68 THEODORE II. AND THE 



upon the morale of the soldiers, to hide it from them. Accordingly, 

 the next morning, the Choas marched valiantly against the enemy, 

 preceded by a closed litter supposed to shelter the person of the suf- 

 fering king ; they fought admirably, but ended by being routed. 

 Theodore followed up this victory with a rapidity to which the Abys- 

 ainians were not accustomed ; he scaled the formidable position of 

 Aukober, built on the summit of a sugar loaf, which wild goats find 

 it hard to climb, annexed the kingdom to his empire, put a small 

 number of influential chiefs in irons, had the policy not to irritate 

 the inferior nobility, to whom he left their offices and commands, 

 annulled the treaties concluded by Tahle-Talassie with England and 

 Erance, and triumphantly pointed upon Deora-Tabor the English 

 and Erench cannon found at Aukober. He had not yet left the 

 country when he received the news that the faction of Beurrou was 

 still stirring in Godjam. He flew there with the rapidity of light- 

 ning, and caused torrents of blood to flow. A woman was burned 

 alive for the sole reason that she was the mother or wife of one of 

 the insurgent chiefs. These executions, however, did not root out 

 the spirit of local independence which reigned in these distant pro- 

 vinces. One year after the departure of Theodore, Tedla-Gruatu, 

 the young chief to whose care he had confided Grodjam, declared 

 himself independent and refused tribute. 



At this same time (July, 1855), another more serious insurrection 

 arose in Tigre, where the family of Oubie had still many partizans. 

 The young sons of Oubie, not daring to risk the life of their captive 

 father by rising openly, had cast their eyes upon an old companion 

 in arms of Theodore, who, since the battle of Dereskie, had retired 

 to the mountains of Sernen — Agan Negoussie.* "When proclaimed 

 negus, Negoussie appeared irresolute, and for some time refused 

 the honour ; semi-violence was necessary to make him ascend the 

 alga, or in other words, the throne. Having taken this decisive 

 step he was compelled to act, and either to gain or crush the neigh- 

 bouring undecided chiefs. Negoussie marched against them, de- 

 feated them, and made a solemn entry into Gondar, where he was 

 received (August, 1855) by the debteras, already annoyed at the 

 reforming proclivities of Theodore the Second. Thence he marched 

 upon Tigre, where the Theodorist party had fortified itself under the 

 direction of the viceroy Balgaduatroca. The brother of the latter 



* Agan, the name of the native county of Negoussie; 



