Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/276

 relating to the life of this young man, which are so characteristic of the manners of the country, that I shall here mention them by way of introducing him to the knowledge of the reader.

Chelika Negusta had early in life inherited the possession of a small district in the neighbourhood of the Tacazze, on the borders of which resided a more powerful chief, who, taking advantage of the superior number of his troops, was continually in the habit of plundering the domains of his neighbour. Chelika Negusta, then a young man of only nineteen years of age, was of too proud a disposition to let such outrages pass with impunity; and, therefore, took occasion, the first time he met his opponent, personally to affront him, and, with more courage than prudence, challenged him to single combat. The elder chief, who had before been distinguished in battle, accepted the challenge, expressing, at the same time, great contempt for his antagonist; but in the contest which ensued, "as the battle is not always to the strong," he fell a just victim to his own misconduct, being killed in the first onset by the very person whom he had affected to despise.

In consequence of this act, Chelika Negusta was soon afterwards laid hold of by the more powerful relations of the deceased, and carried before the Ras. Whatever might have been the inclinations of the latter, as complete proof was adduced of the fact, he was compelled by the custom of the country (which on this point is absolute) to condemn the young warrior to death; and, according to the established rule, which is borrowed from the laws of the Mosaic institution, he was given up to the relations of the deceased, "to do with him as they pleased." The course commonly followed on these occasions is, to take the offender to the market-place, and there, in the face of the public, to dispatch him, with knives and spears: every relation and friend of the deceased making it a point of duty to strike a blow at the criminal. The young man was conducted towards the market-place, and so much violence was expressed by the relations that his fate seemed inevitable. Fortunately for Chelika Negusta, he was a particularly handsome man; which circumstance, together with the intrepidity