SFOR 7 ' IN ABYSSINIA. 24 1 



kept him. He gave him Fisk's gun as a present on 

 leaving, which deHghtcd him very much. H. had on 

 one occasion saved his life. Barrakec got knocked 

 down by a wounded buffalo, and the beast was just 

 going to trample him to pieces, when II. came up 

 and shot it dead ; the consequence being that Barrakec 

 was only laid up for a couple of days with a stiff 

 neck, instead of being gored to death. This man 

 was, on the whole, the best specimen of an Abyssinian 

 we had anything to do with while we were in the 

 country. He had been taught a good deal by the 

 missionaries, and he remembered the Powell who, 

 some of my readers may remember, was murdered 

 by the Shangalla tribe some time ago. Altogether 

 Barrakee turned out a most useful and faithful servant 

 to us. In addition to the lion H. shot 8 more buffaloes, 

 I wadembie, 12 tora, and some gazelles. On the nth 

 of April he started for Adowa. Alas ! when he got 

 there he found that no attention had been paid to the 

 orders we had given for shields and black leopard 

 skins. He tried all over the town to get them, but 

 could not procure one. Rass Baria, who lived at 

 Adowa, had left, with most of the population of the 

 town, to join the king, who was fighting a sJiifter, or 

 robber, near Dembellas ; so nothing could be done, 

 and the man to whom we had sent the order said he 

 could not make the shields without the money. 



R 



