Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. Volume 55, No. 343, May 1844

The scenery of our ride is now familiar to tourists. Parnes or Parnethus with its double top,[27 - The par, which indicates the double or equal summit, is only found in Latin, though unquestionably Æolic; the other two derivations are classic Greek. Parnes, Parnettus, Parnassus. The name of the two mountains is precisely the same.] Brilessus or Pentelicus with its numerous rills and fountains, and Hymettus with its balmy odours, have been “hymned by loftier harps than mine.” My companions proved gay and agreeable young men. They knew every body at Athens, and every thing, and willingly communicated their stores of knowledge. I cannot resist recounting some of the anecdotes I heard, as they do no discredit to the noble princes to whom they relate.

When an English prince visited Athens, King Otho, who it seems is his own minister, and conducts business quite in a royal way, learned that he was no Whig, and instantly conceived the sublime idea of making use of his royal highness’s services to obtain Lord Palmerston’s dismissal from office. The monarch himself arranged the plan of his campaign. The prince was invited to a fête champêtre at Phyle, and when the party was distributed in the various carriages, he found himself planted in a large barouche opposite the king and queen. King Otho then opened his   intrigue; he told the prince of the notes in favour of constitutional government and economical administration which Lord Palmerston had written, and Sir Edmund Lyons had presented; and he exclaimed, “I assure you, my dear prince, all this is done merely to vex me, because I would not keep that speculating charlatan Armansperg! Lord Palmerston cares no more about a constitution, nor about economy, than Queen Victoria, or you and I. When the Duc de Broglie, who has really more conscience than our friend the Viscount, proposed that Greece should be pestered with a constitution and such stuff, Palmerston answered very judiciously, ‘Greece—bah!—Greece is not fit for a constitution, nor indeed for any other government but that of my nabob!’ Now, my dear prince, Queen Victoria can never mean to offend me, the sovereign of Greece, when the Ottoman empire is so evidently on the eve of dismemberment; and,” quoth Otho the gleaner, “I am deeply offended, at which her British majesty must feel grievously distressed.” The prince doubtless thought her majesty’s distress was not inconsolable; but he only assured his Hellenic majesty that he could be of no possible use to him in his delicate intrigue at the court of St James’s. He tried to get a view of the scenery, and to turn the conversation on the state of the country; but Otho was not so easily repulsed. He insisted that the prince should communicate his sentiments to Queen Victoria; and, in spite of all the assurances he received of the impossibility of meddling with diplomatic business in such a way, his Hellenic majesty, to this very day, feels satisfied that Lord Palmerston was sent to the right-about for offending him; and he is firmly persuaded that, unless Lord Aberdeen furnish him with as many millions as he demands to secure his opposition to Russia, the noble earl will not have a long tenor of office.

A young Austrian of our party shouted, “Ah, it requires to be truly bon garçon, like the English prince, to submit to be so bored, even by a king! But,” added he, “our gallant Fritz managed matters much better. The Archduke Frederick, who behaved so bravely at Acre, and so amiably lately in London, heard, it seems, of the treatment the prince had met with, and resolved to cure his majesty of using his guests in such style. Being invited to a party at Pentelicus, he was aware that he would be placed alone on the seat, with his back to the horses, and deprived of every chance of seeing the country, if it were only that the diplomatic intrigue at the court of Queen Victoria might remain concealed from the lynx-eyed suspicion of the corps diplomatique of Athens; for King Otho fancies his intrigues always remain the profoundest secrets. When the archduke handed the lovely queen into the carriage, politeness compelled King Otho to make a cold offer to the young sailor to follow; the archduke bowed profoundly, sprang into the carriage, and seated himself beside her majesty. The successor of Agamemnon followed, looking more grim than Hercules Furens: he stood for a moment bolt upright in the carriage, hoping his guest would rise and vacate his seat; but the young man was already actively engaged in conversation. The Emperor of the East—in expectancy—was compelled to sit down with his back to the horses, and study the landscape in that engaging manner of viewing scenery. Never was a fête given by a sulkier host than King Otho that day proved to be. In returning, the archduke had a carriage to himself. When questioned on the subject of his ride, he only remarked that he always suffered dreadfully from sickness when he rode with his back to the horses. He was sure, therefore, that King Otho had placed him beside the queen to avoid that horrible inconvenience.”

Other anecdotes were recounted during our ride, and our opinion of his Hellenic majesty’s tact and taste did not become more favourable, when it was discovered that his proceedings had utterly ruined the immense quarries of Pentelicus—

“Still in its beam Pentele’s marbles glow,”

can now only be said of the ruins, not of the quarries. In order to obtain the few thousand blocks required for the royal palace at Athens, millions of square feet of the purest statuary marble have been shivered to atoms   by the random process of springing mines with gunpowder. If King Otho had done nothing worse in Greece than converting the marble quarries of Pentelicus into a chaos of rubbish, when he found them capable of supplying all Europe for ages with the most beautiful material for the sculptor, he would have merited the reputation he so justly bears, of caring as little about the real welfare of Greece as Lord Palmerston himself. My companions quitted me at the quarries, making pasquinades on the royal palace and its royal master; while I put up my horse and walked slowly on to the ancient monastery of Pentele, not Mendele, as Lord Byron has it.

I was soon sitting alone in the cell of Michael, and shall now recount his history as I had it from his own mouth. Michael Kalliphournas was left an orphan the year the Greek revolution broke out. He was hardly fourteen years old, and yet he had to act as the guardian and protector of a sister four years younger than himself. The storm of war soon compelled him to fly to Ægina with the little Euphrosyne. The trinkets and gold which his relations had taught him to conceal, enabled him to place his sister in a Catholic monastery at Naxos, where she received the education of a European lady. Michael himself served under Colonel Gordon and General Fabvier with great distinction. In 1831, when the Turks were about to cede Attica to Greece, Michael and Euphrosyne returned to Athens, to take possession of their family property, which promised to become of very great value. At that time I had very often seen Phróssa, as she was generally called; indeed, from my intimacy with her brother, I was a constant visitor in the house. Her appearance is deeply impressed on my memory. I have rarely beheld greater beauty, never a more elegant figure, nor a more graceful and dignified manner. She was regarded as a fortune, and began to be sought in marriage by all the young aristocracy of Greece. It was at last conjectured that a young Athenian, named Nerio, the last descendant of the Frank dukes of Athens, had made some impression on her heart. He was a gay and spirited young man, who had behaved very bravely when shut up with the troops in the Acropolis during the last siege of Athens, and he was an intimate friend of her brother. I had left Athens about this time, and my travels in the East had prevented my hearing any thing of my friends in Greece for years.

There is a good deal of society among the Greek families at Athens for a few weeks before the Carnival. They meet together in the evenings, and amuse themselves in a very agreeable way. At one of these parties the discourse fell on the existence of ghosts and spirits; Michael, who was present, declared that he had no faith in their existence. With what groans did he assure me his opinion was changed, and conjured me never to express a doubt on the subject. All the party present exclaimed against what they called his free-masonry; and even his sister, who was not given to superstition, begged him to be silent lest he should offend the neraiïdhes, who might punish him when he least expected it. He laughed and ridiculed Phróssa, offering to do any thing to dare those redoubted spirits which the company could suggest. Nerio, a far greater sceptic than Michael, suddenly affected great respect for the invisible world, and by exciting Michael, gradually engaged him, amidst the laughing of his companions, to undertake to fry a dozen of eggs on the tomb of a Turkish santon, a short distance beyond the Patissia gate—to leave a pot of charcoal, to be seen next morning, as a proof of his valour, and return to the party with the dish of eggs.

The expedition was arranged, in spite of the opposition of the ladies; four or five of the young men promised to follow at a little distance, unknown to Michael, to be ready lest any thing should happen. Michael himself, with a zembil containing a pot of charcoal, a few eggs and a flask of oil in one hand, and a frying-pan and small lantern in the other, closely enveloped in his dusky capote, proceeded smiling to his task. The tomb of the Turk consisted of a marble cover taken from some ancient sarcophagus, and sustained at the corners by four small pillars of masonry—the top was not higher than an ordinary table, and below the marble slab there was an empty space between the columns.   It has long since disappeared; but that is not wonderful, since King Otho and his subjects have contrived to destroy almost every picturesque monument of the past in the new kingdom. The thousands of Turkish tombs which not many years ago gave a historic character to the desert environs of Negrepont, and the splendid sérail of Zeitouni, with its magnificent marble fountains and baths, have almost disappeared—the storks have bid adieu to Greece—nightly bonfires, caused by absurd laws, destroy the few trees that remain; and in short, unless travellers make haste and visit Greece quickly, they will see nothing but the ruins which King Otho cannot destroy nor Pittaki deface, and the curiosities which Ross cannot give to Prince Pückler, added to the pleasure they will derive from beholding King Otho’s own face and the façade of his new palace.

The night was extremely dark and cold, so that the friends of Michael, familiar as they were with their native city, found some difficulty in following him without a lantern through the mass of ruins Athens then presented. As they approached the tomb, they perceived that he had already lighted his charcoal, and was engaged in blowing it vigorously, as much to warm his hands as to prepare for his cooking operations. Creeping as near to him as possible without risking a discovery, they heard, to their amazement, a deep voice apparently proceeding from the tomb, which exclaimed, “Bou gedje kek sohuk der adamlera.—It must be a cold night for mankind.” “To pisevo effendi,” said Michael in a careless tone, but nervously proceeded to pour a whole bottle of oil into the frying-pan. As soon as the oil was boiling and bubbling, the voice from the tomb again exclaimed, “Gaiour ne apayorsun, mangama pisheriorsun—yuckle buradam—aiyer yiklemassun ben seni kibab ederem, tahamun yerine seni yerim,” signifying pretty nearly, “Infidel, what are you doing here? You appear to be cooking; fly hence, or I will eat my supper of thy carrion.” And at the instant a head covered by an enormous white turban protruded itself from under the tombstone with open mouth. Michael, either alarmed at the words and the apparition, or angry at the suspicion of a premeditated trick on the part of his companions, seized the panful of boiling oil, and poured the whole contents into the gaping mouth of the spectre, exclaiming, “An echeis toson orexin, na to ladhi, Scheitan oglou!—If you are so hungry, take the oil, son of Satan!” A shriek which might have awakened the dead proceeded from the figure, followed by a succession of hideous groans. The friends of Michael rushed forward, but the lamp had fallen to the ground and was extinguished in the confusion. Some time elapsed ere it was found and lighted. The unfortunate figure was dragged from the tomb, suffocated by the oil, and evidently in a dying state, if indeed life was not already extinct. Slowly the horrible truth became apparent. Nerio had separated himself from the rest of the party unperceived, disguised himself, and gained the tomb before the arrival of Michael, who thus became the murderer of his sister’s lover. I shall not attempt to describe the feelings of Michael in recounting this dreadful scene.

The affair never made much noise. The Turks did not consider themselves authorized to meddle in the affairs of the Greeks. Indeed, the infamous murder of the Greek bakalbashi, a short time before by Jussuf-bey, with his own hand, had so compromised their authority, that they were in fear of a revolution. The truth was slowly communicated to Euphrosyne by Michael himself—she bore it better than he had anticipated. She consoled her brother and herself by devoting her life to religious and charitable exercises; but she never entered a monastery nor publicly took the veil. She still lives at Athens, where her charity is experienced by many, though few ever see her. When I left Greece on a visit to Mount Athos, my friend Michael insisted on accompanying me; and, after our arrival on the holy mountain, he exacted from me a promise that I would never discover to any one the monastery into which he had retired, nor even should we by chance meet again, address him as an acquaintance, unless he should speak to me. His sister alone is entrusted with his secret.

AFRICA—SLAVE TRADE—TROPICAL COLONIES

The readers of this magazine will readily remember the part which it took, at an early period, in discussing and in delineating the geographical features of Africa. In the number for June 1826 there is an article, accompanied by a map, showing from undoubted authorities the course and termination of the great river Niger in the sea in the Bight of Benin, where, from similar authorities, it was placed by me in 1820 and 1821, and where actual observation by Englishmen has lately clearly established the fact that it does terminate. In the upper and middle parts of its course the longitudes were erroneous, having adopted Major Rennell’s delineation of Western Africa as a guide; but in 1839 the whole of that quarter of Africa was narrowly examined, and the courses of the western rivers reduced to their proper positions, as delineated in my large map of Africa constructed in that year, to which, with the “Geographical Survey of Africa,” for which it was made, the reader is referred for further and particular information on all these subjects.

With these observations, I proceed to bring before the reader geographical information concerning eastern and central Africa of the highest and most gratifying importance, and obtained by the researches of different voyagers and travellers within the last four years. Foremost amongst these ranks, the expedition sent by the present Viceroy of Egypt to explore the Bahr-el-Abiad, or White River, above its junction with the Blue River, from Khartoum upwards and southwards; after it, the interesting travels of Messrs Krapf and Isenberg, two missionaries from the Church Missionary Society, from Tajura to Ankobar, from Ankobar south-west to the neighbourhood of the sources of the Hawash; and after that, Mr Krapf’s journey from Ankobar north by Lake Haik, through Lasta to Antalow, and thence to Massouah on the Red Sea. Next, the interesting accounts collected by M. Lefebvre and M. D’Abbadie, concerning the countries in some parts of the more eastern horn of Africa; and last, and the most specific and important of the whole, the accounts received of the country of Adel, and the countries and rivers in and south of Shoa, and those from the Blue Nile in Gojam and Damot to the sea at the mouth of the Jub, under the equator, by Major Harris, late British ambassador to the King of Shoa.

As the present article is accompanied by a map, constructed after great labour, and engraved most carefully by Mr Arrowsmith, the general outline of the whole may here be deemed sufficient, without lengthened discussion and observation.

The Egyptian expedition alluded to started from Khartoum (now become a fine town) at the close of the wet season in 1839. It consisted of four or five small sailing vessels, some passage boats, and four hundred men from the garrison of Senaar, the whole commanded by an able officer, Captain Selim. They completed their undertaking, and returned to Khartoum at the end of 135 days, during which time, in obedience to the commands of their master, they explored the Bahr-el-Abiad to the distance southwards of 1300 miles, (turnings and windings included,) to three degrees thirty minutes north latitude, and thirty-one east longitude, from Greenwich, where it divided into two streams; the smaller, and it is very small, coming from the south-west, and the larger, still even at the close of the dry season a very considerable river, which came from the south-east, upwards from the east, and still more upwards from the north-east. A subsequent voyage in 1841 gained the information that the stream descended past Barry, and there can be no doubt that another, if not the chief branch, comes from the south-east, in the bearing which Ptolemy gave it, and, as he states, from amongst mountains covered with perpetual snow, of which Bruce also heard, and which we now learn from Major Harris really stand in that quarter of Africa.

The longitude of the river at the bifurcation is exactly the same as Ptolemy has given it, which is very   remarkable. The sources of the White River will therefore be found where Ptolemy and Bruce have placed them. The latter, in his notes, states expressly that the Bahr-el-Abiad rose to the south of Enarea, not far from the equator, and that it had no great western branch, nor was any necessary to give the river its magnitude. (Vol. vii. App. p. 92.)

The expedition in question found no very large affluents from the west side; but they found two of very considerable magnitude on the east side—one the Blue River, and the other the Red River, or Bahr-Seboth, which latter they navigated upwards of 150 miles in a direct line, and left it a considerable stream, nearly as large as the eastern branch of the White River, where they had left it. The banks of the Bahr-Seboth were precipitous and high, whereas those of the Bahr-el-Abiad were low, and on both sides covered with lakes, the remains probably of the preceding inundation. Scarcely a hill or mountain was in sight from the river till approaching the bifurcation, when the country became mountainous, the climate more cool, and the vegetation and trees around those of the temperate zone. The country on both sides is a high table-land, the scenery every where very beautiful, well peopled by different tribes, copper-coloured, and some of them even fair. Every where the banks are covered and ornamented with beautiful trees, and cattle, sheep, goats, elephants, &c., are numerous and abundant. Amongst the Bhours, they found Indian goods brought from the shores of the Indian ocean. Day by day, the breadth, depth, and current of the river were observed and marked. For a considerable distance above Khartoum, the breadth was from one and a half to one and a quarter mile, the depth three or four fathoms, and the current about one and a half mile per hour. Above the parallel of nine degrees, the river takes a remarkable bend due west for about 90 miles, when it passes through a large lake, the waters of which emitted an offensive smell, which might proceed from marshy shores.[28 - This bend is represented in a map constructed in Paris, and said to be from information obtained in a second voyage; but no such bend is indicated in the journal of the original voyage by Captain Selim.] Above the lake, the breadth decreases to one-third or one-fourth of a mile, the depth to twelve or thirteen feet, with a current of one and a half mile per hour, the bottom every where sand, with numerous islands interspersed in the stream. The mountainous country around the upper part abounds with iron mines.

Going eastward, we come to the elevated mountainous ranges which give birth to the Bahr-el-Abiad to the south, the Gochob, the Kibbee, and their numerous tributary streams to the east and south-east, and the Toumat, the Yabous, the Maleg, and other rivers which flow north into the Abay. This vast chain is very elevated, and in many places very cold, especially to the west of Enarea, and to the west and south of Kaffa. From the sources of the Kibbee and the Yabous, it stretches eastwards to Gurague, and thence, still eastward, by the Aroosi, Galla, and Hurrur or Harrar, to Cape Guardafui, approaching in some places to within sixty miles or less of the sea of Babel-Mandeb; the elevation to the east of Berbera decreases to about 5000 feet, and from which numerous streams flow both to the north and to the south. Eastward of the meridian of Gurague, a branch from the chain strikes off due north through Shoa, by Ankobar and Lake Haik, to the northward of which it separates, and runs one branch N.N.W. to Samen, and another by Angot, N.E. by east, to the Red Sea, at Assab, and the entrance of the straits of Babel-mandeb. The whole of this chain is very elevated; near Ankobar some peaks being 14,000 feet high, and constantly white with snow or hail; and round the sources of the Tacazzè and the Bashilo, near the territory of the Edjow Galla, the mountains are covered with snow. Mr Krapf, in his journey more to the east, found the cold exceedingly keen, the elevation exceeding 10,000 feet; and still more eastward, near the little Assanghe lake, Pearce found hoar frost in the   mornings in the month of October. From the ranges mentioned, numerous other ranges branch off in different directions, forming the divisions between tribes and rivers, the latter of which are very rapid, and their borders or banks very high and precipitous, and rugged.

From the province of Bulga or Fattygar, this chain, running northwards, rises to a great height, springing like the walls of a fortification from the western bank of the Hawash, from whence numerous small streams descend to increase that river. All to the eastward of that river is comparatively low, (called Kôlla, or the low hot country,) and to the sea-shore is one continued sheet of volcanic strata and extinct volcanoes, dry and poor, especially during the dry season, when travelling is difficult and dangerous owing to the want of water. It is inhabited chiefly by wild beasts and by fierce tribes of the wandering Dancali, and, more to the south-east, by the Mohammedan Somauli. In early times this country, however, was rich and powerful, from being the channel of commerce between Abyssinia when powerful, and the countries to the east, Arabia, Persia, and India. From Zeila and Erur southward, the country improves, and becomes fertile and well watered.

Before turning our attention to the interesting countries round the sources of the Gochob and its tributary streams, and those through which it subsequently flows, so clearly brought to our knowledge by Major Harris, (he is certainly the first who has done so,) and the survey of the coast near its mouth by Lieutenant Christopher of the Indian navy, and by him given to the gallant major—it is necessary, for the better understanding of our subject, to turn our attention to the explanation of the names of some countries and places given so differently by different informants, and which, thus given and not sufficiently attended to, create great confusion and great errors in African geography.

By the aid of Mr Bruce, Mr Krapf, Major Harris, and information collected from native travellers, (see Geographical Bulletins of Paris, Nos. 78 and 98,) we are enabled to rectify these points, and clear away heaps of inaccuracies and confusion.

First, then, Enarea and Limmu are the same. The country is called Enarea by the Abyssinians, and Limmu by the Gallas, having been conquered by a Galla tribe of that name, which tribe came originally from the south-west. There is another Limmu, probably so named from another portion of the same tribe. It is near or the same as Sibou, which, according to Bruce, is ten days’ journey from the capital of Enarea, and, according to the French Geographical Bulletin, (No. 114,) not far from Horro and Fazoglo. But the first Limmu is the Limmu of Jomard’s Galla Oware, because he states distinctly that Sobitche was its capital; that, in marching northwards from it, he crossed the Wouelmae river; and that Gingiro, to which he had been, lay to the right, or east, of his early route; and further, that the river which passed near Sobitche ran to the south. Enarea is not very extensive, but a high table-land, on every side surrounded by high mountain ranges, and is situated (see Geographical Bulletin, 1839) at the confluence of two rivers, the Gibe and the Dibe.

Kaffa, in its restricted sense, is a state on the upper Gochob; but, in its ancient and extended meaning, it is a large country, extending from north to south a journey of one month, and includes in it several states known by separate names, although the whole of these are often referred to in the name Kaffa by native travellers. It is known also by the names of Sidama and Susa, and the people of Dauro call it Gomara; but the Christians in Southern Abyssinia call it Kaffa, and Sidama or Susa, which latter, properly speaking, forms its southern parts.

Dawro, Dauro, or Woreta, are the same; it is a large country, and divided into three states—namely, Metzo or Metcho, Kulloo, and Goba; and is a low and hot, but fertile country, situated to the east of Kaffa, and to the west of the Gochob.

Major Harris is the only individual who has given us the bearings and distances connected with this portion of Africa, and without which the geographical   features of the country could not have been fixed with any precision; but which, having been obtained, act as pivots from which the correct positions of other places are ascertained and fixed with considerable accuracy.

Let us now attend to the sources and the courses of the principal rivers. The Kibbee, or Gibe, has three sources. The chief branch springs to the west of Ligamara, and southwards of that place it runs east, (Geographical Bulletin, No. 105, and also No. 78,) when suddenly turning upon itself; as it were, it bends its course westward to Limmu, having below Leka received the Gwadab, coming from the west and passing to the south of Lofe. The Kibbee waters the small but elevated country of Nono, and passes very near Sakka. Westward of Sakka it is joined by two other branches coming from the north-west and west, one called Wouelmae, the Wouelmae of Oware, and the other Dibe. From thence it flows eastward, and bounds Gingiro on the north. The early Portuguese travellers expressly state, that six days’ journey due east from Sakka, and at one day’s journey from the capital of Gingiro, having first crossed a very high mountain, they crossed the Kibbee, a rapid rocky stream, and as large as the Blue River where they had crossed it in the country of the Gongas. On the third day after leaving the capital of Gingiro, pursuing their course due east to the capital of Cambat, they again crossed the Zebee, or Kibbee, larger than it was to the westward of Gingiro, but less rapid and rocky; its waters resembling melted butter, (hence its name,) owing, no doubt, to the calcareous ridges through which it flowed. From thence it bends its course to the southward, and is soon after joined by the Gochob, which bounds the empire of Gingiro to the south. Bruce particularly and emphatically mentions the extraordinary angle which the Kibbee here makes.

To the north of Gingiro the Kibbee is joined by the Dedhasa, (pronounced Nassal,) and which is considered to be the same as Daneza or Danesa, which, according to Lieutenant Christopher, is a Galla name for the Jub or Gochob. This river is passed (see Geographical Bulletin of 1839) before coming to Ligamara and Chelea, and one and a half day’s journey from Gouma, in the route from Gooderoo to Enarea. In its lower course it abounds with crocodiles. Below the junction with the Dedhasa, the Kibbee receives the Gala river, coming from the north-east, and from the confines of Gurague and Kortshassie.

The separation of the waters in these parts takes place to the north of Gonea and Djimma, or Gouma. The rivers that flow to the Blue Nile or Abay, with the exception of the Yabous, which is, according to Bruce, a considerable stream descending from the south and south-east, are all small streams. Shat, the province where the tea-plant is produced, is situated to the north of Enarea, and is watered by the river called Giba, the fish of which are said to be poisonous, (Bruce, vol. iii. p. 254.) Bruce states most pointedly that the capital of Enarea is fifty leagues distant from the passage of the Abay at Mine, “due south, a little inclining to the west,” (Vol. iii. page 324;) and which bearing and distance corresponds very correctly with several very clear and satisfactory itineraries lately obtained. Without any high peaks or mountains, the country round the sources of these rivers is very elevated, and from the grain and fruits which they produce, cannot be less than 7500 feet above the level of the sea.

The Toumat is a small stream. Above Cassan, says the Geographical Bulletin, No. 110, it has water all the year, thus indicating that below that place the water fails in the dry season. It runs between two high chains of mountains; the east Bank, that chain being known as the country called Bertat. The rains, according to Bruce, (the Geographical Bulletin agrees in this,) commence in April; but they do not fall heavy at that time, and but little affect the rivers. Beyond the chain, on the western bank of the Toumat, the country is level to Denka and the banks of the White River, which is stated to be eleven days’ journey due west from Fazoglo. Iron is very abundant in the countries round   the Toumat and the Yabous, and caravans of Arabian merchants regularly traverse the country from Ganjar near Kuara, and two days’ journey south of Kas-el-Fael, by Fazoglo and Fadessi, to Kaffa and Bany; the road, as the latter places are approached, being described as hilly and very woody, with numerous small streams.

The Gochob rises in Gamvou, a high, wild, and woody country, part of Limmu; and bending its course south-east, next east, and then south-east, it forms the lake Tchocha, and afterwards rolls over the great cataract Dumbaro, soon after which it joins the Kibbee, when the united stream tales the name of the Gochob, or Jub, by which it is known till it enters the sea. Where crossed in the road from Sakka to Bonga, it is described as larger than any other stream which flows to join it from the country more to the south; much larger, indeed, than either the Gitche or Omo, its subsequent tributaries. These are the principal rivers of Kaffa, which is described as a high, cold country, as cold as Samen, or Simien, as Major Harris writes it, in Abyssinia. Bonga, the capital of Kaffa, or Susa, is one of the largest cities in these parts, and coffee of superior quality is produced every where, both in Kaffa and Enarea, in the greatest abundance. So also is civet and ivory.

The Omo, where crossed in the road to Tuftee, is passed by a bridge of wood sixty yards in length, which shows that it is not a very large river, nor can it be, this place being so near the district where its sources must lie. In the dry season it is described as a very small stream. The mountains in the south of Kaffa or Susa, are covered with snow, and to the south of this place they are said to rise to a stupendous height, “to reach the skies,” and are clothed with eternal snow!

Malo, or Malee, (as Major Harris spells it,) is westward from Koocha, and not far from Jajo, (certainly the Jedo of Salt,) and which is at a considerable distance from the sea, (Geographical Bulletin, No. 114.) Malee touches upon both Goba and Doko, and the latter again touches upon Kulloo. It is in Malee that the Omo, now a considerable stream, joins the Gochob, after having received from the mountains of Souro and valleys of Sasa the Toreesh or Gotze, a considerable stream. Doko and Malee, like Dauro or Woreta, are very hot low countries, abounding in cotton. In Doko, bamboo forests are frequent and extensive. The population are represented to be of a diminutive stature, exceedingly rude and ignorant, and are a prey to all their surrounding neighbours, who invade their country at pleasure, and carry off the wretched people into slavery. In this portion of Africa, or very near it, the early Arab writers and Portuguese navigators placed a nation of pigmies; and in this it would appear that they were correct. After the junction of the Omo, the Gochob pursues its way by Ganana to the sea at Juba, a few miles to the south of the equator. The western bank is inhabited by Galla tribes, and the eastern by Somauli. In this part of its course it is called Jub by the Arabians, Gowend or Govend by the Somauli, Yumbu by the Souahilis, and Danesa by the Gallas.

The Gochob below Wolama is joined on the east side by a considerable stream called the Una, which rises to the south of Gurague; and in Koocha and on the same side by a still larger stream, which comes from the country of the Ara or Ala Galla to the east of Gurague, and near the western sources of the Wabbe or Webbe. Koocha is thirty days’ navigation upwards and fifteen downwards from the sea, with which it has a considerable trade; white or fair people coming up the river to that place; but these are not allowed to proceed further inland. The inhabitants of Koocha carry on a great trade by means of the Gochob with Dauro in slaves, ivory, coffee, &c.; the Galla of Dauro bringing these down the Gochob in rafts with high gunwales, which indicates that the Gochob is a river of considerable magnitude, and may become of great importance in the future communications with Africa; the soil and climate around it being very fine, particularly in the lower parts near the sea, where the land is level, and the soil a fine deep red mould.

After Bruce, Salt had delineated with considerable accuracy the source of the Webbe and the countries around it; but, except his map, we had no further particulars. These are, however, supplied by Major Harris and Mr Krapf in the countries south-east of Shoa, about Harrar and its sources; and further by accounts collected by D’Abbadie at Berbera from intelligent natives, travellers regarding the countries more to the south, and over the remainder of the north-eastern coast of Africa.

The principal source of the Webbe is to the east of the Aroosi mountains, and in the country of the Ala Galla; whence, running eastward, it passes Imi and Karanle, (the Karain of Krapf;) it runs south-east and afterwards south in a winding course towards the Indian ocean. To the north of six degrees of latitude, it is joined by several streams from the neighbourhood of Harrar and places more to the east; and in about six degrees of latitude, by a large stream which rises near Lake Souaie, and runs through the country of Bergama or Bahr Gama. The various countries through which the Webbe and his tributaries flow, are distinctly marked on the map. The country around its sources is very hilly and cold, the mountains resembling in height and appearance the boldest in Abyssinia; and to the eastward of its middle course, the mountains in Howea are very high and cold. In these springs the river Doaro, which flows into the sea, a considerable river during the rains; but at other times its mouth is nearly blocked up with sand, which is the case with some streams more to the northward.

North of Mount Anot the country is fine and well watered, and during the rains a very large river, according to Christopher, flows through it, descending from the range to the south-east of Berbera, and entering the sea in about eight degrees thirty minutes north latitude. Around Capes Halfoon and Guardafui the country is fine and well watered with small streams, and the climate delicious, as is the coast from Cape Guardafui westward to Berbera.

Harrar stands in a beautiful, fertile, and well-watered valley, surrounded with hills, the soil rich, and producing fine coffee abundantly. It is strictly Mahommedan, and, comparatively speaking, a considerable place, though much shorn of its dominion and power from those days when it had become the capital of that portion of eastern Africa ruled by the Mahommedans; and when under Mahommed Gragne, (left-handed,) it overran and desolated the whole Abyssinian empire, then under that unfortunate sovereign King David. In the county south of Berbera there is abundance of fine wells of excellent water. Waggadeyn is a very beautiful country, and produces abundance of myrrh and frankincense, as in fact every portion of the eastern horn, from Enarea inclusive, also does. It is the great myrrh and frankincense country, from which Arabia, Egypt, Judea, Syria, and Tyre were supplied in early days of Scripture history. The Webbe is only six fathoms broad and five feet deep in the dry season in Waggadeyn; but in the rainy season the depth is increased to five fathoms. It is navigated by rafts lower down. Incense, gum, and coffee, are every where abundant around the Webbe and its tributary streams. Harrar contains about 14,000 inhabitants, and Berbera 10,000; Sakka about 12,000.

All the early Arabian writers pointedly state, and so also do the Portuguese discoverers, that the Webbe entered the sea near Mukdishu or Magadoxo. This was no doubt the fact; but from what cause we know not, the river, after approaching within a short distance of Magadoxo to the north, turns south-west, and approaching in several places very near the sea, from which it is only separated by sandhills, it terminates in a lake about halfway between Brava and the Jub. This is Christopher’s account; but my opinion is, that this lake communicates with the sea during the rainy season, and even in a small stream in the dry season also. Christopher pointedly states, that besides filtrating through the sandhills, it communicates with the sea in two places, between Merka and Brava; and that this is correct, is proved from the fact, that while the river near Merka is 175 feet broad, it is reduced to seventy-five feet near Brava; while the Geographical Bull., No. 98, p. 96,   states, that a small river enters the sea to the south of Brava, a branch unquestionably from the Webbe.

The country between Magadoxo and the Jub is called Ber-el-Banader, and north of Magadoxo, and situated between the Webbe and the Doaro, is the considerable province called Hamer. Christopher describes the Somauli inhabiting the lower Webbe as civil and obliging, the soil fine and fruitful, and the climate the most delicious he had ever visited. The inhabitants offered to conduct him in safety to Abyssinia, and into very remote districts in the interior. The name of England is beginning to be well known, respected, and feared in this fine portion of Africa; and it is not a little to be regretted and lamented that this has not been the case at a much earlier period.

The early Arabian writers, such as Batouta, write Magadoxo, Mukdishu; Christopher states that it is now divided into two parts, in a state of hostilities with each other, and that the southern part is called Mukutshu, and the northern Mukkudeesha.

According to the Geographical Bulletin, No. 98, p. 98, the word ganana signifies queue, or tail, which explains at once the river which Christopher makes enter the Webbe near Galwen, coming from the north-westward, to be in reality a branch flowing off from the Jub at that place. It is a thing unknown to find a river rising in a low alluvial country.

To the east of the Webbe the country is inhabited by Somauli tribes, who are Mahommedans and considerable traders. The country seems every where to have a considerable population; and instead of being a blank and a waste, as hitherto supposed and represented on maps, it is found to be one of the finest portions of Africa, or of the world. Grain of every kind known in the temperate zones, especially wheat of superior qualities, is most abundant, and so cheap that the value of a dollar can purchase as much as will maintain a man for a whole year!

The sources of the Hawash approach within about thirty miles of the Abay. The lake Souaie in Gurague is about thirty miles in circumference, and contains numerous islands. In these are lodged some ancient and valuable Abyssinian records. It is fed by five small rivers, and empties itself into the Hawash, (see Ludolf.) Gurague is a Christian state, but reduced to great misery and poverty by the Galla tribes which surround it on every side. The elevation of Ankobar above the sea is 8200 feet, and of Augollalla about 200 more; so that the climate is very moderate. The country is every where very mountainous; but at the same time is in many places well cultivated. The rivers run in deep valleys or dells, and are very rocky and rapid. The present kingdom of Shoa contains about 2,500,000 of inhabitants, chiefly Christians of the Alexandrian Church.

In March 1842, Mr Krapf set out from Ankobar, to proceed to Egypt, by way of Gondar and Massuah; but, after traversing the mountainous parts of Northern Shoa, and the countries of the Woollo-Galla, and reaching a short distance beyond the Bashilo, (then only five days’ journey from Gondar,) he was compelled, from hostilities prevailing among the chiefs in that quarter, to retrace his steps to Gatera. In the journey which he had so far accomplished, Mr Krapf traversed the country near the sources of the numerous rivers which flow to form the Jimma and the Bashilo. The mountains were high and cold, (especially in the province of Mans,) and exceedingly precipitous, ascending and descending 3000 feet in the course of a few hours. The soil in the valleys was good, and tolerably well cultivated. Sheep, with long black wool, were numerous; the population in general rude and ignorant. From Gatera he took his course to Lake Haik, and from thence, pursuing his route north-eastward, he crossed the numerous streams which rise in the mountainous range to the westward, and pursue their course to the country of Adel, north of Aussa. Crossing the very elevated range on the western frontier of modern Angot, he pursued his journey to Antalon, leaving at Lat the Tacazzè four days’ journey to the west, and crossing in his course the numerous streams, such as the Tarir, the Ghebia, Sumshato, and the Tyana, (this last a considerable river,) which flow northward from the mountains   of Angot and Woggerat to form the Areequa, a large tributary to the Tacazzè. Mr Krapf’s route lay a little to the westward of Lake Assanghe, and considerably in this portion thereof to the west of the route of Alvaraez, who passed on the south side of Mount Ginnamora, from whence the streams descended to the south-east.

Lake Haik is a fine sheet of water about forty-five miles in circumference, with an island near the north-west corner, and an outlet in the west, which runs to the Berkona. On the east and the south sides it is surrounded with high mountains. Mount Ambassel or Amba Israel, the celebrated mountain in Geshen where the younger branches of the royal family of Abyssinia were imprisoned in early times, is a little to the north of Lake Haik, and beyond the Mille. It runs north and south, in length about twelve or thirteen miles, and is exceedingly high and steep, the sides thereof being almost perpendicular. Mr Krapf, amongst the most considerable rivers which he passed in this quarter, mentions the Ala, which he states runs to, and is lost in, the deserts of the country of Adel. This is important, and this river is no doubt the Wali of Bruce, which he mentions (vol. iii. p. 248) as the scene of a remarkable engagement between the sovereigns of Abyssinia and Adel in 1576, during the reign of the Abyssinian king Sertza Denghel. The Abyssinian army descended from Angot, and crossing the Wali, a considerable river, cut off the army of Adel from Aussa, drove a portion thereof into the stream, where they were drowned, while the remainder flying crossed the stream lower down, and thus effected their escape to Aussa. This confirms in a remarkable manner the position of this river, and would almost go to establish the fact that it cannot unite with Lake Aussa, the termination of the Hawash.

At the Ala Mr Krapf states that he was then seven days’ journey from Aussa. Aussa, according to Bruce, or rather the capital of Aussa, was in former times situated on a rock on the bank of the river Hawash. It is called Aussa Gurel in the old Portuguese maps, and is no doubt the Aussa Guraiel of Major Harris, laid down on the Arabic map which he obtained from a native of that place. When low, the termination of the Hawash may be said to form three lakes; but during the rainy season the land is flooded round to a great extent, the circumference of the lake then extending to 120 geographical miles. When the waters retire they leave, like the Nile in Egypt, a quantity of fine mud or slime, which, cultivated as it immediately is, produces abundant crops, and on this account the valley of Aussa is, and always has been, the granary of Adel. From the southern boundary of the lake to the place where the Hawash finally extricates itself from the mountainous ranges, the distance is about five days’ journey, or from sixty to seventy miles. The length of the fine valley of Aussa is about one hundred miles.

From the summit of the chain which separates the waters which flow south-east to Adel, and north-west to the Tacazzè, Mr Krapf says, that looking over Lasta to the towering snow-clad peaks of Samen or Simien, the whole country had the appearance of the raging waves of the sea in a terrible tempest. The soil around the upper branches of the Tacazzè is very good, especially in Wofila, Boora, and Enderta, adjoining the fine river Tyana; but it is only indifferently cultivated, owing to the perpetual wars and feuds amongst the chieftains and tribes in these parts, and the bad and unsettled governments which now exist in Tigre, and, in fact, in all Abyssinia. Travelling in these parts is difficult and insecure, owing to the plundering dispositions of the people, and the rapacity of the chiefs, who live beyond the control of any commanding or great sovereign power. At Gatera Mr Krapf was robbed of every thing that he had by the ferocious Woollo-Galla chief, Adara Bille, from whose clutches he escaped with some difficulty.

But time and space forbids me going more at length into the interesting journeys of these late eastern travellers, amongst which those of Major Harris is certainly the most important. He has accurately determined, and been the first to determine, the longitude and latitude of Tajoura, Lake Assal or the Salt Lake, and Ankobar,   &c., and thus given correct starting points from which to regulate the bearings and distances of the other very interesting places in the interior. The bay of Tajoura affords good anchorage; but the best point to start for the interior is Zeila, the route thence to Shoa running along the edges of the watered and more cultivated districts.

Amongst the travellers who visited this quarter of Africa lately is Dr T. C. Beke. He, however, went over the same ground as the others in his journey from Tajoura to Ankobar, (Messrs Krapf and Isenberg had preceded him a considerable time;) therefore his letters and communications, so far as yet known, contain little that is new. The only portion connected with Shoa which the others had not visited, is about thirty-five miles of the lower course of the Jimma, near its junction with the Abay, where the latter stream is about 600 feet broad, and from three to five feet deep. His subsequent travels in this part of Africa were confined to Gojam, Damot, and part of Agow Medre, and to the source of the Nile; but except being more minute in minor details regarding these provinces and their numerous small streams and rivers, they add little to the information given by Bruce. Still his journey, when given to the world, may supply us with some interesting particulars regarding what he actually saw.