The Highlands of EthiopiaHarris, William Cornwallis, Sir
History
The Highlands of Ethiopia
Harris, William Cornwallis, Sir
Ethiopia -- Description and travel
As the interpreter proceeded to unfold this high-toned remonstrance,
Izhak was seen to fidget uneasily upon his hams, whilst he sought to
conceal his agitation by tracing figures on the sand; and, as the last
intimation fell upon his ear, seizing his sandal, he relieved his
excited feelings by shovelling a pointed stick through the very centre
of the leather. But the swaggering air which he had assumed had now
entirely disappeared, and, after a hurried whispering consultation with
his confederates, he declared that he had been toiling day and night in
the service of the English; that he was perfectly ready to perform every
thing required of him, and that, notwithstanding the recent calamity
with which his family had been visited, and the dangerous illness of his
mother, he would escort the Embassy in person, with trustworthy
colleagues; that he would be responsible for all the property left at
Ambabo, and only petition for two days' grace to put his house in order
before repairing to Dullool. This point being tardily accorded, he rose
with Ali Shermarki, who had ridden in as mediator during the heat of the
conference, and each offering his hand, in earnest of the matter being
finally and amicably concluded in full accordance with the original
stipulations of the covenant, set out on his return to Tajura.
Volume One, Chapter XII.
DULLOOL--THE RAS UNPLEASANTLY REMINDED OF HIS PLEDGE--SAGALLO AND
WARELISSAN.
Izhak's absent camels, which had been kept close at hand pending the
issue of this stormy debate, being now brought in, the ground was
speedily cleared of the remaining baggage; and satisfied with the
specious assurance of the Ras el Kafilah, that he would on no account
tarry beyond nightfall of the following day, the party, relieved from
their anxiety, mounted after five o'clock, and galloped seven miles
along the sea-beach to the camp at Dullool,--the loose sand being so
perforated and undermined in every part by the hermit crab, as to render
the sieve-like road truly treacherous and unpleasant.
The grassy nook occupied by the tent was situated at the abutment of a
spur from the wooded Jebel Goodah, evidently of volcanic origin, which
gradually diminishes in height, until it terminates, one hundred yards
from the shore, in a thick jungle of tamarisk and acacia, the former
covered with salt crystals. Hornblende, in blocks, was scattered along
the beach, and, wherever decomposed, it yielded fine glittering black
sand, so heated under the noontide sun as to burn the naked foot. The
movable camp of a horde of roving Bedouin shepherds, who, with very
slender habitations, possess no fixed abode, was erected near the wells;
and a quarrel with the followers, respecting the precious element,
having already led to the drawing of creeses, silver was again in
requisition to allay the impending storm.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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