THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 3 ir 



This is the name of fome miferable villages, often rebuilt, 

 and as often deftroyed, upon a ford of the Nile, over which 

 is the ordinary paflage for the Mahometan merchants into 

 Bizamo, the way to the mountainous country of Narea and 

 Caffa. As the rains had begun to fall here with violence, 

 when Fernandes and his companions arrived, they were 

 obliged to pafs the river, on Ikins blown full of wind. 



The diftance from Mine to Narea is 50 leagues due fouth ? 

 with little inclination to weft. The road to it, and the places 

 through which you pafs, are very diftinctly fet down in my 

 map, and, I believe, without any material error ; it is the 

 only place where the reader can find this route, which, till 

 now, has never been publifhed. 



The next day our travellers entered the kingdom of Bi- 

 zamo, inhabited by Pagan Galla. Thefe people came in- 

 crowds with arms in their hands, infifling upon being paid 

 for liberty of palling through their country ; but, feeing the 

 company of the ambaflador take to their arms likewife, 

 they compounded for a few bricks of fait and coarfe cotton 

 cloaths,. and. thereupon fuffered them to pafs. The fame- 

 day, the guide, fent from Narea to conduct them by crook- 

 ed and unfrequented paths out of the way of the Pagan 

 Galla, made them to enter into a large thicket through - 

 which they could fcarcely force themielves ; after which 

 they came to a river called Mafeg, when it was nearly night. 

 Next day they could find no ford where they could pals. 

 They now entertained a fufpicion r that the guard from Na-»- 

 rea had betrayed them, and intended to leave them in thefe. 

 woods to meet their death from the Galla, 



The- 



