Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 3.djvu/564

 540 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

About ten o'clock I waited upon our commander in chief the Jumper ; he feemed very much embarrafled at the vifit, was quite naked, having only a towel about his loins, and had been warning himfelf in the Kelti, to very little purpofe as I thought, for he was then rubbing his arms and body over with melted tallow ; his hair had been abun- dantly anointed before, and a man was then finifhing his head-drefs by plaiting it with fome of the long and fmall guts of an ox, which I did not perceive had ever been clean- ed ; and he had already put about his neck two rounds of the fame, in the manner of a necklace, or rather a folitaire, one end of them hanging down to the pit of his ftomach, Our converfation was neither long nor interefling ; I was overcome with the difagreeable fmell of blood and carrion : he did not underfland one word of Amharic, Geez, or any other language but Galla; he allied no queftions, and mew- ed no fort of curiofity. Woldo, on the other hand, informed himfelf from him of every thing he wanted to know.

This Jumper was tall and lean, very fharp faced, with a long nofe, fmall eyes and prodigious large ears ; he never looked you in the face, but was rolling his eyes conftantly round and round, and never fixing them upon any thing : he refembled very much a lean keen greyhound ; there was no fternnefs nor command in his countenance, but a cer- tain look that feemed to exprefs a vacancy of mind, like that of an idiot. With this he was allowed on all hands to be the moll cruel, mercilefs murderer and fpoiler of all the Galla. He was very active on horfeback, and very in- different about food or fleep. I made him a fmall prefent, which he took with great indifference ; only told Woldo, that if I meant it to pay for the bull he had fent me, it

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