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|Mrovincf3 form one empire, lubjodl to a monarchy, liei-oJiiaiT 

 in one Limily, but clcdivc in ttuit line, and licfpotic ; of whicU 

 the eapital was fonncrly AxuM, but is now Gondar. 



The furface of this country is gcncmlly rujjged and 

 pinuntainous ; it abounds with ibrclls and nioi-aHcs ; and it 

 i« .ilfo interfperfcd with many fertile vaU'.cs and plains, that 

 are adipted both to pafturc and to tillage. The rivers of 

 Abyillnia, which are numerous and large, contribute very 

 much to lis fertility. Bcfides the Nile, which has its 

 foorce iu Gccfli, an elevattJ dillrid-t of this country, there 

 are alfo the Tacazzf', theKiBBEE, or as the Portuguefe 

 call it, Zmt'i;, which lies indeed beyond the extent of 

 Abyflinia, as it has been above afligned, the Mareb, the 

 Hoax or H AWASH, the Coror, which riles in Angot, and 

 ti.'ipties itfclf into the Tacaz/c, the Angueali and Lidda, 

 which form branches of the March, the Andona, which 

 rifes near the fource of the Tacazze, is continued under 

 the name of the Hanazo, through the kingdom of Dawaro, 

 and difcharges itfelf near the bay of Zeyla, the Bafhilo, 

 I.oha, Gcihen, Samba, Jema, Roma, Belo, Raliad, and 

 Dender, which riiing in provinces bordering on the Nile, 

 empty themfclvcs into that river ; the Angrab, Tukoor, 

 and Gtiangtie, which flow into the Tacazze, &c. The 

 principal coUeiflion of water in this country, is the lake of 

 I'z ASA, or, as it is generally called, the lake or lea of Dem- 

 bea. The climate of Abyflinia, though, like other parts 

 of the torrid zone, it was fonnerly thought to be uninhabit- 

 able, is not only tolerable, but in general temperate and 

 healthy. In this refpeft, however, the uneven furface of 

 the country expofes different fituations to the effects of heat 

 and cold, of drynefs and moifture, and of a free circulation 

 or a ftagnation of the atmofphere in very various degrees. 

 On the mountains, and in the higher parts of the countti', 

 the (ky is clear and ferenc, the air is cool and refrelhing, and 

 the people are healthy and fprightly ; whilil thoie who live 

 in fome of the vallies, in the vicinity of marfhes, and m fandy 

 deferts, cannot but experience the pernicious influence of 

 tjcceffive heat, and of amoift, ftagnant, and fuffocating air : 

 fo that the climate depends upon foil and fituation as much 

 almoft as upo;i the latitude ; and therefore no defcriptionoi 

 it will equally fuit the feveral provinces. Mr. Bruce (Tra- 

 vels, vol. iii. p. 662.) obferves, that on the higheft moun- 

 tain of the ridge called Lamalmon, the thermometer flood 

 at 32° in the depth. of winter, the wind being N. W. clear 

 and cold, but attended only with hoar froft. This, he 

 adds, Tanilhed into dew aftera quarter of an hour's fun ; nor 

 did he ever fee any fign of congelation upon the water upon 

 the top of tf.Nt, or any other hill. ' The barometer ftood at 

 !9° 9' at noon of the fame day, and the therm, v.-as 

 at 78°. He obferved haii to lie for three hours in the 

 forenoon on the mountains of Amid Amid. From an 

 examination of Mr. Bnice's rcgilter- of the barometer 

 a.;d thei-mometer, &c. kept at Gondar, from February 

 19, 1770, to May 31, 1771, it appears, that the greateft 

 height of the barometer was 22° 1 1' 9", on April 29, at 

 6{ M. the therm, being ^9'', arid wind S. The leaft height 

 was 20° 1 1' 5", March 29, at 2iN. therm. 75^, wind E. 

 The gr^atell height of the thermometer was 91°, April 

 19, at 12 N.— Wind W. N. W. The leaft height was 

 54'^, July 7, at 12 N. barom. 21=6' 7", wind AV. The 

 rainy feafon commences in April or the beginning of May, 

 wflen the fun becomes vertical, and ends in September. The 

 raitis genendly ceaf.- about the 8th of September; a fickly 

 feafon follows till they begin again, about the 20th of Oc- 

 tober ; they then continue conilant, but moderate, till the 

 «th of November. All epidemic difeafes ceafe with the end 



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of thefe rains. In order to avoid the inconveniences tliat 

 attend the overflowing of their rivers during this i'eafon, as 

 well as on account of the greater f.dubrity of elevated fitua- 

 tions, the Abyflinians have built many of their towjis and 

 villages on the mountains. Their houfcs are generally very- 

 mean, confining only of one ilory, and conilrucled with 

 ihaw and laths, earth and lime, though there are feme of 

 ftone, and better materials. It is a miilaken notion, how- 

 ever, that they livj in tents, and not in houfes. In a climate 

 like that of Abyffmia, fubjecl to fcorehing weathe.r for lis 

 months, and to deluges of rain, ftonns of wind, thunder 

 and lightning, and hurricanes, fuch as are unknown ia 

 Europe, for the other fix, it is not probable that they 

 iliould chufe to live in tents, after having known how t'» 

 build fuch cities as Axum. In many of the tov/ns and vil- 

 lages, the houfes are feparated by hedges, wh'.ch being al- 

 ways green and intermixed with flowers and fruit-trees, at 

 certain diftances, afford an agreeable profpecl, and contri- 

 bKte alfo to their falubrity. Notwithilanding every caution, 

 the AbylTmian climnte, m.ore eipecially in particular iitua- 

 tions, expofes the inhabitants to a variety of difeafes. They 

 are fubjeft to violent fevers, which commonly prove fat;J 

 on the third day. Thofe who furvive to the fifth day oftea 

 recover, merely by drinking cold water, and by repeatedly 

 throwing cold water upon them in their beds. The bark 

 is the moil effeclual remedy ; which in critical cafes, (fays 

 Mr. Bruce, vol. iii. p. ^4.) ihould be frequently repeated 

 in fmall dofes, and perfect abftinence obferved, unlefs from 

 copious draughts of cold water. Another common difeafe 

 in Abyiilnia, is the tertian fever, vvhich is in no refpetl dif- 

 ferent from our tertian, and is fuccefsfully treated in the 

 fame manner. All fevers terminate in intermittents, and if 

 they continue long, in dyfenteries, which are always tedi- 

 ous, and very frequently mortal. Bark and ipecacuanha, 

 in fmall quantities, water, and fruit not over-ripe, have 

 been found the moft effccTtua! rcrr.edies. The dyfentery, 

 commencing with a conilant diarrhcca, is feldom cured, if 

 it begins with the rainy feafon ; olherwife fm.all dofes of 

 ipecacuanha either remove it, or change it into an inter- 

 m.ittent fever, which yields to the bark. Another endemial 

 difeafe is called hanzeer, the hogs or the fwine, and is a fwelling 

 of the glands of the throat, and under the arms, which by 

 inefl^eftual attempts for producing fuppuration, and opening 

 the tumors, becomes a running fore, and relembles the evil. 

 In connedlion with this diforder, we may mention thofe 

 fvvellings, to which the whole body is fubjecf, and particu- 

 larly incident to the arms, thighs, and legs, fometimes ac- 

 companied with ulcers in the nofe and mouth, which deface 

 the Imoothnels of the Ikin, and which on this account are 

 much dreaded by the Abyfiinians. The tv/o lift difeafes 

 fometimes yielded to mercurials ; but the laft is fpecdily and 

 completely cured by antimonials. Another complaint af- 

 flifts thofe who are in the habit of drinking ftagnant water. 

 It is called Farenteit, or the worm of Pharaoh, and appears 

 in all parts of the body, but moft frequently in the legs and 

 arms. It is a worm with a fmall black head and a hooked 

 beak, of a whitilli colour, and a white body of a filkv tex- 

 ture, refembling a fmall tendon. The natives feize it by 

 th.e head and wind it gently round a piece of filk, or a 

 bird's feather, and thu5 by degrees they extradl it without 

 any inconvenience or permanent fear. Mr. Bruce fuffered 

 much from this complaint, and the breaking of the worm 

 in the operation of extrafting it. The moft terrible of all 

 the difeafes of this climate is the Elephantiasis. The 

 cicuta, mercurv', and tar-water, were unfuccefsfully tried in 

 this complaint : the greateft benefit was derived trom whey 



made 



