I deemed it to be an object of great geographical importance that the
flying survey of the kingdom of Shoa should be completed by a visit to
the country forming the boundary to the south-east, famous for its
numerous volcanoes, recently in full activity, and hitherto untrodden in
any part by European foot. A pretext presented itself in the existence
of the wild buffalo in the lower districts; but it was necessary, in the
first instance, to overcome the royal scruples, which opposed our
attempting the chase of that animal. This I at length succeeded in
doing; and the despot being made to comprehend that his children ran
less risk of being demolished than he had formerly chosen to believe,
vouchsafed the desired permission. The requisite instructions were
issued to men in authority to promote the views of those "whom the king
delighteth to honour;" and, preceded by queen Besabesh, His Majesty then
set out on his annual visit to Mesur Meder.
"There is one point," he observed, when we proceeded to take leave, "on
which I wanted to consult you. The locusts are destroying the crops,
and the priests have been unable by their prayers to arrest their
progress. Have you no medicine to drive them away?"
Ayto Wolda Hana, under whose immediate orders are all the second-class
governors in the realm, had received commands to summon to Ankober the
Misleyni [Literally "Like myself"] or vice-governor, of Berhut and of
the plains lying betwixt the Casam and the Hawash--a tract inhabited
partly by the Adaiel, whose nominal fealty is preserved through the
influence of Wulasma Mohammad, and partly by the Karaiyo Galla, over
whom the Negoos asserts more substantial jurisdiction. But many days
elapsed without the appearance of that worthy, whom His Majesty had
delegated to make efficient arrangements for our journey; and Deftera
Sena, chief of the king's scriveners, having, after twelve hours of
close application, contrived to complete a written representation to the
throne, a courier was despatched with it on horseback to the royal camp.
No Abyssinian will ever think of declaring himself the bearer of an
express, unless pointedly questioned upon that head, nor will he then
relinquish possession until distinctly ordered so to do. On the return
of the special messenger, who had been three days absent on the service
confided to him, I asked him for the answer, but my application was
followed by none of the usual fumbling among the folds of his girdle for
the tiny scroll in its wax envelope; and the caitiff was finally fain to
confess, that on being summoned to the presence of his sovereign at
Mesur Meder, and commanded to deliver up the document with which he had
been charged, he for the first time recollected that it had been mislaid
at Ankober!
But a peasant, who fortunately fell in with the missing parchment by the
road-side, had carried it, in accordance with the immutable law of the
realm, straightway to the king, who immediately, upon becoming aware of
the contents, and long before Deftera Sena had completed a duplicate
copy, deputed Mamrie Salomon, now chief of the eunuchs, to see his royal
intentions on my behalf carried into instant effect. A number of
tribute-bearers from Berhut were on the point of returning to their
district; they were forthwith pressed for the transportation of our
baggage, and all minor difficulties being at length overcome, we quitted
the capital on a cold morning towards the close of March.
Immediately beyond the church dedicated to Aboo, one of the most
celebrated of Abyssinian saints, the path struck off to the southward
along the course of the Airara, which, from the diminutive mill-stream
of the Chaka, soon assumes a more brawling demeanour, and receives
numerous tributaries from the mountains on either side, its deep channel
cutting so smoothly through the trap rock, as to wear the appearance of
being artificially formed. This valley is extremely varied in width,
extending in some parts from six to seven miles, whilst in others it is
reduced to a mere ravine by the converging spurs of the two great
ranges. Throughout, the scenery is tame, the cliffs being flat and
naked, and the vegetation restricted to a small scrubby species of dwarf
acacia, interspersed with the euphorbia, styled _kolqual_--the charcoal
obtained from which is preferred in the manufacture of gunpowder. But
wheresoever the plough could be held, there the hand of industry had
been busy, and for the first eight miles there was little uncultivated
soil.
In these parts the rains descend with extreme violence; and having, in
the first instance, scooped up and carried away all the rotten debris,
each succeeding deluge has added its mining activity and perseverance,
until the entire mountain range, for miles, presents the singular
appearance of a succession of perfectly isolated cones, the apices of
many being crowned by villages or by the dwellings of great men, whilst
the sloping sides are smoothed and levelled with the utmost nicety. The
valley is thickly peopled, flourishing hamlets peeping out in every
direction; but, as in other parts of the country, the best of the land,
whether arable or pasture, pertains to the crown--Bukerfine, one of the
richest farms in the district, having been conferred upon Misht Malafeya
[i.e. "The Lady Excellent."], a royal concubine, by whom the king has a
favourite daughter.
Many monasteries dotting the wooded peaks, are here visible in all the
pride of place above the residence of the common herd--their localities
no doubt tending to rivet the chains of the infatuated Abyssinian.
Priestly intimations issuing from a temple often shrouded from human ken
under impenetrable fog, are received with increased attention, and the
thunder of excommunication commands utter abasement and prostration of
spirit, when fulminated from these grand scenes of elementary strife.
The revenues of many of the villages passed are appropriated to the
service of the church; those of Moi-Amba, containing upwards of two
hundred houses, being appropriated to the cathedral of Saint Michael in
Ankober.
A few hours' journey had substituted the heat of a tropical climate for
the cool breezes of the mountains; and the momentarily increasing
temperature afforded sufficient proof of the rapid declination of the
route, even had it not led along the banks of the Airara, which, having
been crossed and recrossed a dozen times, was now tumbling down through
a succession of foaming cascades, with a sound most refreshing to the
ear. Emerging at length from its walls of basalt, and joined by the
Kubanoo, bearing a large body of water from the west, it expands into a
broad channel, and is employed in irrigating the extensive cotton
plantations which every where abound on its borders. The stream is
diverted by a simple pile of pebbles; but the elevated aqueducts,
somewhat ingeniously termed _masalel waha_, "the water-ladder," are
constructed with infinite care, and passing frequently along narrow
ledges, are widened by means of wooden tressels supporting a trough of
brushwood and shingle. A sufficient supply is thus raised to nurture
the magnificent cotton plants, the stems of many of which measuring
seven, eight, and nine inches in girth, support a crop that, on arriving
at maturity, does justice to these gigantic proportions.
Shortly after the accession of Sahela Selassie, His Majesty marched to
the Kubanoo, for the purpose of holding a conference with the Adaiel;
and his armoury being in those days by no means so well furnished as it
now is, the array of old matchlocks was regarded by the Moslems with the
utmost contempt and derision. A rush was made during the night upon the
royal camp--many of the Christians were slain--and whilst the remnant,
with their youthful sovereign, fled in dismay to the stronghold of the
capital, the treacherous assailants returned undisturbed in triumph to
their desert plains.
Kittel Yellish, the village at which we proposed to halt, had been
represented by our guides to be situated within a very moderate march of
Ankober; but the Abyssinians possess not a better idea of the measure of
distance than of the value of time; and, after eight hours passed in the
saddle, we took refuge about sunset in the Moslem hamlet of Manyo, a
cluster of huts crowning the summit of a cone, and overlooking a wild
uncultivated tract, intersected by a labyrinth of tremendous ravines,
arched over by the thorny branches of the acacia, and other vegetation
of a strictly tropical aspect. Swine, agazin, and some of the smaller
species of antelope, here abound to such an extent, that the peasants
attempt no crop but cotton, exchanging the raw material for what they
need of other produce. The village was strongly fortified in all
directions against the inroads of the leopard and hyena, by palisades
enclosing a stiff thorn fence; and there being no room even for the
smallest tent, we passed the night in a shed rudely thatched with the
leaves of the papyrus, which would not have been tenable for five
minutes in the alpine regions that we had quitted in the morning.
Volume 3, Chapter XXV.