Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/214

190 as he was to Ras Michael, he would not venture to take an active part against him, till the king's affairs were plainly going to ruin. I have already mentioned, that the last thing Michael did was to fend Kefla Yasous, Basha Hezekias,and Welleta Michael, to dispossess him of his strong-hold if possible, and in this they had failed. But now that Tesfos saw there was no probability that Michael should be able to retreat to Tigré, he came at last to join Gusho, bringing with him only about a thousand men, having left all his posts guarded against surprise, and strong enough to cut off all recruits arriving from Tigré. Nothing that had yet happened ever had so bad effect upon Michael's men as this appearance of Tesfos. It was a little before mid-day when his army appeared, and from the hills above marched down towards the valley below us, not two musquet-shot from our camp.

Samen is really on the west of the Tacazzé, and consequently in the Amharic division of this country, yet, on account of its vicinity to Tigré, the language and customs are mostly the same with those of that province. There is a march peculiar to the troops of Tigré, which, when the drums of Tesfos beat at passing, a despondency seemed to fall on all the Tigran soldiers, greater than if ten thousand men of Amhara had joined the rebels. It was a fine day, and the troops, spread abroad upon the face of the hill, not only shewed more in number than they really were, but also more security than they were, in point of prudence, warranted to do, when at so small a distance from such an army as ours.