iiG TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



them. Above all, they had been ufed to fee the effeA of 

 fire-arms, which they no lonf^er feared as formerly, but 

 boldly rufhed in upon the mufqueteers, fometimes without 

 giving them time to fire, or at leaft before they had time to 

 charge again* 



At laft, having previoufly called in all his out-pofts, on 

 the 13th of May he marched out of Gondar, taking with 

 him the King and Abuna, as alfo Ozoro Efther, and Ozoro 

 Altafla her fifter, and all the other ladies about court, who 

 were in pofTeffion of the great fiefs of the crown, and whom 

 he obliged to perfonal attendance, as well as to bring the 

 quota of troops they were boundto by their refpe6tive te- 

 nures. 



The king*s army halted upon the fame ground they had 

 done on their return to Gondar. They were then fuppofed 

 to be near 20,000 foot, belonging to Tigre and its dependen- 

 cies, incomparably the bell troops of the empire, 6000 of 

 which were armed with mufquets, fix times the number 

 that all the reft of Abyfiinia could furnilh, and, confidering 

 they v^ere all match-locks, very expert in the management 

 of them. The reft of the foot which joined them fince he 

 pafi^ed the Tacazze were about 10,000, befides 2000 of the 

 king's houfehold, 500 of which were horfemen ; of thefe, 

 few fliort of 200 were his black fervants, armed with coats 

 of mail, the horfes with plates of brafs on their. cheeks and 

 faces, with a Iharp iron fpike of about five inches in length, 

 which ftuck out in the middle of their forehead, a very trou- 

 blefome, iifelefs piece of their armour ; their bridles were 

 iron chains ; the body of the horfe covered with a kind of 

 thin quilt ftuffcd with cotton, v/iih two openings made 



above 



