The animals of Abyssinia; the elephant, unicorn, their horses and cows;
with a particular account of the moroc.
There are so great numbers of elephants in Abyssinia that in one evening
we met three hundred of them in three troops: as they filled up the whole
way, we were in great perplexity a long time what measures to take; at
length, having implored the protection of that Providence that
superintends the whole creation, we went forwards through the midst of
them without any injury. Once we met four young elephants, and an old
one that played with them, lifting them up with her trunk; they grew
enraged on a sudden, and ran upon us: we had no way of securing ourselves
but by flight, which, however, would have been fruitless, had not our
pursuers been stopped by a deep ditch. The elephants of AEthiopia are of
so stupendous a size, that when I was mounted on a large mule I could not
reach with my hand within two spans of the top of their backs. In
Abyssinia is likewise found the rhinoceros, a mortal enemy to the
elephant. In the province of Agaus has been seen the unicorn, that beast
so much talked of, and so little known: the prodigious swiftness with
which this creature runs from one wood into another has given me no
opportunity of examining it particularly, yet I have had so near a sight
of it as to be able to give some description of it. The shape is the
same with that of a beautiful horse, exact and nicely proportioned, of a
bay colour, with a black tail, which in some provinces is long, in others
very short: some have long manes hanging to the ground. They are so
timorous that they never feed but surrounded with other beasts that
defend them. Deer and other defenceless animals often herd about the
elephant, which, contenting himself with roots and leaves, preserves
those beasts that place themselves, as it were, under his protection,
from the rage and fierceness of others that would devour them.
The horses of Abyssinia are excellent; their mules, oxen, and cows are
without number, and in these principally consists the wealth of this
country. They have a very particular custom, which obliges every man
that hath a thousand cows to save every year one day's milk of all his
herd, and make a bath with it for his relations, entertaining them
afterwards with a splendid feast. This they do so many days each year,
as they have thousands of cattle, so that to express how rich any man is,
they tell you he bathes so many times. The tribute paid out of their
herds to the King, which is not the most inconsiderable of his revenues,
is one cow in ten every three years. The beeves are of several kinds;
one sort they have without horns, which are of no other use than to carry
burthens, and serve instead of mules. Another twice as big as ours which
they breed to kill, fattening them with the milk of three or four cows.
Their horns are so large, the inhabitants use them for pitchers, and each
will hold about five gallons. One of these oxen, fat and ready to be
killed, may be bought at most for two crowns. I have purchased five
sheep, or five goats with nine kids, for a piece of calico worth about a
crown.
The Abyssins have many sort of fowls both wild and tame; some of the
former we are yet unacquainted with: there is one of wonderful beauty,
which I have seen in no other place except Peru: it has instead of a
comb, a short horn upon its head, which is thick and round, and open at
the top. The feitan favez, or devil's horse, looks at a distance like a
man dressed in feathers; it walks with abundance of majesty, till it
finds itself pursued, and then takes wing, and flies away. But amongst
all their birds there is none more remarkable than the moroc, or honey-
bird, which is furnished by nature with a peculiar instinct or faculty of
discovering honey. They have here multitudes of bees of various kinds;
some are tame, like ours, and form their combs in hives. Of the wild
ones, some place their honey in hollow trees, others hide it in holes in
the ground, which they cover so carefully, that though they are commonly
in the highway, they are seldom found, unless by the moroc's help, which,
when he has discovered any honey, repairs immediately to the road side,
and when he sees a traveller, sings, and claps his wings, making many
motions to invite him to follow him, and when he perceives him coming,
flies before him from tree to tree, till he comes to the place where the
bees have stored their treasure, and then begins to sing melodiously. The
Abyssin takes the honey, without failing to leave part of it for the
bird, to reward him for his information. This kind of honey I have often
tasted, and do not find that it differs from the other sorts in anything
but colour; it is somewhat blacker. The great quantity of honey that is
gathered, and a prodigious number of cows that is kept here, have often
made me call Abyssinia a land of honey and butter.