Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/380

 552 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The Daveina being Arabs, who conftantly live in tents, bear a mortal enmity to all who inhabit villages, and, as occafion offered, had dellroyed, flarved, and laid wafte the greatefl part of Atbara. They had been outlawed by the government of Sennaar for having joined Yafous II. upon the expedition againft that kingdom. They had ever fince been well-received by the Abyffinians, lived independent, and in perpetual defiance of the government of Sennaar. They had often threatened Teawa, but had given the Shekh of Beyla an afTurance of friendfliip ever fince Yafine had married a daughter of that Shekh,



The flrength of Teawa was about 25 horfe, of which about ten were armed with coats of mail. They had about a dozenof firelocks, very contemptible from the order in which they were kept, and flill more fo from the hands that bore them. The refl of the inhabitants might amount to twelve hundred men, naked, miferable, and defpicable Arabs, like the reft of thofe that live in villages, who are much infe- rior in courage to the Arabs that dwell in tents : weak as its ftate was, it was the feat of government, and as fuch a certain degree of reverence attended it. Fidele, the Shekh of Atbara, was reputed by his own people a man of courage ; this had been doubted at Sennaar. Welled HafTan, his father, had been employed by Naffer the fon, late king of Sennaar, in the murder of his father and fovereign Baady, which he had perpetrated, as I have already mentioned. Such was the flate of Teawa. Its confequence was only to remain till the Daveina fliould refolve to attack it, when its corn- fields being burnt and deflroyed in a night by a multitude of horfemen, the bones of its inhabitants fcattercd upon 4 the