Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/246

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238
CHELICUT.

favoured with a sight of the fair Ozoro Mantwab. At this period, Mr. Pearce married a very amiable girl, daughter of an old Greek, named Sidee Paulus. She was much fairer than the natives of the country, and extremely agreeable in her manners.

Affairs continued in this kind of regular train, the Ras going about from Moculla to Gibba, from Gibba to Chelicut, and from Chelicut to Antálo, till the end of the rains, when a rebellion having broke out, headed by my former acquaintance, Subegadis, and his brothers Guebra Guro and Agoos, who refused to come in with their tribute, the Ras marched himself early in 1809 in great force to suppress it. The first day carried the army to Dola; the second to Aggula; the third to Saada Amba Haramat; on the following day it reached Ade-Kulkul in Agamé; and on the 6th proceeded to Mokiddo, in the neighbourhood of which the troops continued encamped for two months. During this time the army lost many men, and suffered great annoyance from the peculiar species of warfare carried on by its enemies, who, during the day-time, invariably retired to inaccessible fastnesses in the mountains; while at night they ventured abroad, and made continual attacks on the Ras's encampment, killing every straggler on whom they could lay their hands.

While the army remained on this spot, Mr. Pearce went out on an excursion with Badjerund Tesfos and Shalaka Lafsgee, and others of the Ras's people, for the purpose of carrying off some cattle which were known to be secreted in the neighbourhood. In this object the party succeeded, getting possession of more than three hundred oxen; but this was effected with very considerable loss, owing to a stratagem put in practice by Guebra Guro, and about fourteen of his best marksmen, who had placed themselves in a recumbent position on the overhanging brow of a rock, which was completely inaccessible, whence they picked off every man that approached within musquet shot. At one time Mr. Pearce was so near to this dangerous position, that he could understand every word said by Guebra Guro to his companions, and he distinctly heard him ordering his men not to shoot at either him, (Mr. Pearce) or Ayto Tesfos,