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THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 311 
that all refolved itfelf into mirth and joke. Whatadded to the 
merriment was, that the meflengers from the Iteghébrought 
a large increafe to our ftock of brandy; but brought alfo 
pofitive orders, both from her and the king, to Ozoro Either, 
to determine me, by all poffible means, to return to Gondar, 
or elfe to repair thither inftantly herfelf. 
Tue evening of the day whereon we fet out to hunt, 
fome men arrived from Ras el Feel, fent by Yafine, with 
camels for our baggage, nothing but mules being ufed at 
Tcherkin. They brought word, that the Shangalla were 
down near the Tacazzé, fo that now was the time to pafs 
without fear; that Abd el Jeleel, the former Shum of Ras’el 
Feel, Yafine’s mortal enemy, had been feen lurking in the 
country near Sancaho; but as he had only four men, and 
was himfelf a known coward, it was not probable he would 
attempt any thing againft us, though it would be always 
better that we keep on our guard, 
‘Tcuerxin has a market on Saturdays, in which raw cot- 
ton, cattle, honey, and coarfe cotton cloths are fold. The 
Shangalla formerly molefted Tcherkin greatly, but for thir- 
ty years paft they had done little damage. The fmall-pox 
raged fo violently for a number of years among them, that 
it has greatly diminished their numbers, and confequently 
their. power of troubling their neighbours. At Tcherkin 
we faw a prodigious quantity of black fcorpions, of a very 
{mall kind, feldom in the houfes, but chiefly hid under — 
ftones ; feveral of our people were ftung by them, but no 
other mifchief followed, but a fmall {welling, and a com- 
plaint of cold in the part, which went away in a few 
hours. 
FROM 
