PRINCETON, N. J. Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund. Division Section Niifuber 3X377 i i THROUGH ABYSSINIA : AN ENVOTS RIDE TO THE KING OF ZION. 1 THE ENVOY AS AN ABYSSINIAN CHIEF OF THE ORDEll OF SOLOMON. THROUGH ABYSSINIA AN ENVOY'S RIDE TO THE KING OF ZION F. HARRISON SMITH, R.N T FISHER UN WIN PATERNOSTER SQUARE MDCCCXC Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/throughabyssiniaOOsmit_0 CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. INTRODUCTORY II II. PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. JOURNEY FROM LONDON TO CAIRO . . . . 21 III. SUEZ, SUAKIN, AND MASSOWAH . . . . 51 IV. JOURNEY IN ABYSSINIA 89 V. SOJOURN AT THE KING'S COURT . . . • 183 VI. RETURN TO THE COAST 2ig VII. CONCLUSION 253 APPENDICES 265 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. THE ENVOY AS AN ABYSSINIAN CHIEF OF THE ORDER OF SOLOMON .... Fl'OUtispiece THE QUEEN'S SWORD OF HONOUR . . . - I? LETTER FROM KING JOHN 7 1 A GLIMPSE FROM MAHENZIE PASS . . . . I05 COPPER ECCLESIASTICAL CROSS . . . . 153 PORTRAIT OF THE VIRGIN . . . . - I? I KING JOHN'S SEAL 178 PICTURE OF THE CRUCIFIXION I99 PORTRAIT OF KING JOHN ..... 207 NEW PALACE AT MAKLLLEH 229 MAP OF ABYSSINIA ...... 269 2 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. AN ENVOYS RIDE TO THE KING OF ZION I. INTRODUCTORY. Negoosa Negust," or, ''A Visit to the Kinor of Zion," was the 'title which I ori- ginally determined on for this book ; but, for cogent reasons urged by the publisher, I decided to discard so incomprehensible a name as Negoosa Negust," and to substitute that which at present occupies my title-page. Now, I should like to explain that " Negoosa Negust" was not the name of a new sort of bitters. Nor did I desire to deceive a possible reader into the supposition that ''A Visit to the King of Zion" was by the author of " Letters from Hell," and in- tended as an antidote to that sulphurous 12 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. draft from the infernal regions. The follow- ing narrative is nothing more than an account of a journey into Abyssinia which the writer made in 1886, and any air of the super- natural, which may still surround the title which heads this story, will be swept away by the following explanation. The late king of Abyssinia was accustomed to be formally styled as " Johannis, made by the Almighty, King of Zion, King of Kings of Ethiopia and its Dependencies." More- over, his subjects claimed for their country that it is, or was, Zion of the Scriptures. In my forgetfulness of such Scripture history and geography as I once knew, I prefer to leave the discussion of this claim to a Church Congress, or the Royal Geographical Society. Like Acts of Parliament, Johannis, who is also more familiarly known in England as John, had a short title, i.e., Negoosa Negust, which, being translated, signifies King of Kings, and this title was considered to suffi- ciently keep in memory the fact that John, having crushed all other aspirants to the throne, had unified under his single sceptre ABYSSINIA. 13 the numerous petty kingdoms into which Abyssinia was formerly divided. In order to impart as much interest as possible to any political matter which I may introduce, and to render mv readers some- what familiar with the circumstances sur- rounding me in my travel, I shall attempt to sketch briefly the history of events leading up to the mission which forms the subject of my story. Abyssinia may be roughly described as a high table-land adjacent to the western shore of the Red Sea. Whatever may have been its claim in the sixteenth century to a sea- port, it is certain that since that period its confines have been pushed back, bit by bit, by the aggressions of successive Turkish and Egyptian forces, until its boundaries could not be said to extend beyond the edge of the plateau. Hence the country suffers for want of an outlet, and as a direct conse- quence its trade has been reduced to a very low ebb of prosperity. In 1874 Egypt oc- cupied the district in the north of Abyssinia called Bogos, and committed other aggres- 4 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. sions, and this brought Egypt and Abyssinia into conflict. In the following year the Abyssinians killed rather more than three thousand Egyptians in various battles. Again, a year later, the Egyptians lost about the same number out of six thousand in the advanced guard of an avenging expe- dition. In 1877, Abyssinia inflicted further defeats on the Egyptians, who, by the terms of a truce which they had entered into, should have remained at Massowah. Two years later came General Gordon's mission, and from then till the end of 1883 relations between Egypt and Abyssinia remained in a strained condition, embittered now^ and again by occasional raids from one side or the other. Such was the position of affairs when England became involved in a war in the Eastern Soudan, on behalf of Egypt, against the revolted Soudanese. The futility of England's efforts to subjugate the Soudanese, or to effect the relief of various Egyptian garrisons interned in the Soudan, is a matter of history so recent as to require no telling. THE HEWETT TREATY. 15 But it was arranged that a British Mission under Admiral Sir WilHam Hewett should endeavour to put an end to the old enmity between Abyssinia and Egypt, and to so far propitiate King John as to induce him to assist the Egyptian troops to the coast. As a result of this mission the garrisons of certain places were relieved and assisted through Abyssinia to Massowah. The treaty which contained the arrangements, guaran- teed to King Johannis the restoration of the Bogos territory and the benefit of a free trade through IMassowah under British protection. This was a preferable alterna- tive to the original wish of the king to possess the port of Massowah, for, as was explained to him, he would be unable to hold it against any enemy possessing a single gunboat. For a very short time after the conclusion of the treaty, matters looked as if they had settled down quietly, until, in 1885, Italy occupied Massowah, promising, however, to undertake England's obligations under the Hewett treaty. Abyssinia did not i6 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. regard Italian protection as at all the same thing as British protection, and dissensions arose between Italy and Abyssinia. Simul- taneously with the early stages of these dis- sensions King John completed the release of the Egyptian garrisons, and so great was the satisfaction of the British Government with the manner in which he had carried out his side of the treaty that it was decided to present him, his son, and his chief general, with swords of honour as presents from Her Majesty the Queen. On the 17th of December, 1885, therefore, I had the honour of receiving a letter from the Marquis of Salisbury, informing me that I had been selected to proceed to Abyssinia as the bearer of a letter from the Queen to King John, and of the sword of honour. I was directed to proceed to Cairo to make the necessary preparations for my journey, and my instructions stated that it was desired that I should, if possible, reach Massowah in time to accompany an Italian mission destined to start from thence to Abyssinia towards the end of January, 1886 ; but that 1 OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. 19 if this should not be practicable, I should arrange to take the sword and letter to the king by myself. In a further letter I was directed, while not taking any active part in the negotiations between the Italian mission and King John, to facilitate an understanding, and to do what was in my power to explain any matters in which the king might be under the impression that he had cause of complaint. In the Queen's letter it was stated that the sword of honour was not, at the moment of writing, completed, but that as soon as it should be so, it would be sent. Some few days later, Lord Salisbury wrote that the sword was completed, and, with other presents, was sent in my charge, because I was already known to the king from having accompanied Admiral Hewett when he visited Abyssinia in the previous year. An incident arose out of these two letters which, as it gave me no little trouble, and placed me in a position of some danger, I will relate in its proper place. II. PREPARA TIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. JOURNEY FROM LONDON TO CAIRO. II. PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. JOURNEY FROM LONDON TO CAIRO. Before one has been many weeks in any one of Her ^Majesty's services, one becomes aware of the existence of some drag or skid, which appears to retard the circulation of the wheels of official machinery. "Why don't we build more ships ? " laments one. Be- cause the Treasury won't allow the money," is the reply. This impediment, then, to the free and unrestricted use of the sinews of war is the Treasury, the custodian of the public purse. No doubt that is exactly as it should be, otherwise Lord High Admiral Hobbyhorse would be squandering thousands on building ships to his own design, while the overburdened taxpayer would groan in- wardly, and would outwardly grow thin and seedy at the knees and elbows. It was with some little misgivings, then, that 1 24 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. was told at the Foreign Office that the Treasury sanction had not yet been received to the estimate for the expenses of my mission, and as one day after another sHpped by, as days will when one doesn't want them to hurry, I began to fear that the needful sanction might even yet be withheld. My fears, however, proved to be groundless, for after a few hastening minutes from the Foreign Office to the Treasury, the modest sum of ^750 was placed at my disposal, in the shape of a book of blank bills on the credit of my paternal government. I recall the fact that that was on a Tuesday after- noon, and as I wanted to leave London for Cairo with the Indian mails on the following Friday evening, I had not very much time to collect my wits and other necessaries for such a journey as I was about to undertake. " Where there's a will there's a way," and in this case there was a great deal of will, for who, at the ardent age of twenty-four, would not rejoice at the thoughts of such a journey, and of such responsibility as the trust of a mission involved. Even the still vivid recol- PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. 25 lections of the weary hours of riding, and the discomforts and dangers of my journey over the same ground in the previous year, could not deter me, in spite of the fact that I found myself called on to undergo alone the monotony and unpleasantness which I had previously shared with twenty or more com- panions of my own race and colour. While waiting the pleasure of the Treasury, how- ever, I had been jotting down numerous articles of camp and personal equipment which I should require, so on that same Tuesday afternoon I was able to spend a few agreeable hours in that very agreeable occu- pation of buying things. I had good reason to be fairly well satisfied with my afternoon's work, when I came to put it to the test some wrecks later, for during the whole of my journey I only had to regret the omission of some two or three articles. Being a naval officer, and a non-combatant at that, I was not provided with any of the articles of a military man's kit, which enable him to take service in the field at a moment's notice. I therefore found myself buying such articles 4 26 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. as a kit-bag, constructed to contain goodness knows what, but nearly everything except one's horse and personal attendants, it seemed. At all events, when I saw it strapped up, and tilted my tall hat off my bedewed brow at the end of the afternoon to take breath, that bag certainly contained a camp-bed, bath, basin, water-bottle, two blankets, air pillow, gun in case, sword, looking-glass, a bulky despatch-case, meteorological instru- ments of all sorts, a marvellous kitchener, which in itself contained kettles, tin-plates, frying-pans, spirit lamps, a charcoal grate, a multitude of spice-boxes, and numerous other culinary utensils. But to return to the bag ; in it were stuffed books of every description, a great coat and many articles of clothing, such as Baltic shirts, Cardigan waistcoats, and I was going to say a saddle, with bridles, holsters, and other appurtenances, but when I come to tax my own veracity, I fancy that these latter had a box which they shared with a capacious lunch-basket fitted for three, for of course others might join my mission at the last moment, and if they didn't, DOVER TO CALAIS, 27 I should be in a position to dispense British hospitality to two of my Italian colleagues. How, during those three days of buying and packing, I managed to remember so much and omit so little, afterwards seemed rather wonderful to myself: for I had, not only to buy things and put them haphazard into boxes, but to arrange that the articles which I should require at the various pro- gressive stages of my journey should be forthcominof at the riofht moment. Close to my bed I kept a candle and box of matches, and when anything crossed my mind I forth- with struck a light and committed it to paper. As I did a good deal of thinking during the dark hours of those rather exciting days, I was obliged to interrupt my rest very fre- quently. Friday night found me with all my goods packed ; some to accompany me across the Continent, either in the carriage, or registered through to Brindisi, while all my heavier gear went round by sea to Suez. I was not a little tired as I stood on the deck of the steamer at Dover, watching the ava- lanche of luggage rushing down the inclined 28 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. shoot from the Admiralty pier to the deck. There were elephantine trunks chasing wretched little hat-boxes, until one thought that complete destruction must await the more fragile competitor at the goal-post ; but when that result seemed inevitable, a dex- terous hand would seize the light article and whip it swiftly out of the reach of its more robust pursuer. The channel passage on a cold December night is not the sort of sea- faring experience one would choose for pas- time, and I have indeed known men for whom the mountainous seas of the roaring forties had no terrors, but whom the motion of the silver streak laid out like schoolgirls. However, after a fairly fine run Calais was reached. When one came under the blaze of the electric light there, one had an oppor- tunity of scanning one's fellows as they filed, baggage in hand, across the narrow gangway. One man of tremendous personal bulk, and laden with enough light luggage to cause me to pray that he was not to be one of my companions in the sleeping-car, jambed fast in the gangway, immediately in front of me. A TRAVELLING TOILET. 29 Another fellow-passenger behind me re- marked, in an irritated stage whisper, That fellow's as big as Mont Cenis," to which I could only sigh in reply, " Yes, but un- fortunately without the tunnel through him." After the usual haggle with the conductor of the wagon lit as to who had engaged berths and who had not, we got away by train. Four of us shook down into a corresponding- number of berths in one compartment, and my memory is so far at fault as to the pro- ceedings of the next few hours that I can only describe my existence as a series of snorts (human and locomotive) and jerks. At what intervals these occurrences took place I am unable to say, but when daylight again illumined the scene we were rushing through a flat, snow-covered country. Then followed a wriggling out of bed and into various articles of clothing, a little steeplechasing along a narrow passage over flights of open Gladstone bags, and a brief and unsatisfactory dabble in a pint of icy cold water rapidly gyrating around the sides of a metal basin, as if to keep itself warm. Dix ntinuits 30 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. darrct gave one a chance of a very wel- come but somewhat hurried breakfast, and a good stamp up and down a platform to set the blood circulating through one's perished feet. Cooped up in fours on the Inter- national Car Company's system, one is pretty much at the mercy of one's companions, and in this instance I w^as fortunate. The army was represented in the person of an officer whose arm w^as still hors de combat from a wound received up the Nile, and who was on his way out to join the Egyptian army ; the Navy in myself; the Indian Civil Service in a third ; and civil life in a fourth. We whiled away the day with cards, reading, smoking, eating, and gazing at the scenery as it seemed to rush by us w^ith a circular motion like that of the bits of glass in a penny kaleidoscope. A moonlight night showed us the declivities from which we had risen as the train emerged at intervals from the Mont Cenis tunnels ; but beautiful though it may have been — was, I mean — a glass of whiskey and another night of snorts, screams, and jerks was voted more entertaining than the contemplation of a SAUSAGES AND SLEEPING CARS. 31 series of not very well lighted-up gorges and ravines. The fact of the matter was that I, at least, was in a hurry to get on, and we and the time seemed to slip along more rapidly in sleep than otherwise. I so feared that something might happen to bring about my recall, and I could not bear to contem- plate the possibility of so dire a disappoint- ment. It was something to have a mission to carry out all to one's self, and I was desirous of acquitting myself honourably, and felt that the consciousness of my power to do so would be but a poor satisfaction to me should the opportunity be snatched from me. On the following morning, after another wriggle, steeplechase, and dabble, we arrived at Bologna. We breakfasted on the native sausage and changed our International car for one on the Pullman system. In point of comfort, I consider that the former is not to be compared with the latter, but our little quartette, consolidated by the close com- panionship of thirty-six hours' acquaintance was broken up, somewhat to our mutual regret, and we became merged in an ex- 32 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. tended society, numbering in all sixteen. Beyond the bursting of the pressure-pipe of the brake, nothing of event occurred to dis- turb the even tenor of the day, or the uneven tenor of the Italian railway line. We were all travellers of some standing, and so, though I had never before travelled on the Con- tinent, I was able to contain the surprise and amusement which the strangely-attired rail- way and police officials excited in the inner- most recesses of my mind. I suppose the British bobby strikes the intelligent foreigner as a curious specimen of our national officialdom ; but, though I may be prejudiced, he seems to me to possess at least the merit of solidity, and an appearance of respect- inspiring strength. Such being- the case, I suppose one cannot expect to have every- thing, and therefore one must forego, with more or less willingness, the consequentialit}- and general air of struttiness which seem to be the predominant characteristics of the little beings in baggy blue breeches, silver lace, and plumes, who clank their ponderous sabres at the station doors. A RAILWAY REFORMER. 33 The Pullman system enables one to snatch an afternoon nap on the upper tier of berths without interfering with the rubber of whist TOinor on in the seats and at the tables be- low ; and as we are to be disturbed about midnight to transfer ourselves and baggage to the steamer at Brindisi, not a few of us avail ourselves of the opportunity. We poor Britons had evidently been greatly imposed on in some unascertained respects, for about midday a native gentleman joined our party, and from the time he did so, until he went to sleep some three hours later, he was engaged in a wordy war of reformation with the conductor. The strife was carried on at such a terrific pace, and with such gesticulatory emphasis, that we hardly knew whether to admire more, the volubility evinced by the disputants, or the marvellous tenacity of their limbs to their trunks, for truly had any windmill indulged in such violent exercise, centrifugal force would have in- stantly dismembered it. However, the new- comer was but of human flesh, and even- tually went to sleep, leaving us in blissful 5 34 THliO UGH AB \ ^SSIXIA, iofnorance of the shortcomincrs of the con- ductor which had been the cause of his tirade. We reached Brindisi about an hour after midnight, and I lost no time in getting on board the Mongolia and into my berth, where I made up for the lack of sleep ex- perienced on the two previous nights spent on the railway. Three bright Mediterranean days slipped away on the passage to Alexan- dria quickly enough. What with drawini^^ up plans for my journey, studying blue-books and the accounts of former travellers on the subject of the Abyssinian question, a perusal of Gordon's journals, and Mayne's essays on " Popular Government," I filled up the usually idle time of a passenger's life pleasantly enough. Amongst my fellow- voyagers was Canon Liddon. My previous knowledge of the eminent divine was con- fined to a forty-five minutes' sermon at St. Paul's some years previously. I have since heard that forty-five minutes is not long for a sermon, but I recollect that it tried my youthful impatience sadly, and it would be hard to decide whether the seat of my chair ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 35 or that of my trousers was the more reduced by the fidgety wrigghng which I kept up for probably two-thirds of the time. At dayh'ght on the 24th of December, the Mongolia arrived at Alexandria. After much hubbub with the cabmen on landing, we started for the station in batches, and by ten o'clock were again off by train for Cairo. The day was warm, the carriage full, and for five hours we dawdled along, as foreign trains can and do dawdle, till we reached Cairo. Much discussion took place as to the merits of the various hotels, but all the old hands insisted on Shepheard's on all accounts, and so, guided by their experience, to Shepheard's 1 went. A description of Cairo and of Cairo life would be out of place here, and though much will occur in the course of my narrative to give my readers an idea of the place as I saw it, I shall not attempt to describe what has been so often and ably portrayed by pen and pencil during recent years. After de- positing my light luggage in my room, I went to the Chancellerie to leave my des- patches and to report my arrival to the chargd 36 THROUGH ABYSSINIA, daffaircs, in the absence of the minister and consul-general. A stroll about Cairo passed away the time pleasantly until dinner. A large party of English visitors assembled at table d Iwte that Christmas Eve. Hav- ing no friends, I had an opportunity of taking stock of my surroundings. The dining-room looked more like a military mess-room than that of an hotel, owing to the order that officers were always to wear uniform while stationed in Egypt. The masculine appearance of a mess-room was modified, however, by the presence of m.any ladies, either winter visitors or relatives of officers stationed in the garrison. On the following day I had a number of official visits to pay, chief amongst them being one to Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, Her Majesty's High Commissioner. He was waiting for the arrival of the great Ghazi Moukhtar Pasha, who had been so long comine, but whose arrival never seemed the nearer in spite of the lapse of days and weeks. However, on Sunday morning, two days after my arrival, the news reached us GHAZI MOUKHTAR PASHA. 37 that the Turkish yacht had arrived in Alex- andria harbour, and that the Pasha would arrive in state, in Cairo, the same day. The procession past the hotel brought out on to its spacious verandah all the visitors, and was indeed a somewhat impressive sight. British and Egyptian cavalry and infantry combined to swell the pomp. The hero of the hour was accompanied by all the diplomatic and mili- tary functionaries of high degree, amongst them being his old companion in arms, General Baker Pasha. A bystander, who probably had had considerable experience of Turkish officials and their manner of conducting business, prophesied that long as Moukhtar had taken to arrive, it would be longer still before he would be induced to depart. If my recollection of the progress of succeeding events is correct, this predic- tion was well verified. When I left London, I knew that I should be obliged to remain at least a week in Cairo to await some further instructions and the arrival of the swords for the king and his son, and presents for other chiefs, but I con- 38 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. sidered that this would $^ive me not any too much time to obtain my camp and transport equipment, and therefore I hastened on in order that I might be ready for a start as soon as my work should be cut out for me. J\ly mission, however, began to grow in my hands, and involved frequent inter- views with various diplomatic officials in Cairo. Besides this, the work of estimating for my requirements, in the matter of equip- ment and provisions, occupied considerable time, and entailed no little labour. Without this, the enforced idleness would have caused the time to hang heavily on my hands. As it was, I had enough work to keep the devil out of my mind, and some time to spare for my own amusement. I had taken the pre- caution, while in London, of requesting that the military authorities in Cairo might be authorized to comply with all my requests for the supply of stores, and I therefore proceeded to the headquarters, and having been put into the way of obtaining what I wanted, I lodged the requisite papers, and overlooked the packing of the various INDIAN MOUNTAIN TENTS, 39 articles, learning their uses, when I did not already know them. The supplies drawn from this source comprised a very miscel- laneous collection of goods, of which some of the most important were four Indian mountain tents, which I knew to be handy, easily pitched and struck, very efficient against sun and weather, and about the most comfortable form of house, in so small a space, that it is possible to conceive. My further experience only confirmed me in this opinion, and to any one who has not arrived at a con- clusion from his own experience, and who may be wanting a serviceable tent for all contingencies, I can strongly recommend a trial of this pattern. Made of light Indian cotton, and with bamboo supports, it weighs only 1 20 lbs., and is very portable therefore. The Abyssinian mule is a small animal, but constantly carried two complete tents, pro- vided they were fairly dry^ and this up and down steep mountain sides, over rugged rocky paths, for weeks together. I also pro- vided myself with about twenty-five of the army pattern pack-saddles, and though I 40 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. should have preferred a smaller size for the beasts who had to carry them, yet I found that they were well adapted to the rough and heavy work which was afterwards re- quired of them. Some water - tanks for camel transport, but which mules carried easily enough half-filled, were also taken ; waterproof sheets, picketing poles and ropes, nose-bags, and many other indispensable articles. Then, besides a quaniiiy of pro- visions which I was obliged to buy, I drew from the commissariat stores such articles as tea, coffee, sugar, field rations, and tinned meats, because, although I knew that on my previous journey in Abyssinia supplies of every kind had been obtainable, I could not be sure that my route would be through districts where the natives mio^ht be so hos- jjitably inclined ; and, in addition to this, the Italian occupation of Massowah was likely to have so chancred the feelincrs of the natives o o from favourable to unfavourable, that it was quite possible that I should be regarded as an enemy during the entire course of my jour- ney to the king, and, in the event of my STREET STEEPLECHASING. 41 mission failing, on the return journey as well. I have said that in collecting my equip- ment and in planning my journey I found sufficient to occupy me some hours daily, but I had plenty of leisure for recreation. This latter 1 spent in visiting the various quarters of the town, in riding, an occasional cricket match, or in watching the polo. On two occasions I was unfortunate in my equestrian experiences. I had undertaken to escort a lady for a ride, on behalf of a friend who had been unable to fulfil his eno^a'^iement at the last moment. He there- fore mounted me on a horse which had been raced a good deal, and was in fact the steeple- chaser of the place. Quiet enough by him- self, my horse was stirred into a spirit of competition by my companion's pony trotting alongside, and oblivious of the fact that I was doing my utmost to hold him, and that we were still in the streets of Cairo and not on the Gezireh, he dashed off through the crowded street. For some moments I managed to avoid a collision, but a frightened 6 42 THRO UGH A B VSSINIA. woman, carrying a baby in her arms and a basket of oranges on her head, ran first towards one side of the road and then back, rendering it quite impossible for me to keep clear of her. As I sailed by, the toe of my boot touched her back, but not with any force. My proximity, however, was too much for her, and she dropped the baby to save the oranges. My lady competitor being now well out of the race, I was able to pull up and turn back to examine the extent of the mis- chief, which I was relieved to find was not serious. As usual on such occasions, there was much excitement, which manifested itself in the shouting and gesticulations of the crowd, and the bold gendarmes of the place promptly laid hands on my bridle with a view of marching me, horse and all, into custody. Foreseeing the endless and unnecessary bother which a compliance with the demands of the police would entail, I shook myself free of them and the crowd, and continued my ride in search of my missing companion, whom I eventually tracked to her tea-table. On another occasion I accompanied the A PASSED CHARGER. 43 troops on a field day at the Pyramids. . I ordered a horse from tlie French riding- school, and warned the proprietor of the purpose for which I required it. I was emphatically assured that I should be pro- vided with an animal accustomed, as its owner put it, to "music and the cannon." A good-looking jet-black arrived, and having stowed away flasks and luncheon in our holsters, a friend and myself mounted our respective steeds. The quiet behaviour of my animal considerably astonished me at first, as it was so much opposed to the impression which his wicked eye made on others as well as myself Before crossing the Nile, I had occasion to go into the yard of the Kasr-el- Nil Barracks to make some request regarding the stores beinof collected there for me. Here I first received a hint of what was coming, and directly I was clear outside, and had turned my nag's head toward the bridge, he gave a succession of short, quick bucks and dashed off, describing vigorous circles with his tail, for all the world like the track of a revolving and advancing comet. But for the 44 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. warning in the barrack-yard, the preliminary bucks would have unseated me, and left my horse to pursue his meteoric course un- accompanied. After a rush of half a mile or so along the wrong road, I managed to pull him in, and retrace my path till I reached a turning which I had desired to take soon after clearing the bridge, but which it will be readily understood I had missed in the hrst instance. The entire journey to the Pyramids was a series of advances by short quick rushes, relieved by brief intervals of quiet, but always heralded by the preliminary bucks. The fatigue engendered by these proceedings abated my appreciation of tlie Pyramids, the largest of which I was only too glad to use as a rest for my back while I consumed the contents of my flask and sandwich-case. Anticipating even more energetic behaviour on the part of my steed on the return journey, I decided to start before the troops, in order to have as clear a road as possible. After about two rushes, I overtook an officer riding slowly back, unwell. While I was content to walk and HO IV TO RIDE IN FREXCII. 45 converse with him, relating the vagaries of my horse, we jogged along quietly enough, but on endeavourinof to force our horses into a trut, mine gave practical illustration to my narrative. At intervals I was able to enjoy the society of my friend, who finally advised me, as my saddle was a valuable one, to take it off when we reached the river, and push the horse over the brido^e, — a course which I should then have willingly adopted had the horse been my property. No doubt my seat profited in firmness by this exercise, but the exercise itself was not pleasant. My com- plaint at the stables v/as met by the advice, given all too late, Ne toucJiez pas les jainbes, laissez les mains' What the result of adopt- ing such advice would have been I cannot of course say, but, judging from my hardly acquired experience, I should imagine that I should have been either left, at the outset, on the fiat of my back on the bridge, or found myself at Khartoum long before the Soudan would have been quiet enough to admit of my proceeding with safety beyond Wady Haifa. A loose seat seemed but a poor 46 THROUGH ABYSSIXIA. preventive against tlie displacement which might follow a sudden buck on the part of one's steed, and a slack rein quite inadequate to restrain the impetuous career of a bolting brute such as I had ridden. From a spec- tator's point of view the effect had been stirring, I afterwards learned, and in the compliments paid to my sticking powers, my fatigued body and mind found some little solace. After rather more than a fortnight in Cairo, and when I was beginning to find my time hanging somewhat heavily, I determined to take a few days' run to Alexandria. My journey was necessary also, as I wished to match a specimen cartridge, in order to take a supply of the same to the King of Abyssinia, who had sent the specimen to England with a request to that effect. I had searched Cairo thoroughly in my quest, but had been unable even to ascertain the descrip- tion of the rifle to which it beloni^ed. So, one Sunday evening I left by the mail train, which afforded perfectly reasonable travelling, in great contrast to the ordinary slow train by A NA VAL SHIKARI. 47 which I had reached Cairo from Alexandria. I put up at the Hotel Khedivial, which I found very comfortable. My search for cartridges took me over nearly the whole of Alexandria, and indeed well into the suburbs, for there was livinor in a tent on the beach beyond Ramleh an elderly naval man, who had acquired for himself a reputation as a mighty hunter. He was thus possessed of many varieties of fire-arm, and stories of his recent exploits in Abyssinia, which reached me, also increased my desire for an interview. After one or two ineffectual endeavours, I at last found him at home in his tent. As to the cartridge, he was unable to say to what rifle my specimen belonged, so we passed in succession to other subjects of mutual interest. The old fellow could say nothing bad enough for Abyssinia and its people ; on many points of the national character I was unable to dispute the truth of his views, but they had a lack of originality about them, and I therefore questioned him as to his sporting experiences in the country. His accounts of the large game, elephants, lions, &c., with which the 48 THROUGH ABYSSIXIA. country teemed, made me congratulate my- self on having escaped with my life on my last journey, and I trembled for my safety in the future. My friend was also very com- municative on the subject of his revolution in the manner of pitching tents. His plans certainly had the merit of rapidity, but I called to mind certain shapeless heaps of canvas and sticks which, on one of my futile searches for him, had been pointed out to me as his tents, and I mentally decided to prefer driving in a few more pegs when pitching my tent, to extricating myself from a collapsed and soaking shroud of canvas at intervals during any stormy night which it might be my lot to encounter. A great revolution in pistols was also absorbing the mind of the gallant ex-captain, the details of which I will not divulge as they may by now be protected by royal letters patent. My visit to this hermit afterwards received additional interest from further particulars as to his Abyssinian exploits w^iich I learned at Massowah, but which, to conclude my story, may be related here. His journey towards Abyssinia had PARIAH SHOOTING. 49 extended to a few yards beyond Monkullu, which is an outlying fort some four miles from Massowah. Here, under the protection of a formidable body of Italian infantry and artillery, he had shot at several pariah dogs ; but because either the Italian or the Abys- sinian would not permit him to proceed into the interior, he had returned to the coast and embarked for Egypt, presumably without having satisfied his sporting instincts to the extent which his narrative led one to suppose must have been his desire. He was an imaginative old gentleman, but his stories and their sequels reminded me of the contents of the blue and white packets of the Seidlitz powder, as they required to be taken together to make their virtues apparent. During the few days spent at Alexandria, I visited the Orion,'' and met a few of my naval friends, by whom I was introduced to several of the residents ; and to any one conversant with Alexandrian society at this time, it will be needless to add that I ex- perienced as much hospitality as could be well crowded into a flying visit. 7 THROUGH ABYSSINIA, On my return to Cairo, I found all my camp and transport equipment packed in large cases ready for shipment, and I therefore despatched it to Suez. Before leaving Cairo I obtained an interview with the Coptic patriarch, on whom devolves the appointment of an Aboona, or High Priest, to Abyssinia. The withholding of an Aboona by Egypt was for some years one of the many causes of disagreement between that country and Abyssinia, because, by the religious laws of the latter, a Coptic Aboona was the only person who could ordain priests. The patriarch entrusted me with a few messages for the Aboona, and I took my leave after a very satisfactory interview. Just before midnight I completed my packing and went to bed, ready for a start on the morrow. A visit to a dentist brought my stay in Cairo to a close, and I hastened off to the station just in time to catch the train for Suez. III. SUEZ, SUAKIN, AND MASSOWAH. III. SUEZ, SUAKIN, AND MASSOWAH. The only available compartment in the train was already occupied by a monkey, chained to the window-sash with a tether long enough to enable him to roam the length and breadth of the compartment at his own, anything but sweet will. As a companion, I found him so objectionable before starting that I had him removed. In the train were a number of English soldiers going to Ismailia or Suez to join a homeward-bound troopship. As we steamed out of the station at Tel-el-Kebir, close to the little cemetery which contains the bodies of our countrymen who fell there in 1882, the troops gave their fallen comrades a few ringing cheers, which w^ere borne away over the surrounding desert just as were the cheers of the boys who stormed the trenches 54 THRO UGH A B YSSINIA. on that dawning September morn, when, having passed the hail of Egyptian bullets, they rushed the intrenchments, and threw themselves at the Egyptian guns and bayonet points. After as dreary a day's railway journey as can be well conceived, the train arrived at Suez at half-past seven in the evening. The choice of quarters is limited, and I therefore put up at the Suez hotel, where a dinner of soup and sago-pudding was all I could obtain to restore my wasted vigour. I spent the next day getting my stores on board the lona. The docks are reached by traversing a neck of land along which the railway is laid ; but unless one happens to just catch a train, it is better to take a donkey. In the evening I dined with the Eastern Telegraph Company's well- known superintendent, and after dinner re- paired with my host and his wife to the Con- sulate, for whist. The one respect in which I did not feel that my arrangements were fairly complete was that of money. The only coin which passes current in Abyssinia is the Maria Theresa dollar of 1780, of which ABYSSINIAN COINAGE. 55 many thousands are coined annually for use in that country. The natives scrutinize most closely every dollar tendered, and will reject it if they suspect its genuineness. They are careful to see that the coin is neither too new nor too old ; that it bears the letters SF. under the head ; that there are eight dots, or mustard seeds," on the coronet ; that the brooch or moon" is not worn away ; and that the lettering round the rim is not defaced. It follows, therefore, that in pro- viding oneself with money for the journey it is necessary to pick the coins carefully, and as I could not be sure of obtaininor sufficient at Suakin or Massowah, I proclaimed my desire to buy some in Suez. With the assistance of the pro-consul I soon obtained as many as I required, all of which I had carefully selected, for I knew the continued refusals of the natives to accept certain coins to be a cause of constant annoyance, though I had always made a practice of putting away rejected dollars in a separate bag, from which I drew my supplies when it became necessary to bestow a money present on a 56 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. chief. My treasury consisted of two boxes, made so that I could sHde part of the Hd out without removing the straps by which the boxes would hang on the pack-saddle, and this plan of packing I adopted with all my stores. My goods having been shipped on board the lona, it became necessary to send another vessel, the Romeo, instead. The exchange was a good one, and as none of the trouble of transferring the cargo fell on me, I had nothing to do but be thankful. On the day on which I had arranged to sail from Suez I received a telegram from Eng- land, stating that some cartridges, for which I had already waited some time, would not arrive till much later than I had at first expected. It was useless, under these cir- cumstances, for me to arrive at Massowah so early as I had intended ; but as I did not wish to lose sight of all my gear, and could not at the last moment remove it from the ship, and as it appeared unlikely that I should again get so comfortable a vessel as the Romeo, I decided to proceed to Suakin and spend some time there, during which I expected DOWN THE RED SEA. 57 to benefit by learning the latest news of Massowah and Abyssinia from the consul and others. The Ro^neo belonged to the Hull and Norway trade, and though not designed for running in a latitude so hot as that of the Red Sea, she was certainly comfortable. There were only nine pas- sengers in the saloon, including one lady with her husband who was a medical officer, the lieutenant-colonel of the Shropshire regi- ment, a captain in the Commissariat and Transport corps, who was returning from sick leave when he apparently should have been starting on it, a Roman Catholic chaplain, the Italian consul, and one or two more. The consul told me that he had travelled much, and had been in Khartoum with General Gordon at one time. We sailed from Suez on the evening of the 22nd of January, and had lovely weather, the temperature being so well bal- anced that it was impossible to say whether it were warm or cool Not so, however, on the 24th, for though the thermometer regis- tered only 80'^ it was very muggy and un- 8 58 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. comfortable, and I thought that I had never felt the heat in the same way, although not many months previously I had returned from a long tour of about seven years' foreign service, most of which had been spent in the East and West Indies, w^here 80° was looked upon as comparatively cool. On the 25th we arrived at Suakin, which was very much changed in appearance since the early days of my acquaintance with it in December, 1883. The quarantine island, then a perfect desert, was now built over with huts, tents, storehouses, and a railway terminus. The island of Suakin proper was not much changed, but along the promontory which forms the southern shore of the harbour were huts and hospitals for the troops, while the mainland was covered by the camp of the Indian troops, who still remained to garrison the place. On landing I met Brewster Bey, the sub-governor of the town and the Director of Customs, whom I had known well in 1883 and 1884, and who had then rendered my chief. Sir William Hewett, services which were of the utmost value at a time when we SUAKIN LIFE. 59 were dependent on the few residents who could be trusted, for the benefit of their local experience. Brewster Bey most hospitably took me in, and allowed all my stores and baggage to be deposited in the Custom House, where it formed a goodly stack. During a stay of about eighteen days at Suakin, I was able to improve my arrange- ments considerably, by having recourse to the ordnance stores. A morning and even- ing ride were my usual amusements, but in addition to these I had the good fortune to witness a race meeting, and to play in a cricket match. There was usually a gather- ing at the hotel of an evening, and to the music of an orguinette we danced, on one occasion. The heat during the day gave me ample opportunities for indoor study of the various routes which former travellers had taken, and to this previous preparation a great deal of the success of my own marches, subsequently, was due. Early in February an Austrian steamer came in, on her way to Massovvah, and I engaged a passage, but as she sailed a day before lier advertised time, 6o THROUGH ABYSSINIA. I missed my passage. I had heard her whistHng, but as she was not flying the bkie-peter," I supposed that she was cahing for h'ghters. On that same morning I had a grand spill at a water jump, when galloping round the steeplechase course with a friend. His horse refused to jump and swerved across the hedge, with the result that I came violently into collision just at the moment when my horse should have taken off. I therefore had the pleasure of flying over two horses' heads and alighted on my feet in the ditch, having performed a somersault and managed to turn myself round so as to face the animal from whose back I had so recently dismounted, and w^ho was looking wonder- ingly over the hedge at me. INIy companion was much surprised and relieved to see me unhurt, for beyond a few very slight scratches I was not touched, and, having mounted, we continued our gallop, I having added another item to my equestrian ex- periences. The chartered transport Geeloiig arrived on the following day, with Sir Charles Warren, RECEPTION AT MASSOWAH. 6i the newly appointed Governor-General. She was under orders to proceed shortly to Aden, so I obtained permission for her to call at Massowah on the way, in order to land me. On the 1 2th of February we sailed from Suakin, and I greatly enjoyed the clean comfort of the vessel at sea after the in- tolerable odours of the town. We arrived at Massowah on the following day, and I landed at once, my goods being transferred to lighters and brought ashore as quickly as possible in order to allow the Geelong to proceed on her voyage. The Italian naval officer who had boarded the steamer, conducted me to the house where General Pozzolini, the head of the Italian Mission, and his officers were living, I was received with great courtesy, and a room was allotted to me out of the very limited accommodation at the general's disposal. I found that the members of the mission comprised Signor Bardi, cf the Foreign Office, Dr. Nerrazini and Lieu- tenant Bonnefoi, both of the Italian Navy, and Lieutenant Capacchi, of the Artillery, and these were to be my companions on the 62 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. journey into the interior. As the result of a correspondence between the Foreign Office in London and the ItaHan Minister, the hospitality of Italy had been accepted on my behalf during my stay in Massowah. The Italian Government had desired to extend to me their hospitality for the whole journey, but the Marquis of Salisbury, considering that confusion might ensue in the Abyssinian mind if the two missions, which were for different objects, were not kept distinct, and because my work would probably occupy less time than that of the Italian Mission, limited his acceptance of this offer to the period of my stay in Massowah. As I was unable to speak Italian, I w^as glad to find that Bonnefoi spoke English so perfectly that he might pass easily as an Englishman, of which he also had every appearance of being. He therefore took me under his wing, and during the whole time of my acquaintance with him was un- varying in his kindness. After a very cordial exchange of formalities with General Pozzolini and his staff, I was conducted to the palace occupied by General ITALIAN: HOSPITALITY, 63 Gene, the Commandant of the troops and Governor of the town and its environs. General Gene repeated, in the name of his government, their offer of hospitahty, and desired to do everything possible to assist me in my duties, and to make me comfortable to the full extent of his power. As it would be impossible to relate the many acts of kindness which I received at the hands of all the Italian officers whom I met during a prolonged stay amongst them, I must content myself with saying that they far exceeded their promises in every way. While in Cairo, I had engaged as my personal servant a certain IMahomed Edrice, and I decided that he should be the only INIussulman in my caravan. On my previous journey the caravan had consisted of Mussul- man Arabs and Abyssinian Christians, in the proportion of one half, and though they settled down to work together fairly well in the end, there was no little dissension at times. For instance, it occasionally happened that a Mussulman mule-driver would fall sick, and a Christian would be ordered to drive the 64 THRO UGH AB YSSINIA. former's mule. A wrangle would ensue between the Christian and the headman til rough whom the order had been passed. With the assistance of an interpreter the matter would be investigated, when it would be discovered that the Christian objected because the mule was a MaJiometan viide " by virtue of its having previously been driven by a Mussulman. In addition to little difficulties such as this, it was found that the bigotry of the Abyssinians scarcely tolerated the sojurn in their country of a body of Mahometans. At Suakin I engaged the services of a young Abyssinian named Kassa, who had accompanied us through the country in 1884, and had become a general favourite on account of his cheerful willingness to work, his keenness as a sportsman, and his general intelligence. On our return to the coast he had been taken on board ship, where he remained studying English with two other small Abyssinian boys, until he was qualified as an interpreter. This position he w^as holding on board a gun vessel when I secured his services. Immediately on my arrival at " WOLKEITV BRU. 65 Massowah I engaged my head interpreter named Bru. Now an old man, Bru was educated at the EngHsh Protestant College in Malta, whither he had been taken by Antoine d'Abbadie, to whom his uncle had taught Amharic, as the principal Abyssinian dialect is called. From 1 858 to 1 860 he worked in the telegraph department of the Egyptian railway, at that time managed by Englishmen. He then served the Red Sea and Indian Telegraph Company until Sir Robert Napier's expedition into Abyssinia in 1867, when he was employed at first with the cavalry, and subsequently with a surveying party of Royal Engineers. Since then he has accompanied many official and sporting expeditions into the country, including that of Sir William Hewett. Being well connected, he has con- siderable influence to add to his valuable experience, and since he speaks both dialects of Abyssinian, English, Arabic, French, and Armenian, he is a useful man to secure. With these three men as my staff, I set to work to form my caravan. From Cairo I had telegraphed to a well- 9 66 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. known merchant of Massowah to obtain for me about thirty good mules at a fixed price which made it worth his while to procure good animals, and though I paid slightly- more than I should have done had I bought my animals one by one by bargaining, I secured my money's worth many times over in other ways. On the day after my arrival at Massowah I went out shooting with the two generals and a few officers, and on my return I unpacked all my saddlery and stacked it conveniently for use. I engaged about twenty-five Abyssinians as drivers, on wages of three dollars a month, and I devoted some time during that and the next few days to teaching them how to pitch tents, strap up cases, and many other duties with which it was necessary they should become familiar to enable me to keep my caravan in good order single-handed. I laid down picketing lines, with head and heel ropes, so that when my mules arrived I examined them, and, if accepted, I moored them head and stern, so to speak, in their places along the lines. This process was not got through either so CARAVAN DRILL. 67 quickly or easily as is that of writing about it. The animals, unused to discipline, struggled and kicked furiously, under which circum- stances it was a work of art to confine their heels in the leather straps of the heel ropes. My men evinced a decided distaste for the job at first, and it was only by setting them a personal example that they eventually took to it quietly, and induced the animals to do the same. I used to drill them twice daily at taking the mules out to water, half the men performing this service while the other half cleared up the lines, laid down fresh gravel, and prepared the forage, so that when the mules arrived back they were picketed, fed and cleaned. Under these circumstances they began to look very well in a few days, and my courtyard, with the animals drawn up in straight lines and having the appearance of being well cared for, was much admired, and most favourably criticised, by many com- petent Italian officers. I refer to this with some pride as I had naturally had but very little training in such a matter. Indeed the contrast between my own mules and those 68 THROUGH ABYSSINIA. being collected for the Italian Mission was so marked as to lead the officers of the mission to take a leaf out of my book, for their animals were tied to various posts by ropes round their necks ; consequently, as they followed each other round and round the posts, their tethers became shortened until they were almost inextricably tangled in a mass, and in danger of being strangled in their struggles to free themselves from their ropes and the heap of mire which had been allowed to collect around them. The next thing requisite was to fit each mule with his own saddle, as the animals varied considerably in size. This was another operation not quietly submitted to, but by degrees I worked through the whole of them, and charged each man with the care of a mule with all its saddlery, harness, and other belongings such as nose- bags, currycombs, and brushes. A man to a mule may seem rather a generous arrange- ment, but it is difficult for less than two men to load a mule, and so I worked them in pairs. The roughness of the country, too, necessitates a strong party of drivers if one WEIGHING THE LOADS. 69 is to keep a caravan, equipped in European fashion, in proper order, and avoid the sore backs which are so terribly common among the beasts of burden in Abyssinia. Then came the difficulty of weighing out the loads, and allotting various weights to certain mules. Many of my packages were unsuitable in dimensions and weight, and had to be re- packed. The assistance rendered me by some of my men was at first of most doubt- ful value, and except that I had particularly determined not to be driven crazy, I am sure that such would have been my fate in a very short time. Towards the end of February, I had so far completed my arrangements as to be able to march my caravan out for a trial trip. This developed a few defects which I immediately put to rights. But it must not be supposed that I had nothing else to do but play with my men and mules, though indeed that was hard enough work in a broiling tropical sun. Some hours daily were spent in discussing with the Italian General the policy of the coming mission, and the steps to be taken at certain THROUGH ABYSSINIA. junctures, or on certain possible contingencies arising. I also visited the various naval and military establishments at Massowah, and got through no little official letter-writing, which I generally worked at during the night. I had improvised a fairly comfortable writing- desk in my room, out of one of the huge packing-cases which had contained my saddles. This I placed with one side on the floor, so that the opposite side formed the top, and I sat with my legs inside the case ; covered with an indiarubber sheet, this com- pared favourably with most of the furniture of which the establishment boasted, for the Italian officers were roughing it thoroughly. On one's interpreter much of the success of such a mission as I had undertaken depends, and on that account I had been glad to secure old Bru's services. I had suspected certain passages in the translation of a letter from the king of Abyssinia to Queen Victoria when the letter was shown to me in England. 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