their religion is as great a mystery\nin Abyssinia as that of the Ansairies is in Syria, and although the\nlate king (Theodore) obliged them to wear the \u2018mateb\u2019 cord,\nyet they still continue to practise certain rites and ceremonies\nunknown either to Christians or Mussulmans. They only eat meat which\nhas been slaughtered by themselves, and eschew fish and coffee;\nyet they adopt Christian names, and have a kind of baptism, which\ntheir Christian countrymen designate a \u2018mockery.\u2019\u201d[206]\n\nStern\u2019s first experience of these people was agreeable. In a deep\nvalley called Walee Dubba, on the way to Tschelga, he met some young\nwomen who had jars of _dallah_, a beer made from sprouting barley,\nto sell. \u201cIt was quite an unexpected surprise,\u201d he wrote, \u201cto\nsee the solitude of an African wilderness enlivened with the gay\nsong and sprightly converse of a number of young lasses, who, clad\nin rustling leather petticoats, moved about amongst the various\ngroups resting under the leafy foliage, with a grace and innate\nmodesty which elicited admiration, whilst at the same time it forbad\nall unbecoming liberty.\u201d At Tschelga he questioned some of the\nKamants \u201cabout their knowledge of God and their hopes of eternity;\nbut they had so little to communicate, beyond a belief in a Supreme\nBeing and the existence of a future state, that the most simple query\ncaused them the utmost wonder and surprise. . . . Their language is\nAmharic, but amongst themselves they speak in the Falasha tongue;\nand the striking Jewish features of many a man and woman amongst\nthem inclined us to credit the report which assigns to them a Jewish\norigin.\u201d The same writer has mentioned the legendary derivation of\ntheir name,[207] and he described them as industrious, energetic,\nand active. He saw many of their women in Gondar, and remarked\nthat \u201cit was a strange sight to see these young females\u2014clad in\nsimple leather petticoats and equally simple earrings of wood, which,\naccording to the orthodox fashion, must be weighty enough to distend\nin a few years the flap of the ear down to the shoulders\u2014walking\nabout in the market, or groaning under a heavy burden of wood,\nutterly unconcerned about everything except the graceful ornament\nthat dangled round their necks.\u201d[208]\n\nAt the present time European creeds are represented in Abyssinia\nby converts, whose change of faith is due to the activity of\nmissionaries. Mr. Wylde wrote upon this subject\u2014\u201cI believe the\nmajority of the Abyssinians care a great deal for their religion, and\nit is only the more worthless ones that are found round the different\nmission stations; people who are willing to change their faith the\nsame as they would their clothes, and when they have worn out all\nthat are to be got, revert to their original one again, without\nperhaps being any the better or any the worse for the experience,\nbut only to be marked by others as being utterly worthless and\nunreliable characters. I will never have a male servant in my employ\nthat has been near a mission, if I can help it. Female servants are\ndifferent; they usually are taught to sew, wash, and cook, and are\ngenerally cleanly in their habits, but when they get to a certain\nage the majority of them run away from these establishments, as they\ncannot stand the discipline and restraint; and I don\u2019t blame them,\nas a more unlovely and monotonous life does not exist.\u201d[209]\n\nThere is a code of law in Abyssinia, which is called _Fatha Negest_,\nor _Feth Negust_. According to Major Harris this volume of \u201cThe\nJudgments of the Kings\u201d is said to have fallen from heaven in the\ntime of Constantine the Great, and he includes it among the books\nof which MSS. are still extant in the country.[210] Plowden stated\nthat it was supposed \u201cto have been compiled by the Council of Three\nHundred, in the earlier ages of the Church, and regarded originally\nas of almost equal authority with the sacred writings.\u201d[211]\nHe further remarked that this code \u201cis a bad translation from\nthat of Justinian; three parts of it being occupied with Church\naffairs and regulations, and a small portion only with the civil\nand criminal law, this latter being also much mixed up with the\ninstitutions of the Pentateuch. Bad as it is, there are probably\nnot twenty persons in the country that are conversant with it; and\nsome singular judgments are given on its authority, much after the\nfashion of the _sortes Virgilian\u00e6_. Though it is consulted with much\nceremony, and considered a sacred volume, law is, in fact, simplified\nto the will of the chief. Still, the fact of there being a written\nlaw has assisted in retarding the degradation of the people.\u201d[212]\n\nThe following extract from Parkyns\u2019s work shows the spirit of\nEthiopian jurisprudence in dealing with serious crime: \u201cAs for\nthe laws of the country, they are for the most part formed on the\nbasis of the old Mosaic dispensation. \u2018An eye for an eye, and\na tooth for a tooth\u2019 is followed nearly to the letter\u2014so much\nso that, if a man kill another, the murderer must be put to death\nby the nearest relatives of the deceased with precisely the same\nkind of weapon as that with which he killed his victim.\u201d[213]\nThe murderer may redeem his life by paying a ransom, which, in\nStern\u2019s time, varied from fifty to two hundred and fifty Maria\nTheresa dollars. If he did not possess the requisite amount he was\nchained to a relative of the deceased and obliged to beg till he\nhad collected the stipulated sum. The severity of the punishments\nin vogue varies with the temperament of different rulers, the\nEmperor being the final authority in such matters, and a right of\nappeal to him is admitted in favour of all accused persons.[214]\nMutilation is a common penalty.[215] \u201cThis,\u201d said Mr. Wylde,\n\u201chas not the terrors that it would have in England, as some of the\nthieves in Abyssinia have been operated on a second and a third time,\nand I saw one man with his left foot being the only extremity left,\nand he was being fed by the priests at the church at Adowa.\u201d[216]\n\nAll Abyssinian litigants are required to find security. \u201cThese\nsecurities must be persons whom the judge is certain of being\nable to seize if necessary. If the charge be serious they must\nbe persons of property, and are liable both for the appearance of\ntheir principals, and for the sentence whatever that may be. This\ncustom obtains both in civil and criminal law. In default of such\nsecurity, each party is chained by the wrist; an additional expense,\nas the chains must be hired, and the jailor\u2014that is, the person\nto whom he is chained, paid a sum fixed by law. This bail is the\nprop of Abyssinian society; no commercial or market transfer takes\nplace without it. The Abyssinian judge or creditor cares nothing for\nthe principal in a cause; the bail is seized, and in self-defence\nproduces his man; and it is an honourable trait that the principal\nrarely absconds. A friend will thus become security in a case of\nmurder, though rendering himself thereby liable to suffer death,\nor to pay the price of blood, to them a fortune.\n\n\u201cAfter both parties have given security the plaintiff only is\nallowed to produce his witnesses; the defendant can, when they are\ncalled by name, admit or reject their evidence, in almost every case\ngreat indulgence being shown in this respect. . . . In small affairs,\nsuch as a sudden dispute on the high road, the meeting of an absconded\ndebtor, or any civil matter, the first decent person to be found is\nobliged to act as a temporary judge, if adjured by the \u2018death of the\nchief\u2019 paramount. He must then place the accused in bonds, which is\ndone by tying his cloth (_shama_) to that of his accuser, and escort\nor send them to the nearest magistrate, who, should the accused demand\nit, must in like manner forward him to his immediate master or chief,\nwhere the case is first heard, the plaintiff having right of appeal;\nthe law in this being, however, highly favourable to the defendant,\nthe plaintiff not being always disposed for a long journey.\u201d[217]\n\nEvery man is his own advocate. Those who wish to read an account of\nthe proceedings \u201cin court\u201d should refer to \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d\np. 308, or \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d pp. 48, 170. The\nhearing usually gives occasion for a good deal of eloquence and a\ngreat deal of lying.\n\nThere is no sort of general education in Abyssinia. Men of attainments\nare found in the upper classes, and some of the higher officials are\ncapable linguists. But as regards the bulk of the nation learning has\nadvanced little since the days of Harris. \u201cThe stores of literature\nbeing bound up in a dead letter (the Geez language), few excepting the\npriests and _defterers_ can decipher them, and many of these learned\nmen are often more indebted to the memory of their early youth than\nto the well-thumbed page in their hand. The ignorance of the nation\nis, indeed, truly deplorable; for those children only receive the\nrudiments of an education who are designed for the service of the\nChurch; and, the course of study adopted being little calculated to\nexpand the mind of the neophyte, a peculiar deficiency is presented\nin intellectual features.\u201d[218] Plowden remarked of the priests\nthat they \u201cteach but one book to the children of the laity,\n\u2018The Psalms of David;\u2019 and without forbidding other learning,\ndiscourage it, confining it as much as possible to the clergy and\nthe scribes.\u201d[219] Allusion has already been made to the classes\nheld by the priests in the precincts of the churches.[220] Such\ninstruction as is obtainable is given, of course, to all pupils\nunder clerical supervision. There are no secular schools, and at\nthe present time, as Mr. Vivian remarked, \u201cno one in Abyssinia\never does get any education beyond learning to read and write, and\nquote passages from the Gospels.\u201d[221] Those whose acquirements\nexceed this standard are not indebted for them to native teachers.\n\nThe habits of the young girls, among the generality of the people,\ndo not foster any strict notions of morality. Parkyns wrote: \u201cThe\nboys are turned out wild to look after the sheep and cattle, and the\ngirls, from early childhood, are sent to fetch water from the well\nor brook, first in a gourd, and afterwards in a jar proportioned\nto their strength. If the well be far from the village, the girls\nusually form parties to go thither and amuse themselves on the road\nby singing sentimental or love songs; while, during their halt at\nthe well for an hour or so, they engage in romps of all kinds, in\nwhich parties of the other sex frequently join. This early licence\nlays the foundation for worse, when at a later period they are sent\nto the woods to collect fuel.\u201d[222]\n\nCourtship can hardly be said to exist. \u201cIn Abyssinia young people\nbegin to think of marriage at a very early age. I have seen brides\nof eight or nine years old; and boys at a proportionally youthful\nage are considered marriageable. When a lad wishes to marry he\nonly inquires for a girl who may possess twice the number of oxen\nthat he can muster, or their value. His proposals are made to\nthe girl\u2019s father, and, unless there is some strong motive for\nrejecting him, he is accepted, and everything is arranged without\nconsulting the lady\u2019s taste or asking her consent. They are usually\nbetrothed three or four months before marriage, during which time the\nbridegroom frequently visits his father-in-law elect, and occasionally\npropitiates him with presents of honey, butter, a sheep, or a goat;\nbut he is never allowed to see his intended wife even for a moment,\nunless, by urgent entreaty or a handsome bribe, he induces some female\nfriend of hers to arrange the matter, by procuring him a glance at his\ncruel fair one. For this purpose he conceals himself behind a door\nor other convenient hiding-place, while the lady, on some pretext\nor other, is led past it. Should she, however, suspect a trick,\nand discover him, she would make a great uproar, cover her face,\nand, screaming, run away and hide herself, as though her sense of\npropriety were greatly offended by the intrusion; although previous\nto his making the offer she would have thought it no harm to romp\nwith him, or any other male acquaintance, in the most free and easy\nmanner. Even after she has been betrothed, she is at home to every\none, except to him who most sighs for the light of her countenance.\n\n\u201cIn Tigre, and especially in Shire, there is a superstition that\nif a girl leave her father\u2019s house during the interval between\nher betrothal and marriage she will be bitten by a snake.\n\n\u201cWhen the wedding day approaches the girl is well washed,\nher hair combed and tressed, and she is rendered in every way as\nagreeable as possible. She has then to undergo a course of diet\nand medicine.\u201d[223]\n\nOf marriages there are three kinds. The foregoing extract refers\nto the usual merely civil contract; for such unions there are\n\u201cbridesmen\u201d (_arkees_), who have peculiar privileges in the\ncommunity, including that of theft, remain \u201con duty\u201d after the\nnuptials, and occupy the most singular relation to the newly wedded\ndamsel.[224] There are also bridesmaids, who keep their faces covered\nduring the wedding, which is a very simple ceremony. Mr. Wylde and an\nItalian friend obtained an illicit view of an Abyssinian bride and\nbridesmaids, and were rewarded by the sight of some very charming\ngirls. Both he and Parkyns have written entertaining descriptions\nof an Abyssinian marriage of this kind.[225]\n\nRassam has given the following particulars with regard to such\ncontracts. \u201cThe parties simply swear, in the presence of two\nwitnesses, that they will live together as husband and wife. This bond\nmay be dissolved at any time by mutual consent; in that case, the wife\nis entitled to retain whatever property she possessed before wedlock,\nas also any presents which she may have received from her husband\nduring coverture, unless a stipulation to the contrary was agreed\nto by both sides, on their union. Most Abyssinian marriages are of\nthis sort, and the generality of the respectable classes so wedded\nlive together as husband and wife until separated by death.\u201d[226]\n\nHarris wrote: \u201cIn Shoa a girl is reckoned according to the value\nof her property; and the heiress to a house, a field, and a bedstead\nis certain to add a husband to her list before many summers have\nshone over her head. Marriage is generally concluded by the parties\ndeclaring, before witnesses, \u2018upon the life of the King,\u2019 that\nthey intend to live happily together, and the property of each\nbeing produced is carefully appraised. A mule or an ass, a dollar,\na shield and a sheaf of spears on the one side,[227] are noted\nagainst the lady\u2019s stock of wheat, cotton, and household gear;\nand the bargain being struck, the effects become joint for the time,\nuntil some domestic difference results in either taking up their own,\nand departing to seek a new mate.\n\n\u201cFavourite slaves and concubines are respected as much as wedded\nwives. No distinction is made betwixt legitimate and illegitimate\nchildren; and, to the extent of his means, every subject follows the\nexample set by the monarch (Sahela Selassie), who, it has been seen,\nentertains upon his establishment, in addition to his lawful spouse,\nno fewer than five hundred concubines.\n\n\u201cFew married couples even live long together without violating\ntheir vow; and the dereliction being held of small account, a beating\nis the only punishment inflicted upon the weaker party. The jewel\nchastity is here in no repute; and the utmost extent of reparation\nto be recovered in a court of justice for the most aggravated case\nof seduction is but fivepence sterling.\n\n\u201cMorality is thus at the very lowest ebb; for there is neither\ncustom nor inducement to be chaste, and beads, more precious than\nfine gold, bear down every barrier of restraint. Honesty and modesty\nboth yield to the force of temptation, and pride is seldom offended\nat living in a state of indolent dependence upon others. The soft\nsavage requires but little inducement to follow the bent of her\npassions according to the dictates of unenlightened nature; and\nneither scruples of conscience nor the rules of the loose society\nform any obstacle whatever to their entire gratification.\u201d[228]\n\nPlowden confirms the observation that \u201cno distinction is made\nbetween legitimate and illegitimate children,\u201d and adds, \u201call\nshare alike on the decease of their father.\u201d[229]\n\nThe reader will have noticed that Rassam\u2019s account of the duration\nand even tenour of these alliances does not agree with the comments\nmade by Harris. Stern observed that the wedded pair \u201cmay, perhaps,\nbecome attached to each other and live in peace and conjugal bliss;\nor, as it frequently happens, they may become disgusted with each\nother after the lapse of a brief period and separate.\u201d[230]\n\nParkyns wrote:\u2014\u201cThe civil marriage may be dissolved on the\nshortest notice and for the most trifling reasons. Parties have\nonly to express their wish to separate, and a division of property\nand children takes place. The boys, if there be any, usually go\nto the father, and the girls to the mother. This having been done,\nthe parties are at liberty to contract a second marriage as soon as\nthey please. It is not an uncommon thing for a man thus separated\nfrom his wife to maintain her in a house near his own, furnish her\nwith the necessary means of subsistence for herself and family,\nand continue apparently in perfect friendship with her, while at\nthe same time he takes another bride in her place.\u201d[231]\n\nThe custom of entering into civil contracts of this kind is of old\nstanding; for Lobo remarked, \u201cA husband that doth not like his wife\nmay easily find means to make the marriage void; and, what is worse,\nmay dismiss the second wife with less difficulty than he took her,\nand return to the first; so that marriages in this country are only\nfor a term of years, and last no longer than both parties are pleased\nwith each other; which is one instance how far distant these people\nare from the purity of the primitive believers, which they pretend to\nhave preserved with so great strictness. The marriages are, in short,\nno more than bargains, made with this proviso that when any discontent\nshall arise on either side, they may separate, and marry whom they\nplease, each taking back what they brought with them.\u201d[232]\n\nAccording to Mr. Vivian, provision is sometimes made at the time of\nthe secular marriage for the event of divorce\u2014\u201ca certain sum is\nagreed upon for payment by the husband. My friend, the coffee-planter\nat Harrar, had to promise to pay \u00a310 to his little Galla wife if\never he sent her away, but that was considered an exceptionally\nheavy fee.\u201d[233]\n\nThere are, however, nuptials of greater sanctity. Rassam thus\ndescribed them: \u201cThe most binding marriage with the Abyssinians\nconsists of an interchange of vows between the bridegroom and bride,\nconfirmed by their jointly partaking of the holy Eucharist; in fact,\nthe union in this case is solemnized much in the same way as in other\nChristian Churches. Here, however, as elsewhere, certain breaches\nof their mutual vows by either party dissolves the tie and renders\nthe transgressor legally obnoxious to punishment; but as Abyssinian\nlaw in such matters has been disregarded for centuries, and Might\nhas taken the place of Right, it follows that an offending husband\ngenerally escapes with impunity; so also does the guilty wife,\nif she happens to belong to the family of a powerful chief. Hence,\nan unprincipled husband, when tired of his wife, finds no difficulty\nwhatever in getting rid of her; and such repudiation is undoubtedly\nvery common. Many cases of the kind fell under my own cognizance,\nand, in nearly all, the husbands were leading incontinent lives; on\nthe other hand, I never heard of a single instance of a wife who had\nbeen sacramentally married proving unfaithful to her husband, even\nafter his repudiation of her. Most women so situated remain single,\nand many become nuns. In consequence of this deplorable state of\nthings, Abyssinian females generally entertain a great distrust of\nthe opposite sex, and not one in twenty would willingly contract\nthe more binding marriage.\u201d[234]\n\nMr. Vivian confirmed this observation. \u201cMarriage is not popular\nwith the women,\u201d he wrote, \u201cin either of these countries\u201d\n(Abyssinia and Somaliland), \u201cand they will only consent to it\nwhen physical force is actually used.\u201d He added, with regard to\nAbyssinia, \u201cThe permanent marriage seems to be very rare, only\npriests and persons of extraordinary piety indulging in it.\u201d[235]\nIt is to be hoped that these worthies do not resort to violence in\norder to gratify their wish. Plowden said of this form of wedlock,\nthat \u201cit is usual in old age only to take the sacrament together\nin the church, thereby pledging themselves to fidelity.\u201d[236]\n\nDoubtless this account of the Abyssinian usage is correct, for it\nagrees with the observations made by Parkyns. \u201cChurch marriages,\u201d\nhe wrote, \u201care rarely solemnized except between persons, who, having\nfirst been civilly married, and having afterwards lived happily\ntogether till the decline of life, begin to feel that they could\nnot hope to suit themselves better, and so determine to sanctify the\nmarriage by going to church and partaking of the Sacrament. The bond\nis then considered indissoluble.\u201d[237] Stern stated that the Negus\nis in the same position as the clergy with regard to monogamy.[238]\n\n\u201cAccording to the canons of the Abyssinian Church, the King is\nbound by the same marital laws as a priest; and, consequently, if his\nwife dies, he dare not marry another. The bereaved predecessors of\nTheodoros scrupulously evaded such a contingency by substituting the\nregularly stored harem in the place of the one lawful wife.\u201d[239]\n\nRassam made the following observations on the third form of wedlock:\n\u201cThis last is little better than concubinage. The contracting\nparties merely engage to cohabit during pleasure, and while so living\nare regarded as husband and wife. The national Church recognizes\nonly the sacramental marriage as valid; but the laity, as a rule,\nset all ecclesiastical law in such matters at defiance. Hence,\na wealthy Abyssinian Christian, who is debarred by the two higher\ndegrees of wedlock from having more than one wife, may nevertheless\nhave as many third-rate wives as he pleases, and cohabit with them\nsimultaneously. In the course of my inquiries into these matrimonial\ncustoms, and the laws affecting inheritances among this peculiar\npeople, I applied to the Abouna to aid me in the research. His reply\nwas, \u2018My son, you have asked me questions which I am unable to\nanswer. This only I can tell you; Abyssinian marriages, with few\nexceptions, are so abominably revolting that the issue are all\nbastards.\u2019\u201d[240]\n\nFrom the opinions quoted it may be judged that the inclination\ntowards conjugal constancy is usually greater in the wife than in\nthe husband, but this is not invariably the case. Rassam tells the\nfollowing story of a couple at Magdala. \u201cThe husband was in such\ndread of losing his partner, knowing that, as he had been united to\nher by the secondary (civil) marriage only, she might leave him any\nday, that her refusal to accompany him to the altar, there to partake\nof the Lord\u2019s Supper with him, in token of their more indissoluble\nunion, nearly drove him mad. The matter was eventually referred to\nthe Abouna, my intervention being also sought, and after considerable\ntrouble we overcame the obstinacy of the lady, and induced her to be\nsacramentally joined to her lovesick lord.\u201d[241] Of course this\nmay have been only an instance of an Ethiopian woman\u2019s mistrust\nof the male sex.\n\nLobo gave some curious details of the penalties that followed\nupon infidelity when he was in the country. \u201cThey have here a\nparticular way of punishing adultery: A woman convicted of that\ncrime is condemned to forfeit all her fortune, is turned out\nof her husband\u2019s house in a mean dress, and is forbid ever to\nenter it again. She has only a needle given her to get her living\nwith. Sometimes her head is shaved, except one lock of hair which\nis left her, and even that depends on the will of her husband, who\nhas it likewise in his choice whether he will receive her again or\nnot. If he resolves never to admit her, they are both at liberty\nto marry whom they will. There is another custom amongst them yet\nmore extraordinary, which is, that the wife is punished whenever\nthe husband proves false to the marriage-contract; this punishment\nindeed extends no farther than a pecuniary mulct; and what seems more\nequitable, the husband is obliged to pay a sum to his wife. When the\nhusband prosecutes his wife\u2019s gallant, if he can produce any proofs\nof a criminal conversation, he recovers, for damages, forty cows,\nforty horses, and forty suits of clothes, and the same number of\nother things. If the gallant be unable to pay him, he is committed\nto prison, and continues there during the husband\u2019s pleasure; who,\nif he sets him at liberty before the whole fine is paid, obliges\nhim to take an oath that he is going to procure the rest, that he\nmay be able to make full satisfaction. Then the criminal orders\nmeat and drink to be brought out, they eat and drink together;\nhe asks a formal pardon, which is not granted at first; however,\nthe husband forgives first one part of the debt, and then another,\ntill at length the whole is remitted.\u201d[242]\n\nAccording to Mr. Wylde, Abyssinian girls have many attractions for\nmen. \u201cThey perfectly understand the utility of \u2018feeding the\nbeast\u2019 with a nice dinner to keep him good-tempered, and from\nwhat I have seen of these young ladies, they do everything they\npossibly can to make a man happy, and being good-tempered, jolly\ngirls, they seldom \u2018nag,\u2019 and no wonder the southern Italians\nhave taken a liking for them, and find themselves perfectly happy in\ntheir society.\u201d He admits that \u201ctheir great drawback is their\ndirtiness;\u201d but adds, \u201call those that get the chance of being\nclean keep themselves very neat and tidy.\u201d However, \u201cnearly all\nthe lower-class Abyssinian women use oil or fat for their heads;\nthis they do to keep the small parasites quiet, as they cannot get\nabout when the head and hair are thickly besmeared and saturated,\nand the oil or fat also serves for softening the skin of the face\nand preventing it from chapping in the cold weather, or blistering\nduring the hot season of the year.\u201d[243] Mr. Vivian remarked of\nthe Ethiopian woman, \u201cthough her features are comely, she is not\nthe sort of person one would care to choose as a companion. For one\nthing, I do not suppose that she ever washes herself in her life,\nthe butter on her hair grows rancid and emits a peculiarly pungent\nodour, which affronts the nostrils when you pass her in the desert,\nand wherever she goes she carries with her a large black cluster of\nflies congregated on her back.\u201d[244] Probably she would \u201cfind\nherself\u201d under the influence of a cleaner civilization.\n\nConceptions of medicine among the Abyssinians have changed for the\nbetter during recent years. Harris has given an account of some of the\nsingular notions and practices which prevailed in his day. He took\na supply of medical stores into the country, and he and the doctor\nwith the expedition (Assistant-Surgeon Kirk) acted as physicians\nextraordinary to the King, with the following results:\u2014\n\n\u201cThe most particular inquiries were instituted relative to the\nmode of counteracting the influence of the evil eye, and much\ndisappointment expressed at the unavoidable intimation that the\ndispensary of the foreigners contained neither \u2018the horn of a\nserpent,\u2019 which is believed to afford an invaluable antidote against\nwitchcraft; no preservative against wounds in the battlefield, nor\nany nostrum for \u2018those who go mad from looking at a mad dog.\u2019\n\u2018We princes also fear the small-pox,\u2019 said his Majesty, \u2018and\ntherefore never tarry long in the same place. Nag\u00e1si, my illustrious\nancestor, suffered martyrdom from this scourge. Have you no medicine\nto drive it from myself?\u2019\n\n\u201cVaccine lymph there was in abundance, but neither Christian,\nMoslem, nor Pagan had yet consented to make trial of its\nvirtues. Glasses hermetically sealed, betwixt which the\nperishable fluid had been deposited, were exhibited, and its\nuse expounded. \u2018No, no!\u2019 quoth the King, as he delivered the\nacquisition to his master of the horse, with a strict injunction to\nhave it carefully stitched in leather, \u2018this is _talakh medanit_,\nvery potent medicine indeed; and henceforth I must wear it as a\ntalisman against the evil that beset my forefathers.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018You must now give me the medicine which draws the vicious waters\nfrom the leg,\u2019 resumed his Majesty, \u2018and which is better than\nearth from Mount Lebanon; the medicine which disarms venomous snakes,\nand that which turns the grey hairs black; the medicine to destroy\nthe worm in the ear of the Queen which is ever burrowing deeper;\nand, above all, the medicine of the seven colours, which so sharpens\nthe intellect as to enable him who swallows enough of it to acquire\nevery sort of knowledge without the slightest trouble. Furthermore,\nyou will be careful to give my people _none of this_.\u2019\u201d[245]\n\nPlowden, writing of the _defterers_, said: \u201cThey are often\nmore learned than the priests, and equally take advantage of the\ngeneral ignorance. Their principal gain is by writing amulets and\ncharms against every disease, almost against death. . . . They also\nprofess medicine, and as they do not much analyze the effects of\ntheir drugs, many an unfortunate falls a victim to some poisonous\nplant administered as a love philtre. Most of them are hangers-on\nof the different churches; they are generally cunning, debauched,\nand mischief-makers.\u201d[246]\n\nMr. Wylde, speaking of the Abyssinian clergy of the present time,\nsays, \u201cThey know that the days are gone by when every one came\nto them for some charm or a little holy water to cure a complaint;\nthe very practical nineteenth-century doctor is to be found, and not\nonly the congregation has deserted to the modern school of medicine,\nbut the priest himself will trust in the new treatment in preference\nto running the risk in getting cured by faith or unfiltered holy\nwater.\u201d[247]\n\nA peculiar disease is found in Abyssinia, chiefly but not\nexclusively among the women. Dufton describes a typical case: \u201cI\nhad the satisfaction of seeing in Gaffat a case of _bouda_. This\nterm is given to a phenomenon of mental abstraction, which the\nnatives explain as \u2018being possessed by the devil.\u2019 The case\nI am about to mention happened to a female in the service of one\nof the Europeans. Her symptoms began in a kind of fainting fit,\nin which the fingers were clenched in the palms of the hands, the\neyes glazed, the nostrils distended, and the whole body stiff and\ninflexible. Afterwards she commenced a hideous laugh in imitation\nof the hyena, and began running about on all fours; she was then\nseized by the bystanders, and a _bouda_ doctor having been called\nin, this individual began questioning her as to the person who had\npossessed her with this hyena devil. She said he was a man living\nin Gooderoo, south of Abyssinia, and also told how long the spirit\nwould be in possession, and what was required to expel him. Great\ncare must be taken of persons thus afflicted, as cases of this kind\nsometimes end in death. All their demands for dress, food, trifles of\nany sort, must be strictly attended to. In the height of the frenzy\nthey will sometimes carry out the idea of their hyena identity to\nsuch an extent as to attack any animal that may happen to be in the\nway. One woman fancied she would like a little donkey-flesh; so to\ngratify her strange taste she seized hold by her teeth to the hinder\npart of one which happened to be near. Off went the astonished beast\nat a pace that nothing in the form of persuasion will lead him to\nadopt for the gratification of man. Off, too, clinging tight with\nher teeth to his haunches, went the frenzied girl. Only force would\ninduce her to forego the tender morsel.\n\n\u201cThey have several cures for this strange attack; but the\nnever-failing one is a mixture of some obscene filth, which is\nconcealed in some part of the house, whereupon the woman is said\nto go directly, on all fours, to where it is and swallow it. This\nwould seem incredible, but thousands of corroborative facts, known\nto Abyssinian residents, put it beyond a doubt.\n\n\u201cThe power of possessing persons with the devil is attributed\nmostly to Jewish blacksmiths; and women and children are terrified\nwhen they meet, in a solitary place, a blacksmith who is a Jew. These\nsorcerers are also said to be endued with the power of changing the\nshape of the object of their incantations.\u201d[248]\n\nStern has given some interesting particulars with regard to these\nseizures. \u201cDuring the rainy season, when the weather, like the\nmind, is cheerless and dull, the _boudas_, as if in mockery of the\nuniversal gloom, celebrate their saturnalia. In our small settlement,\nthe monotony of our existence was constantly diversified by a _bouda_\nscene. Towards the close of August, when every shrub and tree began to\nsprout and blossom, the disease degenerated into a regular epidemic;\nand in the course of an evening two, three, and not unfrequently every\nhut occupied by natives would ring with that familiar household cry. A\nheavy thunderstorm, by some mysterious process, seemed invariably\nto predispose the people to the _bouda\u2019s_ torturing influence.\n\n\u201cI remember one day, about the end of August, we had a most terrific\ntempest. . . . The noise and tumult of the striving elements had\nscarcely subsided, when a servant of Mr. Mayer, a stout, robust, and\nmasculine woman, began to exhibit the _bouda_ symptoms. She had been\ncomplaining the whole noon of languor, faintness, and utter incapacity\nfor all physical exertion. About sunset her lethargy increased,\nand she gradually sank into a state of apparent unconsciousness. Her\nfellow-servants, who were familiar with the cause of the complaint,\nat once pronounced her to be possessed. To outwit the conjuror,\nI thought it advisable to try the effect of strong liquid ammonia\non the nerves of the Evil One. The place being dark, faggots were\nignited; and in their bright flickering light we beheld a mass of\ndark figures squatted on the wet floor around a rigid, motionless,\nand apparently dead woman. I instantly applied my bottle to her nose;\nbut although the potent smell made all near raise a cry of terror,\nit produced no more effect on the passive and insensible patient\nthan if it had been water from the newly formed rivulets.\u201d\n\nThe landlord of the settlement, \u201can amateur exorcist, almost by\ninstinct, as if anticipating something wrong in that part of his\ndomains occupied by the Franks, made his appearance in the very nick\nof time. This bloated and limping dotard, who had wasted his youth\nand manhood in folly and vice, for which, in his old age, he sought\nto atone by discarding one after the other of his former wives,\nand by poring over the legends of saints and martyrs, no sooner\nhobbled into the hut than the possessed woman, as if struck by a\nmagnetic wire, burst into loud fits of laughter and the paroxysms of\na raving maniac. Half a dozen stalwart fellows caught hold of her,\nbut frenzy imparted a vigour to her frame which even the united\nstrength of these athletes was barely sufficient to keep under\ncontrol. She tried to bite, kick, and tear every one within reach;\nand when she found herself foiled in all those mischievous attempts,\nshe convulsively grasped the unpaved wet floor, and, in imitation of\nthe hyena, gave utterance to the most discordant sounds. Manacled\nand shackled with leather thongs, she was now partly dragged and\npartly carried to an open grassy spot; and there under the starry\nvault of heaven, and in the presence of a considerable number of\npeople, the conjurer, in a businesslike manner, began his exorcising\nart. The poor sufferer, as if conscious of the dreaded old man\u2019s\npresence, struggled frantically to escape his skill; but the latter,\ndisregarding her entreaties and lamentations, her fits of unnatural\ngaiety and bursts of thrilling anguish, with one hand laid an amulet\non her heaving bosom, whilst, with the other, he made her smell a\nrag, in which the root of a strong scented plant, a bone of a hyena,\nand some other abominable unguents were bound up. The mad rage of\nthe possessed woman being instantaneously hushed by this operation,\nthe conjurer addressed himself to the _bouda_ (evil spirit), and,\nin language not fit for ears polite, requested him to give his\nname.\u201d The demon is always masculine, whatever may be the sex of\nthe person possessed. Question and answer followed, and finally\nthe \u201cconjurer\u201d formally exorcised the demon. \u201c\u2018I command\nthee in the name of the Blessed Trinity, the twelve apostles, and\nthe three hundred and eighteen bishops at the council of Nicaea,\nto leave this woman, and never more to molest her.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe _bouda_ did not feel disposed to obey the conjurer; but on\nbeing threatened with a repast of glowing coals, which the majority\ndo not relish, he became docile, and in a sulky and ventriloquizing\ntone of voice, promised to obey the request.\n\n\u201cStill anxious to delay his exit, he demanded something to eat;\nand to my utter disgust, his taste was as coarse as the torments\ninflicted on the young woman were ungallant. Filth and dirt of the\nmost revolting description, together with an admixture of water, were\nthe choice delicacies he selected for his supper. This strange fare,\nwhich the most niggardly hospitality could not refuse, several persons\nhastened to prepare, and when all was ready, and the earthen dish had\nbeen hidden in the centre of a leafy shrub, the conjurer said to the\n_bouda_, \u2018As thy father did, so do thou.\u2019 These words had scarcely\nescaped the lips of the exorcist, when the possessed person leaped\nup, and, crawling on all fours, sought the dainty repast which she\nlapped with a sickening avidity and greediness. She now laid hold of\na stone, which three strong men could scarcely lift, and raising it\naloft in the air, whirled it madly round her head for two seconds,\nand then fell senseless on the ground. In half an hour she recovered,\nbut was quite unconscious of what had transpired.\n\n\u201cThree other women had similar attacks that same evening, and\nthat, too, without any premonitory symptoms. I tried to deceive one,\nand instead of the disgusting concoction, put a wooden dish with\nbread and water in her way; but on smelling it she shrank from its\ncontents, and rapidly crept on till the strong effluvia brought her\nto the spot where the loathsome viands were concealed. . . .\n\n\u201cNext in importance to the _bouda_ is the _zar_. This malady\nis exclusively confined to unmarried women, and has this peculiar\nfeature, that during the violence of the paroxysm it prompts the\npatient to imitate the sharp discordant growl of the leopard. I\nrecollect that the first time I saw a case of this description,\nit gave me a shock which made my blood run cold. The sufferer was\na handsome, gay, and lively girl, a little above fifteen. In the\nmorning she was engaged as usual in her work, when a quarrel ensued\nbetween her and other domestics. The fierce dispute, though of\na trifling character, roused the passions of the fiery Ethiopian\nto such a pitch that it brought on an hysterical affection. The\nnatives all cried, \u2018She is possessed,\u2019 and certainly her ghastly\nsmile, nervous tremor, wild stare, and unnatural howl, justified the\nnotion. To expel the _zar_, a conjurer, as in the _bouda_ complaint,\nwas formerly considered indispensable; but by dint of perseverance\nthe medical faculty of the country, to their infinite satisfaction,\nhave at length made the happy discovery that a sound application\nof the whip is quite as potent an antidote against this evil as the\nnecromancer\u2019s spell.\u201d[249]\n\nParkyns said that he had seen \u201cabove a hundred\u201d cases\nof _bouda_. He alluded to the superstition with regard to\nblacksmiths. \u201cIn Abyssinia their trade is hereditary, and considered\nas more or less disgraceful, from the fact that blacksmiths are,\nwith very rare exceptions, believed to be all sorcerers, and are\nopprobriously called _bouda_. . . .\n\n\u201cFew people will venture to molest or offend a blacksmith,\nfearing the effects of his resentment. The greater part of the\n\u2018possessed\u2019 are women; and the reason of their being attacked\nis often that they have despised the proffered love of some _bouda_,\nor for other similar cause.\n\n\u201cIt is a custom in Abyssinia to conceal the real name by which\na person is baptized, and to call him only by a sort of nickname,\nwhich his mother gives him on leaving the church. . . . The reason for\nthe concealment of the Christian name is that the _bouda_ cannot act\nupon a person whose real name he does not know. Should he, however,\nhave obtained the true name of his victim, he takes a particular kind\nof straw, and muttering something over it, bends it into a circle,\nand places it under a stone. The person thus doomed is taken ill\nat the very moment of the bending of the straw; and should it by\naccident snap under the operation, the result of the attack will be\nthat the patient dies.\n\n\u201cThis malady and the Tigritiya are no doubt often purposely\ncounterfeited by servant-maids to evade their work, and by others\nto excite pity, attract attention, and get themselves pulled about\nby the men. . . .\n\n\u201cThe first case which I ever saw, and which I consequently watched\nvery attentively and noted down, was that of a servant-woman at\nRohabaita. The first day she complained of general languor, and of\na stupid heavy feeling about the head. Towards evening this seemed\nto increase, when she cried a little, but was perfectly reasonable,\nand excused herself by saying that it was only because she felt\nlow and melancholy. An hour after this, however, she burst out into\nhysterical laughter, and complained of violent pain in the stomach\nand bowels. It was at this stage that the other servants began to\nsuspect that she was under the influence of the _bouda_. In a short\ntime she became quiet, and by degrees sank into a state of lethargy,\napproaching to insensibility. Either from excellent acting and great\nfortitude, or from real want of feeling, the various experiments\nwhich we made on her seemed to have no more effect than they would\nhave had on a mesmeric somnambulist. We pinched her repeatedly;\nbut pinch as hard as we could, she never moved a muscle of her face,\nnor did she otherwise express the least sensation. I held a bottle\nof strong sal-volatile under her nose, and stopped her mouth, and\nthis having no effect, I steeped some rag in it and placed it in\nher nostrils; but although I am sure that she had never either seen,\nsmelt, or heard of such a preparation as liquid ammonia, it had no\nmore effect on her than rosewater. She held her thumbs tightly bent\ninside her hands, as if to prevent their being seen. On my observing\nthis to a bystander, he told me that the thumbs were the _bouda\u2019s_\nparticular perquisite, and that he would allow no person to take\nthem. Consequently, several persons tried to open her hand and get at\nthem; but she resisted with what appeared to me wonderful strength\nfor a girl, and bit their fingers till in more than one instance\nshe drew blood. I, among others, made the attempt, and though I got\na bite or two for my pains, yet either the devil had great respect\nfor me as an Englishman and a good Christian, or she had for me as\nher master, for the biting was all a sham, and struck me as more\nlike kissing than anything else, compared with the fearful wounds\nshe had inflicted on the rest of the party.\n\n\u201cI had a string of amulets which I usually wore, having on it many\ncharms for various maladies; but I was perfectly aware that none for\nthe _bouda_ was among them. Still, hoping thereby to expose the cheat,\nI asserted that there was a very celebrated one, and laid the whole\nstring on her face, expecting that she would pretend to feel the\neffects, and act accordingly; but to my surprise and disappointment,\nshe remained quite motionless. Several persons had been round the\nvillage to look for some talisman, but only one was found. On its\nbeing applied to her mouth, she for an instant sprang up, bit at it,\nand tore it, but then laughed, and said it was weak, and would not\nvex _him_. . . . I deluged her with bucketfuls of water, but could\nnot even elicit from her a start or a pant, an effect usually produced\nby water suddenly dashed over a person. At night she could not sleep,\nbut became more restless, and spoke several times. She once remarked,\nin her natural tone of voice, that she was not ill, nor attacked by\nthe _bouda_, but merely wished to return to Adoua. She said this so\nnaturally that I was completely taken off my guard, and told her that\nof course she might go, but that she must wait till the morrow. The\nother people smiled, and whispered me that it was only a device of\nthe _bouda\u2019s_ to get her into the forest, and there devour her.\n\n\u201cSingular coincidences not unfrequently occur in such a way as to\nencourage superstitious persons in their credulity; and, strange to\nsay, that very night, for the first and last time that I ever heard\nhim during my stay at Rohabaita, the hyena kept howling and laughing\nclose to the village. . . .\n\n\u201cAt night I ordered the people to close the door of the hut, and\nlie across it, some inside and some out. These precautions, however,\ndid not satisfy them; and they insisted on having the young woman\nbound hand and foot, as the only means of preventing her escape. She\nlay pretty still, merely moaning, and occasionally starting up when\nthe hyena called. I was lying on a couch, she and the other people\non the floor. Determined to see the issue of the affair, I watched\nher narrowly, and when the guard dropped off to sleep, one by one,\nI pretended to do so likewise. She also was perfectly still for near\nan hour, and I fancied that she too had fallen asleep, when suddenly,\nthe hyena calling close by, she, to my astonishment, rose without her\nbonds, which I had seen, as I imagined, securely fastened. She then\ncrept on all-fours towards the door, which she succeeded in partly\nopening. I was just going to spring on her when one of the heavily\nsleeping guards made a noise, which sounded something like a grunt or\na snore, and it appeared to me that she stifled a laugh. This led me\nto believe more and more that she was shamming; but I said nothing,\nand she returned of her own accord to her place. Although she did\nnot sleep during the whole night, yet she remained still as long as\nthe people were quiet, only moaning a little whenever any one, by\nyawning or otherwise, showed signs of waking. Next day she appeared\na little better, and talked more rationally, but still very wildly,\nand would neither eat nor drink. Once we allowed her to leave the hut\nfor a moment, on pretence of necessity, and she went quietly enough;\nbut on her return being delayed longer than we considered right,\nparties were sent out in quest of her, and after a long search she\nwas discovered more than a mile from the hut, and making for the\nthickest of the jungle.\n\n\u201cThe second night was passed much as the former one; but the\nfollowing day we prevailed on her to take a little bread. On\nswallowing a piece about the size of a nut she became very sick;\nand a draught of water produced a similar result. A better night\nseemed to do her good, for on the following day she managed to eat\na little, and by slow degrees recovered her health.\n\n\u201cSince this occurrence I have witnessed many hoaxes easy to\ndiscover, but also many which I could never see through, although\nI tried every method that my small stock of ingenuity could invent.\n\n\u201cI remember once a poor weakly girl on whom I had tried several\nfalse charms, but without her moving. She was lying, apparently\nsenseless, in the inner court of a house at Adoua, and numbers of\npersons were passing to and fro to see her, when, suddenly starting\nup, she screamed and struggled with so much strength, that, on\nseizing her by the legs and shoulders, I and three other powerful\nmen could scarcely keep her down. A man near me said, \u2018I am sure\nsome one has with him a strong charm; if so, let him produce it.\u2019\nAll denied the fact; but just then a stranger entered from the outer\ncourt, when she cried out, \u2018Let me alone, and I will speak.\u2019\nThis man was an Amhara soldier, perfectly unknown to all of us,\nbut who, hearing one of our people inquire for charms in a house\nwhere he was drinking, had volunteered to try one which he wore,\nand which he declared to be very potent. On placing the amulet near\nher, she yelled and screamed horribly. The owner (addressing her as\na woman) said, \u2018Will you declare yourself if I take it away?\u2019\nShe howled still more at this insult, as she called it, and said,\n\u2018I am no woman.\u2019 The question was then repeated several times\nin the masculine, but she invariably attempted to evade a direct\nanswer, till, as if worn out, she exclaimed, \u2018I will tell all;\nonly take it far from me!\u2019 It was accordingly removed to some\ndistance from her, and she immediately sank down as if exhausted.\u201d\n\nWhen the cure had made some progress, \u201cthe _bouda_, anxious to\ndelay his exit as long as possible, demanded food (as he always\ndoes) before leaving her. A basin was fetched, in which was put a\nquantity of any filth that could be found (of fowls, dogs, etc.),\nand mixed up with a little water and some ashes. I took the basin\nmyself, and hid it where I was positive she could not see me place\nit, and covered it up with some loose stones which were heaped in\nthe corner. The _bouda_ was then told that his supper was prepared,\nand the woman rose and crawled down the court on all fours, smelling\nlike a dog on either side, till, passing into the yard where the\nbasin was, she went straight up to it, and, grubbing it out from\nthe place where it was hidden, devoured its abominable contents with\nthe utmost greediness. The _bouda_ was then supposed to leave her,\nand she fell to the ground, as if fainting. From this state she\nrecovered her health in a few days.\n\n\u201cI had forgotten to mention that one of the principal symptoms\nis a great longing for charcoal, of which the patient will eat any\nquantity she can obtain. The first proof of the devil\u2019s leaving\nher is her allowing her thumbs to be taken hold of.\u201d\n\nOn another occasion Parkyns, suspecting a hoax, concocted a charm\nwhich was composed of two or three bits of dry bamboo roots wrapped\nin a piece of paper, an old leaf or two, some pipe-ashes, and a tuft\nof hair cut from the tail of his dog. Then \u201cproceeding to the\nplace where the sufferer lay, I ordered a large-mouthed jar to be\nfilled with dry mules\u2019 dung and lighted. When this had been done,\nand the smoke began to rise in clouds, I put into it a small quantity\nof my charm, with every appearance of caution and care, which done,\nwe seized the unfortunate victim, and with some difficulty forced\nher head close to the jar\u2019s mouth, and then rolled a _quarry_\n(_shama_) round it and the jar, so as at once to keep her fast,\nand prevent the escape of the smallest quantity of smoke. As may be\nimagined, in a moment she began to cough violently, and at last,\nbeing almost suffocated, cried out, \u2018Let me off, for pity\u2019s\nsake; I am not ill, but only shamming.\u2019 I solemnly asserted this\nto be only a device of the Evil One to get away from the charm,\nand held on, till her cries for pity, for the sake of the Virgin,\nof Oubi, etc., becoming more confused, and her cough more violent,\nI feared lest she might suffer too much if kept longer.\n\n\u201cThat magic vessel was preserved in a conspicuous situation in the\nhut where the women worked till I left the place; and I must say that\nthe attacks of _bouda_ were less frequent after this occurrence than\nbefore; though I still had occasional cases where the sunken eye and\nvacant stare cheated me into tenderness of heart, and I refrained\nfrom the use of my singular but most efficacious remedy.\u201d\n\nParkyns has also given an account of a similar disorder called\n_tigritiya_, which may be the same as the _zar_ mentioned by Stern,\nthough from the description, it appears to be more serious. The\n_tigritiya_, says Parkyns, is the near relation of the _bouda_,\n\u201cbut generally a far more disagreeable and dangerous devil than\nhe. His dependents are supposed to be found in great numbers in\nGodjam, which province, indeed, is celebrated for sorcerers of all\nkinds. The first symptoms usually are the gradual wasting away of the\nattacked person, without any cause being apparent either to herself\nor her relatives. At last, however, after dieting, and the ordinary\nmedicines have been unsuccessfully tried, it becomes a matter of\nsuspicion to her friends, who determine, on ascertaining, whether or\nno she be afflicted with this devil. The first thing to be observed\nis to feed her daintily and dress her neatly. As her complaint and\nthis treatment advance, she becomes peevish and fretful, and is\nalways longing for something or other. Whatever she demands must\nbe procured, else she will become sulky, and, covering up her head,\nremain sometimes for days without eating or speaking. Ornaments of\nall kinds require to be borrowed for her, often at much trouble to\nher unfortunate relations; for she is rarely satisfied unless she\ngets an assortment of those worn by both sexes, even to the lion\u2019s\nskin of a warrior; and these are frequently almost impossible to\nprocure. With some persons it is necessary to have recourse to music\nbefore the real cause of their complaint can be discovered. Drums\nand other musical instruments are collected outside the chamber door,\nand the musicians suddenly strike up all together, when the patient\nis not expecting it. If her illness be of an ordinary kind, she will,\nof course, beg of them to desist, but, if possessed, she will leap\nor fall from her couch to the ground, and commence shrugging her\nshoulders and swinging her head to and fro in time with the music;\nbeginning with a slight movement, but gradually increasing in pace\nas she appears to become excited, till at last her motions are\nso violent that a spectator is led to fear for the safety of her\nneck. It is truly wonderful to see a sick person whom you have just\nbeheld stretched on a bed, a weak, emaciated bag of bones, apparently\nwithout strength to rise, keeping up this very fatiguing motion with\na velocity and power of endurance that would be astonishing even in\nan ordinarily strong person. On the music\u2019s ceasing she rests, and\nthen begins to speak, telling _his_ name (that is, the devil\u2019s)\nand his family; and it is usually after this that she demands the\ntrinkets, specifying each article that she requires, and making their\nproduction the condition of her dancing again. She, as I before said,\ngenerally contrives to name objects that are most difficult to obtain,\nsuch as the silver-ornamented velvet worn only by great war-chiefs;\nand much sorrow and trouble does this cause to her relations, for\nshe will not be persuaded to show any sign of animation if a single\narticle she has named be not forthcoming; and on her dancing and\nsinging is supposed chiefly to depend her chance of recovery.\n\n\u201cThe mode of ejecting the Old Gentleman from his temporary\npossession is something similar to what we have already\ndescribed. After the patient has been induced to dance pretty\nfrequently, it is to be hoped that the devil is put into a tolerably\ngood humour, which desideratum can only be obtained by making\nfrequent and polite inquiries when he will be pleased to have\nmusic, and by promptly procuring everything he may demand, by the\nmouth of the possessed, whether it be food or wearing apparel. The\nauspicious moment arriving, the friends of the sufferer inquire of\nher when he will be disposed to quit his present residence and go\nto his own place. The first time this question is ventured upon,\nthe spirit generally replies that he is not yet satisfied with\nthe entertainment he has received at their hands, and seizes the\nopportunity of demanding something more. After a time, however, if\nthings go on well, he fixes a day for taking his leave, usually the\nseventh after the day on which he makes his announcement. The happy\ntime having arrived, a large party is assembled in some wild spot\nin the country, and there must be feasting, dancing, and music, as\nbefore, but, if possible, carried on with more than usual spirit. The\npatient joins in with the rest; and the devil, when satisfied,\nannounces his intention to depart. This he signifies through the\nmedium of his victim, who takes off her finery; then, bowing her\nhead, she kisses her hands in token of farewell, and starts off,\nrunning at a pace which few men could equal. She cannot, however,\nkeep it up for more than from fifty to a hundred yards, when she\nfalls to the ground senseless. At this moment the spirit is supposed\nto have left her; and lest he should find himself worse off outside\nthan in, and, changing his mind, return to her, five or six active\nyoung men are prepared beforehand, and as soon as she starts they\nfollow her, and, coming up with her just as she is falling, place\nthemselves in threatening attitudes round her body, one holding a\ndrawn sword, another firing a charge of powder out of a matchlock,\nand a third brandishing a lance. This is supposed to intimidate the\nfiend, and prevent his return, should he be so disposed.\n\n\u201cThe woman, who but a moment before was outdoing all the party,\nboth in the dance and in running, now lies stretched on the ground\nhelpless and emaciated, as if after a long illness. She faintly calls\nfor water, which is given her; and when a little restored, she is\nasked her name, which she answers correctly; and as a conclusive proof\nof her freedom from the power of the Evil One, she is requested to\nrepeat the formerly so much dreaded words\u2014\u2018_B\u2019ism Ab, ou Weld,\nou Menfus Kouddos_\u2019 (in the name of the Father, and of the Son,\nand of the Holy Ghost). A sheep or a fowl is killed, broiled on the\nembers, and eaten with bread. The patient\u2019s friends partake of\nthis food when the devil goes out of her. The bones and remains of\nthe meat are burned with fire, and the fragments of the bread buried\nin the ground. These are so left for the devil, that if he should\ncome back to the place he may remain and feed, and not go on and\nbother the woman. Thus is the cure complete, though it often takes\na considerable time to effect it.\u201d\n\nThe characteristics of the disease have been mentioned fully because\nthey seem to have some bearing on certain Biblical episodes.\n\nSometimes, in the case of _bouda_, recourse is had to a very simple\nand direct method of cure. Parkyns wrote:\u2014\u201cMany instances\nhave been related to me, wherein the friends of the possessed,\nhaving procured charms of sufficient power to force the spirit to\ndeclare his name and residence, but not equal to turning him out,\nwent at once to the place indicated, and, seizing on the blacksmith,\nbrought him forcibly to their home, where, having fed him well,\nhe was commanded to quit his victim, and at the same time his life\nwas threatened, lances being pointed at his breast.\u201d[250] It is\nnot stated whether this procedure is effective.\n\nMr. Wylde dismissed the demon lightly:\u2014\u201cThe _bouda_, or evil\nspirit, that attacks some of the young women, nearly always\nugly virgins or hysterical and plain-looking girls that men\nwill never notice, is to my mind the greatest fraud of all their\nsuperstitions. Every one has written about it, and I am afraid\nthat they have drawn a good deal on their imagination, and the\nmissionaries who have visited the country have, perhaps, been quite\nas bigoted as the people they have tried to describe. I believe\nthat these peculiar fits which the women have, when they do all\nsorts of filthy things, are nothing more than hysteria; many women\neven in civilized countries are not responsible for their actions\nwhen suffering from these complaints, and people who are inclined\nto believe in the miraculous take for granted what the ignorant\npeasantry say. I have seen several young women suffering from the\n\u2018_bouda_\u2019 and a bucket of cold water that I have thrown over\nthem, and a good smacking from my servant, has soon sent the devil\naway, and the only after effect has been that they have been sulky,\nbecause they were not made much of.\u201d[251]\n\nParkyns was not a missionary, and he was a shrewd and levelheaded\nobserver. His comments are to the point:\u2014\u201cTo many of my readers\nit will doubtless appear, and very naturally, that all these\nsymptoms are impostures resorted to by the pretended sufferers as a\nmeans of procuring the borrowed finery, and enjoying the gaieties\nand festivities which are considered as the means of curing the\ndisorder. This sounds very probable; and I cannot deny that such is\nmy own opinion, though there are still some points which have rather\npuzzled me. First, as in the _bouda_, the extraordinary talent for\nacting which they display, and then the fact that the imposture\nhas not been discovered and published centuries ago, but that it\nis still believed by the very people among whom it has so long been\nand still daily continues to be practised. How is it possible that a\nwoman, who in her youthful days may have been guilty of such a hoax,\nshould suffer herself to be imposed upon and led into so much trouble\nand expense by her children afterwards? And yet this is of common\noccurrence. From this last remark let it not be supposed that young\nwomen are the only sufferers; men and women of all ages are liable,\nthough the young of the fair sex are perhaps the most frequently\npossessed.\n\n\u201cOne of my servants, who, by the great anxiety he showed in watching\nand tending the patients, was evidently convinced of the truth of\ntheir sufferings, had himself been attacked many years before,\nand assured me that after his recovery he had not the slightest\nrecollection of anything that had taken place while the fit was\non him, but that his friends had told him all about it. How was\nit possible that this man, supposing his own illness to have been\nfeigned, could be cheated by the same means?\n\n\u201cLastly, the most puzzling thing of all is when a person acts\nsickness to such perfection that Azrael himself is deceived, and,\nmistaking the feigned malady for a real one, finishes it by seriously\ntaking away the life of the shammer.\n\n\u201cThe following case will illustrate what I mean. I had a servant\nnamed Bairou, a youth of about nineteen, who, from having been\nseveral years in the service of Europeans, had acquired a few of their\nnotions; and, among others, had learnt to ridicule the superstitions\nof his countrymen. He had a sister who had been ill for several\nmonths, and no one knew what her complaint was. At his request I\nwent to visit her more than once, but was unable to do anything for\nher. The fact is, my doctoring is on a very limited scale; and, as\neven the most eminent physicians agree that the greatest difficulty\nis to ascertain what is really the matter with the patient, I stood\nvery little chance with Bairou\u2019s sister, who complained of nothing,\nand showed no marked signs of ailing except in entire prostration of\nstrength, and a rapid falling off of flesh. She gradually got worse,\ntill one day her brother came to me and requested me to lend him my\nornaments, and also to beg some more from my friends at the camp. I\nasked whether he was going to be \u2018arkee\u2019 to some friend about to\nmarry; but he answered with a melancholy smile that he wanted them\nfor his sister; as, having tried everything else, their friends had\nproposed to see if she were possessed, and he, though not believing\nin such nonsense, was willing to allow them to try the experiment,\nlest, if anything happened to her, they should upbraid him afterwards\nfor having caused her death by his obstinacy and incredulity.\n\n\u201cI, of course, quite approved of his determination, and easily\nsucceeded in obtaining the articles required of me. She was dressed\nup in the borrowed finery as she lay on the couch; and at a signal\nthe musicians outside commenced playing. At the first notes her\neyes began to brighten, and, raising herself up for the first\ntime during many days, she swayed her body to and fro for a few\nmoments, after the manner of one possessed; but, becoming quickly\nexhausted, she sank back, saying, with a faint smile, \u2018It is too\nlate now!\u2019 She repeated these words twice; they were the last I\never heard her utter. Three hours after she was a corpse. Was this,\ntoo, a sham? Or what may it be called? Possibly some freak of her\ndisordered imagination.\u201d[252]\n\nStern had the tendency to moralize which prevailed at the time when he\nwrote, but there can be little doubt that he offered a sound opinion\nin the following passage:\u2014\u201cIn bringing this demoniacal subject\nto a close, I am forcibly reminded of the words, \u2018Be sure your sin\nwill find you out.\u2019 That there is something in these diseases and\nin their mode of cure which transcends ordinary disorders no one\nwho has stood beside a frantic and agonized patient and wondered\nat the sudden and more than dramatic transition from raving frenzy\nto childlike docility can well deny; but without deciding whether\nit is epilepsy, catalepsy, or hysteria, I am quite sure that fiends\nand spirits have less to do with the matter than the irregular life\nand dissolute course which so many pursue.\u201d[253]\n\nIt would, indeed, be a matter for astonishment if marked nervous\naffections did not occur in a country where, among the people of\nboth sexes, unwholesome diet and parasitical irritation so often\ncombine their results with those of sensual habits of body and mind\nacquired early in life.\n\nIt has already been said that the Abyssinian soldier wears\nno uniform, and is not easily distinguished by his appearance\nfrom the civilian. But there is a distinct military class, with\ncharacteristics of its own. \u201cThere is no harder worker,\u201d said\nMr. Wylde, \u201cthan the Abyssinian peasant, and no more harmless and\nhospitable person when left alone and properly treated[254]; and no\nmore truculent, worthless, conceited, lazy, and useless individual\nthan the Abyssinian soldier, who formerly did nothing but prey upon\nthe defenceless cultivator. Circumstances are now altering this,\nbut before the country settles down to modern civilization and\nmakes any great strides forward, a civil revolution must take place,\nwhich may not be far distant.\u201d[255] The same writer has pointed\nout that the soldiery \u201cwere called into existence by Abyssinia\nbeing surrounded by Mohammedan enemies, and little by little they\nincreased and multiplied till they got out of all proportion to\nthe wants of a peaceful country.\u201d The king\u2019s exchequer cannot\nprovide pay for these men, so, to keep them quiet, they are allowed\nto live by exaction. Mr. Wylde\u2019s strictures apply to the \u201clazy,\nloafing lot of mercenaries who have never done anything in their\nlives except fighting and looting, men without homes and without\nterritory, ready to fight for those who give the highest pay, and who\ndo not value the lives of their fellow-Christians at the price of a\nsheep or a jar of hydromel;\u201d and he adds, \u201cI am writing only of\nthe mercenary soldier whose father and grandfather, perhaps, were\nthe same, and not of the bulk of the fighting force of the country,\nwho are yeomen farmers and their servants, or the peasants and their\nfamilies.\u201d[256]\n\nThe state of feeling between the peasantry and the soldiery might\nhave serious consequences if the Abyssinian monarch undertook an\nimportant campaign outside his territory. \u201cThe great danger to an\nunpopular king attempting such an expedition would be, in the absence\nof the army, a rising of an oppressed peasantry, backed up by some\nEuropean Power, to put down the military party. The arming of the\npeasantry and farmer class with modern weapons has not altogether\nbeen a blessing to the present ruler, and may end not only in his\ndownfall, but in that of the barons as well.\u201d[257]\n\nThe fighting value of the Abyssinian army is by no means a _quantit\u00e9\nn\u00e9gligeable_ in the politics of Eastern Africa, and it would be very\neasy to underrate it. Mr. Wylde, in his narrative of the battle of\nAdoua, has given a very complete account of the numbers, armament\nand temper of the Negus\u2019s forces, and he does not agree with the\nestimate formed by Mansfield Parkyns of their personal valour.[258]\nHe has also described the tactics which they customarily adopt\nin attacking, and has made some interesting observations on the\nemployment of artillery, mounted infantry, and cavalry in the\ncountry.\u201d[259]\n\nThe limitations to the activity of the forces are chiefly determined\nby commissariat difficulties. \u201cThe Abyssinian hordes are the same\nas the locust, they live on what they can get from the surrounding\ncountry; and when they have devoured everything, they have to move\non to another place where supplies are procurable. At the outside\nan Abyssinian who is not one of the regular soldiers can keep the\nfield for a couple of months, and then he has to take one transport\nanimal with him, with a boy or girl, generally the latter, to look\nafter his riding animal and to cook his food. The regular troops are\nthe same; they have to bring supplies with them, which they get from\ntheir leaders before they set out on the campaign; after these are\nfinished, unless fresh supplies come forward, they have to live on\nthe country.\u201d[260]\n\nProbably the most recently published paper dealing with the Abyssinian\narmy is the despatch, dated June 2, 1904, of Colonel Rochfort,\nC.B., R.A., included in the official account of the operations in\nSomaliland.[261] Colonel Rochfort accompanied the forces which his\nMajesty Menelek II., on the invitation of the British Government,\nsent in 1903, \u201cto intercept the Mullah\u2019s retreat, should he\nattempt to escape to the south or west.\u201d As might be imagined from\nthe nature of the document, it contains no descriptive account of\nthe Abyssinian Expedition, and very little critical comment upon\nit. But the following particulars may serve to convey some idea of\nAbyssinian operations in the field at the present time. The strength\nof the force first employed was about five thousand men, nearly all\nof whom were mounted on mules. It left Harrar for its destination\n(the Webi Shebeli, near Hilowen) on February 18, 1903, under the\ncommand of Fituari Gabri.\n\nSurprise parties were sent out to visit all wells within reach\nto the north, and \u201cthe Abyssinians carried out these raids\nwith considerable dash and some success, showing their mobility\nby the ease with which they covered long distances, sometimes a\nhundred miles in forty-eight hours; but as at this time they had no\nspecial arrangements for carrying water, their scope was necessarily\nrestricted.\n\n\u201cDuring these operations the main body was attacked by a\nconsiderable number of Dervishes. The attack was delivered in\nthick bush on the arrival of the force in bivouac, and before the\nzareba was formed; it was pushed home with resolution, but repulsed\nwith loss. The pursuit was carried out with vigour, and the Dervish\ncasualties were estimated at three hundred. The Abyssinians returned\ntheir loss at thirty-one killed and wounded. The Abyssinians were\nnow living on the country, and exigencies of supply rendered it\nnecessary to move down stream to Mekunna. . . .\n\n\u201cOn the morning of May 28 the Abyssinians left Hahi, and after a\nseries of forced marches surprised the Habr Suliman section of the\nBagheri tribe on the morning of May 31 at Jeyd, which is thirty\nmiles south of Bur. The Dervishes suffered heavy losses, and all\ntheir camels and stock were captured. . . . This terminated the\nfirst phase of the operations, and the force returned to Harrar.\u201d\n\nLater, the Negus consented to send another expedition, and\n\u201cexpressed the wish for an increase in the number of medical\nofficers to accompany his force, and also suggested the issue of\nwater-bottles to his men. At the conclusion of the first phase of the\noperations I had represented to the War Office that the absence of\nany special arrangements for carrying water had seriously affected\nthe mobility of the Abyssinians; this want was now remedied by the\nissue of one thousand twelve-gallon tanks; pumps and waterproof\nsheets for improvising drinking-troughs were also supplied by his\nMajesty\u2019s Government.\n\n\u201cThere is no organized system of supply in the Abyssinian army,\nand hitherto arrangements made individually to carry one month\u2019s\nsupply on a mule or donkey had been found sufficient to enable\nexpeditions to reach a district from which supplies could be drawn;\nsuch a course did not meet the conditions under which the present\nforce was about to act, owing to the distance to be covered, the\nnecessity for carrying water, and the total absence of any grain,\neither on the road or in the probable zone of operations. After\nsome unavoidable delay, arrangements were improvised for carrying\ntwo months\u2019 supply,[262] and his Highness Ras Makunnan,[263]\nwho personally interested himself in the despatch of the force,\nsubsequently supplemented this supply by sending three small convoys\nas transport became available. The force commenced concentration in\nthe neighbourhood of Harrar on November 27, 1903. . . . The advanced\nparty reached Wardair on January 12, 1904. . . . The resources of the\ncountry in the neighbourhood of the River Fafan and the arrival of two\nmore small convoys enabled the force to keep the field until March 28,\n1904, when the Abyssinian commander (Fituari Gabri) was advised that\nthe retreat of the Mullah through the Sorl, pursued by the British\ncolumns, rendered the presence of the Abyssinian expedition no longer\nnecessary, and the force marched for Harrar.\u201d[264]\n\nThose who wish to acquaint themselves with the home life of the\nAbyssinian people should read the works of Mansfield Parkyns and\nMr. Augustus Wylde. The latter has given especially full details\nof the surroundings and habits of the middle and lower classes of\nthe nation.\n\nMr. Wylde has chapters on \u201cShooting in Abyssinia\u201d and \u201cOutfit\nand Rifles.\u201d His book also contains an appendix on \u201cAnimals met\nwith in Abyssinia and on the Borders,\u201d ranging in its scope from\nlions to sand-martins. There are several passages dealing with sport\nand natural history in Parkyns\u2019s volume, and Mr. Vivian\u2019s work\ncontains observations on the same subjects.\n\nStecker\u2019s scientific notes have been frequently mentioned. His\nbrief but pithy treatise amply repays study. Harris\u2019s \u201cHighlands\nof Ethiopia\u201d has valuable appendices on the climate, geology,\nbotany, and zoology of the southern provinces (Vol. II).\n\nProbably no country at the present time offers a better field for\nresearch, sport, and exploration than Abyssinia.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 123: \u201cThe Highlands of \u00c6thiopia,\u201d by Major\nW. Cornwallis Harris, of the H.E.I.C.\u2019s Engineers, 1844,\nvol. iii. pp. 3, 4.]\n\n[Footnote 124: \u201cWanderings among the Falashes,\u201d p. 185.]\n\n[Footnote 125: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 352, 353.]\n\n[Footnote 126: Ib. p. 16.]\n\n[Footnote 127: \u201cThe Highlands of \u00c6thiopia,\u201d vol. iii. pp. 84-86.]\n\n[Footnote 128: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 157.]\n\n[Footnote 129: Mansfield Parkyns wrote: \u201cThe ordination of priests\nand deacons is, I believe, tolerably simple; for instance, I have\nbeen told that, on the arrival of the present Abouna from Egypt,\nthe candidates, who are only required to be able to read a little,\nwere collected in a mass near the place where he was. The bishop then\nwent through some ceremony, and ended by pronouncing a blessing,\nand blowing in the direction of the assembled crowd, who were thus\nall ordained. Among these was a woman with her child in her arms,\nwho had come thither from motives of curiosity. She, too, was\nof course ordained; but I don\u2019t remember hearing that she ever\nofficiated. If a priest be married previous to his ordination, he\nis allowed to remain so; but no one can marry after having entered\nthe priesthood.\u201d (\u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 294.)]\n\n[Footnote 130: See p. 240.]\n\n[Footnote 131: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d pp. 307, 308.]\n\n[Footnote 132: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 321.]\n\n[Footnote 133: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 214 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 134: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d pp. 201,\n202. Major Harris inspected the Cathedral of St. Michael at\nAnk\u00f3ber, and in his description of it wrote, \u201cIn the holy of\nholies is deposited the sacred _tabot_, consecrated at Gondar by\nthe delegate of the Coptic patriarch; and around the veil that fell\nbefore this mysterious emblem there hung in triumph four sporting\npictures from the pencil of Alken, which had been presented to the\nking. They represented the great Leicestershire steeple-chase, and\nDick Christian, with his head in a ditch, occupied by far the most\nprominent niche in the Cathedral of St. Michael!\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 135: Dufton, \u201cA Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d p. 90.]\n\n[Footnote 136: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 233 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 137: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 297 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 138: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 160, 161.]\n\n[Footnote 139: Ib. p. 277.]\n\n[Footnote 140: \u201cLife of Bruce,\u201d by Major Head, p. 266.]\n\n[Footnote 141: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 276 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 142: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. iii. p. 139.]\n\n[Footnote 143: Ib. p. 138.]\n\n[Footnote 144: Major Head, \u201cLife of Bruce,\u201d p. 265.]\n\n[Footnote 145: Ib. p. 268.]\n\n[Footnote 146: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 361, 362.]\n\n[Footnote 147: The Alaka is the superior of a monastery or other\nhead of an ecclesiastical establishment.]\n\n[Footnote 148: Major Harris, \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d\nvol. iii. pp. 134, 135.]\n\n[Footnote 149: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 283.]\n\n[Footnote 150: \u201cBritish Mission to Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 225, 226.]\n\n[Footnote 151: \u201cThe British Mission to Abyssinia,\u201d\nvol. i. p. 227. Cf. p. 107 of this book.]\n\n[Footnote 152: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. iii. pp. 133,\n134.]\n\n[Footnote 153: \u201cThe British Mission to Abyssinia,\u201d\nvol. i. p. 217.]\n\n[Footnote 154: \u201cThe British Mission to Abyssinia,\u201d\nvol. i. p. 217. Stern did not observe this separation of the sexes.]\n\n[Footnote 155: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 277.]\n\n[Footnote 156: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 288.]\n\n[Footnote 157: Cf. p. 224.]\n\n[Footnote 158: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. iii. p. 132.]\n\n[Footnote 159: This appendix of Major Harris\u2019s book was evidently\nprepared with care, and it is therefore surprising to find the saints,\nwhose deeds are commemorated on October 4, described as \u201cPapa and\nMamma\u201d! Presumably the explanation is that there was humour among\nthe compositors of the year 1844, and that the compiler neglected\nhis proof-reading.]\n\n[Footnote 160: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d pp. 280, 285.]\n\n[Footnote 161: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 277, 278.]\n\n[Footnote 162: A province of Abyssinia.]\n\n[Footnote 163: \u201cAbyssinia Described,\u201d by J. C. Hotten, p. 160.]\n\n[Footnote 164: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. iii. p. 139.]\n\n[Footnote 165: Parkyns, \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 294.]\n\n[Footnote 166: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 218.]\n\n[Footnote 167: Harris, \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d\nvol. iii. p. 141.]\n\n[Footnote 168: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 181.]\n\n[Footnote 169: \u201cA Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d p. 91.]\n\n[Footnote 170: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 163.]\n\n[Footnote 171: \u201cAbyssinia Described,\u201d p. 164.]\n\n[Footnote 172: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 164.]\n\n[Footnote 173: \u201cAbyssinia Described,\u201d p. 159.]\n\n[Footnote 174: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 91.]\n\n[Footnote 175: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 131.]\n\n[Footnote 176: Ib.]\n\n[Footnote 177: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 289.]\n\n[Footnote 178: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. iii. p. 148.]\n\n[Footnote 179: Ib.]\n\n[Footnote 180: This was the \u201cSultan Segued\u201d who caused the still\nexisting bridge over the Blue Nile to be built. See p. 147.]\n\n[Footnote 181: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. iii. p. 186.]\n\n[Footnote 182: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 295.]\n\n[Footnote 183: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 306.]\n\n[Footnote 184: P. 136.]\n\n[Footnote 185: \u201cNarrative of the Portuguese Embassy to Abyssinia,\u201d\n1520-27, translated and edited by Lord Stanley of Alderley, Hakluyt\nSociety, 1881.]\n\n[Footnote 186: \u201cHistory of Ethiopia,\u201d made English by J. P. Gent,\n1684.]\n\n[Footnote 187: The reader need hardly be reminded that the same\ninterdiction is in force elsewhere. It is the refusal of the\n_connubium_ that renders the British population in the East of London\nand elsewhere unable to assimilate the large colonies of Jews who\nhave lately immigrated into this country, and in great part causes\nthe difficulties of the \u201cAlien Question.\u201d The subject has been\ntreated in Major Evans Gordon\u2019s very interesting book, \u201cThe\nAlien Immigrant\u201d (1903).]\n\n[Footnote 188: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 187.]\n\n[Footnote 189: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. iii. p. 145.]\n\n[Footnote 190: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d pp. 185, 186.]\n\n[Footnote 191: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 329.]\n\n[Footnote 192: Major Head\u2019s \u201cBiography,\u201d p. 162.]\n\n[Footnote 193: Major Head\u2019s \u201cBiography of Bruce,\u201d pp. 162, 163.]\n\n[Footnote 194: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 186.]\n\n[Footnote 195: See \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d chap. xiv. _et\nseq._]\n\n[Footnote 196: Hotten, p. 166.]\n\n[Footnote 197: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 188.]\n\n[Footnote 198: Greenberg and Co., 80, Chancery Lane, London.]\n\n[Footnote 199: Hotten, pp. 167, 168.]\n\n[Footnote 200: Dufton, \u201cA Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d p. 143.]\n\n[Footnote 201: The ancient city of Axum is remarkable for the\nruins and other traces of an early and extinct civilization which\nit contains. These have been the occasion of much speculation among\narch\u00e6ologists. An account of the obelisks and other remains was given\nby Bruce; Mr. Wylde has made some interesting comments on the subject\nin his chapter on Axum; many writers on Abyssinia have referred to\nit at some length; and the late Mr. Theodore Bent dealt with the\nantiquities of the place in \u201cThe Sacred City of the Ethiopians\u201d\n(Longmans, Green and Co., 1893).]\n\n[Footnote 202: Augustus Wylde, \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 18, 407.]\n\n[Footnote 203: See p. 143.]\n\n[Footnote 204: Hotten, p. 167.]\n\n[Footnote 205: Plowden, quoted by Hotten, p. 166. Plowden\u2019s\ndescription applies to the fifties of the nineteenth century.]\n\n[Footnote 206: \u201cThe British Mission to Abyssinia,\u201d\nvol. i. p. 209.]\n\n[Footnote 207: \u201cAccording to Abyssinian tradition, the King\nof Tigre, soon after his conversion to Christianity, crossed the\nTaccazze, and invaded Simien and Amhara. Here he met a people who were\nneither Pagans nor Christians, a marvel which aroused the monarch\u2019s\ncuriosity, and he inquired what they believed; to which, in a laconic\nstyle, they replied in their own dialect, _Kam Ant_, _i.e._ \u2018as\nthou,\u2019 from whence they obtained their present appellation.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 208: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 42 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 209: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 144.]\n\n[Footnote 210: \u201cHighlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. iii. p. 393.]\n\n[Footnote 211: Hotten, p. 120.]\n\n[Footnote 212: Ib. p. 186.]\n\n[Footnote 213: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 366.]\n\n[Footnote 214: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d chap. ix; Hotten,\np. 121.]\n\n[Footnote 215: See, _e.g._ \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 368.]\n\n[Footnote 216: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 310.]\n\n[Footnote 217: Hotten, p. 183 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 218: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. iii. p. 184.]\n\n[Footnote 219: Hotten, p. 158.]\n\n[Footnote 220: See, _e.g._ p. 121.]\n\n[Footnote 221: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 204.]\n\n[Footnote 222: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 254.]\n\n[Footnote 223: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d pp. 255, 256.]\n\n[Footnote 224: Parkyns, pp. 266, 267.]\n\n[Footnote 225: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 181 _seq._ \u201cLife in\nAbyssinia,\u201d p. 256 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 226: \u201cThe British Mission to Abyssinia,\u201d\nvol. ii. p. 219.]\n\n[Footnote 227: In matters of detail this account applies, of course,\nto Abyssinia in the first half of the nineteenth century.]\n\n[Footnote 228: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d\nvol. iii. pp. 166-168.]\n\n[Footnote 229: Hotten, p. 137.]\n\n[Footnote 230: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 119.]\n\n[Footnote 231: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 268.]\n\n[Footnote 232: Johnson\u2019s translation.]\n\n[Footnote 233: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 232.]\n\n[Footnote 234: \u201cThe British Mission to Abyssinia,\u201d\nvol. ii. pp. 215, 216.]\n\n[Footnote 235: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 231.]\n\n[Footnote 236: Hotten, p. 137.]\n\n[Footnote 237: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 268.]\n\n[Footnote 238: See p. 223.]\n\n[Footnote 239: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 118.]\n\n[Footnote 240: \u201cThe British Mission to Abyssinia,\u201d\nvol. ii. pp. 219, 220.]\n\n[Footnote 241: Ib. vol. ii. p. 216.]\n\n[Footnote 242: Johnson\u2019s translation.]\n\n[Footnote 243: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 245 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 244: \u201cAbyssinia,\u201d p. 231.]\n\n[Footnote 245: \u201cThe Highlands of Ethiopia,\u201d vol. ii. p. 156\n_seq._]\n\n[Footnote 246: Hotten, p. 166.]\n\n[Footnote 247: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d 1901, p. 143.]\n\n[Footnote 248: \u201cA Journey through Abyssinia,\u201d p. 167 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 249: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 154 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 250: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 300 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 251: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 385.]\n\n[Footnote 252: \u201cLife in Abyssinia,\u201d p. 318 _seq._]\n\n[Footnote 253: \u201cWanderings among the Falashas,\u201d p. 161.]\n\n[Footnote 254: Compare Consul Plowden\u2019s remarks quoted on p. 70\nof this book.]\n\n[Footnote 255: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 3.]\n\n[Footnote 256: Ib., p. 165.]\n\n[Footnote 257: \u201cModern Abyssinia,\u201d p. 224.]\n\n[Footnote 258: Compare, _e.g._, his remark on p. 223, \u201cThey have\nany amount of pluck,\u201d with Parkyns\u2019s comments quoted on p. 24\nof this book.]\n\n[Footnote 259: _E.g._ p. 222.]\n\n[Footnote 260: Ib., p. 216.]\n\n[Footnote 261: Eyre and Spottiswoode.]\n\n[Footnote 262: Cf. p. 308.]\n\n[Footnote 263: Mr. Wylde describes the Ras as \u201cby far the cleverest\nand most enlightened man that the country possesses.\u201d He is a\npossible successor to the Abyssinian throne.]\n\n[Footnote 264: Colonel Rochfort\u2019s Report.]\n\n\n\n\n                               APPENDIX\n\n\nAbyssinia is a deeply interesting country from the point of view of\ngeographical distribution, and it is much to be regretted that Dr.\nA. J. Hayes did not have the opportunity of collecting insects on a\nlarge scale. The animals of the southern half of Arabia are Ethiopian\nin character; but in the Abyssinian mountains we may expect to find,\nand we do find, a certain amount of Oriental affinity.\n\nThe valuable little collection of insects made by Dr. Hayes has been\npresented by him to the Hope Department of the Oxford University Museum,\nwhere the specimens can be seen and studied by every naturalist\ninterested in the great problems of distribution. The attention of the\ndonor was directed to the Oxford Museum by Mr. W. L. S. Loat, who has\nhimself contributed a large amount of valuable material. Dr. Hayes\u2019\ncollection was made, in February 1903, in the vicinity of Lake Tsana,\nat a height of about 6500 feet. A complete list is furnished below. Dr.\nDixey has kindly determined and made remarks upon the _Pierinae_.\n\n                            =LEPIDOPTERA.=\n\n  NYMPHALIDAE.\n\n       DANAINAE:  1  _Limnas chrysippus_ (Linn.) \u2640. The ground colour\n                      of the pale tint characteristic of Oriental\n                      specimens and usually replaced by a much darker\n                      shade in African.\n\n       DANAINAE:  2  _L. chrysippus_ (Linn.) var. _alcippus_ (Cram.)\n                      \u2642\u2642. Typical.\n\n    NYMPHALINAE:  1  _Neptis agatha_ (Cram.).\n\n                  1  _Precis cebrene_ (Trim.).\n\n  PAPILIONIDAE.\n\n       PIERINAE:  1  _Catopsilia florella_ (Fabr.) \u2642.\n\n                  2  _Colias electra_ (Linn.) \u2642 \u2640.\n\n                  3  _Terias brigitta_ (Cram.) \u2642 \u2642 \u2640.\n                      Dry season forms; not extreme.\n\n                  3  _Eronia leda_ (Boisd.) \u2642 \u2640 \u2640.\n\n                      One of these females has an orange apical patch\n                      on the forewing, almost as distinct as that of\n                      the male.\n\n                  1  _Pinacopteryx_ sp. ?\n\n                      A female, rather worn; simulating _Mylothris\n                      agathina_ \u2640.\n\n                      Probably a new species, but being in poor\n                      condition and a single specimen it would not\n                      be advisable to describe it.\n\n                  1  _Belenois severina_ (Cram.) \u2640. Dry season form.\n\n                  1  _Phrissura_ sp. \u2642.\n\n                      A male, of the _P. sylvia_ group. This form of\n                      _Phrissura_ has not previously been recorded\n                      from any part of East Africa.\n\n   PAPILIONINAE:  8  _Papilio demodocus_ (Esp.).\n\n                            =HYMENOPTERA.=\n\n                  1  _Dorylus fimbriatus_ (Shuck.) \u2642.\n\n                             =COLEOPTERA.=\n\n  LAMELLICORNIA.\n\n   SCARABAEIDAE:  1  _Oniticellus inaequalis_ (Reiche).\n                      Only known from Abyssinia.\n\n     CETONIIDAE:  1  _Pachnoda abyssinica_ (Blanch.).\n\n                  1  _Pachnoda stehelini_ (Schaum).\n                      Both Abyssinian species.\n\n  PHYTOPHAGA.\n\n     CASSIDIDAE:  1  _Aspidomorpha punctata_ (Fab.).\n\n  HETEROMERA.\n\n    CANTHARIDAE:  2  _Mylabris_, probably a new species.\n\n                             =NEUROPTERA.=\n\n                  1  _Nemoptera_, probably a new species.\n\n                             =ORTHOPTERA.=\n\n     ACRIDIIDAE:  1  _Cyrtacanthacris_ sp.\n\n                  1  _Phymateus brunneri?_ (Bolivar).\n\n                  1  _Phymateus leprosus_ (Fab.).\n\n                  1  _Petasia anchoreta_ (Bolivar).\n\n       MANTIDAE:  1  _Sphodromantis bioculata_ (Burm.).\n\n                  1  _Chiropus aestuans?_ (Sauss.).\n\nIn addition to the above, Dr. Hayes presented three insects captured by\nhim at Gedaref in the Soudan, including a pair of a magnificent new\nspecies of Buprestid beetle of the genus _Sternocera_, taken _in coitu_.\nThis species has recently been described, from Dr. Hayes\u2019 specimen and\ntwo others in the British Museum, by Mr. C. O. Waterhouse, who has\ngiven it the name _Sternocera druryi_ (\u201cAnn. Mag. Nat. Hist.\u201d Oct.,\n1904, p. 247). The third insect is an example of a Cantharid beetle,\nwhich does great damage to the crops at Gadarif. Its determination as\n_Mylabris hybrida_ (Bohem.) is therefore a matter of some importance.\n\n\n                                THE END\n\n                               * * * * *\n   PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN\n\n_By permission of the Egyptian Government._\n\n_London: Smith, Elder & Co._\n\n_Stanford\u2019s Geogl. Estabt., London._]\n\n\n[Illustration: LAKE TSANA\n\n_By permission of the Egyptian Government._\n\n_London: Smith, Elder & Co._\n\n_Stanford\u2019s Geogl. Estabt., London._]\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note:\n\n\npg 70 (footnote 41) Changed: Abyssinnia and its people to: Abyssinia\n\npg 91-92 (footnote 61) Changed: equitid\u0153 to: equitid\u00e6\n\npg 91-92 (footnote 61) Changed: nectarini\u0153 to: nectarini\u00e6\n\npg 96 Changed: plently of fish to: plenty\n\npg 271 Changed: been complied by to: compiled\n\npg 293 Changed: general langour to: languor\n\npg 311 (footnote 262) Changed: Cp. to: Cf.\n\nMinor punctuation changes have been done silently.\n\nSpelling inconsistencies have been left unchanged.","title":"The source of the Blue Nile : $b a record of a journey through the Soudan to Lake Tsana in western Abyssinia, and of the return to Egypt by the valley of the Atbara, with a note on the religion, customs, etc. of Abyssinia","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":98266}