190 SPORT IN ABYSSTNIA. 



cut grass for their beasts ; and my servants were always 

 complaining that they had not one, and so they could 

 not manage to cut grass well for the donkeys. He 

 was exceedingly civil and good-natured, and took one 

 of my coolies on with him some little way on the 

 road, to the place where they were going to camp, 

 and sent him back with the machet. The chief told 

 me they had seen elephants as they had come up from 

 the Tackazzee, and also three or four of the Baria 

 tribe. His people, very bravely — as they were ten to 

 one — offered to fight the Baria ; but these niggers 

 were wise in their generation, and took to their heels 

 on seeing so large a party. The tail of the caravan 

 did not come up till nearly dark, and so camped for 

 the night about 150 yards from my tent. Just after 

 sunset, when I was going to eat my dinner, they 

 began a low-toned chant in which they all joined; it 

 was rather pretty and mournful. I asked Hadji 

 Mahomet, who was a Mahomedan, what it meant ; 

 he said it was " church ;" at least that was the inter- 

 pretation that Petros, my bearer, put upon his answer. 

 All these men who were singing were Abyssinian 

 Copts. I was much better in health this day. 



March 4. — Instead of staying quietly at Coom- 

 Coom-Dema I thought that a change of air to the 

 other side of the plain would do me good. I had 

 seen a spring of water on my way here, and so in the 



