THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 337 



unlefs in the utmofl: neceffity. I fired two guns, and order- 

 ed my fervants to fire two large fhip-blunderbiifles, which 

 prefently freed us from our troublefome guefts. Two hy- 

 enas were killed, and a large lion being mortally wounded 

 was difpatched by our men in the morning. They came no 

 more near us ; but we heard numbers of them howling at 

 a diftance till day-light, either from hunger or the fmarts 

 of the wounds they had received, perhaps from both ; for 

 each fliip-blunderbufs had fifty fmall bullets, and the 

 wood towards which they were dire6led, at the diftance of 

 about twenty yards, feemed to be crowded with thefe animals. 

 The reafon why the hycena is more fierce here than in any 

 part of Barbary, will be given in the natural hiftory of that 

 wild beaft in the Appendix. 



Though this, our firfl: day's journey from Falaty and 

 Ras el Feel, to Quaicha, was of eleven hours, the diftance we 

 had gone in that time was not more than ten miles ; for 

 our beafts were exceedingly loaded, fo that it was with the 

 utmoft dififtculty that either we or they could force ourfelves 

 - through thofe thick woods, which fcarcely admitted the rays 

 of the fun. From this ftation, however, we were entertained 

 with a moft magnificent fight. The mountains at a dif- 

 tance towards the banks of the Tacazze, all Debra Haria, 

 and the mountains towards Kuara, were in a violent bright 

 flame of fire. 



The Arabs feed all their flocks upon the branches of trees ; 

 no beaft in this country eats grafs. When therefore the 

 water is dried up, and they can no longer ftay, they fet fire 

 to the woods, and to the dry grafs below it. The flame 

 runs under the trees, fcorches the leaves and new wood, 



Vol. IV. . u u without 



