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The National Geographic Magazine 



meat with his teeth. Tall enameled iron 

 tumblers of tetch were given to the sol- 

 diers. 



One of the typical sights of this ban- 

 quet was a huge mountain of bread upon 

 a central table, the mountain being 8 feet 

 high, 14 feet long, and 4 feet wide — some 

 448 cubic feet of bread. This was be- 

 sides counting the thick layers already 

 laid upon the tables, which were fast be- 

 ing demolished as each relay of guests 

 came in. Large as the hall was, it was 

 not sufficient to hold the guests at one 

 time, and they came in by installments, 

 each set of guests being expected to con- 

 sume one layer of bread. 



As soon as one lot had been fed and de- 

 parted, the crumbled top breads were 

 hastily removed, the under layer quickly 

 besprinkled with the red sauce, the car- 

 pets and rugs shaken so that the dust 

 from the people's feet went to settle down 

 upon the food that was to be eaten by the 

 next lot. 



And so the hours went by. Swarms of 

 figures kept pouring in with their black 

 faces and white cloaks, giving quite a 

 Biblical appearance to the scene. They 

 sat with their stolid faces round their 

 chief, who in turn was the very repre- 

 sentation of one of the ancient patriarchs 

 one imagines from reading the Bible. 

 To him these people paid their oxen and 

 cows, their grain, milk, and butter, and, 

 as he knew no better way to get rid of 

 his wealth so he gave back to his people 

 plenty to eat and to drink, to show the 

 fatherly interest which he took in his 

 subjects. 



I studied Menelik carefully. He really 

 seemed to delight in having his people 

 around him, and in watching them feed 

 heartily and enjoying themselves. 



I asked the Emperor how many oxen 

 and sheep had been killed that day, and 

 he told me that over one hundred and 

 twenty oxen had been dispatched and 

 several hundred sheep. 



Menelik certainly had the best-natured 

 face, not the handsomest, of any Abys- 

 sinian I had seen. There was something 

 leonine about his countenance, although 

 his eyes, very prominent and bloodshot, 



had more the suavity of bovines. He was 

 badly pock-marked. He possessed a 

 capricious, turned-up nose, narrow at the 

 nostrils, and ppominent lips, the lower 

 rather too drooping to suggest strong 

 will. His Imperial Majesty's skin was 

 as black as coal and rough ; but although 

 the face was altogether rugged, it was 

 absolutely devoid of vulgarity. Intelli- 

 gence and sharpness of wits showed 

 clearly in his expression. 



Many of the better Abyssinians have 

 told me that their war with Italy has 

 been a ruin not only to Italy, but to the 

 Abyssinians themselves, who will some 

 day surely pay for the conceit they have 

 now acquired. Barring some of the peo- 

 ple in power, it is difficult to make the 

 public at large differentiate between na- 

 tions of Europe. For them, bearing one 

 white nation means beating the whole 

 world of white people. 



.There are few regions in Africa which 

 are richer than the western and south- 

 western portions of Abyssinia, generally 

 known as the Galla country. Its pictur- 

 esque mountain masses are well wooded 

 and the valleys are regular gardens. The 

 climate is ideal, water for irrigation 

 plentiful, and the soil so fertile that it 

 will produce anything with. the minimum 

 of labor. 



In Abyssinia there is at the present 

 day immense wealth in gold and silver 

 money and in ivory lying idle. 



Owing to the peculiar way of admin- 

 istering justice, in a country where no 

 one speaks the truth and black-mailing 

 is usual, where the accused, whether inno- 

 cent or not, is not judged according lo his 

 crime, but is first of all imprisoned and 

 his property confiscated, it is no wonder 

 if those who possess wealth keep it care- 

 fully buried ; also the fact that a wife on 

 divorcing her husband can claim half 

 his fortune tends to promote this atti- 

 tude of suspicion toward all neighbors. 



Enormous quantities of ivory, I am 

 told, are buried in Abyssinia, and are 

 gradually getting spoiled. Menelik has 

 a vast amount of this valuable possession 

 stored away. Possibly ivory, with its 

 ever-increasing value, may be used some 



