i 66 The National Geographic Magazine 



jackets, proceeded through a series of 

 court-yards, and after receiving a salute 

 from a company of 200 native artillery- 

 men under the command of a European 

 officer, and a further salute of 21 guns 

 in honor of the United States, we en- 

 tered the aderach, an audience chamber 

 of cathedral-like proportions and form. 

 The Emperor sat upon his throne, sur- 

 rounded by his more important advisers, 

 representing the administrative depart- 

 ments, the judiciary, the army, and the 

 church, and back of the two rows of 

 pillars supporting the roof were massed 

 several thousands of the leading people 

 of Addis- Ababa, all in holiday regalia. 

 Our reception was cordial, but formal. 

 Within half an hour the members of the 

 mission accompanied by the escort of 

 Ethiopian troops, which had waited 

 outside, and augmented by the Emper- 

 or's private band, playing European 

 instruments, and by native troops uni- 

 formed and marching in European 

 fashion, left the palace for a compound 

 assigned to us. 



Nine days were spent in Addis- Ababa 

 with daily conferences over the treaty 

 with the Emperor or his foreign advisers. 

 A farewell audience was arranged and 

 took place on the afternoon of Decem- 

 ber 27, immediately prior to which the 

 Emperor sent to me two young lions 

 and a pair of elephant tusks, together 

 with a personal letter addressed to the 

 President, requesting me to deliver these 

 testimonials of his friendship and good 

 will upon my return to the United 

 States. In further manifestation of his 



satisfaction, at the conclusion of this 

 final audience, he tendered decorations 

 to all the officers of the mission and pre- 

 sented medals to the marines and sol- 

 diers. 



Probably for the first time in the 

 modern history of Ethiopia has a foreign 

 mission visited the country upon an 

 errand of peace and amity, bringing no 

 vexed question of territorial integrity or 

 national honor to decide, and neither 

 asking nor granting anything to which 

 both sides could not accede. 



Ethiopia being without a seaport and 

 hemmed in by three European powers, 

 each one striving to supplant our mer- 

 chandise, we came none too soon to pro- 

 tect our trade by the negotiation of a 

 treaty which should guarantee equal 

 treatment to our merchandise, not only 

 in respect to import duties, but, more 

 important still, in respect to equal rates 

 of transport. 



Ethiopia is wealthy in resources be- 

 yond the power of any man to calcu- 

 late. Gold, silver, asphalt, petroleum, 

 iron, and coal exist in combination with 

 a salubrious climate, agricultural pro- 

 ductiveness, and a population of singu- 

 lar docility. With watchful eyes upon 

 the future, the Emperor seeks to pre- 

 serve the political independence of his 

 people, which has been handed down 

 through the centuries, and in the mean- 

 time he hopes to develop the intelligence 

 and resources of the population of 10,- 

 000,000 to such a point as to enable it 

 to withstand any pressure from with- 

 out. 



The Development of Nevada. No state 

 in the Union has so long and so badly 

 needed an increase of population as has 

 Nevada. Her population of 42,000 

 today is less than it was in 1870, six 

 years after her admission as a state. It 

 is gratifying to know, therefore, that 

 she will more than double her present 

 numbers when the vast government ir- 

 rigation works begun on the Truckee 



and Carson Rivers are completed. It 

 is estimated that the works will make 

 productive about 375,000 acres of sage 

 brush desert in the western part of the 

 state. These lands will furnish fertile 

 homesteads of about 80 acres each for 

 4,500 families. Towns and villages will 

 naturally spring up, so that Nevada may 

 expect from the reclamation an increase 

 of 60,000 at the least. 



