our their warrior's when they return from battle. The service of escorting these cafilas may be considered indeed as extremely hazardous; the whole neighbourhood of the plain, from which the salt is procured (which has been before described,) being infested by a cruel race of Galla, who make it a practice to lie in wait for the individuals engaged in cutting it. These poor fellows, who are generally of the lowest order of natives, are said, in the absence of the Balgudda and his parties, to be compelled to lie down flat on the surface, when working, that they may escape the observation of their barbarous enemies, and, on the approach of a stranger, they are described as running away with great alarm to the mountains. Even when the Balgudda and his soldiers are present, frequent skirmishes take place between them and the savage borderers, in which the Galla, however, are generally the sufferers. On the present expedition, six only had been killed; and this number was considered as unusually small: the soldiers who had shewn their prowess in these actions, wearing small pieces of red cloth on their spears by way of an honourable badge of distinction. Soon after their arrival, the Ras went up into the balcony in front of his house to receive them, where they passed before him in review, dancing, shouting and exulting, as is practised at the Mascal.
As the time now approached when it became necessary for me to think of returning, I had several long conferences with the Ras on the subject of my mission. In one of these he gave me an account of the violent conduct of many of his chiefs on the death of his brother Ayto Manasseh, and of the strong objections which they had started against our coming into the country. One of these, named Balgudda Hannes,[1] had gone so far as openly to advise, that we should be enticed into the country and afterwards murdered. The priests at Axum had also endeavoured to raise an outcry against us, and were actually said to have ordered the doors of the churches to be locked, for the purpose of keeping out
- ↑ He was the father of Ayto Hannes before mentioned, and his sudden death, which happened only a month after that of Ayto Manasseh, had a strong effect on the minds of the Abyssinians; as they considered it to be a judgment upon him for his meditated treachery.
