Rome is said to have subdued the world under the direction of a hen and
chickens, but the legions of Shoa and Efat are aroused to victory by the
shrill crowing of a cock, which is invariably carried with the army, in
one of the wicker baskets forming the pedestal of the banqueting table.
One hundred and fifty-six choristers, termed _asmaroch_, are entertained
at the expense of the crown, upon extensive grants of land, to chant
psalms and hymns each livelong night of the entire year. Twelve are
brought on duty every month, and their vigils, which are invariably kept
standing, are observed with more than usual strictness during the
continuance of a military expedition. Throughout the hours of darkness
their loud chorus arose from the pavilion without a moment's
intermission, and their vocal labours around the holy ark ceased only
with the approach of dawn.
Many detachments being still in the rear, a halt was proclaimed with a
view to admit of their joining the head quarters, and the king, escorted
by two thousand cavalry, made an excursion to a knoll at some distance
from the encampment, whence on a range stretching to the south-eastward,
the hill of Dalofa was conspicuous. Hereon His Majesty has recently
erected a palace, which he rarely visits except for the purpose of
controlling by his presence the disaffected and turbulent Galla, whose
continual outbreaks render it a far from agreeable place of residence.
Gazing for hours over the extensive tract of rich meadow land which lay
stretched like a map at his feet, the mind of the contemplative monarch,
occasionally occupied by the administration of justice, appeared to be
chiefly engrossed with the coming chapter of events, and to be
abstractedly scanning the direction in which to pounce upon the
surrounding foe.
The favourite dancing girl meanwhile attuning her shrill throat to song
laudatory of her own vocal powers, and of her happy state of
independence, in wild though far from pleasing notes carolled ever and
anon as the spirit of the nightingale entered into her soul.
"Care have I none, no flock to keep,
Nor corn to grind, nor field to reap;
'Tis mine alone through the livelong day
To charm the king with my roundelay.
"Task have I none, no toil to share,
Nor wood to fetch, nor load to bear;
'Tis mine alone but to dance and sing,
And drink to the health of my lord the king."
"Pity is it," remarked one of our party, "since the damsel has so little
to do, that she does not that little better."
"What fault have you to find with her performance?" growled the chief
smith from beneath the ample folds of his lion skin cloak, enveloped in
which he had composed himself to rest under the shadow of an adjacent
bush;--"what fault have you to find with the king's _asmari_? She sings
according to the fashion of her own country, and that is surely
sufficient."
Early the ensuing morning the royal drums beat to saddle, and in half an
hour the army, which had swelled meanwhile to about fifteen thousand
fighting men, was in motion over a country especially favourable to its
advance. Some military precautions were now observed. Large brigades
of horse served as flanking parties, and the heights to the right and
left were severally occupied, as the state umbrellas advanced over the
level green sward, at the rate of three miles an hour. The king, with a
few favourite chiefs, preceded by Ayto Berri, the
quarter-master-general, and by the corps of guides escorting the holy
ark and Book of the law, led the host, which, extending for miles and
miles to the rear, came pouring over the hills, and down the valleys,
like a swollen river bursting its banks, and overflowing the entire
country.
The military system of Shoa being entirely feudal, each governor in the
realm is required to furnish his contingent of militia in proportion to
his landed tenure--the peasantry being at all times ready for the foray,
and expected to purvey horse, arms, and provisions, without payment from
the state. Four hundred fusiliers, bondsmen of the king, alone receive
pay--eight pieces of salt, value twenty pence sterling, being disbursed
annually to each, in addition to the food and raiment granted to every
royal slave. Little discipline exists in the army thus composed, but
considerable tact is evinced in its organisation and distribution--small
confidence being reposed in that portion which is not drawn from ancient
possessions.
Of three grand divisions, the centre, commanded by His Majesty in
person, consisted of the _Luguamioch_, under Ayto Melkoo, Master of the
Horse; the _Gasha Shakri_, or shield-bearers, and the detachment of the
collector of newly-levied tribute. Immediately on the left flank were
the fusiliers of Ayto Katama, commander-in-chief of the bodyguard,
behind whom came the _Wotzbietoch_, or females of the royal kitchen;--
then the legion of Ayto Guebroo, governor of Mentshar; and, lastly, the
detachments of Shoa-Meda, of Morat, and Morabietie.
The van, consisting of skirmishers, is invariably led by the great
governor of the subjugated Galla, under the title of _Worari_. With
Abogaz Maretch, who now filled this important post, were the tried
governors of Bulga, Kembibit, Gola, and Ootuba, whose respective
detachments are Christians, and who are all drawn from the
neighbourhood, where intercourse with the Galla is most frequent. The
third division, or rear-guard, is commanded by the general styled
_Wobo_, who is arbitrarily chosen from the seats of seven governments in
the north, viz. Giddem, Geshe, Antzochia, Mans, Kaa, Gabriel, and
Efrata--the same individual being never selected on two consecutive
expeditions. By the continual exercise of his staff, the Master of the
Horse, assisted by the shield-bearers, contrived to preserve the proper
distance between the van of the army and the royal person, but confusion
reigned elsewhere. Warriors were huddled together without order or
arrangement, and every trooper selecting his own position in the
detachment to which he belonged, diverted himself by devising the death
of the numerous hares that scampered through the army, and, strange to
say, often threaded the maze of hoofs in safety.
During the early part of the march, herds of cattle grazing quietly in
the pastures around various hamlets, proclaimed a subjugated tribe; and
clans of tributary Galla, each led by its respective chief in some
fantastic costume formerly received at the royal hands, met His Majesty
at intervals, in order to present tribute either in horses or kine--the
whole greasy band dismounting at a respectful distance on the flank,
hurrying before the despot's path, and with bosoms bared, prostrating
themselves simultaneously upon the earth. Little respect, however, was
paid to the standing crops--afield after field of ripening corn being
trampled level with the ground, in spite of the remonstrance of the
disconsolate husbandmen, who, with heavy stones upon their heads, threw
themselves at the feet of the king with loud and reiterated appeals.
The course was generally south-west, and conjecture was on the rack as
to the scene of active operations and the ultimate destination of the
army. But the secret still remaining with its royal leader, any new
speculation on the subject did but elicit the old remark, "The belly of
the master is not known." Choristers continued to beguile the tedious
march with their rambling stanzas, and to pour out shrill strains of
melody like the notes of the wild bird. The rough riders galloped
before the van of the host to exhibit the paces of steeds received in
tribute; and His Majesty, alighting ever and anon from his mule, reposed
for a few minutes upon the cushioned _alga_ which was carried in his
train.
Nothing could be more tame and monotonous than the country passed over.
Wide grassy undulations, interspersed with extensive cultivation, rose
unrelieved by a single tree or other redeeming feature, save the many
European flowers that wantoned beneath the joyous sunshine on the
far-stretching prairie. The Karinza, the Fincha, the Chatti, and the
Rufa rivers, all tributary to the Nile, were crossed in succession.
Deep, narrow, muddy channels intersecting verdant meadows, these
presented the general character of all Galla streams, cutting silently
through the rich dark soil, and leaving swampy quagmires on the waving
downs. At long intervals the Negoos, dismounting to change mules,
proceeded some distance on foot--an example followed by all. On the
first of these occasions His Majesty went through the comedy of
thrusting his feet into slippers, selected from a bag carried by a
slave, which contained numerous pairs manufactured of various coloured
morocco. Many were tried in succession, but the royal heels being
invariably chafed and blistered, the experiment was finally abandoned in
despair; and sacrificing dignity to comfort, the despot, like his liege
subjects, advanced unshod.
For several hours not a horned head had been visible around the deserted
hamlets; and late in the afternoon, when the van of the flagging army
arrived in the extensive plain of Abai Deggar, completely environed by
hills, the order was given to encamp, destroy, and plunder. Instantly
ensued a rush from all quarters at full gallop. Flourishing fields of
wheat, barley, and beans, the produce of the toil of a rebellious tribe,
were ravaged and overrun by the locust hordes; and in the course of half
an hour, the soil being stripped of every acre of cultivation, there
commenced a general scramble for the rafters and ribs of houses, of
which the skeletons were presently consigned to the flames.
The women of the royal kitchen had, as before, been the first to select
a centrical and advantageous spot on which to pursue their important
avocations; but some arbitrary change having been directed by His
Majesty, who occupied his usual elevated position, the camp was thrown
into confusion. Quarrels and scuffles might now be witnessed in every
quarter. Those who had taken possession of a luxuriant pasture or the
vicinage of water, stoutly defended the treasure against invading
comrades, and recourse being had to weapons, sword cuts and broken heads
were quite in fashion. Although now in an enemy's country, neither
picket, vidette, nor sentry was mounted, and not the slightest
precaution against nocturnal surprise was adopted towards the security
of the camp.
But no advantage was taken of the Amhara neglect, and another and
similar forced march over a country equally devoid of interest with the
tract already crossed, led to the long narrow valley of Karabarek, at
the foot of the Garra Gorphoo mountains. The bright spear-blades
glittered through the cloud of stifling dust that marked the course of
myriads over ploughed land. Green fields and smiling meadows quickly
lost their bloom under the tramp of the steed; for no cultivation was
now spared, and ruin and desolation were the order of the day.
Straggling parties of the Sertie Galla had been seen crowning the
heights that skirted the line of march, and near the peaked hill of
Wyfun they were assembled in numbers; but none ventured within half a
mile of a host, twenty thousand in number, all thirsting alike for the
blood of their enemies. Far and wide the country was laid waste, and
every vestige of human habitation destroyed under the torch, the flames
racing among the riper barley with the speed of a galloping horse; but
the wretched inhabitants, aware of the approach of the spoiler, had
abandoned their dwellings before the storm burst over them, and one aged
man only had yet fallen into the merciless clutches of the invaders.
This prize had stained the hand of a follower of Ayto Gadel, governor of
Chercha, a functionary far from being notorious for courageous bearing.
On the occasion of Medoko's last advance, his was the mansion first
beleaguered by the insurgents, but he fled in dismay, leaving his fair
partner to defend the premises. Joining after the first day's march, he
had put the most diverting questions relative to the English, with whose
appearance he was greatly perplexed.
"Are these people pagans?" inquired the hero with owlish features, but
too strongly indicative of his vacant mind.
"No."
"Are they Islams?"
"No."
"Then what are they?"
"Christians."
"Christians! Impossible. They observe no fast, and wear no _mateb_ as
a badge of their religion Is there any grass in their country?"
[_Mateb_, i.e. Mark or token. The blue silk cord worn around the neck
by the Christians of Shoa.]
"Why not?"
"How did I know? Have they cattle?"
"Abundance."
"And sheep and goats?"
"Certainly."
"And their Negoos, does he carry _debaboch_ [Umbrellas of state], and
make great _zumachas_ [Military expeditions] with warriors like
these?"--turning his oyster eyes, lighted with something like martial
fire, towards the countless rabble in the rear. But the party thus
interrogated could keep his temper no longer; and as the little
hunch-backed father confessor rode jauntily up with a dirty page perched
on the crupper of his mule, to volunteer a lesson in the noble art of
equitation, he galloped off, exclaiming with a sneer--
"Like these, forsooth! One of Her Britannic Majesty's regiments would
in a single hour sweep from off the face of the earth the whole
undisciplined mob that swells the train of the boasted descendant of
King Solomon."
Volume Two, Chapter XXIII.