Our items of news from the rear are but of slight general interest.

Captain St. John reports, I am told, that the natives have ceased to

damage the telegraph-wires; but as a _per-contra_, he says that the wires

are frequently broken by the baboons, who climb up the poles, and hang on

the wires by their tails. I am assured that this is an absolute fact. One

of the mule-drivers near Attegrat shot a native the other day. The man,

who was armed with a gun, attempted to rob the mule; but the driver

resisted, wrenched the gun from his hand, and shot him. The robber is not

dead, but lies in a precarious state. The lesson was greatly required; but

instead of being rewarded for his conduct, the mule-driver got a dozen

lashes! I hope that the next driver whose mule is attacked will allow it

to be looted, and that the functionary who has just so ably instructed

mule-drivers not to defend the public property will be ordered to pay the

cost of the stores stolen. Tents have been erected here for the reception

of such luggage as cannot be carried on under the present regulations. I

sent my portmanteau in this morning, and had the pleasure when moving it

of finding that the white ants had eaten a large hole in the bottom. I do

not expect to find any remains of it, or of its contents, upon my return.

Captain Moore, the Commander-in-chief’s interpreter, has gone on ahead to

pacify the local chiefs, and to assure them that we have no intention of

molesting them. No better man could have been selected for the office.

Captain Moore speaks almost every known language, and has had as much

experience of native potentates as any man living. Major Grant has gone on

to Attala, to buy provisions, &c. An officer of his African experience and

standing would have been far better employed as an ambassador to King

Gobayze; while bargaining with natives would have been much more in

accordance with Mr. Munzinger’s experience and powers. Some tobacco has

come up, and has been distributed among the troops, to their great

satisfaction. During the last few days the troops have been exercised in

turning out rapidly on the alarm being sounded. The sentries have, too,

been placed and instructed as if in front of an enemy, who might at any

moment make a night attack.

The natives here unanimously express their hopes and wishes that we should

take possession of the country and become their masters. Our style of

paying for everything we require has taken them entirely by surprise. It

is altogether contrary to their experience. There is no doubt that they

are extremely poor, and terribly ground down, and many of their very

numerous vices are, to a certain extent, excusable upon this score. They

are so poor that they will sell anything for dollars—their corn, their

flour, their donkeys, their cattle, their wives, or their daughters. They

are a terribly priest-ridden people. I should say that no people in the

world pay such extortionate dues. The priests claim two-fifths of the

gross produce; of the remainder one-third is claimed by the King; then

comes the local chief: so that finally the unfortunate cultivator gets

less than one-fifth of the crop he has raised. It is no wonder that the

people are poor, and that in times of drought, or when the locusts sweep

over the land, or the rebels, more destructive still, carry off crops and

herds and flocks, famine stalks through the land. There is no doubt that

our mastership would be an unmixed blessing to them, but it would

certainly be the very reverse of advantageous to ourselves. From our

landing at Zulla to the present time we have passed through a country more

barren than any I ever traversed. Except for grazing purposes it is

absolutely valueless. Here and there, in the valleys, are little patches

of cultivation by the side of the streams; but in the whole two hundred

miles we have passed through, looking east and west as far as the eye can

reach, I do not think that we have seen, in all, five hundred acres of

cultivated land. Taking the two hundred miles north and south by, say, ten

miles east and west—in all, two thousand square miles—I would not take the

fee-simple as a gift. I am not, of course, suggesting that the ground we

have traversed is to be taken as a fair sample of Abyssinia.

Unquestionably it is not so. It would be as fair to land in the north of

England, and to skirt the sea-coast, keeping on the Cumberland,

Westmoreland, Lancashire, Welsh, and Cornwall hills, and then to pronounce

England a sterile country. Still, by what we have seen, by the ranges of

mountain-summits discernible everywhere in the far west, it is evident

that a very large portion of Abyssinia is mere grazing-land; and it is

probable that the valleys and low-lying plains, which are extremely

fertile, would be unhealthy for European constitutions. Whatever ideas may

have been entertained at one time as to our taking possession of a country

so rich, so fertile, and so salubrious as this was represented to be, the

experience of this expedition must have entirely dispelled this notion.

The general aspect of the country is so bare, the fertile portions so

distant from the coast, the roads so impracticable, that any idea of

English colonisers settling here, as suggested by Mr. Dufton and others,

is simply preposterous; and in addition to all this, a very large force

would be required to keep a warlike and turbulent people in order. We see

by the English papers that “A British Taxpayer” has been writing

indignantly, demanding why two or three thousand men were not sufficient

for this paltry business. If the British Taxpayer had been out here, he

would not have asked such a question. British soldiers are by no means men

to overrate difficulties, or to hold their enemies at higher than their

real value. But the universal opinion here is, that we have not one man

too many in the country. The tribes of Shohos on the sea-coast; the King

of Tigre, who can summon 20,000 or 30,000 men to his banner; the fierce

Gallas, through whom we have still to pass,—all these have been, and

probably will be, friendly. But why? Simply because we are strong enough

to keep them in order. No one doubts for a moment that if they thought

that they were strong enough, they would fall upon us instantly for the

sake of plunder. If the three thousand men who, according to this critic,

would have been amply sufficient, could have been endowed with the

agreeable faculty of going for three months without food, and if their

horses had been similarly gifted, they would without doubt have been amply

sufficient. Three thousand British soldiers, as long as they keep together

in a compact body, could march from the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good

Hope. But, unfortunately, men and animals who can go for three months

without food are scarce in these degenerate days. Our experience here is

that, with the exception of meat, no food whatever is procurable between

Zulla and our present most advanced post, with the solitary exception of

Antalo. Grain for the animals is almost as scarce. We have bought small

quantities, indeed, at most of the stations, but we never get it for the

first few days after our arrival. It is only after we have been at a place

for a short time, and when the people find out how large a sum we pay for

it, that they bring in even small quantities. Then the problem would

present itself: these three thousand men must be fed. To be fed, they must

carry supplies with them. These supplies must be conveyed upon

baggage-animals. These baggage-animals must be fed. But there is no food

to be obtained as they march on direct. Therefore, it is evident that

dépôts must be formed, and these must be guarded; communication must be

kept up, roads must be made to some extent, for there are many places

perfectly impracticable for loaded animals. And so the three thousand men

would be frittered all over the country, and would be harassed to death by

overwork and watching, and it is certain they could never penetrate to

Magdala. Has a “Taxpayer” ever read the history of the French campaign in

Spain? Has he any idea of the number of hundred thousand men who marched

into that country, and of the numbers who returned to France? A very small

proportion of the deficit fell under British steel and lead. They were

accounted for by the peasantry. They died, shot down upon baggage-guard,

cut off when in search of provisions, surprised when in small parties,

harassed to death by overwork. Such would have been the fate of three

thousand men landing in Abyssinia. The people here are as brave as the

Spaniards, the country is beyond all comparison more difficult, and the

resources which, it offers to an invader are as nothing to those of Spain.

Our force, as it is now constituted, is sufficient to overawe the country,

and it is fortunate that it is so. For I say fearlessly, and there is not

an officer here who would not support me in that opinion, that if the

people were hostile, we could not even with our present force have ever

hoped to reach Magdala. It would have been a sheer impossibility. A mere

passive resistance, the driving away of flocks and herds, and the burning

of the grass, would have brought us to a standstill at Senafe; while the

bare idea of defending our communication, and guarding the enormous trains

required for our march of three hundred miles through a barren, hostile,

and most difficult country, is so supremely ridiculous as to be laughable.

The experiment of the three thousand men, had it been tried, would have

ended in a disaster such as, with the exception of Cabul, the British arms

have never experienced, and it must afterwards have been retrieved with a

force of three times the strength even of our present one, and at an

expenditure which might have taught even the “British Taxpayer” that penny

wisdom is an equivalent for pound foolishness.

A general order has just appeared regulating the whole distribution of the

troops; and as this is a final arrangement, it will no doubt be

interesting to all who have friends in the army here.

First Division.—Major-general Staveley, K.C.B., in command; Colonel Wood,

deputy-adjutant-general; Major Baigrie, deputy-quartermaster-general.

Pioneer Force: Brigadier-general Field. Troops: forty sabres 3d Native

Cavalry; forty Scinde Horse; 3d and 4th company Bombay Sappers and Miners;

two companies 33d Regiment; two companies Beloochees; one company Punjaub

Pioneers.

First Brigade, Brigadier-general Schneider.—Troops: Head-quarters wing 3d

Dragoon Guards, 3d Native Cavalry, Scinde Horse, G battery, 14, Royal

Artillery, A battery 21st company Royal Artillery, 4th King’s Own,

Head-quarters and eight companies 33d, 10th company Royal Engineers,

Head-quarters and two companies Beloochees, Head-quarters wing 10th Native

Infantry.

Second Brigade, Brigadier-general Wilby.—Wing of 12th Bengal Cavalry, B

battery 21st Royal Artillery, two 8-inch mortars, with detachment 5th

battery 25th Royal Artillery, Rocket Naval Brigade, K company Madras

Sappers, seven companies Punjaub Pioneers, wing of Beloochees.

It will thus be seen that the 1st Division consists of four entire

infantry regiments—the 4th, 33d, Beloochees, and Punjaub Pioneers—and a

wing of the 10th Native Infantry, of the 3d Native Cavalry, the Scinde

Horse, a wing of the Dragoon Guards, and a wing of the 12th Bengal

Cavalry, three batteries of Royal Artillery and two 8-inch mortars, and

three companies of Sappers and Miners and one company of Royal Engineers;

an admirably-selected force, and which, as long as it kept together, would

be invincible.

Another general order has also been promulgated, which I have very great

pleasure in giving, because it does full justice to a most meritorious and

hardworking body of officers. I have the more pleasure in giving

publication to the order, as it thoroughly indorses the opinion I have all

along stated that the transport officers were in no way to blame for the

confusion which took place at Zulla:

“General Order.—Head-quarters, Camp Antalo, March 4th.—The

Commander-in-chief has lately received from the Director Transport Train,

Abyssinia field force, a full and particular report of the service

rendered to the corps by the officers under his command. His Excellency

has perused this report with much satisfaction, and it is most gratifying

to him to find that, in spite of the numerous and extraordinary

difficulties with which the officers of the transport-train have had to

contend, and notwithstanding the hard and unceasing work they have had to

perform, they have, almost without exception, displayed an amount of

steady determination to do their best which is beyond all praise. The

Commander-in-chief begs to assure Major Warden and the officers under his

command that the work performed by them has not been overlooked, and shall

not be forgotten. His Excellency trusts that one and all will remember

that upon their individual exertions depends, in a great measure, the

success of the expedition. The transport-train, for reasons far beyond the

control of the officers belonging to it, has just commenced to assume that

military organisation so requisite to its well-being, and for want of

which at first it suffered so severely.... The Commander-in-chief is well

aware how much the services of the officers of the transport-train have

been depreciated, and how unfairly blame has been attached to them for

shortcomings beyond their control. His Excellency, however, assures them

that he has never for a moment lost confidence in them, nor has he ever

doubted that their exertions would eventually bring order and regularity

out of confusion and indiscipline.... All cannot of course work under the

eye of the Commander-in-chief, and comparatively few can accompany the

advanced force; but his Excellency will make no distinction when the

campaign is over between those who were in front and those who were

necessarily in the rear. All by good work can contribute materially to the

success of the campaign, and it will be by that standard, and by that

alone, that his Excellency will be guided when making hereafter his report

upon the services performed by the officers under his command.—By order of

his Excellency the Commander-in-chief. Fred. Thesiger, lieutenant-colonel,

deputy-adjutant-general.”

Never was liberal praise more deserved, and it will be most gratifying to

the men who have slaved and toiled almost night and day in the face of

every possible discouragement.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Meshech, March 14th.

We have advanced two days’ marches into the Abyssinian hills, and at every

step forward we see more clearly the difficulties with which we have to

struggle. The first day’s journey was to Musgee; an easy march of eight

miles across an undulating plain. At Musgee we found the two companies of

the 33d, two of the 10th Native Infantry, and the Sappers and Miners, who

constitute the pioneer force. They had just come in, recalled from the

hard and unprofitable labour in the defile, and now prepared to set to

work anew upon the new route. They report the pass as a tremendous defile,

and say that the detachment of Scinde Horse have lost no less than seven

horses either from falls or from over-fatigue. We were amused at the

natives who came round, and absolutely made fun of the soldiers for their

unsuccessful attempts at making roads in impassable places, when there was

a good road ready at hand. The head-quarters and the other three companies

of the 33d, and the company of the Punjaub Pioneers, were near the other

end of the defile, and they had orders to push straight on to Attala, and

begin to improve the road from the other end. At Musgee we had clear

running water, which was really enjoyable after the stagnant stuff we had

been drinking at Antalo. On the morning of the 13th Sir Robert Napier

started with his staff and an escort at seven o’clock. The rest of the

force left at ten precisely. The march was eight miles—a short distance

apparently; but when I state that a great number of the animals did not

arrive until eight in the evening, it will be at once seen that it was

very much harder work than it appears at first sight. The first three or

four miles of this road, or rather track, led along the hill-side, and

then as the valley narrowed in, and its sides became very precipitous, it

kept along the bottom. There we crossed and recrossed a little stream at

least a dozen times; and much of the delay and confusion was caused by

mules insisting upon stopping to drink, and thereby of course bringing the

whole line to a stop. This part of the march was by far the prettiest and

most English we have seen out here. We were travelling in a grove of

trees, with a thick underwood, except just where a path was cut wide

enough for a single mule to pass. A really good-sized streamlet of clear

water wound here and there, with quiet pools, and bright tumbling little

cascades. Under our feet was a cool greensward, over our heads a shady

screen of foliage. Imagine the charm of such a scene to us, who, except in

an occasional secluded dell, have scarcely seen a tree, or felt shade, or

heard the plash of falling water for months. How we should have liked to

have halted, and to have enjoyed the turf and the shade for an hour or

two! All our attention was required, however, for the work in hand, for in

many places we had very rough bits, and the wood-nymphs and dryads must

have been sorely startled at the shouting and tumult which arose in their

quiet shades. On each side of us the mountains rose to a great height,

crowned with perpendicular precipices, on one of which, seemingly

accessible only to a bird, was the stronghold of some border chief.

Presently the mountain sides receded a little, and we emerged into a small

plain. In the centre of this ran the stream, and by its side were some

very large trees, which I can best describe by saying they resemble oaks

with willow-leaves. Here we encamped.

The troops had taken four hours to do the eight miles; but the

commissariat animals, as I have stated, were more than double that time

upon the road. Both at Musgee and here there is a great lack of grain for

the animals. One pound of grain was all they got yesterday, and to-day at

twelve there is to be a similar large issue. If this sort of thing

continues, the animals must inevitably break down. The drivers, after

their day’s work was over, did go up into the hills and cut some grass;

but the coarse grass contains very little nourishment, and the horses

refuse to eat it. The mules eat it, indeed, but it can do them very little

good. I have all along in my calculations of the probable duration of the

campaign argued that we must expect to come to places where forage was not

procurable, and that if we came to a place where for four days’ marches we

could get no grain and but little grass, that we must come to a standstill

and form dépôts. Of course the difficulty will be proportionately greater

when we have the whole advance force, with its thousands of cavalry-horses

and baggage-animals with us. We were to have started this morning at seven

o’clock; but a messenger arrived at two this morning with a letter from

the Commander-in-chief to General Staveley, saying that the road was so

bad that we must halt for a day to enable the pioneer force to smooth some

of the most impracticable places. We have also news of the head-quarters

and three companies of the 33d who had pushed on by the “Phayre” road to

Attala. They had a distance of fourteen miles to go, four of which they

had comparatively cleared. They started early, and they got in the

following day at twelve o’clock, having been twenty-eight hours on the

road. The pioneer force is hard at work upon the road ahead, and to-morrow

morning we start for Attala. It is stated to be an eight-mile march; but I

hear that the opinion of those who have gone on is, that it is a good

thirteen. At Attala I anticipate that we shall wait some days-that is, if

forage is obtainable. Everything must now depend upon this vital point. We

must push-on to some place where abundant forage can be obtained, and we

must then wait for the remainder of the force to come up. This must entail

a halt of some days, whenever it is; for the 3d Dragoon Guards and the

12th Bengal Cavalry were both some marches’ distance from Antalo when we

left, and they will, of course, have to make a halt of a day or two at

that place upon their advance, to rest their animals. I hear that in the

neighbourhood of Lât there is plenty of forage; in that case Lât will

probably be our halting-place, if we find we cannot obtain sufficient

grass and grain at Attala. Sportsmen have been looking forward to our

arrival at Lake Ashangi, as game is likely to be abundant in that

neighbourhood, especially wild-fowl. We have received a letter from Mr.

Massinger, which shows that any attempt at wild-fowl shooting either at

early dawn or at dusk is likely to be attended with some little danger. It

is, he says, very difficult, and even dangerous, to approach the shores of

the lake. They are very flat, and the whole surface of the ground has been

broken up into chasms and crevasses, which are filled with soft mud, and

are not easily distinguishable from the surrounding soil. A long stick

plunged into the soft mud found no bottom, and a person falling into one

of these would, unless immediate assistance was at hand, be inevitably

lost. The natives say that these crevasses were all formed by an

earthquake which took place about three years ago. Previous to that time

the lake had an outlet through which the overflow water made its way into

the Tacazze. This outlet is now stopped, and the water has risen and

filled all these chasms made by the earthquake.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Mahkan, March 16th.

My last letter was dated from the pretty camping-ground bearing the

scriptural denomination of Meshech. Thence to Atzala was a march of

thirteen miles. The road led up the valley, as upon the previous day, for

about six miles, and then we had a long, but fortunately tolerably

gradual, climb up the saddle of the ridge. On the right of the summit of

the pass is the Amba of Waldo: it is considerably the highest peak in the

neighbourhood,—isolated, four-sided, and apparently perpendicular. As far

as we could see, there were no walls or artificial defences. The huts

which contain the garrison are built on ledges upon the face of the rock.

Ledge is hardly the proper expression; for a ledge is a projection,

whereas the huts are built in deep scores which run round the face. The

rock overhead completely overhangs them; so that they are to a certain

extent sheltered from the wind, which would, at an elevation of 12,000

feet above the sea, be otherwise almost unbearable in such an exposed

condition. Waldo himself was at the top of the pass when we went along. He

is a man of about thirty-five, with a very intelligent and pleasing face.

A number of his warriors attended him, and he was very much interested in

our various uniforms and appointments. He chatted for some time with

General Staveley, who fired-off his revolver for his edification. The

articles, however, that pleased him most were telescopes and

field-glasses, and he expressed a strong desire for one. He was evidently

acquainted with their use, for he shut one eye and examined the country

through my telescope with a nautical air which would have done no

discredit to the most aspiring midshipman. The Commander-in-chief

presented him with an excellent glass on the following day; and he will

now from his eyrie be able to see any advancing foe in ample time to make

his preparations for defence.

The descent from the top of the pass was much steeper and more severe than

the ascent had been, and the train of mules was a very long time making

its way to the bottom. Every animal that fell, every load which shifted,

brought the whole line to a standstill. However, patience and care will

effect wonders; and we got to the foot of the steep portion without a

casualty among the animals.

At Attala, or Atzala, as I find it is more correctly spelt, we found the

Commander-in-chief encamped with the head-quarter wing of the 33d and a

small escort of Scinde Horse and the 3d Native Cavalry. The

Commander-in-chief intends, I believe, in future to accompany the Pioneer

Force, and to judge for himself as to the capabilities of the roads, and

to direct the work to be done to make them passable by the main body.

Colonel Phayre will, however, still continue a couple of days’ march

ahead, with a small escort. Sir Robert Napier gets through an immense

quantity of work in the course of a day; and the following order, which

has been lately issued, shows that he is unable to trust the political

business, such as it is, out of his own hands, but is compelled to be his

own political officer, as well as his own explorer: “The

Commander-in-chief directs that in future all reports forwarded for his

information by officers in the intelligence department may be sent to the

political secretary, through the general or other officer commanding the

division or post in which they may be serving. In special cases, where a

more immediate communication to his Excellency may seem expedient, reports

may be sent direct; copies of them, however, being at once furnished to

the officer’s immediate military superior. All instructions for the

guidance of officers in the intelligence department will be sent to them

by Captain Tweedie, political secretary, who must be considered as the

sole officer authorised to convey to them his Excellency’s commands.”

Atzala is situated in an extensive basin, apparently surrounded upon all

sides by lofty hills. The abundance which we found at Antalo still

continues, and the commissariat are able to purchase grain for the

animals. I found upon my arrival in camp that Sir Robert Napier intended

to push on at once with the Pioneer Force, leaving Sir Charles Staveley to

follow, with an interval of a day or two, to allow the road to be

improved. Sir Robert has also sent back for the light guns of Twiss’s

Mountain Train, and for the Naval Rocket Brigade, both of which formed

part of the 2d Brigade, according to the published list. There are two

explanations of this order; the one being that he finds the roads so bad

that he thinks it will perhaps be impossible to bring the heavy guns of

Murray’s battery on without great loss of time; the other theory is, that

he is now convinced that we shall have to fight at Magdala, and wishes to

arrive there with as strong a force of artillery as possible. The advices

from Magdala tell us that Theodore had received exact intelligence of our

whereabouts and rate of moving; and that whereas, believing us to be

nearer, he had decided upon waiting at Dalanta; and he has now pushed on

with the greatest energy, and arrived with his guns and convoy quite close

to Magdala. This is, I think, the best news we could receive. Theodore has

evidently made up his mind to await us at any rate in his fortress. He may

fight, he may pretend friendship, and offer us the prisoners; but, at any

rate, he will be there: whereas, if he had not been able to reach Magdala,

he might have retired at our approach; and if he had ever taken to the

hills, our expedition would have been almost interminable: once in

Magdala, and surrounded, we are sure of him. Magdala may be, and I believe

is, very strong, and may hold out for weeks; but we know that sooner or

later we must have it. I believe that the guns we have will be useless,

except for their moral effect upon the enemy. A shell thrown on to the

summit of a rock fortress when the garrison were sheltered behind great

boulders, or in caves or crevices, might alarm them, but would probably do

very little harm. Our stock of missiles is very limited, and we shall

probably have to take the place at last by assault. If Magdala at all

approaches Waldo’s fortress in strength, an assault in the face of some

thousands of determined men, commanded by a desperate chief like Theodore,

will be no child’s-play even for British troops. A few stones rolled down

would sweep the path of a whole line of stormers. A breastwork of great

boulders rolled into position from above would baffle the bravest. People

talk lightly of Magdala and its savage garrison; but if they prove true to

their king, it will prove as hard a nut as British prowess ever had to

crack. Officers speaking to me upon the subject have argued Magdala is

probably not so strong as many of the hill-forts in India which we have in

our time taken. This is no doubt true; as is the fact that the defenders

of these hill-forts were as brave, and were in addition much better armed

than are the garrison of Magdala. But, on the other hand, the defenders of

Indian hill-forts knew what British troops were; they knew that our power

was almost infinite; that we were the masters of all India; and that

sooner or later we could accumulate force enough to capture even the most

seemingly impregnable fortress. It was, they knew, a mere question of time

with us. However physically brave, the knowledge that final over-throw is

certain, will to a great extent paralyse the efforts of any body of men.

The reverse of all this is the case with Theodore’s soldiers. They have

never fought but to conquer; they have a fanatical persuasion of the might

of their leader, and believe in his star; they have been always told that

Magdala is impregnable. For their enemies they have neither fear nor

reverence. The few white men they have seen have been men of

peace—missionaries and such-like—living but by their sufferance, and now

for years held in the degrading position of captives. Theodore has

impressed them with the belief that we are a mere nation of traders, and

that although we manufacture good guns, and can use them at a distance,

yet that we are wanting in courage, and no match for his men in a

hand-to-hand fight. Doubtless, too, he will impress upon them the fact

that we cannot have brought a large stock of ammunition for our guns

across this long and difficult route; and that therefore his men have only

to keep quiet and let us expend our missiles, and that then our power of

doing harm will be at an end. He has, too, promised that they shall divide

among themselves all our treasure and spoil; and as by this time they have

probably heard that we are absolutely strewing the country with dollars,

their idea of our probable spoil must be something magnificent.

However, the problem of war or peace will soon be solved. At the rate at

which we are now proceeding, another three weeks will see us in front of

Magdala. Indeed, if we continue to press forward at the present rate, we

should be at our journey’s end in a fortnight, or, rather, we should be

there if the whole of the mules did not die. To-day’s march has been

fifteen of the longest and heaviest miles ever traversed, with scarcely a

mile of level ground the whole distance. The difficulty began at the very

start, for we had at once to climb a high and steep hill, and to descend

at once on the other side. So long a time did this occupy, so many were

the stoppages and breakdowns, that although the first of the train started

before seven, it was ten before the last of the convoy of six hundred had

even commenced the ascent. The Commander-in-chief was not to start till

one o’clock, and a small party of mules would leave at that time with his

tent, &c. I therefore had, very fortunately as it turned out, resolved not

to start my animals until the same time. After passing over the first

hill, we came to another, which was the highest we had yet come to, being

two hundred feet higher than the summit of the pass upon the preceding

day. The ascent, although very long, was not very steep; indeed, all the

hills we have crossed are much more precipitous on the southern than on

the northern side. Here our difficulties commenced; for at the top of the

hill were numbers of the animals who had started five hours before us. The

descent was blocked up, and for ten minutes at a time everyone was brought

to a stand-still. Great was the noise, tremendous the shouting in various

languages. Once upon the descent of the hill, everyone kept in single

file; but the confusion was greatest at the top, as everyone strove to get

his own animal first upon the track. Here were Beloochees, Scinde Horse,

Engineers, 33d men, and 3d Native Cavalry, all trying to insinuate the

animals of which they were in charge into the straight line. Not

unfrequently some unfair effort to interlope ended in well-merited

punishment, by one of the mules getting jammed between others, and his

load pulled back over his tail. At last we got our animals fairly on to

the descent, which was very steep and winding, and then there was nothing

for it but patience. With our own animals we had no trouble, for we had

long ago found out that although a string of four animals goes well enough

along a plain, the only way to get them down steep places, or over very

rough ground, is to unfasten them, and to make a servant go to each mule’s

head. In this way, if the loads are properly packed upon Otago saddles,

they will go anywhere; the mules can pick their way without being hurried,

and the loads will not shift; whereas the government mules, being fastened

three or four in a string, under the charge of a single driver, are

continually coming to grief. The leading mule steps over stones or down

steep places with comparative ease, and when on level ground steps boldly

forward; while the unfortunate animals behind him, who are still on the

difficult ground, are unable to pick their way, their heads are pulled

into the air, they hang back and vainly resist, and either lie down at

once, or are pulled off their legs. The present state of the Bombay

saddles assists to aggravate the evil. The leather loops which were

attached to them, and through which the ropes which fastened the baggage

passed, are now in a majority of cases torn off, and the consequence is,

that the load at once slips forwards or backwards immediately the animal

gets upon an incline, and the saddle remains on the back, while the load

rolls off. The mountain-side was thickly covered with shrubs; and as we

went down in a long confused line, with the baggage-guard scattered at

intervals along it, most of the men being incessantly employed in

repacking the loads, with their arms piled near them while they did so,

one could not but reflect that we shall have to travel in a very different

fashion when we approach Magdala. Two or three hundred men, armed only

with spears, concealed among the bushes, and rushing out at a given

signal, could have annihilated the whole convoy before a bayonet could

have been fixed or the slightest resistance offered. I believe that it is

settled that we shall take no tents forward with us for the last three or

four days’ marches; and this, with the fact that a comparatively small

number of mules will be required for the commissariat stores, will

diminish our train to one-fourth of the present size. If Theodore has made

up his mind to fight, there is little doubt that he will begin while we

are in the passes. He has always been famous for his night-attacks, and we

have been especially warned to beware of sudden attacks. The King of Tigre

was very impressive on this score. Waldo, the other day, also warned us

most earnestly to be upon our guard night and day. We had a turn-out of

the troops this morning at Atzala. It took place at about ten in the

morning, and was for a few minutes quite an exciting affair. With the

exception only of Sir Charles Staveley and a few of his personal staff, no

one knew whether it was a real alarm or not. We were now in the Gallas

country, where we had been told to expect raids, and it was quite possible

that the convoy, the rear of which was still mounting the hill, had been

suddenly attacked. When, therefore, the first bugle sounded the alarm, and

after a pause sounded again and again, quite a thrill ran through the

camp. All the regimental bugles repeated the calls, and the camp presented

the appearance of an ant-hive suddenly disturbed. The men tumbled out from

their tents in hot haste, buttoning-up their tunics and buckling-up their

belts; the cooks and butchers left the half-cut-up carcasses, to run to

their tents for their arms and accoutrements; officers shouted for their

swords; the men who were out for wood or water came scampering up; the

mule-drivers rapidly drove in the animals which were grazing on the

plains; the dhoolie-bearers mustered round the palkees; the grasscutters

buckled on swords of various descriptions; and I observed my servant

busily engaged in loading a great double-barrelled pistol. The result

showed that an enemy must manage to creep up very close before being

observed, to catch us unawares. In two minutes and a half from the first

bugle, the 4th were drawn up in close order in front of their lines, and

being joined by the Beloochees, marched off, throwing out skirmishers

before them. In another five minutes the Mountain Artillery were in

motion, and the 3d Native Cavalry, who had, when the alarm sounded, been

in their native undress, had dressed, saddled, and were dashing across the

plain. A little in rear of the infantry the dhoolie-bearers were

staggering along with their palkees, and an apothecary was in full chase

with an armful of splints and bandages. It is evident that we shall not be

caught asleep. Alarms of this sort do good occasionally, but should not be

too often repeated, or the men get so accustomed to the cry of “Wolf!”

that they will not believe it when the real animal makes his appearance.

But I am leaving myself and my mules an unconscionable time upon the hill;

scarcely, however, so long as I was there in reality, for it was getting

dusk when I reached the foot, just three hours after my arrival at the

top. There was no camp in sight, and, although we knew it was still six

miles distant, we were ignorant of the direction in which it lay.

Fortunately, none of the loads had shifted, and we were thus enabled to

push past great numbers of animals who were standing with their loads upon

the ground beside them. It was a very weary and unpleasant six-miles’

march. There was no moon, and it soon became extremely dark; and as the

way was a mere track, we were quite ignorant whether we were going in the

right direction or not. Of course we followed mules in front of us, but

there was no knowing whether they were going right—for a mule stopping for

a minute, for a readjustment of the load, would lose sight of the one in

advance, and would be just as likely as not to go in the wrong direction,

and inevitably be followed by all in his rear. The way was across an

undulating plain, with many deep nullahs covered with trees, and so dark

that we could not see our horses’ ears. There was very little shouting

now; everyone rode or walked along in a sort of sulky silence; the pace

was of the slowest, the mules being scarcely able to crawl along. We could

not pick our way, for we could not see the ground. Some got off and led

their horses, others trusted to their horses’ eyes, and it was astonishing

how well the animals picked their way; still there were some awkward

falls. Even if one escaped these greater dangers, it was not pleasant to

be caught by a bramble suddenly between the eyes, or to be nearly borne

over the crupper of the horse by a stiff bough under the chin. At last,

just when we had arrived at the conclusion that we must have missed our

road, and that it would be better to draw off the way and pitch our tent

until daybreak, we saw the camp-lights in the distance, and, after another

mile’s travelling, arrived here, as I began this letter by saying, at

half-past nine o’clock.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Ashangi Lake, March 19th.

I finished my last letter on the night of my arrival at Mahkan, very

tired, very hungry, and a good deal out of temper. We halted at Mahkan on

the 17th, as the animals imperatively needed a day’s rest. There can be no

question that these very long marches are a mistake in every way. Many of

the animals which started at seven in the morning did not get in until ten

or eleven o’clock next day; and fatigue of this sort, together with an

almost starvation diet, is too much for any animals. The number which

actually died upon the road was very small—only three or four, I am told;

but then the animals have had a rest at Antalo, and have still some little

strength left. I have no hesitation, however, in saying that three or four

such marches as this would find the great majority of the transport-train

animals _hors de combat_. It is terribly fatiguing too for the troops. Nor

is anything gained by it. The old proverb, “the more haste the less

speed,” is amply verified. We did fifteen miles, and then had to halt a

day; whereas had we halted at a spring at the foot of the steep descent,

six miles from Mahkan, the animals could have easily marched some miles

beyond Mahkan on the following day. Fifteen miles over a flat country is

one thing, fifteen miles over a succession of mountains, with a rifle,

sixty rounds of ammunition, and etceteras, is quite another; and I

sincerely trust that we shall not again attempt such a tremendous march as

this.

The mule-train is at present all that can be desired. The number of

animals attached to the advanced division is 8000, and comprises the

Lahore mule-train, the Raul Pindee mule-train, and the A and D divisions

of the transport-train. I have had occasion more than once to speak of the

efficiency of the Lahore and Pindee trains, which arrived from Bengal in

the most perfect order, and which, being marched straight to Senafe, did

not share in the general disruption at Zulla. The A division, under

Captain Griffiths, I have also spoken of, as being in excellent condition.

This is the division which went up with the exploring party to Senafe, and

staying there, partially escaped the crash. The D division is commanded by

Captain Twentyman; an officer whose energy and devotedness at Zulla during

the worst times helped to pull the transport-train through its greatest

difficulties, as I had the pleasure of testifying at the time. These four

divisions are under the control of Captain Hand, of the Lahore mule-train,

who has been appointed their director. He is an able and energetic

officer, and his management of the train gives the highest satisfaction.

The transport-train authorities at Zulla have nothing whatever to do with

the advanced portion, which is under the sole orders of Captain Hand.

On the morning after our arrival at Mahkan the wing of the 33d was sent on

to make the road, the head-quarter camp remaining with only the escort of

the 2d Horse and 3d Cavalry. In the afternoon, however, a party of

Beloochees and Punjaub Pioneers came in. During the day a man came in with

one of the curious lozenge-shaped guitars I have already described, and

kept up a monotonous chanting for some time. The words Magdala and Tèdros

were the only words generally recognised; and it was supposed that he was

singing some song he had composed in our honour. An interpreter, however,

who happened to come up, undeceived us by explaining that the singer,

relying upon our ignorance of the language, was reciting our certain

defeat, and the vengeance that Theodore would take upon us. I have no fear

of the man turning out a true prophet; but it is certain that the people

of the country generally look upon our chance of victory over Theodore as

being a very poor one indeed. Yesterday morning we started at eight

o’clock on our march to this place, and, owing to the 33d having gone on,

our baggage-train was much smaller, and the difficulties and delays

proportionately less. We found, upon mounting the first hill, that we had

come on an entirely new and agreeable phase of Abyssinian scenery. Instead

of the bare hills and plains over which, interspersed with wooded valleys,

we had journeyed since we entered Abyssinia, we were transported at one

bound into the very heart of Switzerland. Everywhere to the very

mountain-tops was a pine-forest. In some places the trees grew closely

together, with a thick underwood, which shut-in the path on both sides,

and through which the road had been partially cleared by the 33d. At other

times the trees were more thinly scattered about, or stood in clumps,

affording every variety of park-like scenery. It was a delightful ride for

about six miles through these, the road being smooth and easy. At the end

of that time our difficulties began, the way lying over and along steep

and very rocky hills covered with forest and brushwood. The General had

expected to have found the road to a certain extent cleared by the 33d,

but owing to an error, for which Major Cooper was in no way to blame, they

had scarcely begun their work when we passed, instead of having been

engaged upon it for twenty-four hours. Their orders had been to encamp at

a stream five miles on from Mahkan, and then to set to work upon the road;

and as they had started twenty-four hours before ourselves, it was

anticipated that the road would be perfectly practicable for mules by the

next day. The 33d were, however, furnished with no guide, and the spring

was not visible from the line of march; consequently they marched past it,

and did not find out their error until they were miles ahead. Major Cooper

then determined upon the best course to be pursued, namely, to march

straight on to this station, to encamp there, and to march his men back at

daybreak to work upon the road. They had done a good deal when we arrived;

but of course the mules stopped their work for a time. In some places the

track was very bad; and at one of these, a rocky wall along a ledge, on

the face of which we had to pass, I found Sir Robert Napier himself

engaged in planning another road to avoid this obstacle, which was

dangerous in a high degree for loaded animals, as the projecting load

nearly pushed each one over the edge. No accident, so far as I heard,

occurred, and the delays were nothing like so long or tedious as those we

had incurred on many previous occasions, while the delightful shade, the

songs of innumerable birds, and the fresh odour of the pine-trees rendered

these halts most enjoyable. At last we reached the summit of the last

ascent, and below us, at a distance of five miles, lay Lake Ashangi, a

pretty sheet of water of about three miles in diameter. Its shores are in

some places quite flat, but in others hills come down with gradual slopes

to its very edge. Looking at England for an illustration, I should say

that, except in being smaller, it more resembles Ulleswater than any of

our other north-country lakes.

Beyond the lake several mountain-ranges rise one beyond another, and offer

no prospect of easy journeys for some time to come. Our camp is pitched

half a mile from the lake upon ground which slopes gradually down to the

water’s edge, above the level of which we are probably elevated thirty

feet. The lake and its shores swarm with ducks and geese. The latter are

very tame, and walk about to graze in the most unconcerned manner. A great

many have been shot, and are, although rather fishy, fair eating. The

great difficulty attending the sport is the exceedingly boggy nature of

the ground. The fissures spoken of by Mr. Munzinger, and which I mentioned

in my last upon the authority of his letters, are simply nonsense. It is a

large and in some places a dangerous bog; but it is simply and purely a

bog, and nothing else. I was out yesterday with my gun, as were a dozen

others, and although I went in above my boots, I came upon nothing really

impassable, nor, with one exception, did I hear of any one else doing so.

Captain Hogg, however, of the quartermaster’s department, got upon a very

bad part of the bog, and was some time finding his way out; indeed, he

fell into one deep place, where he would unquestionably have lost his life

had he not had a man with him, who was able to put the end of his gun

within reach of Captain Hogg’s hand, and so draw him out of the quagmire,

into which he was sinking fast. All round the level shore of the lake, a

belt of white mud of sixty or seventy yards wide extends. Upon this the

game congregate, and are safe from the sportsmen, as the mud will not

support a man’s weight, and the dead birds could not be recovered. The

geese in plumage more resemble ducks than geese, being dark brown and

green, with a large white patch upon the under part of the wing, and which

only shows during their flight. A good many escape, who would fall victims

to large shot; but the amount of ammunition in camp is scanty, and the

shot generally of small sizes, which merely rattle against a goose’s

feather at a distance of fifty yards.

To-day we have remained here quietly. Another durbar has taken place; the

ambassador, or nuncio—the latter, I suppose, being the appropriate

word—having come in from the chief Ulem of the Gallas tribes. This man has

immense influence with the Gallas, who are Mahommedans; and it was

therefore a matter of great importance to conciliate him as far as

possible. I have already described two of these official receptions, and

as this was precisely similar to those I have before written about, I need

not enter into particulars. The only variety was, that the proceedings

opened with a long letter from the Ulem to Sir Robert Napier. It was of a

most friendly character, and expressed the priest’s concurrence in the

“belief which we hold in common, namely,” he said, “the Old and New

Testament, and the Koran.” I was not aware that the Koran was an essential

part of our creed, but I have learnt something from the Ulem’s letter.

Later on, too, he speaks of Mahomet as the only true mediator. These,

however, were not, apparently, according to the Ulem’s view, points of

vital difference, and he accordingly states that he prays unceasingly in

our behalf, which is, at any rate, kind on his part. He warned us very

solemnly to be extremely watchful and ever upon our guard, and the general

tone of his letter was anything but hopeful. He mentioned that it was the

custom of the country to send presents to travellers, and that he

therefore sent the chief a present, but that the greatest present he could

give us would be his prayers. One thing is certain, if his prayers are not

of vastly greater value than his other present, they will not be of any

great worth, for the material present was a pot of honey, value one

dollar. The chief of course replied civilly, expressed our toleration of

all religions and opinions, and that we had many Mussulmans in our ranks,

and stated our friendly feelings towards the people of the country. He

wound up by giving presents of robes, &c., for the priests. These robes

were put upon the ambassador, who is a son of the Ulem, and one of the

most inane-looking young men I have seen in Abyssinia. His face, as he was

being invested in the robes, was one of the most comic things I ever saw,

and the officers present had the greatest difficulty in restraining their

gravity. He looked exactly like a baboon affecting humility. Later in the

afternoon another chief came in, preceded by tom-tom and flutes, and

accompanied by a considerable body of warriors. A remarkable thing which I

noticed then, and which I had not before seen, was that they carried

headless lances, in token of amity.

We had rather a curious scene this afternoon. A native was detected in the

act of thieving, and was sentenced by Colonel Fraser, who acts as

provost-marshal, to two dozen lashes. His friends and relatives, however,

made so great a howling that the Commander-in-chief came out of his tent

to see what was the matter. Finding that the natives took the matter

greatly to heart, he gave the man over to be punished by themselves; and

after a palaver of an hour, he was sentenced to pay one quarter of the

value of the article stolen, or to receive six blows with a stick. Mr.

Speedy was about to remonstrate with them upon the insufficiency of the

punishment, when the chief who had acted as judge drew him aside, and

stated that in the course of the examination they had found that the

offender was a Christian, whereas they were themselves Mussulmans; and

that if they were to punish him as he deserved, it would cause a war.

Throughout Abyssinia,—that is, as far as we have travelled,—even where

Christians are in the majority, the Mahommedans look down upon them; and

there is no doubt that in a moral point of view the Mahommedans are

greatly the superior. Christianity certainly does not work well among

natives. Both in India and here a Christian is by no means a man of high

standing either in respectability or morality. It is singular that the

abodes of the natives here are precisely similar to those at Zulla. There

they were built of wattles, with conical thatched roofs. Since that time

we have passed mud huts with flat roofs, stone huts with flat roofs, stone

huts with thatched roofs, and now we have again come upon the Zulla type

of cottages, wattled walls with conical thatched roofs. The villages are

always perched upon eminences, and the houses are crowded together and

surrounded by a thick fence of boughs, with the ends outwards like a

military abattis. The natives are not quite so dark as the people of

Tigre, and are not so well armed, for I have not seen any fire-arms among

them. Sir Charles Staveley has, I hear, arrived at Mahkan, with the 4th,

the 3d Native Cavalry, and Penn’s battery. He, like ourselves, is engaged

in road-making. The orders are, that the pioneer force are to make the

road practicable for mules, and that General Staveley’s force is to make

it practicable for elephants. As elephants can go almost everywhere that

mules are able to do, he will not be long delayed, and will probably

arrive at Lât, which is two days’ march forward, within a day or two of

ourselves. It is probable that we shall halt two or three days there, to

allow the force to concentrate. I hear that Twiss’s Mountain Train and the

Naval Rocket Brigade are only a march behind General Staveley, and will

arrive with him at Lât. I have seen to-night that the 45th has also been

ordered to come on at once, to form part of the first division. This order

will not only give satisfaction to the regiment itself, but also to us

all; for the 45th is said to be one of the best and most efficient

regiments in India.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Lât, March 21st.

We had all looked forward to a halt at this place for at least two or

three days. This hope, however, has not been realised; for we arrived this

afternoon, and start again to-morrow morning, at which time our real

hardships may be said to commence in earnest. But it is better, before I

enter upon this, to relate our doings of the last two days.

Leaving our camp near Ashangi, the road ran on level ground parallel to

the lake for a mile or so, and then, the mountains approaching to the edge

of the water, we had to climb over the spur. The height was not very

great, but it was one of the roughest, and certainly the steepest climb we

have yet had. Once on the crest, the hill sloped gradually down, and we

presently came upon the water again near the head of the lake. This spot

was the next day the scene of a fatal accident. Two or three officers came

down to shoot, and one of the birds fell into the water. One of their

servants, who was a good swimmer, at once went in to fetch it out. It is

probable that he was seized with cramp, for he sank suddenly. Captain

Pottinger at once jumped in, and swam out to the spot, but was unable to

see anything of him. Our camping-ground was about two miles distant from

the head of the lake, upon flat ground. The distance from Ashangi was

little over six miles.

We halted here the next day in order to let General Staveley’s Brigade

reach Ashangi. This they did upon the day after we had left it. There was

considerable regret in camp to hear that General Staveley himself, who had

been attacked at Atzala with acute rheumatism, was very much worse, and

had been carried in a palkee. He had entirely lost the use of his limbs,

and it was considered improbable that he would be able to come on farther

with the army. This would be a very great loss for the expedition, and I

sincerely hope that their apprehensions will not be verified.

The morning of our halt, a general order was promulgated which filled us

with consternation. No baggage whatever is to be henceforward allowed

either for men or officers. Soldiers are to carry their greatcoat, a

blanket, and waterproof sheet, in addition to their rifle, ammunition,

havresack, &c. This will bring the weight to be carried by each man up to

fifty-five pounds; an overwhelming weight over such a tremendous country

as that which we have to traverse, and beneath a tropical sun. I question

very much whether the men will be able to stand it, and several of the

medical staff to whom I have spoken are quite of that opinion. What the

roads are likely to be, is manifest enough by a portion of the general

order, which says that in future no mule is to carry over 100 pounds; and

yet the authorities put more than half that weight upon a man’s shoulders.

It is not even as if the men had their knapsacks, in which the greatcoat,

&c. could be packed, and carried with comparative ease; they will have to

be slung over the shoulders by the coat-arms, and will distress the

soldier far more than they would have done if carried in knapsacks. It was

an extraordinary oversight leaving the knapsacks behind at Antalo; for it

was evident even then that they would be required. Unmounted officers are

to have a greatcoat, blanket, and waterproof-sheet carried for them, and

mounted officers may carry what they can put upon their horses. No

baggage-animals whatever are to go forward with luggage. The men are to be

packed twenty in a bell tent, and twelve officers are to have the same

accommodation. More than a fourth part of the soldiers are out on picket

and guard every night; therefore the number of men in each tent will be

practically about the same as the officers. Fancy twelve officers in a

tent! They will be packed like herrings in a tub; and men are calculating

to-day how many square inches of ground each will possess. Everyone takes

it good-humouredly, and there is no grumbling whatever; but for all that,

it is rather a serious business. If it were for two or three days, it

would be all well enough; but Magdala is a considerable distance from

here. The Quartermaster-general’s department talk about a six days’ march.

Captain Speedy says that sixteen is very much nearer the mark; and as he

has a knowledge of the country, while the Quartermaster’s department have

uniformly been wrong in their distances, it is safe to assume that it is a

fifteen days’ march; that is to say, even without allowing a day for the

capture of Magdala, or for arranging matters there, we cannot be back to

Lât under a month. There is some talk of the baggage coming up after us;

but this will certainly not come to anything. I know that we have barely

animals enough with us to carry our food, and every available mule in the

rear is coming on with Staveley’s Brigade. We may, then, calculate with

tolerable certainty that we shall not get any of our baggage until we

return to Lât, which, at the very earliest, will be a month hence, and not

improbably twice that time. We are told that the cold at night is very

great on ahead, and that the rains are heavy and frequent. It is therefore

a very serious matter for men to start without a single change of clothes

of any kind. Putting aside the rain, the men will suffer so greatly from

the heat, and from the labour of climbing mountains with so heavy a load

upon their backs, that it would be a most material matter for them to have

at any rate a dry flannel-shirt to put on when the cold evening wind

begins to blow. Time will show how the men stand it; but it is certainly a

hazardous experiment.

This morning we started for this place. Lât has always been spoken of as a

place where we should halt and form a dépôt, and we had therefore expected

to have found a large village; but as far as I have seen, there is not a

native hut in the neighbourhood. Upon leaving our last camping-ground, we

ascended a lofty and steep hill, and then had to wind for a long distance

upon a rocky ledge, where a false step would have been certain death.

After several minor rises and descents, we came down to the valley in

which the stream, near which we are encamped, runs. Although there are no

villages in sight, there must be a considerable native population in the

neighbourhood, for a large number of natives have come in with supplies.

The officers of the transport-train are buying every sword and spear

brought in, for the use of the muleteers; as, although Theodore is

reported at Magdala, he might at any moment make a sudden march down with

a few thousand men, and might be upon us before we knew that he was within

fifty miles’ distance. Should we be attacked in one of these gorges, or on

a narrow ledge with a precipice below, scattered as we should necessarily

be over an immense length of road, Theodore might, by a sudden attack upon

our baggage, do such damage in a few minutes, that we might be obliged to

retire to Antalo, to fetch up fresh supplies. There is no disguising the

fact, that in making our rush from such a long distance we are running no

inconsiderable risk.

Sir Robert Napier’s original plan was to have formed a dépôt with five

months’ provisions at some place about half-way between Antalo and

Magdala, and to have marched forward from that place with two months’

provisions. Instead of this we are starting from Lât with only fifteen

days’ provisions, and there is no dépôt of any importance, nor will there

be, nearer than Antalo itself. The whole of the available mules will

accompany the advancing division, and we shall have to depend entirely for

future supplies upon the native carriage. The stock of food we have with

us will barely last us to Magdala; we know not whether we shall be able to

purchase any flour on the way, or how we may fare for forage for our

animals. Between Antalo and Magdala are many tribes and chiefs,—we have

already passed Waldo Yasus and the Gallas,—and some of these, after we

have passed, may take it into their heads to stop the native animals going

up with stores; and the whole of the system upon which we have solely to

depend would then break down, and our position would be as precarious a

one as it is possible to imagine. It is indeed a tremendous risk to run;

but then we are playing for a very high stake. We are running a race with

the rains. If we were to stop here for a fortnight or three weeks, and to

send the whole of the transport animals down to Antalo to fetch up more

provisions, we should infallibly have to wait out here over the rainy

season; and the difficulties of provisioning the force during that period,

and the probable mortality which might ensue, would be so great that Sir

Robert Napier no doubt considers himself justified in running a very

considerable risk in order to reach the sea-coast before the rains. Of

course the matter has been discussed and talked over in every light among

the officers; and the general opinion is, that unless we obtain an

unlooked-for supply, as we did at Antalo, somewhere between this and

Magdala, our position will be a very critical one. With most other

generals, men would, I think, be inclined to take rather a gloomy view of

it; but everyone has such confidence in Sir Robert Napier that they are

quite content to leave matters in his hands.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Dildee, March 24th.

I sent off a very hurriedly-written letter two days since from Lât. In

these two days we have crossed thirty-one miles of as rough a country as

the warmest admirer of the desolate and savage could wish to see. Around

us, as far as the eye could reach, was stretched a perfect sea of

mountains; and up and down these we have tumbled and stumbled—not a few

horses getting tremendous falls—from morning until long after nightfall.

It has been one long monotonous toil. Sometimes we climb upon smooth

slippery rock; then we ascend steep paths covered with loose boulders of

every size; then we are upon a narrow ledge on a mountain’s face; then we

are crashing through thick bushes. One can no longer keep count of the

number of ravines we cross, for we climb a dozen hills a day. It would

puzzle even the engineers of the Topographical Department to lay down this

rugged and broken country in a map. It would be as easy to make a map of

the Straits of Dover, and to draw each wave to its proper scale. The toil

of the troops during these two days has been tremendous. The first day’s

march was thirteen miles; yesterday’s was eighteen,—many say it was

twenty; but I think a long eighteen was about the mark. Eighteen miles

would be a long march in England, but here it is a tremendous journey.

Each man is carrying with him ammunition, &c.—fifty-five pounds—more than

half a mule-load. In addition to this, most of the troops are now upon

baggage-guard, and have to assist in constantly adjusting loads and

looking after the mules. Lastly, a fourth of the troops are out every

night upon picket. I had occasion, in a letter written from Mahkan, to

speak upon the cruel over-marching of men and animals; but that was

nothing to these two days’ marches. The country now is much rougher, the

distances longer, and the men have in addition to carry their kits. The

troops came in last night in a prostrate state; very many did not come in

at all. I should say that not more than half the baggage arrived until

this morning; and to add to the other disagreeables, we had a tremendous

thunderstorm about eight o’clock, which wetted every soul, except the very

few who had been fortunate enough to get up their tents, to the skin. The

men have no change of clothes with them, and of course had to sleep in

their wet clothes. Of those who were on the road when the rain began, some

held on and came straggling in up to ten o’clock; the greater number,

however, unrolled their blanket and waterproof-sheet, and lay down where

they were for the night. I say fearlessly that such a march over such a

country was never before made by similarly-weighted men. Of course we have

to halt to-day, and then by to-night we shall have progressed a less

distance towards Magdala than we should have done had we made three days’

marches of, say, eleven miles each. Nor is there any reason why we should

not have done so. We are fortunately now in a well-watered country.

Good-sized streams run between each of the higher ranges, and we crossed

four or five of them yesterday.

General Staveley, who I am glad to hear is better, is only one day in our

rear. An officer has gone back this morning to direct him to halt to-night

at the stream three and a half miles behind. The weather has been warmer

for the last two days, and this has of course increased the labour of the

soldiers. Had it not been for the frequent occurrence of water, I do not

think that one quarter of the troops would have got in last night.

Yesterday’s camp was admirably chosen for defensive purposes, being

surrounded on all sides by a deep nullah. To-day’s camp is convenient, and

is also defended on one side by a nullah, but has the disadvantage that

the nullah is two hundred feet deep, and is extremely precipitous, the

water being only accessible even on foot at two places, and consequently

the difficulty of watering the animals is very great. The water, however,

and indeed all that we have met with for the last day or two, is

delicious. This is indeed a treat. Hitherto the water has been singularly

nasty—thick and full of insects when stagnant, earthy and bad-tasting when

running. Here it is fresh, clear, and pure. Rum is quite at a discount.

The ravine through which the stream runs is very picturesque. The slope is

steep, but well-wooded down to the bottom of the nullah; but the stream

itself has cut a way from twenty to thirty feet wide through the solid

rock at the bottom. The sides are as perpendicular as walls, and are in

some places thirty feet deep. It is only, as I have said, at two points

that we can get down to the water. This narrow gorge is overhung with

trees, and in every cranny and on every tiny ledge grow lovely patches of

green ferns. It requires no stretch of fancy to imagine oneself by the

side of a pretty mountain-stream in Wales or Ireland. The vegetation is

too bright and varied for a Highland stream. Nearly every officer in camp,

and a good number of the men, have been down this morning for a bathe,

which is doubly refreshing after the fatigue of yesterday and the paucity

of our present washing appliances. The camp yesterday morning presented

quite an unusual appearance. The head-quarter camp had shrivelled in

dimensions from twenty tents down to four; and outside of them, soon after

daybreak, the whole staff might be seen engaged in the various processes

of washing and dressing. Twelve men may manage to sleep in a tent, but it

is quite impossible that they can simultaneously dress there. Not, indeed,

that any of the tents contained their full complement. Some had slung

their blankets like hammocks upon the trees; others were content to roll

themselves in their rugs, and sleep upon a waterproof-sheet under a bush;

and besides this there was a hospital-tent, and as there are no sick, some

of the officers were drafted off into this. Indeed, all might have been

very much more comfortable, had those of their number who, like ourselves,

have brought _tentes d’abri_, been allowed to carry them on their horses.

I was very fortunate in getting into shelter before the storm came on last

night. I had ridden on before my spare horse, which, with my tent and

etceteras upon his back, was nearly at the rear of the column. I arrived

here about half-past four, having been nearly nine hours upon the road;

and I was fairly exhausted when I got in from fatigue and want of food.

Fortunately, however, the natives had brought in bread for sale, and after

eating some of this, and going down to the nullah for a bathe, I was quite

restored again. I was not, however, comfortable in my mind; for the clouds

had been banking-up fast, and the thunder had been almost incessant in the

hills for the last two hours. I could see by the baggage which was coming

in, that my animal could not, if he kept his place in the line, be in for

hours, if at all. When I got up to the camp, I was delighted to see my

little tent pitched. My companion, who had been behind me, had, finding

that the road was badly blocked, got them along by other paths,

fortunately without more damage than one of the horses falling over a

precipice twelve or thirteen feet high, into some bushes, which broke the

animal’s fall. The horse was but little hurt; and with this slight mishap,

which is nothing here, where horses and mules are constantly rolling over

steep places, he had succeeded in getting into camp three or four hours

before the animals could have possibly reached it, had they kept in their

original place in the line; indeed it was most improbable that they could

have got in last night at all. The lightning during the next half-hour was

incessant, and before the dinner could be cooked, great drops began to

patter down. We shouted to the servants to do the best they could for

themselves with their blankets and waterproof-sheets, while we took refuge

in our little tent, with an officer whose baggage, like that of the great

majority, had not arrived. In a minute or two, it came down almost in a

sheet. We lit our pipes, and consoled ourselves that if we had nothing to

eat, we were no worse off than anyone else, whereas we were in shelter,

while hardly another soul was so. While thus philosophising to our own

contentment, the front of the tent was suddenly opened, and a hand was

thrust in with a dish of cutlets, then plates and knives and forks. Our

fellows had nobly stuck to their work, preferring to get drenched to the

skin rather than that their masters should go without dinner. These

Goa-men are certainly excellent servants. They are not physically strong:

they are quiet, weakly-looking men, with little energy and no habitude to

hardships. They make capital hotel-waiters, but could scarcely have been

expected to have supported the fatigue of a campaign like this. They do

so, however, and seem none the worse for it. Altogether they are worth any

money upon an expedition of this sort, and are infinitely more serviceable

than an English servant would be.

The storm ceased last night at about half-past ten. It is now thundering

among the distant hills, and it is evident that we shall have, this

afternoon, a repetition of last night’s storm. It will, however, find us

better prepared to withstand it. The natives are bringing in an abundance

of goods of all kinds. Honey, grain, onions, goats, sheep, fowls, bread,

and eggs. The fowls and eggs are the first we have seen since Attegrat.

Prices rule about the same. Two little fowls, a dollar; twelve eggs—about

half of which average bad—at the same price. A bottle of honey, a dollar,

&c. Dear as things are, it is unnecessary to say that they are all eagerly

bought up. We are accustomed to high prices now; and I heard a soldier,

who did not get in until this morning, say that he paid a dollar in the

night for a drink of water.

Of course we have now a constant succession of news from the front. It is

very contradictory, but the general report is that Theodore is marching

towards Dalanta, to attack us on our way. Some of the spies assert that

two o’clock on Friday night is the hour fixed for our destruction. If

Theodore does mean, as is likely enough, to make a night attack, I do not

think he would be weak enough to let it be known many hours beforehand as

to where it will take place. However, it is no use offering any

speculation now upon events which we may see determined in two or three

days, and the result of which will be known by telegraph long before this

letter can reach London.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Santarai, March 29th.

We are beginning to believe Magdala to be a _fata morgana_, an _ignis

fatuus_, which gets more and more distant the nearer we approach it. At

Dildee we were told that it was only four marches distant. We have made

three marches, and have sixty more miles to go; and yet Magdala is not

more than twenty-five miles in a straight line, and is visible from a

point four miles distant from this camp. It is found, however, that the

country is perfectly impracticable, and that we must take a detour of

sixty miles to get there. I can hardly imagine what this country in a

direct line to Magdala can be like, for we have passed over hundreds of

miles which no one would have imagined it possible for an army with its

baggage-animals to surmount. We have scaled mountains and descended

precipices; we have wound along the face of deep ravines, where a false

step was death; we are familiar with smooth slippery rock and with loose

boulders; and after this expedition it can hardly be said that any country

is impracticable for an army determined to advance. I hear, however, that

between this and Magdala there are perpendicular precipices running like

walls for miles, places which could scarcely be scaled by experienced

cragsmen, much less by loaded mules. We must therefore make a detour. It

is tiresome, for everyone is burning with impatience to be at Magdala, and

to solve the long-debated problems—will Theodore fight? will he fight in

the open, or defend Magdala? or will he hand over the captives with an

apology? and shall we be content to receive one? I believe that I can

answer the last question with certainty. We shall not. If Theodore sends

in the captives we shall receive them, but shall certainly exact

retribution from him. We shall either take him prisoner or compel him to

fly. If we obtain the prisoners unhurt, we shall still take Magdala. If he

escape to the mountains with a few adherents, we shall, in that case, be

content to retire, and to leave the task of hunting him down to his

numerous enemies; but if he murder the prisoners we shall ourselves remain

here until he is captured. I think I may positively state that this, or

something very like it, is the tenor of the instructions given to Sir

Robert Napier by the Government; and I think that they will be heartily

approved by all, except by those negrophilists who deny that a black man

can do wrong. It would be impossible to allow Theodore to go unpunished;

indeed, it would be offering a premium to all savage potentates in future

time to make prisoners of any English travellers who may fall into their

hands.

I now return to Dildee, from which place I last wrote, while we were

halting in consequence of the tremendous march of the preceding day. Upon

the evening of the day upon which we halted we heard that General Staveley

had arrived with the force under his command at a stream five miles in our

rear, and had there halted. He had with him the 4th, a wing of the 33d,

six companies of the Punjaub Pioneers, Twiss’s Battery, and the Naval

Rocket Train. It was decided that the wing of the 33d, who were with us,

should halt for a day, and should come on as a complete regiment, and that

the 4th, which is numerically much weaker than the 33d, should push on

with the advance. The next day’s march was short, but severe, as we had to

climb a mountain 3000 feet above our camping-ground. It was hard work, but

was got over much more speedily than usual, as the train was much smaller,

owing to our diminished numbers; and we had consequently fewer of the

tedious blocks so trying to both man and beast. The road was in most

places pretty good; but was dangerous for a long distance where it wound

along the face of a deep ravine. The country here must be either much more

densely populated, or the people much more industrious than in most of the

districts over which we have passed; for there were patches of cultivation

to the very top of the mountain, which, where we crossed it, was about

11,000 feet above the sea. The mountain side was bare of trees, or even

bushes; but, curiously enough, very near the summit were large quantities

of small palm-trees, with thick straight stems, three or four feet high,

and clustered heads of spreading leaves. Several Indian officers agreed

with me in considering them to be a species of palm, but we had no

botanist amongst us, and it seemed most unlikely that even dwarf

palm-trees should be growing in such a lofty and exposed position. I have

only before seen palm-trees twice in Abyssinia, once at Goun Gonna, where

two or three grew near the church, and in a valley between Attegrat and

Antalo.

Arrived at the top of the pass, we found ourselves at the head of a deep

ravine, on the side of which, a quarter of a mile from the summit, it was

decided that the camp should be pitched. A more uncomfortable place for a

camp could hardly be imagined. The ground was ploughed, and was extremely

sloping. The supply of water was deficient, and was four or five hundred

feet below us, and the wind swept over the top of the pass with piercing

force. However, there was no help for it. The 4th had started four miles

behind us, and there was no ground even so good as that selected for

another seven miles. Immediately on our arrival, and before the tents were

pitched, a tremendous shower came on, and everyone got drenched before the

baggage-animals arrived with the tents. The black earth turned, as if by

magic, into slimy clay, and our position was the reverse of agreeable. Far

worse, however, was the condition of the 4th, which, having halted at

Dildee for two hours, did not arrive until between eight and nine in the

evening, wetted of course to the skin. We now felt bitterly the

inconvenience of not having even one change of clothes with us. It could,

however, have hardly been foreseen that, after having had only two or

three showers since we arrived in Abyssinia, we were to be exposed to

heavy rains regularly every day, which has, with one exception, been the

case for the last week. As it is, it is impossible to say how long we

shall be in our present state of only having the clothes we stand in. It

is a week since we left our little all behind us at Lât. We are still a

week’s march from Magdala, and may calculate on being fully a month

without our baggage. Officers have all managed somehow to bring on a

second shirt and pair of stockings; but the soldiers have no change of any

kind. For them, and indeed for the officers, to be wetted through day

after day, and to have no dry clothes to put on, and this at an altitude

of 11,000 feet above the sea, and when the cold at night is more pierceing

than anything I ever experienced, is trying in the extreme, and a great

many are already complaining of rheumatic pains. That night at the top of

the hill was the most unpleasant that officers or men have passed since

their arrival in the country: wet through, cold, and lying upon ground so

steep that we kept perpetually sliding down off our waterproof sheet. As

to lying in the orthodox fashion, side by side, with all the heels close

to the pole, like the spokes of a wheel, the thing was simply impossible.

In many of the tents the men’s feet would have been a yard higher than

their heads. However, there were few grumblings at the discomfort; but I

can answer that I for one was greatly pleased when I saw daylight break,

to get up from my uncomfortable sliding couch. We were ordered to start at

eight, but the men’s things were still so wet that the march was postponed

for two hours, to allow the blankets and greatcoats to be dried in the

wind and sun.

Our next march was again only seven miles to a place called Muja, not that

there was a village of any kind there, or indeed at eighteen out of twenty

places we have stopped at. To suppose that the natives have a name for

every field is absurd. Two speculations have been started as to how the

quartermaster-general’s department always obtain a name for our

camping-ground—the one is that they say something to a native, and the

first word he utters they put down at once for the station; the other is

that they draw a certain number of vowels and consonants from a bag, drop

them on the ground, and see what word they form. It is certain that

scarcely a name corresponds with those set down in maps, and instead of

calling these flats and plains by any name the first native may tell them,

it would be much more sensible, and would render it much more easy for an

English reader to follow our course, if our quartermasters were to take

some good map, and fix upon the name which most nearly corresponds with

the position of our camps.

The seven-miles road down to Muja was not difficult, but was one of the

most dangerous we have passed over. The path for the whole distance wound

along on the face of a deep ravine. It was often little more than a foot

wide, and was formed sometimes upon rock, and sometimes on black earth,

which had been dried hard by the wind and sun before we passed along it,

but which if wet would have been perfectly impassable. Had a storm come on

when we were upon it, we must have stopped to unload the animals. As it

was, only one stumbled and went over the edge, and was of course killed.

We have had a good many casualties lately among the animals. The Scinde

Horse, too, have lost several horses, but this is hardly surprising from

the way in which they ride them. A Scinde horseman, and I believe most of

the native cavalry, have an idea that it shows good horsemanship to ride a

horse up and down very steep places. It would be a great saving of

horseflesh if an order were issued that all native cavalry should dismount

and lead their horses up, if not down also, long or steep hills. Our

camping-ground at Muja was flat and turfy, but it had the disadvantage of

being a great height above water. Sir Robert Napier himself upon his

arrival rode a couple of miles farther in search of some site more

convenient for watering the animals, but he was unsuccessful in doing so.

The camping-ground had also the disadvantage of a very great scarcity of

wood.

Our view from Muja was very striking. Six miles in front, and a thousand

feet below us, lay the valley of the Tacazze. Beyond arose a straight line

of mountains, more steep and formidable than anything we have hitherto

seen. The slope at their feet was comparatively easy, but it increased

rapidly, and a wall of perpendicular rock of upwards of a hundred feet

high ran along the crests without the slightest apparent break. The range

looked like a mighty natural barrier to our further progress into

Abyssinia. However, we knew that the exploring-party was upon the plateau

on the summit, having gone up by the native road. Our order for the morrow

was, that we were to march early down to the Tacazze; that we were to

encamp in the valley, and that the troops were to set to work to make the

road up the ghaut practicable for our ascent upon the following day. At

eight o’clock in the evening, however, Captain Fawcett, of the

quartermaster’s department, rode into camp with a letter from Colonel

Phayre, evidently written in great consternation of mind, and saying that

Mr. Munzinger, who is with Gobayze’s army, was missing, and had no doubt

fallen into Theodore’s hands—that Theodore himself, with his army, had

crossed the Bachelo river, and was advancing to attack us; and urging that

more troops should be sent on.

Of course there was great excitement in the camp at this news. We were

only thirty-five miles in a straight line from Magdala, only twenty-three

from the Bachelo, and as Theodore, with his lightly-weighted natives would

march nearly straight, it was probable that we should be attacked on the

next night. In another hour an order was issued, which showed that Sir

Robert Napier, as well as ourselves, looked upon this information as most

important. The column was only to halt for two or three hours at the

Tacazze, while a strong working-party made the road to some extent

passable. We were then to march up it, and to encamp upon the plateau for

the night.

It was evident that the Commander-in-chief felt the importance of gaining

the summit of the precipitous range opposite before Theodore got to its

top to prevent our so doing. All the evening our talk was of Sniders and

night-attacks, and every _pro_ and _con_ was warmly discussed. At seven

the troops started, and in two hours and a half reached the Tacazze. The

Tacazze is here an insignificant stream, very inferior to many of those we

have previously crossed. Indeed, it is more a succession of pools than a

stream, and yet as one crossed it, one could not forget that this was one

of the fountain-heads of the mighty Nile—that it was this little

streamlet, which, swollen by a thousand tributaries, rushes every July

into the main river, raising its level many feet, and fertilising all

Egypt with the rich Abyssinian soil it carries down.

We went on half-a-mile farther across the valley to a point where the

commissariat had collected a dépôt of grain. Here the mules were unloaded,

fed and watered, and the troops had breakfast, while strong

fatigue-parties of the Beloochees, Punjaubees, and 4th went up the hill to

work upon the road, under the direction of Captains Goodfellow and

Lemessurier of the Engineers. In three hours afterwards the signallers on

the top of the hill waved us word that the road was passable, and we

started for a climb of a clear two thousand five hundred feet. It was hard

work, but the road was surprisingly free from difficulties or dangers

until we reached within two or three hundred feet of the top. Then there

were some exceedingly nasty bits, but upon the whole it was nothing like

what we had anticipated, and not to be compared to many places we have

before passed.

As we reached the top, Colonel Cameron called upon the 4th for three

cheers, telling them that thrashing Theodore would be nothing to the task

of climbing that hill. The men responded heartily but feebly; breath, not

inclination, being wanting. They then marched cheerily on across a plateau

level for another mile, in high spirits at the brush they were looking

forward to with Theodore. We soon found, as I had imagined that we should

do, that this anticipation was destined for the present to be

disappointed.

Munzinger was not missing, and never had been. He had gone out for a ride,

and his servant said, on being questioned, that he did not know where he

was. Theodore had not crossed, and apparently had not the least idea of

crossing the Bachelo, but was still making every effort to get his guns

into Magdala.

We had no sooner reached the plateau than we became conscious of a very

great change in the temperature. The wind blew bitterly cold, and not a

single tree or even bush of the smallest size was visible for the purposes

of firewood. There were numerous native cattle grazing on the hill-sides,

and the men at once set to work to pick up dried cow-dung, which the

natives habitually use for fuel; others busied themselves in cutting peat;

and the fires were soon lighted under the cooking-pots. At six o’clock we

had our usual heavy rain, lasting for two hours; but fortunately before it

set in the tents were safely pitched. Only, therefore, the men on duty got

wet. The night was most piercingly cold. To say that ice formed upon water

gives no idea whatever of the cold. A strong March east wind blew with a

force which penetrated to the very bones. I can safely say that never in

my life did I feel the cold so much as I have the two last nights. The

troops, especially the natives, of course feel it still more severely.

Rheumatic pains are beginning to be generally felt, and a week of this

work will fill the hospital-tents. The cold will tell more severely when

the stock of rum is exhausted. Each regiment brought up some with their

fifteen days’ supplies, and this is not yet exhausted; but the

commissariat supply is finished, and we have had none now for four days.

The sugar has been also exhausted, and the tea was running very short. I

am happy to say, however, that a fresh supply has arrived to-day; for cold

water only in such a climate as this would be the reverse of cheering.

It was arranged that we should halt here for two days, to allow General

Staveley to come up with the force under him. Yesterday, early, news was

brought in to the Chief that the uncle of Wagshum Gobayze was coming in to

pay a visit, and Major Grant and Captain Moore went out to meet him. The

Adjutant-general carelessly omitted to notify the pickets of the coming of

the envoy; and accordingly, when the outlying sentry of the 4th regiment

saw a body of 700 or 800 horsemen advancing, he naturally supposed that it

was the enemy. He very properly called out the picket, who loaded their

Sniders, and went out in skirmishing order to meet the enemy. In another

quarter of a minute they would have opened fire, when an officer of the

4th came running up and stopped them. Had he been a minute later the

consequences would have been most disastrous. Every shot would have told

upon the dense body of horsemen, and the twenty men, in the minute or two

which must have elapsed before the cavalry could have reached them, would

have done terrible execution; and even had the cavalry charged, would, by

falling into a small square, not improbably have defended themselves

against the whole force. But the lives so sacrificed would have been only

the beginning of misfortunes. Nothing would ever have convinced Gobayze

that the affair was the result of a mistake, and we should have had him

for our foe as well as Theodore. And with Wagshum’s army hovering around

us, cutting off our baggage-train and attacking small parties, our

position would be indeed a precarious one.

Wagshum Gobayze’s uncle arrived with his body of cavalry at the other side

of the little stream which borders our camp, and here halted for a few

minutes. The troops were in the mean time paraded in front of their

respective lines. Gobayze’s troops, of whom there were 700 or 800 present,

drew up in a long line and dismounted, every man sitting down in front of

his horse. They were by far the most formidable body we have seen since

our arrival in this country. They were really cavalry, and rode small but

very strong and serviceable horses. They were armed with shield and spear.

I do not of course mean that these troops could stand for a moment against

a charge of regular cavalry. It is probable that a hundred of the Scinde

Horse or of the 3d Cavalry would scatter them like chaff; but for rough

work, for dashing down a mountain side and attacking a convoy, they would

be most formidable enemies. Their horses are all unshod, are marvellously

surefooted, and will go at a gallop over places where an English horse

could scarcely walk. We were greatly surprised at the sight of this body

of cavalry, for heretofore we had not seen an animal which could even by

courtesy be called a horse since we landed in Abyssinia.

Leaving the main body of the force behind, the envoy advanced, escorted by

the 3d Cavalry, who had gone out to meet him, and attended only by a dozen

or so of his personal followers. As he passed through the lines the

regiments saluted and the bands played. The envoy was an

intelligent-looking man, dressed in a crimson-silk dressing-gown, brocaded

with yellow; over this he wore the universal Abyssinian white-cloth

wrapping, and had a white turban upon his head. By his side rode the

officers who had gone out to meet him and Mr. Munzinger. The envoy could

not be received in a public durbar, as the previous ambassadors have been,

for Sir Robert Napier has now only a small tent of some eight to ten feet

square. I am unable to say, therefore, what took place at the interview,

except that the envoy expressed very considerable dread of Theodore, who,

he said, had 10,000 men, and would unquestionably fight us at Magdala.

At the conclusion of the interview the envoy was presented with a horse

and a double-barrelled gun. While the interview was going on we amused

ourselves by inspecting the envoy’s shield, which was carried by an

attendant, and was a very magnificent affair indeed. The shield itself was

of course of rhinoceros hide, and upon it was a piece of lion’s skin, with

numerous raised bosses of gilt-filigree work, which appeared to me to be

of Indian workmanship. It was one of the ten royal shields, all precisely

similar, which exist in Abyssinia. The attendants were mostly fine,

well-built fellows, as were the general body of cavalry, and of superior

physique to any men we had hitherto seen. I should mention that all the

horses have a strap going from the forehead down to the nose, upon which

are two or more round plates of metal with a sharp spike in them, exactly

resembling, but smaller, those worn upon the foreheads of the horses of

the knights of old. The 4th, the Scinde Horse, and a body of 3d Native

Cavalry, were drawn up in front of the tent, and saluted as the envoy

left. There is no doubt that Theodore will be no despicable foe, and the

further we go the more evident this becomes. Gobayze’s army is said to be

20,000 strong; and if, as I understand, those we saw to-day were a fair

sample of them, they would be certainly formidable antagonists. And yet

Gobayze has been watching Theodore for months, and did not dare to attack

him, even when encumbered by his artillery and baggage. Gobayze indeed

confesses that his army would have no chance with that of Theodore. The

army of the latter, then, when garrisoning a position of such immense

natural strength as that of Magdala, will be formidable even to an army of

4000 British troops. There can be no doubt that we shall capture the

place; but the British public must not be surprised if we do not do it

directly we arrive.

Sir Charles Staveley arrived to-day with his force, which slept last night

at a halting-place at the foot of the ghaut. I am glad to say that the

general has so far recovered from his attack of rheumatism as to be able

to sit on his horse for a portion of the journey. He brought with him the

whole of the 33d, six companies of the Punjaub Pioneers, Twiss’s steel

battery, the 3d Native Cavalry, and the Naval Rocket Brigade. The 45th

regiment, the 3d Dragoon Guards, and the second wing of the Beloochees are

all coming up by forced marches, and, as well as the elephants with G 14

Battery, will arrive here in three days. This afternoon the Naval Brigade

went out to exhibit rocket practice. There was not room in the valley for

the practice, and they therefore went up on to a hill, and fired at

another hill about 2000 yards distant. There are twelve mules, each with a

tube, and there is a supply of ninety rockets to each tube: there are four

men to each tube, beside the man who leads the mule. At the word “unload!”

the tubes, which are about three feet in length, are quickly taken off the

mules and arranged in line. Each tube is provided with a sort of stand,

with a marked elevator, by which it can be adjusted to any required angle.

The order at first was to fire at ten degrees of elevation; and upon the

word “fire!” being given, one after another of the rockets (which have no

stick) rushed from the tube, and buzzed through the air to the top of the

opposite hill. Three rockets were fired to this elevation, and then three

from an elevation of five degrees. A very strong wind was blowing, and it

was difficult therefore to form any opinion of the accuracy of aim

attainable. The bolts as they shot through the air certainly did not

appear to swerve in the slightest from their original line; and there is

no doubt that this novel instrument of war will strike terror into the

hearts of the garrison of Magdala.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Scindee, April 5th.

When I wrote from Santarai we were twenty-five miles in a direct line from

Magdala. After marching thirty-five miles we are at exactly the same

distance. In fact, we have marched along the base of a triangle, of which

Magdala forms the apex. We have been obliged to do this to arrive at the

one practicable point for crossing the tremendous ravine of the Djedda.

For the whole of this distance we have marched along a nearly level

plateau ten thousand feet above the sea. The sun by day has been

exceedingly hot, the wind at night piercingly cold, and we have had heavy

thunderstorms of an afternoon. The extremes of temperature are very great,

and it is indeed surprising that the troops preserve their health as they

do. I have seen the thermometer register 145° at eleven o’clock, and go

down to 19° at night. The plateau land has been bare and monotonous in the

extreme, not a single shrub, however small, breaks the view, and the only

variety whatever has been, that whereas in most places the soil is a black

friable loam, at others it is so covered with stones of all sizes that the

soil itself is scarcely visible, and travelling is difficult and painful

in the extreme. Our first march was twelve miles in length to Gazoo, which

is the name of a stream running for nearly the whole distance parallel to

our line of march. At Gazoo, the very serious news reached us that the

arrangements for the native transport had broken down, and that no

supplies were on their way up. This was what I had, when we started from

Lât for our rush forward, foreseen was exceedingly likely to happen, and

our position at once became a very precarious one. We had only six days’

provision remaining. Magdala was five days’ march distant. It was now

certain that no fresh supplies could possibly arrive until long after

those we have with us are exhausted. It is hardly probable that we shall

find any provisions upon our way, for to-morrow we shall come upon

Theodore’s track, and it is said that he has burnt and plundered the whole

country in the neighbourhood of his line of route. It is very doubtful

whether we shall obtain enough food for our animals; even now, when in a

cultivated country which has not been ravaged, forage is very scarce, and

the animals are upon the very shortest allowance which will keep life

together. The prospect, therefore, was gloomy indeed, and there was a

rumour that the Chief had made up his mind to halt, and to send the whole

of the animals back to bring up provisions. This idea, however, if it was

ever entertained, was abandoned; those energetic officers, Major Grant and

Captain Moore, were sent back to endeavour to arrange the hitch in the

native carriage; the ration of biscuit was reduced from a pound to

half-a-pound per diem, and the army moved on. Fortunately news came up

that the natives were bringing in a thousand pounds of flour a-day to the

commissariat station which had been established at the Tacazze, and with

these and our half-rations we might hold on for some time.

The next day’s march was sixteen miles, to Ad Gazoo, through a country

precisely similar in character to that passed on the preceding day, except

that it was more cultivated. The villages, indeed, were everywhere

scattered, and although small were snug and comfortable-looking, the

little clusters of eight or ten huts, with their high conical thatched

roofs, looking very like snug English homesteads with their rickyards.

Here, as indeed through the whole of the latter part of our journey, the

people came out to gaze on the passing army of white strangers.

Picturesque groups they formed as they squatted by the wayside. In the

centre would probably be the priest, and next to him the patriarch and the

chief of the village. Round them would sit the other men, and behind these

the women and girls would stand, the latter chattering and laughing among

themselves, or to the younger men, who stood beside them. Here, too, would

be the mothers, some with their little fat babies in their arms, some with

two or three children hanging round them, and peeping bashfully out at the

strange white men. Some of the women would generally have brought goats,

or a pot of honey, or a jar of milk or ghee, or a bag of grain to sell,

but they soon forgot to offer them in their surprise at the strange

attires and beautiful horses of the strangers.

From Ad Gazoo we yesterday moved our camp to this place, a distance of

only two miles, Sir Charles Staveley bringing up his division to the camp

we had left, so that the whole force is now well together in case of an

attack. An affair took place yesterday evening, the consequences of which

might have been very serious. Ashasta, Gobayze’s uncle, who visited us at

Santarai, again came into camp with a couple of hundred followers. Care

had been taken this time to prevent the possibility of his being fired

into by the pickets, and when his visit was over he was escorted by an

officer beyond the lines. After he had left us, he went to a village not

far distant, where he billeted half of his men. With the remainder he

started for another village; but upon his way he passed close to an

outlying picket of General Staveley’s brigade, consisting of a corporal

and four men of the 3d Native Infantry. These men of course knew nothing

of his having come from our camp, and shouted to the party to keep their

distance. The natives, who, as I have before said, have a strong

impression that we cannot fight, replied by derisive cries and by

brandishing their lances. The corporal, naturally supposing that it was a

party of Theodore’s cavalry, ordered one of his men to fire, which was

answered by a couple of shots on the part of the natives. The corporal

then gave the word to the others to fire, and then to charge, and the

little party, sword in hand, went gallantly at the numerous party of their

supposed enemy. Ashasta, seeing that it was a mistake, ordered his men to

retreat, which they did, pursued by the picket, who came up with some of

the hindmost of the party. They pursued for some distance, and then

halted. Two of the natives were killed in the affair, one with a bullet,

one by a sword-thrust, and two others were wounded. At the sound of the

firing Staveley’s brigade was called out under arms, and considerable

excitement prevailed for some time. Late in the evening, when the matter

was understood, M. Munzinger went out to explain to Ashasta how it had

happened; and as the men killed were not chiefs, and human life does not

go for much in Abyssinia, our apologies were accepted, and Ashasta came

into camp again to-day. Thus what might have been a very serious business

is happily arranged. The men upon picket are in no way to blame; in fact,

they behaved with great gallantry, and must have opened the eyes of the

natives to the fact that we can fight when we like. Technically, they were

somewhat to blame in charging, as the rule is that a picket should never

advance, but should fire and hold its ground when possible, or retire upon

its supports if threatened by an overwhelming force.

The Naval Rocket Brigade now form a portion of this camp. They are an

admirable body of men, and do great credit to Captain Fellowes, their

commanding officer. They support the fatigues and hardships with the

good-temper peculiar to naval men. They march, contrary to what might have

been expected, even better than the soldiers, and never fall out, even on

the most fatiguing journeys. They are a great amusement to the troops, and

their admonitions to their mules, which they persist in treating as ships,

are irresistibly comic. I saw a sailor the other day who was leading a

mule, while a comrade walked behind it. A stoppage occurred, but he went

right on into the midst of a number of soldiers.

“Hallo, Jack!” they said good-humouredly, “where are you coming?”

“Coming?” Jack said, “I ain’t coming anywhere. I am only towing the craft;

it’s the chap behind does the steering.”

It is always so with them. The head-rope is always either the “tow-rope”

or “the painter.” They starboard or port their helm, “tack through a

crowd,” or “wear the ship round” in a most amusing way. They have of

course shore-titles for the occasion, but do not always answer to them.

The other day I heard an officer call out, “Sergeant-major!”

No answer.

“Sergeant-major!” This time louder.

Still no reply.

A third and still louder hail produced no response.

“Boatswain, where the devil are you?”

“Ay, ay, sir!” was the instant answer from the man, who was standing close

by, but who had quite forgotten his new rank of sergeant-major.

Of an evening, if we have a halt, Jack sometimes dances. The band of the

Punjaubees—between whom and the sailors there is a great friendship,

although of course they do not understand a word of each other’s

language—comes over to the sailors’ camp, and plays dance-music; and

half-a-dozen couples of sailors stand up and execute quadrilles, waltzes,

and polkas.

The scene is a very amusing one. The Punjaubees do not stand, but sit in a

circle, and play away with the greatest gravity; very well they play too,

for they are beyond all comparison the best band out here. The sailors

dance without the least idea that there is anything comic in the business;

while round stand a crowd of amused soldiers and of astonished natives of

the country, to whom the whole performance is a profound mystery.

The Punjaub Pioneers still maintain the high opinion they have earned by

their hard work. They are indeed a splendid regiment, and reflect the

greatest credit upon Major Chamberlain, their popular commanding-officer.

Major Chamberlain’s case is a particularly hard one. He was promoted to

the rank of major during the mutinies, and was subsequently, for his great

services, recommended no less than three times for his colonelcy. The

Indian Government, however, refused, on account of his recent promotion.

Eleven years have since elapsed, and that objection must long ere this be

done away with; and yet Major Chamberlain is only Major Chamberlain still.

It is to be hoped that at the end of this campaign a tardy recognition

will be made of his services.

It was Major Chamberlain and his Punjaubees who found water at a short

distance from Zulla. He asserted, and very rightly, that as there was

water at Koomaylo, it must find its way down to the sea somehow, and so he

set his men to work to dig. Down he went steadily, amidst the laughter and

chaff of his friends in the Engineers. Still he persevered, and at nearly

sixty feet from the surface he struck water. An abundant supply is now

obtainable from this well, and by this service alone he has amply earned

his promotion.

The difficulties of writing since we left Lât have been greater than ever,

and the manual operation of inditing an epistle is a most serious

business. Of course there is nothing resembling a chair or a table,—not

even a box. The only way to write is lying upon the ground, and putting

one’s paper upon one’s pillow. Now my pillow is not a comfortable one for

sleeping upon, much less for writing. It is composed of a revolver, a box

of cartridges, a telescope, a bag of dollars, a packet of candles, a

powder-flask, a bag of bullets, a comb, a pair of stockings, and a

flannel-shirt,—in fact, all my worldly belongings. A most useful kit, no

doubt, but uncomfortable as a pillow, inconvenient as a writing-table.

However, one gets accustomed to anything; and if this campaign lasts

another month or two, we shall not improbably have learnt to dispense with

much more important articles than tables and chairs; for we have only the

clothes we stand in, and these are already giving unmistakable signs of

approaching dissolution.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Dalanta, April 5th.

We are now getting to names which are somewhat familiar to us. The river

Djedda, which the troops crossed yesterday, and the plain of Dalanta,

where we are encamped to-day, were both mentioned frequently in the

letters from the captives. The river Djedda was the place where Theodore

was detained so long making a practicable road for his guns, and where he

was represented as encouraging his men at their task by working with his

own hands. Dalanta was the province or tract which was spoken of as in

rebellion against him for a considerable time previously, but which

submitted as soon as he had crossed the Djedda.

After I had sent off my letter of the 3d, intelligence arrived that

Theodore had broken up his camp before Magdala, and was moving to attack

us. I need hardly say that the news was untrue. The Chief, however, was

bound to act upon it, and consequently we were ordered to march at seven;

and instead of halting, as previously intended, upon the edge of the

ravine of the Djedda, we were to cross and encamp on the other side, so as

to avoid the possibility of having to take such a strong position. Colonel

Milward, who had marched the evening before with the Punjaubees, and two

companies of the 4th, was ordered to cross early, and General Staveley was

to bring up his force to the edge of the ravine. We started punctually at

the time ordered, and marched across a precisely similar country to that

we had traversed for the few previous days. Some miles before we reached

the edge of the Djedda the whole aspect was changed. The yellow stubble

and hay, which had before stretched away upon both sides, was all burnt,

and the ground was covered only with a black ash. The flocks and herds

which had dotted the country were gone, and scarcely a human being was to

be seen over the black expanse. The snug homesteads and villages had

disappeared, and in their places were bare walls and heaps of stones. I

rode up to one of these. On the floor lay the half-charred thatch of the

roof; among it were portions of broken pots and baking effects. Here was a

long round stone, which was used as a rolling-pin to make the flat bread;

there was a large vessel of baked earth and cow-dung which had once held

flour or milk. A rat scuttled away as I looked in. There was not a living

soul in what had once been a large village. This was indeed the desolation

of war. Presently we saw rising, apparently a few feet above the plain, at

a distance of five or six miles, a long perpendicular wall of rock. This,

we knew, was the upper edge of the opposite side of the Djedda. The ground

then sank a little in front of us, and, riding along the slight

depression, we suddenly turned a corner, and below us lay the wonderful

gorge of the Djedda. Its width from edge to edge was four or five miles,

its depth to the stream 3800 feet. It was a wonderful ravine. As far as

eye could see either way, the upper part upon sides appeared like two

perpendicular walls of perhaps a third of its total depth. Then, on either

side, was a plain or shoulder of from a mile to a mile and a half in

width, with a gradual slope towards the stream. The lower portion was

again extremely steep, but still with a gradual descent, and not mere

walls of rock like the upper edges. It was easy to imagine the whole

process of the formation of this gorge. Originally it must have been an

arm of the sea; a gulf of five miles across, and with perpendicular cliffs

upon either side, and its depth the level of the broad shoulders. Then the

land rose, and a great river ran through the centre of what was now a

noble valley, gradually eating its way down until its bed attained its

present enormous depth. It was this ravine which had been the cause of the

immense detour we have had to make. Forty miles back, at Santarai, we were

said to be as close to Magdala as we were when we stood prepared to

descend into the Djedda. But the perpendicular walls barred our progress,

and we have marched along nearly parallel to its course until we have

reached the one spot where a break in its iron walls allow of our descent.

By this route Theodore marched, and when we saw the road he had made for

us, we felt for the first time since our arrival really grateful to the

Abyssinian tyrant.

It is really a wonderful road, almost as good as could have been made by

our own engineers; the only difference being that they would have thrown a

layer of earth over the loose stones to bind them together, and to afford

a firm and level surface. The road is really constructed with great

engineering skill. Blasting-tools have been freely used wherever the rock

required it. Every wind and turn, every shoulder and slope, has been taken

advantage of in order to make zigzags, and render the descent more

gradual. It is true that in places it is fearfully steep—an incline of one

and a quarter to one—which, to convey the idea more popularly, is about

the slope of the bank of a railway-cutting. The leaving the road in its

present state, with loose stones, may have been done with an object, for

upon a solid road of this angle it would have been next to impossible to

have kept heavy cannon on wheels from running down, whereas upon a very

loose and heavy road the matter was comparatively easy. The length of the

descent is four miles and a half, that of the ascent three miles and a

half. Two miles and a half of the former, and a mile and a half of the

latter, are across and partially along the shoulders, where the slope was

very slight. In consequence, it may be said that actually three thousand

feet of depth were on either side attained in two miles, which would give

an average incline of one in three. The road is from twenty to thirty feet

in width; generally it is made through basalt, which, in cooling, had

crystallised, so that its surface resembles a mosaic pavement, and this

readily breaks up. Parts, however, are cut through a hard stone, and

portions through a conglomerate, which must have tried to the utmost the

tools and patience of Theodore’s army. How he achieved the task with the

means at his disposal I am at a loss to understand; and the road has

certainly raised Theodore very many degrees in the estimation of our men.

Upon every level space in the camping-ground of his army, there are their

fireplaces, and innumerable little bowers of five feet high and little

more in diameter, in which his troops curled themselves up when their

day’s work was over. It was a long and very weary descent. Going down a

steep place is comparatively easy when one carries no load; but when one

has over fifty pounds upon the back it is extremely trying. At last we

reached the bottom, a stony waste of a quarter of a mile wide, with a few

large trees growing upon what in the rainy season are, no doubt, islands.

The bed of the stream is perfectly dry, except that here and there, at

intervals of a quarter of a mile or so, were pools of water, very soft and

unpleasant to the taste, and full of tadpoles. The troops when they

arrived here were a good deal done up, having already marched thirteen

miles, and it was hoped that the Chief would order a halt for the night.

He, however, considered it essential that the plateau should be gained

that evening, and Milward’s corps, whose rearguard left the river as we

descended to it, supported. The troops were ordered to halt and rest until

four o’clock, and to have their dinners, and the mules were to be

unloaded, fed, and watered.

It was three o’clock before the baggage began to arrive in the valley, and

it was evident that it would not be all down until dark, and that much of

it could not reach the plateau above that night. Three of us, therefore,

resolved upon sleeping where we were, and upon going on at daybreak. We

accordingly pitched our tents under a tree, saw our horses picketed and

fed, and dinner in course of preparation, and then went out for a walk to

explore the valley. The temperature was very many degrees warmer than upon

the plateau above, and the flora was more than proportionately luxuriant.

Here I find, among hundreds of other plants of whose names and properties

I am unfortunately ignorant, the wild verbena and heliotrope, also the

cucumber. Unfortunately the cucumbers had only just begun to form, and

were scarcely as large as gherkins, or we might have had an unexpected

addition to our fare. I also found quantities of the rare palm-fern

growing in crevices of the rocks. It was altogether a splendid field for a

botanist, and I think it a great pity that a learned botanist did not

accompany the expedition instead of a geographer, who, although a most

distinguished savant, can but tell the world nearly the same particulars

of the narrow strip of country through which we are travelling as must

occur to any ordinary observer. Had this gentleman merely taken advantage

of the protection given by our presence in the country to travel generally

through it, he might have no doubt added largely to our store of

information; but keeping to the line of route followed by the army, he

can, with the exception of ascertaining the precise heights over which we

travel, tell us really next to nothing. I believe, however, that this

staying with the army is in no degree the fault of the gentleman in

question, but of the military authorities, who here appear to have the

idea that a civilian is a sort of grown-up baby, who must be kept strictly

under their own eyes, or else that he will infallibly get into mischief,

and either come to harm himself, or else be the cause of that dreadful and

mysterious thing—complications. Had King Kassa, at the time he visited us,

been applied to by the Commander-in-chief, he would, no doubt, have

afforded every facility to the geographer and archæologist to have

wandered as they pleased among his dominions, and the latter especially

might have visited the interesting cities of Adowa and Axum, and made

discoveries of an important and interesting nature, instead of wasting his

time on the summit of the bleak Abyssinian mountains.