Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile/Volume 4/Book 8/Chapter 1
TRAVELS
TO DISCOVER
THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.
BOOK VIII.
The author returns by sennaar through nubia and the great desert--arrives at alexandria and after at marseilles
CHAP. I.
Journey from Gondar to Tcherkin.
THE palace of Koscam is situated upon the south side of Debra Tzai; the name signifies the Mountain of the Sun. The palace consists of a square tower of three storeys, with a flat parapet roof, or terrace, and battlements about it. The court of guard, or head-quarters of the garrison of Koscam, is kept here; immediately below this is the principal gate or entrance towards Gondar. It is ed by a high outer-wall, which may have above an English mile of circumference. This outer precinct is all occupied by soldiers, labourers, and our dour servants; within this is another large court inclosed by walls likewise, in this the apartments are but of one storey, appropriated to the principal officers, priests, and servants. In this alter is the church, built by the present Itegé herself, and reckoned the richest in Abyssinia. They have large crosses of gold for their processions, and kettle-drums of silver. The altar is all covered with gold plates, all the gift of their magnificent patroness. The priests, too, were all rich, till Ras Michael seized, and applied part of their revenue to his own use, and that of the state, and thereby reduced them to a condition much more agreeable to the vows of poverty, which from pride they had made, than was their former one.
The third, or inner court, is reserved for the queen's own apartments, and such of the noble women as are her attendants, are unmarried, and make up her court. Behind the palace, higher up the hill, are houses of people of quality, chiefly her own relations. Above these the mountain rises very regularly, in form of a cone, covered with herbage to the very top; on the east side is the road from Walkayt; on the west from Kuara, and Ras el Feel; that is all the low country, or north of Abyssinia, bordering upon the Shangalla, through which lies the road to Sennaar.
It was the 26th of December 1771, at one o'clock in the afternoon, that I left Gondar. I had purposed to set out early in the morning, but was detained by the importunity of my friends. The king had delayed my setting out, by several orders sent me in the evening each day; and I plainly saw there was some meaning in this, and that he was wishing to throw difficulties in the way, till some accident, or sudden emergency (never wanting in that country) should make it absolutely impossible for me to leave Abyssinia. When therefore the last message came to Koscam on the 27th, at night, I returned my respectful duty to his majesty, put him in mind of his promise, and, somewhat peevishly I believe, intreated him to leave me to my fortune; that my servants were already gone, and I was resolved to set out next morning.
In the morning early, I was surprised at the arrival of a young nobleman, lately made one of his bed-chamber, with fifty light horse. As I was satisfied that leaving Abyssinia, without parade, as privately as possible, was the only way to pass through Sennaar, and had therefore insisted upon none of my friends accompanying me, I begged to decline this escort; assigning for my reason, that, as the country between this and Ras el Feel belonged first to the Iteghé, and then to Ayto Confu, none of the inhabitants could possibly injure me in passing. It took a long time to settle this, and it was now, as I have said, one o'clock before we set out by the well side of Debra Tzai, having the mountain on our right hand. From the top of that ascent, we saw the plain and flat country below, blank, and, in its appearance, one thick wood, which some authors have called lately, the Shumeta[1], or Nubian forest. But of the meaning of Shumeta I profess myself entirely ignorant; no such word occurring, as far as I know, in any language spoken in these countries.
All the disasters which I had been threatened with in: the course of that journey, which I had thus begun, now presented themselves to my mind, and made, for a moment, a strong impression upon my spirits. But it was too late to draw back, the dye was cast, for life or for death; home was before me, however distant; and if, through the protection of Providence, I should be fortunate enough to arrive there, I promised myself both ease and the applause of my country, and of all unprejudiced men of sense and learning in Europe, for having, by my own private efforts alone, compleated a discovery, which had, from early ages, defied the address, industry, and courage of all the world.
Having, by these reflections, rather hardened, than comforted my heart, I now advanced down the steep side of the mountain, our course nearly N. N. W. through very strong and rugged ground, torn up by the torrents that fall on every side from above. This is called the Descent of Moura; and though both we and our beasts were in great health and spirits, we could not, with our utmost endeavours, advance much more than one mile an hour. Two Greeks, one of whom only was my servant; and a third, nearly blind, flying from poverty and want; an old janissary, who had come to Abyssinia with the Abuna, and a Copht who left us at Sennaar; these, and some common men who took charge of the beasts, and were to go no further than Tcherkin, were, my only companions in this long and weary journey. At a quarter past four we came to the river Toom Aredo, which arising in the country of the Kemmont, (a people inhabiting the high grounds above to the S. W.) falls into the river Mahaanah. The Kemmont were a sect once the same as the Falasha, but were baptized in the reign of Facilidas, and, ever since, have continued separate from their ancient brethren. No great pains seem to have been taken with them since their admission to Christianity, for they retain most of their ancient customs. They eat the meat of cattle killed by Christians, but not of those that are slaughtered, either by Mahometans or Falasha. They hold, as a doctrine, that, being once baptized, and having once communicated, no sort of prayer, nor other attention to divine worship, is further necessary. They wash themselves from head to foot after coming from the market, or any public place, where they may have touched any one of a sect different from their own, esteeming all such unclean. They abstain from all sorts of work on Saturday, keeping close at home; but they grind corn, and do many other such like works, upon Sunday.
Their women pierce their ears, and apply weights to make them hang down, and to enlarge the holes, into which they put ear-rings almost as big as shackles, in the same manner as do the Bedowis in Syria and Palestine. Their language is the same as that of the Falasha, with some small difference of idiom. They have great abhorrence to fish, which they not only refrain from eating, but cannot bear the sight of; and the reason they give for this is, that Jonah the prophet (from whom they boast they are descended) was swallowed by a whale, or some other such great fish. They are hewers of wood, and carriers of water, to Gondar, and are held in great detestation by the Abyssinians.
We crossed the river to the miserable village of Door-Macary, which is on the east side of it; and there we took up our quarters, after a short but very fatiguing, day's journey. The people shewed great signs of uneasiness upon our first appearance, and much reluctance to admit us under their roofs; and discovering that we were not any of those that had the honour of being descended from the prophet Jonah, they hid all their pots and drinking-vessels, lest they should be prophaned by our using them. From Door-Macary we discovered a high mountainous ridge, with a very rugged top, stretching from North to South, and towering up in the middle of the forest, about five miles distance; it is called Badjena.
On the 28th, a little after mid-day, we passed Toom Aredo; and went, first East, then turned North, into the great road. We soon after passed a number of villages; those on the high mountain Badjena on the East, and those belonging to the church of Koscam on the West, Continuing still North, inclining very little to the West, we came to a steep and rugged descent, at the foot of which runs the Mogetch, in a course straight North; this descent is called the And. At a quarter past two we passed the Mogetch, our direction N. W. It is here a large, swift running stream, perfectly clear, and we halted some time to refresh ourselves upon its banks; remembering how very different it was from what we had once left it, discoloured with blood, and choked up with dead bodies, after the defeat of the king's wing at the battle of Serbraxos.
At half past three we resumed our journey. A sharp and pyramidal mountain stands alone in the middle of the plain, presenting its high sharp top through the trees, and making here a very picturesque and uncommon appearance; it is called Gutch, and seemed to be distant from us about six miles due North. A few minutes after this we passed a small stream called Agam-Ohha, or the Brook of Jessamine; from a beautiful species of that shrub, very frequent here, and on the sides of the small streams in the province of Sire.
A few minutes past four we entered a thick wood, winding round a hill, in a south-east direction, to get into the plain below, where we were surrounded by a great multitude of men, armed with lances, shields, slings, and large clubs or sticks, who rained a shower of stones towards us, as I may say; for they were at such a distance, that all of them fell greatly short of us. Whether this was owing to fear, or not, we did not know; but supposing that it was we thought it our interest to keep it up as much as possible. I therefore ordered two shots to be fired over their heads; not with any intention to hurt them, but to let them hear, by the balls whistling among the leaves of the trees, that our guns carried farther than any of their slings; and that, distant as they then were, they were not in safety, if we had a disposition to do them harm. They semed to understand our meaning, by gliding through among the bushes, and appearing at the top of a hill farther off, where they continued hooping and crying, and making divers signs, which we could not, neither did we endeavour to understand. Another shot, aimed at the trees above them, shewed they were still within our reach, upon which they dispersed, or fat down among the bushes, for we saw them no more, till pitching our tent upon the plain below two of their villages; it seemed they were uneasy, for they had dispatched a man naked, and without arms, who, standing upon the rock, cried out in the language of Tigré, that he wanted to come to us. This I absolutely refused, that he might not fee the smallness of our number, crying out to him to get farther off, or we would instantly shoot him. There was no occasion to repeat the admonition. From the rock where he stood, he slid down like an eel, and appeared again at a considerable distance, still making a sign of wanting to speak with us.
While resting on the banks of the river Mogetch, we had been overtaken by two men, and two women, who were driving two loaded asses, and were going to Tcherkin; they had desired leave to keep company with us, for fear of danger on the road. I had two Abyssinian servants, but they were not yet come up, attending one of the baggage mules that was lame, as they said; but I believe, rather busied with some engagements of their own in the villages. We were obliged then to have recourse to one of these stranger women, who understood the language of Tigré, and undertook readily to carry our message to the stranger, who was still very busy making signs from behind a tree, without coming one step nearer.
My message to them was, that if they shewed the smallest appearance of further insolence, either by approaching the tent, or flinging stones that night, the next morning, when the horse I expected were come up, I would burn their town, and put every man of them to the sword. A very submissive answer was sent back, with a heap of lies in excuse of what they called their mistake. My two servants coming soon after, both of whom, hereafter, were to be in the service of Ayto Confu, went boldly one to each village, to bring two goats, some jars of bouza, and to prepare fifty loaves of bread for next morning. The goats were dispatched instantly, so was the bouza; but when the morning came, the people had all fled from their houses, without preparing any bread. These villages were called Gimbaar. They were three in number; each situated upon the top of a pointed hill, in a direction from east to west, and made a very beautiful appearance from the plain below. They belonged to my great enemies, Guebra Mehedin, and Confu, late sons of Basha Eusebius.
On the other hand, as my servants told me that a messenger of the king had passed that morning without taking any notice of us, I began to suspect that it was some stratagem of his to frighten me from pursuing my journey; which, after the letters I had received from Sennaar, and which he himself had heard read, he never thought I would have undertaken. This I still believe might be the case; for these peasants did not shew any forwardness to do us harm; however, it turned out as unfortunately for them, as if they really pursued us for vengeance.
As soon as we found the villages deserted, and that there were no hopes of a supply of bread, we struck our tent, and proceeded on our journey; the pointed mountain Gutchbore north from our tent, at the distance of about two miles.
On the 29th, at ten in the forenoon, we left the inhospitable villages of Gimhaar, not without entertaining some apprehensions of meeting the inhabitants again in the course of the day. But though we took every precaution against being surprised, that prudence could dictate, our fears of the encounter did not rise to any great height. I got, indeed, on horseback, leaving my mule; and, putting on my coat of mail, leaving the fire-arms under the command of Kagi Ismael, the old Turk, I rode always about a quarter of a mile before the baggage, that they might not come suddenly upon us, as they had done the night before.
In a few minutes we passed three small clear streams in a very fertile country; the soil was a black loomy earth; the grass already parched, or rather entirely burnt up by the sun. Though this country is finely watered, and must be very fertile, yet it is thinly inhabited, and, as we were informed, very unwholesome. At three quarters past ten we came to the river Mahaanah, which swallows up these three brooks, its course nearly N. W. it was (even at this dry season of the year) a considerable stream.
Here we rested half an hour, and then pursued our journey straight north. We passed a large and deep valley called Werk Meidan, or the country of gold, though there is no gold in it. It is full of wood and bushes. We had left it fix miles, at least, on our left hand, and the baggage near half a mile behind, when I met two men very decently dressed; one mounted on a mule, the other on foot; both of them armed with lances and shields, and both seemed surprised to see a man on horseback alone completely armed. The rider passed by at a very quick pace, apparently not desirous of any intercourse with me. The man on foot at passing saluted me with a Salam Alicum; by which I knew him to be a Mahometan, and we were about to enter into conversation, when his neighbour called to him, with seeming impatience. He immediately left me, saying only these short sentences, "He there before is a Christian, and a liar; don't be afraid, Ayto Confu will be at Tcherkin as soon as you."
Upon this we parted, I passed on something more than a mile further, and at ten minutes after twelve stopped for the baggage. The Mahaanah is here about a quarter of a mile to the N. E. and the sharp-pointed mountain of Gutch S. E. and by east, distance about three miles. It was some time before our baggage came up, when our companions who escorted it exhibited some small marks of confusion.
The Turk was blustering violently in Turkish, and setting all at defiance, wishing to be attacked by a hundred that minute; the others seemed to be much more moderate, and not to agree with Hagi Ismael, either in time or in number, but were very willing to be exempted from attacks altogether. I asked them what was the occasion of all this warlike discourse from Ismael, who scarcely spoke Arabic so as to be understood? I could learn nothing but threats against the Christians. At last, the servants told me, that the Abyssinians who passed had informed them, that, at a certain pass, called Dav-Dohha, which we should arrive at next day, above a thousand men, Christians, Pagans, and Mahometans, all armed, were waiting for us, resolved to cut us to pieces rather than let us pass: that the Shangalla were expected to burn Tcherkin, and Ayto Confu's house; and that his Billetana Gueta, Ammonios, had come with a multitude of mules to carry away all that was valuable in it. He added, moreover, that Abba Gimbaro, chief of Sancaho, was sent for by Ayto Confu, and entrusted with the defence of Tcherkin Amba, the hill upon which Ayto Confu's house is situated. He then called the Mahometan who spoke to me, to witness the truth of all this, which he did with repeated oaths; and concluded, that nothing remained for us but to return to Gondar. They all, in anxious expectation, awaited my resolution. One of the servants said, that, by going out of the way about half a day, we could avoid the pass of Dav-Dohha altogether. I told them, this was neither a time nor place for deliberation; that we should make the best of our way to Waalia, where we were to sleep that night; as that was a town where there was a market, and people came from every part, we should there hear news, after which I promised to tell them my opinion. We accordingly set out for Waalia, and at half past four in the afternoon encamped in the market-place.
Waalia is a collection of villages, each placed upon the top of a hill, and inclosing, as in a circle, an extensive flat piece of ground about three miles over, on which a very well-frequented market is kept. The name is given it from a species of small pigeons[2], with yellow breasts and variegated backs, the fattest and best of all the pigeon kind. Waalia lies due N. W. from Gondar.
Having finished our dinner, or rather supper, about seven, for we made but one meal a-day, after taking care of our beasts, we entered into consultation what was next to be done. I told them, the first step we were to take was to send and call the Shum of one of the villages, and after him another, and if, knowing me to be the king's stranger, seeing the smallness of our number, and being informed that we were going to Tcherkin, to the house of Ayto Confu, their mailer, they did not tell us there were dangers on the road, we might be sure the intelligence we had received was void of foundation. "Sir, says one of the strangers that drove the asses, it is a lie. No man but Ayto Confu, not even Ayto Confu himself, could raise 500 men in this country; no not even 300, Pagans, Mahometans, and Christians altogether. Where is he to get his Pagans? unless he means his own Christian sort, who, indeed, are more Pagans than any thing else, and capable of every mischief; but there is not a Mahometan on this road that does not know who you are, and that you was Yasine's master, and gave him Ras el Feel. Stay here but a few days till I send to Ras el Feel, and to Tcherkin, and if you do not take the houses and wives, and all that these five hundred men have in the world from them, with the help you may find at Waalia, spit upon me for a liar, or my name is not Abdullah." "Abdullah, said I, you are a sensible fellow, though I did not know you was so well acquainted with me, nor do I wish that you speak of me in that manner publickly. But what convinces me of the truth of what you say is, that the man on foot had no more time but to say to me, in Arabic, while passing, that his companion on the mule was a liar, and that I should not be afraid, for there was no danger on the road, and that Ayto Confu would be at Tcherkin as soon as I; from which, and his saying just the contrary to you, I do believe the whole is a stratagem of the king.
All agreed in this. Hagi Ismael mentioned it as a proof of the worthlessness of Christians, that even their kings were as great liars as common men; and we had scarcely done with this confutation, and dispelled our fears, when word was brought to the tent, that the chiefs of two of the principal villages were at the door, desiring to be admitted, and had with them several servants loaded with provisions. They were immediately introduced, and they presented us with two goats, several jars of bouza, and a quantity of bread, which I divided among my retinue, now become half Christians and half Mahometans, neither of whom ate meat killed by the other.
After the first civilities were over, I asked the governor of Waalia all the questions that were needful about the state of the roads and the country, and whether the Shangalla ever made an attempt upon Tcherkin? They said, All was peace; that the people came and went to the market without being interrupted. They laughed at the question about the Shangalla. Ayto Confu, they said, sometimes went down and destroyed many of that people, and brought others away as slaves; but the Shangalla were not men to attack a place where there was a number of horse, nor to climb mountains to destroy houses well stored with fire-arms. Have you, said I, seen nobody pass by from Ayto Confu lately? About four or five days ago, answered he, a servant was here, with orders to have victuals ready for you; who also told us, that he would come himself in three or four days after. I heard also, that his servant Ammonios had gone round Nara to take possession of some villages the king had given Ozoro Esther, and that he had with him a number of horse and foot, and several Ozoros, going to Tcherkin, but they had gone the upper road, consequently had not come this way. Is there no danger, said I, in passing Dav-Dobba? Why, at Dav-Dohha, said he, there is danger, it is a bad place, nobody passes it on horseback; but I see your horses are shod with iron, which none in this country are; however, to avoid all danger, you had better lead your horses and mules, and walk on foot, it is not far.
I could not help bursting out into a fit of laughter at the fancied danger that attended us at Dav-Dohha; and, as I saw this disconcerted our informant, and that he thought he had said something wrong, I told him briefly what had passed at meeting with the two men upon the road. He laughed very heartily at this in his turn. "That man did not stop here, fays he, and who he is I know not; but whoever he is, he is a liar, and a beast of the field. All the people of Dav-Dohha are our relations, and Ayto Confu's servants; if there had been any body to attack you, there would have been found here people to defend you. What signifies his ordering us to furnish you with victuals, if he was to suffer your throats to be cut before you came to eat them? I will answer for you between this and Tcherkin; after that, all is wilderness, and no man knows if he is to meet friend or foe."
I told him then what had happened to us at Gimbaar, at which he seemed exceedingly surprised. "These villages, says he, do not belong to Ayto Confu, but to his cousins, the sons of Basha Eusebius. They indeed died in rebellion, but our matter has taken possession of them for the family, lest the king should give them away to a stranger. Some bad news must have arrived from Gondar; at any rate, if you are afraid, I will accompany you to-morrow past Dav-Dohha. We thanked him for the kind offer, but excused ourselves from accepting it, as we fully relied upon his intelligence; and having made him some trifling presents, about the value of what he brought, though in his eyes much more considerable, we took our leave, mutually satisfied with each other. From this I no longer doubted that the whole was a project of the king to terrify me, and make me return. What struck me, as most improbable of all, was the story of that lying wretch who said that Ayto Confu had sent a number of mules to carry away his furniture, and trusted the defence of his place to Abba Gimbaro, chief of the Baasa. For, first, I knew well it did not need many mules to carry away the furniture which Ayto Confu left at Tcherkin in time of war, and when he was not there; next, had he known that any person whatever, Shangalla or Christians, had intended to attack Tcherkin, he was not a man to fight by proxy or lieutenants; he would have been himself present to meet them, as to a feast, though he had been carried thither in a sick-bed.
On the 30th, at half past six in the morning we set out from Waalia; and, though we were perfectly cured of our apprehensions, the company all joined in desiring me to go along with them, and not before them. They wisely added, that, in a country like that, where there was no fear of God, I could not know what it might be in the power of the devil to do. I therefore hung my arms upon my horse, and, taking a gun in my hand, wandered among the trees by the road-side, in pursuit of the doves or pigeons. In a few hours I had shot several scores of them, especially on the banks of the Mai Lumi, or the River of Lemons. We came to it in about an hour from Waalia, and coasted it for some minutes, as it ran north-east parallel to our course.
A prodigious quantity of fruit loaded the branches of these trees even likely to break them; and these were in all stages of ripeness. Multitudes of blossoms covered the opposite part of the tree, and sent forth the most delicious odour possible. We provided ourselves amply with this fruit. The natives make no use of it, but we found it a great refreshment to us, both mixed with our water, and as sauce to our meat, of which we had now no great variety since our onions had failed us, and a supply of them was no longer to be procured.
At fourteen minutes past seven, continuing north-west, we crossed the river Mai Lumi, which here runs well; and, continuing still north-west, at eight o'clock we came to the mouth of the formidable pass, Dav-Dohha, which we entered with good countenance enough, having first rested five minutes to put ourselves in order, and we found our appetites failing us through excessive heat. The pass of Dav-Dohha is a very narrow defile, full of strata of rocks, like steps of stairs, but so high, that, without leaping, or being pulled up, no horse or mule can ascend. Moreover, the descent, though short, is very steep, and almost choked up by huge stones, which the torrents, after washing the earth from about them, had rolled down from the mountain above. Both sides of the defile are covered thick with wood and bushes, especially that detestable thorn the kantussa, so justly reprobated in Abyssinia.
Having extricated ourselves successfully from this pass, our spirits were so elated, that we began to think our journey now at an end, not reflecting how many passes, full of real danger, were still before us. At three quarters past eight we came to Werkleva, a village of Mahometans. Above this, too, is Armatchiko, a famous hermitage, and around it huts inhabited by a number of monks. These, and their brethren of Magwena, are capital performers in all disorders of the state; all prophets and diviners, keeping up the spirit of riot, anarchy, and tumult, by their fanatical inventions and pretended visions.
Having rested a few minutes at Tabaret Wunze, a wretched village, composed of miserable huts, on the banks of a small brook, at a quarter after two we passed the Coy, a large river, which falls into the Mahaanah. From Mai Lumi to this place the country was but indifferent in appearance; the soil, indeed, exceedingly good, but a wildness and look of desolation covered the whole of it. The grass was growing high, the country extensive, and almost without habitation, whilst the few huts that were to be seen seemed more than ordinarily miserable, and were hid in recesses, or in the edge of valleys overgrown with wood. The inhabitants seemed to have come there by stealth, with a desire to live concealed and unknown. On the 31st of December we left our station at the head of a difficult pass called Coy Gulgulet, or the Descent of Coy, at the foot of which runs the river Coy, one of the largest we had yet seen, but I did not discern any fish in it. Here we rested a little to refresh ourselves and our beasts, after the fatigues we had met with in descending through this pass.
At half after eight we came to the banks of the Germa, which winds along the valley, and falls into the Angrab. After having continued some time by the side of the Germa, and crossed it going N. W. we, at ten, passed the small river Idola; and half an hour after came to Deber, a house of Ayto Confu, on the top of a mountain, by the side of a small river of that name. The country here is partly in wood, and partly in plantations of dora. It is very well watered and seems to produce abundant crops; but it is not beautiful; the soil is red earth, and the bottoms of all the rivers soft and earthy, the water heavy, and generally ill-tasted, even in the large rivers, such as the Coy and the Germa. I imagine there is some mineral in the red earth, with a proportion of which the water is impregnated.
At Deber, I observed the following bearings from the mountains; Ras el Feel was west, Tcherkin N. N. W. Debra Haria, north. We found nobody at Deber that could give us the least account of Ayto Confu. We left it, therefore, on the morning of the 1st of January 1772. At half past ten o'clock we passed a small village called Dembic, and about mid-day came to the large river Tchema, which falls into the larger river Dwang, below, to the westward. About an hour after, we came to the Mogetch, a river not so large as the Tchema, but which, like it, joins the Dwang. Here we have a view of the steep mountain Magwena, where there is a monastery of that name, possessed by a multitude of lazy, profligate, ignorant monks. Magwena, excepting one mountain, is a bare, even ridge of rocks, which seemingly bear nothing, but are black, as if calcined by the sun. In the rainy season it is said every species of verdure is here in the greatest luxuriancy; all the plantations of corn about Deber are much infested with a small, beautiful, green monkey, with a long tail, called Tota.
Between three and four in the afternoon we encamped at Eggir Dembic; and in the evening we passed along the side of a small river running west, which falls into the Mogetch.
I took advantage of the pleasantest and latest hour for shooting the waalia, or the yellow-breasted pigeon, as also Guinea-fowls, which are here in great abundance among the corn; in plumage nothing different from ours, and very excellent meat. The fun was just setting, and I was returning to my tent, not from weariness or satiety of sport, but from my attendant being incapable of carrying the load of game I had already killed, when I was met by a man with whom I was perfectly acquainted, and who by his address likewise seemed no Granger to me. I immediately recollected him to be a servant of Ozoro Either, but this he denied, and said he was a servant of Ayto Confu; however, as Confu lived in the fame house with his mother at Koscam, the mistake seemed not to be of any moment. He said he came to meet Ayto Confu, who was expected at Tcherkin that night, and was sent to search for us, as we seemed to have tarried on the road. He had brought two mules, in case any of ours had been tired, and proposed that the next morning I should set out with him alone for Tcherkin, where I should find Ayto Confu, and my baggage should follow me. I told him that it was my fixed resolution, made at the beginning of my journey, and which I should adhere to till the. end, never to separate myself on the road from my servants and company, who were strangers, and without any other protection than that of being with me.
The man continued to press me all that evening very much, so that we were greatly surprised at what he could mean, and I still more and more resolved not to gratify him. Often I thought he wanted to communicate something to me, but he refrained, and I continued obstinate; and the rather so, as there was no certainty that Ayto Confu was yet arrived. I asked him, if Billetana Gueta Ammonios was not at Tcherkin? He answered, without the smallest alteration in his countenance, that he was not. No people on earth dissemble like the Abyissinians; this talent is born with them, and they improve it by continual practice. As we had therefore previously resolved, we passed the evening at Eggir Dembic, and the servant, finding he could not prevail, left our tent and we all went to bed. He did not seem angry, but at going out of the tent, said, as half to himself, "I cannot blame you; in such a journey nothing is like firmness."
On the 2d of January, in the morning, by seven o'clock, having dressed my hair, and perfumed it according to the custom of the country, and put on clean clothes, with no other arms but my knife, and a pair of pistols at my girdle, I came out of the tent to mount my mule for Tcherkin. I now saw Confu's servant, whose name was Welleta Yasous, pulling the Guinea-fowls and pigeons out of the pannier, where my servants had put them, and scattering them upon the ground, and he was faying to those who interrupted him, "Throw away this carrion; you shall have a better breakfast and dinner, too, to-day;" and turning to me more than ordinarily pleased at feeing me dressed, and that I continued to use the Abyssinian habit, he jumped upon his mule, and appeared in great spirits, and we all set out at a brisker pace than usual, by the assistance of the two fresh mules.
We passed through the midst of several small villages. At half an hour past eight we came to the mountain of Tcherkin, which we rounded on the west, and then on the north, keeping the mountain always on our right. At twenty minutes past ten I pitched my tent in the market-place at Tcherkin, which seemed a beautiful lawn laid out for pleasure, shaded with fine old trees, of an enormous height and size, and watered by a small but very limpid brook, running over beds of pebbles as white as snow.