TRAVELS IN ABYSSINIA. 
41 
penetrating along the southern frontier of Abyssi- 
nia, to the Indian ocean, and thence proceeding to 
Goa. This route, however, being also attended with 
the most imminent dangers and difficulties, it was 
determined to choose by lot the person who was to 
undertake it. The lot fell upon Antonio Fer- 
nandez, a person of sufficient vigour and enter- 
prise, who chose for his companion an Abyssinian 
convert, called Fecur Egzie. They began by cros- 
sing the Nile, at a point where there was neither 
bridge nor boat, but merely a loose and ill-con- 
structed raft. They came then into the country 
of the Gongas, and of the people of Bizamo, called 
here Caffres. These people, heathen, and almost 
savages, were under a species of subjection to Abys- 
sinia ; yet it was only by the combined application 
of threats and presents that a passage could be ef- 
fected through their territory. They passed the 
Maleg after some difficulty in finding the ford, and 
arrived soon in the territory of Narea. This king- 
dom consists of a large plain, surrounded by moun- 
tains. It is fertile, abounding in com and cattle ; 
and gold, though not produced in the country it- 
self, is brought abundantly from the south and 
west. This appears to be the highest land in 
this part of Africa ; as the rivers here separate, 
flowing some to the north, and falling into the 
Nile, while others, of which the principal is the 
Zebee, flow southwards to the Indian Ocean. The 
