SPORT IN ABYSSINIA. 



The only other passengers besides ourselves were 

 some French Roman Catholic priests with a French 

 bishop, and a Frenchman belonging to a house of 

 business in Massowah. The bishop was very pleasant 

 and intelligent, and gave the rest of the party and 

 myself a great deal of useful information as to living 

 and travelling in Abyssinia : he was Bishop of Keren, 

 in the Bogos country. 



In about three days from Suez we arrived at 

 Souakim, which is built upon an island. The houses 

 are white square structures, with a minaret dotted 

 about here and there. I went on shore with H. in 

 the evening, and we walked about that part of the 

 town which is on the mainland. The inhabitants of 

 Souakim are Arabs ; the men are very handsome, 

 well-made, likely fellows, and they walk about hand- 

 in-hand, twirling little crooked sticks and dressed in 

 white turbans and white clothes. 



I bought one of those crooked knives peculiar to 

 Souakim with which the young gentlemen of the 

 place settle their little disputes. They hold the knife 

 dagger fashion, and hack away at each other till one 

 of the combatants faints from loss of blood. One 

 could see, from the shape of the knife, that it would be 

 very hard to inflict a mortal wound with such a 

 weapon. 



Here seven of the party landed, including Captain 



