[28]“On one occasion we had a small adventure. We were resting one night near the summit of a mountain, when about two hours before daybreak we were awaked by a loud hubbub and the discharge of a gun. Starting to our feet, we inquired what was up, and our anxiety was increased by M. Lejean’s Arab seizing the second gun and discharging it. All I saw, for it was pitch dark, was one of the mules kicking about amongst the ashes of a half-extinguished fire, and endeavouring to extricate himself from the leather thong which bound his head to a tree. This he soon succeeded in doing, and went off at a furious rate towards the woods which clothe the sides of the mountain. I thought he had burnt himself at the fire, and that this was the cause of his breaking loose, but the rest maintained that he had been bitten by the hyenas: and they were right, for at daybreak we saw and gave chase to one of these brutes, who was still prowling about. These creatures were much bolder here than near the villages. As we were sleeping in the open air, with our faces exposed, it was fortunate for us that the hyenas preferred trying mule’s flesh to man’s. We heard afterwards that the mule had returned to Gallabat, a distance of forty miles, but was so severely bitten in the flank that he was perfectly useless.” (Dufton, “A Journey through Abyssinia,” pp. 48, 49.)
[29]“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” pp. 515, 516.
[30]“The word ‘Habash’ (the native name for Abyssinian) means, I believe, a ‘mixture’ in the Giz language—a mixture of various qualities of corn goes by that name in some of the provinces of Tigre. It is supposed by some that a great number of Jews followed the Queen of Sheba, on her return from her visit to Solomon, and that a large colony of fugitives also took refuge in Abyssinia about the time of the destruction of the temple and the captivity. Subsequently the Greeks sent missionaries, and they were doubtless accompanied by adventurers; and the Portuguese sent a number of troops, some of whom remained in the country for many years. The variety of complexion, observable in both sexes, is, I should think, attributable to the mixture of races of which the nation is composed.” (Mansfield Parkyns, “Life in Abyssinia,” p. 224.)
[31]That most resourceful of travellers, Sir Samuel Baker, once put an ant-hill of this kind to a singular use. The incident may be new to some of my readers. The explorer wished to make soap in the Soudan. “I had neither lime nor potash, but I shortly procured both. The hegleek-tree (Balanites Egyptiaca) was extremely rich in potash; therefore I burned a large quantity, and made a strong ley with the ashes; this I concentrated by boiling. There was no lime-stone; but the river produced a plentiful supply of large oyster-shells, that, if burned, would yield excellent lime. Accordingly I constructed a kiln, with the assistance of the white ants. The country was infested with these creatures, which had erected their dwellings in all directions; these were formed of clay so thoroughly cemented by a glutinous preparation of the insects, that it was harder than sun-baked brick. I selected an egg-shaped hill, and cut off the top, exactly as we take off the slice from an egg. My Tokrooris then worked hard, and with a hoe and their lances, they hollowed it out to the base, in spite of the attacks of the ants, which punished the legs of the intruders considerably. I now made a draught-hole from the outside base, at right-angles with the bottom of the hollow cone. My kiln was perfect.” (“The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,” pp. 424, 425.)
[32]I have seen living trees of the height of ninety feet, the bark of which had been entirely converted into a layer of “white ant earth.”
[33]“My sight was now delighted by frequent views of the summits of the Simyen mountains, thickly covered with snow. As this was the month of April, one of the hottest, I can easily believe that some of these mountains are never free, but are within the region of perpetual winter. They are the highest in Abyssinia, attaining an elevation of fifteen thousand feet in Aboo Yared, the loftiest peak.” (Dufton, “A Journey through Abyssinia,” p. 196.) The heights of Simyen lie north-east of Lake Tsana, between the lake and Adowa.
[34]“The Geerar is a typical mountain river in a country consisting almost wholly of impervious basaltic and granite rocks; it is evidently a furious torrent after rain, but dry except for the merest trickle at other times; it runs in a deep narrow valley, shut in, hot, and airless, and probably very unhealthy.” (Sir W. Garstin, “Report upon the Basin of the Upper Nile,” 1904.)
[35]“Mittheilungen der Afrikanischen Gesellschaft in Deutschland,” vol. iii., 1881.
[36]These are the “Maria Theresa” dollars. “The Maria Theresa dollar is a facsimile of the coin of 1780. It is still issued by the Austrian Government, and circulates as a trade coin nearly all over Africa. Though roughly about the size of a five-shilling piece, it only exchanges for a little more than its intrinsic value, which was about 1s. 11d. when I left Africa.” (“Abyssinia,” by Herbert Vivian, 1901, p. 239.) Dufton wrote, with regard to Abyssinian marketing: “The Maria Theresa dollar is the only coin used in these transactions under the name of bir (silver). This piece must be of a certain kind, however, containing the spots which form the queen’s tiara, and other marks clearly defined; for which reason it is called by the Arabs of the Soudan Abou Nukter, or father of spots.” (“A Journey through Abyssinia,” p. 61.) Mr. Vivian gives the following table of Abyssinian currency:—
| 4 cartridges | = 1 salt |
| 4 salts | = 1 Maria Theresa dollar |