Dongolo, Feb. 26th.
The King of Tigre has turned out to be a living entity and not a mythical being, as we had begun to consider him. He was to have paid us a visit at Attegrat, but he sent us an ambassador in his place, and no one thought that we should ever hear any more of the King. However, he sent to say that he would meet us upon a plain near Ad Abaga, and we journeyed there, rather incredulous but still hopeful. The King was to have been at the appointed spot upon the day after we had reached Ad Abaga; but messengers sent out brought news that, although it was currently reported that he had started from Adowa, he had certainly not arrived anywhere in the neighbourhood. As it was most important that we should see the King, and remain upon friendly terms [pg 256]with him, and as it was certain that if he had started to meet us, and found that we had gone on without stopping to see him, he would feel grievously affronted, the Commander-in-chief determined to wait. Fortunately, any delay we might experience could be of no importance to us, as it will be impossible to move forward from Antalo until a large stock of provisions are accumulated there, and whether we waited a week at Ad Abaga or at Antalo was perfectly immaterial. Wait accordingly we did for three days, before any reliable news reached us. At last we heard for certain, as we believed, that the King was at Hanzein, twelve miles off. This was on Saturday, and the messenger said that of course the King would not move on Sunday, but that he would come in on Monday morning to Mai Dehar, the appointed meeting-place.
On Sunday Major Grant, Captain Moore, and Mr. Speedy set out to meet the King, and accompany him to the meeting-place. They rode out to Hanzein, and found a considerable body of armed men there, and some of the princes. They were told that the King was five miles further on, and five good miles they rode, and, again inquiring for his Majesty’s whereabouts, found that the miles must have been Irish ones, for that the King was still five miles further on. They decided to return, and at Hanzein had another interview with the men in authority there. These worthies tried very hard to induce them to concede, on the part of Sir Robert Napier, that he would come as far as Hanzein to meet the King. Their object in this was, of course, to enhance the dignity of the King in the eyes of his own people, by making us come as far out of our way as possible to meet him; Major Grant, however, altogether refused to concede this point. He stated [pg 257]that we had already waited four days, and that unless the King moved forward at once, Sir Robert Napier would proceed upon his journey without seeing him. Major Grant then started with Major Pritchard of the Engineers, who had gone out to Hanzein with Lieutenant Morgan and his party of signallers, to return to camp. As it was dark when they started, they of course lost their way, and wandered about for some hours, leading their horses, which had two or three awkward falls. They arrived in camp at two o’clock in the morning. They did not pass any of the signallers’ posts on their way, and consequently Lieutenant Morgan and his men remained up all night, to flash the news across the hills of the hour of the King’s starting from Hanzein. Captain Moore and Mr. Speedy remained at Hanzein until the next day, and were hospitably, if not agreeably, entertained, with a repast, consisting of a large dish of half-baked bread, over which melted fat had been poured with a liberal hand. While they were occupied in endeavouring to find a morsel less saturated with fat than the rest, two or three of the chiefs showed them how the food should be eaten, by thrusting some exceedingly dirty hands into the mess, rolling up a large ball, and cramming it into their mouths. Captain Moore underwent a strong internal struggle, but conquered his desire to rush into the open air, and nobly shut his eyes and followed the example. Mr. Speedy—whose residence in Abyssinia has rendered him the reverse of dainty in matters of food—had already set-to with the grave complacency of a man who enjoys his repast.
On Monday a messenger came in who reported that the King had really arrived at Hanzein, and would come on to Mai Dehar early next morning. A native in our pay having [pg 258]verified this report, orders were issued for a move at daylight the next morning. The party was to consist of the four guns of Murray’s battery, a squadron of 3d Native Cavalry, four companies of the 4th Regiment, one company of the 10th Native Infantry, the party of Engineers with their signalling and photographing apparatus, and two elephants. Although Mai Dehar was only five miles off, the troops were ordered to take their tents and baggage, as it was uncertain at what hour the proceedings might be over; and as the next march on to this place was only ten miles, they would be able to march straight through the next day, and would therefore lose no time by sleeping at Mai Dehar.
By seven o’clock we were all out of Ad Abaga, and by half-past nine the tents were pitched at Mai Dehar, which was not more than a four-mile march distant. Mai Dehar is a basin of about half a mile in diameter, with gradually-sloping sides, and possesses no picturesque effect whatever. A small stream runs through it, and the whole basin is covered with a long thick growth of hay. Orders were at once issued that no fires should be lighted or pipes allowed until the grass was all cut in the immediate vicinity of the tents, and for some little distance round the horses. This, of course, was a work which occupied some time; and at about eleven, before the fires were fairly alight, Mr. Speedy, who had gone straight on to meet the King, rode into camp with news that he had left him half an hour before, and that in a very few minutes he would arrive. In ten minutes a dark mass of figures showed upon the crest of the opposite rise of the valley, and presently a tent of bright scarlet colour rose in their midst, and showed that the King was present among them. Mr. Speedy again rode off to say that the Commander-[pg 259]in-chief would move forward to meet him in an hour. By that time the men had breakfasted, and at half-past twelve, when the bugle sounded the assembly, all were ready for any work they might be called on to do. They were formed in line a few hundred yards behind the tent, which had been pitched near the little stream for the durbar. Major Grant, Captain Moore, and Mr. Speedy now rode forward again towards the King’s tent, accompanied by an escort of 3d Native Cavalry. Several officers who were not on duty, but who had come over on leave from the camp at Ad Abaga, also rode upon the flank of the cavalry, and among them I took my place.
The native army was ranged in line on both sides of the royal tent; they were not formed in any regular order, but stood thickly together, with the extremities of their line advanced in the form of the crescent of a young moon. There was no pressing or noise; all stood perfectly quiet as we advanced, and it was evident at once that we were in the presence of a greatly more formidable body of men than we had given Abyssinia credit for possessing. The only sound that broke the silence was the beating of a number of drums. These I afterwards had an opportunity of examining, and found them to be of the same shape, and as nearly as possible the same size, as our own kettledrums. Instead of being of metal, they were of thin wood, and were covered with skins with the hair on in the place of parchment. They were carried one on each side of a mule. There were six mules so laden, and the drums were beaten, some with small sticks, some with large and heavy ones. These last served as big drums, and kept time to the constant beating of the small ones. They played a sort of tune which, if rather monotonous, was by no means unmusical. The principal drummer had a red umbrella held [pg 260]over his head—a distinction enjoyed by no other person except his Majesty himself. When we had arrived within forty or fifty yards of the King’s tent we halted. Major Grant and his party alighted from their horses and entered the royal tent, and the cavalry were drawn up in line parallel to the road the King would pass down on his way to the stream. Major Grant’s mission was to inform the King that Sir Robert Napier was ready, and would advance to meet him as soon as he saw the King had left his tent. Some personages in authority now gave some orders, and a body of four or five hundred men took their places a short distance in front of the royal tent. Some of these men were on foot, some mounted; the great majority were armed with guns of some kind, and in addition carried shield and sword. The remainder had lances. There was a far greater variety of costume, and much more brilliancy of colour, among their body than we had any notion of seeing in Abyssinia. The majority, of course, had the whitey-brown cotton cloth of the country, with generally the red ends and fur tippets with long ends which are distinctive of a warrior of rank. Many, too, had a lion’s mane over their shoulders, which is a sign that they have slain many enemies in battle. Very many too had on long shirts of state, reaching to the knees, and made of richly-brocaded silks, generally green, blue, or red, with yellow flowers. Some, the greatest dandies of all, wore mantles of velvet, violet being the prevailing colour. These reached a little below the waist, and were then cut into long tails of peculiar pattern, which, moreover, was always similar. These, who gave orders, and who were probably generals, were not bareheaded, as were all the rest of the Abyssinians, but had a coloured silk-handkerchief over [pg 261]and around the head, Bedouin fashion, and falling down upon the neck, with a sort of fillet or coronet of metal, which looked like tin, but may have been silver, round their foreheads. Of this body, which was evidently composed of chiefs and warriors of distinction, about equal numbers were mounted and on foot. Very many of the mules carried double, which is here considered by no means an infra-dig. method of travelling. In front of this body of men the band of drums took up their station, and in the rear five or six men blowing an instrument somewhat resembling a clarionet in appearance, except that it has only one note. Some of them were, however, pitched a tone above the others, so that the general result, although not so musical as that of the drums, was yet not discordant.
The King now came out of his tent, and mounted a mule. A dozen or so princes and personal attendants rode or walked near him, and two attendants walked one on each side, leaning against the mule, and supporting him, as it were, in his saddle. One held a large Magenta-silk umbrella over the King’s head. Kassa is a man of seven or eight and twenty. He was plainly dressed in a swathing of native cloth, the only distinction between himself and an ordinary warrior being that, in place of a broad scarlet end, it had a sort of Cashmere pattern. The princes had similar borders to their robes. The King wore a fur tippet, and the cloth was wrapped round and round him, so that his arms were not visible, and he looked a mere bunch as he sat upon his mule. The cloth was brought up round his chin and mouth. He was bareheaded; his hair was plaited in lines from the forehead to the back of the head, in the peculiar manner I have before described, and which exactly resembles that upon some [pg 262]of the Assyrian wall-paintings in the British Museum. These plaits are each tied at the end, and form a little bunch of tails at the back of the neck. Kassa has a mild and rather irresolute face, and was evidently nervous at the unaccustomed ceremony he was about to go through. I believe that his face does not belie his character, and that he is quite guided by three or four of his principal advisers. Puppet kings are not confined to Abyssinia. Major Grant rode by the side of the King, and conversed with him through the medium of Mercher, the interpreter. The mule ridden by the King, and those of the principal personages, all had the gay green-and-red embossed leather trappings I described as adorning the mule ridden by the ambassador who came in to Attegrat. There were several priests in the train, distinguished as usual by their turbans and the whiteness of their robes. In my description of the King’s dress I have said nothing of his leggings or shoes, for the reason that he, as well as everyone of his nation, had bare legs and feet. Immediately the King had started, I closed-in with the unattached officers behind him, and the 3d Native Cavalry came on behind us. In the rear of them, and keeping a perfect line, came the main body of native troops—horsemen in front, footmen behind them. The whole effect was extremely picturesque, and, as seen from the opposite side of the valley, must have been most striking. As soon as we were in motion, we saw Sir Robert Napier approaching from the opposite camp. He rode in a howdah upon an elephant with scarlet trappings; behind followed the other elephant, and his staff rode around him. The troops remained in a line at some little distance in rear of the durbar tent, the 10th Native Infantry being drawn up as a guard of honour in front of the tent. When [pg 263]we were about three-quarters of the distance down the slope upon our side of the hill, the body-guard in front of the King halted, and fell back upon each side, leaving a road, through which the King and his personal following rode. The 3d Native Cavalry followed, but the natives formed line again in the rear and halted. Sir Robert Napier arrived first at the stream, but the elephant refused to cross, and the General then alighted and mounted his horse, and again advanced to meet the King, who had by this time crossed the stream. Sir Robert and the King shook hands, and then rode together to the durbar tent. There everyone dismounted, and as many as the tent would accommodate entered. I was fortunate enough to be one of these. The King and the Commander-in-chief took seats in two chairs. Five of the principal princes sat upon the ground. The King’s shield-and-spear-bearer stood behind him, and several other native attendants stood near. About a dozen European officers ranged themselves round the sides of the tent. At the moment of entering the tent, the guard of honour and the artillery fired a salute, which caused a great commotion among the horses, and I have no doubt rather startled and alarmed the King of Tigre’s army, which had all remained upon the other side of the stream. Throughout the day the greatest discipline prevailed upon this point, not a single man crossing the stream, with the exception only of the King’s personal attendants.
The conversation between Sir Robert Napier and the King was interpreted by Mercher and by his brother, who formed part of the King’s retinue. Both these brothers are Tigre chiefs, who were curiously enough sent to Bombay to be educated, and to learn the English language. The conversation [pg 264]was of the most formal kind. Sir Robert expressed his hope that the King was not fatigued with his journey. The King replied that he was never tired when he came to see his friends. Here the conversation languished a little, and then Sir Robert expressed the pleasure that we English, who sent missionaries to all parts of the world, experienced at finding a Christian nation here in the midst of Africa. To this the King replied, that he did not wish to see strangers in his country, but that if strangers came he preferred that they should be Christians. This was a decided damper; but Sir Robert, after a pause, rallied nobly, and said that we had a most friendly feeling for all the Abyssinians, with the exception only of the bad men who held our countrymen captive. The King replied that Theodore was our common enemy, and that he hoped we should punish him as he deserved. The General then inquired the names of the princes present, and found that one was an elder brother, and two were uncles of the King. These were all intelligent-looking men, with fine faces for Abyssinians. The King’s elder brother is a much more resolute and determined-looking man than the King. These men, as well as the King, we could now see, upon their sitting down and getting their arms a little free from the wrappings of cloth, had very large golden armlets, or rather wrist-ornaments, of exactly the same shape as a lady’s gauntlet. Sir Robert now said that he wished to present the King with some presents, to demonstrate our friendship. These were a double-barrelled rifle by Purday, some handsome Bohemian glass vases, and the horse upon which he himself rode when he met the King. By the way, I question much if the King will ever trust himself upon the horse, which is a high-spirited and rather restive animal, and which upon our leaving the [pg 265]tent completely overpowered the native to whom it had been delivered, and had finally to be taken up to the royal tent by its own syce. The meeting now was over, that is, it was over as a public meeting, and all retired from the tent except two or three confidential officers on either side. What had preceded was merely a formal opening, and the interview was now really interesting. I am, of course, unable to give the details, but the general substance was that the King now entirely threw aside his reserve, and said that he hoped for our support in the disputes which will arise upon Theodore’s defeat. Sir Robert Napier “assured the King of our friendship, but stated that his Queen had sent him here solely with the design of rescuing our countrymen, but that she had given him strict orders on no account to take any part in the unfortunate dissensions which were taking place in the country. We have, as we marched onward to this place, seen everywhere the signs of these unfortunate wars, in the fields lying uncultivated, and in the deserted villages, and he hoped to hear that with the destruction of the power of Theodore, this most unfortunate state of things would cease. At the same time he assured the King that he might rely that if we could give him no support we should also abstain from giving any assistance whatever to his rivals.” Kassa afterwards, in answer to a request of the Chief, promised that he would send messengers to the principal towns upon our route, ordering the inhabitants to do all in their power to furnish us with provisions and supplies. After the interview was over, the King and princes were supplied with wine and spirits, not, however, without some difficulty, for there are very few bottles of wine remaining in the camp of the advancing column. There was then a pause of an hour or two, after [pg 266]which our troops were paraded, and went through a few manœuvres before the King. These were not of much interest, as no powder was expended, and the ground, being full of deep holes, hidden by long grass, was most unfavourable for the movements of either artillery or cavalry. The action of the Armstrongs was also explained to the King. After this the troops returned to camp, and Sir Robert Napier and his staff crossed the stream with the King to pay a return visit to the royal tent. The natives, who had been clustered by the stream, all rose at his approach, and the drums struck up their strange music. We were now enabled, riding as we were among a dense throng of natives, to judge more accurately of their number and appearance than we had hitherto been able to do. The general opinion was, that there must have been about three thousand, three-quarters of whom were armed with guns. They were a fine, active-looking set of men, and in a rough country would make formidable antagonists even for trained soldiers. These men are known to be brave, and are fairly armed, but Theodore’s army has always defeated them. Theodore’s army must, therefore, have been by no means despicable antagonists; and although that army has now dwindled to four or five thousand men, it is probable that that four or five thousand are the most desperate characters and the most warlike warriors of his original force. Strong as Magdala naturally is, and garrisoned by a few thousand such men as these, it may possibly be a hard nut even for a British army to crack.