33 



ABYSSINIA. 



ABYSSINIA. 



34 



is almost a dead level. Its soil is a thick layer of mould resting on sand- 

 rucks, and rather fertile, so that a considerable portion of it is 

 iiinler cultivation. The descent from the plain to the banks of the 

 Tukkazzie is more than 2000 feet of perpendicular height, and the 

 surface of the river at Haita is 2775 feet above the sea-level. 



On the west of the table-land of Adarga are the provinces of Waldubba 

 and Walkeit, which lie on the southern side of the Takkazzie, which 

 here constitutes the boundary between Abyssinia and the country 

 inhabited by the Shangalla and other tribes. These provinces hr.ve 

 never been visited by Europeans. The natives describe them as fine 

 pasture countries, well watered, and they add that the valleys are 

 wide, and rich in agricultural produce and fine trees. The surface is 



'. y a level plain. 



South of these provinces and west of the table-laud of Wogghera is 

 an extensive hilly tract, which may be called the hilly table-land of 

 the Kulla, In length from east to west it occupies about 50 miles, 

 and not much less from north to south. Its highest level is on the 

 ridge which separates it from the lowlands surrounding Lake Zaua, 

 which lie south of it. This ridge, where it is passed by the road, nearly 

 due north of Gondar, is 1200 feet above that town, or about 8600 feet 

 above the sea-level. It forms in these parts the watershed between 

 the rivers which run to Lake Zana and those which flow northward 

 to the Tukkazzie. All the waters that run in the last-named direction 

 unite in the Angrab, which is one of the most considerable affluents of 

 the Takkazzie. On the north of this ridge the country descends con- 

 siderably ; and though the surface is a labyrinth of rugged mountains, 

 d conical hills, and rocks rising perpendicularly to a considerable 

 elevation, none of these heights attain the elevation of the pass. A few 

 miles from the pass the surface of the country is less hilly, and the 

 descent is more gradual. Cultivation is here in due proportion united 

 to pasturage. The noil between the rocks, which are chiefly volcanic, 

 is very fertile, and maize and other kinds of grain are extensively 

 grown. On the uncultivated tracts are thick bushes and fine groves 

 of trees, and in the deep valleys of the rivers numerous sycamores. 

 Farther north the hills are still less numerous, and mostly covered 

 with bushes ; but the depressions are swampy, and overgrown with 

 high canes. The ground then ascends, and on the back of the ridge 

 stands an isolated mountain-mass, which attains a great elevation, and 

 is called Mount Anfcodfbt From its base the country descends north- 

 wards in an undulating plain into the Kulla. The Kulla is a depres- 

 sion, similar to a lake, between four and six miles wide, but of great 

 extent from east to west. Though only about 600 feet lower than the 

 ridges which lie north and south of it, it is 3600 feet lower than the 

 above-mentioned pass north of Gondar, or only 5000 feet above the 

 Nea-Ievt'l. Its soil is somewhat swampy partly covered with canes 

 more than 10 feet high, and partly with fine trees. Several rivulets 

 pass through it in various directions, and form pools and small lakes. 

 This low country is uninhabited, on account of the bad air. Through 

 want of ventilation the vapours rising from the surface, which is 

 covered with water during the rainy season, accumulate to such a 

 degree, that it cannot be passed by any person without contracting a 

 malignant fever. It is the haunt of numerous wild animals of the 

 largest size. Buffaloes (Dot Cafer) and elephants are met with in herds 

 in and near the lakes. There are also rhinoceroses with two horns, 

 and various species of antelopes and deer of very large size. 



We come now to that il-]nv<-ion of the table-land of Amhara, the 

 lowest part of which is occupied by Lake Zana, called also the Lake 

 of llembea. The surface of the lake is 6110 feet above the sea-level ; 

 and from its shores a flat country extends on all sides to the high 

 lands which surround it at different distances from the lake. From 

 the mountains inclosing the basin of the Upper Takkazzie, on the 

 west, two low ridges run off westward, and approach the shores of the 

 lake : the northern, on its north-eastern bay, opposite the island of 

 Mazraka ; and the southern, north and south of the efflux of the Abdi 

 from the lake. These two offsets separate from one another the three 

 plains surrounding the northern, eastern, and southern sides of the 

 lake. These plains derive their names from the provinces in which 

 they are situated. The northern is called the plain of Dembea, the 



<f Biegemider, and the southern the Plain of Midcha. 

 The Plain of Dembea, which is also called the Plain of Gondar, from 

 the capital of Amhara, which is built on hilly ground at the north- 

 eastern extremity of the plain, extends about 20 miles from N. to S., 

 and 40 from E. to W. It* surface at Gondar is 7420 feet above the 

 sea, *o that its descent is rather rapid ; for in 20 miles it sinks 1300 

 Near the surrounding heights there are numerous low 

 nil: hills, mostly overgrown with bushes; in their vicinity the 

 f'irtili', and part of the country is under cultivation. At a 

 distaii. or four miles from the heights the hills disappear, 



mid are nplMtd by un undulating surface, whose soil, being composed 

 of disintegrated volcanic matter, is a black mould of great fertility, but 

 very little of it is under cultivation. There are no trees, except round 

 the church. Hushes nr fn i|unit, but occur only in patches. In 

 the dry season, from Oct-il^r to April, the country in almost covered 

 with herd* of cattle, which, when the rains begin, are driven to the 

 .mil of \Vogghcra, because the plain is then nearly converted 

 iut a swamp. Even in the dry season those tracts which are near the 

 lake are marshy, and only inhabited by fishermen. The plain is drained 

 .riy small rivers, which at tho close of the dry season are dry, 



with the exception of the largest, named the Angrab. Riippel passed 

 .six months and a half at Gondar, and made meteorological observations 

 four times every day. The result of these observations follows : 



1832. 5h.40m. 91i.Cm. 12h.30m. 3h.33m. Moantemp. 



Oct. 1531 . . 50-43' 60-89' 72-99 72-S8 3 07-30 



Nov. 130 . . 58-52 00-31 72-81 70'9G 00-00 



Dec. 14 & 1230 53-09 64-85 72-05 71-24 65-31 



1833. 



Jan. 131 . . 57-26 60-02 74-27 73-40 67'88 



Feb. 128 . . . 57-24 08-58 77-81 70-18 69-94 



March 131 . . 59-94 73-58 80-00 79-90 73.52 



April 130 . . 01-79 75-17 79-88 75-00 73-11 



The annual quantity of rain at Goudar is very great, which is not 

 generally the case on elevated table-lands, and perhaps is to be ascribed 

 to the circumstance of the town being built in a wide depression of the 

 table-land, and partly surrounded by heights which rise 1 000 feet above 

 its level. The annual quantity in 1770 was 35'5 inches, and in 1771 

 it was 41 "3 inches. In January hardly a shower falls, but the rain 

 becomes more frequent in February and March. In April and May 

 there is more rain, but the rainy season properly commences in June, 

 and lasts to October. In July and August the rains are very heavy, 

 so that nearly two-thirds of the whole annual quantity falls in these 

 two months. In September the rains become moderate, and in October 

 they cease, with the exception of a few short showers which fall in 

 November and December. During the rains, the winds blow in the 

 morning from N.E. ; but it turns before nine o'clock to S.E., and at 

 noon it blows from S.W. In the afternoon it turns to N.W., where it 

 remains until it becomes calm after sunset. 



The narrow strip of low country which lies west of Lake Zana is a 

 part of the Plain of Dembea, and is included in the province of that 

 name. The adjacent heights do not rise to a great elevation above the 

 level of the lake. Their declivities are overgrown with bushes and 

 stunted acacia trees, from which a considerable quantity of gum-arabic 

 might be collected. At the base of these heights the country is fruitful, 

 and a considerable portion of it is under cultivation : much durrha is 

 grown. This tract is considered one of the granaries of Gondar. In 

 the vicinity of the lake no cultivation is carried on, the whole being 

 used as pasture-ground and meadows. The deep black soil is very 

 favourable to vegetation, and usually covered with high grass. Cattle 

 are very numerous. Though there are many rivers, they all originate 

 in the heights, which are seldom more than 10 miles from the shores 

 of the lake, and accordingly the courses of the rivers are short. They 

 are dry in January and February ; but, as they receive their waters 

 from a much more elevated country, their course, as long as they have 

 water, is rather rapid, and different from those of the great Plain of 

 Dembea, which have a sluggish current. The village of Dingelbcr 

 stands on a rock which forms the extremity of a ridge that projects 

 from the heights on the west, and which approaches so near to tho 

 lake that there remains only a narrow place on its shores, through 

 which the great road passes leading from Gondar to Miecha and Gojam. 

 The table-land which is west of the tract just now noticed, is that of 

 Kuara and Kas-el-Feel, of which the first-named province forms the 

 southern and Ras-el-Feel the northern part. Kuara has never been 

 visited by a European, but Brace passed through Ras-el-Feel, which 

 ho describes as a fertile and level country, with a rich black soil. The 

 surface is mostly covered with bushes, and occasionally there is a grove 

 of trees. Cattle and horses are numerous ; butter, honey, horses, and 

 gold, which is here found in larger quantities than in any other part 

 of Abyssinia, are the principal articles which are sent from Ras-el-Feel 

 to the other provinces and to Sennaar. 



The Plain of Biegemider, which lies on the eastern side of Lake 

 Zaun, extends from near Emfras, on the north, to the banks of the 

 Abdi, or Nile, nearly 40 miles in length. Its width, from the low 

 shores of the lake to the high mountain-masses which inclose the upper 

 basin of the Takkazzie on the west, is nearly 30 miles. The mountain- 

 masses rise from the plain with a steep ascent, except where their 

 edges are broken down by the torrents and rivers, which originate on 

 the higher land, and tumble in cataracts into the lower plain. The 

 elevation of these mountains of Biegemider is estimated by Dr. B^ko 

 at between 7000 and 8000 feet above the sea, the last-mentioned 

 elevation being assigned to the Pass of Chdmma Mardgfia. As the 

 level of Lake Zana is 6110 feet above the sea, the mountains of Biege- 

 mider rise only from 1500 to 2000 feet above their bases, or rather 

 legs, 18 the plain has a gradual rise from the shores of the lake to the 

 foot of the mountain-masses. North of the river Reb, where the plain 

 is not so wide, it consists of two tracts of different characters a lower 

 one skirting the shores of the lake for several miles, which in the rainy 

 season is inundated, and in the dry season covered with aquatic plants 

 or grass ; and a more elevated part, which has an undulating surface, 

 and is covered with low bushes. No part of this district is under 

 cultivation, but both supply pasture. On the declivity of the moun- 

 tains there are extensive orchards and vineyards. From the river 

 Reb to that of Fogara, and even farther to the south, the country is a 

 dead level, and the soil consists of a fine black mould of great fertility, 

 which is the deposit of the earthy matter brought down by the rivers 

 Reb and Gorndra. There are no springs, but good water may be found 

 by digging to the depth of a few feet. There are no bushes or trees, 



