1 04 SFOR T IN ABYSSINIA. 



made the fortune of a tribe that lived on the coast ; 

 for they sold all these materials at Massowah to the 

 Egyptian government. It forcibly struck me, while 

 travelling over these fertile lands, what an extensive 

 field there is for British industry and enterprise. 

 Abyssinia contains considerable mineral wealth ; but 

 whether it is sufficiently localised to make its working 

 remunerative remains to be discovered. I tried to 

 get some information on this point from the French 

 bishop of Keren, who came down to Massowah with 

 us, and he told me he thought that minerals were not 

 to be profitably worked with the present means of 

 transport. K. often assured me that he had seen 

 unmistakable evidences of gold. If once there was a 

 gold rush to this country, it would certainly open it 

 up in a way ; but the experience of other countries 

 makes one doubt whether such would prove a desirable 

 commencement to civilisation. 



Very often on riding into the village I was greeted 

 by the Mussulman salutation of " Salaam,'' and they 

 always asked my servants if I was a Mussulman. It 

 was explained to them I was really a Christian, at 

 which they were much astonished. All the priests in 

 Abyssinia that I happened to meet I found to be very 

 sensible fellows ; in fact, they are the only educated 

 members of the community. They dislike European 

 missionaries for the reason that the missionaries educate 



