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BOSTON UNIVERSITY

College of Liberal Arts
Library

GRADUATE SCHOOL
AFRICAN STUDIES

TRAVELS

TO DISCOVER THE

SOURCE OF THE NILE,

In the Years 1768, 1769, i770,J77h I772» and 1773.

IN FIVE VOLUMES.

BY JAMES BRUCE OF KINNAIRD, ESQ. F. R. S.

V O L. U.

V'lxerc fvrtcs ante Agamemnona
Mult'i,- fed omnes iUachrymahlles

Urgentur ignotique longd

Noffe, carent quia vote facro. Horat.

EDINBURGH:
PRINTED BY J. RUTHVEN,
FOR G. G. J. AND J. ROBINSON, PATERNOSTER-ROW,
LONDON.

M.DCC.XC.

■'^f.-

CONTENTS

O F T H E

SECOND VOLUME.

BOOK IIL

ANNALS OF ABYSSINIA.
Tranllated from the Original.

CONTAINING THE HISTORY OF THE ABYSSINIANS, FROM
THE RESTORATION OF THE LINE OF SOLOMON TO THE
•DEATH OF SOCINIOS, AND THE DOWNFALL OF THE RO»
MISH RELIGION.

ICONAMLAC.
From 1268 to 1283.

Line of Solomon rejiored under this Prince — He cont'inucs the Reyal

Ref.dcnce hi Shoa — Tecla Haimanout dies Reafonsfor the Ftiiri-

cation of the fuppofcd Nicene Canon y _ P. I»

IGBA SI ON.
From 1283 to 13 12.

^ick Succeffion of Trinces-^Memoirs ofthefe Reigns deficient^ 4

Vol. ir. a AMD A

ii CONTENTS^-

A M D A S I O N.
From 13 1 2 to 1342.

licentious beginning of this King's Reign— His rigorous CondiiB
•with the Monks of Debra Libanos — His Mahometan Subje&s Re-
bel Mara and Adel declare fVar- — dr£ defeated in fever al

Battles, andfubmit, P« 5

S AIF AR A AD.
From 1342 to 1370.

'This Prince enjoys a peaceable Reign — iProte&s the Patriarch of
Cophts at Cairo from the P'erfecution of the Soldan^ 6»

WEDEM ASFERK
From 1370 to 138b.

Memoirs of this and the foltowing Reign defeEilve.. 6z

DAVID ir;

From. 1380 to 1409.. 63

T H E 0 D O R U S:
From 140910 1412.

Memoirs of this Reign, though held in great Pfleetn in Abyjftnia^ de^
feiiive^ probably matilated by the EcclefrJlicSy 64

ISAAC.
From 1412 to 1429.

Jfe Annals if this^ nor the four following Reigns, ■ 65

AN-

CONTENTS. ill

A N D R E A S I. OR A M D A S I O N. P. 65

T E C L A M A R I A M, OR H A S E B N A N Y A.

From 1 42 J to 1433. 67

S A R W E Y A S O U S. ib.

AMD A Y A S O U S. ib.

ZARAJACOB.
From 1434 to 1468.

Sends Ambajfadors from Jertifalcm to -the Council of Florence V'lrfl

Entry of the Roman Catholics into Abjjjima^ and D'lfpute about
Religion — Kmg perfecutes the Remnants of Sabaifm and Idolatry
—JS/labometan Provinces rebel ^ and are fubdued — The King die Sy 68

B CE D A M A R I A M.
from 1468 to 1478.

Revives the Banifhment of Princes to ihe Mountain — War with
Adel — Death of the King — Attempts by Portugal to difcover Abyf-
fitiia and the Indies ^ ^g

ISCANDER, OR, ALEXANDER.

trom 1478 to 1495.

Ifcander declares War with Add — Good Condufl of the King — Be-
trayed and Murdered by Za Saluce, 1 14

N AOD.
From 1495 to 1506.

JVifc ConduEl of the King — Prepares for a War with the Mocr: —
Concludes an Honourable Peace with Adel^ 120

a 2 DAVID

it CONTENTS,

DAVID III.
From 150S to 1540'.

David, an Infant^ fuccceds — ^een fends Matthew Ambaffador liy
Portugal — David takes the field — Defeat of the Moors — Arri--
val of an Embafyfrom Portugal — Difflrous [Var with Adel^ P. i ^4

CLAUDIUS, orATZENAF SEGUED.
From 1540 to 1559.

Profperous Beginm7ig of Claudius's Reign — Chriflophcr de Gama
lands in Abvfifiia — Prevented by the Rainy Seafon from joining
the King — Battle of Alnal — Battle ofOffalo — Cbrifopber de Ga-
ma Slain — Battle of Jfaacs Bet — Moors defeated^ and their Gene-
ral Slain — Abyfinian Army defeated — Claudius Slain — Remark-
mar kable Behaviour of Nur^ Governor of Zeyla General of the
Moors-, ^'73'

M E N A S, OR A D A M A S SEGUED.
From 1559 to 1563,

Baharnagafh rebels, proclaims Tafcar King — Defeated by the King —
Cedes Dobarwa te the Turks, and makes a League with the BaJJja
e/Mafuaby 206

SERTZA DENGHEL, or MELEC SEGUED.
From 1563 to 1595.

King crowned' at Axum — Abyffiv.ia invaded by the Galla — AccounS
of that People — The Ki?ig defeats the Army of Adel— Beats thi
Falajha, and kills their King — Battle of the Mar eb — Baf\i fain,
and 'Turks expelled from Dobarrva—King is poifoned — Names Za
Denghel his Sitcce/fcr, 214

. ZA

CONTENTS. v

2 A DENGHEL.
From 1595 to 1604,

Za \Dciighcl dcthromd-^yacob a Mmi^fua'^eJs-^Zd Dert^he! h
ReJiored-^Batii/hes Jacob to Nafeu— Converted to the Rctfti/h Re^
Hg'ion — Battle of Bartcho^ and Death of the Kingf P. Ci.;^%

J AGO Br

From 1604 to 1605.

Makes Piopofals to Soeirtlos, which are tejeSied-^'Takes thi Field— ^
End ConduEl and Defeat of '/.a SeLi£e'^BaUle (f Debra Zeit-^
Jacob defeated and SLm^. 1$'2

SOCINIOS OR MELEC SEGUED.
From 1605 to 16-52.

■Sociniof emhracei the Romift) Rehgion^-^War tvith Senttar.r — With
the Shepherds — Violejtt ConduSt of the Romifh Patriarch — Lafu
rehels-^Defcated at Wainadega-^Soci/iios rcflores the Alexan-
drian Religion — Reftgns his Crown to his Eldrfl Sony 2fH

BOOK IV.

CONTINUATION OF THE ANNALS, FROM Tilil DEATH OF SO-
CINIOS, TILL MY ARRIVAL IN ABVSSINIA.

FACILIDAS OR SULTAN SEGUED,
From 1632 to 1665,

The Patriarch and Miffionaries are Banifbed — Seek the Protection cf
e Rebel^^Dtlivered up to the King^ andfcnt to Mafaah — Prince

Clauditis

^i CONTENTS.

C'aaJius rebels — Sent to Wechne^-Death and Chara&er of the
.King, P. 40*

HANNES I. OR (ELAFE SEGUED.
From 1665 to 1680.

Bigotry of the King^-^lfgufls his Son TafouSy -who fiks from Gondar^ 4x23

Y A S O U S I.
From 1680 to 1704.

Brillidnt Expedition of the King ts Wechne — Various Campaigns
agmujt the Agows and Galla-^Comct appears — Expedition againji
'Zcegam and the Eojlern Shangalla — Poixcefs Journey — Marat's
EmbaJJ'y — Du Roules EmbaJfy—DM Route murdered at Sennaar
— The King is ajfajfinated^ .423?

TECLA HAIMANOUT X

From 1704 to 1706.

yVrites in Favour of Du Rouk — Defeats the Rebels — Is Afajfrnated
while Huntings S^7

T 1 F I L I S.
From 1706 to 17P9.

Diftihhies with bis Brother s AJpiJins^'Executlon cf the Regicides— ^2,3,
E.ebellion and Death of 'Tigi,^

O U S T A S.
From 1709 to 1714.

Ufurps the Crown — AddiEled to Hunting— -Account of the Shangalla
'-^Active and Bloody Reign — Entertains Catholic Prkfls privately
^'Fatlsfick and dies ^ but hoiv, uncertain^ '538

DAVID

CONTENTS. v4i

DA VI D IV.
From 1714. to 1719.

Convocation of the Clergy — Catholic Pr'iejls executed-— A Second
Cmvocation — Clergy infult the King — ITis fevcre Punijhment- —
King dies ofPoifpa^ P. 577

BACUFFA;
From 1 719 to 1729.

Bloody Reign — Exterminates the Gonfprators- —Counterfeits Death-'
Becomes very Popular^ 595

YASOUS 11. OR, ADIAM SEGUED.
From 1729 to 1753.

Rebellion in the Beginning of this Reign — KingaddtSled 16 hunting-—
To buildings and the Arts of Peace— Attacks Sennaar — Lofes his
Army — Takes Samayat — Receives Bcuidy King of Sennaar under
bis ProteElion^ 608 ■

J O A S.
From 175^ to 1769..

This Prince a favorer of the Galla bis Relations — Great diffentions-
on bringing them to Court— War of Bcgcmder—Ras Michael
brought to Gondar — Defeats Ayo—i\/Iariam Barea refufes to be
acceffary to his Death — King favours Waragna Fafd — Battle of
A^xazo — King Afajjineted in his Palace^ 66a

HANNES IT,
1769,

pannes ^ Brother to^Bacuffa^ chofen King'-^Ts brought from Wechne-->
Crowned at Gondar — His horrid Behavihur — Refu/es to march
i^ainjl Fafd — Is poifned by Order of Ras Michael, 707

TECLA-

viii CONTENTS,

TECLA II AIM AN OUT II.

1769,

Sih'cesds his 'Father iLmves — His Character and prudent Behaviour
— Cidtivatcs Micbael's Fiicndjloip — Marches ivilUngly agahijl
Fafd— Defeats him at Fagllta — Defcription of that Battle^ 709

TRAVELS

TRAVELS

TO DISCOVER

THE SOURCE OF THE NILK

BOOK III.

ANNALS OF ABYSSINIA,

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL:

X-'ONTAINING THE HISTORY OF THE ABYSSINIANS, FROM THE
RESTORATION OF THE LINE OF SOLOMON TO THE DEATH OF
SOCINIOS, AND THE DOWNFALL OF THE ROMISH RELIGION,

tCON AMLAG.

From 1268 to 1283.

Line of Solornoji rcjloj'cd under this Prince — He continues the Royal Rc'^
fulence in Shoa — J'cchi Haimanoiit dies — Reafuns for the Fabrication
of the fuppofed Nicene Canon.

ALTHOUGH the multiplicity of names affiimed by the
kings of Abyilinia, and the confufion occafioned by
this cuftom, his more than once been complained of in the
foregoing flaeets, we have here a prince that is an exception
Voh. II. A to

^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

to this pradlice, otherwife almoft general. Icon Amlac is the
only name by which we know this firft prince of the race
of Solomon, reftored now fully to his dominions, after a
long exile his family had fufFered by the treafon of Judith.
The fignification of his name is, " Let him be made our fo-
vereign," and is apparently that which he took upon his
inauguration or accefTion to the throne ; and his name of
baptifm, and bye-name or popular name given him, are
both therefore loft.

Although now reftored to the complete pofTeftion of his
ancient dominions, he was too wife all at once to leave his
dutiful kingdom of Shoa and return to Tigre. He continu-
ed to make Tegulat, the capital of Shoa, his feat of the em-
pire, and there reigned fifteen years.

In the 14th year of the reign of this prince, his great be-
nefaftor, Abuna Tecla Haimanout, founder of the Order of
Monks of Debra Libanos, and reftorer of the Royal family,
died at that monaftery in great reputation and very advan-
ced age. He was the laft Abyflinian ordained Abuna ; and
this fufficiently fliews the date of that canon I have alrea-
dy fpoken of, falfely faid to be a canon of the council of
Nicea.

Though Le Grande and fome others have pretended to
be in doubt at what time, and for what reafon, this canon
could have been made, I think the reafon very plain, which
fixes it to the time of Tecla Haimanout, as well as fhews
it to be a forgery of the church of Alexandria, no doubt
with the council and advice of this great ftatefman Tecla
Haimanout. Egypt was fallen under the dominion of the

4. Sara-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3

Saracens ; the Coptic patriarch, and all the Chriftians of the
church of Alexandria, were their flaves or fervants ; bat the
Abyffinians were free and independent, both in church and
ftate, and a mortal hatred had followed the conquefl from
variety of caufes, of which the perfecution of the Chriftians
in Egypt was not one of the leaft. As it was probable that
thefe reafons would increafe daily, the confequence which
promifed inevitably to follow was, that the Abyffinians
would not apply to Alexandria, or Cairo, for a metropolitan
fent by the Mahometans, but would choofe a head of their
own, and fo become independent altogether of the chair of
St Mark. As they were cut off from the reft of the world
by feas and deferts almoft inacceffiblc, "as they wanted books,
and were every day relaxing in difcipline, total ignorance
was likely to follow their fcparation from their primitive
church, and this could not end but in a rclapfe into Pagan-
ifm, or in their embracing the religion of Mahomet.

This prohibition of making any of their countrymen
Abuna, fecured them always a foreigner, and a man of fo-
reign education and attachments, to fill the place of Abuna,
and by this means affurcd t]\e dependence of the Abyffini-
ans upon the patriarch of Alexandria. This is what I judge
probable, for I have already invincibly fliewn, that it is im-
poffible this canon could be one of the firft general Council ;
and its being in Arabic, and conceived in very barbarous
terms, fufficiently evinces that it was forged at this period.

A2 IGBA

TRAVELS TO DISCOVER-

I G B A S I O N.

From 1183 to i3iz.
^kk Sttccej/ion of Princes-^Memotrs of thefe Reigns defiaent. .

TO I'con Amlac fucceeded Igba Sion, and after him five
other princes, his brothers, Bahar Segued, Tzenaf Se-
gued, Jan Segued, Hafeb Araad, and Kedem Segued, all in
five years. So quick a fucceilion in io few years feems to
mark very unfettled times. Whether it was a civil war
among themfelves that brought thefe reigns to fo* fpeedy a.
conclufion, or whether it was that the Moorifh ftates in
Adel had grown in power, and fought fuccefsfully againfl
them, we do not know. One thing only we are certain of,
that jio molefl:ation was offered by the late royal family of
Lafta, who continued in peace, and firm in the obfervatioii :
of their treaty, I therefore am inclined to think, that a civil :
war among the brothers was the occafion of the quick
fucceffion of fo many princes ; and that in the time when
the kingdom was weakened by this calamity, the ftates of
Adel, grown rich and powerful, had improved the occafion,
and feized upon all that territory from Azab to Mclinda,
and cut off the Abyflinians entirely from the fea-coaft, and
from an opportunity of trading diredlly with India from
the ports fituated upon the ocean. And my reafon is, that,
in- a reign which fpcedily follows, we find .the kingdom of

Adel

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. s

Adel increafed greatly in power, and Moorifh princes from
Arabia eftablifhed in little principalities, exactly correfpond-
ing with the fouthern limits o( Abyffinia, and placed be-
tween them and the ocean ; and we fee, at tiic fame time, a
rancour and hatred firmly rooted in the breafts of both na-
tions, one of the caufes of which is conftantly alledged by
the Abyffinian princes to be, that the Moors of Adel were
anciently their fubje(5fs and vaflals, had withdrawn them-
felves from their allegiance, and owed their prcfent inde-
pendence to rebellion only..

To thefe priiices fuccecded "Wcdem Araad, their youngeft
brother, who reigned fifteen years, probably in peace, for
in this ftatc we find the kingdom in the days of his fuccef-
for; but then it is fuch a peace that we fee it only wanted
any fort of provocation from one party to the other, for
both to break out into very cruel, long, and bloody wars.

i«R2**^

A M D A SIGN.

Frojn 1312 to 1342.

Licentious hcginmrtg of this King's Reign — His rigorous Conduct with' the
Monks of Debra Libanos — ITts Mdhovietan S-uhjecls rebel — Mara and
Add declare. War — Are defeated in fever al Battles^ andfubmit.

AM D A Sion fucceedcd his father, Wedcm Araad, who^
was youngeft brother of Icon Amlac, and canie to the •
Grown upon the death of his uncles. He is generally kuov>'n,

6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

by this his inauguration name ; his Chriilian name was
Guebra Mafcal. His reign began with a fcene as difgrace-
ful to the name of Chriilian as it was new in the annals of
Ethiopia, and which promifed a charader very different
from what this princTe preferved ever afterwards. He had
for a time, it feems, privately loved a concubine of his fa-
ther, but had now taken her to live with him publicly ;
and, not content with committing this fort of inceft, he, in
a very little time after, had feduced his two fillers.

Tegulat * (the capital of Shoa) was then the royal refi-
dence ; and near it the monaftery of Debra Libanos, found-
ed by Tecla Haimanout reilorer of the line of Solomon. To
this monallery many men, eminent for learning and religion,
had retired from the fcenes of war that defolated Pale (line
and Egypt. Among the number of thefe was one Hono-
rius, a Monk of the firfl characfter for piety, who, fmce, has
been canonized as a faint. Honorius thought it his duty
fn-fl to admonilh, and then publicly excommunicate the
king for thefe crimes.

It fliould feem that patience was as little among this
prince's virtues as chaftity, as he immediately ordered Ho-
norius to be apprehended, llripped naked, and feverely
whipped through every ilreet of his capital. That fame
night the town took fire, and was entirely confumcd, and
the clergy lofl no time to perfuade the people, that it was
the blood of Honorius that turned to fire whenever it had
dropt upon the ground, and fo had burnt the city. The

king,

* The city of Wulves, or Hyxnas.

THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 7

king, perhaps better informed, thought otherwife of this,
and fuppofed the burning of his capital was owing to the
Monks themfelves. He therefore banillied thofe of Debra
Libanos out of the province of Shoa. The mountain of
Gefhen had been chofen for the prifon wherein to guard
the princes of the male-hne of the race of Solomon, after
the maflacre by Either *, upon the rock Damo in Tigre.

Geshen is a very fteepand high rock, in the kingdom of
Amhara, adjoining to, and under the jurifdi6tion of Shoa.
Hither the king fent Philip the Itchegue, chief of the mo-
naflery of Debra Libanos, and he Scattered the reft through
Dembea, Tigre, and Begemder,(whofe inhabitants were moft-
ly Pagans and Jews), where they greatly propagated the
knowledge of the Chriftian religion.

This inftancc of feverity in the king had the effccn: to
make all ranks of people return to their duty ; and all talk
of Honorius and his miracles was dropt. The town was re-
built fpeedily, more magnificently than ever, and Amda Sion
found time to turn his thoughts to correct thofe abufes, to
efface the unfavourable impreflion which they had made up-
on the minds of his people at home, and which, befidcs, had
gained confidcrablc ground abroad.

It has been before mentioned, and will be further incul-
cated in the courfe of this hiftory as a fa6t, without the
remembrance of which the military expeditions of Abyffi-
nia cannot be well underftood, that two oppofite feafons

prevail

♦ She had ffver.il iwnies, as I have before faid, Judith in Tigre, and ia Amhara EJ}hn:.

§ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

prevail in countries feparated by a line almoft impercepti-
ble ; that during our European winter months, that is, from
Oaober to March, the winter or rainy feafon prevails on
the coaft of the ocean and Red Sea, but that thefe rains do not
fall in our fummer, (the rainy feafon in Abyffinia), which
was the reafon why Amda Sion faid to his mutinous troops,
he would lead them to Adel or Au0a, where it did not rain,
as w£ fhall prefently obferve.

The different nations that dwell along the coaft, both of
the Red Sea and of the ocean, live in fixed huts or houfes.
We fhall begin at the northmoft, or neareft Atbara. The
firft is Ageeg, fo named from a fmall ifland on the coaft, op-
pofite to the mountains of the Habab, Agzg, or Agaazi, the
principal diftria of the noble or governing Shepherds, as is
before fully explained, different in colour and hair from the
Shepherds of the Thebaid living to the northward. Then
follow the different tribes of thefe, Tora, Shiho, Taltal,Azimo,
and Azabo, where the Red Sea turns eaftward, towards the
Straits, all woolly-headed, the primitive carriers of Saba, and
the perfume and gold countiy. Then various nations inha-
bit along the ocean, all native blacks, remnants of the Cu-
fliite Troglodyte, but who do not change their habitations
with the feafons, but live within land in caves, and fome of
them now in houfes*

In Adel and AufTa the inhabitants are tawny, and not black,
and have long hair ; they are called Gibbertis, which fome
French writers of voyages into this country fay, mean
Slaves, from Gucbra, the Abyfrmian word for flave or fer-
vant. But as it would be very particular that a nation like
thefe, fo rich and fo powerful, who have made themfelves

inde-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 9

Independent of their ancient mailers the Abyflinians, have
wrefted fo many provinces from them, and, from the differ-
ence of their faith, hold them in fuch utter contempt,
fhould neverthelefs be content to call themfelves their flaves,
fo nothing is more true, than that this name of Gibberti
has a very different import. Jabber, in Arabic, the word
from which it is derived, fignifies \\\Q.faith^ or the true faith;
and Gibberti confequently means the faithful^ or the orthodox^
by which name of honour thefe moors, inhabiting the low
country of Abyflinia, call each other, as being conllant in
their faith amidft Chriftians with whom they are at per-
petual war.

There is no current coin in Abyffniia. Gold is paid by
weight ; all the revenues are chiefly paid in kind, viz. oxen,
jQieep, and honey, which arc the grcatcft neceffaries of life.
As for luxuries, they are obtained by a barter of gold,
myrrh, coffee, elephants teeth, and a variety of other articles
which arc carried over to Arabia ; and in exchange for thefe
is brought back whatever is commiilioned.

EvERi' great man in Abyflinia has one of thefe Gibbertis
for his fador. The king has many, who are commonly the
Ihrewdeft and mofl; intelligent of their profefllon. Thefe
were the firft inhabitants of Abyffmia, whom commerce
connedled with the Arabians on the other fide of the Straits
of Babelmandeb, with whom they intermarry, or with one
another, which preferves their colour and features, refem-
bling both the Abyflanians and Arabians. In Arabia, they
are under the protection of fome of their own countrymen,
who being fold when young as flaves, are brought up in
tlie Mahometan religion, and enjoy all the principal pofts

Vol, II. B under

io TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

under the Sherriffe of Mecca and the Arabian princes. Thefe
are the people who at particular times have appeared in Eu-
rope, and who have been flraightway taken for, and treated;
as Ambafladors.

More fouthward and weftward are the kingdoms of Mara,.
Worgla, and Pagoma, fmall principalities of fixed habita-
tions by the fea, at times free, at others dependent upon
Adel ; and, to the fouth of thefe, in the fame flat country, is
Hadea, whofe capital is Harar, and governed by a prince,
who is a Gibberti likewife ; and who, by marrying a Sher-
riffa, or female defcendant of Mahomet, is now reckoned a
Sherriffe or noble of Mahomet's family, diflinguiflied by.
his wearing habits, for the moft part green, and above all
a grafs-green turban, a mark of hatred to Chriflianity.

The Gibbertis, then, are the princes and merchants of
this country, converted to the Mahometan faith foon after
the death of Mahomet, when the Baharnagafli (as we have
already ftated) revolted from the empire of the Abyilinians,,
in whofe hands all the riches of the country are centered.
The black inhabitants are only their fubjeits, hewers of
wood and drawers of water, who ferve them in their fami-
lies at home, take care of their camels when employed in
caravans abroad, and. who make the principal part of their,
tbrces in the field.

But there are other inhabitants ftill befides thefe Gib-
bertis and native blacks, whom we muft not confound with
fehe indigenous of this country, how much foever they may
lefemble them. The lirft of thefe are by the Portugucfc
feillorians called Moors, who are merchants from the weft of

Africa..

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ir

Africa. Many of thefe, expelled from Spain by Ferdinand
and Ifabella, fixed their refidence here, and were afterwards
joined by others of their Moorifh brethren, either exiles
from Spain, or inhabitants of Morocco, whom the defire of
commerce induced firll to fettle in Arabia, till the great op-
preflions that followed the conqueft of Egypt and Arabia,
under Selim and Soliman, interrupted their trade, and fcat-
tered them here along the coaft. Thefe are the Moors that
Vafques de Gama* met at Mombaza, Magadoxa, and Me-
linda; at all places, but the laft of which, they endeavoured
to betray him. Thefe alfo were the Moors that he found
in India, having no profeflion but trade, in every fpecies of
which they excelled.

The fourth fort are Arabian merchants, who come over
occafionally to recover their debts, and renew correfpon-
dences with the merchants of this country. Thefe are the
richeft of all, and are the bankers of the Gibbertis, who
furnifli them funds and merchandife, with which they carry
on a moft lucrative and extenfive trade into the heart of
Africa, through all the mountains of Abyllinia to the weft-
ern fca, and through countries which arc inacceflible to
camels, where the afs, the mule, and, in fome places, oxen,
are the only bealls ufed in carriage.

i:

Theue is a fifth fort, almofl below notice, unlefs it is for
the mifcliief they have conflaiitly done their country; they
arc the Abyflinian apollates from Chriftianity, the moft in-
veterate enemies it has, and who are employed chiefly as
foldiers. While in that country they are not much efteem-

B 2 ed,

*Conquetcs de Portugais par Lafitan, vol. i. liv. ii. p. 90. Id. ibid. p. 144.

12 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ed, though, when tranfported to India, they have conflantly
turned out men of confidence and truft, and the befl troops
thofe eallern nations have.

There is a fixth, ftill lefs in number than even thefe, and'
not known on this Continent till a few years before. Thefe
were the Turks who came from Greece and Syria, and who
were under Selim, and Soliman his fon, the inftruments of
the conqueft of Egypt and Arabia; fmall garrifons of whom
were everywhere left by the Turks in all the fortreffes and^
confiderable towns they conquered. They are an heredi-
tary kind of militia, who, marrying each others daughters,
or with the women of the country, continue from fathei'
to fon to receive from Conllantinople the fame pay their
forefathers had from Selim. Thefe, though degenerate in
figure and manners into an exadl refemblance to the na*
lives of the countries in which they fince lived, do ftill con-
tinue to maintain their fuperiority by a conllant fkill and
attention to fire-arms, which were, at the time of their firfl
appearance here, little known or in ufe among either Abyf-
finians or Arabians, and the means of firft eflablifliing this-
pi-eference..

It has been already obferved, that the Mahometan MoorS'
and Arabs poffeffed all the low country on the Indian Ocean,
and oppofite to Arabia Felix ; and being, by their religion,
obliged to go in pilgrimage to Mecca^ as alfo by their fole
profeffion, which was trade, they became, by confcquence,
the only carriers and directors of the commerce of Abyf-
fmia. All the country to the eaft and north of Shoa v/as
pQiTeircd and commanded diiefly by Mahometan merchants

appointed.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. rj

appointed by the king; and they had eilabhflied a variety
of marts or fairs from Ifat, all the way as far as Adel.

Adel and Mara were two of the moil powerful king-
doms which lie on the Indian Ocean ; and, being conftant-
ly fupported by foldiers from Arabia, were the firft to with-
draw themfelves from obedience to the king of Abyflinia,
and feldom paid their tribute unlefs when the prince came
to raifc it there with an army. Ifat, Fatigar, and Dawaro,
were indeed originally Chriflian provinces ; but, in weak
reigns, having been ceded to Mooriih governors for fums
of money, they, by degrees, renounced both their religion
and allegiance.

From what has been obferved, the reader will conceive,,
that where it is faid the king, from his capital in Shoa;
marched down into Dawaro, Hadea, or Adel, that he then
defccnded from the higheft mountains down to the flat
country on the level with the fca. That this country, from
Hadea to Dawaro, having been the feat of war for ages,
was, partly by the foldier for the ufe of the camp, partly by
the hufbandman for the necefTaries of life, cleared of wood,
where the water flood conflantly in pools throughout the
year ; and, being all compofed of fat black earth, which
the torrents bring down from the rainy country of Abyf-
flnia, was fown with millet and difl'erent kinds of grain in
the drieft ground, while, nearer the mountains, they paftured
numerous herds of cattle. Notwithftanding, however, the
country was poflefltd of thefc advantages, the climate was
intenfely hot, fevcrilh, and unhealthy, and, for the moft
part, from thefe circum (lances, fatal to flrangcrs, and hated
by the Ab^-fllnians.

Again,.

14 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Again, when it is faid that the king had marched to
Samhar, it is meant that he had paffed this fruitful coun-
try, and is come to that part of the zone, or bek, (neareft the
fea) compofed of gravel ; which, though it enjoys neither
the water nor the fruitf ulnefs of the black earth, is in a great
meafure free from its attendant difeafcs, and here the cities
and towns are placed, while the crop, oxen, and cattle, are
in the cultivated part near the mountains, which in the
language of the country is called Mazaga, fignifying black
mould.

Lastly, when he hears the army murmuring at being
kept during the rainy feafon in the KoUa below, he is to
remember, that all was cool, pleafant, and fafe in Upper A-
byflinia. The foldiers, therefore, languiilied for the enjoy-
ment of their own families, without any other occupation
but merriment, feftivity, and every fpecies of gratification
that wine, and the free and uncontrouled fociety of the fe-
male-fex, could produce.

Having now fufficiently explained and defcribed the
various names and inhabitants, the fituation, foil, and cU-
mate of thofe provinces about to be the theatre of the war,
I Ihall proceed to declare the occafion of it, which was no-
thing more than tlie fruit of thofe prejudices which, I
have already faid, the loofe behaviour of the king in the
beginning of his reign had produced among his neigh-
bours, and the calamities which had enfeebled the king-
dom in the preceding reigns.

It happened that one of thofe Moorifli factors, whom I

have already defcribed, having in charge the commercial

I interells

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 15

interefts of the king, had been aflliflinated and robbed in
the province of I fat, when the King was biified with Ha-
norius and his Monks. Without complaining or cxpoftula-
ting, he fuddenly alTembled his troops, having ordered them
to rendezvous at Shugura upon the frontiers, and, to flicw
his impatience for revenge, with feven * horfemen he fell
upon the nearcft Mahometan fcttlements, who were perfect-
ly fecure, and put all he found in his way to the fword with-
out exception. Then placing himfclf at the head of his
army, he marched, by a long day's journey, flraight to Ifar,
burning Hungura, Jadai, Kubat, Fadife, Calife, and Argai,
towns that lye in the way, full of all forts of valuable mer-
chandife, and, finding no where a force affembled to op-
pofe him, he divided his army into fmall detachments, fend-
ing them different ways, with orders to lay the whole
countries, where they came, wafte with fire and fword,
while he himfelf remained in the camp to guard the fpoil,
the women, and the baggage.

The Moors, aftoniflied at this torrent of defolation, which
fo fuddenly had broken out under a prince whom they
had confidered "as immerfcd in pleafurc, flew all to arms ;
and being informed that the king was alone, and fcarcely
had foldicrs to guard his camp, they aflbmbled in numbers
under the command of Hak-eddin, governor of Ifat, who had
before plundered and murdered the king's fervant. They
then determined to attack Amda Sion early in the morning,
but luckily two of his detachments had returned to the
camp to his afliftance, and joined him the very night before.

It.

* It lias been imagined that this number Ihould be incrcaftd to feventy, but I have-follov
:d.tbe text ; there would be lit»le difference in ihe lallinefs of the av'^tion.

46 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

It was fcarcely day when the Moors prefented themfelves ;
bill, far from furprifing the Abyffinians buried in fleep, they
found the king with his army ranged in battle, who, with-
out giving them time to recover from their furprife, attack-
ed them in perfon with great fury ; and fmghng out Der-
dar, brother to Hak-eddin, animating his men before the
ranks, he flruck him fo violently with his lance that he
fell dead amon'g his horfe's feet, in the fight of both armies ;
whihl the Abyllinian troops pre fling every where brifkly
forward, the Moors took to flight, and were purfued with
great flaughter into the woods and faftnefl!es.

After this vi(5lory, the king ordered his troops to build
huts for themfelves, at leafl: fuch as could not find houfes
ready built. He ordered, likewife, a great traift of land
contiguous to be plowed and fown, meaning to intimate,
that his intention was to flay there with his ai'my all the
rainy feafon.

The Mahometans, from this meafure, if it fliould be car-
ried into execution, faw nothing but total extirpation be-
fore their eyes ; they, therefore, with one confent, fubmitted
to the tribute impofed upon them ; and the king having
removed Hak-eddin, placed his brother Saber-eddin in his
fl;ead, and the rainy feafon being now begun, difmiflTed
his army, and returned to Tegulat in Shoa.

Though the perfonal gallantry of the king was a quality
fuflicient of itfelf to make him a favourite of the foldiers, his
liberality was not lefs ; all the plunder got by his troops in
the field was faithfully divided among thofe who had
fought for him ; nor did he ever pretend to a fhare him-
3 felf;

THE SOURCE OF THENILE. 17

felf, unlefs on occafions when he was engaged in perfon,
and then he fhared upon an equal footing with the prin-
cipal officers.

When returned to the capital, he fliewed the fame difin-
tereftednefs and generofity which he had done in the field,
and he diftributed all he had won for his Ihare among the
great men, whom the necefTary duties of government had
obliged to remain at home, as alfo amongfl the poor, and
priefts for the maintenance of churches ; and, as well by
this, as by his zeal and a(5livity againft the enemies of Chrif-
tianity, he became the greatcft favourite of all ranks of the
clergy, notwithftanding the unpromifmg appearances at
the beginning of his reign.

The rainy feafon in Abyflinia generally puts an end to
the ac5live part of war, as every one retires then to towns
and villages to fcreen themfclvcs from the inclemency of
the climate, deluged now with daily rain. The foldier, the
hufbandman, and, above all, the women, dedicate this feafon
to continued fcHivity and riot. Thcfe villages and towns
are always placed upon the higheft mountains. The val-
leys that intervene are foon divided by large and rapid tor-
rents. Every hollow foot-path becomes a ftrcam, and the
valleys between the hills become fo miry as not to bear
horfc ; and the waters, both deep and violent, are too apt to
iliift their dircdion to fuller any one on foot to pafs fafel)'.
All this feafon, and this alone, people flcep in their houfes
in fafety ; their lances and fliields are hung up on the iides
of their hall, and their faddles and bridles taken oiF their
horfes ; for in Abyllinia, at other times, the horfes are al-
ways bridled, and are accuftomed to eat and drink with this

Vol. IL C incumbrance..

i8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

incumbrance. It is not, indeed, the fame fort of bridle they ufe
in the field, but a fmall bit of ironlikeourhunting-bndles,on
purpofe merely to preferve them in this habit. The court,
and the principal officers of government, retire to the capi-
tal, and there adminifler juftice, make alliances, and prepare
the necelTary funds and armaments, which the prefent exi-
gencies of the Hate require on the return of fair weather.

Amda Sign was no fooner returned to Tegulat, than the
Moors again entered into a confpiracy againft him. The
principal were Amano king of Hadea, Saber-eddin, whom
the king had made governor of Fatigar, and privately, with-
out any open declaration, Gimmel-eddin governor in Dawa-
ro. But this confpiracy could not be hid from a prince of
Amda Sion's vigilance and penetration. He concealed, how-
ever, any knowledge of the matter, left it fhould urge the
Moors to commence hoftilities too early. He continued,
therefore, with diligence, and without oftentation of any
particular defign, to make the ordinary preparations to take
the field on the approaching feafon. This, however, did not
impofe upon the enemy. Whether from intelligence, or
impatience of being longer inadtive, Saber-eddin began the
firft hoftilities, by furprifmg fome Chriftian villages, and
plundering and fetting fire to the churches before the rains
had yet entirely ceafed.

Those that have written accounts of Abyffinia feem to
agree in extolling the people of that country for giving no
belief to the exiftence or reality of witchcraft or forcery. Why
they have fixed on this particular nation is hard to determine.
But, as for me, I have no doubt in afTerting, that there is not
a. barbarous or ignorant people that I ever knew of which

this

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 19

this can be truly faid ; but certainly it never was lefs true
than when faid of Abyflinians. There is fcarce a monk in
any lonely monaftery, (fuch as thofe in the hot and un-
wholefome valley of Waldubba), not a hermit of the many
tipon the mountains, not an old prieft who has lived any
time fequeftered from fociety, that does not pretend to pof-
fefs charms ofFenfive and defenfive, and feveral methods by
which he can, at will, look into futurity. The Moors are
all, to a man, perfuaded of this : their arms and necks are
loaded with amulets againll witchcraft. Their women
are believed to have all the mifchievous powers of faf-
cination ; and both fexes a hundred fecrets of divina-
tion. The Falafha are addided to this in Hill a greater
degree, if poffible. It is always believed by every indivi-
dual Abyilinian, that the number of hy^Euas the fmcU
of carrion brings into the city of Gondar every night, arc
the Falafha from the neighbouring mountains, transformed
by the efl'ccl and for the purpofes of inchantmcnt. Even the
Galla, a barbarous and ftranger nation, hoftile to the Abyf-
fmians, and diflTcring in language and religion. Hill agree
with them in a hearty belief of the poilibility of praaiifing
witchcraft, fo as to occafion ficknefs and death at a very
great diftance, to blaft the harvefts, poifon the waters, and
render people incapable of propagating their fpecies.

Amano, king of Hadca, had one of thefe conjurers, who,
by his knowledge of futurity, was famous among all the
Mahometans of the low country. The king of Hadea him-
felf had gone no further than to determine to rebel ; but
whether he was to go up to fight with Amda Sion in
Shoa, or whether greater fuccefs would attend his expect-
ing him in Hadea, this was thought a doubt wholly with-

C 2 in

so TKATTELS TO DISCOVER

in the province of the conjurer, who aiTured Amano, his
mafterjthat if he did remain below, and wait for Amda Sion,
in Hadea, that prince would come down to him, and in one.
battle lofe his kingdom and his life.

The king, whofe principal view was to prevent the con-
jundion of the confederates, and, if poiTible, to fight them
feparately, did not flay till his whole army was alTembled,,
but, as foon as he got together a body of troops fufficient
to make head againft any one of the rebels, he fent that body
immediately on the fervice it was deftined for, in order to
difappoint the general combination.

A LARGE number of horfe and foot (whofe poft was in:
the van- of the royal army when the king marched at the
head of it) was the firll ready, and, without delay, was fent
againft Amano into Hadea, under the command of the
general of the cavalry. This officer e3tecn:ted the fervice
on which he was fent with the greateft diligence poilible,.
having the beft horfes, and ftrongeft and moft active men
in the army ; by long marches, he came upon the king
of Hadea, furprifed him before his troops were all affem-
bled, gave him an entire defeat, and made him prifoner..
However ill the conjurer had provided for the king's fafety,
he fecms to have been more attentive to his own ; great fearch
was made for him by order of Amda Sion, but he was not to
be found, having very early, upon the firft fight of the king's
troops, fled and hid himfelf in Ifat.

The next detachment was fent againft Saber-eddin in
Fatigar. The governor of Amhara commanded this, with

orders.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. zi

orders to lay the whole country wafte, and by all means
provoke Saber-eddin to rifk a battle, either before or after
the junaion of the troops which were to march thither
from Hadea. But when the king was thus bufy with the
Moors, news were brought him that the Fal'aiha. had rebcl-
kd, and were in arms, in very great numbers. The king
ordered Tzaga Chriftos, governor of Begemder, to aflemble his
troops with thofe of Gondar, Sacalta, and Damot, and march
againft thefe rebels before they had time to ruin the country;.
«nd having thus made provifion againft all his enemies, Amda
Sion proceeded with the remainder of his ai-my to Dawaro.

Hydar was governor in this province for the king, who,
though he fhe\ved outwardly every appearance of duty and
fidelity, was, notwithftanding, deep in the confpiracy with
Saber-eddin, and had clofe correfpondcnce with the king of
Adel, whofe capital, Aufla, was not at a great diftance from
him.

The king kept his Eafter at Gaza, immediately upon the
verge of the defert; and, being willing to accuftom his troops
to adion and hardlhip, he left his tents and baggage behind
with the army ; and, fecretly taking with him but twenty-fix
horfemen, he made an incurfion upon Samhar, deftroying all
before him, and flaying all night, tho' he had no provifions,in
the middle of his enemies, without fo much as lying down to-
fleep, flacking his belt, or taking ofl" any part of his armour.

The king was no fooner gone than the army milTed him,,
and was all in the greateft uproar. But, having flniflied
liis expedition, he joined them in the morning, and en-
camped;

22 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

camped again with them. On his arrival, he fomid waiting
for him a melTenger from Tzaga Chriftos, with accounts
that he had fought fuccefsfully with the Falafha, entirely-
defeated them, Hain many, and forced the reft to hide thera-
felves in their inacceflible mountains. Immediately after
this intelligence, Tzaga Chriftos, with his vi(5lorious army,
joined the king alfo.

These good tidings were followed by others equally
profperous from Hadea and Fatigar. They were, that th«
king's army in thofe parts had forced Saber-eddin to a bat-
tle, and beaten him, taken and plundered his houfe, and
brought his wife and children prifoners ; and that the
troops had found that country full of merchandife and
riches of all kinds ; that they were already laden and in-
cumbered with the quantity to fuch a degree, that they
were all fpeaking of difbanding and retiring to their houfes
with riches fufficient for the reft of their lives, although a
great part of the country remained as yet untouched, and,
therefore, it was requefted of the king in all diligence to en-
ter it on his fide alfo, and march fouthward till both armies
met. Immediately upon this meffage, the king, having re-
frelhed his troops, and informed them of the good profpecRis
that were before them, decamped with his whole army, and
entered the province of Ifat,

When Saber-eddin faw the king's forces were joined,
that he had no allies, and that it was, in the fttuation of his
army, equally dangerous to ftay or to fly, he took a refolu-
tion of fubmitting himfelf to the king's mercy; but, firft,
lie endeavoured to foften his anger, and obtain fome aftii-

rances

THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 23

ranees through the mediation of the queen. The king, how-
ever, having pubhcly reproved the queen for offering to in-
termeddle in fuch matters, and growing more violent and
inflexible upon this application, there remained no alterna-
tive but that of furrendering himfelf at difcretion. Where-
upon Saber-eddin threw himfelf at the king's feet. The
foldiers and by-ftanders, far from being moved at fuch a
fight, with one voice earneftly befought the king, that the
murderer of fo many priefts, and the profaner and deftroyer
of fo many Chrillian churches, fhould inftantly meet the
death his crimes had merited. The king, however, whofe
mercy feems to have been equal to his bravery, after ha-
ving reproved him with great afperity, and upbraided him
with his cruelty, prefumption, and ingratitude, ordered him
only to be put in irons, and committed to a clofe prifon.
At the fame time, he difplaced Hydar, governor of the pro-
vince of Dawaro, of whofe treafon he had been long inform-
ed ; and he invefted Gimmel-eddin, Saber-eddin's brother,,
with the government of the Mahometan provinces, who, as
he pretended, had not been prefent at the beginning of the
war, but had preferved his allegiance to the king, and dif-
fuaded his brother from the rebellion.

While the king was thus fettling the government of the
rebellious provinces, he received intelligence that the kings
of Adel and Mara had refolved to march after him into
Shoa when he returned, and give him battle.

At this time the king was encamped on the river Hawaili,.
at the head of the whole army, now united. This news of the
hoitile intentions of the kings of Adel and Mara, fo exafperr-

A ted

24 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ted him, that he determined to enlarge his fcheme of ven-
geance beyond the Umits he had firft prefcribed to it. "With
this view, he called the principal ollicers of his army toge-
ther, while he himfelf flood upon an eminence, the foldiers
furrounding him on all fides. Near him, on the fame emi-
nence, was a monk, noted for his holinefs, in the habit in
which he celebrated divine fervice. The king, in a long
fpeech pronounced with unufual vehemence, defcribed the
many offences committed againft him by the Mahometan
ilates on the coaft. The ringleaders of thefe commotions, he
declared, were the kings of Adel and Mara. He enumerated
various inftances of cruelty, of murder, and facrilege, of
which they had been guilty; the number of priefts that they
had llain, the churches that they had burned, and the Chri-
ilian women and children that they had carried into flavery,
which was now become a commerce, and a great motive of
war. They, and they only, had ftirred up his Mahometan fub-
je(5ts to infeil the frontiers both in peace and war. He faid,
that, confidcring the immcnfc booty which had been taken,
it might feem that avarice was the motive of his being
now in arms, but this, for his ovv^n part, he totally dif-
claimed. He neither had nor would apply the fmallefl por-
tion of the plunder to his own ufe, but confidered it as un-
lawful, as being purchafed with the blood and liberty of his
fubjc(5ts and brethren, the mcaneft of whom he valued more
than the blood and riches of all the infidels in Adel. He, there-
fore, called them together to be witnefies that he dedicated
himfelf a foldier to Jefus Chrift ; and he did nov/ fwear upon
the holy euchariil, that, though but ' twenty of his army
fI:iould join with him, he would not turn his back upon A-
del or Mara, till he had either forced them to tribute and

2 fubmiilion,

*^

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. '^J

fubmiffion, or extirpated them, and annihilated their reli-
gion.

He then entered the tent-door, and took the facrament
from the hands of the monk, in prefence of the whole army.
All the principal officers did the fame, and every individual
of the army, with repeated ihouts, declared, that they acced-
ed to, and were bound by, the oath the king then had made.
A violent fury fpread in this inflant through the whole
army; they confidered that part of the king's fpeech as a re-
proach, which mentioned the fpoils they had taken to have
been bought by the blood of Chriftians, their brethren. Eveiy
hand laid hold of a torch, and, whether the plunder was
his own or his fellow-foldiers, each man fet fire, without
interruption, to the merchandife that was next him. The
whole riches of Ifat and Hadea, Fatigar and Dawaro, were
confumed in an inllant by thefc fanatics, who, fatisfied now
that they were purged from the impurity which the king
had attributed to their plunder, returned poor to their ftand-
ards, but convinced in their own confcience of having now,
by their facrament and expiation, become the foldiers of
Chrift, they thirfted no longer after any thing but the blood
of the inhabitants of Adel and Mara.

Soon after, Amda Sion heard that the Moors had attacked
his army in Ifat two feveral nights, and that his troops had
fufFercd greatly, and with difficulty been able to maintain
themfelves in their camp. The king was then upon hi$
march when he heard thefe difagreeable news ; he haften-
cd, therefore, immediately to their relief, and encamped at
night in an advantageous poft, fliort of liis main army, with
a view of taking advantage of this lituation, if the Moors,

Vol. II. D as

2$ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

as he expeded, renewed their attack that night for the third
time.

The Abyflinians, to a man, are fearful of the night, un--
willing to travel, and, above all, to fight in that feafon, when
they imagine the world is in poffeflion of certain genii^
averfe to intercourfe with men, and very vindidive, if even
by accident they are ruffled or put out of their way by their
interference. This, indeed, is carried to fo great a height^
that no man will venture to throw water out of a bafon
upon the ground, for fear that, in ever fo fmall a fpace the
water Ihould have to fall, the dignity of fome elf, or fairy^
might be violated. The Moors have none of thefe apprc-
henfions, and are accuftomed in the way of trade to travel.
at all hours, fbmetimes from neceffity, but often from choice,,
to avoid the heat. They laugh, moreover, at the fuperfli-
tions of the Abyflinians, and not unfrcquently avail them-
lelves of them. A verfe of the Koran, fewed up in leather,,
and tied round their neck or their arms, fecures them from
all thefe incorporeal enemies ^ and, from this known ad-
vantage, if other circumftances are favourable, they never
fail to fight the Abyflinians at or before the dawn of the
niorning, for in this country there is no twilight.

The Moors did not, in this inftancc, difappoint the king's
expe(5lation ; as th^y, with all poflible fecrecy, marched to^
the attack of the camp, while the king, having rcfreflicd-
his troops, put himfelf in motion to intercept them ; and
they were now arrived, and engaged in fcveral places with
very great vigour. The camp was in apparent danger,
though vigoroufly defended. At this moment the king,
with his frefli troops, fell violently upon their rear ; and, it

I bein;^

*^i

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ty

being known to the Moors that this was the king, they
withdrew their army with all poflible fpeed, carrying with
them a very confiderable booty.

The fuccefs which had followed thefe night expeditions,
above all, the fmall lofs that had attended the purfuit, even
after they were defeated, from the perfedl knowledge they
had of the country, infpired them with a refolution to avoid
pitched battles, but to diflrefs and harrafs the king's army
every night. They accordingly brought their camp nearer
than ufual to the king's quarters. This began to be felt by
the army, which was prevented from foraging at a great dif-
tancc; but provifions could not be difpenfcd with. The king,
therefore, detached a large body of horfc and foot that had
not been engaged or fatigued. The greateft part of the foot
lie ordered to return with the cattle they fliould have taken,
but the horfe, with each a foot-foldier behind him, he dirccft-
cd to take poll in a wood near a pool of water, where the Moor-
ifli troops, after an alTault in tli£ night, retired, and took re-
frefliments and fleep by the time tlic fun began to be hot.
The Moors again appeared in the night, attacked the camp in
feveral places, and alarmed the whole army ; but, by the
bravery and vigour of the king, who every where animated
his troops by his own exaniple, they were obliged to retreat
a little before morning, more fatigued, and more roughly
handled, than they had hitherto been in any fuch expedition.

The king, as if equally tired, followed them no further
than the precincfls of his camp ; and the Moors, fcarcely com-
forted by this forbearance after fo great a lofs, retreated to re-
ceive fuccour of frelh troops as ufual, and enjoy their repofe in
the neighbourhood of fliade and water. They had, how-

D a ever-

28 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ever, fcarce thrown aiide their arms, difpofed of their wound-
ed in proper places, and begun to aflliage their thirll after
the toils of the aiTault, when the Abyffinian horfe, breaking
through the covert, came fwiftly upon them, unable either
to fight or to fly, and the whole body of them was cut to
pieces without one man efcaping.

The king, upon return of his troops, began to confider^
and, by combining various circumflances in his mind, to^
fufpeft ftrongly, that, from the Moors attacking him, as
they had for fome time lately done, always in the moil un-
favourable circumflances, there mufl be fome intelligence
between his camp and that of the enemy. Upon examin-
ing more particularly into the grounds of this fufpicion^
three men of Harar(who had long attended the army as fpies)
were difcovered, and being convifted, were carried out, and
their heads cut off at the entrance of the camp; after which
the king, who now found himfelf without an enemy in
thefe parts,, flruck his tents, and returned to Gaza in Da-
waro^

This movement of Am da Sion's had more the appearance
of opening a campaign than the doling of one, and occa-
iioned great difcontent among the foldiers, who had done-
their bufinefs, and were without an enemy, jufl at tha;t time
that the rains fall fo heavy, and the country becomes fo un-
wholefome as to make it uhadvifable to keep the field.
They, tlierefore, remonflrated by their officers to the king,^
that they mufl return to their houfes for the feveral months
of winter which were to follow ; and that, after the fatigues,,
dangers,, and hardfliips they had undergone for fo many

3. months J

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 2^

months, to perfiil in flaying longer at fuch a feafon in this
country was equal to the condemning them to death.

GiMMEL-EDDiN, moreovcr, the new-appointed governor,
infifled with Amda Sion, that he was able enough himfelf
to keep all the tributary provinces in peace,, and true alle-
giance to the king ; but if, on the contrary, the king chofc
to eat them up with a large army living conftantly among
them, as well as upon every pretence laying them walle with
the fvvord in the manner he was now doing, he could not be-
an fwerable for, nor did he believe they would be able to pay
him, the tribute he expe<!ted from them. But the king, who
faw the motives both of his officers and of the Moorilli go-
vernor, continued fum in liis refolutions. He Iharply re-
proved both Gimmci-eddin and his army for their want of
difcipline, and defne of idlenefs, and ordered the officers to ac-
quaint their men, that, if they were afraid of rains, he would,
carry them to Jc/ely where there were none. ; that, for his part,,
he made a refolution, which he would keep mofl ftcadily,
never to leave his camp and the field while there was one
village in his own dominions that did. not acknowledge him
for its fovereign..

Accordingly on the ijth day of June 1316, immediately
after this declaration, he llruck his tents, and marched into
Samhar, to difappoint, if poffible, the confederacy that fome
of the principal Moorilli dates had entered into againll him,
which were agreed, one by one, to harrafs his camp by night,
and, after having obliged him to retreat toShoa in diforder,to
give him battle tliere before he had time to refrclhhis troops.
The authors of this confpiracy were feven in number, Adel,

Mara.

50 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Mara, Tico, Agwama, Bakla*, Murgar, and Gabula, and they
had already collected a confiderable army. The king, who
faw they perfiiled in their nightly attacks, rode out, thinlv
'accompanied, to choofe a poft for an encampment thar was
to give him the greateft advantage over his enemy ; and,
whilft thus occupied, he was fuddenly furrounded by a
body of troops of Adel lying in ambufii for him. A foldier
(in appearance an Abyffinian) came fo clofe to the king as
to ftrike him with his fword on the back with fuch violence
that it cut his belt in two, and, having wounded him thro'
his armour, was ready to repeat the blow, when the king
pierced him through the forehead with his lance, upon
which his party fled.

But the Moors, for five fucceflive nights, did not fail in
their attempts upon his camp, \vhich wearied and greatly
contributed to difcontent his men ; and the more fo, becaufe
the enemy declined coming to any general engagement,
though the king frequently offered it to them. Amda Sion,
therefore, decamped the 28th of June, and, leaving this dif-
advantageous llation, advanced a day's march nearer Mara,
pointing, as it were, to the very center of that kingdom.
But here, again, he was llopt by the difcontent of his fol-
diers, who abfolutely refufed to go farther, or fpend the
whole feafon in arms, in this inclement climate, while
the reil of his fubjeds, in full enjoyment of health and
plenty, were rioting at home.

This difpofition of his army was no fooner known to
the king than he called the principal of them together,

and,

* A tribe of tlie Sliepherds j all the reft, but the two fiift, unknown in Abyffinia at this day.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 31

and, planting himfelf on a rifing ground, he began to ha-
rangue his foldiers with fo much eloquence and force of
reafoning, that they who before had only learned to admire
their king as a foldier, were obliged to confefs that, as an
orator, he as much excelled every man in his ftate, as he
did the lowefl man of his kingdom in dignity. He put his
foldiers in mind, " that this was not a common expedition,
** like thofe of his predeceflbrs, marching through the coun-
•* try for the purpofe of levying their revenue ; that the in-
« tention of the prefent war was to avenge the blood of fo
♦* many innocent Chriftians ilain in fecurity and full peace,
** from no provocation but hatred of their religion : that they
« were inftruments in the hand of God to revenge the
" death of fo many priefts and monks who had been wan-
** tonly offered as facrifices upon their own altars : that
«* they were not a common army, but one confederated up-
« on oath, having fworn upon the facramcnt, at the pall-
« age of the river Hawafli, that they would not return in-
« to Abyffinia till they had beat down and ruined the
" ftrength of the Mahometans in thofe kingdoms ; fo that
« now, when every thing had fucceeded to their wiflies,
"■ when every Mahometan army had been defeated as fooa
" as it prefented itfclf, and the whole country lay open to
** the chaftifements they pleafed to inflict, to talk of a re-
" treat or forbearance was to make a mockery at once of
« their oath, and the motive of then- expedition. He fhew-
" ed, by invincible reafonings, the great hardfhips and dan-
« ger that would attend his retreat through a country al-
« ready wailed and unable to maintain his army ; what
« an alarm it would occafion in Shoa, to find him return-
« ing with an enemy at liis heels, following him to his
« very capital ; thai fuch, however, mud be the confe-

" quence i

32 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

** quence ; for it was plain, that, though the enemy decli-
" ned fighting, yet there was no poffibihty of hindering them
" from following him fo near as to give his retreat every
" appearance of flight, and to bring an expedition, begun
** with fuccefs, to an ignominious and a fatal end.

" He upbraided them with his own example, that early
" their prophets had foretold he was a prince fond of lux-
" ury and eafe, which, in the main, he did not deny, but
" confefled that he was fo; and that they all fhould have
" an attachment to their pleafures and enjoyments, he
" thought but reafonable. He delired, however, in this,
" they would do as much as he did, and only fufpend their
" love of eafe and reft as long as their duty to God, to their
" country, and their murdered brethren, required ; for, till
" thefe duties were fulfilled, eafe and enjoyment to a Chrif-
" tian, and efpecially to them bound by oath to accomplifli
** a certain purpofe, was, in his eyes, little fhort of apofta-
*' cy." A loud acclamation now followed from the whole
army. They declared again, that they renewed their facra-
ment taken at the pafTage of the Hawafh, that they were
Chrift's foldiers, and would follow their fovereign unto death.

Though the great perfonal merit of the king, and
the grace, force, and dignity with which he fpoke, had, of
themfelves, produced a very fudden change in the mind
of the foldiers, yet, to the increafe of this good difpofition
it had very much contributed, that a monk, of great holinefs
and aufterity of manners, living in a cell on the point of a
fleep rock, had come down from Shoa to the camp, de-
claring that he had found it written in the Revelation of
St John, that this year tlie religion of Mahomet was to be

utterly

A

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 33

utterly extirpated throughout the world. Full of this idea,
on the feaft of Ras Werk, in the month of July, the army
pafTed the Yafs, a large river of the kingdom of Mara, and
encamped there. The troops were alarmed, the night after
their arrival, by a piece of intelligence which proved a
falfehood.

A WOMAN, whofe father had been a Chriftian, faid, that
flie had very lately left the Moorifli camp ; that the enemy
wereatnogreat diflance, andonly waiieda night of ftorm and
rain to make a general attack upon the king's army ; and
the clouds threatening then a night of foul weather, it was
not doubted but the engagement was thereupon immedi-
ately to follow. It blcvv', then, fo violent a ftorm, that
the king's tent, and moft of thofe in the camp, were thrown
down, and thefoldiers were in very great confufion, imagin-
ing, every moment, the Moors ready to fall on them. But
whether the ftory was a falfehood, or the ftorm too great
for the Moors to venture out, nothing happened that night,
nor, indeed, during their ftay in that ftation.

At this time a number of priefts and others came out
of curiofity to fee tlieir king making conquefts of provinces
and people till then unknown to them even by name : fe-
veral large detachments of frefli troops from Abyffinia alfo
arrived, and joined the army. Upon this, Amda Sion ad-
vanced a day's journey farther into Mara, and took a ftrong
poft, refolving to maintain himfelf there, and, by detach-
ments, lay the whole country defolate. This place is called
Dajfu There was neither river, however, nor fpring near it,
but only water procured by digging in the fand, being what
comes down from the fides of the mountains in the rainy
Vol. II. E fcafon,

34 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fcafon, and, having filtered tliTov^h tlie loole earth, iias -
reached the fand and gravel, where it flagnates, or finds-
llowly its level to th»: fea. Here the king wa5 taken tlan-
gerouiiy ill with the fever of the K,oIia.

The altercations hetwccn Amda Sion and his foldicrs, .
and the refolutions taken in confequence of . thefe, were
faithfully carried to the king of AdeL . The march of the
king forward at fuch a feafon of the year, the How pace
with which he advanced towards the very heart of the
country, the care, he took of providing all neceliaries for
his army, and his reinforcing it ai; fuch a feafon, all fliew-
ed this was no partial, fuddcn incurfion, but that it was
meant as a decifive blow, fatal to the independence of thefe
petty fovereigns and flates. To this it may be added, that
Gimmel-eddin, whom the king had rcieafed from prifon,
and fet over the Mooriih provinces of Abyflinia, conveyed to
them, in the mod diredl manner, that fuch were the king's ,
purpofes. He told them, moreover, this march into their
country was not either to increafe their tribute, or for the
fake of plunder, or to force them to be his fubjecls ; that
Amda Sion's main defign was againft their rehgion, which
he and his foldiers had vowed they were to deftroy ; that
it was not their time to think of peace or tribute upon any
terms ; for, were they even to fell their wives and children, .
the price would not be accepted, unlefs they forfook the
religion of their fathers, and embraced Chriftianity. He
further added, that his refolution was already taken, that he •
would die firm in the faith, a good Mahometan, as he had
lived ; not tamely, however, but in the middle of his ene-
mies ; and that he was now making every fort of prepara-
tion to refift to the latefl breath.

No

THE SOURCE OP THE NILE. 35

No fooner wa* this intelligence from Gimmel-eddin
publillied> than a kind of frenzy feized the people of
Adel • they ran tumnkuoufly to arms, and, with flirieks
and adjurations, demanded to be led immediately a-
gainft the Abyffinians, for they no longer defired to live
upon fuch terms.

There was among the leading men of the Moors one
Saleh, chief of a fmall diib-id called Caffi,by birth a Sher-
riffe, I e. one of the race of Mahomet, and who, to the nobi-
lity of his bn-th, joined the holinefs of his characTier. He was
Imam, as it is called, or high prh:/l of the Moors, and, for both
thefe reafons, held in the greateft cdimation among them.
This man undertook, by his perfonal influence, to unite all
the Moorifh Hates in a common league. For it is to be ob-
ferved, that, though religion was very powerful in uniting
thefe Moors againft the Chrillians, yet the love of gain, and
jealoufies of commerce, perpetually kept a party alive that
favoured the king for their own intcrci\, in the very heart of
the Moorilh confederacies and councils. To overcome this
was the objcd of Saleh, and he fucceeded beyond cxpeda-
tion, as fixtcen kings brought 40,000 men into the field un-
der their feveral leaders ; but the chief command was given
to tlie king of Add.

I MUST put the reader in mind that I am tranflating an
Abvffinian hiilorian. Thefe, then, whom this chronicle
llilcs Kings, muil be confulcrcd as being only hereditary and
independent chiefs, not tributary to AbyiTinia. Their names
are Adel, Mara, Bakla, Haggara, Fadife, Gadai, Nagal, Zuba,
Harlar, Hobal, Hangila,Tarfhilh, Ain, Ilbiro, Zeyla, and Elle.
Now, when we confider that thcfc fjx^cen kings brought

E 2 only

36 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

only 40,000 men, and that they were commanded under
thefe fixteen by 2712 leaders, or governors of diflricSts, all
which are fet down by name, we mull have a very contemp-
tible opinion of the extent and populoufnefs of thefe new-
ly-ere(R:ed kingdoms.

It appears to me unneceflary to repeat, after my hif-
torian, the names of each of thefe villages, which probably
do not now exift, and are, perhaps, utterly unknown. I fhall
only obferve in paffing, that here we find Tarihis, or Tar-
fliifli, a kingdom on the coaft of the ocean, direftly in the
way to Sofala ; another ftrong prefumption that Sofala and
Ophir were the fame, and that this is the Tarfliilh where
Solomon's fleet llopt when going to Ophir,

Amda Sign's fever hindering him to march forward, and
being unwilling to rifk a battle where he was not able him-
felf to command, he continued clofe in his ftrong camp at
Daffi, waiting his recovery ; but, in the mean time, he made
confiderable detachments on all fides to lay the country
waftc around him, till he Hiould be able to advance farther
into it^

Of all the royal army, as it flood upon the eftablifhment,
the king had only with him the troops from the provinces
of Amhara, Shoa, Gojam, and Damot, and thefe were what
compofed the rear, when the whole, called the royal army,
was aiTemblcd ; all his troops v/ere regularly paid, well
armed, and cloathed, and were not only provided with every
necelfary, but were become exceedingly rich, and, there-
fore, the more carelefs of difcipline, and difficult to manage,
QXi account of the repeated conquefts that had followed one

another

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 37

another ever fince the king had crofled the river Hawalh,
and come into the defert kingdom of Mara, unfruitful in
its foil, but flourilhing by trade, and rich in India commo-
dities. The foldiers had here fo loaded themfelves with
fpoils and merchandife, that they began rather to think of
returning home, and enjoying what they had got, than of
pufhing their conquefts Hill farther to the deftruc^ion of
Adel and Mara. The putrid flate of the water, in this fultry
and unwholefome climate, had afflicted the king with the
fever of the country, which he thought not by any means
to remedy or prevent. No confideration could keep him
from expofmg himfelf to the moil violent fun-beams, and
to the more noxious vapours of the night; and it was now
the fcventh day his fever had been increafmg, although he
neither ate nor drank. The army expecting, from the king's
illnefs, a fpeedy order to return, converfed of nothing elfe
within their camp, with that kind of fecurity as if they had
already received orders to return home.

The Mahometan army had aflembled, and no news had
been brought of it to the king. Saleh's influence had uni-
ted them all ; and the king's ficknefs had made this eafier
than it otherwife would have been. It happened, then,thar,
the king's fever abating the ninth day, he fcnt out to pro-
cure himfelf venifon, with which this country abounds,
and which is believed, by people of all ranks in Abyflinia,
to be tlie only proper food and reflorative after ficknefs. Af-
ter having killed fufhciently for the king's immediate ufe,.
the huntfmen returned ; two only remained, who conti-
nued the purfuit of the game through the woods, till they
were four days journey diflant from their camp, when, being
in fearch of water for their dogs, they met a Moor engaged

in-

38 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

in the fame bufmefs with themfelves, who fhewed therti his
army encamped at no confidcrable diftance, and in very-
great numbers. Upon this they returned in all hafte to the
king to apprize him of his danger, and he fent immediately
fome horfe to difcover the number, fituation, and deligns of
the enemy; above all, if poiTible, to take a prifoner, for the
huntfmen had put theirs to death, that he might be no in-
cumbrance to them upon their return.

The king's fever was now gone, but his flrengrh was
not returned ; and, the neceility of the cafe requiring it, he
attempted to rife from his bed and put on his armour, but,
fainting, fell upon his face with weaknefs, while his fer-
vant was girding his fword.

The horfe now returned, and confirmed the tidings the
huntfmen had brought ; they had found the Moorifh army
in the fame place it was firft difcovered, by the water-fide ;
but the account of their number and appearance was fuch
that the whole army was llruck with a panic. The king's
\vives (as the hiiiorian fays, by which it fliould appear he
had more than one) endeavoured to perfuade him not to
rifk a battle in the v/cak ftate of health he then was, but to
retire from this low, unwholefome country, and occupy the
palFes that lead into Upper Abyllinia, fo as to make it im-
poilible for the enemy to follow him into Shoa.

The king having waflicd and refreflied himfelf, with a
countenance full of confidence, fat down at the door of his
tent : whilft officers and fokliers crowded about him, he calm-
ly, in the way of converfation, told them, — " That, being
" men of experience as they were, he was furprifcd they

2 " ihould

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 39

« fliould be liable, at cveiy inilani, to panic and dcfpon-
" dcncy, totally unwortliy the character of a veteran army..
" You know," faid he, " that I came againft the king of Adel,
" and to recover that province, one of the old dependencies
" of my crown. And though it has happened that, in
" our march, you have loaded yourfclves with riches, which
*' I have permitted, as well out of my luve to you, as becaui'e
*' it diflrefles the encniy, yet my object was not to plunder
" merchants. If in battle to-morrow I be beaten, for God
" forbid that I Ihould decline it when offered, I fliall be the
" firft to let you the example how to die like men in the
" middle of your enemies. But while I am living, it never
" iliall be faid that I fuITered the Ilandard of Chrill to ily
" before the profane enfigns of infidels. As to what regards
" our prefent circuniftances, my fickncfs, and the number
" of the Moorifli troops, thefe make no alteration in my good
'• hopes that I fliall tread upon the king of Adel's neck to-
" morrow. For as it was never my opinion that it was my
"^ own ftrength and valour, or their want of it, which has fo
" often been the means of preferving me from their hands,
" fo Ido not fear at prefent that my accidental wcaknefs
" will give them any advantage over me, as long as I truft
** in God's ftrength as much as ever I have done."

The army, hearing with what confidence and firmnefs.
the king fpake, began to look upon liis recovery as a mi-
racle. They all, therefore, with one accord, took to their
arms, and defired to be led forward to the enemy, without
waiting till they fliould come to them. They only befeech--
ed the king that he would not expofe his perfon as ufual,
but truft to the bravery of his troops, eager for action, with-
out being lavifli of that life, the lofs of which would be to

the

40 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the Mahometans a greater vidory than the regaining all he
had conquered. The king hereon, bidding his troops to be of
good courage, take reft and refrefhment, fent away the wo-
men, children, and other incumbrances, to a fmall convent
on the fide of the mountain, called Debra Martel* ; and, being
informed of the fituation of the country in general, and the
particular pofts where he could get water in greater plenty, he
advanced with his army by a flow march towards the enemy.

The next day he received intelligence by a Moor, that the
Mahometans had not only thrown poifon into all the wells,
but had alfo corrupted all the water in the front of the army
by various fpells and inchantments ; that they were not ad-
vancing, but were waiting for troops from fome of the fmall
diftridls of Adel that had not yet joined the army. Hereup-
on the king ordered his Fit-Auraris to advance a day before
him, and fent a prieft, called Tecla &W, with him, that he might
blefs and confecrate the water, and thereby free it from the
inchantments of the Moors. He himfelf followed with his
army, and fat down by a fmall river a fhort way diftant from
the enemy.

The Fit-Auraris is an officer that commands a party of
men, who go always advanced before the front of an Abyf-
finian army, at a greater or fmaller diftance, according as
circumftances require. His office will be defcribed more at
large in the fequel.

The king being arrived at the river, the army began to
bathe themfelves, their mules, and their horfes, in the fame

4 manner

* Mountain of the Teflimonv.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 4'

manner as is ufual throughout all Abyffinia on the feaft of
the Epiphany. This luilration was in honour of Tecla Sion,
who had confecrated the water, broken all the magic fpells,
and changed its name to that of the river Jordan. But, while
they were thus employed, the Fit-Auraris had come up with
a large party of the enemy, and, with them, a number of
women, provided with drugs to poifon and inchant the wa-
ter; and this numerous body of fanatics had fallen fo
rudely on the Fit-Auraris that it beat him back on the main
body, to whom he brought the news of his own defeat.

A VIOLENT panic immediately feized the whole AbyiTmian
army, and they refufed to advance a ftep farther. The tents
had been left Handing on the fide of the river they firfl
came 10, and they then paffed to the other fide. But,
upon fight of the Fit-Auraris, they returned to the tents,
that, having the river on their front, they might fight the
enemy with more advantage if they came to attack them.
They did not continue long in this refolution ; the greatell
part of them were for leaving their tents, and retiring to A-
byfllnia for afliftance, and, when the numbers fliould be
more upon an equality, return to fight the enemy. The
Moorifh army at this inftant coming in fight, increafed the
number of converts to this opinion.

The king, in the utmoll agony, galloping through the
ranks, continued to ufe all manner of arguments with his
mutinous foldiers. He told them, that retiring to their
camp was to put themfelves in prifon ; that, being moftly
compofed of horfe, their advantage was ina plain like that be-
fore them ; that retreating to join the. main body, at fuch a
<iiftance, was a vain idea, as the enemy was fo clofe at their

Vol, II. F h^ls.

42 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

heels. Finally, all he defired of them was, that thofe who
would not fight Ihould only Hand as fpeftators, but not
leave their places. As no iign of content or convi6tion was
retmned, the king, feeing that all was loft if they difbanded^
the enemy being juft ready to engage, ordered his mafter
of the horfe, and five others, to attack, the left wing of the
enemy, while he, with a fmall part of his fervants and houfe-
hold, did the fame on the right.

The Abyffinian hiftory, feldom juft to the memory of indi-
viduals, hath yet, in this inftance, (almofta fmgle one), prefer-
ved the names of thefe brave men. The firft was Zana Asfe-
ri ; the fecond, Tecla ; the third, Wanag Araad ; the fourth,,
Saif Segued, (one of the king's fons ;) the fifth, Badel Waliz ;
and the fixth, Kedami. Thefe, as is fuppofed, with their at-
tendants and fervants, (though hiftory is filent but as to the
fix) fell furiouily on the left of the Mahometan army.

The king, at the firft onfet, killed, with his own hand,,
the two leaders of the right wing ; and his fon, Saif Segued,,
having alfo ftain another confiderable officer on the left, a
panic feized both thefe bodies of Moors, and the army ap-
parently began, at one and the fame time, to waver : On
which the Abyflinians, now alhamed of their conduc% and
perceiving the king's danger, with a great Ihout fell furi-
oufly upon the enemy. The whole Mooriih ariny having, by
this time, joined, the battle was fought widi great obftinacy
on both fides, till firft the center, then the left wing of the
Moors, was broken and difperfcd; but the right, confifting
chiefly of ftrangers from Arabia, kept together, and, not
knowing the country,, retired into a narrow deep valley

furrounded

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 43

furrounded by fleep perpendicular rocks, covered thick with
wood.

The Abyflinian army, thinking all at an end by the
flight of the Moors, began, after their ufual cuftom, to
plunder, by ftripping and mangling the bodies of the killed
and wounded. But the king, who, from the millake of the
Arabians, faw the deltmdlion of this right wing certain, if
immediately purfued, ordered it every where to be pro-
claimed through the jSeld, that the whole army fliould re-
pair to the royal llandard, which he had fet up on an emi-
nence, and give over plundering, under pain of death. Find-
ing this order, however, flackly obeyed, he himfelf, fcouring
the field at the head of a few horfe, with his own hand flew
two of his foldiers whom he found ftripping the dead with-
out regard to his proclamation. This example from a
prince, exceedingly fparing of the blood of his foldiers, had
the efiea: to recal them all to the royal ftandard difplayed
on a rifing ground.

He then feparated his army into two divifions ; all the
foot, and thofe of his horfe that had principally fuffered in
the fevere engagement of the day, he led up to the mouth
of the valley where the right wing of the Arabians had fhut
themfclvcs up ; and, having befet all acccfs to the entrance
of it, he ordered the foot to climb up through the woods,
and on every fide furround the valley above the heads of
thofe unhappy people thus devoted to certain dcftrucTiion.

While this was doing, the king ordered thofe of the
cavalry that had fuffered leaft in the fatigue of the day, to re-
fresh themfelves and their horfes. He knew no time was

F2 . lofl

44 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

loft by this, as the Moorilh army that efcaped from the eni
gagement, worn out with fatigue, thirft, and hunger, would
only retire a ihort day's march to the water, where, finding
thenifelves not purfued, and incumbered with the number
of their wounded, they would neceflarily reft themfelves ;
and this was precifely the fituation, fn which his huntfmeii.
iiril: found them by the fide of a large pool of water.

The king gave the command of this part of his army to>
the matter of the horfe, with orders to purfue them ona
day farther ; whilft he, having taken a fhort refrefhment,
began to attack the right wing of the Arabians fliut up
in the valley. The king^ difmounting, led the attack a^
gainft the front of the Arabians, who, feeing their fituation
now defperate, began to make every effort to get from the
valley into the plain. But they did not know yet .upon what
difadvantageous ground they were engaged,, till the. foldiers
from, the rocks, above, every way furrounding them, rolled
down immenfe ftones which paffed through them in all di-
rections. Preffed, therefore, violently, by the king in their
front, and, in the rear deftroyed by an enemy they neither
could fee nor refift, they fell immediately into confufion,
and were, to a man, flaughtered upon the fpot; upon which
the king, giving to his troops orders for a general. plunder^
retired himfelf to his camp, and in his tent received from
the mafter of the horfe an accoiuit of his expedition..

This officer had proceeded flowly, fpreading his troops as
wide as poffible upon the trac^ of the retreating enemy, to
give a fmaller- chance for any to efcape. AIL directed their
fliglit towards the pool of water, and were there deftroyed
without mercy,till a little after fun-fet. Thepurfuers had then

advanced

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 45:

advanced to the ground where Saleh king of Mara had ga-
thered the fcattered remains of his once powerful army, but
now overcome with heat, difpirited by their defeat, and
worn out by the fatigues of a long and obftinate engage-
ment, all that remained of thefe unfortunate troops were
ftrowed upon the ground, lapping water like beafls, their
only comfort that remained, equally incapable of fighting
or flying. The mailer of the horfe, in great vigour and
ftrength from his late refreOiments and recent viftory, had
no trouble with thefe unfortunate people but todiredt their
execution, and this was performed by the foldiers with all
the rage and cruelty that a difference of religion could pof-
fibly infpire. For, after the king's fpeech of the 9th of
June, in which he upbraided them with breach of their
oath,' and that they were flow in avenging the blood of
their brethren and priells wantonly flain by the Moors, every
man in the army meafured the exa6tncfs with which he
acquitted himfelf of the facrament at the Hawafli.only by
the quantity of blood that he could flicd. Weaiy at lafl
with butchery, a. few were taken prifoners, and among
thefe was Saleh king of Mara. It was evening before the
king returned from the flaughter of the right wing; and it
was night when the foldiers, as fatigued with plundering ;
as with fighting, returned to the camp. .

The next morning, he heard of the fuccefs of his cavalry
.under the mafter of the horfe, who joined him before mid-
day.. The. unfortunate Saleh was, in fight of the whole
ai-my, brought before the king, cloathed in the diftinguifli-
ed habit and marks of his dignity in which he had fought
die day before at the head of his troops ; gold chains were
. about his arms, and a gold collar, cniiched with precious

itDn.es:

46 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ftones about his neck. The king fcarcely deigned to fpeak to
him, whilft the royal prifoner Ukewife obferved a profound
fdence. When the army had fatistied their curiofity with
the fight of this prince, (once the objeft of their fear), the
king, by a motion of his hand, ordered him to be haaged
upon a tree at the entrance of the camp, with all the orna-
ments he had upon him. After this the queen of Mara,
concerning whom fo many furprifmg (lories had been told
of her poifoning the waters by drugs and inchantments,
was, notwithilanding the known partiality of this king for
the fair fex, ordered to be hewn in pieces by the foldiers^
and her body given to the dogs.

Amda Sion then difpatched a meffenger with the news
of his vidlory to the queens his wives, and the reft of the
ladies he had left with the main army at Debra Martel, when
the m.onks of the convent immediately began a folemn
proceflion and thankfgiving, attended by the exercife of eve-
ry fort of work of charity and piety.

It was now the end of July, when the rains in Abyflinia
become both conftant and violent, that the king called a
council of the principal nobility, officers, and priefts, to de-
termine whether he Ihould go ftraight home, or fend their
wives, children, and baggage before them the direcfl road,
when the light and unincumbered army Ihould take a com-
pafs, and lay wafte a part of the kingdom of Adel they had
already invaded, and return in another dircdion. The ma-
jority of the army, and the priefts above all, were for the
firft propofal ; but the king and principal officers thought
the advantages gained by fo much blood were to be follow-
ed, and not dcferted,till they fliould either have reduced the
I Mahometans

THE SOURCE OFTHENILE. 47

Mahometans to a ftate of weaknefs that fhould make them,
'no longer formidable to Abyflinia, or, if profperous fortune
ilill attended them further, extirpate the people and religion
together. — This opinion prevailed.

The king, therefore, difmiiTed his baggage, his women,
children, fervants, and ufelefs people. He retained an army
of veteran foldiers only, more formidable than fix times the
number that could be brought againft them ; and, trufting
now to the country into which he marched for fupport,
he advanced, and entered a town called Zeyla, and there
took up his quarters. He had fcarce taken poiTeflion of
the town, when that very night he fcnt a detachment to fur-
prife a large and rich village called Taraca, where lie put
all the men to the fword, making the women flaves for
the fervice of the army, inflead of thofe whom he had fent
home.

The king's views, by fuch fmall expeditions, were to ac-
cuftom his foldiers to fight out of his prefence, and wean^
them from a perfuafion, now become general, that victory
could not be obtained but where he commanded.

On the loth of July, the king continued his march, with-
out oppofition, to Darbe, whence, the next morning, he fent
different parties to the right and kft, to burn and deftrov
the country. They accordingly laid walle all the province of
Gaffi, flaying Abdullah the Sherriffe, who was the governor
andfonofSaruchthelmam, author of the confpiracy againft
him. From thence he fell fuddenly upon Abalge and Tas-
lab, a large diftrift belonging to the king of Add.

Thjs;

48 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

This prince, hearing that Amda Sion, inftead of returning,
as was ufual in the rainy feafon, into Abyflinia, had deter-
mined to continue to ravage his whole country, had not,
on his part, been remifs in preparing means to refift him ;
and he had aflembled, from every province, all the forces
they could raife, to make one laft effort againft their com-
mon enemy.

Amda Sign, therefore, had fcarcely retired from the deftrue-
tion of Talab, when the king of Adel (become now defperate
by being fo long a fpedlator of the ruin of his kingdom)
marched haftily to meet him, with much lefs precaution than
his own fituation, and the charafter of his enemy, required.
Amda Sion, whofe whole wifh was to bring the Moors to an
engagement as often as occafion prefented, left off his plun-
dering upon the firft news that the king of Adel had taken
the field, and, allowing him to choofe the ground on which
he was to fight, the next day he marched againft him, having
(as fure of victory) firft detached bodies of horfe to intercept
thofe of the Moors that fliould fly when defeated ; For no
general was more provident than this king for the deftruc-
tion of his enemy. He then led his troops againft the king
of Adel, and, fpurring his horfe, was already in the midft of
the Moorifh army before the moft adive of his foldiers had
time to follow him. The Abyllinians, as ufual, threw them-
felves like madmen upon the Moors, at the fight of the
king's danger. The king of Adel was defeated with little
refiftance : that unfortunate prince himfelf was flain upon
the fpot, and the greateft part of his army deftroyed (after
they thought themfelves fafe) by the ambuflics of frelli horfe
the king had placed in their rear before the battle.

The

THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 49

The three children of the kmg of Ad^el, and his brother,
who had all been in the engagement, feeing the great in-
feriority of their troops, and terrified at the approaching
fate of their country, loading themfelves with the mod va-
luable of their eifedts, (which, in token of humility, they
carried upon their heads, fhouldcrs, and in their hands,) came
with thefe prefents before the king, who was fitting armed at
the door of his tent, and, without further apology, or aifu'-
rance given, threw themfelves, as is tlie cuilom of ALyf-
finia, at his feet, with their foreheads in the duft, intrcat-
ing pardon for what had hitherto been done amifs ; fubmit-
ing to him as his fubjedts, profeffing their rcadincfs to obey
all his commands, provided only that he would proceed no
further, nor wafte and dcflroy their country, but fpare what
Hill remained, which was, for the moil part, the property of
Arabian merchants who had done him no injury.

But the king fccmcd little difpofcd to credit thefe alTu-
rances. He told them plainly, " That they, and all Ethiopia,
" knew the time was when they wxre under his dominion,
" paid him the fame tribute, and owed him the fame alle-
" giance with the refl of his fubjeds ; that neither he, nor
*' his predeceflors, at that time, had ever opprcfTed them,
*' but returned them prefent for prefent, gold for gold, ap^
" parel for apparel, and dilmilTed them contentedly home
" whenever they came to pay their duty to them : That lately,
" from fuppofcd weaknefs in him, when he was young in
" the beginning of his reign, and encouraged by the great
" addition of their brethren, who flocked to them from A-
" rabia, they had, without provocation, thrown oif their al-
" legiance to him, upbraiding him as a eunuch, fit only to
" take care of the women of their feraglio, with many fuch

Vol. II. G " taunting

50 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

** taunting meiTages, equally unworthy the majefty and me-
" mory of a prince like him : That, could this be pafTed over,.
*' ftill there was a crime that all the bl6od oMdel could not a-'
" tone for: They had, without provocation, murdered his
" priefts, burnt their churches, and deftroyed his defcncelefs ;
" people in their villages, merely from a vain belief that they
" were too far to be under his protection: That, topuniili them
" for this, he was now in the midft of their country, and, if
'•^ his life was fpared, never would he turn his back upon Adel
" while he had ten men with him capable of drawing their
" fwords.. He, therefore, ordered them to return, and ex-
" pet?t the approach of his army."

The two eldeft children and the brother were fo ftruck
with, the fierce manner and countenance with v/hich the-
king fpokc, that they remained pcrfedly filent- But the-
youngeft fon (a youth of great fpirit, and who, withi
the utmoft difficulty, had been forced by his parents to>
fly after the battle) anfwered the king with great refolu,-
tion :■ —

" It is a truth known to the whole kingdom, that Adcll
" has never belonged to any fovereign on earth but to our-
" felves. Violence and power,, which deilroy and fet up.
*' kingdoms, have at times done fo witli ours ; but that you;
** are not otherwife, than by thefe means, kingof our coun-
" try, om* colour, ftature*, and complexion fufficiently lliew.-.
" We have been free, and were conquered ; we now have
*♦ attempted, to regain our freedom, and,we have failed:. We

have

The Moors in general are much f<juarer, ftouter-made man^ihac tlie AbyfTiniaBS

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 51

« have not been inferior to you in every kind of civility, re-
^' ceiving you and your predeceffors when you came into
« our country, finging before you, and rejoicing, becaufc
« we knew that you had always among you men of great
" worth and bravery.

« As to the accufation againft us, that we robbed the
" Chriftians, you yourfelf fee the riches of our country-,
« which we get by our own indullry and commerce,
« whilft the AbyfTmians were naked fhephcrds and robbers.
" In the days of your predeceflbrs, a handful of us would
" have chafed an army of them, and it. would be fo now,
" were it not for the perfonal valour and condudl of yon.
** their prince. But you, better than any one, can be the
« judge of this ; and I can appeal to you, how often they
" have been upon the point of dcferting you, in return tor
" all the vidories and riches they have fliarcd with you ;
" while there is not a Moor in Adel but would have willing-
*' ly died in the prefence of fuch a prince as you. It is then
*' you, not }^ur army, that we fear ; we know perfectly the
." value of both. You have already enjoyed all the merit
" and profit of conqueft ; but utterly deftroying defencelefs
" people is xmworthy of any king, and flill more of a prince
" of your character."

The king, without any fign of dif^leaTure at the freedom
of this fpeech, anfwcrcd him calmly: "Words and refolu-
" tions like thefe occafioncd your father to lofe his life in
" battle. I come not to argue with you what you are to do,
" nor did I fend for ydu to preach to you; but if the queen
*• your mother, the reft of yotir father's family, and the
** principal people who, after your father s death, are now

62 "to

52 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

" to govern Adel, do not, by to-morrow evening, furrender.
" themfelves to me at my tent-door, as you have done, I will
'• lay the province of Adel wafte, from the place M^here I
^' now fit, to the borders of the ocean."

This unpromifing intei-view with the king was faithfully
communicated by the young princes to their mother, ear-
neftly defiring her to truft the king's mercy, and to throw
herfelf at his feet the next morning without referve. But
thofe who had been the perfuaders of the war (for the
late king of Adel was but a weak prince) reckoned them-
felves in much greater danger with Amda Sion than was
the royal family. They, therefore, agreed to try their for-
tune again in battle, binding themfelves to live and die with
each other, by mutual oaths and promifes. They alfo fent
to the princes this refolution, by an old enemy of Amda
5ion, perfuading them to make their efcape as foon as pof-
lible, and come and head their forces that were then raifed,
and ready to conquer or die together, when the family
■^hould be out of the enemy's hands.

TiiE king, well informed of what had paiTed, decamped
icmniediately from the flation where he was, exceedingly
irritated ; and, having paffed the great river called Aco, he
took poil in the town of iMarmagab ; and the next day, di-
viding his army, he fent two bodies by different routes into
the enemy's territories, with a llridt command to leave no-
thing undeftroyed that had the breath of life ; he himlelf,
with the tliird divifion, burning and laying wade the whole
qountry before him, proceeded Itraight to the place where'
lie -hpai^d the chiefs of Adel were affembling an army.
There he found fome troops, moilly infantry, who kept a*

QfOO di

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 35

good countenance, and feemed perfedly prepared and dif-
pofed to engage him. But an immenfe multitude of ufelefs
people covered the plain, old men, women, and children,
with the parents, wives, and families of thofe he had al-
ready flain ; and thefe were determined, with the remnant
of their countrymen, to conquer this invader, or toperifh.

The king, upon perceiving this ftrange mixture, halted
for a time in great furprife and aftonifhment. He could not
penetrate into the motive of aflembling fuch an army ; and.
fending a party of horfe, as it were, to difperfe them, he
found everywhere a ftout refiftance ; foldiers well provid-
ed with fwords and fliields, and a multitude of archers, who
rained Ihowers of arrows upon him, while tlie women, with
clubs, poles, (lakes, and ftones, damped the ardour of his
foldiers, who, when they firfl charged, fcarcely expeded re-
fiftance. The king, feeing the battle every minute become
more doubtful, and having but few troops, began to repent
that he had weakened his army by detachments ; he inftant-
ly difpatchcd orders to them to advance, and fall upon the
enemy in the neareft diredion poilible. At the fame time,
he himfelf made an extraordinary eflbrt with his horfe, but
all in vain ; and he found, on every fide, people who prcfcnt-
cd themlclves willingly to death, but who would not quit
their ftation while they had power to defend themfelves
in it.

Conspicuous above all thefe for his drefs, his youth, his^
many ads of valour, and his graceful figure, was the young
king of Wypo, who, encouraging his troops, prcfented him-
felf wherever Amda Sion was in perfon. The remarkable
Eefiftancc that this young prince made, foon drev/ the at-

A tentiovii

54 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

tention of the king of AbyiTinia ; who, fh^athing his fword,
took a bow in his hand, and, as my hiftorian fays, choofing
the broadeft arrow he could find, ftruck this young hero
through the middle of his neck, fo that, half being cut
through, his head inclined to one Ihoulder, and foon after
he fell dead among his horfe's feet.

This fight was one juft calculated to ftrike fuch an army
as this with terror. They immediately turned their backs,
and, unluckily falling in with the two detachments march-
ing to the king's relief, they were all cut to pieces to the
number of jooo; a great proportion of which were women
and aged perlbns, unfkilled in war, further than as they
were prompted by a long fufferance of injuries, accumula-
ted now to a mafs, tliat made them weary of life. My hi-
ftorian further fays, that three only of the Moorifli army
efcaped. On the king's fide many principal officers were
killed ; and there was fcarce one horfeman that was not
wounded. Amda Sioii, therefore, when fpeaking of this
campaign, after his return, among his nobility at Shoa, ufed
to fay, " Deliver me fram fighting with old women ;" allu-
ding to this battle, where he was in the greateft danger. The
fate of the unfortunate king of Wypo was particularly hard.
He had lately married the king of Adel's daughter; and it
was the flaying for him, and his marriage, that loft the fa-
vourable opportunity of fighting the Abyflinians, when the
army was in dcfpondency upon the king's being taken iU
of the fever.

The next campaign the king began, by a march firft to
Saflbgade, where he ailifted at the celebration of the feaft of
St John the Baptift ; and he gave orders, that day, to raze all

2 th€

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. s^

the Mahometan mofques to the ground, to dcilroy all the
grain, burn the villages, and put the people to the fvvord,which
■was executed accordingly. The king then decamped the
fourth of July ; and, paffing the great river (Zorat) came to.
the country of the Oritii, and took up his quarters there.
The people of this province were in the very woi^ reputa-
tion for cruelty, and hatred of the Chriftian name. They
were perpetually making incurfions into the Chriftian vil-
lages, and thofe that fell alive into their hands, they either
caftrated, cut off. their nofe or cars, or otherwife mangled
them.

The king, to vindicate the feverity he was about to
exercife, ordered all thofe people, who had fufFered in this
manner, to be colletflcd and brought before him. The
number appeared very conliderable ; and, having inquired
in what occupations they had been employed, they anfwer-
ed, that their bufinefs was to cut down wood, draw and
fetch water, and fome of them to take care of the Moorifti
women. Violently affeded with this, he called his princi-
pal officers, and "commanded them, that, when he decamp-
ed with his army the next day, fmall parties ftiould remain
in ambufh on each fide of the town. The king, early in
the morning, marched out with found of trumpet; and the-
Moors, thinking the army gone, returning to tlicir houfcs,.
were fet upon by the parties, and deflroyed.

The- next place the king came to was Haggara,. where he
ftaid eight days, and celebrated there the fcaft of the Crofs ;
flirrounding his camp with palifades, as if he v\'as to ftay
there a confiderable time. Here he made his Ibldiers depo-
fit all their plunder, leaving it under the care of a weak;

guard;^.

56 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

guard, and marched out with found of trumpet, as if he was
going upon fome expedition. There was a large body of
troops in ambufh, and the Moors, concealed in woods, and
hiding-places, attacked the intrenchment as foon as the king
was gone, and had forced the palifades, when they were every
where furroundcd by the parties left behind, and were all
cut to pieces, excepting the old men and women, whofe
nofes and lips the king ordered to be cut off, by way of re-
taliation, and then difmiffed them. Great ftore of bows,
good arms and cloathing, were taken here, lately brought
from Arabia for the ufe of the confederates.

The king now turned his face homewards, marched off
in feven days to Begul in theSahara, and thence fent amelTage
to the governor of Ifat, commanding him to fend to him
all thofe Chriftians who had apoftatized from their faith
in his or his brother's time ; with notice, that, if he did not
comply, he would put him and all his family to death, and
give his command to another family. The king ordered
thefe apoftates, when delivered, to be feverely whipped, and,
fettering them with heavy irons, imprifoned them.

From Begul the army marched to Waz, thence to Getf,
and from Gett to Harla, ftill laying wafte the country. From
Harla they marched five days to Delhoya, being determined
to make a fevere example of this place, becaufe the inhabi-
tants had killed the governor the king had left with them,
and, making large fires for the purpofe, had biu'nt and tor-
mented the Chriftians refiding there. He came, therefore,
upon this town, and furrounded it in the night ; and, after
putting men, women, and children to the fword, he razed
it to the ground.

From

THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 57

From Delhoya he proceeded to Degwa, from thence to
Warga, which he treated in the fame manner as Delhoya,
and then entered the province of Dawaro, where he under-
llood that Hydar, governor of that province, with Saber-
eddin, and a very valuable convoy coming to him, under
their condudt, from Shoa, were intercepted by Hydar's peo-
ple, and their guard cut to pieces. Inftead, therefore, of
proceeding to ^hoa, as his intention was, he encamped at
Bahalla, and there kept the feaft of Chriftmas, laying the
whole province, by parties, vmdcr military execution ; and
hearing there that Jofeph, governor of Serca, was in un-
derftanding with thofe of Dawaro, he put him in prifon,
carrying off all his liorfes, alTes, mules, and a prodigious
quantity of other cattle, which he drove before him, and
ended his expedition by his entry into Shoa.

This is the Abyflinian account of the reign of their prince
AmdaSion, a little abridged, and made more conformable to
the manner of writing Englifh hifloiy. The hiftorian, contra-
ry to the ufual practice, gives no account of himfelf ; but he
feems to have lived in the time of Zara Jacob, the third reign
after this. Though he wrote in Shoa, his book is in pure
Gcez, there being fcarcely an Amharic word in it.

There are three things which I would now obfervc ; not
becaufc they are fmgle inftanccs, but, on the contrary, be-
caufc, though fail mentioned here, they arc uniformly con-
firmed throughout the whole AbyfTmian hiftory.

The firft is, that the king of Abyflinia is, in all matters

ecclefiaftical and civil, fupreme; that hepuniflies all olTences

committed by the clergy in as abfolute and diredl a manner as

Vol. JI. H if

58 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

if thefe offences were committed by a layman. Of this the
treatment of Honorius is an example, who made ufe only
of fpiritual weapons againll offences, that furely deferved the.
cenfure of all churches.

With whatever propriety this fentence might have
been inflicfled upon individuals, and, perhaps, without any
bad confequencc to the public in general, the law of
the land, in Abyffinia, could not fuffer this to be inflic-
ted on their king, becaufe very bad eiFedts muft have
followed it towards the common-weal ; for excommuni-
cation there is really a capital punilhment if executed
with rigour.. It is a kind of interdlBio aqua et Ignls^ for you
yourfelf are exprefsly prohibited from kindling a lire, and
every body elfe is laid under a pi'ohibition from fupplying
either fire or water.. No one can fpeak, eat, or drink with
you, enter your houfe, or fuffer you to enter theirs. You
cannot buy nor fell, nor recover debts. If under this fitua-
tion you fhould be violently flain by robbers, no inquifi-
tion is made into the caufe of your death, and your body \s
not. fuffered to be buried..

I WOULD fubmit now to the judgment of any one, what
fort of government there would be in Abyflinia, if a priefl
was fuffered to lay the king under fuch: interdid; or reflric-
tion. The kings of that country do not pretend to be faints;,
indeed, it may be faid, they are the very contrary, leading
very free lives. Pretences are never wanting, and it is only
nccellliry to find a fanatic priefl (which, God knows, is not
a rarity in that country) to unhinge government perpetually,,.
and throw all into anarchy and confufion. But nothing of
ubis kind occurs in their liiflory, though the bigotted Le

Grande^

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 59

Grande, and fome of the Jefuits, lefs bigotted than him, have
afferted, that fuch a pracftice prevailed in the Abylfinian
church, to fhew its conformity with the church of Rome ;
which we fhall fee, however, contradi(5led ahnoll in every
prince's reign.

The fecond thing I fhall obferve is, that there is no ground
for that prejudice, fo common in the writers concerning
this country, who fay that thefe people are Nomades, per-
petually roving about in tents. If they had ever fo little
reflected upon it, there is not a country in the world where
this is lefs polTible than in Abyffinia, a country abounding
with mountains, where every flat piece of ground is, once
a-day, during fix months rain, cut through by a number of
torrents, fweeping cattle, trees, and every thing irreiiftibly
before them ; where no field, unlefs it has fome declivity,
can be fown, nor even pafTcd over by a traveller, without
fome danger of being fwept away, during the hours of the
day when the rain is moft violent ; in fuch a country it would
be impoilible for 30 or 40,000 men to encamp from place to
place, and to fubfift; without fome permanent retreat. Ac-
cordingly they have towns and villages perched upon the
pinnacles of Iharp hills and rocks, and which are never
thought fafe if commanded by any ground above them ;
in thefe they remain, as we do in cities, all the rainy fcafon :
Nor is there a private perfon (not a foldier) who hath a tent
moj'e than in Britain. In the fair feafoi:i, the militaiy en-
camp in all direcflions crofs the country, eitlier to levy taxes,
or in fcarch of their enemy ; but nothing in tliis is particu-
lar toAbyfunia; in mofl parts of Africa and Afia thcv dA
the fame.

H 2 T.«£

€o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The third particular to be obferved here is, that, in this-
prince's reign, the king's fons were not iniprifoned in the
mountain. For Saif Araad was prefent with his father at
the defeat of Saleh king of Mara, and yet the mountain of
Gefhen was then fet apart as a prifon. For the Itchegue of,
Debra Libanos was baniflied there ; from which I infer, that
after the mafTacre of the royal family by Judith, on the
mountain of Damo, and the flight of the prince Del Naad^
to Shoa, the king's children were not confined, nor yet till
long after theu- reftoration and return to Tigre, as will ap-*
pear in the fequel,

Amda Sion died of a natural death atTegulat in Shoa, aff*
ter a reign of 30 years, which were but a continued feries of
victories, no inllance being recorded of his having been
oncf defeated, • ■

■-S&^,:

SAIF ARAAD.

From 1342 to 1370.

H'/jis Prince enjoys a peaceable Reign — Prote6ls the Patriarch ofCophts ai
Cairo from the Perfecution of the Soldau,

SAIF ARAAD fucceeded his father Amda Sion ; and it
Ihould feem that, in his time, all was peaceable on the
fide of Add, as nothing is mentioned relative to that wan

3 Indeed J.

THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 6t

Indeed, if the increafc of trade and power in that corner of
Abyflinia arofe from the troubles and want of fecurity
which the merchants laboured under in Arabia, we cannot
but fufpcdt, from a parit}' of reafoning, that the violent man-
ner in which war had been carried on by Amda Sion, muft
have occaiioned a great many inhabitants to repafs the
Straits, and return to their own homes.

At this time, news were brought from Cairo, that the
Soldan had thrown the Coptic patriarch, Marcus, into prifon.
There was then a conftant trade carried on between Cairo
and Abyflinia, through the defert ; and alfo from Cairo and
Suakem on the Red Sea. Befidcs, great caravans, formerly
compofcd of Pagans, now of Mahometans, pafled from weft
to eaft, in the fame mianner as in ancient times, to buy and
difperfe India goods through Africa. Saif Araad, not having
it in his power to give the patriarch other afliftancc, feized
all the merchants fronj Cairo, and fent horfe to interrupt
and terrify the caravans. As the caufe of this was well
known, and that the patriarch was in prifon for the fake
only of extorting money from him, people on all fides cried
out upon the bad policy of the Soldan, who thereupon
ordered Abuna Marcus to be fet at liberty, without any
other condition, than that he fhould make peace with Saif
Araad on the part of Egypt, which was done through the
mediation of that prelate.

W E D E Ml

TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fS^

W E D E M A S F E R I.

From 1370 to 1 380.
Memoirs of this and the following Keign defeElivc.

WE know nothing of this prince, only that he fucceeS-
ed his father Saif Araad, and reigned ten years ; yet
his name, which figniiies lover ofwar^ feems to indicate an ac-
tive reign. It is remarkable, that in this reign is firft men-
tioned an sera of Abyffinian chronology, which has veiy
much puzzled feveral learned writers, and the origin of
which is not, perhaps, yet fully known. This is that epoch,
called that of Maharat, or Mercy, which Scaliger and Ludolf
have called the cera of grace. Scaliger fays, he has toiled
much before he found out what it was ; and I doubt his
toil has not been bleiTcd with all the fuccefs we could wifh.
That it is not the asra of redemption, is plain upon a hun-
dred trials, nor of the converfion, nor of Dioclefian. What
it alludes to we know not, but it is iirfl quoted in the Abyf-
ffinian hillory in this reign, and anfwers to the year 1348
of Chrift ; but from what event it had its origin we cannot
pofitively fay, nor further, than that all which Scaliger has
laid concerning it is merely vifionary.

I DAVID

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. <jj

gK'H!'. ■ ■ ^^

DAVID II.

From 138010 1409,

WEDEM ASFERI was fucceeded by his brother David,
Saif Araad's fecond fon. This prince's reign is re-
markable in the annals of the church of Abyffinia, bccaufe,
at this time, a piece of the true crofs, on which our Saviour
died, was brought hither from Jerufalem ; and, in memory
of this great event, the king ordered the Hiccrdotal vefl:, or
capa, which was before plain, to be embroidered with
flowers.

This king, afterreigning twenty-nine years, one day view-
ing a favourite, biu vicious horfe, received fo violent a kick
upon his head that it fractured his fkull, fo that he died up-
on the fpot, and was buried in the great ifland of Dek in.
the lake Dcmbca, or Tzana.

THEODORUS..

64 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

=**^SJR'*

THEODORUS.

From 1409 to 1412.

Memoirs of this Reign^ though held in great EJIeem in Ahyjfmia^ defeC"
tive ; probably mutilated by the Ecclejiq/lia.

DAVID was fucceeded by his eldefl: fon Theodorus. He
is called Son of the Lion, by the poet, in the Ethi-
opic encomium upon him, ftill extant in the liturgy. A mi-
racle is mentioned to have happened, (which would lead us
to fufpe(5l that he was a faint), during the celebration of his
feftival, by his mother, who is called MogefTa *. This lady
had contented herfelf with providing great quantity of flefh
for the feaft ; but, to make it more complete, the heavens
in a fhower fupplied it with ftore of fine fifh, ready roafted.

He was buried in the church of Tedba Mariam in Am-
hara, after having reigned three years. There muft have
been fomething very brilliant that happened under this
prince, for though the reign is fo fliort, it is before all o-
thers the moll favourite epoch in Abyllinia. It is even con-
fidently believed, that he is to rife again, and to reign in

Ab}^flinia

* Probably Magwas, or Berhan Magwafs, the Glory of Grace ; a name often ufed by
queens ; for Mogeffa has no fignificaiign, that I know, in any of the laiiguages of Ethiopia,

'the source of the NILE. '63

Abyffinia for a thoufand years, and in this period all war
is. to ceafe, and every one, in fulnefs, to enjoy happinefs,
plenty, and peace. Foolifli as thefe legends are, and dif-
tant the time, this one was the fource of great trouble
and perfonal danger to me, as will be feen in the fequel.
What we know certain in this prince's hiftory is, that he
abrogated the treaty of partition made by Icon Amlac in fa-
vour of the Abuna Tecla Haimanout and his fucceflbrs, by
which one third of the kingdom of Abyflinia was for ever
to be fet apart as a revenue for the Abuna. This wife prince
modified fo exceflive a provifion, refervdng to the Abuna
for his maintenance a fufficient territory in every province
of the kingdom. It is Hill judged immoderate, and has fuf-
fered many defalcations under later princes, who, perhaps,
not ailing upon the principles of Theodorus, have not been
commended by pofterity in the manner he has been.

*^8X5Si5^

ISAAC.

From 1412 10 1429.
No Annals of this tior the four foUoiv'wg Reigns.

THEODORUS wa^ fucceeded by Ifaac his brother, fecond
fon of David. In his reign the Falaflia, who, fince their
overthrow in the time of Amda Sion, had been quiet, broke
out into rebellion. We do not know the particulars, but
Vol. IL I apprehend

66 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

apprehend fome injuflice was at that time done, or attempt-
ed, againft the Jews ; for 24 Judges, 13 from Shoa and 12
from Tigre, (the number having been doubled when there
were two kings reigning *), were of a diiferent opinion, and
would not comply with the king's will, who thereupon de-
prived them all of their office. The king, coming upon the
army of the Falailia in Woggora, entirely defeated them at
KoITogue, and, in memory thereof, built a church on the
place, and called it Debra Ifaac, which remains there to this
day.

Isaac reigned near 17 years, was a prince of great piety
and courage. The annals of his reign, probably during the
troublefome time that followed, have been loft, and with
them great part of his atchievements.

S^Ti- ^'"S^igS^

ANDREAS I. OR AMDA SIGN.

Isaac ^vas fucceeded by his fon Andreas, who reigned
only feven months, and they were both buried at Tedba
Mariam>.

TECLA

* That is, while the family of Zague reigned in Tig.rc, and that cf Solomon in Shoa^
^cfoieihe rciloratioc.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

6;

^i^^f:;^^^

TECLA MARTAM, or HASEB NANYA.

From 1429 to i433'

This prince was third fon of David, and fucceeded his
nephew. He reigned four years, and took for his inaugu-
ration name, Haieb Nanya.

SARWEYASOUS.

This prince was fon of Tecla Mariam, he reigned only
four months ; his inauguration name was Maharak Nanya.
He has been omitted in fomc of the hfts of kings.

**^

AMDA YASOUS.

Sarwe Yasous was fucceeded by his brother Amda Ya-
fous, whofe inauguration name was Badel Nanya. He was
fecond fon of Tecla Mariam, and reigned nine months.

I 2

Z A R A

65: •lRAVli.3 TO Bt>SUDA^E^c

gy.""' ^^^=^^^^

Z A R A J A CO B.

From 1434 to 1468. .

Se7ids Amhajfadors from Jeriifalern to the Coiindl of Florence — Firjl Entry

of the Roman Catholics mto Ahyfftnia^ and Dfpute about Religion

King perfeciites the Remnants of Sabaifm and Idolatry- — Mahometan
Provinces rebel ^ and are fuhdued — ^hc King dies,

THESE very Ihort reigns were followed by one of an ex-
traordinary length. Zara Jacob, fourth fon of David'
II. fucceeded his nephew, and reigned 34 years, and, at his
inauguration, took the name of Conllantine. He is looked
upon in Abyflinia to have been another Solomon ; and a
model of what the belt of fovereigns fhould be. From what
we know of him, he feems to have been a prince who had
the beft opportunity, and with that the greateft inclination
to be inftrudted in the politics, manners, and religion of other
countries.

A CONVENT had been long before this eilablifhed at Jeru—
falem for the Abyffinians, which he in part endowed, as ap- .
pears by his letters Hill extant *, written to monks of that

convento .

* Vid. Ludolf, lib. 3. No. 29. I have this letter at length prefixed to the large vo-
lume of Canons and Councils, a copy of which was fent by Zara Jacob to the monks in Je-
lufalem.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 69

convent. He alfo obtained ft'om the Pope * a convent for
the Abyffinians at Rome, which to this day is appropriated
to them, though it is very feldora that either there, or
even at Jerufalem, there are now any Abyffinians. By his
defire, and in his nam-e, ambafTadors (u e. priefts from Jeru-
falem) were fcnt by Abba Nicodemus, the then Superior,
who affifted at the council of Florence, where, however,
they adhered to the opinion of the Greek church about the
proceeding of the Holy Glioll, which created a fchifm be-
tween the Greek and Latin churches. Tliis embafTy was
thought of confequence enough to be the fubjea: of a
painting in the Vatican, and to this picture we owe the
knowledge of fuch an embafTy having been font.

The mild reign of the laft Soldan of Egypt fccms gi'eat-
ly to have favoured the difpofition of Zara Jacob, in main-
taining- an intercourfc with Europe and Afia. And it is for
the firft time now in this reign that we read of a difpute
upon religion with the Franks, or Frangi, a name wliich.
afterwards became more odious and fatal to whomfoever
it was applied. Abba George is faid to have difputed before
the king upon fome point of his religion, and to have
confuted his opponent even to conviction. We are not in-
formed of the name of Abba George's antagonift, but he is
thought to have been a Venetian painter f, who lived many
years after in Abyilinia, and, it is believed, died there; From
this time, however, in ?Jmoft every, reign,, there appear,
marks of a party formed in favour of the church of Rome,,
which probably had its firft rife from the Abyilinian em-

baffy to the council of Florence.

Although

" St Stefaoo ia Rotondls. . + Francifco de Branca Leoiu

70 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Although the eftablifhed religion in Abyffinia was that
of the Greek church of Alexandria, yet many different fu-
perflitions prevailed in every part of the country. On the
coaft of the Red Sea, as well as the Ocean, that is in the low
provinces adjoining to the kingdom of Adel, the greateft
part of the inhabitants were Mahometans ; and the conveni-
encies of trade had occafioned thefe to difperfe themfelves
through many villages in the high country, efpecially in
Woggora, and in the neighbourhood of Gondar. Dembea
on the fouth, and the rugged diftrid of Samen on the call,
were crowded with many deformed fefts, while the people
of the low valleys, towards Nubia, the Agows at the head of
the Nile, and thofe of the fame name, though of a different
nation and language, at the head of the Tacazze, in Lafta,
were, for the greateft part, Pagans, /, e. of the old reUgion of
Sabeans, wonliipping the planets, ftars, the wind, trees, and
fuch like. But a more abominable worfliip than this feemed
efpecially predominant among fome of the Agows at the
fource of the Nile, and the people bordering upon Nubia, as
they adored the cow and ferpents for their gods, and fuppofed
that, by the latter, they could divine all that was to happen
to theifi in futurity.

Whether it was that a long war had thrown a veil over
thc/e abufos, or v/hether (w^hich is more probable) a fpirit
of toleration had ftill prevailed in this country, which had
at firft been converted to Chriftianity without blood-llied, it
is not eafy at this time to fay. Only their hiftory does not
mention, that, before the reign of this prince, idolatry had
been confidered as a capital crime, or judicially inquired in-
to, and tried as fuch. An accufation, however, at this time,
being brought againft fome families for worlliipping the

4 cow

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 71

cow and the ferpent, they were, by the king's orders, feized
and brought before himfelf fitting in judgment, with the
principal of his clergy, and with his officers of ftate, with
whom he afTociated fome ftrangers, lately come from Jeru-
falem ; a cuftom which prevails to this day. Thefe crimi-
nals were all capitally convicted, and executed. A procla-
mation from the king followed, declaring. That any perfon
who did not, upon his right hand, carry an amulet, with
thefe words, I renounce the devil for Chr'ijl our Lord^ fhould forfeit
his perfonal eilate, and be liable to corporal punifliment.

It has been the cuftom of all Pagan nations to wear
amulets upon their arms, and dilTcrcnt parts of their bodies.
From the Gentiles this ufagc was probably firft learned by
the Jews. Amulets were adopted by the Mahometans, but,
till now, not worn in Abyffinia by any Chriftians.

These executions, which at firft confifted of fcven peo-
ple only, began to be repeated in different places, and
at different times. The perfon employed as inquifitor, and
the manner this examination was made, tended to make it
ftill more odious. Amda Sion, the Acab Saat, was the man
to whom this perfccution was committed. He was the king's
principal confident ; of very auftcre manners : he neither
fhavedhis head nor changed his cloaths ; had no conne(5lion
with women, nor with any great man in court ; never faw
the king but alone, and, when he appeared abroad, was
conftantly attended by a number of foldiers, with drums and
trumpets, and other equipage, not at all common for a
clergyman. He had under him a number of fpies, who
brought him intelligence of any fteps taken in idolatry or
treafon ; and, after being, as he fuppofed, well informed, he

V, ii. i. 3 went

72 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

went to the houfe of the dehnquent, wliere he firft refrefii-
ed himfelf and his attendants, then ordered thofe of the-
houfe he came for, and all that were with them, to be exes*
cuted in his prefence.

Among thofe that fufiered were the king's two fons-in-
law, married to his daughters Mcdehan Zamidu, and Ber-
ban Zamidu, having been accufed by their wives, the one
of adultery, the other of inceft: they were both put to death
in their own houfes, in a very private and fufpicious man-
ner. This execution being afterwards declared by the king,
in an affembly of the clergy and ftates, certain priefts, or o-
thers, from Jerufalem, in public, condemned this procedure
of the king, as contrary to law, found policy, and the firft
principles of juilice, which feems to have had fuch an efre(ft
that we hear no more of thefe perfecutions, nor of Amda;
Sion the perfecutor, during the whole of this reign.

The king now turned his thoughts upon a nobler obje<5ly
which was that of dividing his country into feparate go-
vernments, affigning to each the tax it fhould pay, at what
time, and in what manner, according to the lituation and
capacity of each province. The profperity of the Moorifh^
Hates, from the extenfive trade conftantly carried on there^
the bad ufe they made of their riches by employing them,
in continual rebellions, made it necefTary that the king
lliould fee and inquire into each perfon's circumftances,
which he propofed to do, as was ufual, before the time o£
their feveral inveftitures.

The chief of the rich diftriifl of Gadai, was the firft call-
ed on by the king^as it is on this occafion that confideiable

prefents

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 73

prefents (feldom lefs than two years rent of the province)
are given, about one half to the king, the other among his
courtiers. There was, at this period, a Moorilh woman of
quaUty in court, called the queen of Zeyla. She had been
brought to the palace with a view that the king fhould marry
her, but he difliking her for the length, as is faid, or fome
other defedt, in her foreteeth, had married her to a noble-
man.

This injury had funk very deep in the breaft of the
queen of Zeyla, though £he was only nominally fo, having
been expelled from her kingdom before her coming into
Abyffinia. But it happened that flie was filler to Mihico
fon of Mahomet, chief of Gadai, whom flie earneftly per-
fuaded to ftay at home, and fhe fucceeded fo far, as not on-
ly to prevail upon him to be abfent, but alfo to withdraw
himfelf entirely from his allegiance.

At this very time, the king was informed by a faithful
ferv'ant, a nobleman of Hadca, that the chief of Gadai had
long been meditating mifchief, and endeavouring to prevail
with the king of Adel to march with his army, while great
part of the principal people of Hadea, whom he had fedu-
ced, were to fall, on the oppofitc fide, upon Dawaro and
Bali.

The king, however, received certain accounts from A-
del, that all was quiet there ; and inquiring who of his Moor-
i-fli fcrvants were of the confpiracy in Hadea, he found
them to be Goodalu, Alarea, Ditho, Hybo, Ganze, Saag, Gi-
dibo, Kibben, Gugule, and Haleb. As there were ftill for-
ces enough in tlie province to refill this confederacy, the
Vol. II, K king^

74 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

king, inftead of levying an army againft tliem, thought the
proper way was to fend them a governor, who fliould di-
vide the intereft and llrength of the enemy. There was
then an uncle of Mihico remaining in exile at Dejan *,
whither he had been fent formerly into banilhment at the
inftance of his nephew, but he ftill preferved the command
of a fmall diftrid; called Bomo, as well as the good inclina-
tions of his own fubjc6ls of Gadai, who held his memory
in great veneration. The king, therefore, fent for this go-
vernor of Bomo, and, fetting before him the behaviour of
his nephew, he gave him the inveftiture of his government^
■with many prefents both ufeful and honourable ; and, ha-
ving ordered fome troops from Amhara to attend him, he
difmiiTed him, to punilh and expel his nephew from the
province of Gadai.

The fair of Adel was nigh, and thither all the inhabitants
of Bali and Dawaro go. It was at this time the confpira-
tors of Hadea had agreed to fall upon the provinces ; while,,
probably, thofe at the fair liad been likewife deftined to cut
off the inliabitants which might be found there. To coun-
teract: thefe deligns, the king, by proclamation, cxprefsly
forbade any of the inhabitants of Bali or Dawaro to go to
tlie fair, but all to join the governor of Bomo, who no
fooncr prefented himfelf in his diilridf, than the people of
all ranks flocked to him and fubmitted.

Mihico faw himfelf undone by this addrefs of the king,
0f which he was quite uninformed. He fled immediately

with

* One of the ftecp raouQtains ufed for pvifons.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 75

with his family, endeavouring, if poflible, to reach Aclel ;
and having come the length of Bawa Amba, a high moun-
tain, where is one of the narroweil and moft difficult palTes
between the high country and the Kolla, here he ftrowed
about, in different places, all the riches that he had brought
along with him, in hopes that his purfuers, wearied by the
time they came there, fliould, by the difficulty of the ground,
and the booty ever)'where to be found, be induced to pro-
ceed no further. But this llratagem did not fucceed ; for
he was fo clofely followed that he was overtaken and flain,
his head, hands, and feet were cut off, and immediately lent
to the king", who, after public rejoicings, gave the govern-
ment of Gadai to the pcrfon who firfl informed him of Mi-
hico's confpiracy, and confirmed the governor of Bomo in
the province of Hadea likewife, wliich he made hereditary
in his family, hi order alfo to be more in readinefs to fup-
prefs fuch infurredtions for the future, he gave his Chri-
ftian foldiers lands adjacent to each other, forming a line
all along the frontiers of the Mahometan provinces of Ba-
li, Fatigar, Wadgc, and Hadea, tliat they might be ready
at an inilant to fupprcfs any tumult in the provinces thcm-
felvcs, or refill any incurfions from the kingdom of Adel.

The king now fet about fuUllling another duty of liis
reign, that of repairing the fcveral churches in Abyflinia
which had been defl:ro)-ed in the late war by the Mahome-
tans, and of building new ones, whicii it is their confiant
cuftom to vow and to ere^l where vi^flories had been ob-
tained over an infidel enemy. While thus employed, news
were fcnt him from tlic patriarch of Alexandria, that the
church of the Virgin liad been dellroycd at that city by
fire. Full, therefore, of grief for this misfortune, he imme-

K 2 diately

76 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

diately founded another in AbylTmia, to repair that lofe
which Chriltianity had fuffered in Egypt.

Being now advanced in Ufc, he would wiUingly have
dedicated the remainder of it to thefe purpofes, when he
was awakened from his rehgious employments by an a-
larm of war. The rebels of Hadea, by changing their
chief, had not altered their difpofitions to rebel, and, fee-
ing the king given to other purfuits, they began to afTociate
and to arm. The governor, whom the king had created
after the death of Mihico, gave the king a very late notice
of this, which he diircmbled, as he was the queen Helena's
father : but having, under pretence of confecrating the
church of St Cyriacos, alTembled a fufficient number of
men whom he could truil, he made a fudden irruption in^
to the rebel provinces before they had united their forces.
The firll that the king met to oppofe him was an officer of
the rebel governor of Fatigar, who imagined he was enga-
ging only the van of a feparate body of Zara Jacob's troops,
not believing him to be yet come up in perfon with fo fmall
a number ; But being undeceived, he beftirred himfelf fo
courageoufly, that he reached the king's perfon, and broke
his lance upon him ; but, in return, received a blow from
the lance of the king which threw him to the ground ; at
the fight of which his whole party took flight, but were o-
vertaken and put to the fword almoft to a man ; nor was
the king's lofs confiderable, his number being fo fmall.

Upon this defeat, Hiradin, the governor's brother, decla-
red liis revolt, and advanced to fight the king at the pafiage
of the river Plawafli. Zara Jacob, much ofiTended at this
frefli delinquency, fen* an officer, called Han Degna, who

3 found

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 7-

fannd him at the watering-place unfufpeaing an enetny ;
and, before he could put his army in order, he was furround-
cd, llain, and his head fent to the king, who rejoiced much
at the light, it being brought him on Chriftmas day.

After this the king colleded his dead, and buried
them with great honour and lliew of grief. He then fum-
moned the governor of Hadea, who profefTed himfelf will-
ing to fubmit his loyalty and condudl to the ftridleft in-
quiry. Above all the reafons which hindered him from at-
tending the king, one was known to be, that the queen was
not without reafon fufpeded to favour the Mahometans,
being originally of that faith herfelf, and, therefore, for fear
of revealing his fecret to the enemy, the king did not choofe
to make her father, the governor of Hadea, partaker in his
expedition, but, from jealoufy to the queen, ordered him to
ftay at home. Notwithftanding which it was found, that
all in his government were in their allegiance, and ready to
march upon the fhorteft notice had the king required it ;
therefore he extended his command over the conquered pro-
vinces, in room of tlic rebel governors whom he had re-
moved.

BEDA

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^^Qk^^

BjEDA MARIA M.

From 1468 to 1478.

Revives the Ban'i/hment of Princes to the Mountain — Waf with Adel-^
Death of the King — Attempts by Portugal to difcover Abyffinia and
the Indies.

EX>h MARIAM fucceeded to the throne (as his hiftorian
fays) againft his father s inchnation, after having re-
ceived much ill ufage during the earher part of his hfe, of
which this was the occafion. His mother took fo violent
and irregular a longing to fee her fon king, that fhe formed
a fchcme, by the llrength of a party of her relations and
friends, trulling to the weakncfs of an old man, to force
him into a partnerfliip with his father. Examples of two
kings, at the fame time, and even in this degree of relation,
were more than once to be foiuid in the Abyflinian annals,
but thofe times were now no more. A llrong jealoufy had
fucceeded to an unreafonable confidence, and had thrown
both the perfon and pretenfions of the heirs-apparent of this
age to as great a diilance as was poffible.

The queen, whofe name was Sion Magafs, or the Grace
of Sion, firfl began to tamper with the clergy, who, though

I thev

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 79

they did not abfolutely join her in her views, fliewed her,
however, more encouragement than was ftrialy confiftent
with their allegiance. From thefe ihe applied to fome of
the principal officers of Hate, and to thofe about the king,
the beft affeded to her fon and his fucceffion. Thefe, aware
of the evil tendency of her fcheme, firft advifed her, by
every means, to lay it afide ; and afterwards, feeing Ihe flill
perfillcd, and afraid of a difcovery that would involve her
accomplices in it, they difclofed the matter to the kinghim-
felf, who refented the intention fo heinoufly, that he order-
ed the queen to be beaten with rods till Ihe expired. Her
body afterwards was privately buried in a church dedica-
ted to the Virgin Mary, not far from Debra Berhan *.

Nothing had hitherto appeared to criminate the youngs
prince. But it was foon told the king, that, after the death
of the queen, her fon Bceda Mariam had taken frankincenfc
and wax-tapers from the churches, which he employed, at
ftated times, in the obfervation of the ufual folcmnities over
his mother's grave. The king, having called his fon before
him, began to queftion him about what he had heard ;
while the prince, without hefitation, gave him a full account
of every circumftance, glorying in what, he faid, was his
duty, and denying that he was accountable to any man on
earth for the marks of affeaion which he fliewed to his.
mother.

The king, confidering his fon's juflification as a reproach
made to himfelf for cruelty, ordered the prince, and, with

him.

Another church on a hill, one of the quarters of Gondar. It fignlfies the HlU.of. Glory,
or Brightnefs,

8o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

him, his principal friend Meherata Chriftos, to be loaded
with irons, and baniflied to the top of a mountain;
and it is hard to fay where this punifliment would have
ended, had not the monks of Debra Koflb and Debra Li-
banos, and all thofe of the defert, (who thought themfelves
in fome meafure accomplices with his mother), by exhorta-
tions, pretended prophecies, dreams and vifions, convinced
the king, that Providence had decreed unalterably, that
none but his fon, Bxda Mariam, fhould fucceed him. To
this ordinance the old king bowed, as it gave him a pro-
fpedt of the long continuance of his family on the throne of
Abyflinia.

Zara Jacob was no fooner dead, than his fon, Basda Ma-
riam, who fucceeded him, began to apply himfelf ferioully
to the affairs of government. From the reign of Judith, (in
the tenth century), when fo many of the princes of the royal
family were malTacred, the cuftom of fending the royal
children to confinement on the top of a mountain had been
difcontinued. Thefe children all lived at home with their
refpeiflive fathers and mothers, like private perfons; and
the kings feemed to connive at abolifhing their former prac-
tice, for no mountain had been yet chofen as a fubftitute
to the unfortunate Damo. The difagreement between Zara
Jacob and his queen, with the caufe of it, and the prince's
franknefs and refolution, feemed to point out the necefTity
of reviving the falutary feverity of the ancient laws. Bscda
Mariam gave orders, therefore, to arreft all his brethren, and
fend them prifbners for life to the high mountain of Gcfien^
on the confines of Amhara and Begemder, which ever after
l^ontinued the ilate-prifon for the royal children, till a

flaughter.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. Si

ilaughter, like to that made upon mount Bamo, was the
occafion, as we fhall fee, of deferting Gefhen likewife.

The king applied himfelf next to meafures for the better
government of his country. He ordered a general pardon
to be proclaimed to all who, by the feverity of the late reign,
lay under fentence of death, banifliment, or any other
punifhment ; and, convoking the ftates of the kingdom, he
met them with a chearfulnefs and opcnnefs which infpired
confidence into every rank, while, at the fame time, he fill-
ed all the places he found vacant, or that he thought pro-
per to change, with men of the greateft integrity. He then
reviewed the whole cavalry that were in his fcrvice, which
he diftributed into bodies, and ftationed them in places
where they could be readieft called, to execute thofe de-
figns he had then in contemplation.

The next year the king went to Debra Libanos in Shoa.
It was, however, obfervcd, that his preparations were not
fuch as were ufual in thefe fliort journies, nor fuch as were
made in peaceable times. On the contrary, orders were
fent to the borders of Tigre to receive the royal army, which
was foon to arrive in thofe parts. The rumour of this was
quickly fprcad abroad, and afFe(5led all the neighbouring
Hates, according to their fevcral interefls. Mahomet king of
Adcl was the firft that took tlie alarm. Tho' a kind of peace
had fubfiiled for feveral years between Adel and Abyfiinia,
yet inroads had been made from each country into the
other ; and thefe might have ferv-cd them as pretexts for
war, had that been the inclination of the times. Yet, as
both countries happened to be difpofed for peace, thefe out-
rages paflbd unnoticed.

Vol, II. L ^ut,

Sz TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

But, to prevent furprife upon this laft movement of the
troops, the king of Adel thought he had a right to be in-
formed of Bseda Mariam's intentions, and, v^ith this view,
he fent fome of the principal people of his country as am-
bafladors, under pretext of congratulating the king upon
his acceffion to the throne. They met the king in Shoa,
and had carried with them very confiderable prefents. They
were received in a very dillinguifhed manner ; and the pre-
fents which B^da Mariam returned to the king of Adel
were nothing inferior to thofe he accepted. After having
entertained the ambaffadors feveral days with feafling and
diverfions, he confirmed a peace under the fame duties upon,
trade that had formerly fubfifted..

The king of Dancali alfo, old, infirm, yet conftant in his
attachment to the Abyfilnians, was not without his in-.
quietudes, though he was not afraid they intended to at-
tack his poor territory with an army. He dreaded left the-
army in its march fliould drink up that little quantity of
water which remained to him in fummer, and, without
which, his kingdom would become uninhabited. It is a
low, fandy diftricl, lying on the Red Sea, juft where the coaftv
after bearing a little to the eaft of north from Suez to Dan-
cali, makes an elbow, and ftretches nearly eaft, as far as.
the Straits of Babelmandeb. It has the mines of foffile-
falt ijnmcdiately on the north and north-weft, a defert part
of the province of Dawaro to the fouth, and th€ fea on the
north. But it has no port, excepting a fpacious bay, with
tolerable anchorage, called /be Bay of Biliir*\ in lat. 13" 3',

and,.

*Bilur, in the languiige of Samhar, fignifies/S/^/c/?//; if it is coloured with any mineral,
fp as to be either red or green, it is. in this latter cafe, applied often to emeralds, and greet*,
joc^ cryftaL,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 83

and, corruptly in vulgar maps and writings, the Bay of
Bayloul.

The kingdom of Dancali is bounded on the eaft at Azab
by part of the kingdom of Adel, and the m/rrh country.
The king is a Mahometan, as are all his fubjedls. They are
called Taltal, are all black, and only fome of them woolly-
headed ; a circumftance which probably arifes from a mix-
ture with the Abyffinians, whofe hair is long. Tliere are but
two fmall rivers of freih water in the whole kingdom ; and
even thefe are not vifible above ground in the hot feafon,but
are fw allowed up in the fand, fo as to be dug for when
water is wanted. In the rainy feafon, thefe are fwollen by
rain falling from the fides of the mountains and from the
high lands of Abyffinia, and then only they run with a cur-
rent into the fea. All the reft of the water in this country
is fait, or brackilh, and not fit for ufc,unlefs in abfolutc ne-
ceflity and dry years. Even thefe fometimcs fail, and they
are obliged to feek, far off in the rainy frontiers of Abyfil-
nia, water for themfelves, and pafture for their mifcrablc
goats and flieep.

When the Indian trade flourifhed, this prince's revenue
arofe chiefly from furnifliing camels for the tranfport of
merchandife to all parts of Africa. Their commerce is now
confined to the carrying bricks of folid, or foffile fait, dug
from pits in their own country, which, in Abyffinia, pafs in-
llcad of filver currency ; thefe they deliver at the neareft
market in the high lands at a very moderate profit, after ha-
ving carried them from the fca-fide through the dry and
burning deferts of their own country, at the great rilk of
being murdered by Galla.

L 2 The

Sf-4- TRAVELS TO DTSCrOVER:, -

The prcfents fent to Bceda Mariam from Dancali did' not
make a great figure when compared with thofe of Adel,
They conllfted of one horfe, a mule, a fliield of elephant's
hide, a poifoned lance, two fwords, and fome dates. Poor
as theie prefents were, they were much more refpecled than
thofe of Adel, becaufe they came from a loyal heart ; while
the others were from a nation dillinguilhed every year by
fome premeditated adlion of treachery and bloodlhed. The
king, having firft fent for the Abuna, Imaranha Chriftos,,
and called the ambaffadors of Dancali and Add into his pre-
fence, declared to them, that neither of thefe Hates was
to be the icene of war, but that he was inftantly to march;
againft the Dobas *, whofe conflant inroads into his country, ,
and repeated cruelties, he was refolved no longer to fuffer..
He required the ambaffadors to warn their mafters to keep;
a ftridt neutrality, otherwife they would be infallibly invol-
ved in the fame calamities with that nation.

Lent being now near, the king returned to Ifras, there to-
keep his fafl, and diftributed his. horfe on the fide of Amba-
fanet, having fent orders to the governor of Amhara to join,
him immediately, who was then at Salamat befieging a
party of rebels upon Mount Gehud, which fignifies the
Mountain of Man'ifejiatmi. It was the intention of the king,
that the troops of Amhara, Angot, and Tigrc fliould prels .
upon the enemy from the high country, while he with his
own troops (chiefly horfe) fhould cut off their retreat to the.
plains of fait ; and it was here that the king of Dancali was
afraid that they would interfere v/ith his frefh water.

ThI3

* A race of very barbarous people, all Hiepherds, having great fiibftance. and much lefeni'
Mingtlie nations of Galla. They are Pagao^.

TKE SOURCE OF THE NItE. Sj.

This prince kept ftriftly his promife of fecrecy made to
Bacda Mariam, while the king of Adcl obferved a very dif-
ferent Hne of conducfl ; for he not only difcovered the
king's intention, but he invited the Dobas to fend their
wives, children, and effects into Adel,' while his troops
flioLild cut off the king's provifion, and fight him wherever
they faw that it could be done with advantage. The plan
was fpeedily embraced. Twelve clans of Dobas marched
with their cattle, as privately as poffible, for Adcl ; but the
king's intelligence was too good, and his motions too ra-
pid, to allow their fchemes to be carried into execution.
With a large l)ody of horfc, he took poflellion of a ftrong
pafs, called 1 endcra ; and when that imhappy people, fa-
tigued with their march, and incumbered with baggage,
arrived at this fpot, they were cut to pieces without rcfift-
ancc, and without diilinolion of age or fcx.

The king, at the beginning of this campaign, declared,
that his intention was not to carry on war with the Dobas
as with an ordinary enemy, but totally to extirpate them as
a nuifance ; and, to fliew himfelf in earneil in the declara*
tion, he now made a vow never- to depart from the country
till he had plowed and fown the fields, and ate the crop on
the fpot with his army. He, therefore, called the peafants
of two fmall neiglibouring diftric^s, Wadge and Ganz, and:
ordered them to plow and low that part ; which having
fcen done, the king went to Axum, but returned again to
the Dobas, by the feafl of the Epiphany. That cruel, reft-
lefs nation, faw now the king's real intent was their utter
deftruclion, and that there was no pollibility of avoiding i::
but by fubmiffion. This prudent conduct: they immediate-
ly adopted ; and, great part of them renouncing the Pagan^

3. religion^.,

86 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

religion, they fo fatisfied Bceda Mariam that he decamped
from their country, after having, at his own expence, re-
ftored to them a number of cattle equal to that which he
had taken away, having alfo given up, untouched, the crop
which had been fown, and recompenfed the peafants of
Wadge and Ganz for their corn and labour.

Having refolved to chaftife the king of Adel for his
treacherous conduct, he retired fouthward into the provin-
ces Dawaro and Ifat ; and, as if he had had no other views
but thofe of peace, he crolTed over to Begemder, where he
diredied the Abuna to meet him with his young fon Ifcan-
der, of whom his queen, Romana Werk *, had been lately
delivered. From this he proceeded to Go jam, everywhere
leaving orders with the proper officers to have their troops
in readinefs againfl his return ; and having delivered the
young prince to Ambafa David, governor of that province,
he proceeded to Gimbota, a town lying on the banks of the
Nile, which, in honour of his fon's governor, he changed
to David Harafa f . Having thus fettled the prince to his
mind, he fent orders to the army in Tigre and Dawaro to
advance into the fouthernmoft frontier of Adel. He him-
felf returned by the way he went to Gojam, and colleding
the troops, and the nobility who flocked to him on that
occafion, he marched flraight for the fame country.

Whilst the king was occupied in thefe warlike prepara-
tions, a violent commotion arofc among his clergy at home.
In the reign of Zara Jacob, a number of llrangcrs, after the

council

The pomegranate of gold. ♦ f The ilation of David.

THE SOURCEOFTHENILE. 87

council of Florence, had come into AbyfTinia with the Abu-
lia Imaranha Chriftos. Among thefe were fome monks
from Syria, or Egypt, who had propagated a herefy which
had found many difciples. They denied the confubftantia-
lity of Chrift, whom they admitted to be perfed God and
likewife perfe6l man, but maintained that what we call his
humanity was a precious fubllance, or nature, not compofed
of flefli, blood, and arteries, (like ours), but infinitely more
noble, perfedl, peculiar to, and only exifting in himfelf. An
affembly of the clergy was called, this herefy condemned^
and thofe who had denied the perfed manhood of our Sar
viour were put to death by different kinds of torture. Some
were fent to die in the Kolla, others cxpofcd, without the
neceffaries of life, to perifh with cold on the tops of the
highcft mountains.

There was another motive of difcontcnt which appear-
ed in that alTembly, and which affcdcd the king liimfel£-
A Venetian,, whofe name was Branca Leon, was one of the
flrangers that ai-ri\ed in Etrhiopia at the time above meur
tioned.. He was a limner by profefTion, and exceedingly
favoured by the late king, for whom he had painted, with
great applaufe, the pictures of Abyflinian faints for the de-
coration of the churches. It happened that this man was
employed for an altar-piece of Atronfa Mariam ; the fubjedl
was a common one in Italj-, Chrifl in his mother s arms ;
where the child, according to the Italian mode, is held in
his mother's left arm. This is diredly contrary to the u-
fage of the Eaft, where the left hand is refcrved for the purr-
pofe of wafliing the body when needful, and is therefore
looked upon with diftionour, fo much, indeed, that at table
the right hand only is put into the plate..

4^ The

58 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER ,

The fanatic and ignorant monks, heated with the laft
•difpute,were fired with rage at the indignity which they fup-
pofed was offered to our Saviour. But the king, ftruck with
the beauty of the pidure, and thinking blood enough had
been ah^eady fhedupon religious fcruples, was refolved to hu-
mour the fpirit of perfecution no farther. Somfe of the ring-
leaders of thefe difturbances privately difappearing, the reft
faw the neceility of returning to their duty ; and the pic-
ture was placed on the altar of Atronfa Mariam, and there
preferved, notwithftanding the devaftation of the country
by the Moors under the reigns of David III. and Claudius,
till many years afterwards, together with the church, it was
deftroyed by an inroad of the Galla.

In the mean time, the army from Dawaro had entered
the kingdom of Adel under Betwudet * Adber Yafous,and,
exped:ing to find the Moors quite unprepared, they had be-
gun to wafte every thing with fire and fword. But it was
not long before they found the inhabitants of Adel ready
to receive them, and perfectly inflrucfted of the king's in-
tentions, from the moment he left Dawaro, to go to meet
his fon in Gojam. Indeed, it could not be otherwife, from
the multitude of Moors conllantly in his army, who, though
they put on the appearance of loyalty, never ceafed to have
a warm heart towards their own religion and countrymen.
Advanced parties appeared as foon as the Abyflinian army
entered the frontiers; and thefe were followed by the main
body in good order, determined to fight their enemy before
they had time to ravage the country.

A BATTLE

* Betwudet is an officer that has nearly the fame power as Ras ; there were two of thefe,
.and both being flain at one biUtle, as we fhnll fee in fi.e leqKol, the odke grew into difjfe as
lAnfortiinate.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 89

A BATTLE immediately followed, very bloody, as might
be expeded from the mutual hatred of the foldiers, from the
equality in mimbers, and the long experience each had in
the other's manner of fighting. The battle, often on the
point of being loft, was as often retrieved by the perfonal
exertion of the Moorifh officers, upon whom the lofs prin-
cipally fell. Sidi Hamet, the king's fon, the chiefs of Arar,
Nagal, Telga, Adega, Hargai, Gadai, and Kumo, were llain,
with feveral other principal men, who had either revolted
from the king of Abyffinia, or whom friendfhip to the
king of Adel had brought fram the oppofite coaft of Ara-
bia.

The king was ftill advancing with diligence, when he
was overtaken by an exprefs, informing him that his queen
Romana was delivered of another prince, chriftencd by the
name of Anquo Ifrael. Upon which good tidings he halt-
ed at once to reft and feaft his army ; and, in the middle of
the feftivity, an exprefs from Adber Yafous brought him
news of the complete vidory over the Moors, and that there
was now no army in Adel of confequence enough to keep
the field. Hereupon the king detached a fufficient num-
ber of troops to reinforce Adber Yafous in Adel, and conti-
nued himfelf recruiting his army, and making greater pre-
parations than before, that, during the firft of the feafon,
he might utterly lay wafte the whole Moorilh country, or fo
Mifable them that they might, for many years, be content
to enjoy r>cace under the condition of becoming his tribu-
taries.

While planning thefe great enterprifes, the king was feiz-

cd witha pain in his bowels, whether from poifon or other-

VoL. II. M wife

$6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

wife is not known, which occafioncd his death. Having, a
few moments before he died, recolleded that his face was
turned on a different fide from the kingdom of Adel, he or-
dered himfelf to be Ihifted in his bed, and placed fo as ta
look diredly towards it, (a token how much his heart was*
fet upon its deftru(5tion) and in tliat pofture lie expired.

He was a prince of gr^at bravery and condti^ ; very mo-
derate in all his pleafures ; of great devotion ; zealous for
the eftablifhed church, but Heady in refilling the monks and
other clergy in all their attempts towards perfecution, in-
novation, and independency. Many ftories have been pro-
pagated of his inclination to the Catholic religion, and of
his averfion to having an Abuna from Egypt ; and it is faid,
that, during his whole reign, he obftinately perfifted in re-
fufing to fuffer any Abuna in his kingdom. But thefe are
fables invented by the Portuguefe priefts, who came into
Abyflinia fome time afterwards, and forged anecdotes to
ferve their own purpofcs ; for, unlefs we except the llory of
the Venetian, Branca Leon, there is not a word faid of any
conne<fl:ion Bseda Mai'iain ever had with the few Catholics
that then were in his country, and even that was a connec-
tion of his father's. And as to the other flory, we find in.
hiflory, that the Abuna had been in the country ever fmce
his father Zara Jacob's time; and that, at his defire, the
Abuna, Imaranha Chrirtos, came and received, in the field
©f battle, large donations in gold, almoft as often as the
king gained a vidlory. Bacda Mariam died at the age of
forty, after reigning ten years, which v/ere fpent in conti-
nual war ; during the whole courfe of which he was fuc-
cefsful, and might (if he had lived) have very much weak-
ened the Mooxifli ftates, and prevented the terrible retalia-
tion

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 9T

tion that fell afterwards from that quarter upon his coun-
try.—It will be proper now to look back into the tranfadlions
in Europe, which are partly conneded with the hiftory of
this kingdom.

The conqueft of the north part of Africa followed the
redudlion of Egypt, and the whole coaft of Barbary was
crowded with Mahometans, from Alexandria to the weftern
ocean, and from the Mediterranean to the edge of the de-
fert. Even the defer t itfelf was filled with them ; and trade,
fecurity, and good faith, were now everywhere diffemina-
ted in regions, a few years before the feat of murder and
pillage.

Tarik and his Moors had invaded Spain ; Mufa followed
him, and conquered it. The hillory of Count Julian is in
every one's hand ; unfortunate in having had the provoca-
tion, ftill more fo in having had the power to revenge it,
by facrificing at once his fovereign, his country, religion,
and life, to the private injuries done to his daughter. As
often as I have read the hiftory of this cataftrophe, fo often
have I regretted to fee with how little ceremony this young
lady hath been treated by authors of all languages and na-
tions. They call her C^^K with the fame eafe and indiffer-
ence as they would have called her Anne, or Margaret. This
muft be from mere ignorance. Caaba could not be the
name of the daughter of Count Julian before her fcdua:ion.
Caaba means Harlot, in the broadcft way poffible to exprefs
the term, and very cruelly and improperly, it feems to be
given her^ even after her misfortune ; for Ihe was a daugh-
ter of the firil family in Spain, of unexceptionable virtue.

M 2 Slic

92 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

She was not fcduced, hnt forced by the king, while in the
palace, and under protection of the queen.

A GREAT influx of trade followed the conquefl: ; and the
religion, that contained little reftraint and great indulgence,
was every where embraced by the vanquiflied, who long
had been Chriftians in name only. On the other fide, the
conquerors were now no longer that brutifh fet of mad-
men, fuch as they were under the Khalifat of the fanatic
Omar. They were now men eminent for their rank and
attainments in every fpccies of learning. This was a dan-
gerous crifis for Chrillianity, and nothing elfe was threaten-
ed than its total fubverfion. The whole world, without the
help of England, had not virtue enough to withftand this
torrent. That nation, the favourite weapon in the hand of
Heaven for challifmg tyranny and extirpating falfe religion,
now lent its alliilance, and the fcale was quickly turned.

At that time Europe faw with furprife an inconfiderable
number of filhermen, very inconvenieiitly placed at the
fartheft end of the Adriatic Gulf, applying themfelves with
unwearied care and patience to cultivate, gather together,
and improve thfe remnants and gleanings of the Indian trade
by Alexandria, under all the cruelties and oppreflions of
thofe ignorant and barbarous conquerors the Turks, whom
no profpedl of gain, no change of place, no frequency of
commerce, could ever civilize or fubjedl to the rules of juf-
tice. Venice became at once the great market for fpices
and perfumes, and confequently the moll confiderable ma-
ritime power that had appeared in Europe for ages.

Genoa

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 93

Genoa followed, but fimk, after great efforts, under the
power of her rival ; while Venice remained miftrefs of the
fea, of a large dominion upon the continent, and of the
Indian fpice trade, the origin and fupport of all her greats
nefs.

Rhodes, and the flaips of the Military Order of St John of
Jerufalem, to whom that iHand belonged, greatly harraffed
the maritime trade carried on by the Moors in their own
velTels from Alexandria, who were every day more difcou-
raged by the unexpected progrefs of thefe once petty Chriftian
ftates. Trade again began to be carried on by caravans in
the defert. Large companies of merchants from Arabia,
paired in fafety to the weftern ocean, and were joined by
other traders from the different parts of Barbary while
paffmg to the fouthward of them, and that with fuch fe-
curity and expedition, that the Moors began to fet little va-
lue on their manner of trading by fea, content now again
with the labours and conveniencies of their ancient, faithful
friend, and fervant, the camel.

Ormus, a fmall ifland in the Perfian Gulf, had, by its con-
venient fituation, become the market for the fpice trade, af-
ter the difcouragements it had received in the Mediterra-
nean. All Afia was fupplied from thence, and veffels, enter-
ing the Straits of Babelmandeb, had renewed the old re fort
to the temple of Mecca. From hence all Africa, too, was
ferved by caravans, that never fmce have forfaken that trade,
but continue to this day, and crofs the continent, in various
diredions.

• John

94 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

John I. king of Portugal, after many fuccefsful battles
with the Moors, had at laft forced them to crofs the fea, and
return vanquifhed to their native country. By this he had
changed his former dilhonourable name of bajlard to the
more noble and much more popular one of John the aven-
ger. This did not fatisfy him. Alliiled by fome Englifh na-
vigators, he paiTed over to Barbary, laid ficge to Ceuta, and
fpeedily after made himfelf mailer of the city. This early
connexion with the Englifli arofe by his having married
Philipina of Lancailer, filler of Henry IV. king of England,
by whom he had five fons, all of them heroes, and, at the
taking of Ceuta, capable of commanding armies. Henry,
the youngeft, fcarce twenty years of age, was the fii-ft that
mounted the walls of that city in his father's prefence, and
was thereupon aeated Mailer of the Order of Chriil, a,new
inllitution, whofe fole end and view was the extirpation of
the Mahometan religion.

Although every thing promifcd fair to John in the war
of Africa, yet it early occurred to prince Henry, that a fmall
kingdom like Portugal never could promife to do any thing
effedual againll the enormous power of the Mahometans,
then in pollellion of cxtenfive dominions in the richefc parts
of the globe. The fudden rife of Venice was before his
eyes, and almoft happened in his own time. By applying
to trade alone, flie had acquired a power fufficient to cope
with the iloutell of her enemies. Portugal, fmall as it was,
merited quite another degree of refped ; but poverty, ig-
norance, pride, and idlenefs prevailed among the poor peo-
ple ; even agriculture itfelf was in a manner abandoned
frnce the expulfion of the Moors,

PRiNcm

THE SbURCE OF THE NILE. 95

Prince Henrv, from his early years, had been paflioii-
ately acidised to the lludy of what is generally known by
the name of matbematicsy that is, geometry, aftronomy, and
confequently arithmetic. He was of a liberal turn of mind,
devoid of fuperllition, haughtinefs, or pallion ; the Arab
and the Jew were admitted to him with great freedom, as
the only mafters who were capable of inllruding him in
thofe fciences. It was in vain to attempt to rival Venice in
pofleffion of the Mediterranean trade: no other way re-
mained but to open the commerce to India by the Atlantic
Ocean, by failing round the point of Africa to the market
of fpices in India. Full of this thought, he retired to a
country palace, and there dedicated the whole of his time
to deliberate inquiry. The ignorance and prejudices of the
age were altogether againft him. The only geography then
known was that of the poets. It was the opinion of the
Portuguefc, that the regions within the tropics were totally
uninhabited, fcorched by eternal fun-beams, while boiling
oceans waOied thefc burning coalls ; and, tliercfore, they
concluded, that every attempt to explore them was little-
better than downright madnefs, and a braving, or tcmptingj
of Providence

But, on the other hand, he found great materials to com-
fort him, and to make him perfift in his refolution. For
Greek hiftory, to which he then had accefs, had recorded
two inftances, which Ihewcd that the voyage was not only
po{rible,but that it had beenaaually perfoi-med, firft by the
Phoenicians, under Necho king of Egypt, then by Eudoxus,,
during the time of Ptolemy Lathyrus, who, after doubling
the fouthern Cape of Africa, arrived in fafety at Cadiz. Han«
no, too, had failed from Carthage through the Straits, and

J reached:

g6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

reached to 25" of north latitude in the Atlantic Ocean. In
more modern times, even in the preceding century, Macham,
an Englifliman, returning from a voyage on the well coall
of Africa, was Ihipwrecked on the ifland of Madeira, to-
gether with a woman whom he tenderly loved. After her
death he became w€ary of folitude ; and leaving conllrudled
a bark, or canoe, with which he paddled over to the oppofite
coaft, he was taken by the natives, and prefented to the Ca-
liph as a curiofity. And the Normans of Dieppe had, as a
company, traded in 1364, not fourfcore years from prince
Henry's time, as far as Sierra de Leona, only 7° from the Line,

The prince's humanity to his Moorifh prifoners had like-
wife been rewarded by fubftantial information; they reported
that fome of their countrymen of the kingdom of Sus had
advanced far into the defert, carrying their water and pro-
vilions along with them on camels ; that, after many days
travel, they came to mines of fait, and, having loaded their
cargoes, they proceeded till th^y came within the limits of
the rains ; there they found large and populous towns, inha-
bited by a people totally black and woolly-headed, who re-
ported that there were many countries even beyond them,
occupied by numerous and warlike tribes. To complete all,
Don Pedro, Henry's brother, returning from Venice, brought
along with him from that city a map, on which the whole
coaft of the Atlantic Ocean was diftindlly traced, and the
foiithern extremity of Africa was reprefented to be a cape
furrounded with the fea, which joined with the Indian
Ocean.

No fooner was the prince thus fatisfied of the poffibility
of a paflage to India round Africa, than he fct about con-

3 * ftruding

THE S6URCE OF THE NILE. 97.

flru(?ling the neceflary inftruments for navigation. He cor-
redled the folar tables of the Arabs, and made fome altera-
tions in the ailrolabe : For, ftrange to tell ! the quadrant
was not then known in Portugal, though, a hundred years
before, Ulughbeg had meafured the fun's height at Sa-
marcand in Pedia, with a quadrant of about 400 feet radi-
us, the largeft ever confl:ru(5ted, if, indeed, the fize of this
be not exaggerated.

Henry, who, by his liberality and affability, had drawn
together the moil learned mathematicians and ablcil pilots
of the age, now propofed to reduce his fpeculations to prac-
tice. Many Ihips had failed in the courfe of his difquifi-
tions, and ten years had now elapfcd before the prince, af-
ter all his encouragement, could induce the captains to pro-
ceed farther than Cape Non, or, thirty leagues further, to
Cape Bojador. To this their courage held good ; after which,
the fear of fiery oceans reviving in their minds, they returned
exceedingly fatisfied with their own perfcverance and abili-
ties. Henry, though greatly hurt at this behaviour, diffcm-
bled the low opinion which he had formed of both. He
contented himfelf with propoling to them different reafons
and rewards ; and urged them to repeat their voyages,
which, however, conftantly ended in the fame difappoint-
ment. And it is probable a much longer time might have
been fpcnt in thefe mifcarriages, had not accident, or rather
providence, ftept in to his affillance.

John Gonsalez and Triftan Vaz, two gentlemen of his

bed-chamber, feeing the impreffion this behaviour had

made on the prince, and having obtained a fmall lliip from

him, rcfolved to double Cape Bojador, and difcover the coaft

Vol. II, N beyond

^» TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

yond it. Whether the fiery oceans might not have prefented
themfelves to thele gentlemen, I know not ; but a violent
llorm forced them to fea. After being tolTed about in perpe-
tual fear of fhipwreck for feveral days, they at laft landed on.
a fmall ifland, which they called Port Santo.. Thefe two navi-
gators pofTclTed the true fpirit of difcovcry. Far from giving
uhemfelves up for lolt in a new world, or content with what
they had already done, they fet about making the molt di-
ligent obfervation of every thing remarkable in this fmall
fpot. The ifland itfelf was barren ; bnt, examining the ho-
rizon all around, they obferved a black fixed fpot there,
which never either changed its place or dimenfions. Satif-
fied, therefore, that this was land, they returned to the In-
fant with the news of this double difcovery.

Three velTels were fpeedily equipped by the prince; two
of them given to Vaz and Arco, and the third to Bartholo-
mew Pereftrello, gentleman of the bed-chamber to Don John
his brother. Thefe adventurers were far from difappoint-
ing his expecflations ; they arrived at Port Santo, and pro-
ceeded to the fixed fpot, which they found to be the iiland
of Madeira, wholly covered with wood; an ifland that has
ever fince been of the greateft ufe to the trade of both In-
dies, and which has remained to the crown of Portugal,
after the greateft part of their other conquefts in the eaft
are loft. John I. was now dead, and Edward had fucceeded
him. The infant Henry, however, ftill continued the pur-
fuit of his difcoveries with the greateft ardour.

Giles D'Anez, ftimulated by the fuccefs of the laft ad-
veiuures, put to fea with a refolution to double Cape Boja-
dor clofc in fliore, fo as to make his voyage a foundation

2 fox

THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 99

for pulliing farther the difcoveiy ; and, being lucky in good
weather, he fairly doubled the Cape ; and, continuing fome
leagues farther into the bay to the Ibuth of it, he returned
with the fame good fortune to Portugal, after having found
the ocean equally as navigable on the other fide as on this ;
and that there was no foundation for thofe monftrous ap-
pearances or difficulties mariners till now had expe(5ted to
find there.

The fuccefsful expedition round Cape Bojador being foon
fpread abroad through Europe, excited a fpirit of adventure
in all foreigners ; the mod capable of whom reforted im-
mediately to prince Henry, from their different countries,
which further increafed the fpirit of the Portugtiefe, already
raifed to a very great height. But there ftill was a party of
men, who, not fufceptible of great aftions themfelves, dedi-
cated their lime with fome fuccefs to criticifing the en-
tcrprifes of others. Thefc blamed prince Henry, becaufe,
when Portugal was exhaullcd botli of men and money by
a necelTary war in Africa, he fhould have chofcn that very
lime to launch out into expenccs and vain difcoveries of
countries, in an immcnfe ocean, which muft be ufclefs, bc-
caule incapable of cultivation. And though they did not ad-
vance, as formerly, that the ocean was boiling among burn-
ing fands, thc}- flill thought tlicmfclves authorifed to allcrt,
that thefc countries muft, from their fituation under thc
fun, be fo hot as to turn all thc difcovcrcrs black, and alfo
to deftroy all vegetation. Futile as tlicfe reafons were, at
another time they would liave been fuificient to have
blafted all the dcfigns of prince Hcray, had tliey made lialf
the imprellion upon the kmg that they did upon the minds
of the people. Portugal was then only groiviMg to the pitch

N 2 of

100 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

of heroifm to which it foon after arrived, their fpirit being
continually foftered by a long fuGceffion of wife, bravej and
well-informed princes^

Edward, the reigning prince, difdained to give any an-
fwer to fuch objedlions, otherwife than by doubling his re-
fpe6t and attention for liis uncle Henry. To encourage
him ftill further, he conferred upon him for life the fove*
reignty of Madeira, Port Santo, and all the difcoveries he
fliould make on the coaft of Africa; and the fpiritual jurif-
di(5tion of the illand of Madeira, upon his new Order of Chrift,
for ever.

These voyages of difcovery were conftantly perfevered in^
Nugno Triftan doubled Cape Blanco, and came to a fmali
river, which, from their finding gold in the hands of the na^
tives, was afterwards called Rio del Oro ; and here a fort was af-
terwards bulk by the Portuguefe, called Arguim. I would not,
however, have it fuppofed, that gold is the produce of any
place in the latitude of Cape Blanco. It was brought here
from the black nations, far to the fouthward, to purchafe fair
from the mines which are in this defert near the Cape. The
fight of gold, better than any argument, ferved to calm the-
fears, and overcome the fcruples, of iliofe who hitlierto had-
been adverfai-ies to tliefe difcoveries..

In the year 1445, Denis Fernandes firft difcovered the
great river Senega, the northern banks of which are inha-
bited by Afenagi Moors, whofc colour is tawny, while the
fouthern, or oppofite banks, belong to the JaloiFes, or Negro
Bation, the chief market for the gum-arabic. Faffing this
liver he difcovered Cape Verde ; and, to his inexprcffible.

fa.tisfadion^^

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. lor

ratisfaftion, though now in the midft of the torrid zone, he
found the country abounded with large rivers, and with the
moft luxuriant verdure. He found a civil war in the nation
of JalofFes. Bemoy, a prince of that nation, had, in a mino-
rity, intruded himfctf into the throne of his brothers,
(to whom he was but half blood), by the addrefs of his
mother. The eldefl of the three brothers preferved the
fliadow of government, and feemed to favour the ufurpa-
tion. Bemoy had improved that interval by cultivating the
Portuguefe friendfliip to the uttermoft. He promifed every
thing; a place to build their city on the continent, which
the king very much defired ; and to be a convert to Chrif-
tianity, the only thing the king wilhed ftill more. His eld-
eft brother dying, the king was brifkly prefTcd by the two
younger, and fteadily fupported by the Portuguefe, from
whom he had borrowed large fums; but ftill appearing to
trifle with the day of his converfion, and the day of his pay-
ment, the king ordered the Portuguefe to withdraw from
his country, and leave him to his fortune. The lofs of a
battle with his brothers foon reduced him to the neceflity
of flying acrofs the deferts to Arguim, and thence to Por-
tugal, with a number of his followers. He was received by
the king of Portugal with all the honours due to a fovereign
prince, and baptifed at Li(bon, the king and (luecn being
his fponfors.

Great feftivals and illuminations were made at this ac-
quifition to Chriftianity ; and Bemoy appeared at thofe fefti-
vals as the greateft ornament of them, performing feats
of horfemanfliip never before praclifed in Portugal. The
modefty and propriety of his. converfation and behaviour
iaprivate, and the great dignity and eloquence which he

^ difglayed^

102 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

^ifplayed in public, began to give the Portuguefe a very
diiferent idea of his clan from that which they had for-
merly entertained.

In the mean time the king went rapidly on with the pre-
parations that were to eftablifh Bemoy in his kingdom ;
and the fellivals were no fooner terminated, than Bemoy
found a large army and fleet ready to fail with him, the
command of which, unhappily for him and the expedition,
was given to Triflan d'Acugna, a foldier of great experj-^
ence and courage, but proud, paflionate, and cruel ; the dif-
agreeable name of Bifagudo * had already been fixed upon
him by his countiymen.

The fleet performed the voyage, and the troops landed
happily. They were, by their number and valour, far from
any apprehenfion of oppofition. The general began imme-
diately to lay the foundation of a fort, without having fuf-
ficiently attended to its unhealthy fituation. The fpot which
was chofen being low and inarfliy, fevers began early to
make havock among his men, and the work of courfe
went on proportionably flower. The murmurs of the
army againfl his obftinacy in adhering to the choice of this
place, and his fear that he himfelf fliould be left alone go-
vernor of it, made D'Acugna defperate ; when one day,
taking his pleafure on board a fhip, and having had forae
words with Bemoy, he flabbed him. with his dagger to the
heart, fo that he fell dead without uttering a word. The
fort was abandoned, and the army returned to Portugal, af-
ter

*T!i3 literal tmnflation of this is, dculh J):ar^, oxfiaip to a fault ; a charader lie ha^
gained in Portugal.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 103

ter having coft little lefs than all prince Henry's difcoveries
together had done.

B0T Heaven rewarded the wifdom of the king In' a dif.
covcry, the confequences of which more than overpaid hinri,
in his mind, for his lofs. Prince Henry's principal view was
to difcover the way to India by the fouthern Cape of Africa;
but this as yet was not known to be pollible. In order to
remedy a difappointment, if any fuch happened in this
fea-voyage, another was attempted by land. We have fcen
that the common track for the Indian trade was from the
eaft to the weft fea, through the defert, the whole breadth
of Africa. Prince Henry had projeftcd a route parallel to
this to the fouthward, through a Chriftian country : For it
had been long reported by the Chriftians from Jcrufalem,
that a number of monks refortcd thither, fubjecHrs of a
Clu-iftian prince in the very heart of Africa, whofe domi-
nions were faid to reach from the caft to the weft fea. Se-
veral of thefe monks had been met ar Alexandria, whofe
patriarch had the fole right to fend a metropolitan into that
country. Thefe fa61s, though often known, had been as
often forgot by the weftem Chriftians. • Marco Paulo*, a Ve-
netian traveller, had much confufed the ftory, by faying he
had met, in his travels through Tartary, with this princ e,,
who they all agreed was a prieft, and was called Joannes
Prefbyter Prete Janni, or Prefter John.

The king of Portugal,,thereforc, thofe Peter Covillan and'
Mphonfo de Paiva for his ambafladors. Covillan was a man

qualilicd;

* See Mateo Paulo's. Tiavels into Tartavy.

I04 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

qualified for the undertaking. He had feveral times been
employed by the late king in very delicate affairs, out of
which he extricated himfelf»with great credit by his addrefs
and fecrecy. He was, befides this, in the vigour of his a^<e,
bold, adive, and perfedly mailer of all forts of arms; modeft
and chearful in converfation, and, what crowned all, had
happily a great readinefs in acquiring languages, which
enabled him to explain himfelf wherever he went, with-
out an interpreter; an advantage to which, above all others,
we are to afcribe the fuccefs of fuch a journey.

It was at the court of Bemoy that the firil certain ac-
count of the exiftence of this Chriftian prince was procured.
This people, on the weft coaft of Africa, reported, that, in-
land to the eaftward, were many powerful nations and
cities, governed by princes totally independent of each o-
ther ; that the eaftermoft of thefe princes was called prince
of the Mofaical people, who were neither Pagans nor Idola-
ters, but profeffed a religion compounded of the Chriftian
and Jewifli.

It feems plain that this intelligence muft have been
brought by the caravans ; or, indeed, tlie cafe may have
been that the language of the Negroes had, of old, been a
diale6l of Abyffinian. The black Ethiopians above Thebes
are reported to have beftowed much care upon letters ; and
they certainly reformed the hieroglyphics, and probably in-
vented the Syllabic alphabet, which w^e know is ufed in A-
byffinia to this day, and which was probably the firft among
the nations. Be that as it will, the various names which
the Senega went by were all AbyiTmian words. Senega
comes from Afenagi, which is Abyflinian, and fignifies car-
riers y

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 105

riers, or caravans ; Dengui, ajlone^ or rock ; Aiigueah, a tree of
that name ; Anzo, a crocodile ; and, at the fame time, all thefe
are names of Abyffinian rivers.

It was at Benin, another Negro country, that the king-
again received a confirmation of the exiflence of a Chriftian
prince, who was faid to inhabit the heart of Africa to the
fouth-eaft of this ftate. The people of Benin reported him
to be a prince exceedingly powerful ; that his name was
Ogane, and his kingdom about 250 leagues to the eaflward.
They added, that the kings of Benin received from him a
brafs crofs and a flaff as their inveftiture. It fliould feeni
that this Oganc is but a corruption of Jan, or Janhoi, which
title the eaflern Chriftians had given to the king of Abyf-
fmia. But it is very difficult to account for the knowledge
of Abyflinia in the kingdom of Benin, not only on account
of the diflance, but likewife, becaufe feveral of the moft fa-
vage nations of the world, the Galla and Shangalla, occupy
the intervening fpace.

The court of Abyflinia, as we fliall fee afterwards, did,
indeed, then refide in Shoa, the fouth-eaft extremity of the
kingdom, and, by its power and influence, probably might
have puflied its dominion through thefe barbarians, down
to the neighbourhood of Benin on the weftern ocean. But
all this I muft confefs to be a Ample conjecture of mine,
of which, in the country itfelf, I never found the fmallefl;
confirmation.

Amha Yasous (prince of Shoa) being at court, on a vifit
to the king at Gondar, in the years 1770 and 1771, and the
ftridtell friendfliip fubfifting between us, every endeavour

Vol. II. O pofllble

jo6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

poffible was ufed on my part to examine this affair to the
bottom. A number of letters were written, and meflengers
fent ; and, at this prince's defire, his father dire(5led, that all
the records of government fliould be confuited to fatisfy
me. But neter any thing occurred which gave room to
imagine the prince of Shoa had ever been fovereign of Be-
nin, nor was the weflern ocean, or that date, known to them
in my time. Yet the country alluded to could be no other
than Abyflinia ; and, indeed, the crooked ftafF, as well as.
the crofs, corroborate this opinion, unlefs the whole was.
an invention of the Negroes, to flatter the king of Portu«^
gal.

That prince was refolved no longer to delay the difco*-
very of the markets of the fpice-trade in India, and the pat-
fage over land, through Abyffinia, to the eallern ocean. He,
therefore, as has been before faid, difpatched Covillan and
de Paiva to Alexandria, with the neceffary letters and cre-
dit. They had likewiic a map, or chart, given them, made
under the diredlion of prince Henry, which they were to
correct, or to confirm, according as it needed. They were
10 enquire what were the principal markets for the fpicc,.
and particularly the pepper-trade in India ; and what were
the different channels by wllich this was conveyed to Eu«
rope ; whence came the gold and fiLver, the medium of this
trade ; and, above all, they were to inform themfelves di-
ftinaiy, whether it was poiiible to arrive in India by failing-
round the fouthern promontory of Africa.

From Alexandria thefe two travellers proceeded to Cairo^,
thence to Suez, the port on the bottom of the Red Sea, where
fining a caravan of weilern> Moors, they continued their

J route

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 1:07

route to Aden, a rich trading town, without the Straits of
Babelmandeb. Here they feparated : Covillan fet fail for
India, De Paiva for Suakem, a fmall trading town and ifland
in Barbaria,or Barabra of the ancients. What other circum-
flances occurred we know not, only that De Paiva, attempt-
ing his journey this way, loft his life, and was never more
heard of.

Covillan, more fortunate, pafTed over to Calicut and
Goa in India ; tlien crofTed the Indian Ocean to Sofala, to in-
fpeft the mines ; then he returned to Aden, and fo to Cau-o»
where he expedled to meet his companion De Pai%'a ; but
here he heard of his death. However, he was there met by
two Jews with letters from the king of Abyflinia, the one
called Abraham, the other Jofeph. Abraham he fent back
with letters, but took Jofeph along with him again to Aden,
and thence they both proceeded to Ormus in the PerfiaA
Gulf. Here they feparated, and the Jew returned home by
the caravans that pafs along the defert to Aleppo. Covillan,
now folely intent upon the difcovery of Abyllinia, returned
to Aden, and, crofling the Straits of Babelmandeb, landed
in the dominions of that prince, whofe name was Alexan-
der, and whom he found at the head of his army, levying
contributions upon his rebellious fubjeas. Alexander re-
ceived him kindly, but rather from motives of curiofity
than from any expectation of advantage which would re-
fult from his embafly. He took Covillan along with him
to Shoa, where the court then rcfided.

Covillan returned no more to Europe. A cruel policy
of AbyfTinia makes this a favour conftantly denied to ftran-
gers. He married, and obtained large pofleiTions ; conti-

O 2 nued

io8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

nued greatly in the favour of feveral fucceeding princes,
and was preferred to the principal offices, in which, there
is no doubt, he appeared with all the advantage a polifhed
and inflruded mind has over an ignorant and barbarous
one. Frequent difpatches from him came to the king of
Portugal, who, on his part, fpared no expence to keep open
the correfpondence. In his journal, Covillan defcribed the
feveral ports in India which he had feen ; the temper and
difpofition of the princes ; the fituation and riches of the
mines of Sofala : He reported that the country was very
populous, full of cities both powerful and rich ; and he ex-
horted the king to purfue, with unremitting vigour, the paflage
round Africa, which he declared to be attended with very
little danger; and that the Cape itfelf was well known in
India. He accompanied this defcription with a chart, or
map, which he had received from the hands of a Moor in
India, where the Cape, and cities all around the coaft, were
exactly reprefented.

Upon this intelligence the king fitted out three fliips
under Bartholomew Dias, who had orders to inquire after
the king of Abyffinia on the wellern. ocean. Dias pafTed on
to lat. 244 deg. fouth, and there fet up the arms of the king of
Portugal in token of poffeffion. He then failed for the har-
bour of the Herdfmen, fo called from the multitude of cows
feen on land; and, as it fhould feem, not knowing whither
he was going, came to a river which he called Del Infants^
from the captain's name that firil difcovered it, having, with-
out dreaming of it, pafTed that formidable Cape, the objecfl
fo much defired by the Portuguefe. Here he was toffed for
many days by violent ftorms as he came near land, being
more and more in the courfe of variable winds, but, oblli-

3 nately.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 109.

nately perMing to difcover the coaft, he atlall came within
fight of the Cape, which he called the Cape ofTempeJls, f "om
the rough treatment his veiTel had met in her paiTage
round it.

The great end was now obtained. Dias and his compa-
nions had really fufFered much, and, upon their return,
they did not fail to do ample juftice to their own bravery and
perfeverance ; in doing this, they had conjured up fo many
llorms and dreadful fights, that, all the remaining life of
king John, there was no more talk but of this Cape : Only
the king, to hinder a bad omen, inftead of the Cape of Tem-
pefts, ordered it to be called the Cape of Good Hope.

ALTHOtfGn the difcovcry now was made, there were not
wanting a confiderable number of people of the greatcfl
confequence who were for abandoning it altogether ; one
of their reafons was curious, and what, if their behaviour
afterwards had not been beyond all inftance heroic, would
have led us to imagine their fpirit of religion and conquell
had both cooled fince the days of prince Henry. They were
afraid, left, after having difcovered a paiTage to India, the de-
priving the Moorifh flates of their revenues from the fpice-
trade, Ihould unite thefe powers to their deftrucftion. Now,
to deftroy their revenues e£fe(5lually, and thereby ruin their
power, was the very motive which fet prince Henry upon
the difcovery, as worthy the Grand Mailer of the Order of
Chrift ; an order founded in the blood of unbelievers, and
devoted particularly to the extirpation of the Mahometan
religion.

Don.

no TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Don Emmanuel, then king, having no fuch apprehen-
fions, refolved to abide the confequences of a meafure the
moll arduous ever undertaken by any nation, and which,
though it had cofl a great deal of time and expence, had yet
fuccceded beyond their utmoft expedlations. It was not till
after long deliberation that he fixed upon Vafques de Gama,
a man of the firft diflin<5lion, remarkable for courage and
^reat prefence of mind. Before his departure, the king put
into his hands the journal of Peter Covillan, with his chart,
and letters of credit to all the princes in India of whom he
had obtained any knowledge.

The behaviour of Vafques de Gama, at parting, was far
from being chara6lerillic of the foldier or great man : his
proceflions and tapers favoured much more of the oftenta-
tious devotion of a bigotted little-minded prieft, and was
much more calculated to deprefs the fpirits of his foldiers,
than to encourage them to the fervice they were then about
to do for their country. It ferved only to revive in their
minds the hardlliips thatDias had met off the Terrible Cape,
and perfuade them there was in their expedition much
more danger than glory. I would not be underflood as
meaning to condemn all afts of devotion before military
expeditions, but would have them always ihort, ordinary,
and uniform. Every thing further infpires in weak minds
a fenfe of danger, and makes them defpond upon any feri-
ous appearance of difficulty.

July 4th, 1497, Vafques, with his fmall fleet, failed from
Lifbon ; and, as the art of navigation was confiderably im-
proved, he flood out to fea till he made the Canary Illands,
and then thofe of Cape de Verde, where he anchored, took

in

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. m

in water and other refreflimcnts. After which he was four
months flrugghng with contrary winds and blowing wea-
ther, and at lall obhged, through perfeift fatigue, to run in-
to a large bay called St Helena* , in lat. 32° 32' fouth. The
inhabitants of this bay were black, of low ftature, and their
language not underftood, though it afterwards was found
to be the fame with that of the Cape. They were cloathed
with fkins of antelopes, which abounded in the country,
lince known to be that of the Hottentots ; their arms were
the horns and bones of beads and fifhes, for they had no
knowledge of iron.

The Portuguefe were unacquainted with the trade-winds
in thofe fouthern latitudes ; and Vafqucs had departed for^
India, in a mod unfavourable fcafon of the year. The i6th
of November they failed for the Cape with a fouth-well
wind ; but that very day, the weatlier changing^ a violent
Rorm came on, which continued incrcafmg ; fo, although
on the 1 8th they difcovered their long-defired Cape, they did
not dare or attempt to pafs it. Then it was fccn how much
Ih'onger the imprellions were that Dias had left imprinted
in their minds, than thofc of duty, obedience, and refigna-
tion, which they had fo pompoufly vowed at tlie chapel, or
hermitage. All the crew mutinied, and refufcd to pafs
farther; and it was not the common failors only; the
pilots and mailers were at their head.. Vafques, fatisficd in
his mind that there was nothing extraordinary in the dan-
ger, perfevered to pafs the Cape in fpite of all difficulties ;
and the officers, animated with the fame ardour, feizcd the

mof>:

* Oa the weft fide of the penir.fjk on tlie. Atlantic .

112 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

rnoft mutinous of their mafters and pilots, and confined
them clofe below in heavy irons.

Vasques himfelf, taking hold of the rudder, continued
to fteer the fhip with his own hand, and Hood out to fea,
to the aftonifliment of the bravell feaman on board. The
ftorm lafted two days, without having in the leaft fhaken
the refolution of the admiral, who, on the 20th of Novem-
ber, faw his conftancy rewarded by doubling that Cape,
which he did, as it were, in triumph, founding his trum-
pets, beating his drums, and permitting to his people all forts
of pailimes which might banifh from their minds former
apprehenfions, and induce them to agree with him, that
^the point had ver^' aptly been called the Cape of Good
Hope.

On the 25th they anchored in a creek called Angra dc
Saint Blaze. Soon after their arrival there appeared a num-
ber of the inhabitants on the mountains, and on the Ihore.
The general, fearing fome furprife, landed his men armed.
But, firft, he ordered fmall brafs bells, and other trinkets, to
be thrown out of the boats on fhore, which the blacks gree-
dily took up, and ventured fo near as to take one of them
out of the general's own hand. Upon his landing, he was
welcomed with the found of flutes and fmging. Vafques,
on his part, ordered his trumpets to found, and his men to
dance round them.

All along from St Blaze, for more than fixty leagues,
they found the coafl remarkably pleafant, full of high and
fair trees. On Chriftmas day they made land, and entered
a river which they called the river of the ki>/gs ; and all the

dillance

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. nj

diftance between this and St Blaze they named Terra de Na-
tal. The weather being mild, they took to their boats to
row along the fliore, on which were obferved both men and
women of a large flature, but who feemed to be of quiet
and civil behaviour. The general ordered Martin Alonzo,
who fpoke feveral languages of the Negroes, to land ; and
he was fo well received by the chief, or king, that the ad-
miral fent him feveral trifles, with which he was wonder-
fully pleafed, and offered, in return, any thing he wanted of
the produce of his country.

On the 15th of January, in the year 1498, ha\dng taken
in plenty of water, which the Negroes, of their own accord,
helped them to put on board, they left this civil nation,
fleering paft a length of coaft terminated by a Cape called
the Cape of Currents, There the coaft of Natal ends, and that
of Sofala begins, to the northward of the Cape. At this
place, Gama from the fouth joined Covillan's track from
the north, and thefe two Portuguefe had completely made
the circuit of Africa.

BSSS^

VoL,n. P ISCANDER

114 TRAVELS. TO DiaCOVEK

m^

I S-C A N D E R, OR A L E X A N D E R,.

From 1478 to i495'

Kfcander declares War with Adel—Good ConduEiofthe King — Betrayed
and murdered by Za Saluce,

AS foon as the king Baeda Mariana was dead, the hiftory
of Abyffinia informs us, that a tumukuous meeting of
the nobles brought from the mountain of Geflien the queen
Romana, with her fon Ifcander, who upon his arrival was
crowned without any oppofition.

It is to be obferved in the AbyfTmian annals, that very
frequent minorities happen.. A queen-mother, or regent^,
with two or three of the greateft intereft at court, are, du-
ring the minority, in pofTeffion of the king's perfon, and go-
vern in his name. The tranfadions of this minority, too,
are as carefully inferted in the annals of the kingdom as
any other part of the fubfequent government, but as the
whole of thefe minorities are but one continued chain of
quarrels, plots, and treachery, as foon as the king comes of
age, the greateft part of this reign of- his minifters is can-,
celled, as being the ads of fubjeet»,.and. not worthy to be

infer.te.d:

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. i^

inferted in their hiftories ; which they entitle Kebra Za Ne-
gufi, the greatnefs or atchievements of their kings. This,
however poUtical in itfelf, is a great difadvantage to hiftory,
by conceahng from pofterity the fii-ft caufe of the mod im-
portant tranfadtions.

For feveral years after Ifcander afcended the throne, the
queen his mother, together with the Acab Saat, Tesfo Geor-
gis, and Betwudet Amdu, governed the kingdom defpotical-
ly under the name of the young king. Accordingly, after
fome years fufferance, a confpiracy was formed, at the head
of which were two men of great power, Abba Amdu and
Abba Hafabo, but the confpirators proving unfuccefsful,
fome of them were imprifoncd, fome put to death, and
others baniflied to unwholefome places, there to perilli with
hunger and fevers.

The king from his early age had fliewn a pafllonate de-
fire for a war with Adel, and that prince, whofe country had
been fo often defolated by the Abyffinian armies, omicted
no opportunity of creating an intcreft at that court, that
Ihould keep things in a quiet ftate. In this, however, he
was much interrupted at preient by a neighbouring chief
of Arar, named Maffudi. This man, exceedingly brave, ca-
pable of enduring the greateft hardfhips, and a veiy great
bigot to the Mahometan religion, had made a vow, that,
every Lent, he would fpend the whole forty days in fome
part of the Abyllinian kingdom ; and to this purpofe he
had raifed, at his own cxpence, a fmall body of veteran
troops, whom he infpired with the fame fpirit and refolu-
tion. Sometimes he fell on one part of the frontier, fome-
times upon another; flaying, without mercy, all that made

P 2 refiftancej

11(5 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER;

r^fiflance, and driving off whole villages of men, women,,
and children, whom .he fent into Arabia, or India, to.be fold^
as Haves.

It was amatter of great difficulty for the king of Add
to perfuad-e the Abyffinians that Maffudi acfted without his
inftigation. The young king was one who could not dif-
tinguifh Adel from Arar, or Mahomet's army from Mafludi's. ,
He bore with very great impatience the exceiTes every year
committed by the latter; but he was over-ruled by his no-
bility at home, and his thoughts turned as much as poiTible •
to himting, to which he wiiUngly gave himfelf up; and,,
tho' but fifteen years of age, was the perfon, in all Aby f-
linia, mofl dexterous at. managing his arms. At lad, being
arrived at the age of feventeen, and returning from having
obferved a very fuccefsfuh expedition made by Miffudi a-,
gainft his territories, he ordered ZaSaluce, his firft miniller, „
commander in chief; and governor of Amhara, to raife the.
whole forces to the fouthward, while he himfelf colle(5led
the nobility in Angot and Tigre. With thofe, as foon as the-
rainy feafon was over, he defcended.int^o. the kingdom of;
Adel.

Tre king of Adel had been forced into this war^ yet, like a .
wife prince, he was not unprepared for it. He had. advanced
dire6lly towards the king, but had not paffed his frontiers. .
Some inhabitants of a village called Jmo^ all Mahometans,
but tributary to the king of Abyffinia, had mrurdered the
governor the king had fet over them. Ifcander marched '
diredly to deftroy it, which he had no fooner accomplifhed,
than the Moorifh army prefented itfelf. The battle was
maintained obftina.tely on both fides, till the troops under

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ii^

2a Saluce withdrew in the heat of the engagement, leaving
the king in the midfl of his enemies. This treafon, how-
ever, feemed to have infpired the fmall army that remained
with new courage, fo that the day was as yet dubious, when
Ifcander, being engaged in a narrow pafs, and feeing him-
felf clofe prelTed by a Moor who bore in his hand "the green
llandard of Mahomet, turned fuddenly upon him., and flew
him with a javelin ; and, having wrefted the colours from
him as he was falling, he, with the point of the fpear that
bore the enfign, llruck the king of Adel's fon dead to the
ground, which immediately caufed the Moors to retreat.

The young. prince was too prudent to follow this vidoiy
in the ftate the army then was ; for that of Adel, though it
had retreated, did not difpcrfe. Za Saluce was returning
by long marches to Amhara, exciting all thofe in his way
to revolt; and it was high time, therefore, for the king to
follow him. But, unequal as he was in ftrength to the
Moors, he could not reconcile it with his own honour to
leave their army mailers of the field.. He, therefore, firft
confulted the principal officers of his troops, then harangued
his men, which, the hillorian fays, he did in the moll pa-
thetic and maflerly manner ; fo that, with one voice, tlicy
defned inflantly to be led to the Moors. The king is faid ;
to have ranged his little army in a manner that aftonifhed
the oldefl officers. He then fent a defiance to the Moors,
by feveral prifoners whom he releafcd. They, however,
more defirous to keep him from ravaging the country than
to fight another battle, continued quiet in their tents ; and
the king, after remaining on the field till near noon, drew.
ofF his troops in the prcfence of his enemy, making a re-.

trear

ii8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

treat which would not have been unworthy of the hero
whofe name he bore.

The king, in his return to Shoa, left his troops, which
was the northern army, in the northern provinces, as he
pafled ; fo that he came to Shoa with a very fmall retinue,
hearing that Za Saluce had gone to Amhara. This traitor,
however, had left his creatures behind him, after inilrudt-
ing them what they were to do. Accordingly, the fecond
day after Ifcander's arrival in Tegulat, the capital of Shoa,
they fet upon him, during the night, in a fmall houfe in
Aylo Meidan, and murdered him while he was fleeping.
They concealed his body for fome days in a mill, but Taka
Chriftos, and fome others of the king's friends, took up the
corpfe and expofed it to the people, who, with one accord,
proclaimed Andreas, fon of Ifcander, king ; and Za Saluce
and his adherents, traitors.

In the mean time, Za Saluce, far from finding the encou-
ragement he expedled in Amhara, was, upon his firft ap-
pearance, fet upon by the nobility of that province ; and,
being deferted by his troops, he was taken prifoner ; his
eyes were put out, and, being mounted on an afs, he was
carried amidft the curfes of the people through tjie pro-
vinces of Amhara and Shoa.

IscANDER was fucccedcd by his fon Andreas, or Amda
Sion, an infant, who reigned feven months only.

A WONDERFUL coufufion fccms to be introduced at this

time into hiflory, by the Portuguefe writers. Ifcander

is faid to die in the 1490. He began, as they fay, to reign

4 in

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 119

In 1475, and this is confirmed by Ludolf ; and, on all hands,
it is allowed he reigned 1 7 years, which would have brought
the laft year of his reign to 1492. It feems alfo to be agreed
by the generality of them, that Covillan faw and converfed
with this prince, Ifcander, fome time before his death : this
he very well might have done, if that prince lived to the
1492, and Peter Covillan came into Abyffinia in 1490, as
Galvan fays in his father's memoirs. But then Tellez in-
forms us exprefsly, that Ifcander was dead 6 months before
the arrival of Peter Covillan in that country : If Peter Co-
villan arrived 6 months after the death of Ifcander, it muib
have been in the end of his fon's reign, Amda Sion, whcv
was an infant, and reigned only 7 months.

Alvarez omits this king, Amda Sion, altogether, andfo
does Tellez ; and there is a heap of miftakes here that fhew
thefe Portuguefe hiftorians paid very little attention to the
chronology of thefe reigns. They call Alexander the father
of Naod, when he was really but his brother ; and Helena,
they fay, was David's mother, when, in fad, flie was his
grandmother, or rather his grandfather's wife ; for Helena,
who was Iteghe in the time of David the III. had never cither
fon or daughter. So that if I differ, as in fac^ I do, 4 years,.
or thereabout, in this account, I do not think in- thofe rcr
mote times, when the language and manner of accounting
was fo little known to thefe ftrangers, that I, therefore,
fliould reje<ft my own account and fcrvilely adopt theirs, and
the more fo, becaufc, as we lliall fee in its proper place, by
the examination and comparifon made by help of an eclipfc
of the fun in the i3thyear of Claudius' reign in the i553>and
counting from that downwards to my arrival in Abyffinia,
and backwards to Ifcander, that.that prince mud have be-

gim

I20 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

gun his reign in 1478, and reigning 17 years, did not die
till the year 1495, and therefore muft have feen Peter Co-
villan, and converfed with him, if he had arrived in AbyfE-
nia fo early as the 1490.

N A O D.

From 1495 to 1598.

J11/e CondtiB of the King — Prepares far a War with the Moors — Con-
cludes an honourable F'eace with Adel.

AFTER the unfortnnate death of the young king Alex-
ander, the people in general, wearied of minorities,
unanimoufly rhofe Naod for their king. He was Alexan-
der's younger brother, the difference of ages being but one
year, though he was not by the fame mother, but by the
the king's fecond wife Calliope. He was born at a town
called Gabargue, the day the royal army was cut off in his
father's time, when both the Betwudets periffied. From
this circumftance, the Emprefs Helena and her party had
ufed fome underhand means to fet him afide as unfortu-
nate, and in his place to put Anquo Ifrael, Bseda Madam's
youngelt fon, that they might govern him and the king-
dom during his non-age. But Taka Chriftos, their man of
confidence, being, on his firfl declaration of fuch inten-
tions, cut off by the army in Dawaro, Naod was immedi-

1 atcly

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 121

ately proclaimed, and brought from the mountain of Ge-
ihen.

Although Naod was in the prime of Hfe, and vigorous
both in body and mind, yet fuch were the circumftances of
the kingdom at his acceflion, that it feemed a talk too ar-
duous for any one man. The continual intrigues of the
emprefs, the quantity of Mahometan gold which was cir-
culating on every occafion throughout the court, the little
fuccefs the army had in Adel, as alfo the treachery of Za
Saluce, and the untimely end of the young prince, who
feemed to promife a remedy to the misfortunes, hadfodif-
united the principal people in the government, that there
did not fcem a fufTicient number of men worthy of truft to
allifl the king with their councils, or fill, with any degree
of dignity, the places that were vacant.

Naod was no fooner feated on the throne than he pu-
blilhed a very general and comprehenfive amnefly. By pro-
clamation he declared, " That any perfon who fhould up-
" braid another with being a party in the misfortunes of
" pall times, or fay that he had been privy to this or to that
" confpiracy, or had been a favourite of the emprefs, or a
*' partizan of Za Saluce, or had received bribes from the
" Moors, Ihould, without delay, be put to death." This
proclamation had the very bell effe(5l, as it quieted he mind
of every guilty perfon when he faw the king, from wlunn
he feared an inquiry, cutting off all pollible means by
which it could be procured againll him. Andreas a monk,
a man of quality, and of very great confequence in that
country, a relation of the king by his mother, having af-
fedted to talk lightly of the proclamation, the king fent for

Vol, II, Q^ 3 him.

I2i TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

him, and ordered the tip of his tongue to be cut off in hia
prefence. This man, whofe fault feems only to have been
in his tongue, and of whom a very great charav5ler is given,
lived in the fucceeding reign to give the king a very diftin-
guiflied proof of his attachment to his family, and love of^
his country.

Naod having thus prudently quieted diflurbances at
home, turned his thoughts to the war with MaiFudi ; for
the king of Adel himfelf had made his peace through me-
diation of the emprefs Helena ; and this king, more politic
than Alexander his brother, was willing to difTemble with
the king of Adel, that he might fight his two adverfaries
iingly : He, therefore, prepared a fmaller army than was u-
fual for the king to head, without fuffering a Moor of any
kind to ferve in it.

It was known to a day when MafFudi was to enter upon
his expeditions againft Abyflinia. For near thirty years he
had begun to burn the churches, and drive off the people
and cattle on the firfl day of Lent ; and, as Lent advanced,,
he with his army penetrated farther up the country. The
Abyilinians are the ftrideft people in the world in keeping
fafts. They are fo auftere that they tafte no fort of animal
food, nor butter, eggs, oil, ar wine. They will not, though
ever fo thirfty, drink a cup of water till fix o'clock in the
evening, and then are contented, perhaps, with dry or four
leaven bread, the beft of them only making ufe of honey ;
by which means they become fo weak as to be unable to
bear any fatigue. This was MafFudi's reafon for invading
the country in Lent, at which time fcirce a Chriftian,
through falling, v/as able to bear arms.

I Naod»

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 123

Naod, like a wife prince who had gained the confidence
of his army, would not carry with him any man who did
not, for that time, live in the fame free and full manner he
was ufed to do in feftivals. He himfclf fet the example ;
and Andreas the monk, after taking upon himfelf a vow of
a whole year's falling for the fuccefs of the army, declared
to them, that there was more merit in faving one Chriftian
village from flaverj^ and turning Mahometan, than in fall-
ing their whole lives.

The king then marched againft Maffudi; and having
taken very ftrong ground, as if afraid of his army's weak-
nefs, the Moors, contrary to advice of their leader, attacked
the king's camp in the moll carelefs and prefumptuous
manner. They had no fooner entered, however, by ways
left open on purpofe for them, than they found the king's
army in order to receive them, and were fo rudely attack-
ed, that mofl of thofe who had penetrated into the camp
were left dead upon the fpot. The king continued the pur-
fuit with his troops, retook all the prifoners and cattle
which Maffudi was driving away, and advanced towards
the frontiers of Adel, where ambaffadors met him, hoping,
on the part of the king, that his intention was not to violate
the treaty of peace.

To this the king anfwcred, That, fo far from it, he would
confirm the peace with them, but with this condition, that
they mull deliver up to him all the Abyffmians that were
to be found in their country taken by Maffudi in his laft
expedition, adding, that he would flay fifteen days there to
exped his anfwer. The king of Adcl, defirous of peace, and

Qj> not

124 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

not a little terrified at the difafter of MafFudi, hitherto reck-
oned invincible, gathered together all the flaves as foon as
pollible, and returned them to the king.

Naod having now, by his courage and prudence, freed
himfelf from fear of a foreign war, returned home, and fee
himfelf like a wife prince to the reforming of the abufes
that prevailed everywhere among his people, and to the
cultivation of the arts of peace. He died a natural d^atli^.
after having reigned 13 years.

-yi^^Siir

DAVID IIL

From 1508 to 1540.

Davidyan Infant ^fucceeds — ^een fends Matthew Ambaffador to Portu-
gal— David takes the Field — Defeat of the Moors — Arrival of an
Kmhaffy from Portugal — Difaflroiis War with Adel.

THE vigoroiis reign of Naod had at leaft fufpended the
fate of the whole empire; and, had it not been that
they ftill. perfifted in that ruinous and dangerous meafure
of following minority with minority, by the eleftion of
children to the throne, it is probable this kingdom would
have efcaped the greatefl pai't of thofe difmal calamities.

tnau

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 125

that fell upon it in the fequel. But the Iteghe Helena, and
the Abuna Marcos, (now become her creamre) had interefl
enough, notwithflanding the apparent neceffities of the
times, to place David fon of Naod upon the throne, a child
of eleven years old, that they might take upon themfelves
the government of the kingdom ; whereas Anquo Ifrael
(third fon of Bseda Mariam) was of an age proper to govern,
and whom they would have preferred to Naod for the fame
reafon, merely becaufe he was then a child.

Besides the defire of governing, another motive opera-
ted, which, however good in itfelf, was very criminal from
the prefcnt circumllanccs. A peace with Adel was whaj
the emprefs Helena conflantly dcfired ; for fhe could not
fee with indifference the deflrudtion of her own country,
far lefs contribute to it. She was herfelf by origin a Moorj
daughter of A4ahomet, governor for the king in Dawaro ;.
had been fufpei5led, fo early as her hulband's time, of pre-
ferring the welfare of her own country to tha.t of the king-
dom of Abyffmia..

This princefs, perfedly informed of the interefts of botk
nations, feems, in her whole condu(5l, to have acTied uporx
the moll judicious and fenfible principles. She knew the
country of Adel to be, by fituation and intereft, perfe6tly.
commercial ; that part of Africa, the oppofite Arabia, and
tlie peninfula of the Indies, were but three partners joined
in one trade ; they mutually confumed each others pro-
duce; they mutually contributed to export the joint produce
of the three countries to diftant parts of Europe, Afia, and
Africa ; which three continents then conftituted the whole
known world. When Adel was at peace with Abyffmia,.

then;

126 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

then the latter became rich, from the gold, ivory, coffee,
cattle, hides, and all manner of provifion, procured by the
former from every part of the mountainous tradt above it.
Trade flouriflied and plenty followed iL The merchants
carried every fpecies of goods to the moll diftant provinces
in fafety, equally to the advantage of AbyfTmia and Adel.
Thefe advantages, fo fenfibly felt, were maintained by bri-
bery, and a conllant circulation of Mahometan gold in the
court of Abyffinia ; the kingdom, however, thus profpered.
A war with Adel, on the contrary, had its origin in a violent
defire of a barbarous people, fuch as the Abyffinians were,
to put themfelves in pofTeffion of riches which their neigh-
bours had gained by trade and indullry.

She faw that, even in this the worft of cafes, nothing ut-
terly dellrudive could poilibly happen to the Abyffinians ;
in their inroads into that country, they plundered the mar-
kets and got, at the rilk of their lives, India Huffs of every
kind, for which elfe they would have paid money. On the
other hand, the people of Adel, when conquerors, acquired
no Huffs, no manufacflures, but the perfons of the Abyffi-
nians themfelves, whom they carried into flavery, and fold
in Arabia, and all parts of Afia, at immenfe profits. Next to
gold they are the moft agreeable and valuable merchandife
in every part of the eaft ; and thefe again, being chiefly the
idle people who delighted in war, their abfence promoted
the more defirable event of peace.

In this Hate we fee that war was but another fpecies of
commerce between the two countries, though peace was
the moft eligible ftatc for them both ; and this the cmprefs
Helena had conftantiy endeavoured to maintain, but could

not

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 127

not {ucceed among a people fond of war, by any other
means, but by giving them a minor for their king, who
was by the law of the land under her diredlion, as the coun-
try was, during his minority, under her regency.

Although this, the ordinary ftate of the emprefs's poli-
tics, had hitherto anfwered well between the kingdoms,
when no other parties were engaged, the introdudion of a
third power, and its influence, totally changed that fyftem.
The Turks, an enemy not yet known in any formidable
line by the fouthe'rn part of Africa, or Afia, now appeared
under a form that made all thofe fouthern Hates tremble.

Selim, emperor of Conftantinople, had defeated Canfo el
Gauri, Soldan of Egypt, and flain him in the field. After a
fecond battle he had taken Cairo, the capital of that country ;
and, under the fpecious pretence of a violation of the law
of nations, by Tomum Bey, the fuccelTor, who was faid to
have put his ambafTadors to death, he had hanged that
prince upon one of the principal gates of his own capital ;
and, by this execution, had totally dcflroyed the fucceflion of
the Mamalukes. Sinan Balha, the great general and mini-
fler of Selim, in a very few months over-ran all the pcninfu-
la of Arabia, to the verge of the Indian Ocean.

These people, trained to war,. Mahomet had infpired with
cnthufiafm, and led them to the conqueft of the Eaft. Trade
and luxury had, after that, difarmed and reduced them to
much the fame fituation as, in a former age, they had been
found by Auguflus Caefar. Sinan Bafha, with a troop of
veterans, had, by degrees extirpated the native princes of
the country ; thofe that refilled, by force ; and thofe that

fubmittCti

128 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fubmitted to him, by treachery; and in their place, in every
principal town, he had fubflituted Turkifh officers of con-
fidence, ftrongly fupported by troops of Janizaries, who
knew no other government but martial law.

War had now changed its form entirely under thefe new
conquerors. Mulkets, and large trains of artillery, were
introduced againft javelins, lances, and arrows, the only
arms then known in Arabia, and in the oppofite continent
of Abyffinia. A large fleet, crowded with foldiers, and fill-
ed with military ftores, the very name of which, as well as
their deflrudlive qualities, were till now unknown in thefe
fouthern regions, were employed by the Turks to extend
their conqueft to India, where, though by the fuperior va-
lour of the Portuguefe they were conllantly difappointed in
their principal objecT:, they neverthelefs, in their pafi^age out-
ward and homeward, reinforced their feveral polls in Ara-
bia, from which they looked for affiftance and protedion,
had any enemy placed himfelf in their way, or a florm, or
other unexpedled misfortune, overtaken them in their re-
turn.

These Janizaries lived upon the very bowels of com-
merce. They had, indeed, for a fhew of proteding it, efta-
blifhed cuftomhoufes in their various ports ; but they foon
made it appear, that the end propofed by thefe was only to
give them a more dillincft knowledge who were the fubjecTis
from whom they could levy the moft enormous extortions.
Jidda, Zibid, and Mocha, the places of confequence nearcft
to Abyflinia on the Arabian fhore, Suakem, a fea-port town
on the very barriers of Abyfiinia, in the immediate way of
their caravan to Cairo, on the African fide, were each un-
der

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 129

der the command of a Turkifli baflia, and garrifoned by
Turkifh troops fent thither from Conftantinople by the em-
perors Sehm and Sohman, his fucceflbrs.

The peaceable Arabian merchants, full of that good
faith which fuccefsful commerce infpires, fled everywhere
from the violence and injuftice of thefe Turkifli tyrants,
and landed in fafety their riches and perfons on the oppo-
fite fliore of the kingdom of Adel. The trade from India,
flying from the fame enemy, took refuge in Adel among
its own correfpondents, the Moorifli merchants, during the
violent and impolitic tyranny that everywhere took place
under this Turkifli opprcflion.

Zeyla is a fmall ifland, on the very coafl of Adel, oppo-
flte to Arabia Felix without the Straits of Babclmandcb, up-
on the entrance of the Indian Ocean. The Turks of Ara-
bia, though they were blind to the caufc, were fenflble of
the great influx of trade into the oppofite kingdom. They
took poflTeflion, therefore, of Zeyla, where they eftabUflied
what they called a Cuftomhoufc, and by means of that pofl,
and gallies cruillng in the narrow Straits, they laid the In-
dian trade to Adel under heavy contributions, that miglit,
in fome mcafure, indemnify them for the great defertion
their violence and injuflice had occafioncd in Arabia.

This flep threatened the very exiftencc both of Adel and
Abyflinia ; and confidering the vigorous government of the
one, and the weak politics and prejudices of the other, it is
more than probable the Turks would have fubdued both
Adel and Abylfinia, had they not, in India their chief objed:,
met the Portugucfc, ilrongly eflabliflicd, and governed

Vol. II. R by

X30 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER-

by a fucccffion of kings who had not in any age their
equals, and feconded by officers and foldiers who, for dif-
cipHne, courage, love to their country, and affedion to their -
fovereign were, perhaps, fuperior to any troops, or any fet
of individuals, that, as far as we can judge from hillory,,
have ever yet appeared in the world.

It was not now a time for a woman to reign, nor^ which-,
was the fame thing, to place a child upon the tllrqne. The.
emprefs Helena faw this diftin6tly; but her ambition^
made her prefer the love of reigning to the vifible neceffi-
ties and welfare of her country. She knew the progrefs .
and extent of the Portuguefe power in India ; and faw plain-
ly there was no profpe(St, but in their affiftance, at once to>
fave both Abyflinia and AdeL,

Peter Covillan, fent thither as amb^fTador by John,
king of Portugal, had, for two reigns, been detained in A-
byffinia, with a conftant refufal of leave to return. He was ,
now become an objed of curiofity rather than ufe. How-
ever, except his liberty, he had wanted nothing. The em-
prefs had married him nobly in the country ; had given
him large appointments, both as to profit and dignity. She •
now began to be fenfible of the confcquence of having witlit
her a man of his abilities, who could open to her the method
of correfponding eifeeT;ually both with India and Porttigal
in their own language, to which, as well as to the perfons
to whom her letters were to be addrefled, Ilie was then an
utter ftranger.

She had about her court an Armenian merchant named
Matthew, a perfon of great trull and difcrction, who had

2i beea

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 131

been long accullomed to go to the feveral kingdoms of the
Eaft upon mercantile commifTions for the king and for
his nobles. He had been at Cairo, Jerufalem, Ormus, Ifpa-
han, and in the Eail hidies on the coaft of Malabar ; both
in places conquered by the Portuguefe, and in thofe that
yet held out under their native Pagan princes. He was
one of thofe fadors which, as I have already faid, are em-
ployed by the king and great men in Abyllinia to fell or bar-
ter, in the places above mentioned, fuch part of their re-
venue as are paid them in kind.

These men are chiefly Greeks, or Armenians, but the
:preference is always given to the latter. Both nations pay
caratch, or capitation, to the Grand Signior, (whofe fub-
jeds they are) and both have, in confcquencc, pafsports, pro-
teaions, and liberty to trade wherever they plcafe through-
'out the empire, without being liable to thofe infuks and
•extortions from the Turkilh officers that other ilrangers arc.

The Armenians, of all the people in the Eaft, are thofe
moft remarkable for their patience and fobriety. They are
generally matters of moft of the eaftern languages; are of
ftrong, robuil conftitutions ; of all people, the moft attentive
to the beafts and merchandife they have in charge ; exceed-
ingly faithful, and content with liitlc. This Matthew, queen
Helena chofe for her ambaflador to Portugal, and joined a
young Abyllinian with him,w]io died in the voyage. He was
charged with letters to the king, which, with the other dif~
patclies, as they are long, and abound- with fi<5lion and bom-
baft rather than truth and fafts, I have not troubled myfelf to
tranfcribe ; they are, befides, in many printed colkaions*.

R 2 't

* Vide Marmot, vol. i. cap. 37.

132 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

It appears clearly from thefe letters, that they were the
joint compofitions of Covillan, who knew perfectly the man-
ner of correfponding with his court upon dangerous fub-
iedls, and of the fimple Abyffinian confidents of the emprefs
Helena, who, unacquainted with embaffies or correfpon-
dence with princes, or the ill confequence that thefe letters
would be of to their ambaflador and his errand, if they hap-
pened to be intercepted by an enemy, told plainly all they
defired and wilhed to execute by the afliflance of the Portu-
guefe. Thus, in the firft part of the letter, (which we fliall
fuppofe didated by Covillan) the emprefs remits the defcrip-
tion of her wants, and what is the fubje(St of the embaffy,
to Matthew her ambaflador, whom flae qualifies as her con-
fidential fer^-ant, inllru6led in her moil fecret intentions ;
dcfiring the king of Portugal to believe what he Ihall re-
port from her to him in private, as if they were her own
words uttered immediately from her to him in perfon. So
far was prudent; fuch a condudl as we fliould expeft from
a man like Covillan, long accuftomed to be trufled with the;
fecret negociations of his fovereign»

But the latter end of his difpatches (the work, we flip-
pofe, of Abyfiinian ftatcfmcn) divulges the whole fecret. U
explains the motives of this embafly in the cleareft manner,,
^efiring the king of Portugal to fend a fuffieient force to de^
ftroy Mecca and Medina ; to afilft them with a fuffieient
number of fliips, and to annihilate the Turkifli power by
fea ; v/hik they, by land, Ihould extirpate all the Mahome^
tans on their borders ; and it lligmatizes thefe Mahometans,,
both Turks and Moors, with the moll opprobrious names it:
was poflible to dcvifc*

With

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 153

With the firft part of thefe difpatches, it is plain, Mat-
thew, as an envoy, might have pafTed unmolefted ; he had
only to give to the fecret wifhes of the emprefs, with which
he was charged, what kind of mercantile colour he pleafed.
But the laft part of the letter brought home 10 him a charge
of the deeped dye, both of facrilege and high-treafon, that
he meditated againft the Ottoman empire, whofe Raya* he
was ; and, there can be no doubt, had thefe letters been in-
tercepted and read, Matthew's embafly and life would have
ended together under fome exquifite fpecies of torture. This,
indeed, he feems to have apprehended ; as, after his arrival
in India, he conftantly refufed to fhew his difpatches, even
to the Portuguefe viceroy himfelf, from whom, in the in-
ftant, he had received very lingular favour and protc6Uon.

The king, when of age, never could be brought to ac-
knowledge this embaflfy by Matthew ; but, as we fhall fee,
did conftantly deny it. If we believe the Portuguefe, the
defpair of the emprefs was fo great, that fhe offered one-
third of the kingdom to the king of Portugal if he relieved
her. Nothing of this kind appears in the letters ; but, if
this offer was part of Matthew's private difpatches, we may
fee a reafon why David did not willi to own the commiffion
and offer as his.

. Matthew had a fafe paflage to Dabul in India, but here
his misfortunes began. The governor, taking him for a
fpy, confined him in clofe prilon. But Albuquerque, then
viceroy of India, refiding at Goa, who had himfelf a defign

^ upon

* lii fubje£l paying Capitation.

134 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

upon Abyffinia, hearing that fuch a perfon, in fuch a cha-
rafter, was arrived, fent and took him out of the hands of
the governor of Dabul, where his fufFerings elfe would not
liave fo quickly ended. All the Portuguefe cried out upon
feeing fuch an ambaflador as Matthew fent to their mafler;
fometimes they pretended that he was a fpy of the Sultan,
at other times he was an impoftor, a cook, or fome other
menial fervant.

Albuquerque treated with him privately before he land-
ed, to make his commiilions known to him ; but he exprefs-
ly refufed lliewing any letter unlefs to the king himfelf in
Portugal. This behaviour hurt him in the eyes of the vice-
roy, who was therefore difpofed, with the reft of his officers,
to flight him when he fhould come afhore. But Matthew,
now out of danger, and knowing his perfon to be facred,
would no longer be treated like a private perfon. He fent
to let the viceroy, bifliop, and clergy know, that, befides his
confequcnce as an ambaflador, which demanded their re-
fpedl, he was the bearer of a piece of wood of the true crofs,
which he carried as a prefent to the king of Portugal ; and,
therefore, he required them, as they would avoid an impu-
tation of facrilcge, to fhew to that precious relict the ut-
moft. refpec^, and celebrate its arrival as a feftival. No more
was neceflary after this. The whole ftrcets of Goa were
filled with procefllons ; the troops were all under arms ; the
viceroy, and the principal officers, met Matthew at his land-
ing, and conveyed him to the palace, where he was mag-
nificently lodged and feafted. But nothing could long
overcome the prejudices the Portuguefe had imbibed upon
the firft fight of him; and, notwithftanding he carried a piece
of the true crofs, both he and it foon fell into perfect; obli-
vion:

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. rjs-

vion: Nor was it till 15 13, after he had ftaid three years in
India, that he got leave to proceed to Portugal by a fleet
returning home loaded with fpices.

Damiakus Goez the hiftorian, though apparently a man-
of good fenfe and candour, cannot conjecSture why this Ar«
menian was fent as an ambafTador, and wifhes to be refol-
ved why not an Abyfllnian nobleman. But it is obvious
from the character I have already given of him, there could
be nobody in the emprcfs's power that had half his qualifi-
cations; and, befides, an AbyfTinian nobleman would not
have ventured to go, as knowing very well that everywhere
beyond the limits of his own country he would have been
without prote(5lion, and the firft Turk in whofe power he
might have fallen would have fold him for a flave. In no
other charaaer is any of his nation feen, either in Arabia
or India, and his mafter has no treaty with any flate what-
ever. Add to this, that an Abyfiinian fpeaks no language
but his own, which is not underftood out of his own country;
and is abfolutely ignorant even of the exirtence of other far
diftant nations.

But, befides, there was an AbyfTinian fent with Matthew,,
who died; and here Damianus Goez's wonder fhould ceafe..

The fame ill-fortune, which had attended Matthew in.
India, followed him in his voyage to Portugal. The Cap-
tains of the fhips contended with each otlicr who Ihould;
behave worft to him ; and, in the midft of all this ill-treat-
ment, the Ihip which he was on board of arrived af Lifbon.
The king, upon hearing the particulars of this ill ufagc,
immediately put the oifenders in irons, where they had,

probably, ,

135 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

probably, lain during their lives, had they not been freed by
the interceflion of Matthew.

David (as I have before obferved) was only eleven years
old * when he was placed upon the throne ; and, at his in-
auguration, took the name of Lebna Denghel, or the Vir-
gin's Frankincenfe ; then that of Etana Denghel, or the
Myrrh of the Virgin ; and after that, of Wanag Segued,
which fignifies Reverenced, or Feared, among the Lions, with
whom, towards the laft of his reign, he relided in wilds and
mountains more than with men.

During this minority, there was peace with Mahomet
king of Adel. MalTudi ftill continued his depredations ;
and, by his liberality, had formed ftrong connexions with
the Turks in Arabia. In return for the number of flaves
whom he had fent to Mecca, a green fdk llandard, (that of
Mahomet and of the Faith), and a tent of black velvet, em-
broidered with gold, were fent him by the Sherriffe, the
greateft honour a Mahometan could poflibly receive, and
he was alfo made Shekh of the ifland of Zeyla, which was
delivering the key of Abyffinia to him.

It was not till David had arrived at fixteen years of age
that the conilant fuccefs of MaiFudi, the honours bellowed
upon him, and the gain which accrued from all his expe-
ditions, had at laft determined the king of Adel to break
the peace with Abyffinia, and join him. Thefe princes,
with the whole Mahometan force, had fallen together upon

Dawaro,

* Vid. David's letter to Emanuel, king of Portugal 1524.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 13^

Pawaro, Ifat, and Fatigar ; and, in one year, had driven a-
way, and llain, above nineteen thoufand Chriftians, fubjeds
to the king. A terror was now fpread over the whole king-
dom, and great blame laid both upon the emprefs and the
king, for fitting and looking timidly on, while the Turks
and Moors, year after year, ravaged whole provinces with-
out rcfiflance.

These murmurs at laft roufcd David, who, for his own
part, had not fuffcred them willingly fo long. He deter-
mined immediately to raife an army, and to command it
in pcrfon: In vain the emprefs admonilhed him of his
danger, and his abfolutc want of experience in matters of
war ; in vain fhe advifcd him to employ fome of the old
officers againft the veteran Moorilli troops.

The king anfwered, That every officer of merit had been
tried already, and baffled from beginning to end, fo that the
army had no confidence in them ; that he was refolved to
take his trial as the others had done, and leave the event
where it ought to be left. Though the diviners all prophe-
fied ill from this refolution of the king, the generality of
the kingdom, and young nobility, flocked to his flandard,
rejoicing in a leader fo near their own age. The middle-
aged had great hopes of the vigour of that youth ; and the
old were not more backward, fatished of the weight their
years and experience mull give them in the councils of a
young king.

Seldom a better army took the field ; and the emprefs, from
her own treafures, furniffied every thing, even to fuperflu-
ity, engaging all the people of confequencc by giving them

YOL. II. S moft

S^S TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

in the moil affable manner,prefents in hand, and magnificent
promifesof recompence hereafter. Great asthefe preparations
were, they had not made much impreffion among the con-
federates in Adel ; and ah-eady the king had put himfelf at
the head of his army, before the Moors feemed to think it
worth their while to follow him. They were, indeed,
at that very time, laying wafte a part of the kingdom of A-
byffmia. The king, then, by quick marches, advanced .
through Fatigar, as if he was going to Auffa, the capital of,
Adel.

Between Fatigar and the plain country of Adel there is
a deep large valley, through which it was neceffary the
army ihould pafs. Very fteep mountains bound it on every
fide, whilft two openings (each of them very narrow) were
the only paffages by which it was poffible to enter or go >
out. The king divided his army into two ; he kept the
beft troops and largeft body with himfelf, and fent Betwu-
det with the reft, as if they intended to fight the enemy be- ■
fore they gained the defiles. The Moors, on the other
hand, terrified at what muft happen if the king with his
army marched into their defencelefs country, accounted it
a great efcape to get into thefe very defiles before they were
forced to an engagement. Betwudet, who defired no more,
gave them their way, and, entering the valley behind them,
encamped there. The king, at the other end; had done the
fame, unfeen by the enemy, who thought he was advanced
on his march to Auffa. The Moors were thus completely
hemmed in, and the king's army vaftly fuperior. He had
ordered his tents to be left Handing, with a bed) of troops in
them, and thefe completely covered the. only outlet to the.

J valley,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 139

valley, whilft Betwudet and his party had advanced confidep-
ably, and made much the fame difpofition.

The king drew up his troops early in the morning, and
offered the enemy battle, when the whole Abyffinian army
was furprifed to difcover a backwardnefs in the Moors fo
unlike their behaviour at former times ; well they might,
when they were informed from whom that panic among
the Moors came, MafTudi, a fanatic from the beginning,
whether really deceived by fuch a prophecy, or raifed to a
pitch of pride and enthufiafm by the honours he had re-
ceived, and defirous, by a remarkable death, to dcfervc the
rank of martyr among thofe of his own religion, or from
whatever caufe it arofe, came to the king of Adel, and told
liim, that his time was now come ; that it had been pro-
phefied to him long ago, that if, that year, he fought the
king of Abyllinia in pcrfon, he was there to lofe his life:
That he knew, for certain, David was then prcfent, having,
with his own eyes, fecn the fcarlct tent, (a colour which is
only ufed by the king) ; he dcfired, therefore, the king of
Adcl to make the bcft of his way through a lefs flecp part
of the mountain, which he fhcwed him ; to take his family
and favourites along with him, and leave under his com-
mand the army to try their fortune with David. Maho-
met, at no time very fond of fighting, never found himfelf
lefs fo than upon this advice of Maffudi's. He refolved,
therefore, to follow his council ; and, before the battle be-
gan, withdrew himfelf through the place that was fliewii
him, and was followed by a few of his friends.

It was now 9 o'clock, and the fun began to be hot, be-
fore which the Abyliinians never choofe to engage, wiicn

S 2, Mafludi,

140 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

MarfFudi, judging the king of Adel was beyond danger, fcnt
a trumpet to the Abyffinian camp, with a challenge to any
man of rank in the army to fight him in fingle combat,
under condition that the vidtory Ihould be accounted to
belong to that army whofe champion was victorious, and
that, thereupon, both parties Ihould withdraw their troops
without further bloodfhed. It does not appear whether the
conditions were agreed to, but the challenge was accepted
as foon as offered. Gabriel Andreas the monk, who,, in the
reign of Naod, had, by the king's order, loft a part of his
tongue for giving it too much licence, offered himfelf firll
to the king, befeeching him to truft to him that day, his
own honour, and the fortune of the army. The king con>
fented without hefitation, with the general applaufe of all
the nobility ; for Andreas, though a. monk, was a man of
great family and diftinClion ; the moft learned of the court;
liberal, rich, affable, and remarkable for facetious conver-
fation ; he was, befides, a good foldier, of tried fkill and va-
lour, and, in ftrength and activity, furpaffcd by no man in
the army. .

Maffudi was not backward to prefent himfelf ; nor was
the combat longer than might be expedled from two fuch
willing championsi, Gabriel Andreas, feeing his opportuni-
ty^ with a two-lianded fword ftruck MaffucU between the
lower part of the neck and the flioulder, fo violently, that
he nearly divided his body into two, and felled him dead to
the ground. He then cut his head oiF, and threw it at the
king's feet, faying, "There is the Goliah of the Infidels."

This expreflion became inftantly the word of battle^ orfig—
nalto charge. The king, at the head of his troops, ruflicd

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 143

upon the Moorifli army, and, throwing them into diforderi
drove them back upon Betwudet, who, with his frelh troops,
forced them again back to the king. Seeing no hopes of
relief, they difperfed to the mountains, and were llaugh*
tered, and hunted Hke wild beafts by the peafants, or driven
to perifli with thirft and hunger. About 12,000 of the Ma-
hometan army are faid to have been (lain upon the fields
with no very confiderable lofs on the lide of the conquer-
ors. The green flandard of Mahomet was taken, as alfo
the black velvet tent embroidered with gold; which laft,wQ
fliall fee, the king gave to the Portuguefe amballador fome
time afterwards, to confccrate and fay mafs in. A vaft num-^
ber of cattle was taken, and with them much rich mer-
chandife of the Indies. Nor did the king content himfelf
with what he had got in battle. He ajdvanced and encamp-«
ed at a. place where was held the firft market of Adel*. The
next day he proceeded to a town where was a houfe of the
king, and, going up to the door, and finding it locked, he
ftruck the door with his lance, and nobody anfwcring, he
prohibited the foldiers from plundering it, and retired with
his army home, leaving his Unce (licking in the door as a
lign of his having been there, and having liad it in his power.

Though the king ^vas received on his return amidft the
greateft acclamations of his fubjects, as tlie faviour ot his
country, the eyes of the whole nation and army were firft
fixed on Andreas, whofe bravery had at lall delivered them
from that conftant and inveterate Icourge, Mafludi. Every
body prefled forward to throw flowers and green branches
in his way ; the women celebrating him with fongs, put-
ting garlands on his head, and holding out the )Oung chil-
dren to fee him as he pafled. The battle was fought in the

month

» Vide Map of 6boa,

142 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

month of July 15 16; and, the fame day, the ifland of Zeyla,
in the month of the Red Sea, was taken, and its town burned
by the Portuguefe annament, under Lopez Suarez Alber^
^uiera.

Neither the fufpicions tranfmitted from India, nor the
mean perfon of Matthew the ambaflador, feem to have made
any impreffion upon the king of Portugal. He received him
■with every fort of honour, and tellified the moll profound
refpect for his mafler, and attention to the errand he came
upon. Matthew was lodged and maintained with the ut-
moft fplendour ; and, conlidering the great ufe of fo power-
ful a friend on the African coaft of the Red Sea, where his
fleets would meet with all fort of provifion and protection,
while they purfued the Turkilh fquadrons, he prepared an
embafly on his part, and fent Matthew home on board the
fleet commanded by Lopez Suarez for India.

Edward Galvan, a man of capacity and experience, who
had filled the offices of fecretary of ftate and ambaflador
in Spain, France, and German)', arrived at that time of life
when he might reafonably expeiSt topafs the reft of his days
in eafe, wealth, and honour, found himfelf uncxpedledly
chofen, at the age of eighty-fix, to go ambaflador from his
fovereign to Abyflinia. Goez had much more reafon to
wonder at the ambaflador fixed upon by his mafler, than at
that of Abyflinia fent by the cmprefs Helena to Portugal.
The fleet under Suarez entered the Red Sea, and anchored
at the flat iiland of Camaran, clofc on the coaft of Arabia
Felix, one of the moft unwholefome places he could have
chofen. Here Edward Galvan died ; and here Suarez, moft
ignorantly, refolved to pafs the winter, wliich he did, fuffer-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 143

ing much for want of every fort of provifion but water ;
whereas twenty-four hours of any wind would have car-
ried him to Mafuah, to his journey's end; where, if he had
loft the monfoon, he would ftill have had great abundance
of necelTaries, and been in the way every moment of pro-
moting the willies of his mafter.

Lopez de Segueyra fucceeded the ignorant Suarcz, who
had returned to India. He fitted out a ftrong fleet at Goa,
with which he entered the Red Sea, and failed for the ifland
of Mafuah, where he arrived the i6th of April 1520, having
Matthew along with him. Upon the firft approach of the
fleet, the inhabitants, both of the ifland and town, abandon-
ed them, and fled to Arkeeko on the main land. Segueyra
having remained before Mafuah a few days without com-
mitting any hoftilities, there came atlaft to him a Chriftian
and a Moor from the continent ; who informed him that
the main-land, then before him, was part of the kingdom of
AbyflTinia, governed by an officer called Baharnagafli : they
added, that the reafon of their flying at the fight of the fleet
was, that the Turks frequently made defccnts, and ravaged
the ifland ; but that all the inhabitants of the continent
were Chriftians. The Portuguefe general was very joyful
on this intelligence, and began to treat Matthew more hu-
manely, finding how truly and exadly he had defcribed
thefe places. He gave, both to the Chriftian and Moor that
eame oflT to hirh, a rich veft ; commended them for having
fled to Arkeeko rather than expofe themfelves to an attack
from the Turks, but directed them to alRire the people on
the continent, that they too were all Chriftians, and under
the command of the king of Abyflinia ; being arrived -

there.:

J44 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

there pui*pofely for his fervice, fo that they might return,
whenever they fhould pleafe, in perfect fafety.

The next day, came down to the fhore the governor of
Arkeeko, accompanied with thirty horfemen, and above
two hundred foot. He was mounted on a fine horfe, and
drefled in a kind of fliirt refembhng that of the Moors.
The governor brought down four oxen, and received in re-
turn certain pieces of filk, with which he was well pleafed,
A very familiar converfation followed ; the governor kindly
inviting the Portuguefe general afliore, afluring him that
the Baharnagafli, under whofe command h€ was, had al-
ready intelligence of his arrival.

In anfwer to his inquiries about the religion of the coun-
try, the governor told him, that in a mountain, then in fight,
twenty-four miles dillant, there was a convent called the
Monajlery of B'ifa?i^ (which Matthew had often defcribed in
the voyage) whofe monks, being informed of his arrival,
had deputed feven of their number to wait upon him, whom,
the Portuguefe general went to meet accordingly, and re-
ceived them in the kind ell manner.

These monks, as foon as they faw Matthew, broke out
into the warmell exprelTionsof friendfhip and eftecm, congra-
tulating him with tears in their eyes upon his long voyage
and abfence. The Portuguefe general then invited the
monks on board his vefTel, where he regaled them, and gave
to eachprefents that were moftfuitable to their aullere life. On
his fide, Segueyra chofe feven Portuguefe, with Peter Gomez
Teflfera, auditor of the Eaft Indies, who underfl;ood Arabic
very well, to return the vifit of the monks, and fee the mo-

jiafterv

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 145

ntiflery of Bifan. This lliort journey they very happily per-
formed. Tellera bx-ought back a parchment manufcript,
which he J-eceived as a prefenc from ihe monks,, to be feat
-to the king of Portugal,

It was on the 24th of April that the Baharnagafh arriv-
■ed at Arkeeko, having before fent information of his intend-
ed vifit. The Portuguefe general, who never doubted but that
tie would come to thcfea-fide, pitched his tents, andfpread his
carpets and culhions on the ground to receive him. But it
.was lignificd to him from the baharnagalh, who was pro-
bably afraid of putting himfcif under the guns of the Ikct,
that he did not intend to advance To far, and that the gover-
nor ft ould meet him halfway. This being agiccU 10 on
•both fides, they fat down on the grafs.

The Baharnagafli began the convcrfation, by telling the
Portuguefe, they had, in virtue of certain prophecies, beea
-long expelled in this country; and iliat he, and all tlie olfi-
cers of Abyfllnia, were ready to do tliem evrry fervice and
-kindnefs. After the I'oriuguefe general b.ad rcturrjcd a
■proper anfwer, the pricfts and monks concluded the in-
terview with certain religiou.s fervices. Scgueyra then made
the Baharnagalh a pr^^^lcnt of a very fine Tuit of coniplcrc
•armour with fome pieces of fdk ; while the Biharnagafh,
on his fide, made the return with a very fine horfe and
mule.

All doubt concerning Matthew was removed at this

interview; he was acknowledged as a genuine ambaila-

dor. The Portuguefe now flecked to Scgueyra, befeeching

him ro choofc from among his men, who Ihould accom-

"VoL. II. T pany

t^e TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

pany him to the court. The firft ftep was to name Roderi-
go de Lima amballador from the king of Portugal, inftcad
of Gah^an, who was dead ; and, for his fuite, George de
Breu, Lopez de Gama, John Scolare fecretary to the am-
baffador, John Gonfalvez his fador and interpreter, Emma-
nuel de Mare organift, Peter Lopez, Mafter John his phyfi-
cian, Gafpar Pereira, and Lazarus d'Andrad a painter. The
three chaplains were John Fernandes, Peter Alphonfo Men-
dez, and Francifco Alvarez. In this company alfo went
Matthew, the Abyflinian ambalTador returned from Portu-
gal, and with him three Portuguefe, one called Magailanes,
the other Alvaremgo, and the third Diego Fernandes.

It feemed probable, the fevere blow which David had given
to the king of Adel, by the total deftrudlion of his army on
the death of his general Maffudi, would have procured a
cefTation of hollilities to the Abyflinian frontiers, which they
had not experienced during the life of that general ; but it
appeared afterwards, that, increafed in riches and popula-
tion by the great acceflion of power which followed the in-
terruption of the Indian trade in Arabia by the Turkifh
Gonqueft, far from entertaining thoughts of peace, they were
rather meditating a more formidable manner of attack, by
training themfelves to the ufe of fire-arms and artillery, of
which they had provided a quantity, and to which the A-
byflinians were as yet flrangers.

The king was encamped in Shoa, covering and keeping
in awe his Mahometan provinces, Fatigar andDawaro ; be-
lides which he feemed to have no objeA but the conqueft
of the Dobas, that bordered equally upon the Moorifli and
Chrifdan frontiers, and v/ho (though generally gained by

the

THE SOURCE Ot THE NILE. J47

the Mahometans) were, when occafion offered, enemies to
both. The Shum * of Giannamora, a fmall diftrid belong-
ing to Abyffniia, full of brave foldiers, and confiderably re-
inforced by David for the very purpofe, had the charge of
bringing thefe barbarians to fubjeftion, as being their im-
mediate neighbom-.

The king had afterwards advanced eaftward to the fron-
tiers of Fatigar, but was ftill in the fouthcrn part of his do-
minions. The ambaffador and his retinue were landed on
the north. They were to crofs the whole extent of the em-
pire through woods and over mountains, the like of which
are not known in Europe, full of favage beafts, and men
more favage than the beafts themfelves ; interfe(5led by large
rivers, and what was the worft circumftancc, fwelling every
day by the tropical rains. Frequently dcfcrts of no confi-
derable length, indeed, intervened, where no fuilcnance
was to be found for man or beaft, nor relief for accidental
misfortunes. Yet fuch was the bravery of that fmall com-
pany, that they hcfitated not a moment to undertake this
enterprife. Every thing was thought eafy which contribu-
ted to the glory of their king, and the honour of their coun-
try.

It Avas not long before this gallant company found need
of all their conftancy and courage ; for in their fhort jour-
ney to the convent of St Michael (the firll they attempted)
they found the wood fo thick that there was fcarcely paff-
age for either man or bcail:. Briers and thorns, too, of a

T 2 variety

• Oi Governor,

14? TRAVELS TO DI3C0VE-R

variety of fpccies, which they had never before feen, added
greatly to the fatigue which the thicknefs of the woods had
occafioned. Mountains prcfented themielves over moun-
tains, broken into terrible precipices and ravines, by vio--
lent torrents and conftant llorms ; their black and bare tops,
feemed as it were calcined by the rays of a burning fun,.
and by incclTant lightnings and thunder. Great numbers of.
wild beafts alfo prefented themfelves everywhere in thefe
dark forells, and feemed only to be hindered from devour-
ing them by their wonder at feeing fo many men in fo
lonely a lituation. At lail the woods began to grow thinner,
and fome fields appeared where the people were fitting arm-
ed, guarding their fmall flocks of half-ftarved goats and
kine, and crops of millet, of which they faw a confiderable
quantity fown. The men were black, their hair very grace-
fully plaited, and were altogether naked^ excepting a fmall
piece of leather that covered their middle. At this place
they were met by twelve monks, four of whom were di-
flinguiflied by their advanced years and the refped paid to.
them by the others.

Having refted their mules and camels a fhort time, they
j^gain began their journey by the fide of a great lake, near
which was a very high mountain, and this they were too
v/eary to attempt to pafs. Full of difcontent and defpon-
dency, they halted at the foot of this mountain, where they
palled the night, having received a cow for fupper, a pre-
Cent from the cojivent. Here Matthew (the amballador) fe--
parated his baggage from that of the caravan, and left it to
the care of the monks. He had probably made fome little
money in Portugal ; and, difirufiing his reception with the
king, wifely determined to place ir out of danger. The pre-.

a caution,.

TIFTE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 14^,

catition, however, proved fuperfluous ; for, a few days after,
an epidemical fever began to manifeft itfelf, which, in eight-
and-forty hours, carried oil Matthew, and foon after Pereira,
the fervant of Don Roderigo ; fo that no opportunity now
offered for an explanation with the king about his or the
emprefs's promife of ceding one-third of the kingdom to
the Portuguefe in cafe the king would fend them fuccour.
Terrified by the fever, and the bad profpecft of the weather,,
tliey refumed their journey.

The monaftery of Bifan (to which they were now going)
is fo called from the great quantity of water which is eve-
rywhere found about it. The fimilitude of found has made
Poncet*, and feveral other travellers, call it tlie Monaftery
of the Vifion ; but Bifan (water) is its true name, being
plentifully fupplied with that moil valuable clement. A
number of lakes and rivers are interfpcrfcd through its
plains ; while abundant fprings, that are never dry, flow
from the top of each rock, dalhing their rills againft the
rugged projections of the chffs below.

The monaftery of Bifan, properly fo called, is the head of
fix others in the compafs of 26 miles ; each convent placed,
like a tower on the top of its own rock. That upon which
Bifan is fituated is very high, and almoft perpendicular ;
and from this rifes another ftill higher than ir, which, im~
lefs to its inhabitants, is perfectly inacceffiblc. It is, on every
iide, furrounded with wood, interfpcrfcd with fruit-trees of
many different kinds, as well of thofe known as of thofe

unknov/ni

*^'^de Poncei's travels, in bis return throupli.Tigrc, p. ii6. London edit, ixiuo. i/C-j,

ijc TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

unknown in Europe. Oranges, citrons, and limes are in
o-reat abundance ; wild peaches and fmall figs of a very in-
different quality ; black grapes, on loaded branches, hang
down from the barren timber round which they are twined,
and afford plentiful fupply to man and beafl : The fields
are covered with myrtles and many fpecies of jeffamin ; with
rofes too of various colours; but fragrance is denied to them
all, except one fort, which is the white one, fmgle-leafed *

The monks of thefe convents were faid once to be about
a thoufand in number. They have a large territory, and
pay a tribute in cows and horfes to the Baharnagafh, who
is their fuperior. Their horfes are efleemed good, as coming
from the neighbourhood of the Arabs. However, though
I had the abfolute choice of them all during the time I
commanded the king's guard, I never could draw from that
part of the country above a fcorc of fufhcient flrcngth and
iize to bear a man in complete armour.

I SHALL now leave Don Roderigo to purfue his journey
towards the king at Shoa. The hiflory of it, and of his em-
bafTy, publifhed at large by Alvarez his chaplain, has not
met, from the hiflorians of his own country, with a recep-
tion which favours the authenticity of its narrative. There
arc, indeed, in the whole of it, and efpecially where religion
is concerned, many things very difficult of belief, which
feem to be the work of the Jefuits fome ) cars pofkrior to
the time in which Alvarez was in Abyffinia. Tellez con-
demns him, though a writer of thofe times ; and Damianus

Goez,

In Barbary called Milphi, ia iibjiTinia, K.t^^a.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 151

Goez, one of the firft hiftorians, fays, that he had feen a jour-
nal written in Alvarez's own name, very different from the
journal that is gone forth to the pubUc. For my part, I
can only fay, that what is related of the firft audience with
the king, and many of the following pages, feem to me to
be fabrications of people that never have been in Abyihnia;
and, if this is the cafe, no imputation can be laid againft
Francifco Alvarez, as, perhaps, he is not the author of the
mifreprefentation in queftion. But, as to the cordiahty with
which the Catholic religion was received by the monks
and people in general, during the long rtay and bad recep-
tion Don Roderigo met with, I have no fort of doubt that
this is a falfehood, and this muft be charged dire^ly to his
account.

We have already feen that, early as Zara Jacob's time, the
religion of the Franks was held in the utmoft deteftation^
and that in Bceda Mariam's reign the whole country was in
rebellion, becaufe the king had directed the Virgin Mary to
be painted by one Branca Leon, a Venetian painter, then
alive, and in court, when Don Roderigo de Lima was with
the king in Shoa. Ifcander and Naod were both Uriel in the
tenets of the church of Alexandria ; and two Abunas, Ima-
ranha Chriftos, who lived till Ifcander's time, and Abuna
Marcus, alive in Alvarez's, had given no allowance for
ftrange or foreign worfliip to be introduced. How the Ca-
tholic could be fo favourably and generally received in the
time of Alvarez is what I cannot conceive. Blood enough
was fpilt immediately afterwards, to fliew that this allcctioii
to the Roman Catholic religion, if any fuch there was in
Alvarez's time, muft have been merely tranfitory.. Wlicn,
therefore, I find any thing in this journal plainly mifunder-

^ ftoodj,

152 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Hood, I explain and vindicate it ; where I fee there is a fa.^
deliberately mifreprefented, fuch as the celebration of the
Epiphany, I refute it from ocular demonftration. The reft
of the journal I leave In medio to the judgment of my reader,
who v;ill find it at his bookfelier's ; only obferving, that
there can be no doubt that the journey itfelf was made by
Don Roderigo, and the perfons named with him.

I HAVE preferved the feveral ftations of thefe travellers in
my map, though a great part of the countries through which
they paiTed is now in the hands of the Galla, and is as in-
acceifible to Abyffinians as it is to ilrangers.

There are two particulars in Alvarez's account of this
journey which very much furprife me. The firft is, the
daily and conftant danger this company was in from tigers,
fo daring as to prefent themfelves within pike-length. Of
this I have taken notice in the appendix when fpeaking of
the hyasna.

The other particular relates to rlic field of beans through
which they pafTed. I never yet faw this fort of grain, or
pulfe, in Abyilinia. The lupine, a wild plant, fomewhat
fimilar, chiefly infccfts thofe provinces from which the honey
comes, and is regarded there with the utmoil averfion. The
reafon of which will be feen in the fcquel. But as thefe
r.Iahometans, through whofe country Don Roderigo palTed,
are not indigenous, and never had any connection with the
ancient flate of manners or religion of tliis country, it is
more than probable the cultivation of the bean is no older
than the fculement of theic Islahometans here, long after

the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 15-3

the Pythagorean prejudices agamft that plant were forgot-

ten.

It was on the i6th of April 1520 that Don Roderigo dc
Lima landed in AbyfTmia ; and it was the i6th of Odlober
of the fame year when he arrived within light of the king's
camp, diftant about three miles. The king had advanced,
as hath been faid, into Fatigar, about twenty-five miles from
the firft fair in the kingdom of Adel, and fomething lefs
than two hundred from the port of Zeyla. The ambaiTador,
after fo painful a journey, expefted an immediate admiflion
into the king's prefcnce. Inftead of which, a great officei\
called the Hadug Ras^^ which is chief or commander of the
afles, was fent to carry him three miles farther diftant,
where they ordered him to pitch his tent, and five years paiTed
in the embafly afterwards before he procured his difmifilon.

Alvarez accounts very lamely for this prodigious inter-
val of time ; and, excepting the celebration of the Epiphany,
he does not mention one remarkable occurrence in the
whole of this period. One would imagine their ftay had
not been above a month, and that one converfation only
pafled upon bufinefs, which I fhall here fet down as a fpe-
cimen of the humour the parties were in the one with the
other.

The king carried the ambaflador to fee the church
Mecana Selafl"e, the church of the Trinity, which was then
repairing, where many of the kings had been buried while

VoL.n. U the

*• TKis is-a name of humility. He-is a great officer, and has no care or charge of afe.

154 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the Royal family refided in Shoa. All the churches in A*
byffinia are thatched. Some of Roderigo's own retinue, who
bore him ill-will, had put it into the king's head how ele-
gant this church would be if covered with lead, a thing
he certainly could have no idea of. He afked Don Roderigo,
whether the king of Portugal could not fend him as much
iheet-lead as would ferve to cover that church? To which
the ambalTador replied, That the king of Portugal, upon bare
mentioning the thing, would fend him as much fheet-
lead* as would cover not only that church, but all the other
churches he jQiould ever build in Abyffinia ; and, after all,
the prefent wo\iIdbe but a trifling, one, .

Immediately upon this the king changed his difcourfe;;
audobferved to the ambaffador, in a very ferious toneof voicr,
"That, fmce they were now upon thefubjeclof prefents, hs
could not help letting the king of Portugal know, that, if
ever he fent. an ambaflador again into that country, he •
Ihould take care to accompany him with prefents of valuci
for otherwife ftranger ambaffadors that ventured to come
before him without thefe were very ill received." To which
the ambaffador returned warmly, " That it wa-s very far from
being the cuftom of the king of Portugal to fend prefents to
any king upon earth ; that, having no fuperior, it was ufual
for him, only to receive them from others, and to accept them .
or not, according to his royal pleafure ; for it was infinitely
below him taconfider what was the- value of the prefent it-
felf. He then.defired the king of Abyffinia might be in^
formed, that he, Don Roderigo, came ambaffador from the
general of the Indies, and not from the king of Portugal ; ,
neverthclefs, when the king of Portugal had lately difpatch-

edi

* Alvarez Hiftojre d'Ethjopjc. p. 157.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 155

ed Galvan, who had died upon the road, ambaflador to his
highnefs, he had fent with him prefents to the value of
100,000 ducats, confuking his own greatnefs, but not
confidering himfelf as under any obUgation to fend any
prefents at all ; and as to the many fcandalous afperfions
that had been thrown upon him by mean people, which the
king had given credit to, and were made conftantly part of
his difcourfe, he wiflied his highnefs, from the perufal of
the letters which he had brought from the general of the
Indies, to learn, that the Portuguefe were not accuftomed to
ufe lying and diflimulation in their convcrfations, but to tell
the naked truth ; to whichhe the ambaflador had ibi(5lly con-
fined himfelf in every circumftance he had related to his
highnefs, if he pleafed to believe him ; if not, that he was
very welcome to do juft whatever he thought better in his
own eyes. Yet he would, once for all, have his highnefs to
know, that, though he came only as ambaflador from the
general of the Indies, he could, as fuch, have prcfented him-
felf before the grcatcft fovercign upon earth, without being
fubjedled to hear fuch converfation as he had been daily
expofed to from his highnefs, which he, as a Portuguefe
nobleman and a foldier, though he had been no ambaflador
at all, was not any way difpofed to fufler, and therefore he
;defu-ed his immecUate difmiflioru"

XJpox this the king faid, " Tliat the diHindion he had
fncvvn him was fuch as he would never have met with
from any of his prcdeceflTors, having brought no prefcnt of
any value." To which the ambaflador replied in great
warmth, "That he had received no diftindtion in this coun-
try whatever, but only injuries and wrongs ; that he fliould
think he became a martyr if he died in tliis country where

V 2. he

is6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

he had been robbed of every thing, except the clothes up-
on his back; that Matthew, who was but a pretended am-
bailador, had been much otherwife treated by the king of
Portugal ; but for himfclf he defued nothing but a fpeedy
difmilTion, having delivered his letters and done his errand:
Till that time, he fhould expetft to be treated like a man of
honour, above lying or falfehood." To this the king anfwer-
ed, " That he believed him to be a man of honour, worth,
and veracity, but that Matthew was a liar : at the fame time
he wiflied Don Roderigo to know, that he was perfedly in-
formed v/hat degree of refpedt and good ufage Matthew had-.
met with from the king of Portugal's officers and captains,
but that he did not impute this to Don Roderigo."

There was a rumour at court which very much alarmed
the ambalTador ; it was, that the king intended to detain
him according to the invariable cuftom and practice of his
country. Two Venetians, Nicholas Branca Leon and Tho-
mas Gradinego, had been forcibly detained iince the reign
of Bazda Mariam. But v/hat terrified Don Roderigo flill
more, as a cafe moll funiiar to his, was the fight of Peter
Covillan then in court, who had been fent ambalTador by
John king of Portugal to Ifcanderj and ever fmce was de-
tained without being able to get leave to return, but was
obliged to marry and fettle in the country.

What was the emperor's real intention is impoilible now
to know ; but, having refolved to fend an Atjyffinian am-
baflador to the king of Portugal, it was necciTary to difmifs
Don Roderigo likewife. However, he did not entirely aban-
don the whole of his defign, but forcibly detained Mafler
John the fccretary, and Lazarus d'Andrad the painter, and

obliged- .

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 157

dbliged Don Roderigo to depart without them. Znga. Zaab,
an Abyflinian monk, who had learned the Portuguefe lan-
guage by waiting on Don Roderigo during his flay in A-
byilinia, was chofen for the function ; and they fet out to-
gether for Mafuah, plentifully furniflied with every thing.
necefTary for the journey, and arrived fafcly there without
any remarkable occurrence, where they found Don Hedtor
de Silveyra, governor of the Indies, with his fleet, waiting
to carry Don Roderigo de Lima home. Whether the king
had changed his mind or not is doubtful ; but, on the 27th
of April 1526, arrived four mefTcngcrs from court with or-
ders for Don Roderigo to return, and alfo to bring Don Hec-
tor along with him. This was immediately and diredtly
refufcd ; but it was left in the power of Zaga Zaab to return-
if he pleafed^ who however declared, that, if he fl.aid be-
hind, he fhould be thrown to the lions. He, therefore,,
went on board with great readincfs, and they all failed from
Mafuah on the 28th of April of the year juil mentioned, in
their return to India.

These frequent intercourfcs with the Portuguefe had
given great alarm to the Mahometan powers, though nei-
ther the king of Abyflinia, nor the Portuguefe themfelvcs, .
had reaped any profit from them, or the fcveral fleets that
had arrived at Mafuah, which had really no end but to feek
the ambaflador Don Roderigo. The fix years fpent in wrang-
ling and childifh behaviour, both on the part of the king
and the ambaffador, had an appearance of fomething feri-
ous between the two powers ; and what lliil alarmed the
Moors more was, that no part of the fecret had tranfpired,
bccaufe no fchcmc had really been concerted, only mere pro-
ppfals of vain and idle cntcrprifes, without either power or

will .

3S8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

will to put them in execution. Such were the plans of a
joint army, to attack Arabia, and to conquer it down to Je-
rufalem. The Turks* were on their progrefs fouthward
in great force ; they had conquered Arabia in lefs than half
the time Don Roderigo had fpent quarrelling with the king
about pepper and mtiles ; and a ftorm was ready to break
in a quarter leaft expefted.

In the gentle reigns of the Mamalukes, before the con-
queft of Egypt and Arabia bySelimf, a caravan conflantly
let out from Abyflinia diredlly for Jerufalem. They had
then a treaty with the Arabs. This caravan rendezvoufed
at Hamazen, a fmall territory abounding in provifions, a-
bout two days journey from Dobarwa, and nearly the fame
from Mafuah ; it amounted fometimes in number to a thou-
fand pilgrims, ecclefiaftics as well as laymen. They tra-
velled by very eafy journies, not above fix miles a-day, halt-
ing to perform divine fervicc, and fetting up tlieir tents
early, and never beginning to travel till towards nine in the
morning. They had, hitherto, palTed in perfeft fafety, with
drums beating and colours flying, and, in this way, traver-
fcd the defert by the road of Suakem,.

The year after Selim had taken pofleflion of Cairo, Abba
Azerata Chriflos, a monk famous for holinefs, had conduc-
ed fifteen hundred of thefe pilgrims with him to Jcrufa-
icm, and they had arrived without accident ; but, on their
return, they had fallen in v/ith a body of Selim's troops,
who Hew a great part of them, and forced others to take

refuge

* Canfo el ^'i"rj., JSfl Ter.iura Bey. -f Seliral. emperor of the Ottomans,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 155

refngc in the dcfert, where they periflied with hunger and
thirft. In the year 1525, another caravan afTeir.bled at Ha-
mazen, confifting of 336 friars and priefts, and fifteen nuns.
They fet out from Hamazen on the 12th day after leaving
this place, travelling flowly ; and, being loaded with pro-
vifions and water, they were attacked by the Moors of that
diilriifl, and utterly defeated and robbed. Of the pilgrims
taken prifoners, all the old men were put to the fword, and
the- young were fold for Haves ; fo that of 336 perfons fif-
teen only efcaped, but three of which lived to return to Shoa
at the time the ambalTador was there. This was the firlt
vengeance the Moors to the northward had yet taken for
the alliance made with the Portuguefe ; and, from this time,
the communication with Cairo through the defcrt ceafed as
to the Chrifi:ians, and was carried on by Mahometans only.

Since the time of Peter Covillan's arrival in AbyfTmia,
the views of all parties had very much changed. The Por-
tuguefe at firft coveted the friendfhip of AbylEnia, for the
fake of obtaining through it a communication v/itii India.
But they now became indifferent about that intercourfc,
fince.they had fettled in hidia itfcif, and found the conve-
nience of the pafifage of the Cape of Good Hope. David,
freed from his fears of the Moors of Adel, whom he had
defeated, and feeing the great power of the Turks, fo much
apprehended after the conqueft of Egypt, difappointed in In-
dia in all their attempts againll the Portuguefe fettlements
there; being, moreover, difpleafed with tlie abrupt behaviour
of the ambaffador Don Roderigo, and the promifes the em-
prefs Helena had made by Matthew without his know-
ledge, he wilhed no further connexion with the Portu-

1 gycfc^.

i6o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

guefe, for whofe afliftance, he thought, he ilioiild have no
ufe.

Selim, whofe firft objeft was the conqueft of India, had
met there fo rude a reception that he began to defpair of
•further fuccefs in his undertaking; but, having conquered A-
rabia on one fide of the Red Sea, he was defirous of extending
his dominions to the other alfo, and for three reafons : The
iirft was, that the fafcty of the holy place of Mecca would
be much endangered fhould a Portuguefe army and fleet
rendezvous in AbyfTmia, and be joined by an army there.
The fecond, that his lliips and gallies could not be in fecu-
rity at the bottom of the Gulf, fliould the Portuguefe ob-
tain leave to fortify any illand or harbour belonging to the
Abylfinians. The third, that the king of Abyflinia being,
as he was taught to believe, the prince whom the prophet
Mahomet had honoured with his correfpondence,he thought
it a duty incumbent upon him to convert this prince and
kingdom to the Mahometan religion by the fword, a
method allowable in no religion but that of Mahomet and
of Rome.

The ancient and feeble arms of lances and bows, carried
by half-naked peafants aflembled in halle and at random
for an occafion, were now laid afide. In place of thefe, Se-
lim had left garrifons of veteran troops in all the fea-coaft
towns of Arabia, exercifed in fire-arms, and furnifhed with
large trains of artillery, fupported by a large fleet which,
though deftined againft the Portuguefe in India, and con-
ftantly beat by them, never failed, both going and coming,
to reinforce their pofts in Arabia with ftores and frefh fol-
diers. ,

.3 The

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. i6i

The emprefs Helena died in 1525, the year before the
Portuguefe embaffy ended, after having brought about aft
interview between the two nations, which, by the continual
difavowal of Matthew's embafly, it is plain that David knew
not how to turn to his advantage. Soon after her death,
the king prepared to renew the war with the Moors, with-
out having received the lead advantage from the Portuguefe.
But very differently had the people of Adel employed this
interval of peace. They had llrengthened themlelves by
the ftri(5teft friendfhip with the Turkifh officers in Arabia,
efpecially with the baflia of Zibit, a large trading port near-
ly oppofite to Mafuah. A Turkifli garrifon was put into
Zeyla; and a Turk, with a large train of artillery, command-
ed in it. All was ready againfl the firft invafion the king
was to make, and he was now marching directly towards
their country.

The firft retaliation, for the Portuguefe friendfliip, (as we
have already obferved) had been the cutting off the caravan
for Jerufalem. In revenge for this, the king had marched
into Dawaro, and fent a body of troops from that province
to fee what was the ftate of the Moorifli forces in Add.
Thefe were no fooncr arrived on the frontiers of that king-
dom, than they were met by a number of the enemy appoint-
ed to guard thofe confines, and, coming to blows, the Abyf-
fmians defeated, and drove them into the dcfcrt parts of their
own country. The king ftill advanced till he met the Ma-
liometan army, and a battle was fought at Shimbra Cord,
where the Abyffinian army was totally defeated ; the Bct-
wudet, Hadug Ras, the governor of Amhara, Robcl, gover-
nor of the mountain of Geflien, with the girueft part of
the nobility, and four thoufand men, were all flain.
Voi„ II» X Maho-

i{}2 TR A V'E L 3 TO D I S C G V £ R'.

Mahomet, calkd Gragiie, (which ii^miieg%^/;/sW<^<3!^oom*-
manclcd this army. He was governor &£ ZeyU, and had ■
promoted the league, with the Turkiili bafhas on the coaiV.
of Arabia ; and, hxiving now given the king a check ia his
iirft enterprife, be refolved to- cany on the. war with liim in ■.
away that flioukl produce fomethjng decifive. He remain-
ed then quiet two years at home, fent all the prifoners he
had made in the laft expedition to Mecca, and to the Turk-
ifli powers on the coaft,. and reqmred from them in return .
the number of troops ftipulated, with a train- of portable ar-
tillery, wliich was pun(5tuallyfurnifhed, while a large body-
of janizaries crofled over and joined the Moorilh army. .
Mahomet led thefe troops llraight into Fatigar, which he
over-ran, as he did the two other neighbouring provinces ,
Ifat and Dawaro, burning and laying wafte the whole coun--
try, and driving, as was his ufual manner, immenfe num-.
bers of the inhabitants, whom the fword had fpared, back .
with him to Adel.

The next year, Mahomet marched from Adel dire^ly in-
to Dawaro, committing the fame excefTes. The king, who
faw in defpair that total ruin threatened his whok country,
and that there were no hopes but in a battle, met the Moor-
ifh army at Ifras, very much inferior to them in every fort
of appointment. The battle was fought ill May 1528; the
king was defeated, and Illam Segued, his lirfl: minifter, who
commanded the ai-my that day, with many of his principal
officers, were llain upon the fpot, and the Moorilh army
took polTelTion of Shoa. David retreated with his broken
army into Amhara, and encamped at Hegu, thmking to
procure reinforcements during the bad weather, but Gragne
was tooneai' to give himtime- for. this. He entered Amhara,

deilroying.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 163

deftroying all before him. The fecond of November he
burnt the church of Mecana SelafTe of the holy fepulchre,
and Atronfa Mariam ; and, on the 8th of the fame montli,
Ganeta Georgis ; on the 2d of December, Debra Agezia-be-
her; the 6th of the fame month, St Stephen's church ; after
which he returned to Adel with his booty.

The following year Gragne returned in April, plunder-
ed and burnt Warwar, and wintered there. In the year 1530
Gragn6 invaded the pi^ovince of Tigrc in the month of Oc-
tober, while the king, who had wintered in Dembea, march-
ed up to Woggora ; thence, in December, he went to Tfala-
met, and returned to Tigrc to keep the feail of the Epi-
phany.

The king, next year, marched through Tzegade, and
Gragne clofe followed him, as if he had been hunting a
wild beall rather than making war. The 2d of Januarj- he
burnt Abba Samuel, then went down into Mazaga the bor^
ders of Sennaar to a conference with Muchtar, one of his
confederates, when it was refolvcd that they Ihould fight
the king wherever they couln meet him, and attach them-
felves to his perfon alone. Gragne by forced marches over-
took the king upon the Nile at Delakus, the 6th of Febru'-
ary, and offered him battle, knowing the proud fpirit of
David, that he Would not refufc, however great the difpro-
portion was.

The event was fiich as might be cxpeded. Fortune
again declared againll the king. Negadc Yafous, Acab
Saat, and many others -of the nobility perillied, fighting
to the lafl, in the fight of their fovereign. In this bat-

X 2 tie

i64 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

tie the brave monk, Andreas *, much advanced in years, was,
flain, behaving vi^ith the greateft gallantry, unwilling to fur-,
vive the ruin of his country.

The Moors now found it unneceflary to keep together
an army. They divided into fmall parties, that they might
more eifedually and fpeedily ruin the country,. Part of
Gragne's army was detached to burn Axum; the. other un-
der Simeon continued in Amhara to watch the king's mo-,
tions ; and, while he attempted to relieve Axum, difperfed
his army, on which the town was burnt, and with it many,
of the richeft churches in Abyflinia, Hallelujah, Banquol,,
Gafo, Debra Kcrbe, and many others. And, on the 7th of;
April, Saul, fon of Tesfo Yafous, fought another detachment
of the Moorifh army, and was cut to pieces, .

The 28th year of his reign, 1536, the king crofled the-
Tacazze, and had many, difaftrous encounters with the peo-.
pie of Sire and Serawe. Tesfo TOul, who commanded in,
this latter province for the king, furprifed a Turkifh party,
luider Adli, wliom he flew, a.nd met with the fame fate;
himfelf from Abbas, Moorifli governor of Serawe, when a.-
great many of the principal people of that province were thercr
flain. Galila, a large iiland in the lake Tzana, was plundered,.^
and the convent upon it burnt. It was one of the principal ;
places where the Abyffinians hid. their treafure, and a great,
booty was found therCo

In the following year^ Gragne, in a meffage reprefcnted '
io him, that he might fee he was fighting againll God, ex-
horting-

* It was he who, as we have fcen, fl«w the Moor MafFudi in fingle combat in tlie beginning,,;
«"<his rcian.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. iGy

Rorting him to be wife, and make his peace in time, which
he fliould have upon the condition of giving him his daugh-
ter in marriage, and he w^ould then withdraw his army,
otherwife he would never leave Abyflinia till he had redu-
ced it to a condition of producing nothing but grafs. But
the king, nothing daunted, returned him for anfwer. That
he was an infidel, and a blafphemer, ufed as an inftrument
to chaflife him and his people for their many fins ; that it
was his duty to bear the correcTiion patiently; but that it
would foon happen, when this juft purpofe was anfwered,
that he would be dcftroyed, and all thofe with him, as fuch
wicked inftruments had always been ; that he the king, and
Abyfiinia his kingdom, would be preferved as a monument
of the mercy of God, who never entirely forfook his people,,
tliough he might chaftifc them.

Indeed, the condition of the country was now fuch that*
a total dcftruc^ion feemed to be at hand ; for a famine and'
plague, its conftant companion, raged in Abyllmia, carrying.,
off thofe that the fword had fpared.

Gideon and Judith, king and queen of the Jews, in the
high country of Samen, after having fufiTcrcd much from
Gragne, had at laft rebelled and joined him ; and the king,:,
who it feems continued to fhew an inclijiation to the Catho-
lic church, which he had imbibed during tlie embafly of ■
Don Rodcrigo, by this had occafioned many to fall off from.:
him, he and the court obferving Eader according to the;
Roman kalendar, while the reft of the clergy and kingdom -
continued firm to that of Alexandria,

4, ATI

:i66 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

At this time Ofman of Dawaro, Jonadab, Kefla, Youfef,
and other rebel Abyffinians, part of Ammer's army, one of
Gragne's generals, furpriled the king's eldeft fon, Vicftor, go-
ing to join his father the 7th day of March ; flew him, and
difperfed his army. Three days after, the king himfelf came
to adlion, with Ammer at Zaat in Waag, but he was there
again beaten, and his yotmgell fon Menas was taken pri-
foner. The king had fcarcc now an attendant, and, being
almoft alone, he took refuge among the rocks and bufhes
in a high mountain called I'fakm^ in the diftri(5t of Tfalamet.
But he had not remained above a day there, when he was
followed byjoram, (rebel-mafter of that diftri(5t) and narrow-
ly efcaped being taken as he was crofling the Tacazze on
foot and alone ; whence he took refuge on mount Tabor, a
very'high mountain in Sire, and there he paffed the winter.

The amazing fpirit and conflancy of the king, who a-
lone feemed not to forfake the caufe of his kingdom, who
now, without children or army, ftill fmgly, made war for
the liberty of his country, alloniflied all Abyilinia as well
friends as enemies. Every veteran foldier, therefore, that
could efcapc the fmall parties of the Moors which fiUTound-
cd the king, joined him at Tabor, and he was again at the
head of a very fmall, but brave body of troops, though it
was fcarccly known in what part of the kingdom he was
hid. When Achmet-eddin, lieutenant of Ammer, pafibd
through Sire, loaded wath the fpoils of the churches and
towns he had plundered, the king, finding him within his
reach, dcficndcd from the moimtain, and, by a fuddea
march, furpriled and llow hilft with his own hand, leaving
the greaiell part of his arniy dead on the field. After which
li£ .diHributcd tlie b^Ocy an.on^ his final! army.

. Ammer,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 167

Ammer, the king s mortal enemy, who had taken upon,
llimfelf the deftruaion of the royal Family, dclcended into
the province of Sire, and neighbourhood of Tabor, and there
indulged himfelf in the moft wanton cruelties, torturing
and murdering the priefts, burning churches and villages,
hoping by this the king would, lofe his temper, and leave
his llrong-hold in the mountain. But hearing at tlie fame
time, that a large quantity of plate, and other treafure, be-
longing to the church Debra Kerbe, had been carried into
an ifland in the lake Tzana for iafety, he left the king, and
feized his booty in the lake to a very great amount..

However, he there fell ill of a, fever; but, on his return,
-was fo far advanced in his recovery as to refume his fchemes
of deftroying the king ; when, the night of the loth of Fe-
ruary 1538, while he was lleeping in bed in his tent, a com-
mon foldier, from what quarrel or caufe is not known,
went fecretly and flabbed him feveral times in the belly
with a two-edged knife, fo that he died inftantly, to David's
great relief, and much to the fafety of the whole kingdom.

It was now 12 years fmce Don Roderigo de Lima had
failed from Mafuah, carrying with him Zaga Zaab ambaf-
fador from the king of Abyllinia. This embafly arrived
fafe in Lilbon, and Wxis received with great magnificence
by king John; but, as the circumaances of the kingdom
when he left Mafuah were really flom-idiing,. and as the
treatment he met in Portugal was better than he had, pro-
bably, ever experienced at home, he feems to have been in
no haile to put an end to this embafly. On the other fide,
the king of Portugal's affau-s in India were arrived at that
2' degree

loS TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

degree of profperity and power, that little ufe remained fot
fuch an ally as the king of Abylfinia.

The Moorifh trade and navigation to India had already
received a fatal blow, as well from the Portuguefe them-
felves, as from the fall of the Mamalukes in Egypt ; and So-
liman, and his fervant Sinan Baflia, by their conqueft, and
introducing foldiers who had not any idea or talent for trade,
but only plunder and rapine, had given a finifhing ftroke
to what the difcovery of the Gape of Good Hope began. The
filling Arabia with fire-arms and Turks was now of confe-
quence to none but to David ; and of fuch a confequence it
had been, that, as we have feen, in the courfe of 12 years it
had left him nothing in Abylfinia but the bare name of
king, and a life fo precarious that it could not be counted
upon from one day's end to the other.

David had detained in Ahyffinia two Portuguefe, one call-
ed Mafter John, the other Lazarus d'Andrad a painter, being
two of Don Roderigo's train that came from the Indies with
him. The Abuna (Mark) was become old and incapable,
and, fince the Turkifh conqueft of Eg^^pt, very indifferent
to, and unconnected with, what pafled at Cairo. Before he
died, at the king's defire he had appointed John his fuccef-
for, and accordingly ordained liim Abuna, as well as having
firft given him all the inferior orders at once ; for John was
a layman and ftudent in phyfic; a very fimple creature, but
a great bigot.; and we ftiall from henceforward call him
John Bermudes.

John vei^ willingly confented to his ordination, pro-
vided the pope approved of it ; and he fet out for Rome,

not

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. i6^

T.ot by the ufual way of India, but through Arabia and E-
gypt ; and, arriving there without accident, was confirmed
by Paul III. the then pope, not only as patriarch of Abyfli-
nia, but of Alexandria likewife ; to which he added, as Ber-
mudes fays, the moft unintelligible and incomprehenfible title
of Patriarch of the Sea. Bermudes, to this variety of char-
ges, had this other added to him, of ambafTador from King
David to the cotu't of Portugal ; and for this he was certain-
ly very fit, however he might be for liis ecclcfiaftical digni-
ties ; for he had been now 1 2 years in Abylfinia, knew the
country well, and had been witnefs of the variety of diftref-
fes which, following clofe one upon another, had brought
this country to its then ftate of ruin.

Vv''hile thefe things pafTed in the north of Abyfiinia, a
terrible cataftrophe happened in the fouth. A Mahometan
chief, called Vizir Mudgid, governor of Arar, having aft op-
portunity from his fituation to hear of the riches which were
daily carried from churches, and other places, for fafcty in-
to the mountain of Gcflien, took a refolution to attempt
tiiat natural fortrcfs, though in itfelf almoll impregnable,
and fi:rcngthcned by an army conftantly encamped at the
foot of it.

'When Mudgid arrived near the mountain he found it
was forfaken by the troops deflined to guard it ; and led by
a Mahometan, who was a menial fervant to the princes a-
bove, he afcended with his troops witliout oppofition, put-
ting all the royal family that were prifoners, and indeed eve-
ry individual of either fcx refident there, indifcriminately
to the fword.

Vol. -II. Y ' The

lyo TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The meafure of David's misfortunes feems to have been
now full, and he died accordingly this very year 1540.

It will be neceflary here to remind the reader, that Al-
varez, the chaplain and hiftorian of the firfl Portuguefe em-
baffy, was (as he faid) on his return appointed by king Da-
vid to make his fiibmiffion to the pope. Leaving Zaga
Zaab, therefore, in Portugal, he proceeded to Bologna, where
the emperor Charles V. was then in perfon, before whom
and the pope himfelf he delivered his credentials framed
by Peter Covillan, and afterwards, in a long fpeech, the rea^
fons of his embalTy.

The pope received this fubmiffion of David with infinite
pleafure, at a time when fo many kingdoms in the weft
were revolting from his fupremacy. He confidered it as a
thing of the greateft moment to be courted before the em-
peror by fo powerful a prince in Africa. But as for the
emperor himfelf, though he was then preparing for an ex-
pedition againft the Mahometans, and though it was his fa-
vourite war, he feems to have been perfectly indifferent
either to the embafTy itfelf, or to the perfon that lent it ;
a great proof that he believed there was nothing real in
it.

Many other people have doubted whether this embaffy,
or that of John Bermudes, adlually came from the Abyffi-
nian court, as the king would fcarcely have abandoned the
form of the Alexandrian church in which he had been
brought up by Abuna Mark, then alive. Abuna Mark,
moreover, could fcarcely be believed to have promoted em-
baflies which were intended to ftrike at the root of his own

3 relagion,

THESOURCEOFTHENTLE. 171

religion, and the patriarchal power with which he was en-
dowed.

But to this it is eafdy anfwered, That the AbylTmian hi-
ftorian of David's reign, through the whole courfe of it, rea-
dily admits his conllant attachment to the fee of Rome. He
gives a ftriking example of it during the war with Gragne,
when the king celebrated Eafter after the manner of the
Roman Cathohcs, though it was to have this certain effect
of dividing his kingdom, and alienating the minds of his
fubje(5ls, of whofe affiftance he was then in the utmoft need.
And as for the Abuna, we are to confider that Cairo had
been taken, and the government, which Abuna Mark owned
for the lawful one, had been overturned by the Turks who
then pofleiTed it, and were aftually perfecuting the Alexan-
drian church.

The Abuna, then, and the king alfo,had the fome reafon
for not applying to Cairo, the feat of the Turks their ene-
mies ; and, therefore, they more readily accommodated mat-
ters with a people from whom only their affiftance could
come ; and without whom, it was probable, that both the
Chriftian religion and civil government of Abyffinia would
fall together.

It has been faid of this king by the European writers
who have touched upon the hiftory of his reign, that he
was a prince who had began it in the moft promifmg man-
ner, but after the death of the emprefs Helena, he had aban-
doned himfelf to ail fort of debauchery, and efpecially
that of women ; infomuch, as Mr Ludolf fays, he fuffer-
cd his coQCubines to have idols in his palace. This I take

Y 2 tc>

1J2 T R A V E L S T O D I S C O V E a.

to be a calumny copied from the Pormguefe priefts, who
never forgave him the denial of his writing the lette:^
by Matthew, in which it was faid he gave the Portuguefe,
or rather king of Portugal, one-third of the kingdom ;
for he fucceeded to the crown at 1 1 years of age, defeats-
ed and flew Maffudi when he was about fixteen ; and, when
Don Roderigo and the Portuguefe embafl^y were with him,
hewas then fomething more thantwenty, a very devout, pru-
dent prince, according to the account Alvarez, an eye-wit-
nefs, gives of him ; and all this time emprefs Helena was
a]ive. .

Again, the very year after the Portuguefe embafTy left
Abyfiinia, that is, in the year 1526, the king was defeat-
ed by the Moors, and, from that time. to his death, was
hunted about the country like a wild beaft, from rock ::0
rock, very often alone, and at all times flenderly attended,
till he died, in 1540, at the age of 46; fo there is no period
during his life in which this, calumny can be jullly fixed
upon him.

As for the idolatry he is accufed of fuifering in his pa-
lace among his Pagan millrejfTes, I cannot recollect anyplace
in the adjoining nations from which he could have brought
thefe idolatrous rites or miilreffes. The Pagan countries a-
rpund him profefs a. remnant of ill-underftood Sabaifm,
worfhipping the flars, the moon, and the wind ; but I do
not, as I fay, recollect any of thefe bordering on Abyfiinia
who woriliip idols, .

GLAUDIUa

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 173.

s^S?^**

CLAUDIUS, OR ATZENAF SEGUED.

From 1540 to 1559.

Pro/per ous Beglmi'tng of Claudius's Reign — ChriJIopber de Gam a lauds
mAbyJfmia — Prevented by the rainy Seafon from joining the King —
Battle of Ainal— Battle of Offalo — Chrifophcr de Gamafahi — BaUk
of Ifaacs Bet — Moors defeated^ and their General flain — Ahyjfinian
Army defeated — Claudius fain — Remarkable Behaviour of Nur, Go'
vcrnor of Zeyla^ General of the Moors,

CLAUDIUS fuccecdcd his father David III. being yet
young, and found the empire in circumftances that
would have required an old and experienced prince. But,
though young, he pofTcfTed thoic graceful and affable man-
ners which, at tirll fight, attached people of all forts to him.
He had been tutored with great care by the emprefs Helena,
was expert in all warlike exercifes, and brave beyond his
years. — So fay the Ab)'ffinian annals ; and though 1 have not
thought myfelf warranted to depart from the letter of the
context, yet it is my duty to the reader to fhew him how
this could not be.

Claudius was born about the 1522 ; the emprefs Helena
died ill 1525. From this it is plain, the firft three years of

I . his-

174 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

his life was all that he could be under the tutelege of the
emprefs Helena ; and, at fo early a period, it is not poffiblc
he could receive much advantage. The princefs, to whom
he was indebted for his education, was Sabel Wenghel, ce-
lebrated in the Abyffinian hiftory for wifdom and courage
equal to the emprefs Helena herfelf. She was reli(5t of
David. We fhall hereafter fee her called Helena likewife
upon another occaiion ; but the reader is delired to have in
mind, that this confulion of perfons is owing only to that
of names to be met with almoll in every reign in the Abyf-
fmian hillory.

Claudius is faid likewife in thefe annals to have been
a child at the time of his acceilion ; but, having been born
in the 1522, and fucceeding to the throne in 1540, he muft
have been eighteen years of age ; and this cannot be called
childhqod, efpecially in AbyiTinia, unlefs, as I have before
faid, this obfervation of age was relative to the arduous tafk
he had in hand, by fucceeding to a kingdom arrived at the
very eve of perdition.

The Moors, notwithftanding the conflant fuccefs they
had againft David, ftill feared the confequences of his long
experience and undaunted refolution in the moll adverfe
fortune. They were happy, therefore, in the change of
fuch an enemy, however unfortunate, for a young man
fcarcely yet out of the influence of female government,
which had always been favourable to them, and their reli-
gion.

A GENERAL Icaguc was formed without delay among all
the Mahometan chiefs to furrouftd Claudius, and fall upon

him

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 17^

him before he was in a fituation to defend himfelf, and
by one flroke to put an end to the war. They accordingly
fet about colledling troops from all quarters, but with a.
degree of inattention and prefumption that fufficiently
fliewed they thought themfelves in no danger. But the
young king having good intelligence that vizir Afa, Oiman,
Debra Yafous, and Joram, (who had fo nearly taken his fa-
ther prifoner in the mountain Tfalem) had their quarters
near him, and negle<5led a good look-out, fell upon them,,
without their knowing what his force was, entirely defeat-
ed them, difpcrfed their army, and ftruck a panic into the
whole confederacy by the manner this victory was follow-
ed up ; the king himfelf on horfeback continued the pur-
fuit all that day and night, as alfo the next day, and did
not return to his camp till the fecond evening after his
vidory, having flain without mercy every one that had
fallen into his hands, either in the flight, or in the field of
battle.

Claudius's behaviour, on this fii-ft occafion, raifcd the
foldicrs confidence to a degree of cnthuliafm. Every man
that had fervcd under his father repaired to him with the
greateft alacrity. Above all, the Agows of Lalla came down
to him in great troops from their rugged and inacceihblc
mountains, the chief of that warlike nation being related
to him by his mother.

The king in pcrfon at the head of his army became now
an objeifl of fuch confideration as to make the Mahometan
chiefs no longer retire as ufual to winter in Adel, but canton
themfelves in the feveral diftridts they had conquered in
Myfliuia, and lay afide the thoughts of farther wailing the

country.

•1:76 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

country, to defend themfelves againft fo adive and fpiriteQ
•ail aflailant. They agreed then to jom their whole forces
together, and march to force the king to a battle. Ofman
of Ganze, vizir Mudgid who had fettled in Amhara, Saber-
eddin*, and all the lelTer rebel officers of Sire and Sera we,
cfFed:ed a jundion about the fame time without oppofition.
Jonathan alone, a rebel of great experience, had not yet ap-
peared with his troops. The king, on the other hand, did
pot feem over anxious to come to an engagement, though
his army was every day ready for battle; and his ground
VNTas always taken with advantage,. fotliat it was almoft def-
perate to pretend to force hinj.

Jonathan at lafl was on liis way to join the confede-
rates ; but the king; had as early intelligence of his motions
as his friends : and, while he was yet two days march dif-
tant from the camp, the. king, leaving his tents {landing
and his fires lighted, by a forced march in the night came
upon him, (while he thought him blocked up by his rebel
alTociates at a diftance) and, finding Jonathan without pre-
paration or defence, cut his whole army to pieces, flew him,
and then returned to his own tents as rapidly as he went,
having ordered fmall detachments to continue in the way
between him and his camp, patroling left fome ambufli
iliould be laid for him by the enemy, who, if they had
been informed of his march, though they were too late to
prevent the fuccefs of it, might ftill have attempted to re-
venge it.

But

* Conftant in the faith.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 177

But intelligence was now given to the Moors with much
kfs puncStuality and alacrity than formerly. So generally
did the king pofTefs the affedtions of the country-people,
that no information came to the confederate army till the
next day after his return, when, early in the morning, he
difpatched one of the Moorifli prifoners that he had taken
three days before, and fparcd for the purpofe, carrying with
liim the head of Jonathan, and a full account of the havock
to which he had been a witncfs.

Tins mcflcnger bore alfo the king's defiance to the Moors,
whom he challenged, under the odious epithets they de-
ferved, to meet him; and then adually to fhew he was in
earneft, marched towards them with his army, which he
formed in order of battle. But tho' they flood under arms
for a confiderable time, whilil fcvcral invitations to fmgle
combat were fent from the Chriflian horfcmen, as their cuf-
tcm is, before they engage, or when their camps are near
each other, yet the Moors were fo aftoniflied at what had hap-
pened, and what they law now before them, that not one offi-
cer would advife the riflving a battle, nor any one foldier ac-
cept of the challenge offered. The king then returned to
his camp, diftributcd the whole booty among his foldiers,
and rcfrellied them, prefei^ving a proper flation to co\er the
wounded, whom he fent off' to places of fccurity.

The kingwas in the countiy of Samcn in the neighbour-
hood of Lafta. He then decamped and pafled the river Ta-
cazze, that he might be nearer thofe diffricls of which the
Turks had poffeilcd themfelves. In this march all forts of
people joined the vicftorious army. Thofe that had revolted,
and many that had npoilatized, came without fceir ai>d fur-

VoL. II. Z rendered

1^3 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

rendered themfelves, trulling to the clemency of the prince.
Many of the Moors, natives of Abyffinia, did the fame, after
having experienced the difference between the mild Chrif-
tian government, and that of tlieir new mailers, the Moors
and Turis of Adel.

The king encamped at Sard, there to pafs his Eafter ; and,
as is ufual in the great feftivals, many of the nobility ob-
tained leave to attend the religious offices of the feafon at
home with their families. Ammer, governor of Ganze,
who knew the cuilom of the country, thought this was the
time to furprife the king thinly attended ; and it might have
fucceeded, if intelligence of the enemy's defigns had not
been received almoft as foon as they were formed. Claudi-
us, therefore, drawing together fome of the beft of his for-
ces, placed himfelf in ambufli in Ammers's way, who, not
fufpeding, fell into it with his army, which was totally de-
ftroyed on the 24th of April 1541. After which the king
left his own quarter at Sard and came to Sliume.

V/hile things were taking this favourable turn in Abyf-
fmia, the ambalfador, John Bermudes, had pafled from Rome
to Lilbon, where he was acknowledged by the king as pa-
triarch of Alexandria, Abyffinia, and, as he will have it, of
the Sea. The firfl thing he did was to give the Portuguefe
a fample of Abyffinian difcipline, by putting Zaga Zaah
in irons for having wafted fo much time without effeft-
jng any of the purpofes of his embaffy ; but, by the inter-
pofition of the king, he was fet a,t liberty in a few days.
Bermudes then fell roundly to the fubjedt of his embaffy,
and drew fuch a pi^ure of the diftreffes of Abyffmia, and
infifted in his own blunt way fo violently with the king of
J Portugal,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 179

Portugal, and the nobility in general, that he procured an
order from the king for Don Garcia de Noronha, who was
then going out viceroy of the Indies, to fend 400 Portuguefe
mufqueteers from India to the relief of Abyflinia, and to
land them at Mafuah.

John Bermudes, to fecure the afllftance promifed, refol-
ved to embark in the fame fleet with Don Garcia ; but he
fell fick, from poifon given him, as he apprehends, by
Zaga Zaab, and this delayed his embarkation a year. The
next year, being recovered of his illnefs, he arrived fafcly at
India. In the interim Don Garcia died, and Don Stephen
de Gama, who fuccceded him, did not embrace the fchemc
of the intended fuccour with fuch eagernefs as Bermudes
could have wiflied.

After fomc delay, however, it was refolved that Don
Stephen Ihould himfclf undertake an expedition from India,
to burn the Turkifli gallics that were at Suez. In this,
however, Don Stephen was difappointed. Upon intelligence
of the intended vifit,the Turkifh gallics had been all drawn
afliorc. He came after this to the port of Mafuah, where the
fleet intended to water ; and, for that purpofe, their boats
were fent to Arkecko, a fmall town and fortrefs upon ^Ile
main-land, where good water may be found. But the Moors
and Turks from Zeyla and Adcl were nowmaflers there, who
took the 1 000 webs of cotton-cloth the captain had fent to ex-
change for water and provifions, and fent him word back, that
his mailer, the king of Adel, was now king of all Ethiopia,
and would not fuffer any further trade to be carried on, but
through his fubje^fts •, if, therefore, the captain of the fleet
would make peace with him, he fliould rcitore the cotton-

Z 2 *webs

i8q travels to discover

webs which had been taken, fupply him plentifully with
provifions, and make amends for the fixty Portuguefe flain
on the coafl near Zeyla: For, upon the fleet's entering the
Red Sea, this number of Portuguefe had run away with a
boat ; and, landing in the kingdom of Adel, where they could
procure no water, they were decoyed to give up their arms,
and. were then all maffacred.

The captain, Don Stephen, faw the trap laid for him by-
the Moors, and, refolving to pay them in their own coin,
he returned this anfwer to their meflage, " That he was ve^
ry willing to trade with the Moorifh officer,, but did not de^
mand reftitution of the clothes, as they were taken in fair
war. As for the fixty Portuguefe, they had met the death they
deferved, as being traitors and deferters : That he now fem
a thoufand more clothes, defiring water and provifions, e-
fpecially live cattle ; and that, as it was now the time of
their feftival, he would treat with them for peace, and
bring his goods alhore, as foon.as the holidays were over."

Tins being agreed to on both fides-, with equal bad faith
and intention towards each other, and Don Stephen having
obtained his refreiliments, he ilridly. forbade any further
communication with the Ihore. He then fele(5led a body
of fix hundred men, the command . of whom he gave to
Martin Correa, Vv'ho, in light boats, .without fhewing any
fire, landed undifcovcred below Arkeeko, and took poflel*
fion of the entrances to the. town, putting all that they met
to tlie fword. Nur, governor of the province for the kino-
of Adel, fled as foon as. he had heard the Portuguefe were
in the town: He was already in the fields, when Mar-
tin Correa fliot him with a mufquet, and cut ofi.his head,

which

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. iSr

which was fent before them to the queen, Sabel Wcnghcl,
then in a ftrong-hold of the province of Tigre, and with her
Degdeafmati (which, in common difcom-fe, is called Kofma-
ti) Robel. This was the perfon of that name who had met
Don Roderigo in his jom-ncy to find the king, and who was
now governor of the province. The queen received the
Moorifli general's head with great demonftrations of joy,
confidering it as an early pledge of future victories.

In the mean time, Don Stephen dc Gama, captain cfe
the fleet, began to inrol the men deilincd to march to joiit
Claudius. Four hundred and fifty mufquetecrs was tlio
number granted by the king to Bermudes ; but an ardent
defire o£ glory had feized all the Portuguefe, and cvc^
ry one ftrove to be in the nomination for that emcrprifc.
All that Don Stephen could do was to choofe meaof the
lirfl: rank for the ofiicers ; and thcfe, of necefiity, having
many fervants whom they carried with them, greatly, by
this means, encreafed the number beyond the 450. Don
Chriftopher de Gama, Don Stephen's youngeft brother, a
nobleman of great hopes, was cholen . to command this
fmall army of heroes.

A VERY great murm.uring, neverthclefs, prevailed among
thofe that were refufed, which was fcarcely kept in due
bounds by the prefence and authority of the governor Don
Stephen himfelf. And from this honourable emulation, and
the difcontentthefe brave foldiers who were left behind flievv-
ed, the bay where the galley rode in the harbour of Mafuali^
on board which this coimcil was held, is called to this day
Bahia dos jlgravados, the Bay of Wronged, or Injured People,
fometimes mifinterpretcd the Bay of ike Sick.

Tu^

^82 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The army under Don Chriftopher marched to Arkeeko,
where the next day came the governor Don Stephen, and
the principal officers of the fleet, and took leave of their
countrymen ; and, after receiving the blefling of Don John
Bermudes, Patriarch of the Sea^ the governor and reft of the
Portuguefe embarked, and returned to India.

Don Christopher, with the greateft intrepidity, began his
march towards Dobarwa, the eafieft entrance into Abyffi-
nia, though ftill over rugged and almoft inacceftible moun-
tains. The Baharnagafh had orders to attend him, and
furnifli this little army with cattle both for their provifion
and carriages ; and this he aftually performed. But the car-
riages of the fmall train of artillery giving way in this bad
road, and there being nobody at hand to affift them with frefh
ones in cafe the old failed, Gama made certain carriages of
wood after the pattern of thofe they had brought from Por-
tugal ; and, as iron was a very fcarce commodity in Abyffi-
nia, he made them fplit in pieces fome barrels of old and
ufelefs firelocks for the wheels with which they were to
draw their artillery.

The queen, v/ithout delay, came forward to join Don
Chriftopher ; who, hearing flic was at hand, went to meet
her a league from the city with drums beating and colours
•flying, and fainted her with a general difcharge of fire-arms,
which terrified her much. Her two fifters accompanied her,
and a number of attendants of both fexes. Don Chriftopher,
at the head of his foldiers, paid his compliments with equal
gallantry and refpecT:. The queen was covered from head
to foot, but lifted up her veil, fo that her face could be feen
-by him ; and he, on the other hand, appointed a hundred

mufquetecrs

THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 183

mufqiieteers for her guard ; and thus they returned to Do-
barwa mutually fatisfied with this their firft interview.

Don Christopher marched from Dobarwa eight days
through a very rugged country, endeavouring, if poffible,
to bring about a jundion with the king. And it was in
this place, while he was encamped, that he received a mef-
fage from the Moorifh general, full of opprobrious expref-
fions, which was anfwered in much the fame manner. Don
Chriftopher continued his march as much as he could on ac-
count of the rains ; and Gragne, whofe greaieft defire was
to prevent the jundion, followed him into Tigre. Neither
army defired to avoid the other, and they were both march-
ing to the fame point; fo that on the 2jth of March i542»
they came in fight of each other at Ainal, a fmall village in
the country of the Baharnagafh.

The Moorifli army confided of 1000 horfemcn, 5000 foot,.
50 Turkifli mufciueteers, and a few pieces of artilleiy. Doiir
Chriftopher, befides his 450 mufqueteers, had about 1 2,000
Abyffinians, moftly foot, with a few bad horfe commanded
by the Baharnagafli, and Robel governor of Tigre. Don
Chriftopher, whofe principal view was a jundion with the
king, though he did not decline fighting, yet, like a good
ofRcer, he chofe to do it as much as poffible upon his own
terms ; and, therefore, as the enemy exceeded greatly in the
number of horfe, he pofted himfelf fo as to make the beft
of his fire-arms and artillery. And well it was that he did
fo, for the Abyflinians fliewed the utmoft terror when the
firing began: on both fides..

Gragne,

'jH travels to discover

Gragne, mounted on a bay horfe, advancing too near
Don Chriftopher's line that he might fee if in any part it
was acceffible to his cavahy, and being known by his drefs to
be an officer of diftini5lion, he was fhot at by Peter de Sa, a
Portuguefe markfman, who killed his horfe, and wounded
the rider in the leg. This occafioned a great confufion, and
would probably have ended in a defeat of the Moors, had
not the Portuguefe general alfo been wounded immediately
after by a Ihot. Don Chriflopher, to Ihew his confidence of
victory, ordered his men forthwith to pitch their tents, upon
which the Moors retired with Gragne (whom they had
mounted on another horfe) without being purfued, the A-
byflinians having contented themfelves with being fpedla-
tors of the battle.

Don Christopher, with his army and the emprefs, now
entered into winter-quarters at AfTalo ; nor did Gragne de-
part to any diflance from him, but took up his quarters at
Zabul, in hopes always to fight the Portuguefe before it was
poillble for them to efifed: a jundion with the king. The
winter paiTed in a mutual intercourfe of correfpondence and
confidence between the king and Don Chriflopher, and in
determining upon the befl fcheme to purfue the war with
fuccefs. Don Chriflopher and the queen were botli of opi-
nion, that, confidcring the fmall number of Portuguefe firfb
landed, and their diminution by fighting, and a ftrange cli-
mate, it was riflving every thing to defer a jundion till the
winter was over.

The Moorifli general was perfectly of the lumc opinion ;
therefore, as foon as the king began his march fromDcmbea,
Gxagnc advanced to Don Chriftopher's camp, and placed him-

I felf

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 185

felf between the Portuguefe army and that of the king,
drawing up his troops before the camp, and defying the
Portuguefe to march out, and fight, in the moil opprobrious
language. Don Chriftopher, in a long catalogue of virtues
which he poiTelTed to a very eminent degree, had not the
fmallefh claim to that of patience, fo very neceflary to
thofe that command armies. He was brave to a fault;
rafh and vehement ; jealous of what he thought milita-
ry honour; and obflinate in his refolutions, which he form-
ed in confequence. The defiance of this barbarian, at which
an old general would have laughed, made him utterly for-
get the reafons he himfelf frequently alledgcd, and the ar-
guments ufed by the queen, which the king's approach
daily ftrengthened, that it was rifking every thing to come
to a battle till the two armies had joined. He had, however,
from no other motive but Gragne's infolcnce, formed his
refolution to fight, without waiting a junction ; and accord-
ingly the 30th of Auguft, early in the morning, having
chofcn his ground to the bcfl advantage, ]ie oiTercd battle
to the Moorifli army.

Gragne, by prcfcnts fent to the baflia of Zibid, had
doubled his number of horfe, which now confifted of 2000.
He had got likewifc 100 Turkifli mufqueteers, an infinite
number of foot, and a train of artillery more numerous
and complete than ever had been feen before in Abyifinia.
The queen, frightened at the preparation for the battle, fled,
taking with her the Portuguefe patriarch, who fecmed to
Iiave as little inclination as flie had to fee the ifliic of the
day. But Don Chriftopher, who knew well the bad effects
this example would have, both on Abyfilnians- and Portu-
guefe, fent twenty horie, and brought them both back ; tell-
ing the patriarch it was a breach of duty he would not fuf-
VoL. ir, A a fer.

3B6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fer, for him to withdraw until he had confefled him, and
given the army abfolution before the adion with the In-
fidels.

The battle was fought on the 30th of Augiift with great
fury and obftinacy on both fides. The Portuguefe had ftrew-
ed, early in tlie morning, all the front of their line with
gun-powder, to which, on the approach of the Turks, they
fet fire by trains, which burnt and difabled a great many of
them; and things bore a profperous appearance, till the Moor-
ifli general ordered fome artillery to be pointed againft the.
AbyfTmians, who, upon hearing the firft explofion, and fee-
ing the effecT: of fome balls that had lighted among them, ,
fled, and left the Portuguefe to the number only of 400^
who were immediately furrounded by the Moorilh army.
Nor did Gragne purfue the fugitives, his affair being with
the Portuguefe, the fmallnefs of whofe number promifed
they would fall an eafy and certain facrifice. He there^
fore, attacked their camp upon every fide' with very little,
fuccefs, having loft moft of his bcft officers, till, unfor^
tunatcly,Don Chriftopher, fighting and expofing liimfelf eve-
rywhere, was fingled out by a Tmkifii foldier, and lliot
through the arm. Upon this all his men turned their
thoughts from their own prefervation to that of their ge-
neral, who obftinately refufcd to fly, till he was by force,
put upon a htter, and fent off, together with the patriarch:
and queen.

Night now coming on, Don Chriftopher had got into a
wood in which there was a cave. There he ordered himfclf
to be fet down to have his wounds dreiled ; which, being
done, he was urged by the queen aiid patriarch to continue

his

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 187

his flight. But he had formed his refohition, and, without
deigning to give his reafons, he obftinately refufed to re-
treat a ftep farther. In vain the queen, and thofe that knew
the country, told him he was jull in the tradl of the Moor-
ilh horfemen, who would not fail foon to furround him.
He repeated his refohition of ftaying there with fuch a de-
gree of lirmnefs, that I'le queen and patriarch, who had no
great defire for martyrdom, left him to his fate, which pre-
fently overtook him.

In one of Don Chriftopher's expeditions to the moun-
tains, he had taken a very beautiful woman, wife to a
Turkilh officer, whom he had flain. This lady had made
a Ihcw of converfion to Chriftianity ; lived with him after-
wards, and was treated by him with the utmoft tendcrnels.
It was faid, that, after he was wounded and began to fly,
this woman had given him his route, and promifcd to over-
take him with friends that would carry him to a place of
fafety. Accordingly, fome fervants left by the queen, hid-
den among the rocks, to watch what might befal him, and
aflift him if pofllble, faw a v/oman, in the dawn of the
morning, come to the cave, and return into the wood im-
mediately, whence there rulhcd our a body of Moorifli
horfe, who went ftraight to the cave and found Don Chri-
ftopher Iving upon the ground forcly wounded. Upon the
firil queftion that was afkcd him, he declnred his name,
Avhich fo overjoyed the Moors, that they gave over further
purfuit, and returned with the prifoner they had taken.
Don Chriilopher was brought into the prefcnce of the Moor-
illi general, Gragnc, who loaded him with reproaches ; to
which he replied with fuch a iliare of invectives, that tJie
Moor, in ti\Q violence of his pailion, drevv^ his fword and cut

A a 2 oir

i85 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

off his head with his own hand. His head was fent to Con*
ftantinople, and parts of his body to 2'ibid and other quar-^
tcrs of Arabia.

The Portugiiefe camp was now taken, and all the wound-
ed found in it were put to death. The women, from their
fear, having retired all into Don Chriftopher's tent, the Turks
began to indulge themfelyes in their ufual excelTes towards,
their captives, when a noble Abyffinian woman, who had
been married to a Portuguefe, feeing the Ihocking treatment
that was awaiting them, fet fire to feveral barrels of gun-
powder that were in the tent, and at once deftroyed herfelf,
her companions, and thofe that were about to abufe them..

The queen and the patriarch, after travelling through-
mod difficult ways, and being hofpitably entertained where--,
ever they palled, at lafl took up their refidence in the Jews-
mountain, a place inacceffible in point of llrength, having'
but one entrance, and that very difficult, being alfo defend-
ed by a multitude of inhabitants who dwell on a large-
plain on the top of that mountain, where there is plenty of
fpace to plow and fow, and a large ftream of water that
runs through the whole of it. Here they liaid two months,
as well to repofe themfelves as to-give the king time to re-
lieve them. After hearing that he was in motion, they left,
the mountain of the Jews, and m-et him on his march to-=.-
■w;ards them,

Claudius fliewed gyeat figns of forrow for the death of
Don Chriftopher, and mourned three days. He then fent
3Q00 ounces of gold to be divided among the Portuguefe,
who, in. the place of Don Chriflopher, had eleded Alphonfo

Caldeyrs,.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. i8g

Galdeyra for their captain. Thefe all flocked about the
king, demanding that he would lead them to battle, than
they might revenge the death of Don Chriftopher. Soon after
which, Alphonfo Galdeyra, exercifing a horfe in the field,
was thrown off and died of the fall. In his place was
elecHied Arius Dias, a Portugucfe, born at Coimbra, whofe
mother was a black ; he was very much favoured by the
king, who now began to cultivate particular parties a-
mong the Portuguefe, in order to divide them, and loo-
fen their attachment for their patriarch, religion, and'
country.

The king marched from Samcn to Shawada, where the"
Moorifli army came in full force to meet him. They were-
not, however, thofe formidable troops that had defeated and
taken Don Chriftopher : For the Turkifli foldiers, who were
the ftrength of the army, expecting to have Ihared a great
fum each for Don Chriftopher's ranfom, thought themfelves
exceedingly injured by the manner in which he was put to*
death ; and they had accordingly all to a man returned-
into Arabia, leaving Gragne to fight his own batttles for
his own profit. Nor was Claudius ignorant of this ; and
having coUecTied all his army he gave the Moors battle on
the 15th of November in a plain called Woggora, on the top
of Lamalmon, in which the Moors, notwithftanding their
recent vi(5lory, were not long in yielding to the fuperiority
of the king's troops.

The lofs of the day was not inconfiderable. Mahomet,
Ofman, and Tali!,. three MoorLQi leaders, famous for their

fucceiTes

190 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fuccefTes againll David the king's father, were this day flain
in the field.

Claudius now defcended into the low country of Derfe-
gue, a very plentiful province, to which the Moors al-
ways retreated to flrengthen themfelves after any misfor-
tune. This the king utterly dellroyed ; while Gragne
did the fame with thofe countries in Dembea that had
been recovered by the king. Claudius then returned to Sha-
wada, and Gragne to Derfegue. After that the king march-
ed to Wainadega, and Gragne, leaving Derfegue, advanced
fo near the king's army, that the outpofts were nearly in
light of each other. In fuch a pofition of two fuch armies
a battle became inevitable.

Accordingly, on the loth of Feb. 1543, in the morning,
the king, whole quarters were at Ifaac's Bet, having well re-
freflied his army, marched out of his camp, and oftered the
enemy battle. The Portuguefe, ever mindful of Don Chrif-
topher, fought with a bravery like to defperation, and the
prefence of the king keeping the Abyffinians in their duty,
the van of Gragne's army was pullicd back upon the cen-
ter, and much confufion was like to follow, till Gragne ad-
vanced alone before them, waving and beckoning with his
hands to his men that they fliould follow ; and he was al-
ready come fo near the Portuguefe line as to be eafily
known and dillinguiflied by them.

Peter Lyon, a man of low ftature, but very acT:ive and
valiant, who had been valet-de-chambre to Don Chriftopher,
having crept unfccn along the courfe of a river a confidcr-
ablc fpace nearer, 10 make his aim more certain, fliot Gragne

with

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. igi

with his mufquet, fo that the ball went through his bo-
dy in the moment that both armies joined. Gragne, find-
ing that his wound was mortal, rode afide from the preffure
of the troops towards a fmall thicket, and was clofely fol-
lowed by Peter Lyon, who faw him fall dead from his horfe;
and, defirous ftill to do further fervice in the battle, he
would not incumber himfclf with his head, but, cutting
off one of the ears, he put it in his pocket, and returned to
the adion. The Mooriih army no fooner mifled the prefence
of their general, than concluding all loft, they fell into con-
fiifion, and were purfued by the Portuguefe and Abyilinians;
with a great llaughter, till the evening.

The next morning, in furveying the dead, the body of
Gragne was found by an Abyliinian officer, who cut his
head off, and brought it to the king, who received him with
great honour and promife of reward. Peter Lyon Itood a
Clent fpe(!:l;ator of the impudence of his competitor; but A-
rius Dias, who knew tlie fact, defired the king's attention ;,
faying, at the fame time, " That he believed his majefty
knew Gragne well enough to fuppofe that he would not
fufFer any man to cut off his ear, without having it in his
power to fever his head alfo ; and confcquently, that the ear
muft be in poflcffion of a better man than he that had
brought his head to the camp." Upon this, Peter Lyon pull-
ed the ear out of his pocket, and laid it at the king's .feet,,
amidft the acclamations of all prefent, for his bravery in
revenging his old mafter's death, and his modefty in being
content with having done £o, without pretending to. any
other reward,. 2-

fgi TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

In this battle, a fon of Gragne was taken prifoner, with
many other confiderable officers ; and Del Wumbarea, wife
of Gragne, with Nur fon of Mudgid, and a few troops, were
obliged to throw themfelves, for fafety, among the wilds
and woods of Atbara, thereby efcaping with great difficulty.

The king had now ample revenge of all the Moorifli lead-
ers who had reduced his father to fuch extremities, excepting
Joram, who had driven the king from his hiding-place on
mount Tfalem, and forced him to crofs the Tacazze on foot,
with equal danger of being drowned or taken. This lead-
er had, much againft his will, been detained from the lall
battle, but, hoping to be Hill in time, was advancing by
forced marches. The king, informed of his route, de-
tached a party of his army to meet him before the news
of the battle could reach him. They having placed them]
felves in ambufli, he fell into it with his army, and was cut
to pieces : this completed Claudius's account with his fa-
ther's enemies.

During the late war with Gragne, the provinces of Ti-
gre and Sire had been the principal feat of the war. They
were immediately in the way between Dembea, Mafuah,
and the other Moorifli polls upon the Red Sea ; the enemy
had crolTed them in all diredions, and a proportionable de-
vaftation had been the confequence. Gragne had burnt
Axum, and deftroyed all the churches and convents in Ti-
grc. The king, now delivered from this enemy, had ap-
plied fcrioully to repair the ravages which had been made in
the country. For this purpofe he marched with a fmall army
towards Axum, intending afterwards an expedition againft
the Galla.

4 It

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 193

It was in the 13th year of the reign of Claudius, while
he was at Sire, that there happened a very remarkable eclipfe
of the fun, which threw both court and army into great
confternation. The prophets and diviners, ignorant monks
of the defcrt, did not let Hip fo favourable an opportunity of
increafmg their confequence by augmenting this panic, and
declaring this eclipfe to portend nothing lefs than the re-
newal of the Moorifli war. The year, however, pafTed in
tranquillity and peace. Two old women, relations of the
king, are faid to have died ; and it was in this great cala-
mity'that thefe diviners were to look for the completion of
their prophecies. It is from this, however, that I have ta-
ken an opportunity to compare and rectify the dates of the
principal tranfadions in the Abyffinian hiftory. Sire, where
the king then rcfided, was a point very favourable for this
application ; for, in my journey from Mafuah to Gondar,
Ihad fettled the latitude and longitude of that town by ma-
ny obfervations.

On the 2 2d of January 1770, at night, by a medium of
different paffagcs of liars over tlie meridian, and by an obfer-
vation of the fun the noon of the following day, I found
the latitude to be 14" 4' 35" ^^o«l^' ^^"^ ^^^^ evening of the
23d, I obferved an emerdon of the firft fatcllite of Jupiter,
and by this I concluded the longitude of Sire to be 38" o' 15"
eaft of the meridian of Greenwich.

The 13th year of the reign of Claudius falls to be in the
-1553, and I find that there was a remarkable eclipfe of the
fun that did happen that fiime year on the 24th of January
N. S. which anfwcrs to the i8th of theEthiopic month Teir.
The circumftanccs of this eclipfe were as follow :

Vol. II. ^^ ■ Beginning,

194 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

H,

M.

s.

Beginning,

-

7

21

0 A. M.

Middle,

-

8

40

0

End

_

lO

I

0

The quantity of the fun's difk obfcured was i o digits ; fo that
this was fo near to a total eclipfe, it muft have made an im-
preffion on the fped:ators minds that fufficiently accounts
for the alarm and apprehenlions it occafioned.

In the manth of January, nothing can be more beautiful
than the fky in Sire ; not a cloud appears ; the flcy is all of a
pale azure, the colour lighter than an European fky, and of
inexpreffible beauty. The manner of applying this eclipfe
I fliall mention hereafter.

Eclipses of the moon do not feem to be attended to in Abyf-
iinia. The people are very little out in the night, infomuch
that I do not find one of thefe recorded throughout their hif-
tory. The circumftances of the feafon make even thofe of
the fun feldomer vifible than in other climates, for in the
rainy feafon, from April to September, the heavens are con-
ftancly overcaft with clouds, fo that it is mere accident if
they can catch the moment it happens. But in the month of
Teir, that is December and January, the fky is perfecftly fe-
rene and clear, and at this time our eclipfe above mention-
ed happened.

The king now took into his confideration the ftate of the
church. He had fent for an Abuna from Cairo to fucceed
Abuna Marcus, and he was now in his way to Abyllinia,
while Bermudes, not able to bear this flight, on the other

3 hand,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 195

hand, publicly declared to the king, that, having been am-
balTador from his father, and made his fubmiihon to the
Roman pontifF, for himfelf and for his kingdom, he now
expeded that Claudius would make good his father's en-
gagements, embrace the Roman Catholic religion him-
felf, and, without delay, proclaim it as the eftabliflied reli-
gion in Abyflinia. This the king pofitively refufed to do,
and a converfation enfued, which is repeated by Bermudes
himfelf, and fufhciently fhews the moderation of the young
king, and the fiery, brutal zeal of that ignorant, bigotted,
ill-mannered prieft. Hitherto the Abyflinians heard the
Portuguefe mafs with reverence and attention; and the
Portuguefe frequented the Abyflinian churches with com-
placency. They intermarried with each other, and the chil-
dren feem to have been chriftened indifferently by the
priefts of either church. And this might have long conti-
nued, had it not been for the impatience of Bermudes.

The king, feeing the danger of conneding himfelf with
fuch a man, kept up every appearance of attachment to the
Alexandrian church. Yet, fays the Abyflinian hiftorian who
writes his life, it was well known that Claudius, in his heart,
was a private, but perfeft convert, to the Romilh faith, and
kept only from embracing it by his hatred to Bermudes, the
conllant perfuafion of the emprefs Sabel Wenghel, and the
recolledtion of the misfortunes of his father. Upon being
required publicly to fubmit himfelf to the See of Rome, he
declared that he had made no fuch promife; that he confider-
ed Bermudes as no patriarch, or, at beft, only patriarch of the
Franks ; and that the Abuna of Abyflinia was the chief
prieft acknowledged by him. Bermudes' told him, that he
was accurfcd and excommunicated. Claudius anfwered, that

B b 2 ^e»

196 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

he, Bermudes, was a neftorian heretic, and worfliipped four
gods. Bermudes anfwered plainly, that he lied; that he
would take every Portuguefe from him, and return to In-
dia whence he came. The king's anfwer was, that he wifh-
edhe would return to hidia; but as for the Portuguefe, nei-;
ther they, nor any other perfon, fhould leave his kingdom
without his permifhon. Accordingl-y, having perfeftly
gained Arius Dias, he gave him the name of Marcus, with
the command of the Portuguefe, and fent him a ftandard
with his own arms, to ufe inftead of the king of Portugal's.
But the Abyffinian page being met, on his return, with the
Portuguefe ftandard in his hand, by James Brito, he wrefted
it from him, felling him to the ground with a blov^ of,
his fword on the head.

From expoftulations with the king, the matter of religion
turned into difputes among the priefts, at which the king
always aflifted in perfon. If we fuppofe they were no bet-
ter fuftained on the part of the Abyili-nians than they were
by the patriarch Bermudas, who we know was no great
divine, we cannot expe(5l much that was edifying from the
arguments that either of them ufed. The Portuguefe priefls
fay*, that the king, ftruck with the ignorance of his own
clergy, frequently took the difcullion upon hinifelf, which
he managed with fuch force of reafoning as often to put
the patriarch to a ftand. From verbal difputes, which ter-
minated in nothing, Bermudes was refolved to appeal to ar-
guments in writing ; and, with the help of thofe that were
with him of the fame faith, a fair ftate of the differences in
queftion was made in a fmall book, and prefented to the
king, who read it with fo much pleafure that he kept
it conftantly by him. This gave very great offence to the

Abyflinian

* Icllcz, lib, 2. cap. 27.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 197

Abyffinian clergy ; and the Abuna being now arrived, the
king defired of him Hberty to read that book, which he re-
fufing, pvit the young king into fo violent a paffion that he
called the Abuna Mahometan and Infidel to his face.

Things growing worfe and worfe between the Portu-
guefe and Abyffinians, by the incendiary fpirit of the bru-
tifli Bermudcs, from reproaches they came to blows ; and
this proceeded fo far, that the Portuguefe one night aflauk-
ed the king's tent, where they flew fome, and grievoully
wounded others. Upon this, the king, defirous to ellrange
him a little from the Portuguefe, fcnt Bcrmudes to the coutv
try of the Gafats, where he gave him large appointments,
in hopes that the natural turbulence of his temper would
involve him in fomc diflicultics. And there he llaid fcven
months, oppreffing the poor ignorant people, and frighten-
ing them with the noife of his iire-arms. During this period,
the king went on- an expedition againft the Galla ; Bcrmu-
des then returned to court, where he found that Arius Dias
was dead, and a great many of the Portuguefe very well at-
tached to the king. But he began his old work of dill'en-
tion, infomuch that the king determined to banilh him to
a mountain' for life^ .

Caspar de Suza now commanded the Portuguefe inftead
of Arius Dias, a man equally beloved by his own nation and
the king. By his perfuafions, and that of Kafmati Robel,
the banilhment to the mountain was laid afide; but Bermu-
des was privately perfuaded to embark for India while it
was yet time ; and accordingly he repaired to Dobarwa,
where he remained two years, as it fliould feem, perfedly
quiet, negleded, and forlorn ; faying daily mafs to ten Por-
tuguefe^

198 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

tuguefe who had fettled in that town after the defeat of
Don Chriftopher. He then went to Mafuah, and the mon-
foon being favourable, he embarked on board a Portuguefe
veffel, carrying with him the ten Portuguefe that were fet-
tled at Dobarwa, who all arrived fafely at Goa.

St Ignatius, founder of the Order of Jefuits, was then at
Rome in the dawn of his holinefs. The converfion of A-
byffinia feemed of fuch confequence to him, that he re-
folved himfelf to go and be the apoftle of the kingdom.
But the pope, who had conceived other hopes of him and
his Order more important and nearer at hand, abfolurely
refufed this offer. One of his fociety, Nugnez Baretto, was,
however, fixed upon for patriarch, without any notice being
taken of Don John Bermudes. By him Ignatius fent a let-
ter addrefled to Claudius, which is to be found in the col-
lections *. It does not, I think, give us any idea of the in-
genuity or invention of that great faint. It feems moftly
to beg the queftion, and to contain little elfe than texts of
fcripture for his future miffionaries to preach and write on,
relative to the difference of tenets of the two churches.

With this letter, and a number of priefts, Baretto came
to Goa. But news being arrived there of king Claudius's flea-
dy averfion to the Catholic church, it was then thought bet-
ter, rather than rifle the patriarchal dignity, to fend Andrew
Oviedo bifliop of Hierapolis, and Melchior Carneyro bifhop
of Nice, with feveral other priefls, as ambaffadors from the
governor of India to Claudius, with proper credentials. They
arrived fafely at Mafuah in 1558, five days before the Turk-
ilh baflia came with his fleet and army, and took pofTefTion

of

f Dated at Rome 1 6th Feb. 1555. See Tellez, lib, 2. c^p. 22.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 199

of Mafuah and Arkeeko, though thefe places had been oc-
cupied by the Turks two years before.

"When the arrival of thefe Portuguefe was intimated to
Claudius, he was exceedingly glad, as he confidered them as
an acceflion of ftrength. But when, on opening the letter,
he faw they were priefls, he was very much troubled, and
faid, that he wondered the king of Portugal fliould meddle
fo much with his affairs ; that he and his predeceffors knew
no obedience due but to the chair of St Mark, or acknow-
ledged any other patriarch but that of Alexandria ; ncver-
thelefs, continued he with his ufual goodnefs and moder-
ation, fince they are come fo far out of an honefl concern
for me, I Ihall not fail to fend proper perfons to receive and
condudt them. This he did, and the two bifliops and their
companions were immediately brought to court. It was at
this time that the difpute about the two natures began, in
which the king took fo confiderable a part. He was ftre-
nuous, eloquent, and vehement in the difcuffion ; when that
was ended, he ftill prefcrvcd his ufual moderation and kind-
nefs for the Portuguefe priefts..

NuGNEZ died in India, and Oviedo fucceeded him as pa-
triarch to Abyflinia, it having been fo appointed by the pope
from the beginning of their miflion,

Clau'Dius had no children ; a treaty was therefore fet on
foot, at the inllance of the emprefs Sabel Wenghel, for ran-
foming the prince Menas who had been taken prifoner in
his father David's time, and ever fmce kept in confine-
ment among the Moors, upon a high mountain in Adel.

The

2.0O TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The fame had happened to a fon of Gragne likewife, made
prifoner at the battle of Wainadega, when his father was
.flain by Claudius. The Moors fettled in Abyffinia, as well
as all the Abyffinian rebels who hadforfaken their allegiance
or religion during the war, were to a man violently againft
fetting Menas at liberty, for he was the only brother Clau-
dius had, and a difputed fucceinon was otherwife probable,
which was what the Moors longed for. Befides this, Menas
was exceedingly brave, of a fevere and cruel temper, a mor-
tal enemy to the Mahometans, and at this time in the flower
of his age, and perfe6tly fit to govern. It was not, then, by
any means, an eligible meafure for thofe who were natural-
ly the objeds of his hatred, to provide fuch an affillant and
fuccellbr to Claudius.

Del Wu MB are a tliought, that, having loft her hufband,
10 be deprived of her fon likewife, was more than fell to
her fhare in the common caufe. She, too, had therefore
applied to the bafha of Mafuah, who looked no farther than
to a ranfom, and cared veiy little what prince reigned in
Abyflinia. He, therefore, undertook the management of
the matter, and declared that he would fend Menas to the
Grand Signior, as foon as an anfv/er fliould come from Con-
ftantinople, while Claudius protefted, that he would give up
Gragne's fon to the Portuguefe, if the ranfom for his bro-
ther was not immediately agreed on. This rcfolution, on
both fides, quickly removed all obje(5tions. Four thoufand
ounces of gold were paid to the Moors and the baflia ; Me-
nas was releafed and fent home to Claudius, who thereupon,
in his turn, fct Ali Gerad, fon of Gragne by Del Wumbarea,
at liberty, and with him Waraba Guta brother of the king
of Adel, and this finiflied the tranfaclion.

I 1 MXIST

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. sot

I MUST here obfcrve, that what Bermudes * fays, that
Del Wumbarea was taken prifoner and given in marriage to
Arius Dias, was but a fable, as appears both from the begin-
ning and fequel of the narrative. Del Wumbarea having
thus obtained her fon, took a very early opportunity of {hew-
ing fhe had not yet forgot the father. Nur, governor of
Zeyla, fon of Mudgid, who had ilain the princes imprifoned
upon the mountain of Gefhen, was deeply in love with this
lady, and had deferved well of her, for he had aflifted her
in making her efcape into Atbara that day her hufband
was flain. But this heroine had conftantly refufed to liften
to any propofals ; nay, had vowed (he never would give
her hand in marriage to any man till he Ihould firfl bring
her the head of Claudius who had flain her hufband. Nur
willingly accepted the condition, which gave him few ri-
vals, but rather feemed to be referved for liim, and out of
•the power of every one elfc.

Claudius, before this, had marched towards Adel, when
lie received a melTage from Nur, that, though Gragne was
dead, there Hill remained a governor of Zeyla, whofe family
was chofen as a particular inftrument for flicdding the blood
of the Abyilinian princes ; and dcfired him, therefore, to be
prepared, for he was fpeedily to fet out to come to him.
Claudius had been employed in various journies through
different parts of his kingdom, repairing the churches
which Gragne and the other Moors had burnt; and he was
then rebuilding that of Dcbra Werk f when this melTage of
Vol. II. C c Nur

• See Bermiides's account of thefe titnes, printed at Lifbon by Francis Correa, A. D. ijiSj.
t The MoHntain cf Gol-d.

no^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Nur was brought to him. This prince was of a temper ne-
ver to avoid a challenge ; and if he did not march againlt
Nur immediately, he ftaid no longer than to complete his
army as far as poffible. He then began his march for Adelj
very much, as it is faid, againfl the advice of his friends.

That fuch advice fliould be given, at this particular time,,
appears ftrange ; for till now he had been conflantly vi(5tori-i
ous, and his kingdom was perfedlly obedient, which was not
the cafe when any one of the former battles had been foughti.
But many prophecies were current in the camp, that the
king was to be unfortunate this campaign, and was to lofe
his life in it. Thefe unfortunate rumours tended much t©.
difcourage the army, at the fame time that they fcemed to-
have a contrary effedl on the king, and to confirm him in>
his refolution to fight. The truth is, the clergy, who had
feen the country delivered by him from the Mahometans,
in a manner almoll miraculous, and the conftancy with,
v/hich he withftood the Romifli patriarch, and fruftrated the
dcfigns of his father againft the Alexandrian church, and'
who had experienced his extreme liberality in rebuilding
the churches, had wrought his young mind to fuch a de-
gree of enthufiafm that he was often heard to fay, he pre-,
ferred a death i-n the middle of an army of hifidels to- the
Longefl and moft profperous life that ever fell to the lot of
man. It needed not a prophet to have foretold the likely
iffue of a battle in thefe circumftances, where the king,
carelcfs. of life, rather fought death tlian vidlory ; where
rhe number of Portuguefe was fo fmall as to be incapable,
of thcmfclves, to eiFe^fl any thing; v/here, even of that num-.
bc!-, thofe tliat were attached to the king were looked upon
a,s traitors by thofe of the party of the patriarch ; and where

4;. tjb,e.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 203

the AbyfTinians, from their repeated quarrels and difputes,
heartily hated them all.

The armies were drawn up and ready to engage, when
the chief priell of Debra Libanos came to the king to tell
him a dream, or vifion, which warned him not to fight ;
but the Moors were then advancing, and the king on horfe-
back made no reply, but marched brilkly forward to the
enemy. The cowardly Abyflinians, upon the firft fire, fled,
leaving the king engaged in the middle of the Moorilh ar-
my with twenty horfe and eighteen Portuguefc mufquc-
teers, who were all flain around his perfon ; and he him-
felf fell, after fighting manfully, and receiving twenty
wounds. His head was cut off, and by Nur delivered t6
Del Wumbarea, who directed it to be tied by the hair to
the branch of a tree before her door, that flie might keep
it conftantly in fight. Here it remained three years, till
it was purchafed from her by an Armenian merchant,
her firft grief, having, it is probable, fubfided upon the ac-
quifition of a new hufband. The merchant carried the
head to Antioch, and buried it there in the fepulchre of a
faint of the fame name.

Thus died king Claudius in the 19th year of his reign,
who, by his virtues and capacity, might hold a firft place
among any feries of kings we have known, vi<5lorious in
every action he fought, except in that one only in which he
died. A great llaughter was made after this among the
routed, and many of the firft nobility were flain in endea-
vouring to efcape ; among the reft, the dreamer from De-
bra Lebanos, his viiion, by which he knew the king's
death, not having extended fo far as to reveal his own.

C c 2 Tlie

:^04 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The x\byilinians immediately transferred the name of this
prince into their catalogue of Saints, and he is called St
Claudius in that country to this day. Though endowed
with every other virtue that entitled him to his place in the
kalendar, he feems to have wanted- one — that of dying in;
charity with his enemies.

This battk was fought on. the izd March 1559 ; and the
vi(5tory gained by Nur was a complete one.. The king and
moft of his principal officers were flain ; great part of the
army taken prifoners, the reft difperfed, and the camp plun-
dered ; fo that no Moorifh general had ever returned home
with the glory that he did. But afterwards, in his beha-
viour, he exhibited a fpediacle more memorable, and that
did him more honour than the victory itfelf ; for, when he
drew near to Adel, he clothed himfelf in poor attire like a
common foldier, and bare-headed, mounted on an ordina-
ry mule, with an old faddle and tattered accoutrements^
he forbade the fongs and praife with which it is ufual to
meet conq^uerors in that country when returning with vic-
tory from the i&eld. He declined alfo all fliare in the fuc-
cefs of that day, declaring that the whole of it was due to
God alone, to whofe mercy and immediate interpofition he
owed the deftrudtion of the Chriftian army.

The unworthy and unfortunate John Bermudes having;
arrived in Portugal from India, continued there till his
death ; and, in the infcription over his tomb, is called only
Patriarch of Alexa7idria. Yet it is clear, from the hiftoiy of thcfe
times, that he was firft ordained by the old patriarch Mar-
cus ; and that the pope, Paul III. bnly confirmed the ordi-
nation of this heretical fchifmatical prelate, though we have

2 ilaied

THE SOURCE OFTHENILE. 4^3}

flated that he was ordained by the pope, according to his
own aiTertion, to be patriarch of Alexandria, AbyfTinia, and
the Sea. Bermudes Hved many years after this, and never
refigned any of his charges.

However, on his arrival in Europe, feveral fuppofed well-
meaning perfons at Rome began to difcourfe among them-
felves, as if the converlion of AbyiTniia had not had a fair
trial when trufted in the hands of fuch a man as Bermudes.
Scandalous ftories as to his moral charafter were propaga-
ted at Rome to llrengthen this. He was faid to have flolcn
a golden cup in Abyffinia* ; but this does not appear to me>
in any fhape probable, or like the manners of the man. He
was a fimple, ill-bred zealot, exceedingly vain, but in no-
wife coveting riches or gain of any fort. Scbailian king
of Portugal, hearing the bad poflure of the Catholic religion
in AbyfTmia, and the fmall hopes of the convcrfion of that
country, befought the pope to fend all the mifTionaries that
were in that kingdom to preach the gofpcl in Japan : but
Oviedo ftated fuch ftrongreafons in his letter to Rome, that
he was confirmed in the million of Ethiopia.

* Purch. vol. 2,

MENASj

¥p "'^-ssss^'"*-' — Sfe

^o6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

i^^iS^iSfe

MENAS, OR ADAMAS SEGUED.

From 1559 to 1563.

Baharnagajh rebels^ proclaims Tafcar King — Defeated by the Katig—-
Cedes Dobarwa to the Turks, and makes a League with the Bajha of
Mafuah.

MENAS fucceeded his brother Claudius, and found his
kingdom in almoft as great confufion as it had been
left by his father David. His firll campaign was againll
Radaet the Jew. The king attacked him at his ilrongeft
poll in Samen, where he fought him with various fuccefs ;
and the enterprife did not feem much advanced, when a
hermit, refiding in thefe mountains, probably tired with the
neighbourhood of fuch troublefome people, came and told
the king, it had been revealed to him that the conquefl of
the Jews was not allotted to him, nor was their time yet
come.

While the king feemed difpofed to avail himfelf of the
hermit's warning, as a decent excufe to get rid of an affair
that did not fucceed to his mind, an accident happened
which determined him to quit his prefent undertaking.
Two men, fliepherds of Ebenaat in Beleffen, from what in-
jury is not known, engaged two of the king's fervants, who

were

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 207

were their relations, to introduce them into Menas's tent
while fleeping, with a defign to murder him in his bed.
While they were preparing to execute their intention, one
of them Humbled over the lamp that was burning, and threw
it down. The king awakening, and challenging him with
a loud voice, the afTaffin ftruck at him with his knife, but fo
feebly, from the fright, that he dropt the weapon upon
the king's cloak without hurting him. They fled imm.c-
diately out of the tent, but were taken at Ebenaat the next
day,and brought back to the king,who gave orders to the jud-
ges to try them : they were both condemned, the one to be
thruft through with lances, the other to be Honed to death;
after which, both their bodies were thrown to the dogs and
to the beafts of the field, as is pra<5lifed conilantly in all cafes
of high-treafon.

The fecond year of the reign of Menas was ufhered in
by a confpiracy among the principal men of his court, at
the head of which was Ifaac Baharnagalh, an old and
tried fervant of his brother Claudius. This officer had
been treated ill by Menas in the beginning of his reign ;-
and, knowing the prince's violent and cruel difpofition, he
could not perfuade himfelf that he was yet in fafety.

Menas, to fupprefs this rebellion in its infancy, fent Za-
Ea Johannes, an old officer, before him, with what forces he
Gould coUeft in the inllant ; but Ifaac, informed of the bad
ftate of that army, and confequently of his own fuperiori-
ty, left him no time to flrengthen himfelf, but fell furi-
oufly upon him, and, with little refiftance, difperfed his ar-
my. This lofs did not difcouragc the king ; he had ailcm-
bled a very confiderable force, and, defirous ftill to encreafe

2o8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

it, he was advancing ilowly that he might coUecH: the fcar-
tered remains of the army that had been defeated. The
Baharnagafh, though viftorious, faw with fome concern
that he could not avoid the king, whofe courage and capa-
city, both as a foldier and a general, left him every thing
to fear for his fuccefs.

Ever fmce the maffacre of the princes upon mount Ge-
flien by vizir Mudgid, in the reign of David III. none of the
remains of the royal family had been confined as hereto-
fore. Tafcar, Menas's nephew, was then at liberty, and, to
flrengthen his caufe, was proclaimed king by the Bahar-
nagafh, foon after the defeat of Menas's army under Zara
Johannes. He was a prince very mild and affable in his
manners, in all refpe«5ts very unlike his uncle then reign-
ing.

It was on the iftof July 1561, that the king attacked the
Baharnagafh in the plain of Woggora; and, having entirely
routed his army, Tafcar was taken prifoner, and ordered by
the king his uncle to be carried to the brink of the high
rock of Lamalmon, and, having been thrown over the fleep
precipice, he was dafhed to pieces. Ifaac himfelf efcaped
very narrowly, flying to the frontier of his government in
the neighbourhood of Mafuah. The Baharnagafli compre-
hended diftinftly to what a dangerous fituation he was now
reduced. No hopes of fafety remained but in a peace with
the baflia. This at firft appeared not eafily obtained ; for,
while liaac remained in his duty in the reign of Claudius,
he had fought with the baflia, and loft his brother in the en-
gagement. But prefent neceility overcame the memory of

pafl injuries.

Samur

THE SOURC^E OT THE NILE. 20(f

SaxMur Bafha was a man of capacity and temper ; he had
been in poflellion of Mafuah ever fince the year 1558. He
faw his own evident intereft in the meafure, and appeared
f^iU as forward as the Baharnagafli to complete it. Ifaac ce-
ded Dobarwa to the bafha, and put him into immediate pof-
fellion of it, and all the low country between that andMafuah.
By this acquifirion, the Turks, before mailers of the fea-coaft,
became pofTefTed of the whole of the flat country correfpon-
ding thereto, as far as the mountains. Dobarwa is a large
trading town, fituatcd in a country abounding with provi-
fions of all kinds which Mafuah wanted, and it was the key
of the province of Tigrc and the high land of Abyilinia.

Menas, at his acceflion, had received kindly the compli-
ments of congratulation made by the Portugucle patriarcli,
Oviedo. But hearing that he ilill continued to preach, and
tliat the eflecSl of this was frequent divifions and animo-
fities among the people, he called him into his prefcncc,
and ftri(5tly commanded him to deflfl, which the patriarch
pofitively refufing, the king loH all patience, and fell vio-
Icnriy upon him, beating him without mercy, tearing his
clothes and beard, and taking his chalice from him, that he
might prevent him from faying mafs. He then baniflicd
him to a dcfcrt mountain, together with Irancis Lopez,
where for fcvcn months he endured all mamier of hard-
.ihips.

The king, in the mean time, publiflied many rigorous
proclamations againll: the Portugucfe. He would not per-
mit them to marry with Abylhnians. Thofe that we're
already married he forbade to go to the Catholic churches
with 'their hufbands ; and, having again called the patriarch
Vol. II. D d into

aro TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

into his prefence, he ordered him forthwith to leave his
kingdom upon pain of death. But Oviedo, who feems to
have had an ambition to be the proto-martyr, refufed abfo-
lutely to obey thefe commands. He declared that the orders
of God were thofe he obeyed, not the finful ordinances of
man; and, letting flip his cloak from his Ihoulders, he offered
his bare neck to the king to flrike. This anfwer and geC-
ture fo incenfed Menas, that, drawing his fword, he would
have very foon put the patriarch in poffefllon of the mar-
tyrdom he coveted, had.it not been for the interpofition of
the queen and officers that flood round him.

OviEDo, after having been again foundly beaten, was
baniflied a fecond time to the mountain ; and in this fen-
tence were included all the reft of the Portuguefe priefts,
as well as otliers. But the bifhop would not fubmit to this
punifhment, but with the Portuguefe, his countrymen, join-
ed the Baharnagafli, who had already completed his treaty
with Sami^u" Baflia.

Isaac, before the Portuguefe priefts, had fliewn a defirc of
becoming Catholic, and of prote(5ting, or even embracing,,
their religion ; and they, on their part, had affured him of a
powerful and fpeedy fuccour from India, which was juft
what he wanted ; and with this view he had placed him-
felf to the greateft advantage, avoiding a battle, and await-
ing thofe auxiliaries, of the arrival of which the king was
very apprehenfive. But the feafon of fliips coming from
India had palTed without any appearance of Portuguefe, and
the king was refolved to try his fortune without expecting
what another feafon might produce. On the other hand,
Ifaac, ftrengthencd by his league with the bafha, thought

himfelf

TH£ SOURCE OF THE NILE. iii

Iiimfelf in a condition to take the field, rather than to leflen
■his reputation by conftantly decUning battle.

In thefe difpofitions both armies met, and the confede-
rates were again beaten by the king, with very little lofs or
refinance. This battle was fought on the 20th of April 1562.
Immediately after this victory the king marched to Shoa,
and fent feveral detachments of his army before him to fur-
prife the robbers called Dobas, and drive off their cattle.
What he intended by retiring fo far from his enemies, the
Baharnagafti and Bafha, is what we do not know. Both of
them were yet alive, but probably fo weakened by their laft
.defeat as to leave no apprehenfions of being able to molefl
;;the country by any incurfions.

The king, being advanced into the province of Ogge, was
taken ill of the Kolla, or low-country fever, and, after a few
days illnefs,hedied thereon the 13 th of January 1563, leaving
three fons, Sertza Denghel, who fucceeded him, Tafcar, and
Lefana Chriftos.

Some European hiftorians * have advanced that Menas
was defeated and flain in this laft engagement juft now
mentioned. This, however, is exprefsly contradicfted in the
annals of thefe times, which mention the death of the king
in the terms I have here related; nor were either of the chiefs
of the rebels, the Balha or Baharnagalh, flain that day. The
rebellion ftill continued, Ifaac having proclaimed a prince of
. the name of John to be king in place of Tafcar, his deceafed

brother.

D d 2 MiNAs

♦Ludolf, lib. 2. cap. 6.

21^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Menas was a prince of a very morofe and violent difpo-
fition, but very well adapted to the time- in which he hved-;
brave in his perfon, adive and attentive to the affairs of
government. He was fober, and an enemy to all forts of
pieafure ; frugal, and, in his drefs or ftile of living, littife'
different from any foldier in his army.

These qualities made him feared by the great, without
being beloved by the common foldiers accuftomed to the
liberality and magnificence of Claudius ; and this want of
popularity gave theRomifli priells an opportunity to blacken
his charadter beyond what in truth he deferved. Thus, they
fay, that he had changed his religion during his imprifon-
ment, and turned Mahometan, and that it. was from tlie
Moors he learned that ferocity of manners. But to this the
anfwer is eafy,That the manners of his own countrymen, that
is of mountaineers without any profeillon but war and blood,
in which they had been exercifed for centuries, were, pro-
bably of themfelves, much more fierce and barbarous than
any he could learn among the people of Adel, occupied
from time immemorial in commerce and the purfuit of
riches, and ncceffarily engaged in an honeft intercourfe,"and
pracftice of hofpitality, with all the various nations that tra-
ded with them. Befides, were this otherwife, he never had
any fociety with thefe Moors. Baiiifhment to the top of a
mountain* would have been his fate in Abyffmia, had he
lived a few years earlier or later than he did. Yet the
mountain upon which the royal family was conilncd hid
not yet produced one of fuch favage manners ; and it is not

probable .

* To GeQien or Wecline.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 213

probable that he was more ftridly guarded in Adel than he
would have been in his own country.

As to his religion, we can only fay that he abhorred'the
Romifli faith, from the behaviour of thofe that profefTed it ;
and, that he had abundant reafon fo to do, we need only
appeal to their condu^ in the preceding reign, according to
the accounts given by the Catholics themfelves. Let any
man confider a king fuch as Claudius was ; feated on his
throne in the midft of his courtiers and captains ; curfcd and
excommunicated ; called heretic and liar to his face by an
ignorant peafant and ftranger, fuch as John Bcrmudcs ; at-
tacked in the night, and forced to fly for his life by a
body of flrangers who depended upo^ him for their daily
bread : Next confider Menas, at his firft acceflion, defiring
their patriarch to defill from preaching a religion that was
fatal to the quiet of his kingdom by fowing diffentions a-
mong it as it had done in the two preceding reigns ;
and then figure a fanatic priell, declaring that he would nei-
ther depart nor obey thefe orders ; then fay what would have
been done to llrangers in France, Spain, or Portugal, that
had behaved in this manner to the fovereign or miniiters
of thefe countries. Add to this, that all the Portugucfe to
a man appeared in the array of a rebel fubjec^ in the.laft
battle, fupporting the caufe of a pretender to his crown. If,
upon a fair review of all this, it is any matter of furprife
that he fliould be averfe to fuch people and behaviour, I am
nojudge of the fair feelings of man, and the duty a prince
owetj to himfelf or pofterity, his country or dignity.

As to his inclination to the Mahometan religion, the fad:
is, that he oppoiLd it even with his fword during his whole

reign.

214 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

reign, and never fwerved from his attachment to the
church of Alexandria, or his friendihip and refped to the
Abuna Youfef, to the end of his Hfe, as far as we can learn
from hiflory. And leaft, of all people in the world, does it
become the Roman Catholics to accufe him of being Ma-
hometan, becaufe a letter is ftill extant to Menas from pope
Paul III * wherein the pope lliles him beloved fin in Chrifi^
and the mofi holy ofpriejls.

*i^^5S«*«

SERTZA DENGHEL, or MELEC SEGUED.

From 1563 to 1595.

King crowned at Axum — Ahyjftnia invaded by the Galla — Account of
that People — The king defeats the Army of Adel — Beats the Falafha^
and kills their King — Battle of the Mareb — Bafhafain^ and Turks
expelled from Dobarwa — King is poifoned — Names Za Denghcl his
Succejfor, . •

MENAS was fucceeded by his fon, Sertza Denghel, who
took the name of Melee Segued. He was only twelve
years old when he came to the throne, and was crowned at
Axum with all the ancient ceremonies. The beginning of
3 J^s

* See Le Grande's Hiftory of Abyflinia.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. aij^

his reign was marked by a mutiny of his foldiers, who.
joining themfelves tO' fome Mahometans, plundered the
town, and then difbanded. A mifunderllanding alfo hap-
pened with Ayto Hamelmal, fon to Romana Werk, daughter
of Hatze Naod, which threatened many misfortunes in its
confequences.

Tecla Asfadin, governor of Tigre, was ordered by the
king to march againft him ; and the armies fought with
equal advantage. But Hamelmal dying foon after, his party
difperfed without further trouble. Fafil, too, his coufm, who
had been appointed governor of Damot, rebelled foon after,
and was defeated by the king, who this year (the fourth;
of his reign) commanded his army for the firft time in per-
fon, and greatly contributed to the viaory, though he was
but then fixteen years of age.

The fixth year of his reign he marched againft a clan of
Galla, called Aze, whom he often beat, ftaying in the coun-
try two whole years. Upon his return, he found the Ba-
harnagafh, Ifaac and Harla, and other malcontents, when
a fort of a pacification followed ; and having received from,
tlie rebels confiderable prefents, he fat down at Dobu, a
fmall town in Dembea, where he palTed the winter.

All this time Oviedo and the Pbrtuguefe did not appear
at court. The king, however, did not moleft the priefts in
their baptifms, preachings, or any of their funftions. He
often fpake favourably of their moral characters their fo-
briety, patience, and decency of their lives ; but he condemn-
ed decifively the whole of their religious tenets, which he
pronounced to be full of danger and contradidion, and de-

Urudive,

ii6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVEU

ftructive of civil order and monarchical government. At
this period the Galla again made an irruption into Gojam.

It is now time we fliould fpeak of this nation, which has
contributed more to weakening and reducing the Abyf-
fmian empire, than all their civil wars, and all the foreign
enemies put together. When I fpoke of the languages of
the feveral nations in Abyffinia, I took occafion merely to
miention the origin of thefe Galla, and their progrefs north-
ward, till their firft hoflile appearance in Abyflinia. I fhall
now proceed to lay before the reader what further I have
colledled concerning them. Many of tiiem were in the
king's fervice while I was in Abyffinia ; and, from a mul-
titude of converfations I had with all kinds of tht m, I flat-
ter myfclf I have gathered the beil accounts regarding thefe
tribes.

The Galla are a very numerous nation of Shepherds, who
probably lived under or beyond the Line. What the caufe
of their emigration was we do not pretend to fay with cer-
tainty, but they have, for many years, been in an uniform
progrefs northward. They were at firft all infantry, and faid
-the country they came from would not permit horfes to
breed in it, as is the cafe in 13° north of the Line round
Sennaar. Upon coming northward, and conquering the
Abyfhnian provinces, and the fmall R^ahometan diflritfls
bordering on them, they have acquired a breed of horfes/
which they have multiplied fo induftrioufly that they are
become a nation of cavalry, and now hold their infantry in
very little efteem.

As

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 217

As under the Line, to the fouth of Abyffinia, the land
is exceedingly high, and the fun feldom makes its ap-
pearance on account of the continual rains, the Galla arc
confequently of a brown complexion, with long black hair.
Some, indeed, who live in the valleys of the low country, are .
perfedly black. Although the principal food of this people
at firft was milk and butter, yet, when they advanced into
drier climates, they learned of the Abyflinians to plow and
fow the fields, and to make bread. They feem to affcdl
the number feven, and have divided their immenfe multi-
tude threefold by that number. They all agree, that,
when the nation advanced to the Abyflinian frontiers, they
were then in the centre of the continent. The ground be-
ginning to rife before them, feven of their tribes or nations
filed off to the eaft towards the Indian Ocean ; and, after
making fettlements there, and multiplying exceedingly,
they marched forward due fouth into Bali and Dawaro,
which they firft wailed by conftant incurfions, then conquer-
ed and fettled there in the reign of David 111. in 1537.

Another divifion of feven tribes went off to the weft a-
bout the fame time, and fprcad themfclvcs in another femi-
circle round the fouth fide of the Nile, and all along its banks
round Gojam, and to the eaft behind the country of the
Agows, (which are on the eaft fide of the Nile) to that of
the Gongas and Gafats. The high woody banks of this ri-
ver have hitherto been their barrier to the fouthward ; not
but that they have often fought for, and often conquered,
and ftill oftener plundered, the countries on the Abyffmian
fide of that river; and, from this reign downwards, the fcene
of a<5lion with the Abyffmians has conftantly been on the eaft
fide of the river. All I mean is, they have never made a fet-

VoL. II. E c tlement

3i8 TRAVELS' TO DISCOVER

tlemcnton the yVbyHinian fide of the Nile, except fuch tribes
of them- as, from wars among themfelves, have gone over
to the king of AbyfTinia and obtained lands on the banks of
that river,^ oppofite to the nation they have revolted from, a-
gainil which they have ever after been, the fecurefl buhvark. .

A THIRD divifioii of feven tribes remained in the. center, ,
due foiith of the low country of Shoa ; and thefe are the
leaft known, as having made, the feweft incurfions. They
have, indeed, poirclTed Walaka, a fmall province between
Amhara.and Shoa; but this has been permitted politically
by the governor of Shoa, as a barrier between him and A-.
byflinia, on whofe fovereign he fcarcely acknowledges any
dependence but for form's fake, his province being at pre-
fentan hereditary government defceAcUng from father to forr. .

All thefe tribes of Galla gird Abyffinia round at all
points from eaft to weft, making inroads, and burning and
murdering all that fall into their hands. The privities of,
the men they cut oiF, dry, and hang them up in their houfes.
They are fo mercilefs as to fpare not even w^omen with
child, whom they rip up in hopes of deftroying a male.
The weftern part of thefe Galla, which furrounds the pe-
ninfula of Gojam and Damot, are calkd the Boren Galla ;.
and thofe that are to the eaft are named Bertuma Galla,
though this laft word is feldom ufed in liiftory, where the
Galla to the weftward are called Boren ; and the others
Galla merely, without any other addition. All thefe tribes, ,
though, the moft cruel that ever appeared in any country,
ajre yet governed by the ftricT:eft difcipline at home, where
the fmalleft broil or quarrel among individuals is taken,
cognizance of, and receives immediate punillimcnt.

2 Each

- THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^15

Each of the three divifions of Galla eleft a king, that is,
there is a king for every feven tribes. There is alfo a kind
of nobihty among them, from whofc famihes alone the fo-
\'ereign can be chofen. But there are certain degrees of
merit (all warlike) that raife, from time to time, their ple-
beian families to nobility, and the right of fufFrage. No one
of thefe nobles can be elected till paft forty years of age,
imlefs he has flain with his own hand a number of men
which, added to his years, makes up forty.

The council of each of the fcvcn tribes firfl meets Sepa-
rately in its own diftridt : Here it determines how maay are
neceflary to be left behind for the governing, guarding, and
cultivating the territory, while thofe fixed upon by mod
votes go as delegates to meet the reprcfentatives of the
other nations at the domicil, or head-quarters of the king,
among the tribe from which the fovereign of the laft fcvea
years was taken. Here they fit down under a tree which feems
to be facred, and the god of aJl the nations. It is called
Wanzey* ; has a white flower, and great quantity of foliage,
and is very common in Abyflinia. After a variety of votes,
the number of candidates is reduced to four, and the fuf-
frage of fix of thefe nations go then no farther ; but the
feventh, whofe turn it is to have a king out of their tribe,
choofe, from among the four, one, whom they crown with
a garland of Wanzey, and put a fceptre, or bludgeon, of that
wood in his hands, which they call Buco.

E e 2 The

* See th€ arlick Wanzey in the Appendk,

220 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The king of the weftern Galla is fliled Lubo, the other
Mooty. At this alTembly, the king allots to each their fcene
of murder and rapine ; but limits them always to fpeedy
returns in cafe the body of the nation fhould have occalion
for them. The Galla are reputed very good foldiers for fur-
prife, and in the firft attack, but have not conftancy or per-
feverance. They accomplifli incredible marches ; fwim
rivers holding by the horfes tail, (an exercife to which both
they and their horfes are perfe(5lly trained;) do the utmoft
mifchief poffible in the Ihorteft time; and rarely return by
the fame way they came. They are excellent light horfe:
for a regular army in an enemy's country.

Iron is very fcarce among them, fo that their principal'
arms are poles fliarpened at the end, and hardened in the
fire, which they ufe like lances. Their fliields are made o£
bulls hides of a iingle fold, fo that they are very fubjecfl to
warp in heat, or become too pliable and foft in wet weather,
Notwithftanding thefe difadvantages, the report of their
cruelty made fuch an imprellion upon the Abyffinians, that,
on their firft engagements they rarely ftood firmly the GaU
la's jfirft onfet. Befides this, the fhrill and very barbarous
noife they are alv/ays ufed to make at the moment they
charge,, ufed to terrify the horfes and riders, fo that ai
flight generally followed the attack made by Galla horfe.

These melancholy and frantic howls I had occafion to-
I\ear often ia thofe engagements that happened while I was
in AbyfTmia. The Edjow, a body of Galla who had been-
in the late king Joas's fervice, and were relations to him by
his mother, who was of that clan of fouthcrn Galla, were
couftantly in the rebel army, and always in the moft dif-

4- afl'eded;

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 221

affected part, who, with the troops of Begemder and Lafla,
attacked the king's houfehold, where he was in perfon; and,
though they behaved with a bravery even to raflinefs, mod
of them loft their hves, upon the long pikes of the king's
black horfe, without ever doing ai.-y notable execution, as
thefe horfes were too-well trained to be at all moved with
their flirieks, when they charged, though their bravery and
fidelity merited a better fate.

The woni^n are fe-id to be very fruitful. They do not;
confine themfelves even a day after labour, but wafh and
return to their work immediately. They plow, fow, and
reap. The cattle tread out the ccwrn, but the men are the
berdfmen, and take charge of the cattle in the fields^

Both fexcs are fomething lefs than the middle fize, ex-
ceedingly light and agile. Both, but efpecially the men,
plait their hair with the bowels and guts of oxen, which
they wear likcwife, like belts, twifted round their middle ;
and thefe, as they putrify, occafion a terrible ftench. Both
copioufly anoint their heads and bodies with butter, or melt-
ed greafe, wliich is continually raining from them, and
which indicates that they came from a country hotter than
that which they now pofiefs.. They greatly refcmble the
Hottentots in this filthy tafte of di'cfs. The reft of theiv
body is naked; a piece of fkin only covers them before; and
they wear a goat's Ikin on their fliouldcrs, in fliape of a wo-
man's handkerchief, or tippet.

It has been faid ^ , that no religion was ever difcovercd

among

• Jeronia Lobo Hift.of Abyffmia ap. Le Grande,

222 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

among them. I imagine that the facfts upon which this o-
pinion is fomided have never been fiifficiently inveftigated.
The Wanzcy-tree, under which their- kings are crowned, is
avowedly woriliipped for a god in every tribe. They have
certain flones alfo, for ar. objecfl of their devotion, which I
never could fufficiently underlland to give further defcrip-
tion of them. But they certainly pay adoration to the moon,
efpecially the new moon, for of this I have frequently
been a witnefs. They likewife worfliip certain ftars in parti-
cular pofitions, and at different times of the year, and are,
in my opinion, ftill in the ancient religion of Sabaifm. All
of them believe that, after death, they are to live again;
that they are to rife with their body, as they were on
earth, to enter into another life they know not where, but
they are to be in a ftate of body infinitely more perfedl
than the prefent, and are to die no more, nor fufler grief,
ficknefs, or trouble of any kind. They have very obfcure, or
no ideas at all of future punifhment; but trheir reward is to
be a moderate ftate of enjoyment with the fame family and
perfons with which they lived on earth. And this is very
nearly the fame belief with the other Pagan nations in A-
frica with which I have converfed intimately ; and this is
what Avritcrs generally call a belief of the immortality of
the foul. Nor did I ever know one favage that had a more
diftincft idea of it, or ever feparated it from the immortality
of the body.

TiiE Galla to the fouth are moftly Mahometans ; on the
eafl and weft chiefly Pagans. They intermarry with each
other, but fulfer no flrangcrs to live among them. The
Moors, however, by courage, patience, and attention, have
found out the means of trading with them in a tolerable

degree

THE SOURCE OF THENILE. 223

degree of {iifety. The goods they carry are coarfe Surat
blue cloaths, called marowiy; alfo myrrh and fair. This laft is
x\\Q. principal and moll valuable article.

The Galla fometimes marry the Abyflinian women, but
the iffue of thofe marriages are incapable of all employ-
ment. Their form of maiTiage is the following : The bride-
groom, {landing before the parents of the bride, holds grafs
in his right hand and the dung of a cow in his left. He
then fays^ "May this never eilter, nor this ever come out,
" if he does not do what he promifes ;" that is, may the
grafs never enter the cow's mouth to feed it, or may flie die
before it is difcharged. Matrimonial vows, moreover, are
very fimple ; he fwcars to his bride that he fhall give her^
meat and drink, while living, and bury her when dead.

Polygamy is allowed among them, but the men are
commonly content with one wife. Such, indeed, is their
moderation in this refpstfl, that it is the women that folicit
the men- to increafe the number of their wives. The love
of their children feems to get a fpccdy afcendcncy over paf-
fion and pleafure, and is a noble part of the charadler of
thefe favages that ought not to be forgot. A young wo-
man, having a child or two by her hulband, intreats and
folicits him that he would take another wife, when fhe
names to him all the beautiful /girls of her acquaintance,
efpecially thofe that Ihe thinks likcliefl to have large fami-
lies. After the hufband has made his choice, fhe goes to
the tent of the young woman, and fits behind" it in a fup-
plicant pollure, till flie has excited the attention of the fa-
mily within. She then, with an audible voice, declares who
flLic is ; that Ihe is daughter of fuch a one ; that her hulband

has

224 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

has all the qualifications for making a woman happy; that
flie has only two children by him ; and, as her family is fo
fmall, fhe comes to foUcit their daughter for her hufband's
wife, that their families may te joined together, and be
ftrong ; and that her children, from their being few in
number, may not fall a prey to their enemies in the day of
battle ; for the Galla always fight in families, whether a-
gainft one another, or againft other enemies.

When fhe has thus obtained a wife for her huiband, Ihe
carries her home, puts her to bed with her hufband, where,
having left her, Ihe fealls with the bride's relations. There
the children of the firft marriage are produced, and the
men of the bride's family put each their hands upon thefe
children's heads, and afterwards take the oath in the ufual
manner, to live and die with them as their own ofl'spring.
The children, then, after this fpecies of adoption, go to their
relations, and vifit them for the fpace of feven days. All
that time the hufband remains at home in pofTeffion of his
new bride ; at the end of which he gives a feaft, when the
firfl: wife is feated by her hufband, and the young one ferves
the whole company. The firft wife from this day keeps
her precedence ; and the fecond is treated by the firft wife
like a grown up-daughter. I believe it would be very long
before the love of their families would introduce this cu-
ftom among the young women of Britain.

When a father dies and leaves many cliildren, the eldeft
fucceeds to the whole inheritance without divifion ; nor is
he obliged, at any time, or by any circumftance, to give his
brothers a part afterwards. If the father is alive when the
fon firft begins to Ihave his head, which is a declaration of

manhood,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. a^

manhood, he gives two or three milk-cows, or more, ac-.
cording to his rank and fortune. Thefe, and all their pro-
duce, remain the property of the child to whom they were
given by his father ; and thefe the brother is obliged to
pay to him upon his father's death, in the fame number and
kinds. The eldefl brother, is moreover, obliged to give the
filler, whenever Ihe is marriageable, whatever other provi-
fion the father may have made in his lifetime for her, with
all its increafe from the day of the donation.

When the father becomes old and unfit for war, he is
obliged to furrender his whole eire<51:s to his eldell fon, who
is bound to give him aliment, and nothing elfe ; and, when
the eldefl brother dies, leaving younger brothers behind
him, and a widow young enough to bear children, the
yoiuigeft brother of all is obliged to marry her ; but the
children of the marriage are always accounted as if they
were the eldefl: brother's ; nor does this marriage of the
youngefl: brother to the widow entitle him to any part of
the deceafed's fortune.

The fouthern Galla are called Elma Kilelloo, Elma Goo-
deroo, Elma Robali, Elma Doolo, Elma Bodena, Elma Hor-
reta, and Elma Michaeli ; thefe are the feven fouthern na-
tions which the Mahometan traders pafs through in their
way to Narea, the fouthernmoft country the Abyflinians ever
conquered.

The weftern Galla for their principal clans have the
Djawi, Edjow or Ayzo, and Toluma, and thefe were the clans
we principal I V faught with when I was in Abyffinia. They
are ch; fly Pagans. Some of their children, who were left

Vol. II, F f young

a26 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

young in court, when their fathers fled, after the murder
of the late king their mafter, were better Chriflians and
better foldiers than any Abyffinians we had.

It is not a matter of fniall curiofity to know v/hat is their
food, that is fo eafy of carriage as to enable them to traverfe
immenfe deferts, that they may, without warning, fall up-
on the towns and villages in the cultivated country of Abyf-
fmia. This is nothing but coffee roailed, till it can be puU
verifed, and then mixed with butter to a confiilency that
will fuffer it to be rolled up in balls, and put in a leather
bag. A ball of this compofition, between the circumfer-
ence of a fhilling and half-a-crown, about the fize of a.
billiard-ball, keeps them, they fay, in ftrength and fpirits^
during a whole day's fatigue, better than a loaf of bread, or
a meal of meat. Its name in Arabia and Abyffinia is Bun„
but I apprehend its true name is Caffe, from CafFa the fouth
province of Narea, whence it is firft faid to liave come ; it i&,
white in the bean. The coffee-tree is the wood of the
country, produced fpontaneouily everywhere in great a--
bundance, from Caffa to the banks of the Nile.

Thus much for this remarkable nation, whofe language
is perfectly different from any in Abyffmia, and is the fame
throughout all the tribes, with very httle variation of dia-
led:. This is a nation that has conquered fome of the fineft
provinces of Abyffmia, and of whofe inroads we fliall here«
after have occakon to fpeak continually ; and it is very dif-
ficult to fay how far they might not have accompliflied rhe
conqueft of the whole, had not providence interpofed in a
jnanner little expe^ed, but more efficacious than a thoufand

armies, and all the inventions of man..

Ths

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 227

The Galla, before their inroads into Abyflinia, had never
in their own country feen or heard of the fmall-pox. This
difeafe met them in the Abyflinian villages. It raged among
them with fuch violence, that whole provinces conquered
by them became half-defert ; and, in many places, they
were forced to become tributary to thofe whom before they
kept in continual fear. But this did not happen till the
reign of Yafous the Great, at the beginning of the prefent
centurv, where we fhall take frefh notice of it, and now
proceed with what remains of the reign of Sertza Denghel,
whom we left with his army in the 9th year of his reign,
refiding at Dobit, a fmall town in Dembea, watching the
motion of the rebels, Ifaac Baharnagafh, and others, his con-
federates.

The tenth year of his reign, as foon as the weather per-
mitted him, the king went into Gojam to oppofe the in-
roads of the Djawi, a clan of the weftern or Borcn Galla,
who then were in poffeffion of the Buco, or royal dignity, a-
mong the feven nations. But they had repalTed the Nile
upon the firft news of the king's march, without having
time to wafle the country. The king then went to winter
in Bizamo, which is fouth of the Nile, the native country of
thefe Galla, the DjawL

If this nation, the Galla, has deferved ill of the AbylH-
nians by the frequent inroads made into their country, they
mufl, however, confefs one obligation, that in the end they
entirely ruined their ancient ^ncmy, the Mahometan king
of Adel, and reduced him to a flat cof perfect infignifi-
cance.

F f 2 Tin

528 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Sertza Denghel then returned with his army into Dem-
bea,where, finding the mihtia of that province much dilaffec-
tedbjcommunicationwiththe Moorilh foldiers fettled among
them from Gragne's time to this day, and that moft of them
had in their hearts forfaken the Chrillian rehgion, and were
all ready to fail in their allegiance, he aflembled the great-
eft part of them without their arms, and, furrounding them
with his foldiers, cut them to pieces, to the number of
3000 men.

In the 13th year of his reign, Mahomet king of Adel
marched out of his own country wath the view of joining
the Baflia and Baharnagafh. But the king, ever watchful
over the motions of his enemies, furprifed the Baharna-
o-afli before his jundion either with Mahomet or the ba-
flia, and defeated or difperfed his army, obliging him to
ily in difguife, with the utmoft danger of being taken pri-
foner, to hide himfelf with the baflia at Dobarwa. He
then appointed Darguta, governor of Tigre, an old and ex-
perienced officer, giving him the charge of the province,
and to watch the baflia ; and, leaving with him his wound-
ed, (and in their place taking fome frefli foldiers from Dar-
guta) he, by forced marches, endeavoured to meet Maho-
met, who had not heard of his vicT:ory over Ifaac ; and be-
ing informed that the king of Adel was encamped on the
hither fide of the river Wali, having paffed it to join Ifaac,
the king, by a fudden movement, crofled the river, and
came oppofite to Mahomet's quarters, who was then ftriking
his tents, having juft heard of the fate of the Baharnagafli.
Mahomet and his whole army were ftruck with a panic at
this unexpected appearance of the king on the oppofite fide
of the river, wliich had cut off his retreat to Adel. Fearing,

however,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 229

however, there might Hill be an enemy behind him, and
that he fliould be hemmed in between both, he refolved to
pafs, but did it in fo tumuhuous a manner that the king's
army had no trouble but to flaughter thofe who arrived at
the oppofitc bank. Great part of the cavahy, feeing the
fate of their companions at the ford, attempted to pafs a-
bove and below by fwimming : but, though the river was
deep and fmooth, the banks were high, and many were
drowned, not being able to fcramble up on the other fide.
Many were alfo deftroycd by ftones, and the lances of Sert-
za Denghcl's men, from the banks above ; fome pafled, how-
ever, joining Mahomet, and leaving the red of the army to
attempt a paflage at the ford, croflcd with the utmoft fpeed
lower down the river without being purfucd, and carried
the news of their own defeat to Adel.

The whole Moorifli army perifhed this day except the
horfe, either by the fword or in the river; nor had the Moors,
received fo fevere a blow fmcc the defeat of Gragne by Clau-
dius. The king then decamped, and took poll at Zarroder,
on the frontiers of Adel, with a dcfign to winter there and
lay wafte the country, into which he intended to march as
foon as the fair weather returned. But it was the misfor-
tune of this great prince, that his enemies were fituated at
the two moil diftant extremities of the kingdom. For the
Galla attacked Go jam on the weft, at the very time he pre-
pared to enter Adel on the eaft. Without lofs of time, how-
ever, he traverfcd the whole kingdom of Abyftinia, and came
up with the Boren Galla upon the river Madge, but no ac-
tion of confequence followed. The Galla, attempting the
king's camp in the night, and finding themfelvcs too weak
to cau-y it, retreated immecUatcly into their own country.

While

230 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

While returning to Dembea, he met a party of the Falaflia,
called At ad, at Wainadega, and entirely deftroyed them, fo
that not one efcaped.

The king was now lb formidable that no army of the ene-
my dared to face him, and he obliged the Falaflia to give
up their king Radaet, whom he banilhed to Wadge ; and
the four following years he fpent in ravaging the country
of his enemies the Galla, in Shat and Bed, and that of the
Falaflia in Samen and Serke, where he beat Caliph king of
the Falaflia, who had fucceeded Radaet.

The Galla, in advancing towards Gojam and Damot, had
over-run the whole iovv country between the mountains of
Narea and the Nile. The king, defirous to open a commu-
nication with a country where there was a great trade, efpe-
cially for gold, crofled the Nile in his way to that province,
the Galla flying everywhere before him. He was received
with very great joy by the prince of that country, who look-
ed upon him as his deliverer from thofe cruel enemies.
Here he received many rich prefents ; more particularly a
large quantity of gold, and he wintered at Cutheny in that
province, where Abba Hedar his brother died, having been
blown up with gun-powder, with his wife and children.
The Nareans defired, this year, to be admitted to the Chrif-
tian faith ; and they were converted and baptifed by a mif-
fion of prielts fent by the king for that purpofe,

, At the time he was refcuing the kingdom of Narea, Cad-
ward Baflia, a young officer of merit and reputation, lately
come from Conftantinople to Dawaro as baflia of Mafuah,
had begun his command with making inroads into Tigrc,

I and

. THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 231:

and driving off a number of the inhabitanrs into flavery.
The king, rjeceffarily engaged at a diilance, fuffered thefe
injuries with a degree of impatience ; and, after having pro-
vided for the fecurity of the feveral countries immediarely
near him, he marched with his army directly for Woggora^
committing every degree of excefs in his march, in order to
provoke the Falaflia to defcend from their heights and of-
fer him battle.

A FRUGAL oeconomical people, fuch as the Jews are, could
not bear to fee their cattle and crops deftroyed in fo wanton
a manner before their very faces. They came, therefore,^
down in immenfe numbers to attack the king, one of
the moft excellent generals Abyffmia ever had, at the liead
of a fmall, but veteran army. Geflien, brother of the fa-
mous Gideon, was then king of the Jews, and commanded
the army of his countrymen. The battle was fought on
the plain of Woggora on the 19th of January 1594, with the
fuccefs that was to be expetfted. Four thoufand of the Jew-
ifh army were ilain upon the fpot ; and, among them, Ge-
flien, their unfortunate king and leader.

After this vicStory, Sertza Denghel marched his army in-
to Kuara, through the country where the Jews had many
ilrong-holds, and received everywhere their fubmiflion.
Then turning to the left, he came through the country of
the Shangalla, called Woombarea, and fo to that of the A-
gows. There he heard that new troubles were meditating
in Damot ; but the inhabitants of that province were not yet
ripe enough to break out into open rebellion.

v.. ii.ff That.

.-sji TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

That he might not, therefore, have two enemies at fucli
a diftance from each other upon his hands at once, this
year, as foon as the rains were over, he determined to march
and attack the bafha. The baflia was very foon informed of
hit. defagns, and as foon prepared to meet them ; fo that
the king found him aheady in the field, encamped on his
own fide of the Mareb, but without having committed,
till then, any adl of hoftility. He marched out of his
camp, and formed, upon feeing the royal army approach ;
leaving a fufficient field for the king to draw up in, if he
lliould incline to crofs the river, and attack him.

This confident, rather than prudent conduct of the baflia,
did not intimidate the king, who being ufed to improve
ever)' advantage coolly, and without bravado, embraced this
very opportunity his enemy chofe to give him. He formed,
therefore, on his own fide of the Mareb, and pafiTed-it in as
good order as pofiiblc, confidering it is a iwift ftream, and
very deep at that feafon of the year. He halted I'everal times
while his men were in the water, to put them again in or-
der, as if he had cxpedled to be attacked the moment he
landed on the other fide. The bafha, a man of knowledge
in his profelfion, who faw this cautious conduct of the king,
is laid to have cried out, ** How unlike he is to what 1 have
*' heard of his father !" alluding to the general rafli beha-
viour of the late king Mcnas w4iilfl. at the head of his
army.^

SertzaDenghel having left all his'baggage on the other

fide, and palled the river, drew up his army in the fame

deliberate manner^in which he had crofi[ed the Mareb, and

formed oppofite to the balha ; as if he had been adtingun-

3. der

THE SOURCE OF THE N I L'E. -^^3^5

der him, and by his orders, availing himfelf with great
attention of all the advantages the ground could afford him.
The ballia, confident in the fuperior valour of his troops,
thought, now he had got the king between him and the ri-
ver, that he would eaiily that day finiili Sertza DengheFs
life and reign.

The battle began with the mofl: determined refolution
and vigour on both fides. The Abyffinian foot drove back
the Turkifli infantry ; and the king, difmounting from his
horfe, with his lance and fliield in his hand, and charging
at their head, animated them to preferve that advantage.
On the other hand, the baflia, who had foon put to flight
part of the Abyfllnian horfe with whom he had engaged,
fell furioufly upon the foot commanded by the king, the
Turks making a great carnage among them with their
fabres, and the affair became but doubtful, when Robcl,
gentleman of the bed-chamber to the king, who commanded
the pike-men onhorfeback,partoftheking'shoufchcld troops,
feeing his mafter's danger, charged the Turkilh horfe where
he faw the baflia in perfon, and, clearing his way, broke his
pike upon an officer of the baflia who carried the ftandard
immediately before him, and threw him dead at his feet.
Being without other arms, he then drew the fliort crooked
knife which the Abyffinians always carry in their girdle,
and, pufliing up his horfe clofe before the baflia could re-
cover from his furprife, he plunged it in his throat, fo that
he expired inrtantly. So unlooked-for a fpe(51;acle llruck a
panic into the troops. The Turkifli horfe firfl turned their
backs, and a general route followed.

Vol. II, Gg Tut

234 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The bafha's body was carried upon a mule out of the
field, and flruck a terror into all the Mahometans wherever
it paired. It no fooner entered Dobarwa than it was obli-
ged to be carried out at the other end of the town. Sertza
Denghel was not one that ilumbered upon a vidory. He
entered Dobarwa fword in hand, putting all the Pagans and
Mahometans that fell in his way to death, and, in this man-
ner, purfued them to the frontiers of Mafuah, leaving many
to die for want of water in that defert.

The king, in honour of this brave action performed by
Robel, ordered what follows to be writ in letters of gold,
and inferted in the records of the kingdom : " Robel, fer-
" vant to Sertza Denghel, and fon to Menetcheli, flew aTurk-
" ifli balha on horfeback with a common knife."

Sertza Denghel, having thus delivered himfelf from the
moll formidable of his enemies, marched through Gojam
again into Narea, extirpating, all the way he went, the Galla
that obftru(5ted his way to that flate. He left an additional
number of priefts and monks to inftrud them in the Chrift-
ian reli^Tion ; though there are fome hillorians of this
rci^n who pretend that it was not till this fecond vifit that
Narea was converted^

However this may be, vidory had everywhere attended
his Heps, and he was now preparing to chailife the maU
contents at Damot, when he was accolled by a prieft, famous
for his holinefs and talent for divination, who warned
him not to undertake that war. But the king, expreit-
ing his contempt of both the melTage and meflenger, de-
clared his fixed refolution to invade Damot without deJay.

The-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 235

The prieft is faid to have limited his advice Hill further, and
to have only begged him to remember not to eat the filli of
a certain river in the territory of Giba in the province of
Shat. The king, however, flufhed with his vidory over the
Boren Galla, forgot the name of the river and the injunction;
and, having ate fifh out of this river, was immediately after
taken dangerouHy ill, and died on his return.

The writer of his life fays, that the fatal effects of this
river were afterwards experienced in the reign of Yafous the
Great, at the time in which he wrote, when the king's whole
army, encamped along the fides of this river, were taken
with violent ficknefs after eating the fifli caught in it, and
that many of the foldicrs died. Whether this be really facT:
or not, I will not take upon me to decide. Whether iifh, or
any other animal, living in water impregnated with poifon-
ous minerals, can prcfcrve its own life, and yet imbibe a
quantity of poifon fufficient to deftroy the men that fliould
eat it, feems to me very doubtful. Something like this is
faid to happen in oyfters, which are found on copperas beds,
or have preparations of copperas thrown upon them to tinge
a part of them with green. I do not, however, think it
likely, that the creature would live after this metallic dofc,
or preferve a tafte that would make it food for man till he
accumulated a quantity fufficient to deftroy him.

Sertza Denghel was of a very humane affable difpofi-
tion, very diiferent from his father Menas. He was ftedfall
in his adherence to the church of Alexandria, and feemed
perfectly indifferent as to the Romilli church and clergy.
In converfation, he frequently condemned their tenets, but
always commended the fobriety and fandity of their lives.

G g 2 He

235. TRAVELS TO DISCO VER"

He kfr no legitimate fons, but many daughters by his wife
Mariam Sena ; and two natural fons, Za Mariam and Jacob.
He had alfo a nephew called Za Denghel, fon of his brother.
Lefana Chriftos.

It is abfolutely contrary to truth, what is faid by Tellez-'
and others, that the illegitimate fons have no right to fuc-
ceed to the crown. There is, indeed, no fort of difference,
as may be feen by many examples in the courfe of this
hiftory.

Sertza Denghel at firft feemed to liave intended his ne-
phew, Za Denghel, to fucceed him, a prince who had every
good quality ; was arrived at an age lit for governing, and
had attended him and diftinguiflied himfelf in great part
of his wars. But, being upon his death-bed, he changed^
his mind, probably at the inlligation of the queen and the
ambitious nobles, who defired to have the government in
their own hands during a long minority. His fon Jacob,
a boy of feven years old, was now brought into court, and
treated as heir-apparent, which everybody thought was but .
natural and pardonable from the affedion of a father.

At laft when he found that he was. fick to death, the in-^
terell and love of his country feemed to overcome even the
ties of blood ; fo that, calling his coiincil together around
his bed, he defigned his fucceffor in this lall fpeech : ' As
' I am fenfible I am at the point of death, next to the care of

♦ my.foul,! am anxious for the welfare of my kingdom. My
' fii-il idea was to appoint Jacob my fon to be fucceffor; and

• I had done fo unlefs for his youth, and it is probable nei-
' ther you nor I could have caufe to repent it. Confidering,

3 ' however,.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. c,:i,j

'however, the flate of my kingdom, I prefer its intercft to

* the private afFedtion 1 bear my fon ; and do, therefore, here-

* by appoint Za Denghel my nephew to fuccced me, and be

* your king; and recommend him to you as fit for war, ripe

* in years, exemplary in the practice of every virtue, and

* as deferving of the crown by his good quahties, as he is by

* his near relation to the royal family.' And with thefc words
the king expired in the end of Auguil 1595, and was buried
in the ifland Roma.

As foon as Sertza Denghel died, the nobility refumed
their former refolutions. The very reafons the dying king
had given them, why Za Denghel was fitted to reign, were
thofe for the which they were detennincd to rejedl him ; as
they, after fo long a reign as the lafl, were pcrfetflLy weary
at being kept in their, duty, and defired nothing more than
an infant king and a long minority ; this they found in.
Jacob.

^- ■ ■ '"^-^sin"" ■ 58^

Z^A

63^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

-'^'3^-

ZA DENGHEL.

From r595 to 1604.

JZa Dcnghel dethroned — Jacob a Minor fiicceeds—Za Dengbel is reflo"
red — Banifies Jacob to Narea — Converted to the Ror?ii/Jj Religion—-
Battle ofBartcho^ and Death of the King.

SERTZA DENGHEL had feveral daughters, one of whom
was married to Kefla Wahad, governor of the province
of Tigre, and another to Athanafms, governor of Amhara.
Thefe two were the mofl powerful men then in the kingdom.
The emprefs and her two fons-in-law faw plainly, that the
fuccellion of Za Denghel, a man of ripe years, pofTelTed of
every requifite for reigning, was to exclude them from any
jQiare in government but a fubaltern one, for which they
were to Hand candidates upon their own merits, in common
with the reft of the nobility.

Accordingly, no fooner was SertzaDenghel dead, perhaps
fome time before, but a confpiracy was formed to change
the order of fucceffion, and this was immediately executed
by order of this triumvirate, who fent a body of foldiers
and feized Za Denghel, and carried him ciofe prifoner to

4 Dek,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 239

Dek, a large ifland in the lake Tzana, belonging to the
queen, where he was kept for Ibme time, till he elcaped and
hid himfelf in the wild inaccefliblc mountains of Gojam,
which there form the banks of the Nile. They carried their
precautions ftill further; and fubfequcnt events after lliewcd,
that thefe were well-grounded. They fent a party of men at
the fame time to furprife Socinios, but he, fufficiently upon his
guard, no fooner faw the fate of his coufm, Za Denghel, than
he withdrew himfelf, but in fuch a manner that Ihc wed plain-
ly he knew the value of his own pretenfions, and was not la
be an unconcerned fpedtator if a revolution was to hap-
pen.

In order to underftand perfectly the claims of thofe
princes, who were by turns placed on the throne in the
bloody war that followed, it will be necclTary to know that
the emperor David III. had three fons : The eldefl was
Claudius, who fuccceded him in the empire ; the hillory of
whofe reign we have already given : Tlie fecond was Jacob,
who died a minor before his brother, but left two fons,
Tafcar and Facilidas : The third fon was Mcnas, called A-
damas Segued, who fucceeded Claudius his brother in the
empire ; whofe reign we have likewife given in its proper
place.

Menas had four fons ; Sertza Denghel, called Melee Se->
gued, who fucceeded his father in the empire, and whofe
hiftory we have juft now fmillied ; the fecond Aquieter ;
the third Abate ; and the fourth, Lefana Chrillos ; whofe
fon was that Za Denghel of whom we were lad fpeaking,.
appointed to fucceed to the throne by his uncle Sertza^
Denghel, when on his death-bed.

Tascaei

240 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Tascar, the fon of Jacob, died a minoi* ; he rebelled a-
gainft his uncle Menas, in confederacy with the Bahania-
gaflx, as we have already feen ; and his army being beat by
his uncle and fovereign, he was, by his order, thrown over
the fleep precipice of Lamalmon, and daihed to pieces. Fa-
cilidas, the fecond remaining fon of the fame minor Jacob,
lived many years, poiTefTed great eftates in Gojam, and died
afterwards in battle, fighting againll the Galla, in defence
of thefe pofTeffions.

This Facilidas had a natural fon named Socinios, who
inherited his father's pofTeffions ; was nephew to Sertza Den-
ghel, and coufin-german to Za Denghel appointed to fuc-
ceed to the throne ; fo that Za Denghel being once remo-
ved, as Jacob had been poftponed, there could be no doubt
of Socinios's claim as the neareft heir-male to David III.
commonly called Wanag Segued.

SociNios, from his infancy, had been trained to arms,
and had undergone a number of hardlliips in his uncle's
wars. Part of his eilate had been feized, after his father's
death, by men in power, favourites of Sertza Denghel ; and
he hoped for a complete reftitution of them from Za Den-
ghel his coufm, when he fhould fucceed, for thefe two were
as much connected with each other by friendfhip and af-
fection, as they were by blood. Nor would any ftep, fays the
hiilorian, have ever been taken by Socinios towards mount-
ing the throne, had Za Denghel his coufm fucceeded, as by
right he ought.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 241

' In the mean time, he was at the head of a confiderable
band of foldiers ; had affifted Fala Chriftos, governor of Go-
jam, in defeating the Galla, who had over-run that province;
and, by his courage and condudt that day, had left a ftrong
imprefllon upon the minds of the troops that he would foon
become the moll capable and active foldier of his time.

The queen and her two fons-in-law being difappointed
in their attempt upon Socinios, were obliged to take the on-
ly ftep that remained in their choice, which was to appoint
the infant Jacob * king, a child of feven years old, and put
him under the tutelage of Ras Athanafius.

The cmprefs Mariam Sena, and her two fons-in-law, had
gained to their party Za Selafle, a perfon of low birth, na^
tive of an obfcure nation of Pagans, called Gurague, a man
efteemed for bravery and conduct, and beloved by the fol-
diers; but turbulent and feditious, without honour, grati-
,tude, or regard, cither to his word, to his fovcreign, or the
interefts of his country.

Jacob had fufFered patiently the direction of thofc that
governed him, fo long as the excufe of his minority was a
good one. But being now arrived at the age of 17, he began
to put in, by degrees, for his Ihare in the direction of affairs;
and obferving fome fteps that tended to prolong the govern-
ment of his tutors, by his own power he banilhed Za Sclaf-
fe, the author of them, into the diftant kingdom of Narea.
Vol. II. Hh This

* The name of infant-king feenis to have been given as a nick-name in Abyffiaia, and is pre-
ferredto this day.

-4;2 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER^

This vigorous procecdiag alarmed the emprefs and Iter
parry. They fa w that the meafure taken by Jacob would!
prefently lead all good men and to vers of tlieir country to
fupport him,, and to annihillate tlieir pOAver. They refolved '
not to wait till this took, place, but inftantly to rcftore Za
Denghel, whom, witli great difficulty, they found hid in the
mountains between Gojam and Damot. And, to remove eve-
ry fufpicion in Za Denghel's breaft, Ras Athanaiius re-
paired to the palace, giving Jacob publicly, even an the
throne, the moft abufive and fcurriious language, calling him
an obftinate, ftubborn, foolhh boy, declaring him degraded
from being king, and announcing to his face the' coming
of Za Denghel to fupplant him. Jacob's behaviom: on lb
unexpedei! an occalion was not fuch as Athanafms's rafli
fpeech led to expedt. He gave a cool and mild reply to thefe
invedives; but,findinghimfelfentirelyin his enemy's power, ,
without lolmg a moment, he left his palace in the night,,
taking the road to Samen, not doubting of fafety and protec-
tion if he coul4 reach his mother's relations among thofe
high, rocky moumains.

Fortune at firft feemed to favour his endeavours. He:
arrived at a fmall village immediately in the neighbour-
hood of the country to which he was going * but there he
was difcovered and made prifoner; carried back and deli-
vered to Za Den gheV his rival, whom he found placed on ;
his throne.

In all thefe cafes, it is the invariable, though barbarous
praftice of Abyffinia, to mutilate any fuch pretender to the
throne, by cutting off his nofe, ear, hand, or foot, as they
Ihali be inchned the patient fliould die or live after the oper-

a ation,

THE SOURCE Of THE NIXE. 243

atioiii, it being an eftabliflied law, that no perfon can fuc-
ceed to the tlirone, as to the priefthood, without being per-
fed in all his limbs. Za Denghcl, as he could not adopt fo
inhuuaan a procedure e\'Ten with a rival, content«l himfelf
with only baniiking Jacob to Narea.

Ever fince that period of Mcnas's reign, when Sa-
mur, bafha of Mafuah, had been put in pofleHion of Dobar-
\va in vircue of a treat)^ widi Ifaac Biiharnagalh, then in
rebellion, ithe Catholic religion was left deftitutc of all fup-
port, the fathers that had remained in Abyilinra being dead,
and the entry into that kingdom Ihut up by the violent ani-
inofity of the Turks, and the cruelties they exercifed upon all
millionaries that fell into their hands. The few Catholics
that remained were abfolutely deprived of all afliftance,
-when Melchior Sylvanus, an Inthan vicar of the church of
St Anne at Goa, was pitched upon as a proper perfon to be
fent to their relief. His language, colour, eaftern air and
manners, feemed to promiie that he would fucceed, and
vbaiiie the vigilance of the Turks.

He arrived at Mafuah in 1597, ^^^ entered Abyffinia un-
fufpedted; but the power of the Turk being much leflened
hy the great defeat given them by Scrtza Denghel, who flew
vCadwardBaiha, and retook Dobarwa and all its dependencies,
as has been already jnentioned, a very confiderable part of
"their former dangers, the millionxi ies might now hope to
• efcape. But there Hill remained others obflru(5liiig the com-
munication with India, which, however, were furmount-
able, and gave way, as moll of the kind do, to prudence,
tcourage, and perfeverance.

H h 2 Accordingly,

244 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Accordingly, in the year 1600, Peter Paez, the mofl; ca-^
pahle, as well as moft fuccefsful milTionary that ever enter-
ed Ethiopia, arrived at Mafuah, after having fufFered a long
imprifonment, and many other hardfliips, on his w^ay to that
ifland ; and, taking upon him the charge of the PortuguefCj^
relieved Melchior Sylvanus, who returned to India.

Paez, however, did not prefs on to court as his predecefi
fors, and even his fuccefTors conftantly did, but, confining
himfelf to the convent of Fremona in Tigre, he firfl fet him-
felf by an invincible application to attain the knowledge of
the Geez written language, in which he arrived to a degree
of knowledge fuperior to that of the natives themfelves. He
then applied to the inflrucftion of youth, keeping a fchool,
where he taught equally the children of the Portuguefe, and
thofe of the Abyffinians. The great progrefs made by the
fcholars fpeedily fpread abroad the reputation of the ma-
iler. Firft of all, John Gabriel, one of the moft dillinguifh-
ed officers of the Portuguefe, fpoke of him in the warmed
terms of commendation to Jacob, then upon the throne,
who fent to Paez, and ordered his attendance as foon as the
rainy feafon fhould be over.

In the month of April 1604, Peter, attended only by two
of his young difciples, prefented himfelf to the king, who-
then held his court at Dancaz, where he was received with
the fame honours as are bellowed upon men of the firll
rank, to the great difcontent of the Abyflinian monks, who
ealily forefaw that their humiliation would certainly follow
this ^exaltation of Petros ; nor were they miflaken. In a dis-
pute held before the king next day, Peter produced the two
boysj as more than fuIHcient to filence all the theologians

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 245

in Abyflinia. Nor can it ever be doubted, by any who know
the ignorance of thefe brutifh priefts, but that the vidtory, in
thefe fcholaftic difputes, would be fairly, ealily, and com-,
pletely on the fide of the children.

Mass was then faid accordingto the ufageof the cljurchof
Rome,which was followed by a fermon (among the firft ever
preached in AbyfTmia,) but fo far furpaffing, in elegance and
purity of didion, any thing yet extant in the learned lan-
guage, Geez, that all the hearers began to look upon this as
the firft miracle on the part of the preacher.

Za Denghel was fo taken with it, that, from that inftant,
he not only refolved to embrace the Catholic religion, but
declared this his refolution to feveral friends, and foon af-
ter to Paez himfelf, under an oath of fccrecy that hefhould
conceal it for a time. This oath, prudently exadled from
Peter, was as imprudently rendered ufelefs by the zeal of
the king himfelf, who being of too fanguine a difpofition
to temporize after he was convinced, publifhed a procla-
mation, forbidding the religious obfcrvation of Saturday,
or the Jewifh fabbath, for ever after. He likcwife ordered
letters to be wrote to the pope Clement VIII. and to Philip
III. king of Spain and Portugal, wherein he offered them his
friendfhip, whilfl he requefted mechanics to ailill, and Jc-
fuits to inftrud his people.

These fudden and violent mcafures were prefently
known ; and every wretch that had, from other caufes, the
feeds of rebellion fown in his heart, began now to pretend
they were only nouriflied there by alove and attachment
to the true religion..

£46 TRAVELS TODISCOVEIl

Many of the courtiers followed the kingVexampte ; fonic
as courtiers for the fake of the king's favour, antl m^anin^
to adhere to the religion of Rome no longer than it was a
fafhion at court, promoted their intereft, and expofed them
to no danger ; others, from their firm attachment to the
king, the refohuion to fupport him as their rightful fove-
reign, and a confidence in his fuperior jutlgmeiit, and that
he bell knew what wasmoft for the kingdom's advantage
in its prefent diftraaed ftate, and for the confirmation of his
own power, fo intimately conneaed with the welfare of
his people. Few, very few it is believed, adopted the Catho-
lic faith, from that one difcourfe only, however pure the
language, however eloquent the preacher. A hundred years
and more had pafled without convincing the AbyiSnians
in general, or without any material proof that they were
prepared to be fo.

However, the Jefuits have quoted an inftance of this
inftantaneous converfion by the fermon, which, for their
credit, I will not omit, though no notice is taken of it in the
annals of thofe times, where it is not indeed to be expec-
ted, nor do I mean that it is lefs credible on this account.

An Abyflinian monk, of very advanced years, came for-
ward to Peter Paez, and faid in a loud voice before the king,
" Although I have lived to a very great age, without a
doubt of the Alexandrian faith, I blefs God that he has fpa-
red me to this day, and thereby given me an opportunity of
choofing a better. The things we knew before, you have
fo well explained, that they become ftill more intelligible ;
and we are thereby confirmed in oux belief. Thole thmgs
thatwere difficult, and which wccouldhardlyunderftand,yoia

have

TH-E SOURCE OF THE NILE. 24.7:

Havcmade fo clear, that v/c now wonder at our own blindnefs
in not having feen them plainly before. For thefe benefits
which I now confefs to have received, I here make my de-
claration, that it is my ftedfaft piirpofe» with the allillance
of Almighty God, to live and die in the faith you profefs,
and have now preached."

Among thofe of the court tnofl attached to the king was^
Laeca Mariam, the infeparable companion of his good and
bad fortune, who had followed his raafter from principles
of duty and aiFei5lion, without defigning to throw away a
confideration upon what were likely to be the confequences
to himfelf. He was reputed, in his charader and abilities
as a foldier, to be equal to Za SelafTe, but a very dillerent
man, compared to him in his qualities of civil life ; for he
was fober in his general behaviour, fparing in difcourfe,
and much more ready to do a good oihce than to promife
one ; very affable and courteous in his manner, and of fo
humble and unaffuming a deportment, that it was thought
impollible to be real in a man, who had fo of ten proved his
fuperiority over others upon trial.

This man, a true royalifl, was one of tliofe that embra-
ced the Catholic religion that day, probably following the
example of the king; and this, in the hands of wicked men
their enemies, became very foon a pretence for the murder
-of both; for Za Selaffc, impatient of a rival in any thing,
more efpecially in milicaj-y knowledge, began to hold fedi-
tious affemblies, and efpecially with the monks, whom he
taught to believe what the Icing's condud daily confirmed,
that the Alexandrian faith was totally reprobated, and no

religion

248 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

religion would be tolerated but that of the church of
Rome.

GojAM, a province always inveterate againft any thing
that bore the fmalleft inclination to the church of Rome,
declared againft the king ; and, before he went to join his
aflbciates, the traitor, Za SelafTe, in a conference he had with
the Abuna Petros, propofed to him to abfolve Za Denghel's
fubjecfls and foldiers from their oaths of allegiance to their
fovereign. The Abuna, a man of very corrupt and bad life,
very hearty in the caufe, and an enemy to the king, was
ftaggered at this propofal ; not that he was averfe to it, be-
caufe it might do mifchief, but becaufe he doubted whether
any fuch efFedl would follow it as Za Selaffe expecT:ed ; and
he, therefore, afked what good he expected from fuch a
novelty ? when this traitor afllired him, that it would be
moft efficacious for that very reafon, becaufe it was then
iirft introduced : the Abuna forthwith abfolved the foldiers
and fubjedls of Za Denghel from their allegiance, declaring
the king excommunicated and accurfed, together with all
thofe that lliould fupport him, or favour his caufe.

I MUST here obferve, that, though we are now writing
the hiftory of the 1 7th century, this was the firft example of
any prieft excommunicating his fovereign in Abyffinia, ex-
cept that of Honorius, who excommunicated Amda Sion for
the repeated commiffion of inceft. And the doubt the zea-
lot Abuna Petros had of its eifetflr as being a novelty, which
fa6t the Jefuits themfelves atteft, fliews it was a pradlice that
had not its origin in the church of Alexandria. Neither had
thefe curfes of the Abuna any vifible effed:, till Za Selaffi^
had put himfelf at the head of an army raifed in Gojam.

4 The

THE SOURCE OE THE NILE. ^45

Tlie king was prepared to meet him, and ready to march
from Dancaz.

Za Denghel immediately marched out into the plain of
Bartcho, and in the way was defcrtcd, firft by Ras Athanafi-
iis, then by many of his troops ; and, by this great defertion
in his army, found the jfirft eiFecfls of the Abuna's curfes,
infomuch, that John Gabriel, a Portuguefe officer of the firft
diflincStion, advifed the king to retire in time, and avoid a
battle, by flying to ftrong-holds for a feafon, till the prefent
dehifion among his fubje(5ls Ihould ceafe. But the king,
thinking himfclf diflionoured by avoiding the defiance of
a rebel, refolved upon giving Za SclalTc battle, vvlio, being
an able general, knew well the danger he would incur by
delay.

It was 0(5lober 13th 1704 that the king, after drawing
up his army in order of battle, placing 200 Portuguefe, with
a number of Abyffinian troops, on the right, took to him-
fclf the charge of the left, and called for Peter Paez to give
liim ablolution; br.t that Jcfuit was occupied at a conve-
nient diftance in Tigrc, by his cxorcifms deftroying ants,
butterflies, mice, locufls, and various other enemies, of much
inore importance, in his opinion, than the life of a king
who had been blindly, but dirc(5lly conducted to flaughter
-by his fanatical preachings.

The battle began with great appearance of fiicccfs. On
the riglit, tlie Port\iguefc, led by old and veteran oflicers-,
deftroyed and overturned every thing before them with
their fire-arms : but on the left, where the king command*-
■ed, things went otherwifc, for the whole of this divifion

Vol. II. I i fled.

zso TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fled, excepting a body of nobility, his own officers and com-
panions, who remained with him, and fought manfully;
in his defence. Above all, the king himfelf, trained to a
degree of excellence in the ufe of arms, ftrong and agile in
body, in the flower of his age, and an excellent horfeman^
performed .feats of valour that feemed above the power of
man : but he and his attendants being furrounded by the
whole army of Za Selaffe, and decreafing in number, were,
unable to fupport any longer fuch difadvantage.

Laeca Mariam, folicitous only for the king's fafety, .
charging furioufly every one that approached, was thrufl
through with a lance by a common foldier wha had ap-
proached him unobferved. The king, delirous only to a-
venge his death, threw himfelf like lightning into the op-
pofite fquadron, and received a ftroke with a lance in his
breaft, which threw him from his horfe on the ground.
Grievous as the wound was, he inftantly recovered himfelf;
and, drawing his fword, continued to fight with as much
vigour as ever. He was now hemmed in by a ring of fol-
diers, part of whom, afraid of encountering him, remain-
ed at a diftance, throwing miffile weapons without good di-
rection or ftrength, as if they had been hunting fome fierce
wild beaft. Others, wilhing to take him prifoner, abftain-i
cd from ftriking him, out of regard to his chara<5ter and
dignity ; but the traitor, Za Selafll% coming up at that in-
ftant, and feeing the king almoft fainting with fatigue, and
covered with wounds, pointed his lance, and, fpurring his
horfe, furioufly ftruck him in the middle of the forehead,
which blow threw the king fenfelefs to the ground, where
he was afterwards flain with many wounds.

The

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 251

The battle ended with the death of Za Denghel ; many
faw him fall, and more his body after the defeat ; but no
one chofe to be the firft that fliould in any way difpofe of
it, or care to own that they knew it. It lay in this abjeft
ilate for three days, till it was buried by three peafants in a
corner of the plain, in a little building like a chapel (which
I have feen) not above fix feet high, under the fliade of a
very fine tree, in Abyflinia called fajfa : there it lay till ten
years after, when Socinios removed it from that humble
maulbleum, and buried it in a monaftery called Daga, in
the lake Dembea, with great pomp and magnificence.

The grief which the death of Za Denghel occafioned was
fo univerfal, and the odium it brought upon the authors of
it fo great, that neither Za Selafl"e nor Ras Athanafius dared
for a time take one ftep towards naming a fucceflbr, which
the fear of Za Denghel, and the uncertainty of vidory, had
prevented them from doing by common confent before the
battle. There was no doubt but that the eletftion would fall
upon Jacob, but he was far ofif, confined in the mountainous
country of Cafl^a in Narea. The difiance was great ; the
particular place uncertain ; the way to it lay through deferts,
always dangerous on account of the Galla, and often im-
paflfable.

lis

JACOB^_

553 TRAVELS TO 3>ISC0VEE^

^^^^r;^^

J A C O B.

From 1604 to 1605.

jyiakis Propofals to Soclmos^ which are rejeBed — Takci the Field — Bad'?
CondiiB and Defeat of Za Selajfe — Battle of Debra Zelt — Jacob defeats-
td and /lam..

DURING the interim, Socinios appeared in Amhara, not-
as one offering himfelf as a candidate to be fupported
by the Ilrength and interell of others, but Hke a conqueror
at the head of a fmall but well-difciphned army of veteran
troops, ready to compel by force thofe who Ihould rcfufe to
£wear allegiance to him from convidlion of his right.

The firil ftep he took was to fend BelaChriftcs, a noble-
man of knov/n worth, to Ras Athanafius then in Gojam^,
Hating to him his pretcnfions to fucceed Za Denghel in
the kingdom, defiring his afUftance with his army, and'
declaring that he v/ould acknowledge the fervice done him ,
as foon as it was in his power. Without waiting for an an-
fwer, at the head of his little army he palTed the Nile, andj
entered Gojam. He then fent a fecond mefTage to Ras A-^
thanafius, acquainting him that he was at hand, and or--
dering him to prepare to receive him as his fovereign.

ThJ5-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

o^

' This abrupt and confident condua of Socinios very much,
difconcerted Ras Athanafius. He had as yet concerted no-
thing with his friend Za SelafTe, and it was now late to do it.
There was no perfon then within the bounds of the empire
that fohcited the crown but Socinios, and he was now at
hand, and very much favoured by the foldiers. For thcfc
reafons, he thought it bell: to put a good face upon the mat-
ter in his prefent fituation. He, therefore, met Socinios as
required, and joined his army, as if it had been his free
choice, and faluted him king in the midft of repeated chear-
ful congratulations of both armies now united.

Having fucceeded in this to his wifli, Socinios loft no
time to try the fame experiment with Za SelafTe, who was
then in Dcmbea, the province of which he was governor.
To him he fent this meffage, " That God by his grace ha-
ving called him to the throne of his anceftors, he was now
on his march to Dembea, where he requefted him to pre-
pare his troops to receive him, and difpofe them to deferve
the favoiu-s that he was ready to confer upon all of them.'^
Za SelafTe remained for a while as if thunder-ftruck by
fo peremptory an intimation. Of all maftcrs he moft wifli-
ed for Jacob, becaufe, from experience, he thought he
could govern him. Of all mailers he moft feared Socinios,..
becaufe he knew he pofTelTed capacity and qualities that
would naturally determine him to govern alone. After ha-
ving concerted with his friends, he fent Socinios anfwei%.
« That not having till now known any thing of his claims
or intentions, he had fent an invitation to Jacob into Na-
rea, whofe anfwcr he expc6led ; but that, in cafe Jacob did
not appear, he then would receive Socinios with every mark
' of duty and aifedion, and hoped he would grant him the

, fhoxz

-2J4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fliort delay to which he had inadvertently, though inno-
cently, engaged himfelf."

This anfwer did in no fhape pleafe Socinios, who dif-
patched the meflenger immediately with this declaration,
" That he was already king, and would never cede his right
to Jacob, who was depofed and judged unworthy to reign ;
no nor even to his father Melee Segued, though he Ihould
rife again from the grave, and claim the throne he had fo
long fat upon."

Za Selasse, eafily penetrating that there was no peace in
Socinios's intentions, firfl imprifoned the meflenger, and, in-
ftead of another anfwer, marched inftantly with his whole
army to furprife him before he had time to take his mea-
fures. And in this he fucceeded. For Socinios being at
that inftant overtaken by ficknefs, and not knowing what
trull to put in Athanalius's army, retired in hafte to the
mountains of Amhara ; while Athanafius alfo withdrew his
troops till he fliould know upon what terms he flood both
Avith Za Selafle and the king.

Still no return came from Jacob. The winter was near-
ly paft, and not only the foldiers, but people of all ranks
began to be weary of this interregnum, and heartily wi/hed
for their ancient form of government. They faid. That
fince Jacob did not appear, there could be no reafon for ex-
cluding Socinios, whofe title was undoubted, and who had
all the qualities neceflary to make a good king.

Za Selasse feeing this opinion gained ground among his
iroopsj and fearing they might mutiny and leave him alone,

3 . made

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 255:

made a virtue of neceffity : he difpatchcd an ambaflador to
acknowledge Socinios as his fovereign, and declare that he
was ready to fwear allegiance to him. Socinios received
this embalTy with great apparent complacency. He fent in
return a monk, in whom he confided, a perfon of great
worth and dignity, to be his reprefentative, and receive the.
homage of Za Selafle and his army. On the news of this
monk's approach, Za SelalTe fent on his part ten men, the
moft refpe(5fable in his camp, to meet this reprefentative of
the king, and conducff him into the camp, where Za SalefTe,
and all his troops, did homage, and fwore allegiance to So-
cinios. Feafts and prefents were now given in the camp^
as is ufual at the acceffion of a new king to the throne, and
all the army abandoned thcmfelves to joy.

These good tidings were immediately communicated
both to Socinios and Ras Athanafius. But, in the midft of
this rejoicing, a meflenger came from Jacob, informing Za
Selafle that he was then in Dembea ; that he had conferred
upon him the title of Ras and Betwudet, that is, had made
him the king's lieutenant-general throughout tlie whole
empire. Za Selaffe, in poffeflion of the height of his wifhes,
and making an ample diflribution among his troops, deter-r
mined immediately to march and join Jacob in Dembea ; but
firft he wrote privately to the ten men that had accompa-
nied the monk. to Socinios, that they fliould withdraw them*
felves as fuddenly and privately as pollible before the co-
ming of Jacob was known. Eight of thefe were lucky e-
nough to do fo ; two of them were overtaken in the flight
and brought back to Socinios, who ordered them to imme-
diate executioru .

Ras

z^6. TRAVELS TO DISCOVEfl

Ras Athanasius, feeing the profperous turn that Jacob's
affairs had taken, renounced his oath to Socinios, and re-
paired to Jacob at Coga, while Socinios retired into Amhara
at the head of a very refpe6table army, waiting an opportu-
nity to repay Jacob for his ambition, and Athanafius and Za
Selafle for their treafon and perjuiy towards him.

Although Jacob was now again feated on the throne,
furrounded by the army and great officers of the empire, his
mind was always difturbed with the apprehenfion of Soci-
nios. In order to free himfelf from this anxiety, he employ-
ed Socinios's mother in an application to her fon, with an
offer of peace and friendfliip ; promifmg, bcfides, that he
would give him in property the kingdoms of Amhara, Wal-
aka, and Shoa, and all the lands which his father had ever
poffefled in any other part of Abyffmia. Socinios fhort-
ly anfwered, " That what God had 'given him, no man
could take from him ; that the whole kingdom belonged
to him, nor would he ever relinquilh any part of it but with
his life. He advifed Jacob to conlider this, and peaceably
refign a crown which did not belong to him ; and the at-
tempting to keep which, would involve him and his coun-
try in a fpeedy deftruftion."

Upon this defiance, feeing Socinios implacable, Jacob took
the field, and was followed by Za SelafTe. But this proud
and infolcnt traitor, who never could confine himfelf with-
in the line of his duty, even under a king of his own choo-
fing, would not join his forces with Jacob, but vain-glorioufly
led a feparate army, fubjed: to his orders alone. In this
manner, having feparate camps, choofing different ground,
and fometimes at a confiderable diflance from each other,

they

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 257

they came up with Socinios in Begemder. Jacob advanced
fo near him that his tent could be diftinftly feen from that
of Socinios, and, on the morrow, Jacob and Za Selafle, draw-
ing up their armies, offered Socinios battle.

That wife prince faw too well that he was overmatched ;
and, though he defired a battle as much as Jacob, it was not
upon fuch terms as the prefent. He declined it, and kept
hovering about them as near as poffible on the heights and
uneven ground, where he could not be forced to fight till
it perfeftly fuited his own intereil.

This refufal on the paj't of Socinios did but incrcafe Za
Selafle's pride. He defpifed Jacob as a general, and thought
that Socinios declining battle was owing only to the ap-
prehenfion he had of his prefence, courage, and abilities.
He continued parading with the fcparate army, perfedtly
intoxicated with confidence and an imaginary fuperiority,
neglecting all the wholefome rules of war rigidly adhered
«to by great generals for the fake of difcipline, however di-
ftant they may be from their enemy.

It was not long before this was told Socinios, who foon
faw his advantage in it, and thereupon refolved to fight Za
Selafle fingly, and watch attentively till he fliould find him
as far as pofllble from Jacob. Nor did he long wait for the
occafion ; for Za Selafle, attempting to lead his army through
very uneven and ftony ground, called the Pofs of Mount De-
fer, and at a confiderable diftance from Jacob, Socinios at-
tacked him while in the pafs fo rudely, that his army, en-
tangled in broken and unknown ground, was furrounded
and almoft cut to pieces. Za Selaffe, with a few followers,.

Vol. II. Kk ^ faved

258 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

faved themfelves by the goodncfs of their horfes, and join-
ed the king, being the firft meiTengcrs of their own de-
feat.

Jacob received the news of this misfortune without:
any apparent concern. On the contrar}% he took Za Se-
lalTe roundly to talk for having loft fuch an army by his
mifcondu(5l ; and from that time put on a coolnefs of car-
riage towards him that could not be bruiked by fuch a cha-
rac5ter. He made direft propofals to Socinios to join him, if
he could be affured that his fervices would be well received,
Socinios, though he repofed no confidence in one that had
changed fides fo often, was yet, for his own fake, delirous to
deprive his rival of an ofhccr of fuch credit and reputation
with the foldiers. He therefore promifed him a favourable
reception; and, a. treaty being concluded, Socinios marched
into Gojam, followed by Jacob, and there was joined by Za .
SelalTe whom Jacob had made governor of that province.

jAcon,notknowinghowfarthisdefertionmightextend, and
to fliewSocinios the little value he fet upon his newacquifition,
immediately advanced towards him, and offered him battle.
This was what Socinios very earneftly v/ifhed for; but, as his.
army was much inferior to Jacob's, he feemed to decline it
from motives of fear, till he had found ground proper for
his army to engage in with advantage.

Jacob, fenfible of the great fuperiority he had, (hiftorians
fay it was nearly thirty to one) grew every day more impa-
tient to bring Socinios to an engagement, fearing he might
retreat, and thereby prolong the war, which he had no
doubt would be finished by the firft adion. Therefore he

2 was

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 259

was anxious to keep him always in fight, without regarding
the ground through which his eagernefs led him. Several
days the two armies marched fide by fide in fight of each
other, till they came to Debra Tzait, or the Mountain of
Olives. There Jacob halted ; he then advanced a little fur-
ther, and feeing Socinios encamped, he did the fame in a low
and very difadvantageous poll on the banks of the river
Lebart.

Socinios having now obtained his dcfire, early in the
morning of the I oth of March 1607 fell fuddenly upon Ja-
^ob cooped up in a low and narrow place, which gave him
no opportunity of availing himfeif of his numbers. Jacob
foon found that he was over-reached by the fuperior gene-
ralfhip of his enemy. Socinios's troops were fo ftrongly
polled, that Jacob's foldiers found thcmfelvcs in a number
of ambulhes they had not forcfcen, fo that, fighting or fly-
ing being equally dangerous to them, his whole army was
nearly dcftroyed in the field, or in the flight, which was
moft ardently and vigoioufly followed till -night, with little
lofs on the part of Socinios.

This battle, decifivc enough by the route and difpei-fion
of the enemy, became ilill more fo from two circumflan-
ces attending it : The firll was the death of his competitor,
who fell unknown among a herd of common foldiers in the
beginning of the adrion, without having performed, in his
own perfon, any thing worthy of the charader he had to
fuftain, or that could enable any fpeftator to give an ac-
count in what place he fell ; the confequence of which was,
that he was thought to be alive many years afterwards.
The fecond was the death of the Abuna Petros. This prieft

K k 2 had

26^3 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

had diflinguiihed himfelf in Za Denghel's reign, by abfol-
ving the king's fubjedts and foldiers from their oaths of al-
legiance, which was followed by the unfortunate death of
Za Denghel in the plain of Bartcho. Vain of the import-
ance he had acquired by the fuccefs of his treafon, he had
purfued the fame condud; with regard to Socinios, and fol-
lowed Jacob to battle, where, trufting to his character and
habit for the fafety of his perfon, he negledled the danger
that he ran amidft a flying army. While occupied in uttering;
vain curfes and excommunications againfl the conquerors,,
he was known, by the crucifix he held in his hand, by a^
Moorifli, foldier of Socinios, who thrufl him through with^
a lance, then cut hi& liead oiF, and carried it to the king.

The Abyllinian annals flate, that, immediately after fee-^-
ing the head of Abuna Peter, Socinios ordered a retreat tO:
be founded, and that no more of his enemies Ihould be-
ilain. On the contrary, the Jefuits have faid, that the pur-
fuit was continued even after night ; for that a body of"
horfe, among whom were many Portuguefe belonging to
the army of Jacob, flying from Socinios's troops, fell over
a very high precipice, it being fo dark that they did not
difcovcr it ; and that one foldier, called Manuel Gonfalez^
finding his horfe leave him, as it were flying, lighted luck-
ily on a tree, where, in the utmofl: trepidation, he fat all-
night, not knowing where he was. This fear was greatly
encreafed in the morning, when he beheld the horfes, and!
ehe men who were his companions, lying dead and dalhedi
to pieces in the plain below.

Ras Athanasiijs, who had followed the party of Jacob,.
narrowly efcaped by the fwiftnefs of his horfe, and hid
:ti>nirclf in the nionaflery of Dima^ at no great diHancc frona

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 261

the field of battle ; and Peter Paez, from remembrance of
his former good offices, having recommended him to Sela
ehriftos, Socinios's brother-in-law, he was pardoned ; but
lofmg favour every day, his eflfedts and lands having been
taken from him on diilerent occafions, he is faid at laft to
have died for want,juftly defpifed by all men for unfteadinefs
in allegiance to his fovereigns.by which he had been the occa-
fion of the death of two excellent princes, had frequently en-
dangered the life and ftate of the third, and had been the means
of the flaughter of many thoufands of their fubjedts, wor-
thier men than himfelf, as they fell in the difchai-ge of their
duty. But before his death he had ftill this further morti-
fication, that his wife, daughter of Sertza Denghel, called
Melee Segued, voluntarily forfook his bed and retired to a.
fmgle life.

(S»-!Si«

bOCINlOS,

26z TRAVELS TO DISCOVXR

4*^!3S?5

SOCINIOS, OR MELEC SEGUED.

From 1605 to 1632.

Svcinios embraces the Romi/Jj Religion — M^ar with Sennaar—Wttb
the Shepherds — Violent CondiiB of the Romijh Patriarch — Lajla rebels
— Defeated at Wainadega — Socinios reflores the Alexandrian Reli-
gion— Refigns his Crown to his eldefl Son.

SOCINIOS, now univerfally acknowledged as king, began
his reign with a degree of moderation which there
was no reafon to expedl of him. Often as he had been be-
trayed, many and inveterate as his enemies were, now he
had them in his power, he fought no vengeance for injuries
which he had fuifered, but freely pardoned every one, re-
ceiving all men gracioufly without reproach or reflections,
or even depriving them of their employments.

Being informed, however, that one Mahardin, a Moor,
had been the firft to break through that refpedl due to a
king, by wounding Za Denghel at the battle of Bartcho, he
ordered him to be brought at noon-day before the gate of

his

o

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 26,

Kis palace, and his head to be there ftrlick off' with an ax,
as a juil atonement for violated majefty.

The king, now retired to Coga, gave his whole attention
to regulate thofe abufes, and repair thole loflcs, vhich this
long and bloody war had occafioncd. He had two brothers
by the mother's fide, men of great merit, Sela Chriftos, and
Emana Chriftos, deftined to fhare the principal part in the
king's confidence and councils.

Bela Christos, aman of great family, who had been at-
tached to him fince he formed his firft pretenfions to the
crown, was called to court to take his fhare in the glory
and dangers of this reign, which it was eafy to fee would
be a very adive one ; for every province around was full
of rebels and independents, who had fliaken off the yoke of
government, paid no taxes, nor fliewed other refpccft: to the
king than jufl: what at the moment confilled with their own
intereft or inclination.

The Portugue-fe foldiers, remnants of the army which ■
came into Ab) ffmia imder Chriftophcr de Gama, had multi-
plied exceedingly, and their children had been trained by their
parents in the ufe of fire-arms. They were at this time in-:
corporated in one body under John Gabriel a veteran officer,
who feems to have conftantly remained with the king, while
his foldiers (at leafl: great part of them) had followed the for-
tune they thought moll likely to prevail ever fince the.
time of Claudius.

Menas did not eftcem them enough to keep them in his
axmy at the expence of enduring the feditioi.is convcrfations •■

of-

264- TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

of their priefts reviling and undervaluing his religion and
government. He therefore banifhed them the kingdom ;
but, inftead of obeying, they joined the Baharnagafh, then
confederated with the Turks and in rebellion againft his
fovereign, as we have already mentioned. Sertza Denghel
ieems to have fcarcely fet any value upon them after this,
and made very little ufe of them during his long reign.
Upon the infant Jacob's being put upon the throne they
all adhered to him ; and, after Jacob's banifhment, part of
them had attached themfelves to Za Denghel, and behaved
with great fpirit in the battle of Bartcho.

Upon Jacob's reftoration they had joined him, and witfi
him were defeated at the decifive battle of Lebart, being all
united againft Socinios ; fo that, on v;hatever fide they de-
clared themfelves, they were conftantly beaten by the cow-
ardice of the Abyftinians with whom they were joined. Yet,
tho' they had been fo often on the fide that was unfortunate,
their particular lofs had been always inconliderable ; becaufe,
whatever was the fate of the reft of the army, none of the
country troops would ever ftand before them, and they made
their retreat from amidft a routed arrny in nearly the fame
fafety as if they had been conquerors ; becaufe it was not,
for feveral reafons, the intereft of the conquerors to attack
them, nor was the experiment ever likely to be an eligible
one to the afTailants.

Socinios followed a condud oppofite to that of Menas.
He determined to attach the Portuguefe wholly to himfelf,
and to make them depend upon him entirely. For this rcafon
he made great advances to their priefts, and fent for Peter
Paez to court, where, after the ufual difputes upon the

4 pope's

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 2%

pope's fupremacy, and the two natures in Chrift, mafs was
faid, and a fermon preached, much with the fame fuccefs
as it had been in the time of Za Denghel, and with full as
great offence to the Abyffinian clergy.

The province of Dembea, lying round the lake Tzana,
is the moft fertile and the moft cultivated country in Abyf-
fmia. It is entirely flat, and feems to have been produced
by the decreafe of water in the lake, which, from ve-
ry vifible marks, appears to have formerly been of four
times the extent of what it is at prefent. Dembea, how-
ever fruitful, has one inconvenience to which all level
countries in this climate are fubjed : A mortal fever rages
in the whole extent of it, from March to Heder Michael,
the eighth day of November, when there are always gentle
fliowers. This dangerous fever flops immediately upon the
falling of thefe rains, as fuddenly as the plague does upon
the firil falling of the nuda, or dew, in Egypt.

On the fouth fide of this lake the country rifes into a
rocky promontory, which forms a peninfula and runs far
into the lake. Nothing can be more beautiful than this
fmall territory, elevated, but not to an inconvenient height,
above the water which furrounds it on all fides, except the
fouth. The climate is delightful, and no fevers or other
difeafes rage here. The profpect of the lake and diftant
mountains is magnificent beyond European conception, and
Nature feems to have pointed this place out for pleafure,
health, and retirement. Paez had afked and obtained this
territory from the king, who, he fays, gave him a grant of
it in perpetuity. The manner of this he defcribes : " A civil
officer is fent on the part of the king, who calls together

Vol. 11, H all

266 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

all the proprietors of the neighbouring lands, and vifits the-
bounds with them ; they kill a goat at particular diftances,.
and bury the heads under ground upon the boundary line
of this regality; which heads, Paez fays, it is felony to dig;
up or remove ; and this is a mark or gift of land in perpe-
tuity.'*

Without contradifting the form of burying the goat&
heads, I fhall only fay, I never fawor heard of it, nor is there
fuch a thing as a gift of land in perpctuum known in Abyffi-
nia. All the land is the king's ; he gives it to whom he
pleafes during plcafure, and refumes it when it is his wilL
As foon as he dies the whole land in the kingdom (that of
the Abuna excepted) is in the difpofal of the crown; and
not only fo, but, by the death of every prefent owner, his
poiTeilions, however long enjoyed, revert to the king, and
do not fall to the eldeft fon. It is by proclamation the pof-
feffion and property is reconveyed to the heir, who thereby
becomes abfolute matter of the land for his own life or
pleafure of the king, under obligation of military and other
fervices ; and that exception, on the part of the Abuna, is
not in refped to the fandtity of his perfon, or charge, but
becaufe it is founded upon treaty*, and is become part of the
conftitution.

The Abyffinians faw, with the utmoft aftonifliment, the
eredlion of a convent llrongly built with ilone and lime, of
which before they had no knowledge, and their wonder
was ftill increafcd, when, at defire of the king, Paez under-
took

We have mentoned this treaty in the reign of Icon Amlac.

;THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 267

took, of the fame materials, to build a palace for him at tlie
fouthmoft end of this peninfula, which is called Gorgora.
It was with amazement mixed with terror that they faw a
houfe rife uponhoufe, for fo they call the different ftoreys.

Paez here difplayed his whole ingenuity, and the extent
■of his abilities. He alone was archited, mafon, fmith, and
carpenter, and with equal dexterity managed all the inftru-
ments ufed by each profeffion in the feveral ftages of the
work. The palace was what wc Ihall call wainfcoted with
cedar, divided into ftate-rooms, and private apartments
likewife for the queen and nobihty of both fcxes that form-
ed the court, with accommodations and lodgings for guards
and fervants.

As the king had at that time a view to attack the rebels,
the Agows and Damots, and to check the inroads of the
■Galla into Gojam, he faw with pleafure a work going on
that provided the mofl commodious refidence where his oc-
cupation in all probability was chiefly to lie. His principal
aim was to bring into his kingdom a number of Portuguefc
troops, which, joined to thofe already there, and the con-
verts he propofed to make after embracing the Catholic
religion, might enable him to extirpate that rebellious fpi-
rit which fecmed now univerfally to have taken poffeflion
•of t"he hearts of his fubjecT:s, and efpecially of the clergy, of
late taught, he did not feem to know how, that mofl: dan-
gerous privilege of curfmg and excommunicating kings.
He had not feen in Peter Pacz and his fcllow-pricfls any
thing but fubmiffion, and a love of monarchy ; their lives
and manners were truly apofl:olical ; and he never thought,
till he came afterwards to be convinced upon proof, that

L 1 2 the

a68 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the patriarch from Rome, and the Abuna from Cairov
the' they differed in their opinion as to the two natures in
Chrift, did both heartily agree in thedefire of eredling eccle-
fiaflical dominion and tyranny upon the ruins of monarchy
and civil power, and of effecting a total fubordination of
the civil government, either to the chairs of St Mark or St
Peter.

In the winter, during the ceffation from work, Socinios
called Paez from Gorgora to Coga, where he enlarged the
territory the Jefuits then had at Fremona. After which
.he declared to him his refolution to embrace the Catholic
religion ; and, as Paez fays, prefented him with two letters,
one to the king of Portugal, the other to the pope : the
lirll dated the loth of December 1607, the latter the 14th of
October of the fame year. Thefe letters fay not a word of
his intended converfion, nor of fubmiffion to the fee of
Rome; but complain only of the diforderly flate of his
kingdom, and the conftant inroads of the Galla, earneftly
requeuing a number of Portuguefe foldiers to free them
from their yoke, as formerly, under the.condu6l cf Chrifto-
pher de Gama, they had delivered Abyffmia from that of
the Moors.

While thefe things paffed at Coga, two pieces of intelli-
gence were brought to the king, both very material in
themfelves, but which affedled him very differently. The
firft was, that the traitor Za Selaffe, while making one of
his incurfions into Gojam, had fallen into an ambufli laid
for him by the Tolunia Galla, guardians of that province
on the banks of the Nile, and that thefe Pagans had flain
him and cut off his head, which they then prefented to the

3:. ^i"S»

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 269

king, who ordered it to be expofed on the lance whereon
it was fixed, in the moll confpicuous place in the front of
his palace.

This was the end of Ras Za Selafle, a name held in dc-
teftation to this day throughout all Abyffinia. Though his
death was juft fuch as it ought to have been, yet, as it was
in an advanced time of life, he Hill became a hurtful ex-
ample, by fliewing that it was poflible for a man to live to
old age in the continual prad:ice of murder and treafon.

He was of low birth, as I have already obferved, of a Pa-
gan nation of Troglodytes, of the lowefl efteem in AbylTi-
nia, employed always in the meaneftand mod fcrvilc occu-
pations, in which capacity he ferved firft in a private fami-
ly. Being obierved to have an a(5live, quick turn of mind,
he was preferred to the fervice of Melee Segued, upon
wliofc death he was fo much efteemed by his fon Jacob,
for the expertnefs and capacity he fliewed in bufmefs, that
he gave him large pofTefTions, and appointed him after-
wards to fcveral ranks in the army ; having regularly ad-
vanced through the fubordinate degrees of military comr
mand, always with great fuccefs, he was made at laft ge-
neral ; and being now of importance fuflicicnt to be able to
ruin his benefaaior, he joined Ras Athanafius, who had rcr
belled againft Jacob, by wdiom he was taken prifoner, and,
being mercifully dealt with, only banhhed to Narea. From
this difgraccful fituation he was freed^by Za Denghel, who
conferred upon him the moll lucrative important employ-
ment in the Hate. In return, he rebelled againll Za Den-
ghel ; and at Bartcho deprived him of his kingdom and life.
Upon Jacob's acceliion he was appointed Betwudet, the firll

place.

£7o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

place in Ethiopia, after the king, and governor of Go-
jam, one of the largeft and richeft provinces in Abyffinia.
But he foon after again forfook Jacob, fwore allegiance to
Socinios, and joined him.

Not content with all this, he began to form fome new
defigns while with the com't at Coga; and, having faid to
fome of the king's fervants, over wine, that it was prophe-
fied to him he fliould kill three kings, which he had veri-
fied in two, and was waiting for the third, this fpeech was
repeated to Socinios, who ordered Za SelafTe to be appre-
hended ; and, though he moil: juflly deferved death, the king
mercifully commuted his punifliment to banifliment to the
top of Ourec Amba, which fignifies the Great Mountain upon
the high ridge, called Gnfman^ near the banks of the Nile ;
and, though clofe confined in the caves on the top of that
mountain, after a year's imprifonment he efcaped to Wal-
aka, and there declared himfelf captain of a band of rob-
bers, with which he infefted the province of Gojam, when
he was llain by a peafant, and his head cut off and fent to
Socinios, who very much rejoiced in the prefent, and dif-
pofed of it as we have mentioned.

The fecond piece of intelligence the emperor received
was that in the mountains of Habab, contiguous to Mafuah,
where is the famous monaflery of the monks of St Euftathi-
us, called IVifan; a perfon appeared calling himfelf Jacob, fon
of Scrtza Denghcl, and pretending to have efcaped from the
battle of Lcbart ; thus, taking advantage of the circumllance
of Jacob's body not having been found in the field among
the dead after that engagement, he pretended he had been
fo grievoully wounded in the teeth and face that it was

not

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 271

not pofHble to fuffer the deformity to appear ; for which rea-
fon,as he faid, but, as it appeared afterwards, to conceal the
little refemblance he bore to Jacob, he wrapped about his
head the corner of his upper cloth, and fo concealed one
fide of his face entirely.

All Tigre haftened to join this impoftor as their true
fovereign ; who, finding himfelf now at the head of an ar>
mv, came down from the mountains of Bifan, and encamp-
ed in tlie neighbourhood of Dobarwa upon the Mareb,
where he had a new acceflion of ilrength.

The fhape of the crown in Abyflinia is that of the hood»
or capa, which the priefls wear when facing mafs. It is
compofed of fdvcr, fometimes of gold, fometimes of both
metals, mixed and lined with blue fdk. It is made to cover
part of the forehead, both checks, and the hind-part of the
neck likewife to the joining of the flioulders. A crown of
this (hape could not but be of great fervice in hiding the
terrible fears with which the impoftor's face was fuppofed
to be deformed. He had accordingly got one made at Ma-
fuah, beat very thin out of a few ounces of gold which he
had taken from a caravan that he had robbed. He wore it
Gonftantly upon his head as a token that he was not a can-
didate for the crown, but real fovereign, who had worn that
mark of power from his infancy.

The news of this impoflor, with the ufual exaggeration
of followers, foon came to Sela Chriftos, governor of Tigre,
who, feeing that the affair became more ferious every day,
refolved to attempt to check it. He conceived, however, he
had little trufl to put in the troops of his province, who all

1 of

lyi TRxWELS TO DISCOVER

of them were wavering whether they fhould not join the
rebel. His fole dependence, then, was upon the troops dt
his own houfehold, veteran foldiers, well paid and cloathed,
and firmly attached to his perfon, and likewife upon the
Portuguefe. Above all, being himfelf a man of confum-
mate courage and prudence, he was far from judging of the
power of his enemy by the multitude of rabble which com-
pofed it.

As foon as the armies came in prefence of each other,
Jacob offered the governor battle. But no fooner did the
impoflor's troops fee the eagernefs with which the fmall but
<:hofen band rulhed upon them, than they fled and difper-
fed ; and though Sela Chriftos had taken every precaution to
cut off the pretended Jacob from his ufual fculking places,
it was not poffible to overtake or apprehend him ; for he
arrived in fafety in one of the higheft and mofl inaccelTible
mountains of the diftrid, whence he looked down on Sela
Chrillos and his army without apprehenfion, having be-
hind him a retreat to the more diftant and lefs known moun-
tains of Hamazen, Ihould his enemies prefs him further.

As long as Sela Chriftos remained with his little army in
that country, the impoftor Jacob continued on the higheft
part of the mountains, accompanied only by two or three
of his moft intimate friends, who being people whofe fami-
lies dwelt in the plain below, brought him conftant intelli-
gence of what palTed there.

Sela Christos, wifliing by all means to engage the ene-
my, marched into a confiderable plain called Mai-aqnd; but,
feeing on every fide the top of each mountain guarded .by

troops

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 273

tvoops of foldiers, he was afraid he had advanced too far ;
and, apprehenfive left he fhould be inclofed in the midft
of a multitude fo pofted, he began to think how he could
beft make his retreat before he was furrounded by fo nu-
merous enemies. But they no fooner faw his intention by
the movement of his army, than, leaving their leader as a
fpedlator above, they fell on all fides upon Sela Chriftos's
troops, who, having no longer any fafcty but in their arms,
began to attack the hill that was next them, which they
ftormed as they would do a caftle. Finding the fmall re-
fiftance that each of thefe pofts made, the governor divided
his fmall army into fo many feparatc bodies, leaving his
cavalry in the plain below, who, without fighting, were
only employed in flaughtering thofe his troops had diflodged
from their feparate pofts.

The day after, the impoftoraflembling his fcattcred troops,
retreated towards the fca into the territory of Hamazen, be-
tween the counti-y of the Baharnagafli and the mountains
of the Habab.

Sela Chkistos, finding that, while he purfued his vi(5bory
in thefc diftant parts, the fpirit of rebellion increafed nearer
home, rcfolved to inform the king his brother of the un-
promifing ftatc of his aflTairs inTigre, and the great necef-
fity there was of his prcfcncc there. Nor did Socinios lofe
a moment after receiving this intelligence from Sela Chri-
ftos, although it had found him, in one refped, very ill pre-
pared for fuch an undertaking ; for he had fent all his
horfe from Coga upon an expedition againft the Shangalla
and Gongas, nations on the north-weft border of this king-
dom ; fo that, when he marched from Wainadega, liis ca-

VoL. II. M m valry

274 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

valry amounted to 530 men only, befides a fmall reinforce-
ment brought by Emana Chriftos, governor of Amhara.

It was at Aibo the king turned off the road to Tigre to-
wards Begemder, and that day encamped at Wainadega.
From Wainadega he advanced to Davada ; and, crofling the
Reb, he turned off by the way of Zang, and encamped at
Kattame. He then proceeded to Tzame, and arrived at Ha-
der. At this place fome fpies informed him that an advan-
ced party of the Galla Marawa were Urongly lodged in a
hill not far off. Upon receiving this notice, Socinios order-
ed his army to refrefli themfelves, to extinguifli all lights^
and march with as little noife as poflible.

While it was fcarce dawn of day, a flrong detachment of
the king's army furrounded the hill where tlie Galla were,
and found there a. fmall number of thefe favages placed
like piquets to give the alarm and prevent furprife. Ele-
ven Galla were llain, and their heads cut off and carried to
the king, the firft fruits of his expedition.

Resolving to profit by this early advantage, Socinios fol-
lowed with all diligence, and came in fight of the army of
the enemy, without their having taken the fmalleft alarm.
They were lying clofely and fecurely in their huts that they
had made. A large ravine full of trees and ftumps divided
the two armies, and in part concealed them from each a-
ther. The king ordered Emana Chriftos, and Abeton Wel-
leta Chriftos, to pafs the ravine with the horfe, and fall up-
on the Galla fuddenly, throwing the heads of thofe of the
advanced guard they had cut off on the ground towards
them.

Blfors

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 27;

Before the king's liorfe had pafled the ravine, the Galla
were alarmed, and mounted on horfeback. As they never
fight in order, it required no time to form ; but tliey re-
ceived the king's cavahy fo rudely, that, though Emana
Chriftos and the young prince behaved with the utmoft
courage, they were beat back, and obliged to fly with confi-
derable lofs, being entangled in the buflies. No fooner did
the king obferve that his horfe were engaged, than he or-
dered his troops to pafs the ravine to fupport them, and
was defirous to bring on a general engagement. But a pa-
nic had feized his troops. They would not ftir, but feemed
benumbed and overcome by the cold of the morning, fpec-
tators of the rum of the cavalry.

Emana Christos, and thofe of the cavalry that had c-
fcaped the maffacre, had repafTed the ravine, and difperfcd
themfelves in the front of the foot ; while the viaorious
Marawa, like ignorant favages, puflied their viftory to the
very front of the king's line, Socinios, ordering all the
drums of the army to beat and trumpets to found, to excite
fome fpirit in his troops, advanced himfelf before any of
his foldiers, and ilcw the firll Galla within his reach with
his own hands. The example and danger the king cxpo-
fcd himfelf to, raifed the indignation of the troops. They
poured in crowds, without regarding order, upon the Mara-
wa, '^reat part of whom had already pafled the ravine, and
all thit had pafled it were cut to pieces.

The Galla, unable to fland this lofs, fled from the field,
.md immediately after left Begemder. The want of horfe
on the king's part faved their whole army from the dellruc-
tion which would infallibly have been the confequence of

M m 2 a vi-

276 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

a vigorous purfuit, through a country where every inhabi-
tant was an enemy. The king after this returned to his
pala<:e at Coga to finifli the bufinefs he had in hand.

In the mean time, a report was fpread through all Ti-
gre, that the king had been defeated by the Galla, and that
Ras Sela Chriftos had repaired to Gondar in confequence of
that difafter. The impoilor Jacob loft no time in taking ad-
vantage of this report. He defcended from his natural for-
trefs, and, in conjundlion with the governor of Axum, flew
feveral people, and committed many ravages in Sire. The
Ras no fooner learned that he was encamped on plaia
ground, than he prefented himfelf with the little army he
had before ; and, though the odds againft him were excef-
five, yet by his prefence and condu6t, the rebels, though
they fought tliis time with more than ordinary obftinacy,.
were defeated with great lofs, and their leader, the fup-
pofed Jacob, forced again to his inaccefiiblc mountains.

SociNios having now finiilied the affairs which detained
him at Coga, and being informed that the fouthern Galla,.
refenting the defeat of the Marawa, had entered into a
league to invade Abyffinia with united forces, and a com-
plete army to burn and lay wafte the whole country be-
tween the Tacazze and Tzana, and to attack the emperor
in his capital of Coga, which they were determined to de-
ftroy, fent orders to Kafmati Julius, his fon-in-law, to
join him immediately with what forces he had, as alfo to
Refla Chriftos ; and, being joined by both thefe officers and
iheir troops, he marched and took poft at Ebenaat in the dif-
tri(5l of Beleffen, in the way by which the Galla intended to
pafs to the capital, and he refolvcd to await them there.

3 The

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 277

The Galla advanced in their ufual manner, burning and
deftroying churches and villages, and murdering without
mercy all that vvrere fo unfortunate as to fall into their
hands. The king bore thefe excefles of his enemy with the
patience of a good general, who faw they contributed to his
advantage. He therefore did not offer to check any of their
diforders, but by not refilling rather hoped to encourage
them. He had an army in number fuperior, and this was
feldom the cafe ; but in quality there was no comparifon,
five of the king s troops being equal to twenty of the ene- .
my, and this was the general proportion in which they
fought. He, therefore, contented himfelf with choofing
proper ground to engage, and improving it by ambufhes
fuch as the nature of the field permitted or fuggefted.

It was the 7th of January 1608, early in the morning, that
the Galla prefented themfclvcs to Socinios in battle, in a
plain below Ebenaat, furrounded with fmail hills covered
with wood. The Galla filled the whole plain, as if voluntarily
devoting themfelves to deftruction, and from the hills and
bulhes were deftroyed by fire-arms from enemies tliey did
not fee, who with a ftrong body took pofiefiion of the place
through which they entered, and by which they were to re-
turn no more.

Socinios that day, for what particular reafon does not
appear, diftinguiflied himfelf among the midft of the Galla,
by fighting like a common foldier. It is thought by the
hiftorians of thofe times, that he had received advice while
at Coga, that his fon-in-law Julius intended to rebel, and
therefore he meant to difcourage him by comparifon of their
perfonal abilities. This, however, is not probable ; the

king's

278 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

king's charadler was eftabliflied, and nothing more could
be added to it. However that may be, all turned to the dif-
advantage of the Galla. No general or other officer thought
himfelf entitled to fpare his perfon more than the king; all
fought like common foldiers ; and, being the men beft arm-
ed and mounted, and moil experienced in the field, they con-
tributed in proportion to the flaughter of the day. About
12,000 men on the part of the Galla were killed upon the
fpot ; the very few that remained were deftroyed by the
peafants, whilft 400 men only fell on the part of the king,
fb it was a maflacre rather than a battle.

SociNios now refolved to try his fortune againfl: the im-
poftor Jacob, and with that refolution he croiTed Lamal-
mon, defcending to the Tacazze in his way to Sire. Here,
as on the frontiers of his province, he was met by Sela Chri-
llos, who brought Peter Paez along with them. Both were
kindly received by the king, who encamped in the large
plain before Axum, in confequence of a refolution he had
long taken of being crowned with all the ancient ceremo-
nies ufed on this occafion by former kings, while the royal
refidence was in the province of Tigre.

It was on the 1 8th of March, according to their account,
the day of our Saviour's firft coming to Jerufalem, that this
feftival began. His army confifted of about 30,000 men.
All the great officers, all the officers of ftate, and the court
then prefent, were every man dreffed in the richeft and gay-
eft manner. Nor was the other fex behind-hand in the
fplendour of their appearance. The king, dreffed in crimfon
damafk, with a great chain of gold round his neck, his head
bare, mounted upon a horfe richly caparifoned, advanced

I at

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 275

at the head of his nobility, paffed the outer court, and came
to the paved way before the church. Here he was met by a
number of young girls, daughters of the umbares, or fu-
premc judges, together with many noble virgins Handing
on the right and left of the court.

Two of the nobleft of thefe held in their hands a crimfon
cord of filk, fomewhat thicker than common whip-cord, but
of a loofer texture, flretched acrofs from one company to
another, as if to fhut up the road by which the king was
approaching the church. When this cord was prepared and
drawn tight about breaft-high by the girls, the king enter-
ed, advancing at a moderate pace, curvetting and Ihewing
the management of his horfe. He was flopped by the ten-
fion of this ftring, while the damfels on each fide afking
who he was, were anfwered, " I am your king, the king of
" Ethiopia." To which they replied with one voice, " You
" Ihall not pafs ; you are not our king."

The king then retires fome paces, and then prefents him-
felf as to pafs, and the cord is again drawn acrofs his wav
by the young women fo as to prevent him, and the qucflion
repeated, "Who are you ?" The king anfwered, " 1 am your
" king, the king of Ifrael." But the damfels refolved, even
on this fecond attack, not to furrender but upon their own
terms ; they again anfwer, " You fhall not pafs ; you arc not
*' our king."

The third time, after retiring, the king advances with
a pace and air more determined; and the cruel virgins, a-
gain prefenting the cord and aiking who he is, he an-
iwers, " I am your king, the king of bwn ;" and, drawir^g

his

28o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

his fword, cuts the filk cord afunder. Immediately upon
this the young women cry, " It is a truth, you are our king;
" truly you are the king of Sion.'* Upon which they begin
to fmg Hallelujah, and in this they are joined by the court
and army upon the plain ; fire-arms are difcharged, drums
and trumpets found ; and the king, amidft thefe acclama-
tions and rejoicings, advances to the foot of the flair of the
church, where he difmounts, and there fits down upon a
Hone, which, by its remains, apparently was an altar of Anu-
bis, or the dog-liar : At his feet there is a large flab of free-
flone, on which is the infcription mentioned by Poncet, and
which Ihall be quoted hereafter, when I come to fpeak of
the ruins of Axum.

After the king comes the nebrit, or keeper of the book
of the law in Axum, fuppofed to reprefent Azarias the fon
of Zadock ; then the twelve mnbares, or fupreme judges,
who with Azarias accompanied Menilek, the fon of Solo-
mon, when he brought the book of the law from Jerufalem,
and thefe are fuppofed to reprefent the twelve tribes. After
thefe follow the Abuna at the head of the pricfls, and the
Itcheguc at the head of the monks ; then the court, who
all pais through the aperture made by the divifion of the
filk cord, which remains ftill upon the ground.

The king is firft anointed, then crowned, and is accom-
panied half up the fteps by the finging priefts, called Dep-
teras, chanting pfalms and hymns. Here he flops at a hole
made for the purpofe in one of the fieps, and is there fu-
migated with inccnfc and myrrh, aloes and caffia. Divine
fervicc is then celebrated; and, after receiving the facrament,
he returns to the camp, where fourteen days fliould rcgu-

larlv

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. aSt

larly be fpent in feafting, and all manner of rejoicing and
military exercife.

The king is, by the old cuftom, obliged to give a
number of prefents, the particulars of which are ftated
in the deftar, or treafury-book, the value, the perfon to
whom they are due, and the time of giving ; but a great
part of thefe are gone into defuetude fince the removal of
the court from Tigre, as alfo many of the offices are now
fupprefled, and with them the prefents due to them.

The nobles and the court were likewife obliged to give
prefents to the king upon that occafion. The prcfent from
the governor of Axum is two lions and a fillet of filk, up-
on which is wrote, " Mo Anbafa am Ni^ilet Solomoii am Negade
« jude — The lion of the tribe of Judah and race of Solomon
" hath overcome ;" this ferves as a form of inveftiture of
lands that the king grants, a ribband bearing this infcrip-
tion being tied round the head of the perfon to whom the
lands are given.

This governor was then in rebellion, fo did not alTifl at
the ceremony. Notwithftanding the difl'erence of expencc
which I have mentioned, by fupprefling places, prefents, and
dues, the king Tecla Haimanout told me at Gondar, that
when he was in Tigre, driven there by the late rebellion,
Ras Michael had fome thoughts of having him crowned
there in contempt of his enemies ; but, by the moft mo-
derate calculation that could be made, not to turn the cere-
mony into ridicule by parlimony, it would have coft
20,000 ounces of gold, or L. 50,000 Sterling; upon which
he laid afide the thoughts of it, faying to the king, " Sir,

Vol. II. Nn truft

2g2 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

trull to me, 20,000 ounces of Tigre iron.fhall crown you
better; if more is wanted, I will be (low it upon your ene-
mies with pleafure till they are fatisfied ;" meaning the
iron balls with which his foldiers loaded their muf-.
quets.

After the coronation was over, the king pafTed the Ma-
rch, defiring to finifli his campaign by the death of his com-
petitor Jacob ; but that impoftor knew too well the fuperi-
ority of his rival, and hid himfelf in the inmoft receiTes, with-
out other attendants than a few goats, who f uruiihed him
with their milk, as well as their fociety.

SociNios left the affair of the rebel Jacob to be.ended by
Amfala Chrillos, an officer of great prudence, whom he made
governor of Tigre; and, taking his brother Ras SelaChriilos
along with him, returned to Coga*. Amfala Chriftos being
feized with a grievous ficknefs, faw how vain it was for him
to purfue the fuppreffion of a rebellion conduced by fuch-
a head as this impoftor Jacob, and therefore fecretly applied
to two young men, Zara Johannes and Amha Georgis, bro-
thers, and fons of the Shum Welled Georgis, who had com-
mitted murder, and were outlawed by Socinios, and, keep-
ing hid in the mountains, had joined in fellowfliip with the.
impoftor Jacob,

These, gained by the promife of pardon given them by
Amfala Chriftos, chofe an opportunity which their intimacy,
gave them, and, falling upon Jacob unawares in his retire-
ment.

* The a the metropolis upon the Lake Tzana.

TH"E SOURCE OF THE NILE. 285

tnent, they flew him, cut his head ofF, and fent it to the king
at Coga, who received it very thankfully, and returned it to
Ti'^re to Amfala Chriftos, to be expofed publicly in all the
province to undeceive the people ; for it now appeared, that
he had neither fears in his face, broken jaw, nor lofs of teeth,
but that the covering was intended only to conceal the little
Tcfemblance he bore to king Jacob, flain, as we have feen,
at the battle of Lebart ; and he was now found to have
been a herdfman, in thofe very mountains of Bifan to which
he had fo often fled for refuge while his rebellion lafted.

The king, in his return from Tigre, paffing by Fremona,
fent to the Jefuits there thirty ounces of gold, about L. 75
Sterling, for their immediate exigency ; teftifying, in the
moft gracious manner, his regret, " That the many affairs
in which he was engaged had prevented him from hear-
ing mafs in their convent, as he very fmcerely wiflied to
do ; but he left with them the Abuna Simon, to whom he
had recommended to lludy their religion, and be a friend
to it."

In this he Ihewed his want of penetration and experi-
ence ; for though he had feen wars between foldier and
foldier, who, after having been in the moft violent ilate of
enmity, had died in defence of each other as friends, he was
not aware of that degree of enmity which reigns upon dif-
ference of opinion, not to fay religion, between prieft and
prieft. It was not long, however, before he faw it, and the
example was in the perfon of his prefent friend the Abuna
Simon.

N n 2 While

284 TRAVELS TOlDISCOVER

While Socinios was yet in Tigre, news were brought to
Coga from Woggora to Sanuda Tzef Leham * of Dembea,
who could not accompany the king to Tigre on account of
ficknefs, but was left with the charge of the capital and pa-
lace during the king's abfence, that Melchizedec, one of
the meaneft and loweft fervants of the late king Melee Se-
gued, liad rebelled, and was coUedling troops, confifting of
foldiers, fervants, and dependents of that prince, and had
ilain fome of Socinios's fervants. Sanuda was a brave and:
arrive officer ; but, being without troops, (the king having
carried the whole army to Tigre) immediately fet out from.
Maitfha to the town of Tchelga, one of the frontiers of A^
byffinia, poflefled by Wed Ageeb prince of the Arabs.

It is here to be obferved, that though the territorialj
right of Tchelga did then, and does ftill appertain to the
kingdom of Abyffinia, yet the poffeffion of it is ceded by
agreement to Wed Ageeb, under whofe protedion the cara-^
vans from Egypt and Sennaar, and thofe from Abyffinia to
Sennaar and Egypt, were underflood to be ever fmce they
were cut off in the lail century by the bafha of Suakem,
for this purpofe, that a cultomhoufe might be eredled, and.
the duties divided between the two kingdoms equally. The.
fame is the cafe with Serke, a town belonging to Sennaar,
ceded for the fame purpofe to the king of Abyffinia.

It happened that Abdelcader f, fon of Ounfa, late king of
Sennaar, or of Funge, as he is called in the Abyffinian an-
nals, had been depofed by his fubjecT:s in the 4th year of

his.

* Regifter of the cattle ; Co the governor of Dembea is called.

i S«e the Hiftory of the rife of this monarchy in my return through Sennasr

THE SOURCE OV THE NILE. aSj

his reign, and remained at Tchclga under the mutual pro-
tedlion of "Wed Ageeb and the emperor of Abyflinia, a kind
of prifoner to them both ; and had brought with him a
number of foldiers and dependents, the partakers of his for-
mer good fortune, who, finding fafety and good ufage at
Tchelga, were naturally well-affe(5led to the king. Thefe,
ready mounted and armed, joined Sanuda immediately up-
on his declaring the exigency ; and with thefe he marched
ftraight to Coga, to the defence of the palace with which
he had been intrufted^

Melchizedec, whofe defign was againft Coga, no fooner
heard Sanuda was arrived there than he marched to furprife
him, and a very bloody and obllinate engagement followed.
The Funge, piqued in honour to render this fervice to their
protecftor, fought fo obftinately that they were all flain,
and Sanuda, mounted that day upon a fleet horfe belonging
to Socinios, efcaped with difficulty, much wounded.

As foon as Socinios heard of this misfortune, he fent Rag
Emana Chriflos, who marched flraight to Woggora, crea-
ting Zenobius, fon of Imael, governor of that dillri(5t ; and
there he found Sanuda Zenobius and Ligaba Za Denghel
together, in a place called DeberafTo.

As foon as the rebel Melchizedec heard Emana Chriflos
was come, and with him the fore-mentioned noblemen, he
fet himfelf to exert the utmofl of his power to draw to-
gether forces of all kinds from every part he could get
them, and his army was foon increafed to fuch a degree as,

4 notwith-

286 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

notwithftanding the prefence of Emana Chriflos, to llrike
terror into all the territory and towns of Dembea. Nothing
was wanted but a king of the royal race for whom to fight.
Without a chief of this kind, it was evident that the army,
however often fuccefsful, would at laft difperfe. They,
therefore, brought one Arzo, a prince of the royal blood,
from his hiding-place in Begemder. Arzo, in return for a
throne, conferred the place of Ras upon Melchizedec. Za
Chriftos, fon of Hatzir Abib, was appointed to the command
of the army under him ; and, having finiflied this and many
fuch necefTary preparatives, they marched llraight to meet
Emana .Chriftos, with a better countenance than rebel ar-
mies ^generally bear.

It was the 9th of March 161 1, at 9 in the morning, when
the two armies were firft in light of each other, nor did
they long delay coming to an engagement. The battle was
very obftinate and bloody ; Melchizedec re-eftabliflied his cha-
racter for worth, at leaft as a foldier ; the fame did Za Chriftos.
Of the competitor Arzo, hiftory makes no mention ; his
blood, probably, was too precious to rifle the fpilling of it,
being lb far-fetched as from king Solomon. After a moft
obftinate refiftance, part of Za Chriftos's army was broken
and put to flight ; but it rallied fo often, and fold the ground
it yielded fo dear, that it gave time to Emana Chriftos to
.come up to his army's aftiftance.

The Ras, who was as brave a foldier as he was a wife
and prudent general, faw it was a time when all Ihould
be riflced, and threw himfelf into the midft of his enemies;
and he was now arrived near the place where Melchizedec
fought, when that rebel, feeing him advancing fo faft a-

2 mong

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 287

mong his llaughtercd followers, guefling his intention, de-
clined the combat, turned his horie and tied, while affairs
even yet appeared in his favour. This panic of the general
had the effe(5l it ordinarily has in barbarous armies. Nobody
confidered how the profpe6l of the general ifllie flood ; they
fled with Melchizedcc, and loft more men than would have
fecured them vicTiory had they ftood in their ranks.

A BODY of troops, joined by fomc peafants of Begemder,
purfued Melchizedec fo clofely that they came up with him
and took him prifoner, together withTcnfa Chriftos, a very ac-
tive partizan, and enemy to Emana Chriftos. Having brought
them to the camp, before the Ras returned to Coga, they
■were tried and condemned to die for rebellion, as traitors,
and the fentence immediately executed, after which their
heads were fent to the king. Very foon after this, Arzo,-
and his general Za Chriftos,- were taken and fent to the
king, who ordered them to be tried by the judges in com-
mon form, and they underwent the fame fate.

The king was employed in the winter feafon while he refi-
ded at Coga, in building a. new church, called St Gabriel.
But the feafon of taking the field being come, he marched
out with his army and halted at Gogora, fending Emana
Chriftos and Sela Chriftos againft the rebels; thefe were not
in a particular clan, or province, for all the country was
in rebellion, from the head of the Nile round, eaftward, to
the frontiers of Tigre. Part of them indeed \%'cre not in
arms, but refufed to pay their quota of the revenue ; part of
them were in arms, and would neither pay, nor admit a go-
vernor from the king among them ; others willingly fub-

mitted

288 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

mitted to Socinios, and were armed, only thereby to exempt
themfelves from payment.

Sela Christos fell upon the inhabitants of the moun-
tainous diftri(5l of Gufman, on the Nile, whofe principal
ftrong-hold, Ouree Amba, he forced, killing many, and carry-
ing away their children as flaves, which, upon the inter-
ceffion of Peter Paez, were given to the Jefuits to be educa-
ted as Catholics.

The next attempt was upon the Gongas, a black Pagan
nation, with which he had the fame fuccefs ; the reft were
the Agows, a very numerous people, all confederates and
in arms, and not willing to hear of any compolition. The
king ordered one of thefe tribes, the ZalabalTa, to be extirpa-
ted as far as poffible, and their country laid wafte. But
notwithftanding this example, which met with great inter-
ruption in the execution, the Agows continued in rebellion
for feveral years afterwards, but much impoverifhed and
leffened in number by variety of victories obtained over
them.

The two next years were fpent in unimportant fkirmifh-
es with the Agows of Damot, and with the Galla, invaders
ofGojam. In 1615, the year after, Tecla Georgis made go-
vernor of Samen, and Welled Hawaryat, fhum of Tfalemat"'',
w^ere both fent againft a rebel who declared himfelf compe-
titor for the crown. His name was Amdo. He pretended
to be the late king Jacob, fon of Melee Segued ; and this
chara6ler he gave himfelf, without the fmalleft communi-
cation

A low territory at the foot of Lamalmon.

THE SOURCE OF THENILE. 289

cation with the relations or connexions of that prince. As
foon as AlFera Chriftos and Tecla Garima, fervants of Wel-
led Hawaryat, heard of this adventurer, they furprifed him
in Tfalemat, and, putting him in irons, confined him in the
houfe of Aflera Chriftos.

Gideon, king of the Jews, whofe refidence was on the
high mountain of Samen, upon hearing that Amdo was
prifoner, fent a body of armed men who furprifed AfTcra
Chriftos in his own houfe in the night, and killed him,
bringing with them his prifoner Amdo to Samen, and deli-
vered him to Gideon there ; who not only took him into
protedlion, but aflifted him in raifmg an army by every
means in his power. There were not wanting there idle
vagabonds and lawlefs people enough, who fled to the ftan-
dard of a prince whofe fole view feemed to be murder, rob-
bery, and all fort of licentioufnefs. It was not long till
Amdo, by the alliftance of Gideon, found himfelf at the
head of an army, ftrong enough to leave the mountain, and
try his fortune in the plain below, where he laid wafte Sha-
wada, Tfalemat, and all the countries about Samen which
jperfevered in their duty to the king.

SociNios, upon this, appointed Julius his fon-in-law go-
vernor of Woggora, Samen, Waag, and Abbergale, that is,
of all the low countries from the borders of the Tacazze to
Dembea. Abram, an old oflicer of the king, defirous to ftop
theprogrefs of the rebel, marched towards him, and offered
him battle ; but that brave officer had not the fuccefs his
intention dcfcrved, for he was defeated and flain ; which
had fuch an effed upon Julius, that, without hazarding
liis fortune farther, he fent to befecch the king to march

Vol. II. O o " . againft

290 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

againfl Amdo with all poflible expedition, as his affairs
were become defperate in that part of his dominions.

The king hereupon marchedflraight to Woggora, and join-
ed Julius at Shimbra-Zuggan ; thence he defcended from
Samen, and encamped upon Tocur-Ohha> (the black river)
thence he proceeded to Debil, and then to Sobra ; and from
this lafl ftation he fent a detachment of his army to attack
a ftrong mountain called Meffiraba, one of the natural for-
treiles of Gideon, which was forced by the king's troops af-
ter fome refillance, and the whole inhabitants, without di^
ftin(5lion of age or fex, put to the fword, for fuch were the.
orders of the king.

This firll fuccefs very much difheartened the rebels, for
Mefliraba was, by nature, one of the ftrongeft mountains,
and it, befides, had been fortified by art, fui-niflied with plen-
ty of provifions, and a number of good troops. The next
mountain Socinios attacked was Hotchi, and the third Am-
ba Za Hancaffe, where he had the like fuccefs, and treated
the inhabitants in the fame manner; thence he removed his
army to Seganat, where he met with a very ftout refiftance ^
but this mountain, too, was at lafl taken, Gideon himfelf
efcaping narrowly by the bravery of his principal general,
who, fighting defperately,v/as flain by a mufqueteer.

The conftant fuccefs of the king, and the bloody manner
in which he piirfued his vi(5lory, began to alarm Gideon,
left the end lliould be the extirpation of his whole nation.
He, therefore, made an overture to the king, that, if he would
pardon him and grant him peace, he would deliver the re-
bel Amdo bound into liis hands,

THft

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 291

The king afTented to this, and Amdo was accordingly de-
livered up ; and, being convi^Tted of rebellion and murder,
he was fentenced to be nailed to a crofs, and to remain there
till he died. But the terrible cries and groans which he
made while they were fixing him to the crofs, fo much
Ihocked the ears of the king, that he ordered him to be
taken down, and his head ilruck off with an ax, which
was executed in the midil of the camp.

SociNios after this retired to Dancaz, and ordered Kefla
governor of Gojam, and Jonael his mafter of the houfehold,
to march fuddenly and furprife Belaya, a country belonging
to the Gongas and Cuba, Pagan nations, on whom, every
year, he made war for the fake of taking flaves for the ufe
of the palace. Thefe two officers, with a large body, mofl-
ly horfe, fell unawares upon the favages at Belaya, flaying
part, and bringing away their children. But not content
with doing this, tliey likev/ifc attacked the two dillrii5ls of
Agows, Dengui and Sankara, then in peace with the king,
and drove away an immenfe number of cattle, which the
king no fooner heard, than he ordered a flrict fearch to be
made, and the whole cattle belonging tb the Agows to be
gathered together, and rcflorcd to their I'cfpeflive owners ;
a piece of juflice which foftcned the hearts of this people
more than all the feveritics that had been hirhcrio ufcd ;
and the good cfTcvfls of which were foon after fcen upon
the Agows, though it produced fomething very different
in the condiicH: of Jonael.

The king this year, i6i6,left his capital at the ufual timc,in
the month of November, and ordered his whole houfehold
to attend him. His intention was againfl the Galla on the

O o 2 weft

-92 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

weft of Gojam, efpecially the tribe called Libo. But this
campaign was rendered fruitlefs by the death of the king's
eldeft fon, KennafFer Chriftos, a young prince of great hopes,
efteemed both by the king and the people. He had an ex^
cellent underftanding, and the moft affable manners poffir
ble, to thofe even whom he did not like ; was very fond of
the foldiers; merciful, generous, and liberal; and was
thought to be the favourite of the king his father, who
buried him with great pomp in the church of Debra Roma, ,
built by king Ifaac, in tlie lake Tzana..

In the midft of this mourning, there came a very bloody
order* from the king. Hiftory barely tells us the fadl, but
does not affign any other reafon than the wanton manner in
which Gideon king of the Jews had endeavoured to difturb ,
his reign and kingdom, which was thought a fufficient ex-
cufe for it. However this may be, the king gave orders to
Kafmati JuKus, Kafmati Welled Hawaryat, Billetana Gueta
Jonael, and Fit-Auraris Hofannah, to extirpate all the Falar
iha that were in Foggora, Janfakara, and Bagenarwe, to the
borders of Samen ; alfo all that were in Bagla, and in all the
diftrifts under their command, wherever they could find
them ; and very few of thena efcaped, excepting fome who -
fled with Phineas.

In this maflacre, which was a very general one, and execu^
ted very fuddenly, fell Gideon king of that people ; a man of
great reputation, not only among his fubje6ls, but througlx-
out all Abyffmia, reputed alfo immenfely rich. His trea-

fures,

* It was pi obably part of the fruits of the new religion, and the work of his new religtou?
advifers.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 295

Hires, fuppofed to be concealed in the mountains, are the
objeds of the fearch of the AbyiFinians to this day.

The children of thofe that were flain were fold for flaves
By the king ; and all the Falalha in Dembea, in the low
countries immediately in the king's power, were ordered
upon pain of death to renounce their religion, and be bap-
tifed. To this they confented, feeing there was no reme-
dy ; and the king unwifcly imagined, that he had extin-
guiflied, by one blow, the religion which was that of his
country long beforeChriftianity,by the unwarrantable butch-
ery of a number of people whom he had furprifed hving in
fecurity under the aflurance of peace. Many of them were
baptifed accordingly, and they were all ordered to plow
and harrow upon the fabbath-day.

The king next fent orders to Sela Chriflos, and Refla-
governor of Gojam, that, alTembhng their troops, they
lliould transfer the war into Bizamo, a province on the
fouth fide of the Nile, called alfo in the books a kingdom.
Through this lies the road of the merchants leading to Na,-
rca. It is inhabited by feveral clans of Pagans, which to-
gether make the great divifion of thefe nations into Boren, ,
and Bertuma Galia *.

The army pafTed the Nile, laying wafte the whole coun-
try, driving off the cattle, coUedling the women and chil-
dren as flaves, and putting all the men to the fword ; with-
out thefe people, though they make conftant inroads into

3 Gojam,

*The words, Boren, and Bertuma Galla, have no meaning in the Ethiopic.

£94 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Gojam, appearing anywhere in force to Hop the defolation of
their country. The whole traft between Narea and the Nile
was now cleared of enemies, and a number of priefts at
that time fent to revive drooping Chriilianity in thofe parts.

In the year 1617, a league was again made among the
Boren Galla, that part of them fliould invade Gojam, while
the others (namely the Marawa) fliould enter Begemder.
Upon hearing this, the king in hafte marched to Begemder,
that he might be ready in cafe of need to afTift Tigre. He
then fixed his head-quarters at Shima, but from this he
Ipeedily removed ; and, palling Emfras, came to Dobit, a
favourite relidence of the emperor Jacob, where he held
a council to determine which of the two provinces he fliould
arft afllft.

It was the general opinion of his officers, that to march
at that time of the year into Tigre by Begemder, was to de-
ftroy the army, and diflrefs both provinces ; that an army,
well provided with horfe, was necelTary for adling with fuc-
cefs againft the Galla, and that, in effeft, though the royal
army at prefent was fo appointed, yet there was no grafs at
that time of the year in all that march for the fubfiftence
of the cavalry, and very little water for the ufe of man or
beafl, an inconvenience the Galla themfelves mufl experi-
ence if they attempted an invafion that way. It was, more-
over, urged, that, if the king fliould march through Wog-
gora and Lamalmon, they might get more food for their
beads, and water too ; but then they would throw tliem-
felves far from the place v/licre the Galla had entered, and
would be obliged to fall into the former road, with the in-
convenlencics already flated. The confequence of this de-
liberation

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

295

liberation was, that it was with very great regret the good
of the commonweal obliged them to leave Tigre to the pro-
teftion of Providence alone for a time, and haften to meet
the enemy that were then laying Gojam wafte.

With this view the king left Dobit, and came to the ri-
ver Gomara in Foggora. He then palTed the Nile near Da-
ra, and came to Selalo, where he heard that the Djawi had
pafTed the Nile from Bizamo, and entered Gojam at the op-
pofite fide to where he then was. He there left his bag-
gage, and, by a forced march, advancing three days journey
in one, he came to Bed, upon the river iSadi ; but, inllead of
finding the enemy there» he received intelligence from Scla
Chriilos, that he had met the Galla immediately after their
palling the Nile ; had fought them, and cut their army to
pieces, without allowing them time to ravage the coimtry.

Upon this good news the king turned off on the road to
Tchegal and WainadalTa, and ordered Bela Chriftos to slC-
femble as great an army as he could, and fall upon the-
Djawi and Galla in Walaka and Shoa, as alfo Ras Sela Chri-
ftos, to pais the Nile and join him there.

That general loft no time, but marched ftraight to Am-
ca Ohha, or the river Amca, where he found the Edjow,
who fled upon his coming, without giving him any oppor-
tunity of bringing them to an engagement, abandoning
their wives, children, and fubftance, to the mercy of the
enemy. Sela Chriftos, having .finished this expedition as he
intended, returned to join the king, whom he found en-
camped upon the river Suqua, near Debra Werk, guarding
tliofe provinces in the abfence of Sela Chrixtos. From this

Ji the

296 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the king, retreating towards Dembea, paffed the Nile near
Dara, and encamped at Zinzenam, whence he inarched
round the lake into Dembea to his palace at Gorgora.

This village, whofe name lignifies r^?/;/ upon r«i«, affords
us a proof of what I have faid in fpeaking of the caufe of
•the overflowing of the Nile, in contradiction to the Adulitic
infcription, that no fnow falls in Abyffinia, or rather, that
though fnow may have fallen in the courfe of centuries, it
is a ph^enomenon fo rare as not to have a name or word to
exprefs it in the w^hole language, and is entirely unknown to
the people in general, at leall to the well of the Tacazze.

The Abyflinian hiftorian, from whom thefe memoirs are
compofed, fays, " That this village, called Zinzenam, has
its name from an extraordinary circumftance that once hap-
pened in thefe parts, for a Ihower of rain fell, which was
not properly of the nature of rain, as it did not run upon
the ground, but remained very light, having fcarce the
weight of feathers, of a beautiful white colour like flour ; it
fell in fhowers, and occafloned a darknefs in the air more
than rain, and liker to mift. It covered the face of the
whole country for feveral days, retaining its whitenefs the
whole time, then went away like dew, without leaving
any fmell or unwholefome efFedl behind it.

This was certainly the accidental phasnomenon of a day;
for, notwithftanding the height of the mountains Taranta
and Lamalmon, fnow never was feen there, at leafl: for ages
paft; andLafla, in whofe mountains armies have perifhed by
cold, as far as a very particular inquiry could go, never yet
had fnow upon them ; and Zinzenam is not in thefe moun-
tains.

THE SOURCE OE THE NILE. 297

tains, or in any elevated fituation. On the contrary, it is
adjoining to the plain country of Foggora, near where it
borders upon Begemder, not above 20 miles from the fe-
cond cataradl, or 40 miles from Gondar ; fo that this muft
have been* a fhort and accidental change of the armofphere,
of which there are examples ot many different kinds, in the
hiftories of all countries.

As foon as the weather permitted, the king left his pa-
lace at Gorgora in the way to Tocuffa, where he ftaid fe-
vcral days ; removed thence to Tenkel, where he continu-
ed alfo four days, and proceeded to Gunke, where he halt-
ed. From his head-quarters at Gunke, the king, meditating
an expedition againft Atbiira, fent a melTengcr to Nile Wed
Ageeb, prince of the Arabs, deftring a meeting with him be-
fore he attacked the Funge, for fo they call the fubjefts of
the new monarchy, lately eftabhfhed at Scnnaar by the con-
queft of the Arabs, under Wed Agccb, a very confiderablc
part of whofe territory they had taken by force, and now
enjoyed as their own poffefTions,

Abdeixader, fon of Oiinfa, was the ninth prince of the
race of Funge then reigning ; a weak, and ill-inclined man,
but with whom Socinios had hitherto lived in friendlhip,
and, in a late treaty, had fent him as a prefent, a nagareet, or
kettle-drum, richly ornamented with gold, with a-gold chain
to hang it by. Abdelcadcr, on his part, returned to Socinios
a trained falcon, of an excellent kind, very much efteemed
among the Arabs.

Soon after this, Alidclcader was depofed by his brother

Adelan, fon of Ounfa, and fled to Tchelga, under protection

Vol. II. P p of

298 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

of the king of AbyfTmia, who allowed him an honourable
maintenance ; a cuftom always obferved in fuch cafes in the -
Eall, by princes towards their unfortunate neighbours.

Baady, fon of Abdelcader, an adive and violent young
prince, although he depofed his uncle Adelan, took this pro-
tection of his father in bad part. It was likewife fuggeilcd
to him, that the prefent fent by Socinios, a nagareet, or ket-
tle-drum, imported, that Socinios confidercd him as his vaf-
fal, the drum being the fign of inveftiture fent by the king,
to any one of his fubjeds whom he appoints to govern a
province, and that the return of the falcon was likely to be-
confidered as the acknowledgement of a vafial to his fupe-
rior. Baady, upon his acceffion to the throne, was refolved.
to rectify this too great refpedt fhewn on the part of his fa-
ther, by an affront he refolved to offer. With this view^
he fent to Socinios two old, blind, and lame horfes.

Socinios took this amifs, a^ it was intended he flaould,\
and the flight was immediately followed by the troops of
Atbara, under Nile Wed Ageeb, fent by Baady to make an
inroad into Abyffmia, to lay wafte the country, and drive-
off the people, with orders to fell them as flaves.

Among the mofl ac5live in this expedition, were thofe of
the town of Scrke. When Baady complained that his father
and rival was proteded in his own tov<^n of Tchelga, it had
been anfwered. That true it v/as, Tchelga had been ceded and
did belong to Sennaar, for every purpofe of revenue, bur
that the fovereignty of the place had never been alienated
or furrendered to the king of Sennaar, but remained now, as
ever, vefled in the king of Abyffmia. Serke flood precifely

in

THE SOUUCE OF THE NILE. 299

in the fame fituation with refped to Abyffinia, as Tchelga
did to Sennaar,when Socinios demanded fatisfaaion for the
violence committed againll him by his own town of Serke.
The fame anfwer was given him, That for all fifcal purpofcs
Serke was his, but owed him no allegiance ; for, being part
of the kingdom of Sennaar, it was bound to affill its fove-
reign in all wars againll his enemies.

Socinios, deeply engaged in the troubles that attended
the beginning of his reign, pafled over for a time both the
affront and injury, but fent into AtbaratoNile Wed Ageeb,
propofmg a treaty with him independent of the kmg of
Seanaar.

There were, at this time, three forts of people that inha-
bited the whole country from lat. if (the mountains of Abyf-
finia) to the tropic of Cancer (the frontiers of Egypt.) The
firft was the Funge, or negroes, eftablifhed in Atbara fince
the year 1504, by conqucR. The fecond, the old inhabitants
of that country, known in very early ages by the name of
Shepherds, which continues with them to this day ; and thefe
lived under a female government. The third, the Arabs,
Avho came hither after the conqueft of Egypt, in an array
imderCaled Ibn el Waalid, or Saif UUah, the Sword of ^vd,
during the Khalifat of Omar, deftincd to fubdue Nubia, and,
ftiU later, in the time of Salidan and his brother.

These Arabs had affociated with the firft inhabitants, the
Shepherds, from a fimilarity of life and manners, and, by
treaty, the Funge had eilablilhed a tribute to be paid them
from both ; after which, thefe were to enjoy their former
habitations without further moleilation.

Pp2 This

300 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

This prince of the Arabs, Nile Wed Ageeb, embraced the
offer of the king of Abyffinia very readily ; and a treaty was
accordingly made between Socinios and him, and a territory
in Abyffmia granted him on the frontiers, to which he could
retire in fafety, as often as his affairs were embroiled with
the flate of Sennaar.

It happened foon after this, that Alico, a Mahometan,
governor of the Mazaga for Socinios, that is, of Nara and Ras
el Feel, a low country, as the name imports, of black earth,
revolted from his mafter, and fled to Sennaar, carrying with
him a number of the king's horfes. Socinios made his
complaint to the king of Sennaar, who took no notice of ir,
neither returned any anfwer, which exafperated Socinios fo.
much that it produced the prefent expedition, and was a
caufe of much bloodlhed, and of a war which, at leaft in
intention, lalls to this day between the two kingdoms.

Wed Ageeb, upon Socinios's firll fummons, came to
Gunke, his head-quarters, attended by a number of troops,
and fome of the bell horfc in Atbara. Upon his entering
the king's tent, he proflrated himfelf, (as is the Abyffinian
Guftom) acknowledged himfelf the king's vaffal, and brought
prefents with him to a very confiderable value. Socinios
received him with great marks of diilincftion and kindnefs>
He decorated him with a chain and bracelets of gold, and
s^ave him a dagger of exquifite workmanfhip, mounted with
the fame metal ; clothed him in filk and damailsi after the
Abyffmian fafhion, and confirmed the ancient treaty with
him. The fruit of all tliis was prefently feen ; the king and
his new ally fell fuddenly upon Serke, put all the male in-
habitants to the fv/ord, fold the women and children as

4 Haves,,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 301

flaves, and burned the town to the ground. The fame they
did to every inhabited place on that fide of the frontier, well
to Fazuclo. After which, the king, having fent a farcaftic
comphment to Baady, returned to Dancaz, taking Wed Ageeb
with him.

SociNios had only ravaged the frontier of the kingdom
of Sennaar to the weftward, from Serkc towards Fazuclo.
This was but a part of the large fcheme of vengeance he
had refolved to execute progrelTively from Serke, in repara-
tion of the affront he had received from the king of the
Fiuige. But he delegated what remained to the two princes
his fons, and to the governor of Tigre.

Welled Hawaryat, at the head of the Koccob horfe,,
and another body of cavalry reckoned equal in valour,,
called Mala, and the greateft part of the king's houfehold
troops, were ordered to fall upon that part of the frontier
of Sennaar which the king had left from Serkc eailward.
Melca Chriflos, with the horfe of Sire and Samen, was ap-
pointed to attack the frontier flill farther eart, oppofite to the
province of Sire Tecla Georgis, governor of Tigre, was
dire(5led to lay wafle that part of the kingdom of Sennaar
bordering upon the frontiers of his province.

The whole of this expedition fucceeded to a wifli ; only
Melea Chriilos, in palling through the country of Shangal-
la, was met by a large army of that people, who, thinking
the expedition intended againft them, had attacked him
in his paffage, with fome appearance of advantage ; but
by his own exertions, and thofe of his troops alarmed at
their prince's danger, he not only extricated himfeif from

iber

.^m TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

'.the bad fimation he was in, but gave the Shangalla fo en-
tire an overthrow, that one of their tribes was nearly exter-
minated by that day's llaughter, and crowds of women and
children fent ilaves to the king at Dancaz.

The delay that this occafioned had no bad effeS: upon the
expedition. The victorious troops poured immediately into
Atbara under Melca Chriilos, and completed the deftruc-
tion made by Welled Hawaryat, and the governor of Tigre.
All Sennaar was filled with people flying from the conquer-
ors, and an immenfe number of cattle was driven away by
the three armies. Baady feems to have been an idle Ipec-
tator of this havock made in his kingdom ; and the armies
returned without lofs to Dancaz, loaded with plunder.

Still the vengeance of Socinios was not fatisfied. The
Baharnagalli, Guebra Mariam, was commanded to march
againft Fatima queen of the Shepherds, called at that time
Negulla Errum, queen of the Greeks. This was a princefs
who governed the remnant of that ancient race of people,
once the fovereigns of the whole country, who, for feveral
dynafties, were mailers of Egypt, and who ftill, among
their ancient cuftoms, preferved that known one, of always
placing a woman upon the throne. Her refidence was at
Mendera*, on the N. E. of Atbara, one of the largefl and moll
populous towns in it ; a town, indeed, built like the reft,
of clay, ftraw, and reeds, but not lefs populous or flourilh-
ing on that account. It was in the way of the caravans from
Suakem, both to Abyffinia and Sennaar, as alfo of thofe large
caravans to and from Sudan, the Negro country upon the
Niger, whicli then came, and Hill uie that road in their
way to Mecca. Its female fovereign was confidered as

guardian

* See the Map.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3^5

guardian of that communication, and the caravans pafung
k.

The Baharnagafh had in orders from Socinios to purfue
this queen till he had taken her prifoner, and to bring her in
that condition into his prefence. The enterprife was by no
means an eafy one. Great part of the road was without
water ; but Gucbra Mariam, the Baharnagafli, was an a(5live
and prudent officer, and perfecftly acquainted with the fe-
reral parts of the country. With a fmall, but veteran army,
he inarched down the Mareb, between that river and the
mountains, dcftroying all the places through which he pafT-
ed, putting the inhabitants unmercifully to the fword, that
no one might approach him, nor any report be made of
his numbers, which were everywhere magnified by thofc
that efcaped, and who computed them from the grcatnefs
of the defolation they had occafioned.

On the 13th day he came before Mendera, and fent a
fummons to the queen Fatima to furrender. Being told
that Ihe had fled on his approach, he anfwcred, That he ca-
red not where flie was ; but that, unlefs fhe furrendered Ikt-
felf prifoner before he entered Mendera, he would lirft let
tlie town on fire, and then quench the llames by the blood
of its inhabitants. .

Fatima, though old and infirm, was too great a lover of
her people to riik the fulfilling this threat from any confi-
deration of what luight happen to her. She furrendered
herfelf to Guebra Mariam, with two attendants ; and he,
wiihout lofs of time, marched back to his ov n country, ab-
ftaining from every fort of violence or exccfs in his wiy,_

3- from

304 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

from refpeft to his female prifoner, whom he brought m
triumph before Socinios to Dancaz, and was the firlt meiien-
ger of his own vidlory.

Socinios received this queen of the Greeks on his throne ;
but, in confideration of her infirmities, difpenfed with the
ceremony of proftration, conftantly obferved in Abyflinia on
being introduced to the prefence of the king : feeing that
fhe was unable to ftand during the time of her interroga-
tion, he ordered a low llool to be fet for her on the ground ; a
piece of confideration very rarely fhewn to any ftranger in
Abyflinia, however great their dignity and quality.

Socinios fternly demanded of his prifoner, " Why fhe
and her predecelfors, being vallals to the crown of Ab) ffi-
nia, had not only omitted the payment of theii tribute, but
had not even fent the cuflomary prefents to him upon his
acceffion to the throne ?"

To this the queen anfwered with great franknefs and
candour, " That it was true, fuch tributes and prefents were
due, and were alfo pun(5tually paid from old times by her
anceflors to his, as long as protection was aflbrded them
and their people, and this was the principal caufe of paying
that tribute ; but the Abyflinians having firft fiiftered the
country to be in great part conquered by the Arabs, and
then again by the Funge, without ever interfering, flie
had concluded a peace with the Fungc of Sennaar, and paid
the tribute to them, in confcquence of which they defended
her from the Arabs : That fhe had had no foldiers but fuch
as were emplt)cd in keeping a ftiidl watch over the road
through the defert to buakem, which was anciently truUcd

to

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. jojr

to her- that the other part of her fubjeds was occupied
in keeping and rearing great herds of cattle for the mar-
kets of Sennaar and other towns, as well as camels for the
caravans of Mecca, Cairo, and Sudan, both employments
being of public benefit ; and, therefore, as Ihe did harm to
none, fhe had a greater reafon to wonder what could be his
motive of fending fo far from home to feek her, and. her
harmlefs fubjeds, in the defert, with fuch efFufion of mno-
cent blood."

The king hearing this fagacious anfwer, which was fol-
lowed by many others of the kind, was extremely plcafed ;
but alTured her, " That he intended to maintain his ancient
right both over her fubjeas,and the Arabs under Wed Ageeb,
who was now his vafTal, in all the country from Fazuclo to
Suakem ; that he confidercd the Funge as ufurpers, and
would certainly treat them as fuch." After this Socinios dif-
xniffed the queen, and gave her alTurances of protedion,
having firft cloathed her as his vafTal in filk and damalk, af-
ter the fafliion of women in her own country.

But it was not long before this train of fuccefs met with
a confiderable check. Very foon afterwards, the king being
in Gojam, a meffage was brought to him from the principal
people of Narea, informing him plainly, « That Bcnero, ha-
ving become cruel and avaricious, put many people to death
wantonly, and many more for the fake of their money ; ha-
ving taken from them their wives and daughters, either for
his own pleafure, or to fell them as Haves to the Galla— they
had at laft murdered him, and chofen a man in his room
diftinguiflied for his virtue and goodnefs."

Vol. II, Qjl '^"^

5o6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The king was very much exafpcrated at this meiTage.
He told them, however bad Benero might have been, he
confidered his murder as an infuk done to himrelf,and had,
therefore, difpatched Mullapha Bafha with fome troops, and
given command to all the Mahometans in Narea to allift him,
and to inquire into tlie death of Benero, and the merit of his
fuccellbr.

At the fame time, the Galla made an inroad into Begem-
der; and Welled Hawaryat, aflembling what troops he could j.
in hafte, to flop the defolation of that province, and having
come in fight of the enemy, he was forfaken by his army,
and flain, together with the Cantiba of Dembea, Amdo,.
and Nile Wed Ageeb prince of the Arabs, after fightings
manfully for the king. Socinios, upon the arrival of this
news, gave himfelf up to immoderate forrow ; not fo much
for the lofs of his army which had mifbehaved, as for the
death of Welled Hawaryat his favourite fon, and Amdo aijd
Nile, the two beft officers ia his army..

It will now be necefTary that we look back a little to the
fiate of religious affairs in AbyiFmia, which began from
this tinae to have influence in every meafure, and greatly
to promote the troubles of that empire ; though they were
by no means their only caufc, as fome have faid, with a
■view to tlirow greater odium upon the Jefuits, who furely
have enough to anfwer for, witliout inilaming tlie accouiic
by any exaggeration^

Paez, in the couiic of building the palace at Gorgora^
had defervedly aftonifhed tlie whole kingdom by a difplay
©•f his tiniverfal genius and capacity. If he was affiduous

s and

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 307

and diligent in raifing this fabric, he had not negleded the
advancing of another, the converfion of Abyflinia to the
obedience of the fee of Rome.

Ras Sela Christos (if we beUeve thefe miflionaries) had
converted himfelf, by reading with attention the Abyffinian
books only. Being about to depart from Gojam to fight a-
gainft the Galla, he wanted very much to have made his
renunciation and confelTion in the prefence of Peter Paez,
But, as he was bufied at Gorgora building a convent and
palace there, he contented himfelf with another Jefuit, Fran-
cifco Antonio d'Angelis ; and, being vidorious in his expe-
dition, he gave the fathers ground and a fum of money to
build a monaftery at Col lei a, which was now the third in
Abyllinia belongiag to the Jefuits.

As for the king, though probably already determined
in his own mind, he had not taken any ftep fo decifive as
could induce the compliance of others. Difputes were con*
llantly maintained, for the moft part in his prefence, be-
tween the millionaries and the Abyffinian monks, chicily
concerning the long-agitated quellion, the two natures in
Chrift, in which, although the vidoiy declared always in
favour of the Jefuits, if we may credit their reprcfentations,
no convi(5lion followed on the part of the adverfaries. At
laft Abuna Simon complained to the king, that unufual and
irregular things had been permitted without his knowledge;
that difputes upon articles of faith had been held without
^calling him, or his being permitted to give his clergy the
■advantage of his fupport in thefe controverfics.

Qjl 2 The

jog TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The king, who did not believe that the Abuna's elo-
quence or learning would make any great alteration, order-
ed the difputations to be held a-new in the Abuna's pre-
fence. That prieft's ignorance inade the matter worfe ; and
the king, holding this point as now fettled, made his firft
public declaration, that there were two natures in Chrift,
perfe<5l God and perfedl man, really diftindl between them-
felves, but united in one divine perfon, which is the Chrift..

At this time, letters came by way of India, both from
the king of Spain, Philip II. dated in Madrid the 15th of
March 1609, and from the pope Paul V. of the 4th of Janu-
ary 161 1. Thefe letters contain nothing but general decla-
matory exhortations to Socinios to perfevere in the Chriftian
faith, afTuring him of the alliftance of the Holy Spirit, inftead
of thofe Portuguefe regiments which he had folicited. How-
ever, the affair of the converfion being altogether fettled be-
tween the king and Paez, it was thought proper to make the
renunciation firft, and then depend upon the king of Spain
and the pope for fending the foldiers, if their prayers were
not effedlual..

It was neceflary that Socinios fhould write to the pope,
notifying his fubmiftlon to the fee of Rome. But letters on
fuch a fubje(5l were thought of too great confequence to
be fent, as former difpatches to Europe had been, without
being accompanied by proper perfons, who, upon occafion,
might affume the chara(5ler of ambaffadors, and give any af-
furance or explanation needful.

It was at the fame time confidered, that the way by Ma-
lualj was fo liable to accidents, the intermediate province of

Tigrd

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 309-

Tigre being ftill as it were in a ftate of rebellion, that it
would be eafy for the enemies of the Catholic faith to in-
tercept thefe meffengers and letters by the way, fo that their
contents might be publifhed amongft the king's enemies in
Abyflinia, without ever being made known in Europe. Some
propofed the longer, but, as they apprehended, the more fe-
cure way, by paffing Narea and the provinces fouth of the
frontiers of that kingdom, partly inhabited by Gentiles,
partly by Mahometans, to Melinda, on the Indian Ocean,,
where they might embark for Goa.

Lots were cad among the miffionaries who of theii:-
number Ihould undertake this long and dangerous jour-
ney. The lot fell upon Antonio Fernandes, a man of great
prudence, much efteemed by the king, and by the gener-
al voice allowed to be the propereft of all the fociety for
this undertaking. He, on his part, named Fecur Egzie (be-
loved of the Lord) as his companion, to be ambaffador to the
king of Spain and the pope. This man had been one of the
firft of the Abyffinians converted to the Catholic faith by the
Jcfuits, and he continued in it fteadily to his death. He was
a perfon of tried courage and prudence, and of a pleafant
and agreeable converfation.

It was the beginning of March 161 3 Antonio Fernandes*
fet out for Gojam, where was Ras Sela Chriftos. Fecur Eg-
zie had fet out before, that he might adjuft his family affairs,
and took with him ten Portuguefe, fix of whom were to go

3 "°

• See the provincial letters of the Jefiiits in Tellez, lib. iv. cap. 5.

310 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

no farther than Narea, and return, the other four to embark
with him for hidia.

The governor detained the fmall company till he procu-
red guides from among the Shats and Gallas, barbarous na-
tions near Narea, and eaftward of it, from whom he took
hoftages for properly protecfling this caravan in their way,
paying them well, as an encouragement for behaving ho-
neftly and faithfully.

On the 15th of April they had fet out from Umbarma,
then the head-quarters of Sela Chriftos, who gave them for
guards forty men armed with fhields and javelins. Nor
was it long before their difficulties began. Travelling about
two days to the weft, they came to Senaffe, the principal vil-
lage or habitation of the Pagan Gongas, very recently in
rebellion, and nearly deftroyed, rather than fubdued. To
the firft demand of fafe condu(5t, they anfwered in a man-
ner which lliewed that, far from defending the travellers
from others, they were refolved themfelves to fall upon
them, and rob or murder them in the way. One Portuguefe
offered himfelf to return with Fernandes to complain of
thefe favages to Sela Chriftos ; who, upon their arrival, dif-
patched three officers with troops to chaftife thefe Pagans,
and convey the ambaffador and his attendants out of their
territory and reach.

The Gongas, being informed that a complaint was fent
to Sela Chriftos, which would infallibly be followed by a
detachment of troops, gave the ambaffador the fafeguard
he demanded, which carried him in three days to Mine *.

This

* Which Cgnifies the Paflage,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 311

This is the name of fome miferable villages, often rebuilt,
and as often deftroyed, upon a ford of the Nile, over which
is the ordinary paflage for the Mahometan merchants inta
Bizamo, the way to the mountainous country of Narea and
CafFa. As the rains had begun to fall here with violence,
when Fernandes and his companions arrived, they were
obliged to pafs the river on fkins blown full of wind.

The diftance from Mine to Narea is 50 leagues due fouth,
with little inclination to weft. The road to it, and the places
through which you pafs, arc very dillinclly fet down in my
map, and, I believe, without any material error ; it is the
only place where the reader can find this route, which, till
now, has never been publifhed.

The next day our travellers entered the kingdom of Bi-
zamo, inhabited by Pagan Galla. Thefe people came in
crowds with arms in their hands, infifling upon being paid
for liberty of palling through their country; bur, feeing the
company of the ambafTador take to their anaas likewife,
they compounded for a few bricks of fait and coarfe cotton
cloaths, and thereupon fufTcred them to pafs. The fame
day, the guide, fcnt from Narea to condiK^ them by crook-
ed and unfrequented paths out of the way of the Pagan
Galla, made them to enter into a large thicket through
which they could fcarcely force themfclves ; after which
they came to a river called Alalcg^ when it v;as nearly night.
Next day they could find no ford where they could pafs*
They now entertained a fufpicion, that the guard from Na-
rea had betrayed them, and intended to leave them in thefe
woods to meet their death from the Galla.

The

312 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The day after, they found the ford, and pafled it without
difficulty; and, being on the other fide, they began to be a
little more compofed, as being far from the Pagans, and
now near entering the territory of Narea. After afcending
a high mountain, they came to Gonea, where they found
a garrifon under one of the principal officers of that king-
dom, who received them with great marks of honour and
joy, on account of the warm recommendation Sela Chriftos
had given them, and perhaps as much for a confiderable
prefent they had brought along with them.

Narea, the fouthmoft province of the Abyffinian empire,
is ftill governed by its native princes, who are called the
Bencros ; its territory reached formerly to Bizamo.

The Galla have quite furrounded them, efpecially on the
fouth-eaft and north. What is to the well is a part of Africa,
the moll unknown. The people of Narea have a fmall trade
with Melinda on the Indian Ocean, and with Angola on the
weftern, by means of intermediate nations. Narea is abun-
dantly fupplied with gold from the Negro country that is
neareft them. Some have, indeed, faid there is gold in Na-
rea ; but, after a very diligent inveftigation, I find it comes
chiefly from towards the Atlantic.

The kingdom of Narea Hands like a fortified place in the
middle of a plain. Many rivers, rifing in the fourth and
fifth degrees of latitude, fpread themfelves, for want of level,
over this flat country, and ftagnate in very extenfive marfh-
es from fouth by eaft, to the point of north, or north-weft.

The

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 315

The foot of the mountains, or edge of thefe marllies
neareft Narea, is thick overgrown with cofFee-trees, which,
if not the only, is the largeji tree known there. Then comes
the mountainous country of Narea Proper, which is inter-
fperfed with fmall, unwholefome, but very fertile valleys.
Immediately adjoining is the more mountainous country
of Caflfa, without any level ground whatever. It is faid to
be governed by a feparate prince : they were converted to
Chriflianity in the time of Melee Segued, fome time after
the converfion of Narea. The Galla, having fettled them-
felves in all the flat ground to the very t&^c of the marfties,
have, in great meafure, cut off the communication with
Abyflinia for many years together; fo that their continu*
ance in the Chriflian faith feems very precarious and un-
certain, for want of books and priefts to inflruft them.

The Nareans of the high countiy are the lightefl in co-
lour of any people in Abyllinia ; but thofe that live by the
boi'ders of the marflies below are perfed blacks, and have
the features and wool of negroes : -whereas all thofe in the
high country of Narea, and ftill more fo in the ftitpendous
mountains of Caffa, are not fo dark as Neopolitans or Sici-
lians. Indeed it is faid that fnow has been feen to lie on
the mountains of Calfa, as alfo in that high ridge called
Dyre and Tcgla ; but this I do not believe. Hail has pro-
bably been feen to lie there ; but I doubt much whether
this can be faid of a fubilancc of fo loofe a texture as fnow.

There is great abundance both of cattle, grain, and all
forts of provifions'in Narea, as well in the high as in the
low country. Gold, which ihey fell by weight, is the me-
dium of commerce within the countiy itlelf ; but coarfe

Vol. II, R r cotton

314 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

cotton cloths, ftibium, beads, and incenfe, are the articles
with which their foreign trade to Angola, and the kingdoms
on the Atlantic, is carried on.

The Nareans are exceedingly brave. Though they have
been conquered, and driven out of the low country, it has,
been by multitudes — nation after nation pouring in upon
them with a number of horfe to which they are perfect,
flrangers : But now, confined to the mountains, and fur-,
rounded by their marfhes and woods, they defpife all fur-,
ther attempts of the Galla, and drive them from their fron^
tiers whenever they approach too near.

In thefe fkirmifhes, or in fmall robbing parties, thofe Na^
reans are taken, whom the Mahometan merchants fell at,
Gondar. At Conllantinople, India, or Cairo, the women are
more efteemed as flaves than thofe of any other part of the
world, and the men are reckoned faithful, adive, and intelli=.
gent. Both fexes are remarkable for a chearful, kind difpo=.
fition, and, if properly treated, foon attach themfelves invio-.
lably to their mailers. The language of Narea and CafFa is
peculiar to that country, and is not a diale<5t of any neigh-=.
bouring nation,

Antonio Fernandes in this journey, feeking to go to
India by Melinda in company with Fecur Egzie ambafladori.
palled through this country ; but none of the Jefuits ever
went to Narea with a view of converting the people, at
which I have been often furprifed. There was enough of
gold and ignorance to have allured them. That foftnefs and
fimplicity of manners for which the Nareans are remarkable,
iheir a,ffe(5lion for their mailers and fuperiors, and firm at-
4 tachment

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 315

tacliment to them, would have been great advantages in the
hands of the fathers. Every Abyffmian would have encou-
raged them at the beginning of this miffion ; and, if once
they had firmly ellablifhed themfelves in a country of fo
difficult accefs, they might have bid defiance to prince Faci-
lidas, and the perfecution that deilroyed die progrefs of the
Catholic faith in that reign.

From Gonea, in fix days they came to the refidence of
Benero, the fovereign of the country ; fince the conqueft
and converfion under Melee Segued, he is called Shum.
The ambaflador and Fernandes were received by the Bene-
ro with an air of conllraint and coolncfs, though with ci-
vility. They found afterwards the caufe of this was the in-
finuation of a fchifmatic Abyflinian monk, then at the court
of that prince, who had told him that the errand of the am-
bafifador and miffionary to India was to bring Portuguefe
troops that way into Abyillnia, which would end in the de-
ftrudlion of Narea, if it did not begin with it.

Terrified at a danger fo near, the Benero called a coun-
cil, in which it was refolved that the ambaflTador Ihould be
turned from the direft road into the kingdom of Bali, to a
much more inconvenient, longer, and dangerous one ; and,
the ambaflador hefitating a little when this was propofed,
the Benero told him plainly, that he would not fufler him
to pafs further by any other way than that of Bali.

Bali was once a province belonging to Abyfiinia, and
was the firft taken from them by the Galla. It is to the
north-eaft of Narea, to the weft of the kingdom of Adel,

R r 2 which

.i6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

which feparates it from the fea ; of which ample mentioa
has been already made in the beginning of this hiftory.

This was to. turn them to Cape Gardefan, the longelt
journey they could poffibly make by land, and in the middle
of their enemies ; whereas the direaion of the coail of
the Indian Ocean running greatly to the weftward, and to-
wards Melinda, was the fhorteft journey they could make
by land. Melinda, too, had many rich merchants, who,
though Moors, did yet traffic in the Portuguefe fettlements
on the coaft of Malabar, and had little intelligence or con-
cern with the rehgious difputes which raged in Abyffinia..

However, I very much doubt whether this nearefl route
could be accompliflied, at leail by travellers, fuch as Fecur
Egzie, Fernandes, and their companions, all ignorant of
the language, and, therefore, conllantly at the difcrction of
interpreters, and the malice or private views of different
people through whofe hands they mtiil have palled.

The Benero, having thus provided againft the dangers
with which his ftate was threatened, if our travellers went
by Melinda, made them a prefent of fifty crufades of gold
for the neceffaries of their journey ; and, as their way lay
through the fmall ftate of Gingiro, and an ambaffador from
the fovereign of that ftate was then at Narea, he difpatched
that miniftcr in great hafte, recommending the Portuguefe
to his proteaion fo long as they fliould be in his territory.

Fecuh Egzie and his company fet out with the ambaffa-
dor of Gingiro in a diredion due eaft ; and the lirft day they
arrived at a poft of Narea, where was tlie officer who was

a.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. J17

to give them a guard to the frontiers ; and who, after fome
delay, in order to fee what he could extort fi-om them, at
laft gave them a party of eighty foidiers to condudl them,
to the frontiers.

After four long days journey through countries totally
laid wafte by the Galla, keeping fcouts conftantly before
them to give advice of the firft appearance of any enemy,
that they might hide thcmfelves in thickets and buflies ; at
mid-day they began to defcend a very fleep craggy ridge
of mountains, when the ambaiTador of Gingiro, now their
condu<5tor, warned them, that, before they got to the foot
of the mountain, they Ihould enter into a very thick wood
to hide thcmfelves till night, that they might not be difco-
vered by the Galla fhepherds feeding their flocks in the
plain below ; for only at night,when they had retired, coukl
tliofe plains be pafTed in fafety..

At four o'clock in the afternoon they began to enter the
wood, and were Lucky in getting a violent Ihower of rain,,
which dillodged the Galla fooner tlian ordinary,. and fent
them, and their cattle home to their huts. But it was, at
the fame time, very difagreeable to our travellers on account
of its excellive coldnefs. Next day, in the evening, defccnd-
ing another very rugged chain of mountains, they came to-
tlie banks, of the large river Zebee,as the Portuguefe call it;,
but its true name is Kibbee, a name given it by. the iMaho-
metan merchants, (the only travellers in this country) from,
its whitenefs, approaching to the colour of melted butter,
wliich that word fignifies..

Ths;

3i8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The river Zebee,or Kibbee, furrounds a great part of the
kingdom of Gingiro. It has been miftaken for the river
El Aice, which runs into Egypt in a courfe parallel to the
Nile, but to the well of it.

Narea feems to be the higheft land in the peninfula of
Africa, fo that here the rivers begin to run alternately to-
wards the Cape of Good Hope and Mediterranean ; but the
defcent at firft is very fmall on either fide. In the adjoin-
ing latitudes, that is 4" on each fide of the Line, it rains per-
petually, fo that thefe rivers, though not rapid, are yet kept
continually full.

This of Zebee, is univerfally allowed by the merchants
of this country to be the head of the river Quilimancy,
which, paffing through fuch a trad of land from Narea to
near Melinda, mull have opened a very confiderable com-
munication with the inland country.

This territory, called Zindero, or Gingiro, is a very fmall
one. The father and Fecur Egzie relied the fixth day
from their fetting out from Narea. The river Zebee, by
the defcription of Fernandes, feems to incline from its
fourcein a greater angle than any river on the north of that
partition. Fie fays it carries more water with it than the
Nile, and is infinitely more rapid, fo that it would be abfo-
lutely impalTable in the feafon of rains, were it not for large
rocks which abound in its channel.

The paflage was truly tremendous; trees were laid from
the fliore to the next immediate rock ; from that rock to
the next another tree was laid ; then another that reached

to

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 319

to the fhore. Thefe trees were fo elaftic as to bend with
the weight of a fingle perfon. At a great diflancc below
ran the foaming current of the river, fo deep an abyfs that
it turned the heads of thofe who were pafling on the move-
able elaftic fupport or bridge above*

Yet upon this feeming inconvenience the exiftence of
that country depended. The Galla that furrounded it would
have over-run it in a month, but for this river, always ra-
pid and always full, whofe ordinaiy communication by a
bridge could be deftroyed in a moment; and which, though
it had one ford, yet this was ufelefs, unlefs paflengers had af-
fiftance from both fides of the river, and confequently could
never be of fervice to an enemy.

The terrible appearance of this tottering bridge for a;
time flopped the ambaflador and miflionary. They looked
upon the pafling upon thefe trembling beams as certainly in-
curring inevitable deftru(5tion. But the reflexion of dan-
gers that prefled them behind overcame thefe fears, and
they preferred the refolution to run the rifle of being drown-
ed in the river Zebee, rather than, by flaying on the other
fide all night, to fland the chance of being murdered by the
Galla. But, after all the men only could pafs the bridge,
they were obliged to leave the mules on the other fide till
the next morning, with inflrudtions to their people, that,
upon the firft appearance of the Galla, they fliould leave
them, and make their befl way over the bridge, throwing
down one of the trees after them. The next morning, two
peafants, fubjedls of Gin giro, fliewed them the ford, where
their beafts pafled over with great difliculty and danger, but

without lofsK

It,

320 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

It was necelTary now to acquaint the king of Gingiro
of their arrival in his kingdom, and to beg to be honoured
with an audience. But he happened at that time to be
employed in the more important bufinefs of conjuration and
witchcraft, without which this fovereign does nothing.

This kingdom of Gingiro may be fixed upon as the firft
on this fide of Africa where we meet v/ith the ftrange prac-
tice of divining from the apparition of fpirits, and from a
diredl communication with the devil : A fuperflition this
which likewife reaches down all along the weftern iide of
this continent on the Atlantic Ocean, in the countries of
Congo, Angola, and Benin. In fpite of the firmeft founda-
tion in true philofophy, a traveller, who decides from the
information and inveftigation of fadts, will find it very dif-
ficult to treat thefe appearances as abfolute fidlion, or as
owing to afuperiority of cunning of one man in over- reach-
ing another. For my own part, I confefs I am equally at a
lofs to affign reafons for dilbelieving the fi(n:ion on which
their pretenfions to fome preternatural inform.ation are
founded, as to account for them by the operation of ordina-
ry caufes. The king of Gingiro found eight days necefiary
before he could admit the ambafl'ador and Fernandes into
his prefence. On the ninth, they received a permiiiion to
go to court, and they arrived there the fame day.

When they came into the prefence of the king he was
feated in a large gallery, open before, like what we call a
balcony, which had fleps from below on the outfide, by
which he afcended and defcended at plcafure. When the
letter which the ambaiTador carried was intimated to him,
he came dov/n from the gallcrv to receive it, a piece of re-

fped

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 321

fpe(5b which he Ihewed to the king of Abyflinia, though he
was neither his fubjedt nor vaflal. He inquired much after
the king's heakh, and flood a Uttle by the ambafTador and
Fernandes, fpeaking by an interpreter. Afterwards he a-
gain returned to his balcony, fat down there, read his
letter, and then correfponded with the ambajDTador by mef-
ages fent from above to them below.

It is impoflible to conceive from this, or any thing that
Fernandes fays, whether the language of Gingiro is pecu-
liar to that country or not. The king of Gingiro read So-
cinios's letter, which was either in the Tigre or Arabic lan-
guage. Fernandes underftood the Arabic, and Fecur Egzie
the Tigre and Amharic. It is not pofliblc, then, to know
what was the language of the king of Gingiro, who read
and underftood Socinios's letter, but fpoke to Fecur Egzie by
an interpreter.

At laft the king of Gingiro told them, that all contained
in the king of AbylTmia's letter was, that he fliouldufc them
well, give them good guard and protection while they were
in his country, and further them on their journey ; which
he faid he would execute with the greatcft pleafure and
punctuality.

The next day, as is ufiial, the ambaiTador and miflionary
carried the king's prefent, chints, calicoe, and other manufac-
tures of India, things that the king elleemed moft. In re-
turn to Fernandes he fent a young girl, whom the father
returned, it not being cuftomary, as he faid, for a Chriflian
prieft to have girls in his company. In exchange for the
girl, the good-natured king of Gingiro fent him a Have of

Vol. II. Sf the

z^-

TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the other fex, and a beautiful mule. With all. refpe<^ to the
fcruples of the fa,ther, L think it would have been fair to
have kept the beautiful mule, and given the young female
Gingerite to his companion in the journey, Fecur Egzie,
who could have had no fcruples.

Feb N ANDES fays he received the boy from the only view
of faving his foul by baptifm. I wonder, fmcc Providence
had thrown the girl firft in his way, by what rule of charity
it was he coufigned her foul to perdition by returning her,
as he was not certain at the time that he might not have
got a mule or camel in exchange for the girl; and then,
upon his owft principles, he certainly was author of the per-
dition of that foul which Providence feemed to have con-
duced by an extraordinary way to the enjoyment of all the
advantages of Chriftianity ; furely the care of Neophytes of
the female fex was not a new charge to the Jefuits in.
Abyflinia.

It feems to be ridiculous for Fernandes to imagine that*
the fovereign of this little Hate called himfelf Gingiro,,
knowing that this word fignified a monkey. His enemies
might give him that name ; but it is not likely he would
adopt it himfelf. And the reafon of that name is ftill more
ridiculous ; for he fays it is becaufe the gallery is like a
monkey's cage. If that was the cafe, all the princes in Con-
go and Angola give their audiences in fuch places. Indeed,,
it feems to me that it is here the cuiloms, ufed in thefe laft-
mentioned parts of Africa, begin, although Gingiro is near-
er the coail of the Indian Ocean than that of the Atlantic.
The colour of the peoj^le at Gingiro is nearly black, llill it

is-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3^5

is not the black of a negro ; the features ar^ fmall and
llraight as in Europe or Abyflinia.

All matters in this ftate arc conduced by magic ; and
we may fee to what point the human underftanding is de-
bafed in the diftance of a few leagues. Let no man fay that
ignorance is the caufe, or heat of cHmate, which is the un-
inteUigible obfervation generally made on thefe occafions.
For why fhould heat of climate addicT: a people to magic
more than cold? or, why fhould ignorance enlarge a man's
powers, fo that, overleaping the bounds of common intelli-
gence, it fhould extend his facidty of converfing with a new
fet of beings in another world ? The Ethiopians, who near-
ly furround Abyflinia, are blacker than thofe of Gingiro,
their country hotter, and are, like them, an indigenous
people that have been, from the beginning, in the fame part
where they now inhabit. Yet the former neither adore the
devil, nor pretend to have a communication with him: they
have no human facrifices, nor are there any traces of fuch
enormities having prevailed among them. A communica-
tion with the fea has been always open, and the Have-trade
prevalent from the earlicll times ; while the king of Gin-
giro, fhut up in the heart of the continent, facrifices thofe
llaves to the devil which he has no oppoi tunity to fell to
man. For at Gingiro begins that accurlcd ciiflom of ma-
king the fliedding of human blood a neceflary part in all
folcmnitics'. How far to the fouthward this reaches I do
not know ; but I look upon this to be the geographical
bounds of the reign of the devil on the north fide of the
equator in the peninfula of Africa.

S f 2 This

324 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

This kingdom is hereditary in one family, but does not
defcend in courfe to the eldell fon, the eledlion of the parti-
cular prince being in the nobles ; and thus far, indeed, it
feems to refemble that of their neighbours in Abyffinia.

When the king of Gingiro dies, the body of the deceafed
is wrapped in a fine cloth, and a cow is killed. They then
put the body fo wrapped up into the cow's fkin. As foon as
this is over, all the princes of the royal family fly and hide
themfelvesin the bufhes ; while others,intrulled with the elec-
tion, enter into the thickets, beating everywhere about as if
looking for game. At laft a bird of prey, called in their coun-
try Liber, appears, and hovers over the perfon deftined to be
king, crying and making a great noife without quitting his
ftation. By this means the perfon deftined to be eleded is
found, furrounded, as is reported, by tigers, lions, panthers,
and fuchlike wild beafts. This is imagined to be done by
magic, or the devil, elfe there are everywhere enough of
thefe beafts lying in the cover to furnifh materials for fuch
a tale, without having recourfe to the power of magic to
aflemble them.

As they find their king, then, like a wild beaft, fo his be*
haviour continues the fame after he is found. He flies upon
them with great rage, refifting to the laft, wounding and
killing all he can reach without any confideration, till,
overcome by force, he is dragged to a throne, which he fills
in a manner perfectly correfponding to the rationality of
the ceremonies of his inftalment.

Although there are many that have a right to feek af-
ter this king, yet, when he is difcovered, it does not follow,

4 that

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 325

that the fame perfon who finds him Ihould carry him to
his coronation ; for there is a family who have a right to
difpute this honour with the firft pofTeflbr ; and, therefore,
in his way from the wood, they fet upon the people in
whofe hands he is, and a battle enfues, where feveral are
killed or wounded ; and if thefe laft, by force, can take him
out of the hands of the firft finder, they enjoy all the ho-
nours due to him that made him king.

Before he enters his palace two men are to be flarn ;
one at the foot of the tree by which his houfe is chiefly
fupported ; the other at the threfhold of his door, which is.
befmeared with the blood of the vidim. And, it is faid, (I
have heard this often in Abyflinia from people coming
from that country) that the particular family, whofe privi-
ledge it is to be flaughtered, fo far from avoiding it, glory
in the occafion, and offer themfelves willingly to meet it. —
To return to our travellers —

The father and the ambaffador, leaving the kingdom of
Gingiro, proceeded in a direction due eaft, and entered the
kingdom of Cambat, depending ftill on the empire of Abyf.
finia, and there halted at Sangara, which feems to be the
principal place of the province, governed at tliat time by a
Moor called Amdmal.

On the left of Cambat are the Guragues, who live in
fome beggarly villages, but moftly in caves and holes in
the mountains. The father was detained two days at San-
gara, at the perfuafion of the inhabitants there, who told
him there was a fair in the neighbourhood, and people
would pafs ia numbers to accompany him, fo that there

would

326 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

would be no danger. But, after flaying that time at San-
gara, he found that the intention of this delay was only to
give time to fonie horfemen of the Guragues to affemble,
in order to attack the caravan on the road, which they did
foon after; and, though they were repulfed, yet it was
with lofs of one of the company, a young man related to
Socinios, who, being wounded with a poifoned arrow, died
fome days after.

In the mean time, an A'byffinian, called Manquer^ overtook
their caravan. As he was a fchifmatic, his intention was
very v/cll known to be that of difappointing their journey ;
and he prevailed with Amelmal fo far as to make him
. fufpecft that the recommendations which the amballador
brought were falfe. He, therefore, infilled on the ambaffa-
dor's Haying there till he (hould get news from court. Amel-
mal, Manquer, and the ambaflador, each difpatched a mef-
fenger, who tarried three months on the road, and at laft
brought orders from the king to difpatch them immedi-
ately.

As Amelmal now faw the bad inclination of Manquer,
he detained him at Cambat that he might occafion no more
difficulties in their way. He gave the ambaflador likewife
feven horfes, which v/crc faid to be the bell prefents to the
princes or governors that were in his road, and difpatched
the travellers with another companion, Baharo, who had
brought the letters from the king.

Prom Cambat they entered the fmall territorj^ of Alaba,
independent of the king of Abyflinia, whofe governor was
called Aliko^ a Moor. This man, already prejudiced againfl

the

THE SOURCE OF THENILE. y^^

the miflionary and the ambafTador, was ftill hefitating whe-
ther to allow them to proceed, when Manqucr, who fled
from Amelmal, arrived. Aliko, hearing from this in-
cendiary, that the father's errand was to bring Portii-
guefe that way from hrdia to defcroy the Mahometan faith,
as in former times, burft into fuch violent rage as to
threaten the father, and all with him, with death, which
nothing but the reality of the king's letters, of which he had
got alTurance from Baharo, and fome regard' to the law of.
nations, on account of the ambafl'ador Fecur Egzie, could
have prevented, hi the mean time, he put them all in clofe
prifon, where feveral of the Portuguefe died. At laft, after
a council held, in which Manquer gave his voice for piu-
ting them to death, a man of fuperior character in that
country advifed the fending them back to Amelmal, the
way that they came ; and this meafure was accordingly adop-
ted.

They returned, therefore, from Cambat, and thence to
Gorgora, without any fort of advantage to themfelves or to
us, only what arifes from that opporttmity of redifying the
geography of the country through which they palled ; and
even for this they, have fumifliedbut very fcanty materials,
in comparifon of what we might reafonably have expedled,
without having occafioned any additional fatigue to them-
felves.

We have already faid, that though Socinios had no6
openly declared his refolution of embracing the Catholic
faith, yet he had gone fo far as to declare, upon the dif-
pute held between the Catholic and fchifmatic clergy, in
his own prefence and that of the Abuna, that the Abyffinian

3- difputants

328 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

difputants were vanquifhed, and ought to have been con-
vinced from the authority of their own books, efpecially
that of Haimanout Abou, the faith of the ancient fathers
and dodlors of their church received by them from the be-
ginning as the undoubted rule of faith : That the dodrine
of the Catholic church being only what was taught in the
Haimanout Abou concerning the two natures in Chrift, this
point was to all intents and purpofes fettled ; and, therefore,
he fignified it as his will, that, for the future, no one fliould
deny that there are two natures in Chrift, diftindb in them-
felves, but divinely united in one perfon, which was Chrift ;
declaring at the fame time, that in cafe any perfon fhould
hereafter deny, or call this in doubt, he would chaftife him
for feven years.

The Abuna, on the contrary, fupported by the half-bro-
ther of the king, Emana Chriftos, (brother to Ras Sela Chrif-
tos) publifhed a fentence of excommunication, by affixing
it to the door of one of the churches belonging to the pa-
lace, in which he declared all perfons accurfed who fliould
maintain two natures in Chrift, or embrace or vindicate
any of the errors of the church of Rome.

The king had received various complaints of the Agows,
who had abufed his officers, and refufed payment of tri-
bute. He had fet out upon an expedition againft them, in-
tending to winter in that country ; but, hearing of the rafli
condudl of the Abuna, and the leagufs that were in con-
fequence everywhere forming againft him, he returned to
Gorgora, and fcnt to the Abuna, that unlefs, without delay,
he recalled the excommunication he hadpubliftied,he fliould
be forthwith puniflied with lofs of liis head. This language

was

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. '329

was too clear and explicit to admit a doubt of its meaning ;
and the Abuna, giving way for the time, recalled his ex-
communication.

A CONSPIRACY was next formed by Emana Chriftos, the
eunuch Kefla Wah ad mafter of the houfehold to the king,
and Julius governor of Tigre, to murder Socinios in his pa-
lace ; for which purpofe they defired an audience upon
weighty affairs, which being granted by the king, the three
confpirators were admitted into his prefence.

It was concerted that Julius fhould prefent a petition of
fuch a nature as probably to produce a refufal ; and, in the
time of the altercation that would enfue, when the king
might be off his guard, the other two were to ftab him.

Just before the converfation began, he was advifcd of his
danger by a page, and Julius prelenting his petition, the
king granted it immediately, before Emana Chriftos could
come up to affift in the difpute which they expedted ; and
this confpirator appearing in the inftant, the king, who had
got up to walk, invited them all three up to the terrace.
This was the moil favourable opportunity they could have
wifhed. They, therefore, deferred affaulting him till they
Ihould have got up to the terrace : The king entered the
door of the private flair, and drew it haftily after him. It
liad a fpring-lock made by Peter Paez, which was fixed in
the infide, and could not be opened from without, fo that the
king was left fecure upon the terrace. Upon this the con-
fpirators, fearing themfelves difcovered, retired, and from
that time refolved to keep out of the king's power.

Vol. II. T t At

330 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

At that period, Socinios had determined upon an expe-
dition againll the Funge, that is, againll the blacks of Sen-
naar, who had entered his country in a violent manner, de-
ftroying his people, and carrying them off as flaves. It was,
therefore, concerted, that while the king was bufied far off
with the Funge, Emana Chrillos, Julius, and the eunuch
Kefla, at once Ihould attack Sela Chriftos, at whom, next to
the king, the confpirators chiefly aimed; and the caufe was,
that the king had taken the polls of Ras and the govern-
ment of Gojam from Emana Chriftos, who was a fchifma-
tic, and had given them to his younger brother, Sela Chriftos,
a violent Catholic^

Julius began by a proclamation in Woggora, in which he
commanded, that thofe who believed two natures in Chrift
Ihould immediately leave the province, and that all thofe
who were friends to the Alexandrian faith fhould forthwith
repair to him, and fight in defence of it. He then ordered
the goods of all the Catholics in Tigre to be confifcated, and
ftraightway marched to furprife Sela Chriftos then in Go-
jan!i. But the king received intelligence of his defigns, and
returned into Dembea before it was v/ell known that he had
left it. This, at firft, very much difconcerted Julius ; and
the rather, that Emana Chriftos and Kefla Wahad kept aloof,
nor had they declared themfelves openly yet, nor did they
feem inclined to do it till Julius had firft tried his fortune
with the king.

This rebel, now full of prefumption, advanced with his
army to where the Nile iflues out of the great lake Tzana ;
and there he found the Abuna Simon, who had ftaid for
fame weeks in one of the iflands upon pretence of devotion.

Simon,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 331

Simon, after having confirmed Julius in his refolution of
murdering the king, his father-in-law, or of dying in de-
fence of the Alexandrian faith, if neceflary, perfuaded him
to lay afide his defign of marching againft Sela Chriftos,
but rather immediately to return back and furprife the
king before thefe two joined.

Julius readily adopted this advice of the Abuna ; while
that prieft, to fliew he was fincerc, offered to accompany
him in perfon, and fhare his fortune. This was accepted
with pleafure by Julius, who next morning received the
Abuna's benedicftion at the head of his army, and affifled at
a folcmn excommunication pronounced againft the king,
Sela Chriftos, the fathers, and all the Catholics at court.

The king's firft thought, upon hearing thefe proceedings,
was to fend fome troops to the affiftance of Sela Chriftos,
warning him of his danger ; but, upon hearing meafures
were changed, and that the firft defign was againft himfclf,
lie marched to meet Julius, and fent a mefliige to Sela Chri-
ftos to join him with all poffible fpced ; and, as he was an
excellent general, he took his poft fo judicioufly that he
could not be forced to fight againft his will till fuccour was
brought him, vvdthout great difadvantage to the enemy.

Julius, fearing the jundion of Sela Chriftos, endeavoured
to fight the two armies feparately. For which purpofe he ad-
vanced and pitched his camp clofe within fight of that of
Socinios, refolving to force him to an engagement. This was
thought a very dangerous ineafurc, and was contrary to the
advice of all his friends, who faw how judicioufly Socinios
had chofen his ground ; and it was knov/n to the meaneft

T t 2 foldicr

332 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

foldier on both fides, how confummate the king was in the
art of war.

But the Abuna having perfuaded him, that, as foon as
the foldiers fhould fee him, they would abandon the king
and join his colours, early in the morning he put on his
coat of mail, and, mounted on a ftrong and fiery horfe, was
proceeding to the king's camp, when Malacotawit, his wife,
(daughter to Socinios) perfuaded him at leafl to take fome
food to enable him to bear the fatigues of the day. But
difdaining fuch advice, he only anfwered furioufly, "That he
had fv/orn not to tafte meat till he had brought her her fa-
ther's head ;" and, without longer waiting for the refl of
his troops, he leaped over the enemy's lines in a quarter
where the Abuna had promifed he fhould be well re-
ceived..

Indeed, on his firfl appearance, no one there oppofed his
paflage, but feemed rather inclined to favour him as the
Abuna had promifed : And he had now advanced near to a
body of Tigre foldiers that were the guard of the king's
tent, loudly crying, " Where is your emperor ?" when one
of thefe with a (lone ftruck him fo rudely upon the fore-
head that it felled him to the ground ; and, being now
known, another foldier (called Amda) thruft him through
with a fword, and thereafter killed him with many wounds.
His head was cut off and carried to Socinios.

The few that attended him periflied like wife among the
foldiers. Nor did any of Julius's army think of a battle,
but all fought their fafety by a flight. The king's troops
being all frelli, purfucd the fcattered rebels with great vi-
gour.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 333

gour, and many were llain, without any lofs on the part of
the royahfts.

The Abuna Simon had, for a confiderable time, flood as
an ccclefiaftic, unhurt and unheeded, among the flying
troops. Being at laft diftinguiflied by his violent vocifera-
tion, and repeated imprecations upon the king and the con-
querors, he was flain by a common foldier, who cut his
head off and carried it to Socinios, who ordered it, with the
body, to be taken from the field of battle and buried in a
church-yard.

Socinios gave the fpoil of the camp to his foldiers. It
was faid, that no time, fmce the Turks were defeated under
Mahomet Gragne, was there ever fo mucli treafure found
in a camp. The pride of Julius induced him to carry all
his riches with him. They were the fruits of avarice and
oppreflion in all the principal polls of the empire, and which
in their turn he had enjoyed. They were likewife the fpoils
of the Catholics, newly acquired by the confifcations made
fince his rebellion. A great number of cattle was likewife
taken, which the king diftributcd among the priells of the
feveral churches, the judges, and other lay-ofHccrs. Very
great rejoicings were made everywhere, in the midft of
which arrived Ras Sela Chriftos with his army from Go-
jam, and was flruck with aflonifliment on feeing the fmall
number of troops with which the king had been cxpofed to
fight Julius, and how complete a vidory he had gained
with them.

In the mean time, Emana Chriilos had retired to a high
mountain in Gojam, called Melca Aviba^ vvhcre he continued

X to

334 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

to excite the people of that province to rebel and join Julius,
whofe arrival he daily expected, that, together, they might
fight Sela Chriftos. But the raflmefs of Julius, and the
march of Sela Chriftos to the king's affiftance, had very
much difconcerted their whole fcheme.

Af Christos, who commanded inGojam after the depar-
ture of Ras Sela Chriftos, fent to Melca Amba, " reproaching
Emana Chriftos with feditious pradtices ; upbraiding him
with the unnatural part he aded, being a brothcr-german
to Sela Chriftos, and brother to Socinios by the fame mo-
ther, while Julius was married to his daughter, and had
conftantly enjoyed the great places of the empire. He
afked him, What they could be more ? Kings they could
not be, neither he nor Julius. Ras, the next place in the
empire, they both had enjoyed ; and, if the king had taken
that office lately from Emana Chriftos, he had not given it
to a ftranger, but to his brother Sela Chriftos, who, it was
but fair, ftiould have his turn ; and that the importance of
his family was not the lefs increafed by it. Laftly, he re-
prefented the danger he ran, if Julius made his peace, of
falling a facrifice as the advifer of the rebellion."

Emana Christos anfwered, " That though he rebelled
with Julius, and at the fame time, yet it was not as a fol-
lower of Julius, nor againft the king ; but that he took up
arms in defence of the ancient faith of his country, which
was now, without reafon, trodden under foot in favour of a
religion, v/hich was a falfe one if they underftood it, and an
ufelefs one if they did not. He faid he was fatisfied of his
own danger ; but neither his connection with the king, nor
Jiis bcmg related to Sela Chriftos, could vs eigh with him

3 againft:

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 335-

againfl: his duty to God and his country. The king and his
brother might be right in embracing the Romifli religion,
becaufe they were convinced of the truth of it : he had
ufed, however, the fame means, and the fame appUcation,
had heard the arguments of the fame fathers, which, un-
luckily for him, had convinced him their religion was not
a true, but a falfc one. For the fame reafons he continued
to be an Alexandrian, which his brother alledged had made
him a Roman. He, therefore, begged Af Chriflos to confi-
der, by a review of things fmce David III.'s time, hov/
mucli blood the change would coft to the kingdom by the
attempt, whether it fucceeded or not ; and whether, after
that confideration, it was worth trying the experiment."

This artful and fenfiblc meflage, fcnt by a man of the
capacity and experience of Emana Chriftos, ealily convinced
Af Chriftos that it was not by argument Emana Chriftos
was to be brouglit to his duty ; but, like a good officer, he
kept up correfpondence with him, that he might be maftcr
of the intelligence to what place he i-etircd.

Soon after Sela Chriftos had left Gojam to join tlie
king, by forced marches he furrounded Melca Amba,
wliere Emana Chriftos was, and had aftembled a number
of troops to defcend into the plain and create a diverlion in
favour of Julius. The mountain had neither water in it
nor food for fuch a number of men, nor had Emana Chrif-
tos forces enough to rilk a battle with an officer of the
known experience of Af Chriftos, who had chofen the
ground at his full leifurc, and with complete knowledge
of it.

The.j<e

336 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Three days the army within the mountain held out
without comphiining; but, in the evening of the third day,
fome monks and hermits [Jjoly men^ the abettors of this re-
bel hon) came to Af Chriftos to remonilrate, that there were
feveral convents and villages in the mountain, alfo fmall
fprings, and barley enough to anfwer the neceflities of the
ordinary inhabitants, but were not enough for fuch an ad-
ditional number which had taken forcible poiTeffion of the
wells, and drank up all the water, to the immediate danger
of the whole inhabitants perifhing with thirft.

To this Af Chriftos anfwered, That the reducing the
mountain, and the taking Emana Chriftos, was what was
given him in commiftion by the king, to attain which end
he would carefully improve all the means in his power. He
was forry, indeed, for the diftrefs of the convents in the
mountain, but could not help it ; nor would he fufFer one
of them to remove or come down into the plain, nor would
he difcontinue blockading the mountain while Emana
Chriftos was there and alive. No other alternative, there-
fore, remained but the delivering up Emana Chriftos. His
army would have fought for him againft a common enemy,
but againft thirft their (liields and fwords were ufelefs.

Af Christos, with his prifoncr, forthwith proceeded to
join the king, and pafled the Nile into Begemder. At crof-
{xwg the river Baftiilo, they were informed of the defeat and
death of Julius and the Abuna. The meft!enger had alfo
letters for Em.ana Chriftos, whom the king did not know to
be yet prifoner : among thefe was one from Sela Chriftos,
in which he upbraided his brother with his unnatural trea-
fon, and affined him fpecdily of a fate like that of Julius.

Emana

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 337

Eniana Chriftos received this intelligence almoll dead with
fear, for never was a prophecy made which feemed to have
needed lefs time to accomplifti than this of his brother's.

Af Christos furrendered his prifoner to the king at Dan-
caz, who immediately aflembled a full convocation of judges
Dt all degrees ; and the prifoner being ordered to anfwer to
his charge concerning the rebellion of Julius and his con-
fpiracy againft the king's life, he took the part he had been
advifed, and palliated the whole of his acElions, without pofi-
tively denying any one of them, and fubmitted to the king's
mercy. The judges, confidering the defence, unanimoully
found him guilty of death ; but the king, whofe laft vote,
v/hen fitting in judgment, fupcrfedes and overturns all the
reft, reprieved, and fent him prifoner to Amhara,

Hitherto the king had contented himfelf with fixing
two points in favour of the Roman church, in contraditSlion
to that of Alexandria. The lirft denounced punifliment to
every one who did not believe that there are two natures in
Chrift, and that he is perfect: God and perfec^l man, without
confufion of perfons. The fccond was rather a point of dif-
cipline than of faith ; yet it was urged as fuch, by declaring
it to be unlawful to obferve Saturday, the ancient Jcwilh
fabbath. The iirft of thefe, if it was not the caufe, had been
alTumed as the pretext for the rebellion of Julius. The fe-
cond produced that of Jonael governor of Begemdcr, of
which we are now to fpeak. But thus far only the king
had gone. He had not openly joined the chtirch of Rome,
nor as yet renounced that of Alexandria, nor forced any one
elfe to do la

Vol. II. U u The

33,8, TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The firft prelude to JonaeFs rebellion was an anonymous
ktter written to the king, in which all the fcale and lame
arguments of the Alexandrians were raked together, and
Hated with a degree of prefumption worthy of the igno-
rance and obllinacy of thofe from whom they came. This,,
though ridiculous, and below notice in point of argument,
offended greatly both the king and the Jefuits, by the afpe-
rity of its termsyand the perfonal applicadons contained in-
it. The king was treated as another Diocleiian, thirfting af-
ter Chriftian blood, and for this devoted to hell; as were al-
fo the Jefuits, whom they called relations of Pilate, in allu--
fion to their origin from Rome.

The king, grievoufly offended, added this injunilion to

the former proclamation, "■ That all out-door work, fuch as

plowing and fowing, lliould be publicly followed by the

hufbandman, on the Saturday, under penalty of paying a

web of cotton clothj for the firft omiffion, wliich cloth

was to be of five fliillings value ; and the fecond offence,

was to be punifhed by a confifcation of moveables, and-

the crime not to be pardoned for feven years ;" — the greatcft

punifliment for mifdemeanors in Abyffmia. To this Socinios

added, viva-voce, from his throne, that he never aboUJhed^ but

explained and eftabliflied their religion,.which always taught,

as their own books could tellify,.that Chrill was perfect God

and perfect man, two dilUncS:' natures united in one hypof-

tafis of the eternal word ; neither was it in compliance with.

the Jefuits that he abrogated the obfervation.of the Jewilh

fabbathj but in obedience to the council of Chalcedon,

which was founded in the holy fcriptures, for which he was

T^ady at all. times to lofe his life, though he fhould endea-

jt- v-Qur

THE SOUI^GE or THE NILE. 335

vour firfl to inflict chat punifliment on fuch as were its ene-
mies."

In order to fhcw that he did not m^an to trifle, he Order-
ed the tongue of a monk (called Abba Af Chriflos) to be
cut out, for denying the two natures in Chrift ; and Buco,
one of the principal generals of his court (who afterwards
died a zealous Catholic) he ordered to be beaten with rods,
and degraded from his employment, for obferving the Jew-
ifli fabbath.

The king, having given thefe public, tinequivocal tefli-
monies of his refolution, put himfelf at the head of his
army, and marched againft Jonael ; but that rebel, not da-
ring to meet his offended fovereign, retired into the moun-
tains ; whereupon the king laid wafte the country of the
Galla, who had prote(5ted him. This occafioncd a divifion
among the Galla themfelvcs. One party declaring for the
king, apprehended Jonael with intention to deliver him up ;
but he was foon refcued out of their hands by the contrary-
party, enemies to Socinios. His protc(5tors being once known,
the manner of working his deftrucftion was foon known
likcwife. The king's prefents made their way to that
faithlefs people, the only barbarians with whom the right
of hofpitality is not cftabliflicd. Upon receiving the king's
bribe, they murdered Jonael, cut his head off, and fent it to
the king.

The Teljellion in Damot was not fo eafdy quelled. Sela
Chriftos, a zealous Catliolic, was fent againft the rebels to
inforce the proclamation with regard to the fabbath. But
as his connexions were very confiderable among them, he

U u 2 chofc

340 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

chofe firft to endeavour, by fair means, to induce the igrno-.
rant favages to return to reafon and obedience. With this
view, he fent to expoftulate with them ; and to beg that, in
articles of faith, they would fufFer themfelves to be exami-
ned and infbru6ted by men of learning and good life ; not
by thofe monks, ignorant like themfelves, from whom
they only could learn vice, blafphemy, and rebellion. To
this the Damots anfwered, as one man , That, if his friend-
ship for them and good intentions were real, he fhould give
them, for proof, the immediate burning of all the Latin
books which had been tranllated into the Ethiopian lan-
guage, and that, then, he fhould hang thofe Jefuits who
were with him upon a high tree.,

We are not, however, to confidcr this was really from a
convi(5lion or perfuaiion of the Damots, wdio inhabit a pro-
vince bordering upon the Agows and Gongas, and their
chriilianity much upon a par v/ith that of either of thefe
nations. But the fact was, that the fanatics and zealots for
the Alexandrian faith had retired in great numbers to Da-
mot, as to a province the word affedled to the king, from
the recent violence of Julius, who, in an expedition againfl:
the Shangalla, by order of the king had driven off the cat-
tle of the peaceable Damots, who had been then guilty of
no offence. And as thefe were ready to rebel for a quarrel
merely their own, it was very eafy for the fchifmatical
monks to add this religious grievance to the funi of the
preceding.

Sela Christos had with him about 7000 men, mod of
them Catholics and veteran foidiers ; and among theic 40
PortuguefCj partly on foot, armed with mufqucts, the others

1 on

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 341

on horfeback, clad in coats of mail. Very different was the
army of Damots. They were fuperior in number for they
exceeded 12000 men, andamongthele were 400 monks, well
armed with fwords, lances, and fliields, earneftly bent upon
the obtaining a crown of martyrdom in defence of their re-
ligion, from the innovation propofed by Socinios. At the
head of thefe was a fanatical monk (one Batacu) who pro-
mised them armies of angels, with flaming fwords, who
fhould flay their enemies, but render them invulnerable,
as he declared himfelf to be, either by fword or lance.

The battle was fought at the foot of the mountains of
Amid Amid, on the 6th of 0(flober 1620. Sela Chriftos,
fure of vidtory, and unwilling to flaughter a people he had
been ufed to prote<5l, began firft to fliew his fiiperiority in
flight flcirmifhes. After which, deflring a parley, he fent
meffengers to them, begging them to conflder their own
danger, and ofl'ering them a general amnefty upon their
fubmiflion. Thefe meffengers were not allowed to approach,
for fliowers of arrows that were poured upon them ; fo the
battle began with great animofity on both fides. The Da-
mots were foon broken and put to flight by the fuperiority
of Sela Chriftos's foldiers. But the 400 monks, already men-
tioned, fought moll defperately in defiance of numbers, nor
did they feek their fafety by a flight. One hundred and
eighty of them were killed on the place they occupied, vali-
antly fighting to the very laft. A rare example, and feldom
found in hiftory, that fanatics like thefe, always ready to
rebel, fliould pcrfift and facrifice their lives to the follies of
their own preaching.

As

342 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

As for their celeilial auxiliaries, whofe affillance they were
promifed as far as could be difcovered, ^they neither did
harm nor good. We may fuppofe they flood neuter. But
Batacu the hermit, ringleader of this fedition, whofe body
was fo miraculouily armed, that neither fword nor fpear
could make any impreffion upon it, was unfortunately thruft
through with a lance in the very beginning of the engage-
ment, which greatly ferved to difcredit thefe fupernatural
aids.

It was in this year 1620, that Socinios marched into Be-
gemder againft Jonael. At which time Peter Paez was em-
ployed at Gorgora in building the church there. The king
returned immediately to Dancaz after the defeat of Jonael,
and.pafled his winter at that place.

It was on the i6th of January 1621, that the dedication
of the church of Gorgora was made by Peter Paez ; and at
that time the king was in Begemder. Upon his return to
Dancaz he met Paez at Gorgora for the firft time. He re-
mained at Gorgora till the 3d of Oftober of that year, when
the news of the defeat of the Damots by Sela Chriflos arri-
ved, which he received in prefence of that prieft at Gorgora.
In this, both the Jefuits and Abyllinian annals agree. It is
not then poilible that Peter Paez could have been with the
king at Sacala, or Geefli, in the country of the Agows on
the 2 ill of March 1621*; for both Peter Paez and Socinios

were at that time in Gorgora.

At

This will be more enlarged upon hereafter.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. J4j

At this time the Etiiiopic memoirs of Socinios's reign
interrupted their coiitiniral topics of lebelUon and bloodlhed,
to record a very trifling anecdote ; which, however, I infert^
as it ferves to give fome idea of the limplicity and ignorance
of thofe times.

The hiftorian fays^ that this year there was brought into
Abyflinia, a bird called Para^ which was about the bigncfs
of a hen, and fpoke all languages ^hidian, Portuguefe, and
Arabic. It named the king's name -..although its voice was
that of a man, it could likewife neigh like a horfe, and mew
like a cat, but did not fing like a bird. It was produced be-
fore the afTembly of judges, of the priefls, and the azages
of court, and there it fpoke with great gravity. The allem-
bly, after confidering eircumftances well, were unanimoully
of opinion, that the cviL fpirit had no part in,, endowing it
■with thefc talents. But to be certain of this, it was thought-
moft prudent to take the advice of Ras Sela Chriilos, theri^-
in Gojam, who might, if he thought (n\, confult the fuperi-
or of Mahebar SelalTe ; to them it was fcnt, but it died on
the road. The hiftorian clofes his narrative by tins wife
reflection on the parrot's deaths " Such is the lot of alt
" flefh."

The king, immediately after his viiflory over Jonael, had^
refolved to throw off' the mafk, and openly to profefs the
Catholic religion. The fuccefs of Sela Chriflos againft the-
Damots had confirmed him. He had pafled the rainy fea>^
fon, as I have- before obferved, between Gorgora and Dan-
caz ; and, in the ufual time, in the month of November,,
marched to Foggora, a narrow ftripe of plain country, reach-
ing from Emfras to Dara, bounded on ona Ude by the lake:

Denin-

J44 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Dembca, and on the other by the mountains of Begem-
der.

For this purpofe he fent to Peter Paez, his ordinary con«
feflbr, to come to him ; and, having told him his refohition,
he declared, that, in proof of the lincerity of his converiion,
he had put away ail his wives (of whom he had feveral of
the firft quality, and many children by them) and retained
only his firft, by whom he had the eldeft of his fons, deftin-
ed to fucceed him in the empire.

Paez, having received his confeffion, and public renun-
ciation of the Alexandrian faith, returned to Gorgora fmg-
ing his nunc dimittls, as if the great end of his million was now
completecl^; nor was he deceived in his prognoftication. Per,
having too much heated himfelf with zeal in travelling, he
was, upon his arrival, taken with a violent fever ; and, tho'
every fort of remedy was adminiftered to him by Antonio
Fernandes, yet he died on the third of May 1623, with great
demonftrations of piety and refignation, and firm convidtion,
that he had done his duty in an adtive, innocent, and well-
ipent life.

He had been feven years a captive in Arabia in the hands
of the Moors, and nineteen years miffionary in Abyffinia,
in the worft of times, and had always extricated himfelf
from the moft perilous fituations , with honour to himfelf
and advantage to his religion. In perfon, he was very tali
and ftrong ; but lean from continual labour and abftinence.
He was red faced ; which, Tellez fays, proceeded from the
r£ligious %varmtb of his heart. He had a very good under-

ftanding.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 345

Handing, which he had cukivated, every hour of his Hfe, by
ftudy or practice.

Besides poITefling univerfal knowledge in fcholaftic divini-
ty, and the books belonging to his profeilion, he underllood
Greek, Latin, and Arabic well, was a good mathematician, an
excellent mechanic, wrought always with his own hands,
and in building was at once a careful, active labourer, and an
archite<5l of refined tafte and judgment. He was, by his
own ftudy and induftry, painter, mafon, carver, carpenter,
fmith, farrier, quarrier, and was able to build convents and
palaces, and furnifli them without calling one workman to
his alliftance ; and in this manner he is faid to have furnifli-
ed the convent at Collela, as alfo the palace and convent at
Gorgora,

With all thcfe accompliflinients, he was fo affable, com-
paflionate, and humble in his nature, that he never had op-
portunity of convcrfing, even with heretics, without leaving
them his friends. He was remarkably chearful in his tem-
per ; and the moft forward always in promoting innocent
mirth, of that puerile fpecics which we in England cally?///,
in great requeft among the young men in Abyffinia, who
fpend much of their time in this fort of converfation, whe-
ther in the city or the camp. Above all, he was a patient,
diligent inftru(5tor of youth; and the greateft part of his dif-
eiples died in the perfccution that foon followed, refolutely
maintaining the truths of that religion their preceptor firfl
had taught them. In a word, he was the hinge upon which
the Catholic religion turned. He had found the feeds of it
fown in the country for a hundred years before his time,
which had borne little fruit, and was then apparently on

Vol. II. X X the

346 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the decline. Nineteen years of this mofl. active mifllonary^
and the death of three kings, had advanced it only fo fac
as to be embraced publicly by one of them; after Paez's
death, in fix years it fell, though fupported mofl llrenuoudly
by a king prodigal of the blt)od of hisfubjects in this caufcj
by a patriarch fent from Pome, and by above 20 very zeal-*
Qus and adlive milTionaries ; and, as far as my forefight caa
carry me, it. is fo entirely fallen, that, unlefs by a fpecial mi-
racle of Providence, wrought for that purpofe,JtL never wiU
rife again.

The king's renunciation of the Alexandrian faith was^
followed by a very ftrong, or rather violent manifefto, and
we need not be at a lofs to guefs whom he, employed to
draw it up. h begins by aflerting the fup^-emacy, of. tlie
church of Rome, as the fee of St Peter ; it mentions the
three firft general councils, which condemned Arius, Mace-
donius, and Neftorius ; next quotes the council of ChaU
cedon, as the fourth general council, as having juftly con-
demned Diofcurus ; but fays not a, word of the council o]f
Ephefus, which the Abyffinians receive inftead of that of
Chalcedon ; infifts largely upon the two natures in Chrift ;
then, leaving the patriarchs of Alexandria, it attacks not the
dodrine, but the morals of the Abunas,.fent from Alexandria
into Abyflinia/, accufes the ecclefijiilicsin generalof fimony and
paying money to the Abuna for their ordination, (a well-,
founded part of the charge) which I fear continues to this day.

The Abuna Marcus was, it is there faid, convia:ed by So-
cinios, or Melee Segued, of a crime of fuch .. turpitude that
the name of it fliould never ftain paper. He was degraded
ai^dhinifliedto.the iflandof Dek. His fucceiTor Chriftodulu^

had

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 347

had many concubines. Abuna Petros, who fucceeded, took
the wife of a poor Egyptian, and lived with her ; he then
excommunicated his fovereign Jacob, after he had reigned
feven years, and died in battle in the a(5tual commiflion of
treafon, fighting againft the prince.

Simon, the laft Abuna, befides living in adultery with the
wife of an Egyptian called Matti, kept feveral young wo-
men with him as concubines; and being dete(5led in having
a daughter by one of them, with a view to conceal it, he
caufed the child to be expofed to be devoured by the hysena.
After living in conflant difobedience to God's law, he joined
the crime of rebellion to the repeated breach of every com-
mand in the dfcalogue ; and appearing in battle, and ex-
communicating his fovereign, God (fays the manifefto) de-
livered him into our victorious hands, and he was flain by
a common foldier in the very commiflion of his crime.

It muft be owned, we cannot have a worfe pi(5ture of any
Chrillian church than that here given of the bifhop's church
of Alexandria. Charity fhould induce us to hope fome exag-
geration had crept into it. Yet when we confider that the
fads mentioned were all within the fpacc of forty years,
and confequently muft have been within the knowledge, not
only of Socinios, but of many people then alive and at court,,
we cannot, with the impartiality of an hiftorian, deny our
apprehenfions, that thefe charges were but too- well founded.

HowEV£R this may be, neither the king's example, nor his
ananifefto, had the efFe<ft he defired. A rebel, whom the
annals call the fon of Gabriel, declared himfelf againft the
king in Amhara,Juft at the time that Socinios, miflcd by

X X 3 the

348 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the enemies of Sela Chriftos, had begun to entertain fufpi^
cion of his loyalty, and had deprived him of the govern-
ment of Gojam and tlie Agows. Finding, after an examina-
tion, there was no perfon that v;as quahfied to bring this
affair to a happy ilTue but Sela eiiriftos,. he replaced him in
his government of Gojam, giving him, at the fame time,
orders to mareh againft the fon of Gabriel, into Amhara.

This command of the king, Ras Sela Chriilbs foon com-
plied with, and, upon his firft appearance in that province,
the rebel retired to a high mountain which he made his place
of arms, the top producing both provifions and water fuffi*
cent to maintain a. large garrifon. ,

The Ras, feeing that force availed nothing, had recourfe
to the ufual trap thefe rebels fall into. Weary of confine-
ment on the mountain, fenfible that he was by himfelf too^
weak to leave it, wliile fuch an enemy expedled him below, ,
he accepted the friendfliip of the neighboiu'ing Galla, who
olTered to join him in fuch numbers as to enable him to.
defcend from the mountain, and try his fortune in a battle,.
The treaty was concluded, and the jundlion no fooner ef-
fec^ted, than the faithlefs Galla, before gained by the Ras,.
fell upon the fon of Gabriel with their clubs, and killed him;
on the fpot, having fo mangled his body that fcarce a piece-
was referved to fend to his enemy.

The joy this vi(5lory occafioned at court met with a great
addition by the arrival of the Romifli patriarch. It has been •
before obferved, that the king had himfelf wrote letters to
the pope and king of Spain, declaring his intentions to turn-
Ga.tholic. Peter Pucz, Antonio Fernandes, and the other

4.- priells>.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 349

prlefts, had given a much more favourable profpccl: of re-
hgious aifairs than had as yet been conveyed to Rome ; the
wifer part of the conclave, however, had doubted. But nov^^,
the king had voluntarily made his recantation, it was no
longer thought time for delay, and accordingly Alphonfa
Mendez, a Jefuit dodtor of divinity, a man of great learn-
ing, by birth a Portuguefe,.was ordained at Lifbon the 25th
of May 1624.

From thence he proceeded to India by the way of Goa,-
attended by feveral frefli miflionaries ; and finding there
letters from Socinios, and a paflport from the king of Dan-
cali, a Mahometan prince in alliance with the Abyllinians,.
he arrived at Bilur, an open bay in the fmall and barren
flatc of Dancali, on the fecond of May 1625, and was recei-
ved, by the brother of the reigning prince, with every to-
ken of friendfliip that fo poor a ilatc and fovcrcign could af-
ford ; the king of Dancali himfelf was at the diiiancc of fix
days journey, in a place where there was greater plenty of
water and provifions. The following day the king fcnt four
mules for the fathers to join him, and received them in a
room of a round figure, fuxTounded and covered with bun-
dles of llraw, but fo low they fcarce could raife themfelves
after having made their bows. .

In this miferable kingdom, which I Ihall not defcribe, as, .
unce that period, it has been conquered by the Galla, the pa*
triarch and fathers ftaid almoft in want of nccefiaries for
fixteen days. At lall they fet out, having, with much diffi-
culty, mullered fuflicient beads of burden to carry their
baggage. The road lay through part of the country whcre-
ia are the mines of foflile-falt, hot, barren, and abfolutcly

withoutt

55© TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

without water, and expofed greatly to the incurfions of the
Galla. After two days journey, they arrived in the morn-
ing of the third, at the foot of SenafFe, where there was
water. It is the frontier (as the name imports) of the pro-
vince of Enderta, now united to the government of Tigre.
It is part of that ridge of mountains which feparates the
feafons, occafioning fummer on the one fide, while rain and
,cold prevail on the other.

On the night before they came to the mountain, while
dubious of their way, a liar of more than ordinary magni-
tude, and of furprifmg brightnefs, appeared over the patri-
arch, giving fo ftrong a light that it illuminated the hea-
vens down to the horizon. It was not, in its place or man-
ner of appearing, like a common flar, but flood flationary,
in the way leading to SenafFe, for above fix minutes, and
difappeared *. This flar, the patriarch and his followers
modeflly fay, was probably the fame that conducted the
Magi to the cradle of Chrifl, and was now fent to fhew
them the way into AbyfTinia.

While they were at the foot of this mountain, the Mu-
leteers, all Mahometans, thought the occafion a proper one
to plunder them, by obliging them to pay an additional
hire for their beafls, which they pretended were not able
to afcend fo flecp a mountain. Tlie camels certainly could
not pafs ; but mules and afTes have a more pra(5ticable road,
for the fake of carrying the fait. They infifled to leave the
company till they fhould bring them frefh mules. The
caravan confifled of the patriarch and fix ecclefiaflics, priefls,
and friars, and thirteen laymen, three of whom were mufi-

cians.

* Tellez, lib. iv. cap- 38.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ss^

Gians. It was very probably their intention to have fent to
them people who would very foon have put a fatal period
to the million, had not Emanuel Baradas, with a number;
of Abyflinians, and officers, and plenty of all things necef-*
fary, joined the patriarch on the i6th of June 1625; while
their late condud:ors, confcious of millaehaviour, fled with*
out feeking their hire.

In five days they came to Fremona, where they flaid till
November ; and, in December, arrived at Gorgora, where
they were introduced to the king in his palace. Socinios
ordered the patriarch to be placed on a feat equal in height to
his own, on his right hand *, and at that very audience, which
was on the i ith of February 1626, it was fettled chat the king
Ihould take an oath of fubmillion to the fee of Rome.

This ufelefs, vain, ridiculous ceremony; was accordingly
celebrated on the nth of February, with all the pageantry
of a heathen feftival or triumph.; The palace was adorned
with all the pomp and vanity that the church of Rome,
and efpecially that part of it, the Order of the Jefuits, had
folemnly abjured." The patriarch, as a mark of his fuperi-,
ority over the Abunas, preached a fcrmon in the Porta.,
guefe language upon the primacy of the chair of St Peter,
full of Latin quotations, which is faid to have, had a won--
derf ul efFecT: upon the king an<J Sela Chriftos, .neither o£
whom underftood one word either of Latin or Portuguefe, .

That part of the patriarch*5 difcourfe, which was appli-
cable to Socinios's converfion, was anfwered by Melca Chri-*'
ftos, governor of Samen, (himfelf a fchifmatic) in the lan<»
guage of Amhara, which neither the patriarch nor his re*

2 . tinue

352 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

tinue underftood, and concluded with thefe words, " That
as the king thought himfelf obhged to fulfil thofe promifes
of fubmitting himfelf to the fee of Rome which his prede-
ceffors had made, the time was now come in which he
Iliould do that, if fuch was his pleafure. Thefe lall words
of the orator feem not to have fatisfied the zeal of Socinios.
He interrupted Melca Chriftos by faying, that it was not
now, but a long time fince, that he had fubmitted to the
church of Rome, as true fucceflbr of St Peter ; and the pre-
fent occafion was only a confirmation of what he had for-
merly profeiTed."

The patriarch anfwered by a few words, prudently and
fenfibly, I fuppofc to fave time, feeing that, ihort or long,
his difcourfe would not be underflood. But proceeding to
fa(5ls, he opened a new teftament, while Socinios, upon his
knees, took the following oath : " We, fultan Segued, em-
peror of Ethiopia, do believe and confefs that St Peter, prince
of the apoftles, was conftituted, by Chrift our Lord, head of
the whole Chriftian church, and that he gave him the prin-
cipality and dominion over the whole world, by faying to
- him, Tou are Peter ^ and upon this rock zvill I hu'ild my church ; aiid I
•will give you the keys of tJje kingdom of heaven. And again when
he faid, Keep my fieep. Alfo we believe and confefs, that
the pope of Rome, lawfully eleded, is the true fuccef-
for of St Peter the apofHe, jn government ; that he holdeth
the fame power, dignity, and primacy, in the whole Chrif-
tian church : and to the holy father Urban VIII. of that name,
by the mercy of God, pope, and our lord, and to his fuccef-
ibr in the government of the church, we do promife, offer,
and fwear true obedience, and fubjed, with humility at his
feet, our perfon and empire ; fo help us God and thefe holy

gofpels

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 353

gofpels before us."— After this, each man fwore perfonal o-
bedience, officers, priefts, and monks, according to their fe-
veral orders or conditions.

The prince royal Facilidas, purely and fimply in the
form prefcribed, took this oath, without any addition or al-
teration. But Ras Sela Chriftos, heated with zeal, after re-
peating the formula, drawing his fword in violent paffion,
uttered thefe words, " What has paffed let it be paft ; but,
from this day forward, he that falls from his duty this (hall
he his judge*."

This hafty fpeech, not well underftood, was thought by
fome to refle(5t on thofe he had difcovered to be in the con-
federacy with the rebel fon of Gabriel. As the court was
full of parties and difcontent, every one applied the threat
to himfelf, and all joined in a league to undo Sela Chriftos,
who had fo wantonly declared himfelf the leader and cham-
pion of perfecution.

To this oath of obedience to the pope, he likewife added
one to the king, and to the prince his fuccelFor, Facilidas,
with a ftrange ciaufe, or qualiiication, which made what he
faid formerly ftill worfe: — " I likewife fwcar to the prince,
as heir of his father in this empire, as long as he Ihall hold
favour, and defend the holy Catholic faith ; and if he fhall
fail in this, I hereby fwear to be his greateft enemy." This
extravagant addition he infiftcd fliould be impofed upon all
the officers of ftate, and of the army then at court, and

Vol. II. Y y therefore

• It is apparently a fpeech in a paffion, for this Sela Chriftos was one of the mofl learned of
the Abjflinians ; yet the words themfelves, if literally trenflated, are fcarcely intelligible.

554 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

therefore did mofl: defervedly feal his own condemnation
and punifhment, which overtook him in the end, though
it did not follow till long afterwards.

To thefe violent proceedings were added others ftill more
violent. A folemn excommunication was pronounced a-
gainft all fuch as did not keep that oath, and a proclama-
tion was forthwith made, " That all people, in the line of
being ordained priefts, fhould firft embrace the Catholic re-
ligion upon pain of death ; that all fhould obferve the form
of the church of Rome in the celebration of Eafter and Lent,
under the fame penalty ; and with that the ceremonies of
the day ended.

Ttempus erit ciivi magna optaverit ernptum^
TniaEfnm Pallanta.

it was a day ever to be marked with black, not only in the
annals of Ethiopia, but in thofe of Rome.

Although the arrival of the patriarch at Bilur had been
happily efFeded, both as to himfelf and thofe that attended
him, it was not fo with fome of his brethren fent to affift
him in that million. Two Jefuits, Francifco Machado and
Bernard Pereira, had received the king's letters in India for
their fafe condua to Bilur in Dancali. Whether by malice,
or inadvertency, the king's fecretary, inftead of Bilur, had
mentioned Zeyla in the letter.

Zeyla, an ifland belonging to the king of Adel, was of
all other places that where the people were moll inveterate
againfl the Catholic religion. No fooner did the Shekh know

3 ^^^

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 355

the quality and eiTand of thefe miffionaries, than he confi-
ned them to clofe prifon, where, after great fuffering, they
were both put to death ; and, to aggravate this, a letter was
written to Socinios ftigmatizing him with the name of
apoftate from the religion of his forefathers, and applying
to him many opprobrious names.

This letter, at another time, would not have failed to
have been followed by the chaftifcment it defen-ed. But
Adel, formerly a flourifliing and commercial kingdom, was
now fallen, and reduced to a multitude of banditti. Trade
had left it. A garrifon of nominal janizaries, fmce the reign
of Sultan Selim, had kept the little iiland of Zeyla for the
pretended purpofe of a cuftomhoufe ; but, in fa(5l, it was a
poft of robbers, who only maintained themfelves there for
the fake of plundering merchants who came by fea ; while
the Galla poured in numbers upon the prince from the con-
tinent, and of the ancient kingdom of Adel, had left him
nothing but AufTa the capital, a town fituated upon a rock,
on the banks of the river Hawalh, Azab, and Raheeta, and
a few other miferable villages upon the fea ; and even part
of thefe were daily falling into the hands of that enemy,
deftined very foon to over-run riiem all. This abjecfl ftate
to which they had been reduced, we may fuppofe, was the
only reafon that protected them from the vengeance of a
high-fpirited prince, fuch as Socinios certainly was.

This violent conduift of Socinios in his abjuration was
followed by that of the patriarch Alphonfo Mendes, per-
fectly in the fame fpirit. The clergy were re-01-dained, their
churches confecrated anew, grown men as well as children
again baptifed, the moveable feafts and feltivals reduced to

Y y 2 the

^^6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the forms and times of the church of Rome ; circumcifion, po-
lygamy, and divorce were abrogated for ever ; and the many
queftions that thereupon arofe, and which were underilood
to belong to the civil judge, the patriarch called to his own
tribunal exclufively»

All the tenets of the church of Alexandria, whether of
faith or difcipline, were rejedted ; and it was not known
how far the patriarch intended to fubjecft the civil jurifdic-
lion of the judges to the eccleliaftical power. Two Heps
that he took, the one immediately after the other, feemed
to give great reafon of fear upon this head.

In order to underftand the firft of thefe cafes, it will be
neceflary to know, that it is a fundamental conilitution af
the monarchy of Ethiopia, that all lands belong to the king ;
and that there is no fuch thing as church-lands in thi^
country. Thofe that the king has given for the maintenance
of churches or monalleries are rcfumed every day, at the
inftance of, and for the convenience of individuals, and new
ones granted in their Head fometimes of a greater value,
fometimes of a lefs. Nor have the prieils or monks any
property in thefe lands. A lay-officer, appointed by the
king, divides to each monk or prieft, his quota of the re-
venue, applying any overplus to other ufes, which is, we
may fuppofe, often putting it into his own pocket.

There was a nobleman of great difl:in(5lion for his family
and rank at court, for his age, and the merit of his fervice ;
he had occupied fome of the lands belonging to a monk
who happened to be a Catholic. This man, had he been an
Alexandrian, could have had no recourfe to the Abuna his

patri-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

357

patriarch, and the caufe muft have been tried before the
civil judge. But Mendes was of another opinion. He order-
ed the nobleman to make his defence before the ecclefiafti-
cal tribunal ; and, upon his refufmg this as a novelty to
which he was not bound, he condemned him immediately
to reftore the lands to the monk. This, too, was refufed on
the part of the prefent poiTefTor, who being one day attend-
ing the king at church, the patriarch, without preamble,
pronounced againfl him a formal fentence of excommuni-
cation, by which he gave him over, foul and body, to the
devil.

Such procedure was, till then, unknown in Abyffinia.
The nobleman, though otherwife brave, was fo much afFeA-
ed with the terms of his fentence as to faint, imagining:
himfelf already in the clutches of Satan, and it was with dif-
ficulty he was recovered, the king making intercefTion
with the patriarch to take off this cenfure, or rather this
curfe.

Sudden as it was, however, in the inflieT:ing, and cafy in
the removal, it made very lafting and ferious imprcirions on
the minds of men of all ranks, greatly to the difadvantagc
of the patriarch and the profeilbrs of his new religion, in
the excrcife of which they did not difcover that degree of
charity, meeknefs, mercy, and long-fufFering, that they had
been taught were the very elTentials of it.

The next inftance was this : There had been an Itchegue,
that is, the fuperior of the monks of Dcbra Lihanos, an Or-
der inftituted by AbbaTecla Haimanour, 'he kill Abyiiinian
Abuna, not more celebrated by the church tiian die itate,

I as

358 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

as being the reftorer of the line of Solomon, for many years
baniflied to Shoa ; and this fuperior, befides the dignity of his
office, was remarkable for an innocent, pious, and holy life.
It happened that a Catholic monk officiated in a church
where this Itchegue had been buried under the altar ; the pa-
triarch declared the church defiled by the burial of that he-
retic and fchifmatic, and fufpended the celebration of divine
fervice till the body was raifed and thrown out of the
church in a moll indecent manner. Univerfal difcontent
feized the minds of all men ; and, from that time, it feem-
ed the friends of the old religion began again to recover
flrength, and the Catholics to be looked upon, if not with
hatred, yet with terror. And every trifle now contributed
towards the one or the other.

The Jefuits, following pradlices or cufloms of their own,
had thought fit to exhibit a kind of religious plays or farces.
The devil in thefe pieces is always the bufifoon ; he plays har-
lequin and flight-of-hand tricks, fires fquibs and gun-pow-
der, very little confiftent with the decency of the other per-
fons who compofe the drama. This continued to be prac-
tifed in feveral Catholic countries in Europe, while that
learned company exifled*. It happened to be neceffary to
introduce figures of this kind blacked all over, and in mafks,
with cloven feet, &c. The firll exhibition of thefe figures
fo furprifed and terrified the Abyffinian audience, that they
fled immediately upon their appearance, crying out, Alas !
alas! thefe Franks have brought devils into our country

with them!

This

* I have feen them often at Madrid.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 359

This great extenfion of civil jurifdid:ion, and the large
flrides it took to annihilate the civil power, the encroach- .
ments it made upon the prerogative of the king, till now fu-
preme in all caufes ecclefiaftical and civil, the more than
regal, the more, if poillble, than papal pride of the patri-
arch, began to be felt univerfally, and it was feen to be in>-
tended to leiTen every order of government, from the king
to the loweft officer in the province. Prom this time, there-
fore, we date the decline of the Catholic intereft in Abyfli-
nia. The firft blow was given it by the king himfelf, not
with a view to dellroy it, for he was a fmcere Catholic upon
principle, but to controul and keep it within fome boimds,
as he found there was no order could otherwife be main-
tained.

He defired the patriarch to permit the ufe of the ancient
liturgies of Ethiopia, altered by himfelf in every thing
where they did not agree with that of the church of Rome.,
With this the patriarch was obliged to comply, becaufc
there was in it an appearance of reafon that men fhould
pray to God in a language that they underllood, and which,
was their own, rather than a foreign tongue of which they
did not underfland one word. This was thought fo obvi-
ous in Ethiopia as not to admit any doubt. But the order
and pratTtice of the church of Rome was juft the contrary;
and this wound was a mortal one ; for no fooner was the
permiffion given to ufe their own liturgies, than all the A-
byffinians embraced them to a man, and went on in their
old prayers and fervices without any of the patriaich's alter-
ations.

To

36o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

To thefe events, not important in themfelves, but only
from the effedl they had upon the minds of mankind, fuc-
ceeded tragedies of a more ferious nature. I have already
obferved, in fpeaking of the Galla, that they were divided
into three principal divifions, thofe on the eaft of Abyflinia
were called Bertuma Galla, thofe on the fouth called Tolu-
ma, and thofe on the weft Boren Galla ; each of thefe were
divided into feven, and thefe again fubdivided into a num-
ber of tribes. Each of thefe feven nations choofe a king
once in feven years called Lubo ; and it is ufually the firft
a6l of the new king's reign to over-run the neighbouring
provinces of AbyfTinia, laying every thing wafte with fire
and fword for this year, even if they had no provocation,
but had been at peace for feveral years before.

The AbylEnians remained long in ignorance of this caufe
of thefe invafions, and, while that was the cafe, they could
take no meafures to be prepared againft, and refift them.
But after, when the cuftoms of the Galla were better known,
their periodical invafions were watched and provided a-
gainft, fo that though they were ftill continued, they were
generally repelled with the flaughter and defeat of the in-
vaders*

It happened that the prefent year, 1627, was thefeafon
of eledting the king, and of the invafion. Though the
time of the expedition was known, no intelligence had
been given of the manner in which it was to be executed.
In paft times, the nations., or tribes of Galla, alTaulted each
the oppofite province in whofe frontiers they were fettled ;
but this year it was agreed among them to choofe one pro-
vince, Gojam, v;hich, by uniting their whole force, they

were

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 361

^ere to devote to deflrudion, or, if poflible, keep pofleflion
of it.

Buco was governor of Gojam ; the king had fent Sela
Chriflos to his affillance, and was intending to follow with
another army himfelf. In the mean time, the palTes through
which the Galda ufed to enter were all lined with men, and
every preparation made to receive them.

These barbarians advanced to the Nile in multitudes ne-
ver feen before ; and, finding the province perfe<5tly on its
guard, they feigned a panic, or difagreement among them-^
felves, retired in feeming confufion, and difperfed, fome,
as it was faid, to their own homes, and fome to an expedi-
tion againft Narea. This in reality had often happened ;
but now it was only a flratagem ; for they all aflem-
bled in their own country Bizamo, of which the Abyfli-
nians had no intelligence. Buco, thinking he was free of
them for that year, difbanded his troops, or detached them
to other fervices ; Sela Chriftos did the fame ; neither did
Socinios advance with his army.

In that interval of weaknefs, news were fent to Buco
that the Galla had pafTed the Nile. Upon which he advan-
ced with 1000 foot and 200 horfe, believing that it was
fome fmall part of that army which he thought had fome
time before been difperfed. After hearing mafs with
great devotion, and receiving the facrament, in pafling
through a thick wood he was aflaultcd by the Galla. Being
a man, brave in his own perfon, and exceedingly well-train-
ed to arms, he fought fo fuccefsfully, and fo encouraged
his men by his example, that he cut that body of Galla en-

VoL. II. Z z tirely

362 TRA\^ELS TO- DISCOVER

tirely to pieces ; and, as he thought the whole matter then
at an end, he ordered his drums to beat, and his trumpeis
to found, in token of vi(5tory.

The reft: of the Galla, who were now difperfed through
tiie province, but at no great diftance, burning and deftroy-
iaig, as their cuftom is, and who left this body behind them
only to fecure their retreat acrofs the river, returned ail t9
their colours, upon hearing the drums and trumpets of Kaf- -
mati Buco, whom they did not know to be fo near ; and, as,
foon as he came in fight, defpifmg his fmali number, they
furrounded them on every fide. Buco immediately faw that
he was a loft man ; but, confidering the multitude of the ene^
my, and the unprepared ftate of the province, he thought
his own life and thofe of his followers could not be better
employed than by obftinately fighting to difable the enemy^
fo as to put it out of their power to purfue the ruin of: the
country further ; throwing himfelf furioufly into the thickcft
of the Galla, he, at firft onfet, killed four of the moft forward
of their leaders, and made himfelf a lane through the troops
oppofing him; and he was now got without their circle,
when fome of his officers feeing him, cried to him to make
the beft of his way, as affairs were defperate, and not to add ,
by his death to the misfortunes of that day.

Upon this he paufed, as recolleifting himfelf for a mo-
ment ; but, diidaining to furvive the lofs of his army, he
threw himfelf again among the Galla, where his men were
ftill fighting, carrying victory wherever he went. His horfa
was at laft wounded, and, being otherwife young and un-
trained, became ungovernable. It was neceftary to quit him,
when, drawing his.fword, and .leaping upon the ground, he

continued

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 363

continued the fight with the fame degree of courage, till
the Galla, who did not dare to approach him near, killed
him by a number of javelins thrown at a dirtance.

The news of the defeat and death of Buco reached Sela
Chriftos, then in march to join him; nor did the misfortune
that had already happened, nor the bad profpedl of his own
fituation, alter his refolution of attacking the enemy : But
he firll wrote to the king his brother, telling him his fitua-
tion, and the probable confequences of doing his duty
as he had determined, laying all the blame upon the ma-
lice of his enemies, who, to gratify their own private malice,
had left him without affiftance, and occafioncd misfortunes
fo detrimental to xhe common- weal.

Sela Christos pafled this night upon a i-ifing ground,
and in the morning early defcended into the plain, with a
view of attacking the Galla, when, to his great furprife, that
barbarous people, content with the llaughtcr of Kafmati
Buco and his army, and not willing to rifk a large quantity
of plunder with which their whole army was loaded, had
repaired the Nile, and returned home.

Tecla Georgis was fon-in-law to Soclnios, and then go-
vernor of Tigre, but at variance with his father-in-law up-
on fome quarrel with his wife. Determined on this ac-
count to rebel, he aflbciatcd with fome noblemen of the firft
rank and power in Tigr^e, particularly Guebra Mariam and
John Akayo, declaring to them, that he v/ould no lorg€r
fufTcr the Roman religion, but defend the ancient chuich
of Alexandria to the utmoll of his power. And, to convince
all the Abyffinians of his fincerity, he tore ofl the figures of

Z z 2 crucifixes

3^6f TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

crucifixes, and all church-ornaments and images of faints
that were in relief, and burned them publicly, to make
his reconciliation with the king impoflible. He then called
before him Abba Jacob his Catholic chaplain, and, having
ilripped him of his pontificals, killed him with his own
hand. There was no method he could devife of bringing
his quarrel fooner to an iffue than this which he had adopt-
ed. But he did not feem to have taken equal pains to pro*
yide for his defence, as he had done to give provocation..

SociNios, upon the firft intelhgence of this murder and*
treafon, ordered Keba Chriftos to march againft him with the
troops that he had at hand. This general, equally a good
foldier, fubje6t, and Cathohc, being convinced of the necef-
fity of punilhing fpeedily fo monftrous a crime, paffed by
forced marches through Sire to Axum, thence to Eremona ;;
and,, having appointed Gafpar Paez to meet him there, he
confeffed hirafelf, and received the facrament from that Je-
fuit's haaids. From Fremona he continued with the fame
fpeed, making three ordinary days marches in one, beings
defirous of preventing the poflibility of Tecla Georgis's col-
kdting troops^ and taking refuge on a mountain called.
Majba^ which he heard to be his defign.

It was the 12th of December 1628 that news were
brought him of the fituation of the enemy ; upon which-
he ordered his baggage to be left behind, and every foldier
tO: carry two loaves, and to march, without refling till he-
came up with Tecla Georgis,,

In the morning of the day following, two horfemen, on
tjie. fcout beibre him, difcovere.d. five of the rebel foldiers,

UpOB:

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3%

tipon the look-out likewife. Thefe, upon feeing Keba Chri-
ftos's horfemen, returned immediately to their mafter,
and told him that they had feen armed men, and concei-
ved them to be the foldiers of Keba Chriftos. To this in-
telligence Tecla Georgis anfvvered, That Keba Chriftos was
in the king's palace at Dancaz the 15th of November, and
that it was impoflible he then could be fo near with an ar-
my, if he had even wings to fly ; but that the men they had
feen were probably reinforcements that he expeded.

Keba Christos, on the contrary, hearing that the enemy
was at hand, drew up his army in three divifions. The firft
confifted of his own houfehold, the fccond of a body of horfe
of the king's houfehold, called the Koccob Horfe, or Star Cavalry,
from a fdver ftar which each of them wears on the front of
his helmet ; and- the third, of the people of Tigrc who had
joined him. In this order he came in fight of his enemy
pofted upon a fmall height, divided only from him by a
narrow plain. Tecla Georgis, convinced now that it was
Keba Chriftos, formed his army into two divifions ; the one
Gompofed of a body called Tchcraguas, the other of a body
called Snhan ba Chr'ijios; with thefe was a large corps of Galla,
ivhich had lately joined them.

Keba Christos, now turning to his troops, briefly faid^
" My children, I will not wafte my time nor yours in dil-
Gourfe, or in telling you what you are to do. You have all-
arms in your hands ; you are good Chriftians; and I can po-
fitivcly afTure you there is not before you one of your ene-
mies that is not alfo an enemy to Chrift." Then, placing
himfelf before the Koccob horfe, he pulled off his helmet
and gave it to his fervant, faying, " By my naked face yom

Ihalli

.65 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Ihall know mc to-day, that I am not going in the midft vt
you as general or commander, but foot for foot along with
you like a common foldier."

Upon having uncovered his head, he was quickly knovm
by Tecla Georgis, from whofe troops a number of muikets
was fired at him. But this had fo little effea upon this
gallant officer, that, changing his place, (which then was at
the head of the fecond divifion) he placed himfelf Hill near-
er the enemy in the front of his own houfehold troops,
which were the firft ; and the Galla charging them in that
inftant, he flew their leader with his own hand. Upon the
death of their commander, thefe barbarians immediately
fled, as is their cuftom, while Keba Chriftos endeavoured to
make his way to where Tecla Georgis was employed keep-
ing his troops from following fo bad an example. But fo
foon as that rebel faw his enemy approach him, he and his
whole army joined the Galla in their flight ; iho' he narrowly
efcaped, by the fwiftnefs of his horfe, a light javelin, thrown
by Keba Chriftos, which ftruck him behind, but fo feebly,
by reafon of the diflance, that it did not pierce his armour.

The king's troops purfued vigoroufly, and foon brought
to their general the mule, the fword, and helmet of Tecla
Georgis, with the heads of 300 flain in the battle, moft of
them Gallas, and with them 12 heads of the moft turbulent
rebellious monks of Tigre. With thefe tliey alfo brought
Adera, fifter to Tecla Georgis, wounded in the throat, who
had inftigated him very ftrongly to commit the violences
againft the profeflbrs of the Catholic religion. Tafa, too,
his mafter of the houfehold, was taken prifoner ; and it
being made known to Keba Chriftos that this man had af-

2 iifted

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 367

fifted at the murder of Abba. Jacob, he ordered him diredtl^
60 be put to death.

Tecla Georcis,. aided by the ftrength of his horfe and
knowledge of thecountry,efcapedandconccaledhimfelf from
his purfuers for four days ; but, on the Saturday that follow-
ed the vi(5loxy, he was found in a cavern with his great confi-
dents, Woldo Mariam, and a fchifmadc monk whofe name
was Sebo Amlac. Tecla Georgis was carried alive to Keba
Chriftos, who fent him to the king, his two companions
being ilain as foon as found, and their heads accompanied
their living mafter, which, on their arrival at Dancaz, the
king ordered to be hung upon a tree.

Tecla Georgis being convi(5led of facrilege as well as
murder, having burnt the crucifixes and images of the
faints, was condemned to be burnt alive, and a lime-kiln
was immediately prepared in which he was to fufFer. Up-i
on hearing this,. he defired a Catholic confeiTor, as wifhing
to be reconciled to the church of Rome, and for this pur^
pofe he fent a rcqueft to the patriarch, who was at thrco
leagues diftance, and who difpatchedAntonioFcrnandeswitb
full powers to abfolve from all manner of fins, and at tha
fame time gave him orders to intercede fi:rongly with tho
king to pardon the criminal. Tecla Georgis confefi'cd pu-t
blicly at the door of the church, and. abjured the errors of:,
the church of Alexandria.

After this, the father Fernandcs applied to the king,,
pleajding ftrongly for his pardon. To which .the king au-
fwered, " Many reafons there are why I fhould dcfire ta
pjardon Tecla Georgis. To fay no more, he has been mar*

ricd .

368 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ried to two of my daughters, and he has by them two fons^
both good foldiers and horfemen, who a(5lually ride before
me, and accompany me in battle. I have therefore pardon-
ed him all the affronts and injuries he has done to me.
But, were I to take upon myfelf to pardon the affronts and
infults he has offered the Divine Majefly, I fhould turn the
punifhment of his fms upon myfelf, my family, and king-
dom ; and, therefore, I refufe your petition, and order you
to return forthwith to Gorgora."

After the departure of the father, in confideration that
Tecla Georgis had again embraced the Catholic religion,
the king altered his fentence of being burnt, into that of
being hanged privately in the houfe where he was then in
prifon ; and, for that purpofe, the executioner had brought
with him the cord with which Tecla had ordered the feet of
Abba Jacob to be tied. No fooner did he perceive that there
were no hopes of pardon, by their beginning to tie his
hands, than he again, with a loud voice, renounced his
confeffion, declaring that he died an Alexandrian, and that
there was but one nature in Chrift. The executioner en-
deavoured to flop his further blafphemies, by drawing him
up on the beam in the room ; but he refifled fo flrongly,
that there was time to inform Socinios of his abjuration :
upon which the king ordered that he fliould be hanged pu-
blicly upon a pine-tree ; and he was accordingly taken
down, half-fttanglcd, from the beam in the houfe, and hung
upon the tree before the palace.

Adera, his fifler, was next examined ; and it being clear-
ly proved that fhe had been a very aiflive agent in the mur-
der of Abba Jacob, flie iikewife was condemned to be hang-

4 ed

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 369

eel vipon the fame tree with her brother, fifteen days after-
wards.

All that intei-val, the queen and ladies at court employ-
ed their utmoft interefl with the king to pardon Adera, for
tliey looked upon it as a difgraceful thing, both to their fex
and quality, that a woman of her family fhould be thus
publicly executed. All the ladies of the court having join-
ed, therefore, in a public petition to the king while on his
throne, he is faid to have anfwered them by the following
fhbrt parable : —

" There was once an old woman, who being told of the
death of an infant, faid, with great indifference. Children
are but tender; it is no wonder that they die, for any
thing will kill a child. Being told of a youth dying, flic
obfei-ved, Young people are forward and ralh ; they are al-
ways in the way of fomc difafter ; no wonder they die ; it is
impoffible it fliould be otherwife. But being told an old
woman was dead, flie began to tear her hair, and lament,
crying. Now the world is at an end if old women begin
to die, fearing that her turn might be the next. In this man-
ner all of you have feen Tecla Georgis die, and alfo fevcral
of his companions, and you have not faid a word. But
now it is come to the hanging of one woman, you are all
alarmed, and the world is at an end. Do not then deceive
yoiu'felves, but be affured that the fame cord which tied
the feet of Abba Jacob, ftill remains fufiicicnt to hang that
fow Adera, and all thofe that fliall be fo wicked as to be-
have like her, to the difgrace of your fcx, and their own
rank and quality."

Vol. IL 3 A The

37°

TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The eiFedts of thefe oftentatious a6ts of reformation foon.
produced confequences which troubled their joy. The A-
gows of Lafla, called Tcheratz Agow, who live at the head
of the Tacazze, rebelled. The country they occupy is not
exteniive, but exceedingly populous, and was fuppofed at
that time to be able to bring into the field above 50,000
fighting men, befides leaving behind a fufficient number to
defend the pafies and llrong-holds of their country, which
are by much the moll difficult and inacceffible of any in
Abyffinia. They are divided into five clans, Waag, Tettera,
Dehaanah, Gouliou, and Louta, each having an independent
chief. They are exceedingly warlike ; and, though the coun-
try be fo rude and rocky, they have a confiderable number
of good horfes ; and are in general reckoned among the
braveft and moll barbarous foldiers in Abyffinia. Their
province abounds with all forts of provifions, and they rare-
ly can be forced to pay any thing to government in the
name of tax, or tribute.

Tecla Georgis was now dead, but the caufe of the re-
bellion Hill fubfifled. While governor of Begemder, he had
connived at many abufes of his officers who occupied the
poUs nearell to Lafla. Thefe being young men, from wan-
tonne fs only, without provocation, had made many different
inroads, driving away cattle, and committing many other ex-
ceffes. The Agows carried their complaints to the governor,
who, far from hearing or redreffing their wrongs, juftified
the conduct: of his officers, by making inroads himfelf im-
mediately after ; but coming to an aiSlion in perfon with that
people, he was fliamefully beat, and a great part of his
army left dead upon the field.

This

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 371

This misfortune very much afFeded Socinios. Nor did
the Agows themfelves doubt, but that a fpeedy chaftifement
was to follow this vidtory over Tecla Georgis.

There was a youth defcended of the royal family, who,
to preferve the freedom of his perfon, lived among the Gal-
la, in expe<5tation of better times. His name was Meica
Chriftos. To him the Agows applied, that, with this prince
of the houfe of Solomon at their head, they might wipe off
the odium of being reputed rebels, and appear as fighting
under a lawful fovereign for reformation of abufes. The
renunciation of the Alexandrian faith, forcibly obtruded up-
on them by Socinios, ferved as caufe of complaint. The
Roman Catholic writers in the hiftory of this million, fay
this was but a pretext, in which I conceive they are right.
I have lived among the Agows of Lafta, and in intimacy
with many of them, who are not, to this day, fo anxious
about Chriftianity as to afcend one of their hills for the dif-
ference between that and Paganifm ; and I am fatisficd, for
thefe 300 years laft paft there has been fcarcely a common
layman in Lafta that has known the diftindion between the
Alexandrian and the Roman church.

In the beginning of February 1629 the king marched from
Dancaz towards Gojam, where he coUedted an army of
30,000 men, which, with the baggage, ferv^ants, and attend-
ants, at that time very great and numerous, amounted to
above 80,000 men.

Socinios detached a number of fmall parties to cntev
Lafta at diflferent places. On the other hand, Melca Chriftos
-aflemblcd his troops on the moft inaccellibJe rocks ; whence,

.3 A 2 Avhen

572 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

when he fpied occafion, he came fuddenly down and" fur-
prifed the enemy below. Among all the rude^ high, a«id
tremendous mountains of which this country confift*,.
there is one efpecially, called by the name of Lajia. It is in
the territory of Waag, ftrongly furround'ed with inaccelTible
precipices, having a large plain on the top, abounding with
every thing neceiTary, and- watered by a fine ftream that
never fails.

The manner in which the Agows remained fecure in
this Ilrong poft was mifconih'ued into fear by the king's ar-
my, which, in two divifions, advanced to the attack of the
mountaiHi That on the right had with fomc difficulty
fcrambled up without oppofition ; but, being now arrived to
the ileep part of the rock, fuch a number of large ftones
was rolled down upon them fi-om above, that this divifion
of the army was entirely delh'oyed. The number of ftones
on the brink of the precipices was inexhauflible ; and, once
put in motion, purfued the fcattered troops with unavoidable
fpccd, even down to the plains below. Among the flain was
Guebra Chriftos, the king's fon-in-law, dafhed to pieces by
the fragment of a rock. The left divifion was upon the
point of fufiering the fame misfortune, had not Keba Chri-
ftos come to their relief and drawn them olf, juft before the
enemy had begun to difchargc this irrefiHible artillery a-
gainft them.

The king, thus fliamefully beaten, retired to Dancaz, X^'sy
ving the entrances from Laita ftrongly defended, left thefe
mountaineers fhould, by way of retaliation, fall upon the
province of Begemder. But the late ill-fortune had difpi-
rited the troops, and caufed an indifference about duty, a

want

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 373

want of obedience, and a relaxation in difciplinc in the
whole army. Each of the detachments, therefore, one after
the other, left their poll from different excufes, and returned
home. The bad confequence of this was now experienced.
The Agows entered Begemder fpreading defolation every-
where. Melca Chriftos, no longer fculking among the rocks
of Lafta, planted his ftandard upon the plain, within five
days march of the capital where the king was refiding.

The jealoufies that had arifen between Socinios and his
brother-in-law Sela Chriflos, had been fo much aggravated
fmce the oath adminiftered by the patriarch, that the king
had again deprived him of Gojam, fuffering him to live in
obfcurity in Damot, and among the Agows, occupied, as
the Jefuits fay, in the converfion of that Pagan people, by
deftroying their idols, which they reprefent to be a fpccics
of cane or bamboo *, and in forbidding the ceremonies of
adoration and devotion, which at ftated times they paid tx>
the river..

No remedy could be propofed, but the prefence of Sela
Chriftos, who, upon the firft warning, joined the king, and
coming fuddenly upon the army of Lafta occupied in lay-
ing wafte the low country of Begemder, gave them fuch an
overthrow that fufficiently compenfated the firft lofs of the
king, and forced them again to take refuge among their
ftrong-holds in Lafta.

A Mis-

called by the Agows, Iliihaha..

374 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

A MISFORTUNE of anothcr kind followed this vicHiory:
Laeca Mariam, a near relation to the king, was appointed
governor of Begemder ; but no fooner did he fee himfelf
vefted with that government, than he meditated fhaking off
his allegiance to Socinios.

The king, after his laft battle with the Agows, had na-
med his fon Facilidas commander in chief of his forces ; and,
to fecure him a powerful and able alTiftant, he had firft
reftored Sela Chriftos to his government of Gojam, then
fent him with an army to join Facilidas, and command un-
der him.

The fuccefs was anfwerable to the prudence of the mea-
•fure ; for, immediately upon their arrival, they obliged Lae-
ca Mariam to feek for refuge in the mountains of Amha-
ra, and, without giving him time to recollecSt himfelf there,
forced their way to the mountain to which he had retired,
and from which he and his followers had no way to efcapc,
but by venturing down a fteep precipice ; in attempting
this, Laeca Mariam fell, and was daflaed to pieces, as were
many others of his followers ; the reft were flain by the
■army that purfued them.

At this time, Facilidas began to attrad: the eyes -of the
nation in general. Befides perfonal bravery, he had fhewn
great military talents in the former campaign of Lafta.
Though young, he was in capacity and refolution equal to
his father, but lefs warm, more referved in his temper and
difcourfe. He was thought to be an enemy to the Catholic
religion, becaufe he did not promote it, and neither exceed-
ed norfell fliort of what his father commanded him. Yet,

3 .he

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. jyy

fie lived with the Jefuits on fuch an even footing, that they
confefs they did not know whether he was their friend or
enemy : he kept one of their number, called Father Ange-
lis, conftantly in his houfehold, where he was much fa-
voured, and conftantly in his prefence. He was thought
to be an enemy to Sela Chriftos, though he never had
fliewn if.

Facilidas received a flattering meflage from Urban VIIL
but did not anfwer it ; nor does it appear his father ever
defired him ; for, tlirough the whole courfe of the life of So-
nios, as his enemies are forced to confefs, he paid to his
father's will, the moft paflive obedience in every thing.
The tyranny, however, of church-government began to ap-
pear unmalked ; and it is probable that the king, though
refolved to die a Roman Catholic from principles of con-
fcience, was indifferent about forging for his fon the chains
he had himfelf worn with pain.

However this may be, the laft ftep of placing Facilidas
at the head of the army was conftrued as another ftroke of
humiliation to the Catholics, efjx:cially as it was followed
with the removal of Keba Chriftos (the fupport of that re-
ligion) from court, where he had been appointed Billetana
Gueta. It is true he was removed by what, in other times,
would have been called preferment ; but things had now
changed their qualities, and places were not eftimated, as
formerly, by the confequence they gave in the empire, but
by the opportunities they afforded of conftant accefs to the
king, and occafion of joining in councils with him, and de-
feating thofe of their enemies,

Keba

376 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Keba Christos being fent governor to Tigre, was to en-
ter Lalla from that quarter on the N. E. He is faid to have
received his appointment with a great degree of concern, and
to have told his friends, that he forefawhe never was to re-
turn from that expedition, which he did not regret, becaufe
he was convinced, by living much longer, it would be made
his duty to allift at the fall of the Catholic religion.

After having performed his devotions at Fremona, this
general advanced through Gouliou, a territory moftly in-
habited by Galla, and deftitute of any fort of provifions ; af-
ter which he took poiTeilion of the mountains of Lafta, with
a view to cover the march of the young prince Facilidas,
whom he every day expelled. But that prince not appear-
ing in time, and provifions becoming fcarce, no meafure re-
mained but making his retreat to Tigre ; and, although he
formed the beft difpofition for that purpofe, the people of
Laila obferving his intention in time, on his firft movement
attacked his rear-guard while he was defcending the moun-
tain, and put it to flight : being thereby mailers of the
higher ground, they had the command of the cowardly
foldiers below them, who could not infure their deftruc-
tion more certainly than by the indecent manner in which
they were flying.

Keba Christos, deferted by all except a few fervants,
continued courageoufly fighting ; and, although it was ve-
i-y poflible for him to have efcaped, he difdained to furvive
the lofs of his army. Receiving at that time a wound from
a javelin, which palled through his belly, and judging the
ftrokc to be mortal, he gave up all further refiftancc, fell
upon his knees to prayer, and was again wounded by a

3 (lone,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 377

fione, which ftruck him to the ground. Two of the moun-
taineers immediately came up to him, one of whom
did not know him, and contented himfelf with ftripping
the body; but the other remembering his face, cut his
head oiT, and carried it to the rebel Melca Chriftos.

The misfortune was followed by another in Gojam, great
to the nation in general, and greater ftill to the Catholic
caufe in particular. At the time that Sela Chriftos was in
Begemder with prince Facilidas, the Galla from Bizamo,
fuppofing the province of Damot without defence, paiTed the
Nile, laying the whole province wafle before them. Fecur
Egzie, lit. I tenant-general under Sela Chriftos, although he
had with him only a fmall number of troops, did not hefi-
tate to march againft thofe favages, to endeavour, if poflible,
to ftop their ravages. The Galla, furprifed at this, thought
it was Sela Chriftos, and fled before him. He had now pur-
fued them almoft alone, and lighted in a low meadow to
give grafs to his horfe, when he was furrounded and flain
by a number of the enemy that lay hid among the buflies,
and difcovered how ill he was attended.

He was reputed a man of the bcft underftanding, and the
moft liberal fentiments of any in Ethiopia ; a great oraror, ex-
celling both in the gracefulncfs of manner and copioufnefs
and purity of his language. He was among the firft that
embraced the Catholic religion, even before the king or Sela
Chriftos, and was the principal promoter of the tranftations
of the Portuguefe books into Ethiopic, affiftcd by the Jeluit
Antonio de Angelis. We have feen, in the year 1613, the
great eftbrts he made in the embally to India by the coaft of
Melinda. He was an excellent horfeman, but more violent
Voi. II. 3 B and

37» TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

and rafli in battle than could have been expe<^ed from a
man of fuch mild manners.

There happened at this time another novelty. The king
brought the patriarch from Gorgora to Dancaz this year, at
Eafter, to hear that feaft celebrated, with the Ethiopic fervice
amended, of which we liave already fpoken abundantly.
This countenance, fo unneceffarily given to an innovation
that produced every day fuch very bad effe(5ls to the Catho-
lic intereft, joined to many other circumllances, feemed clear-
ly to indicate a change in that prince's mind.

The patriarch having made but a Ihort flay at Dancaz^
it was currently reported a difagreement had happened,
and that the king had fent him prifoner to Gorgora ; and
this falfe report affedted greatly the weight the Catholics were
fuppofed before to have had at court. But the tranfacTiion
that followed was of a nature to promife much more con^
fequences.

SociNios had a daughter czlled Ozoro Wengelawit, whicli
means the Evangehcal, a name flie certainly deferved not
from her manners. This lady was firft married to Bela Chri-
flos, a man of rank at court, from whom llie had been di-
vorced She was next married to another, and then (her two^
former hulbands being Hill alive) toTecl'a Georgis, who had
before married her fifter, another of the king's daughters.
During this marriage flie had openly lived in adultery witk
ZaChriflos,who had been married to her lifter, a third daugh-
ter of the king. Za Chriftos had been happy enough in
preferving this lady's efteem longer than any other of her
hulbands, and nothing would content her now but a mar-

riajre

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 379

riage with her lover folemnly and publicly. For which
purpofe fhe applied to the patriarch to difpenfe with the
affinity between her and Za Chriftos, arifing from his having
been married before to her fifter.

It is not to be fuppofed that the patriarch would have
refilled, if nothing had Hood in the way except the affinity :
but weighty impediments prefented themfelves befides ; for
either the firft marriage was valid, or it was not. If it was
valid, then Wengelawit could not marry Za Chriftos or any
one elfe, becaufe her hufband was alive ; nor could fhe marry
her fecond, nor Tecla Georgis, her third. If the firft mar-
riage was not valid, then the fecond was, which hufband
was ftill alive ; and, in this cafe, a licence to marry was gi-
ving her liberty of having three hufbands at one time. The
patriarch, for thefe reafons, refufed his authority to this
manifold adultery and inccft ; nor could he, notwithftand-
ing the interccffion of the whole court, ever be brought to
comply. His firmnefs (however commendable) greatly in-
creafed the hatred to his perfon, and averfion to the church
of Rome,

One day when the king was fitting in his apartment,
a monk entered the room, crying with a loud voice, " Hear
*' the ambafifador of God and of the Virgin Mar)- !" The king,
upon firft fight of the man, expedling fome improper liberty
might be taken, ordered his attendants to turn him out at
the door, and, being removed from his prcfence, to bring
word what he had to fay, which was to this effisd: : " It is
three days fince I rofe from the dead. One day when I was
ftanding in paradife, God called me, and fent me with this
meliage to you : — O emperor ! fays God, it is now many years

3 B 2 that

3So TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

that I hoped you would amend of the great fin, the having
forfaken the faith of your anceftor-s. AU this time the
Virgin Mary was kneeling before her blelfed Son, befeech-
ing him to pardon you ; and, upon the whole, it was agreed^
that, unlefs you repent in a fortnight's time, you ftiould be
puniflied in fuch a manner that you will not forget it pre--
fently."

SociNios defired them to afk the man, "How it was poA
fible that, having fo lately left the grave,. his body fhould
have fo little of the emaciated appearance of one long bu-
ried, and be now in fuch good cafe, fat and MrT To this
he anfwered, " That, in paradife, he thanked God there was
abundance of every thing ; and people were very well ufed
there, for he had lived upon good bread, and plenty of good
wine, bifkets, and fweetmeats." To which Socinios anfwer-
ed, " Tell him, after the pains he had taken, it would be
wrong in me to keep him long from fo good a place as this
his paradife. Let him go and acquaint the perfon who fent
him, I fhall live and die in the Roman Catholic faith ; and-i
in order that he may deliver the meflage quickly in tha
other world, fpeed him inftantly out of this, by hanging
him upon the tree before the palace-gate."

The love of the wine, fweetmeats, and other celeftial food;
feemed to have forfaken the ambaffador. Upon hearing this
meflage he recanted, and was pardoned at the joint petition
of thofe of the court that were prefent, who concurred with
the monk in thinking, that the meflage of the emperor was
an indecent one, and ought not to be delivered; that ha-
ving been in paradife once, was as much as fell to the lot
©f any one man, and that he Ihould therefore remain upon

earth,..

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 381

earth. The intended cataflrophe, then, of this fingular am-
haflador was remitted; but the truth of his miffion was be-
lieved by the populace, and raifed great fcruples in ever/
weak mind.

The many misfortunes that had lately befallen the troops
of the king were accounted as fo much increafe of power
to the rebel Melca Chriftos, who, encouraged by the corre-
fpondence he held with the chiefs of the Alexandrian reli-
gion, began now to take upon him the ilate and office of a
king. His firft eiTay was to fend, as governor to the province
of Tigre, a fon of that great rebel Za SelalTe, whofe manifold
treafons, we have already feen, occafioned the death of two
kings, Za Denghel and Jacob.

AscA Georgis was then governor of Tigre for Socinios,
a man of merit and valour, but poor, and though related to
the king himfelf, had very few foldiers to be depended on»
excepting his own fervants, and two bodies of troops which
the king had fent him to maintain his authority, and to keep
his province in order.

The new governor, fent by the rebel Melca Chriftos, liad"
with him a confiderable army ; and, knowing the weakncfi
of Afca Georgis, he paraded through the province in the
utmoll fecurity.

One Saturday which, in defiance of the king's edic^, he
was to folemnize as a feftival equal to Sundav, he h 'd r^-
folved on a party of plcafure in a valley, where, much at
his eafe, he was preparing an entertainment for his 'roops,
and. friends, and fuch of the province as came to oiler their.-

2. obLdience;-

382 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

obedience. Intelligence of this party came to three Shumis,
commanders of fmall diftridls, two of them fons-in-law of
the king, the third a very loyal fubjed. Thefe three fent to
Afca Georgis, to propofe that, at a ftated time, they fhould,
each with his own men, fall feparately upon the fon of Za
SelafTe, and interrupt his entertainment.

This was executed with great order and punctuality. In
the height of the feftival, the rebels were furrounded by an
unexpefted enemy. To think of fighting was too late, nor
was there time for flight. The greatefl part of the army
was cut to pieces with little refiftance. The new governor
faved himfelf among the reft by the goodnefs of his horfe,
leaving Billetana Gueta, or chief matter of the houfehold
of the rebel Melca Chriftos, dead upon the fpot, with about
4000 of his men. Among the plunder were taken 32 ket-
tle-diaims, which alone were evidence fufficient of the
greatnefs of the flaughter.

Although the happy turn Socinios's affairs had taken
had given him leifure to pafs this winter at home, and in
greater quiet than he had done in former ones, yet the calm
which it had produced w^as of very fhort duration. The people
of Lafta, perceiving fome of the prince's army bufy in de-
flroying their harveft when almoft ripe, came down fudden-
ly upon them from the mountain, and put them to flight
with very great flaughter. The blame of this v/as laid up-
on Sela Chriftos, who might have prevented the calamity ;
and thi:5 accufation, with many others, were brought againft
him to the king by Lefana Clmftos.

This

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 385

This man had been condemned to die for an offence,
fome time before, by Ras Sela Chriftos ; but having fled to
the king, who heard his caufe, the fentence was reverfed.
Some time after this he fell into the hands of the Ras,
who put him to death upon his former fentence, without
regarding the late pardon of the king. This violent adt
became the foundation upon which his enemies built many
accufations, mollly void of truth.

The king upon this took from him the government of
Gojam, and gave it to a young nobleman whofe name was
Scrca Chriftos, fuppofed to be a friend and dependent up-
on the prince Facilidas. Serca Chriftos was no fooner ar-
rived in his government than he refolved to rebel, and-
privately folicited the young prince Facilidas to take up
arms and make a common caufe againft the king liis fa-
ther, in favour of the Alexaadrian church. At the time
that the young man departed to his government, Socinios.
had earneftly recommended to him, and he had moft fo-
lemnly promifed, to protedt the Catholic religion in his pro-
vince, and feemingly for this purpofe he had taken with
him a Jefuit named Francifco de Carvalho.

Another affair which the king particularly charged him'
with was, the care of a caravan which once a-year came:
from Narea. This, belides many other valuable articles for'
the merchant, brought 1000 wp.keas of gold as tribute to
the king, equal to about 10,000 dollars, or crowns of our mo-
ney : its whole way was through barbarous and lawlefs na^
tions of Galla till they arrived at the Nile ; then througli.
Gafats and. Gongas, immediately after having pailcd it,

4 Seeca'

384 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Serca Christos, in his march, was come to a fettlement
of thofe lail-mentioned lavages, where Gafats, Agows, and
Damots, all in peace, paftiired immenfe flocks of cattle to-
gether. There are no where, I believe, in the world, cattle
fo beautiful as thofe of the Gafats, nor in fuch numbers.
Large plains, for many days journey, are filled fo full of
thefe that they appear as one market.

Serca Christos halted here to give grafs to his horfes ;
and, while this was doing, it entered into his young head,
that making prize of the cattle was of much greater con-
fequence than prote(5ling the caravan of Narea. Afl'em-
bling then his cavalry, he fell upon the poor Gafats and Da-
mots, who feared no harm ; and, having foon put them all
to flight, he drove off their cattle in fuch numbers, that, at
Dancaz, it was faid, above 100,000 had reached that marker.

The king, muchfhocked at this violent robbery, ordered
Serca Chrifl;os to give up the cattle, and furrender himfclf
as prifoner. This meffage of the king he anfwered in
terms of duty and obedience ; but, in the mean time, went
to the prince, and propofed to him to declare himfelf king
and champion of the church of Alexandria. Facilidas re-
ceived him with fliarp reproofs, and he returned home much
difcontented. However, as he had now declared himfelf,
he refolved to put the beft face upon the matter ; and, in
order to make it generally believed that the prince and he
imdcrftood each other, he fent him publicly word, " I have
done what your highnefs ordered me ; come and take pof-
feliion of your kingdom." Upon which the prince ordered
his meflenger to be put in irons, and fent to Dancaz to the
kin^ his father.

After

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 385

After this, Scrca Chriftos ordered proclamation to be
made that prince Facihdas was king, at the palace of the
governor of Gojam, which Sela Chriftos had built near
the convent of Collela. As one article of it was the abo-
lifliing the Roman faith, the fathers ran precipitately into
the convent, and fhut the doors upon themfelves, fearing
they Ihould be infulted by the army of fchifmatics : but a
number of the Portuguefe, who lived in the neighbourhood,
being brought into the church with them, and there ha-
ving been loop-holes made in the walls, and abundance of
fire-arms left there in depofit by Sela Chriftos, the rebel go-
vernor did not choofe to attempt any thing againft them at
that time. On the contrary, he fent them word that he
was in his heart a Roman Catholic, and only, for the pre-
fent, obliged to diiTemblc ; but he would protect them to
the utmoft, defzring them to fend him the fire-arms left
there by Sela Chriftos, which they abfolutely refufed to do.

Serca Chrtstos, apprehending that his army (ifnotadt-
ing under fome chief of the royal family) would forfake
him on the firft appearance of the prince, had recourfc to a
child of the blood-royal, then living in obfcurity among his
female relations, and this infant he made king, in hopes,
if he fucceeded, to govern during his minority. There were
many who expedted the prince would reconcile him to the
king, efpecially as he had yet preferved a lliadow of refpe(5t
for the Jefuits, and this he imagined was one caufe why
the fchifmatics had not joined him in the numbers necef-
fary. In order to fliew them that he defigned no reconcili-
ation with the king, and to inake fuch agreement impofli-
ble, he adopted the fame facrilegious example that had fo
ill fucceeded with Tecla Georgis.

Vol. II. 3 C . Za

386 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Za Selasse, a priefl of Selalo, had been heard to fay,
when Serca Chriftos was appointed to the government of
Gojam, " There is an end of the Catholic faith in this pro-
vince." Being now called before the governor, he was for-
bid to fay mafs according to the forms of the church of
Rome. This the prieft fubmitted to ; but, being ordered to
deny the two natures in Chrift, he declared this was a point
of faith which he would never give up, but always confefs
Chrift was pcrfedl God and perfe6l man. Upon this Serca
Chriftos ordered him to be llain ; and he was accordingly
thruft through with many lances, repeating thefe words^
God and man ! God and man ! till his laft breath.

Serca Christos had now drawn the fwordj and thrown
away the fcabbard. Upon receiving the news, the king
ordered the prince, who waited but his command, to march
againft him. The murder of Za Selafte had procured an
acceflion of fanatics and monks, but very few foldiers ; fo
that as foon as he heard w^ith what diligence the prince was
advancing, he left his whole baggage, and fled into thofe
high and craggy mountains that, form the banks of the Nile
in Damot..

The prince prefl^ed clofely upon him, notwithftandlng-
the difficulty of the ground ; fo that no fafety remained for
him but to pafs the Nile into the country of the Galla, where
he thought himfelf in fafety. In this, however, he was
miftaken. He had to do with a general of the moft acT;ivc
kind, in the perfon of Facilidas, who crofted the Nile after
him, and, the third day, forced him to a battle on fuch
ground as the prince had chofen, who was likewife much
his fuperior in number of troops. But there was no longer

any

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 387

any remedy ; Serca Chriftos made the bell that he could of
this neceffity, and fought with great obftinacy, till his men
being for the moft part llain, he was forced, with the few
that remained, to take refuge on a high hill, whence the
prince obliged him to deliver himfelf up to his mercy with-
out condition.

Facilidas immediately difpatched news of his viftory to
court, and fifteen days after, he followed himfelf, bringing
Serca Chriftos, with fix of his principal officers and coun-
fellors, loaded with heavy chains. Being interrogated by the
judges. What he had to anfwer for his treafons ? the prifoner
denied that he had any occafion to anfwer, becaufe he had
already received pardon from the prince. This excufe was
not admitted, the prince having difowned it abfolutely. Up-
on which he was fentenced to death ; and, though he appeal-
ed to the king, his fentence was confirmed.

It was too late to execute the fentence that night,
"Inn next morning the fevcn prifoners were put to death.
One of the principal fer\^ants of Serca Chriftos being afked
to confefs and turn Catholic, abandoned himfelf to great
rage, uttering many curfes and blafphemies againft the
king, who, therefore, ordered him to be faftened upon a
hook of iron, where he continued his curfes till at laft he
was flain by lances.

Serca Christos, coufm to Socinios, was treated with more
refpedV. He, with fecming candour, declared, that he would
die a Catholic ; and the king, very defirous of this, gave or-
ders to Diego dc Mattos, a prieft, to attend him conftantly
in prifon. After which, one night he fent five of his con-

3 C 2 fidential

388 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fidential fervants, who killed him privately, to prevent his re-

cantation.

SociNios had again taken Gojam from Sela Chriflos;
which laft difgrace fo afFe«fted him, that he defired to retire
and live as a private man in that province.

The king, having now no other enemy, all his attention
was employed in preparing for a campaign againll Melca
Chriflos of Lafta. But, as he found his army full of difafFec-
ion, it was propofed to him, before he took the field, to con-
tent them fo far as to indulge the Alexandrians in fome
rites of the old church ; and a proclamation was according-
ly made by the king, " That thofe who chofe to obferve
" the Wednefday as a faft, inftead of Saturday, might do it;"
and fome other fuch indulgences as thefe were granted,,
which were underftood to affeft the faith.

As foon as this came to the ears of the patriarch, he
wrote a very fliarp letter to the king, reproving him for the
proclamation that he had made ; adding, that it was an en-
croachment upon the office of the priefthood, that he, a
layman, fhould take upon him to dire(5l in matters merely
ecclefiaftical. He warned the king, moreover, that God
would call him to the very llridleft account for this prefump-
tion, and reminded him of the words of Azarias the chief
prieft to kingUzziah, and of the punijQiment of leprofy that
followed the king's encroachment on the ecclefiaftical func-
tion ; and infifled upon Socinios contradiding his proclama-
tion by another.

Socinios

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 389

SociNios fo far complied, that the aheration made by the
lall proclamation was confined to three articles. Firft, that
no litm'gy, unlefs amended by the patriarch, was to be ufed
in divine fervice. Secondly, that all feafts, excepting Eafter
and thofe that depended upon it, fhould be kept according
to the ancient computation of time. And, thirdly, that,
whoever chofe, might fall on Wednefday, rather than on the
Saturday.

At the fame time, the king cxprelTed himfelf as greatly
offended at the freedom of the application of the ftory of
Azarias and Uzziah to him. He told the pamarch plainly,
that it was not by his fermons, nor thofe of the fathers, nor
by the miracles they wrought, nor by the defire of the peo-
ple, but by his edicts alone, that the Roman religion was in-
troduced into Ethiopia ; and, therefore, that the patriarch
had not the leaft reafon to complain of any thing being al-
tered by the authority that firft eftablilhcd it. But, from
this time, it plainly appears, thatSocinios began to entertain
ideas, at leaft of the church difcipline and government, very
oppofite to thofe he had when he firft embraced the Romifli
religion.

The king now fet out in his campaign for Lafta with a
large army, which he commanded himfelf, and under him
his fon, the prince Facilidas. Upon entering the mountain,
he divided his army into three divifions. The firft com-
manded by the prince, and under him Za Mariam Adebo
his mafter of the houfehold, was ordered to attack, fcale, and
lodge thcmfelves on the higheft part of the mountain. The
fecond he gave to Guebra Chriftos, governor of Begemder ;
and in this he placed the regiment, or body of troops, called

3^ Inaches,

590 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Inaches, veteran foldiers of Sela Chriftos, and a fmall, but
brave body of troops containing the fons of Portuguefe:
Thefe he direcfted to occupy the valleys and low ground. In
the center the king commanded in perfon.

The rebel chief and his mountaineers remained in a
flate of fecurity ; for they neither thought to be fo fpeedi-
ly attacked, nor that Socinios could have raifed fo large
an army. They abandoned, therefore, the lower ground,
and all took pofts upon the heights. The prince advanced
to the firfl: entrance, and ordered Damo, his Billetana
Gueta, to force it with four companies of good foldiers,
who afcended the mountain with great perfeverance ; and,
notwithftariding the obftinate defence of the rebels, made
themfelves mailer of that poll, having killed two of the
braveft officers Melca Chriftos had, the one named Bil-
lene, the other Tecla Mariam, iim.ZTaQ.6. defender of the fakh^
becaufe he was the firft that brought Galla to the affiftance
of Melca Chriftos.

There were likewife flain, at the fame time, fourpriefts
and five monks, after a defperate refiftance ; one of whom,
calling the king's troops Moors, forbade them to approach
for fear of defiling him, and then, with a book in his
hand, threw himfelf over the rock, and was daflied to pieces
in the plain below. Here the prince met with an enemy
he did not expert : The cold was fo exceffive, that above
fifty perfons were frozen to death.

The top of the mountain, which was the fecond entry in-
to Lafta, was occupied by a ftill larger body of rebels, and,
therefore, necelTary to be immediately ftormed, elfe thofe
I below

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 391

below were in imminent danger of being daflied to pieces
by the large ftones rolled down upon them. The prince
divided his army into two parties, exhorting them, without
lofs of time, to attack that poll ; but the rebels, feeing the
good countenance with which they afcended, forfook their
flation and fled ; fo that this fecond mountain was gained
with much lefs- lofs and diflSculty than tlie firll.

Behind this, and higher than all the reft, appeared the
third, which ftruck the aflailants at firft with terror and
defpair. This was carried with ftill lefs lofs on the part of
the prince, becaufe he was aflifted by the Inaches and Por-
tuguefe, who cut off the communication below, and hinder-
ed one mountain from fuccouring the other. Here they
found great ftore of arms, offenfive and defenfive ; coats of
mail, mules, and kettle drums ; and they penetrated to the
head-quarters of Melca Chriftos, which was a fmall moun-
tain, but very ftrong in fituation, where a Portuguefe captain
feized the feat which ferved as a throne to the rebel ; and,
had not they loft time by falling to plunder, they would have
taken Melca Chriftos himfelf, who with diihcalty efcaped,
accompanied by ten liorfe.

To this laft mountain Socinios repaired with the prince,
and they were joined by the governors of Amhara and
Tigre, who had forced their way in from the oppolite
fide.

Hitherto all had gone well with the king ; but when he
had detached Guebra Chriftos, governor of Begemder, with
the Inaches and Portuguefe, who were at fome diftance,to de-
ftroy the crop, die mountaineers, again aiTemblcd on a higii

hilL

392 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

hill above them, faw their opportunity, and fell fuddenly
upon the fpoilers, and cut all the foldiers of Begenider to
pieces. A confiderable part of the Inaches fell alfo ; but
the reft, joining themfelves with the Portuguefe in one
body, made good their retreat to the head-quarters.

The deflruclion of the corn everywhere around them,
and the impoffibility of bringing provifions there, as they
were fituated in the midft of their enemies, obliged the
king to think of returning before the rebels fhould colle6t
themfelves, and cut off his retreat. And it was with great
difficulty, and ftill greater lofs, he accompliflicd this, and
retired to Dancaz, abandoning Lafta as foon as he had fub-
dued it, but leaving Begemder almoft a prey to the rebels
whom he had conquered in Lafla.

SociNios being now determined upon another campaign
againft Lafta, and for the relief of Begemder, ordered his
troops to hold themfelves in readinefs to march as foon as
the weather fhould permit. But an univerfal difcontent had
feized the whole army. They faw no end to this war, nor
any repofe from its vi(5lories obtained with great bloodfhed,
without fpoil, riches, or reward ; no territory acquired to
■ the king, nor nation fubdued ; but the time, when they were
not aftually in the field, filled up with executions and the
conftant efifufion of civil blood, that feemed to be more hor-
rid than war itfelf. They, therefore, pofitively refufed to
march againft Lafta ; and the prince was deputed by them
to inform the king, that they did not fay the Roman faith
was a bad one, as they did not underftand it, nor defire to
be inftrudted ; that this was an aflair which entirely regard-
ed themfelves, and no one would pretend to fay there was

any

The source of the nile. 595

any merit in profeffing a religion they did not underftand
or believe : that they were ready, however, to march and lay
down their lives for the king and common-weal, provided
he reftored them their ancient religion, without which they
would have no concern in the quarrel, nor even wifli to be
conquerors. Whether the king was really in the fecret or
not, I fhall not fay; but it is exprefsly mentioned in the an-
nals of his reign, that Socinios did promife by his fon to
the army, that he would rellore the Alexandrian faith if he
fhould return victorious over Lafta ; and the fudden man-
ner in which he executed this muft convince every other
perfon that it was fo.

The army now marched from Dancaz, upon intelligence
arriving that the rebels had left their ftrong- holds in Lafta,
and were in their way to the capital to give the king battle
there. It was the 26th of July 1631 the kingdifcovered, by
his fcouts, that the rebel Mclca Chriftos was at hand, having
with him an army of about 25,000 men. Upon this intelli-
gence he ordered his troops to halt, and hear mafs from
Diego de Mattos ; and, having chofen his ground, he halted
again at mid-day, and confeiTed, according to the rite of the
church of Rome, and then formed his troops in drdcr of
battle.

It was not long till the enemy came in fight, but without
ihewing that alacrity and delire of engaging they ufed to do
when in their native mountains. The king, at the head of
the cavalry, fell fo fuddenly and fo violently upon them,
that he broke through the van-guard commanded by Mclca
Chriftos, and put them to flight before his foot could come
up. The reft of the army followed the example of the lead-

VoL. Ih 3 D er.

394

TRAVELS TO DISCOYE^R

er, and the enemy were everywhere trodden down and de*^
llroyed by the victorious horfe, till night put an. end to the
purfuit.

M£LCA Christos, in the beginning of the engagemenr, ^
faved hirafelf by the fwiftnefs of his horfe ; but 8000 of the
mountaineers were llain upon tlie fpot, among whom was
Bicanc, general to Meica Chriftos, an exqcllent officer both
for council and the field, and, feveral other confide-rable
perfons, as well inhabitants of Lafta as others, who had ta.-.
ken that fide from dillike to the king and his jueafure^. .

Next morning the king went out with his fon.to fee the ■
field of battle, where the prince Faciiidas is faid-to have
fpoke to this effe<^-in name of the army : -"Thefe men,
whom you fee flaughtered on the ground, were neither Pa^
gans nor Maliometans at whofe dx^ath we fliould rejoice —
they were Chriftians, lately your fubjeds and your coun-
trymen, fome of them yoiir> relations. This is not vidory
which is gained over ourfelves. In kilhng thefe you drive
the fword into your own entrails. How many men have
you flaughtered ? Kow many more have you to kill ? We are
become a proverb even among the Pagans and Moors for
carrying on this war, and for apoilatizing, as they fay, from
the faith of our anceftors." — The king heard this fpeech:
■without reply, and returned manifeftly difconfolat€ to Dan-,
caz ; though many times before he had feaiied and trium-
phed for the gaining of a lelTer vi(5lory.

' AiFTfiR his arrival at Dancaz, he had a conference with
the patriarch Alphonfo Mendes, who, in a long fpeech, up-
brai<ltd him with having deferted tli£ Catholic faith at the

time

THE SOURCE OE THE NILE. 39J

time when the vidory obtained by their prayers gave him
an opportunity of eftabhiliing it. The king anfwcred, with
feeming indifference, that he had done every thing for the
Cathohc faith in his power ; that he had flied the blood of
thoufands, and as much more was to be fhed ; and flill he
was uncertain if it would produce any effedl ; but that he
fliould think of it, and fend him his refolutions to-morrow.

'The next day Socinios made a declaration by Za Mariam
to the patriarch, to this purport : " When we embraced the
faith of Rome, we laboured for it with great diligence, but
the people fliewcd no affedion for it. Julius rebelled out
of hatred againft Sela Ghriftos, under pretence of being de-
fender of the ancient faith, and was flain, together with
many of his followers. Gabriel did the fame. Tecla Geor-
gis,likewife, made a league to die for the Alexandrian faith,
which he did, and many people with him. The fame did
SercaChriftos the preceding year; and thofe peafants of
Lafta fight for the fame caufe at this day. The faith of
Rome is not a bad one ; but the men of this country do not
underftand it. Let thofe that like it remain in that faith, in
the fame way as the Portuguefe did in the time of Atzenaf
Segued ; let them eat and drink together, and let them mar-
ry the daughters of Abyffmians. As for thofe that are not
inclined to the Roman faith, let them follow their ancient
one as received from the church of Alexandria."

Upon this declaration, delivered by Za Mariam, the pa-
triarch inquired if it. came from the king. Being anfwcred
that it did; after a little paufe, he returned this anfwcr by
Emanuel Almeyda, " That the patriarch underftood that
both religions liiould-be permitted in the k-ngdom, and that

3 D 2 tlie

396 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the Alexandrians were to have every indulgence that could
be wifhed by them, without violating the purity of the Ca-
tholic faith ; that, therefore, he had no difficulty of allow-
ing the people of Lafta to live in the faith of their anceftors
without alteration, as they had never embraced any other ;
but as for thofe that had fwom to perfift in the Catholic
faith, and had received the communion in that church, by
no means, without a grievous fm, could it be granted to
them to renounce that faith in which they had deliberately
fworn to live and die."

The king, upon this anfwer, which he underftood well,,
and expected, only replied, " What is to be done ? I have no
longer th« power of government in my own kingdom ;"—
and immediately ordered a herald to make the following
proclamation :■ —

" Hear us ! hear us ! hear us ! Firll of all we gave you^
the Roman Catholic faith, as thinking it a good one ; but
many people have died fighting againft it, as Julius, Ga*
briel, Tecla Georgis, Scrca Chriftos, and, laftly, thefe rude
peafants of Lafta. Now, therefore, we reftore to you the
faith of your anceftors ; let your own priefts fay their mafs
in th^ir own churches ; let the people have their own altars
for the facrament, and their own liturgy, and be happy.
As for myfelf, I am now old and worn out with war and in*
iirmities, and no longer capable of governing ; I name my
fon Facilidas to reign in my place."

Thus, in one day, fell the whole fabric of the Roman Ca-
thoUc faith, and hierarchy of the church of Rome, in Abyffi-
eia; fit:ft regularly eftablifhed, as I muft always think, by Pe-

tei?

THE SOURCE OV THE NILE. 397

ter Paez, in moderation, charity, perfeverance, long-fuf-
fering, and peace ; extended and maintained afterwards
by, blood and violence beyond what could be expeded from
heathens, and thrown down by an exertion of the civil power
in its own defence, againft the encroachments of prieft-
hood and ecclefiaftical tyranny, which plainly had no other
view than, by annihilating the conftitution under its native
prince, to reduce Abyffinia to a Portuguefe government, as
had been the cafe with fo many independent ftates in In-
dia already.

This proclamation was made on the 14th of June 1632.
After this Socinios took no care of public affairs. He had
been for a long time afHidted with various complaints, e-
Ipecially lince the laft campaign in Lafta ; and affairs were
BOW managed by prince Facilidas in his father's place,
though he did not take upon him the title of King. E-
mana Chriftos, brother of Sela Chriilos, a fteady Alexan-
drian, and Guebra Chriftos, were then made governors of
Lafta and Begemder ; but no fteps were taken in this inter-
val againft the Jefuits.

On the 7th of September the king died, and was buried;
with great pomp, by his fon Facilidas, in the church of Ga-
neta Jefus, which he himfelf had built, profeffmg himfelf
a Roman Catholic to the laft. The Portuguefe hiftorians
deny both his refignation of the crown, and his perfeverance
in the Roman Catholic faith to his death, but this apparently
for their own purpofes.

He was a prince remarkable for his ftrength of body ; of

great courage and elevation of mind ; had early learned the

. exerciff;

33r8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

cxercifeofarms,patience,perfeverance,andeveTy'military vif-
tue that could be acquired; and had pafled the iirll of his life
as a private perfon, in the midft of hardfliips and dangers.

He is celebrated to this day in Abyflinia for a talent,
Avhich lecms to be the gift of nature, that of choofing upon
the firll view the proper ground for the camp or battle, and
embracing, in his own mind in a moment,all the advantages
and difadvantages that could refult from any particular part
of it. This talent is particularly recorded in feveral ftiort
proverbs, or military adages, fuch as the following: " Blind
him lirft, or you fhall never beat him." This moft material
qualification feemed to have been in part tranfmitted to Ras
Michael, the great general in my time, defcended from Soci-
nios by his mother; and, by this fuperiority. alone over the
other commanders oppofed to him, he is faid to have been
victorious in forty-three pitched battles.

SociNios embraced the Catholic religion from convic5lion,
and ftudied it with great application, as far as his narrow
means of inllrucftion would allow him; and there can be no
doubt that, under the moderate condu<5t of Peter Paez, who
converted him, he would have died a martyr for that reli-
gion ; and there feems as little reafon to doubt, confcienti-
ous as he was^ if he had beeii a young man he would
have quitted it for the good of his country, and from his
inability to fufFcr the tyranny of the patriarch Alphonfo
Mendes, and his continual encroachment upon civil go-
vernment. Being, in the laft years of his life, left without
one foldier to draw his fword for the Catholic caufc, he kept
his religion, anxl abandoned his crown ; and having been, it
fliould feem, for fome time convuiced that the govprnment

2 o£

TH-E SOURCE OF THE NILE. 393^

ef thechurch of Rome, in fuch hands as he left it, was in,
compatible with monarchy, he took np pains to. change
FaciUdas's known fentiments, of to render him .favourable
to- the- Roman faith, or to name another of his fons to fuc^
Ci^ed hii» whom he found to be more fo.

THElefuils, confidcring onl^ the cataftrophe, and un*
mindful of the arenuous clTorts made to ertablilh their reli-
'^ion during his whole reign, have traduced his character
as that of an apoftate, for giving way to the.univerfal de^
mand of .his people to have their ancient form of worOiip
reilored when his airmy had.defei-tcd him, and he himfelf
was dying, of old age. But every impartial man will, adr
mit, that the, ftcp he took, of abdicating his fovereignty over
a people who , had abjured the religion he had introduced
among them;, was» in his-circiunftances, the noblcft. aaion
oi his life, and juft. the rcverfc of apoRacy.

This refignation of the crown*, and his tenacious perfc^
vering in the Catholic faith, together with t*he moderation
of his fon, the prince Facilidas, in appointing a regency to
govern, rather than to mount the throne himielf during his
father's life, are three facTis which we know to be true from ;
the Abyffiaian annals, and which the Jefuits have cndea^-
voured to fupprefs, that they might the more eafdy black-.-
en the chara(5ter both of the father and the fon.

The Y have pretended thatit was the queen, and other ladies -
at court, who by their influence feduced the king from the :
Catholic religion. But Socinios was then pad fevcnty, and i
the queen near fixty, and he had no other wives or millrefT-;
es.. To jud^^e, moreover, by his behaviour in the affair.

400 THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

of Adera, fifter to Tecla Georgis, the voice of the women ^t
court feems to have had no extraordinary weight with him.
In a word, he never varied in his reUgion after he embraced
that of Rome, but ftedfaftly adhered to it, when the pride and
bad condud of the Jefuits, its profeflbrs, had fcarcely left an*
other friend to it in the whole kingdom ; and, therefore, the
charge of apoftacy is certainly an unmerited falfehood.

As it is plain the Portuguefe, from the beginning, be-
lieved their religion could only be ellabliflied by force, and
were perfuaded fuch means were lawful, the blame of fo
much bloodflied for fo many years, and the total mifcar-
riage of the whole fcheme at laft, lay at the door of their
fovereign, the king of Spain and Portugal ; who, having
fucceeded to his wifli in his conqueft of India, feems not to
have had the fame anxiety the patriarch had for the con-
verfion of Abyflinia, nor even to have thought further of
fending a body of troops with his priefts to the fuccour of
Socinios, whom he left to the prayers of Urban VIII. the
merit of Ignatius Loyola, and the labours of his furious and
fanatic difcipleft

TRAVELS

TRAVELS

TO DISCOVER.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE,

BOOK IV.

ANNALS OF ABYSSINIA,

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL.'

CONTINUATION OF THE ANNALS, FROM THE DEATH OF SOCI-
NIOS TILL MY ARRIVAL IN ABYSSINIA.

FACILIDAS, OR SULTAN SEGUED.

From 1632 to 1665.

-The Patriarch and Mijfionaries are bamjhed — 5"^-?^ the PrcteBion of a
Rebel-^Delivered up to the King, andfent to Mafuah — Prince Clau-
dius rebels — Sent to Wechne-^Deatb and Chara£ler of the King,

A

S foon as the prince Facilidas had paid the laft honours

^ to his father, he fet about compofing thofe diforders

which had fo long diftradted the kingdom by reafon of the
-difference of rehgion. Accordingly he wrote to the patri-
VoLlI. 3E ^^^^

402 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

arch, that, the Alexandrian faith being now reftored, his lea.-
ving the kingdom had become indifpenfible : that he had
lately underftood,. that an Abuna, fent for by his predecefTor
and by himfelf, was now a(5lually on the way, and only de-
ferred his arrival from a refolution not to enter the king-
dom till the Romifli patriarch and his priefts fhould have
left it ; and, therefore, he commanded the patriarch and fa-
thers, affembled from their feveral convents in Gojam and
Dembea, to retire immediately to Fremona, there to wait
his further pleafure.

The patriarch endeavoured to parry this, with ojQfering
new concelTions and indulgencies ; but the king informed
him that he was too late ; and that he wiflied him to be
advifed, and fly, while it was time, from greater harm that
would otherwife fall upon him.

It was not long before the patriarch had revenge of Fa-
cilidas for this intimation of the expe<5lation of a fucceffor
in the perfon of the Abuna. For on that very Eafter there
did arrive one, whofe name was Sela Chriftos, calling him-
felf Abuna, who performed all the funiftions of his office,
dedicated churches, adminiflered the facrament, and ordain-
ed priefts. After continuing in office fome months, he was
detedled by a former companion of his, and found to be a
man of very bad charader, from Nara, the frontier of Abyf-
fmia, and that by profeffion he had been a dealer in horfes.

Facilidas then ordered his uncle, Sela Chriftos, to be
brought before him, received him kindly, and offered him
again his riches and employments. That brave man, Chrif-
tian in every thing but in his hatred and jealoufy againft

his

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 403

his fovereign and nephew, refufed abfolutely to barter his
faith to obtain the greateft good, or avoid the greateft pu-
nifliment, it was in the power of the king to inflidl. Af-
ter repeated trials, all to no purpofe, the king, overcome
by the inftigation of his enemies, banifhed him to Anabra
in Shawada, a low, unwholefome diftrift amidft the moun-
tains of Samen. But hearing that he ftill kept correfpon-
dence with the Jefuits, and that their common refolution
was to folicit Portuguefe troops from India, and remember-
ing his former oath, he fent orders to his place of exile to
put him to death, and he was in confequcnce hanged upon
a. cedar-tree.

Tellez, the Portuguefe hiftorian, in his colle<flion of
martyrs that died for the faith in Abyflinia, has defervedly
inferted the name of Sela Chriftos ; but profefTes that he is
, ignorant of the time of his death, and under what fpecies
of torment he fufFered. The only information that I can
give is what I have juft now written. It was in the begin-
ning of the year 1634 he was carried to Shawada in chains,
and confined upon the mountain Anabra ; but no mention
is made of any other hardfhip being put upon him than his
being in irons, nor is more ufual in that kind of banifli-
ment. It was at the end of that year, however, that he was
executed in the manner above mentioned, being fufpeded
of having correfponded with the patriarch and Jefuits, and
afterwards of inciting his nephew Claudius to rebel, as, it
appears, he had meditated long before, and actually did very
foon after.

The 9th of March 1633, the king ordered the patriarch to
leave Dancaz, and, with the reft of the fathers, to proceed im-

3 E 2 mediately

404 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

mediately to Fremona, under the conducH: of four people of the
firft confideration, Tecla Georgis, brother of Keba Chriftos^
Tecla Saluce, one of the principal perfons in Tigre, and two-
Azages, men of great dignity at court. Thefe were joined
by a party of foldiers belonging to Claudius, brother of the
king, fuppofed to have been in the confpiracy with Sela
Chriftos his uncle, to fupplant his brother FaciHdas by the
help of the Jefuits and Portuguefe troops from India. But as.
foon as the patriarch had fallen into difgrace, and Sela Chri-
ftos loft his life, that prince returned to the church of Alex-
andria, as did all the other fons of Socinios ; after which,,
Claudius feized to his own ufe all the lands and effeds that
he found in Gojam, and was now by the king made gover-
nor of Begemder. Under this cfcort the patriarch and his
company arrived at Fremona in the end of April 1633, after
having been often robbed and ill-treated by the way, the
o-uards that were given to defend them conniving with the
banditti that came to rob them.

However ftridly the fathers obferved the precepts of
fcripture on other occafions, in this they did not follow the
line of condud prefcribed by our Saviour—" And whofo-
" ever fhall not receive yovi, nor hear your words, when you
^'^ depart out of that houfe or city, fliake off the duft of your
" feet." They were not fheep that went patiently and dumb
to the flaughter ; and, if their hearts, as they fay, were full
of love and charity to Abyllinia, it was ftrangely accompanied
with the refolution they had takeu to fend Jerome Lobo,.
the n>oft famous, becaufe the moft bigotted Jefuit of the
whole band, firft to the viceroy of hidia, and then to Spain,
to foHcit an army and lieet which were to lay all this king-
dom in blood*

TliE

THE SOURCE OF t'HE NILE. 405

The king was perfedly advifed of all that pafTed. As he
faw that the patriarch endeavoured to gain time, and knew
the reafon of it; and, as the fathers among them had a con-
fiderable quantity of fire-arms, he fent an officer to the patri-
arch at Fremona, commanding him to deliver up the whole
of thefe, with gun-powder and other ammunition, and to
prepare,' at the fame time, to fet out for Mafuah. This at
firft the patriarch refufed to do. Nor did Facilidas punifli
this difobedience by any harfher method than convincing
him mildly of the imprudence and inutility of fuch refu-
fal, and the bad confequences to themfelves. Upon which
the patriarch at laft furrendered the articles required to the
officer fent by the king, but he refolved veiy differently as to
the other injunction of carrying all his brethren to Mafuah.
On the contrary, he determined by every means to fcattcr
them about the kingdom of Abyffinia, and leave them
behind if he was forced to embark at Mafuah, which he,
however, refolved to avoid and refill to the utmotl ot his
power.

In order to do this, it was refolved that he fliould folicit
the Baharnagafh (John Akay, then in rebellion) to take them
under his proteftion, and for that pui-pofe to fend a num-
ber of armed men, on a night appointed, to meet them near
Fremona, and carry them in fafety from any purfuit of the
governor of Tigre. This projea, extraordinary as it was, fuc-
ceeded. Akay promifed them his proteaion. The patriarch
and priefts, deceiving the guard the king had fet upon iliem,
efcaped in the night, and joined the foldiers of John Akay,
commanded by Tecla Emanuel, who was ready to receive
them: They took refuge at Addicota, the foldiers of the guard,
though alarmed, not daring to purfue them in the niglit, as

not

4g6 travels to DISCOVER

not knowing the number and power of their protedlors, and
fearing they might fall into fome ambufli.

It may not be amifs here to take notice, that this John
Akay was the very man with whom Tecla Georgis had af-
fociated for the murder of Abba Jacob. He was a fhrewd
man, and had great power by living in the neighbourhood
of Sennaar, to which country he could retreat when occa-
fion required. He received the patriarch with great kind-
jiefs.

Addicota is an inacceflible rock, perpendicular on all
fides, excepting where there is a narrow path by which was
the entrance. Here the patriarch thought he could conti-
nue in Abyflinia, in defiance of Facilidas, till he Iliould pro-
cure fuccours from India.

It was not, however, long before he found how little
dependence there was upon this new protedlor ; for, in the
midft of all his fchemes, he received orders to remove from
Addicota, under pretence that they were not there enough in
fafety ; and Akay transferred them vexatioufly from place
to place, into hot and unwholefome fituations, always under
the fame pretence, till he had deftroyed their healths, and
exhaufl:ed their flrengthand patience.

There is but one way of difpofing fuch people to grant
a favour, and it was furprifing the patriarch did not find this
out fooner. Jerome Lobo was fent with a fmall prefent in
gold, defiring they might have leave to continue in their old
habitation, Addicota. Lobo found John Akay very much
taken up in a purfuit that fome ignorant monks had put
3 into

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 407

into his head. They had made him beUeve that there was
a treafure hid under a certain mountain which they had
fliewn him, but that the devil who guarded it had conftant-
ly hindered his predecefTors from acquiring it. At prefent
they had found out, that this devil had gone a journey far
off, was become blind and lame, and was, beiides, in very
great affliction for the death of a fon, the only hopes of his
devilQiip's family, having now only a daughter remaining,
very ugly, lame, fquinting, and fickly, and that all thefe rea-
fons would hinder him from being very anxious about his
treafure. But, even fuppofing he did come, they had an old
monk that would exorcife him, a man as eminent for wif-
dom as for fanftity.

In fliort, they produced a monk, one of their brethren, a-
bove a hundred years old, whom they mounted upon a
horfe, then tied him to the animal, wrapping him round
with black wooL, which, it feems, was the conjuring habit.
He was followed by a black cow and fome monks, who
carried beer, hydromel, and roafted wheat, which was ne-
ceffary, it feemed, to refrelh the devil after his long journey
and great afflidlion, and put him in good humour, if he
fliould appear.

The old monk fung without ceafing, the workmen
wrought vigoroufly, and much earth and ftones were re-
moved ; at laft they difcovered fome rat, mice, or mole-
holes, at the fight of which a cry of joy was heard from all
the parties preient.

The old monk fmgs again ; the cow is brought in great
hurry, and facrificed, and pieces of it thrown to the rats and

mice;

4o8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

mice : again they fall to work with double keennefs, the
mole-holes vanifh, and a hard rock appears. This being
the laft obftacle, they fall keenly upon the rock, and the
old monk chants till he is hoarfc with finging ; the heat
of the fun is exceffive ; no gold appears ; John Akay lofes
his patience, and afks when it may be feen ? The monks
lay the whole blame upon him, becaufe, they fay, he had
not enough of faith. They give over work ; with one con-
fent fall to eating the cow, and then difperfe.

Eat HER Jerome, takes the opportunity of this difappoint-
ment to abufe the monks. He prefents the Baharnagafh
with two ounces of gold, and fome other trifles, inftead of
the treafure which he was to get in the mountain : he ob-
tains the requeft he came to folicit, and the patriarch and
fathers return to Addicota.

Facilidas, informed of the afylum afforded to the Jefuits
who had fled from Fremona, applied to John Akay, promi-
fing him forgivennefs of what was pafl; if he would deli-
ver the priefls under his protedion. This John Akay de-
clined to do from motives of delicacy. It was breaking his
word to deliver his guells into the hands of the king ; but,
by a very llrange refinement, he agreed to fell them to the
Turks. Accordingly they were delivered for a fum to the
baflia of Mafuah, who received them with much greater
kindnefs than they had experienced in the Chriftian coun-
try from which they fled.

Two Jefuits were purpofely left behind, with the confent
of John Akay, unknown to Facilidas, in fervent hopes that
fome occafion would foon offer of fuffering martyrdom for

I the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 409

the true faith ; and in this expedtation they were not long
difappointed, all thofe who were left in Abyffinia having
loft their lives by violent deaths, moft of them on a gibbet,
by order of Facilidas, the laft of whom was Bernard No-
geyra.

Facilidas, weary of the obftinacy of thefe millionaries,
uneafy alfo at the fufpicions they created, that a number of
Portuguefe troops would be poured in upon his country by
the viceroy of India, concluded a treaty with the bafhas of
Mafuah and Suakem, for preventing any Portuguefe paffing
into Abyffinia, by fhutting thefe ports againft them. Not
above eight years before, that is, in the year 1624, Soci-
nios had fent a zebra, and feveral other curious articles, as
prefents to the baflia of Suakem, with a requeft to him
not to obftruc% as the Turks had ufed to do, the entrance of
any Portuguefe into his dominions. But thofe times were
now fo changed, that both nations, Turks and Abyffinians,
had refolved, with one confent, to exclude them all, for
their mutual fafety, peace, and advantage.

This treaty with the Turks, made by Facilidas, probably
gave rife to that calumny of the Jefuits, that, for fear of a
return of the Portuguefe, that prince had embraced the Ma-
hometan religion, and fent for preceptors from Mocha to
inftrua him in their tenets. This, I fay, if not founded up-
on the treaty I mention, was deftitute of the leaft fhadowof
truth ; but, like other calumnies then propagated in great
number, arofe folely from the rage, malice, and heated ima-
ginations of defperate fanatics.

Vol. II. 3^ ^*^^^^^

4IO TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Amidst the general regret this revolution in the churclx
of Ethiopia occafioned at Rome, there were fome who thought
the pride, obftinacy, and violence of the Jefuits, the hardnefs
and cruelty of their hearts in inlligating Socinios to that
perpetual effufion of blood, and their independence, their en-
croachmeiits upon, and refinance of the civil power, were
faults refulting from the inftitutions of that particulxir fo-
ciety, and that thefe occafioned the mifcarriage ; that a well-
grounded averlion to the teachers had created a repugnance
to the do(5lrines preached, and was the rcafon of the expul-
fion of the fathers, and the relapfe of Abyflinia to the Alex-
andrian faith. From this perfuafion,^ fix capuchins, all o£
them Frenchmen of the reformed Order of St Francis, were
fent from Rome after the death of Nogeyra, by the con-
gregation De. PropaganM Fide^ and thefe had protections fronii
the grand fignior*

Two attempted the entering Abyflinia by way of the
Indian Ocean, that is, from Magadoxa, and were flain by the
Galla, after advancing a very Ihort way into the country..
Two of them penetrated into Abyflinia, and were ftoned to>
death. The remaining two, hearing the fate of their
companions at Mafuah, and not being fo violently bent up*
on a crown of martyrdom as were the Portuguefe million-
aries^ prudently returned home, carrying with them the ac-
count of this bad fuccefs.

Three other capuchins were fent after this. It is impof-
fible to judge from their conducfl what idea they had form'-
ed ; for they themfelves gave the firfl information of their
intended coming to Facilidas, who thereupon recommend-
ed it to the bafha to receive them according to their merits ;

and

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 411

and thereupon, on their arrival at Suakem, their heads were
cut off by his order ; the fkins of their heads and faces ftrip-
ped off and fcnt to the king of Abyffinia, that, by their co
lour, he might know them to be franks, and by their ton-
fure to be priefts. Nor was it poffible afterwards to intro-
duce any CathoHc miffionaries, either during this or the
following reign,

Facilidas having thus provided againft being further
difturbed by miffionaries, and having reduced all his fub-
jecfts to the obedience of the Alexandrian church, fent again
meffengers to bring an Abuna from Cairo, while he took
the field againft Melca Cliriftos his rival, who continued in
arms at the head of the peafants of Lafta, though there was
now no longer any pretence that the Alexandrian faith
was in danger. Both armies met in Libo, a country of
the Galla, where a panic feized the king's troops, his horfe
flying at the firft onfet. The royal army being entirely dif-
'perfed, Melca Chrillos purfued his good fortune, and enter-
ed the king's palace, took poffeffion of the throne, and was
crowned ; he appointed to all the great places in govern-
ment, and dillributed a largcfs, or bounty, to his foldiers.

The Portugucfe hiftorians fay, that this happened at
Dancaz, not at Libo. But they fhould have remembered
■what they before have faid, that an epidemic fever raged
an all Dcmbea, fo that the king was not at Dancaz that year.
Jie paffed the winter of the preceding one at Dobit, near
Begemder.

The memoirs of thefe miffionaries, even when they were
in the country, are to be read with great caution, being

3 F 2 f^l^

412 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

full of mifreprefentations of the manners and charadlers of
men, magnifying fome anions, flighting others, and attri-
buting to their favourites fervices that were really per-
formed by their adverfaries ; and, from the coming of Al-
phonfo Mendes, till they were baniflied to Mafuah, great
part of their account is untrue, and the reft very fufpicious.
After their retiring to India, which is the time we are now
fpeaking of, the whole that they have publifhed is one con-
tinued tilTue of falfehood and calumny, either hear-fay
ftories communicated to them, as they fay, by the remnants
of zealots Hill alive in Abyflinia, or fabrications of their own,
invented for particular purpofes. In continuing this hiftory,
I fhall take notice of fome of thefe, though for fadls I rely
entirely upon the annals of the country, treating, however,
the Abyflinian account of the Jefuits dodrines and behavi-
our with the fame degree of caution.

This forwardnefs of his rival Melca Chriflos did not dif-
Gourage Facilidas. Without lofmg a moment, he fent ex-
prelTes to Kafmati Dimmo, governor of Samen, to Ras Sela
Chriflos, of Damot, and to his brother Claudius, governor of
Begemder, ordering them to march and attack Melca Chrif-
tos, then adting as fovereign in the king's palace at Libo.

These three generals were not flack in obeying the com-
mands of Facilidas. They furrounded Melca Chriflos be-
fore he expedled them, and forced him to a battle, in which
he was defeated and loft his whole army. He himfelf, fight-
ing manfully at the head of his troops, was flain hand to
hand by Cofmas, a foldier of Kafmati Claudius, the king's
brother.

Jerome

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 413

Jerome Lobo mentions Facilidas's bad fuccefs againft the
Gallas and Agows as aninflance of divine vengeance which
purfued him. But if the approbation or difapprobation of
heaven is to be appealed to in this reign as a proof of the
juftnefs of the meafures taken, we miift be obhged to fay
the caufe of the Jefuits was not the caufe of heaven. If we
except the temporary advantage gained over FaciUdas, and
the accident that happened to his army at Lafta, perpetual
vidory had attended the wars in which this prince was en-
gaged; for fo far was he from being unfortunate this cam-
paign againft the Agows, that, on the 9th of February 1636,
he marched from Libo into Gojam, and totally defeated the
two great tribes Azena and Zeegam. After which he fent
his army with Kafmati Mclca Bahar, who coming up with
the Galla, a great body of whom had made an incurfion in-
to Gojam, he totally overthrew them, and palling the Nile
into their country, laid it wafte, and returned with a great
number of cattle, and multitudes of women and children to.
be fold as flaves.

The king then returned to Begemder, and took up his
head-quarters at Gonfala ; but, foon hearing that the Abuna
Marcus was arrived, he quitted that place, and came to meet
him in Gondar..

The next year, which was the fifth of his reign, and the
firft of the coming of Abuna Marcus, he again fought with
the Agows, and beat the Denguis, Hancafha, and the Zee-
gam, and pafled that winter in Gafat ; nor was he ever un-
fortunate with the Agows or Galla. But a misfortune hap-
pened this year (the 6th of his reign) which very much af-
feded the whole kingdom. The people of Lafta feemed to

grow

414 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

grow more inveterate after the defeat they had received
under Melca Chrillos. In the Head of that prince flain
in battle, they appointed his fon, a young man of good
hopes.

Facilidas, trufting to his former reputation acquired
in thefe mountains in his father's time, on the 3d of March
1638 advanced with a large army into Lafta, with a defign to
bring thefe peafants to a battle. But the rebels, growing wife
by their lolTes, no longer chofe to trull themfelves on the
plain, but, retiring to the llrongeft polls, fortified them
fo judicioufly, that, without rifking any lofs themfelves,
they cut off all fupplies or provilions coming to the king's
army.

It happened at that time the cold was fo excefllve that
almoft the whole army perifhed amidft the mountains ; great
part from famine, but a greater Hill from cold, a very re-
markable circumllance in thefe latitudes. Lafta is barely
12° from the Line, and it was now the equinox in March, fo
that the fun was but 12° from being in the zenith of Lafta,
and there was in the day twelve hours of fun. Yet here is
an example of an army, not of foreigners, but natives, pe-
rifhing with cold in their own country, when the fun is no
farther than i z° from being vertical, or from being diredly
over their heads ; a ftrong proof this, as I have often remark-
ed, that there is no way of judging by the degrees of heat
in the thermometer, what efTea that degree of heat or
cold is to have upon the human body.

The eighth year of the reign of Facilidas, Claudius, go-
yfrnor of Begemder, his brother, revolted and joined the re-

I bels

THE SOURCE OF THE NIL E. 415

bcls of Lafta. It feems, that this prince had been long en-
couraged by the Jefuits, and his uncle Scla Chriftos, in cx-
pedation of fucceeding his father Socinios, and fupplanting
Facilidas, his brother, in the kingdom. But, after the banilh-
ment of the Jefuits, and the death of Sela Chriftos, FaciUdas
thinking, thefe bad counfellors being removed, he would
continue firm in his duty, and willing to diitelieve the whole
that had been reported of his defigns, made him governor of
Begemderr

It happened, however, that this very year two Abunas
arrived from Egypt, one by way of Sennaar, the other by
Dancali. Upon inquiry it was found, that Abba Michael,,
the latter of ihefe Abunas, had been fent for by Kafmati
Claudius, in expectation that he was to be on the throne by
the time of his Abuna's arrival. This implied clearly that
the king's death was agreed on. Claudius, without attempt-
ing a vindicatiorr, or awaiting the difcullion of this ftep, fled
to Lafta, and joined Laeca, fon of Mclca Chriftos, a youth
then at the head of the rebels.

Facilidas baniflicd Abba Michael to Serke, a Mahome-
tan town in the way to Sennaar, and admitted Abba Johan-
nes, whom he himfelf had fcnt for from Cairo, into the
ofEce of Abuna.

Soon after this, Claudius was farprifcd and taken prifon-
er, and brought to the king, and, though ftaincd in a high
degree with ingratitude, treafon, and intended fratricide, he
could not be brought to order his execution, but, like a
wife and merciful prince, refle(5ting on the ancient ufag^s
of the empire, and how much royal blood might be daily

faved

4.i6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

faved by fequeftering the defcendents of the imperial family
upon the momitain, he chofe that of Wechne in Beleflen,
which ferved ever after for this purpofe.

This is the third mountain within the reach of written
hiftory, firft chofen, and then reprobated, as a ftate-prifon
for all the males of the royal family, excepting the one feat-
ed upon the throne.

This interruption of the imprifonment of the princes for
a time, and the refuming it again for another period,
have led the Portuguefe writers, very little acquainted with
the hiftory or conftitution of this country, into various dif-
putes and difficulties, which I fliall fully explain and recon-
cile in their proper place. It is fufficient for the prefent to
obferve, that Claudius was fent into exile to the mountain of
Wechne, and that he was the firft prince banifhed thither,
where he lived for many years.

The king, finding that nothing material preiTed at home,
marched into Gojam to Enzagedem, whence he fent Ras
Bela Chriftos againft the Shangalla, N. W. of the country of
the Agows. Thefe people being put upon their guard by
their neighbours, all difaffeaed to the king, contrived to
place themfelves in ambufti fo judicioufly, that Bela Chrif-
tos, marching in fecurity into their country, was furround-
ed by the Shangalla, whom he thought yet at a diftance.
Great part of his troops was flain by the arrows of the ene-
my, who, from their caves and holes in the mountain, pour-
ed their miffile weapons, ftones, and arrows on the troops,
at fo fmall a diftance that every one took place, though a-
bove the reach of fwords, and lances, or fuch common wea-

T pons ;

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 417

pons ; others were overpowered by large bodies of men Tal-
lying from the thickets, and fighting them firmly foot to
foot. Many officers were that day flain, among the reft Al-
zague and Petros» two perfons of great diftindtion in the
palace. But the king, however afilidled for the lofs of his
men, well knew that this defeat would have no other con-
fequences ; fo returned to his capital, with refolution to
make another vigorous effort againft Lafta.

The manner in which this expedition was prevented can-
•not but give us a high idea of Facilidas: Laeca, at the head
of an army of veteran troops, whofe affedlion he never had
occafion to doubt, thought it fafer to truil to the generofity
of a king, who had flain his father in battle, than to the
acquiring a crown that was not his, by perlevering any
longer in rebellion. Accordingly he furrendered himfelf,
without condition, to Facilidas, who immediately committed
him to prifon, which feeming feverity, however, meant no-
thing further, than to fliew him the lenity which followed
was entirely his own, and not fuggeficd to him by the ofl[i-
cioufnefs of courtiers ; for no fooner was he arrived at
Gondar, than he fent for Laeca from prifon, received him
not only kindly, but with great marks of diftinction ; and,
indcad of banifliing him to Wechnc^ as he did his own bro-
ther Claudius, and which, as being of the blood-ro^al,
fhould have been his delUnation likewife, the king en-
tered into a kind of treaty with Laeca, by which he gave
liim large poffelfions in ISegemder near Lafta, and married
him to his daughter Theoclea, by whom, however, he had no
children, but lived long in conftant friendfhip and confi-
<ience with Facilidas.

Voi.. IL 3 G s Except

4i8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Except the events which I have already recorded, there
is nothing farther in this long reign worthy of being infill-
ed upon ; the early inroads of the Galla, in plundering par-
ties, and the feditions and revolts of the Agows from the
oppreflion and extortion of their governors, were fuch as we
find in every reign ; and in all thefe Facilidas was vidori-
ous, whilft the Hancafha and Zeegam were greatly weak-
ened in thefe campaigns..

Facilidas was taken ill at Gondar, in the end of Odlo*
ber, of a difeafe which, from its firft appearance, he thought
would prove mortaL He, therefore, fent to his eldeft font
Hannes, whom he had conftantly kept with him, and who
was now of age to govern, and recommended to him his
kingdom, and the perfevering in the ancient religion. He
died the 30th of September 1665, in great peace and com*
pofure of mind, and they buried him at Azazo..

If we are obliged to give his father the preference, from
the greater variety of trials which he underwent, we muft
in juftice allow, that, after his father, Facilidas was the,
greateft king that ever fat upon the AbylTmian throne. He
had every good quality neceffary to conftitute a great prince^
without any alloy or mixture, that, upon fo much provoca-
tion as he had, might have milled him to be a bad one. He
was calm, difpaffionate, and courteous in his behaviour.
In the very difficult part he had to acT: between his father
and the nation, the necelTities of the times had taught him
a degree of referve, which, if it was not natural^ was not
therefore the lefs ufeful to him. He was in his own perfon
^he bravell foldier of his time, and always expofed himfelf
%i proportion as th^occafion. was important.

TO:.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 419

To this were added all the qualities of a good general,
in which charadler he feems to have equalled his father So-
cinios, who elfe was univerfally allowed to be the firll of his
time. Fierce and violent in battle, he was backward in fhed-
ing blood after it. Though an enemy to the Catholic reli-
gion, yet, from duty to his father, he lived with the patri-
arch and Jefuits upon fo familiar a footing, that they con-
fefs themfelves it was not from any part of his behaviour to
them they ever could judge him an enemy. He was moft
remarkable for an implicit fubmiffion to his father's com-
mands ; and, upon this principle, fought in favour of the
Catholic religion againft his own friends and perfuafion, be-
caufe fuch were the orders of his fovereign. He was
of a very mild and pleafant temper, as appeared by his be-
haviour to Melca Chriftos, to his brother Claudius, to his
uncle Sela Chriftos, and to the patriarch and Jefuits.

It is true, that, of thefe laft, Sela Chriftos, and many of
the Jefuits, were put to death in his reign ; but this was not
till they had experienced repeated a6ls of mercy and forgiven-
nefs ; ftill, perfifting in conftant rebellion againft govern-
ment, they were juftly cut oiF as traitors and rebels by the
civil power, in the very aft of their confpiracy againft the
life of the king and conftitution of the country.

There is publilhed byTellez a letter of Alphonfo Men-
des, written, as is falfely faid, from Mafuah, where it is
dated, but truly from Goa. If, as the patriarch pretends,
he wrote it from Mafuah, it is another proof of this prince's
clemency, that he ever fuff'ered the author of fuch an inde-
cent libel to return to India in peace. It is well known,
that, on the firft requifition of Facilidas, the Turks would

3 G 2 ^ave

420 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

have delivered the patriarch into his hands ; and, every one
that reads it mull allow, fuch. language from alow-born
pried to a king, deferved; every exemplary punifhment of-
fended royalty could inflidl : It would' not have been mild,,
had fuch liberty been uk.en by a ft ranger in his native coun--
try, Portugaii

The patriarch accufes Facilidas with the criine ODmmit*
ted by Abfalom, which is, I fuppofe, debauching his father's-
wives and concubines. But, unluckily for the truth of this
ftory, we have the Jefuit'S own teftimony, that Socinios had:
put away his wives and concubines before he embraced the
Catholic religion, fo at his father's death this was impof-
fible, unlefs he could commit inceft with his own mother,,
who was at that time a woman near fixty.. But we fhali;
fuppofe that they exifted^ were never married, and, at the
time of their being put away, they were 1 8 years of age at;
an average. The king put them away in the year 1621 j,
and, therefore, in the year 1634, they would be 30 years of.
age ; and any body that has feen the effects that number of
years has upon Abyflinian beauty, muft confefs tliey could'
be no great temptation to a prince.

The next calumny mentioned in this libel is, tKe murder
of his brother Claudius, nay, of all his brothers. Now we have
feen, in the hiftory of his reign, that Claudius had fairly forr-
feited his life by a meditated fratricide, and by an overt ad of
rebellion in which he was taken prifoner. Yet fo mild and;
placable was Facilidas, that he refufed to put him to death,.
but fent him prifoner to the mountain of Wechne, and mer-
cifully revived the ancient ufage of banifliing the princes
of the blood-royal to the. mountain, iaftead of executing

thexa.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 421

them, which had been the pradice to his time,, and had oc-
cafioned the death of above fixty of thefe unfortunate prin-
ces within the laft hundred years.

To mount Wechne he alfo fent his own- fon David, and
with him all liis brothers ; and, fo far from being murder-
ed, we fhall find them moftly alive attending an extraordi-
nary feftival made for their fakes by Facilidas's grandfon ;
an accident, fo rare, that it feems Providence had permitted.
k in favour and vindication of truth and innocence, and to
ilamp the lie upon the patriarch's fcandalous afperfions.

Th e third falfehood is, that Facilidas turned Mahometan,,
and got doctors from Mocha to inftrudt him in the Koran.
We have already fecn what gave rife to this, if it indeed
had any foundation at all ; but it is a well-known fadt^ that,
though he governed the church, during a whole reign,
mildly and judicioully, without any mark of bigotry, never
were two princes better affected to the Alexandrian church
than Facilidas and his fon ; and never were two that had'
better reafon, having both feen the diforders that other reli-
gions had occafioncd.

We fee throughout all this piece ofthe patriarchs, a felf-
fufficient mind, gratifying itfelf by difgorging its paffion
and malice. If Alphonfo Mendes had no regard, as it feems
indeed he had not ; if he had no reverence to higher powers,.,
fuch as fcripture had taught, him to have ; if he was too*
enlightened, or too infatuated, to take our Saviour's. precepts
for his rule, and, lliaking the duft of Abyirmiairom his feet,,
semit them to a Judge who will, at his own time, ieparate
^ood from evil, ftill he fliould h^ve.had, at leall, a brotherly

love

422 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

love and charity for thofe unfortunate people who were to
fall into Facilidas's hands ; and we cannot reafonably fup-
pofe but that the conftant butcheries committed by the
Turks afterwards upon the Catholic priefts, wild enough
to enter at Mafuah and Suakem, were the fruits of the ca-
lumnious, intemperate libel of the patriarch.

After the death of the lall miflionary, Bernard Nogeyra,
no intelligence arrived of what was doing in Abylfinia, ex-
cepting from the Dutch fettlements of Batavia, where Abyf-
finian faftors, or merchants, had arrived; and where the in-
duftrious Mr Ludolf, very much engaged in the hiftory of
this country, and who fpared no pains, maintained a cor-
refpondence, and thence he was informed that Facilidas had
died after a long and profperous reign, and had left his
kingdom in peace to his fon.

This intelligence alarmed the zeal of two great cham-
pions of the Jefuits ; the one M. le Grande, late fecretary
to the French embafly to Portugal ; and the other M. Pi-
ques, a member of the Sorbonne, a very confufed, dull dif-
putant upon the difference of religion.

These two worthies, without any proof or intelligence
but their own warm and weak imaginations, fell violently
upon poor Ludolf, acculing him of falfehood, partiality, and
prevarication ; and, right or wrong, they would have Facili-
das plunged up to the neck in troubles, wading through
labyrinths of misfortunes, confpiracies, and defeats, certain-
ly dead, or about to die fome terrible death by the ven-
geance of heaven; and this ridiculous report is unjuftlyfpread
abroad by all the zealots of thofe times. Fata objlant; — truth

4 will

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 423

will out. The annals of the country, written without a re-
gard to either party, ftate, that, in the long reign of Faci-
lidas, notwithftanding the calamitous ftate in which his
father left him the empire, very few misfortunes only
are reported to have happened either to himfelf or lieute-
nants.

H"""i ■ " >'*^

HANNES I. OR CELAFE SEGUED.

From 1665 to 1680.
Bigotry of the King — Difgtijis his Son To/bus^ who jlics from Gondar.

IF this prince fucceeded to his kingdom in peace, he had
the addrefs ftill to keep it fo. He was not in his nature
averfe to war, though, befides two feeble attempts he made
Upon Lafta, and. one againft the Shangalla, all without ma-
terial confequences, no military expedition was undertaken
in his time ; and no rebellion or competitor (fo frequent in
other reigns) at all difturbed his.

Hannes feems to have had the feeds of bigotry in his
temper; trom the beginning of his reign he commanded

the

424 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the Mahometans to cat no other flefli but what had been
killed by Chriftians ; and gathered together the Catholic
books, which the Jeluits had tranflated into the Ethiopia
language, and burned them in a heap. Much of his atten-.
tion was given to church matters, and, in regulating thefe^
he feems to have employed moft of his time. He depofed
the Abuna Chriftadulus, appointed by his father, and in his
place put the Abuna Sanuda.

This laft meafure feems to have difpleafed his eldeft fon
Yafous, who fled from the palace one night, and paffed the
Nile ; and, though he was followed by Kafmati Aferata
Chriftos, he was not overtaken, but ftaid fome time in his
filler's houfe, and then returned to Gondar at the requefl
.of his father.

A CONVOCATION of tlic clcrgy, the fecond in this reign,
was now held, and great heats and divilions followed a-
mong two orders of monks, thofe of Euftathius and thofe
of Debra Libanos. The king feems to have aflifted at all
thefe debates, and to have contented himfelf with holding
the balance in his hands without declaring for cither party.
But thefe altercations and difputes couW not fatisfy the ac-
tive fpirit of the prince his fon, who again fled from his
father and from Gondar, but was overtaken at the r ver
Bafliilo, and brought back to the palace, where lie found
his father ill.

Hannes died the iQtli of July, and was buried at Tedda,

after hav ng reigned 15 years. He feems, from the fcanty

memorials of his long reign, to have been a weak prince ;

^ but^

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 425

bxit, perhaps, if the circum (lances of the times were fully
known, he may have been a wife one.

^^ggCiSt'*^ ' '

Y A S O U S L

From 1680 to 1704.

BrilUatit Expedition vf the King to Wechne — Var'ous Campaigns agalnji
the Agows and Galla — Comet appears — Expedition agalnji Zeegam
and the Eajlern Shangalla — Poncet's Journey — Murafs Enibajfy —
DuRotdes Embajy — Bu Roule ajfajftnated at Sennaar — The King Is
ajfajfinated,

YASOUS fucceeded his father Hanncs with the approba-
tion of the whole kingdom. He had, as Vv-e have feen,
twice in Hannes's life-time abfconded from the palace ;
and this was interpreted as implying an impatience to reign„
But I rather think the caufe was a difference of manners,
iiis father being extremely bigotted, fordid, and covetous ;
for he never, in thofe clopem-cnts, pretended to make a p^r-
ty contrary to his father's interefl, nor ihewed the leaft in-
clination to give either the army or the people a favourable
imprcllion of himfelf, to the difadvantage of the king.
There was, befides, a difference in religious principles. Ya-
fous had a great prediledlion for the monks of Debra Li-
VoL. XL 3 ^ banos.

426 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

banos, or the high church ; while Hannes, his father, had
done every thing in his power to inftil into his fon a pre-
polTeilion in favour of thofe of Abba Euftathius.

To thefe opinions, therefore, fo widely different, as well-
in religion as the things of the world, I attribute the young
prince's dilinclination to live with his father. This feems
confirmed by the firft ftep he took upon his mounting
the throne, which was to make an alteration in the
church government from what his father had left it at his
deaths

It was on the 7th of July 1 680 he was proclaimed king j,
the next day he deposed the Acab Saat Conftantius, and
gave his place to Afera Chriftos. He then called a coun-
cil of the clergy on the 27th of September, when he de-
pofed Itchegue Tzaga Chrillos, and in his room named Cy*.
riacus.,

It was now the time that, according to cullom, he was^,
to make his profeflion in regard to the difference I have
formerly mentioned that fubiifted between the two parties
about the incarnation of Chrift. But this he refilled to do
in the prefent Hate of the church, as there was then no
certain Abuna in AbyfTmia. For Hannes, before he died,
had written to the patriarch of Alexandria to depofc both
Abuna Chriftodulus and Marcus, who, in: cafe of deaths
was to have fucceeded him, and this under pretence that,
he had vrijied. in his faith between the two contending-
garties,.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 427

Hannes, therefore, defired the patriarch to appoint Abuna
Sanuda, a man known to be devoted to the monks of St
Euftathius and their tenets ; whereas the other two priefls
were fuppofed to be inchned to the monks of Debra Liba-
nos. Yafous told his clergy that he would not fuffer Sanu-
da to be eleded ; and the affembly, with little oppofition, con-
formed to the fentiments of the king, who fent immedi-
ately thereupon to Cairo, demanding peremptorily that Mar-
cus might be appointed Abuna, and declaring his refolu-
tion to admit no other. He then ordered the church of Te-
cla Haimanout to be confecrated with great folemnity; he
repaired and adorned it with much magnificence, and en-
dowed it with lands, which increafed its revenue very con-
iiderably.

These two circumflances (efpecially the laft) fliewed di-
ftinc^ly to the whole kingdom his affedion for the high
church, as explicitly as any proclamation could have done.
And in this he continued Heady during his whole life, not-
withftanding the many provocations he met with from that
relllefs body of men.

Having thus fettled the affairs of the church, he pro-
ceeded to thofe of the Hate, and appointed Anaftafius (then
governor of Amhara) to be Ras, or lieutenant-general, in his
whole kingdom, allowing him alfo to keep his province of
Amhara. In this he fhewed a wifdom and penetration that
gained him the good opinion of every one; for Anaftafius
was a man advanced in years, of great capacity and expe-
rience, and of a moft unblemiflied charader among his
neighbours, who, in all their own affairs, had recourfe to,
and were determined by, his counfels.

3H3 The

428 TRAVELS TO DISCO V^Eft.

The king then took a journey of a very extraordinary-
natxirc, and fuch as Abyilmia had. never before feen. At->
tended only by his nobility, of whom a great number had
flocked to him, he-lat down at the foot of the mountain of,
Wechne, and ordered all the princes of the royal family
who were banilhed, and confined there, to be brought to .
him.

During the iaft reign, the mountain of Wechne, and
thofe forlorn princes that lived upon it, had been, as it.
were, totally forgotten. Hannes having fons of an age fit,
to govern, and his eldeft fon Yafous living below with his-
father, no room feemed to remain for attempting a rcvolu-.
tion, by the young candidates efcaping from the mountain-
This oblivion to which they were configncd, melancholy as
it was, proved the beft ftate thefe tmhappy prifoners could
have wiflied ; for to be much known for either good or
bad qualities, did always at fome period become fatal to
the individuals. Punifhment always followed inquiries
after a particular prince ; and all melTages, 4uell:ions, or
vifits, at the inftance of the king, were conflantly fore-
runners of the lofs of life, or amputation of limbs, to
thefe unhappy exiles. To be forgotten, then, was to be
fafe ; but this fafety carried very heavy diftrefs along with;
it. Their revenues were embezzled by their officers or keep-
ers, and ill paid by the king; and the fordid temper of Han-
nes had often reduced them all to the danger of perilhing
Dvith hunger and cold. .

YAsous,as he was well acquainted, with, all thefe cireum*-
ftances, fo he was, in his nature and difpofition, as perfedt-
ly willing to repair the injuries that were pail, and prevent

the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^2r^

the like in future. Nothing tended fo much to conciUatc-
the minds of the people to their fovereign as this behsK
viour of Yafous,

In the midft of his relations fjiiere now appeared (as rifen
from the dead) Claudius, fon of Socinios, the lirft exile who •
was fent to the mountain of Wecbne by his brother Facili-
das, grandfather of Yafous. This was the prince who, as
we have already ftated, was fixed upon by the Jefuits to
fucceed his father, and govern that country when convert-
ed to the Romilh religion by th«ir intrigues, and conquered
by the arms of the Portuguefe : - This was the prince
who, to make their enemies appear more odious, thefe
Jefuits have aflerted was flain by his brother Facilidas, one
inftance by which we may judge of the juftice of the other >
charges laid againft that humane, wife, and virtuous prince,
whofe only crime was an inviolable attachment to the re-
ligion and coniliiution of his country, and the juft abhor- -
rence he mofc reafonably had, as an independent prince, to
fubmit the prerogatives of his crown, and rhe rights of his -
people to ihe bhi^id controui of a foreign prelate.

There came from the mountain alfo the- fens of Facili--
das, with their families ; and likewife his owu' brothers.
Ay to Theophilns, and Ayto Claudius, fons of his father
Hatze Hannes. The light of fo many noble relations, fome
advanced in years, feme in the flower of their youth^ and-
fome yet children ; all, however, in tatters, and almoft naked,
made fuch an impreflion on the young king that he burft '
into tears. Nor was his behaviour to the refpeflive degrees
of them lefs proper or engaging. To the old he paid that'
reverence and refpedt due to parents ; to thofe about his

2 - OWD-

430 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

own age, a kind and liberal familiarity; while he beftowed
upon the young ones carefles and commendations, fweeten-
ed with the hopes that they might fee better times.

His firfl care was to provide them all plentifully with
apparel and every neceffary. His brothers he dreflbd like
himfelf, and his uncles Hill more richly. He then divided
a large fum of money among the.m all.

In the month of December, which is the pleafantefl
feafon of the whole year, the fun being moderately hot,
the Iky conftantly clear and without a cloud, all the court
was encamped under the mountain, and the inferior
fort llrewed along the grafs. All were treated at the ex-
pence of the king, paffing the day and night in continual
feilivals. It is but right, faid the king, that I fliould pay
for a pleafure fo great that none of my predecelTors ever
dared to tafte it ; and of all that noble affembly none feem-
ed to enjoy it more fmcerely than the king. All pardons fo-
licited for criminals at this time were granted. In this man-
ner having fpent a whole month, before his dcpartm-e the
king called for the deftar, (/. e. the treafury book) in which
the account of the fum allowed for the maintenance of thefe
prifoners is ftated ; and having inquired ftridly into the
expenditure, and cancelled all grants that had been made of
any part of that fum to others, and provided in future for
the full, as well as yearly payment of it, he, for his lad acT:,
gave to the governor of the mountain a large acceflion of
territory, to make him ample amends for the lofs of the
dues he was underftood to be intitlcd to from that revenue.
After this, he embraced them all, affuring them of his con-
flant protedion; and, mounting his horfc, hetook the keep-

■' ' er

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 43 j-.

cr along with him, leaving all the royal family at their li-
berty at the foot of the mountain.

This laft mark of confidence, more than all the reft,,
touched the minds of that noble troop, who hurried every
man with his utmoft fpeed to reftore themfelves volun*
tarily to their melancholy prifon, imputing every mo-
inent of delay as a ftep towards treafon and ingratitude to
their munificent, companionate, and magnanimous bene-
fa6tor. All their way was moiflened with tears flowing-
from fenfible and thankful hearts ; and all the mountain
refounded with prayers for the long life and profperity o£
the king, and that the crown might never leave the lineal
defcendents of his family. It was very remarkable, that,
during this long reign, though he was conftantly involved
in war, no competitor from the mountain ever appeared in-
breach of thofe vows they had fo voluntarily undertaken.

There was another great advantage the king reaped by
this generous conduct. All the mofl: powerful and confi-
derable people in the kingdom had an opportunity, at one
view, to fee each individual of the royal family that was.
capable of wearing the crown, and all with one voice agreed^
upon the comparifon made, that, if they had been then af-
fembled to ele6t a king, the choice would not have fallerii
upon any but the prefent..

Though the country of the Agows of Damot is generally-
plain and laid out in pafture, each tribe has fome niountaiii:
to which, upon the alarm of an enemy, they retire with
their flocks. The Galla, being their neighbours on the
other, fide of the Nile to the fourh, and the Shangalia in the

4. lowr

432 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

low country immediately to the weft, thefe natural for-
treffes are frequently of the greateft ufe^during the incur-
-fions of both.

They alone, of all the nations of Abyflinia, have found
it theu' intercftfo far to cultivate their neighbours the Shan-
galla, that there are places fet apart in which both nations
can trade with each other in fafety ; where the Agows fell
copper, iron, beads, fkins, or hides, and receive an immenfe
profit in gold ; for, below thefe to the fouth and weft, is the
gold country neareft Abyftinia, none of that metal being
.anywhere found in Abyilinia itfelf.

Yasous, from this country of the Agows, defcended into
that of the Shangalla ; where, conforming to the ancient
cuftom of Abyilinia, he hunted the elephant and rhinoceros,
-the ordinary firft expedition in the kings his predeceffors
reigns, but the fecond in his ; the firft having been (as be-
fore ftated) fpent in charity and mercy, much more nobly,
at the foot of the mountain of Wechne.

Yasous is reported to have been the moft graceful and
-dexterous horfeman of his time. He diftinguillied himfelf
in this hunting as much for his addrcfs and courage againft
the beafts, as he had, for a (hort while before, done by his
afiability, gencrofity, and benevolence, amidft his own
family. All was praife, all was enthufialm, wherever the
young king prefented himfelf; the ill-boding monks and
'hermits had not yet dared to foretel evil, but every com-
mon mouth prcdiacd this was to be an adive, vigorous,
and glorious reign, without being thought by this to have
laid any preicnfion to the gift of prophecy.

It

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

433

It was now the fccond year of his reign when the king
took the field with a fmall, but very well chofen army. The
Edjow and Woolo, two of the mofl: powerful tribes of fouth-
ern Galla, taking advantage of the abfence of Ras Anaflafms,
had entered Amhara by a pafs, on the fide of which is fitua-
ted Melee Shimfa, one of the principal towns of the pro-
vince.

The king, leaving old Anaftafms to the government of
Gondar, took upon himfelf the relief of Amhara; and, being
joined by all the troops in his way, he arrived at Melee Shim-
fa before the Galla had any intelligence of him. The Gal-
la always chofe for their refidence a very level country, be-
cauie they are now become all horfemen. The country of
Amhara, on the contrary, is full of high mountains, and
only accelliblc by certain naiTow pafTes. The king, there-
fore, inilead of marching diredlly to the enemy, pafTed a-
bove them, and left them flill advancing, burning the villa-
ges and churches in the country below. He then took pof-
feliion of the pafs (through which he knew they muft re-
treat) with a ftrong body of troops ; and filled the entrance
of the defile, which was very rugged ground, with fufileers»
and his bell foot armed. with lances : after this, he fepara-
ted his horfe into two divifions, and, referving one half to
himfelf, gave the other to Kafmati Demetrius. He then
placed the troops conducfted by himfelf in a wood, about half
a mile from the entrance of the pafs, and ordered Demetri-
us to fall upon the Galla brifkly on the plain, but to retreat
as if terrified by their numbers, and to make the befl of his
way then to the pafs in the mountains.

Vol. II. 3 1 D£MiiTRius<

434 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Demetrius, finding the enemy's pa«ies foatrer^d widg wa-.
fting the country, fell upon thcrn, and flew many, till he had
arfivr-d near the middle of their body, when theGalla, ufed:
to fuch expeditions, poured in from all fides, and prefcntly
united, Demetrius, furrounded on- every fide, was flain,
fighting to the laft in the moll defpcrate manner, and his
party, mvich diminiflied in number, fled in a manner that
could not be miflaken for flratagem. They were clofely
purfued, and followed into the pafs by the Galla, who-
thought they had thus entirely cut them off from Amhara.
But they were, loan received. by a^clofe fire from the foot a-,
mong the bulhes, and by the lances that mingled withi
them from every fide of the mountain..

The king, upon the fiirft naife of the mufqiietry, advan*-
ced quickly with his horfe, and met the Galla, in the height,
of their confufion, flying back again into the plain. Here-
they fell an eafy facrifice to the frefli troops led by Yafous^,
and to the peafants, exafperated by the havoc they before
had made in the country. Gf the enemy, about 6000 mert'
fell this day on the field ; a few were brought to Gondar,.
and, in contempt, fold for flaves. Few on the king's fide
were flain, excepting thofe that fell with Demetrius, the ac*
count of whofe death the king heard without any figns of
regret : — " I told the man (fays the king) that he fhould fhew
** himfclf and retire ; if I wanted a victory I would have led^
" the army in perfon ; I march againfl: the Galla, not as a,
** king, but as an executioner,, becaufe my aim is to extir-
" pate them."

Although Yafous was fledfafl: in his own opinion as to-
his religion, or, as it may be more properly called, the dif^

2 putes.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 43^*

putcs and quibbles with the monks concerning it, yet he
fuffered each feft to enjoy its own, and, probably, in his
heart he perfe6tly defpifed both.

The monks, however, were far from poflefling any fuch
fpirit of toleration. They conlidered the depofing of Acab
Saat, Conrtantius, and the Itchegme Tzaga Chriftos, as a de-
claration of diilike the king entertained towards their party.
*1 hey bore with great impatience and indignation, that A-
buna Sanuda, v/ho was once their zealous partizan in the
time of Hannes, Ihould now fuddenly change his fentiments,
and declare implicitly for thofe of th-e king, and thereby in^-
creafe both the number and the confequence of their ad-
verfaries. They declared that they would fuffer every thing
rather than live under a king who ftiewed himfelf fo open-
ly a favourer of Debra Libanos, though it was now but their
turn, having in the lall reign had a king more partial, and
more attached to St Euilathiu*, than ever Yafous was to any
fet of monks whatever.

The ringleaders in all thefe fcditious declarations were
Abba Tebedin, fuperior of the monaltci-y of Gondga, and
Kafmati Wali of Damot, by origin a Galla. Thefe two tur-
bulent Rien, having firil drawn over to their party the Agows
and province of Damot, paiTed over the Nile to Goodero and
Baffo, whom they joined, and then proclaimed king one
ifaac, grand fon of Socinios a prince, who was never fent to
the mountain, but whofe predeceffors, being at liberty when
Facilidas firft baniflied his brothers and children to Wechnc,
had fled to the Galla, and there remained in obfcurity, wait-
ing the jundture which now happened to declare his royal
defcent, and ofler himfelf for king.

3X2 Tli£

436 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The Galla, who fought but a pretence for invading
Abyffinia, readily embraced this opportunity, and fwarmed
to him on all fides. His army, in a very fhort time, was
exceedingly numerous, and the Agows and all Damot were
ready to join him when he fliould repafs the Nile. This
revolt was indeed likely to have proved general, but for the
adivity and diligence of the king, who, on the firft intelli-
gence, put himfelf fo fuddenly in motion that he was
on the banks of the Nile before the Galla on the one fide
were ready for their jundion with the confederates on the
Other.

The king's prefence impofed upon the Agows and the.
rebels of Damot, fo that they let him pafs quietly over the
Nile into the country of the Galla, hoping that, as their
defigns were not difcovcred, he might again return througlx
their country in peace if victorious over the Galla ; but, i£
he was beaten, they tlicn were ready to intercept him.

But the Galla, who expeded that they would have had
to fight with an army already fatigued and half-iuined by
an aaion with the Agows on the other fide of the river, no
looner faw it pafs the Nile unmolelled in full force, than;
they began to think how far it was from their intcreft to make
their country a feat of war, when fo little profit was to be
expefted. On the approach, therefore, of the king's army,
many of them deferted to it, and made their peace with
him. Tlie few that remained faithful to Ifaac were dif-^
perfed after very little refiflancc ; and he himfelf being ta-
ken prifoner, and brought before the king, was given up
^Q. the foldiers, who put him to death in his prefence. On

4. ^^

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 437

the king's fide, no perfon of confideration was ilain but
Kafmati Mazirc, and very few on the part of the enemy.

This year 1685, the 5th of Yafous's reign, there was no
miUtary expedition. He had pardoned Abba Tebedin, and
Kafmati Wali, and the monks again defired an affembly of
the clergy, which was granted. But the king feeing, at its
iirft meeting, that it was to produce nothing but wrang-
ling and invecflives ; with great calmnefs and refolution
told the affembly, " That their difputes were of a nature
fo confufed and unedifying, that he quellioned much
their being really founded in fcripture ; and the rather
fo, becaufe the patriarch of Alexandria feemed neither to
know, nor concern himfelf about them, nor was the A-
buna, at his firft coming, ever inil:ru(5led on any one of thcfe
points. If they were, hov/ever, founded in fcripture, one
of rhem was confellecUy in the wrong ; and, if fo, he doubted
ir might be the cafe with both ; that he had, therefore,
eome to a refolution to name feveral of the beft-qualilicd
perfons of both parties, who, in the prefence of the Itche-
gue and Abuna, mighc infpc(5t the books, and from them
fettle fome premifes that might be hereafter accepted and
admitted as data by both."

This being afTented to, the very next year he ordered two
of the priefts of Debra Libanos tlien at Gondar, togetlier
Willi Abba Tebedin, Colmas of Aruana, the Abuna Sanuda,
and the Itchegue, forthwith 10 repair to Debra Mariam, an
iiland in the lake Tzana, where, fequeilered from the
world, they might difcuf. their feveral opinions, and fettle
feme points admiflible by both fules- Afier which, without
giving any opportunity for reply, he dilTolved the aflembly,.
and took the lield with his army.

The

438 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The king, though perfedlly informed of the part that
the whole province of Damot had taken in the rebelhon of
Ifaac, as alfo great part of the Agows, but moft of all that
tribe called Zeegam, yet had fo well difTembled, that moft
of them believed he was ignorant of their fault, and all of
them, that he had no thoughts of punifhing them, for he
had returned through Damot, after the defeat of Ifaac^
vvithouf {hev/ing any mark of anger, or fuiFering his troops
to commit the fmalieft hoftility. He now pafTed in the
fame peaceable manner through the country of Zeegam,
intending to attack the Shangalla of Geefa and Wum-
barea.

These two tribes are little known. Like the other Shan-
galla they are Pagans, but worlhip the Nile and a certaia
tree, and have a language peculiar to themfelves. They
are woolly- headed, and of the deepeft black ; very tall and
llrong, ftraighter and better-made about the legs and joints
than the other blacks ; their foreheads narrow, their cheek-
bones high, their nofes flat, with wide mouths, and very
fmall eyes. With all this they have an air of chearfulnefs
and gaiety which renders them more agreeable than other
blacks. Their women are very amorous, and fell at a much
greater price than other blacks'of the fex.

This country is bounded on the fouth by Metchakel ; on
tlie weft by the Nile; the eaft by Scrako, part of Guefgue
and Kuara; and, on the north, by Belay, Cuba, and the Ha-
midge * of Scnnaar. They make very frequent inroads,

and

* A name of Uie Llack Pagans bordering on Scniiaiir to the fouth-vv^ft.

TH-E SOURCE OF THE NILE. 43:5.

*ncl' fiirprife the Agows, whole children they fell at Cuba,
10 the Mahometans^ v/ho tra/Rc tltcre for gold and iuivcs,
and get iron and coarfo cotton- cloths in return. Theiz;
country is full of woods, and their manner of life the fame
.as has been already defcribed' in fj)caking of the other,
tribes.

TiiF. Geefa live clofe upon the Nile, to- which- river they
give their own name. It is alfo called Geefa by the Agows,.
in the fmall dillridt of Geefiii where it rifcs from. its fource.
They never have yet made peace with Abyffinia, are govern-
ed by the lieads of families, and live fcparately for the fake
of hunting, and, for this rcafon, are ealily conquered. The
men are naked; having a cotton rag only about their mid-
dle. The nights are veiy cold,, and' they lie round great-
fires ; but the fly is not fo dangerous here as to the eaft-
ward, fo that goats, in a- fmali number, live here. Their
arms are bows, lances, and arrows ; large wooden clubs, with
knobs, nearly as big as aman's head, at the end of them ;
dieir fliields are oval. They woi-fliip tlie Nile, but no other
Fiver, as I have faid before ; it is called Geefa, which, in
their language, fignifies the firft Maker, or Creator. They
imagine its water is a cure for moll difeafes.

East of the Qeefa is Wumbarea, which reaches toBelay».
The king fell firft on the Geefa, part of- whom he took, and
the reft he difperfed.. He then turned to the right through
Wumbarea^ and met with fome reftftance in the narrow-
pafTes in the mountains, in one of which Kafmati Kofte, (one
of his principal officers) a man of low birth, but raifed by
his merit to his prefent rank, was flainby an arrow.

Tjue

440 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The king then repafled the Agows of Zeegam, in the
fame peaceable manner in which he came, and then march-
ed on without giving any caufe of fufpicion, taking up his
quarters at Ibaba. It was here he had appointed an affem-
bly of the clergy to meet, before whom the feveral dele-
gates, chofen to confider the controverted points, and fnd
fome o-round for a reconciliation, were to make their re-
port. The Abuna, Itchegue, and all thofe who, for this
purpofe, were fhut up in Debra Mariam, appeared before
the king. But, however amicably things had been earned
on while they were fliut up in the ifland, the ufual
warmth and violence prevailed before the aflcmbly. Ayto
Chriftos, Abba Welled Chriftos of Debra Libanos, on one
fide, and Tebedin and Cofmas on the other, fell roundly,
and without preface, upon a difpute about the incarnation,
fc that the ajflfair from argument was likely to turn to fe-
dition.

The turbulent Tebedin, leaving the matter of religion
wholly apart, inveighed vehemently againft the retirement
to Debra Mariam, wliich he loudly complained of as
baniihment. Ras Anaftafius and Abuna Sanuda reproved
him Iharply for the freedom with which he taxed this
meafure of the king, and in this they were followed by
many of the wifer fort on both fides. Immediately after
the aflembly, the king ordered Tebedin to be put in irons,
and fent to a mountainous prifon. He then returned to
Gondar.

This year, the 9th of Yafous reign, there appeared a co-
met, remarkable for its fize and fiery brightnefs of its body,
and for the prodigious length and diflindncfs of its tail. It

was

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 441

was firll taken notice of at Gondar, two days before the
feaft of'St Michael, on which day the army takes the field. A
fight fo uncommon alarmed all forts of people ; and the
prophets, who had kept themfelves within very moderate
bounds during this whole reign, now thought that it was
incumbent upon them to dillinguifli themfelves, and be fi-
lent no longer. Accordingly they foretold, from this pha^no-
menon, and publifhed everywhere as a truth infallibly and
immutably pre-ordained, that the prefent campaign was to
exhibit a fcene of carnage and bloodflied, more terrible and
more extenfive than any thing that ever had appeared in
the annals of Ethiopia. That thefe torrents of blood, which
were everywhere to follow the footfteps of the king, were
to be Hopped by his death, which was to happen before he
ever returned again to Gondar; and, as the objedl of the
king's expedition was flill a fecret, thefe alarming prefages
gained a great deal of credit.

But it was not fo with Yafous, who, notwithftanding he
was importuned, by learned men of all forts, to put off his
departure for fome days, abfolutely refufed, anfwering al-
ways fuch requefts by irony and derifion : " Pho ! Pho !
" fays he, you are not in the right ; we mufl give the co-
" met fair play ; ufe him well, or he will never appear again,

*' and then idle people and old women will have nothino-

&

" to amufe themfelves with."

He accordingly left Gondar at the time he had appointed;
and he was already arrived at Amdaber, a few days diftance
from the capital, when an exprefs brought him word of his
mother's death, on which he immediately marched back to
Gondar, and buried her in the ifland of Mitraha with all
Vol. II. 3 K poffible

442 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

poffible magnificence, and with every mark of fincerc
grief.

Though the prophets had not juft fucceeded in what
they foretold, they kept neverthelefs a good countenance.
It is true that no blood was fhcd, nor did the king die be-
fore he returned to Gondar ; but his mother died when he
was away, and that was much, the fame thing, for they
contended that it was not a great miftake, from the bare
authority of a comet, to err only in the fex of the perfon
that was to die ; a queen for a king was very near calcu-
lation. As for the bloody ftory, and the king's death, they
faid they had miftaken the year in computing, but that
it Hill Was to happen ( when it pleafed God ) Jome other
Urns.

Every body agreed that thcfe explanations wei*e the befl
poffible, excepting the king, who perceived a degree of ma-
lice in the foretelling his death and certain lofs of his army
juft at the inftant he was taking the field. But he difgui-
fed his refentment under ftrong irony, with which he at-
tacked thcfe diviners incefiantly. He had inquired accu-
rately the day of his mother's death : " How is it, fays he ta
his chaplain, (or kecs hatze ) that this comet fhould come
xoforetd my mother's death, when £he was dead four days
before it appeared ?" Another day, to the fame perfon he
faid, " I fear you do my mother too much honour at the
expcnce of religion. Is it decent to fuppofc that fuch a
ftar, the moft remarkable appearance at the birth of Clirifi»
Ihould now be employed on no greater errand than to
foretel the death of the daughter of Guebra Mafcal ?" Tliefe,
and many more fuch railleries, accounted by thefe vifion-

aries.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 443

aries, as little fliort of impiety, fo mortified Koll^ (the kees
hatze,) a great believer in, and protedlor of the dreamers,
that he refigned all his employments, and retired among
the hermits into the defert of Werk-leva towards Sennaar,
to ftudy the afpedts of the ftars more accurately, and more
at leifure.

Though we neither pay this comet the fuperftitious re-
verence the idle fanatics of Abyffinia Ihewed it, nor yet
treat it with that contempt which this great king's good
fenfe prompted him to do, we Ihall make fome ufe of it, ac-
knowledging our gratitude to the hillorian who has re-
corded it. We fliall hereby endeavour to eftablifh our
chronology in oppofition to that of the catholic writers, re-
lating to the date of fome tranfadlions with which they
were not cotemporaries, and only relate from hearfay, as
happening before the arrival of the miflionaries in this
country.

Yasous the Great, of whom we are now writing, came
to the throne upon the death of his father Hannes in 1680 ;
the 9th year of this reign then was 1689.

Hedar is the 3d month of the AbyfTmians, andanfwers to
part of our November ; and the 12th of that month, Hedar,
is the feafl; of St Michael the archangel, or 8th day of our
month November, N. S.

GoNDAR is in lat. 12° 34' 30'' N. and in long. 37" 33' o" E.
from the meridian of Greenwich. By the fiery appearance
of the nucleus, or body of the comet, it certainly then was
"very near the fun, and either was going down upon it to its

3 K 2 perihelion,

444- TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

perihelion, or had already pafTed it, and was receding to
its aphelion ; but by its increafing tail, already at a great
length, we may conje6ture it was only then going down to
its conjun(5lion, and was then near approaching to the fun.

From this we fhould conclude that this comet muft have
been feen, however rapidly it did move, fome time before
the 6th of November, or two days before the feaft of St
Michael. But this depends on the circumftances of the
climate ; for though the tropical rains ceafe the firfl of Sep-
tember, the cloudy weather continues all the month of Oc-
tober ; at the end of thefe. fall the latter rains in gentle
fhowers, which allay the fevers in Dembea, and make the
country wholefome for the march of the army, and thefe
rains fall moftly in the night. From this it is probable
that the comet, having at firll little light and no tail, as yet
at a diftance from the fun, was not. very apparent to the
naked eye, till by its increafed motion and heat it had acqui-
red both tail and brightnefs, as it approached its perihelion.

Now we find by our European accounts *, that, in the year
1689, there did appear a comet, the orbit of wdiich was cal-
culated by M. Pingre. And this comet arrived at its perihe-
lion on the I ft day of December 1689, fo was going down
much inflamed, and with a violent motion to the fun, the
6th of November, when it was obferved at Gondar, being but
25 days then from its perihelion.

As thefe circumftances are more than fufficient to con-
ftitute the identity of the comet, a phenomenon too rare to

rifk

* Aflroncm. de M. de La Lande, liv. 19- p. 366,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 445

rifle being confounded with another, we may hardly con-
clude the 9th year of Yafous the Firft to be the year 1689 of
Chrift, fuch as our chronology, drawn from the Abyffinian
annals, Hates it to be ; or, at leafl, if there is any error, it muft
be fo fmall as to be of no fort of confequence to any fort
of readers, or influence upon the narrative of any tranfac-
tions.

The loth year began with a fudden and violent alarm,
which fpread itfelf in an inftant all over the kingdom
without any certain authority. The Galla with an innumer-
able army were faid to have entered Gojam, at feveral
places, and laid wafte the whole province, and this was the
more extraordinary, as the Nile was now in the height of
its inundation. On his march, the king learned that this
flory arofe merely from a panic ; and this formidable army
turned out no more than a fmall band of robbers of that
nation, who had paflfed the river in their ufual way, part
on horfebaek, while the foot were dragged over, hanging at
the horfes tails, or riding on goats fkins blown up with
wind. This fmall party had .furprifed fome Vv'cak villages,
killed the inhabitants, and immediately returned acrofs the
river. But the alarm continued, and there were people at
Gondar who were ready to fwear they faw the villages and
churches on fire, and a large army of Galla in their march
to Ibaba, at the fame time that there was not one Galla on
the Gojam fide of the riven

The king, however, either confidering this fmall body of

Galla coming at this unfeafonable time, and the panic that

was fo artificially fpread, as a feint to throw him off liis

guard when a real invafion might be intended, or with a

3 view

445 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

view to cover his own defigns, fummoned all the men of
the province of Gojam to meet him in arms at Ibaba the
yth day of January, being the proper feafon for preparing
an expedition into the country of the Galla. He himfelf in
the mean time retired to Dek, an ifland in the lake Tzana,
there to Ilay till his army fliould be collecfted.

While the king was in the ifland, a number of the mal-
contents among the monks, who had, in the feveral af-
femblies, been baniflicd for fedition with Tebedin, came to
him there, defiring to be heard before an aflembly ; and
they brought with them Area Denghel, of Debra Samayat, to
fupport their petition. The king anfwered, that he was
ready to call an alTeijibly, provided the Abuna defired, or
would promife to be prefent ; but that the Abuna was
then at Debra Mariam, where they might go and know his
mind.

The Abuna, who forefaw little good could be expelled
from fuch meetings, and knew how difagreeable they were
to the king, abfolutely refufed to attend. On this they re-
turned again to the king, defiring that, of his own mere
prerogative, he would call their alTembly without confult-
ing further the Abuna. To this the king anfwered boldly,
That he knew it was his right to call his fubje(5ls togethei',
without any other reafon for fo doing but his will ; yet,
when the avowed caufe of the meeting was to canvafs mat-
ters of faith, he had made it a rule to himfelf, that the
Abuna fliould always be prefent, or at leaft confent to the
meeting. And with this anfvver he ordered them all to
depart immediately.

Many

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 447

Many of the principal people about the king advifed
him to put thefe turbulent people in irons, for daring to
come into his prefence without leave. But Yafous was con-
tented to remand each to the place of his banifliment from
whence he came. He then removed from Dek to Ibaba, on
the loth of January, the journey being no more than two
eafy days ; but, whether it was that the Galla did not in-
tend another invafion, or whether they were overawed by
the king's preparations and prefence, and did not think
themfelves fafe even in their own country, none of them
this year palled the Nile, or gave any uneafmefs either to
Gojam or Damot.

Though the whole nation believed that the king's atten-
tion was entirely engaged in the various expeditions againft
the Galla and Shangalla, which he executed with fo much
diligence and fuccefs, yet there was ftill a principal object
fuperior to all thefe, which remained a fecret in his own
breaft, after the parties concerned had abfolutely forgot it.
All his campaigns againft the Shangalla were only defigned
to lull afleep thofe he confidered as his principal enemies,
that he might make the blow he aimed at them more cer-
tain and efFedlual.

Six years had now pafled fmce the Agows, and particu-
larly the moft powerful tribe of them, the Zeegam, had, with
thofe of Damot and the Galla, confpired to put the crown
upon the head of the rebel prince Ifliac, who had loft his
life in the engagement which followed on the other fide of
the Nile. It will be remembered alfo, that the country of
the Agows is in general open, full of rich plains, abundant-
ly watered by variety of fine ftreams ; in other parts, gentle
I rifings

446 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

rifings and defcents, but without mountains, laving that,
almofl in every tribe, Nature had placed one rugged moun-
tain to which thefe people retired upon the approach of
their neighbouring enemies the Galla and Shangalla. This
defcription does, in a more extenfive manner, belong to the
country of the Zeegam, the mod powerful, rich, and tra-
ding tribe of the whole nation.

Not one fnigle mountain, but a confiderable ridge, di-
vides the country nearly in the middle, the bottom of which,
and nearly one-third up, is covered with brufli-wood, full of
ilifF bamboos and canes, bearing prickly fruit, with aloes,
acacia very thorny, and of feveral dwarf Ihrubby kinds, in-
terfperfed with the kantufFa *, a beautiful thorn, which a-
lone is confidered, where it grows thick and in abundance,
as a fufficient impediment for the march of a royal army.
Through thefe are paths known only to the inhabitants
themfelvcs, which lead you to the middle of the mountain,
where are large caves, probably begun by Nature, and after-
wards enlarged by the indullry of man. The mouths of
thefe are covered with bufhes, canes, and wild oats, that grow
fo as to conceal both man and horfe, while the tops of thefe
mountains are flat and well-watered, and there they fow
their grain out of the reach of the enemy. Upon the firil
alarm they drive the cattle to the top, lodge their wives
and children in the caves, and, when the enemy approaches
near, they hide the cattle in the caves likewife, fome of
which cavities arc fo large as to hold 500 oxen, and all the
people to v/hich they belong. The men then go down to

the

» See the article k.mfufu in the Appendix.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 44^

the loweft part of the mountain, from whofe thickets they
fally, upon every opportunity that prefents itfelf, to attack
the enemy whom they find marauding in the plains.

The king had often affembled his army at Ibaba only
four days march from Zeegam. He had done more ; he
had paired below the country, and returned by the other
fide of it, in his attack upon Geefa and Wumbarea ; but
he had never committed any adl of hoUility, nor Ihewn
himfelf difcontented with them. To deceive them ftiU
farther, he ordered now his army to meet him at Efte in
Begemder; and fent to Kafmati Claudius, governor of Ti-
gre, to join him with all his forces as foon as he fliould
hear he was arrived at Lama, a large plain before we de-
fcend the fteep mountain of Lamalmon, whicli Hands not
far from the banks of the river Tacazze. He privately gave
orders alio to Kafmati Claudius, Kafmati Dimmo Chriftos
of Tigre, and to Adcra and Qiiaquera Za Menfus Kedus to
mform themfelves where the water lay below, and whether
there was enough for his army in Betcoom, for fo they call
the territory of the eallcrn branch of Shangalla adjoining
to Sire and Tigre. By this manoeuvre the enemy was dct
ceived, as the molt intelligent thought he was to attack
Lafta, and the others, that knew the fecret of the water were
fure his march was againfl the Shangalla.

The king began his march from Ibaba, and crolTcd the
Nile at the fecond cataract below Dara, where there is a
bridge ; and, entering Begem<!er, he joined his army at Efte
which was going in a route directly from Agow and . Da-
mot towards. Lafta. But no locner ^^.as he arrived at Efte
than, that very night, he luddcnlv turned back t^^e wav he
Vol. IL , t

J ^ came^

45^

T R AV E L 3 T O D IS C 0 V E R

^amc, and, marching through Mairfl.a, he cioim d the Nile,
xbr the fccond tunc, at Gout to, above the iirll cataract.

The morning of the 3d of May, the fixth day of forced
marches, without having encamped the w^hole way, he en-
tered Zeep-am at the head of his army. He found the
country in perfect fecurity, both people and cattle below 011
the plains and in the villages ; and having put all to ilic
fword who tirft oflered themfelves, and the principal of the
confpirators being taken prifoners, he fold their wives and
children at a public auction for flaves to the higheft bidder.
He then took the principal men among them along with
him for fecurity for paying fix years tribute which they
were in arrears, fined them 6000 oxen, which he ordered to
be delivered upon the fpot ; and then collecting his army,
lie fent to the chiefs of Damot to meet him before he en-
tered their territory, and to bring fecurity with them for the
fine he intended to lay upon them, otherwife he would
dellroy their country with fire and fword ; and he advanced
the fame day to Aflba, fouth of the fources of the Nile, di-
vided only from Damot by the ridge of mountains of Amid .
Amid.

The people of Damot, inhabiting an open level country
without defence, had no choice but to throw themfelves on
the king's mercy, who fined them 50,0 ounces of gold and
100 oxen, and took the principal people with him in irons
as hoftages.

He then returned, leaving the fources of the Nile on his.
right, through Dengui, Fagitta, and Arooii ; crofl'ed the river
Kelti, having the Agow and Atchelicr on iiis left, and re-

tunied":

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 4yt

turned to Gondar by Dingleber. He then gave 2000 cattle
to the churches of Tecla Haimanout and Yafous, being near-
eft the king's palace, co the Itchegue Hannes, the judges
and principal fervants of his houfehold, to all a lliare, with-
out referving one to himfelf. And the rains being now very
conftant, (for it was the 25th of June) he refoivcd to conti-
nue the reft of the winter in Gondar to regulate the affairs
of the church.

This year the king refumed his expedition againft the
Shangalla, towards which he had taken feveral preparatory
fteps, while he was projecting the furprife of the Zeegam.
Thefe are the Troglodytes on the eaftern part of Abyffmia,
towards the Red Sea, fouth of Walkayt, Sire, Tigre, and Ba-
liarnagalli, till they are there cut off by the mountains of
the Habab. Thefe, the moft powerful of all their tribes, are
comprehended under the general name of Dobenab ; the tribe
Baafa, which we have already fpoken of as occupying the
banks of the Tacazze, are the only partners they have in
the peninfula formed by that river and the Mareb, Their
country and manner of life have been already abundantly
defcribed. It is all called Kolla, in oppolition to Daga, which
is the general name of the mountainous parts of Abyffmia.

The king, being informed by Kafmati Claudius that
there was water in great plenty at Betcoom, marched from
Gondar the 29th of Odober to Deba, thence to Koffogue, af-
ter to Tamama. He then turned to the left to a village
called Sidre, nearer to the Shangalla. From this ftation he
forbade the lighting fires in the camp, and took the road
leading to the Mareb; then turning to the left, the ift of
December he furprifed a village called Kunya. The king

3 ^ 2 was

452 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

was the firfl who began the attack, and was in great dan^
ger, as Mazmur, captain of his guard, was killed by a lance
at his fide. But the foldiers rufliing in upon fight of the
king's fituation, who had already llain two with his own
hand, the village was carried, and the inhabitants put to-
the fword, ref ufing all to fly, and fighting obftinately to the
laft gafp.

From Kunya the king proceeded rapidly to Tzaada Am-
ba*, the largefl and moll powerful fettlement of thefe fava-
ges. They have no water but what they get from the river
Mareb, which, as I have elfewhere obferved, rifes above
Dobarwa, and, after making the circle of that town, lofes
itfelf foon after in the fand for a fpace, then appears agaiuj
and, after a Ihort courfe, hides itfelf a fecond time to the
N. E. near the Taka, whofe wells it fupplies with freili wa-
ter. But in the rainy months it runs with a full Hream, in
a wide and deep bed, and unites itfelf to the Tacazze, with
it making the northmofl. point of the ancient ifland of Me--^
rpe.

The king met the fame fuccefs at Tzaada Amba that he
had before experienced at Kunya, at which laft village he
pafTed the fcaft of the epiphany and benedidlion of the wa-
ters; a ceremony annually obferved both by the Greek and
Abyflinian church, the intent of which has been ftrangely
miftaken by foreigners.

From

• Tbe white mountain. .

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 45^.

From Kunya, his head-quarters, Yafous attacked the fc-
veral nations of which this is, as it were, the capital, Zaco-
ba, Fade, Qualquou, and Sahale, and he returned again to
Tzaada Amba, refolving to complete their deftruvSlion. The
remains of thefe miferable people, finding refiftance vain,
had hid themfelves in inacceffible caves in the mountains;
and the thickeft parts of the woods, where they lay per-
fed:ly concealed in the day-time, and only ftole out when
thirft obliged them at night. The king, who knew this,
and that they had no other water but what they brought
from the Mareb, formed a ftrong line of troops along the
banks of that river, till the greatell part of the Shangalla of
Tzaada Amba died with thirft, or were taken or flain by
the army.

His next enterprize was to attempt Retcoom, a large ha-
bitation of Shangalla eaft of the Mareb, whofe number;
ftrength, and reputation for courage, had hitherto prevent-
ed the AbyfTmians from molefting them, never having
touched, unlefs the fartheft fkirts of their country. The
names of their tribes inhabiting Betcoom are, Baigada,
Dade, Ketfe, Kicklada,Moleraga,Megaerbe, Gana,Sele, Ham-
ta, Shalada, Elmfi, and Lentc. The fmall river of Lidda-
falling from a high precipice, when fwelled with the win-
ter rains, hollows out deep and large refervoirs below, which
it leaves full of water when the rains ceafe, io that thefe'
people are here as well fupplied with water as thofe that
dwell on the large rivers the Mireb and Tacazze. This
was a circumftance unknown, till this fagacious and pro-
vident king ordered the place to be reconnoitred by Kafma-
ti. Claudius, then marched and encamped on the river

4. Lidda ^

454 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Lidda, which, after a fliort but violent courfe, falls into the
Mareb.

The Shangalla of Betcoom did nothing worthy of their
reputation or numbers. They had already procured intel-
ligence of the fate of great part of their nation, and had
difperfed thenifelves in unknown and defolate places. The
king, however, made a confiderable number of flaves of
the younger fort, and killed as many of the reft as fell in-
to his hands.

Leaving Betcoom, the army proceeded ftill eaftward ;
paflbd through the mountains of the Habab, into the low
level country which runs parallel to the Red Sea, at the bafe
of thefe mountains, where he fpent feveral days hunting
the elephant, fome of which he flew with his own hand,
and turned then to the left to Amba Tchou * and Taka.

The Taka are a nation of Shepherds living near the ex-
tremity of the rains. They are not Arabs, but live in vil-
lages, and were part formerly of the Bagla, or Habab ; they
fpeak the language of Tigre, and are now reputed part of
the kingdom of Sennaar.

While the king was at Taka, he received the difagree-
able news, that, after he had left the Shangalla on the Ma-
rch, Muftapha Gibberti, a Mahometan foldier in the fervice
of Kafmati Fafa Chriftos of Dedgin, had, with a fmall num-
ber of men, ventured down, thinking that he fliould fur-

prife

* Tlie mountain of fait.

THE S O U R C E O F T HE N f L E. 4^^

prhe the Shangalla of Tzaada Amba, before they recovered
from their Lite misfortune. Thi, Muiiapha had flain two
or three Shangalla with fire-arms ; and at iir'X they flood
aloof as fearing the king. But finding foon that it was no
part of his army, and only a fmall body of adventurers, the
Shangalla 'now collected in numbers, furrounded Muftapha
and his party, whom they cut off to aman; and, purfuing
their advantage, they entered and took Dedgin, woimded
Kafmati Fafa Chriilos, and put the inhabitants of the town
to the fword.

News of this misfortune were carried fpeedily to Kafmati
Claudius, governor of Tigre : Caflem, a Maliometan, led the
Gibbertis, the people of that religion in the province ; and,
as he was an advanced party, came fpeedily to blows with
the Shangalla, and was clofely engaged, with great appear-
ance of fuccefs, when Claudius came up with an army that
would foon have put an end to the contefl. But no fooner
was his army engaged with the Shangalla, than a panic
feized him, and he founded a retreat ; which, in an inllant,
became a moft fhameful flight. CafTem and his gibbertis
fell, fighting to the laft man in the middle of their enemies.
The Shangalla followed their advantage, and great part of
the Abyflinian army perifhed in tlie flight ; Claudius, tho'
he efcaped, left his ftandard, kettle-drums, and his whole
province in pofl^efllon of the enemy. -

The king, upon hearing this, returned haftily into Sire ; ,.
and his prefence eftablifhed order and tranquillity in that
province, already half abandoned for fear of the Shangalla,
From Sire the king proceeded to Axum, where he celebrated

3. hi&:v

456 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

his vi(ftories over the Shangalla, by feveral days of feafting
and thankfgiving.

In the midft of this rejoicing, news were brought that
Murat, a fervant of the king, whom he had difpatched to
India with merchandife, to bring fuch commiffions as he
flood in need of, was arrived at Mafuah, where Mufa the
Naybe, or Turkifh governor of the ifland, had detained him,
and feized his goods, under fome vexatious pretences.
There is not indeed a more mercilefs, thievifh fet of mif-
creants, than in that government of Mafuah. But the king
knew too well the few refources that iiland had, to be long
in applying a remedy, without moving from Axum ; after
being fully informed of the affair, in all its circumftances,
by Murat, he fent to Abba Saluce, Guebra Chriftos, and Za-
rabrook of Hamazen, the governors of the diltric^s, that as
it were furround Mafuah, prohibiting all, upon pain of
death, to fuffer any provifions to be carried by any perfon
whatever into the ifland of Mafuah.

A SEVERE famine inftantly followed, which was to termi-
nate in certain death, before any relief could come to them,
unlefs from Abyffmia. The Na)'be Mufa, therefore, found
into what a terrible fcrape he had got ; but hunger did not
leave him a moment to deliberate. No third way remain-
ed, but either he muft fee the king, or die ; and without
hefitation he chofe the former. He, therefore, fet out for
Axum, bringing with him Murat and all the merchandifcs
he had feized, as alio feveral very confiderable prefents for
Yafous himfelf, who accepted them, received his fubmiilion,
and ordered the communication with Abyliinia to be open

as

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 457

as before. This done, he difmifled the Naybe, wh© return-
ed to Mafuah in peace.

The next affair that came before the king was that of
Kafmati Claudius, (governor of Tigre) who was accuCed and
found guihy of having fled while the battle with the Shan-
galla was yet undecided, leaving his flandard and kettle-
drums in the power of the enemy. Befides his prefent
mifbchaviour, ftrong prejudice exiftcd againft him, drawn
from his former charader ; for it was averred, from Very
credible authority, that on one occafion, upon a very flender
appearance of fedition, he ordered his troops to fire upon
feveral priefls of Axum, fome of whom were killed on the
fpot. Befides which, in the reign of Hatze Hannes, he was
found guilty of capital crimes committed at Emfras, con-
demned to die, and was already hanging upon the tree,
when a very feafonable reprieve arrived from the king, and
he was thereupon cut down whilfl yet alive. Yafous con-
tented himfelf with depriving him of his employment, and
afterwards fending. him to perpetual banifhment.

The next brought to their trial were Za Woldo, and A-
dera and his fons. Thcfe laft were very near relations to
the king, for they were fons of Ozoro Kedufet Chriflos,
daughter of Facilidas. They were accufed of having de-
ferted their country and left it wafle to be over-run by wild
beafts, and a rendezvous for the Shangalla, who thence ex-
tended their incurfions as far as Waldubba. Of this there
was ample proof againft them, and they were therefore Sen-
tenced to die, but the king commuted their pimifliment in-

VoL. II. 3 M to

458 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

to that of being imprifoned for life in a cave in the ifland
of Dek.

As for the province of Sire itfelf, he declared all the
inhabitants and nobility, degraded from their rank, and
all lands, whether feus from the king, or held by any
other tenure, were confifcated, refumed by, and re-uniied to
the crown. He then reduced the whole province from a
royal government to a private one, and annexed it to the
province of Tigre, whofe governor was to place over it a:
fhum, or petty officer, without any enfigns of power. And^
laft of all, he gave the government of Tigre to the Ras Fe-.
res, or mafter of the horfe, in room of Kafmati Claudius de.--
graded and banilhed.

The many flriking examples which the king had lately>
given, one clofe upon the other, of his own perfonal bravery,
his impartial juftice, his fecrecy in his expeditions, and the
certain vengeance that followed where it was deferved, his
punifhment of the Zeegam, his expedition againft the Shan-
galla, his affair with the Naybe Mufa, and his behaviour to
the cowardly Claudius and daftardly nobility of Sire, fully
convinced his fubje(5ts of all degrees, that neither familyj.
nor being related to the crown, nor the Hrength of their
country, nor length of time fmce they offended, nor indeed
any thing but a return to and continuance in their duty,
could give them fecurity under fuch a prince. Thus ended
the campaign of the Dobenah, fpoke of to this day in Abyf-
fmia as the greatefl warlike atchievement of any of their
kings. Twcnty-lix thoufand men are faid to have perifhed
by thirfl when the king took pofTeffion of the water at
Tzaada Amba. And yet, notwithftanding the fmall-pox

which,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 459

which, in fome places, exterminated whole tribes, the Dobe-
nah have not loft an inch of territory, but feem rather to
be gaining upon Sire.

Yasous arrived at Dancaz on the 8th of March 1592,
having difmiiTed his army as he paiTed Gondar. From
Dancaz he went to Lalla, and after a fliort ilay there, came
to Arringo in Begemder. At this place the king received
accounts that far exceeded his expedations, and gratified
his warmefl wiflies. He had long endeavoured to gain a
party among the Galla to divide them ; and, though no
marks of fuccefs had yet followed, he Hill had continued to
ufe his endeavours.

On his arrival at Arringo, he was met by a chief of the
fouthern Galla, called Kal-kend, who brought him advice
that, while he was bufy with the Shangalla, an irruption
had been made into Amhara by the Galla tribes of Liban
and Toluma; that they, the king's friends, had come up
with them at Halka, fought with them, and beat them, and
freed Amhara entirely from all apprehenfion. The king,
exceedingly rejoiced to fee his moft inveterate enemies be-
come the defenders of his country, ordered the governor of
Amhara to pay the Kal-kend 500 webs of cotton-cloth, 500
loads of corn, and efcort both the men and the prefent till
they were fafely delivered in their own country.

The 30th of June the king arrived at Gondar from Ar-
ringo, and immediately fummoned an affembly of the clergy
to meet and receive a letter from the patriarch of Alexan-
dria, brought by Abba Mafmur of Agde, and Abba Diof-
curos of Maguena, who were formerly fent to Egypt to

3 M 2 alk

46o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

afk the patriarch why he difplaced Abuna Chriftodulus, and
appointed Abba Sanuda in his room, and defiring that Ab-
ba Maixus fliould be made Abuna, and Sanuda depofed.
The clergy met very pundually, and the patriarch's letter
was produced in the aflfembly, the feal examined, and de-
clared to be the patriarch's, and imbroken. The letter being
opened by the king's order, it contained the patriarch's man-
date to depofe Abba Sanuda, and to put Marcus Abuna in his
place, which was immediately done by command of the king,.

While Yafous was thus bufied in dire«fling the affairs
of his kingdom with great wifdora and fuccefs, both in-
church and Hate, a matter was in agitation, unknown to
him, at a diflance from his dominions, which had a ten-
dency to tlirow them again into confufion.

Towards the end of the lail century, there was fettled at
Cairo a number of Italian millionaries of the reformed
Order of St Francis^ who, though they lived in the fame
convent, and were maintained at the expence of the fa-
thers of the Holy Land, yet did they Hill pretend to be
independent of the guardian of Jerufalem, the fuperior of
thefe latten.

The expence of their maintenance, joined with their pre-
tenfions to independence, gave great offence to thofe religi-
ous of the Holy Land, who thereupon carried their com^
plaints to Rome, offering to be at the whole charge of the
miffion of Egypt, and to furnifli from their own fociety
fubjeds capable of attending to, and extending the Chrif-
tian faith. This offer met with the defired fuccefs at
Rome. The miffion of Egypt, to the cxclufion of every

other

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 461

©ther Order, was given to the fathers of Jerufalem, or the
Holy Land, whom we fliall henceforth call Capuchin fri^
ars. Thefe capuchins loft no time, but immediately dif-
mifled the reformed Francifcans, whom we Ihall hereafter
diftinguifh by the name of Francifcans, fuffering only two
of that Order to remain at Cairo^

The Francifcans, thus banillied, returned all to Rome,
and there, for feveral years together, openly defended their
own caufe, infifting upon the juftice of their being repla-
ced in the exercife of their ancient functions. This, how-
ever, they found abfolutely impoffible. They were a poor
Order, and the intereft of the capuchins had flopped every
avenue of tlie facred college againft them. Finding, there-
fore, that fair and dire6l means could not accomplifli their
ends, they had recourfe to others not fo commendable, and
by thefe they fucceeded, and obtained their purpofe. They
pretended that, when the Jefuits were chafed out of Abyf-
fmia, a great number of Catholics, avoiding the perfecution,
had fled into the neighbouring countries of Sennaar and
Nubia ; that they flill remained, moft meritorioufly prefer-
ving their faith amidft the very great hardlhips inflicted
upon them by the infidels ; but that, under thefe hardfliips,
they muil foon turn Mahometans, unlefs fpiritual afliflancc
was fpeedily fent them.

This reprefentation, as totally void of truth as ever fable
was, was confirmed by the two Francifcans, who flill re-
mained at Cairo by permifllon of the capuchins, or fathers
of the Holy Land ; and, when afterwards publiflied at Rome,.
i± excited the zeal of every bigot in Italy. All interefled.
themfelvcs in behalf of thefe imaginary Cliriflians of Nur
I hb.:-

462 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

bia; and pope Innocent XII. was fo convinced of the truth
of the flory, as to eflablifh a confiderable fund to fupport
the expence of this, now called the Ethiopic million, the fole
condud of which remains Hill with the reformed Francif-
cans.

To take care of thefe fugitive Chriftians of Nubia, though
it was the principal, yet it was not the only charge commit-
ted to the fathers of his miffion. They were to penetrate
into Abyffinia, and keep the feeds of the Romifti faith alive
there until a proper time fhould prefent itfelf for convert-
ing the whole kingdom.

In order to this, a large convent was bought for them at
Achmim, the ancient Panopolis in Upper Egypt, that here
they might be able to afford a refrefliment to fuch of their
brethren as fhould return weary and exhaufted by their
preaching among the Nubian confeflbrs ; and, for further
affiftance, they had permiifion to fettle two of their Order
at Cairo, independent of the fathers of the Holy Land, not-
withflanding the former exclulion.

Such is the flate of this miffion at the prefent time. No
Nubian Chriftians ever exifted at the time of their eilablifli-
ment, nor is there one in being at this day. But if their
profelytes have not increafed, their convents have. Ach-
mim, Furlhout, Badjoura, and Negade are all religious
houfes belonging to this miffion, although I never yet was
able to learn, that either Heretic, or Pagan, or Mahometan,
was fo converted as to die in the Chriftian faith at any
one of thefe places ; nor have they been much troubled
with relieving their brethren, worn out with the toils of

Abyffiniaii

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 4^3

Abyffinian journies, none of rhcm, as far as I know, having
ever made one Itep towards that country ; nor is this in-
deed to be regretted by the repubhc of letters, becaufe, be-
fides a poor ftock of fcholaitic divinity, not one of them
that I faw had either learning or abilities to be of ths
linallell ufe either in i-eligion or difcovery.

It was now the mofl brilliant period of the reign of
Louis XIV. almoft an Auguftan age, and generally allowed
fo, both in France and among foreigners. Men of merit,
of all countries and profeiTions, felt the effects of the liberalil
ty of this great encouragcr of learning ; public works were
undertaken, and executed fuperior to the boafled ones cf
Greece or Rome, and a great number and variety of noble e^-
vents conflituted a magnificent hiflory of his reign, in a feries
of medals. Religion alone had yet afforded no hint for thefe.
His conducT: in this matter, inftead of that of a hero, fliewed
hmi to be a blind, bloody, mercilefs tyrant, madly throwing
down in a moment, with. one hand, what he had, with the af-
fiftance of great miniftcrs, been an age in building with the
other. The Jcfuits, zealous for the honour of the king, their
great protector, thought this a time to ftep in and wipe' away
the ftain. With this view they fet upon forwarding a fcheme
which might have furnilhed a medal fuperior to all the
rcil, had its infcription been, « The Kings of Arabia and Sa.
.ba Ihall bring gifts."

^ Father Fleuriau,, a friend of father de la Chaife, the
king's confeffor, was employed to direct the conful of Cairo,
that he fhould, in co-operation with the Jcfuits privately'
fend a fit perfon into Ab)'flinia, who might infpire the king
Qtthu country with a delire of fending an embaffy into

2. France,

464 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

France, and, upon the management of this pohtical afl'air,
they founded their hopes of getting themfelves replaced in
the mifTion they formerly enjoyed, and of again fuperfeding
their rivals the Franciicans, in diredling all the meafures to be
taken for that country's converfion. But this required the
utmofl delicacy, for it was well known, that the court of
Rome was very much indifpofed towards them, imputing
to their haughtinefs, implacability, and imprudence, the lofs
of Abyffinia. Their conducft in China, where they tolerated
idolatrous rites to be blended with Chriftian woriliip, began
alfo now to be known, and to give the greateft fcandal to
the whole church. It was, therefore, neceflary to make the
king declare firft in their favour before they began to at-
tempt to conciliate the pope.

Louis took upon liiiii the protecHiion of this miiTion with
all the readinefs thejefuits defired ; and the Jefuit Verfeau
was fent immediately to Rome, with ftrong letters to cardi-
nal Janfen, protector of France, who introduced him to the
pope.

Verseau knew well the confequence of the protection
with which he was honoured. At his firft audience he de-
clared, in a very firm voice and manner, to the pope, that
the king had refolved to take upon himfelf the condu(5t of
the Ethiopic miffion, and that he had caft his eyes upon
them (the Jcfuits) as the fittcft perfons to be cntrufted with
the care of it, for rcafons hcjl knoivii to himfelf. The pope
difTcniblcd ; he extolled, in the moft magnificent terms,
the king's great zeal for the advancement of religion, ap-
proved of the choice he had made of the Jefuits, and prai-
fcd their rcfolution as highly acceptable to him, immediate-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^6f

ly confenting that Verfeau, and five other Jefuits, fhoukl
without delay pafs into Abyflinia.

But it very foon appeared, that, however this might be
the language of the pope, nothing could be more remote
from his intentions ; for, without the knowledge of the Je-
fuits, or any way confulting them, he appointed the fupe-
rior of the Francifcans to be his legate a latere to the king
of Abyflinia, and provided him with prefents to that prince,
and the chief noblemen of his court.

Some time afterwards, when, to prevent ftrife or concur-
rence, the Jefuits applied to the pope to receive his diredions
which of the two fhould firft attempt to enter Abyflinia, the
Francifcans, or their own Order, the pope anfwered fliortly.
That it fliould be thofe who were moft expert. Whether this
apparent indifpofition of his Holinefs intimidated Verfeau is
not known ; but, inftead of going to Cairo, he went to Con-
ftantinople, thence to Syria, to a convent of his Order of which
he was fuperior, and there he ftaid. So that the Ethiopic
mifllon at Cairo remained in the hands of two perfons of
difl'erent Orders, the one Pafchal, an Italian Francifcan friar,
the other a Jefuit and Frenchman, whofe name was Breve-
dent.

Brevedent was a perfon of the moft diftinguiflied piety
and probity, zealous in promoting his religion, but nei-
ther imprudent nor rafli in his demonftrations of it ; afla-
ble in his carriage, chearful in his difpofition, of the moll
profound humility and exemplary patience. Befides this,
he was reputed a man of good tafte and knowledge in pro-
fane learning, and, what crowned all, an excellent mathe-

YoL. II. 3 N matician.

466 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

matician. He feems indeed to mc to have been a copy of
the famous Peter Paez, who firft gave an appearance of ftar
bihty to the Portuguefe converfion of AbyfTuiia ; hke him
he was a Jefuit, but of a better nation, and born in a better
age.

I MUST here Hkewife take notice of wha": I have ah-eady-
hintcd, that in Abyilinia the character of ambalTador is not
known. They have no treaties of peace -or commerce with
any nation in the world : But, for purpofes ah-eady men-
tioned, factors are employed; and, Abyilinia being every-
where furrounded by Mahometans, ihcfe of courfe have the
preference; and, as they carry letters from their mafters, the
cuftom of the Eait obliges them to accompany thefe with
prefents to the fovereigns of the refpe^ftive kingdoms
through which they pafs, and this circumftance dignifies
them with the title of ambafTador in the feveral courts at
which they have bufmefs. Such was Mufa, a faiftor of the
king, whom we have feen detained, and afterwards deliver-
ed by the Naybe of Mafuah, not many years before, in this
king's reign ; and fuch alfo was Hagi Ali, then upon his
mailer s bufmefs at Cairo, when M. de Maillet was conful
there, and had received his inflrudfions from father Fleuriau
at Paris, to bring about this enibafiy from Abyffinia.

Bestdes his other bufmefs, Hagi Ali had orders to bring
with him a phyfician, if poilible, from Cairof; for Yafous
and his eldell fon were both of a fcorbutic habir, which
threatened to turn into a leprofy. Hagi Ali, in former
voyages, had been acquainted with a capuchin friar Pafchal ;
and, having received medicines from him before, lie now
applied to Pafchal to return with him into Ab)llinia,.

and

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 467

and undertake the cure of the king. Palchal very readily-
complied with this, upon condition that he Ihould be al-
lowed to take for his companion a monk of his own Order,
friar Anthony ; to which Hagi Ali readily confented, hap-
py in being enabled to carry two phylicians to his maftcr
inflead of one.

The French conful was foon informed of this treaty wdth
the friar Pafchal ; and, having very eafy means to bring Ha-
gi Ali to his houfe, he informed him, that neither Pafchal
nor Anthony were phyficians, biK that he himfelf had a
mian of his own nation, whofe merit he extolled beyond any
thing that had hitherto been faid of Hippocrates or Galen.
Hagi Ali very willingly accepted of the condition, and it was
agreed that, as Verfeau had not appeared, Brevcdent above
xnentioned fhould attend the phyfician as his fcrvant.

This phyfician was Charles Poncet, a Frenchman, fettled
in Cairo, who was (as Mr Maillet fays) bred a chymill and
apothecary, and, if fo, was necellarily better Ikilled in the
cfFedls and nature of medicine than thofe are who call
themfelves phylicians, and pra6tile in the eaft. Nothing
againlt his private chara(5Ver was intimated by the conful
at this time; and, with all deference to better judgment, I
mull ftill think, that if Poncet did dcferve the epithets of
drunkard, liar, babbler, and thief, which Maillet abundat;t-
ly bellows upon him towards the end of this adventure,
the conful could not have chofen a more improper perion
as the rc{)rcfcntative of his mailer, nor a more probable
one to make the delign he had in hand mifcarry ; nor
could he, in this cafe, ever vindicate the preventing Pafchal's
journey, who mull have been much fitter for all t' .c em-

3 N 2 ployments

468 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ployments intended than fuch a man as Poncet was, if
one half is true of that which the conful faid of him after*
wards.

Maillet, having fo far fucceeded, prevailed upon one
Ibrahim Hanna, a Syrian, to write five letters, according to
his own ideas, in the Arabic language, one of which was to-
the king, the four others to the principal officers at the court
of Abyffinia: doubting, however, whether Ibrahim's expreA
lions were equal to the fubUmity of his fentiments, he dired:-
ed him to fubmit the letters to the confideration of one
Fraacis, a monk, capuchin, or friar of the Holy Land. Ibra-
him knew not this capuchin ; but he was intimate with
another Francis of the reformed Francifcan Order, and to .
him by miftake he carried the letters,.

These Francifcans were the very men from whom Mrde
Maillet would have wifhcd to conceal the fending Poncet with
the Jefuit Brevedent ; but the fecret being now revealed, Ibra*
himHanna was difcharged the French ferviceforthis miftake j ,
and Hagi Ali departing immediately after with Poncet and
Brevedent, no time remained for the Francifcans to take tha
(leps they afterwards did to bring about the tragedy in tha
perfon of Poncet, which they completely effected in that of /
Mr Noir du Roule,

Mr PoisCET, furnifhed with a cheft of medicines at the
e.xpence of the fadory, accompanied by father Brevedentj,
who, in quality of his fervant, now took the name of Jofeph, ,
joined Hagi Ali, and the caravan dcftined in the firft place,
so^Sennaar the cajjital of Nubia.

EOKCETT

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 469

PoNCET fet out from Cairo on the 10th of June of the
year 1698, and, fifteen days after, they came to Monfalour-,
a confiderable town upon the banks of the Nile, the rendez-
vous of the caravan being at Ibnah, half a league above
Monfalout. Here they tarried for above three months, wait*
ing the coming of the merchants from the neighbouring
towns.

In the afternoon of the 2-4th of September, they advan-
ced above a league and a half diftance, and took up their
lodging at Elcantara, or the bridge, on the eaftern bank of
the Nile. A large califli, or cut, from the Nile flretches here
to the eaft, and, at that feafon, was full of water, the inunf^
dation being at its height,

FoNCET believes he was on the eaftern banks of the Nile ;
but this is a miftake. Siout and Monfalout, the cities he
fpeaks of j are both on the weftern banks of that river ; nor
had the caravan anything to do with the eaftern banks,
when their courfe was for many days to the weft, and to
the fouthward of weft. Nor was the bridge he paftTed a
bridge over the Nile. There are no bridges upon that ri-
ver from the Mediterranean till we arrive at the fecond ca-
taracft near the lake Tzana in Abyflinia. The amphitheatre
and ruins he fpeaks of are the remains of the ancient city
Ifm ; and what he took for the Nile was a caliih from ths^
river to fupply that city with water.

The 2d of Odlober the caravan fet out in earneft, and
pafTcd, as he fays, into a frightful defert of fand, having
firft gone, through a narrow paflage, which he dees not men-
tion, ,

470 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER'

tion, amidfl thofe barren, bare, and llony mountains which
border the valley of Eg)'pt on the weft.

The 6th of October thcv came to El-Vah, a large village,
or town, thick-planted with palm-trees, the Oafis Parva of
the ancients, the laft inhabited place to the weft that is un-
der the jurifdidion of Egypt. By foftening the original
name, Poncet calls this Helaoue, which, as he fays, fignifies
fiveetnefs. But furely this was never given it from the pro-
duftions he mentions to abound there, Wz. fenna and colo-
quintida. The Arabs call El-Vah a fhrub or tree, not un-
like our hawthorn either in form or flower. It was of this
wood, they fay, Mofes's rod was made when, he fweetened
the waters of Marah. With a rod of this wood, too,Kaleb
Ibn el Waalid, the great deftroycr of Chriftians, fweetened
thefe waters at El-Vah, once very bitter, and gave it , the
name from this miracle. A number of very fine fprings
burft from the earth at El-Vah, which renders this fmall
fpot verdant and beautiful, though furroundcd with dreary
dcferts on every quarter ; it is fituated like an ifland in the
niidft of the ocean.

The caravan re Red four days at El-Vah to procure wa-
ter and provifions for the continuation of the journey thro'
the defert. Poncet's defcription of the unpleafantncfs of
this, is pcrfeaiy cxacT:, and without exaggeration. In two
days they came to Chcb, where there is water, but ftrongly
impregnated with alum, as the name itfelf fignifies ; and,
three days after, they reached Selima, where they found the
water good, rifing from an excellent fpring, which gives its
name to a large defert extending weftw^ard forty-five days
journey to Dar lowr, Dar Sclc, and Bagirma, three fmall
2 principalities

T H E S O U R C E 0 F T H E N T L E. 47m

principalities of Negroes that live within the reach of tlie
tropical rams.

At Sehma they provided water for five days ; and, on
the 26th of Odober, having turned their courfe a httle to
the eallward, came to Mofcho, or Machou, a large village
on the weftern banks of the Nile, which Poncet flill mif-
takes for the eallern, and which is the only inhabited place
fmce the leaving El-Vah, and the frontiers of the kingdom
of Dongola, dependent upon that of Sennaar, The Nile
here takes the fartheil turn to the weflward, and is rightly
delineated in the French maps.

PoNCET very rightly fays, this is the beginning of the
country of the Barabra, or Berberians, (I fuppofe it is a mif-
take of the printer when called in the narrative Barauras).
The true figniiication of the term is the land of the Shepherds^.
a name more common and better known in the lirll dynaf-
ties of Egypt than in more modern hiflories. The Erbab
(or governor) of this province received him hofpitably, and
kindly invited him to Argos, his place of refidence, on the
eaftern or oppofitefide of the Nile, and entertained him there,
upon hearing from Poncet that he was fent for by the king
of Abyffinia.

After refrefliing themfelves eight days at Mofcho, they
left it on the 4th of November 1698, and arrived at Dongola
on the 13th of the fame month. The country wliich he
pafTed along the Nile is very pleafant, and is defcribed hj
him very properly. It does not owe its fertility to Ujc
overflowing of the Nile, the banks of that river being
conliderably too high. It is watered, however, by tlie in-

duiir.y

472 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

duftry of the inhabitants, who, by different machines, raife
water from the flream.

We are not to attribute to Poncet, but to thofe who pub-
liflied, the flory here put into father Brevedent's mouth about
the fugitive Chrillians in Nubia, which fable gave rife to
the firft inftitution of the Ethiopic miflion. " It drew tears,
" fays he, from the eyes of father Brevedent, my dear com-
" panion, when he rcfledlcd that it was not long lince this
" was a Chriftian country; and that it had not loft the faith
" but only for want of fome perfon who had zeal enough
" to confecrate himfelf to the inftrudlion of this abandoned
" nation." He adds, that upon their way they found a
great number of hermitages and churches half ruined ; a
fidion derived from the fame fource.

DoNGOLA was taken, and apoftatized early, and the ftones
of hermitages and churches had long before this been car-
ried off, and applied to the building of mofques. Father
Brevedent, therefore, if he wept for any focicty of Chriftians
at Dongola, mull have wept for thofe that had periflied
there joo years before.

Poncet was much careffed at Dongola for the cures
he made there. The Mek, or king, of that city willied him.
much to ftay and fettle there ; but dcfifted out of rel'pe(5t,
when he heard he w^as going to the emperor of Ethiopia.
Dongola, Poncet has placed rightly on the eaftern bank of
the Nile, about lat. 20° 22'.

The caravan departed from Dongola on the 6th of January
1699 ; four days after which they entered into the kingdom

4 of

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 473

of Scnnaar, where they met Erbab Ibrahim, brother of the
prime miniiler, and were received civilly by him. He de»
frayed their expences alfo as far as Korti, where they arrived
the 13th of January.

Our travellers from Korti were obliged to enter the great
defert of Bahiouda, and crofs it in a S. E. direction till they
came to Derreira, where they refled two days, which, Poncet
fays, was done to avoid the Arabs upon the Nile. Thefe
Arabs are called Chaigie ; they inhabit the banks of that
river to the N. E. of Korti, and never pay the king his reve=
nue without being compelled and very ill-treated.

The country about Derreira is called Belled Ullah, from
the caufe of its plenty rather than the plenty itfelf. This
fmall dillridt is upon the very edge of the tropical rains,
which it enjoys in part ; and, by that, is more fruitful than
thofe countries which are watered only by the induftry of
man. The Arabs of thefe deferts figuratively call rain Ra-
hamet Ullah, * the mercy of God', and Belled Ullah,' the coun-
try which enjoys that mercy.'

Some days after the caravan came toGerri. Poncet fays,
the ufe of this ftation was to examine caravans comins:
from the northward, whether they had the fmall-pox or
not. This ufage is now difcontinued by the decay of trade.
It mull always have ferved little purpofe, as the infecTiion
oftener comes in nierchandife than by paflengers. At Ger»
ri great refpe(5l was fhewn to Poncet, as going to Ethiopia.

I CANNOT conceive why Poncet fays, that, to avoid the
Voi. II. 3 O great

474 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

great windings of the Nile, he fhould have been obliged to
travel to the north-eaft. This would have plainly carried
him back to the defert of Bahiouda, and the Arabs : his
coiirfe . muft have been S. W. to avoid the windings of the
Nile, becaiife he came to Herbagi, which he <lefcribes very
properly as a delicious iituation. The next day they came
to Sennaar.

The reader, I hope, will eafily perceive that my intention
is not to criticife Mr Poncet's journey. That has been done
already fo illiberally and unjuftly that it has nearly
brought it into difrepute and oblivion. My intention is to
illuftrate it ; to examine the fads, the places, and diftan-
ces it contains ; to correal the miftakes where it has any,
and rellore it to the place it ought to hold in geography
and difcovery. It was the firft intelligible itinerary made
through thefe deferts ; and I conceive it will be long before
we have another ; at any rate, to reftorc and eflablifli the old
one will, in all fenfible minds, be the next thing to having
made a fecond experiment.

He furcly is in fome degree of miftake about the iituation
of Scnnaur when he fays it is upon an eminence. It is on a
plain clofe on the weflern banks of the Nile. A fmall error,'
too, has been made about its latitude. By an obfcrvation faid
to have been made by father Brcvedcnt, the 21ft of March
1699, ^^'^ found the latitude of Scnnaar to be 13° 4' north.
The French maps, the mod correct we have in all that re-
gards the eaft, place this capital of Nubia in lat. 15° and a
few mimues. But the public may reft afliired, that the
correct latitude of Sennaar, by a mean of very fmall differ-

enees.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 475

GTices of near fifty obfervations, made with a three-feet brafs
quadrant, in the courfe of feveral months I flaid in that
town, is lat 13° 34' 36" north.

What I have to fay furtlier concerning Sennaar will
come more naturally in my own travels ; and I fliall only
fo far confider the reft of Poncet's route, as to explain and
clear it from miftakes, Sennaar being the only point in
v/hich our two trails unite.

I SHALL beg the reader to remark, that, fi'om the time of
Poncet's fetting out of Egypt till his arrival at Sennaar, fo
far was he from being ill- looked upon, or any bad conllruc-
tion being put upon his errand, that he was, on the con-
trary, refpci5ted everywhere, as going to the king of Abyf-
linia. It never was then imagined he was to dry up the
Nile, nor that he was a conjurer to change its courfe, nor
that he was to teach the Abyffinians to caftj cannon and
make war, nor that he was loaded with immenfe fums of
money. Thefe were all pier fraudes^ lies invented by the
priefts and friars to incite thefe ignorant barbarians to
a crime which, though it palled unrevenged, will jullly
make thefe brethren in iniquity the detcilaiion of men of
every religion in all ages.

PoNCET left Sennaar tlic 12th of May 1699, and croiTed
the Nile at Bafboch, about four miles above the town, where
he flopped for three days. This he calls a fair village ; but
it is a very miferablc one, confiding of fcarcc 100 huts, built
of mud and reeds.

3 O 2 Hjc

476 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

He departed the 15th in the evening, and travelled all
the night as far as Bacras, and arrived the day after at A-
bec ; then at Baha, a long day's journey of about ten hours.
He is miftaken, however, when he fays Baha is fituated up-
on the banks of the Nile, for it is upon a fmall river that
runs into it. Bin, at the fcafon he pafTed it, moft of thofe
rivers were dried up.

On the 19th he came to Dodar, a place as inconfiderable
as Baha; then to Abra, a large village ; then to Debarke and
Enbulbul. On the 25 th they caiue to Gicfim. Giefim is a
large village fituated upon the banks of the Nile, in the
middle of a forcft of trees of a prodigious height and fize,
all of which are loaded with fruit or flowers, and crowded
with paroquets, and variety of other birds, of a thoufand dif-
ferent colours. They made a long flay at this place, not
lefs than nineteen days.

In this interval, father Brevedent is faid to have made
an obfervation of the latitude of the place, which, if admit-
ted, would throw all the geography of this journey into
confufion. Poncet fays, that Gicfim is half-way between
Sennaar and the frontiers of Ethiopia, and that a fmall
brook, a little beyond Scrke, is the boundary between thofe
Hates. Nov/, from Sennaar to Giefim are nine ftages, and
one of them we may call a double one, but between Giefim
and Scrke, only four ; Giefim then cannot be half way be-
tween Sennaar and Serke.— ^Again, the latitude of Sennaar
is 13" 4' north, according to Brevedent, or rather 13° 34'.
Now, if the latitude of Giefim be 10", then the diftancc be-
tween Sennaar and it mull be about 250 miles which they

1 had

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 477

had travelled in eight days, or more than thirty miles a-day,
which, in that country, is abfolutely impoflible.

But what muft make this evident is, that we know cer-
tainly that Gondar, the metropolis to which they were then
going, is in lat. 12° 34' north. Giefim then would be fouth
of Gondar, and the caravan muft have paffed it when the
obfervation was made. But they were not yet arrived at
the confines of Sennaar, much lefs to the capital of Abyf-
fmia, to which they were indeed advancing, but were ftill
far to the northward of it. There is a miftake then in this
obfervation which is very pardonable, Brevedent being then
ill of a mortal dyfentery, which terminated in death foon
after. We fhall, therefore, corred this error, making the
latitude of Giefim 14° 12' north, about 1 10 Englilh miles from
Sennaar, and 203 from Gondar.

The nth of June they fet out from Giefim for Deleb,
then to Chow, and next to Abotkna. They reded all night,
the 14th, in the delightful valley of Sonnone, and, two days
after, they came to Serke, a large town of trade, where there
are many cotton weavers. Here ends the kingdom of Sen-
naar, the brook without this town being the boundary of
the two ftates.

Arrived now in Abyffinia, they haired at TambifTo, a
village which belongs to the Abuna ; next at Abiad, a vil-
lage upon the mountain. On the 23d they flopped in a val-
ley full of canes and ebony- trees, where a lion carried a-
way one of their camels. On the 24th they paffcd the Gan-
dova, a large, violent, and dangerous river. The country
being prodigioully woody, one of their bcafts of carriage,

ftraggling

47B TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

flraggling from the caravan, was bit on the hip by a bear,
as Mr Poncet apprehends. But we are now in tlie country
correfponding to that inhabited by the Shangalla, that is
one of the hotteft in the world, where the thermometer ri-
fcs to 1 00° in the fhade. Bears are not found in cUmates Hkc
this ; and moft afTuredly there are none even in the higher
and colder mountains above. Poncet does not fay he faw
the bear, but judged only by the bite, which might have
been that of a lion, leopard, or many other animals, but
more probably that of the hysena.

The 27th they arrived at Girana, a village on the top of
a mountain. Here they left their camels, and began to af-
cend from the KoUa into the more temperate climate in
the mountains of Abyilinia. From Girana they came to
Barangoa, and the next day to Tchelga, where anciently
was the cuflomhoufe of Sennaar while peace and com-
merce fubfilled between the two kingdoms. The 3d of
July they arrived at Barcos, or Bartcho, about half a day's
journey from Gondar; and on the 9th of Auguil father
Brevedent died. Poncet was himfelf detained by indifpo-
fition at this village of Barcos till the 21 ft of July, on which
day he fet out for Gondar and arrived in the evening, where
he fucceedcd to his willies, performing a complete cure up-
on his royal patient in a very fliort time ; and fo fulfilled
this part of his million as perfectly as the ableft phyfician
could have done.

As for the other part with which he was charged, I doubt
very much if it was in his power to perform it in another
mar ncr than he did. It required a mind full of ignorance
and prcrumpcion, fuch as was that of Mr de Maillet and all

3 the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 479

the miftionaries at the head of whom he was, to beheve
that it was polTible for a private man, fuch as Poncet, with-
out language, without funds, without prefents, or without
power or poflibihty of giving them any fort of protedion
in the way, to prevail upon 26 or 28 perfons, on the word
of an adventurer only, to attempt the traverfing countries
where they ran a very great rifk of faUing into llavery — to
do what ? why, to go to France, a nation of Franks whofe
veiy name they abhorred, that they might be inftrufted in
a religion they equally abhorred, to meet with certain death
if ever they returned to their own country ; and, unlefs
they did retiu-n, they were of no fort of utility whatever.

M. de Mail let fliould have informed himfelf w^cll in the
beginning, if it was poffible that the nobility in Abyflinia
could be fo contemptible as to fufFer twelve of their chil-
dren to go to countries unknown, upon the word of a llran-
ger, at leaft of fuch a doubtful charucfler as Poncet. I fay
doubtful, becaufe, if he was fuch a man as M. de Maillet re-
prefents him, a drunkard, a liar, a thief, a man without re-
ligion, a perpetual talker, and a fuperlicial pradtitioner of
what he called his own trade, furely the Abyffinians muPc
have been very fond of emigration, to have left their homes
under the care of fuch a patron as this. When did M. de
Maillet ever hear of an Abyffinian who was willing to leave
his own country and travel to Cairo, unleis the very few
prieRs who go for duty's fake, for penances or vows, to Je-
rufalem?- When did he ever hear of an Abyllinian layman,
noble, or plebeian, attending even the Abuna though the firll
dignitary of the church? We fliall fee prefently a poor Have,
a Chriftian Abyflinian boy, immediately under the protec5tion
of M. de Maillet, and going direftly.from him into the pre-

feuce

48o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

fence of his king, taken forcibly from the chancellor of
the nation *, and made a Mahometan before their eyes.

The Abyflinian embafly then demanded from France,
and recommended to M. de Maillet, was a prefumptuous,
vain, impra(5licable chimera, which mufl have ended in dif»
appointment, and which never could have clofed more in=
nocently than it did.

I SHALL pafs over all that happened during Poncet's ftay
at Gondar, as he did not underftand the language, and mull
therefore have been very liable to miftake. But as for
what he fays of armies of 300,000 men ; of the king's drefs
at his audience; of his mourning in purple; of the quantity
of jewels he had, and wore; of his having but one wife; and
of large ftone-crofles being ere(5led on the corners of the
palace at Gondar ; thefe, and feveral other things, feem to
me to have been fuperadded afterwards. Nor do I think
what is faid of the churches and Chrillians remaining in
the kingdom of Dongola, nor the monftrous lie about the
golden rod fufpended in the air in the convent of Bifan t»
is at all the narrative of Poncet, but of fome fanatic, lying
friar, into whofe pofleffion Poncet's manufcript might have
fallen. The journey itfelf, fuch as I have reftored it, is cer-
tainly genuine; and, as I believe it defcribes the bell and fa-
feil way into Abyffinia, I have redified fome of the few er-
rors it had, and now recommend it to all future travellers,
and to the public.

This

* By Chancellor of the Nation is niciint the officer immediately next the conful, who keeps
the records, and has a department abfoUitely independent of the Conful.

f Vid. Poncet.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 481

This is to be underftood of his travels to Abyffinia, his
journey in returning being much more inaccurate and in-
complete, the reafon of which we have in his own words :
" I have not, fays he, exactly noted down the places through
" which we pafled, the great weaknefs I then lay under not
" permitting me to write as I could have wifhed." I fhall,
therefore, fay little upon his return, as the deficiency will
be carefully fupplied by the hiflory of my own journey
from Mafuah, the road by which he left the country being
very nearly the fame as that by which I entered.

It was on the 2d of May of the year 1700 that Pon-
cet left Gondar and took his journey to the town of Em-
fras. Here there is a miftake in the very beginning. Em-
fras *, at which place I llaid for feveral weeks, is in lat. 12"
12' 38", and long. 37° 38' 30", confequently about 22 miles
from Gondar, almoft under the fame meridian, or fouth from
it ; fo that, as he was going to the eaft, and northward of
eaft, this mull have been fo many miles out of his way ;
for, going towards Mafuali, his firll llation mufl have been
upon the river Angrab.

The fame may be faid of his next to Coga. It was a
royal relidence indeed, but very much out of his way. He
has forgot likewife, when he fays, that, in the way from
Gondar to Emfras, you mufl go over a very high mountain.
The way from Gondar to Emfras is the beaten way to Be-
gemder, Foggora, and Dara, and fo on to the fecond cataracT:
of the Nile. It is on that plain the armies were encamped

Vol. II. 3 P before

* It is plain PoDcet lud no inftruments for obfervation with him, nor was he probably ac»
quiintcd VAih the ufe of them.

482 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

before the battle of Serbraxos *, whence the road pafles by
Correva, which is indeed upon a rifmg ground, floping
gently to the lake Tzana, but is not either mountain or
hill.

Seven or eight days are a fpace of time jull enough for
the paffing through Woggora, where he juftly remarks
the heats are not fo exceffive as in the places he came from.
He takes no notice of the pafTage of Lamalmon, which ought
to have been very fenfible to a man in a decayed Hate of
health, the lefs fo as he was only defcending it. Every thing
which relates to the palTage of theTacazze is juft and pro-
per, only he calls the river itfelf the Tekefel, inllead of the
true name, the Tacazze. It was the Siris of the ancients ; and
it is doing juflice to both countries, v/hen he compares the
province of Sire with the moft delicious parts of his own
country of France. This province is that alfo where he
might very probably receive the young elephant, which he
fays awaited him there as a prefent to the king of France,,
and which died a few days after,.

He paiTed afterwards to Adowa. It is the capital of Ti-
gre, is Hill the feat of its governor, and was that of Ras-
Michael in my time. All that he fays of the intermediate
Gountiy and its productions, fliew plainly that his work is
genuine, and his remarks to be thofe of an eye-witnefs,.

From this province of Tigre he enters the country of the
Baliarnagafh, and arrives at Dobarwa, which he erroneouf-

»■ To hfi. defcribed hereafter,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 483

ly calls Duvarna, and fays it is the capital of the province
of Tigre, whereas it is that of the Baharnagafli. Ifaac Ba-
harnagafli, when in rebellion againft his fovereign, furren-
dered this town to the Turks in the year 1558, as may be
feen at large in my hiftory of the tranfadlions of thofc
times.

As the authenticity of this journey, and the reality of
Poncet's having been in Abyffinia, has been queftioned by
a fet of vain, ignorant, fanatic people, and that from ma-
lice only, not from fpirit of invefligation, of which they
were incapable, I have examined every part of it, and com-
pared it with what I myfelf faw, and fhall now give one
other inftance to prove it genuine, from an obfervation Pon-
cent has made, and which has efcaped all the miflionaries,
though it was entire and vifible in my time.

Among the ruins of Axum * there is a very high obelifk,
flat on both fides, and fronting the fouth. It has upon it no
hieroglyphic, but feveral decorations, or ornaments, the
fancy of the architetft. Upon a large block of granite, into
which the bottom of it is fixed, and which Hands before it
like a table, is the figure of a Greek patera, and on one fide
of the obelifk, fronting the fouth, is the reprefentation of a
woodendoor,lock,andalatch to it, which firfl feems defigned
to draw back and then lift up, exactly in the manner thofe
kind of locks are fafhioned in Egypt at this very day. Pon-
cet obferved very juftly, there are no fuch locks made ufc of

3 P 2 in

See an elevation of this in my account of Axura,

484 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

in Abyffinia, and wonders how they fhould have reprefent*
ed a thing they had never feen, and, having done fo, re-«
mained Hill incapable to make or ufe it. Poncet was no
man of reading out of his own profcflion ; he nowhere
pretends it ; he recorded this fadt bec-aufe he faw it, as a
traveller fhould do, and left others to give the reafon
which he could not. Poncet calls this place Heleni, from
a fmall village of that name in the neighbourhood. Had he
been a fcholar he would have known that the ruins he wai
obferving were thofe of the city of Axum, the ancient mc-?-
tropolis of this part of Ethiopia..

Ptolemy Evergetes, the third Grecian king of Egypf}
conquered this city and the neighbouring kingdom ; reli-
ded fome time there ; and, being abfolutely ignorant of
hieroglyphics, tlien long difufed, he left the obelifk he had
ereded for afcertaining his latitudes ornamented with li-
gures of his own chooling, and the inventions of his fub-
jec^s the Egyptians, and particularly the door for a conve*
nience of private life, to be imitated by his new-acquired
fubjefls the Ethiopians, to whom it had hitherto been un-»
known.

From Dobarwa he arrived at Arcouva, which, he fays^
geographers mifcal Arequies. M. Poncet might have ipa-
red this criticifm upon geographers till he himfelf had been
better informed, for both are equally mifcalled, whether Ar-
cuviva or Arequies. The true and only name of: the place,-
knov/n cither to Mahometans or Chriltians, is Arkeeko, as
the ifland to which he paiTed, cro/ling an arm of the fea, is
called Mafuah, not Meflbua, as he everywhere fpells it.

Erom

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 4S5

From Mamah, Poncet crofled the Red Sea to Jidda, pafTing
the ifland Dahalac and Kotumbal,ahigh rock, the name of
which is not known to many navigators.

Had old Murat, Mula, and Hagi Ah, happened at that
time to have been upon fome mercantile errand to Cairoj
there is no doubt but they would have been prefened and be-
come ambaffadors to France. They would have gone there,
perplexed the miniiler and the conful with a rhoufand lies
and contrivances, which the French never would have been
able to unravel; they would have promifcd every thing; ob-
tained from the king fome confiderable fum of money, on
which they would have undertaken to fend the embafTy in
any form that was prefcribed, and, after their return home^
never been heard of more. But thofc worthies were, pro-
bably, all employed at this time ; therefore the only thing
Poncet could do was to bring Murat, fmce he was to pro-
cure at all events an amballador, .

He had been a cook to a French merchant at Aleppo;
was a maker of brandy at Mafuah ; and probably his uncla
old Murat's fervant at the time. But he was not the worfe
ambaiTador for this. Old Murat, Hagi Ali, and Mufa, had
perhaps been alfo cooks and fervants in their time. Pru-
dence, fobriety, and good conducSt, Ikill in languages, and
acquaintance, with countries recommended thcmafterwardj
to higher trulls. Old Murat probably meant that his ne^
phew fhould begin his apprenticefhip with that embalFy to
France ; and M. Pom:et, to increafe his confeqiience, and ful-
fil, the commiflion the conful gave him, allowed him to in-
vent all the reft,.

Eon GET.,-,

486 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

PoNCET, from Jidda, went to Tor, and thence to Mount
Sinai, where, after fome flay, being overtaken by Murar,
they both made their entry into Cairo.

M. DE MAiLLET,the conful, was an old Norman gentleman,
exceedingly fond of nobility, confequently very haughty
and overbearing to thofc he reckoned his inferiors, among
which he accounted thofe of his own nation eftabliftied at
Cairo, though a very amiable and valuable fet of men. He
was exceedingly tefty, choleric, obftinate, and covetous,
though fagacious enough in every thing concerning his
own intereft. He lived for the moft part in his clofet, fel-
dom went out of his houfe, and, as far as I could learn, never
out of the city. There, however, he wrote a defcription of
all Egypt, which fince has had a conilderable degree of
reputation *.

Maillet had received advice of the miferable ftate of
this embafly from Jidda, that the SherrifFe of Mecca had ta-
ken from Poncet, by force, two female AbyfQnian flaves,
and that the elephant was dead ; which particulars being
written to France, he was advifed in a letter from father
Eleuriau by no means to promote any embafTy to the court
of Verfailles ; that a proper place for it was Rome ; but that
in France they looked upon it in the fame light as they
did upon an embafly from Algiers orTui.is, which did no
honour to thofe who fent it, and as little to thofe that re-
ceived it ; this, however, was a new light.

M. DE

* And there he wrote his Teliamede which fiippofes men were firft created Cdies, for which
he v/as excommunicated. It was an opinion perfcilly worthy of alarming the Sorbonne,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 487

M. DE Maillet, by this lcttei% becoming mafter of the
ambaflador's delliny, began firft to quarrel with him upon
etiquette, or who fhould pay the firft vifit ; and, after a va-
riety of ill-ufage, infifled upon feeing his difpatches. This
Murat refufed to permit, upon which the conful fent pri-
vately to the bafha, defiring him to take the difpatches or
letters from Murat, fending him at the fame time a conli-
dcrable prefent.

The balha on this did not fail to extort a letter from;
Murat by threats of death. He then opened it. It was in
Arabic, in very general and indifferent terms, probably the
performance of fome Moor at Mafuah, written at Murat's-
inllance. And well was it for all concerned that it was fo ;
for had the letter been a genuine Abyffmian letter, like
thofe of the emprefs Helena and king David III. propoling
the defl:ru6lion of Mecca, Medina, and the Turkifli fhips on
the Red Sea, the whole French nation at Cairo would have
been maffacred, and the conful and ambaffador probably
impaled.

The Jefuits, ignorant of this manoevure of M. de Mailletj.
but alarmed and fcandalized at this breach of the law of
nations, for fuch the baflia's having opened a letter, ad-
dreffed to the king of France, was juftly confidered, com-
plained to M. Feriol the French ambaffador at Conftantino-
ple, who thereupon fent a capigi from the port, to inquire
of the bafiia what he meant by thus violating the law of
nations, and affronting a friendly power of fuch confe-
qjience as France. 3

48^8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

These capigis are very unwelcome guefts to people in
oiEce to whom they are fent. They are always paid by
thofe they are fent to. Befides this, the report they carry
back very often cofts that perfon his life. The bafha, ac-
cufed by the capigi at the inftance of the French ambaffa-
dor at Conftantinople, anfwered like an innocent man, That
he had done it by defire of the French conful, from a wilh
to ferve him and the nation, otherwife he fhould never have
meddled in the matter. The confequence was, M. de Maillet
was obliged to pay the baftia the expence of the capigi ; and,
having fome time afterwards brought it in account with
the merchants, the French nation at Cairo, by deliberation
of the 6th of July of the year 1702, refufed to pay 1515 li-
vres, the demand of the balha, and 5 1 8 livres for thole of
liis officers.

The conful, however, had gained a complete victory over
Murat, and thereupon determined to fend Monhenaut, chan-
cellor of France at Cairo, with letters, which, though writ-
ten and invented by himfelf, he pretended to be tranllations
from the Ethiopian original.

But father Vcrfeau, the Jefuit, now returned to Cairo, who
had entered into a great dillruft of the conful fmce the dif-
covery of his intrigue with the bafha about Murat's letter,
refolved to be of the party. Poncct, who was likewife on
bad terms with the conful, neither inclined to lofe the me-
rits of his travels into AbyiTinia, nor truil the recital of it
to Monhenaut, or to the manner in which it might be re-
prefented in the conful's letters. Thcfe tliree, Monhenaut,
Poncet, andVerfcau, fet out therefore for Paris with very
different views and defigns. They embarked at Bulac, the

I fliipping-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 489

iliipping-place of Cairo upon the Nile, taking with them
the ears of the dead elephant.

The remaining part of the prefent brought for the king
of France by this illuftrious embaiTy, was an Abyffinian boy,
a flave bought by Murat, and who had been hid from the
fearch of the Sheriffe, when he forcibly took from him the
two Abyffinian girls, part of the intended prefent alfo. This
boy no fooner embarked on board the vejffel at Bulac than
a great tumult arofe. The janizaries took the boy out of
the veffel by force, and delivered him to Muftapha Cazdagli,
their kaya ; nor could all the intereft of M. de Maillet and
the French nation, or all the manoeuvres of the Jefuits, ever
recover him.

As for Monhenaut, Ponce t, and Verfeau, his protectors,
they were obliged to hide themfelves from the violence of
the mob, nor dared they again to appear till the veflel failed.
And happy was it for them that this fell out at Cairo, for,
had they offered to embark him at Alexandria, in all pro-
bability it would have coll all of them their lives.

I MUST beg leave here to fuggeft to the reader, how dan-
gerous, as well as how abfurd, was the plan of this embaf-
fy. It was to confift of twenty-eight Abyffmians, twelve of
whom were to be fons of noble families, all to be embark-
ed to France. What a pleafant day would the embarkation
have been to M. de Maillet! What an honourable appear-
ance for his king, in the eyes of other Chriftian princes, to
have feen twenty-eight Chriflians under his immediate pro-
teftion, twelve of whom we might fay were princes, (as all
the nobility in Abyffmia are diredly of the family of the
•^^^•"' 3 0. ' king),

490 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

king), fl'om motives of vanity only, by the pride of the Je^.
fuits, and the ignorance of the conful, hurried in one day
into apoftacy and flavery! Whatever Maillet thought of Pon-
cet's condu6l, his bringing Murat, and him only, cook as
he was, was the very luckiell accident of his life.

I KNOW French flatterers will fay this would not have
happened, or, if it had, a vengeance would have followed",
worthy the occafion and the refentment of fo great a king,
and would have prevented all fuch violations of the law of
nations for the future. To this I anfwer, The mifchief
would have been irreparable, and the revenge taken, how^
ever complete, would not have reftored them their religion,
and, without their religion, they themfelves would not have
returned into their own country, but would have remained
neceffary facrifices, which the pride and raflmefs of the Je-
fuits had made to the faith of Mahom.et.

Besides, where is the threatened revenge for the afTaflinar-
tion of M. du Roule, then acflual ambaifador from the king
of France, of which I am now to fpeak ? Was not the law of
nations violated in the ftrongefl manner pofllble by his
murder, and without the fmallcft provocation ? What ven-^
geance was taken for this ? — ^Juft the fame as would have
been for the other injury ; for the Jefuits and conful
would have concealed the one, as tendernefs for the Fran^
cifan Friars had made them cover the other, leit their a>
bominable wickedncfs fhould be expofcd. If the court of
France did not, their conful in Cairo fhould have known
what the confequence would be ol decoying twenty-eiglit
Abyflluians from their own country, to be perverted frorii

their

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 491

tlicir own religion, and remain flaves and Mahometans at
Cairo, a niiifance to all European nations eftablifhed there.

Upon the arrival of the triumvirate at Paris, Monhenaut
immediately repaired to the minifter ; Verfeau was introdu-
ced to the king, and Poncet, foon after, had the fame hon-
our. He was then led as a kind of fhow, through all Paris,
cloathed in the Abyffinian drefs, and decorated with his gold
chain. But while he was vainly amufmg himfelf with this
filly pageantry, the conful's letters, and the comments made
upon them by Monhenaut, went diredly to deftroy the
credit of his ever having been in Abyffinia, and of the reali-
ty of Murat's embafly.

The Francifcan friars, authors of the murder of M. dii
aioule, enemies to the million, as being the work of the Je-
fuits ; M. Piques, member of the Sorbonnc, a body never
much diftinguiihed for promoting difcoveries, or encoura-
ging liberal and free inquiry; Abbe Renaudot, M. le Grande,
and fome ancient linguifts, who, Vv^ith great difficulty, by
the induftry of M. Ludolf, had attained to a very fuperficial
knowledge of the Abyffinian tongue, all fell furioully upon
Poncet's narrative of his journey. One found fault with the
account he gave of the religion of the country, becaufe it
was not fo conformable to the rites of the church of Rome,
as they had from their own imagination and prejudice, and
for their own ends conceived it to be. Others attacked the
truth of the travels, from improbabilities found, or fuppofed
to be found, in the defcripiion of the countries through
which he had palled ; while others difcovered the for-
gery of his -letters, by faults found ia the orthography of

3 -^^2 that

49^. TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

that language, not one book of which, at that day, they had
ever feen.

All thefe empty criticiims have been kept aUve by the
merit of the book, by this alone they have any further
chance of reaching pollerity ; while, by all candid readers,
this itinerary, fliort and incomplete as it is, will not fail to
be received as a valuable acquifition to the geography of
thefe unknown countries of which it treats.

I THINK it but a piece of duty to the memory of a fellow-
traveller, to the lovers of truth and the public in general, to
ftate the principal objccT:ions upon which this outcry againft
Poncetwas raifed; that,bytheanfwers theyadmit of, the world
may judge whether they are or are not foimded in candour,
and that before they arc utterly fwallowed up in oblivion.

The firft is, that of the learned Renaudot, who fays he
does not conceive how an Ethiopian could be called by the
name of Murat. To this I anfwer, Poncet, de IVIaillet, and
the Turkifli Baflia, fay Murat was an Armenian, a hundred
times over ; but M. Renaudot, upon his own authority,
makes him an Ethiopian, and then lays the blame upon
others, who arc not fo ignorant as himfelf.

Secondly, Foncct alTerts Gondar was the capital of Ethi-
opia ; whereas the Jefuits have made no mention of it, and
this is fuppofed a llrong proof of Poncet's forgery. I an-
fwer. The Jefuits were banilhed in the end of Socinios's
reign, and the beginning of that of his fon Facilidas, that is
about the year 1632 ; they were finally extirpated in the end
of this lail prince's reign, that is before the year i665, by

his

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

49:

his ordering the lafl: Jefuit Bernard Nogueyra, to be pubhc-
ly hanged. Now Gondar was not bulk till the end of the
reign of Hannes I. who was grandfon to Socinios, that is
about the year 1680. Unlefs, then, thefe holy Jefuits, who,
if- we believe the miflionaries, had all of them a fight into
futurity before their martyrdom, had, from thefe their hjl
vijions, described Gondar as capital of Abyffinia, it does not
occur to me liow they Ihould be hiflorians of a facfl that
had not exiftence till 50 years after they were dead.

Thirdly, Poncet fpeaks of towns and villages in Ethio-
pia ; whereas it is known there are no towns, villages, or ci-
ties, but Axum. — I beheve that if the Abyffinians, who built
the large and magnificent city of Axum, never had other
cities, towns, and villages, they were in this the moil fm-
gular people upon earth ; or, if places where 6000 inhabi-
tants live together in contiguous houfes, feparated with
broad llreets where there are churches and markets, be not
towns and villages, I do not know the meaning of the term ;
but if thefe are towns, Poncet hath faid truth ; and many
more fuch towjis, which he never did fee nor defcribe, are
in Abyffinia at this day.

Fourthly, The Abyffinians live, and always have lived,
in tents, not in houfes. — It would have been a very extraor-
dinary idea in people living in tents to have built fuch a ci-
ty as Axum, whofe ruins are as large as thofe of Alexandria ;
and it would be ilill more extraordinary, that people, in fuch
a climate asAbyffi.nia,inthewhole of which there is fcorching
weather for fix months, deluges of rain, Ilorms of wind, thun-
der, lightning, and hurricanes, fuch as are unknown in
Europe, for the other fix, fliould choofe to live in tents, after
3 knowing

j^4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

knowing how to build fuch cities as Axum. I wonder a
man's underftanding does not revolt againft fuch abfurdi-
ties in the moment he is ftating them.

The AbyfTmians, while at war, ufe tents and encamp-
ments, to fecure the liberty of movements and changing of
ground, and defend therafelves, when ftationary, from the
inclemency of the weather. But no tent has, I believe, yet
been invented that could ftand in the fields in that coun-
try from June to September ; and they have not yet form-
ed an idea of Abyffinia who can fuppofe this.

I CONCEIVE it is ignorance of the language which has led
thefe learned men into this miftake. The Abyflinians call
a houfc, Handing by itfelf, allotted to any particular pur-
pofe. Bet. So Bet Negus is a palace, or the houfe of a king;
Bet Chriilian is a church, or a houfe forChriftian worfliip ;
whilft Bet Mocha is a prifon, or houfe under ground. But
houfes in towns or villages are called Taintes, from the
Abylllnian word Tain, to lleep, lie down, reft, or repofe. I
fuppofe the fimilitude of this word to tents has drawn thefe
learned critics to believe, that, inftead of towns, thefe were
only colle6lions of tents. But ftill I think, no one acquaint-
ed whh the Abyflinian language, or without being fo, would
be fo void of underftanding as to believe, a people that had
built Axum of ftone, fliould endure, for ages after, a tropi-
cal winter in bare tents.

The fifth thing that fixes falfehood upon Poncct is, that
lie defcribes delicious valleys beyond European ideas ; beau-
tiful plains, covered with odoriferous trees and llirubs, to
be everywhere in his way on the entrance of Abyffinia ;
J whereas.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^g-^

whereas, when Salidan's brother conquered this country,
the Arabian books fay they found it deftitute of all this
fruitfulnefs. But, with all fubmiffion to the Arabian books,
to Abbe Renaudotand his immenfe reading, Iwill maintain,
that neitlier Salidan, nor his brother, nor any of his tribe,
ever conquered the country Poncet defcribes, nor were in
it, or ever faw it at a diftance.

The province where Poncet found thefe beautiful fcenes*
lies between lat. 12 and 13°. The foil is rich, black mould,
which fix months tropical rain are needed to water fuffici-
ently, where the fun is vertical to it twice a-year, and fta-
tionary, with r£fpe6t to^it, for feveral days, at the diftance of
ro°, and at a lelTer diftance ftill for feveral months ; where
the fun, though fo near, is never feen, but a thick fcreen of
watery clouds is conftantly interpofed, and yet the heat is
fuch, that Fahrenheit's thermometer rifes to 100° in the
Ihade. Can any one be fo ignorant in natural hiftory, as to
doubt that, under thefe circumftances, a luxuriant, florid,
odoriferous vegetation muft be the confequence ? Is not this
the cafe in every continent or ifland within thefe limits all
round -the globe ? ■.

But Poncet contradids the Arabian books, and alltra^
vellers, modern and ancient ; for they unanimoufly agree
that this country is a dreary miferable defert, producing no-
thing but Dora, which is millet, and fuch like things of
little or no value. I wifli fincerely that M. Renaudot, when
he was attacking a man's reputation, had been fo good as
to name the author whofe authority he relied on. I fhali
take upon me to deny there ever was an Arabian book
■which treated of this country. And witli regard to the an-
cient-

-49^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

cient and modern travellers, his quotations from them are,
if pollible, Hill more vifionary and ridiculous. The only
ancient travellers, who, as I believe, ever vifited that coun-
try, were Cambyfes's ambafTadors ; who, probably, pafled
this part of Poncet's track when they went to the Macrobii,
and the mofl modern authors (if they can be called modern)
that came nearell to it, were the men fent by Nero* to difcover
the country, whofe journey is very doubtful; anti they, when
they approached the parts defcribed by Poncet, fay " the
country began to be green and beautifiil." Now I wifli M.
Renaudot had named any traveller mor^ modern than thefe
meffengers of Nero, or more ancient than thofe anibalTa-
dors of Cambyfes, who have travelled through and defcrib-
ed the country of the Shangalla. j, ;

I, THAT have lived months in that province, and am the
only traveller that ever did fo, mufl corroborate every word
Poncet has faid upon this occafion. To dwell on landfcapes
and pi(5turefque views, is a matter more proper for a poet
than a hiflorian. Thofe countries which are defcribed by
Poncet, merit a pen much more able to do them juftice,
than either his or mine.

It will be remembered when I fay this, it is of the coun-
try of the Shangalla, between hit. 12" and 13" north, that
this is the people who inhabit a hot woody llripc called
Kolla, about 40 or 50 miles broad, that is from north to
fouth, bounded by the mountainous country of Abyllinia,
till they join the Nile at Fazuclo, on the Well.

I HAVj:

* Plin. vol. I. lib. 6. cap. 30. p. 376.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 497

I HAVE alfo faid, ihrtt, for the fake of commerce, thefe
Sliangalla have been extirpated in two places, which are
like two gaps, or chafms, in which are built towns and vil-
lages, and through which caravans pafs between Sennaar
and Abyflinia. All the reft of this country is impervious
and inacceflible, unlefs by an armed force. Many armies
have perifhed here. It is a tra(51: totally unknown, unlefs
from the fmall detail that I have entered into concerning it
in my travels.

And here I muft fet the critic right alfo, as to what he
fays of the produce of thefe parts. There is no grain cal-
led Dara, at leaft that I know of. If he meant millet, he
Ihould have called it Dora. It is not a mark of barrennefs in
the ground where this grows : part of the iineft land in
Egypt is fown with it. The banks of the Nile which pro-
duce Dora would alfo produce wheat ; but the inhabitants
of the defert like this better ; it goes farther, and does not
fubjed them to the violent labour of the plough, to which
all inhabitants of extreme hot countries are averfe.

The fame I fay of what he remarks with regard to cot-
ton. The fineft valleys in Syria, watered by the cool refrefli-
ing fprings that fall from Mount Libanus, are planted with
this flirub ; and, in the fame grounds alternately, the tree
which produces its fifter in manufadiu-es, filk, whofe va-
lue is greatly inhanccd by the addition. Cotton clothes all E-
thiopia ; cotton is the bafis of its commerce with India,
and of the commerce between England, France, and the
Levant ; and, were it nor for fomc fuch ignorant, fuperficial
reafoners as Abbe Renaudot, cotton, after wool, Ihould be
the favourite manufadure of Britain. It will in time take

Vol. II. 3 R place

498 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER-

place of that ungrateful culture, flax; will employ more
hands, and be a more ample field for diHinguilhing theii>-
genuity of our manufad:urers.

We fee, then, how the leaft confideration poffible de-
ftroysthefe ill-founded objections, upon which the e very
ignorant enemies of Poncet attempted to deflroy his credit,,
and rob him of the merit of his journey. At lafl they ven-
tured to throw off the mafic entirely, by producing a letter
fuppofed to be written from Nubia by an Italian friar, who •
afierts roundly, that he hears Poncet .was never at the capi-
tal of Ethiopia, nor ever had audience of Tafous ; but llok
the clothes and money of father Brevedent, then married,
and foon after forfook his wife and Ethiopia together.

Maillet could have eafily contradioled this, had he afted"
honeftly ; for Hagi Ali had brought him the king of Abyl-
fmia's letter, who thankedhim for his having fent Poncet, and
fignified to him his recovery. But without appealing to M.
Maillet upon the fubjedl, I conceive nobody v/ili doubt, that
Hagi Ali had a commiffion to bring a phyfician from Cairo
to cure his mailer, and that Poncet was propofed as that
phvfician, with confent of the conful. Now, after having
carried Poncet the length of Bartcho, where it is agreed he
was when Brevedent died^ (for he was fuppofed there to
have robbed that father of his mone)) what could be Hagi
Ali's reafon for not permirting him to proceed half a day's
journey farther to the capital, and prefenting him to the
king, who had been at the pains and expence of fending
for him from Egypt ? What cxcufe could Hagi Ali make
for not producing him, when lie mull have delivered the

confurs

THE SOURCE OFTHENILE. 499

conful's letters, tellmg him that Poncet was come with the
caravan for the purpofc of curing him ?

Besides this, M. de Maillet faw Hagi Ali afterwards at
Cairo, wliere he reproached him with his cruel behaviour,
both to Poncet and to friar Juftin, another monk that had
come along with him from Ethiopia. Maillet then mull
have been fully inftru6led of Poncet's whole life and con-
verfation in Ethiopia, and needed not tlie Italian's fuppofed
communication to know whether or not he had been in E-
thiopia. Befides, Maillet makes ufe of him as the forerun-
ner of the other embalTy he was then preparing to Gondar,
and to that fame king Yafous, which would have been a
very ftrange ftep had he doubted of his having been there
Jbefore.

Supposing all this not enough, flill we know he return^"
'ed by Jidda, and the conful correfponded with him there.
Now, how did he get from Bartcho to the Red Sea without
paffing the capital, and without the king's orders or know-
ledge? Who franked him at thofe number of dangerous
barriers at Woggora, Lamalmon, the Tacazz^, Kella, and
Adowa, where, though I had the authority of the king, I
could not fometimes pafs without calling force to my af-
fiilance? AVho freed him from the avarice of the Bahama-
gaih, and the much more formidable rapacity of that mur-
derer the Naybe, who, we have fcen in the hiflory of this
reign, attempted to plunder the king's own facStor Mufa,
though his mailer was within three days journey at the
head of an army that in a few hours could have effaced eve-
ry vellige of where Mamah liad flood ? All this, then, is a
ridiculous labrication of lies ; the work, as I have before

3 R 2 faid.

500 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

faid, of thofc who were concerned in the affair of the un*
happy Du Roulc.

PoKCET, having loft all credit, retired from Paris in dif-
grace» without any further gratification than that which he
at lirft received. He carried to Cairo with him, however, a
gold watch and a miiTor, which he was to deliver to the
conful as a prefent to his companion Murat^ whofe fublift-
ence was immediately flopped, and liberty given him to re,->-
turn, to Ethiopia^

Nor did Maillet's folly ftop here. After giving poor Mu-
rat all the ill-ufage a man could- poffibly fuffer, he entruft-
cd him with a Jefuit * whom he was to introduce into E-
thiopia, where he would certainly have loft his life had not.
the bad- treatment he received by the way made him return:
before he arrived at Mafuah.

This firft mifcarriage feemed only to have confirmed the
Jcfuits more in their refolution of producing an embafly..
But it now took another form* PoUticians and ftatefmen
became the aiflors in it, without a thought having been be-
llowed to diminifli the enemies of the fcheme, or render
their endeavours ufelefs, by a, fuperior knowledge of the-
manners and cuftoms of the country through which this;
ernbaliy was to pafs..

No adventurer, or vagrant phyfician, (like Poncet) was;
to be employed in this fecond emba/Ty. A miniftcr vcrfcd:

ia.

* Faiixei Dernatj a Frenchraoni

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 501

m languages, negociations, and treaties, accompanied with
proper drugomans and officers, was to be fent to Abyffinia
to cement a perpetual friendfliip and commerce between
two nations that had not a national article to exchange with
each other, nor way to communicate by fea or land. The
minifter, who mull have known this, very wifely, at giving
his fiat, pitched upon the conful M. de Maiilct to be the
amabaffador, as a man who was acquainted with the caufes
of Poncet's failure, and, by following an oppofite couric,
Gould bring this embalTy to a happy conclufion for both
nations.

Maillet confidercd himfelf as a general whofe bufinefs
was to dire6l and not to execute. A tedious and trouble-
fome journey through dangerous dcferts was out of the
•Sphere of his clofet, beyond the limits of which he did not
choofe to go. Beyond the limits of this, all was defert ta^
him. He excufed himfelf from the embally, but gave in a:
memorial to ferve as a rule for the condu(51: of his fuccellbr
in the nomination in a country he had never feen ; but this,
being afterwards adopted as a well-confidcred regulation,,
proved one of the principal caufes of the niifcarriagc and
tragedy that followed..

M. NoiR Du RouLE, vice- conful at Damiata, was pitched
Upon as the ambaiTador to go to Abyffinia. He was a young
man of fome merit, had a confiderable degree of ambition,
and a moderate fl^ili in the common languages fpoken ii>
tlie caft, but was abfolutely ignorant of that of the country
to which he was going, and, what was worfe, of the cuftoms
and prejudices of the nations through which he was topafs..
Like moft of his countrymen, he had a violent predilection
^^. fojg-

302 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

for the drefs, carriage, and manners of France, tind a hearty
contempt for thofe of all other nations ; this he had not ad-
drefs enough to difguife, and this endangered his life. The
whole French nation at Cairo were very ill-difpofed towards
him, in confequence of fomeperfonal flight, or imprudences,
he had been guilty of ; as alfo towards any repetition of
projects which brought them, their commerce, and even
their lives into danger, as the laft had done.

The merchants, therefore, were averfe to this embaiTy;
but the Jefuits and Maillet were the avowed fupporters of
it, and they had with them the authority of the king. But
each aimed to be. principal, and had very little confidence
or communication with his afTociate.

As for the capuchins and Francifcans, they were mortal-
ly offended with M, de Maillet for having, by the introduc-
tion of the Jefuits, and the power of the king of France,
forcibly wrefted the Ethiopic milfion from them which the
pope had granted, and which the facred congregation of
cardinals had confirmed. Thefc, by their continual com-
munication with the Cophts, the Chriftians of Egypt, had
fo far brought them to adopt their defigns as, one and all,
to regard the mifcarriage of du Roule and his cmbafiy, as
what they were bound to procure from honour and mutual
intcreft.

Things being in thefe circumflances, M. du Roule arri-
ved at Cairo, and took upon him the charge of this embalfy,
-and from that moment the intrigues began.

o The

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 503

' The conful had perfuaded du Roiile, that the proper pre.-
fents he Ihould take with him to Sennaar were prints of
the king and queen of France, with crowns upon their heads;
mirrors, magnifying and multiplying objeds, and deform-
ing them ; when brocade, fattin, and trinkets of gold or iil^
ver, iron or fteel, would hav^e been inlinitely more accepts
able.

Elias, an Armenian, a confidential fervant of the French
nation, was firfl fent by way of the Red Sea into Abyffiniai
by Mafuahj to proceed to Gondar, and prepare Yafous for
the reception of that ambalfador, to whom he, Elias, was to
be the interpreter. So far it was well concerted; but, in pre-
paring for the end, the middle was negledtedp A number
of friars were already at Sennaar, and had poifoned the
minds of that people, naturally barbarous, brutal, and jea-
lous. Money, in prefents, had gained the great; while lies,
calculated to terrify and enrage the lower clafs of people, had
been told fo openly and avowedly, and gained fuch root,
that the ambafTador, when he arrived at Sennaar, found it,
in the firil place, neceflary to make :i procez verbal, or what
we call a precognition, in which the names of the authors,
and fubllance of thefe reports, were mentioned, and of this
he gave advice to M. de Maiilet, but the names and thefe
papers perifhed with him.

If was on the gth of July 1704 that M. du Roule fct out
from Cairo; attended by a number of people who, with
tears in their eyes, forefaw the pit into which he Vvas tail-
ing. He embarked on the Nile; and, in his pallage to Si-
out, he. found at every haitlngrplace fo-^.e new and dan-
gerous

504 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

gerous lie propagated, which could have no other end but
Ills deftru(5lion.

Belac, a Moor, and faAor for the king of Sennaar, was
chief of the caravan which he then joir.ed. Du Roule had
employed, while at Cairo, all the ufual means to gain
this man to his intercft, and had every rcafon to fuppofe he
had fucceeded. But, on his meeting him at Siout, he had
the mortification to find that he was fo far changed tliat it
coll him 250 dollars to prevent his declaring himfelf an
abettor of his enemies. And this, perhaps, would not have
fufiTiced, had it not been for the arrival of Fornetti, drugo-
man to the French nation at Cairo, at Siout, and with him
a capigiand chiaouxfrom Ifmael Bey, the port of janizaries,
and from the bafha of Cairo, exprefsly commanding the
governor of Siout, and Belac chief of the caravan, to look
to the fafety of du Roule, and proteft him at the hazard of
their lives, and as they fliould anfwer to them.

All the parties concerned were then called together ;
and the fcdtah, or prayer of peace, ufed m long and dan-
gerous journics, was folemnly recited and affented to by
them all ; in confequence of which, every individual be-
came bound to ftand by his companion even to death, and
not fcparate himfelf from him, nor fee him wronged, though
it was for his own gain or fafety. This tell brought all the
fecret to light; for Ali Chclebi, governor of Siout, informed
the amballador, that the Chrillian merchants and Francif-
can friars were in a confpiracy, and had fworn to defeat
and difappoint his embalTy even by the lofs of his life, and
that, by prefents, they had gained him to be a partner in
that confpiracy.

Belac,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 505

Belac, moreover, told him, that the patriarch of the
Cophts had aflured the principal people of which that cara-
van confifted, that the Franks then travelling with him were
not merchants, but forcerers, who were going to Ethiopia,
to obflrua, or cut off the courfe of the Nile, that it might
no longer flow into Egypt, and that the general refolution
was to drive the Franks from the caravan at fome place in
the defert which ftiited their defigns, which were to reduce
them to perifli by hunger or thirft, or elfe to be otherwife
iiain, and no more heard of.

The caravan left Siout the 12th of September. In twelve
days they pafTed the leffer defert, and came to Khargue,
where they were detained fix days by a young man, gover-
nor of that place, who obliged M. du Roule to pay him 120
dollars, before he would fuifer him to pafs further ; and at
the fame time forced him to fign a certificate, that he had
been permitted to pafs without paying any thing. This was
the firft fample of the ufage he was to expea in the further
profecution of his journey.

On the 3d of October they entered the great defert of Se-
lima, and on the i8th of fame month they arrived at Ma-
chou, or Mofcho, on the Nile, where their caravan ftaid a
confiderable time, till the merchants had tranfafted their
bufinefs. It was at this place the ambaffador learned, that
feveral Francifcan friars had paffed the caravan while it re-
mained at Siout, and advanced to Sennaar, where thev had
llaid fome time, but had lately left that capital upon news
of the caravan's approaching, and had rethed, nobodv knew
whether.

^'^^•"- J?S A REPORT

5o6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

A REPORT was foon after fpread abroad at Cairo, but no
one could ever learn whence it came, that the ambalTador,
arriving at Dongola, had been alTaflinated there. This, in-
deed, proved falfe, but was, in the mean time, a mournful
prefage of the melancholy cataflrophe that happened foon
afterwards.

M. Du RouLE arrived at Sennaar towards the end of May,,
and wrote at that time ; but a packet of letters was after
brought to the conful at Cairo, bearing date the 1 8th of June.
The ambaflador there mentions, that he had been well re-
ceived by the king of Sennaar, whO: was a young man, fond
of ftrangers ; that particular attention had been fhewn him
by Sid Achmet-el-coom ; or, as he fhould have called him,
AchmetSid-el-coom,i.e.Achnietmafterofthehoufehold. This
officer, fent by the king to vifit the baggage of the ambafla-
dor, could not help teitifying his furprife to find it fo in*-
confiderabie, both in bulk and value,.

He faid the king had received letters from Cairo, inform-
ing him that he had twenty chefts of filver along with himi.
Achmet likewife told him, that he himfcif had received in-
formation, by a letter under the hand and i'eal of the moft
refpedtable people of Cairo, warning him not to let M, du
Roule pafs ; for the intention of liis journey into Abyllinia
was to prevail on Yafous to attack Mafuah and Suakem,
and take them from the Turks. Achmet would not fufler
the bales intended for the king of Abyllinia to be opened
or vifited, but left them in the liands of the ambaflador.

M. DU Roule, however, in ■writing this account to the
conful, intimated to him that he thought himfelt in dan-

J ger^

THESOURCEOFTHENILE.

->"/

ger, and declares that he did not believe there was on
earth fo barbarous, brutal, and treacherous a people, as
were the Nubians.

It happened that the king's troops had gained fome ad-
vantage over the rebellious Arabs, on which account there
was a feftival at court, and M. du Roule thought himfelf
obliged to exert himfelf in every thing which could add to
the magnificence of the occafion. With this intention he
fliaved his beard, and dreft himfelf like a European, and in
this manner he received the vifit of the minifler Achmet.
M. Mace, in a letter to the conful of the above date, com-
plains of this novelt)-. He fays it fhocked every body ; and
that the '^mirrors which multiplied and deformed the ob-
jects, made the lower forts of the people look upon the am-
baiTador and his company as forcerers.

Upon great feftivals, in moll Mahometan kingdoms, the
"king's vv^ives have a privilege to go out of their apartments,
and vifit any thing new that is to be feen. Thefe of the
king of Sennaar are very ignorant, brutifli, fantaftic, and
eafdy offended. Had M. du Roule known the manners of
the country, lie would have treated thefe black majcfiies
with ftrong fpirits, fwcetmeats, or fcented waters ; and he
might then have Ihewed tliem with impunity any thing
that he plcafcd.

But being tcrrlfie^l with the glaffcs, and difgufied by his
inattention, they joined in the common cry, that the ambaf-
fador was a magician, and contributed all in their power to

3^2 ruin

We haye feen thefe were reconimenJeJ by M. Maillet, tlie conful.

5,o8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ruin him with the king ; which, after all, they did not ac-
complifli, without the utmoft repugnance and difficulty.
The fartheft length at firft they could get this prince ta go
was, to demand 3000 dollars of the ambaffador. This was
exprefsly refufed, and private difgull followed.

M. Du RouLE being now alarmed for his own fafety, in-
filled upon liberty to fet out forthwith for Abyffinia. Leave
was accordingly granted him, and after his baggage was
loaded, and every thing prepared, he was countermanded
by the king, and ordered to return to his own houfe. A few
days after this he again procured leave to depart ; which a
ihort time after was again countermanded. At laft, on the
roth of November, a melTenger from the king brought him
final leave to depart, which, having every thing ready for
that purpofe, he immediately did.

The ambaffador walked on foot, with two country Chrif-
rians on one hand, and Gentil his French fervant on the
other. He refufed to mount on horfeback, but gave his
horfe to a Nubian fervant to lead. M. Lipi, and M. Mace,
the two drugomans, were both on horfeback. The whole
company being now arrived in the middle of the large
fquare before the king's houfe, the common place of exe-
cution for criminals, four blacks attacked the ambaffador,
and murdered him with four ftrokes of fabres. Gentil fell
next by the fame hands, at his mailer's fide. After him
M. Lipi and the two Chriftians ; the two latter protefting
that they did not belong to the ambaffador's family.

M. DU RouLE died with the greateft magnanimity, forti-
tude, and refignation. Knowing his perfon was facrcd by

3-. the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 509

the law of nations, he difdained to defend it by any other
means, remitting his revenge to the guardians of that law,
and he exhorted all his attendants to do the fame. But M.
Mace the Drugoman, young and brave, and a good horfe-
man, was not of the flieep kind, to go quietly to the
flaucrhter. With his piftols he fhot two of the affallins that
attacked him, one after the other, dead upon the fpot ; and
was continuing to defend himfelf with his fword, when a
horfcman, coming behind him, thruft him through the
back with a lance, and threw him dead upon the ground.

Thus ended the fecond attempt of converting Abyffinia'
by an embafTy. A fcheme, if we believe M. de Maillet, which
had coll government a confiderable expence, for in a memo-
rial, of the lit of Odober 1706, concerning the death of M..
du Roule, he makes the money and effects which he had
along with him, when murdered, to am.ount to 200 purfes,^
or L. 25,000 Sterling. This, however, is not probable ; be-
caufe, in another place he fpeaks of M. du Roule's having,
demanded of him a fmall fupply of money while at Sen-
naar, which friar Jofeph, a capuchin, refufed to carry for
him. Such a fupply would not have been neceffary if the
ambaflador had with him fuch a fum as that already men-
tioned ; therefore I imagine it was exaggerated, with a
view to make the Turkilh balha of Suakem quarrel with
the king of Sennaar about the recovering it.

The friars, who were in numbers at Sennaar, left it im-
mediately before the coming of M. du Roule. This they
might have done without any bad intention towards him ;
they returned, however, immediately after his murder.
This, I think, very clearly conlliiutes them the authors of

it^.

5IO TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

k. For had they not been privy and promoters of the aflafli-
nation, they would have fled with fear and abhorrence from
a place where lix of their brethren had been lately fo treach-
eroufly fliain, and were not yet buried, but their carcafes a-
bandoned to the fowls of the air, and the beafts of the field,
and where they themfelves, therefore, could have no allu-
rance of fafety.

Thev however pretended, firfl to lay the blame upon the
king of Abyffinia, then upon the king of Sennaar, and
then they divided it between them both. But Elias, arriv-
ed at Gondar, vindicated that prince, as we fhall preiently
fee, and the lift of names taken at Sennaar ; and a long fe-
ries of correfpondence, which afterwards came out, and a
chain of evidence which was made public, inconteftibly
prove that the king of Sennaar was but an agent, and in-
deed an unwilling one, who two fcveral times repented of
his bloody defign, and made M. du Roule return to his own
houfe, to evade the execution of it.

The blood then of this gallant and unfortunate gentleman
undoubtedly lies upon the heads of the reformed Francif-
can friars, and their brethren, the friars of the Holy Land.
The intereilof thefc two bodies, and a bigotted prince, fuch
as Louis XIV then was, was more than lufficicnt to Hop all
inquiry, and hinder any vengeance to be taken on thofe
holy afTafTms. But he who, unperceived, follows deliberate
murther through all its concealments and darknefs of its
wavs, in a few vears required fatisfadtion for the blood of
du Roule, at a tunc and place unforefecn, and imexpedled.

We

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. jrr

We fhall now return to Gondar to king YafoLis, who be-
ing recovered of his difeafe, and having difmifled his phy-
fician, was preparing to let out on a campaign againll tk€
Galla.

Yasous, for his firft wife, had married Ozoro Malacota-
wit, a lady of great family and connedlions in the province
of Gojam. By her he had a fon, Tecla Haimanout, who was
grown to manhood, and had hitherto lived in the moil du-
tiful affecftion and fubmiflion to his father, who, on his
part, feemed to place unlimited confidence in his fon. He
now gave a proof of this, not very common in the annals
of Abyilinia, by leaving Tecla Haimanout behind him, at
an age when he was fit to reign, appointing him Betwudet,
with abfolute power to govern in his abfence. Yafous had
a miftrefs whom he tenderly loved, a woman of great qua-
lity likewife, whofe name was Ozoro Kedufle. She was fi-
ller to his Fit-Auraris, Agne, a very diflinguiflicd and capa-
ble officer, and by her he had three children, David, Han-
nes, and Jonathan..

It happened, while he was watching the motions of the
Galla, news were brought that Ozoro Keduile had been ta-
ken ill of a fever ; and though, upon this intelligence, he
difpofed his affairs fo as to return with all poiTible expedi-
tion, yet when he came to Bercante, the lady's houfe, he
found that fhe was not only dead, but had been for fome
time buried. All his prefence of mind now left him ; he
fell into the mofl violent tranfport of wild defpair, and, or-
dering her tomb to be opened, he went down into it, ta-
king his three fons along with him, and became fo frantic
at the fight of the corpfe, that it was with the utnioft diffi-

•51^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

culty he could be forced again to leave the fepulchrc. He
returned firft to Gondar, then he retired to an ifland in the
lake Tzana, there to mourn his loft miftrefs.

But before this, Elias, ignorant of what had pafTed at
Sennaar, prefented M. de Maillet's letter to him, befeeching
his leave for M, du Roule to enter Abyffinia, and come into
his prefence. This he eafily procured : Yafous was fond of
ftrangers ; and not only granted the requeft, but fent a man
of his own to Sennaar with letters to the king to protect
and defray the expences of the ambaftador to Gondar. This
man, who had affairs of his own, loitered away a great
deal of time in the journey, fo that Elias, upon firft hear-
ing of the arrival of the ambaflador, fet out himfelf to meet
him at Sennaar. The king, in the mean time, having fi-
nifhed his mourning, difpatched Badjerund Ouftas to his
fon the Bctwudet, at Gondar, ordering him forthwith to
fend him a body of his houfehold troops to rendezvous on
the banks of the lake, oppofite to the ifland Tchekla Wunze, .
where he then had his refidence.

It has been faid, contrary to all truth, by thofe who have
wrote travels into this country, that fons born in marriage
had the fame preference in fucceffion as they have in other
countries. But this, as I have faid, is entirely without
foundation : For, in the firft place, there is no fuch thing
"as a regular marriage in Abyftinia ; all confifts in mere con-
fent of parties. But, allowing this to be regular, not only
natural cliildren, that is, thofe born in concubinage where
no marriage was in contemplation; and adtilterous baftards,
that is, the fons of unmarried women by married men ; and
all manner of fons whatever, fucceed equally as well to the

crown

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. '513

crown as to private inheritance; and there cannot be a
more clear example of this than in the prefent king, who,
although he had a fon, lecla Haimanout, born of the
queen Malacotawit in wedlock, was yet fucceeded by three
baltard brothers, all fons of Yafous, born in adultery, that
is, in the life of the queen. David and Hannes were fons
of the king by his favourite Ozoro Kedutle ; Bacuila, by
another lady of quality.

Although the queen, Malacotawit, had pafTed over with
feeming indifference the preference the king had given his
miftrefs, Ozoro Kedufte, during her lifetime, yet, from a
very unaccountable kind of jealoufy, flie could not forgive
thofe violent tokens of afFe(5tion the king had fliewn after
her death, by going down with his fons and remaining
with the body in the grave. Full of refentment for this,
Ihe had perfuaded her fon, Tecla Haimanout, that Yafous
had determined to deprive him of his fuccellion, to fend
him and her, his mother, both to Wechne, and place his
baltard brother, David, fon of Ozoro Kedufte, upon the
throne.

The queen had been very diligent in attaching to her
the principal people about the court. By her own friends,
and the affiftance of the difcontented and baniflied monks,
Ihe had raifed a great army in Gojam under her brothers,
Dermin and Paulus. Tecla Haimanout had fhewn great
figns of wifdom and talents for governing, and very much
attached to himfelf fome of his father's oldeft and ableft
fervants.

Vol. 11. -iT Is*

514 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

It was, therefore, agreed, in return to Yafoiis's melTage
by Ouftas, to anfwer. That, after fo long a reign, and fo
much bloodfhed, the king would do well to retire to fome
convent for the reft of his life, and atone for the many great
iins he had committed ; and that he fhould leave the king*
dom in the hands of his fon Tecla Haimanout, as the an-
cient king Caleb had refigned his crown into the hands of
St Pantaleon in favour of his fon Guebra Mafcal. As it was
not very fafe to deliver fuch a melFage to a king fuch as
Yafous, it was therefore fent to him by a common foot-fol-^
dier, who could not be an objed; of refentment.

The king received it at Tchekla Wunze, the ifland iii
the lake Tzana, where he was then refiding,. He anfwered:
with great fharpnefs, by the fame meflenger, " That he
had been long informed who thefe were that had feduced
his fon, Tecla Haimanout, at once from his duty to him as
his father, and his allegiance as his fovereign ; that thoughi
he did not hold ^hem to be equal in fan<ftity to St Pantaleon^,
yet, fuch as they were, he propofed immediately to meet
them at Gondar, and fettle there his fon's coronation."

This ironical mellage was perfe(5lly underftood. Thofe-
of the court that were with Tecla Haimanout, and the inha-
bitants of the capital, met together, and bound themfelves
by a folemn oath to live and die with their king Tecla Hai-
manout. The feverity of Yafous was well known ; his pro-
vocation now was a juft one; and the meafure of vengeance
that awaited them, every one concerned knew to be fuch:
that there was no alternative but death ox vidory.

NEITHER:

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. pj

KsiTHER party were flack in preparations. Kafmati Ho-
norius, governor of Damot, a veteran officer and old fer-
Vant of Yafous, colledted a large body of troops and march-
ed them down the weft fide of the lake. Yafous having
there joined them, and putting himfelf at the head of his
army, began his march, rounding the lake on its fouth fide
towards Dingleber.

Neither did Tecla Haimanout delay a moment after
hearing his father was in motion, but marched with his
army from Gondar, attended with all the enfigns of royalty.
He encamped at Bartcho, in that very field where Za Den-
ghel was defeated and flain by his rebellious fubjeds. Think-
ing this a poft ominous to kings, he refolved to wait for his
father there, and give him battle.

The king, in his march through the low country of Dem-
bea, was attacked by a putrid fever, very common in thofe
parts, which fo increafed upon him that he was obliged to
be carried back to Tchekla Wunze. This accident difcou-
raged his whole party. His army, with Honorius, took
the road to Gojam, but did not difperfe, awaiting the reco-
very of the king.

'But the queen, Malacotawit, no fooner heard that Yafous
her hufband was fick at Tchekla Wunze, than flic fent to
her fon Tecla Haimanout to leave his unwholefomc ftation,
and march back immediately to Gondar ; and, as foon as he
was returned, fhe difpatched her two brothers, Dermin and
Paulus, with a body of foldiers and two Mahometan muf-
queteers, who, entering the ifland Tchekla Wunze by fur-
prife, fliot and difabled the king while fitting on a couch ;

3 T 2 immediately

Si6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER.

immediately after which, Dermin ihrull him through- with'
a fwoid. They attempted afterwards to. burn the body, in
order to avoid the ill-will the fight of it muft occafion : In
tbis, however, they were prevented by the priefts of the
ifland and the neighbouring nobility, who took pofTeffion
of the body, wafhed it, and performed all the rites of fepuU
ture, then carried it in a kind of triumph,, with every marJc
of magnificence due to the burial of a king, interring it in
the fmall ifland of Mitraha, where lay the body of all his
anceftors, and where I h3.ve feen, the body of this king ftilt
entire. .

Nor did the prince his fon, Tecia Haimanout, now king,
difcourage the people in the refpeA they voluntarily paid
to his father. . On the contrary, that parricide himfelf fliew*.
ed every outward mark of duty, to the which inwardly his>
heart had been long a ftrangen

PoNCET, who faw this king, gives this character of him :
He fays he was a man very fond of war, but averfe to the
Ihedding of blood. However this may appear a contradic-
tion, or faid for the fake of the antithefis, it really was the
true chara(5ter of this prince, who, fond of war, and in tlie
perpetual career of victory, did, by pufliing his conquefts as •
f?j as they could go, inevitably occafion the fpilling of much
blood. Yet, when his army was not in the field, though he
dete(5tcd a multitude of confpii'acies among priefts and other
people at home, whofe lives in confequence were forfeited
to the law, he very rarely, either from his own motives, or
the perfuafion of others, could be induced to inflidl capital i
p\uiilbnie»ts though often ftrongly provoked to it.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^17

Upon his death the people unanimoufly gave to him the
name of Tallac, wliich fignifies the Greaty a name he has ever
fince enjoyed unimpeached in the Abyffinian annals, or hi-
ftory of his country, fram the which this his reign is taken.

TECLA HAIMANOUT I.

From 1704 to 1706. .

Writes in Favour ofDu Route — Defeats the Rebels — Is ajfajfmated wh'ds

bunthig. .

ELIAS-the Armenian, of whom we have already fpoken,
and who was charged with letters of proted:ion from
Yafous to meet M. du Roule atSennaar, had reached within
three days journey of that capital when he heard that king
Yafous was aflalfinated. Terrified at the news, he returned
in the utmoft haHe. to Gondar, aad prefentcd the letters,
which had been written by Yafous, to be renewed by his
fon, king Tecla Haimanout. Tecla Haimanout readhis faf-
ther's letters, and approved of their contents, ordering them
to be copied in his own name ; and Elias without delay fet .
out v/ith them. I have inferted a tranflation of thefe let- -
ters, which were originally written in Arabic, and feem to -

me.:

jiB TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

me to be of the few that are authentic among thofe many
which have been publifhed as coming from Abyflinia.

" The king Tecla Haimanout, fon of the king of the
^' church of Ethiopia, king of a thoufand churches.

" On the part of the powerful auguft king, arbiter of
* nations, Ihadow of God upon earth, the guide of kings
who profefs the religion of the Mefliah, the mofl power-
ful of Chriftian kings, he that maintains order between
Mahometans and Chriftians, proteftor of the boundaries
of Alexandria, obferver of the commandments of the go-
fpel, defcended of the line of the prophets David and Solo-
mon,— may the blefling of Ifrael be upon our prophet and
upon them. — To the king Baady, fon of the king Ounfa,
may his reign be full of happinefs, being a prince endow-
ed with thefe rare qualities that delerve the higheft
praifes as governing his kingdom with diflinguiflied wif-
dom, and by an order full of equity. — ^Thc king of France,

4 " who

* This is not the king's f<;al. It is the inventioB of fame Mahometan employed to write the
letters.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 519

" who Is a Chriftian, wrote a letter feven or eight years agOj>
" by which he fignified to me, that he wilhed to open a
" trade for the advantage of his fubje(5ls and of mine, which
** requeft we have granted. We come at prefent to under-
" ftand, that he has fent us prefents by a man whofe name
" is du Roule, who has Ukewife feveral others along with
** him, and that thefe people have been arrefted at your
** town of Sennaar. We require of you, therefore, to fet
** them immediately at liberty, and to fufFer them to come
^ to us with all the marks of honour, and that you fhould
** pay regard to the ancient friendfhip which has always
" fubfiiled between our predeceflbrs, fmce the time of the
" king of S edgid a.nd the king of Kim, to the prefent day. We
" alfo demand of you to fuffer all the fubjedls of the king of
" France to pafs, and all thofe that come with letters of his
" conful who is at Cairo, as all fuch Frenchmen come for
" trade only, being of the fame religion with us. We hkewife
** recommend to you, that you permit to pafs freely, all
" French Chriftians, Cophts, and Syrians who follow our
" rites, obferving our religion, and who intend coming into-
** our country ; and that you do not fuffer any of thofe
" who are contrary to our religion to pafs, fuch as the monk.
" Jofeph, and his companions, whom you may keep at Sen-
" naar, it being in no fhape our intention to fuffer them to
" come into our dominions, where they would occaiion
" troubles ,^ as being enemies to our faith. God grant you;
" your defires." — Wrote theiothof Zulkade, Anno ni8,/. £,.
the 2 lil of January 1 706.

eo- Thr dire(ftion is — " To king Baady, fon of king
^ Otmfa, may God favour him with his grace."

The

520' TRAVELS TO DISCOVER.

The firfl: thing I remark upon this letter is, the mention
©f the ancient peace and friendlhip wliich fubiiiled between
the predeceflbrs of thefe two princes now correfponding.
It M^as a friendlhip, he fays, that had endured from the time
of the king of Sedgid, and the king of Kimy to the prefent
day.

The kingdom of Sennaar, as we fhall fee, was but a mo-
dern one, and recently eftabliOied by conquefl over the A-
rabs. Therefore the kingdoms of Sedgid and of Kim were»
before that conquefl:, places whence this black nation came
that had ellablilhed their fovereignty at Sennaar by con-
queft : from which, therefore, I again infer, there never
was any war, conquefl, or tribute between Abyflinia and
that Hate.

The Arabs, who fed their flocks near the frontiers of the
two countries, were often plundered by the kings of Abyf-
•linia making defcents into Atbara ; but this was never
reckoned a violation of peace between the two fovereigns.
-On the contrary, as the motive of the Arabs, for coming
fouth into the frontiers of Abyflinia, was to keep themfelves
independent, and out of the reach of Sennaar, whe th kmg
■of Abyffinia fell upon them there, he was underftood to do
that monarch fervice, by driving them down farther with-
in his reach. The Baharnagalli has been always at war with
them ; they are tributary to him for eating his grafs and
drinking his water, and nothing that he ever does to them
gives any trouble or inquietude to Sennaar. It is interpre-
ted as maintaining his ancient dominion over the Shepherds,
thofe of Sennaar being a new pov/er, and accounted as u-
furpers.

2 M. DE

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 521

TST. DE Maillet, nor M. le Grande his hiflorian, have not
thought fit to explain who the monk Jofeph was mention-
ed in this letter. Now it is certain, that, when Murat and
Poncet were returned from Abyffinia, there was a miflion-
ary of the minor friars, who arrived in Ethiopia, had an au-
dience of the king, and wrote a letter in his name to the
pope, wherein he has foifted many improbabilities and falfe-
hoods ; and concludes with declaring on the part of Yafous,
that he fubmits to the fee of Rome in the fame manner the
kings his prcdecelTors had fubmitted. He makes Yafous
fpeak Latin, too ; and it is perfedlly plain from the * whole
letter, that, though he writes it himfelf, he cannot conceal
that the king Yafous wanted him very much away, and
was very uneafy at his ftay at Gondar. Who this was we
know not, but fuppofe it was one of thofe alTallins of M.
du Roule, carrying on a private intrigue without participa-
tion of the conful, fome of whom were afterwards deteiled
in Walkayt in the reign of David IV,

As for Elias, the forerunner of the French embalTy, now
become the only remains of it, he continued in Abyffinia
(to judge by his letter) in great poverty, till the year 171 8,
immediately after which he went over to Arabia Felix, and
fu-ll wrote from Mocha to M. de Maillet conful at Cairo, as
it will appear in the reign of David IV. where I have infcrt-
■ed his letter ; that written to M. du Roule in the name of
Yafous, that of Tecla Haimanout to the Baflia and Divan of
Cairo, I have now here infer ted, becaufe I have advanced fai5ts
founded upon them.

Vol. II. 3 U Translation

* See the Jetter kkli, it is the laft in Le Giandc's'book, and in Latin, if I remember rightly.

52^. TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Translation of an Arabic LETTERyrowz i/je King of Abyssi-
nia to M. DU ROULE.

" The king Tecla Haimanoiit, king of the ellabliflicd
" church, fon of the king of a thoufand churches.

" This letter cometh fortli from the venerable, augull

" king, who is the Ihadow of God, guide of Chriftian prin-

" ces that are in the world, the moft powerful of the Naza-

" rean kings, obferver of the commandments of the gofpel,

" protecftor of the confines of Alexandria, he that maintain-

" eth order between Mahometans and Chriftians, defcended

" from the family of the prophets David and Solomon, up-

" on whom being the blcllings of Ifrael, may God make his

" happinefseternal, and his power perpetual, and prote(5t his

" arms — So be it. — To his excellence the moft virtuous and

" moft prudent man du Roule, a Frenchman fent to us,

" may God preferve him, and make him arrive at a degree

^ of eminence — So be it. — Elias,your interpreter whom you

" fent before you, being arrived here, has been well receiv-

" ed. We have undcrftood that you are fent to us on the

*' part of the king of France our brother, and are furprifed

" that you have been detained at Sennaar. We fend to you

" at prefent a letter for king Baady, in order that he may

" fetyou at liberty, and not do you any injury, nor to thofe

" that are with you, but may behave in a manner that is

" proper both for you and to us, according to the religion

" of Elias that you fent, who is a Syrian ; and all thofe that

" may come after you from the king of France our brother,

" or his conful at Cairo, fliall be well received, whether they

" be

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 5-23

*^ be ambafladors or private merchants, becaufe we love
" thofc that are of our reUgion. We receive with pleafure
" thole who do not oppofe our laws, and we fend av/ay thofe
" that do oppofe them. For this reafbn we did not receive
" immediately Jofeph * with all his companions, not choo-
" fmg that fuch fort of people Ihould appear in our prefence,
" nor intending that they fliould pafs Sennaar, in order to
" avoid troubles which may occafion the death of many ;
*' but with refpedl to you, have nothing to fear, you may
" come in all fafcty, and you fliall be received with ho-

« nour." Written the 10th of the month Zulkade, Anno

1 1 18, /. e. the 2ift of January of the year 1706.

aj= The addrefs is — " Let the prefent be delivered to M,
" du Roule at the town of Sennaar."

I SHALL only obferve upon this letter, that all the priefts,
who had flocked to Sennaar before M. du Roule arrived
there, dif appeared upon his near approach to that city, after
having prepared the mifchief which diredtly followed. And,
no fooner was the murder, which they before concerted, com-
mitted, than they all flocked back again as if invited to a
feftival. M. de Maillet fpeaks of feveral of them in his let-
ters, where he complains of the murder of du Roule, and
fays that they were then on their way to enter Abyffinia.
Of thefe probably w^as this Jofeph, whom Tecla Haimanout
ftriaiy prohibits to come farther than Sennaar, having feen
what his father had written concerning him in the firft let-
ters Elias was charged with.

3 U 2 Others

* Vid. the letter as quoted above.

S1I4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER*

Others are mentioned in Elias's letter to the conful as
having been in Abyffinia. He calls them thofe of the league
of Michael and Samuel^ of whom we fhall fpeak afterwardsr.
But, even though the French conful had ordered his nation
to drive all the fubjedls of Sennaar from their houfes and
fervice, none of thefe miffionaries were afraid to return and
abide at Sennaar, becaufe they knew the murder of the
ambaflador was the work of their own hands, and, without
their inlligation, would never have been committed.

The unlucky melTenger, Elias, was again about to enter
Sennaar, when he received information that du Roule was
aflaffinated. If he had fled haftily from this inaufpicious .
place upon the murder of Yafous, his hade was now ten-
fold, as he confidered himfelf engaged in thx; fame ciix:um~
fiances that had involved M. du Roule's attendants in hiS'
misfortunes.

The king, upon hearing the account given by Elias of
the melancholy fate of the ambaflador at Sennaar, was fo
exafperated, that he gave immediate orders for recalling
fuch of his troops as he had' permitted to go to any confl-
derable diftance ; and, in a council held for that purpofe, lie
declared, that he confidered the death of M. du Roule as an
afli"ont that immediately afli'eded his crown and dignity.
He was, therefore, determined not topafs it over, but to
make the king of Sennaar fenflble that he, as well as all
the other kings upon earth, knew the neceflity of obferving
the law of nations, and the bad confequcnce. of perpetual
jpetaliations that mufl follow the violation of it. In the
mean time, thinking that the baflhia of Cairo was the cauie
pf this, he wrote the following letter to him.

TRANSLATiQN-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3^25

Translation of an Arabic Letter yJww/Z'f King c/'Arys-
siNiA to /^ifBASHA ^«^ Divan 2/^Cairo.

** To the Pacha, and Lords of the MiHtia of Cairo.

" On the part of the king of Abyflinia', the king Tecia
Haimanout, fon of the king of the church of Abyflinia.

« On the part of the auguft king, the powerful arbiter of
" nations, fliadow of God upon earth, the guide of kings
" who profefs the rehgion of the Mefliah, the moft power-
" ful of all Chriftian kings, he who maintains order between
" Mahometans and Chriftians, prote(5tor of the confines of
" Alexandria, obfei*ver of the commandments of the gofpeJ,
•' heir from father to fon. of a moil powerful kingdom, de-
" fcended of the family of David and Solomon,— may the
" blefling of Ifrael be upon our prophet, and upon them!
" may his happinefs be durable, and his greatnefs lafting,
" and may his powerful, army be always feared. — To the
" moll powerful lord,, elevated by his dignity, venerable by
" his merits, diftinguifhed.by his ftrength and riches among
*' all Mahometans, the refuge of all thofe that reverence
" him, who by his prudence governs and direcls the armies
" of the noble empire, and commands his confines; vidori-
" ous viceroy of Egypt, the four corners of which fliall be
*^ always refpecfled and defended : — fo be it. — And to all the
" diftinguiilied princes, judges, men of learning, and other
"officers whofe bufincfs it is to maintain order and good
" government and to all commanders in general, may God
'* prefervc them all in their dignities,, in the noblenefs of

I theiir

526 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

" their health. You are to know that our ance flors never
" bore any envy to other kings, nor did they ever occafion
" them any trouble, or fliew them any mark of hatred. On the
" contrary,theyhave, uponalloccaiions, given them proofs of
" their friendfhips,affifting them generoully, relieving them.
" in their neceffities, as well in what concerns the caravan
" and pilgrims of Mecca in Arabia Felix, as in the Indies, in
*' Perfia^ and other diftantand out-of-the-way places, alfo by
" protecting dillinguifliedperfons in every urgent nccceffity.

" Nevertheless, the king of France our brother, who

" profeffes our religion and our law, having been induced

" thereto, by fome advances of friendfliip on our part fuch

" as are proper, fent an ambaflador to us ; I under-

" Hand that you caufed arreft him at Sennaar, and alfo ano-

" tner by name Murat, the Syrian, whom you did put in

" prifon alfo, though he was fent to that ambaiTador on

" our part, and by thus doing, you have violated the law of

" nations, as ambafTadors of kings ought to be at liberty to

" go wherever they will ; and it is a general obligation to

" treat them with honour, and not to molefl or detain them,

*' nor fhould they be fubjed: to pay cuftoms, or any fort of

" prefents. We could very foon repay you in kind, if we

" were inclined to revenge the infult you have offered to

" the man Murat fent on our part; the Nile would be fuffi-

" cient to punilh you, fince God hatb put into our power

" his fountain, his outlet, and his increafe, and that we can

" difpofe of the fame to do you harm ; for the pre fent we

" demand of, and exhort you to dcfiil from any future vex-

" ations towards our envoys, and not diilurb us by detain-

" ing thofe who Ihall be fent towards you, but you Ihall

" let them pafs and continue their loutc without dehiN',

3 ^ " coming

Ti: SOURCE OF THE NILE. 527

" coming anvl ;^' oing wherever they will freely for their
" own advantage, whether they are our fubjedls or French-
" men, and whatever you fliall do to or for them, we fliall
" regard as done to or for ourfelves."

03= The addrefs is — " To the balha, princes, and lords
" governing the town of great Cairo, may God favour
" them with his goodnefs."

There are feveral things very remarkable in this letter.
The king of Abyflinia values himfelf, and his predecelTors,
upon never having moleiled or troubled any of his neigh-
bours who were kings, nor borne any envy towards them.
We are not then to believe what we fee often in hiflory,
that there was frequent war between Sennaar and Abyflinia,
or that Sennaar was tributary to Abyflinia. That ftripe of
country, inhabited by the Shangalla, would, in this cafe,
have been firft conquered. But it is more probable, that
the great difference of climate which immediately takes
place between the two kingdoms, the great want of water
on the frontiers, barriers placed there by the hand of Na-
ture, have been the means of keeping thefe kingdoms from
having any mutual concerns ; and fo, indeed, we may guefs
by the utter filence of the books, which never mention any
war at Sennaar till the beginning of the reign of Socinios, .

I APPREHEND, that protcifling diftinguifhed perfons upon
great occaflons, alludes to the children of the king of Sen-
naar, who frequently fly after the death of their father to
Abyflinia * for protection, it being the cufl;om of that flate

to

* iVbdelcader, fon of Ounfa, retired here»

52^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

to murder all the brothers of the prince that fucceeds, in-
ftead of fending them to a mountain, as they do in Abyf-
linia.

The next thing remarkable is his proteftion of the pil-
grims who go to Mecca, and the merchants that go to In-
dia. Several caravans of both fet out yearly from his king-
dom, all Mahometans, fome o-f whom go to Mecca for reli-
gion, the others to India, by Mocha, to trade. But it is not
poiTible to underiland how he is to proted the trade in Per-
fia, with which country he certainly has had no fort of con-
cern thefe 800 years, nor has it been in that time poffible
for him either to molefl or proted a Perfian. What, there-
fore, I would fuppofe, is, that the king has made ufe of the
common phrafe which univerfally obtains here both in wri-
ting and converfation, calling Ber el Ajam the Weft, and Ber
cl Arab the Eaft coaft of the Red Sea. — Ber el Ajam, in the
language of the country, is the coaft where there is wa-
ter or rain, in oppofition to the Tehama, or oppofite fhore
of Arabia, where there is no water. The Greeks and Latins
tranllated this word into their own language, but did not
tmderftand it ; only from the found they called it Azamia,
from Ajam. Now Ajam, or Ber cl Ajam, is the name of
Pcrfia alfo ; and the French interpreter fays, the king of A-
byflinia proteds the caravans of Perfia; when he Ihould fay,
the caravans, going through Ber cl Ajam, tlie Azamia of
the ancients, to embark at the two ports Suakem and Ma-
fuah, both in the country of that name.

The next thing to remark here is, that the king acknow-
ledges Murat to be his amballador ; and it is the arrefting
him, which we have fccn was done at the inftance of M. de

Maillet

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 529

Maillet collufively, that the king fays was a violation of the
law of nations ; and it was this inlult, done to Murat his
amballlidor, that he ail along complains of, not that offered
to du Roule, which he leaves to the king of France ; for he
fays exprefsly, if he was to ftarve, or deftroy them all, by
flopping the Nile from coming into Egypt, it would be on
account of the infult offered to Murat, the envoy, or man,
fent on his part to France. It is plain, therefore, that M. de
Maillet perfecuted the poor Syrian very wrongfully, and
that in no one inftance, from firft to Jafl, was he ever in the
right concerning that embafly.

This flep, which juflice dictated, was not without its rc-
-ward ; for Tecla Haimanout, who had affembled his army
on this account fooner than he otherwife intended, found
immediately after, that a rival and rebel prince, Amda Sion,
■was fct up againll him by the friends of his father Yafous,
and that he had been privately collecTiing troops, intending
to take him by furprife, when he was, however, at the head
of his army ready to give him battle.

The firfl thing the king did was to difpatch a large body
■of troops to reinforce Dermin, governor of Gojam, and to
him he fent pofitive orders to force Amda Sion to fight
wherever lie fliould find him, while he, with the royal ar-
my, came forward with all expedition to keep the people in
awe, and prevent them from joining his rival.

Amda Sion, on the other hand, loft no time. From Ibaba,
through Maitflia, he marched ftraight to Gondar. Being ar-
rived at the king's houfe at Dingleber, he i\n down on the
throne with the cnfigns of royalty about him, and -there
Vol. Ik 3 X _ appointed

530 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

appointed feveral officers that were moft needed, in the
army, the provinces, and about his perfon. During his ftay
here, news were brought that Dermin had followed him
ftep by ftep in the very track he had marched, and laid the
whole country wafte that had fhewn hnn any countenance
or favour. AmdaSion's heart feemed to fail him upon this ;
for he left Dingleber, croiTed the ford at Delakus, and en-
deavoured to pafs Dermin, by keeping on the wefl fide of
the Nile, and on the low road by which he returned to
Ibaba.

Dermin, well-informed as to his motions, and perfetSlly
inftru(51:ed in the fituation of the country, inftead of palling
him, turned lliort upon his front, croffing the Nile at Fagit-
ta, and forced him to an engagement in the plain country
of Maitlha. The battle, though it was obflinately fought
hy the rebels, ended in a complete vidlory in favour of the
king. Thole among the rebels who moft dillinguillied
themfelves were the banillied monks, the greateft part of
whom were llain fighting defperately. Among chefe, were
AbbaWelleta Chriftos, Tobias and his brother Abba Nicolaus,
who had been ringleaders in the late religious difputes in
the time of Yafous, and were now chiefs of the rebellion a--
gainft his fon. .

The greateft part of the lofs fell upon the common inen
of Gojam, of the clans Elmana and Denfa. No man of
note am.ong them was loft; only Amda Sion, who fell at
their head in the beginning of the engagement, fighting
with all the bravery that could be expetSted from a man in
iiis circumftanccs. The rebel army was entirely difperfed.

On

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 531

On the king's fide no man of confideration was flain, but
Anafte, fon of Ozoro Sabel Wenghel.

After having reinforced Dermin, the firft thing the king
did was to fend three of his brothers, David, Hannes, and
Jonathan, to be imprifoned on the mountain of Wechne.
He then marched with his army from Gondar ; and, bemg
ignorant of what had happened, he difpatched his mailer
of the horfe, by way of Dingleber, to join Kafmati Dermin,
in cafe he had not Hill been ftrong enough to fight the re-
bels. With his main army he took the road to Tedda, in-
tending to proceed toGojam; but, by the way, was inform-
ed that Dennin had defeated and flain his rival Amda Sion :
and he had fcarce crofl^ed the Nile at Dara, when another
meflenger arrived with news that Dermin had alfo come up
with Kafmati Honorius and his army on the banks of the
Nile, at Goutto, had entirely defeated and flain him, toge-
ther with his principal officers, and difperfcd the whole ar-
my. Upon this the king marched towards Ibaba, and was
there joined by Dermin, when great rejoicing and feafting
enfued for feveral days.

On this occafion the king crowned his mother Malaco-
tawit, conferring upon her the dignity and title of Iteghe ;
the confequence of which ftation I have often dcfcribed.
Having now no longer enemies to fear, he was perfuaded,
bv fome of his favourites, firft to difmifs Dermin and his
army, then all the troops that had jo'ned him, and go with
a few of his attendants, or court, to hunt the buflfalo in the
neighbouring country, Idi; which council the young prince
■ too raflily adopted, fufpeding no trcafon.

3XS

While

532 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

While the hunting-match laftcd, a confpiracy was form-
ed by Gucber Mo, his two brothers, Palambaras, Hannes^
and fcvcral others, old officers belonging to the late king
Yafous, who faw that he intended, one by one, to weed
them out of the way as foon as fafely he could, and that
the whole power and favour was at lad to fall into the
hands of the Itcghc, and her brothers Dermin and Paulus.
Accordingly one morning, the. confpirators having fur-
rounded him while riding, one of them thrull him through
the body with a fword, and threw him from his mule up-
on the earth. They then laid his body upon a horfe, and,
with all pofiible expedition, carried him to the houfe of A-
zena Michael, where he arrived yet alive, but died imme-
diately upon being taken from the horfe. Badjerund Ou-
ftas, and fomc others of his father's old officers, who had
attached themfelves to him after his father's death, took,
the body of the king and buried it in Quebran.

As foon as this aiTaffination was knov.'n, the mafter of
the horfe, with the few troops that he coukl gather together^
came to the palace, and took a young fon of Tecla Haima-
nout, aged only four years, whom he proclaimed king, and
the Iteghe, Malacotawit, regent of the kingdom. But Badje-
rund Ouflas, and thofe wha had not been concerned in the
murder of either king, went llraight to the mountain of
Wechne, and brought thence Tifilis, that is Theophilus, fon
to Hannes, and brother to the late king Yafous, whom they
crowned at Emfras, and called him, by his inauguration-
name, Atferar Segued.

TIFILIS.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. sn

T I F I L I &.

From 1706 to 1709.

D'l/Jsmbks With his Brother s AJfaJJins — Execution of the Regicides — Rs'^
beUion and Death of Tigi^

THEOPHILUS, a few days after his coronation, ha-
ving called the whole court and clergy together, de-
clared to them, that his faith upon the difputable point con-
cerning our Saviour's incarnation was different from that of
his brother Yafous, or that of his nephew Tecla Haimanout,
but in every refpecft conformable to that of the monks of Go-
jam, followers of Abba Euftathius, and that of the Iteghe,
Malacotawit, Dermin, and Paulus. A violent clamour was in-
ilantly raifed againft the king by the priefts of Debra Liba-
nos, as having forfaken the religious principles of his pre-
deceilbrs. But the king was inflexible; and this ingratiated
him more with the inhabitants of Gojam. Not many days
after, the king arretted the mailer of the horfe, Johannes Pa-
lambaras, the Betwudet Tigi, and feveral others, all fuppo-
fed to be concerned in the murder of the late king, and
confined them in feveral places and prifons.

This

334 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

This laft a6tion of the king entirely relieved the minds
of all ihe friends of Tecla Haimanout from any further
fear of being called to account for the murder of Yafous ;
and, in confequence of this, the queen Malocotawit, with her
brothers Dermin and Paulus, and all the murderers of the
late king Yafous, came to Gondar that fame winter to do
homage to Theophilus, whom they now thought their
greateft protecftor.

But the wife and fagacious king had kept his fecret in
his own bofom. All his behaviour hitherto had been on-
ly diffim -ilation, to induce his brother's murderers to come
within his power. And no fooner did he fee that he had
fucceeded in this, than the very firil day, while they were
yet at audience, he ordered an officer, in his own prefence,
to arreft firft the queen, and then her two brothers Dermin
and Paulus. He gave the fame diredions concerning the
reft of the confpirators, who were all fcattered about Gon-
dar, eating, drinking, and fearing nothing, but rejoicing at
the happy days they had promifed themfelves, and were
now to fee : he ordered the whole of them, amounting to
37 perfons, many of thefe of the firft rank, to be all execu-
ted that fame forenoon.

He began with the queen, who was taken immediately
from his prefence and hanged by the c jmmon hangman
on the tree before the palace gate ; the faft of her rank,
it is believed, that ever died fo vile a death, either in Abyf-
finia or any other country, the hiftory of which has come
down to our hands. Dermin and Pauhis were firft carried
to the tree to fee their fifter's execuiion ; after which, one
after the other, they were thruft through with fwords, the

4 weapon

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. s^5

weapon with which they had wounded the Ir.tc hir f; Ya-
fous. But the two Mahometans were fhot with miukets, it
having been in that manner they had ended the late king's
Hfe, after Dermin had wounded him with a fwcrd. As they
had committed high treafon, none of the bodies of thefc
traitors were allowed to be buried ; they were hewn in fmall
pieces with knives, and Hrewed about the llreets, to be eat
by the hyenas and dogs ; a moft barbarous and offenfive
cuftom, to which they llridtly adhere to this very day.

After having thus taken ample vengeance for the miir-
der of his brother Yafous, Theophilus did not flop here.
Tecla Haimanout was, it is true, a parricide, but he was
likewife a king, and his nephew ; nor did it feem jull to
Theophilus that it fhould be left in the will of private fub-
jecTrs, after having acknowledged Tecla Haimanout as their
fovereign, to choofe a time afterwards, in which they were
to cut him off for a crime which, however great, had not
hindered them from fwearing allegiance to him at his ac-
ceffion, and entering into his fervice at the time when it
was recently committed. He, therefore, ordered all the re-
gicides in cuitody to be put lo death ; and fent circular let-
ters to the feveral governors, that they fliould obferve the
fame rule as to all thofe dire(ftiy concerned in the murder
of his nephew Tecla Haimanout, who Ihould be found in
pjaces under their command.

TiGi, formerly Betwudet, had been imprifoned in Hama-
zen, a f.nall didritfl near the Red Sea, under the government
of Abba Salucc. This man, by birth a Galla, had efcapcd
•from Kamazen, and colledted a confiderable ariny of the dif-
ferent tribes of his nation, Liban, Kalkend, and BalTo ; and,

having

536 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

having found one that pretended to be of the royal blood,
he proclaimed him king, and put his army in motion.

Upon the firft news of this revoh, the king, though at-
tended with few troops, immediately left Gondar, ordering
all thofe whofe duty it was to join him at Ibaba. Having
there collected a little army, he marched immediately for
the country of the BalTo, deflroying every thing with fire
and fword. Tigi, in the mean time, by forced marches
came to Ibaba, where he committed all forts of cruelties
without dillindion of age or fex. The cries of the fufi'erers
reached the king, who turned immediately back to the re-
lief of Ibaba ; and, not difcouraged by his enemy's great fu-
periority of number, offered battle to them as foon as he
arrived. Nor did Tigi and his Galla refufe it ; but, on the
28th day of March 1709, a very obftinate engagement enfued ;
where, though the king was inferior in forces, yet being him-
fclf warlike and active, he was fo well feconded by his troops
that BaiTo and Liban were almoil entirely cut off.

In the field of battle there was a church, built by the
late king Yafous after a viiflory gained there over the Pa-
gans, whence it had the name it then bore, Debra Mawea,
or the Mountain ofVidory. A large body of thefe Galla, feeing
that all went againil them in the field, fled to the church
for a fancftuary, tru fling to be protecfted from the fury of
the foldiers by the holincfs of the place, and they fo far
judged well ; for the king's troops, though they furround-
ed the churcli on every fide, did not oiler to break into it, or
molcfl the enemy that had flieltered themfelves within.
Theophilus, informed of this fcruple of his foldiers, imme-
diately rode up to them, crying out, " That the church was
a ' « defiled

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^57

'" defiled by the entrance of fo many Pagans, and no long-
" er fit for Chriftian worfliip, that they Ihould therefore im-
" mediately put fire to it, and he would build a nobler one
" in its place." The foldiers obeyed without further hefi-
tation; and, with cotton wads wrapt about the balls of their
guns, they fet fire to the thatch, with which every church
in Abyflinia is covered. The whole was inftantly confumed,
and every creature within it perilhed. Many principal offi-
cers and men of the befl families on the king's fide, Bille-
tana Gueta, Sana Denghel, and Billetana Gueta Kirubel,
Ayto Stephenous, fon of Ozoro Salla of Nara, all men of
great confideration, were flain that day. What came of the
rebel prince was never known. Tigi, with his two fons, fled
from the field ; but they were met by a peafant, who took
them prifoners firft; and, after difcovering who they were,
put them all three to death, and brought their heads to the
king.

After fo fevere a rebuke, the Galla, on both fides of the
Mle, feemed difpofed to be quiet, and the king thereupon
Teturncd to Gondar amidft the acclamations of his foldiers
and fubjetHrs ; but fcarce had he arrived in the capital when
lie was taken ill of a fever, and died on the 2d of September,
and was buried at Tedda, after a reign of three years and
three months.

"^"OL. IT. 3 Y OUSTAS.

532 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

=5^

O U S T A S.

From 1709 to 17 14.

Ufiirps the Crown — Add'iBed to hunting — Account of the Shangalla——
Active and bloody Reign — Entertains Catholic Priejls privately — Falh
fick and dies ; but how, uncertain.

IT has been already obferved in the courfe of this hiftoiiv
that the Abyllinians, from a very ancient tradition, attri-
bute the foundation of their monarchy to Menilek fon of
Solomon, by the queen of Saba, or Azab, rendered in the Vul-
gate, the Queen of the fouth. The annals of this countiy
mention but two interruptions to have happened, in the li-
neal fucccilion of the heirs-male of Solomon. The firft a-
bout the year 960, in the reign of Del Naad, by Judith queen
of the Falafha, of which revolution we have already fpoken
fufficiently. The fecond interruption happened at the pe-
riod to which we have now arrived in this hiflory, and owed
its origin, not to any misfortune that bcfcl the royal family
as in the maflacre of Judith, but feemed to be brought a-
bout by the peculiar circumflances of the times, from a
well-founded attention to felf-prcfervation.

Yasous

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 559

Yasous the Great, after a long and glorious reign, had
been murdered by his fon Tecla Haimanout. Two years
after, this parricide fell in the fame manner. The aflaflina-
tion of two princes, fo nearly related, and in fo fhort a time,
had involved, from different motives, the greateft part of
the noble families of the kingdom, either in the crime it-
felf, or in the fufpicion of aiding and abetting it.

Upon the death of Tecla Haimanoiu, Tifilis, or Theophi-
lus, brother of Yafous, had been brought from the moun-
tain, and placed on the throne as fucceiTor to his nephew ;
this prince was fcarcely crowned when he made fome very
fevere examples of the murderers of his brother, and he
feemed privately taking informations that would have
reached the whole of them, had not death put an end to
his inquiries and to his jullice.

The family of king Yafous was very numerous on the
mountain. It was the favourite flore whence both the fol-
diery and the citizens chofe to bring their princes. There
were, at the very inllant, many of his fons princes of
great hopes and of proper ages. Nothing then was more
probable than that the prince, now to fucceed, would be of
that family, and, as fuch, interefted in purfuing the fame
meafures of vengeance on the murderers of his father and
of his brother as the late king Theophilus had done ; and
how far, or to whom this might extend, was neither certain
nor fafe to trull to.

The time was now paft when the nobles vied with each
other who fhould be the firft to Heal away privately, or go
with open force, to take the new king from the mountain,

3 Y 2 and

^540 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

and bring him to Gondar, his capital : A backwardnefS
was vifible in the behaviour of each of them, becaufe in
each one's breaft the fear was the fame.

In fo uncommon a conjun<5lure and difpofition of men's
minds, a fubjedt had the ambition and boldnefs to offer
himfelf for king, and he was accordingly elected. This
was Ouftas *, fon of Delba Yafous, by a daughter of the late
king of that name ; and Abyffmia now faw, for the fecond
time, a llranger feated on the throne of Solomon. Ouftas
was a man of undifputed merit, and had filled the greateft
offices in the ftate. He had been Badjerund, or mafter of
the houfehold, to the late king Yafous. Tecla Haimanout,
who fucceeded, had made him governor of Samen ; and
though, in the next reign, he had fallen into difgrace with
Theophilus, this ferved but to aggrandize him more, as he
was very foon after reftored to favour, and by this very
prince raifed to the dignity of Ras, the firll place under the
king, and invefted at once with the government of two
provinces, Samen and Tigre. He was, at the death of The-
ophilus, the greateft fubje^St in Abyfliiiia ; one ftep higher
fet him on the throne, and the circumftances of the time
invited him to take it. He had every quality of body and
mind requifite for a king ; biu the conftitution of his
country had made it unlawful for him to reign. He took,,
upon his inauguration, the name of Tzai Segued.

OusTAs, though a new king, followed the cuftoms of the
ancient monarchs of Abyffmia ; for that very rcafon was

imwilhng

• It figniCes juflus,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 541

unwilling to add novelty to novelty, and it has been a con-
flant praaice with thefe to make a public hunting-match
the firft expedition of their reign. On thcfe occafions the
king, attended by all the great officers of Hate, whofe merit
and capacity are already acknowledged, reviews his young
nobiUty, who all appear to the bcft advantage as to arms,
horfes, and equipage, with the greateft number of fervants
and attendants. The fcene of this hunting is always in the
KoUa, crowded with an immenfe number of the largeft
and fierceft wild beafts, elephants, rhinoceros, lions, leopards,
panthers, and buffaloes fiercer than them all, wild boars,
wild affes, and many varieties of the deer kind*

As foon as the game is roufed, and forced out of the
wood by the footmen and dogs, they all fingly, or feveral to-
gether, according to the fize of the bcafl, or as ftrength and
ability in managing their horfes admit, attack the animal
upon the plain with long pikes or fpears, or two javelins
in their hands. The king, unlefs very young, fits on horfe-
back on a rifing ground, furrounded by the graver fort,
who point out to him the names of thofe of the nobility
that are happy enough to diftinguilli themfelves in his
fight. The merit of others is known by report.

Each young man brings before the king's tent, as a tro-
phy, a part of the beaft he has flain ; the head and ikin of
a lion or leopard ; the fcalp or horns of a deer ; the private
parts of an elephant ; the tail of a buflTilo, or the horn of a-
rhinoceros. The great trouble, force, and time necccflary
to take out the teeth of the elephant, k-ldora make them
ready to be prefented with the reft of the fpoils ; fire, too, is
neceffary for loofing them from the jaAV. The head of a

/

542 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

boar is brought iliick upon a lance ; but is not touched, as
being unclean.

The elephant's teeth are the king's perquifites. Of thefe
round ivory rings are turned for bracelets, and a quantity
of them always brought by him to be diftributed among
the moll deferving in the field, and kept ever after as certi-
ficates of gallant behaviour. Nor is this mark attended with
honour alone. Any man who fhall from the king, queen-
regent, or governor of a province, receive fo many of thefe
rings as fhall cover his arm down to his wrill, appears be-
fore the twelve judges on a certain day, and there, laying
down his arm with thefe rings upon it, the king's cook
breaks every one in its turn with a kind of kitchen-cleaver,
whereupon the judges give him a certificate, which proves
that he is entitled to a territory, whofe revenue mull ex-
ceed 20 ounces of gold, and this is never either refufed or
delayed. All the different fpecies of game, however, are
not equally rated. He that flays a Galla, or Shangalla, man
to man, is entitled to two rings ; he that flays an elephant
to two ; a rhinoceros, two ; a giraffa, on account of its fpeed,
and to encourage horfemanfhip, two; a buflalo, two ; a lion,
two ; a leopard, one ; two boars, whofe tufks are grown,
one ; and one for every four of the deer kind.

Great difputes conftantly arife about the killing of
thefe beafl:s ; to determine which, and prevent feuds and
quarrels, a council fits every evening, in which is an
oflUcer called DimJhaJJja, or Red Cap^ from a piece of red fiik he
wears upon his forehead, leaving the top of his head bare,
for no perfon is allowed to cover his head entirely except
the king, the twelve judges, and dignified priefts. This of-

3 ficei:

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 543

ficer regulates the precedence of one nobleman over ano-
ther, and is poflelTed of the hillory of all pedigrees, the
nobleft of which are always accounted thofe nearefl to the
king reigning.

Every man pleads his own caufe before the council, and
receives immediate fentence. It is a fettled rule, that thofe
who ftrike the animal firft, if the lance remain upright, or
in the fame diredion in which it enters the beaft, are un-
derftood to be the flayers of the beaft, whatever number
combat with him afterwards. There is one exception, how-
ever, that if the beaft, after receiving the firft wound, the*
the lance is in him, fhould lay hold .of a horfe or man, fo
that it is evident he would prevail againft them ; a buffalo,
for example, that Ihould tofs a man with his horns, or an
elephant that Ihould take a horfe with his trunk, the man
who Ihall then flay the beaft, and prevent or revenge the
death of the man or horfe attacked, Ihall be accounted the
flayer of the beaft, and entitled to the premium.

This was the ancient employment of thefe councils. In
my time they kept up this cuftom in point of form ; the
council fat late upon moft ferious affairs of the nation ; and
the death, banifhment, and degradation of the firft men in
the kingdom were agitated and determined here under the
pretence of fitting to judge the prizes of paftimes. This
hunting is feldom prolonged beyond a fortnight.

The king, from ocular infpeclion, is prefumed to be able
to choofe among the young nobility thofe that are ready
for taking the nccefTary charges in the army; and it is
from his judgment in this that the priefts foretel whether

his

544 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

his reign is to be a faccefsful one, or to end in misfortune
and difappointment.

OusTAs, having taken a view of his nobility, and attach-
ed fuch to him as were moll neceflary for his fupport, fet
out for this hunting with great preparations. The high
country of Abyflinia is dcftitute of wood ; the whole lowe^
part of the mountains is fown with different forts of grain ;
the upper part perfeftly covered with grafs and all forts of
verdure. There are no plains, or very fmall ones. Such a
country, therefore, is unfit for hunting, as it is incapable of
either Iheltering or nourilhing any number of wild beafts.

The lower country, however, called Kolla, is full of
wood, confequently thinly inhabited. The mountains, not
joined in chains or ridges, run in one upon the other, but,
Handing each upon its particular bafe, are acceffible all
round,and interfperfed with plains. Great rivers falling from
the high country with prodigious violence, during the tro-
pical rains, have in the plains waflied away the foil down
to the folid rock, and formed large bafons of great capa-
city, where, though the water becomes ftagnant in pools
when the currents fail above, yet, from their great depth and
quantity, they refill being confumed by evaporation, being
alfo thick covered with large fliady trees whofe leaves never
fall. Thefe large trees, which, in their growth, and vegeta-
tion of their branches, exceed any thing that our imagina-
tion can figure, are as neceffary for food, as the pools of
water are for cillerns to contain drink for thofe monfi;rous
beafls, fuch as the elephant and rhinoceros, who there
make their conilant refidence, and who would die with

hunger

THE SOURCE GF THE NILE. ^43-

liunger and with thirfl unlefs they were thus copioufly fup-
pUed both with food and water.

This country, flat as the deferts on which it borders,
has fat black earth for its foil It is generally about 40
miles broad, though in many places broader and narrower.
Jt reaches from the mountains of the Habab, or Bagla,
which run in a ridge, as I have already faid, from the fouth
of Abyllinia* north down into Egypt, parallel to the Red Sea,
dividing the rainy feafons, and it flretches like a belt frona
eaft to weft to the banks of the Nile, encircling all the
mountainous, or high land part of AbyiTinia ; which latter
country is, at all times, temperate, and often cold, while the
^ther is unwholefome, hazy, clofe, and intolerably hot.

Many nations of perfetSt blacks inhabit this low country,
all Pagans, and mortal enemies to the Abyllmian govern^
ment. Hunting thefe miferable wretches is the next expe-
dition undertaken by a new king. The feafon of this is
juft before the rains, while the poor favage is yet lodged
under the trees preparing his food for the approaching
winter, before he retires into his caves in the mountain,
where he pafles that inclement feafon in conllant confine-
ment, but as conftant fecurity; for thefe nations are all
Troglodytes, and by the Abyllinians are called Shangal-
la.

However Ouftas fucceeded in attaching to him thofe of

the nobility tliat partook of his fports, his good fortune in

Vol. IL 3 Z the

Vid genera! map.

\

54<5 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the- -capital was not equal to it. A dangerous con{\)iracy
was already forming at Gondar by thofe very people who
had perfuaded him to mount the throne, and whom he
had left at home, from a perfuafion that they only were to
be trufted with the fupport of his intereft and the govern-
ment in his abfence.

Upon the firft intelligence, the king, with a chofen body
of troops, entered Gondar in the night, and furprifed the
confpirators while actually fitting in council. Ras Hezekias,
his prime minifter, and Heraclides, mailer of his houfehold,
and five others of the principal confederates, loft their ears
and nofes, and were thrown into prifon in fuch circum-
ftanccs that they could not live. Benaia Bafilc, one of the
principal traitors, and the moft obnoxious to the king, e-
fcaped for a time, having had already intelligence of Ouf-
tas's coming.

The king having quieted every thing at Gondar, being
at peace with all his neighbours, and having no other way
to amufe his troops and keep them employed, fet out to
join the remainder of his young nobility whom he had lefc
in the Kolla to attack the Shangalla.

The Shangalla were formerly a very numerous people,
divided into diftincl: tribes, or, as it is called, different na-
tions, living each fcparately in diftind territories, each un-
der the government of the chief of its own name, and each
family of that name under the jurifdidion of its ov/n chief,
or head.

These

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 547

These Shangalla, during the fair half of the year, live un-
der the fhade of trees, the lowefl branches of which' they
cut near the ftem on the upper part, and then bend, or
break them down, planting the ends of the branches in the
earth. Thefe branches they cover with the ikins of wild
beafts. After this they cut away all the fmall or fuperflu-
ous branches in the infide, and fo form a fpacious pavilion,
which at a diftance appears like a tent, the tree ferving for
the pole in the middle of it, and the large top overfliadow-
ing it fo as to make a very piclurefque appearance.

Every tree then is a houfe, under which live a multitude
of black inhabitants until the tropical rains begin. It is
then they hunt the elephant, which they kill by many va-
rious devices, as they do the rhinoceros and the other large
creatures. Thofe who refide where water abounds, with
the fame induftry kill the hippopotami, or river-horfeSi
which are exceedingly numerous in the pools of the ftag-
nant rivers. Where this iiat belt, or country, is broadeft, the
trees tliickeft, and the water in the largeft pools, there the
moll powerful nations live, who have often defeated the
royal army of Abyffinia, and conftantly laid wafle, and fome-
times nearly conquered, the provinces of Tigre and Sire, the
xnoii warlike and moil populous part in Abyllinia.

The mod confiderable fettlement of this nation is at Am-
ba Tzaada, between the Mareb and Tacazi^e, but nearer by
one-third to the March, and almoil N. W. from Dgbarwa.
Thefe people, who have a variety of venifon, kill it in the
fair, monthss. ani^l hang it up, cut into tliongs as thick as a
man's thumb^iike fo majiy ropes, on theitrees around them.
The fun dries and hardens it to a confiftence almoft like
.U 3 Z 2 leather.

54a TRAVELS TO DI SCO Vli!R.,r

leatker, or the hardcft fifli fent from Newfoundland. This-
is their provifion for the winter momhs: ■ The^^ iirfl-heat ii?
"with a wooden mallet, then boil it, after which they roaft-
it upon the embers ; and it is hard enough after it ha^ un-.
dergone all thofe operations.

The Dobenah, the moft powerful of alt the ShangallaV
who havea fpeeies of fupremacyor command t)ver all tlie
reft of the nations, live altogether upon the elephant or rhi-
noceros. In other countries, where there is lefs water, fewer
trees, and more grafs, the Shangalla feed chiefly upon more
promifcuous kinds of food, as buffaloes^ deer, boars, hons,
and fcrpents. Thcfe are the nations nearer the Tacazze,'
Ras el Feel, and the plains of Sire in Abyflinia, the chief of
which nations is called Baafa. And flill farther well: of the
Tacazze, and the valley of Waldubba, is a tribe of thefc,
who live chiefly upon the crocodile, hippopotamus, and
other fifli ; and, in the fummer, upon locufts, which they
boil firft, and afterwards keep dry in baikets, moft curiouf-
ly made with fplit branches of trees, fo clofely woven toge-
ther as to contain water almoft as well as a wooden vellel. ,

This nation borders nearly upon the Abyffinian hunting-
ground; but, not venturing to extend themfelves in thechace
of wild bcafts, they are confined to the neighbourhood of
the Tacazze, and rivers falling into it, where they fifh in
fafety : the banks of that river are deep, interrupted by fl:ecp
precipices inacceflible to cavalry, and, from the thicknefs of
the woods, full of thorny trees of innumerable fpeeies, al-
moft as impervious to foot. Thefe ftreams, pofleflfed only by
themfelves, afford the Baafa the moft excellent kinds of fifh
in the moft prodigious plenty.

In

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 549

In that part of the Shangalla country more to the eafl-^
ward, about N. N. E. of Amba Tzaada, in the northern iextre*
niities of the woody part, where the river Mareb, leaving
Dobarwa, flows througlx thick bufliea till it lofcs itfclf in
the fands, there is a nation of thefe blacks, .who being nea?
the country of the Baharnagafli, an officer whofe province
produces a number of horfe, dare not, for that realbn, ven-
ture to make an extenftve ufe of the variety of wild beails
which throng in the woods to the fouthward, for fear of
being intercepted by their enemy, conilantly upon the watch
for them, part of.his tribute being paid in black flaves.-
Thefe, therefore, confine themfelves to the fouthern part of
their territory, near the.Barabra.

The extraordinary courfe of this river under the fandj
allures to it multitudes of oftrichcs, which, too, are the
food of the Shangalla, as is a beautiful lizard, never, that I
know, yet defcribed. Thefe are the food of the eaflern Shan-
galla; and I muil: here obferve, that this country and peo-*
pie were much better known to the ancients than to us.
The Egyptians traded with them, and caravans of thefe
people were conftantly in Alexandria ; in the reigns of the
firft Ptolemies. Moft of the producTiions of thefe parts, and:
the people themfelves, are mentioned in the remarkable
proceffion made by Ptolemy Philadelphus on his acceffion;
to the throne of Egypt, as already obferved, though a con-.-
fulion often arifes therein by tliis country being called by
the name of India,

Ptolemy, the geographer, clafTes thefe people exactly
enough, and diftinguifhes them very accurately by their
particular. food, or dietetique regimen, though he errs, in*

deed

550 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

deed, a little in the particular fituation he gives to the dif-
ferent nations. His Rhizophagi, Elephantophagi, Acrido-
phagi, Struthiophagi, and Agriophagi, are all the clans I
have juft defcribcd, exifling under the fame habits to this
day.

This foil, called by the Abyflinians Maviaga^ when wet by
the tropical rains, and diflblving' into mire, forces thefe fa-
vages to feek for winter-quarters. Their tents under the
trees being no longer tenable, they retire with their refpec-
tive foods, all dried in the fun, into caves dug into the heart
of the mountains, which are not in this country bafakes,
marble, or alabaftcr, as is all that ridge which runs down
into Egypt along the fide of the Red Sea, but are of a foft,
gritty, fandy Hone, eafdy excavated and formed into differ-
ent apartments. Into thefe, made generally in the fteepeft
part of the mountain, do thefe favagcs retire to fliun the
rains, living upon the flefh they have already prepared in
the fair weather.

I CANNOT give over the account of ihc Shangalla with-
out delivering them again out of their caves, bccaufe this
return includes the hiflory of an operation never heard of
perhaps in Europe, and by which confiderable light is
thrown upon ancient hiftory. No fooner does the fun pafs
the zenith, going fouthward, than the rains inftantly ceafe ;
and the thick canopy of clouds, which had obfcured the
fky during their continuance, being removed, the fun ap-
pears in a beautiful fky of pale blue, dappled with fmall
thin clouds, which foon after difappear, and leave the
heavens of a moil beautiful azure. A very few days of the
intcnfc heat then dries the ground fo pcrfcdly, that it gapes
4 in

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 551

iii chafms; the grafs,ftruck at the roots by the rays, fupporrs
itfelf no more, but droops and becomes parched. To clear
this away, the Shangalla fet fire to it, which runs with in-
credible violence the whole breadth of Africa, paffing under
the trees, and following the dry grafs among the branches
with fuch velocity as not to hurt the trees, but to occafion
every leaf to fall.

A PROPER diftance is preferved between each habitation,
and round the principal watering - places ; and here the
Shangalla again fix their tents in the manner before de-
fcribed. Nothing can be more beautiful than thcfe fliady
habitations ; but they have this fatal effect, that they are dif-
cernible from the high grounds, and guide their enemies to
the places inhabited.

The country now cleared, the hunting begins, and, with
the hunting, the danger of the Shangalla. All the gover-
nors bordering upon the country, from the Baharnagalh to
the Nile on the weft, are obliged to pay a certain number of
flaves. Ras el Feel (my government) was alone excepted, for
a reafon which, had I ilaid much longer in the country,
would probably have been found more advantageous to A-
byilinia than all the flaves they procure by the barbarous
and prodigal efFufion of the blood of thefe unhappy favages ;
for, when a fettlement of thefe is furprifed, the men are all
flaughtered ; tlie women, alfo, are many of them flain, many
throw themfelves down precipices, run mad, hang them-
felves, or flarve, obflinately refufmg food.

The boys and girls under 17 and 18 years of age, (the
younger the better) are taken and educated by the king,

and

552 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

. and arc fcrvants in all the great houfes of Abyflinia. They
lUre inftriicfted early in the Chrillian religion, and the talleil,
handfomell:, and bell inclined, are the only fervanis that at-
tend the rOyal perfon in his palace. The number of the men
was 300 that had hor.fes in my time. They were once 280,
.and, before. my time, lefs than 200. Thefe are all cloath-
ed in coats of mail, and mounted on black horfes ; always
commanded by foreigners devoted entirely to the king's
will. By ftrid: attention to their morals, removing all bad
examples from among them, giving premiums to thofe
that read moil and bell, (for they had all time enough up-
on their hands, efpecially in winter) and, above all, by the
great delight and pleafure the king ufed to take in conver-
fmg with them while alone, countenancing and rewarding
them in the line he knew I followed, this body became, as
to firmnefs and coolnefs in adlion, equal perhaps to any of
Mhe fame number in the world ; and the greateft difficulty
was keeping them together, for all the great men ufed to
wiHi one of them for the charge of his door, which is a very
.great trull among the Abyilinians. The king's eafmefs was
xonllantly prevailed upon to promife fuch, and great incon-
venience always followed this, till Ras Michael difcharged
this practice by proclamation, and fet the example, by re-
turning four that he himfelf had kept for the pvirpofe be-
fore mentioned.

While what I have faid is flill in memory, I mufl apply
a part of it to explain a paflage in Hanno's Periplus. We
favv, fays that bold navigator, when rowing clofe along the
jCOclH of Africa, rivers of lire, which i-an down from the higli-
•cil .mountains, and poured themfelvcs into the fca ; thrs
2 alarmed

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. sSi

alarmed him fo much, that he ordered his gallies to keep a
confiderable offing.

After the fire has confumed all the dry grafs on the
plain, and, from it, done the fame up to the top of the high-
ell mountain, the large ravines, or gullies, made by the tor-
rents falling from the higher ground, being fhaded by their
depth, and their being in pofTeflion of the laft water that
runs, are the latefl to take fire, though full of every fort of
herbage. The large bamboos, hollow canes, and fuch like
plants, growing as thickas they can ftand, retain their green-
nefs, and are not dried enough for burning till the fire has
cleared the grafs from all the reft of the country. At laft,
when no other fuel remains, the herdfmen on the top of the
mountains fet fire to thefe, and the fire runs down in the
very path in which, fome months before, the water ran, fill-
ing the whole gully with flame, which does not end till it
is checked by the ocean below where the torrent of water
entered, and where the fuel of courfe ceafes. This I have
©ften feen myfelf, and been often nearly inclofed in it, and
can bear witnefs, that, at a diftance, and by a ftranger igno-
rant of the caufe, it would very hardly be diftinguilhed
from a river of fire.

The Shangalla go all naked'; they have feveral wives, and
thefe very prolific. They bring forth children with the
utmoft eafc, and never reft or confine themfelves after deli-
very, but wafhing themfelves and the child with cold wa-
ter, they wrap it up in a foft cloth made of the bark of trees,
and hang it upon a branch, that the large ants, witli which
they are infefted, and the ferpents, may-not devour it. After
a few days, when it has gathered ftrength, the mother carries

Vol. II. 4 A it

554 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

it in the fame cloth upon her back, and gives it fuck with
the bread:, which flie throws over her Ihoulder, this part be-
ing of fuch a lengtii as, in fome, to reach almoll to theiy
knees.

The Shangalla have but one language, and of a very
guttural pronunciaiion. They worfliip various trees, fer-
pents, the moon, planets, andftars in certain pofitions,
which I never could fo perfedlly underftand as to give any
account of them. A liar palling near the horns of the moon
denotes the coming of an enemy. They have priells, or ra-
ther diviners ; but it Ihould feem that thefe were looked
upon as fervants of the evil-being, rather than of the good.
They prophecy bad events, and think they can affli(5t their
enemies with ficknefs, even at a diftance. They generally
wear copper bracelets upon their wrifts and arms.

I HAVE faid the Shangalla have each feveral wives. This,
however, is not owing to any inordinate propenfity of the
men to this gratification, but to a much nobler caufe, which
fhould make European writers, who object this to them, a-
Ihamed at the injuftice they do the favagc, who all his life^
quite the reverfe of what is fuppofed, fhews an example of
continence and challity, which the pureft and moft refined
European, with all the advantages of education, cannot
pretend to imitate.

It is not the men that feek to avail themfelves of the
liberty they have by their ufages of marrying as often and
as many wives as they pleafe. Hemmed in on every fide
by a<5live and powerful enemies, who confider them as a
fpecies of wild bealls, and hunt them precifely as they do

the

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ssf

the elephant and rhinoceros, placed in a fmall territory,
where they never are removed above 20 miles from thefe
powerful invaders furnhlied with horfes and fire-arms,
to both of which they are flrangers, they live for part
of the fair feafon in continual apprehenfion. The other part
of the feafon, when the Abyffinian armies are all collected
and abroad with the king, thefe unhappy favages are con-
Hantly employed in a moll laborious hunting of large ani-
mals, fuch as the rhinoceros, the elephant, and giraffa; and
afterwards, in the no lefs laborious preparation of the flefli
of thefe quadrupeds, which is to ferve them for food during
the fix months rains, when each family retires to its fepa-
rate cave in the mountain, and has no intercourfe with any
of its neighbours, but leaves the country below immerfed
in a continual deluge of rain. In none of thefe circumftan-
ces, one fhould imagine, the favage, full of apprehenfion and
care, could have much defire to multiply a race of fuch
wretched beings as he feels himfelf to be. It is the wife,
not the man, that is the caufe of this polygamy ; and this is
furely a ftrong prefumption againft what is commonly faid
of the violence of their inclinations.

Although the Shangalla live in feparate tribes, or na-
tions, yet thefe nations arc again fubdivided into families,
who are governed by their own head, or chief, and of a
number of thefe the nation is compofed, who concur in all
that regards the meafures of defence and offence againfl
their common enemy the Abyffinian and Arab. Whenever
an expedition is undeitaken by a nation of Shangalla, either
asainft their enemies, the Arabs on the north, or thofe who
are equally their enemies, the Abyffinians on the fouth,fup-
pofe the nation or tribe to be the Baafa, each family attacks

4 A 2 and

Ss6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

and defends by itfelf, and theirs is the fpoil or phmder wha
uke it.

The mothers, fenfible of the difad vantage of a fmall fa-
mily, therefore feek to muhiply and increafe it by the only
means in their power; and it is by their importunity tha$
the hufband fnffers himfelf to be overcome. A fecond wife
is courted for him by the firft, in nearly the fame manner
as among the Galla.

I WILL not fear to aver, as far as concerns thefe Shangalw
hi, or negroes, of Abyffinia, (and, I believe, moft others of the
fame complexion, though of different nations), that the va^
rious accounts we have of them aa-e very unfairly ilated^
To defcribe them juftly, we fliould fee them in their native
purity of manners, among their native woods, living on the
produce of their own daily labours, without other liquor
than that of their own pools and fprings, the drinking of
which is followed by no intoxication or other pleafure than
that of affuaging thirft. After having been torn from their
own country and connedlions, reduced to the condition of
brutes, to labour for a being they never before knew ; after
lying, fleahng, and all the long lift of European crimes,,
have been made, as it were, neceilaiy to them, and fhe de-
lufion occafioned by drinking fpirits is found, however
ihort, to be the only remedy that relieves them from re-
ceding on their prefent wretched fituation, to which, for
that reaibn, they moft naturally attach themfelves i then,
after we have made them moBftcrs, we defcribe them as
fuch, forgetful that they are now not as their Maker crea-
ted them, but fuch as, by teaching them our vices, we hava
transformed them into, for ends wliicli,. I fear, one day will

not

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 557

not be found a fufficient excufe for the enormities they have
occafioned.

I WOULD not, by any means, have my readers fo far mi-
ftake what I have now faid as to think it contains either
cenfure upon, or difapprobation of, the flave-trade. I would
be underftood to mean juft the contrary; that the abufes and
negletSt of manners, fo frequent in our plantations, is what
thelegiflaturefhoulddire(5l their coercion againft, notagainft
the trade in general, which laft meafure, executed fo fud-
denly, cannot but contain a degree of injuftice towards in-
dividuals. It is a fliame for any government to fay, that
enormous cruelties towards any fet of men are fo eviden?,
and have arrived to fuch excefs, without once having been
under confideration of the legiflature to correct them. It is a
greater fhame ftill for that government to fay, that thefe
crimes and abufes are now grown to fuch a height that
wholefome feverity cannot eradicate them ; and it cannot
be any thing but an indication of effeminacy and weaknefs
at once to fall to the deflrudtion of an objeft of that import-
ance, without having firft tried a reformation of thofe a-
bufes which alone, in the minds of fober men, can make
the trade exceptionable..

The incontinence of thefe people has Been a favourite-
topic with which blacks have been branded ; Hut, through-
out the whole of this hiftory, I have fet down cnly what I
have obfei-ved, withont confulting or troubling myfelf with,
the fyftems or authorities- of others, only fo far, as having
thefe relations in my recollcc5tion, I have compared them
with the fa6t, and found them erroneous. As late as two

centurierf

SS^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

centuries ago, Chriftian prielis were the only liiftorians of
heathen manners. .L

In the number of thefe ShangaJla, or negroes, of which
every department of Gondar was full, I never faw any proof
of unbridled defires in either fex, but very much the con-
trary ; and I mufl remark, that every reafon in phyfics
ilrongly militates againfl the prefumption.

The Shangalla of both fcxes, while fmgle, go entirely
naked : the married men, indeed, have a very flender cover-
ing about their waift, and married women the fame. Young
men and young women, till long pall the age of puberty, are
totally uncovered, and in conftant converfation and habits
with each other, in woods and folitudes, free from conftraint,
and without any punifliment annexed to the tranfgrcllion.
Yet criminal commerce is much lefs frequent among them
than in the fame number chofen among Chriftian nations,
where the powerful prejudices of education give great ad-
vantage to one fex in fubduing their paffions, and where
the confequences of gratification, which always involve
fome kind of punifliment, keep within bounds the defires
of the other.

No one can doubt, but that the conftant habit of feeing peo-
ple of all ages naked at all times, in the ordinary tranfac^ions
and neceflities of life, muft greatly check unchafte propenfi-
ties. But there are ftill further reafons why, in the nature of
things an extraordinary vehemence of paffion fliould not
fall to be a dillinguifliing characTieriftic among the Shangal-
la. Fahrenheit's thermometer rifes there beyond loo". A
violent relaxation from profufe perfpiration mull greatly
3 <iebili-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 559

debilitate the favage. In Arabia and Turkey, where the
whole bufinefs of man's life is the devoting himfelf to do-
meitic pleafure, men remain conflantly in a fedentary life,
eat heartily, avoiding every manner of exercife, or expence
of animal fpirits by fweats. Their countries, too, are cold-
er than that of the Shangalla, who, living fparingly under*
a burning fun, and obliged to procure food by laborious
hunting, of confequence deprive thenifelves of that quantity
of animal fpirits necefTary to lead them to any extreme of
volup'tuoufnefs. And that this is the cafe is feen in the
conftitution of the Shangalla women, even though they
are without fatigue;

A woman, upon bearing a child or two, at 10 or 1 1 years
old, fees her breaft fall immediately down to near her
knees *. Her comm^^on manner of fuckling her children is
by carrying them upon her back, as our beggars do, and
giving the infant the bread over her fhoulders. They rare-
ly are mothers after 22, or begin child-bearing before
rhey are 10; fo that the time of child-bearing is but
12 years. In Europe, very many examples there are of wo-
men bearing children at 14, the civil law fixes puberty at 12,
but by an inuendo f feems to allow it may be fomething
earlier. Women fometimes in Europe bear children at 50,
The fcale of years of child-bearing between the favage and
the European is, therefore, as 12 is to ;^8. There can be
little doubt but their defires are equal to their ftrength and
conftitution ; but a Shangalla at 22 is more wrinkled and

deformed.

Juvenalj Hit. 13. 1, 163 » | Nifi malitia fuppleat Ktatem..

's6o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

deformed, apparently by old age, than is a European woman
of 60.

To come ftill nearer; it is a fa(5t known to naturalifts, and
which the appHcation of the thermometer fufficiently in-
dicates, that there is a great and fenfible difference in the
degree of animal heat in both {exes of different nations at
the fame ages or time of Ufe. The voluptuous Turk eftran-
ges himfelf from the faireft and fineft of his Circaffian and
Georgian women in his feraglio, and, during the warm
months in fummer, addids himfelf only to negro flaves
brought from the very latitudes we are now fpeaking of;
the fenfible difference of the coolnefs of their fkins leading
him to give them the preference at that feafon. On the
other hand, one brown Abyffinian girl, a companion for
the winter months, is fold at ten times the price of the
faireft Georgian or Circaffian beauty, for oppofite reafons.

The very great regard I fliall conftantly pay my fair
readers has made me, as they may perceive, enter as ten-
derly as poffible into thefe difcuffions, which, as a philofo-
pher and a hiftorian, I could not, however, wholly omit : the
moft ufeful lludy of mankind is man,; and not the Icaft in-
terefting view of him is when, ftripped of his vain-glory and
the pageantry of palaces, he wanders naked and uncorrupt-
ed among his native woods and rivers.^

I MUST mention, greatly to the credit of two of the iirfl
geniufcs of this age, M. dc Buffon and Lord Kaimes, that they
were both fo convinced by the arguments above mentioned,
ftated in greater detail and with more freedom, that they
immediately ordered their bookfcllcr to ilrike out from the
J fubfequent

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 561

fubfequcnt editions of their work all that had been advan-
ced againll the negroes on this head, which they had
before drawn from the herd of prejudiced and ignorant
compilers, ftrangers to the manners and language of the
people they were diflionouring by their defcriptions, after
having before abufed them by their tyranny.

The Shangalla have no bread : No grain or pulfe will
grow in the country. Some of the Arabs, fettled at Ras
el Feel, have attempted to make bread of the feed of the
Guinea grafs; but it is very tailelefs and bad, of the colour
of cow-dung, and quickly producing worms.

They are all archers from their infancy. Their bows are
all made of wild fennel, thicker than the -common propor-
tion, and about feven feet long, and very elaftic. The chil-
dren ufe the fame bow in their infancy that they do when
grown up ; and are, by reafon of its length, for the firft
years, obliged to hold it parallel, inllead of perpendicular
to the horizon. Their arrows are full a yard and a half
long, with large heads of very bad iron rudely fliapcd.
They are, indeed, the only favages I ever knew that take
no pains in the make or ornament of this v/eapon. A branch
of a palm, llript from the tree and made flraight, becomes
an arrow; and none of themhave wings to them. They
have this remarkable cullom, which is a religious one, that
they fix upon their bows a ring, or thong, of the fkin of
every beaft llain by it, while it is yet raw, from the lizard
iind fcrpcnt up to the elephant. This gradually (lifFens the
bow, till, being all covered over, it can be no longer bent
■even by its mailer. That bow is then hung upon a tree,
■Vol. il, 4 S and

562 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

and a new one is made in its place, till the fame circum*
ftance again happens ; and one of thefe bows, that which its
mailer liked bell, is buried with him in the hopes of its ri-
fing again materially with his body, when he fliall be en-
dowed with a greater degree of ftrengih, without fear o£
death, or being fubjeded to pain, with a capacity to enjoy
in excefs every human pleafure. There is nothing, how-
ever, fpiritual in this refurredtion, nor what concerns the
foul, but it is wholly corporeal and material; although
fome writers have plumed themfelves upon their fancied
difcovery of what they call the favages belief of the im-
mortality of the foul.

Before I take leave of this fubjeft, Imuft again explain,
from what I .have already faid, a difiicuk paflage in claffical
hiftory. Herodotus * fays, that, in the country we have been
juil now defcribing, there wasa nation called Macrobii,which
was certainly not the real name of the Shangalla, but one
the Greeks had given them, from a fuppofed circumllance
of their being remarkable long livers, as that name imports. .
Thefe were the weflern Shangalla, fituated below Guba and •
Nuba, the gold country, on botU fides of the Nile north of.
lazuclo.

The Guba and theNviba, and various black nations that
inhabits the foot of that large chain of mountains called
Dyre and Tcglaf, are thofe in whole countries the fineft gold
is found» which is w^flied from the mountains in the time of

violent

* •-Hsrpa. lib. 3> car..J7. k f:^- ■ t Suppofed to be. the Caramantita Vallis of Ptolemy.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 56^

violent rains, and lodged in holes, and roots of trees and
grafs, by the torrents, and there picked up by the natives ; it
is called Tibbar, or, corruptly, gold-duft. The greateft part
finds its way to Sennaar by the different merchants. Pagan
and Mahometan, from Fazuclo and Sudan. The Agows and
Gibbertis alfo bring a fmall quantity of it to Gondar, moftly
debafed by alloy ; but there is no gold in Abyllinia, nor
even in Nubia, weft of Tchelga, among the Shangalla them-
felves.

Cambyses marched from Egypt exprefsly with a view of
conquering the gold country, and fent mcfTcngers before
him to the king, or chief of it, requiring his immediate
fubmiflion. I omit romantic and fabulous circumftances ;
but the anfwer of the king of Macrobii to Cambyfes was,
Take this bow, and till you can bring me a man that can
bend it, you are not to talk to us of fubmiffion. The bow
was accordingly carried back with the defiance, but none of
the Perfian army could bend it. Yet it was their own wea-
pon with which they pradifed from tlieir infancy ; and we
are not to think, had it been poffible to bend this bow, but
that fome of their numerous archers would have done it,
for there is no fuch difproportion in the flrength of men.
But it was a bow which had loft its elaftic force from the
circumftance above mentioned, and had been long given up
as impoflible to be bent by the Macrobii themfelves, and was
now takea down from the tree where it had probably fome
time hung, and grown fo much the lefs flexible, and in-
tended to be buried, as thcfe bows arc, in the grave v/ith
their mafter, who is to ufe it, after his rcfurredion, in an-
other world, v/here he is to be endowed with ftrength infi*

4 B 2 .nitcly

564 TR-AVILLS TO DISCOVK-n* ■

nitcl)' more tlian Inimaa : it is probabl? cbis-baw woul'tV
ha\c broke, r^thc;" than have bent. .

If tiie fituation of thefe Maerobii in- Ptolemv did not
put it paOdifpute that they were Shangalla, we Ihoiild he-
litate niy;eh at the characfteriflic. of the nation ; that they
were lon^Uvers; none of thefe nations are fo;.Ifcarcc!Y re--
member an example fair!)' vouched of a man pg.ft fixty. But
there is one circumflance tliat I think inight have.fajrly
led Herodotus into this mifta,ke; fome of the Shangalla kill
their f ck, weak, and aged people; there are others- thar ho-
notir old age, and protedt it. The Maerobii, I fuppofe, wers
of this lail kind, who certainly, therefore, had inapy old
incDi mare than the others.

I SHALL now jufl mention one other obfervation tending
to illuftrate. a paflage of ancient hiflory.

Hanno, in his Periplus, remarks^, rh'at, while failing along
the coaft of Africa, clofe by the flrore, and probably, near
the low country called Kolla, inhabited by the kind of
people we have been jufl defcribing, he found an univerfal
filence to prevail the whole day, without any appearance of
man or beaft : on the contrary, at night, he faw a number
of fires, and heard the found of mufic and dancing. This
has been lavighed at as a fairy tale by people who afFedf to
tieat Hanno's fragment as fpurious ; for my own part, I
will not enter into the controverfy.

A VERY great genius, (in fome matters, perhaps, the great"-
eft that ever wrote, and in every thing that he writes high^
ly refpedable) M. de Montcfqicu, is perfcdly fatisficd that

tills

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. jCjl

this Periplus * of, Hanno is genuine ; and ic is a great plea-.-
£ure again to endeavour to obviate any doubt concerning:
the authenticity of the work in this fccond pallhge, as I
have before done in another.

In countries, fuch as thbfe that we have been now dc-?
fcribing, and fuch as Hanno was then faiUng by, when he
made the remark, there is no twihght. The fbars, in theiir
full brightnels, are in poiTeilion of the whole heavens,
when in. an inflant the fun. appears without a harbinger,
and they all difappear together. We lliall fay,.at;fun-rifmg
the thermometer is from 48" to 60° ; at 3 o'clock in the after-
noon it is from 100° to 115"; an univerfal relaxation, a kind
of irrefillible languor and averfion to all aftion takes pof*
feflioii^of both man 'and. heafl ; the appetite fails, and fleep
and quiet are the only things the mind is capable of deii-.
ring,,or the body of enduring: cattle, birds, and .beafts all flock
to the fliade, and to the neighbourhood of running ftream_&,
or deep flagnant pools, and there, avoiding the eifet^s of
the fcorching fun, pant in quiet- and inaction. From the
fame motive, the wild beaft ftirs not from his cave ; and for
this, too, he has an additional reafon, becaufe the cattle he
depends upon for his prey do not ftroll abroad to feed ; they
are afleep and in fafety, for with them are their dogs and
their fhepherds.

But no fooner does the fun fet, tlian a cold ~ night in?
ftantly fucceeds a burning day; the appetite immediately
returns; the cattle fpre ad themfelves abroad to feed, and

pafs

•Dodfwell's diflertation of Hanao's Periclus— Montefcjuku, torn. I, lib. 2i. cap. ii. -

566 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

pafs quickly out of the fhepherds fight into the reach of a
multitude of beafts feeking for their prey. Fires, the only
remedy, are eveiywhere lighted by the fhepherds to keep
thefe at a refpeftful diftance ; and dancing, fmging, and
mufic at once exhilarate the mind, and contribute, by alarm-
ing the beafts of prey, to keep their flocks in fafety, and pre-
vent the bad effecfls of fevere cold *. This was the caufe of
the obfervation Hanno made in failing along the coaft, and
it was true when he made it : juft the fame may be obfer-
ved ftill, and will be, fo long as the climate and inhabitants
are the fame.

I HAVE been more particular in the hiftory of this extra-
ordinary nation, becaufe I had, by mere accident, an op-
portunity of informing myfelf fully and with certainty con-
cerning it ; and, as it is very improbable that fuch an op-
portunity will occur again to any European, I hope it will
not be ungratefully received.

I SHALL only add an anfwer to a very obvious queftion
which may occur. Why is it that, in this coimtry, nothing
that would make bread will grow? Is it from the ignorance
of the inhabitants in not choofmg the proper feafons, or is
it the imperfedlion of the foil ? To this I anfwer, Certainly
the latter. For the inhabitants of Ras el Feel v/ere ufed to
plow and fow, and did conftantly eat bread ; but the
grain was produced ten or fifteen miles off upon the fides

of

* This fenfation of the favage in the heart of Africa feem; to be unknown to the eacmics of
the flavc-tradej th:y talk mudi of heat, without knowirg the material fuifering of the negre
.is from cold.

THE SOURCE OF fHE NILE. s^7

of the mountains of AbyfTmia, where every certain number ■
of foldiers had fmall farms allowed them for that purpofe
by government ; but Hill they could never bring up a crop •
in the Mazaga ; and the progrefs of the mifcarriage was
this : Before the month of May all that black earth was rent
into great chafms, trode into dull, and ventilated with hot
winds, fo as to be a perfeft caput mortuum^ incapabk of any
vegetation. Upon the firft fprinkling of rain the chafms
are filled up, and the whole country refembles dry garden-
mould newly dug up. As the fun advances the rains in-
€reafe ; there is no time to be loft now ; this is the feafon
for fowing; let us fuppofe wheat. In one night's time, while
the wheat is fwelling in the ground, up grows an imm.enfe
quantity of indigenous natural grafs, that, having fowed
itfelf laft year, has lain ever fince in a natural matrix, ready
to flart at the moft convenient feafon. Before the wheat, or
any grain foever can appear, this grafs has lliot up fo high .
and fo thick as abfolutely to choke it. Suppofe it was pof-
fible to hoe or weed it, the grafs will again overtop the grain
before it is an inch from the ground. Say it could be again
hoed or cleared, by this time the rains are fo continual, the
black earth becomes a perfecl: mire. The rain increafes,
and the grain rots without pi'oducing any crop.

The fame happens t® millet, or Indian corn ; the rain rots
the plant which is thrown down by the wind. It is equally
deftroyed if fown at the end of the rains ; the grafs grows
up, wherever the -ground is cleared, in a greater proportion^
if poffible, than in the beginning of the year ; and the rain
ceafmg abruptly, and the fun beginning to be intenfely hot
the veiy day it pafles the zenith, the earth is reduced to an
A impalpable

/68 T-RAVELS TO DISCOVER

impalpable powder, whilft the grain and plant die without
ever fliewing a tendency to germinate.

We left the king, Ouftas, after deteding a confpiracy,
ready to fall upon fome fettlement of Shangalla. This he
■executed with great fuccefs, and furrounded a large part of
the nation called Baafa, encamped under the trees fufpedt-
ing no danger. He put the grown people to the fword, and
look a prodigious number of children of both fexes captive.
-He was intending alfo to pufli his conqueft farther among
thefe favages, when he was called to Gondar by the death
of his prime miniller and confident, Ras Fafa Chriftos.

Besides his attention to hunting and government, the
king had a very great tafte for architecfture, which, in A-
bylTmia, is a very popular one, though fcarcely any thing is
'built but chiu-ches. In the feafon that did not permit him
-to be in the field, he bellowed a great deal of leifure and
-money this way ; and he was, at this time, bufy eredling a
magnificent church to the Nativity, about a mile below
Gondar, on the fmall river, Kahha.

But the feafon of hunting returning before he had finifh=
ed it, he left it to repair to Bet Malo, a place in the Kolla,
where he had built a hunting-feat, not far diilant from the
Shangalla, called Baafa. Here he had a mofl fuccefsful
hunting-match of the buflalo, rhinoceros, and elephant, in
which he often put himfelf in great danger, and diftin-
guilhed himfelf in dexterity and horfcmanlhip greatly a-
bove any of his court. He rctiu-ned upon news, that per-
fons, whom he had fecrecly employed, had apprehended
Betwudct Balilc, ar.d his fon Claudius, who had cfcaped
2 vwhcn

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 569

■when the lafl confpirators were feized. Both thefe he fen-
tenccd immediately to lofe their eyes.

These hunting-matches, fo pundually obferved, and fo
eagerly followed by a man already paft the flower of his
youth, had, in their firft appearance, nothing but found po-
licy. The king's title was avowedly a faulty one ; and the
many confpiracies that had been formed had fhewn him the
nobility were not all of them difpofed to bear his yoke ;
nothing then was more political than to keep a confiderable
number of them employed in field -exercifes, to be in-
formed of their inclinations, and to attach them to his per-
fon by favours. At the head of this little, but very adtive
army, he was ready in a moment to fall upon the difafFedl-
cd, before they could collect flrength fufficient for refin-
ance. Time, however, (hewed this was not entirely the rea-
fon of thefe continual intervals of abfence for fo long a time
in the Kolia.

'Notwithstanding the misfortune that had befallen the
Trench ambafTador, M. du Roule, at Sennaar, in the reign of
Yafous I. and Tecla Haimanout his fon, under Baady el
Ahmer, there had fiill remained below, in Atbara, feme of
thofe mifiionarics who had courage and addrefs enough to
attempt the journey into Abyflinia, and they fucceeded in
it. Ouftas had probably been privy to their arrival in Ya-
ibus's time, and had, equally with him, a favourable opinion
of the Romifli religion.

These miflionaries, though Yafous was now dead, were

perfedlly well received by Oufi;as ; he had given them in

charge to Ain Egzic, an old and loyal fcrvant of Yafous,

Vol. II. 4C and

S7^

TRAVKLG TO DISCOVER

and governor of Walkayt. He had placed alio with them
an Abyllinian priefl, who had been in Jcrufalem, and was
well-afrevSled to the Romifla faith, to be their interpreter,
ftay with them always, and manage their interefts, while he
himfelf, ftealing frequently from the hunting -matches,
heard mafs, and received the communion, returning back
to his camp, as he flattered himfelf, unperceived. Thcfe
meetings with the priefts were not, however, fo well con-
cealed but that they came to the knowledge of many people
about court, both feculars and clergy. But the king's cha-
radler, for feverity and vigilance, made everybody confine
their thoughts, whatever they were, within their own breafts.

The employment of this year was a fhort journey to Iba-
ba, a large market-town, where there is a royal refidencc,
below Maitlha, on the welt, or Gojam fide of the Nile, from
which it is about three days diflance. From this he returned
again, and went to Tcherkin, a fmall village in Kolla, be-
yond Ras el Feel, in the way to Sennaar, the principal -a.~
bode of the elephant. But, in the lirft day's hunting, Yared,
mailer of his houfehold, and a confiderable favourite, being
torn to pieces by one of thefe quadrupeds, he gave over the
fport, and returned very forrowful to bury him at Gon-
dar, leaving three of his fervants to execute a defign he
had formed againll the Baafa in that neighbourhood.

From the conflant interruptions Ouftas had met with in
all thcfe hunting-matches, and his fuccefs, notwithftanding,
whenever he had himfelf attended, the divining monks had
prophefied his reign was to be fhort, and attended with
much bloodlhed ; nor were they for once diflant from the
truth ; for, in the month of January 1 7 14, while he wa^ o\ er-

look-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 571

looking the workmen building the church of Abba Anto--
nius at Gondar, he was taken luddenly ill, and, fufpeding
fome unwholfomenefs or vDitchcraft in his palace, he order-
ed his tent to be pitched without the town till the apart-
ments fliould be fmoaked with gunpowder. But this was
done fo carelefsly by his fervants, that his houfe was
burnt to the groimd, which was looked upon as a very bad
omen, and made a great impreilion upon the minds of the
people.

The 27th of January it was generally underftood that the
king was dangeroufly ill, and that his complaint was every day
increafmg. Upon this the principal officers went, according to
the ufual cuftom, to condole with and comfort him. This
was at leall what they pretended. Their true errand, how-
ever, was pretty well known to be an endeavour to afcer-
tain whether the ficknefs was of the kind likely to continue,
till meafures could be adopted with a degree of certainty to
take the reins of government out of his hand.

The king eafily divined the rcafon of- their coming.. Ha-
ving had a good night, he ufed the ftrength that he had
thereby acquired to roufe himfelf for a moment, to put on
the appearance of health, and fliew himfelf, as ufual, enga-
ged in his ordinary difpatch of buiinefs. The feeminggood
countenance of the king made their condolence premature^
Some cxcufe, however, for fo formal a vifit, was neceffary ;
but every apology was not fafe. They adopted this, which
they thought unexceptionable, that hearing he was fick,
which they happily found he was not, they came to propofe
to him a thing equally proper whether he was fick or well ;
that he v/ould, in time, fettle the fucceffion upon his fon

4 C 2 Fafil,

572 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Fafil, then in the mountain of Wechne, as a means of quiet*
ing the minds of his friends, preventing bloodlhed, and fe-
cuiung the crown to his family.

OusTAS did the utmoft to command himfelf upon this oc-
eafion, and to give them an anfwer fuch as fuited a man in
health who hoped to live many years. But it was now too
late to play fnch apart ; and, infpite of his utmoftdiflimu-
lation, evident figns of decay appeared upon him, which
his vifxtors conjedlured would foon be paft diflembling,.
and they agreed to flay with the king till the evening.

But the foldiers on guard, who heard the propofal of
fending for Oullas's fon, and who really believed that thefe
men fpoke from their heart, and were in earneft, were vio-
lently difcontented and angry at this propofal. They began
to he weary of novelty, and longed, for a king of the an-
cient royal family. As foon, therefore, as it was dark they
entered Gondar, and called together the fcveral regiments^
or bodies of foldiers, which compofed the king's houfe-
hold. Having came to a refolution how they were to acfl:,
they returned to their quarters where they were upon
guard, and meeting the great officers coaiing out of Ouf-
tas's tent, where they, too, had probably agreed upon the
fame meafiire, though it was not known, the foldiers drew
their fwords, and flew them all, being feven in number. A-
mong thefe were Betwudet Tamerte, and the Acab Saat ;-
the one the principal lay-officer, the other tlie chief eccle-
fiaflic in the king's houfe.

This maffacrc fecmed to be the fignalfora general in*-
jf^rrcdion, in the courfc of whicli, part of the town wa«

fee

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 573.

fet on fire. But the foldicrs, at their firft meeting in tlie
palace *, had ihut up the coronation- chamber, and the other
royal apartments, and polTelTed themfclves of the kettle-
drum by which all proclamations were made at the gate,
driving away, and rudely treating the multitude on every
fide. At laft they brought out the drum, though it was yet
night, and made this proclamation : — " David, fon of our
late king Yafous, is our king." The tumult and diforder,.
neverthelefs, ftill continued ; during all which, it was very
remarkable no one ever thought of offering an injury to
Ouftas.

While thefe things were pafling at Gondar, a violent
a:larm had feized all the princes upon the mountain- of
Wechne. They had been treated with feverity during Guftas's
whole reign. Their revenues had been with-held, or at lead
not regularly paid, and they had been reduced nearly tO'
perifli for want of the neceOaries of life. When, tlierefore,
the accounts of Ouftas's illncfs arrived, and that the princi-
pal

* There feems Iiere fome contradicflion which needs explanation. It is faiJ that the palace
was burnt before Ouftas went to his tent. How then could the foldiers affcmble in it
afterwards ? The palace confifts of a number of feparate houfes at no great diflance, but de-
tached from one another with one room in each. That where the coronation is performed
is called Anbafa Bet ; another, where the king fits in feftivak, is called -Zeffan Bet ; another
is called Werk Sacala, the gold-houfel; another Gimja Bet, or the brocade-lioufe, where the war-
drobe and the gold RuKs ufed for prefents, or received.as fuch..are laid. N5w, we fuppofe Ojjftas-
in any one of thefe apartments, fay Zeffan Bet, which he left to go to his tent, and it was then;
burnt ; flill there remained the coronation-houfe where the regalia was kept, which the fol-
diers locked up that it might not be ufcd to crown Fafil, Ouftac's fon, whom they thought.
the Civen great- men they had murdered coofpired to p!;'.ce upon the tVio.ne after .'lisiaiher. .

3-4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

pal people had propofed to name Fafd his fon, then their
fellow-prifoner, to fucceed him, their fears no longer re-
minded them of the hardfhips of his father's reign, as they
expected utter extirpation as the only meafure by which
he could provide for his own fecurity. Full of thcfe fears,
they agreed, with one confent, to let down from the moun-
tain fifty princes of the greateft hopes, all in the prime of
life, and therefore moft capable of defending their own
right, and fecuring the lives of thofe that remained upon
the mountain, from the cruel treatment they muft obviouf-
ly expect if they fell into the hand of an ufurper or
flranger.

The brother of Betwudet Tamerte, who, with the fix
others, had been murdered before Ouftas's tent, was, at this
time, guardian of the mountain of Wechne. His brother's
death, however, and the unfettlcd ftate of government, had
fo much weakened both his aiuhority and attention, that
he either did not choofe, or was not able, to prevent the
efcape of thefe princes, all flying for their lives, and for the
fake of preferving the ancient conftitution of their country.
And that this, and no other was their object, appeared the in-
ftant the danger was removed ; for, as foon as the news that
David was proclaimed at Gondar arrived at tlie mountain,
all the princes returned of their own accord, excepting Ba-
cufFa, younger brother to the king, who fled to the Galla,
and lay concealed among them for a time.

On David's* arrival at Gondar, all the old misfortunes
fecmed to be forgotten. The joy of having the ancient
royal hne rellored, got the better of thofe fears which firfl;
occafioned the interruption. The prifons were thrown open,

and

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

57J

and David was cr'^wncd tlie 3cth oi-" January 1714, amidfl
tlie acclamations of all ranks of people, and every denion-
ftration of feftivity and joy.

David was fon of Yafous the Great, and confequently
brother to the parricide Tecla Haimanout, but by anot'ier
mother. At his coronation he was jud twenty-one years of
age, and took for his inauguration name Adebar Segued.

In all this time, however, Ouflas was alive. Ouftas was,
indeed, fick, but flill he was king ; and yet it is fin-priling
that David had been now nine days at Gondar, and no in-
jury had been oitered to Ouftas, nor any efcape attempted,
for him by his friends.

It was the 6th of February, the day before Lent, when
the king fent the Abuna Marcus, Itchegue Za Michael, with
fome of the great officers of ftate, to interrogate Ouftas ju-
dicially, for form's fake, as to his title to the crown. The
queftions propofed are very ftiort and fimple — " Who are
" you ? What brought you here ?" To thefe plain inter-
rogatories, Ouftas, then ftruggling with death, anfwered,
however, as plainly, and without equivocation, " Tell my
" king David, that true it is I have made myfelf king,.
" as much as one can be that is not of the royal family;
" for I am but a private man, fon of a fubjedt, Kafmati
" Dclba Yafous : all I beg of the king is to give me a little
" time, and let me die with licknefs, as Ifhortly fliall, with-
" out putting me to torment or pain."

On the loth day of February, that is four days after the
interrogation, Ouftas died, but whether of a violent or na-
tural

576 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

turai death is not known. The hiflorian of his reign, a
cotemporaiy writer, fays, fome reported that he died of an
amputation of his leg by order of the king ; others, that he
was ftrangicd ; but that mofl people were of opinion that
he died of ficknefs ; and this I think the moll probable, for
had the king been earneftly fet upon his death, he would
not have allowed fo much time to pafs, after his coronation,
before his rival was interrogated ; nor was there any rea-
fon to allow him four days after his confeffion. David's mo-
deration after the death, moreover, feems to render this ftill
inore credible ; for he ordered his body to be buried in the
church of the Nativity, which he had himfelf built, with all
the honours and public ceremonies due to his rank as a no-
bleman and fubje6l, who had been guilty of no crime, in-
llead of ordering his body to be hewn in pieces, and Scatter-
ed along the ground without burial, to be eat by the dogs ;
the invariable punilhment, unlefs in this one inllance, of
high-treafon in this country.

Posterity, regarding his merit more than his title, have,
however, kept his name ftill among the lift of kings ; and
tradition, doing him more juftice ftill than hiftory, has
ranked him among the beft that ever reigned in Abyllinia.

DAVID

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 577

'>>^^^'-

D A V I D IV.

From 1 714 to i 719.

-Convocation of the Clergy — Catholic Priejls executed — A fecond Conv^-^
cation — Clergy infult the King — His fever e Punifoment — Kitig dies
of P of on.

THE moderation oF the king, both before and after the
death of Ouftas, and perhaps fome other favourable
appearances now unknown to us, fet the monks, the con-
•ftant pryers into futurity, upon prophecying that the reign
of this prince was to be equal in length to that of his father
Yafous the Great, and that it was to be peaceable, full of
juftice and moderation, without execution, or effulion of civil
'blood.

David, immediately upon his a<:ce{iion, appointed Fit-

Auraris Agnc, Ozoro Kedufte's brother*, his Betwudet, and

Vol. II. 4 D Abra

* Miftrefs to Yafoos, and mother to David.

578 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Abra Hezekias his mafter of the houfehold ; and was pro-
ceeding to fill up the inferior polls of government, when
he was interrupted by the clamours of a multitude of.
monks demanding a convocation of the clergy.

These aflemblies, however often folicited, are never cal-
led in the reign of vigorous princes, but by the fpecial
order of the fovereign, who grants or refufes them purely
from his own free-will. They arc, however, particularly
expedtcd at the acceflion of a new prince, upon any appre-
henfion of herefy, or any novelty or abufe in church-go^
vernment..

The arrival of a new Abuna from Egypt is alfo a veryr
principal reafon for the convocation. Thefe aflemblies are
very numerous. Many of the moft difcreet members of
the church abfent themfelves purpofely. On the other
hand, the monks, who, by vows, have bound themfelves to
the moft painful aufterities and fufferings ; thofe that de-
vote themfelves to pafs their lives in the deep and unwhole-
fome valleys of the country ; hermits that ftarve on the
points of cold rocks ; others that live in deferts furrounded
with, and perpetually expofed to wild beafts ; in a word, the
whole tribe of fanatics, falfe prophets, diviners, and dream--
ers, people who afFctft to fee and foreknow what is in future.-
to happen, by living in pcrfedt ignorance of what is palling'
at the prefent ; people in conftant habits of dirt and nafti-.
nefs, naked, or covered with hair ; in Ihorr, a collection ol-
monfters, fcarcely to be described or conceived, compote an
ecclefiaftical aflcmbly in Abyflinia, and are the leaders of an
i*5^norant and furious populace, who adore them as faints,,
and arc always ready to fupport them in fome violation of:

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. '^yg

»
the laws of the country, or of humanity, to which, by their

cuftoms and manner of life, their very firft appearance fhe ws

they have been long ilrangers.

David, however averfe to thefe aflemblies, could not de-
cently refufe them, now a new prince was fet on the throne,
a new Abuna was come from Egypt, and a complaint was
ready to be brought that the church was in danger. The
aflembly met in the ufual place before th€ palace. The It-
ch egue, or head of the monks of Debra Libanos, was ready
with a complaint, which he preferred to the king. He Ha-
ted it was notorious, but offered to prove it if denied, that
three Romifh priefts, with an Abyflinian for their interpre-
ter, were then eftablifhed in Walkayt, and, for feveral years^
had been there maintained, protedled, and confulted by the
late king Ouftas, who had often alTifted at the celebration
of mafs as folemnized by the church of Rome.

David was a rigid adherent to the church of Alexandria,
and educated by his mother in the tenets of the monks of
Saint Euftathius, that is, the moll declared enemies of every
thing approaching to the tenets of the chUrch of Rome.
He was confequently, not by inclination, neither was he by
duty, obliged to undertake the defence of mcafures adopt-
ed by Ouftas, of which he was beiides ignorant, having been
confined in the mountain of Wechne. He ordered, there-
fore, the miflionaries, and their interpreter, whofe name
was Abba Gregorius, to be apprehended.

These unfortunate people were accordingly produced be-
fore the moft prejudiced and partial of all tribunals. Abba
Mafmare and Adug Tesfo were adduced to interrogate and

4 D 2 to

580 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER;

CO interpret to them, as they undenloodthc Arabic, havings
been at Cairo and Jerufalcra. The trial neither was, nor
"was intended to be long. The firft quellion put was a veryj
dired: one ; Do you, or do you not, receive the council of
Ciiakedon as a rule of faith ? and. Do you believe tlmt Leo
the pope lawfully and regularly prelidcd an it, and conduc!^^
ed it ? To this the prifoners plainly anfwered, That they looked
upon the council of Chalcedon as the fourth general coun-
cil, and received it as fuch, and as a rule of faith : that
they did believe pope Leo lawfully and : regularly pre-
fided at it, as being head of tile Catholic church, fuc^f
celfor to St Peter, and Chrift's vicar upon earth. Upon this a
general fhout was heard from the whole aflembly ; and the
fatal cry, " Stone them." — " Whoever throws not three
Hones, he is, aqcurfed, and an enemy to Mary," immediately
followed, .

One prieft only, dillinguiflied for piety and learning a-*
mong his countrymen, and one of the chief men in the af- -
fembly, with great vehemence declared, they were tried
partially and unfairly, and condemned unjuftly. But his
voice was not heard amidll the clamours of fuch a multi-
tude ; and the monks were accordingly by the judges con-
demned to die. Ropes were inftantly thrown about their
necks, and they were dragged to a place behind the church
of Abbo, in the way to Tedda, where they were, according
to their fentence, ftoned to death, fuffering with a patience
and refignation equal to the ficft martyrs. .

The juftice, however, which we owe to the memory of J"
the deceafed M. du Roule, mufl always leave a fear in every
Chriftian mind, that, fpotted as thefe miilionaries were witli
the, horrid crime of the premeditated, unprovoked murder .-

of/

THE SOURCE OE THE NILE. y^s

of that ambaflTador, the indifTcrence they teflified at the ap-
proach, and in the immediate iuffering oi:' death, had ita
origin rather in hardnefs of heart than in the quietnefs of
their confciences. Many fanatics have been known to die,
glorying in liaving perpetrated the mod horrid crimes to
which the fentence of eternal damnation is certainly an-
nexed^in the book .before, them..

I HAVE often, both on purpofe and by accident, pafTed by
this place, where three large, and one fmall pile of ftoncs;
cover the bodies of thefe unfortunate fufferers ; and, with
many heavy refleaionsupon my own danger, I have often
wondered how thefe three priefts, of whatever nation they
were, pafled. unnoticed among the nimiber of their frater-
nity, whofe memory is honoured with long panegyrics by
the Romifh writers, of thofe times, as deftined one day to
appear in the kalendar. Though thofe that compofe the
long lift of Tellez died with piety and refignation, they
were furely gjiilty in the way they almoft -all- were engaged-,
contrary to the laws and conftitution of the country, in aci
tions and defigns that can be fairly quahfied by no other
name than that of treafon, while no fuch political meddling
out of their profefTion ever was reproached to thefe threei,
even by their enemies* .

Tellez fays not a word of them ; Le Grande, a zealous
Catholic writer of thefe times, but little ; though he pub'-
liihes an Arabic letter to conful Maillet, which mentions
their names, their fufFerings, and other . circumilances at-
tending them. Ifhall, therefore, take the liberty of oifer-
ing^my conjeaure, as I think _this filence, pr the fuppreffiun

of:

582 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

of a fadl:, gives me a title to do ; but iliall firft produce the
letter of Elias Enoch, upon which I found my judgment.

Translation of an Arabic Letter wrote to M. de Maillet.

" After having afTured M. de Maillet, the conful, of my

" refpedts, and of the continuation of my prayers for his

" health, as being a gentleman venerable for his merits,

" diftinguiflied by his knowledge and great penetration,

** of a noble birth, always beneficent, and addicted to pious

** a<n;ions, (may God preferve his life to that degree of ho-

" nour due to fo refpedtable a perfon), I now write you from

" the town of Mocha. I left Abyflinia in the year 1718, and

" came to this town of Mocha in extreme poverty, or ra-

*' ther abfolutely deftitute. God has affifted me : I give

" praife to him for his bounty, and always remain much o-

" bliged to you. What follows is all that I can inform you

" as touching the news of Abyflinia. King Yafous is long

" fmcc dead: his fon, Tecla Haimanout, having feized upon

*' the kingdom by force, caufed his father to be afl"aflinated.

*' This king Yafous, having given me leave to go to Sennaar,

" furniflicd me with a letter addrefled to the king there, in

" which he defired him to put no obflacles in the way of

" du Roule the French ambaffador's journey, but to fuffer

" him to enter Ethiopia. He alfo gave me another letter

"*' addreflcd to the ballia and officers of Grand Cairo ; and

*' another letter to the ambaffador himfelf, by which he fig-

" nified to him that he might enter into Ethiopia without

" fear. Accordingly I had departed with thefe letters forSen-

•* naar; but king Tecla Haimanout, fon of king Yafous, ha-

** ving taken poflellion of the kingdom while I was yet in

" Abyflinia,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, iS'3.

*• Abyffinia, I returned and delivered to him the letters
" which had been given me by his father. It was now.
" three months fmce Tecla Haimanout had been upon the
" throne; he approved of the letters, and caufed them to
« be tranfcribed in his own name ; and ordered me to go
" and join du Roule the ambaflador, and accompany him
" back again to Gondar. King Yafous had already fent an
" officer to meet the ambaflador at Sennaar ; and he had
" been gone fix months without my knowledge ; but that
" officer, having trifled away his time in trading, did not
*' enter Sennaar till that king had caufed the ambaflador
" to be murdered, together with thofe that were with him.
*♦ As for me, not knowing what had happened, I was ad-
*' vancing with the orders of Tecla Haimanout, when, being
*' now within three days journey of Sennaar, I heard of the
« ambaflador's death, and that of his companions ; and .
" being terrified at this, I returned into Abyflinia to let
" Tecla Haimanout know what the king of Sennaar had
" done. Immediately upon hearing of this, Tecla Haima-
" nout formed a refolution to declare war againft the king
« of Sennaar, but was foon after flain in a mutiny of the
" foldiers. He reigned two years. Tifilis, brother of Ya-
•' fous, fucceeded him, and reigned three years and three
"months. Ouftas, nephew of king Yafous, fucceeded Ti-
" fills, and ufurped the kingdom, of which he was aftuaU
" ly prime minifter, being fon of a fifter of Yafous. Ouftas
"was dethroned, and died foon after. David, fon of Ya-
" fous, fucceeded him, and reigned five years and five
** months. The friars, who arrived in Ethiopia in the reign
♦' of Ouftas, were ftoned to death, upon the fucceffion of
** David to the throne, by thofe that were of the party of
*'^ David. A fon of MzV/6flf/, whom he had by a flave, agedi

4. !' ^^7:

j34 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

*' only fix years, was ftoned with him. It was t\it fourth fon
-*« he had. I made Yafous believe that the religion of the
*V French was the fame with that of Ethiopia," &c. &c.

From this letter, we fee a boy of fix years old, fon of one
of thefe pricfts or friars, was ftoned to death with them; and
his heap of ftones appears with thofe of the others. It was»
indeed, a common teft of the people fufpe(fted to be priefts,
who ftole into Abylfinia, to offer them women, their vows
being known, and that they could not marry. I apprehend,
to avoid detedlion, one atjeaft of them had broken his vow
of celibacy and chaftity, and that this child was the con-
fequence, but not the only one, as Enoch fays, in his letter,
he had three others ; and this probably was the reafon why
the Catholics of thofe times had configned their merit te
oblivion, rather than record it with their failings.

For although we know that there were friars who had
been in Ethiopia fince the time of Ouftas, we fhould not have
been informed who they were, had it not been for a fmall
■fheet, publillied.at Rome in the year 1774, by a capuchin
prieft called Theodofms Volpi, fent to me by my learned
and worthy friend the honourable Daines Barrington. From
this we find, that thefe three were, Liberate de Wies, apo-
ftohcal prefect in Auftria; Michael Pius of Zerbe, in the
.province of Padua ; and Samuel dc Beumo, of the Milanefe.
The account of their death is the fame as already given,
though the pubhflier fuppreffcs the ftoning of the child,
and the exigence of the three other, fruits of the feraphic
milfion, through the endeavours of father Michael Pius of
Zerbe, of the province of Milan. The child, too, ftoned to
.death with his father, was fix years old, and was, as Elias

z fays^

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 585

feys, fourth fon of Michael; and it was in 17 14 this cata-
ftrophe happened, fo that this will hiing thefe fathers en-
trance into Nubia about the time of the murder of M. du
Roule : fo confident with ev^ry. crime is fanaticifm and falfe
religion.

The barbarous monks, gratified in the firfl inflance,
"would not be contented without extending their vengeance
to Abba Gregorius, the AhyfTmian prieft, the interpreter.
But David, who found upon trial that, in going to attend
the priefts in Walkayt, he had only obeyed the exprefs ccm-
mand of Guftas, then his fovereign, abfolutely refufed to
fuffer him to be either tried or punilhed, but difmilTed him,
without.further cenfure or queftion, to his native country.

While David was thus employed at Gondar, news were
'brought to him that his brother Bacuffa had left the Galla,
and was then in a fmall town in Begemder, called Wetan.
It was this prince who, together with fifty others of the
royal family, were let down from the mountain of Wcchne,
upon Ouftas's fon being propofed, and he alone refufed
to return upon his brother's accefTion to the throne. David
fent Azalefii, Guebra Mehcdin, and Badjerund Welled de
I'Oul, to Wetan, where they apprehended Bacuffa by furprife,
and lodged him in the mountain of Wechne, after having
cut off a very fmall part of the tip of his nofe, v/hich was
fcarcely difcernible when he came to the throne.

Kafmati Georgis, had been banifhed to the mountain in
the reign of the late king, where he had contra(5led an inti-
mate friendfhip with David. He had alfo married a fifter
of Ozoro Mamet, liy whom Yafous had fcveral children, par-

VoL. II. 4 E ticularly

SS6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ticularly one Welleta Georgis, a prince then of years to go-
vern, and confined to the mountain. David, on his coming
to the throne, did not forget his old friendfhip on the moun-
tain ; and, palling by Emfras, he fent to Wechne to bring
downKafmati Georgis to Arringo, one of the king's palaces in
Begemder, where he intended to pafs the fummer. On his
return he gave him the government of Gojam ; and his
favourite Agne, his uncle, dying at this time, very much
regretted, Georgis was alfo created Betwudet in his place..

This year Abuna Marcus died ; and his fucceflbr, Abuna
Chriflodulus, arriving the third day of November, this made
the calling of another alTembly of the clergy abfolutely
neceflary, although, from the humour the laft was in, the
whole time of their meeting, the king was very little incli-
ned to it.

The monks in Abyflinia, as I have often faid, are divi-
ded into two bodies, thofe of Debra Libanos and thofe of
Abba Euftathius. Some have imagined that the difference
between thefe two bodies arifes from a difpute about two
natures in Chrift. But this is from mifmformation ; for,
were a difpute to arife about the two natures in Chrift, each
party would declare the other a heretic ; but at prefent a.
few equivocal words, ufed to define the mode and moment
of our Saviour's incarnation, though neither opinion is
thought heretical *, have the efFe(5l to make thefe two fe6ls^
enemies all their lives.

The

* But there can be no doubt both opioions are abfolute herefy, in the moft liberal fenfe of
that word, as exprefsly denying our Saviour's confubflactiality

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. s^y

' The Abuna is the head of the Abyffinian church ; yet,
^s he is known to be a flave of the Mahometans, upon his
iirft arrival, and permiflion obtained from the king, the af-
fembly meets in a large outer court, or fquare, before the
palace, where he is interrogated, and where he declares
which of the two opinions he adopts. If he has been pro-
perly advifed, he declares for the ruling and ftrongeft party ;
though fometimes he is determined, by the addrefs of thofe
about him, to fide with the weakeft ; and very often, if he
has had no inftru(5tion on his arrival, he does not know what
this reference means ; for no trace of fiich difpute exifts a-
mong his brethren in Cairo, from whence he came. He is,
moreover, a ftranger to the language, and the words con-
taining either opinion, which, for fhortnefs fake, are made
to mean a great deal more than they at firft feem to import;
and, whether freely or literally tranflated, are equally unin-
telligible to a foreigner. After the Abuna has declared his
choice, this is announced by beat of drum to the people,
and is called Nagar Haimanout^ or, the Proclamation of the
Faith. The only ordinary effedt this declaration has, is to
make the perfon who is at the head of one party an ad-
verfary to him who is the head of the other, all his life
after.

The king at his accellion makes his declaration alfo.
The clergy maintain, that he fliould do this in an afTcmbly
called for that purpofe, though the king denies that there
is any neceffity for the clergy to be prefent ; but he confi-
ders it as his privilege to choofe his own time and place,
and announces it to the people, by proclamation, at what
time, and in what manner, he thinks moft convenient.

A E 2 Although

588 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER-

Although David had given his permiflion to aflemble
the clergy to hear the Abuna's declaration, he did not think
himfelf bound to ailift at it, and, therefore, he fent to the ■
monks of Debra Libanos, and thofe of Abba Euftathius, to
go to the Abuna with Betwudet Georgis, w^ho fhould inter*-
rogate the Abuna, and report the anfwer to the king, who
thereupon would order it to be proclaimed to the peoplci
The monks of Debra Libanos refufed this, as they did not
confider Georgis as indifferent, being known to be ailaunch ■
Euftathian. They declai-ed, therefor^ they would neither
hear nor regard what the Abuna faid, unlefs it was in the
king's prefence ; and this was juft what David was refolvedi
not to humour them in, .

Betwudet Georgis, the great officers of Hate, and moll
of the people of confideration about Gondar, waited upon
the Abuna as the king had commanded ; and the Betwudet
having defired him to make his profeffion, he would only
give this evafive anfwer, That his faith was in all refpec^s the
fame as that of Abba Marcos and Abba Sanuda, the ancient'
and orthodox Abunas.

This anfwer left. every party at liberty to imagine that
the Abima was their own. But this evafion did not content
the king, who therefore ordered the Betwudet, without ta-
king further notice of the Abuna, to make proclamation in
terms of, the profeffion of the monks of . Abba Euftathius,
This occafioned great heats among the monks of Debra
Libanos. They ran all with one accord to the Itchegne's
houfe, for he is their general, or chief of their convent^
and here they came to the moft violent refolutions, decla-.
ling that they would die cither together, or man by man,

in.

THE SOUUCE OT THE NILE. 5?^

in fupport of their privileges and the freedom of their af-i
ffembUes. From the Itcheguc's houfe they ran to the Abu^.
na's, without fohciting or receiving any permilTion from
the king; and, upon interrogation, they fucceeded with the
Abuna to the height of theirwiflies ; for he anfwered ia
the precife words of their profeflion — ^" One God, of the
Father alone, united to a body perfe6tly human, confubftan^
tial with ours, and by that union becoming the Meffiah ;"
in diredl oppofition to what was proclaimed by the king's
order at the gate of the palace the day bcfor^^ — PerfeA God
and perfect man, by the union one Ghrift, whofe body is
compofed of a precious fubftance, called Babery, not conJ
fubilantial with 'Ours, or derived from his mother.

Had they ftopt here it had been well ; but the vidlory
was too great, too unexpected, and complete, to admit of
their fitting quietly down without a triumph. They return-
ed, therefore, from the Abuna's, frantic with joy, Ihoutingj
and finging, and more peculiarly one kind of fong, or hal-
lelujah, ufed always upon vicStories obtained over infi'dels.
As they pafTed the door of-the king's palace, fome of -the
ofEcers of thehoufehold, Azage Zakery, Azage Tecla Haim-
anout, and Badjerund Welleta David, .moderate -men, lovers
of peace, and inclined to no party, endeavoured to perfuada
them to content themfelves with what they had done, tD
difperfe, and each go to his home, before fome mifchief
overtook- them. But they were too high-minded. The^
redoubled their fongs ; and, in this manner, again aliem-
bled in the Itchegue's houfe to deliberate on what further
they were to attempt ; when one of the monks, a. prophet;
or dreamer, declared, " That God had opened his eyes, andr
tbiat he thea faw a cherub with a flaming fword guarding^

the

590 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the Itchegue's gate :" with fuch a centinel they concluded
that they were perfeclly fafe frOm any attempts of man.

In the mean time, however,the king was violently afFeded
at the feditious behaviour of the monks ; nor did he hefitate
a moment in what manner he was to punifh it. As they had
employed the fong which was fung only for vi6lories obtain-
ed over infidels, by which they meant to allude particularly
to the king, he detached a body of Pagan Galla to punifli
them ; having furrounded the Itchegue's houfe, where the
monks were affembled, they forced open the gate, (and the
cherub with the flaming fword not interfering) they fell,
fword in hand, upon the unarmed priefts, and in an inftant
laid above a hundred of the principal of them dead upon the
floor. They then faUicd out with their bloody weapons in-
to the ftreet, and hewed to pieces thofe that attended the
procefllon, and who were fl:ill diverting themfelves with
their fong. Gondar now appeared like a town taken by
fl:orm ; every ftreet was covered with the dead, and dying ;
and this malTacre continued till next day at noon, when, by
proclamation, the king ordered it to ceafe.

David, now fatisfied as to the priefts, thought he owed to
the Abuna a mortification for his double-dealing. He fent,
therefore, the foldiers to take him out of his houfe, and
bring him to the gate of the palace, where the poor wretch,
half dead with fear, expected every moment to fall by the
bloody hands of the Djawi. Having enjoyed his panic fome
time, the king ordered him to be placed clofe belide the ket-
tle-drum, and a profeilion of faith was made in the royal
prcicnce, and announced by beat of drum to the people,
agreeing in every refpec^ to that publiflicd the firft da)- by
, Bctwudct

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 591

Berwudet Georgis, and directly contradifting what he had
faid with his own mouth to the monks of Debra Libanos,
which was the occafion of the riot.

This bloody, indifcriminate maffacre had comprehended
too many men of worth and diftin(5tion not to occafion
great difcontent among the principal people both within
and without the palace. Confpiracies againft the king
were now everywhere openly talked of, the fruits of which
foon appeared. David fell fick, and thofe about him endea-
voured to perfuade him that it was the remains of an injury
which he had lately received from a fall oiF his horfe. But,
upon the meeting of a council on the 9th of March 17 19, it
was difcovered and proved, that KafmatiLate and Ras Georgis
had employed Kutcho, keeper of the palace, to give a flrong
poifon to the king, which he had taken that morning from-
the hands of a Mahometan.. Ras Georgis was then brought
before the council, and fcarcely denied the fadt ; upon
which his only fon was ordered to be hewn to pieces before
his face, and immediately after the father's eyes were pulled
out. Kutcho, keeper of the palace, and the Mahometan
who gave the poifon, were hewn to pieces with fwords
before the gate of the palace, and their mangled bodies
thrown to the dogs. The king died that evening in great
agony.

The king's favourite, Betwudet Georgis, found himfelf
now in a moll dangerous fituation. David his protedtor
was dead, and he was left now alone to anfwer for thofe
bloody meafures of which he was univerfally believed to
be the advifer. It was abfolutely neceffary, therefore, if
poflible, to fecure a fuccelTor of David's own family, who-

might:

592 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

might flop the profecutions againft him for Heps the king
had adopted as his own, and as fuch had carried into exe-

icution.

We have already dbferved, that, when banifhed to tlic
mountain of Wcchne by Ouftas, he had contraded there,
•'firft a friendfhip with David, and, at the fame time, with
another prince, Ay to Welled Geofgis, who was fon to Yafous
by Ozoro Mamet, whofe filler Georgis had married, and
confeqnently was uncle to Ayto Welleta Georgis, as having
married his aunt, filler to Ozoro Mamet. When this prince
•now arrived at manhood, he knew himfelf perfecftly fecure ;
and, therefore, a number of the men in power being then
affembled at his houfe, he loll no time, but furrounded it
with a body of foldiers. He propofed to them Welled Geor-
gis as immediate fuccelTor to David The people prefent,
feeing themfeives in the foldiers hands, and convinced from
the recent examples, that Georgis was not very tender in
the ufe of them, in appearance chearfully, and without he-
fitation, approved of the Betwudet's choice ; and Lika Jona-
than, one of the chief civil judges, performed the office of
crier, proclaiming with an audible voice, " Ayto Welled
Georgis, brother to our late king David^ fon of our great
king Yafous, he is now our king. Mourn for the king that
is dead, but rejoice with the king that is alive." This is the
ordinary llile of the proclamation. Mutual congratulations
and promifes paired among the members of the meeting,
tut with very different refolutions.

All the company, efcorted by a body of archers, and

another of fuzilecrs, with Betwudet Georgis at their head,

repaired to the great place before the palace to make the

J fame

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 593

fame proclamation by beat of drum that they had done in
the betwudet's houfc. They found the drum ready, and
the whole body of the king's houfehold troops under arms,
and drawn up before it. Upon the fight of their compa-
nions, the foldiers left the Betwudct, and fell into a proper
place referved vacant for them by their brethren. Without
lofs of time the dmm was beat, and a proclamation made,
•' BacuiTa, fon of Tafous, is our king ! Mourn for the dead,
and rejoice with the living." Loud acclamations from the
people were^echoed back again by the foldiers, and Bacuf-
fa's name was received with univerfal acclamations. Some
of-the principal people then went to the council-chamber,
and fent proper officers, with a good body of troops, to efcort
•the king from Wechne.

,'f

Upon their arrival they found the fentiments of the
princes upon the eleeTiion were widely different from thofe
•teftified by the people. They all to a man declared their
■diflent from that elec^iion. They upbraided Bacuff'a for his
brutal manners ; for his violent, unfociable, unrelenting
temper, from the whicli, they faid, they had the cruelelt con-
fequences to apprehend ; and, indeed, it was not without
great reafon that they made thefe remonftrances ; for Ba-
cuiFa, when he efcaped from the mountain, fled for refuge
among the Galla, and received there a very llrong tindlure
of the favage manners of that nation, which neither thofe
of Gondar nor the army could have an opportunity to judge
of. Refolute, active, and politic, he was very well formed
to hold the reins of government in unfettled times ; but his
temper of itfelf exceedingly fufpicious, and the little re-
gard he had for the life of man, made his whole reign (as
it was feared) one continued tragedy. So that, notwidi-
"^""L. IL 4 F ftanding

594 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ftanding the goodnefs of his underilanding, and many a<5Vs,
of wifdom and juftice, he is confidered as a bloody, mer-
cilefs tyrant, and his memory regarded with the greateft.
tjeteftation.

On the firft news of the infurredion of the princes on-
"Wechne, Kafmati Amha Yafous, governor of Begemder,.
marched with his whole force* and encamped under the
mountain. He then received BacufFa as king, having re-,
fcued him from the hands of his relations ; and, in order to
obviate, as much as poffible, any future trouble, he obliged;
the different branches of the royal family to a reconciliation^
with each other, making BacufFa, on the one fide, fwear that
he was not to remember nor revenge any injury or afFront^
received upon the mountain ; and them on the mountain:
fwear alfo, that they would forget all old difagreements,.
confider BacufFa as their king, and not create him any,
trouble in his reign by efcapes, or other rebellious prac--
tices.

As it was then night, BacufFa ftaid in the houfe of.
Azage AiFarat, and the next morning came to Serbraxos,,
whence he fent to the monks of Tedda to meet him there...
From.Tedda he proceeded to Gondar, where he was met
by the Abuna and Itchegue amidft the acclamations of. a.
prodigious number of people.

BACUFFA^.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. s^j

aiK^SSQ*^

B A C U F F A.

From 1719 to 1729.

Bloody Reign— --Extemimates the Confp'irators — Counterfeits Dcath-^Be-
comes very popular.

HONEST men, who loved their country, (aw the danger*
ous fimation it was then in. Every day had produ-
ced inftances of a growing indifference to that form of go-
vernment which, from the earlieft times, they had looked
upon as facred ; and upon every flight and unreafonable dif-
guft a perfon of confequence thought he had met with, a
party was immediately formed, and nothing lefs was agreed
on than diredly imbruing their hands in the blood of their
fovereign.

A PRINCE was neceflary who had qualities of mind pro-
per to enable him to put a flop to thefe enormities before
they involved the flate in one fcene of anarchy and ruin,

4 F 2 BacufFa

595 TRAVELS TO DISCaVER

BacufFa was thought to anfwer thefe expedlations ; and, in
the end, he was found to exceed them.- Silent, fecret, ar.d
unfathomable in his defigns, furrounded by foldiers wna.
were his own flaves, and by new men of his own creation,,
he removed thofe tyrants who oppofed their fovereigns up-
on the fmalleft provocation. Confpiracy followed confpiracy, ,
and rebellion rebellion ; but all were defeated, as foon.
as they had birth, by the fuperior a(5tivity and addrefs of/
the king.

I HAVE faid he was called Bacuffa by the Galla; but, im
compliance with the-cuftom of -Abyffinia,^ already mentioned,,
he had afTumed ftill two other names, which were, Atzham
Georgis, his name of baptifm, and Adebar Segued, which
means " reverenced by the towns or inhabited places of the
country," given him at his inauguration. As for that of
BacufFa, which meant the inexorable^ it was the lefs difho-
nourablc from having been given him by impartial flran—
gers from their own. obferv-ation while he was yet in pri-
vate life ; his whole condu(5t afterwards fliewed how juftly. .

The king has near his perfon an officer who is meant to,'
be his hiftoriographer. He is alfo keeper of his feal, and is
obliged to make a journal of the king's acflions, good or bad,
without comment of his own upon them. This, when the
king dies, or at leaft foon. after,. is delivered to the council,
who read it over, and erafe every thing falfe in it ; whilil
they fupply any material fad: that may have been omitted,,
whether purpofely or not. This would have been a very
dangerous book to have been kept in Bacuffa's time ;, and,
accordingly, no perfon chofe ever to run tliat rifk ; and the
king's particular behaviour afterwards had {lill the fur-
ther

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 597

ther cfTcdl, that nobody would fupply this deficiency aftcn
his death, a general belief prcvaihng in Abyliinia chat he
is alive to this day, and will appear again in all his terrors..
It is owing to this circumftance that we have nothing con;j-
plete of this king's reign ; only a few anecdotes are prefer-
ved, fome of them very odd ones. I fhall only, for the pre-
fent,choofe fuch of thofe as lead inc to the fubjecT: I have ln^
hand.

Bacufta was exceedingly fond of divinations, dreams,
and prophecies, fo are aU the Abyllinians ; but he imbibed
an additional propenfity to thefe, among the Pagans to whom
he had fled. One day, when walking alone, he perceived a
prieft exceedingly attentive in obferving the forms that httle
pieces of flraw, cut to certain lengths, made upon a pool of.
water into which ran a fmall ilream. From the combina.
tion of thefe in letters, or figures, as they chanced to fall,
an anfwer is procured to the doubt propofed, which, if you.
believe thefe idlers, is perfectly infallible.

Bacuffa in difguife, dreffed like a poor man, is faid to^
have aiked the prieft after what he was inquiring. The.
prieft anfwered, He was trying whether the king would have
a fon, and who fhould govern the kingdom after him. The
king 'abode -the inveftigation patiently; and the anfwer was.
Thai he fhould have a fon; but that a Welleta Georgis fliould
govern the kingdom after him for thirty years, though that
Welleta Georgis iliould be neither his fon nor any defcem
dant of his. Full of thought at this untoward prediction,
he harboured it in his breaft without communicating it to
any one, and refolved to blaft the hopes of every Wellcia
Georgis that lliouldbe fo unfortunate as to ftand wiih'n the.

ppftibiuty,

^8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

poffibility of reigning after him. Many innocent people oF
different parts difappeared from this unknown crime ;
and eleven princes on the mountain of Wechne, fome fay
more, loft their lives for a name that is very common in
Abyffinia, without one overt adt of treafon, or even a fufpi-
cion of what they were accufed. A panic now ftruck all
ranks of people, without terminating in any fcheme of re-
fiftance ; which fufficiently fhewed that the king had fuc-
ceeded in diflblving all confederacies among his fubje<5ls,
and deftroying radically that rebellious fpirit which had o-
perated fo fatally in the laft reigns.

It is a cuftom among the kings of Abyflinia, efpecially in
intervals of peace, to difappear for a time, without any warn-
ing. Sometimes, indeed, one or two confidential fervants,
pretending to be bulied in other affairs, attend at a diftance,
and keep their eye upon him, while, difguifed in different
manners, he goes like a flranger to thofe parts he intends to
vifit. Inoneof thefe private journeys, paffmg into Kuara, a pro-
vince on the N. E. of Abyffmia, near the confines of Sennaar,
Bacuffa happened, or counterfeited, to be feized by a fever,
a common difeafe of that unwholefome country. He was
then in a poor village belonging to fei'vants of a man of di-
ilin6lion, whofc houfe was on the top of the hill immediately
above, in temperate and wholefome air. The hofpitable
landlord, upon the firft hearing of the diih'efs of a ftranger,
immediately removed him up to his houfe, where CA'ery at-
tention that could be fuggefted hj a charitable mind was
beftowed upon his difcafed gueft, who prcfently recovered
his former flate of health, but not till the kind afiiftance
and unwearied diligence of the beautiful daughter of the
4 houfe

TTTE SOURCE OF THE NILE.

3:99

lioufe had made the deepeft impreflion upon him, and laid
him under the greateft obhgations.

The family confifted of five young men in the flower of •
their youth, and one daughter, whofe name was Berhan
Magafs, the Glory (fGrac€^ exceedingly beautiful, gentle, mild,,
and affable ; of great underltanding and prudence beyond
her age ; the darling, not only of her own family, but
©f all the neighbourhood.

Bacuffa recov-ering his health, returned fpeedily to the
palace, which he entered privately at night, and appeared
early next morning fitting in judgment, and hearing caufes,
which, with thefe princes, is the firft public occupation of
the day.,

A MESSENGER, witli guards and attendants, was immedu-
ately fent to Kuara, and Berhan Magafs hurried from her
Other's houfe, fhe knew not why, but her furprife was
carried to the utmoft, by being prefented and married to
the king, no reply, condition, or ftipulation being fufFered.
She gained, however,, and preferved his confidence as long
as he lived : not that Bacuffa valued himfelf upon conilan-
Qj to one wife, more than the reft of his predecefiTors had
done. He had, indeed, many miftrefTes, but with thefe he
obferved a very fingularrule; he never took to his bed any
one woman whatever, the fair Berhan Magafs excepted,
without her having been firil fo far intoxicated with wine
or fpirits as not to remember any thing that paffed in con-
"verfation.

While

6oo TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

While BacufFa was on his concealed journey to Kuara, a
very dangerous confpiracy was forming at Gondar, under
the immediate condu6t of Ozoro Welleta Raphael, the king's
fifter, a very ambitious woman, and of an unquiet, enter-
prifmg temper. Difgufted by her brother's refufal of a gift
of fome crown lands which were then vacant, and without
any owners, flie thought no vengeance adequate to the af-
front, but dethroning Bacuffa. With this view fhe enga-
ged feveral men of power in her intereft, and particularly
the black fervants of the palace who attend immediately
upon the king's perfon, and were to feize upon, or deftroy
him, the moment he returned. This plot, in all its parti-
culars, was conveyed to the king.

There was an old, abandoned houfe of king Yafous, at
■Bartcho, about a day's journey fouth of Gondar ; it Hands
.on a very extenfive plain. The king intending, as he faid,
■to repair, or rather clean and pre pare this houfe for his im-
inediate reception, ordered all the black flaves from Gondar
thither for that purpofe, together with fome of their ring-
leaders. Kafmati Waragna, in the mean time, was ordered to
bring a thoufand horfemen of his Galla Djawi. He arrived
at Bartcho nearly at the fame time with the black fervants,
'who being unarmed, as fufpec^ing nothing,and on foot, after
a fharp reproof from the king, were all furrounded ar^d cut
■to pieces by the hands of Waragna, and orders were imme-
diately fent to Gondar to extirpate the remainder there ; and
•this execution laid a foundation for a feud that endures
to this day between the Galla troops and the black horfe,
who were then abolifhed, as the Galla have been fince,
.though both were part of the king's houfehold formerly,
•bcforc David's or Bacuffa's time. As for WcUeta Raphael,

flie

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. (Sot

flie was {'eized that fame night, and was conveyed to Wal-
kayt, to be confined there, with private inftrudtions, how-
ever, to put her to death fpeedily, which were executed ac-
cordingly.

The queen had a fon within the year, whom the council
named Yafous, after his grandfather, whofe memory will
ever be dear in Abyffinia ; and this again revived the old ap-
prehenfions that Welleta Georgis was to govern the coun-
try (as the prophet faid) for thirty years. Tormented with
this idea, rather than the havoc it had occafioned, he de-
vifed with himfelf a fcheme which he thought would cer-
tainly dete(5l this future ufurper of his crown and dethro-
ner of his child. But firft he diredled that the queen fliould
be crowned, a ceremony that carries great confequences a-
long with it when folemnized properly, as at that time
llie is made regent, or Iteghe, in all minorities that may
happen afterwards.

After he had created his wife Iteghe, BacufFa pretend-
ed to be fick: feveral days f)aired without hopes of recovery;
but at laft the news of the king's death were publifhed in
Gondar. The joy was fo great, and fo univerfal, that no-
body attempted to conceal it. Every one found liimfclf
eafed of a load of fear which had become infupportable.
Several princes efcaped from the mountain of Wedine to
put themfelves in the way of being chofen ; fome were fent
to by thofe great men who thought themfelves capable of
effedling the nomination, and a fpeedy day was appointed
for the burial of the king's corpfc, when BacufFa appeared,
in the ordinary feat of juflicc, early in the morning of that

Vol. II, 4 G day,

6oa TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

day, with the Iteghe, and the infant Yafous, his fon, fitting
in a chair below him.

There was no occafion to accufe the guilty. The whole
court, and all ftrangers attending there upon bufinefs, fled,
and fpread an univerfal terror through the whole ftreets of
Gondar. All ranks of people were driven to defpair, for
all had rejoiced ; and much lefs crimes had been before
puniflied with death. What this fedition would have end-
ed in, it is hard to know, had it not been for the imme-
diate refolution of the king, who ordered a general par-
don and amnefty to be proclaimed at the door of the pa-
lace.

There are two kettle-drums of a large fize placed one
on each fide of the outer gate of the king's houfe. They
are called the lion and the lamb. The lion is beat at the pro-
clamations which regard war, attainders for confpiracies
and rebellions, promotions to fupreme commands, and fuch-
like high matters. The lamb* is heard only on beneficent,
pacific occafions, of gifts from the crown, of general am-
nefties, of private pardons, and reverfals of penal ordinances.
The whole town was in expedation of fome fanguinary de-
cree, when, to their utter furprife, they heard the voice of
the lamb, a certain fign of peace and forgivennefs ; and fpee-
dily followed by a proclamation, forbidding people of all de-
grees to leave their houfes, that the king's word was pledged
for every one's fecurity ; and that all the principal men

Ihould

» This drum is of beaten Clver ; the Abyfllnians fay, that this metal alone is capable of
conveying the fweet found contained in a proclamation of peace. It was carried off by the
rebels after the retreat of Seibraxos,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 603

lliould immediately attend him within the palace, in a pub-
lic place which is called the Aflioa, and that upon pain of
rebellion.

The king appeared cloathed all in white, being the habit
of peace ; his head was bare, drefred,anointed, and perfumed,
and his face uncovered. He thus advanced to the rail of
the gallery, about 10 feet above the heads of the audience,
and, in a very graceful, compofed, but refolute manner, be-
gan a fhort oration to the people. " He put them in mind
•f' of their wantonnefs in having made Ouftas, a man not of
^* the royal line of Solomon, king of Abyffinia ; of their ha-
« ving incited his brother, Tecla Haimanout, to afraffinate
« their father Yafous ; that they had afterwards murdered
«' Tecla Haimanout himfelf, one brother, and lately his
« other brother David, his own immediate predecefTor: That
« he had taken due vengeance upon all the ringleaders of
" thofe crimes, as was the duty of his place, and, if much
« blood had been flied, it was becaufe many enormities had
« been committed ; but that knowing now that order was
« eftabliflied, and confpiracies extinguifhed among them, he
« had counterfeited death, to fignify an end was put to Ba-
« cuffa and his bloody meafures ; that he now was rifen
« again, and appeared to them by the name of Atzham
" Georgis, Ton of Yafous the Great; and ordered every man
" home to his houfe to rejoice at the acceffion of a new
« king, under whom they fliould have juftice, and live
«' without fear, as long as they refpefted the king that God
" had anointed over them."

This fpeech was followed by the loudeft acclamations,
« Long live Bacuffa! Long live Atzham Georgis!" It was

4 G a well

6o4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

well known that this king never failed in his word, or any
way prevaricated in his promifes. Every one, therefore,,
went home in as perfed: peace as if war had never been a-
mong them ; and BacufTa's delicacy in this refped was feen
a few days after ; for Hannes his brother having been
brought clandeflinely from Wechnc by Kafmati Gcorgis, a
nobleman of great confequence, they were both taken by
the governor of Wechne and fcnt in chains to the king.
The ordinary procefs would have been to put them inftant-
ly to death, as being apprehended in the very higheft a(5t of
treafon; nor would this have alarmed any perfon whatever,
or been thought an infradlion of the king's late promife,
Bacuffii, however, was of another mind. He fent the crimi-
nal judges, who ordinarily fit upon capital crimes, to meet
the two prisoners in their way to Gondar, and carried them
back to the foot of the moimtain of Wechne to have their
crimes proved, and to be tried th^re out of liis prefence and
inflvience, where they were both condemned, Hannes to
have an arm cut off, Georgis to be fent to prifon to the go-
vernor of Walkayt, with private orders, to put him to death;
both which fentences were executed, though Hannes fo far
recovered that he was king of Abyfllnia in my time, noti-
withflanding this mutilation ^ but it was a dire(5t violation
of the laws of the land^

It is faid that a difcovery, which happened in the king's
feigned illnefs, promoted this fudden revolution of manners;
In one of his fecret tours through Bcgemder, (after Tigre,
the mod powerful province in Abyiliuia, and by much the
moft plentiful) being difguifcd like a poor man, dirty and
fatigued with the length of the way and heat of the vrea-
lhcr,hc came to the houfe of a private perfon, not very rich^

indeed

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 6oj

indeed, but of noble manners and carnage, and who, by
the juftice and mildnefs of his behaviour and cuftoms, had
acquired a great degree of influence among his neighbours.
The father was old and feeble, but the fon in the vigour of
his age, who was then ftandmg in a large pool of water, at
his father's door, wafhing his own cotton cloak, or wrapper,
which is their upper garment ; an occupation below no
young man in AbyiTmia.

Bacuffa, as overcome with heat, threw himfelf down
under the fliade of a tree, and, in a faint voice and foreign
dialed, intreated the young man to wafli his cloak likcwife,
after having finiflied his own. The young man confented
mofl willingly ; and, throwing by his own garment, fell to
wafliing the ftranger's with great diligence and attention.
In the mean time, BaculTa began queftioning him about the
king, and what his opinion was of him. The young man
anfwered, he had never formed any. BaculTa, however, ftill
plied him with quellions, while he continued wafhing the
cloak,without givinghim any anfwer at ali; at laft, being able
to hold out no longer, he gathered Bacufl'a's cloak in his
arms, wet as it was, andtlirew it. to him : " I tliought, fays he,
when you prayed me to take your cloak, that I was doing a
charitable action to fome poor Galla fainting with fatigue,
and perhaps with hunger ;: but, fmce 1 have had it in my
hands, I have found you an inftru(5tor of Icings and nobles,
a leader of armies and maker of laws. Take your cloak,
therefore, and wafh it yourfclf, which, is what Providence
has ordained to be yom^ bufmefs ; it is a fafer trade, and
you will have lefs time to cenfure your fuperiors, which
can never be a proper or uieful occupation to a feiiow like
you."

The

Co6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Thb king took his wet cloak, and the rebuke along with
it, and, on his return, he fent for the man to Gondar, and
raifed him in a fhort time to the firft offices in the ftate. He
pofiefTed his entire confidence ; and he deferved it. He was
the only man to whom the king had confided his fears of
the ufurper Welleta Georgis. While Bacuflfa was fuppofed
to be ill, the queen and this officer only prefent, he mention-
ed, for the firft time, fome furprife that no fuch perfon as
Welleta Georgis had appeared during fo long and fo many
inquiries, and could not help dropping fome words as if he
tloubtcd the truth of this prophecy.

Badjerund Waragna, for that was the name of the
king's friend, maintained modeftly that it might be a temp-
tation of the devil to miflead him to his deftrudlion. He
told the king, that, by his own account of it, this Welleta
Georgis was to have no power over him^ as he was only to
appear in his fon's time. He begged him, therefore, to lay
afide all further thoughts of his prophecy, whilft he trufted
his fon's fucceffion to God's mercy, and to the prayers, the
charity, and prudence of the queen. The Iteghe all this
time was loft in filence. She defired the king to repeat to
her the whole circumftances of the prophecy, which he di-
ftinc^ly did. " I wifli," fays fhe laughing, " this Welleta Geor-
gis may not be now nearer us than we imagine ; perhaps
in the palace." " In the palace !" fays the king, with great
emotion. " I doubt fo," fays the queen ; " fuppofe it fhould
be me your own wife ; for Welleta Georgis was the name
given to me in baptiim ; and your late coronation of me,
fhould a minority happen in the perfon of your fon, or
even a grandlon, undoubtedly leaves me regent of the

kingdom

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 607

kingdom by your own intentions when you made me
Iteghe.

Whether the king was convinced or not, is not known ;
but he, from this time, defifted from his perfecution of Wel-
leta Georgis ; and this the queen often told me among
feveral anecdotes of that fmgular reign. She was my great
patronefs while at Gondar, and from her I received conftant
protedlion in the moft difaftrous times. To the credit of
the prophet, fhe continued regent full thirty years ; till the
folly and ambition of her own family gave her a mailer
that put an end to all her influence, except what fhe enjoy-
ed from exemplary piety, and the moll extenfive works of
charity and mercy.

The king died after a vigorous reign, and after having
cut off the greatefl part of the ancient nobility near Gondar,
who were of age to have been concerned in the tranfadions
of the laft reigns. This has rendered his memory odious,
though it is univerfally confelTed he faved his country from
an ariftocratical or democratical ufurpation; both equally un-
conllitutional, as they equally llruck at the root of monarchy.

The queen, with very great prudence, concealed the day
of the king's death ; nor did any one, after the lail experi-
ment, affect rafhly to believe that his death was real. Thus
all were upon their guard againft another refurredlion. In
that intei-val, fhe called her brothers from Kuara, and
ftrengthened her fon's and her own government, by putting
the principal offices of ftate into the hands of perfons attach-
ed to her family, fo that, though her fon Yafous was an in-
fant, no attempt was at that time made towards any refo-

5 lution..

6o8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

lution. Even after the king's death was known to be real,
for many years afterwards there were people of credit at
diiferent times found, who faid they had met him at fundry
places alive; whether by inftigation^ for any particular
purpafe, or not, is difficult to fay.

YASOUS II. OR, ADIAM SEGUED.

From 1729 to 1753.

Rebellion in the beginning of this Reign — Kiftg addi&ed to hunting — To
building, and the Arts of Peace — Attacks Sennaar — Lofes his Army —
Takes Samayat— Receives Baady King of Sennaar under his Protec-
tion.

BESIDES the queen, mother of Yafous, BacuiFa had feveral
other wives and divers children by them ; none of them,
however, had any degree of intereft, or many followers, ow-
ing to the very fmgular practice of BacufFa, already mention-
ed, in not admitting to his bed, from the time of his coming
to the crown, any women except the queen, mother of Ya-
fous, without having firft fo far intoxicated them with liquor
as to produce an oblivion of all that paffed at the interview.
Some fay this arofe from his own jealous ideas ; but the

I mod

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 609

moll general opinion was, that it was a kind of covenant
with the queen, by which Ihe pardoned him this temporary
aHenation of his perfon, for this fecurity, that he was to
give her no rival in his confidence. Indeed, his own tem-
per led him naturally to eftrange himfelf from every inti-
mate conneaion, that could pretend to any lawful jQiare
with him in government. And this had gone fo far, that
he fent his wife, favourite as fhe was, and his fon Yafo'us, to
the low, hot, and unwholefome province of Walkayt, the
ordinary place to which Hate criminals were baniihed, in
ordx^r that they might be under the eye of Ain Egzie,a con-
fidential fervant of his, and governor of that province. It
is true this was done without any mark of difguft ; and the
queen returned immediately by his own command ; but
Yafous ftaid at Walkayt with Ain Egzie, till he was four
years old, without the king his father having fhewn any
anxiety for his return.

The queen's firfl care was to call her brothers to cou^^
The eldeft. Welled de I'Oul, had been a favourite of the late
king, and occupied under him a very confiderabie poft in
the palace. Geta, her fecond brother, was a man of flow
parts, but efteemed a good foldier ; being covetous, he was
not a favourite of the people, and lefs fo of the king. The
third was Eflit-e, (pronounced in that country Shitti); he was
amiable, liberal, aflable, and brave, but rather given to in-
dolence and pleafure, which alone hindered him from
being a good ftatefman and general. He was a kind friend
to ftrangers, a good maflcr, and placable enemy ; ilcdfaft to
his promife, and on all occaiions a lover of truth ; a quality
fo very rare in Abyflinia, that it was faid there had not
been one in this refpecT: like him fmcc the time of Yafous
Vol. IL 4 h the

6io TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the Great. Notwithftanding this, BacufFa Hked him not,
as being too great a favourite of the people, and, for that
reafon, never gave him any employment.

The next brother was Enfebius, a very brave and fkilful:
foldier, but rafli, avaricious, paffionate, and treacherous,
and as great an enemy to truth as his brother Efhte was a
friend to it. Bacuffa, upon forae flight complaint, had re-
folved to put him to death ; and, though he was diflTuaded
from this, he could never be fo far reconciled to him as
ever to releafe him from prifon. The fifth brother was
Netcho, whom the defire of living at home, or, perhaps, a
want of money to defray his expences at court, kept low
and in obfcurity all his life-time. Yet he was a tried, gal.
lant, and fkilful foldier'; and in later years, when I was at
Gondar, was ofien praifed as fuch- by Ras Michael, the bell
judge, becaufc the greateft general of his time, though, by
reafon of Netcho's private life, and abfence from court, he
never charged him with any important commilTion. Ano-
ther brother was dead, and had left a fon called Mammo, a
good horfeman, the only quality, as far as I know, that he
poffelTcd to which could juftly be annexed the epithet of
Good.

Of thefe brothers, Geta and Netcho were alive in my
time. Eflite was dead, but had left two fons. Ay to Engedan
and Ayto Aylo, who were among the niofl intimate of my
friends, from my entering Ethiopia till my leaving it ; both
were brave and good, and endowed with excellent qualities,
Engedan, without any allowance for his country, and want
of education, was, I think, by very much, the mofl amiable
and complete man that I have ever yet feen.

4. Sanuda^,,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 6ri

Sanuda, fon of Welled de I'Oul, played a very confider-
able part in the revolution that happened in my time ; was
of a figure more than ordinary graceful ; was brave, and did
not want good difpofitions ; but thefe were obfcured by de-
bauchery in wine and women, to which there were no
bounds. Eufebius left two fons, both more worthlefs and
profligate than himfelf, and both came to imtimely ends :
Guebra Mehedin, the eldefl, was ilain in a private quarrel
at Lebec by a near relation, Kafmati Ayabdar, after having
robbed my fervants and plundered my baggage, in Foggo-
ra,near the village Dara ; and the fecond, Ayto Confu, was
killed in rebellion at the battle of Serbraxos, among the
Begemder horfe, fighting againft his fovercign.

Mammo we fliall find a6ling infignificant parts at times,
never trufted, nor of confcquence to any one. As for
the queen herfelf, flic was reputed the handfomeft woman
of her time. She was defcended from Vidor, eldefl brother
to Menas, and fon of David, who died without coming to the
crown. This daughter was married to Robel, governor of Ti-
gre, whofe mother was a Portuguef e, and the queen inherit-
ed the colour of her European anceftors ; indeed was whi-
ter than mofl Portuguefc. She was very vain of this her
defcent ; had a warm attachment to the Catholic religion
in her heart, as far as fhe could ever learn it ;- nor did flie
value herfelf lefs upon her beauty, as we may judge by the
fevcral names fhe took at difTerent times. The firft was
Iteghe Mantuab, or the beautiful queen ; the fecond was
Berhan Magwafs, or the glory of grace; though her chriflened
name was Welleta Georgis, as we have already obfcrved.

4 H 2 After

5i2 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

After the death of her hufband, Bacufla, flie is faid to
have defccnded to a variety of attachments of fliort duration.
She married a man of quality, Kafmati Netcho of Kuara, by
whom fhe had three daughters. The firll was Ozoro Either,
of whom I fhall often fpeak, being, next to her mother, the
greateft friend I had in Abyffinia, and one who had the moll
frequent opportunities of being fo. She was married, in very
early life, to Kafmati Netcho of Tchcrkin, a man of great
perfonal quaUties, and who had a very large territory, reach-
ing down to the Pagan blacks, or Troglodytes, called Shan*
galla.

This marriage was of very (hort duration. Netcho left
one fon,Ayto Confu, my very great and firm, though young
friend, who likewife inherited his father's fortune and vir-
tues. She was afterwards married to Ayo Mariam Barea,
(excepting Ras Michael) reputed the bell general in Abylli-
Bia, but who died before I came into the country. By him
fhe had one fon and a daughter, infants. Lallly, fhe was
married to Ras Michael, by whom fhe had two fons, the
favourites of Michael's old age. Rullic and cruel as that
eld tyrant was, bred up in blood, and delighting in it, flie go-
verned him defpotically, from the day of her marriage, yet
fo prudently, as to excite the envy of no one, excepting the
murderers tTf her hufband Mariam Barea, who, luckily, were
alfo the conftitutional enemies of her country.

The fccond daughter of the Iteghe was Ozoro Welleta If-
?ael, the moH beautiful woman in Abyffinia, with whom I
had very little acquaintance, fhe being at conflant war with
Ras Michael. She had married a nobleman of the firil con-
iideration, to whom half of the large and rich province of.

Gojam.

THE SOURCE GF THE NILE. 6ij

Gojam belonged, by whom fhe had Aylo, one of the lar-
geft men that I ever faw,. the only particular remarkable m
him.

The third was Ozoro Altafli, married to Welled Ha waryat,
Ras Michael's fon, by whom fhe had three children, two fons
and one daughter. One of them died of the fmall-pox foon
after my arrival at Gondar, as did his father alfo ; the other
fon and daughter happily recovered..

Bacuffa had provided fufliciently for the fecurity of his
provinces, by placing tried and veteran officers in his govern-
ments. Elias, indeed, was Ras and Betwudet at jGondar, and
he was fufpet^ed of wifhes contrary to his allegiance ; but
far before any, in the confidence of the late king, was War-
agna Shahika, that is, colonel of a regiment of Djawi Galla,
with which he defended the provinces of Damot and Agow
againft his countiymen on the other fide of the Nile ; for
he was a Galla of that nation himfelf, and his name was
Ufho, which fignifies a dog. But it was more by his inter-
eft, which he prcfen^ed with thofe people, than by his amiSj.
that he kept thofe barbarians from wafting that countryi^

The reader will eaftly remember the firft occafion of his
coming to Gondar was when Bacuffa faw him waihing his.
clothes in a pool of water ; and from the reproof, and his
behaviour to the king on that occafion, as well as the duty
and implicit obedience he paid to his commands afterwards,
he was called Waragna, by way of contradi6lion, that word
fignifying a fturdy rebel, or one that ftands up in defiance o^
the. king. That najne became much more famous after-
wards

6i4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

\vards in the perfon of his fon, Waragna Fafil, to the very
great detriment of the country in general.

The firfl thing the queen did was to fend Shalaka Warag-
na, and Billetana Gueta David, with a large body of Maho-
metan fufileers, Djavvi and Toluma Galla, to guard the
mountain of Wechne, where the males of the royal family
were imprifoned, that no competitor might be releafed from
thence. The next ftep was to marry Ozoro Welleta Tecla
Haimanout to Ras Elias, to confirm him, if poflible, in his
much fufpedted allegiance. After which, the Ras, judges,
and foldiers of the king's houfehold, made this proclama-
tion— " Bacuflfa, king of kings, is dead ! Yafous, king of
kings, liveth ! Mourn for thofe that are dead, and rejoice
with thofe that are alive !" Orders were then given for bu-
rying Bacuffa with all magnificence poiliblc.

The firfl thing that feemed the begmning of trouble in
the new regency, and likely to deftroy the calm that had
hitherto fubfifted, was an information given by Azagc Gcor-
gis againft Tecla Saluce, a great officer at court. Georgis
accufed him before the king and council, that he had been
heard to fay that king Yafous was dangcroufly ill. Tecla
Saluce abfolutcly denied this charge, and faid it was an in-
vention of his enemy Georgis, and challenged him to prove
it. Evidence being called, he was convicted in the moft
direct and fatisfadory manner ; was therefore condemned to
death, and hewn to pieces at the king s gate that fame day
by the common foldiers.

Here is a fpecies of treafon without any overt aft. The
imagining the king's death, which fccms much to refcm-

ble

THE. S OU RC E O F T H E N I L E. 6is

bie the; law of England, may be defended from the import-
ance of the cafe, but fcarccly from any principle of jullice
or reafon.

It foon appeared that a confpiracy had been on foot ;-
feveral great men fled from court, among thcfe Johannes,,
who had the charge of the king's horfes. But Shalaka Wa-
ragna and Billetana Gueta David, being fent immediately
after him, this confpiracy was foon ftifled, and the ringlead-
ers difperfed, moftly into Amhara, where they were taken-
prifoners by Woodage governor of the province, and fent to
the king. Johannes, finding it impofllble to efcape, took to
one of thofe papyrus boats ufed in navigating the lake Tza-
na ; and, being driven by the wind, landed in an ifland- be^
longing to the queen, where he was taken prifoner, with
his wife and family, and delivered up, on condition that he
iliould not be put to death.

KASMATr Cambi, returning from Damot, fell acciden-
tally upon Palambaras Mafmari and feveral others, and
brought them prifoners to Gondar. A council was
thereupon held, and the confpirators put upon their trial.
Palambaras Mafmari, and Abou Barea who Avas one of the
judges, were condemned to be hanged on the tree before
the palace-gate. Johannes and the reft were committed to
clofe prifon, in the hands of the Betwudet.

It was thought a proper expedient to check thefe diforders,
to haften the coronation of the king, though very young..

The

•DeL.

6i6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The judges and all the officers being aflembled in the pre-
fence-chamber, where the king fits on his throne, (for in the
council-chamber he fits in a kind of cage, or ciofe balcony)
where no part of him is difcovered, Sarach Mafferi Mammo,
whofe office it was, ftood up with the Kees Hatze, or king's
almoner ; when this laft had anointed him with oil,
Mammo placed the crown upon his head ; upon which the
whole aflembly, his mother only excepted, fell down and
paid him homage ; and at his inauguration betook the name
of Adiam Segued.

On a feparate throne, on his right hand, fat the queen-
mother. She, too, was crowned, though not anointed ; but
the fame homage was performed to her that had been done to
the king, who fat on the throne with his head covered ; nor
did the Abuna interfere, nor was his attendance judged any
part of the ceremony.

The firll feeds of difcontent had been fown in Damot,
where a party of rebels had attacked Kafmati Cambi in the
night, cut moll of his army to pieces, and obliged Shalaka
Job to fly into Gojam, and then return in hafte to Gondar.

The king "found no better remedy againft this rebellion
than to appoint Kafmati Waragna governor of Damot, and
Sanuda guardian of Wechne, with orders to take with him
a fon of the late Ouflas the ufurper, and confine him with
the king's fons upon that mountain. At the fame time he
appointed Ayo governor of Bcgemdcr ; both thefe prefer-
ments being much to the fatisfadion of the whole natior..
Waragna, knowing the ncccilities of his province, marched
from Gondar with what forces he could colled, and took
2 up

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 617

ap his head-quarters at Samfeen, where, on the very night
after his arrival, he was fet upon by Tenfa Mammo at the
head of the Agows. However unexpedled this was, Warag-
na, a good foldicr, was not to be taken by furprife. He knew
the country, and had not a great opinion either of the force
or courage of the enemy, or capacity of their general. Pre-
fenting, therefore, only one half of his troops, which could
not be eafily difcovered in the dark, he fent Fit-Auraris Tam-
ba to make a fmall compafs, and fall upon their rear with
the other half. Mammo's troops, thinking this to be a frefh
and feparate army, immediately took to flight, and were
many of them flain, after leaving behind them their tents,
^^gg^gCj arid the greateft part of their fire-arms, which had
been of very little fervice to them in the dark.

^Varagna, who knew the confequence of his province
was the riches of it, and the dependence the capital had
upon it for conftant fupplies of provifions, was loath to pur-
fue his vi6tory farther, if any means could be fallen upon
to bring about a pacification. To efFe6t this, he difpatched
melTengers to his friends, the Galla, on the other fide of the
Nile, ordering them to be ready to pafs the river on the day
he fliould appoint, and to lay wafte the country of the A-
gow with fire and fword. He then decamped with his
army from Samfeen, and marched to Sacala, and took up his
head-quarters in St Michael's church, where he found the
Agows in the utmofl; terror from appiehenfion of being
ovei'-run with barbarians. But he foon eafed them of their
fears by a proclamation, in which he told them plainly,
that it was owing to the goodnefs of the country, and not
any merit in the people, that the king's palace and capital
was fo plentifully iupplied with j rovifions from t' ence ;

Vol. II. 4 1 that

^i^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

that all his purfuit was peace, but that he was refolved to
effect that end by every poflible means ; therefore the time
was now come that they were to make a refolution, and
abide by it, to fubmit and behave peaceably as good citizens
ought ; or, when his army of Galla joined him, he would
extirpate them to the laft man. In the mean time, he pub-
liflied an amnefty of all that had pa0ed.

The Agows knew well that they were in the hands of
one who was no trijEler, nor in his heart much their friend.
They ran to him, ready to make that compofition which
he fhould raife from them for their paft tranfgreilions and
his future protection. The tribute laid upon them, for
both was moderate beyond all expedtation, 2000 oxen for
the king and queen, and 500 for himfelf ; upon which he
left Sacala, and entered Goutto, a very fertile country, be-
tween Maitlha and the Agows, where he ufed the fame mo-
deration, and by thefe means quieted and reconciled his^
whole province.

Nothing could have been more advantageous to the-
king's affairs than the prudent conduct: of this wife ofScer,
which left him at liberty to afford him his afTiftance ; for
in the mean time a confpiracy was formed at Gondar,
which had taken deep root, and had a powerful fadion,
Elias, late Ras and Betwudet, Tenfa Mammo, Guebra I'Oul,
Matteos and Ague, all principal men in Gondar, and pofTef-
fcd of great riches and dependencies throughout the whole
kingdom.

On the 8th of December 1 734, being joined by their foU
lowers from without, they all rendezvoufed upon the ri-
ver

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 619

ver Kahha, below the town. After holding council in the
king's houfe which is there, they rciblved to proclaim
one of the princes upon the mountain Wechne, named He-
zekias, king. For this purpofe, furnifhcd with a kettle-
drum, they marched in three divifions, by three different
ways, to the palace, avowedly with an intention to force
the gates and murder the king and queen. But Fit-Auraris
Ephraim, having intelligence of this tumult, firll fhut up
and obftrud:ed ail the entrances to the king's houfe, then
gave advice to Billetana Gueta, Welled de I'Oul, of the re-
bellion of Tenfa Mammo, their defign to murder the king,
and their having proclaimed Hezekias.

These immediately repaired to the king's houfe to take
council together what was to be done, and to defend the
place if it was necelTary. The rebels were now drawn up,
and were beating their kettle-drum to make their proclama-
tion," Hezekias was king !" while Shalaka Tchinfho,ayoung
nobleman of great hopes, who commanded the troops in
the court where was the outer gate, impatient to hear an u-
furper proclaimed in the very face of his fovereign, directed
the outer-court gate to be opened, and, with two bodies of
Galla, Djawi and Toluma, and feveral corps of lances, which
compofc the king's houfehold, however inferior in num-
ber, he rufhed upon the rebels fo fuddenly, that they were
foon obliged to thinkof other occupation.

The firll that fell was Afaleffi Lenfa, who flood by the
drum, and was flain by Shalaka Tchinfho with his own
hand; his drum taken and fent to the king as the firll
fruits of the day. The foldiers, encouraged by the example
of their leader, fell fiercely upon the rebels, difperfed and

4^2 broke

620 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

broke through them wherever they faw the greatefl mini-
ber together; a great llaughter was made, and Tenfa Mam-
mo, with difficulty, efcaped. The vidlory indeed would have
been complete, had not an accidental fhot from a diftance
wounded Shalaka Tchinfho mortally. His own people car-
ried him within the gate of the palace, where he gloriouf-
ly expired at the feet of his fovereign.

The rebels, notwithflanding this check, increafed every
day in number and refolution, when the news arrived that
Waragna had compofed all the differences in Damot, Agow,
and Goutto, and, at the head of a numerous army, was
waiting the king's orders. This intelligence firft had the
effecfl to difconcert the rebels, who fuddenly left the capital
in their way to Wechne.

The king, now mailer of Gondar, ordered a proclamav
tion to be mad,e for all perfons whatever holding fiefs of
the crown, as alfo all others, to alTemble before him on a
Ihort day, where the Itchegue and Abuna, holding the pic-
ture of our Saviour, with the crown of thorns *, up before
the people, did adminifler to them a folcmn oath, to live
and die with the king and Iteghe ; a feeble experiment,
often tried by a weak government. The only confequence
of this was prefent expence to the crown in a diftribu-
tion of beef, honey, butter, wheat, and all kinds of provi-
fions ; after which each man returned to his houfe, ready to
repeat the perjury ten times a day for the fame emolu-
ment, and fame linccrity.

Mes-

• A rclia of the moft precious kind, believed to have come from Jcrufalem, and beer rainted.
bj St Lttke. *

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 621

Messengers were next difpatched to Kafmati Waragna,
ordering him to come to Gondar with the greateft force he
could raife. The fame day Azage Kyrillos, whom the king
had made governor of Wechne, and Azage Newaia Selafle,
went to the mountain, pretending that king Yafous was
dead, and that the choice of the principal members of go-
vernment had fallen upon Hezekias, who thereupon was
delivered to him, and faluted king; and, without lofmg time,
they marched to Kahha, and encamped on that river below
Gondar.

In the mean .while, the great men and officers of the
court, and in particular thofe who had eftates and houfes in
Gondar, began to confider the danger of the town at the fo
near approach of the rebels. Several diftrids, or ftreets, fitua-
ted on eminences, by fhutting up accefs to them, were made
tenable polls, and, having filled them with good foIdiers,they
fet about the defence of the town and annoying the 'ene-
my. Hezekias had removed to the houfe of Balha Arkilli-
das ; and it was agreed to fend their whole forces to fee if
they could fucceed in forcing the king's houfe. But before
this another ftratagem was tried to alienate the minds of
the people of Gondar from their fovereign. It was fliid that
certain Roman Catholic priefts had arrived at Gondar; tiiat
they were fliut up privately in the palace with the kin'c; and
queen ; and, upon the Abuna and Irchegue com me to^ He-
zekias to aili him how he happened to be proclaimed king,
without making to them fome confeffion of his faith, (a
queftion they put to all young or weak princes), Hezekias
anfwered. It was becaufe he had heard the hchegue, and
the reft of the clergy, feemed to be carelefs about the true
faith, by fufFering Caihohc priefts to hve with the kiivj m

o

the.

622 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

the palace. A great ferment immediately followed ; all the
monks, priefts, and madmen that could be afTembled, (and
on thefe occafions they gather quickly), with the Itchegue
and Abuna at their heads, went to Dippabye, the open place
before the palace, and pronounced the Iteghe, Yafous, and
all their abettors, accurfed and given up to burn with Da-
than and Abiram.

For feveral days and nights attempts were made to fet
lire to,and break open the gate. Buttheloyahfts chargedthem
fo vigoroufly upon all thefe occafions, efpecially Billetana
Gueta Welled de I'Oul, and the walls of the palace were fo
exceedingly thick and ftrong, that little progrefs was
made in proportion to the men thefe attempts coft daily.
However, on that fide of the palace called Adenaga, the
rebels had lodged themfelves fo near as to fet part of it on
fire.

The king's houfe in Gondar ftands in the middle of a
fquare court, which may be full an Englifli mile in circum-
ference. In the midft of it is a fquare tower, in which there
are many noble apartments. A ftrong double wall furrounds
it, and this is joined by a platform roof; loop-holes, and
conveniences for difcharging miflile weapons, are difpofed
all around it. The whole tower and wall is built of ftone
and lime ; but part of the tower being demoliihed and laid
in ruins, and part of it let fall for want of repair, fmall apart-
ments, or houfes of one ftorey, have been built in different
parts of the area, or fquare, according to the fancy of the
prince then reigning, and thefe go now by the names of the
ancient apartments in the palace, which are fallen down.

These

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 623

These houfes are compofed of the frail materials of the
countr)% wood and clay, thatched with ftraw, though, in the
infide, they are all magnificently lined, or furniflied. They
have likewife magnificent names, which we have mention-
ed already. Thefe people, barbarous as they are, have al-
ways had a great tafte for magnificence and expence. AH
around them was filver, gold, and brocade, before the
Adelan war, in which they loft the commerce of that coun-
try, by lofing their connection with India.

The next night the foldiers of Elias made their lodg-
ments fo near the walls, that, with fiery arrows, they fet one
of thefe houfes, called " Werk Sacala," within the fquare,
in flames ; but Welled de I'Oul, with the Toluma Galla,
fallying at that inftant, furprifed Elias's foldiers, not expedl-
ing fuch interruption, and put the greateft part of them to
the fword, fetting on fire the houfes that were near the pa-
lace, till part was entirely burnt to the ground. The next
night, an attempt was made upon the gate to blow it up
with gunpowder ; but, before it was completed, the two
rebels employed in the work were fhot dead from the wall^.
and their train mifcanried.

On the 25th of December they burned a new houfe in
the town built by the king, called Riggobee Bet. Thefe fre-
quent fires had turned the minds of people in general very
much againfl Hezekias the rebel. The night after, there
was another great fire in the king's houfe ; Zeffan Bet, and
another large building, were defl:royed by the rebels, as was
the church of St Raphael. Gondar looked like a town that
had been taken by an enemy, and battles were every day
fought in the ftreets, with no decifive advantage to either

^ party.

624 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

party. Some part of the town was on fire every night ; no-
body knew for what reafon, nor what was the quarter that
was next to be burnt.

In the mean time, Azage Georgis arrived in the country
of the Agows at Bafil Bet, where Waragna was, and dehver-
ed him the king's order, that he fhould make all poffible
hafte to his alTiftance at Gondar* with as large an army as
he could fuddenly bring ; and thefe difpatches conferred
upon him at the fame time, as a mark of favour, the poll
of Ibaba Azage, or governor of Ibaba, together with F.lma-
na and Denfa, two diftrids inhabited by Galla, fubjedts to
the king, which pofts were then held by Tenfa Mammo, and
forfeited by his rebellion.

The next morning Waragna left his head-quarters at
Bafil Bet ; thence he marched to Gumbali, and thence to
Sima. At Sima he heard, that, the day before, ic had been
proclaimed at Ibaba, by orders of Tenfa Mammo, that Ya-
fous was dead, and Hezekias was now king ; upon this
intelligence he marched from Sima, and, while it was yet
early in the day, he came to Ibaba.

The firft inquiry was concerning the Shum (or chief of
the town) left there by Tenfa Mammo ; and this man, co-
ming readily to him to receive his commands, and offer
him any fervice in }iis power, was afked by whofe orders
the proclamation of Hezekias was made ? Being anfwered,
by Tenfa Mammo's, he direded the Shum and his two fons
to be hanged on three feparate trees in the middle of the
town ; the Shum with the nagareet round his neck which
had ferved in the proclamation of Hezekias ; he then de-
, clared

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. G25

clared Tenfa Mammo a rebel and outlaw, and confifcated
his eflate to the king's ufc.

At Ibaba he met Fit-Auraris Tamba, with a large body
of Damots and Djawi ; then he decamped from Ibaba, and,
at the bridge over the Nile, was met by Azage Georgis,
with all Maitflia, Elmana, and Denfa following, and thence
proceeded to Waira, where he fet ArkilHdas at liberty. This
officer, after diftinguifhing himfelf before all others in the
king's defence, had been taken prifoner by Tenfa Mammo,
and fent thither. Advancing into Foggora, with a large army,
he halted at Gilda, and fcnt fome foldiers on the road to
Gondar, to fee if he could apprehend any travellers, efpccial-
ly thofe going or coming to or from market. But, after three
days waiting on the road, the foldiers returned without
any perfon or intelligence, by which he judged the town
was already in great ftraits. In two days after, he advanced
to Wainarab, and thence he fcnt his Fit-Auraris forward
to fet a houfe at Tedda on fire, to fliew to the king at Gon-
dar that he was thus far advanced to his affiftance. This bar-
barous cuftom of burning a houfe wherever an army en-
camps, though but for an hour, is invariably pradifed, as a
iignal by armies, throughout all Abyffinia.

At this time there was a treaty begun between the king
and Tenfa Mammo. The rebels, weary of the little advan-
tage they had gained, and hearing Waragna was about to
march againft them, offered the queen her own terms,
provided flie publifhed-ti general amnefty, and that each man
fliould be allowed to keep the ports he had before the re-
bellion. The queen, weary and terrified with war, readily,
agreed to this propofal ; and this facility, inltead of accelera-
VoL. ir. 4 K tine?

$26 T R A V EL S. T O I> I S C O V E R.

ting the treaty, gave the rebels an opportunity of aHcing
farther terms, and a fctclement was ipokcn of for the
king Hezekias, in ibme of the low provinces near Wal-
kayt.

Welled de l'Oul, the queen's brother, a man in whom
the rebels had truft, feconded his filler's defire, and carried.
on the treaty, but from different motives ; it was his opinion,
that, to make peace with the rebels, leaving their party
unbroken, was to fpread the infetftion of rebellion all over
the kingdom ; and to let them keep their pojfts, was leaving
a fvvord in their hands to enable them to defend themfelves
on any future occafion. He therefore thought^ that, as the
king had Waragna now at his command, they fliould make
ufe of him to pluck up this rebellion by the roots, cut off all
the ringleaders, and difperfe the fa^Ttion ; but, in the mean
time, in order to be able to effed: this, they Ihould keep up
the appearance of being anxious for agreeing, in order to
lull the enemy alleep, till Waragna made his inilrucftions
and deiigns known to the king.

From Wainarab, Waragna fent a meffenger to let the
king and queen know of his arrival ; and with him came
Arkiliidas, that no doubt might remain of. the truth of the
meffage. This officer told the king, that Waragna Hiould ad-
vance to Tedda, and offer the rebels battle there ; but if -
they retired (as he heard they intended) to Abra^ he would
follow them thither. He delired the king alfo to iffue his
orders to the feveral Shums to guard the roads, that as
few of the ringleaders of the rebels might efcape as poffi-
ble.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 627

Hezekias, with his army, decamped, taking the road to
Woggora ; and Waragna, following him, came up with hinl
at Fenter, on January 20th 1735. The rebels, inferior in
number, though they did not wifh an engagement at that
time, were too high-minded to avoid it when oiFered. Both
armies fought a long time with equal fortune ; and though
Waragna at the firfl onfet had {lain two men with his own
hands, and taken two prifoners, the battle was fupported
with great firmnefs till the evening, when Waragna order-
ed all his Galla, the men of Maitfha, Llmana, and Denfa, to
leave their horfes, and charge the enemy on foot. This
confident ftep, unknown and unpradifed by Galla before,
had the defired effect. The Galla now fought defperately
for life, not for vidtory, being deprived of their only means
of faving themfelves by flight.

Most of the principal officers among the rebels being
killed or wounded, their army at laft was broken, and took
to flight. Hezekias was furrounded and taken, fighting
bravely ; being firfl hurt in the leg, and then beat off his
horfe with a ftone. The purfuit was prefeniiy flayed.
Tenfa Mammo efcaped fafely through Woggora, a diflafFec-
ted province ; and had now pafled the Tacazze, when he
was taken by the men of Sire, and brought to the king for
the reward that had been offered for his head b^ Wa-
ragna.

Hezekias was brought to his trial before the king, nor
did he prcfume to deny his guilt. He was therefore fen-
tenccd to die, and committed to clofe prifon. Tenfa Mam-
mo was arraigned, and, although he confefTed the treafon,
he pleaded the peace he had made v/ith the king before

4 K 3 the

6i8 TRAVELS TO I>ISCOVER

the arrival of Waragna at Gondar. This plea was unani-
mouily over- ruled by the judges, becaufe the treaty had not
been completed. He was, therefore, fentenced to die, and
immediately carried out to the daroo-tree before the pa-
lace, and hanged between two of his moll confidential coun-
fellors.

The Abuna and Itchegue were next ordered to appear,
and anfwer for the crime of high treafon in excommuni-
cating the king ; they declared they proceeded on no other
grounds than an information, that the king and queen were
turned Franks, and had two Catholic priells with them in
the palace. The men complained of were produced, and
proved to be two Greeks ; Petros, a native of Rhodes, and
Demetrius. This explanation being given, the Abuna and
Itchegue thereupon afkcd pardon of the king and queen,
and were ordered to make their recantation at Dippabye,
which they immediately did, declaring they were wrong, .
and had proceeded on falfe information..

It was on the 28th of January that Sanuda and Adero
were ordered to carry king Hezekias to Wechne, which
they did, and left him there without disfiguring him in any
part of his body, as is the cruel, but ufual cuflom in fuch
cafes. But both the Iteghe and her fon were of the moll
merciful difpofition ; and the general reputation they had
for this was often the caufe of tumults and rebellions that
would not have had birth in fcverer reigns.

It was not long after this when there appeared a preten-
der to the crown, very little expecTied. He faid he was the
old king Baciiiia ; that he had given it out that he was

deadj,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 629

dead, for political reafons, and was come again toclaim his
crown and kingdom. Never was refurre6tion fo little wifli-
ed for as this ; a violent fear fell upon part of the mukitude
for fome time ; but his name making no party, whether
true or falfe, he was feized upon without bloodfhed, tried,
and condemned to die. This puniOiment was changed in-
to one of 2.Juppofcd gentler kind, the ciuting off his leg, and
fending him to Wechne. The operation, always performed
in the groffeft manner by an ax, high up the leg, and near
the knee, is generally fatal ; for there is no one, having
either Ikill or care, to take up the ends of the veins and ar-
teries feparated by the amputation ; they only apply ufelefs
ftiptics and bandages, of no cffedt, till the patient bleeds to
death. This is the common cafe, fo that the pretended Ba-
cufla died, in confequence of the operation, before he came
to Wechne, though he was by his fentence reprieved from
death.

The king, now arrived at the feventh year of his reign,
proclaimed a general hunt, which is a declaration of his
near approach to manhood; but he purfued it no length,
and again returned to Gondar.

At that time, a great party of the queen's relations was
made againft Ayo governor of Begemder. It began by a
competition between Kalmati Geta the queen's brother, and
Ayo, who fliould have that p-ovmce. The common voice
was for Ayo, not only as a man of the greateft intcreft in
the province, but in all refpecfls unexceptionable through-
out the kingdom. Welled dc FOul, (brother to Geta) how-
ever, being now Ras and Bctwudet, Geta governor of Sa-
men,£ufebuis, and all the rcfl of them in high places at

court.

630 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

court, Geta was preferred to the government of Begemder,
Ayo, though avowedly a good fubjed of the king, was de-
termined not to be made a facrifice to a party. He there-
fore refufed to refign his government, and prepared to de-
fend himfelf.

Upon this, Adero, governor of Gojam, with the whole
forces of that province, pafled the Nile, and entered Begem-
der ; Geta on the fide of Samen, and laft of all Welled de
rOul marched with a royal army to join the forces that had
already begun to lay wafle the country, where unufual
exceffes were committed. Ayo's houfe was burned to the
ground, fo were all thofe of his party, and their lands de-
flroyed, greatly to the general damage of the province and
capital. Ayo was now obliged to fave himfelf by flight. It
was faid, that the king (though his army was ready) refu-
fed to march againft Ayo ; but with a party of his own fet
out for Aden, on the frontiers of Sennaar, to hunt there ;
nor did he, return till the executions were over in Begem-
der.

Adero fell back to Gojam, and Welled de I'Oul to Gon-
dar foon after. The king himfelf appeared very much con-
tented with his own expedition, in which he had fhown
great dexterity and bravery, having killed two young ele-
phants, and a gomari, or hippopotamus, with his own hands.
Nor did he ftay any time at Gondar, or make any prefer-
ments, the ufual confe(}uences of vicftories, but prepared
again for another hunting-expedition, or an attack upon
the Shangalla, The queen and Welled de I'Gul oppofcd
-ilrongly his refolution. But Yafous fecmed to be weary of
i)eing governed. He was fall advancing to manhood, and

of

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 6jr

of a difpofition rather forward for his age. His cxpcdirioii
againfl the Shangalla was attended with no accident ; and
he returned toGondar on the 3d of June, with a number of
flaves, mucii better pleafed that he liad neglcdted,. rather
than taken, his mother's advice.

It was on the 23d day of December that Yafous again
fct out on another hunting- parr)% and killed two elephants
and a rhinoceros. He then proceeded to Tchelga, and from
Tchelga to Waldubba ; thence he went t^ the rivers Gan-
dova and Shimfa. Thefe are two rivers we lliall have occa-
fion frequently to fpeak of in our return through Sennaar,,
in which kingdom the one is called Dender, the other Ra^
had. Here he exereifed himfeif at a very violent fpecies of
liunting, that of forcing the gieratacachin, which means
long-tail; it is otherwife calkd giraiFa in Arabic. Ir is the
tallell of beafls ; I never faw it dead, nor, I think, more than
twice alive, and then at a diftance. It is^, however, often
killed by the elephant-hunters. Its fkin is beautifully va^rie-^
gated when young, but turns brown when arrived at any
age. It is, I apprehend, the camelopardalis, and is the only,
animal, they fay,.that, in fwiftnefs, will beat aliorfe in; the.
fair field.

It was not with a view to hunt only, that Yafous made'
thefe frequent excurfions towards the frontiers of Seimaar.
His refolution was formed (as it appeared foon after) in imi-
tation of his forefather Socinios, to revive his right over
the country of the Shepherds^ his ancient vafTals, who, fince
the acceffion of ilrength by uniting with the Aiabs, had'
forgot their ancient tribute and fvibjedion, as we have aU
ready obfeived».

^ The-

632 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The king in five days marching from Gidara came to a
ilation of the Daveina, which is a tribe of fhepherds, by
much the ilrongefl of any in Atbara. He fell into their en-
campments a little before the dawn of day. The firft fhew
they made was that of refiftance, till they had got their
horfes and camels faddled ; they then all fled, after the king
had killed three of them with his own hand. Ras Wood-
age fignalized himfelf likewife by having flain the fame
number with the king. The cattle, women, and provifions
fell all into the king's hand, and were driven off to Gondar.
Their arrival gave the town an entertainment to which
they had a long time been ftrangers. Many thoufand ca-
mels were affembled in the plain, where Hands the palace
of Kahha, (upon a river of that name) large flocks of horn-
ed cattle, of extraordinary beauty, were alfo brought from
Atbara, which the king ordered to be diftributed among
his foldiers, and the priells of Gondar, and fuch of the offi-
cers of ftate as had been neceflarily detained on account of
the police, and had not followed the army.

This year, 1736, there happened a total eclipfe of the fun
which very much affected the minds of the weaker fort of
people. The dreamers and the prophets were everywhere
let loofc, full of the lying fpirit which polfefl^ed them, to
foretel that the death of the king, and the downfal of his go-
vernment were at hand, and deluges of civil blood were then
fpcedily to be fpilt both in the capital and provinces. There
was not, indeed, at the time any circumftance that warranted
fuch a predidion, or any thing likely to be more fatal to
the ftate, than the expenditure of the large funis of money
th9.t the turn the king had taken fubjecT.ed him to.

4 He

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 635

He had built a large and very coftly church at Kofcam,
and he was ilill engaged in a more expcnfivc work in the
building of a palace at Gondar. He was alfo rebuilding his
houfe at Riggobee-ber, (the north end of the town) which
had been demoliflied by the rebels ; and had begun a very
large and expenfive villa at Azazo, with extenfive groves, or
gardens, planted thick with orange and lemon trees, upon
the banks of a beautiful and clear river which divides the
palace from the church of Tecla Haimanout, a large edi-
fice which, fome time before, he had alfo built and endow-
ed. Befides all thefe occupations, he was deeply engaged in
ornamenting his palace at Gondar. A rebellion, malllicre,
or fome fuch misfortune, had happened among the Chrif-
tians of Smyrna ; who, coming to Cairo, and finding that
city in a ftill lefs peaceable ilate than the one which they
had left, they repaired to Jidda in their way to India ; but
miffing the monfoon, and being deftitute of money and nc-
cefiaries, they crofi^ed over the Red Sea for Mafuah, and
came to Gondar. There were twelve of them filver-fmiths,
very excellent in that fine work called fiUigrane, who were
all received very readily by the king, liberally furniflied
both with neceffaries and luxuries, and employed in his
palace as their own talle dire<51;ed them.

By the hands of thefe, and feveral Abyffinians whom
they had taught, fons of Greek artifts whofe fathers were
dead, he finilhed his prefence-chamber in a manner truly
admirable. The fkirting, which in our country is generally
of wood, was finiihed with ivory four feet from the ground.
Over this were three rows of mirrors from Venice, all join-
ed together, and fixed in frames of copper, or cornices gilt
with gold. The roof, in gaiety and talle, correfponded per-
VOL.II. 4L fedly

634 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

feftly with the magnificent finifliing of the room ; it was
the work of the Falafha, and confiiled of painted cane,
fpht and difpofed in Mofaic figures, which produces a
gayer efTeft than it is poffible to conceive. This chamber,
indeed, was never perfediy finiflied, from a want of mirrors.
The king died ; taile decayed ; the artifts were negle(5ted,
or employed themfelves in ornamenting faddles, bridles,
fwords, and other military ornaments, for which they were
very ill paid ; part of the mirrors fell down ; part remained
till my time ; and I was prefent when the laft of them were
dedroyed, on a particular occafion, after the battle of Ser-
"braxos, as will be hereafter mentioned.

The king had begun another chamber of equal' expence,.,
eonfifting of plates of ivory, with ilars of all colours ftained
in each plate at proper diftances. This, too, was going to
ruin; little had been done in it but the alcove in which he
i^t, and httle of it was feen, as the throne and perfon of the
king concealed it.

Yasous v/as charmed with this multiplicity of works and
workmen. He gave up himfelf to it entirely; he even
wrought wiih his own hand, and rejoiced at feeing the fa-
cility with which, by the ufe of a compafs and a few ftraight
lines, he could produce the figure of a flar equally exaft
with any of his Greeks. Bounty followed bounty. The beft
villages, and thofe near the town, were given in properrj^ to
the Greeks- that they might recreate themfelves, but at a
dillance, always hable to his call, and with as little lofs of
time as polHble. He now renounced his favourite hunting-
matches and incurfions upon the Shangalla and Shepherds

of Atbara.

Ths

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. C35

The extraordinary manner in which the king employ-
ed his time foon made him the object of pubHc cenfure.
Pafquinades began to be circulated throughout the capi-
tal ; one in particular, a large roll of parchment, intitu-
led, " The expeditions of Tafous the Uttle^ The king in reality
was a man of fliort ftature. The Ethiopic word Tannufh,
joined to the king's name Yafous el Tannufli, applied both
to his ftature and actions. So Tallac, the name given to
another Yafous, his predeceflbr, fignified great in capacity
and atchievement, as well as that he was of a large and
mafculine perfon.

These expeditions, though enumerated in a large Iheet
of parchment, were confined to a very few miles; from
Gondar to Kahha, from Kahha to Kofcam, from Kofcam,
to Azazo, from Azazo to Gondar, from Gondar to Kofcam,
from Kofcam to Azazo, and fo on. It was a fimilar piece
of ridicule upon his father Philip, as we are informed, that,
in the laft century, coft Don Carlos, prince of Spain, his life.

This fatire nettled Yafous exceedingly ; and, to wipe off
the imputation of inadtivity and want of ambition, he pre-
pared for an expedition againft Sennaar. It was not, however,
one of thofe inroads into Atbara upon the Arabs and Shep-
herds, whom the Funge had conquered and made tributary
to them ; but was a regular compaign with a royal army,
aimed direcflly at the very vitals of the monarchy of Sennaar,
the capital of the Funge, and at the conqueft or extirpation
of thofe ftrangers entirely from Atbara.

We have feen, in the courfe of our hiftory, that thcfe two
iiingdoms, Abyflinia and lunge, had been on very bad

4 L 2 terms

6s6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

terms during feveral of the lall reigns ; and that perfonal
affronts and flights had paffed between the cotemporary
princes themfelves. Baady, fon of L'Oul, who fucceeded his
father in the year 1733, had been diftinguifhcd by no ex-
ploits worthy of a king, but every day had been flained with
ac^s of treachery and crueky unworthy of a man. No in-
tercourfe had palTed between Yafous and Baady during
their refpe(5live reigns ; there • was no war declared, nor
peace eflablilhed, nor any fort of treaty fubfifl:ing between
them.

Yasous, without any"*previous declaration, and without
any provocation, at leaft as far as is known, raifed a very
numerous and formidable army, and gave the command of
it to Ras Welled de I'Oul ; and Kafmati Waragna was ap-
pointed his Fit-Auraris. The king commanded a chofen
body of troops, feparate from the reft of the army, which
was to a<5l as a referve, or as occaiion fhould require, in the
pitched battle. This he ardently wifhed for, and had fi-
gured to himfelf that he was to fight againft Baady in per-
fon. Yafous, from the moment he entered the territory of
Sennaar, gave his foldiers the accuftomed licence he always
had indulged them with, when marching through an ene-
my's country. He knew not, in thefe circumftances, what
was meant by mercy ; all that had the breath of life was
facrificed by the fword, and the fire confumed the refl.

An univerfal terror fpread around him down to the heart
of Atbara. The Shepherds and Arabs, as many as could
fly, difperfcd themfelves in the woods, which, all the way
from the frontiers of Abyffinia to the river Dender, are very
thick, and in fome places almoft impenetrable. Some of the

Arabs,

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 637

Arabs, either from afFe(5lion or fear, joined Yafous in his
inarch ; among thefe was Nile Wed Ageeb, prince of the A-
rabs ; others taking courage, gathered, and made a iland at
the Dender, to try their fortune, and give their cattle time
to pafs the Nile, and then, if defeated, they were to follow
them. Kafmati Waragna, (as Fit- Auraris) joined by the king,
no fooner came up with thefe Arabs on the banks of the
Dender, than he fell furioufly upon them, broke and dif-
perfed them with a confiderable llaughter ; then leaving
Ras Welled de I'Oul with the king, and the main body to
encamp, taking advantage of the confuiion the defeat of the
Arabs had occalioned, he advanced by a forced march to
the Nile, to take a view of the town of Sennaar.

Baady had aflembled a very large army on the other fide
of the river, and was preparing to march out of Sennaar ;
but, terrified at the king's approach, the defeat of the Arabs,
and the velocity with which the Abyfiinians advanced, he
was about to change his refolution, abandon Sennaar, and
retire north into Atbara.

There is a fmall kingdom, or principality, called Dar
Fowr, all inhabited by negroes, far in the defert weft of
Sennaar, joining with two other petty negro ftates like itfelf,
ftill farther weftward, called Sele and Bagirma, while to the
eaftward it joins with Kordofan, formerly a province of
Dar Fowr, but conquered from it by the Funge.

Hamis, prince of Dar Fowr, had been baniflied from his
country in a late revolution occafioncd by an unfuccefsful
war againft Sele and Bagirma, and had fled to Sennaar,
where he had been received kindly by Baady, and it was by

his

638 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

his ajfTiftance the Funge had fubdued Kordofan. This
prince, a gallant foldier, could not bruik to fee the green
ftandard of his prophet Mahomet flying before an army of
Chriftians ; and, being informed of the king's march and fe-
paration from the main body nearly as foon as it happened,
he propofed to Baady, that, as an allurement to Yafous to
pafs the river with only the troops he had with him, he
ihould do from prudence what he refolved to do from fear,
and fall back behind Sennaar, leaving it to Yafous to en-
ter ; but, in the mean time, that, he fliould difpatch him
with 4000 of his bell horfe, armed with coats of mail, to
pafs theNile at a known place below, on the right of Wel-
led de I'Oul, on whom he fhould fall by furprife, and, if
lucky enough to defeat him, as was probable, he would
then clofe upon Yafous's rear, which would of neceflity
either oblige him to furrender, or lofe his life and army in
attempting to repafs the river between the two Nubian ar-
mies. This counfel, for many reafons was perfedly agree-
able to Baady, who inllantly fell back from covering Sen-
naar, and then detached Hamis to make a circuit out of
fight, and crofs the Nile as propofed.

In the mean time, Yafous advanced to Bafboch, where
he found the cuiTent too rapid, and the river too deep for
his infantry. He difpatched, therefore, a melTenger to Wel-
led de rOul for a reinforcement of horfe, and gave his in-
fantry orders to retire to the main body upon the arrival
of the reinforcement of cavalry. This refolution he had
taken upon advancing higher up the river from Bafboch,
till oppofi^e to the town of Sennaar, and when divided only
from it by the Nile. He there faw the confufion that reign-
ed in that large town. No preparation for reliftance being

I vifible.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 639

vifible, the cries of women at the fight of an enemy fo'
near them, and the hurry of the men deferting their habi-
tation loaded with the moft valuable of their efFecSls all in-
creafed the king's impatience to put himfelf in pofleffiott
of this capital of his enemy.

It happened that an Arab, belonging to Nile Wed Ageeb^
had feen the manoeuvre of Hamis aad his cavalry. This man,
croffing the Nile at the neareft ford, came and told his ma-
tter, Wed Ageeb, what he had feen, who informed the king
of his danger. Upon interrogating rhe Arab, it was found
that the affair of AVelled de I'uul would certainly be over
before the king could poffibly join him ; and in that cafe
he muft fall in the mid 1: of a vi(5lorious anny, and his
deftrudion rauft then be inevitable, if he attempted' it.
It was, therefore, agreed, as the only means poffible to fave
the king and that part of the array he had with him, to
retreat in the route Shekh Nile fliould indicate to them,,
marching up with the river Nile clofe on their right hand,
and leaving the defert between that and the Bender, which
is abfolutely without water, to cover their left. This was
executed as foon as refolved.

In the mean time, Hamis had croffed the Nile, and con-
tinued his march with the utmoft diligence, and, in the
clofe of the evening, had fallen upon Welled de lOul as
unexpededly as he could have wifhed. The Abyflinians
were everywhere flaughtered and trodden down before
they could prepare themfclves for the leaft refiftance. All
that could fly Iheltered themfelves in the woods : but this
refuge was as certain death as the fword of the Fungc ; for,.
after leaving the river Dender,.all the country behind them^

640 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

was perfectly deftitute of water. Ras Welled de I'Oul, and
fome other principal officers, under the diredion of fome
faithful Arabs, efcaped, and, with much difficulty, two days
after, joined the king.

Besides thefe, the army, confifting of 18,000 men, either
pcrilhed by the fword, by thirft, or were taken prifoners ;
all the facred reliques, which • the Abyffinians carry about
with their armies to enfure vidory, and avert misfortune ;
the pidure of the crown of thorns, called/-/^ quarat rafou;
pieces of the true crofs ; a crucifix that had on many occa-
fions fpoke, (which fliould ever after be dumb fmce it fpoke
not that day) ; all thefe treafures of prieftcraft were taken by
the Funge, and carried in triumph to Sennaar. Great part
of thofe Arabs, who had joined the king in his march north-
ward, had now quitted him and attached themfelves to the
purfuit of the fugitive remains of Welled de I'Oul's army.
As thefe Arabs were thofe that lived neareft the Abyffinian
frontier, and to whom the king had done no harm, becaufe
they had moftly joined him, no fooner was he informed of
their treachery, but juft arrived in their country, and fcarce-
ly out of danger from the purfuit of the Funge, Yafous
turned fliort to the left, deftroying with fire and fword all
the families of thofe that had forfaken him, and fo conti-
nued to do till arrived on the banks of the Tacazze.

The Arabs and Shepherds there, many of whom had jull
returned from the defl;ru(5tion of Welled de I'Oul's army at
Sennaar, and were now rejoicing their families with the
news of fo complete a vidory, and that all danger from the
Chriflian army was over, were aftoniflied to fee Yafous at
the head of a frcHi and vigorous army, burning and de-

3 ftroying

THE SOURCE OF THEf NILE. 641

ftroylng their countiy, and commuting all fort of devafia-
tion, when they thought him long ago dead, or fugitive,
and fkulking half-familhcd on the banks of the Dender.

The king returned in this manner to Gondar, carrying
more the appearance of a conqueror than one who had fuf-
fered the lofs of a whole army, his foldicrs being loaded with
the fpoils of the Arabs, and multitudes of cattle driven be-
fore them. It was but too vifible, however, by the counte-
nances of many, how wide a difference there was between
the lofs and the acquiiition.

It was, indeed, not from the prefence or behaviour of
the king, nor yet from his difcourfe, that it could be learned
any fuch misfortune had befallen him. On the contrary,
he affedted greater gaiety than ufual, when talking of the
expedition ; and faid publicly, and laughing, one day, as he
arofe from council, " Let all thofe who were not pleafed
with the fong of Kofcam fmg that of Scnnaar." From this
many were of opinion, that he enjoyed a kind of malevo-
lent pleafure from the misfortune which had befallen his
army, who, not content with feeing him cultivate and enjoy
the arts of peace, had urged him to undertake a war of
which there was no need, and for which there v/as no pro-
vocation given, though in it there was every fort of danger
to be expeifled.

Although Yafous gave no confolation to his people, the
prielts and fanatics foon endeavoured to prepare them one.
Tenfa Mammo arrived from Sennaar with the crown of
thorns, the true crofs, and all the reft of that precious mer-
chandife, fafe and entire, only a little profaned b) the oJoody

Vol. IL 4 M hands

{542: . TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

hands of the Moor.s. Ras Welled dcTOuL's army, ccnfiftinjj
of 18,000 of their fcUovv-cirizens, v/as lying dead upon the
Deader. It was no matter; they had got the fpeaking cru-
cilix, but had paid 8000. ounces of gold for it. Still it was
no matter; they had got the crown of tliorns. 1 he priells
made proceffions from church to church, fmging hallelu-
jahs and fongs of thankfgiving, when they Ihould have
been in fackcloth and aOies, upon their knees deprecating
any further chaftifement upon their pride, cruelty, and pro-
fanenefs. All Gondar was drunk with joy ; and Yafous
himfelf was aftoniflied to fee them fingingthe fong of Sen-
naar much more willingly than that of Kofcam.

At this time diedAbuna Chriilodulus; and it was cuftom-
ary for the king to advance the money to defray the expence
of bringing a fuccefTor. But Yafous's money was all gone
to Venice for mirrors ; and, to defray the expence of bring-
ing a new Abuna, as well as of redeeming of the facred
reliques, he laid a fmall tax upon the churches, faying
merrily, " that the Abuna and the crofles were to be main-
tained, and repaired by the public ; but it was incumbent
upon the church to purchafe new ones when they were
worn out."

THE0D0Rus,pric{l of Debra Selalo, Likianos of Azazo, and
Georgis called Kipti, were configned to the care of three
Mahometan merchants and brokers at court, whofe names-
were Hamet Ali, Abdulla, and Abdelcader, to go to Cairo and
fetch a fuccciror for Chriilodulus. They arrived at Hama-
zen on April 29th 1743, where the Mahometan guides chofe
rather to pafs the winter- feafon than at Mafuah, as at that
pdace they were apprehcnlive they would fufler extortions

and

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 643

and ill-ufagc of every fort. Wc know not what came of
Gcorgis Kipti ; but, as foon as the rainy feafon was over>
Thcodorus and Likianos came llraight to Mafuah.

As foon as the Naybe got the whole convoy of priefts and
Mahometans into his hands, he demanded of them half of
the money the king had given them to defray the expences
of fetching the x\buna. He pretended alfo, that both Maho-
metans and Ghriftians (hould have pafTcd the rainy feafon
at Mafuah. He declared that this was his perquifite, and
that he had prepared great and exquifite provifions for them,
which, being fpoiled and become ufelefs, it was but reafon-
able they fhould pay as if they had confumed them : till
this was fettled, he declared that none of them fliould em-
bark or ftir one ftep from Mafuah,

The news of this detention foon arrived at Gondar ; and
Yafous gave orders that Michael Suhul, governor of Tigre,
(afterwards Ras) and the Baharnagafli, Ihould with an army
blockade Mafuah,fo as to ftarve the Naybe into a more reafon-
able behaviour. But, before this could be executed, the Naybe
had called the priefts before him, and declared, if they did
not furrender the money that inilant, he would put them to
death ; and, in place of giving them time to refolve, he gave
them a very plain hint to obey, by ordering the executioner
to ftrike off the heads of two criminals condemned for o-
ther crimes, after having brought them into their prefence.
The poor wretches, Theodorus and Likianos, did not refem-
ble Portuguefe, who would have braved thefe threats in the
purfuit of martyrdom. The fight of blood was the moll
convincing of all arguments the Naybe could ufe. They
gave up tlie money, leaving the divifion of it to his own dii-

4 M 2 cretion.

644 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

cretion. He then hurried them on board a vefTel, giving
Michael and the Baharnagalh notice that they were gone in
fafety, and that he had obeyed the king's orders in all re-
fpefts. Michael was at that time in the llrideft friendfliip
with the Naybe, who was his principal inftrument in col-
lecting lire-arms in Arabia to ftrengthen him in the quar-
rel he was then meditating againft his fovercign.

On the Sth of Februaiy 1744 the priefts and their guides
failed from Mafuah ; and they did not arrive at Jidda till
the 14th of April. There they found that the fhips for Cairo
were gone, and that they had loft the monfoon ; and, as no
misfortune comes fmgle, the Sherriffe of Mecca made a de-
mand upon them for as much money as they had paid the
Naybe ; and, upon refufal, he put Abdelcader in prifon,
nor was he releafed for a twelvemonth after, when the
money was fent from Abyffinia ; and it was then agreed,
that 75 ounces of gold * fliould in all future times be
paid for leave of pafTage to thofe who went to Cairo to fetch
the Abuna ; and 90 ounces a- piece to the Sherriffe, and to
the Naybe, for allowing him to pafs when chofen, and
f urnifliing him with neceffaries during his ftay in their re^
f|)e(51:ive government ; and this is the agreement that fubfills
to this day.

In this interim, Likfanos of Azazo, one of the pricft^r,
weary of the journey and of his religion, and having quar-
relled with Abdulla, renounced the Cla-iftian faith, and em-
braced that of Mahomet ; and Theodorus, Abdulla, and Ha*
met Ali, being tlic only three remaining, hired a veflcl at
Jidda to carry them to the port of Suez, the bottom of the

Arabic

•Aii.ut ote hundred andiiglity-JLt pounds, an ounce cf £,i;!d at a medium being lo ciowna.

T H E S Q U R C E O F T H E N I L E. 645-

Arabic Gulf. Before they had been a month at fea, Abdul-
la died, as did Hamct Ali feven days after they arrived at
Suez. They had been on fea three months and fix days from
Jidda to that port, becaufe they failed againfl the monfoon.

It was the 25th of June that Theodorus arrived at Cai-
ro, delivered the king's prefcnt, the account of the Abuna's
death, and the king's delire of having fpeedily a fuccefTor.
The patriarch, having called together all his biihops,
priefts, and deacons, conferred the dignity on a monk of
the Order of St Anthony, the only Order of monks the Cop-
tic church acknowledges. Thefe pafs a very aullere life in
two convents in a dreary defert, never tailing flelli, but li-
ving on olives, fait fardines *, wild herbs, and the woril of
vegetables. Yet fo attached are they to this folitude, that,
when they are called to be ordained to this prelature of A-
bylTinia, a warrant from the baflia, and a party of Turks-,
is necelTary to bring this eled: one to Cairo in chains, where
he is kept in prifon till he is ordained ; guarded afterwards, .
and then forced on board a vefTel which carries him to A-
byllinia, whence he is certain never to return.

The Abuna departed from Suez the 20th of September;
the beginning of November he arrived at Jidda; in Febru-
ary 1745 he failed from Jidda, taking with him Abdelcader,
now freed from prifon ; he arrived at Mafuah the 7th of
March, and immediately fcnt an cxprefs to notify his arrival
to the king and queen, and to Ras Welled de I'Oul. Con-
gratulations

* This is a fifh common in the Mec^ittiranean, of the kind of anchovies, the common food
of tlie galley- llaves, and lower lort of people.

646 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

gratulatlons upon the event were returned from each of
them ; they requclled he would immediately come to court ;
but this the Naybe refufed to permit, till he had lirll received
his dues ; and Yafous feemed inclined to pay no more for
him than what he had coll already.

The priefts, and devout people in Tigrc, were very defl-
rous to free the Abuna from his confinement in Mafuah.
They faw that the king was not inclined to advance money,
and all of them knew perfedlly, that, whatever face he put
upon the matter, the Ras would not give an ounce of gold
to prevent the Abuna from Haying there all his life. In
this exigency they applied to Janni, a Greek, living at Ado-
wa, (of whom I Ihall hereafter fpeak), a confidential fervant
and favourite of Michael, and alfo well acquainted at Ma-
fuah, to fee if he could get him releafed by ftratagem. Janni
concerted the alTair with the monks of the monaflery of
Bizan, two of whom conduced the Abuna by night out of
the ifland of Mafuah, and landed him fafely in their mona-
{lery in the wildernefs, with the ivyron^ or confecratcd oil, in
one hand, and iiis miifal, or liturgy, in the other. So far the
efcape was complete; biu unluckily no orders had been gi-
ven for Theodorus, who accordingly renaained behind at
Mafuah.

The Naybe, cxafperated at the Abuna's flight, wrecked
his vengeance on poor Theodorus ; he put him in irons,
and threw him into clofe prifon, where he remained for
two months. There was no remedy but paying 80 ounces
of gold to tlie Naybe for his rclcafe ; he might elfe have
xemained there for ever.

The

TH E S 0 U K. C E O F T K E N I L E. 6

T/

The king, not a little furprlfecl at thcfe frequent info-
lences on the part of the Naybe, began to inquire what
could be the rcafon ; for he perfcdly knew, not only Suhui
Michael, the governor of Tigi e, but even the Baharnagalh^
could reduce Mafuah to nothing with their little finger; and
'he was informed, that a ftrongfriendlhip fubliiled between
the Naybe and Suhul Michael, and that it was by rehing on
his friendfhip that the Naybe adventiuxd to treat the
king's fervants, at different times, in the manner he had
done.

Yasous, defiroiis to verify this himfelf, and to diiTolve the
"bands of fo unnatural a friendfhip, marched into Tigrc v/ith
a confiderable army. Palling by Adowa, the refidence of
Suhul Michael, he was pleafed with the warlike appearance
of this his feat of government, and the perfeft order and
fubordination that reigned there. Certain diforders and tu-
mults were faid to prevail in the neighbouring province of
Enderta where Kafmati Woklo commanded. The favao-e

o

people, called Azabo, living at Azab, the low country below
Enderta and the Dobas, (a nation ox Shepherds near them., flill
more favage, if poffible, than them) had hud wafte the di-
flritfts that were next to their frontier, burning the churches,
and flaying the priells in the daily inroads which they
made into Abyflinia. All thefe things, bad enough indeedj
were at this time aggravated, as was thought, for two rca-
fons ; the firft was to call an odium upon Kafmati Woldo, Mi-
chael's great enemy, as incapable of governing his province ;
the fecond, to prevent the king in his progrefs to Mafuah, as
he openly profefled his fixed intention was to punifli the
Naybe with the utmoU feverity,.

The

548 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The proteftion of his fubjedls, therefore, from the favages,
was reprefented to the king as the moft prefling fcrvice;
and, marching with his ufual dihgence llraight to Enderta,
he was met there by Kafmati VVoldo, an old experienced of-
ficer, who aiming at no preferment, paying his tribute
pundlually, and having been conllantly occupied in repelHng
the incuriions of the Pagans on the frontier, had not been
at court fmce the reign of Theophilus.

After receiving the necefTary information about the
country he intended to enter, and taking Kafmati Woldo's
two fons with him, the king defcended into the low coun-
try of Dancali, once a petty Mahometan kingdom, and
friendly to Abyllinia, now a mixture of Galla and the na-
tives called Taltal. Without delay he pufhed on to Azab,
fpreading defolation through that little province, always
defert enough from its natiue, though formerly, from its
trade, one of the richeft fpots in the world.

The king then turned to the right upon the Dobas, who,
.not expecfting an army of that ftrength, fled and left their
whole cattle a prey to Yafous and his foldiers ; a greater num-
ber was fcarce ever feen in Abyfiinia. The king now returned
to Enderta, where he confu'med Kafmati Woldo in his govern-
ment with diftinguiflaed marks of favour ; and he this year
again came back vi(5lorious to Gondar, leaving his campaign
againil the Nay be for another feafon.

In pafllngby Adowa, a fray happened among the king's
.troops and thofc of Michael ; feveral were killed on both
fides ; and, as the dilputc was between Tigi c and Aniliara,
the tv/o great divilions of the country, it threatened to create

4 . ^ party-

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 64^

•a party-quarrel between the foldiers of one divifion and
thole of the other. No notice was taken of this when Ya-
fous marched eaftward; but, on his retuni, Michael begged
the king to interfere, and make peace between the two par-
•ties. To this Yafous anfwercd. That he did not think it worth
-his while, for they would make peace themfelves when
•they were tired of quarrelling.

Whether this was the motive of fending for Michael to
Gondar, or whether it was the ftoiy of the Naybe, or what
clfe was the king's motive, we do not know ; but, fo foon as
lie \vas arrived in the capital, he fent Kafmati Ephraim, and
■ghalaka Kefla, into Tigre, commanding Michael's attendance
at Gondar. This Michael abfolutely refufed ; he pretended
Kafmati Woldo had eftranged the king's afFcdion from him,
and that Yafous had called him to Gondar now to put him
to death, upon a pretence of his foldiers quarrel with the
king's troops. This refufal was repeated to Yafous, with-
out any palliation whatever; and he inllantly marched from
Gondar, and encamped upon the river Waar, where he was
■reinforced a few days afterwards by Ras Welled de I'Oul,
whofe intention was to perfuade Michael to fubmiffion ; for
.he had been advifed not to truft the king's oath of forgiven-
-iiefs unlefs he had likewife that of Welled dc i'Ouh

The king's readinefs dlfconcerted Suhul Michael. Tho'
"well armed and appointed himfelf, as alfo an excellent ge-
neral, he did not rifle the prefcnting himfelf againft the king
on a plain ; for Yafous was much beloved b\ tlic foldiers,
and always very kind and liberal to them.

V01-. II, 4 N Thf

650 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The mountain Samayat, though not the mofl inaccefli-
ble in Tigre, was a place of great confequence and ftrength,
when poiTcfled by an army and officer luch as Michael. To
this natural fortrefs he carried all his valuable effedts, oc-
cupied and obftrudted all the avenues to it, and refolved
there to abide his fortune. The king, with his army, fat
down at the foot of the mountain ; and, encircling it with
troops, he ordered it to to be afTaulted on four fides at once ;
on one, by Kafmati Ayo, governor of Begemder ; on the fe-
cond, by Kafmati Waragna ; the third, by Kafmati Woldo ;
and the fourth, by Ras Welled de I'Oul. The king himfelf
went round about to every place, giving his orders, encou-
raging his men, and fighting himfelf in the foremoll ranks
like a common foldier. The mountain was at length car-
ried, with much bloodflied on both fides, and Michael was
beat from every part of it but one, which, though not ftrong
enough to hold out againft the king's army, if well defend-
-ed could not be carried without great lofs of men.

Here Michael defired to capitulate. But, before he left
the mcruntain and furrendered to the king, he defircd that
an officer of truft might be fent to him, becaufe he had
then upon the mountain a large colledlion of treafure,
which he defired to keep for the king's ufe, otherwife it
would be diffipated and loft in the hands of the common
foldiers. The Ras fent two confidential officers, who took
from the hands of Michael a prodigious fum of gold, the
precife amount of which is not named. He then defccnd-
ed the mountain, carrying, as is the cuftom of the country
for vanquifhed rebels, a ttone upon his head, as confeffing
himfelf guilty of a capital crime. A violent ftorm of rain
and wind prevented, for that day, his coming inta the pre-

^ fence.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. Gsf

fence of the king ; and the devil, as the AbyiTmians believe,
began in that ftorm a correfpondcnce with him which con-
tinued many years ; I myfelf have often heard him vaunt
of his having maintained, everfmce that time, an inter ccurfe
with St Michael the archangel.

On the morning of the 27th of December, Ras Welltd d?
rOul ordered Michael to attend him in the habit of a peni-
tent ; and, followed by his companions in misfortune, (that
part of his troops which was taken on the mountain) and
furrounded by a number of foldiers, with drums beating
and colours flying, he was carried into the king's pre-
fcnce.

Ras Welled de l'Oul had, with difficulty, engaged the
king's promife that he was not to put him to death. The good
genius of Yafous and his family was labouring by one laft
effort to favehim. On feeing Michael upon the ground, Yafous
fell into a violent tranfport of rage, fpurned him with his
foot, declaring he retradled his promife, and ordered him to
be carried out, and put to death before the door of his tent.
Ras Welled de I'Oul, Kafmati Waragna, Kafmati Woldo,and
all the officers of confideration, either of the court or army,
now fell with their faces upon the ground, crying to the king
for mercy and forgivennefs. Yafous, if in his heart he did
not relent, Hill was obliged to pardon on fuch univerfal fo-
licitation ; and this he did, after making the following ob-
fervation, which foon after was looked on as a prophecy :
" I have pardoned that traitor at your inilance, bec^ufe I
at all times reward merit more willingly than I punifli
crimes ; but I call you all to witnefs, that I wafh my hands
before God to-day of all that innocent blood Michael Ihall

4 N 2 ihed

552 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Ihed before he brings about the deftrudlion of his coun-
try, which I know in his heart he has been long medi-
tating."

I CANNOT help mentioning it as an extraordinary circum-
llance, that at the time I was at Gondar, in the very height
of Suhul Michael's tyranny, a man quarrelled with another
who was a fcribe, and accufed him before Michael of ha-
ving recorded this fpeech of the king, as I have now ftated
it,. in a hillory that he had written of Yafous's reign. The
book was produced, the pafTage was found and read ; and
I certainly expected to have feen it torn to pieces, or hung
upon a tree about the author's neck. On the contrary, all
the Ras faid was, " If what he writes is true, wherein is the
man to blame ?" And turning with a grin to Tecla Haima-
nout, one of the judges, he faid, " Do you remember ? I do-
"believe Yafous did fay fo." The book was rellored to
the autlaor, and no more faid of the matter, not even an or-
der was given to erafe the paflage. He had no objedlion to,
Yafous and to his whole race being prophets ; he had only
taken a refolution that they fliouid not be kings..

A GENERAL fdence followed this fpeech of Yafous, inftead'
of the acclamations of joy ufual in fuch cafes. The king
then ordered Ras Welled de I'Oul to lead the army on to
Gondar, which he did with great pomp and military parade,
while the king, who could not forget his forebodings, retired
to an ifland, there to fail fome days in confc(]uence of a
vow that he had made. This being finiflicd, Yafous return-
ed to Gondar ; and, as he was now in pcrfed peace through-
out his kingdom, he began again to decorate the apartments
of his palace. A large number of mirrors had arrived at

i this

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 653

riiis time, a prefent from the Naybe of Mafuah, who, after
what had happened to his friend Michael, began to feel a:
little uneafy about the fate of his iiland.

While Yafous was thus employed, news were fent h'rni
from Kafmati Ayo, governor of Begemder, that he had beat
the people of Lafta in a pitched battle in their own country,
had forced their llrong-iioId^,d'.fperfed their troops, and re-
ceived the general fubmillion of the province, which had
been in rebelhon fmce the time of Hatze Socinios, that is,,
above 100 years. Imaiedif tcly after thefe news, came Ayo
himfelf to parade and throw has unclmn trophies of vidory
before the king, and brought with him many of the princi-
pal people of Lafta to take the oaths of allegiance to the.
king.

Yasous received the accounts of the fuccefs Vv^ith great
pleafure, and ftill more fo the oaths and fubmiffions made
to him. He then added Lafta to the province of Begemder,
and cloathed Ayo magnificently, as well as all thofe noble-
men that came with him from Lafta. The end of this year
was not marked with good fortune like the beginning. A
plague of locufts fell upon the country, and confumcd every
green thing, fo that a famine feemed to be inevitable, be-
.eaufe, contrary to their cuftom, tliey had attached them-
felves chiefly to the grain. This plague is not fo frequent
in Abyftinia as the Jefuits have reported it to be. Thefe
good fathers indeed bring the locufts upon the country, that^.
fey their pretended miracles, they may. chace them away.

Michael had continued fome time in prifon, in the cuf-
^sdy of Ras Welled dc I'Oul. But he was afterwards fer atr

fall:

554 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

full liberty; and it was now the 17th year of Yafous's reign,
when, on the 17th of September 1746, at a great promotion
of officers of Hate, Michael, by the nomination of the king
himfelf, was rellored to his government of Tigre ; and, a
few days after, he returned to that province. All his an-
cient friends and troops flocked to him as foon as he ap-
peared, to welcome him upon an event looked upon by all
as nearly miraculous. Nor did Michael difcourage that
idea himfelf, but gave it to be underftood, among his mod
intimate friends, that a vifion had afTured him that he was
thenceforward under the immediate protection of St Mi-
chael the archangel, with whom he was to confult on eve-
ry emergency.

As foon as he had got a fuflicient army together, the firll
thing he did was to attack Kafmati Woldo, without any pro-
vocation whatever ; and, after beating him in two battles,
he drove him from his province, and forced him to take re-
fuge among the Galla, where, foon after, by employing
fmall prefents, he procured him to be murdered ; the or-
dinary fateof thofe who feek protedion among thofe faith-
lefs barbarians.

It will feem extraordinary that the king, who had fuch
recent experience of both, the one diflinguiflied for his duty,
-the other for his obftinate rebellion, fliould yet tamely fuf-
fer his old and faithful fervant to fall before a man whom
in his heart he fo much miilrulled. But the truth is, all
Michael's danger was pall the moment he got free accefs
to the king and queen, though he was defcrvedly eftcemed
to be the ablefl foldier in Abyffinia of his time, he was infi-
.nitely more capable in intrigues, and private negociations

at

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 6^5

at court, than he was m the field, being a pleafant and a;-
greeable fpeaker in common converfation ; a powerful and
copious orator at council ; his language, whether Amharie
or Tigre, (but above all the latter) corre<5l and elegant above
any man's at court ; Heady to the meafures he adopted, but
often appearing to give them up eafily, and without paffion,
when he faw, by the circumflances of the times, he could
not prevail : though violent in the purfuit of riches, when
in his own province, where he fpared no means nor man
to procure them, no fooner had he come to Gondar than
he was lavifli of his money to extreme ; and indeed he fet
no value upon it farther than as it ferved to corrupt men
to his ends..

When he furrendered his treafure at the mountain Sa*.
mayat, he is faid to have divided it into feveral parcels with
his own hand. The greateft fhare fell to the king, who
thought he had got the whole ; but the ojOicers who received
it, and faw different quantities deftined for the Iteghe and
Ras Welled de I'Oul, took care tb convey them their fhare,
for fear of making powerful enemies. Kafmati Waragna.
had his part ; and even Kafmati Woldo, though Michael
foon after plundered and flew him. All Gondar were his
friends, becaufe all that capital was bribed on this occafioru
It was gold he only lent them, to refume it, (as he afterwa^-ds
did) with great intereft, at a proper time.

It ftill remained in the king's breafl to wipe off his de«
feat at Sennaar, as he had, upon every other occafion, been
vidtorious; and even in this, he flill flattered himfelf he had
not been beat in perfon. He fet out again upon another
expedition to Atbara ; inflead of coafling along the Dender^

he

656 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

he defcended along the Tacazze into Atbara, where, finding
no refiftance among the Shepherds, he attached himfelf in
particular to the tribe called Daveina, which, in the former
expedition, had joined Welled de I'Oul's army. Upon the
fn-fl news of his approach they had fubmitted ; but, notwith-
llanding all promilcs and pretences of peace, he fell upon
them unawares, and almoll extirpated the tribe.

SuHUL Michael, while the king was thus occupied in
the frontier of his province, did every thing that a faithful,
active fubjec^ could do. He furnifhed him conftantly with
the beft intelligence, fupplied him with the provifions he
wanted, and made, from time to time, ftrong detachments
of troops to reinforce him, and to fecure fuch polls as were
moll commodious and important in cafe of a retreat beco-
ming neceffary,

Yasous, whohad fuccceded to his wifh, was fully fen-
iible of the value of fuch fervices, and fent, therefore, for
Michael, commanding his attendance at Gondar. There was
no fear, no hefitation now, as before in the affair of Sama-
yat. He decamped upon the firft notice, even before the
rainy feafon was over, and arrived at Gondar on Augufl 30th
1747, bringing with him plenty of gold; few foldiers, in-
deed, "but thofe picked men, and in better order, than the
king had ever yet feen troops.

It was plain itow to everybody, that nothing could Hop
Michael's growing fortune. He alone feemed not fenfiblc
of this. He was humbler and lefs afluming than before.
Thofe whom he had firll bribed he continued ilill to bribe,
and added as many new friends to that lift as he thought

could

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 657

could ferve him. He pretended to no precedency or pre-
eminence at court, not even fuch as was due to the rank of
his place, but behaved as a flranger that had no fixed abode
among them.

One day, dining with Kafmati Geta, the queen's brother,
who was governor of Samcn, and drinking out of a com-
mon-glafs decanter called Brulhe, when it is the privilege
and cuftom of the governor of Tigrc to ufe a gold cup, be-
ing aflced, Why he did not claim his privilege ? he faid, All
the gold he had was in heaven, alluding to the name of the
mountain Samayat, where his gold was furrendered, which
word fignilies Heaven. The king, who liked this kind of
jells, of which Michael was full, on hearing this, fent him
a gold cup, with a note written and placed within it, " Hap-
py are they who place their riches in heaven ;" which Mi-
chael dire6ted immediately to be engraved by one of the
Greeks upon the cup itfelf. What became of it I know
not ; I often wiflied to have found it out, and purchafed it.
I faw it thefirft day he dined, after coming from council, at
his return from Tigre, after the execution of Abba Salama;
but I never obferved it at Serbraxos, nor fmce. I heard, in-
deed, a Greek fay he had fent it by Ozoro Ellher, as a pre-
fent to a church of St Michael in Ti^-rc,

o

Enderta was now given him in addition to the province
of Tigre, and, foon after. Sire and all the provinces between
the Tacazze and the Red Sea ; fo he was now mailer of near
half of Abyflinia.

The reft of this king's reign was fpent at home in his

ufual amufements and occupations. Several fmall expedi-

VoL. II. 4 O tions

658- TRAVELS TO DISCOVER.

tions Vv-ere made by his command, undei: Palambaras Sc-^
lafTe, and other ofRcers, to harrafs the Shepherds, whom he
conquered ahnoft down to Suakem. His ravages, however,
had been confined to the pcninfula of Atbara, an'd liad not
ever paflcd to the eaftward uf the Tacazze, but he had im-
poveriilied all that country. After this, by his orders, the
Baharnagafh, and other officers, entered that divifion called
Derkin, between the Mareb and the Atbara, and, ftill fur-
ther, between the Mareb and the mountains, in a part of it
called Aj am. hi this country Haffine Wed Ageeb was de-
feated by the Baharnagafli with great flaughter ; and the
Shekh of Jibbel Mufa, one of the moft powerful of the Shep-
herds, was taken prifoner by Palambaras Selaffe, witliout
refiftance, and carried, with his wife, his family, and cattle,
in triumph to Gondar, where, having fworn allegiance to
the king, he was kindly treated, and fent home with pre-
fents, and every thing that had been taken from him.

This year, bein^ the 24th of Yafous's reign, he was ta-
ken ill, and died on the 21ft day of June 1753, after a very
/liort iilnefs. As he was but a young man, and of a flrong
conititution, there was fome fufpicion he died by poifon gi-
ven him by the queen's relations, who were defirous to fe-
cure another minority rather than ferve under a king-,
who, by every acftion, fliewed he was no longer to be led or
governed by any, but leaft of all by them.

Y A sous was married very young to a lady of noble family
in Amhara, by whom he had two fons, Adigo and Aylo,
But their mother pretending to a Ihare of her hulband's go-
vernment, and to introduce her friends at court, fo hurt
Wclleta Georgis the Itcghe, or queen-regent, that flie pre-

vailoci.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 655

vailed on the king to banifli both the mother and fons to
the mountain of Wechne.

In order to prevent fuch interference for the future, the
Iteghe took a fiep, the like of which had never before been
attempted in Abyilinia. It was to bring a wife to Yafous
from a race of Galla. Her name was Wobit, daughter of
Amitzo, to whom BacufFa had once fled when he efcaped
from the mountain before he was king, and had been
kindly entertained there. Her family was of the tribe of
Edjow, and the divifion of Toluina, that is, of the fouthern
Galla upon the frontiers of Amhara. They were efteemed
the politeft, that is, the leaft barbarous of the name. But
it was no matter, they were Galla, and that was enough.
Between them and Abyilinia, oceans of blood had been
Ihed, and ftrong prejudices imbibed againft them, never to
be effaced by marriages. She was, however, brought to
Gondar, chriilened by the name of Beffabee, and married
to Yafous : By her he had a fon, named Joas, who fucceed-
cd his father.

4O2 J O A So

66o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

i^^i^!^

J O A S.

From 1753 to 1768.

T'hh Prifice a Favourer of the Galla his Relations — Great DiJJent'iorn on

bringhig them to Court — War of Begcmdcr — Ras Michael brought to

Gondar — Defeats Ayo — Mariam Barea refufes to be acceffary to his:

Death — King favours Waragna Fafil — Battle of A%a%o — Kitig Af

fajjifiated in his Palace.

UPON the fix^ news of the death of king Yafous, the old'
officers and fervants of the crown, remembering the
tumuks and confiifion that happened in Gondar at his ac-
ceffion, repaired to the palace from their different govern-
ments, each with a fmall well-reguhued body of troops,
fufficient to keep order, and ftrengthen the hands of Ras
Welled de TOiil, whom they all looked upon as the father of
his country. The iirll who arrived was Kafmati Waragna
of Damot ; then Ayo of Begemder, and very foon after,
thougli at much the greatefl diflancc, Suhul Michael, gover-
nor of Tigrc. Thcfe three entered the palace, with Welled

4 de

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 661'

de rOul at their head, and received the young king Joaa
fj om the hands of the Iteghe his grandmother, and pro-
claimed him king, with the ufual formalities, without any
oppofition or tumult whatever.

A NUMBER of promotions immediately followed ; but it
was obferved with great difcontcnt by many, that the Iteghe's
family and relations were grown now fo numerous, that
they were fufficient to occupy all the great offices of flatc
without the participation of any of the old families, which
were the llrength of the crown in former reigns ; and that
now no preferment was to be expedted unlefs through fomc
relation to the queen- mother.

Welled Hawarayat, fon to Michael governor of Tigrc;
had married Ozoro Altafli, the queen's third daughter, al-
moil a child ; and long before that, Netcho of Tcherkin had
married Ozoro Eilher, likewife very young; and Kas Michael;
old as he was, had made known his pretenlions to Ozoro
Welleta Ifrael, the queen's fecond daughter, immediately
younger than Ozoro Eilher. Thefe propofals, from an old
man, had been received with great contempt and derifion
by Welleta Ifrael, and flie perfevered fo long in the derifion-
of Michael's courtiliip, that it left ilrong impreffions on the
hard heart of that old warrior, which lliewed themfelves:
after in very difagreeable confequences to that lady all the
time Michael was in power.

The firll that broke the peace of this new reign v/as;
Nanna Georgis, chief of one of the clans of Agows o£
Damot. Engaged in old feuds with the Galla on the other:
fide of the Nile, the natural enemies of^iis country, he could

no.-';.

662 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

not fee, but with great difpleafure, a Galla fuch as Kafmati
Waragna, however worthy, governor of Damot, and capa-
ble, therefore, of over-running the whole province in a
moment, by calling his Pagan countrymen from the other
fide.

Waragna, though this was in his power, knew the
meafure was unpopular. Kafmati Eihte was the queen's
brother, and governor of Ihaba, a royal relidence, which
has a large territory and falary annexed to it. When,
therefore, at council, he had complained of the injury done
to him by Nanna Georgis, he refufed the taking upon him
the redreffing thefe injuries, and punhhing the Agows,
unlefs Kafmati Elhte was joined in the commiilion with
him.

The reafon of this was, as I have often before obferved,
that, as the Agows are thofe that pay the greateft tribute in
gold to the king, and furnifli the capital with all forts of
provifions, any calamity happening in their country is fe-
verely felt by the inhabitants of Gondar; and the knowledge
of this occafions a degree of prefumption and confidence in
the Agows, of which -they have been very often the dupes.
This, mdeed, happened at this very inflant. For Waragna
and Elhte marched from Gondar, and with them a number
of veteran troops of the king's houfehold of Maidha, de-
pending on Ibaba ; and this army, without bringing one
Galla from the other lide of the Nile, gave Nanna Georgis
and his Agows fuch an overthrow that his clan was near-
1)' extirpated, and many of the principal of that nation
ilain.

2 Nanna

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 66j.

Nanna Georgis, who cliicOy was aimed at as tlic au-
thor of this rcvok, eicapcd, with groat dimcuUy, wounded,
from the field ; and the feiul which had long fubfifted be-
tween Waragna's family and the race of the Agows, recei-
ved great addition that day, and came down to tlicir poUcri-
ty, as wc Ihall foon fee by what happened in WaragnaV.
fon's time at the bloody and fatal battle of Banja.

The next affair that called the attention of governmenr,
was a complaint brought by the monks of Magwena, a
ridge of rocks of but fmall extent not far from Tcherkin,
the ertatc of Kafmati Nctcho. Thefe mountains, for a great
part of tlie year, alnioil calcined under a burning fun, have,
in fcveral months, violent and copious Ihowers of rain,
which, received in vaft caves and hollows of the mountain,
and out of the reach of evaporation, are means of creating
and maintaining all forts of verdure and all fcenes of plea-
furc, in the hot fealbn of the year, when the rains do not fall
elfewhere ; and as the rocks have a coniiderable elevation
above the level of the plain, they are at no feafon infected
with thofe feveriQi difordcrs that lay the low country wade,

Netcho was a m^an of pleafure, and he thought, fmce
the monks, by retiring to rocks and dcferts, meant thereby
to fubjecSl themfelves to hardlhip and mortification, that
thefe deJightful and flowery fcenes, the groves of Mafwena,
were much more fuited to the enjoyment of happinefs with .
the young and beautiful Ozoro Efther, than for any fct of
men, who by their aufterities were at conflant war with
the flcfh. Upon thefe principles, which it would be very
difficult for the monks themi'elves to refute, he took pof-.
feffion of the mQuntain.Magvyena, and of, thole bowers

that.

-664 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

that, though in pofleffion of faints, did not feem to have
been made for the foUtary pleafures of one fex only. This
piece of violence was, by the whole body of monks, called
Sacrilege. Violent excommunications, and denunciations
of divine vengeance, were thundered out againft Kafmati
Netcho. An army was fent againft him ; he was defeated
and taken prifoner, and confined upon a mountain in Wal-
kayt, where foon after he died, but not before the Iteghe
had fhewn her particular mark of difpleafure, by taking her
daughter Ozoro Efther, his wife, from him, that llie, too,
and her only fon Confu, might not be involved in the
monk's excommunications, and the imputed crime of fa-
crilege.

At this time died Kafmati Waragna, full of years and
glory, having, though a ftranger, preferved his allegiance to
the laft, and more than once faved the ftate by his wifdom,
bravery, and activity. He is almoft a fingle example in
their hiftory, of a great officer, governor of a province, that
never was in rebellion, and a remarkable inftance of Ba-
cufTa s penetration, who, from a fingle converfation with
him, while engaged in the vileft employment, chofe him as
capable of the greateft offices, in which he ufefuily fervcd
both his fon and grandfon.

Soon afrci', Ayo governor of Begemder, an older officer
ftill than Waragna, arrived in Gondar, and refigncd his go-
vernment into the queen's hands. This refignation was re-
ceived, becaufe it was undcrftood that it was diredly to be
conferred upoa his fon Mariam Barea,by far the moft hope-
ful young Abvfiinian nobleman of his time. Another mark
of favour, foon followed, perhaps was the occafion of this.

Ozoro

THESOURCEOFTHENILE. 66s

Ozoro Eflher, the very young widow of Netcho, was mar-
ried, very much againil her own confent, to the young go-
vernor of Begenivier, and this marriage was crowned with
the univerfal applaufe of court, town, and country ; for
Mariam Barea poflefled every virtue that could make a
great man popular ; and it was impofliblc to fee Ozoro Eft-
her, and hear her fpeak, without being attached to her for
ever after.

Still the complaint remained, that there was no promo-
tion, no diftindtion of merit, but through fome relation to
the queen-mother ; and the truth of this was foon fo appa-
rent, and the diicontent it occafioned fo univerfal, that no-
thing but the great authority Ras Welled de I'Oul, the I-
teghe's brother, polTeffed, could hinder this concealed fire
from breaking out into a flame.

The queen, mother to Joas, was Ozoro Wobit, a Galla.
Upon Joas's acceflion to the throne, therefore, a large body
of Galla, faid to be 1200 horfe, were fent as a prefent to the
young king as the portion of his mother. A number of
private perlbns had accompanied thefe ; part from curiofi-
ty, part from deiire of preferment, and part from attach-
ment to thofe that were already gone before them. Thefe
lail were formed into a body of infantry of 600 men, and
the command given to a Galla, whofe name was Woofhe-
ka ; fo that the regency, in the perfon of the queen, feemed
to have gained frefli force from the minority of the young
king Joas, as yet perfectly fubj eft to his mother.

There were four bodies of houfehold troops abfolutely

devoted to the king's will. One of thefe, the Koccob horfe.

Vol. II. 4 P was

666 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

was commanded by a young Armenian not 30 years of age.
He had been left in Abyffinia by his father in Yafous's time,
and care had been taken of him by the Greeks. Yafoiis
had diflinguifhed him by feveral places while a mere youtli,
and employed him in errands to Mafuah and Arabia, by
which he became known to Ras Michael. Upon the death
of Yafous, the Iteghe put him about her grandfon Joas, as
Baalomal, which \s, gentleman of the bed-chamber^ or, compankn to
the king. He then became AfalefFa el Camillia, which means
groom of the fiole, but at laft was promoted to the great place
of Billetana Gueta Dakakin, chamberlain^ or mafler of the
houfehokU the third poll: in government, by which he took
place of all the governors of provinces while in Gon.-
dar.

There is no doubt Joas would have made him Ras, if he
had reigned as long as his father. Befidcs his own lan-
guage, he underftood Turkifli, Arabic, and Malabar, and was
perfed mailer of the Tigre. But his great excellence was
his knowledge of Amharic, which he was thought to fpeak
as chailely and elegantly as Ras Michael himfclf. He is re-
ported likewife to have poiTelTed a fpecics of jurifprudence,
whence derived I never knev/, which fo pleafed the Abyf-
iinians, that the judges often requeflcd his attendance on
the king ; at which time he fat at the head of the table,
where it is fuppofed the king would place himfelf did he
appear perfonally in judgment, (which, as it may be learn-
ed from divers places in this hiftory, he never does); certain
mornings in the week, therefore, he fat publicly in the
market-place, and gave judgment foon after the break of
day.

1 SAW

THE SOURCE OFTHENILE. (S6^

T SAW this young man with his father at Loheia. He
iinderilood no European language ; was juft then returned
from hidia, and had a confiderable quantity of diamonds,
and otlier precious ftones, to fell. He fpoke with tears in
his eyes of Abyffinia, from which he was banifhed, and
urged that I Ihould take him there with me. But I had too
much at Hake to charge myfelf with the confcquences of
anybody's behaviour but my own, and therefore refu-
£q(\ it.

The great favour the Galla were in at court encouraged
many of their countrymen to follow them ; and, by the
king's defire, two of his uncles were fent for, and they not
only came, but brought with them a thoufand horfe. Thefe
were two young men, brotlicrs of the queen Wobit, juft now
dead. The eldeft was named Brulhe, the younger Lubo. hi
an inflant, nothing was heard in the palace but Galla. The
king himfelf affeded to fpeak nothing qI^q. He had en-
tirely intrufted the care of his perfon to his two uncles ;
and, both being men of "intrigue, they thought themfelves
fufliciently capable to make a party, fupport it, and place
the king at the head of it; and this they cfTecTred as foon as
it was conceived, whilft the Abyffinians faw, wkli the utmoft
deteftation and abhorrence, a Gallan and inimical govern-
ment erected in the very heart or metropolis of their coun-
try,

Wood AGE had been long governor of Amhara. He had
fucceeded Palambaras Dure in BacufFa's time, when he had
been promoted to the dignity of Ras.

4 P 2 These

668 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

These two were heads of the only great famihes in Am-
hara, who took that government as it were by rotation*
Woodagc, in one of tlie excuiiions into Atbara, had made
an Arab's, or a Shepherd's daughter, prifoner, baptized her,
and hved with her as his miflrefs. The paffion Woodage
bore to this fair flave was not, however, reciprocal. She had
fixed her affeiftions upon his eldeft fon, and their frequent
familiarities at laft brought about the difcovery. This very
much ihocked Woodage ; but, inllead of having recourfe to
public jullice, he called his brothers, and fome other heads
of his family before him, and examined into the fa<5f with
them, defiring his fon to defend himfeif. The crime was
clearly proved in all its circumftances. Upon which Wood-
age, by his own authority, condemned his fon to death ;
and not only fo, but caufed his fentence to be put in execu-
tion, by hanging the young man over a beam in his own
houfe. As for the flave, he releafed her, as not being bound
to any return of affedlion to him, from whom flie had on-
ly received evil, and been deprived of her natural liberty.

It fecms this claim of patria potejlas was new in Abyf-
finia ; and Bacuffa took it fo ill, that he deprived Woodage
of his office, and banifhed him to Amhara, then governed
by Palambaras Dure. To this lofs of influence another cir-
cumftance contributed. He was a relation of Yafous's firft
wife, who, by the Iteghe's intrigues, had been fent with her
two fons to the mountain of Wechne, and Joas, a young foa
of Yalbus, preferred in their places.

It happened that Palambaras Dure died ; and as the fuc-
ceffion fell regularly upon the unpopular Woodage, the
king's uncle, Lubo obtained a promife of the government

3 of

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. C6g

of Amhara for himfelf. All Gondar was fhocked at this
ftrange choice : Amitzo and his Edjow were already upon
the fouthern frontiers of that province, domiciled there ;
and there was no doubt but this nomination would put
Amhara into his poffeflion for ever. All the inhabitants of
Gondar were ready to run to their arms to oppofe this ap-
pointment of the king ; and it was thought that, under-
hand, the Iteghe fomented this difratisfa(ftion. The king,,
however, terrified by the violent refentment of the popu-
lace, at the inftance of Ras Welled de I'Ovil, recalled his no-
mination.

At this time Michael, who faw the confequcnce of thefe
difputes, but abftained from taking any Ihare, becaufe he
knew that both parties were promoting his intereft by
their mutual animofity, came to Gondar in great pomp, up-
on an honourable errand.

Baady, fon of rOul, king of Funge, or, as they are called
in the Abyffinian annals, Noba *, who had defeated Yafous
at Sennaar, after a tyrannical and bloody reign of thirty-
three years, was depofed in the 1764 by Naffer his fon,
whom his minifler Shekh Adelan, with his brother Abou
Kalec, governor of Kordofan, had put in his place ; and
Baady had fled to Suhul Michael, whofe fame was extended
all over Atbara. Michael received him kindly, promifed
him his bed fervices with Joas, and that he would march'
inperfon to Sennaar, and reinftate him with an army, if the
king fliould fo command.

Michael

* Noba, in the language of Sennaar, fignifies Soldier 5 it is probably from this the ancient
name of Nubia firft came>

670 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Michael condu6led him into the prefence of the khig,
where, in a manner unbecoming a fovercign, and which
Joas's fucceiTor would not have permitted, he killed the
pTound, and declared himfelf a vaffal of Abyiiinia. The
king affigned him a large revenue, and put him in pof-
fefTion of the government of Ras el Feel upon the frontier
of Sennaar, where Ras Welled de I'Oul advifed him to wait
patiently till the dilTcnfions that then prevailed at court
were quieted, when Michael Ihould have orders to rein-
ftate him in his kingdom. This was a wife counfcl, but
he to whom it was given was not wife, and therefore did
not follow it. After fome fhort flay at Ras el Feel he was
decoyed from this place of refuge by the intrigues of Adc-
lan, and brought to truft himfelf in Atbara, where he was
betrayed and taken prifoncr by Welled HafTen, Shekh of
Teawa, and murdered by him in Teawa privately, as we
lliall hereafter fee, two years after his flight from Gondar.

At this time, Ras Welled de TOul's death was a fignal for
all parties to engage. Nothing had withheld them but his
prudence and authority; and from that time began a
fcenc of civil blood, which has continued ever fmce, was in
its full vigour at the time when I was in Abyiiinia, and
without any profpedl that it would ever have an end.

The great degree of power to which the brothers and
their Galla arrived ; the great affe6tion the king fhewcd
to them, owing to their ha\'ing early infet^cd him with
their bloody and faithlcfs principles, gave great alarm to
the queen and her relations, whofe influence they were
every day diminifhing. The laft llroke, the death of Wel-
led de I'Oul, fcemed to be a fatal one, and to threaten the
I entire

THE SOURCE OF THENILE. 671

entire diflblution of her power. In order to counterbalance
this, they aflbciatcd to their party and council Mariam Ba-
rea, who had lately married Ozoro Efther, and was in pof-
feflion of the fecond province in the ftate for riches and
for power, and greatly increafed in its importance by the
officer that commanded it. Upon the death of Welled de
rOul, the principal fear the party of the Galla had was,
that Mariam Barea fliould be brought to Gondar as Ras.
The union between him and Kafmati Efhte, formerly as
flrong by inclination as now it was by blood, put them in
terror for their very exiftence, and a ftroke was to be
flruck at all hazards that was to feparate thefe interefts
for ever.

EsHTE, upon taking pofTeffion of the province of Damot,
found the Djawi, eftabliflied upon the frontiers of the pro-
vince, very much inclined to revolt. Notwithftanding peace
had been eilabhfhed among the Agows ever fmce Nanna
Georgis had been defeated at the laft battle, the Galla had
Itill continued to rob and diftrefs them, contrary to the pub-
lic faith that had been pledged to them.

EsHTE was too honeft a man to fuffer this ; but the
truth was, the Djawi had felt the advantage of having a man
like the late Waragna governor of Damot ; and they wanted,
by all means, to reduce the miniifters to the ncceflity of ma-
king that command hereditary in his family, by Fafil his fon
being preferred to fucceed him.

This Fafil, whom I fhall hereafter call Waragna Fafil, a
name which was given to diftinguifh him from nmnj other
Falils in the army, was a man then about twenty-two, whom

Ellur

672 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Efhte had kept about him in a private flation, and had lately
given him a fubaltern command among his own country-
men,theDjawi of Damot. From the fervices that he had then
rendered, it was expeded a greater preferment viras to fol-
low.

The infoleiicc of the Djawi had come to fuch a pitch
that they had offered Eflite battle ; but they had £ed with
very little refiftance, and been driven over the Nile to their
countrymen whence they came. Efhte, roufed from his in-
dolence, now fliewed himfelf the gallant foldier that he
really was. He croffed the Nile at a place never attempted
before ; and though he loft a confiderable number of men
in the paffage, yet that difadvantage was more than com-
penfated by the advantage it gave him of falling upon the
Galla unexpectedly. He therefore deftroyed, or difperfed
feveral tribes of them, pofTeffed himfelf of their crops,
drove off their cattle, wives, and children, and obliged
them to fue for peace on his own terms ; and then repaffed
the Nile, re-eftablilhing the Djawi, after fubmiffion,in their
ancient poffeffions.

Upon news of Welled de FOul's death, and the known in-
tention of the queen that Eflite fliould fucceed him in the
office of Ras, he was muftering his foldiers to march to Gon-
dar : Damot, the Agows, Goutto, and Maitflia, all readily
joined him from every quarter; and Waragna Fafd had
been fent to bring in the Djawi with the reft. Eflite had
marched by flow journics from Bure, flenderly attended,
to arrive at Goutto the place of rendezvous ; and, being come
to Eagitta, in his way thither, he encamped upon a plain
there, near to the church of St George.

It

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. Gji

It was in the evening, when news were brought him
that the whole Djawi had come out, to a man, from good-
will, to attend him to Gondar. This mark of kindnefs had
very much pleafed him ; and he looked upon it as a grate-
ful return for his mild treatment of them afrcr they were
vanquifhed. A llool was fet in the fliade, without a fmall
houfe where he then was lodged, that he might fee the
troops pafs ; when Hubna Fafil, a Galla, who commanded
them, availing himfelf of the privilege of approaching
near, always cuftomary upon thefe occal^oas, run him
through the body with a lance, and threw him dead upon
the ground. The reft of the Galla fell immediately upon
all his attendants, put them to flight, and proclaimed Wa-
ragna Fafil governor of Damot and the Agows.

This intelligence was immediately fent to their country-
men, Brulhe and Lubo, at Gondar, who prevailed upon the
king to confirm Waragna Fafil in his command, though
purchafed with the murder of the worthieft man in his do-
minions, who was his own uncle, brother to the Iteehe*
and this was thought to more than counterbalance the
acceflion of ftrength the queen's party had received from
the marriage of Ozoro Efiher with Mariam Barea.

In critical times like thefe, the greateft events are pro-
duced from the fmalleft accidents. Ayo, father to Mariam
Barea, had always been upon bad terms with Michael. It
was at firft emulation between two great men; but, after
Ayo had aflifted the king in taking Michael prifoner at the
mountain Samayat, this emulation had ^legencrated into
perfect hatred on the part of Michael.

Vol. II. 4 Q^ Just

^74 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER:

Just before Kaijmati Ayo had refigned Begemder to his
fon, and retired to private life, two fcrvants of Michael had
fled with two fwords, which they ufed to carry before him,
claiming the protection of Kafmati Ayo. Michael had claim-
ed them before the king, who, loath to determine between
the two, not being at that time inlligated by Galla, had ac-
cepted the propofal of Michael to have the matter of right
tried before the judges ; but, upon his refignation of the
province, and retiring, the thing had blown over and been
forgotten.

Soon after this acceflion of Mariam Barea, Michael inti-
mated to him the order the king had given that the judges
fliould try the matter of difference between them. Mariam
Barea refufed this, and upbraided Michael with meannefs
and prollitution of the dignity he bore, to confent to fubmit
liimfelf to the venal judgment of weak old men, whofe con-
fciences were hackneyed in prejudice or partiality, and al-
ways known to be under the influence of party. He put
Suhul Michael in mind alfo, that, being both of them the
king's lieutenant-generals, rcprefentatives of his perfon in
the provinces they governed, noble by birth, and fokUers
by profeffion, they had no fuperior but God and their fove-
reign, therefore it was belov/ them to acknowledge or re-
ceive any judgment between them unlefs from God, by an
appeal to the fword, or from the king, by a fentence inti-
mated to them by a proper ofliccr ; that Suhul Michael might
choofc either of thcie manners of deciding the difference-
as flTiould feem beft unto liim ; and if he chofe the latter, of
abiding by the fentence of the king, he would then reftorc
him the fwords upon the king's firft command, but he de-
Tpifcd the judges, and difowned their jurifdidion.

This

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 675

-.! This fpirited anfwer was magnified into the crime of
difobedience and rebellion. Michael purfued it no further.
He knew it was in good hands, which, when once the matter
was fet agoing, would never let it drop. Accordingly, to
^vefy one's furprife but Michael's, a proclamation was made,
that the king had deprived Mariam Barea of his govern-
ment for difobedience, and had given it to Kafmati Brulhc
his uncle, now governor of Begemder.

All Abyffinia was in a ferment at this promotion. The
number, power, and vicinity of that race of Galla being
confidered, this was but another way of giving the richeft
and Ibongell barrier of Abyflinia into the hands of his he-
reditary and bloody enemy. There could be no doubt, in-
deed, but that, as foon as Brulhe fliould have taken pofTef-
fion of his government, it would be inftantly over- run by
the united force of that fiivage and Pagan nation; and there
was nothing afterwards to avert danger from the metropo-
lis, for the boundaries of Begemder reach within a very
fhort day's journey of Gondar.

Masiam Barea, one of the noblefl in point of birth in
the country where he lived, fetting every private confidera-
tion afide, was too good a citizen to fuiTer a meafure fo per-
nicious -to take place quietly in his time, wliile the province
Avas under his command. But, befides this, he confidered
iiimfelf as degraded and materially hurt both in honour
and in intereft, and very fenfibly felt the alfront of being,
himfelf and his kindred, fubjeded to a race of Pagans whom
iie had fo ofien overthrov/n in the field.

4 O 2. Thjs

6y6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The king's army marched, under the command of his
uncle Brulhe, to take pofTeffion of his government ; it was
with much difficuky, indeed, that Joas could be kept from
appearing in perfon, but he was left under the infpedlion
and tuition of his uncle Lubo, at Gondar. Brulhe made
very flow advances ; his army feveral times aflembled, as
often difbanded of itfelf ; and near a year was fpent before
he could move from his camp on the lake Tzana, with a
force capable of fliewing or maintaining itfelf in Begemder,
from the frontiers of which he was not half a day's journey.

Mariam Barea remained all this time inacSlive in Be-
gemder, attending to the ordinary duties of his office, with
a perfecfl: contempt of Brulhe and his proceedings. But, in
the interim, he left no means untried to pacify the king,
and. difluade him from a meafure he faw would be ruinous
to the Hate in general.

Mariam Barea, though young, had the prudence and
behaviour of a man of advanced years. He was efteemed,
wi'hout comparifon, the braveft foldier and bell general in
the kingdom, except old Suhul Michael, his hereditary rival
and enemy. But his manners were altogether dilferent
from thofe of Michael. He was open, chearful, and unre-
ferved ; liberal, even to excefs, but not from any particular
view of gaining reputation by it ; as moderate in the ufe of
vidtory as indefatigable to obtain it ; temperate in all his
plcafures ; eafily brought to forgive, and that forgivennefs
always fmcere ; a fteady obferver of his word, even in trifles ;
and diftinguiflied for two things very uncommon in Abyf-
iinia, regularity in his devotions, and conftancy to one wife,
which never was impeached. In his lall rcmonfli*ance, af-
ter

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 677

*ter many profcffions of his duty and obedience, he put
the king in mind, that, at his inveftiture, " The laws of
« the country impofed upon him an oath which he took
«' in prefence of his majefty, and, after receiving the holy
*♦ facrament, that he was not to fuffer any Galla in Begem-
" der, but rather, if needftd, die with fword in hand
« to prevent it ; that he confidered the contravening that
« oath as a deliberate breach of the allegiance which he
« owed to God and to his fovereign, and of the truft repo-
« fed in him by his country ; that the fafety of the princes
« of the royal family, fequeftered upon the mountain of
" Wechne, depended upon the obfervance of this oath ; that
«' otherwife they would be in conftant danger of being
« extirpated by Pagans, as they had already nearly been
« in former ages, at two different times, upon the rocks
« Damo and Gefhen ; he begged the king, if, unfortunate-
** ly, he could not be reconciled to him, to give his com-
« mand to Kafmati Geta, Kafmati Eufebius, or any Abyf-
« fmian nobleman, in which cafe he would immediately
*' refign, and retire to private life with his old father."

He concluded by faying, that, " As he had formed a re-
« folution, he thought it his duty to fubmit it to the king;
♦' that, if his majefty was refolved to march and lead the army
« himfelf, he would retire till he was ftopt by the frontiers of
" the Galla, and the fartheft limits of Begcmder ; and, fo far
« from molefting the army in their route, the king might
" be aflured, that, though his own men fliould be ftraitened,
*' abundance of every kind of provifion and refrefhment
« fhould be left in his majeily's route. But if, contrary to-
»* his wifh, troops of C alia, commanded by a Galla, fliould
«' come to take pofTellion of his province, he would tight

" them

678 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

" them at the well of Fernay *, before one Galla fhould
*' drink there, or advance a pike-length into Begemder."

This declaration was, by orders of Ras Michael, entered
into the Deftar, and written in letters of gold, after Mariam
Barea's death, no doubt at the inftigation of Ozoro Efther,
jealous for the reputation of her dead hufband. It is inti-
tled, the dutiful declaration of the governor of Begemder ; and is
figned by two Umbares, or judges. Whether the original
was fo or not, I cannot fay.

The return made to this by the king was of the harfli-
efl kind, full of taunts and feoffs, and prefumptuous confi-
dence ; announcing the fpeedy arrival of Brulhe^ as to a
certain vii5tory ; and, to flicw what further ailiflance he
trufted in, he ordered Ras Michael to be proclaimed gover-
nor of Samen, tlic province on the Gondar fide of the Ta-
cazze, that no obftacle might be left in the way of that ge-
jicral from Tigre, if it Ihould be reiolved upon to call him.

In Abyffinia there is a kind of glafs bottle, very light,
and of the fize, fliape, and ilrcngth of a Florence winc-
flafk ; only the neck is wider, like that of our glafs decan-
ters, twiftcd for ornament fake, and the lips of it folded
back, luch as v/e call cannon-mouthed. 1 hcfe are made
at Triefte on the Adriatic ; and thoufands of packages of
thcfc are brought from Arabia to Gondar, where they
are in ufe for all liquors, which are clear enough to
bear the glafs, fuch as wine and fpirits. They are very

thin

* A well near Karoota, inimcdiattly on the fiontkrs of Begemder.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 679

thin and fragil, and are called bnilJoe. Mariam Barea,.
provoked at being fo undervalued as he was in the king's
melTage, returned only for anfwer, " Still the king had bcr-
" ter take my advice, and not fend his brulhes here ; they
" are but weak, and the rocks about Begemder hard ; at
" any rate, they do right to move flowly, othcrwife they
** might break by the way."

As foon as this defiance was reported to the king and his
counfellors all was in a flame, and orders given to march im-
mediately. The whole of the king's houfehold, confilling of
8000 veteran troops, were ordered to join the army of Brulhe.
This, tho' it added to the difplay of the army, contributed no-
thing to the real ftrength of it ; for all, excepting the Gal-
la, were refolved neither to Ihed their own blood nor that
of theh brethren, under the banners of fo dctcfled a leader.

This was not unknown to IMariam Barea ; but neither
the advantage of the ground, the knowledge of. Brulhe's
weakncfs, nor any other confideration, could induce him
to take one ftep, or harrafs his enemy, out of his own pro-
vince ; nor did he fuffer a mufket to be fired, or a horle to
charge, till Brulhe's van was drawn up on the brink of the
well Fernay.. After he had placed the horfc of the province
of Lafxa oppofite to the Edjow Galla, againft whom his de-
fignwas^the armies joined, and the king's troons immediately
gave way. The Edjow, however, engaged fiercely and ia
great earneft with the horfe of Lalla, an enemy fully as
cruel and favage as themfelves, but much better horle-
men, better armed, and better foldiers. The mozuent the
king's troops turned their back?, the trumpets from AJa-
riam^Barea's army forbade the puifuit ; while the reft of the

2^ Bege aider

68o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Tegemder horfe, who knew the intention of their general,
luirounded the Edjow, and cut them to pieces, though
vaUantly fighting to the lad man.

Brulhe fell, among the herd of his countrymen, not di-
flinguiflied by any adion of valour. Mariam Barea had
given the moll exprefs orders to take him alive ; or, if that
could not be, to let him efcape ; but by no means to kill
him. But a menial fervarit of his, more willing to revenge
his mailer's wrongs than adopt his moderation, forced his
way through the crowd of Galla, where he faw Brulhe
fighting ; and, giving him two wounds through his body
with a lance, left him dead upon the field, bringing away his
horfe along with him to his mailer as a token of his vic-
tory. Mariam Barea, upon hearing that Brulhe was dead,
forefaw in a moment what would infallibly be tlie confe-
quence, and exclaimed in great agitation, " Michael and
all the army of Tigrc will march againll me before au-
tumn."

He was not in this a falfe prophet ; for no fooner was
Brulhc's defeat and death known, than the king, from re-
fentmcnt,' fear the fatal ruler of weak minds, the conftant
inlligation of Lubo, and the remnant of Brulhe's party, de-
clared there wa^ no fafety but in Ras Michael. An exprefs
was therefore immediately fent to him, commanding his
attendance, and conferring upon him the office of Ras, by
which he became inverted with fupreme power, both civil
and military. This was an event Michael had long wifhed
lor. He h;id nearly as long foreiccn that it mult happen,
and would involve both king and (ivcen, and their lelpedive
parties, equally in deHrudion ; but he had not fpent his

4

tune

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 68i

time merely in refledion, he had made every preparation
poffible, and was ready. So foon then as he received the
king's orders, he prepared to march from Adowa with
26,000 men, all the bell foldiers in Abyffmia, about 10,000 of
whom were armed with firelocks.

It happened that two Azages, and feveral other great
officers, were fent to him into Tigre with thefe orders, and
to invell him with the government of Samen. Upon their
mentioning the prefent fituation of affairs, Michael fliarply
refleAed upon the king's condud, and that of thofe who
had counfelled him, which muft end in the ruin of his fa-
mily and the ftate in general. He highly extolled Mariam
Barea as the only man in Abyffmia that knew his duty, and
had courage to perfevere in it. As for himfelf, being the
king's fervant, he would obey his commands, whatever they
were, faithfully, and to the letter ; but, as holding now the
firft place in council, he muft plainly tell him the ruin of
Mariam Barea would be fpeedily and infallibly followed by
that of his country.

After this declaration, Michael decamped with his army
encumbered by no baggage, not even provifions, women,
or tents, nor ufelefs beafts of burden. His foldiers, atten-
tive only to the care of their arms, lived freely and li-
centioufly upon the miferablc countries through which
they paffed, and which they laid wholly wafte as if belong-
ing to an enemy.

He advanced, by equal, fteady, and convenient marches,

in diligence, but not in hafte. Not content with the lub-

fiftance of his troops, he laid a compofition of money upon

^'OL. II. - 4R all

6g2 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

all thofe diftrids within a day's march of the place through
which he pafTed ; and, upon this not being readily complied
with, he burnt the houfes to the ground, and llaughtered
the inhabitants. Woggora, the granary of Gondar, full of
rich large towns and villages, was ail on fire before him ;
and that capital was filled with the miferable inhabitants,
ftript of every thing, flying before Ras Michael as before an
army of Pagans. The king's underftanding was now reftored
to him for an inftant. ; he faw clearly the mifchicf his
warmth had occafioned, and was truly ienfible of the ralh
flep he had taken by introducing Michael. But the dye was
caft ; repentance was no longer in feafon ; liis all was at ftake^
and he was tied to abide the ifTue.

Michael, with his army in order of battle, approachetf
Gondar with a very warlike appearance. He dcfcended
from the high lands of Woggora into the valleys which fur-
round the capital, and took pofTeffion of the rivers Kahha^
and Angrab, which run through thcfc valleys, and which
alone fupply Gondar with water. He took pod at every
entrance into the town, and every place commanding thofe
entrances, as if he intended to befiege it. This condu<5l
ftruck all degrees of people with terror, from the king and
queen down to the lowed inhabitant. All Gondar pafTed
an anxious night, fearing a general mallacre in the morn-
in'3- ; or that the town would be plundered, or laid under
fome exorbitant ranfom, capitation, or tribute.

But this v/as not the real dcfign of Michael ; he intended
ro terrify, btu to do no more. He entcredGondai- eavly in the
morning, and did homage to the kiny; in the moft rcfpcdt-
iul manner. He v/as inveftcd with the charge ot Ras by

\ Jpas;

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 6«j

Joas himfelf ; and from the palace, attended by two hun-
dred fokliers, and all the people of note in the town, he
went llraight to tal^ pofleflion of the houfe which is parti-.
nilarly appropriated to his office, and fat down in judgment
with the doors open.

Marauding parties of fokliers had entered at feveral parts
of the town, and begun to ufe that licence they had been ac-
cullomed to on their march, pilfering and plundering houfes,
or perfons that feemed without protection. Upon the firft
complaints, as he rode through the town, he caufed twelve
of the delinquents to be apprehended, and hanged upon,
trees in the ftreets, fitting upon his mule till he faw the
execution performed. After he had arrived at his houfe,
and was feated, thefe executions were followed by above
fifty others in different quarters of Gondar. That fame
day he ellablilhed four excellent officers in four quarters
of the town. The firft was Kefla Yafous, a man of the
greateft worth, \yhom I fhall frequently mention as a friend
in the courfe of my hiftory ; the fecond, Billetana Gueta
Welleta Michael, that is, firft mafter of the houfehold to the
king. He had given that old officer that office, upon fuper-
feding Lubo the king's uncle, without any confent alked
or given. He was a man of a very morofe turn, with whom
I was never conne(fted. The third was Billetana Gueta Te-
cla, his fifter's fon, a man of very great worth and merit,
who had the foft and gentle manners of Amhara joined to
the determined courage of the Tigran.

Michael took upon himfelf the charge of the fourth di-

&n6t. He did not pretend by this to crcd: a military go-

4 R 2 vernment

6^4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

vernment in Gondar ; on the contrary, thcfe officers were
only appointed to give force to the fentences and proceed-
ings of the civil judges, and had not deUberation in any
caufe out of the camp. But two Umbares, or judges, of the
twelve were obliged to attend each of the three diftrids ;
two were left in the king's houfe, and four had their
chamber of judicature in his.

The citizens, upon this fair afpedl of government, where
juilice and power united to protect them, difmifled all their
fears, became calm and reconciled to Michael the fecond
day after his arrival, and only regretted that they had been
in. anarchy, and flrangcrs to his government fo long.

The third day after his arrival he held a full council in
prcfence of the king. He fharply rebuked both parties in
a fpeech of confiderable length, in which he exprefled much
Im-prife, that both king and queen, after the experience of
fo many years, had not difcovered that they were equally
unfit to govern a. kingdom, and that it was impoffible to
keep diftant provinces in order, when they paid fuch inat-
tention to the police of the metropolis. Great part of this
fpeech applied to the king, who, with the Iteghe and Galla,
were in a balcony as ufual, in the fome room, though at
fome diftance, and above the table where the council fat,
but within convenient hearing.

The troubled ftate; the deftrudion of Woggora, and the
infecurity of the roads from Damor, had made a famine in
Gondar. The army poffefled both the rivers, and fuflered
no fupply of water to be brought into the town, but allow-

o ed

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 6Ss

ed two jars for each family twice a-day, and broke tuem
when they returned for more*.

Ras Michael, at his rifing from council, ordered a loaf
of bread, a brulhe of water, and an ounce of gold, all ar-
ticles portable enough to be expofed in the market-place,
upon the head of a drum, without any apparent watching.
But tho' the Abylhnians are thieves of the firft rate, tho'
meat and drink were very fcarce in the town, and gold ftili
fcarcer, though a number of llrangers came into it with the
army, and the nights were almoil: conilantly twelve hours
long, nobody ventured to attempt the removing any of the
three articles that, from the Monday to the Friday, had
been expofed night and day in the market-place unguarded.

All the citizens, now furroundcd v/ith an army, found
the fecurity and peace they before had been llrangers to,
and every one deprecated the time when the government
fliould pafs out of fuch powerful hands. All violent op-
prcHbrs, all thofe that valued themfelves as leaders of par-
ties, faw, with an indignation which they durft not fufFer
to appear, that they were now at laft dwindled into ablbluts
*infigniiicance.

Having fettled things upon this bafis, Ras Michael next
prepared to march out for the war of Begemder ; and he
fummoned, under the fevereft penalties, all the great offi-
cers to attend, liim with all the forces they could raife. He

infifted

* This is commonly done in times of trouble, to keep the townfmen in awe, as if fire --.-.'J.s
intenxled, which would not be in their power to quench.

^86 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

jnfiftcd likewife that the king himfelf fliould march, and
refufed to let a fingle foldicr ilay behmd hhn in Gondar ;
not that he wanted the afliftance of thofe troops, or trufted
to them, but he faw the deftrudion of Mariam Barea was
refolved on, and he wiflied to throw the odium of it on the
king. He affeded to fay of himfelf, that he was but the
inftrument of the king and his party, and had no end of
his own to attain. He expatiated, upon all occafions, upon
the civil and military virtues of Mariam Barea ; faid, that
he himfelf was old, and that the king ftiould walk coolly
and cautioufly, and confider the value that officer would be
of to his pofterity and to the nation when he fliould be no
more.

Upon the firfl news of the king's marching, Mariam Ba-
rea, who was encamped upon the frontiers near where he
defeated Brulhc, fell back to Garraggara the middle of Be-
gemder. The king followed with apparent intention of
coming to a battle without lofs of time ; and Mariam Ba-
rea, by his behaviour, fhewed in what different lights he
viewed an army, at the head of which was his fovereign,
and one commanded by a Galla.

No fuch moderation was lliewn on the king's part. His
army burnt and deftroyed the whole country through which
they pafled. It was plain that it was Joas's intention to re-
venge the death of Brulhc upon the province itfcif, as well
as upon Mariam Barea. As for Ras Michael, the behaviour
of the king's army had nothing in it new, or that could
either furprife or difpleafe him. Friend as he was to peace
and good order at home, his invariable rule was to indulge

his

TI5E SOURCE OF THE NILE. 6S7

his foldiers in every licence that the moft profligate mind
could wifh to commit when marching againll; an enemy.

It was known the armies were to engage at Nefas Mufa,
becaufe Mariam Barea had faid he would fight Brulhc, to
prevent him entering the province, but retreat before the
king till he could no longer avoid going out of it. The
king then marched upon the traft of Mariam Barea, burn-
ing and deftroying on each fide of him, as wide as pofliblc,
by detachments and fcouring parties. Alio Fafil, an officer
of the king's houfehold, a man of low birth, of very mode-
rate parts, and one who ufed to divert the king as a kind of
buffoon, otherwife a good foldier, had, as a favour, obtained
a fmall party of horfe, with which he ravaged the low coun-
try of Begemder.

The reader will remember, in the beginning of this hif-
tory, that a fingular revolution happened, in as fingular a
manner, the ufurper of the houfe of Zague having volunta-
rily refigned the throne to the kings of the line of Solomon,
who for feveral hundred years had been banilhed to Shoa.
Tecla Haimanout, founder of the monaftery of Debra Liba-
nos, a faint, and the laft Abyfiinian that enjoyed the dignity
of Abima, had the addrefs and influence to bring about this
revolution, or refignation, and to reftore the ancient line of
kings. A treaty was made under guarantee of the Abuna„
that large portions of Lafta fliould be given to this prince
of the houfe of Zague, free from all tribute, tax, or fervice
whatever, and that he fliould be regarded as an indepen-
dent prince. The treaty being concluded, the piince of Za-
gue was put in polTeffion of his lands, and was called Y'Laf-
ta Hatzc, which fignifi<?Sj not the lung of LdAla, but dv /-%

6S8 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

at or in Lafla*. He refigned the throne, and Icon Amlac of
the Hne of Solomon, by the queen of Saba, continued the fuc-
ceflion of princes of that houfc.

That treaty, greatly to the honour of the contrafting
parties, made towards the end of the 13th century, had re-
mained inviolate till the middle of the i8th; no affront or
injullice had been offered to-thc prince of Zague, and in the
number of rebellions which had happened, by princes fet-
ting up their claims to the crown, none had ever proceeded,
or in any fliape been abetted, by the houfe of Zague, even
though Lafta had been fo frequently in rebellion.

As Joas was a young prince, now for the firfl time in the
province of Begemder and palling not far from his domains,
the prince of Zague thought it a proper civility and duty to
falute the king in his paffage, and congratulate him upon
his acceffion to the throne of his father. He accordingly
prefented himfelf to Joas in the habit of peace, while, ac-
cording to treaty, his kettle-drums, or nagareets, were filver,
and the points of his guard's fpears of that metal alfo. The
king received hini with great cordiality and kindnefs; treat-
ed him with the utmoft refpecft and magnificence ; refufed
to allow him to prollratc himfelf on the ground, and forced
him to fit in his prefence. Michael went flill farther ; upon
his entering his tent he uncovered himfelf to his waiil, in
the fame manner as he would have done in prefence of
Joas. He received him flanding, obliged him to fit in his

own

* Nearly the fame diftinction as the filly one niaJe in Britain between the French king and
.king of France.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 689

own chair, and excufed himfclf for ufing the fame liberty
of fitting, only on account of his own lamencfs.

The king halted one entire day to feaft this royal guelL
He was an old man of few words, but thofe very inoffenfive,
lively, and pleafant ; in Ihort, Ras Michael, not often accuf-
tomed to fix on favourites at firft fight, was very much taken
with this Lafta fovereign. Magnificent prefents were made
on all fides ; the prince of Zague took his leave and return-
ed ; and the whole army was very much pleafed and enter-
tained at this fpecimen of the good faith and integrity of
their kings.

He had now confiderably advanced through his own
country, Lafta, which was in the rear, when he was met by
Alio Fafil returning from his plundering the low country,
who, without provocation, from motives of pride or avarice,
fell unawares upon the innocent, old ma 1, whofe attend-
ants, fecure, as they thought, under public faith, and ac-
coutred for parade and not for defence, became an eafy fa-
crifice, the prince being the firft killed by Alio Fafil's own
hand.

Fasil continued his march to join the king, beating his
filver kettle-drums as in triumph. The day after, Ras Mi-
chael, uninformed of what had pafiTed, inquired who that
was marching with a nagareet in his rear ? as it is not al-
lowed to any other perfon but governors of provinces to
tifc that inftrument; and they had already reached the
camp. The truth was prefently told ; at which th^
Ras {hewed the deepeft compunction. The tents were al-
ready pitched when Falil arrived, who, riding into Michael's

Vol. II. 4 S tent,

^90 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

tent, as is ufual with officers returning from aft exped^
tion, began to brag of his own deeds, and upbraided Mi-
chael, in a ftrain of mockery, that he was old, lame, and im-
potent.

This raillery, though very common on fuch occafions,
was not then in feafon ; and the iaft part of the charge a-
gainft him was the moft oiFenfive, for there was no man
more fond of the fex than Michael was. The Ras, therefore,
ordered his attendants to pull Fafil off his horfe, who, feeing
that he was fallen into st. fcrape, fled to the king's tent for
refuge, with violent complaints againfl Michael. The king
undertook to reconcile him to the Ras, and fent the young
Armenian, commander of the black horfe, to defire Michael
to forgive Alio Fafil. This he abfolutely refufed to do,
alledging, that the paffing over Fafil's infolence to himfelf
would be of no ufc, as his life was forfeited for the deatfe,
©f th^ pfinee of Zagiie.

The king renewed his req^ueft by another meffenger ; for
the Armenian excufed himfelf from going, by faying bold-
ly to the king, That, by the law of all i"iations, the murderer
lliould die. To the fceond requcll the king added, that he
re^uiriC^V ooLy his fbrgivennefs of his infolenee to him, not
sf the death of the prince of Zague, as he would direcEt
what fhould be done when the nearcft of kin claimed the
fatisfa^5lion of retaliation^ To this Ras Michael fliortly rc-
glied, " I am here to do juHice to every one, and wilt
do it without any confideration or refpcd of perfons." And
it was nov/, for the lirft time, Abylliaia ever faw a king io-
licit the hfe of a fubjcd of his o^\n from one of his fervants^,.
a»U be nefuXedv

Ths

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. Gc)t.

The king, upon this, ordered Alio Fafil to defend him-
felf ; and things were upon this footing, the affair likely to
end in oblivion, though not by forgivennefs. But, a very
Ihort time after, the prince of Zague's eldefl fon came pri-
vately to Michael's tent in the night ; and, the next morn-
ing, when the judges were in his tent, Michael fent his
door-keeper (Hagos) reckoned the braveft and moft fortu-
nate in combat of any private man in the army, and to
whom he trufted the keeping of his tent-door, to order Alio
Fafil to anfwer at the inftance of the prince of Zague, then
waiting him in court. Why he had murdered the prince his
father ? Fafil was aftoniflied, and refufed to come : being a-
gain cited in a regular manner by Hagos, he feemed defi-
rous to avail himfelf of the king's permiflion to defend
himfelf, and call together his friends. Hagos, without gi-
ving him time, thruft; him through with a lance ; then cut
off his head, and carried it to Michael's tent, repeating what
palled, and the reafon of his killing him.

As a re'fufal in all fuch inftances is rebellion, this had
palled according to rule : a party of Tigrans was ordered
to plunder his tent; and all the ill-got fpoils wliich he had
gained from the poor inhabitants of Begemder were aban-
-doned to the foldiers. Fafil's head was given to the prince
of Zague, as a reparation for the treaty being violated ; the
iilver nagareet and fpears were returned ; and, higTily as this
affair had been carried by Ras Michael, the king never after
mentioned a word of it. But this was univerfal'ly allowed
to be the firft caufe ef their difagreement.

Mariam Bahea, feeing no other way to favc his province
^rom ruin but by bringing tlie afKiir to a Ihort iffue, rc-

j-S 2 folved

692 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

folved likewife to keep his promife. He retired to Nefas
Mufa, and encamped in the fartheft Hmits of his province;
behind this are the Woollo Galla, relations of Amitzo the
king's parents. Joas and Ras Michael followed him with-
out delay, and, having called in all the out-pofts, both fides
prepared for an engagement.

About nine in the morning, Mariam Barea prefented hia
army in order of battle. Michael had given orders to Kefla
Yafous and Welleta Michael how to form his. He then
mounted his mule, and with fome of his officers rode out
to view Mariam Barea's difpofition. The king, anxious a-
bout the fortune of the day, and terrified at fome reports
that had been made him, by timid or unfldlful people, of
the warlike countenance of Mariam Barea's army, fent to
the Ras, whom he faw reconnoitring, to know his opinion
of what was likely to happen. " Tell the king," fays tho
veteran, " that a young man like him, fighting with a fubr
jedl fo infinitely below him, with an army double his num-
ber, fliould give him fair play for his life and. reputation.
He fhould fend to Mariam Barea to encreafe the ftrength of
his center by placing the troops of Lafla there, or we Ihall
beat him in half an hour, without either honour to him or to
ourfelves." The king, however, did not underftand that fort
of gallantry ; he thought half an hour in fufpence was long
enough, and he ordered immediately a large body of muf-
quetry to reinforce Fafil, who commanded the center, and
thereby he weakened his own right wing,

Michael, who commanded the right of the royal army,,
had placed himfclf and his fire-arms in very rougli ground,
where cavalry could not approach him, and where he fired

as.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 693;

as from a citadel, aad foon obliged the left wing of the
rebels to retreat. But the king, Kefla Yafous, and .Aibo
on the right, were roughly handled by the horfe of Lalta,
and would have been totally defeated, the king and Lubo
having already left the field, had not Kefla Yafous brought
up a reinforcement of the men of Sire andTemben, and re-
trieved the day, at leaft brouglit things upon an equal
footing.-

Fasil, with the hoi-fe of Foggora and Damot, and a'.
prodigious body of the Djawi and Pagan Galla, defirous to
Ihew his confequence, and confirm himfelf in his ill -got
government by his perfonal behaviour, attacked the Be-
gemder horfe in the center fo irrefiftibly, that he not only
broke through them in feveral places, but thi-ew the whole
body into a Ihameful flight. Mariam Barea himfelf was
wounded in endeavouring to Hop them, and hurried away,
in fpite of his inclination, crying out in great agony, " Is
there not one in my army that will flay and fee me die
like the fon of Kalmati Ayo ?" It was all in vain; Pbwuflen,
and a number of hia own.ofEcers, furrounding him, dragged
him as it were by force out of the field. The country be-
hind Nefas Mufa is wild, and cut with deep gullies, and the
woods almoft impenetrable ; they were therefore quickly*
out of the enemy's purfuit, and fafe, as they thought, under
the proteaion of the Woollo Galla. The whole army of
Begemder was difperfed, and Michael early forbade further
purfuit..

The account of this battle, and what preceded it, from tho
mu'-der of the prince of Zague, is not in the annals or hif-
tory of Abyffinia, which 1 have hitherto followed;, at leaft it

has

^94 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

has not appeared yet, probably out of delicacy to Ozoro
Efther, fear of Ras Michael, and refpedt to the character of
Mariam Barea, whofe memory is ilill dear to his country.
But the whole was often, at my defire, repeated to me
by Kefla Yafous, and his officers who were there, whom
he ufed to quellion about any circumftance he did not
himfelf remember, or was abfent from ; for he was a fcru-
pulous lover of truth ; and nothing pleafed him fo much as
the thought that I was writing his hiftory to be read in my
country, although he had not the fmalleft idea of England
or its fitTiatioru

As for the converfation before the battle, it was ofteA
told me by Ayto Aylo and Ayto Engedan, fons of Kafmati
Elhte, who were with the Ras when he delivered the mef-
fage to the king, and were kept by him from engaging
that day in refpedt to Mariam Barea, who was married to
their aunt Ozoro Efther.

The king and Lubo fent Woofheka to their friends a-
mong the Woollo, who delivered up the unfortunate Mari-
am Barea, with twelve of his officers who had taken refuge
with him. Mariam Barea was brought before the king in
his tent, covered with blood that had flowed from his
wound ; his hands tied behind his back, and thus thrown
violently with his face to the ground. A general murmur
which followed fliewed the fentiments of the fpedlators at
fo woful a' fight ; and the horror of it feemed to have fei-
zed the king fo entirely as to deprive him of all other fen-
timents.

I HAVS

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 695

I HAVE often faid, the Mofaical law, or law of retaliation,
is conilantly obferved over all Abyilinia as the criminal law
of the country, fo that, when any perfon is flain wrongfully
by another, it does not belong to the king to punifh that
oflfence, but the judges deliver the offender to the nearcll
relation of the party murdered, who has the full power of
putting him to death, felling him to ilavery, or pardoning
him without any fatisfadlion.

LuBO faw the king relenting, and that the greateft crime,,
that of rebellion, was already forgiven. He flood up, there-
fore, and, in violent rage, laid claim to Mariam Barea as the
murderer of his brother : the king Hill faying nothing, he
and his other Galla hurried Mariam Barea to liis tent, where
he was killed, according to report, with fundry circumftan-
ces of private cruelty, afterwards looked upon as great ag-
gravations. Lubo, with his own hand, is faid to have cut
his throat in the manner they kill llieep. His body was af-
terwards disfigured with many wounds, and his head feve-
red and carried to Michael, who forbade uncovering it in
his tent. It was then fent to Brulhe's family in theij own
country, as a proof of the fatisfadlion his friends had ob-
tained; and tliis gave more tiniverfal umbrage than did
even the cruelty of the execution.

Several officers of the king's army, feeing the "bloody-
intentions of the Galla, advifed PowufTcn, and the eleven
other officers that were taken prifoners, to make the beft
«>fe of the prefent opportunity, and fly to the tent of Mi-
ehaeP and implore his protedlion. This they moft will-
ingly did, with the connivance of Wooflicka, who had
beea intrulled with the care of them, and. Lubo havings

t finilhed:

■6g6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

£nifhed Mariam Barea, came to the king's tent to feek the
unhappy prifoners, whom he intended as viftims to the
memory of Brulhe Hkewife. Hearing, however, that they
were fled to Michael's tent, he fent Woofheka to demand
them ; but that officer had fcarce opened his errand, in the
gentlefl manner pofTible, when Michael, in a fury, cried out,
Cut him in pieces before the tent-door. Woofheka was in-
deed lucky enough to efcape ; but we fhall find this was
not forgot, for his punifhment was more than doubled
foon afterwards.

At feeing Mariam Barea's head in the hands of a Galla,
after forbidding him to expofe it in his tent, Michael is faid
to have made the following obfei-vation : " Weak and
cowardly people are always in proportion cruel and un-
merciful. If Brulhe's wife had done this, I could have for-
given her ; but for Joas, a young man and a king, whofe
heart fhould be opened and elated with a firfl vidtory, to be
partaker with the Galla, the enemies of his country, in the
murder of a nobleman fuch as Mariam Barea, it is a pro-
digy, and can be followed by no good to himfelf or the
flate ; and I am much deceived if the day is not at hand
when he fhall curfe the moment that ever Galla crofTed the
Nile, and look for a man fuch as Mariam Barea, but he fhall
not find him." And, indeed, Michael was very well entitled
to make this prophecy, for he knew his own heart, and
the defigns he had now ready to put in execution.

It is no wonder that thefe free communications gave
the king reafon to diftruft Michael. And it was obferved
that Waragna Fafil had infmuated himfelf far into his fa-
vour : his late behaviour at the battle of Nefas Mufa had

3 . greatly

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ^97

greatly increafed his importance with the king ; and the
number of troops he had now with him made Joas think
himfelf independent of the Ras. Fafil had brought with
him near 30,000 men, about 20,000 of whom were horfe-
men, wild Pagan Galla, from Bizamo and other nations
fouth of the Nile. The terror the favages occafioned in the
countries through which they pafled, and the great difor-
ders they committed, gave Ras Michael a pretence to infill
that all thofe wild Galla fhould be fent back to their own
country. I fay this was a pretence, becaufe Michael's fol-
diers were really more cruel and licentious, becaufe more
confident and better countenanced than thefe flrangers were.
But the war was over, the armies to be difbanded, thefe
Pagans were confequently to return home ; and they were
all fent back accordingly, excepting 12,000 Djawi, men of
Fafil's own tribe, and fome of the beft horfe of Maitfha, A-
gow, and Danjot.

This was the firft appearance of quarrel between Fafil
and Ras Michael. But other accidents followed fail that
blew up the flame betwixt them ; of which the following
was by much the moll remarkable, and the moll unex-
pedled.

At Nefas Mufa, near to the field of battle, was a houfc of
Mariam Barea, which he ufed to remove to wTien he was
bufy in wars with the neighbouring Galla. It was fur-
rounded with meadows perfecftly well- watered, and full of
luxuriant grafs. Fafil, for the fake of his cavalry, had en-
camped in thefe meadows ; or, if he had other views, they
are not known ; and though all the doors and entrances
of the houfe were fhut, yet within was the unfortunate

Vol. II. 4 T Ozoro

698 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER.

Ozoro Eflher, by this time informed of her hufband's deatKy,
and with her was Ayto Aylo, a nobleman of great credit,
riches, and influence. He had been at the campaign of
Sennaar, and was fo terrified at the defeat, that, on his re-
turn, he had renounced the world, and turned monk. He
was a man of no party, and refufed all polls or employ-
ments ; but was fo eminent for wifdom, that all fides con-
fulted him, and were in fomemeafure governed by him.

This perfon, a relation of the Iteghe's, had, at her defire,
attended Ozoro Efther to Nefas Mufa, but, adhering to his
vow, went not to battle with her hufband. Hearing, how-
ever, of the bad difpofition of the king, the cruelty of the-
Galla, and the power and ambition of Fafil, whofe foldiers
were encamped round the hoiife, he told her that there was
only one refolution which flie could take to avoid fud-
den ruin, and being made a facrifice to one of the mur-
derers of her hufband.

This princefs, under the fairefl form, had the courage and
decifion of a Roman matron, worthy the wife of Mariam
Barea, to whom fhe had born two fons. InftrucSted by Ay-
lo, early in the morning, all covered from head to foot, ac-
companied by himfelf, and many attendants and friends,
their heads bare, and without appearance of difguife, they
prefcnred themfelves at the door of Michael's tent, and
were immediately admitted. Aylo announced the princefs
to the Ras, and flie immediately threw herfelf at his feet on
the ground.

As Michael was lame, tho' in all other refpecSts healthy and
vigorous, and unprepared for fo extraordinary an interview,

2 it

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 699

it was fome time before he could get upon his feet and un-
cover himfelf before his fuperior. This being at lall ac-
comphflied, and Ozoro Efther refufing to rife, Aylo, in a
few words, told the Ras her refolution was to give him in-
ftantly her hand, and throw herfelf under his protedion, as
that of the only man not guilty of Mariam Barea's death, who
could fave her and her children from the bloody cruelty
and infolence of the Galla that furrounded her. Michael,
fanguine as he was in his expe<51:ations of the fruit he was
to reap from his vitSlory, did not expect fo loon fo fair a
fample of what was to follow.

To decide well, inftantly upon the firft view of things, was
^ talent Michael poliefled fuperior to any man in the king-
dom. Tho' Ozoro Efther had never been part of his fchemes,
he immediately faw tlie great advantage which would ac-
crue to him by making her fo, and hefeized it ; and he was
certain alfo that the king, in his prefent difpofition, would
foon interfere. He lifted Ozoro Either, and placed her up-
on his feat ; fent for Kefla Yafous and his otlicr officers, and
ordered them, with the utmofl cxpcditioUv, to draw up his ar-
my in order of battle, as if for a revicv/ to afcertain his lofs.
At the fame time he fent for a prieit, and ordered fcparatc
tents to be pitched for Ozoro Efther and her houfeholcL
All tliis was performed quickly ; then meeting her with
•the priert, he was married to her at the door of his own tent
in midft of the acclamations of his whole army. The oc-
cafion of thefe loud Ihoius was foon carried to the king,
and was tlic f.rft account he liad of this marriage. He recei-
ved the information witli violent dirplcafii're,\vhich he could
not ftifle, or refrain from expreillng it in the fevereft
terms, all of which were carried to Pvas Michael by officious

4X2 pcrfons,

700 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

perfons, alinoll as fqon as they were uttered, nothing fofi
tened.

The confequences of the marriage of Ozoro Efther were
very foon feen in the inveterate and determined hatred againft
the Galla. Efther, who could not fave Mariam Barea, facri-
:6ccd herfelf that fhe might avenge his death, and Hve to
fee the lofs of her hufband expiated by numberlefs heca-
tombs of his enemies and murderers. Mild, gentle, and
compaflionate as, from my own knowledge, flie certain-
ly was, her nature was totally changed when Ihe caft back
her eyes upon the fufferings of her hufband ; nor could
flie be ever fatiated with vengeance for thofe fuiFerings,
but conftantly ftimulated Ras Michael, of himfelf much in-
clined to bloodflied, to extirpate, by every poilible means,
that odious nation of Galla, by whom fhe had fallen from,
ail her hopes of happinefs,

Fasil, as being a Galla, the firft man that broke thro' the
horfe of Bcgemder, and wounded and put to flight her huf?
band Mariam Barea, was in confequence among the black
lift of her enemies. Fafil, too, had murdered Kafmati Eflite,
who was her favourite uncle, faft friend to Mariam Barea,
and the man that had promoted her marriage v/ith liim.

The great credit of Fafd with the king had now given
Ras Michael violent jealoufy. Thefe caufes of hatred accu-
mulated every day, fo that Michael had already formed a
relbkuion to deftroy Fafil, even though the king fliould
perifh with him,. In thefe fentiments, too, was Guflio of
Amhara, a man of great pcrfonal merit, of whofe father, Ras
"\\'wdage, we have already fpoken, who had filled fucceflive-

4 ly

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. ;oi-

ly all the great offices in the laft reign. He was immenfely
rich - had married a daugluer of Ras Michael, and after-
wards fix or feven other women, being much addided to ths
fair fcx, and was lately married to Ozoro Welleta Ifrael, the
Iteghe's daughter. Nor was he in any fliapc an enemy to
wine; but very engaging, and plaufible in difcourfe and be-
haviour ; in many refpecTis a good officer, careful of his
men, but faid to be little foUcitous about his word or pro-
mife to men of any other profeffion but that of a-foldier.

An accident of the mofl trifling kind brought about an
open breach between the king and the Ras, which never af-
ter was healed. The weather was very hot while the army
was marching. One day, a httle before their arrival at Gon-
dar, in paffing over the vaft plain between the mountains
and the lake Tzana, (afterwards the fcene of much blood-
ihed) Ras Michael, being a httle indifpofed with the heat,
and the fun at the fame time affecfting his eyes, which were
weak, without other defign than that of fliading them, had
thrown a white cloth or handkerchief over his head. This
was told the king, then with Fafil in the center, who imme-
diately fent to the Ras to inquire what was the meaning
of that novelty, and upon what account he prefumed to
cover his head in his prefence ? The white handkerchief
was immediately taken off, but the affront was thought fo
heinous as never after to admit of atonement.

It muff be here obferved, that, when the army is. in the-
field, it is a diilincliion the king ufes, to bind a. broad fillet
of fine mullin round his head, which is tied in a double
knot, and hangs in two long ends behind. This, too, is worn
by the gowinioi of a province when he is firfi introduced

jntQ ■

702 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

into it; and, in ab fence of the king, is the mark of fupreme
power, either dire<St or delegated, in the perfon that wears
it.

Unless on fuch occafions, no one covers his head in pre-
fencc of the king, nor in fight of the houfe or palace where
the king refides : But it was not thought, that, being at
•fuch a diftance in the rear, he" was in the king's prefence,
nor that what was caufed by infirmity was to be conftrued
into prefumption, or weighed by the nice fcale of jealous
prerogative.

The armies returned to the valleys below Gondar, and
encamped feparateiy there, Fafil upon the river Kahha, and
Ras Michael on the Aaigrab. Guflio was on the right of
Michael and left of Fafil, a little higher up the Kahha, near
Kofcam, the Iteghe's palace ; but he was on the oppofite fide
of the river from Fafil, where he had a houfe of his own,
and feveral large meadows adjoining. Guflio's fervants
and foldiers now began cutting their mailer's grafs, and
were foon joined by a number of rafil's people, who fell,
without ceremony, to the fame employment. An interrup-
tion was immediately attempted, a fray cnfucd, and feveral
were killed or wounded on both fides, but at lail Fafil's
people were beat back to their quarters.

GusHo complained to Ras Michael of this violation of
his property; and he being now in Gondar, ami holding
the oPiicc of Ras, was, without doubr, t]ic fuperior and re-
jvular judge of borh, as thc}- were both out of tlicir pro-
vinces, and immediately in Micliacrs. Upon citation, Fafil
dcdarcd tliat he would rui)niic to no fuel) junldiction ;

and.

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 703-

and, the cafe being referred to the judges next day, it was
found unanimoufly in council, that Ras Michael was in the
right, and that Fafd was guilty of rebellion; A proclama-
tion in confequence was made at the palace- gate, fuperfe-
- ding Fafil in his government of Damot^ and in every other
office which he held under the king, and appointing Boro
de Gago in his place, a man of great intcreft in Daraot and
Gojam, and with the Galla on both fides of the Nile, and
married to a fifter of Kafmati tfhte's, . by another mother,,
©therwife a man of fmall capacity.

Fas iL, after a long and private audience of the king in
the night, decamped early in the morning with his army,
and fat down at Azazo, the high road between Daniot and
Gondar, and there he intercepted all the proviiions coming-,
from the fouthward to the capital.

It happened that the houfe in Gondar, where Ras Mi-^
chael lived, was but a fmall diilanee from the palace, a
window of whicli opened fo direi5lly into it, that Michael,
v/hen fitting in judgment, could be diftindly feen from
thence. One day, when moft of his fervants had left him, a
fhot was fired into the room from this window of the pa-
lace, which, though it miffed Michael, wounded a dwarf,
who was ftanding before him fanning the flies from off his
face, fo gricvoufly, that the page fell and expired at the foot
of his mailer. This was confidcred as the beginning of the
hoililities. Nobody knew from whofe hand the fliot came;
but the window from which it was aimed fufficicnrly fhew-
ed, that if it was not by direction, itmufl at lead have been
fired with the knowledge of the king.

JoAS

7C4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Jo AS loft no time, but removed and encamped at Tedda,
and fent Wooflieka to Michael with orders to return to Ti-
gre, and not to fee his face ; and, at the fame time, declared
Lubo governor of Begemder and Amhara. The Ras fcarce-
ly could be brought to fee Wooflieka ; but did. not deign
to give any further anfwer than this, " That the king
" fliould know, that the proper perfons to correfpond with
" him as Ras, upon the affairs of the kingdom, were the
" judges of the town, or of i;he palace ; not a flave like
" Wooflieka, whofe life, as well as that of all the Gallas in
" the king's prefence, was forfeited by the laws of the
" land. He cautioned him from appearing again in his
" prefence, for if he did, that he fliould furely die."

The next day a meflage came from the king, by four
judges, forbidding the Ras again to drink of either the An-
grab or the Kahha, but to ftrike his tents and return to Ti-
gre upon pain of incurring his higheft difpleafure. — To
this Michael anfwered, " That, true it was, his province was
" Tigre, but that he was now governor of the whole realm;
" that he was an extraordinary officer, called to prevent the
" ruin of the country, becaufe, confefTedly, the king could
*' not do it ; that the reafon of his coming exifled to that
" day ; and he was very willing to fubmit it to the judges
" for their folemn opinion, whether the kingdom, at pre-
*' fent in the hands of the Galla, was not in more danger
*' from the power of thofe Galla than it was from the con-
*♦ ftitutional influence of Mariani Barca. He added, that he
" expedled the king fliould be ready to march againft Fafil,
" for which purpofe he was to decamp on the morrow." I he
king returned an abfolute rcfufal to march : The Ras there-
upon made proclamaiion for all the Galla, of every deno-
mination,

THE SOljRGE OF THE NILE. 705

minatlon to. leave the capital, the next day, upon pain of
death, declaring them outlawed, and liable to be llain by
the firfl that met them, if, after twenty-four hours, they were
found in Gondar or its neighbourhood, or, after ten days,
in any part of the kingdom. After this, accompanied by
Guflro, he decamped to diflodge Fafil from the ftrong poll
which he held at Azazo. 'I'.'iuvhon'j'uh:

By the king's refufal to march with Ras Michael in per-
fon, it was fuppofed that his houfehold troops would not
join, but remain with him to garrifon his palace. Joas,
however, was too far decided in favour of Fafil to remain
neuter. Michael had encamped the 21ft of April in the
evening, on the fide of the hill above Azazo, in very rough
and rocky ground, as unfavourable for Fafil's horfe as the
flope it had was favourable for Michael's mufquetry. ; .-

) loo'i otU '-

The battle was fought on the 2 2d in the m'ofning, and
there was much blood Ihed for the time that it lafted. A
jiephew of Michael) and his old Fit- Auraris, Netcho, were
both ilain, and Fafil was totally defeated. The Galla, who
had come from the other fide of the Nile, were very much
terrified at Michael's fire-arms, which contained what they
called the zibib, or grape, meaning thereby the ball. Fafil
retired quickly to Damot, to increafe and collect another
army again, and to try his fortune after the rains.

It happened, unfortunately, that among the prifoners
taken at Azazo were fome of the king's black horfe. Thefe
being his flaves, and fubjeA only to his commands, fuffi-
cientlyfhewed by whofe authority they came there. They
were, therefore, all called before Michael; two of them were

Vol. II. 4U ' firft

7o6 T R A V E L S TO D I SC O V E R

firil interrogated, whether the king had fent them or not?
and, upon their denying or rcfufing co give an anfwer, their
throats were cut before their companions. The next quef-
tioned was a page of the king, who feeingj from the fate
of his friends, wliat was to follow his denial, frankly told
the Ras, that it was by the king's fpecial orders tliey, and
a conliderable body of the houfehold troops, had joined Fa^
fil the night before; and further, that it was the Armenian,,
who, by the king's order, had fired at him, and killed the
dwarf who was fanning the flies, from him..

Upon this mformation all the priibners were difmifTed..
The army returned the fame night to Gondar, and, thougll
they had been falling all day, a council was held, which
fat till very late, at the rifmg of which a meflfenger was
difpatched to Wechue for Hatze Hannes, who v/^as brought
to the foot of the mountain the next day. hi the fame
night Shalaka Becro, Nebrit Tecla and his two fons, Lika
Netcho and his two fons, and a monk of Tigre, callied Wei-
leta Chrillos, were fent to the palace to murder the king\,
which they eafily accomplilhed, having found him alone.
They buried him in the church of St Raphael, as we fliall
find from the regicide's own confeiTion, when he was appre^.
hended, when we fhall relate the particulars*.

At the fame time Michael exhfbiteda ftrarrge contrail
in his behaviour to the Armenian, who had fled to the
houfe of the Abuna for refuge. He fent and took him
thence, and banifhed him from Abyfllnia, but fo confiders.
ately, that he difpatched a fervant with him to Mafuah to
furnilh him with neceflaries, to fee him embark, and fave
him from the cruelty and extortions of the Naybe.

HANNES

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 707

-■'^S'ji*^-

H ANNES II.
1769.

JJannes^ Brother to Bacuffa^ chofen King — Is brought from Wechne-'--
Croivned at Gondar — Refu/es to march aga'injl Fqftl—Js poifoned
hy Order of Ras Michael.

H ANNES, a man pafl feventy years of age, made his en-
try into Gondar. the 3d of May 1 769. He was bro-
ther to BacufFa, and having in his time efcaped from the
mountain, and being afterwards taken, his hand was cut
off by order of the king his brother, and he was fent back
to the place of his confinement.

It is a law of Abyflinia, as we have already obfcrved,
derived from that of Mofes, that no man can be capable ei^
ther of the throne or priellhood, unlefs he be perted in all
his limbs; the want of a hand, therefore, certainly difquali-
fied Hannes, and it was with thai intent it had be: n cm oif.
When this was objedled to him in council, Michael laugh-
ed violently, and turned it into ridicule ; " What is it that a
" king has to do with his hands ? Are you afraid he Ihall
•« not be able to faddle his own mule, or load his own bag-

V. ii. 4U I ''Z-^g^^'

yog TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

« gage ? Never fear that ; when he is under any fuch difH-
"culty, he has only to call vipon me *, and I will help
*.' him."

Hannes, befidcs his age, was very feeble in body; and
having had no converfation bxit with monks and prieils,
this had debilitated his mind as much as age had done his
body. He could not be perfuaded to take any fhare in go-
vernment. The whole day was fpent in pfalms and prayers ;
but Ras Michael had' brought from the mountain with him
two fons, Tecla Haimanout the eldeft, a prince of fifteen
years of age, and the younger, called George, about thir-
teen.

GuEBRA Denghel, a nobleman of the firfl: family in
Tigre had married a daughter of Michael by one of his.
"wives in that province. By her he had one daughter, Wel-
leta SelifTc, whom Michael in the beginning, while joas
and he were yet friends, had deftined to be queen, and to
be married to him. Hannes was of the age only to need a
Shunnamite ; and Welleta Selafle, young and beautiful, and
who merited to be fomething more, was deftined as this
facrifice to the ambition of her grandfather. A kind of
marriage, I believe, was therefore made, but never confum-
matcd. She lived with Hannes fome months in the palace,
but never took any ftate upon her. She was a wife and a
queen merely in name and idea. Love had in that frozen
compofition as little Ihare as ambition, and thofc two great
' temptations^

* Wiiat made the ridicule here was, Micliael was older thin the king, and could noi
Aaod aiace.

THE SOURCE OF THPNILE. 705

temptations, a crown and a beautiful miftrefs, could not a-
nimate Hjteze Hannes to take the field to defend them.
Evei7 poffible method was taken by Michael to overcome
his rehnflance, and do away his fears. All was vain; he
wept, hid himfelf, turned monk, demanded to be fent a*
gain to Wechne, but abfolutely refufed marching with the
army^

Michael, who had' already feen the danger of leaving a
king behind him while he was in the field, and finding
Hannes inexorable, had recourfe to poifon, which was
given him in his breakfaft ; and the Ras, by this means, in
lefs than fix months became the deliberate murderer of two.
kings.

'j»iSr> ' ^Ik^'

TEC LA HAIMANOUT IL
1769.

Succtedshis Father Hannes — His CharaEier and prudent Behaviour — CuU
tlvates MichaeVs Friendjhip — Marches willingly againj} Fajil — De-
feats him at Fagitta — Defer iption of that Battle.

TECL A HAIMANf UT fucceeded his father. He was a
prince of a nioft graceful figure, tall for his age, rather
thin, and of the whiteft Ihade of Abyflinian colour, fuch are

all

710 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

all thofe princes that are born in the mountain- He was not
fo dark in complexion as aNeapolitan or Poiiu^^uezc, had a
remarkably fine forehead, large black eyes., but which hu.d
famething very fterji m them, a ftraight nofe, rather oi the
laigeft, thm lips, and fmali mouth, very white loeth and long
hair. His features, even in Europe, would have been thought
fine. He was particularly careful of his hair,whichhe dreffed
in a hundred different ways. Though he had been ablcnt but
a ver) few months from his native mountain, liis manners
and carriage were thofe of a prince, that from his infancy
had fat upon an hereditary throne. He had an excellent
-undcritanding, and prudence beyond his years. He was
iaid to be naturally of a very warm temper, but this he had
{o perfedly fubdued as fcarcely ever to liave given an in-
flance of it in public. He entered into Ras Michael's views
•entirely, and was as foi-ward to march out againll Fafil, as
his father had been aveife to it.

From the time of Hannes's acceffion to the throne, Tecla
Haimanout called Michael by the name of Father, and dur-
ing the few flight fickneiTes the Kas had, he laid by all his
Hate, and attended him with an anxiety well becoming a
ion. At this time i entered Abyffinia, and arrived in Ma-
fuah, where there was a rumour only of Hatze Hannes's ill-
ncfs.

The armymarchcdout of Condar on the loth of Noverriber
J 769, taking the route of Azazo and Dijigiebcr. Fafil was at
Bur<5, and had allembled a large army from Damcr, Agow,
and Maitflia. But Welleta Yafous, his principal officer, had
brought together a flill larger one, from the wild nations of

2 Galla

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 711

Galla beyond the Nile, and this not v;ithout fome diffi-
culty. The zibib, or bullet, which had deilroyed fo many
of them at Azazo, had made an impreffion on their minds,
and been reported to their countrymen as a circumftance
very unpleafmg. Thefe wild Pagans, therefore, had, for the
firft time, found a reludance to invade their ancient enemies
the AbylTinians.

Fasil, to overcome this fear of the zibib, had loaded fbme
guns with powder, and fired them very near at fome of his
friends, which of courfe had hurt nobody. Again he had
put ball in his gun, and fired at cattle afar off; and thefe be-
ing for the moft part flightly wounded, he inferred from
thence that the zibib was fatal only at a diftance, but that
if they galloped refolutely to the mouth of the gun, the grape
could do no more than the firft gun he fired with powder
had done to thofe he had aimed at..

As foon as Fafil heard that Michael was on his march, he
left Bure and advanced to meet him, his wilh being to fight
him if poflible, before he fliould enter intothofe rich provin-
ces of the Agows, from whence he drew the maintenance of
his army, and expected tribute.- Michael's. condu6t warranted
this precaution. 1-or no fooner had he entered Fafil's go-
vernment, than he laid wafte all Maitflia, deftroying every
thing with fire and fword. The old general indeed be-
ing perfedly acquainted with the country, and with the
enemy he was to engage, had already fixed upon his field
of battle, and raeafured the flations that would condud:
him thither.

Instead

712 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Instead of taking up the time with fprcading the defo-
lation he had begun, after the firfl two days, by forced
marches he came to Fagitta, conliderably earlier than Fa-
fil expe(fted. This field that Michael had chofen, was rocky,
uneven, and full of ravines in one part, and of plain fmooth
turf on the other, which divifions were feparated by a brook
full of large ftones.

The Nile was on Ras Michael's left, and in this rugged
ground he ftationed his lances and mufquetry ; for he ne-
ver made great account of his horfe. Two large churches,
St Michael and St George, planted thick with cedars, and a-
bout half a mile diftant from each other, were on his right
and left flanks, or rather advanced farther before his front.
A deep valley communicated with the moft level of thefe
plains, defcending gently all the way from the celebrated
fources of the Nile, which were not more than half a day's
journey diftant. Michael drew up his ai-my behind the two
churches, which were advanced on his right and lelt flanks,
and among the cedars of thefe he planted 500 mufqueteers
before each church, whom the trees perfedfly concealed ; he
formed his horfe in ftom, knowing them to be an objed:
the Galla did not fear, and likely to lead them on to charge
rafhly. Thefe he gave the command of to a very aiftive and
capable officer, Powuflen of Begemder, one of thofe eleven
fervants of Mariam Barea, whofe lives Michael faved, by
protediing them in his tent after the battle of Nefas Mu.fa.
He had dire6t;id this ofl[icer, with a few horfe, to fcour the
fmall plain, as foon as he faw the Galla advancing into it
from the valley.

1 As

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 713

As foon as the fun became hot, Falil's wild Galla poured
into the plain, and they had now occupied the greateft part
of it, which was not large enough to contain his whole
army, when their fkirmifliing began by their driving
Powuiren before them, who fled apparently in great confu-
fion, crofTed tlic brook, and joined the horfe, and formed
nearly between the churches. The Galla, defirous to purfue,
were impeded by the great ftones, fo that they were in a
crowd at the paflage of the brook.

Ayto Welleta Gabriel, facTior to Ozoro Efther, was in-
toxicated with liquor, but he was a brave man, very active
and llrong, and of a good underftanding, though, ac-
cording to a cuilom among them, he, at' times, to divert
the Ras, played the part of a buffoon. In this charadler,
with his mufquet only in his hand, he, though on foot,
fkirmiflied in the middle of a party of PowufTen's horfe.
When they turned to fly, Welleta Gabriel found it con-
venient to do fo likewifc, and he crofl"ed the brook with-
out looking behind him. Upon turning round, he law
the Galla halt, as if in council, in the bed of the rivulet, and
taking up his gun as a bravado, he levelled at the crowd,
and had the fortune to hit the principal man among them,
who fell dead among the feet of the horfes.

A SMALL paufe enfued ; the cry of the Zibib ! the Zibib !
immediately began, and a downright confufion and flight
followed. The Galla, already upon the plain, turned upon
thofe coming out of the valley, and thefe again upon their
companions behind them. The cry of Zibib Ali* ! Zibib

Vol. II. 4 X Ali !

They have the grape along with them.

714 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

Ali r was repeated through the whole, fpreading terror and'
difmay wherever it was heard. Nobody knew what was
the misfortune that had befallen them. Welleta Yafous,
who commanded the van, was carried away by the multi-
tude flying : Fafil, who was at the head of the Damot and
Agovvs, had not entered the valley, nor could any one tell,
bini what was the accident in the plain.

Even Michael himfelf, (as I have heard him fay) when,,
fitting upon his mule on a fmall eminence, he faw this ex-
traordinary confufion and retreat, was not able to affigii:
any caufe for it. Though no man on thefe occafions had
more prefence of mind, he remained for a time motionlefs,,
without giving any orders. The troops, however, that lay
hid in the groves of cedars before the churches, who had
been filent and attentive, and PowuiTen, who commanded
the horfe which had been fkirmifliing, faw diftindtly the
operation of Welleta Gabriel, and the confufion that had
followed it ; without lofs of time they attacked the Galla
in the valley, and were foon joined by Guflio and the reft;
of the army..

Fasil, in defpair at a defeat of which he knew not the
caufe, came down among the Galla, fighting very bravely,,
often facing about upon thofe that prefled them, and endea-
vouring at leaft to retreat in fome fort of order ; but the
mufqucteers from the church, commanded by Hezekias,
inftead of entering the valley, had advanced and afcended
the hills, fo that from the fides of them, in the utmoft fecu-
rity, they poured down fhot upon the fliers beneath them.

4 Easijl

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 715

Fasil here loft a great part of his army; but feeing a
place in one of the hills acceflible, he left the valley, and
afcended the fide of the mountain, leading a large body
of his own troops ; and, having gained the fmooth ground
behind the mufqueteers, he came up with them, whilft in-
tent only upon annoying the Galla, and cut 300 to pieces.
Content with this advantage, and finding his army entire-
ly difperfed, he paffed the fources of the Nile at Gceih,
defcended into the plain of AfToa, and encamped near
Gooderoo, a fmall lake there, intending to pafs the night,
and collect his fcattered forces.

Michael's army had given over purfuit, but PowufTen,
with fome chofen horfe of Lafta and Begemder, followed
Fafil upon his track, and came up with him a little before
the duflc of the evening, on the fide of the lake. Here a
great flaughter of wounded and weary men enfued : Fafil
fled, and no refiftance was attempted, and the foldiers, fa-
tiated with blood, at Jaft returned, and purfued the enemy
no further.

It was the next day in the evening before PowufTen join-
ed the camp, having put to the fword, without mercy, all
the ftragglers that fell in the way upon his return. The
appearance of this man and his behaviour made Michael's
joy complete, who already had begun to entertain fears
that fome untoward accident had befallen him.

This was the battle of Fagitta, fought on the 9th of De-
cember 1769, on the very ground in which Fafil, juft five
years before, had murdered Kafmati Efhte. Thofe philofo-
phers, who difclaim the diredion of a divine Providence,

4X2 will

7i6 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

will calculate how many chances there were, that, in a king-
dom as big as Great Britain, the commiilion of a crime
and its punifliment fliould both happen in one place, on
one day, in the fliort fpace of five years, and in the life of
one man.

The extraordinary fcverity exercifed upon the army of the
G.illa, after the battle, was ftill as apparent as it had been in
the flight. Woofheka, of whom we have had already occafion
to fpeak, fell in among the horfe of PowufTen and Guflio, and
being known, his life was fpared. He was coulin-german to
Lubo, but a better man and foldier than his relation, and, in
all the intrigues of the Galla at Gondar, was confidered as an
undcfigning man, of harmlefs and inoffeniive manners. He
had been companion of Gullio, and many of the principal
commanders in the army, and, after the defeat at Nefas Mu-
fa, b.ad the guard of Powufien and the eleven officers, whom
he lufiercd to efcape into Michael's tent, as 1 have already
iaid, while Lubowasmiudcring MariamBarea. He had been,
for a time, well known and well eftcemed by Ras Michael,
nor was he ever fuppofcd pcrfonalh' to have ofTcndcd him,
'or given umbrage to any one. As he was a man of fome
fortune and fubflance, it was thought the forfeiture of all
that he had might more than atoue for any fault that he
had ever committed.

It was therefore agreed on the m^orning after PowuHcn's
Tcturn from the purfuit, that Guflio and he, when they fur-
rendered this prifoncr, (liould aflc his life and pardon from
the Ras, and this they did, proftrating themfelves in the
huml>lcfl manner with their foreheads on the earth. Ras

Michael^

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 717

Michael, at once forgetting his own intereft, and the quaHty
and confequcnce of the officers before him, fell into a vio-
lent and outrageous paffion againft the fupplicants, and,
after a very fliort reproof, ordered each of them to their
tents in a kind of difgrace.

He then fternly interrogated Wooflicka, whether he did
not remember that, at Tedda, he had ordered him out of
the country in ten days ? then, in his own language of Tigre,
he afked, if there was any one among the foldiers that
could make a leather bottle? and being anfwered in the af-
firmative, he ordered one to be made of Woolheka's fkin,
but firft to carry him to the king. The foldiers under-
flood the command, though the miferable victim did not,
and he was brought to the king, who would not fuffer him,
to fpeak, but waved with his hand to remove him ; and
they accordingly carried him to the river fide, where they
flayed him alive, and brought his Ikin llufled with llraw to
Ras Michael.

It was not doubted that Ozoro Efther, then in the camp,
had fealed the fate of this wretched victim. She appeared
that night in the king's tent drefled in the habit of a bride,
which flie had never before done fince the death of Maria m
Barea. Two days after, having obtained her end, flie re-
turned triumphant to Gondar, where Providence vifited her
wirh diilrefs in her own family, for the hardnefs of her
heart to the fulFerings of others.

During this time I was at Mafuah, where, by reafon of

the great diftance and interruption in the roads, thefe tranf-

I actions

7i8 TRAVELS, &c.

acStions were not yet known. Hatze Hannes was ftill''fup-
pofed alive, and my errand from Metical Aga that of being
his Phyfician. I Ihall now begin an account of what pafled at
Mafuah, and thence continue my journey to Gondar till
my meeting with the king there.

JTA'D OF THE SECOI^D rOLUME.

t\

)J^'

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