ABYSSINIA 



17 



ACACIA 





The name Abyssinia means mixture, and has 

 reference to the mingling of tribes. 



The proudest Abyssinian is not too haughty 

 to beg, for he says "God gave us speech that 

 we might beg." 



Though in recent years a standard coin, 

 worth about fifty cents, has been introduced, 

 cartridges and bars of rock salt are still cur- 

 rent as money. 



Salt is too valuable to be used by any but 

 the wealthy. To say of an ordinary man that 

 he eats salt is to brand him as recklessly ex- 

 travagant. 



Travelers have stated that the steaks most 

 it lished by Abyssinians are cut from live cows. 

 When they do not follow this cruel practice 

 they eat the raw flesh of the freshly-killed ani- 

 mal while it is still warm and quivering. 



It is a very simple matter to dissolve a mar- 

 riage, either husband or wife being able to do 

 it with a word. 



In 1903 Abyssinia made a treaty of com- 

 merce with the United States, and the latter 

 country and Great Britain furnish a large share 

 of the imports. 



History. The early history of the country 

 is part of the record of ancient Ethiopia, of 

 which most of the present Abyssinia was 

 a part. The natives yet call themselves Ethi- 

 opians. The whole truth cannot be known as 

 to the more ancient period, but besides the 

 Queen of Sheba, referred to above, her son 

 Menelik, whose reputed father was Solomon, 

 probably ruled for a period of years. Whether 

 or not this is true, later kings assumed the 

 name Menelik, the last to bear it dying in 

 1913. Grecian influences 200 years before the 

 birth of Christ gradually raised the level of 

 intelligence until the people accepted a form of 

 Christian religion in the fourth century A.D. 



European nations at various times have 

 looked with envious eyes upon Abyssinian ter- 

 ritory. In the sixteenth century . Portuguese 

 missionaries entered the country, and it was a 

 more fortunate incident politically than relig- 

 iously, for the missionaries induced the mother 

 country to help Abyssinia against an invasion 

 "f the then very powerful Turks. In 1870 Italy 

 was beginning to look towards Africa for new 

 tory and invaded Abyssinia. The inter- 

 ion of the British in 1889 saved the coun- 

 try from conditions which would have mad' it 

 an Italian protectorate if not actually Italian 

 <ry. 



The Emperor Menelik chose as his successor 

 young grandson, Jeassu, and the latter sue- 

 2 



ceeded to the throne late in 1913, at the age 

 of seventeen. The youthful ruler proved un- 

 satisfactory to the Abyssinians from the first, 

 partly because he is a confirmed drunkard, but 

 more especially because of his interest in for- 

 eign affairs and his desire to introduce into the 

 kingdom Western innovations. Furthermore, 

 the people regarded the selection of Jeassu as 

 a great wrong, for it violated the terms of an 

 agreement made nearly half a century previous, 

 by Menelik and Johannes, king of Tigre, both 

 of whom were then aspirants for the Abyssinian 

 throne. 



According to this agreement Menelik was to 

 become emperor, but he was to bequeath the 

 crown to Zeoditu, his daughter by his first wife, 

 and to her husband, Prince Arita, a son of 

 Johannes. In the course of Menelik's reign 

 Prince Arita died and Zeoditu married the 

 nephew of her stepmother, the Empress Taitu. 

 The empress for many years exercised great 

 influence over her husband, and at one time, 

 assisted by her stepdaughter and her nephew, 

 she ruled the country while the nominal ruler 

 lay ill. Her influence, however, waned toward 

 the close of Menelik's reign, and not long be- 

 fore his death the emperor issued a decree 

 changing the order of succession and proclaim- 

 ing Jeassu as his heir. The dissatisfaction of 

 the Abyssinians culminated in 1916 in the 

 deposition of Jeassu, and his throne , is now 

 occupied by the Empress Zeoditu. E.D.F. 



ACACIA, akay' sha. The plants which are 

 called by this name differ decidedly in certain 

 ways, for some are delicate shrubs and others 

 great trees, but all have the beautiful feathery 

 leaves which make them favorite ornamental 

 plants, and many have bright-hued, fragrant 

 flowers. Most of the acacias grow only in 

 tropical or subtropical countries, but a few 

 are cultivated in mild climates elsewhere. In 

 the United States the Gulf region and Cali- 

 fornia produce them, and these sections can 

 show few more beautiful plants than an acacia 

 tree covered with it* spikes of rose-colored 

 flowers. Most of the acacias grow in Australia 

 and Africa, however, and some of these species, 

 notably the wattle tree of Australia, contain so 

 much of tin- extract used for tanning that at- 

 tempts have been made to introduce them into 

 tin- United States. Some of the African species 

 produce a good quality of gum-arabic and one 

 of the Indian acacias yields the valuable medi- 

 callcd catechu. Like the mimosa, which 

 they greatly resemble in appearance, certain 

 species of acacia have extremely sen>r 



