THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 161 



Tigre and Sire, this paffage had never been fo far cleared 

 but, every month, people are cut off. 



The plenty of fifh in this river occafions more than an or- 

 dinary number of crocodiles to refort hither. Thefe are fo 

 daring and fearlefs, that when the river fwells, fo as to be 

 paflable only by people upon rafts, or fkins blown up with 

 wind, they are frequently carried off by thefe voracious and 

 vigilant animals. There are alfo many hippopotami, which, 

 in this country, are called Gomari. I never faw any of thefe 

 in the Tacazze ; but at night we heard them fnort, or groan, 

 in many parts of the river near us. There are alfo vaft 

 multitudes of lions and hyenas in all thefe thickets. We 

 weie very much diuurbed by them all night. The fmell 

 of our mules and horfes had drawn them in numbers a- 

 bout our tent, but they did us no further harm, except o- 

 bliging us to watch. I found the latitude of the ford, by 

 many obfervations, the night of the 26th, taking a medium 

 of them all, to be if 42' 45" north. 



The river Tacazze is, as I have already faid, the boun- 

 dary of the province of Sire. We now entered that of Sa- 

 men, which was hoftile to us, being commanded by Ay to 

 Tesfos, who, fince the murder of Joas, had never laid down 

 his arms, nor acknowledged his neighbour, Michael, as Ras, 

 nor Hannes the king, lafl made, as fovereign. He had re- 

 mained on the top of a high rock called Ihejcws Rock, about 

 eight miles from the ford. For thefe reafons, as well as that 

 it was the moil agreeable fpot we had ever yet feen, we left 

 our ftation on the Tacazze with great regret. 



Vol. III. X On 



