SPOR T AV ABYSSINIA. 1 29 



dififereiit from writing Amharic, in which every letter 

 has to be formed separately, in the same way as when 

 we "print" with a pen in English. 



Whenever we were in camp for two or three days in 

 one place it was invariably the custom of the natives 

 to bring their sick to be healed by the white men, or 

 else to beg for medicines. They even on one occasion 

 brought a cripple, carried in a sort of frame : I 

 suppose they expected me to perform a miracle. On 

 the present occasion a man came into camp with 

 a large sore, about the size of the palm of one's 

 hand, on his shin ; he had evidently had it for some 

 time, and the wound was covered with cow-dung, for 

 what reason I do not know. I told him to go away 

 and wash his leg and come back to me with it clean. 

 I then consulted with Brou what was best to be done 

 in the case. I had no caustic with me, so I deter- 

 mined to cauterize it with boiling grease. We had 

 saved some fat from the cow we had killed ; I took a 

 portion of this, put it into a pan on the fire to boil, and 

 I informed the man what I was going to do, and that 

 it would hurt him a great deal, but that if he liked to 

 let it be done he might. He said, "Do what you like ; 

 I do not care." The grease was very soon melted 

 and bubbling ; I took it off the fire and was going to 

 apply it, when the servants, who were looking on with 

 interest, thought it was too hot, and that I should 



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