Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/272

 town of Assab, having to obtmn pure water by distillation, and possessing no arable lauds or agricultural industries, cannot expect a great commercial future ; its only product is salt, and even this cannot be worked in safety. But the few Italians in Assab, round whom are grouped some five hundred Arabs, Afars, and Somalis, are making great efforts to establish permanent relations between their station and the towns of Shoa. Although at a great distance from the rich countries of the interior, being at least twenty-two and usually twenty-five days' march from Ankobcr, Assab has begun to import some merchandise, such as coffee, hides, and other products, thanks to the efforts of Antonelli, Bianchi, and other travellers. But this slight trafiic can only be carried on under the guidance and protection of the natives. The explorer Giuletti and several companions, hoping to pass through under the safe conduct of the neighbouring tribes, were assassinated at seven or eight days’ march into the interior. Nearly all the trade carried on with Aden and Hodeidah, is conducted by means of sambucs ranging from seven to ten tons burden, and the annual movement which takes place in the port numbers some four hundred vessels. The town of Raheifa, situated farther south, is the residence of a sultan, who is also a wealthy dealer in mother-o'-pearl, ostrich-feathers, incense, myrrh, and other products of this coast region. The littoral town of Baibul, to the north, is the residence of another sultan under the protection of the Italian Government.

In the western region of Shoa, the most important place is the commercial town of Ficheh, built at the angle of a plateau, between deep kwallas. Near here stands the famous monastery of Debra-Libanos, or Mount Liban, built on a trachytic terrace from which runs a little rivulet, looked upon as holy by Christians, Pagans, and Mussulmans alike. Pilgrims come from all parts to bathe in these miraculous and healing waters, which were created by the voice of Tekla-Haimanot, the legendary saint of the Abyssinians. At the time of the voyage of Combes and Tamisier, the monastery was occupied by three thousand monks, two-thirds of whom were old soldiers mutilated during their expeditions into the Galla country. No other place of refuge is more respected than Debra-Libanos. Before crossing the escarpments of the sacred mountain the pilgrims must cleanse themselves from their sins in the waters of the Ziga Wodiem—that is, " flesh and blood "—which flows through a deep gorge. On a neighbouring height, whence a view over the valley of the Abai can be had of the Gojam and Damot mountains, stands an ancient fortress which served as a place of refuge for one of the ancestors of Menelik, at the time of the conquest of the country by the "Left-handed." Zena-Markos, another monastery situated north-west of Ficheh, on a plateau surrounded by ravines, is almost as opulent and as much frequented as that of Debra-Libanos. To the north the plateaux, as far as Magdala and the sources of the Takkazeh, are occupied by the "Wollos and other Galla peoples. The "Wollos, who are divided into seven tribes, are immigrants come from the south in the sixteenth century, at the