Abyssinia and King Theodore, Part I-VI [pp. 265-281]

Abyssinia and King Theodore.
The Bay of Adulis, usually so si- crossed the plains of Tigray, which
lent, is now swarming with ships. arelevel and oppose no obstacle; and
There were in it, a short time ago, then crossed through Wasaya without
seventy vessels, without counting meeting any noteworthy difficulty ex those of the Arabians and East- cept the river Takkaze, and Mount
Indians. The English have built Lamalmo. Farther on, at Dabra
two quays to assist the debarkation Tabor, where Theodore usually re of troops. The English have the sides, they might have chosen either
Snider gun, which they pretend to be' the plains of the Lanige, or the cool
superior to the Chassepot rifle. and verdant hills of the Waynadaga
They have even forty elephants to territory as the sites of their encampfrighten Theodore. One of them, an ment. But this route is not the
elephant of good sense if ever there shortest. Besides, the Wasaya bewas one, behaved himself so badly gins to be unhealthy in the month of
at the debarkation of the troops, that May, and there is no forage as far as
he was sent back to Hindostan. Wagara.
England is determined to succeed. The shorter route, which the Eng
Instead of borrowing, she has levied lish have taken, is by Agame and
a tax of ten millionsof dollars. She Wag. On those elevated plateaux
will need at least six times that they may keep all their energy, and
amount before the end of the war. they will find a territory less ravaged
Every English prisoner to be freed by civil war, and good pastures. The
will cost at least ten millions. But distance from Zullah to Magdala is
her object is not merely the freeing about the same as from Paris to
of the prisoners, though she asserts Lyons. But artillery is with diffithat it is. She has to provide water culty transported over, many of the
for sixty-five thousand men and many gullies on the route; and perhaps
beasts on the plains of Zullah, where, for the elephants it will be found imin default of natural fresh water, practicable. But the leader of the
the troops drink a distillation of expedition, Sir Robert Napier, will
sea water. They need every day not balk at these details. He will
one hundred and eilghty thousand push rapidly on to Delanta before
quarts to drink; and this quanti- the rainy season, which begins about
ty has been provided at the enor- the ioth of July. According to the
mous costof twentythousand dollars prisoners, if he should invest Magfor every twenty-four hours. To dala at the beginning of May, the
transport the munitions of war, mules want of water would soon force the
were bought and brought to Zullah garrison to surrender. If the first
from Egypt, Turkey, Spain, and rains have fallen before his arrival,,
France. The English soldiers, not the English will occupyTanta among.
knowing at first howto manage them, the Wara Haymano, and from that
tied them with hay ropes. Many point open fire on Magdala. Solof the mules ate the ropes, escaped diers living in huts, without caseinto the desert, and were lost. A mates or caverns, could not stand a
railroad has been built, running from day against the English guns. In
the sea to Sanafe, the first border any case, Magdala, the great Ethiostation of Ethiopia, a distance of al- pian fortress, will be taken, and it
most one hundred miles. will remain to be seen whether the
The line of march has been well troops will march to Dabra Tabor to
chosen. The English could have burn the camp of King Theodore,
279