The banks of the Tacazzé are all covered, at the water’s edge, with tamarisks; behind which grow high and straight trees, that seem to have gained additional strength from having often resisted the violence of the river. Few of these ever lose their leaves, but are either covered with fruit, flower, or foliage the whole year; indeed, abundantly with all three during the six months fair weather. The Bohabab, indeed, called, in the Amharic language, Dooma, loses its leaf; it is the largest tree in Abyssinia; the trunk is never high; it diminishes very regularly from the top to the bottom, but not beautifully; it has the appearance of a large cannon, and puts out a multitude of strong branches, which do not fall low, or nearly horizontal, but follow a direction, making all of them smaller angles than that of 45°. The fruit is of the shape of a melon, rather longer for its thickness; within are black seeds in each of the cells, into which it is divided, and round them a white substance, very like fine sugar, which is sweet, with a small degree of very pleasant acid. I never saw it either in leaf or flower; the fruit hang dry upon the branches when they are deprived of both. The wood of this tree is soft and spungy, and of no use. The wild bees perforate the trunk, and lodge their honey in the holes made in it; and this honey is preferred to any other in Abyssinia. Beautiful and pleasant, however, as this river is, like every thing created, it has its disadvantages. From the falling of the first rains in March till November it is death to sleep in the country adjoining to it, both within and without its banks; the whole inhabitants retire and live in villages on the top of the neighbouring mountains; and _these_ are all robbers and assassins, who descend from their habitations on the heights to lie in wait for, and plunder the travellers that pass. Notwithstanding great pains have been taken by Michael, his son, and grandson, governors of Tigré and Siré, this passage had never been so far cleared but, every month, people are cut off. The plenty of fish in this river occasions more than an ordinary number of crocodiles to resort hither. These are so daring and fearless, that when the river swells, so as to be passable only by people upon rafts, or skins blown up with wind, they are frequently carried off by these voracious and vigilant animals. There are also many hippopotami, which, in this country, are called Gomari. I never saw any of these in the Tacazzè; but at night we heard them snort, or groan, in many parts of the river near us. There are also vast multitudes of lions and hyænas in all these thickets. We were very much disturbed by them all night. The smell of our mules and horses had drawn them in numbers about our tent, but they did us no further harm, except obliging us to watch. I found the latitude of the ford, by many observations, the night of the 26th, taking a medium of them all, to be 13° 42´ 45´´ north.