ABYSSINIA. 



ALABAMA. 



sinia. In 1898 Great Britain conceded to Mene- 

 lek a tract of 8,000 square miles formerly at- 

 tached to British Somaliland. 



The area of the empire is estimated at 150,000 

 square miles and the population at 3,500,000. 

 The Negus has an army of about 150,000 men, 

 composed of contingents drawn from the several 

 provinces, besides which he has irregular forces 

 and a territorial army at his command. 



The Abyssinian s are Christians, belonging to 

 the Alexandrian Church. Their abuna, as the 

 ecclesiastical chief is called, is always a Copt 

 selected for the office by the Alexandrian patri- 

 arch. The echegJieh, presiding over the monastic 

 establishments, exercises more real authority. 

 Jewish ceremonies are mingled with Christian 

 rites, survivals of an earlier conversion to Ju- 

 daism. The ruling caste shows evidence of the 

 intermixture of Hebrew and Arab blood. 



The people raise large herds of cattle, but till 

 little land, although cotton and sugar cane 

 thrive, as well as the vine and the date palm, 

 and the coffee plant is a native of the country. 

 Coffee, civet, wax, hides, gold, and ivory are 

 exported. The chief imports are cotton goods 

 of English, American, and Indian manufacture, 

 woolen goods and raw wool, and cutlery. A 

 railroad is planned by the French to be built 

 from Jibutil to Harrar, 186 miles. Adis Abeba, 

 Menelek's capital, is connected with Harrar by a 

 telegraph. The Negus has an army of about 

 50,000 men, besides 15,000 between Harrar and 

 the capital, 20,000 under Has Makonen, and gar- 

 risons scattered over the country under other 

 generals, all armed with modern rifles and pos- 

 sessing numerous Maxims and mitrailleuses. 

 The King's chief adviser is a Swiss engineer 

 named Ilg. His State Council is composed of 

 the principal generals. 



During the Anglo-Egyptian campaign against 

 the Khalifa an Abyssinian force occupied the 

 country south of Nasser, but did not attempt . 

 to co-operate with the dervishes. At the begin- 

 ning of 1899 the Italians of Erythrea, fearing 

 an attack from the Abyssinians, provisioned the 

 fortresses of Adi Ugri, Saganeiti, Asmara, and 

 Keren to stand a siege, and made ready an ex- 

 pedition for the re-enforcement, if necessary, of 

 the local garrisons, consisting of 3,600 native 

 regulars under Italian officers, 500 Italian regu- 

 lars, 300 native artillery with 24 guns, and a 

 native reserve militia over 3,000 strong. Man- 

 gascia, the Governor of Tigre, rebelled against 

 the Negus in 1898, and Makonen, who was 

 appointed Governor in his stead and was sup- 

 ported by the troops of Menelek, conducted a 

 campaign against him in January, 1899, but 

 was unable for lack of supplies to reduce him to 

 submission. He offered to recognize the Mareb- 

 Belesa-Muna frontier desired by the Italians, 

 asking in return permission to buy food in their 

 country. On Jan. 11 his forces attacked Man- 

 gascia's position, but were repelled with con- 

 siderable loss. A second assault was not more 

 successful. He then tried to turn Mangascia's 

 flank and penetrate Agameh province, close to 

 the Italian frontier. The Italians, however, were 

 not alarmed, as the permission that they gave 

 to both sides to purchase supplies and the shel- 

 ter that they afforded to fugitives of the King's 

 party, as well as to his opponents, had con- 

 vinced Menelek of their neutrality. Peace was 

 concluded between Mangascia and Makonen 

 without a decisive engagement, the former agree- 

 ing to pay homage to Menelek and give hostages 

 to insure his fealty, to contribute to the royal 

 treasury, and to receive back the banished 



Tigrin chieftains. Has Mangascia and his ally, 

 Ras Sebat, made formal submission to the Negus 

 on Feb. 18 at Burumeida. The minor chiefs and 

 the people of Tigre, who up to the time of the 

 Negus Johannes were the dominant race in 

 Ethiopia, were still unwilling to accept the rule 

 of Menelek and the ascendency of the Shoans, 

 and armed bands remained in the mountains, 

 ready to assemble once more and battle for 

 the restoration of Mangascia. In March Mene- 

 lek agreed to the Mareb-Belesa-Muna line as the 

 permanent Italian frontier. 



The advance of the British into the Soudan 

 and their military explorations in the region of 

 Lake Rudolf made Menelek anxious about his 

 western frontiers. Ras Margosh, commanding 

 one of his four principal armies, accordingly de- 

 scended from the table-land of Amhara and oc- 

 cupied a position in Galabat. Menelek was dis- 

 posed to maintain his sovereignty over this 

 province, and also to contest the English claim 

 to Gedaref . The French, as well as the English, 

 have a permanent representative at the court 

 of King Menelek, and they are building a rail- 

 road from Jibutil to Harrar and Adis Abeba, the 

 total distance being 470 miles. Capt. Harring- 

 ton, the English representative, arranged with 

 King Menelek for a delimitation of the Egyptian 

 frontier along the Nile valley. 



AFGHANISTAN, a monarchy in central 

 Asia, lying between Russian Turkestan and 

 British India. The ruler is the Ameer Abdurrah- 

 man Khan, placed on the throne in July, 1880,. 

 by the British, who then occupied Cabul, the 

 capital, having expelled Yakub Khan, son of 

 the preceding Ameer, Shere Ali. The Indian 

 Government has since paid an annual subsidy, 

 at first 1,200,000 rupees, and since 1893 1,800,000 

 rupees, to enable Abdurrahman to consolidate 

 his power and preserve a strong, united, and 

 independent Afghanistan as a buffer state be- 

 tween the Russian dominions and India. The 

 military forces of the Ameer consist of the feu- 

 dal militia and a regular army, said to number 

 20,000. The artillery has 76 modern guns, and 

 in the arsenal at Cabul are manufactured gun- 

 powder, cartridges, rifles, and cannon by means 

 of machinery under the superintendence of an 

 Englishman. There are breech-loading rifles 

 enough to arm the entire army of about. 50,000 

 men. The Ameer's revenue is levied on the 

 crops, his share varying from a tenth to a third, 

 according to the amount of irrigation employed. 

 Two crops are grown in most places, one of 

 wheat, barley, or pulse, sown in the autumn 

 and reaped in the spring, and one of rice, millet, 

 or maize, sown in the spring and reaped in the 

 autumn. Asafcetida, castor oil, and madder are 

 common products. Afghanistan is famous for 

 its fruits, including apples, pears, almonds, 

 peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, pomegranates, 

 grapes, and figs, some of which are preserved 

 and exported to India. Other exports are horses 

 and spices. Cotton goods from India and Eu- 

 rope constitute 60 per cent, of the imports. Tea 

 is imported from China. The manufactures of 

 the country are silks, felts, carpets, sheepskin 

 garments, and rosaries. 



ALABAMA, a Southern State, admitted to- 

 the Union Dec. 14, 1819; area, 52,250 square miles. 

 The population, according to each decennial cen- 

 sus since admission, was 127,901 in 1820; 309,527 

 in 1830; 590,756 in 1840; 771,623 in 1850; 964,201 

 in 1860; 996.992 in 1870; 1.262.505 in 1880; and 

 1,513,017 in 1890. Capital, Montgomery. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, Joseph F, 



