Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/354

 named Baharnegash Oual, who came down to pay his compliments, preceded by two men blowing a long kind of trumpet, the shrill sound of which re-echoed through the valley. On enquiry, I discovered that this chief was an Abyssinian; a circumstance which gave me great pleasure, as I had not been before aware, that the Christian influence had extended so near the coast. He appeared to be a very respectable man, and expressed himself happy that we had adopted this route; in consequence of which, on his taking leave, I made him a small present, and he promised, in return, to befriend any Englishman who might afterwards pass through the country. In the evening we were greatly amused by some wandering musicians, whom the Baharnegash sent to entertain us. The instrument on which they played was a species of lyre, producing very agreeable notes, which they accompanied with singing some wild airs peculiar to their country. During the night I was awakened by an outcry in the camp, which occasioned so much alarm, that it induced me to rush out of the tent, when it appeared that some furious wild beast had been endeavouring to carry off one of our mules; and, in consequence, the whole of our animals, which had been picketted in a line, had started from their fastenings; and they now stood trembling in a cluster together, covered with profuse perspiration. The extraordinary alarm which they manifested on this occasion, made me suppose that the animal, of which I myself caught only a glimpse, must have been a lion.

On the following day, the heat being intense, (the thermometer throughout the night having been upwards of 80°) we made an early march towards the coast, and about noon reached Arkeeko. In the course of our journey we had seen immense droves of camels, belonging to the Tigré, or Nayib's tribe, of Shiho, wandering among the Gira trees, and had found that the opening from the mountain was not more than a mile and a half south from Arkeeko. Soon afterwards we proceeded round to Massowa, where, to our great regret, we discovered that the Marian had not yet arrived, and were not able to learn of any other means of conveyance to Mocha. The Kaimakam, however, received us with