41 



ABYSSINIA. 



ABYSSINIA. 



are so much depressed below the general level of the country as they 

 are farther south. Some of the plains aro complete wildernesses, 

 whilst others make good pastures, and in some places are well culti- 

 vated; but only barley is grown. Sheep are most numerous, and 

 especially that kind whose skin is called lovisa, which seems to be 

 peculiar to this region. The wool is of a black colour, and about 18 

 inches in length. The people take great care of these animals lest 

 they should get too fat, for then the wool falls off. They are placed 

 on stands and cleaned every day with water, and fed with roasted 

 barley and other food. A skin of good quality is sold for a dollar 

 and upwards, which is a very large sum in that country. These skins 

 are worn by the warriors, and give them a very martial appearance. 



The country which lies cast of the watershed is in possession of a 

 tribe called Yejjoo or Yechoo, whom Bruce considered to be a tribe 

 of the Galla ; but Krapf, who traversed the whole of their country 

 from south to north, says expressly that the Yejjoo are not Gallas uor 

 pagans. They speak the Amharic language, and all of them are either 

 - ians or Mohammedans : their features differ from those of the 

 Gallas, and resemble those of the Abyssinians. Near the southern 

 extremity of their country is Lake Haik, whose circumference may 

 be about 45 miles. Its greatest extent is from east to west. On the 

 south and east it is surrounded by high and steep hills, but on the 

 north and west by a low level country. In the lake is an elevated 

 island, on which a famous monastery is built. Krapf estimated its 

 elevation at 5000 feet above the sea-level, and found the climate very 

 agreeable. The country of the Yejjoos is an immense plain, which 

 inclines towards the east, as the courses of the rivers evidently show ; 

 but it becomes higher as it proceeds northward to the central table- 

 land of Woflla. Several offsets from the higher country west of it 

 advance some distance into the plain, and render it hilly in some 

 places. In the southern district the climate is very temperate, and 

 cotton and maize are grown to a great extent ; but as we approach 

 the table-land of Woffla a great degree of cold is experienced. Though 

 the soil is in general fertile, with the exception of a few tracts which 

 are covered with sand and have a scanty vegetation, a very large 

 portion is a wilderness overgrown with acacia trees and bushes, and 

 the cultivated districts are few and far from one another. Water is 

 very abundant, except in the most northern district, which lies con- 

 tiguous to the table-land of Woffla. 



The table-land of Shoa has two rainy seasons. January appears to 

 bo the only month in which the weather is always fine and no rain 

 falls. The shorter rainy season commences in the middle of February 

 and lasts till the end of April. In the beginning the rains are slight, 

 but they increase in March and April, when showers occur nearly 

 every day, and heavy rains with thunder and lightning are frequent. 

 In May and the early part of June only a few showers fall, but towards 

 the end of June the longer rainy season sets in, which lasts till the 

 middle of September. In this season it rains every night, and often 

 during the day, and the rains are generally heavy. After the middle 

 of September only occasional showers occur, and a heavy fall of rain 

 is a rare occurrence. 



The table-land of Abyssinia is distinguished from all other elevated 

 table-lands by the great depression of the valleys in which the water- 

 courses are. Some of the rivers run for the greater part of their 

 course in valleys many hundred and even thousand feet below the 

 general level of the country : others are not much depressed in the 

 interior of the high plains, but many miles before they reach the 

 lower country they begin to sink deeper ; and where they leave it, 

 their level is many hundred feet below the contiguous plains. It is 

 probable, from the formation of the valleys, that the waters themselves 

 have scooped out these deep and narrow depressions. As such a 

 phenomenon is not observed in other table-lands of the globe, we must 

 suppose that the rocks of which the elevated manses are composed are 

 of a softer nature than elsewhere, and that they more easily yield to 

 the force of nmning waters. These rivers exhibit another remarkable 

 phenomenon in their quick rise and fall. After a heavy fall of rain 

 the Takkazzie rises 5 feet in one hour ; and when the rains continue, 

 it rises to 20 feet above its common level. But in one or two days 

 tin- water has run off, and the river fallen to its common level A 

 similar phenomenon has been observed in other rivers. Dr. Beke states 

 that after a shower of rain he saw the waters of a small river, the 

 Gdua, corne down from the mountains in one large wave, which raised 

 .el of the river at least one foot as it descended. In June, 1842, 

 tli" Aliili suddenly rose 3 feet, in consequence of a violent storm 

 which had huppened the previous night; but the following day it fell 

 again to its level. When travellers come to a large river, and find that 

 it has risen so as to be unfordablc, they are not embarrassed by this 

 circumstance : they have only to wait 24 hours, or a little longer, when 

 it becomes again fordable. The Abdi is passed at two places by bridges, 

 but there are no other bridges in the country. 



Production*. Though Abyssinia is situated between the tropics, its 

 production those of the temperate zone, to which its 



climate, with the exception >f the rainy season, bears a great resem- 

 blance, on account of tlie elevation above the sea-level. This is 

 peci ,},} products. None of the grains 



ire found h-rr, with th 



I gr.-iin whi''. 'iK.^y of t,ln! ublc him! 



of Deccan ; but it u scurcr;. Tho other grains nro wh'.-at ami barley, 



the latter grown most extensively, as it is the only corn given to 

 horses and nrales : oats are not cultivated, though large tracts iii the 

 Plain of Mie'cha are covered with wild oats. Indian corn is grown in 

 many places, especially on the lower parts of the table-land, as in the 

 Plain of Gondar and in the country of the Yejjoos ; and in some 

 places durrha (Hulcns Sorf/hum) and tokussa, a kind of Eleusinc. 

 From this grain two crops are annually obtained as a general rule, 

 especially where the fields can be irrigated. Tho leguminous vege- 

 tables which are most extensively grown are teff (Port Abyssinica), 

 beans, lupines, lentils, and a kind of vetch, which is eaten. A plant, 

 nuck (Polymnia frondosa), is much cultivated for the seed, from 

 which a bad oil is extracted. Garlick, onions, and capsicums are 

 extensively used. The flax plant is cultivated in a few places, but 

 another species is grown exclusively for the seed, which, when 

 parched, is eaten by the lower classes. There are some small planta- 

 tions of coffee, but the produce is not valued, because it is much 

 inferior to that which is imported from Kaffa. Cotton is grown in 

 the lower parts of the country, as in the provinces of Shiri, Waldubba, 

 and Walkkeit, and in the country of the Yejjoos. Excellent grapes 

 grow at the foot of the rocky masses to the east of Lake Zana. 



The most useful wild plants are the sycamore ; the llhamniu nabia, 

 whose nuts are edible ; and Phytolacca Abyssinica, the seed-pods of 

 which are used as soap. 



The domestic animals consist of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, mules, 

 and asses. The Sanga oxen are found in the countries south of 

 Antdlo, and are remarkable for the great size of their horns, which 

 sometimes are nearly 4 feet long. There is also the black sheep, 

 from which the skin called lovisa is obtained, and which has been 

 mentioned before. The Abyssinians keep a strong and swift kind of 

 dogs, which are employed in the chase. 



Wild animals are very numerous : there arc lions, elephants, and 

 buffaloes. Tigers are not found, but several species of leopard, us 

 the common leopard and the black leopard, the skin of which fetches 

 a high price in the country, and is worn by the governors of provinces. 

 There are also lynxes, lion-cats, leopard-cats, and the wild cats. There 

 are also hyenas (Uy&na crocuta), a small species of fox on the table- 

 land of AVofHa, an-l the jackal. 



The larger quadrupeds are only found in the wildernesses which 

 lie along the northern and southern boundary of the country. Ele- 

 phants and buffaloes arc very numerous ; the two-horned rhinoceros 

 is not so common ; and giraffes appear only along the northern 

 border. In the low country at the base of the table-land of Shoa a 

 wild animal of the ox kind is found, which is called b<?eza, and has 

 erect horns. In the same country there are zebras, quaggas, wild 

 asses, and elephants. There are several species of antelopes, among 

 which the madoqua (Antilope saltana), the smallest of the horned 

 animals, not larger than an English hare, and the Antilope Kmntri/ngii, 

 Two kinds of boars, the Phascochceriis jElumi and another species, arc 

 common in some of the woods. There are various kinds of quadru- 

 mana, as Cynocephalus babuinus, the Cynocephalus hamadryat, and the 

 Colobui guereza (Riippel). Of smaller animals there are porcupine?, 

 rock-rabbits, ground-squirrels, ferrets, polecats, and otters. 



Fowls are generally kept. There are several species of eagles, the 

 Gypattui barbatui, and also several kinds of vultures. On the high 

 mountains of Semien are Alpine ravens (Pyrrhocorax graculus). Riippel 

 notices three kinds of parrots, Psittacus LeraUlantii, P. Taranta, and P. 

 Meyeri. In Tigrc" there are herons and hornbills. The Egyptian goose 

 and a species of duck, with several other kinds of water-fowl, frequent 

 the swamps and lakes. Guinea-fowls, red-legged partridges, quit i Is, 

 snipt^, larks, and pigeons abound all through the country : among the 

 latter is the C'olumba Abyssinica, whose beautiful yellow colour shades 

 off into purple. There is also a beautiful species of Muscicapa. 



Hippopotami are abundant in Lake Zana and the larger rivers, 

 where many are killed annually for their flesh and hides. Crocodiles 

 are probably not found in the waters of Abyssinia. Bees are so com- 

 mon that honey is very abundant, and this prevents the importation 

 of sugar. Locusts frequently lay waste the fields : they are most 

 numerous on the table-land of Tigrd : other parts of the country do 

 not seem to suffer much from them. 



Abyssinia is poor in minerals. Gold has occasionally been found. 

 Tho mountains of Lasta are rich in iron-ore, which is worked, and 

 appears to be of good quality. The great salt-plain which lies between 

 the Red Sea and the table-land of Tigrd belongs partly to the sovereign 

 of Tigr<5, and immense quantities of rock-salt are annually taken from 

 it and imported to all parts of the country, as it is not only used for 

 culinary purposes, but also as currency. [ADAL.] Large quantities of 

 salt, taken from the salt lake Assal, are annually imported into Shoa, as 

 salt is not found on the table-land. Sulphur is found at several places. 



l'"/nilation and Inhabitants. Riippel estimates the area of Abyssinin, 

 exclusive of the countries which form the kingdom of Shoa, at about 

 270,000 square miles, or more than double the area of the British 

 Islands, and assigns- to Tigr<5 half a million, and to Amhitra, including 

 the countries belonging to the Wollo Gallas and the Yejjoos, a millii >n 

 of inhabitants. But this estimate is certainly underrated. He had 

 not an opportunity of seeing the best cultivated and most populous 

 part of Tigrd, the Plain of Antiilo, nor the most densely peopled por- 

 tion of Amhiint, namely, the peninsula of the Abiii. Looking at the- 

 accounts of Dr. Bckc, who traversed the last-named country repeatedly 



