OF THE ABI AND GIBBEE. 445 



and thirty miles, has excavated a valley five or 

 six thousand feet below the general level of the 

 table land, whilst the opposite summits of the 

 bounding sides are distant between thirty and forty 

 miles. We may look in vain over every portion of 

 the known world for a similar effect of denudation, 

 and this again illustrates the wide field of novel 

 facts which is promised to science, by an examina- 

 tion of the unknown interior of Africa. 



On the artificial terraces and natural slopes of 

 these extensive valleys the vegetables of all cli- 

 mates can be successfully cultivated, and the 

 theoretical centre of successive elevations from 

 whence, according to the hypothesis of Linnaeus, all 

 vegetation spread over the rest of the earth, appears 

 to exist in the natural phenomena presented, by 

 the surface geography of the Abyssinian table 

 mountain. The country of the Gongas is similarly 

 excavated by the deeply cut channel of the Gibbee, 

 or the Eed Nile, which, much larger than the Abi 

 on the northern portion of the plateau, will have a 

 greater extent of denuded valley for the production 

 of those vegetables of a hot climate, the presence 

 of which have been such an argument in favour of 

 those, who contend that the water-shed of the 

 Gibbee must be towards the lowlands in the 

 South, where it is presumed these vegetables could 

 only have been cultivated. 



The other slaves I examined at Musculo's, were 

 a few Amhara from Gurague, but who contributed 



