Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/223

 fidelity to their rulers has been so remarkable, that it is become proverbial throughout the country.

Here Mr. Pearce met with very hospitable treatment at the house of one of the Aristies (farmers,) where he observed that his appearance did not excite that kind of surprise which the first sight of a white man is generally observed to produce in other parts of the country. The wife of the Aristi was peculiarly attentive to him, and, on his quitting them the following day, she prepared some cakes, and supplied him with a calibash full of booza for his journey.

On the 28th, having crossed the narrow and mountainous district of Wojjerat, he arrived, in about eight hours, at an extensive and uncultivated plain, inhabited by a people called Doba. One of the isolated tribes of negroes which are to be found occasionally interspersed throughout all the regions of Africa. In the earlier history of the country, the Doba were considered as a formidable set of marauders, but, latterly, it appears that they have experienced great difficulties in maintaining their native independence. Here Mr. Pearce passed unmolested, on account of his being supposed to travel in the service of the Ras, but he had little communication with the natives, owing to his not understanding their language.

On the 29th, after seven hours travelling, he reached a district called Iyah, held by a tribe of Galla, under