ABYSSINIA. 



a treaty of amity and commerce, and an 

 apology for the attack at Dogali. On ar- 

 riving at Asmara, the headquarters of Ras 

 Aloula, Mr. Portal and his companions were 

 made prisoners, and after many days' deten- 

 tion were sent on in search of the Negus, who 

 wa> moving from place to place. At last they 

 overtook him on December 5, and were well 

 received, but accomplished nothing in the way 

 of peace negotiations. They left him at Cheli- 

 cot on December 5, and returned with letters 

 to the Queen of England. 



The Italians at Massowah. By the beginning 

 of 1888 the Italians had erected strong fortifi- 

 cations to guard against attacks either from the 

 land or from the sea. The town of Massowah, 

 which originally belonged to Turkey, and 

 was annexed by Egypt in 1866, is built on 

 a coral island, about two thirds of a mile in 

 length, in the Bay of Arkiko, and has but one 

 road connecting it with the mainland. The 

 Italians have their arsenal at Abd-el-Kader, on 

 a promontory to the north. The army head- 

 quarters were at Fort Monkullo, four miles in- 

 land. A railroad which ran from Arkiko in 

 the south along the coast to the arsenal, and 

 thence to Monkullo, was extended in February 

 to Dogali and Saati, the terminus being fifteen 

 miles from Massowah. This line of communi- 

 cations was rendered impregnable, and consti- 

 tuted a strong base for operations in the inte- 

 rior. The regular garrison, or special African 

 corps, forms a part of the permanent army of 

 Italy, consisting in 1888 of 238 officers and 

 4.772 men. It is recruited by voluntary en- 

 listment from all the regiments of the army. 

 A soldier enlists in this service for the term 

 of three years, and receives a special bounty. 

 This body was supplemented by an expedition- 

 ary force that was seat from Italy in the au- 

 tumn of 1887, consisting of 480 officers, 10,500 

 men, and 1,800 horse. There were besides 

 2.000 native irregulars under the chief Debeb. 

 The commander - in - chief of the forces was 

 Lieut.-Gen. Asinari di San Marzano. The com- 

 mandant at Massowah was Maj.-Gen Saletta. 

 The brigade composed of the African corps, 

 under Maj.-Gen. Gene\ and another brigade, un- 

 der Maj.-Gen. Cagni, were encamped in the 

 beginning of February not far from Saati. A 

 brigade, under Gen. Baldissera was stationed 

 in the north at Singes, where a strong fort 

 was built on the road to Keren, while the 

 fourth brigade, under Maj.-Gen. Lanza, was 

 posted at Arkiko. The fortress and field artil- 

 lery consisted of 160 pieces. 



the Advance of the Xe^ns. While the Italians 

 were making their position secure around Mas- 

 sowah, the Negus refrained from attacking 

 them, expecting that the large re-enforcements 

 from Italy would attempt to avenge Dogali 

 by marching into his country. There he was 

 well prepared for them. Ras Aloula's army 

 was not far back on the edge of the plateau at 

 Ghinda and Asmara, which places were strongly 

 fortified. In the latter part of February King 



John joined Ras Aloula at Asmara, and finding 

 the Italian fortifications completed, concluded 

 that it would be unsafe to attack them. The 

 Italians having made their base secure and 

 perfected their commissary system, sent out fly- 

 ing parties for the purpose of learning the coun- 

 try and of provokingthe enemy to advance. Kas 

 Aloula pushed out his outposts, and there were 

 several skirmishes, the Abyssinians invariably 

 retreating. Colonel Yigono, the Italian chief 

 of staff, made an excursion to the Agametta 

 plateau in quest of a suitable position for sum- 

 mer quarters, though there was no intention of 

 advancing beyond Snati before another season. 

 By March the wells were partly dried up and 

 the Abyssinians had drained the country of 

 supplies. The army began to diminish, many 

 parties deserting and going back to their homes. 

 Ras Aloula remained with apart of his forces 

 till June, and then left for his own province. 



Mission to Shoa. There were rumors of a rupt- 

 ure between King Menelek and the Negus, 

 and the Italians, who were aware of the ambi- 

 tious desire of the King of Shoa to overthrow 

 Johannis and assume the title of Negus, sent 

 Dr. Ragazzi in March to Shoa, by sea, with 

 presents and offers of an alliance. But noth- 

 ing was accomplished by this mission. 



Peaee Negotiation*. Overtures for peace were 

 opened by the Negus on March 20, with a 

 message to a native chief who was friendly 

 to the Italians. Gen. San Marzano sent word 

 that if the Negus wished to trent for peace, he 

 must address himself to the commander -in- 

 chief. On the 28th an Abyssinian officer 

 brought a letter from Johannis asking for peace, 

 in which he alluded to the ancient friendship 

 between himself and the King of Italy, and 

 expressed regret for the course taken by Ras 

 Aloula. On March 30 two Abyssinian chiefs 

 were sent by King Johannis, who was then at 

 Sabergurna, about ten miles south of Saati, to 

 Gen. San Marzano to continue the negotiations. 

 The Negus marshaled at that point a formi- 

 dable army, either for the purpose of attack- 

 ing, or as a military demonstration. On 

 instructions received by telegraph from the 

 Italian Government the Negus was offered 

 peace on condition (1) that he should ac- 

 knowledge the Italian occupation of Saati ; (2) 

 that he should not oppose the occupation of 

 other points where the troops could spend the 

 hot season ; (3) that he should guarantee the 

 safety of the tribes that had sought Italian pro- 

 tection. On the 31st the Negus replied that 

 he could not accept the conditions, and on April 

 2 he retired from Saberguma with his forces, 

 which were estimated at 90,000 men. In 

 April the Italian expeditionary force returned 

 to Italy. 



Defeat of Italian Troops. Debeb, a native chief 

 who for a time served with the Italians as a 

 mercenary, deserted them with his followers 

 in March, and engaged in plundering the re- 

 gion around Massowah. On July 31 the Ital- 

 ian commander-in-chief sent against him 600 



