Extensive morasses2, environing the sedge-grown borders of the Muttahára water, proved it to be far below its wonted boundaries, and precluded3 all access to Fantáli, even had the timidity of the guides been sufficiently4 overcome to induce them to acquiesce5 in a visit; but the non-existence of any active volcano for more than thirty years was confirmed by all. The Kobedémtoo and the Gobakoobee districts form the limit of His Majesty’s Karaiyo possessions, within a few miles of the Háwash, and thither6 we proceeded in the morning. Arriving near the mountain Sadéka, one of the outposts of the Aroosi, whence the wooded line of the river could be traced for miles through the naked plains, I took the bearings of the conical peak of Serie, and of other conspicuous7 landmarks8. But the appearance of a small party of armed savages9 in the distance soon induced precipitate10 retreat on the part of our escort, who by no means relished11 the delay. A band of treacherous12 barbarians13 had only a few weeks previously14 made a descent upon the Karaiyo cattle, and after putting all the herdsmen to the spear, were hurrying off with the booty, when they were pursued in force, and put to flight with the loss of twelve of their number. Another predatory visit was daily anticipated; and the caution was in every mouth, “If two warriors16 be perceived upon the same horse, ask no questions, but shoot them without mercy.”
Sáhela Selássie has never yet attempted an expedition in person against these war-hawks, nestled in the lap of the mountains, who fight stark17 naked, and are besmeared with lard from head to foot. Merciless, and of predatory habits, they are represented as extremely powerful in battle, and are the terror of every surrounding tribe—two warriors usually bestriding the same steed, and aiding each other with barbed lances jagged like the teeth of a saw, and with bucklers manufactured to imitate the shell of the tortoise. Subsisting18 entirely19 by plunder20, the cultivation21 of their high cold hills is but little attended to; salt, which forms the principal article of barter22 with Guráguê, and other inland bordering countries, being obtainable in unlimited23 quantities from the lake Lághi, two days’ journey from Serie, one of the principal market towns. Noora Hoossain is the capital of the Aroosi Galla, who are all followers24 of the Prophet; and the principal towns of their adjacent neighbours the Ittoo, a race of mixed Mohammadans and Pagans, are Chercha and Metokóma.
The rhinoceros25 was said to abound26 in the Karaiyo neighbourhood; but Habti Mariam would consent to no further sojourn27 on this dangerous border with so limited an escort, and at noon retraced28 his steps to the village of Inkóftoo. Here all the braves and principal men of the tribe were gathered to recount their recent exploits with the predatory Aroosi, as well as the particulars attending the slaughter29 of an elephant’s calf30 that had fallen under their united lances a few weeks previously. A spear wound having stupified the beast, hundreds of warriors rushed in and overwhelmed it. Every participator in this notable achievement, which is one of extremely rare occurrence, now displayed on his person some distinguishing ornament31 or feather, whilst the doughty32 hero who claimed first blood, strutted33 about under a perfect load of sable34 and green plumes35, brass36 chains, and massive ivory armlets, precisely37 similar to those worn by the ancient Egyptians. Not quite satisfied as to the object of the visit, the Karaiyo had collected the whole of their great droves of cattle in the precincts of the hamlet. Amongst them were many splendid sánga, with wide-spreading horns upwards38 of six feet in length; under which they moved as majestically39 as the stag “proud of his twelve tynes.”
A heavy storm of dust obscured the entire face of the landscape in the direction of Sáboo; arriving near to which, a path struck off to the westward41 to the encamping ground on the side of the Kózi mountain, above a snug42 Karaiyo hamlet, whence provisions were obtained. The Amhára followers, although still restricted by the fast of Hodádi from participation43 in animal food, were fain to encase their naked and blistered44 feet in portions of the hide of an ox slaughtered45 for the entertainment of the more fortunate Mohammadans; the fields of lava46 lately traversed, like the “iron stones” celebrated47 in the travels of the Jesuit fathers of old, being “like the dross48 that cometh from the furnace, and so sharp-pointed withal, that they spoiled a pair of new shoes in a day.”
The next object was to visit the far-famed volcanic49 well of Boorchútta, on the frontier of Mentshar, bordering upon the wilderness of Táboo, which was to form the limit of our wanderings. Shortly after gaining the summit of the Kózi mountain, the road wound along the very brink50 of the crater51 of Winzégoor, from whose monstrous52 chasm53 the entire adjacent country has been recently overflowed54; and three miles beyond it we halted preparatory to the passage of a dangerous defile55, said to teem56 with the execrated57 Aroosi hordes58, and to form their favourite ambuscade. A council of war was held. The troops being formed into a dense59 body, a woho was appointed to prevent straggling, and to command the rear-guard. Scouts60 proceeded in advance to reconnoitre, and the strictest silence having been enjoined61, the order was for once obeyed. Dismounted men and grazing horses descried62 on the impending63 heights of Boobisa soon caused dire40 alarm; and consternation64 reached the climax65 when, on gaining the gorge66 of the hills overlooking the wilderness of Táboo, the scouts ran in breathless, with intelligence that a large body of cavalry67 occupied a rising ground not two miles from the van. The jingling68 bells around the necks of the mules69 having been muffled70, the party, drawn71 up in battle array, advanced with the utmost caution, until the gleaming of the white garments and cross-emblazoned shields of the fancied foes72 proved them to be none other than the Mentshar detachment of horse under Ayto Nigdoo, who had been expressly called out to reinforce the Amhára in event of the Aroosi being abroad on a foray.
Having joined the allies, who had in their turn been equally disconcerted at the appearance of the forces of Habti Mariam, we proceeded to cross the valley of Jiggra Mulkinia, “the place where the guinea fowls73 feed.” This fine level plain, hemmed75 in by high hills, presented a perfect garden of wild flowers blossoming amid a most luxuriant second crop of grass, the result of a late conflagration76. Many hundreds of the white-rumped mhorr browsed77 on it undisturbed, and the pintado and the partridge seemed to be without end. A belt of dog-rose bushes, camel-thorns, and a highly aromatic78 undergrowth which bordered the base of the range styled Jújjuba Kulla, harboured a small herd15 of elephants, and they were soon perceived luxuriating among the young juicy reeds. But the retinue79 contrived80 as usual to put the whole to flight; and under a furious thunder-storm, which in ten minutes covered the plain with pools of water, the cavalcade81, drenched82 to the skin, arrived at a late hour on the skirts of the Boorchútta water, where the night was to be passed.
This singular well, which wears the semblance83 of the crater of a gigantic mine, is situated84 in the bosom85 of the almost perpendicular86 mountain of Jújjuba Kulla. One narrow passage, of barely sufficient width for an elephant, leads to the water, which lies at the bottom of a deep narrow gully with inaccessible87 banks. Rising to the height of two hundred feet, they are crossed by vermilion bands of lava, honeycombed with a thousand cavities and fissures88, and overgrown in parts with the most brilliant vegetation. Enormous blocks of black rock, which choke this channel for the last hundred yards, form a sort of parapet to the front of the pool, which measures sixty feet in diameter, and gives “no bottom.” The still, brimstone-coloured waters were glassy smooth, and not a breath stirred within the deep suffocating89 crater, where the fall of a pin produced an echo like that of a whispering gallery. Black martins wheeled over-head—pigeons cooed amid the clefts90 and crannies—and hairy baboons91 grimaced92 and chattered93 on the impending cliffs, from which trailed numberless fantastic roots, laid bare by the torrent94 that at certain seasons pours into the well from the ravine above.
There being no other water for many miles around this reservoir, it forms the resort of all the numerous wild animals in the neighbourhood; and the narrow passage bore ample testimony95 to the nocturnal visits of the elephant and rhinoceros. The inhabitants of all the adjacent hamlets deriving96 their supply hence, the Aroosi frequently lay in ambush97 to cut off their watering parties. Boorchútta is, in fact, the arena98 of constant conflicts; and not a month had elapsed since the ruthless barbarians slaughtered thirty-three Moslems, losing four of their own number in the skirmish. Bowers99 of green boughs100 were constructed for the accommodation of the two governors; and the whole of the retainers, standing101 to their arms with loins girt, danced and sang throughout the night around blazing watch-fires, which threw great masses of light into the shadowy abyss, and imparted the wildest effect to the scene of blood.
The night passed without any alarm, whether from assassin or wild beast; and in order to complete the tour of the eastern frontier, an excursion was made at early dawn through the wilderness of Táboo to the Bósut hills; the rich meadows which intervene, being tenanted by the Gámoo Galla, a pastoral tribe, beyond whom are the rebel Loomi. On terms of friendship with Sáhela Selássie, and even acknowledging a sort of nominal102 fealty103 to Shoa, we did not anticipate that our appearance would have caused alarm; but the natives believing the party of five hundred horse and foot to denote an irruption of the Aroosi, drove off their cattle with all expedition to the summits of the fastnesses, and abandoning their villages, were to be seen clustering on the heights in momentary104 expectation of attack. Nothing could exceed the luxuriance of the shady forests of Táboo, which bore evidences throughout of the presence of the elephant, and abounded105 in the pie-bald oryx, the agazin, the hartebeest, and the mhorr—clamourous troops of guinea fowl74, which covered every open glade106, completing the contrast to the silent regions of Shoa, so generally destitute107 of animal life.
Several splendid antelope108 had fallen to Graham’s rifle and my own, before the impatient entreaties109 of the governor compelled us to set out on our return. We arrived before sunset at the village of Adeláda, which occupies the summit of a steep saddle-backed hill, and is under the control of Ayto Nigdoo. Near it is the well of Wuláwula, which, although smaller, is not very dissimilar from that of Boorchútta, a sleepy, funnel-shaped hollow, likewise owing its existence to igneous110 agency. Crossing the Koorkurú, the Gubraiyo Ságur, and the Cosso rivulets111, which are severally dissipated in the plain of the Karaiyo, we re-ascended to Wolágur, and returned the following day to Dummakoo, laden112 with numerous valuable accessions to natural history, and in possession of as much information as our opportunities enabled us to collect relative to this interesting but unsettled border.
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1
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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morasses
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| n.缠作一团( morass的名词复数 )；困境；沼泽；陷阱 | |
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precluded
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| v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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acquiesce
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| vi.默许，顺从，同意 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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relished
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| v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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subsisting
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| v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的现在分词 ) | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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doughty
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| adj.勇猛的，坚强的 | |
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strutted
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| 趾高气扬地走，高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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43
participation
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| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
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blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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dross
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| n.渣滓；无用之物 | |
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49
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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teem
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| vi.(with)充满，多产 | |
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execrated
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| v.憎恶( execrate的过去式和过去分词 )；厌恶；诅咒；咒骂 | |
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hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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descried
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| adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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jingling
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| 叮当声 | |
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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browsed
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| v.吃草( browse的过去式和过去分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
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aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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85
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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88
fissures
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| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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90
clefts
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| n.裂缝( cleft的名词复数 )；裂口；cleave的过去式和过去分词；进退维谷 | |
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baboons
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| n.狒狒( baboon的名词复数 ) | |
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92
grimaced
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| v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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94
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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deriving
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| v.得到( derive的现在分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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97
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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99
bowers
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| n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人 | |
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100
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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101
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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102
nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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103
fealty
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| n.忠贞，忠节 | |
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104
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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105
abounded
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106
glade
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| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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107
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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108
antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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igneous
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| adj.火的，火绒的 | |
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111
rivulets
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| n.小河，小溪( rivulet的名词复数 ) | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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