Early next morning I was sent for by a servant of Ozoro Esther, to attend Welleta Selassé, who I was told was at the point of death. I repaired immediately to the house of Ras Michael, where she then was, but found her without possibility of recovery, having already lost her speech. She expired a few minutes afterwards, apparently in violent agonies. The cause was never properly known; some attributed it to the jealousy of Ozoro Esther, others alledged that she had taken poison from apprehension of falling into the hands of Ras Michael: whatever was the truth, her servants certainly told me, that she had confessed she had taken poison, and not till the pain became violent, and then she turned afraid, would she consent to have an express sent to Ozoro Esther, to bring me from the camp. I had unluckily left it before to attend Ayto Confu, neither is it probable I could have been of any service, as the poison she had taken was arsenic. This accident detained me that whole day, so that, instead of returning to the army, I went to Ayto Confu at Koscam, where I found another messenger in search of me.
The king's Mahometan was returned from Sennaar, and with him Soliman my servant, who brought me answers to the letters I had written; they had come by Beyla to Ras el Feel, by Sim Sim, and the western deserts, the way to Teawa being much infested by gangs of Arabs, and Ganjar horse, who murdered every body they found in their way. They brought with them only twelve horses, eighteen coats of mail, and about thirty libd[10]; these were mostly returns made by the principal members of government to the presents the king had sent them, for every body at Sennaar now set too great a value upon the armour, and horses, to part easily with them, on account of the unsettled state of the times, the history of which we shall give afterwards.
My letters informed me that the whole kingdom of Sennaar was in arms, that Nasser (who had deposed his father by the help of two great brothers, Mahomet Abou Calec, and Adelan) was upon the point of trusting his life and kingdom to the event of a battle with these two officers. I was, moreover, conjured, with all the earnestness, as I thought, of a truly honest man, that I would by no means undertake the journey I intended; that to come from Ras el Feel to Sennaar, was, for a white man like me, next to an absolute impossibility, connecting the danger of the way with the great hardships from the excessive heat of the climate, and want of food and water; that even arrived at Sennaar, I should be in the utmost danger from the soldiery, and the king's slaves, under no subordination or government; and that, even if I was happy enough to escape these, the worst still remained, and no human power could convoy or protect me, in my remaining journey to Egypt through the great desert. I was therefore begged to lay all such intention aside as impossible, and either stay where I was, or return by Tigrè, Masuah, and Arabia, the way by which I first entered Abyssinia. This was the severest of all blows to me, and threw me for some time into the lowest despondency, but it did not change my resolution, which was already taken, not to turn to the right or the left, but either compleat my journey to Syene, the frontier of Egypt, by Sennaar, and Nubia, or perish in the attempt.
I now resolved to proceed immediately to the camp, taking twenty horse from Sanuda, and twenty from Confu, to escort the coats of mail and horses from Sennaar. I set out that evening with Mahomet the king's servant, by the road of Sema Confu, and arrived about nine o'clock in the camp, without any adventure, bringing the news of Welleta Selassé's death, which seemed to cause neither surprise nor sorrow, and was never after spoken of either by the Ras or Ozoro Esther; but very great rejoicings were made at the good accounts of Ayto Confu, with very kind expressions of me, both from the Ras and Ozoro Esther.
Before he went to bed, the king had examined Mahomet, and drawn from him the true state of the kingdom of Sennaar; he then sent for me, and ordered me to deliver him my letters, which I did, interpreting them to him, word for word. He said, however, but little at this time, as he thought that that door, being so effectually shut against me, less could be urged against the safer, and more known road through Tigrè, which, of course, it was presumed I should more eagerly embrace; he kept my letters, and ordered me to choose two of the horses for myself, which I did, one of them near seventeen hands high, I suppose one of the most powerful horses in the world. The rest he distributed among the black troops; the same he did with the coats of mail. I found the army in great spirits, but still the story of fighting only at Serbraxos seemed to be obstinately persisted in. I asked Ozoro Esther if St Michael had yet appeared to the Ras; she answered, "Hush! for God's sake, don't make a joke of this, one word of this kind repeated to him would prevent your ever receiving a favour from Michael."
It happened that, the day after I had attended Ayto Confu to Gondar, Ras Michael sent some soldiers into Dembea to forage, these had been intercepted by a party posted on purpose by Kasmati Ayabdar and Gusho, consisting of Edjow Galla, with some horse from Foggora and Amhara. An engagement happened pretty much in the same place and manner as that with Woodage Asahel and Ayto Confu, in full view of the camp, and assistance was sent on both sides to the respective parties. The troops commanded by Aylo, brother of Engedan, and Guebra Mascal, were beaten back almost close to the camp, by the horse led by the Edjow Galla, though brave and veteran soldiers, while Ras Michael ordered Yasine and his 200 from Ras el Feel, (all with their libds on) to charge the Galla, now advanced very near. Each horse had a number of brass bells at his neck, and they no sooner appeared than the whole cavalry of the enemy, starting at the hideous figure and noise, fell into confusion, and, being closely pressed with violent blows of their great swords, no longer disputed the ground, but left the field on the gallop. A beautiful grey horse of Gusho's, superbly ornamented with gold and silver, and having a very rich broad-sword hanging at his saddle, and a pole-ax on the other side under the surcingle, was taken by some soldiers of Ras el Feel, who spread the report instantly that Gusho was slain. Immediately on this, orders were given for the whole army to descend into the plain, which they did with great alacrity, forming in order of battle, though neither the king nor Ras Michael left the camp, nor did any adversary appear; and the troops, content with this bravado, returned again in great spirits to the camp.
This is the account I heard of that day's skirmish, for I was not present there, being at Gondar with Ayto Confu. In the evening of that very day arrived a messenger from Gusho, telling Ras Michael, that a young boy, a nephew of his, had, without his knowledge, gone to see the engagement, and had taken with him his favourite horse, who, being frightened at the Arabs with their libds, had thrown him, after which he had run off and left the horse among the enemy. He begged to have his horse restored at any price, if the man that had taken him was allowed to sell him. He at the same time sent a present of a large quantity of fruit and fresh fish from the lake. The messenger was a priest well known by Ras Michael, and warmly attached to the king, and it was thought came with an errand of more consequence than either about the horse or the fish. The Ras sent him for his answer to the King, who told him, the horse being taken by the troops of Ras el Feel, belonged to me, and with me he must make his bargain: that I was at Gondar, and my return uncertain; but that the next day he might have my answer. This was the better to conceal the priest's real business, for the King and Ras knew how they were to dispose of the horse; at least they certainly knew I was not to return him without their orders.
The morning after my arrival this same priest came to me with a message from Gusho, desiring I would send him his horse, as a proof of the friendship which he said had always subsisted between us, at the same time offering me any sum of money that I might have promised to content the soldiers who took him. As I had before obtained leave from Ras Michael to restore the horse, so I did it with the very best grace possible, sending Yasine himself, chief of the troops of Ras el Feel, with the message to Gusho, that I reckoned myself exceedingly happy in having that opportunity of obliging him, and of shewing the value I had ever set upon his friendship; that he very well knew the little regard I had for money, and that the soldier who took the horse was my servant, and had already been abundantly satisfied. I desired Yasine to add, that I hoped, in order to a continuation of that friendship, he would avoid, in his own particular command, or in that of his relations, attacking where the king was in person, because it was my indispensible duty to be there, and that his nephew might not escape with the loss of a horse, if he again happened to be engaged with the Moorish troops, who, though under my command, were Mahometans, strangers to the language, and to whom it was impossible for me to convey any distinction of persons. Gusho was exceedingly sensible of this civil return of the horse; he cloathed Yasine magnificently, made him a present of another horse, and sent a very flattering message by him to me.
