THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 227 



The Galla, before their inroads into Abyflinia, had never 

 in their own country feen or heard of the fmall-pox. This 

 difeafe met them in the Abyflinian villages. It raged among 

 them with fuch violence, that whole provinces conquered 

 by them became half-defert ; and, in many places, they 

 were forced to become tributary to thofe whom before they 

 kept in continual fear. But this did not happen till the 

 reign of Yafous the Great, at the beginning of the prefent 

 centurv, where we fhall take frefh notice of it, and now 

 proceed with what remains of the reign of Sertza Denghel, 

 whom we left with his army in the 9th year of his reign, 

 refiding at Dobit, a fmall town in Dembea, watching the 

 motion of the rebels, Ifaac Baharnagafh, and others, his con- 

 federates. 



The tenth year of his reign, as foon as the weather per- 

 mitted him, the king went into Gojam to oppofe the in- 

 roads of the Djawi, a clan of the weftern or Borcn Galla, 

 who then were in poffeffion of the Buco, or royal dignity, a- 

 mong the feven nations. But they had repalTed the Nile 

 upon the firft news of the king's march, without having 

 time to wafle the country. The king then went to winter 

 in Bizamo, which is fouth of the Nile, the native country of 

 thefe Galla, the DjawL 



If this nation, the Galla, has deferved ill of the AbylH- 

 nians by the frequent inroads made into their country, they 

 mufl, however, confefs one obligation, that in the end they 

 entirely ruined their ancient ^ncmy, the Mahometan king 

 of Adel, and reduced him to a flat cof perfect infignifi- 

 cance. 



F f 2 Tin 



