And now as to gossip about this place. The Abyssinians are celebrated by

travellers in their country as being an intelligent people. Intelligent is

by no means the word, nor is sharp nor cute; they are simply the most

extortionate thieves that the sun’s light ever shone on. Formerly the

necessaries of life were extraordinarily cheap here. Mercher, the Tigre

chief who acts as interpreter, tells me that, as an example, fowls could

be purchased at forty for a dollar. I venture to say that, at the present

moment, it is the dearest place in the habitable globe. I have seen three

eggs offered for a dollar. This was, however, too much to be stood, and at

present seven is the tariff; that is, as nearly as possible, eightpence

apiece for very little eggs. An ordinary-sized fowl costs a dollar; and

with great bargaining two very small and skinny ones can be obtained for

that sum. Two pumpkins can be bought for a dollar: for a quart of milk a

dollar is demanded, and I have seen it given. The commissariat give a

dollar for about seventeen pounds of grain: if we buy it for our horses in

the camp—which we are obliged to do, as there are no rations issued for

our baggage-animals—we have to give a dollar for about twelve pounds. The

price of a good mule before we came here was seven or eight dollars; this

had risen to thirty-two or thirty-three, at which the 3d Cavalry bought a

considerable number, and to thirty-seven, the average price at which

Captain Griffiths, of the Transport Train, purchased a good many. General

Merewether, however, by one of those masterly _coups_ for which he is so

distinguished, has suddenly raised the market price 25 per cent, by giving

fifty dollars each for a lot of forty, among which were some very

indifferent animals. After this, of course, fifty will be the current

price, until General Merewether makes another purchase for the public

service, after which there is no predicting the price at which they will

probably arrive. It is all very well to say that they are cheaper here

than they are in Egypt; that has, as far as I can see, nothing whatever to

do with the question, any more than it would be to say they are cheaper

than at the North Pole. The people were willing to sell them at

thirty-seven dollars for picked animals; why, then, spoil the market by

giving fifty? It is urged that we are in want of mules, and that, by

offering even more than they ask, we shall induce them to send in larger

quantities; but I cannot agree that it is so. We were before paying 700

per cent more than their ordinary price, and this would be sufficient

temptation to owners of any mules within a hundred miles—and good mules

are not common—to have brought them in. Every mule fit for the purpose

would have come in, and by paying 900 per cent we can obtain no more. One

source of irritation has been, I am happy to say, if not put down, at

least rebuked. After the parade the other day the Commander-in-chief rode

to the church, attended by most of the mounted officers. The usual demand

of a dollar a-head was made, which Sir Robert very properly refused to

pay, and through the interpreter said a few appropriate words to the

priest as to money-changers in the temple. He refused, he said, upon that

ground to allow the charge of a dollar a-head to be paid, but promised

that upon his return from Magdala he would present an altar-cloth at the

church.

I have not mentioned that oxen, for which even at the enormously-enhanced

prices at Senafe we paid six and a-half dollars, are here charged sixteen

and seventeen dollars; and this with the plains in many cases containing

thousands upon thousands. Of course it is a great question as to how far

we ought to put up with such extortion as this. It is certain that the

French, under similar circumstances, would not do so; but then the success

of the French against native populations has not upon the whole been

brilliant; their case therefore is no argument in its favour. If we chose

to take what we required, and to offer in payment the fair country price,

or even its double, of course we could do so, and could thrash all Tigre

if necessary; but, putting it in the mere pecuniary light, would it pay?

Much as I hate extortion, dearly as I should like to punish the nation of

thieves through whom we are passing, I yet do not think it would pay. It

is hard to be cheated by a half-naked savage; but it is better to put up

with it than to undergo the amount of labour, anxiety, and loss which

savages could in our present circumstances entail upon us. They are at

present driving a thriving trade by selling us part of the roofs of their

houses. This sounds strange, but is absolutely the fact. Between this and

Senafe—a distance of forty miles—not a single tree is to be met with which

could be used for telegraph-poles: the engineers were completely at a

nonplus. At last we struck upon the expedient of buying poles from the

natives, and an offer was made to give them a dollar for every six poles.

Since then Mr. Speedy, who has undertaken the negotiation, has a complete

levée of natives with poles. These poles are perfectly straight, and must

be fourteen feet long; they are slight, much slighter than ordinary

English hop-poles, and they are very thin towards the upper extremity. The

natives use them for the roofs of their houses; but where they get them

from, or what tree furnishes them, is at present a mystery; certainly I

have seen no tree since my arrival in this country which grows at all in

the same way. Some of these poles look freshly cut, but others are old and

have evidently been used in the roofs of houses. They would not be nearly

strong enough for an ordinary telegraph-wire, but can easily enough carry

the fine copper-wire used here.

Mr. Speedy has been requested by the Commander-in-chief to wear the native

attire; and his appearance, although no doubt very imposing to the native

mind, is yet extremely comic to a European eye. Imagine a gentleman six

feet and a half high, with spectacles, wearing a red handkerchief over his

head, and shading himself with a native straw umbrella. Round his neck he

wears the fur collar with tails, to which I have already alluded as part

of a chief’s insignia; over his shoulders is the native white-cloth

wrapping, with red ends; below this is a long coloured-silk garment; and

below all this the British trousers and boots. Mr. Speedy is a capital

fellow, and a general favourite with everyone; but his appearance at

present is almost irresistibly inducive of laughter.

The climate of this place is as near perfection as possible. It is not so

hot as Senafe during the day, although even here in a single bell-tent the

thermometer registered 110° to-day at eleven o’clock. But there is almost

always a fresh breeze; and excepting from nine to twelve, when the wind

generally drops, it is never too hot for walking. At night it is not so

cold as at Senafe; for although the glass goes down to 36° or 37°, there

is no wind at night and very little dew, so that one does not feel the

cold as one did at Senafe. It is really a delightful climate; and although

110° in a tent sounds hot, the sensation of heat is nothing approaching

that of a sultry July day in England. There is no game here, with the

exception of hares, which are very plentiful. Major Fanshawe, of the 33d,

went out the other afternoon with his gun, and returned in a couple of

hours with a bag of nineteen hares, an almost unprecedented amount of

sport for two hours’ shooting in an unpreserved country. The natives bring

in leopard-skins for sale: where they shoot them I cannot say. They do not

find any purchasers, for the amount of baggage allowed is so small, and

will be smaller beyond Antalo, that no one will burden themselves with a

pound of unnecessary weight.

The 33d went forward three days ago, and Sir Robert Napier himself starts

for Antalo on the 17th instant. If the 4th regiment arrive in time they

will accompany him. I close my letter rather hastily, as I have just heard

there is a mail expected to go three days before the regular packet.

The Commander-in-chief has, since he started from the sea, shown every

desire to forward our objects in every way. We were invited to be present

at the reception of the Tigre ambassador, and Sir Robert very kindly sent

in a _précis_ of the information received from Magdala. I am very glad,

for the sake of my readers as well as myself, that in future I shall have

no fear of either being kept in the dark or of being debarred from

accompanying any expedition which may be on foot. I am still more glad to

be able to say that the position of the foreign commissioners has been

also improved. They are now all forward here, and one of the Prussian

officers has been placed upon the Chief’s personal staff. This is much

more as it should be. Now that we are fairly moving forward, bets are

being freely exchanged as to the date of our arrival at Magdala. The first

of May is the favourite time. I hardly think we shall be there as soon as

that, but must delay the discussion of the pros and cons until my next.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Attegrat, February 17th.

Since I sent my letter off three days ago, nothing has occurred of any

great importance; at the same time there is scarce a day passes here

without some event of more or less interest taking place. A wing and the

head-quarters of the 4th regiment have marched in, and have taken the

place of the 33d regiment. The Beloochees are here, and a portion of these

have already pushed on to improve the road. On the 15th we had quite a

sensation in camp. Two elephants arrived, and 2000 or 3000 of the natives

flocked around in a very few minutes. At first they kept at a prudent

distance, but, emboldened by the sight of the Europeans standing round and

giving the animals pieces of biscuit, they gradually closed in, and talked

in tones of admiration and wonder, showing all their white teeth, as is

their custom. Presently, however, one of the elephants, not approving of

all this hubbub, wheeled suddenly round, his trunk high in the air, and

trumpeting loudly. An instant scattering of the natives took place, the

crowd flying in all directions as if an infernal-machine had exploded in

their midst. They gradually reassembled, but never again ventured to get

within familiar distance of the elephants. Yesterday the G-14 battery of

Artillery arrived, and created an admiration among the natives that our

mountain guns had quite failed to arouse. The guns are twelve-pounders,

and have been brought as far as this upon their wheels, a fact which

speaks equally for the practicability of the road and for the energy and

perseverance of its officers and men. In many places the guns had to leave

the road, and to be hauled up difficulties with tackle and handspikes. At

the descent into this valley, which I described in a former letter, the

road cut along the face of the hill was not of sufficient width for the

wheels, and the guns had to be lowered down the steep descent into the

valley bottom with tackle. Three hours were occupied in getting the six

guns down. They will probably go no further than Antalo upon their

carriages, but three will be thence taken on upon elephants; the other

three will, at any rate for the present, remain here. This camp is in

process of being turned into an entrenched position. The lines have been

laid out by Major Pritchard of the Engineers, and the 4th are at present

at work upon them. That regiment moves on to-morrow, but the next which

takes its place in camp will continue the work. The entrenchments do not

include the whole of the present camp, as the number of men permanently

stationed here will, of course, be much smaller than at present. The lines

will surround the commissariat stores and a portion of the water-pools;

they also run round the summit of a steep shelf of rocks in the rear of

the camp, and which, when thus strengthened, might be defended by 200 men

against 500 similarly armed and disciplined, and therefore against any

number of Abyssinians whatever. Even now that we have a strong force here,

the people are exceedingly bumptious, and I have little doubt that there

will be some row of greater or less importance when they see only a small

body of troops stationed here.

Scarcely a day passes that they do not raise their war-cry about something

or other. Some of the squabbles arise about our cutting grass; others

about wood; others about their insisting upon wandering through the camp;

and blows have been exchanged with fists and sticks upon all these and

several other points. The noble Abyssinian is quite ready to cut and sell

us any quantity of hay, and to charge us an exceedingly-remunerative price

for the same. But although we have promised, and, indeed, have paid, a

round sum for the privilege, they object strongly to our own men cutting

hay, although it is of no use whatever to themselves. Consequently, a

guard is always obliged to be sent on with the main body of grass-cutters.

Any small parties who may go out in search of forage nearer to the camp

than the regular grass plains are warned off, and driven back by the

natives. There have been numerous rows on this score, and in some cases

the natives have actually set fire to the grass rather than allow us to

cut it. If they dared they would not allow a blade of grass to be cut

except by themselves. The same questions arise as to wood. They will bring

in large quantities of firewood themselves for sale, but they very

strongly object to our men collecting it themselves, although there is

not, of course, a shadow of pretence to say that our collecting dry wood

can in any way damage them. There was a great hullabaloo yesterday on this

subject. Two men had gone out for dry wood, and a priest and two or three

natives came out and ordered them away. The priest told them that the

grove where they were collecting the wood was sacred, and therefore they

must not take it. The men of course did not understand a word he said, and

expressed their determination to carry off their wood. He then called upon

them as Christians to desist, and the men, being Hindoos, made some

gestures of contempt or abhorrence at the name of Christians. An attack

was then made upon them; but many of these Syces are remarkably strong,

active fellows, and in a very short time the Abyssinians found that they

had met with much more than their match. They set up their rallying-cry,

and a number more natives hurried up, and the Hindoos would have got the

worst of it had not another grass-cutter come up with a gun. The Hindoos

then retired, followed by a crowd of enraged Abyssinians. When they

reached the camp the Abyssinians attempted to follow them in, and blows

had to be freely exchanged before the point of their exclusion was

maintained. The priest alone was admitted, and instead of conducting

himself quietly he ran about shouting and gesticulating until one of the

camp policemen seized him, and, after a struggle, made him a prisoner.

When Sir Robert Napier, who was out riding, came into camp, he

investigated the whole matter; and, finding that the Syces had been in the

wrong by insulting the religion of the people, he ordered them to have a

dozen lashes each. But here the Abyssinians really showed themselves to be

Christians, for the priest and his witnesses, all of whom bore marks of

having suffered in the skirmish, knelt down, and said they would not rise

unless the culprits were forgiven, which accordingly they were. This

certainly was a remarkable trait. Here were men who conceived that

themselves and their religion had been insulted, and who had certainly

been well thrashed, really and truly, while their wounds were still fresh,

asking forgiveness for their foes. I fancy very few European Christians

would have done it. It is pleasant to find a redeeming-point in the

character of this nation of extortioners. It is also to be said for them

that they are a very merry people, and are constantly on a broad grin.

Quarrels among themselves are extremely rare; at least, I have not heard a

single dispute since I arrived in this country.

The Abyssinians, too, are men with a strong sporting tendency. They bet

freely on the speed of a horse or the accuracy of their aim. They bet,

too, with conditions under which very few Englishmen would make a wager.

They choose a judge, and the judge, whoever wins, takes the stakes, the

loser of course paying. This system of betting, where one may lose and

cannot win, is, as far as I am aware, without a precedent, and would do

more, if introduced into England, to put down gambling than all the laws

that Parliament could pass would do in a hundred years. Another thing to

be said for them is that those who know them most like them best, and a

stronger argument in their favour than this could hardly be used. Still,

undoubtedly, they are fond of fighting, partly perhaps for its own sake,

and partly because it would be manifestly impossible for them to put the

whole of the hard work of the place on the shoulders of the women and

children upon the plea of being warriors, and therefore privileged to do

nothing, unless they really did do a little fighting occasionally.

This morning there was another row, which at one time really threatened to

come to fighting. One of the natives came inside our lines when the men

were at work upon the entrenchments. The policeman—a soldier armed with a

stick—warned him back; but he refused to go. Having spoken several times,

the sentry pushed him. Whereupon the native drew his sword and rushed upon

the soldier, who met him, however, with a tremendous blow of his stick,

which knocked him backwards into the ditch with a broken head. The man set

up his war-cry, and the natives flocked up, shouting and brandishing their

spears. They refused to retire when ordered by the officer to do so, and

continued to threaten an attack until Colonel Cameron ordered fifty of his

men to load and fix bayonets, and told the natives that unless they

retired he should order his men to advance. This was sufficient; and the

place was speedily cleared. These little fracas, although trifling in

themselves, sufficiently show that the natives are an extremely

independent race, and are quite ready for a fight upon the smallest

provocation. At present we are so strong as to render any open attack upon

their part a hopeless proceeding; but when this post is left with only

four or five hundred men I should not be at all surprised if the natives

came to blows with us upon some trifling matter or other. The three cannon

which are to be left here will no doubt have a salutary effect. The

natives are astonished at them, and say that they are much bigger than

those of Theodore.

Three of the officers of the 4th regiment saw, the other day, at Fokado,

an operation which was described by Bruce, but which has been denied by

all subsequent travellers, and by the Abyssinians themselves. This was the

operation of cutting a steak from the body of a living ox. They came upon

the natives just as they were in the act of performing it. The unfortunate

bullock was thrown down, and its four legs were tied together. The

operator then cut an incision in the skin near the spine, just behind the

hip-joint. He blew into this to separate the skin from the flesh, and then

cut two other incisions at right angles to the first, and then lifted a

flap of skin four or five inches square. From this he cut out a lump of

flesh, cutting with the knife under the skin, so that the amount of flesh

taken out was larger than the portion uncovered. The operator then filled

up the hole with cow-dung, replaced the flap of skin, plastered it up with

mud, untied the feet of the poor animal, which had kept up a low moaning

while the operation was going on, gave it a kick to make it get up, and

the whole thing was over. I should mention that the operator cut two or

three gashes in the neighbourhood of the wound, apparently as a sign that

the animal had been operated upon in that part. The officers observed that

several of the other cattle of the same herd were marked in a precisely

similar manner. They returned in half an hour, and found the animal

walking about and feeding quietly. I have not mentioned that it bled very

little at the time the operation was being performed. It certainly is very

singular that, after so many years, Bruce’s story, which has been always

considered as a traveller’s tale, should have been confirmed. All

travellers have denied it. Mr. Speedy, who was a year among them, tells us

that he never saw or heard of its being done, and that the Abyssinians, of

whom he had inquired respecting the truth of Bruce’s statement, had always

most indignantly denied it, and indeed had asserted that it would be

entirely contrary to their religion, for that they strictly keep the

Mosaic law, to eat no meat unless the throat of the animal had been cut

and the blood allowed to escape. Anatomists have denied the possibility of

an animal when such an operation had been performed being able to walk

afterwards. Here, however, was the indisputable fact. The operation was

performed, and the ox did walk afterwards. It is true that it might not

have been done by Abyssinians proper. The party may have been some

wandering tribe belonging to the low country who might have come up for

trading purposes. It is very unfortunate that neither Mr. Speedy nor any

of the interpreters were at hand to find out the exact tribe to which

these savages belonged.

I am unable to give you any reliable account of Major Grant’s visit to the

King of Tigre. He was, I know, hospitably received, and the horsemen of

the King performed various feats, such as riding in and out between poles,

and cutting at them; but I am unable to say more, as Sir Robert Napier, no

doubt for some good reason of which I am ignorant, refused to allow us to

see Major Grant’s report, or to have a _précis_ of it given to us. It is

still reported that the King himself is coming to meet the General, and a

place two days on our march towards Antalo is mentioned as the appointed

place. We even hear that the King has set out from Adowa for that spot;

but I confess that until I see his sable Majesty I shall not have much

faith in his coming. Still, these very slippery men always do exactly the

thing which one would expect that they would not do; and on this theory

only it is quite possible that Kassa may appear _in propriâ personâ_. If

he does come it will no doubt be a very much more stately affair than the

pantomime I described in my last letter, and I hope that our elephants and

cannon will open his Majesty’s eyes to the fact that we are a people whom

it would be vastly safer to leave alone.

I have been over to-day to the weekly fair at Attegrat. I was also there

last Monday, but had no space to give to its description in my last

letter. A more amusing sight I have seldom or never seen. Some two or

three thousand people must have been present. The fair or market, as I

suppose it should be called, is held upon a flat rocky slope on the other

side of the village, and this is packed so close that one moves about

among the squatting and standing groups with difficulty. At one end is the

cattle-fair. The number each grazier brings into market is not large

(seldom over two or three), and there they stand in little quiet groups

surrounded by their master and several of his friends, and submitting to

be felt, pinched, and examined as well as the best-behaved English cow

would do. Here, too, are the donkeys, sturdy little beasts, not much

bigger than a Newfoundland dog, but which will carry nearly as great a

weight as a mule. I wonder our Transport Corps does not buy a lot of them

for carrying commissariat stores. They will take two bags each, that is

150 pounds’ weight, and require no saddles, for the bags are merely laid

upon their broad little backs and strapped there with a few strips of

hide; they require no grain, and very little hay, and cost only five or

six dollars. Any number of them might be purchased. These, like the oxen,

stand very quietly, and appear perfectly indifferent as to any possible

change in their ownership. They not unfrequently have young ones by their

side, little round rough beasts with disproportionately-long ears and

shaggy coats. The goats appear to take matters with less indifference.

Their masters endeavour to keep them in little circles, with their heads

towards the centre; but they are continually trying to escape from this

arrangement, and to make a bolt for it. They keep up a constant bleating

as a protest against the whole proceeding. Near to them is the

grain-market. Here are men and women with their grain-bags, made of skins

of goats sewn up, and with only an opening at the neck. They sit about

everywhere, while the buyers walk about among them and inspect the samples

with a gravity and intentness which would do no discredit to Mark-lane.

Their purchases probably will not exceed two or three pounds’ weight, but

they are as careful over the matter as a brewer would be who was going to

make a bid for a ship’s cargo. The grain is almost entirely barley, and

splendid barley too. There are beside, however, a variety of other grain,

of which I do not know the names. The natives distil a spirit from their

barley, which is said to be something between gin and hollands in flavour.

I have not yet tasted any. Very thick is the throng round a Parsee

belonging to the commissariat, who is buying up all he can get for

Government at a dollar for nineteen pounds. Near him is another little

crowd: here another commissariat _employé_ is similarly engaged in buying

up ghee—that is, clarified or boiled butter—for the native troops. It does

not look very nice, and what does not make the sight the pleasanter is,

that the women, when they have emptied the jars into the commissariat

casks, invariably wipe them out with their hands, and then plaster the

remainder upon their heads. An Abyssinian does not consider himself

properly dressed unless his hair is shining with oil, not put on or rubbed

on, but plastered on, and running down his neck as the sun melts it. The

idea is not, according to our notions, pleasant, but it is a matter of

taste. When an Abyssinian really wants to make a great effect he uses

butter, not ghee, and puts it on until his head is as white as that of a

London footman. Then he is conscious that he has indeed done it, and walks

with a dignity befitting his appearance. There were several swells of the

period so got up at the market, and as they stood under the shelter of

their straw umbrellas—for the sun would melt it and destroy the whole

effect—I could not but wonder at and admire the different forms which

human vanity takes.

Further on was the cloth mart. Here were women and men selling the black

blankets which almost all women here wear, in addition to the ornamented

skins, which form the only garments of the Senafe women. These blankets,

which are very large, are worn wrapped round the body, and secured on one

shoulder by a large iron pin. The blankets are coarse and thin, and have

but little warmth. Officers have, however, bought large numbers for their

servants, who feel the cold at night much. When we are stationary for a

few days the followers construct some sort of tents with gunny-bags and

clothes, but upon the march they have, of course, to sleep in the open

air. Near to the vendors of blankets for the women are the sellers of the

white-cotton cloth for the men. These are always men; I have seen no women

engaged in selling cloth. I have no doubt they carry it to the market, but

the men take the sale into their own hands. This is, perhaps, the busiest

part of the fair. But beyond this we come to the largest and by far the

most amusing portion of all. This is the miscellaneous market. Vegetables

and herbs occupy by far the largest share of this. Here are women and

girls with herbs of every sort and kind, of very few indeed of which I had

any previous knowledge. Here, too, are women with tobacco, very coarse,

and broken up roughly, instead of being cut. The tobacco, of course, is

carried in the skins, which appear to be the receptacles for everything in

this country. Here are men with salt, in shape and appearance exceedingly

like a mower’s whetstone. These serve as money, and are laid out upon the

ground at so many for a dollar, but if the salesman sees a European

approaching he will abstract a portion, and demand a dollar for less than

half of the number which should be given for that amount. Here are men

selling the blue string, which all Christians wear round their neck in

token of their faith. Here are men selling the great iron pins, with a

rough attempt at ornament upon their heads, which all women use to fasten

their blankets upon their shoulders. Here are women with strings of beads,

and pumpkins, and watercresses, and dried herbs, and chillies, and honey,

and garlic, and potatoes, and young onions for sale. A miscellaneous

catalogue, and sold quite as miscellaneously, for the goods are sold by

barter more than for money, and each vendor will bring in half-a-dozen

small baskets, which she places before her to contain the various articles

which she may receive in exchange. Thus, for her beads she may get some

grain, a few bulbs of garlic, and a bar or two of salt. Some of these,

again, she will barter for a pumpkin, a chicken, and some dried herbs; and

so the commerce is carried on. Imagine a large number of these dark-faced,

scantily-dressed people, very grave over their purchases, but very merry,

as is their wont, in their conversation with each other, the men generally

walking about, the women squatting behind their wares, always in groups,

and laughing, chattering, and looking after their children—strange little

potbellied black figures, with half of their heads shaved, and their sole

garment a very small piece of goatskin on their shoulder. Some of the

girls are, as I have already said, really pretty, with beautiful brown

eyes. They have no objection to be looked at and admired. They pretend, of

course, to be very shy, and half hide their faces, and look the other way;

but really are very amused and a good deal gratified when a European

pauses to look at them. It is singular how similar is the constitution of

the female mind in savage and in civilised countries. An English beauty

certainly does not betray any consciousness of being looked at and

admired, excepting, of course, if she be a milkmaid; but she is no doubt

equally conscious, and perhaps just as pleased—except that the sensation

is more a matter of course—as is the dark-eyed and dark-skinned Abyssinian

girl sitting in her scanty leathern garment and shell-ornamented wrapper

in the market at Attegrat.

I do not know when the rainy season begins; indeed, it is a moot point,

authorities varying in their dates from April to July; but I know we had a

thunderstorm here the other day which nearly washed us out of camp. It

began at three o’clock in the afternoon, and found us quite unprepared, as

we have had so many threatening-looking skies that we had ceased to

believe in rain. However, this time there was no mistake about it. It came

up in a dense black cloud from behind the mountain beyond Attegrat. The

thunder roared, the lightning was for a while terrific, and for about an

hour a tremendous storm of rain and hail poured down upon us. Being an old

campaigner, one of my first cares upon pitching my tent had been to have a

trench dug round it; but very many officers, relying upon the fine

weather, had neglected taking this precaution. Knowing what the state of

things would be, immediately the rain ceased I sallied out. The camp was

completely under water. As I have mentioned in a former letter, it is

pitched upon the gradual slope of a hill, and down this slope a perfect

stream of water came nearly two inches deep. As the rain held up, a few

figures might be observed peering out of their tents to examine the skies,

and as soon as it was quite certain that the rain was over, the camp,

which had five minutes before appeared perfectly deserted, was like an

ant-hill suddenly disturbed. Great was the devastation the flood had

wrought. Through many of the tents it had swept in a flood two inches

deep, soaking everything placed upon the ground. Here we saw the servants

bringing out a bed, which, having been placed upon the ground, was

drenched with water; here was another party bringing out hay with which

some particular man had carefully carpeted his tent; here was an officer

emptying out his trunks to see if the things at the bottom had suffered.

As I wandered about I met Major Minion, the principal commissariat-officer

here. He was hastening to the Chief for authority to issue first-class

flour instead of second to the troops, as a great deal of the first

quality had got wetted, and must be issued at once to prevent its being

spoiled. Of course the native followers and others who had no tents

suffered most of all; and the camp in a short time presented the

appearance of undergoing a general washing-day, so many were the garments

hung out to dry. Of course, in accordance with the old proverb of shutting

the door after the horse was stolen, there was at once a great demand for

picks and shovels, and everyone who had not already done so set to work at

digging a trench round their tents. The night after the storm was much

less cold than the preceding one had been, and the whole country looks

fresher and brighter for the washing. And now as to our most absorbing

topic, the advance. It takes place positively to-morrow. Sir Robert Napier

himself goes on, and is accompanied by the Artillery, 3d Native Cavalry,

five companies of the 4th King’s Own, and the remaining three companies of

the 10th Native Infantry. The Beloochees were also to have gone forward,

but there is not sufficient transport, and they will follow in a day or

two. The little party of Engineers also go forward with the photographic

and signalling apparatus. The two elephants will also form part of the

train. The march hence to Antalo is eight days’ journey, which are divided

as follows: Mai Wahiz, 13 miles; Ad Abaga, 15; Dongolo, 12; Agula, 14;

Dowlo, 19; Haig Kullat, 9; Afzool, 9; Antalo, 5: total, 96 miles. Colonel

Phayre, who has again gone ahead, reports that the road presents no great

difficulties; but it does not appear as if the first day’s march were by

any means an easy business, for the baggage-guard of the 33d regiment,

which left here at nine o’clock in the morning, did not arrive at its

destination until six o’clock on the following morning. The

Commander-in-chief rode out next day, and found the road really

impracticable at two or three places. He was exceedingly angry that the

corps which has gone ahead nominally to make this road should have left it

in such a state. A party of the Beloochees were at once set on, and it is

to be hoped that by to-morrow they will have made it passable. The party

of Bombay Sappers and Miners, who have done such good work in the pass,

have gone on to-day, with instructions to keep a day’s march ahead of the

Chief. They will improve, as far as they can, any very difficult places;

but as they will have to progress as fast as the troops, they will of

course be able to do very little. The last two days’ march even Colonel

Phayre reports to be exceedingly difficult, as, instead of the flat sheets

of sandstone over which much of the preceding day’s journey passes, we

here have to cross sheets of bare limestone, upon which horses can stand

with difficulty. He states that it will be necessary to strew soil or sand

upon the rocks to make them at all passable. It is evident, therefore,

that we shall have some serious difficulties to encounter even between

this and Antalo; still, we may expect to be at that town by the end of the

month. From thence to Magdala it is 160 miles, or thereabouts; for it is

impossible to reckon within twenty miles in a country where the mountains

and gorges necessitate such constant windings. I mentioned in my last

letter that bets were freely offered and taken that we arrive at Magdala

by the 15th of April. The whole question is one of provision and

transport; and the most casual examination of the question will show that

it will be a very long time before the provision for the onward march can

be collected at Antalo. I related in my letters a month since how hard a

task it was to feed the troops at Senafe and along the pass, and to

accumulate provisions in our advance to Attegrat. Senafe is only five

days’ march from Zulla; Antalo is sixteen; and, allowing for the mules to

stop one day at Senafe, and one at Attegrat, to rest, which would be

absolutely necessary, it is eighteen days from Zulla. We shall have twice

as many troops to feed at Antalo as we had at Senafe; and as it is three

times as long a journey, it will require six times as many

transport-animals to feed the troops at Antalo now to what were required

to feed the former force at Senafe. In addition to this, we shall have a

body of troops at Attegrat, and another at Senafe, to feed. The Transport

Train is more efficient now than it was a month since, but it is not

greatly more numerous, as the number of fresh arrivals is almost balanced

by the number of mules going daily into hospital, broken down with

over-work, bad feeding, and sore backs brought on by the pack-saddles. The

fact of the road being now practicable for carts to Senafe, is also an

assistance to the Transport Train; but I confess that I cannot see how

they will manage to provision all the line, much less to accumulate

stores. It is, we have just seen, eighteen days from Zulla to Antalo.

Supposing that the mules go regularly up and down, stopping two days at

each end to rest, it will take them forty days to make the circuit.

Putting the number of available transport-animals at 16,000, which is over

the mark, there would be only four hundred a-day to start from the

sea-coast. When it is remembered that these four hundred animals would

have to carry their own food for those places at which grain cannot be

obtained, that they have to carry the rations for their drivers for the

forty days, that they have to provision the different minor posts,

together with Senafe and Attegrat, it will be seen that the quantity of

provisions which will reach Antalo daily will be by no means excessive.

And yet, before we can move forward from Antalo, on a journey which, going

and returning, and with a pause of a week at Magdala, can hardly be

calculated as under two months, we must have accumulated there a

sufficient amount of provisions for the whole time we may be absent; and

this not only for the troops and animals who go, but for the force which

will remain there during our absence. We must also have a supply

accumulated at the posts along the road, as we shall take so large a

portion of the transport-animals in our further advance, that we must be

sure that a stock has accumulated sufficient to last some time. I hear

that the number of mules which will go forward with us from Antalo will be

about 6000, with two months’ provisions for the column and a certain

amount for themselves. Following out the calculation I have made, we prove

mathematically that we never can accumulate this 6000 mule-loads at

Antalo. Mathematical proofs, fortunately, occasionally are falsified by

facts. It was mathematically proved that no steamer could ever cross the

Atlantic. The feat was, however, somehow accomplished; and I have no doubt

but that, in the teeth of mathematics, we shall somehow or other

accumulate provisions at Antalo, and shall march on to Magdala; but it

must be some time first. I think the 1st of May to be the very earliest

date at which we can hope to leave Antalo. Of course much will depend upon

the fruitfulness of the country in the immediate vicinity of that town. If

we can only obtain sufficient grain to feed our animals, and to lay in a

store of provender for them for the advance, it will greatly lessen our

difficulties. As far as we have already come, such has not been the case.

Even the extreme prices we have given have barely purchased sufficient

grain for the daily supply, and animals upon the route have to be fed upon

grain brought from Bombay. Still, we must hope for better things. The date

of our advance depends almost entirely upon the state of the grain-market

at Antalo. We start to-morrow morning at half-past six, and that means

that we must be up and moving before five. I must therefore close this

letter, but shall write again in time to save the post from Ad Abaga,

where I believe we shall halt for a day.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Ad Abaga, Feb. 20th.

I cannot say that starting a convoy of baggage-mules off at half-past six

in the morning is a pleasant operation. The order was “that all animals

not off by half-past six must wait until after the departure of the column

at seven;” that is, allowing for delays, that they would not be able to

start until eight. I acceded to the suggestion of my travelling-companion

that we should get our mules off early. At five we were up, completed our

packing, had a cup of chocolate and a speedy wash, and then struck our

tent, which was wet through with the heavy dew. Folding this up and

getting it into a sack meant to contain it only when dry, was a long

operation, trying to the temper and very destructive to the finger-nails.

However, it and all our final preparations, including the loading the

animals, were completed in time, and we were fairly _en route_ at twenty

minutes past six. We have long since come to the conclusion that the only

way to get our baggage along is to be our own baggage-guard, and one or

other of us, generally both, accompany it the whole distance. In this way

we got into camp in the afternoon, from an hour and a half to two hours

earlier than if we had trusted it only to the servants and drivers, and

had we ridden on at our own pace we should only have had to wait doing

nothing, and without a shelter, for three or four hours. On the present

occasion my friend started with the baggage and I remained behind to see

the column start. It was a pretty sight, and must have astonished the

natives not a little. First came the 3d Native Cavalry, about three

hundred strong, in their soldierly blue-and-silver uniforms. This regiment

has had no easy time of it since their arrival at Attegrat, for we are

exceedingly short of cavalry, and since the Scinde Horse went on, the 3d

have had to furnish all the guards and escorts. For some days they had

only eighteen men left in camp. I hear that two hundred horses have

arrived at Zulla as remounts in the place of those they have lost by the

disease. The strength of the regiment will then be raised to its original

number of nearly five hundred sabres. I mentioned in a letter, some time

since, that this regiment had been looked upon with some disfavour by the

authorities for having started from Bombay without the baggage-animals

with which, according to the terms of their agreement, they should have

furnished themselves. This fault they have done their best to remedy by

purchasing every mule they could get. They have now nearly made up their

number, and upon the present march only had to draw thirty-five

transport-animals, which they hope in a few days to be able to dispense

with. Next to the 3d Native Cavalry came the Artillery, who had, at the

last moment, received orders to take four guns instead of three. The guns

were all drawn by eight horses. The greater part of the horses of this

battery are very light grays, and two of the guns are horsed entirely by

grays. They are in admirable condition, and look exceedingly well. Next

followed the little party of Engineers. Behind them came the 4th King’s

Own, in their light-brown, or rather dust-coloured suits, with their band

playing the “Red, White, and Blue.” Colonel Cameron sets an excellent

example to his men and officers by having his horse led, and by always

marching at their head. The line was closed by the 10th Native Infantry,

their band playing “Nelly Bligh.” After the troops came the head of a long

line of baggage-animals. Having seen the column pass, I rode on and

rejoined my baggage.

The road, as usual, leads over the plateau, with occasional steep ascents

and descents. Two of these ascents turned out quite impracticable for

artillery, and the road as made reflects great discredit upon those who

went on in command of the pioneer force to make the way. The roads are

made with short, sharp zigzags, where it is impossible for the horses to

draw. Had not the artillery been accompanied by a strong force of infantry

it would have been impossible to have got the guns up. As it was, the guns

were pulled up the straight places by the horses aided by the men, and

then the horses were taken out, the guns unlimbered, and the gun was

dragged up first, round the curve, by the infantry with ropes, and the

limbers were taken up afterwards. The work of getting the guns up one of

these ascents occupied over two hours. Sir R. Napier is naturally

extremely angry, as, had he not been informed by the officer in advance

that the road was perfectly practicable, he would of course have sent on a

strong working-party some days previously. I reached Mai Wahiz at

half-past twelve, the 3d Cavalry having got in half-an-hour before me. In

the afternoon we had another severe thunderstorm, with heavy rain, which

fortunately only lasted about half-an-hour. Our camp at Mai Wahiz, instead

of being, as usual, on a plain, or rather a slight rise near the plain,

was placed upon a hill. I hear that in future we are always to encamp on a

hill, or at any rate, as far as possible, in a defensible position. This

shows that our Chief places exceedingly little faith in any protestations

the Tigre king may make, and that he thinks that, even if he does come in

to the durbar at this place, yet that he is not to be trusted out of

sight. Everything at Mai Wahiz is very scarce, and forage dearer than

ever. I had to pay two dollars for about eighteen pounds of barley for my

baggage-animals, that is, just sixpence a pound. Hay is equally dear. The

commissariat served out no hay to the transport-animals, and all that they

had after a hard day’s work, with the prospect of another equally hard on

the morrow, was three pounds of grain each.

From the foot of the hill we rode for some distance along a wide valley,

with water in several places, and a good deal of cultivated ground. Then,

after three or four miles of undulating plain we arrived at our

camping-ground at a little after three o’clock. The natives here must be

either a more warlike people than those whose villages we have passed

since entering the country, or they must have much more warlike

neighbours. For the villages are almost always surrounded by strong walls,

and one or two were perched on eminences, and defended by walls and

towers. One very curious castle we passed strongly resembling the old

baronial castles one meets with in southern Scotland and the north of

England. This was situated upon the edge of a precipice, and the rocks

went sheer down from three sides of its walls for fifty or sixty feet. It

must be impregnable in a country like this, where cannon are all but

unknown. Another fort, which certainly looked of European construction,

and if not must unquestionably have been built from a picture of a

European fort, was perched upon the top of the mountain near where we

descended into the valley. The precipice at its foot was at least a

thousand feet down, but curiously enough the fort was in a sort of hollow,

higher rocks at the distance of only a hundred yards on either side

commanding it. If a European designed it, he certainly did not choose its

position. It was a round fort, of perhaps fifty feet high, but it was

difficult to judge its height from our position on the plain so much below

it. Its diameter was about equal to its height. It had regular lines of

loopholes, and appeared to have been built by some robber-chief to enable

him to swoop down upon the caravans of traders journeying up and down the

road we had just come. This camp is at about the same elevation as that at

Mai Wahiz, and the climate is even more charming than that of Attegrat,

for the heat is less during the day, and the cold last night was not at

all equal to that which we experienced there. The _on dit_ is that the

King cannot arrive to-day, but will come to-morrow, and that we shall move

out early and pitch our camp upon a plain six miles from here, and there

receive him properly.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Dongolo, Feb. 26th.

The King of Tigre has turned out to be a living entity and not a mythical

being, as we had begun to consider him. He was to have paid us a visit at

Attegrat, but he sent us an ambassador in his place, and no one thought

that we should ever hear any more of the King. However, he sent to say

that he would meet us upon a plain near Ad Abaga, and we journeyed there,

rather incredulous but still hopeful. The King was to have been at the

appointed spot upon the day after we had reached Ad Abaga; but messengers

sent out brought news that, although it was currently reported that he had

started from Adowa, he had certainly not arrived anywhere in the

neighbourhood. As it was most important that we should see the King, and

remain upon friendly terms with him, and as it was certain that if he had

started to meet us, and found that we had gone on without stopping to see

him, he would feel grievously affronted, the Commander-in-chief determined

to wait. Fortunately, any delay we might experience could be of no

importance to us, as it will be impossible to move forward from Antalo

until a large stock of provisions are accumulated there, and whether we

waited a week at Ad Abaga or at Antalo was perfectly immaterial. Wait

accordingly we did for three days, before any reliable news reached us. At

last we heard for certain, as we believed, that the King was at Hanzein,

twelve miles off. This was on Saturday, and the messenger said that of

course the King would not move on Sunday, but that he would come in on

Monday morning to Mai Dehar, the appointed meeting-place.

On Sunday Major Grant, Captain Moore, and Mr. Speedy set out to meet the

King, and accompany him to the meeting-place. They rode out to Hanzein,

and found a considerable body of armed men there, and some of the princes.

They were told that the King was five miles further on, and five good

miles they rode, and, again inquiring for his Majesty’s whereabouts, found

that the miles must have been Irish ones, for that the King was still five

miles further on. They decided to return, and at Hanzein had another

interview with the men in authority there. These worthies tried very hard

to induce them to concede, on the part of Sir Robert Napier, that he would

come as far as Hanzein to meet the King. Their object in this was, of

course, to enhance the dignity of the King in the eyes of his own people,

by making us come as far out of our way as possible to meet him; Major

Grant, however, altogether refused to concede this point. He stated that

we had already waited four days, and that unless the King moved forward at

once, Sir Robert Napier would proceed upon his journey without seeing him.

Major Grant then started with Major Pritchard of the Engineers, who had

gone out to Hanzein with Lieutenant Morgan and his party of signallers, to

return to camp. As it was dark when they started, they of course lost

their way, and wandered about for some hours, leading their horses, which

had two or three awkward falls. They arrived in camp at two o’clock in the

morning. They did not pass any of the signallers’ posts on their way, and

consequently Lieutenant Morgan and his men remained up all night, to flash

the news across the hills of the hour of the King’s starting from Hanzein.

Captain Moore and Mr. Speedy remained at Hanzein until the next day, and

were hospitably, if not agreeably, entertained, with a repast, consisting

of a large dish of half-baked bread, over which melted fat had been poured

with a liberal hand. While they were occupied in endeavouring to find a

morsel less saturated with fat than the rest, two or three of the chiefs

showed them how the food should be eaten, by thrusting some exceedingly

dirty hands into the mess, rolling up a large ball, and cramming it into

their mouths. Captain Moore underwent a strong internal struggle, but

conquered his desire to rush into the open air, and nobly shut his eyes

and followed the example. Mr. Speedy—whose residence in Abyssinia has

rendered him the reverse of dainty in matters of food—had already set-to

with the grave complacency of a man who enjoys his repast.

On Monday a messenger came in who reported that the King had really

arrived at Hanzein, and would come on to Mai Dehar early next morning. A

native in our pay having verified this report, orders were issued for a

move at daylight the next morning. The party was to consist of the four

guns of Murray’s battery, a squadron of 3d Native Cavalry, four companies

of the 4th Regiment, one company of the 10th Native Infantry, the party of

Engineers with their signalling and photographing apparatus, and two

elephants. Although Mai Dehar was only five miles off, the troops were

ordered to take their tents and baggage, as it was uncertain at what hour

the proceedings might be over; and as the next march on to this place was

only ten miles, they would be able to march straight through the next day,

and would therefore lose no time by sleeping at Mai Dehar.

By seven o’clock we were all out of Ad Abaga, and by half-past nine the

tents were pitched at Mai Dehar, which was not more than a four-mile march

distant. Mai Dehar is a basin of about half a mile in diameter, with

gradually-sloping sides, and possesses no picturesque effect whatever. A

small stream runs through it, and the whole basin is covered with a long

thick growth of hay. Orders were at once issued that no fires should be

lighted or pipes allowed until the grass was all cut in the immediate

vicinity of the tents, and for some little distance round the horses.

This, of course, was a work which occupied some time; and at about eleven,

before the fires were fairly alight, Mr. Speedy, who had gone straight on

to meet the King, rode into camp with news that he had left him half an

hour before, and that in a very few minutes he would arrive. In ten

minutes a dark mass of figures showed upon the crest of the opposite rise

of the valley, and presently a tent of bright scarlet colour rose in their

midst, and showed that the King was present among them. Mr. Speedy again

rode off to say that the Commander-in-chief would move forward to meet him

in an hour. By that time the men had breakfasted, and at half-past twelve,

when the bugle sounded the assembly, all were ready for any work they

might be called on to do. They were formed in line a few hundred yards

behind the tent, which had been pitched near the little stream for the

durbar. Major Grant, Captain Moore, and Mr. Speedy now rode forward again

towards the King’s tent, accompanied by an escort of 3d Native Cavalry.

Several officers who were not on duty, but who had come over on leave from

the camp at Ad Abaga, also rode upon the flank of the cavalry, and among

them I took my place.

The native army was ranged in line on both sides of the royal tent; they

were not formed in any regular order, but stood thickly together, with the

extremities of their line advanced in the form of the crescent of a young

moon. There was no pressing or noise; all stood perfectly quiet as we

advanced, and it was evident at once that we were in the presence of a

greatly more formidable body of men than we had given Abyssinia credit for

possessing. The only sound that broke the silence was the beating of a

number of drums. These I afterwards had an opportunity of examining, and

found them to be of the same shape, and as nearly as possible the same

size, as our own kettledrums. Instead of being of metal, they were of thin

wood, and were covered with skins with the hair on in the place of

parchment. They were carried one on each side of a mule. There were six

mules so laden, and the drums were beaten, some with small sticks, some

with large and heavy ones. These last served as big drums, and kept time

to the constant beating of the small ones. They played a sort of tune

which, if rather monotonous, was by no means unmusical. The principal

drummer had a red umbrella held over his head—a distinction enjoyed by no

other person except his Majesty himself. When we had arrived within forty

or fifty yards of the King’s tent we halted. Major Grant and his party

alighted from their horses and entered the royal tent, and the cavalry

were drawn up in line parallel to the road the King would pass down on his

way to the stream. Major Grant’s mission was to inform the King that Sir

Robert Napier was ready, and would advance to meet him as soon as he saw

the King had left his tent. Some personages in authority now gave some

orders, and a body of four or five hundred men took their places a short

distance in front of the royal tent. Some of these men were on foot, some

mounted; the great majority were armed with guns of some kind, and in

addition carried shield and sword. The remainder had lances. There was a

far greater variety of costume, and much more brilliancy of colour, among

their body than we had any notion of seeing in Abyssinia. The majority, of

course, had the whitey-brown cotton cloth of the country, with generally

the red ends and fur tippets with long ends which are distinctive of a

warrior of rank. Many, too, had a lion’s mane over their shoulders, which

is a sign that they have slain many enemies in battle. Very many too had

on long shirts of state, reaching to the knees, and made of

richly-brocaded silks, generally green, blue, or red, with yellow flowers.

Some, the greatest dandies of all, wore mantles of velvet, violet being

the prevailing colour. These reached a little below the waist, and were

then cut into long tails of peculiar pattern, which, moreover, was always

similar. These, who gave orders, and who were probably generals, were not

bareheaded, as were all the rest of the Abyssinians, but had a coloured

silk-handkerchief over and around the head, Bedouin fashion, and falling

down upon the neck, with a sort of fillet or coronet of metal, which

looked like tin, but may have been silver, round their foreheads. Of this

body, which was evidently composed of chiefs and warriors of distinction,

about equal numbers were mounted and on foot. Very many of the mules

carried double, which is here considered by no means an _infra-dig._

method of travelling. In front of this body of men the band of drums took

up their station, and in the rear five or six men blowing an instrument

somewhat resembling a clarionet in appearance, except that it has only one

note. Some of them were, however, pitched a tone above the others, so that

the general result, although not so musical as that of the drums, was yet

not discordant.

The King now came out of his tent, and mounted a mule. A dozen or so

princes and personal attendants rode or walked near him, and two

attendants walked one on each side, leaning against the mule, and

supporting him, as it were, in his saddle. One held a large Magenta-silk

umbrella over the King’s head. Kassa is a man of seven or eight and

twenty. He was plainly dressed in a swathing of native cloth, the only

distinction between himself and an ordinary warrior being that, in place

of a broad scarlet end, it had a sort of Cashmere pattern. The princes had

similar borders to their robes. The King wore a fur tippet, and the cloth

was wrapped round and round him, so that his arms were not visible, and he

looked a mere bunch as he sat upon his mule. The cloth was brought up

round his chin and mouth. He was bareheaded; his hair was plaited in lines

from the forehead to the back of the head, in the peculiar manner I have

before described, and which exactly resembles that upon some of the

Assyrian wall-paintings in the British Museum. These plaits are each tied

at the end, and form a little bunch of tails at the back of the neck.

Kassa has a mild and rather irresolute face, and was evidently nervous at

the unaccustomed ceremony he was about to go through. I believe that his

face does not belie his character, and that he is quite guided by three or

four of his principal advisers. Puppet kings are not confined to

Abyssinia. Major Grant rode by the side of the King, and conversed with

him through the medium of Mercher, the interpreter. The mule ridden by the

King, and those of the principal personages, all had the gay green-and-red

embossed leather trappings I described as adorning the mule ridden by the

ambassador who came in to Attegrat. There were several priests in the

train, distinguished as usual by their turbans and the whiteness of their

robes. In my description of the King’s dress I have said nothing of his

leggings or shoes, for the reason that he, as well as everyone of his

nation, had bare legs and feet. Immediately the King had started, I

closed-in with the unattached officers behind him, and the 3d Native

Cavalry came on behind us. In the rear of them, and keeping a perfect

line, came the main body of native troops—horsemen in front, footmen

behind them. The whole effect was extremely picturesque, and, as seen from

the opposite side of the valley, must have been most striking. As soon as

we were in motion, we saw Sir Robert Napier approaching from the opposite

camp. He rode in a howdah upon an elephant with scarlet trappings; behind

followed the other elephant, and his staff rode around him. The troops

remained in a line at some little distance in rear of the durbar tent, the

10th Native Infantry being drawn up as a guard of honour in front of the

tent. When we were about three-quarters of the distance down the slope

upon our side of the hill, the body-guard in front of the King halted, and

fell back upon each side, leaving a road, through which the King and his

personal following rode. The 3d Native Cavalry followed, but the natives

formed line again in the rear and halted. Sir Robert Napier arrived first

at the stream, but the elephant refused to cross, and the General then

alighted and mounted his horse, and again advanced to meet the King, who

had by this time crossed the stream. Sir Robert and the King shook hands,

and then rode together to the durbar tent. There everyone dismounted, and

as many as the tent would accommodate entered. I was fortunate enough to

be one of these. The King and the Commander-in-chief took seats in two

chairs. Five of the principal princes sat upon the ground. The King’s

shield-and-spear-bearer stood behind him, and several other native

attendants stood near. About a dozen European officers ranged themselves

round the sides of the tent. At the moment of entering the tent, the guard

of honour and the artillery fired a salute, which caused a great commotion

among the horses, and I have no doubt rather startled and alarmed the King

of Tigre’s army, which had all remained upon the other side of the stream.

Throughout the day the greatest discipline prevailed upon this point, not

a single man crossing the stream, with the exception only of the King’s

personal attendants.

The conversation between Sir Robert Napier and the King was interpreted by

Mercher and by his brother, who formed part of the King’s retinue. Both

these brothers are Tigre chiefs, who were curiously enough sent to Bombay

to be educated, and to learn the English language. The conversation was of

the most formal kind. Sir Robert expressed his hope that the King was not

fatigued with his journey. The King replied that he was never tired when

he came to see his friends. Here the conversation languished a little, and

then Sir Robert expressed the pleasure that we English, who sent

missionaries to all parts of the world, experienced at finding a Christian

nation here in the midst of Africa. To this the King replied, that he did

not wish to see strangers in his country, but that if strangers came he

preferred that they should be Christians. This was a decided damper; but

Sir Robert, after a pause, rallied nobly, and said that we had a most

friendly feeling for all the Abyssinians, with the exception only of the

bad men who held our countrymen captive. The King replied that Theodore

was our common enemy, and that he hoped we should punish him as he

deserved. The General then inquired the names of the princes present, and

found that one was an elder brother, and two were uncles of the King.

These were all intelligent-looking men, with fine faces for Abyssinians.

The King’s elder brother is a much more resolute and determined-looking

man than the King. These men, as well as the King, we could now see, upon

their sitting down and getting their arms a little free from the wrappings

of cloth, had very large golden armlets, or rather wrist-ornaments, of

exactly the same shape as a lady’s gauntlet. Sir Robert now said that he

wished to present the King with some presents, to demonstrate our

friendship. These were a double-barrelled rifle by Purday, some handsome

Bohemian glass vases, and the horse upon which he himself rode when he met

the King. By the way, I question much if the King will ever trust himself

upon the horse, which is a high-spirited and rather restive animal, and

which upon our leaving the tent completely overpowered the native to whom

it had been delivered, and had finally to be taken up to the royal tent by

its own syce. The meeting now was over, that is, it was over as a public

meeting, and all retired from the tent except two or three confidential

officers on either side. What had preceded was merely a formal opening,

and the interview was now really interesting. I am, of course, unable to

give the details, but the general substance was that the King now entirely

threw aside his reserve, and said that he hoped for our support in the

disputes which will arise upon Theodore’s defeat. Sir Robert Napier

“assured the King of our friendship, but stated that his Queen had sent

him here solely with the design of rescuing our countrymen, but that she

had given him strict orders on no account to take any part in the

unfortunate dissensions which were taking place in the country. We have,

as we marched onward to this place, seen everywhere the signs of these

unfortunate wars, in the fields lying uncultivated, and in the deserted

villages, and he hoped to hear that with the destruction of the power of

Theodore, this most unfortunate state of things would cease. At the same

time he assured the King that he might rely that if we could give him no

support we should also abstain from giving any assistance whatever to his

rivals.” Kassa afterwards, in answer to a request of the Chief, promised

that he would send messengers to the principal towns upon our route,

ordering the inhabitants to do all in their power to furnish us with

provisions and supplies. After the interview was over, the King and

princes were supplied with wine and spirits, not, however, without some

difficulty, for there are very few bottles of wine remaining in the camp

of the advancing column. There was then a pause of an hour or two, after

which our troops were paraded, and went through a few manœuvres before the

King. These were not of much interest, as no powder was expended, and the

ground, being full of deep holes, hidden by long grass, was most

unfavourable for the movements of either artillery or cavalry. The action

of the Armstrongs was also explained to the King. After this the troops

returned to camp, and Sir Robert Napier and his staff crossed the stream

with the King to pay a return visit to the royal tent. The natives, who

had been clustered by the stream, all rose at his approach, and the drums

struck up their strange music. We were now enabled, riding as we were

among a dense throng of natives, to judge more accurately of their number

and appearance than we had hitherto been able to do. The general opinion

was, that there must have been about three thousand, three-quarters of

whom were armed with guns. They were a fine, active-looking set of men,

and in a rough country would make formidable antagonists even for trained

soldiers. These men are known to be brave, and are fairly armed, but

Theodore’s army has always defeated them. Theodore’s army must, therefore,

have been by no means despicable antagonists; and although that army has

now dwindled to four or five thousand men, it is probable that that four

or five thousand are the most desperate characters and the most warlike

warriors of his original force. Strong as Magdala naturally is, and

garrisoned by a few thousand such men as these, it may possibly be a hard

nut even for a British army to crack.

Arrived at the King’s tent, which is of considerable size, Sir Robert

Napier entered with the King, princes, and as many of his staff as the

tent would accommodate, and took seats upon the carpeted ground. Here

refreshments, small flat bread, and native liquors of fermented honey and

herbs, and native spirits, were served round. Sir Robert Napier was

declared by the King to be a good warrior, and the King presented him with

his own lion-mane tippet, his own sword, shield, and spear, the mule he

had himself ridden at the interview, with its saddle and trappings, and a

silver gauntlet. After about half an hour the Commander-in-chief took his

leave.

As I rode up towards the tent I was smoking a cigar, and this attracted

the greatest attention and astonishment from the natives who were crowding

round. It was evident they had never seen a cigar before. I gave away

several to the chiefs, who, however, were quite in the dark as to what to

do with them when they had got them. I offered them my cigar to light

those I had given them from; but they had no idea what to do with it, and

were on the point of putting it into one of their mouths, when I rescued

it, and struck a light with a vesuvian. This astonished them even more

than the cigar. However, they lit their cigars, and smoked them with

manifest content, occasionally lending them to their friends for a whiff.

Numbers of applications then poured in upon me, which, however, I was

obliged to refuse, for cigars are very precious articles here. I left when

Sir Robert Napier did, as it was nearly six o’clock, and I wished to get

back to Ad Abaga, where I had left my tent and baggage, before it became

too dark to follow the track.

The opinion of the King and his principal warriors respecting our troops

is similar to that expressed by the natives at the review at Attegrat,

namely, that our troops would be invincible upon a plain, but that they

would have no fear of us upon a mountain side. Our cannon are not so large

as they had expected to see; but they said that they had heard great

things of our rockets, which rush through the air with a tremendous noise,

and destroy those who are not killed by their explosion by a noxious

vapour which is fatal to man and beast. They are thoroughly convinced that

we have great power of enchantment; and this will probably do more to

retain their neutrality than any fear of our arms would do. They say that

by enchantment we have tamed the elephants; by enchantment we have kept

the rain from falling near the sea-coast, and interrupting our work in the

pass; by enchantment we have made the locusts disappear the moment we came

up on to the high country; and therefore that were we offended, we should

by enchantment also prevent rain from falling over the whole country, and

thus create a dreadful famine in the land.

As the natives are impressed by enchantment, and are not at all impressed

by our soldiers, I should propose that in any future war of the same kind

there should be an officer appointed under the title of magician to the

forces, and that he should have subordinate officers as assistant

magicians and deputy-assistant magicians. The duty of these officers

should be to exhibit signs and wonders. Mr. Anderson might perhaps be

induced to undertake the control of the machine tricks and general magic;

Mr. Home would do the spiritual business, and could astonish the native

mind with the sight of elephants floating in the air, or could terrify a

negro potentate by tweaking his nose at a durbar by invisible fingers. One

of the deputy-assistant magicians should be a pyrotechnist, whose duty

would be to light up the camp with unearthly fire, and to place strange

portents in the midnight sky. Certainly, had this department been

organised before the expedition began, and had a few of its officers been

present, we might have dispensed with several regiments, and the cost of

the expedition would have been greatly lessened, however munificent the

remuneration of the chiefs of the department might have been. Should

Government adopt this suggestion, and I have no doubt they will do so, I

shall expect a valuable appointment in the corps.

On the day after the last mail left we were favoured with a _précis_ of

the letters from Magdala which had arrived three days previously. They

contained nothing of any great importance. Gobayze and Menelek were both

near King Theodore; so near, indeed, that the camp-fires of the former

could be seen from Theodore’s camp. They were both evidently afraid to

attack him; but Gobayze had sent him an insulting message, and Theodore

had at once put the unfortunate herald to death. Theodore was making very

slow progress; and it was thought that he would not arrive until the end

of March at Magdala. He was ten hours’ ride from that fortress, which

would mean about twenty-five miles. Even if he travels at half the

reported rate of speed, he will be there before us. The opinion is general

now that we shall have a fight at the end of our journey.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Doullo, February 29.

We arrived here yesterday afternoon, after three days’ marching. On the

26th the troops went from Mai Dehar to Dongollo, fifteen miles; on the

27th to Agula, nine miles; and on the 28th to Doullo, fifteen miles. The

road has lain across a much more undulating country than that over which

we have previously passed. On the first day’s march we had one very long

and steep descent. This tried the mules; and many were the upsets of

packs, many the tired animals who lay down, and refused to move until

unsaddled, upon the narrow ledge. Fortunately, however, although long and

steep, it was straight, and so the artillery got down with comparative

ease and without any accident. The camp was in a valley, where the water

was very good, and where there was one pool of deep water nearly 200 yards

long, which afforded excellent bathing. There were a good many fish in it,

and several were caught of over a pound in weight. This is curious, as it

shows that the Abyssinians are by no means skilful fishermen; for Mr.

Speedy tells me that during his residence in the country he never saw nor

heard of a fish more than three inches long being caught.

The next day’s march was a short and rather easy one. The last was not

only long, but it had some very long and difficult ascents and descents;

indeed, it was one succession of hills for the whole distance. The country

has throughout been thinly populated. We have come across several ruined

villages, which have probably been destroyed in the constant wars which

are raging in this country. The churches, however, have generally been

respected; and whenever a really fine clump of trees is to be seen, there

is always a church to be found in their shade. Where the villages have

been destroyed, the churches are of course deserted, and are more or less

falling into ruins. This camp is pitched in a wide valley, and we are

procuring more supplies than usual from the natives. Yesterday we bought

1500lb. of grain, and to-day we are obtaining an even larger supply.

Grass, however, is comparatively scarce, and the water is by no means

good. Cattle, as usual, are in abundance. We are going on again to-morrow,

and shall reach the camp beyond Antalo in two days. I hear very good

accounts of the state of the supplies there, and am told that we have

bought, in addition to grain, &c., considerable quantities of flour and

bread.

This is by far the most satisfactory intelligence we have yet received

since we landed in Abyssinia, and if these supplies continue to come in,

it will very greatly shorten the duration of our campaign. The great

question is to accumulate supplies sufficient for us to march to Magdala.

As long as we have to consume the supplies the mules bring up, the process

of accumulation must be a very long one. Flour and meat are the only two

articles of diet which are of material weight. The preserved vegetables,

tea, sugar, and salt, amount together to under six ounces per diem per

man; and one mule would therefore carry the rations of 500 men of these

articles. When we reach Antalo and join the advanced force our number will

not exceed 1200 Europeans, and 50 mules will carry three weeks’ rations

for them, exclusive of meat, which we can always purchase, flour, and rum.

At present the ration of rum is one drachm a day, but it is possible that

at any moment this may be stopped; and it is at all events probable that

no rum will be carried beyond Antalo. If, therefore, we can purchase flour

and meat along the march, and the Europeans of the advance force number

3000, we shall only require six mules a day to carry their rations, or 186

mules for a month’s supply. Of course this calculation will not hold good

for our journey, as it is most improbable that we shall succeed in getting

flour or bread along the road; but if we can only buy sufficient

quantities for our consumption while we are stopping at Antalo, it will be

an immense relief to the transport-train. The native bread is not at all

bad. It is baked in cakes about an inch thick and eight inches in

diameter. It is dark in colour, and sometimes sour; but I have tasted some

as good bread as one could wish to eat. The price I have paid here is a

dollar for five of these loaves, weighing about a pound and a half each.

Wood is very scarce, a dollar being charged for four bundles of sticks

weighing under ten pounds a bundle.

The pause of to-day is made partly to enable the artillery to repair a

wheel of one of their store-wagons, which broke in coming down the last

descent, partly to rest the animals, which now, after four days’ work,

greatly needed a day’s rest. We require more cavalry with us. The 3d

Native Cavalry have had tremendously hard work; what with marching and

picket-duty, the men never get more than two nights in the week in bed,

and sometimes not more than one. It is surprising how the animals, with so

great an amount of work and with insufficient food, keep in such good

condition as they are at present. All the animals will, however, be

improved by a short stay at Antalo.

The weather has very much changed since we left Ad Abaga. We have a strong

and really cold north-wind blowing all day, and between five and eight

o’clock of an evening it is most cutting. At night it drops; and the

temperature is then not so cold as it was either at Senafe or Attegrat.

The natives generally are affected with coughs and colds; and the amount

of coughing which goes on at night in the vicinity of our tent is both

astonishing and disagreeable.

Sir Charles Staveley came up from Zulla, and joined us on the day of our

leaving Ad Abaga. He has taken command of the advanced brigade. I hear

that, owing to the quantities of stores taken up by the trains which

accompanied General Collings’s column and our own, the supplies at Senafe

and other places along the line were very low; so much so, that the troops

who were ordered up have been kept back at Zulla until further stores

could be accumulated. I trust that by this time a large stock has been

collected at Senafe, as Captain Griffiths, who commanded the portion of

the transport-train which went forward with General Collings’s column, has

just passed downward with his mules to fetch up another supply.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Antalo, March 4th.

When I wrote, four days since, from Doullo, I mentioned that we had news

of flour and other stores being purchased in considerable quantities at

Antalo, and that if supplies continued to come in, the prospects of the

expedition would be altogether changed. But I certainly did not anticipate

that we should be able to advance from here under three weeks or a month.

Two days before we arrived here, indeed, there were rumours of a much

earlier move than had been anticipated; and an order was issued that in

all probability we should be compelled to go forward without either rum,

tea, or sugar. Of course everyone is prepared to make great sacrifices,

and to submit to every hardship which may be absolutely necessary. Every

reduction of kit, the dismissal of the native followers, and the

diminution of carriage, has been received not only without a murmur, but

with actual satisfaction by everyone. The reductions were felt to be

necessary; for in no other way would it be possible to penetrate this

inhospitable country. It was considered probable that beyond Lât we should

have to go without tents, and with only a blanket and one change of

clothes; and I have not heard an expression of repugnance or complaint at

the prospect: but this order to proceed without rum, tea, or sugar, was

received with the gravest dissatisfaction by men and officers of all

ranks. It was not as a matter of comfort that it was objected to, but as a

matter of health. Rum is an article difficult of carriage, and can be

dispensed with; sugar also might be done without; but tea is upon a

campaign like this an absolute necessity, if the men are to have no rum.

It is not that the tea is nice, for it certainly is not; it is positively

nasty. It bears no resemblance whatever to the herb we drink in England as

tea; at the same time it is an absolute essential. The mornings and nights

are very cold; the troops are on the move at half-past five in the

morning, when everything is saturated with dew; they are hard at work all

day; their picket-duty is very severe; and to give them with their

breakfast in the morning and their supper at the end of their day’s work

nothing but cold water to drink, was simply to send the whole army into

hospital. Were the water good, the results might not have been so

disastrous, but it is almost always drawn from stagnant pools, and is the

reverse of wholesome. Officers generally drink the water only after

filtering, but the men never think of taking the trouble. Boiling the

water is no doubt even superior in its effect to filtering it; but the men

would certainly not boil the water if they had nothing to put in it. They

would drink nothing but impure water, which in a country where the changes

in temperature are so great and so sudden as they are here, would most

certainly bring on dysentery in a very short time. The privation of their

rum would in itself be much felt among the men. They have all been some

years in India, where rum forms part of a soldier’s regular ration. They

are accustomed to its use, and no doubt would feel somewhat its sudden

privation. Had they been troops fresh from England, it would have mattered

comparatively little. Our adjutant-general, Colonel Thesiger, is a total

abstainer; I believe that is the polite expression for a teetotaller. Of

course his theory is, that men are much better without spirits; and the

present will be a great opportunity for testing the effects of a Maine

Law. I believe, however, that officers and men would give up their rum and

their sugar without a murmur where tea is but allowed them; but I am sure

that bad water alone will lay up half the troops. Nor will there be any

saving in carriage by leaving tea behind. We shall have to take a greater

weight of medicines than we should of the tea. The reason given for thus

leaving behind what everyone feels to be, bad as it is, the most precious

portion of our stores, was, that we can procure any amount of native

carriage, but that the natives will only carry flour and grain, and refuse

to undertake the carriage of rum, sugar, and tea, partly because of the

greater responsibility, and partly because of the shape of the barrels and

casks, which are inconvenient to pack upon the little oxen and donkeys.

Everyone asks, Have we, then, no carriage of our own? Have we no available

transport-mules besides those carrying the tents? One mule will carry from

150 to 200 pounds weight, which would give 500 men their day’s ration of

tea. The advance brigade will not contain much over 3000 men, and

consequently fifty mules will carry two months’ rations of tea for them;

and it is an extraordinary thing if, out of the 15,000 baggage-animals in

the transport-train, fifty cannot be spared to carry an article which

everyone feels to be all-important both for the health and comfort of the

troops. I am sure that Sir Robert Napier himself consented with the

greatest reluctance to the proposition, and that he shares in the general

satisfaction which is experienced at the report that the commissariat find

that some of the natives are consenting to take on tea, if it is packed in

skins or in stout bags, and that therefore a proportion of tea will at any

rate be taken on.

I began this letter by saying that the news of the purchase of flour and

grain would, if true, completely change the whole prospect of the

expedition. I am happy to say that the news we heard is now more than

verified, and that the commissariat are purchasing at the rate of 12,000

lbs. or 14,000 lbs. of flour a day. In addition to this, they are buying

sufficient bread for the daily consumption of the troops. Very large

convoys of native baggage-animals have also come in during the last few

days, and we find ourselves with two months’ provision of all kinds, and

four months’ provision of flour already in hand for the whole of the

advanced division. This is a more forward state of things than I expected

to have seen in another two months, and entirely alters the prospect of

the campaign. Had we found the same dearth of food here which we

experienced all along the line, we must have waited so long that it would

have been an impossibility to have returned before the rain. Now there is

a chance of our so doing.

Sanguine spirits even mention the 1st of April as the probable day for

reaching Magdala. If we are there at the end of the first week in April,

we shall, should Theodore await us and no hitch occur, start upon our

return march by the 15th, pass through this place by the 7th of May, and

be at Zulla in another month, that is, before the rains begin. I have,

however, seen so many unforeseen obstacles, so many unavoidable delays

occur since we first landed, that I cannot put any faith in this sudden

express speed. When we arrived here two days since, the intention was that

we should march on the 6th. I hear that our advance is now postponed, at

any rate, until the 9th; and I should not be surprised if we were here for

a week after that date. The fact is, no one knows anything whatever about

the roads in front of us. All travellers, with one exception, who have

journeyed here have turned to the right at Antalo, and have gone down the

valley to Socota. The one exception is Dr. Krapf, and his report of the

road is far too vague to be of any practical utility. It only requires a

look to the southward of this camp to give us a notion of the country we

are going to travel through. A chain of rugged mountains with peak rising

beyond peak extends in an unbroken line. Over or through them we have

somehow to get, and at present we know next to nothing about them.

A pioneer force of two companies of the 33d, some of the Beloochees, some

Punjaub pioneers, sappers, and miners, and the Scinde horse have gone on

ahead to make roads, and the reports we have at present received from them

are the reverse of favourable.

Lât is our next halting-place; and until we hear that the road to that

place is practicable for mules, it is no use advancing from here, where we

are living upon the country and consuming no stores.

I now return to the narrative of our march here. From Doullo to Icullot

was only an eight-miles’ march across a by-no-means difficult country. The

next march on to this place was twelve miles, and the country was very

undulating; but such an excellent road had been made by the advanced

brigade that the mules had no difficulty whatever in crossing it. This

road was better than anything we have traversed since we left Senafe. The

Commander-in-chief, however, did not go by the same route, but turned off

to visit Chalicote, a considerable town lying a little distance out of the

line of march.

Chalicote is more prettily situated than any town we have hitherto seen.

It lies in a well-wooded valley. The church is in precisely the same style

as that at Attegrat, with frescoes drawn apparently by the same hand. I so

fully described the church at Attegrat, that any details respecting this

would be superfluous.

The Chief was accompanied by some of his staff, and by Mr. Holmes, of the

British Museum, who had hoped to acquire some old manuscripts there,

especially as he had heard of one said to be of great value, and bound in

silver gilt. It turned out, however, to be quite modern; and up to the

present time Mr. Holmes, although he has been indefatigable in his search,

has not succeeded in finding any manuscript of great antiquity; he has,

however, heard of some at a place a little distant from our line of march,

which he hopes to acquire upon our return, and which, if they correspond

to the description given of them, will be of very great value. It was

hardly to be expected that, skirting as the line of march does upon the

very edge of the table-land of Abyssinia—a portion of the country remote

from the principal towns, and exposed to the constant devastation of

border warfare—any remains of very great antiquity would be met with. Had

our course led through Axoum, which was the capital of that strange Greek

possession of which Adulis or Zulla was the seaport, we might have

expected some interesting discoveries to have taken place. There is yet a

possibility that we may see Axoum; for although, if there is any chance of

getting out of the country before the rainy season, we shall of course

make every effort to get back in time, there is a rumour that, if we are

obliged to pass the wet season here, a portion of the force will go back

by Axoum and Adowa.

This camp is called Antalo, but it is a mere name of courtesy, like that

of a good many English railway-stations. It is nearly six miles from the

town of Antalo, going by the most direct and most difficult road; eight

miles fully by the more accessible path. The position of Antalo was

certainly selected more with a view to its defensibility than for its

convenience. It lies upon a small undulating plain six or seven hundred

feet above the general level of the valley, and at the foot of a very

lofty and precipitous hill which rises nearly sheer up fifteen hundred

feet above it. This hill is accessible only at one or two places, and

walls are built across them; so that it forms a safe retreat for the

inhabitants of Antalo in the event of their being attacked by a superior

force. This hill fortress is called Amba Antalo. A position such as this

is no unnecessary protection in this part of the country, for Antalo lies

at the very edge of the territory of the warlike Gallas. These tribes,

whenever their harvest is a bad one, gather together and make a foray upon

the villages of the plain, and sweep off crops and cattle. Everywhere on

the plain are ruined villages, which attest the frequency and ferocity of

these forays; and Antalo itself has evidently, and at no very distant

time, contained four times as large a population as it does at present. I

rode over there the day before yesterday to the weekly fair.

I described fully the market at Attegrat in a former letter; and as this

was precisely the same scene upon a rather larger scale, I have little to

add to what I then said. Very large quantities of flour were brought in,

and the commissariat secured a considerable supply. Numbers of mules,

donkeys, and cattle were also there. The small-goods market too was

crowded, and herbs and grain of all sorts—onions, chillies, cloth, and

most of the other articles I mentioned as having seen at Attegrat—were

here, with the exception only of pumpkins, of which I did not see a single

specimen. I, however, bought three pounds of coffee, which I look upon as

a great prize, as it will be a change from the excessively bitter herb

termed by courtesy tea. The commissariat have purchased a considerable

quantity of coffee, and I am told we shall find it much more plentiful as

we go forward. This will be a very great boon for the men.

I think that the people here are more merry and full of fun than those at

Attegrat; they enter, or rather attempt to enter, into conversation much

more freely, and really seem anxious to do anything for one. I had at

least a dozen of them yesterday all talking together, and endeavouring to

make out what I wanted to find out about some small packets of lead-ore

which were used as a medium of exchange. It was a rich flaky ore,

containing quite eighty per cent of lead, and marking paper freely. I was

very desirous of finding out which part of the country it came from; but

neither my pantomime nor the united endeavours of the lookers-on to

understand me availed to elicit the required information.

During my progress through the country I have not seen any sign of mineral

ground, with the exception of some very rich samples of ironstone. During

the last three or four days’ march the formation has changed several times

from sandstone to a hard blue limestone, and _vice versâ_. On the faces of

these bare hills it would be easy even at a distance to detect the change

of colour or the rising ridges which generally indicate the existence of a

vein of mineral; but, as I have said, although I have carefully examined

the country as I passed through it, I have seen no mineral indication

whatever.

To return to the fair. The scene, as at Attegrat, was very amusing; and

the attitude of the groups—the women sitting about everywhere with their

baskets, the men leaning upon their spears, the cattle standing about in

groups—the whole scene reminded me strongly of an Irish fair, barring only

the absence of the friendly pig, with his agonised shriek of expostulation

and disgust.

Antalo consists of four or five villages, each standing upon the summits

of small rises. They were formerly connected together, and even now are

surrounded by ruined huts. The last blow Antalo suffered was three years

ago, when it was attacked by the Gallas, incited and led by a rebel

against Kassa, named Waldo Yasus. Both Antalo and the villages on the

plains suffered greatly at that time; and a terrible attack of cholera,

which swept over the country shortly afterwards, completed their ruin. The

houses have all high conical roofs, thatched with rushes. Each house has a

courtyard surrounded by a high wall. The women here are less picturesque

in dress and less pleasing in feature than those of Attegrat. Their

morality is lax in the extreme. “A virtuous woman is a crown to her

husband:” I fear there are very few crowned heads in Abyssinia. I had left

my horse at the foot of the ascent from the plain up to Attegrat, and had

walked the last two miles. It was a very hot day, and one of our first

inquiries upon reaching the fair was for “tedge.” We were conducted to

what answered to a public-house. Here we entered, and passing through a

sort of outer passage, found ourselves in almost outer darkness. It was

some time before we could see sufficiently to avail ourselves of the

invitation to be seated, but presently descried two seats or couches,

built up of stone and covered with skins. The room was semicircular in

form, and very lofty, going up to the thatched roof, which was lined with

bamboo; on either side were small chambers, which appeared devoted to

miscellaneous purposes; for after we had been some minutes in the place,

and were able to see a little, we made out that a donkey was standing

placidly at the door of one of these chambers, and that a goat and a

fireplace were the principal articles of furniture in the other. The walls

of the room were smoothly plastered, and as an abode it no doubt possessed

the advantage of coolness, even in the hottest weather. Tedge, as I have

before said, is a liquor made from fermented honey and water, with herbs,

and tastes like a mixture of small beer and lemonade made from mouldy

lemons, and was brought in in a flask very like a Lucca oil-flask, but

rather flatter, and with a larger neck. From the neck of this flask we

drank by turns; and as it did not hold more than half a pint, and as we

were four in number and the day was hot, we demanded more. It seems that

no more was strained; so a large jar was brought, the wife of the

proprietor put a fold of her very dirty garment over its mouth, and

strained the liquor through it into the flask, and we drank it. In calmer

moments and in other climes, it is probable that we should not have done

so—probable even that a feeling of sickness would have overpowered us. I

am happy to say, however, that the army in Abyssinia has altogether

overcome any feeling of squeamishness. I have seen some rum drank in which

several cockroaches had committed suicide; and I have assisted to eat

honey which was black with ants whose appetites had caused their untimely

death. As for cooking, I confess that I avoid the cooking-fires. I have

seen sights which have tried my philosophy to the utmost, and am now quite

content to eat the very excellent dinners our servants prepare from

rations, and not to think of the processes the meat has undergone. My

tent-companion and myself pride ourselves much upon our cooks. They are

two Goa Portuguese, and are, we flatter ourselves, beyond all comparison

the best cooks in camp. Their soups are excellent, their cutlets the best

I ever tasted, their preserved potatoes, baked in cakes, delicious. They

sent up birds in as good a style as I can get them in a London club. Their

pumpkin-pie—when we could get pumpkins—was the talk of camp; the fame of

their baked sheep’s head, with brain cutlets, came to the ears of Sir

Robert Napier himself. Imagine, then, our feelings, when the stern decree

was emanated—all native servants whatever are to be sent away; each

officer is to carry 75 lb. of luggage, including bed, cooking-utensils,

and plates and dishes; and three officers are to be allotted to each

bell-tent. Heads of departments only are to be allowed a bell-tent between

two. At first we had believed that this order did not apply to us; that

having our own baggage-animals, and providing our forage, &c. at our own

cost, and the tent being our own property, we thought that it was a matter

which concerned no one but ourselves as to what or who we took on with us.

But we were deceived. Quartermaster-generals, eager to effect the greatest

possible cutting down, had their eyes upon the special correspondents and

the scientific gentlemen who accompany the camp; and we were officially

informed that we must be amenable to the same rules as others. We pointed

out that we found our own carriage, and therefore that the weight we

carried mattered to no one; but were sternly informed that if we purchased

grain for our animals, there was so much the less available for the public

service. To a certain extent this was true; and so we said that we were

ready to go on with the weight that other officers were allowed, but that

the tent in the first place was our own, and that it would be quite

impossible for three men to write in a tent together. We were ready,

therefore, to carry less than the permitted 75 lbs. of baggage, in order

to have half a tent each; so that our total kit, including tent, would not

exceed the prescribed 140 lbs. Our friends in the quartermaster department

were quite unable to grant us this request, and it was only upon a

personal application to Sir Robert Napier that we gained our point, as,

upon our stating the case, he at once consented to our retaining our own

tent to ourselves. The next question was that of servants. “All servants

to be sent back, a grass-cutter only being allowed for each horse.” At

first we thought we should be obliged to send our servants back.

Fortunately, however, a grass-cutter is allowed for each horse; and as we

have each two horses, we have retained our cooks under the title of

grass-cutters for our second horses. We are not singular in our

management, and there are very few staff-officers who have not managed in

some such manner to retain their servants. The fact is, that a rule of

this sort bears very much more hardly upon a staff-officer, or a civilian

living as we are, than it does upon a regimental officer. A

soldier-servant is allotted to each officer upon application, and

regimental officers who pick handy men from their own companies, and who

live three in a tent, have their three soldier-servants between them as

usual. It is far otherwise with a staff-officer: he may obtain a

soldier-servant from a regiment; but that soldier does not know him, and

will not work for him as he will for his own officer. In the next place,

the soldier has certain regimental work to do, which will take him away

from his master’s tent for a considerable portion of the day; and lastly,

a staff-officer is liable to be sent away on duty from the camp where the

regiment to which his servant belongs is stationed. In our own case a

soldier-servant would be useless; we might wish at any moment to push on

to the pioneer force, or to accompany the Commander-in-chief upon a short

expedition, and we should then be left without any servant whatever. At

any rate, the order is generally evaded. Were it not that two months must

elapse before a copy of this letter can come out to us, I should not speak

so freely upon this point, as we should be having a special committee of

officers of the quarter-master-general’s department assembling to consider

the question of “evasion of the general order relating to servants by

officers and civilians attached to the army.”

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Antalo, March 7th.

I am happy to say that Major Minion, of the commissariat, arrived here

early this morning with a large convoy, carrying among other stores a

large quantity of rum; and it is now finally decided that a certain

quantity of both rum and tea shall be served out daily to the troops on

the advance. This happy state of things has been principally brought about

by the energetic remonstrances of all the medical officers, and by their

representation of the disastrous effect which the sudden privation of tea

and rum would have upon the health of the troops, especially under the

circumstances of the water being so bad. Sir Robert Napier himself was, I

know, most averse to so extreme a measure; and nothing but the most urgent

feeling of the necessity of pushing on in the lightest and most speedy

manner could have induced him to consent to it; and I am sure that he is

as pleased as anyone that he is able to continue the issue of what are

really essentials to the soldiers.

It is still intended that we shall march on the 9th instant; indeed,

orders were issued for a forward movement for both yesterday and to-day.

The orders were, however, countermanded, for the road is not practicable

for more than one day’s march. As to the state of the road beyond, we

receive contradictory reports. Colonel Phayre, with his usual happy,

sanguine way of seeing things, states, I hear, that it is not a very bad

road; while the engineer officer, on the other hand, reports that it will

require a great deal of work to make it practicable for baggage-animals,

especially for the elephants with the guns. The reason why the order was

given for the troops to march forward at once was, that Colonel Phayre

sent in to say that Waldo Yasus, the destroyer of Antalo, had sent in to

say that he should oppose our passage. It caused quite an excitement for a

time. But I learn to-day that Brigadier-general Field, who commands the

pioneer forces, has sent in a letter to say that the whole thing is a

mistake, and that Waldo Yasus is perfectly friendly, and that some of the

Scindees have already gone on.

M. Munzinger, whose name I have frequently had occasion to mention as

French consul at Massowah, and as accompanying the force as political

adviser and interpreter, has gone on ahead on a mission to Gobayze. M.

Munzinger has been some years in the country; he has married an Abyssinian

woman, and owns villages and land near here. He is therefore well known to

the natives, speaks their language, and is in every respect very well

fitted for an expedition of this sort. On the other hand, there is some

dissatisfaction among members of the staff, who say that an officer ought

to have been selected for a mission of such importance, and should of

course have been accompanied by an interpreter. It is urged, too, that the

French look with great jealousy at our proceedings, and that their

interests are totally opposed to our own; and that therefore a gentleman,

however eligible in other respects, who is a French official should not

have been intrusted with so important a mission. From all I have heard of

M. Munzinger, I think there need be no objection upon the latter score;

but I confess that I agree with those who think that a British

officer—Major Grant, for instance—ought to have gone as our ambassador, or

at least should have accompanied M. Munzinger. M. Munzinger was, I

believe, sent forward by Colonel Merewether without Sir Robert Napier’s

knowledge. As M. Munzinger went forward, he had an interview with Waldo

Yasus, who expressed some little fear that we, as the friends of Kassa,

might intend to attack his amba, or fort, which stands on a lofty rock

immediately beside the defile through which we pass. M. Munzinger,

however, tranquillised him upon that score, and assured him that we should

in no way interfere with any dissensions in the country. Waldo expressed

himself as perfectly satisfied. M. Munzinger has now nearly reached Lake

Ashangi, and his report of the road is decidedly favourable.

The gentleman to whom this expedition is most greatly indebted, and who

has done infinitely more with the natives than the whole of our so-called

politicals and interpreters put together, is Mr. Speedy. I have already

mentioned that Mr. Speedy was sent for from New Zealand to accompany the

expedition, Sir Stafford Northcote having strongly recommended him to Sir

Robert Napier. The summons arrived somewhat unexpectedly to Mr. Speedy,

for he had already written to Colonel Merewether volunteering his

services, which had been declined by that officer. Mr. Speedy, however,

came off in three days after he received General Napier’s communication.

His services here have been simply invaluable. Almost every useful

negotiation with the natives has been conducted by him. He speaks the

language exceedingly well, and is unwearied in his work. He hears

complaints, receives chiefs, and is in fact at present our great medium of

communication with the natives. He may be said to have completely

extinguished the little light of our former politicals. Unquestionably he

would have been the man to have sent to Gobayze; but even had not Colonel

Merewether sent off his emissary, M. Munzinger, without consulting Sir

Robert Napier, the Commander-in-chief would not have parted with Mr.

Speedy, who is now his right-hand in all his communications with the

natives. Among the other stores which have arrived to-day is some tobacco.

The quantity is quite insufficient for the wants of the troops during

their advance; but even a small supply per man will be a very great boon,

for at present there is hardly any tobacco left among them. Even the

officers’ supplies are beginning to run short, and they as well as the men

will soon be reduced to smoke the country tobacco, which is a disgusting

mixture of tobacco and cow-dung formed into flat cakes.

The generals of the advanced force are Brigadier-general Field (who has

only just been promoted), who commands the pioneer force;

Brigadier-general Schneider, who has the first brigade; and

Brigadier-general Wilby the second. Brigadier-general Collings, who has

hitherto commanded the advanced brigade, is to be left behind here. This

has naturally given rise to very strong comment. General Collings is far

senior in the service to any of the men who have been thus chosen for the

post of honour, and he has seen probably as much active service as the

other three officers together. He is in every respect an excellent soldier

and a most popular man; and there is a general feeling that his being thus

passed over is a most undeserved slight, to put it in the mildest form.

There is another reason why he should have certainly formed part of the

advance. The first division is composed almost entirely of Europeans; and

yet two out of the three officers chosen are Indian officers who have

never commanded an English soldier during the whole of their service.

General Collings has not, as far as I have heard, in any way neglected his

duty; and his case is a matter of regret and sympathy with every officer

with whom I have spoken—I mean, of course, outside the charmed pale of the

official circle.

The general health of the troops continues excellent. There have been a

few cases of dysentery, but the hospitals are all but empty.

Antalo is low, that is, in comparison with some of the places we have

marched through: it is little over 6000 feet above the sea, that is, 3000

feet lower than Ad Abaga. The nights are consequently much milder than

those we have lately experienced. The sun is hot between eight and ten in

the morning; but at the latter hour a breeze springs up, which continues

to blow with violence all day, and renders the heat of the sun, which

would otherwise be great, bearable and even pleasant. The spirit of the

troops is no less good than their health. Men who were marching up with

the first wings of the 4th and 33d would suffer anything from sore feet

rather than say a word on the subject, lest they should be left behind.

One case of this illustrates the feeling even more strongly. The day upon

which we marched out from Attegrat, three of the men of the 4th in some

way obtained some liquor, and were convicted of drunkenness upon the line

of march. This is a serious military offence, punishable by fifty lashes;

but Colonel Cameron told them that, as they were all good-conduct men, he

would only punish them by sending them back to the wing behind. The men

all came forward and requested as a favour to be flogged instead of being

left behind. Nothing could speak in stronger terms for the spirit of the

troops than this. I am glad to say that, in consideration of their

previous good conduct, Colonel Cameron felt himself enabled to pardon

them. This fact, in itself, is a better answer to those who argue for the

abolition of corporal punishment in the army than a hundred pamphlets

would be. The only cogent reason of any force which the objectors to

corporal punishment can allege is, that it degrades a soldier in his own

eyes, and that he is good for nothing afterwards. Now, this is not the

case. I have at various times spoken to hundreds of soldiers on the

subject, and their answer is almost invariably the same: “It is not the

punishment in which is the disgrace; it is the crime. If a man is flogged

for stealing, he gets it thrown in his teeth afterwards that he has been

flogged for being a thief; but if he gets a drop too much, and perhaps is

impudent to a sergeant or officer, he may be flogged, but he will never

have it brought up against him as a disgrace afterwards.” The present

instance proves this. These three soldiers, all good-conduct men, who had

seen seven years of service, all considered that there would be much

greater disgrace in being sent to the rear than in being flogged.

There is not very much shooting in this neighbourhood; a few guinea-fowls

and grouse, and an occasional hare, have been bagged, but even these are

scarce. As for the wild-beasts, of which we were to see so much, they

simply are not. The rhinoceroses, who were to dispute the passage of the

defiles; the alligators and hippopotami, who were to lurk around the

watering-places, and to render the fetching a jug of water a service of as

great danger as was the drawing a goblet from the enchanted fountain in

our dear old fairy tales,—all these monsters are unknown here. We hear of

lions, indeed, but somehow they are never found in the parts of the

country we traverse. The hyena and jackal are the only animals met with

which could, even by courtesy, be called wild-beasts. These, indeed,

swarm; and their numerous holes are a serious hindrance and danger to

riders; beyond this they are harmless, and one would as soon think of

shooting a fox as a jackal. Sportsmen are seriously disappointed; almost

everyone has brought out either rifle or gun, and many have carried both.

Now, when our luggage is limited to seventy-five pounds, the weight of

even one rifle, with its bullet-mould and a good stock of lead and powder,

is a very material consideration; and, after the sacrifice of many little

comforts to retain the rifle, it is very hard to find that it is quite

useless. There is still a faint hope that we may find large game near the

Ashangi Lake; but, considering that it is over 5000 feet above the sea, I

can hardly think it is likely that we shall find any large game there,

except perhaps elephants. The owners of fowling-pieces are better off.

There have been few camping-grounds where a good shot might not get a

guinea-fowl or two in an hour’s ramble; and a guinea-fowl well cooked is

one of the best game birds I know. Powder and shot are very valuable;

indeed, they cannot be bought at any price, unless one is fortunate enough

to find some one who, in the readjustment of his baggage, finds that he

cannot possibly carry on all his stock of ammunition.

The plains here are singularly devoid of flowers: I never travelled in any

country, indeed, where there was such a complete absence of wild-flowers;

excepting, of course, the little watered dells, which I have described in

previous letters. There is one solitary sort of flower, however, which I

have met with in the plains in the neighbourhood, and which differs from

any I ever saw before: it is a pea. The flower is of the size and colour

of the “everlasting-pea;” but, instead of growing as a climber, the flower

grows upon its own stalk from the ground. These flowers grow in clusters;

but there are no leaves or stems, with the exception of the flower-stalk

itself, three or four inches in height. The flower has a scent exactly

resembling that of a violet, but less powerful: the seed is contained in a

long, narrow pod, like that of a wallflower.

Scorpions are rather abundant here; and so, I am sorry to say, are white

ants. It is not that one has any peculiar objection to white ants. They

are certainly repulsive-looking insects, with their flabby white bodies

and their big yellow heads, but that is of little consequence; and if they

would but content themselves with walking about the tents and climbing

over everything, as do other ants, together with spiders of every size,

and a few beetles, one would not wish to interfere with their pleasures.

Unfortunately they will not amuse themselves in this harmless way: they

shun the light, and work in darkness, and their work consists in eating

holes in the bottom of one’s portmanteau, or in the waterproof-sheet under

one’s bed, or one’s saddles, or books, or anything else which may come

handy to them.

Now, as we are going to leave most of our portmanteaus and luggage here

until we return, this propensity of theirs becomes a grave inconvenience.

I fancy that we shall find our luggage, when we return, in a very

dilapidated condition. There is only one satisfaction,—our clothes are

rapidly getting into a state beyond which even white ants can effect

little further damage.

The remaining wing of the 4th Regiment arrived two days ago, and the

second wing of the 33d marched in this morning. We have therefore all the

troops now collected in readiness for the forward move, with the exception

only of a portion of the Beloochees, the 3d Dragoon Guards, and the

elephants with the six-inch mortars; together with the elephants to carry

Murray’s guns. All these will, it is said, be here in two or three days.

There is another thing of some slight importance lacking: this is money.

The commissariat have purchased such enormous quantities of flour and

other stores, that the money brought up is exhausted. Fortunately another

treasure-convoy is expected in a day or two.

This morning, at a quarter to six, General Staveley had all the troops out

for a field-day. A deserted village upon a rising ground was attacked and

carried in excellent style; but the manœuvres would have no interest to a

general reader beyond those of any garrison field-day.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Antalo, March 11th.

When Colonel Phayre went ahead on the day of our arrival at Antalo, and

reported that the road was rather bad, but not impracticable, every one

looked at the range of peaks ahead of us and had serious misgivings. An

order was issued for our march upon the 7th, and a party of pioneers were

sent on to clear away any slight obstacles which might occur. The report

of their commanding officer as to the state of the road was most

unfavourable, and a wing of the 33d were sent out to assist. In

consequence of the reports which came in, the march was postponed to the

9th, and Captain Macgregor, of the quartermaster’s department, was sent

out to report. On the evening of the 8th a joint report from this officer

and Captain Goodfellow, of the Engineers, was received. It stated, “that

they knew nearly every pass in India, but that in their experience they

had met nothing whatever to compare to this defile, and that the Sooro

pass was child’s-play in comparison. With the 800 men at work, it would,

they calculated, take another ten days’ labour to make it practicable for

mules.” All this time Colonel Phayre was still in front, but his reports

gave us no idea of the true state of things. In the mean time we were

receiving reports from Mr. Munzinger, who, as I stated in my last, had

gone ahead to see Gobayze, and he said that the road, although difficult

in places, was by no means bad. Of course, on the receipt of the reports

of Captains Macgregor and Goodfellow, the march was again postponed.

Everyone was indignant. Sir Robert Napier, I have reason to know, was more

indignant than anyone, for his heart is set upon getting onward as fast as

possible. On the 9th arrived an officer from the front, with the

astounding intelligence that he had just ridden down the other road, which

was known to exist; that it was six miles shorter; it passed over the

mountain range at a point 1500 feet lower than the other, and presented

throughout its whole distance no serious difficulties whatever. This it

appeared, was the very route that Munzinger had travelled, and the

discrepancies between his accounts and the real state of things were at

once explained. At first the news was received with absolute incredulity.

It seemed impossible that the quartermaster-general could have kept the

troops at work for a week upon an impracticable road, when a good one lay

ready at hand. The road, too, which Colonel Phayre had not explored is

called the Royal road, which in itself was sufficient to show that it was

the best and most frequented of the two. But the fact was, our political

officer had heard that a rebel chief had a fortress upon this road; the

same chief whom I mentioned in my last as having been reported by Colonel

Phayre as opposing our way. The man really is perfectly friendly, and was

at first rather more afraid of us than our quartermaster-general was of

him. However, the mere fact of his being there was assumed to be a good

reason for our not taking the road. And so a precious week has been

wasted, and all the labour thrown away. The new road is, of course, not

yet passable for the elephants with the heavy guns, but Sir Robert will

push on with the 4th Regiment and the steel guns, and the 33d and the

pioneer force will set to work and get it in order for the rest of the

force as soon as possible. It is not often that we find a pioneer force

engaged in making a road after the head-quarters and part of the army have

gone by. Our first march is only eight miles. The distance thence up the

pass is nineteen. I believe that the troops will do it in two days, but

that Sir Robert Napier, with an escort, will go straight through to

Attala, in order to judge for himself of the real state of things.