ABYSSINIA 



. 



Irocn wtucn oar common 

 , of UM country btfeeert, 



d signine. a 



feftheAIji Illlli being* mixed 

 . ef tWr b. orismallT aifrated from Arabia, 



TheMBM of Itnejayewan, or Ethiopian*, U that 

 I by UM peepte when apeaking of themeelvea, though 

 we eM* -y h~ hr H ieM in genenJ u~ 



.1 recently the laal|illnm given of Abyssinia were in many 

 . and iiinerfly ao in the abaenoe of .uffldent 

 fitaphyatoalconnguration. The writings of the 

 tlM country b*rtw66n 



mgwrnm Jliulta. who vittted many part, of the c 

 aid 16^ and TelW.'Hietory of Ethiopia,' finti 



with Abyaaink, Mid on' MOM poinU may still be 

 UM German author Ludolf, in hi* History of 

 Mk of UM Information hi* work contain* from the 

 he had also UM advantage of personal acquaintance with 

 OnffotT. who Uwo lived in Germany. Lewis 



mm Alyi liln named Oregwr. who then lived in Germany. Lewi. 

 MM*, a French phyavJan. who viaited Oonder in !, to core the 

 Un ef ie. eoen|4anrt, publihed an acooont of his journey. Next, 

 to 1770. Brae* rated Abyeejnia, and after an interval of 14 yean, 

 eibllaheJ mm eeaount, not always a correct one, of hi* travel*. Mr. 

 Bah*. 'Abyeenn*,' a BMet careful end excellent work, contributed more 

 lhaa any of the treaties* that preceded U to the formation of a correct 



Owing, however, to internal wan at 

 r*l penonal obeervation* were confined 

 of Tigrt From these works much valuable 

 the physical geography of Abyssinia, and the 

 ota was obtained. Many parts of the country, 

 OTOTIT, Mill iwilniil unvMted ; but within the last twenty yean 

 Abyeeinia bee been viaited by many European travellers, whose 

 aceuont* oabj m to form a tolerably correct idea of the great natural 

 leature. of ell thi* country. 



Abyania I* a Urge tract in Kiettrn Africa. The greater part of it 

 U drained by the principal branehe* of the Nile. It lie* between 

 r W end 14' 40' N. lat, and between U and 41 E. long. 



AbyeaiaJa I* an elevmto.1 table-laixl, UM north-eastern edge of which 

 i* directed toward* the Red Kra, and ii from 80 to miles from its 



' 



40 f X Ut) to Cn,Tu*mah 



Thoee who navigate that am observe an apparently uninter- 

 itaiM from the harbour of Maasowa (16 

 i (18 40- N. let) These mountains form 

 of UM table-lead to the flat country on the Red Sea. 

 UaUeeJ peak, are aleo aeen from Cape Rackmah to the Strait* of Bab- 

 MUnrfeii, but they appear to belong to a ridge which descends on 

 be*h ride* to a low country. From Cape Rackmah the edge of the 

 table lead run* westward, but we are not acquainted with its actual 

 - 1 m, a. the countries through which it runs are inhabited by tribes 

 are among the most inhospitable in Northern Africa, In the 

 of Lake Haik (near 11* 25' N. Ut, 40 R long.) the edge of 

 nd ran* earth and north. In them parta, however, it is 

 not *o steep a* aloog the Red flea, bat rbwi with a gentle acclivity over 

 eoneadenhU tnet until it reaches the water-died between the riven 

 UM low eastward to the Hawa*h and those that run westward to the 

 AfatL From the Lake Haik it run* nearly due south and become. 

 steeper M H proceeds in that direction, until it terminates near 9 N. 

 Uc. and about M miles from Ankobar, at some distance from the 

 heeJu ofth* river Haweb in the mountain* of Bulga. The wide and 

 level valley throqfh which the Hew**h flows may be considered as 

 lying etU^baM of th table-land on the Muth. At the ford of Melki 



is M( 



from T ' jurrnh 



l " A its course 



,t I* probable Utat the swamp, in which the Hawdsh 



u 



rid B which v 



tea, and constitutes in them 



, 



petta UM edge of the tabU4and. U run. from the mountain, of Bulga 

 M^raH lathe eoonee of UMHawiah. West of UM emiroes of the 



" 1 ** "* ""* *'led 



"* ""* *l'led. In these 



oo hi eeetern hank* and to a great distance from 

 *+ "** "*"' UTrt 1 *OT the W of 



moi Uun . 



to PW>1e that the 



- * T~V " aM*hMi an elevation of 

 r BO mile* west of Uk. Ttana or Zana. 

 "* termination of the tabln-land on 



, . Mconling to all accounta, it falls 



f . ta "-- todM north-* 

 ' UM benk. of UM VOe in flhendy 



tabln land 



. !; , ..! 



-- It lie. between 

 * 9V E. long. The 



Fifdetl Ik^fmmtim. The Bwwt nwontafavms nart 

 hVC "l^*kmS?!Sftm^^ 



in..iiuuiiia of Samen or Semien art a continuation of this niountaiu- 

 region : they extend on the went Bide of the river Takkauie to 13 30' 

 N. Ut, and rue to a great elevation above the common level of ih. 

 table-land. From the source of the river Takkauie a uinuntainoim 

 region extend* south-ea*t to the edge of the table-land in the vicinity 

 of Lake Haik. These extensive mountain-traote divide the table-land 

 of Abyaiinia into two parte, the norlh-eattem, and the mtfmt and 

 mUi H region. 



1. The AorrV&ufcni Table-Land U auo called the TaUe-Land of 

 Tiyrr, because it baa frequently been under on* government, 

 ha* been called the Kingdom of Tigr, from the ir. <f iu 



province*. This country extend* from 11 :i. N. lat, and 



between 39 and 42 K. long. The edge of the table-land tovrar 

 Bad Sea U crowned with a ridge of hi UK, which rim- from 

 feet higher than the table-land itoelf. Where the road leading from 

 Masadwa to Axum reaches the table-land, its elevation at the village 

 of Halui u 8038 feet above the sea, but the hills through h: 

 upper extremity of the Taranta Paai lead* rise from fiOO to Itn 

 above lliilai. From the base of the hills which crown the edge of the 

 table-land, the country descends gradually to the west, as U shown by 

 the watercourses, which run in that direction. In most parU it is 

 strongly undulating, so that it may sometime* be called hilly, but 

 here and there it is intersected by small plain*. The bed* of the 

 riven are considerably depressed below the general level uf tin 

 country, and are dry for the greater part of the year. This tract 

 suffers from want of water, and is therefore thinly inhabited. It 

 supplies pasture for a great number of cattle, black sheep, ainl line 

 goats ; asses and mules are also kept, and these animals constitute the 

 wealth of the inhabitants, as cultivation is limited to the base of the 

 hills, on which the villages are generally built. Hardly anything 

 except barley is raised. Near the range of hills the country is partially 

 overgrown with large trees (Jtmiptnu IV/v/inmnn) ; lnit at some 

 distance from it no trees are seen, and the higher country i 

 interspersed with isolated clumps of acacia. The depressions of the 

 watercourses contain good meadows. In proceeding westward the 

 country becomes more level, and it is said that the rivers of this tract, 

 after running for some distance westward, reach a level country of 

 great extent, which is called Maleb, and which during the rainy season 

 is converted into a deep swamp. As this swamp has no 

 the discharge of its waters, this tract is very unhealthy, and unin- 

 habited. The country between this swampy country and the edge of 

 the table-land is called Hamasien, and constitute* the most northern 

 and the narrowest portion of Tigrrf. 



South of 15 N. lat. the hills which are on the edge of the table- 

 land occupy a much greater extent in width, <T rather they t'nn two 

 ranges, which enclose a . longitudinal valley. The Haramat range, 

 the more western of the two, nun from N.N.W. t 

 monastery called Debra Damo, is built on one of its highest and 

 most inaccessible pinnacles. This range does not appear to rise in 

 general more than 500 feet above its eastern base, though a few 

 mlta may attain even 1000 feet, but it constitutes a continuous ridge, 

 anil the waters originating on its declivity descend eastward, aii< 

 towards the Red Sea. These waters traverse the eastern range by 

 several gorges, and are lost in the sandy soil of the low country of the 

 Danakil. [ADAI.] The eastern ridge, which is out by deep defiles, 

 appears in general to be as high as the western, but some of the sum- 

 mit* riw higher. The declivities of these ridges are partly covered 

 with low bushes and partly with grass. The spaoe enclosed b\ 

 two ridges cousin* of a succession of table-lands several uiilt - in 

 extent, and of small valleys. The descent into the valleys is very 

 stee|>. The table-lands arc partly bare and partly overgrown with 

 bushes and grass. Some of them afford good pasture, and in some 

 places cultivation is carried on to a considerable extent, but iu general 

 it is limited to a few spots. The whole tract U destitute of trees ; its 

 elevation is probably not less than 8000 feet above the sen-level ; Ate- 

 gerat, situated not far from its southern extremity, is 8181 feet above 

 i 



Not far south of Ategerat, near 14 N. lat., is a mountain-tract, 

 which is connected on the cast with the eastern edge of the table-land, 

 traverse* the country from east to west, and extend* westward 

 vicinity of the river Takkauie. It is several miles iu widtl. 

 consist* of steep hills with deep depression* between them. Only a 

 mall portion of thi* tract i* available for pasture, as tho hills are 

 generally rocky and bare, and there in little cultivation. s,,.tl, 

 tract lies tho Plain of AntiUo, in which tho capital of Tinri' i* built on 

 the declivity of a range of hills. This plain Htretvhe* from the above- 

 in-tract southward* t<> tin rivi r Zamra, a distance 

 of about 40 miles, anil occupies more than donl.li- that space from east 

 to west Eastward from the village of Chelicut the plain is iuiper- 

 f'-.-tly known ; it appear* to consist mostly of a level tract interspersed 

 with hort ridges of hills and isolated mimmitu, and in partly cultivated 

 and partly covered with high grass and acacia hushes. That ]> 

 nf it which rurroiiml* the town of Antrfl red the beet pnrt 



of Tiffrrf; it has a black soil, 12 feet iWp, which y ields abundant 

 "f grain. Except a ridge of high hilln which itandl ' helicut 



and AnUlo, tho surface i lnlitinK; but ill proceeding farther 



i" tin- west it appears rather hilly, which is owing to the channels of 

 the rivers being deeply depressed below the surface of the plain, and 



