Dr. Stecker’s account of his visit to the town is brief and interesting, and I quote it. I saw nothing of the stone dwellings which he describes, and think they must have been replaced by straw tokhuls since 1881. He wrote:—
“On June 7 I made a tankoa-journey to the peninsula of Zegi, and climbed to the highest peak, Tekla Haimanot (2074 metres above sea-level, according to barometrical measurement), which afforded extremely important survey-bearings.” The traveller then mentions his visit to Livlivo, Adina, and the island of Dek, and adds, “The Zegi peninsula is especially famed for its coffee plantations. Some coffee-trees are as much as a metre in girth. The coffee is mostly exported to Metemmeh” (Gallabat), “less goes to Massowah, but it is not considered so good as that of Korata. Besides coffee the Ensete banana flourishes here conspicuously, and also the edible species (Musa Ensete edulis); but, unfortunately, in recent years these charming plantations have been almost entirely destroyed by a species of pig called Assama (potamochoerus penicillatus),[98] which is found here in hundreds. This remarkable animal feeds almost entirely on the roots of these fine bananas. What struck me here particularly was the neatness of the tokhuls, which are chiefly of stone, and in general all villages on Lake Tsana have a much cleanlier and more pleasant appearance than those inland. There is no lack of clergy on the Zegi Peninsula: there are here no fewer than seven churches with twelve hundred priests and defterers.”[99] I am bound to say that I saw no indication during my brief stay that the population was deplorably priest-ridden!
I was returning to camp about four o’clock in the afternoon, and was still at some distance from it when I met a Habash, who made me understand by signs that our messenger had brought the Ras’s letter, and as I hastened on I noticed that the news was already public property. Upon reaching camp I saw our man, grimy and travel-stained. He and a companion, with one mule to ride, had covered about a hundred and thirty miles in four days over very rough country, and they had waited while the Ras attended to our business; so they had not let the grass grow under their feet. I felt sorry for the mule. Walda Mariam had had charge of this business. We had given him one day’s rest at Bahardar Georgis after his return with Tecla Haimanot’s message, and then dispatched him on this second journey. It is expected of these runners, when they are in charge of a missive from the Negus or a great chief, that they shall not sleep till they have delivered it. The man bowed low, and handed the Ras’s letters to me in a manner which showed that he now made me responsible for their custody. I then learned, by the aid of an Arab interpreter, that the chief’s reply was of the most favourable kind, and that he had sent mandates to all concerned to give us every furtherance on our way round the lake. He also inquired very courteously about our health and our progress, and had sent a soldier from his own guard as a special escort for the party. The Ras, moreover, had even furnished us with letters to chiefs through whose lands we should not pass on the road to Delgi, to be used in case we wished to turn aside from the way and visit the hinterland of the lake district. And, best of all, there was a communication addressed to Fituari Ali’s son, enjoining upon him that he should show us every civility. Johannes, who had been absent from camp when the messenger arrived, had returned by the time my companions came back from an excursion. The despatches were then interpreted to them in French, and we enjoyed the prospect of our enemy’s discomfiture. It was resolved that the mandate to him should be delivered on the following morning. I noticed that the Habashes did not appear to make common cause with Ali’s son, but seemed pleased at our success. Among the Ras’s letters was one to Hyli, which we sent to him immediately, though it was scarcely required in his case. Zody was the bearer of it.
CHAPTER XI
February the 6th was a market-day in Zegi. In the morning we mounted our mules and went to visit St. George’s Church. Hyli was studying in the theological school attached to this round, thatched place of worship, which resembled in all respects the others that we had seen in the country. When the Chief Priest had received a suitable offering, our Abyssinian friend took us to his house, and here, for courtesy’s sake, we were obliged to drink tedj—a vile, bitter draught. We had escaped it on other occasions. The composition of it has been mentioned elsewhere. Hyli was very anxious that we should stay and eat a meal with him—doubtless it would have consisted chiefly of raw meat smothered with red pepper and sour teff bread—but we managed to excuse ourselves from this ordeal. On our way back to camp we passed through the market-place, which was now thronged. I do not know whether any European had been seen there before; but in any case we were objects of the utmost curiosity, and the people pressed around us so thickly that we had a difficulty in making our way through them.
In the afternoon I returned to the market for the purpose of obtaining snap-shots. It is held on the top of a stretch of rising ground, under the shadow of some half a dozen big trees. Under each tree was a large stone. On market-days a priest from each of the different churches stands on the stone allotted to his parish. These men are striking figures, clad in their ecclesiastical vesture, of which a large white turban and a shama with a broad red border are the conspicuous features. The parishioners from the different districts squat around their pastor near the stone, and the priest takes tithe in kind upon the spot when any member of his flock completes a purchase or a sale. Our people bought some grain and two sheep. The ruling prices were: for an ox (without the hide), seven shillings; for a sheep, two shillings.
MARKET DAY AT ZEGI.
See [p. 162.]