The Life and Adventures of Bruce, the African TravellerHead, Francis Bond, Sir
History
The Life and Adventures of Bruce, the African Traveller
Head, Francis Bond, Sir
Bruce, James, 1730-1794; Ethiopia -- Description and travel
Proceeding on their journey, they passed the corpse of a man who had
evidently been murdered, for his throat was cut, and he was also
hamstrung. The next day they suffered exceedingly; their clothes were
torn to rags, and men and beasts were equally exhausted; the forests
were swarming with game, particularly Guinea-fowls and paroquets; and
when one of the party fired his gun, the first probably that had ever
resounded in these woods, there was instantly such a wild scream of
terror from birds on all sides, some flying to the place whence the
noise came, and some flying from it, that the confusion of the moment
was beyond all description.
Two days afterward Bruce reached the Guangue, which abounds with
hippopotami and crocodiles, and was the largest river, except the Nile
and Tacazzé, that he had seen in Abyssinia. Shortly afterward he arrived
at Yasine's village, Hor Cacamoot, which means, literally, the valley of
the shadow of death; "A bad omen," says Bruce, "for weak and wandering
travellers as we were, surrounded by a multitude of dangers, and so far
from home."
"This," says Bruce, "is, I suppose, one of the hottest countries in the
known world. On the 1st day of March, at three o'clock in the afternoon,
Fahrenheit's thermometer, in the shade, was 114°, which was at 61 at
sunrise, and 82 at sunset. And yet this excessive heat did not make a
proportional impression upon our feelings. The evenings, on the
contrary, rather seemed cold, and we could hunt at midday; and this I
constantly observed in this sultry country, that what was hot by the
glass never appeared to carry with it anything proportionate in our
sensations."
Some time before Bruce left Gondar he had been threatened with an attack
of dysentery. On his arrival at Hor Cacamoot it grew worse, and had
assumed many unpromising symptoms, when he was cured by the advice and
application of a common Shangalla.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account