After his coronation, the first object which he set before him was the
subjugation of the Galla tribes in Abyssinia; after which he said that any
Galla who would not abjure Islam and receive baptism should be expelled
from the country. This object he partly accomplished by the subjection
of the Wolo Gallas to his rule. To keep these wild tribes in check, and
also to serve as his own principal stronghold, he about this time made
choice of Magdala, an _amba_, or natural fortress, beyond the river
Beshilo, east of the Lake of Dembea, and in the midst of the territory of
the Wolo Gallas. He then invaded and reduced Shoa, taking Ankober, the
capital, and bringing away with him Menelek, the young heir of Shoa, to
bring up with his own son. The whole of Abyssinia was now subject to his
power. But a series of misfortunes presently fell upon him and changed
the whole aspect of his career. In 1860 his true and judicious friend and
counsellor, Consul Plowden, while journeying to his camp, was intercepted
by an ally of the chief Negussye, who had set up the standard of revolt in
Tigré; and in the fight that ensued Plowden was mortally wounded and taken
prisoner. Theodore immediately raised from the merchants of Gondar the sum
demanded for his ransom and procured his release; but Plowden died a few
days afterwards. About the same time Bell, the King's Grand Chamberlain,
fell in battle; and within a few months Theodore lost his first wife, the
beautiful and virtuous Tawabeteh. His naturally violent temper was soured
and embittered by these losses. He took a terrible revenge on the chiefs
who had been instrumental in the deaths of Bell and Plowden; and he bade
farewell for the rest of his life to that marital fidelity for which,
while Tawabeteh lived, he had been conspicuous. He married for his second
wife the daughter of Oobye, the Tigré chief whom he had dethroned; but the
union was one of policy, not of affection, and Theodore's illicit amours
were both numerous and scandalous. In 1861 he got the rebel Negussye into
his power, together with his brother, and put them to death with horrible
cruelty.
Theodore was now at the height of his power, and European Governments
evinced a considerable desire to court his friendship. The French
Government nominated M. Lejean as French Consul at Gondar, but on account
of some real or imagined affront paid to an emissary whom Theodore had
sent to Paris, with a letter to the Emperor, M. Lejean was sent at a day's
notice out of the country. The British Government, on hearing of the death
of Plowden, immediately replaced him at Massowah by the appointment of
Captain Cameron. This gentleman arrived at Massowah in February, 1862,
and visited Theodore at his camp in the following October, bearing a few
presents, and a letter in the Queen's name, thanking him for his exertions
in ransoming poor Plowden. Captain Cameron was very well received.
Theodore told him that he had executed 1,500 of the followers of the chief
who had killed Plowden, to revenge his death, and that he might thereby
win the friendship of the Queen of Great Britain. He also spoke with great
bitterness of the encroachments of the Turks and Egyptians, both on the
sea-coast and also on his north-western boundary, on what he called his
ancestral dominions. In the following month, when Cameron left his camp,
he entrusted him with the famous letter to the Queen of England; the
postage of which, as Colonel Sykes said, cost us five millions. In this
letter the two ideas then prominent in his mind--to deserve and win the
friendship of the Queen, by executing wholesale vengeance on those who had
killed Englishmen; and to gain her help in his darling project of humbling
the Mussulman--received distinct expression.
The reader already knows what became of this remarkable letter when
it reached England. Consul Cameron--after expediting the letter to
Massowah, whence it was conveyed to Aden, and home by the Indian mail
steamer--turned aside to visit the district of Bogos, a little Abyssinian
upland, nearly surrounded by the Egyptians and other Mussulmans of the
plains. The Christians of Bogos had on some former occasion complained
to the Consul at Massowah of ravages committed in their territory by the
neighbouring tribes, and Captain Cameron wished to know whether things
were now quiet there, and also whether there was any opening for trade.
Mainly with this latter object, he next visited the Egyptian town of
Kassala. He arrived at Djenda, near the Lake of Dembea, in August, 1863,
calculating that he would thus be in the country when the expected reply
from England to the King's letter arrived. It appears that Theodore, who
had become prone to suspicion, was offended when he heard that Consul
Cameron had been at Kassala, among his mortal enemies the Egyptians; and
his dissatisfaction, probably through the channel of Mr. Walker, the
Vice-consul at Massowah, had become known at the Foreign Office. Moreover,
Lord Russell--who wrote soon after this to a British agent, that "he
trusted that interference on behalf of a Christian country, as such, would
never be the policy of the British Government"--entirely disapproved of
the consul's interesting himself in the Bogos people because they were
Christians; his business was only to promote trade. The letter already
alluded to contained a proposal by Theodore to the Queen of Great Britain
for an offensive and defensive alliance against the Moslem powers. It
was well known that if that eccentric offer had been rejected, which,
of course, could not have been otherwise, the danger of Consul Cameron
and the other British subjects, who were in the power of Theodore, would
become very grave. However, through the indiscretion of Consul Cameron
in having returned to Abyssinia without an answer to the King's letter,
when the missionaries had already got into disgrace, he had to share
their misfortune in ill-treatment and imprisonment. The Rev. Mr. Stern
had fallen under the heavy displeasure of the King, and had been flogged,
almost to death, for having, as Theodore alleged, intruded one day on his
privacy before giving a notice of his intended visit in accordance with
the Abyssinian court etiquette. Stern had also written a book, entitled
"Wanderings among the Falashas in Abyssinia," in which he had reflected
upon the avocation of Theodore's mother as a vendor of a purgative herb
called kosoo. Mr. Stern was called upon to divulge the name of his
informant (who was supposed to be the Coptic Metropolitan of Abyssinia),
and, as he refused to do so, the King had him tortured, together with
his companion Mr. Rosenthal, Consul Cameron, and other British subjects,
until he was forced to confess. They were shortly afterwards sent to the
fortress at Magdala, and put in irons.
Absolute power and sensual indulgence had by this time turned Theodore's
head, and many of his subsequent actions seem hardly to be those of a
sane man. His cruelty, fickleness, and suspicion made his rule more and
more intolerable to all his subjects. Rebellions were plotted in every
province and after a time broke out. Menelek, the young heir of Shoa,
escaped from confinement and, expelling Theodore's lieutenant, established
himself as the independent ruler of that country. The chief Gobazye raised
the standard of revolt in central Abyssinia, and one of his lieutenants,
a chief of the best blood of Tigré, rebelling against his principal,
made himself independent in that province. The fabric of Theodore's
Christian empire, ruined through his own degeneracy, was fast crumbling
to pieces. Meanwhile, the news of Captain Cameron's imprisonment had
caused considerable sensation in Britain. Government resolved to send out
a regular mission, bearing a letter, signed by the Queen, in answer to
Theodore's long-neglected epistle, to demand the release of Cameron and
the other captives. The head of the mission was Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, of
Chaldean nationality, born at Mossul, near ancient Nineveh, since so well
known in connection with Assyrian and Babylonian discoveries. He had held
different important political appointments under the Indian Government.
He was then acting as first Assistant Political Resident at Aden, and
possessed great influence amongst the Arabian and African tribes along the
coasts of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. To Rassam were added Dr. Blanc
and Lieutenant Prideaux, two officers from the Bombay establishment.
[Illustration: MR RASSAM'S INTERVIEW WITH KING THEODORE. (_See p._ 480.)]
A curt permission to enter the country having been granted, Mr. Rassam's
first interview with the King was on the 28th of January, 1866. Theodore
was seated on a sofa, and wore the common robe of the country, called
a _shamma_. The letter of Queen Victoria, dated the 26th of May, 1864,
was presented by the envoy, and Theodore received it graciously. He then
entered upon the subject of his grievances. The cause of all the mischief,
the prime offender, was the Abuna Salama, the Coptic Patriarch, who had
told false and malicious stories about him to various Europeans. Against
the missionaries he had a great deal to say, particularly against Mr.
Stern. Against Mr. Cameron, besides the offence of never having brought
him back an answer to his letter to the Queen, he laid the charge of
having gone to visit the Turks and Egyptians, and of having been friendly
with them; and, on one occasion, when he was at Kassala with the Pasha,
of having brought the King and his army into contempt by ordering his
Abyssinian servants to imitate the war-dance of the royal troops. This
story was told to the King by a discharged servant of Mr. Cameron's,
named Ingada Wark, who had quarrelled with his master, and it is probably
devoid of foundation. We give it here as a sample of the kind of insults
and injuries over which the suspicious and wayward mind of Theodore was
continually brooding, and of which Mr. Rassam's interesting report is
full. When the Queen's letter had been translated for him into Amharic,
Theodore was much pleased with its contents. On the 29th of January
he sent for Mr. Rassam, and told him that, for the sake of his friend
the Queen of England, and in return for the trouble that he had taken in
the matter of Consul Cameron, he was pleased to pardon all the European
captives, and he had ordered their immediate release. He then ordered
a scribe to read an Arabic translation of the letter which he had just
written to the Queen, announcing the release of the captives. There
is a touching humility, a childlike simplicity, in the tone of this
letter, which, coming from one who so often appeared in the light of
a bloodthirsty and capricious tyrant, affords a curious study of the
complexities of human character. A day or two afterwards Mr. Rassam had
another conversation with the King. The misdeeds of Mr. Cameron again
formed a prominent topic; and it is worth while to record a part of the
King's indictment, because the language which he used on this occasion
seems to cast a strong light on the actual sequence of feelings and ideas
that influenced him in committing Cameron to prison. Theodore said that
after he had written his famous letter to the Queen in the autumn of 1862,
he gave it to Consul Cameron, requesting that he would take it down to
the coast, and bring up an answer himself; that he gave him money for
the journey, and ordered the chiefs of all the provinces between Gondar
and Massowah to supply him and his followers with food, and treat him
with respect and honour. What he chiefly wanted to effect by the letter
was this--that since he had no navy of his own, the Queen should send a
vessel to convey his ambassador to Suez, and should procure for him a safe
conduct through Egypt. Instead of complying with his request, Mr. Cameron
"had gone to play with the Turks" (this refers to the visit to Kassala),
and after a long time came back to Gondar, but without an answer to his
letter. Six months afterwards, Cameron sent him a letter, which he had
received from his Government, and demanded his dismissal, that he might go
down to Massowah. The King asked why he had returned to Abyssinia if he
wished to be at Massowah? Getting no satisfactory answer to this question,
Theodore continued, "I sent and told him, by the power of God you shall
be detained in prison until I find out whether you are really the servant
of the Queen." For why, Theodore would naturally argue, if he is indeed
the servant of the Queen, has he not brought me long ere this an answer to
my letter?
[Illustration: THE WHITE TOWER, TOWER OF LONDON
FROM THE PAINTING BY H. E. TIDMARSH.]
[Illustration: THE EMPEROR THEODORE GRANTING AN AUDIENCE.]
But the coming of Mr. Rassam, for whom Theodore, though he afterwards used
him so roughly, seems to have conceived a genuine affection, appeared at
first to have removed all difficulties. It was arranged that the mission
should travel to Korata, a beautiful village on the south-eastern shore
of Lake Dembea, and there await the arrival of the captives from Magdala;
after which they should all leave the country together. For several days'
march the mission accompanied the King and his army; but Theodore turned
aside to Zagé, a place on the western shore of the lake, facing Korata
across the water. Mr. Rassam reached Korata on the 14th of February. Some
weeks elapsed, on almost every day in which the King sent a friendly
message or letter to Rassam. The first indication of difficulty was on the
7th of March, when the King wrote, "When the people [prisoners] reach you,
we will consult;" that is, "You shall not go home at once, as heretofore
arranged, but the whole matter shall be reconsidered." The words filled
Mr. Rassam with dismay. About the same time a letter was delivered to
the King from the traveller Dr. Beke, who had come out to Massowah,
enclosing a petition from the relations of Cameron, Stern, and several
other captives, entreating the King to release them. Colonel Stanton, the
British agent in Egypt, and Sir William Merewether, the Political Resident
at Aden, feared that Dr. Beke's action would perplex the King and lead
him to doubt the reality of Mr. Rassam's mission. They tried in vain to
make Dr. Beke see the prudence of abstaining from any interference in the
difficult and delicate negotiation. For the King had now begun seriously
to entertain the thought of detaining Rassam and his party till the envoy
should have obtained for him from England a scientific man to teach his
people the mechanical arts. On the 12th of March, Mr. Cameron, Mr. Stern,
Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal, and eleven other captives, mostly Germans, arrived
at Korata from Magdala. On the same day the King wrote to Rassam, saying
that he must have them all over to Zagé and put them on their trial
again. Rassam, however, obtained leave to try them at Korata; and, having
gone through the forms of a mock trial, he wrote to the King that they
all confessed that they had done wrong. It was thought prudent that the
captives should throw themselves on the King's mercy; but the fabrication
did no good, and probably would have been better left unattempted. The
King wavered. On the 25th of March he held separate consultations at Zagé,
first with the German artisans, and afterwards with a body of Abyssinian
chiefs, and propounded at each the question, whether to detain Rassam or
let him go? The chiefs and the artisans were equally unanimous in deciding
that Rassam ought to be allowed to depart. Theodore was shaken, and yet
he was not quite satisfied. The pressure, however, seemed to be telling
upon him, and he wrote to Rassam (April 8th), desiring that he would
come and pay him a farewell visit at Zagé "after the light of Easter,"
and bring Mr. Cameron and the other captives with him. This, however,
Mr. Rassam--knowing the hatred that the King bore to Mr. Cameron and one
or two others among the captives--thought it more prudent not to do. He
obtained the King's consent to leave them behind at Korata, with the
understanding that they were to start on a given day on their homeward
journey, and himself proceeded to Zagé, on the 13th of April, along
with the other members of the mission. Unfortunately for them, Theodore
for some time past had been drinking heavily, and the effect of this on
his moody imagination and suspicious temper was to fill his mind with a
thousand preposterous apprehensions. When, therefore, Mr. Rassam with his
two companions arrived at Zagé, to pay, as they supposed their farewell
visit, they were seized, cross-examined, and their money and arms taken.
Such treatment of a mission, which even in Abyssinia ought to have
been safe under the protection of the law of nations, was, of course,
outrageous and unprecedented. At this stage an acute crisis seemed to be
reached, calling for the most careful treatment at every point. However,
there was nothing to be done at the time but to humour Theodore as far as
was practicable, and to use every effort to make their situation known
to the British Government. In effecting the latter object Mr. Rassam
found very little difficulty. Only one of his messengers appears to have
been stopped; all the rest carried safely to the coast, not his letters
only, but frequently large sums of money, with praiseworthy honesty and
regularity. With regard to artisans from England, Theodore wrote to Mr.
Rassam (April 17th), that he wished the envoy to obtain for him, from the
Queen, "a man who can make cannons and muskets, and one who can smelt
iron, and an instructor of artillery." It was thought expedient to comply
with the request, and Mr. Rassam wrote accordingly to the Secretary of
State on the following day. Mr. Flad, a lay missionary, was selected as
the bearer of Mr. Rassam's letter. As his wife and children were left in
Abyssinia in Theodore's power, Mr. Flad's speedy return was counted upon
with confidence.
For several weeks the captives were detained at Zagé. During this period
Theodore's behaviour was almost that of a madman: at one time he would
storm and threaten, throw the captives into irons, and make them tremble
for their lives; at another time he would publicly express his sorrow for
having ill-treated them, and humbly ask their pardon. In June, cholera
having broken out in the King's camp, he transferred his headquarters to
Debra Tabor, a large village about twenty miles to the east of Gondar,
which at that time served him for a capital. Here he arrived--the
captives, of course, accompanying him--on the 16th of June. In regard to
Mr. Rassam and the other members of the mission, his frantic behaviour
reached a climax on the 3rd of July, 1866, when having summoned them to
his presence, he made a wild rambling speech, rehearsing a string of
trumpery charges, old and new, against them and the other captives. A
few days after this interview, it being at the time the King's purpose
to march northward against the rebels, the captives were sent, under the
guard of an escort of 200 men, to be confined in the fortress of Magdala,
where they arrived on the 12th of July. On the broad level top of the
_amba_, so long as they kept within the boundary fence or palisade, they
were free to wander as they pleased; Theodore caused them to be liberally
provided with food; and with the exception that they were detained there
against their will, they had no cause to complain of their treatment.
On his way home to convey to the British Government Theodore's request
for skilled workmen and machinery, Mr. Flad saw Colonel Merewether, the
Resident at Aden, and communicated to him the state of affairs. That
zealous officer, who seems to have thoroughly understood Theodore's
character, and had little hope that he would ever release the captives,
except under compulsion, resolved to return to England with Mr. Flad.
They arrived in England in the summer of 1866, and reported themselves to
Lord Stanley, who had just taken over the administration of the Foreign
Office. Lord Stanley decided that Theodore's request to be supplied with
mechanics should be complied with, in the hope that this would lead to
the liberation of the captives. But, while Colonel Merewether was engaged
in selecting and making agreements with artisans, news reached London that
Rassam and his companions were no longer simply detained, but that they
had been seized and imprisoned. Colonel Merewether now recommended that
Mr. Flad (whose wife and children were in the King's camp) should at once
be sent back to Abyssinia, with a letter demanding the release of all the
prisoners; and that, should this step be vain, prompt measures should be
taken to enforce compliance. But Government, unwilling to renounce the
hope of obtaining the desired end by peaceable means, determined to send
out the artisans, together with a costly cargo of presents, to Massowah,
with instructions to proceed no farther until the captives should have
all arrived safely at that port. Six skilled artisans, headed by a civil
engineer, together with machinery and other presents to the value of about
£3,500, were sent out in November, 1866, and arrived in due course at
Massowah. But after waiting there nearly six months--it being apparent
that the prospect of the release of their countrymen was indefinitely
remote--they were sent back to England. In April, 1867, Lord Stanley
addressed a final letter to Theodore, informing him that the presents
would be sent home again unless the prisoners were released within three
months.
As he perceived that a warlike demonstration was inevitable, Merewether's
recommendation was that the invading force should consist of one European
and six native regiments of infantry, together with other troops, so
as to compose an army of about 6,000 men. However, Government resolved
to let the period of three months expire which had been named in Lord
Stanley's note. When that was over, and still Theodore showed no sign of
yielding, Government decided upon sending out an expedition. Bombay was
fixed upon as the most convenient base of operations, and the Governor of
that Presidency was directed to take the necessary measures. Mr. Seymour
Fitzgerald, the new Governor of Bombay, desired the Commander-in-Chief of
the Bombay army, Sir Robert Napier, to state what number of troops was, in
his opinion, required for the service. That officer reported that, in his
judgment, 12,000 was the smallest number that it would be safe to employ.
Acquiescing in the opinion that so large a force was required, the Bombay
Government considered that Colonel Merewether, who now for some years had
taken the lead in all matters connected with Abyssinia, was too young a
man to be placed in supreme command. Or rather such was the opinion of
the India Council and the War Office at home. Sir Stafford Northcote, on
whom, as Secretary for India, a large share of the responsibility for
the right management of the expedition rested, wrote (August 16th, 1867)
that, while Government trusted that Colonel Merewether's valuable services
would be made available in aid of the expedition, "his rank was not high
enough to enable him to take the supreme command of such a force as it was
probable would have to be employed." In August, 1867, Sir Robert Napier
was appointed to the command of the expedition, and Major-General Sir
Charles Staveley, an officer who had served in the Crimea, was nominated
second in command. The force employed was to consist of 4,000 British and
8,000 Indian native troops. An advanced brigade, consisting of about 1,200
Indian troops, under the command of Colonel Merewether, was despatched
from Bombay in September, preceded by a reconnoitring party under the
immediate orders of the colonel himself. The vessel containing the
reconnoitring party arrived in Annesley Bay early in October.
It was a matter of considerable importance to choose the best point on
the coast where the force should disembark, and whence it should begin
its march on Magdala. Distance from Magdala was one, but not the most
important, element in the selection. The high table-land of Abyssinia
is bastioned on the north and east by ranges of magnificent mountains,
descending frequently in sheer cliffs, many thousand feet high, into
the strip of sandy plain that borders the coast. At Annesley Bay, which
penetrates far into the land, the mountains approach nearer to the sea
than at any other point where the landing of a large force is possible. In
this respect, however, Massowah was little inferior, while in facilities
for landing it was superior, to Annesley Bay, from which it is about
thirty miles distant; but besides that it was somewhat farther from
Magdala, political considerations rendered it inexpedient that the British
Government should incur so great an obligation to the Pasha of Egypt as
would have been involved in the landing of so large an army, with all its
baggage and stores, at a much-frequented Egyptian port. Annesley Bay,
then, was to be the point of disembarkation. The best pass for the march
of an army into the interior was the next subject of inquiry. The first
person to point out to Colonel Merewether the superiority of the Senafé
Pass was Father Zechariah, a native Abyssinian priest educated at Rome.
But the colonel was not satisfied till he had carefully examined several
other defiles leading up to the table-land, and had convinced himself that
the Senafé Pass, difficult as it was, could be made practicable for the
expedition with less trouble than any other.
The route having been decided upon, all that remained was to land the
troops as quickly as possible, organise an efficient transport service,
and then advance upon Magdala. The distance of the fortress from Annesley
Bay was about 400 miles; but the climate on the table-land is magnificent,
the difficulties of the road were easily within the power of the strong
pioneer force that was at the general's disposal to surmount them, and
it became more and more certain that no serious opposition would be met
with. A hitch, however, occurred; and it was, as usual, in the transport
service. Supplies of food, stores, and ammunition could most easily be
transported along the rough and narrow Abyssinian roads on the backs of
mules. The world was accordingly ransacked for mules; from Egypt, India,
Syria, and Spain they were poured into Annesley Bay in thousands. Any
one can buy a mule, but it takes an experienced person to manage him
when bought. The Transport department engaged as muleteers thousands of
men who are described as "the vilest sweepings of Eastern cities"--men
whose languages no one could understand, and who were utterly ignorant
of their business. Again, being landed in such vast numbers on a sterile
plain like that which divides the sea from the mountains at Annesley
Bay, the mules could pick up scarcely anything for themselves; and,
with such unmanageable ruffians for muleteers, it was impossible to
distribute properly among them the forage that had been brought by sea
to the anchorage. In consequence of all this, the mules soon began to
die by scores. To supply the animals with water, since the arid shore
had next to no resources in this respect, the steamers at the anchorage
condensed water at the rate of 32,000 gallons a day (at a cost of nearly
£3,000 a month), which was then conveyed along a shoot 480 feet long,
raised on trestles above the sea, to tanks on shore. But, whether from
the unwholesomeness of this water or some other cause, an epidemic broke
out among the animals on shore, and carried off great numbers of them,
especially the horses. The 3rd Dragoons lost 318 horses out of 499 landed.
In these circumstances Colonel Merewether resolved to push on with his
advanced brigade to the healthier position of Senafé, as soon as ever
the road through the pass was declared practicable. The main body of the
brigade, which had landed on the 30th of October, was accordingly moved
forward from Mulkutto (so the landing-place was called) about the end
of November, and, threading the pass with little difficulty, arrived at
Senafé on the 6th and 7th of December. The Shohos--Mohammedan tribes that
infested the mountain valleys and ravines running to the Red Sea--were
converted by the power of British gold from being rapacious depredators
and thieves into the character of useful traders and carriers.
[Illustration: SIR ROBERT NAPIER (AFTERWARDS LORD NAPIER OF MAGDALA).]
Sir Charles Staveley, with the second brigade, arrived at Annesley Bay
early in December. The 33rd, a British regiment, was with them, and was
before long sent on to Senafé, where it arrived on the 12th of January,
1868. Sir Charles set himself energetically to work to bring things
into order at the port, while the movements of all the departments were
quickened by his presence. The greater part of the troops, as they arrived
were sent up to Senafé. Sir Robert Napier himself landed at Mulkutto
on the 7th of January and assumed the command. Leaving orders that a
transport train should be organised immediately, and a railway laid down
from Mulkutto to the foot of the Senafé Pass, he hastened forward to the
front. He was at first under the impression that no dependence could be
placed for the subsistence of the army on the resources of the country
itself and that it would not be safe to move forward from Senafé until
six months' supply of food had been accumulated there for a force of
9,500 men. But when he arrived at Senafé and found how admirably General
(he had just been made local Brigadier-General) Merewether, and Colonel
Phayre, the Quartermaster-General, had made amicable arrangements with the
principal men of the neighbourhood, and attracted the natives from all
parts to the markets of the camp by the prospect of the liberal payment
which they received for their meat, corn, and other produce, Sir Robert
Napier saw reason to change his opinion. In fact, the friendliness and
openness of the people towards the British were truly strange to European
ideas. Their country was being invaded, and its prestige, if it had
any, humiliated; but this singular people felt no throes of indignant
patriotism, were well pleased to think that the formidable King, who had
come to be a dangerous tyrant and freebooter, was to be put down without
any trouble to themselves, and pocketed with the utmost satisfaction,
inwardly marvelling no doubt at the simplicity of the stranger, the large
new silver dollars which they got for their country produce.
With these reassuring prospects before him, the Commander-in-Chief thought
that he might safely commence the march into the interior before any very
large quantity of stores had been brought up to Senafé. No opposition
was to be feared from the rulers of provinces. Immediately after landing
General Merewether had dispersed as widely as possible copies of a
proclamation, declaring that the sole motive of the British invasion was
the desire to liberate the captives; that Britain's quarrel was with
Theodore, not with the Abyssinian nation; and that the inhabitants, if
they maintained a peaceful attitude, would be treated well and liberally.
Mr. Rassam had been in constant communication with Kassa, the Prince of
Tigré, and also with Wakshum Gobazye, the Prince of Lasta. They both
showed great kindness to his messengers, and rendered them the protection
they needed between Magdala and Massowah for two whole years. As soon as
Rassam informed them of the intention of the British Government to send
a force to punish Theodore, their enemy, they promised their friendship
to the troops, and Wakshum went so far as to cause it to be proclaimed
through his districts by beat of drum that all his subjects were to
supply the British army with whatever they required, and that they were
not to fear, as the troops were Christians, and would pay the full price
for everything. Kassa wrote a letter to General Merewether, offering
friendship and assistance, soon after his arrival at Senafé. To confirm
him in these pacific sentiments, Major Grant, the well-known African
explorer, was sent to his capital of Adowa, where he was received with
great cordiality; and Sir Robert Napier himself, mounted on an elephant,
had a formal interview with Kassa on February 19th near Adigerat. Wakshum
Gobazye--who for the last three years, though fearing to meet Theodore in
the field, had occupied each province of central Abyssinia as Theodore
led his army out of it, and who was now employed in consolidating his
power--probably regarded the British intrusion in much the same light as
Kassa. And there is reason to believe that, after the invasion had been
achieved successfully, Wakshum felt hurt that he had not been treated with
like consideration to that shown to the Prince of Tigré.
The force that Sir Robert Napier considered necessary amounted finally
to upwards of 16,000 men. Four British infantry regiments, the 33rd, the
4th, the 45th, and the 26th, and one cavalry regiment, the 3rd Dragoon
Guards--in all about 3,400 men--besides a company of Sappers, formed part
of the force; the rest were all Indian troops. The men of the Transport
Train numbered 12,600, and the camp-followers about 3,200; so that a
host numbering about 32,000 men, exclusive of those attached to the
Commissariat and Quartermaster-General's Departments, was collected at
Annesley Bay. But a small portion of these was required to overcome the
feeble resistance of Theodore's army, and to scale the height of Magdala.
To oppose to this large and disciplined force, Theodore had only some
3,000 soldiers armed with percussion muzzle-loaders, 1,000 matchlock-men,
a number of spearmen, and about thirty pieces of ordnance, including one
enormous mortar which his German artisans had cast for him at Debra Tabor,
the management of which no one in his army properly understood.
After Sir Robert Napier had come up to Senafé, discussion arose and much
doubt was entertained as to the best method of applying the force in
hand to the attainment of the one paramount object of the expedition,
the rescue of the captives. There were many who thought, forming their
judgment from the ordinary experience of the conduct of uncivilised
rulers, that if Theodore (who was known to be on the march from Debra
Tabor to Magdala) should reach the fortress before the British army, he
would, after the inevitable defeat and dispersion of his army, be certain,
in an access of impotent rage and revenge, to put to death the English and
other prisoners there confined. It was urged therefore that what ought
before all things to be aimed at was to intercept the march of Theodore,
and prevent him from ever reaching Magdala. But to effect this it would
be necessary to march at once with a lightly equipped force of about 2,000
men, who, while drawing a portion of their supplies from the stores that
were already at Senafé, should be largely dependent on the resources of
the country through which they marched. The other plan was to wait till
stores were accumulated at Senafé in sufficient quantity to support a
force capable of marching upon and capturing Magdala (to take which it
was thought that siege operations might be required), with only slight
dependence on local supplies. It was decided that the march should be on
Magdala; and the safety of the prisoners was left to the generosity of the
strange monarch, who in all his cruelties and excesses never wholly forgot
that he was a Christian King.
It would weary the reader if we were to describe in minute detail a march
that was never opposed, and movements of troops involving no triumphs but
those of the Control department. The 350 miles of road that separated
Senafé from Magdala were indeed full of difficulty; for many steep and
lofty ranges had to be crossed; many narrow and uneven tracks to be
repaired and widened; many long marches to be made under a tropical sun.
The advance guard of the army moved from Senafé on the 18th of January;
and the headquarters were established at Buya camp, near Antalo, rather
more than half way from the coast to Magdala, on the 2nd of March. When
the march was resumed a new arrangement of the forces was adopted. A large
proportion of the Indian troops was left at the Buya camp; the column
destined to march on Magdala was formed into two brigades and a pioneer
force. The latter, commanded by the active Quartermaster-General, Colonel
Phayre, consisted of about 500 men. Both brigades were under the command
of Sir Charles Staveley; with the first marched the Commander-in-Chief
and the headquarters. The total strength of the column was about 3,000
men. From the 12th of March, on which day the march was resumed, seventeen
days were required to bring the column to the top of the Wadela plateau,
a distance of 118 miles. This plateau, rising in precipitous cliffs from
the southern bank of the Takkazye river (a large feeder of the Blue Nile)
to the height of nearly 10,000 feet, runs for many miles in a nearly
unbroken wall from east to west, and forms one of the most striking
natural features in the country. At the time when our troops were scaling
Wadela, Theodore arrived in the immediate vicinity of Magdala; that is, he
had outstripped our army by a distance of nearly sixty miles. Marching
to the right along the flat Wadela plateau, descending by a zigzag road
that Theodore had just cut for his guns into the deep valley of the Jidda,
crossing it, and ascending the Dalanta plateau, the British army (April
8th), on reaching the southern edge of this last, above the river Beshilo,
beheld in front of them the goal of their labours--the table-topped
mountain of Magdala.
We must now return to Theodore, who, since he put Mr. Rassam and his
companions into irons, had been chiefly stationed at Debra Tabor, in the
province of Beguemder. Here he kept his German artisans fully employed in
casting guns and mortars, and constructing carriages for their conveyance.
His revenues being gone, he obtained subsistence for his army simply by
plunder, until the people of Beguemder rose against him, and commenced a
desultory warfare against his half-starved soldiers, numbers of whom were
continually deserting. The once noble nature of the man was now marred
by licentiousness, drunkenness, and cruelty. But when--the resources of
the country round Debra Tabor being destroyed by cruel and long-continued
rapine--it became necessary to take and act upon a decision, Theodore,
it would seem, woke up from his sensual dream, and for a while became
himself again. He resolved to return to Magdala, and to transport thither
the heavy ordnance that had just been constructed. First setting fire to
Debra Tabor, his own capital, he began his march on the 10th of October,
1867, with his European workmen, about 6,000 soldiers, and a host of camp
followers. Although the distance to Magdala did not exceed a hundred
miles, the difficulties in the way of transporting guns, owing to the
want of roads and the mountainous nature of the country, were enormous.
Thus labouring on for weeks and months, and conveying his guns and stores
without loss on twenty heavy waggons dragged by his soldiers along the
roads that he had previously built, Theodore arrived at last (March 25th)
on the plateau of Islamgyé below Magdala. On the 29th he came up to
Magdala and sent for Mr. Rassam. The interview was very friendly, and the
King, who seems to have really liked the envoy, was gracious and affable.
His army, through continual desertions, had by this time dwindled down to
about 3,000 men. He afterwards told Mr. Rassam that when he was excited
he was not responsible for his actions. It is to be hoped that it was
so, and that in the fact some palliation may be found for the horrible
massacre that he ordered a few days later. On the 9th of April, having
on the previous day caused all his native prisoners, 570 in number, to
be brought down to Islamgyé from Magdala, he set a considerable number
free, including all, or almost all, the women and children. After that he
drank deeply and went to lie down in his tent. Those who were retained in
captivity, no order having been given to take them back to Magdala, were
kept on the barren top of Islamgyé; and having nothing to eat, they began
to clamour for food. This enraged him to such a degree that, starting
up in a drunken fury, he commanded them all to be put to death, and
commenced the butchery by cutting one down with his sword, and shooting
two others with his pistols. The rest were hurled alive over the precipice
of Islamgyé, and those who showed any signs of life were fired upon by
the soldiers stationed below. The massacre lasted from about 4 till 6.30
P.M., and there were no less than 197 victims, only thirty-five
of whom were criminals.
Meanwhile the toils were being drawn closer round the doomed King. The
12th Bengal Cavalry and six companies of the 45th Regiment, having been
ordered up from the coast by Sir Robert Napier, arrived at the camp on
the 8th of April. The 45th accomplished the distance from Mulkutto to the
Beshilo River in twenty-five days. The force before Magdala, with these
accessions, numbered upwards of 3,700 men, including a rocket brigade
consisting of eighty sailors of H.M.S. _Dryad_. On the 9th of April, the
whole force being now concentrated on the Dalanta plateau, the approaches
to Magdala were carefully reconnoitred. It was suggested to Sir Robert
Napier to send a force round to the saddle connecting Magdala with the
Tanta plateau, so as to cut off Theodore's retreat while he was attacked
in front. But the Commander-in-Chief deemed that the force at his disposal
was not large enough to allow of its being divided with safety. It was
finally resolved to attack the position of Magdala by way of the great
projecting mass of Fâla, from which the lower terrace of Islamgyé could be
easily reached.
Early on the morning of the 10th of April Sir Charles Staveley led the
1st Brigade down the steep side of the Dalanta plateau, forded the
Beshilo, and, mounting the bold spur of Gumbaji, proceeded along it in
the direction of Fâla. His intention was to choose a suitable site for
an encampment, and await the arrival of the 2nd Brigade, led by the
Commander-in-Chief, which was to pass the night in the valley of the
Beshilo. Meanwhile, Colonel Phayre, with the pioneer force under his
command, was moving up the Wark-Waha ravine, parallel with, and to the
left of, the march of Sir Charles Staveley, in order to examine the
position of the enemy. He ascertained that neither in the ravine, nor on
any part of the great open slopes and terraces of which he obtained a
view, right up to the ascent of Fâla, was there any trace of a hostile
force; and he sent back a message to this effect to Sir Robert Napier,
which on its way was read by Sir Charles Staveley. Sir Robert, on
receiving Colonel Phayre's report, ordered the Naval Brigade, Colonel
Penn's battery of mountain guns, and the baggage of the 1st Brigade, which
had been left at the Beshilo by Sir Charles waiting orders to advance, to
press forward up the Wark-Waha ravine. They did so, the sailors leading
the way. It was about four o'clock when the Naval Brigade, followed by the
battery, emerged by a steep ascent from the ravine on to the diversified
surface of the Arogé plains, just above which, to their right, on the
Aficho terrace, the 1st Brigade was posted. Presently a gun, followed
by several others in succession, was fired from the crest of Fâla;
the direction being good, and the elevation from which the guns were
discharged considerable, the shot came plunging into the ground near the
British ranks. Then, from the top of the mountain, rushing down the steep
sides of Fâla, came Theodore's warriors in headlong charge. There were
about 1,000 musketeers, armed with double-barrel guns, 2,000 men carrying
match-locks, and a multitude of spearmen. They reached the bottom of the
hill, and began advancing towards the British, part plunging down a ravine
called Dam-Wanz on the British left, to attack the baggage train.
With such an inequality of arms as existed between the combatants, no
real fighting was possible. The sailors, on seeing the enemy swarming
down the hill, quickly got their rocket tubes into position, and opened
upon them. Sir Charles Staveley ordered all the infantry of his brigade
to come down the steep ascent from Aficho to Arogé, and advance firing
against the enemy. Against the Sniders of the British infantry, what was
the use of smooth-bore muzzle-loaders and undisciplined valour? The brave
chief Gabriyé--Theodore's Fitaurari or Quartermaster-General--after doing
all that man could do to encourage his followers, was shot down, and many
other chiefs with him. Finding it impossible to get near their enemy, the
Abyssinians after a time lost heart and turned to flee. Those who had gone
down into the Dam-Wanz ravine were hemmed in there between the Punjab
Pioneers and baggage guard in their front, and some companies of the
4th, whom Sir Charles Staveley had sent against their left flank, and mown
down with terrible slaughter. As the fugitives retreated up the hill-side,
the Naval Brigade advanced, and sent rockets among them with destructive
effect. Evening closed in; Theodore, who had watched the action from the
top of Fâla, knew that his army was destroyed and his power at an end; the
British army seeing its task well-nigh accomplished, but full of anxiety
for the fate of the captives, bivouacked that night on the slopes of
Aficho and Arogé. The loss of the Abyssinians in this action was estimated
at between 700 and 800 killed, and 1,500 wounded. On the English side
twenty men were wounded, two mortally.
[Illustration: DEATH OF THE EMPEROR THEODORE. (_See p._ 491.)]
Theodore, clearly perceiving all further resistance to be vain, now
desired to come to terms with the British general. Early on the morning
of April 11th he sent down from Selassyé, where he had passed the night,
two of the captives, Lieutenant Prideaux and Mr. Flad, to bear his
proposals to the British camp. They were instructed to say that the King
now desired to be reconciled with the British. The delight and enthusiasm
caused by the presence of Lieutenant Prideaux in the camp may be easily
imagined. But the "reconciliation" sought by the King, which would have
left him seated on his throne, could not, it was thought, be granted.
As far as Britain was concerned, if the captives were all given up, her
honour was satisfied, her aims were fulfilled, and her troops might be at
once withdrawn. But it was considered by the Commander-in-Chief that the
British had been welcomed in their country by the Abyssinians, and that
the various chiefs had abstained from impeding or molesting the march,
on the tacit but clearly implied understanding that Theodore's power was
to be destroyed, and that he was to be a king in Abyssinia no longer. No
terms, therefore, could be granted which did not involve his absolute
submission and deposition from the throne, and a letter to that effect was
conveyed to him, which he haughtily returned, together with a cartel of
defiance. After a frustrated attempt at suicide, the King held a council
of war, and asked the opinions of the bravest and most influential of the
surviving chiefs. Most of them gave counsel, like the soldiers on board
St. Paul's vessel, "to kill the prisoners, lest they should escape,"
and then to fight to the last. It is to the credit of Theodore that he
resisted this counsel. Doubtless he thought that their release might be
the means of relieving him from further demands, but friendly feeling
towards Mr. Rassam, and even towards his poor artisans, had probably much
to do with his decision. About four o'clock in the afternoon (Saturday,
April 11th) the King sent the Governor of Magdala to Mr. Rassam and the
other Europeans with the following message: "Go at once to your people;
you can send for your property to-morrow." The prisoners made haste
to depart, and descended the steep path from Magdala to the saddle of
Islamgyé, and thence to Selassyé, where the King still was. Here Mr.
Rassam had a final interview with him. Theodore acknowledged that he had
behaved ill to the envoy, but said that it was through the conduct of bad
men.
Early on the following morning (Easter Sunday, April 12th) Theodore sent
down a letter to Sir Robert Napier, the object of which was to do away
with the effect of the defiant letter of the previous day, and to request
the acceptance of a present of cows. According to Abyssinian ideas,
the acceptance of a present would mean that the receiver was satisfied
and granted peace to the giver. This letter on reaching the camp was
translated by the bearer from the Amharic into Arabic and from Arabic by
Mr. Rassam into English. Sir Robert Napier afterwards declared that he
authorised no answer to be given that could have led Theodore to believe
that he accepted one jot less than the terms of his first demand; and
he ordered a letter to be prepared (which, however, was never sent),
accepting the cows provisionally, upon the understanding that Theodore
would surrender himself as well as all the Europeans. At the time, he
verbally authorised Mr. Rassam--or the latter so understood him--to accept
the present of cows. Theodore, upon hearing that his gift had not been
spurned, was overjoyed. He believed that life and honour were now safe
and that the victorious general would not require of him the intolerable
humiliation of a personal surrender. He sent down the present, consisting
of 1,000 cows and 500 sheep, being all the live stock that he had in
his possession; and in the course of the afternoon he sent down all the
remaining Europeans and half-castes, fifty-seven in number, with their
baggage, to the British camp.
But on that Sunday evening Theodore was informed by the chief whom he had
sent down with the cattle, that the cows had been stopped at the first
picket and had not been admitted into the camp. He saw at once that he had
been misled and that the British commander intended to abate nothing from
the original terms. At dawn the next morning (Easter Monday, April 13th),
he called on the warriors who loved him to take nothing but their arms and
follow him; the time had come, he said, to seek another home. Followed by
four chiefs and a few soldiers, he went up into Magdala, passed through
it and out at the other side through the gate leading to the saddle that
communicated with the Tanta plateau. But after having gone a little way,
his men refused to follow him, and he returned with them into Magdala,
and thence went down again to Islamgyé. Meanwhile information had reached
the British camp that Theodore had fled from Magdala. The troops were
immediately put in motion, while a notice was sent among the Gallas
offering a reward for the King's capture. The two brigades scaled the
steep ascent of the saddle connecting Fâla with Selassyé, meeting with
no opposition whatever. The British regiments slowly advanced until
they reached the nearer end of the saddle of Islamgyé. Here they found
the greater number of Theodore's guns with their ammunition. A number
of chiefs, richly dressed, were seen at the farther end of Islamgyé,
galloping wildly about and occasionally firing off their rifles. These in
a short time were seen to ascend the steep path leading up into Magdala,
pass through the gate called the Koket Bir, and close it after them.
About this time authentic information reached the general that Theodore
had not escaped, but was still in Magdala. He was one among those who
had been just seen to ascend from Islamgyé into the fortress. Sir Robert
Napier thought it necessary, in these circumstances, to cannonade Magdala
with all the artillery at his disposal. Theodore, and the few followers
who remained faithful to him, upon entering the place at the Koket Bir,
closed the gate and blocked it up with large stones. This gate stood some
distance below the edge of the plateau, at the very brink of which was a
second gate. On the rocks, between the two gates, attended by a faithful
few, Theodore sat and watched the practice of the English guns. The shells
burst all around him; his faithful Minister Ras Engeda and his brother
were killed by the same shell.
At 4 P.M. a storming party--consisting of the 33rd Regiment led
by Major Cooper, the 10th Company of Royal Engineers, and a company of
Madras Sappers--was ordered to attack the Koket Bir. The long line of
red-coats wound up the steep pathway, keeping up a hot fire on the hedge
and gate above them. A feeble dropping fire was the only reply. For when
the bombardment became too hot, nearly all Theodore's followers consulted
their safety and fled, taking refuge in the huts on Magdala. The King,
and about ten persons who still adhered to him, went down into the Koket
Bir when the soldiers commenced to climb the steep, and fired upon them
through some rudely constructed loop-holes. Seven men were wounded by
this fire. When the soldiers reached the gate, it was found impossible to
force it, owing to the large stones with which it had been blocked up;
but, after a short delay, a way was made through the hedge on each side
of the gate, and the 33rd thus got within the place, removed the stones,
and opened the doors to admit the rest of the storming party. The King,
meanwhile, had retired up the hill and passed within the second gate. Of
his ten companions, six were wounded, more or less seriously. Here he
dismissed all his surviving followers, except his faithful valet Walda
Gabir, telling them to leave him and save their own lives. "Flee," he
said, "I release you from your allegiance; as for me, I shall never fall
into the hands of the enemy." As soon as they were gone, he turned to
Walda Gabir, and said, "It is finished! Sooner than fall into their hands,
I will kill myself." He put a pistol into his mouth, fired it, and fell
dead; the ball passing through the roof of the mouth and out at the back
of the head.
So ended the career of a man who, if he had inherited a purer and more
practical Christianity, and learned to control his passions, might have
raised his country's name from obscurity, spread the influences of
religion and civilisation through Eastern Africa, and lived in history as
one of the benefactors of mankind. Wrath and sensuality were his ruin.
The rest may be briefly told. The huts on Magdala were burnt by order
of the British general, and this outpost of Christianity fell again
into the hands of the ferocious Gallas. North of the river Beshilo, Sir
Robert recognised the authority of the Wakshum Gobazye. Theodore's Queen,
Terunesh, and her little boy, Alamayahu, were among the inhabitants of
Magdala at the time of its capture, and were consigned to the care of Mr.
Rassam. The Queen said that it had been Theodore's last wish that his
son should be taken charge of by the British; and this wish was complied
with. The boy, who was about ten years old at this time, was placed in
charge of the Rev. Dr. Jex Blake, then Principal of Cheltenham College.
The unfortunate youth died in 1879. The Queen herself wished to return
to her native province, Semyen; but on the way down she died, and was
buried at Chelicut near Antalo. The British army commenced its return
march on the 18th of April. The arrangements for the march to the coast
and the embarkation were made with great judgment and forethought, and the
last man of the expedition had left Annesley Bay before the end of June.
The landing-piers, wells, roads, and whatever plant had been left behind
as not worth removal, came into the possession of the Egyptians, and
Abyssinia was sealed up again from intercourse with the outer world, as
before the expedition.
Honours were lavished freely on the chief officers in command of the
expedition. Sir Robert Napier received the Grand Cross of the Bath and a
pension, and was made a peer with the title of Lord Napier of Magdala.
General Merewether was made an extra Knight Commander of the Star of
India. In moving that the thanks of the House of Commons be given to Sir
Robert Napier and his army, Mr. Disraeli, after an eloquent enumeration
of the obstacles which they had surmounted, said that that had been
accomplished which not one of them ten years ago could have fancied even
in his dreams, and they had seen "the standard of St. George hoisted upon
the mountains of Rasselas."
Meanwhile Europe was disturbed by those admonitory gusts which portend
a coming storm. In France the year passed over uneventfully, but there
were many indications of growing discontent. Rochefort began to write in
the _Lanterne_ his withering satires against the Imperial Government;
and at a public distribution of prizes at the Sorbonne, the son of
Marshal Cavaignac, encouraged by his mother and by the sympathy of his
fellow-students, refused to receive his prize from the hands of the Prince
Imperial. The continual progress of Russia in Central Asia, silent mostly
and unmarked, like the rising tide, arrested this year the attention of
all Europe, when the news arrived that Samarcand, the ancient capital of
Turkestan, and the favourite residence of Timour, had fallen before the
arms of General Kaufmann. The Ameer of Bokhara was defeated in several
engagements; and Bokhara itself was taken by the Russians, but not
permanently occupied, and thenceforward the Cossack advance towards India
seriously affected British foreign policy. The Cretan insurrection--which
broke out in the summer of 1866, and in which the insurgents, aided by
the continual influx of volunteers and supplies from Greece, had resisted
for two years and a half the utmost efforts of the Turkish monarchy for
its suppression--came to an end at the close of 1868, through the sheer
exhaustion of the islanders. To Turkey also the situation of things had
become intolerable, and the Turkish Minister at Athens delivered an
ultimatum to the Greek Government on the 10th of December, demanding the
dispersion within five days of the volunteers enlisted for the Cretan
insurgents, and a pledge that no more should be permitted to be enrolled;
and requiring Greece to act for the future in conformity with existing
treaties. Greece refused the ultimatum, and diplomatic relations were
broken off between her and Turkey. The Great Powers interposed, and it was
arranged that a conference should be held at Paris early in 1869 to treat
of the relations between Turkey and Greece. At this conference, which
met on the 9th of January, the discussion lasted over ten days. It was
finally decided that Greece should abstain for the future from favouring
or tolerating within its territory the formation of bands destined to act
against Turkey; and should also take the necessary measures to prevent
the equipment in its ports of vessels destined to aid or comfort, in
whatever manner, insurrection within the dominions of the Sultan. In
Spain, the Bourbon sovereign Isabella, driven from the throne this year by
a successful revolution, was compelled to seek as an exile and a suppliant
the land that had nursed her ancestors, thanks to the arbitrary _régime_
of her Ministers. A Provisional Government, with Marshal Serrano for
President and Prim for Commander-in-Chief, was established. Except that
they were not Republicans, the new rulers of Spain proceeded to adopt
measures of the usual revolutionary hue. The absolute liberty of the press
was decreed; and universal toleration was proclaimed, except for the
Jesuits, whose colleges and institutions were ordered to be closed within
three days in Spain and the Spanish colonies, the Order itself being
suppressed and its property sequestrated to the State. The Republican
party was dissatisfied and rose in arms at Cadiz in December. General
Caballero di Roda marched against them and persuaded them to submit to the
Government. The disintegrating tendency was checked for the moment, only
to reappear afterwards in a more virulent form. The general sentiment of
the Spanish people was in favour of monarchy, but no monarch could for
a long time be found and the search was to involve Europe in short but
destructive war.
[Illustration: ST PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL, DUBLIN. (_From a Photograph by W.
Lawrence._)]