Lake Tsana lay before me as a vast expanse of blue water stretching
to the horizon. The shore here, near the village of Delgi at the
north of the lake,[42] is in places sandy, in others covered with
grass. At some points one can walk to the edge of the clear water,
at others the shelving bank leads, by a scarcely perceptible incline,
to stretches of reed-grown, swampy ground. I saw no water-weed upon
the surface.
The lake lies at an altitude of 1942 metres (6372 feet) above
the sea-level. Its length from the mouth of the Magetsch to the
outlet of the Blue Nile is approximately forty-five miles, and its
breadth on the twelfth parallel of longitude is about thirty-seven
miles. The map published in this volume is mainly reproduced from that
prepared by Dr. Stecker for the African Association of Germany. How
painstaking he was in collecting information may be inferred from
the fact that during his excursions in the native boats he took three
hundred soundings—an example of patient research which those will
best appreciate who have seen a “boat” of the kind. Dr. Stecker
gave the following results of his survey:—“Lake Tsana covers a
superficial area of 2980 square kilometres. All the islands together
possess a superficial area of about fifty square kilometres, of which
forty are included in Dek, and four in Dega. I found the greatest
depth between the island of Dega and Zegi, viz. seventy-two metres,
while the deepest sounding between Korata and Zegi was sixty-seven
metres. Between Dek and Adina the depth ranged between thirty-two
and forty-seven metres. But I am fully convinced that the deepest
places—in my opinion having a much greater depth than one hundred
metres—are to be found north of Dek in the direction of Dega and
Gorgora. One cannot, however, well venture to make an excursion to
those parts in the fragile Abyssinian craft.”[43]
This beautiful lake is everywhere girt by mountains, and in some
places they rise directly from its shore. As a consequence it is
exposed to sudden gusts and squalls that sweep down the valleys
and ravines, and these would make navigation risky for small
sailing boats. Hippopotami swarm in the waters. The Abyssinians
hereabouts—Christians and Mussulmans alike—regard their flesh
as unclean; but the hippos do not “lead a very snug life,” as
Dr. Stecker supposed. They are constantly harassed by the natives,
who shoot them for the sake of their hides. From these are made the
whips called _coorbatch_, which are in general demand and are much
valued. Plowden wrote that “the crocodile, that is found in most
of the large rivers of Abyssinia, does not infest this lake.”[44]
So far as my personal observation goes, he was right. But, knowing
the enterprising character of the Blue Nile crocodile, I should
think it wise to verify the statement, while on the spot, by careful
observation.[45]
I did not hear of the “Deputy’s” peaceful departure immediately
on arriving at the lakeside, for neither of my comrades was in
view. After a few minutes I saw one strolling towards me carrying
a wild goose, which he had just shot with a rifle, and then the
other appeared, coming from the opposite direction, with a brace
of wild duck. It was clear that the lake country was well stocked,
and that the expedition would fare sumptuously if it were not cut up.
All our tents were pitched by eleven o’clock, and we began to think
of lunch. A man looks forward cheerfully to his meals in the fine
mountain air. But on that morning anxiety about the future harassed
our minds. However, I had no leisure to make forecasts, for I had
to attend to one of our soldiers who had fever, and one of our boys
who had dysentery, and then I found that I was appointed honorary
surgeon to the neighbourhood, and that a patient was waiting. He was
an old man, who had a large abscess in the sole of his foot, and had
endured the affliction for more than a week. I operated, while his
friends looked on. There was no superfluity of medical stores, and
it seemed fair to make “the case” supply his own bandage. This,
when produced, proved to be a piece of dirty shirting. It served,
over sublimate wool, and the patient was very grateful and thanked
me profusely.
Parkyns made some striking and interesting observations about the
insensibility to pain displayed by the Abyssinians and the African
races of all kinds.[46] He said, “I have never noticed in Africa any
education for the purpose of rendering men patient under suffering,”
and he attributed the power of endurance to the hardening effect
of a rough, primitive life. How far this is the cause and how
far the advantage may be due to a somewhat lower form of nervous
organization than that developed in Europeans I will not attempt
to determine. But surprising as are the facts related by Parkyns,
I do not doubt that he has described them without exaggeration,
and my own experience showed that the Habashes stood pain well,
though I observed no inclination towards heroism among them.
When I had finished the public demonstration in surgery, I noticed
a small throng of people around Dupuis’s tent. Their faces
displayed their satisfaction, and I joined the group to learn what
had happened. Then I heard that the true representative of Ras Gouksha
had arrived, and that the “Deputy” was a fraud. The envoy who had
now come into our camp had expected us to reach the lake by another
track, and had taken his post to await us. This man greeted us with
a most civil welcome, gave us teff,[47] eggs, milk, fowls—in fact,
all the supplies which we chiefly needed—and offered to accompany
us round the lake and see that we were everywhere treated with
courtesy. He seemed a smart and “likely” fellow, and any one
may imagine our delight in the prompt exposure of the “Deputy”
and the dramatic change for the better in our situation. We gave our
new friend a stiff drink of green chartreuse, which he swallowed at
one gulp. Then he went off to collect further supplies for us.
A little later the “Deputy” returned to exculpate himself. He
grovelled on the ground, imploring forgiveness. He had brought a sheep
as a peace-offering, and when we had added this to our belongings,
we graciously pardoned him. Upon hearing that he was absolved from his
guilt, he stooped down and kissed a stone close to Dupuis’s feet.
We had had enough parley for the day, so Dupuis and I started
upon an explorers’ tramp, carrying our guns. We walked about two
miles in a north-westerly direction, and saw innumerable kinds of
water-fowl along the margin of the lake. The birds were scarcely
shy of us at all, and we approached within ten yards of wild geese
before they rose. I noticed among the mass a species of goose like
a big Muscovy duck, with dark green plumage and white feathers in
the wings, plovers of all sorts, herons, pelicans, snake-birds, and
the ibis in numbers. We shot none, for we had meat enough in store,
and it would have been sheer slaughter to do so. I did, indeed, try
my luck with some quail that took to the wing, but no harm came to
them, and I was not sorry.
We returned to the village. It was pleasant to see kine again after
the long march through the deserted border-country. They are here of
the long-horned, hump-backed “Zebu” kind common throughout Africa
and the East.[48] My friend Crawley had taken a rod and line to the
edge of the lake. He landed a fish about 2 lb. weight, of the perch
tribe. So we had a very complete _menu_. The cold was keen after
sundown, but we had a cheery finish to our first day by the lake,
after all. And it would hardly be possible to look upon a more lovely
scene than that which we saw from our camp when the moon had risen.
We were not astir very early in the morning of January 8, and
dawdled over breakfast until half-past seven; it is almost worth
while to live a strenuous life at times in order to enjoy dawdling
afterwards. Dupuis and Crawley set out with an assortment of gear to
make a survey, and I amused myself with a butterfly-net and a camera.
Then I inspected my patients. Several came into camp from the
neighbourhood, as I had expected. The old man with the abscess
presented himself, and I found that the injured foot was healing
well. He thanked me again very profusely, and I believe that after
this second visit he departed to the village whence he came with
a good opinion of European surgery. Another Habash found me less
satisfactory as a physician. He had come to ask what medicine he
could take to cure the headache caused by _tedj_. Now, _tedj_ is the
beer, or mead, of the country; it is made from fermented barley,
and flavoured with honey diluted in the proportion of one part to
three parts of water. It is a very heady—and, to Europeans, a
most nasty—drink, and the Abyssinians consume enormous quantities
of it. Parkyns was told of a man who was said to have swallowed
twenty-six pints at a sitting, on the occasion of a wedding-feast
at which the English traveller was present. But he regarded this
statement as “a stretcher.”[49] I told the inquirer that the
one and only prescription was not to drink _tedj_, and thereupon
the little audience of his fellow-countrymen enjoyed a laugh at
his expense.[50]
[Illustration: HOUSES AT DELGI.
_See p._ 79.]
[Illustration: WASHING OUT ‘TEDJ’ POTS AT DELGI.
_See p._ 79.]
I was glad to see that the servants set to work to wash their clothes
with soap in the lake. The cleansing was needed. Soon the tents in
our camp were draped with garments enough to occupy the wash-lines
of a whole suburb. The lake had a pleasant temperature for bathing,
and the men stayed in the water till their clothes were dry.
On this morning we had a visit of ceremony from another priest,
whose umbrella was of many colours. His attendants were a boy
dressed in plum-coloured chintz with a yellow scroll-pattern on it,
another boy, who was naked, and carried a bell which he tinkled
incessantly, and three Abyssinian students. These learn to read
and write the Gheez language, and I think the Bible is the only
book which they study. They are lads from the villages who are
“candidates for orders,” and the theological classes are held
in the church-porches. I secured two satisfactory snap-shots of the
priest. He received an oblation of five dollars with an absolutely
impassive face, and then left us in doubt whether he was secretly
gratified by the amount of the offering or inwardly disgusted by it.
Dupuis and Crawley resumed their survey work in the afternoon, and
I strolled away from camp with my gun and brought down a lesser
bustard, of the size of a turkey. I also shot a brace of quail,
but lost them in the long grass. Altogether it was a quiet day. The
climate was now very pleasant, neither too hot at noon nor too cold
at night. In the early morning there was a dead calm. After this a
little breeze came down from the north-west, and the wind remained in
that quarter till the afternoon. At four o’clock it shifted right
round to the south-east, and blew pretty stiffly about seven. We
always saw lightning in the evening. It seemed to play over the lake.
On the morning of the 9th Dupuis and I got our Berthon collapsible
boat ready. This had caused us much trouble on the upward march,
as it is awkwardly shaped for donkey-transport. We took our guns
and angling tackle, and paddled about three miles westward. Then we
landed on a sandy beach, left two of our boys in charge of the boat,
and went in search of game, taking one man with us. We had not walked
far when we sighted a covey of guinea-fowl. We got ahead of them,
and were trying to drive them towards the water when about forty
rose in all directions, and we could not reload fast enough. Several
were lost in the thick grass, chiefly owing to the boy’s stupidity;
he could not make up his mind which bird to pounce upon first. As we
were returning to the beach by the way we had come, Dupuis put up a
brace of partridges and shot them. They must have “sat tight”
all through the fusillade, and only rose when my companion nearly
walked them down. We carried about ten head back to the boat.
When we came to the shore we found our two men in a state of great
excitement. As soon as the guns were fired a hippopotamus that had
been asleep about ten yards from them sprang up, and rushed into
the water, snorting. The beast had nearly frightened them out of
their wits. Looking at the path I had followed after landing I
saw that I must have passed within a yard of the place where the
hippo lay. The men now drew my attention to something in a tree,
but I could not discern at first what they were pointing out. After
peering for three or four minutes I saw a pair of gleaming eyes above
a branch in the deep shade. I fired with number four shot—the only
size I had—at a distance of about ten yards, and down came a civet
cat. It was hit in the head and dead, when I picked it up.
We tried our luck with the fish while the men paddled us back to
camp, but caught nothing. I set about preserving the skin of the
cat after lunch, rubbed some arsenical soap well in, and packed the
hide in an empty cigarette tin. It was brought to England in good
condition. While I was busy in this way, my comrades were taking
soundings of the lake from the boat. Later we went out together with
our guns, and added two bustards, three partridges, and a quail to
the stock in the larder.
During the day, whenever I was in camp, I was importuned by patients;
many had trivial ailments, and others troubles, such as chronic
ophthalmia, which I certainly could not cure during a three days’
sojourn at Delgi. If they judged that I was not sufficiently moved by
the account which they gave at first of their malady, they described
what they suffered from another, and a fictitious one. Thus, if I
told a man who had chronic ophthalmia that I could not help him,
he would remain to declare that he was consumptive, or that his
feet needed treatment. They became so tiresome at last that I was
thankful for the prospect of resuming the march next day. It seems
to be taken for granted in all countries that a doctor ought to be
more long-suffering than any other person.
On the morning of the 10th I received, by Abyssinian post, a letter
which had been despatched from Port Said on November 25, the day on
which I left Cairo. It reached me by a roundabout road; for it had
been to Wady Halfa, Berber, Kassala, Sennaar, and Gallabat. I was
surprised that it came to hand. The postman was a Soudanese black,
and, when we met him, he was on the return journey to Gallabat
bearing some official communication. These couriers carry before
them—like a wand of office—a long cane, which is split at the
top. The “mail” is inserted in the orifice. The cane is a badge
that is respected, and I was told that the letter-carriers are never
stopped. They amble along at a steady jog-trot, and cover a great
deal of ground in a day.
We made a short journey of about ten miles to the eastward after
leaving Delgi. Our road kept us some little distance from the
northern shore of the lake, and took us through long jungle grass,
so tall that we could not see over it, and so thick that there was
no possibility of using a gun in it. We camped on a spot where this
grass had been beaten down, and spent the afternoon reading. There
were no mosquitoes, but the flies swarmed into our tents, and we
sympathized with Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
Several of the boys from the Soudanese lowlands had a touch of fever
on this high ground. Three were on my hands that day. Quinine was a
quick and sure remedy for them. I think that they were affected by
the great change of temperature between midday and nightfall much
more than Europeans.
The morning of Sunday, January 11, was very cold, and the thermometer
stood at 31° F. just before sunrise. I noticed that it always rose
to a point above 80° about noon, and these figures will give an idea
of the effect of the variations. The servants were shivering when
they served our breakfast, but at half-past seven we took off our
overcoats, and when we started at a quarter-past eight the day was
warm. Our road lay through tall grass, and took us over undulating
country, and then up a long, gradually rising slope to Tschenkar,
where we arrived at one o’clock. This was by far the largest
village that we had yet seen in Abyssinia.
Tschenkar is four miles distant from the lake. As we travelled we
had skirted the base of the promontory called Gorgora, which lay
on our right hand. This is very lofty ground. Stecker ascended to
the highest point of it, the summit of the mountain called Goraf. He
found by barometrical measurement that this was 2134 metres above the
level of the sea, and recorded the following interesting observations:
“This excursion yielded very important results in relation to the
geological formation of the mountain chain. I found on the high
ground extensive remains of a great stream of lava which I could
trace down to Lake Tsana. There were craters half filled up and
very considerable volcanic cumuli. The upper strata of the mountains
consist of crystalline schist, but the lower are composed of the same
sandstone formation in which tertiary coal deposits were discovered
at Tschelga.”[51]
In an interview reported in the _Egyptian Gazette_, Mr. William
MacMillan spoke disparagingly, as it seems to me, of the resources
of the country.[52] I dissent completely from the opinion that
Abyssinia has little to offer to commercial enterprise. Its
potential wealth is enormous, and if difficulties of transit could be
overcome—which means, in this connection, if the Blue Nile could be
made navigable—I believe that a vast and most lucrative development
of commerce and industry would follow. As the question appears to
me to be of great importance, and as I think that Mr. MacMillan’s
words may spread a quite erroneous impression, I hope the reader
will forgive me for bringing forward the following evidence.
Consul Plowden reported in his “General Survey of Abyssinia,”
1852-53: “Gold and copper exist, and iron is found in great
abundance; plains of sulphur and various salts, in the province now
occupied by the Taltals, supply all Abyssinia with those commodities:
and other wealth may lie hid in that volcanic tract. A search for
coal would, elsewhere, be probably successful.”[53]
Dufton visited the district of Tschelga with M. Lejean, the French
Consul, who was then taking gifts from the Emperor Napoleon III. to
King Theodore. M. Lejean found, when he attempted to make observations
in this neighbourhood, that “the ferruginous nature of the rocks
destroyed the determinative power of his delicate compass, sometimes,
when placed on the ground to a matter of 90 degrees. The presence
of iron was further evidenced by the slimy yellow deposits of oxide
which some of the mountain rivulets make in their course. Beds of an
inferior coal we also found in the plain of Tschelga, laid bare by a
small stream which had dug for itself a passage of some forty feet
deep. The fact of the presence of coal, not only here but also in
many other parts of Abyssinia, seems to point to sources of wealth
possessed by this country, which only an enlightened government is
required to open out.”[54]
Mr. Vivian considers that the “one insuperable objection” to
industrial enterprise in Abyssinia is “the monstrous craft and
subtlety of the Abyssinian.” He wrote, “You or I might spend
ourselves and our treasures in discovering coal, or copper, or iron,
or gold, or emeralds; we might call new industries into being and
establish an era of prosperity; but the Abyssinians would take all
the profit, and we should be left out in the cold.”[55]
It seems to me, if one may say so without flippancy, that the
introduction of a few mineowners from the Rand would soon show the
Abyssinian that he is “a child in these matters.” A fertile
country with an enormous range of climate, capable of well-nigh
infinite variety of production, well watered, well wooded, and
endowed with gold, iron, and coal is something more than a small
mart for American shirtings and Russian oil.
To return to Tschenkar. The soil in this region is very rich, and
there is a considerable cultivation of durrha and other grain and of
chillies for cayenne pepper. This is the condiment universally used in
Abyssinia. It is cooked with or added to every dish, and the natives,
including the children, eat it in quantities which scorch the most
hardened European gullet. When it is remembered that the Habashes
usually eat their meat raw, not even rejecting uncleansed tripe,[56]
and that they are constantly passing from fasts which they observe
with superstitious rigour[57] to an excess of gluttony, that they
are immoral from their early years,[58] and that drunkenness is an
uncensured habit even among the priests, it is surprising that the
race has retained its vigour. I am, however, bound to say that the
Abyssinian is, normally, hardy and cheery. No doubt the weakly die
in infancy or childhood, and the development of those who survive
is greatly helped by the fine air in the upland country.
I made inquiry of our interpreter Johannes as to the system of land
tenure here, and was interested to learn that the “Lord of the
Manor” leased ground to tenants on the _métayage_ system. He
himself paid tithe in kind to the Ras. I fancy the landowner takes
the lion’s share of the crops; and the peasantry are heavily
mulcted by the priests and scribes. In addition, it is the rule
that all guests of the Ras, when travelling within his fief, must
be supplied with food by every village at which they halt. So the
farmers have to thrive on what is left.
We were, officially, guests of the Ras. In consequence we found
that gifts of _teff_, and poultry, and eggs were brought in without
stint. All are cheap commodities in Abyssinia. Augustus Wylde
calculated that at Bohoro in the Yejju province, when he was there,
fowls were selling at a rate which would have given eight hundred
and eighty for the pound sterling, and that the same sum would have
purchased eight thousand eight hundred eggs.[59] The eggs presented to
us were nearly all bad, a fact which might be due to a misapprehension
about European taste or to a feeling that waste articles might fairly
be got rid of as unrequited tribute. The fowls made good eating,
but they are very small birds. I do not think the Habashes, at the
end of the reckoning, had much reason to regret our presence.
In the evening we received a visit from the priest, a pleasant,
fine-looking old man. He wore the turban of his class. We promised
to see him at his church early on the following morning and present
an offering.
The dry grass had been fired in places around the village, and the
flames showed impressively after nightfall, though their effect
was dimmed by the light of the moon, which was nearly full. We had
no reason to fear being burned out of our camp, for the stalks had
been beaten down all about into a matted mass. But clouds of smoke
and showers of blacks from a conflagration close by would have given
us more discomfort than we bargained for, and we watched the drift
of the fires in the light, varying winds with interest. Luckily,
trouble was not for us that night, and we turned in, with all the
contentment of the well-fed Briton, and slept in peace.