214 
ROUTE TO NEGOTE. 
Surat cloth, or a brulhe, and in return presents the owners with n 
sheep. When the caravan arrives at Antalow, the Ras takes five 
or six brulhes, Surat cloth, or other articles in proportion. Each 
of the two chiefs of the district above mentioned annually pays to 
the Ras one thousand pieces of Adowa cloth, and the collector of 
the taxes, Ayto Confu, pays two matchlocks. The old man added, 
that in King Yasous's time, the chief of this district paid only three 
hundred pieces of cloth; Ras Michael raised it to three thousand; 
but on the accession of the present governor he reduced it to two 
thousand. 
" October 57. — We received a sheep from the villagers, and at 
an early hour resumed our journey. The whole of this district is 
surrounded with high and rocky hills, the summits of which are 
bare, and composed of regular and horizontal strata. We had to 
pass over one of the lowest ridges, near which are the ruins of a 
considerable village; at the top we saw the black eagle of Bruce, 
but could not get a shot at it, but Captain Rudland killed an Ash- 
koko. Hence we descended . to a small pool of water in the midst 
of some fine Daroo and Lahaani trees. After descending a steep 
hill a little farther on, we proceeded through a valley thinly set 
with brushwood ; and leaving the villages of Nurtha and Mai Kol- 
qual on our left, passed over a rugged point of the mountain, into 
a small and uncultivated plain. The next three miles were over 
rugged hills, partly covered with kolqual, after which we continued 
our road between the two towns of Beliassa and Gella (Kella of 
Bruce) ; the former being immediately on our right, the latter about 
three miles and an half on our left. At the distance of about one 
mile east of Bellasse we came to the village of Negote, where we 
