The second knot in the string of the tedious journey had been unloosed
by arrival at Killulloo, which is considered exactly half-way from the
sea-coast to the frontier of Abyssinia. But although the worst portion
of the road was now behind, the Embassy was destined to waste many days
of existence in this vile spot, amidst annoying debates and discussions,
most trying to the patience, which threatened to terminate so
unpleasantly as well nigh to result in the abandonment of the baggage,
as affording the only prospect left of ever reaching the destination.
From the very first moment of arrival, Izhak, whose sole object ever
appeared to be to render himself disagreeable, devoted his talents and
energies to the establishment of a misunderstanding, upon the frivolous
grounds of Mohammad Ali having been suffered to distribute a small
quantity of tobacco, in order to get rid of some passing unpleasant
visitors. "Who gave _that man_ tobacco?" he captiously vociferated,
bouncing into the tent as soon as it had been pitched; "this is a piece
of interference with my prerogatives as Ras el Kafilah, which cannot be
borne." And the explanation afforded not proving at all to his
satisfaction, he roundly declared his determination of resenting the
insult by throwing up the charge, and returning with all his paid
retainers to Tajura.
Mohammad Ali being now in the heart of his own country, and having
rendered himself extremely useful on the road, whilst his venerable
rival had been idle, seemed resolved to assert his claim to a share in
the conduct of the caravan. Izhak as unflinchingly maintained his
resolution, as brother to the Sultan of Tajura--a point whereon he
greatly piqued himself--to hold the reins exclusively in his own hands,
or to decamp with the camels; and the Embassy, avowing themselves to be
merely travellers through the country, desirous of conciliating all
parties, and of interfering with none, maintained the strictest
neutrality, and declined mixing at all in the dispute.
It was already dusk when a visit was received from the three principal
persons of the countless multitudes assembled. These were Ibrahim ibn
Hameido, Akil of the Hy Somauli, whose dominion extends from Ramudele to
Suggagedan; and the uncle and father of Mohammad Ali--to wit, Wayess ibn
Hagaio, who divides with his brother Hagaio Lad the government of the
Dermela, the Woema, the Rookhba, and the Midgan, collectively extending
from Suggagedan to Waramilli--and Hajji Ali Mohammad, a hoary patriarch
of most venerable appearance, commonly styled Ali Abi. As tokens of
good-will they brought oxen, sheep, and bags of sour milk; but, owing to
an obvious disinclination on the part of Izhak and his sulky colleagues
to promote conversation, the interview was extremely stiff; and dates,
coffee, and snuff having been duly handed round, the illustrious
visitors, signifying an intention of discussing certain topics of
importance which had yet to be adjusted, abruptly departed after the
polished fashion of the country, without going through the ceremony of
taking leave of their entertainers.
A vast concourse of armed natives, members of all the various tribes
assembled, had in the meantime convened immediately on the outskirts of
the camp, where they continued during the whole night in a violent
altercation, which periodical supplies of dates and tobacco proved quite
inadequate to allay. The discussion was shared by Izhak and by Mohammad
Ali, with their respective partisans and retainers, and it continued
during the whole of the next day; meanwhile the tent being perpetually
thronged with thieves and idlers, who purloined whatever fell in their
way, and contrived frequent broils amongst themselves which led to the
drawing of creeses in the very centre of the encampment.
Throughout the whole of the ensuing night, and part of the day
following, the wrangling among the tribes continued with little
abatement or intermission, the litigants occasionally breaking into
small parties, to hold private _kalams_, and after much mysterious
whispering, again resuming their seats in the general assembly. The
question of precedence between the elders, already adverted to, and the
propriety of suffering so large a party of armed Franks to proceed into
Abyssinia, formed the principal subjects of discussion; and the
prevailing opinion on the latter question was, that all ought to be
compelled to return, if not to be put to death, as unbelievers whose
presence boded evil.
But the opportunity was also taken of arbitrating old feuds and
squabbles. Elopements were investigated and arranged, and all disputes
and quarrels of a private nature fully dilated upon and digested.
Hundreds of ruffians thus sate from the rising up of the sun to the
going down of the same, and throughout the livelong night, formed in a
wide circle; the chiefs and men of consequence in the centre, and the
venerable Ali Abi, with thin floating snow-white locks, and highly
ornamented weapons, seated as president of the council. During the
lengthy discussion of each case, every spear stood erect in the hand of
the warrior; and on the decision being promulgated, the bright blades
were lowered with one accord, a portion of the Koran was repeated, and
at the termination of every verse, a general hum succeeding, the
concurrence of all parties was chanted in a deep stern _Ameen_!
Killulloo being the great mart between the Bedouin tribes and the
passing caravans, where the produce of their flocks is bartered for blue
calico and other imports in demand, the news of the arrival of so large
a party caused an inpouring from every quarter, and each day presented
at the rendezvous some new group of exacting chiefs to be propitiated,
with a fresh train of thieving followers to be fed and kept in good
humour. Every greasy scoundrel possessed a vote in the congress,
together with the inclination to render himself obnoxious, and the
ability to add his humble mite towards the irksome detention; and it
therefore became requisite to court popularity, and to canvass public
favour as sedulously as at a general election for a seat in parliament.
Ever and anon, a great noise and clamour, and the rushing, spear in
hand, of all the idlers to one point, proclaimed a gentle passage of
arms among the savages, of which, nine times out of ten, a woman was the
subject--some gay Lothario having been recognised among the crowd by an
injured husband. But no sooner had the cold steel fleshed from the
scabbard, than the bullies were secured by the bystanders, and being
perfectly _au fait_ at the business, they were easily restrained from
doing each other any grievous bodily harm. In one scuffle indeed, a
hot-headed fool who had with singular want of discretion engaged in a
quarrel at too great a distance from his companions, got his thick wig
somewhat unpleasantly shaved to the skull a hand's breadth or more--a
fortunate occurrence indeed as it turned out, since the sight of blood
had the instantaneous effect of closing the senatorial proceedings of
the great conclave, which had been all night sitting in deliberation, so
that its members were yawning in a state of considerable exhaustion and
owlish stupefaction. Tolo, the quarrelsome little warrior who thus
suddenly adjourned the sessions, lost three of his front teeth by the
hands of the husband whom he had injured in more ways than one--but he
retained possession of the inconstant lady, and publicly pledged
himself, that on his way back from Habesh he would take measures which
should set the matter at rest for ever.
The arrival from Shoa of a slave caravan in charge of the son of Abdool
Rahman Sowahil, Kazi of Tajura, added still further to the assembly in
the persons of several hundred unfortunate children of all ages, who
sought shelter from the fierce rays of the sun beneath the scanty trees
which dotted the rugged basaltic valley of Killulloo, or lay huddled
together beneath the hot shadow of an impending columnar rock. Each
carried a small gourd as a water flagon, and, although generally in good
spirits, some idea of the sufferings in store for these hapless beings
could be formed by those who had just achieved the lower portion of the
perilous and formidable road.
"Have all my children arrived in safety?" inquired a corpulent old
slave-merchant who brought up the rear, tenderly accosting his mistress
elect, and chucking her playfully under the chin, as she flew to hold
the bridle of his mule; "are all my children well?" "_Humdu-lillah_,"
was the reply of the coy damsel, a really beautiful Christian from
Gurague, with long raven tresses, and a very pensive expression, who had
been compelled to profess Islamism. Honoured with the caresses of her
flit and bigoted purchaser, the poor girl had been made responsible for
a drove consisting of three score little sister slaves, all
distinguished like herself by a tassel of green beads in the braided
hair, and who were now about to be counted by their "father."
The son of the Kazi having brought letters from Abyssinia, was shortly
introduced by Hajji Kasim, own cousin to Izhak, and by far the most
reasonable of the Tajura party. Being in the course of conversation
quietly interrogated touching the cause of the Ras el Kafilah's
continued irritation, he turned at once to his companion, and solemnly
adjured him by the beard of the Prophet to answer conscientiously the
following questions. "A head is ahead, is it not, all the world over?"
"Of course," responded the descendant of the chief justice, "there can
be no disputing that fact."
"A tail, too, is a tail, or I am much mistaken," continued the logician,
pursuing his thesis,--and this axiom was also unhesitatingly admitted as
beyond all controversy. "Well, then," resumed Kasim, whose intellects
had been sharpened by a pilgrimage to the shrine at Medina; "no Kafilah
can possess two heads; and so long as Ali Mohammad, who is in fact the
tail, continues these underhand attempts to usurp the authority vested
in the brother of the Sultan of Tajura, our acknowledged head, matters
can never go on smoothly."
The old man was quietly reminded that the raw tobacco, which had given
rise to so much heart-burning, bickering, and dispute, was the sole
property of the British party, and that, with every deference to Izhak's
supreme authority, some control might with propriety be conceded to the
owners over their own wares; but that as to any interference in the
quarrel for the Ras el Kafilah-ship, the thing was clearly impossible--
the business having already been fully discussed and arranged with due
Danakil patience, by the Sultan, in some twenty tedious conferences with
the camel-owners and chiefs of Tajura. Izhak, who had been listening to
this conversation with a dark scowl upon his brow, now entered as if by
accident, twirling his scanty locks, and beaming with smiles; proof of
his restoration to good humour being immediately afforded in the
extension of his right hand, not to perform the usual ceremony of
reconciliation, but in view to the palm being filled with a sufficiency
of Dr Ruddiman's Irish blackguard, to admit of indulgence in his
favourite recreation.
Hopes were now reasonably entertained of an amicable adjustment, the
real cause of dispute having meanwhile been traced to a jealousy
respecting the reward which it was conjectured the leader of the caravan
would receive at the hands of His Majesty of Shoa. Mohammad Ali had
already been privately satisfied upon this point; and Izhak, in order to
strengthen his own claim, falsely asserted himself to have received by
the Kazi's son a letter from Sahela Selassie, appointing the Sultan of
Tajura to the charge of all his European friends who might desire to
visit Southern Abyssinia. But the congress still sat as usual. The
dispute arranged to-night was renewed at morning's dawn, as though it
had never formed the subject of deliberation; and at a period when the
near approach of rain in the higher regions, and the consequent flooding
of the Hawash, rendered every hour one of the utmost importance, not the
slightest prospect of departure could be discovered, beyond the
oft-repeated assurance, as often followed by disappointment--"_Bad bokra
Inshallah_," "If it please God, the day after to-morrow."
Volume One, Chapter XXVII.
PERSECUTIONS OF THE GATHERED CLANS--PARTING INTERVIEW WITH THE
AVARICIOUS CHIEFTAINS.
Throughout this period of irksome detention, the thermometer stood daily
at 112 degrees, and the temperature of the small tent, already
sufficiently oppressive, was rendered doubly unbearable by the unceasing
obtrusions of the wild, dirty, unmannerly rabble who filled the ravine.
Imperiously demanding, not suing for snuff, beads, and tobacco, with
paper whereon to write charms and spells for defence against evil
spirits, swarms forced in their greasy persons from the first dawn of
day to the mounting of the guard at night. Treating the pale-faced
proprietors with the most marked insult and contumely, they spat upon
the beds, excluded both air and light, and tainted the already close
atmosphere with every abominable smell. Not one of the greasy crowd
could be persuaded that the "cloth house," as the tent was denominated,
had not been each day re-erected solely for his individual use and
accommodation. Many attempted with their creeses to curtail the much
coveted blue calico with which it was lined, and one lank ruffian, who
was detected leisurely searching for a peg whereon to hang the skin and
entrails of a newly killed he-goat, wrought himself into a positive fury
on being civilly apprised that he must look for shambles elsewhere.
Neither on the part of those composing the caravan was much privacy
allowed during the sultry day, when seclusion was so highly desirable.
Here, as throughout the march, offensive camel-drivers obtruded
themselves without any regard either to time or season; occupying the
chairs, composing themselves to sleep in groups upon the beds or on the
table; and, whilst they picked their ears and teeth with the pens, or
employed the knives in the pleasing operation of paring their filthy
talons, spitting without remorse wheresoever they listed. Hating and
despising a Frank with all the zeal of the bigot, they yet insisted upon
shaking hands, on each intrusion, with the most scrupulous attention to
Danakil etiquette, and with unhesitating alacrity devoured the biscuits
and swallowed the coffee of the "Christian dogs."
The despotic arrangements enforced by the Ras el Kafilah, although
doubtless materially conducive to his own personal convenience, and to
that of his unaccommodating followers, were moreover far from enhancing
the comfort of the Embassy. Boxes and bales, after having been
unceremoniously dashed upon the ground, in utter disregard of
remonstrance or of the fragile nature of the contents, had on this
occasion, as on the termination of each march, been piled in a circle,
each component heap consisting of three sides of a square, which, with
the addition of a few mats thrown over the top, formed a habitation
fully as commodious as a Dankali is ever accustomed to. Any attempt to
disturb the economy of these tenements, by referring to the boxes
employed in their construction, being regarded as an act of premeditated
injury and insult, was stoutly resisted; and as no portion of the
baggage once removed to the tent, was ever received again without a
battle, the materials of comfort or occupation were very rarely
obtainable. In the selection of his load at Tajura, every self-willed
driver had suited his individual inclinations, and as no persuasion
could now induce him to deposit any portion in a spot where it might be
under surveillance, the provisions, placed beyond the reach of their
owners, but accessible to every hungry knave, were perpetually pilfered
and purloined.
Universal somnolency on the part of the hired guard, had rendered two
European sentries and an officer of the watch indispensable throughout
the journey; and in such a nest of robbers as Killulloo, the precaution
was more than ever requisite. In a fine climate, with a manly foe in
front, a night watch is far from being a disagreeable duty. Here it was
beyond all things annoying. Pacing up and down over the same re-trodden
ground, to keep the heavy eyelids on the stretch, in order to prevent
the prowling Bedouin from pilfering a bag of dates, or to detect the
lurking assassin, who in the dark creeps like a wild beast to perpetrate
his dastardly deed, is but a sorry business; and it was rendered more
particularly hateful from the rank offensive steam, which arose thick
and hot from the small circle in which the beds were spread. Stifling
exudations from the fetid mouths of one hundred and seventy camels that
fed on the most disgusting rubbish, filled the suffocating atmosphere,
which was impregnated with atoms still more vile from the rancid
sheep's-tail fat, wherewith every Dankali is so liberally besmeared.
Among the motley races congregated at this crowded watering-place, were
the endless tribes of Adaiel, with broad-headed spear and shield of high
antiquity--the coast Somauli, armed with light lance and diminutive
wrinkled buckler, scarcely larger than a biscuit--and his much-dreaded
Eesah brother, carrying a long stout bow of the ancient form, with the
double bend, and a quiver of poisoned arrows slung by a lion's tail.
These latter were by far the most conspicuous, as well as the most
agreeable figures. Their togas, although not less filthy than those of
their neighbours, were thrown more gracefully over the brawny shoulder;
their picturesque weapons were borne with an ease that habit can alone
impart; and, notwithstanding that the white trophy floated over their
raven locks in token of bloody deeds, nearly all boasted of laughing,
intelligent, and far from unpleasing countenances--a delightful relief
at all events from the scowling downcast look of the exacting, perverse,
and impracticable Danakil.
The Woema, deeming unlawful the use of the bow in their own persons,
maintain upwards of one hundred Somauli archers, originally prisoners of
war, who, although naturalised among their conquerors, retain their own
language, and never intermarry. The hunting portion of the Eesah tribe,
who are designated "Bone," usually carry a rude bamboo flute, the wild
plaintive cadence of which is believed to charm the ostrich. Their
hair, with the aid of suet, is often dressed in the figure of the
"pudding" worn by children during their first lessons in the art of
walking; and deeply graven on the forehead of each are to be seen the
masonic square and compasses.
Universally skilled in woodcraft, the ferocious subjects of ibn Fara may
be styled a nation of hunters, many being proprietors of trained
ostriches, which graze during the day with the flocks in the open plain,
and have their legs hobbled at night, to preclude wandering. These
gigantic birds are employed with great success in stalking wild animals,
a trained donkey being also in constant use--lashed below the belly of
which, the archer is carried among the unsuspecting herd, when his
arrows, poisoned with the milk of the _euphorbia antiquorum_, deal death
on every side.
It is to the skill of these wild Nimrods that the Danakil are chiefly
indebted for their shields, which are manufactured of the thick hide of
the oryx, here styled the Baeza. Two bucklers of a foot or eighteen
inches in diameter, fetching each four _tobes_ of blue calico, value two
dollars, are obtained from the animal's fore hand; and from the hind
quarters are cut others of smaller dimensions, such as are in use among
the pastoral Somauli. Ostrich feathers are also principally obtained
from the Eesah; the unsullied plumes, when stripped from the
fleet-footed bird, being deposited for the convenience of carriage, in
portions of the gullet cut to the proper length. The process pursued by
these children of the desert in the preparation of smaller fowls for the
table, if not strictly in accordance with the directions of Dr
Kitchener, can, at all events, claim ingenuity. From some superstitious
motive, the feet are chopped off with the creese, and the carcase,
undivested of the entrails, having been incased in wet clay, is thrust
into a hot fire; on removal whence the feathers are left adhering to the
paste, and in culinary phraseology, "the bird is done."
Crowds of Bedouin shepherdesses, and females belonging to all the
various nomade tribes, were likewise assembled in the Killulloo ravine,
and the cry of "_wurkut, wurkut_!" "paper, paper!" was incessant on the
part of the softer sex, who, with a licence unknown and a freedom
unenjoyed by the daughters of Eve in other Mohammadan countries, were
unremitting in their attendance and flirtations, without exciting the
jealousy of their lords. From the lips of these damsels, "_Mahisse,
Mahisseni!" "Manina teni_?" "Good morrow!" "How do you do?" came not
disagreeably; and trinkets such as they loved, being civilly solicited,
instead of imperiously demanded, the applicants were rarely
unsuccessful.
Amongst those who boasted of the most feminine and attractive
appearance, were the fair partner and sister of Mohammad Ali--their
wedded and single state being as usual distinguishable, from the coif of
blue calico which marks the wife, and by the long uncovered plaited
locks of the maid. Assembling with many of the frail sisterhood at the
door of the tent, where numbers were usually lounging in careless
attitudes, they one day demanded that the palm of beauty might be
awarded. Unwilling to throw the apple of discord, the mirror was placed
in their hands, that the coquettes might judge for themselves; and after
each in succession had started involuntarily at the sight of her own
greasy charms, and had defended the individual features whereof she was
mistress, to the utmost of her eloquence and ability, the verdict was
finally found in favour of the virgin daughter of the venerable old
sheikh.
Although the majority of the slaves imported with the caravan from
Abyssinia were of tender years, and many of them extremely pretty, they
did not excite that interest which might have been anticipated.
Children accustomed to sorry fare and to harsh treatment in their own
country, they had very readily adapted themselves to the will of their
new masters, whose obvious interest it was to keep them fat and in good
spirits. With few exceptions, all were merry and light-hearted.
Recovered from the fatigues of the long march, there was nothing but
dancing, singing, and romping; and although many wore an air of
melancholy, which forms a national characteristic, the little victims to
a traffic so opposed to every principle of humanity, might rather have
been conjectured to be proceeding on a party of pleasure, than bending
their steps for ever from their native land.
A very limited number of Shankelas and a few natives of Zingero
excepted, the whole consisted of Christians and Heathens from Gurague,
whence are obtained the "red Ethiopians" so much-prized in Arabia.
Kidnapping has consequently been there carried to an extent so frightful
as to impart the name of the unhappy province as a designation for
slaves generally. Nearly all of both sexes, however, had already become
passive converts to the Mohammadan faith, and under the encouraging eye
of the bigoted drivers, oaths by the false Prophet resounded through the
camp. Nine-tenths were females, varying in age from six to thirteen
years, and all were clad alike in dirty cotton smocks of Abyssinian
manufacture, adorned in some instances with cuffs of blue calico. Their
long dark tresses, elaborately greased, were plaited into thin cords
with tassels at the extremity, and interwoven about the head with a band
of coloured thread, to which was suspended a distinguishing cluster of
cowrie shells. Bead necklaces, pewter ear-rings, bracelets, and
anklets, decorated the persons of the prettiest; and these ornaments,
forming the stock in hand of the trader, are invariably resumed on each
bargain effected, in order to be transferred to some victim hereafter to
be purchased.
Each slave was provided with a cruse of water, and had walked the entire
distance accomplished from the heart of Africa, with an endurance that
in children especially of such tender years was truly surprising. A
very few only, who had become weary or footsore, had been mounted on
mules or camels, or provided with ox-hide sandals, which in some measure
protected their tender feet against the sharp lava boulders. The males,
chiefly boys, had been entrusted with the charge of camels, and required
no compulsion to render themselves useful; and of the females, some, who
boasted personal charms, occupied the position of temporary mistresses.
Four large handfuls of parched grain, comprising a mixture of wheat,
maize, millet, and gram, formed the daily food of each; and under the
charge of the most intelligent, the respective droves slept huddled
together on mats spread upon the ground. Some surly old drivers or
wanton youths there were, who appeared to prefer the application of the
whip to the more gentle persuasion of words; but in the trifling
punishment inflicted there was nothing to remind the spectator of the
horrors of slavery as witnessed in the western world.
Few caravans ever traverse the deadly Adel plains without losing some
slaves at least by the sultriness of the climate, or by the wanton spear
of the adjacent hordes. Three of the fat merchant's children had been
murdered shortly after leaving Abyssinia, and at his instigation a foray
was now concerting among the united warriors of the two caravans, having
for its object the destruction of the neighbouring Wurboro Galla, whose
families were to be swept into captivity. In this unprovoked slave-hunt
the Embassy were strongly urged to take part, but positively refusing
the aid of British muskets in furtherance of any such object, the
project was finally abandoned, more especially when a huge, brawny
Shankela, the property of the Kazi's son, was one morning discovered to
have effected his escape during the night, doubtless with the design of
carrying to the unsuspecting tribe a timely intimation of the gathering
storm.
Ominous _kalams_ meanwhile went on as usual, and fresh reinforcements
arrived to take share therein. Villains of every degree continued to
slide in as if hung upon wires, to stand cross-legged within the door of
the tent until their curiosity was satisfied, and then to assume a seat
in the congress. Hajji Abdallah and Elmi, the nephews of Ali Shermarki,
listening by turns, brought hourly reports of the progress making
towards final adjustment, and "_Bokra, Inshallah_!" "To-morrow, God
willing!" the now undeviating reply to every interrogatory relative to
departure, had become a perfect by-word in every mouth. At length, on
the 28th, it was pompously announced by the Ras el Kafilah that every
point at issue had _bona fide_ been satisfactorily arranged--that the
water-skins were to be filled in the evening before the flocks and herds
should return from pasture to trouble the pools--and that the journey
was positively to be resumed betimes on the morrow.
Upon this welcome assurance the three potent chieftains already named
were again received, though with closed doors at their own request, in
order that each might be invested with a turban and an honorary mantle
of scarlet broad-cloth, as rewards of their villainy. A most difficult
point of etiquette had now to be overcome. The Akil of the Hy Somauli,
whose liege subjects had abstracted the mule from Fialoo, was the bosom
friend and partisan of Izhak, whilst the illustrious personages who sat
in regal dignity on either side were near and dear relatives of Mohammad
Ali; and the rivals respectively watching with jealous eye every act
that could be construed into favour or partiality, would infallibly have
fired at any preference shown in the presentation of these enviable
distinctions from the British Government. The presents were therefore
placed on a table immediately opposite to the respective parties, and
thence simultaneously launched with the same arm into the laps of the
confronted recipients; when each bundle, even to the envelope, being
found the exact counterpart of the others, no grounds for jealousy or
heart-burning could be devised.
Misfortune had during this interim overtaken the "Sahib el bayzah," the
imp whose acquaintance was formed in the harbour of Tajura. Detected in
the mischievous dissemination of evil tales respecting his clansmen, and
in circulating others of an equally discreditable tendency, purely the
fruit of his own fertile invention, affecting the throng at Killulloo,
he had been taken to task by Abroo ibn Aboo Bekr, upon whom he drew his
creese without further ado. The bloodthirsty little savage, who had not
numbered his fourteenth year, being seized, was tied to a tree, and most
severely chastised. His passionate cries and shrieks under the lash had
reached the tent during the interview now happily terminated, and no
sooner was he taken down than he came blubbering to lodge his complaint.
No satisfactory reply being elicited, the precocious youth unsheathed
his knife, with which he viciously went through the form of
disembowelling a prostrate foe. His feelings thus relieved, he dried
his eyes, and, with a significant toss of the head, remarked as he
walked away, "'Tis of no consequence, `_maphish_,' no importance
whatever; but by the grace of God I shall cut the throat of that cousin
of mine, before I am many days older!"
Volume One, Chapter XXVIII.
RENEWAL OF DEBATES BY IBRAHIM SHEHEM ABLI, SURNAMED "THE DEVIL"--FINAL
ESCAPE TO WARAMILLI.
Affairs nevertheless began now to assume a more desperate appearance
than ever. The night of this day of good tidings setting-in with a
storm of dust, followed by a heavy fall of rain, a party of Bedouins
scoured unperceived through the camp, and in spite of every precaution
swept off many articles of trifling value. Amongst the booty was a tub
of sugar-candy, which, on the hue and cry being raised, the rogues were
fain to abandon, together with the bedding of one of the escort. An
incessant bombardment of large stones was kept up during the whole night
from the thick underwood in the vicinity, directed as well against the
sentries on duty, who paced the same weary ground for the ten thousandth
time, as against the position occupied by the sleepers, one of whom,
having emerged for a moment from the tarpaulin which the rain had
rendered indispensable, received a severe contusion.
Mohammad Ali, in a state of evident alarm, came as soon as the shower
had abated to say that there existed no prospect of the march being
resumed in accordance with the solemn promise of the Ras el Kafilah; and
that feeling longer unable to answer for the lives of the party amongst
such a congregation of lawless ruffians, he was desirous of conducting
to Shoa on horseback all who felt so disposed, leaving the heavy baggage
to be secured by his father as far as circumstances would admit. Should
matters unfortunately reach the decided crisis which there seemed every
reason to apprehend, the son of Ali Abi was clearly the staff whereon to
rely, his intercourse with Europeans having rendered his manners more
frank and ingenuous than those of his selfish and shuffling rivals; but
although _kalams_ and altercations had again commenced, a sense of duty
for the present precluded the adoption of his project.
Morning of the 29th dawned upon no preparations for departure, and a
fresh source of detention was indeed found to have arisen from a new
claim for precedence put in by Ibrahim Shehem, the litigious member of
the tribe Abli, which ranks in the Danakil nation next to that of Adali,
to which the brother of the reigning Sultan belongs. Another tedious
day of insult and debate ensued; but the question was at length disposed
of by the congress, who decided the fiery little warrior to hold place
second to Izhak in the conduct of the kafilah, to the exclusion of
Mohammad Ali, through whose tribe the party were now to pass.
Again it was announced with due formality that all matters at issue were
peaceably and satisfactorily arranged, and several bales of blue calico,
with quantities of snuff, tobacco, and dates, having been distributed
among the weary disputants, they were finally induced to disperse, each
carrying his _tobe_ folded in triangular form, and stuck, as if in
triumph of his plunder, like a placard, at the end of a slit stick.
Ibrahim ibn Hameido, Akil of the Hy Somauli, left at his departure a
clump of twenty bold spearmen to escort the Embassy to the banks of the
Hawash; and, after shaking hands with each of the European party, to the
benediction "_Fee aman illah_," bade the whole "_Tarik is sulama_" God
speed upon the road.
Ibrahim Shehem Abli, appropriately surnamed by his compatriots
"Shaytan," or "The Evil One," carried a great soul under a very
diminutive person; and being a perfect Roostum in his own estimation,
was one of those who honoured the humble tent of the Embassy with a much
larger share of his presence than could have been desired. No sooner
was it pitched than the consequential little man strutted in as if by
previous invitation, and, with an air that left no doubt as to the side
on which he considered the obligation to lay, spread his mat in the
least convenient position that could have been selected to the lawful
proprietors of the interior. By virtue of a claim which it had
heretofore been difficult to understand, he considered himself entitled
to the receipt of rations in addition to the handsome pecuniary
remuneration extorted at Tajura, and to keep him out of mischief, he had
daily obtained in common with the Ras el Kafilah two large handfuls of
rice.
Elated by his recent advancement, he this evening, after sleeping some
hours on the table, suddenly bounced upon his legs, and assuming an
attitude of mortal defiance, which his contemptible presence rendered
truly diverting, exclaimed with the most exaggerated want of courtesy,
"You Franks don't know who I am, or you would treat me with more
respect. I am Ibrahim Shehem Abli, who slew the chief of the Mudaito in
single combat, and"--placing the hand of one of his audience in a
frightful chasm of the skull, which afforded ample room for three
fingers and a half--"here is the wound I received upon that occasion.
Do you conceive that I can always consent to receive the paltry pittance
of rice with which I have hitherto been put off? Double the quantity
immediately, and see that I have my proper share of dates and coffee
too, or by the head of the Prophet we shall not long continue on our
present friendly terms."
An Arab of desperate fortunes, the ancestor of this pugnacious little
hero, is said to have concealed himself, clothed in white robes, among
the spreading branches of a tree; and his partisans having induced the
simple-minded villagers to repair to the spot in the dusk of evening,
the intruder, on being discovered, was accosted deferentially as a
spirit. Revealing himself under the character of a great Arabian
warrior, who had shun his thousands in the battle, the man of valour was
entreated to descend, and become one of the tribe; but to this he would
by no means consent until a pledge had been passed to recognise him as
its chief, and assign as his own the whole extent of country visible
from his elevated perch, which done, he was pleased to alight, and
became the father of Braves. 'Tis well for his posterity that the
experiment had not been made in a later day, or the cotton robe would
have been stripped from the shoulder of the warrior, and a lifeless
trunk been left beneath the tree to mark the interview.
Throughout the sojourn of the Embassy at Killulloo, Izhak had
peremptorily insisted upon the tent being struck at sunset, lest the
display of so much white and blue cloth might excite the cupidity of the
Bedouins, and the preparations making to carry this despotic order into
effect, may perhaps have been the means of ruffling the never very
placid temper of his now second in command. The aversion of the Ras el
Kafilah to any thing like a habitable structure being well understood,
the unhoused party amused itself at his expense, by the erection of
stone walls of considerable extent, as a shelter during the coming night
of rain. "In the name of Allah," he exclaimed, blustering up to the
spot, and kicking over a portion of the fabric with the pointed toe of
the very sandal that had suffered so severely during the disagreeable
debate at Ambabo,--"in the name of Allah and his Prophet, what is the
meaning of all this? We shall have our throats cut to a man if you
people persist in this folly: there will be no rain to-night!"
But the rain did fall in torrents, notwithstanding the assurance of the
Ras; and although the ravine was now comparatively clear of ragamuffins,
stones continued to rattle at intervals against the awning erected for
the shelter of the European sentries. That portion of the party off
duty, steamed, after an hour's drenching, under thick heavy tarpaulins,
whilst the fluid glided unheeded over the sleeping persons of the paid
escort, who were well-greased and oiled, like wild ducks prepared for a
long flight.
On the last day of the month, after nearly a week's tedious detention in
an insalubrious and soul-depressing spot, surrounded by black basaltic
rocks, where little forage could be obtained, where water, although
abundant, was extremely bad, and where the persecutions of prying
savages, from whom there was no escape, were unceasing, the Embassy was
again permitted to resume its march. Every hour had seemed an age, and
"_Galla gassetoi_," the well-known cry to load, had therefore never been
listened to with more heartfelt delight. Until after the rear of the
string of camels left the ground, and Izhak was fairly seated on his
mule, it was scarcely possible to believe that some fresh cause of
detention would not be discovered; but the debates were at last over,
and the litigants, weary of raising new objections, suffered their
victims to advance in peace.
The road wound up the Killulloo Wady, and thence over a barren rise
strewed with obsidian, and with stones, the common pest of the country,
to Waramilli. An interesting sight was presented in the line of march
of a tribe proceeding in quest of water to the northward--a long line of
dromedaries, homed cattle, oxen, sheep, and goats, interspersed by women
and children, scantily clad in leathern petticoats, and laden with the
rude date matting of portable wigwams, or the still ruder implements of
household gear. Whilst the females thus bore heavy burdens slung across
their breasts or led the files of camels, upon which rocked the long,
raking, ship-like ribs of the dismantled cabin, the lazy lords sauntered
ungallantly along, encumbered with naught save the equipment of spear
and buckler, the ferocious aspect of all giving ample presage of the
intentions entertained towards any party less formidable than
themselves.
Total absence of water on the route usually pursued had determined the
Ras el Kafilah, after much discussion and deliberation, to adopt the
lower and shorter road, which, in consequence of the frequent forays of
the Galla, had been for some years closed to caravans. But
notwithstanding that so much invaluable time had been lost at Killulloo
under such provoking circumstances, and that the march finally made
thence fell short of seven miles, he again persisted in halting, thus
affording to Hajji Ali Mohammad and Wayess ibn Hagaio an opportunity of
rejoining with a party of troublesome Bedouins. The renewed
discussions, which did not fail to follow this influx of savages,
together with the artful assurances given of the danger to be
apprehended on the road selected, had nearly prevailed upon the unstable
Izhak to take the kafilah back to Killulloo, for the purpose of
proceeding by the upper road; but Ibrahim Shehem Abli, stepping forward
in his new capacity, drew his creese, and performing sundry
not-to-be-mistaken gestures, swore vehemently upon the sacred Koran to
rip up the belly of the very first blockhead who should attempt a
retrograde step--his object doubtless being to thwart the views of
Mohammad Ali, whose tribe, occupying the upper ground, would derive
advantage from the transit of the Embassy by that quarter.
Waramilli is the usual encamping ground of a section of the Gibdosa
Adaiel, but their place was fortunately empty. Completely environed by
low hills, it proved insufferably hot; and no water was obtainable
nearer than Wady Killulloo, now distant more than two miles from the
bivouac; but the party were in some measure reconciled to detention in
this spot by the arrival from Tajura of a special messenger, bringing
letters which bore very recent dates. Nevertheless the Dankali to whose
hands the packet had first been consigned had nearly perished from
intense heat and want of water in his attempt to pass the Salt Lake; and
being compelled to relinquish the journey, had returned to the sea-port
nearer dead than alive.
Petty thefts without end were committed by the lawless rabble who had
followed the caravan and located themselves in the immediate
neighbourhood. Ibrahim Shehem Abli, totally regardless of the character
due to his exaltation, was detected in the very act of drawing a cloth
with his foot over a pair of pistols, whilst he cleverly held the
proprietor in conversation. His design was to obtain a reward for their
restitution,--a trick in common practice by the camel-drivers and hired
escort; and this was by no means the first exhibition of his own
knavery. But it was some consolation to perceive that, although the
Franks were of course the principal sufferers, depredations were not
altogether restricted to their property. Numerous shields and cloths
were abstracted from too confident Danakil; the Ras el Kafilah's sandals
were purloined; and at the going down of the sun, a proclamation went
forth through Ibrahim Burhanto, the common camp-crier, that Wayess ibn
Hagaio, Akil of the Woema, having lost his spear, all parties possessing
knowledge of the nefarious transaction were required to give information
of the same to the proprietor, as they hoped to prosper!
Volume One, Chapter XXIX.