From Tsoomwa the king marched on, a short day’s march, to Derdera, and encamped near the church of St Michael. Derdera, was a collection of small villages, between the lake Dembea and Court-ohha, where, it will be remembered, the agreement was the confederates should inclose Michael, and give him battle; but he had now lost all patience, as there was no appearance of either Gusho or Powussen; and being, besides, in an enemy’s country, he began to proceed in his usual manner, by giving orders to lay waste the whole adjacent territory with fire and sword. The whole line of march, two day’s journey in breadth from the lake, was set on fire; the people who could not escape were slain, and every wanton barbarity permitted.

The king’s passage of the Nile was the signal given for me to set out to join him. It was the 18th of May, at noon, I left Emfras, my course being southward whilst in the plain of Mitraha. At three o’clock we entered among a few hills of no consideration, and, soon after, began to coast close along the side of the lake Tzana; we saw this day a great number of hippopotami; some swimming in the lake at a small distance, some rising from feeding on the high grass in the meadows, and walking, seemingly at great leisure, till they plunged themselves out of sight. They are exceeding cautious and shy while on land, and not to be approached near enough to do execution with the best rifle-gun. At four in the afternoon we halted, and passed the night at Lamgué, a village situated a few paces from the side of the lake.

On the 19th of May we left Lamguè about six in the morning, our course south and by west, and at eight we found ourselves in the middle of twenty-five or thirty villages called Nabca, stretching for the length of seven or eight miles; a few minutes afterwards we came to the river Reb, which falls into the lake a little north-west of the place where we now were. Close by where the Reb joins the lake is a small village of Pagans, called Waito, who live quite separate from the Abyssinians, and are held by them in utter abhorrence, so that to touch them, or any thing that belongs to them, makes a man unclean all that day till the evening, separates him from his family and friends, and excludes him from the church and all divine service, till he is washed and purified on the following day. Part of this aversion is certainly owing to their manner of feeding; for their only profession is killing the crocodile and hippopotamus, which they make their daily sustenance. They have a most abominable stench, are exceedingly wan, or ill-coloured, very lean, and die often, as is said, of the lousy disease. There are, indeed, no crocodiles in the lake Tzana, owing, as it is said, to the cataracts, which they cannot get up. However, as they are amphibious animals, and walk very well on shore, I think they might surmount this difficulty as easily as the hippopotamus; I rather think the cause is the coldness of the water and climate, which does not agree with the crocodile, but much with the river-horse.

The Waito speak a language radically different from any of those in Abyssinia; but though I have often endeavoured to get some insight into this, their religion, and customs, I could never so far succeed as to be able to give the public any certain information. A false account in such cases is certainly worse than no account at all. I once desired the king to order that one of them might be brought to Gondar. Two men, an old and a young one, were accordingly brought from the lake, but they would neither answer nor understand any questions; partly, I believe, through fear, partly from obstinacy. The king at this became so angry that he ordered them both to be hanged; they seemed perfectly unconcerned, and it was with some difficulty I procured their release; I never therefore made an experiment of that kind afterwards. The Abyssinians believe they are sorcerers, can bewitch with their eyes, and occasion death by their charms even at a considerable distance. It is likely, if that had been so, these two would have tried their power upon me, of which I do not recollect to have ever been sensible.

We passed the Reb at nine o’clock in the morning. It rises high in the mountains of Begemder, and is one of those rivers that continue running the whole year, and has a tolerable ford, although it was visibly increased by rain. We continued our journey in sight of many villages till, three quarters after twelve, we came to the river Gomara, where we staid in search of trees and herbs the rest of the day. At night we received a message from Ayto Adigo, Shum, or governor, of Karoota. He was an officer of confidence of the Iteghé’s; had been a great friend of Mariam Barea’s, one of whose vassals he was, and in his heart an inveterate enemy to Ras Michael and the new succession. Ever since the murder of Joas he had not ventured to Gondar. When I first came there the Ras had given his house, as that of an outlaw, to me. Afterwards, as soon as he returned, I offered immediately to surrender it to him; but he would not by any means accept it, but asked leave to pitch his tent in one of the courts surrounded with walls, for it was a spacious building. Perhaps it was the best situation he could have chosen, for we did him great service by the means of Ozoro Esther, as he was but very ill-looked upon, and was rich enough to be considered as an object of Ras Michael’s rapacity and avarice. Our neighbourhood occasioned us to pass many evenings together, and we contracted a friendship, the rather because he was a servant of the Iteghè, and we were known favourites of Ozoro Esther.

CHAP. IV.
Pass the River Gomara—Remarkable Accident there—Arrive at Dara—Visit the great Cataract of Alata—Leave Dara, and resume our Journey.

On the 20th of May, between six and seven in the morning, as Adigo was not arrived, I sent the baggage and tents that we had with us forward with Strates, a Greek, who was an avowed enemy to all learned inquiries or botanical researches. My orders were to encamp at Dara, in some convenient place near the house of Negadé Ras Mahomet. In the mean time I staid expecting Ayto Adigo’s arrival; he came near eleven o’clock. As a temporary shelter from the sun, a cloak upon cross sticks was set up, instead of a tent, to save time. We sat down together to such fare as Adigo had brought along with him; it was a soldier’s dinner, coarse and plentiful. Adigo told me Kasmati Ayabdar, an uncle of Gusho, had left his house the night before, accompanied by the men of Foggora, the country where we then were of which he was governor, and had taken the high road to join the forces of Begemder.

Netcho, a near relation of the old queen, arrived from Kuara just as we were sitting down to dinner. He had about 50 horse and 200 foot, all bad troops, and ill armed; he was, however, a respectable, tried veteran, who having had many opportunities of becoming rich, gave the whole to his soldiers, and those of his dependents that lived with him; on which account he was extremely beloved, and it was hoped that, if the issue of this campaign was favourable, Ras Michael would make him governor of Kuara, in room of Coque Abou Barea, a man of a very different character, who had intruded himself into that province by the power of Fasil, and after maintained himself in it by open rebellion.

The mules that had hitherto carried my quadrant and telescopes being bad, I had luckily kept them behind, in hopes that either Adigo or Netcho would supply me with better; and I had now placed them upon the fresh mules I had obtained, and had not sent them on with the servants, and we were then taking a friendly glass. It was, I suppose, about noon, when we saw our servants coming back, and Strates also among the rest, stript of every thing that he had, except a cotton night-cap, which he wore on his head. The servants swam over the Gomara immediately, nor was Strates interrupted, but passed at the ford. They told us that Gusho and Powussen were in rebellion against the king, and confederated with Fasil, that they were advancing fast to cut off the Ras’s retreat to Gondar, and that Guebra Mehedin, and Confu, Powussen’s Fit-Auraris, had fallen in with our servants; and plundered them, as belonging to the king and the Ras.