296 HEMPEN ROPES EMPLOYED. 



able to contend, against the unequal pressure upon 

 its sides. In such cases, if attention be not paid to 

 its loud moanings, and the restless movements of its 

 head, when vainly endeavouring to lift off the load 

 from its back, the animal soon falls to the ground, 

 unwilling or unable to proceed farther, without a 

 readjustment of the loads. 



The numerous ropes required in loading camels 

 with the long narrow salt-bags, are generally made 

 of two plies of the thin portion of the doom palm 

 leaf, twisted in contrary directions with the hands, 

 and then allowed to twine naturally upon each 

 other. Hempen ropes are preferred, when they can 

 be obtained ; and several specimens were shown 

 to me ; that had been manufactured by some Galla 

 people to the south of the Hawash, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Shoa. 



I continued nailing the boxes, teaching Zaido the 

 use of a hammer and a nail-passer, when attempting 

 to lift over one of the packages, I placed my hand 

 under its lower edge, and was suddenly made aware, 

 by a severe sting in the ball of my thumb, that 

 some reptile had located itself beneath. In an 

 agony of anxious curiosity, I pushed over the box, 

 and then exposed to view a large scorpion, at 

 least an inch and a half in diameter. The pain for 

 the moment was intense, shooting rapidly along my 

 arm into the shoulder and neck, and as I had 

 been taught to believe, that the most serious conse- 

 quences would arise from a wound of such a descrip- 



