Abyssinia — The Country and People 



91 



As I had a very natural desire to see 

 French Somali Land, I went over in a 

 day's sail in a native boat from Zeila to 

 Jibuti. This seaport is not more than 

 ten years old, has about eight thousand 

 inhabitants, loyal natives, and is already 

 rather neatly built — a low-roofed, white, 

 tropical French town with a good har- 

 bor. Ships of the M. M. line stop 

 about twice a month, and, more than 

 all, as to its future importance, it is the 

 starting point of a railway which French 

 capital has pushed to the interior. A 

 year ago the work was completed for a 

 distance of forty miles, with consider- 

 able preparatory grading for some dis- 

 tance ahead. The workmen must be 

 guarded at all times by soldiers, who 

 are for the most part from the west 

 coast of Africa. There is an occasional 

 outbreak; a few Italian or Arab laborers 

 are killed by a rush at night ; yet through 

 it all the patient stockholders in Paris 

 are backing up the efforts of their rep- 

 resentatives, who are building a railwa}^ 

 that may be small, indeed, in commer- 

 cial value^ but, on the other hand, ma}^ 

 have a ver}' large political significance. 

 At least it may be said that this railway 

 enterprise does very much to offset what 

 would otherwise be the preponderating 

 influence of Great Britain upon the 

 future Abyssinian question, due to the 

 large British possessions which almost 

 surround Menelek's domain. 



I found in Jibuti that arms were sold 

 in ver}^ large numbers, and indeed all 

 caravans which I saw starting for the in- 

 terior during three or four days' stay bore 

 boxes marked ' ' cartouches. ' ' Nearly all 

 imports to Ab3^ssinia other than arms go 

 by way of Zeila. 



Having finally chaffered myself into 

 the ownership of a third mule, I started 

 back to Zeila, across the desert, accom- 

 panied by a follower who had walked 

 across a night or two before. There was 

 reall}^ no great danger, since the whole 

 coast is under the power either of the 

 French or English, but a white man with- 



out arms is not thoroughly understood 

 by the natives, and the killing of any 

 man in an}^ manner reflects great credit 

 upon the slayer. Indeed, it was feared 

 that a weaponless white man might be 

 considered as a derelict which could not 

 be put to better use than by a kind of 

 innocent slaughter, quite without per- 

 sonal animus. However that may be, I 

 got across the desert, a distance of forty 

 miles, in about eight hours of very hot 

 riding, relieved by a very splendid mi- 

 rage effect on approaching Zeila, whose 

 low dingy houses became a glittering 

 row of splendid white palaces. 



Finally sixteen camels, with proper 

 loads, were gathered, a well-defined bar- 

 gain was made for their hire, and we 

 drifted out upon the desert, camping only 

 eight miles from Zeila the first evening. 

 Here the sweet silence of the desert fell 

 upon us, broken only by the chatter of 

 men and grunt of camels ; then the night 

 finds its true voice, the complaining cry 

 of the hyena. Subsequently in the long 

 march one day was very much like an- 

 other,- so far as the movement of the 

 caravan was concerned. Little differ- 

 ence was made even by changing trans- 

 port to mules, for with either animal the 

 average journey, when not carrying food, 

 must be in the neighborhood of twelve 

 miles a day. 



The African camel starts out on such 

 a journey with no stored-up fat, and he 

 must have a few hours a day in which to 

 nibble at the thorn bushes, which are 

 found almost everywhere in this east 

 shore desert. The mule cannot subsist 

 on thorn bush ; hence he is not used in 

 this region, but in the grassy country he 

 must have a few hours for grazing, so 

 that substantially the day's march aver- 

 ages not more than five hours. 



When it comes to mountain-climbing 

 the camel is very inefficient, and is rarely 

 used. The little barefooted mule, native 

 to Abyssinia, is the only and very ex- 

 cellent means of transportation. He car- 

 ries about 120 pounds weight, and con- 



