Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 3.djvu/180

158 must be confessed, that, during the inundation, these things wear a contrary face. It carries in its bed near one-third of all the water that falls in Abyssinia; and we saw the mark the stream had reached the preceding year, eighteen feet above the bottom of the river, which we do not know was the highest point that it arrived at. But three fathoms it certainly had rolled in its bed; and this prodigious body of water, passing furiously from a high ground in a very deep descent, tearing up rocks and large trees in its course, and forcing down their broken fragments scattered on its stream, with a noise like thunder echoed from a hundred hills, these very naturally suggest an idea, that, from these circumstances, it is very rightly called the terrible. But then it must be considered, that all rivers in Abyssinia at the same time equally overflow; that every stream makes these ravages upon its banks; and that there is nothing in this that peculiarly affects the Tacazzè, or should give it this special name: at least, such is my opinion; though it is with great willingness I leave every reader in possession of his own, especially in etymology.

half an hour past eight we began a gradual descent, at first easily enough, till we crossed the small brook called Maitemquet, or, the water of baptism. We then began to descend very rapidly in a narrow path, winding along the side of the mountain, all shaded with lofty timber-trees of great beauty. About three miles further we came to the edge of the stream at the principal ford of the Tacazzé, which is very firm and good; the bottom consists of small pebbles, without either sand or large stones. The river here at this time was fully 200 yards broad, the water perfectly clear, and running very swiftly; it was about three feet deep. This was the dry