OUR EQUIPMENT -- TENTS AND BEDS -- COMMISSARIAT -- THE KITCHEN --
MULES, THEIR HABITS AND TREATMENT -- CAMELS -- UP COUNTRY -- MY
FIRST BAG -- SILVER CUPS -- A WILD BOAR -- AILET -- OUR ESCORT --
THE FIRST OF THE JUNGLE -- SWEDISH MISSIONARIES -- AN ABYSSINIAN
"SPA" -- A HOT BATH -- THE "RAINS" -- THRASHING THE TENTS.
Before taking the reader any farther into Abyssinia I must say
something about our equipment; what tents we had, and what description
of provisions.
We took with us two tents; a three-poled tent made by Edgington, and
called by him the Punjâb Hill tent. I should advise everybody to take
this description of tent for rough work in any country. Head room is
what is wanted for comfort; and this is the only strong, portable, and
shapely tent that combines those advantages. Mr. Galton, in his most
useful little book, the 'Art of Travel,' says very nearly the same
thing. We had a little Union Jack to fly at the top of it, and _iron_
tent pegs. Of course these tents can be made of any reasonable size.
The other--a _tente d'abri_--was for Fisk, H.'s English servant, and
was for him to sit in while he skinned the birds we shot, of which we
intended to make a good collection, as they are very beautiful in
these parts.
Ours was rather smaller than usual; our two beds were on each side of
a person entering the door, which left a space at the head of the beds
for a box for brushes and dressing-things, etc.
We slept on iron camp-beds, and I was provided with a blanket lined
with silk, which is a device I should recommend to everybody else,
only advising them to take care that the blanket is long and wide
enough to fall over the side as well as to hang over the foot of the
bed. The sleeper lies in the fold of this blanket, so that if the
sides were tacked together it would make a complete bag; this is good
both for hot and cold climates. The lining should be of red or blue
silk, which is easily cleaned with a sponge or piece of rag, and some
warm water. White, of Aldershot, made mine for the Cannock Chase
autumn manœuvres. It is almost waterproof, and can be slept in with
as much comfort as in the best sheets.
Our provisions were calculated to last three Europeans for four
months. I had the list overlooked by the head purser of the P. and O.
Company in London, who gave me some very useful hints with regard to
preserving provisions. I cut down the amount of stores as much as
possible in order to save transport, as, from what little experience I
had had of India and coolie work in that country, I knew that the
lighter one travels, the more comfortable one is, and the farther one
goes. The following is an exact list of the provisions:--
1½ doz. tins of cabin biscuits (Peek and Frean).
1½ " " of German rusks.
6 " small tins of cocoa and milk, from Lion brand.
½ doz. small bottles of currie-powder.
1½ " pots of marmalade.
½ " tins of plum-pudding.
One middle piece of bacon, cut up, and hermetically sealed in tins.
1 doz. tins of ox-tail soup.
½ " " of _paté de foie gras_.
3 " " of Cambridge sausages.
1½ " " of sardines.
Two tin-opening knives.
14 lbs. of yellow soap, called "primrose soap."
8½ pint bottles of Worcester sauce.
6½ " " of Harvey's sauce.
28 lbs. of preserved potatoes.
3 bottles of best French vinegar.
12 lbs. of tea, done up in 1 lb. tins.
1 doz. bottles of mixed pickles.
18 2-oz. pots of Liebig's extract of meat.
The cocoa and milk in tins was one of the most useful of the
provisions we had, as it only required the addition of hot water to
make a most delicious cup of cocoa. This was very useful when starting
early in the morning and things were wanted in a hurry, and it was
quite a meal by itself. German rusks I would also recommend, as they
are very good eating, and do not dry up the mouth so much as biscuits.
Of course these provisions were helped out a great deal by fresh meat,
milk, eggs, bread, etc., which we found in the country. Besides all
this, we took a large sack of onions, about two donkey-loads of rice,
some potatoes, some salt for table use in bottles, and some black
pepper and mustard. Coffee of the very best sort can be got at
Massowah. We took a little sugar with us, but it was not properly
packed, and all melted together in one compact mass. The best way to
take sugar would be to have pounded loaf-sugar done up in pickle
bottles or tins.
With regard to the cooking, H. had a large tin box which contained a
canteen made by Thornhill, of Bond Street; into this all the boiling
cans and a small kettle fitted, the one into the other. I would not
recommend this arrangement for _rough work_, as if a can gets bent it
does not fit into the other, which is a disadvantage, as it then has
to be carried separately, and eventually ends by being knocked to
pieces. The best kinds of things for the cook are a common gridiron, a
large frying-pan, three sizes of pots made of _strong_ tin in the
shape of milk-pails for boiling in; a good tin kettle, a soup-ladle,
and a couple of butcher's knives. With those one may go anywhere.
With regard to knives and forks, the best sorts are those that are
made by Thornhill, of Bond Street, for skinning animals, but they
answer other purposes as well. All steel things, in a hot, dry
climate, can be very well cleaned and polished by the natives with the
wood ashes out of the camp-fire, and there is no reason why they
should look dirty, for dirty things always take away the appetite,
especially if you have sometimes to eat rather strange food. The forks
I had made from my own pattern, and two of them can be converted into
a fish spear on an emergency. It is a great thing to try and manage to
have such implements as may be made to serve more than one purpose; as
the reader will understand, this saves a great deal of carriage.
H. brought out two English hunting-saddles; they did very well for the
mules we rode in Abyssinia. He also brought snaffle-bridles; these
were a great deal better than the bridles of the country, which are
dreadfully severe and pull any animal back on his haunches with the
least touch. This is rather dangerous on a narrow path over a
precipice, as sometimes, going uphill, by mistake a rider is apt to
hang on by the bridle instead of catching hold of either the mane or
the pommel. The mules took to the snaffle very kindly; in fact, it
seemed quite a relief to them to have this description of bit in their
mouths.
As so much has been written upon mules lately, with regard to their
use as draught animals for farm purposes and in other ways, I copy
from my notes made on my way home some memoranda of the way these
animals are treated and looked after in Abyssinia.
Everybody in Abyssinia rides a mule; even the king rides a mule, and
has his charger led in front of him. This custom is followed by all
the nobles and "swells" in the country.
The saddles used on Abyssinian mules are made with high cantels and
pommels, and are well padded; a good sheep-skin Numbdah, or one made
of old cotton cloth, folded into many folds--the older and the more
ragged the better, as it is then softer--is put under the saddle. On
the march, when the halting-place for the day is arrived at, they take
off the saddle but not the numbdah, tying up the mule in the shade
for about half-an-hour to let the animal get cool. They then remove
the numbdah and lead the mule to roll. The best place for this purpose
is in the ashes of an old camp-fire. In fact, in Abyssinia there are
regular rolling-places for the mules and donkeys at most of the
camping grounds; the animals seem to know them by instinct, especially
the patient ass, which latter is used merely for carrying baggage.
Anybody riding an ass in Abyssinia would be hooted through the
country. This is rather extraordinary, as these animals, among the
Arabs, and also in Egypt, are considered quite the thing, and large
donkeys of good breed fetch very high prices in Cairo. I myself saw
one at Suez that had cost at Cairo 40_l._, but he was made like a
race-horse.
After the mule has rolled they take him to water; they next hobble
him, and let him go out to graze. The best sort of hobble I have ever
seen, and one used in Abyssinia, is one by which the near fore leg is
tied up with a leather thong, about three-quarters of an inch wide, to
the off hind leg, or _vice versâ_. The thong must be so tied that the
mule can walk pretty easily, and yet it should not be too loose.
These remarks apply to donkeys as well as to mules; but, of course,
the former animals do not require so much care as mules. They need not
be hobbled when let out to graze, but should always have a man to
look after them in case of attacks by wild beasts.
In travelling with these beasts the great thing, of course, is to
avoid sore backs in this country, where the temperature varies so much
in different parts; as, for instance, I was out duck-shooting one
morning at 5.30 in a white frost, and at the next camping ground, at a
less altitude, at the same hour of the morning, I could not bear a
thick coat on at all when walking out shooting.
This change of temperature occurring very often, day by day, while
travelling with these animals through Abyssinia, must have, I think,
some effect on the backs of mules and donkeys. The origin of the
swelling under the skin, I am persuaded, must depend on the sudden
check to the perspiration. Of course, if the saddle or packing had at
all bruised the back of the animal, this would accelerate the
complaint.
The back having become sore or swollen up, matter is formed
underneath.[3] To cure this the natives of Abyssinia cast the donkey
or mule, and with a hot iron score the back. In two days the wound
begins to discharge matter; after a few days more, the sore should be
washed once or twice every twenty-four hours and dressed with _fresh
butter_. The back becomes much harder after these wounds have healed
up, but it requires at least a month or more to do so, and the animal
should be kept within doors or in any enclosed space, and fed on corn
and green food, as the discharge from the wound is exceedingly
weakening.
Some merchants of Abyssinia, who travel daily for months down to the
coast from distant parts, much prefer mules and donkeys whose backs
have been burnt, as, they say, the animals are hardier, and the
soreness and swelling are not likely to recur.
As to our camels, they were with us only a short time, for they left
us at the foot of the hills; my experience of camels, therefore, is
not very great. All that I observed was, that it is best to leave them
to the cameleers; but to see that the cameleers, when loading up at
starting, are not trying to shirk their loads and put the things told
off to _them_ on their neighbours' camels. This is a favourite
expedient, and they will tell any lies and swear any oaths to get rid
of a pound or two of baggage, especially if the camel is a favourite
one with them.
With regard to the mode of packing mules and donkeys, it would take
up too much space to give an account here. All I would recommend to
the traveller is to follow the custom of the country in which he finds
himself. He should not interfere with the natives in loading, as, most
likely, he will thereby only display his ignorance, and they will get
annoyed and sulky at being interfered with. Sir Samuel Baker, in his
'Nile Tributaries in Abyssinia,' gives an interesting account of the
mode in which he loaded his donkeys for starting to Central Africa.
Now, to continue our journey. The plain on which we had been encamped
soon ended, and then we began to ascend the hills. The ground was very
rocky and arid, only stunted bushes growing here and there. We then
came upon a small valley which reached to the bank of a sandy
river-bed, with rather thick jungle on each side. One of the servants
said we should be likely to find some game here. I got off my mule and
walked up the bed of the river, telling the man with my mule to go
straight on with the rest of the party, and that I would rejoin them
after making a slight détour. After I had gone a little way a dik-dik
crossed the dry river-bed in front of me; I fired at him, but it was
too long a shot. I then tried to circumvent some guinea-fowl, with
which the jungle fringing the banks of the watercourse abounded; they
made the whole place alive with their calling to each other. They are
exactly like the guinea-fowl one sees at home, and make precisely the
same noise. They did not let me approach them within shooting range,
being very shy. I successfully stalked a hare and knocked him over, he
was of that description of animals which our American cousins call the
jackass rabbit; I leave it to naturalists to give his Latin name. We
ate him for dinner, and he was capital food.
I then trotted on in front of H., and arrived at Sahatee, the place we
were to camp at for the night, about one o'clock in the afternoon. My
first thought was to get something to drink, as I was very thirsty;
therefore, obtaining some oranges from a native, of these I sucked
some, and squeezed the juice of others into my little silver bowl;
they were very bitter, but greatly refreshing.
Before I go on, let me recommend travellers to take these small silver
bowls with them; it is wonderful how useful they will be found. The
bowl can be applied to many purposes, and is easily cleaned with fine
wood ashes. One makes one's tea in it, covering it over with a plate
to make it draw; one drinks one's soup out of it, or coffee or cocoa,
as the case may be; and one mixes one's medicine in it. Silver is a
very good metal for things to be made of, as if it is bent it is
easily brought into shape again. One of the gun-bearers should always
carry the bowl, so that the traveller may have it at hand to dip into
the stream and drink from; the brightness of the silver shows whether
the water is fit to drink. In Abyssinia the natives do not understand
silver vessels, and set no value on them, thinking they are tin; but
in other countries they might easily be stolen.
The camping-place of Sahatee is surrounded by rocks. There are two
trees on a little knoll in the centre, and it was under one of these I
was lying when H. appeared with the camels, the tents and baggage. We
pitched the little tent in the bed of the dried-up river, whence,
during the rains, the water dashes over the rocks and flows away to
the sea. After we had had something to eat, H. said he was going out
shooting, one of the Arabs in charge of the camels telling him that
wild pigs abounded here. He had not long gone out of camp before I
heard the crack of his rifle. He had wounded a boar in the hind
quarter, as it was coming to drink; but the boar trotted away, leaving
blood tracks, which H. and the Arab tried to follow up, but soon lost
them in the dust and the hard-baked ground of the jungle. When I heard
the shots I started off also to try and find a boar, but was not so
lucky. I got back about an hour before dusk, and saw several of the
Francolin partridges pecking about the camping ground; I killed one
and wounded another. H. had just come in, and as the wounded bird
rocketed over his head he knocked it down. H. also shot a small brown
duck. I had tried to get some of the little sand-grouse as they came
down to drink; but these little birds only come down just as it is
getting dusk, and settle quickly on the ground, uttering their
peculiar plaintive cry. It was almost impossible to discern them in
the fading light, and as I wanted to get a pot shot into the "brown"
of them as they were on the ground, for the cook to prepare for our
breakfast next morning, I waited too long, the light failed, and I had
to give up my intention.
We were camped on the shingle of the river, which, although it is
always a very dry, clean spot, and free from insects, has this
disadvantage, that the iron legs of the camp-beds sink rather far into
the ground; and sometimes one wakes up finding oneself in a slanting
position, with the head lower than the legs.
_Jan. 4._--This morning we were on the move early, having left at 6.45
for Ailet. It was a lovely, cloudy day, which is a thing that one
knows how to appreciate in an Eastern climate. The country became much
greener as we approached Ailet; this village lies in a valley which is
exceedingly fertile--that is to say, as far as it is cultivated by
the Shoho Arabs who dwell in the village. Elephants are found here
after the rains, but the place is rather unhealthy at that time, and
most of the natives, who are miserable creatures, suffer from fever.
I should state that the Governor had provided us with a guard of six
irregular Egyptian soldiers and a non-commissioned officer. In the
middle of the night at Sahatee, we had heard the loud report of the
Egyptian corporal's carbine. We thought we were going to be attacked;
but it turned out, next morning, that he had fired at a pig, in hopes
of securing some fresh meat.
These poor soldiers' pay is four dollars a month; they find themselves
in clothes and food, but are provided with arms, and all military
service is compulsory with the Egyptians.
Our cameleers and Naib Abdul Kerim--the man whom Arrekel Bey, the
Governor, had given us to guide us through the country and manage our
transport as far as Adowa, the capital of Abyssinia--wanted us to camp
near a large tree just outside the house of the Sheik of the village
of Ailet. H. and I, however, agreed to go on, so as to get to the hot
springs of Ailet, as it was early in the day and we should be a little
farther on our journey; we should also be farther away from the
village and more likely to get shooting. After some little palaver
and remonstrances from the cameleers, who thought they had come to the
end of their day's march, we moved on.
The scene now changed from an open valley into a thorny jungle, and
the road was frequently crossed by dried-up river-courses. H., who had
already acquired a fine collection of birds in Ceylon and Australia,
was very anxious to secure specimens here. This jungle was alive with
all varieties of parti-coloured warblers, and he shot several
specimens, including a sort of jay with a hooked bill, which utters a
strange cry--one that everybody travelling in Abyssinia will soon get
accustomed to. It is not unlike the noise of the English jay.
We shortly afterwards came to a little stream which flows from the hot
spring; and we saw a white house in the distance perched on the top of
a high hill, for which we made. The little stream narrowed as we
advanced, and we found ourselves in a rocky pass. Our Arabs told us
that the camels could go no farther. The white house, as we learnt,
belonged to some Swedish missionaries. We pitched our camp just at the
foot of the hill which rose straight above us, the little white house
looking very picturesque at its top; the hot spring was about ten
minutes' walk from our camp. One of the missionaries came down to
speak to us; he said that they had only just finished building their
house, and he hospitably invited us to stay there, but we declined,
with thanks.
H. said he would go out shooting, but I stopped in camp to settle
things, and before dinner I went up and bathed in the hot spring. My
readers must know that this is the fashionable Spa of Abyssinia,
whither invalids afflicted with scrofulous and other complaints come
to bathe. It is held in great repute all through the country, and I
believe with good reason.
The spring was almost too hot to sit in, but I had taken up my big
sponge, and douched myself well; the bath was very soothing after the
heat and march of the day.
This evening it began to rain; this will give the date of the
beginning of the rains in the hills lying between the sea and Asmarra,
the first table-land in Abyssinia that one comes to on this road.
These rains must not be confused with the rains that pour down in
Abyssinia, supplying the Nile tributaries that Sir Samuel Baker has
explored, and which begin in the month of May.
Directly the rain began the servants and myself busied ourselves in
making a little trench around the tent; this is a precaution everybody
ought to take where there is the least chance of rain. I also got my
_courbatch_[4] and thrashed the tent well all round. The reader will,
doubtless, wonder why I did this, but it is an old soldier's dodge,
and the reason for it is that it makes the threads of the
canvas--which, in hot countries, become shrunken and open--to close
together, so that, after the application of the _courbatch_, the tent,
instead of getting leaky with the rain, becomes more waterproof than
before; a large pliable bundle of twigs will do just as well. H. came
in, having shot a small bird or two for his collection, and having
seen some pig down the watercourse.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] It is not a necessary coincidence that if the back becomes sore
the swelling should come on, as I have seen several cases where there
were no outward signs of soreness, but still where large swellings
were forming.
[4] The _courbatch_ is a whip made of hippopotamus hide, and used in
Egypt and in the provinces belonging to that country. It is with this
whip that malefactors and offenders against the law are chastised.
Every stroke of it, if well laid on, will cut into the flesh.