THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 8$ 



Thts prince kept ftrictly his promife of fecrecy made to< 

 Bseda Mariam, while the king of Adel obferved a very dif- 

 ferent line of conduct ; for he not only difcovered the 

 king's intention, but he invited the Dobas to fend their 

 wives, children, and effects into Adel, while his troops 

 mould cut off the king's provifion,. and fight him wherever 

 they faw that it could be done with advantage. The plan 

 was fpeediiy embraced. Twelve clans of Dobas marched 

 with their cattle, as privately as poffible, for Adel; but the 

 king's intelligence was too good, and his motions too ra- 

 pid, to allow their fchemes to be carried into execution. 

 With a large body of horfe, he took pofTefiion of a.ftrong. 

 pafs, called Fendera; and when that unhappy people, fa- 

 tigued with then- march, and incumbered with baggage,,, 

 arrived at this fpot, they were cut to pieces without reihV 

 ance, and. without diftinclion of age or fex». 



The king, at the beginning of this campaign, declared,, 

 that his intention was not to carry on war with the Dobas 

 as with an ordinary enemy, but totally to extirpate them as 

 a nuifance ; and, to fhew himfelf in earneft in the declara- 

 tion, he now made a vow never to depart from the country 

 till he had plowed and'fown the fields, and ate the crop on- 

 the fpot with his army. He, therefore, called the peafan'ts 

 of two fmall neighbouring. diftriclis, Wadge and C»nz, and' 

 ordered' them to plow and fow that part ; which having; 

 feen done, the king went to Axum, but returned again to- 

 the Dobas, by the feaft of the Epiphany, That cruel, rel- 

 iefs nation, faw now the king's real intent was, their utter 

 deftruction, and that there was no poflibility of avoiding it; 

 but by fubmiflion. This prudent conduct they immediate- 

 ly adopted ; and, great part of them renouncing the Pagan, 

 Z: religion,, 



