We Set Out From The Kingdom Of Dancali On The 15th Of June, Having
Taken Our Leave Of The King,
Who after many excuses for everything
that had happened, dismissed us with a present of a cow, and some
provisions,
Desiring us to tell the Emperor of Aethiopia his father
that we had met with kind treatment in his territories, a request
which we did not at that time think it convenient to deny.
Whatever we had suffered hitherto, was nothing to the difficulties
we were now entering upon, and which God had decreed us to undergo
for the sake of Jesus Christ. Our way now lay through a region
scarce passable, and full of serpents, which were continually
creeping between our legs; we might have avoided them in the day,
but being obliged, that we might avoid the excessive heats, to take
long marches in the night, we were every moment treading upon them.
Nothing but a signal interposition of Providence could have
preserved us from being bitten by them, or perishing either by
weariness or thirst, for sometimes we were a long time without
water, and had nothing to support our strength in this fatigue but a
little honey, and a small piece of cows' flesh dried in the sun.
Thus we travelled on for many days, scarce allowing ourselves any
rest, till we came to a channel or hollow worn in the mountains by
the winter torrents; here we found some coolness, and good water, a
blessing we enjoyed for three days; down this channel all the winter
runs a great river which is dried up in the heats, or to speak more
properly, hides itself under ground. We walked along its side,
sometimes seven or eight leagues without seeing any water, and then
we found it rising out of the ground, at which places we never
failed to drink as much as we could, and fill our bottles.
In our march, there fell out an unlucky accident, which, however,
did not prove of the bad consequence it might have done. The master
of our camels was an old Mohammedan, who had conceived an opinion
that it was an act of merit to do us all the mischief he could; and
in pursuance of his notion, made it his chief employment to steal
everything he could lay hold on; his piety even transported him so
far, that one morning he stole and hid the cords of our tents. The
patriarch who saw him at the work charged him with it, and upon his
denial, showed him the end of the cord hanging from under the saddle
of one of his camels. Upon this we went to seize them, but were
opposed by him and the rest of the drivers, who set themselves in a
posture of opposition with their daggers. Our soldiers had recourse
to their muskets, and four of them putting the mouths of their
pieces to the heads of some of the most obstinate and turbulent,
struck them with such a terror, that all the clamour was stilled in
an instant; none received any hurt but the Moor who had been the
occasion of the tumult. He was knocked down by one of our soldiers,
who had cut his throat but that the fathers prevented it: he then
restored the cords, and was more tractable ever after. In all my
dealings with the Moors, I have always discovered in them an ill-
natured cowardice, which makes them insupportably insolent if you
show them the least respect, and easily reduced to reasonable terms
when you treat them with a high hand.
After a march of some days we came to an opening between the
mountains, the only passage out of Dancali into Abyssinia. Heaven
seems to have made this place on purpose for the repose of weary
travellers, who here exchange the tortures of parching thirst,
burning sands, and a sultry climate, for the pleasures of shady
trees, the refreshment of a clear stream, and the luxury of a
cooling breeze. We arrived at this happy place about noon, and the
next day at evening left those fanning winds, and woods flourishing
with unfading verdure, for the dismal barrenness of the vast
uninhabitable plains, from which Abyssinia is supplied with salt.
These plains are surrounded with high mountains, continually covered
with thick clouds which the sun draws from the lakes that are here,
from which the water runs down into the plain, and is there
congealed into salt. Nothing can be more curious than to see the
channels and aqueducts that nature has formed in this hard rock, so
exact and of such admirable contrivance, that they seem to be the
work of men. To this place caravans of Abyssinia are continually
resorting, to carry salt into all parts of the empire, which they
set a great value upon, and which in their country is of the same
use as money. The superstitious Abyssins imagine that the cavities
of the mountains are inhabited by evil spirits which appear in
different shapes, calling those that pass by their names as in a
familiar acquaintance, who, if they go to them, are never seen
afterwards. This relation was confirmed by the Moorish officer who
came with us, who, as he said, had lost a servant in that manner:
the man certainly fell into the hands of the Galles, who lurk in
those dark retreats, cut the throats of the merchants, and carry off
their effects.
The heat making it impossible to travel through this plain in the
day-time, we set out in the evening, and in the night lost our way.
It is very dangerous to go through this place, for there are no
marks of the right road, but some heaps of salt, which we could not
see. Our camel drivers getting together to consult on this
occasion, we suspected they had some ill design in hand, and got
ready our weapons; they perceived our apprehensions, and set us at
ease by letting us know the reason of their consultation.
Travelling hard all night, we found ourselves next morning past the
plain; but the road we were in was not more commodious, the points
of the rocks pierced our feet; to increase our perplexities we were
alarmed with the approach of an armed troop, which our fear
immediately suggested to be the Galles, who chiefly beset these
passes of the mountains; we put ourselves on the defensive, and
expected them, whom, upon a more exact examination, we found to be
only a caravan of merchants come as usual to fetch salt.
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