struck, and the army on its march. The Ras and Guebra Mascal led the
van, the king and Guebra Christos the center, Kasmati Kefla Yasous the
rear; Netcho the Fit-Auraris being about half an hour's march before
us, we proceeded along the plain without interruption; Ayto Engedan,
with a small body of horse, was covering the king's right flank at
some distance. The church of Serbraxos was on our left upon the side
of a hill, and we expected to see the Fit-Auraris take up his ground
for encamping there, as it was the field of action determined upon by
both parties. The Fit-Auraris, however, first, and then Ras Michael
with the van, passed below Serbraxos at so brisk a pace that we in the
center found it difficult to keep up with them.
[Illustration:
PLAN
_of_
THE FIRST BATTLE
OF
_SERBRAXOS_
_Fought 16 May,
1772._
FIRST BATTLE.
Explanation.
1. King's palace and high walls surrounding it.
2. Ashoa, public place where the troops assemble, and gunpowder
is sold, and where public executions are made.
3. Hamar Noh, Noah's Ark, a church.
4. A close quarter over a precipice on the West, to which
the merchants carry their effects upon sudden revolutions,
especially those that have flour and provisions.
5. Abbo, where the Romish priests were stoned and lye unburied.
6. Debra Berhan, famous church upon the highest part of the hill
over the Angrab.
7. Riggobee Ber, or Pigeons Pass, a rocky part of the town,
fortified in time of troubles.
8. Abbo, great street, called from the church and saint of that
name.
9. Mahometan town on the river Kaha.
10. King's palace on the river Kaha.
11. Brook of St Raphael.
12. The river Angrab.
* * * * *
A The centre commanded by the king and Guebra Christos encamped
on the South of the hill Serbraxos.
B Ras Michael, who leads the van, encamped upon the South-East,
and highest part of the hill.
C Kefla Yasous, who commands the rear encamped upon the
North-West.
D Ras Michael marching from his camp at Serbraxos, is stopt at
the mouth of the valley, and engages Powussen and the troops of
Begemder at E.
E The rebel troops of Begemder engaging Ras Michael.
F Ayto Engedan with a thousand men marches from the King's camp
to reinforce Michael at the mouth of the valley.
G Powussen's camp at Correva.
H A reinforcement marches from Powussen's camp, and joins the
rebels engaged with Michael at E.
I Ras Michael beat back into the valley, retires under cover of
his musketry at K and L, which stop the rebels advancing.
M Kefla Yasous joins the king, marches to the head of the
valley, wheels to the right, and faces to the westward.
N The king's horse upon the ford of the Mariam facing westward.
OO Two bodies of the king's musketry placed to defend the ford
of the Mariam.
P Ayabdar's army encamped.
QQ Ayabdar's army marches from the camp, and halts a small
distance from the king's horse at NN, but retreats to SS without
attacking them. All but the Edjow Galla, who remain at T, and
are all cut to pieces by the king's horse, and the musketry on
the hill.]
A long valley, having the mountains of Begemder on the south, or
farthest end, was what the Ras had now entered, and he flattered
himself, by a forced march, to arrive at those mountains. When once
in Begemder, he knew that he not only should occasion a revolt among
the troops of Powussen, (many of whom had followed him by force rather
than inclination) but likewise he was assured that he should be met
by many powerful noblemen and friends to the king, both of Lasta and
Begemder, whom Powussen dared not force to follow him, and who had
staid at home; by this means, he conceived his army would be so much
increased that he soon should bring the rebels to reason.
The river Mariam runs along the west side of this valley, shallow, but
brisk and clear, and the water excellent, while a small brook, called
Deg-Ohha, (that is, the water of honour, or of worth) falling from
the mountains on the east, runs close by the bottom of the hill of
Serbraxos, where it joins the Mariam. The center of the army was just
entering from the plain into the valley, and the king's horse passing
Deg-Ohha, when we heard a firing in the front, which we guessed to be
from the Fit-Auraris; soon after followed a repeated firing from the
van, engaged about a short two miles distance, though a long even hill
in the midst of the valley, and its windings, hindered us from seeing
them.
Guebra Christos immediately made his disposition; he placed his horse,
and foot in the intervals of the horse, in the middle of the valley;
his musquetry on the right and left, the former upon the skirts of
the hill already mentioned, to run along the valley; the latter up
the skirts of the hill of Serbraxos. Orders very soon arrived from
Ras Michael, which did not alter the disposition; and Kefla Yasous
with the rear arriving at the same time, just joined and doubled the
several posts as they had been taken; our position was to the utmost
of our wish; but it had not been so with Michael, for he no sooner
had got into the plain, where he had the hills no longer either on
his right or left, than he was attacked by Powussen, with the whole
force of Begemder, who cut off the troops of his Fit-Auraris to a
man, he, and two or three common soldiers, only escaping. This was
owing to Michael's retreating instead of supporting him; for he had
scarcely given time for Powussen to come up with his horse, who fought
more desperately than was their usual custom, than he himself again
took possession of the entrance of the valley, and lined the hill on
both sides with fire-arms. A very general and sharp fire from Guebra
Mascal, and the musquetry, (who had occupied the south end of the long
hill) soon obliged Powussen to leave Michael's cavalry, which he would
else have inevitably destroyed, and shelter himself in the plain from
the violent effect of the shot, which rained upon him alternately from
the hills on each side of the valley.
At this time we were in the greatest anxiety, from the report of the
musquets always coming nearer us, though, by the contrary winds, the
smoke was carried from us. The day was far advanced, and excessively
hot: the foot soldiers were busy in giving our horses drink out of
our own helmets, which they filled from Deg-Ohha. All the troops
were impatient, however, to come to an action upon that ground. At
this time an officer from Michael came to Kefla Yasous, who was
on horseback near the king, ordering him to send a body of fresh
horse to support the cavalry of his division, with an intention,
if possible, to bring on a general engagement. In the mean time he
ordered Kefla Yasous to keep firm, as he then was, in the post of
Serbraxos, and not to advance till he was sure that Gusho and Ayabdar
had left their ground, joined Powussen, and were engaged with him
at the south end of the valley. These instructions were perfectly
understood by that sagacious and veteran general. He detached 500
Shoa, with near the same number of horse belonging to Engedan, and
commanded by him, and these, joined to the cavalry already in the van,
again attempting to pass the plain, were attacked by Powussen and the
troops of Begemder, who had been likewise reinforced, and after an
obstinate engagement they had retired into the mouth of the valley,
not from being actually beaten, but by direction of Ras Michael,
in order to bring the enemy pursuing them under the fire of the
musquetry, on each side of the entrance of the valley.
I was exceedingly curious to have seen this engagement, and I begged
Kefla Yasous to speak to the king to permit me to go singly with
Engedan. To this, however, I had a flat refusal, not without some
marks of peevishness and displeasure, which Kefla Yasous qualified
by saying, "Don't be dismayed, you shall see;" and in that instant
the word was given to march to the right, whilst the troops left the
valley between the long hill and the mountains, and took post on the
side of the river Mariam, with their faces fronting the west. The
musquetry was placed upon the eminences to the north and south, as
if to defend the ford of the river, thro' which the entrance was, to
the north end of the valley. Michael, in the mean time, had, by the
feigned retreat of his cavalry, decoyed the Begemder troops within
reach of the musquetry, and they were again put in disorder by the
discharge on each side of the hill, without being able to advance a
step further; after which he ordered some tents to be pitched upon the
hill on his right, as if intending to encamp there.
Kasmati Ayabdar, who commanded the left wing of the rebels, imagining
that the whole army had advanced to the south of the valley with Ras
Michael, thought this was an opportunity of surrounding the king's
troops, and cutting them off from their camp and strong post upon the
hill of Serbraxos; with this intention he advanced rapidly to the ford
of the river Mariam, thinking to take post on the hill which was to
our rear, being that of Serbraxos. When he advanced, however, near
that river, and saw the king and his cavalry drawn up on the banks
of it, his heart failed him, and he halted within a short quarter of
a mile of our troops. In order to decoy and make him more confident,
Kefla Yasous ordered the horse to retreat and cross the river as fast
as they could, with an appearance of confusion, that he might draw
their horse within reach of our musquetry planted upon every eminence.
The king shewed great reluctance at this manœuvre, however wise.
He repeated very peevishly, What is this! What is this! Am I retiring
before rebels?--Neither did this stratagem succeed but in part, for
Ayabdar, either distrusting the trap laid for him, or afraid to enter
into an engagement with the king, advanced but a few paces, and again
halted, apparently not decided what he was to do.
The Edjow Galla alone advanced to the very brink of the river, and
when the musquetry began to be fired at them, which would probably
quickly have put them into confusion, the king, losing all patience,
ordered the black horse, and all the heavy-armed troops, to charge
them, which was instantly executed with the greatest speed; the Galla
were all borne down, with little or no resistance, by the length of
our pikes, and the superior weight of our horses, and those that were
not slain were scattered over the plain. But a greater misfortune
befel us from our friends than from our enemies, as a volley of shot
was poured upon us from Serbraxos hill, on the right hand, which
killed seven men, notwithstanding their coats of mail. The king
himself was in great danger, being in the middle of the engagement,
and unarmed; young prince George, who fought by his side, was shot in
the thumb of his left hand. Kefla Yasous, who saw the danger the king
was in, riding about, holding out his hand and crying not to fire, was
shot through the hair, the ball just grazing his head above the ear,
and another wounding his horse just above his thigh, but so slightly,
that it was afterwards extracted by a servant's fingers.
Ayabdar, after the loss of his Edjow Galla, retreated to the camp,
amidst the curses and imprecations of the army, who, not informed of
the king's strength, thought the war might have been ended by a proper
exertion and perseverance in his part that day. Gusho his nephew,
who had staid to guard the camp, but who had reinforced Powussen and
Ayabdar each of them with a part of his troops, spoke of his uncle in
the bitterest terms of reproach, continually calling him dotard and
coward, and declaring him incapable of command or service. Whether
this was really his opinion, or only said with a view of forwarding
a scheme already laid, I will not say; but certainly it was the
foundation of a quarrel which, by its consequences, did greatly weaken
the rebels, and contributed much afterwards to maintain the king
upon the throne; for Gusho, who, upon the defeat of Ras Michael, was
destined by all parties to take the lead, was as lavish in praises of
Powussen for his behaviour that day, as he was bitter in condemning
his uncle, which created a violent misunderstanding between these two
chiefs, insomuch that Asahel Woodage, with his troops of Maitsha, left
Ayabdar, and joined Powussen. Confu, moreover, son of Basha Eusebius,
and brother to Guebra Mehedin, who had frustrated my first attempt
to discover the source of the Nile, endeavouring to promote a revolt
among the troops of Foggora, to which he belonged, was put in irons by
Ayabdar, from which he was but too soon released to meet, a few days
afterwards, a fate that put an end to his profligacy and follies.
Powussen in this conflict had retreated, if not beaten, with a
considerable loss; nine hundred of his best troops were said to
have been slain that day, and a great many more wounded, most of
whom (those I mean that had gun-shot wounds) died from the want of
surgeons, and the ignorance of those who undertook to cure them.
On the part of Michael about 300 men, all of the cavalry, were
said to have perished that day, including the troops of Netcho the
Fit-Auraris. Of the king's division about twenty-three were killed,
seven of these being his guards, I believe mostly by the unfortunate
fire of his troops, arising from his own impatience in attacking the
Galla unadvisedly, of whom about sixty were left upon the field, all
slain in the attack, for they were not pursued, but joined their main
body immediately.
Ras Michael fell back upon the army, which had encamped on the hill
of Serbraxos; and it now was believed more than before, that the
fate of the empire was to be determined on that spot. Another thing,
however, appeared plain, that whatever belief Michael pretended in
the prophecy, he would not have preferred fighting at Serbraxos, if
he could by any means have given the rebels the slip, and marched his
army into Begemder. The king was exceedingly pleased at the part he
had taken that day; it was the first time he was engaged in person,
nor did any body venture to condemn it; he shewed, indeed, very little
concern at his brother's wound, which was only a slight one in the
fleshy part of his thumb, nor did the young prince trouble himself
much about it; on the contrary, when I went to dress and bind it up,
he said to me, I wish, Yagoube, the shot had carried the thumb off
altogether, it would have made me incapable of succeeding to the
throne, and they would not then send me to the hill of Wechné. The
king, upon hearing this, said with a smile, George forgets that Hatzé
Hannes, my father and his, was called to the throne many years after
his whole hand had been cut off. Every one agreed that Ras Michael had
that day shewn a degree of intrepidity and military skill superior to
any thing which had appeared in many former engagements in which he
had commanded. No sooner had he refreshed himself with a meal, than
he called a council of his officers, which lasted great part of the
evening, notwithstanding the fatigue he had undergone throughout the
day.
This was the first battle of Serbraxos, which, though it contained
nothing decisive, had still two very material consequences, as it so
daunted the spirits of the Begemder horse, that many chiefs of that
country withdrew their troops, and went home, whilst such discord was
sown among the leaders, that I believe they never sincerely trusted
one another afterwards; Gusho and Ayabdar, in particular, were known
to correspond with the king daily.
On the morrow after the battle, three messengers arrived from Gusho,
Powussen, and Ayabdar, and each had a separate audience of the King
and Ras, before whom they all three severally declared, that their
masters desired to continue in allegiance to him their king, Tecla
Haimanout, but under this condition only, that Ras Michael should
be sent to his government of Tigrè, never more to return. They
endeavoured to persuade the king also to take the sense of his army,
the majority of which, they asserted, were ready to abandon him. If
Michael should agree to return to Tigrè, they offered to carry the
king to Gondar, place him in his palace, and allow him to choose his
own ministers, and govern for the future after his own ideas. This,
indeed, was the universal wish, and I did not see what Ras Michael
could have done, had he adopted it; but fear, or gratitude, or both,
restrained the young king from such a measure; and the messengers left
him after a plain declaration, That they had endeavoured all in their
power to save him, and he must now abide the consequences, for they
washed their hands of them.
The rains were now become more frequent, and an epidemical fever had
shewn itself in the rebel army on the plain; every consideration,
therefore, seemed to persuade a speedy decision, but the consequences
of the last engagement seemed to have damped the spirit of the rebels,
without having much raised that of the king's army. In fact, the
days were dark and wet, and the nights cold, circumstances in which
no Abyssinian chooses to fight. The army was thinly cloathed, or not
cloathed at all, and encamped on high ground, where fuel, though it
had not failed them yet, must soon have done so.
An accident that happened this night had nearly brought about a
revolution which the wisest heads had laboured for many years in vain.
Ras Michael had retired to bed at his ordinary time, somewhat before
eleven o'clock, and a lamp was left burning as usual in his tent, for
he was afraid of _spirits_. He was just fallen asleep, when he felt
a man's arm reach into the bed over him, which he immediately seized
hold of, crying to his attendants, at the same time, for help. Those
that ran first into the tent threw down the lamp and put out the
light, so that the man would have escaped, had not the people behind
got about him, and endeavoured to hold him down, while entangled in,
and struggling with the cords of the tent. The first person that
seized him was a favourite servant of the Ras, a young man named Laeca
Mariam, of a good family in Tigrè; he, not perceiving his danger for
want of light, received a stab with a broad knife, which pierced his
heart, so that he fell without speaking a word. Numbers immediately
secured the assassin, who was found to have dropt one knife within the
Ras's tent, with which he had attempted at first to have stabbed him:
but he was found to have another knife, two-edged, and sharp in the
point, fixed along his arm, with which he had stabbed Laeca Mariam.
This wretch was a native of a very barbarous nation near Shoa, S. E.
of Gojam. The name of their country is Guragué. They are Troglodytes,
and all robbers: their constant occupation is attending the Abyssinian
camps, and stealing horses, mules, or whatever they can get, which
they do in a very singular manner.
They all wear their hair very short, strip themselves stark-naked,
and besmear themselves from head to foot with butter, or some sort
of grease, whilst, along the outside of their arm, they tye a long,
straight, two-edged, sharp-pointed knife, the handle reaching into the
palm of their hand, and about four inches of the blade above the knob
of their elbow, so that the whole blade is safe and inoffensive when
the arm is extended, but when it is bent, about four inches projects,
and is bare beyond the elbow joint; this being all prepared, they
take a leafy faggot, such as the gatherers of fuel bring to the camp,
which they fasten to their middle by a string or withy, spreading it
over to conceal or cover all their back, and then drawing in their
legs, they lie down, in all appearance, as a faggot, and in the part
of the camp they intend to rob, crawling slowly in the dark when they
think they are unperceived, and lying still when there is any noise
or movement near them: In case they find themselves discovered, they
slip the faggot and run; and whatever part of them you seize escapes
your fingers by reason of the grease. If you endeavour to clasp them,
however, which is the only way left, the Guragué bends his elbow and
strikes you with his knife, and you are mortally wounded, as was the
case with Laeca Mariam.
This assassin was no sooner secured and disarmed, than a noose, with
a running knot, was slipt round his neck, and his hands tied behind
his back, in which manner he was carried before Ras Michael, who sat
upon a stool at some distance from his tent, after every part of it
had been searched. The fellow at first refused to speak, but, being
threatened with torture, answered, in his own language, which I did
not understand. He was asked, who had employed him to attempt that
assassination? He said, The rebels; and named Gusho and Powussen: he
then varied, and said the Iteghé employed him. Before he was sent
away he contradicted all this, and declared, that Hagos, his brother,
had employed him; and that he was then actually in the camp, with
four others, who were determined to murder the Ras and Guebra Mascal,
whatever it should cost them.
A search was on this ordered through all the camp, but no stranger
found, excepting one of the same nation, who had planted himself and
his faggot near the tent of the Abuna; and who being seized, examined,
and promised pardon, declared himself absolutely ignorant of any
scheme but robbing, for which purpose three of them, he said, had come
into the camp together; one of them had stolen two mules the night
before, and gone off, and that he was that night intending to take
away two of the Abuna's mules; and he supposed his companion had the
same intention with regard to the Ras; but as to murder, or any other
plot, he knew nothing of it. Being put slightly to the torture, he
persisted in his declaration; and when interrogated, declared, that
they all three had come from Guragué with Amha Yasous, to load and
unload his baggage, and take care of his beasts: that none of them
had been at Gondar before the attempt, except the assassin, who had
formerly lived there some years, but whether with Hagos, or any other,
he did not know, nor did he ever hear him pronounce the name of Hagos,
nor see any stranger, whom he did not know, converse with him: that
they all three had lain the last night at the church of Serbraxos: but
he further declared, that the person apprehended spoke the Amharic
language as well as his own, contrary to what the villain had all
along pretended.
This declaration, which I heard from the king's secretary, word for
word as it was given, threw all the council into great confusion, the
more so, that, being gently talked to, and food given him after his
examination, at night the assassin had again repeated what he before
said about Gusho, and that Fasil, too, was accessory to the attempt.
And what made this labyrinth of lies still more intricate was, that
it was certainly known that Hagos, his brother, had constantly lived
with Coque Abou Barea, in Kuara, from the time Ras Michael had put
his brother to death at Gondar. It was intended therefore to try the
effect of further torture in the morning, to make him confess the
truth. His guard, however, having fallen asleep, or gone out of the
tent, he was found strangled by the running noose that was left round
his neck; nor was any further light ever thrown upon this affair at
any time after; but it was generally believed the attempt had been
made at the instigation of some connection of the Iteghé, and there
were some who went so far as to name Welleta Israel.
Early in the morning some priests came from Powussen, Ayabdar, and
Gusho, to take the most solemn oaths before the Abuna, that they never
had the smallest knowledge of what the assassin had laid to their
charge; and they took upon themselves sentence of excommunication,
which the Abuna then pronounced conditionally, if they had directly,
or indirectly, been principal or accessory, or known, or been
consulted, in any manner whatever, as to the designs of that assassin.
Several principal officers of the rebels, moreover, who had left
Gondar and gone over to Fasil, and who were there in Gusho's camp,
came over to congratulate with Ras Michael upon his escape, so that,
for a moment, one would have thought the whole country interested in
saving him whom all were actually in arms at that instant to destroy.
What surprised me most of all, probable as the thing might seem to be,
not one man in the camp, from the Ras and King downward, seemed to
think that this attempt of the Guragué had been in any shape the plot
of the rebels; and yet, in old times, murder by treason must have been
very frequent in his kingdom, as appears by their customs preserved to
this day; no person, be their station, connection, or friendship what
it will, can offer any one meat or drink without tasting it before
them.
Proposals of peace followed this friendly intercourse, but the
condition being always that Michael should depart to Tigrè, which
he thought was but in other terms a proposal to destroy him, these
friendly overtures ended in defiance and protestation, That to him
alone was owing the effusion of human blood, and the ruin of his
country, which was immediately to follow.
It was the 17th of May, at night, the attempt had been made on the
Ras's life; and the 18th was spent in excommunication before the
Abuna; and, in the evening, Michael received intelligence, that Ayto
Tesfos, from the mountains of Samen, and Heraclius and Samuel Mammo,
from Walkayt and Tzegadé, were both preparing to join the rebels
with a considerable force. We were now arrived at the fatal field of
Serbraxos, as we had endeavoured to pass it, but in vain; nothing now
remained but to try to find which side the devil (the father of lies)
had been forced to tell the truth, or whether he had yet told it to
either. Darion, a principal man of Belessen, and Guigarr of Lasta,
joined the Ras's army about noon, bringing with them 1200 men, chiefly
horsemen, good troops, and they were joyfully received.
A council was held with all the great officers that evening, and the
order of battle fixed upon for next day. Kefla Yasous, with the best
of the foot from Tigrè, with the king's household troops, the Shoa
horse, and the Moors of Ras el Feel, with their libds, (in all not
amounting to 10,000 men, but the flower of the army) composed the left
wing, in the center of which was the king in person, the heavy-armed
black horse before him, and the officers and nobility surrounding him:
Guebra Christos, and Kasmati Tesfos of Siré, commanded the center, in
which was Darion and Guigarr's cavalry, for the Lasta men, though of
different sides, could never be prevailed upon to fight against one
another, so instead of being with the king against Begemder and Lasta,
they were placed in the center against Gusho and Amhara. The right of
the king's army was commanded by Welleta Michael and Billetana Gueta
Tecla, opposed to the left wing of the rebels under Kasmati Ayabdar,
who had lately received large reinforcements from Gojam, by means
of the Iteghé, who well knew him to be an inveterate enemy to Ras
Michael, and one who would never make peace with him.
I have often heard it observed by officers of skill and experience,
that nothing is more difficult to describe than a battle, and that as
many descriptions as are given of it, they generally disagree, and
seem as many different battles. To this I shall add, that I find as
great difficulty in giving an idea of the ground on which a battle
was fought, which perhaps is not the case with professional men; and
though I describe nothing but what I saw, and what my horse passed
over, still I very much doubt if I can make myself intelligible to
my readers. The hill of Serbraxos was neither very high nor steep,
unless on the north and east, where it was almost a precipice. It
was not a mountain joined with others, as the bed of a torrent, that
ran very rapidly from Belessen south of Mariam-Ohha, divided it from
these mountains. The west side of it sloped gently to a large plain,
which extended to the brink of the lake Tzana, and upon this our rear
was encamped. The S. W. side of this hill was like the former, and
about half a mile from it came an elbow of the river Mariam, so called
from a church in the plain: on this side of the hill our center was
encamped with the king, Abuna, and the princesses; whilst on the south
face (which looked down a valley) was Ras Michael and the van of the
army: the hill here was considerably steeper, and I have already said
ended with the precipice on the north. Along the bottom of this south
face of the hill lay the small stream called Deg-Ohha, which stood in
pools, and was the safest and readiest supply for the army, as being
perfectly under command of our musquets, where our horses could water
without danger: immediately south from this ran a valley full half a
mile broad, which ended in a large plain about two miles off.
The valley where Michael and the van first engaged, was formed by the
hills of Belessen on the east, and the river Mariam on the west, and
near the middle of the valley there was a low and flat-topt hill,
not above 30 yards in height, which did not join with the hill of
Serbraxos. Between them there was an opening of about 100 yards,
through which ran Deg-Ohha, to the ford of the river Mariam, from
which you ascended in a direction nearly N. W. up into the plain which
reached to the lake Tzana. On the south end of this hill, as I have
said, which might have been about two miles in length, the banks of
the Mariam are very high, and the river stands in large deep pools,
with banks of sand between them. Where this hill ends to the right is
another ford of the river Mariam, where a deep and narrow sandy road
goes winding up the banks, in a direction N. W. like the former, and
leads to the same plain bordering on the lake Tzana: so that the plain
of the valley where the Mariam runs, which is bordered by the foot
of the mountains of Belessen, and continues along the plain south to
Tangouré, is near 200 feet lower than the plain that extends on the
side of the lake Tzana. Nor is there a convenient access from the
plain to the valley, at least that I saw, by reason of the height and
steepness of the banks of the Mariam, excepting these two already
mentioned; one between the extremity of the long even hill, and slope
of the mountain on the north, and the other on the south, through
the winding sandy road up the steep banks of the river, by the south
end of that low hill, as I have already said. At these two places are
the two fords of the river, which continue passable even in the rainy
season, and the water at that time stands in pools below it, till
several miles further it joins the Zingetch Gomara, a larger stream
than itself, whose banks are low, and where the stream is fordable
also; but the banks of the river Mariam continue steep, and run in
a southern direction. In this valley, at the south end of this hill
near the ford was the engagement between Michael with the van, and the
Begemder troops, on the 16th; at the ford on the north end of this
hill, in the same valley, was the fight between the light troops and
Kasmati Ayabdar, and the king in person, the very same day; so that
the valley was perfectly known by the enemy, and as they had few or no
musquetry, was wisely considered as not fit ground for their purposes
being narrow and commanded by hills everywhere.
On the 19th of May, word was brought that the whole rebel army was in
motion, and before eight o'clock (reckoned in Abyssinia an early hour
for such business) a great cloud of dust was seen rising on the right
of the rebels towards Korreva, and this was the moment the Begemder
troops got on horseback in the dusty plain; soon after we heard their
kettle-drums, and about nine o'clock we saw the whole troops of
Begemder appear, drawn up at such a distance in the plain, above the
road up the steep bank of the Mariam, as to leave great room for us
to form with the road on our left, and a little on our rear; Michael
easily divined Powussen's intention, which was to beat us back by a
superior force of horse, and then making a number of troops glide
below unseen, along the river in the valley, take possession of the
round hill, at the north ford of Mariam, and cut off our retreat to
our camp at Serbraxos; the Ras immediately dispatched some single
horsemen to take a view of the enemy more nearly, and report what
their numbers were, and where Gusho and Ayabdar were posted, for we
could distinguish the colour of the horses, and all the movements of
the Begemder troops, not being much above three miles distance, yet we
did not know whether they were alone, or whether one or more of the
other generals were with them: we saw indeed Powussen's standards, but
they were so weather-beaten and faded, that we could not distinguish
their real colours, which were blue and yellow.
The king's whole army was descending into the valley, and passing over
the ford of the Mariam, to the plain above where Kefla Yasous was
riding to and fro with great earnestness, encouraging his troops. In
a very short time the left was formed; the Ras, having given all his
orders, and taken to himself the charge of the camp and the reserve,
sat down, as was usual, to play at drafts with the black servants. The
army was now all in the plain, when the scouts arrived, and brought
word that Gusho and Ayabdar had both taken their ground, not directly
in a straight line from Powussen, square with the lake, but as it were
diagonally declining more to the southward, so that the most advanced,
or nearest to us, were the troops of Begemder; and this was probably
done, in order that, our backs being more turned to the lake, we might
be easier cut off from our camp, and surrounded in the plain, between
their army and the Tzana, if Powussen was so fortunate as to beat the
king and the left; but this disposition of these troops was out of
our sight, being down nearer the lake. Nor is it to be understood
that I mean here to give any account of their movements, or of any
other, unless those of the left wing under the king, where I was
myself engaged.
Several spies came into Ras Michael at this time, and they, and the
horsemen that had been sent on the service, all agreed, that in the
center of the Begemder horse a large red standard was displayed,
with a number of kettle drums beating before it, which the Ras no
sooner heard, than giving his draft board a kick with his foot, he
overturned the whole game, and afforded, at least, a bad omen of the
future engagement. He then called for Kefla Yasous, and Guebra Mascal,
and having conferred with them both, he detatched Guebra Mascal with
five hundred musqueteers to take possession of the hill in the valley
below, and coast along the left flank of our left without appearing in
sight.
The day had been exceeding close, seeming to threaten violent thunder,
and we were now come so near as to see distinctly the large red
standard, which being pointed out to the king, he said, smiling with
a very chearful countenance, "Aye, aye, now we shall soon see what
miracle king Theodorus will work." The clouds had been gathering ever
since we went down the hill, and some big drops of rain had fallen.
The soldiers were now covering their lighted matches, for fear of
more, when first a most violent storm of thunder, lightening, and rain
began, then a tempest of rain and wind, and last a dead calm, with
such a heavy shower that I scarce ever saw the like even in the rainy
season.
Had I been commander of the Begemder troops that day, this shower
should have been the signal of charging; for all the king's fire-arms
were useless, and the matches wet; but the Begemder horse seemed most
uneasy under the fall of rain; they began to be unmanageable, and turn
tail to the wind, which now arose and was directly in their faces,
and in a few minutes they wheeled about, and retired to their camp.
The king halted on the ground where he was, ordered the kettle-drums
to beat, and the trumpets to sound; and having continued half an hour
till the heavy shower began, he fell back as did the whole army, and
retired to the camp. When he got up the hill, and passed the brow
where Ras Michael was sitting with some slaves, who held up a piece of
sail-cloth over his head to keep off the rain, the servants raised the
Ras upon his feet; without any previous salutation, he then asked the
king what he had done with king Theodorus? and was answered, "Begemder
brought him, and Begemder took him away, we saw nothing but his flag."
Lasta carried his flag, says one of the nobility. He is a peaceable
prince, says the king; yet he begins with fighting, but he will make
amends afterwards, if he governs this country in peace a thousand
years. If he does that, says the Ras, Powussen is to die at the next
battle, for the thousand years peace will never begin, as long as he
is alive.
CHAP. VII.
_King offers Battle to the Rebels in the Plain--Description of
the Second Battle of Serbraxos--Rash Conduct, and narrow Escape
of the King--Both Armies keep the Ground._
The whole evening of the 19th of May was spent in festivity and joy;
a prophet from some part in Dembea had foretold the defeat of king
Theodorus, and what was much more interesting, two large droves of
cattle, the one from Belessen, near Mariam-Ohha, the other from
Dembea, were driven that day into the camp. Ras Michael, who knew
the value of to-morrow, spared nothing that might refresh the troops
this day. The king and he, Ozoro Esther, and Ozoro Altash, Kefla
Yasous, and the Abuna himself, gave each of them entertainments to the
principal officers of the army, and all those who were likely to bear
the burden of the ensuing conflict. The soldiers were in great spirit,
but it was now very generally known that the officers were mostly
disaffected, engaged in private treaties, and in daily expectation of
peace.
A very short council was held at the king's tent; all that could be
resolved upon had been already fixed the day before, and little had
happened since to occasion any alteration. All the young nobility
were, as usual, at Ozoro Esther's. It was with infinite pity I heard
them thoughtlessly praying for a warm and fair day to-morrow, the
evening of which many of them were never to see.
Besides the stores that Ozoro Esther always was provided with, the
king had sent her two live cattle, wine, brandy, and hydromel; and
what was a very unusual condescension, the Ras, immediately after
council, came into the tent, and brought with him a fresh supply.
He was very gracious and affable, said a number of kind things to
everybody, and asked me particularly how we drank in England?
I explained to him as well as I could the nature of our toasts, and
drinking to the health of our mistresses by their names in bumpers;
that our soldiers toasts on such a night as that, if the general
honoured them as he did us now with his company, would be, A fair
morning, and speedy sight of our enemy. He comprehended it all very
easily, and when I saw he did so, I asked if I should give my toast?
and he and all the company joining in a loud cry of approbation, I
filled a horn with wine, and standing up, for he had forced us all
to be seated, I drank, Long life to the king, health, happiness,
and victory, to you, Sir, and a speedy sight of king Theodorus. A
violent shout of applause followed. He himself (the soberest of men)
would drink his horn full, which he did, with many interruptions
from immoderate fits of laughter; the horn went quickly round, and
I ventured to prophecy, that, in the thousand years he is to reign,
Theodorus will never again be so chearfully toasted.
The Ras then turning to me said, I wish I had 5000 of your countrymen,
Yagoube, to-morrow, such as you are, or such as you have described
them. I answered. Would you had one thousand, and I had twenty
lives staked upon the issue. Ayto Engedan upon this got up, and
passing across the tent in a very graceful manner, kissed the Ras's
hand, saying, Do not make us think you undervalue, or distrust your
children, by forming such a wish: Yagoube is one of us, he is our
brother, and he shall see and judge to-morrow, if we, your own sons,
are not able to fight your battle without the aid of any foreigners.
Tears, on this, came into the old man's eyes, who took Engedan in his
arms, and kissed him; then recommending to us not to sit up late, he
withdrew. A great deal of buffoonery followed about toasts, and soon
after arrived two officers from the king, desiring to know what was
the reason of that violent outcry? by which he meant the shout when we
drank the toast. Ozoro Esther answered, We were all turned traitors,
and were drinking the health of king Theodorus. But it was afterwards
thought proper to explain the whole matter before the messengers went
back, and make them drink the toast also.
Tecla Mariam had not spoken much, her father having sent for her at
that time to the king. Before she departed, I begged Ozoro Esther to
apologise for me, that I had absented myself, and had not waited upon
her in the morning. I intreated her to continue her kind partiality
to me the next day, and to judge for ever of the esteem I had for
her by my then behaviour. She promised to do so with the utmost
complacency and sweetness, and departed.
Soon after this, a servant arrived from Ras Michael, with a
magnificent saddle and bridle as a present to Engedan. This man told
us that a messenger had come from Waragna Fasil, desiring a place
might be marked out for him to encamp, for he was to join the king
early in the morning; but nobody gave any credit to this, nor did he,
as far as I ever heard, advance a foot nearer the camp. The messenger
commanded us all, moreover, to go to bed, which we immediately
complied with. I only went to the king's tent, where the company was
dispersing, and kissed his hand, after which I retired. In my way
home to my tent, I saw a faggot lying in the way, when the story of
the Guraguè came presently into my mind. I ordered some soldiers to
separate it with their lances; but it had been brought for fuel, at
least no Guragué was there.
I was no sooner laid upon my bed, than I fell into a profound sleep,
which continued uninterrupted till five o'clock in the morning of the
20th. I had spared myself industriously in last night's carousal, for
fear of contributing to a relapse into despondency in the morning; but
I found all within serene and composed as it should be, and entirely
resigned to what was decreed, I was perfectly satisfied, that the
advancing or retarding the day of my death was not in the power of
the army of Begemder. I then visited all the horses and the black
soldiers, and ordered two or three of them, who were not perfectly
recovered from their hurts, to stay in the camp. I afterwards went
to the king's tent, who was not yet up; and the very instant after,
the Ras's first drum beat, and the king rose; soon after which, the
second drum was heard for the soldiers to go to breakfast. I went into
the king's tent to kiss his hand, and receive his orders. He told me
they were speedily then going to breakfast within, to which meal I
was engaged at Ozoro Esther's. He answered, Make haste then, for I am
resolved to be on the field before king Theodorus to-day. I am his
senior, and should shew him the example. He seemed more than ordinary
gay and in spirits.
I finished my breakfast in a few minutes, and took a grateful, but
chearful leave of Ozoro Esther, and received many acknowledgements,
and kind expressions, both from her and Tecla Mariam, who did not
fail to be there according to appointment. The day was clear, the sun
warm, and the army descended into the plain with great alacrity, in
the same order as the day before. Guebra Mascal, with his musqueteers,
took possession of the long hill in the valley, and coasted the
left flank of our left wing, the river Mariam and its high banks
being only between us. The king took his post, with the winding road
aforementioned (up the steep banks of the Mariam) close on his left.
Guebra Mascal having come to the south end of the hill below, marched
briskly up the road, and then advanced about 200 yards, making his men
lye down at the brink of the hill next the plain, among bent grass,
and thin tall shrubs like Spanish broom, so as to be perfectly out of
sight; his line was at right angles with our front, so that his fire
must enfilade the whole front of our line.
If not very useful, yet it may, however, be thought curious, to know
the disposition of a barbarous army ready to engage in a pitched
battle as this was. Kefla Yasous, who commanded the left-wing under
the king, placed his cavalry in a line to the opening of the road
down into the valley; between every two musquets were men armed with
lances and shields; then, at a particular distance, close before
this line of horse, was a body of lances, and musquets, or sometimes
either of them, in several lines, or, as they appeared, a round body
of soldiers, standing together without any order at all; then another
line of horse, with men between, alternately as before; then another
round corps of lances and musquets, advanced just before the line of
horse, and so on to the end of the division.
I know nothing of the disposition of the rest of the army, nor the
ground they were engaged on; that where we stood was as perfect a
plain as that commonly chosen to run races upon, and so I believe was
the rest, only sloping more to the lake Tzana.
The king's infantry was drawn up in one line, having a musqueteer
between every two men, with lances and shields. Immediately in the
center was the black horse, and the Moors of Ras el Feel, with their
libds, disposed on each of their flanks. Immediately behind these was
the king in person, with a large body of young nobility and great
officers of state, about him. On the right and left flank of the
line, a little in the rear, were all the rest of the king's horse,
divided into two large bodies, Guebra Mascal hid in the bank on our
left at right angles with the line, enfilading, as I have already
said, the whole line of our infantry; this will be easily understood
by consulting the plan where H H, G G, F, and I, represent the
disposition that I have now described.
[Illustration:
PLAN
---- _of_ ----
THE SECOND BATTLE
---- OF ----
_SERBRAXOS_.
_Fought 20^{th} May,
1772._
SECOND BATTLE.
Explanation.
1. Gondar.
2. King's palace.
3. King's palace on the River Kaha.
4. Mahometan town on the River Kaha.
* * * * *
A The king marches from his camp to F by the road D and E.
GG The two bodies of horse.
HH Line of infantry, muskets, and lances alternately.
I Guebra Mascal in ambush, in the face of the banks of the
Mariam, among the bushes.
KK Powussen's march from his camp at Correva.
LL Powussen's first appearance in disorder.
MM Powussen's line formed in the front of the king.
NN The army of Begemder galloping to charge the king, receive
a close fire from Guebra Mascal hid in the bank at I, and
immediately after from the king's line HH.
OO Part of the army of Begemder wheeling to the left, and flying
over the plain in disorder.
PP The king, with his reserve following the right of the
Begemder horse.
QQ The right of the Begemder horse pursued by the king, having
rallied.
RR The Begemder horse turn to slowly surround the king at SS,
and drive him to the edge of the Bank.
T The king escaping down the bank, crosses between the pools of
the River Mariam, and enters the valley.
V The king arrived in the valley, is joined by the foot that ran
scattered down by the bank.
W Engedan detached from the camp by Ras Michael, joins the king.
X Musketeers detached by Michael, take post on the south side of
the long hill.
Y Part of the king's musketry posted on a rocky ground on the
south side of the valley.
Z The king's troops under Kefla Yasous filing down the narrow
road from the plain above into the valley, with the heavy armed
horse behind him.
a Guebra Mascal drawn up at the foot of the banks, makes way by
his fire for the black horse to take post in the king's front.
]
It was full half an hour after the king had formed before the army of
Begemder made any motion. The Ras first saw them from the hill, and
made a signal, by beating his drums and blowing his trumpets; this was
immediately answered by all the drums and trumpets of the left wing,
and for the space of a minute, a thick cloud of dust (like the smoke
of a large city on fire) appeared on the side of Korreva, occasioned,
as the day before, by the Begemder troops mounting on horseback; the
ground where they were encamped being trodden into powder, by such a
number of men and horse passing over it so often, and now raised by
the motion of the horses feet, was whirled round by a very moderate
breeze, that blew steadily; it every minute increased in darkness, and
assumed various shapes and forms, of towers, castles, and battlements,
as fancy suggested. In the middle of this great cloud we began to
perceive indistinctly part of the horsemen, then a much greater
number, and the figure of the horses more accurately defined, which
came moving majestically upon us, sometimes partially seen, at other
times concealed by being wrapt up in clouds and darkness; the whole
made a most extraordinary, but truly picturesque appearance.
I was so struck with this, that I could not help saying to Billetana
Gueta Ammonios, who commanded the horse under me, Is not that a
glorious sight Ammonios! who, that was a king, would not be fond of
war? David, however, curses those that delight in war, says Ammonios.
Therefore, replied I, there must be pleasure in it, or else no body
would fall into a sin that was disagreeable in itself, and at the
same time forbidden by God. Well, well, replied Ammonios, this is not
a time for argument, see what a glorious spectacle we shall all be
before sun-set.
At this time Powussen's whole army was distinctly seen; they came
riding backwards and forwards with great violence, more as if they
were diverting themselves, than advancing to attack an enemy, of our
consequence, that was waiting them. They seemed like two wings, and a
main body, each nearly equal in numbers, as far as I could guess, and
are described in the plan by the letters L L, but they were sometimes
all in one croud together, and in such perpetual motion, that it was
impossible to ascertain their precise form.
Four men, upon unruly, high-mettled, or at least ill-broke horses,
rode galloping a small space before, conversing together, as if making
their observations upon us: they were now arrived at about six hundred
yards distance, but it was not a time to make accurate calculation;
they then made a stop, and began extending the left of their line to
the westward, as described by M M. I suppose, too, their horses needed
to breathe a little, after they had so imprudently blown them to no
purpose.
In the middle of their cavalry, or rather a little more towards their
right, than opposite to the place where the king was, a large red flag
was seen to rise, and was saluted by the drums and trumpets of their
whole army. An accident happened at this moment, which endangered
the discovery of the hidden part of our disposition, and which would
thereby have destroyed the sanguine hopes we had of victory, and
endangered the safety of the whole army. Upon displaying the red flag,
two musquets were fired from the post in the face of the hill where
Guebra Mascal lay in ambush. Luckily, at that very instant, all the
king's drums beat, and trumpets sounded, a kind of mock alarm, (such
as the posture-masters and mountebanks use,) in ridicule of king
Theodorus, and his red flag then flying before us.
Immediately upon this, as on a signal for battle, the whole army of
Begemder set out full gallop, to charge, as at N N, and a long hundred
yards before they joined, they received, through the very depth of
their squadron, a close well-directed fire from the whole musquetry of
Guebra Mascal, and from the king's line an instant after, which put
them into the utmost confusion, so that they in part came reeling down
upon our line, half wheeled about to the left, as men that had lost
their way, with their right, that is, their naked sides exposed as
they turned, their shields being in their left. The fire from Guebra
Mascal was the signal for our line to charge, and the heavy-armed
horsemen, with their pikes, broke thro' them with little resistance,
the line in the mean while, with horse and foot, closed with them,
after the musquets had given them their fire, and then staid behind to
recharge. Part of their left did not engage at all, but wheeled about,
and fled southward over the plain.
While their army was thus separated into two divisions, both in great
confusion, the king, with his reserve, fell furiously upon them; and
being followed by all the rest of the horse, they pushed the right
division (where Powussen was in person) along the plain, but these
retired, fighting very obstinately, and often rallying. Kefla Yasous
saw the great danger to which the king would quickly be exposed by
pursuing the troops of Begemder so far at a distance from his foot,
and that they would soon turn upon and overpower him with numbers, and
then surround him. He therefore, with great presence of mind, provided
for his retreat. He drew up the heavy-armed horse which could not
gallop, the Moors of Ras el Feel, and the foot which were left behind,
and which had now recharged their firelocks before the narrow road,
and ordered Guebra Mascal to resume his station. He then twice, with
great earnestness, cried in a loud voice to the soldiers, The king's
safety depends upon you,--Stand firm, or all is lost. After which,
he galloped, with a small body of horse, to join the king, closely
engaged at a considerable distance: The foot that had pursued, or were
scattered, now came in by tens and twelves, and joined the heavy-armed
horse, so that we began again to shew a very good countenance. Among
these, a common soldier of the king's household, busied in the vile
practice of mangling and spoiling the dead, found the red colours
of king Theodorus lying upon the field, which he delivered me, upon
promise of a reward, and which I gave a servant of my own to keep till
after the engagement.
At this instant Guebra Mascal came up from below the bank, leaping
and flourishing his gun about his head, and crying, just before my
horse, "Now, Yagoube, stand firm, if you are a man." "Look at me, you
drunken slave, said I, armed, or unarmed, and say, it is not a boast
if I count myself at all times a better man than you. Away to your
hiding-hole again, and for your life appear within my reach. Away! you
are not now, as the other day, before the king." The man cried out in
a transport of impatience, "By G--d, you don't know what I mean; but
here they all come, stand firm, if you are men;" and saying this, he
ran nimbly off, and hid himself below the bank, with his lighted match
in one hand, and all ready.
It is proper, for connection's sake, though I did not myself see
it, to relate what had happened to the king, who had pursued the
Begemder horse to a very considerable distance, and was then at S S
in the plan, when the whole army of the rebels that had not engaged,
observing the resistance made by Powussen, and part of the division
which they had left, turned suddenly back from their flight, and
at R R nearly surrounded the king and his cavalry, whom they had
now driven to the very edge of the steepest part of the bank of the
Mariam. Kefla Yasous's arrival, indeed, and his exerting himself to
the utmost, fighting with his own hand like any common soldier, had
brought some relief; yet as fresh horse came in, there can be little
doubt at the end, that the king must have been either slain or taken
prisoner, if Sertza Denghel, a young man of Amhara, a relation of
Gusho, and who had a small post in the palace, had not dismounted,
and offered to lead the king's horse down the steepest of the banks
into the river. To this, however, he received an absolute refusal. "I
shall die here this day, says the king, but while I have a man left,
will never turn my back upon the rebels." Sertza Denghel hearing
this vain discourse, and seeing no time was to be lost, took hold of
the bridle by force, at T, and happily led the horse along one of the
sheep-paths, slanting down the declivity of the bank. The king having
in vain threatened displeasure, and even death, with the butt-end of
his lance, in despair, struck Sertza Denghel in the mouth, and beat
out all his fore-teeth. A bank of gravel, like a bridge, separated two
deep pools, in the river Mariam, over which the king escaped, though
with difficulty, the ground being foul with quick sand.
All the foot that had remained about the king ran down the bank,
where the Begemder horse could not pursue them, and joined him in
the valley, where he made the best of his way towards the south
side of the long low hill, by the winding road, on the side of
which, and just above him, was placed Guebra Mascal. Ras Michael,
who saw the dangerous situation and escape of the king, and who
had kept Ayto Engedan near for some such purposes, dispatched him
with a considerable body of horse, along the low hill, ordering him
immediately to join the king, and cover his retreat; he likewise
detached a considerable body of musqueteers, and mounted for the
greater speed upon mules, who were directed to take post upon the
south end of the round hill, below the winding road, while another
party possessed themselves of some rocky ground on the south side
of the valley. This command was as soon executed as given. Ayto
Engedan joined the king, who had lost all his kettle-drums but one,
now beating before him, and upon his arrival at the entrance of the
valley, the king, at V, turned his face to the enemy, having the
musquetry, at X and Y, newly arrived from the camp on his right and
left.
Kefla Yasous was immediately acquainted with the king's escape, and,
knowing the consequence of protracting time, renewed the engagement
with so much vigour, that he pushed the horse of Begemder to some
small distance back into the plain. Powussen, whose only view was to
take the king prisoner, and wrest the possession of his person, and
with that his authority from Ras Michael, was much disconcerted at
the unexpected way by which the king escaped; he after this halted a
little for council, then divided his troops, with one part of which he
resolved to go down the winding road, and with the other to pass at
the junction of the rivers, and enter the valley in that direction,
in order to overtake the king, and intercept him in his way to the
camp, in case any thing obstructed his passing the winding road. Kefla
Yasous took advantage of this movement, and with his horse made his
way to join the heavy-armed troops, and those who had joined the line,
standing closely and firmly where they were stationed.
The first person that appeared was Kefla Yasous, and the horse with
him, stretching out his hand, (his face being all besmeared with
blood, for he was wounded in his forehead) he cried as loud as he
could, Stand firm, the king is safe in the valley. He had scarce
faced about, and joined the line, when the enemy approached at a
brisk gallop. The Begemder horse were closer than usual, and deeper
than the front was broad; they resembled therefore an oblong square,
if they resembled any thing; but the truth is, they were all in
disorder, and their figure, never regular, changed every moment; the
right of their front (which was not equal to ours) was finally placed
against the road, being close by Guebra Mascal's post, whose men were
much increased in number; they received the discharge of his whole
musquetry in two vollies, so near that I scarce believe there was one
shot that did not take place on man or horse. A great cry from the
bank at the same time added to their panic, which was answered by the
king's troops, who immediately charged them as before, as they wheeled
half round to the left. They were pursued, for a small distance,
by some of the troops that had not engaged in the morning, and it
was easy to perceive their disorder was real, and that they were
not likely to rally. By this last discharge, Powussen was slightly
wounded, and his men were plainly seen hurrying him off the field. In
the very instant the rebels turned their backs, Kefla Yasous ordered
all the troops, horse and foot, to file off down the narrow road into
the valley, behind the heavy-armed horse, who kept their ground before
the road, and there to join the king.
For my part, I thought the affair was over, when, last of all, we,
too, with our heavy horses, descended the road, where we found Guebra
Mascal, (whose activity was above all praise) drawn up on our right
along the foot of the bank, (with a large pool of water in his front)
flanking the valley, the king drawn up in the narrowest part of it,
and just engaged with the troops of Lasta and Begemder, that had gone
round by the junction of the rivers. These had lost, as we afterwards
heard, much time in giving their horses water. They were, however, the
more refreshed when they did come, and though they had received a fire
from the troops on the round hill, and from those posted on the rocky
ground, on the other side of the valley, they had beat the king and
Engedan back, and wounded him in the thigh.
At this time the Koccob horse, and Yasine with his Moors (who had the
charge of the road above till all the troops were gone) arrived, being
as it were shut out from the army, who were engaged at the other side
of the hill. Kefla Yasous, after descending through the winding road
into the valley, ordered Guebra Mascal to pass the pool, and stand at
the bottom of the winding road, for fear the enemy should enter at the
valley on the king's right, where the river ran, and so cut us off
from our camp.
This space he was then occupying when Yasine, first, and afterwards,
our black horse, arrived. He had, it seems, cried out to me before
from the side of the pool, but I had not then heard him. He now,
however, repeated, Where are you going, Yagoube? To die, said I,
surlily; it is the business of the day. He then added, Kefla Yasous
has crossed over behind Basha Hezekias, and fallen into the king's
rear. You know well, said I, our post is in his front. Then follow me,
cried Mascal, for by G--d I say you shall not take one step to-day,
but I will go five before you. So saying, he advanced very hastily,
and when he saw the Begemder colours retreating before the king, he
poured in a volley, which, though at a considerable distance, turned
all to a perfect flight.
We entered upon the smoke, just before the Shoa horse, with no loss,
and very little resistance, and came just into the place which
we occupied in the morning. Though the flight of the rebels was
apparently real, Kefla Yasous would not suffer a pursuit into the
plain, but advancing singly before us, began to form immediately;
the musquetry were planted on each side of the valley as far up the
hill as to be out of reach of the horse, and the rest of the infantry
in the plain; Basha Hezekias was on the round hill just behind the
center, where the king had placed himself, and Guebra Mascal nearly
where he stood before.
The army now made an appearance of a large section of an amphitheatre.
I observed the king had pulled off the diadem, or white fillet
he wears for distinction, and was very intent upon renewing the
engagement: the Begemder troops were forming, with great alertness,
about half a mile below, being reinforced from time to time. The
king ordered his drums to beat, and his trumpets to sound, to inform
the enemy he was ready; but they did not answer, or advance: soon
after (it being near three o'clock) the weather became overcast, and
cold, on which the troops of Begemder beat a retreat; the king, very
soon after, did the same, and returned to the camp without further
molestation; only that coming near a rock which projected into the
valley, (not far distant from the camp) a multitude of peasants
belonging to Mariam-Ohha, threw down a shower of stones from their
hands and slings, which hurt several. The king ordered them to be
fired at, though they were a great distance off, and passed on: but
Guebra Mascal commanding about fifty men to run briskly up the hill,
on each side of the rock, gave them two discharges at a less distance,
which killed or wounded many, and made the rest disappear in a moment.
I doubt that my reader will be more than sufficiently tired with the
detail of this second battle of Serbraxos; but, as it was a very
remarkable incident in my life, I could not omit it as far as I saw
it myself, and suppressing any one part of it would have involved the
rest in a confusion, with which I fear it may be still too justly
charged. I therefore shall only say for connection's sake, that Gusho
and Guebra Christos, in the center, were but partially engaged,
and Kasmati Tesfos of Siré, second commander for the king, in that
division, wounded, and taken prisoner. Guebra Christos, the king's
uncle, was slain, (as it was believed) by a shot of his own men; few
other lives of note were lost on either side, in that division. The
king's troops fell back under the hill of Serbraxos, where Michael
was, and, though followed by Gusho, were no further attacked by him.
But on the right, Billetana Gueta Tecla, and Welleta Michael, after a
very obstinate and bloody engagement, were beaten by Kasmati Ayabdar,
and forced across the river Mogetch, where, having rallied and posted
themselves strongly, it was not thought proper to attempt to force
them, and they all joined the camp soon after the king, but with very
great loss.
This battle, though it was rather a victory than a defeat, had,
however, upon the king's affairs, all the bad consequences of the
latter, nor was there any thinking man who had confidence in them
from that day forward. Near 3000 men perished on the king's side, a
great proportion of whom was of the left wing, which he commanded;
near 180 young men, of the greatest hopes and noblest families in the
kingdom, were among that number; Guebra Christos was in all respects
a truly national loss. Kefla Yasous was twice wounded, but not
dangerously, besides a multitude of others of the first rank, among
whom was Ayto Engedan, who by proper care soon recovered also, but
in the meantime was sent to Gondar, to his cousin Ayto Confu. On our
side, too, a son of Lika Netcho, and a son of Nebrit Tecla, were both
slain.--Providence seemed now to have begun to require satisfaction
for the blood of the late king Joas, in the shedding of which these
two were particularly concerned. Among the slain were our friends the
Baharnagash and his son, who died valiantly fighting before the king
at the time he escaped down the bank into the valley.
But what served as comfort to the king, was the still heavier loss
sustained by the enemy, who, by their own accounts that day, lost
above 9000 men, seven thousand of whom were from the troops of
Begemder and Lasta, with which the king was engaged. For my own part,
I cannot believe, but that both these accounts are much exaggerated;
the great proportion that died of those that were wounded must have
greatly swelled the loss of the rebels, because most gun-shot wounds,
especially if bones are broken, mortify, and prove mortal. Among
the slain, on the part of Begemder, were two chiefs of Lasta, and
two relations of Powussen, (a brother-in-law and his son) they were
both shot, bearing the banner of king Theodorus. The unworthy Confu,
brother to Guebra Mehedin, and nephew to the Iteghé, whom I have often
mentioned, had escaped, indeed, from Kasmati Ayabdar, who had given
orders to confine him, to die a rebel this day among the troops of
Begemder.
The king being washed and dressed, and having dined, received a
compliment from Ras Michael, who sent him a present of fruit,
and a thousand ounces of gold. There began then the filthiest of
all ceremonies that ever disgraced any nation stiling themselves
Christians; a ceremony that cannot be put in terms sufficiently decent
for modest ears, without adapting the chaste language of scripture,
which, when necessity obliges to treat of gross subjects, always
makes choice of the least offensive language.
All those, whether women or men, who have fiefs of the crown, are
obliged to furnish certain numbers of horse and foot. The women were
seldom obliged to personal attendance, till Ras Michael made it a
rule, in order to compose a court or company for Ozoro Esther. At the
end of a day of battle each chief is obliged to sit at the door of
his tent, and each of his followers, who has slain a man, presents
himself in his turn, armed as in fight, with the bloody foreskin of
the man whom he has slain hanging upon the wrist of his right hand.
In this, too, he holds his lance, brandishing it over his master, or
mistress, as if he intended to strike; and repeating in a seeming
rage, a rant of nonsense, which admits of no variation, "I am John the
son of George, the son of William, the son of Thomas; I am the rider
upon the brown horse; I saved your father's life at such a battle;
where would you have been if I had not fought for you to-day? you give
me no encouragement, no cloaths, nor money; you do not deserve such
a servant as I;" and with that he throws his bloody spoils upon the
ground before his superior. Another comes afterwards, in his turn, and
does the same; and, if he has killed more than one man, so many more
times he returns, always repeating the same nonsense, with the same
gestures. I believe there was a heap of above 400 that day, before
Ozoro Esther; and it was monstrous to see the young and beautiful
Tecla Mariam sitting upon a stool presiding at so filthy a ceremony;
nor was she without surprise, such is the force of custom, that no
compliment of that kind was paid on my part; and still more so, that
I could not be even present at so horrid and bloody an exhibition.
The superiors appear at this time with their heads covered as before
their vassals; their mouth, too, is hid, and nothing is seen but
their eyes: this does not proceed from modesty, but is a token of
superiority, of which, covering or uncovering the head is a very
special demonstration. After this ceremony is over each man takes his
bloody conquest, and retires to prepare it in the same manner the
Indians do their scalps. To conclude this beastly account, the whole
army, on their return to Gondar, on a particular day of review, throws
them before the king, and leaves them at the gate of the palace. It
is in search of these, and the unburied bodies of criminals, that the
hyænas come in such numbers to the streets, where it is dangerous,
even when armed, to walk after dark.
This inhuman ceremony being over, also the care of the wounded,
which indeed precedes every thing, the king received all those of
the nobility who had distinguished themselves that day; the tent was
crowded, and he was in great spirits at the slaughter that had been
made, which unbecoming pleasure he never could disguise. He mentioned
the death of his uncle Guebra Christos with a degree of chearfulness,
presuming, that when such a man died on his side, many of that rank
and merit must have fallen on the other. Villages, appointments, and
promotions, gold, promises, and presents of every kind, had been
liberally bestowed upon those who had presented themselves, and who
had merited reward that day by their behaviour. The king had been
furnished with means from the Ras, and according to his natural
inclination (especially towards soldiers) he had bestowed them
liberally, and I believe impartially. Guebra Mascal had not appeared;
he was waiting upon his uncle Ras Michael, looking after his own
interest, to which no Abyssinian is blind, and exposing those bloody
spoils, which I have just mentioned, to the Ras, his uncle and general.
I had been absent from another motive, the attendance on my friend
Engedan, to whose tent I had removed my bed, as he complained of great
pain in his wound, and I had likewise obtained leave of the Ras to
shift my tent near that of his, and leave the care of the king's horse
to Laeca Mariam, an old slave and confidential servant of the king.
As these men were the king's menial servants in his palace, a number
of them (about a fourth) staid at Gondar with the horses, and few
more than 100 to 120 could now be mustered, from about 200 or 204
which they at first were: the arranging of this, attendance upon Ayto
Engedan, and several delays in getting access to the Ras, who had
all his troops of Tigrè round him, made it past eight o'clock in the
evening before I could see the king after he entered the camp; he had
many times sent in search of Sertza Denghel, but no such person could
be found; he had been seen bravely fighting by Engedan's side in the
entrance of the valley, when that young nobleman was wounded, and he
had retired with him from the field, but nobody could give any account
of him, and the king, by his repeated inquiries after him, shewed
more anxiety, from the supposition he was lost, than he had done for
Guebra Christos his uncle, or all the men that had fallen that day;
I had seen him in Ayto Engedan's tent, sitting behind his bed, in the
darkest place of it; both his lips, nose, and chin were violently cut,
his whole fore teeth beat out, and both his cheeks greatly swelled. I
had given him what relief I could, nor was there any thing dangerous
in his wounds; but the affront of receiving the blow from the king,
when he was doing a most meritorious act of duty, (the saving him
from death, or the hands of the rebels), had made such an impression
upon a noble mind, that as soon as he arrived in Engedan's tent, he
had ordered his hair to be cut off, put a white cap, or monk's cowl
upon his head, and by a vow dedicated himself to a monastic life. In
vain the king flattered, rewarded, and threatened him afterwards, and
went so far as to make the Abuna menace him with excommunication if
he persisted in his resolution any longer. After this I carried him,
as we shall see, by the king's desire, to Gusho, in his camp, and
interested him also to persuade Sertza Denghel to renounce his rash
vow: no consideration could however prevail, for, like a private monk,
he lived at home in the village which belonged to him in patrimony,
and, tho' he often came to court, never slept or ate in the palace,
the excuse being, when desired to stay dinner, that he had _no teeth_.
He constantly slept at my house, sometimes chearful, but very seldom
so. He was a young man of excellent understanding, and particularly
turned to the study of religion; he was well read in all the books of
his own country, and very desirous of being instructed in ours; he had
the very worst opinion of his own priests, and his principal desire
(if it had been possible) was to go with me to die, and to be buried
in Jerusalem.
CHAP. VIII.
_King rewards his Officers--The Author again persecuted by
Guebra Mascal--Great Displeasure of the King--The Author and
Guebra Mascal are reconciled and rewarded--Third Battle of
Serbraxos._
After the engagement, as every body had access to the king's presence,
I did not choose to force my way through the crowd, but went round
through the more private entry, by the bed-chamber, when I placed
myself behind the king's chair. As soon as he saw me, he said, with
great benignity, "I have not inquired nor sent for you, because I knew
you would be necessarily busied among those of your friends, who have
been wounded to-day; you are yourself, besides, hurt: how are you?" I
answered, "that I was not hurt to-day, but, though often in danger,
had escaped without any other harm than excessive fatigue occasioned
by heat and weight of my coat of mail, and that one of my horses was
killed under Ammonios."
I then took the red colours from the servant behind me, and going to
the carpet spread before the king, laid them at his feet, saying, "So
may all your majesty's enemies fall, as this arch rebel (the bearer
of this) has fallen to-day;" a great murmur was immediately raised
upon seeing these colours, and the king cried out with the utmost
impatience, "Has he fallen into your hands, Yagoube? who was he,
where did you meet him, or where did you slay him?" "Sir, said I, it
was not my fortune to meet him to-day, nor did I slay him. I am no
king-killer; it is a sin, I thank God, from which my ancestors are all
free; yet, had Providence thrown in my way a king like this, I believe
I might have overcome my scruples. He was killed, as I suppose, by a
shot of Guebra Mascal, on the flank of our line; a soldier picked up
the colours on the field, and brought them to me in hopes of reward,
while you was engaged with the troops of Begemder, near the bank; but
the merit of his death is with Guebra Mascal. I do him this justice,
the rather because he is the only man in your majesty's army who bears
me ill-will, or has been my constant enemy, for what reason I know
not; but God forbid, that on this, or any personal account, I should
not bear witness to the truth: this day, my fortune has been to be
near him during the whole of it, and I say it from certain inspection,
that to the bravery and activity of Guebra Mascal every man in your
left wing owes his life or liberty."--"He is a shame and disgrace
to his family, says the king's secretary, who was standing by him,
if after this he can be your enemy."--"It must be a mistake, says
the king's priest (Kiis Hatzè), for this should atone for it, though
Yagoube had slain his brother."
While this conversation was going on, an extraordinary bustle was
observed in the crowd, and this unquiet genius pushing through it
with great violence, his goat's skin upon his shoulders, and covered
with dust and sweat, in the same manner he came from the field; he
had heard I was gone to the king's tent with the red flag, and not
doubting I was to complain of him, or praise myself at his expence,
had directly followed me, without giving himself time to make the
least inquiry. He threw himself suddenly, with his face to the ground,
before the throne, and rising as quickly, and in violent agitation, he
said to the king, or rather bellowed, very indecently, "It is a lie
Yagoube is telling; he does not say the truth; I meant him no harm
but good to-day, and he did not understand my language. I don't say
Yagoube is not as good a man as any of us, but it is a lie he has been
telling now, and I will prove it."
A general silence followed this wild rhapsody; the king was surprised,
and very gravely said, I am sorry, for your sake, if it is a lie;
for my part, I was rash enough to believe it was true. Guebra Mascal
was still going to make bad worse, by some absurd reply, when the
secretary, and one or two of his friends, hauled him out behind the
throne to one of the apartments within, not without some resistance,
every one supposing, and many saying, he was drunk; the king was
silent, but appeared exceedingly displeased, when I fell upon
the ground before him, (a form of asking leave to speak upon any
particular subject) and rising said, Sir, With great submission, it
is not, I apprehend, true, that Guebra Mascal is drunk, as some have
rashly said now in your presence; we have all ate and drank, and
changed our cloathing since the battle; but this man, who has been
on foot since five in the morning, and engaged all day, has not, I
believe, ate or drank as yet; certainly he has not washed himself, or
changed his habit, but has been taking care of his wounded men, and
has presented himself now as he came from the field, under the unjust
suspicion I was doing him wrong. I then repeated what had happened
at the bank when the king was pursuing the troops of Begemder. Now I
understand him, says the king, but still he is wrong, and this is not
the first instance I have seen, when there was no such mistake. At
this time a messenger came to call me from within.
The king divined the reason of sending, and said, No, he shall not go
to Guebra Mascal; I will not suffer this. Go, says he to one of his
servants that stood near him, desire the Ras to call Guebra Mascal,
and ask him what this brutality means? I have seen two instances of
his misbehaviour already, and wish not to be provoked by a third. At
this instant came Kefla Yasous, with his left hand bound up, and a
broad leaf like that of a plane upon his forehead. After the usual
salutation, and a kind of joke of the king's on his being wounded,
I asked him if he would retire and let me dress his forehead? which
he shewing inclination to do, the king said, Aye, go, and ask Guebra
Mascal why he quarrels with his best friends, and prevents me from
rewarding him as he otherwise would have deserved. I went out with
Kefla Yasous, being very desirous this affair should not go to the
Ras, and we found Guebra Mascal in appearance in extreme agony and
despair.
The whole story was told distinctly to Kefla Yasous, who took it up
in the most judicious manner. He said he had been detained at his
tent, but had come to the king's presence expressly to give Guebra
Mascal the just praise he deserved for his behaviour that day: that
he was very happy that I, who was near him all the action, and was
a stranger, and unprejudiced (as he might be thought not to be)
had done it so justly and so handsomely. At the same time he could
not help saying, that the quarrel with Yagoube in the palace, the
taunting speech made without provocation in the king's presence
on the march, his apostrophe in the field, and the abrupt manner
in which he ignorantly broke in upon the conversation before the
king, interrupting and contradicting his own commendations, shewed
a distempered mind, and that he acted from a bad motive, which, if
inquired into, would inevitably ruin him, both with King and Ras; and
he had heard indeed it already had done with the former.
Guebra Mascal, now crying like a child, condemned himself for a
malicious madman in the two first instances: but swore, that on the
field he had no intention but to save me, if occasion threw it in
his way; for which purpose alone it was he had cried out to me to
stand firm, for the troops of Begemder were coming upon us, but that
I did not understand his meaning. Guebra Mascal advances nothing
but truth, said I, to Kefla Yasous; I did not perfectly understand
him to-day in the field, as he spoke in his own language of Tigrè,
and stammers greatly, nor did I distinctly comprehend what he said
across the pool, for the same reason, and the confusion we were
in: I shall however most readily confess my obligation to him, for
the opportunity he gave me to join the king. I am a stranger, and
liable to err, whilst, for the same reason, I am entitled to all your
protections and forgivenness. I am, moreover, the king's stranger,
and as such, entitled to something more as long as I conduct myself
with propriety to every one. I have never spoken a word but in Guebra
Mascal's praise, and in this I have done him no more than justice;
his impatience perverted what I had said; but the real truth, as I
spoke it, remains in the ears of the king and of those that were
by-standers, to whom I appeal.
Every thing went after this in the manner that was to be wished.
Guebra Mascal and I vowed eternal friendship to each other, of which
Kefla Yasous professed himself the guarantee. All this passed while I
was binding up his head; he went again to the king. For my own part,
tired to death, low in spirits, and cursing the hour that brought
me to such a country, I almost regretted I had not died that day
in the field of Serbraxos. I went to bed, in Ayto Engedan's tent,
refusing to go to Ozoro Esther, who had sent for me. I could not help
lamenting how well my apprehensions had been verified, that some of
our companions at last night's supper, so anxious for the appearance
of morning, should never see its evening. Four of them, all young men,
and of great hopes, were then lying dead and mangled on the field; two
others besides Engedan had been also wounded. I had, however, a sound
and refreshing sleep. I think madness would have been the consequence,
if this necessary refreshment had failed me; such was the horror I had
conceived of my present situation.
On the 21st, Engedan was conveyed in a litter to Gondar; and early in
the morning of that day arrived an officer from Powussen, together
with three or four priests. He brought with him twenty or thirty
kettle-drums belonging to the king, with their mules, and as many of
the drummers as were alive. The errand was sham proposals of peace, as
usual, and great professions of allegiance to the king. As Powussen's
attack, however, that day, had something very personal in it, and that
the story of Theodorus was founded upon a supposition that the king
was to be slain on the field of Serbraxos, little answer was returned,
only the red flag was sent back with a message, That perhaps, from the
good fortune that had attended it, Powussen might wish to keep it for
Theodorus his successor, but it was never after seen or heard of.
Gusho likewise, and Ayabdar, sent a kind of embassy to inquire after
the king's health and safety; they wished him, in terms of the
greatest respect, not to expose himself in the field as he had done
in the last battle, or at least, if he chose to command his troops
in person, that he should distinguish himself by some horse, or
dress, as his predecessors used to do; and they concluded with severe
reflections on Michael, as not sufficiently attentive to the safety of
his sovereign. Gracious messages were returned to these two, and they
all were dismissed with the usual presents of clothes and money.
About eleven o'clock in the forenoon I received an order from the Ras
to attend him, and, as I thought it was about the affair of Guebra
Mascal, I went very unwillingly. I was confirmed in this by seeing
him waiting with many of his friends without the tent, and still
more so upon our being called in together: the Ras was conversing low
to two priests, who by their dress seemed to have come lately from
Gondar; he paid little regard to either of us, but nodded, and asked
in Tigrè how we did? Three or four servants, however, brought out new
fine cotton clothes, which they put upon us both; and, upon another
nod, several officers and priests, and a number of other people,
conducted us to the king, though still, as the Ras had scarcely
spoken to us, I wondered how this should end. After staying a little
we were both introduced; the Likaontes, or judges, some priests, and
my friend the secretary, stood about the king, who sat in the middle
of his tent upon the stool Guangoul had sat down upon; the secretary
held something in his lap, and, upon Guebra Mascal's first kneeling,
bound a white fillet like a ribband round his forehead, upon which
were written in black and red ink, _Mo ambassa am Nizelet Solomon am
Negadè Jude_, "The lion of the tribe of Judah of the race of Solomon
has overcome." The secretary then declared his investiture; the king
had given him in fief, or for military service for ever, three large
villages in Dembea, which he named, and this was proclaimed afterwards
by beat of drum at the door of the tent. The king then likewise
presented him with a gold knife, upon which he kissed the ground, and
arose.
It was my turn next to kneel before the king. Whether there was any
thing particular in my countenance, or what fancy came into his head
I know not, but when I looked him in the face he could scarce refrain
from laughing. He had a large chain of gold, with very massy links,
which he doubled twice, and then put it over my neck, while the
secretary said, "Yagoube, the king does you this great honour, not as
payment of past services, but as a pledge that he will reward them
if you will put it in his power." Upon this I kissed the ground, and
we were both reconducted to the Ras, with our insignia; and, having
kissed the ground before him, and then his hands, we both had leave to
retire. He seemed very busy with people arrived from without; he only
lifted up his head, smiled, and said, Well, are you friends now? We
both bowed without answer, and left the tent.
The chain consisted of 184 links, each of them weighing 3-1/12 dwts
of fine gold. It was with the utmost reluctance that, being in want
of every thing, I sold great part of this honourable distinction
at Sennaar in my return home; the remaining part is still in my
possession. It is hoped my successors will never have the same excuse
I had, for further diminishing this honourable monument which I have
left them.
About a few hours after this, a much more interesting spectacle
appeared before the whole camp. Ayto Tesfos, governor of Samen under
Joas, had never laid down his arms, nor paid any allegiance to the
present king or his father, but had constantly treated them as
usurpers, and the Ras as a rebel and parricide. He had continued in
friendship with Fasil, but never would co-operate or join with him,
not even when he was at Gondar as Ras. He lived in the inaccessible
rock, (called the Jews Rock) one of the highest of the mountains of
Samen, where he maintained a large number of troops, with which he
overawed the whole neighbouring country, and made perpetual inroads
into Tigrè. Enemy as he was to Ras Michael, he would not venture to
take an active part against him, till the king's affairs were plainly
going to ruin. I have already mentioned, that the last thing Michael
did was to send Kefla Yasous, Basha Hezekias, and Welleta Michael, to
dispossess him of his stronghold if possible, and in this they had
failed. But now that Tesfos saw there was no probability that Michael
should be able to retreat to Tigrè, he came at last to join Gusho,
bringing with him only about a thousand men, having left all his posts
guarded against surprise, and strong enough to cut off all recruits
arriving from Tigrè. Nothing that had yet happened ever had so bad
effect upon Michael's men as this appearance of Tesfos. It was a
little before mid-day when his army appeared, and from the hills above
marched down towards the valley below us, not two musquet-shot from
our camp.
Though Samen is really on the west of the Tacazzé, and consequently in
the Amharic division of this country, yet, on account of its vicinity
to Tigrè, the language and customs are mostly the same with those
of that province. There is a march peculiar to the troops of Tigrè,
which, when the drums of Tesfos beat at passing, a despondency seemed
to fall on all the Tigran soldiers, greater than if ten thousand men
of Amhara had joined the rebels. It was a fine day, and the troops,
spread abroad upon the face of the hill, not only shewed more in
number than they really were, but also more security than they were,
in point of prudence, warranted to do, when at so small a distance
from such an army as ours.
Tesfos took a post very likely to distress us, as he had more than
300 musquetry with him. He sat down with horse and foot in the middle
of the valley before us, with part of his musquetry posted upon the
skirts of the mountain Belessen on one side, and part on the top of
that long, even hill, dividing the valley from the river Mariam. Over
his camp, like a citadel, is the rock that projects into the valley,
from which the peasants of Mariam-Ohha had thrown the stones when
we were returning to our camp after the last battle. Upon this rock
Tesfos had placed a multitude of women and servants, who began to
build straw-huts for themselves, as if they intended to stay there
for some time, though there was still plenty of the female sex below
with the camp. Indeed, I never remember to have seen so many women in
proportion to any army whatever, no not even in our own.
If Tesfos had been long in coming, he was resolved, now he was
come, to make up for his lost time, as he was not a mile and a half
from our camp, and could see our horses go down to water, either at
Deg-Ohha or Mariam; that same day at two o'clock, his horse attacked
our men at watering, killed some servants, and took several horses.
This behaviour of Tesfos was taken as a defiance to Kefla Yasous in
particular, and to the army in general.
There was no person in the whole army, of any rank whatever, so
generally beloved as Kefla Yasous; he was looked upon by the soldiers
as their father. He was named by the Ras to the government of Samen,
but had failed, as we have already stated, in dispossessing Ayto
Tesfos, whose disorderly march at broad mid-day, so near our army,
the ostentatious beating of the Tigran march upon his kettle-drum
as he passed, and his taking post so near, were all considered as
meriting chastisement. That general, however, though very sensible
of this bravado, did not venture to suggest any thing in the present
situation of the army, but all his friends proposed it to him, that
some reproof should be given to Tesfos, if it was only to raise the
drooping spirits of the troops of Tigrè. Accordingly 400 horse, and
about 500 foot, armed with lances and shields only, without musquetry
for fear of alarm, were ordered to be ready as soon as it was
perfectly dark, that is, between seven and eight o'clock.
Tesfos having waited the coming of his baggage, and arranged his
little camp to his liking, was seen to mount, with about 300 horse, to
go to the camp of Gusho or Powussen a little before sun-set, at which
time Kefla Yasous was distributing plenty of meat to the soldiers.
About eight o'clock they descended the hill unperceived even by part
of our camp. Kefla Yasous was governor of Temben (a province on
the S. W. of Tigrè) immediately joining to Samen, and the language
and dialect was the same. The foot were ordered to take the lead,
scattered in a manner not to give alarm, and the horse were to pass
by the back of the low, even hill, in the other valley, along the
banks of the river Mariam, close to the water, in order to cut off the
retreat to the plain. A great part of the Samen soldiers were asleep,
whilst a number of the mules that had been loaded were straggling up
and down, and some of them returning to the camp. The Temben troops
had now insinuated themselves among the tents, especially on the side
of the hill.
The first circumstance that gave alarm was the appearance of the
horse, but they were not taken for an enemy, but for Ayto Tesfos
returning. Kefla Yasous now gave the signal to charge, by beating a
kettle-drum, and every soldier fell upon the enemy nearest him. It is
impossible to describe the confusion that followed, nor was it easy to
distinguish enemies from friends, especially for us on horseback;
only those that fled were reckoned enemies. The greatest execution
done by the horse was breaking the jars of honey, butter, beer, wine,
and flour, and gathering as many mules together as possible to drive
them away. Few of the enemy came our way towards the plain, but most
fled up the hill: in an instant the straw huts upon the rock were set
on fire, and Kefla Yasous had ordered rather to destroy the provisions
than the men, since there was no resistance. I passed a large tent,
which I judged to be that of Ayto Tesfos, which our people immediately
cut open; but, instead of an officer of consequence, we saw, by
the light of a lamp, three or four naked men and women, totally
overpowered with drink and sleep, lying helpless, like so many hogs,
upon the ground, utterly unconscious of what was passing about them.
Upon a large tin platter, on a bench, lay one of the large horns,
perfectly drained of the spirits that it had contained; it was one of
the most beautiful, for shape and colour, I ever had seen, though not
one of the largest. This horn was all my booty that night. Upon my
return to Britain, it was asked of me by Sir Thomas Dundas of Carse,
to serve for a bugle-horn to the Fauconberg regiment, to which, as
being _partum sanguine_, it was very properly adapted. That regiment
being disbanded soon after, I know not further what came of it; it is
probably placed in some public collection, or at least ought to be.
The fire increasing on the hill, and several musquets having been
heard, it was plain the enemy, in all the camps, were alarmed, and
our further stay became every moment more dangerous. Kefla Yasous now
beat a retreat, and sent the horsemen all round to force the foot
to make the best of their way back, ordering also all mules taken
to be ham-stringed and left, not to retard our return. Trumpets and
drums were heard from our camp, to warn us not to stay, as it was not
doubted but mischief would follow, and accordingly we were scarce
arrived within the limits of our camp when we heard the sound of horse
in the valley.
Michael, always watchful upon every accident, no sooner saw the fires
lighted on the hill, than he ordered Guebra Mascal to place a good
body of musqueteers about half way down the hill, as near as possible
to the ford of Mariam, thinking it probable that the enemy would
enter at both ends of the long hill, in order to surround those who
were destroying their camp, which they accordingly did, whilst those
of our people, who had taken to drinking, fell into the hands of the
troops that came by the lower road, and were all put to death. Those
that reached the upper ford served to afford us a severe revenge, for
Guebra Mascal, after having seen them pass between him and the river,
though it was a dark and very windy night, guessed very luckily their
position, and gave them so happy a fire, that most of those who were
not slain returned back without seeing Ayto Tesfos's camp, being
afraid that some other trap might still be in their way.
In the morning of the 22d, we found that the slain were men of
Begemder and Lasta. Tesfos, it seems, had been in Powussen's camp
when he saw the fire lighted on the hill, and thence had provided
an additional number of troops to attack Kefla Yasous before he had
done his business, but in this he miscarried. Tesfos's party was
thus totally destroyed and dispersed, his mules slaughtered, and his
provisions spoiled. About thirty of Kefla Yasous's infantry, however,
lost their lives by staying behind, and intoxicating themselves with
liquor. Of the horse, not a man was either killed or wounded. I was
the only unfortunate person; and Providence had seemed to warn me of
my danger the day before, for passing then that rock which projected
into the valley, the fire giving perfect light, the multitude
assembled above, and prepared for that purpose, poured down upon us
such a shower of arrows, stones, billets of wood, and broken jars, as
is not to be imagined. Of these a stone gave me a very violent blow
upon my left arm, while a small fragment of the bottom of a jar, or
pitcher, struck me on the crest of my helmet, and occasioned such a
concussion as to deprive me for a time of all recollection, so that,
when lying in my tent at no great distance, I did not remember to
have heard Guebra Mascal's discharge. I certainly had some presaging
that mischief was to happen me, for passing that rock, just before
we entered Tesfos's camp, I desired Tecla, when I returned, to allow
fifty men to proceed up the hill and cut those people in pieces who
had stationed themselves so inconveniently; but he would not consent,
being desirous to return without loss of time, and before the enemy
knew the calamity that had befallen them.
Ayto Tesfos now became a little more humble, retreated to the south
end of the long hill, till being joined, next day the 23d, by his
neighbours, Samuel Mammo of Tzegadé, and Heraclius of Walkayt, who
had a very large force, he again removed nearer us, about half a mile
farther than his first position, and extended his camp quite across
the valley, from the foot of the hill to the river Mariam, keeping his
head-quarters on the top of the long, even hill, so often mentioned.
Mammo and Heraclius had passed by Gondar, and, being much superior in
number, had taken Sanuda, Ayto Confu, and Ayto Engedan prisoners, and,
though the two last were wounded, carried them to Gusho's camp.
I need not trouble the reader with the attention shewed me upon
my accident; all that was great and noble at court, from the king
downwards, seemed to be as sensible of it as if it had happened to
one of their own family; the Ras very particularly so; and I must
own, above all, Guebra Mascal shewed himself a sincere convert, by a
concern and friendship that had every mark of sincerity. Ozoro Esther
was several times the next day at my tent, and with her the beautiful
Tecla Mariam, whose sympathy and kindness would more than have
compensated a greater misfortune; for, saving that it had occasioned
an inflammation in my eyes, the hurt was of the slightest kind.
Many people came to-day from the several camps with proposals of
peace, which ended in nothing, though it was visible enough to
everyone that a treaty of some kind was not only on foot, but already
far advanced. In the evening a party of 400 foot and 50 horse, which
went to Dembea to forage for the king, was surprised by Coque Abou
Barea, and cut to pieces; after which that general encamped with
Gusho, and brought with him about 3000 men.
Provisions were now become scarce in the camp, and there was a
prospect that they would be every day scarcer; and, what was still
worse, Deg-Ohha, which long had stood in pools, was now almost dry,
and, from the frequent use made of it by the number of beasts, began
to have both an offensive smell and taste; whilst, every time we
attempted to water at the Mariam river, a battle was to be fought with
Tesfos's horse in the valley. On the other hand, an epidemical fever
raged in the rebels camp on the plain, especially in that of Gusho and
Ayabdar. The rain, moreover, was now coming on daily, and something
decisive became necessary for all parties.
On the 24th, in the morning, a message arrived from Gusho to the king,
desiring I might have liberty to come and bring medicines with me, for
his whole family were ill of the fever. The king answered, that I had
been wounded in the head, and was ill; nor did he believe I could be
able to come; but, if I was, he should send me in the morning.
A little before noon the drums in the plain beat to arms. Heraclius,
Mammo, and Tesfos on the side of the valley, Coque Abou Barea and
Asahel Woodage on the side of the plain, with fresh troops, had
obtained leave from Gusho and Powussen to try to storm our camp,
without any assistance from the main army, in order to bring the
whole to a speedy conclusion. There had been a time when such an
undertaking would not have been thought a prudent one to much better
men than any of those who now were parties in it; but our spirits
were greatly fallen, our number, too, much decreased; above all, a
relaxation of discipline (and desertion, the consequence of it) began
to prevail among us to an alarming degree. This was generally said to
be owing to the despondency of the Tigrè troops upon the arrival of
Tesfos; but it required little penetration to discern, that all sorts
of men were weary of constant fighting and hardships, for no other
end but unjustly maintaining Michael in a post in which he governed
at discretion, to the terror of the whole kingdom, and ruin of the
constitution.
The hill of Serbraxos, when we first took post on it, was rugged and
uneven, full of acacia and other ill-thriving trees, and various
stumps of these had been broken by the wind, or undermined by the
torrents. The great need the soldiers had of fuel to roast the
miserable pittance of barley, (which was all their food) had cleared
away these incumbrances from the side of the hill, and the constant
resort of men going up and down, had rendered the surface perfectly
smooth and slippery; so that our camp did not appear as placed so
high, nor nearly so inaccessible as it was at first. For this reason,
Ras Michael had ordered the soldiers to gather all the stones on the
hill, and range them in small walls, at proper places, in a kind
of zig-zag, under which the soldiers lay concealed, and with their
fire-arms protected the mules which went down to drink. Michael had
lined all these little fortifications with musquetry, from the bottom
of the hill to the door of his tent and the king's.
[Illustration:
PLAN
_of_
THE THIRD BATTLE
OF
_SERBRAXOS_,
_Fought 23^d. May_,
1772.
THIRD BATTLE.
Explanation.
A The center commanded by the king in person.
B The van encamped under Ras Michael.
C The rear encamped, Guebra Christos being slain, commanded by
several officers.
DD Woodage Asahel marching up towards the hill to attack the
king's camp.
E Ayto Tesfos of Samen making a lodgement in the bank, or side
of the hill, under the van, to favour the attack of Woodage
Asahel.
F Coque Abou Barea making a mock attack on the rear to create a
diversion in favour of Woodage Asahel.