254 
ROUTE TO MUGGA. 
orders to follow, by slower marches, with our baggage in the 
rear. 
On the 10th of March we started at day light and travelled for 
about three hours through a rugged and mountainous district, 
where the path was often so steep as to compel us to dismount 
from our mules. This path, at length, brought us to an open 
country wearing a distinct character from the one we had already 
passed ; exhibiting an extensive plain which stretches down from 
the hills of Agame and Haramat, (lying at this time about twenty 
miles on our left) in a westerly direction as far as the river Tacazze, 
through the rich districts of Gullibudda and Temben. This 
plain divides the mountainous district of ' Tigre ' (properly so 
called) from the no less elevated districts of Giralta and Enderta. 
The former is peculiarly distinguished from the others, by the 
soil being, in general, sandy, and the rocks rising in perpendicular 
strata, consisting of slate over schistus and granite ; whereas in the 
two latter the strata are more inclined to the horizontal direction, 
and the surface of the vallies consists of a rich black loam, par- 
ticularly well calculated for the cultivation of barley. 
After crossing the above-mentioned plain, we came to a steep 
ghaut, or pass, which leads up to the same range of country as 
the one of Atbara, of which a view is given in my larger publica- 
tion, and this brought us at once into the district of Giralta. Here, 
after gaining the summit, one of those grand scenes burst upon 
us, which often occur in mountainous countries, occasioned by 
the approach of a thunder storm. A heavy mass of clouds, ob- 
scuring the horizon, came sweeping over our heads from the 
south-east, emitting every moment vivid flashes of lightning, while, 
