THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY
 
 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIEST MISSION 
 
 SENT BY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 
 
 TO THE COURT OF THE KING OF KINGS 
 
 (19031904} 
 
 BY 
 
 EGBERT P. SKINNER 
 
 COMMISSIONER TO ABYSSINIA, 1903-04 ; AMERICAN CONSUL-GENERAL ; FELLOW OF 
 THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY ; Soci DOU FELIBRIGE 
 
 NEW YOKE 
 LONGMANS, GEEEN & CO. 
 
 LONDON : EDWAKD ARNOLD 
 1906
 
 Library 
 
 37<f 
 
 IN MEMOKY OF THE WINTER OF 1903-1904 
 THESE NOTES ABE INSCRIBED TO 
 
 H. W. S.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 IN the following pages will be found some account of 
 the adventures and reception of the first mission sent 
 by the American Government to the land we call 
 Abyssinia, but known to the inhabitants thereof as 
 Ethiopia, together with an explanation of some of 
 the social and political conditions there prevailing, 
 and of which little is accurately understood. Abys- 
 sinia is merely a fragment of the ancient empire of 
 Ethiopia ; but whether the name by which we know 
 it is derived from Habesch, son of the founder of the 
 people, or the old Egyptian word ' abissi,' signifying 
 ' desert-surrounded nation,' or from the Arabic word 
 ' habesca,' meaning ' without ancestors,' no one knows. 
 We do know that the Abyssinians, not ordinarily given 
 to the study of etymology, and resentful of the irony 
 with which that word passes through Moslem lips, 
 have abandoned it in favour of the nobler designation 
 of ' Ethiopian.' To this word they have every 
 historical and racial right. 
 
 The time at my disposal (I believe that the speed 
 with which our party crossed the country, transacted 
 its business, and returned, is still a matter of wonder- 
 ment in Ethiopia) and my work as chief of the 
 
 vii
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 mission prevented me from undertaking any ex- 
 haustive studies while in the Emperor's dominions. 
 The opportunity for fruitful historical, and linguistic 
 research is a most tempting one, however, and this 
 I hope may some day be undertaken. We devote 
 millions to the uncovering of ancient cities dead, and 
 we neglect an ancient civilization living, a civilization 
 which found its inspiration in Solomon's Court, and 
 which, preserving its Christian faith through 1,600 
 years, and during many centuries cut off from all 
 contact with the outside world, hands itself down to 
 us in all essential respects identical with that which 
 prevailed in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. 
 
 We boast of our own Christian civilization, and we 
 are undertaking with our railroads and other Western 
 inventions to break down a civilization virtually like 
 that in which Christ Himself lived and moved ; we 
 boast of our law, and we send our agents to teach a 
 land in which judges administer justice based upon 
 precepts of the open Bible in their hand. Returning 
 travellers have usually come back with grotesque 
 tales, and in their own amusement have commonly 
 forgotten the vital facts in regard to this interesting 
 people of Caucasian ancestry. I trust that the earnest 
 student will not be too late, for when steam has 
 replaced the camel and the mule, the old Ethiopia 
 will have passed away for ever. 
 
 For my part, I bring back only pleasant memories 
 of a kind and light-hearted race, whose grave courtesy 
 and sometimes affection I am not likely ever to forget. 
 I rejoice over the fact that I took to these people from 
 a great Government a message of goodwill, unem-
 
 PREFACE ix 
 
 bittered by a single ungenerous thought, and that I 
 had nothing to ask which they might not willingly 
 grant. 
 
 The project of sending an American mission to 
 Ethiopia was originally laid before President McKinley 
 by myself in 1900. The matter received consideration, 
 and in 1903 President Roosevelt commissioned me 
 to negotiate a needed commercial treaty with the 
 Emperor Menelik's Government. The President mani- 
 fested a gratifying and very encouraging interest in 
 all that concerned the expedition, and in the Depart- 
 ment of State every possible assistance was given in 
 furthering the organization of the party. From the 
 Assistant-Secretary, then Acting-Secretary of State, 
 Mr. Francis B. Loomis, I received, not merely the 
 official instructions which were to have been expected, 
 but active and sympathetic co-operation in a dozen 
 practical details which had to be considered in pre- 
 paring an expedition for the heart of Africa, where we 
 had no official or unofficial representatives, no point 
 of contact or source of original information what- 
 ever. 
 
 For the sake of historical accuracy I may add that 
 the Commissioner, the surgeon, Dr. Pease, and the 
 secretary, Mr. Wales, sailed together from New York 
 on October 8, 1903, joined the U.S. s.s. Machias at 
 Naples, and thence proceeded to Beirut, where 
 Admiral Cotton's squadron was then protecting 
 American interests. At this point a guard of marines 
 was taken on board, officered by Lieutenant C. L. 
 Hussey, U.S.N., who had preceded us to Djibouti, 
 and Captain George Thorpe, U.S.M.C., who sailed
 
 x PREFACE 
 
 with us. From Beirut the Machias sailed directly to 
 Djibouti. 
 
 My great regret is that I dare not undertake to 
 thank the many who, in Ethiopia and out of it, were 
 useful to me in many ways ; but at least I may single 
 out my official superiors in Washington and the 
 members of my staff, whose companionship, beginning 
 in New York and continuing until our separation in 
 Aden, is one of the happy and imperishable souvenirs 
 of our long journey together. 
 
 R. P. S.
 
 CONTENTS 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Arrival at Djibouti French creative skill Atto Joseph 
 
 offers sound advice By rail across the desert - - 1 8 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 On the edge of Ethiopia Dire-Daouah, a ' boom ' city 
 The American Horse Marines Organizing the 
 caravan - 9 14 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 On the French road to Harrar Reception by the Ras 
 Makonnen An elephant hunting party Back to Dir6- 
 Daouah - - 1524 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The lords of the desert delay progress Sali the wicked 
 Hatching a conspiracy The party of amity and 
 commerce threatened with war Preparations for a 
 midnight attack - 25 42 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Royalty joins the American party A steer the measure of 
 greatness Night journey across Mount Asabot The 
 only elephant A fantasia 43 51 
 
 xi
 
 xii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTEB VI 
 
 PAOK8 
 
 The plains of Mount Fantalte Atto Panics The durgo 
 
 arrives Hospitality by law 52 64 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Conferring an American decoration A province where 
 silver and gold do not circulate Foiling another 
 conspiracy 65 72 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 We are received by the Emperor The Abyssinian band 
 plays ' Hail, Columbia ' The palace of the Ras Oualdo 
 Gorghis - 7382 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The strenuous life Language peculiarities Official society 
 
 and its charms 83 90 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Ethiopian politics Holes of America, Italy, France, Great 
 Britain, and Russia The Ambassadors of civilization 
 and their railroad 91 103 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 The Ethiopian problem 104112 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 The Emperor invites 3,000 friends to banquet with us The 
 Ethiopian cuisine Souvenirs for His Majesty The 
 Emperor returns our call Testing Abyssinian sang- 
 froid The succession - 113 123 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 The market Jewellery Abyssinian art and architecture 
 The national costume A Haitian at the Court of 
 Menelik Ethnology - 124132
 
 CONTENTS xiii 
 
 CHAPTEB XIV 
 
 PAGES 
 
 M anners and customs of the desert races - - 133 140 
 
 CHAPTEE XV 
 
 The United States of Abyssinia The King of Kaffa The 
 evolution of Ethiopia under Menelik Property 
 rights - - 141149 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI 
 
 The law of the Fetha Nagast, or fundamental statutes of 
 
 Ethiopia - - 150161 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII 
 
 The Abyssinian Church The monophysite doctrine 
 Language and literature The army Mobility of 
 native troops 162 178 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII 
 The Caucasians of Gush - 179184 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX 
 
 Trade and commerce Agriculture The home of coffee 
 
 Economic development - - 185 197 
 
 CHAPTEE XX 
 
 Our leave - taking Tact and consideration of the 
 
 Emperor - - 198205 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI 
 
 The journey homeward Suggestions in regard to caravan 
 organization Breaking-up at Dire-Daouah Once 
 again in Djibouti ----- 206217
 
 xiv CONTENTS 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 PAOX8 
 
 A. ITINERARY - 219 221 
 
 B. MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN PARTY - 222 
 
 C. THE TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE 
 
 EMPEROR MENELIK - ... 223 227 
 
 MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE ROUTE OP THE AMERICAN 
 
 MISSION - - - - xvi
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 His Majesty the Emperor at Home ... Frontispiece 
 
 The American Mission - - To face page 10 
 
 First American Camp at Dire-Daouah - 14 
 
 His Highness the Bas Makonnen - ,,18 
 Visit of the Bas Makonnen to the American Military 
 
 Camp 20 
 
 The Principal of the School at Harrar - - ,,22 
 
 Our Palace at Harrar - - ,,26 
 
 View from our Palace Windows at Harrar - - ,,28 
 
 Coffee Plantations near Harrar - - ,,30 
 
 Ergotto-Momosa : the Confusion of Arrival - - ,,38 
 
 Eleye, the King of the Desert - ,,42 
 
 Somali Bodyguard - - 50 
 
 The Mission Secretary and Somali Servant - ,,52 
 
 Atto Paulos and his Staff 58 
 
 The Arrival of the ' Hospitality ' - ,,60 
 Between Chaflfee Dunsa and Baltchi : our Caravan 
 
 under Way - ,,66 
 
 Members of the Escort - ,,74 
 
 The Emperor and his Suite entering the Aderach - ,,76 
 
 Guns taken by the Abyssinians at Adowa - ,,78 
 
 American Party retiring from the Aderach - ,,82 
 
 One of the Buildings of the Guebi ... ,,84 
 
 Gentlemen of the Emperor's Court - ,,94 
 
 Dinner to the Mission in the Aderach - ,,114 
 
 His Majesty at the Palace of the Bas Oualdo Gorghis - ,, 122 
 The Empress of Ethiopia (in the centre) and the 
 
 Emperor's Grandchild - ,, 124 
 
 The Market at Addis-Ababa - 126 
 
 An Ethiopian Gentleman 130 
 
 A Lord of the Desert - 134 
 
 The Bas Oualdo Gorghis - 148 
 
 Wayside Church : Cross tipped with Ostrich Eggs - 162 
 
 The Principal Church at Addis-Ababa - 166 
 
 Dance of Ethiopian Priests .... jf 175 
 
 XV
 
 XVI
 
 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Arrival at Djibouti French creative skill Atto Joseph offers 
 sound advice By rail across the desert. 
 
 VERY curious and somewhat nebulous views prevailed 
 when the President's intention of sending an official 
 mission to Ethiopia was announced in the summer of 
 1903. In the main, comment was friendly and en- 
 couraging. It was generally agreed that Mr. Roose- 
 velt's Commissioner ought to have no difficulty in 
 ensnaring and bringing home with him whatever of 
 Ethiopian trade there might be worth having. Some 
 thought that the principal purpose of this expedition 
 was to carry off the Emperor in person, as a sort of 
 willing captive, to visit our country and our Exposition 
 at St. Louis. A London newspaper reported that ' big 
 ideas lurked behind the trip,' and, upon the alleged 
 authority of one of the Commissioner's colleagues at 
 Marseilles, who was further described as ' portentously 
 silent,' it sapiently observed, with reckless indifference 
 to the fact of there being no Abyssinian coast, that 
 ' the establishment of a point d'appui on the Abys- 
 sinian coast was not to be left out of consideration.' 
 Agitation was announced in Berlin as a consequence 
 
 1
 
 2 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 of the President's determination, but Paris was said 
 to be unmoved, beyond noting, with something like 
 sarcasm, that ' free entry ' was desired by the Com- 
 missioner for presents of fabulous value, destined for 
 the Emperor. Some thousands of papers were inspired 
 to say something, and usually did it with such kindli- 
 ness that the Commissioner set out wondering how he 
 might possibly satisfy the expectations so confidently 
 put forth. This is one of the disadvantages of an 
 anticipated success. Although our Government had 
 always deemed it important to have friendly official 
 relations with a number of small Powers where our 
 commerce is represented by zero, and had had none 
 with Ethiopia, where for years we had profited by a 
 flourishing trade, nobody seemed to be astonished that 
 the work had never been proposed before. 
 
 Under these circumstances, the chief of the mission 
 found himself translated upon the Red Sea coast, and 
 become a personage of mysterious importance. And 
 as this personage persisted in talking about cottons, 
 tariffs, and plain facts only interesting to plain people, 
 and that in a land where diplomacy is writ large and 
 wags its head sententiously, he became speedily even 
 more incomprehensible than had been at first sup- 
 posed. The remark is attributed to Bismarck that 
 when he desired to conceal his real purposes he found 
 the telling of the whole truth the most satisfactory 
 method, and if the American Commissioner had had 
 anything to conceal, his experience would have been 
 the same as Bismarck's. 
 
 Whatever people may have thought, they were all 
 very polite about it. It was a politeness that began 
 when we landed at Djibouti on November 17, and 
 followed us until we said good-bye to the land of milk
 
 ARRIVAL AT DJIBOUTI 3 
 
 and honey. Djibouti, I should begin by explaining, 
 is the capital of a narrow, sandy strip of territory 
 with the somewhat difficult name of the French 
 Somaliland Coast. The French coast begins where 
 the Italian coast leaves off, and when it ends the 
 British coast begins. This, again, joins another Italian 
 coast colony, so that geographically Ethiopia is as 
 effectually hemmed in from the sea as Switzerland. 
 
 All of these colonies had been organized in about 
 the same way ; that is, petty chiefs in need of funds 
 had sold such lands as they held in trust for their 
 people, thus giving to the present occupants a per- 
 fectly legal title, concerning which there can be no 
 possible dispute, while the white man carries a 
 repeating rifle and the African native a spear. These 
 colonies are all administered with reference to the 
 needs and feelings of the original inhabitants, and 
 although occasionally critical remarks may emanate 
 from countries without Red Sea colonies, it is just as 
 well to recall that prior to the present status of affairs 
 the native tribes were constantly warring with each 
 other, and knew no higher law than that of force. 
 
 It is not perfectly well assured that they appreciate 
 any higher law than that to-day. A very shrewd and 
 very able Governor, upon whom these tribesmen look 
 as a father, said to me : * I cannot undertake to prevent 
 them from warring among themselves. They come 
 to me and complain of each other, and I advise them 
 to stop fighting and to tend their herds, but I know 
 that my breath is wasted. I tell them that there are 
 three things which they must not do : they must not 
 interfere with the movement of the railroad trains ; 
 they must not cut the telegraph wires or poles ; they 
 must not murder the white inhabitants of the country. 
 
 12
 
 4 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 These three things they have been taught not to do, 
 and they keep the peace without a European soldier, 
 and with a native police force of very modest pro- 
 portions.' 
 
 This respect for the railroad was not immediately 
 obtained. When the rails were first laid across the 
 desert, the sons of Islam looked upon the locomotive 
 as a beast, the like of which they had never seen 
 before, and, being brave, they occasionally stood up 
 before the monster and persisted in their attitude, just 
 to see what would happen. And though engineers 
 were careful and kind, a number of missing arms and 
 legs in French Somaliland testify to-day to the futility 
 of these duels between man and steam. When these 
 experiences had once been noised abroad, the Issas 
 bowed to what they believed to be a law of fate, 
 and the locomotives circulated thereafter with perfect 
 security. 
 
 In the case of French Somaliland, the Danakil chiefs, 
 and notably the Sultan Simy, sold their birthright 
 for a price, stipulated and agreed upon, of 10,000 
 thalers, or, at the exchange rate of that time (March 11, 
 1862), 10,000 dollars. The Italian colony of Erythrea 
 resulted from the purchase of certain territory 
 on Assab Bay by Florio Rubattino and Company, 
 a firm of Genoese shipowners, who there established 
 a port of call for their steamers. In 1882 the com- 
 pany named ceded their rights to the Italian Govern- 
 ment, and three years later Rear-Admiral Caimi took 
 possession, thus proclaiming his mission : ' The Italian 
 Government, friends of England, of Turkey, and of 
 Egypt, not less than of Abyssinia, have ordered me to 
 proceed to the occupation of Massowah, which I have 
 effected to-day.' British Somaliland is a sort of
 
 FKENCH CEEATIVE SKILL 5 
 
 political inheritance, from an effective Egyptian occu- 
 pation dating from 1874. 
 
 It was a hot day when we landed at Djibouti, but it 
 was the heat of mid-November, which is endurable, 
 because it ceases when the sun is low. In the summer 
 the difference between day and night is that the 
 nights are the warmer of the two. The booming of 
 our ship's guns, which regulations require to be fired 
 in order to speed the parting guest, notified Djibouti 
 that we had arrived, whereupon Djibouti began to 
 dress itself in flags. Diminutive Indian tailors had 
 begun to prepare for the event before our coming, and 
 had produced numerous flags, whereon the number of 
 stars and stripes depended mainly upon the material in 
 hand or the personal taste of the tailor. Between the 
 guns, the heat, and the flags, we might have thought that 
 a 4th of July celebration was in progress, but for the 
 tame leopard which paraded before the Oafs' de 
 FUnivers, and the shiny black Somali children, whose 
 nakedness was not encouraging to my desire to find 
 a market for American sheetings. We noticed that 
 the European inhabitants walked slowly and on the 
 shady side of the street, and that everybody wore 
 white garments and white helmets. 
 
 Djibouti is a monument to French persistence and 
 creative skill. It is not my affair to write about the 
 French as colonizers. Opinions thereupon differ. 
 But Djibouti certainly is admirable. A few years 
 ago it did not exist. Military necessity required that 
 a coaling port should be created, and straightway it 
 was provided. Sea-walls were constructed, harbour 
 lights located, and the tricolour floated from a huge 
 and comfortable mansion. Here, under a steadily- 
 moving punkah, kept in motion by a Somali soldier in
 
 6 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 white headgear, shaped like a brimless tall hat, the 
 Governor told me about it as we sipped his iced 
 champagne. 
 
 Let me drop a word of commendation for republics 
 with sufficient regard for their own dignity and the 
 comfort of their foreign administrators to provide 
 them with official homes. With the public works 
 came the railroad, and with it the French man of 
 affairs, who erected houses of coral rock and made 
 himself comfortable, as the Frenchman always does 
 and always will. This was the period of the * boom,' 
 for the railroad work required an army of employe's, 
 temporary shops, and much else of an ephemeral 
 character. When the railroad had pushed its length 
 300 miles across the desert, Djibouti resumed its 
 status as a port of call for numerous African steamer 
 lines, and waited, as it is still waiting, for the great 
 expected development of Ethiopia, which will make 
 the French capital its natural point of contact with 
 the modern world. Indeed, it was this expectation, 
 and the partial completion of the railroad, that took 
 me to Africa. Hitherto, trade in general, and 
 American trade in particular, had drifted to Aden, 
 thence across to any one of half a dozen ports, 
 where camels took it up, and plodded into the interior. 
 The railroad meant evolution and revolution ; it was 
 time for a watchful people like ours to be up and 
 doing. 
 
 Between checking up the contents of numerous 
 black canvas bags and sundry boxes, the conversion 
 of convenient French currency into large and invari- 
 ably dirty Maria Theresa thalers, and the receiving 
 and paying of visits which pleasure and courtesy 
 demanded, the two days in Djibouti passed quickly.
 
 ATTO JOSEPH OFFEES SOUND ADVICE 7 
 
 Among my first visitors was the Atto Joseph de Galan, 
 representative of His Majesty Menelik II. at Djibouti. 
 The Atto Joseph speaks French fluently, has visited 
 Europe, and he gave me always good advice, whether 
 it related to the purchase of a mule, the selection of 
 an interpreter, or the usages of the Court. 
 
 'The Emperor will be glad to see you,' said he, 
 ' very glad, and when you talk with him, as you have 
 to me, you will find in him a friend. Those who have 
 visited my country and have failed, have not under- 
 stood human nature. They have heard that we are a 
 slow people, seldom ready to advance a definite pro- 
 position. Therefore, they have been vague, and have 
 talked in parables. They have heard that the new- 
 comer must be provided with gifts, and they scatter 
 their gifts to take the place of reasons. Thus suspicion 
 follows upon distrust. But you take the advice of an 
 old man speak simply, speak plainly, and be sincere. 
 Your ways are not our ways ; we shall like better to 
 see you as you are than to see you trying to seem like 
 ourselves.' 
 
 The advice of shrewd old Atto Joseph reminded me 
 of the counsel which he gave Hugues le Roux, the 
 French writer and traveller, and which had stood him 
 in good stead. ' In Abyssinia,' said Atto Joseph, ' do 
 everything in laughing.' Very possibly the black 
 philosopher's belief in the efficacy of patience and 
 good-humour is quite as applicable in America as it is 
 in the land of the tribe of Judah. 
 
 Our experiences at Djibouti ended in a blaze of 
 glory at the ' Government,' where an amiable 
 Governor* and his charming wife, surrounded by 
 
 * The Governor-Interimaire, M. Albert Dubarry, received the 
 party upon its arrival in Djibouti. Upon the return of the
 
 8 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 the leading residents, made fete over us in the most 
 graceful and hospitable manner possible. The next 
 morning, when the sun rose out of the Indian Ocean, 
 we said good-bye to Djibouti, and set forth by rail for 
 Ethiopia. 
 
 In a train of French-made cars, we crept slowly along 
 the narrow-gauge track and across the desert, remark- 
 able only for its brush and stones, the monotony of the 
 journey occasionally being broken by stops at native 
 villages. As the day grew older the landscape im- 
 proved. We had now reached the second plateau, 
 and great expanses of dry grass or forests of mimosa- 
 trees replaced the debris of the volcanic age. Occa- 
 sionally groups of antelopes or graceful little * dig- 
 digs ' would stop to look at the moving train, and then 
 walk leisurely into the * brousse.' We passed through 
 magnificent grazing country, which evidently benefited 
 by summer rains. Though called a desert, dry grass 
 three feet tall carpeted the soil, and furnished excel- 
 lent nourishment for numerous flocks and herds. 
 Except where torrential rains had made crevasses in 
 the rich soft earth, as the streams sought the water- 
 courses, an automobile might have been directed 
 aross the smooth and limitless plain. Our train was 
 comfortable, quite up to the usual European standard, 
 the cars, however, having double roofs as a protection 
 against the sun. It was dark when we arrived at 
 the present terminus of the railroad, 308 kilometres 
 from the coast. 
 
 We had reached the land of Gush. 
 
 expedition in January, Governor Bonhourre had arrived from 
 France, and extended no less hospitable attentions than 
 M. Dubarry.
 
 CHAPTER H 
 
 On the edge of Ethiopia Dir6-Daouab, a ' boom city ' The 
 American Horse Marines Organizing the caravan. 
 
 WE had crossed the Ethiopian frontier some time 
 before reaching Dire-Daouah, but at the town named 
 we first encountered the outward and visible sign of 
 the orderly administration of him who signs himself 
 'The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has conquered. 
 Menelik II., by the grace of God King of Kings of 
 Ethiopia.' The Somali railway guards were drawn 
 up at attention to receive us, M. Pierre Carette 
 presented the compliments of the railway manage- 
 ment, and from many of those who afterwards became 
 our good friends we received the warm welcome that 
 goes out to the stranger always from every Ethiopian, 
 whether his skin be white or black. 
 
 It was too dark to see the evidences of the rapid 
 growth and prosperity of this queen city of the desert, 
 created within a twelvemonth a ' boom city,' as we 
 should say in America. We knew, however, that we 
 had left behind the blazing, trackless desert. An 
 invigorating breeze came down from the Harari 
 mountains, and the evening air was cool. Across 
 the street from the railway-station was the new hotel, 
 and thither we walked between two rows of un- 
 
 9
 
 10 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 dressed, amiable savages, who gazed upon us with, 
 expressions of mingled curiosity and disdain. 
 
 There was good cheer in the H6tel Pe*tiaux that 
 night. The next day the task of organizing an 
 expedition began in earnest. If in no other respect, 
 this expedition of ours was remarkable in that it had 
 started off in a ship of State to visit a country without 
 a seaport, and, aside from the Commissioner and his 
 staff, consisted of marines and bluejackets, who were 
 immediately mounted upon mules. Our party con- 
 sisted of thirty Americans, later reduced to twenty- 
 eight, of whom five were officers, seventeen members 
 of the United States Marine Corps, five enlisted men 
 of the United States Navy, and one messenger. Every 
 enlisted man had volunteered to go, and from the day 
 the party left Dire*-Daouah until we said good-bye to 
 Abyssinia they gave me no anxiety and much satis- 
 faction. They made friends of the children of the 
 desert and admirers of the Abyssinians. The Emperor 
 himself visited their encampment, and found more 
 pleasure in watching Private Rossell exhibiting the 
 mechanism of a service rifle than in any other external 
 feature of the American invasion. The soldiers were 
 idolized by our native servants, who imitated their 
 ways, endeavoured to cock their old soft hats, when 
 they had any, in the rakish manner of the marines, 
 proudly wore their cast-off garments, and wept when 
 they were separated. Lean, long-limbed, light-hearted, 
 kind in thought and polite in action, the American 
 soldiers worthily wore the uniform of their country. 
 
 Our first camp was made upon the following morn- 
 ing, although the officers continued to reside at the 
 hotel during our stay in Dir^-Daouah. We had in 
 the first place to select and take charge of the mules
 
 DIE6-DAOUAH 11 
 
 which had been purchased for our account. The 
 commander of the naval contingent, Lieutenant 
 Hussey, had preceded the party in the country by 
 a number of weeks, in order to purchase these animals 
 and to make contracts for transportation. The mules 
 had been well selected ; but mules will be mules, and 
 when Jack Tar took his first lesson in riding there 
 was excitement in Dire* - Daouah. The Issas and 
 Gourgouras poured out of their native village to see 
 the sight, squatting on their haunches in the sun, and 
 impassively brushing their teeth with the ends of 
 green twigs as they did so. 
 
 These mules had cost anywhere from seventeen to 
 fifty dollars gold. We had arrived in the midst of 
 active preparations for the campaign against the Mad 
 Mullah, then giving the English so much trouble in 
 British Somaliland. The Mad Mullah had written an 
 insolent letter to the Has Makonnen, Governor of the 
 province of Harrar, and habitat of a large Musul- 
 man population. He had threatened to advance on 
 Harrar within three months, and therefore an army 
 had been organized to co-operate with the British, or 
 at least to prevent the Mullah from crossing the 
 border. A number of young British officers were 
 participating in the military work, and had been 
 buying mules at elevated prices, which were promptly 
 applied to our own purchases also. My own particular 
 mule, or one of them, had been bought for 150 thalers, 
 with a pledge from the owner, who shed tears when 
 he parted from this paragon, to buy it back, if still 
 sound, at the close of the expedition for 100 thalers. 
 The mule returned, sound, fat, and unscarred, but the 
 seller had disappeared, whereupon my aristocratic 
 mount was disposed of for 60 thalers an unim-
 
 12 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 portant incident, illustrating that a horse trade is a 
 horse trade the world over. 
 
 Finally, we had three worthy Somali soldiers, who 
 joined us after our return from Harrar, chosen by the 
 Has Makonnen, and whose general instructions were 
 to keep us on the right trail across the desert, and aid 
 us in our relations with the various tribesmen we were 
 sure to encounter. 
 
 The mules distributed and the saddles adjusted, 
 applications for service were taken up from an army 
 of youths who, attracted by the announced arrival of 
 our party, had gathered like flies around a honey-pot, 
 eager to take employment at only twice the normal 
 rate of pay. Each applicant bore a certificate from a 
 former employer, and bound himself to work at a 
 wage rate of four dollars gold per month, food to be 
 found, or paid for at the rate of about six cents a day, 
 with such ' gratification ' at the end of the journey as 
 merit might justify. It was necessary that each officer 
 should possess a tent-boy and mule-boy, and there had 
 to be a considerable number of similar boys to perform 
 miscellaneous duties for the enlisted men. When our 
 party disbanded, some of our servants were employing 
 servants of their own, and I siippose that if we had 
 remained long enough these servants of servants 
 would have been doing the same thing. 
 
 I had already found an interpreter at Djibouti, 
 young Oualdo son of Mikael, a youth who had served 
 M. Comboul, a French engineer, in a similar capacity. 
 With M. Comboul he had travelled throughout the 
 empire, seeking traces of mineral wealth. Upon the 
 death of his employer a year before our coming he 
 had carefully preserved his papers, and had just 
 returned from France, where he had been to deliver
 
 OEGANIZING THE CARAVAN 13 
 
 them to the family. The lad spoke French fluently, 
 and half a dozen of the local languages. He possessed 
 many admirable qualities, not the least of which was 
 loyalty. He was a handsome little fellow, with the 
 splendid white teeth which the Ethiopian always has, 
 a shiny black face, and bead-like eyes. He was an 
 excellent horseman and a good shot, and whether he 
 wore his fresh khaki suit and riding leggings, as he did 
 in the European settlements, or his snow-white chamma, 
 as he did at the capital, he made a smart appearance. 
 
 I also employed one Gabro Tadick or, reduced 
 to English, ' Slave of the Holy Ghost.' The ' Slave of 
 the Holy Ghost ' was of wistful countenance, wore a 
 pair of blue overalls, a huge hat, and a red bordered 
 chamma. He also carried a gun. The possession of 
 the gun indicated his superiority over the other 
 servants. He aspired to a servant to carry the gun, 
 for no Abyssinian gentleman moves without both gun 
 and servant, and the more of each the greater is the 
 degree of distinction. All servants were to go on foot 
 to the capital. 
 
 Gabro Tadick developed a most extraordinary 
 capacity to contract stomach-ache as soon as he had 
 left civilization so far behind that his return was out 
 of the question. Under these circumstances he pro- 
 duced a mule, which, unknown to me, had never- 
 theless attached itself to our caravan, and with 
 similar promptness he found in our party an un- 
 attached servant, by name Debalchi, who carried his 
 gun and discharged most of his duties. Eventually 
 our caravan passed through Gabro Tadick's home, 
 whereupon he resigned, being succeeded by Debalchi. 
 Gabro was a worthy youth, and we parted with ex- 
 pressions of mutual regard but we parted.
 
 14 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 Upon the whole our servants turned out to be a faith- 
 ful and efficient, though variegated, lot of boys partly 
 Abyssinians and partly Somalis, the presence of the 
 two races and the two religions stimulating the repre- 
 sentatives of each. There were disadvantages, how- 
 ever, about the variety, since the Somali boy could not 
 eat meat which had been killed by the infidel, and the 
 Christian certainly could not be expected to eat meat 
 killed by the Moslem. As goats and sheep could not 
 always be summoned at will, our domestics' fidelity to 
 religious duty involved us in frequent difficulties. 
 
 The shortest and in some respects the best route 
 from Dire*-Daouah to the capital, Addis-Ababa, follows 
 along the base of the mountains, across Mount Asabot, 
 usually in sight of the true desert, yet never quite 
 upon it. This route is approximately that selected for 
 the projected railroad line, and is practicable for 
 camels. Usually the camel caravan conductors prefer 
 to diverge from the mountains, leaving Mount Asabot 
 to the left, in order to cross the great desert. Both 
 routes from DireVDaouah leave Harrar, the chief com- 
 mercial city of the empire, well off to the south. A 
 third route, longer but more beautiful, and passing 
 through an orderly and civilized population, takes one 
 from Dire"-Daouah to Harrar by a circuitous mountain 
 road, just completed, and thence across the mountains 
 to Addis-Ababa. Mules only can be used upon this 
 route. As contracts for transportation had been made 
 before our arrival, involving the use of camels, the 
 mountain route could not be considered in connection 
 with our party. Desiring, however, to visit the Ras 
 Makonnen, with whom I had been in correspondence, 
 a preliminary side trip was made to Harrar and back 
 again to DireVDaouah before the real pilgrimage began.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 On the French road to Harrar Reception by the Eas Makonnen 
 An elephant hunting-party Back to Dire-Daouah. 
 
 WITH sensations of pleasurable excitement we heard 
 the bugle-call at four o'clock upon the morning of our 
 special trip to Harrar. The camels charged with the 
 more important of our supplies had been sent out the 
 day before, in order that they might certainly arrive 
 with us ; the tents were to follow. With all the 
 enthusiasm of the novice, our small company set out 
 at a lively canter along the excellent French road. 
 Higher and higher we climbed among mountains as 
 green as those of Tyrol. Brilliantly coloured birds 
 flew about us, and upon one or two occasions we 
 passed whole villages of monkeys. We could now 
 look down upon the lowlands and desert spread out 
 below us, and upon the real Abyssinia in its strong- 
 holds above us and beyond us. 
 
 For the sake of clearness, let me now dispel the 
 usual thought that all Abyssinia is occupied by the 
 Abyssinians. The empire ruled over by the great 
 Negus Menelik consists of a vast extent of territory, 
 including numerous clearly-defined races, which are 
 as distinctly different from the Ethiopian as is the 
 Tartar from the Mongolian. The Abyssinia that has 
 never been conquered consists of a series of moun- 
 
 15
 
 16 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 tainous highlands comprising a sort of confederation 
 of the smaller kingdoms of Godjam, Tigre*, Amhara, 
 and Choa. Under the strong direction of its present 
 ruler, this confederacy has become in practice an 
 autocracy. The dominant race occupying these high- 
 lands, which was driven back from the sea centuries 
 ago, has renewed its vigour, and in recent years has 
 acquired control of the province of Harrar and other 
 surrounding provinces, the most of which are occupied 
 by barbarous tribes, perpetually desiring to wage war 
 against each other, but held in restraint by a whole- 
 some fear of the wise man at Addis-Ababa. The 
 Abyssinian, properly speaking, is an orderly and 
 peaceful personage, even though he is professionally a 
 warrior ; he is not fond of work, but is capable of 
 obtaining work from others. 
 
 We were now entering the land of the Gallas, 
 who share the hill country around Harrar with the 
 Ethiopians. The Gallas are a conquered race of 
 excellent intelligence, and they are industrious farmers 
 and safe citizens. When the fine new highway was 
 projected between Dird-Daouah and Harrar, it became 
 necessary to condemn the land required for its con- 
 struction. The Gallas waited upon the Ras Makonnen, 
 their Governor. Their farms would be ruined, they 
 said ; the work must not go on : they could not 
 accept the price offered for their land. 
 
 1 But it is a good, fair price, is it not ?' said the 
 Ras. 
 
 ' It is not the price we complain of, most gracious 
 lord ; we don't want our farms to be destroyed.' 
 
 The Ras ordered them out of his presence, saying 
 that there was but one Governor of Harrar, and that 
 he and he alone would say what might or might not
 
 ON THE FEENCH EOAD TO HABEAE 17 
 
 be done. The road was constructed, and a guard pre- 
 vented interference with the labourers. When it was 
 all over, the Ras called the turbulent spirits before him, 
 and telling them that he had been compelled to exert 
 his authority in order to demonstrate his supremacy, he 
 was now prepared voluntarily to pay them twice the 
 value of their property, thus showing them that their 
 Governor could be generous as well as just. 
 
 It was noon when we emerged upon the plateau, in 
 the centre of which stands Harrar, and from an African 
 Switzerland we now entered upon boundless plains of 
 rich and well-cultivated lands. Sorgho, barley, teff, 
 all the vast variety of Ethiopian crops, grew about us, 
 and in the far distance lay a small lake, by the shores 
 of which we lunched sumptuously upon what the 
 French call corned beef and hard bread. Tens of 
 thousands of waterfowl swam or flew about the lake, 
 and the shores were black with sleek zebus. One 
 hour's rest was allowed, whereupon we put our weary 
 forms once again into the saddle, determined to cover 
 our thirty-eight miles, and to meet the Ras at four 
 o'clock at all hazards. 
 
 Now the scenery again changed. The finished 
 portion of the new road we left behind, and with an 
 equatorial sun in our faces we pressed on between 
 rows of giant euphorbia. A foot-runner met us eight 
 miles out, and, after a hasty inspection and salutation, 
 darted on ahead to spread the news of our coming. 
 Three miles farther on we met the first escort, con- 
 sisting of a hundred warriors on foot, commanded by 
 a venerable gentleman with a patriarchal beard, 
 mounted, wearing a long purple satin robe. He 
 and I descended from our mules and shook hands, 
 the old gentleman declaring that he and his men 
 
 2
 
 18 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 prostrated themselves to the ground. Incidentally, I 
 gathered that the runner who had first met us, and 
 the presence of the old gentleman so far out of 
 the city, had been ordered to ascertain whether our 
 party represented the might and majesty of the 
 American Republic in an official sense, or whether it 
 was merely a private commercial mission. The old 
 gentleman remounted, and while his servant carried 
 his shield, he himself played a wand, twelve feet 
 long, upon the heads and shoulders of the unwary 
 who got in our way, and as the traffic is considerable 
 at this point, and the ambition of youth to follow the 
 procession as strong in Ethiopia as elsewhere, my 
 venerable friend was never without occupation. 
 
 We passed hundreds of peasants leaving or entering 
 the city, the movement being exceptionally heavy, 
 owing to the Ethiopian law which requires all mer- 
 chandising to be done within the walled city, and 
 making it an offence to engage in these transactions 
 without. 
 
 We finally descended a rocky path, coming out 
 upon a beautiful plain surrounded by coffee planta- 
 tions, and with the ancient walled city of Harrar in 
 the foreground. In the distance approaching us we 
 saw dimly a large body of troops, which proved to be 
 a thousand men, in the midst of whom rode the 
 Governor or Ras of Harrar. A man of middle age 
 he proved to be, delicate in form and feature and quiet 
 in manner. He wore a large felt hat, rich robes, 
 white stockings, and patent leather slippers. His 
 hands were delicate and small, seemingly a character- 
 istic of his race. When we met we both descended, 
 and I was again welcomed most cordially. Dusty and 
 weary, hot, and arrayed in khaki, our appearance was
 
 RECEPTION BY THE EAS MAKONNEN 19 
 
 in striking contrast to that of the followers of the 
 Ras Makonnen. Having exchanged salutations, the 
 Governor's troops led the cavalcade, the Ras himself 
 riding with me, and my own escort following. As 
 we passed under the brown city walls, a cannon upon 
 the ramparts belched forth eleven additional welcomes, 
 the first time, as we were told, that a mission had 
 been thus received. We continued on through the 
 gateway, and found ourselves in a compactly built 
 city of low, flat-roofed houses of stone, with additional 
 troops lining our progress through the rough and 
 narrow streets. 
 
 During our ride the Ras explained that his new 
 palace had been placed at our disposition, and, as the 
 camels had not yet arrived with our tents, the offer 
 was gladly accepted. By this time we had reached 
 the residence of the Ras himself, who invited the 
 entire American party to enter. After passing through 
 a small courtyard, the officers found themselves before 
 an unpretentious two-story building, and then, climb- 
 ing a flight of stairs, in a long reception-room, in 
 which a table laid in French fashion indicated that 
 something was to follow. Here, in a low musical 
 voice, the Ras, who rules the province with an arm 
 of iron, bade us be seated. White-robed servants 
 immediately brought forth jars of mead or tedj, 
 the native champagne, in which we drank to the 
 health of President and Emperor. With the same 
 thoughtful courtesy, the Ras sent down refreshments 
 to our tired escort waiting below. The day had been 
 hot and long, and the tedj proved to be the most 
 grateful and comforting thing that we had had in 
 Ethiopia. Afterwards the Governor sent jars of it to 
 our lodgings, as long as we remained. 
 
 22
 
 20 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 This stimulating beverage is manufactured from 
 honey, of which enormous quantities are found in 
 Ethiopia, the active agent producing fermentation 
 being the leaves of a plant called guecho. The 
 guecho plant is cultivated on a large scale, and sold 
 in all public markets. Its properties are such that it 
 might very possibly be utilized in other countries in a 
 similar manner. 
 
 The new palace so thoughtfully placed at our dis- 
 position was not far from the residence of the Ras, 
 and proved to be the most imposing structure that 
 we saw during our sojourn. It is of Arab-Indian 
 design, and contains numerous rooms of enormous 
 size, all carpeted with Oriental rugs, and to some 
 extent furnished with French furniture. Across the 
 courtyard was a small Italian hotel, organized and 
 opened on the day of our arrival, and also wholly 
 reserved for our use. We certainly had every reason- 
 able accommodation during our stay. 
 
 The following day the camels arrived, and camp 
 was established just beyond the city walls. In the 
 meantime I had formally called upon the Ras, inviting 
 him to visit the camp, which he did the next after- 
 noon, bringing with him his escort of a thousand 
 men. While we were in my reception-tent a confused 
 cry was heard outside, and as I returned with the Ras 
 to his horse it became louder and more intense, and 
 proceeded from thousands of the populace, who had 
 gathered to see the unusual spectacle. I asked Oualdo 
 son of Mikael what it meant. 
 
 ' They are crying to you to deliver back their Ras,' 
 said he, ' that he may give them justice.' 
 
 I learned that it was the custom of the people to 
 thus assemble and cry out for attention, expecting to
 

 
 THE EAS MAKONNEN 21 
 
 Lave their complaints examined by this great feudal 
 chieftain, whose every hour is occupied listening to 
 and deciding disputes brought to him upon appeal. 
 Before I left Harrar I saw him again, and had the 
 pleasure of presenting him with a portrait of the 
 President, which seemed to give him great pleasure. 
 He is one of the Emperor's ablest lieutenants, and has 
 travelled extensively in Italy, France, and England, 
 profiting by his experiences. He is slow of speech, 
 and not as ready a conversationalist as the Emperor ; 
 but he is evidently of a studious and reflective turn 
 of mind, and has the unbounded confidence of his 
 people.* 
 
 Our lodgings at Harrar adjoined the largest school, 
 whereof the principal soon became my friend. He 
 was an imposing personage, by name Gabro Johannis, 
 or ' Slave of John.' He could recite whole books of 
 the New Testament by heart, but his knowledge of 
 geography went no farther than Jerusalem and Suez. 
 To him everything else beyond was grouped under 
 the general head of frangi, or foreign. It gave 
 me a singular sensation when I announced to this 
 gentleman, who heard it for the first time, that the 
 world was round. The statement seemed so much at 
 variance with his own observation that he called in 
 a number of friends to listen to the remarkable exposi- 
 tion of this frangi from America. Finding that I was 
 having some success, I ventured to remark that in 
 
 * This was written in 1904. I deeply regret to say that the 
 Eas Makonnen died unexpectedly in the spring of 1906 at Harrar. 
 His death is universally deplored as a great loss to Ethiopia. No 
 one who ever met the Eas Makonnen failed to perceive his worth. 
 When I first mentioned his name to Mr. Eoosevelt, the President 
 observed, 'Why, he must be a Scotchman'; and, in fact, he 
 possessed many of the Scotch qualities as well as the name.
 
 22 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 New York there were not only tall buildings over 
 twenty stories in height, but that there were railroads 
 by which passengers were transported from story to 
 story. I am persuaded now that my good friend felt 
 that he was being imposed upon, for his interest 
 seemed to flag from that moment. 
 
 Aside from exchanging courtesies, our time in 
 Harrar was devoted principally to visiting the market, 
 which is extremely interesting, and some large 
 mercantile houses, which receive coffee and other 
 natural products of the country, exchanging them for 
 American sheetings and other articles. The popula- 
 tion consists of 15,000 Abyssinians, 17,500 Harrari or 
 natives, who speak a local patois, 6,500 Gallas, and 
 1,000 Armenians, Greeks, Turks, and Europeans. As 
 half the population is Moslem, it requires a firm hand 
 and a steady head to preserve order. It may be said 
 that the Ras Makonnen completely succeeds. 
 
 While walking along the streets one day we 
 encountered a returning chieftain who had just 
 succeeded in killing an elephant. He was evidently 
 a Mohammedan, for he was followed by numerous 
 wives, closely veiled, and a hundred or more retainers, 
 who chanted the song of triumph with which the 
 Abyssinian celebrates every victory of this kind. 
 The singers seemed perfectly oblivious of everything 
 about them, and to have worked themselves into a 
 frenzy of excitement. 
 
 We reached Harrar on a Saturday evening, and left 
 the following Tuesday. We arrived at DireVDaouah 
 saddle-worn and sunburnt, but highly pleased with 
 the excursion. The journey had been too long for 
 both mules and men. A few of the former never 
 wholly recovered. The next morning we found
 
 THK PRINCIPAL OK TIII-: SCHOOL AT HARRAK.
 
 BACK TO DIEE-DAOUAH 23 
 
 many swollen backs among our mules, some of 
 which took care of themselves, others being reduced 
 by the frightful Abyssinian custom of applying hot 
 irons. We never permitted this latter treatment to 
 be followed after that, although there seemed to be no 
 doubt of its efficacy. Perhaps the Ethiopian mule 
 has a constitution which differs from that of other 
 mules, for we saw numerous instances of animals 
 coming in with swollen backs, to which the iron was 
 applied, the same mules starting out with a heavy 
 load on the following day, apparently unconcerned 
 about their treatment. 
 
 Long after my return from Harrar, it became known 
 to the Eas Makonnen that the American Government 
 sought to purchase in the city a few of the fine large 
 GreVy zebras to be found only in Abyssinia. With 
 spontaneous generosity, he forwarded a pair of these 
 beautiful animals to me, together with a letter so 
 polite and gracious in its terms that I reproduce it 
 here, as its quaint language well illustrates the 
 characteristic courtesy of a statesman since passed 
 away, whose high qualities were proved in many 
 ways : 
 
 ' The Ras Makonnen, Governor of Harrar, to his 
 honourable friend, Mr. Skinner, the American 
 Consul-General at Marseilles. 
 
 1 How are you ? Myself, by the grace of God, I am 
 well. 
 
 * To respond to the desire which you have expressed 
 to me, I send to you for your Government a male and a 
 female zebra, through the kindly care of Mr. Guigniony, 
 the French Consul.
 
 24 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 4 1 pray your Government to kindly accept these 
 animals in witness of my friendship and sympathy. 
 
 1 1 hope that the relations of friendship which have 
 been established between our Governments may go on 
 developing for ever. 
 
 ' May the All Powerful accord you long life and 
 health ! 
 
 'Written at Harrar the fifteenth Tekemt, 1898' 
 (corresponding to October 25, 1905).
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The lords of the desert delay progress Sali the wicked 
 Hatching a conspiracy The party of amity and commerce 
 threatened with war Preparations for a midnight attack. 
 
 WE were prepared to move on at once towards Addis- 
 Ababa, and, in fact, expected to do so after a day's rest. 
 Unanticipated difficulties now arose in reference to 
 our transport. The terms supposed to have been 
 made with the camel contractor before our arrival 
 were rejected at the last moment, and with hundreds 
 of apparently idle camels munching the thorn-bushes 
 around Dire'-Daouah, there appeared to be none for 
 hire. After prolonged discussions, which began at 
 dawn and never seemed to end, the difficulties were 
 finally adjusted, thanks in large measure to the 
 solicitude of our friends Messrs. Carette and Jaume. 
 We found ourselves in command of three caravans of 
 from six to thirty-five camels each. One consisted of 
 Abyssinian camel-drivers and animals, and was to 
 transport supplies for use in Addis-Ababa and for the 
 return trip directly to Addis-Ababa, regardless of our 
 personal movements. Another consisted of six fine 
 Arab camels with as many Arab drivers, and was to 
 transport our personal effects and to travel with us. 
 The third consisted of Danakil camels, driven by 
 savages from the desert, and was to transport our 
 remaining belongings to Baltchi, the point where the 
 
 25
 
 26 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 real Ethiopia begins and the savage ceases to feel at 
 home. From this point we expected to hire mules for 
 the last stage of the journey. 
 
 Of course, there was no real reason why the third 
 caravan should not proceed with us to Addis-Ababa, 
 our ultimate destination, but argument is of no avail 
 with a Danakil nobleman. It is the rule of the Danakil 
 camelmen to carry freight to Baltchi and no further. 
 Why discuss it ? Why should a dog of a Christian 
 even think about such matters ? Is it not enough that 
 the proud, if naked, Danakil consents to transport his 
 belongings across the desert ? 
 
 The details regarding these caravans were in charge 
 of Lieutenant Hussey, of the naval escort. In addition 
 to this variegated assortment of camels and drivers, 
 there was assigned to us, as a sort of guide, philosopher, 
 and friend, and as chief domestic and go-between, the 
 hero of a dozen elephant hunts, and the very man 
 required to uphold the dignity and honour of the 
 United States while we crossed the desert. His name 
 was Sali. 
 
 Sali was an Arab, whose thin bare legs and emaciated 
 body were more or less covered by fabrics of brown, 
 yellow, and red. Upon his head he wore a huge 
 turban, and there were rings in his ears, upon his 
 arms and his ankles. He had lively small black eyes, 
 and he shook hands a great deal. All our desert 
 friends liked to shake hands much more than was 
 necessary. It took Sali just two hours to count and 
 recount a small stack of silver thalers, destined for the 
 camel-men's advance pay, upon the evening of his 
 engagement, whereupon he ' isshe'd ' (' it is well '), and 
 backed out. 
 
 This desert chieftain would have delighted an
 
 THE LOEDS OF THE DESERT DELAY PROGRESS 27 
 
 artist's soul, and I shall never cease to regret the 
 failure of my camera to preserve his image for pos- 
 terity. His duplicity was deplorable, but his pic- 
 turesqueness, at the head of our procession, until his 
 mule escaped, was undeniable. The sight of my chief 
 domestic, his great toes stuck through his stirrup rings, 
 his gorgeous garments fluttering in the wind, his ear- 
 rings glistening, and his spear uplifted, galloping 
 through the mimosa-trees, filled my heart with glad- 
 ness, and I confess it now without shame for my 
 weakness I would have been happy had I dared to 
 forgive him later on, merely for the joy of looking at 
 his person. 
 
 The delay at Dire-Daouah seemed interminable. 
 On two different days it was announced that we were 
 to start. Man and beast were ready, but we did not 
 start nobody ever did know, or ever will know, why. 
 In the meantime, the lords of the desert sat on their 
 haunches opposite our hotel in the sunshine, zealously 
 brushing their teeth and regarding us with scornful 
 indifference whenever we came forth. 
 
 Finally, it was agreed that on the following morning 
 (Sunday) we should really start. We rose at 4 a.m., 
 and at 6 half a dozen of the Arab camels came into 
 the hotel courtyard, and groaned, as only the camel of 
 commerce can groan, for four hours. The Danakil 
 * habane ' managed to turn up at about ten o'clock, 
 and the Abyssinian, being a contract free-lance, had 
 gone on. We postponed our departure until after 
 luncheon. 
 
 During the intervening hours we watched the Arab 
 camel-drivers parcel out the ' charges ' among the 
 animals. With great rapidity, they loaded each beast 
 as lightly as possible and, leaving one-third of the
 
 28 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 effects assigned to them upon the ground, declared 
 that four-legged creatures could carry no more. 
 Oualdo son of Mikael was sent for. He straightway 
 applied to the situation the plain common-sense which 
 made him by far the most valuable retainer in the 
 entire expedition, by borrowing a pair of scales. He 
 demanded that the camels be unloaded, and after 
 weighing every parcel and ascertaining that our total 
 weight was well within our rights, he easily prevented 
 further difficulty. Incidentally, we learned something 
 about camels. 
 
 A camel-load, or ' charge,' weighs, ' in principle,' as 
 the French say, 493 pounds, but in fact never more 
 than 420 pounds. A camel-driver may place his load 
 upon two animals if he chooses this is his affair, 
 for he gets the same price. If speed is desired, these 
 half ' charges ' pay the full tariff. In addition to 
 contract terms, it is necessary to occasionally bestow 
 a goat or sheep upon the drivers, and the end of the 
 journey is expected to bring with it a 'gratification.' 
 
 While waiting for the camel-drivers to load and 
 move off, a returning traveller arrived, who had 
 departed from Addis-Ababa some weeks before. He 
 had gone up on a prospecting tour of some kind. 
 This gentleman very kindly supplied information 
 about the desert route, and incidentally suggested that 
 we had better have our guns handy and keep our 
 powder dry. He himself had encountered a band 
 of 500 mounted savages upon the desert, who 
 were returning from some tribal war manifestation. 
 The chief had noted our informant's skill with sundry 
 machine guns and betook himself off. Our informant 
 said that he felt better when he had left the party well 
 behind. With this cheering intelligence we said good-
 
 im/
 
 IN THE DESEET 29 
 
 bye to Madame Brincard, of the H6tel Pe"tiaux, mounted 
 our faithful mules, and, accompanied by the chief 
 European residents of Dire-Daouah, who escorted us 
 for several miles, set out for the unknown. 
 
 To the great satisfaction of all, we were at last 
 under way, and after the nerve-stretching delays of 
 our week at Dire"-Daouah the calm of the desert was 
 most welcome. We had moved out of Dire-Daouah at 
 two o'clock, the sun's direct rays being soon tempered 
 as we entered the forest of mimosa-trees, through 
 which we travelled for three successive days. Old 
 Sali headed our procession, the camels had all pre- 
 ceded us by over an hour, and the khaki-clad soldiers 
 of the Republic cantered on in Indian file. We made 
 our camp that day upon a small turf-covered clearing, 
 beside a number of wretched, all but dry wells, which 
 barely supplied sufficient muddy water for our night 
 and morning coffee. As for the animals, they had to 
 be content with the fine grazing and wait until the 
 following noon to quench their thirst. 
 
 The camp stove was promptly put into commission, 
 and the odours of the flesh-pots of Camacho the Rich 
 were as nothing compared with the aroma of bacon 
 and other homely American things that floated over 
 the Ethiopian desert. A ring of tents, upon the poles 
 of which appeared the historic words, ' Santiago, 
 Cuba,' was formed around the stove. Within the 
 circle the camels were brought after they had eaten 
 their full of mimosa twigs and among them the Arabs 
 and Danakils constructed huts of our boxed effects, 
 thatching them with their straw pack-saddle mats. 
 They, too, were soon at work, encouraging diminutive 
 fires, each between three round stones, to cook their 
 porridge of sorgho. A long rope, staked to the ground
 
 30 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 by Private Vernon, our trusty Master of the Mules, 
 was just beyond the line of tents, and to it our live- 
 stock was tethered. 
 
 A crescent moon rose that night, and after * taps ' 
 had been sounded by our bugler, the post-guards 
 called out the hours, and only the howling of the 
 hyenas broke the silence. 
 
 We had supposed that, having once started out with 
 our heterogeneous caravan, we should have no more 
 confusion or trouble. We were mistaken. In the 
 first place, the Danakil and the American had 
 diametrically opposite ideas about other things than 
 clothes. The Danakil liked to rise late. The sun 
 warmed his marrow-bones, and the early mornings 
 were cool. The hotter it was the better he liked it. 
 The American idea was based upon Franklin's advice. 
 We were afraid of the sun. We rose before dawn, 
 but nobody else did. Persuasion was of no avail, 
 and we had not yet learned that the advice of our 
 European friends to make a show of force was to be 
 construed literally. Hence we waited. Old Sali 
 pretended to be very busy on the morning of our 
 second day out, ordering people about ; but they 
 brushed him away, and it was evident that he had 
 no authority, and never had had. The Arabs and 
 their six camels moved off promptly, and gave us no 
 trouble thereafter at any time. They were a merry, 
 resourceful lot, lived up to their contract, sang at their 
 work, cared well for their camels, and, if they forgot 
 their prayers, would have starved rather than eat meat 
 killed by a heretic. 
 
 The gloomy grandeur of the Danakils was superior 
 to all appeals to hurry from our military officers. In
 
 QUAKBEL BETWEEN CAMEL-DEIVEES 31 
 
 the fatalist's lexicon there is no such word as * hurry.' 
 To add to the morning's difficulties, the two women 
 camel-drivers came to blows concerning the disposition 
 of a feather-weight parcel. Finally the men-folk 
 interfered, and lodged it upon one of the two camels, 
 whereupon the vanquished shrieked aloud in anguish, 
 and attempted to drive a spear through her colleague's 
 back. Her camel wore a necklace of cockle-shells, 
 and was clearly an object of affection. 
 
 1 pearl without price,' she cried (so Oualdo 
 said), * the she-goat of a heretic wishes to kill thee ! 
 May the jackals get her short-legged beast ! May 
 her daughters bear no children ! They have forced 
 me to overburden thee, my beloved !' 
 
 The poor creature lashed herself into a rage, and 
 again and again sought to send the lance through her 
 companion. Finally the storm expended itself, and 
 that night these same two creatures were doing some 
 sort of domestic work together as harmoniously as 
 though differences had never come between them. 
 
 Eventually the entire caravan moved off, each 
 animal securely attached by a rope tightly drawn 
 around its lower lip, and then tied with humiliating 
 firmness to the tail of the next camel preceding. We 
 made habitually something less than three miles an 
 hour with our mules, but the camels rarely exceeded 
 two miles an hour. This meant, of course, our arrival 
 at the rendezvous a number of hours in advance of 
 our baggage. We averaged six hours a day in the 
 saddle. It was our aim to reach our destination about 
 noon, but owing to the defects in our organization we 
 rarely left camp in time to accomplish this design. 
 Returning from Addis-Ababa we did much better. 
 
 We had scarcely proceeded eight miles on this
 
 32 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 second day's journey when old Sali, dismounting 
 from his mule, had the unpleasant sensation of seeing 
 that animal disappear in a cloud of dust in the direc- 
 tion of Dire*-Daouah, and, to complete his discom- 
 fiture, with the old man's slippers attached to the 
 saddle. Discredited by ourselves, jeered at by the 
 Arab drivers, and all but spat upon by the Danakils, 
 the unhappy old gentleman girded his flowing robe 
 around his loins, and carefully picked his way along 
 the road, filled with fallen mimosa thorns and sharp 
 pebbles. We were sitting on the grass under the 
 shadow of some fine old trees, on the banks of Ourso 
 Creek, when old Sali limped in, and, removing his 
 garments, sat himself down in the bed of the stream. 
 His ablutions terminated, it seemed to be a kind and 
 Christianlike thing to tell Sali that his services were 
 less valuable than had been expected, and that, 
 whereas it was merely a walk of 20 miles back 
 to Dire-Daouah, there were still some 260 miles 
 between Ourso and Addis - Ababa, and very poor 
 walking at that. 
 
 ' Sali,' he was told, ' you know you are a good deal 
 of a fraud. You never killed any elephants, and you 
 cannot even take charge of a mule, let alone a caravan. 
 The camel-men refuse to accept your orders, and you 
 are in the way.' 
 
 The old man was willing to concede that he was a 
 humbug for practical purposes, but insisted that he 
 was a ' personage,' that he had houses and goats at 
 Ankober, and that, finally, being a ' personage,' he 
 could not be humiliated with impunity ; however, 
 rather than be subjected to any such mortifying 
 experience, he would forget his moral injuries and 
 his physical hurts, and go along with us, without
 
 SALI THE WICKED 33 
 
 wages. Only he desired that when he had piloted us 
 across the sandy wastes we should give him a ' gratifi- 
 cation.' Incidentally he remarked that he was very 
 hungry ; he had eaten nothing for two days. 
 
 * But the contract was that you were to receive and 
 disburse the money among the camel-men, and that 
 we were not to be responsible for your food or theirs.' 
 
 'It is true,' said Sali, 'true as the Koran, your 
 Supreme Illustriousness ; but they will have none of 
 me and I am hungry.' 
 
 This statement being unquestionably true, with 
 democratic simplicity Sali was offered half of a can 
 of corned beef. The slayer of elephants looked at it 
 with wistful eyes, smelled it, and evidently wanted to 
 eat it. 
 
 ' Who killed it ?' he inquired. 
 
 'What does it matter who killed it?' perhaps 
 this was said a little sharply. ' Nobody knows. B 
 is good.' 
 
 But the old man's religion was stronger than his 
 appetite, for he gave it back, and, turning himself 
 towards Mecca, began to read the Koran. 
 
 Our caravan at this time was much scattered, and 
 perhaps a mile long. It was quite impracticable for 
 us to keep together, and we determined, upon leaving 
 Ourso, to detail a rearguard to follow the camels, 
 and to send the main body of the escort and the 
 servants as rapidly as they could travel to each 
 day's rendezvous. The halting - points were fixed, 
 naturally, by the condition of the water-supply. By 
 following the base of the mountains we occasionally 
 came to small streams like the Ourso, or at least 
 wells, while farther to the north these same streams 
 lost themselves in the sand. 
 
 3
 
 34 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 On the succeeding day Sali appeared in the r61e of 
 an arch-conspirator. He had kept counsel with him- 
 self since his deposition, but, as we learned later, he 
 had managed to have a number of interviews with 
 the Danakil ' habane.' The division of our party into 
 an advance- and rear-guard gave the old rascal his 
 coveted opportunity to get even. With the marines 
 as my escort, I had started on in advance, accompany- 
 ing the faithful Arab camel-men. Hofalle', an isolated 
 mountain, standing apart from the main chain, and 
 visible miles away, indicated plainly enough the 
 direction we were to follow. Our route lay to the 
 left of Hofalle and under its shadow. By this route 
 we encountered vegetation most of the way and water 
 at the rendezvous. To the right of Hofalld lay the 
 sandy desert, and the home of the Danakil camel- 
 drivers whom we had employed. My Somali soldier 
 policeman, one of the three sent along by the Ras 
 Makonnen, showed us the way, proudly wearing his 
 chamma of American cloth, upon which he care- 
 fully preserved and exhibited the manufacturer's 
 mark, ' Dwight's Best Sheeting.' Sali trudged along 
 also. He said that, although dethroned, he was going 
 as far as the Hawash, to visit one of his numerous 
 biets, or farms. 
 
 After four hours' going, we reached the dry bed of 
 a stream, in the middle of which appeared to be a 
 fairly good well. Atto Bayane, son of the Governor 
 of Dir^-Daouah, was there in advance of us. He had 
 come on to meet his father, then returning from 
 Addis-Ababa. We sat tinder a huge tamarind-tree 
 and waited for the rearguard, consisting of Captain 
 Thorpe and the bluejackets, who were following the 
 Danakil caravan. As they did not arrive within a
 
 M. COMBOUL AND THE DANAKILS 35 
 
 reasonable period, Atto Bayane suggested that possibly 
 they had taken the trail leading to the right of Hof alle" 
 instead of to the left, in which case we would probably 
 find them in the bed of the same stream a number of 
 miles below, but in the heart of the Danakil country, 
 concerning which darksome stories had reached us. 
 
 We had been particularly warned to keep away 
 from the Danakil habitat, where the wayfarer was 
 sure to be long detained, and mulcted of portable 
 property in every form. Oualdo son of Mikael had 
 been there with his late master, M. Comboul. After 
 making their camp, all the camels had disappeared, 
 and likewise the drivers. The latter went to their 
 several homes, calmly oblivious of poor M. Comboul 
 and their contract. Then old chief Eleye, who subse- 
 quently died in jail for his sins, presented himself, 
 insisted upon sitting in M. Comboul's beautifully 
 upholstered Paris chair, and reposing his buttered 
 head upon the back thereof, while explaining in 
 flowery language his desire for tribute. M. Comboul 
 passed thirty days parleying with the chief, while one 
 of the Somali soldiers escaped and carried the news 
 to the Emperor. A regiment was at once sent to 
 relieve the scientific explorer, and the incident caused 
 old Eleye' many a head of cattle and his people many 
 huts, as the Emperor does not trifle with his Danakil 
 subjects. 
 
 The experience of Mr. Macmillan, an American 
 traveller from St. Louis, in the spring of 1903 in this 
 same corner of the empire proved less wearisome, but 
 more sanguinary. Mr. Macmillan so I was informed 
 was accompanied by a French newspaper writer, who 
 imprudently separated himself from the caravan, and 
 lost his way in the bush. He encountered a Danakil 
 
 32
 
 36 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 and asked his way. The Danakil, instead of conduct- 
 ing him back to the trail, lured him farther on and 
 brutally murdered him. The Frenchman was un- 
 armed and could make no resistance. The Emperor 
 was informed of the facts, and sent a regiment to the 
 spot to demand that the murderer be given up to him. 
 As the penalty for concealing the culprit involved 
 confiscation of herds and destruction of their villages, 
 the headmen finally acceded. The savage was hanged 
 from a tree in the market-place at Addis-Ababa, 
 where his body remained until the vultures had carried 
 it away. 
 
 The Danakil regards the destruction of his enemies 
 as the chief object in life, and having succeeded in 
 making away with one, he is permitted to wear an 
 ostrich feather in his hair. It is commonly believed, 
 moreover, that a white man has ten times the value of 
 a black one as a victim. As no Danakil can marry 
 until he has killed and mutilated his man, and as the 
 number of men thus killed has a direct bearing upon 
 the number of wives which he may take unto himself, 
 the ambition to kill may be the better understood. 
 
 It was a relief to our anxiety when off in the dis- 
 tance we perceived a solitary mule approaching at 
 a rapid gait, mounted by my faithful interpreter. He 
 was much excited, and said that there had been a 
 'battle,' and that our small force had won. It was 
 more satisfactory to learn that they would shortly 
 arrive. They did arrive, and we managed to piece 
 out the whole story. 
 
 Old Sali had put the Danakils with our equipment, 
 ammunition, and food-supply, up to the idea of loiter- 
 ing until our main party had gone far ahead, with the 
 expectation of thereupon veering off to the right into
 
 HATCHING A CONSPIEACY 37 
 
 their own territory. It was their intention to repose 
 for a number of days in their own homes, thus com- 
 pelling us, if their plan succeeded, to await their 
 pleasure, and to submit to such extortion as their great 
 numbers and our weakness might render possible. 
 
 They had not counted upon the alertness of Captain 
 Thorpe and the bluejackets. When the point was 
 reached where the trails separated and they had started 
 to the right, Captain Thorpe noticed that our own 
 tracks led to the left. The * habane ' was ordered to 
 halt, but declined to do so on the ground that he knew 
 the road and required no suggestions. Oualdo son 
 of Mikael, who proved to be the hero of this adven- 
 ture, drew his revolver and threatened all manner of 
 things, * par Me'ne'lik,' which is the final culminating 
 explosive threat in Ethiopia, and means that, if the 
 speaker cannot summarily get what he wants, the 
 Emperor will find a way to accomplish the desired 
 end. As matters now looked serious, the bluejackets, 
 five in number, were ordered to load and prepare for 
 hostilities, and the Somali soldier policeman with the 
 rearguard was ordered to tie the ' habane' and pack him 
 upon a camel. While the order was being executed, 
 the remaining Danakils left their camels and prepared 
 to rescue their chief. Decidedly, matters were looking 
 black for an expedition organized to promote amity 
 and commerce. At this dramatic juncture the female 
 camel-drivers howled and prayed for a cessation of the 
 disorder. Between their entreaties and the grim 
 appearance of the bluejackets, the ' habane ' was con- 
 vinced of the error of his way, and promised to be 
 good. He was thereupon untied. Upon reaching 
 camp he declared that he now understood that we 
 meant what we said, and knew what we wanted, and
 
 38 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 that we were his ' little fathers ' and the hope of the 
 country, and begged that now he had decided to be 
 good we would give him a ration of dates. 
 
 Oualdo son of Mikael taxed Sali, who stood on the 
 outskirts smiling grimly, with having planned the 
 entire incident. Both were much excited, the old 
 man drawing his long knife and Oualdo his pistol. 
 It was by a happy chance that a real drama was 
 averted. That night our men slept with their arms 
 by their sides and the sentries were increased, and 
 there was war-time excitement in the atmosphere. 
 
 Our Danakil camel-drivers were almost truculent 
 on the following morning. They loaded promptly, 
 but complained that their numbers were not sufficient, 
 and that they had really desired to enter their own 
 country in order to obtain assistance. The ' habane ' 
 asked for the loan of a mule in order to send to his 
 home for the required reinforcements, which could 
 join us tw r o days later. This seemed reasonable, and 
 the request was granted. 
 
 We had now entered upon our fourth day, and 
 after a long and wearisome march, camped that after- 
 noon upon an eminence overlooking the creek of 
 Ergotto-Momosa. Forty-eight hours had elapsed since 
 we had had sufficient water for bathing, and it seemed 
 as though we had reached the promised land. In the 
 village close at hand, composed of round thatched 
 huts, lived the provincial Governor, Hadji Mohamed, 
 a Moslem of the best type, selected by the Emperor 
 to keep order among his unruly Danakil subjects. 
 He called upon us that evening, prefacing his visit by 
 the gift of a goat. Hadji Mohamed advised firm 
 treatment of camel-men in general and Danakil drivers 
 in particular.
 
 HADJI MOHAMED'S ADVICE 39 
 
 * Treat them as a father would ids child,' advised 
 the Governor, which particular form of treatment was 
 to be strictly upon Scriptural lines, and also in accord- 
 ance with the Koran. Champagne was introduced 
 and tendered, but Hadji Mohamed declined it, on the 
 ground that he was fasting. He had brought with 
 him our young Christian friend Atto Bayane, and 
 delegated him to drink in his behalf. The Governor 
 proved to be a plain, sensible man, who hoped that 
 his fever and rheumatism would permit him to offer 
 us some elephant or leopard shooting upon our 
 return. The desert was usually healthy, he said, 
 but in the rainy season, from July to the end of 
 September, there was much fever, and particularly in 
 that locality. 
 
 The following day we camped at Ellabella under 
 some large trees near two old wells, the use of which 
 we shared with several thousand cattle. We were 
 still apprehensive concerning the attitude of our 
 Danakil camel-drivers, and inclined to question our 
 wisdom in sending one of these savages back to their 
 home in order to bring on the needed assistance. 
 The assistance seemed to be coming too numerously for 
 our peace of mind. It was evident that something was 
 brewing, for the new recruits gathered in front of my 
 tent, and squatting themselves in a semicircle, opened 
 their palaver. In the first place, the lame, the halt, 
 and the blind were produced, and consigned to the 
 tender mercies of Dr. Pease. The doctor had great 
 success, but confessed afterwards to some fear of 
 trouble arising on his own account upon our return, 
 as he had presented one patient with half a dozen 
 strong cathartic pills, with instructions to take one 
 every day. The patient a few minutes later had
 
 40 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 reported a desire to accomplish a quick cure, and had 
 therefore taken the six at once. 
 
 The palaver with the camel-drivers, which was long, 
 resulted in the explanation that our camels were the 
 property of the King of their tribe of Danakils, Eley^, 
 a child of perhaps thirteen years, and as unprepossess- 
 ing a youth as an itching palm and a protruding set 
 of upper teeth, which were sharpened like a dog's, 
 could make. This King Eleye' was the son of the 
 great King of that name who had died in prison, as I 
 mentioned before, because of his habit of taking toll 
 of caravans. 
 
 The son Eleye*, having heard of our arrival, had 
 come with his followers to demand tribute of us. He 
 said that it was the custom of the country to pay 
 tribute to him, and the greater the traveller the 
 greater should be the tribute. In the case of so great 
 a person as my Hlustriousness, it was bound to be 
 considerable. 
 
 All this was irritating. Yet later on, when I had 
 studied out the matter, the idea of paying tribute 
 seemed not so unjust as might at first appear. Like 
 most customs, it was founded upon a fair claim to 
 compensation. This boy-King's forefathers had found 
 the wells, and had made the water available. The 
 land belonged to these roaming bands, who required 
 both the land and the little water for their cattle. If 
 the stranger passed by, and desired to avail himself of 
 their water and their forage, why should he not pay ? 
 Water rights ever have been a source of vexation and 
 litigation. We were all for rejecting somewhat scorn- 
 fully the pretensions of the young King, advancing the 
 historical proposition that we had millions for defence, 
 but not a cent for tribute. In point of fact, we had
 
 PEEPAEATIONS FOB A MIDNIGHT ATTACK 41 
 
 neither. We had 175 rounds of ammunition per man, 
 and while it could be counted upon to a certain point, 
 could it protect us while we retreated back to Dire*- 
 Daouah ? 
 
 When the moon rose that night, it was evident that 
 our Danakil acquaintances were extremely dissatisfied. 
 Oualdo son of Mikael talked gloomily about caravans 
 that had been delayed for months for non-payment 
 of tribute. That night the sentry on post No. 1 
 reported that a savage had made motions with his 
 hands from across a dry ravine, from which he had 
 gathered the idea that this man and eighty of his kind 
 were coming later to engage in battle. This sounded 
 ominous, and instructions were issued to our men to 
 be ready for any eventuality. About two hours later, 
 while our limited forces were soundly asleep, the sentry 
 saw two savages approaching, and, after calling upon 
 them to halt, fired. That one shot roused the camp to 
 instant action. In less time than it takes to tell it, a 
 guard had been placed by our officers around the 
 camels and mules to prevent a stampede, another 
 around the Danakil camel-drivers to prevent them 
 from joining in any possibly concerted movement, and 
 a third over wary old Sali, who was generally believed 
 to be the author of all our troubles. Sali had consorted 
 all that afternoon with a strange man from the desert. 
 His general attitude had impressed us as extremely 
 suspicious ; so he was told that in case of the slightest 
 serious difficulty he would be the first person to be 
 shot, whereat Sali was immediately upon his knees, 
 protesting that he was only an old man, whose heart's 
 desire was to be allowed to go peacefully to Ankober, 
 to end his few remaining days. 
 
 In case of the worst happening, we were to form a
 
 42 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 circle, face outward, and hold out as long as possible. 
 In the meantime, with the aid of Oualdo son of Mikael 
 explanations were sought from the alleged King and 
 his followers, who were passing the night with our 
 camel people. They were all shivering with fear, 
 being quite unable to comprehend why the soldiers 
 had been called out towards midnight to surround 
 them. It appeared that the individual shot at was 
 simply one of the reinforcements sent for after we had 
 left, and that he had turned up a little later than the 
 rest, with some rope required for the better securing 
 of the camel loads. This proved to be a strictly 
 correct version of the facts, but vigilance was not 
 immediately relaxed. 
 
 By this time out from the stillness of the night 
 we heard strange sounds as of many voices, and 
 looking over the crest of the hill at the base of which 
 was our camp, we could see in the moonlight many 
 figures moving about. This new cause of alarm 
 suggested the probability of the uprising reported as 
 imminent by one of the sentinels early in the evening. 
 Volunteers were called for to investigate, and as all 
 hands responded, a detail was formed, consisting of 
 fifteen men, to beat about the brush of the surround- 
 ing country. It was a very solemn moment when this 
 detail disappeared in the darkness, in Indian file, and 
 it seemed hours before they returned. Melodrama 
 was now succeeded by comedy, for the mysterious 
 enemy on the hilltops was found to be, not bloodthirsty 
 savages, but an army of huge monkeys, disturbed by 
 the sentinel's gun-shot, and curious to know what was 
 happening in the hollow below. It was their chatter- 
 ing that we had mistaken for human voices.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Eoyalty joins the American Mission A steer the measure of 
 greatness Night journey across Mount Asabot The only 
 elephant A fantasia. 
 
 THE boy-King asked permission to accompany us 
 to Derebella the next morning, and in a moment of 
 weakness not only was lie permitted to do so, but was 
 provided with a mule. The most vicious animal in 
 our possession was turned over to him, probably with 
 the expectation that he would break his neck, or the 
 mule. Our own men had failed to do the latter. To 
 the credit of the alleged King be it said that he stuck 
 his great toes into the rings that served him as 
 stirrups, and the mule acknowledged allegiance 
 immediately. 
 
 Our route lay across beautiful prairies, upon which 
 members of our party shot wild guinea-fowl and other 
 winged game. Private Wurm shot a wolf, and another 
 one of our men a fawn. A returning caravan was 
 encountered, and when the superb black man in 
 charge of it recognised friends among our domestics 
 he fired his rifle in the air several times to adequately 
 express his joy. The friends kissed each other upon 
 the lips. On several occasions when Oualdo son of 
 Mikael met acquaintances they always descended from 
 their mules, bowed low as they approached, and then 
 
 43
 
 44 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 embraced. The conversation began with a sort of 
 invocation to Providence and inquiries after all mem- 
 bers of their respective families. When the Ethiopian 
 encounters a superior, he lowers his chamma from 
 his shoulders before speaking. A superior is always 
 addressed in the third person, and if high respect 
 is to be paid the plural form of the third person is 
 employed. The superior alone may say ' thee ' and 
 ' thou,' and rarely to others than servants. 
 
 At Derebella we camped a long distance from the 
 wells, and had barely sufficient water for cooking pur- 
 poses. We found here a grave and highly respectable 
 man reading the Koran in his compound. He was 
 presented as a relative of Hadji Mohamed. He 
 appeared not to have any other identity. The com- 
 pound, or zeriba, consisted, as did most of those we 
 saw in the desert, of two concentric circles of mimosa 
 brush. In the middle the owner had his tent. At 
 night the cattle were driven into this enclosure, and 
 guarded against the incursions of wild beasts. The 
 relative of Hadji Mohamed sent me a goat as a mark 
 of his esteem, and then came himself with a parcel of 
 ostrich feathers. Two of his nephews sent a quantity 
 of milk in hemp jars. The milk, by the way, was 
 sour, as it usually is. The natives seem only to care 
 for it after it has curdled. At this point we took leave 
 of the King Eleye\ who in lieu of tribute accepted 
 twenty thalers on account, in his capacity as owner of 
 the camels. Having thus satisfied our scruples and 
 the avariciousness of the potentate of the desert at the 
 same time, we parted in peace. 
 
 From Derebella to Delado we continued across arid, 
 stony plains, succeeded by a richer grassy country, in 
 a drenching rain. This was the only experience of the
 
 AEEIVAL AT DELADO 45 
 
 sort which we had during the entire duration of our 
 visit. Rubber blankets, or ponchos, saved us from 
 serious results, but the consumption of quinine that 
 night was enormous. A spot that might by courtesy 
 be called clean was vainly sought upon the arrival of 
 our party at Delado. Generations of camel-drivers 
 had camped over the ground, and we had no choice 
 but to do likewise. There was some satisfaction in 
 being a Commissioner that night, inasmuch as it 
 entitled me to spread upon the ground the one canvas 
 tent floor in our possession. 
 
 Another very large caravan, consisting of at least 
 100 camels, had preceded us, being piloted by the 
 Governor of the province, as it contained goods for 
 the Emperor. The Governor, a fine six-footer, with 
 large rings in his ears and a fresh white toga, or 
 charnma, draped about his person, called at once, 
 with a gorgeous Indian, who was also in charge of the 
 caravan. The Indian detailed his bodily woes with 
 great minuteness, and was turned over to the doctor. 
 Our tents had not yet been put up when the Governor 
 called, and although he seemed not to mind the down- 
 pour, I did. Small talk languished, therefore, as he 
 had little to say himself, and I not much more. After 
 one of these protracted intervals of silence, during 
 which we had regarded each other, he manifested 
 solicitude to know how we had been received by other 
 Governors en route. He felt his way carefully. 
 
 * I would despise the man who would give your 
 Highness a sheep,' he said. 
 
 ' Yes ?' I replied. 
 
 ' I would also despise the man who would give your 
 Highness a goat,' he added. 
 
 It may be stated here that a goat is much more
 
 46 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 highly esteemed in Ethiopia than a sheep, its flesh 
 being more tender and more delicate. 
 
 ' Yes,' I rejoined, ' certainly.' 
 
 ' Now, a steer I would consider a fine present.' 
 
 1 Yes ?' 
 
 * A steer is about as fine a present as any man could 
 expect.' 
 
 ' Oh, certainly.' 
 
 ' You see, I am not at home here. I live over that 
 mountain. I have some very fine steers over there.' 
 ' Indeed ?' 
 
 * Yes. I expect to send one to your Highness the 
 day after to-morrow. Being a great chief, I must give 
 your Highness a great present. Yes, your Highness 
 shall have a steer.' 
 
 We camped next day at Moulu, near a large stream, 
 and on the day following at Meso, another spot quite 
 as attractive. The Governor, true to his word, arrived 
 in the afternoon, followed by two servants leading 
 a fat steer. This munificence seemed to require a 
 prompt expression of appreciation, and the Governor 
 was withdrawn from his retainers, in order that he 
 might choose between a pile of twenty thalers and 
 a watch. His Excellency chose the former, as he did 
 not know how to use a watch. He handed the silver 
 to a servant without looking at it, and remarked that 
 it was one of the satisfactions of being a great chief, 
 that they understood one another. 
 
 Ahmed, our head camel-driver, gazed longingly at 
 the steer, and expressed the hope that it might be 
 killed by a Moslem, as such a course would permit 
 him to partake thereof. Oualdo son of Mikael, being 
 a Christian and hungry, remarked : 
 
 ' Ahmed, you are a glutton !'
 
 NIGHT JOUENEY ACKOSS MOUNT ASABOT 47 
 
 Ahmed retorted that he was not, and added : * To 
 eat and sleep that is life.' 
 
 Oualdo son of Mikael, at my request, asked him if 
 he had no pleasures or ambitions ; but Ahmed's philo- 
 sophy of living was simple, and he reiterated his 
 remark. He had no pleasures or ambitions. He 
 desired only to fight the Somalis. Why ? He did not 
 know ; it had always been so, and it always would be 
 so ; it was fate. 
 
 We slept that December night under what the 
 French call la belle etoile. No tents were erected, 
 as our intention was to leave at 1 a.m. We had 
 ahead of us a long and weary climb across Mount 
 Asabot to Laga-Arba (' River of the Elephant '). There 
 was not a drop of water, so far as we knew, between 
 these points, distant about forty miles. When we 
 returned we discovered a small quantity of very foul 
 water, about midway, in the clefts of some rocks. 
 Hot coffee was served, after rising at midnight. An 
 Ita guide had been found for us by the Governor. He 
 wore an ostrich feather in his hair and strode on ahead, 
 the caravan following as best it could. Lest we might 
 lose our way, it was agreed that there should be no 
 separation of any portion of our caravan or of our 
 party until dawn, and that word should be passed 
 from the rear of the column to the head whenever 
 a camel-load should require readjustment and impose 
 a halt, as frequently happened. The procession 
 was probably a mile long, and a weird procession it 
 was in the African moonlight. It was exceedingly 
 cold, and everybody walked, more or less. We 
 moved at a snail's pace, because of the gait of 
 the camels, and to remain awake on mule-back was 
 most difficult. The servants alone seemed to enjoy
 
 48 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 the journey, and they sang an interminable song all 
 the way. 
 
 By dawn we were in a sparse forest of mimosa-trees. 
 The grazing was fine, and the grass fairly alive with 
 game. Several deer were seen, and two were shot. 
 Dr. Pease located an interesting rock in the distance, 
 and, calling attention to it, experienced the queer 
 sensation of seeing it walk off. It was an elephant. 
 It became exceedingly warm after the sun rose, and 
 by noon, having been twelve hours in the saddle, we 
 were all tired and thirsty. The escort was ordered 
 to halt upon an eminence overlooking the valley of 
 Arba ; but there was no shade, and therefore no 
 repose. Shortly after we were all encamped on the 
 river bank not upon the spot we would have desired, 
 but upon the one where our Arab friends unloaded 
 their camels. These camel-drivers always seemed to 
 be looking for the most unprepossessing places, and 
 having found them, managed to discharge their loads 
 and drive off their camels before they could be stopped. 
 Still, there were large trees, and the river was at our 
 feet. 
 
 We passed two nights upon the Arba River. The 
 protracted rest was celebrated by making a draft 
 upon our small stock of mineral water and our canned 
 hash, and no delicacies of an effete civilization ever 
 tasted better. As we feasted our thoughts went out 
 gratefully to Chicago. We had closely adhered to 
 our intention of drinking nothing but boiled water up 
 to this time, and as much of it was muddy and of 
 disagreeable taste, the mineral water was far more 
 acceptable to the palate than would have been cham- 
 pagne. Of the latter we had plenty, but nothing less 
 than a Governor brought it out. Europeans in India
 
 A FANTASIA 49 
 
 pretend that they are able to support the climate only 
 by drinking regularly whisky-and-water. My own 
 observation is that in the desert very little appetite 
 manifests itself for alcoholic stimulants. Whisky we 
 kept on hand for medicinal purposes, but habitually 
 we drank strong coffee in the morning and tea at 
 night. 
 
 The Danakil camel-drivers, who by this time were 
 professing respect and affection for our persons, had 
 devoted the day of rest to the rehearsal of a fantasia, 
 or dance, which took place during the evening in front 
 of my tent. The dancing-party formed a circle and 
 set up a weird chanting and stamping, which promised 
 to continue indefinitely, until the elderly man who 
 appeared to be reciting the thread of the story 
 dropped upon the ground with his head between his 
 hands and refused to go on. AHasman, one of the 
 Somali servants, who pretended to speak English, 
 offered this explanation : 
 
 * He sing song, big chief who kill, much, much, 
 much. He no sing more, parce que, his head burn, 
 burn, burn. If he sing more, he go sick, sick, 
 sick.' 
 
 Old Oria, the Somali policeman, stepped into the 
 breach by giving a representation of a hyena robbing 
 a grave. Oria had been a very dignified personage 
 up to this point, and I confess to a mild regret at thus 
 finding him out of his character. How many able 
 men have somehow fallen in public esteem by ven- 
 turing upon the recital of an amusing story, or by the 
 delivery of a supposedly funny speech ! 
 
 These Somali policemen were faithful as the day 
 is long. There were three of them, and they had 
 been assigned to our party by the Ras Makonnen, 
 
 4
 
 50 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 who said that we would have need of them in order 
 to facilitate our dealings with the native chiefs in the 
 desert, and that they could be relied upon for any 
 purpose. He also told them that they were upon no 
 account to permit any harm to befall any member 
 of our party, and that if any harm did befall any 
 American, the same fate would be visited upon the 
 negligent policeman who allowed it. They never 
 forgot for ten seconds their responsibility, and, speak- 
 ing for myself, I may say that until we reached Addis- 
 Ababa there never was a moment when there was not 
 a Somali policeman within 100 feet of me, looking 
 discreetly into the distance, but always knowing what 
 was going on. 
 
 The Governor of Laga-Arba dutifully called upon 
 me with a band of twenty stalwart men armed with 
 spears, who stood back of him and nodded approvingly 
 to the words of wisdom bandied back and forth. The 
 Governor was presented with a watch, which he looked 
 upon with interest, and then turned over to his staff, 
 who passed it from one to another, listening in a 
 mystified manner to its tick, and then inquiring of 
 their chief its practical use. A small portable electric 
 light was shown to the same Governor, and was 
 regarded by him and his followers as little less than 
 a work of enchantment. 
 
 The Governor, here as elsewhere, was accompanied 
 by the sick people of his district. These poor 
 people understand enough about foreign caravans 
 to know that there is usually a physician, or at 
 least supplies of medicine, with the party, and they 
 have child-like confidence in the power of both to 
 cure. At Laga-Arba the Governor himself desired 
 his hearing restored. He said that an insect had
 
 AN ANCIENT EAE-WIG 51 
 
 crawled inside his ear, and was still there. Upon 
 pressing the inquiry, it was ascertained that the 
 incident mentioned had occurred fifteen years before. 
 The Governor seemed to think that there should 
 still be some means of removing the insect and of 
 effecting an immediate cure. 
 
 42
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 The plains of Mount Fantall6 Atto Paulos The durgo arrives 
 Hospitality by law. 
 
 THE next morning we were off betimes across beauti- 
 ful grass-covered plains, with Mount Fantall^ in the 
 distance. After a march of four or five hours, we 
 caught our first glimpse of the telephone poles which 
 mark the road between the capital and Harrar. Five 
 minutes later we were upon the King's highway, out 
 of the desert, and in Menelik's hereditary kingdom of 
 Choa. When one has been for ten days cut off from 
 every vestige of civilization and among impossible 
 savages, the first sight of even a telephone pole evokes 
 the joy one feels upon finding one's self among old 
 friends. From this point we travelled along the main 
 road in Abyssinia, and encountered frequent caravans, 
 usually mule caravans, laden with hides, coffee, and 
 ivory. We had proceeded not more than five miles, 
 when we passed under a tree from which was still 
 suspended the head-rest and gourd which had been 
 placed there with the body of some unfortunate male- 
 factor who had been hanged for his sins. The vultures 
 had done the rest. 
 
 Camp was made upon a beautiful spot on the banks 
 of the sparkling stream of Katchinhaha. Our able- 
 bodied secretary of the mission and most skilful 
 
 62
 
 -
 
 THE PLAINS OF MOUNT FANTALLfi 53 
 
 sportsman, Mr. Wales, distinguished himself at this 
 point by bringing low a very large oryx, after an 
 exciting chase. The wounded beast, after receiving 
 a number of balls, showed fight until the last, lowering 
 its horns and making a final desperate dash towards 
 its aggressors, who finally despatched it with their 
 pistols. 
 
 The Abyssinian boys decided that Katchinhaha 
 would be a favourable place for a fantasia of their 
 own, which should be distinctly superior to that of 
 the Danakils, and it was. They sang the ' Song of the 
 Elephant,' which we had heard at Harrar, with frequent 
 alarming discharges of a rifle and energetic demon- 
 strations with the same, even more terrifying than 
 the explosions. It has not yet ceased to be a cause 
 of wonderment to me that we all escaped from our 
 adventures with no serious hurt from the unexpected 
 discharge of fire-arms. The fantasia was very pro- 
 tracted, and included long recitatives, consisting of 
 plays upon words, of which the Abyssinians are ex- 
 tremely fond. The Abyssinian youth can sit for hours 
 making puns, which evoke loud outbursts of mirth 
 from his fellow-kind ; but from such explanations as 
 I was able to procure, these jokes seemed to be devoid 
 of real humour. 
 
 There was now before us the longest and most 
 trying stage of the journey. The Ha wash plain and 
 the Fantalle' range have an evil reputation in Ethiopia, 
 as the sun beats down mercilessly upon an absolutely 
 unshaded trail, and the long stretch before the Kassan 
 River is reached is without water, except such as may 
 sometimes be found in the crevices of certain rocks. 
 At two hours' distance from Katchinhaha is the 
 Hawash River, one of the largest streams in Abys-
 
 54 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 sinia. Then six hours farther on one finds an exposed 
 rocky floor, in the crevices of which a certain amount 
 of rainfall is retained until evaporated or consumed ; 
 and then, again, a six hours' journey brings one to 
 the beautiful camping-ground called Tadechemalka, 
 on the Kassan River. 
 
 There being no longer the slightest occasion for the 
 party to remain together for prudential reasons, we 
 now rode in groups, as fancy might direct. The only 
 rule of the road seemed to be that one of the Somali 
 policemen should lead the advance party, and that 
 one should bring up the rear with Oualdo son of 
 Mikael, whose powers as an interpreter were required 
 to settle such small difficulties as might arise. We 
 reached the Hawash River in good season, half of the 
 party descending the steep and high banks and 
 fording the river. Farther up there was a bridge, over 
 which the camels and the other half of the party 
 crossed several hours later. There are a number of 
 such bridges in Ethiopia, constructed by European 
 engineers, but when the streams are fordable they are 
 usually closed to traffic by piles of mimosa brush. 
 We had been told that the ' dildil,' as bridges are 
 called, had been closed in this way, and hence most 
 of the men sought the ford. Many caravans ex- 
 perience everything short of tragedy in crossing the 
 Hawash, and we ourselves had troubles which seemed 
 very serious at the time, although everything turned 
 out in good order at the end of the day. 
 
 The remainder of the stage was across the level 
 plain. Even the dark blue spectacles which several 
 of us wore failed to more than temper the white, 
 blinding sunlight. We were now in the richest 
 game country between the coast and the capital. We
 
 THE PLAINS OF MOUNT FANTALLfi 55 
 
 saw gazelles and antelopes frequently in groups of 
 four to a dozen, and when we returned two months 
 later to this point we saw whole regiments of ante- 
 lopes within range of our trail. To the right of our 
 route lay the huge mountain range, in the rocky 
 fastnesses of which is hidden the ancient city of 
 Ankober. Numerous caravans of apparently inter- 
 minable length crept towards us along the Ankober 
 trail. At another point we found a herd of from 
 five to six thousand female camels grazing under the 
 supervision of a few herdsmen. The female camels 
 are very seldom used as beasts of burden, being 
 carefully cared for and employed for breeding 
 purposes. 
 
 Interesting as the day was in some respects, it 
 seemed as if it would never end, and, indeed, it was 
 five o'clock before we were all reunited on Fantalle, a 
 few yards removed from the rocks where we found 
 the promised water-supply. There was still a con- 
 siderable quantity of shockingly foul water left over 
 from the rainy season in the hollows of the rocks ; 
 but, bad as it was, the native servants knelt down and 
 lapped it up from their hands eagerly. The next day 
 more than one of them shivered and moaned in great 
 pain, and then recovered almost as quickly. Rather 
 more fastidious than our servants, we sought rocks 
 above the caravan trail, and found some comparatively 
 clean water, which, being carefully boiled and strained, 
 was harmless, if not palatable. 
 
 As we had been climbing gradually all day long, it 
 became very cold as soon as the sun had set. Having 
 now reached the altitude where wood was really 
 needed, little or none was to be found. There were 
 to be no more generous camp-fires around which our
 
 56 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 servants could sleep, and how they stood the low 
 temperatures was incomprehensible. They wore 
 nothing but cotton garments, and although most of 
 them had blankets, many had preferred to retain 
 their blanket-money, and to keep warm as best they 
 could. Somehow they managed to huddle together 
 in their chammas, and turned out in the morning 
 after an apparently refreshing and warm night's 
 slumber. 
 
 The ascent from the Hawash River had been so 
 arduous that, in spite of the extremely unfavourable 
 character of our Fantalle camping-ground, neither 
 Arab nor Danakil felt like moving on early next 
 morning. Before dawn the camels were driven out 
 of the centre of the camp, where they invariably slept, 
 ostensibly to do a little grazing before loading-time. 
 Though the pasturage was fine, the assigned motive 
 was only a pretext. Our Danakil friends were really 
 trying to trick us out of starting. About breakfast- 
 time they alleged that the camels had been * lost,' 
 and suggested that we might just as well settle 
 down for the day. This version was allowed to pass 
 for an hour or two, at the end of which time, at the sug- 
 gestion of Oualdo son of Mikael, a little mild force was 
 employed. There being a suppressed feud constantly 
 on between the Abyssinian and the Danakil, three of 
 the Abyssinian servants were only too delighted to 
 be ordered to drag the head camel-man off in the 
 direction where the camels were supposed to be, and 
 in the meantime the military escort was mustered, 
 rifles loaded, and so disposed as to seem very threaten- 
 ing indeed. Before this evidence of determination 
 the Danakil drivers yielded, and ' found ' the camels 
 as quickly and easily as they had lost them. They
 
 ATTO PAULOS 57 
 
 succeeded, however, in compelling us to travel, as 
 usual, during the heat of the day. 
 
 A fine and comfortable camping - ground was 
 reached well after mid - day on the banks of the 
 Kassan River. The place was called Tadechemalka. 
 There was no town there rarely is in Ethiopia ; the 
 names merely represent definite points on the route. 
 Tadechemalka has the reputation of being malarial, 
 but we experienced no difficulty under that head. 
 As a matter of fact, we were travelling during the 
 most favourable season. A month earlier, or three 
 months later, we would not have escaped so easily. 
 
 Atto Paulos, Governor of Baltchi, a town still 
 several days ahead, happened to be camping near 
 by, and called in the evening, with four sheep and 
 as many goats, and renewed his visit in the morning, 
 when he brought several jars of tallo, or native beer. 
 It was our first opportunity to drink beer, and all 
 agreed in thinking it less palatable than mead or 
 ' tedj.' Atto Paulos was extremely polite, saying that, 
 having entered the kingdom of Choa, we were now 
 the guests of the Emperor, and that orders had 
 been issued to all the chiefs to receive us with the 
 traditional hospitality of the kingdom. It seemed as 
 though we had been receiving hospitality everywhere 
 along the route, and the promise of the ' traditional 
 hospitality ' of the kingdom sounded formidable, as 
 it proved indeed to be. It meant that, aside from 
 civilities and courtesies, the right of durgo had been 
 extended in our favour. This is an essentially 
 Ethiopian custom, and merits explanation. 
 
 There are no hotels in the empire other than the 
 few created by Europeans in two or three prominent 
 centres, and as there are very few markets, the
 
 58 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 traveller would fare ill without some special pro- 
 vision of law for his benefit. Having entered the 
 kingdom as guests of the Emperor, we had now the 
 right in law to demand supplies and provisions of the 
 inhabitants, who in turn obtained some slight con- 
 cession of the tax-gatherers when able to show that 
 they had obeyed the law enjoining hospitality. It is 
 frequently the case that the right to durgo is abso- 
 lutely essential to the welfare of travellers, and it 
 must be said that inhabitants respond to appeals with 
 much more alacrity than might be expected. In our 
 own case we had come provided with abundant 
 supplies for our men, and really required little or 
 nothing. The daily arrival of the ' hospitality ' was, 
 nevertheless, an event of much solemnity, and the 
 occasion of great rejoicings among the servants, who 
 gorged themselves on the food which we were utterly 
 unable to consume. In the rich agricultural provinces 
 a procession of as many as forty people would arrive 
 towards sundown, leading steers, sheep, and goats, 
 and carrying baskets of eggs, bread, barley, and 
 jars of mead, curdled milk, and beer, and in the 
 treeless regions bundles of fagots. Elsewhere the 
 choum, or headman of the village, would bring a 
 single sheep or goat, with a thousand apologies for 
 his inability to do more. Etiquette and law required 
 that something should be brought, and a scarcely less 
 inexorable law imposed upon the stranger the necessity 
 of recognising the gift in a tangible manner. The 
 exchange of gifts, a custom handed down through the 
 ages, is always accompanied by many polite expres- 
 sions on both sides. The Abyssinians are an extremely 
 ceremonious people, possessed of an innate courtesy 
 which in many aspects is most admirable.
 
 THE DUKGO AEEIVES 59 
 
 It was to no purpose that we sometimes protested 
 against receiving this largess ; the grave and polite 
 headman invariably said that the law enjoined the 
 delivery of food to the nation's guests, and the law 
 must be obeyed. After a time we resigned ourselves 
 to this overflowing kindness, accepting whatever came 
 to hand, and doing as best we could. When we left 
 Addis-Ababa we had, if my memory is not at fault, 
 ten steers and fifty sheep and goats that we had not 
 needed, and were obliged to give away. Indeed, our 
 compound at Addis-Ababa bore some faint resem- 
 blance at all times during our stay to the Chicago 
 stock-yards. 
 
 Our first experience with the durgo occurred at 
 Choba, which we reached after a hard and long climb 
 from Tadechemalka. It was reported that certain 
 reservoirs of water existed here for the benefit of thirsty 
 travellers, but the only one we saw was dry, and the 
 nearest river was three miles away. A few jars of 
 the precious liquid, enough for cooking purposes, 
 were brought to us, and when more was wanted it 
 was found that the jar itself, which had journeyed 
 several times to the river, had been cracked. Sancho 
 Panza said that, whether the well goes to the jar or 
 the jar to the well, the jar always comes home with a 
 broken nose. The broken jar in Ethiopia is rather 
 more serious. There was plenty of tedj, however ! 
 
 When the hospitality arrived, in charge of a brother 
 of Atto Paulos, it included gallons of this beverage, 
 sheep and goats, and native bread in the form of thin 
 cakes of teff meal. The bread resembled gigantic 
 buck-wheat cakes, and if one can imagine a cold and 
 very sour buck-wheat cake, the taste of this bread can 
 be approximated in imagination. The director of the
 
 60 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 customs then appeared with several loaves of wheat 
 bread, made of whole-wheat flour ground in a mortar. 
 The director of the telephone-station brought barley 
 for the mules. These gifts were duly inspected, pro- 
 nounced good, and turned over to the men. Every- 
 thing was regulated according to the protocol of 
 Oualdo son of Mikael. The proprieties required that 
 the hospitality should be received, together with an 
 accurate statistical return thereof, and that servants 
 should be on hand to take immediate charge of the 
 objects brought and to remove them from sight. 
 Anything short of this might be construed as a lack 
 of appreciation. It took a number of days before 
 we could get our protocol into working order. 
 
 As this was the first telephone-station on our route, 
 it was decided to send a few messages to inquiring 
 friends. It was December 13, and we had been out 
 of touch with the great world for two weeks. The 
 telephone director was amiability itself. He ' allooed ' 
 vigorously in our behalf, but M. Michael, the very 
 capable gentleman in charge at Harrar, was absent, 
 it being Sunday, and communication could not be 
 established. Expedients were proposed, but as the 
 director could read neither English, French, nor 
 Amharic, it was only possible to give him the message 
 by word of mouth, in the hope that he would retain it, 
 and transmit it on the following day. The Ethiopian 
 memory was not as good as the Ethiopian intention, 
 for the pleasant little man forgot entirely all that he 
 had been charged to say. A month later, when we 
 were returning, he was reminded of his remissness, 
 whereupon he offered to send the message immediately 
 if it were repeated to him. 
 
 We next entered the fertile and magnificent province
 
 MINNEBELLA 61 
 
 of Mindjar. Vast expanses of well-cultivated fields, 
 which yield two and three crops per year, spread out 
 before us, and there were sleek cattle and prosperous- 
 looking villagers everywhere. Some of the thrashing 
 scenes were most picturesque. In some cases the 
 straw is strewn about a small area, and beaten with 
 flails, but the usual process seemed to be to drive 
 cattle over it in a circle. 
 
 After Choba, we stopped at Minnebella, at a point a 
 little off from the highway, and by the side of a large 
 reservoir filled with water of fair quality. Corporal 
 Wood was bitten by a spider at this spot, and 
 caused no end of anxiety. Steward Fearnley aroused 
 Dr. Pease shortly after midnight, and between the 
 two by morning the gravest danger was averted. 
 The sick man remained behind for several hours, 
 joining us at Baltchi in the afternoon. The country 
 people gathered in large numbers to see our departure 
 from Minnebella ; among others, a local minstrel, who 
 accompanied himself on a one-stringed lute. I under- 
 stand that he sang a song in our praise, announcing 
 that the Americans had come to conquer the world 
 with their kindness, repeating the theme with many 
 variations. As music it was unspeakably bad, and 
 as the expected reward was not forthcoming, the 
 troubadour amended his praises, first converting them 
 into lamentations, and, as we rode off in the distance, 
 execrating us as cordially as he had lauded us at 
 the beginning. These minstrels are frequently en- 
 countered, and, like the beggar children of Europe, 
 know perfectly well that they are public nuisances, 
 and expect to be bribed into giving their victims 
 peace. 
 
 Not far from Minnebella we passed the first church
 
 62 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 we had seen since leaving Harrar. It looked some- 
 thing like the picture of the Chinese pagoda upon the 
 willow-pattern plate. It was round in form, as are 
 all the Abyssinian churches, which tradition says are 
 constructed with some sort of resemblance to Solomon's 
 temple. Either the resemblance must be poor, or the 
 popular impression respecting Solomon's temple is 
 far astray. All of our Abyssinian servants bowed 
 reverently when we passed the church, some of them 
 kissing the soil and some the wooden gateway. 
 
 In the distance the mountain of Baltchi loomed up 
 before us, and seemed to recede as we advanced. A 
 village of the same name occupies a plateau upon the 
 top of the mountain which is 2,000 feet above its 
 approach from the Harrar side. The mountain itself 
 constitiites a natural fortification apparently im- 
 pregnable. How such a stronghold could be stormed 
 successfully is difficult to understand. True, Lord 
 Napier in the early sixties found a way to Magdala, 
 where the Emperor Theodore made his last stand, but 
 the defenders of that period were scarcely capable of 
 making an effective resistance. An invading army 
 to-day would find all the difficulties which the British 
 encountered in the Transvaal, multiplied many fold by 
 the mountainous conditions. Recently there has been 
 one small example of protracted fighting on the part 
 of the Mad Mullah in Somaliland. This individual, 
 with a half-organized and indifferently-armed army, 
 defied the best efforts of a strong British force, aided 
 by an Abyssinian division. To reach Ethiopia to-day 
 an invading army would have first to cross 400 miles 
 of desert, taking chances of finding water en route, 
 and then, in a probably depleted and worn-out state, 
 would have to fight laboriously along mountain trails
 
 HOSPITALITY BY LAW 63 
 
 which, are found and followed with difficulty in times 
 of peace. To administer such an empire, which has 
 enjoyed thousands of years of independence, would 
 be even more difficult. I once commented on these 
 physical facts to the Ras Makonnen, who agreed with 
 me, and added significantly : ' We have had our in- 
 dependence a long time : we shall keep it.' 
 
 A stream of water flows around the base of Mount 
 Baltchi ; and, as usual, our caravan people desired to 
 stop here, rather than climb to the height above, 
 where we would be able to secure a good start in the 
 morning. We had insisted upon having our own way 
 in this case, and were tranquilly toiling along the 
 precipitous route, when a horseman appeared upon 
 the plain below, trying to overtake us, and frantically 
 waving at us. He eventually overtook us, and an- 
 nounced that he came as the representative of the 
 Governor, who had been caught napping, and had 
 allowed us to get by his frontier without knowing that 
 we had done so. It seems that Baltchi is in one province, 
 ruled over by Atto Paulos, our friend of Tadechemalka, 
 and the country below in another. The Governor of 
 the lowland had been ordered to receive us royally, and 
 now we had crossed over the line into the territory of 
 his colleague. 
 
 ' He says,' urged the courier, ' that you cannot go 
 on ; that by the Emperor's orders you are to camp 
 below ; that, therefore, you must camp below ; that if 
 you go on the " hospitality " will be ruined.' 
 
 I appreciated the difficulties of the Governor. He 
 had his constituents and his public opinion to face too. 
 He had doubtless spent days gathering barley, bread, 
 tedj, and eggs from his people for our subsistence, 
 and here we were, going right through his dominions.
 
 64 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 Excuses and thanks were sent back to the Governor. 
 It was impracticable that, we should camp below ; to 
 do so meant the loss of a day. As a happy com- 
 promise, it was suggested that, if the * hospitality ' 
 must be delivered, it might be sent up to Baltchi, and 
 presented with that probably being organized by 
 Atto Paulos. This idea was accepted, and declared 
 quite as remarkable as that of Columbus in putting 
 an egg on end. Joy was painted on the countenances 
 of our Ethiopian friends, whose chief, Atto Hugo, 
 arrived later in state, and solemnly presented two 
 hundred disks of bread, carried by five men, five jars 
 of milk, four jars of beer, two chickens, twenty eggs, 
 and five goats.
 
 CHAPTER YE 
 
 Conferring an American decoration A province where silver and 
 gold do not circulate Foiling another conspiracy. 
 
 SCARCELY had the Atto Hugo been received and dis- 
 missed than the * hospitality ' of Baltchi appeared, con- 
 sisting of 366 disks of bread, 67 eggs, 7 chickens, 
 5 bales of barley, 5 bales of straw, and 5 bundles of 
 wood. Finally came the personal gifts of Atto Paulos 
 himself, consisting of 32 disks of bread, 6 chickens, 
 and 10 eggs. The bearers of these presents arrived 
 about sunset, laid them down at equal distances apart, 
 and when Oualdo son of Mikael had transmitted the 
 thanks of the mission, they bowed to the ground and 
 disappeared. 
 
 Earlier in the afternoon Atto Paulos had paid a 
 protracted visit, and talked in a lively manner about 
 his country. He was in favour of progress, he said, 
 but on the condition that it did not result in the loss of 
 national independence. The strangers were becoming 
 too numerous to altogether suit him, and were tending 
 to corrupt the people, who were simple in character 
 and easily deluded. Friendship was sealed by the 
 presentation on my part to the Atto Paulos of a large 
 American flag. The Governor seemed much touched, 
 and after being told what the forty-five stars and 
 thirteen stripes stood for, he said, bowing to the earth 
 as he did so : 
 
 66 5
 
 66 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 ' I appreciate this more than anything you could 
 give me. It is the proudest decoration I could possibly 
 own. I shall ask the Emperor for the right to accept 
 it, as we cannot accept anything of this sort without 
 authorization, and he will say "yes." Then I shall 
 wear it about my shoulders every feast-day.' 
 
 The forefathers thought, I suppose, when they wrote 
 the American Constitution, that then, for the first time, 
 organic law prevented the acceptance of honours and 
 titles from abroad without the consent of the governing 
 power ; but as a matter of fact the ancient empire of 
 Abyssinia has been doing the same thing for a thousand 
 years, more or less. 
 
 At Baltchi communication by telephone was had 
 with M. Le'on Chefneux, the able foreign adviser or 
 Counsellor of State of the Emperor. M. Chefneux's 
 cordial manner increased our desire to hurry on to the 
 capital. It was agreed that we should camp, after 
 leaving Baltchi, at Chaffee Dunsa and Akaki, and 
 thence proceed to Shola a spring just this side of 
 Addis-Ababa, where M. Chefneux himself and the 
 receiving party would come out to meet us. 
 
 Having now reached Baltchi, our contract with the 
 Danakil camel-men terminated of itself, and they were 
 paid off. These poor creatures called us their fathers 
 and brothers, vowed eternal friendship, and offered to 
 await our return. They would have spared us much 
 inconvenience had they been willing to go on to the 
 capital, as did the Arabians. They suffer so from cold 
 in these rare regions, and the camels do so poorly, 
 that in almost every case, as in our own, it is necessary 
 to make a new contract for the short remaining 
 journey with the local mule-men. 
 
 It was the business of Atto Paulos to find a con-
 
 FINDING A CONTEACTOE 67 
 
 tractor capable of moving our chattels on to the 
 capital ; but although ample notice had been given 
 of our intended arrival, he had great difficulty in 
 arranging matters. There were plenty of mules and 
 plenty of men, and there was no dispute about terms, 
 but there were a thousand reasons why we must not 
 think of going at once. Poor Atto Paulos was in great 
 distress of mind. He knew that the Emperor expected 
 us on Friday, and that if we were prevented from 
 arriving, he would certainly be held responsible, not 
 only by ourselves, but by his imperial master. At 
 eleven o'clock, when it seemed that we were farther 
 from a settlement than ever, he came to me and 
 advised my departure. This would have the effect 
 of bringing the men to their senses. Furthermore, 
 he would pledge his word that our effects would arrive 
 at Chaffee Dunsa that night. 
 
 The word of Atto Paulos was made good, but it was 
 seven o'clock before the final load was laid at Chaffee 
 Dunsa. Our property came over the rolling prairies 
 in picturesque disorder. Now it was a camel loaded 
 with rattling tin cracker boxes, now a mule almost 
 hidden under piles of canvas, or perhaps a little ass 
 struggling with a cast-iron soldier's stove. Occasion- 
 ally men bearing bundles of tent-poles would pass 
 along. It was wonderful that with this extreme 
 variety of man and beast charged with our possessions, 
 and under no particular contract, we should come into 
 our own and extract order out of chaos. But we did. 
 Nothing was ever stolen that was of the slightest con- 
 sequence. Good old-fashioned honesty is the rule in 
 the empire of the King of Kings. 
 
 We had ridden all day across wonderfully rich 
 country, well watered, but not particularly interesting. 
 
 52
 
 68 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 The sun shone fiercely it seemed to me even more so 
 than in the desert lowlands and the flies were 
 maddening in their numbers and persistency. Up to 
 this point we had had very little difficulty either with 
 flies or other representatives of the insect tribes, but 
 our troubles now began in earnest, and continued until 
 the homeward journey was well under way. Those 
 of us who had head-nets wore them, but it was a 
 question which was the more disagreeable to endure 
 the attacks of the flies or the annoying obstruction of 
 the head-nets. Towards evening it became very cold, 
 which was not surprising, since we were now at an 
 altitude of 7,386 feet, having steadily mounted since 
 leaving Baltchi, which has itself the very respectable 
 altitude of 5,828 feet. We camped at a short distance 
 from the nearest village. The evening * hospitality,' 
 when it arrived, contained everything except what we 
 needed most firewood. I gave the Slave of the Holy 
 Ghost a thaler, and sent him out to buy fuel at any 
 price. He returned, followed by some villagers, 
 carrying bundles of sticks enough to cook our 
 evening meal ; but he handed back the thaler, which 
 had no purchasing power in that country. On the 
 plains of Chaffee Dunsa the coin of the realm is 
 unknown, their circulating medium being cartridges 
 for small purchases and bars of salt for large ones. 
 
 The recognised medium of exchange in the centres 
 of Abyssinia is the Maria Theresa thaler of 1780, or 
 the thaler of Menelik. The Maria Theresa thaler 
 circulates generally throughout Africa, and is minted 
 in Austria in considerable quantities for this trade, 
 the new coins always bearing the old date. It is only 
 within the last few years that Menelik has succeeded 
 in bringing into common use coins bearing his own
 
 COINAGE OF ABYSSINIA 69 
 
 effigy, stamped for him in Paris, from the silver 
 representing the war indemnity paid by the Italians 
 a number of years ago. Even at this time the ordinary 
 Abyssinian scrutinizes his Maria Theresa thaler with 
 great care, declining it if the minute pearls in the 
 necklace are worn, and looking even more askance at 
 the coins of his own country. The domestic coin is 
 making its way, however, its circulation being en- 
 couraged by the Government, which regards its use as 
 good public policy, tending to unify the empire. The 
 subsidiary coinage consists of halves, quarters, eighths, 
 and sixteenths of a thaler. All these coins have been 
 introduced by the Emperor Menelik, and are much 
 less commonly circulated than the thalers. Even in 
 Addis-Ababa bars of salt and cartridges represent the 
 divisions of the thaler. The amouli, or salt bar, is 
 accepted at the rate of one-third to one-fifth of the 
 thaler, and the cartridges at one-sixteenth. The 
 thaler itself fluctuates in value from frs. 2*30 to 
 frs. 2 '45, the higher price prevailing at the greater 
 distance from the sea. While the fluctuations are 
 controlled by the silver market of the world, there is 
 also a rapidily-varying domestic fluctuation, caused 
 by crop movements and similar causes. All of our 
 native servants carried well-filled cartridge belts, 
 whether they happened to possess a gun or revolver 
 or not. We at first deemed this to be a sort of 
 vanity, but it was the recognised way of carrying a 
 currency always sure to circulate. 
 
 A cold, uncomfortable night at Chaffee Dunsa was 
 further disturbed by the capers of a regiment of 
 monkeys which seemed not merely to be talking us 
 over, but to be jumping about from tent to tent. We 
 were glad when the sun rose on the following morning,
 
 70 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 and we could set forth again upon the monotonous 
 plains. En route a messenger met us. He had come 
 all the way from the capital with a note from M. Chef- 
 neux, confirming the arrangements respecting the 
 reception the next day, for which preparations were 
 then making. 
 
 After a hard day's work we reached a deep ravine, 
 and failing to see the bridge a short distance below, 
 forded a rather swift stream and camped upon the 
 opposite side. Midway above our heads the rocks 
 jutted out from the rich earth and were pierced by 
 caves, in which, at certain periods of the year, the 
 shepherds live. We encamped upon the domain of 
 the Empress Taitu, so we were told when the ' hospi- 
 tality ' arrived. We had been expected to camp on the 
 other side. 
 
 ' But it shall make no difference,' explained the 
 chief of the ' hospitality ' reassuringly. ' You shall get 
 your supplies just the same.' 
 
 The details concerning the ' hospitality ' were dis- 
 cussed by our Ethiopian friends from the hilltops of 
 the opposite sides of the valley, a distance of probably 
 half a mile. The carrying power of the Ethiopian 
 voice, and the desire of the owner of the organ to 
 exercise it at long range, are something remarkable. 
 The voices in themselves seem not especially resonant. 
 The approved method of conversation is to begin at a 
 low register, and gradually to work up, culminating 
 each long-distance sentence with a final falsetto shriek. 
 
 There was a general overhauling of clothing at Akaki 
 that night, for we were to say farewell to khaki, and 
 appear before the Emperor on the morrow. 
 
 When we rose on Friday morning, December 18, 
 there seemed to be every prospect of a rainy day.
 
 OVEEHAULING OF CLOTHING 71 
 
 Providence smiled upon us, as usual, however, and 
 our mending, burnishing, and polishing went on. 
 Even the servants tingled with pleasurable excitement, 
 and from bags and bundles which we had not supposed 
 in their possession drew forth fresh white chammas, 
 or other signs of Abyssinian elegance. Alassman came 
 out in a new khaki suit, with a tall white collar, 
 which he wore outside his coat, and upside-down. 
 One Abto Salasse had treasured his wide-brimmed 
 felt hat to such an extent that upon his 300-mile 
 tramp he had carefully protected it by placing there- 
 upon the pasteboard box in which the hatter had 
 packed it. He laid aside the box this day, and wore 
 the hat alone. He also wore a short seersucker vest, 
 and an immense scimitar, with which he cut grass 
 in the evenings for his mules. Our own men put on 
 their blue clothes, pipe-clayed their white helmets, and 
 polished their brass buttons. The jack-tars created 
 the greatest sensation by donning for the first time 
 their blue sailor clothes, flat hats and ribbons. We 
 civilians reserved ourselves until later in the day. We 
 had but a short run ahead of us, one or two hours, 
 so the start was deferred until almost ten o'clock. 
 Scarcely had we reached the plain above our camping- 
 place than we saw in the far distance the shining 
 roofs of Addis-Ababa. The scenery was grand ; high 
 mountains were on both sides and ahead of us, and 
 we marched between fields of waving grain. 
 
 A disturbing incident now occurred. Until a day 
 or two before, a young Abyssinian had been travelling 
 with us, profiting by the security which our numbers 
 afforded in order to cross the desert. He had been 
 particularly polite, and we all liked him. Shortly 
 before reaching Akaki he had ridden on ahead, saying
 
 72 . ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 that he was impatient to see his family, and that he 
 would return to escort us into the city. We now saw 
 him return, as he had promised. After exchanging 
 salutations, he said that we should by all means camp 
 where we were. 
 
 ' The reception is not to take place to-day, after all/ 
 he said. 'The Emperor has left the city, to select 
 mules for the army. I saw him last night myself, and 
 he told me to let you know informally as soon as 
 possible. You must camp here. If you should go on 
 to Shola, you would be in sight of the capital, and to 
 remain there and not to be received might seem to be 
 a way of reproving His Majesty.' 
 
 It was a great disappointment to learn that the 
 reception had been postponed, but the statement of 
 the young Abyssinian was so circumstantial and 
 plausible that we all accepted it as true. Fortunately, 
 his advice to go on no further was not heeded. 
 Inasmuch as I had a definite engagement to meet 
 M. Chefneux at Shola, which had not been counter- 
 manded, I determined under no circumstances to 
 fail him. We pressed on, therefore, and, as events 
 proved, the young Abyssinian's story was simply 
 a tissue of untruths. His real purpose was never 
 disclosed, but his object clearly was to induce us 
 to break our engagement to be at Shola at noon, 
 and consequently to fail to be received by a waiting 
 Emperor. The latter, very naturally, would have been 
 angered against guests who could use him with so 
 little consideration.
 
 CHAPTER VHI 
 
 We are received by the Emperor The Abyssinian band plays 
 ' Hail, Columbia ' The palace of the Kas Oualdo Gorghis. 
 
 THE caravan proceeded to Shola, where an excellent 
 spring, a large tree, and a beautiful prairie combined 
 to make an ideal camping-ground. We had been 
 somewhat disconcerted by the news brought by the 
 little Abyssinian gentleman, but determined to await 
 developments. Orders were issued to erect two tents 
 only, for reception and dining room purposes, with 
 the expectation of then pressing on to the city, unless 
 the reports concerning the Emperor's intention not to 
 receive us that day should be confirmed. The work 
 of organizing a camp had scarcely been commenced, 
 when M. Le'on Chefneux, Counsellor of State to the 
 Emperor, was announced. M. Chefneux came with a 
 considerable escort of fine-looking Ethiopians ; he 
 himself was in the conventional garb of a Parisian. 
 He immediately dispelled all our illusions with respect 
 to the reception. There was no question of adjourning 
 the ceremony at all. His Majesty awaited us with 
 impatience, and the formal entry into the capital 
 would take place at two o'clock. 
 
 In regard to the personality of M. Chefneux, it is 
 enough to say, for the moment, that he enjoys with 
 M. Alfred Ilg, at that time in Europe, the honour 
 
 73
 
 74 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 of being the Emperor's adviser in foreign affairs. 
 M. Chefneux remained to lunch with me, explaining 
 in the meantime the nature of the coming reception, 
 and stating that the palace of the Ras Oualdo Gorghis 
 had been put in order, and was ready for our occupancy. 
 It seemed that every detail respecting our welfare had 
 been considered by our imperial host, whose fore- 
 thought was such that if any lingering doubt remained 
 concerning the warmth of the welcome awaiting us it 
 was immediately laid aside. 
 
 I remitted my credentials to M. Chefneux, whose 
 unaffected simplicity of manner and unfailing kindness 
 manifested themselves then, as they did thereafter. 
 In an empire permeated with the spirit of intrigue it 
 was a satisfaction to be in the presence of a man 
 of affairs, accustomed to dealing with a business 
 proposition in a businesslike way. I told M. Chefneux 
 during our first interview how long we could remain 
 in the capital, and still meet our engagement to be at 
 the coast in January, and he at once assiired me, and 
 made good the assurance, that no unnecessary delay 
 would attend the negotiations. We had been warned 
 previously by Europeans that the Ethiopian Govern- 
 ment, even though animated by the best of intentions, 
 would detain us, on one pretext or another, for months, 
 and that we might as well resign ourselves to the 
 situation first as last. It is worth while noting that 
 our mission was accomplished in nine days, or in one 
 day less than the maximum period which we had 
 allowed ourselves for this purpose. 
 
 The luncheon at Shola concluded, there was another 
 furbishing of uniforms on the part of those who had 
 them, the civilian Commissioner and his staff putting 
 themselves into dress clothes. Some well-meaning
 
 I =
 
 A QUESTION OF CLOTHES 75 
 
 friends had previously suggested the effectiveness of 
 a self-assumed uniform as properly befitting this 
 occasion ; indeed, precedents were quoted. However, 
 the shadow of Benjamin Franklin loomed up before 
 us, and we adhered rigidly to the spirit and the letter 
 of the statute. Old Atto Joseph's advice at Djibouti 
 was good : * We prefer to see you as you are, rather 
 than trying to be like ourselves.' Indeed, after a 
 brief experience among Oriental people, fond of dis- 
 play in every form, I am fully convinced that the old 
 American doctrine in favour of dignity without osten- 
 tation can be made to respond to any public service 
 as satisfactorily, if not more so, than belated attempts 
 to imitate the gawdy externals to which our laws and 
 traditions are equally opposed. Indeed, I am not 
 sure that our shiny silk hats were not more effective 
 than any other article of costume worn that day. 
 They were certainly a novelty in Addis-Ababa. 
 During our sojourn at the capital I was told that 
 one of the provincial Kings had requested of a dis- 
 tinguished European traveller, as the most precious 
 gift which he could receive, the silk hat which the 
 latter had brought from Paris. The King wore the 
 hat thereafter on State occasions, but only after having 
 sent it to the Court jeweller, who surrounded the rim 
 with a row of emeralds. 
 
 We mounted our mules at two o'clock, and moved 
 slowly in the direction of the city. Before much 
 progress had been made, a large escort of cavalry and 
 foot soldiers could be discerned in the distance coming 
 towards us. When the two parties met, the Ded- 
 jazmatch, or General in command, dismounted, and 
 introductions followed. The escorting troops then 
 wheeled and moved on in advance, giving us an
 
 76 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 opportunity to inspect them at leisure. Dr. Pease, 
 who had been the year before at Cairo, remarked that 
 the gorgeous splendour of the procession which started 
 with the sacred carpet to Mecca was as nothing com- 
 pared to this. Our escorting column grew rapidly as 
 we approached the city, so that before we reached 
 the ravine, which seems to mark the entrance to the 
 capital proper, we were preceded by an army of 3,000 
 men. 
 
 They marched in most extraordinary confusion 
 surrounding their chiefs, suddenly performing some 
 evolution, sometimes walking their horses and some- 
 times galloping. One could readily comprehend that 
 the disorder was apparent and not real, that at the 
 word of command these men could be controlled 
 absolutely. No picture and no description can do 
 justice to the beauty of the spectacle. No two 
 costumes were alike. Saddles and bridles were 
 decorated with gold and silver fringe, bucklers of 
 burnished gold and silver were carried, and from the 
 shoulders of these warriors flew mantles of leopard 
 and lion skins, of silk, satin, and velvet. They 
 were picked men, riding well, their chammas flying 
 in the wind. Only the bright rifle barrels marked 
 the difference between these Ethiopians and the 
 army of their forbears who followed the Queen of 
 Sheba when she went down into Judea. We were 
 spellbound by this moving mass of colour, across 
 which floated the weird music of a band of shawm- 
 players, playing now as they had played when Jericho 
 fell. With the probable emotions of the Yankee at 
 the Court of King Arthur, we approached the throne 
 of the King of Kings. 
 
 Having entered the outskirts of the city, we now
 
 THE GUEBI 77 
 
 found ourselves travelling over one of the smooth and 
 well-built roads with which Menelik is introducing 
 modern civilization. In the city we found many miles 
 of these roads. The crowds became much denser as 
 we neared the palace. We climbed steadily higher, 
 as the Emperor's palace occupies the crest of a hill 
 and dominates the whole city. The Guebi, as the 
 group of imperial buildings is called, is surrounded 
 by a thatched stone wall, and everything about the 
 premises conveys an impression of order and thrift. 
 The palace and garden surprised us by their great 
 superiority to anything which we had previously seen 
 in the way of native construction. We passed through 
 a number of courtyards, then across a spacious 
 campus, in the background of which a troop of 
 artillerymen stood by the guns captured from the 
 Italians during the recent war, whence they saluted 
 us. A Swiss officer was in command of this troop, 
 who, after saluting in military fashion, removed his 
 cap and bowed to the ground. His men wore 
 uniforms of dark brown cotton cloth, and constitute 
 the only body of regularly European-trained troops 
 in the Ethiopian army. Upon reaching the wide 
 doorway of Indian design, we dismounted and prepared 
 to enter. 
 
 Once within, we discovered the aderach, or audience- 
 hall, to be a large, half church-like structure, the 
 roof of which was supported by pillars of timber, the 
 cathedral-like aspect of which was enhanced by the 
 presence of the throne at the opposite end. The floor 
 was completely carpeted with Oriental rugs, incon- 
 gruously mixed with the products of French and 
 German looms. Back of the lines formed by the 
 pillars on either side were massed hundreds of the
 
 78 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 chief people of Addis-Ababa, garbed like the soldiers 
 in many-coloured raiment, and waiting in respectful 
 silence. 
 
 In the farther end of the chamber sat the Emperor 
 upon his divan, or throne. The divan was placed upon 
 a platform extending entirely across the audience- 
 hall and under a canopy supported by four gilded 
 columns, the gift of the French Republic. On each 
 side of the throne stood two young Princes holding 
 guns, and back of it, and extending on both sides 
 until they merged into the crowds waiting in the 
 aisles, stood the Ministers, judges, and officers of the 
 Court. A subdued light softened the colours and 
 blended them harmoniously. Our small column, both 
 officers and men, advanced halfway across the wide 
 and empty space, where the officers bowed. In complete 
 silence the procession continued on to the elevation 
 upon which the throne stood. Here the party, other 
 than the Commissioner, halted, the latter stepping 
 forward to shake hands in the most friendly and 
 informal manner with the Emperor, who held out his 
 own hand and smiled cordially. M. Sourvis, the 
 official interpreter and private secretary of the 
 Emperor, facilitated the exchange of conversation. 
 His Majesty wore the costume familiar to us from 
 photographs. He sat in Oriental fashion, his legs 
 crossed and his arms supported on two cushions. He 
 wore a red velvet mantle, barely disclosing the snowy 
 white under-garments, and around his head a white 
 handkerchief was closely bound. He also wore 
 diamond eardrops, and several rings upon both hands. 
 His face was full of intelligence, and his manners those 
 of a gentleman as well as a King. Distinctly, the first 
 impression was agreeable.
 
 EECEIVED BY THE EMPEEOR 79 
 
 After a short formal address, the Commissioner pre- 
 sented his Commission from the President, which the 
 Emperor scrutinized with polite indifference, laying 
 it aside at once and replying to my address in a few 
 words. He spoke in the Amharic language, all the 
 other conversations and translations being in French. 
 He talked in a low conversational tone, and made no 
 pretence whatever of taking into his confidence the 
 large number of subjects listening on every hand. 
 The officers of the mission were then presented, 
 whereupon it became the Commissioner's pleasant 
 privilege, as the first public act consequent upon the 
 establishment of diplomatic relations between the two 
 countries, to present an invitation to the Emperor to 
 participate in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. 
 For this purpose, Governor Francis, President of the 
 Exposition Company, had had prepared a handsome 
 silver salver of large size, in the centre of which was 
 engraved a form of invitation. The Emperor was 
 evidently surprised and pleased, though not too much 
 so to accept the invitation immediately, saying that 
 the details could be discussed later on. Someone 
 had told me at DireVDaouah that the Emperor was 
 a man of quick decision, but I scarcely anticipated 
 such prompt action as this. It was characteristic 
 of him, however, as during subsequent inter- 
 views he was equally rapid in seizing a point and 
 determining his own line of action. I deeply 
 regretted, as did the Emperor, I think, that in the 
 end the time at his disposition made it materially 
 impossible to organize a satisfactory exhibit at St. 
 Louis. 
 
 The first formalities concluded, all the officers were 
 asked to take chairs, and to engage in as much
 
 80 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 friendly conversation as was possible with 2,000 spec- 
 tators looking on with undisguised curiosity. His 
 Majesty had that quality of responsiveness, however, 
 which contributes to a flow of talk in spite of the most 
 unfavourable surroundings, and I should not have 
 believed that we had remained in the imperial presence 
 forty minutes, if Dr. Pease had not insisted that it 
 was so. The Emperor told us of the arrangements 
 made for our comfort, and seemed especially solicitous 
 that we should lack for nothing under this head. We 
 separated with his promise to fix in writing an hour 
 for a first private audience on the next day to be sent 
 to our headquarters. The entire company assembled 
 on this occasion waited with true Oriental courtesy 
 until we had retired before dispersing. As we left 
 the aderach, the captured cannon roared out twenty- 
 one guns, and the band of the native musicians played 
 1 Hail, Columbia,' and then the ' Marseillaise.' They 
 played the 'Marseillaise' later on when they serenaded 
 me. I have an idea that it was considered particu- 
 larly appropriate, in view of my official residence in 
 Marseilles. 
 
 The same immense escort which had led us into 
 the city, headed by the same shawm-players, and 
 augmented by the trained artillerymen and the 
 Emperor's band, now led us down the mountainside, 
 along the French road, and then across rough and 
 stony tracks to the doorway of our temporary home. 
 The generals, judges, and colonels, who had been so 
 courteous to us all the afternoon, entered with the 
 officers, and together we inspected the quarters of the 
 Has Oualdo Gorghis. 
 
 The Ras Oualdo Gorghis, an uncle of the Emperor 
 and ruler of an outlying province, had erected this
 
 THE PALACE 81 
 
 palace for his own comfort, when he should have 
 occasion to visit the capital and pay homage to his 
 suzerain. An adobe wall, such as they build in 
 Mexico, surrounded the large park, which was sub- 
 divided into numerous compounds. In the central 
 compound stood the palace. The palace was probably 
 100 feet long by 80 feet wide, one story high, and 
 divided into two rooms. The external walls were 
 made of sun-dried bricks, such as we saw in process 
 of manufacture as we approached from the Guebi. 
 To produce these bricks, a round hole in the ground 
 is excavated and filled with clay and water. A number 
 of native labourers next enter it and tramp around 
 in the muddy mass, working in a small quantity 
 of hay, until it arrives at the proper consistency. 
 Thereupon the bricks are moulded by hand, and laid 
 out in the sun to dry. 
 
 Our palace was oval in shape. There were several 
 large doors and two windows in each room. The 
 windows had solid wooden shutters, but no glass. 
 Upon the floor were laid numerous Oriental rugs, and 
 in the front-room was a divan, or throne, a long table, 
 and many chairs. Portraits of the Emperor and of 
 the Patriarch of Alexandria were upon the walls. After 
 our tent life it all seemed quite sumptuous. The 
 generals, judges, and colonels were as amiable as 
 possible, and we became very good friends. Word 
 had gone forth, in that mysterious manner by which 
 news is carried in Africa, that this expedition had 
 come with disinterested motives to exchange trade 
 and to establish friendship. Frequently some of our 
 most humble acquaintances would interject some 
 comment about * an alliance of friendship,' with 
 favourable comment upon the absence from this 
 
 6
 
 82 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 alliance of any discussion of frontiers or protectorates. 
 I feel very sure that the real cordiality of the welcome 
 which was extended to us in many obvious ways 
 quite apart from the external official demonstrations- 
 arose from the popular conviction that American 
 friendship had no dangers, and would be a source of 
 moral strength to the nation. 
 
 The tired sailors and marines had a camp to make 
 after the departure of our visitors. The tents were 
 put up in the yard in front of the palace, and the flag 
 was raised over ' Camp Roosevelt.' A large number 
 of spectators had found their way into the grounds, 
 and the soldiers' labours were beguiled by the music 
 of the Emperor's band. A Russian political prospector, 
 Count Leontieff, had brought the instruments out from 
 Europe, and a European instructor had educated the 
 musicians up to their present state of efficiency. 
 
 We had a late dinner that evening, and then, by the 
 light of our ' fanous,' or candlesticks, read the papers 
 which the courier had brought up from the coast. 
 There we learned of the uprising in Panama, of the 
 imminence of war in the Orient, and the results of the 
 elections. 
 
 The officers made their sleeping quarters in the 
 second room of the palace, where, well pleased with 
 the welcome, and fatigued by the long and active day, 
 they found greatly-needed rest.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The strenuous life Language peculiarities Official society 
 and its charms. 
 
 THE second day at the capital was almost as strenuous 
 as the first. The Emperor had given me an appointment 
 for ten o'clock for the purpose of talking over business 
 matters informally. M. Chefneux came to escort me 
 to the Guebi, and half of the guard accompanied us. 
 The proprieties in Abyssinia require that every gentle- 
 man, native or foreign, shall never leave his quarters 
 without an armed escort. It is the most onerous con- 
 dition of life in the capital, but should certainly be 
 encouraged by the manufacturers of fire-arms. The 
 informal audience took place in a small chamber, 
 approached by a broad flight of stairs, enclosed on 
 three sides. A divan awaited its royal occupant, who 
 entered quietly and promptly, accompanied by a 
 number of doubtless important personages. The 
 latter disappeared at a given signal, when the details 
 of the proposed treaty were broached. 
 
 The Emperor was amazed when I handed him a 
 project of treaty written in his own language by Pro- 
 fessor Littmann, of Princeton University. Professor 
 Littmann is probably the only man in the United 
 States familiar with Amharic. At that time he had 
 not visited the country, but as this book goes to press, 
 
 83 62
 
 84 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 has just returned from a protracted scientific mission 
 to Axum. A few days later I was able to present the 
 Emperor with a copy of Professor Littmann's edition 
 of the Amharic chronicle of the reign of Theodorus. 
 The project of treaty served its purpose, as it enabled 
 the Emperor to grasp our intentions immediately, 
 without the intervention of an interpreter. He said 
 that it was remarkable that a man who had had 
 only the opportunities for study afforded by books 
 should have such a command of the language as 
 Professor Littmann. Eventually the treaty was recast 
 and couched in shorter terms, but the original draft 
 was perfectly clear and grammatically correct, except 
 as to one or two points which illustrate the limitations 
 of the Amharic language. For example, Professor 
 Littmann had translated literally the English phrase, 
 * This treaty shall remain in force.' The word ' force ' 
 as here used conveys in Amharic only the impression 
 of power. It is an exceedingly literal tongue. 
 
 In speaking of this Amharic draft of the treaty, 
 Professor Littmann had previously said to me : ' There 
 are many terms in the English original which are not 
 to be found in the Amharic dictionaries. I have tried 
 to circumscribe them as best I could. Now, it is likely 
 that some of them do not exist in the Amharic language 
 as used in Abyssinia itself, and that synonymous expres- 
 sions not exactly the same as given in my translation 
 are actually used. I would therefore advise you to 
 test whether the Amharic expressions are really under- 
 stood by the Abyssinians as the English prototypes.' 
 
 To return to my interview with the Emperor 
 Menelik. He knew of our war with Spain, he knew 
 something of our war with Great Britain, and he had 
 a realization, though vague, of our might and power.

 
 LANGUAGE PECULIARITIES 85 
 
 His thirst for information is phenomenal. Europeans 
 in the East, where newspapers are scarce and slow in 
 coming, fall back upon a very useful institution called 
 'Renter's.' Renter's is a news-gathering concern, 
 whose brief telegrams are sent out to those able to 
 afford this luxury. They come in typewritten sheets, 
 and are usually to be seen at the hotels and clubs of 
 the sea-coast cities. When a week's despatches have 
 accumulated, they are sent by the mail-boat from Aden 
 to Djibouti, whence they are reforwarded to Dire- 
 Daouah. Here all the English is put into French, 
 and the important facts are immediately telephoned to 
 Addis-Ababa, the longer despatches following by 
 courier, to be translated into Amharic for the delecta- 
 tion of the Emperor. 
 
 His Majesty speaks no language but Amharic, unless, 
 perhaps, one or two of the local dialects. He doubtless 
 recognises a number of the commonly-used French 
 expressions, and on the day when we left the city he 
 paid us a delicate compliment by saying in English, 
 ' How do ?' He has always at hand a very compe- 
 tent interpreter, who is also his private secretary, 
 M. Sourvis, a Greek gentleman who speaks French, 
 Spanish, Italian, and English. Our conversations were 
 invariably carried on in French as between the inter- 
 preter and myself ; indeed, French is the only foreign 
 tongue one hears much in Ethiopia. It was surprising 
 to find in a country where English political influ- 
 ence was so predominant so little of that language. 
 There are no English merchants in the empire, 
 although there are hundreds of Frenchmen scattered 
 throughout the country. Many of the natives have 
 a smattering of French, and servants seem to pick it 
 up more readily than they do English.
 
 86 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 Either business interviews with the Emperor him- 
 self or exchanges of views with his responsible 
 Ministers took place daily. In the meantime these 
 meetings afforded me several opportunities to talk 
 with His Majesty about many things. He had heard, 
 evidently, a good deal about the President, whose 
 personality interested him much. He knew him to 
 be a sportsman, and hoped that he would one day 
 visit Ethiopia. He wanted to know his age, and 
 how he had come to be President. He wanted to 
 know the length of our great rivers, the altitude of 
 our cities, and he seemed to classify the great variety 
 of facts which he has the habit of thus absorbing, 
 and to bring them out again whenever occasion 
 required. 
 
 I have read frequently that Menelik regards the 
 presence of European legations in Addis-Ababa as an 
 indirect acknowledgment of a sort of overlordship on 
 his part, just as the Chinese are presumed to regard 
 the presence of Ministers in the Flowery Kingdom 
 as a public recognition of their superior civilization. 
 This belief is quite unfair to the Ethiopian and to 
 the Emperor. It is doubtful whether any practical 
 statesman, certainly none labouring under the dis- 
 advantages of the Emperor Menelik, has any keener 
 appreciation of the relative forces of the earth. He 
 has heard of Japan, and in his own way is trying to 
 emulate that striking example. The new railroad, the 
 new highways, the bridges, the telephones all these 
 things he probably cares very little for in themselves, 
 but he realizes that nations must advance or they 
 must fall. He wishes to lift his people up to the 
 point of being able to comprehend and utilize these 
 modern improvements and inventions, and to turn
 
 OFFICIAL SOCIETY AND ITS CHAEMS 87 
 
 them to their own advantage, for the defence of their 
 country and their national liberty. 
 
 The entire American mission, in gala attire, devoted 
 that first Saturday afternoon to making a round of calls 
 which inclination and propriety required to be made. 
 First there were the Italian, Russian, French, and 
 British Legations to be visited ; then the Abouna, or 
 head of the Church ; Dedjazmatch Abata, the General 
 who had escorted us into the city ; M. Chefneux, the 
 Counsellor of State ; and M. Sourvis, the Emperor's 
 secretary. After making several of these calls, and 
 groping with difficulty homeward in the darkness of 
 the Abyssinian night, with no friendly moon to show 
 the way, we appreciated that Washington could no 
 longer be called the city of magnificent distances. 
 
 Addis-Ababa is a new city, not more than a dozen 
 years old. The former capital was the ancient city 
 of Gondar. It has a permanent population of some 
 50,000 souls, including probably 200 Europeans. 
 Aside from the Emperor's palace, the Legations and 
 the homes of a few Europeans, all the buildings are 
 decidedly primitive. They consist, as a rule, of a 
 round lattice-work frame, against which mud is thickly 
 plastered, and of thatched roofs. The Legations have 
 all been object-lessons of the greatest value to the 
 community, for the builders, instead of undertaking 
 to erect European structures, have produced glorified 
 forms of the native architecture. 
 
 In the absence of Captain Harrington, Major 
 Ciccodicola, who has been in Ethiopia since the 
 war of 1896, is dean of the diplomatic corps. His 
 Legation grounds are approached by an excellent 
 macadamized road, which extends far beyond his 
 official premises. The Italian colours float from a
 
 88 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 tall mast, and a native guard uniformed in Italian 
 cloaks and Piedmontese hats salute arriving visitors. 
 The house is large and comfortable, consisting of 
 a series of main buildings connected by galleries, 
 which we were not enabled to enter upon this occasion, 
 as the Minister was at the Russian Legation. 
 
 Better fortune awaited us at the home of the head 
 of the Church. The Abouna, or spiritual head of the 
 Church, is an Egyptian. He is always named by the 
 Patriarch of Alexandria, who receives a present of 
 12,000 thalers each time he nominates a new Abouna. 
 The Abouna is doomed to pass his remaining days in 
 Abyssinia, unless specially dispensed by the Emperor. 
 This has occurred in the case of the present eccle- 
 siastical chief, who was permitted by Menelik to 
 visit Russia a year or two ago. It appears to be the 
 policy of the Government to maintain the Church 
 in all its vigour, and to this end to contribute to the 
 prestige of the Abouna. The distinguished Church- 
 man was in his garden, under a red silk umbrella, 
 and wearing a large broad-brimmed hat, when we 
 called, but he returned to his reception-room to 
 receive us, seated upon a divan not unlike a throne. 
 He wore a purple silk robe, and was a man of dis- 
 tinguished face and figure. Turkish coffee was served, 
 and we spoke of many things, after which the garden 
 was visited, one of the finest in the country. I have 
 no doubt that the American seeds which we afterwards 
 sent to the Abouna have long since contributed to 
 his success as a horticulturist. 
 
 The Russian and British Legations are a long 
 distance from the city, and very attractive when once 
 reached. To arrive, however, is an experience quite 
 as exciting in its way as a chase after the hounds.
 
 OFFICIAL SOCIETY AND ITS CHAEMS 89 
 
 Diplomatic society had been celebrating the saint's day 
 of the Emperor of all the Russias when we arrived, 
 and though most of the guests had departed, we were 
 still in time to drain a glass to the Czar, and to 
 M. Leschine his Minister, whose personal cordiality 
 and hospitality left ineffaceable impressions upon our 
 minds. The Russian establishment in Addis- Ababa 
 is the most considerable of all the foreign undertakings. 
 Aside from the Legation proper, it includes a free 
 hospital, pharmacy, and staff of physicians and trained 
 nurses. The utility of this work to the native popula- 
 tion is very real, and to the few European residents 
 the mere knowledge of the existence of this splendid 
 institution is very reassuring. The influence obtained 
 by Russian diplomacy operating along medical lines 
 is necessarily immense. A small guard of Cossacks 
 gives the touch of the picturesque required to make 
 the Legation as interesting as it is useful. 
 
 Having encountered Mr. Clerk, the British Charge 
 d'Affaires, at the Russian Legation, our visit to his 
 official home was deferred until Christmas, which 
 was celebrated with all the traditional dishes, from 
 turkey and roast beef to plum-pudding. Minister 
 Harrington was absent, as I have before mentioned, 
 but was then on his way to his post. 
 
 We found our General, or Dedjazmatch, of the day 
 before in the midst of a camp of several thousand 
 small white tents, not far from the Russian Legation. 
 We paid him our compliments and hurried on, as 
 night was rapidly overtaking us, and we had still the 
 Legation of France and the homes of M. Chefneux 
 and M. Sourvis to visit. But, alas for good intentions, 
 we were too late. M. Roux, the French Charge' 
 d'Affaires, and the other gentlemen we had to meet
 
 90 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 on another day and under other circumstances. 
 M. Lagarde, the French Minister, was in France during 
 our sojourn in the capital, reaching Djibouti a day or 
 two after we had sailed. 
 
 What our diplomatic friends may have thought of 
 the American mission considered politically may have 
 been favourable or unfavourable ; in any event they 
 certainly contributed memorably to the personal 
 pleasure of our visit by a boundless hospitality which 
 ceased only when we went away, and after having 
 assembled us as guests under the flag of every nation 
 represented officially in Ethiopia. We ate caviare 
 and drank vodka with M. Leschine, macaroni and 
 Asti spumanti with Major Ciccodicola, foie gras and 
 champagne with M. Roux, and roast beef and port 
 with Mr. Clerk. It filled us with a new respect for 
 diplomacy as a profession and fine art to discover 
 how these gentlemen had surrounded themselves with 
 comfort and even luxury in that far-away spot. 
 
 We met much the same friends on all of these 
 festal occasions, and learned to like them better 
 from day to day. It is surprising how quickly new 
 friendships can form, and how soon the formality of 
 purely official acquaintance can break down, near the 
 equator, and 300 miles from a railroad. 
 
 I learned with sorrow in 1906, while revising these 
 pages, of the death of the Russian Minister, M. Leschine, 
 in his far-away post, where he served his country 
 honourably and well.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Ethiopian politics Bole of America, Italy, France, Great Britain, 
 and Bussia The Ambassadors of civilization and their rail- 
 road: 
 
 THE role of the various Legations in Addis-Ababa is 
 purely political. The American mission was the only 
 one based upon purely commercial considerations which 
 Menelik had received up to the date of our arrival. 
 Of course, numerous private and semi-official missions 
 have visited him, with certain specific objects in view ; 
 but America was the first country to establish diplo- 
 matic relations for the avowed purpose of protecting 
 and extending commerce, and without a political issue 
 of any character to discuss. It will be said, perhaps, 
 that the ultimate aim of all the European Powers is to 
 promote commerce, and that it is only for the purpose 
 of promoting commerce that colonies are established 
 and official relations maintained. This may be 
 perfectly true in principle, but in practice, at least, 
 the matter of frontiers, balance of power, and kindred 
 questions, are so far in the foreground that the 
 ultimate commercial ambition is entirely overshadowed. 
 The purposes and interests of the United States in 
 Ethiopia are so patent without definition that they 
 may be dismissed with a few words. 
 
 Waiving all regard for the probably important 
 
 91
 
 92 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 future of Ethiopia as a consuming nation, we had 
 enjoyed for years a trade in certain of our goods, 
 notably cottons, more valuable than any other import 
 trade in the empire. To reach these customers of 
 ours, our merchandise had to cross either British, 
 French, or Italian soil. The frequently abused 
 missionary had gone into Africa many years before 
 present political conditions prevailed, and had in- 
 troduced some of our honest American cotton goods 
 with the success above stated. This was a trade in 
 which no American houses were directly engaged, 
 but the benefits thereof were no less directly enjoyed 
 by the American farmers and working men. Then 
 came the partition of Africa by the European Powers 
 into spheres of influence, the creation of Custom- 
 houses, and all those administrative measures whereby 
 trade is made to follow the flag. The French took 
 hold of Madagascar, and as abruptly as Napoleon 
 announced that the House of Braganza no longer 
 reigned in Europe, our long-enjoyed cotton trade 
 ceased to be. In the Congo Free State, where 
 cotton sheetings are still known as ' American!,' 
 the merchandise was now coining in fact from Bel- 
 gium. Then our British friends, whose shibboleth 
 is Free Trade, had in fact extended special privi- 
 leges to their own manufactures in many of their 
 colonies, creating conditions which made American 
 transactions difficult of accomplishment. The methods 
 by which this had been done were no doubt perfectly 
 legitimate, but none the less effectual for all that. 
 There remained to our credit, however, in spite of the 
 unfavourable conditions which had gradually been 
 created elsewhere, the coveted export business in 
 cottons, known as the ' Red Sea trade.' The greater
 
 ETHIOPIAN POLITICS 93 
 
 part of this was in Abyssinia, where it amounted to a 
 monopoly. 
 
 Our business in Abyssinia had grown up under 
 shadowy political arrangements, when the Abyssinians 
 had claimed an outlet upon the sea, and which the 
 Egyptians had contested with them by force of arms. 
 In our time the Abyssinians had been forced back, 
 land-locked like Switzerland, with Italy, France, and 
 England standing guard upon the Red Sea. Our 
 trade filtered across the Gulf of Aden, and thence by 
 caravan across British Somaliland and into Ethiopia. 
 Then came the active occupation of the French posses- 
 sion by the keen-witted Gaul, the creation of the 
 port of Djibouti, and the building up of the railroad 
 from that point into Ethiopia. The line was put into 
 operation during the summer of 1903. Plainly, the 
 camel could not compete as a common carrier with the 
 French locomotive. It seemed perfectly well assured 
 that the trade route to Abyssinia over British soil from 
 Aden to Zeilah, and thence to Harrar, must give way 
 ultimately to the more advantageous one from Djibouti 
 into the interior. No spirit of prophecy seemed 
 necessary to perceive that the forces now at work for 
 the development of Ethiopia were, at least, not being 
 created for the furtherance of American commercial 
 ambition. It seemed a perfectly obvious business 
 proposition that the United States Government should 
 look into this field, where we had an actual interest of 
 no mean importance, and defend it by the simple 
 process of procuring a treaty which should guarantee 
 to our people equal treatment in respect to trade 
 conditions. We wanted to get more trade if we could, 
 but by all means, and with no matter how much 
 reasonable effort, to retain for ourselves such trade as
 
 94 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 we had. We had had no official relations with the 
 empire of Ethiopia ; it remained the one spot upon the 
 globe where a powerful government exercised authority 
 over some millions of subjects recognised as free and 
 independent, and had absolutely no point of contact 
 with our own. It is difficult to find any large centre 
 of international trade in these times where the American 
 Government has not at least a consular agent to whom 
 we may look for assistance and information. It was 
 an incongruous and irregular condition, and one which 
 required correction. To investigate and report upon 
 the trade possibilities of Ethiopia, to safeguard our 
 existing interest by the negotiation of a commercial 
 treaty these were the motives which had prompted 
 the organization of the American mission, and concern- 
 ing our policy we had nothing more to disclose, and 
 nothing whatever to conceal. 
 
 The Italians have been represented in one way and 
 another in Ethiopia for many years. The early history 
 of Italian-Abyssinian diplomacy is very complicated 
 reading. War broke out between the two Powers in 
 1896, and after the disaster to Italian arms, Major, 
 then Captain, Ciccodicola was entrusted with the 
 delicate and difficult mission of recreating Italian 
 prestige. No one who has visited Ethiopia has failed 
 to note the success attending Major Ciccodicola's 
 efforts. At the time of our visit he was directing the 
 building of a telegraph line between Addis-Ababa and 
 Massowah, the capital of the Italian coast colony. 
 We had passed several immense camel trains, bringing 
 up bridge trusses and other steel building material 
 forwarded from Milan these are among the tangible 
 evidences of the vigorous efforts of the Italian Minister 
 to worthily represent his country. He is a perfect
 
 THE FEENCH LEGATION 95 
 
 guide-book upon Ethiopia, and has offered many 
 valuable suggestions bearing upon its present develop- 
 ment. Major Ciccodicola told me of his attempt to 
 replace American cottons with Italian sheetings. ' But 
 while your people grow nearly all the world's cotton,' 
 said he, ' how can we Italians expect to force you out ?' 
 
 The French Legation has been directed for many 
 years by M. Le"on Lagarde, the first Governor of French 
 Somaliland, and as such familiar with every political 
 development in North -East Africa during the last 
 twenty years. The French material interest in 
 Ethiopia is more apparent than that of any other 
 nation, and it concerns mainly at the present time the 
 completion and operation of the railroad from the 
 coast. Other international claims and pretences are 
 more or less vague and remote ; but the very patent 
 fact is that, against all political opposition, financial 
 difficulties, and the passive resistance of the lowland 
 tribes, the railroad exists, and crosses French territory 
 into Abyssinia. It is equally the fact that French 
 business men are scattered throughout the Empire to 
 a considerable extent. The growth of Djibouti as a 
 port of transit depends directly upon the growth and 
 development of Ethiopia. It is not necessary to 
 inquire why the French settled themselves upon the 
 Red Sea coast in order to perceive why they are 
 very greatly concerned with the progress of Ethiopia 
 to-day. 
 
 The British interests are in charge of Sir John L. 
 Harrington, a young man, who has come up from the 
 lower grades of administrative work in East Africa, 
 notably as the agent of his Government in British 
 Somaliland. Two-thirds of the Ethiopian frontier 
 border upon British territory or Egyptian territory,
 
 96 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 and it is easy to comprehend how these long 
 imaginary lines may give rise to complicated ques- 
 tions requiring a strong hand and a steady head. 
 British commercial interest in Ethiopia has not yet 
 manifested itself strikingly, except in the form of 
 considerable importations from British India, and in 
 the presence in the country of numerous Indian 
 traders, who are among the most active and successful 
 business men of the empire. 
 
 We come now to the most interesting mission in 
 Ethiopia, because it is the least comprehensible by 
 the ordinary rules of interest which govern inter- 
 national relations. Our Russian friends have no 
 apparent stake in Ethiopia or at least that which 
 modern society regards as such. There are no 
 Russians in Ethiopia other than official Russians. 
 There is no Russian trade in the country, and there 
 are no Russian frontiers nearer than Turkestan. Yet 
 the Russian mission presided over by the accom- 
 plished M. Leschine, the Minister, included a hospital 
 and dispensary, together with doctors, nurses, 
 and everything else, all of which Ethiopia enjoys 
 without money and without price. It is said that 
 some very strong sympathy exists between the Russian 
 and the Ethiopian Churches. The Abouna was per- 
 mitted to appear in the Russian Church as an ecclesi- 
 astic, and there is no doubt an analogy, if not a kin- 
 ship, between the two religions. I fear that Europeans 
 are somewhat sceptical, however, when it comes to 
 regarding the religious bond as one which unites 
 these two peoples diplomatically. If Ethiopia 
 possessed a coast-line, it would be exceedingly easy 
 to assume that Russia hoped sooner or later to obtain 
 a Red Sea port ; but in the actual state of affairs no
 
 EUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC EFFORT 97 
 
 such ambition can be entertained, except by the some- 
 what fanciful method of exchanging Russian influence 
 in Ethiopia with some interested European Power in 
 a position to give to the Czar's Government the pre- 
 sumably coveted Red Sea outlet. The real inwardness 
 of Russian diplomatic effort in Ethiopia is a never- 
 ending source of conversation in the empire, and 
 many ingenious theories are spun regarding it, one 
 of which is as valuable as another. Probably in what 
 Pascal calls ' the research of the intention ' the amateur 
 in politics misses the true cause, in order to spin out 
 theories which only the next forty years, or perhaps 
 century, can demonstrate. Let us be reasonable, then, 
 and assume that, Ethiopia being a Christian Power, 
 now important, and likely to become more important, 
 and ruled by wise men, it is a safe policy for Russia, 
 as for any other great nation, both as a measure of 
 prudence and a measure of courtesy, to maintain 
 cordial relations with this Power. May not the 
 mysteries of diplomacy, here as elsewhere, consist 
 largely in the fact that there are no mysteries ? 
 
 There are two other diplomats in Ethiopia, Ministers, 
 not of European Powers, but of the greatest power 
 upon the earth modern civilization. These two 
 Ministers are also official counsellors of the Emperor 
 himself, and without some account of them no report 
 concerning Ethiopia would be complete. These two 
 men are Alfred Ilg and Le'on Chefneux. The first 
 is a Swiss and the second a Frenchman. Both have 
 lived many years in the country, both have had faith 
 in Menelik and sympathy with his people. M. Ilg 
 I knew slightly from an acquaintance formed in 
 France, and I regretted his absence on the occasion 
 of our visit. He came into the country about 1877, 
 
 7
 
 98 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 with two of his compatriots, having just left the 
 famous polytechnical school of Zurich. The Emperor 
 had sent for three competent men through a Swiss 
 correspondent at Aden. At that time the Ethiopians 
 were inclined to believe that Western superiority in 
 the arts and trades resulted from certain formulae or 
 inexplicable cleverness rather than in consequence of 
 patient scientific effort. M. Hg was commanded to 
 make His Majesty a pair of shoes. A wise man in his 
 generation, and a Swiss, this able gentleman took apart 
 an old pair of shoes for purposes of study, and suc- 
 ceeded in gratifying the Emperor's wish. The story 
 goes that the Emperor thereupon desired to know if a 
 rifle could be made from the resources of the country 
 then and there. 
 
 ' What is the use of trying ?' replied M. Ilg. ' It 
 would cost far more than a fine European rifle, and 
 would be necessarily crude.' 
 
 The curiosity of the Emperor was persistent, and 
 M. Ilg made the rifle. These were the awakenings of 
 Menelik to an adequate conception of modern pro- 
 gress. With his extraordinary assimilative powers, he 
 absorbed from the graduate of Zurich the education 
 which has stood him in good stead in handling the 
 ship of State. M. Ilg acquired his status as adviser 
 and Minister, not alone by intelligence and zeal, but 
 by an affectionate and appreciative loyalty to his 
 chief. 
 
 M. Chefneux came into the country about the same 
 time as M. Ilg. A French merchant, having been 
 granted a concession for the agricultural exploitation 
 of the Hawash valley, advertised for men capable of 
 carrying on the enterprise. The company went to 
 pieces before M. Chefneux, then a very young man,
 
 THE EAILEOAD 99 
 
 had gotten farther than Obock on the coast. About 
 this time another Frenchman, Paul Soleillet, sent 
 down a cargo of arms, and finding young Chefneux 
 upon the point of penetrating the country, proposed 
 that he take a sample of the rifles to Menelik, then 
 only the King of Choa. M. Chefneux took four rifles, 
 armed as many natives, travelled by night and hid 
 by day, and thus crossed the dangerous coast belt. 
 Menelik agreed to purchase the cargo, and sent a 
 caravan of ivory to the coast to pay for the shipment. 
 Soleillet's principals thereupon refused to make 
 delivery, and young Chefneux went on to Paris, 
 where he procured from other sources the arms 
 required. From that beginning he remained at the 
 elbow of the Emperor, making common cause with 
 M. Ilg for the aggrandizement of the Emperor's power 
 and the development of his people. 
 
 An interregnum of Italian influence followed the 
 first ten years of M. Chefneux's friendship. There- 
 after both MM. Chefneux and Ilg, who had lost 
 ground, were recalled to explain the meaning of the 
 political conditions then existing. When the breach 
 with Italy occurred, these two men, loyal to their 
 adopted country, contributed immensely to the 
 Emperor's fortunes, and have ever since remained 
 his tried and true friends. 
 
 Next to the war with Italy, the most important 
 modern event in Abyssinian history is the construction 
 of the railroad from Djibouti to Dir^-Daouah. It is the 
 conception of both MM. Ilg and Chefneux. It was in- 
 evitable that two such intensely practical men should 
 regard the connection of the inaccessible empire 
 with the outer world as necessary, not only as an 
 economical venture abundantly justified by the hidden 
 
 72
 
 100 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 riches of Ethiopia, but as essential to the political 
 salvation of the country, which must advance or 
 which must fall, as have fallen all other empires whose 
 rulers were unable to justify their lease of power. 
 The Emperor followed them in their reasoning, and 
 granted a concession for a period of ninety-nine years, 
 commencing from the date of the first exploitation. 
 The essential provision of the concession is that it 
 carries with it the right to collect an ad valorem duty 
 of 10 per cent, upon all merchandise entering or 
 leaving the country, this tax to be reduced one-half 
 whenever the net profits of the company shall amount 
 to 2,500,000 francs, and to cease to exist when they 
 attain 3,000,000 francs. It is further provided that 
 when the company's net profits exceed 3,000,000 
 francs annually, the surplus above shall be divided 
 between the company and the Ethiopian Government. 
 
 The railroad projectors met with every conceivable 
 embarrassment in the construction of the first section 
 of the line from Djibouti to Dire-Daouah. Indifference 
 in France for the railroad had to traverse the French 
 colony active opposition from the savage Issas of 
 the desert, and chronic need of funds these were 
 the trials which would have discouraged any men less 
 resolutely determined than Leon Chefneux and Alfred 
 Hg. Eventually, when private capital seemed to 
 hesitate, it became necessary for the French Govern- 
 ment to guarantee the bonds of the company. 
 
 The railroad was opened on January 1, 1903, from 
 Djibouti to Dire-Daouah, a distance of 310 kilometres. 
 The line is built upon a 1-metre gauge, with bridges 
 and viaducts of iron and steel, and rolling-stock equal 
 to that employed on European railroads of a secondary 
 order, and the traffic is said to be increasing from
 
 HIGH FEEIGHT BATES 101 
 
 month to month. The company made what American 
 railway managers would regard as a capital error 
 in establishing at first exceedingly high freight rates. 
 In a country where commerce, except in a very 
 limited sense, does not exist, and where the ultimate 
 success of the railroad as a business proposition must 
 depend upon the creation of a non-existent trade, it 
 was very necessary that the freight rates should be 
 put down to a low level. Instead of so doing, the 
 traffic managers established tariffs not seriously lower 
 than those for which freight could be transported by 
 camel. Under these circumstances, the up-country 
 merchants found little encouragement, and the volume 
 of business failed to increase in the .proportions 
 desired. Better counsels have prevailed, and even 
 while the Americans were in Ethiopia the then pre- 
 vailing traffic tariffs were materially modified, with 
 beneficial results, and it is altogether probable that 
 this enlightened policy will be put into effect to a still 
 more marked degree as time goes on. 
 
 It will require three or four years to connect Addis- 
 Ababa with the line already built, a distance of prob- 
 ably 300 miles. When this great enterprise is accom- 
 plished, Ethiopia will be in a position to convert her 
 vast treasures of natural wealth into money, and to 
 join her sister trading nations of the world. Until 
 the completion of this enterprise she must remain 
 interesting commercially only in anticipation, and 
 politically as a remarkable historical fact. When the 
 railroad is completed, we may reasonably expect to 
 see the quickening to modern methods of a population 
 of first-rate intelligence, intrinsically capable of meeting 
 the competition of the Western world. 
 
 I once suggested to the Emperor that he send
 
 102 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 some of his young men to our American schools and 
 colleges. 
 
 * Yes, that will come,' said he ; ' our young men 
 must be educated. We have much to do. We are a 
 very primitive people.' 
 
 The remark was not without its significance. It 
 showed a desire to see education spread, and it showed 
 an entire absence of that self-sufficiency attributed 
 by some writers to the Abyssinian nation. A recent 
 English writer upon Abyssinia has said, speaking of 
 their attributed immodesty : * It is no doubt remark- 
 able that a nation of niggers possessing three hundred 
 thousand rifles should take a tone different from that 
 of niggers who are not permitted to possess any.' 
 This is a very harsh and unsympathetic way of dis- 
 missing a great people, but it reflects the spirit in 
 which a large proportion of recent travellers have 
 visited the country. The word ' nigger,' in its English 
 sense, is bereft of that half-affectionate swing which 
 it acquires in America, and it is meant to stamp with 
 the seal of contempt the person to whom it is applied. 
 In the case of the writer quoted, it showed an unwil- 
 lingness to understand, and an inability to sympathize 
 with, a race of men who have asked nothing of the 
 world save to be left alone with their independence 
 and their old civilization. 
 
 Though this may be the national aspiration, it has 
 been fully recognised, I think, that further enlighten- 
 ment is necessary to a perpetuation of that indepen- 
 dence. If Menelik lives, he will very probably 
 stimulate his young men to take an active interest 
 in education, and to fit themselves for carrying on the 
 work which he has begun. To-day the great obstacle 
 to the education of Ethiopian youths in foreign col-
 
 LACK OF EDUCATION 103 
 
 leges is the almost complete lack of proper rudi- 
 mentary training. Exceedingly few persons are able 
 to read or write. The schools seem unable to get 
 beyond instruction in the Gospels, and to find proper 
 material for an intellectual uplifting it will be 
 necessary for students to take long preliminary courses 
 in the most elementary studies. 
 
 'It will come,' said M. Chefneux, 'but it will come 
 slowly.'
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 The Ethiopian problem. 
 
 THE concession under which the railroad from Djibouti 
 to DireVDaouah has been built was obtained when to 
 the world at large Ethiopia was scarcely more than a 
 mildly interesting geographical fact. It was dated 
 March 9, 1894, prior to the disaster to Italian arms, 
 prior to the victory of Kitchener at Omdurman, and 
 before there was any general realization of the 
 strategic or economic importance of the empire. 
 The concession was granted to Alfred Dg, who was 
 authorized to organize a company under the name 
 of the Imperial Railway Company of Ethiopia. It was 
 provided that the system of railways in view should 
 consist of three sections : The first from Djibouti to 
 Harrar, the second from Harrar to Entoto, the third 
 from Entoto to the White Nile. The first section is 
 now built, and is in operation. It extends from 
 Djibouti to Dir^-Daouah, however, a new town one 
 day's journey distant from Harrar. It is of capital 
 importance to remember that the contract as signed, 
 while it gave the concessionnaires the ultimate right 
 to build and exploit the three lines described, stated 
 in explicit terms that the immediate right to build 
 extended only to the line from Djibouti to Harrar, and 
 
 104
 
 THE ETHIOPIAN PKOBLEM 105 
 
 added that 'no other company would be authorized 
 to construct competing lines.' It was clearly the 
 intention of the Emperor to have the first section, 
 extending from the sea across French Somaliland, 
 built and in operation before he should lay down the 
 conditions for the completion of the other lines across 
 his own territory. These facts have enabled rival 
 interests to prevent the extension of the existing lines 
 beyond Dire'-Daouah, and have given rise to what is 
 called the Abyssinian problem. The original conces- 
 sion has been confirmed several times, but for 
 prudential reasons the Emperor has thus far failed 
 to signify the conditions under which construction 
 might proceed, and if from a legal point of view he 
 may be regarded as free to establish these conditions, 
 the actual cause of delay is the inability of the 
 European Powers represented at Addis-Ababa to agree 
 upon a practical plan of procedure. 
 
 If Messrs. Ilg and Chefneux had been in control of 
 abundant means from the inception of the enterprise, 
 it is altogether probable that their complete plans 
 would have been carried out several years ago, to the 
 great material advantage of the territory involved. 
 Their fate has been that of many other strong-willed 
 men, balked, but not defeated, by the timidity of 
 others. They attacked their problem fearlessly ; they 
 found money, and they began to build across the 
 desert long before diplomatic circles thought or 
 cared about the subject. In fact, so indifferent were 
 Governments, and particularly the French Government, 
 which had most at stake, that when the . original 
 capital controlled by Messrs. Hg and Chefneux had 
 been absorbed, and when French capital hesitated, a 
 British group, known as the International Ethiopian
 
 106 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 Railway Trust and Construction Company, took 
 shares and debentures to such an extent that it was 
 feared for a time that control would pass by simple 
 commercial process from French to British hands. 
 Probably there would have been no great objection 
 in France to such a transfer of interest, but for the 
 underlying fear that, with French stockholders in the 
 minority, the Anglicized company would build a 
 short connecting - line from Dire'-Daouah to Zeilah 
 or Berbera in British Somaliland, thereby developing 
 either of those ports at the expense of Djibouti. To 
 defeat any such possibility, a campaign in the French 
 newspapers and before French Chambers of Com- 
 merce followed, with the immediate object of securing 
 from the French Treasury the financial support 
 necessary to prevent the passing of control to British 
 financiers. The pressure thus brought to bear effected 
 the desired end. I think it is rather conceded now 
 that the exigency which induced prompt action in 
 France resulted in a convention which failed to take 
 into consideration the point of view of the Emperor 
 of Ethiopia. The convention referred to was signed 
 on February 6, 1902, by officers of the Ethiopian 
 Railway Company and the French colonial officers of 
 the Somali coast. The contract provides that 'the 
 Protectorate of the French Somaliland accords to the 
 Imperial Ethiopian Railway Company a subvention of 
 500,000 francs, payable annually during fifty years 
 from July 1, 1902. This subvention will be devoted 
 exclusively to the guarantee of the loans to be obtained 
 by the company for the payment of expenses limited by 
 Article X. of the present convention. In consequence, 
 the company constitutes as a gage to future creditors 
 or lenders to assure payment of interest and sinking
 
 THE ETHIOPIAN PEOBLEM 107 
 
 fund the annual credits acquired by the company in 
 virtue of the present convention.' 
 
 The financial assistance thus sought and obtained 
 was granted in return for certain enumerated rights, 
 which the railroad company had no power to confer, 
 and which may be summarized thus : 
 
 Article V., paragraph 8, provides that neither the 
 temporary nor definite cession of all or part of the 
 lines conceded to the company between Djibouti and 
 the Hawash valley, either by sale, lease, or otherwise, 
 can take place except with the consent of the French 
 Ministers for the Colonies and Foreign Affairs and 
 Finance. 
 
 Article VI., paragraph 2, provides that no branch lines 
 connecting with the main system between Djibouti 
 and the Hawash valley may be constructed except 
 with the authorization of the Ministers for the Colonies 
 and Foreign Affairs. This provision is intended to 
 prevent any possible connection with Zeilah or 
 Berbera, and to guarantee that all Abyssinian com- 
 merce shall be drained through Djibouti. 
 
 Article IX., paragraph 3, provides that the French 
 Legation in Ethiopia shall have control of measures 
 looking to security and good order upon the lines 
 exploited in Ethiopian territory. 
 
 Article XIV., paragraph 2, provides that upon the 
 expiration of the concessionary period of ninety-nine 
 years the French colony shall become automatically 
 proprietor of the lines from Djibouti to Dire"-Daouah, 
 a considerable portion of which is on Ethiopian soil. 
 
 Article XV., paragraph 1, provides that after Janu- 
 ary 1, 1920, the French colony may acquire the conces- 
 sion covering lines from Djibouti to the Hawash valley. 
 
 Article XVI., paragraph 3, provides that upon the ex-
 
 108 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 piration of the concession, the lines from Djibouti to 
 the Hawash valley shall be confiscated. 
 
 The inability of the railway company to confer these 
 privileges was tacitly recognised by Article XVIII., 
 which declares that the paragraphs above shall be 
 applicable ' under reserve as to an understanding 
 between the French and Ethiopian Governments for 
 the lines situated beyond French territory.' As before 
 stated, the first branch of the railroad, from Djibouti 
 to DireVDaouah, is in operation to-day, and it is in 
 operation because of the timely help of the French 
 Government, and the company's concession or exclu- 
 sive right to build the other branches is still perfectly 
 valid. In the meantime the existing line, while a 
 great convenience, is of comparatively little commercial 
 importance, and this condition must persist until 
 extensions are constructed into the rich producing 
 regions of Abyssinia. From the point of view of the 
 Ethiopian Government it is undesirable to permit the 
 extension of the existing line by the Imperial Railway 
 Company of Ethiopia, while that company is bound 
 down by a contract whereby a foreign Power seeks 
 to obtain contingent rights in a large part of the 
 empire, and absolute control of the means of transpor- 
 tation. Therefore the Emperor has steadfastly refused 
 to formulate the limitation clauses regarding the 
 building of the additional lines, or to come to the 
 understanding referred to in Article XVIII. above, 
 and in this position is sustained by other Powers with 
 political interests at stake. 
 
 Efforts have been made, and probably are now 
 being made, to secure from France a waiver of the 
 exclusive rights thus far acquired, and the substitution 
 of some form of international control, but so far without
 
 THE ETHIOPIAN PEOBLEM 109 
 
 definite results. In the meantime the Emperor would 
 very much like to see the railroad built. The Colonial 
 Dispatch of May 18, 1905, in a report which I fully 
 credit, declares that on April 11, 1905, the Emperor 
 summoned the foreign representatives and railroad 
 concessionnaires, to whom he complained that since 
 three years work had ceased on the railroad, and that 
 he could obtain no proposal reconciling international 
 interests. He then threatened to put an end to the 
 conflict by undertaking to construct the lines across 
 the empire himself, ' without asking or accepting 
 assistance from anyone.' The Emperor also said at 
 this meeting that he was obliged to express his regrets 
 at the continued existence of a convention into which 
 the French company had entered in 1902 with the 
 French Government, and in which his own supremacy 
 was threatened. He had always looked upon the 
 construction of the railroad as a commercial enterprise, 
 and never expected it to become a political instrument 
 in foreign hands. He spoke of his astonishment and 
 displeasure when this agreement was submitted to 
 him, and added that he had charged the French 
 Minister to inform his Government that he disproved 
 of this convention. 
 
 The accuracy of the foregoing is largely confirmed in 
 a report to the French Chamber of Deputies published 
 in Annexe No. 2,661 of Parliamentary Documents for 
 1906, in which the following statements are made : 
 
 'After three years of effort the railroad company 
 saw itself obliged to sell a large portion of shares 
 upon the London market, and at the same time 
 engaged a part of its bonds to guarantee loans 
 proffered by British houses. Immediately the British 
 holders syndicated themselves with the intention of
 
 110 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 substituting themselves for the French company, and 
 did not hesitate to avow that they pursued above all 
 a political end. The President of the Trust, Lord 
 Chesterfield, declared without subterfuge, to a general 
 assembly, that his idea was to replace the French 
 management by a British management, as this would 
 result in the ruin of our port of Djibouti, and to the 
 advantage of the neighbouring port of Berbera, situated 
 in British Somaliland. Opinion in France becoming 
 alarmed by this prospect, the public powers com- 
 menced to preoccupy themselves with the situation. 
 Therefore, Parliament voted in February 1, 1902, 
 a convention by which the Somaliland Protectorate 
 was authorized to provide the railway company with 
 a subvention of 500,000 francs during twenty-five 
 years, and on its side the railway company undertook 
 to disinterest foreign creditors, and to conform to 
 certain prescribed conditions in the contract that is 
 to say, effective control by the State, right of pre- 
 emption on the part of the French Government in 
 case of cession or liquidation, etc. Unhappily, certain 
 articles of the convention voted by Parliament aroused 
 the suspicion of the Ethiopians. While a definite 
 solution is being awaited, the railway company, which 
 is in a precarious condition, continues to provide itself 
 on the British markets, and the lenders increase their 
 exigencies in proportion as the amount of their credits 
 advances. Thus they have reached the point of 
 dictating their will to the French group, and demand of 
 the French society itself the internationalization of the 
 railroad. 
 
 * The period here named should read fifty years, according to 
 the text of the official convention signed by the French Govern- 
 ment. R P. S.
 
 THE ETHIOPIAN PEOBLEM 111 
 
 * The railroad cannot remain French except by an 
 accord with our rivals, to whom it should be easy for 
 us to offer compensations, because they also possess 
 in Ethiopia interests which we might contest. England 
 desires to delimit the frontiers on the north-west, 
 west, and south, and also desires the acquisition of a 
 passage upon the high Ethiopian plateau for the 
 railroad from the Cape to Cairo, which under the 
 authorization of 1902 would follow the marshy low- 
 lands. Italy desires to lose nothing of her economic 
 advantages in the region, and should act willingly in 
 accord with us when certain that we will respect 
 those interests. Therefore there is nothing to prevent 
 an understanding with our rivals, and even that we 
 should give them a place in the management of the 
 railroad provided that the administrative council 
 of the company contains a French majority/ 
 
 In spite of the cheerful optimism of this report, the 
 internationalization and the desired understanding 
 with the Emperor's Government have not been 
 realized as I revise these lines in May, 1906. The 
 Emperor has, on the other hand, taken a first step in 
 execution of his threat to build the line himself if the 
 international agreement could not be brought about, 
 as I have been advised by several correspondents in 
 Ethiopia that a large number of workmen are now 
 being employed, and that the grading has been com- 
 pleted for a considerable distance from Addis-Ababa, 
 the work proceeding towards Dird-Daouah. The 
 Emperor himself is providing the labourers, and the 
 work is proceeding under the general direction of the 
 railroad company, presumably with the expectation 
 that an eventual settlement will be had, which will 
 enable that company to take over the portion of the
 
 112 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 line for which the Emperor is now furnishing the 
 funds. 
 
 Certainly every well-wisher of Ethiopia must hope 
 that this misunderstanding, which is retarding material 
 progress, will soon be cleared up, and that the line 
 may be completed under conditions which will safe- 
 guard the independence of the Ethiopians themselves, 
 with reasonable recognition of the efforts and sacrifices 
 of the Europeans who have already devoted their time 
 and their money to this great enterprise.* 
 
 * In July, 1906, the press despatches announced an accord 
 between France, Italy, and Great Britain as imminent, adding 
 that no convention would be signed, however, until it could be 
 referred to the Emperor Menelik for his approval.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 The Emperor invites 3,000 friends to banquet with us The 
 Ethiopian cuisine Souvenirs for His Majesty The Emperor 
 returns our call Testing Abyssinian sang-froid The suc- 
 cession. 
 
 BEING now launched into the business for which we 
 had come, and introduced to Ethiopian diplomatic 
 and local society, the Emperor proposed a luncheon 
 in our honour on Sunday morning. We had heard of 
 these Pantagruelesque banquets, and we had regretted 
 to learn, shortly before reaching the capital, that none 
 would probably take place during our visit, since 
 the Emperor, as head of the Church, had entered 
 upon the fasting period preceding Christmas. Every 
 foreigner who visits the country hears of these feasts, 
 and desires to be present at one, as the culminating 
 social experience of his stay. The Negus, doubtless 
 anticipating this wish, very considerately determined 
 to suspend the fast, in order to give us this pleasure 
 before our departure. 
 
 M. Chefneux told us to be ready to leave for the 
 Guebi at nine o'clock, and the American party, 
 including officers, marines, sailors, and servants, 
 excluding only a sufficient number to look after our 
 goods and chattels, filed out of the palace of the Ras 
 Oualdo Gorghis at about that hour. We foregathered 
 in the small audience-hall of the Guebi, where had 
 
 113 8
 
 114 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 also assembled the gentlemen of the diplomatic corps, 
 resplendent in their most brilliant raiment. Here 
 again we waited. Various generals and colonels, 
 masters of the household, the ' Mouth of the King of 
 Kings,' and smaller fry, joined the party, and there 
 was a spirit of good-humour and prevalence of small 
 talk which spoke well for the Ethiopian faculty of 
 relieving a State function of unnecessary stiffness. 
 Finally, a procession was formed, and we traversed 
 numerous courts into the same aderach, or large hall, 
 where our first reception had taken place some days 
 before. We entered through a side door, and felt 
 much as though we had penetrated behind the scenes 
 of a theatre. A large curtain separated the platform 
 upon which we stood from the body of the chamber. 
 The Emperor was upon his throne, with a small table 
 before him, and a long table laid in the conventional 
 manner, with twelve covers, had been placed to the 
 left of the throne. The Emperor greeted us in the 
 most unaffected way, shaking hands and smiling upon 
 everybody. Thereupon we took the chairs assigned 
 to us, and unfolded our snowy -white napkins 
 embroidered with the Emperor's arms in red, the 
 royal colour. The soldiers and sailors in the mean- 
 time had been taken to another portion of the building, 
 and were there served with the same excellent menu 
 which had been prepared for us. An unoccupied 
 chair at the head of our table indicated where Majesty 
 constructively sat. 
 
 ' You see,' explained M. Chefneux, who pointed out 
 to us the prominent persons present, and all the in- 
 teresting incidents, ' when the presence of a diplomatic 
 corps made it necessary to the Emperor to entertain 
 his guests in the French manner, he desired to show
 
 THE LUNCHEON 115 
 
 them every courtesy possible. As His Majesty prefers 
 the Ethiopian dishes and method of serving them, he 
 lighted upon the expedient of providing a cover for 
 himself at the European table. By a polite fiction 
 which we maintain he sits with his guests and 
 presides. In fact, he is upon his throne, as you can 
 very well see.' 
 
 The luncheon was served, and was accompanied by 
 wines from a very well stocked cellar. The delightful 
 picturesqueness of the occasion was helped out by the 
 white-robed vassals, who followed the ancient custom 
 of pouring a drop or two from every bottle into the 
 palms of their hands, and drinking them first, as a 
 demonstration of good faith. His Majesty was sur- 
 rounded by the highest dignitaries of the empire, 
 most of them old men with fine bronzed features. 
 They did not eat while the Emperor was being served. 
 Only the greatest and most faithful may witness the 
 Emperor in the act of eating, and none may eat in 
 his presence. This rule is relaxed in favour of the 
 diplomatic corps and such foreigners as are some- 
 times asked to luncheon, on the ground that they 
 represent the persons of His Majesty's equals. 
 
 We were all very gay, even to the Emperor himself. 
 Frequently he would send over for our delectation 
 one of his Ethiopian dainties. These dishes were 
 invariably seasoned with some sort of concentrated 
 fire which seemed to race through the system and 
 scarify the whole alimentary tract. The Emperor 
 nodded cheerfully over our difficulties, and recom- 
 mended copious drafts of a fine musty old tedj to 
 relieve the situation. One or two of his special dishes 
 seasoned for our effete palates were indeed good. 
 There was a dried fish, for example, served with rice, 
 
 82
 
 116 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 which I found excellent. The chef-d'oeuvre of the 
 Ethiopian cuisine proved to be small pieces of steak 
 grilled on both sides and served hot. These are 
 called teps. Then there was goinmen, consisting of 
 forced meat cooked with chopped cabbage, and ovat, 
 a sort of ragout of meat and red pepper. As explained 
 before, these native dishes were merely incidental to 
 a thoroughly good European breakfast, and were sent 
 over to us in order that we might have a full know- 
 ledge of the most notable products of the most 
 eminent cook in Ethiopia. At each of our places we 
 found both French rolls and native ingeras, or bread 
 in the form of round, flat cakes, such as had been 
 delivered to us with the durgo at numerous encamp- 
 ments. When Major Ciccodicola had initiated me 
 into the proper manner of eating these ingeras, by 
 folding them twice and breaking off morsels from the 
 small end of the now fan-shaped cake, these morsels 
 being then dipped into a meat sauce, I found them 
 very palatable. 
 
 We had done valiant service through thirteen 
 courses, when it became evident that both the 
 Emperor and his guests were nearing the end, and 
 when the communicative warmth of the banquet 
 and the generous provision of champagne suggested 
 toasts. The Minister of Italy performed the agreeable 
 task, on behalf of his brethren, of drinking to the 
 health of the Emperor, including in his eloquent effort 
 some very friendly expressions in regard to the United 
 States. The Emperor nodded approvingly, and drank 
 back to peace and progress as represented at his 
 board. The good wishes of the Western for the 
 Eastern world were then voiced by the American 
 representative, after which the speech-making was
 
 THE GENEEAL BANQUET BEGINS 117 
 
 over. Oratory ordinarily lias very little vogue in 
 Abyssinia. Now a silver ewer and basin were brought 
 before the throne, the imperial hands touched the 
 water and were dried, and it was time for the general 
 banquet to begin. 
 
 The curtain was drawn back, and while the dis- 
 tinguished guests drank coffee and smoked, the 
 audience - hall slowly filled with the more lowly 
 invitees, who took their places around small tables, 
 or tabourets, seating themselves upon the floor. A 
 band of shawm-players entered, and continued their 
 melancholy music throughout the feast. There must 
 have been 1,200 guests around these little tables, and 
 there were as many more to come when the first lot 
 had eaten their fill. A most impressive feature of 
 this banquet was the extraordinary order which 
 prevailed. The guests consisted of functionaries, 
 military officers, and prominent subjects all men 
 who knew their places, and who very quietly took 
 them. Nobody was in a hurry. 
 
 Presence at this and similar functions is the 
 Ethiopian equivalent to being presented at Court ; it 
 is the hall-mark of respectable station. M. Chefneux 
 mentioned the number of sheep and goats required to 
 set forth a feast of this description. The figures were 
 enormous, but have slipped from memory. Serving- 
 men with large baskets kept the good things going, 
 and others passed tall blue enamelled drinking-cups 
 filled with tedj. In the good old days the drinking- 
 cups were of horn, but modernism ' made in Germany ' 
 has obliterated at last this vestige of the Biblical 
 civilization of Ethiopia. So great was the demand 
 for tedj that a pump concealed without the aderach 
 forced it through a pipe, under the end of which one
 
 118 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 cup replaced another, as soon as the one preceding 
 was full. 
 
 We watched this interesting scene until almost 
 three o'clock, when, with the Emperor's permission, 
 all the European and American guests withdrew. 
 The Emperor himself remained, so we were told, until 
 five o'clock, in the meantime patiently and watchfully 
 communicating with his subjects. It was not hard to 
 see that, under circumstances like these, he must 
 certainly keep in close touch with his people in more 
 respects than one. Every Sunday morning at Addis- 
 Ababa, except during fast seasons, the Emperor gives 
 one of these banquets for his subjects, and when 
 foreigners whom he wishes to honour are in the city 
 they are invited to assist. 
 
 Much stress has been laid by all returning travellers 
 upon the presumed fact that nothing can be accom- 
 plished in Ethiopia of an official character without a 
 judicious distribution of presents. It would be untrue 
 to say that small gifts of money are not extremely 
 necessary at times in Addis-Ababa, as they are in 
 other parts of the world. To add to the natural and 
 inherited covetousness of mankind, Europeans have 
 been overbidding each other in Africa for so many 
 years that unhealthy expectations respecting the 
 generosity of new arrivals have been formed, which 
 is not surprising. It would be equally unjust to 
 charge this situation, which has been immensely 
 exaggerated in most available accounts, to the special 
 venality of the Ethiopian people. They are not time 
 and lip servers merely ; on the contrary, their cheerful 
 willingness to perform small services out of innate 
 courtesy was a matter of daily occurrence in our own 
 experience, from the time we left the coast until we
 
 SOUVENIRS FOE HIS MAJESTY 119 
 
 returned. A capital is a capital, however, the world 
 over, and Europeans have to blame themselves if they 
 have gradually increased the difficulties of their own 
 situation as regards gratuities and gifts. 
 
 To assume that the Emperor's favour can be vir- 
 tually bought by presents, or that he esteems the 
 giving of presents as in the nature of tribute, is like- 
 wise grossly unfair to him. The Abyssinian tradition 
 requires that the stranger shall bring gifts, as the wise 
 men brought gifts to the Christ Child 2,000 years 
 ago ; but the value of the gift resides in the inten- 
 tion of the giver, a distinction which should be con- 
 stantly borne in mind. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to observe that the American 
 Republic is not addicted to gift giving or receiving. 
 We therefore brought no elephant the King of 
 England had sent a trained elephant to the Em- 
 peror just before our arrival but we had brought 
 with us a number of souvenirs for His Majesty, which 
 were presented informally a few days after our arrival, 
 and which appeared to give him much pleasure. The 
 signed portrait of President Roosevelt excited his 
 liveliest interest. He studied the face for a number of 
 minutes, and then passed it to a group of generals, 
 who took equal interest in scrutinizing it. The Presi- 
 dent's book on ' North American Big Game ' was like- 
 wise received with great respect. I fear that His 
 Majesty will never be able to read it. He thought it 
 remarkable that so young a man had accomplished 
 so much. 
 
 When these objects had been laid aside, a beautiful 
 American writing-machine, which the manufacturers 
 had asked to have offered, was brought into the 
 imperial presence, and regarded with polite interest.
 
 120 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 The practical mind of the Emperor developed the 
 question immediately : 
 
 ' Why can't we have an Amharic typewriter ?' 
 
 M. Chefneux replied that, whereas we had only 
 26 letters in our alphabet, it would require 251 char- 
 acters to represent the Amharic language, and the 
 construction of a machine containing so many figures 
 presented practical difficulties. 
 
 The typewriter was carried away, and a magazine 
 rifle of the latest model, a most beautiful arm, with 
 burnished barrel and gold-plated mountings, bearing 
 a special inscription, was presented. Now the im- 
 perial eyes brightened with evident pleasure. Mr. 
 Wales, who had a similar rifle, illustrated the method 
 of loading and firing, whereupon the Emperor 
 followed his movements, and with the instant apprecia- 
 tion of the connoisseur, nodded approvingly. Interest 
 in the new American gun was so intense that Mr. Wales 
 was required to fire through an open doorway at a 
 blank wall. The ten shots rang out with startling 
 rapidity. Generals, judges, colonels, and understrappers 
 crowded about the doorway. The consequences were 
 so satisfactory that His Majesty determined to try his 
 own rifle himself, and, very slightly concerned for his 
 generals and judges, raised the weapon to the proper 
 angle, without changing his posture upon the throne, 
 and aimed through the same open doorway. There 
 was immediately a wild stampede for cover on the 
 part of the satellites while the imperial hand pulled 
 the trigger. The Emperor's eyes showed that he 
 appreciated the humour of the situation. 
 
 A few days later, while visiting our encampment, a 
 much more amusing incident of the same sort occurred. 
 A private had been showing off the regulation army
 
 THE EMPEESS TAITU 121 
 
 gun, and the Emperor expressed a desire to handle one 
 himself. Again he fired through an open doorway, 
 and as the cartridges were blank, no possible harm 
 could have resulted, though the panic was no less 
 great than before. Blank cartridges are practically 
 unknown in Ethiopia, and when Menelik had ascer- 
 tained that we used them for saluting purposes, he 
 intimated a wish to receive a few. 
 
 ' I am going to my country place at Addis Alem 
 next week,' he said, ' and I shall be accompanied by 
 many officers. I expect to amuse myself with these 
 cartridges. I shall be able to teach some of my 
 officers to show courage under fire.' All the Em- 
 peror's friends bear testimony to his general good- 
 humour and love of joking. 
 
 The audience at which our few gifts were offered 
 terminated with the presentation of a well-selected lot 
 of American garden seeds, which was the most modest 
 and yet the most highly-valued gift of all. These 
 seeds had been sent to me by some of the officers of 
 the Department of Agriculture. I was told afterwards 
 that they had been distributed by the Emperor him- 
 self, with great care, among his own farmers, and that 
 he was intensely interested in the results. He regards 
 agriculture as the basis of all true wealth, and his 
 great ambition is to develop a love of farming among 
 his people. 
 
 We did not meet the Empress. Nothing in the way 
 of public ceremonial occurred during our stay in which 
 her presence was involved, and we departed too soon 
 to have the pleasure of seeing her in private. She is 
 said to be a woman of great force of character, and, in 
 her youth, one of striking beauty. She is now forty-
 
 122 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 seven years of age. The Empress Taitu is the daughter 
 of a former Ras of Gondar, and one of the hereditary 
 Princesses of the now absorbed kingdom of Siemen, 
 the inhabitants of which are reputed for their white 
 skins. She has been several times married, and 
 became the wife of the present Emperor in 1883. 
 They have no children. This fact raises the question 
 of the succession in the mind of everyone visiting the 
 empire. It is fully believed by those who have interests 
 in the country that when, in the course of Nature, the 
 shrewd and great Emperor Menelik shall have been 
 gathered to his fathers, it will be found that he had 
 made provision for an orderly transfer of power to 
 other hands. 
 
 Fortunately for Ethiopia and the peace of the world, 
 the Emperor bids fair to resist for many a year the 
 ravages of time. His vigorous manhood is attributed 
 to a knowledge of ' the science of proper living, the 
 benefits of temperance in all things, and the healthful 
 influence of a balanced mind, from which all worries 
 are expelled and few gain entrance.' 
 
 The Emperor returned our visit to the palace in 
 state one fine morning, accompanied by the huge 
 escort which follows and precedes him everywhere. 
 We put on purple and fine linen in honour of this 
 event. The officers of the escort effected wonders as 
 decorative artists with our small stock of flags, which 
 we draped about the portrait of the President in the 
 reception tent. The entire escort awaited the arrival 
 of royalty outside the compound, giving the Emperor 
 a salute of twenty-one guns as he entered. His 
 Majesty was all amiability and smiles, and the American 
 Idea was illustrated for his benefit to the extent of our
 
 THE EMPEEOE EETUKNS OUR CALL 123 
 
 resources. He walked slowly around the enclosure, 
 criticising with a soldier's quick eye the sailors' canvas 
 hammocks, the haversacks and their contents, and 
 particularly the hospital tent, with its compact case of 
 medicines and simple instruments. He said that he 
 thought it all very nice and comfortable, but not quite 
 so easy of transportation as the Ethiopian equipment. 
 In this he was perfectly right, since the Ethiopian 
 equipment consists of a small and very light wall tent 
 with bamboo poles, and a gun. 
 
 The promenade over, the escort, under Captain 
 Thorpe, performed a great variety of gymnastic exer- 
 cises, which the Emperor had never before witnessed, 
 and which he applauded vigorously. These exercises 
 concluded, His Majesty, with twenty or more chieftains 
 who accompanied him, consented to enter the palace 
 of the Ras Oualdo Gorghis, where refreshments were 
 served. It became necessary for the Emperor to again 
 suspend the fasting period prescribed by the Church, 
 in order to permit of a general exchange of toasts. It 
 was during these gaieties that Menelik was instructed 
 in the mechanism of our regulation rifle, as previously 
 described. 
 
 We were told afterwards that the Emperor had 
 made an exceptionally long visit, and I trust that 
 it was so. He was a most agreeable and appreciative 
 guest. He came just after the treaty had been vir- 
 tually agreed upon, and he seemed to feel quite as 
 contented as we ourselves with the commercial alliance 
 just contracted. When farewells had been exchanged, 
 he crossed our first courtyard on foot, mounted his 
 brilliantly-caparisoned mule, and rode away, followed 
 by the friendly regards of all whom he left behind.
 
 CHAPTER XIH 
 
 The market Jewellery Abyssinian art and architecture The 
 national costume A Haitian at the Court of Menelik 
 Ethnology. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the remaining days of our stay in Addis- 
 Ababa were exceedingly busy ones, they were by no 
 means uneventful. The great distraction of the occa- 
 sional idle hour was to visit the market. It was 
 richer in local colour than in merchandise dear to the 
 collector's heart. As usual in other parts of the world, 
 prices rose rapidly with the approach of any American. 
 The market itself was merely an open place, the 
 vendors displaying their wares either upon the ground 
 or in the rows of tumble-down booths. The horse 
 market was by far the most interesting feature of this 
 daily fair. Asses, mules, and horses by the hundred 
 occupied the space assigned to them, and were brought 
 forth and put through their paces upon a large level 
 area close by. We never visited the market without 
 seeing a number of horses being madly galloped 
 about this exhibition track, mounted by white-robed 
 riders, who furnished a spectacle far more real and 
 picturesque than the Roman races at the circus. 
 
 Dr. Pease was the most assiduous student of the 
 market, and used to astonish us by the variety of his 
 acquisitions. When he left the capital he had a 
 bundle of probably twenty spears, brass hand-cut 
 
 124
 
 THE MARKET 125 
 
 Greek crosses much, used in Church, ceremonials, 
 brass and ivory bracelets, silver rings, leopard, lion, 
 and zebra skins, and any quantity of minor objects. 
 We all became inoculated with the collector's microbe, 
 and as the days sped by, small merchants learned to 
 besiege our camp with every manner of trinket, from 
 boa - constrictor skins to ostrich feathers and live 
 monkeys. Under the head of live-stock, our soldiers 
 acquired a small wild cat, a young baboon, and a 
 number of monkeys, all of which either died, escaped, 
 or were released before we reached the coast. The 
 best things available for purchase were leopard skins. 
 These were obtainable at from two dollars gold up 
 generally up. As these skins are used by the 
 Abyssinians for mantles, they are usually cut along 
 the side instead of down the middle of the stomach. 
 In this form they are more readily arranged as mantles, 
 but are decidedly less valuable for subsequent prepara- 
 tion with stuffed heads as rugs. 
 
 We all purchased rather curious rings of pure native 
 gold. The gold itself is secured from placer mines in 
 the Wallago country, and in the form of dust is placed 
 by the miners in quills. Itinerant merchants secure 
 these quills, work the metal into malleable rings, and 
 forward the rings to the larger buying markets. It 
 may be remarked in passing that the price of gold is 
 not appreciably less in Abyssinia than elsewhere. 
 There are no embroideries, carpets, or other articles 
 of artistic production in the Ethiopian markets, unless 
 exception be made of the fine hand - woven cotton 
 cloths with wide red borders worn as chammas. Two 
 of these cost me six dollars gold. Native baskets may 
 be purchased in infinite variety, and are usually well 
 made and attractive. They are used by the natives
 
 126 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 to carry butter and milk, and are consequently very 
 ingeniously woven. 
 
 Every Abyssinian woman loves jewellery, and wears 
 it. Singular wooden or bone hairpins, bead neck- 
 laces, bracelets and anklets of silver, brass, copper, 
 and ivory are worn, but are difficult to find in the 
 open market. The best type of jewellery consists 
 of crosses, armguards, and ornaments of silver fili- 
 gree work. It is all made of thin plates of metal over 
 which the wire is soldered. The filigree is subdivided 
 by narrow borders of silver pattern, and the inter- 
 vening spaces are made up of many patterns, the 
 most of which contain grains set at regular intervals. 
 This is one of the most antique forms of jewellery in 
 the world. It is probable that these same filigree 
 patterns have been worked from the most remote 
 times without any change in design. The decorations 
 of the Order of Ethiopia, which the Emperor some- 
 times confers, are of this characteristic form, the silver 
 being gilded. 
 
 The orthodox Ethiopian wears a string around his 
 neck, to which is attached a scroll containing an 
 extract from the Evangelists, a silver ring and ear- 
 pick, and a small cross. Some of the latter are very 
 artistic in form. It is occasionally possible to pick up 
 horn drinking-cups of interesting workmanship, but 
 the Belgian or German cup of enamelled iron is 
 driving out the old-fashioned cup of domestic make. 
 
 All that I have said, or shall say, of art in Abyssinia 
 holds good as regards architecture. The contrast 
 between the punctiliousness of the Abyssinian manner 
 and the primitive simplicity of the Abyssinian home 
 has not hitherto been construed in favour of the race. 
 They are generally thought to be deficient in con-
 
 ABYSSINIAN AET AND ARCHITECTURE 127 
 
 structive power. While this is true, in order to 
 find the reason we must go back farther than to the 
 presumed indifference or incapacity to evolve an 
 architectural ideal. There can be no fundamental 
 cause for such backwardness on the part of a nation 
 with a history and literature, except as it may be 
 found in fundamental law. Such a law exists in 
 Abyssinia, and by its operation during centuries it 
 has necessarily retarded development of the art of 
 building, since it prescribes in terms : 'As to the 
 habitation, it shall be limited to that which is purely 
 necessaiy. . . . Our Saviour Jesus Christ ordered our 
 fashion of living to be based upon His example . . . 
 it is told that He had no habitation, and no place 
 whereupon to lay His head.' 
 
 While these prescriptions have been accepted 
 literally as regards private dwellings the Abyssinian 
 home contains neither chairs nor beds, and is itself 
 a mere temporary construction of slats and mud- 
 earthly tabernacles have nevertheless been erected to 
 the glory of God at Axum, Gondar, and Lalibella, 
 which are fairly comparable to the temples in Egypt, 
 Greece, and Rome. It is presumed that the artisans 
 who created these monuments were brought over from 
 the eastern coast of the Red Sea. 
 
 The monuments of Axum are of remote antiquity. 
 They consist of obelisks, of which but one is standing, 
 of vast subterranean excavations and of enormous 
 blocks of stone cut in the form of seats, and which, 
 placed in a circle, probably were intended for an 
 Areopagus. There are, moreover, two inscriptions, 
 one Greek and the other Himarite, and the ruins of 
 an ancient temple, where the Kings of Ethiopia were 
 crowned. The present church of Axum stands upon
 
 128 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 the site of the ruined structure, which occupied a 
 square 63 metres long. 
 
 At Gondar there exist still vestiges of the immense 
 Gothic palace constructed by the Portuguese, and of 
 a stone bridge over the Blue Nile. My interpreter, 
 who had been there, never wearied of talking of 
 Gondar, as an Italian might speak of Rome. 
 
 At Lalibella, the holy city of the Abyssinian clergy, 
 there are ten monolithic churches carved out of the 
 solid rock, of which Gabriel Simon brought back an 
 interesting description in 1885. These churches, 
 presumed to be of the fifth century, unite features of 
 Byzantine, Greek, and Arab architecture. 
 
 The details of the Abyssinian costume are of little 
 interest. The chamma is its essential feature. Properly 
 suspended, it gives shade in the desert, it becomes a 
 bed-covering at night, and it lends itself equally well 
 to the requirements of the shepherd, the warrior, or 
 the city coquette. It relieves ugliness of its crudity, 
 it heightens majesty and beauty, and it is a graceful 
 and becoming garment whenever and by whomsoever 
 worn. 
 
 Until recently only the clergy wore any head-dress, 
 consisting in their case of an enormous turban of 
 white cloth. Nowadays both men and women are 
 becoming fond of European-made, broad-brimmed 
 felt hats. 
 
 Children go about naked as when they entered the 
 world during the first few years of their lives, after 
 which their costume is scarcely less summary. When 
 the boys enter manhood the national costume is put 
 on, consisting of cotton trousers, very generous about 
 the seat and tight around the ankles. These trousers 
 extend just below the calves, and they are secured
 
 ABYSSINIAN DRESS 129 
 
 with, a long cotton belt, twisted, and serving many 
 purposes. Originally the girdle was intended to 
 protect the waist during combat. A shirt usually 
 accompanies the trousers. Over these garments is 
 thrown in classic folds the red-bordered chamma. 
 Among the poorer classes this toga is made of cheap 
 American cloth. With relative opulence comes the 
 hand-woven chamma with a narrow red border, the 
 width of this border indicating to some extent the 
 status of the wearer. In exceptional cases the red 
 border is replaced by silk embroidery. This costume 
 is common to both man and woman, the latter draping 
 their chammas in a manner so unmistakably feminine 
 as to prevent any possible errors of identity. The 
 women also wear a long robe rather than a shirt. 
 The soldier wears a chamma negligently thrown 
 over the left shoulder, the right shoulder and arm 
 being free for conflict. Sandals are sometimes worn, 
 shoes never, except in the case of a few of the very 
 highest dignitaries, like the Emperor himself and 
 the Ras Makonnen. Some distinguished generals 
 wear stockings. 
 
 The chiefs distinguished by the Emperor modify 
 their national costume by wearing a silk or satin 
 shirt decorated with silver or gold. Finally, the 
 supremely desired article of clothing is the lebde', 
 or pelerine, offered only by the Emperor as a reward 
 for striking conduct. This pelerine is made of lion 
 or black leopard skin, ornamented with silver thread. 
 The skin is so cut that the forelegs and tail dance in 
 the wind, contributing in large degree to the savage 
 picturesqueness of the costume, which accords well 
 with the rugged splendour of the mountains. 
 
 Both sexes have the unpleasant habit of greasing 
 
 9
 
 130 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 their heads with butter. This is said to enable the 
 brain to withstand the darts of the sun more readily, 
 causing the scalp eventually to become exceedingly 
 hard and resistant. 
 
 Native pictorial art appears not to have progressed 
 beyond a very primitive stage. Most of the churches 
 contain pictures of religious subjects, but they are 
 only curious. They always represent the wicked in 
 profile and the righteous in full face. Another singu- 
 larity of Ethiopian pictorial art is that the good are 
 always depicted as white men and the bad as black 
 men. While the tint of the pure Ethiopian varies 
 between light olive-green and intense black, he does 
 not regard himself as a negro, and, for that matter, 
 possesses none of the striking negroid characteristics 
 save that of colour. In thickness of skull, facial 
 formation, shape of the foot, and notably of the heel, 
 the Ethiopian is quite unlike the negro. Seven 
 distinct shades are recognised by students of the 
 Abyssinian complexion, and personal vanity is most 
 highly flattered by possession of the lighter tints of 
 the skin. 
 
 I must relate in this connection an incident several 
 times recalled to us in the country in regard to Mr. 
 Benito Sylvain. Mr. Sylvain is a highly-educated 
 young Haitian of wealthy parentage a full-blooded 
 negro, as a matter of course. Mr. Sylvain conceived 
 the happy idea some years ago of seeking the Emperor 
 Menelik, in order to secure His Majesty's adhesion 
 to a programme for the general amelioration of the 
 negro race. To Mr. Benito Sylvain it seemed espe- 
 cially appropriate that the greatest black man in the 
 world should become the honorary president of his 
 projected society. The Emperor is said to have
 
 '%A f ifM 
 
 Ax ETHIOPIAN GENTLEMAN.
 
 A HAITIAN AT THE COURT OF MENELIK 131 
 
 listened with, great patience to the exposition of this 
 idea, and then, with that fine, dry humour character- 
 istic of him, he replied : 
 
 ' Yours is a most excellent idea, my young friend. 
 The negro should be uplifted. I applaud your theory, 
 and I wish you the greatest possible success. But in 
 coming to me to take the leadership, you are knocking 
 at the wrong door, so to speak. You know, I am not 
 a negro at all : I am a Caucasian.' 
 
 This reply might have disconcerted some men, but 
 not Mr. Benito Sylvain, for we encountered him in 
 person at Laga-Arba, on his way to the capital, while 
 we were going in the opposite direction. We had 
 settled ourselves comfortably that fine afternoon, 
 clothed in whatever had come handiest, and not 
 supposing any neighbours to be within less than a 
 week's journey of us, when off in the distance a white 
 tent was seen to take sudden and definite form. A 
 moment later a foreign flag appeared above this tent. 
 Five minutes thereafter a card was presented to me, 
 bearing the name of ' Commandant Benito Sylvain, 
 Envoy of His Excellency the President of the Republic 
 of Haiti to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of 
 Ethiopia.' This was interesting. Within a few 
 moments Commandant Benito Sylvain arrived in 
 person, in full uniform, varnished Wellington boots, 
 spurs, white breeches, sword, and the Order of the 
 Cross of Solomon upon his breast. Mr. Sylvain said 
 that he was going to Addis-Ababa to present a letter 
 from his Government to the Emperor. He intimated 
 that he might remain there, to establish a permanent 
 Legation. He was a most polite young man, speaking 
 French that was a pleasure to hear, and I have no 
 doubt whatever that he is persona grata at the 
 
 92
 
 132 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 capital quite as much as he was in the American 
 camp. 
 
 The real Ethiopians, as the Emperor himself fully 
 understands, are a mixed race, in the formation of 
 which several distinct nations have contributed. The 
 primitive stock is of Ethiopic origin, but, as the 
 language clearly shows, it was at an early period 
 mixed with the tribe of Himyarites from the opposite 
 coast of Arabia, who in their turn were ethnologically 
 more or less closely connected with the Hebrews rather 
 than with the Joctanides, or the Arabians, properly 
 speaking. The Ethiopians are a fine, strong race, 
 more usually of a copper hue than not, and are 
 altogether different from the negroes, with whom, 
 however, they have frequently been confounded, but 
 only because they were called a black people. The 
 nose of the pure type is nearly straight, the eye 
 beautifully clear, yet languishing, and the hair is black 
 and crisp, without being woolly. Left to itself, the 
 hair of the Abyssinian would become long, coarse, and 
 undulating. Children of both sexes have their heads 
 shaved, retaining only a lock, somewhat as the China- 
 man retains his queue. It is now the mode for men 
 to wear their hair shortly clipped through life. The 
 women frequently do the same, although more usually 
 they divide their hair into tresses, which follow in line 
 from the front of the head to the back, where they are 
 gathered into a knot. A young girl's hair is often 
 completely cropped except for a fringe around the 
 brow. With each added year another row of hair is 
 permitted to grow, until finally there is no clipped 
 surface, but a succession of carefully trimmed bands 
 of hair of graduated length.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Manners and customs of the desert races. 
 
 THE ethnological observations of the preceding chapter 
 apply to the inhabitants of Choa, Tigre, Godjam, and 
 the territory of the one-time kingdom of Amhara. In 
 these unified kingdoms the ruling Ethiopic race is 
 found in its best estate. By conquest, annexation, 
 and imperceptibly growing influence, it has now 
 extended its sway over the Adals, Danakils, Somali- 
 Issas, and Gallas. These tribes are ruled by the 
 Ethiopians with wise forbearance, but with recognised 
 authority. Collectively, these nomadic tribes constitute 
 a savage aristocracy. . The unclad African of the desert 
 requires no book or heraldic device to enable him to 
 remember his family history for 500 years. Not only 
 does he think himself the salt of the desert, but he 
 knows it. 
 
 M. Pierre Carette, who has spent ten years among 
 these people, is without doubt the best equipped man 
 in the world to discuss their past, and he has carefully 
 pieced it out, by patiently listening to the accounts 
 given to him by his uncivilized friends. The influence 
 acquired by M. Carette over these people is a striking 
 fact in recent African history. A man of the world, 
 a Parisian by birth, endowed with unusual intelligence 
 and business capacity, he likewise exists as a sort of 
 
 133
 
 134 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 uncrowned king of the desert. Around the head- 
 quarters of the railroad at Dire-Daouah may be seen, 
 any day in the week, several hundred Issas, Danakils, 
 and Gourgouras, who may have travelled for days 
 across the burning sand, in order to consult with 
 M. Carette upon the value of a camel or the wisdom 
 of a deal in goats. M. Carette listens with great 
 patience, gives out sound advice, and finds his reward 
 in the interesting social study which he is enabled to 
 carry on. For all of my information in regard to these 
 people I am indebted to M. Carette. 
 
 The savage of the desert says of his country : * It is 
 clean.' To him our cities are prisons, and our good 
 cheer an invention of the devil to stiffen his limbs and 
 fatten his body. He prefers as a roof either the blue 
 sky, or his hut made of four sticks and some brush ; 
 or, if he be a camel-driver, the shelter made by throw- 
 ing the vegetable fibre mats upon which the ' charge ' 
 is laid over the boxes constituting the load itself. 
 His supreme joy is to kill his fellow-man, and having 
 done so, he parades the fact to the world by wearing 
 an ostrich feather in his hair. Pushed by necessity, 
 he sometimes visits the miserable native villages ; but 
 if once installed therein, he returns with difficulty to 
 his desert. Ordinarily he is unsociable. His life is 
 all on the desert, where he feels at home with his 
 cattle, which supply him with food and clothing. His 
 aliment consists of milk, a little meat, and such grain 
 as he buys at the villages. His occupation consists 
 in herding his cattle. He migrates as drought or 
 exhaustion of forage or water may require. He is 
 always intensely proud. M. Vigneras, Secretary of 
 the French mission under Minister Lagarde which 
 went up to Addis-Ababa a number of years ago,
 
 MANNEES AND CUSTOMS OF THE DESEET EACES 135 
 
 recounts an incident of caravan life, showing the 
 character of the native. One of his domestics, seeing 
 a girl a dezen years of age pass by, said to her : 
 
 1 Nabat, nabat !' (Good-day, good-day !) 
 
 The girl made no reply. The domestic, of light- 
 hearted disposition, continued : 
 
 ' Very well ; since thou art thus disdainful, the chief 
 of Djibouti, who is here, will put thee in prison.' 
 
 ' Thou mayest say to thy chief,' then said the girl, 
 * that we are here in the brush, and that I laugh at his 
 prison,' and she continued on her way. 
 
 The belt of desert coast land extends up to the 
 base of the mountains, and is divided among three 
 grand races the Danakils, the Somali-Issas, and the 
 Gallas. The Danakils belong to the great family of 
 the Afas or Adals, and occupy in general the territory 
 between the kingdoms of Choa and the province of 
 Harrar. Their lands border upon those of the Somali- 
 Issas, a fraction of the great Somali race, with whom 
 they are constantly at war. The Gallas are generally 
 found to the south of the Somalis. These three tribes 
 are all Musulmans, although frequently lukewarm in 
 their devotion to their principles. 
 
 The Danakils are exceedingly black. They have 
 slightly receding foreheads, a lively but treacherous 
 eye, long profiles, regular features, and extremely thin 
 faces. Their heads are covered with curly but not 
 woolly hair ; they are, furthermore, covered with grease. 
 They take great care of their hair, and usually wear a 
 comb with which they keep it in order, shaving also 
 the back of the head to the level of the ears. Their 
 clothing consists of a piece of cloth around the middle 
 and a short toga, which is worn over the left shoulder, 
 the right being bared. In the interior of the country
 
 136 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 the cloths are replaced by sheep-skins. The women 
 are beasts of burden. They wear much the same 
 garments as the men, with ornaments of glass beads, 
 and copper rings about the arms and ankles. The 
 desert tribes in general are armed with lances and 
 long double-edged knives, worn in front of the 
 stomach, and a buckler of hippopotamus skin. Per- 
 mission to carry firearms is refused by the Emperor, 
 although many are said to possess rifles hidden away 
 in their villages. 
 
 The Somalis are finer in form and feature than the 
 Danakils. Their skin is midway between black and 
 a rich creamy colour. Their hair is finer a conse- 
 quence of their habit of covering it with lime, in order 
 to tint it red. The Somali woman is more coquettish 
 than the Danakil, and wears more complicated cloth- 
 ing. According to legend, the territory now occupied 
 by the Somalis was formerly occupied by the Gallas. 
 The Somalis believe themselves that they migrated 
 from somewhere back of Aden. They have no written 
 language, but they have family traditions which are 
 handed down from father to son. They have a senti- 
 ment of honour respect the aged and the insane, and 
 scorn the foreigner. Their graves are indicated by a 
 border of stone, in the centre of which the passer-by 
 is expected to cast another stone, at the same time 
 reciting a prayer. Though incorrigible bandits, the 
 Somalis take toll only from foreigners and neighbour- 
 ing tribes. Thus their sins are meritorious in their 
 own eyes. Should they attack one of the members of 
 their own tribe, or take his property, they would be 
 severely punished. Theft entrains amputation of the 
 hands. 
 
 When a Somali boy is born, if the family is united,
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE DESERT RACES 137 
 
 as many sheep are killed as the family fortunes permit, 
 and dancing becomes the order of the day. The dance 
 is always of the same sort a monotonous stamping 
 without metre, for the Somalis have no musical instru- 
 ments. There is much clapping of the hands 
 and pounding of the earth with lances. We were 
 favoured with several of these dances while on the 
 desert, each of which was followed by attempts upon 
 the privy purse. Upon one occasion, when the dance 
 had been undertaken for my benefit, accompanied by 
 an interminable hymn in my praise, I separated the 
 chief from the band, and gave him a number of 
 exceedingly stiff-printed muslin flags of red and 
 yellow, the colours of the St. Louis Exposition. The 
 chief insinuated that money would be more appre- 
 ciated than flags, whereupon a thaler was discreetly 
 stuffed into his hand for his own use and benefit, with 
 the comment that the flags were representative of a 
 very great enterprise, and therefore to be more prized 
 than silver or gold. With the thaler in his own hand 
 the chief appreciated the point, and made an eloquent 
 explanation to his followers, who sat upon their 
 haunches and listened with evident dissatisfaction, but 
 finally took a flag each. Nothing could have been 
 more ridiculous than those dignified, amiable savages 
 each carrying a gaudy flag. Some held them out at 
 arm's length, others tied them to their person, and all 
 of them looked so distressed and embarrassed by these 
 strange offerings that, as the donor, I began to feel 
 that my action had been very reprehensible. 
 
 When a Somali man attains forty years, the family 
 kill a sheep and a goat, or an ox, to celebrate the fact 
 that thenceforth he is a man completely formed. The 
 Somalis intermarry a great deal, but find their wives
 
 138 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 in another branch of the family than their own. When 
 the choice is made, the parents of the young man seek 
 the girl's father, and give him a breech cloth, a sheep, 
 and a package of tobacco. The two are now betrothed, 
 and no third person can seek the hand of the girl. 
 The next step is to arrange the marriage contract. 
 In the western provinces the bride's parents receive 
 from the groom twelve female camels, in the east 
 twenty female camels. Two cows, twelve ewes, or 
 twenty-four goats, are equal to one female camel. The 
 price having been paid, the parents of the young man 
 say to the father of the girl : ' Behold, the moment of 
 the marriage is come.' 
 
 The affair being agreed upon, the husband is told 
 that his bride will come to his house on a given even- 
 ing. On the date fixed the groom and several of his 
 friends approach the bride's house. The groom cuts 
 a branch and plants it upon a selected spot, and then 
 and there his house is built around it. The best of 
 these dwellings is but a poor excuse of a hut. At 
 sunset the bride is led by a cortege of women to her 
 husband's new house. The groom then arrives, accom- 
 panied by his friends. At the door of the house 
 stands a live sheep. The newly-married couple enter 
 alone, the husband giving to his wife a blow with his 
 whip of hippopotamus hide. He then leaves her side 
 and comes without, only to re-enter the house and 
 administer a second blow. Three times he does this, 
 and her submissive state being presumed to have been 
 firmly established, they both emerge together. The 
 groom now holds the sheep's head while his wife cuts 
 its throat. Together they carry the carcass within, and 
 while they prepare it for the pot, someone presents 
 the newly-married couple with a basket of milk. The
 
 MANNEKS AND CUSTOMS OF THE DESEKT EACES 139 
 
 basket of milk is opened and offered to a man whose 
 father and mother are still living. After this man 
 has tasted it, the remainder is passed among his 
 friends. 
 
 During seven days the family and friends gorge 
 themselves with food at the expense of the parents of 
 the bride. After that the door of the new house is 
 filled in, and a new door is made upon the opposite 
 side. Husband and wife now change sandals. The 
 wedding festivities have now concluded, and the battle 
 of life has begun. If the husband wishes, the wife 
 may remain three or four years with her parents. In 
 this case the latter pay her expenses, unless they have 
 returned to the husband a part of the property pre- 
 viously converted to their use in payment of the bride. 
 If the wife dies, the husband goes to her father, saying : 
 * Give me another wife, or give me the camels which 
 remain.' If the father-in-law has no other daughters, 
 the widower may reclaim one from his uncle-in-law. 
 
 Perhaps the husband is not satisfied with his wife ; 
 thereupon the father of the girl says : ' Bring her to 
 me in order that I may see.' The discredited wife 
 remains with her parents two weeks, and if the 
 doleances of the husband seem to rest upon good 
 foundation, the objectionable wife is replaced by a 
 sister. 
 
 Divorce among the Somalis consists in simple 
 separation. The husband needs but to formulate his 
 griefs before witnesses, and to declare his intention of 
 freeing himself. It does not appear that the wife has 
 a similar remedy. Even in Ethiopia proper the wife 
 has a very subordinate status, and must possess 
 exceptional qualifications to control in any degree the 
 movements of her husband.
 
 140 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 When a man dies, the members of his family lead 
 several of his animals to the grave, and there 
 sacrifice them. Nothing of the sort occurs in the 
 event of the death of a woman. 
 
 The Gallas are much more advanced towards civiliza- 
 tion than either the Danakils or the Somalis. Their 
 communities are directed by a council of chiefs. They 
 have never possessed, properly speaking, a State 
 organization a fact which has greatly facilitated the 
 absorption of their territory by the Ethiopians.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 The United States of Abyssinia The King of Kaffa The 
 evolution of Ethiopia under Menelik Property rights. 
 
 MENELIK has created the United States of Abyssinia 
 a work for which he was endowed by Nature with the 
 constructive intelligence of a Bismarck, and the faculty 
 for handling men by sheer amiability of a McKinley. 
 In his younger and salad days, when the crown of 
 Choa sat uneasily upon the head which dreamed then 
 of a united Abyssinia, he knew how to be a Bismarck. 
 To-day he is all McKinley. Unity is an accomplished 
 fact, and he says, as said McKinley: 'The day of 
 exclusiveness is over.' I have talked of Menelik with 
 many men, and upon whatever points in regard to 
 his character they may have disagreed, they have all 
 asserted in varying terms that his natural impulses 
 are every one in favour of methods of conciliation and 
 kindness. 
 
 The story is old enough of his reception of his 
 rebellious vassal, the King of Kaffa. This Prince, so 
 proud that he wore ordinarily a mantle without sleeves, 
 and had himself fed by a slave in order that he might 
 reserve his hands for fighting his enemies, was made 
 prisoner and brought to Addis-Ababa. Upon entering 
 each of the three courts of the Guebi, the King of 
 Kaffa prostrated himself in sign of abject submission. 
 
 141
 
 142 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 Finally he reached the imperial presence, where he 
 fell flat and placed a stone upon the back of his neck, 
 and thus waited for Menelik to speak. The Emperor's 
 wrath rose with the recollection of the wrongs which 
 the Prince of Kaffa had done him, and his soldiers 
 cried out injury after injury upon the unhappy King. 
 After the tumult had continued for some moments the 
 Negus rose, and, commanding silence, said : 
 
 ' Go ! Throw off that stone, and rise. You are less 
 to be blamed than these men, who wish sentence to be 
 passed upon you by a man in anger.' 
 
 The King of Kaffa rose, and sentence was deferred 
 until the Emperor in his calmer moments was able to 
 devise a judgment that was wise as well as just. 
 
 The unmistakable tendency of Ethiopia to come out 
 of the darkness of the ages has been made manifest 
 under the last three Emperors Theodore, John, and 
 Menelik. The careers of the first two are sufficiently 
 well known. Theodore attracted attention by detaining 
 as prisoners a number of British Government Envoys, 
 because, forsooth, Palmerston had neglected to acknow- 
 ledge his letter to the Queen. Thus Theodore brought 
 upon his country the punitive expedition of Lord 
 Napier in 1868, and found a suicide's grave himself. 
 
 Menelik, born in 1842, was the hereditary ruler of 
 the kingdom of Choa. The Kings of Choa are pre- 
 sumed to be the descendants of the Queen of Sheba, 
 whose own son Menelik claimed Solomon as his father. 
 By traditional right, this line of Kings of Choa claimed 
 suzerainty over the empire, as Kings of Kings, until the 
 middle of the fourteenth century. Then came the 
 Moslem invasion under Mahomed Gragne, who promptly 
 possessed himself of the richest kingdom of the group, 
 namely Choa. The dethroned King of Choa sought
 
 POWEK OF TEADITION IN ETHIOPIA 143 
 
 asylum of his vassal lord the King of Tigre. The 
 King of Tigr found it convenient to take charge of 
 the imperial crown as well as the imperial person. The 
 tradition in regard to the overlordship of the King of 
 Choa was broken, and various successors of the King 
 of Tigre, of whom history takes little account until 
 Theodore appeared, followed each other upon the 
 imperial throne. 
 
 Now, the power of tradition is very strong in 
 Ethiopia, so Theodore guarded against any internal 
 difficulties upon his accession by demanding of the 
 King of Choa the person of his son Menelik, the 
 present Emperor. Thus the latter passed his youth 
 as a hostage at the Court of Theodore. 
 
 Theodore began the work of centralization by 
 quietly dropping the kingdoms of Siemen and Amhara 
 as such. There then remained but three separate 
 political and feudal entities Tigre", Choa, and Godjam. 
 After the death of Theodore, the Ras John, who had 
 previously been in rebellion against him, secured the 
 mastery of the empire. In the meantime Menelik 
 had obtained his liberty, and ruled in Choa as vassal 
 King until the death of John, with whom he had lived 
 on good terms. Upon John's death he took possession 
 of the imperial power, having behind him not only the 
 rich and well-organized kingdom of Choa, but the 
 force of tradition. 
 
 When the Emperor John lay dying in 1887, and 
 having no direct successor, it is said that he com- 
 mended to his chiefs his natural son, young Ras 
 Mangasha. Ras Mangasha lives to-day, but as a tran- 
 quil and submissive subject of Menelik. Menelik, even 
 at that early date, had justified his right to command. 
 He was the overshadowing figure of the time, and so
 
 144 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 was proclaimed Emperor on March 26, 1889, with the 
 consent of the great leaders of the period. 
 
 Then followed the troubles with Italy. The details 
 of the diplomatic negotiations between the two nations 
 make tedious reading to-day. By Article XVII. of the 
 Treaty of Uccialli, it was agreed that 'His Majesty 
 the King of Kings of Ethiopia consents to employ the 
 Government of His Majesty the King of Italy in 
 treating all matters that may arise with other Powers 
 and Governments.' The Italian Government, on the 
 strength of this treaty, formally announced, on 
 October 11, 1889, to the Powers of Europe the 
 establishment of a protectorate over Abyssinia. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that prior to this period 
 the Ras Mangasha of Tigre had been in the field, an 
 aspirant for the imperial throne, and that Italy, through 
 Count Antonelli, had espoused the cause of Menelik. 
 Menelik came to terms with Mangasha, who acknow- 
 ledged the former's suzerainty. After the settlement 
 of this domestic difficulty, the protectorate question 
 with Italy became acute. Menelik announced his 
 accession to the imperial throne to certain European 
 Powers directly, and was informed in return that he 
 should have made this communication through the 
 Italian Government. 
 
 He wrote at once to King Humbert, September 27, 
 1890, denouncing Article XVII. of the Treaty of Uccialli. 
 His contention was that in his version of the treaty, 
 written in the Amharic language, the word ' consents ' 
 had not been used, and that in place thereof were the 
 words the ' Negus has the power ' to employ the 
 Government of Italy in treating with other Govern- 
 ments. The Abyssinian Emperor drew a very sharp 
 distinction between his presumed permissive right to
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF ETHIOPIA 145 
 
 make communications to the world through the Italian 
 Government, and his obligation so to do, presumed by 
 the Italian Government. 
 
 Diplomatic relations were broken off, and Menelik 
 issued a circular to the Powers describing the boun- 
 daries of his empire as he understood them. These 
 boundaries failed to accord with those claimed for the 
 Italian coast colony of Erythrea. In this letter Menelik 
 said : 
 
 ' I have no intention of being an indifferent spectator 
 if far-distant Powers make their appearance with the 
 idea of dividing Africa, Ethiopia having been for 
 fourteen centuries an island of Christians among a sea 
 of Pagans. As the Almighty has protected Ethiopia 
 to this day, I am confident He will increase and protect 
 it in the future.' 
 
 The situation continued to be complicated for a 
 number of years. War broke out, and the fateful 
 battle of Adowa was fought in 1896, with disaster to 
 Italian arms. Prior to engaging in this campaign, 
 Menelik issued the following proclamation : 
 
 * Hitherto God has graciously preserved our native 
 land. He has permitted us to conquer our enemies, 
 and to reconstitute our Ethiopia. It is by the grace 
 of God that I have reigned hitherto, and if my death 
 is near, I have no anxiety on that account, for death is 
 the fate of all men. But to this day God has never 
 humiliated me. In the same manner He will sustain 
 me in the future. 
 
 ' An enemy is come across the sea. He has broken 
 through our frontiers, in order to destroy our father- 
 land and our faith. I allowed him to seize my posses- 
 sions, and I entered upon lengthy negotiations with 
 
 10
 
 146 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 him, in the hope of obtaining justice without blood- 
 shed, but the enemy refuses to listen. He continues 
 to advance, he undermines our territories and our 
 people like a mole. Enough ! With the help of God 
 I will defend the inheritance of my forefathers, and 
 drive back the invader by force of arms. Let every 
 man who has sufficient strength accompany me. And 
 he who has not, let him pray for us.' 
 
 After Adowa the political independence of Menelik 
 was a recognised fact. The relations with Italy were 
 put upon a healthy basis by Major Ciccodicola, and 
 other nations sent missions to the capital. 
 
 An era of good feeling now prevailed, leaving the 
 Emperor free to carry on his work of reconstitution. 
 By the submission of Mangasha the autonomy of Tigrd 
 had disappeared. Menelik himself was the hereditary 
 King of Choa, and the King of God jam was the one 
 remaining tie which bound the feudal system to the 
 new. Tecla Haimonot was not disturbed as King of 
 Godjam, however, and he died in the fulness of his 
 years as such, early in 1901. By his death the pur- 
 pose of the African Bismarck had been accomplished. 
 Abyssinia had been unified. Menelik sat upon the 
 throne of the King of Kings, but the vassal Kings 
 existed only in memory. Some of the provincial 
 Princes ruling over great tribes are, to this day, 
 referred to as Kings, but the word no longer has its 
 old meaning as applied to them, for they are merely 
 governors, who derive their authority from Menelik, 
 not merely acknowledging his overlordship, but 
 administering his laws and gathering his taxes. The 
 old Abyssinian kingdoms are geographical expressions, 
 for Abyssinia is now complete.
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF ETHIOPIA 147 
 
 To-day the ancient kingdoms exist as provinces, and 
 still other provinces, such, as that of Harrar, have been 
 added to the empire, as I have before mentioned. Over 
 each province there is a Ras, or Governor-General. Of 
 such was the Ras Makonnen, who, after the Emperor, 
 was the best-known Ethiopian in Europe. These 
 Rases are nominated, transferred, and dispossessed 
 by the Emperor at his will. Each province is sub- 
 divided into cantons, of which, broadly speaking, one- 
 half belongs to the Crown. The Crown, instead of 
 paying the provincial governors and functionaries in 
 money, attributes to them the revenues of these Crown 
 lands. Over the private landowners, as the immediate 
 representative of the Government, there is a sort of 
 mayor elected by the people, and called the * choum.' 
 The great business in life of a choum is to collect 
 the taxes belonging to the Crown. The terms of con- 
 tracts are agreed to in the presence of the choum, 
 and he dispenses justice of a Solomon-like character 
 upon nine-tenths of the minor difficulties which arise 
 between man and man. Appeal is taken to the court 
 of the Ras, a tribunal of three judges, and from this 
 tribunal to the supreme court of the Emperor. 
 
 The Ethiopian Government recognises three sorts of 
 land divisions Crown lands, Church lands, and private 
 lands. Included under the head of Crown lands are 
 the fiefs controlled by the Crown, the revenue of which 
 is enjoyed by functionaries, as explained before, or 
 applied to the support of the military establishment. 
 These fiefs descend from the Crown to the Ras, who 
 divides them into secondary fiefs. These are again 
 subdivided among the humbler public servants. These 
 fiefs are not hereditary, although it is customary for 
 them to be transferred by the Ras to the sons of their 
 
 102
 
 148 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 last possessors. While slavery does not exist, properly 
 speaking, the peasants are virtually in a state of 
 serfdom, with this distinction, that they are not 
 attached to the soil. Private landowners pay a tax in 
 kind of one-tenth of their increase, or one-tenth of the 
 crop, to the village choum. The taxes on Church 
 lands are paid by the tenants to the clergy. Pro- 
 prietors owe, upon demand, three days of labour every 
 week for the service of the Emperor. While owner- 
 ship of the ecclesiastical lands vests legally in the 
 Church, they are assigned to individuals, and become, 
 to all intents and purposes, the private property of the 
 individual, upon payment of the taxes imposed by the 
 Church. 
 
 Many erroneous statements are made in regard to 
 property rights in Ethiopia, and, indeed, the subject 
 is one not readily comprehensible in all of its phases 
 to the foreigner. There are in the empire two super- 
 posed peoples : the one, the conqueror or Abyssinian ; 
 the other, the conquered, a subject of whatever race. 
 M. Eugene Carette has made for me a statement upon 
 this subject, which makes the situation clear : 
 
 ' Some persons deny that property rights exist ; 
 others affirm that they have been safeguarded by 
 careful guarantees. Now, the fact is not open to 
 doubt that property rights are not strongly protected 
 according to European standards, except in those 
 provinces where Ethiopian laws have been enforced 
 through long periods of time, and in such provinces 
 these rights exist and are respected as in Europe, 
 subject to Ethiopian law. In the conquered provinces 
 annexed in our day, the possession of the soil has 
 retained the character which it formerly had, although 
 modified by the vicissitudes of modern political
 
 THK RAS OUAI.DO GOROHIS.
 
 PEOPEETY EIGHTS IN ETHIOPIA 149 
 
 fortunes. The fact that the Emperor has for certain 
 reasons parcelled the land out between the inhabitants 
 does not prove that property rights have undergone 
 great modifications. Still, private ownership exists. 
 It is transmissible by sale, inheritance, or donation. 
 Those having rights cannot be dispossessed without 
 judicial process, but in practice a sale, loan, or gift of 
 land to a foreigner will never be permitted without 
 formal sanction of the Sovereign. The conquered 
 provinces constitute in large part the Crown lands, 
 and the Emperor has farms more or less everywhere. 
 These qualifications aside, it may be said that in the 
 desert zone the nomadic existence of the population 
 leaves no place for individual rights. The individual 
 exists only as the member of a tribe. It is the tribe 
 which possesses for all, both pasturage and watering- 
 places the two great regulators of nomadic life.'
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 The law of the Fetha Nagast, or fundamental statutes of 
 Ethiopia. 
 
 THE Emperor is the sole source of new legislation. 
 Except as he is governed himself by the Fetha Nagast, 
 the force of tradition, and the counsels of his friends, 
 his power is unrestrained. The Fetha Nagast is the 
 basic law of the country, but its principles are laid 
 down in such broad terms that in practice the law of 
 custom is more generally invoked. The parties to a 
 controversy not infrequently resort to arbitration, 
 rather than go before the courts, and they may take 
 as their judge the first traveller encountered, or 
 possibly a child, upon the Scriptural theory that ' out 
 of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast 
 perfected wisdom.' The spirit of controversy is 
 strongly developed in every Abyssinian. During our 
 progress to Addis-Ababa we were several times 
 mystified by the discussions of our servants, who, 
 grouped together, appeared to be profoundly interested 
 in argument over some issue utterly incomprehensible 
 to ourselves. These debates turned out to be moot 
 courts, the holding of which is a popular distraction. 
 Every Ethiopian is more or less a lawyer, possessed 
 of a Solomon -like wisdom, and the principles of 
 procedure are so commonly understood that real 
 
 150
 
 THE LAW OF THE FETHA NAGAST 151 
 
 lawyers are not highly regarded. The individual may 
 always plead for himself. 
 
 The Emperor is the final judge, to whom weighty 
 matters are appealed as a court of last resort. As a 
 matter of fact, he has always at hand his Affa-Nagast, 
 or Supreme Judge of the empire, who relieves him of 
 the actual consideration of nine-tenths of the important 
 litigation which comes up on appeal. In the provinces 
 the Ras stands in the place of the Emperor, and has 
 also superior judges, who receive on appeal causes 
 brought up from the provincial governors. The 
 Emperor does not possess the right to extend clemency 
 to homicides. The latter may sometimes escape, and 
 seek asylum in the churches, as was the case in 
 Europe during the Middle Ages. Good stories pass 
 current regarding Abyssinian justice, as they do in 
 other parts of the world, but should be read with 
 scepticism. This is a sample : 
 
 A man and a woman being engaged in a legal 
 controversy, the woman brought the judge a jar of 
 honey. The man brought him a mule. The sentence 
 of the court ran against the woman, much to her 
 indignation. 
 
 ' Much good did it do me to bring you presents,' 
 she exclaimed to the judge ; * my adversary has won.' 
 
 ' Why dost thou complain ?' replied the judge. ' A 
 mule has passed by and has kicked thy jar to pieces.' 
 
 The recognised written law is not really of Ethiopian 
 origin at all. The Fetha Nagast is, in fact, the rule of 
 the Coptic Church, and is as broad as that Church in 
 its application. It is accepted in Abyssinia as the 
 fundamental law, because the Church is accepted as 
 the true Church, of which the Emperor is the official 
 head. The law was not written either in the Amharic
 
 152 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 or in the Gheze, which, is the ecclesiastical language 
 of the empire. The Gheze, however, closely resembles 
 Arabic, which is the living language of the Coptic 
 Church, and for this reason, the official version of 
 the code exists only in Arabic. From the Arabic 
 an Italian translation has been made recently by 
 Ignazio Guidi. The Fetha Nagast had no complete 
 existence in writing until the middle of the thirteenth 
 century. The author of the code, Al Assad Ibn Al 
 Assal, charged with this task by the Council of 
 Nice, undertook to combine in a single work the 
 scattered fragments of the law, of which only one 
 similar collection had been before undertaken. The 
 materials for this collection are said by the author to 
 have been taken from the Old and New Testaments, 
 the apocryphal apostolic writings, the canons of the first 
 Councils, and canons attributed to St. Hippolyte. 
 
 The Arabian author prefaces his work with the 
 following very interesting introduction : 
 
 * In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost, which are but one God ; with the help 
 of the Lord, and happily by Him assisted, we come 
 to write a preface of the law laid down by the holy 
 Fathers of Greece. May their prayer and benediction 
 and their aid be with all Christians eternally ! Amen. 
 
 'After the termination of the era of the martyrs, 
 when the three hundred and eighteen orthodox Fathers 
 of the Council of Nice were convoked by the Emperor 
 Constantine, this latter said unto them : 
 
 ' " Myself, so far as it may concern me, I do not wish 
 to reign, since it is evident that the way of Christ and 
 the way of the world are different. And it is likewise 
 true that the way of Christ and His precepts have said :
 
 THE LAW OF THE FETHA NAGAST 153 
 
 'Love your enemies, praise them who oppress you.' 
 This He said, and other things like unto it. 
 
 1 " I conclude from this commandment, which is the 
 second law of perfection, that He orders us to be 
 patient, to support, to pardon, to aid, and to praise 
 our neighbour, and to consider him our equal. Now, 
 how may I conform to the law, and order pains, and 
 the payment of debts when they fall due, without 
 pity, and take vengeance upon the oppressors for 
 the oppressed ? Consequently, that which is perfect 
 should perforce destroy and break up that which is 
 imperfect, and consequently the law of our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ has destroyed that which preceded it. 
 But this latter should never be destroyed, since 
 nothing exists in reality more honoured than this law 
 of Jesus Christ, which is the law of accomplishment 
 of duties and of perfection." 
 
 ' Then, when the three hundred and eighteen 
 Fathers heard these words of Constantine, they offered 
 prayer to our Saviour Jesus Christ. . . . Then our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ heard their prayer, and com- 
 manded them to seek the book of law in the Old and 
 New Testaments. And this book was written by Ibn 
 Al Assal. They gave it to Constantine, son of Helena, 
 and he reigned in the land of the Greeks ; while that 
 before he had this book he did not wish to reign. 
 
 ' The sacred books that the faithful will receive as 
 canonical are : 
 
 * The Books of the Old Testament to wit: 
 
 1 The Pentateuch, five books. 
 
 * Joshua ; Judges ; Ruth ; Judith ; Kings, four 
 
 books. 
 1 Paralipomenon, two books ; Ezra, two books.
 
 154 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 1 Esther ; Tobias ; Maccabees, two books. 
 
 ' Job ; Psalms of David ; Wisdom of Solomon, four 
 
 books. 
 ' The greater prophets : Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
 
 and Daniel, four books. 
 ' The minor prophets : Hosea, Amos, Mica, Joel, 
 
 Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephania, 
 
 Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, twelve books. 
 ' The wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach for the 
 
 instruction of youth ; and the Book of Joseph 
 
 son of Koryon. 
 
 ' The Books of the New Testament to wit : 
 
 1 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts of the Apostles, 
 the Book of Paul, John the Evangelist.' 
 
 The Fetha Nagast itself is divided into two parts, 
 the first of which contains the ecclesiastical law and 
 the second the civil law. Some of the extracts which 
 I shall quote from the law shed a great deal of light 
 upon the habits of thought of the Ethiopian people, as, 
 for example, on giving to the poor : 
 
 * Giving is one of the forms of charity, and it is the 
 art of compassion made with man's proper substance 
 to give to those who have need, without the desire 
 of reciprocity. . . . Giving is a loan made to God, 
 and equally a transaction certain of advantage with 
 God.' 
 
 Concerning the dead : 
 
 1 Assemble without fear in the churches and read 
 the holy books and sing the psalms for them who 
 are asleep in death, and who were of the martyrs and
 
 THE LAW OF THE FETHA NAGAST 155 
 
 saints of old, and for your brothers who die in the 
 faith of the Lord. Go before their bier singing 
 psalms. And if the dead was faithful to Christ, 
 David the prophet hath said : " Precious unto the 
 Lord is the death of the just "; also hath he said : 
 " Come, my soul, retake thy tranquillity, because the 
 Lord hath sanctified thee." bishops, and 
 laymen, touch we all with care the body of him 
 who is dead, and fear not to be contaminated for this, 
 nor neglect not their bones for such motives.' 
 
 In this connection it may be said that the dead are 
 buried within two hours of decease beside the nearest 
 church, and within the enclosure if they have taken 
 Communion. The teskar, or feast after death, occurs 
 forty days later. Here the will is read, or, as is more 
 often the case, if the deceased has made known his 
 wishes to a priest, the latter now discloses the com- 
 munication. Collateral branches of the family do not 
 inherit. Property without heirs to claim it reverts to 
 the Emperor. 
 
 Concerning food, clothing, and trades proper for 
 Christians : 
 
 'As to the aliments, nothing is prohibited by the 
 Christian law, except that which is interdicted in the 
 Book of Acts, and in the canons, which say : " It has 
 pleased the Holy Spirit and ourselves not to impose 
 upon you a burden heavier than this, that you cease to 
 eat naturally that is to say, you avoid absorbing the 
 blood and the body of that which is sacrificed to idols, 
 and the fragments which animals have eaten. These 
 things are interdicted because of the spiritual harm 
 which might result therefrom ; because, in asso-
 
 156 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 ciating himself with idolaters to eat that which is 
 sacrificed unto idols, the Christian becomes such 
 that he associates with them in the cult of idols . . . 
 but they have not prohibited this as a thing impure, 
 since by nature these are all creatures of God, and 
 there has been written for us in the law a passage 
 which says : " And the Lord saw all that He had 
 made, and it was good." . . . 
 
 ' Faculty is thus given to abstain from nothing 
 except that which is such as conduces to the corrup- 
 tion of the soul, the corruption of the nature, and the 
 corruption of the body . . . and thus, for example, 
 venomous animals, ferocious and rapacious beasts, 
 with nails and claws, or which nourish themselves 
 with poisons and poisonous plants, which corrupt the 
 mind and body in being eaten. 
 
 ' If someone thinks that something is impure, that 
 shall be impure for him alone, since everything in 
 itself is pure. But only it is written : " Every man 
 should eat without scandal and without doubt ; and 
 if someone doubts that this be bad, let him not eat of 
 the meat nor drink of the wine, or do anything which 
 may scandalize our brothers, for whosoever eats and 
 doubts is doomed, for he has not done this thing with 
 faith, and all that is not done in faith is sin." 
 
 As to the apparel which may be worn, this is spoken 
 of in the canons under different heads : 
 
 ' The canons forbid the wearing of costumes with 
 ornaments, collars, and embroideries on the part of the 
 clergy, and they say that ministers in the sanctuary 
 should wear white costumes ; and that the women 
 should not take the costumes of the men, nor the men
 
 THE LAW OF THE FETHA NAGAST 157 
 
 those of the women. Men may not wear rings, nor 
 women clothing embroidered with gold, which giveth 
 rise to pride. Monks will wear rough costumes of 
 wool, or like things, such as skins. . . . The priest 
 will not wear the costume of the soldier, or the 
 builder, or the doctor, or the philosopher. . . . The 
 Lord taught His disciples not to possess many 
 garments. 
 
 ' As to the habitation, it is meet that it should be 
 limited to that which is strictly necessary, and be 
 in accordance with the evangelical law, which is the 
 law of perfection for those who repudiate passing 
 things, and who seek stable things. ... As it is meet 
 that food and clothing be as it is commanded that is 
 to say, solely to avoid the torture of hunger and of 
 cold so likewise is the precept regarding the habita- 
 tion that is to say, it should be useful, sufficient for 
 those who therein assemble, as a shelter. . . . Our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ hath ordered that our fashion of 
 living be based upon His works during His incarna- 
 tion. . . . He hath told us that He had no habitation, 
 nor place where to lay His head. 
 
 'As to the trades, all is permitted except those 
 which are worldly, which contrast with the spirit 
 of the laws of God, which are : of enchantment, or of 
 making of idols, of execution of objects serving for the 
 cult of idols, and those which evoke the Devil and 
 witchcraft.' 
 
 Marriage is held up in the law as necessary, in 
 order to obey the Scriptural injunction to increase and 
 multiply. The marriage of young widows is advised, 
 on the authority of the Epistle to Timothy, as a means 
 of preventing the enemy from finding a lodging-place
 
 158 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 in their hearts. In practice, the Abyssinian marriage 
 exists under three forms : 
 
 1. The civil marriage, without dower on either side, 
 which amounts to something like free-love. It is 
 followed by frequent divorces, and the formalities 
 are unimportant. The bridegroom visits the parents 
 of the bride, agrees upon the gift which is to be theirs, 
 and takes possession of the person of his choice until 
 such time as it shall please him to return her to her 
 family. 
 
 2. The civil marriage with a contract. This takes 
 place before the choum, or mayor. The property of 
 the two contracting parties is specified in his presence, 
 and a partition in the event of future divorce is agreed 
 upon, this agreement being generally to divide the 
 property equally. 
 
 3. The most solemn marriage ceremony is the 
 indissoluble religious marriage. It is practised 
 generally among the very great, or those who, being 
 satisfied of the fidelity of their spouses, desire to get 
 into harmony with the precepts of the Church. 
 
 The laws regarding liberty, slavery, and enfran- 
 chisement are drawn from the Book of Kings : 
 
 ' The freeing of slaves is an act of conscience, a 
 thing imposed upon wise persons, since all men 
 should acknowledge liberty, because at the Creation 
 man was born free. But war and raids may cause 
 some to serve others, because it is a law of war that 
 the conquered become the slaves of the conqueror. 
 The Mosaic law made a serving class of infidels and 
 their offspring. It is written : " Let them become 
 your servants, whom you take from the people round 
 about you, and the strangers who live with you." The
 
 THE LAW OF THE FETHA NAGAST 159 
 
 believing servant may not be sold to an infidel. The 
 sons of the slave are the property of the patron, though 
 born of a free father.' 
 
 Homicides are classed under two heads, as being 
 involuntary and voluntary. Involuntary homicides do 
 not merit death. 
 
 'Thus, the case of a homicide who is bereft of 
 reason, and children of less than seven years, and the 
 drunken man having lost his reason, should not be 
 executed. But the drunken man has lost his reason 
 voluntarily, while the insane and idiots have lost 
 theirs involuntarily; hence the punishment should 
 differ in the two cases. If it is learned that the 
 drunken homicide has not feigned his condition, and 
 that discussion has not taken place between him and 
 his victim, let him be punished as a drunken man, 
 and let his penalty be that inflicted upon an involun- 
 tary homicide.' 
 
 Death is the penalty visited upon wilful murderers. 
 Of stealing : 
 
 1 It is said in the second book of the Pentateuch : 
 " If the man steal an ox or a sheep, and kill or sell it, 
 let him pay for five oxen, and for the sheep let him 
 pay the value of four sheep. And if the thing stolen 
 be not found in his house, and if he possess nothing, 
 let his labour be sold for the amount of that which he 
 hath stolen. If a man care not for his beasts, and they 
 eat of the grass of another man, let him give the best 
 product of his seed." 
 
 ' And in the fifth book of the Pentateuch it is 
 said : "If someone be found who has stolen the soul
 
 160 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 of his brother, or has excited and aided in the sale of 
 a lost soul, he shall suffer the pain of death." 
 
 ' If a man enters the church and takes away one of 
 the sacred emblems, let the cross be laid upon him 
 with a red-hot iron ; and he who does likewise outside 
 the church, let him be pursued, and let his head be 
 shaved, and let him be exiled. 
 
 ' Those who steal free or slave children, or who 
 ravish the country of the domestic animals, our law 
 commands that they be killed or exiled. 
 
 ' He who steals an animal of another, for the first 
 offence let him be pursued, the second time exiled, 
 and the third time let his hands be cut off, and the 
 animal returned to its owner. 
 
 ' Whosoever is a chief of brigands and a homicide, 
 let his hands be cut off, likewise the hands of those 
 who aid him. 
 
 ' Those who steal in a city, for the first time, if 
 they are rich and free, let them pay to the loser the 
 double of the things stolen ; if they are poor, let them 
 be pursued and exiled, and if they repeat the offence, 
 let their hands be cut off. 
 
 ' Nocturnal robbers visiting dwellings with arms 
 merit death ; and robbers by day, who give fear to 
 the people, and steal from the sacks of grain, and 
 who break bolts, let them be taken before parents, and 
 made to pay for that which is stolen. 
 
 ' Whosoever steals during a fire, or when a house 
 collapses, or during a shipwreck, and those who 
 fraudulently receive stolen goods, they shall pay four 
 times as much as that which they have stolen. 
 
 ' Whosoever robs the dead of their clothing, let 
 his hands be cut off. But the law forbids the cutting 
 off of both hands and both feet at the same time.'
 
 THE LAW OF THE FETHA NAGAST 161 
 
 While the measures respecting robbery may seem a 
 little Draconian, they have the advantage of being 
 very effective. Theft is so uncommon in Ethiopia as 
 to be practically unknown. The law is executed 
 literally when cases of this kind do occur, as every 
 traveller in Ethiopia can testify. We saw several 
 mutilated persons during our visit, and ascertained 
 that they had paid the penalty established for theft. 
 It is regarded as wiser public policy to visit these 
 severe penalties upon the wrongdoer, and to secure 
 the benefit of the lesson which his mutilated presence 
 in the community gives, than to build expensive 
 jails, the corrective influence of which would be 
 open to question. 
 
 11
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 The Abyssinian Church The monophysite doctrine Language 
 and literature The army Mobility of native troops. 
 
 I MET the head of the Ethiopian Church, the Abouna 
 Matthew, upon several occasions, and found him a 
 courtly old gentleman, deeply interested in garden 
 seeds. He stood among his plants under a huge 
 umbrella, directing horticultural operations, when I 
 first entered his domain, and hastily beat a retreat to 
 his house, where he received me with much courtesy. 
 We were not allowed to enter until the servants had 
 rolled a carpet down the steps, nor were we permitted 
 to leave until his delicious coffee had been served. 
 The old gentleman protested mildly that his people 
 were possessed of a blind faith, but he did not appear 
 to feel any very urgent necessity for making it other- 
 wise, and perhaps under all the circumstances he was 
 right. Even my keen-witted interpreter, himself the 
 nephew of the Etchequie", could shed very little light 
 upon the institutions of the Church, through which the 
 Ethiopian civilization had been handed down through 
 the centuries. 
 
 We visited several of the churches, both in town 
 and country, and found them all much alike roughly- 
 built circular structures with thatched roofs sur- 
 mounted by Greek crosses. Sometimes ostrich eggs 
 
 162
 
 THE ABYSSINIAN CHUBCH 163 
 
 were suspended from the tips of the cross. A corridor 
 runs completely around the interior, and here the 
 worshippers gather. The altar is within the central 
 portion of the building. There are usually a number 
 of crude pictures within, representing at least the 
 Virgin and Saints Michael and George, for whom the 
 Abyssinians have a special veneration. If the church 
 is prosperous there are portraits of the Emperor and 
 Empress and representations of miracles. 
 
 On one occasion we passed a rural church during a 
 morning celebration and stopped to look on. A boy 
 outside was pounding a drum, and within four other 
 drums were being pounded, there being no attempt at 
 unison whatever. Half a dozen melancholy clerks 
 leaned on staffs that looked like crutches, and rattled 
 what were apparently castanets. In the midst of the 
 din a venerable celebrant chanted, with frequent 
 responses from his assistants. The voices of all were 
 keyed high, and the responses ended in the falsetto 
 wail characteristic of Abyssinian vocal effort. I can- 
 not truly say that the service was in any way impres- 
 sive, but there were many worshippers who came and 
 went, and all of whom were certainly devout and 
 respectful. What is admirable about the Ethiopian 
 religion is that it is genuine. It may be ignorant 
 belief, but it has the merit of being belief. 
 
 Our own presence at this particular church aroused 
 such violent curiosity among the clerical gentlemen 
 that the most of them abandoned the service in order 
 to scrutinize the considerable body of foreigners out- 
 side. They were very polite, and evidently accustomed 
 to occasional visits from Europeans. In more remote 
 parts of the country similar visits are likely to arouse 
 some hostility. Professor Littmann, of Princeton 
 
 112
 
 164 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 University, who spent seven months or more in and 
 about Axum in 1905-1906 for the purpose of studying 
 inscriptions, told me upon his return that he and his 
 party were threatened with physical violence, and had 
 considerable difficulty in carrying on their work, 
 although they ultimately succeeded to their satisfaction. 
 I may say here incidentally that in Professor Litt- 
 mann's opinion the true Abyssinian type contains no 
 negro blood whatever, and none of the negro qualities, 
 either physical or mental. 
 
 The liturgy of the Abyssinian Church is celebrated 
 in the Gheze language, which none but the priests 
 understand. While the pastors recite the office in the 
 Holy of Holies, the defteras or lay-readers sing hymns 
 of their own composition in the outer public circle. 
 Meanwhile the populace sing psalms. Communion is 
 administered with both bread and wine. During the 
 year four fasting periods are observed, the longest, 
 one of fifty days, preceding Easter. During this season 
 the use of meat, eggs, and milk is interdicted, and 
 bread and a pepper sauce called chiro are the chief 
 articles of diet. 
 
 The Church has its own calendar, and nobody seems 
 to have solved all of its mysteries. I only know that 
 December 27, 1903, according to our calendar was 
 December 17, 1896, at Addis-Ababa. My belief is 
 that each Abyssinian month has thirty days, and that 
 at the end of the year a sufficient number of extra 
 days belonging to no particular month is added on, 
 by which means the total is brought up to 365 or 366 
 days. 
 
 The Christianity of which my respected friend the 
 Abouna is the chief exponent was revealed to the 
 Abyssinians in the fourth century, when a Tyrian
 
 THE ABYSSINIAN CHUKCH 165 
 
 merchant visited their Red Sea coast, accompanied by 
 his sons, or perhaps nephews, Frumentius and Edesius. 
 This, of course, was long before the Moslems had 
 driven them back from the sea. The exemplary young 
 men Frumentius and Edesius were pursuing their 
 studies under a tree while their relative's ship was 
 taking on board water and supplies, and they knew 
 nothing of the attack upon the others of their party 
 hated as Romans with whom the Abyssinians were at 
 war until it was all over. The Ethiopian King, 
 Ela Ameda, was so struck by these youths, who 
 possessed all the desirable attributes of the young 
 men of the Sunday-school books, that he caused them 
 to be reared with his own sons. Edesius became a 
 cup-bearer and Frumentius treasurer of the State. 
 Edesius eventually returned to Tyre, but Frumentius 
 remained, and profited by his influence to introduce 
 his own religion. His great desire was to win over to 
 the Church the King himself Ela Ameda having been 
 succeeded by his son and thus to become the apostle of 
 the region. Never having received sacred Orders, 
 Frumentius found himself checked in his purposes, 
 and decided upon a visit to Alexandria. At Alexandria 
 Frumentius explained the ease with which enlightened 
 ministers might win over Ethiopia, whereupon St. 
 Athanasius decided that Frumentius himself could 
 best propagate the faith, and thereupon ordained him 
 priest and Bishop of Axum. 
 
 The new Bishop returned to Ethiopia, and imme- 
 diately began the successful conquest of the country 
 to Christianity. Having received his consecration at 
 Alexandria, Frumentius and his converts became 
 followers of the Alexandrian or Coptic Church, and 
 opponents of the Aryan heresy. Constantine's Council
 
 166 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 of Nice had recognised three patriarchs the Bishops 
 at Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch and the Church of 
 Alexandria, retaining its hold upon Ethiopia after the 
 death of Frumentius, is represented by the Abouna, 
 a sort of Papal Legate, named by the patriarch. The 
 influence of the patriarch of Alexandria, who in our 
 time resides actually at Cairo, is now much reduced ; 
 indeed, the only important function of the patriarch 
 is to name the succeeding Abounas. It is not probable 
 that Abyssinian Churchmen are now or ever have been 
 deeply concerned over the intricacies of dogma and 
 speculative religion, yet it is interesting to know that 
 their Church is the most considerable body of Christians 
 professing monophysitism that is to say, that Christ 
 possessed but one nature, that of the incarnate word, 
 and that His human body was essentially different 
 from other human bodies. 
 
 When the monophysite doctrine was condemned by 
 the Council of Chalcedonia, the Coptic and Ethiopian 
 Churches separated completely from the Roman 
 Church (A.D. 451), and continued to teach that doctrine 
 and the right of circumcision. The Ethiopians admit 
 seven Sacraments, pay homage to the Virgin and the 
 Saints, and have great respect for the dead, the resur- 
 rection, the last judgment, purgatory, and other 
 features of the Roman Catholic Church. Periods of 
 prayer and fasting are frequent ; the latter is especially 
 rigorous, involving even abstinence from eating eggs. 
 Occasional doctrinal disputes arise in Ethiopia as 
 elsewhere. In 1898 a preacher maintained that the 
 Holy Trinity really consisted of nine persons, but fifty 
 lashes speedily brought him round to the orthodox 
 way of thinking. 
 
 The Abouna, who is also the Archbishop of Gondar
 
 THE ABYSSINIAN CHUECH 167 
 
 and Axum, has the direction of a Guardian of the Tables 
 of the Law, priests, curates, deacons, and scribes, who 
 constitute the national clergy. Then to the regular 
 clergy may be added monks of various Orders, and 
 likewise nuns. A singular addition to the Church 
 organization is the institution of the Ethiage, the 
 Etchequie being scarcely less a personage than the 
 Abouna himself. It appears that in the thirteenth 
 century, when it was decided that the Abouna should 
 always be a stranger, it was also decided to limit his 
 authority to matters spiritual, and to create an 
 Etchequie" to administer the temporal affairs of the 
 Church. The wise men of Ethiopia appear to have 
 foreseen exactly the complications which could arise 
 from foreign control both of the spiritual and temporal 
 affairs of the Church, as illustrated in recent develop- 
 ments in France, and guarded themselves so carefully 
 against any possible foreign domination that to-day 
 in practice the Church is a powerful instrument 
 practically controlled by the Emperor's Government. 
 The present Etchequie is an uncle of Oualdo Mikael, 
 my interpreter, who pointed him out to me, riding 
 upon a white mule with a huge escort, like a general 
 of high degree. 
 
 As thus constituted, the Abyssinian Church, like 
 the Abyssinian nation, has withstood all assaults from 
 without and within, from its establishment until to- 
 day. The Church sent a delegation to the General 
 Council at Florence in 1441, before which the 
 Ethiopian priests, accepted as representatives of the 
 mythical Prester John, sustained the Divine nature 
 of Christ, while the Latin Church maintained that 
 He possessed two natures in one. From this incident 
 followed the curious adventure of the Portuguese in
 
 168 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 Ethiopia, based upon the wish of the Western King to 
 learn more of this much-talked-of Prester John. The 
 Portuguese Ambassador at Rome sent two delegates 
 to Ethiopia upon the return of the priests who had 
 attended the Council at Florence ; but they brought 
 back no news, having found it impossible to speak 
 Arabic or any other language known in the country. 
 The attachment of Portugal for Ethiopia was con- 
 firmed, however, and other historical consequences 
 followed. In 1487 John II. of Portugal sent forth 
 Pedro de Covilham and Alphonso de Paiva to find 
 a short route to India. At Aden they heard of a 
 Christian King in Abyssinia, and although they be- 
 lieved that the real Prester John would be found 
 in India, they decided to take no chances, so Paiva 
 started for Ethiopia to investigate, and Covilham 
 continued towards India. Paiva was assassinated, 
 and Covilham, returning from India, penetrated to 
 Ethiopia from Zaila. He was received as an Ambas- 
 sador, and all went well until he wished to leave, 
 when he found himself a prisoner. The Emperor 
 at that time placed such a high value upon his advice 
 that he made use of a pretended law by which a 
 stranger once having reached the country might not 
 leave. Covilham lived and died in Ethiopia, but was 
 permitted to correspond with his own King, whom 
 he advised to secure an influence in Africa by sending 
 missionaries thereto, who, being installed without 
 hope of returning, would win over the whole country 
 to the Roman Catholic faith. 
 
 The King of Portugal charged a number of Jesuit 
 missionaries with this task, and these soon occupied 
 all the eminent posts in the Ethiopian Church, to the 
 great irritation of the less highly instructed native
 
 THE ABYSSINIAN CHUKCH 169 
 
 clergy. Then came the invasion of Abyssinia in 1528 
 by the Mohammedans, who, Tinder the leadership 
 of Mohamed Gragne, drove the Christians into the 
 highlands. Unconquered, but driven back, cut off 
 from the sea, we may say that from that moment 
 the Abyssinians were deprived of contact with the 
 Western world, until the railroad from Djibouti once 
 more aroused universal interest in their country. In 
 this situation help came from Portugal, in the form 
 of a corps of 500 men led by Christopher de Gama. 
 Father Jerome Lobo recites the valorous deeds of 
 Christopher de Gama, who rendered signal service 
 to Ethiopia, but was eventually betrayed by a Turkish 
 woman whose husband he had killed, and who had 
 pretended to love him. De Gama was horribly tor- 
 tured, but refused heroically to disclose the where- 
 abouts of the Portuguese, and was finally decapitated. 
 Eventually, with the aid of the Portuguese, Mohamed 
 Gragne was himself killed and his anny destroyed, 
 although the Abyssinians have never since recovered 
 their sea-coast possessions. Tradition says that the 
 Moslem General named the province of Kaffa the home 
 of the coffee-plant, whence the name we give to the 
 beverage. Reaching an impetuous river swollen by 
 the rains, he exclaimed, ' Ne Kafi !' (I am afraid), and 
 went no further. 
 
 While these events were taking place, the Jesuits 
 sought to effect a complete control of the Ethiopian 
 Church, thus inviting reaction against Portuguese 
 influence. Religious war soon followed, resulting in 
 the expulsion of the Catholic missionaries in 1632 
 under the Negus Facilidas, since which the Ethiopian 
 Church has continued undisturbed to maintain its own 
 doctrines in its own way.
 
 170 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 An affinity has been found between the Ethiopian 
 language and the Assyrian. The former belongs 
 properly, however, to the Semitic domain. There is 
 also some affinity between these tongues and the 
 ancient Himyarite, as well as the modern Mahrah, in 
 Arabia. These points of resemblance are especially 
 apparent in the Gheze, or ecclesiastical language of 
 the empire. This, in turn, is as closely allied to 
 the modern Court language, Amharic, as modern 
 Italian is to Latin. Amharic will, no doubt, dominate 
 eventually throughout Ethiopia. The linguistic con- 
 nection between the two sides of the Red Sea seems 
 to agree with the historical connection. The south- 
 west portion of Arabia and Ethiopia had during a 
 long period an almost common history. The existing 
 monuments at Axiun have a great resemblance to 
 those of Sanna and Mareb. When the migration from 
 the Yemen to Abyssinia took place is told only by 
 tradition. Prior to the introduction of Christianity 
 the history of Ethiopia is a mere tissue of legends. 
 We only know that the Abyssinians in their turn 
 invaded the Yemen in 528, and remained fifty years. 
 King Aizanas styles himself, in the inscription at 
 Axum, ' King of the Homerites, the Keidans, and the 
 Ethiopians, and of the Sabians.' 
 
 The Gheze resembles Arabic and Hebrew, but 
 the Amharic, although closely related, does not 
 seem to have been derived directly therefrom. After 
 the fourteenth century the Gheze ceased to be a 
 spoken tongue, and to-day, in addition to its use 
 as the ecclesiastical tongue, it is employed in the 
 preambles to correspondence, the body of which is 
 Amharic. 
 
 The literature of Ethiopia is not rich, as it consists
 
 LANGUAGE AND LITEBATUBE 171 
 
 mainly of theological works, liturgies, and books of 
 the saints. The popular literature is little known. 
 The only mention made by Professor Mondon, who 
 spent many years at the Court of the Emperor, 
 under the head of popular literature relates to the 
 funeral odes upon the death of Soubagadis, and 
 certain satires upon the reign of Theodore. Professor 
 Mondon says in his valuable little 'Manual' that 
 these have a ' grand movement,' and although some- 
 times incoherent and bizarre, have a 'noble Biblical 
 aspect.' He thinks that the azmaris or troubadours, 
 whose melancholy songs and one-stringed lutes were 
 frequently heard about our tents, probably preserve 
 some early traditions that would be interesting to 
 gather. 
 
 The Amharic language, or modern Ethiopic, com- 
 prises thirty-three letters, each of which has seven 
 distinct characters, or 251 characters in all, including 
 the diphthongs. Each character represents a syllable. 
 The orthography is based upon the pronunciation. 
 Greek or Coptic figures are used, although the Arabic 
 characters are now being introduced. 
 
 Conversation invariably begins with a salutation. 
 To an inferior or to an equal one would say, ' How 
 hast thou passed the night ?' or morning, or afternoon, 
 as the case might be. To one of exalted station the 
 form would be changed, the nuance being untranslat- 
 able. To a woman still another form of salutation 
 would be employed. 
 
 The Abyssinians are extremely ceremonious. This 
 applies to their speech and to their correspondence. 
 The protocol or beginning of their letters is always 
 written in Gheze. The termination is as brief as the 
 introduction is long. In the Abyssinian writings no
 
 172 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 paragraphs appear, except at the conclusion of letters, 
 where the phrase begins : 
 
 ' Written at - - the - - day of the month - of 
 the year of grace - .' 
 
 Letters are not signed, the signature being replaced 
 by a seal. The Emperor begins his letters with his 
 seal. By exception, he attached his seal to the 
 American Treaty at the end of the last page. The 
 following is the manner in which the Ethiopian begins 
 an ordinary letter : 
 
 'May the message of Atto Gabrou reach Oualdo 
 Miriam. How are you ? Myself I am well, thanks be 
 to God.' 
 
 To an inferior one would write : 
 ' May the letter of reach - .' 
 
 To an European whom it is desired to honour : 
 
 ' May this letter reach the illustrious and honoured 
 How are you ? Myself (may God be honoured 
 
 and glorified in heaven and upon earth) I am well.' 
 
 In his letter to the Hon. David R. Francis, President 
 of the Louisiana Exposition, the text of which has 
 been given to the newspapers, and is therefore not 
 confidential, the Emperor said : 
 
 [SEAL.] 
 
 ' The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has conquered. 
 Menelik II., by the Grace of God King of Kings 
 of Ethiopia, to the President of the Exposition of 
 St. Louis, greeting. 
 
 ' I have received the letter that you have sent me 
 through Consul-General Skinner. I am very happy
 
 LANGUAGE AND LITEEATUEE 173 
 
 to hear of your good thought in reserving for me in 
 your Exposition a space for my country. I have in 
 consequence, and in spite of the short time which 
 remains to us, given orders to collect specimens of the 
 products of my country. 
 
 ' 1 pray to God that He will aid you in leading to a 
 good end the great work that you have undertaken. 
 
 ' Written the seventeenth day of December, year 
 of grace eighteen hundred and ninety-six, at Addis- 
 Ababa ' (corresponding to December 27, 1903). 
 
 The termination of a letter consists in some ex- 
 pressions concerning the health and the sacramental 
 ' Amen.' 
 
 The following is a sample of Abyssinian poetry 
 taken from the royal songs : 
 
 ' The face of His Majesty Isaac resembles the gate 
 of Heaven ; it resembles a burning fire ; it resembles 
 an oscillating balance. The face inspires terror, the 
 terrible Isaac. 
 
 'When thine eyelids rise, who will regard thee 
 face to face ? Thine eye will pierce like a lemon, and 
 will scald like an onion, the body of whosoever will 
 regard thee face to face.'* 
 
 This is an extract from a funeral song : 
 
 c Alas ! Soubagadis, the friend of all, 
 Remains at Dagga-Choba, by the hands of Oubessat. 
 Alas ! Soubagadis, the pillar of the poor, 
 He remains at Dagga-Choba, bathed in his own 
 
 blood ; 
 The men of the country will remain good, 
 
 * Translated from Professor Mondon's French version.
 
 174 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 Because they will eat grain which will have 
 
 germinated in his blood. 
 In November, at the Feast of St. Michael, who will 
 
 remember 
 
 Marie has killed him with five thousand Gallas ? 
 Who will remember the morsel of bread and the 
 
 glass of hydromel ? 
 At Dagga-Choba he is fallen, the friend of the 
 
 Christians.'* 
 
 The opulent Abyssinian is not born with a silver 
 spoon in his mouth, but with a gun in his hand. 
 From their earliest youth all classes and degrees of 
 the population learn to handle a gun, and aspire to 
 own one, or several if possible. To own a gun is to 
 be a man, and to be a man is to be a soldier. Ergo, 
 the Ethiopians are all soldiers. The imperial army 
 proper consists of active and reserve forces, to which 
 may be added the Emperor's bodyguard, picked troops 
 constantly under arms at Addis-Ababa. Each Has 
 or Governor-General disposes of a corps of fighting 
 men, proportioned to his importance. These soldiers 
 receive practically no pay, but are wholly supported 
 and armed by the State. The active army consists of 
 about 200,000 volunteers. The territorial, or army of 
 reserve, is organized under the feudal system. Each 
 community owes to the State, in case of war, a certain 
 number of soldiers, equipped, but not armed. They 
 must assemble under the flag with a mule or an ass, 
 and with provisions for one month. Freeholders may 
 hire substitutes, and they frequently do so. The 
 territorial forces amount to about 200,000 men also. 
 The Government is said to possess about 600,000 
 
 * Translated from Professor Mondon's French version.
 
 THE AEMY 175 
 
 rifles, although some assert that the number does not 
 exceed 300,000. Individual soldiers do not appear to 
 know how to keep their weapons in proper condition. 
 They include all the best marks, such as the Gras, 
 Berdan, and Lee-Metford. Supplies are distributed 
 throughout the Empire, and the army can be mobilized 
 as readily, probably, as any other in the world. 
 
 On the breaking out of war the heralds of the 
 Negus, or Emperor, read out a proclamation in the 
 market-places after the beating of the negarit, or great 
 war-drum. The herald stands upon the drum, with 
 lance and mantle held by a slave at his side. The 
 call to arms is obeyed partly from discipline, but 
 largely from custom and love of war, with its attendant 
 excitement. While stores are transported for a limited 
 period the army expects to live off the country through 
 which it passes. The forces are accompanied by 
 perhaps 20 per cent, of their own number of women, 
 slaves, and camp-followers. When an encampment is 
 determined upon, the red tent of the Negus is first set 
 up, and surrounded by those of his four great chiefs 
 that is to say, the Dedjasmatch, or chief of 
 corps ; the Kagnazmatch, or General of the right ; the 
 Grasmatch, or General of the left ; and the Fitaurari, 
 or General of the advance-guard. The rank and file 
 arrange themselves as best they can, and in case a 
 stay is decided upon a market is opened. Women 
 and children abound, and the accustomed family life 
 is resumed. 
 
 At Adowa, before the great battle, the Emperor's 
 camp comprised three concentric circles. His own 
 tent and that of the Empress were placed in the 
 centre of the first circle, with the immediate personnel 
 of the Emperor on the left, and that of the Empress
 
 176 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 on the right. The kitchens were behind the imperial 
 tents. Around the stockade enclosing this camp stood 
 the soldiers of the bodyguard. In the second circle 
 were the tents of the various Rases ; the Dadjazmatch,or 
 chief of corps ; the Affa-Negus, or ' breath of the King ' ; 
 the Abouna, or head of the Church. Finally, in the 
 third circle were the tents of the Kagnazmatch, or 
 General of the right ; the Grasmatch, or General of the 
 left ; and the Fitaurari, or General of the advance-guard. 
 
 Captain Moltado, an Italian soldier who participated 
 in the late war, and was afterwards kept as a hostage, 
 in describing Menelik's army on the march on 
 January 31, 1896, said : 
 
 ' They did not consist of fighting men only ; there 
 were women, grandfathers, lame people, babies, priests, 
 lepers every kind of individual. "It is not an army," 
 said Paoletti to me at the moment, " it is an invasion, 
 the transplanting of a whole people." They were all 
 crowded one on to the other, amidst donkeys, mules, 
 horses, in the same track. When, owing to the arrival 
 of some chief, they were obliged to make way, they 
 threw themselves indifferently to the right or the left.' 
 
 The usual custom of the Abyssinian army is to 
 advance in a half-moon formation, each man fighting 
 with more or less personal initiative. They are fair 
 marksmen, and probably would be better but for a 
 tendency to get their rifle sights out of order. When 
 the battle becomes hot, and the final rush is made, 
 sword and lance come into play, and the war-cries of 
 the ancient kingdoms are raised. ' Together, together !' 
 cry the Choans. 'God pardon us, Christ!' cry the 
 Godjamites. The Gallas, lowest in the social scale, 
 repeat twice, 'Slay, slay!' The troubadours also go 
 into the fight, improvising such songs as this :
 
 THE ARMY 177 
 
 ' Brothers, are ye hungry, are ye thirsty ? Oh, 
 true sons of my mother, are ye not birds of prey ? 
 Forward ! Behold the flesh of your enemy ! 
 
 * And I will be a carver of your feast. Forward ! 
 If ye lack hydromel, I will give ye my blood to drink.' 
 
 Herbert Vivian, the writer of an English book on 
 Abyssinia, says : ' If Menelik were imprudent enough 
 to quarrel with us, we could invade him from the 
 Soudan at any moment, and in one year, or certainly 
 two, could annex and reorganize his dominions.' This 
 is perfectly absurd as a statement of military possi- 
 bility. The war in Somaliland, which lasted over a 
 year, is quite enough to suggest that war with 
 Ethiopia would be not only very costly, but very long. 
 Our own limited experience permitted us to draw some 
 inferences respecting the relative mobility of Ethiopian 
 and Anglo-Saxon soldiery in Africa. For our own 
 small party of twenty-eight men, who carried their 
 own haversacks, we also transported approximately 
 two and a half tons of camp equipage of the regula- 
 tion sort. We were continually held back by our 
 supply train. Among other effects, our men had a 
 heavy cast-iron stove, which was freighted laboriously 
 from place to place, and the presence of the stove 
 seemed to be essential to the preparation of a satis- 
 factory meal. Our numerous Ethiopian servants and 
 native soldiers carried nothing, except a few sheet- 
 iron pots and pans, and when they had made camp, 
 they had their fires going and their dinner cooking in 
 a marvellously short space of time. 
 
 Our officers' mess, which was independent of that 
 of the men, was provided for by one Mohamed, an 
 excellent cook, who required no stove at all, but was 
 ready to begin his culinary operations so soon as he had 
 
 12
 
 178 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 found three round stones, between which he would 
 start a diminutive fire. This Mohamed would rise at 
 three o'clock, prepare coffee and hash or some other 
 palatable dish, and be off on foot with the advance- 
 guard, followed by one small mule carrying his pots 
 and pans. He would cover his twenty or twenty-five 
 miles a day without a murmur, and on foot, the most of 
 the time under an equatorial sun, and upon his arrival 
 at the rendezvous would find his three round stones 
 as usual, and upon them create for our sustenance 
 nightly a soup, two meat dishes and one vegetable 
 dish, and tea. 
 
 Mobility apart, there is, of course, no comparison 
 between native and European soldiery, but in Africa 
 this one quality is worth almost more than all others 
 combined ; and when added to moderate fighting 
 efficiency, the conclusion is irresistible that a united 
 Abyssinia would be able to resist indefinitely any 
 ordinary attempt to break down an independence 
 which has withstood assault successfully from every 
 invasion, except that by Arab arms under Mohamed 
 Gragne ; and, of course, the Arabs followed about the 
 same methods as the Ethiopians. If independent 
 Abyssinia falls, that contingency is most likely to 
 result from dissensions among the Abyssinians them- 
 selves.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 The Caucasians of Gush 
 
 THESE pages do not pretend, of course, to deal with 
 Ethiopian history, except very incidentally, yet even this 
 account of my own journey, and of existing institutions 
 brought to my attention in one way or another, would 
 be to some extent incomprehensible without reference 
 to the most interesting tradition of the empire that is 
 to say, the tradition according to which Menelik II. is 
 a descendant of King Solomon of old. Now, it is a 
 perfectly patent fact to all observers that the Abyssinian 
 people are of Jewish ancestry. It is perfectly estab- 
 lished that the present religion has been grafted upon 
 a root of Judaism, which itself displaced polytheism 
 and idolatry fifteen centuries before Christ. We know 
 that there are at present in the country several colonies 
 of Jews, called Falashas, or exiles, which have been 
 in existence for many centuries ; that these Jews 
 possess the Old Testament in the Gheze language, 
 a volume of extracts from the Pentateuch, with com- 
 ments given to Moses by God, the Sabbatical laws, 
 a book of secrets revealed to twelve saints, to be 
 used as a charm against disease, and a translation of 
 Josephus. They reject the Talmud and its commen- 
 taries. This people regard a house as inhabitable 
 until the blood of a sheep or goat has been spilt within 
 
 179 12 2
 
 180 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 it, and their priests may marry once, but not a second 
 time. Consequently, when we consider the proximity 
 of Ethiopia to Judea, in connection with the known 
 facts as to Jewish influence in Ethiopia, we find a 
 sufficient basis of proof to clothe the tradition with 
 an atmosphere of extreme probability. 
 
 We all remember how the Queen of Sheba went 
 down to the land of Judea to see Solomon. Abyssinian 
 tradition recognises our Queen of Sheba as Makeda, 
 Queen of Ethiopia, born 1020 B.C., and placed upon 
 the throne at the age of fifteen. Her title of Queen 
 of Sheba, according to M. J. Morie", who has gone into 
 this matter with a more solemn enthusiasm than any 
 other writer to my knowledge, appears to come from 
 that of Queen of Hasaba (Queen of the South). He 
 thinks that Saba (Sheba) is a corruption of the name 
 of Hasaba, and that the adventures of this Queen have 
 been confused with those of Balkis, Queen of Saba in 
 Arabia, who, perhaps, became also a wife of Solomon 
 in due time. Inasmuch as Solomon managed to 
 have 700 wives, not to mention 300 concubines, the 
 convictions of M. J. Morid are entitled to a good deal 
 of respect, all the more particularly because his belief 
 coincides perfectly with the prevailing belief in 
 Abyssinia, where historical incidents have been handed 
 from father to son for hundreds of years with remark- 
 able fidelity to fact. At all events, there was certainly 
 a Makeda, Queen of Ethiopia, who governed wisely 
 and well, at a period when the glory of Solomon was 
 known throughout the world. 
 
 One of Solomon's Generals, Boulboul by name, had 
 visited the Ethiopian Makeda in her capital, and gave 
 the wise King such a glowing account of her beauty 
 that he resolved to send an embassy to her seat of
 
 THE CAUCASIANS OF GUSH 181 
 
 government. Boulboul was charged with this mission, 
 and M. Mori declares that he bore a letter written in 
 these terms : 
 
 ' In the name of God, clement and merciful. 
 Solomon, servitor of God and son of David, to Makeda, 
 Queen of the South. Let peace be with him who 
 follows the light. Harden not thyself against me. 
 Come and see me, and believe.' 
 
 The letter was perfumed with musk and sealed 
 with the royal seal. Notwithstanding which, Makeda 
 declined at first to go to Jerusalem, sending instead 
 to Solomon 1,000 slaves, gold, spices, and amber. 
 Solomon did not wish to accept the gifts, and he 
 returned the Ambassador, with the information that 
 an army would be coming soon to humiliate the Queen's 
 bad advisers. Then Makeda decided to go to Jeru- 
 salem to see Solomon, or, as the Bible puts it, to prove 
 him with hard questions. 
 
 The famous Queen had reigned twenty-five years, 
 and was in the full enjoyment of her remarkable 
 beauty. It was not astonishing that she should desire 
 to see the most famous ruler of her time. She departed 
 with great pomp, and entered Jerusalem mounted 
 upon a mule, with a large retinue, and followed by 
 camels bearing presents of gold and precious stones. 
 She was received by the King, who attended her in an 
 apartment decorated with crystal from ceiling to floor. 
 Solomon had arranged for her a throne similar to the 
 one she had left behind, constructed of silver and gold, 
 ornamented with rubies and emeralds. Under the 
 crystal floor could be seen a running brook filled with 
 rare fish, and so cunningly was it all contrived that 
 the Queen believed herself about to cross a stream, 
 and lifted up her skirt. Makeda came prepared to
 
 182 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 admire, but what she saw surpassed every idea which 
 she had ever entertained. She was particularly flat- 
 tered by the delicate attentions showered upon her by 
 a monarch whose keen wit she was able to appreciate. 
 One of the favourite diversions of the Queen was the 
 posing of enigmas, which the King answered with 
 extraordinary readiness. Witnessing the wisdom and 
 the munificence of Solomon, Makeda exclaimed to the 
 King : ' This that I see of you surpasses the renown 
 which had reached me in my home. Blessed be your 
 God, who has placed His affection in you, and who has 
 made you to sit upon the throne of Israel !' Rich 
 presents were exchanged, and several months after 
 Makeda returned into her kingdom, leading with her 
 Azariah, son of the great preacher Sadok, and 
 12,000 Jews that is to say, 1,000 from each tribe- 
 commanded by twelve judges. 
 
 This journey resulted in the negotiation of a treaty 
 of commerce, in which the port of Mascat is mentioned ; 
 it also permitted Solomon to secure from Choa many 
 beautiful horses, and enabled the Kings of Christian 
 Abyssinia later on to declare themselves cousins of 
 Christ, Himself also born of the race of David. 
 
 Solomon on his side had not been insensible to the 
 charms of the beautiful Queen, and Makeda responded 
 with an equal affection. The result of this mutual 
 admiration was the birth of Makeda's son Menelik. 
 The Oriental tradition declares that Solomon, struck 
 by the beauty of Makeda, vainly besieged the fortress 
 of her affections. At length, irritated by her resist- 
 ance, he resorted to strategy. He made her swear 
 to become one of his wives, apparently a relationship 
 of a temporary character, on condition that he could 
 prove that she had stolen something from him. The
 
 THE CAUCASIANS OF GUSH 183 
 
 Queen, confident of the honesty of her intentions, 
 laughingly made the oath. Some days later Solomon 
 served a highly-spiced dinner, during which neither 
 wine nor water were offered until the dessert was 
 brought on, when strong liqueurs, served in small 
 quantities, were passed among the guests. Makeda, 
 burning with thirst, increased by the alcoholic 
 liqueurs served to her, profited by a moment of in- 
 attention, more apparent than real, to hold her glass 
 under a jet of water playing in a fountain near the 
 table. Solomon, who watched her every movement, 
 accused her of theft, and the Ethiopian Queen, pre- 
 pared to capitulate in any event, now readily consented 
 to the entreaties of Solomon. 
 
 The child Menelik, born as Makeda journeyed back 
 to Ethiopia, remained with his mother until he became 
 of sufficient age to go himself to Jerusalem, where he 
 was instructed by wise men and profited by the lessons 
 of Solomon himself. Thus Menelik passed several 
 years at Jerusalem, and when arrived at the age of 
 manhood he was anointed and consecrated as King of 
 Abyssinia in the Temple of Jerusalem, under the name 
 of David, and returned to his mother in the year 964. 
 Numerous Jews and Phrenician artists accompanied 
 Menelik upon his return to his kingdom. M. Morie, 
 who recounts these events, declares that, in case of the 
 reconstitution of an independent Jewish State, an 
 Abyssinian Negus, a direct descendant of Solomon, 
 and who bears the title of King of Sion and of Israel, 
 is already indicated as the Sovereign for the new 
 kingdom. 
 
 It is said that Solomon caused copies of the Ark of 
 the Covenant and of the Tables of the Law to be 
 prepared for his son Menelik, which were so like the
 
 184 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 originals that Azariah, son of Sadok, who was with 
 Menelik when he set out for Abyssinia, succeeded in 
 substituting the copies for the originals. The sub- 
 stitution, either accidental or intentional, was not 
 discovered until too late, and Azariah deposited the 
 precious relics in the church at Axum. It is pretended 
 perhaps one should not insist upon the evidence- 
 that one of these original Tables of the Law is guarded 
 and venerated at Axum until this very day. 
 
 From the time of Solomon we find that the list 
 of Kings of Abyssinia contains many Jewish names, 
 and there is enough in favour of the Ethiopian claim 
 of the present Menelik's direct descent to make it quite 
 comprehensible. As for the tradition in regard to the 
 Queen of Sheba, I hope that no historian will come 
 along to demolish it with proofs of incontestable 
 authenticity.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Trade and commerce Agriculture The home of coffee 
 Economic development. 
 
 THE practical question whether it has been worth 
 while to establish friendly relations with Ethiopia has 
 been answered already to some extent in the course of 
 an explanation in regard to the motives which prompted 
 the organization of the expedition. The present total 
 amount of foreign trade of Ethiopia is not great. Ex- 
 ports and imports united give a total of frs. 12,000,000 
 ($2,316,000), of which the share of America amounts 
 to $1,389,600, a sum more flattering to the national 
 vanity by its relative proportions than by its intrinsic 
 importance. Of this total trade, American cotton 
 goods come in for frs. 3,000,000 ($579,000), and on 
 the exporting side we receive in the United States, 
 from Abyssinia and Somaliland together, skins and 
 hides to the value of frs. 3,500,000 ($675,000), and 
 coffee to the value of frs. 700,000 ($135,100). 
 
 No officially established statistical tables will sup- 
 port these facts, as our cumbersome American habit 
 of importing and exporting through numerous middle- 
 men has the effect of confusing the true state of trade 
 with the total returns of Aden, London, and Liverpool. 
 However gratifying may be the actualities of Ethiopian 
 commerce with the United States, we naturally look to 
 
 185
 
 186 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 the future to develop a now non-existent commerce of 
 really important volume. Whether that development 
 will take place depends upon such a variety of circum- 
 stances that it would be useless to dwell long upon 
 them here. The two great obstacles to the increase 
 of American trade at present are 
 
 (1) The absence of American navigation lines assur- 
 ing rapid, direct, and cheap transportation ; and 
 
 (2) The absence of American business firms in 
 Ethiopia capable of representing our interests. 
 
 In this connection I may quote the following extracts 
 from a private letter addressed to me by an acquaint- 
 ance, and received since my return : 
 
 ' At this moment a German commercial movement 
 seems to be taking form. The repeated visits of German 
 merchants announces this movement as serious.* We 
 must avow the superiority of these people as commercial 
 travellers. The son of Mohamed Aboubaker said to me : 
 " Since the cotton cloths are so cheap in America, why 
 does no American come here to sell to us ? He would 
 make a fortune quickly." This is also my own opinion. 
 This is a country where one sees only the tangible 
 things. In my humble view, a simple warehouse or 
 store at Dire-Daouah would do more for American 
 trade than all the Expositions put together. It would 
 soon become known throughout Abyssinia.' 
 
 The Abyssinia of to-day is one of the few remaining 
 lands of romance and adventure a land of grave faces, 
 elaborate courtesy, classic togas, and Biblical civiliza- 
 tion. Gibbon said that, * encompassed by the enemies 
 
 * This was written within a few weeks after my own return. 
 Since then a German official mission has been received in 
 Abyssinia, and several German private parties have likewise 
 visited the country.
 
 t TEADE AND COMMEECE 187 
 
 of their religion, the Ethiopians slept for near one 
 thousand years, forgetful of the world, by whom they 
 were forgotten.' They were cut off from communica- 
 tion with the over-sea Christians by a belt of lowland, 
 inhabited by savage tribes, with whom they were con- 
 stantly at war. These tribes have now been brought 
 under subjection, regular trade routes have been 
 opened, and the isolation of the past is over. The 
 present generation will probably live to know whether 
 or not this population, which has kept alive its faith 
 and its traditions through 2,000 years, is capable of 
 advancing to our Western standards. 
 
 When the Queen of Sheba, the Emperor Menelik's 
 pseudo-ancestor, went down to see Solomon and to 
 prove him with questions, she took with her presents 
 of spices and gems and gold. There are still spices 
 and gems and gold in Ethiopia. The perfumes of 
 Araby the blessed blow also over Ethiopia. The gems 
 we saw were scattered over the desert waste, washed 
 down from the mountains above. There were quartzes 
 of all kinds and colours. M. E. Lebertois, a hospitable 
 friend of Dire"-Daouah, who goes about the country 
 with a little hammer, and who has shelves and shelves 
 filled with his specimens, has shown me crystals which 
 he says suggest diamonds, and he has also specimens 
 pointing to rubies, opals, and emeralds. As for copper, 
 iron, and the ordinary ores, their extraction is merely 
 a question of finding facilities for shipment, and, 
 probably more important still, a market capable of 
 absorbing them. 
 
 Gold is hidden away in the mountains in quantities 
 which can be estimated by no existing data. Even 
 now the annual production of gold, by methods as old 
 as Moses, amounts to probably $500,000. We bought
 
 188 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 specimens of this native gold, and it is a trade 
 regularly followed by a numerous class of merchants. 
 The Emperor is a wise man in his generation, and is 
 currently believed to regard as considerably less im- 
 portant the development of the gold deposits of the 
 empire than the cultivation of his fertile tablelands. 
 My interpreter told me that his late ' master,' M. Com- 
 boul, had discovered petroleum in large quantities, 
 and that the Emperor had all M. Comboul's carefully 
 prepared reports. The development of this and other 
 resources is for the relatively distant future, when not 
 only the one railroad now building, but others only 
 dreamt of, shall have been constructed. 
 
 Actually, the hope of the country depends upon 
 agriculture. Surely a bountiful Providence has smiled 
 upon these children of Africa. It has given them a 
 climate and a soil which produce two, and even three, 
 crops per year. Nearly every grain can be grown in 
 Ethiopia that will grow anywhere. The climate is 
 salubrious, and the heat not oppressive. The rainy 
 season is by no means severe. In the low valleys 
 malarial influences prevail before and after the rainy 
 season, but, generally speaking, the country is healthy. 
 In the highlands the cold becomes intense at night. 
 There are three seasons the cold from October to 
 February, the hot from March to June 15, and the 
 wet from June 16 to September 30. The wet season 
 equalizes the temperature, increases fertility, and plays 
 an important part in the annual overflow of the Nile. 
 During the wet season violent storms are of daily occur- 
 rence. They burst out usually at night, and in a few 
 hours dry beds become torrents, which subside as 
 quickly as they arise. In January there is a season 
 of ' little rains.' The result of this distribution of the
 
 AGKICULTUKE 189 
 
 water is that verdure springs up like magic twice 
 a year, to fatten the millions of sleek zebus with 
 immense horns the sacred cows of the menagerie. 
 
 The agricultural implements employed are of the 
 most elementary type. The plough is a mere crooked 
 stick, the point which enters the ground being some- 
 times covered with iron. It cuts the soil, but does not 
 turn a furrow. 
 
 The empire as a whole rises from a low and arid 
 district bordering on the Red Sea, and consists of 
 a series of tablelands, broken by mountain ranges. 
 These tablelands have from 6,000 to 9,000 feet of 
 altitude. The mountains reach from 12,000 to 13,000 
 feet, and in Siemen some peaks are said to be 15,000 
 feet above the sea-level. For agricultural purposes 
 the empire may be divided into four zones. The 
 highest zone, the altitude of which is above 7,500 feet, 
 is formed of plateaux broken by mountains, which are 
 frequently crowned by still other tablelands. Here the 
 temperature varies, but rarely goes above 17 C. The 
 highest portion of this zone is poor in all respects. 
 Except for a little barley and wheat, nothing is cul- 
 tivated. The lower portions are thickly wooded with 
 large trees. Here grows the famous cousso, from 
 which the well-known tsenifuge is obtained. As the 
 Ethiopians are fond of a diet of raw meat, which is 
 presumed to give rise to tsenia, the tree is really in- 
 dispensable to their peace of mind and body. 
 
 The middle agricultural zone varies in altitude from 
 4,500 to 7,500 feet. The temperature varies from 
 14 to 30 C. It is remarkable for its virgin forests, 
 rich pasture-lands, and torrential streams. It is the 
 finest part of the country. 
 
 The inferior zone, or Koualla, is watered by large
 
 190 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 streams, which lose themselves in the sand before they 
 reach the coast, and is subject to no important agricul- 
 tural exploitation other than stock-raising. 
 
 Finally, the desert zone is reached, through which 
 flows the Ha wash River, tracing a green ribbon of 
 radiant verdure across its arid steppes. Here the sun 
 is very strong. The temperature reaches 75 C. in the 
 sun, and never descends below 22*9 C. Yet even in 
 this so-called desert zone, when the water does reach 
 it, like our south-western deserts, it becomes at once 
 productive in the highest degree. 
 
 The empire suffices unto itself agriculturally at 
 present, but it also possesses great interest to the out- 
 side world, not merely by reason of its possibilities, 
 but because of its present importance as a coffee- 
 growing centre. 
 
 The story of the introduction of coffee into the 
 great world is interesting. The Arab historians relate 
 that the Caid Omar Djidda, a resident of the Arabian 
 Yemen, fell gravely ill. A holy marabout, by name 
 Sidi Ahrem Airman, advised him to drink an infusion 
 from the fruit of a plant which grew among a black 
 people far beyond the sea. The holy man left Arabia, 
 and after an absence of one year in Ethiopia, he 
 returned, bringing back the seeds of the coffee-plant, 
 with which he cured the Caid. The Caid then pro- 
 posed to cultivate the plant in Arabia, which deter- 
 mination proved that the Caid had a capable head for 
 business, as Arabian coffee retains to this day such 
 prestige that the Harrar coffee, which is said to be 
 the original Moka, and quite as good, if not better, 
 is industriously mixed at Aden with the Moka of 
 Arabia, or, as is frequently the case, is sold as Moka 
 without any mixing at all.
 
 THE HOME OF COFFEE 191 
 
 The Ethiopian tradition respecting coffee differs 
 from the Arabian. At Harrar they say that coffee 
 really came into Ethiopia from the Orient, having 
 been brought thither by one Zis Kameer, a companion 
 of the Wandering Jew. Still others say that Amir 
 Nour, who swept through the country with fire and 
 sword 421 years ago, brought his coffee with him from 
 Arabia. But if he did so, his Arabian coffee might 
 very likely have been traced back to its original habitat 
 in Abyssinia. 
 
 The weight of testimony seems to be in favour of 
 Ethiopia as the original home of the coffee-plant. 
 There are in the country to-day two distinct types of 
 coffee. There is the famous long-berry, remarkable 
 for its lengthened form, and there is the coffee imported 
 at Harrar directly from the province of Kaffa. The 
 difference between these types is such that M. Eugene 
 Carette, who practises medicine and studies agriculture 
 at Dire'-Daouah, reaches this conclusion : ' It is natural 
 to believe that the first variety has developed 
 from an importation from Arabia, and that the 
 changes of climate have distinguished it from its 
 prototype.' 
 
 The Kaffa bean has also deviated from its original 
 type, but, not having the fineness and aroma of the 
 long-berry or Moka, may be presumed to spring from 
 indigenous stock. The two coffee types tend to mix 
 in consequence of successive hybridization. The veiy 
 word ' coffee ' carries confirmation of the idea that 
 the original home of the plant is the province of Kaffa. 
 The present exportation of coffee from Ethiopia 
 amounts to $814,000 annually. 
 
 Now that all the world is talking about cotton- 
 growing, it is worth while noting that cotton has been
 
 192 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 grown in Ethiopia for many years, the product being 
 manufactured in the country. This fact has inspired 
 half a dozen French cultivators to undertake cotton- 
 growing upon a large scale, and while it is very early 
 to pronounce upon their work, they have had such 
 success that others are about to copy them, and 
 systematic efforts will doubtless be put forth to make 
 Ethiopia an important cotton-growing region. M. 
 Carette tells me that he rather thinks that Ethiopia 
 sent cotton to Egypt in prehistoric times, and that 
 the sweet cotton, or tout, and the hard cotton, or 
 fate, are both native plants. He adds, too, that 
 American seed has been imported into the country by 
 way of the Soudan, to which it was carried by the 
 modern Egyptians. The crop of Ethiopian cotton 
 is wholly manufactured in the country. It is woven 
 upon hand-looms into beautifully soft and silky fabrics 
 made up in strips with wide red borders at both ends, 
 and sold as chammas. These chammas have been 
 worn for centuries, so the cotton industry in Africa 
 may be said to antedate that of America by an in- 
 calculable period. 
 
 It is one of the oddities of trade that an article 
 manufactured in the country of domestic material is 
 also the principal article of import. Our cheap 
 American sheetings have become an article of prime 
 necessity in spite of domestic manufactures. Owing 
 to the numerous hands through which our products 
 pass before they reach the final consumer, a piece of 
 goods thirty yards in length, the cost of which is 
 87 cents delivered in Abyssinia, reaches the petty 
 merchants at prices varying from $1'95 to $2'70. 
 These goods are sold by merchants who buy up 
 the coffee crop, with the consequence that they
 
 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 193 
 
 offer as little as possible, in order to obtain their coffee 
 at low prices. The results are disastrous to a business 
 capable of great extension. 
 
 Another interesting trade in Ethiopia is that of 
 ivory. This business is almost entirely in the hands 
 of the Emperor, who receives annually from 35 to 40 
 tons. There is also an annual export amounting to 
 about 30 tons gathered up by private shippers. The 
 Emperor receives not only all the ivory captured for 
 his own account, but one-half of that obtained by 
 private hunting-parties. The export of ivory from 
 Ethiopia decreased in value from $156,330 in 1902 to 
 $131,240 in 1903. This diminution can be attributed 
 to the many elephant hunts organized under the 
 temptation of high prices for ivory, and which would 
 have resulted in the complete extinction of the species 
 but for the Emperor's happy inspiration to interdict 
 these hunting-parties without special authorization. 
 It will be a number of years, however, before exporta- 
 tion again reaches the figure of $252,830, which was 
 reached in 1900. The tusks are sold by weight, after 
 having been classed according to diameter. Large 
 tusks, the weight of which is superior to 7 pounds 
 1 ounce, are worth at Aden from $48'25 to $67*55 per 
 measure of 36 pounds. Purchases are made by units 
 of 36 pounds. Tusks weighing less than 7 pounds 
 18 ounces, and more than 4 pounds 10 ounces, bring 
 from $1'35 to $2*89 per kilogramme of 2 '20 pounds. 
 Finally, tusks of less than 4*08 pounds bring from 
 77 cents to $1'35 per kilogramme of 2*20 pounds. 
 
 The elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus are 
 still numerous in various parts of the empire. Lions 
 of moderate size are found in the wooded mountains, 
 and of a very much larger size in the warm plains. 
 
 13
 
 19* ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 Leopards of enormous proportions are found in the 
 neighbourhood of Boulga and Ankober. The guepard, 
 lynx, hyena, wolf, wild dog, and jackal may be encoun- 
 tered very generally. The droves of buffalo, almost 
 destroyed by the bovine pest in 1897, are now multi- 
 plying rapidly. In the western part of the empire 
 giraffes are occasionally encountered. The ostrich, of a 
 very fine variety, is common. The zebra is met with on 
 the plains of moderate altitude, and the wild ass in the 
 rocky mountains to the north. Antelopes and gazelles 
 of every conceivable variety and in great numbers are 
 found everywhere. In the region of Hawash River 
 we frequently saw as many as 50 or 100 antelopes 
 moving together. Among the more notable varieties 
 are the bubalus, koudou, orix, and gnu. Many 
 species of the chamois are also found, more or less 
 everywhere, among which is a diminutive species, 
 known locally as the dig-dig, the weight of which 
 rarely exceeds 10 pounds. Included in a long list of 
 other animals frequently encountered are the boar, the 
 wild dog, badger, marten, hedgehog, and many others 
 which have not been studied. 
 
 Among the birds of Ethiopia are included the 
 bustard (giant, medium, and small), guinea-fowl, the 
 red partridge, heath-cock, partridge, grouse, Perdix 
 Damascena, pigeons and doves, duck, teal, curlew, 
 and woodcock. Among the birds of which the plumage 
 is sought are the marabout, crane, heron, blackbird, 
 parrot, jay, and humming-birds of extraordinary 
 brilliancy. Birds of prey include varieties of the 
 eagle family and the vulture. The thousands of 
 varieties of insects and butterflies would delight the 
 scientific student. Very few classifications have been 
 made.
 
 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 195 
 
 Stock-raising, including beef, sheep, and goats, is by 
 far the most important industry of the empire. The 
 Ethiopian steer or zebu possesses a fatty hump, and 
 attains excessive weight, animals of average quality 
 ranging from 770 to 880 pounds. The prices are very 
 low, as there is no export market. The flesh of the 
 goat is very much preferred to that of the sheep, and 
 it really seems to be more delicate and palatable. 
 They are exceedingly cheap, being purchasable at 
 from 38 cents to $1'54 each. The sheep of Abyssinia 
 is of the fat-tailed variety, peculiar also to Syria. The 
 dominating breed is white in colour with a black head. 
 The meat is excellent. None of the varieties ordinarily 
 seen have any fleece, and no attempt seems to be made 
 to introduce a wool-bearing species. In the province 
 of Menz a race of very small black sheep, the flesh of 
 which is particularly fine and desirable, is raised for 
 wool. The clip is taken up locally, for the manufacture 
 of coarse cloaks worn in the cold climates. The price 
 of a sheep varies from 38 cents to $1*93. 
 
 The political history of Abyssinia has been so much 
 more interesting than its economical development in 
 recent years that little or no attention has been given 
 to the fact that the empire is just now rapidly recover- 
 ing from a series of disasters, which would have sub- 
 merged a country less fortunate in natural resources. 
 While the Emperor was perfecting his policy of 
 centralization and organization an epidemic of cholera 
 spread through the country in 1890, causing fearful 
 mortality. Famine followed the epidemic, and two 
 years later an epidemic of epizootic destroyed nearly 
 all the herds of the country. This malady raged for 
 three years with such virulence that even the antelopes 
 of the desert frequently died. It was estimated that 
 
 132
 
 196 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 not more than 7 or 8 per cent, of the animals of the 
 country were saved. And then, as if this were not 
 enough, while the cattle died like flies from the 
 epizootic, the farsin of Africa a form of infectious 
 pneumonia attacked the mules and horses, and 
 finally upon the heels of these afflictions came the fall 
 in the price of silver throughout the world. 
 
 The standard of value in Ethiopia then, as it is 
 to-day, was the Maria Theresa thaler, which ranged in 
 value from 87 to 96 cents. From that high level the 
 thaler has fallen as low as 39 cents, and is but little 
 above that price to-day. Here was a clear loss of 
 50 per cent, of the cash capital of the country. With 
 the fall in the price of silver came the decline in the 
 coffee market, and, in combination with these develop- 
 ments, a war with Italy supervened in 1896. Since 
 1897 the business current has resumed its progressive 
 movement. Matters were moving favourably until the 
 activity of various foreign commercial houses in 
 Ethiopia resulted in the acquisition by them of 
 monopolies for the sale and purchase of coffee, hides, 
 skins, and cottons. The needs of the Government 
 were great, and it was represented that the imperial 
 revenues would be increased by granting these con- 
 cessions. The concessionnaires paid fixed sums into 
 the Government for their privileges, and in addition 
 thereto the regular import and export duties. While 
 the public revenues were thus temporarily increased 
 and to some extent secured, the possession of these* 
 monopolies enabled the holders to become so exacting 
 that the volume of business was reduced, and com- 
 mercial enterprises discouraged. The Emperor was 
 happily advised in time to avert a severe financial 
 crisis. A practical experience with these monopolies
 
 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 197 
 
 demonstrated to his entire satisfaction the wisdom of 
 giving to trade the greatest possible measure of free- 
 dom. The edicts according these monopolies were 
 rescinded, and commerce may now be engaged in 
 without let or hindrance by anyone. 
 
 The general commercial situation is steadily im- 
 proving, and the upward movement is likely to 
 continue very strikingly with the extension of the 
 railroad from Dire-Daouah to Addis-Ababa.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 Our leave-taking Tact and consideration of the Emperor. 
 
 THE visit paid to the American encampment by the 
 Emperor was the certain signal that our serious 
 business discussions were practically over, and that 
 we might prepare for our homeward journey. We 
 had been now long enough in Ethiopia to appreciate 
 what M. Chefneux called ' the perfect freedom of the 
 life,' and we contemplated the return journey across 
 country with real pleasure. We had at first deter- 
 mined to leave the city before Christmas Day, but 
 a cordial invitation to celebrate that occasion under 
 the hospitable roof of the British Charg^ d'Affaires 
 led to a slight readjustment in our plans, for which 
 we were amply repaid. Our long absence from our 
 accustomed surroundings made it more than delight- 
 ful to receive a genuine British welcome. After 
 dinner we met incidentally one of the most singular 
 human types in Ethiopia, in the person of Minister 
 Harrington's interpreter, McKelvey. This individual, 
 of Irish birth, had drifted into Abyssinia about the 
 time of the British invasion in 1868, where he was 
 left behind. He was then a young boy, and proceeded 
 to grow up in the country, becoming to all intents 
 and purposes an Abyssinian. He was perforce obliged 
 to adopt the costume as well as the language of the 
 
 198
 
 ;OUE LEAVE-TAKING 199 
 
 country, and finished by losing every characteristic 
 of the Anglo-Saxon, except his name and his auburn 
 complexion. When Minister Harrington first went 
 up to Addis-Ababa, having need of an interpreter, 
 he found this man, who had all but forgotten his 
 mother-tongue. Little by little his native language 
 came back to him, and he became a useful and trusted 
 employe of the Legation. 
 
 Our expectation to leave for the coast the day after 
 Christmas could not be carried out for various reasons, 
 and, indeed, it was not until Sunday, December 27, 
 nine days after our arrival, that we left the city 
 behind us. Before taking leave of the Emperor, 
 he had expressed his desire to send some token of 
 friendship to the President. This token arrived one 
 fine afternoon, with numerous distinguished persons 
 in charge, and attended by some thousands of able- 
 bodied citizens. The gifts consisted of a pair of 
 superb elephant tusks, each 8 feet in length and 
 384 pounds in weight, and two beautiful little lions, 
 eight months old and as playful as kittens. After 
 my return to Europe he sent a number of other 
 valuable zoological specimens to Washington. The 
 tusks excited the greatest admiration, and were the 
 more remarkable from the fact that they had been 
 taken from the same animal. The Emperor's generous 
 intentions did not stop here, for there were also 
 remembrances for each of the officers, consisting in 
 every case of two lances, a decorated buckler, and 
 a sword of honour. The swords bore the arms of 
 the Emperor himself. The decorated bucklers were 
 particularly appreciated, as we had frequently ad- 
 mired these picturesque adjuncts of the distinguished 
 Abyssinians' costumes, and had been unable to procure
 
 200 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 any in the market. Our investigations proved that it 
 was unlawful for any Abyssinian to own or carry 
 any but a plain leather shield, the Emperor reserving 
 to himself the right to confer the decorated shields 
 as rewards for merit or for personal distinction. 
 With the lions we inherited two handsome young 
 Ethiopians from the Emperor's palace, who were 
 to care for the little beasts until we should reach 
 the railroad. 
 
 Owing to the addition of this live-stock to our 
 party, we were under the necessity of changing all 
 our plans very radically at the last moment. It had 
 been our desire to return eastward by the mountain 
 route, with mule transport. While we found plenty 
 of mules for hire, there was none willing to approach 
 within 100 feet of our lions, so that in the end, as a 
 means of getting them to the coast, we had to fall 
 back upon our old Arab friends, who with their six 
 camels were still in town. As the camels could not 
 travel across the mountain trail, we had to resign our- 
 selves to retracing our steps over precisely the route 
 by which we had arrived. 
 
 While these circumstances can be dismissed in 
 a paragraph or two, the arrangements themselves 
 were not completed without much vexation of spirit. 
 The contract for transporting most of our belongings, 
 aside from such as were to be loaded upon the camels, 
 was awarded to a certain negadi, as the director of 
 a mule caravan is called. The contract was closed 
 after protracted parleying, extending over several 
 days. The negadi proved to be as much a man 
 of his word after he had once started as he was 
 exasperating during the preparatory period. As 
 usual, these preliminary difficulties were not so much
 
 OUE LEAVE-TAKING 201 
 
 a matter of price as of agreement with, respect to 
 speed and camping-places. 
 
 I strongly suspect that the worthy negadi was not 
 as deeply interested in the points at issue as he was 
 in exercising his talent of driving a bargain. At all 
 events, he became so annoyingly dilatory and uncer- 
 tain that at the critical moment Lieutenant Hussey, 
 driven to desperation, literally bundled him out of 
 our compound, rather than continue the wordy con- 
 troversy without end. It was supposed that relations 
 with the negadi had thereupon been dissolved, but 
 not at all ; the negadi returned some hours later, 
 declaring that he thoroughly liked this American way 
 of negotiating, and that the terms might now be 
 considered agreed upon. 
 
 The final audience with the Emperor was fixed for 
 Sunday afternoon, December 27. We had already 
 exchanged farewells with the many good friends of 
 the week, and we had devoted the few remaining hours 
 to disposing of a part of our surplus among the army 
 of retainers of high and low degree. It is difficult 
 to harmonize expectation and stern realization in 
 cases like this, and especially when the word has been 
 passed round that one is the representative of the 
 richest Government in the world. However, there 
 was a great deal of issheing on every hand, and 
 bending to the earth, which indicated that the general 
 results were upon the whole satisfactory. Our camp- 
 ing material had been started on to Shola about noon, 
 and when the entire American party left for the 
 Guebi at half-past three, the Arab camel-men were 
 charging their six camels with our personal effects. 
 
 The entire party cantered to the imperial palace, 
 accompanied by M. Chefneux, arriving in half an
 
 202 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 hour. His Majesty received the Americans in the 
 small audience-chamber, surrounded as usual by the 
 numerous high officers who always attend him. The 
 sailors and marines stood at attention directly opposite 
 the throne. The serious business of the hour was to 
 affix the official seals to the treaty, which had pre- 
 viously been drafted in the Amharic and French 
 languages, these two versions appearing in parallel 
 columns upon the parchment sheets sent for the 
 purpose by the American Government. The assembled 
 sheets were bound with ribbon in a cover of blue and 
 gold, lined with satin and bearing without the arms of 
 the United States. These covers were again enclosed 
 in black leather cases. 
 
 As the actual comparison of the two copies of the 
 treaty had preceded the audience, nothing remained 
 to be done except to affix the signatures and seals. 
 His Majesty never signs any documents, attaching 
 instead to his letters his seal impressed with black 
 ink, and to formal documents the great seal of State. 
 A white-robed secretary appeared with the formidable 
 instrument by which this is imposed, and, placing it 
 on the floor, stamped the lion of Ethiopia under the 
 sign manual of the President's Commissioner. 
 
 Now our specific mission had been performed, and 
 apparently as much to the satisfaction of our Ethiopian 
 friends as to ourselves. 
 
 When the real task of the afternoon had been 
 performed, I handed to the Emperor, as a souvenir 
 of the occasion, a bronze bust of Washington. Not 
 to be outdone in this manner, he had brought in 
 at once the decorations intended for the members of 
 the party. There were two incidents connected with 
 these decorations which are illustrative of Menelik's
 
 TACT AND CONSIDEEATION OF THE EMPEBOE 203 
 
 character. Before we had been long in the capital, 
 M. Chefneux had said one day : * The Emperor desires 
 to give decorations to the officers of your party, and 
 medals to each of your men. He knows that you 
 cannot under your form of Government accept these 
 decorations without referring the matter back to your 
 higher authorities ; but he wants to have the pleasure 
 of offering them, as he would not wish to have it even 
 suspected by others that honours of this kind, which 
 he sometimes bestows on official visitors, had been 
 omitted in your case.' 
 
 His Majesty personally handed the medallion and 
 ribbon of the Star of Ethiopia to each of the five 
 officers present, leaving that task to the Grand 
 Chamberlain when it came to the turn of the men. 
 The text of the patent accompanying the decorations 
 reads : 
 
 'The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has conquered. 
 Menelik H., chosen of the Lord King of Kings of 
 Ethiopia. To all who see these presents, greeting ! 
 As the kingdoms of the earth decorate the doers 
 therein for their discernment, their intelligence, their 
 
 valiance, and their ability, so we decorate , 
 
 class officer, in our order of the Star of Ethiopia, the 
 insignia of which he has our permission to wear upon 
 his breast. 
 
 1 Written in our city of Addis-Ababa the 17th day 
 of December, A.D. 1896 ' (being December 27, 1903, 
 modern style). 
 
 After all our soldiers had stepped forward, saluted, 
 and retired, it was noticed that two medals still 
 remained on the silver dish from which they had 
 been distributed. Now, it had been mentioned quite
 
 204 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 casually to the Emperor on the day of our arrival 
 that two of the soldiers had been returned to their 
 ship immediately after reaching the railway terminus 
 on account of illness. I had completely forgotten 
 having ever spoken of this matter until the Emperor 
 pointed to these two remaining medals, and said : 
 
 'Two of your American soldiers could not come 
 any further than DireVDaouah with you on account of 
 being sick. I don't want them to be left out of this 
 little ceremony. It marks a beginning in our rela- 
 tions which will have some place in history. So I 
 wish you to take these medals back with you, and 
 present them in my name to the two sick men as 
 souvenirs of this occasion.' 
 
 It seemed to me that as an evidence of kindly 
 thought and tact this occurrence is worthy of perma- 
 nent record. The decorations conferred upon the 
 commissioned officers of the United States present 
 have been since deposited in the Department of State 
 at Washington, as the statute requires. 
 
 We all shook hands and exchanged congratulations. 
 Next our soldiers presented arms and disappeared. 
 Then the officers bowed low and followed. Scarcely 
 had we left the imperial palace than one of the 
 gentlemen-in-waiting overtook us to ask, on behalf of 
 the Emperor, if we did not wish to see his lions before 
 departing. So courtiers and Americans made a last 
 tour of the Guebi to see the splendid pair of lions 
 in the garden of the Empress's villa, after which the 
 members of the mission sought their mules. 
 
 As we prepared to set out upon our long journey, 
 Ethiopians seemed to spring from every corner of the 
 Guebi to say good-bye and wish us well. Such as had 
 horses and mules accompanied iis a number of miles
 
 TACT AND CONSIDERATION OF THE EMPEEOE 205 
 
 into the country, M. Chefneux at their head. They 
 rode with us until we reached the first deep ravine 
 beyond the city, and there waited until our party 
 dissappeared in the distance. With us marched 
 numerous servants from the palace, carrying on their 
 heads huge jars of tedj, which the Emperor had 
 specifically ordered to be in readiness for us at our 
 several encampments. We turned frequently to see 
 the sun set behind the city, where our portion had 
 been one of great consideration, and when last we 
 looked it made an aureole, such as one sees only near 
 the equator, all around the Guebi on the highest hill.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 The journey homeward Suggestions in regard to caravan 
 organization Breaking-up at Dirc-Daouah Once again in 
 Djibouti. 
 
 OUR return to the coast was uneventful. The first 
 night, which we passed at Shola, was the most exciting, 
 or, to be accurate, the most trying, of all. We had 
 been obliged to trust more to Providence than to 
 ourselves to see that our effects reached the chosen 
 spot, having ourselves left for our rendezvous at the 
 palace before all the baggage had been started from 
 the compound of the Ras Oualdo Gorghis. The mule- 
 men had lived up to their contract, preceding us to 
 Shola with the tents and the most of the men's 
 supplies, but the camel-drivers, who had charge of 
 the officers' personal belongings and mess, were 
 nowhere to be seen when we arrived in camp. It 
 was a painful situation, for it was late, and we were 
 all hungry. Furthermore, we were in full dress, 
 and without overcoats, and a cold wind swept over 
 the plain. There was no wood to be had, and no 
 refuge from the sharp night air. Manifestly, five 
 highly-decorated Americans, who had just said good- 
 bye officially to the King of Kings, could not now 
 return to seek temporary lodgings. Hence we 
 wrapped ourselves in our dignity, having nothing 
 
 206
 
 THE JOUENEY HOMEWAED 207 
 
 better at hand, and nourished ourselves from a large 
 can of baked beans belonging to the men's stores. 
 At ten o'clock Mr. Hussey and Mr. Wales with some 
 servants returned to the city to investigate, and those 
 who remained behind undid bundles of leopards' 
 skins, in the vain hope of being able to keep warm 
 under them, and waited as philosophically as possible. 
 At two o'clock the search-party returned with blankets 
 and bedding, and the further information that the 
 delay had resulted from the escape of the small lions 
 just as the camels were about to move. It being dark 
 before the animals were recaptured, the Arabs had 
 decided to go to sleep. What we were to do was a 
 subject of minor consideration. 
 
 The President's lions gave us no end of trouble 
 throughout the journey. Our professional trainers 
 nearly killed them both with kindness, in the form of 
 too much food, and one little fellow did die while we 
 were crossing Mount Asabot. The grief of the lion- 
 men was most pitiful, and indeed we were all depressed 
 by the circumstance, as the two animals were playful 
 and gentle as kittens. The survivor, Ambesa, moped 
 for several days, but in the end recovered health and 
 spirits, and reached Washington some months later, 
 where he has become a large and vigorous member 
 of the national collection. 
 
 The domesticated lion in Ethiopia is almost a sacred 
 creature, and in the event of death custom requires 
 that it shall be buried with ceremony. In the case of 
 our own lion, a grave was prepared, the body wrapped 
 in a chamma, and laid away in the presence of all our 
 Abyssinian servants. 
 
 Our journey homeward was incomparably more 
 satisfactory than the one to Addis-Ababa. We were
 
 208 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 in excellent physical condition ourselves, our camp 
 organization was better, and probably the thought of 
 having accomplished that for which we had come had 
 not a little to do with it. 
 
 The recrossing of the dreaded plains of Fantall 
 was now a pleasure which looms up among the clearest 
 impressions of an eventful four months. This time 
 we committed no such error as to set forth under an 
 equatorial sun, but rested quietly at Tadechemalka 
 until three o'clock, and managed to pass the rough 
 and dangerous places before twilight. When the 
 huge red sun prepared to disappear, the air became 
 at once cool and refreshing, and the breeze brought 
 with it a faint and barely distinguishable perfume. 
 Wolves streaked half curiously, half fearfully, across 
 our path as darkness settled down, hyenas howled, 
 and strange sounds came from all around. We passed 
 large herds of grazing camels, which, sniffing the 
 white man, seemed disposed to stampede, but, think- 
 ing better of it, returned to their grazing once more. 
 Dozens of long caravans, coming from the other 
 direction, passed us, and in our blind efforts on both 
 sides to hold to the narrow trail through the long 
 dried grass camels and mules had many a collision, 
 in which we could always distinguish the clatter of 
 our unwieldy tent-poles and the rattle of our sugar 
 and bread cans. Then would come a halt, and out of 
 the darkness would issue shrill Abyssinian exclama- 
 tions and Arabian objurgations, which ceased only 
 when an old-fashioned Yankee * Damn !' could be heard 
 in the storm centre, and then things would be set 
 straight again. Finally, when the blackness became 
 so dense as to bear down upon our spirits with some- 
 thing of the weight of physical oppression, the stars
 
 THE JOUENEY HOMEWARD 209 
 
 came out as quickly as the sun had disappeared, and 
 on the distant slopes of Mount Fantalle ' lion fires ' 
 burst upward, showing where the shepherds minded 
 their flocks, and wished to frighten the wild beasts 
 away. So we knew that we were not alone, and that 
 off in the distance there dwelt men, clad in skins, who 
 had their ambitions, their hopes and fears, as we had, 
 bounded by the mountains on the one hand and the 
 desert on the other. Watching the lion fires, we saw 
 a new one on the very sky-line of old Fantalle, and 
 this new one shot higher and higher, bathing the 
 whole ridge with light, and then, leaping upward, 
 disclosed itself the moon ! 
 
 Now we could distinguish the caravans passing our 
 own, for traffic across the plains is largely suspended 
 during the daytime, and resumed in the cool of the 
 night, with the moon to show the way. Mules, mules, 
 mules, never have I seen so many mules, their owners 
 huddled up in their chammas, too nearly asleep to 
 proffer the salutation of the road. But for that matter, 
 we none of us spoke much after the sun had set. The 
 mysterious spell of an African night leaves one speech- 
 less, with a vague consciousness of an invisible chorus 
 singing Addison's hymn of the firmament, telling its 
 story to the listening earth. 
 
 We camped about ten o'clock, and the following 
 morning at three we were off again. Between this spot 
 and the Hawash River our hunters had their most 
 memorable day. It is really almost unbelievable the 
 scores, the hundreds, of gazelles and antelopes that we 
 saw, peering at us anxiously, then turning and flying 
 across the plains. We dined well that night on the 
 pleasant banks of Katchinhaha. 
 
 We had been handicapped from the very start by 
 
 14
 
 210 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 the absence of any data upon which to base an 
 effective organization. We had no official or unofficial 
 agents, either in Abyssinia or Somaliland, to whom 
 we could appeal for preliminary suggestions, so that, 
 all things considered, we had very few mistakes to 
 regret ; but we might have added materially to our 
 comfort and convenience had we depended less upon 
 the country for outfitting purposes. Our camping 
 material had been made up from the supplies of the 
 European squadron, which was at Beirut when the 
 preliminary orders were issued ; and although Admiral 
 Cotton had placed everything on hand at our disposi- 
 tion, it was impossible to create that which did not 
 exist. The camping materials of the squadron, while 
 of excellent quality, were ordinarily used by landing 
 parties, to whom the question of transport was a 
 secondary consideration, and they were not at all 
 adapted to a long journey overland, the difficulties of 
 which were increased by every unnecessary pound of 
 impedimenta. We set out from Dir^-Daouah with 
 American tents and food products, English camp-beds, 
 Abyssinian saddles, French chairs, and an assortment 
 of waterproof bags, wooden boxes, and tin trunks, of 
 which no two were alike. 
 
 I had desired to take with me from Washington 
 a sufficient number of army saddles for all our men, 
 but it was feared that they would not fit the Abyssinian 
 mule, so I contented myself with two such saddles, 
 which were far and away the best in the expedition. 
 The native saddle is a primitive affair of wood covered 
 with carpet, and it is difficult to tell whether it has 
 been invented by an enemy of man or beast, or both. 
 The American saddle with the hooded stirrups is 
 exactly the thing for crossing the desert, following
 
 CAEAVAN OEGANIZATION 211 
 
 trails lined by thorn-bushes and passing through 
 rocky denies, where the foot is likely to receive many 
 a scratch or jar unless protected or lifted out of the 
 way. The Abyssinian bit is a shocking contrivance, 
 consisting of a ring, which goes around the mule's 
 lower lip, and a long projection, which extends over 
 the tongue. When the reins are pulled, the animal's 
 mouth is inevitably forced wide open. 
 
 If I had the journey to undertake again I should 
 certainly equip myself in New York, where the best 
 and most convenient camping materials may be found. 
 The round silk waterproof tents with one pole seem 
 to have been intended for Abyssinia. We had old- 
 fashioned wall-tents, supported by two uprights and 
 a ridge pole. These poles often brought our caravan 
 to the brink of disaster. Every self-respecting camel 
 detested them. They were the first things to shift 
 from the load, and to run foul of the trees and brush 
 en route. The saving in the cost of transportation 
 alone would have gone a long way towards paying for 
 the first cost of silk tents, which weigh next to nothing 
 and possess every solid advantage. 
 
 Folding-beds, chairs, and tables are a necessity. 
 Such as may be had in Red Sea towns are expensive 
 and heavy. A sleeping-bag would be a great con- 
 venience. No one should undertake to sleep upon 
 the ground unless obliged to do so. Canvas tent 
 floors are by no means the unnecessary luxury that 
 they sound. The vicissitudes of caravan life are 
 reasonably certain to oblige one to camp amid foul 
 surroundings, and the tent floor can make them, at 
 least, not quite intolerable. 
 
 Provisions can be obtained in endless variety in 
 New York, and freight charges are comparatively low. 
 
 142
 
 212 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 I should therefore recommend bringing practically 
 everything in the way of canned goods. The country 
 may be depended upon for fresh beef and mutton, 
 potatoes, onions, and game of all sorts, but the 
 traveller will feel the need of canned soups, all kinds 
 of vegetables, and fruit. Hard bread should not be 
 overlooked. The preserved butter which we had was 
 not particularly palatable, but there may be better 
 upon the market. The country cannot be depended 
 upon for sweet milk anywhere. The American 
 evaporated cream stands transportation, and nothing 
 too good can be said of it. 
 
 In crossing the desert, things which are ordinarily 
 luxuries among camping-parties become real neces- 
 sities. Mineral water, canned fruits, marmalade, 
 sweet chocolate, cream, and tea, are most satisfying 
 and necessary. On the other hand, we became very 
 tired of canned corned beef and the fresh beef of the 
 country. All of the fresh meat and, to a lesser extent, 
 all of the game which we had was tough, as we had 
 no means of keeping it for a proper length of time. 
 In making up my list a second time, I should not 
 overlook a very much larger quantity of baked beans 
 and canned hash. 
 
 I should always have one case of mineral water to 
 fall back upon, and to be used only in the event of 
 urgent need, and as much more as possible. We had 
 bottled water when we approached Addis-Ababa, but 
 we were unable to procure any for the homeward 
 journey. Petroleum cans or skins should certainly 
 be carried for transporting water. It is frequently 
 desirable to make camp twenty miles from the nearest 
 stream or well. 
 
 Some of these things can be obtained at Port Said,
 
 CARAVAN ORGANIZATION 213 
 
 but the uncertainty of finding fresh supplies after 
 leaving New York is such that it would be better to 
 run no chances. A practical filter should not be for- 
 gotten. We had numerous waterproof bags for our 
 personal belongings, which proved to be unspeakable 
 nuisances, although easily loaded. The object sought 
 in these bags is invariably at the bottom. Small 
 tin trunks are far more desirable. These trunks, 
 in size 22 by 14 by 14 inches approximately, are satis- 
 factory and cheap. They may be loaded readily upon 
 either mule or camel. 
 
 We hired our transport, consisting on the upward 
 trip of forty-five camels, but purchased outright our 
 saddle mules. These saddle mules cost from fifty 
 to eighty thalers each, with a few high-priced excep- 
 tions, and on resale brought from thirty to sixty 
 thalers. The native saddles used by the men cost 
 from six to ten thalers, and sold for very little. 
 Though we made contract time, our vexation of spirit 
 was always very great. There were frequent oppor- 
 tunities for increasing the day's work, which we were 
 prevented from doing by the dilatory methods of 
 the camel-drivers. Nobody who has not had experi- 
 ence with these men, and with African mule-men, 
 can appreciate how many difficulties may arise in 
 dealing with them. There are moments when appeals 
 to contract stipulations fall upon deaf ears, and only 
 force can cause them to be respected. If peace of 
 mind is of any consideration, it is decidedly prefer- 
 able to buy transport mules outright, and sell them 
 at the end of the journey. If care be taken in making 
 good purchases they can be resold, and the net ex- 
 pense is not materially greater than by the contract 
 method. Transport by camel is cheaper than by
 
 214 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 mule under ordinary circumstances, but two miles 
 an hour is all that can be expected from the camel, 
 while mules can make from three to three and a half 
 day after day. If one is reduced to the necessity 
 of hiring transport, the practical thing to do is to 
 look around quietly until persuaded that some one 
 individual of responsibility is so situated as to be able 
 to make the bargains, and then charge him with the 
 task. It is practically impossible for a foreigner 
 and a stranger to engage camel-men directly. Their 
 methods will wear out the stoutest heart, and the 
 prices will be no lower than may be obtained by 
 reposing confidence in European residents or some 
 reliable firm who understand with whom they are 
 dealing. 
 
 Upon our return from Addis-Ababa our every 
 department was in fairly good form. Our Abyssinian 
 negadi, who seemed to have some appreciation of 
 the vakie of time, had his animals loaded and off 
 promptly every morning, and found better camping 
 spots than our Danakil friends. He seemed to go 
 instinctively to the cleanest and most attractive locali- 
 ties, and his judgment could be relied upon. 
 
 We cantered into Dire"-Daouah before noon one day, 
 our nineteenth out from Addis-Ababa, to receive as 
 cordial a welcome from the European residents as we 
 had had before. The next two days were devoted to 
 paying bills and distributing our camping outfit to 
 our grateful and highly receptive servants. It was 
 more pathetic than laughable to see these faithful 
 fellows issue forth in pink pyjamas, and wearing 
 worn-out stockings over their unshod feet. The 
 greatest demand was for our ancient and honoured 
 hats. When the silk headpiece of the Commissioner,
 
 BEEAKING-UP AT DIBfi-DAOUAH 215 
 
 which had caused amazement in Addis-Ababa and 
 Harrar, was presented to Atto Pito, chief muleteer, 
 the worthy man's joy knew no bounds. He knelt at 
 once, before he could be prevented, and kissed the 
 donor on both feet. Then he drew his snowy-white 
 chamrna about him, placed one hand upon his long 
 curved sword, and strode forth, with the silk hat on 
 the back of his head, to resume the prosaic occupation 
 of a railroad track boss. 
 
 The American party took an early train to Djibouti, 
 and most of the Dire'-Daouah friends were at the 
 station to see us off. There were M. Jaume, who 
 had helped me to gather commercial information ; 
 M. Eugene Carette, who had made one of my collec- 
 tions of Abyssinian seeds ; M. Lebertois, the geologist ; 
 and ever so many others. M. Bo, who whiles away 
 his spare hours by collecting the brilliant birds of 
 Abyssinia, came to the station with a parting gift of 
 his beautiful specimens. M. Pierre Carette came with 
 two hyenas, which were similarly offered. One of 
 them is now in the National Zoological Park at 
 Washington, and another in the Zoo at Paris. Atto 
 Marcho, the choum, represented the person of the 
 Emperor, to whom a message of farewell had been 
 telephoned. Many kind words were said, and we 
 parted with the warmest feelings for our African 
 acquaintances. 
 
 Our army of servants came to the train as one man. 
 They had all been paid off and ' gratified ' the day 
 before, so their presence could only be regarded in 
 the light of a personal manifestation. Oualdo son of 
 Mikael said little, but before the train started thrust 
 into my hand a small silver cross, taken from around 
 his own neck. It was one which his uncle, the Vicar-
 
 216 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 General, had given him as a little boy, and which I 
 had once admired. I tried to refuse it, until he asked 
 me if the cross of his country were not also the cross 
 of my country. He added that he would feel much 
 better if he knew that I had this cross with which to 
 remember that he had been one of the members of 
 the expedition, and, furthermore, that it would bring 
 me good fortune. 
 
 The three Somali soldier policemen stood shoulder 
 to shoulder in military style, each one decorated witli 
 the ' Order of St. Louis,' as we familiarly called the 
 colours and insignia of the great Exposition, the 
 wearing of which gave them much satisfaction. 
 Mohamed the cook wept steadily, and muttered at 
 intervals, * This is not good for me, this is not good 
 for me !' Moslem though he was, he supported him- 
 self by holding the hand of a Christian Abyssinian. 
 In this painful hour he laid aside religious differences, 
 and for the moment regarded all men as brothers. 
 Many of these faithful black servants ran wildly 
 alongside the train when it started, until they could 
 no longer keep up the pace, our big-hearted soldiers 
 calling out to them from the car windows : ' Good-bye, 
 Salass !' ' Good-bye, Issouf !' * Good-bye, Manfredo !' 
 repeating the names with which we were now so 
 familiar. Then we realized, every one of us, that we 
 were leaving behind us real friends in Ethiopia. 
 
 It was a hot and tranquil journey to the coast. On 
 the train there were several additional railway 
 policemen, who got off halfway down the line to put 
 an end to some fighting that had been going on, and 
 to escort one of the wounded back to Dire"-Daouah for 
 medical attention. Djibouti was reached after night- 
 fall. Everyone was tired, but full of good humour,
 
 ONCE AGAIN IN DJIBOUTI 217 
 
 and more than one, I fancy, regretted the end of the 
 life of freedom in the open air. My own recollection 
 is that the marines and sailors sent up three rousing 
 cheers, as the doctor, the secretary, and the Com- 
 missioner drove away. I am glad to think that the 
 expedition came to an end with this eloquent ex- 
 pression of feeling, which meant more than words 
 could convey.
 
 APPENDIX A 
 
 THE shortest and quickest route to Addis-Ababa, the capital 
 of Ethiopia, is by steamer from Marseilles to Djibouti, thence 
 by rail to Dire-Daouah, and thence by caravan over the 
 Mount Asabot trail. The American party left Marseilles on 
 October 25, 1903, reached Djibouti on November 17, where 
 the escort was formed, made a preliminary journey to Harrar 
 from Dir^-Daouah, and then proceeded from Dire-Daouah 
 to the capital by the following itinerary : 
 
 November 29, Caracalla. After three hours. Very bad wells, 
 good grazing and shooting. Should have gone to Ourso. 
 
 November 80, Ourso. After three hours. Fair-sized stream 
 of good water. Flocks and herds plentiful ; good grazing. 
 
 December 1, HofalU. After three hours through stunted 
 mimosa-groves and dreary desert. The road cannot be 
 mistaken, and is to the left of the huge mountain which 
 gives the camping-place its name. Camped in the dry bed 
 of the stream, where an insufficient water-supply was found 
 in a well. Grazing poor ; plenty of gazelles and dig-digs. 
 
 December 2, Ergotto-Mimosa. After five and a half hours 
 across stony desert. One hour and a half before reaching 
 this place the Errer Eiver is crossed. It is a fine stream, 
 and an excellent spot for a camp. Ergotto-Mimosa has also 
 a fine stream. Spot said to be malarious. Supplies from 
 village available. 
 
 December 8, Ellabella. After three hours across desert 
 and through thin mimosa-groves. Numerous large trees 
 surrounding two wells of fair water. Flocks, herds, and 
 game plentiful. 
 
 December 4, Derdbella. After four and a half hours across 
 
 219
 
 220 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 beautiful meadows. Well at some distance from the route. 
 Game in plenty; chickens and eggs may be purchased. 
 Grass hard to find. 
 
 December 5, Delado. After four hours. Country barren at 
 first, becoming grassy and better near Delado. Plenty of 
 water in wells. Ground camped over to a considerable 
 distance on either side. Herds in plenty. 
 
 December 6, Moulu. After four hours across rich prairies. 
 Dig-digs, gazelles, guinea-fowl, quail, in plenty. Excellent 
 stream. 
 
 December 7, Meso. After two hours. Same country as 
 before. We should have gone farther, camping near Mount 
 Asabot. We remained here until 1 a.m., and then pressed 
 on to Laga-Arba. 
 
 December 8, Laga-Arba. After twelve hours. A long and 
 wearisome journey. Game of all descriptions. Fine river ; 
 clean camping-ground by leaving the main trail. On the 
 return journey we carried water, and camped midway between 
 Laga-Arba and Meso, proceeding next day to Moulu. On the 
 up journey we remained here two days for rest. 
 
 December 10, Katchinhaha. After four and a half hours. 
 A beautiful stream ; plenty of game. A short distance before 
 Katchinhaha the route joins the highway from Harrar and 
 Addis-Ababa. We now followed the telegraph line to Addis- 
 Ababa. 
 
 December 11, FantalU. After eight hours. We left Kat- 
 chinhaha at eight o'clock, and after numerous vicissitudes 
 crossing the important Hawash Kiver en route reached 
 Fantalle' about 5 p.m. Found foul water in crevices of 
 rocks ; better water higher up. No water at all when we 
 returned. Antelopes, dig-digs, and winged game in plenty. 
 A very hard day's journey. 
 
 December 12, Tadechemalka. After five hours. Good 
 camping-ground on the Kassan Paver. 
 
 December 18, Choba. After four hours. No water ; 
 Kassan River two hours away. Travellers should telephone 
 to authorities ordering jars of water to be in readiness, or 
 transport same from previous camp.
 
 APPENDIX A 221 
 
 December 14, Minabella. After five hours across splendid 
 farming country. Found a reservoir en route to left, and 
 watered mules. Diverged to right of main trail at Minabella, 
 and camped near large reservoir. Grazing excellent. Guinea- 
 fowl and plover in plenty. 
 
 December 15, Baltchi. After five and a half hours. 
 Struggled up the mountain and camped before the village. 
 An unfavourable spot on account of vermin. Water is to be 
 found below in the ravine. When we returned we camped 
 below. Supplies in plenty ; wood scarce. 
 
 December 16, Chajfee-Duma. After seven hours. Camped 
 on beautiful prairie beside good stream. Small quantities of 
 fuel to be bought in neighbouring villages. 
 
 December 17, Akaki. After six hours. Camped on banks 
 of fair-sized river. Conditions favourable. 
 
 December 18, Shola. After two hours. Fine prairies and 
 good spring. Here we remained only long enough to prepare 
 for our official entry. This was our first camp when we 
 returned. 
 
 December 18, Addis-Ababa. After one hour. 
 
 Total approximate distance from Dir^-Daouah to Addis - 
 Ababa, 275 miles.
 
 APPENDIX B 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN PARTY. 
 
 Commissioner. 
 Eobert P. Skinner. 
 
 Surgeon. 
 Dr. A. P. L. Pease. 
 
 Secretary. 
 Horatio W. Wales. 
 
 Lieutenant (U.S.N.). 
 C. L. Hussey. 
 
 Captain (U.S.M.C.). 
 G. C. Thorpe. 
 
 Sergeant. 
 Glenn, Robert J. 
 
 Corporal. 
 Wood, Walter. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 Gates, Leonard L. 
 Flay, Hudson J. 
 Nelson, Charles. 
 Coleman, John M. 
 Durland, Ralph A. 
 Dauth, Frederick 
 Freel, John F. 
 Hebert, Benjamin F. 
 Howell, Theodore E. 
 Nilton, John G. 
 
 O'Connor, Patrick. 
 Scott, Henry J. 
 Steele, Harry R. 
 Tweig, George J. 
 Vernon, William. 
 Wurm, William. 
 Maddock, Ritchie S. 
 Aldrich, Roy M. 
 Schultz, William. 
 Rossell, Joseph A. 
 
 Hospital Steward. 
 Fearnley, William H. 
 
 Messenger, American Consular Service. 
 
 Riviere, Hubert Vivien. 
 
 222
 
 APPENDIX C 
 TREATY 
 
 BETWEEN THE 
 
 UNITED STATES AND THE KING OF ETHIOPIA 
 
 TO REGULATE THE 
 
 COMMERCIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO 
 COUNTRIES 
 
 Signed at Addis- Ababa, December 27, 1903. 
 Ratification advised by the Senate, March 12, 1904. 
 Ratified by the President, March 17, 1904. 
 King of Ethiopia notified of ratification, August 2, 1904. 
 Proclaimed, September 30, 1904. 
 
 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 A PROCLAMATION. 
 
 WHEREAS a treaty of commerce between the United States 
 of America and His Majesty Menelik II., King of Kings 
 of Ethiopia, was concluded on the twenty-seventh day of 
 December, one thousand nine hundred and three, the original 
 of which treaty, being in the Amharic* and French lan- 
 guages, is word for word as follows : 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 TREATY OF COMMERCE. TRAITfi DE COMMERCE. 
 
 His Majesty Menelik II., Sa Majest^ Menilek II., 
 
 King of Kings of Ethiopia, Roi des Rois d'6thiopie, et 
 
 and the United States of les Etats-Unis d'Am^rique, 
 
 America, having agreed to ayant convenu de r^gler les 
 
 * Amharic text not printed. 
 223
 
 224 
 
 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 regulate the commercial rela- 
 tions between the two coun- 
 tries and develop them, and 
 render them more and more 
 advantageous to the two con- 
 tracting Powers : 
 
 His Majesty Menelik II., 
 King of Kings of Ethiopia, 
 in the name of the Empire, 
 and Kobert P. Skinner, in 
 the name of the United States 
 of America, have agreed and 
 stipulated that which follows : 
 
 relations commerciales entre 
 les deux pays de les develop - 
 per, et de les rendre de plus 
 en plus avantageuses aux deux 
 Puissances contractantes : 
 
 Sa Majest6 Menilek II., 
 Eoi des Eois d'Ethiopie, au 
 nom de Son Empire, et 
 Kobert P. Skinner, muni des 
 pleins pouvoirs du President 
 Roosevelt, au nom des Etats- 
 Unis d'Ame"rique, ont con- 
 venu et stipule' ce qui suit : 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 The citizens of the two 
 Powers, like the citizens of 
 other countries, shall be able 
 freely to travel and to trans- 
 act business throughout the 
 extent of the territories of the 
 two contracting Powers, while 
 respecting the usages and sub- 
 mitting themselves to the 
 tribunals of the countries in 
 which they may be located. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 In order to facilitate com- 
 mercial relations, the two 
 Governments shall assure, 
 throughout the extent of their 
 respective territories, the 
 security of those engaged 
 in business therein and of 
 their property. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Les citoyens des deux 
 Puissances pourront en toute 
 liberte, comme les citoyens 
 des autres pays, circular et 
 commercer dans I'e'tendue des 
 territoires des deux Puissances 
 contractantes, en respectant 
 les usages et se soumettant 
 aux tribunaux du pays ou ils 
 se trouveront. 
 
 ARTICLE IL 
 
 Afin de faciliter les rela- 
 tions commerciales, les deux 
 Gouvernements assureront, 
 dans 1'^tendue de leurs terri- 
 toires respectifs, la se'curite' 
 des commer9ants et de leurs 
 biens.
 
 APPENDIX C 
 
 225 
 
 ABTICLE III. 
 
 The two contracting Govern- 
 ments shall reciprocally grant 
 to all citizens of the United 
 States of America and to the 
 citizens of Ethiopia all the 
 advantages which they shall 
 accord to other Powers in 
 respect to Customs duties, 
 imposts, and jurisdiction. 
 
 ABTICLE IV. 
 
 Throughout the extent of 
 the Ethiopian Empire the 
 citizens of the United States 
 of America shall have the use 
 of the telegraphs, posts, and 
 all other means of transporta- 
 tion upon the same terms as 
 the citizens of other Powers. 
 
 ABTICLE III. 
 
 Les deux Gouvernements 
 contractants feront rdcipro- 
 quement be'ne'ficier tous les 
 citoyens des Etats - Unis 
 d'Amerique et les citoyens 
 Ethiopiens de tous les avan- 
 tages qu'ils accorderont a 
 d'autres Puissances comme 
 droits de douanes, d'impots, 
 ou de juridiction. 
 
 ABTICLE IV. 
 
 Dans 1'dtendue de 1'Empire 
 Ethiopien les citoyens des 
 Etats-Unis d'Amerique auront 
 1'usage des telegraphes, postes, 
 et tous autres moyens de 
 transports aux memes tarifs 
 que les citoyens des autres 
 Puissances. 
 
 ABTICLE V. 
 
 In order to perpetuate and 
 strengthen the friendly rela- 
 tions which exist between 
 Ethiopia and the United 
 States of America, the two 
 Governments agree to receive 
 reciprocally representatives 
 acceptable to the two Govern- 
 ments. These representatives 
 shall not, however, be main- 
 tained at their posts unless 
 they are agreeable to the 
 receiving Power; in such 
 cases they shall be replaced. 
 
 ABTICLE V. 
 
 Pour perpdtuer et fortifier 
 les rapports amicaux qui 
 existent entre 1'Ethiopie et 
 les Etats-Unis d'Amerique, 
 les deux Gouvernements con- 
 viennent de recevoir recipro- 
 quement des representants 
 agrees par les deux Gouverne- 
 ments. Ces repre'sentants ne 
 pourront toutefois etre main- 
 tenus a leur poste que s'ils 
 sont agre*ables a 1'autre Puis- 
 sance ; en cas contraire ils 
 seront remplaccs. 
 
 15
 
 226 
 
 ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 The duration of the present 
 treaty shall be ten years. It 
 is understood that at the 
 expiration of these ten years 
 the two Governments shall 
 be able to modify all or any 
 part of this treaty. The 
 Government which shall re- 
 quest at that time the modifi- 
 cation shall make its proposal 
 to the other Government one 
 year before the expiration of 
 the treaty. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 The present treaty shall 
 take effect, if ratified by the 
 Government of the United 
 States, and if this ratifica- 
 tion shall be notified to His 
 Majesty Menelik II., King of 
 Kings of Ethiopia, within the 
 period of one year. 
 
 His Majesty Menelik II., 
 King of Kings of Ethiopia, in 
 the name of his Empire, and 
 Robert P. Skinner, in virtue 
 of his full powers, in the 
 name of the United States 
 of America, have signed the 
 present treaty, written hi 
 double text, Amharic and 
 French, and in identical 
 terms. 
 
 Done at Addis-Ababa this 
 seventeenth day of December, 
 one thousand eight hundred 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 La dure'e du present trait^ 
 sera de dix ann^es. II est 
 entendu qu'a 1'expiration des 
 dix anndes les deux Gouverne- 
 ments pourront modifier tout 
 ou partie de ce traite 1 . Celui 
 des deux Gouvernements qui 
 demandera a ce moment une 
 modification devra en faire 
 la proposition a 1'autre Gou- 
 vernement une ann$e avant 
 1'expiration du traite*. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 Ce present traite* entrera 
 en vigueur s'il est ratifie' par 
 le Gouvernement des Fjtats- 
 Unis, et si cette ratification 
 est signified a Sa Majeste 
 Menilek II., Hoi des Rois 
 d'Ethiopie, dans le d&ai d'une 
 anne'e. 
 
 Sa Majeste Menilek II., 
 Roi des Rois d'Ethiopie, au 
 nom de Son Empire, et 
 Robert P. Skinner, en vertu de 
 ses pleins pouvoirs, au nom 
 des Fjtats-Unis d'Amerique, 
 ont signd le present traittS, 
 redig<$ en double texte, Am- 
 harigua et Fran9ais, en tout 
 semblables. 
 
 Fait a Addis-Ababa le dix- 
 sept Decembre, mil huit cent 
 quatre vingt seize de 1'an de
 
 APPENDIX C 227 
 
 and ninety-six, in the year grace (correspondant au 27 
 of grace (corresponding to Decembre, 1903). 
 December 27, 1903). 
 
 [Seal of MENELIK II.] 
 (Signed) ROBERT P. SKINNER. 
 
 And whereas it is provided by the said treaty that it shall 
 take effect ' if ratified by the Government of the United States 
 of America, and if this ratification shall be notified to His 
 Majesty King Menelik II., King of Kings of Ethiopia, within 
 the period of one year '; 
 
 And whereas the said treaty has been duly ratified on the 
 part of the United States of America, and notification of such 
 ratification was given to His Majesty Menelik II., King of 
 Kings of Ethiopia, on the second day of August, one thousand 
 nine hundred and four ; 
 
 Now, therefore, be it known that I, Theodore Roosevelt, 
 President of the United States of America, have caused the 
 said treaty to be made public, to the end that the same and 
 every article and clause thereof may be observed and fulfilled 
 with good faith by the United States and the citizens thereof. 
 
 In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and 
 caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed. 
 
 Done at the City of Washington this thirtieth day of 
 September, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine 
 hundred and four, and of the Independence of the United 
 States of America the one hundred and twenty-ninth. 
 
 [SEAL] THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 By the President : 
 
 FRANCIS B. LOOMIS, 
 
 Acting -Secretary of State. 
 
 BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, OCILDFORD
 
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