40 SPORT IN ABYSSINIA. 



and forward us through the country. We had a very 

 pleasant Httle dinner in the tent, talking over our 

 prospects ; Kirkham said he would breakfast with us 

 next morning, and then go on to Gindar. At this 

 place he has built a sort of wooden shanty ; he had 

 also brought his tent with him to make arrangements 

 for us. He was attended by an Abyssinian servant, 

 named Peter Brou, a man who had been educated at 

 Malta ; this man spoke English very well, and could 

 also speak Amharic, all the Abyssinian dialects, and 

 Arabic. Kirkham recommended us to take him as 

 our servant, which we did ; he turned out very useful, 

 and was one of the best interpreters I ever knew. 



Jan. 6. — After breakfast, and when Kirkham had 

 left us, the weather having cleared up, I went out 

 shooting, and walked through the jungle down to the 

 village of Ailet. The boy who was with me was an 

 Abyssinian Mussulman, living at Massowah, but he 

 seemed to know all the Shoho Arabs in the village. 

 I went into a house to look at the interior and see 

 what it was like ; it was an oblong structure built of 

 grass, divided by a grass screen into two chambers, 

 the door of the screen being covered by an Arab 

 cloth. The Arab women, who were grinding corn, 

 amused themselves by peeping at me through the 

 ragged holes in the cloth ; they were very civil, and 

 brought me a cup of coffee. I ate my lunch and then 



