Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 1, A-AME

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Abyflinia. burden. Here, our author fays, he recovered a tran-
1 ■ ' quillity of mind which he had not enjoyed fince his ar¬
rival at Mafuah •, but they were now entirely without
the dominions of the naybe, and entered into thofe of
His trea- the emperor. Saloome attended them for fome wray,
cherous and feemed difpofed to proceed 5 but one of the corn-
guide obli- pan^ wh0 belonged to the Abyflinian monarch, having
turn'”0 rC' made a mark in the ground with his knife, told him,
that if he proceeded one ftep beyond that, he would
bind him hand and foot, and leave him to be devoured
by wild beads.
The coun- Being now in a great meafure delivered from their
try becomes fears and embarraflments, the company proceeded on
more ferule t]iejr journey with pleafure, through a much better
as he Paaesc<)Untry than they had hitherto paffed. In fome places
a on^ it was covered with wild oats, wood, high bent grafs,
&c. but in not a few places rocky and uneven. Great
flocks of a bird as large as a turkey, called in the Am-
haric language, erkoom, were feen in fome places. A
large animal of the goat kind, called agavsan, w’as
found dead and newly killed by a lion. It was about
the fize of a large afs*, and afforded a plentiful re pad.
Numbers of kolquall trees were alfofeen*, and the fades
of the river Habedi were adorned with a beautiful tree
of the fame name with the dream. There were in this
place alfo many flowers of various kinds, particularly
jeflamine. The mountains of Adowa, which they came
in fight of on the 5th of December, are totally unlike
any thing to be met with in Europe j their fides being
all perpendicular rocks, like deeples or obelifks of ma¬
ny different forms.
^ Adowa, though the capital of an extenfive province
or kingdom, does not contain above 300 houfes j but
occupies neverthelefs a large fpace, by reafon of the in-
clofures of a tree called wanxey, which furround each
of the houfes. It flands on the declivity of a hill, fi-
tuated on the wed fide of a fmall plain furrounded by
mountains. It is watered by three rivulets which ne¬
ver become dry even in the greated heats. A manu-
fafture is carried on here of a kind of coarfe cotton
cloth which paffes for money throughout all Abyflinia.
The houfes are built of rough done cemented with
mud j lime being only ufed in the conflru&ion of thofe
at Gondar, and even there it is very bad.
Our traveller was very hofpitably entertained at A-
dowa, by one Janni, with whom he refided during his
flay there. Leaving it on the lyth of December, he
vifited the ruins of Axum, once the capital of the em¬
pire. Here are 40 obelifks, but without any hiero¬
glyphics. A large one ftill remains, but the two lar-
geft are fallen. There is alfo a curious obelifk, of which
he gives a figure, with other antiquities which our li¬
mits will not allow us to enlarge upon. The town has
at prefent about 600 houfes, and carries on manufac¬
tures of the coarfe cotton cloth already mentioned. It
is watered by a fmall ftream which flows all the year,
and it is received into a fine bafon 150 feet fquare,
where it is colle&ed for the ufe of the neighbouring
gardens. Its latitude was found by Mr Bruce to be
140 6' 36" north.
On the 20th of January 1770, our traveller fet out
from Axum. The road was at firft fmooth and plea-
fant, but afterwards very difficult ; being compofed
of ftones raifed one above another, the remains of a
magnificent caufeway, as he conjectures. As they paf-
Adowa de-
fcribed.
Vilits the
ruins of
Axum.
] A B Y
fed farther on, however, the air was every where per- Abyffmia.
fumed by a vaft number of flowers of different kinds,-nr—
particularly jeffamine. One fpecies of this, named
agamy was found in fuch plenty, that almoft all the
adjacent hills were covered by it j the w'hole country
had the moft beautiful appearance 5 the weather was
exquifitely fine, and the temperature of the air agree¬
able. In this fine country, however, Mr Bruce had
the firft opportunity of beholding the horrible barbari- Monftrous
ty of the Abyflinians, in cutting off pieces of fleftr from j^h^ntyd
the bodies of living animals, and devouring them raw •
but notwithftanding this extreme cruelty, they have the
utmoft horror and religious averfion at pork of every
kind} infomuch that Mr Bruce durft not venture to
tafte the flefli of a wild boar, juft after having afiifted
in the deftruftion of five or fix.
During the remaining part of the journey from A-
dowa to Sire, the country continued equally beautiful,
and the variety of flowers and trees greatly augmented;
but as a report rvas propagated that Ras Michael had
been defeated by Fafil, they now met with fome infults.
Thefe, however, were but trifling *, and on the 22d in
the evening they arrived fafely at Sire, fituated in N.
Lat. 140 4' 35".
This town is ftill larger than Axum 5 but the houfes Sire Je-
are built of no better materials than clay, and coveredicnbed*
with thatch ; the roofs being in the form of cones,
which indeed is the fliape of all thofe in Abyflinia.
It Hands on the brink of a very fteep and narrow val¬
ley, through which the road is almoft impafiable. It
is famous for a manufacture of cotton cloth, which, as
we have already obferved, paffes for money throughout
the whole empire. At fome times, however, beads,
needles, antimony, and incenfe, will pafs in the fame
way. The country in the neighbourhood is extremely
fine ; but the inhabitants are fubjeft, by reafon of the
low fituation, to putrid fevers. On leaving it on the
24th, our travellers paffed through a vaft plain, where
they could difcern no hills as far as the eye could reach,
excepting fome few detached ones Handing on the plain,
covered with high grafs, which the inhabitants were
then burning. The country to the northward is flat
and open. In the way to Gondar, however, lies that
ridge of mountains called Samen ; of which one named
Lamalmon is the moft remarkable, and by fome fuppof-
ed to be the higheft in Abyflinia. Betwixt Sire and
thefe mountains the river Tacazze runs, which, next to
the Nile, is the largeft in Abyflinia.. Mr Bruce in¬
forms us that it carries near one third of the water
which falls on the whole empire ; and when palling it,
he faw the marks of its ftream, the preceding year, 18 Tacazfce
feet perpendicular above the bottom; nor could it.be
afcertained whether this was the higheft point to which
it had reached. It has its fource in the diftriCt of
Angot, riling from three fources like the Nile, in a
flat country, about 200 miles to the S. E. of Gondar.
It is extremely pleafant j being {haded with fine lofty
trees, the water extremely clear, and the banks adorn¬
ed with the moft fragrant flowers. At the ford where
they croffed, this river was fully 200 yards broad, and
about three feet deep j running very fwiftly over a
bottom of pebbles. At the very edge of the water the
banks were covered with tamarilks, behind which grew
tall and ftately trees, that never lofe their leaves. It
abounds with fifli} and is inhabited by crocodiles and
Vnnnnnotami ?