514 A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA 



which separates it from the sea, have always restricted the external 

 commerce of the country to a few outlets, through which the great trade- 

 routes have passed from time immemorial. The produce of Shoa and the 

 Galla countries finds its natural dcbotiche by the road, which leads from 

 Adis Ababa, over Harrar to Jibuti, Zeila, or Bulbar ; that of Gojam, 

 Amhara, and Tigre passes by Metemmah to the Soudan and Egypt, or is 

 carried through Adua to the port of Massowah. In the interior of the 

 country the traffic is carried on entirely by means of pack-horses, mules, 

 and donkeys, as most of the roads are merely rough tracks that only admit 

 of animals walking in single file. On the hot sandy plains, which stretch ta 

 the coast, camels are the ordinary means of transport. 



Owing to the fact that no records are kept at the custom-houses either 

 of Harrar or Adis Ababa, it is impossible to obtain any accurate data 

 about the commerce of the country. The following statistics of the 

 relative value of the various exports and imports of Shoa and Harrar must 

 therefore be taken as merely approximate. They were supplied by the 

 most prominent merchants at Adis Ababa and Harrar, but a comparison 

 with the official statistics of British Somaliland leads me to think that the 

 estimates are, generally speaking, too low. Of the trade of Tigrd, 

 Amhara, and Gojam, no reliable information is to be obtained. 



A. ADIS ABABA. 



Estimated Value of^ 

 (a) Imports. 



Kingdom Germany. France. America, jj ' Total. 



United 

 Kingdon 

 and ^ndia. 



1. Cotton goods £i22,,soo i^40o ... ^{^100,000 ... /J233,900 



2. Silk goods 1,000 1,920 £8,700 ... ... 28,900 



3. Woollen goods 10,500 ... .. ... ... 10,500 



4. Arms ... 21,500 ... ... 21,500 



5. Miscellaneous 2,500 8,200 1,700 ... ^5°° 12,900 



Totals ^^137,500 i;27,3oo ^^31,900 /ioo,ooo ^500/297,700 



^ I liave reduced the estimates, which in the Foreign Office Blue Book are in dollars, 

 to sterling, taking $10 = ^1. 



