The horsemen of the king's army were about 7000, mostly very indifferent troops; so that his whole muster was nearly 7000 musqueteers, 25,000 foot, armed with lances and shields, and about 7500 horsemen; in round numbers about 40,000 men. It is not possible, I believe, to know, with greater precision, the number, such is the confusion of barbarous armies on these occasions, and such the inclination of their leaders to magnify and increase their quotas. Besides these, Ayto Confu and Sanuda were left with about 600 men each, to protect Gondar from flying, pillaging parties, and to keep the communication open between the army and the capital, from whence the provisions were to be supplied.
This army was furnished with a number of excellent officers, veterans of noble families, who had spent their whole life in war, which we may say, for these last 400 years, has never ceased to lay desolate this unhappy country; the principal were Ras Michael, who, arrived at the age of seventy-four, had passed the last 50 years of his life in a course of continued victories, Atsham Georgis, and Guebra Christos, uncles by the mother's side to the king; Kefla Yasous, in the full vigour of life, who, though unhappily born in a country plunged in ignorance, and where there is no education, possessed every quality that became a man, whether a soldier, statesman, citizen, or friend; Welleta Michael, master of the household to the king; Billetana Gueta Tecla; Basha Hezekias, and Guebra Mascal, two principal officers of his musquetry, and a great number of others of equal merit, known better in the camp than at the court; Aylo, and Engedan, two sons of Kasmati Eshté; Ayto Confu, son of Ozoro Esther, all young men, employed generally in enterprises, and growing every day more and more into reputation.
It is impossible so much as to guess at the number of the enemy, they were always very numerous, but constantly changing. It was said, that Begemder and Lasta had at one time 30,000 horsemen; I should believe this number greatly exaggerated, from what I heard afterwards; and that the whole cavalry in their army did not exceed what it was at the battle of Serbraxos. I suppose indeed, that, together with their foot, they did not much exceed that number, tho' they were at times magnified to 50 and 60,000, most of them very bad troops, continually deserting, excepting about 4000 men belonging to Gusho, from Amhara, who likewise brought about 100 match-locks, and besides these there were scarcely any in the rebel army. I must not, however, forget 200 horsemen, Edjow Galla, servants and relations of the late king Joas, who behaved in the most gallant and undaunted manner, and upon all occasions set a noble example to the rest of the army.
Ras Michael himself led the van; the king the center, with Guebra Mascal, and a considerable body of musqueteers of Tigrè; he had no horse but those of his own household. The rear was commanded by Welleta Michael, and Tecla: how disposed, or of what troops constituted I know not, for the front, center, and rear were understood to march in order, but it was often impossible to discern any such divisions; we were often all in confusion, sometimes we were in the middle of the front, sometimes joined and mixed with the rear; all our officers had left their command, and were crowding about. Ras Michael and the king; women bearing provisions, horns of liquor, and mills for grinding corn, upon their backs; idle women of all sorts, half dead with fear, crying and roaring, mounted upon mules; and men driving mules loaded with baggage, mingled with the troops, and passing through in all directions, presented such a tumultuous appearance that it surpassed all description. There were above 10,000 women accompanying the army: the Ras had about 50 loaded with bouza, and the king I suppose near as many.
The sight threw me for a moment into low spirits. I know not if the king saw it. I was perfectly silent, when he cried, Well, what do you say to us now, Yagoube? I answered, Is this the order in which your majesty means to engage? He laughed, and said, Aye; why not, you will see. If that is so, I replied, I only hope it is the enemy's custom as well as your majesty's to be in no better order. The king was going to answer me, when Guebra Mascal, who was just beside him, cried out, This is a business you know nothing about, Yagoube; go to your Felac (quadrant) and your fortune-telling, if you are afraid; we have no need of you, nor your advice to-day. Respect for the presence of the king, which you seem to be void of, said I, hinders me from answering you as I otherwise would have done; but be assured, in which ever army they were to-day, they are not men like Guebra Mascal whom I should be afraid of. The king looked at him much displeased, and, I believe, said something favourable of me; what it was I did not distinctly hear.
It was now about 10 o'clock, when, marching close along the foot of the hills, we arrived at Tedda. The burying-place of Hatzé Hannes I. son of Facilidas, and father of Yasous the Great, was scarce a quarter of a mile to the S. W. of us, and the church of St George a little more on the east, when orders came from the Ras for us to encamp on the side of the hill, which we accordingly did, and were presently in better order than we were when marching. The Ras, who had passed the river of Tedda, encamped on the south side of it. It happened that our two bodies, the front and center, were at that time treading upon one another's heels; but the rear, from some accident, was considerably behind, and part of it had scarce passed the Mogetch.
Both the burying-place, and church near it, were planted thick round with Cyprus and cedar trees. Just a little before the Ras ordered us to encamp, a messenger arrived from Netcho, (the Fit-Auraris) that he had that morning met the Fit-Auraris of Begemder on this side of the river Mariam; that he had killed the Fit-Auraris himself, (a man of Lasta) with 37 of his men, and driven them back: he added, that he intended to fall back himself upon the Ras's army, unless stopt by contrary orders; these the Ras did not send, being desirous that he should join him, as he soon after did, without being pursued: he brought word that the army of the rebels was near at hand, between Korreva and the lake; that Powussen's head-quarters were at Korreva, and that he had heard Gusho had pushed on advanced posts, as far as the church of Mariam; but this he did not know for certain, being only the information of a dying man. Ras Michael immediately detached Guebra Mascal, and another officer, with 400 men to take possession of the sepulchre and the church at Tedda, and conceal themselves among the cedar-trees.
We had not encamped long, before the rear came in sight. Confu, son of Ozoro Esther, whom the Ras had left to guard Gondar, hearing how near the enemy was, and the probability of a battle that day, had left his post, and joined Yasine, with the horse of Ras el Feel, that were in the rear; soon after this junction, Asahel Woodage, with about 400 men, partly Edjow Galla, (the late king Joas's household) partly Maitsha, came up from the Dembea side of the lake Tzana, and began to harrass the rear, marching in great confusion. Confu, though something superior in number, was thought to be inferior in the goodness of troops by much more than the difference; but the event proved the contrary, for he charged Woodage Asahel so forcibly, that he obliged him to quit our rear, and retire across the plain at a pace, which if not a flight, did very much resemble it. Ayto Confu pressed vigorously upon him, till, being now clear of the rest of the army, and in the fair open plain, Woodage wheeled shortly about, and shewed by his countenance that it was not to avoid Ayto Confu, but Ras Michael's musquetry, that he retreated to a greater distance; both sides stopt to breathe their horses for some minutes; but it was plain afterwards, Asahel Woodage, an old soldier, trusted much to the known valour of his troops, and wished to strike a blow of consequence in presence of his old enemy the Ras.
Ras Michael was at the door of his tent then playing at dams, or drafts, as was his custom, and Ozoro Esther was trembling to see her son on the point of being surrounded by merciless Galla, the nation who most of all she detested, and who had every cause to hate her. All the young men, (Confu's friends) with their lances in their hands, and ready to mount on horseback, beseeched the Ras to allow them to go down into the plain to the assistance of Confu; but the old general, without leaving off his game, said, "I do strictly forbid one of you to stir; Confu has broke my orders to-day, and brought himself into a scrape by his own folly; let me see him get out of it by his courage and conduct, and thereby set the army a better example than he yet has done."—"Sir, said I, at least station some musquetry on the small hill, at the edge of the plain, that, if Confu is beaten, I may not have the mortification of seeing Yasine, and the new troops of Ras el Feel, (who were in their proper post) and have all my baggage and provisions, massacred before my eyes by these cowardly barbarians." I spoke this in the utmost anguish, when the Ras lifted up his head with, a ghastly kind of laugh, and said, "Right, well do so, Yagoube." Though this was but an imperfect permission, I ran down to the station with such haste that I fell twice in my way, and was considerably hurt, for the ground was rocky, and the grass slippery.