438 
DIXAN 
Several observations were taken by Mr. Stuart and myself, 
at Dixan, to ascertain its position, which gave the following 
result. 
' On the 17th May, first * (Alioth) in the tail 
of Ursa Major gave - - 14° 59' 56'' 
Second * (|) in ditto. . - - 14 59 10 
Last * (Benetnach) in ditto. - 15 0 41 
3)44 59 47 
Mean Latitude of Dixan 14 59 55 
The longitude of Dixan, deduced from a set of lunar observations, 
is 39' 38' 30". This brings the latitude to within two miles of that 
given by Mr. Bruce, (14° 57' 55''.) The longitude differs from 
his about twenty-nine miles ; that gentleman having laid it 
down in 40^ 7' 30" ; but as this appears to have been only com- 
puted from a longitude ascertained in the province of Sire, and 
not from any actual observation on the spot, no great stress can 
be laid upon it. Dixan was formerly a fief under Axum, and 
even to the present day its inhabitants retain a high respect for 
that city, most of them being marked with a cross, burnt in the 
skin of the right shoulder, as a token of their attachment to its 
ecclesiastical establishment.* 
On the 19th, early in the morning, we left Dixan, and after 
travelling about four miles up a continual ascent, passed over a 
low ridge of the mountain, which constitutes the north-western 
range of Taranta. The descent from this point was extremely 
* It is not unlikely tliat this circumstance may have given rise to the fable mentioned 
in some old authors, " of the Abyssinians being baptised with Jire.'* 
