780 THKOUGH SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA TO THE SUDAN. 



our journey from Zeila to Adis Al)eba had taken us nearly doul)le the 

 time wc liad at tirst calculated, Baron Erlano-er and I cauK^ to the con- 

 clusion that it was impossible for us to accomplish tof^'ether all our pro- 

 posed programme. We therefore decided to divide our caravan, in 

 order to explore as large an extent of unknown ground as possible. 

 Baron Erlanger proposed to return ])y another route to Sheikh 

 Husein, and to strike thence to Lake liudolf by a new route, while 1 

 made up my mind to tirst penetrate the highlands of Shoa proper, 

 and afterwards to Und a new route somewhere westward to the Sudan. 



For the moment traveling was out of the question, it being the 

 height of the rainy season; but as soon as the rain began to slacken 

 I formed a small caravan and started for the unknown part of Shoa 

 which lies l)etween the rivers Guder and Muger, two large southern 

 affluents of the Blue Nile. Two days from Adis xVbeba I passed the 

 place Ejere', then a small village, but soon to become the new residence 

 of the Emperor Menelik under the name of Adis Halem — that is to 

 say, the "new world," the scarcity of wood near the old capital Adis 

 Abeba ("new flower") becoming each year more and niore^ apparent. 

 Near Ejere, and still more in the district of Cheracha, there are mag- 

 nificent large forests. After passing these I came to the district of 

 KoUu, and stopped some days near a village called Aveve, as the place 

 was noted for the presence of lions. I found some fresh tracks, but 

 did not get a chance of seeing one. Here I found the source of foui' 

 small ri\crs not previoush' known, the Urga, Gora, Taranta, and Bus- 

 siyo, which afterwards unite under the name Taranta to form a rather 

 large river, which then flows westward to the Guder. The Bussiyo 

 forms the frontier between KoUu, belonging to Shoa proper and the 

 province of Gindeberat, which belongs to Gojam, the land of tlu^ since 

 deceased king Tekla Haimanot. 1 will here mention the interesting- 

 basalt mountain called Badattino, on the top of which there are a vil- 

 lage and a cluirch. From here to Abuye, an Abyssinian fort situated 

 on the edge of the plateau, the country has the character of a l)eauti- 

 ful English park. 1 had to leave the bulk of my caravan at Al>uye, 

 as the road thence down to the Blue Nile was not practicable for fully 

 laden mules, and descended with onl}^ seven men and a small tent. The 

 dift'erence in height between Abu3"e and the Blue Nile is about .5,8(»0 

 feet. The river was now in flood and turbulent, making it quite 

 impossible to cross to Gojam. Great heat prevailed in the valley, and 

 we were terribly bitten ])y mosquitoes. 1 therefore gave quinine to 

 all my men, and it was interesting to And that one who refused to 

 take it got an attack of malaria after six days. Having reascended 

 the plat(»au, 1 returned b}^ the same wa}^ to Badattino, and thence 

 took another route straight eastward. 



Near a village called Adaberga I arrived to witness the end of a 

 religious ceremony of the Galla. The Galla are split up into some 



