cleared of its flesh, fo that the horns and skeleton of the head only remained; this he hung up in his great hall among the probofces of elephants, and horns of rhinocerofes, with this infcription in his own language, "Yagoube the Kipt killed this upon the Bedowi."

The evening of the day whereon they set out to hunt, fome men arrived from Ras el Feel fent by Yafine, with camels for their baggage, nothing but mules being used at Tcherkin. They brought word, that the Shangalla were down near the Tacazze, so that now was the time to pafs without fear; that Abd el Jeleel, the former Shum of Ras el Feel, Yafine's mortal enemy, had been seen lurking in the country near Sancaho; but as he had only four men, and was himself a known coward, it was not probable he would attempt any thing against our travellers, though it would be always better for them to keep on their guard.

Tcherkin has a market on Saturdays, in which raw cotton, cattle, honey, and coarfe cotton cloths are fold. The Shangalla formerly molested Tcherkin greatly, but for thirty years past they had done little damage. The fmall pox raged fo violently for a number of years among them, that it greatly diminished their numbers, and confequently their power of troubling their neighbours.*

On Wednesday the eighth of January, Mr. Bruce having rectified his quadrant with great attention, found the latitude of Tcherkin, to be 13° 7′ 35′′ north. But though from that time he was ready to depart, he could not poffibly get difengaged from his friends, but by a compofition, which was, that he should stay till the 15th, the day before Ozoro Esther and her company were to fet out on their return to Gondar ; and that they, on their part, fhould füffer Mr. Bruce to depart on that day, without further perfuafion, or throwing any obftacle whatever in his way.

On

The Shangalla are a black nation furrounding all the N. N. W. and N. E, of Abyffinia. They traffic in gold, fuch as is brought down in torrents fromthe mountains,

On the morning of the 15th of January, they left Tcherkin, and entered immediately into thick woods; but proceeded very flowly, the road being bad and unknown, if it could be called a road, and their camels overloaded.

On the 17th in the morning, they came to Sancaho, an old frontier territory of Abyffinia. The town may confift of about three hundred huts or houfes, neatly built of canes, and curiously thatched with leaves of the fame. It rifes in the midft of a plain, and resembles in fhape Tcherkin Amba, though much larger: a confiderable district all around belongs to it, of wilds and woods, if fuch as these, abandoned entirely to wild beafts, can be faid to belong to any man. The east end flopes with rather a fteep defcent into the plain; and through that is a narrow winding road, feemingly the work of art, being obstructed at turns by huge ftones, and at different ftages, for the purpose of defence by guns or arrows; all the other fides of the rock are perpendicular precipices. The inhabitants of the town are Baafa, a race of Shangalla, converted to the Mahometan religion.

On the 20th, our travellers proceeded but a mile and a half; their beasts and themselves being equally fatigued, and their clothes torn all to rags, when they arrived at Guanjook, which is a very delightful spot by the river side; small woods of very high trees, interfperfed with very beautiful lawns; feveral fields alfo cultivated with cotton; variety of game (especially Guinea fowls in great abundance) and, upon every tree, parroquets, of all the different kinds and colours, com-, pofe the beauties of Guanjook. Mr. Bruce faw no parrots, and fuppofes there were none; but on firing a gun, the first probably ever heard in those woods, there was fuch a fcreaming of other birds on all fides, fome flying to the place whence the noise came, and fome flying from it, that it was impoffible to hear diftinctly any other found.

They continued their journey from thence, and at a quarter after one came to Mariam-Ohha, and at half past three arrived at Hor-Cacamoot. Hor, in that country, fignifies the dry deep bed of a torrent, which has ceased to run; and Cacamoot, the fhade of death; fo that Yafine's village, where

they

they now took up their quarters, is called the Valley of the Shadow of Death: A bad omen for weak and wandering travellers as they were, furrounded by a multitude of dangers, and fo far from home, that there seemed to be but one that could bring them thither. They trufted in Him, and He did deliver them.

Hor-Cacamoot is fituated in a plain in the midst of a wood, fo much only of which has been cleared away as to make room for the miferable huts of which it confifts, and for the small spots of ground on which they fow mafhilla, or maize, to furnish them with bread. Their other food confifts entirely of the flesh of the elephant and rhinoceros, and chiefly of the former, for the trouble of hunting the elephant is not greater than chasing the rhinoceros, and the difference of gain is much fuperior. The elephant has a greater quantity of better flesh, while his large teeth are very valuable, and afford a ready price every where. The inhabitants being little acquainted with the use of fire-arms, the smaller game of the deer kind are not much molested, unless by the wild Shangalla, who make use of bows and arrows, so that these animals are increased beyond imagination.

Ras el Feel confisted once of thirty-nine villages. All the Arabs of Atbara reforted to them with butter, honey, horses, gold, and many other commodities; and the Shekh of Atbara, living upon the frontier of Sennaar, entertained a constant good correspondence with the Shekh of Ras el Feel, to whom he sent yearly a Dongola horse, two razors, and two dogs. The Shekh of Ras el Feel, in return, gave him a mule and a female flave; and the effect of this intercourse was, to keep all the intermediate Arabs in their duty. But fince the expedition of Yafous II. against Sennaar, no peace has ever fubfifted between the two ftates; on the contrary, all the Arabs that affifted the king, and were defeated with him, pay tribute no longer to Sennaar, but live on the frontiers of Abyffinia, and are protected there.

On the 17th of March they fet out from Hor-Cacamoot on their journey to Teawa, the capital of the province of Atbara,

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On the 18th, at half after fix in the morning, they continued their journey through thick, and almost impenetrable woods, full of thorns; and in two hours came to the bed of a torrent, which, though in appearance dry, upon digging with their hands in the loofe fand, they found great plenty of fresh water exceedingly well tafted, being fheltered by projecting rocks from the action of the fun. This is called Surf el Shekh. Here they filled their girbas, for there is very little good water to be found between this and Teawa. A girba is an ox's skin squared, and the edges fewed together very artificially by a double feam, which does not let out water, much resembling that upon the best English cricket-balls. An opening is left in the top of the girba, in the fame manner as the bung-hole of a cask. Around this the skin is gathered to the fize of a large handful, which, when the girba is full of water, is tied round with whip-cord. These girbas generally contain about fixty gallons each, and two of them are the load of a camel. They are then all befmeared on the outfide with grease, as well to hinder the water from oozing through, as to prevent its being evaporated by the action of the fun upon the girba, which in fact happened to them twice, so as to put them in imminent danger of perishing with thirst.

Yafine had provided a camel and two girbas, as well as every other provifion neceffary for them, till they should arrive at Teawa. Surf el Shekh is the boundary of Ras el Feel, Here Mr. Bruce took an affectionate leave of his friend Yafine, who, with all his attendants fhewed, at parting, that love and attachment they had constantly preferved to Mr. Bruce fince their first acquaintance.

On the 20th, our travellers arrived at Imferha, and from thence were two hours in going to Rashid, for they were flying for their lives; the Simoon, or hot-wind, having ftruckthem not long after they had set out from Imferha, and their little company, all but Mr. Bruce, fell fick with the quantity of poisonous vapour that they had imbibed. Our traveller fuppofes, that from Rashid to Imferha it is about five miles; and though it is one of the most dangerous halting places between Ras el Feel and Sennaar, yet they were so enervated,

their stomachs fo weak, and their head-achs fo violent, that they could not pitch their tent, but each wrapping himfel in his cloak refigned himself immediately to fleep under the cool fhade of the large trees, invited by the pleasant breeze from the north, which feemed to be merely local, confined to this small grove, created probably by the vicinity of the water, and the agitation they had occasioned in it.

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In this helpless state to which they were reduced, Mr Bruce alone continued not weakened by the Simoon, norre overcome by fleep. A Ganjar Arab, who drove an afs ladenc with falt, took this opportunity of ftealing one of the mules together with a lance and fheild belonging to one of Mr Bruce's fervants. The country was fo woody, and he had folit much the advantage of them in point of time, and they were in fo weak and difcouraged a flate, that it was thought in vain to pursue him one ftep. So he got off with his booty, unless he was intercepted by fome of those wild beafts, which he would find every where in his way, whether he returned to Ras el Feel, or the frontiers of Kaura, his own country.

Having refreshed themselves with a little fleep, the next thing was to fill their girbas, or fkins, with water. But be. fore they attempted this, Mr. Bruce thought to try an exper iment of mixing about twenty drops of spirit of nitre in a horn of water about the size of an ordinary tumbler. This he found greatly refreshed him, though his head-ach still continued. It had a much better effect upon his fervants, to whom he gave it; for they all feemed immediately recovered, and their spirits much more fo, from the reflection that they had with them a remedy they could trust to, if they should again be fo unfortunate as to meet this poisonous wind or

vapour.

On the 23d, which was the feventh day fince they had left Ras el Feel, they arrived at Teawa, the principal village and refidence of the Shekh of Atbara, between three and four miles diffant from the ruins of Garigana. The whole dif tance, then, from Hor-Cacamoot, may be about fixty-five miles to Teawa, as near as Mr. Bruce then could compute.

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