THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 311 



This is the name of fome miferable villages, often rebuilt, 

 and as often deftroyed, upon a ford of the Nile, over which 

 is the ordinary paflage for the Mahometan merchants inta 

 Bizamo, the way to the mountainous country of Narea and 

 CafFa. As the rains had begun to fall here with violence, 

 when Fernandes and his companions arrived, they were 

 obliged to pafs the river on fkins blown full of wind. 



The diftance from Mine to Narea is 50 leagues due fouth, 

 with little inclination to weft. The road to it, and the places 

 through which you pafs, arc very dillinclly fet down in my 

 map, and, I believe, without any material error ; it is the 

 only place where the reader can find this route, which, till 

 now, has never been publifhed. 



The next day our travellers entered the kingdom of Bi- 

 zamo, inhabited by Pagan Galla. Thefe people came in 

 crowds with arms in their hands, infifling upon being paid 

 for liberty of palling through their country; bur, feeing the 

 company of the ambafTador take to their anaas likewife, 

 they compounded for a few bricks of fait and coarfe cotton 

 cloaths, and thereupon fufTcred them to pafs. The fame 

 day, the guide, fcnt from Narea to condiK^ them by crook- 

 ed and unfrequented paths out of the way of the Pagan 

 Galla, made them to enter into a large thicket through 

 which they could fcarcely force themfclves ; after which 

 they came to a river called Alalcg^ when it v;as nearly night. 

 Next day they could find no ford where they could pafs* 

 They now entertained a fufpicion, that the guard from Na- 

 rea had betrayed them, and intended to leave them in thefe 

 woods to meet their death from the Galla. 



The 



