Cl ADA'L. 



trees, and the upper country is covered with low and stunted thoni- 

 trees. In the valleys there are sycamores of considerable size, and 

 nabac bushes (Ehamnm nalcn), which produce an edible and pleasant 

 fruit. Near the base of the steep ascent some of the valleys are con- 

 tracted to ravines, but others widen into plains; such is the Valley of 

 Moldat, about 25 miles due west of Massowa, which is nearly three 

 miles wide, and extends to a considerable distance from S.E. to 

 X.W. along the base of the mountain-masses. In this valley, as 

 in other parts of this region, a few spots are cultivated with durra 

 (Hole" . ( 'uttle are kept ; and large quantities of butter are 



made and sent to Massowa, and thence to Arabia. At the end of the 

 dry season (from June to November), when the grass in the valleys is 

 dried up, the cattle ascend the higher acclivity of the mountains, and 

 even to the table-land of Tigre. Camels, mules, asses, goats, and sheep 

 are abundant. This tract is the haunt of numerous wild animals ; 

 elephants are sometimes met with, which have descended from the 

 table-land. Lions also sometimes make their appearance. There are 

 numerous wolves, hyienas, lynxes, leopards, foxes, wild hogs, several 

 kinds of antelopes (among whieh are the Anlilope gtrepsiceros and the 

 uuong the birds are several kinds of parrots 

 - 1 pearl-fowls (\umitlin i>lil' , 



The upper declivity of these rocky masses presents a succession of 



long and steep ascents, and sloping terraces of moderate extent The 



ravines by which they are intersected contain large trees. On some of 



the terraces a little cultivation is carried on, and durra and barley are 



grown. In this region the Ettjthoi'bia canariensis is found, and this 



mil i/.e with the elevation of the moun- 



-ttle, and goats find abundant pasture. This region 



is inhabited by nomadic tribes. 



This description applies to the caravan-road from Massdwa to the 

 of Hi :i. ; .ted on the top of the ascent on the table-land of 

 Tigris and 1 ' Wii followed until lately by all travellers to 



Abyssinia. It is called the road by the Pass of Taranta, which name 

 is iipplicd to the higher and steeper portion of the acclivity. The 

 of Halai is8G28 feut above the sea-level ; and a resting-place at 

 the base of the steeper ascent, called Mohio, is only about 2130 feet ; 

 but of late years it has been ascertained that there are in tho vicinity 

 of this pass two other passes, which are preferable, because the ascent 

 is less steep. One lies north of the Taranta Pass, and connects the 

 village of Gara on the table-land with Massdwa ; and the other is south 

 of the Taranta Pass, and leads from the village of Tekundu (Degonta) 



the declivity to Arkiko and Massowa. 



\Ve pass to the southern extremity of Adal, to the caravan-rood 

 which leads from Tajurra to Ankdbar, the capital of Shoa. The country 

 through which this road runs is a table-land of moderate elevation, 

 and it may be considered as on intermediate terrace by which the 

 highlands of Shoa an ascended. The surface exhibits a considerable 

 variety. No portion of it is under cultivation ; but, with the exception 

 * tracts of no great extent, it supplies pasture all the year round ; 

 at the end of the dry season, however, in May and June, it suffers from 

 w:mt of water. 



A short distance from tho shore on which the town of Tajurra is 

 btiik, tli-re is a cluster of bills of trachyte formation, the highest point 

 of which, called Mount Gudah, is 2000 feet above the sea. This group 

 of hills is traversed by glens, through whieh a considerable volume of 

 water runs during the rains, but very little is found at the end of the 

 dry season. Between these hills and the sea-shore is a narrow tract 

 forme. 1 by sandy deposits covering a stony substratum. Water is 

 obtained from wells : it is pure, but has an unpleasant taste. Grass is 

 scarce, and only goats are kept. There ore only shrubs and dwarfish 

 :ui, with a few date-trees, near the villages. Of wild animals, 

 antelopes, hares, jackals, lynxes, and leopards are numerous, and 

 various kinds of birds. 



liny of Tajurra terminates in a shallow lagoon called Gubbat-el- 

 Kharab. This lagoon approaches the base of a table-land covered with 

 lava, which extends westward to the vicinity of Lake Assal. The road 

 lies north of this table-land. It passes through low undulating hills, 

 covered with basaltic boulders and a hilly table-hind, to the Plain of 

 Wordilissan, which is covered with pebbles am 1 hn n i< her grass nor 

 water. Thin plain is 1697 feet above the sea-level. The descent from 

 it to the B.ihr As..:d (Salt Lake) lies through an exceedingly broken 

 i-y between high and Bleep hills. The whole of this tract, between 

 the Boy of Tajurra and Bahr Assal, is a waste, without water or vege- 

 Thu Bahr Assal is 670 feet below the level of the sea. It is 

 of an o-. ;il form, about 7 miles across in its longest diameter, which 

 iroTn S.W. to N'.lv, and about 3 miles wide. About one- 

 surface is covered with a sheet of salt, about half a foot 

 h resembles ice. The lake is shut in on the northern, 

 western, nn shores, by ranges of high hills, among which is 



Mount Hiyaro on the northern side, which is probably 1600 feet above 

 the sen. On the eastern aide is a bed of lava, which, as befor 



< rnlilat-el-Kharab, and which contains several 

 nt the lake was, at some 

 1 with the Hay of Tajnn-.i. 



"rtof Bahr Assal is a hilly tr , . The hills near the 



i and high. v are low nnd rounded. 



rises slow! f O*gaac, 7 ( i mil' M 



distant from the Uke, is only 270 feet above tho sea. The water in 



ADA'L. 62 



this tract is plentiful, but has a brackish taste. Grass is found only 

 at a few spots at the end of the dry season. A few groves of doom 

 palm-trees are met with. The Plain of Gagade is 8 miles in breadth, 

 and lies between high hills running from S.E. to N.W. The surface 

 is partly composed of a hardened and cracked alluvial deposit, which 

 is quite bare, and is partly covered with a thin soil overgrown with 

 a jungle of acacia and a species of spartum. 



After leaving this plain the country rises more rapidly. A few miles 

 farther to the south-east it is 1200 feet above the sea-level. Farther 

 on, the country preserves in general the same level. The surface is a 

 plain, occasionally diversified by elevated ridges, some of which are 

 composed of lava, and sometimes by depressions in the form of valleys. 

 Some parts of the plain have a stony soil, and are covered with basaltic 

 fragments and lava. Scarcely a trace of vegetation is found on them. 

 Other parts have a sandy and sometimes a stony soil ; but they are 

 covered with coarse grass even in the dry season. Some tracts bear 

 a rich grass, and resemble the plains of the Deccan. Water is gene- 

 rally got by digging in the beds of dry rivers and by wells. These 

 plains terminate on the west at the Mari range, which rises about 1000 

 feet above the adjacent country, and runs for several miles across the 

 plains from S.W. to N.E. It .is basaltic, and the base is strewn with 

 huge blocks, which have been detached from its face. Its width does 

 not appear to be much more than a mile. 



The plains continue nearly on the same general level west of the 

 Mari range. In fertility they resemble those east of the ridge, except 

 that the grass is generally more abundant. The Plain of Killelu, which 

 is from 'Jo to 30 miles wide, is always covered with grass. It termi- 

 nates at the Wady Killelu, a large ravine bounded by basaltic cliffs 

 from 800 to 900 feet high. At the end of the dry season water is found 

 only in pools, but during the rains the wady becomes a large river, 

 which receives the drainage of an extensive tract, and carries it to the 

 Hawash river. The ravine is covered with bushes which aro not found 

 in other parts of tho table land, where the soil is very dry. 



West of the Wady Killelu the table-land rises gradually till it attains 

 an elevation of 2000 feut above the sea. The soil is here more volcanic, 

 and improves in fertility ; but the surface is more broken, and level 

 plains are rarer and of less extent. Extensive tracts rest on basaltic 

 roi-ks, uud are only covered with a thin layer of soil, which, however, 

 j-eil with a thick turf. But this region is almost destitute of 

 water. On the west of this tract two lofty peaks rise from the plain, 

 Mount Abid.v and Mount Aiyalu, or Azolo. Mount Abida rises about, 

 4000 feet above it- i I /olo still higher. They appear to stand 



in the centre of a volcanic tract, from which sheets of lava have 

 descended on all sides to the plain, forming a field of volcanic matter 

 about 30 miles in diameter, studded with small cones, each showing a 

 distinct crater. The surface of the lava appears fresh and glossy. 

 The vast plain adjacent to this tract is covered with low shrubs, and 

 during the greater part of the year it is a sheet of water ; but at the 

 end of the dry season not a drop is found on it. As this region con- 

 tains more wood than those nearer the sea, wild animals and game are 

 more numerous. 



South-west of this region the general level of the country is about 

 2500 feet above the sea. This is the most fertile portion of the table- 

 land. The surface is not much diversified : it generally extends in 

 large level plains, which are separated from one another by narrow 

 hilly tracts, or by wadies. All of them are clothed with perpetual 

 verdure, as the soil is alluvial and good. The greater part of this fine 

 country is without water towards the close of tho dry season. 



The country descends by several short terraces to the banks of the 

 Hiuvosh river. The wide alluvial bottom through which the river 

 flows is covered with thick jungle sprinkled with small trees. Among 

 them are mimosas, from which gum-arabic is collected. This jungle 

 is the haunt of elephants and rhinoceroses. The river Hawish, where 

 it is crossed by the caravan-road, is 2200 feet above the sea. This 

 river here constitutes the boundary between the Dauikil tribes and 

 the kingdom of Shoa. [ABYSSINIA.] 



Adal has been traversed by Coffin, between the Bay of Hitnfila 

 (Ainphila) 14" 40' N. lat. and Chelicut. The road beginning at the 

 bay passes for two days over barren and rugged hills, of no great 

 height, in which a few hamlets occur, inhabited by herdsmen ; then 

 follows a large and level plain, which is called Harho, and is covered 

 with a thick layer of salt. This plain is said to be four days' journey 

 in length, and it took five hours to cross it from north-east to south- 

 west. The bed of salt is about 3 feet thick. In some places it 

 continues tolerably pure to that depth, but in general not lower than 

 2 feet, below which it becomes mixed with the soil. As this salt is 

 not only used for culinary purposes, but also in Abyssinia as a cur- 

 rency, it is cut into pieces of the shape of a whetstone : they are 

 nboiit nine inches long, one inch and three-quarters thick, and in the 

 middle two inches'wide; they weigh between 19 and 20 ounces. 

 South-west of the HKrho the country rises in high and rugged moun- 

 tains with narrow and cteep passes, and after two days' journey the 

 tjiblr -land of Tigre 1 is ascended by the Pass of Senafrf. 



Inhabitants. Adal is inhabited by many tribes, which are compre- 

 hended under the name of Danitkil or Dankali, and they all appear to 

 belong to the same stock. They are described as having a strongly 

 set and bulk) is round rather than oblong ; their hair is 



black, thick, and \ 'Imost woolly ; their eyes are very lively, 



