246 RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS. 



The principal residence of the pastors was the low 

 and level part of Africa situated between the tropic 

 of Cancer and the mountains of Abyssinia. But the 

 noblest and most warlike of the pastors were, beyond 

 all doubt, those who inhabited and still inhabit the 

 mountains of Habad, which extend from the neigh- 

 bourhood of Massowah to Suakim. In the ancient 

 language of the country so means shepherd, souah being 

 the plural. 



The mountains inhabited by the Agaazi are called 

 Habadj which in their language, as in Arabic, means 

 serpent. Hence comes the historical tradition told in 

 the book of Axoum, that a serpent conquered the pro- 

 vince of Tigre and ruled over it. 



According to this book, which is the most ancient 

 chronicle in the country and the best authority next 

 to the Bible, five thousand years elapsed between the 

 creation of the world and the birth of Christ. Abyssinia 

 was not inhabited until 1800 B.C., and four hundred 

 years later many eminent men, speaking different lan- 

 guages, sought refuge there. They were well received 

 by the Agaazi, and each one of them was allowed to 

 choose the land which he wished to occupy. This 

 establishment is called in the Chronicle of Axoum, 

 Anyoba, that is to say, the entry of the nations. There 

 is a tradition, too, that this people came from Palestine 

 at about the time that an inundation caused great 

 damage there, and we know from Pausanias that there 

 was a great inundation in Ethiopia during the reign 



