340 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



chofe firft to endeavour, by fair means, to induce the igno- 

 rant favages to return to reafon and obedience. With this 

 view, he fent to expoftulate with them ; and to beg that, in 

 articles of faith, they would fuffer themfelves to be exami- 

 ned and inftructed by men of learning and good life ; not 

 by thofe monks, ignorant like themfelves, from whom 

 they only could learn vice, blafphemy, and rebellion. To 

 this the Damots anfwered, as one man, That, if his friend- 

 ship for them and good intentions were real, he mould give 

 them, for proof, the immediate burning of all the Latin 

 books which had been tranflated into the Ethiopian lan- 

 guage, and that, then, he mould hang thofe Jefuits who 

 were with him upon a high tree,. 



We are not, however, to confider this was really from a. 

 conviction or perfuafion of the Damots, who inhabit a pro- 

 vince bordering upon the Agows and Gongas, and their 

 ehriftianity much upon a par with that of either of thefe 

 nations. But the fact was, that the fanatics and zealots for 

 the Alexandrian faith had retired in great numbers to Das- 

 mot, as to a province the worft affected to the king, from 

 the recent violence of Julius, who, in an expedition againft 

 the Shangal'la, by order of the king had driven off the cat- 

 tle of the peaceable Damots, who had been then guilty of 

 no offence. And as thefe were ready to rebel for a quarrel 

 merely their own, it was very eafy for the fchifmatical 

 monks to add this religious grievance to the fum of the 

 preceding. 



Sela Christos had with him about 7000 men, moll of 

 them Catholics and veteran foldiers ; and among thefe 40 

 fortuguefc, partly on foot, armed with mufquets, the others 



x> on 



