A B Y 
telopes and other wild animals are met with in great num¬ 
bers in the uncultivated parts; feeding chiefly on the 
leaves of trees. They abound mod of all, however, in 
thofe parts which have- been once cultivated, but fince 
defolated by the calamities of war; and where wild oats 
abound in fuch quantities as to hide them from purfuit. 
Hyaenas-, lions, foxes, jackals, wild boars, &c. are alfo 
found, as well as the elephant, rhinoceros, cameleopard, 
and others of the larger and more uncommon kinds. 
Great havock is made in the cultivated fields by multi¬ 
tudes of baboons, apes, rats, and mice. There is plenty 
ef hares; but thefe being reckoned unclean, as well as 
wild boars, are not ufed as food. The rivers abound with 
crocodiles and hippopotami, at . lead the Nile, and thofe 
large dreams which flow into it: but a great number have 
water in them only during the rainy feafon, and thefe have 
neither irlh nor any animal that feeds upon them. 
The number of birds in this country is immenfe; nor are 
thofe of the carnivorous kind at all deficient. Great num¬ 
bers of eagles, vultures, hawks, and others of that kind, 
are met with, and come punctually every year after the 
tropical rains have, ceafed. They feed at firft upon the 
fliell-fifh which are met with in great quantities on the 
edges of the deferts, where they had lived in the fait 
fprings; but, being forced from their natural habitations 
when thefe fprings were fwelled by the rains, are after¬ 
wards left to perilh on dry land. When thefe fail, their 
next refource is from the carcafes of the large animals, 
jfuch as the elephant and rhinoceros, which are killed in 
the flat country by. the hunters. Their next fupply is the 
multitude of rats and field-mice which infefl the country 
after harveft. The valt daughter of cattle made by the 
Abyfliiiian armies, the multitude of perfons killed whole 
bodies are allowed to rot on the field of battle, Sec. furnilh 
them alfo with another refource. Thefe fupplies, how¬ 
ever, all fail at the beginning of the rainy feafon, when 
the hunters and armies return home, and the valt quantity 
of water which continually overflows the ground renders 
it impoflible for them to find any other food. 
There are other birds, which feed upon infects, and 
multitudes which live on grain or feeds of various kinds; 
all of which are amply fupplied by the immenfe quantity 
of fruits and berries which grow in AbylTinia, and are ripe 
at all feafons of the year. A very remarkable particular 
concerning this is, that the trees which bear fruit all the 
year round do not carry it always in the fame place. The 
weft fide is that which blofloms firft, and where of con- 
fequence the fruit firft comes to perfection ; the fouth fide 
fucceeas, and goes through the fame procefs; after which, 
the north bloiToms in like manner; and laft of all is the 
eaft fide, which produces flowers and fruit towards the 
beginning of the rainy feafon. All the trees of Abyili- 
nia are ever-green; and their leaves are of a thick lea¬ 
thery confidence, and highly varnifhed to enable them to 
refift the violent rains which fall during a certain feafon. 
The granivorous birds have likewife this advantage, that 
the rains do not fall at the fame time all over the country. 
It is interfered by a chain of mountains that divide the 
feafons alfo; fo that they have but a fhort way to fly in 
order to become birds of pafiage, and fupply themfelves 
with fuch food as is neceflary for them beyond the moun¬ 
tains. All the pigeons, of which there are many fpecies, 
are birds of pafiage excepting one kind. The owls are 
extremely large and beautiful, but few in number. There 
is a great variety of fwallows, feveral kinds of which are 
unknown in Europe; but, fays Mr. Bruce, “ thofe that 
are common in Europe appear in pafiage at the very fea¬ 
fon when they take their flight from thence. We faw the 
greateft part of them in the ifland of Mafuah, where they 
lighted and tarried two days, and then proceeded with 
moon-light nights to the fouth-weft.” The large birds 
which refide conftantly among the mountains of Samen 
and Taranta have all their feathers tubular, the hollow 
part being filled with a kind of yellow duft which ifllies 
eut in great abundance on hunting them. This was par- 
A B Y 39 
ticularly obferved by Mr. Bruce in a fpecies of eagle 
which he calls the'golden eagle; and the duft being viewed 
through a microfc'ope with a very ftrong magnifying pow¬ 
er, appeared like fine feathers. The crows are fpotted 
"white and black, ahnoft in equal proportions. The raven 
has his feathers intermixed with brown; the tip of his 
beak white, and a figure like a cup or chalice of white 
feathers upon his head. Mr. Bruce faw no fparrows, 
magpies, nor bats; neither are there many water-fowl, 
efpecially of the web-foot-cd kind; but there are vafi num¬ 
bers of ftorks, which cover the plains in May, when the 
rains become conftant. There are no geefe, excepting 
one fpecies called the golden goofe or goofe of the Nile, 
which is common all over Africa; but there are fnipes in 
all the marfhes. 
Our author deferibes very few fifties; though he fays 
that an account of thefe, and other marine productions of 
the Red Sea, which he collected, would occupy many 
large volumes. He mentions a fiih named binny, which 
is good food, and grows to a large fize; its whole body is 
covered with beautiful feales refembling filver fpangles. 
Of the reptiles in Abyflinia, Mr. Bruce deferibes a kind' 
of lizard, and of the ceraftes, or horned ferpent; but de¬ 
nies that ferpents are numerous in Abyflinia, as ahnoft ail 
authors have fuppofed, and as we fhould be led naturally 
to fuf'pect. He vouches alfo for the pow er that fome per¬ 
fons have of inchanting ferpents and fcorpions, which in 
fome is natural, in others communicated artificially by cer¬ 
tain medicines. He prevailed upon thofe who knew the 
fecret to prepare him by thefe means as they had done 
others;- but, notwithftanding this afliftance, he acknow¬ 
ledges, that when it came to the trial his heart always 
failed him. 
Mr. Bruce gives an ample defeription of the manners 
of the Abyflinians, who in fome refpeCts are barbarous 
beyond meafure. The continual ftate of warfare in which- 
they are engaged, no doubt contributes to confirm them; 
in their barbarity. This arifes from an error in the regu¬ 
lations concerning the fucceflion. The crown is indeed 
hereditary, but it depends on the minifter to choofe the 
particular perfon who is to enjoy it; and as it is.always- 
his inclination to have the government in his own hands,, 
he never fails to choofe an infant, who is feldom differed; 
to live after lie comes to the years of maturity. Thus 
perpetual wars and commotions take place, infomuch that 
the ravenous birds, as has been obferved, find one great: 
fupply of food in the daughters made by the Abyflinians 
of one another. All authors agree, that the devaftations 
committed by their armies are exceflive; infomuch, that af¬ 
ter a long encampment is removed, nothing is to be feera 
all around the place where it was but bare earth. When 
an army there marches through the country, an incon¬ 
ceivable number of birds and beads of prey, efpecially 
the former, follow it from the firft day of its march to its 
return; increafttig always in proportion the more it ad¬ 
vances into the country. An army there leaves nothing 
living behind, nor the veftige of an habitation; but the 
fire and the fword reduce every thing to a wildernefs and 
folitude. The beafts and birds unmolefted have the coun¬ 
try to themfelves, and increafe beyond all poflible con¬ 
ception. The flovenly manner of this favage people, who,, 
after a battle, bury neither friends nor enemies; the quan¬ 
tity of beafts of burthen that die perpetually under the 
load of baggage, and variety of mifmanagement; the 
quantity of offal, and half-eaten carcafesof cows, goats, and 
fheep, which they confume in their march for fuftenance; 
all furnifh a ftock of carrion fufficient to occafion conta¬ 
gious diftempers, were there not fuch a prodigious num¬ 
ber of voracious attendants who confume them almoft 
before putrefaction. There is no giving the reader any 
idea of their number, unlefs by comparing them to tlte 
fand of the fea. While the army is in motion, they are a 
black canopy which extends over it for leagues. When 
encamped,' the ground is difcoloured with them beyond 
the fight of the eye; and all the trees are loaded with them. 
The. 
