r88 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



ly beaten Fafil, and forced him to retire to the other fide of 

 the Nile, and was then in Maitfha, where it was thought he 

 would remain with the army all the rainy feafon. This 

 was juft what I could have wifhed, as it brought me at 

 once to the neighbourhood of the fources of the Nile, with- 

 out the fmalleft Ihadow of fear or danger. 



On the 9th of February, at feven o'clock, we took leave of 

 the friends whom we had fo newly acquired at Lamalmon; 

 all of us equally joyful and happy at the news. We began 

 to afcend what ftill remained of the mountain,which, though 

 fteepand full of bufhes, was much lefs difficult than that 

 which we had palled. At a quarter paft feven we arrived 

 at the top of Lamalmon, which has, from below, the appear- 

 ance of being fharp-pointed. On the contrary, we were 

 much furprifed to find there a large plain, part in pafture, 

 but more bearing grain. It is full of fprings, and feems to 

 be the great refervoir from whence arife moll of the rivers 

 that water this part of Abyffinia. A multitude of ilreams 

 iffue from the very fummit in all directions ; the fprings boil 

 out from the earth in large quantities, capable of turning a 

 mill. They plow, fow, and reap here at all feafons ; and 

 the hufbandman mull blame his own indolence, and not 

 the foil, if he has not three harvefts. We faw, in one place, 

 people bufy cutting down wheat ; immediately next to it, 

 others at the plough; and the adjoining field had green corn 

 in the ear; a little further, it was not an inch above the 

 ground. 



CD 



Lamalmon is on the N. W. part of the mountains of Sa- 

 men. That of Gingerohha, with two pointed tops, joins it 

 on the north, and ends thefe mountains here, and is fepara*. 



ted 



