446 
RAZZIAS. 
[chap. XVI. 
neighbourhood. The rival parties of Koorshid and 
Debono, under their respective leaders, Ibrahim and 
Mahommed Wat el Mek, had leagued themselves with 
contending tribes, and the utter ruin of the country 
was the consequence. For many miles circuit from 
Shooa, the blackened ruins of villages and deserted 
fields bore witness to the devastation committed ; cattle 
that were formerly in thousands, had been driven off, 
and the beautiful district that had formerly been most 
fertile was reduced to a wilderness. By these whole¬ 
sale acts of robbery and destruction the Turks had 
damaged their own interests, as the greater number of 
the natives had fled to other countries; thus it was 
most difficult to obtain porters to convey the ivory to 
Gondokoro. The people of the country had been so 
spoiled by the payment in cows instead of beads for 
the most trifling services, that they now refused to 
serve as porters to G-ondokoro under a payment of four 
cows each; thus, as 1,000 men were required, 4,000 
cows were necessary as payment. Accordingly razzias 
must be made. 
Upon several expeditions, the Turks realized about 
2,000 cows; the natives had become alert, and had 
driven off their herds to inaccessible mountains. 
Debono’s people at their camp, about twenty-five miles 
distant, were even in a worse position than Ibrahim; 
they had so exasperated the natives by their brutal 
conduct, that tribes formerly hostile to each other now 
coalesced and combined to thwart the Turks by declin¬ 
ing to act as porters; thus their supply of ivory could 
not be transported to G-ondokoro. This led to extra 
violence on the part of the Turks, until at last the 
chief of Faloro (Werdella) declared open war, and 
suddenly driving off the Turks’ cattle, he retired to 
the mountains, from whence he sent an impertinent 
message inviting Mahommed to try to rescue them. 
This act of insolence united the rival trading parties 
against Werdella: those of Ibrahim and Mahommed 
agreed to join in an attack upon his village. They 
