It was arranged that we should halt here for two days, to allow General Staveley to come up with the force under him. Yesterday, early, news was brought in to the Chief that the uncle of Wagshum Gobayze was coming in to pay a visit, and Major Grant and Captain Moore went out to meet him. The Adjutant-general carelessly omitted to notify the pickets of the coming of the envoy; and accordingly, when the outlying sentry of the 4th regiment saw a body of 700 or 800 horsemen advancing, he naturally supposed that it was the enemy. He very properly called out the picket, who loaded their Sniders, and went out in skirmishing order to meet the enemy. In another quarter of a minute they would have opened fire, when an officer of the 4th came running up and stopped them. Had he been a minute later the consequences would have been most disastrous. Every shot would have told upon the dense body of horsemen, and the twenty men, in the minute or two which must have elapsed before the cavalry could have reached them, would have done terrible execution; and even had the cavalry charged, would, by falling into a small square, not improbably have defended themselves against the whole force. But the lives so sacrificed would have been only the beginning of misfortunes. Nothing would ever have convinced Gobayze that the affair was the result of a mistake, and we should have had him for our foe as well as Theodore. And with Wagshum’s army hovering around us, cutting off our baggage-train and attacking small parties, our position would be indeed a precarious one. Wagshum Gobayze’s uncle arrived with his body of cavalry at the other side of the little stream which borders our camp, and here halted for a few minutes. The troops were in the mean time paraded in front of their respective lines. Gobayze’s troops, of whom there were 700 or 800 present, drew up in a long line and dismounted, every man sitting down in front of his horse. They were by far the most formidable body we have seen since our arrival in this country. They were really cavalry, and rode small but very strong and serviceable horses. They were armed with shield and spear. I do not of course mean that these troops could stand for a moment against a charge of regular cavalry. It is probable that a hundred of the Scinde Horse or of the 3d Cavalry would scatter them like chaff; but for rough work, for dashing down a mountain side and attacking a convoy, they would be most formidable enemies. Their horses are all unshod, are marvellously surefooted, and will go at a gallop over places where an English horse could scarcely walk. We were greatly surprised at the sight of this body of cavalry, for heretofore we had not seen an animal which could even by courtesy be called a horse since we landed in Abyssinia.