[1]A khor is a gully or gorge formed by the rush of rain in the wet season. It is a watercourse at that time, but a dry ravine during the rest of the year.

[2]Kneel.

[3]These bottles were of aluminium covered with felt. Before we started on the day’s march, the felt was soaked in water, and the evaporation from it tended to keep the drinking supply cool.

[4]Lieutenant-Colonel.

[5]Governor.

[6]Chief baggage-man.

[7]This trill is maintained on the same note—the upper B flat of the feminine vocal compass—and is produced by a vibration of the tip of the tongue on the hard palate. Many European ladies have tried to give a rendering of it, but without success. In Lower Egypt the “joy-trilling” is called zungareet.

[8]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” 1867, p. 525.

[9]Ib. p. 523.

[10]“Life in Abyssinia,” 1868, p. 101

[11]“The great plain comes to an end within a few miles of Gedaref, the ground becomes uneven and rocky, and Gedaref itself is situated in an open valley surrounded by bare hills of basaltic rock.”—Sir W. Garstin, “Report upon the Basin of the Upper Nile,” 1904.

[12]“The shotel (sword) is an awkward-looking weapon. Some, if straight, would be nearly four feet long; they are two-edged, and curved to a semicircle, like a reaper’s sickle. It is a very clumsy weapon to manage. Many of the swords are made of the soft iron of the country and bend on the least stress. The handles are made of the horn of the rhinoceros, sawn into three longitudinal pieces, and incised so as to end in sharp points parallel to the blades. The shank is usually clinched over a half-dollar beaten convex. I should scarcely mind a blow from a sword thus mounted, as, were the striker to give his wrist any play, in order to make his cut at all effective, he could not fail sending one of the highly ornamental but very useless points of his hilt into his own wrist. . . . In the use of the gun the natives are in general exceedingly clumsy. They prefer large, heavy matchlocks, to load which is a labour of some minutes. They carry their powder in hollow canes fitted into a leathern belt worn round the waist; and, having no fixed charge, pour out at hazard a small quantity into the hand. This they measure with the eye, occasionally putting back a little if it appear too much, or adding a little if it seem not enough. After this operation has been performed two or three times, till they are pretty well satisfied as to the quantity, it is poured into the gun-barrel. The proper charge is now tested by the insertion of the ramrod. Lastly, when all is settled, some rag and a small bar or ball of roughly wrought iron are rammed down. This last operation (with the exception that the ramrod often sticks in the rag for half an hour) is not difficult, as the ball is made of about a quarter of an inch less diameter than the bore of the piece for which it is intended. It is great fun to see these gunners, when taken unawares by a sudden alarm; one can’t find his flint, another has lost his steel; then there is the striking of a light, blowing the match, priming the gun, fixing the match to a proper length and direction; and, lastly, sticking into the ground the rest, which nearly all of them use, especially if their piece be of the heavy description. There is one thing in their favour—that the mere sound of driving in the rest is generally sufficient to turn away the bravest Abyssinian cavalry that ever charged.”—Mansfield Parkyns, pp. 236, 241.

[13]“Wanderings among the Falashas in Abyssinia,” by Rev. H. Stern, 1862.

[14]“Narrative of a Journey through Abyssinia,” by Henry Dufton, 1867.

[15]Dufton, pp. 16, 17.

[16]Ib. pp. 35, 36.

[17]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” 1867, pp. 356-357.

[18]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” p. 182.

[19]For a variety of reasons—some of them creditable—a number of Abyssinians abandon their allegiance to Menelek and the Rases (chiefs) and become subject to Anglo-Egyptian jurisdiction.

[20]“King of Kings,” title of the Abyssinian monarch.

[21]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” p. 502.

[22]Mansfield Parkyns has given a full and careful description of the national costume. I extract the following details from it:—“The ‘quarry’ is the principal article of Abyssinian dress: it is of cotton, and very fine and soft; those of the richer being finer but probably not so serviceable as those of the poorer class. It is made in three pieces; each piece is about three feet broad by fifteen feet long. Near both ends of each piece is a red stripe, five or six inches broad.” The pieces are sewn together so as to form “a white double cloth, with a red border near the bottom only; the breadth of the ‘quarry’ is nine feet by seven and a half long. . . . The methods of putting on the cloth are as various as the modes of wearing a Highland plaid. One of the most ordinary ways is first to place it like a cloak over the shoulders: the right end, which is purposely left the longer, is then thrown over the left shoulder, and the bottom border, which would otherwise (from its length) trail on the ground, is gathered over the right shoulder” (“Life in Abyssinia,” pp. 228, 229). “The trousers are of a soft textured but rather coarse cotton stuff, made in the country, and are of two sorts: one called ‘cállis,’ the other ‘coumta.’ The former reaches half-way down the calf of the leg, the latter to about three or four inches above the knee” (ib. pp. 225, 226). The other garment worn by the men is a belt. These cinctures “vary in length from fifteen to sixty yards, and are about one yard in width. In quantity of cotton they are nearly all of the same weight, as the very long ones are in proportion finer than the shorter” (ib. p. 227). With regard to feminine dress, “there is a distinguishing costume for young girls, and for those who, from being married or otherwise, are no longer considered as such. The dress of the former is indeed rather slight, though far more picturesque than that of the latter. . . . The girls merely wear a piece of cotton stuff wrapped round the waist and hanging down almost to the knee, and another (or the end of the former, if it be long enough) thrown over the left shoulder, so as to leave the right arm and breast exposed. In other parts of Tigre a black goat-skin, ornamented with cowries, is often substituted for this latter. An ordinary woman wears a large loose shirt down to the feet, with sleeves made tight towards the wrist. This, with a ‘quarry’ similar to those of the men, but worn rather differently, and a parasol when out of doors, is a complete suit” (ib. pp. 241-243). Parkyns thus describes the system of hairdressing: “In general, neither sex wears any covering on the head, preferring to tress and butter that with which nature has provided them. The hair of the Abyssinians is admirably adapted for this purpose, being neither short and crisp like a negro’s, nor yet of the soft elasticity of a European’s, but between the two. . . . The operation of tressing is a very tedious one, usually occupying an hour or two per head: therefore, of course, it is repeated as seldom as possible: by some great dandies once a fortnight: by others once a month, or even less frequently. In the interim large supplies of fresh butter are employed, when obtainable, in order to prevent the chance of a settlement of vermin; and a piece of stick, like a skewer, is used for scratching. The hair is gathered in plaits close over the whole surface of the head, the lines running fore and aft, and the ends hanging down in ringlets over the neck. . . . Some ladies have their butter daubed on nicely, and then some scent: but the great ‘go’ among the dandies is to appear in the morning with a huge pat of butter (about two ounces) placed on the top of the head, which, as it gradually melts in the sun, runs over the hair and down the neck, over the forehead, and often into the eyes, thereby causing much smarting. This last ingression, however, the gentleman usually prevents by wiping his forehead frequently with his hand or the corner of his ‘quarry.’ As may be imagined, the dresses neither of the women nor men are long free from grease; but this, especially among the latter sex, is of no importance; indeed, many young men among the soldiery consider a clean cloth as ‘slow,’ and appropriate only for a townsman or a woman. These never have their quarries washed from one St. John’s Day to another” (ib. pp. 243-245).

[23]“Modern Abyssinia,” p. 248.

[24]“Life in Abyssinia,” p. 282.

[25]“Abyssinia,” by Herbert Vivian, 1901, pp. 314-327.

[26]“Life in Abyssinia,” p. 418.

[27]Guard-house.

[28]“On one occasion we had a small adventure. We were resting one night near the summit of a mountain, when about two hours before daybreak we were awaked by a loud hubbub and the discharge of a gun. Starting to our feet, we inquired what was up, and our anxiety was increased by M. Lejean’s Arab seizing the second gun and discharging it. All I saw, for it was pitch dark, was one of the mules kicking about amongst the ashes of a half-extinguished fire, and endeavouring to extricate himself from the leather thong which bound his head to a tree. This he soon succeeded in doing, and went off at a furious rate towards the woods which clothe the sides of the mountain. I thought he had burnt himself at the fire, and that this was the cause of his breaking loose, but the rest maintained that he had been bitten by the hyenas: and they were right, for at daybreak we saw and gave chase to one of these brutes, who was still prowling about. These creatures were much bolder here than near the villages. As we were sleeping in the open air, with our faces exposed, it was fortunate for us that the hyenas preferred trying mule’s flesh to man’s. We heard afterwards that the mule had returned to Gallabat, a distance of forty miles, but was so severely bitten in the flank that he was perfectly useless.” (Dufton, “A Journey through Abyssinia,” pp. 48, 49.)

[29]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” pp. 515, 516.

[30]“The word ‘Habash’ (the native name for Abyssinian) means, I believe, a ‘mixture’ in the Giz language—a mixture of various qualities of corn goes by that name in some of the provinces of Tigre. It is supposed by some that a great number of Jews followed the Queen of Sheba, on her return from her visit to Solomon, and that a large colony of fugitives also took refuge in Abyssinia about the time of the destruction of the temple and the captivity. Subsequently the Greeks sent missionaries, and they were doubtless accompanied by adventurers; and the Portuguese sent a number of troops, some of whom remained in the country for many years. The variety of complexion, observable in both sexes, is, I should think, attributable to the mixture of races of which the nation is composed.” (Mansfield Parkyns, “Life in Abyssinia,” p. 224.)

[31]That most resourceful of travellers, Sir Samuel Baker, once put an ant-hill of this kind to a singular use. The incident may be new to some of my readers. The explorer wished to make soap in the Soudan. “I had neither lime nor potash, but I shortly procured both. The hegleek-tree (Balanites Egyptiaca) was extremely rich in potash; therefore I burned a large quantity, and made a strong ley with the ashes; this I concentrated by boiling. There was no lime-stone; but the river produced a plentiful supply of large oyster-shells, that, if burned, would yield excellent lime. Accordingly I constructed a kiln, with the assistance of the white ants. The country was infested with these creatures, which had erected their dwellings in all directions; these were formed of clay so thoroughly cemented by a glutinous preparation of the insects, that it was harder than sun-baked brick. I selected an egg-shaped hill, and cut off the top, exactly as we take off the slice from an egg. My Tokrooris then worked hard, and with a hoe and their lances, they hollowed it out to the base, in spite of the attacks of the ants, which punished the legs of the intruders considerably. I now made a draught-hole from the outside base, at right-angles with the bottom of the hollow cone. My kiln was perfect.” (“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” pp. 424, 425.)

[32]I have seen living trees of the height of ninety feet, the bark of which had been entirely converted into a layer of “white ant earth.”

[33]“My sight was now delighted by frequent views of the summits of the Simyen mountains, thickly covered with snow. As this was the month of April, one of the hottest, I can easily believe that some of these mountains are never free, but are within the region of perpetual winter. They are the highest in Abyssinia, attaining an elevation of fifteen thousand feet in Aboo Yared, the loftiest peak.” (Dufton, “A Journey through Abyssinia,” p. 196.) The heights of Simyen lie north-east of Lake Tsana, between the lake and Adowa.

[34]“The Geerar is a typical mountain river in a country consisting almost wholly of impervious basaltic and granite rocks; it is evidently a furious torrent after rain, but dry except for the merest trickle at other times; it runs in a deep narrow valley, shut in, hot, and airless, and probably very unhealthy.” (Sir W. Garstin, “Report upon the Basin of the Upper Nile,” 1904.)

[35]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” vol. iii., 1881.

[36]These are the “Maria Theresa” dollars. “The Maria Theresa dollar is a facsimile of the coin of 1780. It is still issued by the Austrian Government, and circulates as a trade coin nearly all over Africa. Though roughly about the size of a five-shilling piece, it only exchanges for a little more than its intrinsic value, which was about 1s. 11d. when I left Africa.” (“Abyssinia,” by Herbert Vivian, 1901, p. 239.) Dufton wrote, with regard to Abyssinian marketing: “The Maria Theresa dollar is the only coin used in these transactions under the name of bir (silver). This piece must be of a certain kind, however, containing the spots which form the queen’s tiara, and other marks clearly defined; for which reason it is called by the Arabs of the Soudan Abou Nukter, or father of spots.” (“A Journey through Abyssinia,” p. 61.) Mr. Vivian gives the following table of Abyssinian currency:—

The “salt” is a bar of that mineral, which is ordinarily carried and used in lieu of coin. I found that its value was, roughly, sixpence, as Mr. Vivian says. At an earlier date its purchasing power seems to have been less. “Pieces of salt, called tsho, are the monetary medium throughout the greater part of Abyssinia. This salt is obtained from extensive mines in the country of the Danakil, where it is cut into small blocks, eight inches long by one inch and a half in breadth, each of which is of a variable market value of between twopence and threepence.” (“A Journey through Abyssinia,” pp. 61, 62.) Evidently there has been “appreciation of salt” in the land of the Negus since 1862, when Mr. Dufton visited it.

[37]“A Journey through Abyssinia,” pp. 47, 48.

[38]See p. 179.

[39]Psalm lxxiii. 18.

[40]Chieftain. As in the feudal times in Europe there is a chain of allegiance—often enough broken—between the king and the mass of his subjects. This Ras was the “Deputy’s” feudal chief.

[41]Consul Plowden (1848-60), quoted in “Abyssinia and its people,” by J. C. Hotten, 1868, pp. 130, 135.

[42]See map.

[43]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” vol. iii. p. 32.

[44]“Abyssinia and its People,” by J. C. Hotten, 1868, p. 128.

[45]Mr. MacMillan, describing some of the incidents of his recent expedition to the upper reaches of the Blue Nile, told an interviewer: “We were roused at four in the morning by the wild screams of one of our people (a Somali), who had been seized by a big crocodile, which had crawled up the rocks. The brute had seized his victim by the head and dragged him to the water’s edge. By throwing stones at the crocodile we succeeded in making him leave the Somali, who, though terribly mauled, eventually recovered.”—Egyptian Gazette, October 21, 1903. Mr. MacMillan told me subsequently in conversation that the Somali, when he was attacked, was sleeping with his head on his arm, and that the crocodile seized both head and arm, with the result that the Somali put his finger in the crocodile’s eye. Mr. MacMillan was inclined to believe that this action made the reptile release the man. The guns and ammunition of the expedition had all been lost, and were at the bottom of the river, and the night was pitch dark.

[46]“Life in Abyssinia,” pp. 383 seq.

[47]Native bread. “The chief corn of the country is ‘teff’ and ‘dágousha,’ if, indeed, we may venture to include these under the head of corn; for they both resemble different sorts of grass, and the seed is not larger than rape or canary seed. Of each of these there are various qualities, esteemed according to their colour, white, red, or black. White ‘teff’ bread is preferred by all natives even to wheat bread. . . . The ‘teff’ is considered by the Abyssinians wholesome and digestible; but so far from being satisfied of this, I am doubtful of its containing much nutritious property; and as for its taste, only fancy yourself chewing a piece of sour sponge, and you will have a good idea of what is considered the best bread in Abyssinia.” (Parkyns, “Life in Abyssinia,” pp. 198-200.)

[48]In other parts of Abyssinia “there are also two kinds, one a very large one and another of Jersey size, that show absolutely no trace of an Eastern origin, and are as straight-backed as any English short-horn.” (“Modern Abyssinia,” by Augustus Wylde. Methuen, 1901.)

[49]“Life in Abyssinia,” p. 259.

[50]I do not know whether the women drink much tedj, but even the ladies of the land did so in Bruce’s time. He was in Gondar when “Ozoro Esther’s sister, the Iteghe’s” (queen-mother’s) “youngest daughter was married to Powussen, the governor of Begemder. The king gave her large districts of land in that province, and Ras Michael a large portion of gold, muskets, cattle, and horses.” On this occasion “the Ras, Ozoro Esther, and Ozoro Altash entertained all Gondar. A vast number of cattle were slaughtered every day, and the whole town was one great market: the common people, in every street, appeared laden with pieces of raw beef, while drink circulated in like profusion. The Ras insisted upon Bruce’s dining with him every day. After dinner they slipped away to parties of ladies, where anarchy prevailed as completely as at the house of the Ras. All the married women ate, drank and smoked like the men; in fact it is impossible to convey to the English reader, in terms of proper decency, any idea of this bacchanalian scene” (Head’s “Life of Bruce,” pp. 297, 298). In Parkyns’s time a wedding-feast was an orgy of the same kind for all classes and both sexes. And as there is a complete absence of gêne in the conduct of modern Abyssinian women in other respects, I have little doubt that they still favour the tedj when the mood prompts them.

[51]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” vol. iii. p. 27.

[52]“Asked about the trade prospects in Abyssinia and the projected American commercial mission, Mr. MacMillan said, ‘The greater part of the trade of Abyssinia is already in American hands. The principal import is white cotton sheeting, which every Abyssinian wears, all of which comes from the United States. I do not see that there is much possibility of further development in the trade as far as this sheeting—which is everywhere known as Amerikani—is concerned; the supply has already reached its maximum. There may be some possibilities in the case of oil, which at present comes from Russia. As a matter of fact there is no money in the country.” (Egyptian Gazette, October 21, 1903.)

[53]Quoted in “Abyssinia Described,” by J. C. Hotten, p. 129.

[54]Dufton, “A Journey through Abyssinia,” p. 63.

[55]“Abyssinia,” p. 124.

[56]“Modern Abyssinia,” by Augustus Wylde, p. 345.

[57]“Life in Abyssinia,” by Mansfield Parkyns, p. 278.

[58]Ib. p. 254.

[59]“Modern Abyssinia,” p. 369.

[60]See p. 120.

[61]“The Gumara here flows between high rocks, which consist of porphyry and trachyte, in which calcareous tufa is found embedded. Its banks are adorned with tropical vegetation, and the place derives its characteristic features especially from the wild Phœnix with its delicate foliage and the colossal Musa Ensete ornamentalis with carmine leaf-panicles, which is called guma-guma by the natives to distinguish it from the edible Musa Ensete. In many places the Gumara is deep and full of fish; innumerable wild ducks and geese, scopus umbretta, etc., enliven the surface of the water, while bright-hued butterflies, the charming Danais and equitidæ with their brilliant play of colour, mingled with tiny metallic-tinted nectariniæ (affinis metallica), flit around the fragrant Dodonæa viscosa and the brilliant blossoms of the Tsana-tree” (“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” vol. iii. 1881, pp. 23, 24). Phœnix is the name given to a family of pinnate palms, of which the Egyptian Phœnix dactylifera, the finger-date, is an example. Ensete is the Abyssinian name of a thick-stemmed, large-leafed banana, which is grown in gardens as an ornamental plant. The thick flower-stalk is used as an article of food by the natives, but the fruit, being small and dry, is useless. In spite of these attractions, Wansage, (see p. 63) according to Stecker, would hardly be a suitable health-resort for European invalids. He wrote, “By night an infernal din prevails, which, mingled with the singing of women and clapping of hands, forms the characteristic music of the Baths. The bull-frogs that live in the Gumara supply a harmonious accompaniment, which, with the noise kept up by the donkeys and beasts of burden, does not cease till long after midnight” (Ib.).

[62]This is the district called Lamge. Stecker said of it: “I consider Lamge the prettiest place on Lake Tsana; the ancient, massive Dokma trees are all covered by parasitical Loranthidæ with rose-red and purple blossoms, and by whole nests of olive-green Viscum, and another parasitical plant which is peculiar to this one tree; and they are surrounded by an impenetrable growth of Cucurbitaceæ and Convolvulaceæ, which in some places form the most romantic piazzas, and in others arbours and formal galleries, and afford the coolest shade. This Lamge is a place for which one may prophesy a brilliant future. Everywhere hereabouts on ancient acacias hang the nests of weaver-birds (textor alecto), and, out of curiosity, I counted upon one of them 872 basket-shaped, suspended nests” (“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” vol. iii. 1881, p. 26).

[63]Europeans are not allowed to visit the Island of Dega, “because it is not permitted to any one to set foot on this holy ground, which is only inhabited by anchorite monks and is sacred to St. Stephen” (Stecker, “Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” p. 31).

[64]At the battle of Gallabat in 1889.

[65]I saw no rods or hooks used by natives in Abyssinia. They have nets weighted with pieces of lead. These are simply thrown out to sweep the water at their full spread and slowly pulled in. Then the net is gathered up, hung over the fisher’s left arm and cast again.

[66]Stecker did not visit the Island of Mitraha. He wrote: “On account of a quarrel that arose between my servants and the tatterdemalion clergy of Mitraha I did not land on this parsons’ island. The priests wanted to extort money from me by this method: that they would sell me no provisions before I had visited their church, which meant, before I had given them baksheesh in profusion” (“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” p. 26).

[67]Wylde, “Modern Abyssinia,” p. 417.

[68]Vivian, “Abyssinia,” p. 186.

[69]Stern gave the following interesting account of the monarch de jure:—“Whilst at Gondar we visited various personages of rank and dignity; amongst others Atzee Johannes, the Shadow King, and according to Abyssinian annals, the legitimate successor to the throne and lineal descendant of Solomon by the Queen of Sheba’s son. He was seated on an alga in a dirty little room, with a monk’s skull-cap on his head, reading the Psalms. He asked me many questions on geography, and unlike the majority of Abyssinian savants did not believe that beyond Jerusalem the sun never shone, and that only serpents and other venomous reptiles occupied the untenanted land. I was told that whenever Atzee Johannes visits King Theodore, the latter stands before him, as an acknowledgment of his title to a crown which he could not defend. He receives an annual pension from the Royal Treasury” (“Wanderings among the Falashes in Abyssinia,” pp. 212, 213).

[70]Quoted in “Abyssinia Described,” J. C. Hotten, pp. 122, 123.

[71]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” 1881, vol. iii. pp. 26-31.

[72]Stecker wrote: “Es gehen nach Wansage Kranke aller Art, und da es wenige Abyssinier giebt, die nicht syphilitisch wären, so sieht man meistens nur Patienten, die gegen Lustseuch und ihre Folgen hier Heilung zu finden glauben” (“Mittheilungen,” p. 23). As far as my experience goes, this overstates the case a little, but the complete disregard of morality by both sexes—a matter about which the clergy do not trouble themselves—has rendered disease of this kind extremely common. The pest of internal parasites, which is the bane of all classes of Abyssinians, and is almost universal among them, is undoubtedly due to their disgusting habit of eating raw meat. They devour flesh warm and quivering from the newly slaughtered carcase, and Bruce asserted that in his time they habitually cut the meat from the living animal, and continued to do so until it bled to death. This would be an unusual barbarity, and Parkyns saw no instance of it, though he believed Bruce’s statement to have been true when he made it (“Life in Abyssinia,” p. 204). Mr. Wylde has given another explanation of what Bruce observed (“Modern Abyssinia,” p. 153). But, whatever may be the fact as to this particular, the habit of eating uncooked flesh prevails everywhere in the country. I noticed that the ceremonial practices of the Mussulmans appeared to save them both from tænia and scabies. But, in spite of their ablutions, they are infested, like the rest of the inhabitants, with body lice. Mohammedans are regarded with disdain by the Christian Abyssinians, and the prejudice against them, as I have said, accounts for some of the uncleanliness of the Christians. To wash much or regularly is to behave like a Mussulman.

[73]“Life in Abyssinia,” pp. 282, 283.

[74]“Pastillos Rufillus olet, Gargonius hircum.” Horace, Sat. I. 2.

[75]Cf. p. 42.

[76]“This official is called a ‘balderabba,’ and is intrusted with a traveller’s safety” (Stern, “Wanderings among the Falashes,” p. 96), and “becomes a sort of agent, and expects you to acknowledge by presents, any service he may render you, such as assisting you out of difficulties in which you may be involved” (Parkyns, “Life in Abyssinia,” p. 72)

[77]Quoted in “Abyssinia Described,” p. 129.

[78]“Narrative of the British Mission to Theodore, King of Abyssinia,” by Hormuzd Rassam, F.R.G.S. Murray, 1896. Vol. i. pp. 317, 318.

[79]See p. 223.

[80]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” 1881, vol. iii. pp. 24, 25.

[81]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” pp. 492-496.

[82]Cf. such a Spanish name for a man as José Maria.

[83]“Narrative of the British Mission to King Theodore,” vol. i. p. 229.

[84]“Narrative of the British Mission to King Theodore,” vol. i. p. 314.

[85]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” 1881, vol. iii. p. 27.

[86]See p. 151.

[87]Hormuzd Rassam, “British Mission to King Theodore,” vol. i. p. 315.

[88]Father Lobo reached Abyssinia in 1624.

[89]Father Lobo, who landed on the east coast of Africa, had never heard of the White Nile—this is made evident by his discourse upon the Abai—and believed the head-waters of the Blue Nile to be the origin of the whole river.

[90]In the map reproduced in this volume, the course of the Abai through Lake Tsana is marked by arrows. Its current can be quite plainly distinguished, as Father Lobo says, from the surrounding water. The circumstance was remarked by Dr. Stecker.

[91]See p. 256.

[92]Stern mentions “a solid stone bridge of seven arches—one of the few monuments left by the Portuguese,” which in his time spanned the Reb. He called the stream Erib (“Wanderings among the Falashas,” p. 169). Both he and Dufton crossed that river by this bridge. In all probability it was constructed by the artificers who built the arch over the Abai. I do not know whether the Reb bridge is still standing. We forded the stream, as has been said, and were not aware at the time that it had ever been bridged.

[93]The bulbous roots here mentioned are probably those of the “red-hot poker” plant, which grows abundantly in damp places in the higher regions of Abyssinia.

[94]“Travels to discover the Sources of the Nile in the years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773,” by James Bruce of Kinnaird, Esq., F.R.S.

[95]“Life of Bruce,” by Major F. P. Head, pp. 276-278.

[96]Whips made of thongs of hippopotamus hide, which serves both for lash and handle.

[97]This is a military title, and means “Commander of Advance Guard.” (A. Wylde, “Modern Abyssinia,” p. 495).

[98]We saw few bananas and none of these pigs in 1903.

[99]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” 1881, vol. iii. pp. 30, 31.

[100]“Wanderings among the Falashas,” p. 13.

[101]“The Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals,” p. 367. This little animal is the coney of the Scriptures.

[102]Since we were by the lakeside a decree has been issued that the hippos, for their misdeeds in destroying crops and overturning tankoas, are to be treated as vermin, and shot whenever opportunity arises; so I fear that these ancient “riparian owners” will soon disappear from their pleasant and immemorial haunts.

[103]We found these shells and oysters in all the rivers to which our journey brought us. They are especially abundant in the shallow pools of the Atbara.

[104]I have already said that the island of Dek seems to me to have been chiefly formed by siltage.

[105]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” 1881, vol. iii. p. 28. The following general description of the lake district embodied by Mr. Dupuis in his Report on the Expedition, and published in Sir W. Garstin’s Despatch already cited (Ed. 2165, 1904, p. 215), is terse and interesting:

“The depression occupied by the lake is, generally speaking, saucer-shaped, the land rising from the edge of the water in gentle undulating plains, getting steeper and steeper and terminating in considerable hills or mountains of some importance. In several places, as at Gorgora on the north, Mitraha and Koratsa on the east, Zegi on the south, and Dengelber on the west, the hills come right down to the lake and descend more or less abruptly into the water, but more often they stand back at some distance from it. The geological formation is almost everywhere of the same primitive character that seems to be universal in the Eastern Soudan, granite, gneiss, and quartz, varied only by tracts of lava, basalt, and eruptive rocks. Sandstone is reported by some travellers, and lime-stone is said to be found near Gondar, but I saw neither myself. The large tracts of comparatively level land consist almost entirely of the cracked black cotton soil usually found associated with igneous rocks. At the mouths of all the larger rivers flowing into the lake are extensive alluvial plains generally composed wholly of this same cotton soil, and of the greatest fertility, though nine-tenths of their area now grows nothing more valuable than coarse grass.”

[106]“Modern Abyssinia,” pp. 40-43.

[107]“Modern Abyssinia,” p. 42.

[108]Adansonia digitata. These are tall trees, whose timber is of a spongy consistency. Sir S. Baker mentions one which was about forty feet in circumference. He wrote: “The Adansonia digitata, although a tree, always reminds me of a gigantic fungus; the stem is disproportioned in its immense thickness to its height, and its branches are few in number, and as massive in character as the stem. The wood is not much firmer in substance than cork, and is as succulent as a carrot.” (“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” p. 356.)

[109]Governor.

[110]“If God is willing.”

[111]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” pp. 124, 125.

[112]“Life in Abyssinia,” pp. 385, 386.

[113]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” p. 240.

[114]This blight is known as “asal,” or “honey,” from the sticky deposit formed all over the plant and leaves. At the time of the expedition it prevailed more or less severely throughout the greater part of the Kassala Moudirieh. The stalks of the plants attacked become black.

[115]These are watertanks of galvanized iron. Two of them form a camel’s load.

[116]Mr. Dupuis’s account of this place has been published in Sir W. Garstin’s Report (p. 219), and is in the following terms: “This is a very remarkable spot, and the probable site of large canal works in the future, if such are ever undertaken on the Atbara. Just above the “meshra,” or watering-place, the Atbara flows in a narrow deep trench, perfectly straight for a couple of miles or so, with a width of little over one hundred metres, and a depth of about ten metres all across the pool when at summer level. The sides of this trench are nearly vertical cliffs of extremely hard granitic rock rising twenty metres or more from the water. At the meshra this trench suddenly fans out into a wide shallow channel, the pool ceases, and the river breaks up into three or four separate branches, amidst a confusion of rocky islands, and is not fully re-united into a single stream for several miles. The rocky substratum through which the river has cut its way here gives little or no indication of its presence in the level uplands, which continue as before to form an unbroken bush-covered plain of black soil up to within a couple of miles or so of the river, where it suddenly breaks into ravines.”

[117]“Life in Abyssinia,” pp. 102, 103.

[118]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” p. 66.

[119]“This peculiar fly is about the size of a wasp, with an orange-coloured body, with black and white rings; the proboscis is terrific, it is double, and appears to be disproportioned, being two-thirds the length of the entire insect. When this fly attacks an animal, or man, it pierces the skin instantaneously, like the prick of a red-hot needle driven deep into the flesh. At the same time the insect exerts every muscle of its body by buzzing with its wings as it buries the instrument to its greatest depth. The blood starts from the wound immediately, and continues to flow for a considerable time; this is an attraction to other flies in great numbers, many of which would lay their eggs upon the wound.” (“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” pp. 184, 185.)

[120]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” pp. 107, 109, 110.

[121]Water-sack. These are made from skins.

[122]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” pp. 240, 241.