Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia with Some Account of the Late Emperor the Late Emperor Theodore, His Country and PeopleBlanc, Henry
History
Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia with Some Account of the Late Emperor the Late Emperor Theodore, His Country and People
Blanc, Henry
Abyssinian Expedition (1867-1868); Ethiopia -- History -- 1490-1889; Theodore II, Negus of Ethiopia, -1868
The springs of Adulis [Footnote: A short time before our departure
for the interior, some of the water of the hot springs of Adulis
was collected and forwarded to Bombay for analysis.] are only a few
hundred yards from the sea-shore, surrounded by a pleasing green
patch covered with a vigorous vegetation, the rendezvous of myriads
of birds and quadrupeds, who, morning and evening, swarm thither
to quench their thirst.
At Ailat [Footnote: Water collected and sent to Bombay, November,
1864.] the hot spring issues from basaltic rocks on a small plateau
between high and precipitous mountains. At the source itself the
temperature is 141 Fahrenheit, but as the water flows down the
different ravines, it gradually cools until it differs in no way
from other mountain streams. It is palatable, and used by the
inhabitants of Ailat for all purposes: it is also highly esteemed
by the Bedouins. On account of its medicinal properties, numbers
resort to the natural baths, formed of hollowed volcanic roots, for
the relief of every variety of disease. From what I could gather,
it appears to prove beneficial in chronic rheumatism and in diseases
of the skin. Probably in these cases any warm water would act as
well, considering the usual morbid condition of the integument in
those dirty and unwashed races.
The population of Massowah, including the surrounding villages (as
far, at least, as I could ascertain), amounts to 10,000 inhabitants.
The Massowah race is far from pure; being a mixture of Turkish,
Arab, and African blood. The features are generally good, the nose
straight, the hair in many instances short and curly; the skin
brown, the lips often large, the teeth even and white. The men are
of the middle height; the women under it. So much for their physical
appearance. Morally they are ignorant and superstitious, having
apparently retained but few of their forefathers' virtues, but a
great many of their vices. A very good distinction can be made, in
the male portion of the community, between those who wear turbans
and long white shirts, and those hard-working wretches who, girded
with a single leather skin, roam about with their flocks in search
of pasture and water. The first live I know not how. They call
themselves brokers! It is true that three or four times a year
caravans arrive from the interior, but as a rule, with the exception
of a skin or two of honey, and a few bags of jowaree, nothing is
imported. What possible business can about 500 brokers have? How
ten dollars' worth of honey and fifty of grain can give a brokerage
sufficient to clothe and feed, not only themselves but also their
families, is a problem I have in vain endeavoured to solve!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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