I was just going to bed when Ayto Welleta Michael, Ras Michael’s nephew, taken at Limjour, and a prisoner with Fasil, though now at large, came into the tent. I need not repeat the discourse that passed between us, it was all condolence upon the ill-usage I had met with. He cursed Fasil, called him a thousand opprobrious names, and said, Ras Michael one day would shew me his head upon a pole: he hinted, that he thought Fasil expected a present, and imagined that I intended to pass the king’s recommendation on him in the place of it. I have a present, said I, and a very handsome one, but I never thought that, while his nagareet was still beating, and when he had scarcely pitched his tent when he was tired, and I no less so, that it was then a time to open baggage for this purpose; if he had waited till to-morrow, he should have had a gratification which would have contented him.
Well, well, said Welleta Michael, as for your journey I shall undertake for that, for I heard him giving orders about it when I came away, even though he expects no present; what does the gratifying your curiosity cost him? he would be ashamed to refuse you permission; his own vanity would hinder him. This assurance, more than all the quieting draughts in the world, composed my mind, and brought me to myself. I went to bed, and falling into a sound sleep, was waked near mid-night by two of Fasil’s servants, who brought each of them a lean live sheep; they said they had brought the sheep, and were come to ask how I was, and to stay all night to watch the house for fear of the thieves in the army; they likewise brought their master’s order for me to come early in the morning to him, as he wanted to dispatch me on my journey before he gave the Galla liberty to return. This dispelled every doubt, but it raised my spirits so much, that, out of impatience for morning, I slept very little more that night.
It was a time of year when it is not broad day till after six o’clock; I went to the camp and saw Guebra Ehud, who confirmed what Welleta Michael had said, and that Fasil had given orders for bringing several of his own horses for me, to choose which he was to present me with; in effect there were about twelve horses all saddled and bridled, which were led by a master-groom. I was very indifferent about these horses, having a good one of my own, and there was none of these that would in this country have brought 7l. at a market; the servant, who seemed very officious, pitched upon a bright-bay poney, the fattest of the whole, but not strong enough in appearance to carry me; he assured me, however, the horse had excellent paces, was a great favourite of Fasil’s, but too dull and quiet for him, and desired me to mount him, though he had no other furniture but the wooden part of a saddle covered with thin, brown leather, and, instead of stirrups, iron rings. All the Abyssinians, indeed, ride bare-footed and legged, and put only their great toe into the iron ring, holding it betwixt their great and second toe, as they are afraid of being entangled by the stirrup if their horse falls, should they put their foot into it.
I consented to try him very willingly. A long experience with the Moors in Barbary put me above fear of any horse, however vicious, which I had no reason to think this was; besides, I rode always with a Barbary bridle, broad stirrups, and short stirrup-leathers, after their fashion; the bridle is known to every scholar in horsemanship, and should be used by every light-horseman or dragoon, for the most vicious horse cannot advance a yard against this bridle, when in a strong hand. I ordered the seis, or groom, to change the saddle and bridle for mine, and I had on a pair of spurs with very long and sharp rowels. I saw presently the horse did not like the bit, but that I did not wonder at; my saddle was what is called a war saddle, high behind and before, so, unless the horse fell, it was impossible to throw the rider. I had also a thick, knotty stick, or truncheon, of about three feet long, instead of a whip, and well was it for me I was so prepared for him.
For the first two minutes after I mounted I do not know whether I was most on the earth or in the air; he kicked behind, reared before, leaped like a deer, all four off the ground, and it was some time before I recollected myself; he then attempted to gallop, taking the bridle in his teeth, but got a check which staggered him; he, however, continued to gallop; and, finding I slacked the bridle on his neck, and that he was at ease, he set off and ran away as hard as he could, flinging out behind every ten yards; the ground was very favourable, smooth, soft, and up-hill. We passed the post of the Fit-Auraris like lightning, leaving him exceedingly surprised at seeing me make off with his master’s horse. He was then going to the head-quarters, but said nothing at passing; we went down one hill aukwardly enough; and, when we got to a small plain and a brook below, the horse would have gone easily enough either a trot or walk up the other, but I had only to shake my stirrups to make him set off again at a violent gallop, and when he stopt he trembled all over. I was now resolved to gain a victory, and hung my upper cloak upon a tree, the attempting which occasioned a new battle; but he was obliged to submit. I then between the two hills, half up the one and half up the other, wrought him so that he had no longer either breath or strength, and I began to think he would scarce carry me to the camp.
I now found that he would walk very quietly; that a gentle touch of the spur would quicken him, but that he had not strength or inclination to gallop; and there was no more rearing or kicking up behind. I put my cloak, therefore, about me in the best manner possible, just as if it had never been ruffled or discomposed by motion, and in this manner repassing the Fit-Auraris’ quarters, came in sight of the camp, where a large field sown with teff, and much watered, was in front. I went out of the road into this field, which I knew was very soft and deep, and therefore favourable for me. Coming near Fasil’s tent, the horse stopt upon gently straitening the bridle, as a horse properly broke would have done, on which my servant took the saddle and bridle, and returned the groom his own.
The poor beast made a sad figure, cut in the sides to pieces, and bleeding at the jaws; and the seis, the rascal that put me upon him, being there when I dismounted, he held up his hands upon seeing the horse so mangled, and began to testify great surprise upon the supposed harm I had done. I took no notice of this, only said, Carry that horse to your master; he may venture to ride him now, which is more than either he or you dared to have done in the morning.
As my own horse was bridled and saddled, and I found myself violently irritated, I resolved to ride to compose myself a little before another interview, for I thought this last piece of treachery, that might have cost me my legs and arms, was worse than what passed in the tent the night before; it seemed to be aimed at my life, and to put a very effectual stop to the continuing my journey. My servant had in his hand a short double-barrelled gun loaded with shot for killing any uncommon bird we might see by the way. I took the gun and my horse, and went up the side of the green hill about half way, in fair view of the camp, and considerably above it, I galloped, trotted, and made my horse perform every thing he was capable of. He was excellent in his movements, and very sufficiently trained; this the Galla beheld at once with astonishment and pleasure; they are naturally fond of horses, sufficiently perfect in the useful part of horsemanship, to be sensible of the beauty of the ornamental.
There was then, as there always is, a vast number of kites following the camp, which are quite familiar and live upon the carrion; choosing two gliding near me, I shot first one on the right, then one on the left; they both fell dead on the ground; a great shout immediately followed from the spectators below, to which I seemingly paid no attention, pretending absolute indifference, as if nothing extraordinary had been done. I then dismounted from my horse, giving him and my gun to my servant, and, sitting down on a large stone, I began to apply some white paper to staunch a small scratch the first horse had given me on the leg, by rubbing it against a thorn tree: as my trowsers, indeed, were all stained with the blood of the first horse, much cut by the spur, it was generally thought I was wounded.
Fasil on this sent for me to come immediately to him, having just got up from a sleep after a whole night’s debauch. He was at the door of the tent when I began riding my own horse, and, having seen the shots, ordered the kites immediately to be brought him: his servants had laboured in vain to find the hole where the ball, with which I had killed the birds, had entered; for none of them had ever seen small-shot, and I did not undeceive them. I had no sooner entered his tent than he asked me, with great earnestness, to shew him where the ball had gone through. I gave him no explanation; but, if you have really an inclination to kill me, said I, you had better do it here, where I have servants that will bury me, and tell the King and the Iteghé the kind reception you have given strangers whom they have recommended. He asked what I meant? What was the matter now? and I was going to answer, when Welleta Michael told him the whole story, greatly in my favour, indeed, but truly and plainly as to the trick about the horse. The Fit-Auraris Woldo said something to him in Galla, which plainly made the matter worse. Fasil now seemed in a terrible fury, and said three words to the Fit-Auraris in Galla, who immediately went out; and, as my servants told me afterwards, after sending for the seis, or groom, who had brought me the horse, the first salutation that he gave him was a blow over the head with a bludgeon, which felled him to the ground, then a dozen more strokes, and ordered him to be put in irons, after which he returned into the tent.
Fasil, who heard I was hurt, and saw the quantity of blood upon my trowsers, held up his hands with a shew of horror and concern, which plainly was not counterfeited: he protested, by every oath he could devise, that he knew nothing about the matter, and was asleep at the time; that he had no horses with him worth my acceptance, except the one that he rode, but that any horse known to be his, driven before me, would be a passport, and procure me respect among all the wild people whom I might meet, and for that reason only he had thought of giving me a horse. He repeated his protestations that he was innocent, and heartily sorry for the accident, which, indeed, he appeared to be: he told me the groom was in irons, and that, before many hours passed, he would put him to death. I was perfectly satisfied with his sincerity. I wished to put an end to this disagreeable conversation: “Sir, said I, as this man has attempted my life, according to the laws of the country, it is I that should name the punishment.” “It is very true, replied Fasil, take him, Yagoube, and cut him in a thousand pieces, if you please, and give his body to the kites.” “Are you really sincere in what you say, said I, and will you have no after excuses.” He swore solemnly he would not. “Then, said I, I am a Christian: the way my religion teaches me to punish my enemies is by doing good for evil; and therefore I keep you to the oath you have sworn, and desire my friend the Fit-Auraris to set the man at liberty, and put him in the place he held before, for he has not been undutiful to you.”
I need not say what were the sentiments of the company upon the occasion; they seemed to be most favourable to me; old Guebra Ehud could not contain himself, but got out of the dark corner, and squeezed both of my hands in his; and turning to Fasil, said, “Did not I tell you what my brother Aylo thought about this man?” Welleta Michael said, “He was just the same all through Tigrè.” Fasil, in a low voice, replied, “A man that behaves as he does may go thro’ any country.” They then all begged that I would take care of my wound, looking at the blood upon my trowsers. I told them it was already staunched; and turning to Fasil, said, “We white people, you see, are not so terrified at seeing our own blood as you supposed we were.” He then desired that the tent might be cleared for a short time, and we all went out.
About ten minutes after, I was called in to partake of a great breakfast; honey and butter, and raw beef in abundance, as also some stewed dishes that were very good. I was very hungry, having tasted nothing since dinner the day before; and I had had much exercise of body as well as of mind. We were all very chearful, every one saying something about the Agows, or of the Nile; and Fasil declaring, if it was peace, he would carry me to his country across the Nile as far as the kingdom of Narea. I thanked him. “You are at peace, said I, with the King and the Ras, and going to meet them at Gondar.”—“At Gondar, says he, no; I hope not this time; the Ras has work enough on his hands for the rest of his life.” “What work? said I.” “Why, the mountain,” replies he. “The mountain Aromata!” “The same, says he; you never saw such a place; Lamalmon, and all the mountains of Abyssinia, are nothing to it: he was, when at the prime of life, fifteen years in taking it from this Netcho’s father.” “But he has been luckier this time, replied I, by fourteen years.” “How!” says he, with some amasement. “Pardon me, said I, if I have unawares told you unwelcome news; but the mountain is taken, the garrison put to the sword, and Za Menfus, after surrendering, slain, in cold blood by Guebra Mascal, in revenge for the death of his father.” Fasil had in his hand a blue cut-glass goblet, gilt round the edges with gold. I had bought it at Cairo, with several other articles of the same kind, from a merchant who procured them from Trieste. I had given it to the king, who drank out of it himself, and had sent it as an honourable token to Fasil from Dingleber, the day when they made peace, after the battle of Limjour. Upon hearing what I said, he threw it violently upon the ground, and broke it into a thousand pieces. “Take care what you say, Yagoube, says he, take care this be not a lie; tell it me again.” I told him the whole circumstances from beginning to end; how the news had come to the Iteghé—who had brought the intelligence—how it had come from the Ras to Ozoro Esther—and how Kefla Yasous had surprised the mountain by treachery, having first lulled the besieged asleep by a negociation, and a proposed mediation of the priests and hermits. On this Fasil observed, it was the very way Michael took it last time; and, putting his forefinger in his mouth, bit it very hard, crying, Fool, fool, was he not warned? We all were again dismissed from the tent, and staid out about a quarter of an hour, when we were again called in.
I cannot say but I enjoyed heartily the fright I had visibly given him; it seemed to me that Aylo’s brother, Guebra Ehud, was the only person whom he consulted, for it was he alone that remained with him in his tent when we entered; he had changed his dress; a man was combing his hair, and perfuming it; and he had a new, white, fine cotton cloth thrown about his middle loosely, which covered his legs and feet, his breasts, neck, and shoulders, being quite naked; he rose half up from his seat when I came in, made me sit down on a cushion beside him, and was going to speak, when I resolved to have the first word, for fear he should engage me in more discussions. “Your continual hurry, said I, all the times I have seen you, has put it out of my power till now to make you the acknowledgment it is ordinary for strangers to present when they visit great men in their own country, and ask favours of them.” I then took a napkin, and opened it before him; he seemed to have forgot the present altogether, but from that moment I saw his countenance changed, he was like another man. “O Yagoube, says he, a present to me! you should be sensible that is perfectly needless; you were recommended to me by the King and the Ras; you know, says he, we are friends, and I would do twenty times as much for yourself, without recommendation from either; besides, I have not behaved to you like a great man.”
It was not a very hard thing to conquer these scruples; he took the several pieces of the present one by one in his hands, and examined them; there was a crimson silk sash, made at Tunis, about five yards long, with a silk fringe of the same colour; it was as beautiful a web of silk as ever I saw; it had a small waved pattern wrought in it; the next was a yellow, with a red narrow border, or stripe, and a silver-wrought fringe, but neither so long nor so thick as the other; the next were two Cyprus manufactured sashes, silk and cotton, with a sattin stripe, the one broader than the other, but five yards long each; the next was a Persian pipe, with a long pliable tube, or worm, covered with Turkey leather, with an amber mouth-piece, and a chrystal vase for smoking tobacco through water, a great luxury in the eastern countries; the next were two blue bowls, as fine as the one he had just then broken, and of the same sort. He shoved them from him, laughing, and said, “I will not take them from you, Yagoube; this is downright robbery; I have done nothing for this, which is a present for a king.”—“It is a present to a friend, said I, often of more consequence to a stranger than a king; I always except your king, who is the stranger’s best friend.”—“Though he was not easily disconcerted, he seemed, at this time, to be very nearly so.”—“If you will not receive them, continued I, such as they are offered, it is the greatest affront ever was put upon me; I can never, you know, receive them again.”
By this he was convinced. More feeble arguments would indeed have satisfied him, and he folded up the napkin with all the articles, and gave them to an officer; after which the tent was again cleared for consultation; and, during this time, he had called his man of confidence, whom he was to send with us, and instructed him properly. I saw plainly that I had gained the ascendant; and, in the expectation of Ras Michael’s speedily coming to Gondar, he was as willing to be on his journey the one way, as I was the other. I had ordered my servants and baggage to set out on the road to Dingleber before me, sending Ayto Aylo’s servant along with them, leaving me only my horse and a common Abyssinian servant to follow them: all had been ready since early in the morning, and they had set out accordingly with very great alacrity.
It was about one o’clock, or after it, when I was admitted to Fasil: he received me with great complacency, and would have had me sit down on the same cushion with himself, which I declined. “Friend Yagoube, says he, I am heartily sorry that you did not meet me at Buré before I set out; there I could have received you as I ought, but I have been tormented with a multitude of barbarous people, who have turned my head, and whom I am now about to dismiss. I go to Gondar in peace, and to keep peace there, for the king on this side the Tacazzé has no other friend than me; Powussen and Gusho are both traitors, and so Ras Michael knows them to be. I have nothing to return you for the present you have given me, for I did not expect to meet a man like you here in the fields; but you will quickly be back; we shall meet on better terms at Gondar; the head of the Nile is near at hand; a horseman, express, will arrive there in a day. I have given you a good man, well known in this country to be my servant; he will go to Geesh with you, and return you to a friend of Ayto Aylo’s and mine, Shalaka Welled Amlac; he has the dangerous part of the country wholly in his hands, and will carry you safe to Gondar; my wife is at present in his house: fear nothing, I shall answer for your safety: When will you set out? to-morrow?”
I replied, with many thanks for his kindness, that I wished to proceed immediately, and that my servants were already far off, on the way. You are going to dismiss those wild people, I would wish to be as clear of them as possible; I intend to travel long journies, till we part (as I understand we shall do) from the rout that they are taking.
You are very much in the right, says Fasil, it was only in the idea that you was hurt with that accursed horse that I would have wished you to stay till to-morrow; but throw off these bloody clothes, they are not decent, I must give you new ones, you are my vassal. I bowed. The king has granted you Geesh, where you are going, and I must invest you. A number of his servants hurried me out; Guebra Ehud, Welleta Michael, and the Fit-Auraris, attended me. I presently threw off my trowsers, and my two upper garments, and remained in my waistcoat; these were presently replaced by new ones, and I was brought back in a minute to Fasil’s tent, with only a fine loose muslin under garment or cloth round me, which reached to my feet. Upon my coming back to the tent, Fasil took off the one that he had put on himself new in the morning, and put it about my shoulders with his own hand, his servants throwing another immediately over him, saying at the same time to the people, “Bear witness, I give to you, Yagoube, the Agow Geesh, as fully and freely as the king has given it me.” I bowed and kissed his hand, as is customary for feudatories, and he then pointed to me to sit down.
“Hear what I say to you, continued Fasil; I think it right for you to make the best of your way now, for you will be the sooner back at Gondar. You need not be alarmed at the wild people you speak of, who are going after you, tho’ it is better to meet them coming this way, than when they are going to their homes; they are commanded by Welleta Yasous, who is your friend, and is very grateful for the medicines you sent him at Gondar: he has not been able to see you, being so much busied with those wild people; but he loves you, and will take care of you, and you must give me more of that physic when we met at Gondar.” I again bowed, and he continued,—“Hear me what I say; you see those seven people (I never saw more thief-like fellows in my life),—these are all leaders and chiefs of the Galla—savages, if you please; they are all your brethren.” I bowed. “You may go through their country as if it were your own, without a man hurting you: you will be soon related to them all; for it is their custom that a stranger of distinction, like you, when he is their guest, sleeps with the sister, daughter, or near relation of the principal men among them. I dare say, says he archly, you will not think the customs of the Galla contain greater hardships than those of Amhara.” I bowed, but thought to myself I shall not put them to the trial. He then jabbered something to them in Galla which I did not understand. They all answered by the wildest howl I ever heard, and struck themselves upon the breast, apparently assenting.
“When Ras Michael, continued he, came from the battle of Fagitta, the eyes of forty-four, brethren and relations of these people present, were pulled out at Gondar, the day after he arrived, and they were exposed upon the banks of the river Angrab to starve, where most, I believe, were devoured by the hyæna; you took three of them up to your house; nourished, cloathed, protected, and kindly treated them.” “They are now in good health, said I, and want nothing: the Iteghé will deliver them to you. The only other thing I have done to them was, I got them baptised: I do not know if that will displease them; I did it as an additional protection to them, and to give them a title to the charity of the people of Gondar.” “As for that, says he, they don’t care the least about baptism; it will neither do them good nor harm; they don’t trouble themselves about these matters; give them meat and drink, and you will be very welcome to baptise them all from morning to night; after such good care these Galla are all your brethren, they will die for you before they see you hurt.” He then said something to them in Galla again, and they all gave another assent, and made a shew of kissing my hand.
They sat down; and, I must own, if they entertained any good-will to me, it was not discernible in their countenances. “Besides this, continued Fasil, you was very kind and courteous to my servants while at Gondar, and said many favourable things of me before the king; you sent me a present also, and above all, when Joas my master’s body was dug up from the church-yard of St Raphael, and all Gondar were afraid to shew it the least respect, dreading the vengeance of Ras Michael, you, a stranger, who had never seen him, nor received benefit from him, at your own expence paid that attention to his remains which would have better become many at Gondar, and me in particular, had I been within reach, or had intelligence of the matter: now, before all these men, ask me any thing you have at heart, and, be it what it may, they know I cannot deny it you.” He delivered this in a tone and gracefulness of manner, superior, I think, to any thing I had ever before seen, although the Abyssinians are all orators, as, indeed, are most barbarians. “Why then, said I, by all those obligations you are pleased to mention, of which you have made a recital so truly honourable to me, I ask you the greatest favour that man can bestow upon me—send me, as conveniently as possible, to the head of the Nile, and return me and my attendants in safety, after having dispatched me quickly, and put me under no constraint that may prevent me from satisfying my curiosity in my own way.” “This, says he, is no request, I have granted it already; besides, I owe it to the commands of the king, whose servant I am. Since, however, it is so much at your heart, go in peace, I will provide you with all necessaries. If I am alive, and governor of Damot, as you are, we all know, a prudent and sensible man, unsettled as the state of the country is, nothing disagreeable can befal you.”
He then turned again to his seven chiefs, who all got up, himself and I, Guebra Ehud, Welleta Michael, and the Fit-Auraris; we all stood round in a circle, and raised the palm of our hands, while he and his Galla together repeated a prayer about a minute long; the Galla seemingly with great devotion. Now, says Fasil, go in peace, you are a Galla; this is a curse upon them, and their children, their corn, grass, and cattle, if ever they lift their hand against you or yours, or do not defend you to the utmost, if attacked by others, or endeavour to defeat any design they may hear is intended against you. Upon this I offered to kiss his hand before I took my leave, and we all went to the door of the tent, where there was a very handsome grey horse bridled and saddled. “Take this horse, says Fasil, as a present from me; it is not so good as your own, but, depend upon it, it is not of the kind that rascal gave you in the morning; it is the horse which I rode upon yesterday, when I came here to encamp; but do not mount it yourself, drive it before you saddled and bridled as it is; no man of Maitsha will touch you when he sees that horse; it is the people of Maitsha whose houses Michael has burnt that you have to fear, and not your friends the Galla.”
I then took the most humble and respectful leave of him possible, and also of my new-acquired brethren the Galla, praying inwardly I might never see them again. I recommended myself familiarly and affectionately to the remembrance of Welleta Michael, the Ras’s nephew, as well as Guebra Ehud; and turning to Fasil, according to the custom of the country to superiors, asked him leave to mount on horseback before him, and was speedily out of sight. Shalaka Woldo (the name of my guide) did not set out with me, being employed about some affairs of his own, but he presently after followed, driving Fasil’s horse before him.
At Bamba begins a valley full of small hills and trees, all brush-wood, none of them high enough for timber. On the right hand of the valley the hills slope gently up, the ground is firm, and grass short like sheep pasture; the hills on the left are steeper and more craggy, the lower part of the valley had been cleared of wood, and sown with different sorts of grain, by the industry of the inhabitants of the village of that name—industry that had served them to very little purpose, as the encampment of this wild army destroyed in one night every vestige of culture they had bestowed upon it.
Shalaka Woldo was not, to all appearance, a man to protect a stranger in the middle of a retreating army, disbanded as this was, and returning to very distant countries, perhaps never to be assembled again; yet this man was chosen by one that perfectly knew he was above all others capable of the trust he had reposed in him; he was about 55 years of age, was by birth an Agow, and had served Fasil’s father from his infancy, when Kasmati Eshté succeeded to the government of Damot, upon old Fasil’s death121; he had been his servant likewise, as had young Fasil, so they were both at one time fellow-domestics of Kasmati Eshté.
When Fasil had slain this nobleman, and succeeded to his father’s government of Damot, Shalaka Woldo was taken into his service as an old servant of his father; it seemed his merit had not entitled him to further advancement; he had no covering on his head, except long, bushy, black hair, which just began to be mingled with grey, but no beard, the defect of all his countrymen. He had a cotton cloth thrown about his shoulders in many different forms, occasionally as his fancy suggested to him; but, unless at night, laid it generally upon one of the mules, and walked himself, his body naked, his shoulders only covered with a goat’s skin in form of what the women call a tippet; he had also a pair of coarse cotton trowsers that reached to the middle of his thigh, and these were fastened at the waistband by a coarse cotton sash, or girdle, which went six or seven times about his waist, and in which he stuck a crooked knife, the blade about ten inches long, and three inches where broadest, which was the only weapon he wore, and served him to cut his meat, rather than for any weapon of offence or defence; for a man of consequence, as he was, could not suppose a possibility of danger while he was in the territory of his master. Sometimes he had a long pipe in his hand, being a great smoker; at other times, a stick of about three feet long, something thicker than one’s thumb, with which he dealt about him very liberally, either to man, woman, or beast, upon the slightest provocation; he was bare-legged and footed, and without any mule, but kept up with us easily at whatever pace we went. With all this he was exceedingly sagacious and cunning, and seemed to penetrate the meaning of our discourse, though spoke in a language of which he did not understand a syllable.
As for Shalaka Welled Amlac, he was a man whom I shall hereafter mention as having been recommended to me by Ayto Aylo soon after my coming to Gondar. I did not, however, choose to let Fasil know of this connection, for fear he might lead him to some gainful imposition for his own account in the course of my journey through Maitsha.
At a quarter past two o’clock of the 31st of October we halted for a little on the banks of the river Chergué, a small and not very rapid stream, which coming from the south-west, runs N. E. and loses itself in the lake Tzana. At three o’clock in the afternoon we passed the small river of Dingleber, and in a quarter of an hour after came to a village of that name situated upon the top of a rock, which we ascended; here the road comes close to the end of the lake, and between it and the rock is a very narrow pass through which all provisions from the Agows and Maitsha must go; when, therefore, there is any disturbance in the south part of the kingdom, this pass is always occupied to reduce Gondar to famine.
The village itself belongs to the office of Betwudet, and, since that office has been discontinued, it makes part of the revenue of the Ras; the language here is Falasha, though only used now by the Jews who go by that name: it was anciently the language of all the province of Dembea, which has here its southern boundary. The air of Dingleber is excellent, and the prospect one of the most beautiful in Abyssinia; on the one side you have a distinct view of the lake Tzana and all its islands; on the north, the peninsula of Gorgora, the former residence of the Jesuits, where too are the ruins of the king’s palace. On the north of the lake you have a distant prospect of Dara, and of the Nile crossing that lake, preserving distinctly the tract of its stream unmixed with the rest of the water, and issuing out to form what is called the second cataract at Alata, all places fixed in our mind by the memory of former distresses. On the south-east, we have a distant view of the flat country of Maitsha, for the most part covered with thick trees, and black like a forest; farther on the territory of Sacala, one of the districts of the Agows, near which are the fountains of the Nile, the object of all my wishes; and close behind this, the high mountains of Amid Amid, which surrounded them in two semicircles like a new moon, or amphitheatre, and seem by their shape to deserve the name of mountains of the moon, such as was given by antiquity to mountains, in the neighbourhood of which the Nile was supposed to rise.
At Dingleber I overtook my servants, who were disposed to stop there for that night. They had been very much oppressed by troops of wild Galla, who never having seen white men, could not refrain indulging a troublesome curiosity, without indeed doing any harm, or shewing any signs of insolence; this, however, did not hinder my servants from being terrified, as neither I nor any protector was near them. I resolved to avoid the like inconvenience, by proceeding further, as I knew the next day the main body of these savages would be up with us at Dingleber; and I rather wished to be at the point where our two roads separated, than pass a whole day in such company. It is true, I was under no sort of apprehension, for I perceived Fasil’s horse driven before us commanded all necessary respect, and Zor Woldo had no occasion to exert himself at all.
At four o’clock in the afternoon we left Dingleber, and at seven passed a great river; at eight in the evening we crossed two inconsiderable streams, and came to a collection of small villages, called Degwassa: here we entered into some narrow defiles between mountains, covered to the very top with herbage, and brushwood; it was a delightful night, and we were resolved to make the most of it. On every side of us we heard Guinea fowls, of which the woods here are full. At half past nine we halted a little, just leaving the narrow passes, and entering upon the plain. The district is called Sankraber. I found myself exceedingly fatigued, and slept a good half hour upon the ground.
At half past ten we began our journey anew, passing immediately the small village of Wainadega, famous for the decisive battle fought between king Claudius and the Moor Gragnè, where the latter was slain, and an end, for a time, put to the most disastrous war that ever Abyssinia was engaged in. At half after eleven we passed Guanguera on our left hand; it is a collection of many villages, at about ten miles distance; and at mid-night we had Degwassa on our right, and Guanguera on our left. At half past twelve we again rested at the side of a small river, of which I know not the name: we were now in the flat country of Maitsha, descending very gently southward. At three quarters past one in the morning of the first of November I alighted at two small villages, whose huts were but just finished, about 500 yards from the two trees that were in the front of our army, when, after passing the Nile at that dangerous ford near the Jemma, we offered Fasil battle at Limjour, which was the place we were now again come to, but in better health and spirits than before.
Shalaka Woldo, upon my observing to him that I was happy to see the people again raising their houses which Michael had destroyed, said, with a barbarous kind of smile, “Aye, and so am I too; for if those two villages had not been built, we should have had no fire-wood at Kelti to-night;” by which he meant, that the Galla, who were behind him, and whose next station was the banks of the river Kelti, would pull down all the new-built houses, in order to carry fire-wood along with them; and indeed we saw traces of some houses which had been newly built, and still as newly destroyed, the wood of which, partly kindled, and partly lying on the ground, served us for our fire that night at Kelti. I found myself exceedingly indisposed, and could scarcely force on a couple of hours further, when we came to the banks of the river Kelti, at a quarter after six in the morning.
The Kelti here is a large river; at the ford it was four feet deep, though now the dry season: it is here called the Kelti Branti, because some miles higher up it is joined by a considerable river called the Branti, which rises to the westward in the high lands of the Agow’s Quaquera, and both these streams, when united, fall into the Nile a little below. The banks of this river are exceedingly steep and dangerous, the earth loose, falling in great lumps down into the stream; it is a red bole of a soapy quality; the bottom, too, and the ascent on the other side are soft; the water, though troubled and muddy, is sweet and well-tasted. We saw lights and fires on the opposite bank, and had begun to unloose the tent, when we received a message by two Galla on foot, armed with lances and shields, that we should not encamp there, as our horses and mules would probably be stolen, but desiring us to pass the river forth-with, and pitch our tent among them.
I asked Shalaka Woldo who these were? He said, they were an advanced post of Welleta Yasous, who had taken up that ground for the head-quarters to-morrow; that they were all Galla, under a famous partisan, a robber, called the Jumper; and, by the bye, he added, speaking softly in my ear, that there was not a greater thief or murderer in all the country of the Galla. I paid him my compliments upon the judicious choice he had made of a companion and a protector for us: to which he answered, laughing, The better, the better; you shall see how it is the better. As it was necessary to load the mules again, the tent and baggage having been taken off before we could pass the river, we all set to work with very ill will, being excessively fatigued with a long journey and want of sleep. No sooner had Shalaka Woldo perceived this, than by two whistles upon his fingers, and a yell, he brought above fifty people to our assistance; the baggage was passed in one moment, and in another my two tents were pitched; which is a work these people are very dexterous at, and well acquainted with.
As soon as we had encamped, we found that the reason we were not left alone on the other side of the river was, that those of the Galla who returned pulled down all the villages for fire-wood, and plundered the houses, though they were Galla like themselves, and of Fasil’s party; and these again, driven from their houses, robbed of all they had except their lance and shield, followed the stragglers, and wreaked their vengeance upon those whom they could surprise, or were not too numerous for them.
I was scarcely laid down to sleep, when a servant, and with him Zor Woldo, were sent to me from the Jumper: they brought us a bull of an enormous size, but not very fat; though we were all pretty keen in point of appetite, the stock of provision sent us seemed to defy our utmost endeavours, but we were sure of assistants enough; so the bull was immediately killed and skinned. In the mean time, I took a short, but very refreshing sleep, being resolved to resume my journey with the same diligence till we had got to the point where we might separate from the army, which is at a place called Roo, where a large market is kept by the Agows, in whose country it is, and resorted to by all the neighbouring inhabitants.
About ten o’clock I waited upon our commander in chief the Jumper; he seemed very much embarrassed at the visit, was quite naked, having only a towel about his loins, and had been washing himself in the Kelti, to very little purpose as I thought, for he was then rubbing his arms and body over with melted tallow; his hair had been abundantly anointed before, and a man was then finishing his head-dress by plaiting it with some of the long and small guts of an ox, which I did not perceive had ever been cleaned; and he had already put about his neck two rounds of the same, in the manner of a necklace, or rather a solitaire, one end of them hanging down to the pit of his stomach, Our conversation was neither long nor interesting; I was overcome with the disagreeable smell of blood and carrion: he did not understand one word of Amharic, Geez, or any other language but Galla; he asked no questions, and shewed no sort of curiosity. Woldo, on the other hand, informed himself from him of every thing he wanted to know.
This Jumper was tall and lean, very sharp faced, with a long nose, small eyes and prodigious large ears; he never looked you in the face, but was rolling his eyes constantly round and round, and never fixing them upon any thing: he resembled very much a lean keen greyhound; there was no sternness nor command in his countenance, but a certain look that seemed to express a vacancy of mind, like that of an idiot. With this he was allowed on all hands to be the most cruel, merciless murderer and spoiler of all the Galla. He was very active on horseback, and very indifferent about food or sleep. I made him a small present, which he took with great indifference; only told Woldo, that if I meant it to pay for the bull he had sent me, it was needless, for it was given me by Fasil’s order, and cost him nothing.
There we learned, that on our way we should meet a party of about 200 men, who had been sent by Fasil to take possession of a post before we came to Roo, left, having intelligence of us, some of the Maitsha people, whose houses had been destroyed, might follow us when we were parted from the army. The jumper told us that his brother had the command of that party, that they were all Galla of Fasil’s own nation, under his brother, who was called the Lamb, and who was just such a murderer and robber as himself. I was just rising to go out of his tent when Zor Woldo, who was sitting behind me, informed me, there were news from Gondar. I asked him how he knew that? He said, he heard the people say so from without. A sudden trepidation now seized me, as I was afraid of some new trick, or obstacle, which might impede the journey, the accomplishment of which I so much longed for.
Upon going towards my tent I was met by Strates, and another Greek, with a servant of Ozoro Esther, with whom I was well acquainted: they had left Fasil at Bamba, whose wild Galla were not yet all dismissed, and he himself seemed not determined whether he should go to Gondar or not. They told me that all was in confusion at Gondar; that Gusho of Amhara, and Powussen of Begemder, had been there, and brought some trifle of money, for a mere pretence, to that wretch Socinios, whom the Iteghé unadvisedly had consented to make king; having called Fasil, Gusho, and Powussen together to reconcile them, that, united, they might attack Michael. The queen herself had been reconciled to Socinios, who led the life of a drunkard, a ruffian, and a profligate, but her chief fears were that Michael should return, the probability of which increased daily.
As for Fasil, he had hitherto answered the queen’s invitation to Gondar evasively, sometimes by complaining that Gusho and Powussen had come to Gondar before him, and that Gusho was made Ras; at other times sending peremptorily to them to leave Gondar, and return to their provinces, or he would burn the town about their ears: and the last message, the day before they left the capital was, that he was then on his march towards Gondar, and consented to Gusho and Powussen’s staying; but as these two chiefs had great reason to suspect that he was in correspondence with the king and Ras Michael in Tigré, as it was known to them that he had fomented disturbances both in Begemder and Amhara, they had gone with Socinios to Koscam, without drums beating, or any sort of parade whatever, and, after taking leave, had the next day set out to their respective provinces. Upon another message from Fasil, they had agreed to return to Gondar, and leave their army at Emfras; but their troops, finding themselves so near, had disbanded, and returned to their homes, leaving Gusho and Powussen attended only by their household servants, who, finding themselves in danger, and that Fasil was actually advancing secretly, left Gondar and separated.
Ozoro Esther’s servant (Guebra Mariam) likewise told me, that Michael, as he believed, waited for nothing but some arrangement with Fasil, for that he had no enemy remaining on the east of the Tacazzé; that his intention was to return by the way of Lasta, not willing to risk the many difficult passages in Woggora, a country full of hardy troops, inveterate enemies to the Ras, and where Ayto Tesfos of Samen had occupied all the defiles, and was resolved to dispute every post with him; it was well known, however, that the passes through the mountain of Lasta, were more dangerous and difficult than those of Woggora and Lamalmon; in a word, Guigarr, chief of the clan of Lasta (called Waag) possessed a strong-hold in those mountains, where many an Abyssinian army had perished, and where it was absolutely impossible to proceed but with the consent and connivance of that clan, or tribe; and tho’ this Guigarr had been Michael’s enemy ever since the war of Mariam Barea, peace was now concluded between them, the Ras having set Guigarr’s brother at liberty, who had been some time a prisoner, and was taken in an incursion which the people of Waag had made into Tigré: excepting this pass in the mountains of Lasta, all the ground was even from thence to Tigré; the territory of Gouliou, indeed, through which the army was to march for four days, was very ill-provided with water; it was inhabited by Galla, whom Michael had suffered to settle there, to be as a barrier between Tigré, Lasta, and Begemder; but this clan was perfectly at his command, so all was easy and secure if Guigarr only remained faithful.
After giving time to Guebra Mariam to refresh himself, I took him alone into the tent to hear Ozoro Esther’s message: she had been ailing after my leaving Gondar, had had a slow fever, which very much affected her nerves, and was now alarmed at a symptom which was but the effect of weakness, startling, or involuntary contraction of her legs and arms, or a kind of convulsion, which frequently awakened her out of her sleep. This she thought was a sure forerunner of death; and adjured me, by every claim of friendship that she had upon me, to return ere it would be too late, She, moreover, pledged herself that her nephew, Aylo of Gojam, should immediately carry me to the head of the Nile the moment she was recovered. Upon closer interrogation, I found that, being abandoned as it were entirely to Fasil’s discretion, by the retreat of Gusho and Powussen her friends, and the absence of her husband Ras Michael, she dreaded falling into the hands of Fasil, who, she well knew, was acquainted how active she had been in instigating Michael to avenge the blood of her late husband Mariam Barea, by the effusion of that of every Galla unfortunate enough to fall into his hands. Besides, the part her mother the Iteghé had acted in settling that wretch Socinios upon the throne, gave her the very best-founded apprehensions that Michael’s resentment would have no bounds; and he had declared so by frequent messages, (the last a very brutal one) that he would hang Socinios, and her mother the Iteghé, with their heads downmost, upon the same tree, before the king’s house, the very day that he entered Gondar. It was well known, besides, to his wife Ozoro Esther, and to the whole kingdom, that his performance upon these occasions never fell short of his threatenings. From all this, and a great sensibility of mind, Ozoro Esther, worn out by her late sickness, and by want of sleep, exercise, and nourishment, had fallen into a very dangerous situation, and of a very difficult cure, even though the cause was perfectly known.
I shall not trouble the reader with what passed in my mind at this juncture. I do believe the pursuit I was then engaged in was the only one which I would not have instantly abandoned upon such a summons. Besides the sincere attachment I had myself to her, as one of the most lovely and amiable women in the world; she was the mother of my most intimate friend Ayto Confu, and the wife of Ras Michael, over whom she had every day more and more influence, and I had long suspected that the young king, my constant benefactor, had contracted a decided tenderness for her. To have returned, would have been nothing had the danger or trouble been much greater; but it was obviously impossible another opportunity should offer: the country was now on the point of being plunged into a degree of disorder greater than that which had occasioned the retreat of the king to Tigré. I therefore resolved to run the risk of continuing for a time under the imputation of the foulest and basest of all sins, that of ingratitude to my benefactors; and I am confident, had it been the will of heaven that I had died in that journey, the consideration of my lying with apparent reason under that imputation would have been one of the most bitter reflections of my last moments. Having, therefore, taken my resolution, I acquainted Guebra Mariam that an immediate return was absolutely impossible; but that I should endeavour, with the utmost of my power, to make a speedy one; in the mean time, I sent word to the Greek priest (who was a sort of physician) how he was to proceed in the interim during my absence.
We had now left Maitsha by crossing the river Kelti. I shall only add, to what I have already said, that it is a very fruitful country, but so flat that the water with difficulty runs off after the tropical rains, and this occasions its being for several months unhealthy. Several tribes of Galla, from the south of the Nile, were settled here by Yasous the Great, and his son David, as a defence for the rich countries of the Agows, Damot, Gojam, and Dembea, against the desolations and inroads of the wild Galla their countrymen, from whom they had revolted; they consist of ninety-nine families; and it is a common saying among them, that the devil holds the hundreth part for his own family, as there is nowhere else to be found a family of men equal to any of the ninety-nine. It has been sometimes connected with Gojam, oftener with Damot and the Agows, who were at this time under the government of Fasil.
The houses in Maitsha are of a very singular construction: the first proprietor has a field, which he divides into three or four, as he pleases, (suppose four) by two hedges made of the thorny branches of the acacia-tree. In the corner, or intersection of the two hedges, he begins his low hut, and occupies as much of the angle as he pleases. Three other brothers, perhaps, occupy each of the three other angles; behind these their children place their house, and inclose the end of their father’s by another, which they make generally shorter than the first, because broader. After they have raised as many houses as they please, they surround the whole with a thick and almost impenetrable abbatis, or thorny hedge, and all the family are under one roof, ready to assist each other on the first alarm; for they have nothing to do but every man to look out at his own door, and they are close in a body together, facing every point that danger can possibly come from. They are, however, speedily destroyed by a stronger enemy, as we easily found, for we had only to set the dry hedge, and the canes that grew round it, on fire, which communicated at once to the houses, chiefly consisting of dry straw. Such is their terror of the small-pox, which comes here seldom more frequently than once in fifteen or twenty years; that when one of these houses is tainted with the disease, their neighbours, who know it will infect the whole colony, surround it in the night, and set fire to it, which is consumed in a minute, whilst the unfortunate people belonging to it (who would endeavour to escape) are unmercifully thrust back with lances and forks into the flames by the hands of their own neighbours and relations, without an instance of one ever being suffered to survive. This to us will appear a barbarity scarcely credible: it would be quite otherwise if we saw the situation of the country under that dreadful visitation of the small-pox; the plague has nothing in it so terrible.
The river Kelti has excellent fish, though the Abyssinians care not for food of this kind; the better people eat some species in the time of Lent, but the generality of the common sort are deterred by passages of scripture, and distinctions in the Mosaic law, concerning such animals as are clean and unclean, ill understood; they are, besides, exceedingly lazy, and know nothing of nets; neither have they the ingenuity we see in other savages of making hooks or lines: in all the time I staid, I never saw one Abyssinian fisher engaged in the employment in any river or lake.
At Kelti begins the territory of Aroossi: it is in fact the southmost division of Maitsha, on the west-side of the Nile: it is not inhabited, however, by Galla, but by Abyssinians, a kindred of the Agow. When therefore we passed the river Kelti, we entered into the territory of Aroossi, bounded on the north by that river, as it is on the south by the Assar, the Aroossi running through the midst of that district.
My anxiety to lose no time in this journey had determined me to set out this afternoon. I had for this purpose dispatched Ozoro Esther’s servant, but when we began to strike our tents, we were told neither beast nor man was capable of going farther that day; in a word, the forced march that we had made of 29 miles without rest, and with but little food, had quite jaded our mules; our men, too, who carried the quadrant, declared, that, without a night’s rest, they could proceed no farther; we were then obliged to make a virtue of necessity, and to confess, that, since we could go no farther, we were in the most convenient halting place possible, having plenty of both food and water, and as to protection, we had every reason to be satisfied that we were masters of the country in which we were encamped. It was generally agreed therefore to relax that day. I set aside an hour to put these memoirs in order, and then joined our servants, who, on such occasions, are always our companions, and who had provided a small horn full of spirits, and a jar full of beer, or bouza, by offering some trifling present to our commandant the Jumper, who was much more tenacious of his drink than his meat: we swam and dabbled with great delight in the Kelti, where are neither crocodiles nor gomari; slept a little afterwards, and retired into the tent to a supper, which would have been a chearful one could I have forgot that Ozoro Esther was suffering.
We now began to discuss the motive that had induced our friend Strates again to tempt the danger of the ways. This singular fellow, as we learned from Guebra Mariam, as well as from his own confession, repented of his resolution as soon as we were gone, and had determined on foot to follow us, when he heard of this opportunity of Ozoro Esther’s servant being sent on a message, and that princess was so well pleased with his anxiety that she gave him a mule that he might not retard her servant.
This Greek had known Fasil intimately, both when he was a private man in Kasmati Eshté’s time, and afterwards, when he was governor of Damot, for he was a servant in the palace when Joas was king, as all the Greeks were; had a company of fusileers, and one or two other small appointments, all of which were taken from him, and from most of the other Greeks, upon the death of the dwarf, who, I before mentioned, was shot on the side of Ras Michael by an unknown hand upon his first arrival at Gondar. He now lived upon the charity of the queen-mother, and what he picked up by his buffoonery among the great men at court. We found that in Shalaka Woldo we had got a man of more understanding than our friend Strates, but much about his equal in mimicry and buffoonery.
On the second of November, at seven in the morning we pursued our journey in a direction southward, and passed the church of Boskon Abbo; ever memorable to us as being the station of Fasil in May, when he intended to cut us off after our passage of the Nile. This brought on a conversation with our guide Woldo, who had been present with Fasil at his camp behind this church, and afterwards when Michael offered him battle at Limjour, he was there attending his master. He said, that the army of Welleta Yasous was above 12,000 strong; that they were intending to attack the king at the ford, and had no doubt of doing it successfully, as they imagined the King and Ras Michael, with part of both horse and foot, would pass early, but the rest with difficulty and danger; it was at that instant Welleta Yasous was to fall upon those that remained with Kefla Yasous, on the other side of the Nile, in that confusion in which they necessarily must be. Fasil then, with above 3000 horse, and a large body of foot, was ready to inclose both Ras Michael and the King, and to have taken them prisoners; nothing could fall out more exactly, as it was planned, than this did; the king’s black horse, and the other horse of his household, had taken possession of the ford, till the King, the Ras, and the greatest part of the Tigré musqueteers, under Guebra Mascal, had passed.
On the other hand, Kefla Yasous, who had the charge of the rear, and the passing the mules, tents, and baggage, finding so many stragglers constantly coming in, had determined to wait on that side till day-light: this was the moment that would have decided the fate of our army; all was fatigue and despondency; but Welleta Yasous having lingered with the army of execution, and in the mean time the priests having been examined, and the spies detected, the moment Kefla Yasous began his march to Delakus, the favourable instant was lost to Fasil, and all that followed was extremely dangerous to him; for, before Welleta Yasous arrived, Kefla Yasous had passed the Nile, and was strongly posted with his musquetry, so that Welleta Yasous durst not approach him, and this gave Kefla Yasous an opportunity of detaching the best or freshest of his troops to reinforce Michael, whom Fasil found already an overmatch for him at Limjour, when he was forced to retreat before the king, who very willingly offered him battle: add to this, that Welleta Yasous was not acquainted how near this junction of Kefla Yasous with Ras Michael might be, nor where Fasil was, or whether or not he had been beaten. Woldo pretended to know nothing of the spy whom we had left hanging on the tree at the ford when Kefla Yasous marched; but he laid all the blame upon the priests, of whose information he was perfectly instructed.
At three quarters after ten in the morning we passed the small river Aroossi, which either gives its name to, or receives it from the district through which it passes: it falls into the Nile about four miles below; is a clear, small, brisk stream; its banks covered with verdure not to be described. At half an hour before noon we came to Roo; it is a level space, shaded round with trees in a small plain, where the neighbouring people of Goutto, Agow, and Maitsha hold a market for hides, honey, butter, and all kinds of cattle. Gold too is brought by the Agows from the neighbouring Shangalla; all the markets in Abyssinia are held in such places as this in the open fields, and under the shade of trees: every body, while he is there, is safe under the protection of the government where that market is kept, and no feuds or private animosities must be resented there; but they that have enemies must take care of themselves in coming and going, for then they are at their own risk.
In the dry bed of a river, at the foot of a small wood before you ascend the market-place at Roo, we found the Lamb, our friend the Jumper’s brother, concealed very much like a thief in a hole, where we might easily have passed him unnoticed; we gave him some tobacco, of which he was very fond, and a few trifles. We asked him what questions we pleased about the roads, which he answered plainly, shortly, and discreetly; he assured us no Maitsha people had passed, not even to the market, and this we found afterwards was strictly true; for such as had intelligence that he and his party were on that road, did not venture from home with their goods, so that the day before, which had been that of the market, no one chose to run the risk of attending it.
Woldo was very eloquent in praise of this officer the Lamb; he said he had a great deal more humanity than his brother, and when he made an inroad into Gojam, or any part of Abyssinia, he never murdered any women, not even those that were with child; a contrary custom it seems prevailing among all the Galla. I congratulated him upon this great instance of his humanity, which he took very gravely, as if really intended; he told me that it was he that attacked Michael’s horse at Limjour; and added, that, had it been any other, Ayto Welleta Michael’s life would not have been spared when he was taken prisoner. That want of curiosity, inattention, and absolute indifference for new objects, which was remarkable in the Jumper, was very plainly discernible in this chieftain likewise, and seems to be a characteristic of the nation.
I asked Woldo what became of those 44 Galla who had their eyes pulled out, after the battle of Fagitta, by Michael, on his return to Gondar. Not one of them, said he, ever came into his own country. It was reported the hyæna ate them upon the Angrab, where they were turned out to starve. I saved three of them, said I. Yes, answered he, and others might have been saved too: and then added, in a low voice, the hyænas eating them at the Angrab was a story contrived for the Galla; but we that are Fasil’s servants know they were made away with by his order in Maitsha and the Agow country, that none of them might be seen in their own provinces to terrify the rest of their clans by the mangled appearance they then bore; for this was Ras Michael’s intention in disfiguring them, and yet leaving them alive; to prevent therefore the success of this scheme, Fasil put them to death in their way before they reached their own country. I confess I was struck at the finesse which completed Waragna Fasil’s character in my mind. What, said I, kill his own people taken prisoners whilst fighting for him, merely because their enemies had cruelly deprived them of their sight! indeed, Woldo, that is not credible. O ho, says he, but it is true; your Galla are not like other men, they do not talk about what is cruel and what is not; they do just what is for their own good, what is reasonable, and think no more of the matter. Ras Michael, says he, would make an excellent Galla; and do not you believe that he would do any cruel action which my master Fasil would not perpetrate on the same provocation, and to answer the same purpose?
It now occurred to me why the three Galla, whom I had maintained at Gondar, had constantly refused to return into their own country with the many safe opportunities which at times had presented to them, especially since the king’s retreat to Tigré; neither had I observed any desire in Fasil’s servants, who occasionally came to Gondar, of helping to restore these unfortunate men to their country, because they knew the fate that awaited them.
Although the Lamb, and the other Galla his soldiers, paid very little attention, as I have said, to us, it was remarkable to see the respect they shewed Fasil’s horse; the greatest part of them, one by one, gave him handfuls of barley, and the Lamb himself had a long and serious conversation with him; Woldo told me it was all spent in regretting the horse’s ill-fortune, and Fasil’s cruelty, in having bestowed him upon a white man, who would not feed him, or ever let him return to Bizamo. Bizamo is a country of Galla south of the Nile, after it makes its southmost turn, and has surrounded the kingdom of Gojam. I was better pleased with this genuine mark of kindness to the horse, than all the proofs of humanity Woldo had attributed to his chieftain for not frequently putting to death pregnant women. When I remarked this, Bad men! bad men! all of them, says Woldo; but your Ras Michael will be among them one of these days, and pull all their eyes out again; and so much the better.
At Roo we left the direct road which leads to Buré, the residence of the governor of Damot, towards which place the route of the army was directed; so I took leave, as I hoped, for ever of my brethren the Galla, but still continued to drive the horse before me. We turned our face now directly upon the fountains of the Nile, which lay S. E. by S. according to the compass. At a quarter before noon we saw the high sharp-pointed mountain of Temhua, standing single in the form of a cone, at about 18 miles distance, and behind this the mountain of Banja, the place where Fasil almost exterminated the Agows in a battle soon after his return to Buré, and to revenge which the king’s last fatal campaign was undertaken in Maitsha, terminated by his retreat to Tigrè.
Here Strates, whilst amusing himself in the wood in search of new birds and beasts for our collection of natural history, fired his gun at one of the former, distinguished by the beauty and variety of its plumage. I stopt to make a rough sketch of it, which might be finished at more leisure: this was scarcely done, and we again moving forwards on our journey, when we heard a confusion of shrill, barbarous cries, and presently saw a number of horsemen pouring down upon us, with their lances lifted up in a posture ready to attack us immediately. The ground was woody and uneven, so they could not make the speed they seemed to desire, and we had just time to put ourselves upon our defence with our firelocks, musquets, and blunderbusses in our hands, behind our baggage. Woldo ran several paces towards them, knowing them by the cry to be friends, even before he had seen them, which was, Fasil ali, Fasil ali—there is none but Fasil that commands here. Upon seeing us without any marks of discomposure, they all stopt with Woldo, and by him we learned that this was the party we had passed commanded by the Lamb, who, after we had left him, had heard that five Agow horsemen had passed between the army and his party, and from the shot he had feared they might have attempted something against us, and he had thereupon come to our assistance with all the speed possible.
Thus did we see that this man, who, according to our ideas, seemed in understanding inferior to most of the brute creation, had yet, in executing his orders, a discernment, punctuality, activity, and sense of duty, equal to any Christian officer who should have had a like commission; he now appeared to us in a quite different light than when we first had met him; and his inattention, when we were with him, was the more agreeable, as it left us at our entire liberty, without teazing or molesting us, when he could be of no real service, as every Amharic soldier would have done. On the other hand, his alacrity and resolution, in the moment he thought us in danger, exhibited him to our view as having on both occasions just the qualities we could have desired. We now, therefore, shewed him the utmost civility, spread a table-cloth on the ground by the brook, mixed our honey and liquid butter together in a plate, and laid plenty of teff bread beside it. We invited the Lamb to sit down and breakfast with us, which he did, each of us dipping our hand with pieces of bread alternately into the dish which contained the honey; but Strates, whose heart was open, for he felt very gratefully the Lamb’s attention to save him from being murdered by the Agows, pulled out a large piece of raw beef, part of the bullock we killed at Kelti, which he had perfectly cleared from all incumbrance of bones, this he gave to the Lamb, desiring him to divide it among his men, which he did, keeping a very small proportion to himself, and which he ate before us. Drink we had none, but the water of the brook that ran by, for my people had finished all our other liquors at Kelti after I was in bed, when they were taking their leave of Guebra Mariam, Ozoro Esther’s servant.
It was now time to pursue our journey; and, to shew our gratitude for the real service this Lamb intended to have rendered us, I gave him four times the quantity of tobacco he had got before, and so in proportion of every other trifle; all these he took with absolute indifference as formerly, much as if it had been all his own; he expressed no sort of thanks either in his words or in his countenance; only while at breakfast said, that he was very much grieved that it had been but a false alarm, for he heartily desired that some robbers really had attacked us, that he might have shewn us how quickly and dexterously he would have cut them to pieces though there had been a hundred of them. I mentioned to Woldo my obligations to the Lamb for his good wishes, but that things were quite as well as they were; that I had no sort of curiosity for such exhibitions, which I did not however doubt he would have performed most dexterously.
We were now taking leave to proceed on our journey, and my servant folding up the table-cloth, when the Lamb desired to speak to Woldo, and for the first time ventured to make a request, which was a very extraordinary one; he begged that I would give him the table-cloth to cover his head, and keep his face from the sun. I could not help laughing within myself at the idea of preserving that beautiful complexion from sun-burning; but I gave him the cloth very readily, which he accordingly spread upon his head, till it covered half his face; he then got upon his horse and rode quietly away. Before he went, he detached fifteen men, Woldo said he did not know where, but by what he had gathered, and the route they had taken, he was sure that detachment was meant for our service, and to protect us on the right of our route, not having yet sufficiently quieted his own mind about the five Agows that passed between the army and his post the night we were at Kelti; these, however, being poorly mounted and armed, would not have found their account in meddling with us, though we had no wishes to shew our dexterity in destroying them, as our friend the Lamb was so desirous of doing, and we after discovered they were not quite so despicable as they were represented, nor were they Agows. All this passed in much less time than it is told. We were on horseback again in little more than half an hour; our friends were, like us, willing to meet and willing to part, only I ordered Strates to suspend his firing for that day, lest it should procure us another interview, which we by no means courted.
We had halted by the side of a small river which falls into the Assar; and a little before one o’clock we came to the Assar itself. The Assar, as I have already said, is the southern boundary of Aroossi, as Kelti is the northern; and as Aroossi is the southern district of Maitsha on the west side of the Nile, it follows that the Assar is the southern boundary of Maitsha.
On the other side of this river begins the province of Goutto, which, according to the ancient rules of government before Ras Michael destroyed all distinctions, depended on the province of Damot; whereas Maitsha belonged to the office of Betwudet since Fasil had appropriated both to himself by force, as well as the whole country of the Agows, which he had possessed by the same title ever since the battle of Banja: the inhabitants of Goutto are the ancient natives of that country; they are not Galla as those of Maitsha, but much more civilized and better governed. The language of the Agow and the Amharic are the two chiefly spoken in Goutto, though there are distant places towards the Jemma on the side of the Nile, where they speak that of the Falasha likewise. The people in Goutto are richer and better lodged than those of the neighbouring Maitsha; their whole country is full of cattle of the largest size, exceedingly beautiful, and of all the different colours; there are some places likewise where their honey is excellent, equal to any in the country of the Agows, but the greatest quantity of it is of low price and of little esteem, owing to the lupine flowers on which the bees feed, and of which a great quantity covers the whole face of the country; this gives a bitterness to the greatest part of the honey, and occasions, as they believe, vertigo’s, or dizzinesses, to those that eat it: the same would happen with the Agows, did they not take care to eradicate the lupines throughout their whole country.
All this little territory of Aroossi is by much the most pleasant that we had seen in Abyssinia, perhaps it is equal to any thing the east can produce; the whole is finely shaded with acacia-trees, I mean the acacia vera, or the Egyptian thorn, the tree which, in the sultry parts of Africa, produces the gum-arabic. These trees grow seldom above fifteen or sixteen feet high, then flatten and spread wide at the top, and touch each other, while the trunks are far asunder, and under a vertical sun, leave you, many miles together, a free space to walk in a cool, delicious shade. There is scarce any tree but this in Maitsha; all Guanguera and Wainadega are full of them; but in these last-mentioned places, near the capital, where the country grows narrower, being confined between the lake and the mountains, these trees are more in the way of the march of armies, and are thinner, as being constantly cut down for fuel, and never replanted, or suffered to replace themselves, which they otherwise would do, and cover the whole face of the country, as once apparently they did. The ground below those trees, all throughout Aroossi, is thick covered with lupines, almost to the exclusion of every other flower; wild oats also grow up here spontaneously to a prodigious height and size, capable often of concealing both the horse and his rider, and some of the stalks being little less than an inch in circumference. They have, when ripe, the appearance of small canes. The inhabitants make no sort of use of this grain in any period of its growth: the uppermost thin hulk of it is beautifully variegated with a changeable purple colour; the taste is perfectly good. I often made the meal into cakes in remembrance of Scotland.