THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 581 



foot of it crofted a fmall river of the fame name, which ter- 

 minates the territory of Attata ; here, to the fouth, it is 

 indeed narrow, but very difficult to pafs by reafon of its 

 muddy bottom. The fun all along the plain of Goutto had- 

 been very hot till now, and here fo excemvely, that it quite 

 overcame us : what was worfe, Woldo declared himfelf fo 

 ill, that he doubted if he could go any farther, but believed 

 lie mould die at the next village. Though I knew too much 

 of the matter to think him in any danger from real difeafe,- 

 I faw eafily that he was infected with a counterfeit one, 

 which I did not doubt was to give me as much trouble as a 

 real one would have done. . 



At three o'clock, however, we pufhed on towards the - 

 S. E. and began to enter into the plain of Abola, one of the 

 divifions of the Agow. The plain, or rather valley, of Abo- 

 la, is about half a mile broad for the mofl part, and no- 

 where exceeds a mile. The mountains that form it on the 

 eaft and weft fide are at firft of no confiderable height, and 

 are covered with herbage and acacia-trees to the very top; 

 but as they run fouth, they increafe in height, and be- 

 come more rugged and woody. On the top of thefe are 

 moll delightful plains, full of excellent pafture; the moun- 

 tains to the weft are part of, or at leaft join the mountain of 

 Aformafha, where, from a direction nearly S. E. they turn 

 fouth, and inclofe the villages and territory of Sacala, which 

 lie at the foot of them,: and ftill lower, that is more to. the 

 weftward,the fmall village of Geefh, where are the long-ex- 

 pected fountains of the Nile. 



These mountains are herein the form of a crefcent ; the ■: 

 river runs in the plain along the foot of this ridge, and ! 



along-; 



